The Hillbilly Family is growing!
Children and the outdoors When should you start introducing a child to the outdoors? What age is too young to start taking a kid to the woods? I’m not talking about when do you put a gun in there hand for them to shoot an animal I’m just talking about taking the scouting, checking trail cameras, and camping. All arguments are valid and I want to know what everyone thinks. Also are boys and girls different when it comes to when the time is right to take them into the woods for the first time. In the article I will talk about my view on all the topics I just mentioned.
First I will say the younger you introduce them to the outdoors the better. The woods are not dangerous to a child as long as they and with someone that is knowledgeable in the outdoors. My feeling is that a child is safest when they are with their parents. A child learns the fastest when they are young so taking a child to the woods and teaching them about the outdoors is the best place to start. I think the child needs to be able to walk well before you take them to the woods. So at whatever age a child can walk well is when the time is right to take them to the woods. There are other things that can impact it weather and the conditions of where you are taking them. I don’t think there is any defined age to when is to young if you have a good trail and an off road stroller you could take them outdoors before they can walk. The only reason boys and girls are different is because how you raise them and what you teach them. I don’t feel there is anything programed into a boy that isn’t programed into a girl. So if you want to raise your daughter one way and your son another by all means do so but for me I will raise my daughter the same way I would raise a son. If she decides when she is older she doesn’t want to hunt or be outdoorsy then that is her choice but I will teach her everything I would teacher a boy. A trip into the outdoors is as safe as you make it and it can be as much a learning experience as anything. Taking a child into the outdoors when they are young will do many things it will get them out of the house, teach them about mother nature, and the vitamin D is good for them. Giving a boy and girl the same opportunities is very important. Teaching them at a young age will only make them smarter and safer when they are older. So what do you think? What is your opinion? Head to Facebook twitter or the blog on the site to tell us your thoughts I’m interested to see what other people think about this topic. My wife feels the opposite of me so I have heard it already. So let’s see what you all think being of likeminded in most areas as me The Hillbilly. Josh Reed says-
To tell you the truth. They are never to young. We took my boy campin when he was a week old, Fishing with us later the following year scouting with me at 2 years old & he was shooting a bow by 3 years old. He is 10 years old now and has his own tree stand. Start them young and you have a outdoorsmen buddy for life. Do you think like this? Do any of the following apply to you? Is deer season always on your mind? Here at Hillbilly Huntin and across the country people are freaks about deer season. When deer hunting is your life you may think like us, if you’re not sure read threw the list and see what applies to you and if any of them do then you are a deer nut and you’re in the right place.
1. You make a gun with your index finger and thumb to take out Santa’s reindeer in the neighbor’s Christmas decorations. 2. Your yard is planted with Biologic. 3. You put more effort into naming bucks than you did naming your kids. 4. When your significant other says 'Dear,' you reply 'Where?' 5. You keep your most expensive clothing in a trash bag with leaves and dirt. 6. Instead of family pictures in your wallet, you have trail camera photos of hit-list bucks. 7. You start a fight in church over whether Noah took a typical or nontypical buck aboard the ark. 8. The smell of 'Doe-in-Estrous' turns you on. 9. You start every letter with 'Deer…' 10. You first saw a Drone in the news and thought 'Mobile Trail Cam.' 11. When a non-hunting friend says 'Look at that rack,' you scan for deer. 12. You total your truck hitting a deer and think, 'I hope the backstraps are okay.' 13. Your wife leaves you on September 8th, and you don't notice until the November 18th. 14. Your main motivation for starting your own business was more time in the woods. 15. When shopping for a new family vehicle, your first consideration is 'Where will I put the deer?' 16. You’ve stood up a date to track a deer you didn't shoot. 17. You planed your wedding and children around deer season. 18. You save all your sick days and vacation for deer season. 19. You spend more money on deer season then birthdays and Christmas put together. 20. You start thinking about next season as soon as you fill your tag. 21. When buying a house depends on room for antlers. 22. The smell of fresh earth is how you keep your vehicle smelling. Did anything from the list ring a bell? Yes! Good you have found yourself a place that you fit in and you will feel completely normal about the way you live. Here at Hillbilly Huntin all year long we talk deer hunting and we are always looking to expand the Hillbilly Huntin community. Enjoy the articles, pictures, blogs, tips, and stories. We look forward to hearing your input! Scent for deer hunting. By Josh Reed It's not the brand of scent that you use; it's how high you hang it. Last year before deer season like a lot of you out there getting tree stands ready, scouting, cutting shooting lanes, setting up trail cam's and so on. I was out looking at an area that I didn't go in but knew about it from a land owner. The land owner said “Not much in there, you won't see much”, so I took his word for it and never went in there. Bad mistake!! Take my word for it check it out you never know!
