Marlin's Daily (or as often as I can) Hunting Tip

How to Keeping Warm

1)Get a good pair of gloves, this goes a long way. If your toes and fingers are warm you are good to go.

2)Cover your ears, especially if it is windy.

3)Dress in layers, you can't use too many because you can always peel one off if you get too hot but you can't add any once you are in the field. 

4)Do some Push-Ups if you are on the ground because it gets the blood flowing. 

5)Hot Hands and Toastie Toes!! One of the top inventions of all time, right behind the DVR and the yellow first down line on football games.

HotHands-Toastie Toes

The Rockets Red Glare

Here at the WBS palatial hunting lodge the amenities are ....shall we say ....primitive. No electric, no running water, and of course no indoor toilet. It is all good though....you know, roughing it makes the stories so much better.......like this one .....

It is 4:30 am....the opening day of firearms season in 2003. The outdoor temperature is about 25 degrees and it is clear and frosty. I am the first one up at the cabin and I have the fire in the stove going good, the coffee pot is boiling and...... I have the call of nature. So it's grab the toilet seat and paper and head for the 5 gallon bucket behind the big round hay bale 40 yards behind the cabin.

I think I am the only one up......but I am not. When I get comfortable ......(and that is a relative term considering the conditions) .....a shreeking whistling sound of incredible volume is incoming to my position. It is like some ungodly creature escaping from Satan's Hellfire is bent on separating me from my plastic bucket. I duck and cover ( again...a relative term considering my condition)...and then a tremendous flash and explosion occurs directly over my head!

I clear my senses and hear a roar from the cabin......laughter.......oh yes.....humor.....ha ha.
It seems the guys had an arsenal of those screaming exploding rockets left over from the Fourth of July and what fun it would be to shoot them at unsuspecting victims in compromising positions. Actually ...it was pretty funny....especially when I did it to them.....
"Watch out boys...Incoming......Rockets Over the Crapper!!"

GWH

The Deer Hunters Trifecta

The 2008 deer season was looking like it could be a good one . Early October was revealing a lot of deer sign, the really good kind...you know, tracks.....with a deer standing in them! The tree stands were mostly up at WBS ranch and bow season was on. I had a favorite stand near a pond and a stand of white oaks and on November first took a nice young 7 pt. buck with a strange warped rack.

Now the firearms season rolls around and I am are fired up. I have seen alot of nice buck deer during the bow season. I am little more selective with the 280 Remington and all of the stands are producing deer for the fellow WBS hunters. I have to wait for the second weekend; I passed up shots on smaller bucks....too many big fellows running around to settle for a youngster! I climb the nice new API ladder stand that 2 bucks have been shot from previously and .....on that Saturday morning....... it was literally a deer rodeo for 2 hours!

At first light deer of unknown sex move out of the thicket to my left....a small buck appears out of the gloom, wandering aimlessly. Minutes pass...a bigger buck appears 2oo yards out front and disappears, only to reappear 5 minutes later 50 yards away. Then to my left, coming down the hill at race horse speed comes a doe with a 8 pt buck in hot pursuit! But wait....another bigger buck is trailing those two! They come tearing across the pasture, cross the dry branch next to me and run directly under my stand....I mean DIRECTLY under! They wind up back in the open pasture.....all stop....all breathing heavily....the bucks are slobbering and sucking air. Then what do you think happens.....yup you got it ...ANOTHER good 8pt shows up and wants to fight! The biggest 2 bucks fight ......and when the doe moves off into the brush they stop and follow...at a walk I might add! Twenty minutes pass and a doe moves in followed by a decent buck....moving slowly along the branch toward me. They are in the buck brush and sprouts and are hard to see....but they keep coming toward me. The doe crosses the branch and the 8 point buck follows....now within 40 yards! The buck is good and with everything I have seen so far, this will be a great way to end the season. He moves out from behind the hackberry tree and offers a broad side shot. I take it and the big eight is down.

