Moose Droppings

In conjunction with National Hunting and Fishing Day the Wildlife Education Center on North Carolina State University Centennial Campus will hold a day long events this Saturday.

From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. there will be programs, demonstrations and activities, along with free parking, and some added events:
• Eugene Hester, wildlife biologist and photographer
Learn about wildlife photography and how to get that shot.
• Fly-fishing demonstration
Learn to fly-fish, with casting demonstrations and the basics needed to get started.
• Eastern Carolina Hunting Retriever Club
See hunting dogs at work in field conditions.
• Eastern Long Hunter re-enactment
A living history demonstration of how early American mountain men lived.

This sounds like a great event especially if you have some kids interested in the outdoors. Many states are participating in National Hunting and Fishing Day so check to see if similar events are happening in your area.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

I plan to do a more in depth story about it this week but I’ll give you a bit of an overview. The show was small but had a lot of vendors that I haven’t seen at the Dixie Deer Classic. I’m not sure what the overall attendance will be but it will be considered light I’m sure. I went up today and unlike the Buckmasters show there was no line waiting to get in. You could get free admission if you test drove a Toyota Tundra and with four of them cruising around a course laid out in an empty parking lot there wasn’t even a line to do that. I took the test drive and got my free ticket and headed into the show.

The show reminded me of the Scope Show that came to Raleigh a few times years ago. Had great speaker line up but for some reason just couldn’t pull in the crowds. The Big Buck Expo had some great hunting celebrities and overall I really enjoyed myself. Now to tell you how small the crowd was I did not run into a single person I know… well except for Larry Weishuhun who remembered me from the Dixie Deer Classic.

Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

The Big Buck Expo is a new show coming to the Greensboro Coliseum filling the void left by Buckmaster’s. The Big Buck Expo is being sponsored by Southern Trophy Hunters and they have done a number of shows across the southeast. I’m hopeful that I’ll get up to the show and check it out. With hunting season coming up rather quickly the timing of such a show is good for those who need to pick up a last minute treestand or a bottle of doe pee.

Like many shows I go to I don’t have any plans to buy anything but who knows. For those that are wondering Buckmasters has moved back to Alabama they were only temporarily here while the show venue was being renovated.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

I really hate to do this but I just had to test out the new scratch & sniff feature on the blog. You should be able to scratch your monitor screen and smell this wonderful pie and coffee.
This is blueberry season here in North Carolina and we have had a pretty good abundance of the tasty berries. We’ve been eating them by the handful, freezing some, and of course a couple of meals of blueberry pancakes. So tonight I decided to make a blueberry pie. A fresh cup of coffee, a hunk of pie and a good TV show was just the break I needed. I checked out part 2 of the Muzzy Bad To The Bone Bowhunting TV that my good friend and fellow blogger Chesson filmed. What an awesome hunt and what spectacular area that this hunt took place. Chesson followed Michele Eichler of Muzzy Broadheads has she fulfilled her dream of bagging a bull moose.

Photo by Chesson

In case you didn’t see the snow I mean the show Chesson has a diary of the Yukon hunt you should check out
The show will re-air this Wednesday at 1:30pm on the Outdoor Channel

I’d love to chase moose around the Yukon.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

This Saturday seems the things I had planned got change around so at the last minute I had some time open up for me so I decided to go check out the Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Hunters Party. Noon time on a Saturday seems a bit odd timing to say the least but at was at Howell Woods a place I’ve wanted to check out for a while now.

They advertise the event as “not your daddy’s DU banquet” and after attending I would agree it is not the typical banquet event that many of us have come to expect.

Are you a hard core duck hunter? If so you will not want to miss the Waterfowl Hunters Party.

These Ducks Unlimited fundraising events feature over 60 dozen Greenhead Gear decoys, Avery blinds, and of course, guns! This is a one of a kind experience.

Tell all your friends - this ain’t your daddy’s DU banquet!
The atmosphere is pure hunting. Hey, if you wear camo not only will you be dressed like most everyone else, you’ll be eligible to win a Benelli Nova 12 gauge Max-4 camo shotgun!

Howell Woods is owned and operated by Johnston Community College and has a wide variety of educational & recreational activities to participate in. Being practically in my back yard I was over do for finding this place and checking it out. The main thing that attracts me is the feral hog hunting they have at Howell Woods that will be another story.
Howell Woods is in a pretty remote part of the county and good thing I had detail directions otherwise I’m sure I never would of found it.