I went back and found a good spot, cut some shooting lanes put a stand up & hung a trail camera. A week later went back to check the cam and had pictures of one maybe two deer, I thought to myself not bad. So hunting season is here the wind is right the weather is ok but on the hot side. I'm heading to the new spot. I go in there I use my cover sent, a sent drag, and hang a sent dispenser about a little over waist high. I'm setting in my stand waiting. I can see deer but there at 70, to 90 yard's, and they aren't coming any closer. This went on for a couple of weeks. Nothing! I always give a new spot at least two to three weeks you just never know. The third week I had the week off of work and it’s time to make it happen I noticed the week's prier that the deer's noses were up in the air trying to get a scent. Keep in mind I'm talking 60 to 70 degrees in the middle to the end of October. The rut is starting soon and things are changing the weather is even starting to break a little but still warm. I got to thinking about the nose of a deer and how well it works. Then I got to thinking about steam (work on the brain) then I put two and two together. Heat rises and when it colder the air is heavier. The scent at waist high in warm weather doesn't travail as far. Now with that in mind set your scent to 12 to 18 inches or so. The scent has to travail farther before it’s not noticeable to the deer in that area. Now in colder weather don't change a thing the scent will just travail farther. I got more trail cam pictures and even more opportunities at the deer in my area. In the long run that is why we do what we do. It's not just the harvest of an animal it's being out there with the animal learning about them enjoying the outdoors and if you get lucky you get to take one home. Plus and this is a big plus when you take a child. There not bored looking at trees, grass, and dirt that they can see at home & more times than not they will want to go again. From Josh Reed Thank you Josh for the great article thank you for sharing! We look forward to reading more from you! Deer camp food When it comes to camp food try and come up with things everyone will like. Also try and think of foods that want give you gas or have to go to the bathroom really bad. One example of a meal we had a few years back that was good but not a good idea due to the fact we spent a lot of time in the bathroom was wine spaghetti. Good ideas for meals are things that would stick with you and warm you up if it’s cold. Another key is food that is easy is cook and prepare.
When you are thinking about food for deer camp get with the regular camp members and ask what they want to eat this year try and split up the cost. If its stuff you can prepare ahead of time split up who brings what chili is a good one along with thick soups. Then all you have to do is warm it up and it’s easy to make dinner. There are different ways to do breakfast oatmeal is easy if everyone brings a box your set. Snacks and lunch everyone can bring a little and then share with each other. That’s the big thing bring enough to share with your others camp members. If there is something you really want bring it but bring enough to share. If you have a good camp cook he can cook anything you want in camp talk to him ahead of time and tell him you will bring it if he will cook it or you can cook it that night and it can be dinner. It can be whatever you want but think about how it will sit on your stomach and affect your hunt. think about your hunt if you have hiked and hunted all day you’re going to be super hungry so make sure you have enough food to fill your belly and replenish all the calories you burned that day. So when it comes to camp food remember the key things easy to make, how it will affect you, and sharing is caring. Help out with meals weather it’s cooking or cleaning up and talk about the meals ahead of time. Share the cost of food and prepare what you can ahead of time. If you remember these few keys your camp food and atmosphere will be pleasant. Matching Sheds (A MONSTER!!!) These sheds are from Missouri close to one of the of the Hillbilly Huntin community members old stomping grounds. These sheds were found by Uncle Possum the left one with the broken g-2 that has a couple kickers off it, measured 86 inches and change and was found in, I believe, January. The right one is not broken but, I don't have a score on it. It was found this past weekend. Clearly 180-190's class buck.
This buck is an amazing testament of what god creates and what we all dream about. The person who is able to take a buck with these antlers still attached will have achieved something we all want. A buck that has gotten to the age of this one has out smarted many hunters and grown very wise over the years. I just hope that he is taken legally, ethically, and doesn’t end up on the side of the road. I hope that whoever puts a tag on this buck understands what a trophy he is and how amazing tagging a buck like this is. Great find and it is awesome that both sides were found. Camp curtsies In deer camp there is a pecking order you have your most seasoned hunters with the most camps under their belts and you have the guys that don’t have any or just a few camps under their belt. When it comes to camp curtsy’s it gets tricky you have to respect the most successful hunters in your camp but you have to look at who they have the most respect for and you better have the most respect for that person.
