November 2015 – Green Lake Chronicles

South Dakota Pheasant Hunting

November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 michaeloutdoorLeave a comment

Group Pheasant Shot — Northern Plains Outfitters

It’s hot and heavy into whitetail season here in the Northeast, but there are some other awesome hunting adventures available during the fall. Chronicles pro-staffer, Shawn D wanted to share a great hunting story from his recent South Dakota Pheasant trip. Please enjoy his written account from his traditional bird hunt out west.

“South Dakota is a magical place where the pheasants thrive and shot gun barrels stay hot! Two weeks ago, I went on the annual South Dakota Pheasant hunt (PheasantFest) for the 12^th year running. I flew out of Boston Wednesday morning to be picked up by my Dad and the crew in Minneapolis where we drove another 4.5 hours to Northern Plains Outfitter in Athol, South Dakota. (http://www.northernplainsoutfitters.com)

If you have ever been to South Dakota, you will know that it is the pheasant capital of the United States. This year there was a projected 40% increase in pheasant being tracked across the state. With a warm and dry spring and summer, the local guides said that they were seeing third hatch amongst the pheasant population. Which I can attest to, seeing plenty of young or immature birds as well as seasoned birds with long tails and spurs.

Overall, it’s a great experience to be out with friends and family. There was plenty of CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) grasslands where pheasant like to nest and live without having too much pressure from local predators such as coyotes. There was still some standing feed corn where you can let your dog’s run loose popping them out as they feed as well. We have three German Shorthair pointers (which in my opinion is the best upland bird dog money can buy) that have great hunting instincts in their blood.

My recommendations if you are planning your next pheasant hunting trip out in the Midwest, is bring plenty of guys to block and wing, plenty of shells, and some good bird dogs to find and retrieve your game. Having enough guys walking in a straight line prevents the birds from running behind you and having blockers at the end of the field prevent them from running out before they flush. Be sure to zig-zag as well if you don’t have enough to cover every corner they might be sitting.

Lastly, BE SAFE! Know where everyone is at all times and communicate. Everyone will be fully armed and the last thing you want is to load someone up with a bunch of bird shot. Especially if you are getting close to the end of the field, the blockers will be very close and you want to make sure your shots are above 45 degrees and not in the line of fire of someone else. Remember, you can always find another bird, you can’t replace your friends face if acting recklessly. This will ensure a successful hunt and loads of fun for shooters and dog handlers.”

Thanks for the great article Shawn. If you have any questions about this post, please email us at greenlakechronicles@gmail.com. Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for more pictures!

-Michael

Fall/hunting/Hunting stories/Uncategorized

Viewers Choice Article

November 18, 2015 michaeloutdoorLeave a comment

Kuppens-8 — Chris with his biggest archery buck to date

I started this site as a platform for folks to enjoy outdoor articles, post cool pictures of their pursuits and to share their adventures for everyone to enjoy. I am pleased to post our first “Viewers Choice Article,” a first hand perspective written by one of our followers. Chris is a die hard bow hunter from Massachusetts, where the huntable land is limited and big bucks are scarce. You definitely earn your stripes hunting in the bay state. Please enjoy his recap of this awesome hunt.

“On 11/5 (a Thursday) I took a ½ day off from work and Packed my Climbing Stand deep into a Swamp. I found a hill located in the middle of the swamp made up mostly of Pine Trees. I was drawn to the spot by the aerial photos I have seen of the green trees surrounded by what looked to be swamp. There was a large Holly tree (30-40 feet tall) located in the middle of the Pine cluster. I noticed the Holly had 2 scrapes under it and decided I should set up on the edge of the Pines but within 20 yards of the Holly Tree. The wind was blowing out of the South West. I set up on the Eastern Edge of the Pines and saw a large bodied deer come in at the very last moment of the day. It was too far away and too dark to shoot. I left my Climber locked to a tree and decided to go back on Saturday and sit all day.

Saturday’s wind was West/ North West so it was still going to be in my face and keeping the Pines and Holly Tree upwind from me. I hiked into my stand site at 5AM. I set up 2 Scent bombs about 20 yards away from me at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions. Sunrise was 6AM and by 7AM a small button buck came into the area. He stayed for about an hour or so offering me several shot opportunities under 10 yards. I took a video of him walking under my stand. It was difficult having him around because I needed to sit very still as he was never more than 50 yards away but I felt it was a good sign that he was in the area. I debated getting down and walking out for lunch but decided to stay. The walk was simply too long and I figured I wouldn’t make it back to this spot in the afternoon and I wanted to see that big bodied deer again from Thursday night.

