Gifts

In July 0f 2009, my wife gave me a couple of gifts.  First, her hand in marriage.  Along with that came another gift……a turkey caller.  At the time, I didn’t even know people getting married were supposed to give each other gifts.  Thankfully the ring I gave her was sufficient and she overlooked my ignorance of the “getting married gift.”

When she gave me the caller I didn’t have a clue who made it and I still don’t have a clue about it today.  Because of the nature of the gift, it has never been used it in the woods…….until this morning.  Last weekend I left my turkey bag with my hunting callers  in a friend’s truck.  He told me he was holding my “turkey purse” hostage until I got him a bird, but that is another story.

Last night I decided to hunt this morning so it was either break out the wedding caller or break into my friend’s truck to retrieve the turkey bag.  His truck glass survived Monday’s record setting hail storm so I figured it deserved a pardon.  After I had made up my mind to use the wedding caller, I located another caller made by Buford Harris that I had misplaced years ago.

With callers in hand, this morning started out decent enough.  Every type of song bird in the world sang as the darkness turned to light.  The cloud cover kept the turkeys quiet a little longer than usual.  At 7:15, I heard a gobble.  I made a few yelps with the wedding caller and then a few more with the Harris caller.  No response.  A short while later, another bird sounded off.  The bird I was hunting gobbled and drifted in the direction of the second gobbler.

With him safely away, I repositioned to where he had been gobbling.  A gave him another round of yelps followed by some purrs.  He gobbled about 250 yards out.  A short while later he was 100 yards out.  No reason to call now.  Yet a few more minutes and he gobbled about 50 yards out.  My only problem was that he was in a thick mess of pines with no way for me to see him.  I just scratched in the straw and leaves a bit.  That must have done the trick because he poked his head out looking for a hen directly in front of me at 32 steps.

The old NEF 10 gauge sent a load of Nitro 7s his way.  He didn’t run and he didn’t flap a wing.  It looked like he just tipped over.  I ran over as I always do to pick him up and said a quiet thank you to the Lord for a beautiful morning and a beautiful bird followed by a silent thank you to my wife for the caller.  As I type this she still doesn’t know that I used that caller to kill the bird.  However, I suspect she will read this and know that I am very thankful for all of my gifts from her.

19.8 pounds, 9.5 inch beard and 1 inch spurs.  All in all it was a great way to start the day.

Bills Important to #MississippiSportsmen

Yesterday was the deadline for bills originating in the Mississippi House or Senate to pass out of Committee.  There were several bills of interest to sportsmen this year.  Like every year, bills to allow crossbows, baiting and expanded hunting with rifles were proposed.

As of yesterday’s deadline, the following bills of interest made it out of Committee:

• HB1319 – Appears to allow weapon of choice (rifle, crossbow, bow and arrow, etc.) on private land during what has been traditionally the primitive weapon season.
• HB102 – Allows the MDWF&P to designate areas within wildlife management areas for Wounded Warrior hunts.
•  SB2048 – Allows use of crossbows during archery and primitive weapon season.

What died:

• HB1032 – Required the MDWF&P to allowing baiting deer with corn.
• HB77 – Removed the exemption from the purchase of a hunting and fishing license for those over 65.
• HB424 – Required that retailers of ammunition maintain records of all sales to individuals.
• HB162 - Required the MDWFP to allow use of golf cars on wildlife management areas subject to rules promulgated by the MDWF&P.
• HB174 – Reduced the penalty for killing alligators out of season.
• HB658 – Prohibited hunting within the city limits of cities exceeding 170k in population.
• SB2036 – Would have required identification tags on all hunting tree stands.
• SB2037 – Would have required boaters to wear a PFD while a boat under 26 feet was underway.

 

These bills still have hurdles to go.  The bills originating in the House must be approved by the entire House and then submitted to the Senate.  The bills originating in the Senate must be approved by the entire Senate and then submitted to the House.  All of the bills that make it that far must then be signed by the Governor.

My take on it……All of the bills that died should have died.  In fact, a couple of them were so ridiculous that they never should have been proposed.  Documenting legal ammunition sales?  ID tags of tree stands?  Force the MDWF&P to allow baiting deer?  All really bad ideas.

On the flip side, I am happy to see the Wounded Warrior bill pass.  These gentlemen and their families have survived far more than most of us can even imagine and deserve every possible opportunity at happiness.  Setting aside a little bit of public land to allow them to hunt is the least we can do.  As for using weapon of choice during primitive season, I really couldn’t care less.  Mississippi’s primitive weapon season is laughable.  There is nothing primitive about a .35 Whelen with a 3-12×50 scope on top that is capable of shooting 2 inch groups at 300 yards.  I kind of miss the old days when a primitive weapon was a traditional muzzleloader.  Back then it was really a crapshoot when you pulled the trigger.  The gun might go off just fine, the cap might pop and then a delay fire would occur a few seconds later or the gun might not fire at all.  It was exciting.

