Sunday, August 28, 2016

How to Choose Locations of Your Deer Hunting Blinds/Treestands,and When to Hunt Them

 As I said in my last deer hunting post,there is no substitute for boot leather in the field,you have to get out there and scout,you have to locate bedding areas,water sources, food sources,and deer trails.
You also have to plan ahead because ag fields get harvested,and the summer/early fall food sources change. What deer are feeding on now,and in the opening weeks of bow season will change as soon as local ag fields are harvested.
Once acorns drop-that's the primary food source,deer will eat white oak acorns above all other foods in fall. Apples are a close second. In NE Ohio,the crabapple becomes a food source when other foods aren't available.
When you pick your stand/blind sites,you have to consider multiple things,first are bedding areas and water sources,then food sources,then comes trails leading to and from these areas.
You have to be able to get to your stand/blind without spooking bedding deer,there are two ways of doing this,first is to get to your blind long before deer return to the bedding area-which means in the dark,at least an hour before legal shooting light.
Second is to locate your blind/stand far enough away from the bedding areas,that you don't spook deer.
This approach is best for afternoon/evening hunts,as the idea is to catch the deer leaving their bedding areas to drink water and feed.
You may have to go to your blind on one trail,and leave on another to avoid spooking deer-figure this out now.
It's best to pick several sites,so you can hunt no matter which way the wind is blowing.
If you are hunting on a ridgeline/rise in the land,remember that in the morning,as it warms up,air moves from low to high,it does the opposite in the evening,so pay close attention to the wind direction,if it's parallel to the ridge/rise it's okay to hunt,if the wind is blowing at your back-pick another place to hunt,wind in your face means the wind will carry your scent over the ridge,and it will go to the bottom behind you,and not the bottom if front of you,so you're good to hunt that site.
Same with any other blind site-keep the wind in you're face,so it's carrying you're scent away from any approaching deer.
  While you are hiking through the woods now and in early Sept,take binoculars with you,and scan the tops and branches of the oak trees,find a few with more acorns than the rest,and use these trees to set up your stand/blind near.
Another great stand/blind location is what is known as edge cover- the brushy areas between woods and fields. This is where bucks make rubs year after year,look around and you should be able to spot last year's rubs. If there's a lot-put a stand/blind near the edge cover,preferably just inside the woods,where there are known buck trails.
Locate another stand right on the field edge,pick a spot where there's a few small trees with branches about the height of a deer's head,then pick a couple more so you can hunt the edge cover from either the field side or the woods side in any wind direction.
Once you've got your blind/stand sites picked out- take a small rake,a folding saw,and a pair of hand pruners with you into the woods. Clear any branches that you would brush against,or snag your pack,bow,or clothing on. then rake the leaves and debris from the trail. You'll have to do it again after the leaves drop,but it's much easier to rake the leaves away if you've already cleared your trails.
Do this now,or real soon,as deer notice changes in the woods.

Starting the last week of October,make a two or three fake scrape lines,pick small trees with a branch the bucks can reach that's toward the open area/field.
Rake away all the dead grasses,leaves and debris in about a 3' semi-circle under the trees,use a stick,or old deer antler to make marks in the dirt like a deer was scraping it's antlers to clear debris from the scrape.
Make a line of these,4-6 to a line,and either use a scent like Active Scrape,or drink a lot of water before you head into the woods and piss in the scrapes yourself-I've done it for years,and it works just fine.
Starting the last week of October/first week of November,hunt the scrape lines every evening hunt.
I'll start hanging scent wicks with doe in estrous scent near the scrape lines starting the first week of November. I do not leave them out-I use bottles with a wick that can be re-capped and reused all season,you just have to add more estrous urine every so often.
These are what I use...
Tink's reusable scent bottles
The whitetail rut in NE Ohio hit's the peak around the 15th of November every year,breeding starts around the first of November. This is when you want to hunt for a big buck,if that's what you're after.
The last week of Oct. until the last week of Nov. is the time to rattle and use a grunt tube and estrous bleat call.
 Pay attention to the rut,because any does not bred in Nov. will cycle back into estrous 28 days later-in Dec. then in Jan. there's a much smaller period of breeding.
I'll do a post on rattling and using grunt tubes doe and fawn bleats and estrous bleats before the rut hits.
The guys who get a deer every year are the guys who get out there and scout,get their hunting spots picked out/set up long before the rut hits,and stay in their blind/stand once they get to it.
So get out there,find your stand/blind sites,get your shooting lanes cut now,clear your trails to and from your blinds now and you'll be way ahead of most deer hunters.