There is probably a reason for the way the most successful hunter in camp respects someone and my guess would be because it’s the old man of camp and the successful hunter probably learned from the old man. The old man most likely knows more about deer then you will learn in five years he has spent his entire life chasing the most amazing animal on the planet. Now when I say old man I’m not saying the oldest person in camp by saying old man I mean it’s the person in camp who has been hunting the longest and is the most seasoned hunter in camp. Your curtseys should be if someone gets up from a chair and it’s the best spot around the fire you don’t get up and take that spot. You have to earn that spot. If you drink the last cup of coffee ask if anyone else wants coffee if they do start another pot. Keep your stuff picked up for me I bring a lot of stuff but I bring everything I could possibly need rain, cold, heat, and extra gear. I do this because the weather changes and you never know what’s going to happen and someone may need to barrow some of my extra gear when the weather changes. I keep all my gear out of the way and will move it as need be. If you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom don’t use light and wake everyone up. Sleep is one of the biggest problems in camp don’t wake everyone up for no reason only wake people up if it’s important. When everyone goes to bed turn your cell phone to vibrate and ask everyone what time they want to wake up even if two people have alarms set set yours as well for the time everyone has agreed on. If you know something needs to be done do it don’t wait to be asked and always ask or offer to help. If you know a good spot or have noticed something trending with the deer shares it with your camp. if you haven’t tagged out you don’t need to give away your hunting spot but be kind if you’re heading to the woods to scout and you have an idea were your other guys hunt scout your area and if you have time head to another spot or to and scout a little then let that guy know what you saw. Share your scouting report with your camp members. Respect each other’s hunting areas if you know which you should were your camp members hunt don’t tread on their area to hunt if you’re going to hunt close by or are thinking about it take to the hunter that claimed the spot nearby and make sure he’s ok with it if he’s not ask where he would be ok with. With these common camp curtsy’s you should fare well in deer camp if you are invited to a deer camp for the first time and you don’t show respect and have curtsy’s you probably won’t be invited back its important that you make a good impression to continue having a good vibe in camp. You don’t want tension in camp when that happens it ruins it for everyone. Deer camp responsibilities In your deer camp everyone should have responsibilities even the new guys. The more deer camps you’re in the higher your seniority will be and the better job you will have. If everyone in your camp is at the same level you should take turns with the jobs. Weather it’s getting up first to start the coffee or get the lanterns started. The rotation should be fair otherwise it’s going to cause tension in your camp.
Let’s look at some of the jobs in camp. You have the camp cook this person should be a good cook and be able to delegate things that need to be done for cooking. But the majority of the cooking and preparation should be done by the cook. When it comes to the dishes and things used to cook the cook shouldn’t be the one doing the cleanup for it. The other members of the deer camp should be doing the dishes and everyone should take part in cleaning up for the meal. Next you have the wood collector normally it’s a privilege to make the fire it’s a pride thing you want to be known as the guy that can start a good fire. but just because he collected the wood and started the fire doesn’t mean it’s your job all camp to keep the fire stocked and going that should be done by whoever is around camp that notices the fire needs to be stocked. You also have the guy that has to keep camp clean meaning keeping the trash picked up and keeping the tent or camper clean. This job is normally the new guy’s job and should be given to the guy that’s trying to build his reputation. Now is where it gets tricky if you come into camp and you’re the first one back even if you don’t drink coffee but you know everyone else does and it’s a cold or chilly season start the coffee and get the fire going good. pick up around camp and if you know what the meal is going to be start what you know you can if it’s getting water boiling or pealing potatoes do it without being asked. For the camps that have been around for years everyone should pitch in and help out with everything. In our camp we all do a little bit of everything but papa or old man does the most cooking and cheeto and I do the cleanup. The only way you get out of being in the rotation of waking up first and getting the coffee going and warming up the camper is if you’re tagged out. when your tagged out and if you’re the first one your kind of the top dog if you have a good idea of where someone can hunt and get a deer help a camp member out and tell them about it but you better be able to explain why you think they should hunt there. Every camp will be a little different so your camp jobs will be different but keep in mind the basics and remember the old man of camp really gets the pick of what job he wants and the new guy gets what’s left over after everyone has picked what they are going to do. Try not to be too hard on the new guy but make sure he pulls his weight and give them responsibility’s. Scent free So the last article I wrote was about the wind and how to hunt it and what the deer do in the different conditions. I told you I wasn’t going to write about expensive camouflage and I’m not but I am going to tell you how to eliminate the most scent without spending tons of money.
Wash your clothes in scent free detergent with nothing but hunting clothes. Make sure your lent trap is cleaned out and there is no left over softener in your washer. After your clothes are washed and dried take a plastic tub or scent free trash bag and spray it down with a scent away of your choice let it partially dry. As you fold your clothes spray them with scent away and put them in your tub or bag. You can even put a scent wafer of your choice in with it. Put the lid on your tub and tape it down or tie off your bag. Your gear is easy scent away the crap out of it every time you go out. Try and keep it away from places that produce a lot of scent like fires. Now when you are heading out for your hunt spray yourself down with scent away eat an apple it will clean your teeth don’t brush them. Put scent wafers on your clothes and spay your boots down with a cover scent like fox urine or raccoon urine. Spray a cover scent over your entire body including your face just make sure to close your eyes. When you get to the spot you’re going to hunt if you have enough scent wafers hang them around you if you don’t it’s not a big deal take a few off of yourself and hang them around. If you had a long walk in or it is hot and you started sweating spray yourself down again with scent away or cover scent. Spray yourself down threw out the day if you’re on an all-day hunt. Now some of you might be thinking I will spend the money on special clothes. Well great that’s good but some people don’t have the money and this will be just fine my grandparent tagged out every year and didn’t even wear camouflage. Good luck this year and keep checking back for new articles. Trail cam pictures age that deer! With bucks being in velvet we here at Hillbilly Huntin have decided to start a new page under Deer Camp Talk were we will put different trail cam pictures. The goal is to tray and age the deer on the hoof from a picture at different times threw out the year. The page will be a blog and we will call it Age That Deer. If you have trail cam photos you would like to have posted so everyone in the Hillbilly Huntin Community can enjoy and try and age the deer send them in and they will be posted. So head on over to Age That Deer and let’s hear what you think.
