Author Archives: Jim Chapman
Practice Before Hitting the Field
I do a lot of practicing with my airguns before, during, and after hunting seasons. A good portion of this is after work in my basement range at 15-20 yards, and you may wonder what value that has. If I was just shooting off a bench, not much. But I find that using field positions; … Continue reading
Squirrel Season: Finding a Place To Hunt
In this post I’ll explain how I go about finding new spots to hunt in unfamiliar territory. The internet has opened up a whole new set of tools for hunters, that accelerate the search for new hunting grounds!! As many of you know, after several years living in the Indianapolis area we moved up to … Continue reading
Hunting Season is On Us!!
Well, I’m starting to ease in to the hunting season with the squirrel opening in Minnesota this week. Had a lot going on, but managed to slip out for a few hours on Saturday morning and put a couple of bushytails in the game bag. I was using a little 12 fpe carbine that I’ve … Continue reading
The Growth of Airgun Hunting
I was working on an article over the weekend, and was thinking back over my perspective of the growth of airgun hunting in North America. In the 15 years I’ve been back in the States (after almost 20 years abroad), I have seen change. When I came home I thought I was about the only … Continue reading
Housekeeping and Getting Ready for a New Season!
I’ve had a lot of behind the scenes airgunning stuff in the works since getting back from S. Dakota. I’ve been straitening up my trophy/gun room, trying to find some wall space for my bushbuck mount that should be coming over soon. Also have converted a walkin closet to a gun closet and working out … Continue reading
Out in South Dakota on a Prairie Dog Hunt
Unfortunately I was late getting out for P-dogs this season and worried the populations would be down and the dogs very wary. I’d had an invite to hunt a big ranch property in the Western part of South Dakota, so loaded up my (mountain of) gear and made the 7 hour drive. I got in … Continue reading
Does Hunting Need To Be Justified to Non-Hunters?
I’m going to use this weeks blog post to climb up on to my soapbox, to address an issue that I’ve seen cropping up in a couple places. A recent discussion on one of the airgunning forums regarding a mountain lion hunt was the first incident that got me thinking about this, then afterwards I … Continue reading
Opportunistic Airgun Hunts: South Texas Add On
A while back I’d been invited to hunt javalina down on a ranch in S. Texas. These desert pigs (not actually a pig, I know) are a game animal in Texas and therefore could not be hunted with airpowered guns. My gun of choice was my .308, but I also came ready to do some … Continue reading
The Traveling Airgun Hunter: Know the Laws and the People!
I know that I am very lucky; between writing for several hunting publications, a TV show, and Online (websites, blogs, and Youtube) projects, I get to hunt in a lot of different places. That in and of itself is very cool, but I also have the opportunity to meet with a lot of great people. But … Continue reading
What Happens to my Big Game After the Hunt……. Biltong!!
Ok, this isn’t strictly airgunning, but I often get questions about what I do with the animals I hunt. In this post I’ll talk about what I do with the deer I shoot. One deer a year supplies my family with all the venison we’ll need; backstraps, a few steaks, and a lot of ground … Continue reading
