Since moving to Nebraska, my husband and I have taken up ice fishing. We didn’t have many opportunities for the sport in southern Illinois, and so far we have learned a lot -- including a lot through through trial and error. Honestly though, I dislike winter. No, I take that back...I hate winter! I don’t like the cold or being cold. Yet, some of my favorite activities, including ice fishing, require it! To help others that are interested in getting into ice fishing, I’ve crea

INGREDIENTS Meat and Marinade 1 full venison back strap/loin 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar Garlic Cinnamon (small amount otherwise it will become over powering) Salt Pepper 1/4 cup red wine of your preference Sauce 1 bottle of red wine (personal preference) 1 box of fresh blackberries 1 stick of butter Rosemary Garlic 1/4 cup raw honey Cornstarch (optional) DIRECTIONS Slice the back strap/loin into steak sized slices. Place into marinade for 2 to 24 hours. Roughly 45 minutes to an

Last winter I was invited on a goose hunt, while I had many options of shotguns I could borrow, I decided to buy my own. Naively, I thought I could go to the gun counter of a big box store and get some help from an expert. I went to one, asked the guy behind the counter about fit and he said, oh they just all fit…fantastic. I swallowed my pride and asked a friend who is a gunsmith to show me how to fit a shotgun. Not all of us are lucky to have someone knowledgeable to ta

Pulled BBQ is definitely a favorite, and can be made with ingredients most people have on had. I made this recently just using ingredients I had, and was impressed with how well it turned out. SLAW 1 bag of Shredded slaw or 1 head cabbage and 2-4 carrots 1 cup Mayonnaise 2 tbsp Vinegar 2 tbsp Sugar Amounts of dressing ingredients can be adjusted to suit taste but always use the same amount of vinegar as sugar. Directions Shred cabbage and carrots into a bowl. Mix mayonnaise,

It’s pretty much inevitable that at some point, every hunter will make a mistake in the field. Whether it’s a bad shot that just injures an animal, putting yourself or someone else at risk, accidentally ending up on private lands or misjudging and taking a shot at something you shouldn’t. Mistakes have consequences, and hopefully will turn into learning opportunities. The actions you take afterwards can mean the difference between being an ethical hunter or flirting with lega