The Deer Camp Reader

New Hunting Land - The First Look

I spent Saturday morning looking over the new hunting lease I got onto for my son and me this year. We lost the land we'd been hunting for the last last twelve seasons (and his entire hunting life) to gas wells last year.

I didn't get properly prepared for this situation last year, and I didn't secure any confirmed hunting land for us. That was a mistake, it turned out, and my son and I spent last season hunting like nomads, wandering from place to place hunting sporadically on the kind invitations of others. It didn't feel good, I have to tell you.

So, I was delighted to find an ad on Craigslist for an opening at Roundhill Hunting Club, which turned out to be just an hour's drive from where we live in central Arkansas. I know exactly what the land is like in the area, so I jumped on it sight-unseen.

After looking at it yesterday morning, I am really pleased with my decision. For my son and me, who have been hunting for years on a 310 acre piece of land, this is a massive amount of land to explore (2,500 acres). We're going to have our job cut out for us to find our stand sites for archery season.

First, the stats:

Location: The land lays across the boundary between Hot Spring and Dallas counties in south central Arkansas.

Size: 2,500 acres.

Type: Timber company land, mostly pine, with some hardwood.

Game: Abundant deer and turkey. Bear have also been seen. Also has some wild hogs, coyote, etc.

What to expect: In southern Arkansas' pine woods, unlike the farmlands in the delta, we can expect large numbers of deer, but not "trophy" bucks. 8 and 10 pointers will be common, but they are not likely to have large, heavy racks. The turkey hunting should be top-notch.

I met "Goober," the club president, at a McDonald's near the interstate. He then took me to the camp house for a tour of it and the land.

The camp house is a large metal building that the members have decked out with a full kitchen, group dining area, barracks-style bunks, and a living area with recliners and a fireplace. It has running water, a shower and restrooms. It also has a walk-in-freezer.

The lease includes use of the camphouse and land anytime, year-round. My son and I like to tent camp, so I confirmed with Goober that there is no problem with us scouting out a campsite of ourselves anywhere on the property and staying there when we hunt.

Goober spent a lot of time with me, driving the property and pointing out stands that are available for sharing, and locations where there are no stands at all.

He also showed me several large patches of land that arent hunted much because they aren't easy to get into. I marked the entry points to these areas on my GPS because my son and I actually like to hunt the hard-to-reach areas.

Goober said that the timber company does not have any rules against constructing permanent stands, but I don't think I'll build any. Wal-mart sells buddy-stands that I like to use when hunting with my son - and they cost about the same as the treated lumber would cost to build a stand, and are easier to get into the woods and set up.

We'll also use climbing stands (my son's first year for using one by himself). I'll be careful to make sure he is well-practiced in using one, and knows how to be safe.

The land has some high points overlooking previous cutovers that have been replanted. You can see the different ages of the pines spreading off into the distance.

There are going to be LOTS of ideal locations for different types of hunting - archery, muzzleloader, shotgun, and rifle. We'll be able to find great spots for hunting short range in dense foliage, and long range over cutovers.

We saw does and fawns as we drove the property, and I found LOTS of tracks...deer, turkey, bobcat, coyote, and small game. Did not see any bear tracks, but I was only there for the morning and we were in the truck most of the time.

The scouting is going to be hot, buggy, and miserable this summer, but its an investment we are going to have to be willing to make. I could take us a couple of seasons to get a "feel" for this place.

All-in-all, I'm really pleased. Its not the perfect location for us, but the large amount of land combined with the friendly members, abundant game, and nearness to our home is hard to beat.

Running the Traps

One of the things I like to do a few times each week is read other blogs I like and share with you some of the things that I find really great and interesting. I call it "running the traps." So, without further delay:

Othmar Vohringer at Outdoors With Othmar Vohringer shows that it just might be possible to change things through blogging.

Bring Me Outdoors offers some timely advice to bowhunters who should inspect their equipment thoroughly before using it again this season.

For you last minute Father's Day shoppers, the Winded Bow Hunter has some great suggestions.

Mike "Hawk" Huston at High Country Archer takes a stand. He's a very good writer and well worth the read.

Rick Kratzke at Whitetail Woods shows us the largest muzzleloader buck from Connecticut last year. Wow!

