Saturday Sept. 26, 2009: Opening day of the Tennessee archery season.
I got up at 4:00 am and checked the weather and radar. There were supposed to be storms moving in Friday night and continuing on through Saturday evening. It wasn't raining when I got up so I checked to see where the storms were. According to the radar, there was a storm moving in but it was off to the southwest of me, quite a ways off, so I thought I could get in a good morning hunt.
I got dressed, loaded up my gear and headed out to dad's where I have been seeing deer on a daily basis in the field. I got there about 5:00 am, geared up and headed to the field. I slipped in quietly and crept under a huge tree behind the building in the field. The drip line on this tree is about a 12' radius from the trunk with the limbs hanging on the ends. It makes a great natural blind and offers me no more than a 40 yd. shot in any direction to where the deer come in and out.
It started to sprinkle a little bit but the canopy of the tree was keeping my nice and dry. Daylight started breaking and I could see the field well enough to shoot. The sprinkling was continuing off and on but nothing I couldn't deal with. Then I heard a noise coming through the woods that sounded like the wind picking up, Man, was I wrong. It was one of the hardest rains I have ever seen or heard. It was raining so hard, it proved the trees are 90% air. It was raining through the canopy. I held out until water was running down my back, then I built an ark right quick and headed to the car.
As I headed back to the house, it wasn't raining in town so I went to one of the local WMA's and hunted a field for awhile. Surprisingly, there were several people hunting but I didn't run into anyone. This was the most I have ever seen on opening day of archery season. The rain finally moved into town so I went to McD's for breakfast and went to the house to get ready to watch the Alabama game.
The rain continued throughout the day so I stayed in and watched some great college football with my wife and some friends and had a great time.
Sunday was a beautiful day with sunshine, cool temperatures and no rain. I thought it would be a great day in the field, but I was wrong again. I sat on stand all morning and all evening, watching the birds and getting a sore butt, still it was a great day to be out.
The temperatures are starting to drop now. The highs are in the 60's and 70's with the lows in the 40's and 50's. With as much rain as we have had and the temps dropping, I suspect the deer activity will pick up. Work is slowing down as it does this time of year, so I may start getting off early or having three day weekends soon which will give me more opportunities to hunt. I have plenty of time to hit the woods after work now, but, when the time changes at the end of October, I don't have enough time unless I get off early.
This season has the potential to be more productive than any have been in a long time, so hopefully, with a little bit of luck, the work I have put in will pay off and I will have a great year and a full freezer at seasons end. I hope everyone has a great season either by filling tags or making memories or both.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Bow Season '09- Prentice Cooper Pre-Season Quota Hunt
Well my preseason archery hunt has come and gone and all I got was wet. LOL!!! I got off of work at noon on Friday, the 18th and headed to Prentice Cooper WMA for a preseaon draw hunt. II got there a litte after 2 pm and set up camp. I got a great spot with the same neighbors we had last year. I was really glad to see many of the friends that I have made over the last few years there. It seems to be a lot of the same people there every year so It's always like a reunion. Mike, the new guy, arrived around 4:30 pm and unloaded his gear. Afterwards, I took him on a little tour of the place to help him find a few places to hunt Saturday morning that he could find easily in the dark. We came back to camp, kicked back and visited with friends until about 8:30 and hit the sack.
The alarm went off at 3:30 am Sat. morning. Time to get up, get ready and head out. My plan was to hunt along the Tennessee River, on the side of the mountain so that when the gate opened at 4:30, I would be set up and ready when other hunters drove in and pushed the deer off of the top. I had a hard time finding a place to park because, apparently, about 20-30 other people had the same idea. I parked and headed to the woods.
I found a pretty good spot and climbed up in the tree. Daylight broke and I could see other hunters coming through the woods. Turns out we decided to set up next to a bluff and didn't know it until daylight. They were walking trying to find the end and go on up but weren't having any luck. There wasn't much since in me sitting there either so I came out and went back up top.
I went to a field that was back in the woods and set up about 30 yds from the edge in the woods. I had a draw to my left and a well used trail to my right with the field in front. It sprinkled off and on but I had a great canopy of leaves above me so I wasn't getting wet. Then, about 10 am, the bottom fell out and it started pouring; a good ole frog strangler. I was getting very wet and it was raining too hard for anything to be moving, so I decided to come on out, have lunch and wait for the rain to stop.When I got back to camp, Jason had showed up so all of us ate and checked the totals so far. Three doe had been checked in. Not good for day one so far.
The rain stopped about 1 pm and I headed back to the woods. I went back to the same spot and sat until dark with no luck. I came out, headed back to camp for some dry clothes and supper. We visited some more, ate supper, BS'd and I crashed out early in anticipation of Sunday. The total was now five doe.
Got up Sunday morning and Mike headed home. He had to work Monday and was discouraged. Jason headed out and headed to a spot way back towards the side of the mountain along the edge of a pine thicket. I sat there until noon with no sightings so I had lunch, helped Jason pack up, and moved to the very end of an oil pipeline that runs through the area. I found where deer had bedded down recently and set up back in the woods along the trail. I stayed until dark and nothing came in. Oh well, back to camp for supper. I'll try this spot first thing Monday morning. Total now is seven doe.
I had supper with the guys across from me. One of them got a doe so I helped him get it on ice and in a game bag. He fried me two 1/2 pound hamburgers from a cow he had just butchered. Man, there is nothing like fresh meat. LOL!!! When his buddy got back, he cooked some steaks from the same cow and gave me some of it too. I may not be killing anything but man am I eating good. Then the guy next to them came over and brought a chocolate chocolate chip pound cake his wife fixed for dessert. He had two people with him but they had to leave because one of them got sick so he had too much food and was trying to give it away because everything wouldn't keep for as long as he was staying.
We sat and talked around the fire until it started thundering and lightening and raining sideways around 8:30 pm. We all said goodnight and headed on to bed hopeing it would be done by morning. If you have never tried to sleep in a tent during a severe thunderstorm, you haven't camped. LOL!!! The tent was leaning and a little rain blow up under the rain fly. I checked the radar on my phone and finally fell asleep.
I awoke Monday morning to more of the same that I went to sleep with. I decided that my trip was done. It slacked up a little and I loaded the truck. The radar showed that it would be clearing for a little while soon so I thought I would wait and take down the tent and canopy. In the meantime, the guy with the pound cake came over and we started talking and ended up at Cracker Barrel for breakfast waiting on the rain to stop. We got back, I finished loading up and headed home. I got home around 1:00 pm, unloaded the truck, kissed the wife and got a wonderful, hot, shower.
The take when I left was at ten doe. So, apparently there were some who were lucky Monday morning in the rain. These numbers are pretty much in line with years past. I think I am going to pass on this hunt next year and start building points for a once in a lifetime hunt at President's Island in Memphis. There are only about 130 tags drawn for it each year with an antler restriction of 9 points or better and you can only get drawn for it once.
Now I am looking forward to this weekend and opening day of archery. Hopefully there will be a more successful story then.
The alarm went off at 3:30 am Sat. morning. Time to get up, get ready and head out. My plan was to hunt along the Tennessee River, on the side of the mountain so that when the gate opened at 4:30, I would be set up and ready when other hunters drove in and pushed the deer off of the top. I had a hard time finding a place to park because, apparently, about 20-30 other people had the same idea. I parked and headed to the woods.
I found a pretty good spot and climbed up in the tree. Daylight broke and I could see other hunters coming through the woods. Turns out we decided to set up next to a bluff and didn't know it until daylight. They were walking trying to find the end and go on up but weren't having any luck. There wasn't much since in me sitting there either so I came out and went back up top.
I went to a field that was back in the woods and set up about 30 yds from the edge in the woods. I had a draw to my left and a well used trail to my right with the field in front. It sprinkled off and on but I had a great canopy of leaves above me so I wasn't getting wet. Then, about 10 am, the bottom fell out and it started pouring; a good ole frog strangler. I was getting very wet and it was raining too hard for anything to be moving, so I decided to come on out, have lunch and wait for the rain to stop.When I got back to camp, Jason had showed up so all of us ate and checked the totals so far. Three doe had been checked in. Not good for day one so far.
The rain stopped about 1 pm and I headed back to the woods. I went back to the same spot and sat until dark with no luck. I came out, headed back to camp for some dry clothes and supper. We visited some more, ate supper, BS'd and I crashed out early in anticipation of Sunday. The total was now five doe.
