Live for the season...

A nice surprise!

Every once in a while the INBOX brings good news!  A few weeks ago I got an email from Caleb at AmmoForSale.com - a fairly new online ammunition retailer.  Apparently he had run across my blog and liked what he saw.  He asked if I would be willing to write a review in exchange for a box of 9mm ammo....  uh YEA, of course I would!

Just a few days later, the brown truck pulled up with my shells.  I couldn't wait to try them out, but as it so often does, life got in the way.  I didn't get a chance to go to the range until this past weekend.  It was a beautiful, sunny, January day, so I loaded up and headed out to the farm.  

I was testing Fiocchi 9mm 115gr JHP.  First impression - a great looking cartridge.  I was shooting my Springfield XD SC.  I loaded 5 rounds and stepped off 10 yards.  My plans for the first 5 shots were to empty the magazine as quickly as possibly.  As always, the XD performed flawlessly.  It seemed to like the Fiocchi  :))

 Next, I loaded 15 more rounds and stepped back to 15 yards.  My plans for this test were to take it a little slower, and concentrate on accuracy.  DISCLAIMER - I have never claimed to be a great handgun shooter!  

All in all, not a bad group for yours truly.  I must ad mitt, I am impressed with the Fiocchi.  This was my first experience with that brand, but I like it!  It seems to be a good quality cartridge at a great price!

If you get a chance, check out Ammo For Sale.  They have a large selection, some great regular prices, plus some fantastic sale prices in their "Ammo Deals" section.  Give them a chance next time you need some ammo - I know I will!

 

Merry Christmas from the Barnes Family!

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Juvy Hunt 2011

Wow!  What a weekend!  Everyone at the Barnes house is still cellebrating after the kids went 3 for 3 on the juvenile deer hunt!

Elizabeth and Molly have been looking forward to the hunt for quite some time.  Luckily we didn't have any fights over who was going to shoot first since my dear friend Jeff graciously invited Elizabeth to hunt with him on his farm.  He's got a great place to hunt so I wasn't surprised when I got the message around 8 Satursday morning.  Elizabeth had scored on this great spike!

  About that same time, Molly and I were watching 2 bucks in the field where we were hunting.  It was extremely foggy that morning plus the bucks were nearly 100 yards away, so I really didn't think that we would get a shot.  I was afraid that they were too far and the fog was really bad.  I finally gave in to Molly's "can I PLEASE try to shoot one?!" and told her to just see if she could find the biggest one in the scope.  A few seconds later she said "I've got it right on him!  Can I shoot him?!!!"  I gave in again "if you're sure you've got it on his shoulder..."  BANG!  She didn't waste any time!  I knew that she had nailed him by the way he acted at the shot then he dropped after only about 10 steps!

9 points - her biggest buck ever!

I had been telling Stewart that we would go hunting Sunday afternoon.  I told him that we would probably just sit and watch, but we might try to shoot one if it came close enough.  He had been doing really well at shooting on paper, but I just wasn't sure that he was ready to kill a deer at age 6.  

We finished up with Church and lunch plenty early on Sunday, so we decided to do a little more target practice.  He did great - the best he'd ever shot, so I was feeling much better about our hunt.  We finally got to the stand around 3.  He played his DS for a few minutes, ate a snack, and was asleep by 4.

It actually worked out for the best since I'm not sure he could have stayed quiet for the entire time.  I woke him up about 5:30, just before I expected the first deer to come out.  They were a little late, but we finally had a spike come out about 6.  We tried off and on for 10 minutes to get a shot at that spike.  He just wouldn't cooperate!  But, I was SO proud of the way Stewart acted!  He didn't rush and make a bad shot and he didn't get frustrated.  FINALLY, the buck walked out in the open and turned broadside.  Stewart took his time and squeezed off a shot but missed.  By this time a couple of does had come out into the field as well.  Luckily, they didn't spook at the sound of his shot.  So we got reloaded and he quickly found a big doe in the scope.  I told him he could shoot whenver the crosshairs were steady on her shoulder.  BANG!  She jumped straight up in the air, ran about 10 yards, and collapsed.  I grabbed Stewart, hugged him, and stared screaming "you got her!  You just killed a deer!  I can't believe it!!!"  

I have never seen him so excited!  He kept saying "Mommy is gonna freak!"  and "let's make some jerky to celebrate!"  I hope I'm blessed enough to share MANY more hunts with all 3 of my kids, but I think no matter what, this weekend will be hard to top!

Tribute to a Great Man

I lost my Grandfather earlier this year at the age of 96.  The greatest honor of my life was being able to eulogize him at his funeral.  In honor of him, I'd like to share the words that I spoke:

I don’t particularly like funerals.  Aside from the obvious reason, I think that all too often we get so caught up in our own grief that we sometimes forget to celebrate the life.  The life that we have been blessed to know for too short a time.  I think that funerals should be a celebration of the life of our loved one.  If you will bear with me for the next few minutes, that is what I intend to do. 

If you are sitting here today, you were blessed to have known Pangle Stewart.  If you were lucky enough to have known him well, you know that he was a Great man.  Someone once said “No really great man ever thought himself so.”  No truer words have ever been said about Pangle Stewart.  He was a simple man, an unassuming man, but he was the Greatest man that I have ever known.

 
Pangle Stewart was born on April 14th, 1915 to James Alonza and Mary Lou Alexander Stewart.  He had 2 brothers, J.A. and Knox, who preceded him in death.  He married Evelyn Orman Chest (Nanny to the Grandkids) on December 4th, 1937.  He had 2 daughters - Mary Evelyn and Wanda, 5 Grandchildren to whom he was affectionately known as “Tata” – Angie, Amy, Jennifer, Christy, and myself.  He also had 9 Great Grandchildren – Kermit, Keesha, Marissa, Anna, Sam, Andy, Elizabeth, Molly, and Stewart.