Around 11:15 the button buck returned. He stayed for at least an hour. He was eating mushrooms from under the pine needles. By 1 in the afternoon he was gone and I was getting really tired. It wasn’t worth the effort to shoot this small deer although I considered it several times. My hope was that he would make another buck come in and run him off. I was starting to second guess myself… I was thinking maybe the button was hanging in this area because he knew he was safe here as the other deer had moved into another area. I was worn out and discouraged. By 3:30 the Button had returned again. I figured I would spend the last hour and a half frozen up in my stand by this small deer.

At 4:30. I heard the bushes behind me and to the right crashing. I then heard the distinctive sound of a grunt. I checked the Button Buck’s last location and he was nowhere to be found. It seems like he moved on. I thought to myself that he may have been looking back in my direction all day waiting for this buck to come chase him off. I grunted and the deer started barreling in. It was a large body and I knew right away that it was something I would want to take a shot at. It was moving as if it was going to pass behind my tree. I could tell it was a Buck. A large buck probably at least 6 points, but maybe more. My heart was pounding. I started turning around to face the tree in order to be able to shoot at the deer. He was 20 yards away at my 4 O’clock position heading as if he was going to pass right behind me. Somehow he either heard me or saw the movement because he looked right up . He stared at me for over a minute. My legs we tired and my heart was absolutely pounding. My heart was beating so hard I thought the deer was going to hear it. After a full minute of both of us frozen he finally started moving forward. He took 2 more steps and came downwind of one of my scent bombs. The Buck turned 90 degrees and headed straight to the scent. The Westerly wind blew the scent right across his nose.

There were two trees that were going to come between me and the Buck’s line of sight. When he moved behind the first tree I got into position. When he moved behind the second tree I drew my bow back. I was so nervous at this point I think I tried to shut my right eye instead of my left eye to line up the shot. He stopped behind that tree for what seemed like a minute. My heart was still exploding in my chest. He took one step and only his head appeared beyond the tree. I held my bow back until he started walking forward. I let the arrow loose and watched it fly towards the deer. I could see the lighted knock heading for the deer. The shot looked like it was back and a little high. I was immediately nervous that it was a bad shot. I watched the Buck run off with his tail down. A few seconds later I heard a “Snort Wheeze” from the same area the first buck came from. I grunted and the 2^nd buck started tearing a tree up, snorting, and stomping his feet. I knocked another arrow and got ready to shoot at the second buck if he came into view. The second buck ran out of the swamp about 50 yards away from me. He was large but seemed smaller than the one I shot at. He trotted up in the direction of the first buck. When the 2^nd buck got to the point where I lost sight of the first one I heard a lot of crashing sounds. I wasn’t sure what happened.

I climbed down the tree and went over to the spot where I shot the deer. I found the arrow and it was covered with blood and hair. I walked about 10 feet and found a few drops of blood on a log. I decided to back out and give the deer a few hours. I decided to go back into the woods at 9PM to look for the deer. We picked up the blood trail. And followed it for about 40 yards. The buck was pumping blood out of both sides and the trail was easy to follow. We found him piled up right in the area I had heard the crashing earlier.

To me the Buck was the bigger than I had imagined. He was a 3.5 year old 8 Pointer that dressed at 190 Pounds. His rack was solid and very symmetrical. He weighed a TON. We had difficulty moving him around at first. I knew it was going to be a long walk out. After field dressing the buck and a few photos we started dragging him out. It took us over an hour to drag him through the swamp and out to the road. I plan on mounting this deer so I can relive this awesome hunt for a long time. Great hunt!”

Awesome story Chris, thank you for sharing with us. I welcome others to share their stories of great memories afield. Email me at greenlakechronicles@gmail.com with your story along with a few pictures and you could be the next Viewers Choice Post! Thank you for reading. Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for more great pictures!

-Michael

Fall/hunting/Hunting stories

EAT. HUNT. SLEEP. REPEAT

November 16, 2015 michaeloutdoorLeave a comment

Hillari with her first deer with the bow. Great tag teamed effort to put this one down.

