Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Game & Fish East

We were high on a ridgeline overlooking a lot of flat and wide-open Wyoming countryside. The FoxPro electronic call had been playing for about 10 minutes, and we’d seen nothing. Just as we were about to call it quits, a lone coyote appeared started heading our way. Finally, he stopped and began looking around in an attempt to pinpoint the dying jackrabbit. We were probably 200 feet above the coyote, and he was a bit more than 300 yards away. I held dead on and dumped him. Many hunters get all worked up when they must shoot uphill or downhill. Angled shooting does affect bullet flight. When you shoot up- or downhill, you need less trajectory correction. Gravity is the force that all bullets must reckon with, and it starts…

Wy wife Elaine and I try to use as much of any deer I kill as is practical. Like many hunters, we save the heart and tongue and occasionally the liver, but we also make broth from a deer’s hind legs. Here’s how you can do the same, as well as some recipes using the broth. BREAKING DOWN THE BONES Because of their larger size, we prefer the thigh bones for making broth. After removing most of the meat from them, I use loppers to cut them into three roughly equal sections. The bones will shatter and connective tissue and bone marrow will be exposed, but that’s a good thing as it adds nutrition to the mixture (any bone fragments will be removed during the straining process). And don’t worry…

The weather couldn’t have been much better as we trolled slowly across the big lake. It was warm, in the low 70s, but the air was dry and a whiff of westerly wind enhanced the cooling effect. The only sounds were the dim, nearly imperceptible hum of the trolling motor and the faint splash of water against the hull gliding through nearly calm water. Turning away from the image of four tiny red arcs on my sonar screen and toward the stern, I watched the deeply arched rod tips move rhythmically up and down and waited. Somewhere 100-plus feet below, a lure was grabbed and the line pulled off its downrigger clip. While certainly violent below, the strike seemed subtle topside as the rod’s bow and the line angle lessened…

Bugles ring out in the marshes and swamps. Harems form, and the rut ensues. No, this isn’t a Western elk scene. Rather, it’s a pocket of sika deer action in eastern Maryland. And it’s a unique big game hunting experience too few hunters have witnessed. Some might wonder, how does hunting sika deer differ from other big game animals in the United States? While many draw similarities to elk, they are their own adventure. Sika deer originated in Japan. There, they mostly inhabit temperate and subtropical forests with dense understory. Interestingly, here in America, they tend to inhabit only lower-lying wetlands. Those willing to tackle the challenges of sika deer stand to experience something that native species can’t offer, though. Namely, this hunt allows North American hunters to chase an…

The Trijicon Huron line debuted in 2020. The original configurations included a 1–4x24, 2.5–10x40, 3–12x40 and 3–9x40. In January 2025, Trijicon launched two additional models, the 4–16x50 ($985) that I used on the hunt and a 1–6x24 version ($735). Between the six models, Trijicon covers a wide swath of hunting options. The affordable scopes feature Trijicon’s “BDC Hunter Hold” reticle, with simple, easy-to-see crosshairs and windage and elevation cross markings. The 4-16x50 model I used is an increasingly “go-to” option for hunters pursuing whitetails and other North American game. “That 4-to-16 magnification just gives you a little bit more capability to reach out there,” Trijicon Marketing Director Josh Lyall says. “You get a good field of view at the 4x setting, while the 16x is plenty [of magnification] for any…

GET RUT READY! G&F’s annual Regional Rut Update gives hunters the most up-to-date information from each region to provide them with the needed intel on what to expect when they hit the field. See each weekly update under the “Hunting” tab. FALL FISHING FRENZY Just because it’s fall doesn’t mean it’s time to put the fishing rods away. See the latest on the hottest bites, from bass to trout to inshore species, under the “Fishing” tab. GETTIN’ BIRDY Fall is full of upland opportunities. From ruffed grouse in New England and Great Plains ringnecks to Hungarian partridge in the Rockies and quail hunting in the South, our “Upland” section is a must-see. GEAR UP FOR BIG GAME Big game seasons are in full swing in many states. Check out the…

My kids called it my “SS” talk, and they don’t recall it particularly fondly. The acronym stands for “self-sufficiency,” and I reliably trotted out a lecture on the topic just about any time my kids failed to demonstrate it. When they forgot their pocket knife and asked to borrow mine, I scolded them for their lack of SS. When they ran out of gas and called me for help, I reminded them of the value of SS. When they asked me to bait a hook or tie a knot, they got a brief lecture in self-sufficiency. I’m not proud of my too-frequent return to the topic, especially since my kids are mostly grown and now way too self-sufficient for my liking. But the idea of self-reliance has been back in…

There are two duck blinds within a few hundred yards of each other on the creek we hunt. We call one “The Gentlemen’s Blind” because it’s a short, gentlemanly stroll from the parking spot (it’s certainly not a reference to those of us who hunt from it). The other is “The Oaks” because, well, it’s nestled between two oak trees. The Oaks is where you want to be in the early season. There, hidden among the oak trees, you often have plenty of chances to shoot your daily limit of wood ducks. It doesn’t matter how well you call. The size of your decoy spread doesn’t seem to influence your success rate. You certainly don’t need the latest camo patterns or the most innovative new shotgun. The place is a…

Deer season is here and rubs are now as commonplace as cotton candy at the county fair, shining like beacons in the forest. This sign that deer leave behind is an integral part of piecing together a buck’s core area. However, as a hunter you must know how to decipher the rubs on the lands you hunt, whether public or private. RUB REASONS Bucks rub trees with the bases of their antlers. Sometimes they’ll rub head-on, with the tree trunk between either side of their rack. Other times they’ll turn their head sideways, running their antlers perpendicular to the trunk. Regardless, bucks rub trees for various reasons. Initially, it’s to remove velvet. While some bucks don’t worry about velvet hanging, others seem obsessed with rubbing off every strip. Some clean…