Tata came from humble beginnings.  He was born in the Family farmhouse on what is now the Shelbyville Hwy, here in the County.  He often told stories of riding to the grade-school at Belleville in the back of a horse drawn wagon.  A ride where the older boys would often throw the younger ones off the back of the wagon – and the younger ones ended up having to walk to school.  He never told us which group he was a part of  - the throwers or the walkers.  This was also a ride that, in Wintertime, ended with the school children having to gather their own fire-wood to burn in a stove to warm the 1 room school house.  

As a boy, he helped his father gather rock from the fields to be sold by the wagon-load to a crew building the new Highway.  I guess that’s where one of his favorite sayings came from – “if limestone rock is ever worth anything, we’ll all be millionaires!”  As a teenager, he graduated from Central High School in 1934 as President of his Class.  He was also the Captain of his football team and a member of the all-district Basketball team.  Tata attended Middle TN State University (know as Middle Tennessee State Teachers Collage back then) from 1934 – 1936.  He was inducted to the US Naval Reserve as an Apprentice Seaman in 1943 and proudly served his Country until he retired as a Lieutenant Jr Grade on January 1st 1955.  Tata often joked that there was never any danger of him seeing any “action” in the war after his Senior Officers found out that he could type – apparently typing was a skill that not many sailors possessed.

If you ever heard Tata speak publicly, you know that he often talked about the 3 days in his life that he considered most important.  One was the day that he married Nanny, another was the day that he went to work for the Elk Cotton Mill.  Tata worked for the Cotton Mill for over 47 years.  He was hired in 1946 as a payroll clerk and had advanced to the position of Treasurer by 1951.  He semi-retired in 1989 while serving as Sr. Vice President and Treasurer.  He then did consulting work for them until he left in 1993. 

Number 1 on his list of the 3 most important days was the day he became a Christian.  Tata was baptized in 1930, at the age of 15, and has been a member of the First Baptist Church ever since.  He was first elected Deacon in the early 50s and was given the honor of being designated Deacon Emeritus in 1998.  Tata also spear-headed the efforts to Incorporate and to write the Constitution and By-laws for First Baptist Church.

Although not in his “top 3”, Tata was extremely proud of his Lions Club service.  He joined the Lions club in 1952.  During his Lions service, he served as District Governor for 1968/69, and was the recipient of many awards at the club, State, and International levels.  Tata also helped organize the Fay – Lincoln County United Givers Fund, The Lincoln Co. Livestock Assoc., was Director of The Lincoln County Fair for over 40 years, was President of Central High School PTA, and served as County Commissioner for 2 terms.  While serving as Commissioner, he was especially proud to have been a part of forming the County Water System and the Lincoln County High School.   

So – these are some of the great things that he did, but they alone did not make him a Great man.  His honestly, integrity and wisdom made him a Great man. His dedication and respect for his Savior and his Country made him a Great man.  His knowledge and love of the land made him a Great man.   But most of all, his love and concern for his family made him a Great man.

If you knew Tata, you knew of his love for my Grandmother.  Tata’s love for Nanny was as close to a picture of unconditional love that you will ever see on this Earth.  Everyone has their faults, but his love and devotion for my Grandmother was as strong on the day that we laid her to rest as it was on the day that they married.  He wrote to her just a few years before her death “I look upon you as a gift from heaven”.  She was… as was he.  When I think of my role as a husband and my relationship with my wife, it is Tata that I try to model myself after.

For as long as I can remember, Tata has talked about saving and accumulating for his family. In reading through some of his papers, I have discovered that, he and my Grandmother often would forgo giving each other gifts on special occasions – opting instead to save some extra money for “the family”.  Tata and I have walked property lines around the farm together countless times, talking about boundaries, land marks, and possible ways to divide tracts.  We have had talk after talk about his estate and his concern that “the family” be taken care of.  Looking back now, I think he has been preparing me my whole life to carry out his last wishes – something that I am honored to do.

If you knew Tata well, you know that his biggest fear was an extended nursing home stay – not because he thought it would be particularly miserable, but because of what it would cost “the family”.  When one of his many investments performed poorly, he worried incessantly about what he had lost – not for himself, but for “the family”.  He reminded me less than 2 weeks ago that he had a CD coming due and we need to decide what best to do with the money for “the family”.   

Tata’s life was not without sorrow, disappointment, or pain.  Our family is like most in that we have our share of all 3.  In another letter, he spoke of “disappointing retirement years” and he accurately predicted “headaches, heartaches, and pain” for the future.  But in the very next paragraph, he reaffirmed his Faith in the Lord, his love for my Grandmother, and his commitment to “the family”.

If anything can make this easier, it is knowing that Tata was SO ready to receive his eternal reward. After Nanny died, he wasn’t shy about letting anyone know that he had lived long enough.  He yearned to be united with his Heavenly Father and his loving wife.  Tuesday night after Tata passed away, my son Stewart (who is named after Tata) prayed “please let Tata have a good time in heaven”.  I have no doubt that he will.  

Ecclesiastes 2:26 starts “to the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness…”.  Well, I think it is pretty obvious that he was pleased with Tata.  Tata was definitely a wise man – he was a man who was knowledgeable about so many things - and for most of his life he was a happy man.  But most of all, Tata – Pangle Stewart – was a Great man!   

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My Favorite Turkey Hunt of the Year

Saturday morning's hunt with Molly, my youngest daughter:

Molly and I headed out to hunt as soon as she got home from school Friday afternoon.  We had planned to sit in a blind in one of my best spots.  I was pretty confident that we'd get a shot but if not, we'd be in a perfect position to roost them for Saturday morning.  Well as so often happens when you are confident about turkey hunting, we totally struck out.  We heard 2 gobbles on top of the ridge about 5:30, but they never came down far enough  for us to see them - that is until they flew up.  We were able to make out 4 or 5 different birds as they flew up into some hardwoods at the top of the ridge - including at least 1 long beard.

