It's Turkey Time

I like to hunt fall turkeys in Nebraska.  Even though I live in Iowa, I like the way Nebraska sets up it's fall season.  It starts in September and closes the end of the year.  It gives you plenty of time to track them down and find out where they are moving about.  In the fall they flock up and the issue is not calling a big tom, but finding their routes where they feed.  Also in the fall you can shoot hens as well as toms or jakes, and meat is meat.

I hunt north of Fort Calhoun in the hills overlooking the Missouri River bottoms lands.  Woods, steep hills, flowing water, and crop land make this an ideal place for the birds to thrive.  This fall the landowner had rented his pasture and while he said come out anyway, I decided to wait till the cows were gone.  With a mild fall, the cows stayed a lot longer than I planned.  The owner did not move them until deer season started.  Nebraska is a rifle state, and I was not going to hunt or roam around the farm during the deer season.  I hunt deer in Iowa so my scouting that was done earlier in the year would not apply. Also the weather turned really bad by the time I was ready to hunt.  It turned really cold and the ground was covered with snow.

The first day I stayed on the north end of the farm moving around, sitting, listening, and waiting.  There was not a lot of tracks of either deer or turkey.  The landowner stated that they were not seeing many birds around the house and rarely saw any deer.  This was unusual.   Last fall when I drove up his road it was like running an obstacle course with all the deer and turkey running around.  Then the reason why came bounding out of the house.  They bought a new dog, and she loved to chase the birds and wildlife when they came near the house.  It was time to move down south.

As I moved into the terraced pasture ground, the presence of tracks became more prevalent.  This was more like what I had been used to seeing on this farm.  I came to a grove of trees and the snow was literally pounded down with turkey and deer tracks.  It was late in the morning, so I set up above the grove of trees and just glassed the area.  There was no sign of any movement either in the trees or beyond to the corn field.


The grove of trees looking west.  Notice the gun and chair.  I sat for about an hour on the other side of the tree but saw nothing. 

 I moved on top of the hill looking east and watched that area of open pasture to the next property.  This property is owned by a non profit organization and no hunting is allowed.  I think it is about a half a section of standing timber.  The birds move in and out of the area, but I saw nothing.

I then moved up to the top of the hill, and down the fence line bordering the landowners farm.  I can go south to his southern fence line, but I cannot go east as I would be in a no hunting area.  Tracks ran up and down the hill.  As I got to the bottom, the turkey had the snow packed solid. 



You are looking south along the fence line.  To the left is no hunting.  To the right is the bottom of a very steep hill and drainage dams are on the side of the hill.  The piece of wood in the left of the picture is part of a ladder for a tree stand.  The snow is packed from turkey tracks along the fence line.  I plan to be in this location first thing in the morning. 

 I sat and waited for about an hour, but saw nothing.  Deer came over the hill in front of me, jumped over the fence and moved into the no hunting area.  Turkey came out behind me and up over the hills.  I just barely caught them out of the corner of my eye.  More turkeys moved back into the no hunting area, but none in gun range.  This place is a regular meat market.

The plans are made.  Tomorrow morning before the light of day, I will be sitting right where this picture was taken. 

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.   Hank

If you have an interesting story or a great picture of a successful outing, e-mail it and we can share it with our readers.
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Pheasant Hunting At Its Finest

In eastern Nebraska there is an excellent opportunity to see a lot of birds and have your limit before noon. It is the “Little Creek Game Bird Farm” east of Blair Nebraska on Highway 91. Arrive by 8 AM, check in at the comfortable lodge, and you can be gone before noon, but a good dog is highly recommended. The birds are placed on creek bottoms with tall grass, flood plains on each side and terraced corn fields. The terraces are heavy grass with corn on each side. There is a whole lot of cover. You can shoot hens or roosters, and the fee is the same for six hens or three roosters. Game farm birds are a little smaller than birds born in the wild, but they perform and eat exactly the same. The weather seems to determine if they will sit and then jump into the wind, or start running ahead of you. It seems when the weather is really foul, they will sit. On nice days they run. A good dog is always the equalizer on any upland game hunt.

John and I with five nice birds.  There is a dead one still out there flying.

Teaming up with hunting and shooting expert John Bender, makes the difference for two reasons. John has a chocolate lab “Junior” who loves to hunt. No matter how cold it is, how windy, how much snow is on the ground or in the air, Junior plows ahead. Working back and forth, going on point, then retrieving a downed bird means we never lose one if it is a loose shot. Second, John is an excellent trap and skeet shooter. If you are a little rusty, and we have all had bad days, John will never miss a bird.



Chukars are a great bird to hunt.  They fly in every direction, and the flite pattern is similar to that of a quail.  The best part is they have a really big breast, and make a great meal.

 Hunting at a bird farm is a great experience, and a great way to go if you have a time problems in your life or don’t want to walk for miles upon miles. Three or four day trips to well known areas of the country can be expensive, and game bird hunting is a lot cheaper with the same or better result.

For an inexpensive way to harvest a daily limit of birds on a limited time frame, go to the Little Creek Game Bird Farm.

With all the snow and cold weather we are having, the turkeys are flocking up.  I scouted the farm I hunt north of Fort Calhoun and the patterns are somewhat different.  The birds I saw were all south of the usual ambush point.  I am now set to get my limit tomorrow or the next day.  It just can't get any better than this.

More on this topic to come next week.

Good fishing, good hunting, and good luck. Hank

A Duck Hunting Tale

It is 4:30 in the morning and the temperature is 31 degrees.  The wind is blowing from the northeast at 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph and wind chill at 15 degrees. It is humid and that makes it colder. The overcast is one to two thousand feet, and it spits a little snow, sleet, and rain. The precipitation stings when it hits you in the face. This is duck hunting along the Missouri River in Eastern Nebraska, and it can’t get any better than this.

How many times a year do you sit in a blind and only see blue sky with the wind switching to the south, but on a day like described, it is time to head to the blind. A blizzard is sweeping across South and North Dakota with freezing temperatures.  The mallards have had enough of Devils Lake in North Dakota and Sand Lake in South Dakota.  Here they come. With six inches of snow on the ground 50 miles to the north, the ducks will be hungry and thirsty when they cross the snow line.  We have it all for them when they arrive:  open water and plenty of food in the fields.

It is still pitch black when everyone is settled into the blind.  The birds that were kicked up when we walked in, are returning with more locking up and floating in against the wind. You can hardly see them, but there is plenty of racket above and around the blind.  They came in during the night, found the open water, and dropped in for a drink and a rest.

Count down is on to shooting time, and at the right moment eight of us all stand up. Up they come, and each of us pick out a drake for the first of many shots that are sure to come. As it gets lighter, you can see the migration is in full swing, and the birds are decoying right to the swamp for a drink after feeding all night. As they swing and circle the blind, locking up with their wings cupped, you can see the mud hanging from their feet. They are thirsty. It just can’t get any better than this and by noon we are limited out.

What is always amazing, when they are decoying, is that you can be outside picking up birds and they still are trying to come in.

If you have an interesting story, e-mail it to me along with pictures and it will be posted on the site.

Good fishing, good hunting, and good luck Hank.
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Four Days of Ducks Part 2

Day 3

The weather continued to evolve and seemed to be changing by the hour. Forecasts did not match up to reality and it changed again. We did not get away from our overcasts and restricted visibilities in the morning. The wind moved into the north and was really strong. When we walked into the blind the lake was empty, and the only noise was the decoys being smacked by the waves. The number of hunters went down after yesterday, but we still had a full blind of eight hunters. Jim James was there to call, and Jim Beck was there to shoot in case anyone missed his shot. (Read the previous blog for their backgrounds).

The action started quickly and we immediately had birds over the blind. This consisted of small groups of teal, gadwall and widgeon with a sprinkling of mallards. They came to the blind quickly with little caution. This was a good sign that they were fresh birds and not the ones hanging around the numerous wetlands. You can always tell if a duck or goose is local. They won't finish after locking up several times and floating toward the decoys. If they have had their hind ends burnt, they remember. With the northerly flow they would finish over the decoys and we would get some excellent shots.

With several ducks apiece, members trickled out of the blind and headed for home. I quit about 1 pm and picked up three birds. There is nothing like the big northern mallards.

