Deer Hunting
I’m back
Sorry I’ve been away. The day job has been rather hectic, and there has been a lot of other stuff going on as well– none of it particularly bad. For instance, the shamanic home computer died. I had to get it rebuilt. It was going on three years old in it’s present incarnation, but there were parts going back to 2001. I figure it had lived a good life. It’s just been busy. I saw this thread, and it’s been begging me for a response for a couple of days. Now that it’s before sunrise on the day after, and … More . . .
The shaman backs into a buck at Newstand
There have been many seasons that have ended out in the middle of a field somewhere, with me clutching an unused tag and railing at the heavens for the unfairness of it all. Then there would be the long drive home in the dark, trying to explain to myself how it was all still worth it. It would end up like the guy trying to marry the blond by telling her she’s pregnant, but it would eventually work. Last week I spent a half hour in front of the freezer, trying to fit yet another doe in. Little white packages … More . . .
The shaman gets a doe
I’m back from the hunt, with the 7600 back on the bench and a doe at the processor. I looked over the Garand Friday night and the 7600. The 7600 looked like it would be easier to clean after a drenching. I left the Garand in the case. Yes, it is a proven all-weather rifle, but it is now one of the more expensive rifles in my collection. Saturday was everything I had expected and more: thunder and lightning, driving horizontal rain, and wind that was strong enough to knock me over. I had the same buck in my scope … More . . .
Tink’s 69
My technique with Tink’s is 5 film canisters filled with a 6X1″ strip of polyester fake fur– anything fluffy will do. Polyester hold scent pretty well. I got mine by shaving strips off an old baby blanket. I also have 4 1 foot long strips of the fake fur tied in half with a piece of rope that forms a noose around my ankle. The whole kit is stored in a ziplock bag. I dose the scent drag and the scent bombs the night before. When I get within 100 yards of the stand, I put on the scent drag. … More . . .
Changing
Armednfree: I hear what you’re saying. I’ve got a case of whatever it is as well. It manifests itself a bit differently with me, but there two main factors at work here. One is hormones and the other is attitude. The big thing that hits you as you get older is a change in hormone levels. That changes everything in your outlook. Twenty years ago I was still fathering children, and I HAD to get out and hunt. It was an imperative. My neck swelled in October, and I started knocking over saplings with my head. My youngest turned 18 … More . . .
KY Muzzleloader season has come and gone
Kentucky Muzzleloader season has come and gone. There were no deer on the meat pole to show for the weekend. The Hawken is back on the bench, and will soon be in the safe. It performed flawlessly, but the only two shots were into the ground to empty it out on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Why should I be so happy? Saturday was the hands-down best day of deer hunting I have had in twenty some years. I was at the new stand. I had deer at hand in nearly constant succession from an hour before sunrise until 0930, … More . . .
Moose Scores Doe in KY Yute Season
Moose and I were up in the stand called Campground for the opening of 2006 KY Yute Season. Local sunrise was at 0740. By 0805 Moose had a doe down. He had sent one round from the Garand through both lungs and the heart. Her legs buckled and she crumpled. Few seasons are going to be that short. Mark another bang-flop for Mister Garand. The doe appeared with a friend, walking through a creek bottom at fifty yards. Moose had about a minute to size things up and plan his shot. When the lead doe stepped into an open shooting … More . . .
Angus Passes Hunter Ed
Angus, age 8, passed Hunter Ed in Bracken County on 10/7/2006. Herb Rumsford had announced his retirement after 15 years as a hunter safety educator, so George Mountjoy stepped in at the last minute. Angus got only 2 wrong on the test and was most pleased with himself. Dad was pleased and proud too. This post has already been read 784 times!Views: 2 Related posts: What Happened to the Turkeys? Moose Scores Doe in KY Yute Season Turkey 2020 Post Mortem The Doctor, the Shaman, and the Elephant So You’re Looking for a new Yute Rifle, Huh? Getting the Yute … More . . .
