My love of great outdoor writing

It doesn’t get any better than a big northern pike at sundown

I've been in this outdoor writing business for 44 years, and over that period I've met most of the greatest outdoor writers of our time.
Men like ...

John Amber	Erwin Bauer	Havilah Babcock
Nash Buckingham	Chuck Cadieux	John Cartier
Gordie Charles	Ben East	Charlie Elliott
Corey Ford	Ben Hur Lampman	Nick Lyons
Gordon MacQuarrie	John Madson	Jack O'Conner
Edmund Ware Smith	Norm Strung	Robert Traver
Ted Trueblood	Lamar Underwood	Charley Waterman

and many others.

All had one thing in common: they loved the outdoors.

It wasn't so much they loved to kill fish or game, but they enjoyed being out there and matching wits with fish or game. Things were a good bit different in those bygone days. Outdoor writers wrote stories that people loved to read. The how-to or where-to stories weren't in vogue a half-century ago.

No knock on current outdoor writers but many of those in the 1950s were great

They called that earlier brand of writing "Me & Joe stories." If a reader read close he could spot some how-to and where-to stuff, but what gave these stories legs was the writers could pull the reader into the story and make them read it.

We felt as if we were hunting sheep with Jack O'Connor, catching big trout with Joe Brooks, shooting ducks or geese with Lynn Bogue Hunt or Van Campen Heilner. We hung on the words of Robert Ruark as he sat at the Old Man's knee and absorbed some of the wisdom that old-timers handed down to the young 'uns.

Corey Ford was another favorite back in the 1950s and 1960s, and his Tales of The Lower Forty were funny but also shared some fishing or hunting wisdom.

Ben East, who lived near Holly, Michigan, was a friend and I spent hours watching him work his red pencil magic over a manuscript, cutting and splicing, turning words of some wisdom into pearls of wisdom. I thoroughly enjoyed my many conversations with John Madson, and believed that few outdoor writers could match up.

He did a great deal of work for Winchester and the Olin Corporation, and he could make the ingredients of breakfast cereal read well. He was a master of turning phrases, of setting scenes, and of working his brand of literary magic on a story. When he finished, the piece was a gem.

Ben East and John Madson were two or the best wordsmiths

Madson was arguably the finest true outdoor writer of the mid-1900s, and we spent many hours together before his death. I have a healthy-sized stack of his letters, and a common letter from one buddy to another became a piece of art when Madson put his hand to it.

There seems to be something that has gone missing when an article just tells the reader how to catch fish or shoot deer, or even worse, where to do it. The old-time outdoor writers did all of that but they also told readers why they should do it.

They wrote from the heart. They invoked our five senses and said why they should be important to sportsmen, and they knew how to drag the reader into the story and leave them at the end wanting more. That's the sign of a truly good writer.

Outdoor magazines no longer have strong editors. I sold my first "Me and Joe" story to Outdoor Life magazine in 1970, and back then, editor Bill Rae was an editor. Editors below his lofty position could offer their opinion, but Rae was a one-man editorial staff. If he wanted a story, he got the story, and suffered no nonsense from junior editors.

I sold a number of stories to Bill Rae, and he happily bought them because I could give him what he wanted and what he knew his readers wanted to read. Now, it's different; there is such a thing as "editing by committee," which doesn't bode well for the writer because many editors don't know what they want. Many want two or three rewrites from a professional outdoor writer. Things have changed and not for the better.

I sell many fishing and hunting books, and some old outdoor magazines on my website Scoop's Books, and I figure if a book is a good read for me, it will probably appeal to many of my readers. I enjoy going back to some of the earlier writers, and although some of their copy was stilted at times, they knew how to grab the reader's attention.

My personal method writing outdoor copy is simple: inform and entertain

It's always been my intention to write from the heart: to drag readers into the story; to offer them something that is nearly impossible to find today in the how-to, where-to world of outdoor writing, and I'm not ashamed to admit to a mistake. I tweak my readers five senses, and they seem to enjoy it.

What comes through in my writing is a deep and abiding love of the outdoors and of fishing and hunting. I know our natural resources needs some restraints, and I know that being afield is part of why we go fishing or hunting.

We share the outdoors with other user groups, and those of us who love these outdoor pastimes, are perhaps the last of our breed. And just think: all of this rhetoric is about our respect for the fish and game we catch and kill, and a deep love for being outdoors.

