Deer Hunting
A Ninety-Niner Speaks Out about Deer Hunting
From Deer and Deer Hunting: For the Ninety -Niners It’s funny. I don’t think a lot of guys get it. It could be that my hillbilly girlfriend’s all-to-subtle ways are rubbing off on me, and I’m getting so subtle no one can catch my hints anymore. It could be as well that I’m the only Ninety-Niner on here. I doubt it. I just think most folks are trying to lay low on it. Shoot! It could be no one else even knows what a Ninety-Niner is, or how it relates to deer hunting. Let me explain: If you’ve been on … More . . .
Come On! Really?
You know, the more I think about this whole Scent Lok thing the more annoyed I get. You figure an entire generation of hunters has been working under these assumptions about scent management. I am not saying scent management is bogus, but I am saying that Scent Lok and its ilk have certainly muddied the waters. For 20 years we’ve been hearing experts tell us this is one of the primary keys to successful deer hunting. I would be the first to admit that a lot of my thought has been down those same lines. I never did agree with … More . . .
I Just Don’t Get it
For every crazy instance I have in the past 30 years of deer busting me at some un-believable range, I have one or more crazy stories about deer that walk up on me while I’m taking a dump or eating my lunch, coming to watch me erect a stand, or while I’m climbing into my stand. My point here is that we’ve all had these various mindsets, mostly around a deer’s fantastic senses of hearing and smell. Now all of a sudden we find out the fancy scent suits weren’t working. Instead of being invisible to the deer, thousands of … More . . .
Towards a New Understanding
I caught myself this morning while I was writing a response to a fellow on another forum who was defending his use of Scent Lok clothes. I would agree up to a point. Reducing the amount of stink your body is throwing off is a good idea. The results can be dramatic too. However, I have also had some experiences where it caused me to doubt the whole premise. I had two nice bucks in velvet IN my turkey blind this season. They came in on the downwind side too. In fact, I have had several encounters like that over … More . . .
Becoming a Hunting Curmudgeon
So I was showing KYHillChick the latest on Scent Lok, and letting her read the piece on building an outhouse next to my tree stand. She screwed up her face a little and said, “Why do you do that?” “What?” “You’re such a. . . you’re always such a . . .” We finally agreed that curmudgeon was probably the closest fit, although we tried a few more epithets on for size during the process. I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. I would like to think it is a gift. A lot of folks are not that pleasant about it. … More . . .
ScentLok Nailed!
http://www.heinsmills.com/cases/Scent_Lok.html Scent Lok Litigation On May 13, 2010, United States Federal District Judge Kyle found that ALS, the manufacturer and seller of Scent Lok clothing, and Cabela’s and Gander Mountain, both of which sell Scent Lok and their own private-label clothing using Scent Lok technology, falsely advertised the ability of their Scent Lok clothing to eliminate odor. The Court found that “Defendants have published countless advertisements” almost all of which “utilize the slogans ‘odor-eliminating technology’ or ‘odor-eliminating clothing.’” The Court further found that the experts agreed that the Scent Lok clothing “cannot eliminate odor, even when new.” The Court held … More . . .
The Case for Cheap Bullets
Well, not really cheap bullets. “The Case for the Standard Hunting Bullet for Whitetail Deer,” is probably more accurate, but it sounds like a master thesis. This is just a rant. “The Case Against Premium Bullets” sounds mean spirited and negative. I am going to speak heresy here. I am not enamored with premium bullets, not in the least and certainly not when it comes to deer hunting. I guess I’m just an old fud, but I can still remember a time when Remington Core-Lokt WAS a premium bullet. Normally I just sit in the back and stay quiet, but … More . . .
Mineral Licks
I was out refreshing my licks yesterday; it was too wet during turkey season to get the truck out into the pastures. The ones that were already well established had been hit hard. I started one new one, and I am going to see how that goes. My opinions on licks have changed over the years. I started out by throwing out a block of salt in the Fall and wondering why I never saw deer. Over the years I figured out that: 1) Deer start hitting licks in early Spring. By August, they’re pretty well off them. 2) The … More . . .
