Robin Hood!

.
For all of you that don't know, Archery season opens here in central Florida this weekend. I just built a brand new set of arrows  for the occasion. One dozen finely tuned meat missiles. I weighed each and every component on a grain scale and matched everything together, ground off tiny amounts for exact weight and added small set screws to the back of my inserts to bump up my f.o.c. a little. All dozen arrows finished out to within 1/2 gr.  of each other. It was really quite a bit of work.

Last night I decided to shoot a little with my broadheads and see if I need any last minute adjustments. Usually I pick different spots when shooting broadheads and only shoot one arrow at any one target so I don't ruin an arrow....you probably already figured out where I'm going....a robin hood!

Well, I'm not sure whether I should be glad or sad about this. I guess I'm out a brand new XX75 either way. Actually quartered the alum. uni-bushing! I found one of the pieces, you can see it in the lower photo.

If I can shoot like this when I get out in the tree I guess it will be worth it!

     

Most people have converted to carbon arrows at this point but it's hard to beat the Easton XX75 and XX78. I used the Pinwheel archery program to fine tune my shaft size and the 2215, while a little uncommon, was right on the money. The aluminum shaft is typically twice as straight as carbon and half the price (or less) of quality carbon or carbon/alum., etc.. I personally prefer XX78 but they were not available in 2215 so I went to the XX78 CAMO HUNTER. They even come with uni-bushings for easy nock adjustment.

Steve Kelly, Owner of American Sports in Havana Illinois, did call me a dinosaur when I had him build me a few last year when I ran short on a hunt there but why fool with something that works so good.

I took a gobbler, (2) hogs and more than a dozen whitetails last year with these aluminum shafts. Hard to argue with that!

You'll notice in the picture I'm fletched these shafts

with AAE's new Maxi-Hunter 2.2 vanes. They are

2.125"l.x.59"h. and control my muzzy's just fine. I

prefer them to blazer types as they are a little more pliable and are ribbed to create a little more drag

for stabilization. They are far more durable than the

standard AAE 4" vane. I can shoot clean thru a "Block" target and the vanes look perfect!

Good luck and send me some harvest pictures!

Larry

P.S.

If you doubt the effectiveness of a Muzzy have a look at my Muzzy vs. Deer Spine post!
http://trophy-hunting.blogspot.com/2010/02/muzzy-vs-deer-spine.html

Below are a couple of links to Amazon with pretty reasonable prices on these shafts and fletch if anybody needs some.

Larry's Philosophy (Hunting and the Meaning of Life!)

.

The Following is a response to an email I received from an intellectual anti-hunting friend I know that I felt compeled to respond to!

Note this is in email  thread form with original email last in order.


----- Original Message -----


From: Larry Stephens

To: Henry (anti-hunter)

Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 10:10 PM

Subject: Re: Travel and thinking

Henry,

Your trip sounded great. My wife and i like to do this very thing and is what we did a couple of weeks ago when we bought some new hay equipment.

Glad you found some edible food.

As to the rest! I wish you would put as much thought and research into these comments as you do other topics. It is quite obvious you have no understanding of all the aspects of hunting and what it means. Your mind is closed on this matter without a full understanding. You think it is all about the kill and nothing could be further from the truth in reality and typically.

I am certainly no expert on philosophy but i am pretty close when it comes to hunting. Done legally and ethically, it is difficult and harvests are few and far in between for the majority. If it was all about the killing there would be few hunters. The reward at the end of the effort is unbelievable! It is the end result, if you are lucky and skillful but it is elusive at best and can be as difficult as grasping a wisp of smoke. My long time hunting companion Rick and I have been hunting in Illinois for 5 seasons now. Typically about 15 days a year and most of that with bow and arrow. Another self imposed handicap! I consider rick a pretty good hunter and he has yet to bring home a buck even though we have the opportunity to kill every time out! You will find this difficult to believe but this is true of most hunters, they adjust their goals of harvest based on the difficulty. These are self imposed rules. If a task is to easy there is no reward in it. True rewards only come from a great expended effort. Actually, in Rick's heart i know he does not like to kill an animal but he is driven to hunt, just as I, by a force as old as time. This is why he commits himself to only harvest the most mature bucks in the herd. This satisfies his need to hunt while limiting the killing and keeping the effort at a point that makes a successful hunt a great reward. But!!, If he had to kill to survive, he would do what was necessary and dispatch every animal to the very best of his ability, to this I have no question.