Traditions!!! As I have wrote about my flag before (October 2012 is where you can find it) I find myself doing it again. This time it’s more about traditions and things we do year after year not because it benefits the hunt or does anything for us physically but because it’s part of who we are and what we stand for.
Every year my flag goes on every fishing, hunting, and vacation trip I go on. It rides in my car everywhere I go. It was with me when I got married and when my daughter was born. It’s the same flag that was with me when I was deployed to Iraq. 
I don’t fly her for an act, I don’t fly her only certain times of the year, I don’t only fly her when something big happens in our country. Year round I am patriotic, year round I’m proud of her. I fly her with pride and honor as a symbol of America and all we stand for.
I will defend her until my last breath and with all the strength in my mind, body, heart, and soul. No one can take her from me without a fight that ends with me buried and in a better place. And I will promise you I won’t be the only one that dies in the fight to take my flag from me. I won’t let you disrespect or dishonor her. 
Every year we camp in the same place my grandpa camped and lost his life in his sleep opening weekend of deer season in a place he loved. There are other places we could camp we don’t have to camp there we do it because its tradition and we are carrying it on.
Every year I think and remember my grandpa and wonder if he was here with me would he be proud of me? What would he be teaching me? What would he think of my daughter? Am I going to be the man he wanted his grandson to be? 
We hunt because of traditions and heritage passed on from one generation to the next. From father to son, to grandson and so on, from generation to generation. It’s a time to remember, a time to bond, a time to learn, and a time to enjoy Gods great creation.
The stories told in a deer camp may not be 100% accurate, the food may not be the best, and it might not be the best sleep you ever get. The memories you get, the things you learn, and the time spent together with friends, family, and Gods creations will be the best you have. 
You may not tag the buck running through your dreams keeping you up the night before a hunt. That’s part of it! Yeah we all wont that monster hanging on the our wall but the stories from the small buck or doe will be just as good to pass on.
I wait all year for deer season and deer camp it’s the time of year that no matter what goes wrong or how bad your season was you never forget it and you learn from it. “The lessons of life” is what I call it. What traditions do you have? What do you do every year to carry it on? My flag I hold so close to my heart and deer camp are mine what are yours? Keep traditions alive otherwise you have nothing to pass on! Head over to Deer Camp Talk and tell us about your traditions and how you carry them on year after year! 
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Why I am Who I am! What keeps you going all year long to think about deer hunting? How do you stay motivated 365 days a year to stay focused on deer hunting? Why do you spend so much time threw out the year on deer? These are questions I get from people that don’t understand my passion for deer hunting. As Hillbilly Huntin grows more and more people that don’t understand me The Hillbilly are finding their way to The Hillbilly Huntin website so I thought I would explain why I am the way I am and so many others are like me.
What keeps me and so many others like me going all year long to think about deer hunting? To start out with you will never know everything about deer and what makes them tick. It doesn’t matter how hard you try or what you do you will never be able to predict 100% of what the deer will do. The thing is you can try and you will learn more and more. The more you do learn the better chance you have. I say chance because hunting is never a for sure thing what is for sure is that the more work you put in on something the better it feels when it happens. Guys and girls like me are able to keep thinking about deer hunting all year because. It’s what we do we hunt an amazing animal that has out smarted Mother Nature and with the odds against them they have adapted and overcome it all. The traditions that we stand for and the heritage we have make it all worth it carrying it on trying to make every season better than the last and being successful is what keeps us going. I stay motivated because the feeling I have when I’m pursuing the majestic whitetail is more powerful than anything you could drink or take. Watching the steam of a deer’s breath as it appears out of thin air is like magic. The feeling you get when all your work pays off makes it all worth it. Doing everything I can all year long for the chance of having a successful deer season is what keeps me motivated. The competitive side of me that is programed into every one of us makes me want to shoot a bigger more mature buck every year. Trying to fix the mistakes from last year’s hunt to make a hunt more successful is part of what drives us learning as much as we can to outsmart a wise buck and put the cards in my favor makes me stay focused year round. Like I have already said trying to be the best hunter I can be is why I spend so much time threw the year on deer hunting. I do the website and write all these articles to help other hunters be the best hunter they can. My wife for example doesn’t understand why I work so hard year round to shoot a deer when other hunters put in less than half the work I do and still tag a deer. I have to point out to her that they may tag a deer but who tagged one the first earliest and who shot the bigger buck. Out of my hunting party I saw more deer and tagged the biggest buck and that is because I put in the most work and study the most. I’m not taking anything away from the guys that don’t put in as much work as I do. They deserve to tag a deer because they did put in work. What I’m saying is I put in the work because I want to shoot a mature buck not just a deer. Yes I hunt for meat first but when I shoot a buck I want him to be mature I want to be the best hunter in the woods just like everyone wants to be the best with whatever it is. Deer hunting is a challenge and when I take on a challenge I take it on 100%. I spend so much time scouting and studying deer because I want to be able to pass on the knowledge I learn to others to help them be the best they can be. Teaching others is my newest challenge and you can’t teach someone something if you don’t know it first. So carrying on the traditions is what I want to do and not just teach my kids and grandkids when I have them I want to teach the world how to hunt whitetail and be successful. I don’t want to just teach them or tell them the basics I want them to be able to feel comfortable with the feeling they have learned enough that they can scout out a good spot and tag a deer. These are the things that keep me going throughout the year this is why I spend so much time preparing for deer season. I’m a deer nut and the traditions that have been passed on to me need to be passed on to others. Everything I do is to better prepare myself for deer season and being successful is why I’m so determined on studying preparing and learning about whitetail. If you have any questions for me I am happy to answer them, shoot me your questions and comments to have them answered. Summer Days! So it’s the beginning of summer the weather is beautiful this weekend here in Missouri its cooled down into the 70’s from the 90’s the lakes and rivers are no longer cold and they feel great. Just got a report that the catfish are hitting hard and the fishing is great right now. Deer hunting is on the back burner right now for most people. Deer hunting is on my back burner right now as well and I’m able to work on other things to advance my knowledge and Hillbilly Huntin. On top of that the Hillbilly family is trying to make plans for the newest member of the Hillbilly herd it should be here in February sometime. So the wife will be pregnant during deer season so it might get complicated. I will keep you up to date when we find out if it will be a boy or girl. Our daughter calls it “baby deer” she’s going to be pretty upset when she figures out it’s not a baby deer.
