Deer Hunting
O.T. and the 25-06
I’ve never fully written down the experience of acquiring the rifle from O.T. I probably should have while it was still fresh. The details fade over time. What I can say now is that the trip was easily the most poignant experience I’ve had in 40-some years of hunting. I’d known O.T. for over a decade. We’d grown to be friends over my regular visits to get my mowers, etc., worked on. We had a deal where I’d leave off my chainsaw blades to be sharpened and then come back in a week and sit and talk with him. Finally, … More . . .
Going in, Dark or Dawn?
From 24HourCampfire.Com Here is my answer: Back when I was bow hunting, I tried to be in my stand an hour before first light. That was waaaay too early, but I was schlepping in a climber and doing the ascent. I wanted as much time for the woods to settle back down. Gradually, I started cheating it forward. Here it is, 40-some years in. My last bow hunt was in 2007. I stopped using climbers about 2001. I stopped cheating it forward at about 15 minutes before first light or about 45 minutes before legal hunting. That’s for getting out … More . . .
Bizarre Poaching Story
Here’s a real corker from Iowa: https://www.agweb.com/news/business/farmland/game-horns-iowa-poachers-antler-addiction-leads-historic-bust This post has already been read 6643 times!Views: 10 Related posts: Rifle Opener 2019– The Story So Far A Snake Story — Sort of Pan Lube: A Detective Story To Bait, Or Not to Bait The shamanic QDM Policy in Review Why Do They Slit the Thoats of Dead Deer? Poacher dragged off from Deer Expo The Zen Garden
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KY Deer Harvest Totals
The numbers are in from the KYDWFR biologist: Bracken County accounted for 1666 deer up from 1622 the previous year. It’s still well off the 2326 deer harvest in 2015. This post has already been read 5816 times!Views: 8 Related posts: KY Deer Hunting Totals 2025 KY: Record Harvest for Modern Gun Deer Season Strong Harvest Expected KY Reports Record Gobbler Harvest What was my very first deer like? Poacher dragged off from Deer Expo Is the USDA Trying to Kill Deer Hunting? Deer Opener
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The Differences Between Hunting and Target Shooting
I was asked on Quora: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-key-differences-between-hunting-marksmanship-and-target-shootingHere is my answer: Dorf D’Impaler Writer and Pro-staffer (2001–present)2m Imagine a shooting match where the actual target, a ball, was hidden behind an indistinct piece of shag carpeting. You have to determine the ball’s location from the folds in the carpet. The light is bad. The carpet is moving. You’re cold. The coffee is gone and you’ve got to pee. If you succeed, you get to go home. Before you go, you shake everybody’s hand, and somebody takes a picture. Everyone wants a copy. You get to watch football for the rest of the … More . . .
Deer Hunter receives largest fine in Ohio history
Central Ohio NewsDeer poacher imprisoned, receives largest fine in Ohio history by: Adam Conn Posted: Dec 16, 2024 / 10:00 AM EST Updated: Dec 16, 2024 / 07:45 PM EST SHARE COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A man arrested for illegally shooting and taking possession of a single white-tailed deer was given a prison sentence and issued the largest fine in such a case in Ohio’s history. According to the Ohio Division of Wildlife, 28-year-old Christopher Alexander was sentenced last week in Clinton County Common Pleas Court for unlawfully shooting an 18-point, trophy white-tailed buck in November 2023. Alexander, of Wilmington, … More . . .
Deer Season Post-Mortem, 2024
We finished up the season Sunday. The Shamanic Dream Team took 6 deer, tying the previous camp record. Overall, action was light. However, unlike last year, there was a payoff for being out there and being patient. I snuck a peak at the KYDFWR telecheck site; Bracken County’s numbers are out of the basement, and they are back on top of the Northeast Region. That is good news. There has been a general lack of good racks showing up on neighbors’ cameras. The big boys seem to have gravitated to those parts of the county with more agriculture. There is … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp: Week 2 of 2024
Moose and I reconvened on Friday afternoon. We still had doe tags to fill. He went to Jagende Hutte. I went back out to Midway. For me, it was a typical mid-season boregasm in a cloudy gloom. For Moose, it was something else entirely. All I can say is that I heard a shot from over his direction around 1700. When I didn’t get an answer on the radio, I figured he might be busy. When Moose picked me up that night, he had quite the story. Sure enough, at 1700 he had seen a doe at what he estimated … More . . .
