Yesterday, someone (she reads my blog) was making fun of me for not being a girly girl that takes her own fish off the hook. Coincidence that I asked if my readers take their own fish off the hook?

Maybe.

Probably not.

Dear chick that takes her own fish off the hook,

Before you get your fish off your hook … I’ll break your pole.

Love,

The hair puller.

It’s a full moon tonight be safe all!

I love my readers.

Flying off on my broom for the night!

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Have you ever had one of those years where you just want to give up especially when you feel like you have worked harder than everyone around you but they seem to be the ones with the success?  This is my story about my 2009 hunting season that was horrible but then better than all previous seasons and you wonder how that could possibly be.  Chris, my boyfriend/hunting partner, and I have three places where we hunt – one is in Bossier Parish near my mom’s house and is my favorite place to hunt, another is in Desoto Parish which is the closest to where I live and the other is in Natchitoches Parish about an hour drive from my house.   This year we decided to try something a little different by putting our trail cameras out early in Bossier Parish and Desoto Parish in hopes to get some pictures of bucks in velvet.  And that we did, in Desoto, we had pictures of a nice 8 point and a good 6 point which gave us high hopes long before the season started.  That wasn’t true for my favorite place because I went from having lots of deer on my camera last year to having a doe, a yearling, and more hogs than I cared to count, which was a first for this area.  Of course I wasn’t going to let some pesky hogs bring me down and keep me from hunting in that spot so I readied for opening day, clearing old and new shooting lanes.

Two weeks before the season opened we had a special youth hunt weekend and my 8 year old son, Mason, decided this summer that he wanted to start hunting with me this year so I bought him a new rifle.  Youth weekend he and I hunted the 8 point and 6 point that we had seen on camera.  We hunted all weekend long but only saw a doe with a yearling, not once but every time we were in the stand. Mason was tempted to shoot the doe but using his better judgment he decided against it since she had a baby and I was really proud of him for making that call.  Therefore, no first deer for him on youth weekend and he was ok with it.

When the season started I hunted every chance I could, every weekend going to Bossier and seeing nothing and then when I got the chance I would take off early and hunt the 8 and 6 point in Desoto since that stand was close to home.  I had made up my mind that if I saw the 6 point I would let him walk even though I had never killed a buck bigger than a 3 point – a very large bodied 3 point but nonetheless a 3 point.  I was going to save the 6 point for next year or if one of the kids were with me let them take it but I never saw the 6, the 8, or anything else and then sometime during November the gas well company came in and laid a saltwater line and really messed things up for the rest of the year.  Needless to say we were down one place to hunt but I continued to hunt hard in Bossier Parish in hopes that my luck or things there would change.  I couldn’t imagine where all the deer had gone especially since I had never shot anything off of that stand but all the deer had disappeared.  Still nothing and I was now getting very discouraged because it seemed that the harder I worked or the more I went the less I saw. But Chris, on the other hand, saw deer every time he went hunting and it seemed as though everyone I talked to had been seeing a lot of deer but not me.  My discouragement led to us making a week day afternoon trip to Natchitoches Parish.

We took off work earlier than normal and Chris and I headed to Natchitoches Parish and I was glad we made that trip because I finally saw a deer and it was a buck. Yipee!  A very small 8 point came out just before dark and hung out in my shooting lane for a good while.  He was maybe a year and half old so I just watched him, knowing that in about 2 years he would be a nice one.  I didn’t mind letting him walk because I was thankful to have seen a deer.  After seeing the little 8 point we made the decision to take off early Friday and hunt and camp there for the weekend.  When we arrived Friday afternoon we went straight to our stands I hunted the one where I saw the 8 point earlier in the week and Chris hunted what he calls long lanes.  We both hunted til dark and I saw nothing and Chris saw 3 does, I figured it wasn’t a complete loss since he saw deer and he was only hunting about 400 yards from me therefore I knew I was bound to see something that weekend.  Saturday morning Chris and I both hunted the same stands again and again I saw nothing and he saw quite a few.  That Saturday afternoon the frustration was really working on me and I asked Chris to let me hunt his stand and he could hunt mine.  You can bet I will not make that mistake again.  At 4:15 pm I hear him shoot and nearly jumped out of my skin, and immediately sent him a text to verify it was him although I knew it was and he replied “isn’t your lucky day”.  Now I was really getting frustrated – I asked him what he shot and just said “8”, my first thought was “he shot my little 8 point that I let walk” but I new better especially since he will not even shoot a doe.  He told me to stay in the stand and continue hunting the rest of the evening but I was too aggravated by now so I got down and went to see what he got.   When I saw the 8 point I couldn’t believe it, it was huge.  At that moment, I got upset and decided that he was right I just don’t have the luck and was ready to just quit all together but I’m not a quitter.  I have been told that I threw a little fit but I don’t believe it.

