In the October 2008 issue of

River Hills Traveler

Turkey hunting, deer season prep, crossbow letters, gorgeous fall photos & more

Traveler is here to educate readers on outdoor issues and to promote and provoke the discussion of same. That’s what we have done with our two pieces on crossbow hunting in the September issue, and the responses published as letters to the editor and in the News & Views section of this website. Check it out for a lively, informative discussion.

It is disappointing when people who disagree with a point of view don’t stick to the issues but make personal attacks or try to suppress ideas they don’t like. But even that is part of the freedom we cherish in our country. We believe in a free and open discussion, but we'd prefer to disagree without exchanging personal insults.

Traveler is mostly freelance-written. While we try to plan our coverage, there are always surprises. I throw out a general theme to our widely scattered group of writers, many of whom I’ve never met, and they send in stories that may or may not match the theme I suggested. Very often, those that don’t fit my preconceptions are the most interesting.

My plan for October was a group of stories to help readers prepare for gun deer season next month. What we got is two deer season prep pieces, two turkey hunting stories, two fishing stories a whole bunch of archery material, plus a wide variety of other stories on topics ranging from witchcraft to lead mining.

Howard Helgenberg, who also took the fine cover photo of a young buck in velvet, has a piece on the importance of scouting to a succesful deer hunt. Tim Huffman gives plenty of details on the checklist a deer hunter should make to ensure that no essential is forgotten.

Bill Cooper and Jeremy Koerber each filed fall turkey stories. Coop reminisces about his military experiences and swaps jibes with a World War II vet who owns the property where he turkey hunts. Jeremy tells of a special day hunting with his grandpa on a farm near Cape Girardeau.

Reed Detring, new superintendent of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, sat down for a question and answer session with Traveler. One thing he said is that the river behavior policy inaugurated by his predecessor, Noel Poe, is working and will be continued.

Bob Lewis sent a story about hunting deer with a longbow. Jody Cozean Styron had a story crowded out from last month about a the Black Widow Bow company. Don Rathert sent a piece on hunting deer with a crossbow. And just before deadline, my email box filled up with letters from bowhunters who don’t much like crossbows.

I’m a sucker for color photos, so I couldn’t resist two fall essays and sets of pictures from Bill and Dian Cooper and Rudi Rudroff. Bill’s something of a poet as well as an outdoorsman and Rudi has a keen eye for detail that many of us miss.

Bob and Bo Todd caught a fine mess of fish on the St. Francis that will make good winter eating. Darrell Taylor writes that the lowly earthworm may be the best bait ever. Pat Todd shares recipes from Becky Tinsley in Fredericktown, a friend in Louisiana, and the Williamsville Area Progress Association's Hometown Cookin' Cookbook. Becky also has a piece on a trash-raiding raccoon that was too cute to shoot.

I grew up in the former lead-mining boomtown of Granby, MO, so Jo Schaper’s piece on Mine La Motte especially hit home with me. I’m betting other readers will enjoy learning about the early years of Missouri’s lead industry and colorful characters who founded it.

We’re accepting votes in our Traveler Readers Choice contest through Oct. 31. There's a link to the ballot on the front of this website. We’re not encouraging anyone to vote for the same folks twice, though that’s not prohibited. What we really want is to get a lot more readers involved in telling us your favorite places in Traveler Country.

The October issue also includes travel maps for the Upper and Lower Current, Jacks Fork and Meramec and Black Rivers, Clearwater and Wappapello Lakes and the Parkland region.

— Emery Styron, Editor & Publisher

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