In 12 days of hunting last year, from my perch high up in the few select trees I like to hunt from, I saw a total of 166 deer. I could have taken probably a quarter of them but only tensioned my bow string twice in those 12 days and came home without a harvest. Many days I sat quietly on stand for 8 to 10 hours a day, seldom moving, just observing what was going on. I have watched tiny birds for hours, no more than an inch and a half tall searching snow covered tree limbs for a tiny speck of food that may get him to the next day of life. I have seen a hawk swoop in without a sound, wings folded and snatch a squirrel right off the limb. I have been sitting high in a tree at dark and had the faintest sound catch my attention only to see a barred owl gliding directly at me thru the tree canopy, at less than 10 feet. I have had a pair of wood duck sail past me so close I think I could have reached out and grabbed them. They over take you almost before you can hear the whistle of their wings, like fighter jets. One mourning I climbed into one of my stands on a cut corn field. It was cold and I had built up some pretty good body heat on the walk in. I had been sitting there for a while when I noticed some deer enter the field. I wanted to get on my feet before they approached but found myself frozen to the cloth seat when I tried to stand. The wind was blowing 25-30 and it was about 6 degrees. Try sitting motionless in that weather for 5 hours! A few days later I was in the same stand. It was overcast and 38 degrees and gusting 30+. A light rain stated to fall horizontally, and I had only worn a sleeveless fleece vest for a jacket as it really did not feel that cold. Shortly after, rain began to pour down and I stood in the tree with the vest over my head looking out of the arm hole for any approaching deer for 3 hours. I was shaking uncontrollably when I spotted a nice buck 350yds down the field. He walked straight to my tree like he was drawn by a magnet. The wind was blowing so hard I had to hold some nearby branches out of the way with one leg as I drew my bow for the shot. At the last minute I decided to pass on him as the deer was not a mature animal even though I had gone thru hell for the opportunity. I was so hypothermic I could barely climb down the tree afterwards.

I have had thousands of experiences like those mentioned above and each is a unique memory I treasure as much as any. I wish I could compile a movie of all of them for others to enjoy.

To say that hunting is all about killing is to have a complete lack of understand of the subject. You cannot understand what you do not know or have experience with. I have to admit there is a great adrenalin rush when you are about to make a kill but I don't think it comes from the love of killing per say but more from a primal instinct that wells up all your senses to a heightened and intense focus to deal the killing blow.

You have no idea of the difficulty to kill a deer legally with even a high power rifle. It’s no easier with dogs either. The guys you see in Ocala are extremely lucky to kill a buck every few years. The population is very low and I have hunted the “Forest” many years and have only harvested a couple bucks. Some of what you wrote is true but only applies to the minority. The difficulty, time and effort expended to get to the point of making a harvest is great and any hunter should rightfully be proud of the accomplishment. I don't agree with parading a dead animal around town and most hunters discourage this. Any animal taken deserves a degree of respect.

To be fair, I have to admit there are abuses of the hunting privilege and right, just as with anything men are involved with. Recently an 11 year old boy killed an 1,100 lb+ hog in north Alabama. He is being hailed as a hero by many and loathed by even more. My own opinion is that I am ashamed that this was portrayed as hunting of an 1,100 lb wild, feral hog when in reality this animal was pen raised to this size and is a domestic animal with little survival instincts. This was not hunting and is the very thing that gives hunting a negative view. This was no more than a killing in poor taste. No hog in the wild could grow to that weight and seldom happens on a farm. I took the time to read some of the negative responses posted on the boy’s web site and they were nothing short of incredible. Some people were so ignorant of nature they actually thought this animal was a unique creature of his species that is now lost to the world. Others were disgustingly abusive. It suffices to say ignorance is rampant.

Hunting is no different than golf or fishing (or motor cycles in your case) in that persons and businesses have capitalized on its popularity and there are gadgets for everything, beyond belief.

You fail to acknowledge all of the good that hunting does to protect the environment and non game species. Hunters have saved many species from extinction directly and indirectly. Of course, in the past, thru over harvest, prior to an understanding of management, game populations have been decimated but this is no longer acceptable practice. The worst of it came from market hunting.

I have written several times regarding the monies generated by hunting that goes to rehabilitate, purchase and protect habitat that would otherwise be lost if it were not for the interest and effort of the hunting community. To this you have no comment.

Henry, extremely little of your taxes go towards helping wildlife while the hunters you condemn pay taxes on licenses, ammunition, buy special permits for use of land that no other groups pay and expend personal effort in land restoration, planting, burning etc. This goes unacknowledged by you. Maybe you do not believe it, but it is none the less a fact. Hunters even provide thousands of very poor families with meat that they donate and pay for the processing of, every year. There are programs in place in nearly every state in the U.S. that help feed the poor thru hunter donations of harvested game. I could go on and on with these examples.

Here is another point; our environment no longer has the checks and balances of predator and pray, in many cases, it once had. Man tries to manipulate everything to what he feels is correct, this includes the environment. Our own ever expanding population has brought about change and problems in the natural environment that have no easy answers. Man has removed or lowered the populations of many of the predators that keep prey species populations in check. Without these predators to harvest the surplus of animals and keep the herd in check, nature has another way of handling over population. It is by far, more cruel than death by a human hunter. First, nature will try to starve to death many but usually before this process is complete a disease will spread thru the heard wiping out the vast majority in a sickened, starving death. This is currently beginning to be seen in the deer herds as they are expanding beyond what hunters are harvesting, in the form of CWD, chronic wasting disease. As the name suggests, the victim wastes away in a sickened state, with blind staggers, in a death that is measured in days! This is due in large to over population.

By the way, no bear hunting is currently allowed in the state of Florida due to habitat loss and low numbers overall. This is due to people moving into the state and developing natural environments. By accounts I have heard, illegal immigrants that are here and/or would come into the U.S. if allowed could total an estimated 4mill. So much for the plight of the Florida bear and Panther! If I understand you, you are pro immigration and anti hunting, so its o.k. to crowd the animals out but not to hunt them!

