Deer Season is here

The weather outside has turned from hot and nasty to cool, colorful and perfect for getting into the woods a little more often.  I love this time of year.  I have been in the woods of and on since september because around here in northern IL where I am from squirrell season opens up the first of September.  This gives me a good reason to get into the woods to check on my deer stand and make sure my trails are clear to keep my deer moving in the direction I want them to be moving in.

After settling in to my stand and letting the animals of the woods get used to me and go back to doing their normal routine, I like to take a look around and be sure there are no other people around and see if there has been any changes since I was in the woods last.  I feel it is important to be very sure of your surroundings especially if you hunt in public land or on someone else's property.  A nice afternoon in the stand could turn out to be a very bad situation if you aren't sure of what is around you.

Be sure to let someone know where you are going and how long you expect to be gone.  This way if something goes wrong someone will know to come looking for you and where to come looking for you after a certain amount of time has passed and you haven't shown up.  Be prepared even if you aren't very far from town or home.  Have a way start a fire if needed, a flashlight, a fold-able limb saw, a good knife, plenty of warm clothing, and a bottle of water are just a few essentials to have in a pack of some sort.

Deer are creatures of habit and will travel pretty much the same path each and every day until the rut sets in and they go crazy for a week or two.  If you know where the deer move and how they move you can pretty much choose which one you want and when you want it.  There is some skill involved and maybe a little luck but mostly a pattern.

For the past ten years or so I have been strictly a meant hunter and not a trophy hunter.  The fact being that my freezers are full of venison, fish, pork, beef, and vegetables from the garden I am officially a trophy hunter this year.  The extra meat will come in handy but it isn't necessary, so I can afford to be picky finally.  I have shot big deer in the past but it was out of necessity not sport.  This year I am going to be a sportsman I guess.

Time in the woods is the best way to get the deer you are after.  The more time you put in the more successful you will be as a hunter.  Spend time learning the behavior of all the animals in your next of the woods.  The squirrels and chipmunks let me know when something is different in the woods or someone or something is coming through the woods.  Also spend time paying attention to how the wind moves through the trees, bushes and weeds.  If you pay attention to what is around you and how everything reacts to the conditions in the woods you will also be more successful.

Be careful, respect nature, and good hunting to you, my friends.

Cris Coleman

Spring Turkey Hunting Basics

There is a huge variety of hunting equipment available these days, due to the growing popularity of turkey hunting and ever-increasing numbers of turkey hunters. Turkey hunting was a much simpler activity in the past.

The hunter, dressed in his usual garb and hat, places his favorite slate call, box call, wing bone or scratch box into his jacket on the way out of the house. He picks up his double-barreled shotgun and a few shells in his pocket before walking out the door.

This is him, the turkey hunter

Fall was the preferred time to hunt wild turkeys by most of the famous old time turkey hunters and is still favored by many traditionalists. These turkey hunting experts liked it best because it was a lot more difficult and therefore more rewarding to call in an old turkey in the fall rather than the spring.

Gobblers in the late summer, fall and winter become very solitary animals with very little interest in females. They do, however, gobble in the fall and there have been a few mornings in October and November that you would think that it was spring with the huge number of gobblers around. On rare occasions, gobblers will even come in strutting and gobbling just like it was spring. More likely though, you won’t even notice a fall turkey reacting to your calls. He will just appear silently, looking for companionship with another long beard but not really caring whether he finds it or not. This is a real fall gobbler.

The fall season has regained its popularity recently with the ever-increasing numbers of turkeys. Over 40 states now host fall turkey seasons and more and more hunters are discovering the excitement of hunting in the fall. Turkey hunting is a pleasurable and enjoyable sport people are starting to like.

This sport requires seperate permits for hunters during the fall, along with the applications for spring hunting permits. Turkey hunters are allowed only to take only one wild turkey of either sex during that fall season each day.