Deer and Wind
From Deer and Deer Hunting SHKYBoonie writes: I have been doing a little study of my own through the past 4 years. I have been keeping a very detailed journal of deer sightings on my farms in West KY. Now this is just observation from me and the couple of buddy’s that hunt with me. The way my farms lay and the food plots we have out are best with any variance of a North wind. We have stands set to hunt just about any wind we get although some winds make it hard to get in and out of … More . . .
The Forgetful Deer Hunter
I once left my release at home. Luckily I had a shooting tab in the case. I’ve left the black powder at home before the ML Opener. Luckily I had a spare pound at the farm. I’ve left ammo at home, but I had a spare rifle handy. I’ve left my safety harness home a couple of times. I didn’t realize it before I got into the stand. I just sat quietly until it was time to go in. I once left my boots behind on a backpacking trip. Luckily I had an old pair of work boots in the … More . . .
Illinois man faces animal cruelty charges :: Prairie State Outdoors
Illinois man faces animal cruelty charges :: Prairie State Outdoors ST. LOUIS (AP) – Prosecutors say a man from Calhoun County in Illinois possessed and sold DVDs of himself hitting, maiming and killing deer with his vehicle. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that 38-year-old Jarrod Lee Hayn of Kampsville, Ill., was arrested last week on two federal animal cruelty charges. A link to Hayn’s Web site (http://www.deergonewild.com) shown last year on Prairie State Outdoors.com drew angry response from numerous readers. The Web site is no longer operating. Although he had been indicted last month in federal court in St. Louis, … More . . .
Poacher dragged off from Deer Expo
Johnny Clay is in big trouble stemming from a 2009 deer he claimed as the #1 bowkill in Kentucky. The problem is that it now seems likely it was poached with a rifle in Ohio. Oooops. This guy is from just upriver from us in Adams County, Ohio. As I understand the story, Johnny Clay claimed he took the buck on a Lewis County, KY WMA. He had this elaborate story about how he’d arrowed the deer in September and then spent over a week tracking it. When he finally found it, it was all gone but the head. Later, … More . . .
Interesting threads on KentuckyHunting.net
I found two interesting thread on KYHunting.net regarding big bucks in KY and IN: http://www.kentuckyhunting.net/forums/showthread.php?t=91957 — Is Indiana going to overtake Kentucky as a trophy state? http://www.kentuckyhunting.net/forums/showthread.php?t=91941 — What single reason makes Kentucky a trophy state The general consensus is that KY’s rise in antler score can attributed to going to a 1-buck limit. The proposition that Indiana is overtaking Kentucky is arguable. The original statement came from an IN official. I agree that the 1-buck limit has probably done the most for KY’s herd than anything else. When I hunted Indiana back in the early 90’s I was seeing … More . . .
How to keep your feet warm?
I start off with a liner. Wigwam makes good liners, but you can substitute a Walmart white dress sock. Next comes a RedHead wool blend hunting sock. It has a thick pile. After that comes my Browning hunting boots. They’re an all-leather boot sealed with beeswax. They have Thinsulate insulation. I forget how much. KYHillChick calls them my Herman Munster boots. If there’s snow on the ground, I switch to a waterproof pac boot with a thick felt liner. After I get on the stand I slip on boot blankets: This gets me down into the low 20’s comfortably. If … More . . .
O.D. and Playing the Wind
I was sitting in one of those old steel lawn chairs, that kind of acts like a rocking chair– kind of springy and such. Whenever I go to the store, that is the chair I like best. My grandfather used to have a set of them– paid me $5 one summer to take them back to the bare metal and put a couple coats of enamel on them. There is one just like Gramp’s in the corner with its back to the window. It is the farthest away from the stove, and I usually can snag it if I get … More . . .
PA Deer Hunters — Bless their Hearts
This comes from a discussion of the current PA deer harvest restrictions going on at Grizzly Gary’s Forum PA ANTLER RESTRICTIONS/HERD REDUCTION 2008 REPORTS This is addressed to everyone who has responded on this thread. I don’t mean to be picking on anyone in particular. First off, let me just remind y’all that I am a complete outsider on this. I’ve hunted a total of less than a week in PA and that was almost 10 years ago. I’m a Ohio guy who does all his deer hunting in Kentucky. I’ve been mostly lurking on here for the past few … More . . .
