The Hunting Times

I returned to get Dave at 3:45.  It's up to 37 F with more wind, but still from the SE.  Please note that at 37 degrees, the top inch of soil will thaw and stick to anything that touches it. We drove out to Marshall's N farm and switched positions.  This time I sat in the finger and Dave walked the bottoms. Dave saw 3 doe sneaking through the bottoms at about 5 pm and got up to chase them to me.  The three turned into 5 and the 5 to 7.  Dave came up the top and attempted to get the deer to run out the finger - where I would have a shot. No such luck.  They turned and ran SW, right past where we parked the truck - all seven of them. No shots were fired.  And so the season ends... Sun set on the last day of muzzle loading season, Sunday, 21 DEC 2014. Taken from the killing finger on Marshall's N farm. We still have until the first Sunday in January for those who wish to hunt with a bow and arrow.  I suspect that I will just leave it...

I picked up Dave at 6:45 again this morning and we headed for Marshall's S farm.  It was 25 F with a slight 5 mph wind from the SE.  We saw three doe driving out. Dave sat in the W finger and I parked and walked SE to the swamp.  About half way to the E property line, a six point buck came out of the woods behind me.  He wanted to go E, but I was blocking his path.  He was about 50 yards away.  Only problem was that it was still too early to shoot - only by a minute, but still too early.  What's the harm?  Well as calm as it was, sound carries forever, in fact, we could hear the church bells in Mulberry.  A muzzle loader blast before legal light would have drawn unwanted attention.  Besides, that's the law.  Thus, I did not fire.  He took off to the SE, snorting and wheezing. Sunrise on the last morning of muzzle loading season. It's 7:35 am and there is a buck running on my right as I took this picture. About the ti...

Alex and I picked up Dave at 6:45 am.  It was 25 F with very little wind.  We dropped Alex off at Vice's, but it still being dark, we sat in the truck for 30 minutes and shot the bull. Alex walked in on Vice to the creek.  Davey walked N to the killing finger and I went in the bottoms on Marshall. At about 8:30, Davey had one large doe come out from the E and walked into the bean field.  She'll eat beans no more because we're going to be eating her.  He dropped her at about 70 yards.  I would have sworn the shot came from the N and E of me, but that was due to the echos. Alex saw one doe heading S, but she never made it to me.  The only thing I saw was Dave's dead doe. As I walked N out of the bottoms, our neighbor to the W, let's just say his initials are JB (which may or may not be his real initials) came out and shot a pistol 10 times.  He was doing this to just be a ginormous AH.  We've had a couple of run-ins before and there is ...

RePhil and I met at the golf course at 7:00 am.  Legal light is not until 7:30, so we sat in the truck and BS'ed until light enough to see.  It's 24 F with very little wind. We walked in on top of Hole #9 and I sat over-watching #5.  RePhil walked on E to Jenkins' property.  Along the way, he saw a nice, fluffy coyote walking N to S.  He stopped and whistled, but the 'yote was too far away for a shot. RePhil sat on the NE corner of Jenkins and had a +150 class 8-pointer walk in from the W.  Two problems: (A) it was on the wrong property to shoot, and (B) RePhil has already filled his buck tag.  Thus, at 40 yards, all RePhil could do was watch this regal buck strut his stuff and disappear into the pine trees. Me?  I didn't see squat!  Not a squirrel, bird, chipmunk, NOTHING.  It's like we are on a nuclear waste dump or something.  Maybe the word is out - don't go on the golf course or you'll get killed. Our original plan...

Hey, welcome back y'all....just returned from Cancun and hit the woods.... I picked up Davey at 6:45 am and we headed to Marshall's.  We saw 2 doe trying to cross the road in front of us as we traveled.  Our hope was that this would NOT be the only deer we saw today. It was kind of foggy / misty with a slight wind from the SW and 45 F.  We walked into the woods by 7 and it was still dark.  Legal shooting light today was 7:30 am. I heard some noises in the woods that could have been deer; or it could have been a giraffe; or it might have even been a chupacabra.  What?  Don't know about the chupacabra?  See here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra The mystical and somewhat mythical chupacabra Behold!  Two opossums came by - close enough that I could have tapped them on the head with my muzzle loader barrel.  The first one saw my hand move and hissed.  The second one had no clue I was there.  Thank goodness i...

