Deer Hunting
Screwed by the NWS
Really, you can’t blame them. The National Weather Service is doing the best it can with its long-range forecasting. However, if you look at what they were thinking the KY Rifle Opener was going to be as late as early October and what the forecast is now, you got to scratch your head. Here’s what they had back in July: Here’s what it’s looking like now: Yikes! That’s a big change! In truth, this is one of those years where the Farmer’s Almanac seems to have scooped the NWS. The Alamanac predicted a major shift in late October to mid-November … More . . .
A Happy Saint Hubert’s Day
Friday night I was able to get down to camp well before sundown. I was treated to about a dozen deer and 10 turkey hens and 3 gobblerout in the pasture. A good number of the deer came up close to the house. Just after sundown, 2 rather large coy-dogs ran out of Hootin Holler and crossed over by Broken Corners. The deer are moving a lot now. I did not see any rutting activity per se, but I grunted at one of the younger bucks and he mosied into the brush and came in to check me out, making … More . . .
Muzzleloader 2019
Looking from the outside, one might ask why we even show up. I’d have to go back and look to see when we last shot a deer during Kentucky’s early Muzzleloader Season. This year was much the same. However, I would say everyone had a great time. At our camp, it has become a dress rehearsal for the big show in November. If a major hatrack showed at our stands, we would not hesitate. Mooselette and Daddy Moose went out to the tower at Hollywood. There is plenty of room up there for a father/daughter team to hang out and … More . . .
Treestands and Girlfriends at Camp
This past weekend was a busy one for our camp. Originally, this was supposed to be a simple trip with Moose coming down on Saturday to help me set a few deer stands. Angus then decided to help out. By the time it all netted out, Moose’s and Angus’ new girlfriends decided to show up, and then some of Moose’s friends from high school came down for some shooting. It was quite the scene. It all culminated in a massive steak dinner and a campfire out back under a full moon. Amid all this, we did get quite a bit … More . . .
The First Moose Hunt
I went to point to the story of honorable #2 son’s first deer hunt, and I found that it was missing. I had pictures, but that was it. It was a seminal moment in both our lives, so I felt it bore setting down properly before the details have fully left me. This is going to be another year where the KY Yute Season goes by unobserved. Moose’s daughter, The Mooselette, is just a year or two shy of her first deer hunt. However, she will be coming to camp again this year. She says hunting with Grandpa at the … More . . .
O.D. and His Theory of Deer Rifles
Several times I have commented to y’all about all the stupid hunting stuff that I find rolling around in my head. These are just bits of detritus that I have picked up over the years. A good number of them have come from my long-time acquaintance with O.D., the local deer expert. O.D. holds court down at Mister Browning’s store. He is most entertaining; however, there is something about his sincere delivery that makes what he says stick. In the past, I have listened to him go on about how a bout of bad weather drives every deer in the … More . . .
Success with Bob’s Model 44
Right now, I’m all alone at the farm. KYHillChick and Angus are down on the KY/TN line at the family reunion. Moose has a friend or two down at the campground. I’ve hardly seen them all weekend. The plan is for KYHillchick to stop at Sonny’s BBQ in Richmond on her way north and bring BBQ for dinner this evening– we’re all rendezvousing at the farmhouse at that point and staying through until Monday PM. Before I left for the farm, I loaded up another 40 rounds of 44 Mag– Hornady 240 Grain XTP’s over Hodgdon H110. They don’t have … More . . .
Bob’s 44 Carbine
As I mentioned at the beginning of the summer, I inherited a Ruger Model 44 Carbine from Bob’s estate. Since then, I’ve been slowly working towards turning it from a safe queen to a working deer rifle. I met Bob in 1982. I probably saw the rifle for the first time in 1983. It had probably been gone into Bob’s gun cabinet shortly after its manufacture in the early 70’s and only come out for guests. I am acquiring more and more stuff left over from dead friends. I suppose that is the sign of leading a long and fruitful … More . . .
The 4 MOA Deer Rifle
With all the really good bottom end deer rifles out there, folks are beginning to lose sense of what it was like to own a deer rifle that couldn’t hold to a pie plate at 50 yards. As I opined here on the 24hourcampfire: Current Rifle Accuracy You have to understand a bit of the history. It used to be that you needed to pay a premium and do quite a bit of work to get to the kind of accuracy we are seeing with out-of-the-box offerings now. It used to be that. . . 1) Ammo was kind of … More . . .