I really do not have the words to describe hunting in a way you could understand. It is something that has to be experienced to really understand and identify with. Man is a predator!!!!!!!!! Always has been and I don't think that will change any time soon. It is a primal drive and a part of our vary being. Most people are many generations removed from this and have maybe lost touch with this drive. I am driven to hunt and it is not because I love to kill. Even when I start to feel disinterested after a long season a field, when I come across some smoking hot buck sign or the drag marks from a strutting gobbler I get invigorated all over again. It’s a drive that you have to experience to understand I guess. The more time spent afield the sharper your senses become to the natural world. I can't understand my wife talking on the other side of the room but I have heard a turkey gobble from a mile away on his roost limb, so faint a sound, few people would ever know it happened let alone what it was! Or the sound of a smart old doe slowly stomping her front foot, in the fall leaves, to alert the others that danger is about. As time spent in the woods begins to sharpen your senses a true hunter begins to feel a part of the world. It’s a unique and grounding experience. Someone that buys their food at publix can't appreciate any of this and it is a completely foreign concept.

Henry, what I am speaking of "is life". It is philosophy in the truest since. Life as you know it has taken all this away and left people much like yourself wondering what life is all about?, where are we going?, why? So educated and intelligent that they over think and miss the simple truth. There is no complicated, mind bending answer. It simply, just is!!

If you could experience all that I have in the wild, your philosophical and theological search “for the meaning of life” might be over. Man and all his complications has obscured what life really is.

Life is simple in its basic form and there is no complicated answer to the meaning of life.

Larry's philosophy.


So endith the lesson.

Larry


post script:

I can at least respect a true vegetarians views on the killing of animals for food, even though I don't agree but for an anti-hunter to say he or she is appalled by hunting then partake in a meal with meat killed by another, when he or she cannot stomach the task for themselves is nothing short of hypocrisy. It is normal for a human to feel sorrow and pity at the passing of a life but it is also a fundamental part of the human instinct to survive by the skills and instincts that have been instilled in us over thousands of years.

Due to the circumstances of human life today, people have lost touch with the fact that man has survived for so many years by killing. Because they are more educated and detached from this they let their emotions govern their thoughts when it comes to the idea of hunting and killing.

A lion can be caged and feed his meals by another but it is his nature to hunt and kill for himself. I don't think he takes joy in the kill, in the strict sense. By the same token, keep an animal caged long enough and he will loose his abilities to fend for himself rather quickly. This has happened to the vast majority of the human population.

Let me ask you this Henry, where do you stand on the right for a tribe of peoples living in the Amazon jungle to hunt for their very existence? What is the difference to the animals killed? Do these people have some basic right that I do not? Do you believe the taking of an animal’s life is unjust for us because we are so technologically advance and educated that this act is beneath us? Let our abundant food supply (or gasoline) run short and see how fast people revert back to being the animals we really are!!!!!!!!

L.S.






----- Original Message -----

From: Henry

To: Larry Stephens

Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 10:32 AM

Subject: Travel and thinking

We are back again from one of our excursions, this time it was a little town in Connecticut, were we went and got another couple of nice old classic British bikes, auctioned off because the owner had a stroke and terminated an existing picturesque outdated old bike dealership. But we, Eva and me, take advantage of this small travel adventures to create fun, at least our idea of fun, to something which for most people is a drudge, namely to have to drive 2.600 miles to attend an auction which may last 4 hours, in middle of nowhere, and afterwards, have to load up the stuff and make it all the way back, without blinking an eye when one get to a gas station and to the reception desk of a motel.

We never go forth and back in one straight line. We always look for something along the road, worthwhile to look at. This time it was the MARK TWAIN Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, interesting, at least for all of us which have read his books, and on the return trip, we went again through a stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway, we went up and came down through two access roads which we never experienced before, but this time, it was raining and cloudy, but intensely green and clean and smelling like woods are supposed to smell, real and slightly frightening nature. We lost a few hours but it was again a reaffirming of our believe that the darned shopping centers and steel boxes on four wheels are not the only real objects which exist in our small little world.

Outside of classic music CD's, we took this time a full course of CONSCIOUSNESS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS in CD's also, which I got from THE TEACHING COMPANY, by Professor Daniel Robinson, Columbia and Oxford Philosophy teacher, which we know from several other lecture series, and who is very thoughtful and clear in his expositions. We listened to eight of them, but each one gave us room to talk and comment at least for another half an hour or so. You see, this mind awakening and provoking thoughts makes the monotony of driving hours and hours negligible, because even after comments given and received, the ideas implanted in the mind are still kind of boiling, they don't want to rest, they refuse to be archived, (is this the right word, ,,,,, ?????,,), and one has to match them up with some prior concepts which we always give for granted but get turned around when this new ideas seek their proper place in our back-space in our mind, were all our ideas and complexes and prejudices and glasses through which we contemplate the world, ,,,,, are.

This is what new ideas in philosophy do to us, ,,,,,, when we are into philosophy of course.

We went North through Interstate 81, which runs along the Appalachian mountains. It may be a few miles more than Interstate 95, but much more scenic and entertaining to look at through the windshield. The food problem got solved also. We used only Truck Stops, bought us a book used by Truckers and had meals only at places like THE IRON SKILLET at PETROS truck stops, and similars. Good real food and very reasonably priced. The six days it took us to go back and forth went by, way too fast, but this is what we call to have a good time.