I got up this morning and did a solo hunt - all by myself.  Kathy & Alex were still in Evansville doing the Thanksgiving thing.  Nick and Eric slept in.  Davey said last night if his light was off then he was not hunting.  His light was off. It was 6:55 am when I hit the course and 55F.  It had rained last night and there was a breeze at 17 mph from the SW.  I walked up 18, around 17, and E down 14.  I sat on top overlooking the creek.  It was a gorgeous morning and very pleasant as far as hunting conditions go. Sunrise looking at Hole #14's green on Sunday, November 30. The final day of firearms season in Indiana. I've been to the Pine Barrens in New Jersey.  I've been to the high desert in Oregon and the panhandle of Texas.  I've climbed the foothills of the Rocky Mts in Cimarron, NM and DeBeque, CO.  I've been to Australia, Cancun and Hawaii.  I've even been to a State Fair and two goat ropings.  All...

The boys (Eric and Nick) were either too tired or as they claimed, too ill to hunt this morning.  Poor wittle guys.  Davey and I let them sleep.   I picked up Davey at 6:45 am.  It was 34 F with very little wind.  It was actually a nice day to hunt.  There were not many other hunters out today. I sat in the bottoms on Marshall while Dave posted in the killing finger.  Neighbor Denis and his daughter Michelle sat in the W stand on Neal.  We saw no other hunters. I started walking N about 9 am.  Saw nothing until I rounded the last corner to the killing finger.  I could see Davey on point.  We were about 90 yards apart.  Three deer, a spike buck, a doe, and an 8-pt buck busted N-NW from me and ran directly at Dave.  I sprinted back to the E to try and force them W.  The larger buck made it E down the valley.  The other 2 ran at Dave - who cannot shoot as 0.5 seconds ago I was down range, although he coul...

This morning we all met at my place and got ready:  Dad, Nick, Shane and I.  We picked up Davey on the way out to hunt Marshall, Vice, and Neal.  Shane and Dad sat on Vice.  Davey and I hunted Marshall and Nick was on Neal. Dad and Shane parked at Vice's - and then proceeded to shoot the bull for 45 minutes until it was well light.  We other three?  We hit the woods before 7 am because we Manned Up! We sat until 9 (for some that was 2 hours - for others that was 1).  I walked N and jumped 1 deer S and 3 North.  The three north ran toward Nick.  He took a shot to try and turn them - but they were over 130 yards E.  He got nothing but air and trees - and trees are tough eating! Nick's morning "kill" Due to hunters to the E of us across the creek, I walked up the top of the dump and promptly pushed two more doe out of the finger.  They ran due W never passing close enough for anyone to shoot. We all walked back to th...

Tonight, Cuz Shane, Davey, Eric, Nick and I hit the golf course.  Shane posted on Hole #4, Davey overwatched Hole #5, Eric was overwatch on Hole #16, Nick was in the bowl on #15, and I sat on #14's tee box to block the North.  Trust me, Shane and Nick had the best of this deal - out of the wind. It was 34 F with 8 mph winds - making it feel like 24 - and it was a COLD 24. A flock of sandhill cranes flew over.  Look at the center of the first picture - there are close to 16 birds center frame. Sandhill Cranes flying over the golf course heading North We sat for about 90 minutes and then I told Nick to walk W and push deer to us.  He did the former, not the latter. The deer busted out in the middle of Hole #14 and ran due North - 4 doe.  I had a 300 yard running shot, that I wisely passed upon.  No one else saw a deer tonight. Looking E from #14's Tee Box. See that pine tree center frame?  The deer passed by there headin...

