11th Hour Success! Don’t give up. A late season turkey hunt could put a gobbler on your plate. Here’s how.

Choosing a hunting partner is a lot like choosing a marriage partner. Both could end in divorce. Or bliss. Yes, a hunting partnership can be as challenging as any marriage. Pick the wrong person and you will fight frustration, delays, setbacks — or abandonment when the going gets tough.

I simply did not care. I followed the muddy trail through the tangle of willows, into a draw full of hardwoods, into the heart of big buck territory. I was violating a whitetail sanctuary.

Entry into this holy of holies was strictly forbidden during bowhunting season. Neither I nor any of my friends would dare enter it for fear of spooking bucks hiding there. Today was different. Spring had sprung. It was primetime for shed antler hunting. Forbidden areas were now open. And scouting them in spring would prove to my advantage come fall. The same could work for you.

Snow or no snow, early March is the RIGHT time to put your spring turkey hunt plans in place.

Planning is critical if your goal is to tap a tom on opening morning. Staking a blind near a winter roost or loitering location can boost your odds for early season success.

Public-land DIY archery elk hunting is taxing enough without knowing where to find elk. I find them by antler hunting in spring. You can too.

For me, elk scouting is a year-round activity, but spring is one of the most revealing times because it gives me a head-start on fall elk success.

We brought Sage home on a frigid February evening.

She was an undocumented border collie from a nearby Montana ranch, but destined to become my coyote hunting partner.

Deer season had just wrapped up. Fur hunters were out and about. Not only had the local coyotes felt the sting of several near misses from anxious deer hunters, but now they were hearing sounds of wailing wildlife every weekend. Even fur hunting pros were out calling my area.