2013 New Jersey Muzzle Loader Deer Camp Report

Made the trip down to New Jersey for our annual Muzzle Loader deer camp at Mohican Outdoor center in the Delaware Water Gap.  After missing last years camp, I was excited to be back and this year I brought my daughter.  Yup, I broke the no girls in deer camp rule and I am proud of it.  My daughter and I were the only ones from Connecticut this year and My brother Steve couldn't make it but the rest of the characters where all present including my dad.

Sunday morning found us delaying our departure due to icy roads in our area of Connecticut but we were on the road by 9am.  Made the stop at Stokes Forest Sport Shop to get my daughter her NJ licenses.  This used to be a tradition for our trip, but since they went to the online purchases we only have to stop for first time licenses or when someone forgot to do it online.  As tradition holds, there was a line of other hunters doing the same thing.  We left the sport shop and headed down in to the Gap but made a quick stop fore a warm delicious Taylor Ham, cheese and Egg sandwich.  We can't get Taylor Ham here in CT, so I always take the opportunity to get some when available.  We arrived at the Mohican Outdoor Center where the Blueberry Hill cabin becomes our home base for deer camp.  The cabin sleeps 16, has heat, fireplace, 3 bathrooms with two showers, a full kitchen and no TV or phone or even phone service!  Sure beats when we used to stay in hotel rooms

Once we said hello to everyone, my dad, bill, my daughter and myself decided to do a quick scouting trip to check out the areas we were thinking about hunting in the morning.  We started down a short section of the Appalachian trail that connected to the Copper Mine trail and continued down to kaiser trail and then cut back through the woods to our starting point.  We didn't bump any deer but we did see plenty of fresh sign and some really good buck sign.  With our plans confirmed we headed back to the cabin to unpack and settle in for our first evening.  Raymond was busy manning the smoker as he was smoking some pork ribs which would be the main dish for dinner that night and they were delicious!

We got an early start on Monday morning and were headed down the trail just after 5am and there were not to many other hunters around which is not a good sign.  The woods are big and the hiding spots for deer many so you need hunters in the woods to help move them around a bit.  As legal shooting light approached I always sit in anticipation of the first shots and with Pennsylvania being just across the river and Monday being their firearms opener as well it didn't take long to hear the first shots of the season.   It was a pretty quiet morning with the sound of distance shots breaking the silence every so often, but none that suggested the shots were close or from any of our 11 man crew which was spread out over 8 miles.  About 8am we heard a close shot coming from the direction of where Bill and his son Eric had setup and withing a minute or two of the shot the radio cracked and it was Bill letting us know he just dropped a deer.  That definitely got the attention of my daughter he she was scanning the woods hoping to see one for herself.   About 9:30 my daughter was ready for a little walk to warm up and we headed off our perch and to the trail to head down to my dad and check in with him and then we heard another shot which sounded like it came from where Billy and Bob where setup just off the top of the mountain on the river side.  It wasn't long before the radio went off and we confirmed that Billy shot a nice doe. We made it over to my dad and he had seen one nice deer to far off and we looked the area over and decided to build a hide for my daughter and I to sit on Tuesday.  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and we headed back to camp a little before the end of legal shooting.

We spent some time getting dinner ready, while everyone cycled through the showers and participated in many discussions about what everyone saw and gave thoughts on their plans for Tuesday.  Plenty of laughs to be had over dinner as well and then it was time to cleanup, sit back and watch Jeremiah Johnson on the computer before heading to the sack for a good nights rest.

Tuesday found us once again heading down the Coppermine Trail and into our blinds well before legal light.  My dad had a spike sneak into him early and it headed our way but stayed low and we never did see it.  We had two come by our setup but too far for a shot and they didn't stick around long.  About 7:30 I get a text message and it was from Raymond who had just shot a 8 pointer about 5 miles down river from us.  Turns out Raymond's deer would be the biggest buck and he would win the big buck pin and have bragging rights for the year!   Billy missed twice that morning as well and young James also had a swing and a miss.  My daughter and had had another encounter with 4 more deer in the brush but never did get a shot at them.  We poked around the woods until about noon and then headed back to the cabin to get packed up and see what everyone wanted to do.

The Muzzle Loader season in the zone we hunt is a 15 day season, but the days are spread over a full month so we only had Monday and Tuesday to hunt.  The other 13 days would occur after the 6 day firearm season ended.  Kaleigh was tired and ready for a nap, so we decided to pack it up and head back to Connecticut which allowed me to beat all the dang traffic.  No deer for us, but we will get back down for another hunt or two and hopefully get lucky.

So final count was 3 deer taken and 3 misses which makes for plenty of ribbing and a little bragging.  as always time spent with family and friends is what really matters at our camp so it was a success for sure.

2013 Connecticut Goose and Deer Openers - Recap

What can possibly be better then opening day?  Well how about two opening days just a day apart!  That's right last week on Thursday was the opener  for the second split of goose season here in Connecticut and Wednesday was out Firearms Deer opener.  It was definitely a busy week and our crew did well for the most part filling the freezer with deer, geese and ducks.

I couldn't make the goose opener on Tuesday but the boys had a full blind and had a 6 man limit on the ground by 7am and it included one banded bird from Labrador Canada.

Wednesday found our crew out in the woods chasing deer.  My son and I hunted state land and he let 3 does walk looking for a buck.  Most of the shooting we heard occurred before 8:30am.   Bubba shot a nice little spike buck on Private land and Busch Pilot took a doe.

