By Mac Moad

The first week of October was finally here.  The first three days were spent in my favorite stand watching 3 raccoons in which I had named Larry, Curly, and Moe.  The mother raccoon was slightly bigger than the two younger ones, and seemed curious to every movement surrounding them.  The days here in eastern Oklahoma in October were still in the 80’s with mosquitoes buzzing everywhere.  I was wondering if it were still to hot to hunt and questioned myself again over and over.  Each day so far, I had hunted morning and evening with only a few does showing up.

Our family is one of three families (all related) that live on the mountain with about 360 acres of land owned by our families.  Each year we hunt, we always establish the rules.  {8 Point or better for the husbands} {Wives and kids, buck or doe} Now last year I hunted all year and didn’t harvest one deer, but I had seen enough antlers to keep me excited.  Every time Bill and Grover, my brother in-laws, sure let me

know how I got spanked on last years hunt.  Both are avid rifle hunters and tagged out the year I brought home nothing.  I was thinking about this already early in this season while elevated about 18 feet up in my climber.  I wondered, as every other hunter does, will this be my year.  As I looked down from my stand at the raccoons again on the 4^th morning of October 2007, I was once again thinking of how pretty they were and how every day I am in the woods, I look for the highlight of the day.  Whether this was the highlight of the day again, or was an owl going to sit on the limb next to me, a squirrel sitting on my boot, quail leaving a fast trail for a coyote, bobcats on the prowl, turkeys rustling, what was going to be the highlight?

Then, I saw movement directly in front of me.  I was a deer for sure, and no does were present yet.  I had placed my stand in what my wife calls the quiet spot.  High cedars with no brush, not to thick, but perfect for a good bow shot.  A well used doe trail to my right, and another trail coming in from the left, thicker trees to my front.  I could see about 40 yards around me with a creek bed behind me on a down hill gentle slope. The deer in front of me wasn’t spooked or aware of my presence as it slowly made its way directly toward me.  Sun to my back and the breeze in my face, finally, I could see him completely.  “Very nice buck” I was thinking.  As he moved closer and closer, I could count 4 on one side and 4 on the other.  Not sure if I wanted to take the shot just yet, I moved into position just in case.  Standing now and ready to draw, I used the bow as if I was hiding behind its small limbs.  The buck was much bigger than I originally thought the closer he moved to my stand.  20 yards and still coming, 10 yards and still coming.  He stopped, head concealed by a large cedar tree.  I came to full draw and picked my shooting lane.  As if knowing I was now ready to shoot, the 8 point stepped from behind the cedar and moved closer, directly into my shooting lane.  7 yards, I picked my hairs on the buck, just behind the shoulder and quartering down.  I could sense the raccoons to my right and felt a sense of calm, took a large breath, let it out half way, became steady as a rock and released.

{‘Wham”}  I dropped him in his tracks.  I intended to penetrate spine, heart, and lung if possible for a deadly and swift kill.  My broadhead did exactly that.  I stood for a moment and watched the buck lie still and quiet.  Larry, Curly, and Moe were nowhere to be seen.  I called my wife using my cell phone and quietly whispered I had a good buck down, her response to me was “why are we whispering”.  Laughing a little I said, I am in the quiet spot.

After checking the buck in and heading to the processors, I continued to hunt the evening in another stand.  Each day I hunted, I elected to use my climber instead of pre-placed stands used each year.  October the 7^th, 3 days after my first buck of the year, my 14 year old son was ready for action.  This would be his first year bow hunting, and he practiced every day for the last two months.  He was actually quite good shooting the pillow target and 3D’s, in which I was very proud.  Sunday after church, he would be in the woods with me for the evening hunt.  Everything seemed to go wrong.  I found out he was afraid of heights the hard way, but patiently, I assisted him into a lock-on stand with steps, explained the safety belt, strapped him in and climbed down.  I hooked his bow on the bow string and up and away the bow went.  While the bow was being pulled up by my son, I was watching all around me, trying to quiet down the woods, when {Wham}!!!!  My right hand was numb.  I looked at my hand and there was a deep cut to the bone on the top.  My son had almost had the bow in his stand when the bow string slipped.  The bow caught me square across my hand.  Seriously nervous and seeing the blood, my son asked if I was alright and maybe we should just go home and get the hand took care of.  He said he was so sorry and it just slipped, and…………  I assured my son everything was fine, helped him get the bow up the stand, and assured him he was ready to hunt.  “Don’t worry about me son, you just keep your eyes out for the big one.  I will be about 100 yards straight across the creek.”  I pointed with my other hand where I would be, wished him good luck, then started walking away from his stand. After crossing the creek and out of sight from Chase, I stopped and looked at the top of my right hand.  I was hurt pretty good, and I still couldn’t make a fist yet.

Not wanting to leave the woods with my son still in a stand, I elected to set up on a trail I knew of and wait it out.  I pulled off the climber from my shoulder and worried a little about if I could even use the stand to climb or not.  After setting up the stand at the bottom of the tree I picked out, we were going to find out if I could climb with one hand.  It actually wasn’t that bad.  Up the tree I went, got situated, smiled a little at how stupid I was to stand directly under my sons stand when he was raising his bow then shrugged it off as “my stupidity, my fault.” Now situated and seated in my stand, I wondered if I could even draw my bow back with the bum hand.  So, I stood up quietly, drew the bow and wow, man did that hurt.  I sat back down and thought once again, I hope a big buck goes by my son instead of me this evening.  Not real sure I could even draw again.

45 minutes later, about 6:05pm, I caught movement from over my right shoulder.  Yep, you guessed it.  It was a buck, but a very small buck.  Knowing that early in this season the bucks were still traveling together, I stood, turned and prepared.  Sure enough, 5 yards behind the 4 point, was a small basket 8 point.  Immediately I decided not to shoot this small 8.  To my surprise, directly on his heals was a really nice 8 point.  Now I was getting excited.  By the way, the first buck in front had walked directly under my stand and was now in front of my stand.  I drew slowly, aimed center mass of the shooting lane in a gap in the brush.  The small 8 point buck walked through the gap, and then “There he was”,  A fine 8 point standing in the gap.  Once again, I picked my area of hair behind the shoulder, quartered down, controlled the breathing, paused, and slowly squeezed the trigger release.

{Wham} I dropped him in his tracks.  I intended to penetrate spine, heart, and lung if possible again and sure enough, the broadhead did the work.  Can you believe this, 6 yards, another nice buck on the ground, just laying there.  I stood in amazement, I was shocked.  This was a really nice buck, pretty wide and may score as well.  The odd thing about this was, “dropped in his tracks.”  The very thing every hunter hopes for is to find the deer, or even better a swift and clean kill.  Well, not only did I find the deer three or four days ago, I found this one too.  I was like a dream.  Two 8 point bucks, both bow kills, both in the same week, both dropped in their tracks. I realized after a brief moment of silence, that my hand did not hurt anymore, and to make things even better, my son was on this hunt with me only 100 yards away. The two bucks that were in front of this one, there would be a good chance Chase saw them or even may get a shot.  But what will always cross my mind is how big was the buck that was still coming in from behind the buck I harvested.  I saw him jump when I released.  I climbed down and walked to Chases stand, walked cautiously up to the side of him and told him we had a good buck down.  Excited, he said he saw two bucks running and asked how big my buck was.  I told him, “well, I don’t know really, maybe you should help me track him”.  Chase was so excited when he walked up to my tree, buck in plain site.  “Man, I’m gonna get me a buck like that” I went to retrieve the 4-wheeler, we loaded the deer and headed to the house.  I was kind of in a hurry as the darkness was starting to set in, and I still needed to check this buck in too.  Arriving at our home on the mountain, my father stepped out on the deck and observed our approach.  My father had just come in from out of town that day to visit us for a week, so that was kind of cool him seeing me bring in another deer.  He was a big deer hunter with hunting skills that I always admired.

