This past Sunday afternoon, in the sweltering heat, I went to a local 3-D archery range with my Dad and a friend. I haven't been to a range in a long time, and this one was really neat. It is located right next to a National Wildlife Refuge and the targets are placed in realistic hunting scenarios throughout the woods. It was a lot of fun, and a good way to stay in the hunting mode during the summer. We even saw some wild turkeys while we were there.
In several ways, the archery range was kind of like an archer's "golf course". You walk from station to station through the course, becoming frustrated with bad shots, and occasionally making that one good shot that keeps you coming back for more. Each person shoots from the same spot at each target, and the yardages are different for every shot. And just like losing a ball in golf, if you make a really bad shot and completely miss the target you might lose an arrow!
I don't practice with my bow as much as I would like, and the trip to the range definitely reminded me of that fact. But you know what, no matter how much I practice I will never hit the mark every single time. The same is true in life. No matter how good we act, how many good deeds we do, or how much we go to church, sin is still present in every one of our lives. We have all missed the target!
The Bible says we are all sinners, and that the wages of sin is death. Because of this we are separated from God and we are all in need of a Savior. That is why God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to save us from our sins. He took our punishment and died so that we can have eternal life in Heaven with Him. All we have to do is accept His free gift by acknowledging that we are sinners, asking Christ to forgive us of our sins, and inviting Him into our lives to be our Lord.
I hope there is a time in your life in which you can say you have done this. It is the most important decision you can make. I urge you to make that decision today. Don't hesitate!
This past weekend I was blessed to be a part of an amazing event. The Special Youth Challenge Ministries of Northwest Iowa held their annual turkey hunt, and I was fortunate enough to get to participate as a guide during the hunt. It was definitely an experience I won't forget!
SYC is a non-profit, volunteer ministry that exists for the purpose of reaching people for Jesus Christ. The organization's vision is to empower physically challenged youth to enjoy hunting and the shooting sports and diminish a portion of their disability by teaching them to overcome barriers of the outdoors through the use of special methods, equipment or assistance from volunteers who desire to share their passion for shooting and hunting.
The event kicked off Friday afternoon when the hunters and guides began to arrive. The hunters are given the opportunity to get familiar with the equipment they will be using. The guns are modified so that hunters with limited mobility can use them by looking at a small video screen that shows the view through the scope and pressing a push-button controller that squeezes the trigger. Here is a picture of the setup. Here is a short video I took of one of the hunters getting familiar with the gun. This was the first time this young man had ever fired a gun. (You can also click here to check out the video.)
On Friday evening a banquet was held where a delicious meal was served, a speaker delivered a message from God's Word, and each of the hunters were introduced. This year's event was one of the largest ever, with a total of 23 hunters participating. Each hunter is usually accompanied by a parent or guardian, and they are paired up with at least two guides for the hunt. There are also many behind the scenes volunteers who prepare food, landowners who donate the use of their property, and lots of people setting up and tearing down before and after the event. So altogether there are several hundred people who are involved to make the weekend a success.
The first hunt was scheduled for Saturday morning as all 23 hunters took to the field with their guides in search of that trophy longbeard. Despite some windy weather, that morning's hunt turned out to be great as five of the hunters harvested a turkey. I was paired up with a young man from Minnesota named Zach Olson. Zach was involved in an automobile accident a few years ago that left him in a coma for 5 1/2 months. The injuries he suffered during the accident also affected his mobility which is improving, but he primarily has to remain in his wheelchair. I was also accompanied on the hunt by two other guides - Greg Somers and Josh Nelson.
During the first morning's hunt we heard turkeys gobbling all around us, but we just couldn't seem to coaxe one within shooting range. So we came back to camp empty handed on Saturday morning. But that evening proved to be a different story!
When we got to the blind that afternoon, the rain was steadily falling and at one point it was literally a downpour. That's when we noticed a hen and a gobbler walk out into the cornfield to our right about 100 yards away. The turkey calling duties had been assigned to me, and I tried my best to get the gobbler's attention with the slate call, but the rain was coming down so hard that he couldn't hear me. About 30 minutes later, after the rain subsided, I started hitting the call again. By this time the gobbler was out of sight, but I got him to respond to the call.