What a great weekend to be in the woods! For the second weekend in a row, I headed out to upstate NY with my good friends Mike and Hillari to chase rutting bucks. We left Boston Thursday night and arrived with high hopes and some anxiety (horrible weather on the forecast)! The weekend before, I stopped in the areas on my way home from our southern tier hunt, to hang trail cameras and scout. In four days, I had three different bucks on camera and some very patterned does. The weather forecast was high winds, around 20 MPH and occasional freezing rain. Not the best conditions to sit all day, but the rut was in full swing and deer would still have to move. I had already filled my archery buck tag, so I was hunting for meat. We hunted public property on Friday and I shot a doe walking from a thick bedding area to the hardwoods. It was crossbow season and I wanted to get everything on film.

My biggest goal this year was to capture my hunts with my go-pro!

It wasn’t the best angle, but I had a good opening and a steady rest. I let the deer sit for a few hours after my shot, then we tracked it over half a mile, eventually jumping it one time. The deer did not look hurt at all and I think my arrow passed through no mans land missing the vitals completely. Looked for it the next day and lost the pin pricks of blood. I hate leaving the blood trail or knowing I wounded a deer, but I know this deer had just a flesh wound (because of how far it ran and how little it bled). It would live to see another day, smarter and more cautious now!

The weather continued to be a nasty slap in the face, but we hunted hard and Mike had luck shooting a nice doe on Saturday evening. The wind was still blasting, but his efforts on the all day sit, paid off with backstraps. I was able to film some of the short track job! There is nothing like seeing a white belly in the dark. There were a ton of deer walking the thick edges of the property that night and Mike made a clean, quartering away shot at 25 yards. He did the right thing and let the deer sit for a few hours. After dinner we quickly picked up the blood trail and found her 40 yards from where he shot.

Sunday Morning looked like a great weather wise with minimal wind and cold temperatures. We were hunting a piece of private land that I had permission on that abutted the NYS State Forest. Great area with sloping hills, thick brush transition areas and overgrown fields. That same day, my high school buddy was hunting his land about five miles away. He had some great deer on camera and has been managing the property for a few years. His goal was to only shoot racked bucks (no forks, spikes or small 6pts. A few days earlier, a nice shooter was grunting up a storm chasing a doe. This love struck 8pt was making a loud racket, MAKE SURE YOUR VOLUME IS UP! His Wildgame trail camera caught the whole thing.

My high school buddy ended shooting this nice buck on Sunday night. The deer owned the area and responded to one of his grunts. He made a nice shot at 20 yards and the deer piled up after a few steps. It’s great to see deer management pay off.

That same night, my fiance and I left the area to head back home while Mike and Hillari remained in the tree. Hillari had a nice encounter with a buck, but her arrow missed the deer completely after glancing off some small tree branches. Being a bow hunter, we often have heartbreaks in the woods. Hillari had been hunting hard for a few days and seemed defeated after this unfortunate miss. Her persistence would pay off a few hours later!

Mike and Hillari shot the same deer! It was a great hunt and now they have this amazing and unique memory together.

I got a call from Mike at 4:45PM, frantic and excited. He said he shot a big 8pt a few minutes before and the deer actually ran right up to where Hillari was sitting. She made a clear shot at 18 yards then watched the buck disappear in some thick cover. Hillari and Mike have never killed a buck with a bow and were hard pressed on filling their tags this weekend. How cool is it that they both shot the same deer! Tag team style, the couple put their time in the stand and during the last half hour of legal shooting time, a buck tag was punched. She did not see the deer go down, so did the right thing in quietly getting out of the woods and let the buck sit for a few hours. They ended up finding the deer a little farther than expected in the early morning.

This weekend was one of the best in a long time. We had some great adventures in the woods and harvested some quality animals. Fall is my favorite time of the year and even though I didn’t punch a tag, I enjoyed seeing my close friends have success. Thank you for reading and be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram page for more great pictures.

-Michael

Action Camera Videos/Fall/hunting

Warm Weather Deer!

November 9, 2015 michaeloutdoorLeave a comment

Biggest spike I've ever seen! Great hunt with food in the freezer. — Biggest spike I’ve ever seen! Great hunt with food in the freezer.