As far as the wife goes, she was so excited.  Not so much that I had gotten a nice buck, but that I had gotten two nice bucks with a bow in the first week of hunting season.  She rubbed it in real good to her two brothers whom still hadn’t harvested anything.  The next morning, as I watched the brother in laws roll out to the woods to deer hunt, I told them the same thing I always told them.  “Good luck and I hope you get a big one” Every bit of this is true, and I honestly believe this will be hard for me to beat next year.  After all, now my season just went from deer season, to “dear” season.  Being tagged out in the first week of bow season is a sure sign that honey-do’s will be a major part of the rest of my season.

Whether hunting public or privateland, the fundamentals of calling elk remain the same.

By Michael Waddell

We heard the bull bugle at first light and snuck into his core area. When I hit a lick on my bugle, the bull simply came unglued and stormed our position like a tank, crashing through brush and small lodgepole pines like they were atchsticks. Before we could react he was in our lap and we were pinned down, myself hiding behind a camera, too afraid to even touch the tripod for fear of my shaking hands would run the footage. All I could see of my partner edged against a stunted pine was the tip of his undrawn arrow shaking uncontrollably on the rest. Before a shot presented itself, the bull smelled a  rat and disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

While this experience didn’t result in a dead elk, it did hopelessly addict me to calling them. It seems that in all walks of life, be it the animal kingdom or humans, communication is a key ingredient for all social interaction. However not all living things communicate to the same degree. If you ask my wife, I am sure she will tell you I lack in the communication department, in fact I am sure she believes I don’t listen to her at all, but when it comes to communicating with animals I can barely shut up. Of all the animals I love to communicate with elk rate right at the top. By nature elk are very vocal. The uninitiated often simply think of bulls bugling, but cows, calves and bulls make all sorts of noises year around. If you encounter a larger herd of elk while you might not hear a thing from a distance, if you get close you will hear lots of subtle vocalization. Most of the time these are sounds of contentment, but depending on what’s happening the vocalization reflects it. Elk can convey contentment, danger, curiosity, or a cow in heat. Bulls for instance only bugle primarily in the rut, but they also communicate to establish a pecking order. After spending a considerable amount of time chasing the mighty wapiti, I’m convinced every elk in the herd knows each other by sound alone. This happens with the cows as well as the bulls and based on my evaluation somewhere in this mix is the deadly secret to calling elk archery-close.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

It seems that the more vocal a herd the better the odds are for success at calling them. Some cows call subtle, while others are loud-mouth ladies actively looking for a date. By listening it gives you a better opportunity to imitate the particular tones and intensity of the herd. By calling we are automatically intruding into the social club without an invitation. The closer we can sound to a known elk, and match that intensity the better the odds are of filling a tag. Even though we may sound like an outsider to the herd, luckily for us, love crazed bulls are not looking to be intimate with just one or two cows they are looking for all the love of every cow in the world, so taking advantage of their sexual frustrations and promiscuity is what we aim to do. It doesn’t take a world champion elk caller to trick bulls within range. By simply paying attention to the herd and understanding simple elk rhythm, tone and more important volume when calling, a hunter can depend on an elk call to be a valuable asset to dulling broadheads.

Public Versus Private Land

Since I started hunting elk 16 years ago, on private as well as public ground, I have realize that comparing these two different types of ground are like comparing night and day and it is all about the amount of pressure each receives. Generally speaking private ground bulls are way easier to call than public ground animals, but this is not always the case. Some private land does get a lot of pressure, which can make for some pretty tough calling duels with elk that can serve you up a humble pie every time you bust out a call. While conversely some public land either through sheer remoteness or hard-to-get tags is like calling the best private land in the nation. Hunting un-touched land and cow calling to bulls that have never heard a Hoochie Mamma would obviously be nice and it wouldn’t take long working over these uneducated elk to start feeling like an elk calling pro only to be deflated the first time we went to the national forest and mixed it up with bulls so well-known by local hunters that they have knick names. However, regardless of where you hunt the basics of calling remain the same. Start with mastering the cow call and all its various inflections. Your basic reed type calls are the easiest to learn as well as get proficient with. You will find two kinds; both are bite down reed-type of calls, one being enclosed and the other having an open reed or reeds. These calls make a very realistic sound and before your wife can run you out of the house you will master the basics.  I rely heavily on the cow call and think most of the time hunters are better off sticking with it over a bugle no matter where he is hunting. But learning how to make a basic bugle is important, especially for locating bulls at a distance before getting close and working him with your cow call. In addition, sometimes it is the bugle that finally provokes a dominant bull to commit, especially during the early season when bulls are still sorting out their peckin’ order.

Earning Your Public Ground PhD

Lets face it, unless you have deep pockets much of the private ground in the West is pretty much off limits, so you have to learn to hunt public land. This is not a bad thing as public ground comprises millions upon millions of acres across the West and happens to have some of the biggest bulls found anywhere. While it can be tougher than private, once you learn how to hunt it you won’t be disappointed. Over the years, one of my favorite places to hunt is the Gila National Forest, in New Mexico, and even though this is a trophy area tags are fairly obtainable through application. In the Gila, the trophy potential is off the chart, sporting some of the biggest bulls in the country, but just because the big ones live there doesn’t mean thatyou automatically make one call and they come running to get in the back of your truck. These mature jokers have a PhD in avoiding hunters. Over the last six years I have hunted this area religiously and have had the opportunity to shoot some nice bulls all by using elk calls as an aid to close the coffin. Notice I said, “as an aid”, meaning the call was just one thing in a bag of tricks to help smoke these monarchs. My biggest bull that came out of the Gila was a 378 P&Y bull that had earned the name Professor because he always seemed to take you to school when you applied too much pressure. However, this bull was vocal and would bugle his butt off. He also seemed to be fairly easy to find, not only by his gnarly, raspy bugle that set him apart, but frequently he could be found early in the morning in a large meadow just south of a particular water hole that always attracted a large herd. The Professor was not the only bull in the area that had large headgear, but it was The Professor that seemed to call the shots. I had caught this bull in the open several times, but calling seemed to really make him uneasy when you were in close. The Professor however would bugle hard to distant cow calls and seem to be whole heartedly interested, but had a sixth sense when you moved in for the attack. Final we decided to have a caller stay behind as we worked him coming off the meadow at daybreak. By doing this we could keep him interested and bugling as we stalked in closer. The caller always was no closer than 80 yards behind me. While the caller kept him occupied, I slid within 50 yards and gave him a G5 Tekan right behind the shoulder. This hunt was really a stalk, but the call and caller had a big part to do with his demise. Once we started quartering the bull up, we found a piece of an old arrow lodged just below the backstraps, so obviously someone had him in close before and gave the Prof and education, which explained why he was so wary.

The Double Team

As this old bull showed, hunting with a partner can work extremely well. It not only puts the hunter out in front of the call, but it gives the hunter a chance to move and adjust the angle based on where the bull might be approaching. Likewise, the caller has the flexibility to move as well and apply a lot of different calling techniques. The double team plan worked again on another hunt. It had been hot and the bulls were only bugling early and late. As soon as the sun would rise the elk woods would turn in to a ghost town.
Just after daybreak on the fourth day of our hunt we heard this bull bugle. He hit it only two times, both very weak and he sounded like the littlest rag horn in the land but with no other game in town we went after him. Getting as close as possible to where we thought the bugle came from I eased up and sat down by a pine stump while my buddy moved back and to my right about 40 yards. Neither of us were very optimistic about our chances. My buddy made one or maybe two very soft cow calls on a two reed diaphragm then he started raking a tree and rolled a few rocks. We sat there for possibly 10 minutes in silence, then out of nowhere appeared a wide 340 inch 6 x 6 coming directly to us, at 25 yards the bull let out a soft chuckle, looked over his surrounding and kept walking in the direction of where the last rock had been rolled, which led him 16 steps from my pine stump. By now I was at full draw waiting for a broadside shot. When the arrow left my bow, I knew we had killed a call shy monster by keeping it low key and staying patient. Needless to say, I was never convinced by the two times he had bugled earlier that he was a shooter. This was a lesson in itself. Never judge a bugle until you can see what is making the sound.
The most exciting way to bag a bull elk is to get him in close, and the best way to do that is with a call. Confidence in your call is critical, because if you’re insecure about using your call there is a good chance you will spook elk. Have confidence in your calling ability and become just another elk in the herd where you are hunting. Find a call that works for you and not what works for some else. Think like an elk and do as elk do. Realism, rhythm, and volume control can make the difference between bringin’ them in or running them over the next ridge. And remember its not always about calling, it can be just patiently listening to the sounds around you and applying minimal calls, while practicing good woodsmenship, and stalking skills that could help you put that monster on the back of the truck.