Got up Sunday morning and Mike headed home. He had to work Monday and was discouraged. Jason headed out and headed to a spot way back towards the side of the mountain along the edge of a pine thicket. I sat there until noon with no sightings so I had lunch, helped Jason pack up, and moved to the very end of an oil pipeline that runs through the area. I found where deer had bedded down recently and set up back in the woods along the trail. I stayed until dark and nothing came in. Oh well, back to camp for supper. I'll try this spot first thing Monday morning. Total now is seven doe.
I had supper with the guys across from me. One of them got a doe so I helped him get it on ice and in a game bag. He fried me two 1/2 pound hamburgers from a cow he had just butchered. Man, there is nothing like fresh meat. LOL!!! When his buddy got back, he cooked some steaks from the same cow and gave me some of it too. I may not be killing anything but man am I eating good. Then the guy next to them came over and brought a chocolate chocolate chip pound cake his wife fixed for dessert. He had two people with him but they had to leave because one of them got sick so he had too much food and was trying to give it away because everything wouldn't keep for as long as he was staying.
We sat and talked around the fire until it started thundering and lightening and raining sideways around 8:30 pm. We all said goodnight and headed on to bed hopeing it would be done by morning. If you have never tried to sleep in a tent during a severe thunderstorm, you haven't camped. LOL!!! The tent was leaning and a little rain blow up under the rain fly. I checked the radar on my phone and finally fell asleep.
I awoke Monday morning to more of the same that I went to sleep with. I decided that my trip was done. It slacked up a little and I loaded the truck. The radar showed that it would be clearing for a little while soon so I thought I would wait and take down the tent and canopy. In the meantime, the guy with the pound cake came over and we started talking and ended up at Cracker Barrel for breakfast waiting on the rain to stop. We got back, I finished loading up and headed home. I got home around 1:00 pm, unloaded the truck, kissed the wife and got a wonderful, hot, shower.
The take when I left was at ten doe. So, apparently there were some who were lucky Monday morning in the rain. These numbers are pretty much in line with years past. I think I am going to pass on this hunt next year and start building points for a once in a lifetime hunt at President's Island in Memphis. There are only about 130 tags drawn for it each year with an antler restriction of 9 points or better and you can only get drawn for it once.
Now I am looking forward to this weekend and opening day of archery. Hopefully there will be a more successful story then.
Vantec Review
I received some Vanetec vanes in 2" from the company as a sample to test. Anybody can get them so I figured what the heck, they are free. Well, I fletched them up last Fri. in 3 and 4 fletch to do so testing and comparisons to my Blazers and to shoot my bow with the new string on it. I shot Fri., Sat., and today, about 30 shots each arrow and I'm not happy.
I was pleased Fri. and Sat. with the accuracy and grouping of the 4 fletch but was told of a problem with this set up in wind at long distances. Today we have a pretty good wind so I got my equipment out today to find out. I just reached in my arrow case and grabbed the Vanetec's to try the 4 fletch at 60 yds. in fairly strong angling head wind and a couple of Blazer 3 fletch arrows for comparison. I shot the Blazers and they were right on target as usual. I grabbed a Vanetec, nocked it up and shot it. OMG :o It went crazy. I thought it may have been me so I grabbed the other one and damn, it did the same thing.
I went to the neighbors field on the next block and picked them up. While walking back, I was going over both shots in my head trying to figure out if I did something and could not pinpoint anything I may have done wrong. So, I got to looking at the arrows to see if they may have gotten damaged somehow (these are the new ones picked up Fri.).
To my surprise and a certain level of disgust, the vanes had enough waves in them to surf. There was not a 1/4" of the vane that is straight or in line with the next section. The only thing I can figure is they DO NOT like Biscuits.
I have not found anything about this problem on their website but I do plan on notifying them about it. I can't complain too much as they were free, but I did expect more than 30 shots out of them.
They have already come off and been replaced with Blazers. As soon as my wife gets back from vacation with my good camera, I'm gonna take pictures to send to them also. I do know I will not shoot anything but Blazers from now on. I really expected more from a vane that claims to last as long as my bow. Also, they were the Vmax. Just my .02.
I was pleased Fri. and Sat. with the accuracy and grouping of the 4 fletch but was told of a problem with this set up in wind at long distances. Today we have a pretty good wind so I got my equipment out today to find out. I just reached in my arrow case and grabbed the Vanetec's to try the 4 fletch at 60 yds. in fairly strong angling head wind and a couple of Blazer 3 fletch arrows for comparison. I shot the Blazers and they were right on target as usual. I grabbed a Vanetec, nocked it up and shot it. OMG :o It went crazy. I thought it may have been me so I grabbed the other one and damn, it did the same thing.
I went to the neighbors field on the next block and picked them up. While walking back, I was going over both shots in my head trying to figure out if I did something and could not pinpoint anything I may have done wrong. So, I got to looking at the arrows to see if they may have gotten damaged somehow (these are the new ones picked up Fri.).
To my surprise and a certain level of disgust, the vanes had enough waves in them to surf. There was not a 1/4" of the vane that is straight or in line with the next section. The only thing I can figure is they DO NOT like Biscuits.
I have not found anything about this problem on their website but I do plan on notifying them about it. I can't complain too much as they were free, but I did expect more than 30 shots out of them.
They have already come off and been replaced with Blazers. As soon as my wife gets back from vacation with my good camera, I'm gonna take pictures to send to them also. I do know I will not shoot anything but Blazers from now on. I really expected more from a vane that claims to last as long as my bow. Also, they were the Vmax. Just my .02.
Off Season Journal '09
Well, I went to the lease last weekend to mow and replenish minerals and check food plots. We didn't get any mowing done because the trail has been washed out so bad I could not get the small tractor down it. I tried but ended up laying the tractor over. It's a good thing it has a bucket on it or I wouldn't have been able to get it out.
We didn't get to do much hunting but we did do some scouting and found some new travel lanes where the deer were moving along a ridge 20 yds. from one of our stands. We also found some new hog wallows and a lot more hog signs. We camped under a rock house and when we woke up the next morning had a small rattlesnake laying on a rock a few feet from us. We took some pics, packed up and headed home.
I went to the bow shop to drop off my HCA PowerForce last Mon. and went back Fri. to approve some repairs. The owner had his two recurves there and two more on the shelf. One was a PSE Kingfisher takedown, one was an older Martin takedown and the other two were one piece Martins. D/W's ranged from 45# to 55# and I must say I was surprised. 45# to 50# is about all I want. LOL. It truly was a very different shooting experience. I was also surprised that I could at least hit the target at 20 yds., not very accurately, but I hit it. Hopefully, in the next year, I will be adding a new recurve to the arsenal. I just want to have the opportunity to shoot a few more manufacturers before I make my decision.
It's killing me not having my bow but I hope it will be better when I get it back. Well, gotta go for now. I should have my bow back Fri. and I have my fingers crossed that I won't have to make too many adjustments. Bye y'all.
We didn't get to do much hunting but we did do some scouting and found some new travel lanes where the deer were moving along a ridge 20 yds. from one of our stands. We also found some new hog wallows and a lot more hog signs. We camped under a rock house and when we woke up the next morning had a small rattlesnake laying on a rock a few feet from us. We took some pics, packed up and headed home.
I went to the bow shop to drop off my HCA PowerForce last Mon. and went back Fri. to approve some repairs. The owner had his two recurves there and two more on the shelf. One was a PSE Kingfisher takedown, one was an older Martin takedown and the other two were one piece Martins. D/W's ranged from 45# to 55# and I must say I was surprised. 45# to 50# is about all I want. LOL. It truly was a very different shooting experience. I was also surprised that I could at least hit the target at 20 yds., not very accurately, but I hit it. Hopefully, in the next year, I will be adding a new recurve to the arsenal. I just want to have the opportunity to shoot a few more manufacturers before I make my decision.
It's killing me not having my bow but I hope it will be better when I get it back. Well, gotta go for now. I should have my bow back Fri. and I have my fingers crossed that I won't have to make too many adjustments. Bye y'all.
Off Season Journal '09
I got a No-Peep yesterday and put it on and did the rough set up. It wasn't very difficult but I had talked to other people that have it and got a few shortcuts.
I went to the range this morning, I adjusted my sight accordingly and the first three arrows were stacked on top of each other. The only problem is that they were hitting to the left. I adjusted the sight all the way out to no avail. So I put the sight back where I started and adjusted the rest in. It got better but was still to the left.
