Poaching is wrong and we all know it. So why do it? Why do some people do the wrong thing and know that they are doing the wrong thing in the beginning. It is usually someone that cant stand the fact that they just cant hunt in an ethical manner. If you are a trophy hunter and you harvest a 175 inch buck that makes the record books and on all top of this there is another buck on your property that will score 190 inches his tail is in some deep trouble. What I mean by this is that if you know of the bigger buck then the odds are someone else knows of him as well. Your odds may be one and a million at harvesting this monster but an unethical hunters odds are better if he knows where the buck is hanging out at night.

Night time is not the only time that a buck gets shot at in an unethical manner. It also takes place on an abandon road side in the day light. Usually these old abandon home sites or road ways are where big bucks hang out, due to the fact no hunter hunts here. Or even the property only gets hunted once or twice a year. It could be a piece of property that a grandfather has put his hard work and money into fixing up for his beloved grand kids. Then he becomes the victim when some crazy idiot decides he is going to hunt this property without permission.

Remember that we as hunters are the ones that are the poachers. We have full 100% control to make the right decision on the ethically way to take a harvested animal that we may be after. We set examples to our children and they watch every move we make. When I was a 4H agent in the Crenshaw County, Alabama schools system under Auburn University I had the chance to teach and talk to kids about wildlife. We talked about how grown adults can be unethical at hunting or fishing and the animals that are at the top of the food chain. You would be very surprised at how many 4th through 6th graders I taught would say my daddy or my older brother shoots deer side the road or even at night. It happens and we as hunters control it.

Now for a bit of change in the way an animal gets harvested. Let us talk a bit about being at the top of the food chain. This in no way that it is unethical for another animal to chase down and kill its food. It is a way of life for these animals and it is their way of survival. Without them doing so they would not survive at any means. A bear heads down to the water to catch fish to have a meal. This puts them in at the top of the food chain and also puts them as an ethical hunter. Even though they cant read a sign that says no trespassing they are still the means of an ethical hunter.

This is their way of life and this is also our way of life. We can harvest animals such as bear, coyote, and bobcats during the right season. But we should still do it in an ethical manner. We can control most animals on our land. Rather it be the means of harvesting or trapping. So remember that the next time you are out on the road at night or even in the day light make the right decision before you pull the trigger. This article come to mind when I read a little passage on Facebook about a hunter watching this doe in the picture above. This doe was killed either by another hunter or a animal just looking for food just three weeks after this past years season ended. This hunter has watched this doe and gotten pictures of her and even a buck that had breed her. I hope he gets a chance at the buck in this next season to come. Maybe we can bring you the story of the buck the did the breeding to this doe.

So many people now are using  ATV and pull behind equipment to prepare a good seed bed for food plots. They are simple and easy with just a little time. This meaning just a little gas and not the huge cost of diesel fuel and wear and tear on very expensive farm equipment. The only way we here at Hello Hunting can allow you to know a lot more about this wonderful product is let you see the video on it. I hope you enjoy and think about your next buying item that is on your list of outdoor products to purchase.

The DR. Roto-Hog Roto Tiller gets the Hello Hunting Seal of Approvals.

 

Shannon Lee is not just you ordinary outdoors woman. Raising kids and keeping up with her beloved husband Travis Lee, she also keeps up with goats on their farm. Another good thing about Shannon is that she not only keeps up with her own kids but everyone else kids too in school. See she is a wonderful school teacher and enjoys her students. Maybe this years woman of the year for 2012 is none other than a teacher of the year for all of us here at Hello Hunting.

Shannon, It has been a real honor to get to know you and Travis!

Shannon is from Wing, AL and enjoys bass fishing with her husband and also enjoys time with her kids doing outdoor activities such as squirrel, deer, and turkey hunting. She is one of our writers and pro staff members here at Hello Hunting also. Rite before I started writing this article I sent her a message of Facebook letting her know that I had her a very big surprise. So Shannon, here is your surprise and I want to wish you a very happy Mothers day to come.

A mother like Shannon is a one in a million in my book. I hope that she will hang around for a long time on the pro staff here and keep us heading in the rite direction with my grammar on all my writing. She is truly a great friend and a great impression on the outdoors. I just wish we had more women like her to look up to. Congratulations on being named 2012 woman of the year here at Hello Hunting and keep up all your hard work and the rewards will be even greater!

