You know how you can keep pitching a topwater lure back in the lily pads and after enough casts that ol’ bass will suddenly explode?A couple minutes later you and that fish are looking eye-to-eye, Sometimes I have real empathy for the bass. This is one of those instances. Folks … Continue reading →
This is a continuation of the thread I started in the last post. Now that I’ve done a dump on the firearm-related stuff, here is what I think about calls, clothes and the rest of the gear  The CallsIf you’re a new guy to the sport, you’re going to … Continue reading →
I wrote a piece back in the early fall giving advice to the New Guy at Deer Camp. At least one fellow, Remnar found it to be good stuff, so I figured I’d try and compose one for Turkey Camp.  In this first installment, I’ll deal with the shooting system … Continue reading →
I used to buy the whole “They go nocturnal” thing. However, the more I have learned about deer, the less I buy it. Deer are not even close to us in how their bodies are set up. The have this fermentation process going on. They have to get up and … Continue reading →
I have exactly one day in the field with my new 7mm-08 Thompson Center Compass. I have one doe down. That does not qualify as a lot of experience. However, I’m sold on it.  7mm-08 has its problems, but none of it has to do with the cartridge or … Continue reading →
The Buckless Youper, Remnar, got his first deer this morning. I was back at the cabin putting the finishing touches on yesterday’s story when I heard a shot coming from the back of the property. At 0715 ET Remnar radioed in he had a doe down and needed assistance at … Continue reading →
The deer have been rather tentative in their movements the past couple of days, probably due to a great deal of wind. We have been seeing a few, but nothing that would afford us a shot. Yesterday, the wind moderated a bit and I gave Remnar the use of the … 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 →
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 →
For my recent birthday, KYHillChick bought me a Teslong borescope. $50 from Amazon. What’s not to like? It comes with the flexible 3-foot borescope, a nice long USB cable and a decent set of instructions. First off, it did not fit my older Samsung smartphone. It’s got various adapters USB … 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 →
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 →
This is my 1000th post on this weblog. More than half of them have something to do with Deer Hunting. About half of what remains is about Turkey Hunting. That leaves about 250 posts that are mostly about Raising a family at a perpetual deer camp instead of the mall … Continue reading →
Some guys use pinwheels. Some people use streamers. I opted for the wind vane concept. The key to a good wind vane-style flag
Continue reading →Over the winter, I purchased a Boyd’s AT-One stock to go on my Ruger American Predator in 223 Rem. The whole idea of this was to start a dedicated platform for improving my accuracy. This is the first rifle I’ve actually purpose-built for the job. Normally, I’m a hunter that … Continue reading →
The Thunderstorms are due back after Noon. I’ll be beating it back to town shortly, having concluded a very productive trip to the farm, and one of the best days I’ve ever had. I’ll give you some highlights. As soon as we heard they were relaxing the quarantine, The Shamanic … 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 →
Good Morning, y’all. Ever have one of those nights where you wake up in the morning and check yourself out first thing, making sure you’re in one piece? Last night, after 2200, the cellphone went off with a tornado warning. As soon as that finished, the sirens started up. Shortly … Continue reading →
I’m starting to get ready for the upcoming shooting season. One project I’ve had on the back burner for quite some time was fine tuning my M1 Garand. It’s a 1942 vintage Springfield. One addition is a gas plug. A few years ago Moose wanted to take the Garand out … Continue reading →
First off, I’d like to draw your attention to: What Makes a Great Turkey Gun? What Makes a Great Turkey Gun? March 18, 2011. It’s been the better part of a decade since I wrote that. I see everyone talking about their new turkey rigs. I decided to go back … Continue reading →
What do you do when you’re middle-aged, and the internal alarm goes off at 0400 on a Saturday morning? After a massive infusion of coffee, I headed to the Shamanic Reloading Cave to mount my new Hornady Concentricity Tool. By the time KYHillChick was up, I had it all fixed … Continue reading →
KYHillChick was looking for that special gift that says how much she loves her favorite outdoorsman, and lookee what I found on a flash sale at Natchez Shooters Supply. This is the Hornady Lock-N-Load Concentricity Tool. What the hell is that? Look, I’m no expert on this. However, … 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 →
