Just One More Minute
As daylight began to break, a mist had sprung from the earth, enveloping the forest like a calm, comforting blanket. I don’t recall being able to see more than 20 yards in front of me even after sunrise came. Everything was quiet, not a single thing could be heard except my breathing. “Just one more minute,” I kept telling myself quietly. “Just one more minute, and that deer will walk out.”
After being invited to a new deer camp just north of the Arkansas border with some friends, I found out they had spent the prior week clearing shooting lanes, building blinds, and putting up stands. They weren’t anticipating me joining, and having already staked claims no one was too eager to help me build a blind near their hunting spots. They were evenly spaced out among the patch of public land we were hunting, so not wanting to crowd another hunter, I found the only open space was about 100 yards from the campsite, down in a holler. I put my camp chair behind two trees growing close together hoping it would provide enough cover.
Opening day, I heard him before I saw him. The thundering sound of a deer in full gallop coming down the hill toward me was enough to send my heart into a thunderous gallop of its own. Raising the rifle, I was able to catch a glimpse of brown, antlers, and then nothing. He had run through one of my only shooting lanes as fast as he could at about 150 yards, and then he was gone. Excited that I had seen a deer, my hunt was not discouraged. I went to bed that night full of anticipation of the next day’s hunt.
Sunday daybreak came with fog blanketing everything. I was sure I wasn’t going to see anything, and after a couple of hours of no action, disappointment had set in and I was almost convinced that it was time to go back to camp and catch up on sleep. At that moment, I recalled reading an article in the Missouri Conservationist about an old hunter that loved to teach the motto, “Just one more minute.” The article centered over the idea that too often hunters get out of the stands too early, and if they just spent a little longer in the stand, the chances of seeing a deer increase. So, with that motto repeating in my mind, I decided to stay just one more minute.
Nothing. No sight of deer, no sound, nothing but my breathing. With my eyes wide, I continued to repeat the mantra. “Just one more minute. Just one more minute.” All of a sudden, about 25 yards in front of me, peeking out from behind a tree, I could swear that a broken limb just moved. Concentrating my vision, I saw two distinct ovals of white surrounding black spots on that tree limb. Surely, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, when the “limb” moved again and I saw that the branches on the limb were actually antlers.
Slowly, I raised my rifle up, found the buck in my cross-hairs and waited for him to step out. After what seemed like hours (which was probably minutes), I decided to take the shot. When I recovered from the recoil of the 30-06, I didn’t see anything. Slowly I walked up to where I thought the deer was, and found that he had fallen right where he was standing. I was in shock, and although I don’t recall saying anything, one of the guys who had returned to camp early came running because he thought I was injured from all the yelling.
As we returned to camp, I found out that most of the other hunters had already returned and went to town for a hot breakfast. When they returned, the questions began rolling in. “Who shot the giant?” “Where did you find this one?” I sat back with a huge grin on my face and a great satisfaction retelling the story of the hunt. No one thought of hunting the bottom so close to camp, and the area had been untouched for the prior 8 years, only being visited as people walked through to get to their stands or to track and recover a deer that had walked through. Stopping at a check station, the deer weighed 183 lbs dressed, and the agent guessed the deer at over 6 years old. A solid 8 pointer, this was my first buck ever harvested, and was the largest deer taken in camp that year.
When you are out in the woods, your stomach grumbling from being forgotten, your hands cold from being exposed, and your rear sore from sitting still so long, just tell yourself, “Just one more minute, and I’m gonna see that buck!”
After being invited to a new deer camp just north of the Arkansas border with some friends, I found out they had spent the prior week clearing shooting lanes, building blinds, and putting up stands. They weren’t anticipating me joining, and having already staked claims no one was too eager to help me build a blind near their hunting spots. They were evenly spaced out among the patch of public land we were hunting, so not wanting to crowd another hunter, I found the only open space was about 100 yards from the campsite, down in a holler. I put my camp chair behind two trees growing close together hoping it would provide enough cover.
Opening day, I heard him before I saw him. The thundering sound of a deer in full gallop coming down the hill toward me was enough to send my heart into a thunderous gallop of its own. Raising the rifle, I was able to catch a glimpse of brown, antlers, and then nothing. He had run through one of my only shooting lanes as fast as he could at about 150 yards, and then he was gone. Excited that I had seen a deer, my hunt was not discouraged. I went to bed that night full of anticipation of the next day’s hunt.
Sunday daybreak came with fog blanketing everything. I was sure I wasn’t going to see anything, and after a couple of hours of no action, disappointment had set in and I was almost convinced that it was time to go back to camp and catch up on sleep. At that moment, I recalled reading an article in the Missouri Conservationist about an old hunter that loved to teach the motto, “Just one more minute.” The article centered over the idea that too often hunters get out of the stands too early, and if they just spent a little longer in the stand, the chances of seeing a deer increase. So, with that motto repeating in my mind, I decided to stay just one more minute.
Nothing. No sight of deer, no sound, nothing but my breathing. With my eyes wide, I continued to repeat the mantra. “Just one more minute. Just one more minute.” All of a sudden, about 25 yards in front of me, peeking out from behind a tree, I could swear that a broken limb just moved. Concentrating my vision, I saw two distinct ovals of white surrounding black spots on that tree limb. Surely, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, when the “limb” moved again and I saw that the branches on the limb were actually antlers.
Slowly, I raised my rifle up, found the buck in my cross-hairs and waited for him to step out. After what seemed like hours (which was probably minutes), I decided to take the shot. When I recovered from the recoil of the 30-06, I didn’t see anything. Slowly I walked up to where I thought the deer was, and found that he had fallen right where he was standing. I was in shock, and although I don’t recall saying anything, one of the guys who had returned to camp early came running because he thought I was injured from all the yelling.
As we returned to camp, I found out that most of the other hunters had already returned and went to town for a hot breakfast. When they returned, the questions began rolling in. “Who shot the giant?” “Where did you find this one?” I sat back with a huge grin on my face and a great satisfaction retelling the story of the hunt. No one thought of hunting the bottom so close to camp, and the area had been untouched for the prior 8 years, only being visited as people walked through to get to their stands or to track and recover a deer that had walked through. Stopping at a check station, the deer weighed 183 lbs dressed, and the agent guessed the deer at over 6 years old. A solid 8 pointer, this was my first buck ever harvested, and was the largest deer taken in camp that year.
When you are out in the woods, your stomach grumbling from being forgotten, your hands cold from being exposed, and your rear sore from sitting still so long, just tell yourself, “Just one more minute, and I’m gonna see that buck!”
Bow season 2014 opening day Opening day of 2014 Bow season here in Missouri is less than a week away and by looking at the solunar and weather forecast I have analyzed the day and the best times to hunt and will explain why. I see no reason why you shouldn’t be in your stand opening day and here is my theory. The moon is at 50% illumination with night time cloud cover and highs in the mid 70’s and mid 50’s with lows in the high 50’s and 40’s for temperature. The sky’s should be clear throughout the day with a chance of rain Monday night and Tuesday day.
