Ross Bielema - Outdoors

Huddle up at outdoors shows and indoors dreaming

Published by admin on Sat, 01/18/2020 - 12:00pm

Green Bay Packers fans will be glued to their TV screens Sunday, hoping their beloved Pack takes home the NFC championship.

“Inside the Huddle,” a popular show for Packers fans on a local TV station, shares the inside story on the players, plays and anecdotes that make our home team the stuff of legend.

Local bird count mimics declining worldwide numbers

Published by admin on Fri, 01/10/2020 - 10:00am

Birds are everywhere, and I never stop marveling at these colorful animals that can effortlessly fly away into the skies when danger threatens.

I think all of us envy the freedom of birds, although their short lives are far from easy.

While deer hunting recently from a ground blind, one of my favorite birds came close for a brief visit. He never knew I was there, but I quickly snapped a few photos to remember my encounter with the crow-sized bird known as the pileated woodpecker.

Stock up on clearance gear and reading materials for 2020 adventures

Published by admin on Sat, 01/04/2020 - 8:00am

In that gap between Christmas and New Year’s comes the special time of year when we reflect on the blessings and hardships of the past year and the promises of better things to come in the new year.

It’s also a time to take advantage of those big clearance sales at the sporting goods stores and buy what we really want with our Christmas money, or at least put a few more things on our already stretched credit cards.

DNR biologist offers views on low gun season harvest

Published by admin on Sat, 12/28/2019 - 11:37am

A recent Deer & Deer Hunting magazine article citing research that wolves killed more deer in a few northern counties than firearms deer hunters this season has fueled sportsmen’s calls for a wolf season, but also has state biologists questioning the numbers.

The larger question is, why was the 2019 firearms deer season harvest the lowest in 39 years?

Study: Drop deer in their tracks with a shoulder shot

Published by admin on Sat, 12/21/2019 - 8:00am

Deer are powerful animals, and their will to live sometimes seems to defy the laws of nature and physics.

Most of us veteran deer hunters have seen fatally shot deer run 100 yards or even more. These animals are literally dead on their feet, but still they move. And this instinctive survival mode creates two problems.

Hunter, angler recruitment gets help from state grants

Published by admin on Fri, 12/13/2019 - 10:00am

Our sport’s in trouble, sure, but what are you going to do about it?

Hunting’s been on the decline for decades now. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there were 11.5 million hunters in the nation in 2016, or about 4 percent of the population. Hunting numbers peaked in 1982, when there were about 17 million hunters.

Field dressing’s toughest task may be unnecessary

Published by admin on Sat, 12/07/2019 - 8:00am

The dust is settling on another Wisconsin gun deer season, and as always, there are two general discussion camps: Where are all the deer or what a great season it was.

My able-bodied sports editor said he had the first discussion covered. No matter how many deer are ultimately harvested, I’ve never had a season I didn’t enjoy. I hope that’s the case for you, too.

Extend deer season with muzzleloading rifle

Published by admin on Wed, 11/27/2019 - 2:03pm

Thousands of Wisconsin deer hunters will be wrapping up their 2019 season this weekend, but for those of us who use muzzleloading rifles, the fun’s just begun.

While many will be packing away their semi-autos, bolt-actions and lever-actions after Sunday’s hunt, blackpowder hunters will be gearing up for 10 more days of deer hunting, Dec. 2-11.

The magic of gun deer hunting begins Saturday

Published by admin on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 4:37pm

Saturday's the day thousands of us deer hunters have been waiting for and preparing for the past few weeks and even months. Opening day is magical, and with every early-morning shot, our pulses increase and we glance through the trees, waiting for that flash of brown and white.

State biologists tell us there are 1.8 million deer running through the forests, woodlots and swamps of Wisconsin, but we only want a crack at one. Maybe it will be the biggest buck of our life, or maybe just a fat doe for the freezer, but it will be special.

Wisconsin gears up for gun deer season

Published by admin on Thu, 11/14/2019 - 2:41pm

There’s a wooden, covered box about 3 feet square now sitting at the corner of state Highway 96 and County Road W in Readfield, just waiting for hunters to drop off their deer hides.

It’s a project of the Medina-Dale-Readfield Lions Club, which does various community projects with money raised from the deer hides.

That worn wooden box is just one example of something you wouldn’t find in most states. Thankfully, Wisconsin isn’t like most states when it comes to deer season.