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 →
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 →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 →
It was a good thing I was paying attention yesterday. I was out mowing around the yard at the farm. It’s been almost a month– too wet for most of it. This was job #1. I was out by the mailbox, and nearly missed seeing this little critter. He’d have … Continue reading →
I recently had a conversation online with one of my neighbors, Mike. Mike and I met years ago at the store in Berlin, but we’d lost each other since. He found this weblog the other day and wanted to say hello. We’re close enough that we could probably shout at … 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 →
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 →
With the Covid-19 plague keeping the Shamanic Dream Team sidelined, I decided to do something to get my mind occupied. There was a back-burner project that seemed appropriate for the situation. One never knows how far things are going to slip before the “S” hits the “F.” From my writing, … Continue reading →
As I write this, I can hear Angus in the shower. He was called into work this morning. He would have missed the Opener anyway. Last night was his birthday. He also celebrated 5 years working in a sheet metal shop. I suppose it was good news that he is … Continue reading →
We had a hard rain and thunder on Friday night. However, it was still in the low Sixties when I got up. I had to wear a short-sleeved shirt out to the Honey Hole and still managed to work up a decent sweat. I rounded the last curve in the … Continue reading →
The Shamanic Dream Team converged on Turkey Camp yesterday as the clock ticked towards one month before the opening of KY Spring Gobbler Season. We had a lot of ground to cover. First off, we had to officially inaugurate the Kip LeBlond Memorial Grill. Kip and I were best hunting … Continue reading →
As early as SuperBowl Weekend, I could see a potential weather window open up for an early return to Camp. This past weekend would marginally fit the profile: High on Saturday of 50F or better No rain until afternoon Sunday No other problems like recent ice storms or heavy snowfall … 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 →
Some years, the switch from deer hunting to turkey hunting just happens automatically. In a way it already has. I just don’t feel it yet. Back in the day, it was about this time of year that I would have to consult the rule book and see when my check … 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 →
