It Begins With Us
Deer season is a time of year that we as hunters can put our differences aside and head into the outdoors chasing deer of a lifetime, make a few memories, enjoy a few stories, make new friends, and get away from the everyday work for a few days or even just hours. It’s a time for us to sit back and think about what we are doing to help make sure what we love so much will continue for many years and generations to follow in our footsteps. This year when you are driving to your hunting locations or sitting in your stands, I want you to think about and ask yourself a few questions.
Ask yourself how are you making hunting better tomorrow and the years to come? Are you practicing quality deer management? By that I mean, are you passing on younger deer? Are you mentally surveying the deer in your hunting location to figure out how many bucks you have compared to does? Are you taking an appropriate amount of deer off your property? How are you helping the deer herd; food plots, crops, mineral, land management?
Ask yourself how you can help the future generations get into or learn how to hunt? Is there someone in your church that you can invite out with you? Does your child have a school friend that they can invite? Is there someone you know that has stopped hunting that you can get motivated to get back out in the woods?
Ask yourself what hunting means to you?! For every one of us its different, think back to what has kept you hunting for so many years. Don’t you want to pass that on? If we as hunters and outdoor enthusiasts don’t bring people back into the sport and show them the traditions and pass along our heritage, hunting will die. There are a lot of people that don’t like hunting, and they love to voice their opinions. Shouldn’t we voice ours? Actions speak louder than words so instead of just talking lets show these people that don’t hunt or have never been, why it’s so important for us to pass on and grow our sport.
Don’t you want hunting to be better tomorrow than it is today? Wouldn’t you enjoy hunting if it was better 10 years from now? It Begins With US! It starts with us making good decision now. Making it better by deer management, land management, and passing it on. So do me a favor and think about it and what you can do to help. Maybe even get involved in a local group that takes kids hunting or camping. You never know how what you do today, could make tomorrow better. But we have to start with us as hunters.
Be safe, good luck, and I will see you in the woods!
Ask yourself how are you making hunting better tomorrow and the years to come? Are you practicing quality deer management? By that I mean, are you passing on younger deer? Are you mentally surveying the deer in your hunting location to figure out how many bucks you have compared to does? Are you taking an appropriate amount of deer off your property? How are you helping the deer herd; food plots, crops, mineral, land management?
Ask yourself how you can help the future generations get into or learn how to hunt? Is there someone in your church that you can invite out with you? Does your child have a school friend that they can invite? Is there someone you know that has stopped hunting that you can get motivated to get back out in the woods?
Ask yourself what hunting means to you?! For every one of us its different, think back to what has kept you hunting for so many years. Don’t you want to pass that on? If we as hunters and outdoor enthusiasts don’t bring people back into the sport and show them the traditions and pass along our heritage, hunting will die. There are a lot of people that don’t like hunting, and they love to voice their opinions. Shouldn’t we voice ours? Actions speak louder than words so instead of just talking lets show these people that don’t hunt or have never been, why it’s so important for us to pass on and grow our sport.
Don’t you want hunting to be better tomorrow than it is today? Wouldn’t you enjoy hunting if it was better 10 years from now? It Begins With US! It starts with us making good decision now. Making it better by deer management, land management, and passing it on. So do me a favor and think about it and what you can do to help. Maybe even get involved in a local group that takes kids hunting or camping. You never know how what you do today, could make tomorrow better. But we have to start with us as hunters.
Be safe, good luck, and I will see you in the woods!
Motivation Behind Youth Hunts
I wanted to take a little bit of time and discus why we put on the different youth tournaments that we do. I will also talk about what will be taking place at the check in station, so on that note I hope this helps you understand what we do and possibly a little understanding of what we are trying to accomplish.
With pressure being applied to our sport from every direction and the increase in indoor sedentary lifestyle of today’s youth, the future of hunting as we know it is in jeopardy. Our entire goal is to get more young people excited and focused on the outdoors and hunting. We are trying to encourage safe, ethical, moral, and legal hunting all while having fun and learning. We want to use every opportunity we get to teach the next generation of hunters and huntresses to get out into the outdoors. What motivates young people more than competition? Well we haven’t figured that out yet, so we are using the competitive nature of young people to encourage hunting and getting outdoors.
