One time I guided a young man named Jimmy who made a fine shot a nice buck. As the deer wobbled and pitched over dead, he looked at me and started hollering and shaking his fist, “He’s down, he’s down…!” Yes, I can see that. As we walked up to the deer, Jimmy strutted round and round, pumping his fist and screaming, “Yeah, yeah, hell yeah!” Like he was performing an end zone dance in a football game. I thought he might spike his rifle any minute. Okay, now that is enough. I took the gun from Jimmy and double checked that it was unloaded. Jimmy is a good “kid,” 20 something, but he had watched too many hunting shows [...]

 I enjoy a cold beer or a sip of Crown after a long day of hunting as much as anyone, and I can assure you I’m not some old fuddy-duddy. But I do have a big problem with hunters who drink long and hard into the night in deer camp. I know you’re on your fall vacation and cutting loose and all that, but man you’ve got be cool about it. There are happy drunks, and then there are loud and obnoxious ones that can turn a good time into a nightmare around the fire pit. Overserved strangers can fuss and argue, and even good buddies can get into a pissing match or worse. One time in a camp I [...]