Grow the Hunt

Practice Makes Perfect

-By Rich Miller

Cold and windy are the only two words that can be used to describe this past weekend. I didn’t have a whole lot going on so I decided to change chokes in my shotgun and do a little shooting in preparation for the upcoming spring turkey season. After this weekend, I am pretty much booked up until the middle of May and it was my last chance to do some serious shooting.

I try to shoot my bow every day, but other than a couple of months out of the year I don’t shoot my shotgun nearly as much as I do my bow. I have been shooting the same load over the years and it has worked well for me. However, I still like to shoot six or eight times at different targets between twenty and fifty yards just to check the way my gun patterns before turkey season opens.

On the other hand, I like to stay on top of my bow and shoot it year round. There are a lot of things that you have to pay attention to when you are planning on seriously hunting with a bow. I try to put new strings and cables on my bow every year. I have some buddies that have been shooting the same bows for the last four or five years and have never replaced the strings on them. The strings are not totally worn out when I replace them, but I would rather change them on my terms and not when I am in the middle of a hunt. I have been preparing for a bear hunt in Alberta, Canada for the last year and I would hate to have something like a bowstring ruin my hunt.

Bowstrings have come a long way over the last ten years. It used to be after you put a new string on a bow and shot it for a couple of weeks the strings could stretch up to a half inch from when you first set your bow up. This can cause a dramatic change in the way a bow shoots. This will affect the way the arrow leaves the rest and it causes the arrow flight to be very erratic, which will in turn lead to accuracy problems. When the cables stretch it can affect the poundage of the bow also, which in turn affects arrow penetration.

The new strings and cable that come on bows today are head and shoulders above what the old strings used to be, but I still check them periodically just to make sure. These problems don’t just happen one day. They happen gradually over a period of months and a bow hunter will not notice it until something bad happens. The average bow hunter isn’t going to have the know-how or the equipment to correct these problems, but any reputable archery dealer in your area will have the knowledge and equipment to make these repairs. Playing with all of my toys during this slow time of the year helps pass the time until another long-awaited season rolls around.

Turkey Decoys

We ran across this cool blog post by Steve Hickoff over at the Strut Zone. He has a great write up on Carry-Lite’s new Peep’n Tom and Pretty Penny turkey decoys. After reading this blog post, we started wondering how many of our blog readers use turkey decoys to give themselves an extra edge with bagging that ol’ tom. If you do use turkey decoys how do you use them? Do you use just a hen decoy, or a combination of a hen and gobbler? Leave us a comment and let us know how you use your decoys.

Pickin' Bone

-By Brandon Wikman

Gathering ordinary items has never been a serious fad of mine. Collecting rare coins, ancient stamps and varieties of old books doesn’t compare to the sting that motivates me to find the priceless antler of a big buck!

There truly isn’t a better time than now to venture into the snowy grounds of your acreage or nearby farm field in search for cast antlers. The month of March is a magical time when bucks drop the headgear they’ve sported since last August. Hunting for shed antlers is an activity that any passionate hunter should do as a pre-operational and scouting tool for the upcoming fall. More importantly, it is an amazing chance to introduce a newbie into the outdoors.

For the casual observer, cast sheds are nothing more than a discarded bone. To others, they serve as a valuable reference tool. There’s much to discover from fallen bone. Most obvious, it’s a key identifier that a buck is living on your property. Hunters can estimate a rough score and age from antlers. An antler reveals the precise runway a buck may use, which can be effortlessly backtracked into his core area. An abundance of insight is collected from picking up an antler. It gives you a general look at the prospects you have for next hunting season.

Snatching an antler in my opinion is the hunter’s version of Easter egg hunting, but without the pretty colors and egg salad sandwich.

Shed antlers can be found in the most sporadic places. I’ve spotted them dangling from branches, hooked on fences, and on the side of a country road. Brisk winter months keep animals to a simple daily routine. Deer save energy by moving as little as possible. The only energy deer will use during these dangerous times is for sniffing out food. A simple back-and-forth quest for scraps of food that keeps them strong enough to survive the hazardous Midwestern winters.

