Meeting an Old Friend

I’ve had few opportunities to meet other outdoor bloggers but yesterday Rick Kratzke of Whitetail Woods and I met up at the Cabela’s in East Hartford Connecticut. We have both been blogging for a number of years and talked on line but have never met face to face. My route home from my New England trip took me right by the Cabela’s and the opportunity for us to finally meet.

We had a great time walking around the store looking at stuff with many of the objects prompting one of us to tell a story or two. The time passed to quick and I had to get back on the road and headed home. Pretty amazing that a couple of deer hunters meet up on the internet a number of years ago and become friends. Technology is great.
The Cabela’s in East Hartford is a bit tricky to find, especially if your brand new GPS dies on the trip (future story), because it seems to be in an odd place and not visible from the highway. Once you find it you won’t be disappointed. There is some spectacular displays in there…. My favorite was the two bull moose fighting.
If you’ve never checked out Whitetail Woods blog you should go over and checked it out. Rick has some great info and stories over there as well as some great recipes.

I had a great trip and have some more photos and stories to share with you but right now I got to get some rest because Monday morning will be here before we know.

Snow In The Carolinas

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The duck season ended for most with a winter storm across most of the state. I was suppose to head to Orange county but given the weather forecast and the fact that scouting of the area by a few of the guys had shown that there was very few ducks there the days leading up to the hunt. The snow was the kicker so Friday morning the Saturday hunt was called. What normally would be a 70 minute ride in the conditions we had would have been more like a 2 ½ hour trip. Ducks seem to like the nasty weather so I’m sure those with places to go and could get there they were rewarded with a pretty good hunt.
Yesterdays snow, sleet, and freezing rain has been replaced today with cold air and sun. Growing up in New England temperatures below 20 are cold but I leave the “bone chilling” description, which is getting thrown around here a lot, for when you get down in the negatives. 15 to 20 bellow my bones might be getting a bit cool.
Today with the conditions the way they are would be a perfect day to turn some beagles lose on some rabbits but this is North Carolina and hunting on Sunday is not allowed even those Sundays that most churches have decided to close their doors. The roads are now like many of the roads in places like Northern Maine packed snow and ice but minus the big snow banks to keep ya out of the ditch. There is not much in the line of snow removal equipment in this neck of the woods so we’ll have to wait for Mother Nature to clear the roads which could take some time given the “bone chilling” temperatures we have to endure.
We ventured out last evening to the Carolina Hurricanes game and it was fun to drive on roads that reminded me of my youth. Less than 7,000 of us showed up (over 14,000 tickets had been sold) to watch our last place Hurricanes knock off first place Black Hawks. A great game and good evening of fun. I was glad that we stopped and got something to eat before we got to the arena because it seems that most of their employees stayed home. The only concession stands that were open was on the first level and only about half of them at that.
The thermometer says it is about 18’ right now a warm cup of coffee and the gas logs going... Mother Nature can take her time on clearing the roads. I like this “bone chilling” “snowed in” type of weather while I sit and dream of the sound of beagles on a hot rabbit. I got to wonder if we can't get Hunting on Sunday if the church is closed?

Annual Swan Hunt A Success

North Carolina is one of a handful of states where you can hunt Tundra Swans. Eastern North Carolina is the wintering grounds for these magnificent birds and where most people go to hunt them even though the limited draw tag is good for the entire state.

Last year I was not one of the lucky 5000 hunters that got drawn for a tag but this year I got it and I was pumped. A group of us has been getting together, for I believe 5 years now, on MLK Day to hunt swans at Conman’s Guide Service.
Most people who have never hunted swans think that our hunt is a stalk on some park pond tame swan because that is what most people are familiar with. Decoying these birds in can be difficult especially after they have been hunted for a while. Movement and things that are out of place is all the weary birds need to bypass your set up.

Yesterday’s hunt we set a large decoy spread in a old soy bean field and we hid in a nearby ditch with plenty of mud and water to make it interesting. Most of us were using 12 gauge shotguns but there was at least one 10 gauge in the ditch with us. Tundra Swan are migratory birds so hunters are required to use non toxic shot and many of us had steel shot. The effective range of steel shot is a lot less than traditional lead shot. Given that and the fact that the Tundra Swan is a large bird it is easy to misjudge how close the bird is and to shoot before it is in the range of the gun.