With the moon not producing as much light and the cloud cover Sunday night it should keep the deer bedded until closer to morning, along with the temperature being lower than it has been the deer should be up and moving by sunrise. The slight breeze will make the deer feel safe being able use their sense of smell as protection. The temperature is never going to get to hot throughout the day to make the deer bed down in the shade and that will make it a great late afternoon hunt. In the evening deer should start moving early because of the rain and clouds that are moving in and they will be able to sense that with the dark moon, clouds, and rain the deer will be feeding Monday evening before the storm. The weather is matching up perfect with the moon phase to produce more the average deer activity. According to the solunar colander the best times to hunt will be around sunrise and sunset with a period between 1pm and 3pm of increased activity. As far as opening days go the only thing better would be a complete dark moon and that is coming in a few weeks. Good luck on opening day and make sure you check the forecasts for your area if you’re not around the Ozarks. Time to set up treestands It’s now September 3rd and I was able to check the results of the managed hunts to see if I was selected to take part in the hunt I applied for and my name didn’t get drawn. It looks like I will be hunting were I always do on that week but I’m not disappointed. Spending the last year checking trail cameras and running mineral sites gives me confidence and in a way I’m glad my name didn’t get drawn. I was going to have to split my time one week in Kansas City hunting a conservation area I have never been and hunting land that I know like the back of my hand.
I feel confident that the big 10 coming to my mineral site that I will at least see him and hopefully get a shot but I also know there are four eight point bucks running around that area that I will be happy to put an arrow in. maybe not the first day but I know as that first week dwindles down I will take the shot. I also know there are two huge spikes that probably need to be taking out of the heard. My buck tag will get filled and I will be happy along with a doe tag as well. Speaking of deer season I will be taking my treestand and putting it up this weekend. It will have to be Friday because the MIZZOU football game is at 11:00am and I won’t be missing it. I will put out more mineral change batteries in my cameras and hang two treestands as well as build a ground blind. My trip to the woods will be a long one this week. Here are a few pictures from my trip to the woods two weeks ago. Missouri Bow season 21 days away Here in Missouri bow season starts in only 21 days. That’s exciting and nerve racking at the same time. From weather patterns and scouting trips to sighting in bows and making sure gear is just right. There’s a lot of work that needs to get done in 21 days. Then throw in the pressure of the first annual Hillbilly Huntin Monster Rack Tournament there’s a lot going on. Let’s talk about it starting with the tournament.
The first annual Hillbilly Huntin Monster Rack Tournament has an entry deadline of September 14th that’s the day before archery season opens here in Missouri. The bucks will be scored and the gross score is what we will be going off of. The top three bucks will get paid and the first place buck gets a plaque. Don’t let the deadline slip by without getting entered in the tournament. The weather has changed from the nice cool early summer days with rain to heat advisory’s with no rain in sight. You can expect for another change in the weather by the first day of bow season or at least I hope because sitting in a stand when its 100 degrees won’t be any fun. Scouting trips have been short or skipped due to the heat the only thing saving me right now is the trail cameras I have had set up all year. There isn’t much scouting going on right now because most the bucks are still in velvet and haven’t started producing sign yet. The scouting that is normally going on right now is glassing fields but with the temperatures being so high the deer aren’t moving until well after dark so knowing what fields there feeding in and what bucks are looking like is hard right now. Back to the heat unless you have an indoor shooting range you probably haven’t got out and shot your bows all that much and that’s a bummer. Your gear on the other hand should be pulled out and gone through but the weather still plays a factor as in my case I don’t know what to have staged for example are the mornings going to be cool and afternoons hot or will it be rainy and muggy all day. For the most part the gear can be checked and double checked gone through and prepared staged and ready for that first morning in the treestand. The nerves are rising and everyone is itching to get in the woods be safe check your gear and be prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws your direction. Good luck this season and make she to share your stories with us and get entered in the first annual 204 Hillbilly Huntin Monster Rack Tournament. Hammertime field test #1 The first big test for the Hammertime Wildlife Attractant will be today. I will be setting up my ground blind in the area I shot a doe last year. I know deer move through this area because it’s a saddle and a natural deer crossing. What I will be watching for is deer moving through the area and if they come to the attractant or not. I expect to see deer and I will watch how they react to the attractant I want to figure out how much they like the attractant. I will monitor how much time they spend eating it and the maturity of the deer using it. I will use picture to verify the deer and binoculars to watch deer in the distance to see if they come to it. Check back often for the next update and follow us on Facebook to get updates on the go about the field test. The weather is going overnight into the morning Clear, with a low around 58. Light northeast wind and during the day Thursday Sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. Thursday night it will be mostly clear, with a low around 62. Southeast wind around 6 mph.
Early interaction between bucks
If you notice in this picture this young 8 point buck is trying to show his dominance over this ridicules spike fork and horn. The young 6 point wanted nothing to do with it either. As you move on through the pictures the 8 point does get the spikes attention and there is a stare down. The 8 has puffed up his hair trying to make himself look bigger and the spike does the same during the stare down.
The 8 doesn’t like the reaction and lowers his head and acts like hes going to start a fight. The spike does concede and you see the puffed up hair is lowered as he knows he can’t compete and his bluff is called. It is early for this type of interaction but it does happen and it the main factor of broken antlers during the delicate growing process of antlers. As the summer goes on and the antler growing process is completing the end of the velvet portion the testosterone is growing and the bucks will start the early process of setting up a pecking order in there bachelor group before it breaks apart and they go on their own way. When the bucks do break apart and head for an area to call their own the pecking order will be a major factor and the bucks with the most dominance will claim the best area and will have to fight to defend it when other bucks move in to test them and stake their claim. Trip to the deer woods Well my trip to the deer woods to check trail cameras was we will say ok. I’m still getting pictures of the nice buck I have been watching grow this year but I didn’t get as many pictures as I normally do. We will talk about why I think the amount of pictures decreased these last two weeks. I’m also getting pictures of the bear on a second camera. So let’s get into it and talk about the last two weeks and how my trip to the woods went.