By Michael Waddell

This is a warning to outdoor users about a potentially deadly biological event that could result from one’s curiosity to poke at and kick through scat from wolves, coyotes and foxes. Of course not everyone knowingly does this but many hunters, trappers and simply the curious, want to know what these animals have been eating.

Back in the end of November I gave you a link to a story, “Of Wolves and Worms”. That story introduced many of us to the subject of worms being found in wolves in the Greater Yellowstone area.

According to a new study out in the October issue of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, three-millimeter-long tapeworms known as Echinococcus granulosus, are documented for the first time in gray wolves in Idaho and Montana. And the authors didn’t just find a few tapeworms here and there… turns out that of 123 wolf intestines sampled, 62 percent of the Idaho gray wolves and 63 percent of the Montana gray wolves were positive. (Ew!) The researchers wrote: “The detection of thousands of tapeworms per wolf was a common finding.” (Again… Ew!!) This leads to the interpretation that the E. granulosus parasite rate is fairly widespread and established in the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves.

There is discussion about how some think the worms ended up in the wolves in this region but the article tends to downplay any serious concerns people should have from coming in contact with these tapeworms and the eggs they leave behind.

In the comments section of the article, Will Graves, author of the book “Wolves in Russia: Anxiety Through the Ages“, left his thoughts on his own research discoveries about the dangers to humans of these parasites.

In the first paragraph in my letter to Mr. Bangs dated 3 October 1993 on the DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement) which was titled “The Reintroduction of Gray Wolves to Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho,” I warned about the damages and problems wolves would cause to Yellowstone and other areas by carrying and spreading parasites and diseases over larger areas. Some of these parasites are damaging not only to wild and domestic animals, but can also be dangerous to humans. One of these parasites is Echinococcous Granulosus and Echinococcus M. Since 1993 I have been working to tell people what I have learned from about 50 years of research on the characteristics, habits and behavior of Russian wolves. From that research I came to the conclusion that one of the most serious consequences of bring wolves into the US would be the wolves carrying and spreading around damaging/dangerous parasites and diseases. I did my best to explain this in my book titled, “Wolves in Russia – Anxiety Through the Ages” edited by Dr. Valerius Geist. Details about my book are in my web site: wolvesinrussia.com.

After several years effort, I finally recently obtained help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Parasitic Research Center in Beltsville, MD. This research center will try to conduct research on the blood taken from wolves in our western states. Oneparasite they will be researching is to determine if wolves carry and spread the parasite Neospora Caninum around. It is established that coyotes and dogs carry this damaging parasite.

I remember that about two years ago there was a report about one wolf carrying Echinococcus Granulosus in Montana.

Much more research is needed about the danger wolves bring to our environment. Some of the parasites carried by wolves are dangerous to humans.(emphasis added)

Around this same time that Will Graves posted his comments, he contacted me by email and asked if I could somehow be of assistance to him in obtaining blood samples from wolves taken during the Idaho and Montana wolf hunts. The word went out quickly and hopefullyGraves gets what he needs to help him in his research. This can become extremely valuable information for all of us.

In the meantime, Dr. Valerius Geist, professor emeritus University of Calgary and Dr. Charles Kay, of Utah State University, who holds degrees in wildlife ecology, environmental studies and wildlife biology, exchanged thoughts on the discovery of worms in Yellowstone wolves in emails I received.

Well, Charles? What else is new? What did we warn about, how we were censored as alarmists………………………
And yes, a colleague assured us that all that is not a problem for us, but for some native types. Nothing to worry about, really. Remember how, early on, we put out a warning – do not kick dry wolf feces or poke about in such looking for evidence of food habits. Do not handle wolf feces as it will disturb the tiny Echinococcus eggs that float up like little dust cloud to envelop you, and you are very likely to ingest some of that “dust”. This know-how, which we older Canadian types carried away from our parasitogy lessons was poo-hood by some American colleagues. Wolves are after all, harmless! Remember the question we posed: is it really such a great idea completing ecosystems when the progression is herbivores, carnivores, finally diseases and parasites?

It is not my intention nor that of Drs. Geist and Kay to attempt to instill unnecessary fear in people but to educate, as it was back in the day before wolf reintroduction. There are very important lessons and warnings that all should heed and take into consideration when in the woods or maybe even in your own back yard.

Dr. Geist emailed me the other day and asked me if I would be kind enough to post this information so that anyone and everyone will be aware of the potential for some very serious health issues.

Urgent: could you make a point of it that now, that we know that the majority of wolves are infected with Echinococcus, that all hunters control their curiosity and not poke about in wolf or coyote feces to find out what these predators ate. these feces are saturated with tiny, lightweight Echinococcus eggs that rise like dust plume from the disturbed feces and envelop the poking hunter. If the air-born eggs are ingested, the an infection is possible, and having Echinococcus cysts grow inside oneself is not a desirable condition. Trust me!

He followed that up with more information about the dangers.

As to the pathogenicity of Echinococcus granulosus: Yes, I noticed that Foayt, leaning on Raup’s research in Alaska, toned down the dangers from this northern form. My understanding based on what we learned from an old, experienced parasitologist at the University of British Columbia is that it’s nothing to fool around with. It’s serious! In my career as a biologist in touch with the north, I have heard nothing else. I have not, however, done a recent literature search. Foayte’s assessment may be on even though it conflicts with mine. Either way, getting an Echinococcus cyst of any kind is no laughing matter as it can grow not only on the liver or the lungs, but also in the brain. And then it’s fatal.

There is however, another much more alarming angle. Echinococcus multilocularis is a nightmare, and much more virulent than Echinococcus granulosus of any strain. We cannot encapsulate this cyst, and it grows and buds off like a cancer infecting different parts of the body incessantly. Were some of the wolves infected with multilocularis? Coyotes and foxes carry it and it has been spreading. Do canids in Idaho, Montana, etc. have it? It’s found in Alberta. Regardless, now is the time to send out an SOS to ALL outdoor users. Hold your curiosity in check, do not poke into the feces of wolves, coyotes and foxes. If you do you will release clouds of Echinococcus eggs which will envelop you, and you may ingest the eggs, bring the eggs home and endanger your family. This is nothing new to me and I have lived with this constraint on my curiosity for over 40 years. This is just a know how that maintains your personal and your family’s safety. Also, never feed uncooked offal to your dog as it may become infected with Echinococcus and infect you and your family. Echinococcus cysts love to be in lung and liver, and if consumed by dogs you have a health hazard on your hands. And such cysts now grow in deer and elk where you live. Somebody should take a second look searching out Echinococcus multilocularis.

You and I probably have no idea in the world whether these worms exist in the woods we hunt, trap, hike, etc. but good advice given by Dr. Geist should tell us it’s not something we should mess around with. Squelch the curiosity to dig in the poop and just assume there could be hidden danger.

I want to take a moment to thank Will Graves, Dr. Val Geist and Dr. Charles Kay for caring enough about the rest of us to be willing to share their findings and experiences.

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My trip north to Maine this fall was a last minute affair. I had resolved not to go because I felt spending the money right now wouldn’t be wise but after discovering one of my hunting buddies had recently moved near me here in Florida, we talked ourselves into sharing expenses.

Last winter in Maine the severe weather and record-breaking deep snow took a sizable toll on the whitetail deer herds in Maine – some areas more than others and in some instances the winter couldn’t kill what wasn’t there to kill, that’s how bad some areas are as far as deer populations go.

Needless to say, the area where our hunting camp is located saw its share of deep snow and took its toll on the deer. I spoke with one Maine Warden who was part of the team the flew over our area to evaluate the winter severity. He described it as a blood bath.

But that wouldn’t hinder the curious and those eager to be “out in it”.

One day dawned bright and sunny. Temperatures that day topped out around 60 degrees, some 20-plus degrees above average for November in Maine. Three of us opted for a long ATV ride to an area we hunted years ago to assess the conditions now.

