Finally!!

Hunting seasons are also often like a box of chocolates, you just never know quite what you are going to get! After missing a really nice mature Iowa whitetail on November 11th my desire to get up at 4AM and head to the woods soared to new lows, but by the end of the week, I was ready to hit the woods again.

I headed to Southern Iowa on the 14th in time to sit that evening. It was a beautiful night as the winds died down towards the evening and I was able to watch a couple 2 1/2 year old's chase does, listen to some turkeys, and enjoy the sunset. I was only able to hunt the morning of the 15th so I was feeling a little of the "pressure" that comes from knowing the rut is winding down, I'd spent a lot of time in the woods, and I had nothing to show for it. 

The morning of the 15th I actually arrived to my stand a little later than usual, but even so, it did not take long for the deer to start moving. I was facing northeast and the deer soon started to pile out of the next field over and trickle down in front of me. After watching several deer (spikes and does) walk in front of me on a trail about twenty yards out a buck walking a trail that would end up being about 40 yards out caught my eye. I didn't have a ton of time to think about it, so I pulled up my bow, pulled back, looked the site, and let er' fly. Just under 40 yards away a less than perfect shot found it's mark and I couldn't be happier!

One of the many reasons I love bow hunting is because of the quiet after the storm. There were several deer in the area that had no idea about what had just happened. Deer kept streaming by the fence line this buck had piled up in. OF COURSE, as you would expect....I saw two really nice bucks during this deer parade, (one being a world class 10-12 point typical that came well within shooting range :) Never the less, I am so thankful for the opportunity to have harvested this deer, and for the friend who made it possible!

As you can see, this isn't a "world class" trophy buck. But it's about the experience. (and I would argue any buck taken with a bow is a trophy :) Don't get caught up this fall with having to hang a 180" deer on your wall. It's about the preparation, being able to spend extra time in God's creation, the sites and sounds that you only see during the rut. Not to mention sharing your moment and story with friends and family, that's what makes hunting so great and worth passing on to the next generation. 

Don't forget to include your family as much as you can! My kids were so excited to see me pull in and hear how it all happened. (Of course my wife was REALLY excited because that meant my tag was filled) Take them out with you! Have them "help" you put out your cameras, look at maps, set your stands, clear your food plots, pick out gear, and then of course be in the woods with you as soon as possible! Good luck to the many of you who are still out in the woods on a regular basis, until next time, JUST GET OUT THERE!

Bonus: Don't forget that each and every breath is a gift from God! James tells us that "life is a vapor," AKA it goes quick! So take advantage and be thankful for all the opportunities God has and will give you to spend time with your family, friends, and oh yeah...in the woods!

Great Expectations

This past week I headed to Southern Iowa with my dad in search of what every white tail hunter dreams of; a Pope & Young Southern Iowa Whitetail buck.

We set out from the Des Moines area just after lunch last Monday, November 4th, and by 4:00PM we were at our spot watching does feeding in a picked corn field. I was able to spot & stalk a doe down to what I thought was 40 yards....it ended up being 50 and I shot just under her.

Tuesday called for rain starting mid-morning so we were disappointed at the lack of movement right up until the rains started at around 10AM. It rained hard the rest of the day so we decided to drive around and do some glassing to see what was moving...there just was not much happening.

Wednesday morning came and as we arrived at our spot we could here the sound of deer on the move. While we were disappointed to have bumped so many deer, we were hopeful that this movement would continue on to shooting light.

As we settled in for the days hunt and the skies just started to lighten up, I noticed out of the corner of my eye movement along the edge of the field. Maybe 15 yards to my West a large bodied buck had gone right to the Tink's 69 Estrus I had hung out, my heart started to race. But it wasn't until he stepped out from my lure to put his nose on the ground to follow the trail I had laid in the field in front of me that I was able to see just what type of buck I was looking at. It was by far the biggest deer I had ever seen in the woods. I estimated in at 180", while another hunter who had seen it put it in the 170's. Either way, he was walking right in front of me just as legal shooting light was approaching. But while it was legal shooting light, it was still too dark for me to pick him out in my sight and had to watch with a heavy heart as went back into the woods. Another 140" deer came out from the same spot but didn't provide a shot. And that would be the last deer we would see all morning.

