I don’t know if you have noticed but there is a major lack of firearms in local stores. Of more importance, there is also a shortage of ammunition. It is very difficult to bag a record buck without both. Of course, one can always enter the archery season with ammo that can be used more than …
It has been some time since I fished Walnut or Elk Creek with a fair amount of success. As early as September, you would find us motoring north to the shores of Lake Erie. With good reason, we fished the feeder streams early as an attempt to catch salmon or sometimes a steelhead trout.
A successful hunt begins with anticipation and ends with a sense of relaxation and a slow return to the real world.
I must confess, for most of my life I have thought how nice it would be to sit at the mouth of a cave on top of some remote mountain and give advice to others.
I enjoy driving country roads. Not only was I watching for unusual landscapes but watching for uncommonly seen wildlife. For instance, seeing an animal that is rarely spotted in one area might be common somewhere else. While common in the mountains of Pennsylvania, a bear encounter is unusua…
Summer is zooming by and very soon will be nothing more than a plastic bag full of memories.
We humans look at numbers to tell us what is desirable and/or what represents great battles. With thousands taking part, there was the great tank battle at Kiev. When one hears the number 300, he or she cannot help but be reminded of the fantastic delaying battle at Thermopylae as well as th…
A couple of evenings ago, I stopped in at the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen Club, hoping a close friend would still be there shooting.
Government that governs least governs best. So said one of the founding fathers. The fewer laws on the books, the better for the people of the country. With that being said, I believe most people would agree with that precept. It is usually when the discussion is political but, in a way, doe…
Last week in this column, I wrote about the week during the deer rut that was given to the archers, adding onto the longest hunting season in the state. I, like many others, are asking why we are adding this week to what is already a long season? I mentioned a few statistics and tried to rea…
I guess it depends on your interest in deer hunting and if hunting is your hobby or your passion. This story is of a more serious nature. Not my usual storytelling and gun talk.
I would swear that this same gentleman standing at the register was in the store yesterday. After talking guns, a bit, I asked him if he had been standing in the same spot yesterday and he replied “Yep, and I hope I’m not standing in this same spot tomorrow.”
As age creeps up on a person you tend to dwell on the past more and more. It’s those memories that make us who we are and offer some future to look forward to. It’s because the book of what will be is now compact.
I don’t believe it, but we are almost into July. I think this year’s July 4th celebration will be quieter than usual but still there will be a bit of fireworks as we celebrate the birth of this nation.
Sometimes I come up with strange questions and even stranger answers. This occurs mostly at night, when the hoot owls are doing what they do best – hooting. I was just lying here thinking why does an outdoors writer have to be an outdoors hunter or great outdoors fisherman to write successfu…
Kismet – sometimes things must happen. This is true in life, and true in hunting and fishing. A tail-hooked fish is an example of fate lending the angler a helping hand. A hitch in an otherwise great performing reel is an example of fate favoring the fish. Perhaps a tough drag should have su…
I cannot cut grass now. I am preparing lunch, and on top of that its 95 degrees in the shade.
It was 1906 when America’s greatest cartridge was introduced and adopted by the military. Soon it would be accepted by the average hunter, although the price of a rifle so chambered kept sales low. Gun owners as a whole didn’t trust a cartridge that didn’t have a close to half-inch hole down…
George Block writes a weekly outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.
I was raised to believe that Sunday was a sacred day and there are things that shouldn’t be done on that day. Last week, I told you about my church-like visit to the land of the wildflowers.
It is amazing how they cling to the rocky ledges on one side of the road and live in marshy water next to the creek on the other side of the road.
Tradition is the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. This is the definition but I think after this week, with no baseball and trout season having a surprise start, we may need to rewrite that definition. I mean, after all these years, who would have believed it.…
I know that people are dying, and I don’t mean to make light of it, but who would have believed a small microscopic virus bug is preventing me from going fishing?
Most anglers here in Western Pennsylvania consider the opening of trout fishing season to be the first day to wet a line.
I would think it safe to say that most, if not all, outdoor persons are pro-gun. It is also safe to say that the separation between those who own firearms and those that don’t approve has become wider.
Well, the major sports shows in our home area are done and now I find myself looking back on the year 2019. It is probably true that the same could be said about most years. Last year was one of good happenings and some that are very worrisome. As I checked on the antler measuring program, I…
Perhaps it is simply a phase brought on by winter. On the other hand, it may be the curse of February. I remember my mother disliked the month.
As most of my readers know, a small group of my friends and family present an award, the George Block Conservation Scholarship, annually in the form of a plaque and a check to a local youngster who has done outstanding work in the field of environmental conservation.
If one were to visit South Dakota, he would have to see Mt. Rushmore. A trip to Wyoming means a visit to Yellowstone National Park. It’s just natural to relate certain places with an impressive sight.
The Super Bowl is not the only attraction in town. February is also the month of the sports shows.
Last week, I wrote about accurate rifles, stressing the human factor in testing them. Not only the need for an experienced shooter but a few other problems. Even the best of shot has bad days and the worst shooter might be blessed that day. A one-hole group might be the result of luck just a…
It is hard to believe that it is the middle of January. I had promised myself for four days that I was going to go to the club and shoot a rifle during the winter warm spell. To be truthful, I had vowed this each of those four days and just hadn’t done it. Eventually, I made it to the club, …
Most outdoor people think of January and February as slow, boring months but that can be false. As you read this over a morning cup of coffee, people are crowding into the facilities at the Arden Fairgrounds, seeking that one treasure at the gun show.
Thankfully, the holiday season is over and things have turned back to normal, if there is such a thing.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about the rifle-lovers rifle, the Model 70 Winchester that was made from 1936 until 1964. Combined with the interest showed in the history of these older firearms, and the upcoming gun show at the Arden Fairgrounds on Jan. 11-12, I will attempt to wr…
The more time we spend on this earth the more we learn. Or, at least, we should learn.
It seems time to start shopping for a Christmas present for the family.
There is little doubt that fewer persons are choosing to spend a couple of days chasing Whitetail Deer. The deer is by far the most-hunted animal in the area, but still they flourish here right next to humankind. In fact, they reproduce and lose caution in areas where they quickly become a n…
The biggest problem with the Saturday general deer season is it has so little time between it and bear season. One must also remember there is a Thanksgiving sandwiched in that week. Most avid hunters are married and must explain to their partner why they are gulping down their dinner to get…
It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was a regular contributor to the Pennsylvania Game News. I look back on those articles written in the 1970s and I believe they were some of my best work.
There are a lot of things that can happen to a person when he spends his time in an unfamiliar atmosphere. It might be little more than a slight admitted fear when the shadows get long, or a strange animal calls for a mate, but it does occur. Everyone has something that sets them off.
Last week, I wrote of a few of the little things done by the successful hunter versus the things that the empty-handed hunter has ignored. It might be something so small and commonplace that we tend to forget it.
Counting flowers on the wall, that don’t bother me at all. Playing solitaire until dawn with a deck of 51. That’s part of an oldie describing the feelings of boredom.
With archery season in full swing, I have fully expected to hear of some big bucks being taken. So far, all has been quiet with little more than one miss known to me. I even have some questions about that miss.
People are just not hunting in past numbers.
Sometimes, I like to think while I’m hunting. Usually, it’s about hunting deer or getting prepared for the upcoming big-game season.
I haven’t heard of anyone bagging a buck yet. Of course, it is early and the weather has been a bit warm. I have heard of a miss and a few people say, “I could have shot a small buck but wanted a bigger buck.” Yes, maybe you could have tried to shoot him but there is a lot of maybe in my sen…
