Deer Hunting
Briar Archeology
I left a cheese wrapper on the ground this past weekend. I did not mean to. It slipped out of my hand at Lazy Boy and it fell to the ground and joined the leaves and such. I did not pick it up either. It’s my property and if I want to leave a cheese wrapper on the ground, I can. I’m like that. I leave shotgun hulls on the ground too. I used to hunt a place where the landowner told me before my first time out that he had thrown the previous bunch of hunters off , because … More . . .
Angus’ Last Yute Hunt
. . . and mine as well. At least it will be for a long while. We spent the weekend at Lazy Boy and Midway, celebrating Angus’ last deer hunt as a Youth. By next year, he will be 16 and be on and adult tag. It was Kentucky’s early Youth Season– you know Yute Season, where the yutes go out with their yute rifles and . . . you get the idea. The weekend itself was perfect– warm, dry, there was a moon at night. I don’t think the temperature dipped below 50F. There was just one problem: it … More . . .
Lazy Boy PT II
A year ago at this time, I described Lazy Boy, a stand site that my son wanted to develop for deer and turkey hunting. He’s about to go through his last Yute Season, and it’s time to start planning for the future. We went out to Lazy Boy on Sunday and set up a ground blind for next week’s Yute Opener. Angus has been out scouting several times to this site on his own and seen deer every time. Want a deer blind in a hurry? Take a 12 foot section of that die-cut or burlap blind material, a bag … More . . .
Become Your Own Expert
From Deer & Deer Hunting Hey guys, this will be my first hunting season and I have chosen to go after the deer with a bow. I have some basic knowledge on deer hunting and have become a fairly decent shooter with my bow. I live in New Hampshire and the woods I hunt in is owned by my family and is about 8 acres. The terrain of the woods is fairly thick no clear cuts or farmland, just big woods with oaks and pines. My question is how would someone like me try and hunt this terrain? I have … More . . .
The New Deer Rifle
Well, I’ve got a new deer rifle rifle– went down to the farm over the weekend to get it. I’d promised O.T. I’d be down first week in August for it. O.T. called earlier in the week to ask about my health, so I knew he hadn’t changed his mind. O.T. had a heck of a time getting the safe open. He blamed bad eyes, but it was obvious it more than that. He’s had his last hunt. We spent a long time talking about how it used to be. We were up on the front porch looking out over … More . . .
Deer Rifle Advice
Dear Shaman: I am a fairly new deer hunter, looking to purchase my first deer rifle. I’ve been reading the magazines and I’m pretty sure I want. . . . . . blah. . . blah. . . I figure I need it to be flat out to at least 600 yards. . . blah . . . blah . . . able generate n0000 foot lbs of energy . . . blah . . . blah. . should I get the Remington or the Ruger? Sincerely Newbie in Blah. . . Blah Yeah. Right. Dear Newbie: Put down the … More . . .
Tree Stand Update
I’ve been using treestands throughout the bulk of my deer hunting career. For the past decade or so I have gone almost exclusively to a buddy-style ladder stand. 15 footers get me far enough off the ground to be innocuous to the deer. They are a lot safer and easier to deal with than other styles. I originally got them, because of my sons, but I have kept using them as my kids got to big for both of us to fit, because they are so roomy and comfortable. Here’s my favorite. I call it “Campground,” because it is close … More . . .
But then again. . .
I went back and reviewed the Outdoor Life article again, and I am not saying they are wrong, but there are some ideas worth discussing. First off, here is the article again from Outdoor Life referenced in the previous post: Best Deer Hunting State: Kentucky Takes Top Spot in New Whitetail Scale Next let me give you my take on the criteria: Trophy Production: I think this is a good, valid indicator. However, let me just blow a little hint in your ear: not everyone in KY believes in B&C. That may sound like heresy, but I think I’ve got … More . . .
