A Texas Elk Hunting Connection
Scott, I was reading your article “A Trans-Pecos Connection” (March 2025) about elk hunting in Texas. I am planning an elk hunt in Texas, and your article sounds very interesting. Is it possible for you to send info on the ranches/open property that you were on? Also the outfitter you used or an alternative? I would like to plan a trip this year or next year. It sounds like you found a very productive area. Thank you in advance—your articles are really interesting.
-John Coyle, via email
Mr. Coyle, I hunted just north of Marathon, in West Texas, with guides from Wildlife Systems Inc.; wildlifesystems.com.—JSO
Late-Season Divers
I am a longtime duck hunter with 50 years practicing the sport. I hope that all duck hunters respect and eat what they shoot.
I really was disappointed to read in the story by Scott Haugen (“Don’t Forget the Divers,” January) that he shot a common merganser, and justified it by saying it was shot just to fill his limit. His comment and those of his hunting partners made me wonder what became of that duck. Was it cleaned and consumed or just thrown out since they spoke of it with such disdain?
Scott also implied that the duck hunting was done/completed quickly on two days so they could get back to the city to go to Chinatown for entertainment; food, TV sports, etc. ... as if the duck hunting almost got in the way of the entertainment. Thank you allowing me to comment.
-David Matura, via email
End of a Pennsylvania Tradition?
I want to relate a trend in Pennsylvania that has destroyed the 80-plus-year tradition of deer camps.
Our group is in our mid-60s and we do not aggressively pursue horns, just venison. The Pa. game commission is only interested in license sales, to anyone, even discussing this year that 5-year-olds be able to hunt/kill deer. They have moved the start of rifle season to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, not the traditional Monday after Thanksgiving. If you hunt from your back porch or close by, this is great for the working folk ( I still run my company, not retired ) that want the Saturday start and Sunday hunting days.
I moved to the other end of the state like some others in our other party have, and it makes it nearly impossible to leave my home very early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving, drive 300 miles to camp and be ready the next morning. It’s close to impossible. It has caused lots of financial hardships on businesses that look to that weekend for monies to operate. We don’t drink or party, so that’s not that reason our deer camp has decided to no longer operate; we’re just a few locals who hunt on that Saturday now. I don’t want to leave my family who come to visit us over the holiday, so I, too, have stopped “going home” and miss the rifle opener.
We also don’t hunt the October archery season like younger hunters do because it’s usually too hot, buggy, and you must work very fast on deer dressing and cooling when it’s that hot outside. All they care about is horns, while we believe in fostering a better way to show our grandkids the true meaning of respect for nature and the blessings it provides, year-round.
It’s pretty much a done deal here in Pa. as the commission board is easily swayed, has no respect for any tradition, and would let 5-year-olds kill deer. There are still a lot of hunters that want the Monday opener kept, but it looks like a lost cause. Shame it has come to that. Deer camp is dead in Pa.
Do others see this in their states that push hard for license sales by catering to a vocal group of hunters? Thank You and take care.
-Scott Wendel, via email
Says Me
We all should be careful of looking askance at any writer when we think we read something into his narrative. I wouldn’t be so hard on Scott Haugen or any writer herein. Just about every feature story in AH in history has been nonfiction, a recitation of actual events, not some novel with underlying messages and motives surrounding its characters. Everyone who writes for this magazine has hunted enough to know it’s not only the species or a specific kind of hunting that draws us to the field. The geography of the region—the land, its people—and the camaraderie any hunt promises: those are key factors in any decision I make to hunt. At this point in my life it’s not enough to hunt. I want to live.
I don’t know a hunter who doesn’t eat what he shoots—and that goes for Scott Haugen, too. We all should shy away from projecting a black heart onto anyone, let alone a fellow hunter. Just because I may think less of myself because of a passing thought doesn’t mean I can reasonably assume less of another. So many progressives do that for us all these days. Let us not join them.
Sure, Haugen admitted to finding other fun things to do in San Francisco after a great hunt there ended in less than two hours. So? Who reading this has hunted near Little Bighorn, Taos, the Grand Canyon or Cape Canaveral? Do so and you’ll find a reason to look forward to casing your gun. Geography: It’s part of the hunt.
-J. Scott Olmsted, Editor in Chief
