What to shoot opening days

We as hunters always joke about shooting the first thing we see. and in many states you can take a doe along with a buck so filling the freezer with great meat via a doe harvest opening day is very possible depending on where you are hunting. I always question myself when it comes to this, do i sit back and watch the day unfold and not pick my bow or do i try to harvest the first mature doe that crosses paths with myself. The last sentence you read a word "Mature", a animal that has became mature in my book for does is that 3 1/2 years of age she had been breed several times and usually are darker than the rest in the heard, for bucks  i look at 4 1/2 years of age for a mature buck to be considered a shooter in my book. A hunter can outsmart a yearling or a immature buck with ease it seems but to get within bow range of a mature doe or buck is where the true challenge begins. I was fortunate to harvest a great 4 1/2 year old buck last fall during the rut and a mature doe late October.
These deer were great trophies and always will be remembered in my fondest memories.

I went out opening day last year and passed on 9 does that morning and 3 were mature ones. I did not shoot for i wanted to see the morning unfold. This fall may be different with wanting my doe tags filled early so i can focus on mature bucks around the rut time and keeping does around then can be great for bringing those big boys into range. So this opening day with the camera rolling a doe will be having a arrow launched her way, even a mature buck may make a mistake this early. But like dane said its going to have to be on my wish list, would love to see a drop tine or a heavy mass buck this fall. fingers crossed.

What is a trophy?

The urge to get out in the field became to great for me this week and I set out a couple of days early to do some bow hunting in south east Missouri - not an area known to be loaded with Booners but still full of deer none-the-less. I got to my parents house late and spent some time go over my trail camera pictures from my property with my dad and my brother and I was reminded of something that I think is something everyone should internally evaluate.

What is a trophy.

This is not to mean, what do the television stars tell you a trophy is, not even what the Pope and Young tell you a trophy is. I think it is important for everyone to evaluate what they consider a trophy.

What got me thinking about it is my brother made the comment, regarding my upcoming time in the Missouri woods, "Get ready to shoot a skinny antlered deer" - I am paraphrasing of course but that is the basic sentiment. On the other side of the conversation, my father is looking at the pictures of the young 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old bucks on my trail camera pictures and saying "man I bet those ones are going to be a lot tastier then the big ones you have pictures of".

I guess it is just a matter of perspective, to my brother, a younger hunter it seems that the big rack is the trophy, for my father (who admittedly has never had buck fever) it is all about the meat. I suppose for myself I certainly started with my brothers perspective, and over time I am evolving to my fathers perspective.

I do not necessarily need to shoot a monster Boone and Crockett buck, given the opportunity I sure as hell will not pass it up though. For me I am interested in the uniqueness of each buck that I harvest. I do not have a "hitlist" of deer rather I have a "wishlist" of deer. This list contains things like a buck with a split brow tine, a buck with double drop tines, a heavily palmated buck. These are all unique types of antlers sets that I am looking for, whether it comes in the form of a 125 inch eight pointer or 180 inch monster is irrelevant, what I am concerned with is the uniqueness.

I encourage you to look into what it is you are after, it can add an extra dimension to your hunt as well as what I feel is an extra satisfaction at the end of the hunt.

Season Prep

With Early duck season barely a thought on my mind, Bow season still sits predominantly on my mind.  My clothes now sit sorted in my basement ready for its first fresh earth wash of the year. My broad heads are tuned as am I.
I spent most of my summer besides working and scouting shooting several times a week, either in my basement or out at the local archery club. I became one with my bow as I hope to with each bow I pick up. We reach a certain comfort level with our bows and a confidence is a must among instinctive archers.
How each hunter prepares for the fall is unique, we prepare mentally different and physically different. I work out my body and do cardio to prepare for the long hikes and hopefully a long drag or two also. I shoot my bow often for my pulling shoulder doesn't weaken and my mind stays sharp. We scout by either using trail cameras and spending hours glassing fields near the timbers we hunt, hoping for a glimpse of a true Iowa giant. We set stands in ambush points along trails from knowledge gained from pervious years and this years scouting. we prepare for a moment that could unfold or maybe never get that chance at that buck, its that is can mentally break or make a hunter. I have had both unfold before me, a large buck coming up my trail to only take that path that i had not seen. With that said we must prepare mentally and physically each fall for a new chance to learn, grow and be successful.

Shooting stick bows is truly 98% mental and 2% physical. I once read a article that states and I do believe a Arrow tells no lie. It states the arrow flies as how our mental state sits. If our minds are else were and distracted our arrows will fly off target like our minds, but if we are happy and focused on the task at hand our arrows shall fly where we aiming. So the next time you shoot, clear your mind from the stress at work and even at home, Become one with the bow and the arrow.

