Wrapping up an Excellent Season

By: Mindy 

Tick Tock Tick Tock. Waiting for hunting season seemed endless. I practiced and practiced preparing for my autumn bow hunt. I shot my bow in my back yard for what seemed forever when my arms got tired. All my practicing paid off after I started hitting the bulls eye.
Over the summer I decided not to gun hunt when rut rolled around. But I didn’t know that everything would change. During my bow hunt up north the day before opening day of gun season…and rut. My Dad’s friend convinced me to go hunting with a gun. So the next morning, dark and early, I got up to prepare for my first gun hunt. And that gun hunt turned into a month of gun hunting. At first I used my 20 gauge while my Dad used his 300 short mag (up north of course). And then when we came back from our weekend hunt up north I used my 20 gauge and my Dad used his .50 caliber muzzleloader. But then I decided I wanted to use a bigger gun so my dad and I kind of switched, I would use his .50 cal. And he would use my 20 gauge in case I shot at something and there was another deer or as a back up shot if it started to run into thick woods. But unfortunately not a bullet came out of the .50 cal muzzleloader, 300 short mag, or my 20 gauge. Not even an arrow out of my bow.
I think that this was an excellent first season. I saw 1 doe, but she was out of range. On my up north hunt my Dad pointed out a dew claw mark that was six inches long and four inched wide. (Big Boy in the woods )
When I first began my hunting season I thought only about getting a deer. But that’s not always what hunting is about. Hunting is about enjoying nature and having fun. Even if you don’t see anything. Hunting isn’t just about shooting animals.
I love hunting and I don’t think I will stop hunting.
So this is the end to a great season. I guess I will wait until next year to see if I get anything down.
I want to thank my Dad for getting me hooked on hunting!
Hunting Rocks!!!!!!!
By: Mindy
December 21st, 2008

My Deer Camp HUNTING Stories

November 14th, 2008
Early Morning
I wake up at 5:30 in the morning and eat breakfast, toast and orange juice. (YUM)
After I ate my breakfast, I got on my camouflage and I got my bow and arrows out. My Dad and I headed out at about 6:15 am. It was pitch black out and drizzling. My Dad took me out to the wooden blind about 250 yards back and I opened up the windows and sat down. My Dad and I heard and saw nothing. So at about 10:00 we headed in and ate lunch.

November 14th, 2008
Afternoon
I headed out at about 2:00 and my Dad and I set up and watched for deer.
At dusk we heard something and my Dad told me to stand up, it was a partridge (or a quail). My Dad said I could shoot it. I was about to draw back but it walked away to fast.
We heard and saw nothing.

Late night November 14th, 2008
After dinner my Dad’s friend convinced me to go gun hunting. I felt confident after that.


Opening Day 2008
Again we heard and saw nothing. But this time my Dad and I were in a large pop up blind and in a new location.
Suddenly, closely, a gun went off and we thought that it was my Dad’s friend’s son that shot the gun but when we got back to the house nothing was there. My Dad and I were on private property so it was quiet on our side of the road. On the other side is public property so there are a lot more hunters over there. Oh! But where I was hunting, another partridge and 2 does.


Opening Day (Night)
We set up in the pop up and sat and sat and… sat. Nothing. All the sudden…BANG! A gun went off, across the road.
My Dad and I still saw nothing that night.

When we went back to the house my Dad’s friend and his son were sitting there and were like ‘Keep your stuff on, we have to go drag out So and So’s deer’ I took off my stuff and put on lighter stuff. My Dad, his friend, his friend’s son, his friend’s nephew, and me went out to drag out my Dad’s friend’s son’s deer out of the woods. We got there and a 3-point was lying on the ground, gutted out but there. We tied it and walked back.

By: Mindy
November 20th, 2008

Then and Now

Wow, since June/July, so much has changed! Such as my grouping, posture, bow weight, and my cams.

In June or July when I first shot my bow I could barely pull it back, now I am at 35 pounds. My bow is easy to pull back. My weight has changed a lot since June.

My posture has changed also. Months ago I used to lean my back far back and I shot that way, not a very good posture. Now, I still lean back a little bit but not as much as I did. A better posture means that you shoot better to! Changing my posture has helped my grouping of arrows a lot.