The DU event attracted a decent crowd 140 or so and there were some real nice prizes for the hunter. Lots of decoys a few guns, and some blinds with a number of different raffles going on. The food was disappointing, hotdog and a soda adding some chips or something would have helped. I guess given how good the food is at the banquet this was a very stark comparison but fitting in with the “this ain’t your daddy’s DU banquet!”

The event moved at a good clip unlike many of the banquets and people were excited as the decoys and other prizes were given out. I won two sets of decoys (had my lucky hat on) and had a pretty good time. There is another one of these events coming up next month in Fayetteville NC I’ll try to get the details and post them up.

Story & Photos by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Yesterday Maine held it’s annual Moose Lottery and it looked like an exciting event. I want to thank Tom & Steve and everyone else involved to make the live podcast from Kittery Trading Post possible. Although I couldn’t be there it was great to watch the fun and the excitement when the 3000+ names were read. Some of the lucky folks were in the audience and that was great. In case you still don’t know if you got drawn here is a link to the winning folks Good Luck to all that got drawn and I hope you have an enjoyable hunt this fall.

Well the big day is almost here, Thursday to be exact, when Maine draws the names for the 2008 moose tags. This is my first year back in after being drawn in 2005 so I’m hopeful I’ll be drawn again but realistically my chances are slim.

Living in Maine for a number of years I remember in the early days listening to the live draw on the local radio station straining to hear my name or someone else that I knew. Living here in North Carolina that exciting radio broadcast has not been an option so in 2005 I received a phone call from my brother telling me that I’d been drawn.

Well this year Skinny Moose will broadcast the draw from Kittery Trading Post so everyone can hear the drawing. Good Luck To everyone I’ll have my lucky hat on. I’d love to have some moose steaks to grill this coming winter.

Robert Brakes of Morehead City was sailing off the coast of North Carolina when his sailboat sank. With little time he was unable to get a distress call out or get any fresh water or food before getting into a life raft. Robert Brakes reported his boat sunk on the 4th of June the Coast Guard received the first report of trouble on the 6th of June.

The Coast Guard began an air search of the area late Friday morning after the crew of the cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas reported seeing a capsized sailboat. Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received the call and contacted the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center Portsmouth, which launched a Coast Guard C-130J aircrew from Elizabeth City to investigate.
When they arrived, the aircrew spotted a debris field and a covered life raft. After several low flybys of the raft, the aircrew reported seeing a person onboard, the Coast Guard said.
“It was a C-130 that located the life raft and once the life raft was found with Mr. Brakes onboard, a helicopter was sent to rescue him,” McGrew said.
Brakes was hoisted from the raft by a MH-G0 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew from Elizabeth City and flown to Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City, where he was treated for mild hypothermia and dehydration, the Coast Guard said.
Brakes told the Coast Guard his vessel sank so quickly he was unable to gather food, water or his ship’s Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beach (EPIRB). The sailboat reportedly sank sometime during the night of June 4.

ENC Today

Although many of us will never need the rescue services of the US Coast Guard it is a blessing to know they stand ready to answer the call. I’ll admit that I’m a huge fan of the Deadliest Catch series and here is a story out the area that show is filmed that demonstrates the rescue capabilities of the US Coast Guard.

Popular Mechanics in the current issue has the story of the sinking of Alaska Ranger fishing boat with 47 people on board. I stumbled across this while researching the rescue here in North Carolina. They used the same type of helicopter in both rescues, Jayhawk, here is Popular Mechanics breakdown on the anatomy of this rescue chopper.

Here is a brief video about the rescue.

I can assure ya I’ll pick up this issue of Popular Mechanics. Hats off to the men and women of the US Coast Guard they do lots of things to keep us safe every day and hopefully I’ll never need to get plucked out of the ocean but I know they stand ready.

The bow hunters are gathering this weekend at the fairgrounds for the annual NC Bow Hunters Association Convention and Show. This show is not as large as other hunting shows like the Dixie Deer Classic but still a very good show. Admission cost is only $3 for the entire weekend and the crowds are smaller so there is ample time to talk with vendors and exhibitors.

Dick Hamilton

I had the opportunity to meet Dick Hamilton from the Camo Coalition and to hear his presentation. I think every one that hunts and / or fishes in North Carolina needs to sign up. In these days when attacks on our heritage can come from almost any arena be it local, county, state, or national we need to be organized to fight. It’s no secret that the antis will take incremental progress to ultimately outlaw our way of life.

