Field Journals

The 2^nd morning began almost identical to yesterday’s: a knock at the door about a quarter to six, then a very cordially “get your lazy ass up!” from Ray, a hot breakfast in the main lodge at seven, then heading out the door to hunt.  It’s cold & clear again, calm too, perfect safari weather.

 

Something special about being in the southern hemisphere is that at night all the stars are different.  The Southern Cross is visible after dark, Orion is upside down early in the morning before sunrise, and the planet Venus is to the north instead of in the southern sky like it is in Texas.

 

 

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience".  I found Mr. Emerson's words to be on point this past Summer.

 After long days in the shop working on trailers, each evening brought a nice, and relaxing celebration.  I'd come home to the cabin, start the grill, grab a beer and sit on our rocking bench......and watch. Binoculars by my side, I watched the birds and the occasional deer or turkey meander through our vast CRP field. 

 

Hope this entry finds everyone doing well! After a LONG, but relatively mild Illinois summer, I'm ready to get back into the woods after those whitetails. This summer I had the great privilege of living at our family cabin in Central Illinois. I worked for a portable stoplight company and enjoyed living on my own for the first time in my life. Learned a lot, saw literally hundreds of deer (a couple BRUTES!) and many turkeys this summer. I also tried to shoot my bow daily to prepare for the moment of true that Fall might bring. 

 

 

 

My first steps into this world came… when I started to become aware that the guns I owned weren’t as accurate as I wanted them to be.  Not nearly as consistent as I wanted them to be, I decided one day while re-sighting in my rifle before a mule deer hunt that I was ready for the upgrade.

 

I’ll started my journey by zero-ing in on the caliber that would be just perfect for what I intended to use it for, and for me, that had to be hunting!  A full year went by as I contemplated having a rifle built and what size would meet all my expectations in the field. 

 

Roughly 15 disabled hunters descended on the Friar Ag Center in Cuero, Tx., last Friday afternoon for Serve Outdoors' annual spring turkey hunt.  It's a hunt that's been going on for years, but the first time for Serve Outdoors.

Personally, I've been going on it for almost ten years.

A good friend of mine, Scott Howard, runs the deer management and hunting on a south Texas ranch called the Bar Z.  The Bar Z is located on the eastern side of the famed "golden triangle", and from time to time, Scott checks in with me to give me some info about how they grow big whitetail bucks out there, a few pics and some of his hunting and scouting experiences from the past year.

I thought it might be fun to add them to my hunt journal here on OF and share some of them with you.  So here goes...

Tom Egher, a.k.a. Stumpy, had called several weeks before the season as soon as he finalized his plans to hunt the Bar Z last summer.  He was excited, of course, and Stumpy told Scotty that he wanted to go after a big, non-typical buck that year.  It's something Stumpty had always wanted to do and never done.

The Bar Z has some really good whitetails on it, but it's not known for non-typical bucks.  Scott knew that, but if Stumpty wanted to go after one, he'd start looking for one during his preseason scouting trips.  

Sometimes in life, things show up unexpected.  

 

Yesterday my mom and dad went over to our old farm to pickup a couple of treestands, and run to a grocery store nearby that we have come to enjoy for their Free Willy size shrimp.  

I think every year around this time, I find myself taking inventory of last fall's equipment as well as planning for next year's trips.  Thought I would take some time to tell you about some of the things I use in the field that I take with me on my hunts.

On top of my list from last season is a pop-up blind I recently discovered by Yukon Tracks.  This is more important of a tip for disabled hunters because it has a wheelchair accessible entrance, but it's also one of the most well made blinds that you can buy for less than $200.  I hunted in one this past year in Kansas and was very impressed.  It has large, zipper down windows on all four sides with zipper down "shoot through" camo mesh under each flap.  The zipper down side entrance unhooks at the bottom so you can bend the back flap up backwards and roll into the blind if you have to.

 

Recap of First Season on My New Property

 

          After my first deer season hunting my new property in Illinois I have mixed feelings. I had very high expectations going into the bow season. I know what kind of bucks this area produces, and I thought I could harvest one on my new property this year. I did manage to take a descent buck just not one of the monsters running around out there.

