For the last year I have been blessed to get to know a young man named Zach Olson, who I have had the privilege of guiding for (along with my friends and fellow guides Greg Somers and Josh Nelson) at both the SYC Turkey Hunt and Deer Hunt. If you have followed my blog you will recognize Zach because you have probably seen his picture on here before. Zach was seriously injured in an automobile accident several years ago that left him in a coma for 6 months. He has been pretty much confined to a wheelchair since the accident but has been making excellent progress with his mobility.
Earlier this evening I received an email from Zach's mother that was such a blessing and inspiration to me that I wanted to share it with everyone. Zach was wishing me a Merry Christmas and had something he wanted to show me. This video was attached...
Praise God for this remarkable milestone in Zach's recovery and for this blessing for he and his family at Christmas time! What a mighty God we serve!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Different Technique Using a Game Camera
The main reason I use game cameras is to capture pictures of deer. But lately I've wanted to try a different setup with one of my cameras. I wanted to try to get some pictures of ducks on a pond. So a couple weeks ago I positioned a camera at the water's edge at my favorite duck hunting spot to see what kind of pictures I could get. I got a memory card full of duck pictures (383 to be exact). I was pleased with the images, but I didn't take into account the direction of the sun and the lighting wasn't the best for quality pictures. Next time I will position the camera where the sun will be behind the camera to better capture the colors of the birds' plumage. Anyway, here are some of my favorites from this batch of pictures.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Big Bucks in Camera Test Site
In my last post I showed you some of the best pictures I got from my new camera on it's first trial run in Iowa. Well, in the last couple weeks I've had this camera running on some property I have access to that is a little closer to home. This camera was set on "trail mode" which snaps as many pictures as it can as long as it is sensing motion. With this particular camera they are usually about 4 to 8 seconds apart for night time pictures. Check out this sequence of seven pictures of a really good buck working a scrape captured in the span of 1 minute and 10 seconds...
That was the biggest deer on the camera this time, but it wasn't the only nice buck this camera captured. These deer weren't camera shy either...
I can't wait to build another one of these cameras! You can never have too many!!!
That was the biggest deer on the camera this time, but it wasn't the only nice buck this camera captured. These deer weren't camera shy either...
I can't wait to build another one of these cameras! You can never have too many!!!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
My New Favorite Trail Camera
In late September I put the finishing touches on another homemade trail camera and I've had it out for several months for some field testing. This camera utilizes a 7.2 megapixel Sony camera that produces very crisp, clear images. The entire unit is very compact in size (approx. 6" x 4") and is customized with 3D camouflage. Here is the external view of the camera.
In order to try to extend battery life in the field, I added extra batteries to this particular camera. The first time out in the field it captured 265 images over the span of 34 days before the batteries died. Over 90% of the images were at night, which requires the camera to flash and use substantially more battery power. I also had the camera on a one-minute delay setting instead of rapid-fire mode. Had it been on rapid-fire it probably would have taken more pictures, but not lasted as many days.
I also used a high-performance wide angle fresnel lens for the motion sensor, which is the black, rounded object on the front of the camera. The case of the camera contains a pipe-thru system which allows a locking cable to be run through the camera and around a tree to help prevent theft. Here is an internal view of the camera.
So far I have been really pleased with the performance of this camera, and I plan to build some more just like it. What I like the most is the ability to view the images in the field on the camera's LCD screen. It is a 2.5" screen so the screen is similar in size to a Blackberry phone. The camera is also still fully-functional as a point-and-shoot camera, so it can be removed from the case and be used just like any normal camera. Here is a sampling of pictures from its first trial run in the field. The camera was located on my friend's property in Iowa, along a well-used trail from the timber to a food plot.
See why I like this camera so much?
In order to try to extend battery life in the field, I added extra batteries to this particular camera. The first time out in the field it captured 265 images over the span of 34 days before the batteries died. Over 90% of the images were at night, which requires the camera to flash and use substantially more battery power. I also had the camera on a one-minute delay setting instead of rapid-fire mode. Had it been on rapid-fire it probably would have taken more pictures, but not lasted as many days.
I also used a high-performance wide angle fresnel lens for the motion sensor, which is the black, rounded object on the front of the camera. The case of the camera contains a pipe-thru system which allows a locking cable to be run through the camera and around a tree to help prevent theft. Here is an internal view of the camera.
So far I have been really pleased with the performance of this camera, and I plan to build some more just like it. What I like the most is the ability to view the images in the field on the camera's LCD screen. It is a 2.5" screen so the screen is similar in size to a Blackberry phone. The camera is also still fully-functional as a point-and-shoot camera, so it can be removed from the case and be used just like any normal camera. Here is a sampling of pictures from its first trial run in the field. The camera was located on my friend's property in Iowa, along a well-used trail from the timber to a food plot.