To start off with the last two weeks the temperature has been in the high 80’s and 90’s with no rain in sight. Most the creeks have been dry and the pools of water that are normally there when the creeks dry up well there dry to. We also had a dark moon over the last two weeks so the deer wouldn’t be moving much. The amount of pictures I got over the last two weeks was only about 400 when I’m normally getting close to 2000. The majority of pictures came from the camera that is closest to the small pond. So I feel the deer are staying close to a water source and not moving as much as they have been. Along with the weather affecting the deer I also think the bear that I’m getting on camera is affecting the deer. We will have to see how the amounts of pictures change when the weather cools down and we get a little bit of rain. I have changed two of the cameras to taking video instead of pictures and it will be interesting to see the video of how the deer are acting with the mineral I have mixed. It will also be the first time I have used the video on my trail cameras. I can’t wait to see how they change and I’m just hoping for some rain and a lot of it. The big ten point that I have watched grow this entire year is still on camera along with a couple other bucks that will be real nice in a year or two and some yearling bucks and a lot of does. Here are a few of the pictures from the last two weeks enjoy and make sure you check back to see how the next trip goes. Until Bow season The plan is to go check trail cameras and put out the last bit of mineral before bow season starts September 15th and that will be when I put out mineral and change SD cards again. We are expecting the weather to be pretty bad tomorrow and throughout the weekend but it’s what it is and we need the rain bad. Until bow season we will be testing Hammertime deer attractant, going through gear, and making sure everything is ready for opening day.
Three cameras and three mineral sites has been a blast to run this off season and we have learned a lot. From knowing the deer in the area to watching them grow. In the process we have gotten some awesome pictures of animals you don’t see very often. The cameras will stay up until the end of deer season then get taken down cleaned and put back up in February. Testing the Hammertime wildlife attractant will be a lot of fun and we should get result by bow season and the chance for everyone to get the product and use it on your hunts. The test will be done in different weather conditions, fields, woods, and pressure. We will try and tests it in every way you would use it to hunt. Look forward to seeing the results by the beginning of September. The new pictures from the trail cameras will be posted next week and let you know what our findings are for the last year. We will compile everything and let everyone know our results. Hopefully our sets and information will help you this season. Bear on camera Well we have lots to talk about everything from bucks already shedding velvet, new mineral mix, and bears. I only waited three weeks to check my trail cameras due to my work schedule changing and I was very happy with the results I got from my mineral mix. The big buck I have been watching doesn’t look like he going to have very tall tines but look to be wide. Well I guess we will get on with it.
To start the ball rolling let me say this I got a report today from a reliable hunter and friend that there is a buck on his property that is already “slick” (shed his velvet) I asked a few questions and the first was how old do you think he is? His answer was “old enough to vote” now he isn’t saying the buck is 18 but he is saying he’s old. He said that they have seen him for a long time and their best guess is that he is five or six. That’s extremely old for a buck in the wild not on strictly managed property but it makes sense if they haven’t shot him and deer get smarter every year that he could get that old. The fun part of what I do is trying new things and I use a trial and error approach with a little research as well. I mixed my own mineral after looking at my research and talking to other hunters that mix there’s and came up with the main ingredients that I would use. Then I took to looking at attractants and talking to old timers about things they have used or heard of hunters using and narrowed it down to what I would use. Then to top it off I looked into what would help with the bug problems (ticks and flies) after figuring out what deer could eat and not get sick I had my list and all I needed to do was figure out in what quantities I needed to use and that’s when I just picked an amount and went with it. We will have to see in the long run what amounts need to change and how it impacts antler growth but right now I do know the deer love it. In my trail camera pictures I’m seeing multiple deer at each time and more frequently. I’m also getting more day time photos of deer and that makes all the difference. The spots I’m putting the mineral are growing and it looks like cattle trails getting to them. Now it’s time to figure out how to hunt each one of my three locations. Big black and walking on four legs! It’s not a hog it’s a bear! Yes on my trail camera I got a picture of a bear. I was 75 to 100 yards away walking towards the location and I could smell a strong musky smell as I was getting closer I noticed an old tree that had fallen down years ago that was to big for me to move had been broke in half and rolled I told myself a bear must have done that and come to find out the last picture other than me was of a black bear walking away from my camera towards the fallen down tree. Most bucks still have some growing left to do and a few inches to put on but some of the older bucks may already be shedding their velvet. The amount of pictures and use you are getting out of your mineral may be decreasing now that the most part of antler growth has ended but if you have the right mix there is a chance your numbers my not change at all. There are bears in Missouri and I hope to get one on film this deer season when I’m hunting. Good luck and I may try and get ahold of some of you to try and spread my mineral out to see how it does in other parts of the country and state. Stay safe out there! what would you rather see? Do you put out trail cameras? What would you rather see when you check your pictures lots of does and a few mature bucks that show up sporadically or a few mature bucks that show up on a regular basis and a few does? It’s a question that the answer is weighed on what part of the season you hunt most. Let’s take a look at the scenarios and why one is better than the other.
If you bow hunt the early season when bucks are still running in bachelor groups and in there summer pattern the higher probability of having success would be scenario B a few mature bucks showing up on a regular basis. The reason for this is because they are still in there summer pattern the first few weeks of bow season and are running in a group giving you a better opportunity to see the buck you’re after. After they transition into their fall pattern and split up they will be staking clam to their area running around and harder to pattern. With the very few does in that area bucks probably won’t be fighting over that stretch of property like they would if there are a lot of does there. When the rut is getting close bucks are going to be looking for does chasing and checking for any that may be ready to be bread early. Come rifle season when the rut is normally at its peak here in Missouri you want to be were the does are. The bucks will be looking for the does and if you’re in an area that has plenty of does you’re probably going to start seeing bucks that you haven’t seen before. So I ask again, what pictures would you like to see most when you check your camera? It’s really a loaded question I for one put out multiple cameras and would prefer to have both types. The reason is because it helps me figure out where the bucks are at right now that helps for early bow season and were the does are at for when the rut kicks in. It’s almost impossible to pattern a buck in the rut but what is possible is to pattern or get an idea of what the does are doing and were there at. If you can find the does and they are in estrus the bucks will find them and find you. It is a waiting game and a risk because that buck may be in another county or right behind that doe that just walked under your stand. If you know there are bucks in your area and lots of does your pretty well set if you play your cards right. Let’s hear from you, what would you rather find most on your cameras? Trail camera pictures I checked cameras after they had only been out a week because of the bugs and heat I wanted to leave the cameras up the most part of July. The cameras won’t get checked again for close to a month I knew I needed to put bigger SD cars and fresh batteries along with loading up on mineral. The mineral I am leaving out for the month is a homemade mixture and we will see how it works. Everything is set and it’s just a waiting game until August when I go check them again. I am pleased with what I had going but I felt it was time to try my hand and mixing my own minerals. All three of my mineral sites now have cameras and decent bucks showing up on them so the main growing month for antlers I won’t see until I pick them up next month.
I feel I have some three and four year old bucks in the area and I want to keep them there. I don’t want to bother them when they’re hitting the mineral hard and that is why I’m leaving the cameras this month. Hopefully they won’t get maxed out and I will have some awesome pictures. Until then here are some pictures from the last trip to check cameras. Midland XTC285VP HD Wearable Action Camera Its getting close to review time again and so far the only thing we have lined up is the Midland XTC285VP HD Wearable Action Camera. This is a small camera that all you have to do is turn it on to start recording. Here are the details on the camera.
