"I was looking for a narrative that described who we are as hunters,” my friend Robbie Kroger explained to me, “Essentially looking for an authentic truth about who we are. I couldn't find it. So we built it with Blood Origins.” If you have never heard of Blood Origins, set aside a solid hour and watch the videos on their website or YouTube, featuring some of the most influential people in the hunting world. People like Will Primos, Cuz Strickland and Jim Shockey all share a small piece of their story and the how and why hunting was so important. Robbie has more than 30 unique stories from hunters, nonhunters, men, women, veterans, young and old and each one is a personal look into the importance of hunting and conservation. “It is...
The plan was to shoot does from the property. The only out was the big buck that we had been tracking. Hubs was the first who successfully shot a doe in the afternoon of opening day of rifle season. Having sat through almost all types of weather conditions and some single digit temps, I shot a doe minutes before legal time at the end of the season. Dad decided to muzzle hunt since the woods would be quieter and maybe that buck would be lulled into a false sense of security. For two weeks, Dad walked through the woods and finally, in the same the spot that I had shot my deer, he saw a big, healthy looking doe. As the afternoon light was fading, he made his way over to the deer. There was some relief as he...
Welcome back! Saturday kicked off Maine's rifle season for deer hunting and I made a point of sitting in my stand for the whole day. I packed a lunch, some water and snacks and climbed up at 6am. It was a perfect day to be in the woods. The sun was warm, the breeze was at a minim About an hour after legal time, this spike horn walked down the path that I had walked down. He smelled the wind but either couldn't smell me or couldn't figure out what I was. He wasn't spooked and he stayed around for a few minutes before continuing on his way. I basked in the sun and kept my eyes peeled for any mid-day movement. I had three large does skirt the treeline in front of me but I let them pass so that I could...
No doubt that I have dropped the ball on posting my adventures here, but I have had a lot of fun happenings this year! Here is my quick recap: * Beaver trapping - with my uncle and friend Staci. * Honored as Sportsman of the Year from the New England Outdoor Writers Association. * Turkey hunting. * The Maine Moose lottery held in my hometown and my friend Bryan performed. * Mushroom foraging with Staci. * Going to the ribbon cutting of the Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation area to honor my friend George. * Bear hunting with Staci and then going out with Bill Dereszewski and having Robin comes with us. * Deer hunting with Dad and Hubs. * Taking O out for his first sit in the new deer stand. * Seeing lots and lots of wildlife...
I didn’t see the fawn but I watched in slow motion as the doe hit the corner of the oncoming jeep and disappeared into the tall grass. I hoped that it was just a brush with the bumper and that she would be OK. The driver pulled over and began to walk along the edge of the road to see if the deer was OK. I pulled over on the opposite shoulder and asked if he was OK. We saw the doe struggling to get up and she made a horrific noise. I assumed that she had a broken leg so I asked my mom to leave me on the side of the road with the driver and go to my house to get the gun. I placed a call to dispatch was put in touch with a warden. He asked if I was able to dispatch the deer and if I wanted to. The last thing I wanted was for this...
A few years ago, I decided to collect skulls and furs from the animals that I killed or trapped. It was partly selfish to be able to highlight the hunts that I have been on but it was also in an attempt to educate my kids about the animals that we eat and interact with here in Maine. My first skull was my bear’s and even though there were a lot of issues with it (cut into pieces and put back together), it was great to see what was under the fur of the animal that I killed and ate. My son loved touching the teeth and seeing the ridge where the two halves of the skull were fused together. The bear rug is thick and soft and it’s my son’s favorite spot for reading/listening to books on tape. Since that bear, my...
Trail cameras are addicting. You buy one, get some pictures then decide that you should have another one at a certain intersection and the next thing you know, you are like us and have almost 10 out in the woods, trying to pattern your deer. That excitement of pulling those memory cards quickly vanishes when you see things that don’t belong on your property. In the past couple of months, we have had lots of activity on the trail cameras; a car driving around in the newly planted clover and a man walking through a highly traveled deer intersection. Both men had to make an effort to get where they were; this was not just an 'oops, I took a wrong turn.' We had posted signs up already and clearly that was not enough...
** The following is an article that I wrote for The Liberty Project. It was originally published on November 16, 2015 here. I was never paid by The Liberty Project so they don't own the copyright. Why trusting yourself is key for success in the outdoors It is critical to know and feel comfortable with any situation you put yourself in. This is especially true if your goal is to bring home meat for the freezer. You need to have a level of knowledge and understanding about why you are there and what you want to accomplish. Everything about being successful in the outdoors comes from a sense of trust: in yourself, your tool and your training. My training came from my Dad. I started to...
There was running water on almost every trail but sometimes, you just have to get on the snowmobile and ride. Last weekend Dad, Hubby and I decided to ride around and see if we could find our deer. I secretly wished to find a shed but that didn't happen. An eagle flew from a tall spruce tree as we crossed a field and headed into the woods. There were wet spots, muddy spots and running streams but we pushed on. The amount of deer tracks were incredible. Crossing the snowmobile trails, gathered around ground hemlock... our herd was having an easy winter with lots of food available with no real effort needed to find it. We headed down a side snowmobile trail that runs parallel to the trail that we take to get to...