Hunting with a guide like Conman’s gives you access to the area to hunt, as well as decoys, and someone that has the experience to give you a good hunt. Watching those big birds fly in I’m glad we had a guide to call the shot so we could effectively kill the birds.
Tundra Swan I find to be a pretty tasty critter so I’m glad I got one to make some great meals. While buying meat at the grocery store is fine but there is something satisfying about killing fresh organic meat for the table. I haven’t decided how I’ll cook it but maybe another Swan Pot Pie is in my near future.

Snow Not All I Had Hoped For

Growing up in New England I’m partial to hunting in cold snowy weather and rarely ever see it here in North Carolina so I was excited about this weekend. I love hunting in snow and one of my dreams is to stalk hunt a buck in the snow so this snowfall was giving me a chance to fulfill this dream.

Friday afternoon I climbed up into the stand with snow falling but not much accumulation at that point. It was a beautiful afternoon but did not see any deer. By the end of shooting light the ground including the roads were snow covered. The snow continued to fall and by 11 pm there was over 7 inches of snow and I got ready for bed excited about the morning hunt. The weather had kept everyone else away from the hunt camp but I was real comfortable in the clubhouse planning out my plan of attack. Just before I fell off to sleep I heard the unmistakable sound of rain hitting the roof I hoped it would switch back to snow.

When I got up at 430 am the rain was still pouring down and the snow had been compressed to about 4 inches. There was no way with the conditions and what the weather was calling for that my stalking plan was going to be feasible the snow was real crunchy and only got worse when the rain turned to sleet and freezing rain shortly after sun up.

Saturday was challenging with strong winds temperatures hovering around freezing and the precipitation changing from rain to sleet, to snow. At least my stand had a roof so I stayed relativity warm and dry, I got the opportunity to try out one of the fine products I won over on the blog Desert Rat . I used Crooked Horn Outfitter’s scope cover to keep the ice and snow off my scope. I’d never seen their scope cover before but I’ll tell ya it worked great. I’m going to have to pick up a few more of these for some of my other rifles.

The sleet and freezing rain made a very crunchy crust on the top of the snow and pretty much everything just holed up waiting for this system to pass.
I didn’t see much of anything as far as game goes but it was still and enjoyable day out in nature. One of these days it will happen and I’ll get my chance to hunt in a big snowstorm. Less than 2 weeks in the North Carolina deer season so I better get cracking if I want another deer or two for the freezer.

Winter Weather May Hit North Carolina

I feel like a kid at Christmas with the threat of winter weather here in North Carolina.

Snow is expected to develop Friday afternoon as moisture from the south will combine with cold air from the north. The snow will mix with some rain but not before possibly producing about an inch of snow with heavier amounts north and west of Raleigh. The precipitation will be a combination of snow and rain Friday evening and then change to rain and freezing rain overnight Friday into Saturday morning. Significant ice accumulation is not expected, but travel will be hazardous, especially on bridges and overpasses.

In parts of Person County, the precipitation could stay as snow with accumulations anywhere from three to five inches. For this reason Person County is under a Winter Storm Warning. As the storm system pulls away late Saturday, some snow showers could fall again across the entire area.

NBC17

I love to hunt in the snow and the part of the state I hunt is up towards the Virginia border so I could see some snow. Keeping my fingers crossed for some good snow accumulation this weekend.

Despite the Drop In Temperatures I Strike Out

The story of this deer season for me and a lot of other hunters in North Carolina has been the story of very wet conditions. Rain and more rain has fallen over the past few months creating wet conditions and causing problems with access to some hunting areas.

That was certainly an issue when I accepted an invite to hunt in Halifax County this past weekend. Rod has been trying to get me to hunt with him for the past few years but our schedules just did not match up until this past week. When I arrived in hunt camp on Wednesday the conversation was the high water in many parts of the land putting stands and access to stands under water making determining deer travel a bit challenging.

