It's Time To Get Out Of The House!

Barney Gets Closure!

It took 2 months but I finnaly found the buck I shot! Click on Barney for the scoop!

Last Deer Of The Year

The 2005 Deer season has ended for the great outdoorsmen with one final kill. Mongo took a fine young doe with a crossbow. Congrates to mongo, he has now taken deer with a bow, crossbow and a muzzle loader. His next weapon will be the shotgun but that story is for next year.

Mongo Is The Hunter Of The Year

With 2 deer and a coyote with a bow I give him kudos. See Mongo's trophies by clicking our the picture below.

Mr Magabagoo Bags And Cleans His First Deer Ever

I would like to congratulate him on a great shot! This poor little doe was lucky there was not a tree beneath it as it would have been stuck in place. A clean shot from top to bottom right through the kill zone. She was found a mere 20 yards away (probably because it was a down hill fall). Click on Mr. Magabagoo to see his prize.

Before the rut gets into full testosterone bucks start marking their territory with rubs and scrapes. Rubs are created when a buck “rubs” its head and antlers on a tree tearing away the. Scrapes are areas of earth “scraped” by the buck removing debris and exposing the earth. The height of the rub can give you an indication of the age\size of the buck that created it. If you are looking for a big buck then find the area with the highest rubs. Another indication of the size of buck you are tracking can be determined by the amount of peripheral damage done by the rubbing buck. If the buck has a large rack there can also be damage to trees or brush to either side of the rub. Not only does the buck leave a visual sign, the rub itself, it also leaves its scent. The scent comes from a gland on their foreheads. The forehead gland is located between the eyes and antler. It goes without saying that the more dominant bucks have a higher gland activity which in turn attracts more does communicates their territory and dominance to other bucks. The female whitetail also has forehead glands, but they produce much less scent than the glands of bucks. Is the rub you are looking at a one time creation or a site of continuing visits? When scouting areas year after year be sure to examine any rubs that you had seen the previous year. It is a good idea to keep a log of rubs to help with this task. If you notice the same tree being rubbed each year then you know you are in an area deserving of a few stands. Another sign is multiple rubs in the same area, i.e. a tree with multiple trunks or right next to each other. Even though you typically should not use rubs prior to the hunting season to determine stand placement, if you can determine they are used year after year then I would take a shot at them with a few key stand placements.

Well we finally got lucky.  On November 29th Barney and Mongo once again struck within 5 minutes of each other to get their first deer of the season.

I was hunting with my PSE Lightening bow in a stand that I had only hunted from once since we put it up last season.  No one had ever see a deer from that stand other than Mr. Magabagoo who was struck stiff by the sight of his first deer and that was last season.  I actually started out in a stand that I had seen a great 8 point buck and many does but the wind was howling around me like a hurricane.  I sat in the stand thinking to myself, "Go to another stand you won't see anything here under these conditions, try the one you never go to what can it hurt".  Well after a few hours of trying to tell myself I should go I finally pack up and move.  The stand was not far, but being cautious I resented my drag line to mask my move. I will defiantly write an article about the drag line for this reason, about fifteen minutes after I was in the stand I heard Mongo’s muzzleloader go off. I debated weather to go help him track his deer, for the 3 rd time this year, or to stay in this uneventful stand. Well to my surprise as I turned around while gathering my stuff to go I spotted a deer come right up the same trail I walked in on, hence the reason for the drag article to come. I grabbed my bow followed the deer as it went through the woods and right before it emerged I drew back hoping it would come into a clearing. Well it did, I followed it right down a trail and since it did not stop I made a spectacular leading shot! With such a perfect heart shot the deer fell some 50 yards away at the bottom of the hill. He could not make it easy on me to drag out. To my surprise it was an antler less buck and not a doe, unfortunate but he will be very tasty.

After I got Mr. Magabagoo and the truck we heard from Mongo and proceeded to pick up him and his prize. With a muzzleloader Mongo scored a doe with a nice clean shot. It did not take him long to track the young doe to a bed of picker bushes where he dragged her out to be loaded on the truck and off we went to perform the ritual of gutting.

I will spare you the details now on the gutting other than we are getting much better at it and it only took us about 15 minutes to complete it. For the low down on how to gut a deer I refer you to Mongo’s wise words posted on his site…

Mongo and Tard's Outdoor Shack: Gutting For The Gutless

The first photo is me, Barney, showing off the perfect kill zone.  Gutting was a clean breeze with no blood left.  I think I will go for all heart shots from now on.

