One of the Most Dangerous Animals

It was just after daybreak. I had watched her for about 30 minutes in the dark as she worked her way across the field.  She was both beautiful and dangerous. In fact, if you think about it, most things in nature share those two attributes.

Mount Everest is one example. The largest mountain in the world has enticed many a climber with her glorious beauty. She is also a killer. Nearly everyone that has ventured to the summit has come back with either parts of their bodies missing and damaged through frostbite or falls or parts of their soul grieving for the bodies they spot on the way to or from the peak. It is too dangerous to return the fallen, so the climbers that did not make lay scattered throughout the mountain. Having made authors such as Jon Krakauer and Anatoli Boukreev famous with their stories of Everest’s ferocity, it still isn’t close to causing the death, destruction, and disease of the beast that was in front of me.

Niagara with all her history and splendidness is also a devout widow-maker. She has power that few things or places on this world could ever compare to. Many times you can visit something that is regarded as larger than life and then once you get there you realize “wow, it’s not nearly as impressive as I thought it was.” Not Niagara Falls. It actually is beyond what you can imagine. The force of the water slapping the rocks below, the spray that results towering higher than any building it is very impressive. From miles away the sound and spray can be seen. Many daredevils have ventured down the river on their way to the drop. Only a few have survived. Yet it still does not contend with what stood just yards away from me.

Yes, this was the moment. Her kind was scarce just a few decades ago. Through both management and mismanagement she began to flourish however. In fact she is so common throughout the state that North Carolina has allowed unlimited harvest. She destroys landscapes. She decimates food crops. And during the months of October through December she especially burdensome to travelers. She fears not the would-be driver and often will head for direct impact. She also shares parasites, mites, and ticks with both people and pets.

This would be my chance to turn the tables. It had now been nearly an hour after I first saw her. I was not sure I would get an opportunity. She walked from left to right out of the swamp, occasionally pulling up soybeans as she strolled through the field. Patiently I waited. For some reason she turned. I remained still and steadfast sitting on the lock-on stand. She made another turn offering my movement to grab my bow without her noticing. She then turned back toward me once again. I could tell she was completely unaware of my presence. Her ears twitching away from me and back toward the swamp gave away her lack of insight. A little closer, that is all I needed.

Then she walked towards the stand and was only a few yards away. No clear shot for her vitals, I knew I still had one shot available. Nearly directly under me I set the sights. With one steady pull the string and arrow locked in place on the Pearson Stealth II. My right index finger slowly moved up and over the release trigger. Instinctively, the pin glided to the intended point of impact and the trigger was grazed.

The spine shot laid down the doe immediately. Thirty seconds later and another deer would be done.

Video: Archery Spine Shot on a Deer

Video of a deer hunt this weekend in which the result was a spine shot with the bow. The deer expired in 30 seconds after impact (edited on video to prevent graphic nature).

 

 

 

Dixie Deer Classic 2013

Each year around this time I endure an annual pilgrimage that takes me to all corners of the Earth.  I encounter some of the most unique, revered, and feared beasts.  One particular animal stands out amongst all others though.

If a deer hunter, and I mean a hardcore, thinks about hunting 25 hours per day 8 days a week, big buck down dreaming deer hunter were to die and go to Heaven, this place would still surpass anything he could envision.  Whitetails by the hundreds surround you.  The chatter in the air consists of voices telling story after story of deer taken by bow, crossbow, rifle, muzzleloader, and dogs.

There are also the sounds of the ones that got away.  The big one that stepped out just after dark or left just before daylight.  The monster that stared right into the eyes of the hunter as if to dare him to take the shot and consume the hunter with excitement, anxiety, and sheer madness to the point of either not taking the shot or fumbling altogether.  The one that does not induce buck fever, but rather buck plague!

Yes, the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh is one of the premiere hunting exhibitions not only in the Southeast, but the whole country.  Too big for just one roof, the DDC as it is commonly called fills up a good portion of the North Carolina State Fairgrounds for a three day extravaganza.

World class guides and outfitters stand at the ready to convince you the next trip of a lifetime is within reach.  Break-out sessions offering instruction covering everything from quality game and land management to how to call turkeys in close are there to enhance your hunting experiences.  Well known and well regarded outdoorsman personalities are there to offer encouragement and share their wisdom as well.

Last year I interviewed Steven Rinella, who is one of the featured guests this year.  Rinella offered me an advance copy of his book Meateater before its national release.  A great book that told the story of what hunting means to him.  While he has done some things wrong in the past, his story mirrors most peoples.  He understands the benefits of proper game management through the events in his life.  He recently partnered with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and has become an advocate for proper management to maintain ongoing, sustainable land and wildlife resources.

Another guest will be Tom Miranda.  Miranda is the first person to successfully take all 29 big game species in North America with archery equipment on film.  In the annuls of history, Miranda will be mentioned with other great outdoorsmen of North America that include Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Teddy Roosevelt, Art Young, Fred Bear, and Chuck Adams.  Think about it.  Not only did he hunt each species, but he harvested the animal.  He closed the distance enough to take it successfully with a bow.  And he did it while being filmed.  One other thing, they were all trophy sized animals as well.

