Hunting
Great Northern Outdoors brings you all the hunting the Upper Midwest has to offer, whether your game is white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, ducks, geese or small game like rabbits and squirrels. Through articles, videos, expert tips and more, we try to bring the outdoors right to your fingertips.
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Featured Articles
Tips for making your waterfowl bounty more enjoyable
February 16, 2012 by www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net
It’s the end of a long (OK, it’s never really long enough, is it?) waterfowl season, and if you’ve been some combination of lucky and good there are plenty of tasty morsels in your freezer. Use them!
Add Missouri to CWD-positive states
January 29, 2012 by www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net
Chronic Wasting disease has been discovered in two free-ranging deer killed by hunters in Macon County, Mo., just across that state's border with Iowa. The infected deer were killed near a high-fence hunting preserve where two captive animals tested positive for CWD in the fall of 2011.
Region's gray wolves no longer endangered, U.S. says
December 21, 2011 by www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes region have recovered and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing a final rule in the Federal Register removing wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in portions of adjoining states, from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants.
Guess who's coming to dinner (gut pile edition)?
December 19, 2011 by www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net
Ever wonder exactly who makes the gut pile you left in the woods disappear? We have, so we put a trail cam on one. This is what we found.
Season over? Hardly
November 21, 2011 by Tony Hansen
For many hunters in the Midwest, the rut is dwindling and gun seasons are winding down. There are fewer bucks left now and those that have made it through are about as reclusive as it gets. Season over, right? Hardly. The key is food. Find it and you've found the deer.
Make the best of your gun opener
November 10, 2011 by Tony Hansen
For most of the Midwest, firearms deer season is about to begin. Here are Tony Hansen's top five tips for making the most of opening day.
Beating the lull: Mid-October can still produce
October 24, 2011 by Tony Hansen
The "October lull" is a very real phenomenon. After the first 10 days or so of the archery season, the action seems to drop considerably and things stay relatively slow until about Halloween when rutting action begins to pick up. But the deer are still out there. If you place yourself in the correct spot at the correct time, you can fill your tag during the middle of October.
What's new in the deer woods
October 8, 2011 by Dave Spratt
Each bow season, if all goes well, we tromp into the woods with some sweet new gear. Sometimes it's an updated product that's light years ahead of the old model. Or something that makes us more effective hunters. Or maybe it just keeps us more comfortable on stand. Here's one guy's view of this year's additions.
Early-season deer tips
September 27, 2011 by Tony Hansen
It is on. Archery deer season, that is. Many Midwestern states have already started; others kick in this weekend. Here are some tips for the early archery season.
Bow season is coming, so get yourself right
August 19, 2011 by Dave Spratt
You may have noticed in between swatting mosquitoes and scratching where you missed that the archery deer season is just a few weeks off. Between youth seasons, antlerless-only, disease prevention et al, in many states it's possible to start hunting deer right around the middle of September. That‘s a month from now.
Sporting clays keep your wingshooting skills sharp
June 22, 2011 by Dave Spratt
Shooting sporting clays throughout the off-season doesn’t only keep your shooting skills sharp for the fall. It also hones your trash-talking skills when you watch your buddies miss. Renowned competitive shooter Jim Siudara offers these tips for keeping sharp during the off season.
Bears keep showing up in unlikely places
June 15, 2011 by Dave Spratt
Bear sightings have become increasingly common in more suburban and agricultural areas across the Great Lakes. In the past several years road-killed bears have been reported in Toledo, Ohio and Flint, Michigan; in 2008 a police officer shot one in southern Michigan's Battle Creek. Similar stories have come from the southern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and even Iowa.
Michigan lifts ban on deer baiting
June 10, 2011 by www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Thursday voted 4-3 to lift the current deer baiting and feeding ban in the state’s
Move to cover, keep deer near
May 13, 2011 by Dave Spratt
Many deer hunters know how to attract deer with food sources such as food plots. But with techniques such as hinge cutting, timber stand improvement and strategic shrub plantings, you can supplement those ever-important food attractions by providing thick cover as well. And if you do it right, you can see that those deer you’re working so hard to attract have very little reason to leave at all.
Late season can be a great season
May 13, 2011 by Tony Hansen
It has been a strange spring, cold and wet and relatively turkey free. That's the bad news. The good news is that there are still plenty of turkeys out there -- maybe even more than if past three weeks had been more seasonable.
Make mistakes in the turkey woods. Then learn from them.
April 22, 2011 by Tony Hansen
Failure in the turkey woods is the norm. Success is the rarity. That's what makes these confounding birds so darned fun to hunt.
It's almost turkey season: Scout right
April 9, 2011 by Tony Hansen
Let’s be honest here: You have to be a little bit of a fanatic to tangle with those three-toed antagonists known as wild turkeys. Those birds are are extremely sharp-eyed and wary. They can frustrate you to no end, which makes the satisfaction of success both well-earned and immense.
Turkey calling 101
April 9, 2011 by www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net
Magic to calling turkeys? Not really. But knowing when -- and when not to -- can mean the difference between success and failure in the turkey woods. Tony Hansen tells what he knows.
Is November 15 truly sacred?
March 25, 2011 by Dave Spratt
November 15. If you’re a Michigan deer hunter you need no further explanation. It’s the holy day, the day already circled, around which all other vacation time is built. But is it truly sacred?
What's so bad about baiting?