Day 4

I peeled out of bed at 4 am and went immediately to the window. Yes, the weather people were right. There was a light mist in the air and the temperature hovered around 34. It went up as the day moved along. I moved along quickly.  When I got to Blair, Nebraska the temp was 33 and it had moved from mist to rain. When I reached my next waypoint on the route to Tekamah, at Herman, the temp was 32 degrees with a very light rain. This was not good. Meeting at the Big Chicken in Tekamah for breakfast, the forecast was for freezing rain and drizzle, light northerly wind, but clearing later in the day. With that information and the knowledge that these people are always wrong, we headed to the blind.

There were ducks in the lake when we walked to the blind, and they immediately got out of Dodge. They would be back, and we would be waiting. The action started off quickly with teal and other small ducks decoying into the blind. We had no mallards yet. As the morning progressed, we were into bluebills, ringnecks, gadwall, spoonbills, green wing teal, and widgeon, but only one mallard was the lucky bird to grace someone's table.

By noon the weather lifted and we saw a massive migration underway of ducks, snow and blue geese and Canadas. I left at 2 pm.  From noon to the time I left, the sky was filled with migrating birds. Three hunter remained behind.  When I checked with them in the evening after shooting was over, the migration continued. There will be plenty of opportunity the rest of the season.

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck Hank

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Four days of Ducks Part1

Day 1

It can hardly get much better. The first part of the week, Canda Geese had migrated into the club's lake. This was a good sign that waterfowl was on the move. With almost 40 acres of water, there must have been a thousand Canada geese, and two hunters had their limits shortly after shooting time.

When Friday came, I was ready to go. Up at 4 AM, on the road by 4:30 AM arriving at the Big Chicken in Tekamah for breakfast. There I teamed up with 4 other club members. The wind was really strong from the south. Not good, as we would have preferred a northerly flow. As we walked into the blind, there were no birds in the lake. Then the wind went dead calm. We usually do not like this type of condition, and there was a heavy overcast with limited visibility. As shooting time came visibility improved, but there was nothing working the lake.

To the north three blinds opened up. One volley after another for about 10 minutes and then all went quiet.  Now this group is not happy.  Why are they getting shooting and we are not? Everyone remained very quiet and communication was all with stares of bewilderment. When it is dead calm, you do not talk, you wispher. The birds can hear the noise from the ground. The metal blinds buried in the ground are like an ampliphifers. Then here they came, one flock after another. The ducks just dropped out of the bottom of the overcast and locked up over the blind  With wings cupped followed by a few short quick calls, it was shooting time. With no wind, angles were not the best and I must confess, I have seen better shooting, but we were getting action. This went on over and over again for about 90 minutes with pauses of 15 minutes in between.  Flocks of five to ten birds, mostly mallards dropping in on us. We would be outside picking up birds and they still tried to drop in. Periodically a quick flight of green wing teal streaked by, giving a brief opportunity, and with the quality of shooting, it was only brief. A few gadwall and widgeon went to the freezer, but the mallards made up most of the bag. With the restriced visibility, it was quick and when we came up, the birds pumped skyward like they were on an elevator.  By noon, the low overcast had burned off, and we pulled up with nice limits ducks.  Excitement had ran high, and it was a finish to a great morning.

Day 2



The weather changed again.  The temperature dropped almost to freezing, the humidity spiked upward, and the wind blew strongly from the Northeast.  This is duck and goose weather.  It was obvious migration was taking place and the lake was holding a fair amount of birds as we walked to the blinds in the dark.  There was twelve hunters today, and whenever the weather turns blustry, the club members turn out.  Our pit blinds run north and south and and we face east on a north south penisula. With the wind now switching to the east, the birds would be decoying into the wind and would be coming in from behind us on their final approach.   This makes shooting a little difficult as you have to turn around to shoot.  Also, initially they were staying south of the blinds and then finishing moving east northeast into the wind. The wind was really kicking up, and when we came up, they went up like they were on a rocket.  It was a bone chilling cold with heavy humidity. 

We were getting birds working us about every thirty minutes with small to medium flocks of five to fifteen birds.  We also had Jim James in the blind and when he is with us this changes the whole dimension.  Jim is the former owner of Carlson Calls and 1996 National Grand Champion Duck Caller.  This is an amazing thing to watch and to hear a professional at work.  They just talk right back to him.  Jim Beck, Olympic Gold Medal Winner for Trap Shooting, was also with us.  Wow, does he make a difference.  I have never seen Jim miss a shot.  So if everyone else shot poorly, rest assured the club would have success.

Now for the best part of the day.  A flock of Canada geese started to work us.  There must have been 100 geese in the flock, and it is rarely that we get into that many at once.  They made two passes around the lake, dropping down with each pass. You could tell these birds were tired watching their wings pump. If they had flown any distance, they were thirsty too.  Then strung out in a string, they locked up and floated towards the blind.  The first few birds flew over the blind, but the balance was behind when the shot was called.  You had your choice, shoot to the east on the birds getting ready to land, or take the ones right behind.  It was great. Members began leaving with limits of birds, but the flight of Canadas coming in was the highlight of the day.

The next two days are just as exciting.  Good fishing, good hunting, and good luck. Hank



Fall Happenings and Events

Based on the announcement from John, I have had three outstanding days of duck hunting.  The birds are coming down from the Dakotas, and tomorrow I hunt again for a total of four straight days.  Read about it next week.  The shooting is excellent and will get better.

Important Announcement: My friend John just called and said the lake was full of Canadas this AM.  Only 2 guys showed up, and had their limit by 7:30 AM.  The lake is 40 acres so this gives you an idea of how many geese migrated in.  I am going tomorrow.

I belong to a duck hunting club with blinds northeast of Tekamah along the Missouri River.  The season has started off rather slow, but when the weather starts to turn in the Dakotas, the birds will be down.  I have gone twice, shot twice, and hit nothing.  Club members that showed up when we had a north wind had some good shooting on teal, pintails, and other small ducks.  During one of those windy days, if you went, you would be rewarded. 

The farm where I hunt turkeys still has cattle on it.  While the owner said to come up and hunt the woods, the owner of the cattle may be unpset with someone hunting while he has cattle on the ground.  They should be moved off in the next week or so, and I will have to re-scout the area.  It is like a grocery store on that farm.

I read through the DNR website for Iowa and South Dakota and will now pass on some interesting information.

GUTHRIE CENTER - The Iowa DNR along with many sponsoring organizations has created a mentored deer hunt that has been introducing people to Iowa deer hunting since 2004.


This mentored hunt is scheduled from Nov. 19 - 21, 2010, at the Springbrook Conservation Education Center. Participants will attend educational sessions on all aspects of deer hunting including the equipment, photography, biology, management, field care, deer processing, gun handling, safety, hunting methods, shot selection/placement and regulations.

Participants will be accompanied with their mentor to hunt deer in the park.

"If participants do not feel comfortable with any aspect of deer hunting, there will be people available to assist them in a positive, supportive environment," said A Jay Winter, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources who is coordinating the hunt.

The program is designed for adults and youth 12 years old and older. There is a $123 fee for the hunter to cover food, lodging and program costs, plus a $27 license. There are scholarships available to cover the registration fee.

Registration is required. To find out more information or to register, contact A Jay Winter at the Springbrook Conservation Education Center, 641-747-8383 ext 11 or e-mail ajay.winter@dnr.iowa.gov.  You can read additional articles on the Iowa DNR website. (www.iowadnr.gov/).

The pheasant season is in full swing in South Dakota.  I have friends that make an annual pilgrimage up to Winner.  They have a great time and come back with a limit of birds.  They have hunted the same farm for the last ten years and it has paid off getting to know the farmer.  The farm is held for them every year and they are the first ones to hunt it. 

From the South Dakota DNR website this piece of information. (http://gfp.sd.gov/hunting/small-game/pheasants.aspx) To gauge how good pheasant hunting can be in South Dakota, you need to consider a bad year. The last time hunters harvested fewer than 1 million roosters during a South Dakota season was in 1992, and that was almost 970,000. Since 1926 the state's harvest total has been under 1 million birds only 21 times, and only four times under a half-million.

