Hunting Wild Game / A Way Of Life

An Awesome Year of Hunting.

2011-02-09T04:55:00.004-06:00

This year was an awesome year for me as far as hunting wild turkey and whitetail deer. I was able to take three wild turkeys and three nice whitetail bucks by the end of the hunting seasons. My freezer is full now and all that is left to do is enjoy the memories of my adventures as I share my bounty with other friends and family throughout the coming year. Turkey season turned out to be an awesome and unfogetting adventure for me this year. I was able to rekindle a childhood friendship with a great buddy of mine that has allowed me access to his farm which he says has never been and will never ever be hunted by anyone else but me. My grandsons were able to go along with me on my hunts this year which made my hunts even more enjoyable and they are now starting into a life long tradition of hunting adventures of their own. The past week or so I have been busy getting things started for my grandsons to take the Hunters Safety Certification course which is now available from compact disk(cd) in our state. I called Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency and acquired two (2) cd's from them for my grandsons training which can be used by anyone else wanting to take the course. All that remains now is to get my grandsons here with the time to sit down and go through the instructional cd and take the test then print a completion form and follow up with a final field day of firearm training test. My whitetail hunting this year was just as enjoyable with my grandsons along for those hunts as well. I also made a new friend from a landowner joining the property I have been hunting when opening day of rifle season my buck jumped the fence onto posted property and I obtained permission to recover my buck after a lengthy conversation with the landowner and even received his help in the recovery. After the buck was processed I carried a large part of that bucks meat to my new landowner friend just to help seal the deal of future hunting rights on his property. All-in-all I've had an awesome year in 2010 and I've already started the year 2011 off planning my spring turkey hunting trips with my grandsons which start here in Tennessee in march for young adults and april for everyone else. I now look forward to my hunting trips with my grandsons every year as they become the best hunters they can be through my knowledge and understanding of this our great outdoors. Teach any kid to hunt and preserve our heritage for years to come. Next time you go hunting take a kid along, you'll be glad you did.

Second Chance at Turkey

2010-04-26T23:23:00.007-05:00

Saturday April 24th, 2010, I had another opportunity to go turkey hunting and was accompanied by another of my grandson's ( Codey Botkin ). We got up at 4:00 a.m., had our morning coffee and loaded up the truck with our gear then headed down the road in the nights darkness to our honey hole. We arrived just as the dawn was breaking across the sky with a severe tornado watch for our area. Although the weather was to be bad we both agreed that a little rain never hurt anybody and that we would give it a try anyway. As we began grabbing our gear we noticed several birds in two adjoining fields. We grabbed out our blind material and headed out across the field to a small group of trees at the edge of the property line and set up underneath the trees where we were able to see the toms strutting in the field to our right with a few hens. I told Codey the birds in the left field would come around the point of the trees just out of range but should come in to our calls without any problems. Just then a weary single young tom came from out of nowhere and just out of gun range then quickly returned to the flock in the left field. We sat there calling to both groups of birds but then noticed the owner standing by his shop watching us and the birds. Figuring the birds had seen the owner and wasn't about to come in any closer, we decided to go over and talk with the owner awhile and figure out our next game plan for the birds. While talking to the owner, a young tom popped out of the brush across the creek bank ambled around the edge of the field then off into the trees and brush as I headed across the creek with a plan to cut him off on the other side of the trees before he got out into the plowed field. There again this plan didn't work either. For some reason the toms just weren't gobbling much at all. I returned back to the shop and noticed the turkeys in the right field were heading for the gap joining the to fields which was where the hens were waiting in the left field. Codey and I decided we would try to sneak along the creek bank to the edge of the property line and wait and call softly to the toms coming into the left field. By the time we had got set up in a sage patch with briar bushes the toms had already joined the hens and began heading down field in our direction. I told Codey not to move any at all as the turkeys could already see us if we moved. The hens feed down field with the toms strutting all the way to within gun range. I told Codey I would take the second tom and he would take which ever tom was closest to him. When I shot the toms scattered with one of them running straight toward Codey which was when he shot and we had two toms on the ground. We retrieved our toms and headed to the shop just as the owner came out to meet us pulling up by the side of his house. He ask if we were giving up for the day and we told him we had already taken our birds and was ready to travel to the check-in station. Codey's bird went home with him and my bird went to the landowner with a great big thank you and a few words of our returning to his farm. Pictures of our birds are above but the landowner's name is still to remain a secret unless you know the man from his photo.

32 Year Quest is Finally Over.

2010-04-12T19:18:00.008-05:00

32 Years ago in 1978, I began hunting wild turkey with a great friend of mine ( Ricky Duke ) from Lascassas,Tennessee. Now back then the wild turkey population was just taking hold in Tennessee and there weren't many places you could hunt wild turkey except on Wildlife Management areas. Ricky and I would travel around the state hunting wild turkey for five years before I gave up hunting them thinking I would never be able to take one of the hardest wild game animals I've ever hunted. This year I was looking at the possibility that this could be my last year to hunt or fish, so I told my wife I was going to try hunting turkey again this year if things worked out so I could. Fortunately the closer turkey season got the more excited I became and the more I looked at scheduling my home chores so I could go hunting. Opening weekend however was on April the 3rd and I had to work all weekend long but on April the 6th I was able to go hunting. I spent the night before gathering all my turkey hunting equipment and cleaning my gun so everything was ready come morning to load in the truck for the 1 1/2 hour trip to Rutherford county. 2:45 A.M. the alarm went off and I got up, started the coffee, began getting dressed, gabbed up my gear and checked it one last time as I packed it in my bag, had my coffee then headed out the door and down the road. I arrived at the farm I was going to be hunting on at 5:25 A.M. and had decided since I hadn't seen the owner for thirty years that I would wait till he was up and talk to him just a bit before going hunting. 6:30 A.M. I spoke with the owner and he told me where the birds were at during the day and what his property lines were. 6:45 A.M. I headed out past the shop and seen a group of 6 toms and 14 hens parading in the field next to me. I eased my way to the roadway bank placed my decoy and began calling with my box call and mouth diaphams but the turkeys didn't move. They gobbled every time I called to them but just wouldn't come my way. I eased down the road bank and behind a small grove of trees and bushes in the middle of the field then moved in to the bushes and over to the side the turkey were on. Again I tried calling to them and still no response except gobbling back at me. The hens had the toms pretty well occupied. All of a sudden the toms gathered up their heirm and headed down field away from me. I tried to follow staying out of site till they stopped some 200 yards down field next to the fence. As I approached the fence a rabbit jumped up making a noise in the brush and 4 toms came running over to the fence looking and clucking. As I froze in my tracks and watched with my gun ready, 3 of the toms put their heads in and opening in the brush at just 10 feet from me tring to see what was in the brush. I could have easily killed all 3 toms at that moment but the limit is one bearded turkey per day so I waited for only one turkey. The toms finally figured there was nothing to worry about and rejoined the feeding hens down field and began going out across the open field where I knew I wouldn't get a shot. I left those turkey returned to check a couple more fields then decided to take my decoy back down to the first group and try luring them to the edge of the field with my decoy. As things happened the turkeys were no where to be seen and I figured they had crossed to the next field. I walked down through some trees and brush to the next field and up to the fence row looking for the group but nothing. Then just as I'd thought I was going home without a bird, I spotted 2 toms in the corner to my left. I watched to see where they were going and the toms turned and headed back up the fence row toward me but as they reached a brush pile some 30 yards from me they headed out across the field. As I watched the toms crossing the field I figured it wouldn't hurt to try calling to them to get them back my way so I gave a call on my box call and got a quick response of gobbles from both toms. The toms headed back to the fence row but was still out of clear gun range, so I gave a couple more clucks on my box call and both toms headed in my direction. The toms stopped in an offset of the fence just 20 feet from me but wouldn't come any closer. They just looked into the bushes were I was at then finally one tom stepped through the barbed wire fence and I noticed it was the smaller of the two toms. Letting him pass and waiting on the second tom to come through the fence, as he did, I was waiting on him with my old 12 gauge and let lose a shot that took the bird down and sent the second bird flying off some 60 yards away but still in site. My 32 year quest for a trophy wild turkey had finally come to an end with my bird on the ground. My trophy weighed 25 pounds, had a 10 1/8 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. Now I have the fever of wanting to try to limit out this year before the season closes on May 16th but if I don't I'm still very happy with my first trophy wild turkey. The owner of the farm did not want me to disclose to anyone where I was hunting and told me I was the only one ever allowed to hunt his farm and that was the way he wanted to keep it. My next trip to this farm I'll be hunting a bird for the owner in appreciation for letting me hunt on his farm.

A Spark of New Life.

2010-03-15T04:24:00.010-05:00

The year 2010 hopefully will hold more in store for me this year than last year did. This year I'm planning a trip to my old hometown in search of more and new hunting property. I've been on facebook and have chatted with a few of my old classmates that I grew up with. Well it turns out that one of them inherited his grandfathers farm and it just happened to be one that I used to hunt years ago. Anyway the owner told me as we were chatting online that he had over 100 wild turkeys in his backyard ever morning and that there was probably at least 1000 on his farm. Believe it or not he told me to come on down and make myself at home and hunt all that I wanted too. Getting an invite like that just blew my mind but it also got my blood flowing and before I knew it I had my turkey calls out checking their condition. Now I haven't turkey hunted in over 30 years so you can just imagine the condition of my mouth calls. I ended up buying new ones and have been practicing with them for the past three weeks. Now I have to get my hunting licenses and go check out the farm, renew old relationships, find a blind site and see for myself all the turkey he's told me about. Turkey season opens in the latter part of March and runs through April so I've really got my work cut out for myself if I'm going to be ready for opening day. I also have a relative that has expressed a desire to go hunting with me this year so I've sent word to him to get prepared for a hunting season that won't be forgotten. If all works out this year as planned I'll be like a 20 year old again hunting everything I can between fishing trips with the grandchildren. As a dear friend of mine ( Othmar Vohringer ) once stated " Being in the outdoors is the best healing powers for a body " so maybe this is what I needed to rejuvenate my old tired body and get me going in the right direction again. Could this be the year that great things happen to me?, only time will tell but stay tuned for further updates this year to find out.

Planning Ahead for 2010 Hunting Season.

2010-01-27T07:18:00.006-06:00

The end of deer season has passed us by now and I've started compiling a list of landowners to visit in Rutherford County, Tennessee where I used to hunt growing up. Using this list I hope to be able to secure at least a couple of farms this year to hunt on with a couple of my hunting buddies and my grandkids. Though it may take an entire weekend or more time to do this I believe it will increase my chances of once again taking whitetail deer. Many of the landowners that I know have either gotten older or passed away and the farms either sold or passed on to family members but none the less I've got to try something. I talked to an old friend who is more like a family member and he told me that he hadn't hunted the area in over 20 years now. He told me that most of it was either leased out now or that the landowners weren't letting anybody hunt any more. There is one farm that I ask him about and he told me that the owner was letting anybody that wanted to hunt hunt it. This farm was one of my first farms to hunt when I started hunting whitetails some 40+ years ago and was where I took my first whitetail. The good thing is that I know the farm well and the deer trails and bedding areas but the bad news is that there may be too much hunting pressure on the farmland and I may have to hunt the thick brushy woods that's hard to get to even during daylight hours. In any event I'll be checking for land to hunt come spring and will also be checking some management areas around home for the short time trips to hunt. Fishing season is also coming on me now to so I'll be posting on my other blogs a bit more too about that so check those sites if I'm not posting here. I've been on Facebook alot now making new friends all over the world and adding just about everyone that sends me a request and have found several of our Outdoor Blogger Summit bloggers there as well so look us up and have a good year this year everyone.

Closing the Seasons.

2010-01-03T21:46:00.004-06:00

With deer hunting season coming to a close this year it's time to re-cap my adventures in the wild. In late summer I plowed and planted a small food plot then with the help of my grandkids and dad built a 2 man blind and watched the food plot grow. Fortunately approximately 2 weeks before bow season started the deer disappeared from my hunting area. I hunted from my blind, from my stands and even hunted by large trees throughout my hunting area but nothing, not a single deer was to be found. Muzzleloader season and special antlerless season came and went and still no deer. I scoured the woods on my hunting area for any signs of deer using the area but with no prevail. Rifle season then opened but by then I had already became so disguished with my hunting experience this year that I'd just about given up hunting for the year. All I could think about was the deer I'd seen last year and throughout the spring and summer months of this year and just knew they had to be somewhere in the area. Then 2 weeks before the end of rifle season came I finally got a break and found deer even though they were only does at least hope had come back that they would bring with them the bucks. January 2nd, 2010 I was able to go hunting with one of my grandkids ( Bobby Rubio )and we were in the woods watching a big bottom with 3 ridges coming into it. At 7:30 a.m. Bobby spotted 3 dogs in the bottom heading up one of the ridges. 5 minutes later the dogs struck a trail and began chasing deer through the woods. We both waited and watched the woods carefully for deer and had hopes of seeing a buck but everything was does, 5 to be exact. After about 30 minutes of the dogs chasing deer through the woods and barking loudly I decided we wouldn't see any more deer that morning so we headed home. January 3rd, 2010 I was to go hunting again with another of my grandkids ( Cody Botkins ) but when I got up and checked the weather report on the internet I found out the temperature was 9 degrees and a weather advisory issued for the area and decided we neither one of us needed to be out in that kind of weather so we opted to stay home in the warm house and Cody returned to bed to sleep in under the covers. Come spring I'll be out looking for new property to hunt and planting food plots all over again. Hopefully next years deer hunting will be a better year for me and my grandkids then this year was as it can't get any worst. Hope everyone had a better year then mine was.

