Late Muzzy!

Muzzy Buck from Ronnie Hemsworth on Vimeo.

The reason for the season!

There are lots of seasons we experience: hunting seasons, seasons in weather, and even different holiday seasons.  This is the most important of all, Christmas!  As we spend time with family take some time to remember the reason for the season and reflect upon what Christ has done for us.   Remember Christmas without Christ is just a mess!   John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life!"  What an amazing gift Christ offers us as undeserving people!  Romans 10:9-10.  

I am leaving tomorrow for the late season muzzle loader hunt!  I just got for Christmas a new camo Russel APX all weather outfit and am very excited to try out!  We had very good luck last year and hope to carry that over! Look for the update next week!

Last minute!

With shotgun season winding down by brother finally got some time away from school to go hunting.  So we gather up some buddies and headed out into the woods.  We weren't able to get him a deer unfortunately but at last light I was able to score on a mature doe and got my first iron sight kill.  I just love the smoke after the shot which the muzzle loader gives!  I hope to get him a good buck next year. I'll be heading home for Christmas this weekend before a late season muzzle loader hunt in southern Iowa to cap off my 2012 season.   I wish you all a Merry Christmas! 

Meat Hunting!

It was time to get some meat on the table. Watch the video from this weeks hunt to see my first shotgun kill @ 130 yards with a T/C Encore 20 gauge.  Keep posted for updates as my buddy shot a big one on Saturday and it has a very cool story.  Be looking for that next week. Also wish us luck as my brother along with a couple other buddies head to southern Iowa on Saturday!

Lucky #3

Tuesday morning I got out into the stand for the last time.   I wasn't looking for a monster; I was looking to make something happen.  As it turns out, according to my calculations this was my 30th hunt and I was at 133 hours in the stand without a single shot taken.   After a bone chilling 9 degree morning, several does and three small bucks came in.  Only one gave me a shot while it was checking a Wildlife Research Center scrape dripper.  I finally let an arrow go, and it found its target at 34 yards.  He only went 70 yards before expiring!  Interestingly enough, that was my third shot at a deer with my Bear bow and the third deer I've killed with it!  The other deer stuck around for another half hour, so by the time I took my post hunt video the adrenaline rush was wearing off.  I was super happy to capitalize on this last hunt of my 2012 bow season.  Shotgun season is coming up next week, and I'll be trying to get my first deer with a pistol! Good luck and safe hunting to all you!

You'll have to wait till monday to find out!

Crunch Time!

Two of my hit list bucks reappeared on the trail cam!  #1 on the list, "Toothpic", I named after the long kicker coming off his left g2.  Unfortunately he broke off his g3 which would have made him a impressive main frame 6x5.  #3 on the list, "White Collar", I named because he is just a nice clean healthy 10.  You can't really see in the video but in my 18 yard encounter earlier this year I could see he also has split brows. #2, if your wondering, is unnamed. I saw him only once and have no pictures but he is a very big 10. Unfortunately there are only four days of bow season left and only 2-3 more bow hunts for me!  I have only drawn my bow twice and haven't let an arrow go yet. Hopefully I get a chance one of these mature bucks this week!

The Psychology of the Deer Hunter…

Psychology is an academic and applied discipline that involves the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors. In this case, the deer hunter.

Deer Movement Update: Last week I was able to have three great encounters with main frame 10 points, two of which had extra abnormal points and would have scored in 140-160 inch range. I had one 18 yards away at full draw, but he never gave me a clear shot. Heartbreaking. These occurred when the temperature was below 25 degrees. Once the weather warmed up mid week, deer movement vanished and all trail cam pictures moved to after dark. After sitting several more times without any deer movement to speak of, I found myself pretty burned out. This brings me to the point of my new blog post.

The examination: I have been pondering while in the stand and have come up with mt theory for the psychology of the deer hunter, and it's simple: in order to maintain a drive and desire yo deer hunt and to ultimately give yourself the chance to consistently harvest mature whitetails, you must maintain hope!

Hope: Within the heart of the deer hunter, you must believe that you have the ability and will have the opportunity to see and possibly harvest a mature whitetail. Hope is the single most important mindset that must be maintained in order for the hunter to remain sane. After sitting 125+ hours in the stand this year, this is the first week in which I got burned out and began to lose hope. There are several strategies that I have come up with to help myself build and retain hope before and throughout the season.

• Trail cams: Running trail cams is probably the best way to build hope and anticipation. Run them early and often, and the more cameras you have, the better. Place them out in late summer over bait (in a spot you won’t be hunting as it is illegal to hunt over bait), and try to take a survey of the bucks that might be out and about. Continue to use them throughout the season on heavy trails and scrapes once the bachelor groups break up.