But I can not end this little letter without mentioning a little thought which came into my mind in a motel we went to overnight. Right in front of my bed were two large painting reproductions of hunting scenes. In one of them was a guy riding a horse and jumping a fence, in the other one a bunch of dogs followed by several riders, males and females, all dressed nicely in the typical British fashion with red jackets, high boots, and this little jockeys on their heads, following the hare, which is on the verge of slipping into some underbrush.

I could not help to think in comparing this kind of festive activity with the war like sport which our local hunters call "hunting". They ride this big camouflaged ATV's with specially designed gun holders, and trays for the ever present cans of beer, clad in "sporty" military type of uniforms which are supposed to make them invisible in the woods, carrying sometimes this hide away huts and looking mean, and business like. I have seen them many times, because we like to roam around on week ends, and at hunting season the concentrate in some preferred spots, all of them standing around in the meeting places next to four by four, and talking important matters. For the locals in northern Florida, you only have to go to a couple of restaurants at Silver Springs in the Ocala National Forest, and you see them driving in, proudly carrying the dead deer in the back. This guys love to kill, love to shoot the stupid weapons with a purpose, they don't go out for the sport, the go for killing, and are truly equipped for it. High powered guns with laser telescopic devices, and every other paraphernalia which the hunting supply department at Walmart so thoughtfully has available. If you compare the pictures of a hunting party in the UK, (where their is a strong opposition against hunting one rabbit by the way), and and what you can see in our National Forests at hunting season, dead Deer, dead Bears, and occasionally other hunters, (remember Cheneys hunting misshape, ,,,,, ????,,), you understand easy the kind of mentality which approved with such an overwhelming majority this " hunting " expedition into Iraq, and other places on earth.

Violence engenders violence, and I came from a country which wrote the manual of how to kill and die violently, ,,,,,,, which is the reason I abhorre anything which has to do with guns and killing, even an innocent rabbit.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, HENRY ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Two Boars for Kristina!

.

This story actually begins three weeks earlier. I was bush hogging a stretch of broken woods pasture and wasn’t’ able to finish before dark so I decided to get back out there first thing the next morning to finish up. When I stepped out from behind a small island of cypress and cabbage trees, there standing in a slight depression in the fog was a heck of a big boar hog. The next weekend I needed to do a little more work out there so I decided to carry my open sight .30-.30 marlin in case I ran into that big boar again.

I eased down to the end of the mow to a small drain that still had a couple pot holes of water in it. Kneeling on some washed out roots over the water, I contemplated whether I really wanted to get across or just get to my mowing. A noise caught my attention down the hammock that sounded like it could be some hogs. A minute later, directly in front of me some movement caught my attention and a big hog head came pushing thru the palmettos. at 10 yds. He turned his head exposing his shoulder. I already had a bead on him and the hammer back. At the report of my .30-.30 the old boar hit the ground hard .

I have killed more than my share of wild hogs but this one was the largest I have seen on the hoof, in the woods.

The next weekend we were on our way over to an anniversary party and I had an appointment to get my hair cut with my niece Kristina.. I had brought some pictures of the big boar I had killed with me and eventually the subject of hunting came up and I told Kristina I have a picture for you to look at! She could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the size of the big pig.

I could see her interest was peaked and she related that she had been hog and turkey hunting a few times with a boyfriend but they were unsuccessful. Actually, at that point she had never even been shown how to handle a gun, never even fired a shot!

Do you want to kill a Hog?

I asked…do you want to kill a hog? There was no hesitation in her answer and she was all smiles!

Well, we planned a hunt for the next weekend. It was mid June and the afternoon rain showers had started. There is no better time to see game on their feet than after a cooling, late afternoon shower. Every critter in the woods will be moving and feeding…especially if it’s a quarter moon! Guaranteed!

The first order of business was to get Kristina comfortable with a firearm and select something that fit her without to much recoil. We set up a shooting bench at a 50 yds and started her off with a .22 LR. to build her confidence and teach her the basics. As with most women I’ve seen shoot, she was a natural!

After burning thru a pile of .22 ammo it was time to step it up a little. Next was the Ruger semi auto in .44 rem. mag., then a Marlin .30-.30 lever action and finally a Browning A-Bolt in .30-.06.

We settled on the Ruger .44 mag.. It a small rifle with a thin short barrel that is pretty easy to point.

Kristina goes to Hog City!

I had a two man tree stand in mind that overlooked the end of a natural grass opening along a swamp. Hog city!

The next morning Kristina, Tammie (my wife)
and I slipped into the stand from the down wind side, squeezed ourselves in and settled back for the wait.

About 30 minutes had gone by when movement caught our attention left and a little behind the stand in the edge of the marsh. It was a big brown Boar! At 20 yds the brute stopped to rub on a knotted cypress sapling that had been rubbed many times in the past. With the hogs attention diverted I started getting Kristina into position for a shot. Unfortunately, the hog caught the movement or a sound and busted off thru the swamp woofing at the intruders.

Kristina was crushed at missing her big opportunity. No other game showed that morning so we called off the dogs with a plan to return later that afternoon.

Right on que, as if it were planned, a light rain started to fall about 2:00pm. We made our way to the stand and got into position with high expectations of seeing some hogs.

