Megan Magro got her first taste of the shooting sports during childhood visits to her grandfather in Wales, where he would take her pheasant hunting. It wasn’t until she was attending the University of Ottawa in 2020, however, that her interest in sport shooting really took off after she started volunteering with the Canadian University Shooting Federation (CUSF). Three years later, the 25-year-old is now the non-profit’s executive director, and it’s her mission to bring more young Canadians into the fold. “We really believe young people are the future of the firearms community and shooting sp ..read more

Photo: www.rufflandkennels.com During the late season, bird hunters sometimes travel with their dogs in search of new or better hunting opportunities with less pressure. They’ll even go so far as to drive across international borders. Here are five travel tips to help you and your pup become kings of the road. #1  PREPARATION If your hunting trip will take you south of the border, remember that completing the necessary paperwork requires time, so get it done well in advance. For your dog, current vaccination records are a must. Also, dog food restrictions are sometimes in place to preven ..read more

I shouldered my shotgun and fired as fast as the flush, then paused to inhale the pleasantly pungent fragrance of gun smoke. We’ve all done it, closed our eyes for a few seconds to let those lingering notes awaken outdoor reflections. It’s something hunters understand, but absolutely lost on the majority of Canadians who’ve never walked in the footsteps of a hunting family, let alone fired a gun. The same goes for National Hunting, Trapping and Fishing Heritage Day, celebrated annually on the third Saturday of September. It’s been 10 years since an act of Parliament made this day official, but ..read more

BOW RIVER VALLEY As the fall upland bird season progresses, ring-necked pheasants congregate in thick cover along the shoreline of Alberta’s Bow River, especially within dense shrubs and grasses close to floodplain cultivation. It takes persistent dog work to root ringnecks out of this habitat, but the rewards in roosters are worth it. The Alberta Professional Outfitters Society can help arrange a hunt. Learn more: www.apos.ab.ca —KEN BAILEY The post Cool fall hunting adventures for big game, upland birds and small game appeared first on Outdoor Canada ..read more

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation is excited to announce it is adding another edition to its popular Wildlife Poster Program, described on the SWF website as “a fun way of introducing youth to the wildlife living in their own backyard.” The 16 posters in the series so far feature detailed illustrations of hoofed animals, predators, birds of prey, shorebirds, snakes and fish, among other provincial species. Wildlife artist Paul Geraghty from Avonlea, Saskatchewan, provided most of the artwork. Expected to be completed in February, the new poster will feature turtles and lizards, as well as t ..read more

I had an amazing time last weekend presenting ice fishing seminars with my grandson, Liam Whetter, at the Ultimate Ice Fishing Show in Toronto. What always impresses me about events like this is the wide array of folks I meet, from avid ice anglers who count the days, and can’t wait until they get back out on the hard water, to folks who’ve never dropped a jig down a hole in the ice. I was chatting with one young lady in the latter group, who told me she was super keen to try ice fishing this winter, but was perplexed by what she perceived to be the costly dilemma of equipping herself to get s ..read more

BOW RIVER VALLEY As the fall upland bird season progresses, ring-necked pheasants congregate in thick cover along the shoreline of Alberta’s Bow River, especially within dense shrubs and grasses close to floodplain cultivation. It takes persistent dog work to root ringnecks out of this habitat, but the rewards in roosters are worth it. The Alberta Professional Outfitters Society can help arrange a hunt. Learn more: www.apos.ab.ca —KEN BAILEY The post Cool big game, upland and small-game hunting adventures to try this fall appeared first on Outdoor Canada ..read more

The author with a cagey prairie white-tailed deer I was walking along a creek bottom and making frequent stops to scan ahead when I spotted something sticking out of the tall, rhythmically swaying prairie grass. It was a few hundred metres out, so I lifted my binoculars for a closer look. Sure enough, it was the antler tips of a bedded buck, five tines on the right side. He was unaware of my presence, so all I had to do was slowly stalk ahead to within 225 metres, then wait for him to stand. Of course, that wasn’t as easy as it sounded, given the possibility of another deer, a rabbit or a par ..read more

Photo: Mikko Oja/Pixabay It’s that time again! Check out this season’s outdoor gift guide, compiled by the editors of Outdoor Canada. How do we know anglers and hunters will love these gift ideas? Because we do! RUX 70L ESSENTIALS SET The remarkably clever, Canadian-invented RUX is a large, rugged, weatherproof cube for organizing and hauling gear. But unlike plastic bins or duffle bags, the RUX has a rigid frame, but flexible sides so it easily collapses for small loads or off-season storage. Inside, it has a  unique hook and rail-system for accessories like the three-litre RUX Po ..read more

A gyrfalcon-prairie falcon hybrid chases a sharp-tailed grouse (photo: Mark Adam) The falcon climbs into the clear blue Saskatchewan sky as the falconer lets his dog out his truck, sending it into the field to find the grouse that just landed in a small patch of cover. The dog quickly finds the birds’ scent and goes on point. The falconer looks skyward to locate the falcon, which is now more than 600 feet up and still climbing while circling above the dog. After letting the falcon make one more loop, the falconer commands “flush” as the raptor passes over the dog. With that, the dog rushes in ..read more