Hunting Fun

hogdude1234 asked:

Seems I am making my vids shorter and shorter these days…Instant entertainment is what I call it. If ya’ll like the longer one’s let me know and I can throw in the 20 Dove feeding at the feeder as well!!! LOL I did recover the hog the next morning…he only went 50 yards!!! Na, working on a longer vid…just couldn’t wait to show ya’ll the good stuff!!! Enjoy!!! Rate, Comment, Fav!!! Thanks Guys!!! -DUDE

I typically start serious planning for fall deer hunts by making some scouting trips in September to check out the general areas I’m thinking about for the upcoming season. One year I planned to hunt on public land within the boundaries of the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota. I discovered rarely traveled forest road after dusty, gravel township road, stopping every now and then to venture forth into the woodland interiors to assess the prospects. After a few days of more or less controlled confusion, I emerged with a notebook containing my notes and observations and sketches over which I’d ponder and refine plans during the next two or three weeks.

As my review process continued, I prioritized the more promising of the possibilities giving highest preference to accessibility ease and speed, quantity and quality of trails in transition areas, natural constraining or funneling landmarks and observation advantages.

Another trip in October helped to finalize plans by validating earlier assessments, confirming evidence of an abundance of whitetails, and solidifying the tactics I’d employ come opening day.

The Minnesota firearm deer hunting season opener was the first Saturday of November that year. With all preparations made, checked and rechecked the night before, I retired early. I arose the next morning about 4 AM, and by 4:30 was leaving camp. I had about a 45 minute travel time to reach my initial planned position. I had located a natural depression about 50 yards up a gently rising hill overlooking an X shaped trail pattern with a foraging area off of the right leg and a small wetland off of the left. Directly behind me was some fairly thick underbrush and the trails narrowed as they angled up and away from me, disappearing over the ridge as each arm completed the X pattern.

I settled into place about 5:30. It was a cold, crisp Minnesota fall morning, frost covering the fallen leaves and twigs, very little breeze, and extra care and caution was required to minimize the announcement of my arrival and presence. Dawn would be in about two hours. I waited, and watched, and enjoyed the natural beauty surrounding me.

About 7:15, I began seeing the first, faint streaks of light filtering through the trees in the southeast. I was making slow, purposeful, semi-circle scans of the field of vision lying before me, when all of a sudden there was a loud snort behind me, accompanied by a brief stomping of front hoofs trying to brake and propel simultaneously. I wheeled over onto my back and sat upright as I shouldered my rifle, but alas, was only able to catch a fleeting glimpse of a magnificent 8-plus point whitetail buck and a couple of lady friends making a hasty getaway!

It was an exciting start to another eventful Minnesota deer hunting season, with another lesson learned. Plan and execute as carefully and completely as you can, but at the same time, expect the unexpected!

By: James R. Nelson

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hogdude1234 asked:

Seems I am making my vids shorter and shorter these days…Instant entertainment is what I call it. If ya’ll like the longer one’s let me know and I can throw in the 20 Dove feeding at the feeder as well!!! LOL I did recover the hog the next morning…he only went 50 yards!!! Na, working on a longer vid…just couldn’t wait to show ya’ll the good stuff!!! Enjoy!!! Rate, Comment, Fav!!! Thanks Guys!!! -DUDE

hogdude1234 asked:

Seems I am making my vids shorter and shorter these days…Instant entertainment is what I call it. If ya’ll like the longer one’s let me know and I can throw in the 20 Dove feeding at the feeder as well!!! LOL I did recover the hog the next morning…he only went 50 yards!!! Na, working on a longer vid…just couldn’t wait to show ya’ll the good stuff!!! Enjoy!!! Rate, Comment, Fav!!! Thanks Guys!!! -DUDE

gforced20g asked:

Called this bird in on some public ground for a buddy of mine 3-20-10.. The forest service burned about 2000 acres to get control of a forest fire that was where we were hunting which is where the name “FIREBIRD” came from.. We roosted two gobblers about 100 yards apart the evening before and was set up on em when they woke up the next morning.. When they hit the ground they got together and i had to get a lil agressive with them to get them to commit.. 19 lbs,9″ beard, 1 1/4″ spurs..

Mitch Johnson asked:


Hunting the deer nowadays has become a commercial business, where people are hunting the deer to be sold.

Some years ago, there was an out-of-state hunter who came to Maine and hunted for a week, but due to inexperience or bad luck, he failed to bag a deer. For some reason he did not hire a guide. Perhaps lack of money or a desire to hunt on his own was the reason. At any rate, the day before he was to leave he stopped at my place to admire a deer which we had hung the day before. It was not a very good deer, just a small buck.

Still, any deer would look good to a man in his situation. This buck had been wounded and, although it had been tracked until dark, it did not die until sometime in the night. I had tracked it the next morning and by the time I found it, some animal—probably a fox—had eaten the fat that surrounds the base of the tail, so that the tail was missing or detached from the body. This man expressed a wish to purchase the carcass. I was beginning to have conscience pangs at this time and was reluctant to let him have the buck. I pointed out all of the poor features of the animal, even the missing flag. He asked what had happened to it. I explained that it was a young buck and probably never had any tail. I sold him the deer and gave him in detail the tale of the hunt. I will bet that he has been back to Maine for another deer and I hope he has learned enough about the animals so that he has never needed to purchase another deer without a tail.

Speaking of poaching days and incidents. Jacking of deer is one of the easiest methods of bagging one of these animals. There is no sport in it, but poachers use it when there is a ready-made market for deer. Here in the deep woods, it is not so easy as in the more open areas down state. I have put a lot of thought on this problem since I reformed. The Fish and Game Commission and the Legislature have wasted a lot of time in trying to stop this practice by prohibitory means. I do not know why they have never asked a poacher how to prevent the jacking and selling of deer. Almost any of them would say, “If we didn’t have so many willing customers, there would be no object to killing deer for sale.”

This would not solve the problem, and I would **** to see the day when the wardens cracked down on our visiting hunters by investigating every deer shot in Maine. Such an investigation would be impossible, but our wardens are likely to try anything once.

I wish that in the early days of conservation, the law- makers had given serious thought to the control of market hunting instead of outlawing it. It seems to me that a few expert jackets could have been licensed and given permits to sell a certain number of deer to un-successful hunters who failed to bag their game in a lawful manner. Such a system might have worked. But as it is, deer hunting, with all its faults, is still a pretty clean sport. A lot of planning goes into a deer hunt. We guides do much work in making and revising our plans as the occasions occur that the average hunter doesn’t realize.

Control of the market hunting is very important to prevent hunting for illegal purpose. It is important to know by the people not to buy the deer meet from a hunter to prevent the illegal act.