These turkeys were roosted in the exact same spot as they had been last Sunday morning.  So I was pretty confident that they would fly down the same spot where they had that morning (that darn confidence again...).  I planned for us to sneak in very early the next morning & set up a small pop-up as close to them as I dared - within gun range of where they should land.

Miss Molly & I were up at 4:30, out the door shorty there after, and on the farm by 5.  After a short ATV ride, and a harrowing walk through a herd of black angus (scary stuff for an 8 year old), we safely arrived at the "landing zone".  I got the blind set up, decoys out, and all of our stuff situated in the blind.  We had just settled in when when he fired off right over our heads.  The grin on Molly's face alone already made this a great hunt.  She pointed and said in kind of a hushed scream (you know, that 8 year old loud whisper when they think that they are being quiet but it usually come out several decibels higher that a high school intercom.  The whisper that they usually use in the middle of church, weddings, and other occasions when they have been told to be quiet but have something that they deem really, really important to say.) "Daddy - he's right there!!!"  

I got her quieted down and then for the next 15 minutes or so, we just sat back and enjoyed the show.  It ended up being 2 long-beards and 3 hens.  The long-beards were the first to fly down, but apparently they missed the memo about where to land.  Instead of sailing down to our designated "landing zone" to a warm, welcoming load of hevi-shot, they flew down in the opposite direction.  My heart sank!  I had just told Molly "oh nooooo, he flew the wrong way!" when the first hen flew out and sailed right over our head.  She was soon followed by the other 2.  What a turn of events!  We were now directly between the Toms and their hens.

The Toms were really fired up now.  They were answering everything that I threw at them, plus I could hear them drumming about 75 yards up the hill.  I was starting to wonder why they weren't coming close when I spotted them through the trees - strutting back and forth - on the other side of a fence...  

We sat and listened and watched for about 15 more minutes until it became painfully obvious that they weren't going to cross that fence any time soon.  I waited until they they were out of sight and told Molly "come on sweetie, we've got to move".  We got out of the blind and headed down the hill.  My plan was to circle around and get on the fence line about 100 yards down from them.  Then hopefully they could be persuaded to strut down the fence line right to us.

Apparently they had the same idea, because they started moving down the fence toward our intended destination before we ever got there.  They were gobbling the entire time, so I could tell that they were REALLY close when we got to about 50 yards from the fence.  Luckily, there was some pretty thick brush between us and them.  I spotted a log about 20 yards ahead and told myself "that's were we need to get to - if I can get us to that log, we'll get a shot."  

Molly had been hanging in there with me the entire time - she was doing a great job of keeping up and moving quietly through the woods.  I was confident that we could make it so I dropped to my knees and started to crawl.  I had probably gone about 10 yards when I heard it "PUTT PUTT".  Huh?  I know they couldn't have seen me?  I look back to make sure that Molly is still right behind me.  She is, but instead of down on her hands and knees like I expected to find her, she is standing up, grinning from ear to ear, saying in that hushed whisper / scream "DADDY, I can see his fan!!!".  Of course, I never told her to crawl - I was just confident that she would know to do what I did...

About that time, the other bird gobbled again so I didn't think that they were too scared.  I motioned for her to get down and told her that we had to crawl for just a few more feet.  I had almost made it to our log when I crawled past a box turtle.  He didn't seem to mind me as he kept inching along.  I remember thinking, "I hope Molly isn't scared of him - I won't point him out and maybe she won't see him..."  The turkeys are still gobbling, and had closed the distance even more.  They are now probably within 40 yards and gobbling every 30 seconds.  This is it - we've got them - slam dunk!

I was in reaching distance of the log when I heard the loudest "whisper" to ever come out of my sweet little girl's mouth "DADDY - LOOK - IT'S A TURTLE!!!  CAN WE KEEP IT??!!!"  

No we didn't get the turkey, but we had one of the best hunts of my life.  We were blessed with front-row tickets to Nature's greatest symphony.  We had been in sling-shot range of 2 huge Toms.  We had braved the vicious herd of cows in the dark.  We picked up some really pretty rocks and a strange looking nut.  We got to spend just about the prefect morning together in the turkey woods!

So after all of the excitement of the day, the first thing out of Molly's mouth when we got back home was "MOMMY, WE FOUND A TURTLE!!!!"

Thanks to my sweet little Molly, I was treated to a magical day in the woods through the eyes of a child.  I was reminded of a simpler time when turkey hunting was more to me than putting another bird in the freezer.  I was reminded about what I so love about turkey hunting. 

Molly's Turn!

Soon after Elizabeth killed her first deer, Molly decided that she wasn't so scared of the deer rifle after all. Nothing like having your big sister show you up to get you motivated!  We started practicing her shooting & I was really surprised at how well she did!  She was apprehensive at first, but she quickly warmed up & got excited after seeing how well she could shoot.

Finally everything fell into place & we got to go hunting late one afternoon about a week before Christmas.  Not sure who was more excited - me or Molly!

Well things started out a little slow and soon got slower.  So whats a deer hunter to do when there are no deer around?

I must confess that I took a little nap that afternoon too, but we were both wide awake by the time the first deer made their appearance.  Unfortunately, the spike and handful of does never presented Molly with a shot that she was comfortable with.  We were able to hunt 1 or 2 more times before Christmas, but never did get a shot.  I was afraid that Molly would start to get frustrated, especially since Elizabeth had killed a buck on her very first hunt, but she was a real trooper.  At the end of every unsuccessful hunt, we'd both say "we'll just get one next time!"

