For many hunters the hunting season is over. Waterfowling is done in our area for the year. The final deer hunts are behind us. What pheasants are left are breeding stock for next year. It’s a sad time of the year for most diehard hunters. But if you are truly a diehard hunter, you really aren’t done. There’s plenty of time to go rabbit hunting; in fact, this time of year is a great time to go rabbit hunting.

The waterfowl seasons are winding down. You have no time to waste. Pack up the decoys and hit the road for your last chance at an epic duck hunt this season.

The dawn is cloaked in the darkness of the wetland grasses. Oak trees and swamp maples can barely be made out against the faint moonlight of the horizon. Something splashes in the pool in front of the duck blind. A beaver slaps his tail on the surface, triggering an owl to hoot from his perch on a distant pine.

CZ-USA Shotguns have a legacy amongst hunters for being lightweight and, most importantly, reliable. Three of the finest shotguns available are the Upland Ultralight, Drake, and Bobwhite G2.

Late season diver duck hunting is not for the faint of heart. It is wrought with danger and a calculating mind will be well prepared for the multitude of things that can go wrong. Personally, I know of eight men in my 36 years of duck hunting that have succumbed to the perils of our lake’s depths. Names like Donny Lumbra, Mark DeSimone and Roger Pepin, who, in their own right were talented outdoorsmen, and just happened to meet an untimely demise by missing one small detail.

In the last 2 months millions of pounds of venison were harvested by America’s hunters. The deer from which this enormous quantity of meat was taken in all sorts of weather, in nearly every terrain and was harvested by rank amateurs and expert hunters alike. No government inspectors will be on hand to insure proper cleanliness and other procedures are followed. It’s up to the hunter to do it right. Some will and some won’t; and for those who don’t, the result is likely to be some gamy-tasting deer meat.

Some hunters believe canned meat is the pinnacle of a deer’s culinary worth once the backstraps are gone. Maybe, you have been guilted into taking a jar home from an enthusiastic family member only to drown the contents in store-bought spaghetti sauce. For hunters, the pursuit of the game is the prize. However, there is the opportunity to view bringing the hunt from the field to your table as the ultimate reward.

If you hunt deer, you've probably thought about coyote hunting. Recent studies have shown that coyote predation has a larger impact on spring fawns that previously thought. Increased use of trail cameras, and hunters taking video cameras into the field, offer more evidence of coyote predation. Coyotes don't focus only on the young or sick prey. Healthy adult deer are often targeted and killed by coyotes. Hunting coyotes continues to be the best tool for managing this increasingly impactful predator.

I once laid over in London while traveling to Morocco and spent the night in a lovely cottage that had an amazing pub downstairs. It was something you have seen in the movies. A dark room with stone clad walls and a crackling fireplace. I am pretty sure it was lit only by candle and oil lamp. I grabbed a fresh pint of beer and sat at a table next to the fire. I squinted in the firelight as I read each menu item line by line. The one item that caught my attention was a beef and ale pie, aka pot pie or meat pie.

Late-season scouting can be a valuable tool to evaluate your deer season. The snow that covers much of the state offers some of the best scouting of the year. Make it to the woods before rain eliminates weeks worth of sign.