Robby Day Scores In Brady

My friend Robby Day shot his biggest buck to date yesterday in Brady. The buck did not go down easy, he ended up having to call Matt McWilliams and his 2 amazing tracking dogs to find the deer.

Congratulations to Robby on a nice trophy!

Kansas 2009: Getting It Done On The 11th Hour

I anxiously awaited my return to Kansas since Robert, Shane and I left last year. We were getting some good trail camera pictures from the land owner throughout the late summer and early fall. We decided that we were going to leave on Sunday November 8, 2009.
My alarm went off at 2:30 am on Sunday morning; I took a shower, got in the truck and headed to Dallas to first pick up Shane, then Robert. I was very excited, but have to admit that 2:30 in the morning is a little early; I don’t care where you are going hunting.

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We made the long drive up through Texas, then Oklahoma and finally Kansas. We arrived at Henry Pierce’s house (our host) at around 2:00 that afternoon. We visited with Henry and Dennis Potter, another hunter at the lodge from Wisconsin who hunted with us last year, and then got unpacked and dressed for the evening hunt.
Shane and I both went back to the area that we hunted last year, while Robert drove around with Henry to see some new ground that Henry had secured for us. The sit that evening was pretty uneventful for me, but I did see 3 or 4 does. Shane did not have much luck either, but Robert did see a large shooter buck while walking into his stand.
The next morning I again hunted the same stand. This is the stand where I shot the large 7 point the year before on my first trip to Kansas. I sat until nearly 11:00 and did not see any deer. It was fairly discouraging, but I knew it was early and I still had a whole week to hunt.
After the morning hunt Robert took me to a stand across the road from where I had been hunting that set overlooking a river bottom on the edge of a large recently cut milo field. The field edge was covered with scrapes and good deer sign, so I decided that I would hunt that location for the next few days. I had only hunted one location in Kansas all last year and this year, so I was excited about looking at something different.
The first evening in the new location I saw quite a few deer, but only small bucks and does. Most of the deer were behind me in the milo field, but some passed in front of me in the creek bottom. The amount of deer that I saw was enough to make me come back the next day. In Kansas you can sit hours and sometimes days without seeing a deer.
Robert was hunting about a quarter mile to my west on the same river that evening and he passed up a very nice 8 point with unbelievable brow tines that I think definitely we have netted P&Y. In hind sight Robert should have shot this deer, but I think that it was too early in the trip for him to make that decision. The game camera at the stand where Robert was sitting took a few pictures of that buck and Robert brought the memory card back for us all to see. Everyone but Robert agreed that he should have shot the deer, but he was not having any part of it. Shane was only seeing a does and a couple of small bucks and we decided to set him up a new stand the next day in the same area he was hunting down in a creek bottom where he was seeing the most activity.