TECH SPECS Resolution: Record Time: Viewing Angle: 1920 x 1080p (30fps) 11min/GB 118° 1280 x 720p (60fps) 13min/GB 118° Lens: Multi coated tempered glass Focus: 5 inches to infinity Aspect Ratio: HD 16:9 Format: MPEG-4(mp4) Compression: H.264* Light Sensitivity: 2.0 V / Lux. second Storage: Micro SD card up to 64GB (class 6, not included) Record Time: 11min/GB @ 1080p, 13min/GB @ 720p Transfer: USB 2.0 Power: Li-Ion 900 mAh rechargeable battery Audio: AAC Operating System Compatibility: Win XP SP2+, Vista, 7 and 8. Mac OS X 10.4+ Includes Submersible Case (up to 200 ft depth) IN THE BOX HD Action Camera Submersible Case Universal Mount 2 3M Adhesive Pads 900 mAh Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery USB Cable Mounting Base Owner’s Manual CRISP, CLEAR PICTURE 1080p High Definition EASY TO USE Switch it on and start recording RAPID CHARGE BATTERY Li-Ion 900 mAh rechargeable battery LIGHTWEIGHT Camera weighs 3.28 oz. SHARE YOUR ADVENTURES* Simple plug & play makes sharing your video easy QUIET OPERATION Stay completely silent with all alert tones removed 3 YEAR WARRANTY I am thinking it will be a great camera to have mounted to the bow or rifle but as a true camera to film the entire hunt I think I will have to have a second camera. This camera should give an extra view but not the main camera. Getting the shot on film shouldn’t be a problem with the way this camera will be mounted. I will keep you up dated on how it goes and give a full review after I get a chance to use it this deer season. Trail camera pictures Another two weeks have passed and it was time for me to check my cameras again. One camera still isn’t taking pictures after I test it before leaving and one camera isn’t getting the activity that it had been but the 3rd camera is getting over 1000 pictures and that’s were the big buck is hanging out as of now. The trip was exciting and I did see three deer all at different mineral sites.
I got started to the woods late and with the crazy amounts of rain we have been getting in these parts I’m writing off my crawfish traps for now and I’m going to guess I’m going to need to buy new ones if I want to continue trapping. It was raining off and on all day but I hit the woods anyway the slight sprinkle was nice but the humidity sucked. I had no pictures of fawns but lots of plump does on camera along with four or five different bucks, a bob cat, turkey, raccoons, squirrel, and armadillo. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I’m starting to think about naming the big buck any suggestions? It will probably be another month before we really see what he’s is going to do antler wise so the naming will be put off until we can really tell what he is going to look like but I am taking suggestions now. Enjoy the pictures and make sure to share your with us. Squirrel Season It’s that time again I will be headed to the deer woods to check trail cameras, put out mineral, and do a little scouting. That’s not all its hunting season here in Missouri for squirrel and I’m going to try and get me a mess of the old bushy tails so I can grill them up. The thing with hunting squirrel is when you take them off the count its one less that will bother you during deer season. Squirrel is also a great meal to fry, stew, soup, or on the grill.
When I’m squirrel hunting it’s not normally my number one priority but if I see one I will shoot, clean, and eat it for a meal. I try and shoot them in the head with a 22 rifle I don’t use a 410 because I don’t want to spit shot out when I’m eating. If you have a young kid or wife that you want to start hunting this is the time to do it. With the amount of tree rats running around it shouldn’t be hard to find a few for them to take a shot at and if that’s all your after you shouldn’t have a problem gaining permission to some hunting land and you never know you may end up getting hunting rights for deer season to. The first mess of squirrel I get this year I plan on deboning then marinating for 24 to 48 hours in Italian dressing then grilling. I’m going to use a presidential sauce to brush on it as it cooks. The sauce is a combination of beer, butter, and garlic. This recipe was used on chicken this last summer and I really enjoyed it so I decided I would try it on squirrel. There are many ways to cook squirrel and I’m always willing to try new ways. On top of hopefully getting dinner I’m excited to pull my SD cards from my cameras and see how much the bucks I have been watching have grown. With any luck the last two weeks will have been good for me with all the rain we have gotten they will have grown greatly. Hopefully the bucks are sticking around and I will have lots of pictures of them if I don’t it will be disappointing but it’s part of it. Head out in the woods and get you a mess of squirrel it should make deer season more enjoyable and give you a nice meal to share with the family. Try a new way to cook a few and enjoy the outdoors there’s nothing better than spending time in the woods or on the river there is so much you can learn from the outdoors that you can’t learn from a book. Be safe and good luck! Make sure to share your pictures with us. Summer months and deer season Preparing in the summer months for deer season may seem difficult but in reality it’s not. Think about the little things that could make or break a hunt. That’s right I’m talking about the shot of your life on a monster buck from your dreams! Right now is when you fine tune your shooting skills so when you make that shot there is no question about the shot.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about shooting wither its archery or rifle is confidence. When you think about it when you have a bad day shooting it doesn’t get better. Your confidence is down after the first few shots and you tell yourself you must be doing something wrong and try and correct it then you shoot worse. The reason is because you probably didn’t need to change much and you ended up over correcting and your still shooting bad if not worse than the first time. Practice the fundamentals at a short range and work your way to the distance you want to shoot from. The mistakes you make at the shorter ranges are more evident at longer ranges. So weather its archery or rifle your fundamentals need to be on point and practicing turns it in to muscle memory. So when you move back to further distances your fundamentals are good and you can figure out what needs to be corrected easier at the longer distances. Practice shooting from any position you may take a shot from like a treesstand, standing on the ground, sitting on the ground, and from in a ground blind. You have no idea where you will be shooting from come deer season you may only hunt from a treestand but when you r walking to and from your stand that monster buck might present himself and you need to be prepared for that shot to. Practice shooting in all weather conditions since you have no control over knowing what Mother Nature will throw at you. You can’t change the weather conditions during deer season so don’t always practice in the best conditions or inside. Finding out now that your sights or scope is off is a lot better than finding it out when you miss that shot. It doesn’t have to be your sight it could be anything that has to do with your weapon of choice. You want to find out if something is wrong now so that can get it fixed build your confidence up now and be prepared for your shot of a life time. In closing practice makes perfect, you don’t want to find out something is wrong with your weapon when you take the shot at a monster buck, and you want to make sure everything is on point. Start with the basic fundaments at a short range and move further back after that. Good luck this season! Summer time & crawfish Summer time and crawfish boils! With the summer heating up you’re probably looking for a way to cool down and if you’re anything like me you don’t want to be inside. Setting crawfish traps not only gives you something to do that keeps you cool but also supplies you with an amazing food.
