Category: Hunting

There is nothing quite so exciting!

By Tony Young

My interest in hunting the quirky-moving, nervous-acting, but beautifully colored wild turkey was piqued about 15 years ago by an old high school friend and bandmate of mine, Todd Bevis.

Todd’s a turkey-hunting fanatic if I’ve ever seen one, and the excitement in his voice that’s apparent every time he tells a hunting story played a big part in my getting the fever to experience spring turkey hunting.

My former in-laws owned a nice tract of land in northern Franklin County with a half-mile of deep creek frontage on a major tributary of the Apalachicola River. Over the years, I enjoyed deer hunting there and took a few fall turkeys, but bagging a good long-beard in the spring takes a bit more skill.

I was ready to learn how to call in and harvest my first spring gobbler.  All I needed was the know-how, and I figured I could get that from Todd and from watching Saturday and Sunday morning hunting shows on TV.

Todd encouraged me to get a box call because he said it would be the quickest and easiest call for me to learn – and the spring season was approaching fast.

He taught me how to do some basic yelps and a single-note cluck and said if I had birds on the property that had really never been called to before, and – if I could sit still long enough – I just might be able to call one in.

But Todd warned me, “Don’t make the mistake some people do in calling too much. Let ’em know you’re there, but let ’em come to you – less is more.”

With that advice in mind, I set out early opening day. I needed to get there a half-hour before first light so I could set my three decoys in place and get situated.

Sunrise wasn’t until 7:45 a.m., so I had about 30 minutes before the sun’s first rays would begin to illuminate the longleaf pine and palmetto flatwoods I’d be hunting.

It was a brisk north Florida spring morning, but as dawn gave way to late morning I knew the weather would warm up and it wouldn’t take long for those pesky, deep-woods mosquitoes to come out of the swamps and start buzzing around my ears. I quickly sprayed myself down with an ample dose of bug spray.

While carrying a jake and two hen decoys in one hand, I toted my shotgun, camo seat cushion and small flashlight in the other and made my way in the dark down a trail that weaved through a patchwork of saw palmettos toward a spot where I often saw turkeys.

The setup was near one of my favorite deer stands, on a ridge that jutted out between a creek and a ravine. It was where turkeys roosted most every evening amid juniper, tupelo and cypress trees hanging over the water.

Before I could even finish setting up my decoys, the sounds of gobbling echoed in the darkness from the creek bottom below. The strange vocalization of three, maybe four, birds was something I’d never heard, and it fascinated me.

I picked out a large pine tree to lean back against to hide my silhouette. Then I used a pair of hand pruners and began to snip some of the surrounding native vegetation of galberry and titi and used the clippings to construct my make-shift ground blind.

I settled in against the tree – my gun across my legs and my box call in my lap – and the sound of gobbling continued to fill the otherwise quiet predawn.

At 7 a.m. it started to get just light enough to see. As I sat facing the hardwoods of the ravine and creek swamp, I could make out my decoys 10 steps in front of me.

About 15 minutes later, when the visibility was noticeably better, I picked up my box call and made my first yelp to make those gobblers think there was an interested hen nearby.

A reassuring gobble answered me right away!

I was so excited I couldn’t believe it – a gobbler actually had responded, just like on those hunting shows.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I wondered. I remembered Todd telling me not to call any more often than about 15 minutes. So I sat quietly in anticipation for what seemed to be the longest 15 minutes of my life, but when I glanced down at my watch, only five minutes had elapsed. After another five minutes of real time had passed, I couldn’t stand it any longer and made another call.

Another gobble immediately followed, but this time it was louder.

This bird actually was coming to me! My first spring turkey hunt was beginning to play out in textbook fashion.

I sat just as still as I could be for another 10 or 15 minutes and called out for a third time.

The “GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE” reply sounded like it was being screamed into my ears. This Eastern turkey was right on top of me!

I couldn’t see him, but he had to be just out of my sight behind the brushy terrain.

A few moments later, the longbeard stepped out from behind a galberry thicket in full strut, and my heart starting pounding. I couldn’t see its legs because gold, iridescent feathers were covering them, but the bird seemed to glide like an apparition as it cautiously made its way toward the decoys.

The way its head was changing colors from red to blue and back again, and the show this gobbler was putting on, was truly a sight to behold. Now I realized what Todd’s and so many other turkey hunters’ infatuation was all about.

