A Pretty Good Idea On How To Build Your Own Walk In Cooler

Anyone that does any serious hunting has probably thought a time or two about how nice a walk in cooler would be to hang a deer , elk, or maybe even some moose quarters . For an individual or a hunt club the cost of such a system is usually cost prohibitive up until now. I was reading on the Whitetail Woods Blog and learned about the CoolBot that allows you to adapt a window unit air condition to make a walk in cooler that will get down to 32’f.

The CoolBot turns any brand of off-the-shelf, window-type air conditioning unit (purchased separately) into a turbo-charged cooling machine. With it, you can transform a highly-insulated room into a walk-in cooler, keeping your vegetables fresh and thermostatically controlled cool down to 32° F!
CoolBot will not only save you on installation and repair costs, it will also help you save electricity, reducing your operating costs when combined with new Energy Star air conditioning units engineered to much stricter environmental standards than standard walk-in cooler compressors.

I know my hunt club we won’t be putting one of these in anytime soon seeing we don’t have electricity. Currently I usually age my deer in coolers changing the ice daily and it works ok or I take it to a processor and pay them to it age and then cut & grind it. Looks like a good project for a small group of guys to do to keep their deer to age and to save some money.

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

Dog Hunting Declining Across the South East?

I’ll admit that I’ve never hunted deer with dogs but I’m hopefully going to get out on a dog hunt this season and see what it is all about. In the local newspaper this week Fred Bonner talks about the decline of this sport. This is the second article I’ve seen this season about this topic and it is sad to see a local cultural hunting tradition go by the wayside and the poor economy seems to be hasting its demise.

For the deer hunters who chose to have their hounds chase the deer the conditions couldn’t have been more ideal. It was damp enough that the deer’s scent hung close to the ground and it was cool enough to make it comfortable for both the hunters and the dogs.

That’s why I was surprised to find relatively few deer hunters out there with their dogs on the opening day of the season. Ordinarily we’d see truck after truck loaded with dog boxes, two-way radio antennas, tracking antennas and elevated stands lining the roads in the more rural areas Down east. I started to wonder just what was wrong here.

He goes on a bit later in the article to point out some of the pressures on this sport.

The national economy is playing a large part in having a change in the way deer hunters carry out their sport. This seems to be particularly true in the case of the deer hunters who choose to hunt with the aid of dogs.

Dog owners who formerly owned several trained deer hounds found the price of keeping these dogs was getting really expensive. Between the price of dog food and the medications that keep the dog healthy the hunters simply found themselves in a financial pinch. When it comes down to a choice between feeding and keeping healthy their families versus several large hunting dogs, the families won out.

Garner News

Dog hunting is a long standing tradition in this part of the country and it would be a shame if that tradition was to be lost. Even hunters like myself who don’t use hounds to hunt deer should tread lightly as dog hunters get squeezed out because we could be next. I realize that there are issues around the use of hounds. Most often conflict arises when the dogs get off the land they are suppose to be on and run on land they are not suppose to be. Unfortunately the hunters causing the conflicts are often the ones that draw the most attention and thus cause negative prejudices against this hunting tradition.
Read the whole article Fred Bonner wrote and see if you can learn a little bit about this tradition. I hope to get out an experience a hound hunt this season and I’ll report back here on my experience.

Guest Blog Post From Michael Waddell / Calling Elk Bow-Close

The following is a guest blog post from fellow hunter and writer Michael Waddell. Michael just this week announced that he will be a regular writer and contributor to Peterson’s Hunting. I’ve had the honor of meeting him a number of years ago here in Raleigh at the Scope Show and it is an honor to have him post on MooseDroppings

Whether hunting public or private land, the fundamentals of calling elk remain the same.
Calling Elk Bow-Close
Michael Waddell

We heard the bull bugle at first light and snuck into his core area. When I hit a lick on my bugle, the bull simply came unglued and stormed our position like a tank, crashing through brush and small lodgepole pines like they were matchsticks. Before we could react he was in our lap and we were pinned down, me hiding behind a camera, too scared to touch the tripod for fear my shaking hands would ruin the footage. All I could see of my partner wedged against a stunted pine was the tip of his undrawn arrow quivering on the rest. Before a shot presented itself, the bull smelled a rat and disappeared as quickly as he arrived. While this experience didn’t result in a dead elk, it did hopelessly addict me to calling them.

