Author: Darron McDougal
Darron McDougal
Darron McDougal, a full-time freelance outdoor writer, has resided in central Wisconsin for his entire life, except for a 2-year jaunt during which he and his wife, Becca, traveled and lived in a fifth-wheel camper. Becca often hunts with Darron and is an integral part of his publishing success, capturing professional-grade photography that often accompanies his articles. The McDougals do minimal deer hunting around their home. Instead, they love to hunt DIY-style, primarily on public lands, out west. Hunting unfamiliar territory has its thrills and challenges, and it truly tests a hunter's prowess. Despite the low success odds of this hunting style, Darron has done very well, and he accredits his success and accomplishments to God. So far, he's hunted whitetails in 11 states and harvested deer in nine. He enjoys hunting all sorts of wild game from turkeys to hogs to elk. He also occasionally mentors youth or beginner hunters. While bowhunting is his preferred method, he doesn't think twice when a rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader hunt fits his schedule. He's been shooting archery for nearly three decades and has 20 years of hunting experience.
The Lonestar State offered the author opportunities to take three different species during one hunt. It was late November 2019 when my wife, Becca, and I pulled our camper down to Texas following a successful Iowa deer hunt. Our intention was to visit her aunt, step-uncle and cousins, but I couldn’t ignore the urge to hunt deer since the rut was likely still going. I talked with my wife’s step-uncle, and he mentioned that his employer is a developer. At the time, he owned a cattle ranch. After a phone call, I had permission to hunt on a good-sized ranch…
If you’re interested in foraging for spring delicacies but don’t know where to begin, this article will point you in the right direction. Spring is one of my favorite seasons. I enjoy the nice weather following a long winter. I also genuinely love fishing and turkey hunting. As if those interests don’t consume enough of my time, morel mushrooms now have a permanent place on my spring schedule. And honestly, my wife enjoys morel mushroom hunting more than I do. She’ll drop practically anything to go. Mushroom hunting isn’t for everyone, though. It requires patience, an interest in the outdoors…
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MELISSA BACHMAN Take a look at Melissa Bachman’s upbringing, her love of the outdoors and her commitment to growing hunting participation If you’re new to the hunting community or somehow haven’t heard of Melissa Bachman, there’s a lot to know about her. She is a noted professional hunter who hunts all around the world. She produces her well-known TV show, Winchester Deadly Passion, which airs on Sportsman Channel. From wild turkeys in South Dakota to moose in the Yukon to red stag in New Zealand, Melissa has hunted dozens of different species that most hunters only dream…
Tips to Steer You Toward Success When You Hunt on Land Open to All Carefully, I tiptoed down a logging road that cuts through the red pine plantation I’d selected for a public-land outing. A bellowing gobble shook the timber and welcomed in the dawn. I quickly plugged my hen and jake decoys into the soil on the logging road, then scuttled off amidst the pines and deployed my tripod chair against a red pine to disrupt my outline. The roosted tom gobbled a few more times as I was setting up, meaning he hadn’t caught onto my plan. I…
Are you harnessing the latest tools and techniques? When the big nontypical appeared in my spotting scope’s eyepiece, my eyes widened. A lot. He was absolutely huge, especially for the area. I gawked from more than 600 yards away in my vehicle, and I did so because archery season wasn’t yet open. I now knew that a world-class white-tail was roaming the public land I’d be hunting on. Since the beginning of modern deer hunting, serious deer hunters have worked to improve their success rates. Each year, we make changes, try to think differently and purchase new tools in an…
If you’ve been taking the sure approach of shotgun hunting for spring gobblers, add a whole new realm of excitement by carrying your bow this spring. A firearm certainly gives you greater control of a hunting situation, and that rings especially true when hunting turkeys. If a tom pokes his face within range, maybe even through some brush, he’s made a lethal mistake. No one can rightfully deny the peace of mind in knowing that a swarm of dense shot gives you a relatively large margin to work with. In some cases, even a flinched 50-yard shot can yield a…
If you find yourself in the ninth inning of turkey season and you haven’t punched your tag, these tips can spell the difference between tag soup and smoked turkey. There’s nothing like it: A big boss gobbler fires off 50 or more gobbles before daylight on opening morning, flies down into the field 100 yards away at daybreak, then struts toward your decoys. You level the bead and squeeze the trigger. BAM! Your shotgun roars and the bird folds instantly. You run out and step on his neck. You pull back your sleeve and your wristwatch reads 6 a.m. Snap…
We discuss whether trail cameras should be part of your hunting program. Trail cameras. They provide definitive edges to modern hunters. They provide key details to animal-movement tendencies, plus they show us what’s roaming around our hunting areas. Early hunters didn’t have those advantages. But, the question is, are trail cameras purely beneficial, or do they have negative sides, too? Absolutely. In fact, trail cameras can actually hurt your hunting strategy in some instances. In this article, we’ll break down the pros and cons of using trail cameras to help you scout and put the pieces of the puzzle together…
We discuss whether trail cameras should be part of your hunting program. Trail cameras. They provide definitive edges to modern hunters. They provide key details to an-imal-movement tendencies, plus they show us what’s roaming around our hunting areas. Early hunters didn’t have those advantages. But, the question is, are trail cameras purely beneficial, or do they have negative sides, too? Absolutely. In fact, trail cameras can actually hurt your hunting strategy in some instances. In this article, we’ll break down the pros and cons of using trail cameras to help you scout and put the pieces of the puzzle together…