Dec. 28th was very cold with the remnants of our Christmas Eve snow still on the ground.  I hurried home from work early so that Molly & I could go hunt the Grove that afternoon.  We put on all the clothes that we could stand (and still be able to walk), put extra clothes + a blanket + a Nintendo DSi in the backpack, packed a cooler full of snacks, and headed to the farm.  About 30 minutes later, we were settled into the shooting house.

We did pretty good for the first hour or so, but then we started getting cold.

Got all warmed up in the blanket and then.... yep, you guessed it!  :)

I woke her up when the first deer stepped out about 4:30.  She got really excited when I told her it was a spike.  We watched him feed around for 5 or 10 minutes, but he never came close enough for a shot.  I could see the disappointment on Molly's face when he left the field, but I could also tell that she was getting cold - real cold.  She finally asked "Daddy, can we leave now?  I'm cold!"  I told her that it wasn't much longer until dark & I really thought that the spike might come back.  I said "come sit in my lap & let's see if we can get you warm."  I pulled her boots off and stuck her feet in a toboggan, wrapped her up in the blanket, and hugged her tight.  Pretty soon she told me that she was getting warmer and thought that she could make it.

Finally, about 15 minutes later, I looked over my shoulder and saw the same spike step out into the field behind us.  I whispered to Molly that we needed to get ready.  The way we were seated, we both had to stand up and turn completely around.  Luckily, the buck was concentrating on eating and never even looked up.  I finally got the window open, the curtain pulled up, and Molly's gun pointed the right direction.

Somewhere about now, we had managed to make enough noise to alert the deer.  Molly had just found him in her scope then he threw his head up took a couple of steps toward us.  Not only was he staring a hole through us, but there was also a tree blocking most of his body.  "Daddy I can't see him now" Molly whispered.  "OK sweetie, here let's try a trick" I said as I tried to sound calm.  I slid her gun about 2 feet to the right.  That was just enough to allow her to see around the tree and get his chest in her scope.  

2 things suddenly occurred to me at this point.  1) in all of our practice and talk about shooting deer, we had only discussed broadside shots.  Molly knew to aim 1/2 way up the body, right behind the shoulder but we had not talked about a frontal shot.  2) Molly had never shot the rifle without me helping to support it.  We practiced with the gun on a shooting stick, with her aiming and pulling the trigger, but with me helping to hold it sturdy.

So with the buck about to flee and me having to hold the curtain up to keep it out of her face, I told her "Just put the cross-hairs in the center of his chest and squeeze the trigger sweetie".  "OK I see him.  I'm gonna shoot..."  BANG!  The buck jumped straight up in the air and then bolted through a fence and into the woods.  I knew immediately that he was hit hard by the way he reacted.  I screamed "you got him baby!"  as I grabbed her for a huge hug. 

What happened next is my favorite memory of the deer season and maybe one of my all time favorite memories as Molly's Daddy.  She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and a surprised look on her face and said "I did?!  I can't believe it!  I finally got one!  I've waited for so long!!!" :))  It almost brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it now.  She was so sweet and so excited!  And honestly, I really had no idea until that moment just how bad she really wanted to get a deer.

So we got our stuff together and hurried to get down before dark.  We found the spot where the buck had gone through the fence,but I was just a little concerned when we didn't find much blood.  I told Molly that he would probably run straight down the hill since he was hurt and that we'd just take our time and look really good.  I was concentrating on the ground, trying to find any trace of blood when Molly started yelling "Daddy I see him!  There he is!  See him - he's laying right there!"  Sure enough, he was!

Once again, I'm not sure who was more excited, Molly or me!  But I am sure of one thing - I have never seen a hunter more proud of their first deer!  

 

How to... Home made Predator e-Caller

If you have never tried it, one of the most exciting types of hunting that you will ever do is predator hunting.  Nothing gets the blood pumping like fooling the sharpest critters in the woods into hunting you!  

I have hunted with & called animals with both mouth-blown & electronic callers.  While both can definitely be effective when used properly, I really like the advantages that an e-caller gives you.  The e-caller never fatigues (well at least until the battery goes down), it allows you to keep both hands free, and it gives you the option to choose between many different sounds at the touch of a button.  There is a huge assortment of quality e-callers on the market today.  Prices on these range from a little less than $100 up to over $600.  Another option for those of us who like to tinker is the home made e-caller.

An e-caller basically consists of 4 parts - the housing, the speaker, the amplifier, & the sound source.  In doing my research, I found that most people are using either a flashlight body, an insulated thermos, or just a watertight box / bag.  I wanted to try to make my call with the basic "look" of today's popular predator calls, so I chose to use the flashlight body.  I did some looking & decided to start with this model from Walmart - it was on sale for $8!

The first thing I did was remove & discard the lens, bezel, battery holder, & bulb assembly.

Next I masked off all of the black rubber parts that I did not want painted.  I then painted the housing then a gray spray paint made especially for plastic.

I had found that most people were recommending a SPECO SPC-5 horn speaker for this type of call.  Found one online for $20.  It was white so after removing the mounting pedestal & cutting the bracket off with a Dremel tool, I painted it gray also.

Now it was time for the wiring.  For an amplifier, I went with the Radio Shack mini amp  ($14.99).  I planned to utilize the flashlight's existing switch, but I wanted to add an led light so that I would know at a glance if the caller was on or off.  I also wanted an input jack on the outside of the housing so that I would simply be able to plug my mp3 player into it .  First I drilled a hole in the back of the flashlight housing & threaded a 3.5mm audio cable through it.

Next I took the mini amp apart, removed the built-in speaker, & cut off the original 9v battery connector.  Then I drilled a hole in the top of the housing & inserted the small led light ($1.99 from Radio Shack).  Finally, with some trial & error, I soldered the mini amp, a new battery connector, & the led light all to the terminals from the flashlight's original switch.

Now it was time to attach the speaker.  I used black adhesive caulk to glue the speaker in the black cap of the flashlight.