The next morning I sat in the same stand and only saw a few deer. I sat until about 11:00, then got out of the stand and went to pick up Shane. We both agreed that we would go back to the house, grab a quick bite to eat and get back in the stand.
I was back in the stand by 1:30 that afternoon, and my lack of sleep was really starting to catch up with me. At about 2:30, I was starting to dose off when I heard a loud grunt coming from across the river. I opened my eyes and the woods exploded. I saw two small bucks running in my direction, obviously being chased by something. I immediately let out a snort wheeze and was answered by another loud grunt. I grunted back and again was answered. This went on for about 2 or 3 minutes, me grunting and the buck (which I could not see) grunting back at me. Finally I saw a doe crossing the river about 75 yards away from me, followed closely by a nice shooter 10 point. I grunted, rattled and did everything I could to get them to turn in my direction so that I could get a shot, but the buck was not going to let the doe come any closer to my area and he ran her into some thick cover where I could only listen as he chased and grunted at her. This raucous went on for about 5 minutes before the woods finally quieted down.
I saw several more deer that evening, mostly in the field behind me. About 30 minutes before dark I noticed a new deer on the edge of the field about 150 yards behind me to my left. I put my glasses on him, and immediately recognized him as the 8 point that Robert had passed up the day before. I videoed him for a little while, then I let out a doe estrous bleat. The buck too my surprise turned and began walking along the very edge of the field in my direction. I grabbed my bow and got ready. I decided that if he came in front of my stand where I could video the shot, I would take him, but as luck would have it he never did. He walked right behind me coming within 8 yards of my stand. I decided not to shoot him because Robert had already passed him up. I am really not sure if I ever had a shot, it would have been difficult and I would have had to squeeze my arrow through some limbs in order to hit him. As he walked behind me, I never really even tried to evaluate my shot opportunity, and just watched as he got farther and farther away. Again in hind sight I probably should have tried to get a shot on him.
Robert saw another old very large deer with heavy antlers. He had him at 14 yards and could have easily taken him but decided to pass. This buck was pretty cool with a lot of character. He had 8 points on one side and 4 on the other and had a tall rack, but he only had about a 14 inch spread. Shane still had not seen a shooter. He was mostly seeing a couple of resident button bucks and their mom.
The next several days I hunted the same stand, only switching locations for one afternoon. The weather was warm and windy and none of us where having any luck. I think that the big boys were locked up on does, which is why we were not seeing any shooters cruising through our set ups. Robert kept asking me when I was going to go back to the stand where I shot the deer last year, I told him I was done with that stand. He kept telling me, “You know that is where you are going to shoot your deer”.
The end of the trip was quickly approaching. We were all very tired and frustrated. Long hours in trees had us all mentally worn out. I sat all day Friday without seeing a deer. On Saturday I woke up and told myself that I was going to give it one more good effort and then I was going to call it quits for this year. That morning I could not stay motivated and ended up getting out of the stand at 9:00 am after not seeing any deer again. Shane and Robert were not really having any better luck, so it did not give me much hope. The hunting was just tough.
For some unknown reason I decided that I would abandon my river stand on Saturday evening and go back to my original stand where I killed the 7 point last year. On the way to out to hunt, Shane I and made a pact that if a 130 class 8 point or better walked out we would shoot. I didn’t have a whole lot of confidence. After dropping Shane off, I climbed in my stand at about 2:30 that afternoon. It was opening day of pheasant season in Kansas and I was greeted with a bunch of men dressed in bright orange and dogs running through a field on a ridge about 500 yards away from me. Pheasant hunting is a talking sport and I could hear just about all of their conversations. I thought that this was going to be another wasted sit, but decided to wait it out and see what happened.
It was about 5:20 and I had not seen any deer. I was getting ready to start packing up my stuff. I told myself that I had hunted hard and it just was not meant to be this trip. I was very tired and thought that even if Robert and Shane decided to hunt on Sunday morning before we left for Dallas, I was going to sleep in. Just as I had all but given up, I saw 3 does coming in my direction off a ridge to my left. I sat tight to see what would happen.
The does slowly made their way into the bottom where I was hunting and then turned and walked straight away from me before finally stopping to feed and mill about 160 yards away. As the does where moving about in the cedar trees, I lost track of them from time to time. Darkness was fast approaching and again I had given up on the hunt. I was looking over the area where I had last seen the does and noticed a new deer coming out of a draw. I put my glasses on it and immediately recognized it as a long tined white antlered shooter. I did not study the rack long; I did not have time to. It was going to be dark soon and if I was going to get it done, I had to get to work.
I started with an estrous doe bleat, the buck did nothing. I then grunted at him, again no response. I had to do something and do it quick. I did a very short rattling sequence and the buck started walking, but in the wrong direction. He then went behind a clump of cedars and I lost sight of him. Seconds later a doe exploded out of the cedars running full speed straight at me. He quickly followed. They ran at full speed across my shooting area and up the ridge to my left. Then they ran away from me. Then back toward me, then away again. I was in basically what amounts to a large open pasture, and these deer where zigzagging back and forth right in front of me. My bow has a single pin adjustable sight and the whole time I am working the dial, 20 yards, 40 yards, 60 yards, back to 20 yards. All the while I am grunting with my mouth trying to stop the deer. I had a few markers picked out and pretty much knew the ranges if I could get the deer to stop. They made a huge loop away from me and then came running full speed again from right to left, The doe ran up the steep hill onto the ridge above me. I made the loudest Urrp I could and the buck finally stopped quartering away from me. I could see that the buck was exhausted. He was breathing hard, with his mouth wide open, staring at the doe that was now standing at the top of the hill in front of him. I had my sight set a 35 yards, I figured the buck to be at about 45 yards. I did not have time to reset the sight as I knew he was just seconds from going after the doe again. I drew back, felt my anchor points and put my pin on the top of the bucks back. I had practiced so much for this moment the past off season, and I had all the confidence in the world in my ability to make this long shot. I let out a deep breath and squeezed the release. I watched as the arrow flew the long 45 yards starting high and dropping perfectly into the kill zone. Upon impact the buck let out a huge gasp of air and then bounded away from me. I immediately began grunting again and got him to stop within eye sight about 135 yards away. I watched as his tail began twitching faster and faster until he finally fell over.
I was shaking, did that really just happen? I had spent so many hours in the stand to have it all come down to the final 20 minutes of my hunt. I felt like I had just conquered the world! As I sat and replayed the events of the moment as well as the whole week in my mind I quickly came to the conclusion that what had just happened was my most exciting moment of my entire hunting career. I still did not know how big the buck really was, and I did not care. The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming.
I decided to leave the deer alone in case he was not dead, I did not want to push him and risk losing him, I was fairly confident that he had expired, but experience has taught me not to risk it. I climbed out of the stand and went to get Shane. When I pulled up I saw that Shane did not have his jacket on, and I knew that something had happened for him also. He explained to me that he had shot a heavy horned 8 point at 35 yards. He was not sure about the shot; he said that upon impact he heard a loud thud that he thought sounded like the arrow hitting bone. He did not have his glasses and could not see very well in the fading light, so he backed out of the woods so that he would not push the deer and risk losing it. We decided to go back to the house and get Robert, then head out to recover our deer.
We went to look for Shane’s buck first. We went to the spot where the deer was standing when he shot and found some blood, we then continued down the creek channel finding good blood the whole way. About 30 yards from the spot of the shot, there he lay. Shane had executed a perfect heart shot; the buck did not have a chance. The body on Shane’s deer was huge! He actually ended up field dressing 195 lbs. He had a nice heavy Kansas rack with 9 points. We all high fived, took pictures, field dressed him and drug him up about a 30 to 40 foot embankment and loaded him on the Ranger.

I was starting to get worried; I hoped my deer was as good as Shane’s. He had down played the size of it to me, but Shane told me that instead of ground shrinkage, this deer grew. We made the short drive over to where my deer was, the whole time I was down playing the size of my deer, since I was unsure of what I had really shot.
We walked straight to my deer where he lay dead with the arrow sticking out of him. Again, this deer did not disappoint. He was a beautiful 9 point as well. Shane and I figured that my deer will score better than his. We have not measured him, but I think that he will make the P&Y record book. I figure him to score about 135 gross. Again we went through the customary high fives, pictures and field dressing and then headed back to the house.