Now with the nice summer days being here I’m sure there aren’t many of you jumping on here and checking things out but that’s not going to slow us down. The articles and updates will continue throughout the summer. If you get on and the just my thoughts page has been updated to the next month and you are behind on reading articles. Just hold your mouse over “Just My Thoughts” and a list will drop down click on the month you were last on and read all the articles you missed out on then click “Just My Thoughts” and read the current months article and you will be back up to speed. Enjoy the nice summer days before it gets to hot and send in your summer outdoor pictures so when can add them to the site. Don’t forget to send in your summer Bar-B-Q recopies for everyone to enjoy. Check back with us as often as you can since we will be updating the site daily. Have a great summer!! Fawns survive separated from their mother! This time of year animals are being born and for what it matters we will be talking about deer. When we think of a fawn we think of it in two ways. The first is staying pretty much glued to its mother never more than a few feet away. The second is running and jumping with grace and a tone of energy. There is a phase we don’t see much but every newborn goes through it.
In May and June fawns are found in fields and in the woods hiding under low vegetation alone. At this age a fawn is brownish red with white dots and has no scent, this makes them almost invisible to a predator. A mother doe will nurse her fawn then take it to a safe place and leave for long amounts of time but then return to nurse the fawn and move it to another safe place then leave again. This phase will last about 3 weeks after the fawn is born. After 3 weeks or so they are able to follow and keep up with their mother. Before that there natural instinct is to lie absolutely still or if they are standing they will freeze no matter what is approaching them. As they get older they will start by freezing in place then jump and run away to safety. A deer survival depends on their natural instincts on escaping danger. They have been doing this since before any of us were alive they know what they are doing and are amazing animals. Deer are able to escape danger because of their speed and jumping ability. An adult whitetail can run in short burst up to 40 miles an hour and jump up to 8 feet high possibly higher. Deer are also incredible swimmers and understand that by heading to water they can swim across it hiding there scent and disorienting a predator. If you are lucky and spend a lot of time in the woods you may come across a fawn lying on the ground. Do not try and move the fawn and do not try and take it home with you. Enjoy the amazing animal god created take pictures from a distance and slowly walk away. If the fawn tries to follow you gently push on its shoulders and it will lie back down. It’s the same thing its mother would do. Taking a fawn or any other wild animal out of its natural habitat and trying to raise it is against the law and can endanger the animal no matter how good your intentions are it’s not safe for you or the animal. So when you find a fawn hiding with no doe in sight is it abandoned? No most likely not it’s a survival technique that has been done for years and years. If you think it is abandoned call the department of conservation and let them take care of it professionally. Take lots of pictures if you can and one day you may have this deer in your sites hopefully 4 or 5 years down the road. Crayons will burn! Did you know a crayon will burn like a candle? So you didn’t know but you still say why does that matter? There are lots of things you can do with this little piece of knowledge. I’m going to tell you a few. But first I will tell you a little about why and how they burn. To light them you need to stand them up right and melt the crayon down to the paper then continue to hold the lighter to it. The paper will start burning and you will have it lit.it will burn for ten to twenty minutes. The reason this works is because the wax keeps the paper from burning up like any other piece of paper. Fair warning when it is burning it smells really bad.
You can use it as a fire starter you do this by sticking the crayon in the dirt and light it. You put your small pieces of kindling around it to prepare it then you can put your dryer lint or paper even card board on it and it will continue to burn and start your fire so you can start getting your wood ready for your fire. Second you can use them as an emergency candle. Melt the bottom then immediately stick it to a solid area then light it. You will have some light and be able to see things around it without wasting batteries and lighter. If u want to prepare something ahead of time take a can glue the crayon to the bottom and make a handle for it you now have a portable candle. You can even add kindling to it and have a small heat source. If you have kids you probably have boxes of crayons lying around and if you don’t you can pick up a cheap box for less than a dollar. Keeping them with your gear for an emergency would be a good thing. Melting the wax over things can be used to water proof stuff. Just a tip and information you might not know I hope it helps you.