Back from Hiatus
Here it is getting on towards Christmas, and I haven’t written much in a month. I didn’t mean to go on hiatus. It just turned out that way. I started to write this last weekend while I was at Deer Camp cleaning up and getting the place shut down for the Winter. It just never got posted. This was a disappointing season for a lot of reasons. Angus never got one. Moose did not make it out at all. I flubbed two good shots at bucks and got iced on a third. However, I managed to get the freezer filled. … More . . .
At Last! Some meat for the freezer
When I look back on this season, I’ve had a several opportunities at bucks and countless opportunities on doe. The main reason I haven’t had anything on the meat pole is that I was hoping to see a big rack come in. Last night, I finally decided enough was enough. At sundown +15 min or so some doe came out into the south plot at Midway. The big one turned broadside at 174 yards. I had the Win Mod 70 in 30-06. It took a couple of minutes for the other deer to clear away . Here’s the result: What’s … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp III
Angus and I went out to Midway– the new mega-blind for the evening. At last light a buck and a herd of doe came out, but it was too dark and too far away to chance a shot. The rack on this boy was pretty small. I think I saw them all earlier in the day. SuperCore walked in with a zilch. While we were all sitting round the fire out back, we saw a flashlight dancing around one of the pastures. I went to investigate. A nice husband/wife couple had gotten lost on one of the neighboring leases– like … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp: SuperCore’s Double-Header
NOTE: At some point in the distant past, the tale of SuperCore’s first successful hunt disappeared out of the archives of this weblog. We have the photographs and the log entries. I will attempt to recreate the story with SuperCore’s help. I’ll leave this up as current business and then move it to the 2009 archive where it belongs. Sunday morning of The Opener was cold, clear and calm. Angus had followed me out to Midway again. We had little action. At 0930 the very distinctive report of an M1 Garand rang out from the direction of Faulty Towers, … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp II
Well, that was a ride! I had near constant deer activity from legal hunting +30 minutes to quitting at 1100. It was mostly all doe, with a couple of small bucks scattered here and there. One was a forker, the other an immature 8 pointer. If I had been looking for doe, I’d have filled a tag many times over. One even came and stood broadside to me and ate weeds at 10 yards. Along about 1000, it was getting hot. I undid my bibs and jacket and tried to cool off. Just then a lone buck, out on the … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp I
The past few years, I’ve been putting out a sort-of diary from turkey camp and deer camp on this forum or that. I figured this would be as good a place as any. I arrived yesterday afternoon and filled the fridge and freezer out in the shed. That’s a donation from Cousin Tim, he was moving back home and didn’t have room for the fridge in the new place. I then took on a bunch of last minute projects like re-mounting the mail box and putting out the jagende gewehrständer Mooseboy made it in shop for my Christmas present a … More . . .
Crossbow Update-
I promised myself that I’d not shoot anything with the crossbow unless it was special. I’ve been watching does and such go buy since early October. Last weekend I nearly pushed the safety off when a nice little 8-pointer came by. I held up . Today was much different. I had serious action from first light on. Deer were moving through while I was still trying to get my gear hoisted up. At 15 minutes before legal hunting I had a buck grunting in the dark. I had deer coming from every possible angle. Still, the safety staid on. Right … More . . .
Maysville Walmart
I just want to put out a big howdy to all you guys that are planning on hitting the Walmart in Maysville Kentucky at 2130 EST this next Friday night. From what I understand from my correspondents, there are a bunch of you that are making this pilgrimage, to the point where there are now some dedicated deer hunting locals that are turning this into a spectator event. The lines for licenses are supposedly long, despite being able to buy them online for years. The various gizmos are flying off the pegs– Cough Silencer and the Butt-Out were big sellers … More . . .
Dang! That was sweet!
It’s kind of goofy and strange that here I go all the way to KY every weekend to hunt, and yet I take a turn out to the local shopping mall to get the best look at a buck in situ all season. Tonight KYHillChick went out looking for a new washing machine– the old one died tonight at the ripe old age of 13 years, 6 months, filling the basement with water as it went. We drove out to Tri-County Mall on the north side of Cincy to go shopping and what should we see but a sweet 10 … More . . .
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