Its instinctive, ritualistic courtship dance was so beautiful I almost didn’t want to end it, but the big tom was getting too close, and I knew I’d better take the shot soon for fear he’d spy me.

The opportunity to raise my 12-gauge pump shotgun came when he went behind a palmetto clump at 12 steps, and I fired just one shot when he stepped out the other side.

What a rush!

It was my first spring gobbler, and it had a 9-inch beard. Now what was so hard about taking a spring turkey, I thought?  After all, it was only 8 a.m., and I already had my then daily bag limit after calling just three times.

But like every turkey hunter knows, spring turkey hunting rarely happens that way. Maybe it was beginner’s luck, but whatever it was –

I have been hooked ever since.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has adopted innovative conservation tools and strategies, focusing on incentives for private lands and fish/wildlife management.  Strategies may include enhancing partnerships, incentives, and streamlining regulations.  The FWC’s Community Relations Office produces several feature columns each month.  Each column focuses on a specific element of Florida’s fish and wildlife resources or type of outdoor recreation.

To learn more about Florida Hunting and Fishing, visit: http://myfwc.com.

Mentoring, First-Time Turkey Hunting, Sharing the Outdoors

I don’t recall exactly when I started deriving more pleasure from game shot by others, than from animals I bagged myself.  I suppose it was inevitable that the switch to proxy hunting would begin with the wild turkey, whose pursuit offers rewards too abundant and varied for one person to enjoy properly.  The current 2016 spring turkey season is a good example.

You might think that Missouri’s three-week turkey season would be enough for any sensible person, but turkey hunters are not a sensible lot.  Most of the hunters I know extend the fun by scouting birds they plan to hunt days or weeks before opening day.  I started this year’s turkey season a week before opening day, shadowing a tight-lipped gobbler that had been roosting with five hens about a quarter mile southwest of my back door.  His presence was indicated as much by history as by observation.  His voice had only wafted through my open bedroom window twice, but the biggest, baddest gobbler in our area always roosts in that spot.  A gobble or two was all I needed by way of confirmation.

Old gobblers are choosy.  The long-standing roost near my house has offered a long line of big toms multiple fly-down options: three pastures, a tiny forest clearing and oak-hickory forest, plus dense cedar thicket.  It has something for every combination of weather and mood.

The backyard gobbler’s mood the week before opening day was taciturn.  With all those hens around him, he had little reason to gobble other than pride, which old toms are keenly aware goeth before a fall.

Nevertheless, I had him pegged.  He and his hens were on an unusual pattern.  Thanks to the fact that my neighbor had cattle in all three pastures that ordinarily were the landing strips for the birds.  With dozens of large ungulates cluttering their runway, the yard birds were flying down into the woods and heading north through the woods directly behind my house.

This couldn’t have been better.  Thinning and periodic burning have kept my 5-acre oak-hickory wood lot open and uncluttered by undergrowth.  You can see pretty well from one end to the other, with the exception of declivities between minor ridges.

Opening morning found me snuggled against the trunk of a red oak 50 yards from my back door.  My ghillie suit rendered me virtually invisible.  I have never owned such outlandish garb before this year, but I also have never before hunted turkeys with a crossbow.  I thought I could use the added edge if I was going to be poking a 2X4 up to shoot (I could have used a ground blind, but that violates my personal definition of fair chase unless I’m teaching a wiggly kid to hunt).

A light ground fog shrouded the tree trunks at dawn and my bird issued his first challenge at 5:48 a.m., precisely as he had done the previous morning.  He was on the ground by 6:20, and he and his entourage came straight to my calls.  I know he wasn’t merely following the hens, because his was the first head to appear over the slight rise 25 yards in front of me.  I had him dead to rights, but I was holding out for a jake.

“What?!” You might be thinking.  Here is where the proxy hunting comes in.  This particular tom is the only active gobbler in the area where I have permission to hunt around home.  I’m saving him for my son-in-law, Major Dwight O. Smith, U.S. Army-Retired.  The “Retired” part is brand new – like two weeks ago.  After multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Dwight left his band of brothers for civilian life.  Naturally, I’m grateful for his service, but I’m doubly grateful that my daughter’s husband will be with her, out of harm’s way – or at least as much as you can be out of harm’s way with Beth!

