2009.07.02
Not too early to get the trailcams out there
A buddy sent me this shot of a nice bear caught by a trailcam near one of my friend's hunting set-ups.
With deer antler development well under way, and done in some cases, now is when a lot of us start getting our cams out there to see what we've got running around our hunting areas.
You'd think with all the gear I have I'd have a couple trailcams. But I don't. I've fooled with them in the past (back in the old days when they still used this thing called film) but haven't been compelled to make the jump to a digital one.
Part of me was waiting until they came down in price. But I think it's safe to say they're down in price (the camera that shot this is a $100 Wildview) so I guess I can't use that excuse any more. Maybe I'm just not too eager to get pictures of all the big bucks I have no shot of actually killing when the season opens.
It's also time to get seriously thinking about other pre-season prep. Now is also the time to start shooting those bows more regularly, and also time to work on hunting-related fitness. Starting a fitness program now will pay off big time in the fall when it's time for those early morning hikes into the stand carrying a 50-pound pack, or time for dragging that big buck back to camp.
Here's a link to some wildlife shots on our Botetourt community news site:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/botetourtview/2009/06/25/wildlife-pictures-from-ben-schrader/
Comment by Dwayne Yancey — July 2, 2009 @ 5:28 pm
Looks like a nice, fat, healthy bear!
And my advice to your buddy Mark...... tell him to secure that camera to the tree very well!!!! Those bears will try their best to pull them off the tree. I had bears tamper with mine numerous times last year.
Man I do love those trail-cams!!!!
I can honestly say that my game camera played a large role in my success on my archery bear harvest last season. I had several photos of that bear coming in and out of a laurel thicket over a one month period. That kowledge helped me decide on a stand location.... and I ended up taking the bear from that stand. I also have photos of the bear on my game-cam taken only moments before I arrowed him!!!!! . He passed by the camera on the way towards my stand that afternoon! That was very cool!
The only discouraging thing was I also had photos of several VERY nice bucks around scrapes and near my stands. I did not see ANY of those deer during hunting hours!!! and I hunted long, hard, and careful in those areas. Just goes to show you that just because you don't see big deer while hunting doesn't mean they aren't there!
Comment by Ralph Barton — July 3, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
YES Only 88 days!!!!!!!! Good luck every one and hope you all have a great and safe year......Look foward to seeing some nice pic of your harvest............................Moe
Comment by Moe — July 6, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
Mark,
FWIW, I find that trail cam data from this period in time is not very reliable for October. You might see some bucks looking good in velvet (I am seeing 2 nice ones every evening in a field off the parkway but I digress) and then wonder where they are come hunting season. They are in their bachelor groups now. When the antlers get hard enough they start their sparring and it gets more serious each time.
So, you could be seeing bucks now that won't be around come hunting season (if they aren't the dominant buck) and there could be some bucks around in hunting season that you never saw on trail cam (out of the bachelor groups in pursuit of does or in a new territory because they got chased out of the old one).
I have found travel patterns and time of day traveled now is much different come October. I have a hollow near me that the deer use the heck out of as a travel corridor now because it is cool, it doesn't get alot of sun. For the same reason, they don't tend to use it in the winter months. I have never killed a deer over it yet.
But, that being said, a trail cam is a good tool to have. It will give you an idea when the deer traverse a trail and what it is. Some of the does are looking a little scrawny right now but they will fatten up nicely by fall. I just don't put as much faith in the data I get in July as the data I get in September!
Bob
Comment by BobH — July 8, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
Ex-Marine fends off lion with chainsaw
Wielding his chain saw as a weapon, a former U.S. Marine says he fought off a starving mountain lion that attacked him while he was camping with his wife and two toddlers in northwestern Wyoming.
Dustin Britton, a 32-year-old mechanic and ex-Marine, said he was alone cutting firewood about 100 feet from his campsite in the Shoshone National Forest when he saw the lion staring at him from some bushes.
Britton revved his 18-inch chain saw and tried to back away. But the 100-pound lion followed.
As the animal pounced, Britton raised his saw and met it head-on — a collision he said felt like a grown man running right into him.
"It batted me three or four times with its front paws and as quick as I hit it with that saw it just turned away," he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Britton later discovered he'd inflicted a gash on the lion's shoulder. He said he was surprised the damage wasn't worse.
"You would think if you hit an animal with a chain saw it would dig right in. I might as well have hit it with a hockey stick," he said.
The wounded animal retreated, leaving Britton with a only small puncture wound on his forearm.
The attack occurred Sunday evening. Wildlife agents shot and killed the lion Monday after it attacked a dog brought in to track the animal.
Authorities say the lion was in poor physical condition and appeared to be starving. The lion was 4 to 5 years old.
Mountain lions are considered reclusive by nature and officials said the circumstances of the attack were highly unusual. Wyoming officials have documented only eight cases of mountain lions acting aggressively toward humans over the last decade.
Comment by Static Lines — July 17, 2009 @ 6:44 pm
That is a scary story and stories like this is why I ALWAYS carry a firearm when I go into the woods hiking, cutting out 4 wheeler trails and scouting for deer in the pre-season because you never know what can happen out there. Thank God the man and his family wasn't hurt!
Comment by Jason — July 20, 2009 @ 8:37 am
Jason
You think the four legged critters are bad. Hell I've came across a guy smoking meth in the woods once, 2 years ago needless to say the way he was acting when I turned to leave....
man I thought that encounter was going to end very badly.
Still can you imagine the trouble are having dealing with those pythons in the Everglades.
Comment by Backlash — July 20, 2009 @ 1:55 pm