If you find me out on the web still listed as somebody’s pro-staffer, you’ll see that I never claimed to be an expert turkey hunter, only an expert beginning turkey hunter. If you want to look at what makes me a success, it is that I have looked at it … Continue reading →
I’ve mentioned the NOAA/NWS Long Range prediction products a few times. I find them useful in planning my hunts. About a month ago, the site went dead. I found where they moved the pages: Long Range Outlooks Three Month Outlooks Remember, these don’t read like your normal TV weathermap. … Continue reading →
I got a call Wednesday night that I was only half-expecting. Bob Charlton, one of my oldest, dearest friends, had died from complications of Diabetes. He’s was 82. His wife said he didn’t make it out of Dialysis. I saw Bob on Tuesday evening. He was not at all happy. … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
Back when we first got the farm, it was about 3 months before I could get a plumber in to get water running. We used a corner of the backyard that we nicknamed Pooh Corner. I still go there in the mornings to sit on the bench we converted from … Continue reading →
I put the last of the deer rifles away for the winter yesterday. It’s time to begin playing with my meat until Turkey Season. Angus gave me a wonderful gift for Christmas, a food dehydrator. This is a serious jerky machine. I just finished unloading load #1 from it. It … Continue reading →
Views: 1 Related posts: The shaman in Print — D&DH Back from Hiatus Update on the Updates Back at it — Yeah, we lost Dad Floating Hole II Fall Rules are Posted Losing a Friend A Bit of Backstory: The 870 That Wouldn’t
Continue reading →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. … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
I hope you all had a happy Saint Hubert’s Day. Mooselette did. As you all know, Saturday was Saint Hubert’s Day. I’ve been touting this day for some time as a logical supplant for Christmas. On the Feast of Saint Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, folks should exchange hunting … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
Deer Camp opened this year with a new addition. Mooselette turned 6 this year. She has been out with Daddy Moose and myself to hike and hunt squirrel. However, yesterday afternoon marked the first time our youngest camper has officially donned the Orange and gone afield. This day has been … Continue reading →
I just wanted to give you a quick story about my Savage 99 at the range today. First off, though, I need to give you a bit of history. KYHillChick bought me this Savage 99 in 308 WIN in 2003 for my birthday. I’ve used it every year as my … Continue reading →
This weekend just past has got to be one of the absolute best off-season times we’ve all had in the past 20 years, despite rain all three days. Moose, Angus and Mooselette came down for Saturday. I got off work early and got camp opened up well ahead of everyone … Continue reading →
Angus and Moose brought some from friends out from town, Keith and George, the new guy. Everyone had a good time, but you wouldn’t know it from the expressions. It was a hot one for September. Temps were in the high 80’s. Update on The Mauser From Hell Before they … Continue reading →
I was questioned recently about what sort of sidearm to take bowhunting to protect against coyotes. The querant had been rattled by coyotes on the way into his stand. In general, I would say don’t waste your time. I got into deer hunting after several years of caving. Caving had … Continue reading →
Last year about this time, I was watching a bumper crop of deer out at the farm. The neighbor to my north had sold out and he was no longer dumping $700 worth of corn into his feeder every year. The deer all came over to my place. They’re not … Continue reading →
This week, 15 years ago, I made my first post on this weblog. To quote the About page: This goes back to 2004. Mom always kept reminding me that I came from a long line of Methodist ministers. I think of myself as a good Methodist boy at heart. However, … Continue reading →
After a looooong delay, KYDFWR has finally got the updated 2018-2019 deer regs published. What’s in: You can now bag up to 4 deer on your KY deer tag– no more than one antlered animal. There are a bunch of zone changes– a lot of counties went up a zone. … Continue reading →
Two weeks ago Mooselette was begging her Dad to bring her over to Grandpa’s so she could go down to the secret room and pull Grandpa’s handle. Stop it. That ain’t nice. No, what she meant was she wanted to go down to the reloading cave and pull the handle … Continue reading →