We could hear him answering back with a loud gobble almost everytime I hit the call over the next half hour. The rainfall hitting the blind and the sound of my slate call had apparently sung Zach to sleep, so as he snoozed the other guides and I kept our eyes peeled for the bird. After about a dozen gobbles from the tom in response to the call, it finally sounded like he was closing the distance. We could tell he was not far behind our blind, and when I looked to my right I saw him walking in directly to the decoys.
That's when all three of us guides began to frantically try to wake Zach up! We finally got him awake and ready to make the shot when we realized the safety on the gun was still on. So we got the safety off and helped Zach get realigned on the bird again. The slow day of nodding off in the blind quickly turned into about a minute of tense adrenaline. Zach fired the gun and made a great shot! The bird was standing 26 yards away, just past the decoys, and Zach hammered him with the 20 guage. Josh and Greg had no problems recovering the bird. We all celebrated, high-fived, and enjoyed the moment. The bird was an old tom that had a 10 1/2" beard and 1" spurs. Congratulations on harvesting your first turkey Zach! I also should mention that SYC has taxidermy work done for each of the hunters who harvested a bird so they can show off and enjoy their trophy!
There were lots of memorable moments from the weekend, and one that I don't want to fail to mention was the opportunity I had to meet a young man named Matt Stutzman. Matt is such an inspiration! He was born without arms, but has become one of the best archers you will ever see shoot a bow. How does he shoot a bow you might ask? Check out this video of Matt in action! (You can also click here to check out the video.)
As you can tell, it was a weekend full of inspiration and ministry. For more information about SYC Ministries or to make a donation check out their website at http://www.syciowa.com/. Here are some more pictures from the event.
Turkey season started yesterday here in my neck of the woods, and my dad and I gave it our best shot to lure in an unsuspecting gobbler, but to no avail. We tried calling and setting up decoys at multiple locations on the property we hunt, but we didn't see or hear a turkey all day. We only saw a few tracks and it just seemed the birds were nowhere to be found. But, that's why they call it "huntin'" and not "killin'". Here are some pictures from the hunt.
This was our first decoy set, along the edge of a wheatfield in a spot where I shot a really nice gobbler a few years back. There is a creek bottom directly behind us that meanders through the property with a good stretch of woods where the birds have roosted in the past. This was our second set, in an area that I would consider a mesquite savanna. That's my dad over there on the right. This was the last place we tried, on top of a ridge where there is a nice stand of post oak and blackjack oak trees. Some tools of the trade: a slate call and a Remington 1100 shotgun. With no turkeys responding, I took the opportunity to take a picture of myself in action. I saw this interesting-looking little cactus while we were hunting and snapped a picture. Anybody know what kind of cactus this is? After we got done turkey hunting we put some protein pellets in a free-choice style feeder that we have positioned in the center of the property - in an area that we have designated as a "deer sanctuary" that is off-limits to hunting. We've had a game camera running at this site for quite some time, but we try to stay out of this area as much as possible so the camera has not been checked in about four months. I pulled the memory card and took it with me to view the pictures when I got home. While viewing the pictures I was tickled to death to see this: I haven't gotten pictures of this deer since late October, and I had pretty much come to the conclusion that he had been shot on a neighboring property. This was the deer that I had nicknamed "Slingblade" because of his left G-2 being bladed like a knife. Much to my surprise, he made it all the way through the archery and gun seasons, and was photographed on our property in mid-February. I guess our little sanctuary might be paying off because we also got this picture of him in early December. I can't wait to see what this deer looks like come this Fall! Hopefully he will just hang out on our property and show up on some more pictures before archery season rolls around.
Now on to the important stuff. We couldn't make a trip to the lease without stopping at this place! I plan to do some more turkey hunting in the next month, and I've been busy working on a new trail camera that I hope to have completed in the next couple weeks, so check back for updates.
I changed out a memory card on one of my homemade trail cameras that I have at my "Official Camera Test Site" today and got a couple pictures of a very interesting deer... Here is a cropped, close up for a better view. A couple things are strange about this picture. First of all are those CRAZY antlers. What is up with that?!?! Secondly, this buck is still carrying his antlers as of March 18th, which is pretty late in the ballgame. This should make for a very interesting conversation piece.
I'm trying to think of a good name for this deer. What do you think I should call him?
