The temperature outside was eleven above. The wind chill was eleven below. To a seven year-old, it was perfect. Snow scuttled across the highway in streams and waves. The small boy in the backseat peered eagerly through binoculars for the better part of the drive.

I put the truck in 4-wheel drive as I turned off the road. Snow-covered tracks lead up to the first draw, where we’d begin. After donning coat, gaiter, hat, snow pants, and gloves, the small boy jumped out of the truck and raced to the back for his bb gun. I put the eager boy in charge of the backpack filled with essentials, prepped my rifle, and we started across the field.

The draw was steep. Arched tufts of grass bore the weight of the snow, rebounding from our steps as we made our way down...

Crossbow hunting is one of the most challenging ways to hunt an animal. It takes so much patience to wait for an animal to get close enough for the kill shot. Hunters need to master the skill of tracking and calling the animal they are after if they want to have any chance with a crossbow. You can’t sit in a tree stand in the middle of an open field and hit something 250 yards away like you can with a rifle.

If you are going to teach your teenager how to hunt, crossbow hunting is the way to go. It teaches them everything they would want to know about hunting while having plenty of fun. This is a great way to teach your young one how to be patient and wait for the right time, a quality that is hard to teach.

When looking for the right youth crossbow, you will want to focus on a few differ...

Thanks to The Desert Rat for letting us repost these great tips on getting girls hunting early!

Chris and Cidney McCotter with two Arizona javelinas.

It’s not much of a secret that lady hunters are the fastest-growing demographic in the hunting community. Part of that is due to families starting their daughters, nieces, neighbor girls, and granddaughters early, and making it fun for them with no pressure. My daughter is not an avid hunter, but she has hunted and has a javelina under her belt. As a matter of fact, she got her first javelina before I did! My friend Chris McCotter is well-known in Arizona hunting circles for not only his hunting prowess, but his support of wildlife organizations...

Don’t forget to send Camo is the New Black your most memorable or entertaining images that capture the “sportswoman’s experience” for a chance to win a Red Head duck decoy or Patagonia hat!

Caitlin’s photo is in the lead, but there’s plenty of time to submit your photos before the August 1 deadline!

To enter, email your photos to info@camoisthenewblack.com with a brief description by August 1st and we’ll post them to our Facebook page and/or Instagram page. You can also use the #camoisthenewblack hashtag to get us your pics! 

Prizes Include a Choice of:
1) An original Red Head duck decoy from Bryan Bodt.
2) Patagonia logo hat.

Rules: 
1) Maximum of 2 entries per person
2) Original photos only 
3) Must be relevant to sportswomen
4) Images with the most Facebook or Instagram likes will recei...

Megan Shuler

College student tags first Gobbler

Megan Shuler is the latest inductee into the spring madness known as turkey hunting. On her first ever turkey hunt, she allowed her boyfriend to coax a longbeard into shotgun range, and the rest as they say is history. Amazingly, they went back to the woods the very next morning and she made it a two-fer on turkey harvests.

Shuler is a blonde-haired veteran of the beauty pageant system and was the 2012 Teen Miss South Carolina. Her philanthropic work during that year benefited the Palmetto Children’s Hospital, raising awareness for those in need of medial care. Today she is a student and a Teacher’s Assistant for Shotgun and Riflery at Clemson University and she shoots a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun.

The setting for her fateful first turkey h...