I am planning on hunting the buck in the previous picture later on in the year. It will look nice with the rack i already have from Muzzle lader season. We seen several bucks on the trail cam but none that is the size of that one. It is very close to what I already have. Here is a picture of the one I have already taken.

We set up trail cams to see what we could find for late bow season. Here is a video.

Last Saturday was my first day of Rabbit hunting. I had my old dog, and a good friend with me. The three of us hunted for a while and then got sidetracked by some ducks. When they got close enough we unloaded on them. Although we were not well equiped for ducks we still managed to take three of them. They ended up being mallards. Two were males and one was a female. Here is a picture.

Now that Modern gun season is over, its time to move on to another species to hunt. Rabbit is my animal of choice after deer season. Rabbits are a fun animal to hunt. They are a smaller fast moving animal. We hunt with dogs which is an experience in itself. It is fun to just listen to the dogs run. The only downfall i have with rabbit hunting is wasting more shells. I have already missed more times rabbit hunting this year than i have missed deer in my while life. This is part of it thought, and why its called hunting and not killing.

One of my favorite things about deer is being able to eat it. There are so many ways to cook deer. You can fry it, bake it, grill it, and smoke it just to name a few. Deer is relatively cheap to acquire. This is really nice since I'm in college and don'd have a great amount of cash flow. Meat is expensive if you was to buy it at a store, not to mention I prefer wild meat over any store bought meat.

Sometimes its not all about killing the animal that makes a hunt exciting. Me being able to watch wildlife in their natural environment is pretty amazing. One thing I noticed about the deer this year is the population. I seen more deer this year than in any other years past. This is good for me because it will give me something to do for the rest of my life. An increase in deer population is not, however, the best thing for the everyday commuter. With more deer in the woods it means more deer on the roads as well. Deer are a big factor with car accidents in the state of Kenutcky. More and more wrecks are occuring every year.

The rut was in full swing on opening weekend. The rut is when bucks chase does looking to breed. While sitting in the stand I seen several small bucks chasing does. I was hoping to catch a bigger buck slip up and make the mistake of walking out but it never happened. But one good thing about letting all of those smaller bucks walk is knowing that they will be there next year, and hopefully bigger.

November 14 is when modern gun season finally came in. I of course was in the woods on this day, accompanied by my girl friend. We seen a few deer and had the oppertunity for my girl friend to harvest one. This was her first of hopefully many more deer to come. I have found that it is more exciting for me to hunt with someone who has never killed a deer and watch them kill one, than me killing one myself.

With the winter setting in the leaves are almost gone. This is convenient for the hunter. With the leaves off the woods become more clear for me. Thus allowing me to see farther and notice game quicker. The leaves being off of the trees means they are on the ground. This is another tool I can use to pick up on game. If the leaves are dry I can hear the animals coming. Being able to hear and see better allows me to notice the animals before they notice me.

early muzzle loading season came in during October. It was a fairly productive hunting weekend. i hunted all day Saturday and Sunday morning. Saturday was the most productive as far as number count. i seen approximately 20 deer but no big bucks. I was able to harvest a doe saturday afternoon. Sunday morning was a cold wintery morning. I only encountered one deer, but it was worth it. It was a decent 8-pointer in which i had the oppertunity to take.

the weather is dropping off colder now and deer are starting to be more active. this is fortunate for hunters like myself because season is soon approaching. Hunting is so much a big part of my life that i often refer to the seasons as to which hunting season is in, instead of winter, fall, spring and so on. opening day of deer season is like Christmas morning for me. Its the best thing that i look forward to throught the year.

September 11, 7:00 am, sitting in the blind, nothing in sight. Then all at once, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a turkey no more than 25 yards, and turkey season is in. I draw back, put the pin on it, then released the string. Whack the arrow hit a tree behind it. Not only did I miss once, but it happened twice. It was an ultimate failure. A 25 yard shot should have been nothing.
I forgot how important getting gear ready and practicing was, even though i had just talked about it in a previous blog. Had i prepared my gear and practiced, my odds on hitting my target would have increased. This goes to show what happens when you don't prepare yourself. So before you hit the woods, remember to hit the practice field.

Practice

In a way you could to consider this to be like a sport. Just as you do in any sport, you do the same with hunting. You practice for hunting just like you do in sports. The most important part in sports and hunting is practice. I know the phrase "practice makes perfect" often seems over used, but it is one of the best phrases to go by. Basketball skills are only learned by doing, as is hunting skills. Shooting is a very important part of either of the two. The only way to shoot better is to practice. This all ties in with the previous blog of preparing for the upcoming hunting seasons. I have come to realize if you haven't shot for a while you can be a little rusty if you know what I mean.

As the days grow closer to September, I prepare for the up and coming dove season. This is an annual thing for me. There are so many things to do to make the season as good as I can possibly get it. The sunflowers have to be bush hogged, guns have to be cleaned, there are shells to be bought, and accessories to be gotten out. All of these are important for the outcome of the hunt.

wildlife

A nice 10 point buck. Here's a video to accompany.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jceEctyatLo