One Shot Smack Down Post #10

Finally the day had come when I didn't have to work till late, so I could go hunting in the morning. Wednesday before thanksgiving. I was tired and wasn't sure I wanted to go out in the first place. The spot that I sit was the same spot that my uncle had shot an eight point from the night before. I dragged myself out of bed and got my things together. I had about a twenty minute drive to my hunting spot that morning. Once we got out there I climbed into the shack and went back to sleep. My dad was with me I knew he would nudge me when the deer started moving. We were way early anyhow. I was awake for about an hour by now, and all of the sudden I caught a flash out of the corner of my eye. All of the sudden there was a deer moving towards me. Dad hit me not knowing I was awake, and said "Its a buck get your gun!". He handed me my gun because apparently I was not moving fast enough. The deer was not going to stop. He changed his mind and was not even going to come into the opening. My dad told me when he gets to the opening shoot. Well from where my dad was sitting and where I was sitting the openings did not match up. I had to switch windows. Finally I had an opening. I did not even take the time to steady myself. I followed the front leg up to the shoulder and pulled the trigger. He dropped right there. Awesome! No tracking! The best kind of kill for a gun! My 25-06 had another kill under its belt. By this point I thought I had shot a six point. About twenty minutes later we climbed out of the shack. I walked up to my buck to find out that it was only a four point. But hey it was the 23 of December and I still had both my buck tags. Anyhow I have never met anyone who can make the antlers taste good no matter how many points there are. Happy hunting for the rest of gun season and through out muzzleloader season! Hopefully I can get out more and fill my other two tags! There is still a big one out there!

Getting Youth Involved Post #9

Getting the youth into hunting and learning the different ways and things you can hunt is important.   I started hunting at about the age of eight when I went out with my own weapon of choice. However, I had been going out and sitting with my dad since I was about three or four. I have always shared an immense love for the sport because of all the time I got to spend with my father. My dad is really the one who got me started, but I did enjoy spending time with my mom in the woods too. She only hunted till we were about eight and then just quit. She had two kids and a husband who didn't pick up after themselves.
I feel that getting kids involved and out in the woods teaches them about their ancestors in a round about way. Everyone used to have to hunt for their food. Now people get in their cars and go to the store to get food.
Hunting also teaches kids where their food comes from and I feel that this is a great part of life. Otherwise you get kids who cry when you say well this came from this animal and its just terrible. Kids should have to work for things that they have, and not have everything handed directly to them. Yes, I was spoiled as a child but I got spoiled with things like guns and arrows. I was always outside and running or playing with livestock. My family has always been big into hunting and fishing. Because of this I learned where my food came from and that you eat what you kill at a young age.
Now days five year olds have I-phones and do nothing but sit around and play video games. Kids need to go outside and explore what life has  to offer. I had to work for most things that I have and I am proud to be able to say that I went outside and played I did not play video games and I am still alive the outdoors wont kill you.
If kids don't get outside and get exposed to things the sport of hunting is likely to die out, this is something that needs to be carried on and the land preserved. Hunting is not just a sport its an art, not only are you getting food for your family, you are helping to control the populations and preserve the land.

Gun Season Post 8

Its almost here the day we have waited for, for a year. The number of hunters always increases around this time.  It's gun season. The two weeks in November of every hunters dream kill. Those big bucks are now educated and ready to hide until they catch that doe and make one small mistake.
I always go out on opening morning. When I was still in high school my parents let me skip and go hunting instead. Which actually is really common in our area. However not enough skip to the point that the school closed down.
My dream buck hasn't crossed paths with me yet on opening mornings. I usually end up in the double stand with my dad on the ridge. We always see deer move in this stand during the mornings. However I always tell my dad to take the shot because I am never confident enough to take the shot around the tree. I am left handed and have a different line of sight than my dad who is right handed. He can see more around the tree than I can. I would have to hug the tree to be able to shoot at the bottom of the ridge to my left. And this always seems to be where the deer cross. If my dad and I switched spots in the stand it would be much easier for me. However we are creatures of habbit and because this is where he told me to sit the first time we hunted this stand. This is the side I have sat on for the past seven years.
I honestly would rather shoot a deer with my bow because you get the suspense of the track and waiting to let it die before going out to look. Sometimes you can get this with a gun too if you dont place your shot wisely. I don't know what it is about the track but I get that runners high like an adranline rush. This just makes me want to keep hunting all the time.