So the yard bird is safe, at least until Dwight finds time between selling a home in Virginia, buying one in Kansas City and starting a new job and come to central Missouri to hunt.  In the meantime, if a jake is foolish enough to respond to my calls, he will become dinner when Dwight visits, but, given the relative scarcity of birds around home, that probably won’t happen.

Fortunately, I have another proxy-hunting option.  More than 20 years ago, I met a young man who needed an outdoor mentor.  His family are fine folks, but they don’t happen to be interested in hunting and fishing.  Scott Gerlt was more than interested.  He was obsessed.  I knew the symptoms from my own youth.  So Scott and I became hunting partners.  On balance, I’m sure to have benefited more from our relationship than he has.  Not only have I rediscovered the excitement of first-time outdoor experiences through Scott’s eyes, I now have someone who can teach me about fly fishing.  More important, he calls me and gets me to go do things I wouldn’t do on my own.

As the first weekend of turkey season approached, Scott called and asked if I wanted to hunt with him.  I did.  But since I was saving my yard bird for Dwight, I did something I wouldn’t have done otherwise.  I called friends in southern Cole County and asked if Scott and I could hunt their 400 acres of prime habitat.  “Come on down,” they said.

Tom and Susie Schulz have carried on the work her father, groundbreaking quail biologist, Jack Stanford, had started on their farm.  They have made it a paradise for game from quail and woodcock to deer and turkey.  Unlike my home area, you can take your pick of gobblers to hunt at Tom and Susie’s farm.

Scott and I were there well before dawn, standing in a tunnel-like logging road, when the gobbling began.  We counted at least five toms sounding off from various compass points.  Picking the nearest one, we hot-footed it down the two-track to shorten the distance the gobbler would have to travel to meet us, and hopefully his untimely end.  We set up in a tiny clearing.

Our gobbler came to us in textbook fashion.  He moved perpendicular to a line between his roost and our calling until he hit the logging road, then turned our way.  We spotted him at about 70 yards, parading back and forth as if in a shooting gallery.  Both our hearts were thumping like trip hammers.  That part of the hunt never changes, never gets old.  What a thrill.

It took 30 minutes of judicious calling to break the gobbler loose and another 15 minutes to lure him another 30 yards down the path.  When the gobbler turned his back to show off his fan, I whispered to Scott to get his shotgun up.  “Don’t you want to shoot him,” he asked.  That’s Scott, always considerate. “No,” I whispered, “I’d rather see you shoot him,” which was the plain truth.  A well-placed 3-inch load of buffered No.  6 lead shot ended the gobbler’s earthly travail.  I’ve shot bigger gobblers, but I have never enjoyed a hunt more, except for the first birds I have helped other new hunters kill.

I was out in our back 40 this morning shadowing the yard bird.  The cattle are in a different pasture now.  The big tom has moved his base of operations, abandoning not only his travel route, but his roost as well.  Seems like the occupant of that roost does the same thing about this time every spring.  It makes hunting him next to impossible, due to topography, but I wouldn’t want Dwight’s first turkey hunt to be too easy.  He’d get the wrong idea about the sport and I have a feeling he will take to the challenge.

When he does shoot his first gobbler, I will commemorate the event with a First Turkey Certificate generated from the Missouri Conservation Department’s website.  I’ll probably be more proud of it than he is.

The message from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is a message that applies to turkey hunters across the country as turkey seasons open and run for about a month in multiple states at this time of year – Hunt Safely.

The Kansas Spring Turkey Season opened April 12 and is in full swing through May 31.  Reports from the field indicate that birds are plentiful and responding to hunters’ calls.  However, the tradition of spring turkey hunting, where the hunter hides in full camouflage while imitating the call of a hen, requires special safety consideration.

Turkey hunting can be excellent on state wildlife areas, as well as the nearly 250,000 acres of private land enrolled in the Spring Walk-In Hunting Access Program.  Hunters on public land must always assume other hunters are there, too.  Although hunting in Kansas is safer than playing golf, when you consider injuries per 100,000 participants, one tragic hunting-related accident is too many. A few simple precautions can help ensure you or another hunter don’t become a statistic.

First, NEVER wear the colors black, blue or red, the colors prominent on a tom turkey as it displays for a hen.  Set up to call with a good view in front and a tree wider than your shoulders at your back.  A shoulder-width tree to lean against will protect you if another hunter stalks in from behind.  If you see another hunter, whistle or call out; never wave or move, which could draw fire.  Always assume a sound you hear is another hunter, and act accordingly.  Many hunters will wear a fluorescent orange hat or vest when they walk out after hunting, or if they are successful, they may wrap an orange vest around their bird as they carry it out.  Hunting-related accidents during the spring turkey season are rare, but let’s keep it that way.