On the other hand, what discourages our young people and makes them stop doing something? Failure does. With hunting we want to teach our young people that every time they go to the woods they can learn something. They might not get the game they are after or even take a shot but they can still learn and if they have learned something than it’s not a failure. That’s why we try and give every young hunter that shows up a gift. We have enthusiastic hunters available for the young people to talk to about their hunts, and they are able to pick their brains and receive knowledge that our experienced hunters are willing to pass on.
The people we have involved with Hillbilly Huntin understand that the sport, heritage, and tradition that we all love could be lost without having the next generation step up and learn what the older generations have. By passing on the knowledge we have, we hope to keep the young people learning so that one day they can pass it on like we do and the rotating wheel of hunters continues to the next generation for many, many years to come.
At the check in, turkeys will be scored the same way the NWTF (National Wildlife Turkey Federation) scores birds for the record books. With approval from their parent/guardian, each hunter will have the opportunity to talk on camera about their hunt and tell their story. We will also have hotdogs and drinks for them and coffee for the adults. We will have the space to talk and answer question about whatever they want to ask. The thought behind all of this is positive reinforcement and encouragement to continue hunting.
Even if the young hunters don’t get a bird we still encourage them to come and talk with us, pick up their gift and we will even give them the chance to talk on camera about their hunt. We want to show these young hunters and huntresses that even as adults and experienced hunters we don’t always walk away from a hunt with a turkey or deer; it’s the experience and knowledge that you gain that makes it a good hunt.
After the tournament we will put together a video of all the stories we get from the young people and post it online along with the footage we get from the tournament. Each hunter or huntress that gets a bird will also get their picture taken and a certificate made and we will get in touch with them so they have it to remember years down the road and can show it to their kids and grandkids.
We do this free of charge to the hunters because it’s all about the youth. We have sponsors that donate the prizes and we do the rest. No staff member or volunteer of Hillbilly Huntin gains monetarily from this youth turkey tournament. Our reward comes from sharing the stories of the young hunters and giving them their 15 minutes of fame. It’s not about money or anything else other than trying to get and keep our youth involved with what we love and that is hunting. We will continue doing these events until we aren’t able to anymore. The feedback we have received has all been positive and the youth really seem to enjoy coming to the check in. We look forward to seeing you at the check in! Good luck, stay safe and we will see you in the field!
With pressure being applied to our sport from every direction and the increase in indoor sedentary lifestyle of today’s youth, the future of hunting as we know it is in jeopardy. Our entire goal is to get more young people excited and focused on the outdoors and hunting. We are trying to encourage safe, ethical, moral, and legal hunting all while having fun and learning. We want to use every opportunity we get to teach the next generation of hunters and huntresses to get out into the outdoors. What motivates young people more than competition? Well we haven’t figured that out yet, so we are using the competitive nature of young people to encourage hunting and getting outdoors.
On the other hand, what discourages our young people and makes them stop doing something? Failure does. With hunting we want to teach our young people that every time they go to the woods they can learn something. They might not get the game they are after or even take a shot but they can still learn and if they have learned something than it’s not a failure. That’s why we try and give every young hunter that shows up a gift. We have enthusiastic hunters available for the young people to talk to about their hunts, and they are able to pick their brains and receive knowledge that our experienced hunters are willing to pass on.
The people we have involved with Hillbilly Huntin understand that the sport, heritage, and tradition that we all love could be lost without having the next generation step up and learn what the older generations have. By passing on the knowledge we have, we hope to keep the young people learning so that one day they can pass it on like we do and the rotating wheel of hunters continues to the next generation for many, many years to come.
At the check in, turkeys will be scored the same way the NWTF (National Wildlife Turkey Federation) scores birds for the record books. With approval from their parent/guardian, each hunter will have the opportunity to talk on camera about their hunt and tell their story. We will also have hotdogs and drinks for them and coffee for the adults. We will have the space to talk and answer question about whatever they want to ask. The thought behind all of this is positive reinforcement and encouragement to continue hunting.
Even if the young hunters don’t get a bird we still encourage them to come and talk with us, pick up their gift and we will even give them the chance to talk on camera about their hunt. We want to show these young hunters and huntresses that even as adults and experienced hunters we don’t always walk away from a hunt with a turkey or deer; it’s the experience and knowledge that you gain that makes it a good hunt.
After the tournament we will put together a video of all the stories we get from the young people and post it online along with the footage we get from the tournament. Each hunter or huntress that gets a bird will also get their picture taken and a certificate made and we will get in touch with them so they have it to remember years down the road and can show it to their kids and grandkids.
