QDMA Jawbone Aging Video

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If you own or lease a hunting property, being able to age the deer that are harvested there is pretty important. I lease a small farm in west central Illinois and our liability insurance is provided through QDMA. This affords me access to their mews letter and bi-monthly publications. The QDMA is a quality source for whitetail deer management information. In their latest news letter, they included a link to their deer jawbone aging video.

If you are a QDMA member you have probably already seen this video on aging a deer by its jawbone but if not here is a link to it....... 

Jawbone Aging: Part 1 – Tooth Replacement | Quality Deer Management Association

This is a very informative video on this subject and I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about whitetail deer.

Best of Hunts,
Larry S.

Will Your Muzzleloader Go Boom When It Counts?

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A failure to fire at the moment of truth could be just around the corner.

 

I expect you have already experienced it before or you have a buddy with a tale of woe. You load your muzzleloader with your one and only shot, your one chance to take a big buck and when he finally shows his self…..your gun goes SNAP! All of your hard work and effort is lost at that one moment. It is seldom a situation you can recover from.

 

Many people don’t realize what a hunter goes thru to place his self in the position to drop the hammer on a nice buck. It’s a lot of time, effort and a lot of money. You just can’t afford to let careless loading cost you a shot at a trophy.

 

Primary reasons for a FTF in a Muzzleloaders

• Moisture
• Plugged or Fowled nipple / breech plug
• Solvent or oil residue in barrel or breech plug

Without a doubt, the number one reason for most muzzleloader failure to fire incidents is residual oil or solvent in the bottom of the barrel that contaminates the powder charge. If you are not taking care to properly clean your barrel of all solvent and oil before loading it for the hunt, it is just a matter of time before it catches up to you.

 

It is a surprisingly easy mistake to make. After all, it’s not like you can see what is going on down in the bottom of the barrel. Most guys will just snap a cap or two and consider the barrel cleared but that don’t always get the job done. One of my good Friends who will go unnamed here, missed an opportunity at a nice buck at 30 yards on the opening morning of the Florida muzzleload season this year with a rifle he had borrowed from me…..no fire in the hole!

 

• Just snapping a cap does not always do the job!

I cannot stress enough how critical this step is. If you do not clear the barrel of all solvent and oil there is a good chance that your gun will not fire when you need it most. The best way to guarantee the barrel is clean and dry is to place about 10-15 grains of powder in the barrel and fire a cap. If you see a flame shoot out the end of the barrel you know without a doubt that any and all residue has been burned off.

 

Now you’re ready to load smoke pole for the hunt. I prefer to use the “spit patch method” to load from my newly fowled barrel.

 

After 10-20 shots you should clean the barrel with solvent, dry and start all over again. Burn out the barrel and breech plug with a short charge, spit patch and load her up again.

 

You will know when it is time for this when you notice the bullet getting more difficult to push down the barrel. Remember, the key to consistent shots is a consistent loading procedure and barrel.

 

If you burn out your barrel prior to loading for the hunt as described above you will all but eliminate any failures to fire at the moment of truth.

 

Best of Hunts,
Larry Stephens

How to Load a Muzzleloader for Optimum Accuracy!

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Does your muzzleloader’s performance leave something to be desired? If so, it very likely could be your loading procedure! Here’s a method that could make your gun, all it can be.

Of course, you have to start with a gun that is capable of making accurate shots. There are a number of them out there but I have been shooting the T/C Encore for a while now and it will shoot 1.5” groups at 100yds pretty easily with an occasional 1” group mixed in. Next you are going to need a solid bench to shoot from, along with some sand bags or an adjustable shooting rest. These are the basic foundation you need to begin with.

• Bullet selection is another key to accuracy and performance!

Next, you’re going to need to choose a quality bullet!

There has been some real advances in muzzleload bullets in recent years. Among the best of these are the latest designs with polymer ballistic tips like the Hornaday SST and the Thompson Center Shockwave. I can personally vouch for the Shockwaves. I have never seen a better performing muzzleload bullet, both in accuracy and game stopping ability.

My personal load consists of 118gr of loose Pyrodex, a 200gr Shockwave and Remington 209 primers. I’m getting some extremely good accuracy with this load.

I would have to say that most people seem to like the heavier, 250 gr. bullet for some reason. However, I prefer the flatter trajectory and increased velocity of the 200’s. A muzzleloader’s projectile is already a relatively slow moving bullet by nature. The more you can bump up the velocity the better the bullets expansion & performance will be on game.

The exact steps you take in loading your gun will make all the difference in the results you get down range.

Now comes the important part!

You have a great gun and quality bullets but how do you go about getting that bullet in the gun?

A muzzleloader is much like archery equipment from the respect that you must prepare and execute each shot exactly the same each time to get consistent results between shots.

I was recently reminded of this fact when I started experiencing fliers in my own groups. I had changed my loading procedure from my old tried and true spit patch method to a technique a good hunting friend of mine was using. He swabs his barrel clean between shots with a solvent patch then follows up with dry patch so he is shooting from an un-fowled barrel on each shot. He reasoned that with no fowling you should have a consistent barrel.

Unfortunately, for me it worked better in theory than in reality. My feeling on the matter is that it is difficult to remove all the solvent and any residual acts like a lubricant. The effect varies, producing inconsistent results.

Also, find some quality cotton patches, I recently purchased some CVA patches and they are terrible. They are to loose and have to be doubled and are stretchy. I expect they are not “made in USA.”

