Making it A Hunt to Remember The PDR Youth Hunt By Gary Howey
Most of us know just how great it is to spend time in the outdoors hunting deer and creating memories that will be talked about around the campfire for years to come. Creating wonderful memories that will be etched in our minds and stay with us as long as we live.
What would it be like to have the desire to participate in these things, but because of disabilities, believe that it was just a dream, something that others would be able to do, but you couldn’t?
Well, in a year past that’s the way it was, but not anymore. There are individuals and groups determined to share the opportunity to hunt with youth whom without their help wouldn’t have these opportunities.
There’s a group headed up by Dean Rasmussen in the small community of Clark, S.D. population 1,285, who are making these dreams come true for disabled youths throughout the state.
The PDR Youth Hunt is named for Payton Dean Rasmussen, grandson of Dean Rasmussen. Payton passed away from by spinal meningitis in 1999.
It was Dean’s vision that would enable disabled youth the opportunity to be part of a true South Dakota deer hunt. He and other volunteers obtain landowner permission, locate guides, build blinds/shooting platforms, provide housing, meals and plan other activities for the guardians that accompany the kids.
He wanted this to be a real hunt, a hunt like any other deer hunt with the kids in the blinds before sun up.
Dean brought his idea to community, local school and area leaders and a board was formed, holding their first hunt in 2008 with three kids.
The small but energetic group knew what they were taking on would be a huge task. Through determination, hard work and numerous hours, their dream has become a reality.
As with any endeavor, getting the event off the ground would be the toughest part as they were starting from square one. They starting out slowly, making sure they would be doing it right. An event like this isn’t something that can be put together hastily as disabled individuals have special needs.
Obtaining land to hunt and finding volunteer guides was the easiest part as the folks around Clark supported the group whole-heartedly.
Yamaha’s Outdoor Tip Offers Advice on Becoming A Better Elk Caller By Bob Humphrey
Link: http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/events/dynamicevent/2/1258/yamaha_outdoors_tip_of_the_week.aspx
It’s not that far off, and elk enthusiasts everywhere are eagerly expecting a successful season. That success may well depend on your calling skills, and whether you’re a veteran looking to get better or a rank amateur anxious to learn the basics, there’s a few things you should consider.
In addition to being a self-described elk nut, bowhunter, guide, naturalist and call maker, Joel Turner, 33, of Eatonville, Washington, is also reigning and two-time champion of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation/Leupold World Elk Calling Championships.
He’s equally as skilled at impressing the real judges, wild elk, and has spent the past several years developing an elk calling philosophy and hunting system that he’s distilled to five important points.
1. Call to an Instinct, Not an Attitude
“Most often, when challenged by rival, a bull’s first instinct is to retreat. It’s OK to bugle to locate elk from a distance, but afterward, rely on calls that trigger their breeding, rather than their escape, instincts.”
2. Mimic a Breeding Scene
“All mammals are drawn to the sounds of breeding.
To mimic breeding elk learn to make four specific calls: 1.) estrus cow call, a long, whining cow call, 2.) estrus cow scream, a loud mew made through sputtering lips, 3.) tending bull bugle, a soft moan made through a tube, and 4.) glunking, the sharp hiccoughing sound of a bull.”
When Small Can Mean Big! Big Fish By Gary Howey
When I first moved to north-eastern Nebraska, I was anxious to learn about the outdoors and fishing in the area.
At that time, I didn’t own a boat and my only alternative was to fish the river from shore, which sounded like a good idea at the time.
There’s nothing wrong with shore fishing, except that I had never been a river fishermen, little alone one that fished a river from shore.
Needless to say, I wasn’t equipped to fish from shore and was loosing more tackle each week than the local bait shop stocked.
Good for them, bad for me as I’ve never been a quitter and refused to quit trying until I came up with a better plan.
The only alternatives that I could come up with were to:
1. Somehow, figure out how to fish the lakes, the larger bodies of water without a boat.
2. Find some smaller bodies of water that would allow me to fish from shore.
I like many other people think that order to catch big fish; I needed to be fishing huge bodies of water such as Lake Oahe, Lake McConaughy or Waubay Lake.