Then it was just a matter of plugging the 3.5mm speaker wire (I cut some of the length out & then soldered back together to make it shorter) & the input wire into the mini amp, screwing the cap / speaker back on, re-masking the black rubber parts, and spraying on a little camo.

Total time invested was probably about 3 - 4 hours.  Total cost was about $50.  I really enjoyed putting it together & can't WAIT to get out ion the field with it!  Hope to be posting some success pictures very soon!

November Surprise

As a hunter, I am very blessed.  Not only do I live in one of the game richest Counties in Tennessee, but I also to have access to several hundred acres of private land - most of which I either have exclusive or near-exclusive hunting rights on.  I have been hunting  some of the same farms for 30 years now, and have consistently killed deer & turkeys on them for most of those 30.  I often find myself wanting to hunt some of my "old favorite" spots to reflect on memories of seasons past even though this year's sign tells me that another, newer stand location might be more productive.  That being said, there is still something very special to a hunter about killing a deer on your own property.

Brandi & I bought 40 acres in the late 90's with the plans to build our "dream home".  It borders the Elk River & contains a good mix of hardwoods & bottom land.  We are in a part of our County that has historically grown some very big deer, but with very few exceptions they have always seemed to avoid our place.  Even still, my river bottom is my absolute favorite afternoon stand.  It is one of those places that you are almost guaranteed to see a bunch of deer, no matter the weather or time of year.  It is not unusual to have 20 + does feeding around the bottom any afternoon of the season.  Prior to this year, I had only killed 3 deer on my place in the 12 years we've had it.  Plus, I've let several friends hunt & kill deer over the years.  All of these hunts were memorable, but none resulted in a "big" deer. 

Fast forward to the Thursday after Elizabeth killed her deer.  It was early muzzleloader season, but I was taking the kids to school instead of hunting.  We had just pulled out of the drive when a really good buck crossed the road in front of us & ran onto the property that joins mine.  I stopped the truck in the middle of the gravel road that we live on & said "WOW kids - LOOK at that deer!!!".  He looked to be a big framed 8 pt with extraordinarily long beams that came out past his nose.  Elizabeth tried to claim him but Molly quickly reminded her that she had already killed a deer so to be fair, this buck should be Molly's.  I thought it was hilarious that they were fighting over this deer that we would most likely never see again!  

I had had a trail camera out on my food plot in the river bottom since August & had not gotten a picture of ANYTHING bigger than a spike.  So I really thought that us seeing the big deer was just a fluke.  He was probably living across the road, just happened to be ranging a little farther then normal that morning, got spooked by my truck, and just happened to cross the road & run in the direction of our property.  I had very little confidence in ever seeing him again.  All that changed the next afternoon when I went to check my camera.

 

Not a great picture, but definitely the same deer - those long beams were unmistakable!  This picture was actually taken the night before the kids & I had seen him.  1 visual & 1 picture on consecutive days - NOW, it was time to get excited!  

It was the next afternoon before I was able to hunt him.  Weather was a little cooler than typical for our early muzzleloader - low 60's when I got to the stand that afternoon with a forecast of mid 30s for that night.  I don't remember the exact number, but I think I had 6 or 8 does out feeding in the plot by 5:45.  I had taken my eyes off of them for some reason (probably to send one of my buddies a text).  I saw him immediately when I looked back up.  A very big bodied deer with a head full of horns had just stepped out of the woods & was feeding back behind the does.  One quick check with the binocs was all it took - IT WAS HIM!!!  Funny I had ranged the treeline where he came out just a few minutes before.  Nearly 200 yards - not exactly an easy shot for a muzzleloader, but definitely doable for the Savage.

I eased the window of the shooting house open, tried to still my beating heart & settle the crosshairs behind his shoulder.  I touched off the shot, heard the bullet hit, & watched him run the few yard back to the edge of the woods.  I could still see his rack through the trees, he had stopped but he didn't go down...  I quickly found him in my binocs - he was standing in a ditch that runs behind my food plot.  All I could see was the top of his neck, his head, & his rack.  I knew that he was hit hard but he still hadn't gone down...  Uh-oh...  I had visions of the buck of my dreams running off & never finding him as I reloaded as fast as I could.  

Once again I eased the gun out the window of the shooting house.  This time, all I had to aim for was his neck so I tried to steady the crosshairs on his throat patch at about 175 yards.  I touched off the shot.... nothing... he didn't even flinch...  MISSED!  I think I reloaded even faster this time.  Here we go again...  This time I took a couple of extra moments to steady the crosshairs of the center of his neck.  He disappeared from the scope as soon as I touched the trigger.  Quick check through the binocs verified that he was down - I GOT HIM!

He ended up being a 10 pt thanks to a couple of nice kickers.  Haven't scored him but he should go in the low 140s - my 2nd or 3rd best Tennessee deer.  But score or not, this will always be one of my favorite deer - there is nothing quite like killing a trophy on your own land!

About that shot - it turned out he had been quartering to me instead of broadside plus I obviously pulled my shot a little, hitting him too far back.  Thankfully, I was far enough away that none of the deer knew where the shot(s) were coming from.  The does actually went back to feeding & never spooked until I climbed down from the stand to go retrieve him.  Thankfully too I had a quality gun with quality optics in which I have the utmost confidence & was able to put the finisher in him.  

Elizabeth's First Deer!

It is no secret to those who know me best that I have long dreamed of being able to carry my own children deer hunting.  I have known since I killed my first deer at age 10, that nothing would compare to being able to share that thrill with my own kids.   Obviously, it is impossible to grow up in the Barnes house without being exposed to all-things hunting.  I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see them get so excited about my hunting successes.  I am always quick to answer their questions, I encourage them whenever they show interest, but have always been careful not to push them into hunting just because I want them to like it.