Thursday found me in the office and my son in school while the boys hit the goose blind with a few new faces where they once again ended the morning with a limit of geese and 4 banded birds from Labrador Canada.

Friday it rained hard and once again I was in the office - I have 4 days vacation coming up so I couldn't take any more time off, while Bubba and Busch Pilot fought the wind and rain and chased ducks and geese.

Saturday my son, daughter and I were back out on state land chasing deer.  For the first Saturday of the season it was really quiet.  Too quiet.  It could have had something to do with the high winds which were blowing a consistent 20mph and gusting damn near 40.  We heard a few shots way off in the distance early and that was about it.  Around 9am, we were cold and needed a walk so off we went.  We were working around the thickets making a big loop around and through them when my son hit the ground and whispered deer.  I had never seen them or heard them until I caught a deer butt on top of a knoll.  My son said they were in the thick brush about 30 yards from us, and I never even saw them.  My daughter said one was a buck, so I took out the doe in a can call and played soem sweet music.  Sure enough I caught some movement through the brush and could see deer legs coming our way.  Still couldn't see the deer though but knew it had to be a buck.  No one could see it in the thick brush, but I could catch his legs as I was laying flat on the ground.  So I hit the can some more and saw those legs move closer to us.  I told my daughter that if she has a shot to take it, but she still couldn't see him and the deer was less then 25 yards away.  My son was about 10 feet to our right and he couldn't see him either.  He wanted my daughter to shoot but gave him the okay if he had a shot.  It seemed like 20 minutes but it was only about 2 before I saw the legs turn to my right and I told Brendan to get on him.  My daughter and I still had lots of brush in our way and could only see parts of the deer but he must have stepped into an opening because I heard my son bleat at him, the deer stopped and the Remington 11-87 barked.  My daughter excitedly said, holy crap I just saw you shoot him in the shoulder through my scope.  We walked over to where the deer was and had great blood so my daughter and son took up the lead and fought through the thicket to find a nice little spike buck piled up less then 30 yards away.

Bubba and Busch Pilot hit the goose blind Saturday morning with the kids and limited out once again.  No jewelry though.

Sunday we spent the day processing deer and making all kinds of tasty venison treats like Sausage, bolonga and hot dogs.  It was a busy week with plenty of happy hunters and delicious food in our freezer from natures Pantry.

Hope everyone is having a safe and successful hunting season and we wish everyone a very Happy  Thanksgiving!

Connecticut Moose Sighting

The little Northeast Connecticut town of Stafford Springs that I live in is the third largest land area town in Connecticut with a population of just over 11,000 people and a wide variety of forested land and one that usually isn't mentioned in the same sentence as a moose, but lately it has. 

Photo published on WFSB.COM

 
We have had a few moose sightings over the past few years as reported in the July/August issue of Connecticut Wildlife Magazine, but recently we just had another.  This past Wednesday morning just a few hundred yards down the road from where I live a large moose was spotted out in the open farm field shared by some cows.  Of course, I drive the other direction to work and missed out on this wonderful sight and I was not happy about it.

Back in late September  while doing some bowhunting the boys and I came across a few different piles of old moose scat and we figured it was left by the moose that was reported back in May, but actually it may have been left by one of the moose being reported to be around in town this fall.  We had talked about how cool it would to see a moose here in our little neck of the woods and at that time little did we know that we would actually see one in this area.

Moose scat we found in late September

This past Friday we had rain and wind in the am so when it stopped that afternoon the boys decided to take advantage of the damp and quiet forest floor and do a little ins season scouting.  They headed out to the same little section of sate forest land near our house that just happens to be up the road from where were the recent moose sighting occured.  As they were nosing around along the edge of  a swamp they came across a small tree that had what looked like an extremely large deer rub.  It was over 6 foot high and there was no way a deer did this, so they decided it was made by a moose and it most certainly would look so.  They got talking a bit about what they would do if they saw a moose and not 40 yards later my son Brendan spotted something large and black under some dark thick pines and thought it was a bear, but it turned out to be the same cow moose spotted on Wednesday.  They watched her a bit, moved around to get a better look and she must have noticed them because she turned towards them, made some noises and started moving their way.  Obviously they were a little concerned and put a little distance between them and the moose but watched her for a bit before continuing off on their walk about.

Brandon and Brendan with their find

When they arrived home and showed me the picture of the rub and then told me the story about the moose I was so wound up I wanted to jump out of my skin oh and just a little jealous.  I have seen moose in the wild, but never one in my home state.   Well Saturday morning we headed out to the same section of state forest for some bow hunting.  Brandon got setup in one of our ground blinds, not far from where they saw the moose while my son Brendan setup along a swamp and I went on a scouting mission.  It was a great morning as well all saw deer and Brendan almost got a shot at a nice doe and we had considered it a win for sure.  Little did we know it would get even better.

I met up with my son Brendan and we continued my walk about over the back part of the property so we could check for some newer deer sign and as we started off the hill and down into some thick brush we heard the sound of branches cracking.  at first we thought we jumped a deer, but the noise was way to loud and a whole lot slower.  We stopped dead and listened. Once again we could hear loud crunching and branches breaking and then we heard something that sounded like the sounds I heard a moose make and Brendan confirmed it was the same noise the moose made the day before.  We both thought there was no way in heck we were going to see this moose two days in a row.  Well we didn't want to push her around so we sat and watched and listened, but the noise went off the hill and away from us in a very slow and methodical manner without a sighting.  I was excited and a little disappointed but I was sure it was the moose.  We continued on our way to pick up Brandon at his ground blind and never did see the moose but we did jump a deer that went running by Brandon at warp speed.  He was amazed at how fast and how far it was jumping and how quiet it was.