The groups were outstanding out to 50 yds. Three arrows almost in the same whole. I did have one flier that buried an inch into a 2x4 from 50 yds. and broke it getting it out but otherwise, I love the no-peep and my groups are tighter than before.
I think I have figured out my problem though. I was drawing it at the house and looking at everything and I have some serious cam lean going on. I guess the new Winner's Choice string and harness is coming sooner than expected. I knew I needed a new string anyways but I was hoping to get a little longer out of it but I guess not.
I had very little fine tuning to do to the no-peep though. All I had to do was resight and it is not a lie when the website says it will show any problems with form or equipment. It sure does. LOL!!
Update: June 21- I got it!!! The No Peep is set and this is my 50 yd. group with a 10 mph left to right crosswind.
I am extremely happy with these results. I also was amazed at how steady I am now because of being able to see the no peep moving if I'm moving. I think this is one of the greatest archery inventions ever. I think any new archer should try one of these and it would greatly shorten the learning curve, even if they start out using a peep. I now understand why so many people like it. I just can't wait to let the air outta something now. Later y'all.
I went to the range this morning, I adjusted my sight accordingly and the first three arrows were stacked on top of each other. The only problem is that they were hitting to the left. I adjusted the sight all the way out to no avail. So I put the sight back where I started and adjusted the rest in. It got better but was still to the left.
The groups were outstanding out to 50 yds. Three arrows almost in the same whole. I did have one flier that buried an inch into a 2x4 from 50 yds. and broke it getting it out but otherwise, I love the no-peep and my groups are tighter than before.
I think I have figured out my problem though. I was drawing it at the house and looking at everything and I have some serious cam lean going on. I guess the new Winner's Choice string and harness is coming sooner than expected. I knew I needed a new string anyways but I was hoping to get a little longer out of it but I guess not.
I had very little fine tuning to do to the no-peep though. All I had to do was resight and it is not a lie when the website says it will show any problems with form or equipment. It sure does. LOL!!
Update: June 21- I got it!!! The No Peep is set and this is my 50 yd. group with a 10 mph left to right crosswind.
I am extremely happy with these results. I also was amazed at how steady I am now because of being able to see the no peep moving if I'm moving. I think this is one of the greatest archery inventions ever. I think any new archer should try one of these and it would greatly shorten the learning curve, even if they start out using a peep. I now understand why so many people like it. I just can't wait to let the air outta something now. Later y'all.
Spring Turkey '09- Wrap-up
Well, turkey season has come and gone without a kill. It was cold at the beginning and we haven't had this much rain in years. It was one of the toughest seasons I can remember. I did figure out some new tactics for the place I hunt and the State Wildlife Agency is contiplating a new fall turkey season, so I hope to have some better luck then. We do get to hunt turkeys in the fall during the "archery only" season for bearded turkeys and we have quota hunts for either sex.
I went on a hog hunt at my lease a couple of weeks ago and it was spoiled by trespassers. I was in the stand and it was about hog 30 when I started hearing atv's. I thought it was on the other side of the valley but they started getting louder. I look down the trail towards the river and here come 3 UTE's, right where the hogs come from at this time of day. Needless to say I was pissed. I came down from the stand and walked back to the 4-wheeler I had and chased them down.
There were six of them and one of me with a bow, so my options were fairly limited. They were locals so I tried to be diplomatic and asked them not to be on the property as it is private property now. They said they had been riding there all their life so I asked them to at least be respectful enough to avoid our place on the weekends. There is plenty of other land to ride on including 4500 acres of public use land, which is where they started. They appeared to agree and I hope they do. All lessees try to get along with the locals in the area but there have been some confrontations that have led to personal property damage and legal actions with other clubs. There is not a whole lot we can do as there is not someone there 24/7 and we are outsiders for the most part so we don't generally get a lot of help from law enforcment either. All we can try to do is get along.
We are hoping the rain stops so we can get started working on our food plots and feeders. We are already behind due to the weather but we are hoping we can still salvage something and have some decent plots by the fall. Whenever we go to work, I will still be chasing my first hog. I hope to get it with a bow and be the first one to do so.
Well, I'm off to start on honey-do's that have been waiting on the end of hunting season. I hope everyone has a great summer and gets done what they need to before their next season starts. Good luck with your food plots and don't forget to leave the trail cams out. You never know what you might see.
I went on a hog hunt at my lease a couple of weeks ago and it was spoiled by trespassers. I was in the stand and it was about hog 30 when I started hearing atv's. I thought it was on the other side of the valley but they started getting louder. I look down the trail towards the river and here come 3 UTE's, right where the hogs come from at this time of day. Needless to say I was pissed. I came down from the stand and walked back to the 4-wheeler I had and chased them down.
There were six of them and one of me with a bow, so my options were fairly limited. They were locals so I tried to be diplomatic and asked them not to be on the property as it is private property now. They said they had been riding there all their life so I asked them to at least be respectful enough to avoid our place on the weekends. There is plenty of other land to ride on including 4500 acres of public use land, which is where they started. They appeared to agree and I hope they do. All lessees try to get along with the locals in the area but there have been some confrontations that have led to personal property damage and legal actions with other clubs. There is not a whole lot we can do as there is not someone there 24/7 and we are outsiders for the most part so we don't generally get a lot of help from law enforcment either. All we can try to do is get along.
We are hoping the rain stops so we can get started working on our food plots and feeders. We are already behind due to the weather but we are hoping we can still salvage something and have some decent plots by the fall. Whenever we go to work, I will still be chasing my first hog. I hope to get it with a bow and be the first one to do so.
Well, I'm off to start on honey-do's that have been waiting on the end of hunting season. I hope everyone has a great summer and gets done what they need to before their next season starts. Good luck with your food plots and don't forget to leave the trail cams out. You never know what you might see.
Spring Turkey '09
Turkey season is here. I didn't go yesterday, but went this morning in the cold wind and rain. The turkeys were exactly where they were last week which is to say not where I was. LOL! I watched them in the field about 80 yds. out until almost 11 am. Then they started going on roost.
They were in a field and staying close to the woods. They kept weaving in and out of the woods as the wind picked up or died down. They were very quiet and were not gobbling or yelping at all.
I sat at my first set up for a couple of hours and watched them go into the woods and not come back out. Then I picked up my decoys and worked my way towards the corner of the field where they had been. I got there and set up and started calling softly. Just some purrs and putts. I would call for a bit then go quiet and wait and listen.
I texted Doc to see if he was having any luck. He was talking about the birds he was seeing and how they were acting. It was the same as mine. I sat the phone down and caught something out of the corner of my eye on my right. I slowly turned and it was a lone tom.
He was walking across the field about 40 yds out and seemed to be looking for something. He was on my right and I can't shoot left handed (which will be remedied soon) so I started purring softly and got his attention and he started hammering and looking my way. I was trying to get him to move to the corner where my dekes were at so I could get a shot on him, but he would not cooperate.
Every time I yelped or purred, he would hammer and strut, but would not come closer or move to where I could shoot. I couldn't move because he was already looking my way and periscoping, so I couldn't do much but watch him strut and then walk back the way he came.
I saw a few more come out on the other side of the field, but they were henned up and not moving. I sat quietly and watched some more until I saw them start flying up and roosting.
I decided to head home as I was getting cold and disgusted and I had some things to do this afternoon. I will be there next weekend and set up better now that I know more about how and where they are moving. Same turkey time, same turkey channel. Maybe I'll get lucky next time.
They were in a field and staying close to the woods. They kept weaving in and out of the woods as the wind picked up or died down. They were very quiet and were not gobbling or yelping at all.
I sat at my first set up for a couple of hours and watched them go into the woods and not come back out. Then I picked up my decoys and worked my way towards the corner of the field where they had been. I got there and set up and started calling softly. Just some purrs and putts. I would call for a bit then go quiet and wait and listen.
I texted Doc to see if he was having any luck. He was talking about the birds he was seeing and how they were acting. It was the same as mine. I sat the phone down and caught something out of the corner of my eye on my right. I slowly turned and it was a lone tom.
He was walking across the field about 40 yds out and seemed to be looking for something. He was on my right and I can't shoot left handed (which will be remedied soon) so I started purring softly and got his attention and he started hammering and looking my way. I was trying to get him to move to the corner where my dekes were at so I could get a shot on him, but he would not cooperate.
