Perseverance pays...

It was about 5:30pm when I made my way across the creek and set up on the edge of a freshly planted field, surrounded by prairie grass with mature trees encompassing. I put out my looker hen decoy and sat down against a tree in the tall grass about 25 yards from where the decoy sat. A storm had just moved through and the weather was now just right. I grabbed my fly down wing from my vest and began scratching in the leaves like a feeding hen would. Not 20 minutes later I saw the painted purple, red, and white head of a strutted appear over the hill about 80 yards away. He was soon followed by 3 jakes and another gobbler. As soon as they saw the decoy they came in at half strut practically on a dead run. As they went behind a bush I shouldered my Benelli and waited. They strutted out of view for a few minutes and then the mature gobblers slow walked straight to the decoy. I picked out the left one, waited for a clear shot, and then squeezed the trigger on the 20ga. The bird folded as the other gobblers ran for cover.
After 2 and a half weeks of season finally the stars aligned. You may have noticed that I didn't mention any yelling or purring with calls. That's because I didn't. Those birds came in to the scratching in the leaves solely.
Patience has killed a lot of turkeys and curiosity has killed even more.
Don't be afraid to switch up your tactics. Nothing is going to work every time but, when something finally does you'll have that memory for a lifetime.

Turkey Season Indiana 2012

Pull on your boots, slipped into the early morning darkness, moved into your setup against a choice Oak tree without sound. You wait patiently as the morning begins to dawn. A deer feeds on the edge of the hay field, song birds begin to wake, a pair of geese pass over head, and then there it is, probably the most recognized sound in the outdoor world, the gobble. He's less than 100 yards from your hiding spot.You let out a soft purr and yelp, he answers once and then nothing... Much to your disappointment he flys down the other way completly uninterested. A wise man once said "Roosted ain't roasted." and this is sometimes the case.
    Never the less you leave satisfied in being able to feel another morning in creation begin.
  This season has'nt been the easiest on alot of Hoosiers, with the freakishly early spring we've had birds are in a different breeding stage altogether. They have been very consistent in gobbling on the roost. However they have remained for the most part, unimpressed with any calling, and weary of the decoy setups. This leaves a person with 2 options. 1. Find exactly where they are roosted and take note of where they are headed one once they hit the ground and try to be in their route of travel. If this does not work in the morning, reverse it. 2. Get tight up against their roosting area in the evening and wait for them to come home. You may be able to get a gobbler in range before he flys up for the night.And remember when a Tom isn't real excited about your calling don't press the issue. It's always best to wait them out.
  If there is one thing I've learned to enjoy more this year it's the amazing beauty of this country. It's amazing and at many times breathe taking. People that haven't experienced this outdoor lifestyle just simply do not understand our obsession. For this reason I have recently taken up photgrophy to try and capture just  a litttle of the amazing things I've seen on the countless adventures into the heart of nature.
   I hope you all are having a wonderful spring and stay tuned as my adventures take me to Maine next week on a spring black bear hunt.

Shotgun season recap, Thanksgiving, and late Muzzleloader.

Early archery came and went for me and quite a few others in an uneventful manner. It was time to pull out the smokepolls and firesticks for Saturdays shotgun opener. The first week slipped by for the Boehms without success. However good friend Brandon Jones with Outdoor Jones put the sneak on a great buck. Pictures of that later. It seemed that I had a bad case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. With plans of heading to North Dakota for thanksgiving and a little pheasant hunting I only had until this passing Monday night to hunt. And I almost pulled off a slam dunk I was sitting on the ground at a property I had neglected to hunt this year yet. It was 5 minutes before dark and I had a 150 inch 12 point sneak into 5 yards and bust me. Maybe if I had waited just a few more minutes to start putting stuff back in my pack I'd be going to ND with a fist full of pictures and my tag filled. But that's why they call it hunting, not to mention it was completely my fault. I'm going to be ready to hit it hard for late ML! Again I say never give up. Have a great Thanksgiving ladies and gentlemen. God Bless America and remember our freedom isn't free.

Howdy folks,
  I apologize for not posting for a week. It's completely unacceptable!
  Here we are it's November the 8th and the bucks have been chasing hard but due to windy and warm conditions the past few days things have dropped off considerably until after shooting hours. However..... Thursdays forecast is very promising with highs only in the mid 40's. If there is one day of the season I will sit all day it's always the 10th. The 10th, is from what a few of us can tell is pretty close to always being the peak seek and chase day of the rut. So pack a few sandwiches, grab a comfy cushion and be prepared to sit from dark til dark. Stay sharp and keep your mental game in the right place and you will have a great chance of catching a mature buck on his feet in plenty of shooting light. P.S. Keep the estrous bleat handy.

Just don't give up.

Halloween has found us
here and the deer movement is really starting to pick up. The 31st October is just one of those days you would do good for yourself by being in a tree preferably over a massive scrape line or transition area.
3pm comes for me which finds me climbing up to my perch high in a burning maple overlooking the corner of an unpicked cornfield. The wind is good and the weather is promising. Everything seems perfect, and 2 hours it is. And then, all of the sudden at 5pm I here VROOM VROOM and to my shock and surprise the neighbor has managed to get his car all the way to the farthest corner of his property which is 70 yards through the brush from my spot. He parks, gets out, slams the door, and proceeds to walk right through the bedding area.
Now most of you know exactly how I would have felt at that very moment. And no, all of the thoughts, thought wouldn't be appropriate for all listeners but, you get the point. At this point of the year it's time to start being pretty serious about putting time in and heightening your chances at putting your tag on an antler of a rutted up Poper and something like this completely ruins your evening. It is frustrating and hey, it's alright to get frustrated every once in a while. But tomorrow is November the 1st and I've got one mighty fine spot that hasn't been hunted this year with a big buck in area. So until morning comes, I'm slipping out of here and heading out to get a good bite to eat and a full night of sleep. Morning will find me looking over one heck of a scrape line.