A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am thankful that we live in such a wonderful country and for all the men and women who have given their lives to protect Her or are currently serving! And, I am thankful that our family is several generations worth of hunters who not only respect hunting, but enjoy being in God's Church trying to fill our freezer with sustenance.  Since I was 13 years old (that's 33 years ago for those of you playing the home game), I have been in the woods on every Thanksgiving Day.  That legacy continues with my children. Dad and Cousin Shane hit Carroll County this morning while Nick, Eric and I headed for the golf course.  Kathy & Alex, RePhil and Davey all had family obligations that kept them out of the woods. It was a calm wind, 5 mph, cool @ 24 F, and a sleet/snow mix this morning.  Eric sat on Hole #16, Nick walked down to #15's bowl, and I sat S on Hole #4. The first shot I heard was at 7:50 am, but it d...

Once the children had outfitted their weapons of choice for hunting deer from my "store room," I was left with my Encore muzzle loader.  Mind you now, this is not bad kit.  Reloads are slow, sure, but that one shot can go out 200+ yards very accurately.  That was until it let me down on the large buck opening day.  Yes, yes, I know.  That was my fault.  Doesn't make me feel any better... So I was pondering what I should get.  I could buy another rifled barrel for the 1100.  I could buy an 870 combo.  I could buy a Benelli or Winchester.  All options seemed expensive until I stumbled upon a brand new Rock River Arms .458 SOCOM upper.  We have a winner! The .458 SOCOM (Special Operations COMmand) was developed to compensate for multiple rounds of .223 (5.56 NATO) required to stop hostiles.  It's .458" diameter or 11.63 x 40 mm and it fits on the .223 lower, using the same magazines, springs, etc from the .223 AR-15. ...

I met RePhil at the golf course around 6:50 am.  It's a beautiful morning with calm winds, although it's hovering around 22 F. We sit in the truck and chat for at least 30 minutes.  The sun is well up before we head for the woods. RePhil walked E to Jenkins and sat in the middle stand.  I walked around 17's pond and sat near the pump house. We saw squirrels and lots of crows but no deer.  At least not until we drove out.  Three were feeding in the corn stubble south of the course - on property we cannot hunt. We were happy to be out on such a wonderful morning doing what we love to do - hunt!

So I roll in the lane coming home from work and I see a single goose sentinel on the pond.  I park the truck and see 5 more in the water.  I text Kathy.  She will not be home for an hour. I busy myself getting the gear ready (3 shot maximum and steel shot).  She finally arrives and we look, but it appears the geese are gone.  We walk over anyway.  We crest the N end and see 6 on the water.  We drop down and walk down the lane - hidden from view.  We pop up over the W end and they take off. Kathy drops the first one, the lead goose, with one shot.  I shoot into the group of four behind and nothing falls.  I shoot again and drop one on the grass.  Kathy's goose, of course, is in the water. The rest fly toward Dad's and then circle.  Kathy gets one more shot albeit a long one.  No more geese. Kathy walks back to the house and gets the Gator and a rope to fish her goose out of the water. We cleaned them, s...

Sunday was a complete bust.  Rain all day.  Not just any ole rain.  Hard, nasty, cold stuff.  We got close to 3 inches.  No one went out to hunt - at least in our family. Monday = no rain.  Instead we had 50 mph winds!  Let's go hunting in that, said no one ever. But that's exactly what we did.  Kathy, Alex and I met RePhil at the course about 4 pm.  Kathy took Hole 15 because it's out of the wind.  RePhil walked over to Jenkins and Alex took overwatch on Hole 5 again.  I sat at the bottom of 17, walked up to 16, and then back down to 17. The plan was for RePhil to pick up Kathy at 5:30 and they both walk out toward Alex and me.  They pushed off two doe that promptly ran by the N side of the pond at Mach 1.7 and at 300 yards - they were on their way to the still standing corn NW of the course.  Kathy and RePhil are bad dogs and they got no treats. I guess I'm fortunate though.  I was out of the wind, ...