The Hunter’s Handbook
Look what I found on Archive.org The Hunter’s Handbook There are all sorts of hints and tricks and recipes for guys going to deer camp in the 1880’s. This post has already been read 790 times!Views: 0 Related posts: Deer Blind Reading Suggestions Recipe Corner Report from Deer Camp 2014 So you want a new deer rifle for Indiana Who Comes to Deer Camp? On Hunting Pressure and Going Nocturnal What makes a Deer Rifle? From the KDFWR: Outstanding outlook for the hunt
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My 2019 Deer Hunting Goals
I used to publish a set of goals for the upcoming deer season. That was back when folks were paying attention to me more, and I was stuck for writing copy, and there really were big mountains left to climb in my deer hunting career. Now that I am not an active pro-staffer for anybody, and my throngs of gentle readers have gotten used to me, it seems rather superfluous. Still the tickler in my head keeps telling me– time to write about my goals. So here goes. First off, honorable #2 son, Moose is coming back online. He is … More . . .
What’s Wrong With Me?
Life changes you. I can remember one of the highlights of my life was being taken to the 1970 All-Star game. I heard as well as saw Pete Rose bowl over Fosse at home plate. To this day, I can close my eyes and see Pete and Fosse like it happened last night. I always mark my year as before the All-Star Break and after. This year, I didn’t even know the All-Star game was played– can’t tell you who won. It came and went and nothing happened. For nearly all of my adult life, I always waited … More . . .
Who Comes to Deer Camp?
Now is about the time of year that a landowner should start thinking about who is coming hunting in the Fall. Hunting is an important management tool. Every year, a guy like me should be thinking about how many hunters, how many deer, what sizes. The answer for the past 10 years has been 3-4 hunters, a buck and a doe apiece– give or take. That includes my best friend and my sons and a total of 5-6 deer taken per year. Off our 200 acres, that seems to be about enough. Some years, double that harvest would hardly put … More . . .
What makes a good deer rifle?
What makes a good deer rifle? I’ve been contemplating this now since the first Reagan administration. Every time I pick up a rifle, I’m pretty well judging it based on how well it would take a Whitetail. However, for all that mental energy, I do not think I have ever sat down and written down my thoughts. It’s almost been 40 years. I’d best get started. The first thing I have to state is that my idea of a good deer rifle is based wholly on where and how I have hunted. If you hunt somewhere radically different, then you … More . . .
KY Expands Crossbow Season
Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lisa Tolliver lisa.tolliver@ky.gov 1-800-858-1549 Kentucky’s Crossbow Deer Season Extended Changes take effect with the 2019-20 season FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 4, 2019) – Kentucky deer hunters will have a longer period in the field with their crossbows, after a proposal to expand the season went into effect May 31. The new crossbow season will open the third Saturday in September and close the third Monday in January. This year that timeframe begins Sept. 21, 2019, and continues through Jan. 20, 2020. The proposal to lengthen the … More . . .
Two Deer Guns from Big Bob
As you may remember, my dear friend Bob passed away over the winter. His widow let the Shamanic Dream Team have dibs on his collection. Bob was a collector, mostly of Rugers and mostly pistols, and most of these were well outside my budget. I chose two deer guns. The first one was one of the first rifles that Bob ever showed me. It is a Ruger Model 44 Carbine. I’ve heard this is the best close-in deer gun out there. The Scope came off O.T.’s 25-06. It’s an early Aimpoint red dot. O.T. is another of my hunting buddies … More . . .
Nearing the Half-Way Point
With the Polar Vortex about to sweep down from the North, and the Super Bowl nearly upon us, I thought I would check in. I normally look at Super Bowl Weekend as the half-way point in the wait between the end of Deer Season and the beginning of Turkey. It really is not; I mean don’t go breaking out a calendar and start counting. It used to be that you had to have your turkey tag request in the mail by about now, or else Ohio wasn’t going to let you hunt in the spring. Thankfully those days are long … More . . .