Once you have found these dove fields the contain wheat, millet, corn, and even sorghum in some places. These fields will have ten to twenty hunters surrounding them sitting on a five gallon bucket waiting for the first bird to fly over to take a shot at. These birds are different than most other birds but are great to eat right off the grill. In fact I would like to share a recipe with you that I enjoy so much when it comes to dove.

Dove Recipe:

Mix beer, Italian dressing, melted butter, and salt together to make your marinade seasoning. Take bacon and wrap around the dove breast and use a tooth pick to hold bacon and breast together. Then you take the wrapped breast and soak them in the marinade seasoning for 1 hour. Heat up grill until it reaches about 375 degrees. Place all of marinated breast on the grill and cook until the bacon is done. Once your bacon is done pull from grill and serve.

Other small game hunting is fun for the family as well. Squirrel hunting can be fun with dogs or without. A simple 22 caliber rifle or 20 gauge shotgun should do the trick for harvesting these small creatures. Sitting once again on a 5 gallon bucket near a bunch of oak trees at the crack of day light is a sure chance of taking home some good squirrel meat. You start to see them as soon as it gets good and light and shoot until you don’t see anymore. Shaking vines that lead to nest in large trees is another way of pulling them out into movement. On the dogs behalf he may want to track them down and bark at a tree as the morning turns to noon. Even though squirrel hunting is done a bit different than rabbit it can still be fun.

Rabbit hunting on the other hand is usually done in a group of hunters of at least 5 or more. It also can bring fun to the whole family when the hunt is set up rite. Standing men and women along the edge of old abandon fields and road ways with the dogs on a good chase will bring some great excitement. Just make sure to shoot the rabbit and not the dog that is bound to be following him. So the next time you want some family fun during the off season of deer or turkey try these small game hunts and have fun and also remember to be safe.

Locating the bird that you choose to chase is where you will need to start. You may have two or three birds gobbling good at daybreak and eventually you will have to choose which one to try to work on that mornings hunt. One is located about 200 yards away in a pine plantation on the edge of a clearing.  Another is only 100 yards away in a water oak across a small branch with running water. The question you have to ask yourself is which one you think is going to commit to a good mornings conversation when you start to talk to him.

Let us start by thinking with the one closest to you. Even though he is across a branch it might be easy for you to cross and set up as close to him without spooking him. There are a few catches to this bird and one major problem is that there are eight hens roosted that are located between him and you. What do you do from this point? Do you sit up and get ready to make your calls to him before the hens fly down? You make this call?

Downside:

: You have to cross the branch.

: There are hens between you and him.

These are just two things that you have to look at that could affect the movement of the bird and you as the hunter. There could even be a log or a fallen tree the he may fly down by and you may never see him.

Upside:

: The bird is only 100 yards or so away. This means he is closer than bird number two.

: He can be playing right into your favor when he makes his way to the ground.

: The hens can be of use if you play your cards right and sit and wait him and them out.

Most times if he has roosted in that tree for a couple of days he is aware that the hens are there and more than likely he is headed straight for them as soon as he hits the ground. This bird can be easily harvested with a little patience ad time on your behalf.

Now let us get to the ups and downs of bird number two. He is located on the edge of a clearing in a pine plantation. He has no hens within 250 yards of him meaning that if he is after a certain set of hens he is going to have to battle the gobbler across the branch closes to you in the beginning.

  Downside:

   : He is further away and if you make the wrong move then you stand a chance of knocking him off the     roost to soon.

   : He has probably already been whipped by the first bird. So even if you have the jake decoy out when you get close to him me may just change his mind about the sweet hen sounds you try to deliver to him in the beginning.

    Upside:

    : He is alone and has no other birds around him.

    : If you can get close enough to the clearing then a hen decoy just may play in you favor to bring him in.

When you have a bird like this the odds can defiantly be in either yours or his favor. The odds of a loaner bird like him means he could also only be a two-year old or even a jake that has gotten lost from the group from the evening before. Set up as close as possible and watch for him to hit the ground in the clearing before making any sudden moves or calls to him. You also are the one to make the right call for bird number two.