It seems that in all walks of life, be it the animal kingdom or humans, communication is a key ingredient for all social interaction. However, not all living things communicate to the same degree. If you ask my wife, I am sure she will tell you I am lacking in the communication department; in fact, I’m sure she believes I don’t listen to her at all, but when it comes to communicating with animals I can barely shut up. Of all the animals I love to communicate with, elk rate right at the top.

By nature, elk are very vocal. The uninitiated often simply think of bulls bugling, but cows, calves and bulls make all sorts of noises year-round. If you encounter a large herd, while you might not hear anything from a distance, if you get close you will hear lots of subtle vocalization. Most of the time these are sounds of contentment, but depending on what’s happening the vocalization reflects it. Elk can convey contentment, danger, curiosity or a cow in heat. Bulls, for instance, only bugle primarily in the rut, but they also communicate to establish a pecking order. After spending a considerable amount of time chasing the mighty wapiti, I’m convinced every elk in the herd knows each other by sound alone. This happens with the cows as well as the bulls, and based on my evaluation, somewhere in this mix is the deadly secret to calling elk bow-close.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery
It seems that the more vocal a herd, the better the odds are for success at calling them. Some cows call subtly, while others are loud-mouth ladies actively looking for a date. By listening, it gives you a better opportunity to imitate the particular tones and intensity of the herd.

By calling, we are automatically intruding into the social club without an invitation. The closer we can sound to a known elk and match that intensity, the better the odds are of filling a tag. Even though we may sound like an outsider to the herd, luckily for us, love-crazed bulls are not looking to be intimate with just one or two cows; they are looking for all the love of every cow in the world, so taking advantage of their sexual frustrations and promiscuity is our salvation.

It doesn’t take a world champion elk caller to trick bulls within range. By simply paying attention to the herd and understanding simple elk rhythm, tone and, more important, volume when calling, a hunter can depend on an elk call to be a valuable asset to dulling broadheads.

Public Versus Private Land
Since I started hunting elk 16 years ago, on private as well as public ground, I’ve realized comparing these two different types of ground is like comparing night and day, and it is all about the amount of pressure each receives. Generally speaking, private ground bulls are way easier to call than public ground animals, but this is not always the case. Some private land gets a lot of pressure, which can make for some pretty tough calling duels with elk that can serve you up a humble pie every time you bust out a call. Conversely, some public land, either through sheer remoteness or hard-to-get tags, is like calling the best private land in the nation.

Hunting untouched land and cow calling to bulls that have never heard a Hoochie Mama would obviously be nice. It wouldn’t take long working over these uneducated elk to start feeling like an elk-calling pro, only to be deflated the first time we went to the national forest and mixed it up with bulls so well known by local hunters that they have nicknames. However, regardless of where you hunt, the basics of calling remain the same.

Start with mastering the cow call and all its various inflections. Your basic reed-type calls are the easiest to learn as well as get proficient with. You will find two kinds; both are bite-down reed-type calls, one being enclosed and the other having an open reed or reeds. These calls make a very realistic sound and before your wife can run you out of the house you will master the basics.

I rely heavily on the cow call and think most of the time hunters are better off sticking with it over a bugle no matter where they are hunting. However, learning how to make a basic bugle is important, especially for locating bulls at a distance before getting close and working him with your cow call. In addition, sometimes it is the bugle that finally provokes a dominant bull to commit, especially during the early season when bulls are still sorting out their pecking order.