Saturday, August 27, 2016

Deer Archery Season Less Than a Month Away in Ohio- Some Deer Hunting Basics

First-
Now's the time to step up your target practice.
I go from my 18-36 arrows a day all summer,to shooting 36 arrows twice a day,morning and close to last  legal shooting light,which is one half hour after sunset here in Ohio.
You have to go by the ODNR's sunrise-sunset tables-not other sources,their tables are the legal hunting times,if you use the times in the newspaper,or online sources,then you may be off by several minutes.
That could lead to large fines and/or suspension of hunting license/right to hunt.
Plus,if your hunting privileges are suspended in Ohio-they are also suspended in the rest of the U.S. except for two states-New Jersey and Nebrasaka- due to the Interstate Wildlife Violater Compact
 Your blind or stand should be already set up if you hunt private land,shooting lanes cut,and blind/stand "brushed in" using the branches you trimmed for your shooting lanes.
Now is also the time to start putting out corn if you feed the deer where you hunt.
You should have had mineral blocks out since early spring,as it helps with antler growth,and provides deer nutrients that are lacking in the natural foods available.
I keep blocks out all year,in spring I put out one of the "rack rock" type blocks made for antler growth. In fall,I put out apple,sugar beet, and acorn scented blocks. Once the rut is over,I add blocks as needed,but switch to stockman's blocks available at your local feed store-or farm supply,Tractor Supply,etc. This helps provide the newly pregnant does with a boost in nutrients.
If you put out corn,and don't use a feeder,spread it out,rather than make one big pile,as it will help prevent deer from passing diseases to other deer when spread out. If you just dump corn in a big pile,the deer can transmit diseases to other deer.
I hunt a 70 acre or so private property,and we do mange the deer as much as possible,which is why we put out food and mineral blocks. Over the years,there have been some monster sized deer taken there,both in body size,and antler size. There's only 4 people who regularly hunt the property,and another 4 guys we let hunt gun season. Usually it's no more than 4 people hunting on any given day of the season.
The property is surrounded by ag fields-most years it's about half corn,half soybeans-this year for some reason,it's all soybeans.
That's good for us-the beans will be off the fields before the rut kicks in,and there will be no standing corn during gun season.
I also put out apples from the time they start dropping off the trees,up until the end of muzzleloader season in Jan. since I get them for free from a neighbor. If you have local apple orchards,ask the owners,they'll usually give you extra or bruised,wormy,etc apples for free or a really reduced price.
I freeze a bunch for use later in the season,the deer still eat them,and when there's snow on the ground,some apples spread around 30 yards or so from your blind will draw hungry deer in from all over the area.
 I hunt a lot on public land,where you can't put out any kind of bait,no corn,no apples,no mineral blocks.
No big deal,deer travel the same trails all the time,the key to finding deer on public land is to find the major trails,then find the bedding areas,the water sources,and the food sources. Deer have to drink water at least twice a day,usually soon after they move from their beds,and again after feeding.
When you find the trails,anywhere from 5-15 yards from the main trails-you will find smaller,less used trails.
These are the older buck's trails,yearling bucks usually still travel with the does up until the rut begins.
Find a spot near a water source,a food source,or on the trail the deer use to get to the bedding areas.