I have been pulling my hair out trying to get this method to stop throwing fliers. Finally, I decided to give up and go back to a method I know works….The Spit Patch.

This technique is pretty simple and is also something you can do on a hunt, in the field. With a fowled barrel, you simply wet a clean patch with some Sylvia, swab the barrel and then follow up with a dry patch. I like to use approximately the same number of strokes on each swab. Now you’re ready to re-load.

Shooting from a slightly fowled barrel also produces a tighter fit with the bullet and slightly more resistance as the bullet passes down the barrel. This increases the barrel pressure and bullet velocity. You will notice your point of impact is 2.5-3" higher than shooting from a clean barrel.

Another important step is seating the bullet. This also needs to be consistent. How tightly the propellant is compressed by the bullet will also effect the shot.

The adjacent photo was shot from my T/C Encore today.

All shots were at 100 yds.

#3,4 & 5 produced a 1.5” group
I adjusted 8 clicks down
#6, 7 & 8 produced a 1.25” group

I am not sure what produced the shift of the second group to the left
but I believe it is an issue with the scope itself as the groups are just to tight and consistent to suggest otherwise.

• Will your gun go bang when it counts the most?

There is one more critical step in the loading procedure that has resulted in more missed opportunities at Mr. Big than any other! Mess this step up and all your hard work and effort to get that big buck in your cross hairs is for not.

I cannot stress this point enough, if you do not clear the barrel of all solvent and oil there is a good chance that your gun will not fire when you need it most. The only way I know to guarantee this is to pour about 10-15 grains of powder down the barrel and fire off a cap. If you get a flame out the end of the barrel you know with all confidence that all residue is burned off.

Now you’re ready to load for the hunt. Just follow the spit patch procedure as outlined above and you will not have any nagging worries of the dreaded FTF.

If you are having problems with consistency with you muzzleloader, give this loading technique a try, I expect it will solve your problem.

Best of Hunts,

Larry Stephens

Late to the Deer Stand…..Again!

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More stories from the deer camp.

You will love this one, though I don‘t recommend using it as an excuse for yourself!

The opening morning of the 2012 Muzzleload season was one great day! The only negative was that I had to drive an hour and a quarter from the camp to the office to complete a job I had promised.

Well, I finished the job, met the client and hit the road, peddling as fast as I could to get back to the woods.

It seems like I am late every afternoon no matter what I do. There is always something that comes up that delays my best laid plans. I have been so aggravated lately with this that I want to pull my hair out!

That night when I got into camp I phoned my bride to check in and let her know I was out alive. She asked how it went and I related that I was late again this afternoon! She said what happened? I replied “Well, it was a drunk, crack-head prostitute this time!” There was a pause and then, “YOU WANT TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF?”

I got held up by a drunk, crack-head prostitute! No really, I’m serious…..I was outside cleaning up the horns off the little buck I shot that morning so I could get some preservative on them when I hear a women’s voice. I looked up and there is this black women standing in the yard trying to get my attention. Reluctantly, I walked over to see what the problem was. She proceeded to tell me the store across the street had banned her from their establishment and that somebody there was a child molester and she was out warning all the neighbors?

I’m not making this up! She rattles on about where she lives, who here god father is and other things that I could not quite understand. Then she sees I am holding a knife! “what you skinnin’” she asks. I tell her I’m just cleaning up some horns from a buck I killed that morning.

She has a stretchy, tube type dress on and no bra. She pulls her top out and reaches in like she has some money hidden between her breasts while telling me she wants to by some deer meat from me!!

“No, No, No……hold on, I don’t have any deer meat I quickly explain. It’s all at the house.

I get out of that and then she asks If I have ever seen the “ghost buck”. She holds out her hands to show me how large his horns were and apparently he has about a 30”speard! She says “his hons was 10 times bigga than dem” (point at my 5pt) She then explains how he took his horns and just rammed them into her front fender and wrecked her car!

All I could say was WOW…..no, I can’t say I've ever seen him.

She told me her name was Silvia.

When she started looking in my windows at what I had inside I knew I was time to get her out of here. I told her I had to go inside now as I had someone stopping by shortly and thanked her for the warning about the molester.

I hope all my stuff is still there when I get back!

Larry

A Muzzleload Bullet To Die For! Optimum Accuracy and Performance!

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Is your Muzzleload bullet coming up short? Here's the cure for what ails you!

I have been hunting with muzzleloaders for a long time now, over 25 years to be exact. My first smoke pole was a .50 cal. CVA Hawkins that I built from a kit. It was as accurate as any I ever saw for open sights and round balls.

I killed my first muzzleload buck with that gun on the opening morning of my first muzzleload season. I don't think the hunt even lasted an hour. I had climbed up on a massive downed live oak in the middle of a big hardwood swamp in central Florida. The tree was over 3 feet in diameter and the trunk was clear of the ground by almost 4'. I set up with my back against the fan of roots sticking up in the air and it gave me a good vantage of the open swamp, a prettier place you never saw!

It was a cool October morning and there was just a bit of fog hanging in the swamp. I hadn't been sitting there long when I heard the sound of running deer and they were coming my way. I cocked  my hammer and got turned that direction. About that time three does came into view and they were hauling the mail! Not far behind was a big cow horned spike. As he neared I tried to stop him twice but he was so involved in the chase it did not phase him. By this time the Buck was just getting to the limbs of the downed oak I was in. I had to do something quick or he was going to get by me. I just hollered out....HEY!  The buck stopped in his tracks at about 15 yds, I dropped the hammer and he hit the ground where he stood!