Looking at both Rinella’s and Miranda’s youth, it seems they could have been brothers.  Both grew up and spent time in the upper Michigan area.  Both fueled their passion for nature through trapping.  They both tried to make a career out of what has become a lost art in today’s world.  Trapping was their entry.  Hunting became their legacy.

Our world now encourages youth to stay inside and use computers for both play, study, and work.  They grew up learning to be self reliant.  Middle schoolers now receive iPads and are taught how to use a calculator, word processor, and spreadsheet.  When I was in school we were taught how to do arithmetic, calculus, and physics with pencil, paper, and often, a very big eraser.

The world has changed.  If we do not build the excitement in both youth and new hunters, the very things we enjoyed growing up and the things that Rinella now fights for will become a distant memory only to be studied in text books.

Shows such as the Dixie Deer Classic and later this summer the Southern Trophy Hunter show in Greensboro can help ignite the fire.  Take someone who has never hunted, whether youth or adult, and look at their eyes as they enter.  You will see the same awe and twinkle that Miranda had as he stalked another record book beast.

The Dixie Deer Classic runs March 1-3 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC.

Wife Knows Best

I first want to thank both the Wilson Times and Yancey County News on these last two years of allowing me to share stories with their readers. January 18th marks 2 years since I had my first deadline. Also, I want to share that Bill Howard's Outdoors will now also run in the Concord Independent Tribune, Hickory Daily Record, Marion-McDowell News, Morganton News Herald, and the Statesville Record & Landmark. I look forward to many years of sharing and promoting the outdoors.

      Sometimes you should just listen to your wife. Like the time I was told to wash dark clothes in warm water and light clothes in cold water. Or was it dark clothes in cold water and light clothes in warm water? See. I should have listened. My camo came out more tie-dyed than when it went in the washing machine.

      Rusty Owens had one of these moments recently as well. Not with washing his clothes, but still…
      The last day of deer season Rusty headed out to his hunting club. The weather was nasty. Wet, cold, windy. Not really enticing unless you are duck hunting. Those ducks, well they like the nastiest weather. But for deer hunting, they just don’t get up and out like the ducks do in weather like that.
      Rusty chatted with his hunting buddies for a while that morning and then headed back to the house. He got back in time to eat lunch with his wife Windy. This is not the part where Rusty should have listened to his wife. Not yet anyway.
      Rusty thought about the season after lunch. He remembered this unique buck he had on camera back in July. That buck was on the hit list. He patterned the buck for a couple of months. The buck appeared on camera as regular as a senior on prune juice. Things changed once September rolled around though. The deer was not seen. Not on Rusty’s trail camera anyway. And none of the other members mentioned seeing the unusual buck during the season.
      Rusty tried to watch television, but couldn’t settle on any particular show. The flashback of the season just kept playing in his mind. Windy could tell he was antsy. Finally, here it comes, Windy told him to just go on back out to the hunting club and give it one last shot. “It’s the last day of the season,” she said, “You’ll regret it the rest of the year if you don’t go one last time.”
      Rusty didn’t listen. You see, women are wise. Women become wise somewhere between “I do” and the birth of the first child. I have seen many women make mistakes before this stage in life. I have very little experience of women making those same mistakes after this stage in life. Granted, I really only have my wife and my mother to truly relate to this theory, but based on that the theory holds 2 to nothing.
      Rusty moped around the house for while longer. Then, around 3:45pm, Rusty had an epiphany. Windy is usually right! “I’m going hunting!” he told her. He quickly donned his hunting clothes and drove the 30 minute drive back to the hunting club.
      He was up in his stand at 4:35pm. There was less than an hour left in the season and several of the other hunters were running dogs earlier that afternoon. It did not seem promising, but he figured he would close the season out just the same as he started; he would sit the same stand and appreciate the little time he had.
      Rusty constantly scanned the fields, and at 5:25pm he spotted a buck walking toward him. The buck kept his head down toward the ground as it strolled. Rusty could make out it was an 8 pointer. The antlers were also extended past the outside of its ears indicating this was a shooter. The last day, the last few minutes, and here was an opportunity.
Rusty steadied his .25-06 Browning A-bolt. With the sight locked in, Rusty gently squeezed the trigger. The 115 grain Nosler Boat Tail ballistic tip bullet spiraled toward the vitals and the buck dropped in its tracks. Rusty’s last shot of the season was true.
      As Rusty approached the downed whitetail he spotted an extra tine at the base of the left antler. Could this be? He knelt down after confirming the kill and it became apparent. This was the deer. This was the one on his hit list. The uniqueness of an extra ‘beam’ protruding about 3 inches below the main left beam just above the eye was the same as he saw nearly half a year earlier on his trail camera while the deer was still in velvet. The same deer that none of the other hunters had even spotted but also vanished from Rusty’s scouting notes. He was successful.
      He listened to his wife.

