Showing posts with label hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hunting. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Monday, June 19, 2017
Checking In...
Well, it is amazing how quickly time can get away from you. A few years ago I decided to start this blog after watching a good friend David Knapp create his blog The Trout Zone. Those first couple of years I worked to maintain and update my content and keep the blog current. Shortly after life caught up with me and the process of raising the kids, helping maintain my parents' farm, and increasing job responsibilities has taken me away from contributing to the blog as often as I would like. While those things are still occurring, they have change a little. For example, my employer has recently closed my office and moved my work location to my home office. That turns out to be a wonderful blessing from God because it gives me more time with my family, but also it allows me to focus on the other distraction in our lives. That distraction being that we are in the process of building our forever house on the farm, a place where we can raise our kids where they feel safe and are free to roam and enjoy the country lifestyle that we so enjoy. Hopefully, I will also be able to become more consistent in updating the blog content, and I really need to get back out on the water. I had intentions of getting out recently, but work obligations popped up and I found myself out of town traveling instead of fishing.
I did make a more dedicated effort this past turkey season to record every hunt, and I even took along a couple of special guests with me. Below is Part 1 of a little video I created from the TN Spring Turkey Season. Part 2 is in progress, but it will probably take a little while to complete because I managed to capture about 100 video clips over the course of 5 weeks, and editing these all together is taking some time.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
2016 Season Short: The Preparation
Below is a short video of our summer preparation for the upcoming fall deer season.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Sunday, December 6, 2015
No Time to Fish, it is Deer Season
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Rabbit snack-its
I thought that I would share a recipe that my kids really enjoy. Lacking a better name, I am just calling it rabbit snack-its, and it consists of heart, liver, and random meat clippings that were left over during the cleaning stage.
I start by prepping the pieces. The liver is quite large and needs to be cut into thirds (follow the natural shape of the liver). Thoroughly wash all pieces.
Next roll the chunks in a mixture of flour and seasoning of your choice (I use garlic salt and a little chili powder).
I like to fry the pieces in a Teflon coated wok with the oil of your choice. I prefer corn oil or peanut oil, but for the picture above all we had was canola oil.
Cook all pieces until the oil is mostly clear and the pieces are cooked throughout. The heart and little meat chunks typically finish before the liver.
Serve and enjoy! Here my son enjoys his with a side of barbecue sauce and chips. Another popular side is mashed sweet potatoes.
Give it a try next time you kill some rabbits, it is an extremely tasty treat!
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Spring 2015 Turkey Season
There was lots of anticipation building up to the 2015 turkey season, including a trip to the NWTF Convention in Nashville. So, I took a camera with me on most days, but unfortunately the turkey did not cooperate for the most part. I did patch together some clips from the season, primarily at my son's request, and figured I would post it here for those who may be interested in watching it.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
2014 Season Short Film: The Rut Is On
Below is a short video compilation of three days of hunting the week of Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Kryptek Cadog Jacket Review
Below is my review of a recent hunting gear purchase, and I expect to be buying more gear from this company in the future. Quality gear, extremely comfortable, and high performance hunting apparel. Sorry for the subpar video quality. Apparently my older camcorder has begun on the downward trend of its lifetime...
Saturday, December 21, 2013
The Outdoorsman's Conumdrum
I like to think of myself as an outdoorsman. I have always considered myself to be an outdoor type of person, especially since I grew up on a farm. As a kid we only had 4 television channels, and those only got reception occasionally. At a young age my dad introduced me to fishing, then a little later to hunting. He taught my brother and I how to take care of the land or water, and it will provide for you. We cared for the farm and the animals that lived on it, and we always picked up trash alongside the lake while fishing. We were just doing our part to try and keep things as natural as possible, and protect the resources we enjoyed. In my mid to late teens I discovered fly fishing and fly tying, and it quickly consumed all of my attention I had previously devoted to other outdoor hobbies. I found myself falling into the dilemma that is so common today, I enjoyed one hobby more than the others and thought I would not succeed at that one hobby if my attention was divided among multiple others. I actually carried this philosophy along for easily 10 years. As all of my hunting and high end bass fishing gear lay around collecting dust, I focused 100% of my attention on fly fishing - primarily for trout.
