Deer Hunting
Deer Blind Reading Suggestions
But Shaman, if the deer are blind, how can they read? I have a Kindle Reader App installed on my Android phone. You would be surprised at the number of free and 99-cent books that Amazon sells. For the past 40 seasons, I’ve kept a book handy during long sits in the blind. The only trick I can tell you is learning not to get too engrossed in the content. I read a page or so and then take a scan of everything around. What I have learned is that reading keeps me still, and I can remain attentive to … More . . .
Deer Season Predictions, 2022
It just turned over 13 weeks to the Rifle Opener. I do not usually make predictions on how the upcoming Rifle Season is going to go. I do have my suspicions, and when compared with reality, they’re usually wrong. I cannot help it. Every year, I start looking for the Rut Prediction and consult the lunar tables. It never amounts to anything. I am always up in the stand on The Opener, and I try to hunt as many days as I can. This year is a bit of a head-scratcher from a bunch of perspectives. Let me explain. PERSPECTIVE … More . . .
Campground: A Treestand Profile
When the surgeon told me last summer that I had cancer, the first thing I asked him was whether or not I could be in my stand for the November Rifle Opener. He said I undoubtedly could. He was true to his word. Last season, I shot a respectable buck from my treestand at a site we call Campground. It is the 8th deer we have taken from that stand in 21 seasons. It is by no means the best venue we have, but it is the place I want to be on the Rifle Opener. It has accounted for … More . . .
A New Stormy Kromer
I turned 64 over the weekend. The whole tribe dropped over to wish me well. My favorite present had to be the new Stormy Kromer that Angus gave me. It’s Hunter Orange. This is my second Stormy Kromer. It all started a couple of years ago when I was getting Remnar set up for his first hunt. I told him he needed to pay attention to his headwear. He showed up at camp with a Stormy Kromer, and I thought it was an awesome hat. Angus bought me one for Christmas. I’ve been loving it. If you are up above … More . . .
What Do You Think of 308 WIN?
From an email: Oh great shaman! I’ve been offered a rifle for deer hunting that is in 308 Winchester. Is that a good choice? Should I hold out for a 6.5 Creedmore? I guess my 308 WIN experience is perverse compared to most folks. Don’t take me wrong. I don’t want it to seem like I’m throwing shade on the chambering. As with so much of my life, 308 WIN has come out with results “other than expected.” The short answer to this is that 308 Winchester is a nearly ideal choice for whitetail deer. Do not let my experience … More . . .
Mooselette Wants a Deer
I’d just made it home from the hospital a few weeks ago, and I was weak enough to feel super-glued to my recliner. Moose and Mooselette stopped over to see how I was doing. I was so happy to see my most honorable #1 Granddaughter. With Chemo Camp I’d been missing her since May. We got to talking about plans for the upcoming fall, and I repeated my vow that I wanted to be in my stand for the Rifle Opener. I asked her what her plans were; did she want to take a deer this year? She answered in … More . . .
What’s a Good Scope?
Every year I get asked what’s a good deer rifle. I’ve been writing deer rifle recommendations for close on to two decades. Rather than beat that horse again, I want to discuss the scope. Honestly, I am by no means an expert on rifle scopes. However, I’ve been dealing with them for 4 decades. Back in 2014, I decided that my eyes had aged enough that it was time to give up my fascination with cheap scopes. I had a bunch of scopes from the 70s onwards that I’d acquired under various circumstances. I doubt I’d paid more than $30 … More . . .
44 Magnum — It won’t leave me alone
Have you ever had a hard time getting a chambering out of your head? Let me tell you my story. See if this sounds familiar. Let’s start back to 30 or so years ago. Back then, I was only deer hunting with 30-06 in Kentucky and 12 Gauge slug in Ohio. I wanted to expand my horizons. Honestly, if I’d stayed pat with those two, my life would have been far different. The problem for me was where to go next. Somewhere in all this, I got to thinking about a lever action in either 30-30 or 44 Magnum or … More . . .