Trail camera tips (I need them to) Well I know I talked to a lot of people posted it on Twitter and Facebook that there would be trail camera pictures coming up today but I made a mistake when I put the SD card in the trail camera. When I made the walk down to the camera I forgot to check the lock switch and just put it in and walked off. After leaving it for two weeks I went back and when I checked the SD card by putting it in my digital camera it said card locked. That means I got no pictures. I’m sorry for screwing it up but stuff happens so I’m going to write some tips for when you check or put up a trail cam.
First we will talk about SD cards. Make sure your card is empty and unlocked. Never put an SD card in your trail camera that has pictures on it. Have a spare so you can switch them out and you can take the old SD card home to down load the pictures. Before you put your SD card in check and make sure it’s not locked it’s easy to accidently move the switch so double Second bring extra batteries with you. If your camera tells the power percentage level figure out how much power it uses in a week so you know how long you can leave them but if they are low change them out so your camera doesn’t sit in the woods with no power not getting any pictures. Camera angle put your head down at the camera level and make sure you don’t have anything obstructing your view. In my pictures you will see a tree but you also see both sides of the tree so a deer or animal can’t hide behind it and get no pictures. If you have small trees or bushes that keep setting off your camera cut them away so you don’t get tons of empty pictures. Seeing you have hundreds of pictures is exciting until you go threw them and you only have 50 pictures of deer. Remember as the days heat up and summer gets here battery life will change so be aware of that. Also be aware that the sun may shine through the trees and make it hard to see what’s in your pictures. Adjust your camera so you get the best pictures. Mom's even Hillbilly Well if you just think it’s the guys in my family that are Hillbilly’s your wrong she might not hunt or fish much but she made me proud. My mom went noodling for the first time and caught herself a catfish I’m very proud of her.
Article with BuckStonecreekOur good friends at BuckStoneCreek selected one of the articles I posted to be put on their weekly newsletter (the week of June 17, 2013). Make sure to support BuckStoneCreek and go check out there site. They have great deals every week on there so make sure to check it out. If you buy anything from them when you check out make sure to use the coupon code HillbillyHuntin and you will receive 10% off.
More enjoyable season When you’re sitting around this time of year its hot you may be thinking about swimming or fishing in the lakes and rivers but here at Hillbilly Huntin we think about deer season year round we are trying to figure out what we can do to make the next deer season better. Not everything we will do will directly affect us shooting a deer but it will make the hunt more enjoyable. In this article we will talk about different things you can do so your hunt this season will be more enjoyable.
I don’t know about you but squirrels annoy the crap out of me when I’m sitting in my stand and all around me I have a ton of squirrels running around making lots of noise. So to fix that we are planning on heading to the deer woods with the 22 caliber rifles to fill our freezer with squirrels. That will cook for deer season and it will put a warm meal in our bellies and one less meal to plan for camp. Second I’m always wondering what deer stuck around and made it from last season. Picking up a cheap trail camera and starting a mineral site has made it so we can see what deer have made it and before they give us an idea of by making rubs. Being so far from season we might put out some corn to try and draw more deer into the area. Make sure to stop feeding early enough that you’re legally able to hunt there come season. Check your local state regulations and laws. Third start making a l list of everything you’re going to take with you Equipment, clothing, gear, and emergency stuff. By making your list now you can go through it periodically to make sure you have everything on it. When it comes time to pack you have a list and you don’t have to worry about forgetting anything and if you need to buy anything it will give you the time to buy it not rushing around and spending lots of money all at one time. Like I said the things you do now can make a deer season more enjoyable not being rushed and having a plan is a key to making deer camp fun and stress free. In the next few days we will go over camp responsibility’s, with good camp curtsies and camp food. Make sure to check back and read the new articles. Father's Day Today is father’s day and I want to take this time to write about how much my dad or Papa means to me. He has taught me everything I know about hunting he has molded me into the man I am today. He instilled into me discipline, respect, morals, humility, and tradition. He has pushed me to be the best at everything I do and he has always been there when I needed him.
He took me with him fishing and hunting he taught me why hunting and conservation is so important. It’s because of him I know how to navigate through the woods, to read deer sign, to be patient, to understand deer movement, and to understand the land. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be half the man I am today. He is what drives me to be successful in everything from my own family, to my job, even hunting. Every year we scout, hunt, camp, and spend time together my dad is my best friend, father, brother, mentor, and instructor. Thank you dad for everything you do for me and there is nothing I can say to show my appreciation for everything you do. 
Shooting Lanes Right now there is lots of foliage and leaves and your view from your tree stand or where you’re going to hunt is obstructed. What you can do if you have an idea of where you’re going to hunt is go clear shooting lanes from a few different spots that you might hunt. In this article we will discuss why you should clear shooting lanes now and how to do it. I will also give you a few things I would bring with you on your trip to the woods.