Not only am I running trail cameras and putting out mineral during the summer but I’m setting crawfish traps and fishing. Thinking ahead I will be freezing most of my crawfish to have a boil during deer camp. A crawfish boil isn’t difficult and it doesn’t take much to do in deer camp. When the dog days of summer role in and the thermometer is reading super-hot you’re going to find it hard to spend time scouting running cameras and putting out mineral but you want to keep up with it all year and the time, sweat, and effort you put into it will pay off. After you do the hard work and get hot in the woods go to the nearest river and cool off by wading up or downstream to set crawfish traps. The cool water will be a blessing and you’re still able to spend time outdoors. There’s nothing better than eating corn on the cob, potatoes, sausage, and crawfish knowing your deer hers is getting the mineral they need to survive and be healthy. You will be a hit in your nick of the woods, friends, family, and the party if you’re supplying crawfish. Make sure you keep up with your mineral and camera sites now that summer has rolled around the deer are there when it’s hot and so should you. When it gets dry and there’s not much rain make sure to take some water with you to dump on your mineral so that it soaks into the ground. Trail Cameras Do you have trail cameras out? Are you getting deer on camera? Why do you have trail cameras? These are all questions you should ask yourself and they don’t need to be in that order. Each question will have follow up questions and those may have their own questions to follow. When you’re thinking about trail cameras you can’t just look at the small picture you have to look at the entire picture. Yes they are a lot of work done correctly but they are also very rewarding. Let’s go over the questions and I will give my opinion on the subject.
The first question is easy do you have a trail camera with a follow up question of are you using it? If you have a trail camera and you aren’t using it what’s the point in having it? If you don’t have a camera you should think about getting one they can range from $50 to hundreds and picture quality, function, and purpose all needs to be considered when you buy one. I have inexpensive cameras and some mid-range cameras how I use them the cheap one does the job I need just as good as my mid-range cameras. Next question are you getting pictures of deer on your camera? If the answer is NO then the follow up question should be why not? There are a few things you can do to get deer on your camera. The easiest would be using some kind of bait. The problem with bait is like in Missouri you can’t hunt over bait so come season the deer will have to have another food source and won’t be coming into that spot. The other way would be to start a mineral site and that is what I have done for 3 of my 4 cameras. Deer need mineral and it legal to have out year round. The next option is to find a well-used trail and set up the camera watching it the way my 4th camera is set up. All options have a degree of difficulty and that should be considered. The last question you need to answer is why do you have or need a trail camera? For me the reason is I want to know what deer I have in that area and my daughter love to see deer and look at the pictures. It has become a lot of fun and I enjoy sitting down with her as we go through the pictures. There are multiple answers to this single question ranging from you are trying to decide what bucks to shoot to just enjoying the pictures. One reason would also be to see how they develop over the years and how there antlers grow. Now that you have answered all these questions you have to decide on what camera fits your needs and how you’re going to get deer on the camera. The good thing is you can now look back at you answers to have a pretty good idea of what you need and how much effort or work you want to put into them. The advantages of having cameras out outweighs the cons. Yes I’m putting in money and time year round for my cameras but I’m seeing what bucks are in the area and how I should hunt that site. I’m able to learn different deer patterns that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to. The cameras give me a jumpstart on scouting for early bow season by already knowing if there is a nice buck in the area. The decision falls to you on the amount of time, money, and effort you want to put into it. 
what to do this summer Well with the turkey tournament over its time to get back in the saddle and start talking about deer season again. What are your plans to prepare for this coming season? What are you going to be doing this summer to improve your hunting location and deer herd? In this article we will discuss some of the things you can do right now to improve both your hunting location and deer herd. Then I will talk about my plans for this summer in my next article.
First off you need to put trail cameras out in areas you plan on hunting. They don’t need to be fancy or expensive Wal-Mart sells a trail camera that is right around $50 and it is decent for the money and about the cheapest camera I have found. The reason you need to put cameras out now is to watch the deer in your area grow throughout the summer. As the antlers start to grow and the season rolls around you will know what bucks are frequenting your area. If you have kids they will probably enjoying seeing the pictures I know my daughter does and it’s the first thing we do when I get home is look through the pictures. Secondly put out mineral! My mineral site has been out for a few months along with my cameras but it’s never too late. Does will use the mineral to help with milk production and bucks will use it to replenish the mineral they are using from their bones to go there antlers. Make sure your putting out mineral not attractant there is a difference. Do you own research if you’re going to buy it pre mixed or keep an eye out here for the article coming up about what mineral deer need that I will be writing soon. Thirdly if you have the opportunity plant food plots. Some places you may hunt might not allow you to plant a food plot but if you are allowed to you should. There are some types you can buy that require little work or machinery. Throw and grow for one just requires you to clear the ground, make sure it gets enough light, throw out the seed, and then walk drive or some other form of pushing it into the ground because the most important thing is contact with soil. The foliage the food plot creates even if it’s small will bring deer into your area. Now on that note when you’re planting your food plot plan accordingly research the plants and find out how long they take to grow and plan your planting date but stay flexible. Try and plant most fall food plots 6 to 8 weeks before it starts getting cold for me that’s some time in august. Try and plant your food plot on a day that you’re expecting rain that night or next day so that the seeds get the moister they need to start growing. So right now you would just be planning your food plot. Fourth start clearing shooting lanes and brush that could be in the way of your shot come deer season. From your planed stand location or nearby walk out past your longest shooting distance or even out of sight and make sure there are no obstacles that will make a deer walk around your location. You want the deer to be funneled to you not around you. If you have the time you can even create your own funnels by cutting down trees and making them fall in ways that benefit you. The big part about this step is the shooting lanes and clearing out brush form your location that could get in the way come deer season. All in all you have four steps this summer to preparing your hunting areas, and your deer herd for a healthy successful 2014 season. Yes some are time consuming and take commitment but in the long run they are worth it. Clearing out brush and shooting lanes, creating a mineral sight, putting out trail cameras, and planning a food plot. Out of those 4 things the food plot is probably the most confusing, the cameras require the most commitment, and clearing the shooting lanes will be the most labor intensive but they all have their benefits and will cut down on the amount of time you will spend scouting this fall. |
Archery trip My first trip to my number one stand of the archery season here in Missouri wasn’t the best day to hunt and I saw no deer but what I did see was a mountain lion and a bear. I did pull my SD card from my trail camera and didn’t have pictures of either but I did have some nice bucks on camera. I will tell you about the trip in this article and go into detail about the two animals I did see. So let’s start this thing off.
