We have our own little form of madness in the late days of February and well into March. White rock creek which is a main drainage to Lake Livingston on the Trinity river here in E TX runs right through our 13,000 acre hunting club in Trinity and Houston counties.  At the lower end of our property on the creek is a waterfall that stops boats from coming any further up White Rock but does not hold the white bass back and they spawn right in the middle of our club.

During this time of the year it no big deal to go down and fish off the bank and catch 50 fish in an hour or so. My friends and coworkers Brett Lundy and Robert Laird done a little understory burning on the club one day and had it finished before noon and went down and spent 3-4 hours on the creek and caught close to 300 whites during that time. The picture below is of a day that I took Ashlyn to the creek when they were just starting to move in and we caught 45 in about an hour. She proudly displays them above. After that catch we were just striclty catch and release. Whites dont eat that good to us but it was the first fish of the season and we wanted to eat some. We let the others fo their thing and head back into the lake for others to enjoy.

We fished them hard for a couple of weeks and then switched to the catfish in Livingston which can be even faster and better than spawning whites and much tastier to boot. If you cant find us in early march and we dont answer our phones, it is because we are hid out on the creek. And not just us, but most of the guys that work with us as well. Somebody is always making an exccuse to look at a tract close to the club so they can sneak off this time of the year. Almost as much as October and November!!!

I took Ashly to Hunt and Shoot today after she didnt get to hunt saturday when everybody else was hunting.  Howie had asked her to come out and bring her bow and try and shoot a porker herself. So we closed the shop at 6pm and flew home and got their just before the feeders went off, they went off as we were going in and we tried to hurry and busted a big group off the first stand. So we continued on to the next one where the feeder had jsut went off and their were a couple of small hogs under it. We eased up behind some trees and got within her 20 yd range. She was just starting to draw when a whitetail doe came out from the other side and busted us blowing as she left. The hogs took off with her.

Koowing that another group should come in later we got into the stand and began the wait. We hadnt been there 10 minutes or so when here came a group of about 15, they came right to the feeder and Ashly had already stood up before  they got there. She took her time and picked one out and waited until he got clear from the others and then drew her bow. She took carefull aim and released, but her string caught her arm and the arrow went low barely missing. She was disappointed but repeated the phrase that we all say, YOU AINT HUNTIN IF YOU AINT MISSIN SOME.

We sat a while longer and eased back towards the front still hunting as we went. We tried to stalk another group, but just couldnt get close enough for her to get a shot. Oh well, we are going to go back another day this week and see if she can redeem herself. Howie did put the lay down on 2 pigs on the other end of the place while we were playing at the top end.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny even though there was a 60% chance of rain. Me, Cari and the kids loaded our stuff up and headed to the shosp. We got the shop open and the kids watching tv as me and Cari went out and shot our bows since we had both just changed sights. About an hour later Maranda and Jason showed up and waited on me to work on a bow and some arrows before we left for the 3d shoot at MCAC. Cari and the kids stayed and watched the shop while we went and shot.

We arrived at the shoot at almost 2pm and luckily they let us go ahead and shoot.. We rushed through the targets trying to hurry and didnt shoot quite as good as we should have. Miranda has only been shooting about 6 weeks now and is showing great improvement and wanted to try a little bow hunting even though she said she would stick with the rifle when she started shooting. We finished the course and started back towards the shop, and on the way started talking about going hog huntin so I called my friend Howie who is the ranch manager at Hunt And Shoot ranch in Chester, TX where I live. He said to come on out so we stepped on the gas as it was after 4pm and the feeders go off at 7pm.

We got back to the shop and got some broadheads down for Jason,Miranda and Cari. Cari has been shooting for about 23 years but has never bowhunted or taken any animal with the bow though she has taken around 10 deer with the rifle. She has had bad luck on hogs even with the rifle with misses and lost hogs in thick, impenatrable swamps. I got the three of them to shoot some broadheads and they were all shooting the same as their field points with the girls shooting the 85gr magnus stinger and Jason the 100gr 2bld Rage. By now it was almost 6pm and it is a 35 minute drive from the shop to our house. We rushed home and Cari changed clothers and met Jason and Miranda back out on the road.

We got to Hunt and Shoot and Howie took the three of them out while me and the kids stayed up at the house. Howie had Miranda on a hog in just a few minutes while driving into the stand. They got out and stalked the small group of 30-40lb pigs and got her within 25 yds where she made a great shot on a red hog. Jason got out and they got into the stand that was there and waited for the feeder to go off. Right at dark another group of pigs came in and Jason put a Rage through one of the little bar b q size pigs, and heard it  breathe its last as last light faded.

Mean while Howie had taken  Cari to another stand and itercepted a herd of hogs on the way to it. Cari was really worried about shot placement and also being on the ground with hogs. Howie had her sneak up behind some trees and get to about 25yds from the group. Cari drew her bow and was really excited and shot a hair low and cleanly missed. THe hogs took off and Howie took her on down and put her in the stand. Right at dark 2 other groups of hogs came in with one behind her not wanting to come all the way in until the group that came out in front of her went straight to the feeder. Cari waited and waited and drew and let down several times until a nice red hog about 80lbs gave her a clear shot and she put a magnus through his heart.