A good percentage of time fly fishing was spent in Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP), where I chased wild brook, rainbow, and brown trout. This also allowed me to soak in the beautiful scenery and enjoy catching fish simultaneously. As I continued to explore fishing in GSMNP, I learned that the fishing seemed to be easier the farther one separated himself from civilization. So, as a result I began to gain interest in hiking and backpacking. It was inevitable, because many trips required a 4+ mile hike one way to prime fishing areas, and this hike was made easier by implementing the most recent innovations and gear used in the hiking community. Eventually, this lead to me developing relationships with other people who enjoy hiking, and some of those also enjoyed fishing. Occasionally, I would have a hiking buddy come along with me, and then they would just hang out at our destination while I fished for a couple hours before making the return hike to the car. This past year I actually expanded my fishing routine into overnight fishing trips in the back-country where I once again utilized technology and gear developed for the backpacking crowd. My gear and clothing selection seemed to now include as much Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear as it did Orvis and Fishpond. Not a bad thing, as I do consider myself a gear junkie and these items were quite flexible.
Somewhere along the way I re-discovered my passion for hunting. Not just deer hunting, but turkey hunting as well. Additionally, I am now making plans for a future antelope hunt out west. Unfortunately, all of my clothes were too small after sitting in storage for 10 years, so I had to restock my entire wardrobe. This is the point where things began to start getting a little strange for me, and I noticed a significant division in the mentality of "Sportsmen". I figured I would re-purpose some of my Patagonia and Mtn Hardwear clothing into my hunting wardrobe. As, most of the high performance hunting clothing was quite expensive. Especially considering I buy all of my clothing during end of year clearance sales for 50% off.... I found myself in a local hiking store one day looking at some items to purchase, and mentioned that the item I was looking at would work wonderfully for my fishing trips to GSMNP as it was breathable enough to hike in but also warm once I arrived. The salesperson agreed with me. However, next I mentioned that I could also use if for late season deer hunting, and you would have thought I had just strangled the person's puppy. A look of shock and disgust came across his face. He basically nodded his head, and excused himself to help somebody else. I found it quite odd, but continued to browse through the store. Later that night, I did a search of websites looking for reviews of the particular item I was searching for, and discovered that somebody else was being ridiculed on a hiking blog for mentioning hunting. This peaked my interest, so my search then changed from a product review to something entirely different.
I discovered after reviewing various websites consisting of outdoor forums, backpacking forums, and hunting forums that there is vast discrepancy in philosophy and perception among outdoor groups. I learned that hunters generally consider hikers and backpackers to be tree hugging, overly-sensitive, yuppies who want nothing more than to protect everything. Conversely, hikers and backpackers view hunters as redneck trophy hunters who only want to kill an animal and stick the head on their wall. Not only that, but they seemed to have moral objections to wearing clothing that is geared toward the other side of the divide. For example, hunters for the most part disliked eco-friendly high performance clothing, and backpackers would rather go naked than to sport apparel from a company like Under Armour who has an extensive hunting line and minimal green practices.
I like to think of myself as an outdoors-man, because of all the activities I previously mentioned. In my discussions with non-hunters I have learned that most are passionate about the land and animals that they like to enjoy in nature, but unfortunately most are uneducated about the role hunters play in animal population control. Hunters are conservationists by nature (A tiny subset are just blood thirsty or trophy hunters), as it would defeat the purpose if we eliminated the population in a localized area. Once I take the time to explain to non-hunters how I utilize almost all parts of the deer they begin to understand. I eat all of the meat that I can possibly salvage (we even eat the heart and liver) and I use hair from various areas to tie flies with. My family can go all year on about 100 lbs of deer meat, so once I get that much meat I stop killing deer. Regardless of when during deer season that is.