Deer feed all night during hunting season,if you set up near a bedding area,and are trying to get a deer heading to bed-you have to be able to get to your blind long before first light,and do it without spooking deer.
I usually use the opposite approach-I set up far enough away from the bedding area that I can get to me blind any time during the day,and try to get the deer as they move out of the bedding area.
If you find the food source,pick a spot that's either still back in the woods a little,or right at the edge of a field.
When there's a lot of acorns on the ground,deer aren't going to eat much of anything else,so concentrate on water sources and trails to and from bedding areas.
The single most important thing you can do is get out in the woods,and see what the deer are doing where you hunt,there's no substitute for scouting-none.
I don't use trail cameras,because unless you own a huge farm/property,and have dozens of cameras,all you'll find out is where the deer were,not where they are,where they're going,what they're eating,where they're bedding-which are the things you need to know to be where the deer will be after you get in your stand/blind.
You have to pay close attention to wind direction-and have more than one stand or blind set up so you have another choice if the wind is not blowing towards your stand or blind. I have 4 locations,so I'm covered every day I hunt. The public land that I hunt-I also hunt different spots when the wind is from different directions. The best public land was hit with a severe EHD outbreak in 2012,we didn't see a single deer hunting that gun season at the Ladue public hunting area,and we hunted it for 5 days. This year should be good there,as the 2013 fawns will be 3 1/2 now,2014 fawns 2 1/2. Next year will probably be better at Ladue,as there should be plenty of 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old bucks.
I'll probably hunt there at least 2 days of gun season this year,just to see what the deer numbers are like.
Deer can smell you from a long ways off,unless you are hunting in an area where they are used to people-like the suburbs-they aren't going to come within bow range if they smell you.
Use the wind to your advantage,I also will take a trash bag into the wods with me a couple weeks before hunting season,and pack it full of leaves and twigs from the area I'm going to hunt.
Then I put the leaves into paper bags,and put them in plastic bins with all my hunting gear.
I've been doing this for years-it works,I've had deer walk right by me when I'm in an ground blind and the wind shifted so it was blowing at my back-and they still didn't smell me.
I don't use the scent control clothing or products-my method has worked just fine for over 40 years-why change it now?
I would rather spend the $$$ I save by not paying extra for scent control clothing and products on new broadheads,arrows,and crossbow bolts.
Wear camo that matches your surroundings-wearing solid earth tone colors is better than wearing something like woodland camo in Ohio in November.
Either wear some kind of face mask,or use camo face paint-deer recognize the shape of a human face-so hide your face.
Don't hike around the woods during the day once deer season starts-stay put. As long as you picked a good location,the deer will come to you. If you are hunting public land,there's enough people moving in and out of the woods  to push deer right to you,another reason to sit still,stay in your blind.
 Pack enough snacks plus a lunch,bring plenty of water,and if you're like me-pack a thermos of coffee.
Make sure you have some surgical gloves,hand soap-I use an empty one of the 99 cents at the qucikie mart hand sanitizer bottles filed with Dial antibacterial hand soap-plus hand sanitizer,and a towel/washcloth to wash your hands after to field dress your deer.
Either buy a deer drag,or make your own-I just use an 18" piece of 3/4" oak dowel rod that I tie my rope to,makes it much easier to drag the deer.

