Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Hunting--- It's finally Over

I got up at 3:00 a.m. this morning to go hunting again as I was off work again this week and just 25 minutes after getting to my stand my dog showed up in the field and laid down right in the middle of the field waiting on me to head home. My dog finally left the field but headed off into the brush right where the deer should have come out.After approximately 2 hours of seeing nothing again this morning I decided to call it a day and head for home. My dog then came out of the brush and followed me home where he stayed the rest of the day. Due to these problems as well as my work stress I've decided that I'm going to pull all my stands out of the woods this coming weekend and give up hunting for good. I'll be selling my stands and all my equipment sometime in the near future. As for all my writings here on both my websites I'll be stopping on this as well since there are very few people reading them and will continue to comment on everyones sites till the end of the deer hunting season at the first of the year. All my articles will be deleted after the end of the season as well. I would like to thank each and everyone of you here at the " Bloggers Summit " and the rest of the folks in our little circle of writers for all the great comments, articles, photos and stories that you have shared with me as it has really done me alot of good and has been so heart felt and warming. It is with sad regret that I feel like giving up hunting but is thought to be the best thing for me to do at this point in my life. Again THANK YOU ALL very much for allowing me into your little circle of writers and I'll stay in touch through your comment boards till the first of the year.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Getting Closer


Saturday (October 13 ) I helped my dad remove some brush from his lake bed acreage and he told me he had been seeing deer almost everyday two and three times a day. I found trails from the brush that looked like cow paths so I picked a tree out for a stand site within bow range and cleared it out for a stand ( which I'll have to pull one from the woods to put up now.). Sunday morning I decided to give it a try but knew I had to sit on the ground in the brush (which I had already found a spot for.). I got up Sunday morning and checked the weather-- barometric pressure and wind direction, to figure if the spot I'd picked out would work out and it would. I adorned my camouflage clothing and grabbed my bow then away I went. Now my parents only live 800 yards around the corner from me so I walked down to the field and into the brush,sat down and waited very patiently. my dog showed up from out of the brush then back into the brush three times within a hour of daylight. I thought that was it there's no way deer would be anywhere around me after my dog had searched the brush for whatever.Boy was I ever wrong, a deer came to the edge of the brush and I haven't figured out if the deer winded me or perhaps winded where we had cleaned up the brush from Saturday but it snorted three or four times then stomped it's foot and bound off back into the thick brush. I sat still for another 30 minutes or so waiting to see if possibly it might come back on a different trail but no such luck. It's now Monday morning and I don't have to work today so I figure I'll give it another try especially since the barometric pressure is rising due to a front moving in and the temperature is only 51 degrees. This should have the deer moving pretty good today and with any luck at all I,ll finally get my long awaited shot. I'm in bad need of putting something in the freezer and at this point squirrels are looking pretty good to me since I can't find any deer.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY/ I'M ONLY 27


It's my birthday today and I'm only 27 years old to and not planning on doing anything after work and no writing today either(sorry folks).birthday on October 11.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Hunting-- A Weekend Update

Saturday morning the barametric pressure was changing so I decided to go hunting again and of course my grandchildren wanted to go along only this time there was three of them. Fortunately for me I was hunting in a long saddle area so I spread the young adults out up the draw as I made my way to the top. AS I dropped each one off at a stand I would give explict instructions to stay put till I returned to get them. Just two hours after daylight one of them showed up at the top of the saddle and had gotten with the other two on his way. That not being bad enough ,they stood around talking and laughing just 75 yards from my stand and did all this just about the time for the deer to come in. This is the very reason why I prefer to hunt farmlands without other hunters. Now I have been told that I have the patience of a saint but for some strange reason this incident of hunting with the grandchildren just didn't sit well with me and I came down out of my stand madder then a bull in a china store. I came crashing through the brush straight toward the young adults and as I got to them I ask why they were out of their stands and talking so loud. I could here them over at my stand 75 yards away.Their reply was "well Ihad deer all around me snorting and some hunter came walking through so after he got out of sight I came up here". I ask how many deer he saw and he said none. By now I was out of the mood to hunt any longer so I decided to check the back side of the saddle for deer and tracks but the young adults just couldn't be quick so we headed for home empty handed again.That evening we collected three of my deer stands from across the lakebed and I spent the evening by myself putting them back up for rifle season. Sunday morning I hunted one of the new stands and spooked a deer out of the area as I went in to my stand before daylight. Unfortunately the deer never returned while I was on stand but at least I may have finally gotten away from the dogs and atv's. Only time will tell if my new stand sites are any good or not but at this point it doesn't matter to me anymore.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Hunting Again,One More Chance