• Scouting: Spend time in the preseason watching fields to get an eyeball on some deer. Use your trail cams to locate core areas for bucks, and set up stands on the perimeter downwind from prevailing winds. Continue scouting during season. Watch deer movement and adapt. Don’t be afraid to move stands and change strategies. You must adapt with the deer, and if all else fails, hunt the does during the rut. The bucks will come.

• Develop a “hit list”: Using your sightings and trail cam pictures, develop a hit list—an ordered list of the bucks you would like to harvest. Once you continue this for several years, it is cool to recognize repeated encounters with the same deer and to be able to track their growth. Naming the bucks on your hit list can be fun, and it will help you keep track of them.

• Practice: Get out your weapon of choice and practice often. Become confident and consistent with it. Learn your effective range. Get to the point where you never have to worry about the shot. Be able to trust your ability. (I go for runs to get my heart racing and then shoot 25 arrows trying to simulate adrenaline) Practice every angle and posture you might encounter so nothing surprises you in the deer stand.

• Scent control: Take control of scent, and use it in your favor. I wash my base layers in scent killer soap, take a scent killer shower, and use scent killer deodorant. I keep all my outer layers in a tote full of leaves and use scent killer on them as well. Also, play the wind and stay on the downwind side of probable deer locations. Go slow, and don’t sweat walking to your stand. Find the route that is least likely to bump deer.

• Hunt the right time: Don’t waste time hunting bad winds or other times when deer aren’t moving. Save yourself and hunt prime-time. Sitting and seeing nothing is what completely shoots down your hope. This is the big one I struggle with. Sit in that stand 6 times in a row without seeing a deer, and guess what happens? Burn out. And burn out = no hope.

• Hunting location/concealment: Choose stand locations that offer movement concealment. Use full camo, if legal, and create a backdrop and foreground to break up your silhouette and minimize movement.

So if you want to have and keep hope alive, take these steps. Know your targets and relish the encounters with them. Develop your skills to take away their strengths. Don’t just go bumbling around in the woods and hope for some luck. Become the predator and enjoy the challenge of you vs. the whitetail. The more work and effort you put in, the more powerful your experience will be because of all the anticipation you’ve built up. I have taken this week to brush up on these points and rebuild my hope while also waiting for the weather to cool down again. Next week those three big 10's better watch out!

Working on the psychology of the hunter… Look for it in a couple days!

The Patriarch: A Background for the Blog

In this blog I will attempt to explain my hunting heritage and the reason I began and learned to love hunting and the outdoors. It begins in Northern Minnesota with a man named Wilfred Lobb, born 1930. Wilfred built up the family farm with his wife Siama Rachel and their seven children. He passionately worked the farm and their logging business. Wilfred was a dynamic storyteller--the best, if you ask me. Hunting and fishing were as much of a past time as they were a part of survival in those early days. The “hunting shack,” back in the boonies, was a favorite place to hunt and spend time.

      Today we have the unpleasant experience of seeing the deterioration of the family. Unfortunately, many children grow up not having supportive parents who neither love them or each other, causing the Patriarch to become a rare phenomenon. 

The Patriarch is the one head of a family or clan. More than a father to his family, the Patriarch is honored and looked up to by his family, his children’s family, and his children’s children’s families. Not unlike Patriarchs in the Bible, he is the leader, storyteller, and rock of his clan. I was very blessed to grow up in the family I did. And not only that, I was blessed to live the first 22 years of my life with the influence a Patriarch--my hero, Grandpa Lobb.

Grandpa took all his grandchildren under his wing and showed us love in his own way. His example, his stories told, and the stories we lived together have greatly shaped who I am today. I grew up living 4 hours from the family farm and looked forward to the frequent trips to “the farm,” which was a 600+ acreage in northern Minnesota.
     For example, one day while I was watching him butcher a deer he looked up at me and asked if I had a knife. I told him I didn’t because I was too little. “That is nonsense; every boy needs a good knife!” he exclaimed. He gave me my first knife, which I was ecstatic about! But my knife was unlike other knives; it had a grandpa modification. He had cut the blade off it and said, “You’ve got to prove that you are responsible with this one, and then we’ll see about a better one.” I still have that knife handle.
    Another time my family was about to head home from the farm. Grandpa hated goodbyes and was usually busy cutting hay or a similar activity when it came time for us to leave, but for some reason he was around this time. I was standing by the van and Grandpa walked over and asked, “Do you have anything in your pockets?” I had no idea why that would matter, so I responded with a simple “nope.” Grandpa immediately exclaimed, “What! Every boy needs his pockets full of stuff. What if you get in a jam?” I’d never realized it, but if Grandpa said so, then I must have really been foolish not to do so. “Come with me to the shop, and we’ll fix that problem,” he said. So we walked into “the shop,” where every tool you would ever need for fixing anything could be found. He proceeded to cut off about three feet of bailing twine, and then he grabbed a few nails, a bolt, a nut, a washer, and stuffed them into my pocket. “Now you’re ready to go,” he said. I don’t know why, of all my outings with Grandpa, that that memory has stuck with me so strongly. But that one is burned into my memory, and I can feel Grandpa’s love every time I remember that story. I can’t wait for the day when, Lord willing, I can do that for my little tyke, too.