Ohio deer hunting regs/info...


White-tailed Deer Hunting

Species Opening Date Closing Date Daily Bag Limit
Archery September 24, 2016 February 5, 2017 The statewide bag limit is six deer. Only one may be antlered. You cannot exceed an individual county bag limit .

Refer to the Deer Hunting Section for details on zone and bag limits.
Deer Youth Gun November 19, 2016 November 20, 2016
Gun November 28, 2016 December 4, 2016
December 17, 2016 December 18, 2016
Muzzleloader January 7, 2017 January 10, 2017

 


The statewide bag limit is six deer. Only one may be antlered. You cannot exceed an individual county bag limit.
No more than two deer may be taken from a two deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. Both deer need to be tagged with an either-sex permit. The antlerless permit is not valid in a two deer county.
No more than three deer may be taken from a three deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. The antlerless permit is not valid in most three deer counties. Check the antlerless permit map on this page to determine if the antlerless permit is valid in the county where you hunt. One deer may be tagged with an antlerless permit in specific three deer counties, and two deer may be tagged with either-sex permits. The antlerless permit is not valid in specific counties after Nov. 27, 2016. Three deer may be tagged with either-sex permits if the antlerless permit is not valid or not used.
No more than four deer may be taken from a four deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. One deer may be tagged with an antlerless permit and three deer may be tagged with an either-sex permit. The antlerless permit is not valid in specific counties after Nov. 27, 2016. Four deer may be tagged with either-sex permits if the antlerless permit is not used.
Two Deer County
Three Deer County
Three Deer County
Four Deer County
A hunter may kill no more than two deer in a two deer county during the 2016-2017 season.
A hunter may kill no more than three deer in a three deer county during the 2016-2017 season.
A hunter may kill no more than three deer in a three deer county during the 2016-2017 season.
A hunter may kill no more than four deer in a four deer county during the 2016-2017 season.
Up to two either-sex permits.
Up to three either-sex permits.
Up to two either-sex permits and one antlerless permit.
- OR -
Up to three either-sex permits.
Up to three either-sex permits and one antlerless permit.
- OR -
Up to four either-sex permits.
 
Antlerless permits are NOT valid.
Antlerless permits are NOT valid.


 


I'll do a post on stand/blind site selection in the next day or two.
If you haven't been out in the woods yet,get out there,boot leather in the woods and fields equals venison in the freezer.

Ladue should have decent deer hunting this year for those of you around here...


LaDue Public Hunting Area

More info on Ladue here





Thursday, August 25, 2016

Scammy’s Sleazy Bullshit II

Continuing from comments of mine he refused to post yesterday…
Instead of the comment I posted in yesterdays post-he posted this response…
“No, Larry – it is you. You were told not to bother responding here – go post drivel at your own sites.
Others drew first blood and to this day they have not put forth a single injured person with a valid claim. They have brought this pox upon themselves.
Go away now.”

My response to that was…
No-you post bullshit about me-I’m going to respond-and no its not me-people who had over 10 years in foodservice learned new things in the first 20 minutes of class.
Again-I have verifiable experience.
And you can not tell me what I can and can not do.
Post my comment or don’t-my response will be seen.
Shit I didn’t get to yesterday…
Scammy said this…
“Next time you find yourself lying awake at night thinking of me – which is probably every night – be brave and ask yourself how a supposed ‘Patriot’ as you claim to be, finds so much to admire in state-fed parasites such as those found on Welfare Lane and in Daffy’s Bunker.  Don’t bother me with the answer – you’ve been dismissed from consideration as a serious person long ago…”
Bwahahahahahahahaha….Now that’s from a delusional motherfucker right there-
actually,I haven’t thought of  him at all-it’s a bad memory-except when posting comments in response to some bullshit he said that was posted on various sites-the owners of which have all denounced Scammy for the scum sucking piece of excrement that he is.
He accuses me of “failures”???!
That’s even more delusional…
There’s no Citadel,there’s zero firearms being produced by III Arms,there’s no land recently purchased in Benewah county by Scammy-or Holly,or the IIIPSFA as Scammy claims,the short bus has never been seen,never “rolled to events like Bundy ranch”-why wasn’t it sent to Malheur? Instead,Scammy did a post about sending maybe $250.00 worth of food and clothes to the people at the refuge. That must have really cut into “his income” from the IIIPSFA dues huh?
The supposed “Dojo” isn’t holding classes-as posted by others many times-wonder how all those who donated shit for the “dojo” feel about that?
There’s been zero “Jedburgh Academy” classes held anywhere,IIIPSFA members get nothing but some cheap assed patches for their monthly dues-oh and get to read Sammy’s increasingly unhinged posts.
Some of us work for a living,some of us work for the fed gov.,or local gov. some of us work in the trades,some of us work in offices-we all still work for our paychecks-unlike Scammy.
Most of us have resumes that show our accomplishments-you know Scammy-that thing that lists all your actual job experience and job descriptions-the jobs that can be verified,because we actually worked for a living,and earned our paychecks week after week,year after year.
Scammy claims to have been a HVAC mechanic-I actually believe him on that one-at some point in time-he worked in the trades,as I recall him making a comment about the older guys telling him to never eat the last bite of your sandwich at lunch.
So that’s one for Scammy-999 for the rest of us.
The sad thing is-Scammy tries to make fun of me for working as a “handyman”-yeah,I do that,it’s part of condo maintenance. I also do/have done, siding,windows,room additions,concrete,stamped concrete,framing custom homes-no roof trusses-we cut rafters,no pre-fab stair stringers-I make my own. I do drywall,trim,painting,plaster  and lath repair,plumbing,and all kinds of shit too numerous to list.
Guys who work in the trades don’t fuck with other guys who work in the trades-unless your such a little pink handed troll like Scammy that you do it to try and make yourself feel good because you are such an insignificant,worthless piece of shit that you are an utter,complete failure at all you do-and at life in general.
It fucking makes me sick that I stuck up for Sammy and the Akita whisperer.
Wonder how long ’till I get sued,or the cops show up at my door on some made up bullshit claim.