It took me a few days to get over being jealous and feeling sorry for myself and when I did I realized that the Thanksgiving holidays were in a few days and I would have extra time off work and more time to hunt.  The Friday after Thanksgiving I was up early not to shop like everyone else but to hunt in Bossier Parish and since my mom was out of town we had a place to camp for the weekend.  Mason wanted to hunt with us so Chris took Mason with him to give me time to focus without any distractions.  I hunted Friday evening in my favorite stand and again saw nothing until right at dark, when I looked to my left there one stood in my new lane that we extended this year.  The deer looked to have a very large body and I could see horns but couldn’t tell how many because his head was behind a tree, I hesitated due to my fear of shooting one at dark and losing it.  I took my chances anyway thinking this may be the last one I see this year.  I shot and he ran and I panicked.  I immediately called Chris but he wouldn’t answer so I waited a few minutes, got down and went to look for blood but couldn’t find any and it was really getting dark.  I finally reached Chris and he and Mason came to help me look, I showed him where I thought he was standing and we looked around and found nothing.  I began to doubt my shot but I knew I hit him so Chris walked a little further down the lane and found blood and some yellow stuff.   That’s when the sickening feeling set in, I had not only gut shot the deer but I obviously can’t judge this lane like I thought because I thought he was a lot closer than what he actually was.  After calling a friend to bring his dog to help track him we found my deer – it was a spike, and I was devastated.  I don’t shoot spikes, it is a rule I have but I had shot a spike.  The next morning when my alarm went off I didn’t move I was still too upset with myself over making a bad decision.  Chris and Mason went hunting without me.  At 7:15 that morning Chris sent me a text message that said “Mason did it. He shot one.”  At that moment I forgot about myself and focused on Mason’s success.  While I was getting dressed to go meet up with them Chris sends me another text “doesn’t look good, gut shot, going to stay in the stand til 10 and then look.”  I crossed my fingers, said a little prayer and waited to hear back from them.  At 10 am we called the same friend with the dog and he trailed Mason’s deer.  Mason didn’t make a bad shot his was perfect the deer only ran about 50 yards a laid down Mason got his first deer – a spike.  I was very proud of him but still upset with me so we went home I was done for the weekend.  Sunday morning 7:00 am the phone rings it’s one of my girlfriends; she needs Chris to come help her husband cape out the huge buck she just killed.  That was it I had had enough everyone around me was either seeing or killing deer and now one of my friends who doesn’t hunt and gripes because I do every weekend has killed a mountable deer on her first time to go this year.  I quit!

Again I spent a few days dealing with what I now know was jealousy.  My aunt who isn’t a hunter is the one who got my mind right.  She told me that I was trying too hard and maybe if I stopped focusing on that BIG BUCK and got back to the reason why I love to hunt then maybe things will change.  After talking to her I thought about the main reason why I love to hunt and that is because I love the outdoors and nature.  When I hunt I feel like a part of nature whether it be in the mornings when it awakens or the evenings when it is going to bed.  That is what I did the following weekend. Chris and I both took off work early Friday and headed to Natchitoches, but since I wasn’t planning to hunt anymore this season we weren’t prepared and didn’t make it in time to hunt that evening.  During the night Chris and I both became very ill with a stomach virus but we hung in there determined not to be forced to go home.  We slept most of the day Saturday and at 2:00 pm we decided to give it a try and head for the stands.  Neither one of us had eaten since Friday and were extremely weak to the point that I didn’t know if I would be able to climb in the stand.  I went to the stand called long lanes and Chris hunted what is called fence row.  Around 4:30pm I had a spike come out about 200 yards in front of me I watched him walk off in Chris’s direction.  A few minutes late I had 3 does in my lane on the right so I watched them for a while.  At about 5:00 pm Chris sent me a text that he said he has 2 does to the right of his stand.  Things were looking up I was finally seeing deer.  Just before dark I had 3 more does come out on the lane to my left and began to wonder how I was getting back to the house because that was the way I had to walk out and I could still barely see them even well after dark.  I managed to get down and walk out without spooking the deer.  When I returned to the house Chris was waiting to tell me what he had seen.  Just after he sent me the text about the two does on his right a nice 8 point walked out behind them, he chose not to shoot in hopes that if I were to hunt that stand Sunday that maybe I would get a chance at him.