Earning Your Public Ground Ph.D
Let’s face it, unless you have deep pockets much of the private ground in the West is pretty much off limits, so you have to learn to hunt public land. This is not a bad thing, as public ground comprises millions upon millions of acres across the West and happens to have some of the biggest bulls found anywhere. While it can be tougher than private, once you learn how to hunt it you won’t be disappointed. Over the years one of my favorite places to hunt is the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, and even though this is a trophy area, tags are fairly obtainable through application.

In the Gila, the trophy potential is off the chart, sporting some of the biggest bulls in the country, but just because the big ones live there doesn’t mean that you automatically make one call and they come running to get in the back of your truck. These mature jokers have a Ph.D in avoiding hunters.

Over the last six years I have hunted this area religiously and have had the opportunity to shoot some nice bulls, all by using elk calls as an aid to close the coffin.

Notice I said, “as an aid,” meaning the call was just one thing in a bag of tricks to help smoke these monarchs. My biggest bull that came out of the Gila was a 378 P&Y bull that earned the name The Professor because he always seemed to take you to school when you applied too much pressure. However, this bull was vocal and would bugle his butt off. He also seemed to be fairly easy to find, not only by his gnarly, raspy bugle that set him apart, but frequently he could be found early in the morning in a large meadow just south of a particular water hole that always attracted a large herd.

The Professor was not the only bull in the area that had large headgear, but it was the Professor that seemed to call the shots. I had caught this bull in the open several times, but calling seemed to really make him uneasy when you were in close. However, he would bugle hard to distant cow calls and seemed to be whole heartedly interested, but he had a sixth sense when you moved in for the attack.

Finally, we decided to have a caller stay behind as we worked him coming off the meadow at daybreak. By doing this we could keep him interested and bugling as we stalked in closer. The caller always was no closer than 80 yards behind me. While the caller kept him occupied, I slid within 50 yards and gave him a G5 Tekan right behind the shoulder. This hunt was really a stalk, but the call and caller had a big part to do with his demise. Once we started quartering the bull, we found a piece of an old arrow lodged just below the backstraps, so obviously someone had him in close before and gave the teacher an education, which explained why he was so wary.

The Double Team
As this old bull showed, hunting with a partner can work extremely well. It not only puts the hunter out in front of the call, it gives the hunter a chance to move and adjust the angle based on where the bull might be approaching. Likewise, the caller has the flexibility to move and apply a lot of different calling techniques.

The double-team plan worked again on another hunt. It had been hot, and the bulls were only bugling early and late. As soon as the sun would rise the elk woods would turn into a ghost town.

Just after daybreak on the fourth day of our hunt we heard this bull bugle. He hit it only two times, both very weak. He sounded like the littlest rag horn in the land, but with no other game in town we went after him. Getting as close as possible to where we thought the bugle came from, I eased up and sat down by a pine stump while my buddy moved back and to my right about 40 yards.

Neither of us was very optimistic about our chances. My buddy made one or maybe two very soft cow calls on a two-reed diaphragm, then he started raking a tree and rolled a few rocks. We sat there for possibly 10 minutes in silence, then out of nowhere appeared a wide 6×6 coming directly to us.

At 25 yards the bull let out a soft chuckle, looked over his surrounding, and kept walking in the direction of where the last rock had been rolled, which led him 16 steps from my pine stump. By now I was at full draw, waiting for a broadside shot. When the arrow left my bow, I knew we had killed a call-shy monster by keeping it low-key and staying patient. Needless to say, I was never convinced by the two times he had bugled earlier that he was a shooter. This was a lesson in itself. Never judge a bugle until you can see what is making the sound.

The most exciting way to bag a bull elk is to get him in close, and the best way to do that is with a call. Confidence in your call is critical, because if you’re insecure about using your call, there is a good chance you will spook elk. Have confidence in your calling ability and become just another elk in the herd where you are hunting.

Find a call that works for you and not what works for someone else. Think like an elk and do as elk do. Realism, rhythm and volume control can make the difference between bringing them in or running them over the next ridge. Remember, it’s not always about calling. It can be about just patiently listening to the sounds around you and applying minimal calls while practicing good woodsmenship and stalking skills that could help you put that monster on the back of the truck.