Another kind of hunter in the woods this time of year is hunting morel mushrooms and reports from the field indicate that hunters are finding them now.  It is legal to pick morels on state and federal public hunting land as long as they are kept for personal consumption.  Mushrooms collected on state and federal lands may not be sold commercially.  Spring Walk-In Hunting Access land is leased for hunting access only.  Morels found incidentally by turkey hunters on WIHA lands may be collected for personal use.  Mushroom hunters should assume they will encounter turkey hunters on public lands, but potential conflict can be minimized by hunting mushrooms mid-day. Most turkey hunters prefer to be in the woods at daybreak and are often calling it a day by mid-morning.

For more information on KDWPT, please visit www.kdwpt.state.ks.us. 

More about the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism: 

KDWPT employs approximately 460 full-time employees in five divisions: Executive Services , Administrative Services , Fisheries and Wildlife , Law Enforcement , Parks and Tourism.

Department History:

• 1905 – Fish and game laws were organized under the Kansas Fish and Game Department and implementation of a state law requiring a license to hunt.
• 1911 – The State Fish and Game Department was placed under the supervision of the University of Kansas Board of Regents
• 1925 – The Fish and Game Department was reorganized as the Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission with three board members appointed by the Governor.
• 1927 – Commission was reorganized and was given approval to organize a warden service. Fishing licenses required of men 18-70.
• 1939 – Commission’s three-member board was abolished by the legislature and replaced by a six-member bipartisan commission appointed by the Governor
• 1943 – Legislature gives the commission full authority to set seasons and dates

• 1955 – The legislature and Gov. Fred Hall create the State Park and Resources Authority.
• 1960 – First Kansas boating laws enacted
• 1987 – Gov. Mike Hayden signs executive order merging the State Park and Resources Authority and Fish and Game Commission to create the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
• 2011 – Gov. Sam Brownback signs executive order moving the Division of Tourism from the Department of Commerce to the newly renamed Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism

Ethics are important for all hunters, but for turkey hunters, they can make the difference between a pleasurable outdoor experience and disaster.  If you don’t believe it, ask David Bozoian.

He was hunting on his land in Lewis County, Missouri, when two men who lacked ethics came onto his property.  The trespassers stalked close enough to Bozoian that he could hear their voices.  Instead of shouting to alert the trespassers to his presence, Bozoian sat quietly.  Moments later, two shots rang out and lead pellets hissed over his head.  The violation of trespass law and hunting ethics earned one of the shooters a $200 fine.  That wouldn’t have been much comfort to Bozoian if the shots had been a little lower.

Deficient hunting ethics play a role in about three-quarters of all spring turkey hunting accidents, according to statistics from the Missouri Department of Conservation.  That is the percentage of firearms-related turkey hunting accidents that involve a victim mistaken for game.  In these incidents, the shooters failed to observe the most basic rule of hunting safety – positively identifying their target.  Instead, they shot at a flash of color, a movement glimpsed through undergrowth or a sound they thought was a turkey.

Positive Identification

Positive identification requires waiting to see the entire animal.  Good hunting ethics also dictate waiting for a clear shot to ensure a clean kill. When you can see the whole turkey, in the open, inside your shotgun’s killing range, it’s pretty hard to mistake it for another hunter or a decoy.

Because safety is an integral part of hunting ethics, ethical hunters avoid actions that could put anyone – including themselves – in harm’s way.  For example, safe hunters don’t wear white, red or blue – colors associated with gobblers’ heads.  T-shirts, handkerchiefs and even socks in these colors have been cited as contributing to turkey hunting accidents.

Avoid Becoming a Target

Head-to-toe camouflage is another must for turkey hunters. More than one hunter has been injured when another hunter noticed an un-camouflaged hand moving while operating a turkey call.  Another way to avoid being shot is to hang a hunter-orange hat or vest in nearby vegetation before settling in to call.  Turkeys only associate orange with danger if it is on a moving hunter, so advertising your presence to other hunters won’t decrease your chances of tagging a gobbler.

Any turkey hunter who values his or her skin should bring hunter-orange clothing to the field and wear it when moving from place to place.  That is among the easiest ways to reduce the chances of being mistaken for game.

