Ah, Saint Patrick’s day…the day full of frivolity, poor dress choices, and unappetizingly colored beers; and oddly enough one of our favorite smaller holidays. Why, you ask? Well, first off as hunters we fully support anything that revolves around the color green, especially when it gives us an excuse to have an office camo day. Secondly, we love it because it gives us the chance to enjoy some brews (preferably NOT the green kind), good laughs with people we love, and has a tendency to spur fantastic discussions about how this holiday marks just around a month until we get to kick-off turkey hunting season. We’ve also found that some of the best ways to enjoy a tasty adult-style St. Paddy’s Day is to have an awesome dinner complete with interesting beer and wild game recipe pairings. Not only does this help clear out the freezer to make way for this year’s game, but it gives you the opportunity to elevate your dinner with ease. So this month, we present to you some of our favorite wild-game and beer pairings. Salut!

1. Duck. We love us some duck! It’s tender, delicious, and pretty versatile overall. You can batter it and fry it, you can roast it; the limits of duck know no bounds. We have found though that duck tends to pair best with a little bit sweeter of a beer that has more of a fruit or citrus base. Fortunately, sweeter beers abound! We have found that some of our favorites include pairing a nice Kriek Lambic (like this one from Lindeman’s), a Doppelbock (we love Celebrate by Ayinger), or a Trappist ale (we recommend Trappist by Rochefort 8, or a lovely Chimay Cinq Cents). If those are a little too fancy or hard to find (because let’s be honest, sometimes your options are limited), any sweeter stout or Baltic porter will definitely go great!

2. Venison or Elk. Venison can be a bit trickier to pair, as it often has a bit more of a gamey flavor to it. Lots of people love and embrace the gamey flavor, while others prefer to mask it as best they can. We personally love the venison for what it is: nature-made deliciousness. Since venison tends to have a bit more of a bold flavor, we love to pair it either with a simple wheat if you’re doing burgers (like a Miller High Life, O’Dells Easy Street, or New Belgium’s Sunshine Wheat), or a nice Brooklyn Brown ale like Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown. The caramel undertones in addition to the malty quality pairs amazingly with the venison and does a great job of complimenting it by highlighting all the wonderful flavors, and masking any potential overly gamey flavors.

3. Wild Hog. Now, we have to say that one of our favorite things to pair with any type of pig (wild or not) is apples. We can’t say exactly why since we aren’t chefs, but there is something about that sweetness that just takes pork to a whole new level. So, of course, one of our favorite beer pairings is one with apples. Now, we know many of you will give us a judgmental brow for this one, but we insist you try it before you judge. We personally love the way Angry Orchard pairs with wild hog; particularly their Green Apple. The reason we prefer the green apple as opposed to the regular, is we’ve found that on occasion the regular Angry Orchard can be just a tad too sweet, where as the Green Apple gives a nice tartness that balances the flavors just right. If, however, you simply cannot bring yourself to drink Angry Orchard, Dubbels also pair quite nicely with hog, as do most Belgian Strong Ales or Stouts.

4. Turkey. With spring hunting season just around the corner, we couldn’t leave out one of our favorite birds! Luckily, turkey pairs great with quite a few beers allowing you a variety if you so choose. Some of our favorite beers to accompany a nice wild turkey are a good IPA (we recommend Julius by Tree House Brewing Co, Orange Starfish by the Aslin Beer Co, or Yellow Rose by the Lone Pint Brewery), a Saison like Hennepin, or a nice amber ale (we adore Levity by O’Dells Brewing Co). If we were you, we’d just make lots of delicious wild turkey in as many ways as possible and just explore the possibilities!

We hope you all enjoy our pairing recommendations, and hope that if you try them, you let us know what you thought (or even send a picture, we love pictures)! We also believe that any day is a special enough occasion for an awesome dinner party with some delicious beverages. We wish you all a safe and happy St. Paddy’s day and hope that you all stay safe. May your dinner clear you freezer, and your Pro-Tracker, Ultimate Tracking and recovery system help you to successfully fill it anew this year!

We don’t know about you guys, but we have had an awesome hunting season this year thanks to our Pro-tracker, ultimate tracking and recovery system giving us help when we needed it. Because of our luck we seem to have a good amount of antlers around, as well as lots of amazing sheds that we were lucky enough to find. Since we are all about using all parts of the animal we hunt, the question now is what to do withal of them? Well, we’ve asked each other and some other hunters we know and come up with some crafty ideas we think are pretty darn awesome. Better yet, we’ve included some awesome DIY videos we have found to help you guys with each project. Have some ideas of your own? Then let us know about it!

