Notes from the Top of the World

by Dan Simmons– We are starting off the year with remarkable exploits, stories, and adventures. The Story continues…. My good friend Larry Strickland just returned from Tajikistan where he shot a remarkable Marco Polo sheep on his December birthday. It all started at the OVIS wild sheep convention in Las Vegas where Larry & wife … Read more

A Season of Gifts and a New World Champion

by Dan Simmons– It’s the season of receiving and giving of gifts and my good friend Lanny Barnes is a perfect example of the season. You’ve previously met her in this column as we celebrated her and her twin sister Tracy’s achievement as Olympic Biathlon champions and their taking a “last minute” Elk for Lanny’s … Read more

Dr. Jessie’s First Elk

by Dan Simmons– Have you ever met a charming twenty-seven year old lady power lifter with a Doctorate who likes to hunt and fish? I have, and this is her story of harvesting a deer and her first elk this past year. It all started with her drawing both tags. Jessie Peterson’s dream elk hunt … Read more

Why We Hunt

by Dan Simmons – This is the time of year when your non-hunting friends begin to ask, “Why do you hunt?” and beginning hunters ask about the hunting lifestyle, culture and what it takes to be a good hunter. I’ve been around it long enough as a game warden, guide, lecturer and now story teller, … Read more

The Biathlon Elk

This is the story of an Elk hunt, but not your typical story, if there is such a thing. Lanny Barnes is a three- time Olympic Biathlon champion (skiing and shooting) and her identical twin sister, Tracy, is also a biathlon champion. This sets the stage for a very unusual story. It was the last … Read more

Putting Sheep on the Mountain

by Dan Simmons – We’re wrapping up the season of annual wildlife banquets and conventions. It’s been a time to meet old and new friends as I did at the recent Wildlife Habit Improvement of Nevada (WHIN) banquet in Las Vegas. I shared a table with an old friend, Eddie Pribble, a past president and … Read more

The Stricklands Hunt Spain

debra-and-larry

by Dan Simmons – There are hunts and there are tough hunts with tents and freeze-dried food on the campfire, all are adventures. Then there’s Spain; it’s a tough luxurious hunting adventure as my friends Commissioner Debra Strickland and Husband Larry discovered on their latest adventure. They signed up for a coveted Spanish Ibex hunt … Read more

A New Year. Time to Set Priorities and Make Plans

by Dan Simmons – It’s a new year with new opportunities and possibilities. Now it’s time to set our priorities and make plans. My friend Bill Wilson did just that this past year as he set his sights on an African Cape Buffalo safari in Zimbabwe. As a former Navy Seal and commander of Seal … Read more

Marines and A Holiday Hunt

by Dan Simmons – In my last column I wrote about my “successful Elk” hunt with my artist friend Justin Young. It was a great adventure, but my freezer was still empty. I was sitting around my Thanksgiving fireplace with another close friend, Craig Kozeniesky , a retired Marine Colonel in command of Special Ops … Read more

The Hunting Artists

justin-bull

by Dan Simmons – While sitting at my desk, having just returned from a Colorado elk hunt, and eating a plate of elk track stew, I was reflecting on great wildlife artists and hunters. Yes the elk won this time. It was, however, a great hunt, even though it didn’t help fill the freezer. The … Read more