First of muzzle loader season was a bust with that Nor Easter but finally getting out some. Used my fawn bleat and attracted a big fat Coyote who turned tail and ran when he saw me. Seeing mediocre deer sign in southern NH. Deer are there but need to be pushed to see them. Not seeing deer! That will happen in the opening weekend of regular firearms season next week. Rut is approaching peak by the 15th to 20th by my reckoning. Now is a great time to rattle up a buck.  I tried it day before yesterday but no luck. Use a grunt call too in combo with doe in estrus. Got to stick with the technique if it is to work.

Stay clean and as scentless as you can. I am trying too.  I wear a camo face mask if on stand and don’t spook the squirrels who can signal danger. Good Hunting!

What a difference 30 minutes can have when you arrive late to a bird release. I didn’t think I was late nor did my hunting friend Mike. But we were never the less!

That said, these released pheasants were dug in like ticks on a hound. They flew into woods and brush and without a dog to dig them out, it was difficult indeed. I ran into my long time bowhunting friend Dan Williams who is heavy into hunting ducks and pheasant these days with his now champion dog Cody, a Labrador Retriever. Seen below. After the hunt Dan puts Cody through his paces retrieving four training bumpers in a row! One from 150 yards hidden in the woods!

Along for training he brought other dogs to learn from Cody and enjoy the field. They did all of that.

Mike’s dog Sam worked the best when he could concentrate away from the other dogs.

Sam Flushed up a pheasant which I downed with a long shot from my goose gun. We saw where the bird went down. In the wood edge we sent Sam in and he found the bird and retrieved well. Nice job Sam and Mike!

We called it a day when a hen shot up in front of other hunters. Both shot, both missed. Mike shot, I shot twice giving too much lead on the first shot. The bird did finally go down and was retrieved. Ultimately I claimed the bird. Here we shall call him the community bird as we all took a shot and laughed at ourselves. We were thankful that retrievers were there to pick up where shooting skill was not “at its best” for that bird anyhow.

Camaraderie was in full blossom! Dogs too! A wonderful day afield! © 2014

New Hampshire Pheasant Hunting is easy on the hunters soul. Young hunters, Women, and a gaggle of older hunters and retrievers of all kinds can experience the thrill of the chase. Friendship abounds,dogs are trained and eager to retrieve.  In early October God paints all the trees with crimson, orange and yellow and provides a deep blue canopy overhead with puffy cumulus clouds like cotton balls scattered here and there. It is simply heaven on earth to be outside and part of this hunt. Pheasant stocking programs from NH Fish and Game have existed for years here in New Hampshire.

I did not grow up as a Pheasant hunter as my father was more a deer hunter so my exposure was unfortunate. I gathered with my hunting friend Mike and his retriever Sam shown in the October cover photo. We eventually hooked up with his friends who also have dogs with them on the hunt. Some dogs are well trained and other dogs think that this is a social gathering to smell each other and play.

I found that many older men and their hunting dogs are ardent Pheasant hunters. The truth is that the bond between man and dog is inseparable like the hunter below who’s dog is thirteen years old. What a terrific friendship!

Mike and his dog Sam are equally inseparable as they train together to hunt Pheasants. Sam is a young retriever and is still learning the ropes. His exposure to the hunt and to other hunting dogs will aid greatly. Mike uses whistle commands and a training collar.

The hunt is a way for each to frolic and hunt together.

The truck arrived with birds for release into the NH Fish and Game regulated hunting area covering a very large area with woods and fields and released dozens and dozens of mature male and female pheasants. They take flight near and far some landing as far as a quarter mile away. Some right in front of us.

Some land right in the large fields as hunters wait for the truck to leave before advancing to locate and shoot them on the fly.

And fly they did! All of us decked out in orange were cognizant of our responsibilities for safe gun handling.

We had a great time! Birds were flushing everywhere. I did manage to down my limit of 2 birds.