Hunting and fishing were truly a influential part of Grandpa's life, and I have followed his lead. My love for deer hunting, especially, has grown to what it is today because of that. Every hunt, every deer, is not only a challenge and fun within itself, but it is also a tribute to my hero, Grandpa Lobb.

My first deer, while sitting with my dad, was shot off the “southeast corner stand” (built in the corner of “the back 40” watching the fence lines) on Grandpa’s farm. He told me it was beginner’s luck. That night I shot another buck. He then proceeded to tell everybody that two bucks on your first day was not luck; “He’s a regular Daniel Boone,” he told them. That’s a big name to live up to, but I loved every second of it.

   

Deer Movement Update: after 100 hours in the stand

I've been hunting in Northern Minnesota this past week.  Deer movement was very slow. I only saw a dozen does the whole week.  The bucks that were seen (by my family and people I talked to) were chasing does.  I believe the slower deer movement was due to the amount of wolf and coyote sign.  Lots of tracks, a few sightings, and one doe we shot had been attacked.  If you think trapping or shooting wolves is inhuman you should see what they do to a fawn or calf.   Anyway I haven't hunted Iowa in a little more than a week.  But I broke a personal record this week logging my 100th hour in the stand this year and after getting caught up reading/watching Iowa Sportsman and Midwest Whitetail I'd have to say the rut is in full swing!  Historically today, November 10th, is the peak of the rut activity. I've been picky this year but I will score, Lord willing, so keep checking the blog. Looking forward to pic up the Bear again and hit the Iowa woods! Get out in the stand and good luck!

Have you guys heard about the new 4 wheeler traction control?

Deer Down!

My little bro and sis score during the Minnesota Rifle season.  Don't take it from me hear their story! (The firing-line is a stand named after its multiple logged-off lines to shoot down and was originally built long ago by my Grandpa. Its a old faithful)

Rifle Season

Just got home from the Northern Minnesota rifle trip with the family.  It was an interesting year a bunch of short stories to come soon!

The War Paint

Now if the makeup industries really wanted to make some money they would start slapping some pictures like this on there front cover!  I might actually look at them instead of throwing them away (we get them at my house from previous renters).  Maybe they could design something that doesn't require you to scrub your face off after you done hunting.   Also you get weird looks if you forget to wash off your war paint and go walking around in the grocery store!  Take it from this guy!

A new #1 on the hit list!

I have pictures of a new buck that I am really excited about. Unfortunately, they are all night pictures. He will be moving in daylight soon, but I won’t be able to hunt him for another week. It’s a price I am willing to pay for the chance to head on up to Grandpa’s farm and rifle hunt with the family for a week. So I’m hanging up the bear (my bow) and picking up the old Winchester model 70. Hopefully my dad and I can set my little sister and brother up on some deer as well as get a couple for ourselves. Should be fun, and I’ll be bring you updates from that hunt too!

Deer Movement Update

Another weekend of hunting puts me at a total of 77 hours in the stand. Piles of does have been out all day long. The bucks are being seen mostly the first two hours of morning and the last two hours of dusk with some little guys moving midday. In the last couple days I have started seeing quite a few bucks moving during daylight. The rut as I described before comes in three phases. I misspoke before as the three phases actually go in the order of seeking, chasing, and breeding. If I had to guess, I’d say they are in the end of the seeking phase and are heading into the chasing phase. I’m thinking there isn’t much breeding going on quite yet, but that will get going very soon. These next two weeks are prime!

Skunked

Last weekend Eric and I headed down to southern Iowa again. Pulling into the land we hunt, we watched a monster walk right into the area where Eric would be hunting in the morning! Hopes were high. After sitting all weekend I saw 11 bucks and over 100 does, but didn’t even draw my bow once. I saw a very good buck coming down the fence line, but he never came in range.
This brings us to the last night of the hunt. I decided to change it up and hunt on the ground (which I never do during bow season), and hunt in a fence row. I built a blind out of cedar branches and got settled. It was a slow night, and I only saw one buck, a fork, and let him walk. As darkness approached I heard something coming up right behind me. I peeked out of the corner of my eye to see the two ears of a rabbit coming through the long grass towards me. I’ve always liked rabbits (they are cuddly creatures) and welcomed his presence. But to my horror as it crawled into my blind with me, my cute little bunny morphed into a big old skunk! I must have mistaken the stripes on its head for rabbit ears. The skunk walked right up to my foot, smelled it, and then turned and pointed the danger end right at my face! You think shooting a big buck gives you adrenaline?! Well, staring at a skunk’s hind end that’s 2 feet from you while your back is up against a fence, now THAT is adrenaline! My heart was beating so hard, and I didn’t know what to do! I realized that I had to take it like a man, so keeping my eyes and mouth shut I sat there and thought of how Eric was going to be just thrilled to ride the 2 hours home with me smelling with like THAT. But to my great joy the skunk turned and waltzed right on out of there!