Early Duck Season - Early Buck Season

Tomorrow marks the start of the early duck season here in Iowa and I cannot remember the last time I was this unexcited about it. Normally early duck season is one of my favorite times of year. My dog can get out and do what is clearly her favorite form of hunting, I get to fill my freezer with delicious little rockets (mostly shooting blue-winged teal and pin feathered local woodies in the early season) and it usually feels like this weekend is the starting off point for the fall hunting season.

Sadly Iowa is experiencing a drought that has left most of my usual ducks spots as dried up cracked mud beds. What little water there is will be lorded over by the many other duck hunters that will be out this weekend and quite frankly I am not expecting there to be many ducks. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve but I am not expecting anything like last year where we had four guys shoot limits in an hour and a half.

I have been very aware of the upcoming situation and have been focusing a lot more of my energy on preparing for deer season. Yesterday I setup my last set on my own property out in Warren County, placing my ground blind on an embankment  above our creek, one of the only water sources in the area that still holds a little water. Trail camera pictures have shown consistent early morning activity so I am pretty excited about the prospects.

This coming Tuesday I am kicking off my deer season by heading down to southeast Missouri to visit my parents and brother as well as partake in the already open Missouri archery season. Missouri allows for over-the-counter non-resident tag purchases so I am going to try and stick an early season buck down there. If I am not successful, I will be down there at least two more times during the season so there will be more opportunities.

You are doing it wrong

Usually this is the time of year where I get real anxious, have a hard time sleeping and all I can think about are ducks, this drought though just has me in a funk. It seems I have resigned myself to the fact that I just will not see that many birds this year. I have seen a couple of balls of teal, but they seem to be blowing right past us, flying high and heading for wetter pastures.
While I wish I had more to share regarding the duck situation, I have to admit, my attention has been focused on deer. This past weekend a friend and I attended an archery shoot at one of our local archery clubs that was intended to be the last big shoot before archery season starts. We both were shooting stick bows and it did not take long before we had to basically disregard the appointed shooting locations for each target due to the distances involved. Frankly they were unrealistic, not just for the traditional archers, but for the compound shooters as well. Many of the shots for the compound archers were 40 yards or greater, and for the traditional archers in the 25-20 yards range. The problem with both of these distances is basically this - if you are whitetail hunting in Iowa and find yourself routinely having to take shots over 30 yards with a compound, or 15 yards with a stick bow - you are doing it wrong.

I think it is great that there are archers out there that practice 50 and 60 yard shots, but unless you are hunting spot and stalk out west then it is just not necessary. If you need to take these long distance shots because you cannot seem to get close enough to a whitetail then you need to change your strategy.

• Scent Control - I cannot stress enough how important scent control is. You need to be cognizant at all times regarding your "scent cone", the distribution of your scent as you are sitting in your stand. Many things factor in to this, clothing you are wearing, wind, humidity. Even when you take all of these things in to account, deer have a very keen nose and can be hard to trick.
• Movement - Deer also have very keen eyes, and can pick out the slightest of movements, their peripheral vision is excellent and just because you do not think they can see you, doesn't mean they cannot. Deer have a very wide range of vision. Once you are sitting in your stand, limit your movements to only the most necessary
• Up, Up, Up -  I have setup many tree stands and it was not until I started using a climbing tree stand that I realized the higher I got the better, I mean get your self way up there if you can. I like to set my hang-on stands about 18-20 feet, if you have a sturdy tree, go high yet. With my climber I try to find a tree that allows me to get at least 20 feet up, with ladder stands, this usually means you will need to buy extensions, it is worth it, get that sucker 20 feet. up.

If you take these few points in to account (while not the whole story, a good starting point) I guarantee you will see more deer and have them closer. In all reality you should have deer routinely within 20 yards of you, it allows for more accurate shots and it shows that you can actually hunt your prey instead of lobbing 60 yards shots because that is the closest deer will get to you.

What is the point?

I recently asked someone whose opinion I highly value to read some of the things I have written here to get some constructive criticism. I was told basically what I already knew. I had no direction for this blog. While I stewed on this for a while, I finally feel like I might be comfortable enough to share what my ultimate intentions are.

Over the past couple of years, I have observed a commercialization of hunting and being an outdoorsman that causes many to lose sight as to why we hunt and puts emphasis on the wrong areas of the sport. I don't even need to pick a specific hunting show, watch any hunting show on Outdoor Channel/Pursuit/Sportsman Channel. The script is the same for every show, and it is disgusting.

