2018 Youth Tournament Results
Congrats to all who participated in this years youth deer season! We had a blast hearing your stories and checking in your deer. Hope to see you all again next year!
5th Annual Youth Monster Rack Tournament
Hillbilly Huntin will be putting on our 5th annual Hillbilly Huntin Youth Monster Rack Tournament October 27th and 28th. Over the past 4 years we have had great success and had a lot of fun putting on this event. Sometimes I think we enjoy it more than the youth. This Tournament isn't just for youth hunters that bag a deer, we encourage every youth hunter to stop in even if they don’t get a deer. If you are a hunter and miss the old check in stations, stop in and visit with the youth and enjoy the fun.
We started this event to interact with the new and up and coming hunters and huntresses. We miss the old check in stations and felt like that was a big part of hunting when we started. We really miss hearing the stories told and seeing how excited everyone was. We decided we would bring it back for the youth and for the past 4 years, we have heard nothing but good things from hunters and people in the community about what we have been doing for the youth.
Our sponsors in the past have been gracious enough to donate items that we really enjoy giving away to the youth hunters. This year isn’t going to be any different. We have some of the sponsors back from previous years like Tink’s, Dead Down Wind, AttachAcam, Mossy Oak Properties, and Print Boss. But we have a new sponsor that will be donating the grand prize for the youth that checks in the highest scoring buck. You will have to stop in to see what it is.
This year we are expanding our check-in station locations! Check-ins will be at the Mossy Oak Properties building in Marshfield Missouri off of CC highway and Tracys Discount Plus in Warsaw Missouri. Youth season is October 27th and 28th and we will be there checking in and scoring deer. We will have a camera set up and ready to take pictures along with (pending parents’ permission) video tape the youth hunter talk about their hunt and be interviewed. We will score the bucks using the Hillbilly Huntin official score sheet. We don’t use deductions, we go off of gross score and that is that. We will contact the winners to get them set up with the prizes they win but every youth hunter that shows up will get something. We look forward to seeing everyone and hearing the stories. If you have any questions give us a call (417) 840-9414 or find on Facebook and shoot us a comment.
Good luck, stay safe, and we will see you in the field! Join us in encouraging young people to get into hunting and the outdoors!
We started this event to interact with the new and up and coming hunters and huntresses. We miss the old check in stations and felt like that was a big part of hunting when we started. We really miss hearing the stories told and seeing how excited everyone was. We decided we would bring it back for the youth and for the past 4 years, we have heard nothing but good things from hunters and people in the community about what we have been doing for the youth.
Our sponsors in the past have been gracious enough to donate items that we really enjoy giving away to the youth hunters. This year isn’t going to be any different. We have some of the sponsors back from previous years like Tink’s, Dead Down Wind, AttachAcam, Mossy Oak Properties, and Print Boss. But we have a new sponsor that will be donating the grand prize for the youth that checks in the highest scoring buck. You will have to stop in to see what it is.
This year we are expanding our check-in station locations! Check-ins will be at the Mossy Oak Properties building in Marshfield Missouri off of CC highway and Tracys Discount Plus in Warsaw Missouri. Youth season is October 27th and 28th and we will be there checking in and scoring deer. We will have a camera set up and ready to take pictures along with (pending parents’ permission) video tape the youth hunter talk about their hunt and be interviewed. We will score the bucks using the Hillbilly Huntin official score sheet. We don’t use deductions, we go off of gross score and that is that. We will contact the winners to get them set up with the prizes they win but every youth hunter that shows up will get something. We look forward to seeing everyone and hearing the stories. If you have any questions give us a call (417) 840-9414 or find on Facebook and shoot us a comment.
Good luck, stay safe, and we will see you in the field! Join us in encouraging young people to get into hunting and the outdoors!
Finally Bow Season!
The 2018 deer season starts Saturday September 15th and that is just a few days away. The temperature this weekend will have highs in the mid 80’s and lows in the high 60’s so not your ideal hunting conditions but the moon will be underfoot around sunrise creating a major movement period that works well with hunting on a warm day. It will be dark walking into the woods for your hunt even with the moon at 38% visible it will be out of the night sky by morning and the deer are going to be up on their feet and moving to get a bite to eat and a cool drink before they head to a nice shaded area to bed down for the majority of the day.