Chasing Ghosts

I have been chasing a ghost for awhile now.  Well, let me clarify a little.  I have not actually been chasing a ghost, more like a deer that just will not show when I need him to.  And by awhile, I mean since the second weekend in September.  A pursuit this long usually ends with one party or the other finally making a mistake or giving up.

When the rut kicks in, the old wise alpha bucks tend to lose their sense of survival.  So after a little over two months of sitting in the stand, a hunter knows the mistake may finally happen.  I missed a weekend of hunting, and I was anxious to get back in the tree to see if my ghost, my opponent so to speak, would finally let down his defense and give me the opportunity I have been waiting for.

My ghost, he has not been invisible to me.  In fact, we have grown to know each other well over the last couple of months.  I patterned him early in the season.  My first day hunting had me realize he had outsmarted me.  I knew he would go through one area, only to have a gut instinct that something had changed.  Sure enough, I moved my stand that evening and the next day I spotted him.  I found out he would hit the area early.  Real early.  3:30am early.  He would stay until daylight.  But for me to get in the stand and have a shot at him in daylight, I would have to beat him to the area.  This meant I had to be there before 3:30am.

So, the chess game stepped up a notch.  I moved my pawn, he countered with a knight.  I attacked with my rook; he placed his bishop in a defensive position for protection.  In other words, I would get in the stand at 3am, and he would come in at 4:00am.  Only he would leave about 30 minutes before shooting time.

The full moon tested my patience.  His entries into the field gradually became later and I followed his lead and would get an extra 30 minutes of sleep.  But oh that full moon.  One morning I must have been in the stand for over an hour without even hearing an owl hoot.  The darkness can cause you to see things that aren’t there, and make you miss things that are.  It was approaching 5am and the clouds would occasionally open up just enough to make shadows move.  I knew nothing was below me, but I could see the light colored dirt in the field for 60 or 70 yards.  I would catch a shadow move in my peripheral vision and slowly turn my head and widen my eyes to gather all the light I could.  Then I would figure out the shadow I saw move was the same shadow that had been there for the last hour.

The full moon then blew through the cloud canopy.  Having grown accustomed to the low light, it seemed as though I was looking at the field in the middle of the day.  I spotted a large off-white object way out in the field, maybe 150 to 200 yards.  I wondered if it may be my ghost, but figured it had to be just some brush reflecting the moon beams.  I looked behind me and the tree I was in to see a raccoon waddling about 15 yards from me.  At first I could not make out whether it was a raccoon or an opossum, but as he neared I could make out the bands on his tail and his burglar’s mask over his eyes.  I watched in amusement and curiosity as he neared the corn pile, walking circles around it for about 30 seconds before leaving.

I remembered the brush and looked back in that direction…only to see it in a different location.  I was able to watch it walk across the field toward me.  I knew immediately this was my ghost.

Part of me grew excited for getting the chance to confront this adversary once again.  The other part of me knew it was much too early for this game to play out to my advantage, as he did not look like he was in the mood to visit for any amount of time.

He approached the feed pile.  I gazed at him trying to see if I could make out individual tines on his massive crown of bone.  I could not.  What I could make out though was whatever he was wearing was wide and tall.  It nearly glistened in the moonlight.  And his body…my, what a body.  It was huge.  I had seen several does from this stand over the hunting season, and this bruiser was definitely not one of those.  As I figured, he had no intention of hanging around.  In fact, he never lowered his head to the bait.  He just stood there, looking at the horizon (in my direction, although I was nearly 25 feet high).  He then turned and walked toward my left, then behind me, and finally to my right.  In other words, he came straight to me, circled my stand, and exited the field on the other side.

He won.  The pursuit would continue.

So this weekend I had another chance to go after him after a brief reprieve.  The stand was almost like a sabbatical from the daily grind of real life.  The cool wind offered freshness that my lungs and mind gripped wholeheartedly.  Then I heard a loud crash behind me.

I came home from the hunt, unlocked the door, and walked up to my wife.  “How’d it go?” asked Susan.

I paused, wanting the right words to come out.  I took a deep breath.  “Well, he came out.  I watched him for 30 minutes.   No further than 10 yards away.”  I could see Susan’s eyes widening.  “I waited for the shot to present itself, as he was behind a limb.  Finally, he stepped that one extra step I needed.  I slowly gripped the bow and hooked my release to the string.  I flexed my fingers on my bow hand, conscious of the fact a white knuckle grip would cause me to miss the shot.  I slowly drew the string.  The 70 pound pull was non-existent with the adrenaline flowing.  I held it back for what seemed an eternity, although it was roughly 30 to 45 seconds.  Then I let off the draw.  I eased it down.  I couldn’t take the shot.”

My daughter who was listening in held her mouth agape with the revelation of what I had just said.  My wife asked “Why?  Why didn’t you shoot?!?”

“Because, I was worried if I had shot that squirrel, the deer I was after would never come out.”

So, as for me and my ghost, we will continue to taunt each other during the season until one of us makes a mistake or gives up.

