Tag Archives: Retrievers

Chasing Game Through a New Lens

It would be a fib if I insinuated that the thrills were equal. They’re not.

But there is something about chasing the perfect photo that sparks a fire in me that closely resembles hunting success.

Bobber reflection on the water

Bobber reflection on the water (click photo to enlarge)


My wife commemorated my last birthday with a new D-SLR camera that has more bells and whistles than I remember on my SLR piece long before digital came about. I’ve enjoyed taking all kinds of shots since.

The good news is most of your professional style camera equipment today is fool proof … with limitations. For instance, I’ve been getting pretty solid photos in the first two months I’ve been shooting, but can understand where some of the accoutrements available can improve your shots.

Redheads swimming in their familiar lines on the water

Redheads swimming in their familiar lines on the water


Simply put, you can be as good as your wallet will let you!

Within this post are a few of my early shots with the camera and lenses I currently have. I’ve enjoyed the chase so far, trading my gun for the camera when seasons have gone out, or I’ve taken a hike on a Sunday (when hunting is closed here in NC).

I look forward to sharing more photos, and hope that one day I look at these and make jokes about the infancy of my photo-taking career!

An 8-point not seeming to mind the snow covering his face

An 8-point not seeming to mind the snow covering his face

Mallards in flight

Mallards in flight

My daughter and nephew having fun on a winter day

My daughter and nephew having fun on a winter day

A Greenhead's colors glowing on retrieve

A Greenhead’s colors glowing on retrieve

The familiar curiosity of a mature doe.

The familiar curiosity of a mature doe.

All Business!

All Business!

A winter day's meal

A winter day’s meal

From acorns grow mighty oaks

From acorns grow mighty oaks

Eyes into a best friend's soul

Eyes into a best friend’s soul

Lots o' divers

Lots o’ divers

The kiss

The kiss

Mallards retreat

Mallards retreat

American Widgeon

American Widgeon


Do you have a question?

Questions are amazing. If you think about it, every advance in humanity can pretty much be traced back to a simple question. How are we going to get from point A to point B? Why does my head hurt eight hours after drinking a pint of whiskey? How am I going to communicate with my family 500 miles away? The answers to many of life’s questions can be found in the minds of experts who have helped guide our societal growth.

This guy has a few questions to answer when he gets back to camp! Image borrowed from Ask.com

I’m fortunate enough to work with Ask.com, a website for asking questions and getting answers online. Ask.com is a client. And the cool part about that is I get to pick their proverbial brain to see what’s on the minds of Americans, which gets played back as the top questions asked about a particular topic.

Of course I’m going to ask about the top hunting questions! And for your reading pleasure, I’m going to provide five of the top asked questions about hunting as a part one. Part two will include another five.

I’m going to reveal the question and provide my answer to the question – plus, a bit of commentary with a few! I invite you to go to Ask.com to see what answers it provides!

Who sells the best hunting knife?
I’ve always been a Buck knife fan and carry the same Woodsman (No. 102K) on my hip that my brother Mike bought me almost two decades ago. I also like Gerber hunting knives and usually have one or two of those as a sidekick not too far away when I’m hunting.

How much does hunting permit cost?
I love that Americans are asking this question. Hopefully this means that more people are getting interested in hunting. The answer to this question, obviously, is very state specific. That said, I’ve rarely complained about paying the price to buy my hunting license. I’m a lifetime holder in two states, but typically hunt out of state at least once or twice a year. I’m well aware that it’s hunting license revenues that make the lion’s share of funding for a number of state-funded outdoor programs (I wish more anti-hunters would learn that fact). And because of that, I always feel that I’m doing something good.
Ask.com

What percentage of Americans deer hunt?
This is a great question. And I had to go to Ask.com to get the answer. Just seeing the question on the top questions list piqued my interest. I wish more Americans did participate. That said, the number is impressive.

What choke is best for dove hunting?
It seems to me that the one in my gun on the dove opener each fall is the wrong one! I’ve always had the best luck with a Modified or a Modified-Improved Cylinder. If you’re in a really good spot, that the doves really want to work, then I’m a fan of Improved Cylinder.

What are some good exercises to help train my hunting dog?
This question likely is asked so often by Americans just venturing into the world of owning a retriever, or respective hunting dog. This is where I would recommend that any new hunting dog owner purchase “The 10-Minute Retriever” by John and Amy Dahl. It is a fantastic, time-relevant book that helps lay a foundation for making your family floor rug into a suitable hunting companion. There are lots of exercises out there for training your dogs, but the ones in the Dahls’ book are some of the favorites of trainers around the world.

This is part one of a two-part entry that looks into the top questions about hunting – as posed by Americans at question and answer site Ask.com