Maine Hunting Articles and Blog • Page 13 of 49 • And A Strong Cup of Coffee

The skull of a bear

By Erin M | Nov 24, 2014 | 1 Comment | 3 min read

I got my skull back from Lori and Jim at New Frontier Taxidermy! They are incredible. Not only are they tanning my bear hide but they saved my skull. Saved it! A look into my bear's mouth One of the things that I did not want to tell people was that when my bear was getting cut up at the butcher's, his skull was cut. I knew it was bad and the look on my guide's face was a give away for how bad it may be. But, I had my bear head, hide and an extra bag with the back part of his skull in it that I took up to New Frontier Taxidermy for Lori and Jim. I lied to people when they asked me about it and...

The big boys are still around

By Erin M | Nov 17, 2014 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

Well, I can still look at the photos right? Since Dad and Hubby still need to fill their tags, we are still looking at the trail cameras to see which deer are around. It is also fascinating to see how the deer change their behaviors as the season progresses and the rut starts. Case in point - those two big 8-pointers that I want the guys to shoot, are still around! These are from a couple week ago. I forgot to get the newer pictures from Saturday am when they walked through. I have been chasing this second deer for two years now. If the guys don't get him this year, I want to land him next year! Also, how funny...

Why We Hunt: Belonging

By Erin M | Nov 14, 2014 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

For those of you who live out of State or have not picked up the November issue of Downeast Magazine, here is my article online. I would love to hear what you think about it. Thanks! Why We Hunt: Belonging

Joining the movement of the National Deer Alliance

By Erin M | Nov 13, 2014 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

What happens when you tag out in the first 30 minutes of deer season? You get bored and are done hunting. Hubby and Dad both needed to be elsewhere last weekend so we stayed out of the woods. This weekend though, I am going into the woods. I will bring my camera and play photographer but I may also bring my gun and look for some coyotes. We know they are around - we saw a ton of high traffic areas in the snow recently. The issue of coyotes came up recently in a weekly newsletter from the National Deer Alliance. The NDA is a new organization that was started by hunters and managers at the North American...

One and done

By Erin M | Nov 4, 2014 | 5 Comments | 5 min read

As I walked into the woods with Dad, I noticed many more posted signs than in previous years. And more than what had been there even two weeks before. No one had signed them but they were clearly on the property next to ours. We walked along the property line towards my treeseat. It was raining hard enough so that I could see the drops flash in front of my headlight but I was in my wool pants and coat so I knew that I should be OK for the five hour sit that I had planned. Dad waited until I had climbed up, got situated and clicked off my headlamp (it was a new purchase that I had made when I decided to go bear...

Why I love being a hunter

By Erin M | Oct 30, 2014 | 3 Comments | 1 min read

* The meat! There is nothing better than butchering and eating meat from an animal that you killed * Sitting in the woods for hours with no technology The sun, the honking geese in the fields, the eff'n squirrels... and no office walls. * Watching wildlife in their natural habitat I love watching does and fawns playing when they have no idea that I am in the tree nearby. Only well-behaved squirrels can hang out with me in the tree though. * Spending time with my Dad =) * Breaking the stereotypes of what a hunter looks like Yes, those are 4 inch heels that I am wearing * Breaking the stereotypes of how a hunter acts Go bear hunting then...

Sportswoman’s Alliance

By Erin M | Oct 27, 2014 | 3 Comments | 1 min read

Nov 2014 Downeast Magazine A few months ago, I was asked to write an article for Downeast Magazine about what it means to be a woman who hunts. I was excited about the opportunity and eagerly sat down to write what I knew would be the widest seen piece of my career. It took me a month to come up with the article, edit it and edit it again but it was submitted and I felt good about it. Then, I was asked to do a photo shoot for the article that would be me and a few friends in the city. It was a perfect depiction of what hunters look like compared to the perception that non-hunters (and maybe a few hunters) view as a...

New photos show deer in the rut

By Erin M | Oct 23, 2014 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

This could be the best season ever when it comes to trail cam photos of the deer around the Sky Condo. Hunter or not, how can you not love and respect these great animals?! I can not wait until deer season...

In search of the iconic Maine moose

By Erin M | Oct 20, 2014 | 2 Comments | 4 min read

It rained. Rained hard and the wind blew. It was anything but ideal for finding moose in the Maine woods. But Brian, Jenn and I knew that the weather was going to be clear and with some rain gear, we were off for an adventures. Last year, I was spoiled; beautiful calm weather and moose first thing in the morning. This year, our normal 4:30am start was pushed back to 10am. About an hour after we left, we were winding down dirt roads heading further into the woods. We pulled into an old skidder road, grabbed our cameras and were off. The sun had finally come out but the wind was still whipping through...

A once in a lifetime Black Bear

By Erin M | Oct 17, 2014 | 5 Comments | 6 min read

I was glad that I had brought extra layers when we stepped into the 29 degree October air. It was going to be a perfect hunting day with bright sun, cool temps and a great view that showed off Maine's fall foliage. Tim Cote of Cote & Sons Guide Service was taking me out on a guided bear hunt with his friends Al, Scott and Scott's two boys. And Tim's six Walkers, pups Boy and Lady, Jill, Emma, Garth and Moose. We headed for the Maine woods when it was still dark out and as the first light was breaking, we turned off the paved road and started to head deeper into the woods on some old dirt roads. Tim let the dogs out to stretch and...

