Be Prepared While Flying

If you are traveling by airplane to go hunting or fishing this fall do yourself a favor and put a large padded envelope that is self addressed and has 3-4 dollars of postage on it in your carry on bag. If security finds something that is not allowed to take on the plane, like your trusty Leatherman, you can deposit the item in the envelope and mail it home rather that forfeiting it to security.

Pick a Spot

When shooting at an animal with a bow remember to pick a spot and forget about the rest of the animal. Many misses can be attributed to the archer looking at the animal as a whole. Doing so is a surefire recipe for missing, or worse, wounding. Try to find something on the animal to visually lock on to. A tuft of hair, a color change in the hair or fur etc. What also works is to imagine a glowing red dot on the side of the animal and shoot at this dot. A good mantra to remember is "Aim Small Miss Small".

More New Games

Activision is my new best friend. Last weekend I received a package in the mail and inside I found the new Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009 and Cabela's Legendary Adventures games for my Wii machine. Man talk about timing. It was cool and raining all weekend and these games helped pass some time. The problem is that now I'm addicted! I have played other hunting games over the years but nothing comes close to these games. I especially like the Dangerous Hunts 2009 game. It is fast paced and puts you right in the middle of some serious hunting situations. The graphics are great and the game play is exciting. If you have access to a Wii, Xbox or Playstation give these games a try, you won't be disappointed.

Picking the Right Pup

Choosing the right hunting puppy can be a daunting task. They are all so cute and how are you supposed to know which one will become the hunting dog you desire? In my case, I had no choice because Charlie was the last puppy of the litter. Luckily he turned out to be the best dog of the bunch. In this case, 6 other people did not make the best choice. So how do you choose?

One method or test you can use to determine the true disposition of a pup is to pick him or her up and cradle them in your arms, on their back. If the puppy just lays in your arms and makes no attempt to get up-righted he may be too docile to make a good field dog. If the pup struggles and fights and yips until he can get away he will likely be too high strung to train properly. If the pup struggles for awhile and then settles down for a good belly scratching it is a good sign and shows that the pup has some drive yet is willing to be trained.

Remember, when choosing a puppy, there are several methods you can use but none of them are fool proof, except one, your heart. When you are looking at pups and one of them sticks out from the rest and it just feel right, take him or her home. Forget every test or sign you have heard about and enjoy the dog. Even if they never develop into a good hunting dog you will still have made the right choice.