deer hunting – The Outdoors Guy

November 23, 2017

Another exciting deer season

My annual deer hunt at Kenauk Nature in Montebello is the highlight of my year and this fall was no exception. The famous Quebec deer woods, with its majestic old growth stands of oak, brings me back every time.

Climbing the peaks each November in pursuit of a trophy whitetail buck is about as exciting as it gets, and this year was no exception. On one hand, I am in a paradise living a hunter’s dream of pursing whitetails in one of our region’s most scenic woods. Then on the other hand my Montebello trip is the last kick at the hunting can for the year.

This deer season, I was not presented with the opportunity to harvest a buck and that’s okay with me, it is why we call it hunting after all. My partner Jim and I climbed many miles of clean hardwoods and exposed bedrock chasing a particular buck we found good sign of, but could never catch up to. We were encouraged this fall to see increased whitetail activity overall, both here and back home around our family camp near Mont. Tremblant. Though we left Kenauk’s Muskrat Chalet empty-handed, I feel completely fulfilled as a hunter and fortunate to have experienced such an amazing deer woods. Perhaps next year I will have the chance to harvest a mature whitetail but until then, I am left with the memories of another great season. Thanks to Bill Nowell for facilitating my annual trip to this little slice of heaven.

To experience a wilderness at its best and top notch accommodations, check out: http://kenauk.com/ If you’re considering deer hunting in the province of Quebec, visit the Québec Outfitters Federation: https://www.pourvoiries.com/en/hunting-quebec/species/white-tailed-deer/

Backyard deer feeding
Winter deer feeding can be a controversial issue in this part of the country, even though I continue to do it almost every year. When carried out properly, supplemental feeding not only serves as a great past-time, but can be of benefit to these animals once snow depth increases. Once you begin distributing feed in early winter; however, it is imperative to continue throughout the winter, as the animal’s digestive system will adapt to the supplemented diet. Game management agencies usually discourage backyard feeding, for the fact that most people are not familiar enough with white-tailed deer diet requirements. Another way to help is by increasing access to the deer’s natural winter forage by creating trails with a snowmobile or ATV or even snowshoes, to offer our deer friends improved access to winter browse.

Safety first
This time of year with some hunting still on the go, enthusiasts are reminded to be vigilant and take the necessary safety precautions. Remember that hunter orange of a minimum 400 square inches is required and, for Ontario residents, a hunter orange cap as well. Be sure to keep your firearms and ammunition locked away when not in use, and never shoot unless absolutely sure of your target and beyond. It is illegal to shoot from a vehicle or carry a loaded firearm in or on a vehicle, and remember that any hunter who harvests a deer must immediately attach the game seal. A safe hunt is a happy hunt and a careless accident can turn a wonderful day in the woods into tragedy.

Ice-fishing safety
With ice fishing season just around the corner, fishermen should consider registering their hut this winter. Not only is ice hut registration a requirement by law it goes a long way in preventing wayward huts later in the season. Abandoned huts which end-up in waterways after the thaw will create havoc for boaters and early season fishermen. To register your hut in Pembroke District, please call the ministry office at: (613) 732-3661

Next time
Check out next month’s column for your Valley ice-fishing primer. Drop me a line anytime with your hunting and fishing news and let us know where you plan to fish this winter: [email protected]

October 23, 2017October 23, 2017

Celebrate your hunting heritage during whitetail season

A mature whitetail buck tends to a doe as she approaches estrus.

With the familiar scent of white-tailed deer season in the air, sportsmen everywhere are gearing up for the most anticipated time of year.

Deer enthusiasts of Eastern Ontario and west Quebec are chomping at the bit with the ‘pre-rut’ period now upon us. This special time of preparation and anticipation in the deer world is followed by the whitetail rut in early to mid-November. Ungulates like deer and moose are polygamous by nature with males hoping to breed copious females over the next month or so. During this pre-rut, bucks will alter their daily routine in preparation for the active few weeks that follow. As does enter estrus, bucks usually stop feeding completely to focus on the task at hand. In the autumn deer woods, love always comes before lunch.

Each year around this time a hunter’s thoughts transcend regular consciousness to become one with nature, one with the deer woods. It is difficult to put into words what the whitetail season means to those who participate, year after year. It is our hunting heritage after all and we must keep the tradition alive. As I celebrate my 37th year at deer camp with my aging 87-year-old dad and a dwindling number of hunting companions, I am reminded of some truly cherished memories from the past nearly four decades. Enjoy each deer season to its fullest and help preserve hunting for future generations, you never know when it could be your last.