KY Non-Resident Fees Hiked
From: 2019 Licenses on Sale FRANKFORT, Ky. (1/12/19) — Licenses and permits to fish, hunt and trap in Kentucky in the coming license year are on sale now. The 2019-2020 license year starts March 1. License and permit fees for Kentucky residents for the 2019-2020 license year are unchanged from the 2018-19 license year. Prices on some options for non-residents have changed and include: Annual fishing license, $55; One-day fishing license, $15; Seven-day fishing license, $35; Annual hunting license, $150; Statewide deer permit, $185; Spring turkey permit, $85; Fall turkey permit, $85; One-day hunting license, $25; Seven-day hunting license, $65; … More . . .
Found a new Gunsmith
I sent the Mauser from Hell out for a new safety. Hibberd’s Armory suggested I try Nathan Fleming at Legacy Gunsmithing. That was just a few weeks ago. I called Nathan, and he sent me a quote, and two weeks later, the Mauser is back and the new Timney safety is installed and I’m impressed. Best of all, Nathan is over by Saint Xavier High School, less than 5 miles from my house. Nathan has his own bluing tanks, and is a full-service gunsmith. His father is a long-time gunsmith out of Columbus, Ohio. This post has already been read … More . . .
Deer Season Post-Mortem, 2018
Let me be clear: This season sucked. It sucked in so many ways it hurts to think about it. Not everyone in Kentucky feels this way. That’s fine. I can believe our problems were localized, possibly self-inflicted, whatever. It still sucked. I’m looking at the final harvest numbers for November. Statewide the numbers good– #2 all-time. Locally, Bracken county had an average year. Just across the ridge, however, Pendleton County’s harvest was the worst in 6 years. Let me discuss what I think are the causes; maybe it will be worth it for you planning for next time. Before I … More . . .
But Wait! There’s More
At 0915 Sunday, I was just putting the finishing touches on what I thought was going to be the last post of the season. The fog had started to roll in before 2200 the night before. It had been an iridescent pea soup at 0600. A full moon and fog will do that. Angus and SuperCore had gone out for one last try. I had taken a doe the evening before, and was needing a rest. I went back to sleep when everyone left and only arose at 0900. I was freshening up my coffee when I heard a muffled … More . . .
A Doe for the Freezer
It says over in the right column, “On this day nothing happened, ever.”  That’s not entirely true. I just don’t write about it all that much. The Shamanic Deer Team woke up this morning with just 10 hours left of the season. They’re all out trying one last try. I slept in. No. I’m not tagged out. I’m just tired out. I’ve got a couple hours of packing ahead of me. Somewhere in there, I’ll pop the cork on the water and let it drain back into the cistern. We’ll lock up camp and go. Out at Midway yesterday afternoon, … More . . .
Finally! Shaman Scores a Buck
For the first time in a week, the Shamanic Dream Team went afield this morning with reasonably good weather. From Sunday to Friday it was cold (about 15 degrees below normal) and wet. Along the way we have had to face rain, drizzle, graupel, freezing rain, driving rain, snow and sleet. We had to evacuate deer camp on Thursday after an ice storm knocked out the power and threatened to close the roads. The second Saturday of season found us pretty well wet and demoralized. Angus got called into work. SuperCore has barely seen a deer. I had seen a … More . . .
Rifle Opener 2018
This was the coldest Rifle Opener we’ve had. Temps dipped down to 24F, and there was a steady cold west wind most of the morning. Shooting was light; there was 1 shot per 3 minutes, but outside of a few blazing minutes here and there, it was dead. The eleventh shot was fairly close at 0711 ET. That was Angus taking his buck. Angus said he was hunkered down behind the treestand skirt trying to stay out of the wind when he saw the buck’s back. He had sneaked out of the pasture to the north and was travelling across … More . . .
One Week to Go
I woke up this morning and started to feel the rush. Things were piling up.  I started getting that caged-animal feeling at 0400. I went down to the Reloading Cave and sharpened knives, and cased up some of the deer rifles. The Opener is just a week away. The whole past two weeks have been hectic. I’ve got the S-10 Deer Wagon in for a last-minute oil change, and some new rear tires. We’ll drive it to deer camp this weekend and finish outfitting it for the Opener. It runs, but S-10 don’t age as well as they used to. … More . . .
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