Deer spend nearly half of their life hidden in the tangles of brambles and safe cover. Shed hunting should begin in bedding areas. The bright white snow acts as a roadmap for deer movement. Finding trails only takes a few minutes. Back-tracking the trails can lead to a deer’s living corridor, which serves as both a safe-haven and a location out of the wind or elements. Bedding areas are always my bread-and-butter, but fields can serve just as good of luck.

Searching agriculture fields and late season food plots can take an eternity. Numerous acres of harvested cropland may stretch for miles. It’s nearly impossible covering all the ground by foot, unless you plan on probing until summer! Walk the forest edge and boundary lines and leave the rest of the hunt up to jumping on an ATV or snowmobile. Not only can you traverse much quicker, but also easily grid the field in no time. Winter food sources play a key role in the success of shed hunting. It’s a location where deer will concentrate to and the odds of an antler jarring loose are in your favor.

Taking the day to put your eyes to the antler challenge is a rush. The anticipation and wonder keeps your enthusiasm buzzing. Go for a nature walk, burn a few calories and start your 2009 whitetail scouting, shed antler hunting proves to be one of the most pleasurable sports when hunting season’s closed. I urge everyone to lace-up the hiking boots for a great weekend experience that can be done with family, friends or newcomers!

Nature Walk

-By Brandon Wikman

My best stress reliever is spending moments in the field observing nature in its natural setting. A sense of freedom and allure captivates my soul to what I call my second home. There’s nothing better than taking a day to splurge in what Mother Nature has given us.

Last week I spent the afternoon trudging through my snowy wooded-wonderland, back where I grew up. I decided not to bring anything, except my camera. I tossed my cellular telephone in the seat of my truck and stripped away my wristwatch. I truly believe the only way experiencing a sense of appreciation for the forest is to escape from the hectic world we live in. Sometimes it’s important for us to forget the time of day or who to call. It gives me a sense of intimacy with the ice-crusted leaves frozen atop the snow, and music orchestra from the tree canopy. Taking a nature walk is all about immersing your heart and soul in the wonders of wildlife.

As I entered the snowy depths of the forest edge, I noticed an abundance of deer tracks. The snow was so deep that every deer in the area specifically used the same trail. It reminded me of a congested highway, which had only a single pathway to travel. I followed the trail into a dense pine plantation. The trees were so thick that the limbs tangled and weaved one another creating a snow barricade. There were several deer beds in the area. It was as if deer used the pine branches as some sort of a blanket or shelter.

My eyes scanned through the rows of trees looking for shed antlers. I hiked my way through the pines into an opening in the forest. As I approached the sparse wooded area, my eyes became mesmerized. Sunbeams pierced through the naked branches and lit the snow with a sparkling glitter. It was one of the prettiest scenes I’ve ever fixed my eyes on. I dug into my backpack sifting through bottles of water and extra layers of clothing searching for my camera. The enlightening moment was frozen in time within seconds and became not only a memory, but also a piece of artwork.

The last sight I wanted to explore was the river. A winding river has a sense of magic attached to it. It’s the feeling of mystery in which rivers resonate that intrigues me to observe them. Being near such a long stretch of chilly water sweeping through the forest, field and across the entire state makes for a marvelous spectacle. The sun began fading beneath the horizon and the sky lit with assortments of color. It was a perfect ending to a breathtaking mini-adventure.

I hope everyone can spend a morning, afternoon or weekend in the field. There’s no better way to ease the nerves and enjoy the simple things in life. Some of the most magnificent spectacles in life are overlooked due to the daily routine of madness. It’s important to make time for yourself.