This morning, despite some windy, colder weather, my dad and I got up early and drove out to our hunting lease to try to look for some shed antlers. We haven't looked on this property yet this year, and we wanted to give it a try before the vegetation grows too tall to be able to spot them (and before it gets warm enough for the rattlesnakes to start moving). Temperatures have been in the 70's all week, but a cold snap moved in overnight bringing some snow flurries and temperatures in the low 30's. We gave it a valiant effort this morning, and I bet we walked every bit of five miles.
My dad found a small one on the edge of a wheat field right off the bat. My dad ended up finding a total of 4, and I found 1, but all but the first one were old ones that have been on the ground since at least last year. We thought my dad might have found a matched set from an 8-point from last year, as he found two that were very similar in size and shape that were laying within 25 feet of each other. But after a closer look, I think the antlers were from two different deer. I didn't have my good camera with me, so I was just taking pictures with my phone, and I stopped to snap these two shots of some of our Creator's handiwork while we were walking around through the woods. The highlight of the day might have been the double-meat, double-cheese burgers we got for lunch at Herd's Hamburgers! I also pulled a couple trail cameras that haven't been checked since the new year, so I had a good number of pictures to sort through. I got a picture of a really nice looking bobcat. Check out the markings on his coat and how heavily spotted he is. I also got some hog pictures. I was also really surprised to see that I had pictures of bucks still carrying their antlers as late as March 13th. I didn't have any pictures of bucks after that day so I'm not sure if they have even dropped them yet or not. That may have been a contributing factor to why we only found one fresh one this morning...
“A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than by a mob of onlookers.” - Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac
SYC Iowa
Check out this ministry that shares the love of Jesus Christ to physically challenged youth.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10
About Me
I am 31 years old and have been happily married to Steph for 8 years. We have 2 beautiful daughters, Katy who is 6 and Keelie who is 3.
I love being outdoors and taking in God's creation. I love hunting and anything involved with it. I am especially interested in habitat and wildlife management, and have recently started building my own game cameras. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Wildlife Management and spent the first several years of my career working as a Park Ranger.
I am blessed to have a Daddy who taught me how to hunt and fish as a kid. Hunting with my dad has always been something special that we have shared over the years and I hope the memories continue to grow.
I was also taught alot about the outdoors from my late Grandaddy, Wayne Watson, who was an avid quail hunter that loved bird dogs. I attribute most of what I know about shotgunning to my uncle, Robert Watson, who is the best wingshooter I know.
Most importantly, I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, that he was buried and rose again on the third day, and that a personal relationship with Him is the only way to have eternal life in Heaven.
I love the game of baseball - it is the greatest sport of all time, but the likes of Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez have tainted the sport. I think the spitball should be made legal again.
I am a firm believer that Garth Brooks single-handedly ruined country music. I'd like to horse-whip him.
I am passionate about Blue Bell Ice Cream. I simply refuse to eat any other brand. Try it and you'll know why.
I love to drink coffee, but you won't find me in a Starbucks. I think it is the epitome of America's over-indulgence.
These people, in no particular order, have each had a significant role influencing me when it comes to hunting, fishing, and the outdoors in general. To each of them, I am truly thankful.
Scott Jordan - Daddy started taking me hunting and fishing with him at about the age of 5 or 6. One of my earliest hunting memories is of opening day of dove season in about 1985. I was only 6 years old, not big enough to actually hunt, but I remember vividly that day being one for the ages. It was steadily raining all day, and we were hunting west of Gunter, Texas in a maize field that was full of round bales, and I got to retrieve the birds. My Dad and my Uncle Robert will still tell you to this day that there were more birds that day than they have ever seen.
Wayne Watson - Grandaddy's eyesight had started to fail by the time I was old enough to hunt, so we never actually got to hunt together. He is the one who taught me how to use open sights on a rifle. I remember him teaching me how to make the front sight sit right on top of the back sight, and to hold my breath while I squeezed the trigger. He always said that by squeezing the trigger instead of jerking, I wouldn't know exactly when the gun would fire, so I would be more accurate. Grandaddy passed away on January 1, 1997.
Robert Watson - I've always wanted to be able to shoot as good as Uncle Robert. He is the best wingshooter I know, and he shoots competitively in a skeet/trap league. Anytime someone compliments me on my shotgunning, I think, man, if they could only see my uncle shoot, they wouldn't think I was any good. He has given me lots of pointers and I always enjoy when I get to go to the skeet range with him. We have bird hunted together quite a bit over the years. When I was about 10 or 11, my Uncle took me and my Dad to his deer lease with him in central Texas. An incident happened on that trip that opened my eyes to the importance of firearm safety, and I will never forget it.
