Meet the third woman who works on the Pheasants Forever team in North Dakota, Melissa Shockman. It’s heartening to read her life story and how she finds herself afield with North Dakota farmers – some of the world’s best, in our opinion.  The WON: Name and title (job) Melissa Shockman: Southeast Precision Ag & Conservation […]

Here are 8 of the most popular outdoor organizations in the US that you can donate to in order to help them out.

For our second profile in the 5-part series on the North Dakota Pheasants Forever team, we’re delighted to introduce you to Emily Spolyar, and we think her advice on learning to hunt and getting your fingernails dirty is spot on. We also are impressed that she learned to hunt from her 4-legged friend. The WON: […]

Imagine our surprise when we learned that the team on the ground in North Dakota, doing conservation work for Pheasants Forever, is comprised of 5 females. We thought you’d like to meet them, and learn more about what they do and why they do it. Kicking off this series, meet Renee Tomala. We would like […]

It seemed a fitting way to end 2018. Invited to tag along on an official Shoot Like A Girl, The Sisterhood Of The Outdoors’ annual duck hunt, I decided to pack up the car and head south for hunt with some women whom I knew would make the trip worth it. Sponsored by Remington Outdoor […]

I learned to hunt whitetail in my mid-40s. I finally used a birthday present, a Ruger Model 77 Mark II rifle, that my husband had given me several years earlier, to tag 2 does in northern Missouri. This was the start of my life with Ruger’s whitetail hunting rifles and becoming a whitetail hunter. Sponsored […]

Find out what happened on a recent teal hunt in Louisiana, and why Babbs thinks the V3 is a workhorse with a soft recoil.

It could have been a whole lot worse. Last year, I took a few shots at some big whitetail does from my elevated blind in the Ozarks, only to miss again and again. Frustrated, but thankful that that I hadn’t wounded any of them, I decided to figure out why I had missed and how […]

While getting ready to make the long drive for this Wyoming-based shooting trip, I packed all the necessary range personal protective equipment. What I didn’t realize was that I would also need a bowl to catch the large, juicy chunks of fruit that flew near me and fell on me. If only I had known […]

Babbs spends over an hour chatting with Mrs. Cooper her daughter, Lindy Cooper Wisdom, while visiting Gunsite Academy.

You may try not to get rattled when you’re shooting, especially by practicing strong fundamentals and following through with each shot. There’s a part of you, though, that always will get rattled, unless you offer it protection. It’s your ears, and more specifically, your ear drums. The energy that comes from a gunshot creates a […]

Memorial Day, when we look back at why we love other people’s kids who gave all.

In these times, when we ponder how to get more women interested in the outdoors and how to raise girls that are anglers, hunters and shooters, we need to understand that it’s never too late for a woman to get outdoors oriented.

Once you’ve had one, you’ll want more. Learn how to find morels and how to be safe in the turkey woods while hunting for these magnificent mushrooms.

A few years ago, I reviewed the Walther PPQ M2, and liked it. I’ve been carrying that firearm for a while now, especially in colder temperatures and under coats and jackets for concealed carry. Walther asked The WON to review its sub-compact version of this striker-fired pistol, the Walther PPQ SC, in the Law Enforcement […]

Barbara Baird takes the Danner Mountain Boots 600 out into the Ozarks for a test.

Walther Arms offers several compact concealed carry firearm options for women, which include the CCPM2, the PPQ sub-compact and this one, the PPS M2 LE Edition. Imagine my surprise, when I went to pick up a Walther at the gun store and learned that there were 3 for me to take home and review? The […]

I recently purchased the Girls with Guns Clothing rain wear jacket and pants. Designed by the team of Jen O’Hara and Norissa Harman (founders of GWG Clothing), the set comes in a new camo pattern called “Shade,” which is subtle and attractive. I decided to put it to the test when Winter Storm Petra arrived […]

You may recall Gabby Franco from her first public appearance in the History Channel’s “Top Shot,” season 4 in 2012, where she made it to the final stage of the competition (the only woman ever to do so). Before her debut to the American stage, Gabby was the first female shooter to represent Venezuela in […]

Find out how to keep those waders clean, and girl, you gotta wash your waders!

Vicki Farnam is a household name in the world of gun training. Having been in the firearms industry for more than 25 years, this vivacious grandmother teaches alongside her well-known husband, John Farnam. Together they own Defense Training International, a business that trains law enforcement as well as civilians in the skills of self-defense. Vicki […]

I don’t switch out guns like I change my shoes. However, I like to have a few guns to choose from for my concealed carry options, and have tended to choose smaller framed versions that I can easily conceal in inside-the-waistband holsters. With winter coming in strong, and with the purchase of 2 new longer-length […]

In this final part of the series titled “Fairies and Firearms,” where we travel from then Isle of Skye in Scotland to Worcestershire in England and then, over to the west, to Yorkshire, you will see what it means to go on a proper British pheasant driven shooting experience. They don’t call them hunts. Hunts […]

The AR platform is popular for personal/home defense. Crimson Trace recently introduced an aftermarket tactical light, the CWL-202, for rail-equipped long guns. We are going to kick off a series of how-to articles that feature one of the country’s top trainers giving us recommendations on how to use Crimson Trace products. We’ll begin with the […]

Babbs went up high to get the down low on BASE jumping off and on the New River Bridge in West Virginia.

Many people are used to seeing photos of Tisma Juett, manager of Inclusion & Outreach for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, in firearms industry publications. Look out, world! This firecracker of a woman recently realized her lifelong dream of owning and riding a motorcycle.   “When I was 18 years old, I signed up for the […]

Babbs details why junking is healthy for the whole family.

People want to take my purse. They don’t want it for its contents inside, they want it for the bag itself. The bag? It’s a Gun Tote’n Mamas distressed buffalo leather CCW, cross-body bag with a snap-open front flap, the GTM/CZY-98.  Sponsored by Gun Tote’n Mamas The RFID thing Introduced into the “Cinnamon line” last […]

Last May, several outdoor writers came to one of the most beautiful places in the Ozarks – Big Cedar Lodge, in Ridgedale, Missouri. Bass Pro Shops and Toyota hosted the event, “Outdoors in the Ozark Mountains,” that featured a wide range of outdoor activities, and kicked off with a day onsite at the new Johnny […]

I live on an old cattle ranch in the Ozarks that we manage for deer these days. That means, we work with several game cameras – at last count, 8 – to keep track of how the herd is doing. Currently, we’re watching fawns show up as singles or doubles with their moms. Because The […]

Last year, Remington Arms Company rolled out a line of pump-action firearms featuring 14-inch barrels, no stocks, no pistol grips and measuring slightly longer than 26 inches. The line included a model 870 in 12 gauge, followed by its little brother, the 20-gauge Tac-14. How does a firearms manufacturer design and build these sorts of […]