Hunting and Fishing News & Blog Articles

I’m good at sleeping. I nod off quickly and typically sleep long and hard and last night I was in the zone when after 2:00pm a loud noise snapped me awake. Still unsure of what had alarmed me I tossed the covers off and went to see what was afoot. As I switched on an outdoor light and looked through my heavy-duty glass front door I realized that the wind was blowing loudly, wildly even, and apparently out of the South because my south facing front door was challenging to open.

At 5:00am it was still windy, but Champ and I ate half a box of pop tarts and headed out to hunt gobblers anyway. As the morning passed I checked the weather on my Apple watch. Our wind speed was 12mph and out of the SE with frequent gusts topping 30mph. We didn’t hear any gobbles and they probably didn’t hear me either due to the speedball winds.

Our only visiter was this large black cow who spotted our 3 turkey decoys and came over to them to, ahh, nose around.

After the morning hunt we drove to 14 year old Champ’s favorite breakfast place, McDonalds.

The afternoon hunt was like the morning one, minus the inquisitive cow. When we turkey hunt we usually pack it in before dark because all the wild turkeys have the objective of reaching the roost areas and flying up before it’s dark.

This year’s wild turkey season began with turkey talk, both me to them and them to me. My hunting buddy Champ was with me and when I called two gobblers in from around 300 yards away we spotted two bright red heads in the thick cedar trees to our right. This was on the fence side of the Lazy Man fiberglass blind that we were inside. They gobbled loudly as they came toward us and stopped for a look around (between 10 and 15 yards .

On our center left we had two Dave Constantine decoys staked out, a hen and a Jake. But the gobblers did not see them, which would have likely brought them right by our front shooting window.

Instead, the gobblers came up on our right. Champ was waiting with his new Mission crossbow bow in hand. But the rickety, rusty square-wire fence was a yard from the blind, as well as behind the shooting window, so Champ was unable to shoot.

Champ handled the situation like a pro, he was completely silent and still and the two gobblers did not pick us up in the blind.

Later I used a pair of fence-wire cutters I brought with me, and didn’t want to use in the dark this morning. I cut the fence down and out of our way.

Hunting coyotes in the spring and summer is important for deer population growth. In the spring adult coyotes hunt extra hard to maintain enough food for themselves and their litter.

WHY IS MAY SO  IMPORTANT TO HUNT COYOTES?

Many hunters don’t realize the importance of hunting coyotes during Spring’s Fawning Season. A recent wildlife study reveals that coyotes prey primarily on the year’s newborn deer during the fawning season. Surprisingly, one coyote can kill and consume more than 19 fawns in a MONTH’S time.

Many whitetail does only produce a single fawn yearly, 19 missing fawns per every coyote in the area can definitely have a negative impact on the future growth of the local deer population. Wild Turkeys and Rabbits are favorites for these predators too.

Conservationists and wildlife biologists know that hunting coyotes can positively impact any areas game populations. This predator-prey relationship can improve success rates for future hunting seasons.

CALLING

Calling coyotes in May is different from the rest of the year because they’re on the lookout for fawns, Begin calling with a deer bleat call. The call of a lost fawn frequently draws hungry predators. Do not overwork the call, space a few bleats out over a minute will give the coyotes plenty of time to hone in on where you are.

The Founders of Golden Key-Futura – Archery Champions Freddie and Eva Troncoso

FA: Fred, when and how did you get interested in archery?

As I recall, my love for archery occurred the moment I received a rubber tipped set of toy arrows and a bow for Christmas in 1937. The following year, I was fortunate to have seen one of the first Howard Hill bowhunting short movies which were shown during intermissions at most movie theaters. From that exact moment on, I became an avid bowhunter and still hunt exclusively with a bow and arrow.

The Don Tosti Quartet 1958 with front man Freddie Troncoso.

FA: Freddie, it is said that your first love has always been music. How did your interest in music begin and to what level of proficiency did you ascend? What type of music did you play and which instruments did you learn?