Every time I yelped or purred, he would hammer and strut, but would not come closer or move to where I could shoot. I couldn't move because he was already looking my way and periscoping, so I couldn't do much but watch him strut and then walk back the way he came.
I saw a few more come out on the other side of the field, but they were henned up and not moving. I sat quietly and watched some more until I saw them start flying up and roosting.
I decided to head home as I was getting cold and disgusted and I had some things to do this afternoon. I will be there next weekend and set up better now that I know more about how and where they are moving. Same turkey time, same turkey channel. Maybe I'll get lucky next time.
Big South Fork Hog Hunt '09
 |
| (Left to right-Me, Don, Andy, Mike. Cooking Elk steaks.) |
There were 7 other people in there getting their tags too, so we had to wait to get ours. After we got them, we decided to have breakfast and head to the visitors center. With the park being on eastern time, it was open when we got there. We got some trail maps and starting talking about where we wanted to go.
We had a plan of going to the end of the trail coming out of the campgrounds and we decided to stick with that for now. We got to the end of the trail and there were 9 trucks there with people in two of them just getting ready to head in to the woods. All of the trucks had hunting gear in them, so we decided to head back out and try Laurel Creek where we hunted last year.
We parked in the field where we parked last year and year some rustling around the pond across the road so we eased over there to have a look. We checked around the pond and saw where something was there recent because the ice was broke in one corner. We set up behind to pond along the creek and started calling. We worked it for about an hour with no luck.
We left there and walked across the road and headed for Laurel Creek. We went down a trail and turned down a draw and found the creek. We started slowly walking the creek, stopping everyso often to listen. (Yes I was quiet this time. LOL!) We had walked quite a ways and came on a deep gorge and water fall. The bluff ran all the way around the right so we headed left and up. We ran into downed trees and couldn't get around to the end of the gorge and back down, so we had lunch and started heading out.
We got back to the truck and picked another trail to try that went to another part of the river. It turned out that the rest of the guys were parked where we had to turn so we looked for them as we were going down the road. We drove as far as we could due to the road being blocked and set out on foot.
We walked for about a mile and crossed a creek that went into a valley so we went to investigate. We found a very nice waterfall and 6 rockhouses. We checked out the rockhouses and found out the hogs had been bedding down in them. There were a lot of tracks and rubs on trees. We set up and called until almost dark and headed for the cabin.
We got to the cabin and waited on Doc to come open up. We ate, BS'd and had a great time. The bed was a welcome relief at 11:45 pm after a long day of hunting and spending time with great friends.
Day 2
We got up Sat. morning, had breakfast, said our goodbyes to all and headed for the valley we found late Fri. We set up and called for for several hours with no luck. We decided to come back up to the trail and head towards the river. We walked until we came to the top of a ridge where 50% of the trees were blown down and impassable. There was a sheer bluff on both sides so we couldn't get around so we headed back to the truck for lunch. We did see a lot of yote tracks though as we had all weekend in the deeper woods away from the trails.
While eating lunch, we decided to go down to Leatherwood Ford, on the river, and try to work our way back up to where we wanted to go before the trail disappeared. We got to the trialhead at the Ford and saw several cars parked there. We headed down the trail and ran into several hikers. We were disappointed and tired so we came back to the truck. We figure this was a lot of the reason we weren't seeing hogs because of the nice weather and people getting out.
On our way out, we decided to try one more spot but, when we got there, people were unloading horses. We decided to head on towards the house, with one stop on the way: the lease.
We were close to the lease on the way back and I decided to head on over there for the afternoon and then to the house. We got to the lease and fixed to cable gate and headed down to the big switchback curve. We parked there and walked on to hog lane.
I set Andy up in the "hog stand" on hog lane and came back up to the stand at the top of the trail. It overlooks our first foodplot and is at the top of the trail to hog lane, so I figured I could catch them coming into hog lane or running out if he started shooting. I sat in the stand for about an hour and started getting stiff and sleepy from the gale force winds blowing the tree and rocking me to sleep. Before I got down, a yote howled and came through the woods but caught wind of me and skirted down hill towards the bottom of hog lane.
I got down from the stand and started walking down the trail towards the third foodplot. I saw a lot of great hog signs and jumped two deer along the way. I got to the third plot and sat for a little while until some clouds started rolling in. I figured it was going to start raining and was probably close to 4:30, (when we agreed to meet up and head out), so I headed back to meet Andy.
When we met up, he reported seeing the yote, a red fox and a bobcat, but no hogs. We headed back to the truck and I was telling him about the property and stand locations and pointed out one stand on the ridge and there was somebody in it. Doc, bigblue and bonecollector had come in about 15 mins behind us. We gave them a ride back to their truck, wished them luck on Sunday and headed home.
I arrived back home around 7:30 pm, kissed the wife, unloaded the truck, got a hot shower and went to Krystal's to pick up supper. I spent the rest of the night in the recliner, relaxing and watching tv. A warm bed and my warm wife never felt so good.
I had a really great time and so did Andy. We both enjoyed meeting everybody, the great food, great conversation, and the great outdoors. I can't wait to do it again next year. Hopefully we will all have better luck next time, but with the great time had by all, it was a successful hunt in my book.
'08 Season Wrap-up
Hey y'all. Well deer season has come and gone and I got a big "Zero" for the year. It definitely was not from lack of trying. I spent three days at my hunting club lease with nothing. Two of the other guys came up Sunday and one of them got a really nice sized hog. It dressed around 136 and he said it was real good eating.
That weekend at the lease was interesting to say the lease. I got up there late Saturday morning Dec. 27 and set up camp. The wind was wild and it was a lot of fun setting up a 12'x12' tent by yourself. I brought the big one because Sam was going to come up so we would just have one tent. I got the tent set up and changed into my hunting clothes, grabbed my gun and ground blind and headed to my spot for the weekend.
I set up the blind behind a pond we have on our property. The hogs come in there and I have seen deer traveling through there so I thought it would be a great spot. I sat until a little before dark in gale force winds and thought about the fact I needed to get up some firewood. I headed back to camp and got up some wood and started the fire. It was fairly easy with the wind blowing like it was. I use toilet paper rolls full of dryer lint and sealed with melted candle wax as fire starters. They work like a champ. I got me something to eat after I changed clothes and settled in by the fire to enjoy the outdoors for the night and wait on Sam.
Sam texted me and said he wouldn't be up until Sunday morning and to give me the best news I had all weekend. There was a big storm coming. Yeah, just what I wanted to hear being on top of a montain in a tent no less. LOL!!! I texted back and forth with my wife for awhile and she was talking about the storm too. It started getting late so I decided to go onto bed. I went to bed but sleep was not an option.
About an hour or two after I laid down, the mother of all storms decided to show up and join me for the night. The wind was blowing so hard the fire picked back up, in the rain. It was making my tent lean and blowing a little rain up and under the rain fly. It was actually just a drop here and there but you know what I mean. LOL!!! It was a good thing I tied everything down real well or I would have been visiting Dorothy and Toto in Oz but I don't think my tent would have killed the witch though. LOL!!! I survived the night and got to sleep some where around 3 am so I missed my alarm at 4:30. Instead I woke up about 5:30 or so.
I got up, got dressed and was starting to head out when I heard a truck coming down the road. I waited to see who it was and it was Sam and Julian. They came up for the day. They asked why I wasn't in the woods, I told them and they had a good laugh. We figured out where everybody was going and headed out. I sat all day with no results. It was getting close to dark and I need to find some semi dry wood so I headed back to camp. Sam hollered at me on the radio and asked where I was at and I told him I was back at camp getting wood. He showed up a few minutes later. We were talking and heard something that sounded like a jet engine and tohught it was one flying over. Then we heard it again and started figuring it was Julian and it was the echo through the valleys. We waited to make sure there was not a third one (emergency signal) and started talking about our day to update our hunting program we have.
It was already dark and getting late and we were starting to wonder about Julian when we heard his 4-wheeler. He pulled into camp and said he need help getting a hog on the 4-wheeler because it was too heavy to pick up alone. We thought he was joking but he wasn't. Sam rode back down with him while I got up some more wood and got a small fire going. After a bit I here the 4-wheeler coming and they pull up with a huge hog tied on the back. We start talking about it and looking at it. It was freaking huge. We got it off of the 4-wheeler and I pull my car around for light and we took some pics. We all talked for awhile and they went home. I couldn't get much of a fire going so I went on to bed and listened to the coyotes fighting at the gut pile at the bottom of the bluff from camp and drifted off to sleep.