Hydrostatic Shock — More Distance Traveled
A mentor of mine on the subject of outdoor writing told me what his mentor told him: save everything you write for 8 years, and you will never have to write an original piece after that. You will spend the rest of your career re-purposing the first 8 years. Then again, my grandfather told me that when a man started to repeat himself, you pretty much knew that he had given you all he knew on the subject. Go figure. Anyhow. I vaguely remembered this topic, and I dug around a bit on the weblog. Viola! (How does she keep … More . . .
Additions to the Deer Battery
I have two new additions to the official shamanic deer battery. Both are customized Mausers from friends. One is a 8X57 K98 that I picked up from SuperCore, who was downsizing his inventory over the summer. Mauser 25-06 The other is O.T’s deer gun. My buddy O.T. is call it quits this year– just too old and tired to go schlepping through the hollows any more. O.T. had an early-model 2X Aimpoint on the 25-06. Even though O.T. is in his eighties, his eyes are are considerably better than mine for distance work. I am also a good head-or-so … More . . .
More Poop on the Poop
You know, with all that was going on at deer camp last weekend, I kind of forgot to mention some important deer-related stuff. Yes, it still is a little poopy, but . . . well, you’ll see. I was out doing my first bit of serious scouting for turkeys and I found deer scat everywhere. The snow had just melted. This was the first weekend where it had gone above 50 F in quite a while. There were endless acres of deer poop, preserved from all the snow and cold. This was a good time to be out scouting for … More . . .
Whitetail Deer — What is Overkill Anyway?
I am putting the deer rifles away for the year. Yes, my tail is still dragging, but I figure coming away with a zip is better than it could be. A day spent at Deer Camp is usually going to be better spent anywhere else. My mind still wanders back there, and I am forever working things through my head. I got to thinking about Overkill yesterday, and I thought I would share my thoughts. I see the idea of Overkill show up in a lot of threads out there in forums. I see it here on the search strings … More . . .
Deer Post-Mortem, 2012
I could have been out for late ML season in KY this weekend, but between the rain and the dismally few deer that seem to be on the property at the moment, I figured that it would be better to stay home, clean guns, and count the ammo. It has been rather dreary the past few days. The light is just coming up this morning– fog, drizzle. Blech! This is a good time to search the soul, contemplate my sins, and await the day when my thoughts will turn towards turkey. The Savage 99, and the Eternal Search for the … More . . .
Tag Soup
I look back now on that nice 10-pointer I had standing broadside to me in October and I have to wonder.  If I knew I would be sitting here today with no tags filled at the end of season, would I have shot?  Was there something more I could have done during season? Did I mess up somewhere along the way? Normally, I would not be all that worried. I have had bum years before. If I had really thought about this season, I would have seen it bore a close resemblance to 2002. Yes, we had a few acorns … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp — Week 2, 2012
Forty Years ago, I remember a writer for a fishing magazine proposing a time machine for every tackle box. You get to the bait shop and everyone is saying “You should have been here last week. Boy, were they biting!”  I was reminded of that when stopping in to the processor to pick up SuperCore’s doe. We had missed two fantastic days of hunting, last Wednesday and Thursday. Peak of the rut? Probably. It was certainly the peak of an otherwise unsatisfying season. Often times Weekend 2 of KY’s Modern Weapon Season rivals the Opener.  This one was a fizzle. … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp — 2012 Opener
First it was the Reds, then the Bengals, then the Republicans. There is a lot that sort of thing running around this year. Deer hunting can have years like that too. A good part of it is the expectations. The Reds really looked like the could go all the way this year. Let me begin by giving you the good news. SuperCore broke his losing streak. It was a long, roundabout path from the end of 2010 to now. He had a lot of disappointments along the way, but the dry spell ended Sunday morning at 0730 when a doe … More . . .
The Eve of the Opener
“. . . The stockings were hung by the chimney with care” Actually, the clothesline IS filled with hunting socks at the moment. Last night Angus did his last load of hunting clothes. Preparations have been going on for some time. Last weekend, I was out at camp, puttering around the whole weekend getting the last of chores done prior to the Opener. It was down to all those little things that would not exactly make or break the hunt, but could put a dent in getting out the door on time. A new battery had to be put in … More . . .