To start out with I recieved an email last night that was well worth reading and was very informative as well. It was an arcticle sent to me by Kip Adams,QDMA Director of Education and Outreach, Northern Region on the subject of " Hemorrhagic Disease". The article was well written and needs to be read by every hunter reading this post. If you'd like I can send you the article via-email or you can reach Kip Adams at kadams@qdma.com or try www.qdma.com either will reach him and check out the article yourself. Now on to my next subject, I went hunting again this morning and guess what happen folks? Well To begin with I moved locations some 2000 yards away from my stands to a place I'd found some good signs,then got up this morning checked my emails and got ready to go. as I headed out the door the skyline was already begining to brighten so I knew it wouldn't be long before it was light enough to see through the woods.I hurried through the woods to my picked location sat by a tree overlooking several roadbeds. After about 2 1/2 hours of watching tyhe roadbeds a movement caught my eye to the right along the roadbed. I grabbed my bow and moved into shooting position as stealthfully as possible an just then my three wild stray dogs and my own dog stepped into view.Was this ever a disappointment or what? The only thing I did was watch the dogs and hope they would run a deer my way before I had gotten so disgushed that I'd go home empty handed again. Who would have thought that moving that far away from one location you'd still be plagued by stray dogs? I guess it's time for me to go stray dog hunting at least I know I'll have a chance at them and I may even cure my problem so I can see deer then. Anyway my grandchildren are wanting to go hunting with me again in the morning so now I just have to figure out where to go with three young adults along. This will be my next post, an update on their hunting trip with me.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Hunting--- Two Weekends Pasted

Okay everyone an update on my hunting adventures so far. The young adults I took with me had a great time in the woods together and as I figured would happen none of us saw any deer on opening day (Sept. 22 ). I had another buddy come by late Friday evening and was supposed to go along but to date I haven't seen anything of him. I hunted morning and evening on Saturday then went Sunday morning by myself and got lucky enough to catch a glimpse of two deer moving through the brush just above me on the side of the ridge. This weekend I hunted from the ground by a very large oak tree and still saw nothing, however as I was walking out I took a different route following a ATV trail which crossed a creek bottom twice where I found some great tracks crossing the creek bottom. I decided to hunt these crossings Sunday morning (Sept. 30 ) which is where I headed this morning. After setting in the woods for 5 hours I was just about ready to give up for the morning when I heard leaves russeling and figures that the moon was full so it could be the deer were moving in the middle of the day. I grabbed my bow just in time to have three wild dogs walk right upon me to within 5 feet of myself. These dogs and ATVs riding the trails where I'm hunting has been my problem since the season opened. The access road to the property where I hunt has also been blocked off with a cable and lock so nobody can enter the front of the property where another group of hunters are hunting. I left them a note explaining it was an access road to the property and that I was hunting behind them to please remove the cable. With all these problems the passed two weeks I decided to pull my stands and either move locations or give up hunting altogether (more on this decision later). Sorry no photos yet.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Hunting--The Moment of Truth