I don't think I could have dreamed up a more classic muzzleload hunt.

The old round ball did the job that day and I am sure it has probably killed more than any other bullet to date. The only problem is that many of the deer shot with round balls are not recovered. They just don't leave much, if any of a blood trail. I can't tell you how many deer I helped other hunters track back in those days that were never found.

There has been a lot of different bullet designs since then but some real advances have been made over the last few years. Among the best of these are the latest designs with polymer ballistic tips like the Hornaday SST, Thompson Center Shockwave and possibly the Power Belts though I have not personally seen many deer shot with these. It is my understanding that Hornaday actually builds the Shockwave for T/C and I can personally vouch for the Shockwaves. I have never seen a better performing muzzleload bullet.

I get some extremely good accuracy with the .50 cal., 200 gr. Shockwave bullets and the performance on game is un-matched, bar none! Some of the blood trails I have seen these things produce have been nothing short of incredible, comparable to any weapon, even modern high powered rifles. As a matter of fact, most of the deer I have shot with these bullets left a blood trail better than any I can remember from my Browning A-Bolt in .30-06.

I have all of my friends shooting the Shockwaves now and they are reporting the same results that I have been seeing. Great accuracy and even better blood trails! At least when one is able to run off.

I would say that most people seem to prefer the 250 gr. bullet for some reason.

A number of years ago I purchased a new Thompson Center Encore from Bass Pro Shops. I decide to go with the stainless model just to save myself some headaches with the corrosiveness of the propellants.  We were leasing a farm in Illinois where you could really stretch your barrel at times and my Remington 11-87 Premier just wasn't up to the job, even with a fully rifled slug barrel. I tried evey slug you can imagine and the accuracy was terrible. The bullet performance on the deer I shot with it was even worse with the Remington Copper Solids I was using. They were the only thing that even shot close to good and that was a 2.5"-3" group at 100yds.

I needed something with better performance than that and I found it in the T/C Encore. It will shoot 1.25"-1.5" groups at 100yds and has an effective range of over 200yds. Twice that of most shotguns. It really likes the Shockwave Bullets though the 200 gr. are a snug fit. In my friends T/C Omega they were really tight while the 250 gr. bullets fed much easier.

My personal load consists of 118gr of loose pyrodex, a 200gr Shockwave and Remington 209 primers.

While researching the Hornady SST bullets I see that they are considerably less money than the T/C Shockwaves and come in a box of 25 rather than the 15 you get from T/C. They are pretty pricey when you think about it. The Shockwaves are almost a buck a bullet. Unfortunately, other bullets just can't provide the performance these bullets can.

If your muzzleload bullet has been letting you down give the SST's or the Shockwaves a try, I guarantee you will thank me for the advice!

Best of  Hunts,
Larry Stephens

I could only find the Super Glides on Amazon though I shoot the regular Shockwaves with the blue sabots myself. You can get some info on these bullets at the links below.

Another Successful Guided Hog Hunt!

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This is a short video of a hog hunt I guided in late October. The Hunter is Ed Acierno of Palm Coast, Fl. and was accompanied by his brother Mike.

We began our expedition by stopping off at one of the feeders at the ranch to see what sign we could find. There were so many turkeys on the pasture that every scrap of corn had been wiped out. We walked over to the close corner of the pasture to see if the live oaks were dropping and look for some hog sign. Their were green & whites (live oak acorns) everywhere and all the hog, deer and turkey sign you could ever want to see. As we were walking back to the feeder a whole herd of about 10-12 hogs came trotting out of the woods to check the feeder. We were caught off guard looking at the ground for sign and the hogs spotted us before we knew they were there. That put the whole group right back in the woods. That was all Ed and Mike needed to see, they wanted to go no further! "let's just hunt right here!"

I wanted them to have a little more of a hunt than that so we headed over to a little hammock section where I hoped we could get on a decent hog in the woods. We slipped quietly along the hammock edge for for a while but the hogs never showed. At that point and it was getting a little late so we slipped across the pasture from the other side to see if that first group was back at the feeder. There were hogs of all shapes and sizes there picking up corn.

The decision was made, we'd stalk the pasture feeder using a small out building to mask our movement.

One of the more memorable parts of the hunt was just after Ed had shot his Hog. He was using a .308
and had shot an 80lb guilt square on. I was so involved in videoing the hunt that I was not really paying proper attention to the shot angle.  When we walked up to the downed hog I couldn't remember what angle it had been standing at the shot.

The hog still had a little kick left in it when we got to it despite having taken a direct shot to the forehead from Ed's .308.

Ed was eager to apply a finishing shot from his .22 pistol but I held him off....."no, she's done, I related." After a few more moments of kicking I decided I had better have a look at the shot. It looked like the bullet had entered just right of center and had come out the eye. It appeared to be a quartering shot that had just clipped the skull.

I decided to have Ed put a .22 in the ear just to be safe. "Go ahead and shoot her in the ear Ed but hold it right up close so it's not so loud."
What I didn't realize was that the hog had been standing square on and the bulged out eye was from the expansion of the head shot which had devastated the inside of the head.

When Ed pulled the trigger on the pistol the pooled blood in the head went everywhere! Ed was covered in a fine red mist! Unfortunately, I had turned the camera off at that point.