In this area nearly 30 years ago, logging operations virtually wiped out the excellent hunting. Now, as the forests begin to replenish themselves, signs of deer returning to the area were encouraging.

The trip was long and I followed behind the two camp’s elder members, combined with well over a century of hunting in this region.

Two friends, having spent nearly 55 years together hunting from the family hunting camp, share a ride toward the old hunting grounds. One passenger knows his limits and doesn’t carry a gun anymore but that doesn’t stop him from enjoying the outdoors with friends.

When hunters take the time to look around, it is amazing the things they can find in the woods. Of course different areas of the country offer a variety of discoveries for the curious. In New England, often times when you think you are hunting in “wilderness” area, you discover that not that many years ago hearty settlers braved the elements and survived the challenges that confronted them as real frontiersmen.

As we poked our way along old woods roads, we stopped for a brief moment as we heard chatter on the radios that was coming from a fellow hunter. We were surprised to discover that one of the hunters had made his way to the top of a mountain, I would guess was in the area of 3 miles from us in a straight line. From our vantage point it was a clear and straight shot for radio communications to the top of the mountain. The radios we all carried generally wouldn’t carry communications beyond a few hundred yards while mired deep in the dense forests of Maine.

I sat quietly astride my ATV basking in the wonderment of healing sunshine on my face and shoulders, glad to be alive, thrilled to be fortunate enough as a free human granted that freedom from God. Was there anything more pleasant than the instance I was immersed?

As I looked around, I recalled that in years past the area where we now sat on our modern machinery exposed astounding views toward the west. After the logging operations had cleared the landscape, from the very spot we sat, one could easily view toward the west and suck up the beauty of the Presidential Mountain Range in New Hampshire – Mt. Washington, Jefferson and Adams. It occurred to me that that view was now blocked by the rapidly growing young growth of maples, birch, poplar and dogwood trees.

My hunting partners ahead of me continued a conversation with the guy high on the mountain who was sharing about the spectacular views he was experiencing. I began to look around from where I sat.

To my left I spied what appeared to be an old metal pan filled with glass. Curiosity yanked me hard from the comfort of my padded and warm seat. I had to find out what it was.

It was, in fact, an old gray metal pan, perhaps 4 inches deep and filled with pieces of old glass and bottles. I glanced around some more and much to my surprise I discovered an old cellar hole.

For readers not familiar with New England and in particular Maine, finding old cellar holes that once supported the homesteads of the brave who came before us, is quite common. Often when it was decided where the home would sit, along with sheds, carriage houses and barns, the excruciating work began to clear the land. This involved saving the rocks to use for walling up a foundation.

In the picture above, you can see the fine work that was done to create a cellar hole and walls that remain still standing after as many as 200-250 years. Near the center of the cellar hole, you can see what appears to be a square pile of stones with small trees growing up from the center of the pile. This is the remains of the base of the main fireplace used in the home. Many times these fireplaces were Dutch ovens designed to provide heat to the house and for cooking and baking purposes. This basement structure of rocks would not only support the massive weight of a fireplace and chimney but oftentimes was designed as a root cellar to store foods like potatoes, carrots, beets and a variety of other vegetables grown in the garden on site.

I had passed this location many, many times in the 36 years of hunting this area and this is the first time I had realized this even existed. The things you see when you stop and look around.

As I explored the setting, it was easy to see the seemingly endless rows of gorgeous stone walls built as a way to separate pastures, gardens, animals and also a place to put the massive amount of stones laying atop the ground and what got unearthed by the settlers.

It is difficult to see from the above picture of the cellar hole but the area around the cellar was raised up, built up with soil and more rocks to level the ground. Out from what was probably the front of the house, which faced the west, and the south-facing end of the house, the ground was built out nearly 10-12 feet and raised up as high as 5 feet. Puzzling to me was a hand-dug well right beside the house but built up onto the raised part of the landscape. It sat only about 4 feet from the retaining wall.

These old hand-dug and crafted wells are a work of art and ingenuity. This particular well looked to be about 10-12 feet deep. The original depth is hard to determine as I couldn’t tell how much the well had filled in with debris over the years. I was told that the size of the hole in the ground that was dug to build such a well was massive considering the end result. I would guess that a well of this depth probably saw a hole at the surface at least 25-30 feet across. Stones were used and laid in such a way as to ensure they would stay in place and slowly filled in around. This process continued until the stones, which could be as much as 4 or 5 feet out around the opening of the well, reached the top of the ground. As you can probably see from the picture, the well still had water in it.

After spending a substantial amount of time rummaging around the old cellar hole and of course searching for a dump site, we moved on. Dump sites were common somewhere near the house. Oftentimes valuable treasures can be unearthed from these sites – such things as old bottles and cans that collectors will pay handsomely for.

Just a short ways down the road, we stopped, still hoping to find that elusive dump site. We didn’t find THE dumping grounds but we did discover this 1937 International Harvester truck body, or what’s left of it.

We checked it out and discovered the motor was still in it, complete with distributor, generator, starter and coil. We wondered aloud if a clever mechanic could get it running again.

We did plan to do some hunting on this trip but we were just having way too much fun. As the two in front of me headed out, I glanced over my left shoulder and glowing vibrantly in the midday sun, was one tree that appeared reluctant to shed its golden leaves.

I turned around and drove up behind the tree so I could get this picture. During the peak of the foliage season, Maine sports a variety of colors from the multiple species of hardwoods. This maple variety seemed unwilling to undress for the winter.

We spent most of the rest of the day making short hunting trips. My two partners would usually sit together in a strategic place while I made a swing through the woods hoping to scare up some game. All I managed was to scare off a flock of about eight wild turkeys.

We knew the afternoon sun was sinking low in the western sky and the air was beginning to reveal a bite of chill. One last road to explore and a visit to the end to check on the status of a beaver dam. The beaver had been busy. As we explored about taking pictures and admiring the size of the beaver house on the south end of the pond, I spotted some interesting foliage.

The bushes, meshed with various species of vines, didn’t seem all that interesting until a close examination of the smaller parts revealed an interesting picture.

The background sky was still bright enough that as I approached the bush, I saw an “alien” face staring straight at me.

What a day. A day that is as memorable as sighting a big buck or any other species of game. There is more to hunting than bagging game, although I wouldn’t give that up for the world. Next time you’re out, if the hunting of game doesn’t seem to be rewarding, take a look around. You might be thrilled to discover what’s around you.

Tom Remington

Each call comes complete with an instructional dvd, a surface saver cover, two strikers and a surface conditioning kit. There are two surface choices, crystal and anodized aluminum. Either one will be devastating on gobblers in your neck of the woods this spring.

Scott Ellis

Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science, The University of Calgary
Calgary, Canada.

We pay close attention to large predators. We do so because we evolved as prey. It was our ancient fate to be killed and eaten, and our primary goal to escape such. Our instincts are still shaped that way.

There is thus a reason why the bloody carnage on our highways is a mere statistic, but the mauling of a person by a grizzly is news. It’s not only that so many fossilized remains of our ancient ancestors are meals consumed by large predators in secluded caves or rock niches, but also that we speciated like large herbivores. That is, our pattern and timing of forming species, of adapting to landscapes, mimics and coincides with that of deer, antelope or cattle, but not that of large carnivores. And that despite our fondness for meat, despite “man the hunter”, and despite the fact that at least on species of humans, Neanderthal man, grew into a super predator.

Large herbivores readily form new species and show a pattern of strong speciation from the equator to the poles, terminating in the cold, glaciated latitudes as “grotesque ice age giants”. Large predators do not. They evolve no grotesque ice age giants comparable to the woolly mammoths among elephants, or the massive-antlered giant deer among deer, the giant sheep, or anything else for that matter as grotesque as ourselves. Is there a more grotesque animal than man? And we did it twice, once as Neanderthal and once as Modern Man. Moreover, herbivores readily form dwarf species under poor ecological conditions such as in rainforests, deserts or predator-free oceanic islands, and they differentiate rapidly into new subspecies as they disperse geographically into new habitats. Predators form no dwarfs, on islands or otherwise. Nor do they segregate sharply into swarms of regional subspecies. Large herbivores do that – and so do humans. Also, Our bursts of speciation coincide in time with those of African antelope.