The plan was for Alex, Kathy, Nick and I to hit the golf course this Saturday morning.  Too cold and wet for Kathy, and Nick did not hear his alarm.  Thus, Alex and I headed for the golf course at 6:30 am. We ran into Krueger at the Trinity Church parking lot - he was completing paperwork.  We chatted for a bit and then headed out.  We parked and waited for it to get lighter before walking in at about 7:00 am.  Alex went to overwatch on Hole 5 and I sat in the bottoms of Hole 17. At about 7:30 or so I heard a shot.  Alex texted that he had a big doe down.  He asked if we should go get the golf cart and pick her up.  I said no, we should stay and hunt some more.  Then I heard shot #2 and then shot #3.  Funny story here.  As we were loading up, Alex said that since he had three loose shells sitting in the gun case, that was all the ammo he was going to take.  I convinced him to take an additional box.  Good thing huh, 'c...

I left work a little early today to go buy a new refrigerator, as ours seems to have stopped working.  I made it home by 3:30 pm.  RePhil had to watch the grandkids, Kathy had plans, Alex was on a business trip, and Nick was working.  So, I called Pa Jerry and got him up from his afternoon napper.  We headed for the golf course at 4:00 pm.  It was 29F with 10 mph winds from the SW. At the course, owner Ken and winter worker Dutch came out to chat.  They asked about our success and told us a story about Sandy's 2nd cousin's once-removed husband (follow that) hitting an 11-pt buck on the road just S of the course.  $2,800 in damage to his truck.  Ouch.  The corn was finally being picked to the W - finally, can you believe that?  Corn is still standing on the 20th of November!  We laughed and cut up for about ten minutes and then started walking to our locations. I was in the grass, crunching snow and I heard leaves moving.  I...

Back up and at 'em at 6:30 this morning.  About the same scene as yesterday. RePhil shot first today - bagging a nice 9-point buck. Alex followed shortly thereafter with a 4-point of his own.  Alex's shot was excellent.  The deer walked 40 yards and died on the cart path.  No dragging required. As they all walked out, a small doe came by.  I had to turn and shoot.  I hit her, she dropped, rolled down the hill, got up and ran N.  The boys never saw her.  I figured she was dead in the woods. We went back and hot-wired a golf cart.  The boys loaded Alex's deer while I started following blood.  3 hours and 3 properties later, she crossed a line that we could not cross. The hunter to our E said he saw her come by, but it looked like a leg shot.  Damn, first shot at a deer this season and I sucked it up bigger than life.  No excuses.  My bad again. We cleaned Alex's deer and ran it up to Simpson's near Flora.  T...

First off, to all of my loyal followers, I apologize for the delay in updating our progress this week.  It's been busy.  So here you go....a week's worth of updates.....enjoy..... For those of you in the know, Opening Day for Shotgun is like Christmas to Hunters.  In some states it's actually a holiday - because so many people are going to miss work and school that it just makes sense to call everything off.  Here in Indiana, we don't get the day off because Opening Day falls on a Saturday. So, on this Saturday, 15 NOV 2014, Nick, Kathy, Alex, and I met RePhil at the golf course at 6:20 am.  It was cold, like 19F.  RePhil walked to Jenkins, Alex sat on #15, Nick took the bottoms on #16, Kathy sat on #4, and I originally thought I would sit on #18, but Nick suggested I overwatch #5 - so I did. Kathy fired first at a buck that was crossing S at 7:20 am.  It never stopped and she got buck fever.  She called it a 6-point, but later said it was H...

Veterans Day, originally called Armistice Day, came about because...(source: US Department of Veterans Affairs) World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938...