1. Make a chandelier. Now, this one can be both time consuming and tricky and may require some outside assistance, but when done right these can look amazing. Not only will your friends and family compliment you on your unique décor, but you get to inform them that you found and handpicked (and depending on your level of craftiness and electrical abilities, made) all the parts making up your awesome new home addition. Unfortunately, this is one thing that unless you have a large store of sheds to choose from, may take a few seasons to accomplish.

2. One of the ladies in our office is the crafty sort and loves to decorate her house with things she has made; and she has made some awesome things! Some of our favorites are a coat rack she keeps near her front door and a wine rack she keeps in her kitchen. The coat rack is great because it can be as simple as a lovely pine or wood board with small sheds screwed on, to a more complex standing rack with each shed branching off to allow maximum coat space. One of her personal favorites is the necklace/ bracelet holder she made so some of her favorite jewelry pieces from her husband can have a place of honor. All three of these ideas are surprisingly easy to make as well, which is a huge plus!

3. Make your sheds help you next season by making your own rattling horns! We all know there are tons of things you can use to mimic this noise while you hunt, but why not do it yourself! You can save yourself some cash since you’ve already got the supplies and we’ve also found that using real antlers gives the best, most realistic sound out there. For these, all you need to do is trim off the brow tines, use a Dremel to smooth any rough edges, and then use some paracord to make the antlers easy to transport and hang. Ta-da! All done!

Well everyone, it’s that time of year when Santa comes and we all spend a crazy amount of time trying to find that perfect gift for those that we love. We know shopping around for just the right thing can be time consuming and stressful; which is the opposite of what the season of giving is all about. So, we thought we would totally help you guys out! Here is a short list of our top 5 things we came across that made our inner children do a happy dance that just might be the perfect thing for that beloved hunter or huntress.

1. The Go Pro Sportsman’s Mount. What’s better than filming a great hunt? Well filming it from your perspective of course! This Go Pro is specifically made to attach to most guns (including paintball or airsoft), fishing rod, or bow; the only requirements is that it’s between 0.4” and 1.0”. You can put the camera on either a forward facing or reverse mount as well, in case you want to film a first time hunter’s expression when they finally get their first kill! The mount retails for $69.99 and can be found in most sporting goods stores. Need a Go Pro to go with your mount? Well those little guys generally retail for anywhere between $199.00 and $499.00 depending on the model and can be found in most sports and electronics stores.
2. The Pro-Tracker, Ultimate Tracking and Recovery System. The Pro-Tracker system is a must for any Bowhunter. The system has a small transmitter that attaches to the arrowhead and immediately disengages upon first impact; which allows for pass-throughs. The transmitter then hooks into the animal’s hide and begins sending a RF signal to a handheld receiver. The receiver gets updates to your animal’s location every 3 seconds and then gives you a digital readout showing right where your animal is. The system is lightweight, rechargeable, and water resistant with a battery life of 10-12 hours. This system is amazing and makes it so you have peace of mind. If traditional tracking fails you due to inclement weather, unfortunate hunting terrain, or darkness, then this system can help ensure that you find your prize and can take it home. Like to hunt in a group? Well the receiver can also be used for up to 6 transmitters, so if you’ve got a large family (or lots of friends) you can use this as a great gift for a group of people, or a great gift for a group of people to all chip in on! Retail is $699.95 and extra transmitters are $89.95.

3. Hunting Clothing Specifically for the Ladies. Well guys, the ladies in our office unanimously, and enthusiastically, voted that this be put on our top list of presents. It seems that while things are getting better that there is still a general shortage of women’s camo hunting gear. Luckily, stores like Cabela’s and Gander Mountain have hopped on to the ladies hunting train. So this Christmas it may not be a bad idea to make sure all the ladies in your life are suited up in clothes specifically cut for them to help bring their hunting game up to the next level!

4. Oakley Radarlock Path Photochromic Sport Sunglasses. We know, you’re probably wondering why on Earth sunglasses made our list. However, these aren’t just regular sunglasses, they are the mother of all sunglasses and are basically made specifically for hunters to boot. As a hunter, you spend enough time outside that having a good pair of shades with UV protection is a must, but there is nothing more aggravating that having to buy a new pair when the lenses inevitably get scratched. So, enter these awesome Oakley Sport sunglasses. These babies have interchangeable (yes, we said interchangeable) polycarbonate lenses so that when those scratches do happen, you can just pop in a new lens or two. They also have frames that are made of both durable and flexible materials so they can take a beating. Best of all, these are basically smart sunglasses and the lenses are made specifically to automatically adjust to your light level as you move from shade to sun during your hunt. These retail from $155.99-$300.00 depending on where they are purchased from and which pair you choose.