QDM, Shaman-style
I’m not trying to crow here. I’ve done so little over the past five years to make this happen, it would be hard to take credit. As late as the end of last season, I had a hunter ask me, “Why is it you never see and bucks around here?” The reputation for our ridge for quite a while has been lots of deer, but no bucks. Frankly, I was just so happy to have 200 acres of my own to play with, I didn’t much care. There have been a few exceptions. I took a nice 125-incher in 2003, … More . . .
The Buddy Stand II
I put the first of the two new buddy stands into place yesterday with the help of Angus and KYHillChick. This was the first time I tried the pulley-and-rope method of getting a buddy stand into place– MUCH easier. 1) I put up a climbing stick 2) I put a sheave on a rope and tied it around the tree about 14 feet up. 3) I ran a rope through the sheave and back to the ground. 4) On either end of the seat, I attached a rope and then made a loop. 5) I attached one end of the … More . . .
What I think of the WHA
Worldhunt.com Here’s the link. I posted in a thread on the Deer Forum a few weeks ago. My reaction: tell me it’s just a joke like the Bonzai Kitten site. Then I can laugh at it and move on. Hunting whitetail deer isn’t all THAT hard. Granted, they’re a wiley species. However, if you find a place that has deer and you take an elevated stand over a place they frequent, it isn’t all that hard to do. Furthermore, a big one gets shot just as easily as a small one. There are just fewer of the big ones. A … More . . .
Treestands — A survivor looks back
Something occurred to me this summer as I was getting ready for the start of deer season. I was in the shed, moving unused stands around, and it hit me how far removed from my earlier hunting experiences I had become. I’m now 48. I’m now well into my 20-something-th year going after deer. What has changed? The biggest change is my choice of treestands. My first few stands were home-brew jobs. The first was an ill-conceived bit of wrong-headedness based on the assumption that a nice piece of marine plywood could be hung on a tree with a piece … More . . .
Buddy Treestand
SportmansGuide.com has the Hunters View Buddy Treestand advertised for under $80 bucks. I’ve got three of them already– I ordered another two. It has a 500 lb weight rating– perfect for me and one of the kids. When I’m hunting alone, it’s positively luxurious– all that room! Buddy Treestand Walmart usually carries these. I’ll buy the 4 foot extension from Wally World as soon as they hit the stores. That will take it from 12 feet to 16. This is a fantastic stand at a terrific price. I’ll also buy some burlap camo to hang on the rail. First wrap … More . . .
Making the Switch to H4895
With gas prices, inflation, etc. kicking me in the wallet, I decided that I would try a new reloading project. Before I got started in reloading, I had foresworn that I would refrain from trying to push the velocity/pressure envelope too far I have previously embarked on projects that optimized for accuracy and recoil. That usually left me using H4895 for a rifle powder. I reload in the following rifle calibers: 30-06, 308 Win, 35 Whelen, 30 WCF, 7.62X54R and .223 Rem. Over the past five years, I’ve used a bunch of powders: IMR3031, Varget, IMR4895, BL-C(2), to name a … More . . .
Super Double Secret Ultimate Outdoorsmen
From the 24hour Campfire: I’ve got a very strange hunting partner (deer -) he’s a new hunter and doesn’t have near the drive as anyone else I hunt with. Last year he called me on the radio at around 9:30 and said he was done. Turns out he had forgot his shells, went to the stand, didn’t even think about loading the gun until he saw a deer. He said he pulled up, clicked the safety off and CLICK. hehehehehehe…. This guy is really a character … The next weekend I took a two does in the morning and he … More . . .
How many shots do I need to sight-in a rifle?
How many shots do I need to sight-in a rifle? Good question. Somebody asked it over at the 24HourCampfire in the optics forum. I won’t point you to it, because it quickly degraded into another pissy flame fest, common to that forum these days. (Sigh!) How many shots do I need to sight-in a rifle? How many have you got? Update: Here it is, 2014, and I the more I thought about this piece, the more I wanted to say more. See How Many Shots. . . Really . This is a very popular article, so I did not want … More . . .
Brush Guns
From the 24hourcampfire.com If you go back and read what was being published back when the “Brush Buster” myth was running rampant you also see a lot of suggestions that shooting through a bush was an acceptable way to take game. I’ve got an O’Connor article from back in the mid-fifties that describes Jack shooting through a small bushy tree to hit a deer in the ass on the other side. His idea was that the deer would be incapacitated enough for him to get a finishing shot without much tracking. All that stuff is strongly discouraged now. The culture … More . . .