Whitetail Hunting Season

2009-12-25T09:59:00.003-06:00

Well what can I say, this hunting season has been nothing short of a complete disappointment to me this year as I haven't seen any bucks at all and only 4 does during rifle season . The poachers have taken all my deer where I hunt and what the poachers haven't gotten the dogs around here have been running off. My food plots that I planted weren't even touched by the deer cause of this. Next spring I'm planning a trip to Rutherford county, Tennessee to find property there to hunt and if that doesn't pan out then I may have to resort to hunting on management areas which I'm totally against due to the hunting pressures of so many people scouting during the hunting season when they can't find any deer. One day before I die I'd like to go hunt on a outfitter ranch but the cost is so high that probably won't ever happen for me either though it would be great if it did. May come down to leasing a farm to hunt on and if so I have a feew other guys that want to join me and hunt together which will help with the cost of the lease but then you have to worry about livestock getting shot and fences getting cut and insurance to cover those sort of things. There is no easy way to hunt anymore like it used to be but I guess thats the price we pay for our heritage to continue.

Ani-Kituhwa-gi , A Nation within a Nation ( Part 2 )

2009-11-21T19:58:00.008-06:00

IN 1879, Captain R. H. Pratt opened the first Native American boarding school. Indian children throughout North America were taken from their homes, given white names, wardrobes and haircuts and forbidden to speak any language but english. In 1893 the Cherokee Boarding School was founded but also maintained an english only language with devastating effects on the Cherokee fluency. It wasn't until 1933 that a language initiative grant was awarded from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation to foster the Cherokee language through the Qualla Boundary and beyond. The language of the Cherokee may yet prove to be as resilient as those who have kept it alive.

Ani-Kituhwa-gi, A Nation within a Nation ( Part 1 ).

2009-11-08T13:17:00.009-06:00

Days pass, seasons change and years come and go all to fast. People live their lives on a daily routine and most of them never notice the changes that have taken place around them. Though many of us can see these changes happening in todays society it was the changes of long ago that actually created the lands we all call home. Over 11,000 years ago in the hills of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee lived a nation of people within a nation. At the end of the Ice Age, their ancestors hunted the great mastodons with spears in those very mountains that we now call The Great Smoky Mountains. Over the years the " Ani-Kituhwa-gi " or Cherokee people flourished throughout the mountains creating towns and villages. The men hunted and fished, helped in the fields and pursued trade, diplomacy, and war required to maintain an empire that included 36,000 people within 140,000 square miles covering eight present-day southern states. The women enjoyed respect and honor, running the household and working the land while the men cultivated friendships. Generosity was a cardinal virtue, meaning that anyone hungry was fed, anyone traveling was housed and for the first 200 years of contact with the European settlers, starting with De Soto in 1540, the Cherokees offered hospitality to newcomers who needed help. The Cherokee people became literate only months after Sequoyah developed a written language of the Cherokee alphabet and presented it to the Cherokee National Council in 1821. This written language of the Cherokee people was called " Talking Leaves ".By 1838 the Cherokee people had proven themselves to be neighborly, industrious and open to outside ideas but with the onrushing settlers and the U.S. government , the Cherokee people were forcably removed from their lands and into the east to Oklahoma, which was known in our history books as The Trail of Tears. One quarter to half of the Cherokee people who began this long journey to Oklahoma died of exposure, disease and shock of exile. Today, from those who hid in the hills ,defying removal and from those who returned, many on foot, live the 14,000 Cherokee of the Eastern band in North Carolina on a 100 square mile tract called the Qualla Boundary.

The Land That Talked to Me.

2009-10-28T17:35:00.006-05:00

Greens to yellows, reds and golds, the cool, cold air brings on the changing of the seasons. As I drive along the roads and highways looking at the many trees throughout our lands and the sheer beauty each leaf holds, I realize that God has indeed blessed us all with a beautiful earth that we are slowly destroying. Hundreds of thousands of acres of trees, grasses, bushes, rocks, hillsides, pastures, streams, rivers, lakes and even our oceans turning into concrete and wood dwellings. Even the wildlife is being run out of their homes and killed out by people who just don't care for anything other than making money from our lands. Well this past week my wife and I had our 20th year wedding anniversary and we chose to head for one place where man has yet and will never begin to destroy--- The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The three hour drive to get there was all worth it as we entered the park hills and began the climb following the slow moving traffic. The woods and streams seemed to have an air about it that just reached out and grabbed you. Shadows cast by the trees and rocks seemed to speak to you as if they had a story they wanted to tell. Folks stopping by the sides of the roads everywhere taking pictures and looking but not a single one of them listening to the many stories being told. By the time our vacation trip was over I'd found the story I was looking for. A story of a land and the people that live there. Though this story is much to long to put into one post it is one that will be told in it's entirety in my next few postings. This story is of the Cherokee people and the land called The Smoky Mountains.

Scouting Adventure with the Grandkids

2009-09-05T19:16:00.004-05:00

Friday,September 4th, The day started out slow and easy, coffee and tv then down to dads to try to repair a riding mower for the upcoming yard sale on the 26th of September ( yes I know opening day of bow season here but they'll just have to make due till I return from hunting that morning. ). My dad and I worked all day long on the mower ( trial and error mostly.) trying to figure out the starting problem with the mower and finally gave up on it around 3:30 p.m. when I got called home for supper ( fried chicken -- mmm won't be late for this meal.). After supper I decided to go do alittle scouting across the lake bed to see what the deer were doing over there. On the way to scout I decided to stop and pick up the grandkids that wanted to go along. I ended up with four of them going with me so we loaded into my truck, went to the other side of the lake bed, checked a few mud holes on the way in, then parked the truck, got out and headed of further up the road bed and into the woods. As we entered the woods I explained we were looking for fallen acorns, tracks,rubs and of coarse deer. We worked our way through the woods as I answered questions from the boys about deer hunting and the upcoming hunting seasons. Probably the best question was how I find my way through the woods at 4:00a.m. without a flashlight? this I told them was an easy task to do if you scout the area carefully and take time to look at every detail as you are going in and memorize the surroundings to your hunting stand. You remember every little overhanging limb,bush,rock,stump,fence and fields that you encounter on your way in then picture that scenery in your mind every morning in the dark as you walk to your stand, by doing this you never need a flashlight to see by thus spooking the deer off. The boys had gone with me before to put up stands and hunting and were amazed at how easily I made this act look. By now we had gone well into my hunting area and the sun was beginning to set so I delegated one of the boys to lead us out of the woods back to the truck. This proved to be quite a chore because nobody had really paid attention to detail in the woods and they said everything looked the same. This is when I began lesson number two and the most important one of all for them all. Lesson number two was simple-- stop, look, listen and think. When you think your lost or don't really know where your at in the woods in the dark, stop and look around for familiar things close by, check for security lights in the distance, look for the moon and stars, listen for sounds of cars on roads and highways, tractors on a farm and finally think of the route you took coming in (directionally ). Picture the route in your mind from the truck to your stand and if need be to your harvested animal ( if your lucky enough to get and make a shoot.) then simply reverse this route in your mind to get back to your truck safely. The best plan of action when you start out hunting an area is to scout it fully and completely so you know every square inch of the area. Lesson two over and we were still in the woods following our leader through the brush heading into thicker brush and deeper into the woods away from the truck. Finally I decided the boys were going to be getting tired before long of fighting the brush and briar's so I guided them close enough to an old grown up road bed that they realized where they were and we got started back on track to the truck. One of the boys then decided he knew exactly where the truck was and was going to be first one to get there so he ventured out far ahead of the rest of us just as we cut of on a shortcut and ended up at the truck before him, rode around the road beds looking for him and finally parked again waiting for him to come out of the woods. The boys all had a great adventure scouting the woods with pepaw and learning new ways and tactics for the upcoming years hunts even though one got poison ivy, they were all covered in ticks, a couple of them had scratches from head to toe and mosquitoes ate them alive but the main thing was we all made the adventure safely and laughed about it all the way home.

Gone Far Too Long.

2009-08-21T06:00:00.004-05:00

Where to begin this post is the deliema. By looking around (rather quickly ) I can see that I've been gone far too long from my blogging. Things have been happening that I just couldn't imagine. Anyway that is the past and done with, nothing I can do about that but on the other hand here on the home front I've been busy with work around home and at my parents and then there was the big face off with my live-in daughter and her boyfriend which finally ended in me putting them out of the house after the boyfriend knocked holes in my walls with his fist. That was the breaking point I just couldn't stand for any longer so they had to go. My deer food plot has been planted and is growing with leaps and bounds ( looking great ). The deer are just starting to find their way to it as they change their seasonal routes ( 5 deer-4 does and one small 12 inch spike buck so far ). Rabbits, squirrels and birds of all kinds are also using it. I ended up planting rape, buckwheat and cinnamon red clover but the clover came up in small patches. If the food plot works the way I hope it will next year I'll be adding more clover to the outer edges of the plot and possibly another plot across the field. September 26th is the big day here in Tennessee for bow season and I can't wait for it to get here and the good thing is I've checked my calendar and found out that I'm off work for almost every opening day of every season this year so I won't have to put in for vacation days off. This weekend is free hunting day here in Tennessee and opening day of squirrel season but I'll be working and usually wait till the leaves have fallen off the trees before I go for those wiley varmints due to using a 22 rifle for head shots. I'll try to do more post more often now so I don't get tossed to the wayside by my readers but for now I'll just visit some of my blogroll friends and renew old acquaintances that I've missed.

Preping For Deer Season.

2009-07-06T21:31:00.005-05:00

I've finally slowed down enough to start back writing on my blog again. Just to fill everyone in on whats been going on with me is as follows. First I've been busy with catfishing with my grandchildren, second I've built a new deer blind at my dads place which will be shared by my grandchildren this year along with a food plot ( though not very big ) that is now ready for the seed to be sown and covered then third I've had to take on doing alot of the work at my parents home due to their diminishing health ( cutting the grass, weed eatting, plumbing, painting,etc. etc. etc.)which is going to take up more of my time then I had planned on or was wanting but hey they raised me now its time for me to return the gift. My daughter was to be married back in June but that got postponed with no set date in mind and still no place to live but my home. Looks like I have a live-in for life if I don't set my foot down and make her find a place of her own. I'm going to try to get pictures of the deer blind and the food plot for my hunting website before deer season opens. I'll be practicing with my bow from now until deer season opens in September and hopefully if the right moment presents itself I'll be ready. I've marked the yardage off on my food plot with a tape measure so as to take all the guess work out of my shooting distance on the plot and have three deer trails coming in on it now. Regardless of where the deer enter or exit the field they have to come by my blind. With all the work I have ahead of me now I'll do my best to continue to post on all my websites for all to read.

OBS Challenge.

2009-06-19T14:04:00.008-05:00

I posted my answer to the OBS Challenge on my second website for those interested in reading it. http://fishingafield.blogspot.com

Friends of the Net.

2009-06-12T06:39:00.004-05:00

Every once in awhile everyone gets an idea about something to write about from a comment left on a post. Monday Othmar left me a comment which put me to thinking about all the friends that I've made over the Internet either here on one of my websites or on my Facebook. Now a body never really knows for sure just what type of person they have leaving comments on their post when it's the first few comments left by that person but sooner or later a inquisitive mind has to check out the background information on everyone leaving comments just to get to know the return visitors a little better. From that point on a relationship is formed and a friend is made usually for life. Many of us who write articles on a website, use Facebook, twitter and other places on the web find friends that we've gotten to know over the years but may never meet. The fact is though that we are still friends with these people and share some kind of close bond with them through our writings and comments. Though our time may be limited on the net we all enjoy checking out sites and commenting on the stories and articles we read and looking for new friends and sites . Even though we may not get to any one specific site everytime we get on the net to leave a comment, the friendship has been made and sooner or later we will always return back to those websites just to remind the writers a friend dropped by for a visit. We've all become such great friends here on the net and one day hope to be able to meet each other in person but until that day happens all we can do is keep reading, visiting websites and commenting. Take time now to renew a visit a friend on the net that you haven't visited in awhile and leave a comment for them just to say hello, They'll be glad you did I'm sure. My next boot-up on blogger I'll be visiting all the sites I can just to renew old friendships until I've visited all those listed on my blogroll and those listed as followers who aren't even writing post but still follow my stories. If I don't get to you on the first round just wait and I'll visit you very soon. Until then keep writing in good health and visit someone today.

Blinds, Food Plots, Fishing and Weddings.

2009-05-29T03:01:00.012-05:00

Well let me see where to begin. I've been busy visiting family in Alabama,working around the home front, my job,and working with my grandchildren trying to build a deer blind at my dad's place that's big enough for two of us as I have four of my grandchildren wanting to try to take a deer this year. The walls are up with the roof so now I have to get some hinges to put the door and windows on with then figure out the camo on the outside of it. It should make for a great year hunting with my grandchildren whether we take deer from it or not. I'm also planning on planting a food plot in front of it to help attract the deer and starting a feeder tube in the field close by it. A salt lick may not be a bad idea either if I have the time to get all this accomplished. My smoking habit is still an ongoing process I'm still working on and I've been fishing in our company bass anglers tournament at work that we've just started on may 10th. Two tournaments so far and my partner and me have come in second place but this you'll have to read about on my fishing blog ( http://fishingafield.blogspot.com ). I'm also planning a trip to Gatlinberg this October for a wedding vow renewal with my wife on the 27th ( 20 years ) and my youngest daughter is having a wedding June 21st redneck style ( with real shotguns and everything and everyone drssed in camo including her and her groom and plenty of beer for all). I've had a long year already and it's passing me by fast. I've also joined Facebook and enjoy that alot and have found many of my fellow bloggers there too. I've added a few new links to my blogroll which some of you may want to check out which deals with outdoor clothing, hunting equipment, fishing equipment and climbing gear of all kinds. look under " outdoor gear " for the urls of these three sites. Okay that's about it for now so let me go now to my other websites and update them with some new articles then I've got to get some sleep so I can go to work tonight. Hunting seasons coming quicker then we think so everyone get ready and have a safe year out there this year.

Traveling and Relaxing.

2009-05-09T21:33:00.006-05:00

Just a brief update to let everyone know I haven't passed on yet. I'm actually in Alabama right now on my daughters computer enjoying a relaxing weekend with my wife, daughter, her husband and four of my grandchildrens and an ex-son-in law. We came down Friday morning after I finished a 12 hour shift and arrived around 12 noon. We'll be leaving here Sunday morning around 11:00 a.m. heading home. I've kind of left my postings for a while to catch up on some chores at home and find time to relax and work on quitting my smoking and take stress management classes online through my work insurance. As for my smoking, I like 10- 12 cigarettes before I start using the nicotine patch therapy to finish off my habit for good. If I plan it Right without pushing it to fast, it should be about a week or two before I start the patches. I'll start back visiting sites again sometime after I return home this weekend.