See why I like this camera so much?
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The "Deer Sticks" Deer
For the last two hunting seasons I have been taking my deer to Muenster Meat Co. (formerly Walterscheid Meat Co.) in Muenster, TX. I have been extremely satisfied with their quality, turn-around time, cleanliness, and most importantly their deer sticks. Some people call them snack sticks, buck sticks, or smoked sticks, but regardless of what you call them they are my favorite thing to have made when I harvest a deer. They are slender, tasty snack sticks that are similar to a Slim-Jim, but without all the grease. They contain only venison and a mixture of spices, as no other type of meat, such as pork fat, is mixed in. So as far as I am concerned they are also lean and healthy for you.
Over the last two years I have brought samples in for my co-workers to try, and last year one guy liked the sticks so much that he bought several pounds from me. Well the deer stick craze in my office caught on like wildfire, and before this deer season started a group of my co-workers approached me with a deal I couldn't resist. They had pooled their money (enough to pay for processing a whole deer and pay for my gas money) and wanted me to harvest a deer that would be made entirely into deer sticks so they could each have a supply of their own. I eagerly accepted the offer.
This past Saturday I went to my hunting lease with one goal in mind: to harvest a doe so that my office mates could enjoy these delectable smoked venison snacks. And I was successful.
After not seeing a deer all day long, my fortune changed right at sunset. A group of six or seven does made their way from the edge of a mesquite savanna into a field of winter wheat. I was positioned along a fenceline that crossed through the wheat field and was seated on the ground, along with my friend Justin who was serving as an extra set of eyes. As the does made their way into the wheat, my friend noticed a nice buck who was hanging back just inside the edge of the mesquites. We got a good look at him through the binoculars as he closed to within 75 yards of our position. His antlers were outside the ears and he was a solid-looking 8-point, but he had broken off his left G3 tine. After watching him for about 5 minutes, I decided he wasn't quite what I was looking for in terms of size for a buck, so I opted to revert back to my original gameplan of taking a doe.
By this time there were about 9 does in the field so I picked out one of the largest ones that was offering a nice, broadside shot. I put my sights on the 5th one from the right, centered the crosshairs of my scope right behind her shoulder, and squeezed off a round from my Remington .30-06. She dropped dead in her tracks. A quick, clean kill.
Justin and I took a few minutes to celebrate in the moment and collect ourselves from the adrenaline rush that always accompanies the moment of truth on a hunt, then we proceeded to the deer which we paced off at 130 yards. We called my dad to bring the truck over so we could load her up, and after a few pictures and a quick field-dressing we had completed what I had set out to do. Now everyone at the office can hopefully have some deer sticks by Christmas! It's awesome when a plan comes together!
Over the last two years I have brought samples in for my co-workers to try, and last year one guy liked the sticks so much that he bought several pounds from me. Well the deer stick craze in my office caught on like wildfire, and before this deer season started a group of my co-workers approached me with a deal I couldn't resist. They had pooled their money (enough to pay for processing a whole deer and pay for my gas money) and wanted me to harvest a deer that would be made entirely into deer sticks so they could each have a supply of their own. I eagerly accepted the offer.
This past Saturday I went to my hunting lease with one goal in mind: to harvest a doe so that my office mates could enjoy these delectable smoked venison snacks. And I was successful.
After not seeing a deer all day long, my fortune changed right at sunset. A group of six or seven does made their way from the edge of a mesquite savanna into a field of winter wheat. I was positioned along a fenceline that crossed through the wheat field and was seated on the ground, along with my friend Justin who was serving as an extra set of eyes. As the does made their way into the wheat, my friend noticed a nice buck who was hanging back just inside the edge of the mesquites. We got a good look at him through the binoculars as he closed to within 75 yards of our position. His antlers were outside the ears and he was a solid-looking 8-point, but he had broken off his left G3 tine. After watching him for about 5 minutes, I decided he wasn't quite what I was looking for in terms of size for a buck, so I opted to revert back to my original gameplan of taking a doe.
By this time there were about 9 does in the field so I picked out one of the largest ones that was offering a nice, broadside shot. I put my sights on the 5th one from the right, centered the crosshairs of my scope right behind her shoulder, and squeezed off a round from my Remington .30-06. She dropped dead in her tracks. A quick, clean kill.
Justin and I took a few minutes to celebrate in the moment and collect ourselves from the adrenaline rush that always accompanies the moment of truth on a hunt, then we proceeded to the deer which we paced off at 130 yards. We called my dad to bring the truck over so we could load her up, and after a few pictures and a quick field-dressing we had completed what I had set out to do. Now everyone at the office can hopefully have some deer sticks by Christmas! It's awesome when a plan comes together!
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