Deer hunting in Quebec

One deer trip I look forward to greatly is at Quebec’s Kenauk Nature. The famous Montebello-area hunting preserve is a historic paradise with rugged terrain and majestic old-growth forests. I have been fortunate to take some magnificent bucks at Kenauk over the years but, as most deer hunters know, it’s not all about the harvest. Getting out in the crisp fall air coming together as a group, strategizing and pouring over topographic maps with hopes of positioning yourself for a chance at a trophy, is what it’s all about. If a memorable whitetail hunt is what you’re after, keep Kenauk, or one of the many other great Quebec Outfitters, in mind. For more information on Kenauk Nature: http://kenauk.com/activities/hunting/

If you’re considering an out-of-province hunt this fall for a change of pace, visit the Québec Outfitters Federation: https://www.pourvoiries.com/en/hunting-quebec/species/white-tailed-deer for a plethora of hunting and lodging information. Happy hunting one and all!

New website – Deer hunt story contest!

I invite all hunting and fishing enthusiasts who have not done so already, to visit my new website; The Outdoors Guy. Check out my ‘New Blog’ page and share your favourite deer hunting story for a chance at a great prize package. Each person who contributes a brief story (approximately 100 words) will be entered into a draw for a Tinks Hunting Scent package ($100 value) which includes cover scents, #69 doe-in-rut buck lure, natural and synthetic lures and other assorted goodies. Drop by my new website for a peak and watch for a Blog Post entitled “Favourite Deer Hunt”. The winning story will be awarded by random draw and announced in early December. Visit: https://www.theoutdoorsguy.ca/ for more information.

Safety first

Although serious accidents are rare during the hunting season the occasional mishap does occur. Perhaps our greatest concern as hunters, apart from falling asleep in the tree stand, would be muscle strain and body fatigue. After trekking eight kilometres or more up over hill and dale each day, aches and pains are part of the deal and injury a possibility. Simple stretching exercises in the morning will help get the old body loosened up and ready for an enjoyable day in the backwoods. There’s a reason why your dog stretches before they get up in the morning. Good luck and be safe out there.

October 10, 2017

2017 Hunters Bragging Board

OK folks, its that time of year when men are men and bears, moose and deer are extremely nervous.

If you’ve enjoyed a successful big-game hunt this fall, I invite you to share your story and photos right here at the Outdoors Guy Blog.

As someone once said, its time to show ’em if you got ’em..and also feel free to send-in last year’s prowess if you’d like. I will post your stories right here!

Please keep in mind that all photos submitted should be in a small file format. Usually less than 1/2 GB is fine.

Outdoorsguy

October 24, 2016

Experience a whitetail hunt this Fall

With moose season drawing to a close, whitetail hunters everywhere are gearing-up for the pursuit of North America’s most sought after big-game animal.

The white-tailed deer rifle season is a special and sentimental time I have enjoyed immensely for the past 36 years. From that first deer season back in 1980 when my dad brought me along to hunt with the men, I was hooked instantly. Of course I lucked out when a big eight-point buck ran right out to me on that first morning. It was an exciting time for a young green-horn hunter and I believe most hunters, young and old, still share this child-like enthusiasm for the deer season. My upcoming hunt at Kenauk Nature is something I now look forward to year after year. The famous Montebello, Que., deer woods is a true hunter’s paradise with its rolling hills, rugged terrain and the most majestic old growth stands of red oak I’ve ever seen. Climbing the peaks each autumn with my hunt gang in pursuit of a whitetail buck is always exciting, and this year is no exception. I have been fortunate to take some truly magnificent whitetail bucks at Kenauk over the years but, as most deer hunters know, it’s not all about the harvest.

Getting out in the crisp, cool fall air with the boys planning out each hunt with a fine-tooth comb is what we live for. Coming together as a team; strategizing and pouring over topographic maps and GPS co-ordinates with hopes of positioning ourselves for a chance at a deer. Many years our best planning does not translate into a sagging game pole and that’s fine with me. The experience is what it’s all about and what an experience it is! For more info on Kenauk Nature: http://kenauk.com/

Fish, Hunt & Ride Fall issue If you have not yet found an issue of everyone’s favourite magazine – Fish, Hunt & Ride, I suggest you find one at our nearly 300 location. The FHR summer edition celebrated Ontario’s reinstatement of the black spring bear hunt with adventures penned by several columnists’ including ‘Uncle’ Ted Nugent. Our fall issue will be bigger and better than ever with scads of hunting, fishing and riding stories, news, tips and tricks.

