Grow the Hunt

Moultrie TGM Podcast Episode 006

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Episode 006 of the "Total Game Management" podcast from Moultrie is live today! You can access the podcast either through iTunes (just search for "Moultrie"), on our podcast website or you can use the player above.

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This week we're all about The Hit List, our new show on The Outdoor Channel! We talk with Tony Smotherman, one of the hosts, and Mike Auten whose studio, Commonwealth Productions, is the driving creative force behind the show.

Deals of the Week:

Food Plot Spreader - Refurb - Sale Price $79.99 (reg. $119.99) at MoultrieFeeders.com

Lindy Fish & Game Cleaning Station for $159.99 on LindyFishingTackle.com

Rebel Crawfish for $4.49 at Lurenet.com

Don't forget to take us with you on your mobile phone with this link! From everyone at Moultrie, have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Summer Job

By Brandon Wikman

As the soft and furry velvet of July stretches past the whitetails’ ear tips, anticipation of the season is what really grows! There’s a surge of excitement that hunters experience once antlers become substantially large. It’s simply that subtle reminder that deer season isn’t so far away. It’s enough to give any hunter a reluctant sigh of relief…
    
This past week I began burning that overpriced $4 fuel, taking laps around my hunting locations in search of dandy bucks. No matter how high the price of gas escalates, it’s going to be difficult to keep me from driving. Especially when it comes to hunting, scouting and enjoying a recreation that I so dearly love. Sometimes you just have to do things for yourself that make you happy, or are simply relaxing. Spending time in the outdoors can be a captivating experience, which brings joy and a rush of sheer satisfaction.
    
The month of July is a time to take advantage of off-road scouting, whether it’s glassing fields from your car window or taking a vantage point approach on a hillside. There’s no better time to see, record and target your quarry’s potential. As evening approaches and the sun radiates its last beat of warmth, I prepare myself with a pair of binoculars, a tripod, video camera, snapshot camera, pen and paper – all the necessities needed for documenting deer activity. This is a perfect opportunity to size up bucks and to gain a better understanding of your deer herd’s health and quality. It’s essential as a land manager – and hunter – to take into consideration the amount of deer in a particular field, which will estimate the amount of deer you have living on your property for the summer months. It’s also a prime time to check the balance of the male-to-female deer ratio, which will play a major role in a few months from now when rutting activity cranks!
    
Every whitetail deer you spot engulfing soybeans and clover in your food plots isn’t going to call your property home. Once the primary food sources are transitioned to harvest time or a new field turns ripe, deer will venture to the next best buffet. Regardless, it’s still a great time to overview the deer herd in your area and gain an appreciation for the amount of deer feeding their faces as light dims.
   
I’ve recently placed my Moultrie camera on a deer trail leading to my uncle’s lush soybean field, which has already grown knee high! The amount of water the Midwest has experienced has been astronomical, compared to the past and previous ten years of complete drought. Besides the flooding, and damage caused by the abundance of rain, fields that haven’t been totally drowned are doing spectacular. This means deer will be absorbing and using more nutrients and vitamins from the healthy plants this year to aid in antler development. I can’t wait to check my trail camera in a few weeks to gather more data on the different bucks I capture on infrared. 
    
It’s getting to be that time of year again where scouting and doing your homework pays off. I advise everyone to put the Moultrie Game Management System to work or start making weekly road trips around your hunting land to survey the deer in your area.

A Customer Testimonial - Tough Feeders!

Let me explain what has happened. We had a tornado two weeks ago when the large storms came across most of the south and east. Our “camp” located on a small fish pond was one of the only places hit it south eastern North Carolina (near Burgaw, NC). The bracket that was holding one of your fish feeders that is several years old was blown off the pier along with the feeder.

Several days later we were cleaning out the pond and found your feeder. I removed the bottom cover and let the electronics sit in the sun for a couple of days. I put the battery back in and it works fine even though it lived through a tornado and was underwater of two full days.

Because your products are “so tuff” I don’t need a new feeder after all. I thank you, but most especially, my fish thank you.  

Everett Durham

Moultrie TGM Podcast Episode 005

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Episode 005 of the "Total Game Management" podcast from Moultrie is live today! You can access the podcast either through iTunes (just search for "Moultrie"), on our podcast website or you can use the player above.