Hey everybody; it's finally here the one time of year when every hunter is actually looking forward to getting up early( I mean really early) in the morning. This is got to be the best day of the year when all your dreams could actually come true. I'm talking about Mr. Big standing right beneath your stand and your actually in your stand with your bow just itching to release your arrow into a vital area on him. This day is going to be one for the books, one that you'll tell to your friends and family for years to come. Although it's not official yet you just have that feeling deep inside you that this has got to be the day when the great moment of truth finally happens. All this talk about one day that's finally come and I haven't even told you yet what day it is( of coarse I'm sure you've already guessed by now), naturally it's opening day of bow season here in Tennessee and I'm about as ready as I can get. Well maybe I can make just a few more preparations before I go to bed and oh yes I have two companions going along on this adventure. That's right one of my grandchildren Matthew Simmons and his school buddy Charles Parrish are going along so even though it's opening day I don't look to put anything on my tag but it could happen I guess. Clothes laid out,gear all together and ready, truck gassed up, new broad heads on arrows,stabilizer on bow, med. bag equipped and of coarse alarm set and coffee pot set and ready for an early morning. It sounds like I've got everything ready for opening day but I 'm sure there'll be something that I'll forget and before anybody brings it up I don't ever use a flashlight. Flashlights are to easy to spook the deer so I memorize the woods I hunt during my scouting to minimize spooking the deer I'm hunting. Anyway this post was really to tell everyone good luck and stay safe during this years hunting adventures and don't forget we all like to see those great photos even if they're not of your game.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Hunting--Work and Woodland Escape


This weekend I was busy replacing a floor for a client in his bathroom. The floor had been replaced before by someone who didn't know what they were doing.They had used all different kinds of scrap lumber to rebuild the floor and had three different heights when he finish which caused the linoleum to crack and the toilet to rock every direction you moved. Being this house was built in the 1930's I knew this was going to be a chore that would take some time to replace. The existing floor had to be removed along with the toilet,a new floor system put in due to wood rot,the plumbing had to be worked on some to bring the toilet flange down on top of the new floor, then replace the linoleum and toilet along with the trim. The floor is dropping causing a swag which is going to have to be raised. All in all I finally finished the job Sunday evening around 2:00 p.m. then was supposed to help my dad with a roof leak which got put off till next weekend. All in all the floor replacement took me approximately 13 1/2 hours and will end up costing the client $425.00 for his new floor.You can make some decent money doing this kind of work but sometimes it can cause alot of headaches and get into some serious problems if you don't know what your doing or look at the entire job before you give an estimate for the work. I love doing this kind of work but sometimes I get myself in a pickle with my time scheduling.Figuring your time for a job is probably the most important factors of your estimate which is where so many people lose their profit. If the job takes longer then estimated then there goes their profit. Of course my theory is to figure extra time then give the client a refund when possible which makes the client happy with the work they received and you get call-backs for more work. Today I have to go work on my dad's roof,work on another clients roof( just extend the overhang for gutters to be installed which I'll be doing),and of course collect from the floor replacement job then anything else I can work into my schedule before the end of the daylight hours. So much work and so little time to do it all in with little help makes me tired just thinking about it but I have a cure it's called woodland escape. When I get worn out from my work I try to head for the woods to regroup if only for a couple of hours then I'm ready for another long haul of construction work again. Good thing hunting season is close then I can do so real relaxing even though my time in the woods will be limited.I probably have to bring in some help to get the work caught up by next weekend(Sept. 22,07) which is the first day of bow hunting season but if that's what it takes then so be it cause I've planned Sept. 22, 07 as my day to do nothing but hunt those dang ole smelly deer even if it kills me. I do my best to keep everybody posted on my hunting adventures and the outcome of each one but with all the work coming in right now looks like I'm going to be really busy this fall and may not get to go as much as I'd like too. The first deer is usually to fill the tag(which I figure pays for the tag) then after that it's all mainly trophy hunting for a nice rack to put on the wall. Even though the meat does cut down on the grocery bill, it's all about being in the woods just relaxing for me.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Opening Seasons


