MINNEAPOLIS — The problem with pulling a trigger is that you can’t unpull it — a lesson some hunters learn the hard way.

Excited to raise your shotgun in the direction of what you think is a snow goose, only to find out the bird you killed is a protected trumpeter swan?

Too late, once you’ve pulled the trigger.

Think that late-...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — On a recent Sunday morning, Carrie Schmitz and her family were cruising to church in Golden Valley when they spotted an enormous buck lying dead in the highway median. Her three children went wild at the sight of its massive antlers, shouting dubiously that it must have been a “30-pointer.”

About an hour and a half later, at...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A deer hunter admitted he messed up and bagged a moose, whose population is a far cry from what it was in Minnesota two decades ago, according to a criminal complaint filed last Wednesday.

Dane Landon Nelson, 37, of Duluth, was charged in St. Louis County District Court with illegally taking the moose, a gross misdemeanor, while...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The brook trout, the only species of trout native to Connecticut, will soon be getting a minimum size limit to harvest for the first time in over 70 years.

Officials with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are placing more protections on the fish after monitoring revealed a declining population. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Last month, Erv Berglund leveled his scoped handgun in the direction of a whitetail buck on northern Minnesota land his dad bought in 1933.

Only scantily populated with deer, the property is about 60 miles south of the Canadian border. Aspen, spruce, birch, fir and black ash cover its higher ground, and swamp frames the rest.

...Read more

PITTSBURGH — At the end of one of Angler Fishing Club's expeditions on Lake Carnegie — jaunts during which the Pittsburgh volunteer organization provides fishing equipment and lessons free of charge — a young girl realized her passion for the sport.

"I want to go fishing all the time now," she said.

"Then tell your mom or dad that you ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Behind a kaleidoscope of archery ribbons and medals at KJ's Pro Archery in Greene County, Pa., Kevin "KJ" Polish plots a massive breakfast and dinner feast for the opening of buck hunting season.

Bacon, sausage, ham, onion and peppers start sizzling at 4:30 a.m. Saturday for about a dozen people who will be hunting on his ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — If you listened to those who knew Bud Joseph, he’d roll over in his grave about what was happening to his historic boat landing on the Mississippi River near Hastings.

Cherished by duck hunters since the 1930s as a safe place to launch their boats, the site recently won approval to be developed as a county “use area” for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — If you’re a farmer, cutting corn is a prelude to taking the crop to market and selling it for cash.

But if you’re a hunter and you cut corn in a way that helps you kill a deer, or might help you kill a deer, the practice doesn’t pay.

It costs.

A lot.

Welcome to modern deer baiting, an illegal practice as old as the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s peak deer season ended last Sunday with a plentiful harvest that assured state wildlife biologists that whitetail populations are still rebounding and being kept in check by hunters.

The final tally for the nine-day, statewide firearms season was 123,634 whitetails, up 8% from a year ago and comfortably ahead of ...Read more

WACONIA, Minn. – As light drained from the sky, conservation officer Alexander Birdsall bumped along in his Silverado 2500, crisscrossing isolated farm fields and patrolling for trouble.

His focus west of town was “outlaw area,” as he called it. This time of year, shining deer and shooting from this stretch of gravel are common offenses, ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut hunters generate around $1.6 million in revenue for the state, yet despite relatively steady hunting license sales over the past few years, finding a hunting spot can still be a problem for many sportsmen.

According to the financial ranking site 247WallSt, Connecticut comes in at No. 45 on their list of states ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Forest Industries executive vice president Rick Horton gave me a strong counterpoint to the views expressed in my Oct. 31 column, which highlighted the charge by some retired Department of Natural Resources experts that the agency is managing the state’s wildlife management areas “to satisfy the logging industry.”...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina hunters are killing more black bears than ever as restrictions are eased on stalking and shooting the animals, a trend that concerns animal welfare groups but one that reflects state efforts to preserve the sport and keep the bear population in check.

Since 2000, sportsmen have killed more than 2,200 bears in ...Read more