And it has all come to pass because of another love. A love of reading is what makes the long wait between fishing and hunting trips bearable, and that is why so many people visit this site every day.

I may be the luckiest person of all because I have a deep urge to write what people want to read. And for that, I'm genuinely thankful for my many readers. Keep reading and I'll keep writing, and tell your friends, neighbors and relatives about my website.

I thank you, in advance, for that consideration.

Can We Solve Natural Resources Problems

Wild turkeys and whitetail deer may have severe die-offs in bad winters.

Guess what? Fishing and hunting isn't the same as it was 10 years ago, and it won't be the same 10 years in the future as it is now.

Fishing and hunting have become fragmented. How so? There are many ways to look at our natural resource problems, such as:

Years ago, a bear hunter bought a license and went hunting. Now, we have sound, scientific wildlife management, and that means more bears are being killed each year under a quota system than were ever killed under the old rules when anyone could buy a tag and hunt bruins.

Bear numbers and habitat are getting out of line and bruins are moving.

And it's OK that we have more bears than ever before, and the animals are moving into new territories, and management means determining the social carrying capacity of bruins. How many bears will people tolerate near their homes before they start squawking?

We have elk hunts now with some rather new rules. The rules only affect those who draw an elk tag from now on. I've applied for an elk tag ever since they had their first hunt in 1965. I've never been drawn, but instead of drawing names from those who have applied and have missed being picked, the DNR is now enforcing the newer rules.

And frankly, I'm not the only one who has applied and been denied. It means that hunters who drew an elk tag years ago can still draw another one. Does this make sense? Is it sour grapes on my part? No, it just means that me and many others are dissatisfied with a system that makes no sense. No one should ever draw another elk tag if they've already drawn one but that's not how it works these days.

The DNR has had ample opportunities to allow Region II turkey hunters to obtain some private-land turkey tags that would guarantee them a first- or second-season hunt for those applicants who own property up here, but pressure from other groups is louder than the mumbles of regional landowners. So, private-land turkey tags can be obtained in the Upper Peninsula in those counties where birds are hunted, and throughout southern Lower Peninsula counties, but again Region II landowners get the short and dirty end of the turkey-permit stick.

It appears the DNR is caving in to special interest groups. In case you haven't noticed, the special interest groups are in the face of the DNR biologists to get what they want, not what is fair to the general public.

Do you remember when Michigan had their statewide trout season opener on the last Saturday in April? And then, in hopes of streamlining our fishing seasons, the DNR allowed Lower Peninsula muskie, pike and walleye fishing to open at the same time as the trout season. There are many sport shops in the Lower Peninsula, and this ruling 10-15 years ago, denied sportsmen two opening days -- trout and walleye, etc., and simply lumped them all together.

Making senses of our state fisheries regulation, and our open and closed areas.

There is nothing streamlined about our fishing or hunting regulations. Some conservation officers say they must read the annual fishing or hunting digests time and again before trying to enforce the law. The language is stilted and cumbersome, and an attorney would probably have trouble defining what some of the DNRE legalese language really means. Some rules can make violators out of perfectly honest people. Make anything too difficult, and many give up for fear of unwittingly breaking the law.

Guess which one season most people prefer, and in resounding fashion? It isn't trout, which are harder to catch. Those people who once opened the trout season, and then on May 15, opened the walleye season years ago, jumped for joy. They got more than two more weeks of walleye fishing, and the sporting goods stores lost a wonderful chance to make money on the second opener, which is now gone.

The DNR currently backed into a corner by angry deer hunters, have been taking it on the chin. The DNR's little dog-and-pony show went on the road to discuss issues with deer hunters several years ago, and they were confronted by many angry people who were tired of not seeing deer and even more tired of horrible deer management policies.

Trust me, in many parts of the state, the chances of seeing and killing a deer is as high as drawing one of the aforementioned elk tags. Southern Michigan counties still have lots of deer, but such is not the case in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.

These hunters were and still are clamoring for change, and rightfully so. I've backed the DNR for more years than I can remember, but things are changing ... and frankly folks, it's not for the better. Deer are plumb hard to find in the U.P., and things aren't much better in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula. But guess where the deer are: on private land in the southern Lower Peninsula counties. The big numbers aren't Up North, no matter what anyone says.

This deal over deer and deer hunting is far from over. The DNR needs to begin mandatory deer registration, and do away with the two-license deal. If they want to make more money, make it mandatory that hunters register their first deer before they can buy a second license. Hunters no longer believe the estimated Oct. 1 deer numbers, and they certainly don't believe the  final totals that show deer kills higher than what anyone believes, especially those sportsmen who do not see a whitetail buck during the combined hunting seasons.

