Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Remembering a Friend and Hunting Buddy
My heart was saddened today as I found out that I lost a friend and hunting buddy. Greg Somers, who is a long-time family friend and one of my fellow SYC Hunting Guides for the last couple years, passed away late yesterday evening. I have some great memories of the time I got to spend with Greg, and he will be greatly missed by everyone that knew him.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Dove Season Starts with a Bang!
The 2011 dove season in Texas began on Thursday, September 1st and found myself in a rare situation - sitting in my office that morning instead of being afield. I can count on one hand the number of times I have missed an opening day dove hunt in my entire life. This year I had more family obligations with school having already started back, and my duties of dropping little ones off at preschool took precedence over my need to be in the field. But I knew the weekend would arrive in two short days, which meant I would be making a trip to my hunting lease for some dove hunting with my Dad and my friend Lee Flannery.
The weekend turned out to be a very memorable one. All three of us were able to bag a limit of doves on Saturday morning. My dad was the first to dominoe, with his 15th bird being bagged at 7:30 AM, approximately 52 minutes after legal shooting hours began. I was next to fill a limit with number 15 falling at 7:45 AM to my 34th shotshell of the morning. This may sound like a lot of shots to you if you have never tried your hand at shooting doves, but according to this article on the Bass Pro Shops website, "Studies indicate dove hunters average about three birds bagged per 25 shots." This means the average person has a .120 batting average when it comes to dove hunting, and Saturday morning's hunt for me would be equivalent to a .441 batting average. I'll take that number any day of the week! Lee finished up the trifecta with a limit of his own by 8:30 that morning. Here we are with our birds.
Another memorable moment that morning was the fact that I shot my first ever White-winged Dove. These are very similar to Mourning Doves, but have a white patch on their wings and have historically been in the southern part of the state. In the last few years we have seen more and more of them here in the northern part of Texas, and I was fortunate to get to bag this one as part of my limit.
Also of a very memorable note was Lee's son, Sean, bagging his first dove of his young hunting career. Not only did he get his first - he got several - and put on quite a shooting exhibition in the process! Way to go Sean!
So, even though I missed opening day the weekend turned out to be spectacular. I guess the best things do come to those who wait.
The weekend turned out to be a very memorable one. All three of us were able to bag a limit of doves on Saturday morning. My dad was the first to dominoe, with his 15th bird being bagged at 7:30 AM, approximately 52 minutes after legal shooting hours began. I was next to fill a limit with number 15 falling at 7:45 AM to my 34th shotshell of the morning. This may sound like a lot of shots to you if you have never tried your hand at shooting doves, but according to this article on the Bass Pro Shops website, "Studies indicate dove hunters average about three birds bagged per 25 shots." This means the average person has a .120 batting average when it comes to dove hunting, and Saturday morning's hunt for me would be equivalent to a .441 batting average. I'll take that number any day of the week! Lee finished up the trifecta with a limit of his own by 8:30 that morning. Here we are with our birds.
Also of a very memorable note was Lee's son, Sean, bagging his first dove of his young hunting career. Not only did he get his first - he got several - and put on quite a shooting exhibition in the process! Way to go Sean!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Help Me Name This Buck
I got a picture of a really gnarly buck on camera this past week that is so freakish looking I don't know how to describe it. Anybody got any good suggestions for a nickname for this buck?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Time to Get Trail Cameras Running
With deer antlers really starting to take shape, and hunting season just a little over two months away, now is the time to get those trail cameras in the woods. I recently got several of my cameras in place. Hopefully I will have a good number of pictures to share in the next few weeks. Here is the first nice buck I've gotten on camera this summer.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Antler Restoration
Earlier this spring I found a unique deer antler while I was shed hunting. It is a very non-typical and heavy antler with lots of character. But, it looked like it had been laying out in the weather for a couple years and it was bleached completely white.
While the antler looks pretty cool just the way it is, I decided I wanted to try to bring it back to life. I used my airbrush to give the antler a good base coat in an off-white bone color. Then I took a small paintbrush and some acrylic paints and went to work.
I used a fresh antler as reference and tried to make the base of the antler darker and fade it into a slightly lighter color toward the end.
After I got it all painted I removed the paint from the high spots on the antler to give it some highlights and make it look more realistic.
I kept removing paint until I got the desired look. Then I touched up some areas until I got it just right. Finally, I put a coat of flat clear sealer on it to protect the color and to add a little sheen to the finish. Here is the finished antler. I like the way it turned out and think it will look even better sitting on the coffee table.
While the antler looks pretty cool just the way it is, I decided I wanted to try to bring it back to life. I used my airbrush to give the antler a good base coat in an off-white bone color. Then I took a small paintbrush and some acrylic paints and went to work.
I used a fresh antler as reference and tried to make the base of the antler darker and fade it into a slightly lighter color toward the end.
After I got it all painted I removed the paint from the high spots on the antler to give it some highlights and make it look more realistic.
I kept removing paint until I got the desired look. Then I touched up some areas until I got it just right. Finally, I put a coat of flat clear sealer on it to protect the color and to add a little sheen to the finish. Here is the finished antler. I like the way it turned out and think it will look even better sitting on the coffee table.
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