I got up the next morning with about a 1/4" of frost on the tent and it was freaking cold. I got dressed and headed out for my last trip. It was too cold and no dry wood for a fire to stay another night. I sat in the blind until early afternoon, came back to camp, packed up and headed home. I was ready for a nice hot shower, a hot meal and my central heat. LOL!!!
All in all, it was great weekend. I enjoyed every minute of it and will spend much more time up there this year. I hunted a couple more times after that but still had no luck. I went to Julian's too and I now have a new Rem 7400 30-06. Just gotta get some blood on it now. So now it's time to get ready for turkey and still do a little squirrel hunting too. Gotta have them dumplin's. Well, that's all for now. Talk to Y'all later.
That weekend at the lease was interesting to say the lease. I got up there late Saturday morning Dec. 27 and set up camp. The wind was wild and it was a lot of fun setting up a 12'x12' tent by yourself. I brought the big one because Sam was going to come up so we would just have one tent. I got the tent set up and changed into my hunting clothes, grabbed my gun and ground blind and headed to my spot for the weekend.
I set up the blind behind a pond we have on our property. The hogs come in there and I have seen deer traveling through there so I thought it would be a great spot. I sat until a little before dark in gale force winds and thought about the fact I needed to get up some firewood. I headed back to camp and got up some wood and started the fire. It was fairly easy with the wind blowing like it was. I use toilet paper rolls full of dryer lint and sealed with melted candle wax as fire starters. They work like a champ. I got me something to eat after I changed clothes and settled in by the fire to enjoy the outdoors for the night and wait on Sam.
Sam texted me and said he wouldn't be up until Sunday morning and to give me the best news I had all weekend. There was a big storm coming. Yeah, just what I wanted to hear being on top of a montain in a tent no less. LOL!!! I texted back and forth with my wife for awhile and she was talking about the storm too. It started getting late so I decided to go onto bed. I went to bed but sleep was not an option.
About an hour or two after I laid down, the mother of all storms decided to show up and join me for the night. The wind was blowing so hard the fire picked back up, in the rain. It was making my tent lean and blowing a little rain up and under the rain fly. It was actually just a drop here and there but you know what I mean. LOL!!! It was a good thing I tied everything down real well or I would have been visiting Dorothy and Toto in Oz but I don't think my tent would have killed the witch though. LOL!!! I survived the night and got to sleep some where around 3 am so I missed my alarm at 4:30. Instead I woke up about 5:30 or so.
I got up, got dressed and was starting to head out when I heard a truck coming down the road. I waited to see who it was and it was Sam and Julian. They came up for the day. They asked why I wasn't in the woods, I told them and they had a good laugh. We figured out where everybody was going and headed out. I sat all day with no results. It was getting close to dark and I need to find some semi dry wood so I headed back to camp. Sam hollered at me on the radio and asked where I was at and I told him I was back at camp getting wood. He showed up a few minutes later. We were talking and heard something that sounded like a jet engine and tohught it was one flying over. Then we heard it again and started figuring it was Julian and it was the echo through the valleys. We waited to make sure there was not a third one (emergency signal) and started talking about our day to update our hunting program we have.
It was already dark and getting late and we were starting to wonder about Julian when we heard his 4-wheeler. He pulled into camp and said he need help getting a hog on the 4-wheeler because it was too heavy to pick up alone. We thought he was joking but he wasn't. Sam rode back down with him while I got up some more wood and got a small fire going. After a bit I here the 4-wheeler coming and they pull up with a huge hog tied on the back. We start talking about it and looking at it. It was freaking huge. We got it off of the 4-wheeler and I pull my car around for light and we took some pics. We all talked for awhile and they went home. I couldn't get much of a fire going so I went on to bed and listened to the coyotes fighting at the gut pile at the bottom of the bluff from camp and drifted off to sleep.
I got up the next morning with about a 1/4" of frost on the tent and it was freaking cold. I got dressed and headed out for my last trip. It was too cold and no dry wood for a fire to stay another night. I sat in the blind until early afternoon, came back to camp, packed up and headed home. I was ready for a nice hot shower, a hot meal and my central heat. LOL!!!
All in all, it was great weekend. I enjoyed every minute of it and will spend much more time up there this year. I hunted a couple more times after that but still had no luck. I went to Julian's too and I now have a new Rem 7400 30-06. Just gotta get some blood on it now. So now it's time to get ready for turkey and still do a little squirrel hunting too. Gotta have them dumplin's. Well, that's all for now. Talk to Y'all later.
Gun Season '08
Howdy y'all. Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and I enjoyed 4 days off. The only bad part was that it wasn't long enough. I didn't hunt Thurs. because of family stuff so my father-in-law and I went Fri. We set up in our usual spot Fri. morning and no one else was there. It was quiet and not as cold as the previous weekend. I had high hopes for the day with a front moving in but we got skunked again.
We stayed there until about 11 am and then went to an afternoon spot where I had hunted quite a bit during archery season and had seen many deer in the evenings. They were always out of bow range but not out of rifle range. We got to the spot I told him about and I set up in one corner and he set up in the other. We jumped one on the way in up by the road so, again, we were hopeful.
It was cloudy as it had been all day and as it got dark, the wind picked up and it cooled off quick. I held out as long as I could see hoping that they would be out right at dark, but they never came out where we were. We packed up and went back to the house. A good day hunting but nothing in the freezer.
The forecast for Sat. was supposed to be cold and I had some things to do, so we didn't go out Sat. morning. I had planes to watch the Alabama game Sat. so I didn't go out Sat. afternoon but Lloyd did.
Towards the end of the game, the house phone rings and it him. He asked if I got his text message and I said no, because I had left my phone in the car. So I go get my phone and he has a buck on the ground. He thought it was a 4 or 6 pt but wasn't sure because it was behind a bush and he just saw the big body. He said he would come by the house when he got it loaded.
He came by and it was a pretty big spike. The spikes were 6-8" long and it had a really big, thick body. It dressed just under 100# so I figured it to be about 1 1/2 yrs. old. I took a couple of pics and posted them on a hunting forum we belong to and emailed him a copy. I went out Sun. morning and we proccessed it.
I have meat in the freezer but not one I got. I usually get the meat from his deer too because he is the only one who eats it at his house and my whole family eats it.I told him that he had his so now it was my turn. Let's just hope it happens next weekend.Talk to y'all later.
We stayed there until about 11 am and then went to an afternoon spot where I had hunted quite a bit during archery season and had seen many deer in the evenings. They were always out of bow range but not out of rifle range. We got to the spot I told him about and I set up in one corner and he set up in the other. We jumped one on the way in up by the road so, again, we were hopeful.
It was cloudy as it had been all day and as it got dark, the wind picked up and it cooled off quick. I held out as long as I could see hoping that they would be out right at dark, but they never came out where we were. We packed up and went back to the house. A good day hunting but nothing in the freezer.
The forecast for Sat. was supposed to be cold and I had some things to do, so we didn't go out Sat. morning. I had planes to watch the Alabama game Sat. so I didn't go out Sat. afternoon but Lloyd did.
Towards the end of the game, the house phone rings and it him. He asked if I got his text message and I said no, because I had left my phone in the car. So I go get my phone and he has a buck on the ground. He thought it was a 4 or 6 pt but wasn't sure because it was behind a bush and he just saw the big body. He said he would come by the house when he got it loaded.
He came by and it was a pretty big spike. The spikes were 6-8" long and it had a really big, thick body. It dressed just under 100# so I figured it to be about 1 1/2 yrs. old. I took a couple of pics and posted them on a hunting forum we belong to and emailed him a copy. I went out Sun. morning and we proccessed it.
I have meat in the freezer but not one I got. I usually get the meat from his deer too because he is the only one who eats it at his house and my whole family eats it.I told him that he had his so now it was my turn. Let's just hope it happens next weekend.Talk to y'all later.
Gun Season '08
Howdy y'all. Well, time to catch up. Opening weekend for rifle season was Nov. 22-23. I was in the woods early Sat. morning and set up and ready to go. The sun started to come up over my shoulder and it was getting light enough to see I looked around and stood up to stretch. When I did, I heard a noise behind me towards a trail I was watching. I slowly picked up my rifle, clicked the safety off and turned around to look. I finally got turned around enough to see and saw something moving. It was behind some scrub so I couldn't see it well so I positioned myself for a shot and waited for the revelation.
