Beat the Stink

Welcome fellow hunters! Once again we have to apologize for our lack of posting. It’s been a BUSY September, that’s for sure. In fact this past weekend I was at the 69th Annual Big Game Trophy Show at the Rockingham Fair Grounds in Harrisonburg on behalf of Mossy Oak and ShowMeYourBuck and it was a lot of fun. I couldn’t believe how many 200 inch monsters roam the Old Dominion- its something to look forward to! Also- I became good friends with Rob Holes, sales consultant and Pro Staff member of Shenandoah Outdoors TV, a hunting show aired in Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, Woodstock, Luray, Front Royal and Winchester and he offered to come down and film one or two of my hunts and put them on the show- I couldn’t believe it! Talk about a dream come true, I really hope things fall into place!

Enough of the rambling, Damin and I wanted to talk to you guys about scent-control a bit. We are both HUGE advocates in scent-elimination. While it is impossible to eliminate all human scent, we believe that we take the necessary steps to fool the best nose in the woods- that of the whitetail.
It’s been debated that a deer’s sense of smell is 100 to 1000 to 10000 times better than a human’s, regardless of the number, these guys can pin point human odor in a heartbeat and ruin not only your hunt, but those around you. However, several precautionary steps can be taken to reduce the possibility of this happening.

First of all, we wash our clothes with scent eliminating laundry detergent, hang them out on the line to dry with natural air, then place them in the dryer with earth scent dryer sheets. Then they go in to a Scent-Lok bag or tote for scent-free storage until use. We usually repeat this process several times during the season.

Next comes the preparation of the hunt. After we get out of bed (we wash our sheets with scent eliminator too!), starting this year we will wipe ourselves down with scent-eliminating field wipes. Then we’ll spray our hands with Hunter’s Specialties eliminator/ earth scent before we get dressed. Next comes the carbon-activated Scent-Lok BaseSlayers, which is our first and best line of defense. Then, as we begin to layer up we spray more earth scent on after each layer is applied. This ensures that each garment is scent free.

Once we are fully dressed, we liberally spray more HS eliminator/earth scent to cover up kill any remaining odors. We do this to our packs, hats and camera bags as well. We then spray down our boots, top and bottom so we don’t leave a stinky trail to stand. Finally, we attach a HS scent-wick (earth of acorn, depending on our setup) to the top of our hat to top off our scent-eliminating process (pun intended).

As you can see a lot of work goes into beating Mr. Big’s sniffer, but it only makes it more rewarding when you do! Of course, as stated before it is impossible to eliminate all human scent as bacteria on your skin is constantly feeding on dead skin cell, thus resulting in human odor. But if done right, and hunting the wind correctly, you can greatly increase your chances of taking that big buck!

Stay tuned as the season opens up October 4th, less than a week away! Damin and I are super pumped and the blog is sure to be hopping with stories, photos and hope some successful tales! Stick with us!

Ethical Hunting: Be Able to Say No!

Each and every day we are faced with decision making opportunities where we must decide whether we will do the right thing. Of course, many of the decision opportunities are rather subjective when it comes to what exactly is right and wrong. When it comes to hunting, however, there should be no question.

Growing up, with respects to hunting, I have always been taught that if there is any question at all about the lethality of a shot or shot placement, the shot should never be taken. Dad has instilled these values into both Cody and I so that if there is ever any question at all about a shot, we don't even think about taking it. Of course, this does not mean we wait for a 100% broadside shot, it means we persistently practice to ensure that we are confident in making either a heart shot or lung shot every time we pull the trigger or release. Of course, this also includes taking and making good shots when they present themselves. We all know how severely immoral and unpractical it can be to shoot a deer facing towards or away from you! To get to this point of confidence it not only involves target practice, it also involves constant refreshers of deer anatomy to ensure we know the exact location of the heart and lungs. Remember, 2 inches can be the difference between an instant passing and 2 hours of suffering.

Some may think that this post isn't directly related to hunting, however, in the opinions of Cody and I it is. We both are bigger proponents of ethical hunting than we are of QDM, Mossy Oak or anything else in the hunting world today.

When watching hunting shows, it may seem ridiculous that after every time these guys have their guns or bows in a car, plane or bus for a trip of more than a couple hours they re-site it in. However, all it takes is one pot hole or one minute of turbulence and a sight can be thrown of my several inches. Now, an inch can be the difference between excitement and dismay, just imagine what several inches can do!

