Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Game & Fish South

Wy wife Elaine and I try to use as much of any deer I kill as is practical. Like many hunters, we save the heart and tongue and occasionally the liver, but we also make broth from a deer’s hind legs. Here’s how you can do the same, as well as some recipes using the broth. BREAKING DOWN THE BONES Because of their larger size, we prefer the thigh bones for making broth. After removing most of the meat from them, I use loppers to cut them into three roughly equal sections. The bones will shatter and connective tissue and bone marrow will be exposed, but that’s a good thing as it adds nutrition to the mixture (any bone fragments will be removed during the straining process). And don’t worry…

Fall is in full swing across the South, and with it comes one of the most anticipated stretches on the sporting calendar. Hunting seasons are opening, deer are shedding velvet and falling into more predictable bed-to-feed routines, and migratory birds are on the move. Wood ducks are easing through backwater sloughs, and some mourning doves are still around. Meanwhile, inshore fishing is reaching a peak as baitfish push into bays and rivers, and bass are transitioning to their fall feeding mode, following bait into creeks and shallows. It’s a dynamic time across the region, and success often depends on timing, adaptability and a solid read on local conditions. Whether you plan to hunt, fish or both, October rewards those who stay in rhythm with the season. 1 ARKANSAS BRUINS October…

While in Lake Charles, visit Port Wonder, the city’s newest attraction. It’s located on Lakeshore Drive, right off Interstate 10, and it houses the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Nature & Science Center and the Children’s Museum of Southwest Louisiana. It also features fresh and saltwater aquariums, as well as a covered fishing pier, walking trails, and various educational and fun displays and activities for all ages. Want more nature? Hike the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) walking trail or navigate the Pintail Wildlife Drive through Cameron Prairie NWR in the comfort of your vehicle. Birders will love driving through nearby Lacassine NWR and the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road, one of the country’s few designated scenic byways. For other attractions and travel information, contact the Lake Charles/ Southwest…

We all wondered what was in store for Marlin after Ruger purchased the company in 2020. Many feared that the near 150-year legacy of one of the most iconic firearms manufacturers was in jeopardy. What we soon discovered is that Ruger might be the best thing to happen to Marlin. The lever-action rifles Marlin is producing today are some of the best lever guns the gunmaker has ever produced—maybe that any manufacturer has ever made. One of Marlin’s newest lever guns is another version of their Trapper, but it’s outfitted with a stock and forend from Magpul—and it’s one of my favorites. With its 16-inch barrel, the Trapper lever gun is a short, fast-handling carbine. Currently, Marlin is offering Trappers in the Model 1895 (chambered in .45-70 Government), Model 336…

GET RUT READY! G&F’s annual Regional Rut Update gives hunters the most up-to-date information from each region to provide them with the needed intel on what to expect when they hit the field. See each weekly update under the “Hunting” tab. FALL FISHING FRENZY Just because it’s fall doesn’t mean it’s time to put the fishing rods away. See the latest on the hottest bites, from bass to trout to inshore species, under the “Fishing” tab. GETTIN’ BIRDY Fall is full of upland opportunities. From ruffed grouse in New England and Great Plains ringnecks to Hungarian partridge in the Rockies and quail hunting in the South, our “Upland” section is a must-see. GEAR UP FOR BIG GAME Big game seasons are in full swing in many states. Check out the…

My kids called it my “SS” talk, and they don’t recall it particularly fondly. The acronym stands for “self-sufficiency,” and I reliably trotted out a lecture on the topic just about any time my kids failed to demonstrate it. When they forgot their pocket knife and asked to borrow mine, I scolded them for their lack of SS. When they ran out of gas and called me for help, I reminded them of the value of SS. When they asked me to bait a hook or tie a knot, they got a brief lecture in self-sufficiency. I’m not proud of my too-frequent return to the topic, especially since my kids are mostly grown and now way too self-sufficient for my liking. But the idea of self-reliance has been back in…

The alarm buzzes long before first light. Already dusty from the drive, my Toyota 4Runner is parked off a forgotten two-track in the middle of nowhere, West Texas. There are no fence lines, just miles of wind-carved mesquite, ankle-twisting rocks and the kind of sunrise that turns the sky into a watercolor firestorm. My English setter, Sage, shakes out her nerves in the front seat while I lace up my boots. In 20 minutes, we’ll be pushing brush, with our eyes peeled for the first covey rise of the day. Unlike most quail hunters, I choose to camp instead of heading back to a lodge or hotel when the sun goes down. That means everything, including food, water, dog gear, gun oil, headlamps, med kits, etc., rides with me. When…