Quality Management Pays Off

Brian was in the stand early that Monday afternoon.  For the last hour, he watched as a small buck and doe grazed in the field in front of him.  They were skittish, seeming to understand something was not quite right.  However, the wind was to Brian’s favor and try as they might, Brian’s scent would not be found in their direction.

Then, in just a matter of moments, the field was populated with another four bucks and one more doe.  Brian sensed his target would be showing himself soon.  After all, Brian had the ‘big one’ on camera at consistent times since he began scouting several months earlier.  But the story does not end here, nor begin here.

Brian Rhew with his 146 7/8 in 192 lb Orange County giant.

Brian first learned how to hunt deer when he was 8 or 9 years old.  His uncle, Jesse Lennon, ran a household of 13.  Uncle Jesse taught Brian how to hunt.  Hunting was a necessity for the Bladen County family as a means of survival.  The deer meat provided many meals for a family of that size.

About fifteen years ago Brian took up bowhunting.  He appreciated the technique and it provided a way to hunt a longer season.  Just six years ago his mindset changed.

By providing for his own family, the deer meat was not as much of a priority in his hunting excursions.  He became much more serious about bowhunting and his chance to come closer to the game he was pursuing.  He also began managing his land and game to allow for a healthier, stronger, more mature herd.

His management paid off.

The opening weekend of bow season in 2010, just three years after he began his plan, Brian connected on a mainframe 9 point whitetail measuring 123 inches.  Pope and Young record book takes entries at 125 inches and larger net score.  Just a couple of inches kept Brian’s efforts from making book.  But all was not lost.  In fact, everything was working out perfectly.

Opening weekend of bow season in 2011, Brian was again in pursuit.  Proper scouting and management techniques once again paid off.  Brian connected on a 10 pointer.  This one measured 138 inches, easily making it one of the bigger deer taken in North Carolina during the year by bow, and making Pope and Young record book.

Now, here in 2012, Brian was waiting.  Brian supplemented his herd with a mineral site throughout the year.  In June, Brian began putting out corn to offer another food source and establish a routine for the deer that grazed on his land.  His trail cameras showed a buck developing a huge crown.  Brian recognized the deer.  It was a nice 8 pointer the previous year.  He passed on it when he took his record book buck.

So Brian waited in his lock-on stand, five bucks and 2 doe were near him.  He knew the big one should be showing up soon as he did each day on the camera photos.  He anticipated a splendid opening day just a couple of days earlier, to the extent of having a friend there to film the hunt.  Unfortunately, two different storms passed through the area late in the day.   When lightning started flashing, the linesman for Piedmont Electric realized it was time to go.  The buck would have to wait for another day, but he would not wait for long.  This would be the day.

The monster stepped out and moved to the corn.  Brian drew his Mathews Z7 Extreme bow armed with a Rage 2 blade 100 grain mechanical broadhead at 5:12pm Monday, September 10th.  Just twenty one yards separated Brian from the trophy he had watched for over two years.  At over 300 feet per second, the twenty one yards was traversed quickly by the arrow as it hit its mark.

Brian Rhew paid tribute to the 192 pound Orange County buck shortly afterwards.  The mainframe 9 pointer with 3 sticker points measured 146 7/8 inches green (green means the score is not official yet as the rack is required to dry for 60 days before an official measurement can be taken).  Now Brian had a once-a-lifetime trophy and a freezer full of venison.  Uncle Jesse would have been proud.

Special Moments to Last a Lifetime

I was having a conversation with someone a few months ago who was planning what I would call a dream hunt.  He is on the young side, mid to late 20’s, but was forgoing some of the common extras in life to make the hunt possible.  When I mentioned the particular hunt he was scheduling is usually something someone much older usually takes, he told me of a saying his father had taught him.  “Do the special things young, that way you have the rest of your life to enjoy the memories.”

Haley Price is a 19 year old student at North Carolina State University, majoring in agricultural business management.  She seems to be your typical county girl.  Her father got her involved in hunting back when she was 12 years old.  Through her teenage years, her passion for hunting remained.  When she was 16, she decided to try bowhunting, even though her father is not a bowhunter himself.  She enjoys bowhunting so much; she hardly ever uses her rifle any longer.

When she was 17 years old, she was hunting some land in South Carolina near the North Carolina border.  She did not live far from the border, so she frequently hunted in both states.  She took her first deer with her bow there.  A clean 26 yard shot.  The same day she took her first deer, a feral hog appeared.  From 17 yards, she was able to take a nice double.  Things like that make memories of a lifetime.

But Haley was not done.  Opening day of bow season here in North Carolina brought some excitement to the young lady.  Haley had gained access to land in Forsyth County a year ago.  She immediately set trail cameras on the land to start the scouting.  One particular location on the land showed many bucks, and as the season opener drew near, she decided this would be the place to hunt.



Haley Price with her 120 1/8 inch Velvet Buck taken.