Just a Short Progress Update.

2009-04-22T05:59:00.012-05:00

My hunting is been put on hold for a little while to take care of some of my chores around the house and help a friend- neighbor. I've been busy trying to get my garden out between rains and had to work on my chain saw tuning it up and getting it ready to cut my winters wood supply. I've also been trying to take my grandsons fishing on at least one of my days of work ( you can read about that adventure here at http://fishingafield.blogspot.com ) and plan on going again this weekend which is suppose to be in the 80's and sunny. I still have alot of work around home and my dad's to do but I will try my best to get something posted here on my hunting site as well as my other to sites for all to read. In the mean time I'll be reading other sites and looking for new sites to join the OBS. Everyone keep up the great work and I'll be by soon. Get out and enjoy the great spring weather and the outdoors.

Why Did I Join The Outdoor Bloggers Summit?

2009-04-07T07:35:00.013-05:00

Kristine over at the Outdoor Bloggers Summit posted this challenge to everyone and I finally decided that I needed to get with the program and follow up with her challenge so here it goes. Why did I join the Outdoor Bloggers Summit?, the answer to that question was simple now that I think about it. The real answer was because it was the only place that I had found at the time that allowed me to read updates of what everyone was doing, locate new sites that I'd not visited before, make new friends around the world, try to gain exposure for my websites and read some really great articles on new products for the outdoors person. There were times I'd visit leaving my comment and others I'd visit just to read everyone elses comments which I find to be of great value and benefit to all ( so don't ever forget to check out the comments folks after reading the articles ). The Outdoor Bloggers Summit I feel has grown with epic preportions ( and will continue to grow ) in a way nobody thought was possible and has given everyone so much insight into the outdoor world without regards to your choosen adventure of the outdoors. I'm a proud supporter of The Outdoor Bloggers Summit ( displaying the Outdoor Bloggers Summit badge on every website ) and will continue to support this website in every way possible including trying to recruit new members. The OBS has now moved to a new site(http://OutdoorBloggersSummit.com/), taken on a new look which makes you feel at home and is easy to browse through and use and as far as I know has rejected nobody wanting to join us there ( the OBS is open to everyone wanting to join us ). The Outdoor Bloggers Summit is a website that was designed to bring outdoor bloggers together and has done this and will continue to do this through our support and hard work. Joining the Outdoor Bloggers Summit was one of the best moves that I did when I first started blogging and I'm glad to be a member and supporter of the OBS.

Two Historic Events with a Great Future Ahead.

2009-04-03T03:38:00.014-05:00

December 2000, 50 elk were released into the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee marking a historic return of the elk to Tennessee's landscape. This year a second historic event will take place making the Elk Restoration Program a large success. This year 5 lucky applicants will be drawn to participate in an elk hunt in the Cumberland Mountains scheduled to take place on October 19th - 23rd. Tennessee residents and non- residents of Tennessee may apply for the Elk hunt either by Tennessee license agents or online at Tennessee wildlife Resource Agencies home page found at http://www.tnwildlife.org. or at http://www.tnelkhunt.org. Young adults ( under 16 years of age ) may also apply for the elk hunt but must be accompanied by an adult non-hunting companion 21 years or older. The fee for the application is $10.00 non-refundable regardless whether drawn or not plus all other hunting licenses applicable. All permits are non- transferable and no refunds will be made to anyone issued a permit. Of the 5 permits to be drawn for the elk hunt, 1 will be donated by a NGO ( Non- Governmental Organization ) with the proceeds designated to the TWRA ELK Program. Non-resident applicants will be restricted to no greater then 25 percent of the drawn permits. Photos of the Tennessee Elk herds can be seen at http://www.tnelkhunt.org as well as other information about the elk herds and the application instructions. Hopefully with the help of the Elk Restoration Program it will only be a matter of time before the Tennessee Elk can roam the woods and fields of open ranges as the whitetail deer do now.

Spring Is Coming.

2009-03-29T19:22:00.006-05:00

Wild hogs, wild turkey or shed antler hunting? Just when you thought you were going to get a break and catch up on some work around home you discover it's just starting all over again. For many outdoor enthusiast, the spring thaw is the beginning of another year of outdoor adventures. A time to renew old friendships and make new ones. Just as the weather begins to warm up for the first time in months everyone begins to get the spring fever and wants to get outdoors for the fresh air and a little relaxing time away from all the work. It doesn't matter whether your hunting shed antlers, watching birds, checking your fields or just going for a walk in the woods looking at the wild flowers. Spring is a great time to enjoy life outdoors. Here in Tennessee there are several hunting seasons opening to the hunters that may want to take advantage of the spring thaw such as wild feral hog or wild turkey and even an early spring squirrel season. Those of us who want to take on a new adventure this year can take advantage of the early hunting seasons or can set out engaging our new adventure with a friend who already knows about our chosen adventure.I, myself have decided to try hunting wild feral hogs this year and have researched them on the internet, as well as around the area with some of the local farmers and TWRA ( Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency ). I found a 500 acre farm of which I acquired permission to hunt and found out that they have taken some nice hogs of around 250 - 300 pounds from the farm last year while thinning out the group. I have plans on trying to take my hogs with a bow to start out and if this plan fails I'll go to the rifle. I've been offered the opportunity to go horse back riding on the farm while hunting for hogs but this may be alittle more challenge then I want not knowing how the horses will react. Although spring has shown it's face several times and the flowers and trees are blooming it's not quite over yet and I've still got alittle work to do before I'm ready for my first hog hunt. We,re in the dogwood winter now with blackberry winter quickly approaching then spring and the warm weather it brings will be here and I for one can't wait. Springtime and the beauty it brings is soon upon us so get out there and enjoy the outdoors again this year and be safe during your adventures.

Basics to Hunting Wild Feral Hogs.

2009-03-15T20:05:00.005-05:00

When you start thinking of feral hog hunting where do you start? For anyone just starting out hog hunting ( like myself ) probably the best place to start is at your local wildlife agency. Asking the right questions can give you alot of useful information to getting you headed in the right direction. For most of us just starting out probably the first and most important thing to hog hunting is locating a place with a substantial group of hogs on it. Most wildlife agencies can tell you all the management areas with feral hog populations on them and may even give you a list of farms or ranches. Almost every management area is open to hog hunting during the deer hunting season only and ranchers charge a fee to hunt game on their ranch so if you can, try to locate a farm that borders a management area with feral hogs and ask the owner for permission to hunt wild feral hogs on their farm. If you get permission to hunt hogs ask the owner if he can tell you any places he's seen hogs consistently or if there's any fields that the hogs are destroying. Once you've located a farm to hunt and created a good repoor with the owner your next objective should be to look over the farm and decide from the signs and sightings the best place to ambush the hogs. Decide whether you want to hunt from a stand, a blind or just standing by a large tree. If your going to be using tree stands be sure to get permission to use them and never attach them to the trees with nails or any other damaging hardware and the same goes for using screw-in steps, get permission first. Now that your set-up is complete, make sure you acquire all the proper licenses for hunting wild feral hogs. Here in Tennessee, law requires a hunting license and a big game license (either gun, archery or muzzle loader depending on the weapon you hunt with. ). Once you've taken a feral hog it's not mandatory to check it in at a checking station here in Tennessee however, the wildlife agency would appreciate notification of the location and quantity of hogs taken. Okay now, you've taken your first feral hog so now what? Do you take it to a local processor or do you process it yourself? This would depend on you and your abilities, do you have the right equipment? Do you have the knowledge to properly process and package the hog you've taken? Is there someone that can guide you through the process and help you? If you have any doubt about processing your hog properly then perhaps it would be best for you to carry your hog to a processor until you can gain the knowledge to do it yourself. Well your now armed with some of the basics for getting started into wild feral hog hunting so get out there and help thin out the feral hog population and enjoy yourself while in the woods and fields this year and good luck.

Sus Scrofa

2009-03-15T09:32:00.003-05:00

Sus Scrofa which is otherwise known as the pig was introduced to North America by the first European settlers some 10,000 years ago and although they have since been domesticated there are still groups of these free-ranging feral hogs today. They have a voracious appetite and destructive rooting behavior that can cause severe habitat damage especially to newly planted food production fields. To add to the feral hog problem is the fact that the females mature sexually at 5-8 months and can produce a litter of 6-12 piglets 2-3 times a year when conditions are favorable. Adding even more problems is the threat that comes from their ability to tranmit swine brucellosis and pseudorabies to farm raised animals causing a serious effect on the economy. A form of E-Coli bacteria has also just recently been discovered that effects humans to an extent of even causing death. Any wild hog found on management areas are considered as wild boars and any wild hog found on private property are considered as wild feral hogs. Hunting of wild feral hogs is open year round on private lands with no bag limits on either sex.

Dangerous and Serious Trouble with a Lesson.

2009-03-11T08:19:00.008-05:00

Upon getting off work Monday morning at 7:00 a.m., I went home then headed out to Fort Payne, Alabama to take care of some business then drove back home. All together I ended up being up for 31 hours. 12 hours of work, 2 1/2 hours before work just getting ready for work, the drive to Fort Payne and back with the business involvement was 12 1/2 hours then another 4 hours of work at home. After 31 hours of being up I finally gave in to the sleep but then Tuesday morning, I got up again at 7:00 a.m., had my coffee, drove to Crossville to help my daughter ( who just moved in with us after 126 days in jail ) try to find a job then stopped at the TWRA ( Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency ) to inquire about information on feral hog hunting, back home, got the wife and took her to Sparta to eat lunch and get groceries, back home and that's when things really got exciting and dangerous. I got a wild hair and decided because it was a beautiful day and the wind, I thought wasn't blowing real bad, so I lit a small fire in my garden spot to burn off the grass and weeds. Boy was that a mistake and a half. Soon as I lit the fire the wind gusted, the fire spread quickly and I was by myself trying to beat it out with only a leave rake. I ran to the house, grabbed my water hose which was to short, got the wife outside and told her to get help then returned to beating the fire with the leave rake. I beat the fire until I just couldn't beat it any more and was out of breath, shaking and coughing from the smoke. Finally help arrived, the water hose was extended with a second hose and then the Volunteer Fire Department, an ambulance and the White County Sheriffs Department arrived just in time to prevent the fire from catching my neighbors house on fire. After an hour and a half, the fire was out and then the sheriffs department stepped in and told me he was supposed to write me a citation and could even take me and put me in jail for 3 years. Finally after 30 minutes of talking to the deputy sheriff, it was decided by the officer that he wouldn't give me the citation or take me to jail ( lucky me ) but he was going to notify the U.S. Forestry Division and any complaints they received about the fire damage would put me in jail. Good thing I'm on good terms with my neighbor and she wasn't too upset about the fire damage. I had a few hot spots re-lite which I was able to put out quickly by myself and had a tree which was burning on the inside which I cut down and managed to get put out then continued to watch the burnt area till 8:00 p.m. for hot spots and re-lites. Fortunately there was no buildings lost,just underbrush. The good thing is my garden spot is now ready to turn and plant just as soon as it drys out but the bad news is it's supposed to rain here so I guess it will still be awhile before I can plant my garden. The lesson learned here was to get a burn permit from the U.S. Forestry Division and make sure you have plenty of help on hand when you burn and not on a windy day.

Two Bad Weekends in a Row.

2009-02-28T19:24:00.004-06:00

This weekend has turned out to be a big bust for me as all my plans have been overturned by some misfortune. I had planned on going fishing before the final day our licenses run out but the weather just got really messy. I planned on getting out and starting a clean-up routine around my house but there again that darn weather just didn't cooperate. About the only few things I was able to accomplish was going to town for some new clothes, watching the television set ( most of the day ) and visiting a few websites to give my support to my fellow bloggers ( which was the best part of my rainy weekend ). Next weekend I have to be at my job and it's daylight savings time on Sunday ( March 8, 2009 )and I have to make a trip to Alabama on Friday, so no work around home that weekend. As for the following weekend I'll just have to wait and see how things pan out by then. Last weekend I came down sick and ended up going to the hospital on Sunday morning only to find out that I have Chronic Bronchitis and C.O.P.D. ( Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ) which I have been researching on the web. I've found out that it's worst than I thought it was and can even be fatal. I'm now in the process of having to give up my smoking habit whether I want to or not and when you go from 1 1/2 -2 packs a day for 24 years to 1-12 cigarettes a day with only will-power and a loving wife for support, I think I've done quiet well for my first week. Patches, gums and prescriptions are too costly for me at this time so I'll try the will to live as my savor along with the Grace of God. If I can give up the smoking habit it could add a few extra years to my life and allow me the time to possibly go on that hunting trip of a lifetime I've been wanting to take for so long now or maybe even a grand fishing trip to the ocean for big cobia's or tarpon. For now I'll settle for the extra time with my wife, reading and commenting on blogs, grandchildren and home life as it is now.

The Great Outdoors Is For Everyone.