Humans grow small canine teeth, not the large combat-canines typical of apes. Canine reduction is a signature of a common anti-predator adaptation, called the “selfish herd”. In such unrelated individuals cluster together in the open as protection against predation. Herbivores form “selfish herds”, predators do not. Herbivores may “evolve away” huge combat-canines, as shown not only by us, but by deer, horses, rhinos and half a dozen extinct families of large mammalian plant eaters. Carnivores reduce no canines!

Our ancient herbivore root is still reflected in our taste preferences, for when we eat meat we flavor it liberally with plant poisons (pepper, chili, sage, thyme, curry etc). Apparently meat does not really taste “good” till it tastes of “plant”! We also have the herbivore’s craving for salt. So, watch what you reach for next time you get a sizzling steak!

While we may have evolved as hunters, we did not evolve like predators.

We have a very special relationship to large predators because of all the primates we are the only species that is able to survive large predators on the ground, away from trees. All other primates are tied to trees to escape predation. We alone can face predators on the ground day or night and we have done so despite being all but blind at night, despite snoring sleepers, crying babies or lusty lovers, or all that bone debris we collected in our campsite from scavenging and hunting. And we did this despite being loaded down with babies or with game we hunted. And we did this for over two million years. And without the ability to defy large predators on the ground there would have been no human dispersal into the treeless steppe where so may of our attributes were formed, there would have been no dispersal “out of Africa” or the incredible phenomenon of human civilization we currently experience.

Without being able to survive large predators on the ground we would never have tapped into the huge protein biomass of large herbivores. There would never have been “man the hunter”. Moreover, a species can only be as abundant as the amount of protein in its food. Gorillas can never outnumber humans, as the protein supply in their plant food is very limited.

There is excitement in anthropology about the great leap forward by humans globally about 40,000 years ago, and there is indeed much to be excited about. However, the miracle of human evolution began about two and a half million years ago at the edge of the African savannah were the trees give way to the treeless thorn-steppe, when our first ancestors, small, weak, defenseless and blind in the darkness outwitted large predators on the ground. Surrounded by nocturnally active lions, leopards, hyenas and saber-toothed cats they lived to see the sun rise. From then on hominids began to loose the morphological adaptations in our shoulder girdle for climbing, although we are still pretty good at it, as I can vouch for personally, having been treed by a grizzly bear. Developing a security strategy radically different from that of other large apes was the first step towards becoming human.

We are great killers, of course, but note: we do not kill like predators with tooth and claws. We kill with tools specialized as weapons. That is unique. And so is the mental and emotional psychic structure that flows from that. With weapon in hand we are brave, daring, dangerous. Without it we may be not. And predators sense that. United with others in bravery we become frightening, especially since we can do something no other primate can. We can mimic sounds and adjust such to the occasion. We can roar, growl and scream, and match our voices to the occasion, to the predator confronted. And mimicking sound is the biological root of language and music. It came first, courtesy predation!

It helps being big and black. Large herbivores that confront predators are notoriously big and black! And Homo erectus, our parent species, was as big or bigger than we are and almost certainly as black as any African today.

Large predators are hypochondriacs – and need to be! They cannot afford wounding as it decreases their efficiency in hunting, and may also trigger an attack by a pack member followed by a cannibalistic feast. A realistic vocal threat, consequently, impresses, even more so a blow with a weapon, but also the touch of thorns. African predators are very “thorn-shy” as we now know from some beautiful experiments. They avoid thorns. And that’s the secret to nightly survival: a thorn covered ground-nest. It helps to reinforce such with a growl, and if worst comes to worst with a sharp jab with a stick. However, the ability to form a covered thorn nest on the ground, a “booma”, requires a long history of building tree-nests in ever smaller savannah trees, till such formed a part of dense thorn bushes. It requires beyond that considerable manual and tool-using skills to build a sturdy, densely-thorned shelter. It requires close observation of elders and visual mimicry to succeed, which also came courtesy of predation. The rise of humanity depended first and foremost on survival in sea of large, hungry African predators – in the absence of trees.

It affected our psyche. During the day, one needs firm discipline when sighting a predator, as running away is suicidal! We cannot outrun predators! One must fake supreme fearlessness, especially when “man the hunter” bagged and carried home a prey. How does one discourage hungry predators at that time, as predators readily abrogate prey from one another? There would have been no “Man the Hunter” without an ability to successfully defend the prey we killed and brought home without a string of predators following! And we had to be good enough at intimidating predators so that women and children could go out foraging. And we had to be good enough to spook off predators despite meat and bones at the campsite at night.

Enter big brain, enter “planning” based on foresight, shared experiences and imagination. One must use one’s experience, as well as that of others, to minimize encounters with predators. One learns to avoid times and spaces where predators congregate and cannot be readily defeated, and one needs to pass this on to family. One needs to exploit opportunities to chase away a predator, and teach it to do likewise next time. The next step is to develop systematic harassment and punishment of predators so as to instill in them an aversion to anything human. The next step is to know when to systematically kill their helpless young so as to keep down their numbers. All this is still practiced in Africa and elsewhere, and it has been effective enough as over two million years of human history demonstrates. We did not escape being prey, we merely changed priority. We went form being a tasty, defenseless morsel, to a nasty creature of very low priority, in fact, the last in line. And that, given a rich array of prey species, is not all that bad! We thus became a prey that was smarter than the predators, which happens to be unique! Normally, it’s the other way around!

There have been failures, even massive ones!

When our lineage came “out of Africa” it spread westward along the coast of Asia and colonized Australia, repeatedly, some 60,000 years ago. That could only have been done by people possessing boat technology, and it happened quite rapidly. And then it took almost 50,000 years before North America was colonized!

What prevented us from entering North America in that enormous time span?

Humans even entered South America before North America, judging from the antiquity of archeological dates. The undisputed fact is that human colonization coincided with the collapse of the unique North American native megafauna beginning about 12,900 years ago. As long as North America’s native megafauna remained intact all through the late Pleistocene, there was no human settlement of North America. However, once the megafauna crumbled there were repeated humans entries. Moreover, other members of the Siberian fauna also moved into the ecological vacuum here, such as grizzly bear, gray wolf, wolverine, elk and moose.

How could this be?

North America’s megafauna differed substantially from that of Eurasia and Africa. It was characterized by a multitude of highly specialized, often gigantic predators and prey. Moreover, the fossil record shows a surprising amount of crushed, broken, but healed bones in the predators, as well as excessive wear and breakage of teeth. Injuries in current African predators are minimal by comparison. North American native predators were thus confronted by herbivores that were exceedingly able to defend themselves. Not only the broken bones, but the very specializations of the predators speak of the demanding life they experienced. So do the extreme anti-predator specializations of the herbivores. North America during the Pleistocene was thus a predator hell-hole compared to Eurasia or Africa! There was a predacious bear about seven feet at the shoulder, the short-faced bear, Arctodus simus. And it was assertive and not very clever, as its numerous remains in natural trap sites testify to. If a camel or horse fell down a natural hole, all sort of short-faced bears jumped in after – and perished! Grizzly bears and black bears did not do that! There was the common lion, only it was twice the mass of the African one. So was the American cheetah, compared to the Old World species. There were three species of short-faced bears, there were dire wolves larger than gray wolves, there were massive saber-toothed tigers and large, elegant, speedy dirk-toothed cats and large panthers, as well as black bears, cougar, red wolf and large coyotes. Life was hard for these predators, and they were all too willing to take risks for a meal, as sadly testified to not only in natural trap caves, but also the tar pits at Rancho la Brea.

If you were to land on the shores of North America, spear in hand, what would you do when those big, assertive predators approached you for a closer look? And how would you hunt the scarce, highly alert gigantic prey? The herbivores were not only highly specialized in evading predation, but their organs of food acquisition and processing remained exceedingly primitive. That means that the fierce predation kept them way below the potential carrying capacity of the land, so that they were able to feed only on the best, most digestible, low-fiber vegetation. There was simply no selection for more efficient feeding organs. And that means that prey populations were kept at very low density. And if you were able to kill a large herbivore, how would you defend it against these diverse, huge predators?

