times they are a changin

Just wanted to give a quick update on the 2010-2011 season....wow what a season it has been! The season is drawing to a close and let me tell you things can really turn around on a dime! As in my previous post, my deer season has been a tough one. It was the first time in 16 years that I did not get a deer during primitive weapons season, but still I forged forward.....Second rifle season exploded with me harvesting 4 does! Meat is in the freezer....so much in fact that we had to buy a new freezer! Duck season has also been the best I have seen it in years! Thanks so much to those that I have had the honor of sharing the duck and deer woods with! BTW....I loved my vacation this year...seemed like every week we had a different guest in our home hunting with me....it was a blast! (Felt like I was running my own guide service...just without the pay.... Christmas brought Caleb Eby to the house and our other PA friends for a week or two of deer hunting southern style. Andy Reitz killed a 6 point and Caleb had many encounters with deer. (does, 4 points and better!) Christmas was also special because it was our first in our new home....Christmas morning we woke up to snow and it seemed almost surreal sitting by the fireplace watching it snow while we opened presents! Thanks Leanne for making our house a home!

Look out Stuttgart here we come!!!

MA has already started practicing and can actually make some sound come out at times....look at the concentration in those eyes!! Just need to hone her routine a bit before she takes the stage!

2010-2011 Season has begun~~!!

Lots of changes have taken place over the summer! Leanne Mary Audrey and myself have moved to our new home...with Paradise only just 1/4 of a mile from the front door! Our new house sits on 3.5 acres in the country and deer have been frequently visiting our yard to pick up the acorns from the oak trees.




















Dove season was excellent! Already had one eating and anxiously await the next.

After 8 years of patience Young finally downed a doe on the last afternoon of official bow season! He shot her from the Thunder stand at 3:45pm she ran about 50 yards and piled up...she weighed 73# and was 1.5 years old.

MY season has not been going so well. I got a new Matthews Z7 and have had nothing but problems mostly my fault. Shot well on the range....not so good in the woods.

The following events are all true and presented in chronological order.... It exploded one time from me not removing my pull rope and then attempting to draw down on a coon. I missed a doe a week later with something happening during the shot to break my arrow rest, incidentally, both events were separate but in the same tree.....now known as the Jinx tree. A week after that I missed another doe centering a tree

, and then the very next day finally hit a doe but made a bad shot and was unable to recover her...when it rains it pours..

Wayne Boshart and I finally were able to line up a hunt where he missed the first deer he has ever shot at with a bow....Congrats to him as he is now officially ruined...Enjoy the pics....

Trying to Catch Up

Well alot has happened since my last post. Turkey season has come and gone and I am looking down the road to another long and hot summer. Turkey season turned out good, after some frustrating moments and a wounded unrecovered bird in late March. The first and only bird I killed in Mississippi occurred on the last day of the season in the last 5 minutes that I had to hunt. I verbally said to myself..."well my season is coming to close" and I looked up and there he was headed straight towards Killer B! It was windy and raining and the bird was soaking wet I called him in with a box call gobbling and yelping every 15 minutes- 8" beard, 1" spurs. Just goes to show that you should never ever give up and it can turn around on a dime, success is only a trigger pull away!

After two weeks of business trips, the family and I took our first vacation to PA to visit our friends, the Reitz's and Eby's. Turkeys were everywhere and I wound up accidentally shooting two with one shot while shooting at the longbeard on the third day of hunting. 10 1/4" beard, 1" spurs and weighed 21 1/4 pounds. The other bird was a jake. I was also a witness on the hunt where the impossible turkey was killed by Caleb! 10" beard, 3/4" spurs and 16 pounds! Caleb's dad killed a jake that morning but had already cleaned it by the time that we got home so no pics of that one! Cant wait to go back!

Memorial day weekend found us fishing for whatever would bite. Saturday we went to Bluff and caught a few bream, but a local farm pond produced the most on Monday morning. Young and I probably caught close to 50 bringing home 32 bass and bream.

For my dad: I wish you could have been there daddy....you were missed and your presence will always be felt. Your memories of friends, family, and days gone by maybe sliding away, but we will meet again beneath the shade on the other shore and all will be made new because the former things will have passed away. I love you!

2010 NWTF Convention

Had the absolute pleasure of being able to participate in the 2010 NWTF Convention in Nashville. This has been a dream for me and I was able to spend 3 1/2 days in turkey heaven. I saw all the big time names in the industry as well as meeting some fantastic kids who came by the 4-H Shooting Sports booth to shoot BB guns. I watched the 2010 Friction Calling championship, the hotel staff all had camo NWTF hats on. As soon as we pulled up to the valet parking they had turkey calls going on over the PA. (Leanne thought that it was me) they even had Turkey Call TV show going 24 hrs a day on the hotel television!

LA Marsh Hunt

MLK weekend found us traveling on a much anticipated trip to see our old friends the Iles family. While the girls went shopping and Amanda taught Leanne how to make hairbows, Clint and I drove to duck camp on the marsh. This was my first time to hunt there and what an introduction. We spent the night there on Friday and hunted Saturday morning in a downpour. The weather did not inhibit the ducks from flying. A total of 9 hunters killed 45 ducks! Oh and I almost forgot to mention that we saw two gators while we were hunting. Theres things in that there marsh that will eat you!!!

Me and My Hunting Buddy

Had the pleasure of hunting with my buddy Joel Ray again this year. He has learned alot since his initial duck hunt last year (see previous posts). Joel tagged a greenwing teal on our first hunt and then killed a beautiful drake shoveler and a very rare redhead! Congrats my friend having the privilege of hunting with you has been the highlight of my year. Keep after it and remember to let me and your dad shoot from time to time :-)