The 2 nd photo is Mongo with his nice doe. Notice because of Mongo’s unnaturally huge head it is hard for him to find a hat that fits well so he shot the largest raccoon he could find, gutted it and used it as a hat.

The 3 rd photo shows Mr. Magabagoo and his brand new truck being broken in by Mongo and I. It took 2 car washes to get all the blood and guts out. At least it is now a REAL truck.

The 4 th is Mongo and Barney gutting their soon to be winter meals.

So you are sitting in your stand patiently waiting for that deer to emerge into your shooting lane when all of the sudden, it stops.  Its ears turn towards you to pick up on the sound it just heard or it smells the air for your scent.  This is behavior you may understand a deer does when alerted but have been caught off guard when the deer started to stomp it's front hooves?

When a deer feels threatened it will demonstrate a couple different reactions, it will raise it's tail to reveal the white underneath, it will snort , it will turn it's ears and it will stomp it's front hooves. 

The raised tail and the snort are a commonly know defense mechanism known to most.  These reactions serve as a warning to other deer in the area,  The white tail being a visual warning that something is not right and the snort being an audible warning that danger may be near.  To locate the intruder the deer will turn its ears in all directions to detect and pinpoint where the threat is. The alerted deer and those that have seen or heard it's warning typically will end up running for a safer haven very shortly after if it picks up any confirmation of the threat.

The stomp is not as well known or seen by beginning hunters as most deer that they alert have either heard or smelt them, made a positive ID and ran off.  As you mature your hunting skills and increase your ability to hide yourself from the deer you will start to see more deer stomp when alerted.

In this scenario something has alerted the deer’s senses, but only enough to make him/her wonder if there is really a threat or if it is just their imagination.  At this point they are not sure if there is a threat in the area so they stomp a front hoof to try and draw out any intruder.  The key now is to be VERY quiet and to make sure any scent stay hidden (I am mainly talking about your breath) and watch the deer closely as they perform this valiant act to reveal any threat.  Each time it stomps it will look around for movement, turn it's ears to key in on any sound and smell the air for any unknown scents.  If you remain calm the deer will think he was mistaken about the threat and continue on with his business until it wanders into your firing lane and becomes a throphy over your fireplace.

This is quite an awesome display to watch take place especially when you don't get caught.  I can say that every time I run into this situation even when I don't get a shot off, just being able to watch the deer in it's natural habitat try to protect itself from danger is a rewarding experience.

As an inexperienced or even an experienced hunter you can learn a lot about what to do and not to do by watching and studying the deer’s behavior from your stand.  So take every deer sighting as a chance to not only bag that big buck or that wonderful doe but to learn more about the deer and how they behave in their environment.

Well the first day came and went just as every other year, and what a story it is....

We made it down to the hunting grounds Friday night to do some last minute tuning of our bows which heavy rains and high winds made a little difficult.  After a good dinner at the local tavern it was off to the tents for a good nights rest.  We could only hunt in the morning and we were going to make the best of it.

Rest was not that great as the alarm woke us up at 4:30 am.  Barney, Mongo and Mr. Magabagoo slowly rose from the dead and returned to the living.  Once all geared up we parted way and headed to the stands we decided on the night before.  Mongo left for the last stand we put up by a heavy funnel coming out of the fields, I went to a stand that covered a crossing from the farm lands into the property and Mr. Magabagoo headed to a stand just off the trail to one of the lakes.

I will start with my day as it is rather dull and continues on later with Mongo.  After leaving Mr. Magabagoo I hiked back to my stand in the dark and get situated 20 feet up in the tree.  Just as I relaxed I hear a warning coming from the direction of Magabagoo, snorting.  For about 5 minutes the deer snorted out his anger of the intrusion to his personal space.  That happened to be the only sign I heard or saw for about 2 hours.

Now what happens next is classic first day out for us.  As I scan the trails for signs of deer what do I hear?  Nothing other than Mr. Magabagoo yelling out my name!  Once again my day is ruined by this noob hunter.  I reluctantly reply and he tells me Mongo called "Deer down", those two had 2 ways on them.  With the day shot I climbed out of the tree to go with Magabagoo to help Mongo track his kill.  On the way I get his story.  He never hunted.  On the way to the stand he got lost in the dark.  As he is telling me he was trying to break through a lot of growth, I thought “the stand was right off the path, there was no growth", he explains how he felt a sudden lightness as he fell 7 feet into a creek.  Now since he was OK this is really funny.  Not only did he hurt his pride and a few muscles he broke all his arrows and was soaking wet.  At least this time he didn't show up under my stand with a beer in his hand asking me where his arrows were.