When we got to Brandon we told him what had just heard and he claimed he heard loud noises from that direction earlier as well.  I wanted the boys to take me to the rub they found so I could see it myself so off we went.  As we were working through the thick brush about 200 yards away from where we started we jumped something and my son whispered MOOSE!  Sure enough I caught a glimpse of her through the brush.  I quickly pulled out my video camera and waited to see here again.  It was like she had disappeared and I kept wondering how the heck something that dark and large just blends in.  I decided to sneak up on the hill where she ran and I quickly found her tracks and took about 4 or 5 more steps and heard here moving through the brush but couldn't see her.  All of a sudden I heard loud crunching coming my way but I knew it was her and sure enough a nice whitetail doe came running my way and I was happy to have my camera rolling.  At one point she stopped and turned to look right at me before bounding off and running by the boys.

I didn't want to disturb the moose any more then we had already done, so we backed out of there and took another route to the rub.   I did get to see the rub and it definitely looks like a rub from a very large animal, but you can be the judge and comment on what you think it is.

I do hope Mrs. Moose sticks around so I can take her picture.  Gun season is a few weeks away and we will definitely see more hunting pressure in the woods here and that just might push her away.

November is always a magical time in the deer woods here in New England, but little did we know just how magical it would be for us and being able to share that with the boys makes it even more magical.

Another First - Weekend Recap

Spent the weekend in the woods with the boys again.  I truly enjoy hunting with my kids and hunters new to the sport as it allows me to see many firsts through their eyes which just streghtens my passion for the outdoors.  This weekend they were both  bow hunting!  Brandon has been practicing and very confident in his shooting so this was his first bow hunt ever.

Brandon and Brendan after a morning hunt

There was no problem getting the boys up and moving Saturday morning even if there were some light showers in the area.  Brendan offered up his blind for Brandon to use on his first bowhunt and considering Brendan had deer encounters during ever sit in this blind, Brandon was definitely excited.   As Brandon and I were sneaking into the ground blind I heard the all too familar sound of a deer snort which stopped me in my tracks.  I turned to look at Brandon and he had a concerned look on his face and wasn't sure what he just heard.  I explained to him that it was a deer snorting at us and he looked less nervous and more confused.  As we stood there I could hear deer moving in the brush just out past the ground blind and then it happened again. Brandon kind of giggled and said it sounded like a train whistle.  I never thought of that, but I guess it kind of does sound like a train whistle - okay not really - it sounds like a deer snort!  After the last snort we heard the deer crashign away so we once again attempted to be quiet and made the last 50 yards to the blind and got all tucked in for a sit.

With the rain still dripping from the wet leaves and trees it made hearing anything impossible so we spent the next 3 hours on high alert only to not see anything.  This wasn't a bad thing, as I spent that time coaching Brandon through and trying to teach him some simple things like marking his yardage, how to scan the woods, paying attention to the wind, etc.  I did also take the time to reminsce about the first time I hear a deer bleat and told Brandon I swore it was a sheep in the middle of the woods.

About 9:30 I headed over to where Brendan was setup and we took a little walk around the back part of the state land to get Brendan reoriented with that piece of state land.  We stopped by the swamp and the beavers have a done a bangup job with their damn making a really nice puddle duck spot and we most certainly saw some ducks in there which will make a nice early morning hunt before work.  The colors along the swamp were really starting to pop and the picture doesn't do it any justice sorry.

We found some fresh rubs and some good sign and an interesting living space made by something, not sure what though.  We never moved a deer but we did finally run into a couple of other hunters on the far back part of the state land and we chatted with them and shared a little information, not all of it though.

Brandon had to head out to work that afternoon so after watching our Penn State Nittany Lions lose to Indiana Brendan and I decided we needed a calming place so back out to the woods we went.  It was hot and buggy but it beat being home doing chores.  We didn't see a thing, but we did hear something that sounded like heavy breathing off in the distance, but it is really thick around there and we never did see anything.  I'm guessing it was a Squatch as there is no other reasonable explanation. 

All in all it was a nice day in the woods!

My Son's First Deer with a Bow and Arrow

My son Brendan has been hunting since he was 12 years old and was out tagging along on many hunts as early as age 5. He is not new to the hunting sports in any way shape or form, but at 22 he had another first this past weekend.  This past weekend Brendan took a nice young buck with a bow on state land from the ground non the less.  This was not his first deer taken or even his first buck, but it was his first deer taken with the bow.

We found 6 piles of old moose poop in this area

Brendan has had little time in the woods during the archery season since he made the varsity football team in his Sophomore year in high school.  Those 3 years of high school football left little time for chasing deer with the bow and even the gun during most football seasons.  After graduation he headed off to college which once again left little time for hunting.  Now he is in graduate school, but living at home and finding the time to get back out in the woods on a regular basis and it has paid off for him.  He shot a nice long beard this past spring and just last weekend he arrowed his first deer with a bow.

I will do my best to tell his story with the same excitement and passion that he does, but it is so much better to listen to him tell it in person.