Hunting season has finally gotten here again and with all the work I still have to do around here I just haven't had time to go yet. Dove season has opened labor day weekend and squirrel season opened already too but I more interested in the opening day of whitetail archery season which I'm hoping for a good weekend and don't plan on doing anything that weekend except hunting.It opens September 22,07 and I'm planning on putting everything on hold that I can just for hunting. I may show up here sometime during the day to update everyone on how I'm doing with my hunting over the weekend but don't think I'm going to make any special trip home just to update you folks when there's whitetail to be taken running everywhere in the hills of Tennessee. Anyway thanks for stopping by for the visit and I'll see you all soon. Oh yeah I forgot to show you I got my deerstand up,Redneck style.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Welcome New Writer -- David Knapp

Hey folks: I've just finished reading and commenting on a new site I found and I think it's really worth time to check out for yourself ( http://thetroutzone.blogspot.com/ ) it's about a young fisherman and his travels and he seems to be having a great time enjoying the great outdoors and meeting new people. I've added his site to both my sites so visit him when you can and welcome him to our society group. I've not established whether or not he's into hunting yet but with time maybe one of you can or maybe I'll get the chance to next time I visit his site. By the way his name is David Knapp and he's into trout fishing for the biggest part of his life.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

It Doesn't Matter---


You know I have hunted for the past 32 years now and there is always some young person that Will come up to me and say "Why do you hunt?" and as many of you I'm sure will agree it's strictly for the pleasure of being in the woods by yourself taking in all God's creatures and the great and beautiful scenery that he has bestowed upon us on this great planet we call earth. You don't have to be a hunter to enjoy all these things, all you have to do is get off the couch, get out of the house and go into the woods, set down and just be quite for just a minute then you too can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of nature at its best. It doesn't matter what type work needs to be done or who you have with you, just go into the woods and live life again as it should be to the fullest.It doesn't matter what color you are, where you were born( city or country)or whether you think it's not your thing just give it a try one time and I bet you'll be hooked for life to at least schedule one outting a year going into the woods somewhere just to relax and enjoy nature and relieve your stress levels and renew your mind and body. So the next time any of you get asked
'Why do you hunt?' reply with this simple answer ' It doesn't matter all that matters is that I enjoy my time in the woods". It doesn't matter if your a hunter, photographer, bird watcher, or animal lover for your sake try this just once.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Country life-Living The American Dream

Many of us take for granted that when we go to the woods we're out there for the purpose of taking wild game, but the truth of the matter is we're really out there for the peace and quite, the serenity and the relaxation and beauty of the woods and all it has to offer us. Most people in our world today don't even know that kind of feeling you get when your all alone in the woods and everything is quite around you and then it happens, a majestic buck steps out for just a moment to give you a glance of himself as if to say okay now you've seen me and I'm grand master of these woods. This is the kind of things we see and then when season comes around their sixth sense kicks in and they know it's hunting season again so they need to hide as best they can to survive. This is actually not the case, what really takes place is that due to the added pressure of hunters scouting the woods before the season the deer get scared off time and time again. This alerts the deer and the deer begin moving into new areas or thicker brush where they are harder to see and harder to hunt. Many of us hunters today don't think to use any kind of cover-up scent blocker when we go scouting and this is why we see deer while scouting( mainly by pure accident) but when hunting season comes along the big bucks have gone from the area and we usually don't see them again till after hunting season when the pressure has eased off and the human scent has left the woods they use as their home. Most city folks rarely talk about or even think about going to the woods for whatever reason, but there are a few city slickers who weren't always city slickers born and raised, they were born country and raised citified. Citified country folks are just having a hard time remembering their past and getting back to it as often as they would like. Then to there are those who just didn't like the country life and don't want to remember it.For my preference I choose to lead and live a country life full of all the wonders life has to offer me no matter how bad things get and I'll always remain a country boy for as long as God will allow me too.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Dreams of Hunting