Deer  regulations can be another tangled maze to understand. Can’t it be simple?

Last year was the first time in history that I can remember when the DNR came out and admitted the deer kill was down dramatically. Is this a harbinger of bad things to come? I suspect it is.

Now, in an effort to raise more money and to potentially alienate more people, the DNRE will be selling some permits for some of the species that are difficult to draw -- like the bull elk tags. If you've got enough money, you too can bypass the lottery system, and bid lots of money. This further tips the scales away from the ordinary sportsman, and will become the most direct cause of higher license fees and perhaps even fewer hunters.

And, while we are at it, it means the rich get what they want while the average sportsman get little or nothing. Go over to Germany and try to hunt. It will cost an arm and a leg, and a lengthy training session before you'll take your firearm into the woods.

Baiting and feeding was eliminated in the entire Lower Peninsula. In the meantime, baiting continues in the Upper Peninsula. Many people began cheating in the Lower Peninsula where they continued to bait. Does it make sense to have legal baiting in one part of the state but not in the rest? Not to me it doesn't.

Ask the DNR about the compliance rate for not baiting. They maintain the compliance rate is high, but bait is still being sold at local gas stations, and someone is certainly buying and using it.

And all of this mess because of one CWD disease in a private enclosure. Everyone must pay the price for that solitary animal. Did people resent this, and is it sound scientific management? It makes one wonder. The DNR and Department of Agriculture should get their collective acts together.

Deep snow hamper deer and winter turkey movements. Die-off can be high.

Have deer and turkeys suffered in the northern Lower Peninsula. You bet. Folks, where I live had more than 180 inches of snow two winters ago and more than 125 inches so far this season. I've seen very few gobblers and more than 160 inches last year, and only a few hen turkeys were seen this past winter. If the DNR's weird sense of having turkey feeding sites weren't so laughable, I'd cry.

We had fewer turkeys this spring than in the past, and we can look to a lack of a winter feeding program. Turkeys are big birds and burn a lot of energy launching into flight from the ground, but to expect birds to burn up even more fat reserves during winter months by flying up to an elevated position for corn, is silly.

Am I in a bit of a nasty mood? Naw! It’s just that Michigan hunters once stood tall and proud of their DNR, our deer management policies, and the fact that we had more combined deer hunters and man-days of deer hunting than any other state in the nation. That was something we were proud of.

We don't have much to be proud of now except in areas where there is a Quality Deer Management program. Hunters in such areas are now seeing more bucks and larger animals in some of those counties than ever before.

Folks, it goes against the grain of Mother Nature to try to maintain a status quo, year after year. It's impossible to accomplish, and management of our deer herd is sorely lacking in its focus.

I never see a wildlife biologist in the field, and in the words of a fine wildlife biologist who retired some years ago, "the new wildlife biologists don't have any dirt on their boots."

One might wonder if they even own a pair of boots. They spend little, if any time, in the field. They manage by building computer models, and I for one, know that this philosophy really isn't working.

And sadly, the biologists seldom want to talk with landowners and hunters, especially in northern counties. They know they'll get an ear full, and most of the anger generated their way these days is justified.

Perhaps we need a shake-up in state government.

One doesn't have to look hard or into a crystal ball to see that state government and some legislators have wrecked the economy, our jobs and our livelihood, and politicians have left taxpayers holding the bag ... once again.

This is the adult version of the old snipe hunt trick we played on other kids when we were young. It was funny back then, but nobody is laughing now because many of us are left holding that empty bag. It's difficult to compare deer hunting 20 years ago with what we now have because there can't be a comparison. It just gets worse every year.

And excuse me for not being politically correct. The DNR is no longer correct and proper. The proper alphabet soup name is now DNRE. The "E" is for Environment, and where the DNR once rolled easily off our tongue, adding an "E" doesn't seem to have done much for this once-proud state agency.

The people who are most visible to the public -- our conservation officers -- are often seen in the field but the same cannot be said for many of the DNRE's wildlife biologists. What a sad situation, especially when it comes to some of the newer wildlife biologists.

Fortunately, we still have some good wildlife biologists. Not many but some really good people still remain, but when they retire, who will we have to carry on proper wildlife management of our natural resources?