Before you can hunt a wild turkey, you have got to find them. The easiest way to do this is by locating the general areas of the turkey’s habitat.

Turkeys are usually found in open, mixed hardwood and pine forests. Others are scattered in brush land. Others prefer to roost in trees larger than the surrounding vegetation and will often choose place to stay on sites facing slopes where they can shelter from the existing strong wind. They will use open fields and meadows as feeding and boasting sites and wooded areas are roosting sites. If few or no roosting sites are available, the turkey may leave the place and not use it.

Basic Turkey Characteristics

Turkey hunting is challenging, exciting and in some cases becomes addictive. Turkey’s senses are extremely keen – even your heart pounding can make the turkey vanish like a puff of smoke.

Turkeys’ ears are also placed on both sides of their heads. And because they have no outer ear to develop the sound in one direction, they hear sounds all the way around them. Sounds received by only one ear can help the turkey find out which direction the sound comes out but not any indication of distance. Turkeys turn around to be more alert.

With a highly developed sense of smell, they can determine the direction of danger by scent and wind direction. The clever beasts generally flee away from the danger, not toward it. Besides their sense of smell, they rely heavily on both their eyes and ears to determine the direction of danger before they run away from it.

Good luck, great hunting, and please respect our great outdoors.

RABBIT HUNTING - A FAVORITE OF MINE

Surely any hunter has tried or at least thought of trying rabbit hunting at least one in his lifetime. Given that it’s so popular even today, it doesn't seem awkward at all that everybody is on a rabbit hunting fever whenever the season is kicking off. However, if you haven’t already experienced it and still think whether or not to go on that hunting field, then maybe a brief review on this particular type of hunting will make you think about it no more. Read on for essential facts about rabbit hunting, some of which even experienced hunter may not know.

Firstly, rabbit and hare hunting is a worldwide spread phenomenon, managing to attract hunters of all ages and social background. The biggest problem this hunting variety faces towards common belief is that few people consider it a serious and tough type of hunting, such as boar for instance. This is because very few people, compared to the masses, know what rabbit hunting is all about and how difficult it can get, even with the help of man’s best friend. Nevertheless, those that fully understand this give it the appreciation it deserves, and make their contribution to changing people’s inherited ideas felt. In addition, with sustained efforts rabbits and hares are slowly becoming evenly accepted among the mot popular game types in many areas. This comes as a logical consequence of these creatures’ amazing features, which makes hunting them an extremely complicated process. 

From the start you should know that rabbits are no example of evolutionary stagnation; they’ve developed sensationally keen senses which allow them to defend against predators. Their preferred tactic is avoiding a direct confrontation, and their amazing sight and hearing abilities make detecting a threat from quite a distance. Also, they have a wonderfully adapted sense of smell, which is useful not only in its survival as predator radar, but in finding food also. In fact, all these great sensorial aptitudes, coupled with the ability to camouflage perfectly into the bush, are like a protective aura for the little creature, a shield meant to keep danger always one step behind. Speaking of steps, the rabbits “super-power” is its famous ability to sprint vivaciously and at high speeds, as well as its legendary and somewhat unexpected endurance. 

The spot-and-run strategy has served the little varmint well throughout the ages, but facing a pack of hunting beagles even this is often not enough to save its life. Beagles are specially trained hounds that rely exclusively on their smell to chase and kill rabbits, and bringing a pack along with you on your hunting sessions will surely make a difference. However, no pack of beagles, no matter how well trained and experienced, will do the whole hunt because you, s hunter, play an essential role in the final success. It is up to you to guide them if they loose track of the rabbit, as well as ordering them which rabbit to chase in case several of them pop from bushes as they sense danger. 

As you can see, rabbit hunting is more than a Sunday afternoon kind of sport, forcing you to make decision strategically, make every opportunity count and to give your best every time. Hunting experts guarantee that no hunt will be similar to the next, which means that routine is not in rabbit hunting dictionary under the letter “R”. Or at all.