As you all have already realized I’ve been away from the blog for quite sometime now. I’d like to thank each and everyone one of you for reading this blog and I hope that you’ll continue following the SkinnyMoose Bloggers as they bring you the very latest and greatest outdoor news and entertainment. I will be on and off the blog sporadically from here on out because I am tied up building and maintaining an all new message board called www.carolinasoutdoor.com ,an all new hunting and fishing forum dedicated to North and South Carolina outdoorsmen. Come join us or at least check in often to see what the folks in the Carolinas are doing in the field. Once again thanks for your support.

WOW!! Now that’s what I call fast responding!! Less than 15 minutes ago I did a post about a buck that was sent to me in an email. The email had little info provided with it and simply stated it was taken by a 9 year old and had 40 scoreable points. Well, I just recieved this photo in an email by someone named Jim who says the fellas name is Baler and that the buck scored around 220BC unofficially. The “wire” is described as hot wire that was put up in an attempt to keep the buck out of a garden. According to Jim this is only the second buck this fella had ever taken.

After reading through a local hunting forum I visit frequently I ran across a discussion where a member had posted a topic asking “How do you deal with Buck Fever”. There was a link provided in the post and from there folks started telling their experiences of how they deal with the excitement of a huge buck in their presence. The responses were very wide ranged and for some, the feeling that I get appears to be no longer a part of their hunting experiences.

Personally, I get DEER FEVER no matter the time or place. I get a feeling that runs through me like no other when I’m in the woods and a deer is spotted. That feeling is what makes me a hunter, not a golfer. (No harm in golf, it just doesn’t do anything for me). The adrenaline rush I get whether the deer is 300yards out across a bean field or just 40 yards behind me in a thicket is what deer hunting is all about to me. I can be 15 feet up in a climber with my bow in hand and get the shakes like you’ve never seen as a lone doe makes her way towards my stand.

Knowing how to control the overall excitement and rush is where experience comes into play. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve had to back out from shooting an animal because the shakes got the best of me. With time this all changed. I still get that initial burst of adrenaline and I still get excited, but, I’ve learned to concentrate on the task at hand which means placing my shot in the best possible area to take the animal out quickly. After the shot, I tend to make life easy on the squirrels because I usually shake all the remaining acorns out the tree before being able to climb down. Knowing that it’s my duty as a hunter to make sure I don’t wound this animal probably helps me more than anything else.

The day I lose these feelings will be the day that my hunting career will be over. I’ll gladly place my guns back in the safe, probably sale my bow, and move on to something else. Maybe I’ll try golf again?

RALEIGH, N.C. (Jan. 30, 2008) – The National Wild Turkey Federation will name Sgt. Brian Blankenship of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission as its Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for North Carolina.

The recognition will come during the 32nd annual National Wild Turkey Federation Convention and Sport Show held Feb. 21-24 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga.

“Without the tremendous level of support for wild turkey conservation from wildlife officers such as Mr. Blankenship, restoration efforts and wildlife management strategies would never have succeeded,” said Rob Keck, National Wild Turkey Federation CEO. “We wanted to ensure that they receive the thanks and recognition they so richly deserve.”

Sgt. Blankenship was selected for the honor in part because of “his commitment to apprehending poachers via extensive patrolling and use of decoys” and his work with introducing young people to the outdoors.

By earning state-level accolades, Sgt. Blankenship and other state winners are eligible for the National Wild Turkey Federation’s National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award.

Sgt. Blankenship is a 12-year veteran of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and serves Alleghany County. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University, with a degree in Natural Resource Management.

courtesy of NCWRC

The above photo was sent in to Southern Adventures by Dave who is an avid squirrel hunter here in North Carolina. The hunt took place along the swamps of the Pee Dee River and as you can see, it appears there was no shortage of squirrels this day. I’m sure this hunt made for some great video footage for Randy Gary of Furs and Fangs video series. Here’s the story as it was sent into us. Thank you for your submission!!!

Randy Gary of “Fur & Fangs” video series traveled from his home in Louisiana to Marion County South Carolina to tape a squirrel hunt with Darrell Moran, Tim Cope and myself, Dave Inman. Matt Simms of Arkansas traveled with Randy as they made other hunts with hunters along their 16 day trip.

We hunted the swamps along the Pee Dee River which holds plenty of game. The first hunt we had 3 Original Mountain Curs doing the work. Darrell’s dog Gator, Tim’s dog Grizz and my Cash dog . After lunch we made another round with Darrell rotating his Gator dog out and using his young male Max.