The host, opens the show talking about how blessed they are and how they just got done hunting Kansas/Colorado/Texas for the past week and it is time to go to the next hunt in Canada/Utah/Kentucky. Next they show clips of them driving to the new destination, trailer full of gear from their sponsors, including bags of bait, brand new ATVs and brand new bow/gun. The next clip is them talking about how the guide has seen plenty of big bucks at this particular stand and that they show up every day at 5:47 PM. What they don't tell you is that the deer show up because the feeder kicks on at 5:45, yeah these guys are real hunters, really showing their skills, they can shoot deer over a feeder, what a joke.

Next come the sponsor commercials, did you know that if you do not use the ANGST Super Pro XTREME Cutting Edge broadhead that it is technically impossible to harvest anything? OK, next clip, cue the heavy metal music in the background as they show shots of a big buck walking down the trail, making sure they edit out all the shots of the high fence and the feeder. The host turns to the camera and says, "this buck has been on our hitlist, we call him 'Steve'". This practice, the "hitlist" is one of the most offensive things about all of this, any one that calls them selves a hunter should not have a hitlist. You are not an assassin, you are an outdoorsman that hunts to harvest game for your benefit, for hard management and for the love of the hunt, not for contract kills.

More commercials, selling unnecessary equipment to unsuspecting sheep. Cut to the last segment, again, more heavy metal music, followed by the host drawing, shooting and then ultimately posing with a monster deer. "I want to thank sweet baby Jesus, without him I never could have had this opportunity. Oh and the troops too, never could have done this without the veterans... 'MURICA"

You may be reading this and thinking, "yeah it is awesome, I love that show". If that is the case then stop reading, go out and shoot yourself. These shows glorify the kill, they teach Joe Shmoe that if he buys the sponsors products that he/she can go out and do the same. This sends thousands of weekend warriors out into the woods, that have no idea what they are doing, that end up wounding animals and ruining the experience of dedicated hunters and at the same time portraying to the public that this is hunting. Guess what there are people that think we should not have the privilege of hunting, and portraying hunting as something that is all about the kill and not about the sport just gives them more ammo when they try to propose the banning of hunting.

This post is a little all over the place in trying to make my point, and really it still does not answer the question "What is the point?"  So here it is. The point of this blog is to show you that you can truly appreciate the time and effort that goes in to hunting and that it is not about a hitlist, it is not about the kill, rather it is about the dedication to the sport, enjoying the outdoors and if all things line up, by using our skills, we may be lucky enough to harvest an animal.

Teriyaki Dove Tacos with Caramelized Onions

Well, today wrapped up the first week of dove season in Iowa. It has been a great week, so far the tally for me is at 43 doves, I believe Mitchell is sitting around the same number, and quite a few more shotgun shells were spent. One the things I am often asked is "How could you kill an animal?" Let me be clear, not only do I enjoy the hunt itself -- the planning, the strategy and the skill involved -- but I also really enjoy eating wild game. I do not harvest anything with out a plan for using it, either for my own consumption, for friends or for donation to the Iowa DNR H.U.S.H. program.

One of the things I would really like to use this blog for, is to share some of my favorite recipes with you, and maybe even get a couple back in return.

The first recipe I plan to share is something I cobbled together last year when looking for alternatives ways for cooking duck, as it turns out, dove suit this recipe just as well.

Please follow the link below to check out the full recipe and let me know what you think!

Teriyaki Dove Tacos with Caramelized Onions.

Trail Cameras: A useful tool

An integral part of my scouting, especially a new property, is to employ trail cameras. I know some hunters use these so they can get pictures of the various bucks on their property, then assign them a moniker such "Ol' Wonky Tine" and add the deer to their "hitlist" (a despicable practice that I will address another time). I use them to help pattern the deer on my property, I like to know when they are moving, what directions they are moving, and what areas of a property they are using the most.

My family recently acquired 40 acres (we found it on www.whitetailproperties.com) just south of Des Moines, IA and so I deployed three cameras and have been checking them every couple of weeks. This has helped learn a lot more about the deer on our property than I ever would have learned by glassing, some of the areas that I thought would have a high volume of traffic have been relatively quite, other areas have been booming.

I am not going to spend too much time trying to convince you that one brand is better than the other, I personally have not used the more expensive brands so I cannot speak to the quality of the images. I currently use a couple of Wildgame Innovations as well as a Covert. The models that I own run any where from about $100 to $125, which I think is fairly reasonable.