Luckily, I was born and raised by a family of musicians which started with my musician father, grand father, mother, two sisters, and two brothers. Yes, we were all musicians who played several instruments including piano, guitar, violin, cello, viola, bass, clarinet, flute, and tuba. I, myself, personally started playing music on the violin, won a $500 scholarship in violin competition, was Assistant Concert Master of our high school orchestra, and was also Assistant Concert Master for the Los Angeles All City Orchestra. I also was very fortunate to win five consecutive high school competitions on KTLA Channel 5. I also placed first in three consecutive talent competitions which were aired on Harry Babbitz’ High Talent Battle TV Show. Those victories were all played on violin along with my sister Virginia who always accompanied me on the piano. During the above era, I specialized in Classical and Symphonic music.

FA: Did you ever go into music full time?

Yes, I started playing with a dance band for dances right after I joined the United States Air Force during 1952.

FA: How about Eva?

Eva took piano lessons and learned how to read and play music – up until the advent of television. When TV appeared, many people including relatives suddenly lost their interest and appreciation for music.

The bowhunter, champion and coach with star pupil and target champion.

FA: How did you two meet?

Eva and I met during a college picnic event during 1954.

You recovered your deer and the meat is processed. You’ve just gathered some firewood and started the fire.  Here is a simple, delicious recipe for venison stew that’s just perfect for a campfire cook-out. Campfire cooking the wild game I harvested is a real favorite of mine and I think you will enjoy too. Here is a recipe and how-to from Robert Gate.

Campfire Venison Stew Recipe

Ingredients:

Six slices of baconOne chopped onionTwo chopped celery sticksOne large chopped carrotOne minced jalapeño, seededThree minded garlic clovesOne pound of venison, cubedTwo cans of drained kidney beansOne tablespoon of Italian seasoningOne can of roasted and diced tomatoes (28 ounces)16 ounces of vegetable brothSalt and pepperQuarter cup of flour

Directions:

Over coals, cook bacon on a camp stove until crispy. Crumble it and set aside for later. Use the bacon fat  to cook the onion, carrot, jalapeño and celery (chop as desired), stirring often until it becomes soft. Remove the vegetables and set aside.In a pot, add the venison to the bacon fat and cook, stirring often until it has browned. Add the bacon and vegetables back into the pot and stir together. Add the kidney beans, seasoning, tomatoes and the broth and allow it to boil.Set the camp stove to the side of the coals, or turn down the heat. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 45 minutes.Taste stew and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the flour and let it cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally until the stew has thickened. Serve while it’s hot and enjoy!

In Conclusion

When it comes to creating the best camp dinner or a simple meal at home, you will never go wrong with venison. With this Campfire Venison Stew Recipe, you’ll have a meal fit for the outdoors, with this easy-to-follow recipe.

If you have any questions or would like to share your own tips and experiences with preparing and cooking venison, then comment down below. I would love to hear what you have to think.

Below is a “hit list” of new-for-2022 compound bows from 10 of the most popular brands. Most offer advanced levels of tunability and superior accessorized balance, but don’t worry, they’re “fast, quiet and smooth,” too. Let’s review some features and benefits of bows that today’s top manufacturers have turned loose from the bullpen.

APA Black Mamba 31

APA Archery bows cannot be mistaken. Each one has distinct features with “APA” practically written all over it. And the Black Mamba 31 is certainly rich with sensational APA features and styling. Mainstays are Riser Fangs, the Tool Center, integrated Carrying Handle and comfortable Soft Touch Armour, to name several. The skeletonized riser features cutouts shaped like a black mamba snake’s head; the riser design exudes strength while weighing a feathery 3.8 pounds — comparable in weight to today’s top carbon-riser bows. Equipped with the Weight Distribution System and Mass Transfer Module, an accessorized Black Mamba 31 balances like a dream. Technical bowhunters will love features such as Micro Tune, Nock Point Alignment Zone, Hand Position Reference Groove, Variable Yoke Technology, Center Shot Indicator and more. If you want a durable bow in a beautifully balanced and lightweight platform, then the Black Mamba 31 is for you. There’s even a camera mount on the front of the riser for a GoPro, and speeds up to 350 fps with a 6.75-inch brace height unite power and accuracy in a lights-out hunting machine.