Nick, Alex, and I met RePhil at the golf course at 6:40 am.  Nick walked N and then E to cover the ponds between holes 14 and 16.  Alex and RePhil walked E, with Alex covering the E side by hole 15 and RePhil continuing E to cover Jenkin's property.  I walked S to hole 4. It was about 30 F with a slight breeze from the S - SW.  There was some frost on the ground, but it was not everywhere. We did see a doe cross the road in front of us on the way to the course.  She headed toward the creek from the Conservation Club.  This would be the only deer Nick would see all day. Alex and RePhil pushed a large deer to the S.  It was still too dark to see if it was a buck or doe, but it crossed #4's fariway about 200 yards E of me and continued off property.  That would be the remainder of the deer we saw this morning. We called it off at 8:50, as church duties called.  We figure the standing corn to the E and W of the course are still holding th...

Alex and I left about 6:40 am and headed out.  I dropped Alex off at Vice's and he was going to stage himself in the tree farm, just S of a scrape where he had been seeing lots of deer. I parked on Neal and walked to Marshall's top corner to hide in the fence row.  Boyd's corn was gone, but Neal's is still standing. I stood there with my Buck Bomb going off for an hour before moving to the corner of the woods.  I heard people talking N of me on Boyd and then the blue jays went nuts.  I knew something was coming and hoped it was deer and not people.  Not so much.  I saw a red hat bouncing through the woods, coming S toward the property line. I came out and talked with Jeremy Boyd.  He had rattled in a 10-point buck last night and stuck him clean, about four inches back of perfect (according to Jeremy), and got a complete pass-through.  The buck had traveled down the ridge and Jeremy lost the blood trail in the dark.  He was back try...

So Dick's Sporting Goods had jumbo Buck Bomb (33% more) on sale for $5 per can.  What the heck, thinks I, for I have surely wasted more money or dumber things before.  So I pick up two cans:  Doe in Heat Urine, and All Season Scent. Now, if you are not familiar with Buck Bomb, it's a pressurized aerosol can of scent.  You put it on the ground, push the button, and it disperses scent like you are fumigating your house.  Take a look at the product: My intent was to take the All Season can out on my next trip to the woods.  Oops, I grabbed the wrong can.  Oh well.  Even though it's a bit early for the rut, I figure that desperate times call for desperate measures.  I went ahead and decided to use the Doe in Heat can anyway. So I cut off the lid.  Yes, cut off the lid.  They are taped on so no one accidentally hits the button - cause once you start these things - there is no stopping them.  I set it on the ground and p...

 Well, as of last Sunday, we turned our clocks backward one hour.  Thus, sunset is 5:35 pm now.  Kinda makes it tough to get home from work and get any quality time in the woods before it's too dark.  But, I did just that on Thursday evening.  Hit the woods about 4 pm. I walked in the bottoms at Marshall's and climbed up on top of the ridge above the creek.  I tried to get out of the wind, but was not too successful.  It was 41F with swirling steady winds at 14 mph; but gusts up to 26 mph. I saw four squirrels - and man are they FAT.  Really stocked up for winter.  So either these squirrels are going to have any easy time surviving, or we are in for a really bitter season.  I'm taking these four could have fed a tribe of pygmies for a week.  Mama June or Sunny D and Rum sized.  And please, if you've never seen Sunny D and Rum, you must go here now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYa-pFh_sHA Go ahead, I'll wait.  Yo...

Just got back from a pheasant hunting trip to Ellendale, North Dakota.  Davey, Re-Phil and I drove 14 hours overnight Wednesday, 29 OCT.  We hunted Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and then drove home Sunday, 02 NOV.  This was our 10 year anniversary, as we first started hunting pheasants in North Dakota in 2005. We hunted private land W of Ellendale, just the three of us, with no dogs.  We bagged 75% of the roosters that got up within range.  We saw somewhere between 100 - 150 birds total.  Not near as many as we saw 10 years ago.  The wet summers and harsh winters have really put a dent into the population.  Well that, and all the loss of habitat.  There were almost no public lands in Dickey County where we hunted. We ended up with 8 birds in the bag and only lost 1 (downed buy could not find).  According to the other hunters that we ran into up there - that's fantastic!  They also gave us props for hunting without dogs - w...