Shane, Henry and I celebrated into the next morning with beer, Knob Creek whisky and stories while Robert lay in bed sleeping. He hunted hard all day Sunday, but was unable to get his buck. Hopefully he will make a return trip later in the year and have more luck.
I am writing this a week to the day that I took this great Kansas buck and I am still just as excited as I was that evening. I will never forget this I will never forget this great adventure. It was a real accomplishment. We all hunted very hard and challenged ourselves mentally as well as physically. This experience has taught me to never give up; it only takes a few seconds for everything to change. The perfectly placed 45 yard shot has also reconfirmed to me that all of the long hours of practice in the off season made the difference between me going home with a buck and going home empty handed. Like all hunters I would welcome the 15 to 20 yard chip shot any time, but it is nice to be able to trust my ability to get the job done at greater distances if the situation calls for it. I don’t know what hunting experience the future holds for me, but I will always cherish this one. I can’t wait to get back out in the woods and try to do it again!

Success In Kansas!

I should have posted long ago, but I have been busy everyday since I got back from Kansas on Monday evening. I am very pleased to report that I did end up killing in Kansas on Saturday November 14th about 20 minutes before dark. I had all but given up on the trip, I was planning on that evening being my last sit on stand. It is crazy how you spend so much time in a stand and then everything happens in just mere seconds.

I will write a full post on how everything went down when I have time, but for now I just wanted to share a picture and let everyone know that I got it done 2 years in a row!

November 12 From Kansas

Well we are on day 5 here in Kansas, and I don't have much to report.
I have only seen 1 shooter buck ( a very nice 8 point) and Shane has
not seen any. Robert has seen quite a few nice bucks, but hasn't
closed the deal yet for one reason or another.

Today it is warm with about a 25 mph wind blowing out of the south.
Not exactly ideal hunting conditions. I am in a tree typing this
post. This is the same tree that I killed a buck out of last year.

We are going to keep hunting hard for the next few days. Hopefully
the big bucks will start cruising more, it has to be time. I am
jonesing for someone to get something on the ground.

I will post again when I have good news to report.

This is the tree where my buck was standing when I shot him last year.

Arrived in Kansas

I woke up this morning at 2:30 am and got in the truck to head over to
Dallas to pick up Shane and Robert. We got loaded up and were headed
northbound on 35 by 4:30.

We arrived at Henry's near Mankato around 2:00, unloaded, visited for
a little while and the got dressed and went out to hunt.

I sat in the same stand where I shot a buck last year. It was warm
and pretty uneventful. I saw 1 doe and about 15 cows.

We are all pretty tired, just laying around watching the cowboy game.
I figured it up, I have only had 4 hours of sleep in the last 36
hours. I am excited about tomorrow and the rest of the week, but I
have to go to sleep, 5:00 is going to come early in the morning!

Sent from my iPhone

Getting Ready For Kansas

I hope to be sitting in a tree in Kansas this coming Sunday afternoon. I am not sure if that will happen or not, as we are still trying to figure out when we are going to be able to leave, we have a few family obligations to take care of on Saturday first.

I know that I have been talking about this for quite a while now, but I can not help it, I am really excited. I hope that all three of us can get a deer this year. We should be arriving just in time for the peak of the rut, at least that is what I am holding out hope for.

Here a few more buck pictures from the property we will be hunting. The cool thing about hunting at this time of the year is that we will more than likely be seeing bucks that have not shown up on these game cameras. Who knows what will pass by our stands.

Latest Kansas Bucks

Here are the best bucks in the latest pictures that I received from the land owner in Kansas where I will be hunting. Nothing spectacular, but I am still really fired up. Only 10 days away!

I am leaving today to go hunting at my friend Shane's ranch in Oklahoma. I am really looking forward to it, from everything that I have heard his ranch is incredible. I have never hunted deer in Oklahoma. I will probably only be running a video camera, if I get some good footage I will definitely try to post it here.

Video: 192" Illinois Monster

This video has got me all fired up! I just got this off of bowhunting.com

This buck was taken by bowhunting.com president Todd Graf. He hunted this buck for 2 years and finally got the shot. Best thing is he got it all on film.

Possible New Alaskan Moose World Record

This is a moose that I found on the internet taken in September with Archery equipment by Darin Mack of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Rough scoring has the bull at 255 with a 75" spread. Awesome stuff! There is talk of it possibly being the new Pope and Young world record. I guess will just have to wait and see. Congratulations to the hunter, I can't imagine what that animal looked like in the wild.

Follow Up To Minnesota Buck Post From Last Week

From all reports, it appears that the giant buck taken in Minnesota by Scott O'Konek will break the Minnesota state archery record. Field and Stream's website has a nice write up about the buck with a picture gallery.

Click Here to go to the article on fieldandstream.com
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13 Days and Counting Until Kansas

Buck taken with muzzle loader near the property I will be hunting in Kansas

I had another disappointing weekend in Brady, Texas this past weekend, though I did see quite a few more deer than the last weekend I went. I saw probably 7 or 8 bucks, the best of which was about a 4 1/2 year old 10 point. My dad did not see as much as I did, but he did see a shooter 10 point on Friday afternoon.

I ended up killing 2 pigs on Saturday afternoon, and gained a little bit of confidence with my new Hoyt Alphamax.

Now I have my sights set on Kansas. It is only 13 days until I will be up there, hunting in one of the top producing states in the country chasing after rutting whitetail. I am completely stoked about the possibilities.

I just had a picture emailed to me by the land owner where we will be hunting of a buck killed by one of his friends on a nearby property with a muzzle loader. I don't have any details on measurements or score, but I would gladly accept the opportunity to take a shot at a buck like this.

I Disagree Wtih The Dallas Safari Club's Stance On This Issue!

I came across this article from the Washington Post yesterday. It was in my Dallas Safari Club Weekly briefing email. I am a member of the Dallas Safari Club, and I think that they do some great things, but I am not really sure that I agree with their stance and pursuit of this issue.