Have you ever had a dream of hunting that monster buck and it seems so real that it kind of sticks in your mind all day long? Many hunters have dreams,as I have, that have been reoccurring during their lifetime and just haven't put together the whole big picture about their dreams. Dreams are sometimes the future insight into your world. Dreams do come true sometimes for some of us and we just haven't realized that that big buck we have just taken was one that we had a dream about. So many times we have the same dream over and over again and these dreams are the ones that usually come true for us. Stop and think a minute about a dream you have been having of a hunting trip and taking a really nice buck. Think about the surroundings, the woods, fields,the stand your in and where the buck comes from ( direction to the stand) now put all this together in your head and figure out if this dream was one that has already happened for you or is it one that you'd like to happen. If it's one you'd like to happen then follow that dream to the exact location this fall and make it happen for yourself. Dreams come to us at night from things we read about or do in our lives and wishful thinking, so if you haven't had that dream of taking that one big buck of a lifetime then maybe your not getting a good sound sleep or maybe you need to change your lifestyle and be more active with your hunting activities. A deep sleep is the only place your mind would begin to have a dream and if your sleep is interrupted by something then there goes your dream but if your sleep is uninterrupted and your dream unfolds completely then by all means follow that dream to the exact place and time and take that big buck you've been dreaming of for so long then you can continue on life's journey and all it's graces of goodness. Sweet dreams and happy hunting.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Hunting Public Land


These days finding public lands to hunt is getting harder than ever but with the right persistence and attitude anyone wanting to go hunting can find some place to hunt. Alot of times all you need is to know one good farmer or rancher that is willing to take a chance that his livestock,fences and property will be protected by you and your in for the long haul of a lifetime. There's alot of public property out there that the government owns that one can hunt but for my preference I choose to hunt property owned by farmers who know what hunting is all about. Don't just go out a couple of weeks before hunting season and expect to find that one great far to hunt or expect that the farmer will even allow you to hunt his farm on such short notice cause most of the time the farmer has already got someone hunting his property or may not even know you. The best thing to do is start early in the year looking for a farm then when you spot the one you would like to hunt go up talk to the owner, explain who you are,where you live, who your parents are, and what your intentions are as far as hunting his farm, protecting his livestock, helping around the farm in anyway possible such as mending fences,helping vaccinate his livestock, hauling hay,cleaning out barn stables or clearing fence rows around the farm for the privilege to hunt the following season. Many of the farmers today have seen what alot of the unethical hunters of our society do to farm property either by first hand experience or by word of mouth and that's the biggest reason it's so hard to find a good farm to hunt these days. With so many farms across this land of ours we need to help our neighbor farmers out as much as we can to help them keep the farmland their fighting so desperately to hold on too. Alittle work never hurt anyone and who knows the farmland you work on may produce a state record or maybe even a world record buck. The main thing to remember is that everyone needs help at sometime in their life and especially as we all grow older. Even if the farmer doesn't allow you to hunt at least offer to give him your help from time to time and maybe one day he'll finally come to see that your not a bad person like every other hunter he's heard about and decide to let you hunt his farm. If not then at least you've made one more friend in your little town of many for future references and believe me word will get out of your hard labor on his farm. Public land is a valuable thing and sometimes can be hard to come by when it comes to hunting the property but there's plenty of farms and ranches out there that can be hunted if you use the right approach with the land owner and keep a code of ethics about yourself when on one of these farms or ranches. I just got 800 acres to hunt through a friend of mine but I still want to talk to the land owner before doing any scouting or hunting on the property mainly to let the owner know who I am, what I look like, what dates I can hunt, and if I can help out around his farm in anyway. This farm has produced some really nice bucks and hopefully with a little pre-season scouting I'll be able to take one for myself as well.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Survival of Our Wild Game and Our Heritage