The Hillbilly Huntin party is planning on hunting the morning during the major movement period then we will be setting up stands checking cameras and doing some scouting. I will be hunting the edge of a feeding area between a bedding area mineral site and water source in the hopes to catch the big ten shooter buck that I have on my trail camera.
The early bow season is a great time to hunt early and work on stands or scout the rest of the day as the temp rises. I know a lot of hunters don’t like the high temps and stay home for opening weekend of bow season but by using the moon and the weather conditions you can optimize the time you spend hunting and prepare for those cooler days and rifle season draws near. If you wait for a cool day to hunt or set stands you may be waiting awhile and miss out on some really good hunting opportunities.
Good luck this season and share your photos and hunting stories with us and we will get them posted here on the website. Stay safe and we will see you in the woods, fields, and everywhere else.
The Hillbilly Huntin party is planning on hunting the morning during the major movement period then we will be setting up stands checking cameras and doing some scouting. I will be hunting the edge of a feeding area between a bedding area mineral site and water source in the hopes to catch the big ten shooter buck that I have on my trail camera.
The early bow season is a great time to hunt early and work on stands or scout the rest of the day as the temp rises. I know a lot of hunters don’t like the high temps and stay home for opening weekend of bow season but by using the moon and the weather conditions you can optimize the time you spend hunting and prepare for those cooler days and rifle season draws near. If you wait for a cool day to hunt or set stands you may be waiting awhile and miss out on some really good hunting opportunities.
Good luck this season and share your photos and hunting stories with us and we will get them posted here on the website. Stay safe and we will see you in the woods, fields, and everywhere else.
Stringer Outdoors Cocoon Hunting Hammock Review
First impressions
I got to put my hands on the cocoon hunting hammock from stringer outdoors for the first time today and wow was I impressed! I was a kid on Christmas when I pulled it out of the bag I have used other blinds in the past and you can tell they have cut corners to keep price down but that effects quality and more importantly reliability. Stringer outdoors did no such thing on the cocoon hunting hammock. The quality was top of the line and I had to get it up and try it out.
After watching the instructional video I was amazed they have thought of everything. When I first looked at the picture I had tons of questions running through my head but stringer answered every one of them and left nothing to question.
In the video they show stringer hanging the cocoon hunting hammock from both a limb and around a tree and it took no time at all, but I’m a Hillbilly, so if it takes the man who invented it no time at all to put it up its going to take me at least five maybe ten minutes. Not a chance it literally took me One minute yes you read that right one minute, or 60 seconds however you want to put it, in no time flat it was up.
I got inside zipped it up and started playing with all the features that it has looking for a flaw or something that I could hold against it and I couldn’t find anything! A bungee cord for a shooting rest, camouflage netting, full length zipper, 360 degree viewing capabilities, storage pockets, and rain guard not to mention the most comfortable seat I have ever sat in!
I had papa get in and zip it up he was wearing a bright shirt and no face paint and I step back away from him to take a look to see how visible he would be not wearing camouflage inside the hunting hammock and amazingly I had to look closely to see his silhouette, in a dark or camouflage shirt he would have been invisible.
Now taking down the cocoon hunting hammock I expected to have to fight with it trying to get it to roll back up inside the hood and figured it would be a tight fit to stuff it back into the bag just like every other product that comes in a bag it caught me off guard again first try I rolled it up and it fit perfect in the bag no fight whatsoever. It took no time flat to have it packed up; if I would have been in the woods hunting I would have been able to move to another location with very minimal loss of time, noise, or frustration.
The tube like design of the hunting hammock is unique in the fact that when you walk around it you see the same thing from every angle. When you apply that to hunting that means that as a deer or animal of any kind walks and looks at it nothing changes they see the same thing from every angle that means they are less skittish and less likely to spook.
My personal first impression is that the cocoon hunting hammock from stringer outdoors is a game changer and is the best groundblind type product on the market. I cannot wait and I’m extremely excited to get out in the woods and try it. I’m also looking forward to doing a video on it and show you all the features and how simple it is to put up and take down. On top of all this even archery hunters can use this setup. It will take practicing shooting from a sitting position but it can be done. I know that papa shot his first buck with a bow sitting in a chair. We will make sure to get video showing how it can be used with a bow. So far I can’t find anything I don’t like about it, but I’m just guessing the only thing I can imagine I’m not going to like is that I didn’t come up with the idea. Make sure to check back with us soon as we will be working on a video showing everything about it. Stay safe, good luck, and we will see you in the woods.
