The Traveling Wingshooter

The pheasant picture is one of long-term (CRP decline) and short-term (weather) storylines. The shrinking CRP footprint has been well-documented, perhaps to the point of exhaustion, but the [...]

The buzz in the upland gamebird world is coming out of one of the Lake States, and it has to do with a buzzing insect. Turns out the much-anticipated increase in the ruffed grouse cycle didn’t [...]

by Dave Smith  This update to our 2018 Upland Gamebird Hunting Forecast incorporates the results of late summer upland bird population surveys. This final piece of data measures recruitment of [...]

The Texas quail explosion is underway! Habitat plus rain equals quail. Four years ago, at the peak of a horrendous drought, Texas hunters experienced the worst quail hunting imaginable and [...]

The 2015 desert quail boom materialized, as projected, as a spectacular year for quail hunters in New Mexico. As such, anticipation was high for back-to-back bumper crops of Gambel’s, scaled, and [...]

The sleepers may be the destinations for prairie grouse and Huns in 2016. That prognosis stems from continued dismal sharp-tailed grouse production in North Dakota, the premier sharptail [...]

RUFFED GROUSE POPULATIONS IN THE LAKE STATES APPEAR TO BE ON THE LONG-ANTICIPATED RISE IN THEIR 10-YEAR CYCLE. MINNESOTA’S RUFFED GROUSE SPRING DRUMMING COUNTS WERE UP 18 PERCENT STATEWIDE THIS [...]

The 2016 chukar hunting story in a single word: Nevada! Once a decade or so, things turn just right with a combination of a mild winter, nice winter green-up, and good moisture throughout the [...]

by Dave Smith Chukar production picture hinges largely on winter precipitation and green-up. As of March in the premier chukar destination state of Nevada, the situation appeared bleak to Shawn [...]