Deer are one of the most curious creatures god has put on this earth. They walk ever so slowly through the woods searching for foods essential for their survival. Sometimes as they walk along they encounter other creatures of the woods which actually help them to stay safe such as the wild turkey and the squirrel. The wild turkey roam the woods and fields in flocks all day scratching up tiny morsels of food and are allot of times accompanied by a herd of deer. Together the deer and the turkey can detect enemies and unsafe areas and sound an alert to the rest of the flock or herd which is known by each other and safer ground is then quickly sought for their survival. Deer and turkey have used this survival technique for thousands of years very effectively not only against their predators (wild animals ) but even against man (or woman ) . Deer have many senses which allow them to survive with great ease but sometimes allow them to be taken to great peril less tragedies and certain death. Deer have many enemies but perhaps of all their enemies humans are their biggest threat to their survival. Humans have the technology to take deer at great distances now and are destroying large plots and acreages of land that is essential to the survival of deer in some areas of our world today. There are however a great many of organizations and groups of individuals out there today that are trying to save and manage the deer herds for the future of our society and our heritage. This is not only happening to our deer herds but to many of our wild animals such as the Elk, Wolves, Turkey, Bison and many exotic animals as well. Thanks to the growing number of concerned people, some of which do not even hunt these animals but enjoy their beauty in the wild, we will hopefully have wild game to hunt for years or decades to come. Even though the wildlife agencies govern and protect our wild animals they need our help in doing so and I urge everyone hunting wild game, whether with a bow, gun or camera to support and if possible to join an organization or group in saving and managing any wild game of this beautiful land we have. It's up to everyone to ensure our heritage is carried on for years to come and our lands keep clean for the future generations to enjoy as they grow old as we have.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Hunting Rifles--Old to New and Beyond

With all the different calibers and models of rifles on the market today it can be very hard to decide which caliber a hunter should use for his hunting of wild game. In the old days the muzzle loader was the only rifle for hunting large game animals as well as for protection at home. Then they came out with the high powered rifle and changed the hunting world to a new direction making the taking of wild game much easier. With the change over to the high powered rifles also came the over hunting of some species of wild game causing these species to become at an extinction level.Man began to see this drastic change in the hunting game and decided it was time to put limits on the game animals to prevent any further extinction of the wild game.Rifles made it so easy for hunters to take their game that many hunters began to lose interest in the sport and the hunting world saw a increase in the wild game once again so allowing the bans on some species to be removed. Wealthy hunters began hiring guides from different parts of the world to guide them in their quest for some of the more exotic game animals thus creating new jobs . In today's world man has adapted the hunting season to coincide with the game animals mating season to allow hunters the best possible chance of filling his tags. In today's society gun dealers have seen the hunters,gun enthusiast and gun collectors all have such a need for guns that they created gun shows with many different dealers involved so as to give society a wide selection of guns to chose from and the ability to find the rifle or pistol they want and can afford. Whether you buy your gun from a dealer or from an individual you need to make sure that it gets registered by the state which will ensure that if your guns ever get stolen and recovered they can be traced back to the present owner and returned to its rightful owner. Despite what allot of anti-gun propagandist think the rifle will always be a big part of society now and in the future for a long time to come. So long as guns are used properly there should be no reason for them to be ban from our homes.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Hunting Rifles---- The Choice is yours

In today's wide world of hunting, most hunters like to begin by using the famous 30-30 Winchester lever action, which in my opinion is on good for shots around 100-150 yards for effective knock down power when hunting whitetail deer. The rifle I choose to use would be either the Remington 25-0-6, Remington 6 mm or the Remington 257 Roberts using a 100 grain nosler or sierra bullet which I know doesn't go through brush very well but they all do a fine job of shooting long range shots and making the kill when that long range shot is presented and called for.I've used allot of different rifles and some with far too much knock down power for whitetail, but these are still by far the rifles of my choice when hunting whitetail deer. Many of you will of course have your own preference of rifles and that's fine as long as you choose a rifle that is appropriate for the terrain your are hunting and one that you are comfortable with when the shot is presented.Remember the best rifle in the world doesn't make the hunter any better than he already is ,it's getting to know your rifle and how it shoots for you that makes the hunter you are. Remember too that being safe in the field and home at all times you handle a gun of any kind is what makes one of the best hunters of today and safety with firearms can never be taken to lightly by anyone young or old. More on rifles to follow up soon.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Hunting-- The golden pond .