It makes one wonder.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

How to approach your hunting stand without spooking deer

A truck is the best way to approach a blind. Truck drops off and picks up hunters.

OK, folks, which is the best way to walk to your deer-hunting stand? Skulk along like you are trying to sneak up on the deer or just walk straight-forward without trying to sneak from one tree to the next?

In this country, opinions are like elbows: everyone has at least one. You may disagree with my thoughts, and I may take issue with yours, but we should each respect the other for the right to speak up for their choice.

My vote goes to grabbing the bow and walking directly to the blind. Climb into it, settle down, get ready for deer activity, and it seems to work for me. A deer that may observe me walking along, and ducking into a blind, isn't frightened by my actions. I do nothing to frighten the animal.

Walk with head up, don't look at deep, and don't appear to be sneaking along.

The deer may circle the area, pick up a tiny bit of scent, but not enough to spook them. It goes on about its business without being unduly alarmed. People on foot are common in the deer woods.

A sneaking or skulking hunter, one who tiptoes toward the hunting blind while darting from bush to bush, attracts far more attention from deer. An upright man may cause deer to run off 50 yards and stop in heavy cover to see what happens, and when nothing does, their fear disappears.

A hunter that acts suspicious, and causes deer to become alarmed, do themselves more harm than anything else. They literally drive deer away by their actions.

The sportsman who wishes to reach his blind as quickly as possible, should walk steadily (don't run or sneak), and when he reaches the ground blind, elevated coop or tree stand, should get into position with a minimum amount of noise, sit down and sit still.

Once the hunter reaches his hunting area without incident, disappears from sight into the blind or stand, he is soon forgotten. They don't seem to pose any danger to the deer, and the animals soon revert back to normal feeding patterns.

Climb into position in a tree or open the door to a ground blind. Don't make noise.

A moving pickup truck is always studied by nearby deer, and as long as it moves along steadily and the people inside stay inside when the truck stops, it doesn't unduly frighten the animals.

There are times when a truck can pull up to a blind, a hunter can ease out and get into the stand, and then the truck pulls away. Deer can't count. The truck pulls in, stops for a half-minute, and then moves on. Just don't slam the truck door or make noise getting your gear out of the truck bed.

People may think getting into a stand scares deer. It doesn't as long as everything acts natural and there are no loud and unexpected noises. It's noise that deer might hear a hunter make from inside the blind or from a tree stand that will drive deer crazy. An unexpected sneeze or a cough will trigger the alarm button.

Moving directly to the stand in a normal walking pace is the best way to get there. It's the straight-line rule between two points that is important; providing the sportsman doesn't have to walk through a bedding area.


If deer are seen on the way to the stand, don't stop to look at them, but keep moving forward without breaking stride. Hunters who stop to look at the deer will cause them to snort and alert all other deer in the area.

Ignore any deer and walk at a normal pace to the blind.

A person who ignores the deer and walks at a steady pace to his blind often cause the deer to bound away but they usually do not snort and spook.

This year, just to prove it to yourself, try walking right along without lifting your head or stopping to look at deer, and climb into the stand and sit still. If that doesn't convince you, try sneaking from bush to bush and tree to tree, stopping frequently, and skulking about, and see how often you get snorted at.

You'll soon learn what works best and what does not. It takes many things coming together to make a deer hunt end with a shot at a good buck.

It makes little sense to do anything that may draw attention to your presence on stand. Just walking steadily to a blind makes a great deal of sense to me.

Helping others understand the outdoors

photos & montage by i65design

The author in a pensive mood about the future of outdoor writing.

There are many important things in life, but being a full-time outdoor writer is my profession and that makes me feel good doing what I most enjoy doing.

I'm long past the stage where seeing my name in print is needed to provide an ego stroke. There are other, far more important things in my life ... like helping others understand the outdoors.

This is my 45th year of writing about the great outdoors. I wrote my first magazine article in 1967 and sold it to Sports Afield. The next five stories also were sold to outdoor magazines with another going to Sports Afield.

Success came slowly, and required a great deal of hard work.

Then came two hard years of rejected slips, and as time went on, more and more stories were sold. I began with a goal of writing for each of the Big 3 magazines -- Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield -- and it took four years of hard work to make at least one sale to all three.

My next goal was to sell to as many magazines as possible. That led to sales to well over 300 different magazines before I quit counting, and there has been more than 7,300 published magazine articles since that first one many years ago.