Another Missed Opportunity!

The first to show was a small group of does and yearlings. About an hour or so before dark Tammie spotted some hogs coming down a grassy mow from the marsh. Two black and two red, all young boars that looked like they were out of the same mold. The tension was high as Kristina readied for a shot. Instead of moving out into the open and closer to our position they turned up the edge moving down the opening away from us. The closest they came was 90yds. and I thought that was a little far for her to shoot so I waved her off. Man, was she disappointed! The group continued on and out of sight. I reassured her “we’ll see some more, don’t worry.”

About 15-20 minutes later I caught some movement in the high grass and shortly, out stepped the big boar we had seen that morning. It was instant excitement! Kristina readied for the shot. The boar passed thru a small island of black gum trees and out into the opening at about 50 yds. I whispered, “shoot’em when he stops”. A minute later the little Ruger carbine sounded off with a crack! The hog wheeled back and was gone!

Kristina immediately asked….”did I get him”! “I couldn’t tell”. Well, to be honest I was pretty much thinking she probably had missed and decided we would give him some time and see if anything else showed. About that time, here comes the group of boars from earlier, running back down the pasture! They had spooked from the shot and couldn’t tell where it had come from. Now this is a handy tip to remember…..you can bet the farm, if you shoot at a deer or hog, its going to run back the direction it came from! They know there’s no danger on their back trail and there’s usually thicker cover that direction.

I started barking out orders, “get ready, get ready”, covering my ears and leaning over I told Kristina to shoot off my shoulder! Shoot the black one”, shoot the black one!“ The last hog stopped broadside at about 60yds and once again the little carbine cracked! The hog dropped in its tracks! As soon as Kristina recovered from the recoil and realized it was down she started hollering….”I got him, I got him”!

We all climbed down for a look at Kristina’s trophy. She could hardly believe what she had done! The hog weighed about 90 lbs. and she had made a perfect shot. It was spitting rain and the grass was wet so I told her to follow me, we need to make sure you did not hit the first hog. We started tracking in the wet grass and in short order cut a fresh blood trail headed south towards the marsh. “Oh no! you hit the first one too!”

Kristina could hardly believe it, she was grinning from ear to ear.

Two Shots, Two Hogs Down!

We started tracking but it was a short trail job. After 30yds, there just in the edge of the tall marsh grass lay a 200lb plus brown boar! A real trophy! She had put the .44 ball thru both lungs, right behind the shoulder. Kristina was absolutely amazed that she had downed such an animal!

The white spot in the photo above is one of the thousand mosquitoes we saw that evening that flew to close to the flash

We took some time to enjoy the moment and started our picture taking secession.

The Fun’s all over now Kristina!

Luckily, the pasture was still pretty dry and we were able to get the truck right to them without to much trouble. We got them loaded and headed for the house.

I kind of figured I’d get stuck with all the hog cleaning duties which is why I said "oh no!", when I cut the second blood trail. I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover though, Kristina, our beautician and modeling niece jumped right in there. She helped with everything from dragging, to skinning, quartering and disposing of the carcasses. I don't think she had ever experienced anything like this but you would have never known it.

We were finally wrapped up about midnight and we were all whipped. It was quit a day to say the least.

 

After it was over I told Kristina, “In the future, I’ll be more careful about telling you to shoot!”

Best of hunts

Larry Stephens

p.s.

All of the hunting photo's above were taken by myself and my wife Tammie. However, the top photo was taken and provided by Debbie Gainey Photography. Anyone in need of professional photography services in Central and North Florida can contact Debbie at her web site,  debbiegaineyphotography.com.

Larry

Osceola Turkey Faces off with Coyote on Trail Cam!

. If you hunt turkeys and know anything about coyotes you will find this to be one interesting picture.


You don't see a turkey and a coyote in the same picture very often. Actually, I would bet you have probably never seen it your self and probably not even seen a picture like this before.

(click on photo to enlarge)

This photo was caught on a trail camera by my friend Rick Edwards and was taken in central Florida. Everything had to be exactly right to catch them at the same time in the same frame, pretty much a miracle! Here in Florida it is legal to feed game and I believe Rick was using a feeder in combination with the trail camera. This is a great way to get some really good pictures and a lot of them. I have literally thousands of photos and will be posting them as I have time.

One of the things that make it such a miracle that Rick's camera caught both animals at the same time is that the camera would have been taking pictures of the turkey as it milled around feeding and would time out in between shots for typically one minute. Turkeys are constantly moving and seldom stand still so the camera would immediately take another photo as soon as the time out period was up. At that instant the coyote would have had to come into the frame. It is possible the turkey had seen the coyote coming and had been standing still watching it and possibly the coyote tripped the camera but it would still be unbelievable timing regardless. If you have ever been fortunate enough to see a coyote in the woods you know they seldom stand still either. They are almost always on a trot or lope. Many cameras do not have a fast enough trigger time to even catch a coyote in the frame before he's gone.

Many thanks to Rick for sharing the photo. I know he has more and I’ll be prying them loose from him to post here!

Turkey season opens Saturday,

Good luck, send me a picture!

Larry S.

Hunter Harvests 19 PT. Velvet Antlered Doe!

.
I received an email from one of my friends today with this story of a 19pt. Antlered doe. I hear about one of these oddities every once in a while but they are pretty rare and thought everybody might like to see it.