Brown Bess– First Chance to Play with My Balls
Today is looking like the first really good day in a while. The snow is almost completely gone. It’s heading towards the low 60s today. I had reasons not to go to the farm, but I did have time to get my two new molds out and cast balls for the Brown Bess Musket. The first mold is a .735 brass mold I got from Dixie Gun Works. This produces a tight fit with the thinnest patching, and I’m figuring that this will produce the most accurate loads. The other just arrived in the mail this morning: a Lee Precision … More . . .
Brown Bess Cometh
The tale starts way back. I had shot a Brown Bess once; it was decades ago. At some point in the deep past I read an account of a fellow in the modern-day using one as a general-purpose hunting weapon. It was one of those back-burner deals. I figured that it might be a decent project for after my retirement. I managed to read up on the idea at times and keep track of who was making them. Several things happened. Cancer right after your 63rd birthday will make a guy think. I was overdue for a firearm. Normally I … More . . .
European Mount in the Works
For the last few seasons, we all have been processing our mounts in the absolute easiest way possible. We have been chucking them in the pond with a piece of paracord tied to the antlers. We pull them out in about June and let the skulls bake in the Sun until August. The result is a perfect skull. The only problem is that the skull and antlers both get a dark brown stain. I am not saying that is necessarily bad, but it does not have that classic look. Moose invented this method a couple of years ago after he … More . . .
Deer Season Post-Mortem, 2021
First off, my apologies for not writing sooner. The season ended with me unable to make posts to the weblog. It was a combination of screwups with the ISP and web provider, and my laptop going on the fritz. I got the majority of the problems ironed out after I got back to town. Our last weekend of season was a bit of a fizzle as well. We left camp on Saturday with one more day to go. However, now that camp has been closed up and I’m back in town, I figured you all deserved some accounting. Post Mortem … More . . .
Angus Put One More on The MeatPole
Last year at this time of the season, I think we had 6 on the pole and ended up having 8 by the end. This year, Angus put just the third deer of the season on the pole with a few minutes to spare last night. Angus accidentally fell asleep on the couch yesterday afternoon, and did not wake up until 1620. He threw on his gear and ran out to the stand at Blackberry. He had just gotten his gear up and sat down when three doe came up to watch. He shot the largest of them. The doe … More . . .
Moose’s Doe, 2021
Most honorable #2 son, Moose, got one to the meatpole yesterday afternoon. He took her out the front window at Midway. I was shooting out of Hollywood and when I heard the shot, I came down and went over. As it happened, Remnar was just arriving at camp. We had him grab the truck and roll on out. Moose took the shot at 1713. At 1813, the doe was dressed and back on the truck and we were heading for the processor. This is the first deer we have had to the poll since my buck on Saturday. Action has … More . . .
The Savage Speaks Again
It has been since 2014, but my Savage 99 kept its promise this morning. I’ve been carrying it up into the stand for The Rifle Opener since 2003. The Savage 99 in 308 WIN has only been shot at the biggest bucks. I always put it away after filling my buck tag. This morning, the Savage spoke again. You have to understand this was a pretty big thing. I was dealing with existential problems back over the summer. I even got to ask the surgeon that question you don’t want to ask: Will I be able to be in my … More . . .
So when IS The Rifle Opener?
The Commonwealth of Kentucky picks the second Saturday of November as the beginning of its Modern Weapons Season. This year, that means The Opener is on the 13th. Looking back on it, it has always seemed like the date of The Opener has flitted about. I was sitting here fretting with my usual pre-season jitters, and I thought I would calculate it out. What I found is that there is a bit more order to it than I originally thought. 2020 –> 14th2021 –> 13th2022 –> 12th2023 –> 11th Okay so far, it’s orderly. Now comes the jump 2024 –> … More . . .
Whatcha Taking to Deer Camp?
I emerged this AM from the secret underground Shamanic Reloading Cave with the first of four rifles destined for our upcoming deer camp. The Rifle Opener is a week from tomorrow. I try to be ready well ahead of time. There were several projects that I wanted to work on this year. They mostly had to get pushed aside due to the whole mess with the Left Nut. I was fighting existential issues when I should have been out at the bench testing loads. As a result, I’ve had to pull in my horns a bit this year. The Big … More . . .
Is it Going to Rain on the Opener?