We decided to sit in a different spot that night and I'm so glad we did. We had deer moving within 5 yards of us (if you have never hunted on the ground (with the wind in your advantage of course, I HIGHLY recommend it!) as we were buried in some cedar trees in a fence line. I was watching two does coming m any way when I caught out of the corner of my eye a decent sized 8 pointer that had been staring at me from less than 10 yards away trying to figure out what I was. He took 3-4 steps closer to me and I couldn't believe I was this close to a mature deer on the ground. He looked the other way so I quickly pulled back my bow and went to pull up he saw me (he would have needed to be blind not to) and bounded off. That would be the last deer I would see on our trip.

HOWEVER, while this was happening, my 67 year old dad was in the middle of harvesting his first deer with a bow from 10 yards away on the ground and couldn't have been more excited. Certainly a trophy for him.
All in all it was a great trip even though I didn't harvest that 200" deer we all dream about this time of year, I was able to spend some extra time with my dad, see a lot of deer, and be there as my dad harvested his first archery buck.

I will posting on a regular basis again (with pictures) starting this week. Thanks for tuning in. I have 2-3 more days I can spend in the woods this week and the temperatures are going to be dropping big time! Until then, just get out there!

Fishing' Time!

For the first time this season I was able to catch up with one of my good friends and hit the water. Everyone has a "honey hole" that is their go to spot and we are no different! So finally on the 20th of June we made it out!

My first decent catch was a 12" Crappie. I was fishing for bluegill to take home and put on the wall and this guy came out of the water instead, not a bad way to start!

The winds finally settled down and I was able to land a couple decent bass, this one being of the 16" variety. It was nice to hear my reel work for the first time in a long time! I was fishing a 6" Pumpkin Seed Power Worm very slowly off the bottom and that proved to be the most effective way to entice bass in the later hours.

All good things must come to an end! As you know, 3 hours in the water often feels like 15 minutes and last night was no different. Zach and I were able to land several Bass, Bluegills, and one nice Crappie. Thankful for the time on the water and looking forward to doing it again soon!

Next week I will be sharing the first pictures off of my game cam. The deer are finally starting to show up! Even while I was in the boat enjoying the fishing my thoughts kept turning to the fall and deer hunting...it will be here soon enough!

Deer Feeder Part 2

Well, we finally moved our deer feeder into place this last weekend and set camera #1 out as well. This weekend we will be setting out a second camera out by our Trophy Rock. FYI, I will NEVER buy anything other than a Trophy Rock moving forward, the Bucks have already started to hammer it!

First things first....the bugs were out in full force so we sprayed down a couple home-made nets and put them on my kids before heading out into the woods and they worked great. No bites!

We picked out a flat spot down in one of the heavier traveled spots on our property by a creek with plenty of cover and water and set it up.

To level it off we set the legs into the holes of 3 bricks and tied them to a tent spike for extra stability.

 The whole process only took about 30 minutes and before we knew it we were testing the sprayer and it worked great. I was a little surprised by how far the corn flew so I cleared a pretty big area, put up the camera, and we were  good to go.

I am looking forward to seeing how the deer respond to the different attractants (shelled corn vs. the trophy rock) and to analyze what deer are moving where. We have already seen 3-4 bucks almost on a nightly basis on the trophy rock, so we will see if they venture down to take advantage of the shelled corn.

I always love seeing what is moving out in the woods and we will keep you posted in the coming weeks. As always, we appreciate your support and would love to have you list your outdoors items no longer being utilized at ourdoorsmanswap.com and tell those in your circles about the site as well!

Until next time, just get out there!

Nebraska Turkey Hunting at it's Finest!!

I had the most enjoyable hunt of my life this past weekend! Don't get me wrong, I've had some wonderful hunting trips: Deer hunting in Southern Iowa, Pheasant Hunting in South Dakota, and a previous Turkey hunting trip to Nebraska, but this one was special! Remember; it's not what your hunting, it's who you are hunting with! Both my sons (Hayden 6 & Hudson 4) were both with me and were able to watch several different birds up close from our blind with me and their grandpa.

We arrived at our cabin on Saturday evening and immediately headed out to the blind with my sons.

Our great host had turned several old water tanks into blinds, a  cheap way to make a very roomy blind. Within 15 minutes we had three Toms' headed our way. I took a long shot because we had two tags and missed, but things would take a turn for the better in the morning.