Will a bird cross a creek to come to a flock of willing hens? That is up to him in other words. It is mother nature that take the effect on wild turkeys, especially an old gobbler. It is in the favor of the gobbler to fly down and stay put and just strut his stuff and have the hen come to him instead of him going to the hen. It is your job as the hunter to hunt for these birds and not just call to these birds. As I have said on many other occasions you are turkey hunting and not turkey calling when you play this game.

Turkey hunting in the south is totally different from in the west or in the north. Birds get call shy faster it seems and they know when to come and know when to stay and we as the hunter have to learn to play the game that they are ranked number one at before you ever start. So many have tried and so many have fallen at the game we call spring time turkey hunting. You never have the upper hand until the trophy is harvested and hanging from your shoulder as you head back to the camp. We win some and we lose some. In the game we cherish so much we tend to walk home empty-handed more times than with one hanging over our shoulders.

It is a hunt for the hunter to enjoy but it turns into the turkey being the one that comes out on top most of the time. We sometimes have to sit and wait for hours under a tree and act as if we are the hunted. So I leave you with this and you make your own call. Are you the hunter that is going to bag that old hung up gobbler that lays the whipping on you each year. Or are you going to be the hunter that brings him in for all to see ate the end of the hunt.

I have planted in the past corn fields as much as six acres and left the whole field standing except for just a small portion. Corn fields can draw deer in the early season but is more beneficial to deer in the late winter months. Deer take in the carbohydrates of the corn and add needed weight for the extreme cold months to come. Placing too much pressure on these fields will hurt you from seeing that big buck in the late season. The deer get to understand the hunters behavior and change their daily routs into night routs. This is how the old bucks that you may get on your trail camera get old. You may see them and think you have them mapped out and they change their moves on you in a heart beat.

If you are hunting small acreage the older bucks are more likely to stay if you put less pressure and watch your doe herd that you may have. I see no harm in harvesting a mature doe in the early season such as bow season. Allow them to walk when gun season comes in. Where the does are the bucks want be far behind when the rut kicks into full swing. I have learned this the hard way on my own and by watching others mess their hunting locations up as I have done in the past. My favorite stand is a shooting house that sits square dead in the middle of an old pasture field that once held cows. It is standing underneath and beside a large pine tree all alone. Forty yards out in front of the stand is six rows of seven-year old sawtooth oak, live oaks, and Chinese chestnut trees that are all bearing nuts this season.

The trees are planted every twenty feet apart so that they can be kept clean through the summer months and fertilized twice a year. Once in the spring and once again in the fall when the small food plots are planted around them. In between each row and all around these trees there is some sort of winter food source there for my deer. There are five rows all together that get planted. Each row has something different except the two outside rows. These rows are planted in Brassica plants Georgia collard. Each row between the trees is roughly about 75 yards long and 20 yards wide. Inside the Brassica plants you have crimson, arrow leaf, and yuchi clovers planted. The last row left is planted in chicory.

By planting the clover it also acts as a food source in the spring time for my turkeys. So I am killing two birds with one stone. When planting different types of plants for wildlife it gives them a choice to eat something over the other. On small properties the more you plant the better the odds move into your favor. Even though your neighbor next door may have 200 to 300 acres more. You still have a chance at drawing some good deer onto your property and the odds increase into your favor. Do not ever give up on your dream of harvesting a great deer. You and I as outdoors-men stand the chance of taking a trophy in our own back yard just as much as the next hunter. We as hunters manage our money as we do our land and deer herd. What I mean by this, is if we are tight wads with what kind of deer we shoot then we are just as tight with our money. And I understand that in today’s economy everything sucks and we as citizens of the United States have to deal with it.

Alpha Mudlite Realtree® AP® Hunting Boots

• A boot made for comfort
• Scent control
• Lightweight
• 7.0 mm neoprene for cold to extreme cold weather
• brush tuff puncture resistant upper material for long term durability
• 100% waterproof

Venom Scent HD™ Realtree® APG HD® Snake Boots

• 360º Snake Guard Protection
• 100% Water Proof
• Scent-Free protection
• abrasion resistant toe cap
• comfort
• Side – Zip for easy on and off

These are just a few things that make these two sets of boots worth paying the money for. If my feet get cold in the dead winter then I am ready to head back to the house or camp. My feet do not sweat in these boots unlike some of the other hunting boots that I have had in the past. We all want comfort and it is here with LaCrosse. We all want 100% water proof barrier and it is also here. No more leaving the stand early because of the normal issues you may have with other style boots. Sit all day and never think of your feet getting cold or hurting from the long walk in. The days of buying boots for hunting are just about to become the end when you buy from LaCrosse Footwear.