2009-02-10T18:46:00.004-06:00

Growing up in a small town in Tennessee was an awesome experience. Everyone knew everyone and most would bend over backwards to help one another when needed. Thanksgiving Day was hog killing day and the whole community would get together to help kill hogs. The young, the old and the willing, all came together to do whatever was needed and it didn't matter what the work was there was always enough help to get the job done and still have time to relax before bedtime. Going to the big city of Murfreesboro,Tn. was always a treat what with all the drive-thru fast food joints, big stores and the malls. People of all walks of life would ramble around up and down the sidewalks, with kind " Hellos " and " how ya doin ". The courthouse square was a kind of meeting place for the elderly on the weekends, where you could find from two to fifteen or more sitting around the courthouse lawn whittling on cedar wood, trading knives and good old conversation about the weather or any news worth bringing up in the conversation. Summer nights you could find folks sitting around on their front porches enjoying the whippoorwills, frogs, coon hunters with their dogs howling and the stars. Back then everybody enjoyed the great outdoors at sometime of day or night but these days it seems folks are in to big of a hurry to actually sit, relax and enjoy the outdoors as we used to in the old days. Sure lots of folks say they enjoy the outdoors but just to prove a point try this, after darkness falls go to your neighbors house and walk up to the front porch, if there's no one there try knocking on the door and chances are their in front of the television set watching a show. Now how many of you have sat on your front porch lately with a cold beverage and just listened to nature at it's best? or in early morning sat with a cup of coffee and watched nature greeting the morning light?. Even the city folks can sit by an open window and watch and listen to the sounds of nature ( and yes the city does have nature growing within it ). My parents are 85 and 86 years old and even they enjoy watching birds at the feeders, squirrels around on the ground and in the trees and deer playing as they cross the yard and drink from the pond. I know women who have hunted and enjoyed the outdoors since they were six years old and wouldn't give anything for their time spent there. I have grandchildren wanting me to teach them to hunt and fish and friends at work wanting to hunt and fish with me this year and my only reply I can give them is " we'll go " . I get out working in the yard or on my truck and from time to time I stop and take a break to enjoy nature around me.The great outdoors was given to us by God for our pleasure and enjoyment so whatever adventure or endeavor you decide on taking, get outdoors and relax and have a great time and leave the work behind you for awhile.

The Passing Of My Life Long Hunting Companion.

2009-02-04T19:52:00.003-06:00

In the fall of 1976, I was just out of school and working my first full time job. Squirrel season had just opened and was a beautiful weekend. At this time in my life I had no clue as to what deer hunting was all about but things were about to change dramatically. As a child growing up I'd played with bows and arrows but in August 1976 while hunting squirrel I had my first encounter with a small herd of Whitetail Deer. Yearning for knowledge about the whitetail deer and growing up loving to hunt, I began searching every article I could fine in magazines and asking questions from local friends and farmers. This lead me to a family that kept popping up time after time and one that I'd gone to school with since the first grade. The family known by everyone in my home town of Lascassas, Tennessee as "The Dukes" would soon become my life long mentors, hunting family and second family. If I wasn't at home I was at the Dukes learning about whitetail deer and other wild game, fishing and life. The entire family ( father, mother, sons, daughter and even the grandmother )taught me everything I know today about hunting. The father ( Charles Duke ) who passed away 20 years ago was my biggest mentor but it was the youngest son ( Ricky Duke ) that was my hunting companion. Ricky was a year older than me but had hunted whitetail deer all across America since he was 9 years old. All the Dukes would limit out every year and with that kind of experience, classified the entire family as experts to me and well worth my time to learn from them. On Sunday February 1,2009, I received a phone call informing me that my life long hunting companion Ricky Duke had passed away of cancer. The news was devastating and all I've thought of since was the memories of our hunts and time together over the past 40 years. Though Ricky's astonishing accomplishments are all just memories for me now, they will live on in my heart, the woods and the fields forever more. You'll be dearly missed by all who's lives you've touched here on earth Ricky and may God be with you in your new hunting grounds though eternity.

Let The Gathering Begin

2009-01-14T04:07:00.014-06:00

With the closing of deer hunting season across the states we're faced with a question of what to write about next?. Most of us write about our hunting experiences and adventures while outdoors. Now we have the opportunity to advance our writings. We have an opportunity before us to expand our knowledge and unite this great nation of Outdoor Bloggers. This union has been a long time coming and has been wanted by so many of us that the time for action is finally here. Kristine at the Outdoor Bloggers Summit has so far been doing all the work to get these Regional meetings up and running, with a select few of devoted members willing to coordinate a meeting in their area. Now she is asking for our help and support to make these Regional Meetings become reality. With the weather changing and spring coming soon, I'm sure that just about anyone can find a park, a picnic grounds with a pavilion or some sort of public facility which can be used to facilitate one of our Regional Meetings. We have far too few meeting locations at present for as many bloggers as we have and we desperately need more meeting locations in states everywhere. You don't have to do all the work on your own, alot of you say " I'll do what I can to help " . Well now is the time to help and make a big difference for everyone. Get Motivated, get your brain to thinking on a daily basis about the Regional Meetings and start putting something together in your area. Kristine will be providing the guidelines to go by, use them and create some of your own. Read the postings on the Outdoor Bloggers Summit and get these meetings started into a forward direction. Recruit others in your area to help you and discuss the possibilities of where to have your meeting. In choosing a meeting site you will need to know how many people the site will accommodate, are they handicapped equipped, easily accessible, well marked on the streets and highways for easy location by all attending, what amenities they have, are they sheltered, If it's a park do they have camping areas with water, electricity and showers- if so what is the cost per camp site, can we get cut rates for our group attending, are there food stores near by for the campers to use, what time the park opens and closes,are night time campfires allowed and is wood available. Check every possibility and the amenities for your site carefully and thoroughly before selecting it. This won't be an easy task by far but the overall outcome will all be worth the time and troubles once the Regional Meetings come forth and are started. Lets all do our part in getting these meetings started. I know it will take some time to organize a meeting but it won't happen if we don't talk locally with each other and get something started. One question I will be e-mailing Kristine with is " How large of a radius area should each Regional meeting encompass as a base starting point for members of the group? ". In the mean time start contacting some of your local members to help you coordinate a meeting in your area. I was thinking of the Cumberland Mountain State Park or maybe The Smoky Mountain State Park for members of Tennessee. I'll know more after I contact a few members from the Tennessee area and hopefully be able to get a Regional Meeting started in Tennessee.

A New Year, A New Adventure, A Unity So Wanted

2009-01-01T21:49:00.006-06:00

A new year has fallen upon us and with it comes the essence of a brighter future for us all. We have a chance at a new beginning and the ability to start over or add to our existing quest and dreams. A new adventure has come into our midst and is one that is sure to bring with it new insight to everyone of the blogging world. As we embrace this new adventure, we unite together to create groups around the world that will allow each of us to become closer not only as groups but as a whole. We've each come a long way since creating our websites. We've created a window into our own world around us which has allowed others to know only a portion of who we really are. We now are at a point of which our readers and visitors and our friends want to know more about us and we of them.This is why the concept of the " Outdoor Bloggers Summit Regional Meetings " is being formed. Groups around the world, coming together having fun and making new friends for life. Although these meetings are still in the process of being formed it is of the utmost importance that we all do everything and anything we can to help get these meetings formed and become a member for life of the closest group or chapter in your area. Perhaps as things progress within each chapter, visits to other chapters can be accomplished and eventually all the chapters can come together in one central location for the " Outdoor Bloggers Summit Convention " uniting bloggers around the world.

Obligations With A Challenge Issued.

2008-12-16T18:12:00.004-06:00

In the past several weeks I've visited several websites posting articles about deleting links that are no longer in operation or not functioning properly. As writers of the world we have an obligation to our readers to properly maintain our websites which includes the links and ads we list on them. A lot of times we add links to our websites because we like the site and find their information valuable both to us and our readers. Sometimes it's just to gain more readers to our websites but for whatever reason we still have obligations. We often get so involved in posting articles and stories that we forget to check all our links periodically. We add links and add links and before you know it we have links on our websites we don't even have time to visit anymore. We end up visiting only a select few out of many that we have listed and the older links fall to the wayside of unused links on our websites. Our websites depict a reflection of who we are and we owe it to our readers to give them our best. I'd like to issue a challenge to all the writers to start by January 1, 2009 and starting with your first link in your list go through each link, leave a brief comment of your visit and if the link doesn't work properly or is pulled remove it from your list. This challenge should be completed by all writers by no later than January 31, 2009. Let's give our readers the respect they deserve and clean up our websites for a more enjoyable viewing and reading.

Could This Be A New Record Buck.

2008-12-15T21:57:00.004-06:00

This photo was sent to me by my son-in-law with a caption " Maybe a new world record ". The buck was taken by Rodger Jarvis in Deckard, Tennessee during the last muzzle loader hunt and I just wanted to post it for all to see what a fine buck was taken from Tennessee as we don't have many bucks this size taken here. Congratulations to Rodger Jarvis on such an outstanding buck.

Up Close And Personal ( Concluded ).

2008-12-11T05:27:00.003-06:00

The story behind this buck is that he's really not rubbing that tree at all. In all reality that buck is already dead. He was placed by the tree for photos before dressing it out and the photo posted was taken standing over the deer to show the antlers better. This buck was taken by my future son-in-law one morning using 12 gauge slugs and he really didn't even know he had hit the buck until he saw him fall some 60 yards after the shot was made. He didn't know how big the rack really was until retrieving the buck but he knew he was big. Turned out the buck had eleven points total with a eighteen inch spread between the widest point of the main beam. He was hunting a farm he had just acquired for hunting and only knew there was supposed to be some good deer on it. I've been hunting the farm next to it and have yet to see my first deer.

Up Close And Personal?

2008-12-07T21:39:00.004-06:00

Have you ever just sit and watched a deer come in to your stand and wonder how close he'll get before scenting you. Now I usually don't use any kind of scent blockers, I smoke while on stand and I move around a bit, all of which I know are bad things to do but check out the buck in the photo above and tell me what is wrong with this picture. I'll give you more information on the picture in my next post just to set the record straight and fill you in on him.

Hunting A New Snowfall.

2008-12-07T21:08:00.007-06:00

Monday morning December 1st, a new snow was on the ground. At first daylight I was in my stand trying to bare the elements of the wind and freezing cold. With a temperature of 17 degrees and winds blowing at 5 - 10 mph. it didn't take long for me to decide that I wasn't going to be in the woods long before I was ready to head for the house to warm up. I braved the weather for four hours before giving in to my bodies needs and climbing down from my stand. Slowly I made my way back into the field which was were the truck was parked and then found out that the wind was blowing even worst in the wide open. Luckily my hunting partners were already at the truck waiting on me to come out and came driving to my rescue from the cold.The bad news was the truck didn't have any heat but it did get us out of the cold wind and it wasn't long before we were back home with a hot fire going in the fireplace and trying to warm ourselves back up. Although none of us seen any deer this morning there was another hunter on the farm that took a nice wide six point buck just above my partners stand sites. Above you will find a couple of photos from this hunt.

The Sweet Success Of VICTORY.

2008-12-01T17:42:00.006-06:00

Saturday morning, November 29, 2008, I got up this morning thinking of going hunting again so as usual I put on the coffee, checked the weather and my e-mails but then it hit me, I just wasn't feeling like going hunting due to having to work a twelve hour shift this night. Instead I set here at the computer writing on my blog about my Thanksgiving morning hunt. Long about 9:00 a.m. my wife told me we had to go to town to pay bills and pick up some vittles ( groceries to you city folk ). At 9:30 a.m. my dad called me up to tell me there were three deer in the lake bed grazing. Now we had two special antlerless quota hunts ( November 28 - December 2 and December 3 - 7 ) which were in conjunction with the regular buck only time frame. However if you were a landowner you could take a doe during this qouta hunt. Now even though I was about to go to town I quickly seized the oppurtunity to capitalize on this moment. I grabbed my rifle, drove to dads house and parked in front so as not to spook the deer, jumped out and moved into shooting position along side the back corner of the house. I raised the rifle as the deer looked on at me and took aim then squeezed the trigger and the doe staggered then bolted off into the thick cover of the grown up lake bed. Pausing just a moment to talk to my dad about the deer I then walked to the lake bed and began tracking blood. Across the field and into the thick growth and brairs, over and down the stream then further out across the grown up lake bed. When I finally found the doe she was at the far side of the lake bed next to the wood line. I worked my way back thru the brush to dads house, got my truck and drove to the other side of the lake bed, loaded my doe and took her to the checking station, got my permanant tag, placed it on the doe then drove home and hung her up in my back yard. After gutting the doe I left her hanging as the weather was cool enough to prevent spoilage. Tuesday I'll have to dress the doe and package the meat for the freezer as Wednesday I have to return to work. The sweet sucess of VICTORY was mine at last and hopefully I'll be able to take a second doe during the second antlerless hunt. Pictured above is my doe in the field.

My Thanksgiving Morning Hunt.

2008-11-29T05:19:00.007-06:00

Thanksgiving morning, 3:30 a.m.,I awoke wide awake and ready to go hunting. The first thing was to start a pot of coffee then check the Internets local weather report. Lets see cloudy, winds from the south southeast, barometric pressure falling at 29.86 and a temperature of 40.2 degrees. A perfect morning forecast to a beautiful day in the woods. 5:00 a.m. I'm dressed and heading out the back door for a half mile walk in the pitch dark woods without a flashlight to a stand site I've not hunted in two years. The walk was at a slow pace due to the crunching of the leaves even though a big part of the walk was on a four wheeler trail and an old logging road bed. I made it to my stand site just before dawn and get settled in for a long relaxing morning in the quite woods. Squirrels begin rustling the leaves and birds singing in the brush looking for their mornings breakfast. The woods lighten up and everything comes to life with the sounds of nature at it's best. I set watching a long hollow with three ridge lines joining at the bases and at 7:15 a.m. I began using my deer call ( Primos can call ). Within fifteen minutes I had three does coming across the ridge in my direction and then suddenly a big doe slipped up behind me and walked passed me heading toward the other three does. This single doe was close enough to me I could actually see the chin hairs as she passed me by. She walked about twenty yards passed me then stopped and looked back at me then quickly looked up the first hollow. I knew something was coming and just then a big bodied buck stepped out into view and was heading straight toward the single doe in front of me. I raised my rifle and waited for a clear shot. Just then the buck stopped in front of a large oak tree presenting a clear shot and the woods was filled with the sound of gun fire. The buck bowed up, jumped and ran up the second hollow out of sight. I continued using my deer call hoping to keep the buck in the area and just then caught a glimpse of something to my left traveling across the hollow. It was a second buck and even bigger then the first. The second buck was at 180 yards and traveling across in front of me and I tried to get a clear shot at it but just wasn't able to before it ran off into the next hollow with the rest of the deer herd. Then the trouble began, the next thing I heard was gunshots from the direction my buck had ran. This was bad, very bad, my buck had crossed over the property lines to the next farm and evidently another hunter was shooting at my buck. I looked for blood where I had shot the buck standing but only found hair on both sides . Hair was all over the side of the tree and my bullet hole was there in the tree in line with the placement of the bucks body but no blood. I looked for a blood trail but nothing was to be found. I searched all three hollows very carefully and still nothing anywhere. My only thought that came to mind was that I had somehow either shot through the buck at a non-vital point or that I had only grazed the bucks skin. In either case the buck was gone and I had nothing but a much needed relaxing morning in the woods. At Thanksgiving Dinner one of the family members told me of a big bodied buck in the back of a truck heading toward the checking station. Could this be my buck???? I'll never really know. I did recheck the rifle after getting home and it was shooting dead on at 150 yards.