Towards the right of the picture you can see the "tank" I would be sitting in. There were several birds roosted 50 yards away in some old Cottonwood trees. Right at first light there were gobbles all around and for the first time in my life I was able to watch several birds fly down from the roost.

Around 15 minutes after sun up 6-8 hens went streaming by my blind (around 5 yards away) and I was starting to think this was a girls' only party. But finally a Tom came struttin' by around 10 yards away and as soon as he poked his head from behind the tree it was game over!

My sons (and dad) were pumped! This was their first opportunity to come along for a Turkey hunt and they loved it! It's not just the hunting of-course that makes trips like this memorable.

Playing Monopoly, eating Oreo's for breakfast, tromping' around the woods with their dad and grandpa and seeing a different part of God's creation are all things that make this my favorite hunt of all time and I'm sure theirs as well. Just a little reminder: Don't lose your patience with your young hunters! You want this to be an enjoyable time for them so they will want to go out again! Plain for shorter times in the blind, bring snacks and things for them to do and don't forget to tell them how thankful you are they came with you.

I've already booked our trip for next year and will be counting down the days, starting today. After this trip.....I can honestly say I would rather call in a big Tom that shoot a nice buck with my bow......don't knock it until you try it!

Until next time, get out there and experience first hand that creation really is "declaring the Glory of God" and enjoy it with someone you love!

Dear hunting prep starts now!

Well, it's hard to believe but it has already been almost 5 months since my last bow hunt. While it was memorable, it wasn't something I want to have repeated in 2013. To avoid a "buck skunk" for next fall my prep starts right now. It actually started the day last season ended; checking game cams for movement, shed hunting, talking with local farmers (aka my Grandpa) for movement and ideas for next fall.

This year we are moving two of our semi-permanent stands this spring as well as setting up two deer feeders, the first of which is pictured below.

It's a 200 lb. automatic wild game feeder. Nothing crazy, we purchased it at Wal-Mart (along with several other clearance items) for only $50. As you can see, I had all the help I needed, we just needed to put it together.

It's been said "you get what you pay for" but this really is a slick unit. It is raccoon proof, and is put together really well. There was only one problem and dad and I fixed that: The Tripod legs had no screws/hinge-pins to hold them in place, just gravity.

We just added a few screws and dad even made some home-made pins to secure the legs into place. This feeder is now built to last. We could have added another section of legs, but it will already be a challenge to add corn at this height, so we passed.

Last: Location. The deer had started to take to a different north/south trail last fall, especially during the height of the rut. So we are placing the feeder just a few yards off an east/west fence line and this north/south trail. Unfortunately, we were a little distracted by the rocks and the water and we will have to wait until next week to set it up and put our newest camera in place as well.

Until then, grab your family, friends, and really anyone willing to lend a hand and GET OUT THERE and get a jump start on next years deer hunt!

Good luck with your 2013 Turkey Hunts! Please post pics to our outdoorsmanswap facebook page! We would also appreciate you listing items at outdoorsmanswap.com!

Pella Wildlife Company

Cabin fever had officially gone to the next level with my kids so this past weekend we went to Merle Hay Mall here in Des Moines and visited the Pella Wildlife Company. They have a large space inside the mall on the second level completely devoted to wildlife and my kids really enjoy visiting it and I wanted to let you all know about it as well.

They have wolves, a Mt. Lion, a coyote, two black bears, a Lynx, Bobcat, and a few other animals that are all easily viewed in their wire cages. You can ask them as many questions as you want, and several times a day they bring out some of the animals for pictures and for petting (even the skunk).

These young black bears were small cubs this past year and my kids and I were able to help feed them and pet them, it was great! The other bonus is that it is only $1 per person to get in and you can stay as long as you want.

Trust me, Avlyn enjoyed it more than she is letting on! If you are a trapper they have all kinds of furs for you to look through as well, but my family and I were fascinated with the black bears. If you are looking for a cheap way to see some wild life up close and personal on the cheap, I highly recommend stopping by the Pella Wildlife Company on your next free afternoon. UP next: My hunting group plans our annual spring Turkey hunt to Nebraska! See you then.

My Iowa Deer Classic Experience

Long time no blog! The last two days I have been with outdoorsmanswap at the Iowa Deer Classic and our official launch! We had over 2,000 people stop by our booth and say hello, it was a great experience! I just wanted to give you a re-cap and let you know where we are headed.

