Frank's outdoors...

November every year comes with an annual trip to Kansas to hunt pheasants.  More accurately, this was the 3rd annual hunt, but another amazing trip.  We shot our limit for 3 days, and the weather was terrific (Read: cold and windy).  Thanks to Don's Guide Service for the being an outstanding outfitter! After the trip on the way home, we did have a terrible car accident.  By miracle both my father-in-law and I survived with scratches, bumps and bruises but walked away.  For that I am eternally thankful.  This is the time of year to be intentionally thankful, and I am doing just that. Enjoy the photos: The crew and a days limit PawPaw and Rowdy a 5 mo old German shorthair Me & Rowdy

Well, this past weekend was the last weekend of bow season in Texas, and still nothing on the ground, which is only slightly disappointing.  I saw LOTS of activity and had deer within 10yds several times.  In fact, sunrise was at 7:30am and I was heading to the stand at 6:15am and although it was pitch black I was snorted at by several deer.   Later on in the morning, I again got snorted at by a herd of deer (all does that I could tell, but there were 7 or 8 of them) that I didn't see coming when I went to scratch a mosquito that had me in the jugular!  Oh well, was exciting, and didn't like that stand location, so I moved it when the morning hunt was over. Hunt done, stand moved, decided to retrieve my cameras and head to camp.  I was relieved to see several good bucks starting to frequent my area as they must've found the does noted earlier, and the rut is coming on here soon. Next weekend is rifle season, so maybe one will stop by! ...

So, here it is.  The long awaited trip to Colorado in search of a giant elk has finally happened.  Here are some details and thoughts on that experience. First off, a huge "thank you" to my father-in-law who took me on this hunt.  It was great to share that hunt and experience, and you couldn't have asked for a better more scenic location to be. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and got settled into the ranch ( Smith Rancho in Hayden, CO ).  We stayed in a bunkhouse attached to a garage-like space with lunging area, freezer room, and such in it.  It actually doubled as a wintertime cleaning station!  Next door to that bunkhouse was a nicer, smaller cabin for 2 or 3 people to sleep in. It wasn't too bad at all, and the main ranch house where all the cooking and common area for watching TV and relaxing was had some real sweet mounts in it. First day and a half, we hunted hard in the morning and had many shot opportunities on 4x4 and small 5x5 ...

My buddy Mark's camera has been capturing some solid action of the same bucks I have been seeing.  Take a look at these pictures of this bad boy giving the camera some up close and personal views.  This bruiser better watch out come opening day!  The bucks still seem to be running in bachelor groups as evidenced by the first photo.  On my cameras, I have pictures of 6-10 does...  so hopefully in a few weeks when the first rut starts, they'll get moving all over again.

Alright, archery season is a few weeks away, and I finally have the perfect spot for my first go at it.  Hopefully, I can catch them going to/from the creek on the right of this photo. Can you find my blind?

Mark and I finally got a camper for the deer lease.  Its a 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24'.  It had some water damage that Mark and I repaired (replaced skylights, rotted ceiling boards, and ceiling).  It cleaned up nicely (will post pics of interior soon).  We took the camper to the lease Sunday afternoon.  It gets narrow at a few spots and also some ruts to get it up to the camp.  Dragged it up a steep climb over some dicey terrain, but we got it up there.  Looks real nice, and can't wait to be able to go the lease for a weekend and have a place to sleep and get out of the rain, hot or cold and not be in a tent!  Sleeps six comfortably.  Enjoy a look at the pictures of the camper (outside) and the camp in general. At our camp, most people have a camper of some sort, otherwise they live nearby.  And, most have put some sort of structure over it to protect from the elements and UV.  There is a central camp where there is a fire ...

I am incredibly luck to have an elk hunt booked for the end of September.  I will be hunting with my father-in-law at Smith Rancho near Steamboat, Colorado!  I will write up a post about my experience after the hunt for sure.  We will be there for 4 days, and I have seen some pictures of some monster bulls from that area. I recently got a new Sako 85 Classique chambered in .308 and a Leupold VX3 2.5-10x50 scope.  In preparation for this trip I have been putting together my list of supplies to carry in my pack:  waterproof matches, whistle, compass, knife, para cord, rangefinder, binoculars, flashlight, electrolytes, water, snack food, space blanket, small first aid kit, ammo, extra socks, and rain gear.  I am sure there is more, but that pack is starting to sound heavy!  Need to figure out what of that is required, and what is just adding weight.  Let me know if you have any thoughts on what needs to be in my pack.  Most of it is "in case ...