We are fortunate to have a few nice pieces of state land within minutes of our house and I have hunted this land for over 15 years and know my way around pretty well and spent the late summer getting Brendan reacquainted with the area and offering up some suggestions on where to hunt.  With the storms we've had the past two falls, there are plenty of new deadfalls that offer some great little ground hides in some key travel areas and I had one such deadfall picked out since last year just for this occasion.  My only concern was how much hunting pressure we would see here especially with the new additiona of crossbows being legal for everyone during the archery season.  For the first 5 days of the season, I would drive around the state forest and check for hunters on my way to work, and Brendan would do the same in the late evening on his way home from school.  In those first 5 days we did NOT see a single vehicle or hunter in the spots we wanted to hunt.  So Friday night before the first Saturday of the season, I suggested we attempt to hunt the area we'd been watching, but warned Brendan that I expected to see other hunters in the area.  It had been a long and tough week as my mother-in-law was in the hospital recovering from bypass surgery and we were getting little sleep so we overslept on Saturday and didn't get out until after first light.  Not in my original plan and I thought for sure we'd lost our spot to other hunters.  When we arrived at the gate to park I was shocked to be the only vehicle there.

Brandon trying to figure out why we are not seeing any Squirrels.

We dropped Brendan off at his ground blind and then Brandon and I headed off to hunt some squirrels.  Brandon is still learning to shoot a bow and has his safety course and license, but needs a few more weeks to gain confidence in his shooting.  About 8:30 I got a call from Brendan saying he just had a really nice buck sneak in to his blind at just 15 yards away, but has he adjusted to get a shot he got snorted by another deer he never saw.   One thing I enjoy about hunting is you learn something new every outing and every encounter with an animal and this was one of those lessons for Brendan.  As is typical with many of us that have had these encounters they haunt our dreams on a regular basis and they sure did for Brendan.  He thought he blew his only shot for the season and the season was just 6 days old!  Lesson learned.

Brendan had to wait until the next Friday to get back out to the woods and as he was sneakign into his deadfall, he got snorted again.  He didn't see anything the rest of the morning, but he did take some time to mosey around and check out the sign and just as weeks past there was plenty of fresh sign so he snuck out and decided to wait until Saturday morning to hunt it again instead of hunting it that afternoon.

The arrow tells the story!

We had a similar game plan for this past Saturday, Brandon and I would squirrel hunt allowing me to spend time teaching Brandon about hunting, scouting, safety and getting around the woods while Brendan nestled into his dead fall again.  This time Brendan made some adjustment to where he was sitting and the cover around the deadfall based on what he learned the past two sits and he obviosulty learned well and made the right decisions.  About 8:29 he texted me to check in, I texted him back a few photos of some really nice rubs. A few minutes after that text, my phone rang and it was Brendan calling.  When I answered I immediately new by the sound in is voice that he had shot at a deer.  When I heard the words "I just shot a buck", I almost started to scream with joy, but realized we had work to do and didn't want him to get too excited just yet.  So I calmed him down and gave him some coaching and told him to sit tight, don't move and watch and listen for anything.

It didn't take Brandon and I long to arrive at Brendan's deadfall where we found him standing there with a grin from ear to ear.  I calmly approached and had him walk me through what had just happened.  Brendan had just put his phone back in his pocket, heard some crunching and looked up and could see a deer moving through the thick brush on a trail that would take this deer right by Brendan's hide.  The deer stepped out of the little hemlocks which had been blocking most of Brendan's view of the deer just long enough for Brendan to see antlers and then he went into that fast shot planning mode that we all have gone through.  He waited for the deer to step behind a tree, went to full draw and as the deer made two steps from behind the tree he bleated at it and as the deer stopped and the pin settled just above the deer's heart Brendan released an arrow.  He said he heard the thud and watched the deer take off tail down.  The deer jumped two deadfalls and after the second he heard a large crash but couldn't see anything or hear anything after.  I'm not going to lie, I was a little excited at that point and was struggling to sit tight for a bit more to give the deer a little more time, but he and I needed it to clam down and get ready for the tracking job at hand.

Blood at the shot

Blood almost two feet up the tree.

I had Brendan line me up where he thought the deer was when he shot and I found no blood or sign and my heart sank into my stomach.  I thought, no way.  So I had him rethink it and I played the deer and he walked me past the shot and off in the direction he saw it run.  still no sign.  I wasn't more then about 10 steps from where he said the deer was standing when he shot, so I spun around and headed in the direction the deer had come from and I found blood.  I had Brendan come to the blood and walk it back to see exactly where the deer was standing.  He was only off about 10 feet but just enough to not find sign where he first lined me up.  I then had him look for the arrow, which is a key part to determining what type of shot you got on the deer.  I noticed a very small drop of blood going away from the blood trail and then another.  So I had Brendan follow those tiny drops and it led him right to his arrow.  Those drops of blood had come off the arrow after it passed through the buck.  Only at that point was I confident that the last jump and crash of that deer was where we would find Brendan's deer, but why pass up a training and learning opportunity so I sat back and had Brendan and Brandon follow up the blood trail as I coached from the back of the line.  They tracked it over one small dead fall and right to a second.  I decided to walk around the deadfall to the right, but stopped after a couple of steps because I could see the buck laying there dead.  Brendan caught me stop quickly and said "You see him don't you?!" and I just nodded and he looked up and there it was. The nice little 7 pointer - we refuse to give him the 8th point - didn't go more then 50 yards from a double lung complete pass thru shot.   There was as sigh of relief and some high fives and more then a few hugs and back slaps, oh and a few pictures and then the work began.  Brendan filled his tag out, and we decided to drag it out of the area and field dress it away from his hunting area so we loaded the buck on the Dead Sled and strapped Brendan in and yelled MUSH!

That Dead Sled is nice to have for dragging.