   As with most things in life, there are two sides to every story.  This certainly holds true in the crossbow debate for bowhunters across the globe.  Why not utilize a crossbow?  It is seemingly easier to shoot accurately, and you do not have to worry about holding your draw weight after the intial pulling back of the bow.

John Burroughs one said "Nature teaches more then it preaches." How true this is.  Yesterday while taking a break from working in the turkey call shop, I got a phone call from a friend who was wondering when I could take him down to our family farm.

The time has come!  The Christmas season is upon us which brings memories, football games, annoying family members you have not seen in awhile and quality food!  I wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas and hope the rest of your hunting season is safe and enjoyable.

 Now is great time to invite your family members (that don't normally hunt, fish or enjoy the outdoors) on a hunting or fishing trip with you in the coming year.  Try and make it a point to invite someone along with you and get them a dose of the great outdoors! 

 
Don't forget to lay some cookies and milk out for Santa!

"There's some deer coming down behind us," Merle blurted out as I whipped my head around to see out the back window of the blind.  "One's a buck!" I replied, "He's just an 8 point though."

We both watched as the buck followed a doe down into the osage thicket behind us, rub his scent on a few bare limbs at eye level and then bed down in a run of tall grass, 50 steps away.  I could just see the tips of his creamy white antlers.  "He's got a little kicker on one side near the top," I noted as Merle picked up his binoculars. 

Let me tell you, I fully intended to NOT shoot this buck from the first moment I saw him.  He looked like an average everyday 8 pointer and I hadn't come all the way to Kansas for an average buck.  But Merle kept on him.  A few minutes later, the deer got up and moved off to my left so I couldn't see him anymore.

"He's got good tines," Merle pressed, "Looks like a shooter.  You want to take him?"

 

Hunting late season food sources can be very rewarding and also very frustrating at times. The deer have been hunted for months and are extremely wary about coming out in the open during daylight at this time of year. A lot of times they won't show up until right at dark.

 

I wanted my first journal entry to be about something I feel passionately about, and after a recent trip to Bass Pro Shops to get a crossbow restrung for a friend of mine, I felt compelled to write about my experience as soon as I could. 

Every able-bodied hunter I ran into that day that noticed my bow kept stopping and asking the same questions:  "How far does that thing shoot?  A hundred yards?"  The first time I replied with a simple 'no'.  The second time, I shook my head in disbelief.  And after the third, I knew I needed to offer some facts.  Like the fact that a crossbow is still a bowstring and arrow weapon.  The fact that it only "looks" like a gun.  The fact that it's effective range is 40 yards in.  And the fact that crossbows have such high draw weights because the arrows are half as short.  I guess after 15 years of hunting with one, all these things seem obvious to me, not so much to the able-bodied world though. 

I know the crossbow has been a hotly debated topic among bow hunters, but I feel can at least share everything I've been forced to learn about this weapon as a hunting tool.  I owe it to the ever growing crossbow community, really to hunters everywhere, to put out some truths on the subject. 

The rut for the most part is long gone for bulk of deer across the country. Most hunters are Christmas shopping with their wives (gay) and watching football next to their pup (less gay).  This is a time when some of the best deer hunting can be had. Whether you're looking to thin your doe numbers, or whack that monster who has eluded you most of the season, this time can pay off handsomely if you remember these important late season basics...

The big dudes are starting to move!  For the next 3-4 weeks hunters across the country will be heading to the woods in pursuit of the deer of their dreams.  

As I sit here in the new cabin typing this Field Journal, I’m pretty happy with the way my Fall has gone, so far. I’ve sat 24 hours and have seen on average more then one deer per hour.  The family farm in Illinois has really been good to me.

One of the questions that I am frequently asked by fellow turkey hunters is, "Just how do I go about testing one turkey choke against another one to see which works best in my gun?"  This month I want to address that question, and give you some guidelines on how to go about this very important process.