Things change and so Does Deer Movement

    Let me set the scene: A few years ago or maybe more than that even, you find a honey hole of a spot. It's not just a good stand location, it's amazing. For years it produces without fail until one year you notice it's started to change. The deer don't move through as much and are unpredictable. At this point it's still a good stand until, gradually it gets worse and worse until there is no movement, no sign, no rubs, no scrapes, no anything. And there you are left wondering what happened to your favorite killing tree. A huge number of factors could be playing into the profound absence of game. For one thing food sources change. That can be a factor. If you hunt agricultural areas which would most of the midwest, it's no secret that most farmers rotate crops. Soybeans one year, corn another, wheat the next, and maybe alfalfa for a couple years. Some deer in different areas prefer different things. Mine prefer corn. Yours may not. But that's an obvious factor.
     Water or more like the lack thereof can cause 2 problems: 1. Obviously deer need water so if there isn't any available they will relocate. (Again an obvious reason). 2. When water gets low maybe a whole deer herd amongst other creatures may be drinking from the same tiny watering hole. This can cause the spread of a devastating disease called Blue Tongue or Catarral Fever which most of you know about. A virus which is first started by midges and spreads through drinking water. (luckily biologists say it can't affect humans) This can wipe out huge numbers of deer and sometimes an outbreak won't be as obvious as you think.
   It's your favorite tree so you have hunted it a lot right? Maybe even sometimes when the wind
hasn't been the best. And usually, if you hunt a spot long enough and enough deer pass by the enevitable will happen. You will probably be seen, smelled, picked out, or heard by any number of deer maybe more than once. Get busted by the Matriarch doe or get busted enough times by the deer period they will start to know what to expect. At first they might continue to use the trail and just be more cautious but get busted again and they will probably stop using the trail completely. I have a stand where deer never looked up until one day the wind swirled and a mature doe (probably the Matriarch) smelled me and saw me at the same time. Every deer from that time forward looked me right in the eye when they got to that spot in the trail. I got busted 2 more times from that trail and they stopped using it completely. Call me crazy, but it's true, deer comunicate.
    So what's my advice? As hard as it is to do, leave it completely alone for at least one or two full seasons. Also, try to remember closely the conditions on which the deer movement was paramount and strike when those conditions align down the road. Hopefully, in a couple of years your old spot will be as good as the first season you hung it. Just don't give up! -Lake

Big Bucks on a Time Crunch

We've all been there. Only an hour or two to hunt. Whether it's before work, after school or on

your lunch break, there is still hope to get a big buck on the ground this fall! Don't ever tell

yourself that if you can't hunt all day, or what some people call "prime time" (early morning

late evening) that it's not worth it. Because it is worth it! So let's take a look at what you can

do to improve your hunting odds when the Bossman isn't so understanding. Know your deer

year round. This is vital! Know where they are bedding, traveling and feeding. Trail cameras

are a must. At least two or more will be required to get you where you can watch multiple

properties or areas of one property at one time. Right now you're probably thinking 'two or

more?! Way too expensive!' and they can be very pricey. But don't be afraid of the entry level

models. In my opinion there are alot of great cameras out there for a little under $150.

Most feature at least 5 mega-pixel pictures and infrared too. Also, keep a running journal of

deer activity, moon phases, weather, and barometer pressure.          

Plant your food plots. This is a great way to almost guarantee deer movent to your stand

location. I would also recomend turnips and rye grass. Where the does are the bucks will

follow. I understand that a food plot can be very time consuming and hard on the wallet. So, I

would recomend a seed that doesn't require machinery to plant. Glass the fields in late

summer. I always carry a good pair of binocs in my truck. If you're on your way home you can

swing by your hunting property right before dark and glass the soybean fields while they are

still green. You get a real good idea after a couple of weeks doing this of what bucks you have

around. When the time comes to put up your tree stands, remember it's all about location.

Easy in easy out is what you want! Fencerows are a prime spot for this type of hunting. You

don't want to have to walk over 5 to 10 minutes to get to your spot. I will take a good stand

with great accessibility over a great stand with good accessibility any day. Have as many

stands out as you can, so you can hunt the wind. Also, it's a great idea to rake away a trail of

dead leaves so you can be as stealth as possible. Remember, because you can only hunt a

small amount of time you don't want to disturb the woods anymore then you absolutly have

to. But sometimes when you're in a hurry it's a wise idea to put on your turkey vest and hunt

from the ground. Cut cornfields and fencerows are your friends! More big deer have been

killed this way than you would believe. When hunting from the ground, always carry a pair of

snips so you can make a small blind and trim shooting lanes. Carry a storage tote in your truck

with all the essentials that you need to hunt. This cuts down greatly on load up time.

Remember, it doesn't have to take all day to kill a mature buck. The people that can hunt all

day do have the advantage, but that doesn't mean you can't connect with a bruiser this fall.

It's a well known fact that some of the mature bucks that live in high pressure areas and like to

move during the day. (especially during the rut.)  So, don't get down in the 9-5 slump! Get out there and hunt when you

can. Keep it simple and precise and you have a good chance of putting your tag on a mature

buck this year. -Lake