Up around Bracken County, it’s looking like scattered rain on Saturday and then sunny on Sunday. I guess my best shot will be the afternoon of Saturday, but you can bet I’ll be somewhere out there in the morning. One of my biggest disappointments was on the Saturday afternoon of … Continue reading →
I was downstairs this morning at the bench, running one more patch down the Hawken before I pack it for the farm. This weekend is early Muzzleloader, and I finally got a good group out of the new barrel on Sunday. For twenty years, I shot buffalo bullets and round … Continue reading →
At the farm in SW Bracken County, the whites are producing at a level just under last year’s bumper crop. The reds are taking the year off. Our other place is up in Cincinnati. There are acorns there, but not in any profusion. About every 10 years or so, the … Continue reading →
——————————————————————————– Well, I wish I had a story for you that began: “There the doe lay, under a bush beside the gully. The 150 grainer had taken its time doing its work, but . . .” or “The coyotes had done their work. All that was left was . . … Continue reading →
We had a hearty second breakfast and then headed out to the stand at Heartbreak Ridge, stayed for a couple of hours, heard nothing, saw nothing. Along about 1 PM we headed in for lunch and a nap. The deer we had seen in the morning had been grazing directly … Continue reading →
It’s 0640 on Sunday. Why am I not in the stand? It’s Youth Weekend, why am I not in the stand with my son? Saturday morning started off perfectly. #2 son was all primed to take a deer. First light came and zap! #2 was up to his old habits, … Continue reading →
It all seems to come on so quickly. There is a first whiff of Fall, the Harvest Moon rises, and then ZAP! I’m in the middle of deer season and my life is filled with last-minute shopping, running loads of hunting clothes through the washer, juggling acts in the dimensions … Continue reading →
I’m taking #2 out. He’s psyched. Saturday we went into town to get his youth tag. We spent Sunday afternoon getting his rifle sighted in. It’s funny how a reloader marks the passage of time and the growth of his son. This year we finished shooting up the original batch … Continue reading →
When I look back on my early years of deer hunting, it’s a small wonder I survived. Take tree stands for instance. Look at any good book on deer hunting. Go to any Hunter’s Ed class. Here’s what the Treestand Manufacturers Association says you don’t do: • Wear a safety … Continue reading →
Over on KentuckyHunting.com’s forums, SCSIMS was commenting on the increases in tag prices. I completely agree. Increasing tag prices: 1) Encourages folks to not buy tags and not report kills. This is the last thing you want. Once that begins snowballing, the herd dwindles back to nothing. 2) Discourages new … Continue reading →
I’ve never been much of a believer in letting the carcass age. Mine usually go right to the processor and I usually pick up the results a week later. He may let mine hang for a few days, while it waits its turn, but that’s it. I’m on the road … Continue reading →
The bug finally hit last night. All of a sudden, the scene changed. It came with the 10 degree drop in temperature, the accumulating leaves in the yard, the smell of my old leather shooting glove as I brought it out of the case. It was time to bow hunt, … Continue reading →
How do you know if you have an optimized whitetail load? That question is simple to answer: take it out in the woods, point it at deer and touch it off. If, in the next few seconds, you transform a graceful, warm, vital deer into a slowly cooling pile of … Continue reading →
