So you didn't get drawn this year...how to still have a great year hunting.

So you didn't get drawn this year...how to still have a great year hunting.

Every hunter knows the agony and anticipation of draw day. You've done all your research, triple-checked your applications and credit card info, and have the day of the official Game & Fish draw marked on your calendar. That day comes, and you spring out of bed to check your bank account...no hits yet. You come back a little later...and a little later...hit refresh a couple times...still nothing. Then you start seeing social media posts popping up with ecstatic dudes proclaiming their card just got hit and they are going (insert your dream animal) hunting this year. When the dust settles, your account remains untouched by your local Wildlife Management Bureau, and you accept the horrifying truth that you did not draw a tag this year. You now have the option of putting all your gear into long-term storage and giving up, or adapting and finding ways to still get into the field and put meat (of some sort) in the freezer this year. 

Test your gear...the wilderness is no place to realize it doesn't work!

Test your gear...the wilderness is no place to realize it doesn't work!

We've all been there: miles from civilization, weather and/or darkness moving in, the animal just stepped into range, and it's the moment you envisioned when you chose/purchased/packed that one piece of gear. You go to set it up, or take the shot...and you realize it doesn't work! Or, doesn't work like you thought it would, and you're going to have to improvise. Or, you miss the shot opportunity and never see that bull or buck again. It's almost part of the outdoors initiation process, but it's also one of the easiest situations to avoid...just test your gear beforehand!!! In this article, we will look at three key pieces of gear that we often don't test (at least not as rigorously as we should), and hopefully identify some things to look before before even making a purchase so we end up with better, more effective gear in the first place.

Glock Mag Release Upgrade...because slow could make you dead!

Glock Mag Release Upgrade...because slow could make you dead!

So, you've decided to carry a gun because you realized the world is a dangerous place, crazy people do heinous crap, and you couldn't bear the thought of something happening to your loved ones because you were not prepared to stop it. Great! Now, because you're a frugal man (or woman), you picked up a Gen 3 Glock 19 because - let's face it - that's been a tried and true daily carry weapon for eons now, and you can snag one much cheaper now that Glock is all the way up to Gen 5. Man, you're a friggin' genius!!! So, you take all your new fancy gun paraphernalia down to the range to start training, and you are loving it! The gun performs flawlessly, it's nice and accurate, your groups are tightening up with every magazine downrange..."man, this is the best decision I have ever made," you think to yourself. And then, you decide it's time to practice some emergency reloads. And that's when the first negative thought about your new favorite gun appears in your mind: "Could this mag release button be any smaller/hard to reach/impossible to find under pressure?!?!" You realize that if you're fumbling around with your thumb, adjusting your grip on the gun six ways 'til Sunday just to release the spent mag while at the range, there is little chance you're going to find it in the middle of a life or death situation when your adrenaline spikes and your fine motor skills take an inconvenient vacation. You're gonna need to remedy that small flaw in an otherwise "perfect" weapon. 

Fathers be good to your daughters...they desperately need you!!!

Fathers be good to your daughters...they desperately need you!!!

Then it happened - my wife delivered our third child, I looked down as the doctor cradled the gooey infant in her arms, and I blurted out "it's a girl." I was wrecked!!! I knew instantaneously that there is something wildly different about a daughter to the heart of a father. Don't get me wrong: I love my boys more than anything, but that little girl has melted my heart in a way I never thought possible. From the moment she entered my life, she has been slowly destroying me in the best ways possible.

Shoe Shine Near Me - It doesn't get any closer than home (DIY Guide)

Shoe Shine Near Me - It doesn't get any closer than home (DIY Guide)

I have known for years that I needed to get around to shining my favorite boots before they were worn and dried out beyond repair, but didn't have the supplies and was afraid of ruining the most expensive shoes I own. As it turns out, the process was remarkably simple, required a very minimal investment, and the boots look far better than I thought a simple shining would accomplish. More than that, I found it to be an incredibly gratifying and therapeutic process. It forces you to slow down, focus, and connect with generations of men long past that engaged in this task on a regular basis simply because they were men and that was something men did. I plan to shine my boots regularly now, just because it brings me joy. Alright, enough shoe philosophy (sholosophy?), here's how to shine your boots!

Hunting with your wife...romantic weekend or instant divorce?

Hunting with your wife...romantic weekend or instant divorce?

Inside EVERY man is still a 12 year old boy who wants to go on an adventure, to play in the dirt, and he wants to do that with the people he likes the most (that's you). And in much the same way that boys on the playground don't understand that pulling a girl's hair doesn't communicate affection the way they intend it to, men are not always sensitive to the fact that guys and girls tend to like different adventures. We can't fully fathom why a week in the woods chasing animals wouldn't seem like the best time ever to the woman that we love, in the same way you can't fully understand why a Saturday at a farmer's market makes him want to gouge his eyes out with a rusty spoon. It's a wiring issue...we're just built differently.

To Carry or not to Carry...that is the 2nd Amendment Question

To Carry or not to Carry...that is the 2nd Amendment Question

Most concealed carriers aren’t renegade cowboys or wannabe Navy SEALS; we aren’t overly paranoid and convinced terrorists are going to take over a small Montana town like in Red Dawn. We have simply come to the conclusion that “it could never happen here” is one of the most dangerous things a person can think. We have accepted the harsh reality that “it” could happen anywhere! I live in a fairly nice suburb with terrifically low crime statistics, and the odds are that I will never have to draw my gun in self-defense as long as I live. I truly hope and pray that is the case! But I refuse to let that lull me into a false sense of security where the one in a million actually happens, and I have no way to effectively protect myself, my family or other innocent human beings.

"I could never do that" (and other lies we tell ourselves)

"I could never do that" (and other lies we tell ourselves)

Here is what I have come to believe: that is total horse-crap! For just about anyone in just about any situation, the "I could never do that because..." fallacy is total garbage. It's a lie your brain (and I would argue, the devil) tells you to protect you from the discomfort associated with change. Even if you're not happy with the status quo, change ALWAYS brings unpleasantness of some form, and so our brains work to keep us stuck where we are because it's familiar and comfortable. How many dudes live quiet lives of desperation because there is some dream in their mind that they have convinced themselves could never be a reality?

We're going on a bear hunt...

We're going on a bear hunt...

We had been in the wilderness all of 5 minutes when Hendric jumped up and proclaimed he had just sat on a cactus. Sure enough, a small prickly pear near our tent had escaped his notice, and he had literally sat on it. Of all the fun dad jobs I've ever had to take on, pulling cactus spines one at a time out of your son's bare butt cheeks is up there with one of the most bizarre. (For the record, this would be one of three encounters he'd have with a cactus over the next 24 hours..."watch where you're going" is the most repeated lesson he learned on this trip)

A strong man is harder to kill and more useful in general.

A strong man is harder to kill and more useful in general.

As a man, if someone tells you that you are too weak (especially too weak to simply hold your skeleton together) it drives you to change. I immediately began researching strength training programs, got a gym membership, and got to work! Now, if you've ever perused the internet for fitness advice, you're surely aware that there are more opinions than there are brands of overly priced yoga pants (what is LuLu Lemon, anyway?!). Not only that, all the opinions contradict each other. Muscle confusion, hypertrophy, sets of 5 or 8 or 10 or 30, cardio is awesome, cardio will kill you, squats are the best, squats will kill you...it's a nightmare!!! Eventually, all that advice becomes overwhelming, you fart around the gym for a couple months, progress and motivation stall, and you quit working out but keep paying for the gym promising yourself you'll go back next Monday. Ever been there?