Now all is good.....two bucks with two different weapons....I have done this before. But now I have a muzzloader and that season is open now. It would be cool.....nay I say fairly awesome to take a doe with the blackpowder and have a milestone season. So it is Sunday morning.....temperature 29 degrees , wind northwest at 20 and light snow. Man .....it is wonderful! I am in the same tree stand, brushing the snow of the Williams steel fiber optic sights and here come two does headed for the thicket and a break from the wind. The big doe gets nervous....she is one of those that looks up in trees.....and knows something is not right....but it is too late. The Traditions Pursuit Pro comes down out of recoil and I look through the smoke to see her run about 50 yards and collapse.

It is a good day....three deer....three different weapons.....one year.....2008.

The Deer Hunters Trifecta.....that is what I will call it....yeah....a real good day......

GWH

Dancing with Deer

It was another cold November morning, the last one I would spend this year bow hunting, waiting for that elusive “No-neck” buck my buddy J.D. and I had seen the year before. J.D. gave the massive whitetail the name “No-neck”, because he was so huge and swollen it appeared to both of us that his head simply attached to his body.

 I had sat in my stand long enough, my feet were frozen and I hadn’t spotted so much as a small doe, so I decided to get down and try my hand at a little still hunting, at least I would get a little circulation back in my appendages.

 The wind was perfect (if you like a frozen face.) It was blasting out of the south, the direction most deer would come from. There was a north-south fence line that often served as a deer highway when they decided to cross from the government land onto the land where we hunted. I decided to take my time and head south down the fence line, stopping frequently to watch for any movement (this is what I always read you were supposed to do).

 Immediately in front of me was a fairly steep hill just on the other side of the pond I had been overlooking from my tree stand. Just past the hill was an open field. My plan was to stay on the east side of the fence line since it was easier walking, knowing that I could crawl under the fence into thicker cover should the need arise.

 The Need Arose immediately…I no more than peeked over the hill when I saw antlers!

My heart was pounding as I dropped to the ground and with bow in hand crawled under the fence into the tall grass. For the next few seconds I tried to get a glimpse of whatever beast I was stalking, but I was too far away lying in the tall grass. I decided to get on my knees and see if I could see the deer knowing that I might run it out of the country. After I crawled about 40 yards I could see multiple deer in the open field on the other side of the fence, one appeared to be a nice six-pointer. I was pumped…..could I get close enough for a shot?

 The deer were enjoying the cold air, running and jumping, oblivious to my presence. I decided to push my luck rather than wait back and hope they came to me. There were two small does, a small buck and the six-pointer (my target). I began to crawl on my belly (not easy with an arrow knocked and the bow spread flat in front of you) until I reached the fence at a place I could easily crawl under it. Just as I got my head under the fence, I heard footsteps. From my low position I could only see hooves. One of the young does had run to the fence and was literally standing over me. I could feel the heat from her breath on the back of my neck. Then she bolted. She didn’t leave the country, she evidently just went back to play with the others who were now just about fifty yards away.

 I decided to be aggressive and I finished crawling under the fence out into the open field and then I got on all fours (again the wind was in my face so they couldn’t smell me). I got within 40 yards, then 30. About that time the does and small buck moved east out of sight and it was just me and the six-pointer. Behind the six-pointer was a brushy thicket out in the middle of the field we were in….and then it happened, he spotted me.

 He didn’t run! He was intrigued by this beast on all fours. He came closer and closer stopping at about 20 yards. He began to paw the ground to try to get me to run or react. He then started to move to the side to try to get down wind of me but I was having none of that so I literally danced (or hopped on all four to my left and then to my right to stay in front of him). He was clueless as to what to do, (evidently he had never danced with a hunter in full camo, on his hands and knees out in the middle of a big field), so he raised up on his hind legs and proceeded to try to scare me away at one point losing his balance and having to regroup.

 Almost as quickly as he approached me in the beginning he now retreated close to the thicket behind him, I thought if I could possibly get the thicket between the two of us, then I would jump to my feet and make a run for it hoping to get to the thicket and get drawn before he reappeared. He moved behind the thicket and I was off. I made it. I stood there totally out of breath behind the thicket trying to spot him again and there he was just browsing on some brush five yards in front of me on the other side. Now if I could slowly walk around the thicket (with bow drawn) while his back was turned to me, I would have completed the greatest hunt in my life.

