You are miles from your truck trying to fill your last deer tag, or shed-hunting, or maybe just hiking in the snowy woods or mountains. Suppose you get turned around and it’s getting dark, or you slip and fall into a frozen stream…? At the very least you will be cold and miserable; at the very worst you could die. Never venture outside in the winter without an emergency fire plan. Fire Gear These essentials weigh next to nothing; carry them in a waterproof pouch in your pack. Butane lighter: Old school was to carry some waterproof matches in a Baggie, and I still do that sometimes. But better is to pack a modern survival lighter, like the Cabela’s Alaskan Outfitter. It [...]

From Mississippi Sportsman: There’s just something about intuition and deer hunting that seem to go hand in hand… Or, in the case of Matt Moss, trusting your gut to hunt a certain stand for no particular reason — only to kill a buck that measured more than 216 inches Boone and Crockett, making it a potential Top 10 buck in Mississippi's Magnolia Records. Click here to read the full story of how this med student killed the 3-beamed giant. Way to go Matt, love those southern monster bucks! Lesson: Yes, it often pays to go with your gut when hunting big deer.

From our friend and fellow Virginia hunter Alex Brown: Hey Mike: Love your show and BIG DEER blog! I’ve attached a picture of my daughter with her first buck. Mattie just started hunting last year and was successful on her very first hunt when she connected on a big doe on youth day. This year she set her sights on killing her first buck. Mattie finally got her chance on January 2. She killed the buck in Charlotte County, VA with a 20-gauge slug. The second picture is my 10-year-old son, Will, with his bear that he killed this year on youth day also in Charlotte County. Needless to say, I am very proud of both of them!---Thanks, Alex Great [...]

Fantastic guest blog from our friend Wren, who hunts the brush country of South Texas: Mike, had to share with you. My wife, Susan, shot her first animal ever one morning last week. The buck gross-scored 120 3/8 and we aged him at 7.5 based on right jaw tooth wear. Back in October, Susan shot a rifle for the first time when we began practicing at the range. She started out with a Ruger .22 LR at 50 yards, and then we moved up to a Remington Mohawk in .222. She shot the black bull’s-eye out at 100 yards with it. We eased her up to my .25-06, practiced some more and went hunting in December. We spotted the buck one day last [...]

My most cherished firearm is a Browning Belgium Auto-5 that my grandpa, Pop, left to me when he passed 40 years ago. This story from Gary really hit home with me: Hey Mike: I really enjoy your TV show and the way you tell the story. I am going to share with you an incredible true story that just unfolded within the last year. Last year I reconnected with an old friend on Facebook; the last time I had seen her was roughly 1975. Her parents and mine used to be friends many years ago. In fact our dads used to deer hunt together, roughly 45 years ago. My dad, brother and I deer hunted for many years together, until my [...]