We all got a little laugh out of that and it was time for the work to begin. I quartered the hog right there on the tail gate of my truck, the hog was in the cooler and my job was done!

I hope you enjoy the video.

If you are interested in a guided hog hunt with me at Bull Creek, you can contact me through my guide site at www.guidedturkeyhunting.com 

I can provide both fall and spring turkey hunts as well as Hog Hunts.

I will post some more videos shortly of the hogs and turkey.......you can't even

believe the number of turkeys using there right now. If you are looking for a fall turkey hunt

It is a guaranteed harvest right now.

The most recent count of birds on the pasture was just short of 100! with 11 jakes

and 13 trophy longbeards. I am about to head up to our lease in illinois for a muzzleload hunt

but as soon as I get back I'll get some video of them.

Best of hunts,
Larry S.

Florida Muzzleload Hunting Report 10-23-12

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Monday Oct. 22,12 AM Hunt

I was able to scrounge up just enough provisions to make it one more night in camp so I decided to stay Sunday night and Hunt Monday morning and drive to work from there.



I found one white potato that had been in the bottom of my floor board just a couple days to long and I knew I had a couple top sirloins in the cooler that I could not wait to get on the cook fire. Unfortunately, they were just a little to old also and looked like something that was more fit for my coon hound than me. However, it was all I had so I shaved off as much as I could to get down to red meat and rolled the dice.



Well, I am still here to recount the story and didn’t poison myself. I hunted the next morning at the west fence stand but did not see any deer movement. All the other creatures seemed to be feeding and doing their thing but the deer were just not cooperating. The squirrels were really active, feeding and chasing each other all over the place.



I was dying to get back into this stand as I could not hunt it Sunday evening due to the wind direction. I had to hunt a stand I call Rick’s stand in a little scrub oak hammock but did not see any deer on that hunt either. When I pulled the trail camera card there. The deer activity was weak with on two deer there during the day and none were bucks. There was a tall 3pt there in the dark and I got some great pictures of him raring up on his back feet to stand straight up in the ait to smeel and hook some oak limbs over a scrape.



Monday afternoon had me back in Bunnell and I wanted to watch the last Presidential debate so I hunted at the property and camped at the house that night. That was the first night I had been home since Thursday. Besides, I needed some clean cloths.



The hunt was a bust and I didn’t see a single deer. I pulled the camera card there and found that a number of does had been there but only (2) bucks and both in the dark. One was the big 5pt and the other was a 5” spike. Both are deer I knew and I had actually saw and got just a little video of the spike. The 5pt is a least a 2.5 yr old buck and has only been on trail camera once in the daylight. That was at 12:30 in the afternoon.



Tuesday morning, Oct. 23, I went back to the pond stand again but only hunted until 8:30 AM as I needed to get the meat from Saturday’s kill in the freezer. I cut up another batch of jerky from the scraps and got it marinating in my special Jerky seasoning formula. That is some awesome stuff. I literally, can’t stop eating it.



Anyway, I had found a really interesting spot Sunday and hung a test camera there to see what is using there. I pulled the card Monday morning and discovered no less than 4 different bucks had crossed there between midnight and daylight! That was all I needed to see. I couldn’t wait to get in there Tuesday afternoon.



Tuesday afternoon Oct. 23,



I took the climber in to the new fence crossing spot but was much later getting in the tree than I wanted. Also, daylight is getting less and less everyday now. Besides that I was in a hammock strand with a heavy canopy which cuts the hunt down even more.



I did not see and deer but I and camping again tonight and will hunt it in the morning. It promises to be a good one!



Wednesday Oct 24,



Well, so much for the morning hunt being a good one. I got into the stand well before daylight and listened to the mosquitoes buzzing around for a half an hour until I could begin to see the ground. The morning came and went without seeing a single deer.



The feed time was good, the location was hot but no deer. Strangely enough all activity, squirrels, birds etc. was very weak. By 8:45 my gut feeling was that this was just not going to happen so I jacked down the tree and packed all my gear out.



It’s about a 3-4 mile 4wheeler ride back to the camp and I was humming right along when I passed a little sink hole filled with some waste high weeds. I looked over just in time to see some deer piling out of the sink. I slammed on the brakes, whipped it sideways and grabbed the rifle out of the rack all in one more. By the time the bike settled out I had the cross hairs on the lead deer. Deer after deer piled out and up the hill until 5 in total were visible. I could not find a horn on a single one.



This is interesting as I have seen a total of two does all bow and most of the muzzleload season! Last year I saw one. I guess an optimist might say, sightings are up 50% but something is wrong with the deer herd. Last year I blamed it on the massive acorn crop. Deer sightings are always low when large mass crops are available. The deer can fill up quickly and go lay back down. Of course the bucks are still going to be visible when out looking for receptive does.



However, this year the acorn crop is off and we are still not seeing does? The only other thing that I can fall back on to figure this out are the trail cameras which are all set up on feed stations. They are telling me the doe population is off. I am seeing very few does and yearlings on the cameras. The camera at the stand that I killed the two bucks is seeing ONE doe a week! Incredible.



It’s not over yet but I might not inflict the hurt I was planning.



Best of hunts,

Larry S.