Fall is ALL about hunting and we really take it to heart in our next edition. Fish, Hunt & Ride would like to welcome a new member of our team: Ashley Rae of SheLovesToFish.com fame. Ashley is a gal who lives and breathes the great outdoors and is as passionate an angler as I’ve ever seen. Be sure to read Ashley’s first column along with great material from other members of our team of experts and specialists. Oh and hey, Old Toothless is celebrating 20 years, read our fall issue for more details. If you have an upcoming hunting, fishing, or ATV event in your area you’d like to mention or advertise, drop us a line. In the meantime check out our website: www.fishhuntandride.ca.

Safety always comes first! Statistics show that firearms-related accidents are rare during the hunting season, however there are other health and safety concerns to be aware of. Perhaps our greatest hazard, apart from falling asleep in the tree stand, would be muscle strain and body fatigue.

For many hunters, deer season can be one of most strenuous activities of the year. After trekking five miles or more up and down the mountains, aches and pains are part of the package and injury a possibility. Simple stretching exercises in the morning can help get the old body loosened up and ready for an enjoyable day in the woods. For those who do a lot of walking like we do, be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Waking up at camp in the middle of the night with excruciating leg pain from muscle spasms can be avoided if you don’t let yourself get dehydrated. Trust me on this one. Good luck, happy hunting and be safe out there this fall!

November 26, 2015

Ghost Buck, alive and well after all these years…

My hunt gang will probably kill me for posting these images, but it needs to be discussed…

Back in Nov, 2011, I put out a Blog Post entitled; Pursuit of Ghost Buck Continues. It was essentially a photo essay of a special whitetail my gang and I had been hunting since 2009. Here were are 6 years later and I am STILL talking about the same deer!

And the best part is, this bad boy is still alive!!

Although I can’t know for sure the age of this old-timer, based on images I’ve gathered from 5-6 years ago when he had to be at least 3.5 years old, my Ghost Buck would now be approaching an incredible 10 years old!

A deer of this vintage is almost unheard of on Crown/public land, especially where we hunt. Deer numbers are dwindling and this aged warrior is one of the scant few whitetails we have left.

This is how the Ghost Buck appeared five years ago in October, 2010(already a 3+ year old at this point) He has a distinctive rack with a forked point on the right side, and has always been missing a browtine on the same side. (from an injury I assume he sustained at one point and was never able to grow a brow tine there)

And here is how the Ghost Buck looks this year:

How does one particular deer manage to avoid the hoards of hunters (including us) for nearly a decade? It only goes to prove the resilience and smarts these animals possess and oh, did I mention Ghost Buck has NEVER been photographed during the day and, as far as I know, has also never been seen by a single human being.

I am ‘secretly’ hoping we never get the chance to harvest this special creature, as I’m not sure what I’d do even if I eventually had him in my sights.

Outdoorsguy

P.S. Special thanks to my good friends at Bushnell for providing all the great trail cameras for testing over the years!

November 18, 2015

Outdoors Guy interview with FHR Columnist Ted Nugent – Part 1

Mr. Ted Nugent, FISH, HUNT & RIDE Magazine’s latest columnist, was gracious enough to leave his tree stand briefly to participate in a frank and informative Q&A session.

It’s not every day a small-town boy has the good fortune of conversing with someone like the NUGE and I really took it to heart; coming up with questions I feel would be of interest to the hunting & rock ‘n roll communities, and of personal interest as well.

PART 1 of my Uncle Ted Interview:

Outdoors Guy:

“Ok Ted, I realize your hunting prowess has spanned the globe over several decades, but would there be one hunt in particular that stands out from the rest as the most meaningful? “

Ted Nugent:

“All my life’s passions run very deep and amazingly after nearly 67 years of nonstop hunting, it is impossible to pinpoint a #1 hunting experience above all others. That being said, I will say however that those many times I have been so humbly blessed to be thought of and invited to take a terminally ill child on their last hunt request in life may very well represent the greatest gift a person can receive from another. To say that it is life changing and spiritually fortifying does not come close to the powerful impact it has had on me and my family. Those moving experiences will stay with us forever.”

