Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Antler Makeover
A couple friends of mine recently found a nice matched set of shed antlers - but one was found fresh in February and still had all its color while the other one wasn't found until it had been laying on the ground for about 9 months and had suffered the effects of being out in the elements. I was asked to try to paint the faded antler to make it match the fresh one.
Here are a couple before pictures...
And here are the after pictures...
They aren't an exact match, but to the casual observer they look close enough. And my friends that found them like the way they turned out.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
SYC Deer Hunt 2011
Last weekend the SYC Deer Hunt was held in NW Iowa, and I was fortunate to be able to participate as a guide for one of the hunters. The weekend was full of excitement as 28 hunters harvested a total of 23 deer.
Due to the passing of my friend Greg Somers the week before as I mentioned in my last post, I was paired up with a different co-guide for this hunt. This year Danny Dodge of Spencer, Iowa and I were assigned to guide for a young man named Logan Slay. Here we are before the first morning's hunt getting ready to go out into the field. (From left to right: Terri Slay (Logan's Dad), Logan Slay, Danny Dodge, and myself)
The first morning in the stand turned out to be a good one. We saw a total of 7 deer, all does and fawns, and Logan was able to harvest a nice doe. This was Logan's first deer, and it was great that he and his dad were able to share the moment together.
Another successful hunter this year was Zach Olson from Minnesota. I had the privelege of guiding for Zach the last couple years and he bagged one doe the first year he hunted with me. This year he was being guided by my friend Marc Gustafson, and Zach shot two deer - a 7-point buck and a doe!
The biggest buck of the weekend was shot by a young man named Graham who bagged this really nice 10-point!
Overall, lots of good memories were made and the weekend was exciting for everyone involved. A speaker delivered a powerful message of how God changed his life, and lives are constantly being changed by the work of this ministry. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to participate and for the wonderful friends I have met through SYC.
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.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
European Mount Desktop Pedestal
After making the turkey fan display plaque last week I thought of another item to make using my wood router. I have a nice whitetail skull I want to put on display so I decided to build a desktop piece that the skull could sit on.
I started out by tracing the skull and making some cardboard patterns to use for transferring the shape I want on to the piece of wood I would be cutting out. I then cut out the three pieces of wood that would be used in the pedestal: an oval base, an upright piece, and the skull panel.
After cutting and sanding I used the wood router to create the decorative edge on the base and the panel.
Next, I took the three pieces and drilled pilot holes for all the screws and test-fitted them together to make sure they would fit properly and be the desired angle for the skull to sit on.
Then I stained the wood using a red mahogany stain and darkened it up a little bit with some dark walnut stain.
After the stain had dried I applied a couple coats of polyurethane to give the piece a glossier furniture look. I allowed it to dry for about a day and then attached the skull. I really like the way it turned out and think it has a pretty classy look. Here are some pictures of the finished desktop pedestal.
I started out by tracing the skull and making some cardboard patterns to use for transferring the shape I want on to the piece of wood I would be cutting out. I then cut out the three pieces of wood that would be used in the pedestal: an oval base, an upright piece, and the skull panel.
After cutting and sanding I used the wood router to create the decorative edge on the base and the panel.
Next, I took the three pieces and drilled pilot holes for all the screws and test-fitted them together to make sure they would fit properly and be the desired angle for the skull to sit on.
Then I stained the wood using a red mahogany stain and darkened it up a little bit with some dark walnut stain.
After the stain had dried I applied a couple coats of polyurethane to give the piece a glossier furniture look. I allowed it to dry for about a day and then attached the skull. I really like the way it turned out and think it has a pretty classy look. Here are some pictures of the finished desktop pedestal.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Turkey Fan/Beard Display
I recently finished up another project I've been wanting to complete for some time now. Several years back I was fortunate enough to call in and harvest my first turkey, an old tom with a 10 1/2" beard. I decided to make my own display panel for the bird's tail and beard. I took a really nice piece of red oak, cut out the pattern I wanted, routed the edge to give it a fancier look, stained the wood, put a few coats of polyurethane on the plaque, and attached the tail and beard. I think this will make a nice addition to my ever-growing trophy room. What do you think?
Monday, April 11, 2011
First Waterfowl Mount
I've had an interest in taxidermy since I was a kid. I've tinkered with some skull mounts and hide tanning here and there, but I've never actually done a taxidermy mount of a whole animal. Until now.
A couple years ago I was able to attend a one-day waterfowl taxidermy seminar where I watched a professional taxidermist mount a teal from start to finish. There are quite a few steps involved in the process, and I got some valuable experience and learned some helpful tips from watching the taxidermist at the seminar. So I decided I wanted to give this a try for myself.