5. The BARSKA 8×32 Binoculars with Built-In Camera. During a hunt binoculars basically become an extension of your hands for a good portion of the day while you’re busy scouting for that elusive game and there is nothing more frustrating that seeing amazing views and wildlife and being able to tell your family and friends about what you saw, but not being able to actually show them. Now, with these awesome binoculars you can see and show. These binoculars are not only great binoculars on their own, but they come with a built-in 8.0 Megapixel camera that allows you to snap photos of all the amazing things that you are seeing. This not only gives you great photos to share with family and friends, but can prove to be extremely useful when mapping out terrain in preferred hunting areas. This retails for $160.00-$199.00 depending on where they are purchased.

Well everyone it’s almost time for one of our favorite holidays…Thanksgiving! Why do we love Thanksgiving? Well because, as avid bow hunters, this is the holiday where we get to let our friends and family try some of our favorite wild game recipes, as well as try recipes other people bring along! This month’s blog is going to be a spotlight of some of the very best recipes that have come across our Thanksgiving table. Have a favorite of your own? Then share so we can give it a try!

As far as we are concerned, you can’t have the perfect Thanksgiving without the perfect turkey. Luckily, this year we had some pretty good luck getting a few wild turkeys and we can’t wait to get them on the table. Now, as for wild turkey, there are hundreds of amazing ways you can prep and cook it; all of which are completely delicious. If you’re not a big fan of cooking and prefer to go basic, we personally love doing both a simple roast with some basic seasonings (like salt, pepper, and season salt) and a good consistent basting. It’s easy as pie and always comes out juicy and flavorful with minimal effort. If you’re one that loves the flavors of a deep fried bird, then by all means go for it! For our fried birds, we like to keep it simple with a bit of salt and some brown sugar. It’s a little sweet and packed full of flavor. However, if you’re someone that loves to cook and wants to impress, we absolutely cannot get over how fabulous the Thanksgiving Wild Turkey recipe from The Wild Chef is. Why? Well it’s packed full of flavor, comes our wonderfully juicy, and well…bacon. You can never, ever go wrong with delicious bacon. Want the recipe, but don’t have the cookbook? No worries! You can find it here, courtesy of Serious Eats.

Now, we all know how impatient some guests can be while everything finishes cooking; not that we can blame them with all those amazing smells floating around. So, an appetizer is always a good idea. Our families absolutely love duck, so if we have some on hand we like to cut it into bite sized pieces, dip it in milk, and coat it with a lightly season breading and give it a good fry. It’s super simple and pretty darned tasty. However, you can also never go wrong with this recipe for bacon-wrapped elk. We gave it a whirl last year and it was a total hit, but then again…bacon! Another few options for your appetizer table that have been big hits here is some delicious venison summer sausage (we’ve tried tons of recipes, and Gramp’s version is still one of our all-time favorites) with cheese and crackers and if you prefer a fancier table, we also loved these Duck Bites with Orange and Candied Ginger from WildHarvestTable.com.

Now, of course you’ve got the appetizers and the star of the show covered, but what would Thanksgiving be without some of those amazing sides? We always have a salad at our table, and we love to sneak some wild game in. A few of our favorites is this recipe with Wild Boar and this salad which is suited to whatever wild game you happen to have on hand. We also love us some carbs, so stuffing is a must. Luckily, Wide Open Spaces completely has us covered on this front. They put up not one, not two, but three delicious wild game stuffing recipes a few years ago; and they are all fabulous! We also love to sneak some tiny bits of friend duck into our green bean casserole along with a little bit of bacon (what can we say… we really, really love bacon.

Well those are some of our favorite additions to our holiday table. What are some of yours? Tried these and liked them? Then tell us about it and send in a photo! We are especially thrilled because this year we’ve gotten tons of great photos and emails from Hunters all over the country who have let us know that thanks to our unique and wonderful Pro-Tracker, ultimate tracking and recovery system, they managed to find game they would have otherwise lost due to harsh terrain, nightfall, and even a freak heavy rainstorm that washed away a blood trail. We are so thrilled our system helped you guys to get some meat on your tables in time for Thanksgiving! We also wanted to say thanks to each and every one of you! Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and enjoy!