My grouping has changed so much since June. In June I was still on the target but not necessarily kill shots. Now I have a tight group and they are kill shots! So I am happy about that. My Dad says that if you can wrap your hand around them and they are kill shots then you are a great shot.

My cams have suffered a little bit recently, uh… I kinda dropped my bow once or twice or three times. My most recent drop was so bad that my Dad had to file down my cams. OOPS! I am surprised my bow isn’t broken yet!

Conclusion:
I really appreciate everything my Dad does for me. Without his love of the outdoors, I would never experience any of the best and worst things in nature. My Dad is one of my heroes and one of my favorite people to walk the earth. I really love my Daddy. I just want to thank him for everything he has ever done for me.

By: Mindy

My First Hunt - By Mindy

My First Hunt

My first hunt was amazing.
My Dad and I left around 5:30pm (October 4th, 2008) and we got in the woods soon after. About 10 seconds after we set up the blind we heard deer stomping around in the swamp about 20 yards away. We weren’t even in the blind yet! My Dad told me to get my arrow in my bow.

When we got inside the blind it was quiet for a while, a few chipmunk and squirrel noises but nothing extravagant. Then we heard something walking through the woods, my Dad told me to hook up so if it were deer they wouldn’t hear my release click. But as the noises grew louder, we saw two idiots walking through the woods, one was in a green vest and one was in a blue vest. At first I thought they had messed up my hunt. My Dad got out and said, “Hey you guys, you’re messing up a hunt!” They replied by saying, “Oh sorry man.” They obviously didn’t care, but after that they were quieter then they were before. Before they were talking real loud and cracking sticks, now they were talking quieter and walking quieter.

After things settled down we heard noises here and there but nothing came out.
Around 7:30, it was dark out so we headed in. As soon as we zipped up the blind door and started walking away, we heard deer stomping around in the swamp, but still, we kept on walking.

But as my first hunt I thought it was awesome because sometimes you don’t have as much activity as my Dad and I did.

That was October 4th, and today is October 5th, in about 2 hours, I am going out again.


By: Mindy


Mindy knows that when we hunt on public land, things like that can happen. The land is for everyone to use. While the two gentlemen who walked up on us interupted our hunt and walked right into the location the deer funnel from the swamp to our blind, they did turn around and leave without a fuss. I have a feeling they were looking for gun hunting locations and saw the heavy traffic area as a potential location. Hopefully, they'll respect our stands and blinds already set up for archery and gun season...we'll see. Even with the interuption, Mindy and I had a wonderful time watching the squirels and birds and listening for deer. I was a pretty proud dad sitting there watching my little girl, dressed in camo, and holding her bow waiting for deer. (even if her arrow wraps are pink...lethal pink with those broadheads! :-) ) ...and her's was the only bow we had with us because it's her hunt.

-Dad

My Dream

Hey! Lets Win this. The thrill of her life (Fiction. So Far)

1:
Whisk! The arrow flies, the target falls over. The powerful bow shot the arrow right where the heart would be placed. The young girl smiled and looked over at her Father. He smiled to. The young girl’s Father cranked up the poundage to 35. She shot it. Heart shot on the target. The girl was ready for deer season.

2:
77 shots later at 35 pounds deer season for bow hunting began. The young girl’s birthday was approaching soon. She wanted to hunt on her birthday. It was 1 week away. She thought that it would be an awesome birthday present. The first hunt went slowly. Perfect. But seriously, the girl never wanted the morning hunt to end.
A few hours into the hunt a young buck came in, but it was to small to shoot, it only had 2 points. It looked like less than a year, or maybe a little over a year.
After a little while a nice 6-point came in but it was to far away and wouldn’t come any closer. A few minutes later it started raining, thunder and lighting came in. Deer came sprinting across to find shelter. The young girl didn’t realize that the deer were actually behind her tree stand. The deer were too quiet. They didn’t even rustle the leaves fallen on the ground. The young girl was with her Father. He signaled for her to start packing up her things. The Father came and undid her safety harness and the girl climbed down. In the truck on the way home the Father spoke, “So… Sport, did you have fun?”, “Of course. I saw a nice 6-point but it was to far away.” The girl said. “That’s pretty cool huh?”
“Yeah.”