So after both girls killed turkeys this past Spring (Elizabeth, Molly), and both started asking "when can we go deer hunting?", I decide that they were ready.  Fast forward to a sunny, Sunday afternoon this past October - it was time to shoot the "deer gun".  Elizabeth went first & did great!  She was shooting my TC Contender Carbine in 6.8mm SPC.  For those of you not familiar with that caliber, it is basically a .223 on steroids.  It is a .30 Carbine casing necked down to hold a .270 bullet.  Developed jointly by Remington & our Military, it offers basically the same ballistics & felt recoil (almost none) as the .223, but with greater down range energy.  A PERFECT deer caliber for kids!  We were shooting at about 50 yards & Elizabeth was able to put 2 just above the bullseye!  When it got to be Molly's turn, she decided not to shoot.  For some reason, the thought of shooting a rifle scared her even though I assured her that it was not near as loud nor would kick near as hard as the shotgun that she was used to.  But that was ok - I gave her a hug & told her we would try again as soon as she got ready.

Tennessee offer s a early Juvenile (kids only) hunt every year. For 2010, the early Juvenile deer hunt weekend was scheduled to be Oct. 31st & Nov. 1st.  I knew we wouldn't get to hunt Saturday because of a soccer tournament during the day & trick-or-treating that night.  We had Church Sunday morning & I was unsure about Sunday afternoon.  So I didn't even mention Juvenile weekend to Elizabeth - I just told her that we had a long season ahead of us & would do our best to get her a deer.  Thankfully the planets aligned & by Saturday night it looked like I had everything worked out to be able to take her hunting the next afternoon.  I didn't tell her right away just in case something fell through.

Right after Church, I told her to go get dressed cause we were going hunting.  "We're going DEER hunting... TODAY?!!!' she asked very excited.  I had 2 different spots in mind - one where she would be pretty much guaranteed a close shot at a doe but chances of seeing a buck were pretty slim.  I felt like our chances of seeing a buck at the 2nd spot were just as good as seeing a doe, but anything we saw might be too far for her to shoot.  I explained the pros & cons of both stands to Elizabeth & let her make the decision.  She didn't hesitate - she wanted a buck!  So off we went to Rick's farm at Mimosa.

We had been in the shooting house for nearly 2 hours when the first doe stepped out.  I was surprised when Elizabeth barely even looked up from the book that she was reading to look at the doe.  I thought "wow she really does just want a buck - not even excited about a doe".  She later told me that she didn't want to look at the does because it made her too nervous since she was so excited :))  By about 30 minutes before dark, we had a field full of deer but no bucks.  Elizabeth surprised me again by saying "I really just want to kill a deer - I don't want to wait on a buck".  Well OK sounds good to me!  The closest does were about 50 yards behind us so we slowly stood up in the shooting house, got turned around, opened the window, and eased the gun out.  Poor little Elizabeth just fell to pieces!  She was so nervous she just couldn't get the gun on them before they fed out of our sight.  That ok - let's try another one.  We still had plenty of deer out front so we turned around again & slipped the gun out the front window.  

The deer weren't nervous at all - just slowly moving around the field as they fed.  We finally got settled down & were trying to get the crosshairs steady on a big doe when she threw her head up & looked into the woods behind her.  I knew what that probably meant so I told Elizabeth to wait just a minute to see what else was coming.  Sure enough about a minute later another deer stepped out & this time it was a BUCK!  I helped Elizabeth get the gun steady again & told her to squeeze the trigger when she got ready.  I was expecting to hear the gun go off any second when she looked up & said "I can't do it - I'm too nervous!"  I told her "yes you can baby, just like we practiced... are you on him?"  She said she was.  "Then SHOOT HIM - NOW!"  BOOM!  He dropped in his tracks!  I couldn't believe it!  The rest is kind of a blur - I just remember grabbing & hugging her saying "you GOT him baby girl - I'm so proud of you!"

Yep, it was just as good as I had dreamed!  Absolutely, without a doubt THE best deer hunt I had ever been a part of!  Little did I know that history would repeat itself just a couple of short months later.  Stay tuned... ;)

The BEST 2 days in the History of Deer Hunting!!!

Elizabeth's first deer!

Molly's first deer!

Details to follow...  :))

Merry Christmas!

Hoping every Season brings You & Yours Peace, Love, & Joy!

Dear Elk Hunter... (Part 3)

Saturday morning (Oct. 2nd) found Jeff & I up well before daylight.  After a quick bite of breakfast, we were off to meet up with our guide Chris.   Once again, we loaded up onto Chris' Polaris Ranger & took off in the direction of where we had last seen the elk the night before.

I'm not sure how many acres were in the area we were hunting, but it was pretty big - a mixture of private, public, State, and Coal Company land.  Chris took Jeff & I back in on the side where the elk had been the night before.  Chris' buddy Darin took another hunter in camp (a bowhunter) to the same property, but they came in from the other side.  We had seen & heard so many bulls the night before, we were hoping that they would be spread out enough for us both to have some action.  

Unfortunately, the only bugles we heard as daylight was breaking came from the bowhunter's side.  We felt pretty much helpless as we were forced to stand back & listen to the sounds of bulls bugling & fighting for over 2 hours while the bowhunter did his best to close the distance.  By 9:00, Jeff & I were getting VERY frustrated with the situation.  We didn't fault the bowhunter - it wasn't his fault that the elk just happened to be on his side that morning - that's just hunting.  However, it was terribly difficult to be that close to "my" elk & not me able to go after him!

FINALLY, after being skunked several times, the bowhunter & his guide finally gave up & came out to regroup.  We got back on the Ranger & circled around to meet up with them.  They had been really close to several bulls a number of times, but just couldn't close the deal before the main herd moved off down toward some thick timber.  As we were standing there talking, I noticed a bull & 2 cows about 1000 yards below us pop out into the open.  As soon as I put my binocs on him I knew it was "my" 6x7 from the night before.  Once again, Chris, Jeff, & I jumped on the Ranger & closed the distance.  After we drove just as close as we dared, Chris crept up to the edge of the draw while I was getting my gun loaded.  I knew we were in good shape when Chris started pointing excitedly & mouthing "he's right there!!!".  