My ultimate goal was to become one of the most widely published outdoor writers ever, and although I no longer strive to fulfill that goal, I am, without meaning to brag, at or very near the top of the heap in terms of magazine articles sold. I worked pretty much full-time for Outdoor Life magazines for more than six years, and one year had over 140 articles published in that magazine alone.

That was then, and I doubt if such sales are possible now. The roster of outdoor magazines has crumpled in some regards, but in the field around which I built my career, the number of outdoor magazines are tumbling. As gas prices soar and car sales level out, advertising revenues have fallen. Magazines that once flourished are sinking fast or have sunk below the sea of advertising losses.

Somewhere along the way, another of my many writing goals was to write books. To date, I've written 25 on fishing and hunting. Thousands of magazine covers and inside black-and-white and color photos have been published over the years.

I've had my own radio outdoor show, appeared on countless television programs with a wide ranging host of outdoor celebrities. I guided trout and salmon fishermen for 10 years, guided bear and deer hunters for four years, and led hunts for bear and caribou.

My travels have taken me all across North America and to within several hundred miles of the North Pole, and as far away as New Zealand. I've fished for, and hunted for, every species of animal, bird or fish that would ever turn my crank.

Gaining credentials and becoming known was an arduous and long path.

I've given thousands of lectures, been a platform speaker for many years, and had a 20-year emcee job at the Detroit Boat & Fishing Show. I've given private and public seminars, and all through my 45 years, I've done what I wanted to do and went where I wanted to go. Like Frank Sinatra once sang: I did it my way.

Out of all of this travel, and after so many outdoor experiences, has come this wealth of work. I count, among my many joys, being an Active and now a Life member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA), as one of the greatest successes in my career.

OWAA became a part of my life in 1968, and I attended my first conference in 1969. I've attended every OWAA conference since 1976 in Snowmass, Colorado, and have chaired or served on perhaps 50 different OWAA committees.

I've been truly honored by having been awarded the Ham Brown Award, OWAA's highest member award, and the Excellence in Craft Award. They also named me a Legendary outdoor Communicator in 2005, and the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame inducted me into their prestigious Hall of Fame in 2006 as a Legendary Communicator.

Guess what? All of this is very important to me, but there is something even more important behind this massive 45-year body of work. It is a very simple personal philosophy: What Goes Around, Comes Around. If you give of yourself, you’ll gain satisfaction and success.

I've given freely of my time all these years to help other writers. I never viewed another writer as a competitor. Every chance I've had to help someone become a better outdoor writer, I've given freely of my time ... without any consideration of pay. OWAA has a Mentor Program, but I'd been mentoring writers for many years before the organization chose to allow some of us graybeards to share our knowledge with others.

Is this sharing of knowledge important? Certainly. It's just as important as having parents or guardians mentor youngsters about fishing and hunting. If we don't teach our children, why would they consider these outdoor pastimes in the near future? The answer is, they won't.

If I, and others, don't give of ourselves to help mentor and teach beginning outdoor writers and sportsmen, who will carry this torch of fishing and hunting freedom and our legacy into the foreseeable future?

I've given of my energy, talent and time to mentor outdoor writers and to mentor children. There no longer is a need for me to make a name for myself. I'm happily content to write my daily weblogs like this one about fishing and hunting, and am equally content to bask in whatever glory has come my way over these many years.

Awards are great but helping others has been my longstanding goal.

But all awards and honors aside, what makes me feel best is to write things people want to read, and to help mentor people who wish to become outdoor writers. Someday, in the future, once my race has been run, all I care for is to be remembered as being a good person, a good parent, a good husband, a good writer, and someone who always stepped forward to help readers understand more about the outdoors.

For me, that would be sufficient. And, I hasten to add this: Remember, that it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

Never guess about tree stand placement

Fall or winter, draw on a buck when he is occupied with feeding. Be patient.

It's a common problem for most deer hunters. They find themselves in unfamiliar territory, and begin trying to puzzle out where to hunt. Which tree will best suit their needs.

Many hunters take a wild flying guess based on minimal input from gazing at trails, and pick a spot. Often, it may look good but in reality, it is a hurry-up and poor guess that will never pay off.

Having said that, we can answer the question of choosing the right tree. I prefer a spot where two or more trails come together to form a main trail. I prefer a cedar tree if possible, but will settle for any tree that fits my needs providing it has some cover (tree branches, leaves, etc.) to break up the hunter's silhouette. It also needs at least two ways to gain access to the tree, and two ways out once the hunting day is done.

