Deer Hunting
Deer Feeding Before the Snow
On 12/15/2019 we had a clipper-type storm come through and dump a couple of inches of snow in a blink of an eye. KYHillChick and I were watching a football game at the time; we knew the snow was coming. It still surprised us when we looked up from the screen and there was suddenly a blanket of snow on everything. Down at Deer Camp, the camera over the Thoughtful Spot caught the deer coming out for a quick feed just before the storm hit. You can see them scurrying off to their beds just before the action starts. I … More . . .
KY: Record Harvest for Modern Gun Deer Season
Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lee McClellan lee.mcclellan@ky.gov 1-800-858-1549 Record Harvest for Modern Gun Deer Season Timing and weather boost tally for statewide 16-day season FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 5, 2019) – Kentucky deer hunters harvested a record 107,039 deer during the 16-day modern gun season that concluded Nov. 24. “Season timing and weather conditions before opening day made us think we should have a good season,” said Kyle Sams, acting Deer and Elk Program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We had a poor mast … More . . .
Deer Season 2019 — The Post-Mortem
I’ve tried a couple of times to write this Deer Season Post-Mortem, and every time I get bogged down in darkness and regret. The fact is this season turned out to be something other than planned. It’s over– ’nuff said. I suppose I should be standing proud that I made it through. That was the absolute worst sore throat I’ve had since I as a kid. I went through over a week where it was darn near too painful to swallow. However, I made it to camp. I kept up my responsibilities as Patriarch. I got the job done. From … More . . .
A Cautionary Tale
(I missed posting about this earlier, because I was sick and tired and my head was a fogged up from cough syrup.) Friday morning of Opening Week, it was colder than usual. I admit my hands were cold and fumbly when I got up into the blind. However, they were thawed out after I got settled in about 10 minutes before legal hunting began before 0700. About 0800, I looked at the barrel of my rifle, a stainless Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06. Something seemed amiss. Sure enough, there was a plug of frozen mud in the end of the barrel. … More . . .
Closing Weekend — Shaman Nails a Doe
Angus and I were just pulling onto our street back home as Rifle Season officially ended on Sunday. We had a cooler full of frozen venison. The truck was packed with all the rifles and gear. It had been a crazy season for all of us, but that was that. It was time to move on. Our last weekend at camp started off with major let downs. I talked to SuperCore on Thursday and found out he was nursing a very bad cold and was going to stay home. He also said he’d taken his Wetherby Vanguard out to the … More . . .
Bob’s Model 44 and the Buck
As you all know, my buddy Bob died this past winter. He was an outdoor writer and magazine editor. Out of the estate I managed to snag a minty Ruger Model 44, and swore I’d put it to good use. Bob would have been proud. I nailed a buck with it Friday night– 80 yards, perfect shot, The only down side is that this is the first season in 40 years that I haven’t been able to call Bob to tell him. I miss the old coot. He and a bunch of his now long-dead friends got me into hunting … More . . .
Rifle Opener 2019– The Story So Far
I woke up this morning in my suburban bedroom. Two inches of snow fell overnight. In other situations, I would be kicking myself that I am not going out this morning to hunt. Here it is Tuesday Opening Week, and I’m passing up a chance to hunt Kentucky with snow on the ground! Yeah well. It was exactly a week ago, the Tuesday before the Opener that I noticed I was developing a sore throat. By the time I was able to get in and see the doctor on Friday, it had gotten to be the absolute worst sore throat … More . . .
In Case You Had Questions . . .
KDFWR has a video out on Youtube that gives answers to frequently asked questions regarding deer hunting. No big news here, but the answers are concise. This post has already been read 1332 times!Views: 3 Related posts: The Case for Cheap Bullets Youth Hunt SNAFU PT III Waiting for the Opener To Bait, Or Not to Bait Is the USDA Trying to Kill Deer Hunting? Weather Heebie-Jeebies Deer Opener But then again. . .
More . . .From the KDFWR: Outstanding outlook for the hunt
Outstanding outlook for the hunt Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lee McClellan lee.mcclellan@ky.gov 1-800-858-1549 Modern Gun Season for Deer Opens Statewide Nov. 9 Hunters can take advantage of full rut cycle over 16-day season FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 5, 2019) – One of the favorite times of the year for tens of thousands of Kentuckians begins Nov. 9 as modern gun deer season opens statewide. The 16-day season closes Nov. 24. The season sits squarely in the rut, when male deer are most actively pursuing does to breed. “Our modern gun … More . . .
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 3281 times!Views: 295 Related posts: PA Deer Hunters — Bless their Hearts Deer Hunters: Time to Start Thinking Salt Marketing to Hunters To All You Hunters. . . To hang or Not to Hang, That is the Question Who Hash Taking the Venison for a Walk in the Snow Do bucks taste different than doe?
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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 . . .
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