Deer Hunting
A new stand
So yesterday Moose, Angus, and I went squirrel hunting. Moose ran into the bionic squirrel: took 5 rounds of #6– kept getting back up and trying to climb the tree. Angus and I went out onto a finger ridge we seldom travel, and found a good spot for the ladder stand. While we were sizing up the tree, a doe busted us. We took that as an omen, and brought down the stand and transported it over. Later Moose and I came back from lunch to clear a few cedar trees out. One in particular would give us 100 yards … More . . .
Midway Phoenix– A Deer Shack is Born
It all started back in 2008 when I realized there was an ideal spot for a treestand that would cover the length of two food plots I put up a buddy stand; and pulled two deer out of the plots that year. I’d been spoiling for years to put up a serious all-weather shooting house, and my trips out with Angus had convinced me that it would not be long before the two of us would not fit into buddy stand. Over the winter I came up with a design that would comfortably handle two hunters, and take advantage of … More . . .
Resident Doe?
From “Resident Does” on the D&DH Forum DoeEyed Super Member From: Door County, WI. How many does do you think would reside on 57 acres? Our land is a mix of open field, cedar swamp and thick bedding area on the west; open field in the middle behind our house and white pine/white spruce and nine bark plantings on the edge of a swamp on the east. Last year I regularly saw 1 doe with her fawns on the east side of our property. On the west side I would see another doe with fawns come out of the bedding … More . . .
What Constitutes Hunting Before/After Legal Daylight?
This is a condensation of my comments regarding a thread on D&DH regarding the following question: I’m wondering about legal shooting times for bow hunting, specifically last light… If the law reads you have to quit at 5:00 p.m for example, do I have to be out of the woods at that time, or not have an arrow knocked at that time, or the bow in a case at that time……….or what ?? Is there some sort of a grace period to get out of the woods, say half of an hour, just to get back to your vehicle ???? … More . . .
Do bucks taste different than doe?
I certainly can tell the difference between deer — buck vs. doe, young vs. old. In fact, I can tell you that over time you can learn to discern between individual deer. The reason I say this is based on two things that came together in my family. First off, I have been marking all my venison with a code for about 8 seasons. It used to be we took in so little venison that it was easy to keep track of what was what. However, about 8 years ago we started taking more than 1-2 deer a season, and … More . . .
Field Dressing
Once, way way back, I shot a buck and had to drive it back to town before I could gut it. Never again. It was a strange set of circumstances, that kept me from cleaning the deer. The buck had laid out for about an hour before I found him, and then he turned out to be too big to put in the truck. The farmer drove out the back hoe and we rolled it into the bucket and then into the bed of my truck. I had a two-hour ride back to town. By the time I got to … More . . .
2009 Deer Goals
I’m hoping we can piece the remains of the new shooting house back together, and get a couple of new stands set up over the new food plots. Angus is still a yute, I’d like to see him bag something early in Yute Season Moose is probably due for a serious buck. He tagged out last season with a spike. Even he was a tad disappointed. He’ll probably also take a doe during early muzzleloader. I have a guest coming for rifle season. He’s out of work and wants to pad his freezer. He’s going to be of the brown-and-down … More . . .
Mineral Lick Update
Here’s the site I always recommend for this sort of thing: http://fw.ky.gov/mineral.asp I know the guy who wrote a bunch of these pages. I hunt with his Dad. Just to give you an update on my mineral lick progress: My last refresh was before Memorial Day. I had refreshed two existing licks, restarted one old lick and tried one new location on my 200 acres. The experimental lick was a zip. So was the old one that I had abandoned two years ago, but the two well-established licks were and are being hammered. The two major licks I maintain have … More . . .
Which table predicts deer movement the best?
I thought about this long and hard for years. The Magic Watch There are two conclusions in that piece: 1) I see more deer when I’m outside than when I’m inside. 2) I see more deer when I’m not looking at the watch. Since that piece, I’ve done some additional research on the subject. I tried the magic watch and several other sets of tables. For these experiments, I used my “sanity run,” It was a 5-mile circuit of back roads that I used to drive when I worked up near Mason, Ohio. The nearby woods and fields are filled … More . . .