What a great weekend to be in the woods! Our annual trip to one of our hot spots in NY paid off with backstrap dividends. Going into the weekend, I did not have a ton of optimism for the first few days of the trip. The weather was going to be unseasonably warm, like 65-75 degree warm. Typically the first full week in November is right around 30 in the morning and at the highest temperature, about 45-50. After the long 6.5 hour drive, we arrived ready for action. Four hours later, we woke up and walked to our spots. It was 70 degrees at 5:45 AM, with wind coming in around 12:00 PM and some light rain. Not the most ideal conditions, but the rut has just started to kick off!

Stud 9 point (broken G-2) that took the trophy for the weekend. 185lbs dressed.

We ended the weekend with two bucks down and a few other nice encounters. During one of the warmer days, my buddy and I both shot “seeking phase” bucks that were on a mission to find a doe in estrous. I shot a big spike and he took a monster 9 pt. The best day of the trip (temperature wise) was Sunday morning. Crystal clear weather with 32 degree temps and no wind. I was already tagged out, but had a great time filming my buddy. We did not harvest a buck, but had a nice encounter with a massive four point within bow range.

I will post a video of the weekend within a few days. Thanks for reading and if you had success in the woods this past weekend, please share your pictures on our Facebook page!

-Michael

Fall/hunting/Interview with the Pros

Interview with Michael Hunsucker of Heartland Bowhunter

November 2, 2015November 2, 2015 michaeloutdoorLeave a comment

There are many different hunting shows on the air right now, but one that is differentiating from the masses and building huge credibility is the award winning Heartland Bowhunter. I was extremely fortunate to get the opportunity to speak with one of Heartland Bowhunter’s founders, Michael Hunsucker, this past Friday. He is a really good dude and gave some great advice to better yourself in the woods. I hope you enjoy this interview!

Green Lake Chronicles: Where did it all start for you boys?

Michael Hunsucker: I grew up deer hunting the rifle season in Missouri, where we only had 10 days in the woods to try and fill our tags. I shot my first whitetail when I was 10 years old and was hooked ever since. My passion for the outdoors started at deer camp as I’m sure many others did. As I grew older, 10 days in the woods was not nearly enough to quench my hunting thirst. I purchased a compound and taught myself how to bow hunt. The Missouri bow season was much longer than rifle and gave me a great opportunity better myself as a hunter. During this time, I developed a passion for filming hunts. I had a cheap video camera and brought it into the woods every chance I had. As my bow hunting skills continued to grow, I started going out with my high school buddy, Shawn Lutchel (Heartland Bowhunter co-founder). Shawn was raised in an outdoor family and had a few more years of bow hunting experience under his belt. We started to get serious about filming hunts and eventually graduated to a better video camera. We were getting some great videos, but not to excited about the camera arm we were using. We wanted to develop a stable and quality camera rest for the stand and after some trial and error, the HB Sniper Pro Tree arm was born. This arm allowed us to up our game and really accelerated our filming. It put us on the map with notable hunting pros. Our goal initially was not to develop this tree arm for financial reasons, but to create a camera rest that will give us the best footage for our personal memories. Eventually we saw how well this arm worked and saw an opportunity promoting it to other hunters. After all the work we put into the first DVD, Shawn and I thought “why don’t we just start a hunting show and produce ourselves.” It all took off from there!

Green Lake Chronicles: Awesome story Mike. What was your most memorable hunt to date?

Michael Hunsucker: Ah man, there has been so many great hunts in my time, but I would have to say that the most memorable hunt for me was when I filmed Shawn take Junior. Prior to this, we got real serious in managing our deer herd. Passing on younger bucks until they matured to full breeding and antler potential. Junior was a buck that I had personally watched for a few years. We saw him grow as a two year old from our Reconyx trail cams and I even passed on him when he was a 160″ three year old. There was a lot of time and energies put into the management of Junior and I had spent most of the 2010 summer locking down his patterns. Opening day Missouri 2010, I was filming Shawn on what would be one of our best hunts to date. It was a rainy day and we had encounter with Junior around 40 yards at one point, before he walked away. Later on Junior came back and Shawn made a great shot at him around 15 yards. I never kicked myself for passing on Junior the year before, it wasn’t about who killed him. Junior was the product of hard work, scouting and effective deer management. He scored 172 6/8″. I was fortunate to share this amazing memory with Shawn.