The Feeling of Regret Post #7

I finally got a chance to go out and spend sometime in the woods! Last week I decided instead of hanging out with friends I would do something I enjoy way more, I was going hunting. I went out about 4:30. The silence brought me peace.   My dad had drove me out to the stand on the mule. So he could fill the feeder for my grandpas stand. However, it didn't go as planned and the mule ran out of gas in the center of the clearing. He left my uncle, who was also with us, on the mule while he went to get gas and the quad.  During this time, the turkeys decided they wanted to come out. But my uncle was still in the clearing. They didn't seem to mind until they heard the quad coming out. They filled the mule with gas and headed up. Finally it was my time. Now I just had to wait on the deer. After an hour and a half of nothing but seeing blue jays flying around I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. DEER! I finally had seen deer move. But it was just a doe and her fawn. I watched the fawn play while the doe ate. They were there for about fifteen minutes. Something must have spooked them because they ran back to the bedding area. Nothing else moved for awhile not even a squirrel. As it was just getting to the point where I couldn't see my sights I heard something walking towards me on the right. It seemed like it took forever for this deer to finally show itself. By this point I could have taken the shot. It stood broadside from me at 20 yards for at least ten minutes. I kept thinking I could shoot but what if I don't get a good shot? What if its a doe? What if its just a little guy? Well I knew  this was a big deer by looking at the body. The head I couldn't see to determine if it was a buck or a doe. This would also help me age the deer. The longer the distance from eye to nose the older the deer is. So I passed I just watched it feed around. A few days later we pulled the trail cam and looked at the pictures from that night. Well....I should have shot. It was a seven point. But I am glad I didn't I wouldn't be able to live with knowing that I wounded yet another  deer. (I have only done this about twice since I started hunting.) If I am not confident in the shot I won't take it no matter what I am shooting at.

Squirrel Hunting Post #6

Those pesky little things that sit there and bark and run on the ground sounding similar to deer. Squirrels.
 Squirrel hunting is not necessarily an act of enjoyment around my house. It is more of an act to control the population. I can remember in my earlier years of hunting going out early with my pelt gun while we were deer hunting. We would take our gun/bow to still hunt for deer but we would go out and hour or two early. We would sit and wait for the squirrels. We would shoot squirrels until prime hours of deer hunting. After it was dark and we were done for the night we would go and pick up all of the squirrels.
I recently just got a new puppy this summer to be trained for squirrel hunting. My dad is big into competition squirrel hunts. and would like to be able to take her out this winter. She has been doing good so far. (Her name is Sadie.) Sadie is only about five months old and has already gotten two squirrels. She is trained to tree the squirrel and bark so the hunter can find which tree she is in and shoot the squirrel. If  the tree has low branches she might even climb up into the tree. I have yet to take her out on hunts but she sure does love to chase things around in the backyard!
Sadie is a mountain feist and she should grow to be about double the size she is in this picture. She should grow to be about knee height and weigh about 30-40 pounds. However she will be all legs!

Part of her training involves catching squirrels live and you can only imagine how we do that. We use a squirrel live trap. Its basically a black wire box that things can get into but cannot get out of with out a door being opened.
One day I was leaving for work and found my dad outside with a squirrel in the trap hanging from a tree using the dog leash. You never know what you may see at my house! (haha)  I am very excited to get Sadie out on my own and see what she has to offer!

Pheasants Forever Post #5

A few years ago my dad took me on a Pheasants Forever sponsored youth pheasant hunt. It is awesome to see and organization trying to get the youth involved in the preservation of habitat. Raising my own pheasants didn't bring such a big surprise to pheasant hunting. The day we went it was raining and on the chilly side. We all had to wear safety or shooting glasses and have hearing protection to be able to participate. (Who really hunts with shooting glasses and ear plugs...)

The birds had been planted earlier in the morning. The organization got the birds from a family friend of ours, so we knew the blood line was good and that the birds could for sure fly well. When  you plant pheasants you spin the around to disorientate them. Then you place them on the ground with some sort of tall grass or a tree to give the bird cover.

 
Now the fun part begins. Usually the hunters will walk in a strait line across the field with a dog or two running in front of them. The dog will smell the bird and push them up so they will fly up and one of the hunters can shoot. If the dog is trained right they will retrieve the bird and bring it back.

However on the hunt I went on the birds were hid well and the dog didn't flush many. But when we got Gomer over to our group he flushed tons of birds. Gomer is a britney spaniel however he has gone blind and lost his hearing so he doesn't get to go on big hunts anymore. The pheasants forever youth hunt was the last big hunt he went on. At the end of the hunt I had shot two birds and I gave them to kids who had not got a bird because I knew I had birds at home.