Here Sam is showing off a Hen. What a mouthful. I got the birds home and prepared them by removing the suptuous breasts and legs to my considerable culinary skills. I saved the tail feather for perhaps a floral display or for fly tying. I am ready to do that again! It was great fun and a way to introduce youth hunters to hunting in general. A very social event or private event as you like it! Good Hunting! © 2014

Perhaps one of the toughest animals to hunt with Bow and Arrow is the Whitetail Deer. Here in New Hampshire it is even harder as the deer population density is lower than in many other states. Deer per square mile ranges from 4/sq mile in the North Country up to more than 20 per square mile along the seacoast. Much of the seacoast land is posted but you can ask permission. All they can say is no! Of course you are hunting in and around homes and woodlots. The deer I show on the cover was taken not far from my home in Plaistow, NH.

The season begins September 15th and Closes December 15th according to NHFG at http://nhfg.net/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_deer.htm 

Special Permits are still being taken (see the website above.

I have scouted in the North Country and finding deer sign regularly but here we are talking about 4-7 deer per square mile. The reason to hunt here however is that there are few houses and lots of land. Further, there is a mystery to hunting wild places. Today there is a movement to hunt with ATV’s of all sizes up north. http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/new_hampshire_list.htm 

These ATV’s are big kids toys for those that can afford it. A good 4WD vehicle can get you mostly to where these ATV’s go. The big plus for ATV’s is to be able to get your deer out of the woods too.

Back to Bowhunting; Today’s successful Bowhunter’s rely on scouting and knowledge of deer movement patterns and deer densities.

Reading deer sign is still the most sought after skill and is a work in progress as the season progresses toward the rut. The rut here in NH peaks around mid November and begins in September.  As each day passes the bucks will gather in small groups in September. Some sparring will begin and in October the bucks increase aggression toward one another knowing that mating season is almost upon them.

By mid October scrapes and tree rubbing are evident and the first doe is in estrous and can be mated. This is perhaps the best time to bow-hunt when the rut is not yet in full swing. Bucks during this time frame are vulnerable because they are eager to mate and come to calls and smells and remain out on the trails during the daylight.

If you are tree-stand hunting your scent is above the ground and chances are better that you will see game that is not spooked by human scent. Most bowhunter’s spend many hours in tree stands so be safe and be harnessed in to prevent falls.

Smell is the most important of all senses that a deer has in its defense. Hearing is second and Seeing is third. So if you don’t smell and have good woods skills, to keep walking sounds to a minimum, your chances increase greatly in seeing game.

I was in my tree stand for just minutes when I called that buck in with a doe bleat call. At 20 yards it was a good shot with a fixed blade Muzzy head.

Today you need to be aware that coyotes can smell blood and body gases from your dead deer so retrieval ASAP is key. New England Coyotes Canis Latrans Var. are one third wolf and are larger than their southern and western cousins and have larger jaws and muscles to eat deer.

For Hunter Education please see NHFG site below.

http://nhfg.net/Hunting/hunter_ed.htm

Good Hunting! © 2014

Ok, so you don’t have lots of spare cash like me and you reload. A .308 Winchester or it’s necked down cousin the 7mm08 is a highly efficient cartridge to own for hunting or target. Many of us have opted for their larger bretheren the 30-06 and the necked down version in .270 Winchester. Most did this in their younger days like me and shot a box of 20 rounds with a poor recoil pad. That night and the next day your shoulder was not only bruised but in pain. And when it came time to reload them you brain was calling you names including “stupid” among others. Today with the advent of recoil pads like SVL- Simms Vibration Laboratory and Pachmayr Decelerator the recoil is largely cut by 50% so the only factor that adds to the reason to own a .308 Winchester is efficiency, cost of powder and a shorter bolt throw. The power is there, and plenty of it for hunting big game. Today a pound of Powder is around 30 dollars. A further argument for ownership is accuracy. As cartridges go a full cartridge is, in general, more accurate than a less full one. Lets examine a .308 round with a Hornady 150 grain head using Reloader 15 Powder. It uses 45.4 grains to push the bullet to 2700 fps out of a 22 inch barrel. In order to get the same velocity out of the 30-06 you must use 48.1 grains of powder in a longer barrel too 23.5 inches making it more likely that you will need 48.5 grains or so for the same barrel length. There are 7000 grains per pound thus with the .308 you can load  10 more Cartridges for the same velocity and the accuracy is potentially better and the bolt throw is faster and shorter than the 30-06. What about big game? Well for deer and black bear the .308/7mm08 is fabulous and has a shorter range on Moose but the 30-06 and .270 Winchester steps in as a better selection for Moose providing 300-400 fps more than the .308/7mm08 Winchester option out to 100-150 yards but so what, how often are you going to hunt Moose and African game unless you just love the fat side of medium bore as I do. All said and done, the 308 became the cartridge of choice for our Military in WW II, you can shoot faster per second and pack nearly as much energy as the 06. The M1A rifle in .308  is still highly popular at 1000 yards with open sights as a national match course cartridge. I give the .308 and 7mm08 a way thumbs up for hand loaders. The .308 and 7mm08 are at home with African Plains game short of the Big Five but most take the step up to 30-06 and 300 Win for reasons of safety and to have Enough Gun. I used .338 Win Mag and .270 Winchester as a two gun combo in Africa with my son Jason. I did not need the .338 Win Mag for Dangerous situations. Had I taken a lesser firearm than the .338 then Murphy’s Law would have put me in an untenable situation. The most important thing to remember is that shot placement is everything. © 2014