Outdoors Guy:

“How do you balance a music, hunting and conservation career, a home life, recreational hunting, along with the other irons you have in the fire, yet still remain balanced and (somewhat) sane? Does your hectic schedule ever get the best of you, or can you simply take things in stride?”

Ted Nugent:

“Being 67 years clean and sober with damn good genetics, with a sensible physical regimen and a killer smart diet of wild game provides me a very healthy, high energy condition to allow me to tackle any and all of my passions and dreams. That I have always surrounded myself with the very best people possible, as you have witnessed working with my personal assistant Linda, my team can move mountains, and we do. Every individual from management, Spirit of the Wild TV production, Sunrize Safaris, and nonstop rock-n-roll mayhem are fulltime master asskickers!”

Outdoors Guy:

“In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine rated the Top 50 guitarists of all time and you ranked #4 on the list. Would you agree or disagree with that ranking? “

Ted Nugent:

“Music and guitar playing in particular are so very personal and subjective that any such list can only represent those that compile it. I happen to love my guitar playing more than any other while loving and respecting all those amazing 6 string virtuosos out there that provide us the dynamo soundtrack to our lives. The greatest musical honor I could have ever dreamed of was bestowed upon me a few years back when Michigan voted me the #1 Detroit guitarist of all times. Lord have mercy, that feels beyond wonderful.”

Outdoors Guy:

“Ted, you’ve stated many times that venison is your all-time favorite game meat. If suddenly there were no more deer what game meats would fill its place as #1 on the Nugent table? “

Ted Nugent:

“We love all game; deer, elk, moose, caribou, bear, pronghorn, hogs, grouse, woodcock, pheasant, quail, doves, snipe, squirrels, rabbits, ducks, geese, cranes, woodchucks and all the African and exotic game. The way we prepare our game, every meal is so damn good its crazy! I will share many of our recipes in upcoming FHR columns.”

Outdoors Guy:

“Ok, you have lots of fans up here in the Nation’s Capital, why haven’t you performed here in ages? Each summer in July the City of Ottawa hosts one of the largest musical festival in the world, would you ever consider playing at Bluesfest? And what if the Outdoors Guy promised to bring you hunting while you were here?”

Ted Nugent:

“I’ve rocked across Canada for nearly 50 years and have loved every gig. I only tour the summer months these days so I hope to hell to get back up there ASAP. You people deserve me!”

Outdoors Guy Thank You:

“Hey Ted, thanks so very much for your time and for the terrific and candid responses! Wishing you all the best throughout the hunting season.”

Ted Nugent:

“The best of luck to you & yours Jeff! Thank God everyday we are deerhunters! YOWZA! Aim small miss small, go ultra stealthy! kill the beast! cherish this special family spirit time! Ted”

September 10, 2014

Trail camera preparation in comfort & style

Oh, the beloved trail camera, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

Perhaps the most exciting part about fall and hunting season is getting to play with my favourite toy; the wildlife surveillance camera, otherwise known by hunters simply as the ‘trail cam’.

Here I’m adjusting the settings on my trusty Bushnell Trophy Cam – Bone Collector. This particular trail cam has been in that same tree for more than a year now, and I’ve only changed the batteries once. Once!!

Not bad for an estimated 15, 000 photos.

Certain trail cams like this one, which gets lots of action, I set to low res. image (3 MB) to allow for the 300 -350 photos it captures each week. Other cams I may opt for ‘HD Video’ instead, keeping in mind the amount of space an HD vid occupies on the SD card.

These little Trophy Cams are not only reliable, they’re about as user friendly as it gets. Scrolling through the menu and changing settings with this model can be done with ease, and Bushnell remains consistent with their new models as well; keeping menu options and layout pretty much the same across the board.

TC4

Trail cameras with Invisible/Black LED’s like these two models are great for those ‘camera shy’ critters who don’t enjoy being photographed at night.

Since the LED Glow is obscured, they also make a better ‘surreptitious surveillance’ system for around the house, or to monitor your hunt camp for break-ins.

Checking-on already established trail cams or setting-up new ones is about as close to actual hunting as it gets.

(Warning – blatant product plug coming…)

Wow, what fantastic looking footwear! Do I look good, or what?

These new Merrell’s I courtesy of Shoeme.ca, made this week’s trail camera set-up an even more enjoyable experience. I felt like I was floating on air!