MSRP: $1,199 (starting at)

CONTACT: www.apaarchery.com

Venison or Beef Roast

1 large roast (I try to get one large enough for two meals) always when on sale.
Steak Seasoning
Little garlic salt & pepper
3 Beef Bouillon Cubes
4 cups of water
Just enough flour to coat roast

7 potatoes diced
1 large onion
20 baby carrots cut into
You can add as many veggies as you like depending on how many you are feeding.

First, I season roast with steak seasoning, little garlic salt and pepper. Add flour to a plate or platter big enough to hold roast. Flour each side and around the edge. Next, just enough olive oil to bottom of frying pan to brown roast on all sides.

Now, we start with our Roasting pan or large enough pan to hold roast and veggies. Preheat oven to 400°. Add your roast to center of pan, 4 cups of water and 3 bouillon cubes. Put in oven for one hour then take out and turn over and put back in oven for one more hour. (if your oven cooks fast or really hot then cut down the time or temp) You may need to add more water to cover your roast so it does not dry out.

Fred Lutger with a Trophy Bear – Ontario, Canada

In order to bag a big trophy bear, one that would qualify for the ‘Pope and Young’ or ‘Boone and Crocket’ record book, there are a few things you can do to swing the odds in your favor…

Be selective – If you truly want a trophy animal, don’t fill your tag on a smaller bear.Know what a big bear is. – This sounds easy, but seeing a bear in the wild and judging his size is very difficult. Prior to your hunt visit sporting goods stores that might have a full mount of a black bear. Also check out black bears at museums, wildlife parks and zoos.Look for a ferrule on the bears forehead. – This indentation will be visible running from the forehead straight back along the top of the bears head between his ears. The older and bigger a black bear gets the more prominent this indentation is.Hunt where there are big bears. – Again, this can be hard to determine but there are two good indicators; find out how big the Bear Management Area the outfitter has. It must be big enough to support a continuous hunting program. Too small an area will not let the bears reach a good mature age to reach record book size. And ask to see pictures of recent bears taken {within the last two years}. All outfitters can accumulate impressive pictures over the years, but what potential does his area have for his next hunt?Look for front paw prints that have a pad wider than 4 inches. – A pad that measures 5 inches or better will usually be a bear of record book size. Place wet sand around the bait you are hunting to get these prints.

– Canine Tooth Spread –

Canine tooth spread can be a good indicator of record book potential. I’ve found that measuring tip to tip spread of a black bear’s top canine teeth will give you a quick indicator of the bears record book potential. To get this measurement, put peanut butter or honey on a Styrofoam or plastic plate left at the bait site. Check for bite marks left by scavenging bears. Almost any puncture marks left by the canines over 2 inches wide will be a Pope and Young bear with an 18″ skull measurement.

– How to Measure a Bear Skull –

The size of bears has long caused heated discussions … as well as continual misjudgment. A bear’s size is normally expressed in terms of weight, which is difficult to judge due to individual variations in height, the thickness of fur, and physical stature, as well as the observer’s proximity to the bear and their particular level of stress. Under calm circumstances, a bear’s weight is often misjudged, but during a close encounter, accurate weight determination is impossible by nearly all except possibly a seasoned field scientist. “The grizzly’s reputation for ferociousness toward people,” notes Terry Domico in Bears of the World, “makes the animal seem much larger.”

To the untrained eye, all bears are “big”, as human perception of weight is most often much greater than an animal’s true size. During a survey in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, responses to the weights of American black bears ranged from four hundred to four thousand pounds. The actual weights were ninety-five to one hundred fifteen pounds.

“The boar was small,” according to Ben East author of ‘Bears’, “hardly more than 150 pounds, but still big enough to be a formidable antagonist . . . the men guessed him at four hundred pounds.”

