Michigan DNR’s Miracle Christmas! They Found $20 Million

Art Summer at Simply Outdoors sent me an email yesterday asking me if I had been following the story in Michigan about budget shortfalls with the Department of Natural Resources. I admitted I had been remiss in not more closely following up on previous stories I had written about their woes. As a matter of fact, back in July I was contacted by the Cadillac News and asked if I would be interested in presenting what I would consider negative effects of sharply raising license fees. Read more

The Green Mountain Buck

By Scott Seekins

It all started at 5:00 a.m.Thursday morning November 9th 2006. I stopped into Indian lake market to get a coffee. I got to my brothers house and I headed down to the tree stand with coffee in hand. It was still quite dark because it was a rainy, overcast day.

The first thing that happened to me was that I couldn’t find the tree stand. I had walked about 60 to 70 yards beyond it and had to turn around to find it. I found it after about 5 minutes and climbed up and got the seat dried off. Read more

EHD A Bit “Ho-Hum” In The Deep South

By Tom Remington

We are at a point where it would be safe to say that this year’s outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is quite widespread. Here’s a list of states that have confirmed cases of the virus that is carried to deer by biting midges or no-see-ums: Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, Montana, Mississippi and Georgia. In addition, some states are waiting for test results to confirm what they already suspect – South Carolina is one such state. Read more

Protecting Property Rights From National Heritage Areas And Earmarks

By Tom Remington

Let’s face it! Hunters, fishermen and all outdoor enthusiasts can’t enjoy their sports if they have no place to do it. Most states have at least some level of public lands but most of us still rely on private landowners’ unselfish willingness to allow you and I on their land. We have to respect the wishes of the landowner. It only makes sense. As a landowner myself, I want to be able to have a say in what I do with my land and who enters it and for what purpose. This is all part of being a free American and many of us enjoy it. Read more

Broom Totin’ Woman

By A. Sayward Lamb

One night, during September of 1986, Mrs. Irene Stevens heard a loud commotion in the front yard of her home. Mrs. Stevens, a lady of small stature, lived on the former Greenwood Town Farm, located on the Patch Mountain Road, in Greenwood City, Maine
Checking out the noise, Mrs. Stevens discovered a very large black bear had just attacked and killed her pet goat, which had been sleeping underneath the front porch of her farmhouse. Read more

Tracking a Wounded Deer

By Tom Remington

 

 

You’ve made the shot! Now what? Many times when we take a calculated shot at a deer, it falls nearly in its tracks. Other times we are not so fortunate.

 

I have heard hunters talk about a shot they made and never found the deer. As conscientious and ethical hunters, the last thing we want to do is leave a wounded or dead deer in the woods someplace because we couldn’t find it.

 

Sometimes when we make a shot it may not have the results we were hoping for – even what we would consider an easy shot. We are all human and at times shots get deflected or more often than not, our adrenalin rush forced a bad shot – or a not perfect shot.

 

After making your last shot and the deer did not drop where you can clearly see it, I would strongly recommend flagging the spot where you are standing. If you fired more than one shot and you moved in between shots, try to go back and flag the location of each shot. If you don’t carry flagging tape, I suggest you pick some up and put it in your pack.

 

Flagging the spot where you shot could be advantageous before the search is over. Many times when we are recounting the events that led up to the shot, the shot itself and finding your trophy, we realize we can’t remember the EXACT location of where you stood when you fired.

 

Knowing exactly where you stood when your fired your gun can be of great help in determining where a bullet may have gone, if not into a deer. Which brings me to the second thing you should do.

 

Locate the specific spot the deer was when you fired your shot or each shot to include them all. This is not always the easiest thing to do but I would suggest spending the time. Once you have marked the locations of where you fired from and where the deer was each time you fired, it can help you to determine several things.

 

Wounding a deer does not always provide telltale signs. I have killed deer before that never bled a drop of blood externally nor was there any visible hair at the site of the shooting. Other times, the blood trail is very obvious and easy to track. There is one thing I can guarantee you. Each and every time you shoot and hit a deer the blood trail or any other signs will never be the same.

 

If you can’t easily find a blood trail or any other signs that you have wounded the deer, take some time to align the location you were at when you shot with the spot where you think the deer stood. Look from all angles and directions and search carefully for broken small branches where a bullet may have hit and deflected. Also look for large trees you may have hit. Yes, we have all done it at one time or another. You need also to search for places where a bullet may have hit the ground and furrowed up the soil. If you find any of these, mark them with your flagging tape. Try to determine the outcome of each bullet that you fired.