That's when I saw it and my heart started hammering. It was a damned flashlight and another hunter with no freaking orange on. He was walking right down the scent trail I laid out and right to my stand. I turned my headlight on and flashed it but he apparently didn't see it and walked right under my tree. hollered at him and he almost jumped out of his skin. He looked up and said morning and I commenced to giving him the riot act about not having his orange on and the possibility of him being shot if it had of been someone other than me out there. Then he just shrugged, said "Sorry" and walked on behind my stand in to the woods aways. Then he started walking around in circles like a dog checking a rabbit trail and went to my left and climbed up in a ladder stand four trees over. My two year old would have made less noise in the woods than this guy.
Before anyone comments, yes I was on a WMA and the only thing I said anything to him about was not having his orange on. I have no problems with other hunters when I am on public land. This is par for the course, but he didn't have orange on and didn't seem to care he was sharing a spot with another hunter. The stand had not been there the day before when I went to check the spot out. If it had of been, I would have set up somewhere else. I understand this was not an option for him as he had a ladderstand and that was fine. I could have moved because I had a climbing stand but I had worked this spot since Muzzleloader season, scouting, patterning, and such just for opening weekend of rifle season.
I hunted here last year some and found that when other hunters were out the deer seemed to migrate to this area. It is deep in the woods and about a mile walk from where I have to park my truck. Well, I thought about moving or leaving but I was with my father-in-law and he was set up between me and the truck. I didn't want to ruin his hunt or have him cut it short because of some inconsiderate person and, believe it or not, I didn't want to ruin the other guys' chances either. I guess everyone isn't as respectful and considerate as I am of other hunters. I decided to stay and wait until my father-in-law was ready to go and decided to go to my lease property.
After we left the woods, I went home and loaded up and went to my lease. I hunted Sat. afternoon and evening and Sun. until noon and didn't kill anything. I did see 6 on Sat. evening but couldn't get a shot because they were in some heavy brush. Anyways, I ended up having a good weekend with other guys from the hunting club and the weekend finished better than it started. Talk to y'all later.
That's when I saw it and my heart started hammering. It was a damned flashlight and another hunter with no freaking orange on. He was walking right down the scent trail I laid out and right to my stand. I turned my headlight on and flashed it but he apparently didn't see it and walked right under my tree. hollered at him and he almost jumped out of his skin. He looked up and said morning and I commenced to giving him the riot act about not having his orange on and the possibility of him being shot if it had of been someone other than me out there. Then he just shrugged, said "Sorry" and walked on behind my stand in to the woods aways. Then he started walking around in circles like a dog checking a rabbit trail and went to my left and climbed up in a ladder stand four trees over. My two year old would have made less noise in the woods than this guy.
Before anyone comments, yes I was on a WMA and the only thing I said anything to him about was not having his orange on. I have no problems with other hunters when I am on public land. This is par for the course, but he didn't have orange on and didn't seem to care he was sharing a spot with another hunter. The stand had not been there the day before when I went to check the spot out. If it had of been, I would have set up somewhere else. I understand this was not an option for him as he had a ladderstand and that was fine. I could have moved because I had a climbing stand but I had worked this spot since Muzzleloader season, scouting, patterning, and such just for opening weekend of rifle season.
I hunted here last year some and found that when other hunters were out the deer seemed to migrate to this area. It is deep in the woods and about a mile walk from where I have to park my truck. Well, I thought about moving or leaving but I was with my father-in-law and he was set up between me and the truck. I didn't want to ruin his hunt or have him cut it short because of some inconsiderate person and, believe it or not, I didn't want to ruin the other guys' chances either. I guess everyone isn't as respectful and considerate as I am of other hunters. I decided to stay and wait until my father-in-law was ready to go and decided to go to my lease property.
After we left the woods, I went home and loaded up and went to my lease. I hunted Sat. afternoon and evening and Sun. until noon and didn't kill anything. I did see 6 on Sat. evening but couldn't get a shot because they were in some heavy brush. Anyways, I ended up having a good weekend with other guys from the hunting club and the weekend finished better than it started. Talk to y'all later.
Bow Season '08/Muzzle Loader Season '08
Howdy y'all. Well to catch up on my hunting. Thurs. the 6th, I went to my dad's place after work and set up out in the back field. There are several deer coming in to feed on acorns and they are bedding down in the field. I have seen them many times and dad has been helping me to pattern them. To add to it, there was a front coming in and rain for Fri. I thought this would be perfect. Man was I wrong. They never showed and there was someone riding the loudest ATV I have ever heard up and down the road to the fire tower, about 200 yds away. I still stuck with it and sat until dark because these deer have almost no hunting pressure and seem to be used to activity. Dad has taken several pictures of them and they don't seem to mind. Well, I went back to the house empty handed but with a good deal. Dad isn't going to do anything with the field next year, so I am going to plant a 1 acre food plot with a staging area and bedding area. Not a bad day after all.
Friday morning I got up at 3:30 and went to Murfreesboro to hunt with a friend of mine, Julian. I got to his house about 4:45 and we were at the woods by 5. We went to a part of Percy Priest WMA behind his house and set up on the edge of a cornfield. It was raining light but steady with some periods of harder rain and wind. The situation looked promising and the rain was just right for the big ones to be moving. We were set up so that I was watching one half of the field and he was watching the other half. By late morning, Julian was cold and a little wet (I was in a blind) and was hungry so we left and went for breakfast.
We set up that evening out behind his house on his property. He has seen the deer moving through like clock work in the evenings so, again we had high hopes. I set up in a stretch of woods on one end and his wife, Marie, sey up on the other end. We were hoping to catch them coming through no matter which direction they came from. Julian set up in a spot that he had seen a big one a few days before. At dark, we came out of the woods dejected and with nothing.
I hunted Sat. morning with my father-in-law here close to home and went back to dad's on Sun afternoon and evening. Nothing on both trips. So out of three and a half days and about 24 hrs in the woods where deer were known to be abd had been patterned, I came up with a big zero. It was about the strangest weekend of hunting I have ever had. I guess no matter how smart we are, the deer are always a little bit smarter. LOL But, then again, you don't have a chance if you don't go out and try. Persistance and perserverence will pay off eventually and the reward will be that much sweeter. Talk to y'all later.
Friday morning I got up at 3:30 and went to Murfreesboro to hunt with a friend of mine, Julian. I got to his house about 4:45 and we were at the woods by 5. We went to a part of Percy Priest WMA behind his house and set up on the edge of a cornfield. It was raining light but steady with some periods of harder rain and wind. The situation looked promising and the rain was just right for the big ones to be moving. We were set up so that I was watching one half of the field and he was watching the other half. By late morning, Julian was cold and a little wet (I was in a blind) and was hungry so we left and went for breakfast.
We set up that evening out behind his house on his property. He has seen the deer moving through like clock work in the evenings so, again we had high hopes. I set up in a stretch of woods on one end and his wife, Marie, sey up on the other end. We were hoping to catch them coming through no matter which direction they came from. Julian set up in a spot that he had seen a big one a few days before. At dark, we came out of the woods dejected and with nothing.
I hunted Sat. morning with my father-in-law here close to home and went back to dad's on Sun afternoon and evening. Nothing on both trips. So out of three and a half days and about 24 hrs in the woods where deer were known to be abd had been patterned, I came up with a big zero. It was about the strangest weekend of hunting I have ever had. I guess no matter how smart we are, the deer are always a little bit smarter. LOL But, then again, you don't have a chance if you don't go out and try. Persistance and perserverence will pay off eventually and the reward will be that much sweeter. Talk to y'all later.
Bow Season '08
Howdy y'all. I had a short trip last week after work. It had rained lightly all day and it was cool so I figured that evening would be perfect for a little trip after work. I came home, showered, changed clothes, got my gear and headed to a local WMA right down the road. I got in the woods about 5 pm and headed to a spot I wanted to check out. I love walking through the woods in the rain and when it's wet. Everything is so quite. I got to the field I wanted to check out and there was a stand there in a tree. No one was in it,so I looked over the field and didn't see anything. I have hunted here before and knew if the deer weren't here then they would be in another field. I headed to the other field and found some spots for muzzleloader and gun season. I made my way through the woods and came to the edge of the other field. I crept out to the edge to look and make sure there weren't any deer in the vicinity. There weren't so I started to make my way around the edge of the field. The edge has a stair step shape to it so every so often I would come to a corner and stop and crawl to look around. They edge had been planeted on soybeans so I very opimistic. It started getting dark and it was a ways back to the car so I started heading out. That's when it happened. I stepped around a corner and there were two huge does about 60 yds away looking at me. I mean they were huge. One was broad side and the other was head on looking at me and the head on one was so big, I thought it was a buck at first. Then she moved her head and I could see it was a doe. I just froze. They could see me but not well but I couldn't move to draw back without spooking them. We stared at each other for about 15 mins. and now it was too dark to see to shoot. They finally walked of into the woods and I made my way to the car. The next time I go I will start out on that field and hopefully will have better luck next time. LOL!!!