We will start with the weather and it was a dozy. The barometric pressure was 28.99 when I woke up and the sky was clear at my house but off in the distance I could see clouds and lightening the humidity was 89% and the temperature was in the mid 60’s. By the time I made it to the woods the pressure had fallen to 28.69 and it was cloudy the temperature had made it to the high 60’s low 70’s and the humidity was 92%. I could hear thunder off in the distance but everything was dry no rain. There was a slight breeze out of the south but nothing much. When I got to my stand I was dripping with sweat the pressure was 27.99 humidity 95% temperature 74 and no breeze. I would have loved for the pressure to be about 30.40 50% humidity slight breezes out of the north and the temperature to be about 40 degrees but we can’t pick the weather so on that note the hunt goes on in less the ideal conditions. I made it to my stand about an hour before legal shooting hours trying to stop the sweating and cool down watching and listening for the woods to come alive when I saw a light color low to the ground and long following the same path I walked to my stand. When I first saw it I couldn’t make out what it was all I could tell was that it wasn’t a deer and it was about 75 yards away. It continued following my path and at 50 yards I could make out what it was as it continued to walk towards my tree it made it to about 20 yards. I could tell it was a mountain lion without a doubt and the part that made the hair on my neck stand up was that as it walked I never heard it. It stopped walking my direction and looked up toward me then walked off to my left and into the bottom. The bear was at around 11:30pm walking a horse trail up the ridge toward the place I will be camped this year. From my treestand I can see sections of the trail of about 5 feet. The black stood out like a sore thumb against the light color of the trail and in the green leaves of the trees. The bear was around 150 yards away and I couldn’t get a picture with my phone. I used my grunt call and the bear stood up on two legs and it was like it new right were the noise came from he dropped back down and continued up the trail. On both sightings I could smell the animals and they stunk to high heaven. I walked the same trail about 30 minutes after the bear and I could still smell him. I could never smell him from my treestand but the mountain lion I could. The thunder had gotten close and the sky’s had gotten dark so I walked out of the woods and that was in good time since the radar showed massive storms closing in. with latter reports of two inch hail in the area I was hunting I’m glad I got out of there when I did. The temperature had made it to 76 degrees with a massive storm hitting the humidity was 98% pressure at 27.79 and winds gusting at 18 mph. hopefully the next time I head down the weather will be kinder to me and the deer will be moving. Good luck this season and we look forward to hearing about your hunt. Treestands and cameras This weekend I went to the woods and set up two treestands and a ground blind, changed out SD cards and batteries, and put out more mineral. It was a fairly good trip but a hot day to do it. All three locations seem promising and we are still getting a lot of pictures of the deer coming into mineral. I think I’m onto something with this mineral mix.
On camera the big ten is still coming in along with the nice eight and a few spikes. There are lots of does in all three spots but the bucks are manly staying to the location nearest to water. We did have night pictures of a fox lots of raccoons a coyote armadillo and opossum. The next time I pull SD cards will be when I go to hunt and it will only be from the stand I hunt that day. Here are a few pictures from the trail cameras. Also if you don’t have your stands out you need to make sure you put them out so the deer het used to them by the first day you’re in your stand. 
Unique trail camera pictures A friend of ours shared some rather unique trail camera pictures with us the other day. I got permission from him to share them with you all. From the looks of the pictures the broadhead is a two blade mechanical with a large cutting diameter most likely a rage or something to that manner. My guess on why the arrow didn’t completely exit would be the shot was very long and the arrow didn’t have enough energy by the time it hit the deer. What do you all think? Get on Facebook and let’s start the conversation.
Hunting and eating meat in the Bible For all of us that love hunting and feel we have a calling for it we do. For all the people that say you shouldn’t eat meat, hunt, or wear animal hides I will refer to the Bible to show you that we are instructed to eat meat and hunt. For any of you that don’t feel like arguing with those people that say we shouldn’t eat meat, hunt, or wear animal hides I have gone through the Bible and wrote this article showing that GOD instructs us to hunt, fish, and eat meat. Feel free to share this with those non hunters and vegetarians and I hope you enjoy reading this.
Let’s start here with Genesis 1:1-25 ”1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” With so many people questioning hunters and fishermen and throwing around that hunting and fishing isn’t right groups like PETA are completely against hunting and have started saying GOD didn’t put animals on earth for us to hunt, fish, and eat. I’m going to show you that he did. In Genesis 21:20 “And GOD was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.” GOD was with Isaac as he lived in the wilderness and grew into an archer. In Acts 10:9-15 “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” “Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.” Peter was told to kill and eat! GOD gave man dominion over the fish, birds, beasts of the earth for meat in Genesis 1:28-30 ”28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.” Here we see that the seed is mint to feed the fish, birds, and beast so that we can hunt them for meat. GOD gave man permission to kill animals for food Genesis 9: 2-3 ”2And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” Jesus even helped catch fish in Luke 5:6-7 ”6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.” And in Genesis 10:9 “9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” In Genesis 3:21- "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." The Voice version translates this verse as: "The Eternal God pieced together the skins of animals and made clothes for Adam and Eve to wear." This shows those people as well as the PETA people that GOD clothed us with animal hides. As I have said and shown you throughout the bible GOD is not opposed to hunting animals and eating them. Many of Jesus chosen disciples were fishermen Peter’s boat almost sank under the weight of the fish when Jesus instructed them to lower their nets. The hunting imagery and metaphors are throughout the bible and there are lots of hunting analogies as well. You cannot deny that GOD wanted us to hunt and eat meat with the scripture that is in the bible, God instructed us to do so. Bears!!! I know neither of these pictures are the best but they are both a bear. I want to know do you think it’s the same bear. The pictures are taken almost 3 weeks apart from different trail cameras. The trail cameras are about a mile and a half apart. The pictures have different lighting and are different angles but I want you to make the call do you think this is the same bear?
My next question is what would you do if you had a bear coming into your deer stand location on a regular basis? The deer seem to be more skittish and always on alert but are still coming into the mineral. What would you do would you try and find a new place to hunt or would you keep hunting that location? What are your thoughts on having bears in your hunting area? 
Initial thoughts on Hammertime I received my Hammertime Wildlife Attractant the other day and have some thoughts on it without taking it out and testing it. I did test it under conditions that I wouldn’t ever want to hunt and I will explain why. But let’s go over my initial reaction to the product and the Hammertime Company as a whole then we will get into the testing process.