We do this free of charge to the hunters because it’s all about the youth. We have sponsors that donate the prizes and we do the rest. No staff member or volunteer of Hillbilly Huntin gains monetarily from this youth turkey tournament. Our reward comes from sharing the stories of the young hunters and giving them their 15 minutes of fame. It’s not about money or anything else other than trying to get and keep our youth involved with what we love and that is hunting. We will continue doing these events until we aren’t able to anymore. The feedback we have received has all been positive and the youth really seem to enjoy coming to the check in. We look forward to seeing you at the check in! Good luck, stay safe and we will see you in the field!
Predators
So I took a trip to the deer woods put out mineral and do some shed hunting. It wasn’t a long trip but it still brings up an interesting discussion about predators. Specifically the big ones that have started showing up more here in southwest Missouri than ever before. I’m talking about bears, mountain lions, and most recently wolves. The reason this trip brings up this discussion is because I found wolf tracks I was able to follow for about a quarter mile. This article is going to have a lot of my opinions and things that I think every hunter and outdoor enthusiast needs to start thinking about.
With the growing evidence of mountain lions and bears showing up over the last four to five years the conservation department made the statement that there isn’t a breeding population and that they were wondering males that got pushed out of there native habitats by other males. Now they have come out and tagged with GPS radio callers and have said the population has grown to a point that we will see a bear season in Missouri sooner than later. They still deny breeding population of mountain lions here in Missouri but people are getting pictures on trail cameras of young mountain lions. The wolves are a new thing in the last year or so and the conservation department is following the same statements that they have for all the other predators and that they have moved in from the northern and Western states.
Let’s talk about other statements the conservation department made. A few years back the conservation department said the deer population was growing and didn’t put a limit on antlerless only tags. Now they are saying the deer population is down and are cutting back seasons, limiting tags, and taking out some of the other seasons entirely.
Now if you look at the yearly hunting trends you will see that every year they say it was a record deer harvest. How is that possible that the deer population is falling when every year more deer are tagged in? In my opinion I think the conservation department is trying to figure in how the predators will affect the deer population. The thing is they have no way to tell how many deer are being killed by them so they are using science to predict the kill rate of them. Instead of trying to keep the predators at a population that doesn’t affect the deer and game animal’s they want to change how we hunt the game animals.
The reason is because as the predators that we can’t hunt populations grow they will need more food and if we hunt and keep the deer population the way we have for so many years that has worked by the way. The predators main food source won’t have a booming population so the predators will start going after live stock and that causes a problem for the conservation department. When live stock and pets start ending up on the dinner table the farmers and people will start demanding answers and fixes then when nothing happens the predators are going to start being killed on sight because they are affecting farmers money. So to keep that from happening limit the seasons and tags for deer and that increases the deer population and gives the predators more food.
Do I think it’s a good idea to have these predators no I don’t. We have fox, bobcat, and coyote already why do we need the big predators? We already have watched rabbit, quail, and other small game populations drop because trapping and predator hunting isn’t like it used to be so the populations grow and that means small game populations are dropping. Why are the big predators needed I would have to say they have decided to re introduce elk in Missouri and with no predators other than hunters they will thrive. With no hunting season in place for elk they needed to create a checks and balance situation and that’s what it will be when both populations get to that point.
Just keep that in mind the next time you are in the woods camping and hunting we as outdoors men are on the dinner list if they have a chance. Wolves are pack animals and will stock there pray before surrounding and killing it. Mountain lions are silent killers that stock with amazing speed and stealth from the trees or the ground you don’t see them coming. These are all things to keep in mind because I don’t see them changing anytime soon and I think there is money being made somewhere and that’s why it won’t be stopped. What’s your opinion I want to know your thoughts. Be safe good luck and we will see you in the field
With the growing evidence of mountain lions and bears showing up over the last four to five years the conservation department made the statement that there isn’t a breeding population and that they were wondering males that got pushed out of there native habitats by other males. Now they have come out and tagged with GPS radio callers and have said the population has grown to a point that we will see a bear season in Missouri sooner than later. They still deny breeding population of mountain lions here in Missouri but people are getting pictures on trail cameras of young mountain lions. The wolves are a new thing in the last year or so and the conservation department is following the same statements that they have for all the other predators and that they have moved in from the northern and Western states.
Let’s talk about other statements the conservation department made. A few years back the conservation department said the deer population was growing and didn’t put a limit on antlerless only tags. Now they are saying the deer population is down and are cutting back seasons, limiting tags, and taking out some of the other seasons entirely.