It seems that they have teamed up with some other wildlife conservation groups in an effort to lobby to law makers to pass legislation that will regulate greenhouse emissions in an effort to bring about more climate control. I, like every other sportsman, am all in favor of protecting our wildlife and making hunting available for generations to come, but I am torn on this issue. I am tired of the government being involved in and regulating every little piece of our lives, and I am not really a big believer in the whole global warming movement.

I think that we can all do more to preserve the earths climate and wildlife around us, but I do not think that we need more laws and taxes to accomplish this. I think that we need more education and programs developed by organizations such as the Dallas Safari Club and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. In order for groups such as these to take these steps in protecting the environment and wildlife, they need more people to join with them and contribute to their groups whether it be through volunteer work or private donations. By asking the government to get involved and pass legislation (legislation that once is passed we will be stuck with good or bad) we are giving up more of our rights as citizens, and we have already given up entirely too many of them.

Click Here To Read The Article From The Washington Post


U.S. hunters, anglers lobby for climate bill


By Ed Stoddard and Richard Cowan
Reuters
Sunday, October 18, 2009; 8:27 AM

DALLAS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An unlikely lobbying group is pressing the U.S. Senate to curb greenhouse gas emissions: American hunting and fishing groups who fear climate change will disrupt their sport.

Hunters and anglers are mainly a Republican Party constituency representing tens of millions of votes in the U.S. heartland and could help swing crucial votes as the Senate tries to pass legislation to cut carbon output.

Twenty national hunting and fishing groups urged senators in a letter last month to ensure "the climate legislation you consider in the Senate both reduces greenhouse gas emissions and safeguards natural resources."

Among those calling for "comprehensive" legislation were groups not usually associated with liberal causes, like the Dallas Safari Club, the National Trappers Association and Pheasants Forever.
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One of their worries, for example, is that the fowl they hunt might not migrate as far south if northern U.S. states become warmer.

"If you go out and hunt at the same time in the same season and the same place every year, then you understand the changes that are happening," said Jeremy Symons, senior vice president for conservation at the National Wildlife Federation, which claims a membership 420,000 sportsmen in 46 states.

These groups will be going up against powerful Washington lobbies -- the coal and oil industries, for example -- that are pushing hard to soften any mandatory pollution controls.

Legislation to reduce U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, which scientists link to global warming, is one of President Barack Obama's top domestic policy priorities.

He has urged fellow Democrats in Congress to send him a bill before December's international climate summit in Copenhagen. But the effort has bogged down in the Senate, where most Republicans and some moderate Democrats are loathe to talk about the prospects of higher energy prices that could result.

OIL AND WATER

Hunting and global-warming activism usually mix about as well as oil and water.

Former President George W. Bush, ex-Vice President Dick Cheney and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin are the most prominent on a long list of hunting and fishing Republican politicians who have cast doubt on the link between burning fossil fuels and climate change.

But hunters and anglers spend a lot of time outdoors and notice changes like shifting bird migrations or earlier spring run-offs in rivers from melting snow.

Republicans are mostly skeptical of any move to "cap and trade" U.S. carbon emissions that result from burning coal and oil, decrying it as a massive job-killing tax by forcing the use of more expensive wind and solar power.

The NWF estimates that 42 million Americans hunt or fish and that those sports and other wildlife-related activities contribute around $172 billion to the economy.

A nationwide survey the NWF commissioned in 2006 found that half of all licensed hunters and anglers counted themselves as "evangelical Christians," a heavily Republican group.

A 2008 NWF poll of over 1,000 hunters and fishers found that over half classified themselves as "politically conservative." The respondents were mostly white, male and middle-aged -- classic Republican demographic.
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Even so, 85 percent agreed with the statement: "We can improve the environment and strengthen the economy by investing in renewable energy technologies that create jobs while reducing global warming."

Lindsey Graham, a conservative Republican senator from South Carolina, broke ranks with his party and outlined a compromise to limit carbon emissions in a New York Times opinion piece he co-wrote with Democratic Senator John Kerry.

That won him praise from national hunting groups and local ones in South Carolina, which has a robust outdoor sports culture woven into its rural fabric.

Monster Minnesota Buck Taken On Military Base

This buck was reportedly shot by an archery hunter, Scott Okonek, on the Camp Ripley military base near Little Falls, Minnesota. The buck has 32 points and weighed 195 pounds. He is thought to be 5 years old. Check out the brow tines on this buck!

Boone and Crocketts in the the New Millenium

This is a pretty cool thing on OutdoorLife.com.

This shows where the top producers of all big game animals recognized by the Boone and Crockett Club of North America since the year 2000.

Click Here To Read More

Deer Eating Meat?

Photo Courtesy Of Pete Squibb

From Espn Outdoors - A deer chews on a dead cottontail rabbit.

Check out this article on ESPN Outdoors' web site about studies that have shown that deer are not herbivores, but actually there is some proof and photographic evidence that they are in fact omnivores.

Click Here To Read The Article

Kansas Muzzleloader Mulie

Check out this non typical mulie I found in the trophy section of the Boone and Crockett Club Website.

The buck was killed by Jeff Watt and unofficially scores 253 gross non typical. The Kansas state record non typical is 260 6/8 taken in 1965. According to booneandcrockett.org there have been eight non typical mule deer bucks entered into the record books since 2000. The highest scoring of those eight bucks is 236 1/8 taken in 2006.

Check out the Trophy Watch section of the Boone and Crockett Club website to find the latest information on great big game animals taken.

