Goof's Outdoor Chronicles

Finally, minor update

2011-11-10T14:38:00.001-05:00

Pack of coyotes at some friends lot:

Eh, just a little behind

2009-06-08T13:01:00.019-04:00

Just a few shots from the start of the year. Good thing the youngest came home to service the cam for me!

Turks with Seth

2009-06-01T16:44:00.006-04:00

Not a bad season, if I'd been quicker Seth and I might have had a double. Seth brought home this fella. About 15 lbs with a 6"beard with hi sNew England 20 gauge.

Good Day For Hunting, No success

2008-11-15T19:23:00.003-05:00

So it was a nice day but we didn't get nuthin. A few deer in the AM who never gave us a chance and some talking birds several times, but the sky was blue and it was a comfortable day. It's good to hunt.

November 11-13th Gots 6 point under the apple tree

2008-11-14T21:36:00.006-05:00

November 5-10th 2008, under the apple tree

2008-11-12T13:57:00.017-05:00

These are but a few of the dozens upon dozens of pics captured under the apple tree. Too bad it's next to the neighbor's but then the deer only seem to come at night.

We start with the evil-eyes:
Nice pair, a doe and perhaps a yearling:

There were a lot of open-mouth pictures in here. Wish the cam did audio, would be interesting to hear if they are vocalizing. I suspect they're bleating at the surprise of the flash from the cam, but that's only a guess.

Not a bad looker. She'd look kinda nice in my freezer.

Hind quarters look good.

Caught red-mouthed. One of the shots with the target of their visit, a semi-sweet apple.

Here we go with an OK sized spikey. Looks like he could use a bit more fattening.

Another vocal customer.

Another view of spikey

There's that mouth going again.

Mmmm, looks tender and sweet, don't ya think?

Spike again. Here's hoping he continues to be available when he grows up.

Another doe heard from

Spikey

Under the Apple Tree

2008-11-04T19:47:00.007-05:00

Finally More Pics

2008-08-05T16:44:00.012-04:00

Night-time in the hunting woods, nice little doe:

Another night ...

And another night with an assit from some rain

Finally, something in daylight. Probably a doe but by now antlers ahve likely dropped so could be either.

Game Camera Video amusement

2008-01-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

Just a simple video of turkeys from the game cam

Another simple video of turkeys

Nothing big, a squirrel on cam

More unfinished business

2008-01-05T19:53:00.001-05:00

A few turkeys. I'll add 3 videos later when I figure out the best way to do that

OK, catching up on some unfinished business ...

2008-01-05T19:49:00.000-05:00

A few shots from mid November:

Not much going on .....

2007-12-03T14:48:00.001-05:00

Been too lazy (busy) to check the game cam ..... maybe soon but not today ...

Ahh, That's More Like It

2007-11-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

So after last week's disappointing try at getting pictures in the woods this week proved to be a bit more interesting. Seems as though the new camera position and new tree stand may be a bit more interesting. First came the turkeys, the morning after I set up the cam:

Then came the neighbor's son, clearing the trail:

And then it got more interesting yet:

yep, that's the neighbor coming down the trail:

Ahh, but then a few days later things really got interesting:

And more the next day:

And the parade went on:

And even more activity:

And more yet a couple days later:

And more. Notice it's all turkeys and does, but where there are does bucks are sure to (eventually) follow. Looks like the new spot may hold some promise if I can only break away for some hunting.

Stupid, Lame, Knucklheaded Doofus ...

2007-11-12T09:53:00.000-05:00

... That would be me. Went out hunting with me brother, Pops, November 3rd at the uncle's place in Lansing and boy what a chance I wasted.

The day started with a ride up and many discussions as he and I are apt to have, about work and Church and life and family. The drive up was worth the trip alone frankly. Then we arrived at the uncle's and backed in only to find the tractor path had been quite wet and the truck suck into the mud. Undeterred, we simply hopped out and got to the business we were there for, hunting, figuring we'd deal with being stuck later. it's good to have a farming uncle near by, tractors and all!