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.

Want to Learn About Bears & Bear Management in North Carolina?

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Colleen Offenbuttel will be presenting a free lecture on Black Bear Research and Management in North Carolina this month. The lecture will be held on Wednesday the 14th of October at the Centennial Campus at 4pm.

“Black Bear Research and Management in North Carolina: 1970s Through the Present” will examine the modern era of black bear management. Olfenbuttel will discuss projects and cooperative agreements with various universities, including N.C. State University; research on the demographics of the bear population and how monitoring efforts provide a basis for making sound management decisions; and adopting regulations to benefit bear populations and habitats.

North Carolina has bears mostly concentrated in the west and the eastern part of the state but bears are apt to pop up almost anywhere in the state as the population expands. The bears in eastern North Carolina can grow to some massive sizes as you can see by the photo I posted. Earlier this summer I talked with Mike Noles of Conman’s Guide Service and as far as he knows this bear Maximus is still walking around. Mike offers stand hunts for bears but the most common method for hunting bears down east is with hounds.
As the human population expands and the bear population does as well what will NCWRC response be to deal with the conflicts that will arise. We’ve already seen some issues in the mountains, the Piedmont, and right here in the triangle.

The Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education is located at 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh.

Is Corn a 4 Letter Word?

That is the question Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine is exploring this month and next and one that has been on my mind as of late as well. The topic comes up often in deer camps, message forums, about anywhere hunters gather.
North Carolina allows baiting or supplemental feeding of deer and hunters use a variety of items as bait but corn is probably the most popular item. The topic of baiting is real hot right now in the counties that have bear seasons because it is illegal to take a bear over bait unless it is being pursued by hunting dogs. Having sat in the Big Game Committee Meetings at NCWRC I can tell you there does not appear to be any commissioner that wants to touch the deer baiting rules.
I urge you to go read the article in Deer & Deer Hunting they have a pretty good synopsis of the corn debate and I won’t try to rewrite it. Hunters need to decide for themselves whether they’ll hunt over baits or not much like many of the other choices we make when it comes to hunting.
I use corn for a number of different reasons and sometimes the property dictates the use. One place I hunt we use corn to supplement because the landowner doesn’t want us planting food plots so we set up a number of feeders on the property. Another place we hunt we use corn to keep the deer on the property because surrounding properties use corn as well. Then another place I hunt the landowner wants some deer killed because of destruction of vegetation but because of safety concerns there is limited hunting spots on the property. Corn helps position those deer so we can safely remove them and they don’t end up getting killed under a depredation program where the meat more than likely will not be used.
I’ve heard a number of people say this and my experience seems to support it that big bucks will not hit a bait pile usually during daylight hours. My experience has been smaller bucks, does and fawns seem to be the ones that utilize along with a variety of other critters including turkeys.
I don’t have an issue with the use of baits in areas where legal. Though I do think if that is the only way you feel you can hunt that you are severely limiting your options.

Backyard Visitors

Seeing wildlife in your backyard is pretty cool and I do some small things to encourage it like allowing clover to grow in my lawn, creating brush piles and things like that. I have a few rabbits or did, haven’t seen a rabbit in a few weeks now, gray fox or a coyote may have gotten the rabbits. We see deer regularly but mostly at night.

The other day I went out to start the grill and laying right next to our deck was a fawn. The fawn popped up and trotted across the yard and back into the woods. I could hear the doe in the overgrown vacant lot next to us blowing as she ran to meet up with her fawn.

Then the next evening we had a small group of deer show up and I was able to get some photos of this young buck. The National Wildlife Federation has some great information on how to improve and maintain your yard in a wildlife friendly way. Contact your state wildlife agency to see if they offer classes or resources in how you can improve wildlife habitat on your property.Taking some small steps can improve the habitat in your yard to encourage birds and wildlife thus creating hours of fun watching them from the comforts of your home.

