ARTICLES & STORIES
STRUNG Dispatch: from print magazine to digital newsletter
To our loyal readers and print subscribers - we sent an email June 14, 2025 explaining our decision to shutter our print operation with the Winter 2024 issue. We have received some emails and questions about this and it is apparent that not everyone received our...
Are Smith Chromapop Glass Polarchromic Lenses Worth It?
A review and comparison of Smith Optics latest lens technology By Sammy Chang Anglers frequently encounter challenges with variable light conditions. Early morning light creates a reflective glare on the water's surface, while remaining too dim for standard polarized...
Ask a Vet: How Do I Safely Travel With My Bird Dog?
There’s hardly a better way to expose your dog to a variety of feathered species and diversity of habitat than loading up your gear and hitting the open road. For some, a bird hunting road trip is an annual tradition, but for others it’s a rare opportunity worthy of intense planning and preparation.
How Do I Keep My Bird Dog Hydrated?
With so much discussion about dog food, it’s easy to overlook hydration as an important part of the nutrition of canine athletes. It’s universally accepted that water is essential for life, but it’s often overlooked just how much this basic molecule drives physical activity in a working dog.
How to Choose The Right Hunting Dog for YOU
Choosing a hunting dog can be a daunting task. Do you want or need a flushing breed or a pointing breed? A big bold brush buster or small pocket rocket? Male or female? A dog that runs big, or a close-in companion?
Greater Prairie Chickens – An Expert’s Guide to Hunting The King of the Prairie
Once numbering in the millions across several states, prairie chickens have seen both their range and population diminish drastically. But the King of the Prairie still commands the spirit of the American West like no other. A prairie chicken taken on the wing is nothing short of a trophy.
How to Build a Better Hunting Dog
Choosing the right trainer, at the right time, with the right preparation can help make good dogs great and pay dividends for life, according to experts at two renowned training kennels.
Dove Hunting – Outside-the-Box Tactics to Get More Birds
One warm day in late September, beads of sweat were pouring down my face like small streams winding down a mountainside. A widening stain on the back of my green tee shirt was growing rapidly.
Versatile Hunting Dog Breeds – The German Wirehaired Pointer
I knew as soon as we finished setting out the decoys that December afternoon that we were about to enjoy a mallard shoot. During the late season in the Northwest, it’s not unusual to have a steady diet of northern greenheads appear uninterrupted over the decoys.
Hunting Ptarmigan in Alaska – Musings, Habitat, and Pointers (Dogs and Tips)
In Alaska, getting there is half the fun… at least in theory. As the fog burned slowly from the surface of the Naknek River, my wife Lori and I helped our old friend Dan Michels top off the fuel tanks in the Beaver and coax Max, his German wirehair, up the steps and into the back of the airplane.
Hunting the Grey Ghost – Sage Grouse Hunting in Wyoming
Memories still abound from our 2017 trek, when we traveled for more than 700 miles from Kansas to the Wyoming high desert in search of sage grouse. We had decided to forgo the annual early-season prairie chicken hunt across the Flint Hills, only to replace it with another opener: the search for spiny-tailed grouse across the public lands of the Cowboy State.
Curiosity Killed the Pheasant – Pheasant Hunting in Indiana
We really didn’t know which path to take. A rooster could have been in any direction. This was the last day of pheasant season in Indiana, at the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, and I was looking for a Hoosier home run. My dog, Creek, had already
Charcoal Grilled Chili-Rubbed Venison
I was going through our freezer after hunting season and realized there were older vacuum-sealed bags of prime cuts of venison–roasts and backstrap–that were buried under newer additions to the freezer, escaping the dinner table.
Dog Training Timing – Caring for Your Canine Athlete
Timing matters – especially when it comes to training, feeding and caring for your hard-working canine athlete and hunting partner. Knowing what to do, when to do it and when to slow down or even stop can keep your hunting dog physically and mentally sound and even more productive in the field.
Deer Hunting in the Rain
I open my eyes with the distinct awareness of my 5:30 a.m. alarm sounding off on my cell phone. As I groan and roll over to hit the snooze button, I notice the sound of light rain bouncing off my tin roof. Most people would choose to do what’s easy: continue to hit the snooze button, and settle back in for a few more hours of sleep. This is a mistake.
Upland Hunting Conservation – Voluntary Wing Deposits
We had stopped momentarily, as I had observed the red barrel far off in the distance as we drove down from the sage flats. I exited the truck and went towards the back.
The Absolute Best Way to Make Venison Meatloaf (Not your Mama’s Meatloaf!)
Located in downtown Billings, Montana, Walker’s Grill enjoys a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the area. It may not deserve Michelin stars, but this is eastern Montana meat-and-potatoes country. Whenever we overnight in Billings to catch a plane, we usually treat ourselves to dinner at Walker’s.
FOWL WEATHER – THE BEST DUCK HUNTING WEATHER
The thing I notice first when the thermometer descends past 10-below here on the high plains isn’t the cold; it’s the acoustics. The physics are straightforward. Cold air is dense air, and molecules of nitrogen and oxygen transmit sound waves more
HUNTING WOODCOCK – SCOUTING HABITAT IN THE OFF SEASON
It was a gloomy, overcast day. There was a bit of chill in the air, enough where I had to zip up my jacket even further to keep the chilly breeze out. My boots trudged along the worn path without purpose as we walked past tangled messes of saplings.
Swing Series by Scott – Best Rods for Fishing Steelhead and Salmon
The Scott Fly Rod Company is pleased to announce their new Swing series of fly rods. To catch steelhead and salmon, you need to swim the fly at the right angle, the right depth, and the right speed. The right rod can help solve that puzzle. But steelhead and salmon...