Our abilities to deal with African and Eurasian predators were thus likely much too limited to deal with the full array of native North American predators. They kept the continent free of humans for nearly 50,000 years, till – for reasons still disputed – America’s megafauna declined, and over about 6000 years went largely extinct. Even then the increase in humans, as tracked by the number of hearth discovered per 1000 years, increases very slow. Moreover, it is inversely related to the number of genera of megafauna still alive. It thus took some 6,000 years of hard, very dangerous living by human colonizers to create in North America a landscape reasonably safe for people.

The few remaining native American species show to this day the predation pressure of the past. White-tailed deer, great experts at hiding and rapid escapes are totally incompetent food competitors, and do very poorly in the presence of Old World deer – which are food competitors! Ditto for mule deer and elk. Pronghorn still run faster than anything on Earth! And native predators such as black bear, cougar, coyotes and raccoons are thriving in our presence, compared their Siberian counterparts which migrated into North America in the Recent, the grizzly bear, gray wolf and wolverine. The Americans are very adaptable, the ex-Siberians are not. It’s about the ex-Siberians we happen to worry most.

We may be the clever, industrious prey that turned the table on carnivores, but our relationship to large predators has remained precarious. Our ability to co-exist depends on us exploiting their fears – and woe if they call our bluff! The man-killing lions of Tsavo are but one example of predators learning how easy it is to hunt man as prey. Jim Corbet’s tales of man-eating leopards and tigers, or of lions preying on modern-day refugees in Krueger National Park or Somalia are others. Native people had quite sophisticated means of keeping safe from predators, but ultimately made recourse to killing offending predators should one transgress against humans. Still, high-density populations of big grizzly bear in California kept native people out of productive low-land sites, till Spaniards killed off the grizzlies. On the Pacific coast natives designated certain salmon streams for the use of bears and harassed such away from others. In Greenland early this century areas occupied by wolves were free of native people, and attempts to provision weather stations by dogsled failed because of wolf attacks. I was told that traditionally wolves were kept down in numbers by destroying dens, a method praised as most effective in Russia.

The history of wolves is deeply troubling, even though to all appearances grizzly bears, black bears and cougars are more dangerous having killed far more people in recent North America. In order to understand what wolves can do, provided the conditions are right, we have to go to Eurasia. It’s conditions that count! We must know these well as we have already enacted legislation here and in the European union that are based on false biological premises. And such arose from errors in scholarship. And we must know these errors, as the prestige of science and scholarship are again and again invoked to push flawed conclusions about wolves as well as flawed legislation.

The problem in North America is that specialists in wolf biology did not recognize how to use historical Eurasian information about wolves, but dismissed such as irrelevant to an understanding of wolves. They equated all such information as a result of ignorance about and malice towards wolves by an ignorant populous. It escaped them that as scientists they were ill equipped to research such matters, as this field of study resides squarely in the academic domain of history.

We can know historically of the peoples’ plight through the centuries only indirectly as we are dealing in Europe and Asia largely with illiterate populations. Illiterate people cannot leave first-hand accounts of their troubles! They can at best convey their concerns to their masters. Consequently, we have to look for summaries of their problems, be it in church records or administrative accounts. Unfortunately, tracing church records or administrative accounts can be less than fruitful as such have been usually burned by the unending warfare of centuries past. This leaves summaries of such matters, as well as the evidence for actions taken by the rulers to deal with large predators, most often with wolves. An example is the detailed encyclopedic work on hunting and wildlife management by Friedrich von Flemming published in Leipzig, Saxony, in 1719 and addressed to his Mighty Sovereign and Master, Friedrich Augusto, King of Poland, followed by a second volume in 1724. It’s sobering! The depredation by wolves led in some regions to great efforts on the part of feudal rulers to rid their land of this menace. The rulers may have been less concerned with plight of their subjects tan with concerned about taxation and the welfare of their wildlife. Miles upon miles of netting were strung to corral wolves. Special horse carriages and sheds were required to transport and house the netting. Several villages at a time were forced to drive wolves and other wildlife into nets. Professional hunters and trappers were employed to trap wolves. However, recurring wars brought back wolves, and when people are helpless, large predators are quick to know and to exploit such logically.

And it’s not only the central European experience that is sobering, so is research into this matter in Russia, Finland, France, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Korea. Tragedy results again and again from political systems that disarmed and disenfranchised its citizen. Wolves exploited that helplessness. Compared to bears, wolves were hated and that with excellent reason. Not only did they destroy livestock in the fields, but they found means and ways to break into stables in villages and kill the precious family cow or sheep indoors. Children are a primary target of wolves. Rabies was not uncommon, and a rabid wolf running amuck biting horses, cattle, people and in modern days machinery in rapid succession was a death angel if there ever was one! The bite by a rabid wolf is lethal and the bitten person died of rabies. A bitten person could only be cured since the rise of modern medicine. Before that any bite by a rabid wolf was a death sentence, and such an animal could bite dozens of people before it was killed or ran off and died.

Wolf packs came out of the “wilderness” which was detested as source of evil. The frequent wars brought wolf troubles. After the 30 year war in central Europe it took decades before some landscapes were resettles – courtesy wolves. The fairy tale by the brothers Grim of Little Red Riding Hood is thus not based on ignorance and malice towards wolves but on very real and desperate experiences. This experience drove the costly and wearying attempts to exterminate wolves through out the ages right into the last century in Europe. We may decry today the extermination of wolves in the American west, but there was reason for it and modern studies confirm how efficient wolves can become in killing off livestock. And that confirms the European historical experience. Even in modern times Wolves have been a trouble to disarmed populations and most recently in areas where they are again re-colonizing such as in Finland, Sweden and even modern Germany. Ditto in New Mexico where wolves are legally protected! Historically there is no place where wolves and people have coexisted, except where wolves were kept under strict control and were hunted, and prey was, consequently, abundant. And that’s one lesson from the North American experience we need to take very seriously. Modern research has shown that wolves switch to alternative prey species only very slowly, and that they do not target humans as long as there is prey or livestock between them and us. Moreover, wolves targeting humans and urban coyotes targeting children do so in the same manner. Surprising? Hardly! Surprising is only the argument that wolves pose no danger to people, a myth that has killed here highly educated persons that trusted science. It is timely to reassess conservation of large predators and make such safe for them and us. And that will be the subject of a future essay.

Geist, V. 2008. Large predators: them and us! Fair Chase. Vol. 23, No. 3. pp. 14-19

E-mail: kendulf@shaw.ca

Draft 6th of July, 2008

Essay No. 1, Fair Chase – as submitted.

~Ever wonder why some set ups work and some don’t?~

As a die hard turkey hunter and seminar speaker for both “Hunters Specialties” and “Northwoods Adventures TV“, I get asked a multitude of questions each season on how to set up on turkeys. Do you use a decoy? Do you roost birds every time? Do you ever “run-and-gun”? How important is specific camouflage design? Well, for me, the most important aspect of the hunt is a good set up so let’s start there.

Here in the Northeast, our turkeys tend to start gobbling in mid-March and strutting activity becomes widespread about the same time. It’s then that I’ll put my scouting tactics into overdrive, even though the season doesn’t open until the very end of April. Why? Because good preparation will always tip the odds in my favor. I always recommend having several good sites scouted out, in the event my first set up gets busted by hunters, which happens frequently since I hunt an area in mid-coast Maine with very high hunter density levels. That, plus 90% of the properties I hunt are all public access land, so I’m almost always being stepped on by other hunters. That said, the first thing I do is get a good aerial photo of each property and formulate my plans.

Locating and Planning the Proper Set Up

Once I’ve become familiar with each parcel or property, via an aerial map, I’ll head right out and begin the process of locating birds. For me, the easiest thing to do is hit a likely spot, park my truck, and just listen for gobblers at the crack of dawn each morning. I’ll do that about two to three weeks before the season, making sure to hit each property individually, and since turkeys generally hold close to the same roost sites unless busted, I can get a good fix on where they are, to within a few hundred yards. Then it’s just a matter of putting in the footwork to find the best place to set up for each.