At the end of the day we had plenty of meat and some good video footage to boot. We made a round the next morning hunting Max and Cash and added 13 more to the pot.

Randy seemed very happy with the footage he shot and plans on using some of it on his Fur and Fangs 9 DVD.

With deer season over here in the Carolinas, local hunters are taking advantage of the small game opportunities across the southeast. This story comes from Ned over in Waynesville, NC. Ned gives us a short story on how sometimes what you plan on happening, doesn’t always pan out. What started out as one rabbit in the bag, ended up as a day full of fox squirrels. Here’s Ned’s story about their hunt in Wythe County, Virginia.

After having a hard time running any rabbits on Saturday, my buddy and I decided to try our luck with the local fox squirrels. Now I have never killed or hunted them before, but my grandpa had given me some tips before he passed. We headed to some open oaks within a pasture. Fox squirrels seem to like more open woods. There was plenty of squirrel sign, nest, tracks in the snow, etc., and it wasn’t long before we missed our first. The squirrels were very active given the cold temps. I was carrying my grandpa’s old marlin .22 and eventually took my first ever fox squirrel with it. Made the day a little extra special for me at least. We hunted for about 4 hours killing 4, missing 3 more, and seeing about 3-4 more. Those things are tough as nails, and could carry some lead before dropping. They are smart too, it didn’t take but one miss before you were unable to sneak up on them a second time. It sure was a great day, and I am now hooked on hunting fox squirrels. It looks like I will be making a yearly trip back to Wythe County Va. from now on.
Ned

photo courtersy of HuntTigerRidge.com

A few days ago I did a post showing a video that I ran across over at TBones Blog revealing two nice bucks fighting it out in a creek bed  . A few folks had chimed in asking if I knew what had happened to the other buck in the video. Well, it appears our friend Jeff over at Lowcountry Hunting has tracked down the truth behind this video. The complete story can be read by clicking on this link. A special thanks to Jeff for sending us the story.

Photo of Ashley Gilliam and his massive Harnett County Buck

I received these photos in an email a few months back.  As usual the story was “Monster Buck Killed In NC”.  I get quite a few emails from people and I shook this one off as another VERY NICE North Carolina whitetail. To be honest I had actually forgotten about this deer, that was until I read an article in yesterday’s paper.

You can read the article here, and I’ll let you make your own decision as to how some people acted in this situation. The story is a sad example of how a hunt of a lifetime can turn into a disaster for a hunter. I was shocked to say the least when I read some of the remarks and accusations that were made towards this fella. Granted, I don’t know the guy and at first I thought to myself “Well, just maybe this guy has a record of wildlife violations and that’s the reasoning behind the rumors.” Nope, that’s not it, turns out according to the article he’s never had any game-related convictions. So what drives some folks to spreading rumors? Jealousy maybe? I’ll never understand. Needless to say, congratulations to Ashley Gilliam for his success on taking this mature North Carolina whitetail.

With hunting season either over all together or soon to be in parts of the south, I’d like to start on a new project for the upcoming weeks/months. I am looking for harvest photos from across the south. These can be deer, hog, turkey, any small game, coyotes, hunting dogs, trapping photos, etc. Please be sure to include a name and state in which the animal(s) was taken. A brief story to be posted here at Southern Adventures would be awesome if you have time. Once I get enough submissions, I’ll be announcing the week in which I’ll begin to showcase a “Southern Trophy” a day. The contact information can be found at the top of the blog here. Hope to hear from you soon!!

It’s ten minutes after sunrise, fog is starting to lift, several deer are still feeding in the foodplot, you spot a nice buck and decide to take the shot. Your rifle is rested solidly on the shooting rail of your stand that you and your buddies spent all summer working on, the time has come, it’s showtime!!

Unfortunately, the truth is some hunters out there are not ready to squeeze that trigger. Amongst all the foodplot preparations, clearing shooting lanes, hanging stands, etc. believe it or not, some forget the #1 most important part of hunting. Making sure their weapon is sighted in properly. When I say making sure it’s sighted in, I’m not speaking of sending three or four quick rounds through the barrel and getting up. I’m referring to actually getting some range time in and knowing your weapon. Some would argue that ammo is expensive and others have legitimate complaints about the lack of places to just go out and shoot. I agree 110%, ammo can be costly and not everyone is going to be able to just step out back and start shooting. For those that are not fortunate enough to have a steady place to shoot, I encourage you to find a place. We owe it to the animals we are hunting to ensure that not only are our weapons dialed in, but more importantly, that we are capable of proper shot placement under hunting situations.

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