3:
The very next day the girl pulled out her bow and started practicing. Her Dad supervised. Dead center, heart.

4:
The next hunt was her birthday.
Early in the morning she woke up and got ready to hunt. Her Dad was ready in a matter of 5 minutes. When they got out into the woods they immediately spooked deer. Once they settled into their tree stands. The sun silently rose over the horizon revealing a strong shadow. 11 points on the top of the wispy silhouette. A grin arose on the girls face. The silhouette grew closer. 12 yards in front of the girl. She slowly drew back her bow. She looked through the peep sight and narrowed in on the heart. Her cold finger reached out in front of the release. She took a deep breath. Her finger barely touching the release put more pressure on it. The camouflage arrow quietly left the bow. In less than a second the arrow hit the deer and went into the heart. The deer dropped. Bagged. The girl’s grin grew bigger although it didn’t seem possible. A few minutes later the hunters went out to look at the girl’s deer. She poked it to make sure it was expired. It was. She sat down behind it and held the head up. Her Father took photos. They later dragged the deer out of the woods. Blood dripped everywhere from where it was gutted out.

5:
At home the girl’s Mother was ecstatic. Her older sister was called from college. She to was ecstatic.

6:
Months later the deer head was mounted on the wall. Staring and reminding people of the awesome birthday present.

Extra:
This girl had a dream. To get a deer. Determination and inspiration inspired the girl to keep moving forward. That girl was me, Mindy.

I would like to dedicate this short story to my Daddy because he believes in me and inspires me to keep moving forward.
I am moving forward and pursuing in my dreams.

Thank You Daddy, I love you!
By:Mindy

Turkey Huntin'

I LOVE going hunting with my Dad, I have SO much fun.
Every Saturday morning I go turkey hunting with my Dad.

Day 1
I woke up at 5:30, the sun was already rising, my Dad met his friend at our spot down a dirt road where we deer hunt. We approached cautiously, awaiting any sudden movement. Just KIDDING!
We went out into the woods and my Dad’s friend went maybe 100-200 yards away into deeper woods. My Dad started calling, then I did to. Nothing. So about an hour later we got out and went “scouting” I guess you can call it. We searched for the perfect spot near by. We called and heard nothing so we got into the truck and drove down some dirt roads the opposite direction from the deer spot. We finally found a spot and it was TURKEY CENTRAL! We immediately heard gobbling so my Dad and his friend, and his friends son got out their guns and walked to the edge of the field. A hen was standing there, saw us, and took off. So we walked around the field and we saw a HUGE tom track. And then we decided, this was the place to hunt.

Day 2 Week 2
We went out into the field, set up our blinds and started calling. 3 or 4 turkey’s gobbled back. We called them out to the edge of the field but we couldn’t see them because the were still in the woods.
An hour later we called again, all the turkey sounded normal, then we heard the big boy, his gobble was very deep.
A half hour later we heard nothing. Then we saw a guy walking in the middle of the field! He didn’t care that our truck was sitting there! He kept on walking! So we got out of the blind and ended the day’s hunt.

Day 3 Week 3
We got out around 5:30 am. It was windy out but we sat out there until 9:30ish. We saw a couple of rabbits, a big fat racoon. We also heard something that sounded like it might have been two turkeys gobblin’ and then there was a niose like two racoons or foxes fighting. But no turkey near. Oh well, I was out for the experience, not just because I wanted my Dad to get a turkey, but to enjoy nature.


By: Mindy

Can't Fire Release

Another Story by: Mindy

Two Saturdays ago I got a new bow and I also got a device called “Can’t Fire Release.”
What it does is it builds up your muscles so you can get either a heavier weight or to get better at pulling back your weight easier.
So I started working with this.
The Saturday I got my bow. The guy that set it up at Gander Mountain put my bow at 27 pounds. When I went to shoot it I couldn’t pull it back so the guy put it at 26 pounds and I could pull it back easily.
The following Monday (2 days later) my Dad put it at 27 pound and I could pull it back. Right now it is still at 27pounds, but I am almost ready for 28 or 29 pounds.
But I started using the Can’t Fire release and it worked! I am still using it and it will help me with heavier poundage and help me pulling back the bow easier.
I used the device on Sunday and I think it helped me a lot when I started pulling the bow back.
I like it because I can get to a higher poundage and I can get up there quicker.