When your young you have few worries about life and the future. As you grow older you begin taking on the world and it's problems. When you get in your 40's you begin thinking about your retirement and what you want to do with the rest of your life. Me, I'm 48 years old and have been thinking about retirement for some time now and I know what I want if God will permit it to happen for me.For the past 10 years now my wife and I have been wanting to buy a large tract of acreage (approx. 100 -500 acres ) mostly all wooded and build a small log home with a barn and horses, plant crops for the deer and other wild game and live quite lives in the wild by ourselves as the pioneers did. Unfortunately the problem is finding the right place and funding such an idea. That's why I started this posting thing was to make money but it just isn't working for me but I'll still continue to post cause I find it enjoyable and who knows maybe one day I'll find my way to "The Golden Pond" that I'm looking for and everything will become my hunters dreamworld before my time is up here on Gods great earth. Hunting is my life next to my wife and together we'll still have a wonderful life together in our own little world we've created for ourselves. Whatever happens we'll still continue hunting "The Golden Pond" that we dream of for ourselves and so shouldn't you.

Scents and Attractants

Though I won't go into great detail on any of the scents or attractants of today's hunters I would like to give just a short comment on the use of them for all practical purposes. Many of the scents and attractants out there today only work if used properly and in the right areas. You have to have deer in the area you are hunting for any of these to work for you. If there are few deer in your hunting area chances are you may have a long wait for you scents or attractants to work the way they are made too. You can lay down a scent trail for that big buck your hunting but if the deer aren't moving due to weather or the moon phase then your chances of getting your buck into shooting position are drastically reduced. Don't get me wrong there are alot of really good scents and attractants out there that work really good and you'll see alot of shows on the television that will show just that but you have to remember the people on television using these products are in an area where there are alot of bucks for the taking and their scouting has already been done for them. My choice of attractants and scents would be VS1 as it is pure and straight from a live deer no chemicals but it is alittle bit expensive. VS1 can only be purchased off the Internet and quantities are limited so if this is your choice get it while supplies last early in the season.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

hunting-Deer Stands & Blinds ( Part 2 of 2 )

When you search the woods for signs of deer, find the perfect place to hunt and begin looking for a tree to hang your deer stand on ,do as I do and try to find a tree with limbs you can climb up.Put your stand between 10 - 20 feet off the ground around one of the limbs so as to prevent the stand from slipping down the tree, make sure you have a good safety belt or harness and know how to use it properly and a pull rope to pull your bow or gun up to the stand rather than trying to climb the tree with your bow or gun in your hand. Portable stands can be carried easily into the field every time you hunt or you can put it up and chain it to the tree where it can be left till the end of the season and save time by not having to put the stand up every time you hunt. Tripods can be staked to the ground and pop-up blinds are very easy to carry afield and put up every time you hunt. Blinds are very useful for anyone who can't sit still for very long periods of time. They can be used to hunt in areas were there is no decent trees to hunt from or only brush such as in Texas. Blinds are very instrumental in getting wild game very close. Many of the tree stands today can be converted to accept blind material which will help conceal the movement of the the hunter to an extent. Tree stands put the hunter up off the ground allowing better visibility and moving the human scent up off the ground away from the highly detectable sense of the deers nose. The deer stand only puts the human scent up off the ground for a short time depending on the weather and the terrain before it is spread to the ground and carried with the wind without the use of cover up scents to mask the human scent. Cover-up scents are another secret of the deer hunter of today and will be discussed later in my writings.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Hunting - Deer stands & blinds (part 1 of 2 )