Thanks to the good folks over at Shoeme.ca for the opportunity of trying-out a fantastic pair of new shoes. I’ll be wearing these puppies to hunt camp next weekend when I set-up another series of trail cameras.

For more information on the latest in trail cam footwear: http://www.shoeme.ca/collections/merrell

Happy trail-camming one and all – may your SD cards runneth over with big game images!

Outdoorsguy

November 21, 2013

Hunters' bragging board(new stories & photos!!)

OK folks, it is that time of year again…when men are men and the bears, moose and deer are nervous!

If you’re back from the woods and have enjoyed a successful big-game hunt this fall (& have harvested something other than Labatt’s or Molson) I invite you to share your story and photos right here at the Outdoors Guy Blog.

As someone once said, it’s time to show ’em if you got ’em! You’ll notice that all my hunting pics are from previous hunts as no ungulates fell to my rifle this fall.

Please keep in mind that all photos (submitted by pm please) should be in a small file format. Usually less than 1/2 GB is fine.

As I point out in my latest Pembroke Daily Observer Outdoors Column, not every hunt requires a grip-and-grin photo to be truly successful (stated by a man with no such photos this year..)

Pembroke Daily Observer: http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/2013/11/21/harvest-less-deer-hunt-was-still-a-blast

Outdoorsguy

Congrats to Hunting Mom and her son Sam on a great deer hunt this year!

Memorable Hunt – by Hunting Mom

It was another memorable hunt for us this year. As I’ve said before, Sam and I have the privilege of hunting with a group of highly skilled men with years of experience. They are mentoring Sam and he is benefiting so much from their expertise and wisdom. I do appreciate that they let me tag along too. Sam got this nice doe on the first day of our hunt, and it was not the only one he shot at. Our group got a total of 7 deer during the week — 4 of them were on that first day. It was action-packed — everyone seemed to be getting a shot at something (except for me of course). The rest of the week was great, but that first day was one to remember.

Looks like Imacdon also enjoyed a productive hunt this year – not a bad way to start your retirement!!

Hi Jeff, we got two deer the first week, a doe and four pointer and a five pointer the second week. Nothing big, we seemed to do a lot better than the surrounding hunt camps. Does not seem to be a lot of deer around. We only saw the two bucks, the rest where does and fawns. Even got in some duck hunting the second week.

Imacdon’s brother with some ducks and his old buddy Duke. He could not get his young dog Jed to sit still for a picture. Duke retrieved the ducks.

Matt had a great time hunting with his grandfather this year. Evidently the excitement of a deer hunt never disappears, even at the age of 87!!

Hey Jeff , here’s a special pic of me and my long time hunting partner of over 30 years , my 87 year old grandfather .unfortunately he didn’t get to harvest this nice little 7 point but he wasn’t far away when I did!! Although he did get a crack at a nice ten point on opening day it appears after 50 plus years of hunting “buck fever ” set in and he had a clean miss !! I guess that’s allowed at 87 years young eh ? Lol Cheers Matt

Seems there was so good deer action over at Iggy’s hunt camp this fall. Iggy Junior took a very fine buck which field-dressed 197 and sported a great-looking crown too! Evidently Jr’s buck was a scrapper based on one of the main beams! And from what I read, there may be more pics from Iggy headed our way….

Iggy’s Deer Camp

Opening morning is what everyone dreams of, first chase, a doe and two bucks down! My son, dogging the bush with one of the dogs right in front of him jumped two deer, he got one but the other one got away and ran right past a watcher before he even got a chance to shoot at it.

The two other deer were stirred up by the other dog man and ran to two different watchers. We got another buck on Wednesday, one of our guys that enjoys hunting at the notch was sent there with a little reluctance. It’s probably the hardest watch to get to, but once there a nice eight point ran up from the valley below and that was the end of line for him.
We got another dandy buck on the Friday….Iggy

My pal Maple (and his son Maple bud) also had a great deer season by sound of it!

Hey Jeff, The other day I got your e-mail but decided to wait a couple of days before replying since my son was due to come hunt on Wednesday, and you never know. Anyhow, here’s the short version and a couple of pics….

For me, it’s been a hard deer season. Wasn’t here in early October, and the deer were elsewhere when I was hunting bow season. Since I only had a buck tag, of course, there were lots of does and healthy fawns seen. A good sign.