It is no coincidence that almost all of those occurred in a stretch from 1965 through 1990, the timeframe between the Soil Bank and Conservation Reserve Program agriculture set-aside programs. These government programs resulted in prime pheasant habitat. Prime habitat breeds prime pheasant numbers.

The next item I saw of interest was in the local newspaper in Council Bluffs.  The Iowa DNR has stocked 8,000 walleye in Lake Manawa.  Now that is good news. They did not tell what size they had stocked, but I heard at a local sporting good store, they were not fingerlings. The walleye in Manawa do not re-produce and the lake has to be re-stocked.  I have had mediocre success there, but most of the time when fishing this lake for walleye, I get skunked. 

I under stand the lake may be dredged to a deeper level, which would improve the fishing, and hopefully the lake would clear up.

It is time for the Mallards to come south.  We just need some blizzard conditions in the Dakotas to push them out. 

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank
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Wyoming Elk Hunt

We have had so many positive comments about Casey's elk hunt, that I want to leave it posted for one more week.  This is an excellent read and really exciting.

Just a side note, club members had two good days of shooting small ducks.  Mostly gadwall, widgeon, teal, pintail and a few mallards were taken.  On Friday the 12th, ten hunters took 30 ducks. On Saturday,  twenty six duck were taken by eleven shooters.  One of the members called me at 11 AM, and said the shooting was done by 9:30 AM.  We had some weather move in from the southwest with really strong northerly winds and that brought some birds down.  The big mallards have yet to arrive.

Checking the Sand Lake Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota they only have about 30,000 Mallards, and Squaw Creek in Northwest Missouri has about the same.  We need a big blizzard across the Dakotas to push them all out.

My Elk Hunt October 11, 2010

It was 5:30 am October 11th and my alarm went off a little earlier than usual that morning.   If it were waking me up that early for work or an undesirable task, I might have hit the snooze, but that morning my feet hit the floor almost simultaneously with the alarm. Finally, it’s my day for an elk hunt.  Because I work for a local outfitter here in Wyoming, I have been immersed in elk hunts and bugles since the 20th of September. However, all of the talk, the hunts, and the bugles have been for our paying hunters.  We, the crew, have to wait our turn to go on the hunt. Finally my day arrived.

I rushed out of bed and threw in my contacts.  My dog Bailey raised up her head from sleep to look at me as if to say, “What are you doing up this early?” She at least got up to say good-bye before I walked out the door. It was a short drive to what we call the “Tracy Lake pullout” where I met my two buddies, Dan and Ben. Dan is our resident guide and had been on the hunt for 3 straight weeks. He thought we stood a good chance at a bull just above Tracy Lake. I arrived first while the stars were still shining and heard the occasional quack coming from the lake. I wondered if I should have brought my decoys and shotgun instead of my 270.  Dan and Ben arrived shortly after I did and within 5 minutes we were hiking uphill in the dark. As we climbed the first hill and reached the first “bench”, Dan whispered, “It’s still early.  Let’s wait a minute. Elk can be anywhere from here on.” Just before dawn, Dan let loose with a bugle. A bull answered right away. We’re in business. We moved on up the trail to get set up, hoping Dan would call him in. This bull was hot and bothered as he hit again without Dan calling. Now we rushed to get set up as it sounded like he was coming. “This is going to happen fast” I thought to myself.  Dan bugled and the bull hit again.  Dan cow called and the bull hit again.  This conversation went on for 5 minutes, but where once he seemed to be moving in on us, now he seemed to be moving away. “We've got to go get him.  He’s not coming,” said Dan. We moved our location.  Dan was careful to cow call as we moved,  to prevent making more of a disturbance than we had to. We set up again.  The same conversation ensued but the bull made no appearance. We even heard a spike try to get in on the action. Then as quickly as it all started, all went quiet. “I think he’s wrapping around the corner in that drainage that goes up to Randolph,” Dan said. We were on the move again, paralleling the drainage, but hearing nothing.

By now the sun was up and it was warming up.  Since we were on foot and moving, we took a few minutes to shed some layers and took a short break. “I thought for sure the bull was coming in,” chimed in Ben. We recounted in whispers all that took place just a few minutes ago, and our best guess was that he winded us. We pressed on hiking through what I would call “elk world,” bench after bench, pockets of meadows surrounded by thick timber, plenty of water, cover and everything an elk could want. We paralleled the drainage until it became a small canyon.  Dan hit the bugle again and we got an answer immediately. The only problem was, it was faint. This bull was a ways off. “Got to keep him talking till we can get there,” Dan said. We were on the move covering ground as quickly and as quietly as we could. This wasn’t the time to enjoy the beauty of the country around us.  Right now we had an agenda and all three of us were moving accordingly. Dan kept him talking as we moved toward him for a good 20 minutes. We tried to set up again but found the same situation as earlier in the morning. From the bull’s perspective, no reason to come to us when he already had his cows!

We moved a little more slowly and deliberately as we started our stalk. Only another 100 yards and Dan whispered, “Get Down!” We knelt down as best we could and there we were looking at 3 cows and a spike.  The herd bull was nowhere in sight.  I got set up with a makeshift gun rest from a downed tree.  Dan told me, "Don’t shoot the spike, the bull is going to follow those cows."  We waited, but nothing happened. The next time the bull bugled, he was close.  We thought he had wrapped around the trees where we could see the cows but not him. We needed a different angle if we were going to get a shot. We went up the next little knob to our right where we could get a better look at the entire meadow and not just the section where the cows were. As we got settled in, I looked down at the bottom of the knob about 45 yards and there was an elk. I whispered to Dan, “There’s an elk at the bottom of the hill.” “Is it the bull?” Dan responded.  I couldn’t tell as it was in the shadows, so Dan raised up with his binocs and turned to me, “That’s the bull!” He was 45 yards from us, staring straight at us. We froze. He was staring at us, and we were trying to figure how to get a shot at him. What we knew for sure was that our window of opportunity was closing rapidly.  This bull was starting to recognize that something ain’t right; whatever we do we’ll have to do it quickly.  If he would just turn broadside I would have a great shot, but he just kept staring straight at us.  As risky as it was, we had to move further up our little knob in hopes I could get a better angle.  I took two steps and Dan said, "He’s moving left to right and coming out between those trees.” I scurried into position and here he came, just like Dan said.  I knelt down and raised my 270 to shoot, knowing this had to happen fast.  This bull was getting ready to hightail it out of here.  I let loose with a round.  His cows were starting to run down hill away from us and the bull clearly wanted to go too, but he was moving much slower than the cows.  Clearly he had been hit. Dan was cow calling and about that time he said, “Shoot him again!” I  pumped another round in the chamber. The second shot dropped him like a ton of bricks. To say the least, this being my first bull, I was a little excited. Dan told me later, “We’ve been friends for three years and I don’t think you’ve ever hugged me before.” I told him, “Don’t count on it happening again!” We both laughed.

Dan, Ben, and I exchanged high fives and handshakes as we laughed and talked about the events that led us to this kill. While the thrill of the hunt and the kill were a great experience, it still could not compare to the memories and stories I had with good friends. I will always remember this hunt, yes, because of the kill, but even more because I got to do this with good friends.  That, as they say, is priceless.  So, I wish you beautiful sunrises, plenty of game, and good buddies to share it with.

On a side note, as we were hiking back out to “Tracy Lake” we saw a mule deer about 45 yards out.  I couldn’t help it, even though he was just a little fork, I couldn’t pass up the chance to fill both my tags in one very special day.

This was a really exciting read and congratulations to Casey on two nice animals in one day.

Good hunting, good fishing, and good day.   Hank

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Idaho Elk Hunting Adventure (Part 2)

During the night it rained, and really hard. I expected the camp to be a mud hole, but this is Idaho, not Iowa. The rain soaked into the ground.  The trail on which we rode the horses was almost dry. This was interesting country. Our guide pointed out the meadows we would be hunting.  We rode and walked to the bottom of a mountain, tied the horses in a grassy area, and walked back into some of the most beautiful valleys and meadows I have ever seen. Working into different meadows and changing locations to fresh meadows yielded nothing. In fact, all of a sudden there was an absence of rubs and no droppings of either deer or elk. We continued to look for elk signs but found none. We sat in the woods along game trails. Casey would call and we would wait. Finally we did some heavy scouting and found wolf tracks. Wherever you have wolves, you will not find game. We headed back to the horses and arrived back in camp at dark for another outstanding meal.  To learn more about the impact of wolves on game go to the website http://www.saveelk.com/.

Looking down into the valleys and meadows we would be hunting.  Unfortunately, wolf signs were everywhere and the elk and other game move out.

The next day we headed out along a U.S. Forest Service Road and walked down a mountain into some valleys and meadows we could not see from above. It was a sunny day and the air had warmed up.  It looked like a much clearer day than we had before. Moving into a meadow that was partially forested, we each found a place to hide. I stuck myself among four trees, standing behind two of them. The one on the outside was a pine with branches blocking my outline. I could see between the limbs and looked down the meadow. I was in the shadows. The meadow was thick with small stands of timber. I always take my range finder and pick out some trees just to determine distances from where I am hiding. I also spot some distant trees just to keep the perspective in mind. Breaking out of the timber came an elk. A nice size bull having a good rack. He was probably about 200 yards when I first spotted him. He turned toward me. The sun had now risen above the trees to my left and I was no longer in shadows. He was facing me, but I was behind the two trees, and hopefully my shape and outline were blocked. I said to myself, “Get ready, he is going to come your way.” I slowly started bringing the gun up to my shoulder and raising the barrel to stick out of the trees to prepare for a shot as he got closer. I could feel my heart beating.  I was really excited but reminded myself to slow down and be patient. Don’t rush a thing.

At about 150 yards, he must have either winded me or saw the movement, because he moved quickly and tore back up the mountain into the dense timber.

We hunted the rest of the day, seeing lots of elk signs consisting of rubs and droppings but no elk.




Wolf track were found here and no droppings or rubs.  Look at the beauty of this meadow.  Small streams were all across the floor, and the ground was soggy. 



This will be a tough shot, but this is tough country.



Typical meadow, but look at the cover.  The shots will be close

On Day four we moved back to the small meadow with the pond. There was no wind and it was dead calm as I sat in the shadows. I would have preferred to have the wind in my face. After a few cow calls I heard thumping and crashing of timber to my left and into the woods. It was then obvious we had a bull hooking around us.  He was in the timber just beyond the small pond. We all sat very still and waited. Casey gave a few more calls. I was keeping an eye on an opening just opposite my position. It was less dense and would give more of an entry into the small meadow. Nothing appeared. Then there was a loud thunder of hooves running in the opposite direction. The only thing we could think of was that he must have winded us. Charlie said he was in the shadows sitting very still looking at an area where he thought he had heard him. Casey was surprised that he split so quickly. Something was just not quite right.

We then moved to an area that had experienced a forest fire about 15 years ago. Elk had been seen frequently feeding in the area adjacent to the standing timber. Since the area was quite large we hunted several spots before moving on. Finally we went back to the big meadow next to the burn area and found fresh elk signs everywhere. We hid here until early evening, but saw no elk. Thank goodness Casey carried a GPS with him. I had no idea as evening set in where we were.  It all looked so different.



Our guide referred to this as "the burn area."  Forest Fire had taken place over 15 years ago and because this is a wilderness area it was allowed to burn itself out.  Quite a large area and we spent part of a day in different locations.  Good elk signs, and lots of mule deer. 

Our last day, we went on the hunt with great hope and expectations. Charlie and I were getting in excellent condition with all the walking up and down the mountains. We started back in the area where I had seen the elk, and worked several of the meadows. Seeing rubs and droppings everywhere was a good indication of elk in the area. Everywhere we went there were mule deer. We set up in several meadows and on the sides of the mountains looking down into meadows, but success was not with us for this trip.


Sitting on the side of a mountain and looking down into a small meadow.  Our guide is behind us up the mountain.  My friend Charlie is to my right about 50 yards.  What a beautiful setting.  Mule deer were on my left.  150 yards to the tree line on the far side of the meadow.



Looking down two game trails.  Our guide is behind us.  This is looking down the mountain and would be a really tough shot, but this is rugged country.

On the way home we both asked ourselves if it was worth it, even though we did not bag an elk. The answer was a resounding yes. We went for the experience of a remote wilderness camp.  Living, walking, and riding in the mountains was the goal. I can’t say enough nice things about the service and the people with Wind River Outfitters. Their treatment of us was outstanding.  I would highly recommend them to people wanting an outdoor experience hunting elk in a wilderness setting. I plan on going back.
Next week we will have a guest writer.  He is an outdoorsman who with a close friend just shot his first elk in Wyoming. This will be a great read.





My horse, Jaz. 



Good Hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank.

Text 10/31/10

Idaho Elk Hunting Adventure (part 1)

My friend Charlie and I had waited for this day since January, when it was decided to head to the Idaho wilderness and hunt elk with Wind River Outfitters.  October 7th came and we loaded up and headed west.  Out of Omaha you can average 75 mph along the interstate.  Once you clear Lincoln and past Grand Island, the traffic thins out and driving is a pleasure.  We made great time and arrived in Rock Springs, Wyoming for our first stop before evening.  Next day it was another 700 miles up to Riggins, Idaho where we spent the night. You could do this differently by leaving earlier from Omaha and driving farther, possibly up to Ogden before you spent the night.  Then an early departure could get you to Riggins and into the camp late in the day.  We wanted to see the countryside so that was the reason for our planning.

Out of Riggins and up Highway 95, we turned onto Banner Ridge Road and into some really spectacular country.  The scenery was the first reason we were here.  Two hours later we met Mike Branson, owner of Wind River Outfitters, transferred our gear to his truck and started into the Gospel Hump Wilderness on a U.S Forest Service Road.  The scenery just kept getting more beautiful, and the forests were really dense.  The road kept getting rougher, more rocky, with 700 foot vertical drops off the edge.
At a U.S. Forest Station horse corral our gear was unloaded.  A mule team was brought out from the camp and the gear packed on a skid and hauled into camp.  If you go to the website for Wind River Outfitters, the picture you see of the camp is exactly what you see when you arrive.  Everything is right there for your comfort in the wilderness.  If you need a shower, you can shower with hot water.  The tents are heated with a wood stove which makes it more comfortable to get ready for bed or dressed in the morning.  There is also a modern no flush toilet just a short walk out into the woods.

 Our first problem developed while we were sitting around the campfire enjoying the company.  Charlie mentioned he had some problems with his rifle getting it sighted in.  So we went to a place where we could test fire some rounds at a target.  Charlie could not sight it in.  The shots were all over the target after adjustments.  Mike then took the rifle and tried some shots.  The exact same thing occurred. Shots were all over the target with no correlation to the adjustments.  It was then discovered the mounting brackets were loose.  They were tightened, but after one shot would come loose and were not tightening down properly.  This gun could not be used.  You could load up and shoot all day and never hit a thing. Fortunately, Mike had an extra gun in camp for Charlie to use.  This was a good lesson.  Make sure your equipment is in prime condition before you leave home, and have your weapons checked by a reputable gun smith.

That evening we sat down to an excellent meal prepared by Mike's wife, Jaylene.  Dutch oven cooking is her speciality, and all the meals she prepared were outstanding.  They were big helpings.  We were encouraged to go back for more and I did.  Then there was dessert to top off the evening meal.  Elevation at the camp was around 7,300 feet so I was feeling tired.  We also had a big day ahead of us, so it was time to retire. 

The tent had a wood stove that was fired up for us before bedtime.  The evening was beginning to get cold so that really felt good. During the night, if one of us got up, we would throw a log on to keep the coals alive.  In the morning Mike would fire it back up before we even got out of the sleeping bags.  The tent was always warm when we got dressed.  This was service. 

After a big breakfast, we picked up our sack lunches for the day and headed out with our guide Casey.  The woods were dense, but there was a marked trail that we could follow.  Casey carried a GPS with him that had a two- way radio as part of the unit.  He could be in contact with Mike or Jaylene if he needed to contact them.  Waypoints were periodically added as we moved along, so night or day, we could find our way back to camp.  We walked by and around several meadows where elk signs were everywhere.  Droppings on the ground and rubs on the trees were good signs of elk.  We also saw a lot of Mule Deer. 

This is the meadow.  You can see the pond at the end.  Wildlife signs everywhere

As we moved to the edge of a meadow, we saw a small pond at one end.  Casey decided to set up there.

Charlie and I were placed about 50 yards apart with our faces into the wind.  We sat down just inside the tree line facing into the meadow.  Our guide moved back into the woods between us about 30 yards.  After letting the forest settle down, about 20 minutes, he began to use his cow call.  He gave out some information to the resident bulls.  This consisted of, "Hello boys, I am here waiting to meet you," or whatever they say.  He varied the call so that it would appear to a bull that there was more than one cow.  Then we sat still and waited.  After about 20 minutes, he would call again with varying pitches and sounds.  Then we sat still, listened, and waited.  We listened for a bull to answer or movement in the woods.  We sat very still as this process was repeated several times. The strategy was for the bull to come through Charlie and I and toward the guide.  This would give use the best opportunity for a shot.  After an hour we moved to a new spot.

We walked into an area that had been a forest fire site about 15 years ago.  We walked over fallen timber  into a meadow that was flat and was at least one acre in size.  It was a beautiful location with elk signs everywhere.  Finding a good spot was not a problem here as there was fallen timber all around.  We could get behind a downed log and sit on another and be almost totally hidden.  This made for great hiding.  The same process was repeated as before.  Casey called on the cow call and then we waited.  There were so many elk signs around that we waited here almost two hours and then moved on.  On the way back from the ridges we stopped and hunted it again.

This is a beautiful meadow, but elk did not appear.  To each side is burn area.  We moved to the left of the picture and out on the ridge.

From this beautiful meadow, we moved upon a ridge that was part of the burn area 15 years ago.   We broke for lunch, drank in the scenery, and just took a general break.  Casey moved to the edge of the ridge and glassed the valleys below and ridges across from our location for elk.  Then we moved on.

Now, I have some advice.  I am in pretty good condition for my age and work out daily, but I was not prepared for the altitude or the upslope walking I had to do.  When you go on your trip into the mountains start preparing several months in advance.  Walk up lots of steep hills.   Get yourself winded and your heart rate up. Exercise until your muscles ache a little.   Second, even though I have lived at higher elevations than we were at, I still failed to hydrate enough.  I got a little altitude sickness that consisted of low grade nausea and headache.  Drink lots of water.  From this point forward, I drank a half  a liter before we left camp and a full liter on the trail.  My water bottle was empty whenever we returned.  This did not include the coffee and oj in the morning, or the fruit drink packed in our lunch. I never had a problem after that.

It was almost evening but we stopped at another beautiful meadow close to the camp.  Elk had been seen in this location and the signs were everywhere.  We followed the same process.  First we found a good hiding place and patiently waited while the guide called.

After an hour, it was almost dark and we headed back to camp.  It was getting cool and I literally stumbled into the tent.  Mike had the stove all stoked up for us.  After another outstanding meal, we both fell into our sleeping bags.  I have never slept so well. 

Good hunting, good fishing, and good day.   Hank.

Fall Turkey Hunting

As this article is being posted by my wife, I am on the way home from Idaho.  There could be a large set of elk antlers in the back of the truck.  Once home, I need to get after the ducks, deer, and turkey.  So much to do so little time.

I really like the way Nebraska sets up their season for turkey.  It starts September 15th and ends December 31st.  That is a lot of time, and I like to make use of it.  The hills, more like mountains, north of Fort Calhoun, Nebraska are just packed with turkeys.  The landowner where I hunt, hikes his property and last spring saw several nests with over 15 eggs and one had  25.  The hens split when he comes walking by, but go back and sit on the eggs once he is gone. 

Even though I have hunted this ground for several years, I always call first and ask permission.  It is just good etiquette even though his neighbor and I are the only ones that hunt the ground.  Limited hunting makes this farm into a top opportunity to harvest turkey and deer when in season.  I always urge people not to take their relationships for granted.  Keep lines of communication open, always ask permission, and never take the landowner for granted.  You will be hunting on their farm for a long time.

I called and asked about hunting fall turkey, and of course the answer is always yes.  He has rented out his pasture and there are cows on it, so it was recommended not to hunt near the cattle.  With this in mind, I felt my first trip was just to scout out the area and see where the birds are hanging out.  Fall turkey hunting is totally unlike spring.  In the spring the birds are not so flocked up.  Also in the spring you can call and entice a nice love-hungry tom to come to you.  In the fall they do not answer a call so well and also move in flocks hunting for food. I found in the past they are creatures of habit.  So much so that I found on ocassions they came through an area about the same time. 

My plan is then to slowly move around the woods.  I then sit in one location and study the area to see if turkeys are coming through.  I just want to find their general locations where they are moving.

I went to a couple of spots in the early morning and just sat still. Using field glasses, I studied the area looking for movement.  As quietly as possible, I moved slowly around in the woods and on the edge of the open fields.  Slow is the key, and study is the second key.  I just want to find the flocks and where they are hanging out.

It wasn't long before I spotted a flock of twenty-five birds of all sizes.  Scratching and pecking the ground, they moved along quickly.  I am always amazed at how much ground they cover, and how sensitive they are to movement.  Calling this hunting is really not correct.  It is more like ambushing. However,  if you enjoy wild turkey, this is the way to get it done. I noted the time and where they came through, then slithered off to find another flock. Spotting two more flocks, I noted the area they were feeding and continued my search.

I kept this process going all day long, only breaking for lunch.  Toward evening, I back-tracked to the locations where I had seen the flocks pecking and scratching.  Close to where I had seen each flock, I set up brush and or timber that would break my outline and provide me a place to hide.  I also looked for a good spot to put my tent blind.  This takes a little extra work, but it provides the needed cover and hides any movements.  I do not use this enough. 

I am set to hunt turkeys when the landowner moves the cattle off his ground.


Good fishing, good hunting, good luck.  Hank

Text 10/18/2010

Walleye Knowledge

Right now, I am in Idaho in the Nez Perce National Forest, and hopefully there is a trophy bull Elk in the bag.  This article is from the Iowa DNR website. Iowa has an excellent website with a lots of knowledge of the outdoors to share with readers and I highly recommend all the websites from any state for information on hunting, fishing, and conservation.  (http://www.iowadnr.gov/)  I found this article to be an interesting read on walleye, a member of the perch family.

Worldwide, about 25 genera and 125 species make up the family Percidae. Twenty of these species are native to Iowa lakes and streams, some of which have long since disappeared due to a variety of reasons. This relatively large family contains three sub-families: Percinae, the perches; Luciopercinae, the walleye and sauger; and Etheostomatinae, the darters.

Members of the perch family are characterized by rather slender, elongated bodies and by a large bone on the gill cover which ends in a flat spine. The dorsal fins are a very distinctive characteristic of the family with a definite separation evident between the anterior spiny portion and the soft portion to the posterior. The mouth of walleye and sauger is filled with formidable canine teeth on the jaws, the roof of the mouth and palate, teeth that are absent in the perch and darters.

All members of the family are strictly carnivorous. The large species are piscivorous, eating mostly other fishes, while the smaller darter species prey mostly on minute aquatic insects and planktonic crustaceans. A wide range of forage and habitat preference is primarily responsible for the distribution of the family throughout Iowa.

Smaller fishes in the perch family have developed several unique ways to protect themselves from predation by larger predator fish. The perches have sharp spines in the dorsal fin and gill cover bones, a very durable covering of tough scales and the ability to swim strongly. Some of the darters are capable of burying themselves in the sand bottom with only their snout and eyes protruding. Even with these protective devices, however, they are not entirely immume from predation. Yellow perch, especially young, serve as important forage for game species such as northern pike, bass and walleye where they inhabit common waters. Darters are occasionally taken by larger fishes but tend to comprise an insignificant part of the predator`s diet.

All perch family members reproduce in the spring in a variety of interesting ways. Yellow perch string their eggs in gelatinous ribbons over vegetation and underwater structures. Walleye and sauger deposit their eggs at random in shallow water. Some darters -- logperch, Iowa darter, and least darter -- do likewise, while others -- rainbow darter -- cover their eggs with gravel or sand. Some, such as the Johnny darter and fantail darter, place their eggs on the undersides of objects where they are cared for by the male parent. Males of many darter species assume brilliant colors during the spawning season.

Walleye, perch and sauger are important game fishes and are highly valued by anglers in Iowa as well as across this continent. In our state walleye rank as the fourth most-sought-after fish. Perch are of more regional importance, particularly in the natural lakes and Mississippi River. The darters are too small to be of importance to anglers and are not useful as bait-fish. However, their beautiful coloration and odd habits make them delightful fishes to observe. They are fascinating to watch in a native-fish aquarium, but they are difficult to keep, since they must be provided with a live diet.

The darters are a quite unique group of colorful little fish. Their name undoubtedly originated from the fact that they do not swim in the ordinary fashion but dart from place to place. They start and stop with great speed, often sinking immediately to the bottom, where they hide among rocks. They may remain motionless for extended periods on the bottom of streams, under rocks, or perched on a stone, supported by their pectoral fins. Most species can not suspend themselves in the water since they have only a rudimentary swim bladder.

Seventeen darter species and subspecies have been reported in Iowa waters, although the status of some is now questionable. Many of the darter species are brilliantly colored, especially during spawning. Others are nearly sand-colored and are difficult to distinguish from rocks on the stream bottom. Although many darters are found in comparatively swift streams, several species are known to prefer the quiet weed beds of lakes or the open bars of the larger interior rivers.

Darters usually inhabit fairly shallow water and are rather solitary individuals. They are largely carnivorous, feeding upon aquatic insect larvae and other small organisms.

Good hunting, good fishing, Hank   text     

Opening Day for Ducks/Fall Bass

What a great weekend.  An invitation to go Bass Fishing at Lake Manawa on Sunday, and Saturday was opening day for ducks in Nebraska. 

Opening day is not usually one of the best days our club has, but it is great fun and there are a lot of local birds in the area.  I was amazed at the number of Pintails, and of course we had lots of teal zipping past the blind at low altitudes.  Sometimes they decoyed, but most of the time it was pass shooting.  The action all took place at the opening bell and continued right up till mid morning.  After that the birds stayed high and did not decoy well.  It was a great morning.

Sunday, it was time to fish for bass.  I had an invitation with a long time friend to do some fall fishing, and the weather was just too nice to pass it up.

We arrived before daylight at the Fish and Game Club to launch the boat.  The strategy was to work along the north to northeast shoreline where all the houses are located and fish the docks.  This would also stay the darkest when the sun came up.  It was just showing some light in the east when we started.  I was casting a Johnson Silver Minnow tipped with some pork rind, and my friend, Pat, was using artificial worms. 

I would cast close to shore, let the bait fall and then slowly lift it off the bottom.  Reeling it toward me, I would let it fall back down and then pick up the retrieve.  Pat would also lay the artifical worm almost on the shore, but right next to the dock.  Reeling it in letting it fall and repeating this over and over again was the strategy.  He kept the lure really close to the dock pillars lifting it up and letting it fall.

The weather could not have been better.  Fifty degrees air temperature, and the lake had a really clean appearance.  You could tell the pleasure boaters had not been on it recently.  It was calm when we started, but then a light breeze developed out of the southwest.  This was just perfect.  A high pressure, southwest wind, and a light breeze made this a great morning.

We worked slowly.  When I fish walleye, I am always on the hunt to find them and keep moving at a more lively clip.  Not today, it was go really slow, and take a lot of time.  At times Pat gently lifted the worm onto the dock, and then pulled it off into the water and let it sink right by the dock.  About 90 minutes went by and we worked several of the docks.   Then Pat had a really nice hit, but missed.  Flipping the worm back on the dock, he gently pulled it off and let it sink to the bottom.  When he lifted it up, Mr. Big Mouth was there and could not resist a tasty morsel.  A nice three pound black bass was landed.

The minute he landed the bass, I knew it was time to switch baits. I put on an artificial worm.  Working the shore line and the docks, I had what felt like some taps, but nothing was taking hold.  In the meantime, Pat smacked another fish in about the same weight range.  These fish are really healthy.  They are firm with the usual dark green to almost black color and really packed. We had now been at it for about two hours, but had covered very little of our goal.  That is to fish all the docks along the shoreline before 11 AM when the sun would start to light up the area. 

Finally, after about three hours, I had a taker in the two pound range.  Pat had landed another fish, but not as big and we had only covered half of our goal.  It was 9:30 AM.   We only had one and one half hours to go.  With that in mind, Pat moved the boat to some docks that were sticking out farther in the water.  Deeper water and more cover should produce more fish. 

The strategy worked and I scored another fish.  It was not big, but it was a keeper.  Pat was not getting any hits and it was not 10:30 AM.  We decided to quit and come back in the evening and fish the west bank of the lake along the rocks. 

This was a really great weekend.  Good fishing, good hunting, and good luck  Hank
Text

Shooting is only Part of the Hunt

Two weeks away, and my friend Charlie and I are off to the Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho for an elk trip into the mountains.  We have been working hard to become profecient at shooting with a high powered rifle and horseback riding.  Riding a horse has been an adventure in itself.  The hills north of Council Bluffs resemble small mountains and we have been riding up and down getting the feel of what it will be like on the trip.  A friend once told me to live your dreams. 

Hunting and harvesting the game is only part of the job.  Next is the field dressing; a task I do not take lightly.  Properly dressed game will be evident when it is cooked and served.  I like to review websites from different states.  This article is taken from the Nebraska Game and Parks (http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/), and whether you are an old pro or a beginner, it helps to review some well written material.

General Information

Properly field-dressing game is the most important part of a successful hunting trip. Deer and antelope make fine table fare if the animal is well cared for. The flavor of the meat depends on how quickly and carefully the meat is field dressed. Far too many animals are wasted or provide poor-quality eating because some fail to follow simple, common-sense rules of good meat handling.

Field Dressing Equipment

A few simple tools are necessary to properly field dress an animal. Tools include a sharp knife and sharpening equipment, a small saw for splitting the sternum and pelvis, a light rope or nylon cord for dragging, disposable vinyl or latex gloves, a cloth for cleanup, and a plastic bag for the liver and heart.

After the Kill

It is important to field dress the animal immediately after the kill. Remove heavy hunting coats and roll up shirts sleeves so they won't be bloodied in the process. A pair of disposable vinyl or latex gloves will reduce the chance of passing infectious diseases and makes hand cleaning easier. Some hunters advocate bleeding the animal by sticking it with a knife just above the breastbone, but most hunters believe that is unnecessary and should be avoided, especially if the head and shoulders are to be mounted.

Legal Requirements

The signed and properly punched permit must remain with the deer carcass. Follow tagging instructions on the permit. The head must remained unskinned and attached to the carcass until it has been checked through an official check station and a seal has been affixed. The carcass, except for the head, may be skinned prior to checking the deer. To make transporting the carcass out of a difficult area more convenient, the hind one-half of the animal may be separated from the front half, but the head must remain on the front half and evidence of sex must remain on the hind half. Any deer, antelope or elk left in the custody of one other than the hunter must be tagged with the information found on a "Game and Fish Custody Tag." Custody tags are available at all Game and Parks Commission offices, big game check stations and from conservation officers. The metal check-station seal must remain on the carcass or with boned meat while being transported to the processor or the hunter's dwelling.  (This requirement is for Nebraska.  Your state may be different.)

Field Dressing

Removal of scent glands is not considered necessary, but is done with care by many hunters. Careless removal of the glands can taint the meat if the knife is not thoroughly cleaned afterward. Place the carcass on its back with the rump lower than the shoulders and spread the hind legs. Make a cut along the center-line of the belly from breastbone to the base of the tail. First cut the hide, then cut carefully through the belly muscle. Avoid cutting into the paunch and intestines by holding them away from the knife with your free hand while guiding the knife with the other. Unless the head is to be mounted, it is advisable to cut through the sternum and extend the cut up the neck to the chin to allow removal of as much of the windpipe as possible. The windpipe sours rapidly and is a leading cause of tainted meat. Cutting with the direction of the hair (from throat to tail) will greatly reduce the amount of hair spreading to the meat. With a small, sharp knife, cut around the anus and draw it into the body cavity so it comes free with the complete intestines. Or, simply break the pelvic bone and pull the innards downward past the spread legs, then go back and cut around the anus last to free it from the hide. A small saw makes cutting the sternum and pelvic bone much easier. Avoid cutting or breaking the bladder. Loosen and roll out the stomach and intestines. Save the liver. Splitting the pelvic bone helps hasten cooling. Next, cut around the edge of the diaphragm, which separates the chest and stomach cavities, and split the breastbone. Then, reach forward to cut the windpipe and esophagus ahead of the lungs, which allows removal of the heart from the chest cavity. Save the heart. Drain excess blood from the body cavity by turning the body belly-down or hanging the animal head-up. A clean cloth can be used to clean hands, If you puncture the entrails with a bullet or your knife, wipe the body cavity clean or rinse it with water and wipe with a cloth. Part of the satisfaction of the hunt comes with making a clean kill and properly field dressing the animal. Veteran hunters may have their own variation in field dressing an animal, but the important points are to remove the internal organs immediately after the kill without contaminating the body cavity with dirt, hair or contents of the digestive tract and to drain all excess blood from the body cavity. Trim all parts damaged by a gunshot. If the weather is warm or the animal is to be left in the field for a day or more, it may be skinned (except for the head) and washed clean of dirt and hair. It should be placed in a shroud sack or wrapped with a porous cloth to cool (cheesecloth is ideal). Make sure the cloth is porous enough to allow air circulation but firmly woven enough to protect the carcass from insects and dirt. Adequate cooling may take six hours or more, depending on weather conditions.

The Trip Home

After the animal is checked and sealed, the head may be removed and the animal quartered for easy handling. Hunters should avoid transporting dead animals on the hood or top of vehicles. It is better to transport the animal out of sight or out of the sun in the trunk, inside the vehicle or in a covered truck box or trailer. This will help keep the animal cooler and cleaner. Warm meat spoils quickly. For early-season deer shot when temperatures are above 50 degrees, use bags of ice to cool the carcass.

Commercial Processor or Do It Yourself

Many hunters utilize the convenience of a commercial processor. They prefer the convenience and the ability to make specialties such as sausage, jerky and deer sticks. Others prefer to process their deer at home. Some get together with friends and process several deer at once. Some hunters use both methods by skinning and boning their deer and taking some of the meat to a processor to make jerky or sausage. Whichever method you choose the same basic methods should be followed. Keep the carcass clean, dry and cool. Bone out the meat from the deer. Do not cut through the spinal column or brain with meat processing equipment. If your deer is being tested for CWD, store the meat until test results are available. If your deer is found to have CWD, dispose of the meat at a licensed landfill.

Home Processing

Equipment - A sharp boning knife or fish-fillet knife with a 6-8 inch flexible blade makes butchering much easier. Keep sharpening tools handy. A dull hunting knife makes butchering a miserable job. At a minimum you will also need a cutting board and plastic bags or freezer wrap. Disposable latex or vinyl gloves are useful for keeping your hands clean.

Cleaning - Knives should be cleaned frequently with hot soapy water. Work areas can be kept bacteria free by cleaning with a 50/50 solution of water and bleach followed by a clear-water rinse.

Cooling and Aging the Meat - The carcass should be hung by the head in a cool, dry, shady place for a minimum of 24 hours. In hot weather, use ice to cool the carcass and butcher as soon as possible. Some hunters believe that aging the carcass at the proper temperature yields better-flavored, more tender meat. Successful aging requires the carcass to be clean and kept at a temperature of 34-36 degrees. This requires a walk in cooler or a refrigerator. Most hunters skip the aging process and butcher the deer after it has cooled with excellent results.

Skinning - Hang the deer by the head or neck. Avoid cutting through the hide to the hair. Avoid cutting through the skin over the tarsal glands. Avoid contaminating meat, hands and knives with dirt and dried urine found on the lower legs of rutting bucks. Begin by cutting through the skin around the neck, close to the head. Cut outward with the knife so you do not cut through the hair. It is best to remove as much of the hide as possible by pulling. Use the knife only in tight spots. Some hunters use a weight, winch or vehicle to pull most of the hide from the carcass. Insert a ball or rock in a fold in the neck skin and attach to a rope (it is best not to use this technique if the deer has been shot in the neck). Lower legs should be cut off at the knee joints. Wash the carcass with cold water and allow it to dry. Remove any hair that remains.

Boning - Remove the hind quarters, inner tenderloins, loins, front quarters and neck meat from the carcass while it is hanging (neck should be last). Place them in an ice chest. Move inside to your cutting area. Remove excess fat, gristle, tendons and lymph glands from the meat. Separate meat into muscle groups. The best steaks come from the hindquarters, back straps and tenderloins. The rib meat - even the meat between the ribs can be used unless the deer has been allowed to hang and become excessively dry - or loins cooked on the grill are superb. The front quarters and neck are most often used for stew, ground meat and sausage. Some hunters prefer to add ground beef or pork to give it extra fat and moisture. You can have a butcher shop grind and mix your meat also. Fat begins to break down once the meat is frozen and will give the meat an "off" taste. It is usually best to remove most fat unless you cook the meat within a few months.

Wrapping and Storage - To avoid freezer burn, it is best to double wrap the meat in plastic or freezer paper, taking care to squeeze out all air pockets. Label the package with type of cut and year. If you harvest more than one deer, you might add a mark that allows you to identify the specific deer.

CWD Concerns

There is no evidence that chronic wasting disease can be transmitted to humans or to animals other than deer and elk. As a precaution though it is a good idea to avoid contact with any wild animal that appears sick. It is recommended that you not eat any sick deer, including those that have CWD. Prions, which cause CWD, are concentrated in the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of infected animals. It is recommended that you avoid sawing or cutting through any of these areas while processing your deer. You should bone your deer and keep your deer meat separate from the meat of other deer.

This article is from the Nebraska Game and Parks website.

OFFICIAL STATE OF NEBRASKA WEB SITE http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/hunting/guides/biggame/fieldcare.asp
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 2200 N. 33rd St. Lincoln, NE 68503-0370 - Ph. (402) 471-0641

Good fishing, good hunting, and good luck.  Hank

Nothing better than fall fishing

I am missing fall fishing this year because of my goal to hunt Elk in Idaho.  The preparation is taking some time getting ready.  The first goal is to develop some proficency with a high powered rifle.  The second is to learn to ride a horse.  Both are needed for this trip.

However, there are other fishermen that are fishing in one of my favorite lakes in South Dakota, Wauby Lake, South Dakota.  My good friend John and a couple of his friends went without me to haul in the walleye.  Following my recommendation of fishing the weather, the three of them picked a great three days to make the 300 mile trip from Council Bluffs.

They arrived late in the evening, therefore their only information was by phone from the local bait shop.  It was the same information that I had based my trips on.  The recommendation was to fish the west end of the lake putting in at Kanago access.  Then they were told to fish the Bresky Bay area and stay along the north shore, but not to go beyond Duck Island.  They were also told to fish straight out from the lake access.  I was never sure of the distance after leaving the landing.  I always headed southeast and made a long sweeping half circle back before going east on the lake.  Straight out is a sunken rock pile, and with the current water levels the first pile is not visible.   Fishermen should approach with caution to avoid smacking the lower unit on their motors, but they will be rewarded with some nice fish.  The second spot is just beyond the sunken rockpile.  This pile of rock is more visible and there is some dead timber sticking up.  A fisherman should approach with caution, and fish around the pile staying in about ten to fifteen feet of water.  This is a bigger reef and probably runs thirty yards north and south.  East and west it runs about ten to fifteen yards. 

In the morning, John started at Bresky Bay and worked along the north shore as recommended.  He started out in ten feet, got no hits, then moved out to twenty feet.  He was rewarded with good solid hits and a nice keeper fish mixed in the group they caught.  They were pulling red and white spinners tipped with a piece of crawler.  They lowered the bait to the bottom then reeled it up about two to four feet to keep it out of the vegetation on the bottom of the lake.  This worked well all morning and by noon they were halfway to the daily limit. 