The deer showed movement after 3:00pm on the cameras each day, and Haley would be ready.  She set up in her stand at 12:40pm.  This would allow a couple of hours of quiet before the deer started moving.  Patiently she sat, and just as her scouting had revealed, a nice buck came out in the open shortly after 3:00pm.  She readied her Hoyt Trykon compound.  She released the arrow as the deer stood 24 yards away.  And down he went.  Haley had scored a huge 5 by 5 buck in velvet.

This particular buck had not shown up on any of Haley’s cameras.  He just happened to be at the right place at the right time for Haley to take the shot.  The buck scored 120 1/8 inches net.  This was big enough to take the North Carolina State record for typical velvet by a female.  Her work had paid off regardless if the deer had been seen before or not.

Haley is a fan of rocker and hunter Ted Nugent.  She is capable of pulling 60 pounds draw weight, but has her Hoyt set to 54 pounds.  Nugent was stated anything over 55 pounds is wasted.  Following Nugent’s philosophy, Haley showed that 54 pounds is enough to bring down a monster.  She dreams of one day landing her own hunting television show, and next year she will appear on a local show called HuntFX.

Haley certainly has done some special things at a young age, and now she has memories she can enjoy for the rest of her life.

A Little Hardware from the Dixie Deer Classic

This will not be my normal post, that will come Thursday.  But I did want to share a little hardware I recieved from the Dixie Deer Classic and North Carolina Bowhunters Association banquet.

Largest Beaver taken by bow 2011

Second Place Best Photo

Yes, I am in the photo and I took the photo.  Amazing how those timers work! (It did take a few tries to get the shot I wanted...)

Trophy vs Experience

Is it the experience, or the trophy? 

This weekend I spent the better part of the days waiting on huge antlers to cross the curtain at the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh.  Saturday kicked in with, now this is hear-say, a record attendance for one day.  Friday and Sunday were not bad, but Saturday forced show goers to walk shoulder to shoulder at times.

While the number of heads to be scored seemed slower than past years, the quality was certainly there.  A scorer at a trophy show such as the Dixie Deer Classic is given some basic training, and usually paired with another experienced scorer during his first event.  Typical racks rarely present a problem.  Cut and dry measurements are taken in which the main issues are usually mistakes in adding fractions or judgments on whether something is a point or not and whether the measurement on the ruler should be rounded up or down an 8^th of an inch.

Steven Patterson, Bill Howard, Cole Carr, and Amanda Carr
scoring at the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh, NC.
Photo by Ryan Miller

For non-typical racks, things can be a little trickier.  Often, the ones with a lot of ‘junk’ are left to the brave souls willing to attempt what amounts to a tedious, and time consuming ordeal.  Properly trained scorers usually make the right calls on these interesting and challenging antlers.  Then, there are some that require judgment calls that can affect the overall scores greatly.  Without getting to deep in the science, maybe even art, of scoring tough antlers, scorers take it very seriously and often recruit help from other trained scorers for their opinions as well.  Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young trained scorers take on the difficult, and potential record book mounts with passion that is often equal to the same passion the hunter exudes on his trophy quest.  Accuracy is first and foremost the top priority in order to properly honor the game animal.

Now to answer the question from the beginning of this column.  Sunday, a hunter was dissatisfied with the score received on his deer.  In order to assure proper measurements were taken, not only did another scorer volunteer to re-score the trophy, but a panel of scorers worked together on the deer.  The deer was mounted in a beautiful half body pose.  The rack, still in velvet as the deer was taken early in the season, had what appeared to be a split in the main beam of the right antler.  This is where the judgment call came into play.  If one part of the split was taken as the main beam over the other, it could sway the official score by a rather large sum.  My opinion was also the opinion of other more experienced scorers, and resulted in a lower score.  The hunter was visibly disappointed.

But my response was it was a beautiful deer, an outstanding example of taxidermy, and a trophy that could and should be valued for a lifetime.  Couple that with the actual experience of not only seeing such a wonderful animal in the wild, but successful in the harvesting of that animal, and there should be no disappointment what so ever.  If we only hunt for the trophy, the experience means less.  However, if we hunt for the experience, then the trophy means much more.

Dixie Deer Classic 2012

The trophy hunt shows are in full swing throughout the nation.  North Carolina is no exception.  March 2 through March 4 brings one of the largest shows in the Southeast to Raleigh.  Each year the Wake County Wildlife club puts together outfitters, guides, and venders from throughout the United States to show off their businesses, share their expertise, and set many of us dreaming of future hunting trips.

It is not very often one can talk to one person about hunting whitetail, move several feet down the line and learn about hunting grizzlies in Alaska, then take a few more steps and speak to someone about the costs and necessities of an African expedition.

If you happen to be one of the people looking at finding an outfitter to schedule the dream hunt you have anticipated for many years, there is much information you need to discover beforehand.  Let’s assume you already know the game you are after.  You have also already done your homework, and know where you want to hunt and know the amount of money you are willing to spend.  Now what?

