Why do I hunt?

I've been asked before about why I hunt and I give them the short answer "for meat." But, there's more to it than that. The definition for hunting is: "the activity of hunting wild animals or game, especially for meat or sport (Oxford Dictionaries)."  That is true, but only in part, I see it as much more.  It's being out in God's country and reconnecting with nature and our past.  It's the joy and excitement of seeing that giant elk or the smallest of fawns.  It's the fact that you get to know and respect the animals better than many that you know.
It's the camaraderie of family and friends.  The sharing of stories and the passing on of knowledge.  It's a part of you, it's in you. You cannot wait for the next fall to arrive so you can get back out there.
It's the indescribable feeling as you walk up to an animal, and you realize that God let you take this animal to nourish your own.  And the feeling of what a blessing it is to be able to hunt.  You realize that after all the disappointments, all the missed shots, all the times it just didn't work, don't matter anymore.
That is what hunting is.  It's the whole experience.  That's why I hunt.

Summer Fun

During the summer, it's useful to put out some camera's along with some time in the woods looking for sign and all.  If your lucky, you might even see a fawn.  By now though, most fawns are able to go with their mother wherever she goes.  But here are some things to do during the summer:

• Swimming: Swimming is a great way to have fun and exercise as well!
• Fish: Everyone knows how great fishing is, need I say more?
• Scouting: It's a cliche, but it's always useful.  The cool thing about this time of year is you get to see what time and where those fawns are out with their mom and how big those bucks antlers are getting! I've been lazy so far and I want more pictures of Missy and her new fawns!
• Management: Predator management anyone?  Not to mention habitat and deer herd management (seeing what bucks are there, which to target/take, how many does to take, if any.  And so on).  But not just deer.  Out west, it's elk (or pronghorn!) management!  If your up north, that could include moose as well!

There are many more things I could mention, such as: treestand placement/maintenance, target shooting, bow tuning, sighting in a scope, setting up mineral sites, trail cameras, and more!

With all this mentioned, have fun!

Hunting Website

Hi guys!  I just wanted to quickly let everyone know of a website I've known of for a while and honestly haven't thought to share it.  Anyway, the site is Hungry for Hunting and his new website is devinbrewer.com (they both have good content in them). I've been on his newsletter list for a while now and he's got great content.  I'm in a video series where he's going over how he learned to deer hunt and how he eventually learned to succeed year after year.  It's more than walking up on a deer or "hiking with a gun" as he calls it, but you should scout, plan wisely, and hunt smart, being ready to adapt as things change.  Hope you guys will check it out, and I'll see you next time!

More pictures, but new stuff!

I wonder if you guys were wondering when I would post coyote pictures, and I haven't, because I don't have any.  Well, that's not true anymore.  I have some now.

These were all taken in one place, as you can see.  Now I'm starting to think, "Hey Coyotes!  These are my deer, leave them alone!"  Now for some predator management.... 'cause I want my fawns to make it!

Budget Trail Camera's

There are many trail camera's on the market.  Price ranges from $50-$600 or more for some Bushnell and Reconyx camera's.  The camera's I have are more on the cheap side $50-$80.  I have a Wildgame Innovations Axe 2, and a Stealth Cam.  They are both decent camera's for the price.

• The Wildgame: Has a little easier setting, as it has a screen that you select settings.  The Axe 2 takes better pictures, as far as moving deer goes, and better pictures in general.  It also has a location setting on it so you know where the picture was taken (example: you have two food plots, you could say "FOOD1" for one spot and "FOOD2" for the next one, as it gives 4 letter spaces and 4 number spaces for postion).  
• Stealth Cam: It has "quick settings" which includes video, and picture settings.   It also has a custom setting. It does not have a location setting as the one above.

I like both, but if I had to pick one, it would be the Wildgame Axe 2.  But both are good for getting into trail camera's.