Unfortunately, I feel that in today's society groups are more divided than ever, and it carries through in so many areas of our lives. Why can't I (or you) cross these self imposed boundaries and be an all around outdoorsman? I have friends who insist that I cannot do all of this, as it is too complicated. I enjoy camping and backpacking even if I am not on a fishing or hunting trip, and I am trying to teach my son how to enjoy nature these same ways while also protecting it for the future. Now, don't misinterpret what I am saying. I enjoy the outdoors and practice time proven practices, I am not advocating animal rights nor am I an environmentalist with a skewed view on US energy policies. I just find it strange that it seems like these divisions seems to be growing increasingly larger every year. Take a look around next time you are in your local sporting goods store, and see if you notice what I am talking about. Remember though that next time you meet somebody who has a different viewpoint than you, take the time to talk to them about how and why you do what you do. I think that we all will realize that we have a lot more in common that we think, and much of this divide has been created by media and industry to fuel emotions and drive market shares upward. This is my opinion, and I may be way off course here, although I have a feeling there are quite a few others out there who see things the same way I do...
Click the link below for another story along these same lines...
http://www.backpacker.com/hiking-and-hunting/destinations/14747/
Until next time, tight lines and God bless!
A good percentage of time fly fishing was spent in Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP), where I chased wild brook, rainbow, and brown trout. This also allowed me to soak in the beautiful scenery and enjoy catching fish simultaneously. As I continued to explore fishing in GSMNP, I learned that the fishing seemed to be easier the farther one separated himself from civilization. So, as a result I began to gain interest in hiking and backpacking. It was inevitable, because many trips required a 4+ mile hike one way to prime fishing areas, and this hike was made easier by implementing the most recent innovations and gear used in the hiking community. Eventually, this lead to me developing relationships with other people who enjoy hiking, and some of those also enjoyed fishing. Occasionally, I would have a hiking buddy come along with me, and then they would just hang out at our destination while I fished for a couple hours before making the return hike to the car. This past year I actually expanded my fishing routine into overnight fishing trips in the back-country where I once again utilized technology and gear developed for the backpacking crowd. My gear and clothing selection seemed to now include as much Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear as it did Orvis and Fishpond. Not a bad thing, as I do consider myself a gear junkie and these items were quite flexible.
Somewhere along the way I re-discovered my passion for hunting. Not just deer hunting, but turkey hunting as well. Additionally, I am now making plans for a future antelope hunt out west. Unfortunately, all of my clothes were too small after sitting in storage for 10 years, so I had to restock my entire wardrobe. This is the point where things began to start getting a little strange for me, and I noticed a significant division in the mentality of "Sportsmen". I figured I would re-purpose some of my Patagonia and Mtn Hardwear clothing into my hunting wardrobe. As, most of the high performance hunting clothing was quite expensive. Especially considering I buy all of my clothing during end of year clearance sales for 50% off.... I found myself in a local hiking store one day looking at some items to purchase, and mentioned that the item I was looking at would work wonderfully for my fishing trips to GSMNP as it was breathable enough to hike in but also warm once I arrived. The salesperson agreed with me. However, next I mentioned that I could also use if for late season deer hunting, and you would have thought I had just strangled the person's puppy. A look of shock and disgust came across his face. He basically nodded his head, and excused himself to help somebody else. I found it quite odd, but continued to browse through the store. Later that night, I did a search of websites looking for reviews of the particular item I was searching for, and discovered that somebody else was being ridiculed on a hiking blog for mentioning hunting. This peaked my interest, so my search then changed from a product review to something entirely different.
I discovered after reviewing various websites consisting of outdoor forums, backpacking forums, and hunting forums that there is vast discrepancy in philosophy and perception among outdoor groups. I learned that hunters generally consider hikers and backpackers to be tree hugging, overly-sensitive, yuppies who want nothing more than to protect everything. Conversely, hikers and backpackers view hunters as redneck trophy hunters who only want to kill an animal and stick the head on their wall. Not only that, but they seemed to have moral objections to wearing clothing that is geared toward the other side of the divide. For example, hunters for the most part disliked eco-friendly high performance clothing, and backpackers would rather go naked than to sport apparel from a company like Under Armour who has an extensive hunting line and minimal green practices.
