Drought and heat not only hurting farmers, but wildlife as well.

     This post finds me a happily married man and enjoying married life!  The wedding on June 9th was amazing and Michelle and I are so thankful for all of our family and friends that shared the special day with us.  After that we went on our honeymoon to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen...other than a treestand during the rut of course! lol  Michelle just finished her Masters Degree, which is amazing, I'm so proud of her.
     The rest of the summer has been bad to say the least.  This is the worst summer drought and heat that I have ever seen.  All of the farmers in the area are hurting.  The crops look terrible and are burning up.  Not only has this summer been bad for farmers, it's also very hard on wildlife.  Ponds, rivers, and creeks are drying up and it's harder for wildlife to find water.  They get quite a bit of their water from vegetation, so that has been a problem as well.  There are three components to a whitetail buck growing big antlers...genetics, nutrition, and age.  Normally, a mature buck has no trouble getting the proper nutrition to reach its potential.  This year however, most mature bucks will struggle to reach their potential because of the lack of nutrition.  Food plots are struggling for most hunters and the crops are even worse.  Because of this, mature buck hunters might want to pass on some of their hit-listers and hope they make it another year.  My food plots are actually doing pretty well...the alfalfa is pretty thick, the clover is starting to fill in, and the chicory is doing amazing.  I've never seen chicory so big.  We just mowed and baled it for the first time this year and we got several round bales off of it.  The weeds were starting to take over a little bit, but the mowing really helped.  The deer have really been hitting it hard, you can see where they have been cutting the plants off.  The prairie grass hasn't germinated yet, but that's normal because it usually takes 3 months.  I am worried how it will fare with the drought though.
     The heat has had a huge impact on wildlife viewing because the deer haven't been coming out until after dark.  It's been a little bit of a struggle to see big bucks in the evening.  Fields that I normally see "shooters" in are only producing small bucks and does.  The big boys just aren't moving that much because of the lack of water and high temps.  I have however, been getting some decent pictures of mature bucks on trail cams.  I didn't at first, but I had some real nice pics when I checked the cams last week.  I can only hope that we keep getting some rain here and there to keep the food plots going through fall.  I am getting ready to plant my turnips this week and I hope that they grow well so the deer have a nice crop to eat during the winter.  I still have a couple of stands to put up and cut shooting lanes for.  Other than that, we are ready to roll for the fall.  I said "we" because I just bought Michelle a Hoyt Kobalt, so she will be bow hunting for the first time in her life.  I can't wait to get it down to Dead End Archery and get it set up for her so she can start shooting!  It's going to be great to spend more time together in the great outdoors.
     I really feel sorry for the people that live in cities or don't hunt because they have no idea what they are missing.  I take it for granted sometimes, because I've done this my whole life, but I can't imagine not being a hunter or outdoorsman...and I can't imagine living in the city.  You couldn't pay me enough to live there.  It's one of the single greatest things you can do to help the environment and keep wildlife populations in check, not to mention it's just good clean fun.  God put wild animals on earth for us to hunt...all of our ancestors did it at some point.  Organizations like PETA try to take our God-given right to hunt away from us, yet they don't do anything to try to help keep wildlife populations under control.  They don't even take care of domestic animals.  Last year alone, they euthanized 98% of their dogs and cats in "no kill" shelters because they couldn't find homes for them.  Uneducated groups like this are part of the problem with the world we live in.  That's all I will say on this topic...for now.  I think I will dedicate a post to this topic at another time...maybe during season.  That's the beauty of having my own blog...I can say whatever the hell I want!! lol  I hope everyone's food plots are doing decent and that you have all of your stands put up.  Keep shooting your bows and pray for rain!!        