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We have our best (and longest!) show so far this week! We were happy to have Kandi Kisky of Whitetail Freaks come on and talk about her strategies, tips and tricks for successful food plots.

We also have our first guest review by our friend, Toxie Givens, and he joins us to talk about the Moultrie M-80 Mini Cam.

Deals of the Week:

Game Spy I-45 Infrared Game Camera - Refurb for $119.99 (reg. $289.99)

The New Lindy Spinners on LindyFishingTackle.com for $3.03 - $3.15

Comfort Mat at Summitstands.com for $15.99

YUM Dinger 6 Inch at Lurenet.com for $1.89

Starting Tuesday, June 28th, our new show Moultrie's 'The Hit List' premieres on the Outdoor Channel at 7:30pm Central / 8:30pm Eastern. Next week, we'll have one of the hosts on to talk with us...so we'll talk to you then!

Special thanks for our friend, Joe ( @Full_Draw ) for providing this cool link to grab our podcast on your cellphone! Thanks, Joe!

Early June Bass Tournament

By Rich Miller

Well, we have been waiting on it all year and when summer time got here, man she has made her presence known. I don’t remember it ever being this hot this early. This year though has been crazy hot for this early in June. Heat or no heat, though, the summertime activities that we usually partake in will carry on anyway. 

Last week, I finally had the opportunity to fish a bass tournament with my dad. In years past we have fished a small team trail on our local lake every Thursday night. So far this year, I haven’t had the opportunity to fish with him. The weather was supposed to be good; the lake level was perfect for our kind of fishing. 

The tournament started at 6pm and ran to 10pm. At 6pm we were on our way to one of our best spots with high hopes because we hadn’t fished it yet this year. When we pulled in, excitement was running high as we were anticipating a big catch. About 10 minutes into it, my dad set the hook on a fish and quickly slung him into the boat. He wasn’t what we were looking for, but he was a keeper. 

For the next 15 minutes it was pretty slow until I saw my line jump as my bait came past a log in the water. When I set the hook, I immediately knew that this was one that we were after! In no time the fish was in the net and he was a solid four pounds. For the next hour, our bites were sparse but the fish we caught were quality fish. We had five fish in the live well and that is all that we can weigh in, but we needed to cull a couple to have a good chance of winning the tournament. 

On the way back down the bank, my dad flipped under a tree where he had missed a fish on the way up; and when he set the hook, the water went flying. I quickly grabbed the net and we landed him in what seemed like just a few seconds. That fish was close to five pounds and we culled a small 12-inch fish with him. It was pretty slow for the next 15 minutes or so and we started hearing thunder get closer by the second. 

As we were heading out of the cove, deciding what we were going to do next, there was a little twig sticking up in front of the boat and I told my dad to throw at it before we got too close. When he pitched his bait up there we both watched his line start moving off before it hit the bottom. That turned out to be a three-pound fish that culled another smaller fish. Lightning was steadily getting worse, and with that last fish in the boat we decided to count our blessings and head back to the ramp while we still had time. 

On the way back, there were black clouds all around us and the wind was picking up, too.  As we arrived at the ramp and got the boat out, I looked at my watch and it was only 8:30; we still had another hour and a half to fish if it weren’t for the storm. 

Some of the guys didn’t come in till 10:00 on the nose and I was amazed that they sat out there in all of the lightning. When we weighed in, we didn’t have as big a catch as we had previously thought, but we did have right at sixteen pounds. The closest weight to was thirteen pounds. We ended up winning it but didn’t get big fish. Another guy had a fish a little over five pounds and beat us by just a few ounces. It was a great afternoon of fishing for sure even with the storm that came through. We had a blast and to win the tournament also just top the cake of a great afternoon of fishing.

Early Season Camera Placement

By Brandon Wikman

Early season challenges even the most demanding whitetail hunters with a new set of rules to the game of success.

Scouting has got to be placed as the most critical aspect and tool to achieve your desired goal. Summer brings a unique opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts to evaluate your hunting area and whitetail herd. This is an ideal time to break out your Moultrie game cameras and begin strapping them to trees. It is never too early to get a jumpstart on opening day.

Most seasoned hunters have found the most luck placing their cameras on field edges, mineral stations and food sources during the muggy summer months. The majority of photographs will be early morning or late evening snapshots considering most deer are bedding snug to the food sources. It makes no sense at all to risk polluting an area by rummaging through bedding areas just for a snapshot. Your main goal should be capturing as many images as possible without disturbing the entire herd.