First thing we notice is hunters across the field. Then we hear a turkey cluck just 50 yards or so away but out of sight. Tried a few clucks and a bit of calling but she flew the coop, so to speak, so we grabbed our bows and headed in. He headed to the lower corner of the woods and I to the upper. About half way in just as I passed by the cabin he called to say a deer had kicked out my way but it musta veered 'cause I never saw it. Then as I neared the corner spot a doe came tearing out of the corner of the field (if I had been in place she would have flattened me) and headed towards Pops so I gave him a whisper on the talkies and kept moving. About 20-30 seconds later a second doe came tearing down with a 6-point hot on her tail and, again, headed right for Pops so I gave him another notice and continued. Then just moments after they went out of sight she reappears headed straight for me. And I'm just sauntering, with the bow at my side. So I froze and watched as she veered back towards the corner with the buck still in pursuit but falling a bit behind. As they pass I get out an arrow and get the bow in the correct hand and all but before I could complete getting ready the had made another lap so I froze again. After they passed again I quickly moved to about 10 yards from their loops, got set, drew an arrow and started following the buck's path. True to form they made a third loop and just as they turned broadside I whistled causing her to stop dead. Unfortunately the buck didn't care and kept tearing towards her so I quickly re-targeted on her and let loose ..... just as he got close enough to get her moving again, so I watched the arrow fly directly between them and disappear under the leaves. The buck and doe, still seemingly oblivious to me, then did a partial loop and turned and ran onto a neighboring hunt-club property. I never did find the arrow.

Well, as one might imagine this really got the heart rate up and I quickly walked the 70 yards to my corner spot and got set. Fifteen or twenty minutes later a yearling wandered into the field, just 45 yards away. Shortly after its momma came out as well and they had breakfast whilst ignoring a carefully orchestrated set of bleats and grunts from me until I heard a noise to me left. turning slowly, I caught site of three doe emerging from the brush with the front-runner walking right up 15 yards from me. Looking in my direction. Fortunately she noticed the two deer in the field and, while she was checking them out I drew another arrow and took aim. Umm, and took a shot. And she did what every other deer I've ever taken with a bow has done- ran a short distance and then stood there looking back in the general direction the noise came from (i.e. directly at me) and fortunately there happened to be a tree between her and me that blocked all but my bow from her. The other three doe (yep, there was a fourth doe with them that hadn't come into view until now) ran, each in a different direction so I stood still and waited. And waited. And waited. But she wouldn't drop and didn't give me a second shot. After about 20 minutes of a stand-off I heard a loud snort right behind me and slowly (VERY slowly) turned and saw three more doe who had wandered down the field edge. And they were looking right at me. And snorting. And they started across the field, watching me all the while and stopping every 20-30 yards and snorting some more. Eventually the two deer already in the field joining those three and, at that time, the deer I had shot at took a little jog towards Pops but never gave me another shot.

I went over to where she was standing to figure out what happened only to find no blood, not even a drop. Went back to where I took the shot, same thing. Looked around and located the arrow only to find a bit of white hair and a sliver of skin. After thinking about it a bit (post-accident reconstruction) I realized that, in my adrenaline hag-over from the earlier event, I had failed to follow through on my shot procedure and skipped one critical step- i hadn't touched my nose with the bow string, causing the shot to go low. From the evidence at hand it appears I gave her no more than the equivalent o a paper cut.

And there's more. After I told Pops about my adventures over the walkie I found out he had a 4-6 point buck walk up 10 yards behind him while he was watching for one of the deer I told him was coming his way but he never got a shot. So he started working his way up towards me. Some time after that I saw a 6-point 45 yards away with his nose to the ground, pushing leaves aside as he followed a doe's trail. No amount of bleating or grunting was sufficient to deter him from his intended path and he was too far into the hunt-club property for me to walk over and take a shot so off he went. Then I looked downhill only to see two deer about 100 yards away walking towards the cabin so I told Pops about 'em and tried some calls to get their attention. Shortly after they looped back and then looped again at about 70 yards away, then looped again to about 120 yards away. yes, the woods were full of loopy deer that day. You heard it here first!

After another loop I decided Pops needed a bit of excitement so I decided to try and 'push' the deer his way since they had been in sight for nearly an hour and were not really seeming to want to be shot. I started their way extremely slowly, I wanted them to know something was there and move but didn't want them to know I was 'big' and get spooked. Well, it worked and they started slowly walking down the hill towards Pops, right next to the old dirt town road he was stalking up. I even gave him a call to let him know what I was up to, though he didn't respond. I just figured maybe he was trying to stay stealthy.

The plan was working great until .... well .... the deer both veered slightly and stepped onto the old road. And I looked down the road and saw Pops walking up the road just 50 or so yards beyond the deer. And he didn't stop or freeze, just kept walking. The deer saw him and scooted onto the hunt-club land and disappeared. And Pops put his seat down and sat down.