184 Buck Shot at La Bandera Ranch

I checked the Los Cazadores Deer Contest results and found this buck that scores 184 that was shot at La Bandera Ranch. I went to La Bandera Ranch two weeks ago on a big dove hunt. They have some incredible deer on that place. This is a low fence deer taken with a gun by John Bruciak of Brownsville, Texas. I would imagine that this deer cost $20,000.00 or more. That is a pretty steep price to pay for a deer. Even if I had the money to do it, I don't think I would, but I do not have any problems with a hunter that wants to do that.

Click Here to see a previous post with some of the pictures I took at La Bandera Ranch

This Kansas Kid Can Shoot

Check out this video of a kid in Kansas that shoots clays with his bow. Pretty cool party trick!

Click Here To See Video

Oklahoma P & Y Down!

My long time friend and hunting buddy, Shane Howell, took a very nice 10 point with his bow at his ranch in Oklahoma this past weekend. Shane was worried about the shot, thinking that he had hit it a little far back. He said that the deer went 60 to 70 yards before he went down for the count, that is not a bad shot at all.
Shane says that the bucks unofficial gross P & Y score is 145 7/8, being a nice typical 10 point, he should easily meet the P & Y minimum net score. Congratulations to Shane on his first P & Y qualifying buck.
I hope he can get another one in a few weeks when we make our trip to Jewel County Kansas!

Alberta 203 Typical Velvet Buck

I found this picture in the trophy watch section of the Boone and Crockett website. Supposedly the buck has an unofficial score of 203 typical P & Y. Boone and Crockett does not accept entries unless the velvet is stripped from the antlers.

Minnesota Monster Bow Kill

The pictures of all the big bucks falling in the early part of the 2009 whitetail season have started circulating the internet. I have not really posted any that I have received this year, but I am going to start today.

This is a a buck taken in Minnesota. I do not have anymore information on it, but will post it if I get any.



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Birthday Weekend, First Hunt of the 2009 Season

iphone self portrait in a tree stand during an afternoon hunt October 10, 2009

I was bored

I wish that I had something exciting to report about this past weekend, but I really don’t. Friday was my birthday, and it started off bright and early when a house two doors down from mine was struck by lightning and caught on fire. I guess in a weird way, that was exciting. My wife and my daughter gave me some new Under Armour camo, and that was exciting. I went to Brady that afternoon to hunt for the first time this year. That is where the excitement ended. I think I only saw 5 or 6 deer the whole weekend, and no shooters. I guess this is kind of a good thing since my bow is sort of messed up right now and not real safe to shoot. (I am waiting on a part to come in from Hoyt) None the less it was fun to get back in a tree doing what I love the most which is bow hunting. The sport would not be very fun if it was easy and I was able to see a shooter buck every time I went out, but I would have liked a little more encouragement. Oh well, I will be back out there in two weeks and hopefully there will be more deer movement and I will have something better to write about.

I did get a few good bucks on my game cameras, so I did have a slight bit of encouragement. Below is the best buck that I caught on camera. I have been watching him for about the last two years. I have some good video of him from 2007.

Oklahoma Game Cam Pic

Here is a picture of a buck that a good friend of mine, Shane Howell, hopes to take on his ranch in Oklahoma. This is a free ranging buck. I hope that he can do it. I am not sure if he has any pictures of him out of velvet yet.

Click Here To Enlarge Picture

More Recent Kansas Buck Pics!

Here are a couple of more recent pictures of bucks that the owner of the land where I will be hunting sent me. I can not wait to get up there! I am not picky, I will gladly stick one of these bucks if I am blessed with the opportunity.

New Hunting Social Networking Site

NoNameOutdoors.com is a new social networking site for hunters where you can share photos of game harvested and fish caught. One thing that I really like about this site is the internet legends page. This page research the validity of all of the emails that circulate in the hunting world. It is pretty cool.

Click Here To Read About The Site

Kansas Game Camera Pics

These are some of the game camera pictures that we have been getting from the land that we are going to be hunting on in Kansas this year. Most of them are velvet pictures from a litle over a month ago. I am still waiting on some more recent photos. It looks like we could have a few potential shooters.

Click Here To View Photos

Pictures From La Bandera Ranch

Here are some pictures from my trip to La Bandera Ranch this week!

Click Here To View



The awesome pool, perfect after an evening hunt!

View of the dining room, the 2 bucks pictured are a couple of Boone and Crockett bucks taken off the ranch.