In nearly all species of bears, the male is relatively larger than the female, though differences vary. For example, the difference between the sun bear females and males on Borneois minimal, while on the Malaysian mainland the males may be more than one third larger.

Bear Weights: Males vs Females

Farmers wife, Nicki, invites us to her kitchen for another special recipe: the wild turkey brown-n-bake. Check out her own recipe for unique and delicious  breading mix.

MORE…

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If you read the title of this video and thought, “No donkeys for me, especially where I hunt!” Well, this, is something I know about.

A few years back I purchased a 75-foot house trailer and moved it on my place. Then I rented it out. Actually, I thought I would make a little extra money doing that. I won’t go into all the ways I was wrong about the renting and making money thing, instead I’ll go directly to my experiences with DONKEYS!

I had been gone for a few days and it was dark when I returned home. I went to sleep right away. At sunrise I heard some extremely loud braying, roaring noises. I mean, like real loud. I yanked on my hunting boots, walked outside, and headed toward the loud noises.

Behind my renters’ trailer I saw a makeshift pen made of rusty, throw away barbed wire … that had 3 Donkeys in it, and they were sounding off at an ear splitting volume. I was not happy. My renter had already left for work. I phoned him and told him how much I disliked the donkeys in a very impolite tone of voice.

He told me he would sell the donkeys right away, something that the passing months would reveal he had no intention of doing. And he chose wording that he knew would work on me, as it had (so far) every time he missed a rent payment.

Discover relevant facts about wild turkeys that you probably do not know. This video has outstanding videography of hens and gobblers doing what they do.

Where do hens lay their eggs? In what ways are the wild turkeys vision different? And several more useful facts.

It never fails, stormy and rainy weather always happen during our Spring Turkey Seasons. And turkey hunters everywhere just don’t see or hear wild turkeys during these foul weather spells.

Matt Dale tells you why he welcomes April’s rains and stormy weather. Rain or shine wild turkeys will move around in their areas. But the inclement weather causes the turkeys to seek their food and move around differently than they do usually.

When the weatherman tells us Stormy Days and bad weather are coming; many turkey hunters, both experienced and newbies, decide to “Sit this one out until the weather gets better.”

In the video below Jason Cruize of Mossberg shows you what you need to look for and do that will put you in the Wild Turkey hunting action when bad weather hits. Veteran wild turkey hunter Jason Cruize shares (2) key truths about wild turkeys that let you know how to find and hunt wild turkeys when bad weather rolls into your area.

 

Expert Wild Turkey hunter Paul Butski is the guest of  Matt Drury and Tim Kjellesvik of the “100% Wild Podcast” discuss how shifts in the weather influence wild turkeys during the Spring hunting seasons.

Podcast Listener “Mark from Georgia” asks Paul Butski if changes in the “barometric pressure” affect the behavior of wild turkeys?

Paul Butski answers “yes” and then explains how wild turkeys react when the barometric pressure RISES … as well as when the barometric pressure DROPS. This is definitely good to know info for any wild turkey hunter. And as additional questions come in you will hear more answers from the voice of experience.

Subscribe to the audio version of the show on the platform of your choice: Apple – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/d… Android – https://play.google.com/music/listen?… Stitcher – https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/drur… YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list… Get ahead of your Game with DeerCast available on iOS and Android devices App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/deerc… Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de… For exciting updates on what’s happening on the field and off, follow us on social Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialDrury… Instagram: @DruryOutdoors Twitter @DruryOutdoors Be sure to check out http://www.druryoutdoors.com for more information, hunts, and more! Music provided by Epidemic Sound http://player.epidemicsound.com/

Matt Dale of Dale Outdoors freely shares his wealth of knowledge about the Spring behavior of wild turkey gobblers and hens, as well as how to adjust your turkey hunting techniques to fit the changes the gobblers and hens are experiencing.

Matt Dale tells us what the four separate phases that gobblers and hens experience throughout the country. Then he shares what his effective private methods for Spring wild turkey hunts are.