I raise my own pheasants at home and we sell them to a lot of guys who use them for hunts. I raise ring necks, jumbos, mutants, reeves, reeves ring neck cross, slivers, amheast, impeyan, and goldens. I currently do not have all of these but I have over the years. We usually keep a breeding pair so we can hatch for the next year. I currently have 50 ring necks at my house to go into the freezer.

Happy Hunting!

Shoot 'Em Post #4

When you thought deer hunting was an early morning, try duck hunting. Getting up by three so you can make it to the draw on time sucks. The worst part of it is that you might not even be able to go. The draw picks 30 party's. From there it is first come first serve. The party's get to pick where they want to hunt based off of what areas in the flats are open. Some areas are not able to be hunted at the beginning of the season due to crop removal or flooding the fields so we can have boat access. However, you don't always have to hunt on the flats or in water. You can dry field hunt on private land.

The first time I went duck hunting I went with my dad, brother, a farm hand and his kid Cody, and Leo Gross. (Which by the way is a state duck calling champion.) We hunted some of his corn fields next to his dairy farm. We had some many ducks flying at us it was insane. The sky would go absolutely black with ducks trying to land in our set. I thought duck hunting would always be like that. Well I was wrong. It all depends on the year and the crops.

It was just getting to be shooting time and we were loading our guns. We took turns shooting so we all had fair play. I of course was the only girl and it was my first time so I got to go first. The first group of ducks came through and bam! I shot not knowing what duck I was told to shoot. (You can only shoot one hen per person per hunt.) There was so many ducks I don't think I had to aim at one and I could have gotten one. Now it was my brothers turn, of course another duck down, Cody too. So when the group returned again we let them circle once before shooting. When they came by the second time I was told to shoot. So I shot the one duck that had landed. Everyone laughed at me and wanted to know why I didn't shoot the one right in front of my face flying. Why try something when there is a guarantee around. They all picked on me for the rest of the hunt. We ended the day with a nice pile of ducks!

Bow Season post #3

In the event of opening day of bow season being Saturday I will tell you about the first deer I shot. I was about eight years old. I went to my uncles house with my dad that night. The three of us sat in my uncles shack. I remember wearing tennis shoes because I knew we would be in the shack with the heater if I got cold. We went out about four o'clock. By the time six rolled around there were deer in the food plot. My dad handed me my tiny camouflage Bear bow with an arrow nocked. I pulled back the bow and thawk! The deer took off running. I wasn't sure if I had a good shot yet or not. Now is when the excitement and adrenaline builds up. My dad and my uncle high fived me and told me good job because they saw good shot placement. We sat in the shack for another hour. My dad always makes us stay for at least 20 minutes after we shoot a deer unless we can see it fall and know that its dead. This is because if it doesn't die right away you can spook it and run it further before it dies, then it may not be on your property and depending on how well your neighbors like you is whether you can get it or not.

 We went down and looked at the ground where the deer was when I shot. We found blood so we know that I hit the deer. Dad found my  arrow, it passed all the way through. Determined by the blood on the arrow dad said I might have been a little far back. So we went up to the house and gave it more time. After a few hours we came back out and began tracking. (I think this is the best part!) We got about 500 yards and heard a deer jump up. So we waited a few minutes and keep walking. Soon we found a bed of blood and from that we determined that it was the deer I shot that we heard running. So we went back to the house got in the truck and went to McDonald's for dinner. After a few more hours we came back out at this point and started where we left off at the first bed. We made it about another 500 yards and jumped the doe I shot again. So once again we went back to the house. 

At this point in time I was upset and ready to quit. I thought we were never going to find it what was the point in continuing. I was just going to quit and never shoot a deer again. By now it was midnight. We went out for the last time if we jumped it again we were done for the night and we would come look the next day. We found a healthy blood trail. We made it to  a thick patch of picker bushes. Of course she had to go through it. So my dad and uncle sent me crawling on my hands and knees through the center to follow the blood. By this point I had pickers stuck all over me. But there was one specific picker that I remember. One had gone into the bottom of my shoe, and came through the shoe and into my foot. When I came out I had a strong blood trail and I wasn't giving up. We crossed the road into the neighbors property. Meanwhile I am tracking this deer with a picker in my foot my uncle walked the road back to his house to get the truck because his back was bothering him. Finally my dad shined his light a ways out in front of us and he caught the reflection off the eye of the deer laying about 20 yards in front of us. We tagged it and gutted it right there, so we didn't have to carry the extra weight. When dad was gutting it he seen that my arrow had went through both lungs, the heart, and skipped off the stomach. So I had a really good shot and the deer should never have went that far. 

Now it wasn't the biggest deer, but it was my first deer so of course I am still proud of it. 