Report from Deer Camp: Opener 2024
The short of it is that the Shamanic Dream Team came in from the field Saturday evening with two bucks making it to the poll.. Moose shot a 7 pointer at Lazy Boy. Supercore blasted a spike buck early Saturday afternoon. It started pouring rain, and no one had the urge to go out Sunday. Foxtrot Charlie showed up in time for dinner Sunday. He went out Monday and Tuesday and has so far scored nothing. I nailed a buck Tuesday AM at Midway and went back to town. How it began I had been down since Wednesday. I have … More . . .
Muzzleloader, 2024
For the most part, Muzzleloader 2024 went according to plan. Over the past 2 decades, it has become apparent that there are few deer contacts that weekend. For whatever reason, the deer are mostly absent. For us, the third weekend in October has become a dry run. We all turn out for camp, but our expectations are low. It’s just nice to have a good weekend of hunting without cold weather and work out any bugs in the system. Moose brought his 44 Cal revolver and tried his luck at Lazy Boy Angus wrote about his experience Saturday Evening: Prepared … More . . .
Yute Season, 2024
Moose, Angus, and the Mooselette joined me over the weekend for the annual Yute Hunt. Mooselette and I went out together to Hollywood Saturday morning and saw nothing. Saturday afternoon, we went to S-10. About a half dozen doe came out and stayed until after sunset, but never got within shooting distance. Sunday AM, Daddy Moose took her back out to Hollywood. This time, 3 doe showed up, but they didn’t close the deal on any of them. Da Grudge Work picked up on the Garage this week. The siding is mostly on, and the base for the bunkhouse is … More . . .
Kentucky Deer Hunting Stats
I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but the KDFWR site has some really great statistics pages on deer hunting: https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Deer-Hunting-Stats.aspx This post has already been read 3595 times!Views: 6 Related posts: New KY Deer Stats Rifle Season Stats New 2012-13 Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide Kentucky Considers Deer Hunt Tourism Thanks for letting me come hunt in Kentucky Return of the Whitetail in Kentucky Kentucky Fall Rules are Out Is the USDA Trying to Kill Deer Hunting?
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Eye Candy with New Trail Camera
I was having trouble with my existing decade-old trail cameras and decided to spring for a new one. This is what I ended up getting: Here is the result, highlights from the first week of July. It picked up gobs of single doe visits after dark at the salt lick. What you will see are the oddball events, including a very shootable 10-point buck Overall, I’d say pretty good for under $50. This post has already been read 3624 times!Views: 8 Related posts: Eye Candy Eye Candy 2017 Eye Candy, 2020 Eye Candy, 2021 The Deer Camera, Introducing the 2 … More . . .
Tagging the Deer
It’s been almost 2 years since I finished Chemo. The process left me intact for the most part. However, I have discovered holes in my memory. A lot of peripheral things just disappeared. I’m fine now. New stuff goes into the memory banks and stays there just like it used to. However, bits and pieces just got burned out of my head. Shortly after Turkey Season ended, I was sitting in my office, drinking my coffee like I always do, and looked up at the wall. There were three sets of antlers up there. I tried every which way, and … More . . .
What makes a Deer Rifle?
I stumbled upon an article by the late Finn Aagard. Finn wrote for the American RIfleman back in the 80s and 90s. He was from Kenya and worked as a big game hunter until Kenya closed down hunting in the late 70’s and moved to Texas. His writing on guns and hunting was superb. He influenced me more than any other writer in my formative years when I was first getting into deer hunting. The article Finn wrote that caught my attention was titled “What is a Deer Rifle?” I sat down yesterday to plow through this lost gem. By … More . . .
Sighting in a Deer Rifle
It’s been over a decade since I stopped writing stuff for Deer and Deer Hunting. I used to be the go-to guy for answering questions on reloading and deer rifles. One of the most common questions I got was about sighting-in. I recently got that question again, and I went to pull up the posts I’d made here regarding the subject, and I realized that I had never saved a really good explanation of the basic underpinnings. This post is meant to correct that. First off, let me give you a basic example of what is involved. Grab a baseball … More . . .
