The Season is Upon Us

Hey all,

I have neglected my blog for way too long now. My dad and I recently made the journey from Oklahoma to Maine. That was a long drive! The trip was approximately 1,800 miles and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. We arrived here in Maine and there was a lot of work that needed to be done. We have scouted our hunting area and it looks promising. The tree stands are set and the blinds are in place. Now all I have to do is wait for Saturday to roll around.

I will be self filming all of my hunts and I will keep you guys updated on here or YouTube. The quality may not be great at first, so please be patient with me. If any of you have watched a hunting show then you will appreciate the patience and hard work that goes into every show. Now imagine doing it all by yourself.

The Massachusetts opener is on October 15th. That will present another challenge and more excitement too. Bow hunting the northeast is much different than bow hunting in Oklahoma. The woods of the northeast are much thicker than any woodlots in Oklahoma. There will be limited shot opportunities so I will have to make the best of them. Harvesting a good buck in either state is a goal of mine. I do have doe permits in both states which will also present more opportunities for me. My dad and I are also going to make a trip to northeast Pennsylvania on November 5th. That should be an action packed trip and there will be more details to follow.

I hope everyone has a nice fall and happy hunting!

Future Endeavors

Summer is here, and I have plenty to look forward to in the upcoming months. I am separating from the Air Force in August with an honorable discharge. I will be a full time student this spring, and that's going to be a major change for me. The transition to the civilian life will be different, but I am really looking forward to it.

 I am visiting Massachusetts and Maine in mid September until the end of November. Fall is around the corner! To me that means apple picking, the leaves changing, and bow hunting whitetails. I have several hunts planned in Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and I will finish my season in Oklahoma. The opening day of Maine bow season will be the start of me filming my own hunts. There will be growing pains, but I want to share my experiences with all of you.

Most importantly, I am recently engaged, and we are planning on getting married this winter. Life is good right now, and I feel extremely fortunate to be in the situation I am in. Last but not least, I will be able to sport my beard again. I hope everyone enjoys his or her 4th of July and be safe.

GoPro HD Hero2 Review...

I recently purchased the GoPro HD Hero2 Outdoor Edition camera. There has been a lot of hype about this product so, I tried it out myself. It arrived a few days later, and the set up was easy and very user friendly. I was able to set it up within minutes and shoot video instantly. It comes with a lot of accessories and a bunch more available on GoPro's website.

 I tested the product for the intention of using it while hunting. I purchased the handlebar seatpost mount separately and mounted it on my Mathews Z7 with no problem at all. It doesn't add too much weight to my bow, and it's something I will get used to quickly. My other option is mounting the GoPro to the tree. The camera takes great video, and it seems to be one of the most versatile "point and shoot" cameras on the market today. This is going to be a great secondary camera to my Canon Vixia HF G10. I am extremely excited to try it out this fall while deer hunting.

I made a short video with just the GoPro HD Hero2. Check it out, and I want you guys to give me some feedback on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaLe5dEadR4&feature=youtu.be

The Waiting Game...

It's that time of year again. It's the unofficial start of summer and the lull before deer season. I was never a fan of this time of year, and previously, I didn't make the best use of my time before opening day of bow season. As I grew older, I found new activities to help prepare for bow season, and occupy my time during the lull of summer months. Scouting and setting up tree stands is critical during this time of year. It's very important to have those stands in place well before bow season opens. Placing tree stands in your hunting area now doesn't have as much of an impact on deer sanctuaries than it would a week or so before the season. Clearing shooting lanes early on will help minimize scent dispersion, and the deer will become accustomed to minor changes in their habitat well before opening day.

Finally, setting up and checking trail cameras in your hunting area is a tactic hunters need to take advantage of more. I set mine up where I know the deer are transitioning to and from feeding and bedding areas. Knowing the quality and quantity of deer in your hunting grounds is beneficial for preparation going into a new hunting season. By viewing the deer on a trail camera first hand, it gives me reasonable expectations of what caliber of deer I can hope to hunt. Going into bow season, I select a few bucks that I am willing to harvest. I wouldn't have this valuable information unless I had trail cameras out and running during the summer months. Plus, it's fun to see the growth period of a buck's antlers. So, if you are counting down the days to the opening day of bow season (3 months 30 days to Maine bow season) then use your time wisely and have fun with it.

Why Do I Hunt?

I have been posed with this question at least a hundred times over the course of my life. For me, there isn't a single reason why I hunt. There are many reasons why non-hunters do not understand why I hunt, but for the sake of this argument, I will share the most important reasons for me. The number one reason why I started hunting was to be closer with my father after the death of my older brother. We have become really close, and I can truly say hunting has brought us together in the hardest moment of our lives. We haven't been able to hunt together as of late due to my service in the Air Force, but we plan on hunting in Maine and are planning a week long trip to Pennsylvania this coming fall.

Another important reason why I hunt is the distance I can put myself from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It's an amazing stress reliever for me. The challenge of bow hunting and perfecting my shot is another great reason why I hunt. To make a lethal shot with a bow at a deer is a test of patience, dedication, accuracy, and many more qualities an archer must possess. Any deer I shoot with my bow is a trophy in my eyes. Game management is another reason why hunting is important to me.  It serves as a great tool for conservation. Keeping the population in check helps to make sure various species stay balanced. The last reason I hunt is because the venison is absolutely delicious! If you have never tried venison, then you are truly missing out. If prepared correctly, it will match any cut of beef out there.

This isn't a post to convert non-hunters to hunters. I firmly believe hunting isn't for everybody. Trust me, I have seen people in the woods who do not belong there, but that is an argument for another day. My objective here is to educate non-hunters of the benefits the hunting community can offer. I hope this has helped.

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.