Hunters go through drastic efforts and measures in the fall to keep the deer from detecting us. We simply don’t want them to be able to pattern our ever move. A mature deer does not care about whether he smells you disturbing his area in the summer or fall – he just knows he’s been disturbed period.

Placing trail cameras on field edges makes sense for several reasons. Deer need to feed. The odds are very high of snagging some great pictures of a lot of deer on a summer food plot or even watering hole. Secondly, deer have come to tolerate a little human scent in the field considering tractors, trucks and farmers pass by often. Deer have come to expect the small dosage of human scent around these particular areas.

I’ve had a lot of luck driving my truck directly to the camera, letting it run and taking only a step or two to pull my card. This leaves the area as unpolluted as you can get. It will completely eliminate you from sweating, brushing against trees or grasses and make it a quick in-and-out process.

If you want to eliminate the possibility of contaminating your camera area completely, then Moultrie’s Game Management System is the way to go. With this system, all you have to do is login on a secure site, view your images when you want and reap the rewards come fall.

Be sure to get your hands on your trail cameras and start putting them to use. As I said earlier, it is never too early to get a great start on the season.

Moultrie TGM Podcast Episode 004

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Episode 004 of the "Total Game Management" podcast from Moultrie is live today! You can access the podcast either through iTunes (just search for "Moultrie"), on our podcast website or you can use the player above.

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This week, we're discussing how the Gulf Coast is rebounding with some great sport fishing, Mississippi is only making small changes to the upcoming deer seasons even in the Delta and some challenges with hunting and fishing licenses in Connecticut.

We are thrilled to have Jason Gordon of Summit Treestands with us to talk about their 30th Anniversary treestand, the Viper XXX.

Deals of the Week: Moultrie 30-Gallon FeedCaster Pro (refurb) only $69.99

X-Change Jig System Master Packs on LindyFishingTackle.com for $3.67

Viper XXX at Summit dealers for $299.99

Tournament Winning 3-Pack at Lurenet.com for $9.99

Bone Growth

By Brandon Wikman

The month of June brings a shimmering shine of summer heat and a foreboding drum roll to the whitetail buck antler development. During this time, velvety antlers are jammed with a congestion of intersecting veins and capillaries that supply vital nutrients to the bursting bone. June is a critical month in the growth and development of whitetail deer.

Whitetail deer antlers are the fasted growing bone structure in the animal kingdom by far. Throughout the growing cycle, which primarily runs from March to August, deer beef-up on foods packed with rich minerals and vitamins. Minerals such as calcium and phosphorous make up most of the bone atop a buck’s head. Vitamin A and D also play an essential role in the production of serious antler growing mechanics. Supplying deer with alternative food options like mineral sites helps their health tremendously.

These woodland roaming animals are truly robotic machines. A deer’s stomach not only hints to what resources of foods it needs, but also controls the animals’ livelihood. Deer are fascinating creatures for many reasons. For instance, they are able to store calcium and phosphorous deposits in their skeletal system throughout the entire year. When the spring and summer months arrive, the stored deposits transfer into their headgear. Their skeletal system will deplete and evolve into a totally different physical state. Deer’s bones will become weak and brittle. That is why providing deer with bags of mineral increases the total health and wellness of the herd.

Moultrie offers a variety of different minerals including, Spring and Summer Mineral Deer Attractant and Molasses Flavored Liquid Mineral Deer Attractant along with several more.

You may sprinkle mineral on the ground, atop a stump or add it to your existing feed in your feeder. What I often do is take a garden rake and claw into the forest floor. By removing leaves, grasses, and other barriers from the dirt, you will be able to pile the mineral onto the bare ground surface. I’ve been taught to create a 5’ x 5’ area composed of dirt and mineral. It is important to make the mineral site near a deer trail. The convenience is nice and deer will take notice of your new snack offering extremely fast.