Happy Saint Hubert’s Day, Y’all!
It was back in 2005 when a bunch of us regulars on 24hourcampfire.com were discussing the problem that hunters face when it comes to Christmas. You get all this cool stuff for presents, but then you have to wait until the next year to use it. I suggested that the gift giving be moved to Nov3, the Feast of Saint Hubert. Hubert is the patron saint of hunting. In Europe it’s a big deal in places. Bavaria really gets into it– lots of processions and the like. We’re down here at deer camp, but I’m about to get KYHillChick up … More . . .
Twilight Zone Buck
It all started back last Sunday. I was up in my stand, getting to the end of my second morning of hunting in KY’s early muzzleloader season. I had the .54 Hawken along. It was a nice bright morning. I’d seen a few doe over the weekend, but nothing worth popping cap. It was nearing 10 AM. I had decided that I would come out about then. There was a lot of things to do back at camp. I had to sight in some deer rifles. The next weekend was going to be our designated “Bye” week in season. Most … More . . .
Yute Season
Angus was out for KY Yute Season yesterday. We did not bag anything, but we had a good time. The trip brought up a whole lot of issues, that I feel need airing. First off, as you know, Angus is a bagpiper. He’s not just a good bagpiper. He’s a phenomenal bagpiper. They threw him out of Junior competition a couple of years ago, because he was walking off with all the medals, and it was decided it would be more fair for him to compete as an adult. He’s 14 now. He is playing with North Coast up in … More . . .
Lazy Boy
It is just a little past sunrise, but there is a quite a bit of ground fog this morning. I sent Angus out scouting a new spot. We call it Lazy Boy. Part of it was because we’re trying to standardize the naming scheme of all our stands; this is in Lima Section, so stand names have to begin with and ‘L.’ Part of this was because Angus did not want to go through all the hassle of developing it like a normal stand site– clearing shooting lanes, putting up a tree stand, etc. Lazy Boy is a flat spot … More . . .
Favorite Memories from Deer Camp
I went my first 5 years hunting with my buddies. Then they all started dying off, and in short order I was hunting alone. It took two wives and 15 years to get me back to the point where I had two sons to hunt with, and a deer camp I could call my own. I literally had to go out and breed my deer camp from the ground up. Our first deer camp was convened in the fall of 2001 with me as the patriarch. Mooseboy was 9. Little Angus was only 3, and had not yet taken up … More . . .
Reality Sets In. . . AGAIN
Last year on September 18th, I posted a piece about trying out my new 30-30 rounds. Sometimes writing a weblog can be eerie. You go back and read stuff and you realize you’ve pretty much repeated yourself. Here’s the post: Reality Sets In On Sunday, I was back at the shooting bench. Surprisingly, the target frame had folded up in the storm Friday night. I had to go out and pound some nails in it to get it back standing. I had not had the 30-30 out since that trip in 2011. This time, the only things that were different: … More . . .
Jaegdenfreude?
A Record Month!!! First off, I just want to say a thank you to all of you. August was the best month ever for visitors and the amount of content y’all were reading– about 20% more than the previous record back in April and double what it was a year ago. It is getting so I have at least 200 readers a day, and a growing number of you are coming back for more after the first visit. I really appreciate your appreciation.  Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you are thinking. I’d love … More . . .
Labor Day Reloading Projects
What is left of Hurricane Isaac is moving through Cincinnati this morning. We had originally thought about staying at the farm all weekend, but the forecast seemed rather dire. We all opted to stay home. A wide-eyed Obama supporter showed up at our door the other night, asking our opinions on President Obama and Sherrod Brown.  I don’t think she liked my responses. However, it reminded me that I was way behind on reloading projects. I was out of work 2.5 years and then underemployed another 1.5 years. I just accepted an offer that puts me back closer to where … More . . .
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