One sure way to attract the attention of every hunter in your area is to use a gobble call.  If you do, you should take extra precautions to avoid becoming a target.  For starters, always position yourself to minimize the chances of line-of-fire accidents.  Sitting with your back against a tree that’s wider than your shoulders eliminates the possibility of being shot from behind.  Also try to position yourself with substantial barriers, such as brush piles or hillsides, to your sides.

Decoys Work – Use Caution

The use of decoys requires extra safety awareness, particularly if you include a fake jake or gobbler. These look like targets to other hunters.  Even a hen can draw fire from an inexperienced or unethical hunter.

When using decoys, try to position them behind some visual screen so they would be invisible to hunters approaching from directly in front of you. This reduces the likelihood of line-of-fire injuries. Placing decoys in a spot lower than your calling position also helps keep you out of the line of fire.

Make sure decoys are completely hidden when moving between hunting spots. You don’t want another hunter to see a turkey’s head bobbing through the woods under your arm.

Never Stalk a Turkey

On the other side of the equation, your first thought when you hear a gobble should be whether it might be coming from another hunter.  Don’t be the one who puts others in danger.  It’s not a good idea to try to stalk within shooting distance of a gobbler.  For one thing, the odds are against you, because gobblers’ vision is much keener than yours.  More important, your stealthy movements could make another hunter think a tom is approaching, and you have made yourself a target.

Whenever possible, set up to call in spots that offer a clear field of view ahead and to your sides.  This way, it will be impossible for another hunter to approach unseen.  If you do see another hunter, shout to advertise your presence.  Yes, you will spoil your chances of shooting a turkey at that spot, but that probably was already ruined by the interloper.  Waving a camouflaged arm can make you look like something to shoot at.

Resist the temptation to split up when hunting with a partner.  The ease with which you can lose track of your buddy’s location is evident in hunting incident reports where friends or family members shoot one another.  It happens every year.

These defensive measures are particularly important when hunting public land, such as conservation areas or national forest.  But don’t be lulled into complacency if you are the only one with permission to hunt a particular spot.  Remember David Bozoian’s near miss and take every possible precaution to avoid being or creating a victim.

When the season’s is at 4^th and long most hunters punt, despite the multitude of great bucks still in the game. Here’s how to score in the final quarter, even on the last day.

“You guys can sleep in tomorrow if you want,” said guide Josh Cobb, my host on the eve of Iowa’s late muzzleloading season. “What???? After traveling half way across the country, I’m gonna sleep in on opening day.” As I would learn, winter hunting takes different tactics and strategies than early season. Then Cobb added, “I’ve been seeing a 200-inch buck recently.   If I can spot him, we’ll make a plan.”

The Iowa snow cover crunched with each step making a deer drive the best tactic for the morning. Cobb jumped several bucks on this drive, yet only one crossed my path within range. Ironically, two weeks later, a hunter would stand against the same tree and take a dandy 165-inch, 10-pointer. Right place, wrong time.

Second Season isn’t Second Best

“Clients from Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other high-pressure states think you must bag a deer in the first five minutes or the hunt is over,” said outfitter Jim Aller, only partially in jest. “Hunting the big farm country of Kansas and the Midwest is very different than back East. Personally, I think the second week of the season is the better week and that’s when we almost always kill our biggest bucks.”

After the shotgun season closes, Kansas offers a late archery season like many states across the country. “That’s the only chance the guides and I get to hunt and honestly, it’s a really good time,” says Aller. “The deer are bunched up near food and you can pattern them pretty darned well. The days are shorter, you don’t have to get up as early and you can virtually hunt a food plot all day long. The weather is cold, but not unbearable especially with the newer insulated clothes.”

Afternoon Delight

Phillip Vanderpool took a Boone & Crocket buck with a muzzleloading rifle in a second season and is quick to point out how to adapt to winter deer hunting. “If it’s second season, you want to concentrate on food sources right off the bat,” says the Hunters Specialties Pro Staff hunter. Interestingly, he prefers to hunt different areas in the morning and afternoon.

“Deer don’t move very much or very far in late season because they are conserving as much energy as they can,” Vanderpool says. “I try to catch deer moving from a bedding area to a food source but that’s difficult in the morning in crunchy snow or ice. Unless you can get to a morning stand without spooking deer, you are better off waiting until the afternoon.”