Kerodin’s Sleazy Bullshit Continues….

Kerodin’s Bullshit
Since Scammy is too much of a pussy to allow me to respond-here’s the comment he refused to post…
“No,It’s not me-I have 22 years of verifiable experience as executive chef.
Those who took my classes all learned a lot-there was a review posted on multiple sites.
 I have verifiable experience cooking for outfitters in Colorado and Montana,and verifiable experience working as the cook on fishing boats out of Wanchese N.C.
I learned the carpentry/building trades by working on the family farm,my uncles farm,pounding nails part time for extra $$$ when our kids were growing up,and we needed extra cash-then I learned more by working building custom homes on the N.C. Outer Banks.
That’s all verifiable employment.
I have customers that I’ve done work for for over a decade-“handyman”/condo maintenance pays the bills.

 Unlike you who made up a bunch of bullshit to claim you were a counterterrorism expert.
 I was one of the last people to stick up for you and Holly-you seem to forget that.
I never directly fucked with you or Holly-I made up my mind by following the hundreds of links that lead to questionable things you have done in your past.
You were asked questions that should have been easy to answer-yet you never responded-other than some BS about an “outside audit” that never took place.
Not answering those questions-and the crap you pulled on Kenny and J.C. Dodge was it for me-and I told you that then.
I never posted any bullshit about you or Holly-now you want to start shit with me?
You are the one who refused to answer reasonable,simple questions,you are the one who started the bullshit with Kenny’s wife,Whitney,and Angel-what did you think they would do-just bow down and think you are the be all  end all badass?
Attacking peoples wives,suing people for fictional bullshit,trying to get people fired from their jobs-that’s not how real mean settle their differences-or patriots.
You started the bullshit-you continue the bullshit-you have no one to blame but yourself for anything I have ever posted,or Kenny,or J.C.
They simply asked questions-you started the sleazy,devious underhanded bullshit,and the attacks on people’s wives,careers-if you didn’t expect them to respond-you’re a moron.”

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Stumped by Trump’s success? Take a drive outside US cities

By Salena Zito
If you drive anywhere in Pennsylvania, from the turnpike to the old US routes to the dirt roads connecting small towns like Hooversville with “bigger” small towns like Somerset, you might conclude that Donald Trump is ahead in this state by double digits.
Large signs, small signs, homemade signs, signs that wrap around barns, signs that go from one end of a fence to another dot the landscape with such frequency that, if you were playing the old-fashioned road-trip game of counting cows, you would hit 100 in just one small town like this one.