On to summer, a wedding, and bachelor groups

The turkey season has ended and the food plots are planted.  The seed has germinated and the first sprouts of clover, alfalfa, and oats have popped through the ground and are growing rapidly.  I killed my first ever turkey this year and it just happened to be on our new property.  It was a double-bearded tom with a 12 inch beard and spurs over an inch long.  He wasn't a huge bodied bird, but still weighed right at 20lbs.  I hunted hard and it finally paid off when three toms came to my calls and decoys on the morning of May 1st.  Soon after turkey season ended we had the land tilled and cultivated, then we seeded it with several acres of clover, alfalfa, and chicory, and the rest in prairie grass for bedding.  I'm also going to plant some turnips later in the summer.  We were lucky enough to get everything in just as the rains came, which really aided in the germination.  I was just out there a few minutes ago to check it and everything has really started to grow.  We definitely need more rain, which we should get later this week.  Now it's time to sit back, pray for rain, and enjoy spending the rest of the summer checking the cameras and watching the antler growth of the bachelor groups in their summer feeding patterns.  The highlight of the summer however, will be our wedding, which is less than two weeks away.  I can't believe it's here already.  Everything has gone by so fast.  I am really excited to marry my best friend and soul mate.  I'm lucky enough to have someone who loves spending time in the outdoors almost as much as I do.  The honeymoon is in the Dominican Republic, which we are both really looking forward to.  As hectic as everything has been, it's going to be so nice to just sit back, relax, and spend some time together away from our busy lives.  I hope everyone has a great summer.  Good luck with the food plots and hopefully you get some good pictures of mature bucks on camera!          

Thunder Chickens and Food Plots

This is my first post since last winter, or what most people would call winter.  It was more like fall going straight into spring.    Turkey season is just 15 days away here in Indiana and I for one cannot wait.     We have been seeing turkeys on our new property almost every time we are out there.  Dad and I put a blind up a few weeks ago, and the turkeys have had no trouble adjusting to it.  I sat in it one morning a couple of weeks ago and called in 3 hens and a big tom.  I got some really good footage of the tom in full strut.  Tonight I saw a big tom in full strut with 2 hens on the property as well.  It's time to start locating birds and putting them to roost so they are easier to hunt when season gets here.  It is also time to start getting food plots in the ground.  A lot of people put their cool season grasses in the ground when we had our warm weather last month.  The cold weather that we have had lately will really stunt the growth, especially if you have already planted warm season grasses, they need a much warmer ground temperature than the cool season grasses.  I have held off and will plant mine at the end of the month.  I am planting 4 acres of warm season grasses including big bluestem, indian grass, and switchgrass.  This will be used as bedding and nursery areas.  I am also planting 3 acres of cool season grasses including ladino clover, alsike clover, alfalfa, and chicory as forage.  I will also plant about a half acre of turnips later in the summer for winter forage.  Brassicas are sour until after the first hard frost and then become sweeter and more palatable.  Deer won't touch them until this time.  We now have a lane on the property where our future driveway will be, so we can actually drive back there and get equipment back to work the ground.  Things are really coming together.  I hope my next post will be about the world record turkey that I kill opening week.  Happy Hunting!  

A New Era

It's been awhile since I last posted on here and quite a bit has happened.  Late season is over, a new year has begun, and the Hoosiers are back in the top 25!  It's so good to see IU basketball back where it belongs, we are currently ranked #12 in the country.  It's also time to start rabbit hunting and predator hunting.  I took our beagle, Cammy, out the other day when we got some snow to let her get after some rabbits.  She's a little rusty, but it didn't take her long to get back in the swing of things and start producing that beautiful music that beagle owners love to hear.  The only problem is that the weather isn't cooperating much.  We have only had a couple small snows that amounted to a dusting.  We have had the three W's that hunters hate to hear...warm, wet, and windy.  I plan on getting the coyote calls out pretty soon and going after some "yotes" as well.  With the new year, begins a new era for my family and I. We finally purchased some property and my fiance' and I are going to build a home on the property in a couple of years.  The property also has some of the best whitetail hunting in the county.  I finally get to dabble in food plots for the first time.  I can't tell you how excited I am, although it is really overwhelming trying to pick out what types of forage to put out and where.  You have perennials versus annuals and you have early season forage versus late season forage and you also have to make sure you have a diversity of plants for the deer to eat.  I look forward to spring so I can start working the ground and turning it into my dream property.  I can finally start managing the deer and farming for wildlife.  Also in this new era, my fiance' Michelle and I are getting married.  The wedding is in June and we couldn't be more excited.  This is a very exciting time as we begin our life together.  We need this happiness after the sadness that my family and I have been through after my nephew was killed 6 months ago.  It has been the hardest and most depressing time of my life and I hope that this new year and era helps bring some closure and restore some of the happiness in our lives.  Good luck to everyone in the coming year.  Get out in the great outdoors and enjoy some rabbit and predator hunting, just be safe while doing so.  Go Hoosiers!!              

It's Time!!