 He turned his back and I took my first step around the south side of the thicket and all heck broke loose. I nearly stepped on a huge doe. She busted out from beside me and my six-pointer followed his girlfriend out of sight….I wasn’t mad or even disappointed, I had just experienced the best hunt of my life, I collapsed to the ground, exhausted and soaked with perspiration, all I could do was laugh and thank the good Lord for the blessing of experiencing His great outdoors!

-General Buck

Marlin's Daily (or as often as I can) Hunting Tip

Friday, December 05, 2008

5 ways to stay awake while you are hunting:

1)If you are bow hunting, the best way to stay awake is to draw your bow every now and then.  In doing this you do run the risk of spooking any deer that may be within sight but just do it sparingly and you should be fine.

2)Pushups! This only applies if you are hunting on the ground or if you have a really big stand. This will get the blood flowing and give you an energy boost. 

3)Drink dew, enough said.

4)Text fellow hunters, this will help you to concentrate on something other than the fact that you got up at 4:30 A.M.

5)Actually seeing a deer, that will keep you awake.

Until next time, this is Marlin signing out. . .

Marlin's Daily (or as often as I can) Hunting Tip

Let me preface this by saying that if you are looking for real "hunting tips" just look inside of your own head. Most of it is common sense, but what I am about to share is not common knowledge.

Tip for December 2, 2008 "Masking Your Scent"

I know they sell all of this fancy pants stuff that gets rid of your smell and hides it and I will admit that I use it, and often.  I only recently discovered that the only real way to mask your scent is to blend into the smell of the deer's natural environment. Is that dirt scent? NO! Is it doe urine? NO! IT'S BARREL STOVE SMOKE!! Leave you camo inside your cabin. The deer catch that scent all of the time and they won't think a thing about it when they smell it on you.  I had a doe within 5 yards of me the other day and she couldn't catch my scent to save her life, literally. Now bodily smells are a different story, don't do that in the field, the deer will clear out just as fast as your bunk mate would.

Bass Pro Shops

Bass Pro Shops is one of the unofficial suppliers for WBS. I can not say enough about Bass Pro Shops and their products. Great stuff; from Muck Boots, Traditions Muzzleloaders, Mossy Oak camo, Buck knives and Coleman Lanterns, the gear is used by the Pro Staff members everywhere here at Williams Bros Safaris. Bass Pro Shops......keep selling the outdoor gear....Williams Bros Safaris will maintain the field testing! WBS Pro Staff

THE DOUBLE CLICK BUCK

THE DOUBLE CLICK BUCK

It was opening day of the 08 Firearm season and the deer were on the move during the morning hours. After spending 3 hours in my tree stand and watching a total of 16 doe and young bucks pass within in view it was time to head back to the cabin and prepare the morning grub for the WBS brothers.
Around 12:45 I told my son Grant I thought I would take a drive around the road and see if I could spot a buck on the move so I could plan my evening hunt. 10 minutes later we were sitting near the diesel barrel at the farm glassing a couple of nice deer up the draw next to the 90. One was a young buck and the other was a mature 8 point, making his stand against the younger buck. Me being the wheel man decided to drive up into the field in the Jeep Wrangler X and have Grant step out and put the Simmons scope on the bigger buck and give me a reading on whether he was a shootable buck. It was clear from Grant's description this was a good one. A doe stepped out of the 90 and began a slow jog south along the fence line we were near. I could not believe my eyes when the big 8 began to follow with the younger buck on his heels. In a matter of 2 minutes the big 8 had gone from 600 yards away to 250 yard. Grant, taking a legal stance on the ground and me glassing the buck, began the final calculations for harvest of this fine animal. The doe led the buck within about 150 yards when Grant said I'm going to take him. The next think I heard was "CLICK" followed by the racking of the rifle bolt. I assurred Grant the buck was calm and he still had the shot. "CLICK" was heard again followed by another rifle bolt open and close. "No problem" I said, he is still standing still. The third pull of the trigger sent the 270 round downrange knocking the buck off his feet where he stood. Nice shot! No trailing this big boy!!
We drove up to the deer to find a beautiful typical 8 pt buck. It had long tines with very symetrical antlers. The inside spread was just over 18 inches.
What a fun hunt and rush for opening day. Grant tagged the deer, waved to the WBS recon plane, and headed to the cabin to show off the harvest.
November 15, 2008 was the day the Double Click Buck went down.