Brendan dragged the buck out and once we reached a spot far enough from his hunting area we started a new lesson on field dressing a deer.  Brendan has a degree in Health Sciences and Rehabilitation Services and is in Graduate school pursing a Masters in Occupation Therapy so he took the opportunity to turn all "Mr. Anatomy" on us and held a show and tell session showing off all the different things he learned ins school as we worked through the process of dressing the deer.  I was very impressed with his knowledge and the fact that he didn't puke as it had been almost 6 or 7 years since he last shot and field dressed a deer.

Brendan's First Archery Deer!

I'm happy he had a successful hunt for many reasons and I was glad I was there to share it, but I am extremely proud to see how well he learned from all those previous hunting trips and of course from his schooling! His passion for the outdoors is evident and growing every day,   Having fresh venison in the freezer is just icing on the cake!

Being able to share my passion for the outdoors with my kids, family and friends is really what my blog is all about and I look forward to this weeks outing as fall turkey opens up and we will try to get Brandon his first bird.  That is if I can get both of them away from the bow for a day.

It doesn't get any better then this!

Crossbows for Everyone, and other New Regulations for Connecticut

This past week the CT Legislature finally passed the proposed set of hunting regulation changes after some fine tuning the wording.  This new regulations package brings some good and controversial changes to Connecticut. 

Changes include: legalizing crossbows for all archery hunters, expansion of youth hunter training opportunities, use of muzzleloaders as a lesser weapon, fluorescent orange exemption for coyote/fox hunters, adjustments to the crow season dates and establishing seasons, bag limits and other restrictions regarding the take of snapping turtles.

Crossbows not just for the injured anymore here in Connecticut.  Crossbows have been added as an approved hunting implement for everyone here in the Nutmeg State.  For some bowhunters, they believe this to be their worst nightmare come true as the woods will now be filled with "those once-a-year hacks with the antler stickers all over their trucks will be trampling our early season" or "FUDDS" as one poster on a forum I frequent put it.  A word of note - it's not YOUR or MY season, it's EVERYONE'S season!   I've hunted other states that allowed Crossbows to be used by anyone and I did not notice an over abundance of "FUDDS" personally, but I did notice a few veteran hunters return to the fall woods with their Crossbow, as well as some youngster join our ranks.  Isn't that we what really need - more kids, more women and the return of many of our veteran hunters?!  If crossbows help, then I say bring them on.  Me personally, I'm sticking to the vertical stick and string!

It will be interesting as people now scramble to get in on the fall archery season with their new crossbow, only to realize they need to have completed and passed a certified bowhunter education course!  It will be more interesting as they struggle to find available classes as most of us that are instructors will be spending our free time hunting, instead of teaching!  You can visit the CT DEEP wildlife website for a list of available hunter education courses here:  CT Hunter Education Courses

No matter what you use to hunt with, it is your responsibility to be comfortable, safe, knowledgeable and proficient with your equipment and we should expect no less from our new fellow bowhunters!

Another change which has stirred up controversy amongst fellow hunters is the extension of the youth training days.   The new regulations allow for 7 youth hunt days (Turkey and Deer) which is up from the 2 in previous years.  Now having had the pleasure of bringing many youths into the hunting sports, I personally believe these youth hunting / training days are the best addition we have seen in a long time and the increase in days is the next step to making them better!  Of course many are complainging how unfair it is to give the kids 7 days of hunting before anyone else, but let's be realistic for a minute.  Of those 7 continuous days (used to be 2 Saturdays only), how many hours is your typical youth going to be out hunting?  They are in school, the weather will have a say int heir time afield as will their other commitments to extra curricular activities.  I may be on the wrong end of this one again, but I'm all for this and I don't have any younger kids anymore!  We need more kids in our ranks and if this helps then let's do it!

I am excited about the ability to use my muzzle loader during the shotgun/rifle deer seasons now as well as the shortening of the October closed hunting season.  Overall I am happy with the recent regulation changes and appreciate the hard work the folks at the CT DEEP put into these changes.  Many hours talking to folks, both for and against, surveys, reviewing what other states have done and finding that balance between our days afield and population control.  Now all we need is Sunday hunting!

You can review all the new regulations here:  http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?A=2586&Q=514086

Now let's quit fighting with each other and get outside in the great outdoors!

Happy Hunting!

Muzzle Loader Camp 2011

What a difference a year makes.  Last year we had great cold and clear weather and a full meat tree, while this year we had warm weather for two days along with Rain and fog and a damn near empty meat tree. 

This is our annual after Thanksgiving Muzzle Loader hunt down in the Delaware Water Gap area of New Jersey and it is always greeted with great anticipation and excitement.  Much of this excitement and anticipation is the fact that we have almost 30 miles of state and federal land to hunt and with that much land to hunt you never know what is going to happen.  The trip starts out early on Sunday as members of our Connecticut crew pile into the trucks and head south to our camp which is a cabin at the Mohegan Outdoor Center where we meet up with friends and family from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. 

Once our gear is unloaded in our rooms, some guys will sit around telling stories, others tart preparing some snacks and dinner while the rest will usually take to the woods for a last minute scouting trip.  Once it gets dark, it is time for a great dinner and then time to prepare out packs and lunches for the next day's hunt.  Of course a little night cap is always in order to help fight through the restless night that we all face.

