Deer Hunting 2012

    DEER! 2012

     Even though I thought I wouldn't be able to get up in a tree enough this year during bow season because of Piper and bird hunting, I actually spent quite a bit of time in the woods. With a few close calls and some frustration I had only wounded one small four pointer. He came out early, a couple hours before sunset and stepped out about 20 yards from me. He presented me with a clear 20 yard broad side shot. I whiffed the first shot, grazing his chest. He was unaware of what happened and gave me a second shot. I drew back and THWAP! Except he didn't take off, he merely strolled away, leaving me to believe I missed twice. When I got down from my stand I found my arrow. It had blood on the fletchings and the broad head but not the shaft. I found blood on the leaves, but after a couple hundred yards of tracking this dried up and left me with nothing to track.
    Opening morning of shotgun my dad came down to Rehoboth. With a lot of gun fire in the woods it was apparent the deer were moving. Four (4) does walked within 40 yards of my dad and he took the biggest one. He pushed the other three (3) towards me. With a shot at 60 yards I looked in my scope and took a couple shots. Again found blood but the trail ran cold quickly.
    On the third morning I was tired and did not feel like getting up. It was a cold dark morning and it had snowed lightly the night before. I got in my tree stand early. I watched a group of turkeys, that had roosted the night before, come down off their roost and fly into the field behind me. As I turned to look at the turkeys I locked eyes with a buck who had come in from behind me. Frozen, I remembered my uncle telling me to never look a deer in the eye or he would spook so I averted them to the sky, while keeping him in my peripherals. He went on grazing and I raised my gun. As I looked into the scope I realized I wasn't able to see due to the fact I had left my scope's protection caps on! I slowly removed them and realized the buck had stepped behind a group of trees. For a slight moment I thought he was going to turn and walk away. However early that morning I had sprayed from my stand some buck bomb, (doe estrus in a can). I noticed the buck lifted his nose and started walking right at me. At twenty (20) yards I pulled the trigger. He mule kicked and took off! I thought I was doomed to repeat another unsuccessful track. I took a second shot while he was at full sprint. I gave it an hour and came back to hair and blood all over the ground. The blood trail was much easier than the previous two I had that year. The ground looked like it had been the site of a massacre. I found my buck approximately 100 yards from my stand. He didn't go too far due to the fact that my second shot had nearly blasted his back leg off. Before I shot I knew I saw antlers and I thought between 4 - 6 points. When I got up to him and counted 8 I almost passed out. At that moment I remembered why I sat in a tree, in the cold, for countless hours. Why I spent so much money on licenses, gear, and time off from work. Shooting that 8 pointer was the culmination of a lot of time, money, effort, and sacrifice.
 

     Here are some of the photos from my trail camera I had out earlier this year. Disregard the date and times since I was too lazy to set them up correctly. The time was about 12 hours off. The last picture could possibly be the 8 point I shot. Either that or there is another decent buck in those woods... there's always black powder season!

Hard to tell if its the same deer or not, but this is a decent spread.

Dad's doe on the meat pole

Both deer in the truck

8 points, 3 1/2 year old, 135 lbs

Paradise

     For anyone who is looking for the motivation to get out and sit in a stand, just remember, like an old timer once told me, you won't shoot a deer unless you're in the woods. Get out there because the longer you sit, the greater your chances are. Just when you think you couldn't get any more frustrated with how things are going, within a matter of seconds everything can change. Never give up!

Upland Hunting 2012

      BIRDS! 2012

    It's been a while since my last blog. This is because I have been busy outdoors. With fall brings the hunting season for so many things. With Piper's first season I tried to get her out as much as possible, and to watch her progress within a few months has been a real joy. Someone once told me that a good bird dog is self trained, and although I overall disagree with that statement, a lot of that rings true.
     Hunting with Piper this year was what I would call, "controlled chaos." She was so excited to run around and find birds that she would, a lot of times, out run her own nose. Over the summer I had purchased a bird launcher and some live quail. This worked at first but I had done something wrong because Piper was blinking birds! Blinking birds means she knew where the bird was planted, but refused to find and point it. I was at a loss, and thinking I had ruined my dog for good, I reverted to the words of an experienced bird dog trainer and hunter who had a simple montra, "WILD BIRDS, WILD BIRDS, WILD BIRDS." These words rang truer than any other advice I had received pertaining to dog training.
    Since there are little to no wild birds in south eastern, Mass, I brought Piper home with me to the Berkshires while visiting my parents. There I was able to find a few spots abundant with both grouse and woodcock. From her first outing in the Berkshire hills, Piper was busting birds. She quickly learned the scent of grouse and woodcock and even before opening day she was pointing woodcock. In my opinion I was very close to ruining a good bird dog, putting her on wild birds was the best thing I could have ever done.
    By the end of the season I had shot (at) numerous birds including pheasant, quail, grouse, and woodcock. For a first season I could not be happier. She is also retrieving well. I took her out a few times duck hunting and had her retrieve a few ducks along with my aging 12 year old lab. As far as bird hunting goes, I would say the season was a complete success.

    The following photos were taken from the first day of woodcock hunting. Within a half hour of hunting in Savoy State forest I not only shot my limit, but missed quite a few as well. These three birds were shot in a row. Piper pointed, I took a step while "whoa-ing" her and one bird after another went up. Apparently this is a rare occurrence, but it happened to me on my first day out, within my first half hour. Not too bad.

Here's a video of Piper pointing, relocating, and then flushing a rooster pheasant. I made a lucky shot and dropped it.

Good girl

This photo was taken on a trip up to Maine. It was unsuccessful with only two grouse flushes, but it was a good experience anyway.

These photos were taken while duck hunting. These were Piper's first duck retrieves as well as what will probably be Smokey's (my black lab's) last. Even during the colder mornings piper did well in the cold water. The problem with her is that it's difficult to cover up a bright white dog while sitting in a blind, but we manage.

Attempting to hide

Piper's first retrieve, a wood duck!

Green winged teal

Smokey

Some last minute retriever training 

     Here's some pictures from the pheasant hunting season:

Piper's first Pheasants

Piper on a pheasant retrieve

Proud

Here's a video of Louie and I hunting from an old row boat on the Palmer River, Rehoboth, MA.  Piper was waiting for me to use the right command, "Back,"but in all the excitement I was the one who messed up and caused her a little anxiety.