Shortly after that we caught up with each other and put the whole story together. Pops was a bit on the tired side and had fallen asleep probably shortly before I had called to tell him about these two deer that I was pushing his way and so had no idea what I was up to. At he moment the deer crossed his path he was looking (intently it seems) towards the cabin because he thought there might be something in that direction and so he never saw the two that were 50 yards ahead of him, headed right at him.

By now it was about lunch time and we figured we'd head back and see about getting the truck unstuck. It was then that we noticed that my wood-trailer had lost it's back gate and so would have to improvise. We managed to get the truck out with minimal fuss and with no uncle-farmer intervention and went to the second task of the day, firewood, which we had done in short order and then headed to a local diner for lunch, to the uncle's to say hi and thanks for letting us hunt, then home. All in all a good hunting day even if we came back empty.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I just never thought about it during all the commotion. I'll try to be better next time.

Another day, another hunt

2007-11-02T15:00:00.000-04:00

Or maybe I should say, another day, first hunt of the year. And I saw nothing. If it weren't for the game cam it would have been a total loss and even that was disappointing. Oh, and just to top it off the new seat I made for the tree stand tore the first time I sat on it. Apparently the material I chose was not quite as strong as it felt in the fabric store. I never thought of tree STAND as such a literal title before.

And just how disappointing is this? The game cam was up 8 days and out of all of that captured three pics of one lonely doe within reach of my 'primary' tree stand. Woe is me! So now to try and figure out where them things are really running.

Not that she's a bad doe or anything, quite the contrary. However, it would have been nice to know that I would have more chances than one out of seven days. Since I can only get out once or twice a week that makes it tough to be there at the right time.

All Set But Time to Hunt

2007-10-27T20:28:00.000-04:00

Well, I've got the game cam out and up in hunting-ville.

And found the right tree for the tree stand.

Here's the view from the ground. I'll remember to get a pic of the sky-view when i actually get up there to hunt.

Then there's the ladder-stick, assembled and strapped ot the tree. 16 feet of sky ready to climb!

And then the tree stand, mounted and ready. Almost. Except I forgot the stabilizing strap and my safety harness, so no fooling around up there today.

And this is the deer-trail view of the stand and ladder. I think maybe they'll not be too startled by the view, huh?

And here's the brother's stand, just up/across the hill 30 yards or so.

And a view from the 'upper' stand that I will install next trip up.

Not bad, got it all ready to go only two weeks AFTER the season started. Now if I could just get out there .....

Getting ready for the season

2007-10-14T21:15:00.001-04:00

It all started with a couple naked tree stand seats. After years and years of service (and abuse) (and squirrel nibbling) the old seat fabric had ripped the year prior. They needed a bit of attention.

So out came my (wife's) trusty sewing machine. What? you say this is a hunting blog? Huh, go figure. What's with that?

A bit of new material to start with.

And a touch of thread. You know, the heavy stuff. 'Cuz I'm a hunter.

Little bit of cutting, little bit of sewing, and some crooked edges (yeah, this is for hunting not for the prom folks. Neatness counts ... against!

And soon they're done and ready to go. Oh, and an extra one for Grits 'cuz his ripped too. Just don't tell him, it's a secret!

So it's back to the naked stands.

Where they look almost like new. Too bad I'm so lazy that they ain't in the trees yet. Only about a month late, but who's counting? Happy hunting.

FYI- Credit to the links.

2007-09-09T19:57:00.000-04:00

Just an FYI on the links over there ====>

Stream Side rods and flies is the web site of my primary hunting/fishing partner over the years. I've spent almost as much time in the woods and on the streams with Jon than with everyone else combined. He makes dandy custom rods (worth every cent) and flies if you're in need. Or want. And if you ever want to find out which stories I tell are lies, he'd be able to set you straight! All I know about stream fishing I learned from Jon and about 1/3rd of my hunting knowledge came from him.

My buddy Bob was a co-worker for several years who is an avid outdoors man. I never had the pleasure of hunting or fishing with Bob but he's got some great stories and many times his stories have made me feel almost as though I was there. He was a pleasure to work with as well.

September 6th and 7th

2007-09-09T19:38:00.001-04:00

Three visitors at the apple tree. The clock is off but the date is accurate. Looks like maybe I should 'work' under the apple tree by night this hunting season.

And then the next morning, there they are again! Sure wish I knew what the real time was.