March 4, 2011 by Dave Spratt
Michigan's Natural Resources Commission plans to re-open the baiting issue next week, two-and-a-half years after a baiting ban was issued in the Lower Peninsula in summer of 2008. The ban was prompted by the discovery of chronic wasting disease in a captive deer in Kent County. Since then no Michigan deer have tested positive for CWD, and the right to bait has been an ongoing controversy. Here is an article about baiting that GNO published in 2009.
Michigan to revisit baiting ban
March 4, 2011 by www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net
Michigan’s baiting discussion is back on the table, two-and-a-half years after the state’s Natural Resources Commission banned baiting and feeding of deer in the Lower Peninsula after a captive deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in August 2008.
Michigan putting hunter teams together to talk deer
February 14, 2011 by Dave Spratt
The Michigan DNR is right now assembling three regional deer advisory teams — one each for the Upper Peninsula, the northern Lower Peninsula and southern Michigan. Their job is to analyze the facts, sort out the opinions and decide what’s best for Michigan’s deer and deer hunters.
Young hunter a whiz at finding sheds
January 21, 2011 by Paul Cashman
Imagine a hunt where your quarry can't see you coming. Nor can it hear, smell or feel your presence. Even if it could, it can't run away. Just how hard would that be? Well, ask anyone who has tried shed hunting.
When the deer tags are used up, rabbits await
January 7, 2011 by Bob Gwizdz
It used to be that Midwestern hunters cut their teeth on rabbits. Once described as "the big game of small boys," rabbits offered youngsters an excellent opportunity for beginning hunters. Almost ubiquitous, they're perfect for neophytes: They can be taken, easily enough, with a small-bore shotgun or a .22, and if a hunter misses, well, there's usually another rabbit as near as the next brush pile.
Michigan moose season? Not so fast
December 28, 2010 by Dave Spratt
It’s true that the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1013 authorizing moose as a game species in Michigan, and that in her final week as governor, Jennifer Granholm signed it into law. It’s also true that there could very well be a Michigan moose hunting season in the near future. But 2011? Forget it.
One guide's guide to late-season geese
December 21, 2010 by Dave Spratt
Unlike many recent years, this December blew in cold and the winter weather hasn’t seemed too interested in lightening up across the Upper Midwest. That means frozen lakes and snowy fields, and with late goose seasons under way, you can make those conditions work for you.
Dad, daughter, deer. BIG deer.
December 20, 2010 by Jeff Kunkel
Jeff Kunkel and his daughter Emily, both of Hillsdale, Mich., decided to jump across the border to Indiana for the last day of that state's firearm season. Boy, are they glad they did.
Hunters have recourse against harassment
December 12, 2010 by Dave Spratt
Ohio's hunter harassment laws prohibit anyone from deliberately altering animal behavior in an effort to prevent someone from hunting. But the laws are difficult to enforce, because the DNR is understaffed, evidence is hard to come by, and often the aggrieved party is a neighbor who doesn’t want war with someone they have to live with 365 days a year. But it's not impossible, especially if the aggrieved hunter is committed to helping stop it.
Hunt smart for late-season pheasants
December 12, 2010 by Paul Cashman
Now that it's later in the pheasant season and the birds are getting harder to find, there are a few things that can make your chances a lot better for bagging a rooster. Here are a few tips for bagging late-season birds.
Welcome to the family, sort of
November 29, 2010 by Dave Spratt
This year Dick Kipp invited Brian VanDorsten, his new son-in-law, to hunt his southern Michigan property. But he admits he had mixed feelings when VanDorsten arrowed the buck of a lifetime and it turned out to be the same one Kipp had his heart set on.
Boar goes down under Michigan's 'just shoot 'em' law
October 18, 2010 by Dave Spratt
Dave Steinbach hunts waterfowl and deer, and he’ll tell you straight up he’s a long-gun kind of guy. But when he stuck a bolt from his crossbow into a 350-pound boar, he wished his arsenal was just a little bit bigger. "I was thinking 'Man, I wish I had a handgun.'" But there was no need for worry: Steinbach’s bolt had flown true and taken out the boar’s heart. And Steinbach went down as one of the first hunters to take out a wild boar under Michigan’s new “Just Shoot ‘em” law.
Semple Foundation for Hope: 'Not just a name'
October 14, 2010 by Dave Spratt
The Tony Semple Foundation for Hope was founded by the former NFL player five years ago to give terminally ill and severely disabled young people a chance to break free from their disabilities and enjoy the outdoors with an all-expenses-paid hunting trip. This year nine kids took the journey of a lifetime.
No doubt: Deer patterns change in wolf country
September 1, 2010 by Dave Spratt
It's reasonable to think wolves in Michigan's Upper Peninsula eat something like 15,000-20,000 whitetails a year. That leaves plenty of deer roaming the U.P., but reports from north woods hunters are nothing if not consistent: As wolf numbers increase they see fewer deer. And no one is suggesting otherwise.
Scientists question 'short-stopping' migrating waterfowl
August 5, 2010 by Dave Spratt
Waterfowl biologists are expressing some skepticism over a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service plan to "shortstop" waterfowl to keep the birds from reaching the oil-fouled Gulf of Mexico when their migration begins in the coming weeks. Their chief concern: Flooding thousands of acres of grain fields across eight states will attract dabblers and offer little benefit to the diver ducks that prefer the bigger waters of the gulf -- where the potentially harmful oil is.
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See All Educational Outdoors 101
Hunting 101: Bullet caliber
Caliber measures the diameter of a bullet -- the projectile that flies from the barrel of a gun when it is fired. How fast it flies and how hard it hits depends on how much gunpowder propels it.
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