I’m writing this down so that I don’t lose the details. I wish I’d had the camera out this morning, but most of this stuff could have only been caught with a lot of planning and a solid tripod. It’s one of those things that . . .well, you just … Continue reading →
Early Muzzleloader Season has been a dry run for us– a dress rehearsal for the big show in November. This year was no exception. SuperCore, Angus, Moose, Mooselette and I went out Saturday morning with the express hope of not shooting anything, except perhaps a new camp record. Sunday, we … Continue reading →
Albert Soady: “And Remnar? Well, he turned out pretty much the way you’d expect for somebody goes by the name of Remnar.” Well, the new guy arrived at camp Saturday night, and we all retired to the Thoughtful Spot for a conclave. Amid the gathering gloom, an approaching hurricane remnant, … Continue reading →
So with the deal in the bag with the 7mm-08, I headed down to the farm to get PLAN B going, namely the 30-30’s. I’ve got two. One is the Marlin 336 that I’ve had since 2002. Even though I stopped hunting with it, I’ve kept shooting it and developing … Continue reading →
The Bad News 2 weeks ago I took the Ruger Model 44 out to do a final sight-in with the ammo I was going use for hunting. The first round went off and was perfectly placed on the target, but I just could not find the brass. I finally checked … Continue reading →
If I were the NewGuy at Camp, what would I want? That’s an interesting question. None of what I’m going say here is an outright endorsement/best of class recommendation of anything in particular. What I’m giving is based on a scenario of my nearly 2-decade experience at our camp and … Continue reading →
I pulled the memory stick from the camera next to the stand at Campground this past weekend and found the most buck appearances I’ve ever seen at that site. I edited it all down into a highlights real. Enjoy. Of particular interest is this single frame. It holds … Continue reading →
I was trying to explain The Garden of Stone the other day. After I got done, I realized that I have never written down the whole story. I should. It has accounted for dozens of deer over less than 2 decade’s worth of hunting. Its story goes all the way … Continue reading →
Yesterday marked the 12-week mark in the countdown to the Rifle Opener in November. It found me staying home from camp to escape the all-day rains that never quite materialized. So what needs to be done? Odds and Ends By this time of the year, I have all my clothes … Continue reading →
Last night #3 son, Angus, was asking me about camo. He’d seen some Youtubes with this guy touting the ultimate new super-duper stuff. He wanted to buy a set. I explained to him that I’d been where he is starting off about 30 years ago. I had not only 1st … Continue reading →
The last bit of rain hit about 0300. By 0700, I was loading up the washing machine with hunting clothes. By evening, they’ll be dry and packed in sodium bicarb, waiting for the November Opener I’m following the same Baking Soda regimen that I’ve been doing for years: See: Shamanic … Continue reading →
The last piece of the Perfect Deer Rifle Puzzle is Ammunition. There are guys out there that will tell you Barnes TSX is all you need to know. I have a friend that hunts with it exclusively. Let me just say up front, if you’re hooked on premium ammo, there … Continue reading →
In the previous missive, I examined what makes an ideal deer rifle from the perspective of chambering. The answer was “Yes, one of those will do nicely.” Now, I’m going to start getting into the real meat of it. What action? What length? The answer is still the same: “Whatever … Continue reading →
What DOES make the perfect deer rifle? I’ve tried to answer this several times over the past couple of decades. Most of those thoughts ended up on this weblog. The question continues to haunt me. Part of that is that I spent so many years trying to come up with … Continue reading →
Folks seem to think there is a lot more to deer hunting than there really is. General Mattis: ‘The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.’ This is your most important tool. The rest is gravy. Whitetails are not hard to kill. Equipment is largely unimportant. … Continue reading →
So Shaman, exactly how many deer rifles do you need? If I said just one, this would be a really short post. In a way you do only need one. As I’ve written many times before, just about anything can kill a whitetail– certainly any modern centerfire rifle. Okay, maybe … Continue reading →
Originally Posted by StrayDog Shaman, I enjoyed reading about your trip and especially the informative regarding photos of different types of colorblindness, Especially the example of what deer would see. Thanks. You know, of all the things I’ve written over the years, I think the thing on what deer really … Continue reading →
 Being trapped at home in Covid-19 purgatory gets a mind to thinking. I’ve had a real dearth of reloading projects. I have two major windows for reloading each year; they are between my two main hunting seasons. By 1 March, I have a backlog of projects that are done and … Continue reading →
I’ve published video off the security camera before. This one come from 2/10 just at sundown. It had been one of those miserable February days. A mix of rain and snow was in the air. All of a sudden every doe group in the neighborhood suddenly decided to come out … Continue reading →
Which is harder: hunting deer or hunting turkey? This is just one man’s perspective. I know this is going to have a lot of different opinions. However, I’ve been at both for nearly 40 years, so maybe I can at least lend a valid opinion. Twenty years ago, I would … Continue reading →
 I cannot help but mention Big Bob’s passing one more time as well as talk about his Ruger Model 44 and the 44 Mag as a deer round. Big Bob only made it to our camp a few times. I rode him around in the truck. His legs had … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
(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, Â it was colder than usual. I admit my hands were cold and fumbly when I got up into the blind. However, they were … Continue reading →