Some nice bucks showed up for the trail cam photos at night which did me no good until shotgun season in November, when a 5-pointer made his way into my sights at 12:30 PM, and I gladly took him. The first one I’d seen all year! Meat in the freezer and sausages on the grill!!

After that, I had to wait for my son and his buck tag to come hunt with me, which wasn’t until yesterday during the muzzle-loader season. We sat in the stand together for the afternoon and caught up on the news in whispered voices. As the evening settled in, a doe came into the field 60 yards off and kept watching to our left. Sure enough, this thick chested animal shows himself and his antlers at 70 yards, and soon my son sparks up the old smokepole.

As always, we wonder about the hit, get the ropes and big flashlight, and go to the hit sight. Easy tracking in the snow brought us to a dandy 9-point buck only 50 yards into the bush.

Thanks given, photos taken, and tag applied, we hauled him out to join our family and friends for supper throughout the year. What a lucky bugger that son of mine is. Him and his 3 hour hunts. – Maple
Sureshot dave’s deer hunt:

The crew arrived on Sunday, spent the afternoon checking a few tree-stands and setting up a ground blind. A few of us decided to check our guns to make sure they were still shooting straight. That’s when the adventure started for Mike Jr. Let’s just say it was a challenge to get his guns to pattern. He ended up using his dad’s shotgun. That’s how good things were going with his own guns…Anticipation was running high for Monday morning. What would the deer gods put in our sights throughout the week?

Monday morning was cold, and still. Not much wind, which made it a perfect day for deer movement. I had a doe right next to my ground blind at legal light, and then the morning started out with a bang! Well, a bang, bang I guess. Mike jr had two bucks go running past his stand, behind him of course. Without time to adjust, he had to shoot left handed. First shot was about 10 yards, second would have been closer if the slug had not buried itself in the tree right behind the stand. He called on the radio, I told him to sit tight for a while because it was such a perfect morning. When I got to his stand later on, he and Michel were scouring the ground for any sign of a hit. There was some hair, but no blood. We spread out a little and continued to look. Nothing. I decided to go back to the stand and start over. I walked the ATV trail checking for blood. I’ve been lucky in the past to find drops of blood where deer have crossed the trail. Sure enough, one drop of blood. Something to start with. Once we found the trail, it wasn’t that hard to follow. We found where the buck had stood for a while, then where he bedded on an old ATV trail. The frost was all gone from the spot, and lots of blood in his bed. I told Jr to be ready to get another shot off if he wasn’t dead yet. I knew he couldn’t be far judging by the blood we were seeing.

A little farther up the trail, he jumped up and took off out of the hemlocks. I managed to find him in my scope for a second. The .257 barked, and it looked like he went over a hill just as I fired. We walked up to where he was when I shot, and there he lay. A nice basket rack 8 point was the first deer of the week. We tagged and gutted him before going back to the camp. Everyone saw deer that morning except for Big Mike at the front food plot. The afternoon sit was just as eventful. Mike St. Amour is always one of the first to head back out. He picked the condo, never sat there before so he wanted to see some new ground. The rest of the gang headed out, and I settled into my stand just after 2. Not long after, a shot rang out, and almost immediately Mike St. Amour came on the radio. “Buck down” was the report. The excitement in his voice was obvious. Sounded like a kid on Christmas morning.

I headed over to the condo, and sure enough there was a buck across the beaver meadow. Turns out that Mike had shot him in the neck, when I got to the buck he was still alive so I put another round into him to end his ordeal. Tagged and gutted him right there because we were going to have to drag him a little ways to get to a trail. Or so I thought. Turns out that the Keddy’s had cut a new trail in, and it was a 50 yard drag to it. Nice and convenient. Michel was down at the homestead, so we got in and out of there quickly as to not screw up his hunt. Mike walked back to the camp, I climbed in to the condo stand to see if lightning would strike twice in one afternoon. Not long after, a shot rang out from the homestead. Michel had a spike come out to the food plot and decided to take a crack at him. Sure enough, just down the hill lay a nice little spike. 3 bucks on opening day!

Thursday afternoon Rodney chose the condo. He had gotten a nice buck there a couple of years ago. Sure enough, at 2PM another buck came down the same trail that St. Amour’s buck did. Rodney had to put down his smoke, but he did a fine job of sending some lead on its way. I had brought the boys to the camp for the rest of the hunt, so the first thing we got to do was go and look for Rodney’s deer. The boys were excited to get out and search for a buck. It was right where he shot it, victim of a perfect shot right behind the shoulder. Two bucks, middle of the day, on the same trail. Not bad!