Rain off and on as well as wind and temperatures below freezing overnight and only getting to the low 40’s during the day made it a cold raw hunt. I wish the precipitation was snow but that was not the case so rain was what we saw. I absolutely love hunting in cold weather and miss my old New England deer seasons.

I hunted a variety of box stands across the property and while I saw some deer most were way off or around for such a short time I could not clearly identify whether it was a doe or a button buck. Most of the farmland I saw was planted in cotton this year but there were a number of food plots throughout the property. Between the stands and the food plots it was obvious the club members work hard to manage the property and the deer herd.

While I never got a shot Rod did take a nice bobcat he caught slipping through the cotton field near his stand.

I had never hunted in Halifax County before but judging by the photos, stories, and racks on the wall I say they got some great deer up there. Hopefully I’ll get another opportunity to hunt up there maybe when the water is not so high and messing up the travel routes. I got to believe our drought is over after this wet fall and I’m hopeful that if this wet pattern continues that we see some of the white stuff falls this winter.

Some of My Favorite Hunting Photos

On NC Hunt & Fish (message forum) a question was posed to what is your favorite hunting photo? Asking me that is tough because I love to shoot photos as much as hunting itself. There is no doubt that photos of trophies I’ve taken over the years certainly are very meaningful to me but at the same time photos I’ve shot on hunts with friends are probably more meaningful to me. So I couldn’t post all of these on the message forum so I’ll post them here. Then again I’m sure I’m missing a bunch as I post these but not owning a scanner these are the ones I have available.

Hunters Should Be Cautious As Remnants of Ida Grip the State

Late season hurricane Ida hit the gulf coast earlier this week but the remnants of this storm our now stalled over North Carolina and the Mid Atlantic states. Parts of North Carolina are expected to get up to 7 inches of rain before this system clears out. In addition to heavy rains the state is experiencing high winds with gusts in excess of 45 mph. This is a deadly combination as trees are toppling over after ground saturation erodes the integrity of the root system and the high winds just push the trees over.

Chilly, windy, rainy

“It’s going to be chilly, windy and rainy today,” said WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner. “It’s the gusts that are really kicking up out there.”
Wednesday was the third-wettest day recorded at Raleigh-Durham International Airport since 1944, according to WRAL meteorologist Nate Johnson.
The storm that started the week as Hurricane Ida weakened Tuesday after making landfall in southern Alabama. It was downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved east over the Florida panhandle.
Moisture from that system joined forces with a cold front and a separate low pressure system off the coast of North and South Carolina to produce a nor’easter that will continue to dump rain on the eastern half of the state into Friday.
“The rain will probably be lighter and spotter on Friday, but still there,” said WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel.

WRAL

With signs of the rut beginning to kick in as well as it being the week of muzzleloader season across the center part of the state many people including myself has taken this week off to hunt. Hunters hunting from treestands should be aware that the tree they are hunting out of may not be stable and could potentially topple over. Other hazards include flash flooding as rain continues to fall.

People need to be safe and carefully consider whether or not hunting in their particular area can be done safely. I did not hunt yesterday nor did I venture out yet this morning. I do have plans to hunt this afternoon but if conditions are not safe I will forgo the hunt to be safe.
People should be cautious and carefully check things out before driving across any flooded areas and before climbing into a tree.
Be Safe

Muzzleload Eve I Can Hardly Wait

Opening of the central muzzleloader season here in North Carolina is just hours away and I can’t wait. Like a kid on Christmas Eve I anticipate what the season will bring. This has been a busy week getting things wrapped up at work because I have all of next week off as well as getting things ready to go to deer camp. The weather looks like it will cooperate as the forecasters are predicting the first killing frost of the season for Saturday morning. Nothing like a sunrise on a crisp autumn morning as the steamy moisture rises off the frosty leaves to greet the warm sunshine. I don’t even need to see a deer and I know I’ll enjoy it but I’m hopeful the deer will show up around my stand. I hope I enjoy success like I did on the opening of the Eastern Muzzleloader.
I have the week off from work and I plan to be hunting fool next week. But don’t worry I got some obligations that will drag me in from outdoors so I suspect I’ll get some posts up and keep you updated on how the hunting is going.