Combining the mineral into the dirt will allow a lip-smacking good mixture that will leach into the ground. Sodium is a necessary attractant used in minerals. Deer seek out the salty snack and also chow down the nutritious mineral and vitamin infested dirt. If you’ve ever seen the hole of devastation a salt block leaves upon the forest floor, you will be in for a hole just as large. Deer will chew into bark, sink their teeth into dirt, and chomp through roots for their salt fixing. I always think about giving deer mineral the same as giving a dog a prescription pill. Dogs don’t beg for the taste of pills, but will do every trick in the book for a hotdog. Injecting the pill into the hotdog supplies the dog with food and the necessary nutrition it needs. Deer share the same food mindset as dogs, or even cats, for this matter. Feeding deer with mineral and vitamin snacks seldom work, but juicing the side-course with an extra pinch of flavor makes it much more appealing to their taste buds. That is why salt is such an important ingredient.

Be sure to try the Moultrie Game Nutrition System for your deer herd this spring. Your herd will become bigger, healthier, and stronger. It will make your opening season archery hunt even more rewarding. You will thank yourself later when you see a heavy set of antler walking your way. It’s the proper steps we take now that provides lasting healthy impacts on deer tomorrow.

Moultrie TGM Podcast Episode 003

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Episode 003 of the "Total Game Management" podcast from Moultrie is live today! You can access the podcast either through iTunes (just search for "Moultrie"), on our podcast website or you can use the player above.

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On the podcast this week, we discuss a new Sandhill Crane hunting season in Kentucky, a silly poacher in Florida and the impact of the floods (and Congress) on the wetlands for the upcoming duck season.

We got to talk with Troy Jens with Lindyfishingtackle.com to talk about their new National Audio Fishing Reports. If you're a guide that wants to get in touch with Troy, you can reach him at [email protected].

Deals of the Week:

M-100 and M-80 are both is stock at Moultriefeeders.com

Game Spy I-45 Game Camera 2-Pack for $209.99

NEW! River Rocker for $6.47 on LindyFishingTackle.com

Front Storage Bag for $9.99 at SummitTreestands.com

Bill Dance 6" Side Cutter Pliers for $4.99 at Lurenet.com Crappie/ Bass Kit for $17.99 at Lurenet.com

Our Trivia Contest is back! Send your guess to [email protected]!

Feed The Bone

By Brandon Wikman

As velvet covered antlers begin sprouting like fresh wildflowers across the country, there’s no better time than now to begin assisting the health of your whitetail herd through rich nutrient based dietary supplements.

Moultrie offers a wonderful Game Nutrition System that provides hunters a complete collection of nutrition products that are designed to lure deer to your property, as well as give them the beneficial ingredients they need to grow strong bodies and big racks.

With opening weekend only a few months away, it’s a great time to begin walking your property and pouring mineral around bait sites to help aid the entire whitetail deer herd. There’s really no better time to begin supplementing your herd with nutritious attractants such as Moultrie’s Trophy Maker Mineral Block than now. Rich mineral-based products such as this, aid in the development of whitetails' skeletal system, antlers and so many other things within their amazing robotic-like bodies.

Most bags of mineral you find on store shelves are basically salt. It’s something called ‘filler.’ Even though these pricey bags of antler booming magic claim unrealistic results, you must sift through the nutritional facts first. Before making your purchase, check to see if you’ve bought a bag of salt, rather than the good, solid vitamins and minerals you really want!

Nutrients can be summed up to be how deer turn their food into living body tissue. Water, protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals and vitamins are the essential basics to what a whitetail needs to grow big! Within the mineral, calcium and phosphorus are the big players in bone and antler growth, milk production and metabolism. Healthy doe’s produce healthy fawns. Healthy fawns grow to be healthy deer. It’s as simple, yet complicated as that.

Great places to put mineral is near stumps, under logs, in a dirt patch, or by a deer trail. We’ve all heard of deer literally eating holes into the ground! They aren’t necessarily engulfing the soil, but rather the sodium that drains into the stump, log and soil. Salt is an attractant, as we all know. In my own sense, salt is the primary tasty draw to get deer into the mineral pile. Finding a product with balanced nutrition is key to not only your budget, but also a whitetails health. Next time you buy a bag of mineral, check the back of the bag first. Don’t let a graphically cool front fool you. The important part is not what’s on the outside of the bag, but truly, what’s inside.

Moultrie Game Nutrition System comprises an excellent year-round game management strategy. Use these nutritional supplements to attract deer to your property and then give them the diet they need to grow. When you score a trophy buck this season you'll be thankful you used Moultrie deer nutrition products.