Friday we sat for a couple of hours, then decided to push some bush. The honey hole didn’t produce any deer, but yours truly missed a big coyote with the 12 ga. Those buggers are fast!!! Since we were all together, we decided to put the Shadow Ridge push on. As I was going around to get started, the boys put up a bunch of deer on the way in. A nice buck with a couple of does, and then a spike. Apparently the deer were already where we needed them to be. No shots presented themselves, so I just hoped that I could get them turned around. On this drive, Cameron was with Big Mike, Evan was standing with Michel and Ryan was with Jr. I got into the pines and it wasn’t long before I saw some deer ahead of me. I got on the radio to say that they were heading towards the guys and to be ready. A shot rang out soon after, and Jr came on the radio saying “deer down”. We only had one buck tag, and one doe tag left, so we needed to know what had just hit the dirt. “Doe down” was the call. So now we needed antlers. Nothing more came out of that drive, but Ryan sure was pumped when I got out to them. Jr. had shot the doe at about 10 yards, and Ryan saw the whole thing. What an awesome experience for a 7 year old boy!

That was the last tag we filled. Friday afternoon we saw some more does and fawns, but no bucks. Not a bad week!!! – Sure shot Dave

Ok , we all know how ‘timing’ plays a huge role in anyone’s deer hunt. We all know the concept of ‘being in the right place at the right time’ and conversely we have experienced the sorrow of ‘being in the right place and then abandoning it right before the big buck arrives’. Its a situation demonstrated here by Otter Burn:

Right place wrong time – by Otter Burn

“First decent Buck I have seen on Camera and/or LIVE… since Oct. 1, 2013…AND I was AT THIS SPOT on 11.28.13 until about 4 pm…..WAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!! :o( LOL…but as they say…..”that’s FISHING”!………………

Needless to say, I know now where I will be spending the hours in the cold until I can arrow this puppy or until end of season Dec. 31…..Which ever comes 1st…..

A magnificent animal…worthy of the effort not experienced since ’09 success with the two year quest of “Bouble Brow”….

September 18, 2012

Heading off to hunt camp anyone?

The term ‘Hunt camp’ can mean different things to different people.

One person’s hunt camp could be as basic as a 4-man tent, while for someone else it might be a summer cottage transformed into a makeshift hunt camp when autumn arrives.

Other folks might be members of a private hunt club or an organized lodge, while some might even choose to go with an outfitter, rent a chalet or a small cabin. You could convert a fishing or trapping camp into a hunt camp in the fall and you know what, it doesn’t really matter.

Regardless of what four-walls make-up your hunt camp, tis the season to celebrate the sport we all know and love in your private little domain. Sharing the experience with friends and hunting companions only serve to enrich the experience.

The hunt camp experience is something only a true hunter has ever known and will ever really understand. Sorry to all animal rights people, environmentalists and other ‘non-hunters’ out there, you simply cannot relate and this post will mean absolutely nothing to you.

My Dad was up our hunt camp this week scouting for moose, as it is the first time in his almost 70 years of hunting he’ll be pursing moose with crossbow from our deer camp.

Of course I just had to know everything about the camp while he was there.

What did it smell like inside? Any mice around? How about fresh deer tracks in the way in, were there any of those? Did the deer eat the apples I put out on Labour Day? Anyone been around? What is the firewood situation like?

Yup, it is a time of year when many other things in our busy lives will take a backseat to this special place. We will dream about it at night and long for that glorious day when we first arrive.

After 32-years of this tradition I realize the hunt camp experience is over in the blink of an eye..so enjoy your time to the fullest and for goodness sake, let it all soak in. You just never know when it could be your last!

Outdoorsguy

August 16, 2012

New Game Seal causes confusion

Hunters have been left scratching their heads recently after receiving the new 2012 Deer Seals.

(Photo of replacement seal and license should you accidently void your first one)

The new format – which includes a removable plastic deer tag – may take some time(& extra $$) to get used to. Be careful not to remove it as there is a $10 fee to have it replaced.

There is also some discussion about the MNR’s new cost-savings measure of outsourcing the tag allocation to the United States.

Give us your thoughts!

Outdoorsguy

The MNR have just provided me with this info. to help explain the new tag design: