Getting Prepared

Well it is the middle of summer and most people are not thinking about deer hunting. But why miss this great opportunity, the bucks are in the middle of antler development. It is a good time to put out salt with calcium. The deer will come to these for the extra minerals. Feed with minerals are also a good way to help develop better antler growth. If you can make a way for the deer to have water it will help keep them healthy .
I know people who have built ponds or put in wells where the water was able to flow and built small streams just to attract deer to their property.
This is also a great time for pruning limbs that blocked your shots last year. Or removing trees that have grown up in front of stands( make sure you have permission before you cut down trees) . This is the best time to check those permanent tree stands or shooting houses so that come hunting season nothing will be hindering you or mess up that shot at a trophy. Don't wait until right before season starts and leave your human scent all over the woods. If you do it now your scent will be gone before the deer hunting starts.
This is another chance for those trail cam shots. You can watch as the bucks grow their antlers and capture those great velvet pictures.Or take this time to hang your stands . I know many deer change their patterns as fall comes. But most of us found trees last year, during the season, so we know in advance where we want to hang our stands. Let the deer get used to the stand, so it want alert them .
If you are scouting a new hunting land, look for old rubs on the trees as a sign for where the bucks roam. Find funnels and different ways the land or anything that might turn the direction of deer. (I've discussed this in past blogs)
Planning helps in getting you prepared in how you will hunt. It also builds confidence.
Commit your activities to the Lord and your plans will be achieved. Proverbs 16:3

God's Perfomance

The storms have been rolling through my area lately. Mostly rain but some have been thunder storms. It is amazing what kind of light show you get to see. Streak lightning is still shocking every time I see it. Sorry about the pun. I love watching storms but my favorite part is the lightning. The different layers of clouds with all the beautiful colors flashing across the sky. Then add the base drums of thunder, you can have a heavenly symphony playing before you. Combine these, it is like heaven is putting on a ballet show for all who want to stop and take it in.
Over the years I have stopped and taken in many of God's performances. I never get bored because they are never the same. As you get to see the next storm, stop and take it in. ( From a safe place of course) As you look , listen as God puts music in with the lightning. The storms may display a scary force but they also show some of the greatest beauty nature has to offer. Compliments of our great creator, God, putting His touch as if conducting His own symphony.

The Most Important Choice

You planned for years to go on safari to hunt big game in Africa. It is finally about to come true. Every detail has been worked out. You have made choice after choice about what gun, what to wear, and which guide to use.
You now stand in camp in Africa and the guide says this is the day you start hunting animals. As you move out into the bush the rush of excitement flows over you. Then your thoughts are interrupted, as the guide touches your arm and points to a very large wildebeest and says for you to take it. Your aim is true. You have taken the first animal on a week long safari. As you think about what has just happened, you hear something stirring in the bush to your right. You look expecting to see one of the men who are there to help the guide but instead it is a lion. He charges, you bring up your gun, aim, click. Nothing happens, and then you wake up in a cold sweat. It was all a dream.
Now you really go trough all your choices to make sure your dream doesn't become a reality. You double check what gear you will take. Making sure the gun isn't one that jams.
Even with all that preparation, what gun you choose or what type caliber you decide on. These are not your most important choices. The most important choice you can make whether you are in Africa or any where else in the world is to ask Jesus into your heart. Many in the world will see this as weakness or ignorant. But all search for something to fill the void we all have inside. Christians are the only ones who have peace. The void has been filled when they ask Jesus into their heart.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. Psalm 118:8

Choices

In America we have many choices. We can choose anything from what different food we want to helping choose the president. Hunters are no different we can choose to hunt with a gun, bow, black powder, or crossbows. My personal stand on what you hunt with is what you feel comfortable with and it has to kill ethically. An obligation hunters face is to ensure that an animal doesn't suffer.It is funny to me, listening to different hunters argue over what caliber rifle, what type of bow or if using a crossbow is ethical. If you hunt by the laws of the state you are in, staying legal and safe, it doesn't matter what you use. I don't decide what I use by what is popular. I use what I like and I'm comfortable with.