After a little break for lunch, they were back on the lake by 2 PM and repeated the process.  The walleye were getting finicky and the hits were not so frequent.  John also said he believed they were mouthing the bait and not smacking into it like a feeding fish.  Light strikes were not a real good sign, but these were patient men.  By 4 PM they were shut down and nothing was hitting.  The decision was made to hit it really early in the morning.

They were back on the lake early the next morning.  A light breeze out of the southwest gave the lake a nice ripple as they headed to Bresky Bay.  They fished for two hours along the north bank and struck out.  John then decided to head to the east end of the lake beyond school bus point and fish a bay just opposite the Grenville Access on the south shore. On the south end of this bay is a series of buoys that mark a restricted area operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.  The area is a waterfowl refuge, and you canot enter.  About twenty five yards away from the refuge,  the action really picked up.  In fifteen feet of water they found the hungry walleye and had a daily limit by noon. 

 After breaking for lunch and cleaning the fish, the rest of the day was spent exploring the lake and looking for additional reefs, drop offs, and any other underwater structure that will hold fish.  How much better could this get.

On the final morning they went to the Grenville Access to fish the bay next to the wildlife refuge.  Success was with the fishermen.  By noon they each had two more walleye, which was a posession limit.  What a trip!

Having some good success this fall? Drop us a line.  Good fishing, good hunting and good luck. Hank

P.S. October 2nd is the opening day for ducks in the Tekamah area.  With all the water around it should be a good opener.

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Elk Hunting and Learning to Ride A Horse

Packing in on horseback and hunting in the mountains has always been my goal and now the goal is going to be realized.  But here it comes, I have to learn how to ride a horse.  Now at first blush, I thought this was nothing.  Mount up, kick him or her in the ribs, and gallop off into the sunset or sunrise, whatever the case may be.  The questionaire sent by the folks at Windriver Outfitters had a serious question, " Do you have experience riding a horse and when was the last time you rode?"  My experience is limited to when I rode a wooden horse on the merry-go-round at the age of four.  The music was outstanding, but now I have to get serious.  My friend Charlie and I will be in the Nez Perce National Forrest in Idaho riding horses on an elk hunt.  That is no place to be careless or foolish.  We both took it seriously and contacted a riding stable.  They put us through some training on horses.  After taking the training, I really feel confident that this will be an enjoyable part of the trip, and not a nightmare.  Below is a copy of the manual they gave us along with some tips at the bottom.  It is an interesting read.

Stand on the near, left side of the horse.  Gather the reins in one hand, put your left foot in the stirrup, and hold onto the back, (holding onto the saddle when mounting will cause it to slide).  Keep both your hands on the front of the horse. You can also hold the cantle of the saddle (back or seat) with your right hand when mounting).  Push up and swing your right leg over the back of the horse, keeping your leg from kicking the horse's flank.  When mounted, gather your reins and then hang both legs down near stirrups and make sure they are the right length by having the stirrup reach your ankle. You should also be able to simply slide your feet into the stirrup while lifting your feet a few inches.  Start off with a slow walk. To ask for this pace, squeeze your legs, (lower calf) and the horse should move off.  Only kick the horse if he does not respond to repeated squeezes. You don't want to teach him bad habits by ignoring you. The walk is a 4 beat gait, meaning you can feel when each hoof hits the ground.  After a few minutes stop and check your girth.  You should be able to fit 4 fingers between the girth and the horse.  If you can fit more, then you must tighten the girth.  While walking, make sure to keep your heels down, back straight and chin up. Your body should form a straight line that can be drawn from your heel, to the hips, to the shoulders. Most riders think you pull on the left rein to go left and the right rein to go right. This is true, but not very effective and may cause long term health problems having to do with the mouth of your horse. Learn how to steer with your legs. For example if you want to go left, use your opposite leg (right leg) and put pressure on the horse with the leg. While you are putting pressure with your right leg, "open the door" with your left hand. That means you loosen up the reins only in your left hand and pull outward like you are opening a door. Doing those two things plus steering with your reins gives you perfect control.  When stopping, pull back on the reins and sit deep; you may have to lean back a bit and put your weight into your bottom and heels. When halted, release reins as the reward and pat your horse. Once you are comfortable at the walk, you can try a trot. Trotting is quite bumpy and you may get unnerved and unseated. Do not take anything too fast. It may take a week or two to start to trot. If you are riding English, try posting. Posting is when you rise to the beat of the trot. To post, simply rise and fall, but when you sit down, make sure you are following the horse's outside shoulder (the one closest to the rail). When that shoulder is going forward, you rise. When it is going back, you go down. If you sit the trot, move your hips with the horse, otherwise you will bounce and the horse's back won't feel too great. To get the horse to move forward, as in any other gait, you must squeeze slightly with your legs. The trot is two beats. You should be able to count "1,2,1,2" while your horse is trotting. When slowing from a trot to a walk, sit deep and pull back slightly on the reins. Continue trotting until you can post effectively and are comfortable at the trot. The next step is canter. To ask for canter, squeeze your outside leg while having it back a bit and squeeze with your inside leg.  Before you canter, sit in trot and then ask, as this will have you sitting ready for the canter. At canter you should sit back slightly, and when you feel you are sitting back too much, you will be sitting back just enough. Or you can go into a half seat when you canter, which is a modified two-point. The two point is the jumping position. At a canter, you rock forward and backward, with your bottom just slightly off the saddle. Cantering is also known as a lope to most western horseman. Cantering is much faster than trotting and will take time to get used to. Once you can canter, again, stay vigilant with your posture and heels. The more advanced you become, the more details are required to ride properly. Make sure to keep practicing posting and walking while learning how to canter, because these are skills you need to advance. Leads are important to the canter. If you pick up the wrong lead, the horse will be uncomfortable. The inside shoulder should be leading (it will look as if it is staying ahead of the other shoulder). After picking up the canter, glance down to make sure you have the correct lead. If not, slow down to a trot and pick up the canter again. Once you are comfortable at the canter, you can move on to a gallop.   Galloping is much like a canter, but faster. You should sit slightly forward in the saddle and keep your bottom elevated.


Always wear riding boots that have a a flat sole with a slight heel. (To prevent stirrup slipping too far, resulting in your foot through the stirrup).

Always wear long pants when riding.

Never sit or kneel near a horse.

Try to always mount from the left side or near side. Horses are usually trained most on this side, but a well trained horse should be handled on both sides equally.

Don't run up to a horse.  You can come up behind it, but make sure the horse knows you're there.  Be cautious, you can pat him on his rump and say "whoa" or "easy boy" so he knows you are there! Always move to his shoulder and always talk to him so he knows you're coming closer.

This may seem strange to beginners, but try not to feel nervous around a horse. A horse can pick up what you are feeling and when you are nervous, the horse will feel nervous too.

Never yank the bit.  Think that the horse has egg shells in his mouth.  He'll thank you by being relaxed and free moving.

Always have a professional coach or trainer or experienced horse rider with you if you are just learning to ride. You should always ride in the presence of someone else in case of a fall or any other emergency so there will be someone to help you.

Putting a bridle on is harder then it looks! Horses can move their heads up and about a million other directions!

Always make sure that the girth is tightened appropriately. Double check before mounting. If you need help, do not hesitate to ask. If you make it too tight, the horse will be grumpy. If you make it too loose, the saddle will slip.

Horses are sensitive animals. Always make sure you are relaxed and calm around them, so as not to make them feel nervous.

When you are trotting, keep track of where your feet are. If they are under you, that is fine.

Never scream on a horses back, even if the horse gets nervous and starts to trot.  Don't panic because the more pressure you put on the horse, the more scared you will make him.

If this is your first time riding, never try bareback. A lot of girls and boys think that bareback should be their first ride so they can feel the horse underneath them first. Wrong. The saddle is always there for your comfort, protection, and safety.  Try a bareback session after you ride with a saddle.

It pays to train for a good experience.

If you have an interesting story or pictures, e-mail them to me, and we will publish them.

Good hunting, good fishing and good luck.  Hank

P.S. Nebraska announced their fall turkey season.  It starts September 15th and goes to December 31st of this year.  Limit is two birds either sex.  I like Nebraska Turkey Season and the way they set it up.