We drove to Mongo's stand where he tells us of his shot. The deer came out of the fields to the west of him and as it climbed up the ridge an opening presented itself to him.  He aimed a little low in anticipation of the deer jumping the string and with a silent twang and a loud crack he hit the deer.  Now Mongo has a new Mathew’s bow and the deer did not jump the quite release of the arrow.  But the arrow was bloodied and Mongo followed the blood trail to a ravine.  Here we sent Mr. Magabagoo back to get dry cloths as Mongo and I followed the trail.  To get to the other side of the ravine we crossed an old beaver dam.  I have to give them credit as the dam held as we crossed, getting only slightly wet.  We found the blood trail again at the top of the ridge and it was a decent amount of blood, at first. The more we tracked it the fainter the trail became.  We realized the deer was going to remain alive and walked the miles back to his stand to study the arrow again.  A close look showed that the arrow did not penetrate but was deflected cutting the deer enough to bloody the part of the arrow that grazed against the wound.  I am sorry for your loss Mongo.

As we gathered together we decided to have breakfast and laugh and joke about the similarities of every first day we had hunting.  If past seasons hold true this kind of start only means a great ending for us all, Mongo will get an 8 pointer and 2 doe's, I will bag that elusive 12 pointer and maybe 1 doe and Mr. Magabagoo will bag his first deer.

Till our next trip, good luck to all you hunters and be safe!

Deer Poop:
Deer leave a variety of sign that can let you know where they have been even if you don't see them. The most obvious of signs are poop and tracks. Deer poop looks like small pellets. The pellets will vary in color and shine based on age. Fresh deer poop (dropped that day) will be a shinny greenish brown. As it ages it becomes a dull brown or black eventually turning gray or white when really old. Contrary to what your buddy says, tasting deer poop is not the best method of testing for freshness but if he does con you into it, the softer it is the fresher it is. You will hear the terms scat, raisinettes, droppings and pellets also used when referring to deer poop but as you can see I prefer poop.

The frequency that a deer poops changes between the spring and the fall. In the fall a deer will average 13 poops per day where in the spring it jumps to a whopping 24! You tell me when they feed more, and if you add in their 11 to 17 times a day of urination that is also a lot of scent being deposited. If you want cheap scent block (free) find a pile if deer poop and step in it! I also came to find out that the average number of pellets per pile is 74. No I did not sit down at every pile I found and count the poop, this was an actual test performed by biologists. It is said that if there are more than 74 then chances are good that it was from a buck. Happy counting!

Deer poop can be seen deposited as individual pellets or clumped together. The pellets are formed by a drier diet which may consist of leaves, twigs, buds, bark of saplings, etc. The clumpy poo displays a moist meal for the deer which would be more of the food plot type meals, clover, corn, chicory etc. Based on the food plots being planted for building large sturdy racks the more clumpy poo you find the better your chance there will be a trophy rack in your future.

Below are pictures that show the different ages of deer poop and the different types, pellet vs. clumpy. 

So there is my poop fetish. Remember to scout your hunting grounds often before the season starts and keep you eyes open for all the signs. If you do happen to get your hunting buddy to fall for the taste test let me know, pictures would be priceless, and I will post it for all to enjoy.

The Great Outdoorsmen,

Barney

Well Barney, Mongo and Mr. Magabagoo spent time down at the hunting grounds as the wintry weather broke.  Our main objective was to check on our new wildlife camera.  We purchased a Moultrie Game Cam II from Cabela's . After Mongo set it up we had 3 good photos turn out.  2 showed deer the 3rd a coyote ! 

After checking the camera for more photos we took a hike through the woods to do some tracking.  We found some great active trails, evident by the tracks and droppings.  As the trails lead off in different directions we choose a trail to follow that lead towards some of our stands from last hunting season.

Our choice was a good one.  The trail led us to a funnel of multiple trails leading into a great site for a new stand.  Nice concealment and out of the line of site of the deer from either direction.

We continued to follow the well traveled trail and found a perfect spot to move the camera to.  Not to far from the funnel and a close to a bedding area we hope to score big with this new location. 