Can You Re-Use a Scent Wick?
jgaworecki Posts: 3 Joined: 21 Oct 2014, 13:02 Scent Wicks Postby jgaworecki » Today, 15:42 Can you re-use a scent wick? Meaning after you apply say doe in heat to a wick, can you just use that same wick day after day when hunting. Not looking for opinions on this question, but would like supporting technical data as why you can or cannot re-use wicks. Do scents spoil after a period of time exposed to air? Thanks, Top User avatar shaman Posts: 2491 Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 02:38 Re: Scent Wicks Postby shaman » 2 minutes ago Here at the … More . . .
What Power Scope for Deer Hunting
This question got sent to me via Quora: I hunt whitetail deer. I’ve been doing it for more than 40 years. I’ve got a whole battery of rifles that will take deer. Most of them carry a Bushnell 3–9X40mm scope. Some have 4–12X40mm. These are all fairly plain scopes with a Mult-X reticle. I use them in a variety of situations— treestands, ground blinds, etc. I settled on the Bushnell Banner, because it was sturdy, it held zero, and it had coatings that allowed me to hunt in low light conditions. I have pretty bad eyesight. I’m near-sighted. My glasses … More . . .
Picking the Fall Line-up
It just past the six-month mark before the Rifle Opener. Already I am tying my stomach in knots jonesing on what rifles to take. It should be easy for a guy like me, just go to the rack as I’m taking off for camp and find the rifle that speaks to me. Only it isn’t that easy. It’s never that easy. About 5 years ago, I decided to build a decision matrix. Heck, I’m an IT guide by trade– did it for over 40 years. This was easy stuff for me. I took my entire rifle inventory and ranked them … More . . .
Obeying the Voices
Back in May of last year, I wrote this: I ordered a Rossi Model 92 stainless in 44 Mag with a 24-inch barrel yesterday. I could be writing this as an admission of weakness, but this isn’t AA. I did this with malice aforethought. Do I regret all the stuff I’ve said previously regarding 44 Mag rifles, lever actions, etc.? No. However, I do believe the voices within cannot be disobeyed. What got me down this path? I’ll tell you truthfully, that I got tired of all the nudging. It seemed like the moment I finished that thread last June, … More . . .
How long would you hunt an unproductive stand?
After a once-a-decade event of eating tag soup, the question comes up about what to do? Angus and I have already had this talk. My advice was to wait. I’ve been through this before, and it usually works itself out by the next season. This year is appearing more and more to be a result of warm weather and a late-dropping acorn crop. However, the bigger question of how to handle an unproductive stand remains. This was echoed on 24hourcampfire.com recently. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/19068313/1 Here is my response: Now understand that my opinions are not held universally in high esteem. Some self-styled … More . . .
Rifle Season Stats
I just saw this posted: So it wasn’t just our ridge that sucked. Interesting. This post has already been read 5122 times!Views: 7 Related posts: Kentucky Deer Hunting Stats New KY Deer Stats Rifle Opener 2018 Rifle Opener 2019– The Story So Far So when IS The Rifle Opener? What Makes the Perfect Deer Rifle — PT 2 The Rifle Itself Deer Season is Over Muzzleloader Season 2015
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Tag Soup, 2023
The title really says it all. It has been quite a while since I ate tag soup at Deer Camp. Not only did I not hit anything, I went through Early Muzzleloader and all of Rifle Season not drawing a bead on a single deer. Angus pretty much had the same luck. For the 6 of us, we only filled 4 tags. This happens to us maybe about once a decade. I have to say, for the lack of deer, we had about as optimal a deer camp as ever. Things went smoothly in the warm, dry days– no rain, … More . . .
Pulled Out Early
We decided to pull out after the Sunday morning hunt. This was after originally planning to hunt up until the rain hit on Tuesday. SuperCore had a doe. Moose had his monster that’s filling the freezer and then some. That left Angus and I eating tag soup, and there was no sign of deer and no sign it was going to change. I am not worried. This happens maybe once a decade. Our deer are ruled by the oak mast. When it is good, they will be chowing down on acorns and we hardly see them. This year, the crop … More . . .
Report From Deer Camp
I suppose an apology is in order. This has been a hard season for me. When things go right, I’ve usually gotten some meat on the pole by now and had a chance to relax a bit and get a couple of posts out. Either that, or the weather has caused me to spend a day or so in the cabin. This year has been a struggle. I’m actually much healthier than I’ve been in years. The weather has been warm and dry. However, it has been hard hunting since The Opener, a constant repetition of eat, sleep and hunt. … More . . .
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