The Meat Hunt

A few weeks ago my buddy Brian (NC St8) called me wanting to know if I was up for a Game Lands Hunt? Sure I said that should be fun. Part of me questioned my sanity about agreeing to this hunt. My only hope was that NC St8 could find a few others to join us so we could spread the fun around.

NC St8 is a fun guy to hunt with but probably one of the luckiest / unluckiest hunter I’ve ever come across. He’ll get his critter (lucky part) but along the way he’ll have a calamity of errors (unlucky part) that you wouldn’t believe could befall one individual. With that as the backdrop I knew this was going to be an adventure and if we lived there would be some stories to tell.

This has become somewhat of a tradition with a few of us from the website ( NC Hunt & Fish) that we get together one day during the week of Muzzle Loader season and hike into a secret spot on the Game Lands and have a meat hunt.

Being public land that gets hammered pretty hard this is the best time to connect with something because you can take both antlered and antlerless deer. Next week when the regular firearm season rolls in it is antlered deer only till around Christmas time when does become legal to hunt again. This is a stock your freezer adventure and pretty much “if it’s brown it’s down “type of hunt.

We hike in a pretty good distance with the nearest stand more than a mile from the parking area. This year there was four of us ; NC St8, Quiet But Deadly (QBD), Jay Bird, and myself. With 3 carts to haul our stands and blinds we begin the hike in. The temperatures are cool and it’s misting a bit a much better situation then opening day when I hunted in hot & humid conditions.

I set up my blind in a grove of oak trees mostly reds but a few whites to make it interesting and settle in for the hunt. I spend the afternoon watching squirrels and birds enjoying the oak grove. I have a pretty uneventful but enjoyable afternoon in nature.

The first shot of the afternoon belongs to Jay Bird but he has less than perfect ignition and the deer bounds away unharmed. The misty dampness obviously got to his powder preventing him from connecting on the doe.

QBD has an afternoon much like mine where the squirrels entertained him he does see a deer but can’t get a shot. It’s looking like we are going to get skunk but with just a few minutes left in the hunt NC St8 gets a shot.

Moments later I get a call from him telling me that he shot a buck but he couldn’t find any blood but he heard the deer crash. By now it is the end of legal light so I tell him once we get our stuff together we’ll be down. I pack up my stuff and head to the meeting spot. Jay Bird and QBD are coming down another trail to the meeting spot. We decide to hide our equipment and bring just what we will need to track a deer and start heading towards NC St8.

We find NC St8 in the woods looking for where he left his stand and stuff when he went to track his deer. The good news is that he lucked out and found his deer despite not being able to find “much blood”. While we found it somewhat funny that he laid his equipment down and now the dark woods looked pretty much all alike we helped him search for his stuff. It took about 10 minutes or so and he stumbled upon it. Great now to get back out to the trail and go get his deer.

His deer was only about 200 yards from where he shot it and it was really close to the trail. Once we got in there we started back tracking from the deer to learn from the blood trail. There was a pretty good blood trail but without good lights it was difficult to see. QBD talked about how Coleman Lanterns are really one of the best items to use when blood trailing but folks rarely uses them these days. We ribbed NC St8 about not finding “much blood” especially in a couple of places where it looked like it someone poured it out.

Gutting the deer with 3 experts offering advice, holding legs, and shinning lights while none of us offering to gut it for him seemed to make NC St8 a bit nervous. Let’s just say we laughed pretty well while NC ST8 did the gutting job as a light rain fell. Some how he completed the job with all his fingers still attached.

We had a 45 minute hike to our trucks so we got rolling. It was about 9pm when we finally got back to the trucks. I swear someone added a few hills to the trail while we were in there hunting. Once at the trucks I offer to let NC St8 use my game hoist that hooks into my trailer hitch to cut the deer up. He rejects my offer wanting to get home and use his hoist there to finish cutting his deer up.

