by Doug Leier Most North Dakota hunters probably aren't thinking much about the Private Land Open to Sportsmen (PLOTS) program right now, but late winter is a busy time for the people who are responsible for the annual PLOTS guide printed in late August each year. As a little refresher...

by Doug Leier Every year the North Dakota Game and Fish Department receives questions from deer hunters who want to clarify rules and regulations. Some common questions are listed below. I can't find my deer license. What should I do? You must obtain an application for a duplicate license...

Doug Leier If you catch a conversation between hunters and hear a reference to HIP, chances are they are discussing the Harvest Information Program and not what their kids or teenage neighbors are into. HIP is a survey method developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a means to...

Doug Leier While it feels like spring should soon begin taking hold across North Dakota the fact of the matter is you'd be really depressed if you counted how many day's it is until 4th of July or even the start of school in August and we're not even into April yet. It's a testament to how...

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson An old neighbor of mine who was just as good at busting sporting clays on the skeet range as he was at busting my chops regarding my tales of fishing and hunting misadventure, asked me what my problem was when he read I didn't get a deer on opening weekend a few...

By Doug Leier North Dakota's recent bounty of white-tailed deer means that more hunters in more places have had a chance to put a deer or two or three in the freezer. That's quite a change from a few short decades ago when deer weren't nearly as plentiful and many hunters made doe licenses...

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson Do you hear that tick-tick-ticking? It's either the second hand of the hall clock marking off the moments until deer seasons open up around the region or it's the beginning of field combat between this year's herd of whitetail bucks in an attempt to establish...

By Richard Burt The most important piece of equipment you will buy for big game hunting in the open plains of North Dakota is a scope for your rifle. I believe that the scope makes the gun, and if you have a budget and have to choose between an inexpensive Weatherby Vanguard with a nice...

By Doug Leier When it comes to fish and wild game cooking, Uncle Lynn is the beginning and the end, though you may have to take this with a grain … err, dash of salt and pinch of pepper. His wild game cooking philosophy permeates from the mantra of "don't hide the flavor, work with it...

By Andrew Gegelman For most bow hunters, tuning their bow means being able to hit what they are aiming at. And for others they just hope their bow will become tuned by itself. But they are wrong. Tuning your bow now might mean the difference between trophy and tragedy. First things first, you...

By Gary Simonson This is a pheasant cleaning tip for anyone out there looking to get the most out of the birds they harvest. Give it a try and post up the results in the recipe forum! Completely skin the bird leaving on the head. Do not gut. Please note these photos were taken at home, if you...

By Chris Hustad It's hard to believe that another spring season is around the corner. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was preparing for my first spring season, an exciting opportunity to persue my favorite gamebird, the snow goose. Like all types of outdoor activities, the spring season...

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson An old neighbor of mine who was just as good at busting sporting clays on the skeet range as he was at busting my chops regarding my tales of fishing and hunting misadventure, asked me what my problem was when he read I didn't get a deer on opening weekend a few...

Our Outdoors Nick Simonson One winter night, as a young boy, I sat on the couch with my dad watching college hockey. I must have been about seven- or eight-years-old at the time. During the highlights of the first intermission, my dad turned and said to me "would you like to draw a map...

By Doug Leier One of the more common questions asked of any Game and Fish employee, whether it's over the phone, through friends, via e-mail, or at the grocery store, is: "How do you get a job as a game warden." I get variations of this comment frequently when the topic of my occupation comes...

Here's some favorite turkey recipes of ours. Turkey Recipe Ingredients: 9 to 13-lb Turkey* ½ cup butter, melted Old-Fashioned Dressing, ½ cup butter 3 cups finely chopped celery ¾ cup finely chopped parsley 1 cup finely chopped onion 1 tbls. salt 1 tbls. poultry seasoning 1 ts...