-The Hillbilly
https://stringeroutdoors.com/products
I got to put my hands on the cocoon hunting hammock from stringer outdoors for the first time today and wow was I impressed! I was a kid on Christmas when I pulled it out of the bag I have used other blinds in the past and you can tell they have cut corners to keep price down but that effects quality and more importantly reliability. Stringer outdoors did no such thing on the cocoon hunting hammock. The quality was top of the line and I had to get it up and try it out.
After watching the instructional video I was amazed they have thought of everything. When I first looked at the picture I had tons of questions running through my head but stringer answered every one of them and left nothing to question.
In the video they show stringer hanging the cocoon hunting hammock from both a limb and around a tree and it took no time at all, but I’m a Hillbilly, so if it takes the man who invented it no time at all to put it up its going to take me at least five maybe ten minutes. Not a chance it literally took me One minute yes you read that right one minute, or 60 seconds however you want to put it, in no time flat it was up.
I got inside zipped it up and started playing with all the features that it has looking for a flaw or something that I could hold against it and I couldn’t find anything! A bungee cord for a shooting rest, camouflage netting, full length zipper, 360 degree viewing capabilities, storage pockets, and rain guard not to mention the most comfortable seat I have ever sat in!
I had papa get in and zip it up he was wearing a bright shirt and no face paint and I step back away from him to take a look to see how visible he would be not wearing camouflage inside the hunting hammock and amazingly I had to look closely to see his silhouette, in a dark or camouflage shirt he would have been invisible.
Now taking down the cocoon hunting hammock I expected to have to fight with it trying to get it to roll back up inside the hood and figured it would be a tight fit to stuff it back into the bag just like every other product that comes in a bag it caught me off guard again first try I rolled it up and it fit perfect in the bag no fight whatsoever. It took no time flat to have it packed up; if I would have been in the woods hunting I would have been able to move to another location with very minimal loss of time, noise, or frustration.
The tube like design of the hunting hammock is unique in the fact that when you walk around it you see the same thing from every angle. When you apply that to hunting that means that as a deer or animal of any kind walks and looks at it nothing changes they see the same thing from every angle that means they are less skittish and less likely to spook.
My personal first impression is that the cocoon hunting hammock from stringer outdoors is a game changer and is the best groundblind type product on the market. I cannot wait and I’m extremely excited to get out in the woods and try it. I’m also looking forward to doing a video on it and show you all the features and how simple it is to put up and take down. On top of all this even archery hunters can use this setup. It will take practicing shooting from a sitting position but it can be done. I know that papa shot his first buck with a bow sitting in a chair. We will make sure to get video showing how it can be used with a bow. So far I can’t find anything I don’t like about it, but I’m just guessing the only thing I can imagine I’m not going to like is that I didn’t come up with the idea. Make sure to check back with us soon as we will be working on a video showing everything about it. Stay safe, good luck, and we will see you in the woods.
-The Hillbilly
https://stringeroutdoors.com/products
The Art of Calling
-TThere is an art to calling deer and fooling a mature buck into believing you are another deer. You can sound like a deer and it not fool him into coming in that is because calling is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to fooling a mature buck. This past archery season I had the privilege of hunting with a very good friend that rattles up bucks every year not just one or two a season enough that in one week of hunting with him I lost count. Multiple bucks at a time would come in and I was absolutely amazed.
This wasn’t on a managed farm or even private property it was public land that gets hunted hard every year. I have tried my hand at rattling and had some luck but not like this. I paid close attention and asked a lot of questions I picked his brain for a week and look forward to hunting this style again I have already been thinking of places I will be trying this style. Now it’s time for me to pass the knowledge I gained on to you all.
To start the process off you have to be absolutely scent free you want to smell like nothing. He hadn’t used dead down wind before this season and now he won’t use anything else after he got to witness firsthand how effective it was. The way we did it was a two person buddy hunt you have a caller and a shooter but you can do it with just one person but today I will be talking about the buddy hunt.