Well, if you recall, last year I purchased a bow (see post on my Mission by Mathews ) in anticipation of using it on our lease... well, that was squashed when the lease was sold.  This year, I am back in business and in the past 3 weeks I have actively gotten the bow sighted in and begun to practice. I am the first to admit that I am NOT Robin Hood with this thing.  I will also say though that I have practiced and researched technique, and I am improving.  My main focus is to focus on technique and practice as much as humanly possible before the season.  If you have the time, there is tons of information and opinion on how to improve technique and form.  For simplicity's sake, I have condensed it down to these 3 things: Consistent anchor position.  Each and every time to insure the same sight picture. Do NOT grab the bow with your hand, but let it lightly rest in your holding hand so as not to torque the bow. Relax and have fun.  Again, I am no...

Long story short: Wow, what a turn of events.  I got my feeder and camera back (or will next weekend)!!! Long version: On Friday, my buddy Mark and I were heading up to Crockett to put some T-posts and barb wire at that entrance road that currently does not have a gate.  About 45 minutes before Mark arrives as my house to ride up, my phone rings.  A gentlemen on the other end introduces himself as a member of our lease.  Turns out that he did not get his money turned into the land owner prior to March (which is in our club by-laws).  So, the land owner filled his spot with me.  Well, he called the land owner to tell him he wanted to be on the lease for the coming season but had missed the deadline.  The landowner told him that was fine, but he had already given his spot away.  The land owner told him that there has been a trespassing thief on the property.  He explained that there wasn't a thief, but that he was on his way to the property...

Took me a few days to write this, as I am still a bit in shock about it after only being on this lease 4 or 5 weeks...  I went to the lease this past weekend to do some work, and help my buddy Mark setup a new blind.  When we finally went to my spot to fill feeders, put up a new feeder, etc. we found that I had been robbed!  Initially, I thought the hogs might have knocked over my feeder and it was out of view as we approached, but then we realized it was gone.  Some crook decided to steal one of my low boy feeders full of corn and a Moultrie game camera! What kind of useless piece of $%#$# does this stuff?  I have been robbed or attempted-to-be-robbed 4 times in that past 2 years (laptop from truck, truck tailgate, truck side door, and feeder/camera) and I am sick of it.  Crime has become such an epidemic, that people no longer steal to cover the basic needs of themselves and their family... its ridiculous.  The feeder was full of 300# of corn... ...

Thanks to my good friend, Mark, we have another spot to hunt this year after the much maligned loss of our lease at season open last year. We are up in Crockett, TX and have a solid 1200+ acres.  This piece of property has some elevation changes and is used as a privately owned timber property, so there are selective cut lanes throughout.  The timber company grades roads after a cut, so access in and out of the property is pretty easy. At the moment, I have 2 box blinds and 2 tripods setup.  One of the tripods is a bow blind for the coming season and will be my first go at that.  Will post on that at a later time. Below is a pic of my big box blind looking down a lane, and it has 5 directions to really keep an eye on.  2 in front, 1 out of both sides, and a lane directly behind!  I only have one feeder in front 70 yds at the moment. My son is silly!

Here are the highlights... a write-up of the setup soon.

My good friend and hunting buddy, Mark, took me to a sweet spot on the last day of the season!  Not 20 minutes from my house.  He told me there was a small pond surrounded by trees in a 12 acre cow pasture that he had access to.  He told me there were tons of ducks piling into that spot.  My waterfowl luck hasn't been so great in the past few years, so I wasn't all that optimistic, but I am always game for a hunting opportunity! Well, to say the lease, we hammered them.  We were done 30 minutes after shooting time began.  It would have been sooner if I was "on" at the beginning.  All told, we each took limit, totaling 12 birds (6 wood ducks and 6 gadwalls).  The pond we were hunting on was shallow on one end (up to the waist), and way over your head on the other end.  As we didn't have a dog, Mark brought his "retriever" (aka fishing pole with a  top lure) that we used to get the birds!  Brilliant!  Took us a little bit to ge...