A barn displays a Trump banner in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.Photo: Getty Images

In Ruffsdale, I am pretty sure I saw more than 100 Trump signs.
It’s as if people here have not turned on the television to hear pundits drone on and on about how badly Trump is losing in Pennsylvania.
It’s not just visual: In interview after interview in all corners of the state, I’ve found that Trump’s support across the ideological spectrum remains strong. Democrats, Republicans, independents, people who have not voted in presidential elections for years — they have not wavered in their support.
Read the rest @ NY Post here

Thoughs On Z-Blog’s “On Being Revolting In The Modern Age”

Forgive me for falling off the “no politics” bandwagon. I’m only human. Tomorrow I’ll go back to home maintenance and firewood. You’re welcome to tune out in the interim. I won’t mind. Have a nice day.

Still here? OK then I’ll start. The Z-Blog posted wise thoughts in On Being Revolting in the Modern Age:
“Certainly voting for Trump sends a message, but messages need a sender and a receiver. If the people on the other end refuse to acknowledge the message being sent, then it’s not really a message. The Olive Branch Petition was the last ditch effort by the Colonist to avoid a breach with the mother country, but the King’s refusal turned it from a message to him into a message from him. That message was clear to the colonials. They could either submit unconditionally or prepare for war. A Trump win followed by a unified refusal by…
View original post 981 more words

Monday, August 22, 2016

2 Nevada men expected to plead guilty in Bundy standoff

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two men are expected to plead guilty in Nevada this week to federal charges stemming from an armed confrontation with U.S. land management agents over grazing rights near cattleman Cliven Bundy’s ranch, according to court records and their attorneys.
The charges stem from a tense gunpoint standoff in April 2014 on an Interstate 15 freeway overpass about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
No shots were fired, and no one was injured. But U.S. Bureau of Land Management agents retreated at gunpoint and gave up an effort to round up cattle from public land close to Bundy’s ranch near Bunkerville.
Defendant Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus of Rochester, New Hampshire, is scheduled to enter his plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro.
Blaine Cooper of Humboldt, Arizona, is due in court Thursday for his change-of-plea.
DeLemus and Cooper each pleaded not guilty in March to 11 counts including conspiracy, obstruction, weapon possession and use, threatening and assaulting federal officers, and interstate extortion. If convicted of the charges, the men could face decades in prison.
DeLemus and Cooper are each accused of being “mid-level” organizers, recruiters and trainers of armed Bundy backers during and after the confrontation.
The two men will be the first among 19 defendants to enter pleas in Nevada in the case that involves Cliven Bundy, four of his adult sons and 14 other men being held in custody following their arrests earlier this year.
Seven Nevada defendants, including Cooper and Bundy sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy, were also among 26 people charged in Portland, Oregon, with conspiracy, weapon, theft and damaging government property counts in a 41-day occupation of a wildlife refuge earlier this year.
Eleven people have taken plea deals in the Oregon case, including Cooper and three others — Brian Cavalier and Joseph O’Shaughessy of Arizona, and Ryan Payne of Montana — who each also face charges in the Nevada case.
In court filings in Las Vegas, Navarro indicated she has signed plea agreements from DeLemus and Cooper. The documents haven’t been made public.
DeLemus’ attorney, Brian Smith, and Cooper’s lawyer, Matthew Lay, declined to comment about terms of the plea deals until they’re entered in court — including charges and possible sentences.
Smith called his client’s decision to plead guilty “gut-wrenching.”
“He decided it was time to bring this to a close,” Smith said,
DeLemus has been politically active in New Hampshire, where he ran for Strafford County sheriff in 2014. His wife, Susan DeLemus, is a Republican state assemblywoman.
The battle with the federal government made Cliven Bundy and his adult sons well-known as advocates for states’ rights. Bundy maintains that he has homestead rights to let his cows roam freely over arid rangeland around his 160-acre cattle ranch.
The government says the cattle are trespassing and that Bundy owes millions of dollars in unpaid grazing fees and penalties.
source