Availability of Rem Core-Lokts
NOTE: 12/17/2012 — This is from way back in 2006. Since that time, I have been able to procure just about any Remington bullet I needed from Grafs.com . Also, I finally settled on the 200 grain Rem SPCL (round nose) and it has been a great performer in succeeding seasons. Counting since 2001, it has been the demise of more deer than any other round. Just thought I would let you know. There are a bunch of other stories about hunting whitetail deer with the “Whelenizer” on this weblog. Availability of Rem Core-Lokts – (FROM THE 24HOUR CAMPFIRE) #930252 … More . . .
Heads Up! Thumbs Down — How to hang a Deer
The deer comes in to the cleaning area on the back of the truck. I attach a heavy chain noose around the neck ( I substitute a 2″ strap if I’m going to have taxidermy done.) A heavy block and tackle is attached to the chain and the rope is attached to the truck. When the truck drives off, the deer goes up in the air. The deer is left hanging with its back legs just off the ground. A concrete mixing vat is placed underneath. When I gut, gravity causes everything to fall out into the vat, and out … More . . .
Mosin Nagant for Angus
I was at the Bill Goodman Gun and Nut Show in Sharonville, OH this weekend with #2 son, Mooseboy. I got to handle some K31’s and some 31’s and M44 Mosin Nagants. The M44’s impressed me. It then hit me that: 1) I could buy an M44 for under $70. 2) I could cut the stock to fit #3 son, Angus. He’s nearing 8 and needs a deer rifle. I could add a slip-on butt pad to help. 3) I could load a 130 – 150 grain bullet behind some H4895 and develop a load that was easy on a … More . . .
Deer Season is Over
The buck I shot on Opening Day was ready at the processor. Angus and I showed up around noontime Saturday to pick it up. The guy at Meyers in Lennoxburg went into the freezer and came out tray after tray of frozen wrapped venison. It was a LOT of dead deer. We did what we could to get it packed into the cooler, but we could not get the lid on. I had estimated that we would get 60-70 pounds out of the buck, but this felt much heavier—well over eighty. “Son,” I said. “I know I promised you a … More . . .
What, no blood trail?
kyscentlok at KYHunting.net writes Remington Core-Lokt bullets? My dad & I both shoot 175 grain core-lokts through are 7mm mags. We both killed deer this weekend him a 7pt & me a 9pt. We both made really good shots & the deer did not go but maybe 60 yards but we could not find blood trails in either case. I believe it was due to them not exiting the other side. I believe the shells did an excellent job but if the deer had went very far. I don’t know if we would have found them. Has anyone else had … More . . .
Hubert D.Buck Meets Mr. Whelen
It was a perfect ingress. I left the house five minutes ahead of schedule. I reached the gate and did my final check and found nothing missing. I got half way there and realized that I didn’t make a mistake by not hitting the bathroom one last time before I left. However, I felt in my pocket and DID find the toilet paper I had put in. I looked heavenward and beheld the tableau of Orion and Canis Major taking on Taurus, on a clear sky and knew life was going amazingly well. The trip to Campground went just like … More . . .
No Meat on the Pole
There was a lot that happened this weekend. Saturday was one of my all-time successful hunts. However, I did not end up with any meat on the pole. I have often said that a day in the field hunting teaches me more about myself than a year of doing anything else. This was one of those days. This was the last weekend before rifle season begins in Kentucky. The first weekend in November has been historically an active weekend here in the Ohio Valley. This was no exception. It was unseasonably warm, but it did not stop the deer. I … More . . .
Some Twenty Years Gone
This does not have a whole lot to do with deer hunting, but then again it has everything to do with deer hunting. This story has a long set-up too, but then it took twenty years to get to the punchline. Saturday Night was atypical from the start. We stopped working on chores early, like we were going bow hunting. Then we did not go. Instead, I had my sons gather up all the scraps of wood and poly sheet we had amassed from one of our projects, and I had them pile them all up where the back lawn … More . . .
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