Black Bear Hunt in Maine

When trail cameras give you hope and despair

By Erin M | Oct 13, 2014 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

I was so excited when I looked at the trail camera pictures from the past week. I finally was able to figure out that the deer I had been studying was (and is) the same deer. Here is my proof. Note the time and position of the deer. YEAH! Mystery solved. I am looking for one deer, who is probably 3.5 or 4.5 years old. I have pictures of him from last year and this year. He is smart, stays nocturnal for most of the season but likes to come back to the same areas. I know that no matter who sees him (us or the nearby neighbors) he will be shot at. I just need to formulate my plan of...

Maine’s island faces deer problem

By Erin M | Oct 10, 2014 | 0 Comments | 5 min read

Trail Cam photo. I wish I had been able to take a shot at him. There are islands off the coast of Maine that have had to eradicate their deer population for the health of the people who live there. There have also been controlled hunts to help with deer and tick issues that wreck havoc on the health of people in the area. On Mount Desert Island, the issue of a deer hunt is going to be on the ballot this fall. The guidelines are pretty simple. For the first two to four years, hunters who own property can set up tree stands or ground blinds and hunt from them. They can have friends and family do the same with...

Why Judy Camuso is good for Maine’s wildlife

By Erin M | Oct 6, 2014 | 0 Comments | 7 min read

After being in the audience of thetownhall debate on changing the way the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) manages our bear populations, I was determined to interview Judy Camuso. It was Judy's knowledge, passion and drive that came through during the debate that had me and supporters in the crowd, fired up about our work helping to educate and encourage more people to Vote NO on 1. I sat down with Judy to talk about her career, Maine's wildlife and of course, bears. Photo courtesy of J. Camuso from a Portland Press Herald article What made you want to get involved in wildlife? I grew up outside. My mom...

These deer are driving me crazy!

By Erin M | Oct 2, 2014 | 3 Comments | 2 min read

The following pictures are driving me out of my hunting mind! We are getting these great pictures on a weekly basis but for the life of me (and Dad and a couple other hunters who I have asked) I can not figure out if this is one deer or two! I was sure after this last set of pictures that I had two big deer around. I still think I might based solely on their G3 tine but when I sent these pictures to two hunters, they both wrote back saying that they could not tell for sure, if it was one or two deer. I was watching hunting shows over the weekend and on two different shows they had deer that looked like the deer in this last...

And then there were three

By Erin M | Sep 27, 2014 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

There is nothing better on a nice fall day then walking through the woods with Dad and checking the trail cam pictures. We headed out to check the camera by the Sky Condo and the camera by my tree seat. That big buck has been hanging around the Sky Condo but if it's the same deer as last year, he made a few trips past my seat and into the bog. After doing some logging on the property, Dad has decided that we will move my tree seat and build another permanent stand. The plan right now is to move closer to the bog and off to the left of where I sit currently. This will allow me to sit close to the bog and thickets...

Same big buck? You tell me!

By Erin M | Sep 22, 2014 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

I have been going back and forth between these photos from last hunting season and the ones below. Is it the same deer? The photos are off my two months (Sept vs Nov) but are we looking at the same deer? It looks like the same antler frame and maybe the same antlers, but I think G3 is longer in the 2013 pictures - or it could be the angle, light and position of the deer. What do you think? Same...

A trap will catch a bear

By Erin M | Sep 17, 2014 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

Right? While I get the blog about my last hunting adventure edited and ready to go, I wanted to share with you some photos from those same sites that show a trap that Steve has put out. According to Maine law, you must check your trap every day and as a result of Steve doing this, we are getting some huge bears coming in. An argument that those who are in favor of banning our effective hunting methods like to make is how easy it is to get a bear. As you have seen, we have a lot of bears coming into the sites. And they are big bears! Bait is helping to bring them in but (spoiler alert) I have not shot a bear. ...

Antler growth

By Erin M | Sep 15, 2014 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

It is pretty cool to be able to see a buck on the trail camera. This guy was caught on the camera on three different dates but almost at the same spot. It gives us a cool chance to see how his antlers are growing this season. This is the first time that we have been able to see the growth, to this extent over a one month period. I love deer...

The bucks have arrived

By Erin M | Sep 12, 2014 | 2 Comments | 1 min read

Last fall, we had somewhere between 7 and 10 bucks of all sizes around the treestands. The biggest bucks we have ever seen showed up a few years ago in mid-August. This year, we had only does on the cameras. Sometimes two, three or four but never any antlers. A few weeks ago, we finally saw some velvet. But this, is more like it! And check out the time of these pictures. I just hope that we start seeing these types of pictures more often now. I dont know if this is the same spike horn as the first picture or...

Let’s get a bear

By Erin M | Sep 7, 2014 | 0 Comments | 3 min read

After we struck out on the first night, we planned to go out again and get us a bear. The photos that were were seeing showed incredible bears coming in all the time. It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The day before I was going to drive up to meet with Steve and Lorri, I got a text from Steve: "GET MORE BULLETS." We had a behemoth bear coming in on a regular basis and when he compared it to his 420lb bear, he figured it was 500-600lbs. This bear is huge! 500-600lbs probably. Maybe an old Sow by the look of the back stomach area that could be worn out from nursing cubs? Big head, nice...

Show Me More Articles