First, know what type of hunt you are doing.  The outfitter or guide should be able to tell you how the hunt is expected to be performed.  If you are accustomed to hunting whitetail deer in North Carolina from a tree stand, you are going to be in shock when you hike into the back country of the Midwest for what could be dozens of miles in search of a muley in a spot and stalk hunt.

When researching one of my past hunts, I was told that it is a VERY rough hunt.  We would be hunting by horseback through some of the roughest terrain we could imagine.  Even with the warning, to experience it is a different matter.  Climbing up mountains on a horseback where you practically are leaning forward past the horse’s neck and shoulder while it lunges up the side of the earth, well that is something that is hard to train for.  I was told that ATV’s would not be able to make it a few yards on the terrain.  The guide was correct.

You need to know the climate and expected weather during the time of the hunt.  The same hunt mentioned above consisted of 20 degree mornings and mid 70 degree afternoons.

Second, you need to know what type of lodging and meals YOU expect.  Most outfitters will offer lodging and meals.  However, you cannot expect the South African resort with pool tables, large mahogany dinner tables, maid services and personal chefs from every outfitter.  Speaking with one outfitter several years ago, he explained how expectations with research can get one into trouble.  He was hosting several waterfowl hunters on a duck and goose hunt in the pothole region of North Dakota.  The hunters were wealthy friends who made annual expeditions to different places throughout the world.  Even though the birds were everywhere and the hunting was tremendous, the hunters were disappointed in the small house the outfitter had as a lodge.  They expected a spa, wet bar, and more.  Their trip was as much about the non-hunting as it was the hunting.  You definitely do not want to anticipate something grand and end up sleeping in a drop camp.

Third, you must know of any additional costs.  You checked several guides and outfitters on the internet and found out the dream elk hunt you have wanted to go on runs an average of $1750 for a 5 day hunt.  So, being prepared, you allocated $2000, thinking the extra $250 for incidental expenses would suffice.  On the third day, a massive 7x7 elk steps out a mere 40 yards away.  You take the shot. Success!  After the celebratory hugs and excitement, the guide mentions the elk will make record book.  Even better!  Then the guide asks if you have your checkbook with you…you know, to cover the ‘trophy’ fee.  That’s the way to take the wind out of a sail!

It can go the opposite way as well.  You are in Ohio.  Whitetail heaven!  You have seen several deer that would compare to the ones you have chased at home like a moose to a Billy goat.  You see one come out from your left.  You wait, trying to count the points through the tree limbs.  As the buck steps into the clearing, broadside, you can tell it is a high rack, with at least 5 points on the side closest to you.  Boom!  It is a beautiful specimen of a whitetail.  Problem is the antlers are nearly straight up, not reaching the ‘outside the ear’ requirement.  Now you have another type of fee, not meeting the minimum requirements set by the outfitter or landowner.

There are but a few examples of what you need to find out from your outfitter to make that dream hunt a true dream and not a nightmare.  In all three cases, the outfitter has not misled or scammed anyone.  It just happened that we did not find out enough about the type of hunt they offer.

And if you get a chance to go the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh this weekend, I will be there, behind the curtain, measuring all those huge deer racks.  Unfortunately, none of them will be one that I was fortunate enough to encounter in the field.  For now, they will just help fuel my dreams.

What is the Best Gun for Hunting?

One evening during one of the breaks of a hunter education class I was teaching, a kid and his grandfather came up to me.  “I want to deer hunt.  What kind of gun do I need?”

Without hesitation I responded, “Your Granddad’s.”  While it seemed I was just coming back with a quick response to garner a smile, I was truly being sincere.  While hunting consists of shooting at animals as part of the process, the real joy is the connections the hunter makes.  Experiencing the hunt and bringing the most joy from the experience comes from the meld between you and God, nature, family, our forefathers, and memories.

Stories I share of my grandfather and father are not just vehicles to carry on who they are and what they did, they become part of who I am as well.  When I share these stories with my kids, it also becomes a part of who they will become.

When black bear hunting, I cannot help but think of President Teddy Roosevelt and his passion for the great bruin or Daniel Boone and his storied encounter with the beast in the Great Smokies. 

Want to read about Teddy Roosevelt's bear hunt? Click HERE.

The buffalo hunt my father and I went on included a hike to a tall mount that stood out amongst all others on the horizon.  When we reached the top, not only did we have a fantastic view of the Dakota pothole region, but there, right at the flattened peak, was a circle of stones.  Around the circle were other smaller circles of smaller stones.  When we returned to the hunting guide and inquired about the area, he told us that was an ancient ceremonial ground for the Indians who lived in the area.  I could envision the tribes hunting the herded bison just as my dad and I were.

Read about Bill Howard's Most Memorable Hunt-the Great Bison HERE.

Sitting in cover on the edge of the field, anticipating the coming of a strutting gobbler with fanned tail is enough to set any hunter in flurried heartbeats of anticipation.  The thought of Benjamin Franklin’s pursuit to make the wild turkey our national symbol for its courage and meaning to our land brings a sense of historic proportions to the hunt.  The turkey provided nourishment to the pilgrims on their original plight into the new world.  Even the Thanksgiving story of pilgrims and Native Americans centers itself around the bird.

