Deer Hunting
O.D. and the Squeaky Toy
There are little white country stores up and down Route 10 all the way from the Ohio River to . . . well, frankly I have never been past Germantown on Route 10, however, I suspect there are stores like that all along the length of the road as it winds through the Trans-Bluegrass. I used to favor the one at Lennoxburg, but after Jake retired, I have been trying others. It is a lot like finding a new church; you visit around a while until you find a place that is comfortable. All these stores are the same and … More . . .
Hornets in the Garden of Stone.
The Garden of Stone is a place at deer camp where we’ve been killing deer like crazy since 2008. It is a 200 X80 yard long pasture. My big luxury box, Midway sits at one end and my favorite treestand, Campground sits at the other. Deer come out into the middle to feed. The name, Garden of Stone, comes from the fact that I started putting a small rock next to where I’d shoot a deer so that I could pace it off later. Pretty soon, there were stones all over the mid-section of that pasture. The guy who hays … More . . .
The Status of Shamanic QDM
At our camp, we have no particular standards. This is the first year we will all be adults– my youngest turned 16. I think it is rather goofy to have kids passing on less than ideal deer unless they choose to do so. I know there is a lot of stuff out there about QDM and such, and I am not saying it is complete hokum, but there needs to be some sense of proportion. It used to be that I really thought I was doing the right thing by trying to kill doe and eschewing smaller bucks. However, in … More . . .
Deer Intelligence and the 4-way Stop
I have tried to answer the question “How Smart are Deer?” for most of my hunting career.  I know they can’t be THAT smart. However, the thought has been rolling around in my head since I did that last piece about Ken Nordberg.   I was on my way to work this morning, and I saw something that provided me some insight. I wish I had been aware enough at the time to have taken a video, but I was well down the road before I realized the significance of what I had seen. During the week, I stay in town … More . . .
The Doctor, the Shaman, and the Elephant
Before I go any further in this endeavor, I want to commend Doctor Ken Nordberg and his son John. Their efforts in the field of deer hunting are exemplary– Ken for his body of work and John for his effort to make Ken’s work available online. The only “gentle nudge” I can make to John is to hurry up and make all the out-of-print almanacs available again in .pdf format. Back a long time ago when your shaman was at shaman school, the teacher gave us a book that contained the story of the blind monks and the elephant. The … More . . .
A Farewell to Lorelei
Last year, Lorelei never showed up. I guess this is as good a time to write her farewell. This all started back in 2010, and lasted until 2012. I’m still a little hazy on the start of it. I do remember spooking a doe early in 2010 on my way to my stand. She came back after sunrise and searched for me. That might have been my first meeting with her. Over time, Lorelei got to patterning me. When I would get into my ladder stand at Campground, she would show up and play a hide-and-seek game with me. She … More . . .
That Winning Edge
The catalogs are out. The sales flyers are mailed. The new equipment issues of all the magazines are starting to arrive. The Fall stuff is on its way to the stores. Everyone will be out looking for the winning edge. Don’t. I don’t mean that if you really need a new bow, or a new rifle or a new jacket don’t go out and buy one. What I mean is stop thinking that spending money will improve your game or give you a winning edge or make you a better hunter or make the deer more dead. I have been … More . . .
Write it down
I was talking to Moose the other day. He’s now in his late Twenties. He has a family and a job. We were trying to reminisce about the early days of hunting together. We realized how much of it was gone. We remember all the big things. We both remember the first buck I took at the farm like it was yesterday. We remember some of the lesser known events, like the zombie doe that fell over at the shot and then got up and ran. The rest of it is all gone now, and it was not that long … More . . .
First Shots with the Hawkeye
This had started out as a fun 3-day weekend at the farm. It turned into a hard slog. However, I did get deer camp mowed and I did get to shoot some of the rifles I treated with Dyna Bore Coat. I am impressed. The point of the exercise was to get the new coating baked in by running a several rounds through the rifles. All of these rifles, most of them had new scopes on them as well, so we were not quite sure where they were going to shoot. Of the 4, the one I had the greatest … More . . .
How Many Shots to Sight-In a Rifle, REALLY
I’ve in the midst of sighting in a bunch of deer rifles. I changed out a good number of scopes over the past year, and now 30-some years of experience is coming to bear. In general I can say that I have been on the paper with the first shot and it has taken about 15 shot to be confident with each rifle. Angus is just starting out with his WIN 670, and it has taken him 40. Both those numbers seem high for a seasoned veteran. I said I had over 30 years of experience. I did not say … More . . .
I Felt Like a Mad Scientist
A buddy of mine was a Jungian psychologist. They deal with archetypes and such. She always said that I was a Promethean type– a true hero mentality. I dunno about all that, but she did leave me some good Joseph Campbell tapes when she moved out. The setup for all this is based on my recent purchase of the Ruger Hawkeye. As part of the deal, I decided to try Dyna Bore Coat. It was a new rifle, so I figured getting it down to the bare metal to apply the coating would not be all that hard. You can … More . . .
Remembering the Monarch
The other day I was down at camp. There was not a whole lot to do. It was hot. I went in and sat in the recliner next to the air conditioner and tried to take a nap. I looked up and saw the mount of “The Monarch” and started reminiscing. As a coincidence the website stats put the story of that buck’s taking at the top of the chart showing what has been read on the weblog in the past 20 days. I guess after 10 years it is time to go back and revisit that story. I re-read … More . . .
Son, This is a Muzzleloader
I had a job to do. Angus is going deer hunting on his own this year. However, we still had not gotten his muzzleloader together. We were all down for a camp-out this past weekend. Sunday afternoon, after Moose and MooseMama left with their friends, Angus and I sat down to take care of things. The rifle is an early 80’s Lyman Deerstalker with a stainless barrel. It is a half-stock, percussion rifle of the standard Hawken variety with double triggers. Last year, I started to get it ready for Angus, and the ramrod stuck. After trying everything (soaking in … More . . .
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