The bill likely to cause the most disagreement is no doubt  SB2048 allowing crossbows in archery season.  I really don’t care about crossbows or think that inclusion of them for archery season will ruin the season.  Likewise I doubt their approval will increase or decrease license sales or hunter participation one way or the other.  What I am worried about is that legalization of crossbows is the next step toward a four month weapon of choice hunting season from October through January.

Mississippi has an abundance of whitetail deer due to successful management by the MDWF&P and private land owners.  While abundant on a statewide basis, there are areas within the state that deer are scarce or at a minimum, there are significantly fewer deer than there were just 20 years ago.  These areas need a reduced harvest rather than expanded opportunity for an even larger harvest.

Currently, deer harvest numbers are not accurately recorded and with the exception of the 3 zone antler restrictions there is no management of deer tailored to specific areas.  Needless to say, there is a significant difference between deer density in Port Gibson and Poplarville and they should be managed differently.  However, that isn’t about to happen any time soon because while the idea of telecheck has been floated in Mississippi for a number of years, it has yet to gain traction.  Maybe one day.  Until then, hopefully private landowners will do their part to protect and conserve the resource.

#70 falls to the Browning

I started hunting deer before my teens.  My grandparents and uncle had a camp close to the Mississippi River out from Vicksburg and I was allowed to guest hunt there.  Needless to say deer were plentiful and in between my naps in the deer stand, it was a heck of a lot of fun chasing them around with with grandpa, Uncle Bubba and my cousins.  My first deer rifle was a .270 and dang near as long as I was tall.

As soon as I was old enough to drive I got a job and shortly thereafter joined my first deer camp in Utica, Mississippi.  To make a long story short, lets just say the .270 let me down a few times.  In all likelihood it was the Indian and not the arrow, but since this is my story I will tell it how I remember it.  Anyway, I decided to go with a more suitable rifle.

My dad and I loaded up and headed off for the gun show where we traded the .270 for a little bigger gun.  It was an 8mm magnum to be precise.  From that point forward I have been fascinated with larger caliber deer rifles.  There is no doubt that smaller caliber, non-magnum rifles will get the job done (with the exception of the .270.  I still hate that gun and find it of use for nothing other than squirrels).  However, I really like the added margin of safety the big guns bring.

Fast forward another year.  All of my friends that hunted were moving towards Browning A-bolts with a Leupold 3-9×50 scope on top.  I wanted one……..alot!  After saving up all my cash from working, I had a grand total of $1000.  Not $1001 or even $1000.01.  Since I was still well under 18 and couldn’t buy a gun, I called my dad to ride along and sign the necessary paperwork.  We arrived at the store I generally traded with and they ran down a parts list.  Browning A-bolt in .300 Win. Mag, Leupold 3-9×50, scope mounts, and a box of shells.  Check, check, check and check.  Out the door price would be $1060.

Even back then I tried to bargain.  That comes from my papaw.  The man could sell popsicles in Antarctica.  Unfortunately, not enough of his bargaining skill passed down to me or the fella behind the counter figured that my dad and I would give in on the extra $60.  My problem was that I didn’t have an extra $60 and come hell or high water, this was going to be the first gun I purchased entirely by myself.  So off we went to another local store.  I explained my dilemma to the man behind the gun counter and he smiled.  A handshake and short time later, I left with exactly the gun and scope I wanted, 2 boxes of bullets, a sling, a fist full of targets and had $40 left over.  Until that store closed earlier this year, I remembered how nicely they treated me as a kid and always bought things there.

That Browning gun was the death of many a deer over the years.  69 deer in fact.  For each one, I cut a little notch in the stock.

 

Sometime a bit over 10 years ago the “get a bigger gun” bug bit me again so I bought a 7mm Remington Ultra Mag and put the Browning in the gun safe.  For the last couple of years, I thought about pulling the .300 out of retirement and taking it hunting.  After much procrastination, I got it sighted in this year and took it along a few times without success.

On December 29, 2012, my luck changed.  My best friend asked if I wanted to go with him to another friend of our’s place not far from our deer camp.  It didn’t take too much arm twisting.  I joked around that “today was going to be the day for number 70 with the old Browning.”  As it turned out, I was right.

We got there around 3:00 and a flock of turkeys greeted me at the stand.  I counted over 20 before they started moving off.  About 30 minutes later, a smaller flock come back out yelping and kee-keeing.  After they moved off, a group of does came through.  I pondered whether number 70 should be a big fat nanny doe, but decided against it.  Shortly thereafter, that big fat nanny doe moved directly downwind and started blowing.  I don’t mean she blew a couple of times and eased off.  She stood behind a tree and blew for what seemed like an eternity alerting every critter in northwest Hinds County.  She continued to blow as she ran off the length of a few football fields.  At that point my perceived probability of success was somewhere around negative 30.