In todays world of hunting there's a very wide variety of deer stands and blinds. All of which are very different yet also very similar. It all depends on the terrain your hunting, the type trees your stand will be on and the situation your in as to what type of set-up you need for your hunting adventure. When it comes time to choose a stand or blind be sure to check out as many different types and styles as possible. Many of the higher grade sporting good stores offer free catalogs which advertises a full line of deer stands and blinds with full descriptions of the product. You can go online to just about any of the product manufacturers to find more information and then theres my favorite online sporting good shop such as http://www.basspro.com/hunting/Department?hvarDept=400&CMID=MH_OS_HUNTING . Remember to keep in mind all the aspects I mentioned above and give some actuall thought before purchasing your deer stand or blind cause most all these stands and blinds are made to last a lifetime. If this is your first deer stand or blind you might try talking to some of your hunting partners or sporting good store clerks which usually are helpful but can't always answer all the questions you may have, but then too your hunting partners will most likely only be able to give you advice on the deer stands or blinds that they use and catalogs can only give you descriptions not answers to your questions. Tripods, climbers, loungers, ladder platform, non-climbers used with a ladder or screw in steps and homemade wooden deer stands are all options however with the technology of today homemade wooden deer stands are a thing of the past and the main reason is safety (broken rungs or steps or falling out of the stand). homemade wooden deer stands are not a good choice at any cost and should not be used even if it looks safe they are still dangerous.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Hunting --- Young Adults

For the sake of readers from this point forward I wish to address all kids in my articles as "Young Adults " . Young adults in todays world everywhere need adult supervision and guideience to help prevent them from becoming involved in drugs, gangs, sex and crimes of todays world. It should be an objective for all adults to try every way possible to get young adults involved in an activity that interest the young adult. By involving young adults in activities either one you enjoy or one they enjoy and you support, your helping keep young adults off the streets and out of troublewith the law. When I began deer hunting some 30 + years ago I took on the task of hunting with young adults in my neiborhood and created a circle of friends that instead of going to town getting into trouble would go to town early to the sporting goods store then meet their buddies at one of trheir homes to sit and discuss hunting tactics and stories. This is how they came to earn my respect and why I call all young hunters " Young Adults. As these young adults grew older they in turn would involve and educate the young adults to the great world of hunting thus the group would grow and the knowledge passed on and expanded to new hunters. Young adults learned an invaluable lesson of life, sporting good stores thieved, hunting was good and poaching in our neck of the woods was almost never heard of happening. Young adults are an essential part of our hunting society today so remember to promote and educate our young adults every chance you get whether they are yours or someone elses. Some young adults may be harder to teach and educate but in the long run it will all be worth while and educating our young adults about hunting keeps our hunting heritage moving in a forward and positive direction for us all. So with one last note everyone please don't forget to ensure our young adults are " Hunter Education Certified " it's the law.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Hunting--Safety and First Aide

Accidents can happen at any given time and its always good to have a partner that can get emergency help if needed.Its also a good idea to tell someone at home where or which farm you are going to be hunting just in case an emergency comes up at home that your needed for.Two way radios are a good thing to have while hunting with a partner so you can keep in touch with each other while separated and are very inexpensive to buy. These can be bought at any sports shop, discount store, convience store or electronics store such as "Radio Shack". A small medical supply kit or first aide kit is another item that should be carried in your vehicle for emergencies and can include such things as aspirin, bandages, tape, sterile gauge, saline water to wash the wound out, tweezers, and anti biotic ointment such as neosporene. You can buy a complete first aide kit for about $25.00 or you can get a plastic box with a lid and buy anything you need to make your own first aide kit from your local pharmacy. Some hunters buy and carry fanny packs to keep their first aide supplies in as well as other hunting possibles they may need while they are far away from their vehicle or they come across another hunter in the woods needing medical attention. Hopefully if you and your partner follow the safety rules of the field you'll never need to use your first aide kit but its nice to have just in case .Don't forget to check the contents from time to time to replenish anything you may use such as aspirin and remember while checking the contents to check also the expiration dates as some items do expire and will need to be replaced. If the expiration date is not quite yet expired but soon will go ahead and replace that item anyway so you don't forget to when it does expire. Keep your kit in good order and up to date and it will be a great value to you if ever it is needed. If you ever use your first aide kit in the field be sure to follow up at home and keep a close eye on the wound. Infection can still set in if not properly cared for. A barb wire fence, a thorn bush, a splinter from a wooden stand or old barn your hunting from can all carry germs and poisons which can cause infections deep within your wound and get into the blood stream causing very serious medical problems within just hours or days of the incident happening,so if it looks like it's getting worst get professional medical attention immediately it could save your life or a limb.