Second you have to know the wind and what deer will do most the time a mature buck is going to circle down wind of the caller to try and catch the scent of the two bucks that are fighting. Sometimes you might get the timing or the right buck and he will come running in from any direction but in theory the mature buck you are after is going to circle down wind. The shooter therefore needs to be downwind of the caller to get a shot at the buck when he sneaks up and tries to see what’s going on before he comes in to show who’s boss.
That is why being scent free is so important the shooter cannot smell nor have any scent otherwise it throws it all off. The only scent you want to have is from the callers’ position up wind from the shooter. Now the scent from the callers’ position needs to mimic the scent that would be coming from two bucks fighting that means you need to have two different buck scents. Tink’s has you covered in the scent department with anything you need. Throw in some doe in heat from Tink’s and you have the scents covered. Now the way you want to set them up is in a triangle so as the buck circles he’s catching different scents from the deer that are up wind. We call this a scent screen and it by itself will get deer to come in if they are in the right mood.
Deer are naturally curious so by setting up a scent screen you may get deer to come in just checking it out without calling they aren’t looking for a fight they just want to see what’s going on so they stay away from the scent they skirt the boundaries listening and watching trying to figure it out. But back to the art of calling.
Now let’s do a rundown of what we have, we have a scent free shooter about 50 yards down wind of a caller who is in a scent triangle that the wind is carrying the scent screen to the shooter down wind. Check, check, and check. Now it’s time to start calling!
To start off the calling when you get set up you want to wait about 5 minutes for the scent to carry and for the woods to calm back down and then the fun starts you use a doe bleat or can and wait about 2 minutes then a grunt snort wheeze followed by a grunt from another tube so it sounds like its coming from a different buck. Give it 30 to 45 seconds and hit the horns but don’t do this sitting down. When bucks fight it’s not just antlers making noise create natural pauses in your rattling stomp your feet on the ground bounce into trees smash brush kick leaves and do this for about 5 minutes and stop but when you do you need to have a tree picked out with your bow sitting at it and run to it doing some short grunts like one buck chased off the other.
After you have made it back to your tree sit and wait be ready because a buck could come in from any direction that’s if you are the caller. If you are the shooter keep watching from downwind or for a buck to be circling. If nothing comes in move down wind a few hundred yards from the shooter spot and do it all over again.
This tactic works and it’s an art form it takes practice but you will get the hang of it and you will learn what works and doesn’t I was lucky enough to learn from a pro that has been doing this same thing for 30 years and has worked out all the details. It’s absolutely amazing watching mature bucks come in and also seeing the young ones come in. pay attention to the body language the deer show you because they may let you know that there is a bad boy in the area that you don’t even see. Try it out this season but start practicing your calling now so you have worked out the kinks come season. Good luck stay safe and we will see you in the woods.
-The Hillbilly
This wasn’t on a managed farm or even private property it was public land that gets hunted hard every year. I have tried my hand at rattling and had some luck but not like this. I paid close attention and asked a lot of questions I picked his brain for a week and look forward to hunting this style again I have already been thinking of places I will be trying this style. Now it’s time for me to pass the knowledge I gained on to you all.
To start the process off you have to be absolutely scent free you want to smell like nothing. He hadn’t used dead down wind before this season and now he won’t use anything else after he got to witness firsthand how effective it was. The way we did it was a two person buddy hunt you have a caller and a shooter but you can do it with just one person but today I will be talking about the buddy hunt.
Second you have to know the wind and what deer will do most the time a mature buck is going to circle down wind of the caller to try and catch the scent of the two bucks that are fighting. Sometimes you might get the timing or the right buck and he will come running in from any direction but in theory the mature buck you are after is going to circle down wind. The shooter therefore needs to be downwind of the caller to get a shot at the buck when he sneaks up and tries to see what’s going on before he comes in to show who’s boss.
That is why being scent free is so important the shooter cannot smell nor have any scent otherwise it throws it all off. The only scent you want to have is from the callers’ position up wind from the shooter. Now the scent from the callers’ position needs to mimic the scent that would be coming from two bucks fighting that means you need to have two different buck scents. Tink’s has you covered in the scent department with anything you need. Throw in some doe in heat from Tink’s and you have the scents covered. Now the way you want to set them up is in a triangle so as the buck circles he’s catching different scents from the deer that are up wind. We call this a scent screen and it by itself will get deer to come in if they are in the right mood.