As luck would have it, three more does came out a short while later.  They walked close enough that I expected them to spook at any moment, but thankfully they didn’t.

They eased across a food plot headed toward a young fella that was hunting with us.  He hasn’t killed a deer this year so I sent him a quick text message to let him know they were headed his way.  As I put away the phone, my attention focused back on the does feeding.  A few minutes later, I heard a faint iiiick, iiick to my right.  When I turned my eyes to see what it was, there was a buck standing 20 feet away.  Not just any buck, but a buck we caught on video for the last two years.  He was picking up leaves where the does had been standing and rolling them around in his mouth like a chew of tobacco.  It was this love struck buck’s unlucky day.  I shouldered the .300 and waited for him to take a step into a small opening while telling myself “don’t screw this up” a couple of times.  With the squeeze of the trigger he was off on a death run.  I gave him a little time and eased down to find that the bullet had reached its mark.

Rather than immediately tracking down the deer, I backed out.  At the truck, I had a little fun with my friend telling him that I accidentally shot a spike.  After he was sufficiently red in the face, I broke the news that Big Willy was down.  We went back to camp and retrieved his Texas Blue Lacy dog, Rowdy, and came back to track the deer.  Rowdy is young and still learning, but he followed this track like the buck had a biscuit tied to his hindquarter.  All in all, it was a good day with great friends.

Oh yeah, I got to scratch out number 70!  I hunted with it again this morning, but number 71 wasn’t to be.  Maybe next time.

 

Who has the best #deersausage ?

The are a bunch of deer meat processors in the State of Mississippi.  Some are commercial beef or pork processing facilities like Wilson’s in Crystal Springs that also happen to process deer.  Others only process deer.  In Central Mississippi, I have tried Lee’s in Byram, Dwight’s in Raymond, Van’s in Pearl, Buck Shop in Pocahontas, Martin’s in Bolton and probably a few more that I cant remember at the moment.

By and large, my favorite is Martin’s in Bolton.  Stacy Martin turns out a fine product and he processes them one deer at a time so you always get your deer back.

Some of the other processors will batch process your deer with deer from other hunters.  When they do, you are rolling the dice on whether or not those other deer have been handled as carefully as you handled yours.  I just don’t like the idea of my deer getting mixed in with someone’s deer that rode around in the back of a truck for a week while the owner showed off the rack.

Despite how much I like Martin’s sausage and boudin, I always process a couple myself when I have a chance.  Rebel Butcher Supply in Flowood has some fantastic seasoning blends.  If you ever decide to process your own deer, drop by and talk with them.  They have a recipe for dang near anything you like regardless of whether that happens to be green onion, jalapeno, cheese, garlic or whatever else added to your sausage.

As for me, just pecan smoke and a little green onion added.

A Weekend of Firsts at the #Dovehunt

The older I get the fewer occasions I have to experience “firsts.”  Long gone, but not forgotten are my first deer, first turkey, first whoopin, etc.  Every now and then a first comes along to create a new memory.  Rather than one, this weekend’s dove hunt was full of them.

This was the first time my wife and I were able to get our daughter in the field with us.  She hung in about as well as a 2 1/2 year old can be expected.

Also for the first time, I played with a pup from Wildrose Kennels.  His name is Cowboy and even as a four month old puppy he was a gentleman.

It didn’t take long for him to figure out why we were there and when my first dove hit the ground he sprung into action.

After that first bird he was ready for more.

 

I have witnessed a bunch of rainbows, but this was the first one for me in the dove field.  In fact, there was a double rainbow but my dang camera didn’t pick up the second one very well.

 

Spent time with family, met some new friends, witnessed a double rainbow over a beautiful dove field, shot a limit of doves, ate some good food, played with a great puppy, and saw him make his first retrieve and his first water retrieve.  All in all, a fine weekend with some fine folks.  The 2012-2013 hunting season has officially started!

 

Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks Headed Down a Slippery Slope?

The State of Mississippi acquired land for a new Wildlife Management Area (WMA) this year in Claiborne County just outside of Port Gibson.  This piece of property had long been managed by the previous owner, Ray John Forrest, and is a great opportunity for public land deer hunting.  Hunting forums like the Mississippi Bull Nettler and Mississippi Outdoor Forums are buzzing with interest.  To say that sportsmen are excited to see it open is an understatement.  However, that excitement is being met with skepticism.

Like many Mississippi hunters, I have followed this situation since the initial rumor of the land sale.  My first question to the MDWF&P was answered quickly on twitter.