With only several weeks until hunting we both felt we should take an oppurtunity to remind everyone about the ethical side of hunting. God has graced us with the oppurtunity to be able to pursue and harvest his majestic whitetail. We both feel it is of the essence that we show our utmost gratitude for this blessing through ethical hunting; simply, show the deer the same respect it shows us. So, sight in your guns, check your scopes and always remember, if there is any doubt in your mind about shot ethicality, the answer is always NO!

The Dark Knight

Like Cody said with his last post, usually every year hunters meet up with a buck that they can't get out of their mind. With Cody, this year that be Lefty as he has already told you he'll be doing everything he can to create a setup to take that marvelous buck. On the other hand, sometimes hunters meet a once in a lifetime buck that keeps their interest not only for one season but year round! Well, like Margaret's famous Socrates from the "Tree-Lounge" video, Cody, Dad and I have found that buck.

Last year Cody and I each had an "opportunity" to take this 3.5 year old 130 class buck, however, neither of us were presented with the perfect shot. We're both firm believers in taking a shot that we know we'll be immediately lethal and neither of was granted this shot. Cody's opportunity came one morning during early muzzle loading, the problem was that the buck was in thick cover and would never come into range. My opportunity came during rifle, and with Cody videoing, the buck was too interested in chasing does that he never slowed down long enough to present an ethical shot. In both instances we threw everything we had at him. From grunts to bleats to rattling, nothing worked on this smart ol' guy. Then we made our mistake.

Instead of giving this guy time and avoiding the areas in which we had seen him, we ventured into his domain hoping to catch him by sup rise. Big mistake! He quickly turned nocturnal (hence the name!) and we never saw him again except on trail camera pictures at night. This negative for last year quickly turned into a plus for the upcoming season. By him turning nocturnal, plus the general intelligence of this deer we feel strongly that he is still running around on the property. Now, take a 130 class 3.5 year old and give him a year, what do you have? A buck of a lifetime that may score close to 150!

With such an old, smart buck we have to be very smart in attempting to harvest this guy. Quite the opposite of Lefty, with The Dark Knight we will do everything we can to AVOID his areas. Instead we're going to try and let him make the mistake by hunting his possible travel corridors and other areas where 9 out of 10 times we won't see him in hopes of seeing him that one crucial time. With a buck of this magnitude running around, we'd easily sit "unsuccesfully" for weeks in hopes of even catching a glimpse of him, much less getting a shot oppurtunity!

Well, as you can tell Cody and I are both biting at the bit for hunting season to arrive. Once again its times for all of hard work in the woods to hopefully pay off. But hey, shot or no shot, deer or no deer, hunting to us is much more than the shot, its a passion for God, wildlife and the outdoors! We'd like to thank all of you for reading the blog, it'll really get busy here in the coming weeks with all of the hunting stories! Don't forget to post your comments, see Cody's post on how to post these if ya have trouble figuring it out!

And So It Begins

Most hunters, regardless of what age or skill level, usually take quite a fancy to a particular buck from the moment they lay lies on it. I am no exception. This past summer we received a trail camera picture a nice bachelor group (consisting of 4 bucks) visiting one of our mineral stations. There was a yearling spike, a decent 2.5 year old buck, a nice three year old that may grow into a potential shooter and a massive 4.5+ year old that really caught my eye. The picture was taken in early July and he was already a main frame 9 with a split left G2. This split G2 earned him the nickname “Lefty.”Given a 14-16” inside spread, I would estimate Lefty to score in the mid 120s. I immediately became drawn to this buck and devoted a good bit of my time thinking of how I could score on him.

I realized that my best chance to score on Lefty was during the bow season because once the rut began my chances would diminish quickly. The next step was to get a general idea of his home range and then connect the dots to where he would be come October. During one of my shed hunting excursions this past winter, I discovered an acorn lot that had not received much attention during hunting season and was virtually untouched during bow season.
After looking at the trail cam. photo again I determined that Lefty came from the direction that the acorn lot was located. However, the acorn lot was useless to Lefty during the summer, but the surrounding habitat was not. The particular lot which I feel Lefty will vist regularly come fall is surrounded by big buck habitat. The prime feeding area is surrounded by two pine thickets and an over grown clear cut that gives Lefty supreme cover and security. Feeling sure this was part of Lefty’s core area, I decided to do a little scouting.

A few weeks back I entered Lefty’s Domain to gain an idea for stand placement and discovered an important clue. As I was scanning the pine thicket I found an enormous bed which had large buck droppings in it. I just KNEW it was Lefty’s bed. I immediately became overwhelmed with excitement and felt my chances skyrocket.