Whitetail Massacre of 2008

Enough of these fun-loving posts, it's time to get down to business.  If you don't already know, the heart of what WBS is all about centers around everything Whitetail.  We watch them, we grow them, we mount them, and we eat them, but above all we slay them.  For the past 30+ years we have been hunting the evasive whitetail deer and have had much success, but not a single year in memory surpasses the total amount of antlers that were harvested in 2008. Below are the pictures accompanied with their stories, hold on to your seats ladies and gentlemen. 

This 11 point beauty was taken on Saturday November 22nd 2008 at 7:16 AM Central Standard Time.  It was killed with a Semi-Automatic Winchester 243 at a distance of 130 yards. 

I had been sitting in the same spot under the same tree for the past 2 weekends waiting and watching and when I say watching I mean it. I cannot even recall how many whitetail I saw over those 2 weekends but it had to be at least 30.  I knew that a big buck was roaming the area due to all of the sign in the woods. We had spotted several large rubs in the area that couldn't have come from any of the "bite sized" deer that I had seen so far.  By the time Saturday the 22nd rolled around (which would be my last chance at a deer with a firearm in the 2008 season) I was beginning to think that he wasn't going to show.  Boy was I wrong. Not too terribly long after shooting light started that morning there he came, waltzing along the fence line that I had been watching.  If I were to have the choice of where I wanted him to come from, he had already picked it. I didn't have time to think twice, I got off 3 quick shots (hitting him with the first and second) and he fell after running only 35 yards.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked up to him and realized how big he was.  I had expected 8 or 10 points, not 11.  I proceeded to call the WBS deer recon and  pickup convoy and the rest is history.

-Marlin

Wow What a Year     by General Buck

I had just come off of a bow hunting weekend in which I saw at least 40 deer, including two really nice Bucks just out of bow range. Now it is gun season and I feel like I’m almost cheating with a scoped 30/30 in hand. I spent the first morning in my favorite hunting spot just off the west pond, six Bucks have gone to my freezer over the years from this perch, but not today, 3 small does walk by and nothing else. It was time to get back to the WBS cabin and see what the rest of the guys had done. I’ll let you read their stories in the rest of this blog.

That night was a complete shutout, something I hadn’t experienced in 2008, but tomorrow would be different. We got out of the sack at our traditional 4:30 when the GWH (Great White Hunter) began his morning rendition of some John Denver song. This morning I was going to sit in this year’s hotspot, or perhaps I should say one of the hot spots.

After walking past the stand about 30 yards and fumbling my way back and up the 16 foot ladder stand I could tell this was a perfect morning to hunt. Just in front of me was an open field that began about 40 yards away and went to a cross fence about 315 yards away. To my right was a thicket where for decades deer have hid and to my left was a dry creek separating me from a 20 acre field surrounded by timber.

All of a sudden all heck broke loose….a small doe busted out of the thicket and circled the field only to return to the thicket on the run. Immediately a young forked buck jumped from the ticket fifty yards down field and proceeded to run across the field into the creek and return as fast as he could run back into the thicket. Then from the left came three does dancing as if they were auditioning for some young buck, each one prancing and playing with the other. After they went out of sight another buck came out of the thicket on the dead run only to meet up with a doe I hadn’t seen on the opposite side of the field. I said out loud, this is a doggone deer rodeo. 

After about 10 minutes for regrouping another Buck exits the thicket this one a good body deer but a smallish rack, I had told myself I would wait for the trophy rack this year. The young Buck just browsed through the middle of the field taking his time quartering away from me, tempting me every step of the way. Then my mind starts to work on me,

Brad, David and Grant already have Bucks down, if you shoot this one at least you won’t get shut out, besides I always wondered if I could hit a deer from this distance. (I believed him to be around 250 yards away)  So, I put my cross hairs on the top of his back and squeezed the trigger and watched him run away. After a few minutes I got down and began to step off the yardage to the point I thought he was standing, 265 yards, no blood….darn, or maybe good, at least I didn’t wound him. After looking for about an hour for any sign of blood and finding none, I decided it would be smart to try to look into the thicket in the general direction he headed, not likely to help since you can’t see twenty feet, but much to my surprise there he laid, my seven pointer for 2008.