My Choice

MY Choice

I made a decision not to shoot. I thought, I can’t do this, I’m afraid. And I truly was.

A few months ago at the end March, my Dad took my sister and I to the shooting range along with his friend and his kids. We went there to practice for turkey season.

My Dad had recently bought us a new gun; to be exact it is a Tristar Semi-Auto 20-gauge. Brand new. I was so excited that my Dad had gotten that for us, I was ready to practice for turkey season.

When we got to the range I let my Dad shoot first. So he did. He said he loved it. My sister shot next, then the pressure was on, I didn’t want to shoot.
I sat down on the bench table thing that held the gun up, and my Dad handed me the gun. I said, “I can’t see over the gun.” But really I was stalling. My Dad put a bag of something under the barrel and said that I could shoot when I was ready. But I was never ready, I handed my Dad the gun and said, “I can’t, I’m sorry.”
I was upset because I felt like I had to, I felt that my Dad would be disappointed in me if I didn’t, then the pressure worsened.

But my Dad wasn’t disappointed in me, no Dad should be upset with their child if that child doesn’t want to shoot the gun.

I had decided on my own that I was going to wait to shoot that gun until next turkey season. That’s right, I decided on my own. For now I am practicing with my bow to go deer hunting in the fall so I am still target shooting!

So to anybody out there that feels like they have to shoot a gun in order to please somebody, when really, they don’t want to, they shouldn’t be afraid to say, “No” or “I’m not ready.” But never should anybody feel like they’re forced to.
I made a choice not to shoot, nobody was mad at me and nobody was disappointed. It was MY CHOICE. ☺

By : Mindy


Note from "Dad" - I can't tell you how proud it made me that my daughter was comfortable and strong enough in our relationship that she could make a decision like that. Even if she decides that she never wants to shoot I know she loves spending time in the woods with her dad and I couldn't ask for anything that makes me happier! Mindy, You Rock. I'll always be there to support you.

Bear Tracks

Bear Tracks

My family and I were camping up north at Harrisville State Park. I really love going up there, and just camping, the only thing that bugs me are the bugs themselves, they always get into our trailer-camper and stay on the ceiling, and I HATE BUGS! So anyways, my mom, dad, my sister, and I were looking at the activities that were scheduled for that day, there was one that said, Bear Scouting, so my dad and I went to it. There the presenter brought a fawns hoof, a bear foot, bear crud, and I think she brought a beehive. The lady told us a lot of information like, when a doe leaves her fawn in the morning to look for food, the bears come and eat the fawn! She also told us that at the campground, there have been sightings of bears in the dumpsters! After we were told all the information, the lady took us out in the woods to look for old dens that the bears had hibernated in, and she had some people look for bear poop. All the people ever found was skunk crud. I had fun and I think that my dad did to, and I guess we learned something too.

By Mindy

"The Call"

The Call

He he! I laughed at something my sister had said when my moms cell phone rang.
“SHHHHHHHHH” she said, “ Hello?? Oh, hi.” It was my dad. Then I heard my mom say WOW! Then she handed the phone to me, hello? “ Hi Sport, my dad said. (Sport is my nickname) Guess what?”
“What?” I replied.
“ I got a 9- Point this morning!”
“NO!”
“Yes!”
“ I don’t believe you!”
So since I didn’t believe my dad, he had to have one of his buddy’s that he was talking to tell me the truth. “ Mindy, your Dad, really did get a 9-Point!” His friend said. So I was like “Okay” My dad then came back on the phone and said, “Do you believe me now?” “Uhuh” Then I gave the phone back to my mom. She was really happy for him and she actually said that my dad should get it mounted because he was never going to get another deer again! My sister and I were laughing and so was my dad, even though my mom denies ever saying it! And so that was the call!

