Beagle Puppies

It has been a few years, but our first batch of puppies appeared last night.
My good friend Nick went by the kennel to feed and checked in on Wilma and there they were.
We had thought she had another week to 10 days left before she would have dropped, but it seems everyone was healthy
5 in all, 3 females and 2 males
Wilma is from great deer stock, and one of the better dogs in the pack. We have 2 young Red Tick female beagles now, as well as the tri color female, so it seems we will only be keeping a male puppy.
That's OK, because as soon as the news got out that my hound had puppies, a few guys were asking about when they could see them so they could make a claim to them.
Good stock deer/ rabbit dogs are like gold around here

Big Jay's 8 Point

I am a little slow in getting these pics on here, but one of the guys in our group got an 8 pointer this past Saturday, the first day of black powder season in our corner of Virginia.
The Deer was about 3 years old, and dressed at about 130 pounds.
The rule for the section of land that Jay was hunting was antlers only outside the ears, and this one just made it into that category. The plan is to allow the deer to mature into larger bucks to be able to harvest larger racks in the coming years

The days of tossing a rope across a branch to skin out have evolved to such creations as this now.

I have to say, it looked a lot easier than the way we used to do it.

At our club, we took 5 deer on opening day between 7 hunters, so that was not bad odds, a few of the guys had taken deer during bow season, so the meat has started getting packed away in the freezers, so it is looking like a good year so far.

Deer Season In Virginia

Here in Virginia, Deer season is in full swing.
Bow season has been in for a few weeks, and Black Powder season comes in in just a few days.
Due to an auto accident back in 2008, I have not been able to pull a bow back, or been able to fire a rifle or shotgun for a few years, but fortunately I have my older sons that know how to use my stuff, and keep the freezer full.
I still am active down at the hunt club, and keep track of the patterns of the rut, and feeding and bedding of the Deer.
It seems that this year the deer are not as concerned with the corn and soybeans in the fields.
There is a large surplus of acorns in the woods this year, to be specific, White Oak acorns, which any sportsman knows taste different

They are much sweeter than the Red oak and Pin oak, and the woods are loaded with them.
How do I know they are sweeter ? I have tasted them.
I believe the harsh Winter last year killed of many squirrels that would have removed many of these acorns by now, and my younger sons have not seen many squirrels out this year, so to me it is adding up to a great season.
This does not mean that the deer will not wander out into the cut bean fields, but as long as food is plentiful in the woods, they are more likely to stay in the woods, which will mean a better hunt for those that scouted a tree stand a month or so ago.
Word from the guys down at the club is that the Does are still running in packs of 8 and 10, and there are few scrapes, so that means the rut will begin mid October

Season End

It seems that deer season came and went so fast this year. We had many rain days that the dogs could not get a good trail going, and the snow that came in before Christmas kept everyone confined to a tree stand.
With my bad back, and other problems from my auto accident limiting me as to what I can do anymore, the weather put me out of the game more than I wanted, but as you can see, My son, and basset hound Thelma, and I managed to get in on a few drives.
This is what we do when all the others are down in the woods waiting for the dogs to run something past them.

If I do have to get out of the truck and get across a field, or drag a deer, or try to head off dogs, we just hop on the Honda 4X4

I live in an area full of history, and the place where we have hunted since I was a kid is here in Menokin

Besides the time I get with my boys, they get to hang out with their friends. I was sitting back near the wood stove and watched the guys plan a raid on the fridge back in the kitchen to get a mountain dew

I was taught early about life and death, taught how to hunt, and how to handle a gun.

To have respect for any firearm, respect for the outdoors, and respect for the people that owned the land that we hunted on.

I learned to listen to the old guy's when they told me something, and found out that they really did know more than I did

This season I started to realize that I am becoming one of those old guy's

Hondo And The 9 Point

At the hunt club last weekend, one of the guys got a nice 9 point buck.
I was on the other side of the swamp picking up dogs, so I did not get a shot of the deer on the ground when he shot it

By the time I made it to the skinnin shed, Hondo and Garnet were almost done with it. My son Jesse wanted to get in there and help

The proud hunter. We are gonna hear about this for the rest of the season

It was a tall rack, and wide, but did not seem as full as it could have been.