First we will talk about why right now is the best time to clear shooting lanes. This early in the summer everything is starting to bloom out you should have the majority of leaves and under growth bloomed out by now. If you can clear out a shooting lane now and are able to see a good distance at this time of year come deer season you should really be able to see. When you go in and clear out shooting lanes you are changing what the deer are used to seeing so it could spook them. Spooking them now is better them spooking them right before season and by deer season they shouldn’t worry about the shooting lane you cleared in June. It also gives you a good idea of your max distance you could shoot and you can practice for your max distance throughout the summer. Second when you clear out a shooting lane you’re not cutting or clearing everything out. All you’re doing is giving yourself a clear shot. If you go and cut everything down in your shooting lane if there is a lot of pressure in your area the deer might avoid it because they don’t feel as safe. You may also give away your spot to other hunters if they are looking through the woods and they see a nice long clearing they will probably take it as there’s and the work you put in will be put to use by another hunter. All that underbrush that normally gets in the way just move it and make a small brush pile it will give the deer the feel of safety. Give yourself about a six foot wide trail that the underbrush is cleared. Then cut down limbs that would be in the way if you were trying to take a shot. In other words just the low branches. Since its so early you need to clear a few shooting lanes not being able to predict were the deer will come from clear a shooting lane to the right, left, and front of where you think you will hunt. From behind you just need to clear out some don’t do a shooting lane but do some clearing all around from behind you so your covered any way they come from. You don’t have to do it all at one time do one shooting lane at a time and adjust it as needed. When I go check my mineral site and trail cam I do some minor clearing. With the temperatures getting higher you don’t want to do a lot you will tire out and burn yourself out. By deer season you will have a very nice spot to hunt from that gives you multiple shooting lanes. Now here are the things I take with me. A machete, camp or folding saw, gloves, pruning clippers, and water. Depending on what you’re trying to clear you are pretty well covered unless you’re trying to take down a complete tree. In that case you’re doing some clear cutting and that’s more than I do. Everything I take with me fits in a back pack you might think about taking some small snacks and depending on the temperature more than one bottle of water. Don’t forget to clean up your trail leading to your stand. There is nothing I hate more than walking to my stand with no light and getting caught up in sticker bushes or tripping over brush. Your trail doesn’t need to be cleared like a shooting lane it just needs to be cleaned up to make your trip in a little easier. Wind Here’s a question for you when does wind not affect your hunt? The answer is it affects every hunt in one way or the other. You have high winds, soft winds, swirling winds, and no winds. So in some way the wind will affect your hunt. Let’s talk about how the wind affects the hunts and what you can do about it.
Just a heads up I’m not going to talk about spending lots of money on the special camouflage that cost a ton of money. I know I can’t afford to buy it so I’m not writing about it. If you can afford it buy it. It can’t hurt but there are things you can do that are just as good and more cost effective. First we will talk about high winds. During high winds deer movement will slow, if not it may even stop unless a deer is pushed. The reason is they can only process so much at one time. When the wind is strong its blowing tree limbs and leaves, it’s noisy. The reason that is important is because hearing is one of the best sensory weapons deer have. When everything is making noise around them they get scared, uneasy, and very jumpy. Second there is so much scent in the air and its moving so fast that it over whelms the scent receptors and they can’t figure out how far away that smell is. The deer are going to bed down in ciders with the wind coming from behind them facing the way its blowing. They do this so they can see what they can’t smell. I know I said the wind over whelms them but they can still smell some just not as good. The reason they bed down in ciders or pines is because it blocks some of the wind. The way you can hunt these conditions is be near a water or food source or on a well-used trail near the pines or ciders you think they are bedding in. The deer will get up to go to the bathroom browse and drink but then they will bed back down until the wind dies down. Soft winds now have lots of ways you can hunt them. Deer like the gentle winds because they can smell what they can’t see and everything has a scent. Deer will normally walk into or across the wind so they can catch a scent of say a hot doe or something that spikes there interest. You have different ways to play the wind you can put your scent downwind of you or you can put it up wind of you so you can get the deer to walk in front of your stand to give you a shot. I normally try and make a half circle in front of me with my scent so I have it all covered. When you have no wind it gets tricky because there is a wind it’s just so slight that u can’t notice it. Any scent you put out will linger in the air and drift around. Deer will be skidish and jumpy because they can’t smell as much and they can hear a lot more so you have to be very careful with no wind. Deer know that they are making noise with every step and it gives them away so they will move slower and stop more to listen since there senses of smell can’t work as well. I hunt it just the same as the others, surround myself with scent and wait calling does wonders because the call will travel a longer distance. Just be aware that every noise you make is traveling and you don’t have a wind to hide it. Swirling winds are a pain because it makes the deer hard to predict. What you do here is put out lots of scent and freshen it every now and then from your stand or ground blind just toss it out there to keep it fresh. When the wind is swirling there will be a main wind coming from one direction or the other. You need to find that and set up for it. The wind is going to swirl so be prepared for a deer to come from any direction. Your main wind gusts will be what you need to concentrate on. Congratulations Cheeto!! Hot off the press one of the Hillbilly Huntin staff members is expanding his family herd and expecting a baby. Send Cheeto a congratulations and pray for his family to be safe as there little miracle grows over the next 9 months before bursting into this world.