I have used feeders for some time now on my hunting property in Alabama. The only down fall to supplemental feeding here in Alabama is that you have to have all feeder’s and feed up ten day’s before you head out to hunt. So this only allows me to feed from February 1st through March 1st then the feed has to come up and be gone for ten day’s before March 15th for opening day of Spring time turkey hunting. Then the feeder’s get placed back out on May 1st and will stay up until ten days before opening day of  bow season which starts here in Alabama in October of every year.

This is still not enough feeding time for my deer to feed like they should. They should be able to feed 365 day’s a year so they get the maximum fed protein that they need to grow big antler’s. This is where when I am not feeding I always try to make an attempt to have some kind of high protein food source out there for them. This is also where the food plots come into play and other type’s of crop food source that may be still left standing through turkey season. In most places there isn’t one strip of crop food left after January of each year.

I have found out by having a gravity fed feeder around during the months that there is no hunting will allow you to feed and feed correctly. Yes! trough style feeder’s work in this case also. By allowing a deer to feed when he get’s ready to feed will be a plus for your hunting property more than you realize. You do take the chance of having more deer feed at night but if you get in there and add the feed at scheduled times and stay out of the area as much as possible the deer will get use to feeding more in the day light hours.

This is where staying out of a place and leaving it as scent free as possible will pay off for you on opening day. I always wear gloves and scent free boots when taking time to go and place more feed into my feeder’s. This just helps me when the season starts. Even though bucks are into their summer time patterns and running together this will allow you to scout from a distance or check game camera’s only when necessarily. I check my game camera’s only when I go to add feed. This is like killing two birds with one stone.

My new choice of gravity fed feeder’s is the Buck Eye Feeder. Designer Steve Brown has brought a whole new meaning to feeding your wildlife. He has designed a feeder to allow wildlife to feed on a regular bases instead of allowing them to only feed at certain times. The Buck feeds, grows faster, and antlers get larger in twice the time.

Example:

If a deer eats 12 lbs of protein in one hour at a gravity feeder then it allows him to get his belly full. If he eats under a spin cast feeder he is not getting the whole 12 lbs that he would normally eat due to other deer eating at the site with him. Less food means less protein in this matter! Dose this make sense? So by allowing a deer to feed at their own pace may mean better overall health and larger antler development on them bucks that you seek. Remember that a buck need to have at least a 16% to 20% protein diet for 365 days a year and not just 4 to7 months of that diet to grow its fully developed set of antlers.

The Boone and Crockett club has placed high standards on being able to record a whitetail deer into their books. Even though there are record book bucks taken somewhere either in the U.S. or Canada each year. Pope & Young has also done the same. Safari Club International known as (SCI) has their on way of measuring trophy deer.  But do you really know what makes big antlers on deer. Is it the protein? How about the genetics of the deer? Can it be you have big deer on your property or you don’t have them? A lot of these same questions are asked each year and the same responses come out for the answers.

I have been a member in the past of several different types of hunting clubs. Some having more restrictions than the others. One club says only eight point or better. Another says six point outside the ears or better. But not one single club that I have ever been in said the deer has to be four or five years old before you can shoot it. Even though a daily protein level of 16% to 18% for a whitetail buck is needed 365 days a year it still is not enough. The genes of a buck also comes to mind when playing the antler growing game. But it too is still not enough.

A whitetail buck dose need all these or some of these things to grow but the one thing we all seem to leave out is their age. Now here is where the fun part comes into play. Say you are in this club that says you can only shoot an 8 point or better. You are hunting by yourself on a cool winter evening and a small 4.5 year old basket racked 9 point that want even score a thing walks out into the green field one hour before dark. You then study this 9 point a bit before you start to pull the trigger. Ten minutes later a 7 point walks out but is a 2.5 year old deer, that’s antlers would score in the 130′s. Which one would you shoot? Tempting isn’t it!