Wake up Monday was 4am and about 4:05am, someone heads out side to see what the weather is like and the report was not good.  It was already in the 50s and temps were expected to get to the mid 60s.  The first of the crew that are hunting off the mountain head out at 5am and the rest of us are out the door by 5:30am.  It was a short hike to my perch for the morning, same spot that i shot my 8 pointer last year.  I was all snuggled in and anxiously awaiting shooting light a good 25 minutes before it arrived.  As the sun started to rise I was already greeted with bugs buzzing around me.  This was not going to be good.  Pennsylvania has their deer season opener on the same day and this usually makes for plenty of shots heard through the morning, but this morning things were usually quiet.  I should have known then that this was going to be one of those trips.  Few deer were sighted that morning, of course none by me.  Chuck scored a nice 5 little 5 pointer and we joked about this being the big buck pin winner, little did we know it would end up to be not only the pin winner, but the only deer taken in two days.  Some of us met back at the cabin for lunch and after getting Chuck's deer to the check station and hung up on the meat pole, we headed off the mountain to meet up with the rest of the crew so we could make a push or two.  We setup for our long pond push which seldom lets us down, but it did on this day.  As one of our standers was walking in he jumped a lone doe and took a shoot and missed.  That would be the only deer seen on this drive.  By the end of this driver, most of use were soaked and picking thorns out of our clothes and body so with about an hour left many of us just head back to camp to get an early shower.  Chuck, James and Myself decided to butcher Chuck's buck and get it in a cooler as temps were not excepted to drop below the high 40s.  We had a good dinner, some more laughs and a night cap and then off to bed.

Tuesday morning's weather report was warm and damp.  According the to radar we had about 4 hours before it started raining so out the door we headed.  The rain started around 8:30am but it was light and mostly a mist, but the fog was heavy at times and visibility was down to 40 yards at times.  About 10:30 the chatter on the radio was to head back to the cabin because according to the radar, the skies were about to open up.  Well, some of us didn't make it back in time and we got soaked.  It looked like the rain was going to hold on through the majority of the afternoon so guys started to head home.  Busch Pilot and James decided to do a little walk about and ran into nothing but black bears.  We decided to pack it in and head back to CT around 3pm. 

We had one deer to show for the trip and only two shots taken in two days which is a far cry from our usual trips.  The weather didn't cooperate, most of the hunters that stayed through the mid day heat or rain, sat tight and so did the deer.  In terms of deer, camp was a letdown, but as always we had good food and lots of laughs with family and friends and that is truly what makes camp so special.

Beau's Buck - A Fitting Tribute for Man's Best Friend

My Beloved Beau

This is more than a posts about a successful deer hunt and more of a tribute to my 14 year old German Shorthair Pointer Beau (Zacharia's Brown Sugar).  Over the past few months Beau had been showing signs of his age and potential health issues.  He was having trouble with his hips and had a few episodes that mimicked seizures and we knew the day would come where we would have to make a tough decision involving our beloved dog.  The day my family dreaded  came this past week and Beau was put to rest in a very peaceful and loving manner.

Beau was our second GSP and our second hunting dog and had a tough job of replacing our previous GSP Zak. Beau did not ask for this challenge but he was the only pup that was accepted for the job by my daughter.  My Daughter Kaliegh was only 14 months old, while my son Brendan was 6 when we lost Zak and we began our mission to find a new hunting partner.  I had promised Brendan we would get a dog that looked exactly like Zak who was a solid liver with a small white patch on his chest but it was a promise I had no intention of breaking, but I did.  We made a trip to Quail Ridge Kennels which was in our home town to look at a littler of puppies and this litter had 4 solid liver pups.  All 10 puppies where in a large pen and we would take the liver pups out one at a time to visit with.  When the pups came up to my daughter she cried at every single one even if they just walked by her and of course my son loved everyone of them.  This was not going as I had planned.  As we continued to discuss each pup and look them over, one pup in the pen kept catching my eye.  This pup would just be sitting in the pen quiet and still just looking up at us at all the other puppies were going crazy jumping, yipping and knocking each other over.  I reached down and took this puppy out and put him on the floor and my son was first to object but I convinced him to be patient and watch the pup.  The puppy came over to all of us and when he went to my daughter, she didn't cry but instead smiled and put her hand out for the puppy.  We continued to watch this pup has he worked his way around the garage with his noise going like made and I couldn't figure out what he was looking for until he stopped, jumped up on his hind legs and sitting 3 feet above him was the puppies food bowl.  I was so impressed with his nose that I started to seriously consider this pup as an option to become our new family member.  Of course I had to convince my son that even though he didn't look exactly like Zak like I promised he could still become a great hunting partner and family member.  After some conversation and few tears, Brendan agreed that he was the one and we put a collar on him and said goodbye and told him we would be back in two weeks to pick him up.

Never far from a comfortable couch or bed

The day came to pick our new pup up, so the family piled into the van and headed up to the kennel to welcome our new friend into our family.  We got to the kennel, took care of the paper work and fought over who was going to carry our new pup to the van.  We had discussed names prior to this trip and continued as we made our way home in the van.  This pup was white with large liver colored spots that looked like marbles blending together and marbles was about to stick, when my son said how about BEAU.  We asked why Beau and he said it meant beautiful in French.  I wasn't sure and had to look it up and sure enough he was right.  We all agreed that he was beautiful and it fit my single syllable requirement and our new pup was officially named BEAU!  We continued our ride home and during that ride poor Beau got sick which almost caused Brendan to get sick.  We had figured he was just nervous and had probably eaten not long ago so we never gave it another thought.  Little did I know that his incredible nose and that ride home would define who Beau was for the past 14 years.