Bow Season '08- Opening Day
My next trip was on opening weekend at the hunting lease I am a part of. Billy and I left on Friday afternoon and got there that evening. We walked down to a pond a little way from camp to see if there were any hogs there. We have a lot of hogs on our property and try to thin them out every chance we get. There weren't any there but there was a lot of fresh sign. We built a fire and sat around talking and driniking a little and ate some fried chicken. We went to bed early in anticipation of our morning hunt.
We got up the next morning, got ready and left out. I went and set up at the pond and waited on daylight. Billy went on down the trail to a stand close to one of the food plots. About 9 am I had to come back to camp. I had left something (toilet paper )there that I needed badly at the moment. After that, I went and tried another stand.
On the way to the other stand, there were alot of squirrels out and barking at me. I wished I had something besides my bow at that moment. I got to the stand and climbed up and settled down. This stand is in a great spot. There is a creek bed in front of me. A ridge on the other side and a ridge to my left. It's a nice natural funnel. There was a fresh scrape and a fresh rub in the area so I was hopeful. After about an hour, I heard something behind me and to my left. It sounded like a grunt and then I heard it again and leaves rustling. I tried to turn slowly to look and got turned in just enough time to see a couple of hogs drop off of the trail and into a little ravine between the ridges. I didn't have a shot because it was too far and they went behind a little rise and were gone. I sat there for a little while longer and came down and went back to camp for lunch.
After I ate, I did a little squirrel hunting with my .22. I had better luck doing that. I came back to the truck and started packing everything up. I had a few hunters from other leases come down and talk and they had about the same luck I had. I waited on Billy to come back. When he did, he had not had any luck either. We finished packing and came home. It was another great camping trip with a good friend that I enjoyed. I just wish we had some meat to bring home. Oh well, better luck next time.
We got up the next morning, got ready and left out. I went and set up at the pond and waited on daylight. Billy went on down the trail to a stand close to one of the food plots. About 9 am I had to come back to camp. I had left something (toilet paper )there that I needed badly at the moment. After that, I went and tried another stand.
On the way to the other stand, there were alot of squirrels out and barking at me. I wished I had something besides my bow at that moment. I got to the stand and climbed up and settled down. This stand is in a great spot. There is a creek bed in front of me. A ridge on the other side and a ridge to my left. It's a nice natural funnel. There was a fresh scrape and a fresh rub in the area so I was hopeful. After about an hour, I heard something behind me and to my left. It sounded like a grunt and then I heard it again and leaves rustling. I tried to turn slowly to look and got turned in just enough time to see a couple of hogs drop off of the trail and into a little ravine between the ridges. I didn't have a shot because it was too far and they went behind a little rise and were gone. I sat there for a little while longer and came down and went back to camp for lunch.
After I ate, I did a little squirrel hunting with my .22. I had better luck doing that. I came back to the truck and started packing everything up. I had a few hunters from other leases come down and talk and they had about the same luck I had. I waited on Billy to come back. When he did, he had not had any luck either. We finished packing and came home. It was another great camping trip with a good friend that I enjoyed. I just wish we had some meat to bring home. Oh well, better luck next time.
Bow Season '08- Prentice Cooper Pre-Season Quota Hunt
Howdy Y'all. Well bow season I upon me here in Tennessee and so far I haven't had much luck. I've been hunting several times and still don't have a deer down yet. I got skunked for the season last year and am trying not to let that happen again.
My first hunt was the weekend of Sept. 20-22, the week before archery season opens here. It was a draw hunt at Prentice Cooper WMA and several of my friends and I were drawn for it. Here's how my weekend went:
I got to camp around 2 pm(central) and Sam called me. I talked to him and to the guys set up next to us. I started unloading the car and setting my tent up. I got all of that done and Sam arrived and help me set up the canopy and I helped him set up his tent. Like he said, we sat around and shot the breeze with our neighbors and waited for Joe and Jason. They got there and we helped them unload. I had a few beers so I went to bed around 10:30 or 11.
Sat. AM.
Joe and Sam got up and tried to wake me up. I told Joe I was good and that I had a plan. He said ok and him and Sam talked some smack about me being sleeping beauty (lol), left and I went back to sleep.
I got up about 7 and headed to where I was planning on hunting. My plan was to hunt the bottom, towards the river, and get the deer that were scattered from the top by the traffic. I was not the only one with this idea as there were about 10-12 vehicles on the river road. But this wasn't a problem so I went down to a spot I had been told about, parked and started climbing. I got to the shelf I wanted to hunt and set up.
I wasn't there long and heard something coming through the woods. My thoughts were a deer or another hunter. Well I was wrong on both counts. It was turkeys, about 5-6 of them and they were very nice ones. There were a couple of toms and three hens and a jake I think. The two toms were very nice. One had a double beard and they looked to be about 9" long and the other one had one about the same length. After that, I came out and went back to camp. I was getting hungry so it was lunch time.
Sat. PM.
I went to a spot where we had turkey hunted in April and checked it out. Another hunter was there but he was hunting the other side of the road so I went and set up on a creek bed. I sat there for a couple of hours and heard a vehicle pull up and stop. I few minutes later, two guys came walking past me talking and waving. Well, after that, my day was done.I went back to camp and waited on the guys to come back and we went to get supper. I had a few beers and went to bed around 11 or so again.
Sun.
In the morning I got up around 7 again and went back to the river. I had two does go across the road in front of me and saw some more turkeys. I hunted a couple of different spots with no luck and went back to camp.
That afternoon, I rode out with Jason and we checked down a jeep trail. We thought it looked pretty good so we did a quick set on opposite sides of the road. My first spot wasn't all that great so I moved over and found a nice draw with some select cuts. The draw had three funnels and looked real good but nothing was moving.
I thought I heard Jason come out so I went back to the truck. He wasn't there so I sat down and waited. It turned out there were two guys who had hiked in down an old logging road. They didn't have a clue where they were at. While I was talking to them, Jason came back. We offered them a ride, they refused, and we left. We went where Jason wanted to hunt Mon. and it was the two fields Sam and I hunted in April that I had been looking for.
Jason set up in one field where Sam had told him to set up and I put my blind up in the back corner of the other field.
We went back to camp and waited on the others, ate and went to bed late.
Mon.
I didn't get up and neither did Jason. When we did get up, we rode out and got his stand and my blind, came back and started taking down camp. I came home with fond memories of a great time camping, meeting new people, and spending time with some very good friends. I look forward to the next trip I have with them and hope we all have better luck next time as far as bringing home some meat.
My first hunt was the weekend of Sept. 20-22, the week before archery season opens here. It was a draw hunt at Prentice Cooper WMA and several of my friends and I were drawn for it. Here's how my weekend went:
I got to camp around 2 pm(central) and Sam called me. I talked to him and to the guys set up next to us. I started unloading the car and setting my tent up. I got all of that done and Sam arrived and help me set up the canopy and I helped him set up his tent. Like he said, we sat around and shot the breeze with our neighbors and waited for Joe and Jason. They got there and we helped them unload. I had a few beers so I went to bed around 10:30 or 11.
Sat. AM.
Joe and Sam got up and tried to wake me up. I told Joe I was good and that I had a plan. He said ok and him and Sam talked some smack about me being sleeping beauty (lol), left and I went back to sleep.
I got up about 7 and headed to where I was planning on hunting. My plan was to hunt the bottom, towards the river, and get the deer that were scattered from the top by the traffic. I was not the only one with this idea as there were about 10-12 vehicles on the river road. But this wasn't a problem so I went down to a spot I had been told about, parked and started climbing. I got to the shelf I wanted to hunt and set up.