 

Following a big trail of blood is easy. It’s the tiny specks that present a challenge but one that you have to undertake. Look for blood, hair and bone. All of these can give you clues as to where you may have hit the deer. Bright red blood often indicates a hit in the leg. Dark red blood may have come from the main body of the deer. Look at any hair closely. White hair comes mainly from the belly but there is white hair on many parts of the deer. Brown and grey hair comes mostly from the main torso area. A combination of blood color and hair color could help you to determine the location of a hit. Lastly, look for any bone fragments. Sometimes when a bullet enters a deer it hits a bone or bones and will shatter it. Sometimes pieces of the bone exit the deer and are found on the ground. This occurs mostly with a leg shot but not always. We all know there are exceptions to every rule.

 

When you find any of these indicators, mark them for future reference. You should know the general direction a deer ran when you fired at it. From the location of the first drops of blood and/or hair and bone, slowly and methodically work in the direction you think the deer went looking for any more signs. As you find them continue to mark them. Try not to disturb the area you are searching in. It is easy to cover up signs by flipping over a single leaf or stepping on a branch.

 

Don’t forget also in your search to look for blood and hair on bushes, shrubs or small trees. Sometimes a wounded deer, if running, will pump blood out and it will land on leaves and branches on brush, bushes, thickets, anything that is adjacent.

 

One of the mistakes young and inexperienced hunters will make is to get too excited and hurry off looking for the deer thinking they need to catch up to it. Deer will not run long distances even when completely healthy. They certainly are not going to run far if they have been wounded. Sometimes just sitting down and taking a break for 15 or 20 minutes will give the deer a chance to lay down and die. So, relax and do all the right things so you can go home at night knowing you did not leave a wounded or dying deer in the woods.

 

If you continue to mark each sign you have found and continue following the trail, you will eventually find your deer. This doesn’t always happen but more times than not it will. Don’t give up simply because there is no blood or hair or bones. Attempt to track the deer by following where it dug up leaves or earth when it ran away. If there is no blood trail, slowly follow these tracks and keep looking. Very often deer will not start bleeding until sometime after they have been hit.

 

The worst case scenario is when you have looked and looked and you can’t find any sign whatsoever that you have hit the deer. You have marked from where you fired to the location the deer was in when you fired. If all you have found is some tracks running away and you have marked those spots as well, continue trying to follow the tracks until the deer stops running. If you can do that, often a deer will run for a while, slow to a trot and eventually a walk and then stop. If you are adept enough to follow the tracks to where a deer stopped and stood, you may find some blood there. A deer may be bleeding so little that the only time it shows up is after it has stood in one spot for a while.

 

Scour an area thoroughly before giving up. Mark all the areas you have searched and only after you have exhausted every attempt at finding this deer, do you give up. I can relate a story that happened to a friend of mine while hunting together.

 

It was a foggy day when my buddy fired at a deer. He felt confident that he had hit the deer yet in his initial search he found no signs of the deer being hit. Still feeling as though he must have hit the deer, he continued his search with help from another fellow hunter. The search lasted long into the afternoon until just before dark, somehow a speck of blood no bigger than half the size of an eraser on a pencil was found on a brown leaf.

 

He marked that spot and began a methodical search that took hours. It was getting dark. I can say most people would have given it up – at least until the morning but he was determined to go to bed that night feeling he had done all he could.

 

We returned to our hunting camp only long enough to get flashlights, a Coleman lantern and a roll of toilet paper. With the Coleman lantern, a small piece of white tissue paper no larger than a dime shows up like a beacon.

 

With flashlights and lanterns we continued the search. A second drop of blood about the same size as the first was found about thirty feet away. We marked it and continued on. The search became somewhat easier in that we got a general idea of the direction the deer seemed to be headed – walking at this time by the way.

 

When we had gotten to the point where we were ready to give up the search, my friend suggested that me and another fellow hunter remain on the deer trail and he was going to take a flashlight and make a small circle around the edge of a small swale. Within five minutes, he yelled over that he had found the deer. A nice buck and he laid dead just on the other side of the swale.

 

In all my years of hunting, I have never seen anything quite like that. I learned a lot that day and night in our search for a wounded deer and we all went home knowing we had done everything we could.

 

 

 

Turkey Hunting Tip for the Beginner

When and How Often to Call
By Scott Ellis
My name is Scott Ellis. I am a member of the Crossroads Cabin (fullstrut). I am also a member of Quaker Boy Game Calls Pro Staff.

The best two tips I can offer to the new turkey hunter is one: Practice your calls regularly and become proficient in more than one type of call. Also, be sure to gain confidence in your calling ability. Nothing is worse than a “newbie” out in the woods that is afraid to talk with a gobbler because his calling lacks confidence.