It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” said Yogi Berra, whose famous quote applies to pompano fishing just as well as baseball games. Those feisty and delicious fish are primarily targeted in spring and early summer in Gulf states and the lower Atlantic Coast, but there’s another run that starts in October and often lasts until the most severe cold fronts make it down to South Florida in January. That late run, by the way, often yields some of the largest specimens. In fact, the all-tackle world record—a pompano weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces—was caught in mid-October in Port St. Joe, Fla., east of Panama City. In addition, the IGFA pompano length record, a fish measuring just under 26 inches, was caught at the end of November in South Hutchinson Island,…

Anticipation and elation rapidly gave way to worry as the blood trail petered out. My daybreak shot had created a frantic scene, with does leaping and fleeing and the targeted buck seemingly vanishing. We originally wondered if the 10-pointer dropped where it had stood. Nope. But ample, frothy blood at the point of impact seemed to indicate a quality hit, leading to expectations of a dead deer close by. Wrong. Mostly, anyway. From our elevated blind, my young guide, Eli Arends, and I watched the buck sneak in just before legal light, approaching a couple of does and fawns. “Is that Tres?” I whispered? Arends raised his binoculars, then looked at me and nodded. The hunting crew at Lowrance Ranch, a 43,000-acre working cattle operation in North Texas, closely monitors…

Shane often daydreamed of hunting elk out West, and finally, after holding the winning raffle ticket for an elk hunt at the local Ducks Unlimited banquet, he was in the thick of it, somewhere deep in the dark timber of a Montana mountain. It was the peak of the rut, and bulls were bugling all around as Shane clutched his bow and tried his best to tell whether they were real bulls or other hunters. A moment later his question was answered. Six cow elk ran right past him, cutting across the logging road where Shane stood before galloping up the mountain as if they were being chased. In another instant Shane’s heart leapt as he saw the ivory tips of a big bull’s antlers seemingly float through the timber…

We were high on a ridgeline overlooking a lot of flat and wide-open Wyoming countryside. The FoxPro electronic call had been playing for about 10 minutes, and we’d seen nothing. Just as we were about to call it quits, a lone coyote appeared started heading our way. Finally, he stopped and began looking around in an attempt to pinpoint the dying jackrabbit. We were probably 200 feet above the coyote, and he was a bit more than 300 yards away. I held dead on and dumped him. Many hunters get all worked up when they must shoot uphill or downhill. Angled shooting does affect bullet flight. When you shoot up- or downhill, you need less trajectory correction. Gravity is the force that all bullets must reckon with, and it starts…

I slipped, skidded and stumbled before crashing to a stop at the mountain’s base. It wasn’t a wicked fall, but it hurt. I worried more about my rifle-and-scope combination than my bruised 19-year-old ego. Thankfully, neither the scope nor the rings appeared to be loose, and aside from a heavy scratch running the full length of the rifle’s maple stock and a handful of nicks and dings on the barrel and receiver, the 7mm Rem. Mag. seemed fine. I wouldn’t have known what to do if it wasn’t. I was as green to elk hunting as one could be. A Colorado native, I grew up in a non-hunting family. If it weren’t for the man who brought me on the trip, a big game hunt would’ve remained a pipe dream…

A heavy-racked buck steps into view. It’s the impressive whitetail you’ve been after all season. And there he is, 50 yards away and closing in. You’ve dreamed of this moment for years, and now you have the chance to seal the deal. For some hunters, opportunities like this may be attributed to luck. For others, however, it’s all the time spent honing their deer-hunting skills and focusing on the pursuit of trophy specimens that affords them such a shot on a somewhat regular basis. A few of those trophy-buck experts were kind enough to share their secrets to help you track and take down a giant this fall. GO WHERE BIG BUCKS LIVE The Hunting Beast’s Dan Infalt, a renowned public-land deer hunter, says it’s a mistake to think one…

The Trijicon Huron line debuted in 2020. The original configurations included a 1–4x24, 2.5–10x40, 3–12x40 and 3–9x40. In January 2025, Trijicon launched two additional models, the 4–16x50 ($985) that I used on the hunt and a 1–6x24 version ($735). Between the six models, Trijicon covers a wide swath of hunting options. The affordable scopes feature Trijicon’s “BDC Hunter Hold” reticle, with simple, easy-to-see crosshairs and windage and elevation cross markings. The 4-16x50 model I used is an increasingly “go-to” option for hunters pursuing whitetails and other North American game. “That 4-to-16 magnification just gives you a little bit more capability to reach out there,” Trijicon Marketing Director Josh Lyall says. “You get a good field of view at the 4x setting, while the 16x is plenty [of magnification] for any…