Howie had to go to work at his other job so I left the kids at the house watching tv and took the 4 wheeler to get everybody. I took a light as none of the 3 hunting had one and were sitting out there in the dark. I got to Jason and Miranda first and we tracked their hogs which had not gone far. Nest I went down to Cari and found blood quick but the trail was slow going on the bare sand n that bottom and it had rained about 2″ just befor e we got there. It took me about 30 minutes or so but I found her hog about 65yds down the hill from where she had shot him. We loaded the hogs on the 4 wheeler and I gave them the light and let them walk out as I took the meat to the cooler where we gutted them and hung them until the next morning when I skinned and quartered them, with us eating a backstrap for supper.

All in all it turned out to be a great day on one that was supposed to be wet and dreary all day. I had 2  ladies shoot their  first game with the bow and Jason got to bloody his new Bowtech Alligiance he got from me.

MCAC will be having their monthly shoot this sat. july 28 starting at 11am and running until 2pm for signups. Their will be novelty and a survivor shoot after the regular club shoot.

A new player in the field of modern compound bows is Evotek. They are located in Conroe,TX and have a line of 6 bows including 2 youth bows. In their youth line they have what they call the evo mod on their little hunter bow which is like the genesis in that it has no specific draw length and can be shot by anyone. They also make this bow as the trident bowfishing bow for Sully’s bowfishing supplies. You can also put regular mods on the little hunter and take the draw on up to 28″ and replacement limbs are available for a small fee to make the little hunter into their regular hunter bow.

The evolution is their target bow, with a 37″ length it should be nice and forgiving on the target line.

The stalker is a 33″ ata hunting bow that has an ibo of 315 and is very smooth and quiet.

The impact is a 31″ bow with a generous brace height and is perfect in those small ground blinds and tree stands. I have been shooting a impact since january and my wife is also shooting one as well. I have taken several hogs with it and am very pleased with its performance. I get 276fps with a 365gr arrow at 28″ draw and 67lbs. Not to shabby and just as quiet as my mathews drenalin.

For more info check them out at www.evotekbows.com . These bows also have a full lifetime warranty for the life of the bow not the original owner like most bows. If you own it they will fix it no questions asked. Shoot it like ya stole it!!!!

The hawglite is a ligth that screws into the stabilizer hole on the front of you bow and is berry useful. It has both red and blue lenses for the amount of light or non game scaring light you need. The light runs off of a 9volt battery and only weighs 7.5oz with the battery installed.

The hawglite was designed for hunting hogs over feeders at night due to their very nocturnal ways, however it works great for other things as well. I have used the light on night 3d shoots, rabbits and bowfishing with great results. The light is activated by a pressure switch velcroed to the grip on your bow. You hear a hog out there munching corn just draw your bow get ready and hit the switch to light him up.  They also have a gun mount and have been used for predators at night as well as alligators on the bow.

For some more info and a bunch of pictures check them out at www.HAWGLITE>COM

There will be 2 friends of the NRA events here in T X next weekend on Aug 2. One will be held in Houston and the other in Tyler. Conatact person for info is Kammi Sisson, kamiremaxtyler@yahoo.com for the tyler event, and John Griffin jgstxfnra@houston.rr.com for the Houston event.

Friends of the Nra events raise funds to support youth firearms safety programs, hunter education, and other shooting programs. There will be food,drink, auctions and a good time to be had.

Hope to see you there.

Located in Austin, TX Bob Sarrels is a traditional bowyer running a one man shop. Bob is as good of a guy as you want to meet and a great hunter. He makes some very beautiful recurve and longbows, though mainly hybrid longbows. I have 2 of his sierra longbows at the moment, one a 64″ and the other a 62″ and they are both super smooth and quick. He uses all kinds of different woods as do most custom bowyers and also offers a 2 piece takedown longbow as well. I have had 4 of his bows and can give them notihing but praise. I bought on of his foothill youth longbows for my daughter back in may and it is a great step up fromt the longbow she was shooting. These bows are very light in the hand, weighing less than 2 pds and can be carried all day with no problem. Bob is currently working on a short recurve that is supposed to be really nice but I havent gotten my hands on it yet. I may be in Austin next weekend at the TX traditional championship and get to shoot it as I know Bob will be there. You can also catch bob on the noc it up challenge tv show where he was on the traditional team. Check Bob’s bows out at Sarrels Archery.com

Fiocchi has added the 357 sig to its pistol shooting dynamics line. Ot features a 125gr fmj at 1450fps when fired from  a 5″ barrel. I have used fiocchi ammo in the past in several calibers and never had anything but good luck with them. I have not shot any of their ammo for groups though, only using it for practice and blasting ammo due to the great price. Their website is www.fiocchiusa.com.

Tim and Donna Buck donated 1 million dollars to pheasants forever, the largest philanthropic donation in the organizations 25 year history.  Thanks to the Buck;s for thiere very generous donation.