Deer are naturally curious so by setting up a scent screen you may get deer to come in just checking it out without calling they aren’t looking for a fight they just want to see what’s going on so they stay away from the scent they skirt the boundaries listening and watching trying to figure it out. But back to the art of calling.
Now let’s do a rundown of what we have, we have a scent free shooter about 50 yards down wind of a caller who is in a scent triangle that the wind is carrying the scent screen to the shooter down wind. Check, check, and check. Now it’s time to start calling!
To start off the calling when you get set up you want to wait about 5 minutes for the scent to carry and for the woods to calm back down and then the fun starts you use a doe bleat or can and wait about 2 minutes then a grunt snort wheeze followed by a grunt from another tube so it sounds like its coming from a different buck. Give it 30 to 45 seconds and hit the horns but don’t do this sitting down. When bucks fight it’s not just antlers making noise create natural pauses in your rattling stomp your feet on the ground bounce into trees smash brush kick leaves and do this for about 5 minutes and stop but when you do you need to have a tree picked out with your bow sitting at it and run to it doing some short grunts like one buck chased off the other.
After you have made it back to your tree sit and wait be ready because a buck could come in from any direction that’s if you are the caller. If you are the shooter keep watching from downwind or for a buck to be circling. If nothing comes in move down wind a few hundred yards from the shooter spot and do it all over again.
This tactic works and it’s an art form it takes practice but you will get the hang of it and you will learn what works and doesn’t I was lucky enough to learn from a pro that has been doing this same thing for 30 years and has worked out all the details. It’s absolutely amazing watching mature bucks come in and also seeing the young ones come in. pay attention to the body language the deer show you because they may let you know that there is a bad boy in the area that you don’t even see. Try it out this season but start practicing your calling now so you have worked out the kinks come season. Good luck stay safe and we will see you in the woods.
-The Hillbilly
Antler Growth Process
The annual antler growing process is starting back up! If it hasn’t started visually it will be soon so it’s time to get your cameras out over mineral and make sure to have plenty of mineral out for the deer. The antler growing process starts with little nubs covered in velvet towards the end of April beginning of May and the antlers continue growing covered in velvet into September then the velvet starts to dry and crack and the bucks will start making rubs to get the velvet off. By the end of September the antlers will be hard and clean then during the February March time frame the antlers will fall off and the process will start over again somewhere after 15 days after the antlers fall off.
Right now is a good time to have your cameras over mineral and to use those pictures to inventory the bucks you have in your area. Some bucks will visit a mineral site every day others will visit a few times a month but if you don’t have cameras out you won’t know what bucks are coming in to your mineral. The pictures help you as a hunter manage the property you are hunting and the antler growing process. You will be able to use this to your advantage latter on in the season when you are narrowing down your bucks and deciding what bucks are on your hitlist.
Mineral is the key right now since it’s the beginning of the process you want those deer overloaded with mineral. Since antlers are bones and bucks use minerals to grow the antlers you want the right kind of minerals out to help the bucks grow bigger antlers and have a healthy herd. Bucks will pull mineral from their own body to grow antlers and this weakens the bones. If they have the extra minerals they won’t have to pull as much mineral from there body there for keeping them healthier.
The two main minerals found in deer antlers are calcium and phosphorus. Other minerals are found in deer antlers such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, barium, iron, aluminum, zinc, strontium and manganese. Other than the main two (calcium and phosphorus) scientist don’t know what aspect the other minerals contribute to the antlers other than the trace amounts of the minerals in the antlers. When you are buying deer mineral check the label because what is being passed off as mineral is pretty much a salt mixture. Sodium is found in deer antlers but not a large percentage there for they don’t need as much of it. Sodium will be in almost every mineral mix you buy because it is what attracts deer to the mineral because they are like people and crave salt.