If you ever had a dream to hunt Africa now is the time! Airfare and Safari Hunt Packages are very stable at this time. A complete hunt with 6 animals including airfare and taxidermy of mounts for 2 people would be less than some western hunts for one animal.  It seems like only yesterday that I took my son Jason with me on Safari and wrote my e-book African Safari Rifle and Bow and Arrow.(click the link) the e-book is only $12.99, a bargain. Get a copy today!

My dream was  to hunt plains game with my son and harvest animals like the Greater Kudu, Gemsbok/Oryx, Impala,Springbok, Blesbok, and Red Hartebeest. The timing of my Safari was in early August when days were warm and nights were cold. Every day was nearly the same with bright beautiful sunshine. The landscape of the hunt is very important to me. I did not want to be in heavy brush, I wanted to see Africa not be swallowed by it. I lucked out because we hunted the open bush-veld where we could often see nearly a mile in every direction. Below a spectacular View.

Here a herd of Wildebeest cross our path heading far from us while on the Toyota Truck.

Typically we hunted with our Toyota Land Cruiser where we would do spot and stalk hunts or for Bow and Arrow we would use Hides near watering holes.

Spot and stalk hunts were challenging as the game has been hunted and they knew what we were after. I was eager to take game with Bow and Arrow so some of my days were spent sitting in a grass blind called a hide. Game came in from all directions and it was never dull. From that Hide we saw every manner of game Blue Wildebeest, Gemsbok, Impala, Kudu, Red Hartebeest and Giant Eland. I depended 100% on my PH’s Andries Van Zyl and Joan-am for determining male from female and trophy from non trophy.

The e-book shares heart pounding Plains Game hunts by Jason and me, a Live Cheetah Capture, how we prepared for the Safari, equipment practice and clothing, rifle and bow accuracy, medical considerations, Taxidermy and so much more including a Safari Checklist. All of South Africa has hunting concessions that are fenced to control disease and predators. If the concession is 50 square miles, it is fenced or 5 square miles like mine. Game is monitored by a bevy of Veterinarians and meat is sold and or used/cooked  by the Safari Outfitter for hunters and guests. Nothing goes to waste!

Our hunt included all wild and domestic meals, beverages, wine and alcohol after Safari’s, washing of clothes, transportation.

Below is my Cape Kudu that made the SCI Record Books. Now that was a Hunt because a few hours earlier I took a fine Red Hartebeest with bow and arrow!

Below I arrowed this fine Red Hartebeest, a one shot  kill! Further down is the Blind I was in and at far right of the window in the hide is just the top of the horns of this cautious beast.

Sunset at this Watering hole is spectacular.

Live Capture of the Cheetah below. The Vet prepares a drug dart.

I had no gun! There in the spotlight in front of me was a real Cheetah! Just a camera in hand in the top of the Toyota fully exposed. If that Cheetah wanted a piece of me, it would have only taken a few seconds to close the distance.

Luckily the Vet was a good aim with the dart gun! All went well, safe at last!

A 150 yard shot at this Record Book Impala with my Ruger M77 338 Winchester Magnum with my own hand loaded 250 grain Nosler Partitions. Sweet! My PH Andries at left. I used some camo tape on my rifle barrel and it did not spook game.

My e-book is full of these terrific photo’s and so many more! This could be you!

Live the hunt with me again and again with your own copy of African Safari Rifle and Bow and Arrow!

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