My Daughter and Son with Beau

Beau's nose proved I made the right decision as we began hunting him, but it also caused problems as he became the biggest trash hound I ever met.  He could sniff out the smallest piece of food and had the drive and determination to get it as well.  He learned to open up the garbage cans, shop in the bags from the store or sniff out chocolate in the kids Xmas stockings.  He loved treats of all kinds, that he could find a bag of horse treats in my neighbor's garage or smell the sweet scent of burgers cooking on the grill next door.  Beau would visit the neighbors and had them highly trained to take care of his request for treats and he was vocal about it as well.  As frustrating as this would be for me sometimes, the neighbors loved it and thought it was cute.

The sickness in the van on that ride home turned into a full blown desire for Beau to avoid riding in the car or truck at all costs.  Now this caused many a problems for me as it would usually take me 30 minuted to gather him up and get him in his travel kennel for a trip to the field.  Sure, it was funny at first especially when I would catch him, lift him up and try to put him in the kennel only to have him put those long legs of his up against the kennel making it impossible for one person to do.  This went on no matter if I used the kennel or let him ride on the seat.  All you had to do to get him in his outdoor kennel or in the house was to ask him if he wanted to go for a ride.  Normally after a hunt he was wore out and it was easier to get him back in the vehicle for the ride home.

Looks comfortable to me

Beau liked his comfort and he was strong willed and determined to get his way.  If that meant you had to sit on the floor while he laid his long lanky body across the couch, so be it.  Try to push him out of his spot was useless, even if he got up he was coming back to take you on in a battle of will which he always won.  Even just a few months ago, by son now 20 would be hanging off his bed while Beau commanded the majority of the space and covers.  Normally Beau would sleep on my bed every night where we would even share a pillow a time or two.  When it was time to get up, he would work his way around the rooms to find a warm body to curl up against and then when everyone was up and moving he would find even the smallest sliver of sunshine to lay in.


Last week Beau had another episode and even though I wasn't ready to let him go I knew it was time.  My wife was the rock here making me realize it and finding a way to do so that allowed Beau to be comfortable and peaceful.  Knowing that Beau always got worked up when in the car and at the vet, my wife did not want his last memories to have him in panic mode so she contacted Kristen Klie, DVM from Final journey LLC to inquire about her in home services.  We schedule an appointment for  a Friday afternoon giving everyone plenty of time to enjoy Beau and say goodbye.  My wife and I were with him to the end as he laid comfortably on the couch and in my wife's arms.  Beau was comfortable the entire time and it was the most peaceful experience I had ever witnessed.  Dr Klie made our tough and painful decision very respectful. compassionate and loving and I am thankful that we found her.

The last time I ever let my wife dress Beau in a costume

So where does the buck come into this story?  Well our firearms deer hunting season was underway and with everything going on I had zero ambition to be in the woods, I was in no mood to take an animals life knowing what I had to do and did.  I was emotionally drained and hadn't slept in days so Friday night I had planned to sleep in and skip the first Saturday of deer season.  But my well laid plans Saturday went the same way they did just over 14 years ago.  I threw them out the window and adjusted.  I was up as the first hint of sunrise started to peak out letting my lab Hannah out to do her business and when she was done we sat together on the couch and all I could think about was Beau.  I started to relive some of those hunting trips Beau and I had been on and I thought to myself that on a very cool crisp fall morning like it was this morning, Beau would want me to be in the place that brings me the most peace and that was the woods.  So I hurried about getting dressed and decided to hunt just down the street from my house where Beau had worked to put pheasant on the table.

I had to come to know every single inch of this small piece of state land over the past 16 years and I knew where most guys would be hunting and where the deer would be headed so I decided to slip in along the swamp and try to cut them off.  I was late to the woods as it was 15 minutes after sunrise, but found the forest floor very quiet allowing me to sneak down to the edge of the swamp and to slowly still hunt my way around it.  I had heard 3 shots on the far side of the swamp which was  definitely a sign of deer and  and that I made the right choice.  The cloud cover kept the sun hidden  but just before 8am it started to fight through the clouds providing that wonderful warmth that Beau loved so much.  As I stood against a tree enjoying that warmth I couldn't help but think about Beau and how much I missed him and hopped he was out in the woods enjoying the peaceful fall morning.

Beau's Buck - State Land 6 Pointer

I had realized at that moment that my wife had no idea where I was so I took out my phone and sent her a text message and as I reached to put my phone away and looked up, there was a deer coming my way at a nice clam pace.  I quickly knelt down and got my Remington 11-87 to the ready, the same gun used to shoot pheasants over Beau but this time I had the slug barrel on and my scope attached.  The deer continued to move closer and would eventually pass behind two large trees and stepping out into the opening for a clean 30 yard shot, or so I thought.  Once behind the trees, the deer disappeared and never stepped out.  I knew what was happening as the wind was swirling all over the place and that buck knew something was up.  I peaked over the gun to see his back end slowing backing up so I quickly shifted for a shot on the other side of the tree which offered little room for error thanks to the brush and smaller trees against the swamp.  The buck took two steps and turned to walk away the way he had just come as I settled the crosshairs on his chest and the Remington sent a Brenneke slug his way.  The slug connected and the buck dropped in his tracks.  Normally I would be so excited and grinning from ear to ear and sometimes even letting out a loud whoop, instead I calmly walked over to the buck, knelt down and as I rubbed his winter coat, I looked up and thanked Beau for such a wonderful gift.  The buck was a small 6 pointer and only weighed 107 pounds dressed, but he is by far my most memorable deer I ever harvested and will truly have a place in my heart and mind for ever.