I wasn't there long and heard something coming through the woods. My thoughts were a deer or another hunter. Well I was wrong on both counts. It was turkeys, about 5-6 of them and they were very nice ones. There were a couple of toms and three hens and a jake I think. The two toms were very nice. One had a double beard and they looked to be about 9" long and the other one had one about the same length. After that, I came out and went back to camp. I was getting hungry so it was lunch time.
Sat. PM.
I went to a spot where we had turkey hunted in April and checked it out. Another hunter was there but he was hunting the other side of the road so I went and set up on a creek bed. I sat there for a couple of hours and heard a vehicle pull up and stop. I few minutes later, two guys came walking past me talking and waving. Well, after that, my day was done.I went back to camp and waited on the guys to come back and we went to get supper. I had a few beers and went to bed around 11 or so again.
Sun.
In the morning I got up around 7 again and went back to the river. I had two does go across the road in front of me and saw some more turkeys. I hunted a couple of different spots with no luck and went back to camp.
That afternoon, I rode out with Jason and we checked down a jeep trail. We thought it looked pretty good so we did a quick set on opposite sides of the road. My first spot wasn't all that great so I moved over and found a nice draw with some select cuts. The draw had three funnels and looked real good but nothing was moving.
I thought I heard Jason come out so I went back to the truck. He wasn't there so I sat down and waited. It turned out there were two guys who had hiked in down an old logging road. They didn't have a clue where they were at. While I was talking to them, Jason came back. We offered them a ride, they refused, and we left. We went where Jason wanted to hunt Mon. and it was the two fields Sam and I hunted in April that I had been looking for.
Jason set up in one field where Sam had told him to set up and I put my blind up in the back corner of the other field.
We went back to camp and waited on the others, ate and went to bed late.
Mon.
I didn't get up and neither did Jason. When we did get up, we rode out and got his stand and my blind, came back and started taking down camp. I came home with fond memories of a great time camping, meeting new people, and spending time with some very good friends. I look forward to the next trip I have with them and hope we all have better luck next time as far as bringing home some meat.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Long Time
Howdy y'all. Well it's been awhile since I posted. We've been busy with the baby and work is picking up and just haven't had much time to post. Emily is growing and growing . She is rolling over and trying to crawl. She has been having trouble keeping her formula down but the Dr. started her on Zantac this week so we will see what happens.
She is getting so active and "talking" and cooing. She is so responsive. When you cal her name she will turn and look. She laughs and giggles all the time. She is so cute and so happy.
Now to work. Angel is so busy at her job. The center opened a new group home and she is taking care of the case management for it in addition to her other two houses. So she is real busy and can't seem to get anything done. Her schedule at her part-time job also has changed so she is home on the weekends now. I'm glad of that because now we have more time together.
My work has picked back up and they are starting to call people back from lay-offs. We will be working overtime soon because we have about 5000 racks to get out and they lost several people during the lay-off. They can't even start second shift back up because they lost almost everybody on second shift.
We are working on getting a new automotive contract and if we get it, it will fill in the off time from our other contracts so that maybe we can avoid lay-offs in the future. The customer is picky and the racks are difficult but I think we can get it done. Especially with the people we have now.
Well, enough for now gotta get ready for my birthday dinner. Talk to y'all later.
She is getting so active and "talking" and cooing. She is so responsive. When you cal her name she will turn and look. She laughs and giggles all the time. She is so cute and so happy.
Now to work. Angel is so busy at her job. The center opened a new group home and she is taking care of the case management for it in addition to her other two houses. So she is real busy and can't seem to get anything done. Her schedule at her part-time job also has changed so she is home on the weekends now. I'm glad of that because now we have more time together.
My work has picked back up and they are starting to call people back from lay-offs. We will be working overtime soon because we have about 5000 racks to get out and they lost several people during the lay-off. They can't even start second shift back up because they lost almost everybody on second shift.
We are working on getting a new automotive contract and if we get it, it will fill in the off time from our other contracts so that maybe we can avoid lay-offs in the future. The customer is picky and the racks are difficult but I think we can get it done. Especially with the people we have now.
Well, enough for now gotta get ready for my birthday dinner. Talk to y'all later.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Ponderings
Howdy y'all. Well, it's only four weeks until the new baby will be here. Man time really flies and there is still a lot to do. Angel and I finally got to go on our honeymoon a few weeks ago. We went for the weekend to a local bed and breakfast and had a great time. We did end up with a funny story though. Her sister, Codi, had to come by our house to pick up some things so we gave her the code to the alarm system. She put the code in wrong and set the alarm off. She called us so we could talk to the police when they showed up. We came up with one of those Mastercard commercials: Small wedding: $200, Wonderful honeymoon: $200, having to leave your honeymoon to reset your alarm and talk to the police: Priceless.
Ok time for a little rant. Halloween has just passed and I'm bothered by something. Why do we spend so much money on costumes? What happened to the days when we made our own costumes? For me, that was one of the great things about Halloween. I loved making my own costumes and trying to pick out something different each year. I was a pirate, a hobo and many other things. This year our daughter went as a Bratz doll and she loved it. She had the clothes and Angel fixed her hair and make-up. She looked really cute and we didn't spend any money. The people she went to trick-or-treating really loved her costumes and the ones I enjoyed the most were the ones who made their own. this world has gotten so commercialized that all of the holidays have lost their meanings.
I hope that the saying is true about things from the past coming back around and I hope that I am still alive to see it. It would be nice to see us return to the world I remember from my youth so I can experience it one last time.
Always remember what you loved about growing up and pass those experiences on to your children. It can start with us and we can change the world. Goodnight all and talk to y'all later.
Ok time for a little rant. Halloween has just passed and I'm bothered by something. Why do we spend so much money on costumes? What happened to the days when we made our own costumes? For me, that was one of the great things about Halloween. I loved making my own costumes and trying to pick out something different each year. I was a pirate, a hobo and many other things. This year our daughter went as a Bratz doll and she loved it. She had the clothes and Angel fixed her hair and make-up. She looked really cute and we didn't spend any money. The people she went to trick-or-treating really loved her costumes and the ones I enjoyed the most were the ones who made their own. this world has gotten so commercialized that all of the holidays have lost their meanings.
I hope that the saying is true about things from the past coming back around and I hope that I am still alive to see it. It would be nice to see us return to the world I remember from my youth so I can experience it one last time.
Always remember what you loved about growing up and pass those experiences on to your children. It can start with us and we can change the world. Goodnight all and talk to y'all later.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
An email story
Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much.
He would always greet you with a big smile
and a firm handshake.
Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us.
He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in W.W.II.
Watching him, we worried that although he had survived W.W.II, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.
When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.
He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened.
He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose?"
The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure," with a malevolent little smile.
As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.
Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him.
Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't get there fast enough to stop it. "Carl, are
you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet.
Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head.
"Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday." His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water.
Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you doing?"
"I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately," came the calm reply.
Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.
A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose.
This time they didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water.
When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.
Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.
The summer was quickly fading into fall Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches.
As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack.
"Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time." The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man
pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.
"What's this?" Carl asked.
"It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet." "I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?"
The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate." He stopped for a moment.
"I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back." He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street.
Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.
He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather.
In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.
The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life. In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden."
The following spring another flyer went up. It read:
"Person needed to care for Carl's garden."
The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door.
Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young man said.
The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl.
He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around.
As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, "Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him."
The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done.
In that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.
One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday."
"Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby'name?" "Carl," he replied.
He would always greet you with a big smile
and a firm handshake.
Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us.
He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in W.W.II.
Watching him, we worried that although he had survived W.W.II, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.
When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.
He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened.
He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose?"
The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure," with a malevolent little smile.
As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.
Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him.
Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't get there fast enough to stop it. "Carl, are
you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet.
Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head.
"Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday." His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water.
Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you doing?"
"I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately," came the calm reply.
Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.
A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose.
This time they didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water.
When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.
Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.
The summer was quickly fading into fall Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches.
As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack.
"Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time." The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man
pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.
"What's this?" Carl asked.
"It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet." "I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?"
The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate." He stopped for a moment.
"I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back." He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street.
Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.
He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather.
In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.
The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life. In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden."
The following spring another flyer went up. It read:
"Person needed to care for Carl's garden."
The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door.
Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young man said.
The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl.
He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around.
As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, "Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him."
The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done.
In that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.
One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday."
"Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby'name?" "Carl," he replied.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Remember 9/11
REMEMBER 9/11 AND PRAY FOR THE FAMILIES AND FOR OUR TROOPS THAT THEY COME HOME SAFELY.Photo from: http://www.sparkpage.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)