There is no fee to join just a wiliness to receive e-mail alerts on issues of importance for sportsmen. Guys we got to stand together on these issues even if the attack is on a part of the sport we don’t participate in. When we get organized we can be a powerful voice in preserving the outdoor heritage for our kids and grandkids.

Other things happening out there included 3 d archery tournament as well as a number of raffles. I believe many of the raffles were drawn tonight at the banquet. The show runs through tomorrow (Sunday) so if you get a chance stop by and check it out.

NC Wildlife Resource Commission has a booth out there. Great time to ask a biologist a question.

One of the great things about going to hunting shows like the Dixie Deer Classic is the opportunity to meet and interact with famous hunting personalities and this passed show was no exception.

Larry Weishuhn is an icon in the hunting world taking many species with a handgun. I enjoy hearing him talk because he tells a lot of stories making his lectures take on the feel of a hunting camp.

Larry shared a number of stories about how the whitetail deer adapts to man and the environment around him. He told about how at one ranch they hunt that the big buck was hanging out in the ranch hand’s backyard while the hunters were hunting the far end of the property. One of the other things Larry talked about was how he liked to hunt property where bow hunters hunt regularly because the deer get use to looking up for danger from the trees and Larry hunts almost exclusively from the ground. At this point in his lecture Larry gave us his best impression of a trophy buck walking around looking up when he walked into the front row of chairs sending one of them sliding back into me. Good thing I wasn’t sleeping.

I stopped by Larry’s booth after his talk and we had a good laugh about the chair incident. I told him I thought he must be some relation to Bobby Knight. I had to share the photo he signed for me thanking me for not throwing it back at him.

Larry told me that his next hunt is coming up quick as he is heading for New Zealand to hunt the Roar of the Red Stag. I wish him all the best and hope he has a good time.

Packing Up & Heading Home

After many miles on my feet, a lot of handshakes, and a lot of stories the 28th Annual Dixie Deer Classic has drawn to an end. I’ll tell ya up front that it will take me a few weeks to get all the great tidbits and information I gathered from this years show. So for my initial post about the weekend I’ll give you some of the highlights but you’re going to have to stay tuned for all the great stuff I got.

Old Friends

The great part of the show is the friendships you can develop over the years I’ll highlight a few;

Away Outdoors

Fred & his son Greg are some of my favorite outdoor personalities and they have a great TV show. They also have some great products including great calls. This year’s new product is the turkey skinz but they are already sold out of them but you might find them still at Gander Mountain or Cabela’s. Greg was at another show but I’m hopeful that one of these years that the powers to be at the Dixie Deer Classic will invite Greg to speak.

Conman’s Guide Service

I’ve hunted a number of times with Mike and Connie and they have a top notch operation. They run a guide service on Lake Phelps in Washington County where they guide for bear, turkey, deer, swan, small game, and they have some unbelievable fishing on Lake Phelps.

Rac Plaques

I’ve known the Dorsett’s for a while but they have just started this business Rac Plaques which are plaques for putting your European mounts on. These guys have a quality product and it showed with this first show and how busy they stayed throughout the show.

New Friends

Allen Bliven Calls

I met Allen for the first time this weekend and what a great guy. He makes some sweet waterfowl calls and has some impressive young folks calling for him. He knows his stuff and he even took some time to help O’le Moose here try to learn to blow a duck call. I got like 6 months or so to practice before waterfowl opens back up and boy do I need some practice. In the near future I’ll bring you the story and hopefully some of the sounds from these champion callers.

Now a bit of a teaser one of these guys pulled a Bobby Knight on me and hit me with a chair during their lecture. You’ll have to tune in latter this week to hear that story.

I met so many friends and had a great time. There was some great deer on display and it looks like many of us had a great season. I didn’t buy much of anything just a few odds and ends, renewed my NRA and my subscription to NC Sportsman. I’d be curious to hear if any of my readers found any good deals or picked up some new equipment.

Overall it was a great show and I can hardly wait for next year.

Two shows are taking place this weekend that maybe of interest to outdoor enthusiasts; RV Camping Show in Raleigh and a Deer Expo Show in Asheville. Normally this time of year the weather is not as nice as it has been so people are more apt to get some cabin fever and look for an excuse to get out. The weather is supposed to be a little bit cooler but still nice but on the off chance you need something to do check one of these shows out.