One of the tools I saw the taxidermist use was a bird flesher, which he had built himself using a low horsepower motor and a wire wheel, to remove all the fat and grease from the bird skin prior to mounting. I decided to build my own bird flesher a few weeks ago after seeing a few different designs on the internet. Here is my homemade bird flesher:
I used a clear rubbermaid container to serve as the containment area to catch all of the fat from the bird when it is removed from the skin by the wire wheel. An attic fan motor powers the wheel and is wired to an on/off switch.
The first duck I chose to mount is a nice American Wigeon drake that I shot during last year's duck season. I should have taken more pictures of the entire process, but unfortunately I didn't, so here is one I took of the skin while I was sewing up some of the holes in the bird in preparation for putting the skin on the mannikin. As you can tell it doesn't look like much at this point...
And here is the final product. I'm happy with the way it turned out for my first one. There are some things I will do differently on the next one as I hope to improve on my second mount. It was a fun project but some very tedious work.
A couple years ago I was able to attend a one-day waterfowl taxidermy seminar where I watched a professional taxidermist mount a teal from start to finish. There are quite a few steps involved in the process, and I got some valuable experience and learned some helpful tips from watching the taxidermist at the seminar. So I decided I wanted to give this a try for myself.
One of the tools I saw the taxidermist use was a bird flesher, which he had built himself using a low horsepower motor and a wire wheel, to remove all the fat and grease from the bird skin prior to mounting. I decided to build my own bird flesher a few weeks ago after seeing a few different designs on the internet. Here is my homemade bird flesher:
I used a clear rubbermaid container to serve as the containment area to catch all of the fat from the bird when it is removed from the skin by the wire wheel. An attic fan motor powers the wheel and is wired to an on/off switch.
The first duck I chose to mount is a nice American Wigeon drake that I shot during last year's duck season. I should have taken more pictures of the entire process, but unfortunately I didn't, so here is one I took of the skin while I was sewing up some of the holes in the bird in preparation for putting the skin on the mannikin. As you can tell it doesn't look like much at this point...
And here is the final product. I'm happy with the way it turned out for my first one. There are some things I will do differently on the next one as I hope to improve on my second mount. It was a fun project but some very tedious work.
Monday, February 28, 2011
First Fresh Shed Antler of the Year
I've been out shed hunting a few times already this year and have found a number of old antlers from previous years that were faded and chalky. But last week I managed to find a really nice fresh one that had just recently dropped.
This antler was a 5-point left side with really good mass. I put the tape measure to it and it scored 55 4/8" by itself. So it would be safe to say that if the other side looked the same it would be approximately a 125" - 130" buck. Not too shabby!
But what did the other side look like? I've had trail cameras running on this property for several months and have never gotten a picture of this particular buck so I have no real way of knowing for sure what that right-side antler looks like. But earlier that same day, my friend Cliff found an antler within just a couple hundred yards of where I located this one that I think could be the match.
Take a look at that drop-tine! This picture makes them look a little different, but it is because of the way the drop tine makes the antler sit when it is rested on the floor, so the angle is a little off. But holding them together the mass, main beams, brow tines, and overall tine length match up very closely. Regardless of whether it is a match or not, we each both found a nice trophy. I'm really getting hooked on shed hunting and seem to enjoy it as much or more than hunting itself. Hopefully there will be more fresh ones discovered in the next couple of weeks before the vegetation gets too thick.
This antler was a 5-point left side with really good mass. I put the tape measure to it and it scored 55 4/8" by itself. So it would be safe to say that if the other side looked the same it would be approximately a 125" - 130" buck. Not too shabby!
But what did the other side look like? I've had trail cameras running on this property for several months and have never gotten a picture of this particular buck so I have no real way of knowing for sure what that right-side antler looks like. But earlier that same day, my friend Cliff found an antler within just a couple hundred yards of where I located this one that I think could be the match.
Take a look at that drop-tine! This picture makes them look a little different, but it is because of the way the drop tine makes the antler sit when it is rested on the floor, so the angle is a little off. But holding them together the mass, main beams, brow tines, and overall tine length match up very closely. Regardless of whether it is a match or not, we each both found a nice trophy. I'm really getting hooked on shed hunting and seem to enjoy it as much or more than hunting itself. Hopefully there will be more fresh ones discovered in the next couple of weeks before the vegetation gets too thick.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Predator Hunting
A few weeks back we had some winter weather arrive here in North Texas. We had some icy road conditions topped off with several inches of snow. To some of you that might not mean much, as you may live in an area that recieves lots of winter weather and your local road departments are prepared to clear the roads. That doesn't happen here!