Me shooting at the box quail competition

Ol Boy 5.5 year old breeder buck. 205 B & C

Pen of 2.5 year old bucks

3.5 year old 200 class B & C buck

La Bandera Ranch

I just got back yesterday from an incredible dove hunt in south Texas at La Bandera Ranch located just outside of Carrizo Springs. I went with a group of 16 guys which included my dad. Many of the people on the trip I already knew, but a few of them I met for the first time and now consider them to all be friends.
The trip started on Tuesday morning. My dad and I went to Meacham Airport in Ft Worth to meet our traveling party. Randy Pack, Larry Hilscher and Phillip Bell all own a King Air, and that is what we flew directly to the ranch. The plane turned 7 hours of traveling (if we went by truck) into just a little more than 1 hour. We landed on the airstrip located on La Bandera ranch. The other half of the group left from Executive Airport in Dallas, the plane they were traveling in was a Merlin.
The minute we touched down at the ranch we were greeted by 2 pickup trucks with seating for 8 in the back end and 2 suburbans. All of our gear was loaded in the suburbans and we all piled into the back of the pickups to go to the lodge.
My dad has been on a couple of quail hunting trips to this ranch the past few years and has always had a great time. He tried to explain what the accommodations were like, but his words and his pictures did not do it justice. The ranch is a first class operation. The lodge area is beautiful and extremely roomy. The pool and spa are spectacular; it almost looked out of place in the brush country of south Texas.
Most of us doubled up on rooms, but it was very comfortable with plenty of space. There was a large seating area in the middle of the sleeping quarters (for lack of a better term) that had all kinds of African and exotic mounts that I assume were killed by the owner of the ranch, Bob Hixson. Outside the sleeping area was a large port cache where the ranch vehicles would drop us off and pick us up. Across from that was the dining room, which was dominated by a large elephant mount and several of the Boone and Crockett class bucks that have been taken on the ranch. Across from the dining room was a large game room complete with a full wet bar, margarita machine included. This room was also littered with various trophy mounts of big game fish, elk, mule deer, bears, crocodiles and many other animals. Outside the game room and the dining room was a large outdoor fire place and seating area. An industrial type cooler loaded with beer, water and soft drinks and the pool and hot tub. The pool was on a deck that looked out toward old Mexico to the west. The view of the sunset was amazing from the pool deck. Just below the pool deck was an immaculate five stand setup for clay shooting. Whoever designed and built this retreat thought of everything and spared no expenses. This was a true sportsman’s paradise!
After a quick lunch we changed clothes, got our guns and split up into 2 groups of 8 to go out to the dove fields. We made a friendly wager between groups on which one would shoot the most birds, and of course my team won (not without plenty of protest and bickering from the other team) that first afternoons hunt was great, I think everyone on my team got their 15 bird limit.
After the hunt we returned to the lodge, changed out of our hunting clothes and all enjoyed the evening pool side. That night the cooks prepared us a wonderful Mexican dinner and then we retired to the outdoor sitting area and spent the night drinking, telling lies and enjoying good company amongst friends.
Wednesday morning we did not go to the fields to hunt dove, instead the ranch had arranged a box quail shoot. This is a game that usually involves pigeons, but it is the same none the less. I am not going to go into too much detail about what is involved in this game so as not to offend anyone or give the anti hunting community any extra ammunition. I do have to say that this was one of the most fun competitions I have ever participated in. We played 4 different games and therefore there were 4 more friendly wagers. Of course, once again, my team won 3 of the 4 bets. After the box bird competition we went back to the lodge and ate a nice lunch, and listened to the members of the other team bitch about how unfair the game was.
After lunch we got to tour the deer breeding program that the ranch has. This was very interesting. I learned quite a bit from the ranches breeding program manager and got to see some of the biggest bucks that I will ever have the opportunity of seeing alive, many were over 200 Boone and Crockett. When we were finished touring the breeding pens some of the group took naps while others hung out in the pool, myself included, relaxing before the evenings dove hunt.
We went to different fields for the evening hunt, and they were not as good as the previous evening. I think I ended up with 9 or 10 birds, which is not bad, but could have been better. My dad shot really well that evening, I think he got about 13 or 14, and led our team. I do have to admit that this evening I was on the losing end of the wager, even after bending the rules a little and hunting for about 30 minutes longer than the agreed upon stopping time, the other team beat us pretty handily. They were in a much better area; they had to have paid the guides to take us to the worst field on the ranch.
That night we ate rib eyes, baked potatoes, broccoli and cheese, and apple pie. It was a very manly meal that hit the spot. We were all pretty tired, but still spent quite a bit of time after dinner sitting by the outdoor fire place drinking beer and wine and telling the more stories and jokes. Many of the stories and jokes were the same as the ones told the night before, but due to the abundant spirits being served, no one really seemed to care, or remember for that matter.
The final morning came early; we were all out of bed before sunrise and headed out to the dove fields. My team went back to the field that we had so much success at the first evening, but it was not nearly as productive this morning. I ended up with 10 birds, 5 shy of the 15 bird limit. We didn’t have a bet on this hunt, I guess we had all grown tired of the arguing and it just did not seem like as much fun to us. After the hunt, I took a shower and packed my bags. A few of the guys got in the pool for a little while, and then we ate a big breakfast that was prepared for us.
At about 12:00 we all loaded up and headed to the runway to get on our respective planes and head back to Dallas and Ft Worth. I got to ride in the cock pit on the way home with my planes pilot, John. It was really cool listening to the air traffic controllers and seeing everything from a different perspective. I still do not have any desire to fly myself, but it was a neat experience none the less.
I hope that we go on this trip next year. It was a very memorable experience with a great group of guys. Our guides, Art and Alan were great! The food was great! The accommodations were first class! I will remember this week for the rest of my life. I thank my dad, John Roy Reid and Randy Pack for inviting me to go on this trip. Now it is time for deer season! I am not going to get to go to Brady this weekend for the bow season opener because I told my wife I would go to the A & M Arkansas game a year ago not thinking about the consequences, but you can bet I will be in a tree next weekend, and Kansas is only 4 or 5 weeks away! I am looking forward to another great hunting season, if nothing else happens this season, this past trip has already made it a great one.

Preparing Mentally and Physically

As usual it has been awhile since my last offering. I believe it was back in the beginning of August when I purchased my new Alpha Max 32. I am here to report that the Alpha Max 32 is one kick ass bow! I have been shooting almost every day for the past month or 2. In that time I have completely changed my shooting form, using more back tension, shooting with both eyes open (I used to close my left eye) and I have switched to a thumb style release as opposed to an index finger style release. It has taken some getting used to, but after all of these changes I believe that I am shooting better than I ever have. My long range accuracy, 50 to 80 yards, is still not to my satisfaction, but at 40 yards and in, I am splitting arrows!

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I am hoping that all of this practice pays off in a big way this year. As I have discussed in other entries, I am going back to Kansas again this year for a rut hunt at the beginning of November. I am now very confident in my ability to shoot an animal out to 40 yards which can only help to increase my chances for success. I am not completely satisfied yet, and am still practicing to try and extend my comfort/ confidence level out to 50 or 60 yards, but I do not know if that will be accomplished in the month and a half that I have remaining until the Kansas trip.