By the end of my scouting trip I had found Lefty’s bed and a nice white oak to hang my stand, I was pumped. I feel I have a great chance of catching Lefty leaving his prime bedding area (the pine thicket) in a transition zone between his bedding area and prime feeding area (the acorn lot), or vise versa. Unfortunately, I may only get hunt this stand a limited number of times if the wind does not cooperate. I have to wait for a southerly wind before I can even think of entering this setup. I don’t want to ruin my hunt before it evens begins!

Lefty is a one of a kind buck that I just hope I get a chance to see from the tree stand, much less attempt to harvest. However, I feel through hard work and careful attention to detail I feel I have put myself in the best location possible. I may not even get a crack at ole Lefty, but I can tell you one thing, it’s going to be a blast chasing after him this fall!

Virginia Outdoor Sportsmans Classic

Hey everyone! I know it's kind of late notice but I just wanted to remind everyone of the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman's Classic coming up this weekend at the Salem Civic Center. The event actually started this morning and is slated to run through the rest of the weekend. It's really fixin' up to be a great show with several exhibits, vendors and seminars being conducted all weekend.

I'm personally going to be at the "Bucks That Rock" exhibit tomorrow so stop on by and say hello! Unfortunately Damin couldn't attend this event because he just left for UVa just an hour and a half ago. Not to worry, we'll be working more events together in the future.

With that being said I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

First Mossy Oak Event

Hello everyone. Damin and I have some very exciting news to share with you guys. This past weekend, August 8-10, Damin and I attended the Bass Pro Shops Fall Hunting Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina. This was our first show as Mossy Oak Pro Staffers and it was a blast!! The Fall Hunting Classic is a nationwide, three week hunting show getting all the hunters ready for another season.

We spent all day on Saturday and half the day on Sunday representing Mossy Oak, interacting with the customers and just talkin' huntin'!
It was both humbling and overwhelming to have other folks look up to Damin and I for both our knowledge in the deer woods and for advice on product and camo selection, product use and product success. Of course we said Mossy Oak! Our regional manager, Bucky Hauser, said that sales in Mossy Oak licensed products increased throughout the weekend due in large part to the efforts of us and our fellow pro staffers.

Damin and I also got to meet several of our fellow team members this past weekend as well which was also very exciting. In fact I got to spend the majority of my day Saturday with Tommy Nunley from Wytheville. Tommy is a super guy and just from hearing him talk this past weekend, he knows how to get some big bucks on the ground. Fortunately, Tommy and I will be working the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman's Classic together, August 22-24 at the Salem Civic Center. Stop by and see us!

I also had the privelage of meeting Kevin Renwick, Director of Marketing for Traditions Firearms. Kevin, like Tommy, is a great guy and knowledgeable hunter. Tommy and I spent a good bit of time helping Kevin out in the firearms section on Saturday and of course, talking hunting. In fact, I have been in contact with Kevin via e-mail the past couple days about placing an order for a new Traditions Pursuit II XLT. If you haven't seen or heard of this muzzleloader, you need to check it out. It is going make big news come this fall.

Needless to say, we entered our prostaff careers with a bang working an event as as large as the Bass Pro Fall Classic. We're blessed to have been given such an oppurtunity by Mossy Oak and, hopefully, it will be the first big event of many.

Just A Reminder!

Hello everyone, with summer officially in full swing we've been pretty busy and slacking a bit when it comes to publishing posts. Please accept our sincerest apology!

With that being said, during this time we would love to here what YOU, the reader, has to say. Damin and I would really appreciate any and all comments you guys give. Don't worry about being nice to us; we're self-assured, confident folks and are open to a little constructive criticism. Thus meaning if you read something you don't believe to be true or may disagree with, tell us! It will help better our writings and will make this blog better for everyone. Unfortunately, we've had some questions and concerns as to how to post a comment from our friends in the HNI community. It's really simple, actually.

Simply go to the bottom of a published post, there you will see the date, time of publication, and a link that may read "0 comments," "1 comment," etc. All you have to do is click on that link and it will take you to a page with a text box in the upper right hand corner which is where you can type your comment. Not a member of Google blogger? Not a problem, simply click on the "Name" option in the bottom right hand corner, or the "Anonymous" if that’s your preference and click "Post Comment," and you're done! That's all there is to it.

Again, we would love any feedback you guys can give us and look forward to hearing from every reader who visits our blog.

God Bless and Happy Hunting!