Sunday morning I hunted the fence row and he hunted the stand that I had hunted in the previous evening. That morning we hunted til about 11:00 am and I saw 8 does and Chris saw 5 does but no bucks. That evening we were back in the same stands that we hunted that morning and I am thinking Chris saw the buck the previous evening so maybe this will be my evening. Around 4:45 pm a doe stepped out to my right and my heart started pounding I was thinking this is it the buck can’t be far behind her. I sent Chris a text and just as I pushed send the doe spooked and ran back in to the woods I knew then that he was on his way out. Directly across the shooting lane from where the doe came from, out stepped a spike. I knew then that the big buck wasn’t there because the spike didn’t seem too concerned. A few minutes later I get a text from Chris saying “the 8 pt is on my shooting lane to the right.”  Again my point is proven he was just luckier than me and the deer seem to follow him, but why?  A few minutes later he sends me another text that said “get down and come this way if he is hanging with this doe like I think he is you can make it.” My doe had returned and now I had 2 deer to my right about 75 yards from the stand and I didn’t want to spook them but I climbed down anyway and just as I got to the bottom the doe started walking towards me and then stopped and watched. I never scared them and they just watched me walk away and at that moment I knew my luck had to be changing. The stand Chris was hunting in has a lane out front and lanes to the left and right, like a T with the stand in the center. I walked down the lane out front and headed straight for the stand trying to decide what in the world I was going to do once I got there or should I say if I got there without jumping up or spooking one that may be coming out on the lane I was walking down. I walked thru knee high water that filled my boots and made a loud squishy sound or at least to me it seemed loud.  I made it to the end just in front of the stand and was burning up from all the clothes I had on. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled out in to the lane facing the direction of the buck but he wasn’t there only a doe and a 3 point were there. Chris whispered “he is in the woods snort wheezing at the 3 pt, so just be patient” but I was uncomfortable and needed to get out of my coat so I slowly took it off and laid it on the ground. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to shoot from the ground and I knew I needed some type of rest. Everything from this moment on happened so fast that I will tell it how I think it happened. Chris pointed in the direction of the doe and the buck stepped out all I saw were horns and a huge body. I immediately stretched out, laid on my stomach, propped up on my jacket, and shot. He stumbled for a second and ran into the woods followed by the doe and then a few seconds later the 3 pt followed behind the doe. I did it I walked all the way over and I did it I got my first big buck with my brand new Savage 30-06 rifle that Chris bought me for an early Christmas present. That was an exciting moment but it wasn’t over. After Chris got down from the stand we heard a lot of crashing in the woods and I got a bad feeling that I had made a bad shot and it was getting dark. The crashing lasted for about 5 minutes and I stood ready in the shooting lane while Chris went around to where he thought he was headed to send him back my way.  A few minutes later the crashing stopped and I could hear Chris walking thru the woods in my direction, he then yelled at me and told me to start walking the lane.  I went about 30 yards and spotted something white near the woods and there he was.  I didn’t make a bad shot! Chris then told me that the crashing noises were from the 3 pt chasing the doe once he saw his window of opportunity. That’s when the high fives began because I had made a perfect 75 yard shot from the ground. Some people may call that cheating of some form since the buck didn’t come out by my stand but I call it one heck of an adrenaline rush and a really good story to tell.

I always thought of myself as a patient and non-jealous person but I let my emotions get the best of me and that is something that I will not let happen again.  When you let the things that you love to do become work and you try to hard to achieve the goal then you forget your reason for doing it at all.

Shreveport, LA

See the original article at CampWildGirls.com

Nerves were tingling with anticipation as I made my way through the tangle of weeds and dense undergrowth. The dim early morning light made ghostly shapes, fanning the flames of imagination, sending all the senses to full alert. A soft breeze sighed, bringing the pungent smells of sage and manure… yes you read it right… manure… so much for making this sound like a romantic, high adventure! I was in our barnyard, making my way to the end of our horse corral to sit in the weeds and wait for a deer to come by!

All spring and much of the summer we had been watching deer cross through our barnyard on their way to and from the alfalfa fields. There were several nice bucks in the bunch. At first I thought I wouldn’t want to go after a deer right in our backyard… but as the elk season was coming to a close and we still didn’t have any meat to put in the freezer, I began to look at  those deer as fair game! So for the next two weeks, I began the quest to put meat on the dinner table. It seemed at first that it would be a simple staight forward hunt… but I soon found that these deer were not tame… nor were they dumb! If I sat by the gate near the Russian Olive trees in the morning, they’d show up over by the horse corral, 200 yards away. So I’d switch and sit by the horse corral… they’d show up over by the Russian Olive trees. This is the way it played out , morning and evening… until it had dwindled down to two days left in the archery season.