World Renowned Hunter Of All Times.

2008-11-18T19:08:00.004-06:00

Years ago in a small town village, there were a group of hunters preparing for the first mornings hunt for deer. Now in this group of hunters were five men and two women, all of which were known well for their hunting abilities. These seven hunters were to meet the following morning at the edge of the north woods to decide where each would be positioned throughout the woods for safety precautions. Upon meeting and deciding locations the seven hunters each set off on their own separate ways to try to bring back to the village the best and largest amount of deer meat for the towns people they could. The first hunter to bring down his deer was the great hunter of the north, OTHMAR. OTHMAR brought down a nice 12 point buck with a weight of 242 lbs. using his 270 caliber rifle at a distance of 347 yards. Next came a report that REX had taken a 10 point buck weighting 185 lbs. with his bow at 52 yards and MARIAN came in with her buck,an amazing 14 pointer with a weight of 297 lbs. that she took with her crossbow at and astounding 91 yards. KRISTINE had taken herself a nice fat buck with her 243 caliber rifle also which was a 9 pointer weighting in at 215 lbs. taken at 247 yards. At 10:30 more reports came in that two more hunters had taken deer for the village and as the hunters came into the village their deer were weighted in and stories told as follows: MIKE took a nice 8 point double drop tine buck weighting in at 215 lbs which he took at 75 yards with his 260 caliber rifle and a young gun hunter known only as the NY HUNTER took a fine 11 pointer weighting 238 lbs. at 37 yards with his bow, As darkness began to fall upon the village the hunters began to worry about their hunting partner still out and so they started toward where the hunter was to be hunting and upon reaching said point found only a large pile of blood and nothing else. The said hunter had shoot his deer and was tracking it through the woods and was trying to bring it back when he realized it was to large and he would need help getting it back. the said hunter was the world renowned Christmas Place hunter, OLD SCRATCH. OLD SCRATCH, though was old was also very well experienced and knew the best location for the biggest and best bucks. OLD SCRATCH finally got his deer back to the village and weighted in as follows. OLD SCRATCH TOOK A 22 POINTER WEIGHTING 328 LBS WITH ONLY A KNIFE AND A STICK AT 2 YARDS. Though OLD SCRATCH had taken the biggest and best that year no other hunter has ever to this date taken anything better with so little which is why OLD SCRATCH IS THE WORLD RENOWNED HUNTER OF ALL TIMES.

Missed Long Shot.

2008-11-05T04:04:00.003-06:00

Thursday October 30,2008, I had not gone hunting this particular morning but opted to instead stay at home with my wife and enjoy the morning with her. It was around 9:30 a.m. and we were getting ready to go into town to do some banking and pay bills when just as we where going out the door the phone rang. My dad called to tell me of three deer in the lake bed. I grabbed my bow as we went out the door and drove down to my parents house, as we passed by I could see the deer feeding along the left side of the field heading up toward the house. I turned the truck around and parked in front of the house so the deer couldn't see me and told my wife to go watch out the breakfast nook window. I got my bow and gear and went to the right side of the house and upon reaching the back corner then realized there was no more cover for me to get and closer. Checking the location of the deer, one was going back into the brush and the other two were still feeding toward the slope of the back yard. I knocked an arrow, drew back and realized the deer were about 80 yards from me and that I only had my bow sighted up to thirty yards. What I did next was a little outlandish but sometimes effective. I then began visualizing the sight pins that should have been set at forty-fifty-sixty-seventy and eighty yards then released the arrow. Though it was all just guess work the arrow flew just inches over the deers back and they ran off into the safety of the brush. I went to retrieve my arrow and the deer were standing in the brush, which as I approached my arrow spooked the deer running them further into the thick brush of cover. Lesson learned here was to next year set and practice with more yardage pins for those long shots.

2nd Day of Young Sportsman Hunt.

2008-11-05T03:41:00.003-06:00

October 27, 2008, O'Ryan was joined by Kaleb and was taken out hunting by my soon to be son-in-law (Daniel) and a friend (Danny). They went to a farm Daniel was hunting and split up to different stand sites. As the sun rose the Young sportsman were still eager to shoot their first deer. Daylight fell across the open fields and the deer began moving around browsing on the grasses and berries around the edges of the tree lines. The young sportsman and the companions sat watching and waiting but with little results. O'Ryan had a buck come thru by his chosen stand but never presented a shot before disappearing back into the woods while Kaleb had a doe show up on a far off ridge line heading away from him and never giving an option of a shot before she disappeared back into the woods. Though both the young sportsman were disappointed they still enjoyed the weekend hunting trips and our great outdoors. There is another young sportsman hunt at the end of deer season in January which both young adults will be participating in I'm sure.

1st Day of Young Sportsman Hunt.

2008-10-26T20:54:00.004-05:00

The dawn was cool at 47 degrees and cloudy with a south/southeast wind. It had rained the day before and the leaves on the ground were wet, making travel through the brush alittle easier. As we traveled across the horse pin and down the fence line, I disclosed to O'Ryan the direction of travel I thought the deer should be coming from when approaching my blind. Upon reaching my blind I had O'Ryan get into the best possible shooting position as possible and be prepared for the deer to come in very quite due to the wet leaves. Just as the woods began to lighten up enough to begin seeing to the bottom of the hollow, A large bodied deer appeared from out of nowhere and was heading down the trail toward our shooting lanes. O'Ryan being anxious for his first deer was moving about and couldn't sit still. I on the other hand was waiting and trying to watch the deer and get O'Ryan to sit still long enough for the deer to reach the shooting lanes. The deer was now within 50 yards and had just stepped behind a big oak tree which blocked our view of it and O'Ryan just had to look for the deer. Back and forth he rocked, from one side of the tree to the other playing peek-a-boo with a deer. Now I'm still not sure what exactly when wrong but for whatever reason the deer sensed something, it winded us or it saw movement it didn't like and alerted it and the deer flew ever so quietly up the opposite hillside without a sound. I knew the deer wasn't spooked due to no sound as it left the area and was hoping it had only traveled a short distance up the hill with the possibility that it might return to the trail. O'Ryan on the other hand thought the deer had left the country and began moving around again. I assured him the deer could still be back for him to sit still and watch for it to return as I began using my deer call to try to lure it back. We sat there hunting for another 3 hours before moving to another stand site in which we only hunted for about an hour before O'Ryan was ready to give up on his first morning of hunting and go home for something to eat and hot coffee. On the way to the truck I explained to O'Ryan that deer hunting was not always about harvesting a deer everytime your out but was a learning experience and about making memories that will last a lifetime. I only hope that O'Ryan will learn to love the outdoors as much as I do, learn how to carry on our great heritage of hunting for a lifetime to come and learn everything I can teach him and more about hunting the great outdoors.

Young Sportsman Season Opens.

2008-10-20T19:16:00.003-05:00

Here in Tennessee, the first young sportsman season will be opening on October 25, 2008 and I have things set up with my son-in-law to take two of his sons hunting for their first time to try to take a whitetail. My son-in-law thinks its so cool that his two oldest boys want to get into hunting but he doesn't know much about hunting whitetail and so has ask me to guide them though the whole hunting process and teach them the proper ways to hunt safely. Both the young sportsman seasons are only two day hunts with one at the beginning and one at the end of our Whitetail hunting seasons and a bag limit of two deer per hunt. With any luck I'm hoping that both boys will take a deer their first day out. Anyway I'll be posting more on this big event after the first season closes and I get the boys back home with their dad and I regain my composer from the trip. Best of luck to each and every young sportsman hunting this year---- hope you get a big one.

Mid-Day At Brushy Ridge.

2008-10-20T18:49:00.003-05:00

Well as I stated in my last post I was thinking that the deer are moving during the mid-day hours and was going to try hunting Brushy Ridge. I made it to Brushy Ridge and began my long slow journey into the vast thick brush around 12:30- 1:00 p.m.. As I traveled through the woods, the leaves were crunching under my footsteps and rustling which made my travels even slower than I wanted. I looked for any signs that the deer were still in the area and found a scrape underneath a fair sized maple tree which had also been used to leave the bucks scent on the limb overhanging the scrape. The scrape seemed to be relatively fresh so I made a ground blind just beyond it in an area just off to the side of the trail. I sat there all evening long and saw two deer ( one doe, one buck ) but could only count part of the points on the buck due to the thick cover the deer were in. The deer never came out into an open and clear shooting lane for the fifteen minutes I watched them before they left my sight. As darkness began to fall upon me it was getting to dark to see my sight pins so I headed for the truck. Just my luck the deer were still in the area and were spooked as I moved out to go home for the evening. Though I spooked the deer, I don't think they were spooked to badly cause neither of them blowed as they left the area. Best I could tell the buck had 6-7 points on his right side and if he is a typical buck should have the same on the left. I figure this buck is worth my time to hunt all season if possible and will do my best to take the buck before the close of deer hunting season this year.

The Moon and Brushy Ridge.

2008-10-15T21:18:00.006-05:00

With the moon shining so brightly these past few nights the deer have most likely been moving during the mid-day hours so with that thought in mind I've decided to give it a try tomorrow at Brushy Ridge. I plan on starting around noon or so hunting from a ground blind on the top of Brushy Ridge then if nothing happens by about 5:00 p.m. I'll probably start heading back though the brush to a spot where turkey have been hanging out in hopes of find a flock of them to shoot at. I'm hoping to at least catch a glimps of a deer, any deer moving through the area or maybe a turkey or two, if not then I may give up on the hunting season till gun season gets here. We already have alot of poaching going on here with gun shoots going off all around the areas that I hunt. Even people at my work have commented about all the gun shoots they have been hearing while their out bowhunting. It's sad that people have to resort to these kind of ethics and most just want the antlers to brag about which is even worst but it happens. Hopefully there will be some mature bucks left by gun season to hunt but I'll just have to wait and see. Anyway I'll post about my hunt to Brushy Ridge within the next few days to let everyone know of the outcome.

Big Buck On The Brushy Ridge.

2008-10-08T06:55:00.007-05:00

Tuesday morning I had gotten up at 4:00 a.m. and decided to go hunting over at a place I call Brushy Ridge. I had checked the weather forecast and it was to be sunny with winds out of the south/southeast at 5-10 miles per hour and the barometric pressure was rising with temperatures around 61 degrees. Sunrise was at 6:42 a.m. and I had arrived at the bottom of Brushy Ridge at 4:45 a.m.. I got my gear and headed out across a horse lot and into the woods taking my time so as not to spook any deer in the area. Slowly taking my time and working my way through the dark woods without a flashlight I had made my way to my stand by 6:30 a.m.. I had just gotten settled in when a huge buck appeared at 40 yards from me broadside but he stopped and began looking around as if he knew something was wrong. At first glance of the big buck I could see that he had dark chocolate horns and the right side was oddly formed and his face was almost completely gray with a large body. He stepped behind a tall stump which gave me the opportunity to draw my bow but as lady luck would have it the buck turned and began stepping away still not sure what was wrong with the area. The buck stopped again and I waited till he was standing there for a minute then released my arrow at the 40 yard pin. The buck flew out of the area running back the direction he had come in from and up across the ridge stopping only long enough to blow before leaving my sight. Still not sure if I had hit the buck, I remained in the stand and began hearing the squirrels barking just over the ridge where the buck had run of too. As the buck was by his self I was hoping there would be some does looking for him and come my way so I waited for about 2 1/2 hours before checking for my arrow. I searched the area where I had shot at the buck for my arrow and had to realign myself with the shot several times before finally finding the arrow in a pile of tree tops and leaves. The arrow was clean but I still looked around the area for any signs of a blood trail. As I looked back at my stand from where the buck stood I quickly realized that I had misjudged the distance and that he was really at 55 yards not the 40 I had thought he was at. I missed the shot completely but was happy to know the big buck was unharmed and still running in the area for a return visit next time. Wednesday morning brought heavy rainfalls which should remove alot of the leaves from the trees and bushes giving me a better view of the area but also giving the deer a better chance to see me better getting into bow range. Perhaps next time I'll judge my yardage better or end up buying one of those expensive range finders for bowhunters.

Trophy Buck Scouting

2008-10-01T18:47:00.008-05:00

October 1, 2008, Today I wanted to go hunting after working 12 hours but decided I was to tired and the wife needed the truck for some shopping with our daughter. Plans changed quickly after reaching our daughters house and I ended up doing some scouting with my future son-in-law who had been telling me that he was finding big buck rubs in his neck of the woods. We headed out the door at 9:00 a.m. and upon getting into the area he told me had all rubs I couldn't believe my eyes there was big rubs everywhere and tracks and trials that looked like a herd of 50 or more deer where in the herd. The woods were under selective timber cutting by the owner and was all steep hills. I could tell the area hadn't been hunted for years and supported a large number of deer in the area. As we walked and climbed up and down the hillsides my hunting buddy told me he and my grandson had jumped two monster bucks just before bow season started with really wide and tall racks on them and that the best he could tell the smaller of the two bucks was either and 8 or a 10 pointer and wasn't sure about the other one but that it was even larger. After seeing the tracks, trials and the rubs for myself, I decided to put up some stands and see if I can help him take one of these trophy bucks. I 've never seen bucks in our hunting area here in Tennessee rubbing trees as these bucks are until late October or November so these bucks are for sure worth hunting. The brush on these hills are really thick but has some areas where the woods just kind of open up and will make for some great rifle hunting when time comes. I should be able to limit out on this farm with no problem and if I do I'll be sure to donate a couple of my deer to the " HUNTERS FOR THE HUNGRY " program as I challenge all hunters to do this year.

Second Day Hunting, Not So Perfect.

2008-09-28T18:21:00.006-05:00

Sunday morning, September 28Th, I woke up at 3:30 a.m., started the coffee brewing and went online checking sites and waiting for the coffee. By 5:30 a.m. I was dressed and heading out the door to my parents place. The weather was calm winds,61 degrees and partly cloudy with the barometric pressure rising. A perfect start to what I had hoped would be a perfect adventure to the woods. By 8:00 a.m. the sun was just about to enter the field when a loud crashing noise from just behind me got my heart pumping. I grabbed my bow with high hopes only to have them shattered by a large 140-150 lb. doe charging out of the woods and into the field just below my stand then quickly back into the brushy woods across from me. The large doe was followed by a large Siberian husky which I quickly recognized as one belonging to a new neighbor who had moved into the area about 2 months before deer season opened. Though I haven't spoke to the new neighbor yet, now is the perfect time to ask him to please keep his dog tied during hunting season to prevent his untimely demise. Anyway with the morning hunt blown, I went inside for coffee,a sweet roll and some conversation then home for rest and relaxation till evening hunting time. As evening approached I decided to give hunting a break and stay home with the wife. Monday morning I hope will hold better adventures as I plan on returning to my parents place for yet another try at the big doe or maybe even a buck. Further updates to follow as time allows so stay tuned.

Opening Day , September 27th in Tennessee

2008-09-27T21:28:00.007-05:00

Opening day finally made it here and I was up at 3:00 a.m. this morning checking over everything to make sure I had it all together and ready for the hunt. I started the morning off by hunting over a small half acre field ( yard actually ) at my parents place where they have been watching the deer play around their pond. After 4 hours of sitting in the stand and seeing nothing but birds and squirrels I decided to go in and visit with my folks and have a cup of coffee. Evening came around and at 2:00 p.m. I decided to hunt a stand in the woods hoping for better luck. There again birds and squirrels but still no deer. I found out that on Friday afternoon there was a buck and four does playing at the pond at my parents place so I'm hoping for their return Sunday morning as that is where I'll be trying again. The weather today was a little windy and cloudy most the day with a 40% chance of rain but the rain held off and Sunday is just supposed to be cloudy without rain. I really hoping the deer will move better Sunday morning and it's supposed to be a new moon Sunday night. Anyway I'll be hunting as much as possible this year as it could be my last year due to my parents health failing. I'm also going to try hunting feral hogs this year and if anyone knows how to salt cure hams please let me know. A black bear is also on my agenda but will have to wait till next year for that as I'm going to Maine to hunt with my father-in-law. I'll try to keep updates regularly on my hunting progress for everyone.

Deer Season's Upon Us.

2008-09-14T20:12:00.005-05:00

Deer season here is just 2 weeks away and I 've just finished posting a 10 part version to Deer Season Preparation which I follow every year. Though everyone probably has their own way of preparing for the season, this I hope will get everyone fired up and in the mood to go hunting this year. I'm expecting to read alot of great stories from everyone about their adventures of hunting and of coarse there's always those of you with a good tale and a laugh for us as well. I deeply appreciated all my readers and look forward to visiting each and every one of you this year. Though I've had some rough times this year early on I feel I owe it to my readers to continue my blogging and give my support to everyone as they have supported me when I needed them most. Here's wishing the very best for everyone of you, a safe and prosperous year of hunting this year. Please think to try to take a family member, friend or new acquaintance hunting with you this year and show them how to continue our great heritage of hunting as it was handed down to us by our fore-fathers and to care for the lands as we have done ourselves in the past.

Deer Season Preparation ( Part 10 ).

2008-09-14T19:05:00.008-05:00

Now that you've taken your deer what next? Well most hunters field dress the deer before dragging it to the truck but I prefer to field dress mine either at home or after getting to the truck so as not to leave any evidence of my kill in the field for other hunters or predators to find and move in on my hunting spot. After field dressing the animal then take it to the checking station and either back home to process or to your local meat processing plant. Most of the time I prefer to process the animal myself and thus save myself roughly $60.00 - $125.00 depending on the weight of the animal. Processing the animal yourself is relatively easy and usually takes about 30 - 45 minutes with a good sharp knife and a bone saw. Hang the animal from a sturdy tree limb or hanging pole and begin with the removal of the hide then the back strap ( Tenderloin ),then proceed to the head, neck, ribs, backbone and finally the hind quarters. Be sure when removing the hide that you keep your hands clean and don't touch the musk glands located on the inside of the hind legs then touch the meat as this will taint the meat with a wild gamey taste. Most hunters prefer to remove these after field dressing the animal then thoroughly washing their hands. These musk glands can also be used as scent attractants if kept in a baggy until the next time you hunt. During the processing of your animal a good wash tub full of cold water is very helpful in keeping the meat fresh and aids in the cleaning process as well. After processing your animal your now ready to begin putting it in freezer wrapped packages. Using your knife and bone saw again cut the meat into meal size portions and Wash the meat thoroughly, getting all the hair, blood and excess fat off the meat as possible. Wrap the meat in freezer wrap, label and pack in your freezer. The meat will now keep from 1 - 3 years and your now ready for your next hunt. During cold weather temperatures of 35 degrees or colder the animal can be left to hang for days to tenderize the meat but sometimes makes a harder job of processing. If you leave the animal hanging to tenderize be sure it is up off the ground high enough that dogs and other animals can't get to it.

Deer Season Preparation ( Part 9 ).

2008-09-13T06:23:00.005-05:00

You've secured a place to hunt, done your scouting, hung your stands, checked your equipment and opening day has finally got here. You sit ever so quietly in the stand as the morning sunlight peeks over the horizon, breaking the dawn of a new day. With only one thing on your mind this beautiful morning, you begin to wonder if all your hard work will pay off then suddenly a doe appears from out of nowhere and is followed by a nice buck. The pair come ever so slowly down the trail through the woods directly under your stand. You hesitate until just the right shoot presents itself then all hell breaks loose and you quickly realize you've just shot you first deer of the season. After waiting 15 - 30 minutes you climb down from your stand and begin tracking your deer. A speck of blood here a puddle there then finally you spot the deer piled up in a brush pile not more then fifty yards from where you shoot it. Now you sit down relax and enjoy the moment, relive the thrill of the days hunt, realize all your hard work was worth it and then your ready to finish your days hunt and head for home with your prize or are you?. Many of us don't think anything about the fact that your supposed to tag the animal immediately after finding it. Tagging the animal is an essential way of saying this animal is mine, I shot it, I tracked it down and now I'm claiming it as my animal. This is the only way you can actually say the animal is truly yours when you get to the checking station and acquire the permanent kill tag identifying the animal as your kill. Be sure to fill the kill tag out correctly in the field when tagging your animal as this is usually what the checking station goes by to fill out the permanent kill tag and your next hunting tag for another animal. If the kill tag is incorrect the next animal you check in could get you in trouble proving it is your animal. It only takes a moment to check your tag to be sure it is correct and can be corrected quickly before you leave and remember to that the permanent tag is also supposed to accompany the carcass until processing is complete. Following all the game laws is part of an essential way of hunting and provides us all with a safe and successful hunt. These game laws are usually published in a brochure by the wildlife resource agency of your state and can be found in any hunting store or by contacting the wildlife resource agency in your state for a copy. It only takes a few moments to read over these laws and could save you alot of heartache or even your license or more. Please be sure to check the game laws in your hunting area and have a safe, enjoyable and prosperous year.

Deer Season Preparation ( Part 8 ).

2008-09-05T05:34:00.005-05:00

This year as you did your scouting you may have came across a really good buck or you've found some old rubs from last year that have told you there was a really big buck in the area. Perhaps you've been dreaming of taking a trophy buck this year or you've been watching you're herd tring to locate a trophy buck. The real question is " What exactly constitutes a buck as a trophy? " . To many a trophy buck is one that ranges from the 150 - 190 class on the scoring system but in my book I believe that any deer could be a trophy. It really depends on the hunters preference and standards. Sure they have record books for trophy deer but just because your deer doesn't make the record books doesn't mean that it's not a trophy. Your first buck would definitely be a trophy and to me anything larger then what I've got on the wall would be a trophy. Perhaps you've been hunting a particular deer for the last couple of years now and you finally take him this year, that would be a trophy buck. It doesn't really matter the size of the deer all that matters is that you've taken a buck that you consider to be a trophy. Everybody has different thoughts when it comes to classifying a buck as a trophy but to me it's still up to the hunters standards. If I wanted a real classifying trophy I'd go on a guided hunt for a monster buck and be paying alot of money for it but myself I enjoy hunting the smaller ones in my own neck of the woods and keep hoping for one bigger then whats on my walls now. It keeps me happy, it saves me lots of money and you never know when that monster buck ( that could make the record books )will show up in your neck of the woods.

Deer Season Preparation ( Part 7 ).

2008-08-31T21:01:00.004-05:00

You know this day and time it seems everybody is producing some kind of product for hunting whitetail deer. The problem is you have to be a millionaire to be able to afford all these products or be and older hunter who has been collecting these products as they came out. Now let's talk just a bit about deer decoys. It started out that someone came up with the idea of a Styrofoam deer to practice archery shooting at and from there went on to field decoys. The field decoys were then improved year after year until present day decoys that look so much like deer that even the most experienced hunters have trouble telling the difference. Deer decoys work really well when properly placed in the field or woods and deer are present. Their lightweight and easy to pack into any hunting area and set-up fast. Though I don't use the decoys for practice or in the field myself, I would have to say I believe them to be an added advantage to any hunters inventory and arsenal in being able to take deer. With proper care and storage for the decoy most of them will last for years which makes the cost of one a great value and would pay for itself over time.

Deer Season Preparation ( Part 6 ).

2008-08-29T19:39:00.006-05:00

Today there is a vast array of different types of deer calls on the market with each one claiming to bring in that monster buck of a lifetime. The problem is none of these calls can really tell you for sure if your even going to see a deer when you go hunting even if you use their product. There are alot of various factors that have to come into play before you can even see as much as a doe much less a buck. Then the buck you see may only be a spike,a yearling,a small six pointer or a non mature 8 or 10 pointer that really should be left for another year or two before harvesting. At best regardless of the type of deer call you purchase and use in your hunting area, a deer call can only claim to help better your chances of seeing deer ( when used properly ) provided that all the factors come into play during the time your in the field or woods hunting. What type of call does one buy to hunt deer? Well that brings into play alot of questions you have to answer for yourself. Are you hunting bow gun or muzzle loader season? Is it pre- rut,rut or post- rut season? Are you hunting fields, valleys, hills or woods? Is it a heavy rain falling, snowing, sunny or windy? These are all questions you should take into consideration before you purchase any deer call and you might even want to ask a few of the more experienced hunters in your area for advice on buying a good deer call and the type they use and their success in using them. Just remember this thought though, " What works for one person may not work for another ". Even though you buy a good deer call it only works when you've put all the factors together and have become effective in using it as it is intended. To much calling and you run the risk of running the deer off,not enough calling and you may not get the deer to come in to you and then using the call improperly and making the wrong call could run the deer out of the area also. Practice makes perfect and you don't have to be in the woods or field to do this and you don't want to go out and buy a deer call today and go straight to the woods with it before practicing with it either. A great number of hunters out there don't even use deer calls and do quiet well every year, so please choose wisely and put a great deal of thought into the type (s) of deer call (s) you buy before you buy your first one.

Deer Season Preparation ( Part 5 ) .

2008-08-09T11:36:00.006-05:00

Selective deer Management began in the early 1900's by the Game and Fish Commission in hopes of creating a larger, healthier population of deer. Today there is an estimated 28 million white-tailed deer across the North American continient. Selective Deer Management is best described by me as the selective taking of undesirable deer to create a healthy herd with large, massive bucks of older age groups being produced through the planting of nutritional crops in near future years. Selective Deer Management has played a key role in helping to create a healthy herd that can now be managed by the hunter as to the type of deer the hunter takes. Though not every hunter uses Selective Deer Management on his herd this could be due to a number of reasons--- 1. the hunters herd is not believed to be large enough for selective deer management, 2. the hunter is not educated about selective Deer Management, 3. the hunter does not care to use selective deer management on his herd or 4. the hunters property is only a crossing point for deer and does not hold deer so the hunter sees no need for selective deer management. Whatever the case may be we as future hunters, old hunters and those wanting to be hunters should all educate and stress the case to everyone that Selective Deer Management does work for everyone and is for the good of all the deer herds big or small and should be used at all times for a healthy herd for all to enjoy, even the nature lovers.

Deer Season Preparation (Part 4 ).

2008-08-03T20:27:00.005-05:00

Most hunters, when it comes time to buy their hunting licenses never give it any thought but the truth is any license obtained is obtained as a privilege not a right. This privilege can be revoked or suspended at any time for almost any reason. We as hunters have to be very careful not to do anything to lose this privilege as it can be lost from 1 year to a lifetime, depending on the severity of the offense causing the loss and we are then labeled as a poacher. Today the Game and Fish Commission has split the licenses up into individual license for two reasons-- 1. to build more revenue for the Game and Fish Commission's budget and 2. not all hunters hunt with all types of equipment. The revenue from license sales makes up about 90% of the Game and Fish Commissions budget with the remaining 10% made up from government grants and donations. With so many different types of licenses offered by the Game and Fish Commission, hunters have to be careful when purchasing their licenses and make sure to get the exact license they need. There are alot of rules and regulations for all these different types of licenses so please be sure to check over the new regulation brochure each year for any changes made to the type licenses your using. If your going out-of-state hunting through a guide service be sure to check with your guide service to see if your licenses are part of your hunt package or you have to purchase your licenses separate as an added expense for your hunting trip.

Deer Season Preparation ( Part 3 ).