The hunters name is Mike Tomey of Lewis County, West Virginia. The deer was killed on a Friday of the first week of the buck season near Sleeth’s Run, near the Gilmer-Lewis County border.

The hunter was aware of the deers presents and had numerous trail camera photo’s of what he thought was a non-typical buck.

It was a Friday afternoon and pretty miserable out and the hunter had decided to call it a day and was on his way out of the woods when he walked up on the deer. He anchored the animal with one shot but was pretty surprised when he got to the deer and saw just how many points he (she) was sporting.

Apparently he field dressed the deer and realized something wasn’t right but did not know the deer was actually a doe until he got home and a neighbor saw the thing and pointed it out.

The bad thing was it’s the biggest set of horns the guy has taken and…..it’s a doe!

Apparently a doe does not create enough testosterone to cause the antlers to come out of the velvet stage. I believe they just continue to grow at a slow rate for the entire life cycle of the deer.

Her fawns must really catch hell from their little fawn buddies!

Best of Hunts,

Larry

Three Osceola Gobblers Show up on Scouting Trail Camera

.

Elvis have entered the building!
.

I was wondering when a bird was going to show up around this big flock of Osceola hens. I have been watching them for several weeks now. Up to this point, I have only got a couple of jakes on the scouting cameras. Two mornings this week i sat in a blind and filmed then hens before i went to work. One of those mornings I was able to call a Gobbler from across the creek but he did not get in front of the blind where I could get him on film.

Last night I roosted a flock of birds over a flooded swamp. I shot a little footage slipping up under them on the roost. As soon as I can get it downloaded I'll post it for you. it's probably low quality but you'll see just how easy it can be. I'm going to set a camera trap for this flock tomorrow. There is a strutter in the bunch although he looks small in size. Hopefully I can catch him on film strutting.
.

Trail camera setup tips:

Here is an important tip for setting a trail cam for turkeys.......Don't set it at the height you would for a deer or you'll get mostly head and back shots. You need to locate it about 16-18" to the camera.

Also, be sure to double check the camera is set to on, before you close up the unit! This sounds simplistic but you'll be surprised how easy it is to forget to turn it on. It's a big disappointment to show up to pull your card and you find out it's just been sitting there set to menu or off and you got nothing! It's like getting a lump of coal for Christmas.

If the tree you are mounting your camera to has a taper to the butt, don't forget to adjust the angle of the camera . You can leave the strap loose and wedge a stick, of the right size behind the top of the camera for the correction.

These pictures were all taken with (2) different type cameras. Both are Bushnell. One is the small Bushnell "Trophy Cam" and the other is the "Trail Sentry 2.1". Both are digital infrared units and work great. I highly recommend either unit but I prefer the Trophy. The only drawback to that one is it costs considerably more than the Sentry. As is usually the case, the extra money buys you more features. In this case they come in the form of extended battery life, more picture capacity, etc.. Check out the spec's on both before you decide. One of the other nice features of the trophy cam is its small, super convenient size, one of the smallest on the market!

One last though regarding the price. Camera theft is always a concern. The lower cost of the Sentry makes a loss a little easier to stomach!


Notice the all white head and neck on the gobbler in the middle, in the second photo compared to this bird in the first photo. When his neck turns white he's hot to go!

These guys just made the "most wanted" list, that includes that pesky red boar hog. He's got a rendezvous with one of my muzzy's.

.

If you have any good trail cam pictures of your own, send them to me and I'll post them for everybody to enjoy.

.

Good hunting,

Larry Stephens

.

NOTE: If you would like to receive an email note when I make future postings, just click on the follow button in the upper left corner! thanks, L.S.

.

.

Muzzy vs Deer Spine!

.

I promised to post these pictures of a section of whitetail deer spinal column.

I think it makes for a strong case for quality, well engineered broadheads of fixed or replacement blade design.

You will not see an expandable blade broadhead do this!

You can see in the picture above that the blades have been bent together a little bit but the did not break. They are shaped more like an "X" rather than a "+". Completely severed the spine!

The Following is a post I made to "Kisky's Whitetail Freaks Forum" http://www.kisky.com/forum/default.aspx?f=11&p=2&m=151307

“A lot of guys won't like this but do yourself a favor and steer clear of expandables. a pile of deer have been killed with them but a pile more have been lost. More often than not, you will not get a pass thru. without a low exit hole your blood trail can be weak to non existent. Quartering shots can be a problem with many expandables. i have heard of many instances of broken parts and structural failure with these also. If you have a perfect broadside shot and punch him square in the ribs, most any broadhead will do but that is not the real world.
A friend of mine owns an archery shop in Illinois and he shoots expandables buts admits he don't get a lot of pass throughs. His reasoning for overlooking this important factor was that the woods there are open and you can usually fan out your search and find him. I want a blood trail and the best trail comes from a pass thru. Besides that, ask an expandable fan what happens when heavy bone is encountered. I have shot completely thru several deer spines, you'll never see and expandable do that.

If you want some more convincing, take a piece of fresh deer hide and try to push an expandable, a cut on contact and a replaceable blade style head thru it.

I have taken 74 deer with a bow and untold # of hogs. I shoot a muzzy (4) blade 100 gr.. You will never see one of these fail! You might get a crack in a blade once in a blue moon but it will be in tact. I have only seen (1) or (2) bent ferrules.