To think while sitting in a tree waiting on the whitetail to sneak his way into shooting distance was likely precluded by a Cherokee, Catawba, or Tuscarora several hundred years prior in the same location can be both overwhelming and comforting.

So, as I watch and remember my son shooting the old Ithaca shotgun, I realize that the bridge from my son, to me, to my father and to my grandfather has been completed.  I also know that one side of that bridge is a long road of that has been paved over time with blood, sweat, pain, tears, joy, and accomplishment while on the other side is a road yet to be cleared but already well planned.

So when you ask “what is the best gun?”, know in advance the best gun is one that is well used and experienced. 

Bill Howard writes a weekly outdoors column for the Wilson Times and Yancey County News and the bowhunting blog site GiveEmTheShaft.com. He is a Hunter Education and International Bowhunter Education instructor, lifetime member of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, Bowhunter Certification Referral Service Chairman, member and official measurer of Pope and Young, and a regular contributor to North Carolina Bowhunter Magazine.

Coast2Coast Outdoors 11/14/2011

Here is the Coast2Coast Outdoors rebroadcast of this week's show with information and commentary on blue tongue and EHD disease in whitetail deer.  RB Wright and Kerry Mackey hosts the weekly show as well as their own blog sites (just click on the names for the links).

This particular show features some information from last week's Bill Howard's Outdoors column on diseased deer seen here.

Watch live streaming video from coast2coastoutdoors at livestream.com

Be sure to catch Coast2Coast Outdoors each Monday at 9pm Eastern time.

Diseased Deer in North Carolina - No Threat to Humans

Perfect conditions can mean vastly different things.  Perfect conditions for deer hunting would include several days of rain followed by the first really cold spell.  However, this summer provided perfect conditions for something else.  Across North Carolina, the hot dry summer followed by the onslaught of rain from storms such as Irene provided perfect conditions for flies and gnats.  These insects are the carrier for the virus that inflicts hemorrhagic disease in deer, cattle, and sheep amongst other animals.

Hemorrhagic disease encompasses two sub-infections, known as epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) and blue tongue disease, is well known in hunting circles and has been spotted throughout North Carolina this season.  An infected deer may lose its fear of humans, as it becomes obsessed with finding water and shade in order to combat one of its top symptoms of high fever.  Symptoms such as cracked hooves, bloated, thin, weak, or severely underweight deer, especially if it has suffered for an extended period of time are common.  Swollen lips and tongues with a blue color, hence the name blue tongue disease, may be seen but are not necessarily present.  Often dead deer will be found near rivers and bodies of water.

The last major outbreak was in 2007, with five notable outbreaks since the 1980’s.

Deer presumed to be infected and harvested by hunters should not worry, as the meat and hide are still safe to eat and use.  The disease cannot be transferred to humans.  The only passage of the disease is through midges (flies and gnats).  The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is requesting any deer displaying such symptoms, or found dead or dying, be reported to the Division of Wildlife Management at (919)707-0050 or wrccomments@ncwildlife.org.

As mentioned in many arguments as a reason to hunt, diseases that can damage herds such as hemorrhagic disease are primarily found by hunters and outdoorsmen.  In 2007 for instance, an outbreak of blue tongue disease was initially spotted by hunters scouting land near the Asheville area.  Hemorrhagic disease has been known to strike deer populations with as much as a 30% mortality rate in the herd in local areas.  You can see why it is important to be reported.  If a deer survives through the disease, it develops immunity to future outbreaks.

Counties affected by hemorrhagic disease this season include western counties such as Yancey and Cherokee, and northeastern counties such as Halifax, Edgecombe, Northampton, Bertie and Gates counties.

Bill Howard writes a weekly outdoors column for the Wilson Times and Yancey County News and the bowhunting blog site GiveEmTheShaft.com. He is a Hunter Education and International Bowhunter Education instructor, lifetime member of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, Bowhunter Certification Referral Service Chairman, member and official measurer of Pope and Young, and a regular contributor to North Carolina Bowhunter Magazine.

Gear Review: ScoutLookWeather

So, here I am, 4:26pm on a Sunday, sitting in a climbing stand on the edge of the woods.  Typing on a netbook.  Crazy right?  Well, I should have about an hour before the first deer sneaks her way out of the darkened tree canopy and finds her way into shooting range for my quick and silent compound bow.

The reason I am working on this now is twofold.  One, I need to get this product review done, and two; this is the perfect time to write about what is going on with this particular hunt.

GPS systems became a great tool for the outdoors person several years ago.  Utilizing the array of satellites put in orbit by the government in order to help one find his position globally protected the hiker, hunter, or fisher from getting lost.  They developed from a display showing longitude and latitude so you could find yourself on a map, to displaying satellite and terrain images.  Along the way, the more bells and whistles the GPS system had, the more expensive the unit would cost.  Downloadable maps, some ranging several hundred dollars in cost, were neat features, but unless you were a diehard outdoorsman that traveled to exotic and unfamiliar locations, they were questionable as to whether they were worth it.