I like to think of myself as an outdoors-man, because of all the activities I previously mentioned. In my discussions with non-hunters I have learned that most are passionate about the land and animals that they like to enjoy in nature, but unfortunately most are uneducated about the role hunters play in animal population control. Hunters are conservationists by nature (A tiny subset are just blood thirsty or trophy hunters), as it would defeat the purpose if we eliminated the population in a localized area. Once I take the time to explain to non-hunters how I utilize almost all parts of the deer they begin to understand. I eat all of the meat that I can possibly salvage (we even eat the heart and liver) and I use hair from various areas to tie flies with. My family can go all year on about 100 lbs of deer meat, so once I get that much meat I stop killing deer. Regardless of when during deer season that is.
Unfortunately, I feel that in today's society groups are more divided than ever, and it carries through in so many areas of our lives. Why can't I (or you) cross these self imposed boundaries and be an all around outdoorsman? I have friends who insist that I cannot do all of this, as it is too complicated. I enjoy camping and backpacking even if I am not on a fishing or hunting trip, and I am trying to teach my son how to enjoy nature these same ways while also protecting it for the future. Now, don't misinterpret what I am saying. I enjoy the outdoors and practice time proven practices, I am not advocating animal rights nor am I an environmentalist with a skewed view on US energy policies. I just find it strange that it seems like these divisions seems to be growing increasingly larger every year. Take a look around next time you are in your local sporting goods store, and see if you notice what I am talking about. Remember though that next time you meet somebody who has a different viewpoint than you, take the time to talk to them about how and why you do what you do. I think that we all will realize that we have a lot more in common that we think, and much of this divide has been created by media and industry to fuel emotions and drive market shares upward. This is my opinion, and I may be way off course here, although I have a feeling there are quite a few others out there who see things the same way I do...
Click the link below for another story along these same lines...
http://www.backpacker.com/hiking-and-hunting/destinations/14747/
Until next time, tight lines and God bless!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Back to the woods!
As is the typically the case this time of year, I put my fishing gear away from mid-November thru mid-December in hopes of bagging some meat for the freezer. The past two years I have a combined 6 hours in the woods and two deer to account for that. This year, I knew that my luck would probably begin to wear thin, but still had hopes of getting one early on and not having to log lots of hours in the woods.
You see, one large deer or 1.5 average deer will get us through the year and allow us to almost completely eliminate the need to purchase beef at the grocery store.
This year I spent 4 hours in the woods the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and managed to see a couple but no shots were fired. That was it for the weekend, as I had other obligations to tend to.
This past Saturday, I wanted to give it another go. It didn't take long for me to get my deer on the ground, and this one was a dandy. I am quite pleased with it, and am currently having a euro mount prepared to set on top of my fly tying desk.
My hunting for the year is probably over. So, it is time to focus my attention back to fishing and fly tying. I may even try to sneak a couple of winter hiking and camping trips in there somewhere if the wife allows me to.
I hope everybody out there has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
You see, one large deer or 1.5 average deer will get us through the year and allow us to almost completely eliminate the need to purchase beef at the grocery store.
This year I spent 4 hours in the woods the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and managed to see a couple but no shots were fired. That was it for the weekend, as I had other obligations to tend to.
This past Saturday, I wanted to give it another go. It didn't take long for me to get my deer on the ground, and this one was a dandy. I am quite pleased with it, and am currently having a euro mount prepared to set on top of my fly tying desk.
My hunting for the year is probably over. So, it is time to focus my attention back to fishing and fly tying. I may even try to sneak a couple of winter hiking and camping trips in there somewhere if the wife allows me to.
I hope everybody out there has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
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19" Clinch River Brown