On average, the Reynolds family freezer winds up with some venison about every other year. The math has been surprisingly consistent over the past 50 years. Having been skunked in 2015, this past fall was to be the year to get out the Food Saver and the meat grinder. But it didn’t get off to […]
V. Paul Reynolds
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Outdoors in Maine: Backtracking on the year that was
The New Year is almost always a welcome event, even if we are all a year older. The slate is clean. As we look ahead, it’s a lot like a field of virgin snow. As we move on, the tracks we leave will take us to unseen ground. Move on, yes. But don’t forget to […]
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Outdoors in Maine: The future of wildlife management is in good hands
Every year at about this time, at all of New England’s land grant colleges, a few members of the New England Outdoor Writer’s Association (NEOWA) visit the wildlife departments of these respective colleges with a mission: to award scholarships. These scholarships are substantial. At each college, one scholarship is awarded to an outstanding wildlife ecology […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Blood Trackers track down wounded deer
Most deer hunters will sooner or later in their hunting careers wound a deer and not recover it. It happens. The causes differ. A rushed shot. Buck fever. A gun with an inadequate caliber. A bullet’s impact or trajectory compromised by a tree limb. Often, particularly with inexperienced hunters, shots at a deer are taken […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Still deer hunting, after all these years
Back when America produced real leaders, one of them — Gen. Douglas MacArthur — said in one of his famous speeches that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” Maybe the same is true of old sportsmen. As a stalwart deer hunter from the Old School, I’m confronting a new social dynamic: most of my contemporary […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Question 3 would be nearly impossible to enforce
One of the best reasons to show up at the polls on election day, November 8, in Maine is the opportunity to vote against Question 3, which would require the so-called Universal Background Check (UBC) for most transfers of firearms between private individuals. There are multiple arguments advanced by proponents and opponents of this question […]
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Outdoors in Maine: A sobering trip to Elephant Mountain
On January 24th, 1963, a fraternity house at the University of Maine was my home away from home. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s mother hadn’t been born. At about 3 p.m. that afternoon, as I headed across campus in a biting January wind, life was not so carefree for nine U.S. Air Force flyers aboard a […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Two towns allowing ATVs on paved roads
In rural Maine, the ownership and use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) of every make and description has become a way of life. This ATV presence has taken off like a rocket leaving the launch pad at Cape Kennedy. According to Maine state officials, ATVs generate $250 million dollars a year in revenue. This growth phenomenon […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Downeast hatchery suffers ‘trout crash’
Plagued by low water at West Grand Lake and rising lake water temperatures of the intake water at the Grand Lake Stream fish hatchery, the state wound up losing an estimated 20,000 brook trout at the hatchery over the past few weeks. According to Todd Langevin, Superintendent of Hatcheries in Augusta, the loss, while significant, […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Low-hanging fruit: sometimes berries are better than bears
For about 10 years, Diane and I never missed bear camp. We worked hard at maintaining bait sites, erecting tree stands and putting in our time when the season opened. During that time, Diane shot one medium-size bear. The meat was superb, and she had the head mounted. In that 10 years, no shots were […]