At this point I had given up trying to use any kind of stratgem and was just hoping for a doe to come by haphazardly. The season would end on Wednesday… on Sunday evening we were relaxing in the easy chairs when I happened to glance out the window and could just make out the shapes of deer in the fading light. They were gliding through the barnyard on their way to the thick Russian Olive trees. There were two does, two fawns,  one spike, a forked horn , and a decent three point.

looking out the window we saw the deer pass through just at last light of the day.

I tossed and turned most of the night, visions of those deer dancing through my head. Gary got up at 5:00 for his morning jog.  I sat munching my cold cereal, arguing with myself over the futility of trying to intercept one of those deer… finally disgusted with the argument, I put my spoon down, plucked my bow off the rack and headed out to the horse corral!

After about an hour of shivering in the cold morning, the faint light of dawn began to bring shapes into focus. I’d been staring for some time at the dark line of trees when I realized the faint outline of gray was a deer! I was so sure that the does would show up first that it took awhile to register on my brain that the deer was the nice 3 point buck! I soon made out three other deer farther back in the shadows. They were about 70 yards away, and feeding very slowly toward me. I had brought the video camera, so decided to focus on getting some footage of the deer to calm my nerves and occupy my mind while I waited for them to feed within bow range. There were two fawns in the bunch and they began to jump and play, chasing each other around the sage brush… it was a beautiful sight… Then things got a little dicey as a forked horn came up my side of the ditch, seemed to catch my movement and penned me with his eyes for what felt like an eternity! He finally decided the movement wasn’t threatening and began feeding about 17 yards away. I had hoped to get an opportunity to take the 3 point… but it looked like this little forked horn was wanting to end up on our dinner plate! I figured I’d have to take him if he kept coming, for he’d soon see me and bust everything wide open. I was waiting for him to turn broadside, when suddenly he threw up his head and stared up the hill for a few seconds. then turned and jumped across the ditch and disappeared down the other side. I eased back down from my knees and glanced up the ditch bank hoping the 3 point was still there. He was… still calmly feeding, unconcerned. Mouth dry and palms sweating I put the range finder on him… 28 yards… very doable… but he was quartering slightly toward me. Heart pounding, I watched and waited… I felt transfixed as I saw him slowly turn and present a perfect quartering away shot! All the universe seemed to go into slow motion… I drew, anchored, settled the pin, squeezed the release…thwack! Instantly everything sprang into fast forward, deer bounding away, disappearing over the side of the ditch bank… then total quiet. I sat stunned… the emotions overwhelmed me. I felt sure the shot had gone true, and I was so grateful! I finally got up on shaking legs, still flooded with emotion…

as I began to walk toward the spot I’d last seen the buck I caught movement from the trees and saw the forked horn coming back up the ditch bank towards me! It was very interesting behavior he displayed,,, he’d walk towards me staring straight at me, then turn and look back in the direction he’d come. Farther out in the field I saw one of the fawns prancing around in one spot looking intently at something on the ground. The grass was too tall to see, but I was hoping it was my buck! I didn’t want to spook the forked horn and fawn so I just stood and waited for them to lose their curiousity. They finally wandered off, and I went up the ditch bank, finding good bright red blood! I followed the blood to the edge of the tall grass and looking through a little opening in the grass spotted the yellow and green fletching of my arrow, and a gray shadow on the ground! Even though I was quite sure I’d made a good hit… the relief flooded through me…

A good sight to see…

Curious little forked horn

I’m glad I got footage of him …what a beautiful deer he was!

Now the work began! I had never field dressed an animal without Gary’s help, and I wanted to know that I could take care of it if I was all by myself… so I rolled up my sleves and dug in! Two and a half hours later, tired, bloody and sweaty I had all the meat in the house ready to proccess… it was a very rewarding feeling! Very similar to the feeling you get when all the vegtables and fruits of the garden are harvested,and preserved for wonderful feasting during the long cold winter.

Fruits of the labor!

This might have been  a backyard hunt…. but to me it was filled with excitement being the first deer I’ve taken with a bow… and the first one field dressed without anyone there to help me! It had all the elements of a high adventure!