It sounds fairly simple but it involves much more thinking than guessing.

I personally prefer deer to approach my stand from behind, and if possible since I'm right-handed, I want the deer coming from behind and on my left side. It enables me to shoot sitting down, and offers both broadside and quartering-away shots, the ones a bow hunter should consider. I don't want the deer coming head-on at me, and I don't want the deer crossing from left to right or right to left in front of me.

Knowing where to hunt is always better than guessing. Knowing comes from a constant familiarity with the area being hunted. Let's put it another way: We travel to Alabama in mid-January when the rut is in full swing, and we hunt on private club land.

Someone acts as a guide, and will drive us to a stand where deer are known to pass, and with some luck, we shoot a buck. If we don't shoot a buck, it means that none were seen, none were of the size we wanted or a buck did show up but didn't offer a chance for an accurate shot. If we see no bucks, one must wonder if it's a good spot. Try to be discreet in asking a guide if the area usually produces bucks. Ask that question firmly, and the guide may question whether you are questioning his judgment. It never pays off to question a guide too strongly. He can make it happen where you won't see a nice buck. Tread softly with this line of questioning.

We will hunt again in the evening, and will be placed in a key location where we should see deer. No one can always make deer move to the hunter, and no one can guarantee that a hunter can and will sit still or see a buck. Guides have a responsibility to try to put their hunters in the best spot, but no one can guarantee that an earlier hunter didn't spook game away.

If we should hunt this way, with others telling us where to hunt, it's a wise move to pay close attention to the terrain in which we hunt. There are always things that offer subtle clues about each location and whether deer are using the area. Look for tracks, rubs, scrapes, feeding or bedding areas, and ask questions in a whisper. Pick a guide's brain because you are paying him to hopefull teach you something about picking tree stand locations.

Look for deer sign. Ask yourself if this looks like good deer country.

Deer often will be found in fringe cover, that area between thick heavy cover and open land. Of course, a ground blind or tree stand may be located anywhere in-between, and it's up to the hunter to learn why one spot is better than another. If hunting in Alabama,, as we suggested at the beginning, you will probably be hunting palmetto swamps near a creek or river. Be sure your stand is high enough to enable you to look over the palmettos because you can't look through them. A deer can move through the ground foliage but it does make some noise so be prepared to listen and look in all directions without moving too much.

One of my favorite spots is on a low hillside near thick cover with heavy cover on three sides with open land on one side. The prevailing wind should blow down through the open cover, and the stand can be cross-wind to approaching deer.

The only way a deer can pick up a hunter's scent here is when the person climbs into or out of the stand. The stand must be high enough on this small hill to blow scent over the surrounding thick cover.

One thing hunters must do is look at terrain the way a deer would look at it. Where is the food source? Where are the key bedding areas? Which trails connect those two key locations? How can deer, especially the larger bucks, travel back and forth without being on trails? I try to stay at least 50 yards back in cover away from the field edge.

Other key factors include:

•How does the wind blow in each location, and does it swirl backwards when hitting a woodline?

•How can a hunter get into and out of the area without bumping into deer?

•Does the hunting area have two or three way to enter and exit to avoid traveling the same route time after time?

•Have a choice of where to enter or leave the stand can help prevent bucks from patterning you.

•Know how to get in and out without spooking deer.

More chances are lost by running into a deer that for any other reason.

Which type of stand is best suited to that area? Which would work best: a ground blind, pit blind, tree stand or elevated coop? How high is high enough for elevated stands?

I've found that a tree stand elevation of 15 to 18 feet is usually high enough under most circumstances. I've got one stand that is close to 30 feet in the air, and it is a consistent producer but steep-angle shots are not a good bet when a hunter must make up his mind in a hurry, and take a quick well-aimed shot.

Many of my stands are at 14-15 feet. That places a standing bow hunter at roughly 20 feet in the air. A stand at 18 feet puts the hunter has roughly 24 feet. Each stand has special requirements, and hunters must solve these problems long before the season opens. Match stand height to the best natural features of a tree.

Hunters will have far better success if they know why a hunting location is the best spot. Guessing implies that one is trusting to luck or fate. With a guess, the hunter will have a 50-50 chance of guessing right.

Of course, this also means a 50-50 chance of guessing wrong. There is nothing worse than a stand that requires hours of effort and time to prepare only to learn it is not in the right spot.

This year, don't guess. Know where the hotspots are long before the season opens. Doing so beats guessing every time.

Buy books for Christmas gifts & shop early

Books like the ones shown here are just an example of some titles available.

I've always been a reader, and when the snow lies deep and heavy and the newspaper isn't delivered on time during the winter, if necessary, I'll read the cereal box while munching on my favorite breakfast flakes.  Besides fishing and hunting, reading is a favorite pastime.

I got stuck once in Galena, Alaska before a moose hunt when my flight couldn't cross the mountains. I'd meant to pick up a novel or two in Anchorage, and was barely able to make my connection. No time to shop for books, and the three days spent in a boarding house at the tune of $250 a day without something to read, nearly drove me nuts.

More people are reading now than in many years. They've given up on the idiotic drivel that passes for television programming, and have gone back to reading which entertains you in your mind through the use of the written word. Don't believe me: check seats on both sides of the aisles on commercial airline flights. Most passengers are reading something.

Shop early for great fishing-hunting books for Christmas gifts.

Which brings me to my shameless self-promotion of Scoop's Books, my website for used and out-of-print or rare books on fishing and hunting. There will be over 400 fishing and hunting titles listed before next weekend, and there are low-priced, mid-range and high-priced books for sale.

I've resisted charging readers to read my daily website, and haven't taken any advertising for the seven years my blog and website has been up, but it takes money to pay the freight. I do this by selling books about fishing and hunting to folks like you who want to learn more about these outdoor persuits, and learning is indeed possible when people read.

There are numerous books about muskie fishing and turkey hunting, two of my specialties, and there are some wonderful buys on trout books, decoy carving, and on many other topics. Many of these books are scarce and expensive, but all are fairly priced.

This listing of 400+ books and some old outdoor magazines comes just in time for Christmas shopping for the angler/hunter in your life. Checking out what is available is only a few keystrokes away.

When you open up my website <www.daverichey.com> you'll come to my Home Page. At the right side of my daily blog is a link to Scoop's Books. Click on my picture, and then click on the fishing and hunting alphabetical book link. The books are listed by last name first, and from A-Z.

Get a 10 percent discount by ordering before Dec. 15. Mention code.

Scroll down through the books or magazines, and the books are listed in alphabetical order according to the author's last name. Each book is accurately described with all necessary information including the book condition and price. People who order books from me must pay with a bank money order (preferable), but I do accept business or personal checks but shipping is delayed until the checks clear my bank.

I advise customers to insure their payment to me  and obtain a delivery confirmation that allows them to track their money, and when books are shipped, I also obtain delivery confirmation, and both parties are protected. Postage fees are $5 for the first book and $3 for each additional title when shipped by Priority Mail. Insurance is extra.

Shipping costs may seem high until you consider the books are insured for full value if paid for in advance, and there is the delivery confirmation which allows shipments to be tracked. Handling sales in this manner is firm proof that I ship what is ordered and paid for.

Here is an alternative to what some may consider high priced books. Pay by bank money order or personal check, and mention my discount code (12-15-10), and I will discount the book price by 10 percent. This does not include postage costs or insurance. The discount is good only through December 15.

Query with me at <dave@daverichey.com> before ordering.

This next step is very important: I advise potential book buyers to query me before ordering at <dave@daverichey.com> to determine if a specific book is still in stock. Often, two or more people order the same book at about the same time, and if it is a one-of-a-kind title, one buyer is satisfied and one is not. A quick email eliminates that problem for both of us, and I'll hold a book for seven days awaiting payment.

Do I handle good books? The answer is yes, but I remind readers that I also offer a free search service for specific titles if they are not in my inventory. Search services are free providing the buyer isn't having other booksellers try to find the same book. Such duplications of effort will make one bookseller happy while ticking off the other sellers.

I try to offer books in the best possible condition, and those conditions (in decreasing order from best to worse) are Mint, Very Fine, Fine, Very Good and Good. I rarely offer such hole-fillers as Fair or Reading Copy, but occasionally a Very Scarce book is offered in these lesser conditions because of their rarity.

I buy books as well, and welcome the chance to consider yours. I prefer buying Fine or better books, and readers can query by giving me the author's name, book title, date of publication, and mention any flaws. I specialize in muskie fishing and turkey hunting books, but cover everything from bass fishing to trout fishing, from antelope to turkey hunting, and almost everything else inbetween.