Florida Bow Hunting Report 10-18-12

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Thurs., Oct. 18, 12

Major Feed Time: 1:50 AM    (MINOR 8:00am)
Wind Direction: SE 2-5 mph
Time Hunted: PM: 6:50 -8:45 AM
Weather: cloudy 
Humidity: upper 60's%
Temp.: 67 AM
Barometer: 29.9
Moon phase: 2 days past New Moon

Yesterday afternoon I scrambled over to the huntin' club which is an hour plus drive. I was able to get climbed in time to hunt about 50 minuted or so. Unfortunately, There was no deer activity to be seen. All the corn was gone at the stand but I had carried some in to charge it up.. I pulled the trail camera card and reviewed the pics back at the truck. There was some good buck activity early in the week while the corn was in good supply but had petered out by the time I got there. Most of the activity was even in the daylight. Strangely, there was no doe activity on the camera.

Here are a few pic's from that camera:

 

I bought a new trail camera yesterday while at walmart. It the the Bushnell 119420cw.

I will get it in the field ASAP and see how it performs.

I hunted the pond stand this morning but had the same result as the PM hunt......no deer. However, the trail camera had 51 pic's on it. There were a pile of different deer at the stand overnight including the big 3.5 year old 5pt and another spike that I have seen one time before.

Here are some pictures from that camera:

best of Hunts,
Larry S.

Florida Bow Hunting Report 10-16-12

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Tues., Oct. 16, 12

Major Feed Time: PM
Wind Direction: NE 5-7 mph
Time Hunted: PM: 6:00 -7:15
Weather: mostly clear
Humidity: 69-85%
Temp.: 75-84
Barometer: 30.0
Moon phase: 2 days past New Moon

Well, I just don't know what to say! I am thoroughly disgusted with both my videoing and my shooting.

I hunted at my property this afternoon and on the way in I decided to charge up the feed in front of the stand and pull the trail camera card. I know better than to walk in front of the stand before the hunt but it is usually not a problem. It caught up with me tonight. I always approach from the side the deer NEVER come in from so I expect a shot before the deer ever get to where I have walked. Even if they do cut my sign, It has not been a problem to this point.

I spotted the first deer of the hunt at 6:10 PM, slipping down the far side of the chop at about 80yds, paralleling my location. It appeared to be the momma less doe fawn I see regularly. She was making a bee line for the feeder at the back of the chop.

Other than a sparrow hawk, it was pretty uneventful for the next hour. About 7:10 I looked to the south, the direction the deer almost never come from and there is a deer, already 40yds out into the chop. It looked like a pretty good deer and I suspected it may be a buck when I saw it. It was the big spike I have been hunting. This was the first time I have laid eyes on him.

I turned the camera on and started to follow the deer as he turned towards the stand. he eased his way in and I decided to take the shot at 18yds, quartering away.

I pulled the string and as I came to full draw the buck snapped to attention, looking towards my tree. I put the 20yd pin on his elbow and pulled the trigger.

The next thing I know my shaft slaps him high in the back and the buck goes screaming off back to the SW at a high rate of speed and I hear him go splashing off through the young pine stand. He stops after about 150yds and starts blowing at me!

The only thing I can figure is he squatted the shot but at 18yds that hardly seems possible. I still can't believe it!

To make it a total loss.....after the shot I sat down and turned to the camera only to realize the little red light was NOT ON! Unbelievable!! I don't know what else to do to remind myself to push the frickin record button,    !$*%!$#!

I am going to put the next few days in that stand and hope beyond hope that I can get another crack at him quickly. It's a long shot. He will likely over our encounter but he is going to be pretty soar for a while.

Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button,Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button,Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button,Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button,Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button,Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button,Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button,Push the record button, push the record button, push the record button, push the record button.................

If there was a bright spot it was the buck activity on the trail camera at the stand over the last couple of days. Here are a few of those pic's.

Best of Hunts,
Larry Stephens

Flight of the Arrow!

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I paroled another deer to heaven this morning. If you follow my blog you know I have been videoing all my hunts and this one was no exception.

I pulled the camera card at this test stand location Sunday morning and found that 5-6 different bucks had all of the sudden started showing up that. I was about to abandon the site as up until then there was one deer a week showing up.

When I reviewed the latest recon from the site and saw all the bucks showing up, I immediately shifted gears and hung a new stand there that afternoon and hunted it. I did not see anything but stayed at camp that night to hunt again this morning.

At 8:50 the least deer of the bunch showed up, a year and a half old 3pt. Being an equal opportunity hunter, there was no question what was about to happen. I got some great video, including the kill shot and arrow impact.

When I reviewed the footage I was surprised to see that it had actually caught the arrow in flight or at least the fletching.

This is pretty awesome, have a look at the slide show. I will post the video when I get a chance to edit it.




Good luck,
Larry S.

Florida Bow Hunting Report 2012 #2

Sept. 17, 2012

Major Feed Time: 12:35 PM
Wind Direction: S at  6 but gusty in PM
Time Hunted: AM: 6:45-8:15     PM: 7:00-7:30 (AT POND)
Weather: Partly Cloudy, warm
Humidity:   65-91%
Temp.:        73-87
Barometer: 30.0 steady
Moon phase: New Moon


I hunted the property today both in the morning and in the afternoon. For some reason I did not consider the wind direction and it ended up blowing right to where most of the deer show up. I saw a young doe slip out of the thick pine stand that borders the new chop the stand is on. She was in range but I was not interested in shooting her. She angled away from me and before she got out of sight smelled me and departed blowing.

In the PM  I walked in on a deer at the stand at 7:00 (I was pretty late) and within a few minutes the wind changed out of the south and another deer in the pine plantation smelled me and started to blow also. At that point I decided the best thing to do was get out of there and wait for the wind to straighten out.

