Here's Whats Been Happening..

Hey-just to update everyone. My son and I had a very successful Deer Hunt this fall on The Farm in Northern Michigan.

We spent most of late summer and early fall building my son's birthday present, an elevated deer blind. I will find some pictures to post later, but this turned out to be a major undertaking for the two of us (that's another story). Guess where we built it..in the middle of a 20 acre field, on top of a ridge, right out in the open. From this blind, you can see about a mile in most directions..we can actually see four different farms.

When we built the blind, I thought we'd see the deer along the field edges, creek bottoms, and edge of woods; however, the deer walk around this blind like it doesn't exist. While, we were under construction, we had a very healthy deer audience on a daily basis. If anyone had told me that deer would have acted this way, right in the middle of a 20 acre field, I would have thought they were whacko. The proof is opening day...

It was just daylight, Vern Jr was in his blind for 15 minutes; he was surveying the territory. Had the binoculars on 3 deer in the next field, about 350 yards away checking for horns. Something caught his eye..he happened to glance down..and within 50 yards of his blind he had a 9 pt buck coming towards him. The buck was totally unconcerned and was on his way to check out the new blind. That was it..license filled at 7:20am opening day..The blind was a success.

A bit of advice..It's not necessry to build such a blind out in some distant woods or swamp. It is not necessary to camouflage such a blind. Place this blind wherever it is most convenient for you..not much of a walk..no fighting the brush. Put it where you can see the best for a long distance-if it is out in the open, that's ok-the deer will find you. Actually, we noticed that whenever we were watching deer from the blind, they were less skittish and very calm being out in the open field where nothing could bother them. The second day of hunting season, Vern Jr saw a coyote in this same field and it was very unconcerned with the blind. Now remember, this blind had only been completed less than 1 week prior to opening day..and we were not at all quiet when we were building it.

Later..

CHANGING BLOGS

Please bear with me... I am in the process of changing my blog. I will update shortly.

The Family Sport...HUNTING and FISHING

My intent is to remind everyone that Hunting and Fishing is really the Best All American Pastime and we should all be encouraging young hunters to “take up the Sport”. It usually starts with a mentor..Dad, Mother, Sister, Brother, Uncle or whomever. Somebody very special to us, taught us how to enjoy Mother Nature at her best. We owe it to that Special Somebody to pass this knowledge, skill, love and enjoyment down to the younger generation.

The www.thefamilysport.com was created so we could Share Hunting and Fishing Memories…Tell memorable Hunting and Fishing Stories. It becomes a Hunting and Fishing Diary for us and our Guests. Let’s all become a mentor…promote Safe Hunting and Fishing and teach youngsters and families the joy of Hunting and Fishing. Now it’s your turn to tell your favorite Hunting or Fishing Story. We are very interested…Please Share a Memory…Tell a Story.

Do Deer Scare Easily? I Think Not...

Believe it or not, shooting does not always scare deer. Let me tell you what happens at The Farm. I have a bench rest and shooting range set up for sighting in my rifles. The surrounding area is made up of small wood lots, open fields, small marshes and creeks. Many times when I am sighting in my guns or trying different ammo, deer will walk around the fields and continue eating without picking up their heads. Sometimes this will be within 50 to 100 yards of the target. I've had to wait for them to leave the line of fire as they are feeding right in back of the target. However, if I am close to them and snap a twig, they go absolutely berserk looking for the intruder.

You can walk at a steady pace through the woods and they will stand and watch until they make sure "what you are and where you are going" before they leave. When they walk through the woods, they sound like a herd of cattle..not very quiet unless they've already been alerted. As I sat in my blind, I've been upset to hear people walking through the woods near me on opening day, just to find out that the "people" are actually very noisy deer. Of course, none of this occurs on a windy day..the wind does make deer extremely cautious and skittish.

I have seen my neighbor baling hay on The Farm and deer will walk right out into the field to satisfy their curiosity. He told me that when he's mowing hay, he sometimes has to stop for deer because they are so interested. BIG V