Good luck to all of those going out on Saturday! 

See Ya Later Alligator Post #2

About five years ago I remember my dad, grandpa, and brother packing for Florida. I wanted to go too but my mom wouldn't let me. They were going gator hunting and my mom was afraid they would use me for bait. Well that year they all got one. My dad a 11 foot gator, my brother a six footer, and my grandpa an eight footer. Following this we knew of course they would come home.  I can remember shaping the mold to make an insert to mount the gator in a sand pile in the back yard.

Three years  later I finally whined enough to make them take me. My dad, his friend Josh and I were going to Florida! My mom was picking me up from officer camp the day we were going to leave. When I had gotten home my mom told me she didn't think we were going to go. My grandpa was in the hospital and Josh's wife was in the hospital for labor pains. Well I of severely upset. What kid wouldn't be if someone cancelled their vacation? A few hours later my grandpa called and told us to go he would be there when we got back. Josh brought his wife home with false labor pains. We finally decided to leave about 3 o'clock in the morning. It was an awful ride down there. The boys drove the whole way only stopping a few times to change drivers. I, on the other hand, slept the entire way down.

The next afternoon when we reached Winter Haven and checked into the hotel the guys both raced for the shower. They had worked all day the day before and never changed or showered. We went to bed and when we got up in the morning we went to the local Walmart to get our trapping agent licenses. Then we played the waiting game. Our guide was a nuisance hunter. This means that if someone had a problem with one in their yard, on a golf course or even in the middle of the highway a nuisance trapper is who comes to get the alligator.

There was a lot of gators called in but the weather never cooperated good enough for us to get one. However we did get one on a fishing pole with a treble hook on the first day. It was only four foot but its a start.

 On the last day we had to hunt we got a call about a gator that ate someones puppy. There was also reports of a missing goat and peafowl. When we got there the owners of the house came out and talked to us and let us know the daily activity of the gator. We waited and finally Pork Chop ( the guide) called us over to the other side of the yard. There was a big gator laying in the weeds next to the bank. I wasn't tall enough to see over the edge and be able to shoot. So my dad went to the other side and walked right up on top of it. Thawk! Dad had penetrated the side of the gator. Now Josh and I ran over. Josh shot the gator again to assure we had multiple attachments to the gator. Dad then took my bow and shot the gator once again. Well, tried too. The first shot he took the string was wrapped around his finger and he caught the arrow in mid air. (My dad is right handed where as I am left handed.) He re-nocked the arrow and shot again this time hitting the gator. I then was handed the bang stick and had to jump in the water with the gator. I took the bang stick and hit the gator in the top of the head to kill it. when the stick makes contact and there is force behind it, it will set off the 220 bullet in the bottom of the stick. Just like shooting a gun! We had finally gotten a gator!

This past year my dad and his friend Kirt and I rerturned.
This year we got eight alligators in one night.

Only 24 Days Until Open Season Post #1

It all started October 14, 1998, while getting things together to prepare for a hunting trip. My mother was in labor, however my dad was busy shooting the goose off our pond. Being born into a family of hunting, it was obviously planned that I would hunt something at some point. Growing up I was always outside doing something with my dad to get ready for the next season. 

The first time I remember going deer hunting was when I was about 3 or 4. My dad bundled me up and took me to the tree stand. He made sure I climbed first so if I were to slip or fall he would be able to catch me. Once in the tree he had a platform to the side of his stand he would sit me on and hook me to a harness so I couldn't fall. From that day forward I knew I wanted to hunt until I couldn't do it anymore. Since then I have killed deer, turkeys, squirrels, waterfowl, game birds, and even alligators. 

I can remember my first turkey hunt with my mom. It was off to an awful start. I had a bloody nose and had to use the shirt I was wearing to stop it, which happened to be one of my dads shadow grass camouflage shirts. (Sorry dad.) Then out of no where this tom came walking out just in front of the tent we were hunting in and I happened to be looking down not paying attention, my mom shot and threw the blind over my head and went running to grab the turkey as it flopped on the ground. When I asked later why she did this her answer was, "I didn't want it to fall in the pond."

Having a taxidermy business in the family has spurred random hunts and experiences that most people would never dream of. My grandpa has made many friends across the US that own ranches or know good guide services. Knowing how to mount your own things leads to having to have your own samples to practice on to get things right before doing a customer's.

I chose hunting as the topic of my blog because of this simply. Hunting is what brings my family together. Hunting is something I really enjoy doing and getting other young people into. If we don't hunt and control some species other will become endangered. If you eat what you kill in the wild you know there is not all of the antibiotics and chemicals that get put into the meat from the store.