Scott Rall
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistNovember 23, 2021Last year about 65,000 pheasant stamps were sold in Minnesota. This is a stamp hunters must purchase that supports pheasant habitat work in the state. It is also a valuable way to accurately count the number of hunters that chase pheasants every year. I have been of the opinion that this count is important because it gauges hunting activity and helps managers understand hunter number trends. Of…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistNovember 16, 2021We are still chasing roosters when time allows, but I got committed to a large seeding project that has taken up most of my free time for the past few weeks, and it looks to last a few weeks more, doing it after my day job is finished. Seeding conservation lands this time of year is challenging, but doing so after the ground temperatures are cold enough that none of the seed will germinate until…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistNovember 09, 2021I am all about ethical hunting. I have never had a game violation and I never plan to get one. There are a few areas where normally good sportsmen can get themselves into a little trouble. I am not talking about a three-state poaching ring; rather, I’m talking about the most common situations in which some folks might be tempted into crossing the line. The most common one is shooting just a bit…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistNovember 02, 2021A dog is a dog is a dog, unless the dog is one of my dogs. All dog owners have different levels of attachment to their dogs. Some keep a dog around only as a family pet. Others hunt with them on special occasions. Most of these dogs with little time afield or with limited training do as much or as little as the owner expects of them. Others will train their dogs extensively or even have a…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistOctober 27, 2021The day I have been waiting for has finally arrived! Pheasant hunting season in Minnesota opened Oct. 16, and there are a few things your hunting dogs need before you get out in the field. Many dog owners will let these items slip until something bad happens, and then they have to deal with them in the aftermath. Trim toenails The first task is to trim your dog’s toenails. Most dogs live in the…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistOctober 19, 2021My household includes four Labrador retrievers, which some people think is a lot of dogs. It wasn’t always this way for me. I was volunteering at the Little Sioux Retriever Club Hunt test back in the mid-90s and I was sitting around five different dog trainers. I asked them as a group, “Why would anyone need more than one dog?” They all started laughing. I figured you can only hunt one dog at a…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistOctober 12, 2021It happens all the time. A good idea gets a little traction and then, for a whole host of reasons, dies on the vine. This was what just about happened in the Adrian community when an Eagle Scout started a project to open an archery range about two years ago. The required approvals were received from the necessary government entities, but over the next few months the project was not completed, and…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistOctober 05, 2021When I came home way after sunset a few days back, I asked my gal Cindy Scott why I was always so beat every night. I knew the answer, but she added that if I ever stopped long enough to let my engine cool off, it might help. The past two months were great, and the upcoming two months are going to be great, but it means a lot more nights coming home beat. Opening Pheasant Hunting weekend starts…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistSeptember 28, 2021The public lands in Minnesota are the heart and jewel of the Minnesota way of life. Many people move to Minnesota to immerse themselves in this way of life. Others wouldn’t consider living anywhere else because of it. Minnesota has great hunting, fishing, bird watching, canoeing and a lengthy list of other outdoor pursuits. At the heart of this lifestyle is our public lands. I call them citizen-…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistSeptember 14, 2021Most hunters pay little attention to protecting their hearing from the loud blast of a shotgun. Rifle hunters, on the other hand, almost always wear substantial hearing protection. Some will even spend north of $1,200 to adapt their rifle to a suppressor, which is quiet enough not to require hearing protection. It the past I never wore hearing protection while hunting. I did not shoot enough…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistSeptember 07, 2021Minnesota’s pheasant opener this year is Oct. 16, a week later than the normal opening weekend, cutting the season short by seven days. I have attended the Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener for the past 10 years or so, but the jury is still out as to whether this is actually going to happen in 2021, so I made other plans. My Pheasants Forever chapter and I are now hosting a ladies-only…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistAugust 31, 2021It is mid-August and the past several free days and evenings have been spent doing public lands habitat improvements. These improvements have been in the way of spraying a leaf application brush killer on volunteer trees that for all practical purposes pollute grassland ecosystems. One tree here or one shrub there provides no wildlife value. In fact, they actually reduce the habitat quality and…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistAugust 24, 2021The first fall gunning season is only two weeks away. The fall hunting season starts with the mourning dove opener on Sept. 1. The mourning dove is the most numerous game bird in North America, and states have been hunting them for decades. When the season started in Minnesota more than a decade ago, it was a pretty big controversy. A segment of the population thought they should be left alone,…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistAugust 10, 2021Now is the time to grab a few boxes of shells and get your shooting eye tuned up for the dove season that starts on Sept. 1. Not everyone hunts doves, but a keen shooting eye will benefit every hunter, whether it’s ducks, pheasants, grouse or any other game on the wing. When I finally got serious about hunting winged birds, I was already about 25 years old, and now this outdoor activity has…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistAugust 03, 2021The headline of the Star Herald a few weeks back announced that a nearby community’s drinking water had levels of magnesium that were five times higher than what was safe for infants. It really doesn’t matter where in the state you live, this is becoming a far too frequent headline. There is a very old saying that “whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting,” and water issues are now one…- By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJuly 27, 2021Every time the United States Department of Agriculture announces additional acres for the CRP program, sportsmen and women across the country cheer. The federal Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers to take marginal cropland out of production and plant it to native grass and flower cover. Contracts range from 10-15 years with rental rates as high as $350 per acre per year and as low as $42…
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