I took this photo Friday morning (see earlier post).  Now I'm calling out a specific tree. As I mowed the yard yesterday, I thought this tree had a fungus growing on it.  As I trimmed around it, I noticed that it was shredded by a buck.  Got that?  A buck came into my YARD and rubbed this little tree.  Broke branches and scraped off the bark - in my yard!  What great guard dogs I have... Standing at edge of driveway.  Arrow pointing to tree that's been rubbed by a buck. I guess the wildlife really loves the prairie grass, sunflowers, and 1,300 trees we planted this Spring!

After church, Alex and I mowed the pond and the lane.  Then we cut up and loaded the last of the lightning strike tree.  And since it was 65F with full sun and no wind, we decided golf would be in order.  We had to dig the clubs out of storage, as they were put away for the year. We figured since the crops were all still up and it was really warm, why not?  Probably would not have seen any deer anyway. Went to Deer Track Golf Club and rode 9 holes with a 6-pack of, um, "soda" for $25 total.  That's 2 people, riding 9 holes, with drinks....What a deal! I actually shot pretty decent for not having picked up a club in 2 months.  Started double-bogey, bogey, but then had 3 pars, followed by 2 bogies and then 2 more pars to finish at 5-over 41.  I'll take that.  Plus, we had the course all to ourselves.  We saw 4 other people the entire round. How'd Alex do?  Well, he shot 5-under.  5 lost golf balls that is.  We didn't trac...

Alex and I headed out at 6:45 am this dark Saturday morning.  I dropped him off at Vice's and then went around and parked.  It was 55F.  I walked in the bottoms and bumped 3 doe N toward Alex. We then sat for the next 2.5 hours without seeing a deer. Sun coming up over Marshall's bottom ground, Saturday, 10/25/14 I texted Alex about 9:30 and told him I was walking W to the top and then back to the truck.  He should wait at least 10 minutes before moving, in case I ran anything else out. As I crossed the picked bean field, I saw a very large buck run out of the killing finger, angle toward the drainage ditch and then cut N onto Neal into the standing corn.  I have no idea how large he was because he was too far away.  I do know it was a big buck, though, because I could see his antlers gleaming in the sun. Alex stepped out and jumped 3 doe (probably the same ones from earlier that I pushed).  They were 20 yards behind him and offere...

In the September/October issue of Ducks Unlimited magazine, on page 16, is a recipe for "The Best Duck I Ever Ate."  Since I'm out of ducks, I substituted Cornish Game Hens in their place and tried it out tonight for dinner. I followed the bit about browning the "ducks" in olive oil, but then I switched and put them in a crock pot instead of leaving them on the stove.  I added carrots, a very large onion, a can of golden mushroom soup and enough water to almost cover the ducks.  I let them simmer on low for 3 hours and then finished them on high for an additional 2 hours.  The meat fell off the bones. The recipe called for "liberal" amounts of Cajun seasoning.  For my taste, I was either not liberal enough, or I had too much water in the pot.  So, after they came out, I added more directly to the skin.  Very tasty. Now, was it the best I ever ate?  Not quite, but it was not shabby either.

Another gorgeous day here in Central Indiana.  Light breeze, full sun, no humidity, and 65F. Spent the afternoon yesterday mowing the yard.  Finished the lane and pond today and put Sta-Bil (TM) in the lawnmowers and parked them for the year.  Who'da thunk we would still be mowing on the 26th of October! For lunch today, I thawed out some of the doves we killed earlier in the year (see the post on Dove Opener from September 1).  I wrapped them in bacon, but on about half of them, I put in a slice of jalapeno that I canned in Feb 2012.  The canning process adds 1/3 sugar, 1/3 water, and 1/3 vinegar.  The sugar helps sweeten them up and they are not as hot / spicy.  Then, I threw the entire batch on the grill. Of course I had a Kona Brewery Longboard Lager helping me!  A very fine beer.  If you get the chance, have two or sixteen.  They are awesome!  Yes, you can get them in Hawaii, but I also found them at Jungle Jim's Grocery S...