Okay boys and girls, it's that time!  If you have to pick one week to hunt the rut, this is it.  Time to take vacation, call in sick, or quit your jobs because starting right now is the absolute best time to be in the woods.  The rut is at its peak from a hunting standpoint and the bucks are chasing and tending does.  I didn't hunt this morning, but I climbed up in a stand in my back yard that I use to see across the property where I hunt, and I saw 2 bucks chasing does in about 20 minutes.  The shorter days combined with the the cold temperatures make it the prime time to go after mature bucks.  You want to hunt transition areas or pinch points between doe feeding and bedding areas.  In the mornings, you want to catch the deer heading back to their beds and in the evening, you want to catch them leaving their beds as they head to feeding areas.  Make sure to play the wind, you want to make sure that you are downwind of where the deer will come from.  This is just the rule of thumb because at this time of year, the bucks can come from anywhere.  If you hunt the does, the bucks won't be far behind.  Break out the aggressive rattling and calling sequences.  If you see a good buck that won't come into range, use a snort wheeze to challenge him onto range.  Each individual buck is different, some are aggressive by nature and some are passive.  Some bucks are harder to call in than others, but it's worth a shot this time of year.  You never know.  Decoys also work well this time of year, so don't be afraid to try them, just make sure they are completely scent free.  Wear gloves to handle it and spray it down with scent killer after you set it up.  The biggest key to this time of year is to be out there, you can't kill one from your recliner.  Deer movement is at its peak right now, the bucks are on their feet most of the day so spend as much time as you can in the woods.  Good luck and be safe.  

Pre-Rut starting to heat up

The Pre-Rut is starting to heat up here in our area.  I have noticed a few small bucks scent-checking does and I'm starting to see bucks by themselves rather than being in their social groups which is common in early fall.  It's time to start some light calling sequences such as buck grunts, doe bleats, and light sparring sessions.  It's also time to start putting some scent out to see if we can get a good buck within bow range.  A mock scrape and/or doe in estrous scent placed about 30 yards upwind or with an adjacent wind works well this time of year.  I wouldn't do a lot of blind calling right now, but a few grunts and a couple of sparring sequences should get the attention of a cruising buck that is within earshot.  If you see a good buck, go ahead and throw a few grunts or light rattling his way to see how he responds.  You might also try a few doe bleats and see if that gets him interested.  Make sure you don't call when the buck is looking at you because they can pinpoint where a sound comes from with uncanny accuracy.  Be prepared to shoot after you call because if a buck decides to come in, he might be there in seconds and you have to be ready for a shot.  Don't get caught unprepared...trust me, you don't want to learn the hard way.  You might only get one chance at a mature buck and then never see him again.  You have to make every opportunity count.  In about another week or so, if the temperatures stay cool, it will be time to let the loud, aggressive calling loose.  Good luck out there!    

Whirlwind of a season

Well, the 2011 Archery Season is upon us.  Opening weekend was decent...pretty cool with a slight breeze.  I was lucky enough to take a big doe opening morning.  I followed that up with my second hunt of the year on Monday, the 3rd.  I took my biggest bow kill to date, a big 11 pointer.  I haven't hunted since, due to work and the horrible heat and high winds we've been having as of late.  I am going to get after it again this weekend.  A cold front is moving through on thursday and after the rain ends, it should be some really good hunting, possibly the best of the short season thus far if the winds don't pick up too much.  This season is a tough one for me as I lost my nephew, best friend, and hunting partner, Tyler Potts just a few short months ago.  He was on his motorcycle and was killed by a senseless, incompetent driver that never bothered to look before she turned into oncoming traffic.  After it happened, I wasn't sure I could ever hunt again without him.  As time went on, I quickly realized that I needed bowhunting more than anything because it was what Tyler and I loved to do together.  We lived for it.  As the season drew closer, I wanted nothing more than to get out in the woods in order to hopefully start the healing process.  I knew it was going to be a crazy season for me because of the bond Tyler and I had with the great outdoors.  I wasn't disappointed...2 hunts...2 deer on the ground, including my best bow buck ever.  I know in my heart that Tyler had a hand in delivering those deer to me.  It was like they were reading a script.  I have several trailcam pics of the buck that I took and when I first saw him on film, I made the choice to go after that buck alone on this property.  Both arrows were perfectly placed and  neither deer made it more than 50 yards after the shot.  Both were a very emotional experience for me.  Normally Tyler would have been right there beside me jumping and yelling, but instead I had to soak it all in alone.  I hope the rest of the season is as crazy as the start.  I can't wait to get back after it this weekend!