I threw Jeff my video camera, grabbed my shooting stick, and crawled up to the edge.  Sure enough, he was standing with a cow at the bottom of the draw.  The rest, as they say, is history... 1 shot from the .300 Ultra Mag at about 150 yards.  I couldn't believe it... I had just killed an elk... and he was HUGE!  

I don't feel like my words have done this hunt justice.  Once again - I feel very fortunate, not only to have drawn a "once in a lifetime tag", but also to have killed an awesome bull!   Statistically it is possible for me to draw this tag again - not likely, but possible.  For now I'll be content to eat my 397lbs of elk meat fresh from the processor & relish the memories of my "once in a lifetime" experience! 

   

Dear Elk Hunter... (Part 2)

After I spent many hours on the phone during the Summer, a friend of a friend called in a favor & I finally found myself speaking to one of the National Directors for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.  He in turn put me in contact with one of Kentucky's Wildlife Commissioners who coincidentally just happened to be the man responsible for getting the Elk Restoration Project started.  This gentleman was gracious enough to share his knowledge about the upcoming hunt as well as the KY elk herd in general.  He went out of his way to answer all of my questions and then to top it all off, he even set me up with a local guide!  This just proves once again that Outdoorsmen & women are just good people!

From the day I drew the tag, my buddy Jeff had volunteered to go on the hunt with me.  He has elk hunted several times before so he knew what to expect & offered to help scout, glass, pack-out meat, or whatever else was needed - and he told everyone he was gonna keep me from shooting a small bull by putting my shells in his pocket & only giving me one when we found a big enough bull :)).  Seriously though, I think he knew what a special deal it was for me to have drawn that tag & just wanted to be there to share the experience as a friend.  It did mean a lot to have him along plus it helped to have him there to keep me calm during some of the  more intense moments!

Fast forward to Sept. 30th  - me & Jeff were in the Dodge headed to Hazard, Kentucky.  We got into Hazard late Thursday night & then met our guide early Friday morning to do a little scouting.  For the most part, the elk reside on reclaimed coal strip mines.  After the coal supply is depleted, the coal companies come back in & "reclaim" the land - filling the mines back in & replanting native vegetation. These areas are beautiful & make perfect wildlife habitat.  The terrain reminds me a lot of some Western States.

 

 

 

The first morning the guides took us to a spot where they had been seeing some small bulls every day.  Of course it's hunting so you never know what might show up, but I really think they knew we wouldn't be hunting this spot & just wanted to show us some elk.  Sure enough, I spotted my first KY elk shortly after sunrise - 3 small "raghorn" bulls.  Pretty exciting, but not exactly what we came for!

After lunch & a short nap, Jeff, I, & our guide Chris all loaded up on Chris' Polaris Ranger & headed up the mountain to another area where they had been seeing elk pretty regularly.  This area was a lot more open than where we had been that morning, again it reminded me a lot of out West.  We drove to the top of a rise & just as soon as we turned the Ranger off, we heard it...  A BUGLE... CLOSE!  We all pointed out binocs in that direction & quickly spotted a herd of elk coming out of the timber.

After making out 1 definite shooter 6x7, a wide 5x5, & several smaller bulls & cows, we got back on the ranger to get a little closer.

As we were watching the main herd, ANOTHER 6x7 topped the hill to our left!

We followed the herd & watched from a distance until dark.  To say that I was a little excited is an understatement!  Needless to say I didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night!  



 

Dear Elk Hunter... (Part 1)

An elk hunt has been on my long range "list" for several years now.  Seriously, what hunter hasn't had a dream about chasing these 800 lb beasts through the snow-capped Rocky Mountains?  I actually had a Colorado pack-in elk hunt tentatively planned for 2001, but that was before we found out about the little miracle named Elizabeth that would be joining our family in June of that year.  Since then, an elk hunt has always been one of those "maybe in a few years" kind of thing for me.

However, there are two elk tags that I have been applying for the last couple of years.  One is in my home State of Tennessee.  Tennessee reintroduced 201 Elk over a period of 8 years, beginning in the late 1990s.  When the heard had grown to just over 300 head, plans were made for the first TN elk season in over 150 years.  5 permits were issued for 2009 & again for 2010.  Sure it's a long shot, but it's free for a resident Sportsman's license holder to apply & you just never know...

Another elk tag I have put in for since 2009 is my neighboring State of Kentucky.  Like TN, KY started reintroducing elk in the late 1990s.  They released over 1500 elk at 8 different sites.  The KY herd has thrived - reaching the target population of 7400 11 years ahead of schedule.  For 2010, 800 permits would be issued - 600 cow, 125 antlered bull, and 75 spike.  Again a long shot, but a little better odds of drawing than TN.

I had applied for both tags sometime in April & then quickly forgotten about them.  I think it was the week after we had gotten back from South Dakota when my buddy Tim stopped by my office & asked "KY elk results are out - have you checked yours?".  Well I hadn't, but I quickly got on their web-site & entered my info.  It took a moment for the words to register with me - "Congratulations..... successful..."  I actually think Tim was more excited than I was - I think stunned would have better described me than excited!  Of course I made a few phone calls to share my good news, but honestly it really didn't sink in until I got the official letter in the mail:

Not only was I getting to hunt elk - in Kentucky - I drew a bull tag - for the first season!!!  The more research I did, the more I realized what a big deal it was.  Somewhere around 50,000 people had applied for this coveted tag & I had 1 in my hands!  EVERYONE I talked to (guides, wildlife officials, hunters, etc.) told me exactly the same thing - "you are going to kill a BIG bull".  Yep, it was starting to sink in & I was starting to really get excited!