We should really think before we pull the trigger now days. That is if you want to grow big antlers. If the big antler thing isn’t your style then a older doe would be just fine for a little meat in the freezer. The doe harvesting should and can be a factor playing role in growing mature bucks. Too many does means less high quality food for the younger bucks. This also means that it might as well take five times longer to grow him compared to a buck that get’s high quality food year round somewhere else. Even though you do not have thousands of acres of land you can still manage and grow large antler deer on your property.

I have the chance each year to pay $16 and hunt 12,000 acres close too and around the Alabama River that holds plenty of big antler bucks. This land is in fact all public hunting ground and the hunting possibilities  here are as simple as buying your Alabama state licenses and a (WMA) wildlife management licenses. Even though that I also have 100 acres here and there that I also hunt the public land is still there for me to hunt when I may feel that I have put too much pressure on my own land. There are restrictions on the public land such as bow hunting only areas and only limited to certain two day hunts here and there for gun use.

But we all can take the rite measures if we make a plan and stick to it. To most of us sticking to the plan can sometimes be the hard part if we get to that point of thinking that is may be impossible to do where we hunt. Neighbors can also help with your program by trying it themselves. In fact they may already have a plan but may not be exactly what you may be searching for. So the best thing for you to do in this case is to stick to your plan and allow your neighbors to see with time at the large rack bucks that you harvest. Let them walk and watch them grow. Another good idea to comparing your property to your neighbors is to try and make your property the best place that a deer may want to spend his time during day and night time hours. So the next time you wish to grow a large rack deer remember just one thing. You are the one the make the deciding factor of pulling the trigger!

Good Luck!

Black is the original Stedi-Stock Camera, Range Finder, Spotting Scope or Video Camera Shoulder Brace. Shoulder Stabilizer that is ultra-light weight at only 6 ounces, durable and constructed of Hi-Strength Nylon complete with shoulder Strap. It gives the user STABILITY with MOBILITY and keeps your optical device right there for instant use. Take the blur out of your photos, get a bounce back at longer ranges with fewer clicks on your Range Finder, Carry your Spotting Scope with you in the field without a bulky cumbersome tripod, and take the BOUNCE out of your Videos. You can read more about the Stedi-Stock at the Stedi-Stock web site.

With the Stedi-Stock you will never ever have the trouble of shaky video or out of focused pictures anymore. This invention was created by Harold Hurst of Gordonville, Texas.  An avid hunter and outdoors-men of today’s society. People like Harold is what makes the Great outdoors what it is today and we would like to thank him for joining us here at Hello Hunting. When I first talk to him on the phone he had taught me so much about his invention. I was up for the Stedi-Stock Challenge from the get-go.

At the Stedi-Stock company they are here to help you with all your stabilizing needs when it comes to creating new memories. After all creating new outdoor memories is what life should be about. As I have said in the past so many TV Outdoor Shows use all kinds of of camera arms to mount their cameras to. But if they would just try the Stedi-Stock one time they would throw all others away.

Well once again we are giving something away for the Month of August just like we did in July. Donald K. Allen from Lumberton, North Carolina won a gift pack valued at over $50, that was sponsored by Rex Holmes Jr. and his Vapor Trail Scents company. Well now we have a whole other contest starting up and the rules are simply the same as last month.

The Rules

The rules are simple once again.

• Leave a comment on this post in the comment box below or any other post on the site between August 1st and August 31st. It can be about yourself, the site, hunting in general, or just to say that you want some free stuff.
• Make sure you leave a valid email address in the email box that is provided.

We’d really love for you to continue to browse the site a bit, get involved, and leave comments on other articles.  Also feel free to let us know if there is anything else that you would like to see or read about and we will do our best at getting it on the site. If you are interested in writing for Hello Hunting just contact Shannon Wood, Justin Tadlock, or Shannon Lee for more info on getting started. We’d even love for you to join our Facebook group. Of course, these aren’t requirements for entering the contest. We’d just love to build up our hunting community here even larger than it already is.

August Gift Pack includes:

A  camo super combo package which means it comes with the following:

Stedi-Stock shoulder mount with the Quick Release Attachment, the SuperClamp, monopod and the Quick Rifle Rest. A valued gift pack worth well over $125 could be your just for following the rules and leaving a response on Hello Hunting. 

The contest runs until the last day of August. We will email the randomly-picked winner once the contest is over so we can send you some free stuff.