Dr. Tim Patton- This was one of my college professors and advisor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. I learned more about wildlife and fisheries from his lectures and field trips than anywhere else. He encouraged me to apply for the summer Park Ranger position at Lake Texoma, which eventually led to my career with the Corps of Engineers. Some of my favorite college memories are of field trips with Dr. Patton to trap fish in some of the streams of southeastern Oklahoma.
Kenyon Wood - Mr. Wood was my Ag teacher in high school. During my Junior year he taught a wildlife management class, which is where I completed the Texas Hunter's Education Course and the Boater's Education Course. He took us on field trips to shoot skeet and archery equipment, to fish, and to the TPWD Wildlife Expo in Austin. Mr. Wood passed away during the summer between my Junior and Senior year of a heart defect. I couldn't bring myself to take Ag my Senior year without him there.
Steve Hollensed - Mr. Hollensed was my science teacher in high school. He also assisted Mr. Wood with the wildlife management class. Mr. Hollensed was an avid bass fisherman. He taught us how to make our own lures and to tie different kinds of fishing knots. He took us on a field trip to Lake Ray Roberts to watch the TPWD biologists electroshock fish to take sample data. That was probably the first time I realized I wanted to have a job involving the outdoors and wildlife. The last time I saw Mr. Hollensed I told him that I was a Park Ranger at Lavon Lake and I could tell that he was proud of what I had done and that he had impacted the life of one of his students.
Denny Somers - Denny is a longtime family friend who lives in northwest Iowa. My Dad and I have pheasant hunted with Denny every year since I was 16 years old. Denny and his wife Kathy are very generous people and are an integral part of a ministry that spreads the love of Jesus Christ to physically challenged youth by providing them a means to overcome their disability through hunting. Denny's place is a haven for wildlife and I enjoy the trip every year. He is also an avid deer hunter and harvested a deer in 2001 with his bow that scored in the high 170's.
Carl Davis - Carl was a member of our church growing up and he always gave my Dad and I an open invitation to hunt on his land. When I was 12 or 13 years old, he always made me feel like I was the best shot in the field by complimenting me in front of the rest of the group. It made a lasting impression on me, and I hope to be able to pass that on to another youngster some day. He also bought one of my showpigs my Freshman year, and then turned around and gave it right back to me. Carl was a hardworking painter and he passed away at a very young age when I was a Senior in high school.
Mark and Terry Drury - I've never actually met these guys, but they are brothers who have a hunting show called "Wildlife Obsession" on the Outdoor Channel. Their show, which happens to be my favorite, is more than just about shooting a deer. They are primarily bowhunters that explain the ins and outs of deer hunting and talk about different aspects of the sport that most people don't consider, like why they choose specific stand locations, how to effectively use food plots, and other informative tips. I've learned quite a bit about bowhunting from watching these guys. They also host another show called "Dream Season" where teams of amateur hunters compete by videoing their hunts in an effort to become part of the Drury Outdoors team.
Ben Jezek - Ben was a friend of mine growing up who had his own boat in high school. Neither one of us played football our Senior year and spent many hours on Lake Ray Roberts while our friends were at football practice. Ben taught me how to use a Carolina rig to fish for bass. On one trip with Ben to Ray Roberts, I caught a bass that weighed about 8 pounds. I got it mounted and still have it on my wall today. Ben knew Lake Ray Roberts like the back of his hand, especially where the humps and brushpiles were, and he could put you on fish just about every trip.
This past Sunday afternoon, in the sweltering heat, I went to a local 3-D archery range with my Dad and a friend. I haven't been to a range in a long time, and this one was really neat. It is located right next to a National Wildlife Refuge and the targets are placed in realistic hunting scenarios throughout the woods. It was a lot of fun, and a good way to stay in the hunting mode during the summer. We even saw some wild turkeys while we were there.
shots, and occasionally making that one good shot that keeps you coming back for more. Each person shoots from the same spot at each target, and the yardages are different for every shot. And just like losing a ball in golf, if you make a really bad shot and completely miss the target you might lose an arrow!