Build It They Will Come
Red Shouldered Hawk

The Sign of Hope

New Backyard Visitor

Checking Out Birds In Tree

Dove Opener Is Approaching Fast

The start of the hunting season in the south is traditionally the opening of dove season. Dove season opens at noon time usually the Saturday before Labor Day (If it falls in September) and across most of the hunters will gather for a lunch prior to the hunt. It is a very social event and often the first hunting opportunity that some youngsters get to participate in. Very much a family and friend affair for sure.
I love dove hunting but my wing shooting abilities are not that greatest. My hunting buddies swear I keep Federal in business with the amount of ammo I go through in an afternoon. Certainly something I’ve got to work on and something I’ve been reading about. I came across an interesting article in Game & Fish about 6 Tips to improve your dove hunting.
LIGHTEN UP/OPEN UP
GUN CONTROL
HEAD CONTROL
THE NUMBERS GAME
POSITION
REALISTIC PRACTICE
All worthwhile things to work on I believe head control and realistic practice are the areas I really need to work. Who knows maybe I can get a few more doves for the grill this season.

Magnet Gun Caddy A Handy Device

I remember it like it was yesterday but it was actually a few years ago when I found myself looking down the muzzle of a 12 gauge. Although no one was holding on to it at the time, someone had laid it across a pickup truck toolbox, I turned my head as I walked towards my truck and it was just mere inches from my nose. It startled me and with a number of people in and around the truck it was still quite unnerving. Muzzle control is of utmost importance when it comes to gun safety and even guns that are out of our hands when we take a break.
I was given a Magnet Gun Caddy to try out but it came in at the end of turkey season and I haven’t had much opportunity to try it out.

A Smarter Way to Rest Your Gun
The Magnet Gun Caddy is designed to provide a handy place to rest and protect your gun and your car. Whether you are getting ready to begin your hunt, just taking a break to water your dogs, or returning from a rewarding experience in the field, the Magnet Gun Caddy provides a fast and convenient way to rest your gun. Remember, NEVER use the Magnet Gun Caddy with a loaded gun.

Well with some work days coming up and the sightings of a coyote at the last one it seemed like a pretty good idea that we keep some fire power close by. I wanted to check the zero on my 243 so it gave me a chance to try the Magnet Caddy out. I’m sure if you’re like me you’ve rested your gun against a truck. A good way to scratch the truck and certainly dangerous if that gun is loaded. The Magnet Caddy will securely hold your unloaded gun in place against your truck or any other steel object.
I was pretty impressed with the Magnet Gun Caddy and think it is something I’ll use regularly. It has been made a permanent addition to my truck toolbox so it will always be handy.
I would think with dove season coming up soon that this would be a product a lot of folks could use. Dove hunting is a big family event here in the south and what a better time to reinforce gun safety and to make sure all those muzzles are pointed up in a safe direction.

Order Info

Plant It They Will Come…. But What is “IT”?

Whether you own or lease your hunting land the topic of food plots is sure to come up as you manage the land for wildlife. In the Southeast there seems to be almost an endless choice of what you could plant but what you should plant might be a better question. Fellow blogger Gabriel Karnes over at The Outdoor Smorgasbord has co authored an article about choosing between native and non native options when it comes to whitetail deer. This is another article he has done for Realtree so check it out.

Sighting In For Turkey Season

One of the most important things you can do to help you be successful in the turkey woods is to sight your shotgun in. You’d be surprised at how many people overlook this important step and have no idea what kind of pattern there gun is shooting. We talked before about shot size and choke tubes in an earlier post and both will effect the pattern your gun will shoot.
When it comes to shooting a turkey with a shotgun remember unlike other types of hunting with shotguns you really need to shoot it like a rifle. That’s why it is important to sight it in. I like to have a minimum of 20 pellets in the spine / brain area of the turkey target when I sight my gun in. So I’m including some printable targets that you can use to check your gun pattern before the season comes in.

Gunners Den Target

Missouri Wildlife Turkey Target

Remington Targets

Season will be here soon So get prepared.

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