The only photo's on the trail cam were a few turkey hens.

Tuesday 18, 2012

Did not hunt, rain PM and wind wrong.

Larry

Florida Bow Hunting Report 2012 #3

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Sept. 22, 2012
Major Feed Time:
Wind Direction: E (light while hunting)
Time Hunted: AM: 6:30-9:00 PM: 6:30-7:45
Weather: clear
Humidity: 69-85%
Temp.: 75-84
Barometer: 30.1
Moon phase: first quarter


Since there has only been 2 deer at my west fence stand in a week and the buck block stand has only had some does and yearlings, I had to hunt the kill zone stand again. It was uneventful in the morning but that afternoon I had a nice doe come in to 15 yds.

She was extremely cautious as almost all deer are when coming into a feeder. She stood off down a trail for what seemed like 5-8 minutes, listening and scent checking. Finally she committed to coming in but I decided shooting a doe that afternoon was not something I wanted to really do, especially since the video light was gone and the harvest could not be filmed. I got reprimand from my hunting buddy SteveO for letting that one slip by but I was glad not to have to fish another deer out of the flooded woods.

I did have another deer that I could hear pushing thru the thick flat behind the stand that was on its way to me but the wind was drifting that way and it ended up smelling me before I got to see it. I suspect it was another doe as it crashed off blowing back to where it had come from.

The afternoon is always a tough hunt when a deer comes in from down wind. You are just almost always going to get discovered. The two deer had approached the stand from 180 degrees from each other. In fact, that is one thing that makes this stand such a good stand. it is somewhat of a hub surrounded by bedding areas. I don't see a lot of deer there but it is always good for 2-3 bucks each year.

Sunday the 23, was uneventful and no deer were seen. There have been only a handful of deer shot in the club.

My friend Rick Edwards shot a nice 8pt Monday morning. He has been getting some really outstanding bucks on his trail cameras lately and has even gotten a look at the buck with the forked G2 but did not get a shot at him.   Things should start picking up now as the feeding times are getting around to daylight and dark.   Larry S.

Florida Bow Hunting Report 2012 #1

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Sept. 15, 2012
Major Feed Time: 10:40 AM
Wind Direction: NE (light while hunting)
Time Hunted:  AM:   7:00-9:00       PM: 6:15-7:45
Weather: Partly cloudy, warm, somewhat humid
Humidity:   69-85%
Temp.:       75-84
Barometer: 30.1
Moon phase: New Moon

This was the opening weekend of the Florida 2012 Bow season.

I decided to hunt my favorite stand the first weekend, the "Kill Zone". However, the deer activity was non existent. The only animal activity was a few woodpeckers in the morning.

That afternoon was not much better but I did hear what I believe was a deer pushing thru a palmetto flat behind the stand. However, it never made an appearance. I did not see any critters with fur today.

I did pull the trail camera card there and it had 4 different bucks on it for the past week as well as a number of does and yearlings. However, there was not one daylight picture of a deer?

Sept. 16, 2012

Major Feed Time:
Wind Direction: NNE
Time Hunted: AM: 6:15-8:45 PM: 6:30-7:45 (AT POND)
Weather: Mostly Clear, warm
Humidity:  63-94%
Temp.:       73-86
Barometer: 30.05 steady
Moon phase: New Moon today

I hunted the Kill Zone stand in the morning and again, saw no deer activity. I finally decided to get down a little earlier than I should have but I was just not having the feeling that anything was going to happen.

I pulled the cam cards at the west fence and there had not been a deer there in a week?

When I got to the feeder at the buck block stand a bear had raided it and tore it down. There was bear scat everywhere and the deer sign had vaporized. there were some does and yearlings on the camera but no bucks?

That afternoon I hunted the property but did not see any deer activity there either.

This was one S L O W....weekend!

Larry S.

Barronett Blinds: Grounder 250 Hunting Blind Review

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After turkey season was over and I was all done with my filming I decided it was time for a new blind to hunt and film from. After a lot of research and consideration I settled on a Barronett Blinds-Grounder 250 blind. It is a 5 hub design and the setup and take down is as fast as it gets. You can set the blind up in a matter of a few seconds.

Once the blind arrived and I was trying it out, I realized the window sills were right about arrow hgt. for me when I was in a kneeling position. I am only 5'6" so for a taller guy this might not have a problem with this.

Compared to the coil up blind I was using this 5 hub design is much simpler to set up. You just pull on the tag at the center of each panel until it pops out into place. Pop the roof up and your done!

The blind has one large window on each side with a center vertical zipper that will allow you to just open the left or right half of each window.

One of the major pluses of this blind is its light weight! At 14lbs. it is one of the lightest full size 5 hub blinds you can get. That is important when you consider all the other gear you will also be lugging in.

The blind has tons of room and measures 59" square by 67" tall!

I was impressed with the construction and compares to other blinds that cost much more.

If you want more information on this blinds or are looking to purchase one, just click on the Amazon link below.




Thanks and good luck this season,
Larry S.

Bucks Gone Wild!

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Apparently, deer do some pretty wild things when they think no one is looking!

I pulled this embarrassing photograph off my covertly located trail camera last night. This spike buck, obviously believing he was all alone and while under the cover of darkness was caught having a private moment in the early morning hours.

The rut has just gotten started here but it looks like this buck is already feeling some frustration.