Shed Hunting

Shed hunting is a way many hunters pass the time between the end of deer season and the beginning of turkey season. Check out the picture of the shed that Scott Bestul posted in his February 17th blog posting on Whitetail365. A lucky Wisconsin shed hunter found this massive shed earlier this month. Have you already started finding sheds? Do any of you have any tips for finding sheds? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Preparing for Turkey Time

-By Rich Miller

It has already started! Every year about this time it starts happening, but this year it is happening earlier than I can ever remember. Some experts say that it is the increasing amount of light in a day and others say that it is the warm weather that gets them started. I don’t know which of these is correct or if both of them are, but I really don’t care as long as these long-bearded, gobbling monarchs do their thing every spring.

When I checked one of my cameras yesterday I had pictures from last weekend of turkeys strutting. It was the first time this year that I have seen them strut. It happened when the temperature got into the upper sixties. It went on for about a week until the temperature dropped again. This is getting my anticipation of turkey season started and it is going to be that way until the season opens on April 1st.

We have turkeys on our property almost year-round but this time of year it seems like there are more turkeys than normal that show up. Although we have food plots in place throughout the entire year, when these turkeys show up we start pouring feed for them. If they can’t find the things they need on our place they will move until they find it somewhere else. They have to be here during the hunting season for us to have a chance to kill them.

To get the feed on the ground, we start bush hogging any standing corn or sunflowers leftover from this past fall. In the areas that that I am not fortunate enough to have these leftovers, I mix sunflowers with corn in my programmable game feeders. With the price of feed going up everyday it pays to use these feeders so that you can regulate the amount of feed you are putting out instead of just pouring it out on the ground. I promise you that a flock of turkeys will eat your feed as fast as you can pour it out. Another trick I use is that if I have an area that I am planning on planting a summer food plot in, I will go ahead and plow it up. Turkeys love scratching in these plowed areas and they will use it at all times during the day. The hens will be wherever the food is, and if the hens are there you know the gobblers will not be far away.

Moultrie's 5th Annual Closeout Sale

Moultrie needs to make space for our new 2009 products. Help us clear out our warehouse and save an additional 15% off every closeout purchase.  Hurry supplies are limited!

Sale ends 2:00pm CST Friday, February 13, 2009.

Ground Blind or Treestand?

In Whitetail365’s blog post on February 9, BuckTracker talks about hunting from a shooting house this season. The shooting house he ended up hunting from was actually just an elevated plywood blind. He posted some pictures of a shooting house that belongs to former Houston Astro’s second basemen Craig Biggio. The house looks to be complete with nearly every creature comfort that you could imagine.

Moultrie wants to know what type of hunting you prefer. Do you hunt from a swank shooting house decked out with every amenity? Do you prefer hunting from a ground blind or treestand? Leave a comment and let us know how you like to pass your time in the woods.

Hunters Giving Back

-By Rich Miller

This past Saturday I was reminded of a turkey hunt from last spring that was one of the most memorable of my life. Last year I attended an Outdoor Dream Foundation fundraiser and decided that it was something that I would love to be involved in. This organization is dedicated solely to making kids with life-threatening illnesses dreams come true. I immediately volunteered to take a kid turkey hunting if they had someone that wanted to go. A couple of weeks later I got a call and they said they had a 13-year-old girl that had never been hunting before and she was interested in going on a turkey hunt. This young lady had leukemia, and since her bone marrow transplant it had been in remission. I had the perfect place where I thought she would have a pretty good chance to get her first turkey.

The birds were cooperating, the evening before the hunt we had three or four different gobblers roosted. Since she had never been hunting before and didn’t know me from Adam she wanted her aunt and uncle to go with us because they have hunted before and they had been helping her practice with her shotgun. We had a perfect morning for turkey hunting, though there was a little chill in the air, there was not a breath of wind so you could hear a turkey gobble from a mile away. The cameraman, John Kennedy with Hunting the World Television, and I setup two ground blinds beside each other the evening before to help hide all the people that were going to be on the hunt. Once we got settled in the blinds it wasn’t long after daylight when we heard the first gobbler sound off from the same ridge we had heard them the evening before. The young hunter with us was getting excited but she didn’t realize what was in store for her.