As we placed the camera we wanted to help ensure the deer posed for a nice profile.  A trip to the Rural King and $10 later we had 100lbs of corn to help feed our friends.  Spreading the feed in front of the camera should make for some nice photos.  As I receive them I will share them with you all. 

Why would you want to use a camera?  Well it is a great tool to help you scout out your hunting grounds and will give you lot of information. 

1. Number of deer
2. Size of deer
3. when they are traveling
4. Direction of travel
5. If they use the trail your camera is on
6. And later in the season the size of the bucks rack

There are a lot of advantages of a camera and well worth the money.  When you bag that trophy buck next season you will be glad you bought it.

Below are the first shots from the game cam.  The first as you can see show that saskawatch is indeed real. The second was the coyote followed by deer traveling at night and during the day.

The Scrape: 
     In the fall one of the things a buck does to attract a doe is to make scrapes.  The buck will use his hooves to remove debris from the ground leaving basically an exposed dirt spot about 2 to 3 feet wide.  After the buck has made the scrape he will urinate on it to leave his scent as an attractant. Scrapes are usually made by mature deer as a sign of their superior status. It usually peaks in late October, early November, during the rut. But don’t be surprise to find them in the summer; this could be an indication of his favorite bedding area.
Bucks tend to scrape when there is a lot of deer activity, a good sign for the hunter, the ground is level and the soil is dry. They will also look for overhead limbs to “fight” with, leaving more scent behind. The buck also makes his scrapes in the dark so the best time to hunt them is early in the morning or late in the evening.
  If you find a scrape, it usually indicates the edge of the buck’s territory.  A fresh scrape will have fresh looking dirt and may smell of urine. But be wise, a mature buck is intelligent; and he will most likely be monitoring his scrapes from upwind and will not revisit it after its creation.
     How does a buck know if a doe has been to his scrape?  When a doe finds a scrape, which they look for during the estrus cycle, they urinate in it to give the buck their scent. The buck can then follow her scent trail to her.  
     Why would another buck violate a scrape?  Well it could be a warning to that buck that he is in his territory or it could e a challenge him.

Now here in the photo you will see a prime example of a scrape.  As stated above it was on level ground, dry, and there were branches around for him to assault. 
     We did come to find the target deer had been attack by another deer, most likely the buck defending his territory and establishing dominance.

Barney Bags A Buck!

After 3 years of freezing my arse off, I finally bagged a deer.  Not just any deer mind you, but a trophy buck. 
     Again the day started off with nothing, no sightings, no sounds, no nothing. After a few hours I heard a gun shot, Mongo, my friend, had taken a shot. I noticed him looking for his prey and decided to go see if he had gotten one since my afternoon was a bust so far. By the time I had gotten to where he was he had gone. I thought maybe he had dragged it back to the car so I made my way there. When I made it back to the car he was not there and there was no deer (I found out later he had missed) and there were still 2 hours of hunting time left.  I decided to try a new stand that was close and no one had ever hunted. 
     Not knowing the stand or the distances of the shooting lanes I figured my chances were slim to none of hitting it, if I was even lucky enough to see a deer. Yes the frustration was high.
     Well after 30 min my legs fell asleep. So I stood up to try and get the feeling back into them and give up for the day. As I bounced around getting the circulation back in my legs, surely making noise, an image flickered in the corner of my eye.  I turned my head to gaze at a beautiful 8 point buck.
    I prepared for the adrenaline rush that always hits as well as the shock of seeing such a buck, but it does not come.  There are 2 possible lanes for me to take the shot in and both are about the same distance. As I calmly draw my bow I decide on a pin and decide on my aim. Now I have to wait for him to move, hopefully into one of the lanes. As he starts to move to the left lane my arrow tinks the rest and the buck stops. He looks up to find a tree blocking his view of me. To my surprise he continues on his slow path. The fool stops right in one of the lanes I was waiting for him to enter; I squeeze the trigger to fire....  BULLS EYE! It was as if I was shooting at the target deer, dead solid center in the kill zone.
It just goes to show you that you never know when or why they will appear. They just do and they do it without a sound. I did everything right and I did everything wrong and he still made himself available to me. Could the rut have impaired his judgment, maybe, was I just that well concealed, maybe, was I so quiet he didn’t know I was there, NO, was he just hit by a case of the stupids, maybe. It comes down to one fact; as long as you are on your hunting grounds you have a chance.

Get out there and be patient.