Expect the Unexpected

Second season bucks are motivated by conserving energy, food, and mating in that order. No one, (to my knowledge) has text messaged a survey to the herd asking, would you rather: A) Take a nap, B) Do lunch or C) Chase women? However, when a snow storm hits, deer are likely to just lay low initially and may “yard up” in the Northeast. A prolonged cold spell will bring deer into food plots and to other food sources if available.

Don’t forget the rut. “If you see a big buck in the open in late season, there’s usually an estrous doe involved,” says Josh Cobb, mentioned earlier. “After the bucks have been chased a while, they hang pretty close to cover.” A healthy deer population with an adequate food source will produce fawns that breed as yearlings. These youngsters come into heat in December, January, even February and may force a buck to get his A-B-C priorities out of order.

Successful second season hunters adapt strategies from the pre-rut and rut including rattling horns and deer calls. If you find fresh scrapes, rubs, and other rut signs, rattling and doe bleats can be extremely effective. Without signs of breeding activity, use them in moderation. Most importantly, be out there. As the late Yogi Berra once said, “It isn’t over until it’s over.”

Decades ago, squirrels were a very popular game species. I once flew to Mississippi to hunt squirrels with Mr. Fox, the patriarch of the Mossy Oak family, a hunt I’ll never forget. Mr. Fox belonged to a hunt club where members bagged a limit most days of the season and graced their tables several times a week.

Today, many youngsters don’t begin their hunting career trying to sneak within range of a wily grey or fox squirrel. Instead, young hunters take a deer as their first game animal, partially because of the excitement and abundance of the species. Squirrels teach woodsmanship and we’d all be better at our craft if we had to bag a limit at least once each year. The furry buggers have good hearing and eyesight, like wild turkeys, that make them difficult to stalk and their elusive tree-to-tree travel can leave a hunter sitting by one trunk as a sly squirrel sneaks away among the treetops.

Squirrel hunting is fun and challenging with one drawback. The rascals can be very difficult to skin unless you know a secret which I’ll get to in a moment. I’ve killed squirrels with bow and arrow, yet the equipment cost is significant and can reach $40 per pound. A shotgun is your best bet in which ever gauge you shoot well. My first animal was a squirrel taken with a .410, a memorable trophy. Because squirrels are elusive, you’ll need number 5 or 6 shot from a shotgun with a full choke. The wide pattern of the shotgun allows you to make moving or running shots as squirrels rarely stand still.

If you hunt in late muzzleloading seasons, don’t pass up a fat fox squirrel that’s foraging for nuts. Today’s in-line rifles are accurate enough to make a head shot which saves valuable venison. I once killed a doe in deep snow and as I field dressed the deer, a fox squirrel made the mistake of passing by. Each fell to a flintlock.

If a rifle is your choice, consider the .22 long rifle or the 17 HMR. You’ll need a good scope on par with a big game optic and a shooting sling for those times you can’t get a rest from a tree. Air guns are also an option and possibly allow you to hunt in urban areas where squirrels are often a pest, but be sure to check your local regulations.

From Tree to Table

Some states offer spring squirrel seasons that allow hunters to harvest the first batch of young born in the new year. Unlike deer, you don’t want the biggest beast in the woods as older, large bodied squirrels, can be tough and often require a pressure cooker to prepare well. Young squirrels, on the other hand, can be easier to stalk and make excellent table fare.

Skinning a squirrel is the down side of the sport. My father and I each killed a limit of squirrels and after returning home spent two hours skinning them. He vowed never to do that again. Once a squirrel is cold and stiff, skinning it is difficult, while if you skin them when first killed the skin comes off easily. Be sure to carry a knife and a few plastic quart-size freezer bags with you and you can return to your vehicle with game that’s ready to cook. The following video shows you how to skin a squirrel in about a minute and its even easier if the squirrel is still warm. Check out this video and get ready for a challenging hunt and great table fare: Click Here for Video

• One Way to Meet Mr. Big Deer!
• About the “Tink-Tink” Learning Curve
• Moments of Joy, Moments of Magic 

By Joe McAdams

My son Shawn grew up in an outdoors family.  We hunt, fish, trap shoot and love the outdoors.  When he was 14 years old, he already had 2 years of small game hunting and was proficient with his .22 rifle.  In New York, kids need to turn 12 before it is legal for them touch a firearm, even a bb-gun, but Shawn had been getting “hands-on” exposure to guns and sportsmen as he worked as a “trap kid.”  He then shot trap for 2 years at our local gun club and was now old enough to hunt big game with a bow.