I have also been much more active this off season than I ever have in the past. Back at the beginning of May I decided that my health and my appearance body wise was pathetic. I made the commitment to get off my ass and get to work getting in shape. Since May I have been eating right, I have almost quit drinking beer (although do still occasionally enjoy a few on the weekends) and I have been working out on a very regular basis. I try to get some sort of work out in at least 5 days a week, and of those 5 days I usually try to get 2 work outs in on 3 of those days. My workouts have consisted of core weight training, bike riding (actually spin classes), jogging, intense walking and swimming.

This lifestyle change has really paid off as I have lost 40 pounds and dropped 2 waste sizes since May. I really feel good, probably as good as I have felt since I was in high school playing sports year around. Now instead of finding excuses not to exercise, I really get down on myself and beat myself up mentally if I skip a work out or if I do not push myself hard enough in a workout.

The time when I started working out coincided with me reading Cameron Hanes “Back Country Bow Hunting” book, and he and his book really inspired me to take my hunting, and more importantly my health to a new level. I have always enjoyed competition and participating in sports. 16 years ago when I graduated high school, it left a void in my life. I did not really have any avenues for competition other than the occasional intramural sports in college and beer league softball games. Hunting is something that I have always done, but never really treated it as a sport or something that you can get better at by preparing yourself physically and mentally. Cameron’s book made me see hunting in a different light and he has really made me compete with myself in order to become better at the only sport that I am a participating in now, bow hunting. Though my hunting is not what most people would classify as physically demanding (mostly tree stand whitetail hunting) maybe the fact that I am in better shape mentally and physically will help me sit in the tree for an hour longer than in the past. Maybe the hard work of the past months will allow me to sit more still than I have been able to in the past. And maybe, with a little luck involved I will be prepared mentally if and when the buck of a lifetime steps out in front of me.

If you are not familiar with Cameron Hanes, check out his website at www.cameronhanes.com or go to www.athleteshunt.underarmour.com and check out Cameron’s blog. In addition to being a bad ass hunter, he is an unbelievable endurance athlete and great outdoor writer.

New Bow!

I got back from vacation on Saturday. The fam and I had a great time, but it was good to get back. On Sunday I went out and shot alot of arrows through my Bowtech General, and I have to say I was shooting it really well.

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Well, on Monday I talked to my friend Robert who is in the market for a new bow. I decided that I would go to All Star Archery in Lewisville with him on Tuesday and help him pick one out. I was not really planning on shopping for myself, as I just purchased my Bowtech General last year and it performed flawlessly last season. I killed a buck in Kansas, a buck in Texas and 3 does in Texas. All of the animals dropped within eye sight of my stand. I have never had that happen before in the past. I was however, very interested in shooting the Elite Z28, as I have heard and read alot of good things about the bow and the company.

All Star Archery had one Z28 in a 28" draw length at the shop, imagine that, just my size. The guys in the shop put a rest on it and let me shoot it a few times. The bow was every bit as good as had been reported. It had a very smooth draw cycle and smooth shot with little to know vibration. It also was lightning fast. That being said, I decided not to buy it, because if I was going to buy the Z28 I wanted to get it in Ninja black and All Star only had it in Camo. Also, I did not like letting the bow down, it really seemed to jerk my arm off.

Robert had the shop set up 4 bows for him to shoot, the Mathews Reason, Bowtech Admiral, Hoyt Turbo Hawk and the Hoyt Alpha Max 32. He shot all of them quite a bit and gave them all a good test. Robert originally went to the shop with the intentions of buying a Mathews, but after shooting the Hoyts, decided he liked the feel and was more comfortable with them. His only dilemma was whether to buy the Alpha Max or the Turbo Hawk which is about $300.00 less.

The whole time I was looking at the Alpha Max 32 that they had set up for him. It looked so sexy, it was the all black model, and it just kept calling to me. I have heard alot of great things about the Hoyt Alpha Max and you see the guys on tv shooting them all the time.

To make a long story short, when Robert was taking a break from shooting I picked up the very light Alpha Max 32 and let a few arrows fly. Wow! that bow was awesome. I thought it was smoother than the Elite all the way around. The draw cycle was very smooth, with a deep valley (much deeper than my Bowtech General) and a nice hard wall that allowed me to anchor perfectly. There was no hand shock or vibration and the bow was super quite. The grip felt perfect in my hand, all in all the bow just fit me perfectly.

I was going to let Robert make his decision between the two Hoyt bows, but he was waivering back and forth. He told me to buy the Alpha Max and I didn't hesitate. As usual I go to a store, shopping with someone else with no intentions of purchasing anything for myself and guess who walks out with a new bow, me! Robert is a smarter consumer than I am, as he decided that he needed to sleep on it and do a little more research before he decides between the 2 bows. He had the guys at the shop hold the last Alpha Max for him, it has 60 lb limbs and is the model with the black riser and camo limbs.

I am very excited about my purchase, and can't wait to get it set up. I am going to put my HHA optimizer site on it and probably my Vital Gear Kazaway rest. I will buy a new Fuse stabilizer for it and probably get a new Fuse quiver.

Last night after working out, I wanted to keep my shooting practice routine going so I shot about 30 arrows through my General. I shot it great, the whole time thinking to myself "Why did you buy a new bow? This one is great!" As anyone who knows me can attest, my weakness is shiny new toys. I feel comfortable knowing that the new Alpha Max will perform everybit as good this season as the General performed last season. Number one it is a great bow, just as the Bowtech, but more importantly this being my 7th year bowhunting, combined with the amount of practice I have put in and the success I have enjoyed, my confidence in my ability is what will ultimately allow me to get the job done this coming season.