If you have to make a choice about what weapon you use. I will tell you in most states it is easier to obtain bow hunting licenses and access to more land. It is more of a rush to me than gun hunting and is more of a challenge.

Morning Glory

There is something special about early mornings. Maybe it is everything is refreshed. Or it could be a chance at something new. Anyway you look at it every morning is a chance to see God's morning glory as HE starts things out fresh. The sun comes out to shine it's praise as God intended. The birds sing out their chorus for the creator and every animal comes alive with feelings of motion. There is a purpose for everything under heaven.
I've been a night owl, where I stayed up all night.Yet still when I've had no sleep and get to see God start the day over again. I feel at awe as I watch each new morning unfold. To get a chance to watch as the light chases each and every shadow away. As the sun marches over the sky , advancing slowly , because God gave it a set time to reach each spot. It allows the moon to go hide like it should.(I've already spoken about my moon appreciation in moon phases)
It is like watching 2 brothers who play hide and seek,they both want to win. But they want their brother to have a fair chance so they don't rush.
They say morning is a time for new chances. If everyone looked at it this way maybe our world would be less volatile. Hope would flow from everyone.
Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.Psalm 30:5

Things just happen

Have you ever had anything happen that seems to ruin your day of hunting? I have, this can be expected if you go afield as much as I have over the years. Sometimes things just happen. In the past , I have started to cross a creek that was normally very shallow only to find a spot that was over my head. SPLASH what a way to ruin a hunt. Or to hike way off the beaten path only to have a sudden rain flood down on you. I can usually keep hunting but if I get so wet I can't stay warm my day is over.
I have also ruined my own hunt a few times. Like using a self climber tree stand to climb way up in a tree. When I got up to the level I wanted to hunt from realize there is a limb stuck in my way. No problem get the hand saw out and cut off. I couldn't I had taken my saw out of my bag and left it at home. That day I got a bright idea. Just take the top part of stand apart and go above the limb. Not recommended, I dropped the wing nut that held it together. I'm stuck 20 feet up in a tree with no way down. After tossing the top part to the ground I finally used my safety rope to swing out of the tree. I wasn't Tarzan but it worked, with only a few minor scrapes and bruises to show.
I look back now and laugh but at the time I was so mad at my self. I can say sometimes things just happen. It is how we handle the situation that shows our character. To learn from our mistakes shows our maturity.
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs17:22

What to do about hunting?

It is April, a month when there is not much hunting going on. But it is not a time when you shouldn't get out in the woods. This is a great time to scout, if you can handle the pollen. I went a couple of weeks ago every thing was yellow. But I got to see parts of my hunting area, with out the worry of spooking the deer. I found some old signs of where the bucks had traveled. I carried my hatchet and cleared some trails for this up coming fall. By clearing trails now you can have deer familiar to traveling them without fear by opening day. Make sure you clear shooting lanes around your stand locations, also.

My favorite thing is to use the lay of the land, I've talked about this before. Deer will naturally use the lay of the land to travel in safety. If you make it easier for them to travel by clearing the trails, they will use them. It also allow you to see if any changes have happened to your hunting area.

On my trip I got to spend my time with my wife and children. My wife was taking nature pictures. My kids were just happy to be able to run wild. It was a great time to get my children excited about the great outdoors with- out worry of seeing deer or not. This is a great time to show a child a great adventure and get them wanting to go with you in the fall.

I saw where the power company had cleared trees away from the lines. They just cut the trees down and left them where they fell. Doing this they blocked one of my favorite funnel exits out into the open power lines. I now have time before season to take my chainsaw out there and fix this funnel. Hopefully, making it better. You never know if just getting out before the season starts may help you have a better hunting experience. Maybe even putting more meat in the freezer come fall. Or helping you find the piece of the puzzle that helps you harvest the trophy of a life time.