Enjoy the Video below on the “4 Phases of Spring Turkey Season.”.

 

Still Hanging With The B10 Buck.

Robert Hoague

Do you know how early a buck in velvet will work on tree limbs with his new antlers? Twenty five years ago I believed that bucks had to shed their antlers before they were able to hook their tines and main beams into a tree’s limbs that were in reach.

At first, I was surprised to see bucks in velvet give some tree branches a good whipping.
But it became a regular part of what I saw bucks doing year after year. Then, several years ago I learned what was up. In early July a buck with antlers that were shaping up very nice got himself hung up jumping a tall cattle panel fence in a corral on my place. i was unaware of this until I noticed some buzzards fly up and when I investigated I saw the buck in the fence  hung up by the antlers and quite dead.

I cut the fence panel loose and was surprised about his velvet antlers. I had expected them to soft and spongy, possibly even rubber like per what someone had told me once. But the antlers were rigid and solid. So when I witnessed bucks in velvet, year after year, giving tree limbs a thrashing I wasn’t that surprised. It’s very cool to live where I can take pictures of wild deer doing their thing.

A couple weeks before the first buck shed its velvet I went to a ground blind I have in a nearby area I call “The Last Barn.” I went there because I had watched B10 leave my food plot and head in the general direction of The Last Barn. My second morning there I saw B10 in the early morning light and took his picture.

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Finally on April 25 the high winds backed down to a low enough wind speed to get after hunting down some wild turkey gobblers. So Champ and I agreed to get together after the end of his school day. After I picked him up we went to an area named the Point, it’s where an East-West fence and a North-South fence intersect and cross the properties 2-track farm road. Wild turkeys regularly come through the Point on their way back to the evening roosts along the river a mile to the West.

Champ set out our decoys and I put our gear inside the Lazy Man ground blind I set up at the point  previously. The blind had been moved by someone and we wouldn’t be able to shoot to our right, which is the most frequently traveled direction. But I hadn’t wanted to make the noise that moving it would take. That urned out to be one of those “I shoulda done it” deals.

Champ and I got inside the blind and sat down.

I took a quick picture of Champ Bullard as we waited quietly in a LAZY MAN GROUND BLIND for wild turkeys to come through the area.

I waited half an hour to call and then every 15-20 minutes I called again — on a Billy Yargus Blue Viper mouth call. I picked up a gobble on my second sequence. He sounded about 200 yards off but didn’t reply any more.

The Lazy Man ground blind is made of fiberglass, it is an excellent blind, it has all the right features. I didn’t take a picture of it at the Point but I will the next time I hunt there.

Ever since opening weekend of this year’s Wild Turkey Season the weather has not been turkey hunter friendly, and even more-so if they are a bowhunter only type, like yours truly. To explain, right now the wind speed is 12-mph out of the NNE. Today’s predicted wind gusts are 18 mph. Actually both of those numbers are less than usual so far this month, with the “gusts” being noticeably less. Gusts have regularly ascended into the 20’s while the stronger wind surges have been in the high 30’s and even low 40’s.

That’s problematic wild turkey hunting weather; when it’s windy enough to be so noisy you can’t hear their gobbles and they can’t hear you calling. Plus, shooting arrows when it’s extra windy can get your arrow off course, which is never a good thing. Anyway, I’ve gone out at varying times during the day; early morning, late afternoon, and mid day to see if I can find anything going on.

On the windiest days I do not see any wild turkeys, regardless of time of day. And on the least windy days  I occasionally see a few.

Over the weekend, on Saturday, I finally got into some action (and got the above picture) after I saw movement to my right. Two hens were coming my way. Then 3 gobblers appeared in front of me and strutted closer. Quickly, I took a picture and then got ready.

To get the fastest arrow speed and avoid any wind deflection I brought my high-speed crossbow. When the three gobblers were within 15 yards I took aim at the one on the left and pulled the trigger. My crossbow bolt went at least a foot to the right of the gobbler. The wind did me in.