The truth is you don’t need to have thousands of acres of water to have a trophy fishery.… Continue reading
Northeast Nebraska Whitetails Unlimited Banquet Held in Wausa By Gary Howey
The 7th annual Northeast Nebraska Whitetails Unlimited banquet was held Friday March 19th at the Wausa Fire Hall.
Whitetails Unlimited (www.whitetailsunlimited.com) is a national conservation organization promoting deer hunting and other outdoor activities, which headquartered out of Sturgeon Bay, WI. established in 1982 with over 100,000 members.
Approximately 425 people attended this year’s event where attendees had the opportunity to win numerous prizes including 40 guns and bows.
WTU banquets are family orientated events aimed at involving the entire family.
Our youth are very important to WTU, as they are the future of deer hunting and all outdoor sports.
Because of this, there are special promotions and contest held at the banquet designed especially for the youth.
WTU offers its members an avenue to raise funds to support common interests such as preserving the hunting tradition and educating the public on the importance of conserving our natural resources
At this years event, $48,000.00 was raised, much of which will remain in the area, being used for conservation and youth programs.
Funds raised from these WTU events, one half of which stays locally, is donated to numerous area activities.
In 2009 the Northeast Nebraska WTU donated $20,906.00 to conservation related activities. Included in these were; donations to area schools, 4-H groups, hunter’s education, handicap hunters programs, archery clubs, area communities, conservation organizations and for state game & park projects.… Continue reading
Shoot To Learn Or “Learn To Shoot” By Jeff Wade
Hunting Season is upon us once again and the members of Team Outdoorsmen Adventures wishes you the best season of all!
North Carolina Archery Season has begun with many other states opening soon. A bow hunter is someone who gets to know his prey up close and personal. He is of the land and knows the patterns and movements of the game he intends to harvest. 
This is what makes a great hunter out in the woods. “Make No Mistake About It!” That is exactly the key element in a bow hunters mindset he must be mentally ready and prepared for the shot.
The hunt starts before season when he picks his bow up each year. It makes sense to not take the shot if you have not completed your homework.
The first task to cover is to inspect our bow for damages. Inspect it anyway, even if it has been locked in your case for the past year. If your string looks worn, it’s time to replace it. I like to replace my bowstring every two years regardless of the wear and tear on it. Strings will stretch over time. Inspect your arrows and anything else on the bow. Look for cracks, a bent arrow, torn or bad fletching or anything than could cause an arrow to fly incorrectly.
Make sure you oil movable parts of your bow with scentless oil. Wax your string each time you practice. Proper care of all bow hunting equipment is essential to success in the field.
Once all this has been accomplished you are ready to shoot again. Practice everyday no less than a month before season. I feel if you’ve put in shooting time every night till the opener you’ll be prepared physically and mentally for you shot at a game animal.
By this time your shot should become a repetition of steps that you do automatically without thinking.
Even at this point, here in North Carolina with a longbow season practice should be performed periodically during season to ensure your form and shot have not went south.
When the game animal is in front of you the less thinking you do the better. This brings me to a point on the many sights that are on the market.… Continue reading
Upping your Chances When Deer Hunting By Gary Howey
Deer hunting has quickly become one of the more popular big game animals.
The reason for this is simple; they can be found almost everywhere. These animals are very adaptable and can live in close proximity to man.
No matter where we’ve went there have always been deer around, both whitetail and mule deer.
One thing that I figured out a long time ago is that deer are like any other critter, including man, as they will take advantage of anything that makes their life easier.
I found this out the first couple of years while hunting near my cabin. The deer, especially the bucks seemed to always come out in a certain area while avoiding others.
Unfortunately, the area they were using was impossible to hunt unless you sat on the ground as there was no place to conceal a ground blind and no trees big enough for a tree stand.
The next summer and early fall, I spent a lot of time in the woods, trying to figure out why one trail would be used more than others as all of the trails eventually led to their bedding area which were all in the same area.
Let’s look at the difference between these trails so we can understand how to make the deer come out in front of you instead of the other side of the valley.… Continue reading
Majestic rams of the Wind River Range By Larry Myhre
Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal
It had come down to a simple trigger pull from success.
