I was going to get the first shot in. I put the pin on the target and released. Hubby spun around, "where did it go?" I shook my head, "I have no idea" And just like that, I was down to five arrows. We put the kiddo down for his nap and lugged our gear outside. This was the first time that we were shooting at our house and not in the archery shop. I lined up again to shoot and realized that I hadn't lined up my peep with my sight for that first shot. I tried to determine how far off my first shot had been but it was pointless. I still haven't found that arrow. I had Hubby take photos and video so that I could look at my form and posture and attempt to fix some of the early issues that I was noticing; like...
These birds were making their way to the little water hole as we pulled into the driveway. There were six total that walked through, each stopping to get some water before continuing on. Just a few more months until the spring season starts!
** The following article was written for The Liberty Project and posted on their website on October 30, 2015. You can see it here. I was never paid for this article so The Liberty Project never bought the copyright. Women’s interest in hunting is growing fast, despite online harassment I never questioned the size of my gun. If Dad could shoot it, why couldn’t I? My mom said that the kick alone would send me backwards out of the treestand. I shot the 30-06 twice to get comfortable and on the third shot three weeks later, I killed a small buck that filled the freezer. I never questioned my abilities again until I started writing about and posting photos of my hunting adventures. I was then forced to prove my...
On January 22nd of 2015, I semi-conquered my fear of coyotes. I went with Steve to his bait pile and we called in my beautiful 37lb male coyote. My coyote from 2015 A few weeks ago, we went back to the same spot. The coyotes had been staying close to the bait pile and their well worn trail ran just behind the shack. When we got there, the wind was blowing and the temperatures were dropping. It was a lot colder than it had been last year and for some reason, I had forgotten by good hunting boots and had to wear my 'normal' winter boots which were not big enough to get two layers of socks in. Getting ready to head to the shack There were fresh tracks when we got to the shack, which was promising. Steve set out the...
** 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...
Dad, Hubby and I headed into the woods to see where all of our deer are. We found them but we also found some cool tracks in the snow. Can you tell what they are? Look at all of those drag marks! Straight line of tracks Two by two tracks Can you see those nail...
My neighbor feeds the deer in the winter so when I was cleaning out my fridge and found that I had a dozen apples that needed to get tossed, I decided to throw them on the back lawn to see if the deer would find them. Within a few hours, I noticed these two munching happily. The third doe that appeared was not nearly as oblivious to me standing in the kitchen watching them. She stomped her foot a few times and kept watch while they all ate. I watched them and took pictures until they walked into the softwoods and it was too dark to see them. I had turned off the kitchen light and taken off my white sweater so that I could blend in and not look like a white flag in front of the glass doors. Hunter or not, how can you not...
When it is sunny out and there is snow on the ground, it is hard not to want to be outside. Last weekend, we brought in the trail cameras and tried to figure out where we should be hunting for the 2016 season. It is never too early to start prepping for the next season! I pulled up to where we normally park and as we got out of the car, there was nothing but deer tracks all around us. Big, little, going in both directions... all kinds of tracks. Only a couple of feet from the roadway with this bed. I stood in the bed and snapped another photo of the beds around it. I posted that picture on our FB page and asked people how many deer beds they could find. The deer bed closest to the road Four more deer beds ...
There is no snow on the ground and the temperatures have been in the 50s instead of the teens or 20s. As a result, our deer herd is having a great time getting lots of food without the worry of snow, freezing temps or that coyote that is (still) around. Dad still has the trail cameras out and we are getting some encouraging pictures. I didn't bother copying the ones of the coyote, but he is still around and solo. But these are always good to see and it means that we will need to change things up for next season if we are going to outwit this deer. I believe he is about 3.5 or 4.5 years old and knows how to avoid hunters. I can NOT get over the size of his neck! And the next generation of big bucks: From the side, his...