Q.  When will the draws for Canemount be open?”

A.  The regs should be finalized soon. When they are we will post here 1st.

Simple enough.  A couple of days later, I found the public notice on the website for the MDWFP.  It looked as if someone had cut and pasted Canemount into the public notice for one of the other WMAs.  That didn’t cause much concern.  Later, the public notice was removed from their website for some reason.

I called to inquire about the draw and was informed that details would be provided as soon as the public notice was finalized.  This was odd because they had already posted the public notice on their website.  About the same time this was going on, rumors started circulating that there would be a fee in addition to the statewide hunting license, wildlife management area permit and lottery draw fee.

A few days later, a public notice was again posted on the MDWFP website.  The public notice mentions the WMA permit that is required to use any of the WMAs, but doesn’t mention any additional permit. For a moment, I thought that the rumors of an additional permit ($$$) to hunt this piece of public land were incorrect.  The public notice was then followed up with a press release.

The press release states in part:

Hunters may apply for hunts at http://www.mdwfp.com/draws from August 31 – September 10; there will be a $5 fee to apply.  Individuals randomly selected to hunt will be required to purchase an additional permit.  Hunters that do not complete full payment by September 19 will forfeit their reservation to hunt and an additional drawing will be held. The public notice for the 2012-13 hunting regulations on Canemount WMA can be downloaded from http://www.mdwfp.com.

You can read the entire press release and public notice, but you will not find an amount stated for the “additional permit.”   Yesterday evening, the matter was discussed on Paul Ott’s Listen to the Eagle show, but still no answers were provided by anyone at the MDWFP.

Why the secrecy?  On this issue, the MDWP is about as transparent as the water remaining in the Mississippi River.  Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I am one of the folks that consistently bash the MDWFP, please understand that I am not.  On most issues, the MDWFP does a great job with limited resources and I have all the respect in the world for the men and women that enforce our conservation laws.  However, running what amounts to a commercial hunting operation isn’t what the MDWFP should be about.  Like all government agencies, the actions of the MDWFP should be transparent so that taxpayers know what is going on and how our tax money is allocated.  By the way, the word in the woods is that the additional permit will cost $300 for a three day hunt on public land.

New Hurricane Isaac model

Hurricane Isaac has wobbled, bobbled and moved along in so many ways that the models have projected a huge potential landfall range.  The fact that the hurricane has been so disorganized also accounts for a significant amount of the variations in models.

About all anyone can do at this point is try to be prepared and pray.  Here is the actual projection from
http://flhurricane.com/cyclone/stormspotlight.php?year=2012&storm=9
.

I have absolutely nothing against the fine citizens of Texas, but I sure hope this thing takes the blue path over the red path!  In fact, it would be just fine if Issac would go away or go back from where it came.

It is good to see that after Katrina, everyone appears to be much more prepared.  Even here in Central Mississippi, the gas stations are crowded with people filling up cans.  The grocery stores are selling all the water, batteries and can goods they can get their hands on.  Good luck everyone.  Hopefully this thing will move along with no loss of human life.

On a much more insignificant note, I also hope it moves along in some path that doesn’t mess up this weekend’s opening of dove season.  Dove season is often the first time that people touch a gun since the previous deer season.  As a result, their gun safety is a little “rusty” at best.  Be safe and hunt smart.

Better late than never. My garden got started dang near two months late but the tomatoes are coming on strong after a little pruning and some rain.

Garden time!

Most every person in Mississippi that plants a garden has already done so by the first of May.  Some of my friends are already picking tomatoes.  But not me.   I cannot say that the late planting was due to my fear of a frost because it barely got cold enough last winter to even kill anything.  Nor was I waiting for bugs to emerge or Easter to pass.  I have simply been busy with other pursuits like catching fish and chasing turkeys.

This year, I decided to try “no plow.”  A couple of articles made it sound like a decent way to go instead of using a tiller.  After a quick trip to Hope Depot for some gardening weed blocker, betterboy maters and jalapeno peppers,  I finally made time for planting.  With any luck, the rain that is predicted for this weekend will give everything a boost.  Now I just have to find a place to put my cucumbers and squash in. 

 

That time of year

For hunters and fishermen in Mississippi, the year brings with it certain times that are special.  March 15 is the opening day of turkey season.  The crappie spawn in February and March.  Doves test our shooting skills the first weekend in September.  The whitetail rut around Christmas.  All of those have a special place. 

This weekend is also a special time for Mississippi anglers.  The full moon in May means one thing.  The bream spawn.  Big ol bluegill will be guarding the beds and eating anything in sight.  Now some will argue that the moon has nothing to do with the spawn.  To those people I simply say “Fine, stay home.”  With any luck, the coolers will be full and the bobbers will be  sinking this weekend.  Wish me luck.