Lights...Camera...Buck?

So as the story goes, when you have a spot that is red hot, you just have to get back there to see what is going on. I awoke to the alarm ringing earlier then usual this morning and then remembered "oh you set it last night to set that trail cam up..." Back in the truck at 5:30a, heading over to the spot I thought of where to put this wonderful piece of technology. You see, years ago when they first cam out with trail cameras, I had to have one(it's a guy thing). It used 35mm film and shot pictures every time a leaf moved. Let's just say, it was more of a hassle than anything owning that thing. But now, I'm equipped with a brand new Wildgame Innovations IR4 camera, which is well worth the money. By no means is it the same quality as an $800 camera, but it gets the job done, has infrared lighting and does 30 second video clips. Lets see how it works. In the world of trail cameras, you need to choose one that fits your tasks and fits your wallet. You can read endless amounts of reviews and sit there comparing apples to oranges all afternoon, but at the end of the day, pick one and go with it.

What to do next?

So you've slept on it. You sat there thinking about it in the middle of the night..."How am I going to bag that big buck?" It's a question we all ask ourselves every single year. Most of us hunt the same spots year after year and have a pretty good idea of what the answer actually is. For a new spot, I need to start from scratch. Yesterday I took a good walk of the property and found some good sign. Do I go back and case the land more? Should I set up a trail cam? Do I leave it alone?
Still being the middle of the summer it is safe to say that I don't really need to backoff of this property yet. If it were mid-September, it would clearly be a different story. I figured out a nice spot yesterday for a trail cam, that is my next plan of action.

First time to a spot...

For the first time since last Bow Season, I stuck my foot into my rubber boots and got into the truck, ready to venture out into the next zone for this year. There was something odd about getting back into the truck, throwing my coat onto the passenger seat and trying to feel the gas pedal with a giant rubber boot...

Well, I'm back. Back with more knowledge about that spot that was offered up to me about a month ago...

Ok, lets cut to the facts instead of me sitting here describing how this new spot gets me fired up about Bow Season 2010.

Walking onto the property I noticed a heavy amount of acorns... the first good sign. Definitely a matured forest with lots of hardwoods and plenty of shooting lanes. A nice sign, considering much of the area surrounding it is heavy thickets. About 10 minutes into my walk I found this rub... a pretty good sign that there is a boy in the area I'd say...

Needless to say, I was pretty excited that this spot offered some kind of sign, instead of just believing what people say. We have all had that scenario before, "oh yeah, tons of deer here..." Oh really, where? I found myself in a funnel that passed through the property, looked like there was some heavy hoof traffic there as well. Well what do you know, I found an antler shed from this past season. A small basket rack, with 4 points on one side and good genes, could this be the next favorite spot or what? There is nothing like finding a shed in amongst the leaves. Sometimes I think its like finding a needle in a haystack.

It was only a few minutes later when I kicked up 2 does in a small bottom area. Like I should have, I got busted and they took off which pointed me downhill towards that bottom where the 2 does were standing. "Honey Hole!" I said to myself! Plenty of food, good greens and plenty of trees to hang my Summit stand in this fall. If I can see this much now, wait until the leaves drop. Heading down the hill I noticed a heavy used run cutting right through this bottom and through a small stream. Panning the area for sign I turned around only to find what is pictured below...

CAUTION! What you are about to see next almost knocked me over!

I think it is safe to say that the basket rack shed I found earlier didn't make this rub. It was fresh from last season and just looked plain ol' mean. Just like any seasoned hunter, I have seen my fair share of nice rubs, though this might just take the cake for best rub ever. It fired me up and sent me through the roof. Opening day here I come... watch out bruiser.