The second tip is to learn when and how much to call. This is something that a hunter will learn in time but a good rule of thumb is if the bird is coming, shut up!! Overcalling is probably the number one reason rookies don’t bag toms. In addition if you know anyone that has been successful hunting and taking turkeys, pick their brain for knowledge, or better yet take to the field with them and see what makes them successful. You can learn more from one hunting trip with a good turkey hunter than many a seasons a field by yourself.

If you have any other questions my email address is Proturkeyhntr@aol.com - I would be more than happy to answer any questions your readers may have via email…

Thanks!!!
Scott Ellis
Quaker Boy Pro Staff

Demonstration Forest Field Day, Nov. 11

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Demonstration Forest Field Day, Nov. 11

Representatives of the DNR and the Purdue Forestry and Natural Resource Extension will conduct a free Forestry Field Day at the property of Larry and Flora Glass in the Upland area of Grant County, Nov. 11.

DNR district forester Brad Rody and Purdue forester Lenny Farlee, will lead the outdoor field day, which runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Topics to be covered include tree planting, pruning, plantation management, forest management. A demonstration on the use of a tree spade will also be presented.

Those interested are asked to register to attend this event by calling (260) 782-0430, before 3 p.m., Nov. 9. A warming barn and outhouse will be provided, but the event itself is outdoors, so participants should dress for the weather.

Link to this event: http://www.in.gov/newsroom.htm?detailContent=113_12479.htm

Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner with Abraham and Mary Lincoln at Spring Mill State Park

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner with Abraham and Mary Lincoln at Spring Mill State Park

On Sunday, Nov. 18, Spring Mill State Park invites you to join Abraham and Mary Lincoln for an authentic 1863 dinner served inside the Gristmill in the park’s Pioneer Village. Seated in the unique ambience of a 190-year-old gristmill, guests will enjoy a meal of sliced roast pork with gravy, chicken and noodles, three vegetable side dishes, bread, and pumpkin pie.

President Lincoln and his wife will join the table to partake in this Thanksgiving meal. Following dinner, the President will discuss his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation. Demonstrations and crafts presented by Pioneer Village heritage interpreters will follow the presentation, and the Lincolns will be available for photographs and conversation.

“Thanksgiving in the Village” will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 8:30 p.m. The cost is $30 per person and is limited to 30 people. Pre-registration is required. To register, call the Spring Mill Inn at 812-849-4081 by Nov. 14.

Rooms are available at the Spring Mill Inn for Nov. 17 and 18; call the Inn for reservations.

Jill Vance, Spring Mill State Park‘s Interpretive Naturalist, notes that “This is an opportunity to spend an evening enjoying some of the tastes, people, and activities of 1863. ‘Thanksgiving in the Village’ will be a relaxing prelude to the busy holiday season presented in a unique, historic setting.”

Visitors who wish to expand their celebration of Thanksgiving at Spring Mill are also invited to make a set of Thanksgiving crafts in the Pioneer Village on Nov. 17. For more information on “Thanksgiving Crafts Day,” call the Nature Center at 812-849-4129.

Admission to the park after 5 p.m. on Sunday is free. Prior to 5 p.m., admission is $5 per vehicle for Indiana residents or $7 per vehicle for non-Indiana residents.

Link to this event: http://www.in.gov/newsroom.htm?detailContent=113_12506.htm

Holiday Craft Days at Spring Mill will help you “deck the halls”

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Holiday Craft Days at Spring Mill will help you “deck the halls”

Mitchell: On Friday, November 23 and Saturday, November 24, visitors to Spring Mill State Park can enjoy making festive sets of holiday crafts that they can take home to “deck the halls.” A different set of five seasonal crafts will be offered each day; crafts include cinnamon dough ornaments, holiday garland, and a decorative gift box.

Each set of five holiday crafts, made with assistance from heritage interpreters in the Pioneer Village, costs only $10. Supplies are limited to the first 35 participants on Friday and the first 40 participants on Saturday, with tickets being sold from 10am to 3pm each day at the Gristmill in the Pioneer Village (first-come, first-served).

The Pioneer Village is open on Friday-Sunday on the weekend following Thanksgiving from 9am to 5pm. “Holiday in the Village” wraps up the season for the Village on Friday, November 30 from 5pm to 9pm and Saturday, December 1 from 1pm to 9pm. However, Spring Mill State Park‘s Nature Center and Grissom Memorial will remain open daily throughout the winter.

Park entrance fees of $5 per vehicle for Indiana residents and $7 per vehicle for out-of-state visitors also applies. For more information on these and other upcoming events at Spring Mill State Park, contact Coletta Prewitt at 812-849-4129.

Link to this event: http://www.in.gov/newsroom.htm?detailContent=113_12484.htm

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