When we get some substantial winter weather it pretty much shuts things down. That means my office closes as well. During this recent 4-day winter storm my friend David and I decided to go predator hunting one morning since we didn't have to work. David lives within just a mile or so from my house and he had secured permission for us to hunt on a farmer's property right next door.
David had seen the property before and informed me that there was a nice vantage point from a fairly open hillside that faces down toward a low-lying wooded area. We made the short 5-minute walk to the area and found a good place to set up at the corner of a fenceline. Once we got settled into shooting position we sat quietly for a few minutes to allow any disturbance we had made on our way in to fade away. Then I began calling with the hand-held mouth call, trying my best to imitate a rabbit in distress.
David was to my right scanning the western horizon armed with a shotgun loaded with buckshot while I was looking in a southern direction with my Remington .22-250 rifle. I had been calling approximately 30 seconds when I spotted a coyote trotting in straight for us at about 70 yards. I whispered to David, "Here comes one" and I don't think he believed me at first because it was such a quick response to the call.
The coyote closed the distance to about 35 yards and stopped. I waited for David to shoot, but the shot angle would have been a little dangerous as he would have had to shoot across the front of my body, so he opted to wait for the coyote to move. It began to move and angled off to our right and got just out of shotgun range so I hit the mouth call once again. Curiosity must have got the best of him as he stopped once again broadside looking in our direction. This time I eased the gun up, settled the crosshairs just behind the front shoulder, and squeezed off a round.
The shot was true and the coyote didn't go 30 yards. And just like that our predator hunt had been a quick success. I've always enjoyed hunting with snow on the ground and this time was no different. Seems like the animals are much easier to see with that backdrop of white on the ground. And it sure does make a blood trail easy to follow as well!
Here I am with the coyote, a pretty good-sized male with a decent coat. I ended up skinning it and plan to get the hide tanned one of these days.
When we get some substantial winter weather it pretty much shuts things down. That means my office closes as well. During this recent 4-day winter storm my friend David and I decided to go predator hunting one morning since we didn't have to work. David lives within just a mile or so from my house and he had secured permission for us to hunt on a farmer's property right next door.
David had seen the property before and informed me that there was a nice vantage point from a fairly open hillside that faces down toward a low-lying wooded area. We made the short 5-minute walk to the area and found a good place to set up at the corner of a fenceline. Once we got settled into shooting position we sat quietly for a few minutes to allow any disturbance we had made on our way in to fade away. Then I began calling with the hand-held mouth call, trying my best to imitate a rabbit in distress.
David was to my right scanning the western horizon armed with a shotgun loaded with buckshot while I was looking in a southern direction with my Remington .22-250 rifle. I had been calling approximately 30 seconds when I spotted a coyote trotting in straight for us at about 70 yards. I whispered to David, "Here comes one" and I don't think he believed me at first because it was such a quick response to the call.
The coyote closed the distance to about 35 yards and stopped. I waited for David to shoot, but the shot angle would have been a little dangerous as he would have had to shoot across the front of my body, so he opted to wait for the coyote to move. It began to move and angled off to our right and got just out of shotgun range so I hit the mouth call once again. Curiosity must have got the best of him as he stopped once again broadside looking in our direction. This time I eased the gun up, settled the crosshairs just behind the front shoulder, and squeezed off a round.
The shot was true and the coyote didn't go 30 yards. And just like that our predator hunt had been a quick success. I've always enjoyed hunting with snow on the ground and this time was no different. Seems like the animals are much easier to see with that backdrop of white on the ground. And it sure does make a blood trail easy to follow as well!
Here I am with the coyote, a pretty good-sized male with a decent coat. I ended up skinning it and plan to get the hide tanned one of these days.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Recent Game Camera Pics
Well I guess it is about time that I update this blog with something. I've been extremely busy lately, so I just haven't had the time. Here are some recent game camera pictures from the protein feeder on my hunting lease. Enjoy!
This is a neat picture...check out the deer in mid-air hopping the fence!
This is a neat picture...check out the deer in mid-air hopping the fence!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A few new pictures...
A few recent game camera pictures from my hunting lease...
I'm hoping these two bucks survived this season and hang around until next fall. Both could be potential shooters with another year of age...
I'm hoping these two bucks survived this season and hang around until next fall. Both could be potential shooters with another year of age...
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