Keep checking Scoop's Books daily for new additions, and make note of deletions, and let me know if there is a specific fishing or hunting book you need. My books are accurately described and fairly priced.

Books, anyone? Here is your chance to fill Christmas stockings early. Oh, please read the page before the book listings. It is filled with information you should know before ordering. Thanks!

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Hunt natural foods as well

Bow hunters have a deeply ingrained habit. They hunt the food sources.

For many, that means the edge of a corn field where bucks and does move in and out. It could mean a huge soy bean field where deer are conspicuous as the only upright objects in the field.

If you hunt the beechnut trees and the oak flats, and good mast is laying on the ground, this is a pretty good bet as well. Oak mast, and to a lesser degree, beechnuts are a staple in the diet of deer that roam near such nut trees.

There are more deer food than corn, soy beans & other truck crops.

However, many hunters overlook other deer food. The forget about the less common stuff. Years ago I had a stand where I could see deer approaching for 200 yards from their bedding area as they moved to a nearby soy bean field.

The bean field was huge, and there weren't many deer in the area back then, and I had the opportunity to watch this buck come. It took him an hour to reach my stand area only 75 yards from the field.

I had a pit blind next to an uprooted tree, and my pit was in the soft earth ripped up when the tree went down. One side of the root wad hung three feet over my head, and shielded me from the sun and rain, and covered me in shadow.

The buck, one step above a basket rack, fed every night in the beans. This boy was as regular as the 11 o'clock news, and I watched him walk out of the brushy swale where he bedded down. He moved 10 yards out, stopped to browse on something, poked around a bit more, moved closer, and browsed on something else, and with every few steps he would get closer to me and the bean field.

This buck was feeding, and at the time I didn't know what it was. I made up my mind that if I shot the buck that night or didn't shoot it, I was going to learn what that deer was feeding on before he reached the dining table loaded with high-protein soy beans.

He kept coming, and if he stayed his course, he would cross 15 yards from me and offer a quartering-away shot. I relaxed, watched for other deer, but again, there were far fewer deer in those days. Little did I know I would be learning a trick that few people know they know.

Thirty minutes later he nibbled at something, lifted his head, took several more steps and stood, quartering-away and looking off toward the field. It was easy to make my draw, take my time aiming, and make a smooth release.

Watch what natural browse deer eat in your hunting area.

The buck kicked up his back legs, and darted out of there in a panicked 75-yard run before collapsing near the field edge. Two or three does were in the field, and they looked up, studied the area for a moment, and went back to munching soy beans.

That buck taught me more than just about deer feeding in a soy bean field. He could have been heading for an alfalfa, barley, cabbage, clover, corn, oats, potatoes. rape, rye, rye grass, sugar beet, winter wheat or any other farm crop to have dinner. Deer are catholic in their appetite, and will munch on almost anything.

Protein levels are high in clover and legumes, such as soy beans. But a deer's appetite goes far beyond these truck crops. It's some of the wild stuff that grows and that deer eat, that can provide the often overlooked other food source for people to hunt.

Deer make wise use of the aforementioned acorns and beechnuts. They also eat wild apples and pears. There used to be one single pear tree near my home, and a nearby fence row was 15 yards away and it held one gnarly old oak. It didn't produce acorns anymore, but it offered a spot for a tree stand. More than one buck met his fate by coming to eat on the pears.

Deer are often known as random tip browsers. They will nip a bud off a twig here, one over there, and they have a wide range of things they will eat besides farm crops, fruit and nuts.

Some examples of what Michigan deer eat beside truck crops.

Michigan deer will eat balsam, basswood, cherry, dogwood, dwarf sumac, blackberry leaves, black cherry, ground hemlock, orchard grass, red maple, red osier, spruce, tag alder tips, white cedar, wild grapes and the leaves. Many other wild growing weeds also serve as fodder for a browsing whitetail deer.

Find a neighbor who has ornamental shrubs planted around the house, and watch it for a few days in December. You'll soon learn which trails deer use to come to feed on the shrubs, and a savvy bow hunter can set up on them very easy. Stay away from the houses because of Michigan's "safety zone," which is 450 feet, and ambush them as they move down a trail to feed.

Hunters who can locate a wild food source has found the banquet table. Some wild foods are eaten only in the winter, but many are a mainstay at other times of the year.

Learn these foods, spend some time checking for deer movement around these natural food sources, and it can pay off. If deer are slow or reluctant to come to croplands, go looking for wild-growing foods.

It can pay off ... big-time.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors