Outdoors - Pierce County Journal

Outdoor Tales & Trails: A bow season surprise

Before we slip too far away from 2024, I want to pass along a late season bow hunting story. I had bagged a buck during the muzzleloader season but I wanted to take a doe for the purpose of … more

By Dave Beck | 1/8/25

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Those crafty critters...

Happy New Year! Although it’s the start of a new year, it’s near the end of the fisher trapping season. Fisher trapping is a tough gig. The time and effort put into it does … more

By Dave Beck | 1/2/25

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Dave’s Naughty & Nice List

It’s literally Christmas Day and we’re all settled in with family and friends. By now we know who has been naughty and who has been nice. The proof is found under the tree, or, … more

By Dave Beck | 12/26/24

The best tracking crew I could ever ask for: My nephew Brandon, his three kids and my brother Whammer.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Muzzy Season Part II

For review, last week I told you about my return down river to the Rush Creek area. I went muzzleloader hunting in the spot where I shot at my first archery deer. That hunt was a long time … more

By Dave Beck | 12/18/24

The place where I shot at my first archery deer. Stay tuned to find out if muzzleloader hunting was a success there.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Muzzy Season Part 1

Both my early archery season and gun season ended the same for me: without much fanfare. Yes, I saw deer. During the archery season I passed on some bucks like we all do, but I … more

By Dave Beck | 12/11/24

Shoutout to the entire Ruemmele hunting party from Hudson. This is an awesome old school meat pole picture that includes four bucks and two does.

Oh deer! Pierce County 2024 deer hunting gallery

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) celebrates the conclusion of the 2024 nine-day gun deer hunt, which kicked off the holiday season in Wisconsin with opportunities to enjoy the … more

12/4/24

This scruffy little doe splashed near my deer stand, but I let her go in hopes a big buck would come along.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: The 2024 gun deer season

The 2024 deer gun season is all but in the books. As I pen this, a few days remain but I’ve come in to warm up and honestly, it may take that long to raise my core temperature back to … more

By Dave Beck | 12/4/24

Not every hunter bags a big buck, but hunting is also about the stories collected out in the woods and the memories made.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: My first deer

It’s deer hunting week and because I’m still in the woods this week’s OTT is “pre-recorded.” When I come out of the woods, whenever that may be, I’ll get back … more

By Dave Beck | 11/27/24

That awesome memory is from many hunting seasons ago but around our family the story resurfaces this time of year and it’s all because we had to “go into town” to register my dad’s big buck.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Dad's big buck

In just a couple of days in Wisconsin we are going to celebrate one of the best traditions in our state’s history. No, not Jump Around at the Badger game and no, not a victory dance at … more

By Dave Beck | 11/20/24

Deer carcass disposal sites are available in River Falls and east of Ellsworth during the bow and gun deer 2024 seasons.

Free deer carcass disposal sites offered in RF, Ellsworth

The River Falls Sportsman's Club, the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources and City of River Falls are again offering deer hunters a safe, local solution for disposal of butchered animal remains … more

11/13/24

Outdoor Tales & Trails: The felling of Old Legend

I have kicked today’s topic around for a couple of days and I decided that the timing was actually pretty good. As divided as we have seemed to be lately, I wanted to write about something … more

By Dave Beck | 11/13/24

This unique buck has been appearing on my trail camera. The photos don’t do him justice.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: ‘Lucky’ lives another day

How’s my archery season going? That’s a good question. I would say it’s up and down. I go up into the tree stand and I come down from the tree stand with my buck tag … more

By Dave Beck | 11/6/24

I was finally able to catch some trout on the last day of the season by busting out Grandpa Wally’s trusted heirloom lures.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Heirloom lures have staying power

I did a fair amount of stream fishing as the trout season was winding down. In the past I never really spent a lot of time chasing trout this late in the season but this year I actually found it … more

By Dave Beck | 10/30/24

My first night out bowhunting, I watched a doe and her two yearling fawns grazing in front of me.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: A ’W’ in the woods

You know how when you talk about something you jinx it so that it happens? Well, I need that something to happen in a big way. That’s how desperate I am to get on the other side if … more

By Dave Beck | 10/23/24

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Black gnats ruin bow hunting

You know how when you talk about something you jinx it so that it happens? Well, I need that something to happen in a big way. That’s how desperate I am to get on the other side if … more

By Dave Beck | 10/16/24

Ryan Beierman and his son Owen Beierman.

RF man saved by son in gruesome bear attack

Ryan Beierman and his 12-year-old son Owen of River Falls thought they would be embarking on a normal hunting and fishing trip to their cabin near Siren, but everything changed in a hurry when Ryan … more

By Andrew Harrington | 10/16/24

Two surprise guests prevented my stringer from having more trout on it for my lunch.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Beaver trout busters

I usually write about how excited I am about the new seasons approaching and this time of year it’s duck season and deer gun season, to name a few. But as I sat down at my computer … more

By Dave Beck | 10/9/24

It was a crappie fishing contest with the Rookie himself on my latest outdoor adventure.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Gamesmanship in crappie fishing

I know that we are heading into the meat of the bow hunting season. yet I don’t have a single hunting story of my own. The reason is that I’m not keen on sitting out in the woods … more

By Dave Beck | 10/2/24

It's a long hike up and over the top of a mountain in Colorado.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: I'd go back tomorrow

Full disclosure: this column has been on tape delay for the past two weeks. Before leaving for Colorado, I wrote a couple of weeks’ worth of articles and submitted them in advance so … more

By Dave Beck | 9/25/24

Dave Beck and his elk hunting brothers – some are biological brothers, some are unofficial Becks.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Elk hunting

The closer we get to the fall hunting seasons the more anxious I am for them to arrive. For that reason and many more, it’s easier to go looking for them instead of waiting for … more

By Dave Beck | 9/18/24