Sue’s Gear:

Diamond Razor Edge Bow Packages
Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport 4 Rangefinder

Trophy Ridge Quick Shot Whisker Biscuit Arrow Rest

This article by: BaseCampLegends.com

Team HuntingLife.com Date-9/12 and 9/13

Opening Weekend Opening morning and the weather was not what we had hoped for. Temps on Saturday morning were in the 60’s and 100% humidity. Terri Lee was hunting and since Kale was working Joe Sharp took over the filming.

Oma and Opa picked up Tali Friday night, (she was not happy) so we could head out early in the a.m. Tom is working so he can’t watch her. Joe and Amy had supper with us and I took my last shots with the bow from the garage rooftop. Everything is ready. All my clothes have been washed in scent killing laundry soap and placed into a tub with cedar and pine boughs, even my underwear and socks. I am going all out after that big buck.

 4:20 the alarm goes off and I am not ready to get up. 2 nights without sleep, due to excitement, had me dragging. 4:25 I am out of bed and into the shower. We are going to be chasing after a big buck that we have seen on the trail cams, but not this a.m. We are doing a trial run at the apple tree stand. The big buck has been coming in early evening and we do not want to spook him but I do want to get some jitters and bugs worked out. We see two small bucks and a doe as we thought we would.

I head over to pick up Tali and go home for some much needed rest and later a change of babysitters. Auntie Nicky picks up Tali at 4:00 p.m. Tom will get Tali back after work and meet me back at home, after hunting. Into the shower again, as it is so hot and I am so sweaty I have to become scent free again. Joe picks me up at 4:30 so we can head into the stand early. It is so still and muggy.

We take the wheeler in at 5:00 and bait the stand like we did the night before. We have been running the wheeler in every night at 5:00 for 2 weeks picking up trail cam pictures trying to pattern this buck. We are hoping to get the deer used to the wheeler noise also. Joe returns the wheeler to a remote spot while I get set up. We get settled in sweat pouring off of us.

Around 6:00 we have a visit from a pesky bear. We have only seen him in here once on the cameras and he picks tonight to show up. He does not want to leave. It is getting closer to the time we have been patterning our buck and we want him out of there. We start throwing rocks from our Grab-it bag. We put it in the stand earlier just in case something like this would happen. We never hit the bear but Joe almost took me out as his rock ricocheted and nearly hit me in the head! lol. He should have had that on camera.

Joe finally decided he was going to get down and chase the bear out. (I was going to film because I knew this was going to be good!) When he stood up to get out of the stand, the bear finally walked away. He was not happy he huffed and puffed as he sauntered off.

Nothing more came in and we headed out at dark, planning to return the following morning. When I arrived home, supper was waiting for me. I have an awesome husband!

9/13-My husband Tom is home this morning so no need for babysitter. Joe picks me up at 5:15 again. We head into the stand in the dark. Not much happening this morning. We think the bear has changed the dynamics of things. Weather is still very humid and warm. We pull the trail cam pictures and head home to review. We want to know how long it was before the big buck returned last time, after the bear raid. He had been back the following day. That was good news and we were hoping he will make an appearance tonight.

I Head back home for family time, a nap and another shower.

 5:00 p.m. Joe and I head back to the stand again. Same routine. Joe drops me off and ditches the wheeler. We get settled in. It is probably close to 80 degrees just slightly less humid than last night. The air is very still though, no breeze. Around 6:00 we have a small doe come into the bait pile. She hangs around for a short time.

 We can hear something coming in from behind us and circling around. Through the limbs I can see the deer and I get a glimpse of horn. My heart begins to race slightly. If the pattern we have seen is true, the 9 pt will come in, followed by the big buck. He finally steps out head down and I can see it is the 9 pt. He looks up directly at us. We don’t move a muscle.

The mosquitoes are biting my cheek and back of my neck but I know I cannot move. I know I am not going to take this one but if we spook this him, the big one will not show up for sure. He continues to look at us and then moves back into the woods and comes around at a new angle. At one point I thought it was the big buck coming in and my heart was jumping out of my chest. I took some long, silent deep breathes to try and compose myself. Then it felt like my heart totally stopped. I thought maybe I had had a heart attack and just hadn’t fallen over yet.

The deer kept staging for quite some time, coming in part way and then retreating. He finally departed, and it was pretty dark in the woods by now. We never spooked him and I don’t think he knew we were there. I didn’t realize until I talked to Joe that it was the 9pt all along. The big buck didn’t come in and we will not be back to hunt there for a few days. We will be checking the trail camera, though to see what he is up to and work on a plan from there. Later in the week I will be filming Kale. Stay tuned for more!

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See the original article at CampWildGirls.com