Either way, I would have been happy to have it on my tailgate

Deer Season Begins

Our First day of deer season here was rain rain rain

I did prepare, and got in a blind early in the morning near some thick pines hoping to catch something coming in from the bean fields.

No luck.

Our dogs got a few hits, but the runs were short lived, and as I switched channels on the radio to listen in on the other clubs in the area, it seemed that they were not having much luck either.

After lunch, we did a drive in a thick, pine piece bordered by a beaver pond and bean fields.

The guys got around at different spots and the beagles went in.

Sure enough, as soon as they got in, they hit it hot, and we put a few on the ground.

I think I am getting old because I did not even take my 50 cal. or my 12 gauge out of the truck all day, I just enjoy listening to the dogs run

Sad Sad

Here are the leftovers from our last crab feast of the season.

A sad day.

We have had some frost, and the water temps are dropping, and for the recreational crabber, you can't catch enough in the 2 pots and the short line you are allowed to use to make a good meal now, so it is time to wash it all down and put it up for the winter.

Bow season is in now, and black powder comes in on the 31st, so I will be in my stand Saturday morning.

Later in the week, I will post about my new 50 caliber black powder rifle, so check back in a couple days.

as for now, I did pick some of the leftover crab meat, so It is crab cake time : )

In The Woods

My boys and I decided to do some squirrel hunting this past Saturday.
What this means to us is ride the trails where we deer hunt, clear away the brush and fallen branches, and maybe take a shot or two if the dogs get a good chase going.


We look around for scrapes, and deer trails and check for tracks




And sit back and enjoy the outdoors

After some scouting, and following some rub lines, we find some choice spots to attach our tree stands.

Black powder season starts in a few more weeks, so with our stands up and trails cleaned out, we enjoy the 4-wheeler paths for the last time until we are ready to hunt

All this week, the surrounding fields will have the corn harvested and with the cooler temps, and the full moon, Rut should be in full swing

Thought It Was Funny

Well, I am laughing

Deer Season

Just a few pics of our day deer hunting. That's a dog box in the back of my truck

We hunt with beagles. Here is a pic of the boy's walking the dogs into the woods. One of the guy's saw 3 deer cross the wheat field, so they are going to try to get the dogs on the trail

We got a couple last Saturday

Here is big Jay and his massive spike buck

And the boy's at the end of the day skinning out. My son is the one on the left

FREAKIN SNAKES !

My brother and I put up a tree stand last night, and I mean last night. We had a gathering at my uncle's Sunday, and afterwards he came by my house at around 8:00 and we marched through the woods with my 2 young sons in tow and assembled and attached his tree stand for next Saturday's bow hunt. I wanted to go out there today and get some pic's of the spot he picked out, but when my boy's and me got close to the stand, a snake dropped off the ladder. I HATE SNAKES ! so armed with only my camera, I decided to go back to the house and grab a shovel.

Off again, back to the stand, and before we could get into the trail, here comes the snake. I thought it would be a good idea if I got the boys back into the house and handle the situation. I got them to the front door and heard my wife scream because he had followed me to the door. That was all I needed, it was on now

I got him to the edge of the grass put him out of my misery

After I got a good look at it, I found it was some kind of pine snake or something, supposedly harmless, but how harmless can it be if it could cause me to break my leg running from it, or staring my brother in the face when he climbed up into his stand with his flashlight in his mouth and they met eye to eye ?

I will try to get some pics on Tuesday

Tree Stand Spots

He's out there
So is she, and I have been watching for months where they go and where they hang out

I have been watching the woods, and the soybean field to find where they travel the most

I have found all the openings they use to get in and out of the field

I know where the rub lines are, and know from these that there are several bucks that travel from the pines and into the field to eat. They are starting to establish some territory.

I found some deep tracks that tell me there are some heavy deer in here. The ground is fairly dry, and the deeper the track, the heavier the buck

My brother checks in here from time to time to see what I am up to, This pic is for him. I took it on the path that he wants to set up his tree stand. Karl and his friend will start hunting here first with compound bows. After that, black powder season comes in. The last mud bog of the season is coming up, and I am sure that when it is done, I will see him and the guy's every weekend