September 5th 2007

2007-09-06T20:33:00.000-04:00

Only one visitor tonight, but that still makes three nights in a row. Not bad.

September 4th 2007

2007-09-06T20:11:00.000-04:00

Another great night for apples ... and doe. Seems like the buck have disappeared

Three of 'em, not bad

Spots

September 3rd 2007

2007-09-06T20:04:00.001-04:00

This was a very good night for apples. There are three in this shot.

Spots!

Double-spots, looks like some delicious veal

Twink's first deer, October of 2005

2007-09-04T10:55:00.001-04:00

Kate's first deer came in her second season of bow hunting. About 10 minutes after opening time on our first day out this button buck and two of his friends, a yearling doe and a spike, came out to play. This little fella was kind enough to walk right into range at 15yds so Kate decided to take her shot. Unfortunately the lower limb of her bow tapped the tree stand and caused the buck to drop. Luckily for her he dropped forward slightly and the arrow found an artery in his neck. A few stumbles as he wandered down the hill and she had her first. Then we almost managed a double when the spike came just a step from letting me take a shot at 20yds.

Here she is with her prize. She even did most of the gutting.

Then we hung him up and she skinned him and butchered him. Delicious veal for all!

Twinky with squirrels

2007-09-04T10:46:00.001-04:00

Out at Grit's and Sue's for a bit of squirrel hunting for Twink. It was a beautiful day to be out.

Good thing it was a nice day 'cause there was only one squirrel that would come out and play. Here he is, posing for the camera.

A day out hunting in the cold can make one mighty hungry, Twink is not exception. Hang on girl, might want to re-think that
!

That's better. Ain't he cute? Or at least, wasn't he once cute?

Yes folks, she get's 'em and cleans 'em herself. What more can you ask for? Oh, perhaps a Dad that takes a picture of the finished product? You can ask but .....

Grit's collection

2007-09-04T10:14:00.000-04:00

Printed without permission (sorry Grits) here are some pictures of his display at one of the game dinners at Church.

If you want to see what Jon is up to, go check out Streamside Custom Rods & Flies. A great deal of my hunting and fishing excursions have been with Jon.

BTW- These pictures used without permission.

Deer at Church

2007-09-04T10:06:00.001-04:00

Well, looking at these almost makes you wanna come attend, huh? Views like these happen several times every week right outside the main doors. Leave your gun at home, however, as this is in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. There's a bit less than 100 acres of woods surrounded by homes, a car dealership, and a cemetary that is teeming with wildlife including deer and turkey that can be seen day or nitgh. They are so used to people coming in and out that they seldom spook. Oh, and the eat nearly every bit of shrubbery and flowers on the grounds.

2005 in Colorado

2007-09-04T09:57:00.000-04:00

OK, technically these two were at a game farm but I just like the picture so there!

A herd of big-horn sheep, just trying the highway out. There were slim-pickings so, after stopping traffic for a bit, they wandered back up the hill.

August 30th & 31st

2007-09-01T19:56:00.000-04:00

A couple doe:

Another evil-eyed doe:

And then just a week later

2007-08-24T20:54:00.000-04:00

Oh, and one little thing I learned: If you hang the cam where it catches a lot of leaves and you have a windy day the cam will take over 130 pictures of waving branches on a battery that's about half-charged.

A doe, looks maybe a bit bigger than the prior one.

She's loving them apples

Ducking behind the tree which is where the cam was hanging before.

And she comes back as the demon doe, eyes-a-blazing!

And just an hour or so later:

2007-08-24T20:35:00.000-04:00

This appears to be the same doe from before just an hour later. Guess they decided apples were worth being flashed for.

Deer but. Nondescript. Could be the doe.

Doe wash out. Really gotta move the cam. Looks like maybe she was bleating but with no sound I can't tell.

This doe hind shot almost makes her look like a roo in the outback, criky.

Up close and personal with the doe.

OK, so the cam ain't in the greatest position.

This is likely the doe again but it's hard to tell.

Overall not a bad little doe.

And finally our buck makes an appearance. Hard to tell, but he seems to be the same one as earlier.

Well, here we go with our first cam pics.

2007-08-24T20:30:00.000-04:00

Not bad, first time out with the game cam and we gots us a buck in velvet. I see 5 budding points and at least 1-2 out of view. And he appears to be saying something, sure wish this cam had sound.

About 10 minutes later the doe, who hadn't shown itself prior to this, takes off. She looks a hair small.

And our buck follows her off into the darkness.