We carefully searched out a bow that would fit Shawn and allow him to use it for a few seasons.  The salesman assured us that although it was a “junior” bow, it was more than capable of putting down a deer.  We practiced all summer with his new bow, attending as many 3D archery events as we could.  The last 3D shoot of the summer was a 30-target event.  The final target was a standing black bear at the far end of a pond – it was a 50-yard shot over water.  I asked him if he wanted to try the shot and without hesitation, he drew back and let the arrow fly.  It found its mark in the bear.  He was ready.

On opening weekend, Shawn and I made our way to our favorite hunting spot.  We were in before daylight and I set him up in his ground blind, then made my way to my tree stand.  We kept in contact over walkie-talkies and waited patiently.  Shawn is a VERY patient hunter, willing to sit quietly for a long time – something he learned while squirrel hunting.  I was the first to break silence and suggested we make our way out for an early lunch.  After I descended from my tree stand, I heard Shawn over the walkie-talkie “dad, dad!  There’s a buck heading your way and he’s coming up behind you.”

I spun around and sure enough – there he was, a beautiful 6-point buck!  There was no time to get back into the tree stand, so I took my shot from the ground.  The hit was solid and into his lungs.  We tracked and located the buck and high-fived each other celebrating the success.  I promised to help Shawn get his deer the next weekend.  It had been a great and unforgettable day.

Shawn was up earlier than usual for hunting this Saturday.  I knew he was particularly excited about our hunting trip this weekend – since this was going to be his hunt and he knew I was going to help him get his deer.

Once again, we were in the woods before daylight and I made sure he was all set in his ground blind.  This time, I didn’t get into my stand.  I told Shawn I would make my way to the top of the ridge in hope of pushing something his way.  Slowly and quietly I made my way to the top.  I found a comfortable spot to sit in the goldenrod field until daybreak and waited.

I was awakened by the sound of Shawn calling me in my earphones.  “Dad, dad.  Are you there?  You’re supposed to push for me.”  After assuring him I only dozed off for a minute and was up to the task, I stood up stretching and came face to face with a massive 12-point buck.  He was less than 20 yards away and turned suddenly and with a mighty leap, headed down the ridge – right towards Shawn!  I immediately called to Shawn on the walkie-talkie and told him “oh my God – there’s a huge buck heading your way!”  I saw Shawn starting to peer over the top of the blind and knew that the buck would make him out if I didn’t think of something quick.  I dropped my bow and started whistling and shouting at the buck – waving my arms frantically.  The buck stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards me.  He was 30-35 yards from Shawn facing broadside.  It was perfect!  This was an easy shot for Shawn.

I watched as Shawn rose to a stand and drew back his bow – all the while the buck was still watching me waving my arms and shouting.  Shawn seemed to take forever – and then the buck bolted and headed down a ravine.  I ran down from the ridge as fast as I could – straight to Shawn to find out what happened.  When I got there, he was sitting on the ground and he had tear streaks on his cheeks.  I asked “what happened and why are you sitting on the ground?”

He looked up and said “my knees got all wobbly” with a few more tears.  He told me that when he drew back his arrow he was so excited that he overdrew the arrowhead into the riser and knocked it off the arrow-rest.  He tried hard to rock the arrow back onto the arrow-rest by moving around, but only succeeded in knocking the arrow off the bow completely.  When the buck heard the ‘tink-tink’ of the arrow dropping off the bow, he turned and quickly made his way to safety down a ravine.

Shawn refused to give up the hunt for the day – and was unusually quiet over the walkie-talkie.  We didn’t take any breaks and stayed until dusk.  By the time we were packed up and on the way home, Shawn had quickly recovered from the experience.  Our entire ride home was buzzing with excitement about that monster buck and our return to hunt the next weekend.

The destiny of the weeks and years that followed have been an ultimate gift for the both of us.  With every hunt we never stop looking for the luck of the unchangeable big buck – he will remain in our memory for all time.  We understand what good fortune means from those countless years ago, in 1999, when we first went hunting big game together with archery gear.

A friend to hunting and archery, Fred Bear once said, “I come home with an honestly earned feeling that something good has taken place.  It makes no difference whether I got anything, it has to do with how the day was spent.”

Priceless moments are never forgotten.