It didn't start out looking like much...but here is our booth 10 minutes into the process :)

However, it looked great in about an hour! It was great to have my son Hayden along for the first day!

It didn't take long for people to stop and take notice, the site was very well received.

We even had a Nerf mini-gun for the kids to shoot.....and a few adults as well. I took this picture with my phone, one in a million to get the bullet like that!

Just wanted to say thanks again for all who have stopped by and signed up! Looking forward to seeing what happens in the next couple weeks. I will be doing some shed hunting next week and then before I know it Turkey Hunting in Nebraska! I hope your March is off to a great start, until next time, GET OUT THERE!

Great Indoor Shoot!

This past Christmas my son Hudson opened up one of the best gifts for little bow hunters I have seen in awhile: An undersized compound bow with two battery powered bucks for targets.

I liked it for a couple reasons: One, it keeps my kids (my daughter loves it to as you will see in the next picture) all engaged with bow hunting, even in the off season. And two, it only requires one double a battery per deer. 

If you are looking for this combo, they sell it at the Tractor Supply Store, and I'm sure you could find it online.  If you are looking for other gifts/toys for kids/nieces/nephews we also enjoy the "Next Generation" bows and inflatable targets. You will definitely be the favorite aunt/uncle when your little hunter opens up either one of these toys.

I hope your "off-season" is going well. There are plenty of indoor activities for you and your family to keep you going until the nicer weather arrives. We are looking forward to the Iowa Deer Classic March 1-3, (stop by our outdoorsmanswap.com booth) getting to the Pella Wildlife Co. at Merle Hay Mall here in Des Moines, and doing some camping later on this spring. Spring is almost here!

Yep, I'm 34

Life on the other side of 34...

On January 22nd I celebrated (celebrated might be a stretch) my 34th birthday, and 40 never sounded so young. It's hard to believe that I have been married for almost 10 years, have 3 children, and am officially eligible for a mid-life crisis.

I didn't do anything too crazy for my birthday, and that's just the way I like it! Spent some good time with my wife, played with the kids, and I was in bed pretty early. Now that's what I call a birthday! It's also usually on birthday's that you tend to do some thinking. What are my life goals? How have I been doing at what's most important which is loving God and loving others? What do I need to change as I move forward?

I know I want to spend more time with my family. That means that "my" hunting and fishing habits will be a little different in the coming years and that is just fine with me. One of the other things that I'm excited about is that we started outdoorsmanswap.com! I'm pumped to see how that comes out. (if you haven't listed anything on the site...shame on you!) I'm also looking forward to seeing what God has for me and my family in the coming months, we are definitely learning to trust Him as a family. I also need to improve on "not sweating the small stuff." For example, my daughter just used my sweatshirt for toilet paper around an hour ago, but what are you going to do? She's adorable, I can't get mad at the face!

Well, until next time keep the main thing the main thing! Looking forward to the next blog when we will be discussing a couple of the beaten places to enjoy the great outdoors indoors this winter. Until then, just get out there and enjoy some time with your family! 

Finally!

Well, it's been a loooooong, unsuccessful hunting season going all the way back to October 1st. I passed on a couple small bucks early during bow season, was unable to find a buck I shot during early muzzy season, and I had on last chance this past weekend to make something happen.

My dad, my oldest son Hayden, and myself headed down to southern Iowa and arrived at our spot (after a couple small detours) around 3:00PM. After loading my son up with enough hot hands to keep a family of five warm for the winter we picked out a spot along the edge of the timber looking up at a field edge and settled in for the afternoon.

It did not take long for us to have deer moving all around us. Around 4:45 a mature doe stepped out around 150 yards away and started moving down the field edge in our direction. I waited until she was around 85 yards away, leaned up against a small tree, and my Winchester Apex did the rest of the work. A few moments later, I was celebrating some late season success with my favorite deer hunters. 

It was so much fun to see my son enjoy the whole experience! (minus the field dressing part in the dark with coyotes howling all around us.....but that's another story) He sat still the whole time, was able to watch the deer, and even helped Grandpa track it. While it would have been nice to shoot a buck this year, I won't soon forget the memory made this past weekend! And more importantly, neither will Hayden.