New Spots

So if you were lucky enough to score a new spot to hang your stand in this fall, you most likely are pretty damn excited. For the first time in years, I was able to do this. Of course, it came out of nowhere! Sitting at the office one day, when a friend of mine says"You hunt deer right?" "YES!" Perhaps it was the bobble head buck on my desk that gave that secret away? After discussing the possibility of hunting a piece of land he had over in the next county, it was too late to put the fire out! Of course, I was on Google Earth, Google Maps and every topo map program that was free on the web. I think that I was able to tell him more about the property than he even knew. I took a ride over there a few days ago just to scope it out... and it looks awesome!

Today I'm going to head over there after I get out of the office to take a hike through the woods. Though its still very early, a nice 6pt has been spotted along with several other nice looking bucks. Hopefully the antlers don't stop growing at 6pts! We will see.

I will report back on my findings...

Itchy?

No not from bug bites! Obviously I must be talking about that mid-summer itch to get back into the woods after lounging out for the summer. I know that personally, I would ideally like to hunt 12 months of the year, but that just isn't realistic... or possible considering we humans work. I definitely take a break from hunting after the spring gobbler season. Hang those clothes up, clean the pockets of the snickers wrappers and old 12ga shells, you know that routine. I started to pull some stuff out this past weekend to satisfy that urge to get back into the woods. Of course I shot my bow for the first time in months as well and my groups were all over the place(it happens and it's no ones fault but my own). What do you do to prepare yourself for the pre-season, which is only a few short months away for some of us?

Decoy's: Friend or Foe?

The question has to come up at least a dozen times a season... "Do you use decoy's?" Yeah, I sure do and wouldn't have it any other way. Even during the most rushed times, I find it crucial to at least have a Jake and hen set up. I used to feel much differently about it though. If I was running late to a spot, I'd rather just be set up without any decoy's thrown into the mix. Why the change of heart you might ask. I'll tell you why... Even if the Gobbler coming into your call isn't interested in the decoy at all, it still gives him something else to focus on, other than yourself. Now let's be clear, more times than not, that big Gobbler is looking right at those decoy's for a reason! Yet on the flip side, there's no evidence saying that it's impossible to call in a bird without a decoy present. The most important thing about them is that it takes the attention of of you. Maybe you'd get away with putting a call down, or moving your gun slightly, when otherwise you wouldn't.

Old School or New School?

I recently read an article about the usage of old time calls. You know, that wingbone call or old box call that is 40 years old and held together with bits of tape and string. What is it about these calls that make them so special? Is there a story that goes along with them or is it nothing at all? Do you have more faith in one than the other? I think more times than not, it all comes down to what the call has produced in the past. Why go with the new one, when the old one called in that slammer you bagged last year? The article I was reading questioned the sound of the older call vs. the newer ones. Personally speaking, I have quite a mix of new and old in my vest, mostly because I want a variety of sounds. For a while there I would try to get every new call possible, yes I am a sucker for good marketing... But time and time again I sat at the base of the tree pulling out my slate call from 10 years ago that I called my first bird in with and more times than not, that call gets the attention of more birds than any new call(which I needed a loan to buy). When you think about it, calls are a relatively simple thing to construct. Every so years I find that a call maker will venture into a new area, with new material and build something different, cool. But for the most part, many of them are the same. What's the point here? Stick to what works, but next time you're sitting in the woods or on the couch practicing your calling, look at what call you choose first; which one do you have more faith in?

Crunch Time

So, it's now about a week away from Spring Gobbler season and the tension is starting to build. What is the right spot for opening day? Will there be any birds talkin'? Looking back on the numerous years of Turkey hunting that I've been through, it's so tough to predict what will happen. Some years, opening day can produce an abundance of different birds responding to the call. Other years, it seems like it's still January and the birds aren't even interested in a hen. Hopefully this year turns out to be a successful one. But the whole point of this blog post is to address one question: Are you ready for opening day? Whether or not opening day has started in your state or not, do you prepare for opening day? I sure have changed my ways.

