First Buck...

Today I am reflecting on my first harvest of a whitetail buck. It was October 2, 2009, and it was my first hunt in the state of Oklahoma. I was hunting with a good friend of mine in south central Oklahoma, and the anticipation was high. I missed the previous hunting season because I was in basic military training. We arrived to the location in the afternoon, and we put on all of our gear. We walked to our respective stands, and I quietly made my way through the woods. I settled into my ladder stand, and a few minutes later I heard a noise behind me. I was on high alert and was anticipating a deer coming my way. The noise ended up being an armadillo. That was cool for me because I had never seen one before, being from the northeast. The armadillo slowly made his way past me, and my heart rate went down. Not even five minutes later I caught a glimpse of three deer to my right. It was a group of two bucks and a doe heading in my direction. The doe was in the front, the smaller buck in the middle, and the bigger buck in the back. I used my rangefinder to get a range of the distance, and they were going to be walking at 23 yards. I drew my bow and settled my pin on the bigger buck. When he was broadside, I pressed the trigger of my release. The arrow hit a few inches back of the shoulder, and he ran off. I was extremely excited to say the least. I thought it was a great hit, and I waited 30 minutes to track him. When I arrived to my arrow, there was a good amount of blood. I was tracking his trail, and to my surprise he was standing 40 yards in front of me. I backed out and night fall was upon us. My friend and I decided to let him be and come back in the morning. That night was restless, and worst case scenarios were running through my mind. My biggest fears were that I would not find him and that coyotes would find him before me. We went back in the morning and found to the location where I last saw him. The blood was minimal, and it was a tough tracking job. We lost the blood trail, so we decided to get some more help and expand our search. Luck was on my side that day, and we happened to stumble on him while we were going back to the truck. The buck basically made a big circle and couldn't have been more than 100 yards from where I shot him. Upon inspection of him, I shot him a little far back. I ended up hitting his liver. It is a fatal shot, but it takes longer for the deer to expire in comparison to a lung shot (which is preferred). I was thankful for the recovery and reflected on the deer. He wasn't a big deer, but he was a trophy to me.

Turkey Troubles...

This last weekend I was fired up to go turkey hunting. My girlfriend and I scouted Friday night and located where the gobblers were. I knew where I was going to set up the following morning, and I was very confident about the set up. Everything seemed to fall into place that morning. I arrived early, located the spot where I was going to sit, and placed a hen and a tom decoy 15 yards in front of me with the Tom decoy facing me. There was some brush to my right that helped conceal me from the advancing gobblers. It was truly the perfect set up. The toms were already gobbling from their roost, and it did not take much of my calling to get them fired up. Once daylight arrived one gobbler flew down from the tree and was heading my way! I was very still, and it wasn't necessary for me to call much. He began strutting and showed off his impressive fan. At that moment I realized that this gobbler was going to come close, and I was going to get my chance. He came into range of my Benelli Nova, and I had him in my sights. I took the safety off and slowly pulled the trigger and nothing happened. The gun did not fire, and I became irritated. My first thought was, "Is it on the safety?" I adjusted the safety and tried shooting again and again nothing happened. The second thought that rushed into my head was, "The shell must be bad." I ejected the first shell and fed a new one into the chamber, made sure the safety was off, and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire, again. To say the least, I was demoralized. The gobbler stayed around my general area for about 45 minutes, and I couldn't do a thing but watch him. It was nice to see him in his element, but I couldn't explain how much that frustrated me. I waited until he left then went off to the truck knowing my day was over as he was gobbling in the distance. I drove back to my girlfriend's parents’ house and immediately inspected my gun. I took it apart and saw nothing out of the ordinary. My next step was to fire it. With my luck, it fired. To this day I cannot explain to you why it did not go off that morning. Since then, I have shut the gun several times, and it fired every single time. I did not take my first turkey that morning, but it will be an experience I will never forget. Until then, I will keep chasing the illusive turkey, and next time it might be with my bow. That turkey got a pass last weekend, but he may not be so lucky next time.  I am going to video my next few hunts so stay tuned and turkey might be on the menu. 