Sika deer are commonly referred to as small elk, but there’s no size comparison. Smaller than whitetails, adult stags weigh about 90 pounds and hinds (females) weigh about 70 pounds. These animals stand 2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder. Differentiate males from females by their darker hides, longer manes and antlers that stand about 15 inches tall. Mature stags typically have three tines on each side for a total of six points. With dark brown and black coats, and a few white spots retained throughout adulthood, these deer really blend in with their environment. Their white rumps stand out, though, especially when they’re alarmed. When fleeing danger, sika deer oftentimes bound (bounce) like mule deer, to escape threats. Apart from their size, they really do draw parallels to…

We all wondered what was in store for Marlin after Ruger purchased the company in 2020. Many feared that the near 150-year legacy of one of the most iconic firearms manufacturers was in jeopardy. What we soon discovered is that Ruger might be the best thing to happen to Marlin. The lever-action rifles Marlin is producing today are some of the best lever guns the gunmaker has ever produced—maybe that any manufacturer has ever made. One of Marlin’s newest lever guns is another version of their Trapper, but it’s outfitted with a stock and forend from Magpul—and it’s one of my favorites. With its 16-inch barrel, the Trapper lever gun is a short, fast-handling carbine. Currently, Marlin is offering Trappers in the Model 1895 (chambered in .45-70 Government), Model 336…

VISIT MYOUTDOORTV.COM AND USE PROMO CODE GAMEFISH30 TO GET A 30-DAY FREE TRIAL OF MOTV. (Offer valid for a limited time. Cannot be combined with other offers.) TWO CONCHS ADVENTURES SEASON 1, EPISODE 4 | “Marathon Ironman” Tucker and JC Carlson are joined by their friend, Drake Daniels, to partake of the fantastic offshore, wreck and reef fishing off Marathon, Fla., and the show’s hosts can’t get enough of the incredible action. After battling a number of tough pelagics and bottom-dwellers, they hook up with buddy Jon Watler to target acrobatic tarpon around the bridges at night. Don’t miss this exciting, all-day fishing marathon. —Alex Suescun, South Region THE FLUSH SEASON 13, EPISODE 2 | “Superior Trail Ruffed Grouse” Hunting ruffed grouse and woodcock can be both frustrating and incredibly…

I slipped, skidded and stumbled before crashing to a stop at the mountain’s base. It wasn’t a wicked fall, but it hurt. I worried more about my rifle-and-scope combination than my bruised 19-year-old ego. Thankfully, neither the scope nor the rings appeared to be loose, and aside from a heavy scratch running the full length of the rifle’s maple stock and a handful of nicks and dings on the barrel and receiver, the 7mm Rem. Mag. seemed fine. I wouldn’t have known what to do if it wasn’t. I was as green to elk hunting as one could be. A Colorado native, I grew up in a non-hunting family. If it weren’t for the man who brought me on the trip, a big game hunt would’ve remained a pipe dream…

Our day started off with a bang. Literally. We were still walking in when Tom Caron’s German shorthair pointer Millie went on point, just past the base of a stone wall that demarcated the beginning of the cover. My hunting buddy George Flores was out in front, and when he walked in, a woodcock flittered out—moving more like a bat than a bird. He dropped it with one shot. It was typical Vermont bird cover: old stone walls, a smattering of doddered apple trees, some alders, sufficient pines for thermal cover and some aging evidence that dairy cows had once grazed hereabouts. Aesthetically, it’s hard to beat a traditional New England covert, and for me, hunting here serves as a link to the great New England grouse writers, William Harnden…

I don’t know whose idea it was to hit the beach for the morning low tide, but I learned one thing on our long hump across the sand: We missed one hell of a blitz. A mix of peanut bunker, tinker macs, silversides, sand eels, butterfish, bay anchovies and small snapper blues that were missing their backs had been driven onshore above the high tide line. Prime time for these types of blitzes during the fall run lands in between the Striper and the Hunter’s moons, and that four-week slot in September and October can result in the best fishing of the year. KNOW THE MOONS A weather man says fall starts on the Autumnal Equinox, when day and night are nearly identical in length (the actual day lands between…

Anticipation and elation rapidly gave way to worry as the blood trail petered out. My daybreak shot had created a frantic scene, with does leaping and fleeing and the targeted buck seemingly vanishing. We originally wondered if the 10-pointer dropped where it had stood. Nope. But ample, frothy blood at the point of impact seemed to indicate a quality hit, leading to expectations of a dead deer close by. Wrong. Mostly, anyway. From our elevated blind, my young guide, Eli Arends, and I watched the buck sneak in just before legal light, approaching a couple of does and fawns. “Is that Tres?” I whispered? Arends raised his binoculars, then looked at me and nodded. The hunting crew at Lowrance Ranch, a 43,000-acre working cattle operation in North Texas, closely monitors…

Shane often daydreamed of hunting elk out West, and finally, after holding the winning raffle ticket for an elk hunt at the local Ducks Unlimited banquet, he was in the thick of it, somewhere deep in the dark timber of a Montana mountain. It was the peak of the rut, and bulls were bugling all around as Shane clutched his bow and tried his best to tell whether they were real bulls or other hunters. A moment later his question was answered. Six cow elk ran right past him, cutting across the logging road where Shane stood before galloping up the mountain as if they were being chased. In another instant Shane’s heart leapt as he saw the ivory tips of a big bull’s antlers seemingly float through the timber…