Green Lake Chronicles: That’s great Mike, especially seeing junior as a stud 160” and getting him at full potential the following year. What is your favorite species to hunt?

Michael Hunsucker: That’s an easy one. I love going after whitetails. The time and effort put into deer management and scouting makes it that much more rewarding when you have the opportunity to take a big buck.

Green Lake Chronicles: What is the most challenging hunt you have been on?

Michael Hunsucker: Good question, I think the most challenging type of hunting is out west. Chasing elk or mulies in the high country is a physically demanding and mentally challenging hunt. You are usually hunting on the ground, spot and stalk and hiking miles to get a good wind. These western hunts will also get to you mentally. You can spend all day waiting for the right wind to stalk and when you’re getting close, the wind changes or the animal gets spooked. You can make your own luck, but you have to work extremely hard for it.

Green Lake Chronicles: I know you boys shoot NAP Killzone broadheads, but have you ever thought about making the switch to a fixed blade? The fixed VS mechanical is a hot topic.

Michael Hunsucker: Man I don’t think so. NAP makes a great product and their Killzone is nasty. I prefer shooting a broadhead with a wider cutting diameter and the Killzone opens up at 2″. I have nothing against fixed blades, but again prefer to have the additional insurance from a wider cutting diameter. Not every shot will be a perfect double lung and the wide cut gives me more confidence.

Green Lake Chronicles: What bow poundage do you recommend for beginning bow hunters?

Michael Hunsucker: A common misconception for beginning bow hunters, is that they should be pulling back big weight. That’s really not the case and I recommend folks pick a draw weight that they can consistently pull back and be confident with. It’s dependent on the person and how much they can pullback with ease. Keep in mind, shooting targets in warm weather is somewhat easy, but when you are on post, have bulky clothes on and a case of buck fever comes over you, you want to make sure you can get the string back clean! Confidence and comfort are key. I would also recommend buying a bow, that you can change weight as you become stronger and more comfortable. That way, you don’t need to buy something new every year.

Green Lake Chronicles: Great advice Mike, I remember when I first started, I tried pulling way to much back and froze when I had my first chance on a deer! What fundamental tips can you share for beginning bow hunters and what recommendations do you have to improve the mistakes of beginning bow hunters?

Michael Hunsucker: When I started bow hunting way back, I learned a ton from personal trial and error. The more time you put in the deer stand, the more opportunity you will get watching how deer work. Early on, I didn’t really understand the importance of hunting the wind. I would say this is the most important factor when choosing a stand. Don’t rush into hunting a spot, if you the wind is wrong. It’s better to hold off and not get the deer off their regular patterns. The second important tip I can share is hunting from the outside in, especially if it’s on a new property. Hunting from the outside and setting up “observation” stands will really teach you how to pattern. Using this mentality will allow you to pinpoint deer movement and make adjustments throughout the season. I also set up a ton of Reconyx trail cams to do the scouting for me. You can’t beat technology these days and trail cams have revolutionized the game.

Best advice I can give beginning hunters is to know the anatomy of deer to ensure proper shot placement. Study the vitals of deer and practice as much as possible. I like to shoot at 100 yards when I practice, because it builds confidence. I would never take a shot at 100 yards, but if you can consistently shoot vitals at a farther distance, you will have much more confidence when the deer comes within range. Practice to build muscle memory and know exactly where the vitals are on a deer no matter what placement they give you. Many beginning hunters rush a shot and get guts or non vital. END

Mike, thank you for taking the time to speak with us and share some great information about hunting. I started watching the show a few years back and was immediately hooked on the production quality, camera shots/angles and the actual story within each episode. As I mentioned above, there are a ton of hunting shows on air right now, but Heartland Bowhunter is a game changer. They do not focus on the hard sell of products or individual personalities, but on the memories and the story. The Heartland guys want viewers to be able to relate and not conform to the traditional, cookie cutter hunting program.

I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did. I urge you to check out the Heartland Bowhunter website to learn more about these guys and be sure to catch their next episode tonight 11/2 at 9:30 ET on the Outdoor Channel. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: All images in this article were found on The Outdoor Channel, google images and the Heartland Bowhunter website. Green Lake Chronicles is a “not for profit” style blog and all photos are credited to the appropriate owners listed above. Green Lake Chronicles does not take any credit for these photos.

-Michael

Month: November 2015