What is the best slug load?
It is hard to pronounce any slug round as THE round for a slug gun until it has been tried. There are two things working against the average slug shotgun. First, the barrel is usually not permanently affixed to the receiver. You can improve accuracy on a dedicated slug gun by getting that joint welded, but I do not think it is worth it. If I was going for that kind of accuracy, I would be starting with a bolt-action slug gun. The other problem is the variability from one shotgun to the next and one round to the next. … More . . .
So You’re Looking for a new Yute Rifle, Huh?
I’m going to throw out some ideas on youth rifles for deer hunting. Maybe we’ll get a conversation going. Maybe not. This is just like the previous thread about deer rifles. It is about time to be thinking of what Junior’s going to be shooting this year for yute season. You know: yutes. The yutes go out with their little yute rifles and shoot da deer wit dem. Anyone who wants to go out and get a new store-bought youth deer rifle for their kid is welcome to. There are a lot of them out there– short stocked, short barreled … More . . .
On the .243 WIN for Deer
It always makes me cringe a little when folks start talking about .243 WIN. Mind you, there is nothing wrong about .243 WIN. It’s one of the cartridges that’s on my short list. It’s just that. . . well, see if you can follow this. I’ve been on hunting forums for about ten years now. There always some guy who is: 1) Passionately in love with the .243 WIN 2) Loves to take shoulder shots 3) Passionately against a whole slew of bullets. One bullet blew up on him. Another pencilled through. This one works. This one doesn’t– vast experience … More . . .
On Crossbows I
Lately I have been thinking about trying a crossbow. In Kentucky they’re restricted to only part of the archery season, but allowed in all of it if you can get a medical waiver signed by a doctor. I’m probably eligible. As I am getting into this, I find that there is tremendous opposition to crossbows. Some folks think of them as firearms. Here’s what I don’t understand: Management: 1) Archery in and of itself is a lousy tool for deer management. The states cannot depend on it. In Ohio, even with crossbows given equal access, the harvest in the 5 … More . . .
Latest on Jagende Hutte II
We went back to work on the Jagende Hutte II this past weekend. I got the porch put on, the sheathing primed and the end walls framed. We’d have gotten more done, but the storms hit around 2 PM, and so we packed up early and left. There’s also some pics of Moose hitting a milk jug with a round of 30-06. Yowsa! Bev and Jeff, drummers from the Caledonians were out this Saturday, learning how to shoot a shotgun. I’m sorry I didn’t get any pictures of them, but I really fagged out and had to go in and … More . . .
The Shamanic Deer Battery
I brought the Shamanic Deer Battery back from its secret offsite underground storage facility the other day, and it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to take pictures to share with y’all. I’m always talking about this deer rifle or that one. You can tell that I’m rather attached to them. I have to warn you. This is not my end-all list of must-have rifles. It is just the ones that I own, and ones that have a lot of history for me. I’ll try and post stories about each one as I go on the … More . . .
What do you prefer: Bow, Muzzleloader, or Rifle
If I had to go based on my preference of season, I would say bow. I love being afield in October and watch the woods getting ready for Winter. If I had to base my response on what weapon feels the best in my hands, it would be my 54 Hawken. I just love that rifle. Eventually, I hope to find a full-stock flinter that gives me that kind of joy. I answered modern gun. My reasons are these:; 1) I finally figured out I could go easy early in the year and finally get around to filling my freezer … More . . .
So You’re Looking for a new Deer Rifle, Huh?
It occurred to me the other day that this might be a good time to start a new conversation about deer rifles. Guys will be thinking about possibly buying a new rifle about now, maybe their first. So it is probably a good thing to throw something up on the wall and get the ball rolling. To be honest, the best time I’ve found to buy a new deer rifle is just after season ends. A lot of guys sell their rifle to pay Christmas and winter heating bills. You get a lot of good deals. However, now is also … More . . .