Now if you look at the yearly hunting trends you will see that every year they say it was a record deer harvest. How is that possible that the deer population is falling when every year more deer are tagged in? In my opinion I think the conservation department is trying to figure in how the predators will affect the deer population. The thing is they have no way to tell how many deer are being killed by them so they are using science to predict the kill rate of them. Instead of trying to keep the predators at a population that doesn’t affect the deer and game animal’s they want to change how we hunt the game animals.
The reason is because as the predators that we can’t hunt populations grow they will need more food and if we hunt and keep the deer population the way we have for so many years that has worked by the way. The predators main food source won’t have a booming population so the predators will start going after live stock and that causes a problem for the conservation department. When live stock and pets start ending up on the dinner table the farmers and people will start demanding answers and fixes then when nothing happens the predators are going to start being killed on sight because they are affecting farmers money. So to keep that from happening limit the seasons and tags for deer and that increases the deer population and gives the predators more food.
Do I think it’s a good idea to have these predators no I don’t. We have fox, bobcat, and coyote already why do we need the big predators? We already have watched rabbit, quail, and other small game populations drop because trapping and predator hunting isn’t like it used to be so the populations grow and that means small game populations are dropping. Why are the big predators needed I would have to say they have decided to re introduce elk in Missouri and with no predators other than hunters they will thrive. With no hunting season in place for elk they needed to create a checks and balance situation and that’s what it will be when both populations get to that point.
Just keep that in mind the next time you are in the woods camping and hunting we as outdoors men are on the dinner list if they have a chance. Wolves are pack animals and will stock there pray before surrounding and killing it. Mountain lions are silent killers that stock with amazing speed and stealth from the trees or the ground you don’t see them coming. These are all things to keep in mind because I don’t see them changing anytime soon and I think there is money being made somewhere and that’s why it won’t be stopped. What’s your opinion I want to know your thoughts. Be safe good luck and we will see you in the field
When and How to Use Mineral
It’s that time a year again and I wanted to take some time to discuss deer mineral and when it should be used. By no means am I an expert on mineral but I have been doing it for a few years now and have done my share of research on what deer need. That is also how I was able to come up with my own mixture of minerals that has been proving to be pretty desirable and effective with the deer in the areas I hunt.
First off let’s talk about when deer need mineral and to keep it simple we will use a calendar year as our time frame and start with January and end with December. In January through March bucks need mineral to refill the mineral that they have sucked from other parts of their bodies to grow antlers. Along with the fact of going from the hot and heavy rut to winter they need the mineral to give them the nutrition they need to get back to being healthy.
Does are pregnant at this time and for fawn development and health reasons with it being winter the does need the mineral so that they stay healthy as they are growing a fetus inside them. If you don’t have the right nutrition for the mother then the fawn will be born behind the curve and be lacking from the start.
Moving forward April through May the bucks will have started growing there antlers and needing more mineral to produce impressive racks. The deposits they have built up inside them will start being used because deer cannot consume enough mineral to keep up with the need there antlers need and that retiaries’ what I said about earlier in the year you want the deer to have as much mineral available as possible so they can build up as big of deposits as they can.
Does will be in the final stages or months of their pregnancy and will start producing milk for the fawns. Without proper mineral and nutrition they won’t produce as much milk and that is a problem for the fawn. Deer health and development starts with the mother and then to the fawn. If as a fawn the deer doesn’t have the right nutrition then its entire life it will be behind and always trying to catch up.
June and July are the months that the bucks will start really showing what they have to offer and under good conditions could put on a couple inches a week to their antlers. With the mineral being a key factor you really want to make sure it’s available.
Fawns and does will be eating tons of mineral at this point because the fawn is going to be growing at a fast rate and it’s the dog days of summer so give them the boost of mineral to keep them growing like they should. The does will be supplying the fawns with milk and need to replenish what their body is using to make the milk.
By august the bucks should be done growing there antlers and be using the mineral to just settle back into a balance. They will be feeding on green grass and agriculture fields and the minerals help deer digest the food and make it useful to them.
The does and fawns will still be together and the milk production will be getting lower at this point but they will still need to build up mineral that they are using. The fawns development will be the biggest factor at this point as they are having to grow up fast to survive.
By September the bucks are at hard rack and are feeding and getting fat but still need the mineral just at a lower level then they have all year. The mineral they are using at this point is just to maintain a healthy level.