Now I like to have the tools necessary for me to be successful and safe, but I do not want to carry around a small army’s worth of supplies on my excursions.  With the GPS functions of the current smart phones, I quickly adapted to several applications available on it instead of carrying around excessive amounts of electronics.   Free mapping and weather programs were great, as I could not only pinpoint my location, but I could see weather as it developed so as not to get caught off guard on an approaching rain shower or storm.



Screen shot from ScoutLookWeather.com indicating
stand locations, expected deer movement, and scent cone.
The orange arrows were added by me to show movement.

A couple of weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to test and review a website and smart phone application called ScoutLookWeather.  It seemed interesting enough, so I agreed.  Before downloading it on my Android based phone, I checked the website: ScoutLookWeather.com.  The website was easy enough to get a grasp of without a lot of instruction.  After the download, the application worked the same way as the website.  Also, I noticed it had immediately synced between the website and the phone application.

There she is!

After checking the app, according to my scent cone (a green cone that indicates where your scent will travel based on current conditions) I should hunt the northern stand on the property.  My scent would travel right into the path the deer usually take to the field from the southern stand.  So, that is where I am hunting.

(LONG PAUSE AS THE HUNT TIME BEGINS, THEN FAST FORWARD)

Sure enough, I had a deer come out to my left about 6pm.  After the deer paused and offered a broadside shot just 15 yards from the stand, I released the arrow for the kill.  While waiting in the stand, 10 minutes later 3 more deer came out to my right but came no closer than 40 yards from the stand.  I also noticed looking back at the southern stand, several deer in the field where I expected them to come out also.  If I had hunted the southern stand, those deer would likely have caught my scent in the slight breeze.

Blood soaked arrow does
not mean easy to trail!

Hard to follow at night with only this much sign spaced
several yards apart.



While the shot was true, the deer retreated hard into the woods.  I had a hard time finding bloodshed, but after a 20 minute or so search, I spotted small drops of blood.  The track was on.  I used the way marker feature on the ScoutLook app, using the GPS from the phone to indicate the blood trail.  I proceeded to do this each time I lost the trail so I would have a reference point to come back to.  This was extremely handy as I was in the thick brush and swamp, and light was non-existent except from my LED Lenser headlamp.  After following the trail approximately 150 yards, I lost the blood.  It was now around 9pm and I was crawling on all fours in order to track the blood I did find for the last 30 minutes.  I decided to resume the search in the morning, as the shadows from the brush limited my site lines.  Using the satellite imagery feature of ScoutLook, I made my way back out.  If not for that, this could have easily been one of those cases where the hunter gets stuck in the woods overnight.  Again, limited vision, a low concealing canopy of trees, and not so much as a single star shining through offered no help in keeping my bearings.



Blood trail way markers set
on ScoutLook.

The next day, I worked my way back into the woods, following the blood trail markers I had placed on ScoutLook.  This worked well, and I found the trail I needed to find.  After a couple of more hours, I finally found the deer.  This would never have taken place if I had not used ScoutLook for way markers the evening before.

  



Decoy set-up for incoming waterfowl
as indicated by ScoutLook.

ScoutLook is not only good for the application I tested it for, but it offers a set-up style map for waterfowl hunting, it can be used for hiking and other outdoor activities, it has a drift-point for fishing, and even has a golf mode to help with wind direction on the links.  It provides a cache for photos while in the outdoors, and it will have a log book style feature in the future.  One feature I did not have to use on ScoutLook is a radar map of your area.  This is great for when inclement weather is in the forecast.  It will allow you the opportunity to enjoy your activity until the very last moment.

This result would never had happened without ScoutLook.
Your results may vary!

Screen shot of inclement weather on ScoutLook.

Overall, ScoutLook appears to be a winner.  ScoutLook is easy to use and figure out how to use (no manual-just help screens), is cheap ($1.99 over Android Marketplace, but is available on IOS also), and syncs automatically with the regular website so you can check your locations online and on your phone.  Again, $1.99 for what some GPS systems would charge $199.00 for.  The only thing I could not test, and could not find a direct answer on, was if ScoutLook will save your location maps in areas where only GPS (no cellular) service worked on the smart phone.  I know it will save your markers, just not sure if the maps must download through the cell service each time.  I will continue to use ScoutLook and I look forward to using the log book feature in the future.

Another review of ScoutLookWeather can be found HERE on SoCalBowhunter.

 Want to read more reviews?  Bill Howard's Outdoors Reviews and GiveEmTheShaft Reviews

Bill Howard writes a weekly outdoors column for the Wilson Times and Yancey County News and the bowhunting blog site GiveEmTheShaft.com. He is a Hunter Education and International Bowhunter Education instructor, lifetime member of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, Bowhunter Certification Referral Service Chairman, member and official measurer of Pope and Young, and a regular contributor to North Carolina Bowhunter Magazine.