Crawling back....

Do you ever have anything that you just don't feel like doing, so you put it off?  It's always there in the back of your mind, but you keep making excuses to keep putting it off.  Then pretty soon, the fact that you've put it off for so long becomes yet another reason to put it off.  I'm out of practice... I don't know where to start... It's been too long... Ok, I know I'm rambling.  I said all that to say this - I just haven't felt much like blogging since returning from the Slam.  That trip was so physically & emotionally draining I just had a hard time finding the energy to do much of anything hunting related.  But now, some 6 months later, I am really missing it.  I have always said that the best part about hunting is the memories made & there is no better way to remember than to tell the story.  And much to my surprise, I had 3 or 4 people mention last week alone that they miss reading my blog - go figure!!  So here I am, crawling back to my faithful few readers, promising to do better.  My goal is to do a post a day this week to try to get caught back up - we'll see how that goes, but for now we'll start here...

 

The Grand Slam Re-cap

I had dreamed about killing a Grand Slam (1 of each of the 4 wild turkey species found in the Continental US) pretty much since I started turkey hunting.  It was always one of mythical "man I'd love to do that some day" type of boyhood dreams spawned from reading "Peterson's Hunting" magazine many years ago.  Fast forward to Spring 2009 when a cancelled bear hunt somehow led to Craig & I launching a plan to not only try to kill a Grand Slam, but to try to do it in one year!  

We started in a gator-infested, Florida swamp in mid-March.  I had never been so nervous about a hunt before.  Knowing that the whole season's plans rested on 2 1/2 days in Ocala, Florida was quite nerve-racking.  Luckily after we got there & settled in to doing what we do best, everything fell into place.  2 Osceolas down in a day & a half of HARD hunting.  It was turkey hunting so we enjoyed it, but I'll sum up my opinion of the Osceola experience by repeating what I told one of my buddies after we got back - "the only reason to turkey hunt in that God forsaken swamp is because you can't kill an Osceola anywhere else - I'm just glad I got mine so I don't have to go back!"

Back home to Tennessee where Craig & I both quickly filled tags to check off the second species of our Quest.  Our Kansas & South Dakota hunts weren't scheduled until the very end of April / first part of May, so we had almost an entire month to hunt at home.  While we had decided not to take any pay hunters this year, we both tagged out fairly easily plus called for & filmed a number of kills for friends & family members.  It was an unbelievably good season at home - one that will be hard to duplicate, but it sure will be fun trying!  

Kansas... my beloved Kansas - no place on Earth I'd rather turkey hunt!  Our Annual trip to hunt with my buddy Todd was a couple of weeks late this year.  We had to schedule it that way in order to make it work out with our South Dakota hunt.  I was a little concerned about going that late, but it all worked out.  Craig & I both killed on our first full day of hunting to mark # 3 off the list.  After that, we just settled in & had a blast chasing those Rios.  We flubbed a few more opportunities & then I actually killed my best bird ever (any species) on the last morning.  Another great Kansas hunt spent with great friends!

On to South Dakota.  I'll spend a little more time here since it pretty much culminated the whole experience.  We had been watching the weather forecast pretty close since leaving for Kansas.  It started out looking bad & then progressively got worse.  We were facing rain, snow, 40 - 50mph sustained winds with a warning for 80mph gusts one night.  G...r...e...a...t... - the absolute worse kind of weather possible for turkey hunting.  I was concerned worried scared that our whole season was going to be for naught.  All of our planning, time, & effort put into this Quest would be negated if this awful weather kept us from killing a Merriam's.  I just had a really bad feeling - & when it comes to hunting my "feelings" are usually right.   We took out time & spent a day & a half getting to South Dakota from Kansas.  We arrived in camp just after lunch so we'd be able to get out & hunt that afternoon.  The wind was just as bad as fore-casted.  When our host sat us down for a pre-game pep talk that afternoon, he kept saying over & over how bad the weather was & how tough the hunting was going to be.  Obviously he was concerned so that just added to my worry.  I can remember almost feeling physically ill that afternoon as we were getting ready to hunt - I just kept thinking about how far we'd come & how hard we'd worked for this Slam to not be able to finish it.  The Outfitter dropped us off about 3 that afternoon.  The country we were hunting was wide open prairie with wooded creek bottoms.  He let us out at an old farm house & made arrangements to pick us up about 2 miles down the creek.  We would slowly work our way down the creek , glassing & calling as we went.  We had literally been there less than 30 minutes when we looked up & saw 2 big Merriam's toms followed by 7 or 8 jakes coming across a pasture 300 - 400 yards away.  After pinching ourselves to make sure it was true, we scrambled to get a decoy out & get set up.  We had 0 cover - we were basically sitting against a big cottonwood in the middle of a clearing.  We weren't able to get the decoy out as far into the open as we'd have liked because we were afraid of being seen.  So we sat down, hoping for the best & started screaming on our calls - seriously, the wind was so bad I was blowing so hard on my mouth call I don't even think it sounded like a turkey.  But apparently the birds were able to hear enough that they turned & started working their way to us.  Just about the time I thought "this can't be happening", the 2 toms spotted our decoy & started running toward us!  THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!  Sure enough, they ran directly to us!  I whispered for Craig to take the bird in front  - 1... 2... BOOM!  Both birds dropped without even so much as a flop!  I can still see those snow white tail fans blowing in the winds as Craig & I sat there in stunned silence.  I also remember sitting there against that cottonwood with tears rolling down my cheeks as I called Brandi & screamed "WE DID IT!"  That feeling... the relief & elation when a life-long goal, months of planning, weeks of hard work & worry, a 2000 mile journey with a friend, all culminating in an instant... that ladies & gentlemen is why we hunt...