What a party animal!

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American Hunter Bucket Feeder Review

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I recently purchased another hunting product and wanted to share what I know about it with everyone.

I am based in Florida and we are allowed to have feeding stations for deer as long as they are established 6 months in advance.

I prefer to broadcast feed by hand but if there are a lot of deer using the site, they can eat a 50 lb sack of corn in two nights! The other draw back is having to go in so often and leave scent around the area.

I really am not a big fan of feeders and hate the sound of one going off right at daylight when noise travels so well through the woods.

With the price of corn so high and expected to go higher it is more practical to use a feeder to sling out just a little at a time rather than feed "free choice".

This put me on a mission looking for an inexpensive feeder I could throw up and not have a pile of money tied up in it.What I found that seemed to fit the bill was an American Hunter Bucket Feeder that uses a 5 gal. bucket for a hopper and a feeder motor underneath with an abs plastic housing. Like most feeders it runs off of a 6 volt, spring type battery.

I think the best thing about it is the price! For less than $30 bucks you've got a feeder that will keep the deer fed up for you when you can't be there. It will save me a pile of money just in gas.

I think this thing will suit my purposes just fine but I will have to come back and up date the post after it has been in operation for a little while.

Good Luck,
Larry S.

Alps Outdoors - Rhino Hunting Chair Review

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After turkey season was over and I was all done with my filming I decided it was time for a new and better blind to hunt and film from. I decided on a Barronett Blinds-Grounder 250 blind. It is a 5 hub design and the setup and take down is as fast as it gets. You can set the blind up in a matter of a few seconds.

Once the blind arrived and I was trying it out, I realized the window sills were right about arrow hgt. for me when I was kneeling. I am only 5'6" so for a taller guy this might not be an issue.

Of course, if you are going to sit in a blind for any amount of time and be comfortable, you need a chair or stool of some sort. That started me looking for a light weight chair with a back support that would solve all these issues.

I settled on the "Alps Outdoors - Rhino Stool". I guess they refer to it as a stool as it only has 3 legs but I would call it a chair. It only weighs 5lbs. and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

The only minor issue I have about the chair is that the back is pretty straight up. I needed to keep the weight down as the blind is 14lbs it self so a larger more comfortable chair was not really an option and it is certainly way more comfortable than a backless stool!

Other than that, it seems well built, gets my arrow above the bottom of the window opening of the blind and provides a reasonably comfortable seat without excess weight to pack in.

I f you are looking for a hunting chair I would definitely recommend it and here is a link where you can get more information or order one for yourself;

Best of hunts,
Larry S.

Wierd Archery Shot!

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Bow season here in Florida is just around the corner. Yesterday, a friend and I brushed the cob webs off our bows and went out for a tune up on a 3D range. I was actually shooting pretty good for barely having touched the bow in months.

We had started off with some spot shooting to make some bow adjustments and moved on to the 3D targets. We had shot about 8 animals when we got to the end of the line where we found a big whitetail buck standing broadside at 42yds. Between us and the deer were several small pine trees and since we were both shooting at the same time, the kill zone was getting crowded by the right pine for me.

No problem I thought, I'll just slide it right alongside the tree and put it right in the pocket!

The shot immediately reported with the loud metal crack of my 2213 clipping a solid object......Damn it!
That arrow's ruined!

We headed down range to retrieve the pieces. What I found was a shot you could never reproduce in a million shots....... the shaft just barely clipped the left side of the pine sending the trailing end of the shaft into the tree. The section of the shaft at the fletching broke in  (2) places. One about 3" from the nock and another about 3" ahead of that, just in front of the forward end of the fletching.

The 3" center piece went spinning off to the left at a little less than 90 deg. and impacted a small pine about 3 1/2 feet to the left. The incredible part was that this piece hit the pine ass backwards, straight on and actually embedded into the tree!

It took me a minute to figure out just what had happened and locate all the pieces. I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like it.

Looks like it's time to build some more shafts!

Larry S. 

Cougar Numbers on the Rise as Reported in SCI-News.com!

This report on cougar numbers was posted on SCI's news web site, SCI-NEWS.com and the summary below is from their news letter. Just click on the link to view the full report.

  Cougars Reverse 100-Year Decline: “Scientists have found that cougars, or American mountain lions, are re-emerging in areas of the United States, reversing 100 years of decline. The research,  published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, raises new conservation questions, such as how humans can live alongside the returning predators. ‘The cougar population declined dramatically from 1900, due to both hunting, and a lack of prey, leaving the remaining population isolated to the American west,’ said lead author Dr Michelle LaRue of the University of Minnesota. ‘Here we present the hard evidence that the western population has spread, with cougar populations re-establishing across the Midwest.’ Three main cougar populations exist in the Midwest centered around the Black Hills in South Dakota, however, cougars are venturing far outside of this range. One male cougar from the Black Hills was found to have traveled 2,900 km through Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York, before ending up in Connecticut.” (Source: sci-news.com) http://bit.ly/N3v5sk

I am  a member of SCI and an official measurer for their record keeping system. If you are a sportsman I would recommend that you join and support an organization such as this that is working to maintain our right to hunt.

Best of Luck,
Larry S.

Do Deer scents really work?

I was recently on one of the forums I like to contribute to and one of the members asked a question about whether deer scents really work.

Well, I've had a good bit of experience with many different scent so I decided to add my 2 cents.

