White-winged Doves

With dove season just around the corner, I thought I would share some pictures that my dad took earlier this week. This was the scene in his front yard.



Those are white-winged doves. Historically, white-wings have been a South Texas bird, but in the last few years it seems their range is expanding northward. I had never even seen a white-wing until about five years ago when I saw a flock of them near Lavon Lake. I have dove hunted since I was old enough to carry a shotgun and to this day I have never shot a white-wing, and I have shot hundreds of birds through the years. My dad told me that they are all over the little town he lives in. When he and my mom goes for a walk, he says they literally see flocks of hundreds of them.

I know some of you Northerners think of doves as a songbird and you don't have seasons to hunt them. I feel sorry for you! You are missing out! When wrapped in bacon and stuffed with a jalapeno they are mighty tasty! The limit for doves here in North Texas is 15 per day. I could get my limit with one shot!

Product Review: "Deer Cane"

The last time I reset my trail cameras, I decided to try a different approach. In an effort to get better quality pictures, I started a new mineral lick site about 8 feet in front of a camera. I purchased a gallon jug of Evolved Habitats "Deer Cane" liquid mineral attractant ($10) as well as a 4-pound "Deer Cane" block ($8) to be used at the site.


I dug about a 3-foot diameter circle in the ground, about 4 inches deep, and placed the block in the center of the hole. I then soaked the block and the dirt inside the hole with the entire gallon of the liquid mineral attractant. The directions on the packaging said that the product works best when it has been saturated with rainfall, allowing the minerals to leach into the dirt. Fortunately, just a few days after the Deer Cane was in place we received decent amounts of rain allowing the product to work as directed. The Deer Cane contains a mixture of ingredients, but the primary minerals are sodium and calcium. It should be replenished within 30 - 60 days to keep the site active.

I was able to check the camera yesterday, and I noticed lots of deer tracks around the site and the block was completely gone. The camera had roughly 100 pictures on it and numerous deer had visited the site. Here are a few of the pictures.





I think the pictures speak for themselves. This is the first time I have used this product and it worked great! It attracted deer and the pictures prove they are consuming it. While maintaining a mineral site might not seem like a big deal, it might be just the trick to keep that buck hanging around in the area. I give it a thumbs up!

A Bowhunting Legend

I took a trip over to the Cabela's store in Fort Worth this afternoon. Except this time it wasn't to buy something. I went to hear a presentation being given by one of the greatest bowhunters of all time - Chuck Adams.

If you've never heard of Chuck Adams, well, you must not be a real bowhunter. He has quite the bowhunting resume. He is the first archer ever to complete the North American "Super Slam" - the taking of all 27 North American big game species with his bow. He has also taken 111 Pope & Young record-book trophies - more than anyone else in history. He also is widely known for his books and articles about bowhunting. Throughout the hunting community, Chuck Adams is known as "The World's Most Successful Bowhunter".

Before his presentation today, I got the opportunity to meet Chuck and get an autograph as well as a quick picture. In our conversation I asked him how long it took him to complete the "Super Slam" and he told me 23 years.

During his presentation, he talked about his "Bowhunting Misadventures". He had some very interesting stories of his encounters with big game throughout the world. My favorite was his story about an elephant hunt in Africa in which he arrowed a huge bull elephant. After shooting the massive animal, Chuck, his guide and his tracker were tracking the elephant and it charged. All three men ran in different directions and the elephant got within feet of the tracker. Just as it was reaching out with it's trunk to grab the man the guide shot the elephant right through the brain with a .458 caliber elephant gun. The big bull fell like a sack of potatoes almost landing on the tracker. Chuck said that to this day, that is the only animal he has arrowed that has had to be dispatched with a bullet.

The main topic of the presentation was that bowhunting is not easy. To quote Chuck, he said, "What I like about bowhunting is that it is not easy - if it were easy it wouldn't be as special as it is." I couldn't agree more.

I was glad I had the opportunity to get to meet Chuck and hear him talk about some of his hunting adventures. He is to archery what Nolan Ryan is to baseball.

Drop and Give Me 20!

I decided to get the bow out this evening and do some practicing. My wife, our girls and I went over to my in-laws so I could have room to set up a target. I have to admit that it has been awhile since I shot my bow - too long actually. I'm ashamed of myself. I have never had any problems drawing this bow, but this evening I was reminded that if you don't use those particular muscles consistently they will become weak. The daily pushups will begin tonight, and more frequent practice with the bow begins immediately! Turning 30 is really kicking my tail!

Somewhat Disappointed . . .

I pulled the memory cards off my trail camera this past weekend. I was glad to see that I had quite a few deer pictures, but I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't have more buck pictures than I did. That happens sometimes - I know they're out there, but they didn't show their face. I put in fresh batteries and a clean memory card and will see what happens next time. Here are some of the pictures. This first one is the best picture of a buck that I got this time.

The middle deer in this picture looks like his antlers aren't growing properly.