A little bit of honesty, please - a column for Shotgun Life

This robin fell victim to a threat far more prevalent than lead

ammunition: a window. I helped it recover, and I'm pleased

to report that it flew back into the wild later that day.

Uh oh, I've gone and gotten all indignant again - this time about the lead ammunition debate.

Readers of my old blog may remember that I stopped hunting with lead ammo three years ago, but that doesn't mean I love some of the lead-banners' rhetoric.

If anything, it has made me even more aware of - and pissed off about - the stunning hypocrisy about man-made things that kill birds.

Check out my rant on this topic in this month's column in Shotgun Life.

© Holly A. Heyser 2013

The most outrageous rudeness I've ever experienced while trying to shoot ducks - a column in Shotgun Life

© Holly A. Heyser

You're going to think this month's column in Shotgun Life is one of those stories about a dream because it's just so freakin' weird, but it's actually just about a new form of hunting I tried last month.

I liked it a lot, but it had some serious limitations. Check it out and you'll see why.

© Holly A. Heyser 2013

When just one duck is enough - a column in Shotgun Life

Photo courtesy of Joe Navari

Restraint isn't one of my strong suits, especially not when it comes to duck hunting.

But this duck season, I learned that one is enough - and far more rewarding than I could've imagined.

Check out why in my latest column in Shotgun Life.

© Holly A. Heyser 2013

Liberated by boat - a column in Shotgun Life

For years, there have been hunting grounds I've eyed longingly - rich waterfowl habitat that I couldn't access because deep water made walking in too dangerous.

This season, I finally did something about it: I bought a sneak boat, a waterfowl hunting kayak with a low angled back rest that allows you to use it as a floating layout blind.

I can't say I've been bringing home full straps of ducks. Not yet. But I've been having a blast learning - see why in my latest column in Shotgun Life.

© Holly A. Heyser 2013

Killing a treed bear: a post for Fair Chase Hunting

Hounds work to pick up a cold bear trail.

© Holly A. Heyser 2012

I did something this weekend that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing three years ago: I hunted bears with hounds, and shot a bear out of a tree.

Did that get you emotionally riled up? It does that to everyone - not just non-hunters, but many hunters as well. That's why I decided to examine my reasons for going on the hunt (and for having an aversion to such things previously) in a post for Fair Chase Hunting, the blog of Orion The Hunter's Institute.

© Holly A. Heyser 2012