"G5-Montec" and Snuffers are great also! you won't go wrong with them but you have to develop a method to sharpen them and they have to be absolutely as sharp as possible. This is a mistake many make. They don't realize just how sharp the blades need to be. If not razor sharp the head has more of a tendency to push everything out of the way rather than cut it's way thru. I also recommend staying away from heads with blade configurations that are not swept back with enough angle. In other words, the less the angle between the cutting edge and the target, the more the blade is pressed thru rather than cut it's way thru.

There are many other good heads but if you stick to models like the three i mentioned, it will be the best you can do.

Have a look at my site, http://trophy-hunting.blogspot.com/ , I'll post a great picture of one of my Muzzy's sticking clean thru the spinal column of an Illinois buck!

Good Luck! Larrysdd"

Choose your broadhead carefully, its one of the most important choices in gear that you can make!

Best of Luck, Larry

Trophy Black Coyote, That's One Big Dog!

It was the next to the last day of the Florida Deer season and with only a couple hunts left before the season would be just a memory, coyote’s were the last thing on my mind. That was all about to change. My deer hunt was just about to become a Coyote Hunt!

Coyote Hunting Without a Call!

That afternoon I had planned to hunt a buck I had seen during archery season on a marsh pasture. He’s one of the best Florida bucks I have seen and I was really hoping for a crack at him before it was all over. On the way into the stand I stopped by one of my camera traps to swap cards and see what had been going on in my absence. The Bushnell Trophy Cam revealed no big bucks but I was still hopeful. The moon was at ¼ phase and the feed time just about right for a late afternoon sighting.

This particular spot is one of my all time favorite hunting spots. It’s virtually un-hunted and one of my personal best Florida bucks was taken from this same stand. It has everything you could ask for. On one side is a hardwood hammock. A small creek flows thru the middle of the marsh and it is surrounded by high grass which blends into a cypress and gum swamp. Its literally a game magnet. All manor of animal call this special place home and it is a rare occasion that a hunt here does not produce a handful of deer and hogs sightings.

I scaled my way up the isolated cypress in the open grass and settled into my lock-on for the wait. Actually, things were going a little slow and I was really surprised at the lack of deer movement.

I was well heeled, carrying my Browning A-bolt chambered in .30-06. It’s short bolt throw is a joy to shoot and chambers a hot round quickly without banging your hand into the scope. I like to shoot 180 gr. Remington Core-lokts. They are extremely dependable, reasonably priced and have never let me down.

A Pair of Solid Black Coyotes Appear From the Waste High Grass!

Dark was closing in and I had just finished glassing the area with my Nikon Monarks when some movement thru the cypress limbs caught my attention about 70 yds to the right. Instantly, I recognized two black forms coming out of the high grass onto the mow. Both were black and I was thinking hog as they came into view in my binoculars. I could hardly believe my eyes, not one but two solid black coyotes! Before I knew it I was on my knees in the stand searching for a hole thru the limbs. The scope settled on the larger dog’s shoulder and I squeezed off a shot. The coyote hit the ground at the report of the shot. I immediately chambered a fresh round but the second coyote charged into the high grass before I could even ready for a second shot.

The Core-lokt had gone thru the upper, forward shoulder and exploded thru the spinal column producing an instant kill.

My first thought was to sit tight and wait out the last few minutes of light in hopes of seeing some deer but I could not stand it! I had to get a look at this thing.

This is One Big Dog and a Unique Trophy!

He was incredible! Upwards of 45 lbs. , solid black with a perfect hide. I rarely go to the woods without my camera and it was time to record the harvest so I could share this unique trophy with everyone.

A “Black Coyote” is a very rare sight. Hyper-melanistic, black, is even more rare than albinism. With all the thousands of hours I have spent afield, this was the first I had ever seen. He was truly a sight to behold and one I will never forget! I’m thinking my next hunt just might be a “coyote hunt“, for the one that got away.

Interestingly, ”Black Coyote” was the name of a Lakota Sioux who reportedly refused to give up his weapon at Wounded Knee and is believed to have unintentionally triggered the terrible massacre know as the “Battle at Wounded Knee.”

Good luck hunting!
Larry Stephens

Photo's by Larry Stephens

Coyote Hunting, A Target of Opportunity!

The Coyote is despised by many but can make for some great hunting sport while controlling the "Predator Population" at the same time. "Calling Coyotes" is the standard method of hunting but they can be a target of opportunity anytime you are in the woods hunting!

Some reasons you should consider hunting coyotes;

-Coyotes can increase your available target opportunities!
-Hunting coyotes can increase your time afield!
-Hunting coyotes will improve your hunting skills!
-Predator population control!
-A Coyotes makes a unique and beautiful trophy!

Take em when you see em!

Coyotes are one of, if not the most sought after predator in the field. Many hunters target these secretive animals exclusively, but for most, the Coyote is a target of opportunity. Every year Hunters take thousands of coyotes while hunting other species of game such as Turkeys & Deer. It‘s a lucky hunter who has been sitting in a deer stand on a slow morning and has a Coyote come loping by! Rarely do you see one of these speed demons standing still and it is extremely difficult to get a shot off at one with a bow.