If at all possible, I’ll pick a site, listen for the gobbling to begin at daybreak, then sneak down the trails or through the woods to get within 200 to 250 yards of them and wait for them to fly down. If time is on my side, I’ll pay attention to where they’re headed and then, after they’ve moved off, pick the best spot for a set up for the next day. Here’s where careful planning comes in because there are several key factors involved if you want to maximize your chances for success.

First, locate the point of sunrise at that location and make sure to set up with it at your back or at least from either side. With the sun behind you, you’ll also have the tactical advantage over a turkeys superior eyesight. If you’ve ever set up in haste only to find the rising sun staring you straight in the lookers once it’s cleared the trees, you’ll know exactly what I mean; been there, done that! Next, based on where you feel the turkeys will be flying down, try to pick a spot about 100 to 125 yards away and choose a natural bend or indentation in the tree line that will keep you out of an incoming turkeys direct line of sight. If it’s possible, it’s always a plus if when a turkey first appears, it’s already within range.

I like to hunt without a blind, preferring to sit with my back against a tree, and at least 10-15 feet off the field or trail edge, utilizing the natural surroundings of the woods for the best cover. Sit down and find your sweet spot, then proceed to trimming out just enough brush to create good shooting lanes around you, being careful not to remove too much. Also, make sure there are no small trees or branches that will inhibit swinging your gun, should you need to adjust on that incoming bird.

When it comes to vision, it’s said that a turkey can see movement from hundreds of yards away so good camouflage is crucial. It makes no difference what brand or style you use, as long as it closely matches the immediate surroundings and blends into the background well. Sometimes I like to wear a green camo top to match the budding bushes around me, while wearing pants that may be predominantly browns and greys, to match the leaf litter of the forest floor. A stark contrast splitting your body can do wonders in breaking up the human form. One key element in using your camo effectively would be to always position yourself in the shade, because being exposed in direct sunlight can draw immediate attention to any and all movement you make.

Decoys

To use or not to use? I say, whenever possible…..use them. Decoys tend to draw the turkeys attentions away from you and gives them something to focus on. Some hunters believe decoy use can be a controversial issue at times, and to a certain extent I agree, however I feel that if you understand turkey biology in even the simplest form, it can be overcome.

I always place my decoys about 10-12 yards in front of me and for several reasons. First, if a tom has made the decision to commit, he will either come right to the center of the action or, if he turns out to be a satellite gobbler or insubordinate, he may hang up just a few yards behind them. I’ve seen seasoned pros set their decoys out to 25 yards, only to have such a bird hang up about 15 yards beyond them, making the hunter’s shot about 40-50 yards. Of course, with a good choke, that’s not unreasonable but why take chances? With my set up, even if one fetches up behind my decoys, chances are he’s still well within 25 yards and more than enough for even a youth with a much smaller gun.

I’ve also found from my own personal experiences coupled with mistakes I’ve made in the past, that there certainly can be times when the decoys will spook birds. Here’s what I would suggest; At the start of the season, go with a love scenario that includes an aggressive jake, (strutting decoys work the best), a standing “alert” hen, and a submissive hen, or one in the breeding position. About mid-way through the season I tend to either go with just a strutting jake and a feeding hen to only a couple feeding hens, the reason being that once the season is that far underway, many toms and jakes have had fights over dominance already, and have been whipped more times than they care to repeat. It’s at that time, and the end of the season especially, that I notice more toms, even mature birds, shying away from decoys if they show an aggressive jake. Sometimes if you don’t re-evaluate the time of the season, you could end up losing out on a good bird that you otherwise might have harvested.

Decoy placement can also be a factor, especially if you are hunting with your bow. Whether in a blind or not, drawing is always tricky to do when there is more than one set of eyes on you, and for that reason I like to set up my decoys in a specific manner. If I’m using a jake, strutting or otherwise, I try to set it up facing my position because a dominant bird will always come around to the front of the competition. By doing so, he’ll have his back to me and will give me the chance to draw unseen. Hen decoys can be set up in similar fashion because if a tom thinks she is walking away, he might be more apt to come in around her in an attempt to change her mind.

Calling

I like to set up in the blackness well before pre-dawn, and am often all settled in by 3:30 or 3:45am. I will not call, even once the hens start, as they will often call for a long period of time before fly down. I do like to get a position on where the gobblers are, and listen to how they interact with the hens, if present. When I feel fly down is close, I’ll add my voice to the others by means of very soft tree calls, increasing in volume only in response to that of the hens. Too much calling or calling too loudly too early can result in the hens either flying down and dragging the gobblers away quickly, or will result in leaving the toms treed longer than usual, as they gobble back incessantly, waiting to see the hen that’s making all the ruckus appear before they fly down.

I take special notice when a boss hen responds to my calling and will know her by the way she alone reacts. Such a hen, when encountered, should be drawn in if possible, because she will more times than not, drag several toms in with her. You will know her by her changing pitch and tone, because she will immediately become agitated at you, (the challenge hen), and will try to silence you by way of talking over you. I like to imitate her calls as closely as possible but I try to be more aggressive in my volume and added “cutting”. Usually, she will not stand for this and will come right to me. The plus side, as I mentioned, is that she will probably be bringing the toms with her, but the downside will be that she, (like an old smart matriarchal doe), will be searching for me, and if she sees me, will quickly alert the others and be gone. For that reason, I like to have at least one standing alert hen decoy present in my set up. With any luck she will focus on it and attack it, leaving me free to focus on the gobblers.

If you take the time to consider all the major components involved with making a proper set up, you have greatly increased your chances of putting a tag on a big old tom. A successful turkey hunter is one who has seen the gamut of all that can go wrong, has learned from his mistakes, and who has done his best to make adjustments in his favor. However, because a turkey’s attitude can change as often as the weather, none of us will ever have a fool-proof system, and quite frankly I’m glad we don’t. I personally love the challenge involved with each hunt, because elements and conditions are constantly changing, and to me, that’s what real turkey hunting is all about.

He was a 100-percent pure white albino buck. The very first thing I noticed was his stunning pink eyes. They looked like the eyes of someone who had really bad allergies. Then I looked at his pure white body. His coat was perfect and not a mark on it. He wasn’t very big, only about 180 pounds. The last thing I noticed was his rack. It was not impressive at all. At first I thought it was a balanced 6-point rack but after further examination I realized it was only a 5-point. But the rack did not matter because this was the most unusual animal I had ever seen.

Even though this buck was very rare and unusual, I did not want to take it because I wanted something bigger. For the past 2 years I have been trying to bag a 14-point monster buck that lives in the area. When the albino buck appeared I immediately drew my bow to the ready position, not to take aim at him but hoping the big one was also around. I continued to watch the albino for about 5 minutes. He never roamed more than 20 feet from my tree. During this time he continuously presented numerous opportunities for an excellent shot, but because I wanted my big one I didn’t take the shot. I then remembered I had my cell phone (which takes video and pictures) in my pocket. I slowly maneuvered it into my hand and when I was ready with it the albino drifted further and further away. While walking away he stopped and looked around. When he finally walked out of sight I wondered if I would ever see him again but more than that, I wondered if anyone would ever believe what I had just experienced. I never did get any pictures or video.

Now completely awake and alert, I scanned and listened to my surroundings hoping to see my big buck. Just then I heard something large running through the woods behind me. I turned only to see, that’s right, the albino buck was running full bore right back towards me. When he got within about 20 yards of me he stopped and nervously scanned the woods. After about a minute, he slowly walked within 10 feet of my tree. He stopped and turned, positioning his body for yet another opportunity for a perfect shot. After all this I finally realized this must be ‘a sign’ for me to take him. So I did. I raised my bow and positioned the sweet spot in the sights. I released and placed a pin-point perfect shot. He ran through the woods and down a hill, crashing at the bottom. He was down and I knew he wasn’t getting up.