A semi-washed out picture of a unique buck

I have noticed that the Wildgame Innovations cameras that I use the Micro Red 6, and Flash 6  tend to get a number of images that are washed out, it seems that the angle of the sun can play a role in the quality of the pictures. The cords that come with these cameras are two smaller bungee style cords that really handcuff you in regards to what you can attach it to. I would guess that the cords are about one foot long and sometimes this means if there are no smaller trees or a fence post around, I have to find a different location. The menu is fairly simple to use and allows for changing the picture frequency,  quality, delay and camera sensitivity among other things. I have not had much need to change the settings, the defaults are fine for most of my needs. All in all I am happy with the performance of the cameras, they are a good starter camera.

The smaller one on the left seems
to have already lost his velvet

The Covert is new to my collection, I picked up the MP6, I selected this model mostly again for the price point. It comes with a single adjustable strap that is much more accommodating although sometimes difficult to get to the right size it does not help that I put the strap on backwards and have yet to correct that mistake. The menu is a little clunky, but offers many of the same features as the others. I did find that the camera was overly sensitive, picking up the movement of a lot of grass and branches being blown around by the wind. I have changed from the default of High to Low in hopes of reducing the number of garbage pictures that I get. I think the quality of the pictures is pretty good, and I have not had any washed out pictures as of yet. In the future I will probably look into buying more of their cameras.

When it comes to these cameras, without doubt, regardless of brand, I have increased my success in the deer woods because I know when and where the deer are likely to be. I will keep my cameras out through out the season and I will continue to monitor the patterns of the deer on my property. As the weather cools and the food sources change the movements of the deer will change and these cameras will help me stay one step ahead.

I hope to provide some more post detailing my experience with various products, the ones that I think are garbage as well as the ones that I feel have significantly increased my success in the field. If you have any thoughts you would like to share feel free, I would love to hear about other hunters experiences using trail cameras.

Iowa August Roadside Small Game Survey

The IOWA DNR has released its annual roadside survey results for small game (pheasants being the main point of interest).

The survey is conducted during the month of August by wildlife biologists and conservation officers. The participants drive 210 different 30 mile, gravel only stretches of road in the early morning when small game is more active and count what they can see. It is far from scientific but it often correlates fairly well to the number of harvested birds during the upcoming season.

I had high hopes that this year would show a significant increase (Iowa has been suffering from record lows the past couple of years). The winter was mild and the spring was dry, these are usually indicators that lead to lower mortality rates. The report is not as promising as I had hoped. While there were increases, I think we will not see the benefit of this past season until next year. The number of hens with broods and the number of chicks seems to be the population that saw the largest increase, this naturally led to a decrease in the number of hens without broods as well.

The part that shocked me the most, was the section detailing the loses in habitat. Iowa has dropped from 4.9 million acres of habitat in 1990 to 3.6 million in 2010, a total of 2,615 square miles! - it is clear that this loss of habitat is a contributing factor to the lower pheasant populations, along with weather and an increase in predator numbers.

As I have mentioned before, Kenna, my lab is not exactly a champion upland bird dog, I think that if the populations were to return to their normal levels, I would happily start chasing ringnecks again, it is one of my fondest memories growing up, and watching a good bird dog work is a thing of beauty. Until that day, I will continue to seek alternate forms of bird hunting.

The full report can be found at the Iowa DNR website

Success!

Opening day of dove season in Iowa was a success! Mitch and I filled our limits within an hour of legal shooting time and about 30 minutes after we saw our first birds. The birds were relentless and it seem they did not mind us standing right next to our mojo dove decoys.

If you have never dove hunted I highly suggest you look in to it. In Iowa, the Department of Natural Resources has planted sunflowers and other inviting feeds in order to attract doves in 58 of the 99 counties. From the sounds of shots ringing out from some of the plots planted near where we hunted, it sounds like hunters were having quite a bit of success on these public food plots. Information regarding the location of these DNR planted food plots can be found here.

Dove hunting is an inexpensive way to get warmed up for other bird seasons in Iowa and is quite the thrill to boot. Doves swoop and dive and it seems they know exactly when you are going to shoot. Countless times I swore I was leading the bird the right distance, following with the right speed, only to have the dove swoop down below wad as my shot rang out.

This little lady to the left is my soon to be 4 year old lab Kenna. She is a rescue, I adopted her in the summer of 2009. While I did not get the opportunity to raise her from a pup, she still took to training like a champ. She will never be a field trial winning upland bird hunter, but she is great in a duck blind and doves are a great warmup for her.

If you are looking for a new dog, be it a family pet, or a hunting companion, I encourage every to look into what is available at shelters in your area. There are many great dogs (and I am sure some OK cats) that are just looking for another chance.

As this blog picks up readers I encourage you to share your stories of success with us. With dove season being the main focus until duck and deer season open I hope you are able to get out there and learn and enjoy this fantastic wingshooting experience.