About thirty minutes after daylight we had four big longbeards come into the Pretty Boy turkey decoy and commence to try to whip up on him. The good thing was they were inside twenty yards; the bad thing was they were running around like crazy and she couldn’t get settled on one particular bird to get a shot at it. When she was finally able to get settled on one she fired but she didn’t connect. By the time we got her another shell in the gun they were out of range and she couldn’t get another shot. She got a little upset because she had missed, but we got her calmed down and she was ready to try it again.

By the time lunch rolled around we had called in thirteen different longbeards and with a few more shots that were close calls and some bad luck, we still hadn’t connected. After we ate lunch and re-grouped we headed back to the blind. About two o’clock the weather turned and it started raining with the wind picking up and the temperature heading south. This young hunter was a trooper though and we stayed in the blind until six that evening without seeing another bird. Though the evening hunt lacked a lot to be desired the morning hunt was something special that none of us will ever forget.

I saw this young lady last Saturday, the first time since March. She was on a rabbit hunt put on by the Outdoor Dream Foundation with about eight other young hunters. She was still in great spirits and was as good a sport on the rabbit hunt as she was on the turkey hunt. Her leukemia is still in remission and she is getting more and more of her energy back every day. I would encourage everyone with the time or resources to volunteer with any organizations that help kids in this position. I only hope that this young lady got half as much out of our hunt as what I got from it.

Shhh... I'm Hunting Rabbit

-By Rich Miller

After Thanksgiving, small game season opens and all of the guys that have been training their beagle dogs all year finally get a chance to shoot at those fast running cottontails. I do not own a pack of beagles but I do enjoy going a couple of times a year. Some of these guys run these dogs all year long. They enter these dogs in trials and have contests against fifty or sixty other dogs. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to have a really good pack of dogs. They take rabbit hunting as serious as I take chasing deer and turkey, and when you get a chance to hunt with one of these experienced packs of dogs they are a joy to watch and listen too.

I was lucky enough to get invited on one of these hunts last Saturday. Naturally I jumped at the invite and asked if it would be ok if I brought my nephew along with me. He said that would be fine and we agreed to meet at 7:30 Saturday morning. I called my nephew (Porter) and told him we had a rabbit hunt to go on Saturday morning, he was really excited until I told him that I would be there to pick him up at 7:00 a.m. When I told him the time, he asked if we could make it 8:00 because he didn’t want to get up that early. Once I got through laughing at him he decided he could be up in time and wanted to know if he could bring his .410 shotgun.

The morning of the hunt it was really cold so Porter looked like a little Eskimo but he was excited and ready to go no matter what the weather. When we turned the dogs out of the box it didn’t take but a minute to get on a rabbit and the chase was on. I explained to Porter that we didn’t have to chase the dogs and if we stayed in the same spot and were real quiet that the dogs would run the rabbit by us and then we would get a shot. The dogs ran this rabbit for about 15 minutes and we figured he must have run in a hole because the dogs just lost him in a thick cane patch and they never did get back on that rabbit. After that, we re-grouped and the dogs ran several different rabbits over the next couple of hours but we never could get Porter in position to get a shot. We were trying to get on the opposite side of a briar patch that the dogs were running in to see if we could cut the rabbit off and when we got about half way around it the rabbit crossed in front of us. He didn’t get a shot but he did get to see it. Well the dogs were not very far behind the rabbit so we got on the other end of the hedgerow to try and cut him off. About the time we got where we wanted to be and set up there was a shot from the other side of the hedgerow; one of the other guys had been in the right place.

We hunted for a couple more hours and were after rabbits the whole time, but we were not able to get one in front of Porter. Even though he didn’t get one he got to see several rabbits and was just as happy when the other guys shot one. He told me later that hearing the dogs bark and chasing the rabbits made him so excited the whole time because he never knew when a rabbit might come out. He did really well for being a seven year old, he kept up with me all morning and never complained . . . until it was time to eat and he was ready for lunch.