Vacation Time!

Sitting in the Miami airport, waiting on a plane.  Wishing the magazine stand sold my new favorite hunting magazine, Eastman's Bowhunting Journal.
I am looking forward to this trip to the Bahamas.  Hadley is really excited so it should be fun.  It will also ne nice to get away from work for a while.
I brought the book Backcountry Bowhunting by Cameron Hanes to read on this trip.  From what I have read so far, this is an excellent book.  It really makes me want to go out west to chase elk and muley's!
I will give my complete thoughts on the book after I finish it.

Not Much Going On In Brady

We got a little bit of work done in Brady this weekend, but we did not accomplish a whole lot. I did not put out any trail cameras, or move any stands. My dad and I did locate a couple of new stand sites and I will go back down in August after I get back from the Bahamas to put up the stands.

I did put out some Deer Blocks in my hunting areas to try to get the deer coming to them. I have never used these in the past, so I will be curious to see how or if they work. I put out six of them in different spots around the ranch.

We only saw 4 or 5 bucks this weekend. One was a 10 point that looked pretty good for July. Hopefully by the time he is done growing he will be a nice trophy candidate.

Sorry, I do not have any pictures or anything exciting to show, but I am starting to work on some videos that I will post on the site very soon!

Off To Brady For The Weekend

I am going to be making the trip to the ranch I hunt on in Brady, Texas this evening. It will be the first time I have been there since March or April. I need to go check on the house (last I heard a Raccoon had gotten in and decided to get him something to eat, but that problem has supposedly been taken care of.) I am going to put out some game cameras, probably near the protein feeders, and see what kind of headgear the bucks are wearing so far. I will probably drive around and do some scouting/ filming. I also plan on relocating a couple of tree stands and looking for new areas to hunt this year. Most of my “secret” honey holes have been discovered by the other hunters in my club, and they love to sit in them!

I am excited because I have not been able to shoot my bow since last season. I left it at the ranch. I am going to get it this weekend, bring it back home and start practicing. I am also thinking about replacing the string that came on my Bowtech General with a Winner’s Choice or possibly a Fuse string. I will probably get me a custom string, I am thinking black and blue, like the colors of BGO, but not sure yet. I will keep you posted on what I decide to do (as if anyone cares).

I will post game camera pictures next week if I get any good ones.

What Camcorder To Buy

I am in the process of trying to figure out what camcorder to buy before this coming hunting season. My head is spinning. There are so many things to consider when buying a camcorder, and all of the information can be a bit overwhelming. I am currently using a Panasonic 3ccd camcorder that records to mini dv tapes. It has served its purpose, but I am really wanting to get something a little better.

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There are so many things that I want in a video camera, but I do not want to spend $4,000 to $5,000 to get it. The main reason that I want a new camera is that the Panasonic that I am currently using does not have an external mic input . I have gotten by using the onboard mic built into the camera, but the audio lacks a lot to be desired. As you know filming hunts outdoors there are a lot of ambient sounds that I would like to capture. The built in mic is just not powerful enough to capture that. Also there is no way to put an effective wind screen on the mic, so I end up with a terrible wind noise on my videos.

For years I have thought about getting the Canon Gl2. The Gl2 is probably the most popular camera for filming hunting and outdoor footage. I visit huntingfootge.com quite a bit and most of the better videographers on that site swear by the GL2. The Gl2 is considered a prosumer model camera and I believe runs around $2,000.00 new. Really the main hang up I have about purchasing the Gl2 is the size of the camera. I do not have a camera man in the tree with me, so I have to do the filming of my hunts by myself. Even with a really good tree arm, I do not know if the size of the Gl2 is going to be more difficult to work with than the smaller consumer model camcorders. The other problem with the Gl2 is that it is only a standard definition camera. I am not really sure if I need a high definition camera right now, but my feeling is that if I record the video in high definition it will always be available to me at that resolution at a later date when I do have the need for it.

That brings me to the Sony FX7. The Sony FX7 is a prosumer model high definition camera that is priced about the same is the Canon Gl2. My main problem with buying the FX7 is that I have had some problems with Sony products in the past and swore that I would never buy Sony products again. Well I may have to go back on my word.

Then there is the Canon VIXIA HF S100. This is a nice little camera that looks like and is the size of more of the camcorders that you see everyday. This camera is intriguing to me for two reasons. First it is an HD camera, and second it has dual flash memory. The dual flash memory has its advantages in my opinion. The biggest advantages are, no more mini dv tapes and it is easier to get your footage from the camera to the computer. However the draw back to it is that it is not going to have the manual focus ability (or ease of ability) as the Gl2 or the FX7 and with the camera being so small like most camcorders it is hard to eliminate shake and vibration when you are not using a tripod or camera mount. Also the cost of the Canon Vixia HF S100 is about $1300.00. when you get into that price range, you may as well start considering one of the prosumer models.

The FX7 like the GL2 has everything that I want and probably more than I need. I am not sure that it will perform in low light as well as the Gl2, but again unless I spend quite a bit more money, I am not going to get the perfect camera. I am only shooting video for my own personal enjoyment as well as sharing my experiences with friends. I hope to one day put video on this website to share with anyone that cares to watch. I am by no means a professional, or for that matter a good amateur, but I am very interested and enjoy filming and would like to become better. I worry about becoming a better videographer and catching footage of some really unique and memorable moments and then not being able to do anything with the footage because of poor video quality.

I hope to make a decision on this in the next few weeks and I will keep everyone that is interested informed on what decision I make. Instead of worrying about upgraded my equipment I should probably focus my attention on the many hours of video footage that I already have and try to make something out of it.