A great way to get more hunting time in!

In many States Coyotes can he hunted year round. If you decide to hunt coyotes outside of the hunting season of other game animals you hunt it can greatly increase your time in the woods hunting.

Time spent chasing these cagey critters will only add
To your woodsman and hunting skills!

Every time you step in the woods you should be learning something new. If you don’t your not paying attention! Coyotes are super shy and unbelievably sharp! If you can harvest them consistently at close range you can consider yourself at the top of your game and the coyote a good tune up. If your skills are not this advanced, hunting the coyote will really increase them. If you can get your bow drawn on a coyote a deer will be a piece of cake. The coyote can teach you volumes about hunting, like how and when to move on an approaching animal, stand placement and many other things that hunters can use when hunting other species.

Predator populations require control like any
Other game species!

Like any other species, predator populations need to be kept in balance. If their numbers are left unchecked they can quickly get out of hand. Coyotes prey on all manors of game species including turkeys, quail, small game, small hogs and deer. They are particularly hard on deer fawns. When they begin to compete with you for the same game its time lower the population.

A trophy not every Hunter has!

Coyotes come in many color phases and can make both a beautiful and unique addition to your trophy room. The most common mount is a full body mount. There are a wide variety of manikins to choose from that include; full body, half body and shoulder mounts. The cost of a full body mount varies among taxidermist and also depends on how elaborate a base and habitat you desire if any, but the average is about $450. There are other options for remembering and honoring your trophy and include skull mounts, rugs and soft tanned hides. Be sure to choose a taxidermist wisely, check references and take a close look at their work.

A solid black dog is pretty uncommon and quite a prize!

Next time your out hunting deer or sitting in a turkey blind don’t overlook an opportunity at a Coyote if you should be so fortunate. They will probably be few and far between but if your lucky you might just end up with a unique trophy and another special hunt to remember.

Good Luck Hunting!
Larry Stephens

Photo's by Larry Stephens

Potential Idaho State Record Mule Deer

This is another bit of information from the internet. I received this in an email from my buddy Brady out there. Accutate or not he's a Seed!

"Here's what's coming out of unit 45

Idaho State Record Muzzy buck Harvest Dallas Smith is no stranger when it comes to large mule deer. Over the last few years, Dallas has added three awesome mule deer to his collection each scoring over the magical 200 inch mark. However, none of them come close to the accomplishment he achieved this past week. Dallas harvested the pending new # 4 in the world mule deer with a muzzleloader and it is also the new State Record in Idaho. The unfortunate part of this story is that the buck will never be recorded in the books. Dallas has to date decided that he doesn't want to strip the velvet off the buck to have it officially scored. I can't say that I blame him. It's a once in a lifetime buck and keeping it the way it was when it was harvested is important to Dallas.

Dallas Smith with his latest monster in his collection

Dallas has watched this buck for the past five years and even tried to harvest it a time or two only to fall short in his quest. This is ok if you look at the end result which is a 265 inch gross monster. His Buck has a 204 inch frame with approximately 60 inches of trash. It has only been unofficial scored, but when I held this monster in my hands, score went completely out the window. This buck is dense, heavy, wide, nasty,and just plain old incredible. When I lifted it off the ground, I was amazed at the weight of the antlers. As shown in the picture above, these antlers felt like they would tip the scales at over 15 pounds which is a true monster in anyone's eyes.Comparing this buck to his sheds from the last few years shows this buck has grown into a true giant. Two years ago his sheds scored in at just over 207 gross inches. Last year his sheds grossed at just over the 228 inch mark. Now he has grown into the mega 265 inch giant the Dallas harvested earlier this week.

Dallas With his 265 inch giant

I'm sure you are asking yourself why is this buck in velvet in October? Well, the truth is still somewhat of a mystery to all. He did grow a fresh set of horns every year, however this buck held his velvet well into October every year. Like I said, Dallas knew this buck well. He watched the buck two years ago shed its velvet at the end of October and last year it shed it in the middle of October. At the time of harvest, the testicles of this deer were only one-fourth the size of a normal mule deer. So obviously this buck had some sort of testicular issues whether it be lack of testicles from a birth defect, some sort of trauma, or a genetic defect. This buck grew his antlers a month and half longer then normal mule deer.Is he a cactus buck? In my opinion, yes.

Anytime there is testicular malfunction that allows antlers to grow at an abnormal rate, it should be considered a cactus buck. Some cactus bucks never shed their antlers and some shed them ever few years. In the case of this buck, his deficiency was slight enough that he shed them and grew a new set every year. He had some sort of testosterone deficiency to allow him to grow his antlers for a longer time period than that of a normal mule deer which would fit the definition of a cactus buck.Dallas, my hat is off to you and your brother for keeping this buck such a secret. I don't blame you one bit! As far as I know, the only people that new this buck was alive were Dallas, his wife, his three sons, his brother Ryan and a good friend, Tony. They all kept this buck under wraps until it was on the ground. Congrats to all of you that were mentioned as you all played a part in Dallas harvesting this spectacular trophy. We can't wait for the story and field pictures!

Photo Courtesy of Ryan Smith

Congratulations Dallas on such a fine trophy and a spectacular last few years of hunting these awesome animals. You brothers have done it again, I'm jealous...Steve Alderman "