Somthing to think about. This year I have something for you to think about when you’re hunting. Did you shoot a buck this year? Was he a mature buck? If he was you managed to take an animal that is truly an amazing creature. I say amazing because a buck that has reached 4 or 5 years old has seen about everything we can throw out him and learned and remembered everything he has survived Mother Nature, humans, and natural predators. Mature bucks and mature deer in general are one of nature’s smartest animals because they never forget anything and everything that happens to them they learn from good or bad.
If you didn’t kill a mature buck don’t feel bad most hunters won’t kill one in their life time not because they are bad hunters or anything like that. It’s because everything is working against the hunter a deer has the advantage in almost every category when it comes to survival. I’m here to tell you something that has been seen and it’s not rock solid but when it comes to hunting what is other than if you’re not hunting you won’t kill a deer. A mature buck will take a younger buck and mentor him to be as wise as the mature buck. Mature bucks have learned that if the mentor a small buck that it will get passed on and he is still in danger. If he mentors a buck that is dominant but not as much as he is say a 3 year old buck that the attention is drawn from the mentor to the student. It’s easy to pass on a spike or small buck but passing on a 3 year old get difficult. Mature bucks have learned this. When they are mentoring another buck they will walk behind him 20 or 30 yards guiding him and teaching him to be quiet and what to watch for but staying back far enough that if the student does alert to something the mentor can get out of there. Meaning that mature buck is using his student as a decoy. Both the mentor and student gain from this. The mentor is in less danger and the student is learning from one of the smartest animals in the woods on how to survive. Not every mature buck will mentor a younger buck and not every younger buck is going to be mentored by a mature buck. The bucks that are mentored by a mature buck will be smarted and harder to kill and then they will pass it on when they get to that point in their life. The thing to do when you’re hunting and you see a 3 year old buck or just a nice young buck is keep an eye out behind him scan the woods behind him slowly and make sure that mature buck isn’t walking behind him. Nothing sucks more than pulling the trigger on a buck and seeing a bigger one run off from behind or near him. I understand that most of us hunt public land and say if I pass on him I won’t get a shot at another one and that is probably true but there is that chance you get a bigger one. If your hunting for a deer and you just need meat for your freezer if you have time still scan the woods behind him until you know you can’t any longer without missing your shot. Deer are amazing animals very smart and one of nature’s best survivors the older a buck get the smarter and harder it will be to kill him so any chance you get to take one out and hang him on your wall treasure him he is a trophy worth bragging about. Good luck this year and make sure to keep this bit of information in the back of your head and take the chance if you get it to watch the behavior of the animal we hunt so hard. Did you have bad luck? If you didn’t have any luck last year seeing deer now would be a good time to start trying to find a new area to scout and hunt. If you’re like me you hunt public land and it’s not right out your back door so to save gas and time try these tips.
The way you find a new area to scout is pulling up a topo maps. Google and many other sites have free topo maps. You will use the topo maps as a tool and guide to your scouting and hunting trips. Before you can use it as a guide you have to do two things. First you have to understand the map and what you’re looking at. The lines represent elevation the closer the lines are together the steeper the terrain will be and the further apart they are the gentler the slop the elevation change will be. The high point will normally be marked with an “X” and the elevation. A ridge will look like a finger and the elevation will drop off on both sides and be higher in the middle or onto. A ridge can be flat on the top but drop off on both sides. A saddle is a low area between two high points on a ridge. Now that you understand a topo map the second thing you need to do is understand how deer travel. Deer are lazy animals but they do a lot of walking. When they walk they take the easiest path. They use ridges and saddles as crossing areas since they are the easiest to travel and require the least amount of effort. They will normally use the path with the gentlest slope so if its supper steep they probably aren’t walking it. If they are walking up and down a ridge they will use the area that’s the least steep to come up and walk down. Creek beds dry or wet are normally fairly flat so deer will walk them. They are also a get tool for direction since water flows down and not up if you get turned around and can’t figure out what way to go you just no you need to go either up or down a creek bed is a good way to figure out up hill and down. Now that you understand top maps and how deer travel look at the topo map of your area and try to find the saddles and ridges. Look for the natural funnels and creeks. Now that you have found them you have found new places to scout. Depending on the food sources around your area and the terrain you can start putting together a scouting trip. It’s early but heading to the woods now looking for deer trails and old rubs and sign. Then evaluating your findings you can cut down on some of the foot work. Find a few places that have good trails and old rubs mark them on your map and put your findings in your note book. The scouting trips closer to season should be easier having a general idea of the areas you might hunt. You and now able to narrow down places to scout when you scout from your desk aerial photos and topo maps make it possible to have a good idea of where you want to scout because you have found natural crossings and funnels the deer are going to cross. |