Illuminated Arrow Nocks

How many bow hunters out there are skeptical of using illuminated arrow nocks? I was one of those hunters until last night when I shot them for the first time. I decided to give them a try after debating over them for a long time. I thought to myself, "are they really worth the trouble?" The answer is yes! They are reliable, they involve very little maintenance, and they require no tuning at all. They fly exactly like my other nocks. There are two types that I am aware of. The first kind illuminates upon impact, and the second kind is activated and deactivated by magnets. I chose the nocks that are activated and deactivated by magnets because to me, they seemed easier to use. The nocks I chose are made by Easton, and they are called Tracer Arrow Knocks. The only advice I will give is to make sure the nocks you are purchasing match with the nocks you shoot with. Most nocks are differentiated by a letter, and most nocks display that letter somewhere. For example, I shoot X nocks so I made sure I purchased the exact same kind. The point is, the illuminated nocks are versatile so don't be afraid to pick up a pair. Have fun with them whether you are hunting or shooting at the range. I am anxious to see them in action during spring turkey season and deer season in the fall.

Turkey Hunting

Spring turkey season is upon us. I scouted the area, did my research, and thought I was prepared for any situation that a gobbler could throw at me. Well, I was dead wrong. I am certainly not an experienced turkey hunter by any means, but today was a great learning experience. I arrived at the hunting site at 6:30 am and the gobbler was off the roost already. My set up was not ideal, and if I arrived earlier, I could have cut my distance in half. I was at the edge of a hay field, 150 yards away from the gobbler. My back was against a tree, and I had a hen decoy 25 yards north of me. I called to the gobbler several times, but he never responded once. My frustration was building, and I decided to stop calling. The gobbler was holding his ground and was waiting for "the hen" to meet him. After two hours of watching him strut, the Tom finally went on his way. I advanced up the field to get a better look of the terrain and I realized that the Tom was not able to see the decoy. The field had a rise and from the gobbler's location, he did not have an opportunity to see the decoy. I learned three things from this hunt. First, arrive a lot earlier so I am able to pin point the turkey's exact location. Two, set up in a location where he is most likely to fly down from his roost. That will make it more likely for him to see the decoy and he will not have to travel as far. Finally, incorporating a Jake or Tom decoy in my set up will be very beneficial. The Jake or Tom decoy will make it more likely for the gobbler to come in and "fight for his lady." I am sure I will make many more mistakes while turkey hunting, but I will grow as a hunter. This is the only way to get better and learn. So have fun with it and happy hunting everyone.

Scouting trip

I woke up early yesterday morning to go scouting for a mature gobbler. That  was my main goal for yesterday, but on the way over there others came to mind. The two other goals for the day were to find potential deer stand locations for next fall and to look for deer antler sheds. When I arrived to the property, I tried calling a few times so to locate a gobbler but had no such luck. I moved to another location and eventually got a response from a gobbler that was 200 yards away. I was excited and backed out of the area so I wouldn't pressure him. Then I was off to look for deer sign and antler sheds. After walking a little ways, I ended up hearing a few coyotes howl. I did not think much of it and kept walking in the same direction. A few minutes later, I ended up face to face with a coyote. He was twelve yards away, and I think we surprised each other equally. After my mini heart attack, I continued my quest to find antler sheds but had no luck on this day. I looked everywhere I could think a deer would drop his antlers. I looked on fence lines, creek bottoms, bedding areas, deer trails, and the thickest cover I could find. The reality of the situation is the deer could have dropped their antlers in neighboring properties or the underbrush could have grown to cover them. I could have just missed them yesterday. Even though I didn't find any antler sheds, I had a blast. I ended up seeing nine deer, I found some new potential deer stand locations for next fall, and I had a lot of good deer pictures on my trail camera as seen below. For me spending a day in the outdoors is a great stress reliever. I feel good and refreshed, and I recommend that everyone should take the oppurtunity to walk outside and enjoy the great outdoors.