Does and yearling deer by this point will be using the mineral more than the bucks and the does will be using it more than the yearlings. The yearlings should be pretty good on mineral if you have been supplying the does all year with mineral.
The October hunting slow period will hit and the deer are going to disappear buck what they are doing is preparing themselves for the rut by taking in as much food as possible so they will use the mineral to help digest that food. They won’t be using as much mineral so you can cut down on the amount you put out.
By November the rut is in full swing and the deer won’t be using much mineral at all because they have other things on their mind. You should still have it available but it’s not as important as it has been.
In December the rut is over and deer are preparing for winter along with trying to gain back the fat and energy they burned off during the rut. Mineral needs to start getting put out again because the deer will need it to make it through the winter.
When I talk about mineral I’m not talking about salt or salt blocks! Deer do need the salt but not like they need the trace minerals. Salt is more of an attractant to the mineral than anything else you can by mineral from almost any sporting goods store and when you do check the tag to make sure it’s not just an overpriced bag of salt. If you are interested in the mineral I have mixed and use let me know and we can work something out. Mineral is a huge factor in maintaining a healthy deer and will help with antler development.
First off let’s talk about when deer need mineral and to keep it simple we will use a calendar year as our time frame and start with January and end with December. In January through March bucks need mineral to refill the mineral that they have sucked from other parts of their bodies to grow antlers. Along with the fact of going from the hot and heavy rut to winter they need the mineral to give them the nutrition they need to get back to being healthy.
Does are pregnant at this time and for fawn development and health reasons with it being winter the does need the mineral so that they stay healthy as they are growing a fetus inside them. If you don’t have the right nutrition for the mother then the fawn will be born behind the curve and be lacking from the start.
Moving forward April through May the bucks will have started growing there antlers and needing more mineral to produce impressive racks. The deposits they have built up inside them will start being used because deer cannot consume enough mineral to keep up with the need there antlers need and that retiaries’ what I said about earlier in the year you want the deer to have as much mineral available as possible so they can build up as big of deposits as they can.
Does will be in the final stages or months of their pregnancy and will start producing milk for the fawns. Without proper mineral and nutrition they won’t produce as much milk and that is a problem for the fawn. Deer health and development starts with the mother and then to the fawn. If as a fawn the deer doesn’t have the right nutrition then its entire life it will be behind and always trying to catch up.
June and July are the months that the bucks will start really showing what they have to offer and under good conditions could put on a couple inches a week to their antlers. With the mineral being a key factor you really want to make sure it’s available.
Fawns and does will be eating tons of mineral at this point because the fawn is going to be growing at a fast rate and it’s the dog days of summer so give them the boost of mineral to keep them growing like they should. The does will be supplying the fawns with milk and need to replenish what their body is using to make the milk.
By august the bucks should be done growing there antlers and be using the mineral to just settle back into a balance. They will be feeding on green grass and agriculture fields and the minerals help deer digest the food and make it useful to them.
The does and fawns will still be together and the milk production will be getting lower at this point but they will still need to build up mineral that they are using. The fawns development will be the biggest factor at this point as they are having to grow up fast to survive.
By September the bucks are at hard rack and are feeding and getting fat but still need the mineral just at a lower level then they have all year. The mineral they are using at this point is just to maintain a healthy level.
Does and yearling deer by this point will be using the mineral more than the bucks and the does will be using it more than the yearlings. The yearlings should be pretty good on mineral if you have been supplying the does all year with mineral.
The October hunting slow period will hit and the deer are going to disappear buck what they are doing is preparing themselves for the rut by taking in as much food as possible so they will use the mineral to help digest that food. They won’t be using as much mineral so you can cut down on the amount you put out.
By November the rut is in full swing and the deer won’t be using much mineral at all because they have other things on their mind. You should still have it available but it’s not as important as it has been.
In December the rut is over and deer are preparing for winter along with trying to gain back the fat and energy they burned off during the rut. Mineral needs to start getting put out again because the deer will need it to make it through the winter.
When I talk about mineral I’m not talking about salt or salt blocks! Deer do need the salt but not like they need the trace minerals. Salt is more of an attractant to the mineral than anything else you can by mineral from almost any sporting goods store and when you do check the tag to make sure it’s not just an overpriced bag of salt. If you are interested in the mineral I have mixed and use let me know and we can work something out. Mineral is a huge factor in maintaining a healthy deer and will help with antler development.