NC St8 had one more lucky / unlucky event in regards to this hunt after we all split up and went home. I guess his hoist snapped at the house and he barely escaped injury and a trip to an emergency room. I bet he wished he used my hoist.

We had a great hunt; lots of laughs, some great sights, and spending times with friends. We all got out of the woods with all our limbs so I guess it was a very successful hunt. Besides once again NC St8 is the only one to tag a deer…. he is one lucky dude.

Success On Opening Morning

Eastern Muzzle Loader season opened on a warm humid day on Saturday. it was already in the 70’s by the time the first rays of daylight hit the woods I was hunting in Johnston County. I was sitting in a blind with my new Thompson Center Omega with anticipation of what the season would bring.
As the woods woke up around me birds and squirrels were about all I was seeing. I could hear that volley of shots as duck hunters in a nearby swamp greeted the day. The acorns were falling like rain and occasionally making me jump as they hit the roof of the blind. About an hour into the hunt I was beginning to think the warm humid weather was going to keep the deer from moving around much. Not long after that I saw movement in the thick brush off to the right of the blind and then I heard them coming up the hill from the swamp.

The first deer I could make out was a small one most likely one of this past springs fawn. A second deer appeared and I could see it was a good size doe. I picked up the muzzleloader and watched them feeding on the acorns as they worked their way towards me. The brush was thick and while they were about 40 or 50 yards from me I needed them to step into one of my shooting lanes if I was going to get a shot. The smaller deer had stepped through and stood in some of my shooting lanes a number of times before the doe stepped in to one of the lanes. As I eased the hammer back the smaller deer stepped between the doe and my blind blocking my opportunity.

What seemed like an eternity but in reality was just a few minutes the doe gave me the shot opportunity I was looking for. As the smoke cleared I could only see the smaller deer running through the brush back the way they came. I got out of the blind and went to the spot where the doe was standing and I found some blood. I went back to the blind and reloaded my gun and waited for 30 minutes so I wouldn’t push her.
I got on the blood trail and it went straight down the hill towards the swamp. I had to fight my way through some thick brush but I was rewarded with a nice doe about 100 yards downhill from the blind. The trail crossed an old trail from a hunt a number of years ago but I knew it was close to a clear path. I got the deer out and with the heat I knew I wanted to get it quartered and on ice quickly.
Registering my deer was a bit complicated because my Blackberry phone does not have letters on the numbers like a typical phone. So when NCWRC prints their number as 1-800 I Got One without the numbers it makes it difficult to call it in. Luckily a call to my wife and she help decipher the number 1-800 446-8663. So there’s a good tip for you if you got a blackberry save a copy of the numbers and the letters they correspond with so you can use the phone in check system. It’s not enough to just have the phone number because you got to also type the county in as well. I was able to guess but it took a couple of tries.

Once registered I quickly got it cut up and on ice. I’ll age it in the cooler and finish processing it this week. A great start to the deer season.

Black Powder Season Opens Tomorrow

Nothing like Muzzleloader Eve as we all sit around and hope that at daybreak tomorrow we see a deer or two under the tree for us. The Eastern part of North Carolina has an earlier opening to firearms seasons so if you are like me and have hunting lands in both parts of you get to Muzzleloader eves each year.
I have a new muzzleloader this year deciding to buck the trend and get a Thompson Center. I know you can hardly watch a show and see another maker of muzzleloaders besides Thompson Center. I picked up an Omega from Cabela’s a few weeks ago for a pretty good deal.
I took the Omega out yesterday and sighted it in so hopefully I’m ready to roll in the morning. I’ll be hunting in some thick woods in Johnston County and I’ve opted for a ground blind over a treestand. There is a pretty good double tree canopy with a lot of hollys and dogwoods under the mature hardwoods. To hunt from a treestand I’d have to be pretty high to see around much of the clutter. My shot opportunities will be 50 yards at the max.
The weather is not the greatest with the temperatures predicted to be in the 80’s it is only going to get down to the lower 70’s over night. The promise of some light showers may help because it seems the deer move around a little bit more it seems when it’s like this.
I hope everyone going out has a safe and enjoyable hunt and who knows maybe in the morning there will be something under the tree for ya.

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