When it comes to the cameras I will check them about every two weeks and when I do that I will put out more mineral and recharge the site. I use two SD cards per camera I will pull one put the other in and load them on my computer when I get home. This year I’m going to try something different and load them on my tablet right at the site and put the card back in the camera cutting down on the amount of SD cards I have to take with me. I will still be bringing spare cards just in case something happens because well with my luck something will go wrong and by anticipating it I will be prepared and it won’t be a big deal.
For your set up I would face the camera north or south and have it 10 to 15 feet away from the mineral. You have to options when you mount the camera you can mount it just a few feet off the ground or about 2 feet about eye level angled down towards your mineral. My cameras are set a few feet off the ground just because that’s my preference but everyone that uses cameras has their own way of doing it and you will find yours to.
In closing we have discussed the antler growing process that has already started or about to and how with cameras out right now you will be able to watch deer grow there antlers from start to finish. What minerals are found in antlers and what you need to look for in a supplemental mineral to start a mineral site. Last but not least I talked about trail cameras, how to set them up over a mineral site and different ways to check the SD cards. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 acres or 500 or even if you have your own land you can put out mineral and trail cameras. You can pick up a camera for fewer than one hundred dollars and mineral isn’t expensive either make sure to check local laws if you are on public land. Not only does it help the deer herd but it will help you learn about the deer and it’s a great way to spend more time in the outdoors and the pictures are always entertaining. I will be putting my cameras out this weekend so good luck, be safe, take care and we will see you in the woods.
-The Hillbilly
Right now is a good time to have your cameras over mineral and to use those pictures to inventory the bucks you have in your area. Some bucks will visit a mineral site every day others will visit a few times a month but if you don’t have cameras out you won’t know what bucks are coming in to your mineral. The pictures help you as a hunter manage the property you are hunting and the antler growing process. You will be able to use this to your advantage latter on in the season when you are narrowing down your bucks and deciding what bucks are on your hitlist.
Mineral is the key right now since it’s the beginning of the process you want those deer overloaded with mineral. Since antlers are bones and bucks use minerals to grow the antlers you want the right kind of minerals out to help the bucks grow bigger antlers and have a healthy herd. Bucks will pull mineral from their own body to grow antlers and this weakens the bones. If they have the extra minerals they won’t have to pull as much mineral from there body there for keeping them healthier.
The two main minerals found in deer antlers are calcium and phosphorus. Other minerals are found in deer antlers such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, barium, iron, aluminum, zinc, strontium and manganese. Other than the main two (calcium and phosphorus) scientist don’t know what aspect the other minerals contribute to the antlers other than the trace amounts of the minerals in the antlers. When you are buying deer mineral check the label because what is being passed off as mineral is pretty much a salt mixture. Sodium is found in deer antlers but not a large percentage there for they don’t need as much of it. Sodium will be in almost every mineral mix you buy because it is what attracts deer to the mineral because they are like people and crave salt.
When it comes to the cameras I will check them about every two weeks and when I do that I will put out more mineral and recharge the site. I use two SD cards per camera I will pull one put the other in and load them on my computer when I get home. This year I’m going to try something different and load them on my tablet right at the site and put the card back in the camera cutting down on the amount of SD cards I have to take with me. I will still be bringing spare cards just in case something happens because well with my luck something will go wrong and by anticipating it I will be prepared and it won’t be a big deal.
For your set up I would face the camera north or south and have it 10 to 15 feet away from the mineral. You have to options when you mount the camera you can mount it just a few feet off the ground or about 2 feet about eye level angled down towards your mineral. My cameras are set a few feet off the ground just because that’s my preference but everyone that uses cameras has their own way of doing it and you will find yours to.
In closing we have discussed the antler growing process that has already started or about to and how with cameras out right now you will be able to watch deer grow there antlers from start to finish. What minerals are found in antlers and what you need to look for in a supplemental mineral to start a mineral site. Last but not least I talked about trail cameras, how to set them up over a mineral site and different ways to check the SD cards. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 acres or 500 or even if you have your own land you can put out mineral and trail cameras. You can pick up a camera for fewer than one hundred dollars and mineral isn’t expensive either make sure to check local laws if you are on public land. Not only does it help the deer herd but it will help you learn about the deer and it’s a great way to spend more time in the outdoors and the pictures are always entertaining. I will be putting my cameras out this weekend so good luck, be safe, take care and we will see you in the woods.
-The Hillbilly