That was my third run in with a skunk this year. It was another weekend with no deer down, and where I come from that’s called getting skunked.

A stroke of luck?

Do you ever wonder where terms originate from? “A stroke of luck,” for example, is talking about what? Golf? Anyway, my weekend started with a promising look. Going into it, my hunting buddy capitalized on a doe only hunt. Unfortunately for him, however, he had to watch a nice buck bed down by his expired doe. The buck had been chasing her, so we were suspicious of her being close to going into heat. My Grandpa (who I’ll tell you more about soon) would always cut the tarsal glans off a doe's back legs and pin them to his jacket. “The best scent is a natural one,” he would say! I learned much from my Grandpa’s ways, so I tried out this trick and cut the glands off my buddy’s doe and attached them to a bush right in front of my stand. If she had been in heat, I hoped her scent would bring the big boys a runnin'!

Well….not so fast. I did, as you can see from the video, have some smaller bucks come in and smell the glad, but nothing big came. My buddy is studying animal ecology, and I learned from him a reason why. It’s this: Many times shortly before a doe goes into heat she will secrete a smell that will get some of the smaller bucks exited. But the bucks that have been around a while—the big guys—know this and they won’t get active during daylight until the does are in full heat and close to being receptive. There are several different stages to the rut, and this first stage is known as “the chase.” And this is precisely where my luck ran out this weekend. All I saw were small bucks chasing and pestering the does, but there weren’t any big bucks moving—yet!

While this was my story from this past weekend, it will be changing soon. In the next two weeks we will be in the full swing of the rut. With the combination of that and the massive cold front that is supposed to hit the Midwest this weekend, I can anticipate a killer weekend—literally! I’ll be hitting Southern Iowa for the third weekend in a row, and I’m hopeful that I can send an arrow on its way this time! After that I’m headed to Northern Minnesota the first part of November to hunt my Grandpa's farm, but in doing so I’ll miss the peak of Iowa’s rut. It’s for that reason that I’m hoping for my own stroke of luck this weekend—one that means far more to me than any game of golf!

Some video snips from this weekend including a 8 point!

Deer Movement Update: Starting to get some curious little bucks chasing on the cold days.   The rut is a comin' but no big boys out yet.  The little guys are curious but no doe will have any of that yet.  The big boy's know this and won't start bothering them until they are receptive should be somewhere in the next two weeks.  Sat another 15 hours this weekend and saw 7 bucks (all under 120) and 30 does.  All of which were seen from 7-9am and  5-6:30pm.  A couple other buddy's saw some smaller bucks chasing too but not big boys.  It's just gona start picking up from here on out! 

Come this weekend I'll be sitting here waiting on a deer (specifically one of two bucks "monster" or "split G2's").  I'm hitting the woods a little harder this year.  Partially because I will be on a rifle hunt in Minnesota at my Grandpa's farm during the peak of the rut in Iowa and also because I have lots of extra time now that I'm done with school.  So I guess I'm a hypocrite when it comes to my last blog. :)  I just can't resist!  It's for a good cause though as I will be taking my cousin down with me to try and help him get his first Iowa buck. Come Friday at noon I'm off to the woods again!

The camera man doing a little smack talking behind my back... literally.

Here is an in-stand update from last Saturday!

Deer movement update:  After sitting 40+ hours in 4 different locations through Iowa I can conclude that we still need a couple weeks to get the big boys up and moving during daylight.  Lots of does moving even in mid-day but the bucks are only being seen right before and after dusk.  Your best bet it to stay inside and watch football for the next week or so.  Last year I took my bow buck on October 25 and he was the first mature buck I saw during day light that season.   That last week in October seems to start the magic known as the rut!  As soon as we get a cold snap in late October it is time to get in the stand.  When November hits, if you want to get that buck of a lifetime, you better be in the stand those first couple weeks.  As my Grandpa used to say, "You don't catch fish unless your line is in the water", and you won't consistently shoot mature bucks unless you hunt the rut.  So don't burn yourself out, run out of time off work, or over hunt your good spots early in the season.   You can train deer to avoid spots they feel uncomfortable in.  So save your "key play" spots for those cold early November days.