I used to not get ready for the Spring season at all. I would pretty much throw a bunch of stuff in the back of the truck and then head up to camp for the hunt. But the past few years, I've changed my ways. Starting about 3 weeks before the start of my season, I get all of my gear together and boy it's amazing how much stuff we can accumulate over the years! This year I finally brought myself to buying myself a new vest. I had an LLBean Plenty O' Pockets vest from about 7 years ago(which of course is not made anymore), and I got stuck crawling under a barbed-wire fence. That in itself is a longer story that I won't touch on...

Anyway, I prep my calls, sand down my slate and attempt to use my mouth calls for the first time each year(each year's first time is always a good laugh). Like any sport, practice makes perfect and practicing with all of your calls is a way to eliminate those slight imperfections that can get you busted in the woods. Having played around with the calls and tweaked some things allows me to feel a lot more at ease on opening morning when my back is against the tree.

18 Days and countin'

We're only a short 18 days away from Opening Day in New York and then the chase for big bird commences again. What will this Spring season bring?

Got Beat or Busted Last Year... Not This Time Around.

Last year, I got on a bird early in the season yakking away every morning. But every single morning he hung up. It all started when I had seen him out in his strut zone with 2 hens. What the hell I said let me ambush him and set up on him. As any good Turkey hunter knows, stealing a gobbler away from 2 hens is near impossible, but its always worth a shot, call it desperation, but its worth a shot. So here I am set up in the middle of the pines, a good spot. Throwing a few soft clucks at him I wondered what he was doing in the field. I couldn't quite see that far to the field where he was, probably 150 yards through the pines. Heck, I wondered if he was even still there, we've all been in that position before. But then he gobbled back. I could hear him spittin' and drummin' and it got deeper and deeper and louder and louder. If you've never experienced a bird spittin', it's pretty crazy. I had the Benelli up and got the bead on his head, but he was way to far through way too much brush to blow a first shot. I managed to hold off on shooting a desperate shot that wasn't gonna make it and try for him the rest of the season.

I must have set up on this bird at least 5 more times throughout the course of the season. Every morning I would get him gobbling and then he would hang up. So I would set up on him a different way the next morning and he would hang up again, always making you believe he was right on the other side of that knoll.

I made it a goal for this year to kill that bird. I am changing my tactics and we'll see if it works...

Things to Change:

Hunting with a partner- This bird only got more educated over the last 11 months that I haven't hunted him. By having one caller and one shooter, I can pull this bird farther a lot easier without having him hang up on me.

Time to scout the land before the season- Last year I went in blind and had no idea about how the land was laid out. Lots of small meadows to use instead of getting hung up in thick brush or heavy pines where taking a shot can be compromised.

Time to Pregame...

April is indeed upon us and just like every year that can only mean one thing, Turkey season is rapidly approaching. For most hunters the Spring Turkey season in the northeast is a time to get back into the woods and start chasing those longbeards. May 1st is opening day in New York State but I'll be in the woods scouting plenty before that. I'm pretty sure that it is safe to say that a good amount of people don't scout for birds as much as they will for deer season, but why is that? I used to be the same way until I realized that birds can be awfully predictable, especially if you know the land you're hunting on.

Starting around the second week of April, I'll get out in the woods right at daylight and listen for some gobbling. Each year is so different. So many times it seems to be just slightly too early to ever hear a bird sounding off. Other years, you would think Turkey season was in full swing. We'll see what kind of response we get this year.

By late in the second week/early third week I'll start to give some yelps back. Walking around some large fields, glassing and walking for most of the morning seems to always work well. I'll never set up on a bird before the season though. All you need to do is get busted by that longbeard and then you just educated him more. We all know those birds are smart enough!

By the last few weeks of April, I'll have a good if not great idea of what is happening in the Turkey woods for this season and by the time May 1st rolls around I'll know where to set up... if only things were that easy...

Preseason Gear:

• 1 Good Set of Binoculars
• 1 Cody Glass Call
• 1 Wood Witch Slate Call
• 4 Woods Wise Strikers
• 1 LL Bean Plenty O' Pockets Vest
• 4 Cups of Bold Coffee
• 1 Favorite Realtree Hunting Cap