Here's my comments:


"I have used a number of different products over the years. I have even used products that were kept refrigerated, just delivered from the farm that morning! I have had almost no success with scents myself. Can a buck be killed with be following a scent line like this out of curiosity.


One of my best hunting buddies swears by Tinks and uses it all the time. He claims he's killed a number of deer with it.


More often the reaction you get from a scent line is either a pause, sniff and go on or no reaction at all.
However, here is the most important point.... I don't know if you have ever seen a stud horse around a mare in season, the reaction and intensity is pretty much the same with a buck deer and a doe coming in. The drive these animals have to breed the female is nothing short of incredible. There is no keeping them from getting to the doe. If you bust up a chase, a buck will either circle wide and cut the track and keep going or he's coming back to straighten it out shortly. He won't hardly give up if she's hot.


If the stuff in the bottle had the active pheromones that a live doe does.....you would be over run with bucks to the point that the game and fish dept would have to make the stuff illegal! Seriously.

We lease a farm in Illinois and I have hunted the rut there every year for the last 10 years. I have seen countless chases, some with less drive than others but some had an incredible intensity. I have had as many as 13 bucks come by a set in one morning. You will never see this kind of action from scent in a bottle.


The Pheromones that the doe produces is what creates this drive and they have a very very short life. I have heard it's only about 24 hours. Therefore, you cannot keep this in a bottle.


Of course you also have the issue of having to place yourself where you are putting out the scent. That's a whole other problem. If you have been there a deer can smell you, period. It may not be enough to bother the deer but bucks do take that way more seriously than a doe.

I have a bluetick I use for blood trailing and I take her with me when I go hunting and leave her in the truck. One afternoon, I pulled up to my parking spot about a quarter mile from my stand and let her out while I was getting my gear on. The next thing I know she's missing and I can't find her know where. Then it hit me.... I bet that %*!$# tracked me to my stand thinking she's here for a blood trail job! I grabbed my gear and headed towards the stand. About a hundred yards down the road, hear she comes, headed back to the truck. In about 12 minutes she had tracked me all the way to my stand and come back! that track was 8 1/2 hours old, down a grass road and trail that is pretty clean so I don't have to touch anything.

Never underestimate an animal's nose!

OH, how did I know she actually made the track all the way to the stand....her butt tuned up on my trail camera that night!

I am not saying there are not some situations where you might benefit from using scent or that you won't kill a few deer using it but it will be very few.


Personally, I would not bother with scents as the cost/effort does not justify the results. Others might argue that if it helps you kill just one buck it's worth it.
I do believe that If your going to use scents you need to be a believer. Much like many other hunting products, if you don't have faith in it, it probably won't work well for you.


Good Luck either way,
O.E."
 
Larry S.

Thoughts on Dogs for Blood Trail Work!

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I was recently on a Forum  where someone suggested a Jack Russell would make a perfect blood trail dog. I have quite a bit of experience tracking crippled deer with a dog so I decided to offer some of my insight and what I have learned on this subject.

A Jack Russell is a great little dog and might make a good blood trail dog but there are better choices.

Everyone will have a different opinion on this and there are always exceptions but the Jack is a little on the hyper side as a rule. A great blood trail dog is steady and deliberate, and has a track to track trail style. Some gods can switch from winding to track without issue but a dog that has a tendency to hunt with his nose in the wind is not preferred. The size of the Jack is a good quality but only in fairly open woods. Remember, by law you have to keep the dog on a lead. A shorter dog is more difficult to handle in thick gallberry and palmettos, etc. A crippled deer is headed to the thickest place he can find. Water is another issue where the short dog comes up, short.


One of the best short legged dogs for blood trailing is a wire haired dachshund but in the South has some of the same limitations as the Jack.

Another top blood trail dog is the Lab but you need to find one that is out of hunting stock such as a duck hunter. The problem with Labs is that they have been bred to death by the pet people without concern to hunting qualities.
I personally, really like a bluetick but also has some draw backs, He is a big dog with fierce drive and will pull your arm off while dragging you to death. However, sometimes that drive is a plus as well as the height and stamina. One of the best things I like about this breed is that most all will bay unlike beagles, walkers, etc.
Another great blood trail dog is a german wire haired pointer. They are incredibly versatile and you can hunt a bird with him in the morning and blood trail a deer in the afternoon.

If you have plenty of spare cash and can find one, a Bavarian mt. blood hound is as good a blood trail dog as you can get. They don't like being yelled at but are incredible trail dogs and about perfect size.

Then there is the choice of male or female. Personally, I prefer a female but try to get one that will not be in heat during hunting season. Females seem to be a little more no-nonsense, learn quicker, etc.
With all that said, most any of the hunting breeds have the potential and equipment to get the job done but some are much better suited than others.
One of the biggest mistakes people make with a blood trail dog is not building a bond with the dog where he has a desire to please you. If you don't spend a lot of time with him and teach him everything you can, don't expect him to be the brightest crayon in the box. Keeping him in a pen 24/7 and just taking him out when you need him won't cut it either. A dog kept like that just wants to go nuts when you let it out and has no control.

Remember, you are going to have a lot of time invested in this dog. Select your dog very carefully. Consider where you hunt and your needs. Then spend every minute you can with him. Take him every where you go. Put him on [U]every[/U] track, not just the ones you can't find. Teach him everything you can. Do this and you will have a dog whose abilities are nothing short of incredible.
Here's a few pic's of my Bluetick Lacy and some of her finds:

Larry Stephens