That’s a good question. First off, let me give you the latest outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC). As you can see western KY has got a bullseye on it. The eastern half is not as blessed. My guess is that we’re probably going to see rain. If you squeeze Wunderground.com, you see a lot of rain Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but none of it is particularly hard rain, just on and off showers.  I can only think of a few times in my career having to deal with rain on Opening Morning, and a few more where … More . . .
How do I Stalk Deer with a Bow?
From Quora: How do I stalk deer with a bow? First off, let me give you some background. I started bowhunting whitetail deer back in the early 80’s. I spent 20 years as a bowhunter before my shoulder pooped out on me. I have not bowhunted since 2007. I have a 200 acre farm in Bracken County, Kentucky. My family and fill our freezers with venison every year during Rifle Season. I am probably not the best authority on stalking. I’m a walking landform; my measurements pretty well match John Wayne’s year by year. I’m about as stealthy as a bulldozer … More . . .
Muzzleloader Season, 2021
At our camp, Early KY’s Muzzleloader Season has turned into Not Hunting Season, and it was highly successful. First off, let me explain Not Hunting. Years ago, I put forward this idea, and I received a lot of positive feedback. The rules are simple. In order to successfully engage in Not Hunting: The Hunter must be hunting in an open season. The Hunter must be kitted legally (Hunter Orange, etc.). The Hunter must have all valid licenses and tags. The Hunter must be carrying a functioning weapon appropriate to the game. The Hunter must make all efforts to engage the … More . . .
Hey Doofus!
This story starts in the first month I was hunting at the farm. In October 2001, I had put up a stand overlooking a trail that ran along the back fence. On my first sit in the blind, I realized that a tree less than 10 yards away had a much better vantage, and so I moved it. It only took a few minutes. When I finally had enough, I got down and left the bulk of my gear at the base of the stand and went for a look-see around. I had not scouted this part of the property … More . . .
Does an ATV Spook the Deer?
From: 24hourcampfire.com earlybrdCampfire Regular Joined: Nov 2015Posts: 1,169long mtn va How do they affect the deer as far as early morning riding going in vs walking I’ve done the walking up mountains for 30 odd years and had good success? The answer I am going to give you may leave you scratching your head as to what to do, but that is just the way it is. First off, let me explain my situation. I’m the patriarch of a deer camp that sits on 200 acres in SW Bracken County. Our Opening Days sound like WWIII. There are at … More . . .
Eye Candy, 2021
I collected the card from the camera out at Campground the last time I was out. There are some nice shots worth letting y’all see. The Big One is back. This post has already been read 1735 times!Views: 1 Related posts: Campground: A Treestand Profile The Deer Camera, Introducing the 2 of 7 Rule Eye Candy 2017 How many shots do I need to sight-in a rifle? So you want a new deer rifle for Indiana Report from Deer Camp, 2011 Hubert D.Buck Meets Mr. Whelen Report from Deer Camp — 2012 Opener
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You Gotta Be Kidding Me
The KDFWR is telling us that we shouldn’t gut deer for fear that we might get Covid. https://fw.ky.gov/Wildlife/Pages/SARS-CoV-2.aspx In August 2021, the USDA confirmed the world’s first cases of SARS-CoV-2 in free ranging white-tailed deer in Ohio. The virus (which leads to the illness COVID-19) has been previously detected in wild mink, but this is the first instance of the virus being detected in white-tailed deer. In March, the results of an experimental infection trial demonstrated that white-tailed deer were susceptible to the virus but didn’t develop clinical signs of the illness in the laboratory setting. In late July, the USDA released … More . . .
O.D. On the Subject of Stand Selection
I walked into a conversation down at Mister Browning’s Store the other day. O.D. was in the process of egging on a guy he calls “Bigtime.” The truth is, I don’t remember Bigtime’s real name. I’ve taken to calling him Bigtime as well. He seems to like it. The reason we call him Bigtime is that on his first visit to the store a few years ago, he introduced himself as a bigtime deer hunter. O.D likes to spar with him when he shows up. Bigtime watches way too many hunting shows. The conversation was about stand choices. Bigtime ask … More . . .
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