My initial reaction to the Hammertime Wildlife Attractant was that it smelled like cake and I wanted to eat it. I didn’t eat it but I did taste it and it taste great just a little salty. The packaging it amazing it comes in a big bag with awesome graphics on it and inside you will find clear bags of the attractant. Out of 20 bags none had any holes or powder leaking out so they are staying fresh. I did ask some questions about how long the product could sit on a shelf or closet and the answer is two years. My guess is it would be fine even longer than that as long as it’s not heated and cooled down often and no water can get to it. I can’t see why any deer wouldn’t want to come in and at least check this stuff out and come back for more. The sweet cake smell along with the salt should bring deer in like a buffet. It smells irresistible you can tell that they have put a ton of work into the product and I can’t wait to get out and really test in under hunting conditions. The Hammertime Wildlife Attractant Company has been great to work with after we agreed on how much I would need to accurately test the product it was sent out the next day and I received it that week. They have been nothing but wonderful to work with very knowledgeable and pleasant. Every time I have called I have talked to a real person and if they missed the call I have gotten a call back in a timely matter. They are real people and this company has made sure to keep everything made in the USA. I couldn’t have found a better company to do field tests for. The reason I tested it with the temperature in the high 80’s, sunny, and no wind with people shooting guns, partying next to the property, dogs running around, and people riding four wheelers is because if it can bring in deer in these conditions then it will work anywhere. This property doesn’t have a high population of deer to start out with but no deer came to the attractant. Before you say well I don’t want to use it hear me out, I didn’t expect to have deer come to it I tested it in conditions that I normally would have found another area to hunt. I honestly don’t think you could have tied a hot doe in the middle of rut to a tree and had any other deer show up under those conditions. So let me do a few more tests under reasonable conditions in areas that have an ok deer population before we jump to any concision. My next test will be in the same area I shot a doe with my crossbow last year. The deer population is decent and I know deer are in that area every day. It’s still going to be hot outside and the weather conditions are still not good to say the least but I want to test the product it bad conditions and see how it preforms. If it works in the bad conditions then I will have no doubt that it will work when the conditions are perfect. I have 19 tests left and I won’t draw up my conclusion until they are all done and neither should you. From talking to the company and having the product in hand I see no reason it won’t work but the tests are still going to be performed to figure out under what conditions it works best and when it doesn’t work at all. If you want to test it out yourself head to the Hammertime Wildlife Attractant website buy a few bags and try it yourself. Make sure to check back often as I will be doing one test a week and also some test with the product in front of a trail camera to save time. Click here to visit thier website http://hammertimewildlifeattractants.com Go Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HammertimeWildlifeAttractants 
Learning from pictures More hunters are sharing there trail camera pictures with us and these are the newest pictures. Trail cam pictures can help with many things. The pictures open an entirely new world to scouting a given area. The amount of cameras you have in a given area translates to the amount of information you can get from the pictures. Let’s talk about the information you can get from the pictures.
To begin with you will find out what deer are in your area and how much time they are in the area. When you know the frequency that certain deer show up and the time frame they are showing up it makes it easier to pattern the deer. If you know a buck is only showing up on camera at night you can try and figure out where he is during legal shooting hours. By looking at weather history and pairing it up with your camera pictures you can figure out how weather changes what deer are doing. If you know deer aren’t moving or moving more in certain weather conditions it will help you better plan your hunting time. When you start adding multiple cameras spread out in your hunting area you can start to pattern the deer more effectively and figure out were and the direction a certain deer is traveling. That makes it easier when a deer keeps showing up on one camera after shooting hours. Hunting is all about patterning deer and finding out were they move, how they move, and time frame between movements. If your cameras are set up the right way you can figure out the direction a deer is moving and how to set up on them. Deer hunting is a lot about your set up and when your bow hunting being off trail could be make or break for your season setting up an extra 20 feet in the wrong direction means getting the shot or not. The amount you can learn from a trail camera can be endless if you know what you’re doing. Trail cameras have brought technology to the forefront in deer hunting and success rates will increase if you know how to use them to your advantage. Good luck this season and make sure to share your trail camera pictures with us. Be safe out there! 2014 trail camera pictures shared Here are a few trail camera pictures that have been shared with me of velvet bucks. I appreciate everyone sharing their pictures with me and if you have some that you would like to be posted buck, doe, fawn, or any other pictures send them in and they will get posted. These trail camera pictures were taken in southwest Missouri beautiful bucks and I would have to say giving them another year or two would put them in the B&C club and P&Y club. Thank you again for sharing your pictures!
Disappointing trip new mineral My last trip to the woods was a little of a disappointment. I did have over one thousand pictures on one camera but the problem was the deer didn’t really like the mineral. The big buck I have been watching came in and instead of eating mineral for an hour or two just left. I will tell you what I did different two weeks ago to make the difference and what I’m going to do to correct it.
To start off with I had put off buying salt all week leading up to my trip because I planned on going Saturday and the store I do to would have been open but instead I went on Sunday after church. I went to a different store and bought what they had. I guess for cattle and other animals it would have been fine but for me the deer don’t really seem to like it. Because of that I have to have an immediate change. The immediate change was spending about $45 bucks on different mineral for the deer that I will be mixing and putting out on my next day off which will be Thursday. I could have just gone back to the salt but the deer need more than that. They need the mineral to help with antler growth and lactation. They also need a little something extra to kill the ticks and flies that have been really bad this year. Almost every picture I have you can see ears being eaten up by ticks and flies. I will be using a mixture of salt, Decal, trace mineral, and tick/bug killer along with a few secret ingredients. I will take pictures when I have it mixed and when I put it out. I may give some samples out to see how it works on other people’s property as well because I’m planning on leaving it out for a month and not checking it. Knowing that it works and the deer like it is the key. I did put out a new camera over one of the sites that doesn’t have a camera but is being used often so it will be exciting to see what’s there. I had no pictures of fawns and the does are still big and fat so hopefully we will be seeing fawns soon. I didn’t have any pictures to write home about but I still have some of the younger bucks coming in. I have noticed that the buck I’m wanting to see stays by himself and doesn’t run around with a group of other bucks were as the younger bucks are in a bachelor group so it’s interesting to see them together. Were my sites are hasn’t got as much ran as the rest of the state and that could be playing a role. In the last two weeks the bucks I did get on camera didn’t have much of a change in antler size like I’m used to seeing when I check my cameras after two weeks and that is disappointing. We will see what happens when I put out my own mixture and I hope you all are having more luck then me. On another note a mad passed away from West Nile in a town close by so remember to protect yourself against mosquitos they can kill you. You have two options spay down with lots of bug spray or eat lots of garlic and onions. Stay away from fruits they are attracted to you if you don’t. I go the garlic rout and it seems to work well for me I don’t get bit near as much as my family members using bug spray. Be safe out there and good luck. 
Scouting deer in June and July Scouting deer in June and July isn’t the same type of scouting that you will be doing in September and October. The purpose of scouting out big bucks in June and July is different in itself. Let’s talk about the difference in scouting methods and the purpose of summer deer scouting.