I took a couple of deep breaths and waited about 10 minutes before unstrapping myself and climbing down. I met up with my brother and he excitingly said,” did you see that albino deer…..did you see his pink eyes”. When I told him I got him he didn’t believe me. He told me the buck crept up behind him and got about 15 feet of his position. When he turned to look, it got spooked and took off running, thus, explaining why he was running back towards me. He asked me several time if I was serious about downing the buck. I reassured him and we walked out of the woods to prevent from spooking it. My brother was more excited than I was. I thought he was making a big deal of it because I had not yet realized what an awesome animal I had. I was actually having second thoughts because now I would have to wait another year to attempt to bag the monster buck. We went back to my house which was very close to the woods. After about 30 minutes we proceeded back into the woods. We located the first signs of the trail that would lead to the buck. The trail got bolder and bolder. And after about 15 minutes of searching my brother yelled with excitement, “yes, he’s over here”. He was down, just about where I expected. I approached the buck and it was just as impressive as it was when I first seen it. It even had a white nose and white hooves.

I took out my camera and snapped some pictures. We prepared to move him but, first attaching my deer tag, of course (because it’s the law). After preparing him we were ready to begin the drag, “over the hill and through the woods”. We pulled and pulled him about 100 yards, taking a break couple breaks in between. He sure felt like a 275 pound deer. We finally reached the edge of the woods and went into a field. After about another 100 yards, we finally reached my house. We took him in the back yard and snapped some more pictures. We then strung him up to a tree, which was visible from the road, and I sprayed him off. While he was in the tree we had two different people, drive by, turn around, and came back to see what we had. They were in disbelief, stating they had never seen a pure white deer before. About 10 minutes later, I had three of my neighbors in my backyard because one of them had seen what we had and called the others. It was now that I began to realize what I had. My brother and I called a couple people who are also hunters. They immediately started toward my house. They were all very impressed and amazed. I was also told by several people to contact the game warden, Greg Wasilewski, because the Ohio Department of Natural Resources would definitely want to know about this. I did and within minutes the game warden called back (on a Sunday) stating he wanted to meet to examine the buck.

After cleaning the buck up we loaded it up and headed for fin-feather-and-fur, a sporting goods outlet located in Ashland, Ohio. During the drive we had people following us. They were taking pictures, beeping, and giving the ‘thumbs-up’. We even had two cars follow us from the highway to the store to get a close up view. When we arrived the parking lot was full of people due to a large sale. There were people heading for there cars to leave and when they observed us pull in they turned around and followed the truck to also get a close up view. We parked in front of the store and instantly numerous people began to flock to the truck. I would estimate about 80-100 people gathered at the truck to look and take pictures. I then realized without a doubt this was a special and very rare animal. And I also no longer had second thoughts about the harvest. Everyone was congratulating me.

As we were leaving, people who were pulling in were struggling to look at the buck in the back of the truck. We started back toward Mansfield to meet with the game warden. We made contact with him and he said the buck was very impressive and that I should be very proud. He confirmed it was a 100-percent albino deer, noting the pink-eyes, white nose, and white hooves. I asked him how long he had held the position of game warden and he advised,”10 years”. I asked him how long it had been since he had seen a pure albino deer and he stated,” I have never seen one before”. He said there have been other white deer but never 100-percent pure, like mine. The other ones usually have a black nose, black hooves, and without the pink eyes. We met with him in a public place and during the meeting we had 7 different car loads of people stop to look at the buck. The game warden took some pictures and left.

Based on everyone’s reaction and the magnitude of this extraordinary experience, I decided to have this buck made into a full body mount. I hope to eventually have it placed in a location where everyone can enjoy it for a very long time. This has definitely been an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience. Based on research I have done and from what experienced people have told me, this true-albino buck is about 1 in 35,000 to see but to actually harvest one is about 1 IN A MILLION.

*Note- This is becoming a very big story. Everyone is talking about this deer. People I don’t even know have come up to me asking to see pictures. A photo is also listed on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website (ODNR.com), click deer pics. As of 11/10/2007 I have 3 NATIONAL magazine and 4 STATE magazines planning to publish stories on this buck. Seven Ohio newspapers have also published stories.

This buck is currently at “Lone Leaf Taxidermy” located in Mount Gilead, Ohio (www.loneleaftaxidermy.com) . You can call taxidermist, Casey Watterson, at (419) 362-1060 to find out when it will be finished for viewing. This guy is the best in the area and expects to display the finished product at numerous shows. THANKS!

Art included in his email a link to the article he had written about how the DNR, who begged the Michigan Legislature for money because of a projected budget shortfall of a few million dollars, was now somehow rolling in the dough! In short, the DNR was expecting a deficit of $10.8 million and instead wound up with cash on hand of $10 million. How can that be?

The Michigan United Conservation Clubs, in an article presented at their website, was of course upset as they had actively promoted the need for license fee increases in order to keep the DNR running at a level they believed to be necessary for good conservation.

Michigan United Conservation Clubs took a stand for the DNR and the outdoors we all love so dearly. We encouraged our members to support a license fee increase despite the fact that it wasn’t always a popular position. In fact, at times it was a downright unpopular position and certainly created some ill will.

MUCC, along with our dedicated coalition partners, took this position because we felt it was the right thing to do and, according to the information that we were provided by the DNR, was the only viable option to prevent devastating cuts in DNR staff and programs – cuts that would directly impact hunters, anglers and those that love the outdoors.

The facts are now clear that the entire picture wasn’t being presented.

Although upset about the turn of events, MUCC’s approach in how to deal with this solution is admirable but I’m not sure completely in everyone’s best interest. On one hand they have decided to have an independent audit find out what went wrong. On the other hand they don’t want to point any fingers.

In situations such as this, anyone would be compelled to point the finger and lay blame. But that’s simply not productive and it’s not how MUCC – or any credible leader or organization — operates. Instead, we must learn from this experience and apply those lessons in the future.

Well, you’ll have to put me into that category as being a leader lacking credibility because I think there first has to be some serious finger pointing and accountablity. These are no small potatoes! Someone made a $21 million booboo and now few people can put much trust in the MDNR when it comes to future budget requests. MUCC is quite responsible and sensible in requesting an audit but audits will do little if it is shown that those responsible cannot do their job. Perhaps the audit will show the problem and that problem can be remedied.

In an article published at MLive by the Associated Press, the director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Rebecca Humphries, gave reasons why she all of a sudden had nearly $21 million more than she expected.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries told lawmakers this week that the Game and Fish Fund will have a $10 million fund balance because of an unexpected increase in license sales, operational savings and higher-than-expected returns on investments.

Perhaps the first excuse will bear out that we probably can’t believe the second two excuses. She claims there was an “unexpected” increase in license sales. Oh, really? If there was, it must have come all from fishing licenses but at $13.00 a pop Michigan would have had to sell a lot of licenses to begin to put a dent in $20 million. I would sooner think that any organization that couldn’t project a $21 million surplus surely has no clue as to why.

Just late last week, Eric Sharp, outdoor writer for the Detroit Free Press, talked with Rod Clute, big game specialist for the MDNR. His concerns were that deer hunters hadn’t taken enough deer because it appear fewer hunters were out in the woods. But Clute in this article claims there were no more deer hunting licenses sold than the previous year.

“It’s a real puzzle,” Clute said. “We don’t know why the hunters weren’t out there, but the reports we’re getting are all about the same — fewer people in the field. What really makes it so strange is that we sold just as many licenses as last year. Did a lot of people buy licenses and just not use them?”

So if we can’t wholly believe that an “unexpected” surge in license sales contributed to this “windfall” then how can we believe that $20 million was saved by operational cuts and returns on investments? What investments? Show me the money!

This now becomes a huge trust issue. Sportsmen contribute millions of dollars through license fees and they expect better than this. We are always the ones being asked to pay more in fees. Most sportsmen are willing to pay the money provided they can account for where the money is going. Isn’t that just smart? A certain amount of that trust is now in shambles and the MDNR needs to begin repairing that.

Hopefully, MUCC’s efforts in conducting an audit will begin to mend the bridge. If the MDNR intends to find funds to carry on its programs, this is going to be impossible if they don’t have the trust of those who pay the license fees. If returning that trust means that a new director is needed, then so be it. If nothing else, sportsmen across Michigan should be very angry and disappointed and they should let their representatives know just how they feel. This is your investment and it needs protecting. Don’t depend on government to look out for it.

Tom Remington