2008-08-01T17:00:00.004-05:00

Farmers spend alot of money each year on crops, fencing, farm equipment and even leasing more property as well as their livestock. We as hunters have a professional obligation to these farmers to offer our field of expertise in the eradication of their pest which eats 1000's of lbs. of their crops each year not to mention the damage to the farm equipment ( flat tires on their tractors from shed antlers ) and fences. Many hunters today hunt property with just one thing in mind--- taking deer for their freezer or a trophy for their wall with little or no regards to the farmer. The farmers prepare the fields, sow the seeds, spray the weeds, fertilize the fields, reap the crops and the hunters just reap the rewards the farmers have brought into the property. When a hunter ask for and gets the permission to hunt a farm, it should be received with an understanding between both the farmer and the hunter that the hunter will help around the farm and share any game taken from the farm. Farmers put in alot of long, hard hours in the fields and all of them I know never have the time for hunting so it's always nice when a hunter shares his bounty with the farmer and it helps ensure a place to hunt the following year most of the time. When asking permission to hunt a farm remember to be polite, respectful and generous of your time and bounty and I'll bet you'll find not only a place to hunt but a good friend for life. Once I get permission to hunt a farm my work for the farmer starts with my first scouting trip. As you scout your new hunting farm you'll be checking fence lines for deer crossing. These fence lines usually will have places that need repairs, repair them as best you can until you can ask the farmer to leave you some fencing material and return to repair them properly. Who knows with your help around the farm maybe one day the farmer can go hunting with you.

Deer Season Preparations ( Part 2 ).

2008-07-31T06:29:00.006-05:00

Perhaps the best time of year to begin scouting your hunting property is 2 weeks after the close of the last hunting season. Though you have your existing hunting areas where you know you can see deer, it's always a good bet to take alittle time to check the woods and fields for just one more place to try to take a real trophy. Maybe the hunting area your using is producing some nice deer but there's always some place that holds that trophy of a lifetime and even though that trophy may not be on property you have permission to hunt, there are ways to persuade that trophy to your property. There's alot of ways to scout your hunting properties but for me it's good ole fashion leg work. Getting out walking through the woods and fields looking for shed antlers, old rubs, old scrapes and big tracks and just being able to enjoy the great outdoors in itself is all worth the leg work whether I find a good trophy to hunt or not. Alot of people are using field cameras (game cameras ) to do their scouting which works really well and prevents human odors from spooking the game out of the area. Game cameras give you lots of photographs so you know exactly what your hunting and can even give you a time schedule as to when to hunt that particular area but for me this would take all the fun and excitement out of wondering what will come by my stand. For many hunters, they see deer or are told of deer someone else has seen and that's where they hunt, These people almost always have a long hard season trying to take just one deer and could do so much better just by doing alittle scouting for themselves. Scouting is a key asset to being successful year after year and finding that trophy of a lifetime that could just be in your neck of the woods.

Deer Season preparations ( part 1 ).

2008-07-25T05:53:00.007-05:00

Deer hunting season is approaching us faster then we really expect and with it comes all the task of getting prepared. Even though many of us haven't given much thought to all the task involved for the up-coming season now is the time to prepare everything so that when it gets here your ready and able to go. First - let's start out with your stands, many of you may be using the older model stands that have the wooden platform or seat. These are usually made of plywood which begins to roit,shrink and become brittle shortly after the stand is put into use in the field. Check you stands and make sure the wood portion of your stand is still sound and sturdy. I for one as a rule of thumb prefer to replace the wooden portion of my stand every two years whether it needs it or not for safety reasons. Second - check all the bolts and screws and replace any old rusty ones with new ones ( these can lead to squeaks and noise), tighten all of them up. Third - check the cutter on your stands and climbing bar, these should be relatively sharp( but not sharp enough to cut your hand or fingers ),too sharp will do serious damage to the trees as well as making it difficult to climb with due to sticking into the bark as you try to climb and not releasing from the bark. These cutters should have smooth edges as well and any rough edges can be easily fixed with a fine file. Fourth - check any sound reducing foam pads and the cushions on the seats as these to will roit away with time and may be in need of replacement or maybe you just gained alittle extra weight and need more cushion for your back side. And last thing is the camouflage paint or tape, these I like to repaint every two years also using a good outdoor paint. To camouflage the paint job paint your stand with a solid color ( I prefer brown or yellow ) then after it dries lay tree branches ( with leaves ) or fern blades across your stand and spray over them with a green color paint for a leafy effect. Have a safe and prosperous year this year everyone.

Just an Update

2008-07-19T05:21:00.004-05:00

It's been some time now since my last post so this is just a little update. I 've been busy trying to help my parents with their place,working on my place, work, done alittle fishing, planted some food plots and going to the doctors for my health. There's just not enough time in a day to do everything you want to get done. I've tried scheduling things but something or someone always comes up needing me to help them or do something for them. Just the other day I got up at daylight went fishing a couple hours came in ready to work on my lawnmower and the wife tells me we have a water leak in the house, which come to find out was my water heater, which took me half a day to change out by the time I went to town and bought one, removed the old one, then put the new one in. Maybe I should move to Alaska where the days are long and the nights are cold. Anyway time stands still for no one and live goes on. If I'd have known getting old meant doing less with more to do I would have done more when I was younger. Went to my heart doctor June 25 and had to do this big stress test then was scheduled to go to my family doctor yesterday for follow-up and now he is scheduling me to go to a surgical doctor for some kind of endoscopy (??? ) and possibly surgery. Right now I just want things to get back to a normal routine and enjoy live again. It's been hard for me not being able to read everyone's post and leave them comments but somehow I'm going to get back to my writing as I've so enjoyed all my blogging experience with everyone. I will be visiting everyone's sites soon so look for me there.

Justice Prevails

2008-04-08T06:34:00.003-05:00

Here is an article that I found on one of my linksites that caught my eye and I thought everyone should read. Two Adults Charged, Two Juveniles Charged With Wild Turkey Shooting Spree “Reminiscent” Of Market Hunting Days

In what is one of most the flagrant poaching violations in recent memory, two Middle Tennessee adults have been cited with numerous illegal hunting charges after allegedly killing at least a dozen wild turkeys, while in the company of two juvenile hunters, during a weekend hunt open only to sportsmen under 16.

"This is perhaps the most blatant violation of the turkey game laws in recent history,” noted Jeff Skelton, an assistant law enforcement supervisor for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. “This is reminiscent of market hunting that took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s when hunters nearly drove the wild turkey into extinction.”

Charged is Billy Joe Davidson of Lewisburg and Leonard Williams of Culleoka, who apparently took advantage of Tennessee’s annual Young Sportsman hunt and carried two young hunters—one 9 and one 14—on a shooting spree down the Duck River in Maury County, March 22-23.

"We think the poachers killed at least nine turkeys just on Sunday as they motored up and down the Duck River in a 16-foot flat bottom boat, shooting some turkeys off tree limbs that had roosted for the night and using a spotlight to locate others,” explained Skelton. “Adults are required to hunt with youngsters during this weekend, but not allowed to do any shooting. Even if they were allowed to shoot, the bag limit is one bird for the entire weekend.”

All four of the hunters have been charged with violations.

"The example set by the two adults is a shame by any standards, but we also believe the young hunters have responsibilities for their actions.” said Skelton. “We issued a search warrant for Davidson’s Lewisburg home after receiving a report from a concerned citizen. The search turned up 12 fresh turkey beards and 13 turkey breasts and other turkey meat.”

Charges are numerous, with Davidson being cited with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, 10 counts of hunting, killing, possessing, and transporting turkeys in closed season; hunting after legal shooting hours, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of minors.

Williams will be charged with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, nine counts of hunting, killing, possessing and transporting turkeys in close seasons. He will also be charged with hunting after legal shooting hours, and contributing to the delinquency of minors.

The 14 year old is charged with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, six counts of exceeding his bag limit, and one count of violating the state’s tagging law; shooting after legal shooting hours, and hunting without a wildlife management area permit.

The 9 year old is charged with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, violation of the state’s tagging law, hunting without a wildlife management area permit, shooting after legal shooting hours, and two counts of exceeding the daily bag limit.

"We appreciate the tip that led to these arrests,” said Skelton. “The TWRA and the National Wild Turkey Federation have offered rewards to citizens that report and convict turkey poachers.”

In addition to the charges, wildlife officers seized three shotguns, a spotlight, and the flat bottom boat and a 25 horsepower motor. They also seized all of the turkey meat and various turkey parts.

The two adults are scheduled to appear in County General Sessions Court in Mt. Pleasant May 14th. The juveniles are scheduled to appear May 28th in Juvenile Court in Columbia.

Helping make the arrests were Skelton, Maury County Wildlife Officers Pam McDonald and Mark Ventura, Marshall County Wildlife Officer Doug Lowery, Giles County Wildlife Officer David Robertson, and Williamson County Wildlife Officer Joe Fortner.

Planting time

2008-04-03T21:55:00.003-05:00

I've planted some mustard seed here at the house and have to go to dads now and plant some mustard and clover as soon as the weather permits and the ground dries up enough. Dad told me he saw 6 deer the other day in the dry lake bed and he wants to get it planted asap. I'll still plant a second crop for the deer probably in July but haven't figured out yet what I want to plant and I have to clear a shooting lane with the mower across the lake bed. I've found a great looking management area that I may try to hunt this year but it's archery only for adult hunting and it's alittle far to drive to, about 3 hours away but not many people hunting it due mainly to the steep hills and rough terrain. Anyway I'll keep looking for that perfect place and get things ready fdor this years hunt here at home.

Bring Gas Prices Down

2008-03-14T22:46:00.002-05:00

This was sent to me by e-mail so see if it makes sense to you.
THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. If you are tired of the gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May!
It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!
I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer, and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.19 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.

But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices.
If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!

(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am . so trust me on this one.

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days !!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you!
Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

Keep it going!!!

" Hunters for the Hungry " program of Tennessee

2008-03-11T21:21:00.014-05:00

"Hunters for the Hungry" is a program set up not just for hunters but for anyone interested in helping the needy families of Tennessee. This program allows hunters to donate either part or all of a deer killed to food banks, soup kitchens, missions and needy families after being processed by a meat processing company registered with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. Funds are raised by volunteers hosting or sponsoring fundraising events for the program through the Tennessee Wildlife Federation and individuals, foundations, sportspeople, civic clubs and church groups donate money for processing of the deer. Funds are limited for this program so hunters are requested to call and check with the processing company before delivery of their deer for availability of funds. Hunters donating deer to the program may be required to pay a discounted fee of $40.00 to help cover processing if funds are not available through the program at time of processing. All deer processed will be held for pick-up by a local food bank and distributed to needy families of Tennessee. Last year the program took in nearly 25 tons of venison ( 50,425 lbs) and since the rebirth of the program in 1998 hunters have donated some 360,000 lbs of venison feeding nearly 1 million meals to hungry families throughout Tennessee. Statistics show that nearly 11% of children and 19% of elderly go to bed every night hungry. If every hunter was to donate just 1 lb of venison, the program would have 200,000 lbs of meat to feed the hungry. All donors will receive a 1 year complimentary membership to the Tennessee Wildlife Federation magazine as well as having a great feeling in their heart of knowing you've done your part in helping a family in need. Cash donations are also accepted by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation and checks should be marked " Hunters for the Hungry " as well as any certain meat processing company name on the memo line of your check(s). Checks should be made out to Tennessee Wildlife Federation and are therefore considered " tax deductible" by the Internal Revenue Service as this is a 501c (3) organization. Checks can be sent to: Tennessee Wildlife Federation 300 Orlando Avenue, Suite 200 Nashville, Tennessee 37209 Any meat processing company wishing to register for participation in this or any other Federal program can contact the Tennessee Wildlife Federation coordinator at ( 615 )- 353-1133.

Elk Restoration in Tennessee

2008-03-06T17:38:00.007-06:00

On March 8, 2008 the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency will be moving 36 Elk from Land Between the Lakes ( LBL )in Kentucky to the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area in Campbell County, Tennessee. The Royal Blue is part of Tennessee's 670,000 acre Elk Restoration zone which was started in 2000. Over a four year period 167 Elk have been released to the restoration zone and the release of these 36 Elk brings the Elk herd standings to approximately 200-250 animals. 31 of these Elk being released are fitted with radio collars for future research on the herd. This release will be a joint effort between Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, LBL Bugle Corp., LBL Association, U.S. Forestry Service, Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association ( CORA ), the UT Veterinary School, USDA, Animal Planet Health Inspection School ( APHIS ), and Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency staff and volunteers. The public is invited to attend the release of these Elk Saturday March 8, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time ) at Massengale Mountain in Campbell County, Tennessee.

Condo Deerstand

2008-02-29T22:15:00.004-06:00

A friend of mine that i've hunted with for years now sent this to me via email and told me he had been working on a new deer stand since mid-june. Now what he told me was that he had found a place with so many deer signs that he didn't quite know where to put his stand so he thought up this convienent stand just to be on the safe side and be able to cover every possible route. What I couldn't figure out was why it took him so long to put up his stand until I recieved his email then everything became very clear to me. As you can see from the photo below he has all the comforts of home and then some. What else could you ask for in a deer stand other then to open the door and invite them to come in a watch tv with you. I think this may be something he found on the internet though and not his actuall stand. You tell me would you hunt from this thing? Is this even legal? I really don't know about this.

Squirrel Season closes

2008-02-27T06:12:00.004-06:00

I've been off work for the last 2 days now and was hoping to be able to go squirrel hunting one last time before the season closes. February 29th is the closing day of the squirrel season in Tennessee and also the last day before hunting license expire. I got up this morning to a winter wonderland of new snowfall ( about 3 inches) on the ground so I've decided to enter a new post and leave a few comments today . I been feeling alittle sick lately so I didn't want to get out in the weather and make things worst. All the seasons close the 29th(Friday) but that's okay cause that just means that our new hunting seasons are just getting started and I for one am looking forward to this years hunting seasons. I like to wish everyone a great year this year in all their hunting adventures and hope they have a prosperous one for whatever they are hunting. Rabbit stew might be a good fare for the table tonight with the new snow they should be everywhere and hold up in brush piles. Maybe I'll give them a shot at the dinner table.