We will start with the purpose of scouting in June and July. At this time of year bucks are in bachelor groups and growing there antlers and the deer are in a summer pattern. Scouting bucks now will give you knowledge of what bucks made it through last season and the winter along with giving you a heads up of what they have grown into. You may also be able to use the summer pattern during early bow season to put your tag on one of the bucks and see more bucks at one time that you wouldn’t normally see together. The methods you should use right now compared to September through November differ greatly. From September through November you’re going to have to spend more time with boots on the ground and in the woods. Right now you have a better chance of seeing what bucks are around by glassing fields and using trail cameras set up over mineral sights. The reason you want your trail cameras over mineral is because deer both bucks and does are craving mineral. Bucks need mineral for growing antlers and does need mineral for producing milk for their fawns. Right now you don’t really need to be trying to pin point a buck’s area because it will change. The scouting you’re doing now is just to give you clues of what bucks are still around and what they are growing into. Knowing the general area of were the bucks are now will make it easier when you start puting boots on the ground to find sign and pattern them for deer season. All in all take time at sunrise and sunset with a good pair of binoculars to sit watching fields for deer coming out to feed. The scouting now will pay off come deer season and you will have an idea of what bucks are around and how many deer are in your herd. No you won’t see every buck on your property and you may never see the one you shoot this season. You may have bucks from surrounding areas come by your stand come deer season because they got chased away from where they have been all summer. Flash Flood I got off work at 0700 and headed for a small river that I had put three crawfish traps in the day before baited with canned dog food. It had rain threw out the night and the weather service had us under a flash flood warning. The law in Missouri is if you place a trap it has to be checked every 24 hours so I was headed to check my traps.
When I got to the river I could tell it was up a little and extremely muddy, this river that normally runs clear. I didn’t think much of it I have been wading up and down this river all week I knew the deep holes and big rocks. Normally the water is about knee to waste deep if not ankle deep in some areas. My taps start off half a mile up river and the furthest is about a mile up river from where I get in. The water was flowing faster than I had anticipated and was much deeper in the areas that are normally ankle deep the water was up to my thighs and I had no gravel bars to walk on. When I got to the areas that are normally waist deep I couldn’t stand and the only way to get up river was to swim. (I’m not an amazing swimmer but I am decent.) I was able to swim up the river it was difficult but I managed. Broken tree limbs and debris were floating by and I wasn’t going to let it stop me. I got to my first trap that was set in water about 5 ½ feet deep normally but now was about 9 feet deep from the gravel wash out. My trap has a 20 foot string tied to it so if something hits it would be able to move down stream. I went up the river about 15 yards from my trap on the opposite side and swam across ending up right in the spot I had the trap tied off. I stood in water chest deep and pulled the string until it was tight and would go under water to untangle the string until I got to the point that I could no longer stand. I had to make a decision do I risk swimming down to untangle the trap or do I leave it until the water goes down in a few days. I decided to risk it I followed the string down wedged my legs into the rocks and un tangled the trap. I pulled the trap up swimming to the shallower water when I was able to get the trap out of the water I released the trap was twisted up and only had five crawfish in it. The 5 crawfish were the size of my hand but it wasn’t the 30 I was used to. I put the crawfish in my bucket untangled the trap rebated it carried up river and tossed it in hopping it would be there when I come back. Now I have to get across the river to the shallow side and try to make it to my next trap. I started swimming across the river and was being pushed down stream in the process I kicked a giant rock with my knee that sent throbbing pain up my leg and I thought I broke something. I immediately went under water and wedged my good leg into some rocks and about that time a limb hit me in the neck and broke in half. Luckily it didn’t knock me out it did scare me because when it broke I thought I broke my neck again but I could move my fingers and toes and the only pain I had was in my knee. I floated down the river away from the big rocks and then across so I would be able to swim back up river. My second trap is a homemade wire trap that is tied in another deep hole when I got to it I was able to hold on to the tree it was tied to but couldn’t pull it up there were branches and moss all over it and the trap was bent beyond my under water repair skills could fix so I had to leave it for another day. The third trap was tied to the other side of the river and I was unable to find it the small tree it was tied to was under water. So now I was disappointed I risked my life for five crawfish one working trap, one busted trap, and one lost trap. I made it back down river and to my car with a swollen knee that throbbed every time I took a step. I told you about this trip because I want everyone to know it’s not worth risking your life for a few crawfish and some traps. I made a choice to risk my life and hardly got a snack out of it. Luckily the worst thing that happened was I hurt my knee but in reality I could have lost my life. It was a very poor decision and the wrong one. Your family and your life are more important than the traps and crawfish. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to put your life on the line make sure it’s something that is worth dying for. I know if I could go back I would have just turned around and went home it’s not worth it. Think before you act water is very powerful and on that note Mother Nature itself is powerful. As I was driving home I heard on the radio that there were five water rescues that morning and everyone survived. People knew I was checking my traps but my phone was in the car if I had been hurt worse or knocked out it would have been a long time before someone came looking for me. Just be safe out there and don’t risk your life unless it’s something you’re willing to die for. Be safe and good luck. 
mineral sites and cameras Well it’s that time a year again were articles will start getting posted 5 days a week. During the down time this year I have been running trail cameras and setting up mineral sites. Along with all the footwork as soon as turkey season ended we started planning the next Hillbilly Huntin Tournament. In this article I will explain what my mineral sites are doing and the pictures we are getting along with the rough ideas we have going around for the First Annual Hillbilly Huntin Monster Rack tournament.
First I will go over what it has taken to make the mineral sites and in turn the cameras. I have three mineral sites currently and three cameras. Every two weeks I take a coffee container of mineral to each site switch out SD cards and check the batteries on each camera. I will also take notes of what/ how the area has changed and what needs to be changed. I will move brush or cut of low lying limbs if they are in the way. I’m already trying to decide my stand location and I will clear shooting lanes. Doing this takes about 4 hours every two weeks and when everything greens up completely full I’m expecting about five hours a trip to run three mineral sites with cameras. It’s been fun watching the deer change through pictures and now that the bucks are in velvet growing there antlers the pictures are getting exciting. As the antlers are growing it’s fun to try and figure out what he will be at the end and see how close you will be. Does should be putting fawns on the ground and I can’t wait for those pictures to see how well the herd is growing. Now on to the First Annual Hillbilly Huntin Monster Rack tournament we don’t have anything set in stone but these are our ideas right now. Two categories $20 buy in per category (archery and firearms) Archery runs from September 15th through November 14th 2014. September 14th is the last day to enter the archery category. Last check in day will be November 14th. Pay out of 90% of entry fees paid in (50% for 1st, 30% for 2nd, 10% for 3rd.) Firearms runs from November 15th through November 25th 2014. November 14th is the last day to enter the firearms category. Last check in day will be determined latter. Pay out of 90% of entry fees paid in (50% for 1st, 30% for 2nd, 10% for 3rd.) The deer must be legally tagged and checked in with 2014 Missouri tag present when antlers are being scored. Antlers will be scored using the Boone & Crocket score sheet. (Not performed by an official B&C scorer.) To check in your buck bring it to Riflemen gun & archery outpost in Marshfield MO Monday through Friday 9 am to 5pm. You can enter the tournament at Rifleman Gun& Archery or by contacting The Hillbilly at (417)-840-9414. Shirts will be available with the 2014 Hillbilly Huntin Monster Rack Tournament logo. The prizes will be given away on a date we are still working on. 
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