A bighorn ram stood on a mountain side 536 yards away.
Sixteen years of applying had finally yielded a $2,266 sheep tag for Tim Delance of Early, Iowa.
He teamed up with good friends and longtime outfitters Justin and Sandra Wright of Mule Shoe Outfitters at Pinedale, Wyo.
They set up base camp a full day’s ride from the trailhead in the Wind River Range. Sandra stayed to manage the camp and take care of the pack mules.
Justin and Tim, with Justin’s dad Earl and wrangler/guide T.J., remounted and set out for another day’s ride where they set up a spike camp.
From here, they glassed the mountainsides for two days.
On Sept. 1, opening day of sheep season, a group of rams had been sighted and a stalk begun.
The rams, however, disappeared into the rocks and were gone.
Yet, a quick look through the spotting scopes revealed this ram, a nice trophy, 500-plus yards up the mountainside.
And now, Tim tried to regain his breathing 13,000 feet up in the thin mountain air. He settled the crosshairs above the ram and his 300 Winchester Mag sent out a missile.
The mountains reverberated with the sound of the shot echoing between the valleys.
“Shot under him,” Justin advised.… Continue reading
When black bears come looking. Ankeny, Iowa, bear hunter has a story to tell By Larry Myhre
Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal
Fords Hunting
Guide Service
Chris Ford, has been guiding bear hunters since 1995. Today he also guides for deer and fish on Lake of the Woods as well as offering island transport and tours.
He typically puts out 110 to 120 bear baits and narrows that down to only the best ones come hunting season.
The first week of this year’s season he had 11 clients and nine of them took bears with 18 opportunities. The second week five hunters had five opportunities and killed three bears.
For more information about his hunts, go to www.fordshuntingguideservice.com
BAUDETTE, Minn. — The forest had gone dead quiet. The camp robber jays had disappeared. The red squirrel which had been prancing back and forth in front of our ground blind for the past hour was no where to be seen.
I thought I saw movement in the brush behind our bait pile, a hole filled with donuts and pastries covered by logs.
And then it was there. A black bear and it was a shooter.
I nudged Gary and pointed, turning on the video camera at the same time.
He brought his Escort .270 mounted with a 3 X 9 scope to his shoulder and waited.
The camera was running and the bear stepped into view broadside a mere 25 yards away.
I heard Gary slide the safety off…and so did the bear. He was gone as quickly as he had appeared.
We were disappointed but it was only 5:30 p.m. There was plenty of time for another chance.h
We were hunting with Ford’s Guide Service out of Williams, Minn. Our headquarters was Zippel Bay Resort where Chris Ford pus up his bear hunters.
Chris had said we were on a good bait so we were confident there would be another bear that evening.
But the real story happened in another ground blind a few miles away.
There Terry Ubben, Ankony, Iowa, was sitting alone watching his bait when there was a noise behind him.
He turned and saw a big bear poking his nose into the back window. He also noticed the bear’s paw under the blind.
Then the bear tried stick his head under the blind.
Twice.… Continue reading
Game Cameras By Jeff Wade
Game Camera Photo by Scott Ulrich
Game cameras are a great and invaluable tool for the hunter today. A hunter using a camera has several extra advantages giving the hunter clues that he wouldn’t have even if you are an avid woodsman.
Cameras give us that extra edge when were trying to figure out the deer herd or scouting for that trophy buck. Cameras give you the actual time an animal arrives at a certain spot as well as the date and temperature reading, giving the hunter the ability to hunt twenty-four hours a day seven days a week without having to be in the field.
Another thing the game camera can help you with is to show you the direction animal is traveling. This is especially true if you have know where the game trails are and what direction they are going.
In a short period of time, a game camera lets the hunter know if there’s a game in the area he plans on hunting.
They’ll tell us if there are trophy bucks in the area and give us an idea as to the number of deer that are using the area.
Lastly the camera can help person with a trained eye to determine the approximate age of the deer. Game Cameras are one of the greatest tools or innovations to come, helping deer hunters to become more successful.… Continue reading