Turkey Season's Coming Quick

2008-02-17T20:46:00.012-06:00

Turkey seasons coming so get your guns out and dust them off,grab your turkey calls and practice your calling,get your maps out and pick the perfect place and don't forget to ask for time off from work or from the spouse unless their goning too. These old birds are some hard critters to take but if your lucky enough to get a shot you must be doing something right.Most people get just lucky enough to get one into view then something happens and the whole flock is gone in a flash without even so much as given you a second look. These birds are sly and cunning animals and have the know how to survive. They have out-witted some of the best hunters in the world, but if you pull out all the tricks in your turkey knowledge bag( your brain ) then you might just get the trophy you've wanted on your wall. One of the best tricks I seen yet is a decoy used by Knight & Hale on television to take even the most cunning of wild turkeys. It's a decoy call " pretty boy " and man does it ever work well, especially if your in a ground blind where they can't see any movement. The decoy can be purchased with or without the " pretty girl " submissive hen but believe me if you want that old tom to come in running to you get yourself the pretty boy and the pretty girl set and keep your gun or bow ready. Have a great time in the woods this spring and please everyone be very carefull and safe out there this season. You can find the pretty boy decoys at http://www.carrylitedecoys.com/catalog.aspx and sells for around $129.00 for the set.

New Website Up and Running.

2008-02-07T20:33:00.000-06:00

Just a note to let everyone know my third website is up and running and anybody wanting to add it to your website is welcome to. I will be adding everyones link to the site under some link topic before long.Here is the website url for anyone interested in checking it out, just remember it's not completely finished yet. http://fishingafield.blogspot.com/

Shed Antlers.

2008-02-07T18:51:00.000-06:00

Okay folks, the deer hunting season is closed now so lets get down to nexts years deer season. The best way to locate that big buck you just never could see but always knew was there is to get out and hunt for his shed antlers.First let me give you some tips and pointers for hunting sheds. 1. Sheds are tough to spot in harsh sunlight so use the cloudy days to hunt sheds. 2. Rainy days are great for hunting sheds cause wet antlers shine. 3. Search for sheds as soon as the snows melt but before the weeds and spring grasses grow up to hide the sheds. 4. Check thinly wooded areas where cattle and other herd animals graze the grass low for easy shed locating. 5. Begin looking for sheds across open fields around the edges of the fields and then begin following the deer trials back into the woods and even into the bedding areas where the bigger bucks stay during the hunting season. 6. Last and most important thing to shed hunting is to wear soft soled boots which makes it easier to feel a heavy shed if you step on one you don't see. When you find a shed antler take note of the location and look around for rubs and scrapes. Finding a shed with lots of rubs and scrapes is an ideal place to set up a stand for next years hunt and the woods are still bear which will make it easier to pick out just the right stand site. Now that your loaded with a few tips to finding shed antlers get out, get started, and enjoy the woods we love to play in.

Bored and MY Hunting Books

2008-02-03T21:34:00.000-06:00

Well I got alittle bored this evening watching tv so I dug out some of my old hunting book issues and started revamping my thoughts for some new writing material.Give me a day or two and I should be able to come up with something to write about that everyone will like( I hope ).Until then I'll just continue to comment on everyone elses writings. I'm thinking of adding a new site on Fishing which will cover tips, tricks, baits,experiences I had and probably lots of links and ads. Until then everyone keep writing and I'll let everyone know if and when it's up and running.

Bud and the Weekend

2008-02-02T18:07:00.000-06:00

Another weekend come and gone and I was actually off work this weekend. Though I didn't get alot accomplished I did enjoy sitting around home watching tv with the wife just relaxing after a very tense week at work which I almost quit. My dog ( bud )I fear is about to die on us which will be devastating especially to my wife who has been very attached to him since we got him in 1994 as a pup. He has lost weight for the past 4 weeks now, won't eat anything except can food then throws it up as soon as he gets done eatting and has become nothing but skin and bones and can hardly get up to eat. I haven't been able to find him today so tommorrow morning I'll have to get out and look everywhere for him and probably dig his gravesite in preparations for his death. Anyway I was able to add a few of my lost links back and add some new ones that I didn't have before to both my sites. I also done some changes to my ads and will be working more on the sites as time permmits me too. For now my writings are struggling for a topic and infor to write on due to my writing time frame but as it has been in the past that to will pick back up and everything will return to normal. For now my concentration will be on my wife and our dog.

Deers Not The Only Meat----

2008-01-28T20:19:00.000-06:00

Well folks the deer season has come and gone with the moment of anticipation passing like a dove flying across the field. Of coarse as with a raccoon in the corn field there's still many more seasons that are open and some that are open year round( at least in Tennessee). Hog hunting is open year round here and many hunters take advantage of this hunting experience to sharpen their skills for deer season and to put a little extra in their freezers. Though I've never hunted the wild hogs, I have given it some thought and my decide to give it a try one day in the near future. Squirrel season and quail season is still open so time allowed I plan on going before the season is over in February. Season after season deer change and give it two weeks after the close of the season is about right for locating the next years buck of a lifetime. I 'm talking about "Shed Hunting", one of the best ways for locating that big buck without disturbing any ones hunting area while their hunting. Shed hunting can be very rewarding even if your not finding any antlers cause your still getting the enjoyment of the outdoors,nature,and the wildlife of Gods great earth undisturbed. I myself don't get out and hunt the shed antlers but I do enjoy after season scouting for old rubs, scrapes and bedding areas which the deer use from one year to the next. Usually around the last of July the deer begin to change over to their winter feeding grounds where they will stay until about the end of January or the first of February. So if your out finding sheds,rubs and bedding areas two weeks after the season closes your in the deers winter grounds. You may not see any deer but come next season you'll know exactly where to set up your stand with little or no difficulty. Get out in the woods and take advantage of the seasons that are still open in your state and find a new place to hunt your trophy buck while you can. Remember deers not the only meat for your freezer,it's just the other red meat we all love.

Returning to my post update

2008-01-23T18:02:00.000-06:00

Where do I begin? This could be a very long post which would take you days to read but I think I'll give you the short version of the last three months. To start with I'd like to say it's great to be back posting again as this will relief some of my stress and allow me to talk to my Friends again, so thanks everyone for your comments on my sites. Okay since I left my post in October I've given up my construction business due mainly to the economy and lack of work in my area.I've taken on a factory job again which is against all my wishes (which came with a big cut in my pay scale), so I now make pill bottles for Tri-State Distributors in Sparta, Tn.. A word of good happenings is that my middle daughter,her husband and three grandchildren have moved out once again ( hopefully for good this time). my computer was in the shop and when I got it back most all my files, documents, programs and even my e-mail information was erased and deleted. Now on to the most important aspect which I'm sure by now everyone is wondering about. At last I posted hunting season had just opened and I was having trouble with my dog following me or tracking me into the woods every time I went hunting. Well your advice was taken and my dog was put in the house until I returned which worked really good for me.I managed to hunt the reminder of the season without and problems other then not seeing any bucks at all however we did have a either sex hunt in which I hunted off my parents back balcony deck and was able to call in a young ( fine eating) 60 pound doe at 125 yards. I came close to packing my bags and heading to Deer Camp to hunt "Ol Thunderhoof" for editor but I knew editor wouldn't like it to well if I took his ol friend back to Tn. so I stayed put for at least one more season. Now I can begin looking forward to the 2008 season and finding a new place to hunt which I hope will have a few good bucks on it to hunt. My new job has me working 12 hour shifts now so my writing may suffer some but I'll post as often as possible as I want to get back into the full swing of things again now and visit everyones sites and add as many links on my site as possible. Anyone with new links please let me know and I'll be glad to add them to both my sites. Once again THANKS everyone for the welcomed return.

I'm back

2008-01-20T20:56:00.000-06:00

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement not to give up hunting or posting. The words were very heart felt and was what brought me back so be prepared for some new writing and updates while I was gone for the past 3 months. Again THANKS to each and everyone of my readers and look for my writings to begin very soon.

Hunting--- It's finally Over

2007-10-17T17:44:00.000-05:00

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.

Getting Closer

2007-10-15T05:19:00.000-05:00

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.

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

2007-10-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting-- A Weekend Update

2007-10-09T03:29:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting Again,One More Chance

2007-10-05T18:57:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting--- Two Weekends Pasted

2007-09-30T19:33:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting--The Moment of Truth

2007-09-21T20:51:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting--Work and Woodland Escape

2007-09-17T06:05:00.000-05:00

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.

Opening Seasons

2007-09-09T07:06:00.000-05:00

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.

Welcome New Writer -- David Knapp

2007-09-02T08:59:00.000-05:00

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.

It Doesn't Matter---

2007-08-02T19:44:00.000-05:00

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.

Country life-Living The American Dream

2007-07-21T06:09:00.000-05:00

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.

Dreams of Hunting

2007-07-13T05:35:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting Public Land

2007-04-28T05:59:00.000-05:00

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.

Survival of Our Wild Game and Our Heritage

2007-04-08T06:34:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting Rifles--Old to New and Beyond

2007-03-24T06:56:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting Rifles---- The Choice is yours

2007-03-14T19:39:00.000-05:00

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.

Hunting-- The golden pond .

2007-02-27T20:00:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-27T12:19:00.000-06:00

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.

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

2007-01-28T06:32:00.000-06:00

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.

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

2007-01-27T22:11:00.000-06:00

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.

Hunting --- Young Adults

2007-01-07T20:30:00.000-06:00

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.

Hunting--Safety and First Aide

2007-01-01T11:16:00.000-06:00

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.

Hunting -- Knowledge and Timing

2006-12-31T06:35:00.000-06:00

Now lets talk alittle bit about time. Time is the key element to hunting. Being in the right place at the right time is the key factor to being successful at hunting. For this reason alone you need to get out and study the terrain. Take in as much knowledge about the terrain as possible.Food availability,water sources, fields, fences,old rubs, funnels, escape routes, trails, cover and bedding areas all play an important role in your success of hunting.Many trips to the woods will be necessary to perceive all the knowledge necessary for you to advance your skills and techniques which will allow you to become the best possible hunter you can be and though this knowledge of the terrain you hunt you will be able to predict just where the game will travel at different times of the year, weeks and days. You can even predict the games time down to hours and minutes which means you will know what time to be in what stand to make your kill at any given time of day. Hunting can be a fun, enjoyable and memorable sport but only if you follow all the rules of the state laws and safety rules as well. Remember you don't have to harvest game every time you go hunting to have a great memory and adventure, just take along another safe hunting partner and remember the great time the two of you had while on you trip. Hunting with a partner is always the safest way to hunt. You should try to find a partner to hunt with that can be a "partner for life" . What I mean is find someone that enjoys hunting as much as you do. Someone who has the same code of ethics you have and follow, someone you trust to show and share your favorite hunting spots with and know they will take care of the property and game. Someone that you can trust not to disclose the location of your " honey hole " to anyone else except in emergency situations. Remember hunting with a partner could save your life one day.

Hunting Farm Lands

2006-12-30T10:47:00.000-06:00

If your lucky enough to find such a farm take care of it,cherish the land,trees,fences,gates,game and your right to hunt the property. In the past the farms I' ve hunted without leasing I've always cleaned up trash lying around, mended fences and even offered the owner part or all of the game taken from his property after it was checked in , cleaned and packaged. Even if you don't take game from property you hunt offer the owner some game from your freezer as a gesture of good faith and friendship-remember he was probably a hunter once himself and would probably enjoy some wild game again but just doesn't have the time to go hunting anymore or you might even offer to take him along on one of your hunting trips. Although I have been talking about hunting in general and bow hunting there are more forms of hunting which we will talk about later such as gun hunting and the many different game animals and species of each but for now lets get back to our first and primary topic-hunting wild game. Man has studied many different predatory animals and taken their hunting techniques and applied them to the hunting abilities of man and found out it works very well when applied properly. Remember that no matter whether you hunt big game or small game there are many different techniques you can use to take the game your after. There are many books and magazines with different hunting techniques and tips which are very useful but the ones I favor as the best are "North American Hunter" and "Sports Afield" and although they talk about the different techniques used in other areas and on other game these techniques will work on your game as well when applied properly. No matter which books or magazines you read it all comes down to getting the full knowledge of how these techniques are used and applying the right technique to your hunting situation and remember if one technique doesn't work then try another cause what works on some game may not work on others,so learn as many different techniques as possible.

Check All This Out

2006-12-29T22:40:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, November 07, 2006Hunting has been around since the beginning of time. It was the caveman and dinosaurs that first hunted in groups or packs and the food harvested then shared by all.The Indians used the same traits while hunting buffalo on the great plains of the western world and even today many hunters will still meet at a pre-determined location and hunt in a group known as a drive.During a drive usually 2 - 4 people will be positioned in stands, blinds or on the ground in an area ahead of the drivers who will then form a line thru the woods and begin walking towards the shooters who had to carefully harvest the animals as they came within range of their weapons but also had to watch for the drivers so as not to cause injury to them or even death.This is a risky way of harvesting wild game but very effective.Clubs and spears was probably the first weapons used for hunting until such time as the discovery of the bow and arrow. Bows and arrows today can be found at any outdoor shop, some convenient stores and larger retail stores such as Walmart supercenters. Walmart is where I buy most all my products and supplies because of the brand names and varieties of their products.Though they may not be the very best brands they still serve the purpose for the amateur and novice hunters of today. Hunting has come a long way since the beginning of time,game has changed, equipment has changed, people have changed and even the land has changed or been changed. Today places that used to be all woods have been cut down and doziered away to make pastures and fields. Farms have been divided into smaller plots and sold off for residential building sites and much of the game driven off to other near by farms. People are more reluctant to let hunters hunt their property due to past experiences with hunters destroying their property. Now days it seems leasing farm property to hunt on is becoming very popular and about the only way to ensure a hunter a place to hunt.Though it can be very expensive for the hunter, it does ensure the property owner that the property will be properly taken care of throughout the time of the contract with the hunter(s) leasing the property. Don't get me wrong there are still farmers willing to let you hunt their property but be assured if it's damaged or destroyed the farmer will most likely stop allowing all hunting on his farm.