Info
Day: November 15, 2007(opening day in Michigan)
Time: 9:00 AM
Gun Type: Tikka T3 300 WSM
Location: North of Hale
Points: 9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excitement level: 9.5!
Weather: Cold & Windy

By: Mindy

My First Duck Hunt

It was September 15th, 5:30 am in the morning about 52 degrees out side. I was shaking with excitement as I was getting all of our stuff in the boat wondering to myself if I would have any luck. It felt like it was forever until we finally got in the truck to head to the lake. When we got to the boat launch there was no one there, we backed the boat into the freezing cold water. I could here motors running out on the lake as my dad parked the truck.
The wind off the lake was waking me up, I was getting pumped! As dad got in the boat I threw the tie off rope into the boat. I jumped into the boat and was ready to push off, we started the motor and we took off to the other end of the lake. As we putted across the lake we saw close to 2,000 seagulls!!! The spot we were setting up on was a little point, a perfect little spot to tuck up into in behind a downed tree. I don’t know why but I felt like I was a fish.

BOOM!!!.....Splash, "yes"

The point was a spot were the ducks bolt around it and catch you off guard, watching the sun come up was a cool sight to see with birds flying across it. The first ducks that we saw were across the lake, but then we had some coming towards us. They turned to the left and went to the cove behind us. I finally called two ducks in to our decoy spread!!! They were pintails but I could not get a shot off because the decoys were to the right of us. Then one flew from the right to the left! BOOM!!!.....Splash, "yes" I shouted with joy! I was so happy my first duck hunt and first duck. My dad was so proud of me, we went out to get it and I picked it up and raised it above my head. This will be one thing I will remember for the rest of my life!

By: Mike Adams

High Jump!

In late October, my dad took me out hunting with him. I was so happy because I love going out in the woods with him. Just enjoying nature and smelling the fresh air and seeing what’s around me! I had my own stand almost directly across from my dads tree, but one of the best parts of sitting up there was that when I looked down there were beautiful purple flowers and they looked like they were glistening when the sun hit them. I just couldn’t resist, I had to take a picture of them with my camera.
Then a little while after that, 2 doe came running in from the swamp, and I watched them, and they came across a log and they jumped it. I didn’t know that deer could jump that high. I was really excited because the older doe was huge!!!!!!! Then I realized that it was doe with her older fawn. The fawn didn’t have her spots, but I could tell that she was quite young. The older doe looked around and came back to her fawn and then they bounded out of our sight.
Later on when the sun was setting I was playing my Nintendo DS Lite. I didn’t realize that my dad was trying to get my attention, it took him a couple of times of whistling before he got my attention. So I looked up and there were 10-15 turkeys just casually walking through the woods. I thought wow! So I got out my camera and tried to take a picture, but something spooked them and they ran off.
So I never got a picture of those turkeys, but I sure had a great experience, but that’s no surprise, I always have good experiences when I go out in the woods with my dad!
By: Mindy

The Catch Of The Day!

On one of my past fishing trips a few years back, in a small inland lake around southern Michigan, I was fishing with my Grandpa and Grandma on their pontoon boat. I was having a lot of fun fishing off their boat because pontoon boats are so big and I didn’t have to worry about hooking someone. Well anyways nobody had caught anything yet so we decided to head to a new spot, so we did.
At the new spot my sister had gotten some small nibbles, but caught nothing. So on one cast, I felt a tug. I told my Grandpa and when he came over my rod had started bending quite far, and I had a rather small rod. So then my Grandpa said, “Its just weeds” he probably thought that because the “Thing” wasn’t fighting back. So as I reeled it in it gave another small tug. Then my Grandpa was like, “It’s a fish! No… its weeds! It’s a fish! No! It’s weeds! What is it??”
So as I was reeling it in, it went under the boat, that’s when my Grandpa finally realized that it was a fish!
It finally happened, I reeled it all the way in. And it was far by the biggest fish I had ever caught or seen!!! It was 18 inches long, probably about 6 pounds or so, and was a bass!! My Grandma wanted to take a picture of it with me, but since I was little, I didn’t want to hold it. So my Grandpa had to hold it for me. After a couple of pictures we threw the fish back into the lake and I was so happy that I had caught the fish!
After that we moved the pontoon boat to a new location and my sister caught a few small fish and so did my Grandpa. But no one caught a fish as big as mine! Which is why my fish was declared the catch of the day!
I have never caught a fish as big since. So that’s probably why I still remember that very day. I also might remember because my Grandparents had the picture on their fridge for a while. But I will never forget my catch of the day.
BY: MINDY!!!!