Developments– Food Plots and Jagende Hutte II
We got to deer camp Friday night and did not even bother to open the doors. Instead, we immediately rolled out into the field to check on the food plots. I’d planted over Memorial Day weekend. In the interim, the farm has been soaked repeatedly. The results were fantastic! In two weeks, both the sunflower/milo/clover field and the wheat/clover field are germinated and growing. The other surprise we had was that as we drove past the one field, a dozen mourning dove flew out. In the other a dozen turkeys, all gobblers, ran off. There were serious deer tracks in … More . . .
We return you now to our regularly scheduled program. . .
If you scroll to the bottom, you’ll get into the serious hunting stuff. It’s not like a crawled in a hole at the end of turkey season. A couple of y’all have e-mailed me wondering where I’ve been. You have to remember that being a father is not all about sitting in a buddy stand or trying to find a good 20 GA turkey load. Sometimes it’s watching your kid and his bagpipe band take home all the marbles at the 2009 Glasgow Highland Games. Angus is only 11, but he managed to walk away with a 1st place in … More . . .
Update from Turkey Camp.
Well, it was a good fresh start. It wasn’t going to last. I bagged that gob on Friday. Friday evening, my wife and sons showed up. We were treated to a bunch of hens and a mature gobbler out in the pasture just before sundown. The didn’t much mind us; their closest approach was 150 yards. The gobbler did not seem to have his heart in it– he strutted once, and then spent the rest of his time feeding. That was sort of how Saturday was. I took Angus back to the same spot as the day before. The same … More . . .
Deer Hunters: Time to Start Thinking Salt
Now, right about turkey season, is a good time to start thinking about putting out your salt if you haven’t started putting one in already. I have action at mine, hitting the leftovers from last year. I don’t use salt blocks. I use bags of rock salt and use one bag per lick. Dig up a 4X6 hole about 12 inches deep. Pour in a little salt, a little dirt, a little salt and fill everything back in. I leave a little rock salt on top just to let the deer know where to look. Maximum hits on the salt … More . . .
I am NOT a Deer Geek
From Deer and Deer Hunting Magazine Forum I was in the process of trying to come up with a few quips that would get y’all laughing, and I finally stopped myself. It just wasn’t going anywhere. It’s not for lack of involvement. It’s not for lack of attachment to this place. It’s not that I’m not wholly immersed. It’s just that something has changed in me, and being a D&DH Geek isn’t quite where I’m at anymore. For one thing, a Geek act was from way back to Elizabethan times. The term “Geek” was used to describe a fellow who … More . . .
In the shamanic Reloading Cave
The shaman was busy at his reloading bench when he heard little Scooter come into his cave. “Mister Shaman?” “In here, Scooter.” said the shaman. “Jeepers, Mister Shaman.” said the boy. “What are you up to?” “I’ve been reading too many deer threads,” said the shaman, and I thought I would come here to chill out and get some reloading done. “It’s all so complicated.” said Scooter. “I wouldn’t know where to start. All these bullets. All this data. It makes my head spin.” “It doesn’t make my head spin.” said the shaman. “It was going to, and then I … More . . .
Why Do They Slit the Thoats of Dead Deer?
The thoat slitting thing is a fascinating topic to me. I never did it, but I sure heard about it. Throat slitting only works to bleed an animal if the animal is still alive and its heart is pumping. Everyone not closely connected with deer hunting wants to know “Did you slit their thoats?” I even had one lady standing by my freezer waiting to get a gift of venison ask me this and then turn around and leave when I said I did not. I’m not Meshack Browing; the last thing you’ll catch me at is jumping on the … More . . .
Taking the Venison for a Walk in the Snow
Every year about this time I wait for the temperatures to dip below zero. You have to plan ahead around here. We’re far enough South that it does not happen every year, and it has to be on a day I’m going to be off work. When it happens, I let all the venison out of the freezer and let them go and play on the back deck. Last year it did not happen at all. The frost was getting pretty thick. This morning, however, the temperature dipped down to minus 5F, which is colder than the inside of the … More . . .
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