It was November 1988. Deer season was in full swing and the whitetail rut was on. What should have been the best three weeks of that year had become a dim reminder of what deer season used to be. I was on a three week drinking and drugging binge that left me physically exhausted and mentally low. Up...

On a recent BWB podcast, Hal, Lee, Joe and I discussed “getting in shape” for hunting. A lot of jokes followed and we had a good conversation, discussing things like fitness and mental toughness. I felt like some important details got left out, so hopefully this will help fill in some of...

At BWB, we appreciate fellow hunters sharing their hunting adventures. Brendan Moore shared a classic Big Woods Hunt which resulted in him killing an absolute giant according to The New England Standard of how much a buck weighed after it is fully field dressed.  Some k...

Is the 30/30 Still Relevant? Hunting season is just around the corner; you can feel it! The air is crisp and cool, the leaves have begun to turn all manner of colors, and that natural drive to be in the woods has begun. On my way to work this morning I couldn’t help but feel that annual evo...

Getting Ready for the Tracking Season – The Marlin TSBL Trapper As many of you know, I have been working with the new Marlin TSBL Trapper in 45/70 as my new go-to 2018 tracking rifle. I was impressed by the design of this model because of its compact size, the power and versatility of the 4...

As spring turns to summer, things get hectic. It is easy to let projects slip away when they don’t demand immediate attention. This is definitely true regarding fitness. On any one day, you can miss a training session because you’re busy, or tired, or distracted. Then, before you realize...

The good Lord decided he wanted to bless me with an early season buck this past year. This gift was a real encouragement to me in many ways, producing the buck and story of a lifetime. Though I’m extremely thankful and blessed with this honor there was only one problem; I was done hunting big ...

I’m a cross-dominant rifle shooter, meaning I’m a right-handed shooter and I’m left eye dominant. Not a good combination for shooting at bucks on the run (as when you see one jumping from its bed after a long day on the track) or working a shotgun at the skeet range, in the upland ...

People who have followed my posts on BWB for the last few years know that shed hunting is part of my spring business at Schanz's Guide Service. Shed hunting for us means going north and looking for moose antlers. This year got off to a slow start because of the late winter, and we had turkey hun...

For the last several months, I have made a post on the 30th and called it "Throwback 30". These stories have been from my distant past (I just turned 52), to stories about my grandparents a hundred years ago. This post is from the recent past, but it bears telling because it'...