I remember the day we brought you home and how you made the hurt go away. You brought so much laughter and love into our family and no matter how bad a day we had you were there to love and comfort us and make everything good again. We spent time chasing pheasants in the field and curled up together on the couch. We shared breakfast with each other as well as the same pillow some nights. 14 years makes for loads of memories and even though I was not ready to let you go, I could not stand to see you hurting. I am sure that you will find the fields full of birds , the bed as comfy as clouds and the treat bowl never ending. I love you Beau and miss you more then words can describe. I will never forget you.

Connecticut Youth Day Deer Hunt Success

I wish I was reporting on my daughter's deer hunting success but she is down in Florida spending some time with Mickey and friends and enjoying the warm weather.  I think 10 days without power was too much for my wife and daughter so they are soaking up the sun and fun while I hold down the fort.  Don't feel bad for me as I will heading down to NJ in a few weeks for our annual Muzzle loader camp - woods and cold over sun and sand.  I'll take it every time.

Connecticut offers many youth hunter training days where it allows licensed youth hunters to get a jump on their season and get a little hunting in without the crowds of the regular season.  All youth hunters are required to be licensed, which means passing a hunter education course and to be accompanied by a licensed adult.  Only the youth hunter is allowed to hunt while the adult is there to mentor and teach.  I am a huge fan of these youth training days and have been taking advantage of them with my kids and their friends for 8 season now and these days are by far the best thing for the future of hunting.  There are those that complain about them as not being fair to let the kids out before the rest of us and for them I say in my best Sargent Hulka (Stripes) voice - "Lighten up Francis!"

Tired, cold, and ready for some lunch.

Connecticut offers 2 youth deer hunt days on the 2 Saturdays before the start of gun season.  I was fortunate enough to take my daughter out on the first one.  We were still battling power outages from the storm Alfred but we got our gear together anyway and made the best of it.  I decided to hunt state land that day and thanks to the storm damage, I was unable to get to my first spot, so we turned the truck around and headed to a spot closer to home.  IT was a cold day and I didn't think we would last long be we made it until about 11:30.  We had plenty of fresh sign, especially around the tree tops that fell in the storm.  It was like a lunch line of track around them.  We also found a few fresh scrapes that could have been made overnight seeing we had a really bright moon that night.  Even though we didn't see any deer, we had some laughs and enjoyed ourselves.  My daughter was playing with an acorn and wanted to taste it and of course her trying to get it apart was worth a few laughs but when I told her she was a knuckle head and she turned to me with a wide grin with acorn between her fingers and said "No, I'm a nut!" I just lost it and knew it was time to go take a walk because if there was anything around us it was sure to run with all that laughter.


Bubba's son James aka Little Bubba, was also out hunting that morning and they too were met with a uneventful morning but that would change for Little Bubba during the second youth hunting day.  Bubba's youngest just turned 12 days prior to the second youth day and was finally able to hunt.  So Busch Pilot and Bubba took both James and Jared out for a morning hunt to a piece of private land we hunt.  James had a nice buck come bounding off the hill but when he tried to move into position the buck spooked and ran towards hos brother Jared.  The buck stayed low so Jared never got a look at it.  As Busch Pilot put it, "well at least we saved Jim from a taxidermy bill.".    That was the only deer around that morning.  On the way home they had seen many deer out feeding in the grass fields so Bubba decided that for the afternoon hunt they would hunt over a grass field on a different piece of property.

Little Bubba with his buck 2011 CT Youth Deer hunt

Jared decided that hunting once a day was enough for him so he stayed home and Bubba and James headed up the road for an evening hunt.  The blind of choice this evening consisted of sitting under a old flatbed truck.  Now don't laugh until you try it.  This flatbed has served purpose as a blind on many occasions very successfully I might add.  Well with about 30 minutes of light left James said he say a deer in the brush across the field and lost it.  about 15 minutes later it was out in in the open in a small field just off the big grass field.  Bubba wanted to get it on film so he hurried to get the video camera on and as soon as the camera was on and the buck in few he gave James the okay to shoot and before he could finish getting the words out of his mouth the 30-30 barked and the spike buck dropped in it's tracks.  The shot was on the video but it happens really fast.  My favorite line from the video was "your brother is not going to be happy!", but even if Jared was a little disappointed he was still happy and willing helped with the skinning later that night.   This was James' second buck and he shot his first last year during a youth hunt that you can read about HERE.

Here is a short video clip of Little Bubba's hunt.  Remember it happens quick.




The smiles on the kids faces make everything right in the world and with the sport of hunting.  There is something about taking a youngster out in the woods and sharing your knowledge and passion for our great sport of hunting.  I'd give up shooting myself if every day was youth day.

Tis the season to get out and share the Passion!

They Have The Passion Weekly - Whitetail Woods

I know it's still spring and everyone is chasing fish and turkeys but it's never to early to start thinking about this year's deer season, so this weeks Passion post features Rick from Whitetail Woods.

Rick's Muzzle Loader hunt to remember

Rick is a fellow Nutmegger who lives out my way and has a passion for those four legged critters and deer hunting.  If Rick isn't out hunting for deer, he is scouting for deer or preapring for the season.  He might be on the range or even on a stream chasing trout.  Rick has really taken a liking to blackpowder shooting and considers it "an important part of American history and tradition that should not be forgotten." and I have to agree with him.

Rick's replica of a 1860 Colt Army .44 revolver

Rick has been blogging since 2008 and always has great information related to shooting and blackpowder guns to share with his readers and when he is not sharing great information he might just be showing off his woodworking skills , some recipes or pictures from his trail cameras.

If you have an interest in shooting, blackpowder and deer hunting then stop on by Whitetail Woods and see what Rick has to offer.