Ben Gustafson at Ben G. Outdoors offers tips on how to get good gear on a budget.

Hodgeman's Outdoors shares some great trail camera pics of a HUGE grizzly.

Bright Idea Outdoors offers sage advice to outdoorsmen and women.

And I'm pleased to report that many of you have already joined me on Facebook and Twitter and invite everyone elso to join too. The links are facebook group and  Twitter.

Fun Archery Practice Tip and An Update on My Book

Here's a fun archery practice tip for you. About four years ago my son and I got a little bored with shooting targets in the off-season, so I started looking for a more fun way to keep the archery skills up. I noticed some huge carp while fishing one day, and decided to give bowfishing a shot. I ordered the bowfishing reel and before long my son and I were both having a blast.

These carp are pretty wary, so we had to creep up on them with the trolling motor and shoot from about 15 yards or so. Not an easy target to hit, considering you have to take the diffraction of the water into account.

This is one of my all-time favorite pics of my son, who is a natural instinctive shooter.

BOOK UPDATE: I have two chapters of The Deer Camp Reader book almost complete. I'm behind my original schecule because I'm so busy at work, but I'm hoping to devote some evenings to it this week!

How to Teach a Child to Hunt

One of the things I want to devote my book and this blog to is helping other hunters when they are teaching their sons and daughters to hunt. As a 44-year-old dad who had to figure it out on my own, I did a lot of things right - and a few things wrong.

I was really intimidated by the job at first. Hunting is such an important part of my life that I was really nervous about making mistakes. I didn't want to mess up and turn him off to something that has been so rewarding to me.

I want share what I've learned and what worked for my son and me, but I don't think I have all the answers, either, so I encourage any of you who have advice to share to do so.

I took my son to his first "deer camp" when he was 5, so this is written from the perspective of a dad who started teaching a child that young. However, I think most of this will be helpful in teaching a child of any age. Also, if you've already done some of the "wrong" things, I want to emphasize that its never to late to reverse that.

Step 1: Safety begins before leaving home - This should go without even saying. Safety is the most important thing you can teach your child and the lessons should begin before you ever leave the house. The key things here are to make sure your child has the proper hunter orange clothing, knows how to handle their weapon safely, and what to do if you become separated in the woods. Teach and re-teach these lessons. I know of a very experienced grandfather who lost his grandson to a senseless tragedy while hunting. Tragedies do happen, so don't ever let your guard down.

Step 2: Prepare for success - First, nothing ruins a child's first experience like getting hurt by the recoil of a weapon that is too big for them. Buy your child a weapon that is the proper size for them. It doesn't  have to be an expensive weapon because they are going to outgrow it in a couple of seasons anyway. I bought my son a youth model single shot .410 made by Rossi for $80. It was perfect for him from age 6 until I got him something else at age 10. I opted for the shotgun for versatility, but if you want a rifle, a youth model .223 is another great choice (but check your local hunting regulations before buying anything). Second, make the time to get your child out in the field before the season to practice with their weapon. This is important for several reasons including safety, familiarizing them with what to expect when they pull the trigger, and helping to ensure they don't wound and lose an animal, which can scar a kid pretty badly. Third, give your child the opportunity to practice in a life-like situation. Shooting in a range setting is a lot different for a child than from a tower stand, for example. I took my son to the exact stand we would be using and let him practice shooting down at a target and it worked very well. I moved the target around to different places I expected deer to come from, at varying distances. The result was when we went on our first real hunting trip, he was familiar with his surroundings and confident in his abilities.

Step 3: Forget about hunting for yourself - Go ahead right now and re-set your own expectations about hunting for yourself during the times you are teaching your child. Consider yourself a guide. This is one of the mistakes I made. The first few times I took my son hunting I thought of it as a trip for us - when I should have been thinking of it as a trip for him. This attitude caused me to try to make him stay in the stand too long when he was bored, cold, and just wanted to go back to camp to throw things in the campfire. I got frustrated and the result was those first few trips were less enjoyable for him than they should have been. You have plenty of time to plan hunting trips for yourself during the season. On the days you set aside to take your child, make it totally about them.

Step 4: Don't over-do it - This goes hand-in-hand with Step 3. Keep in mind that kids get bored easily, feel cold more quickly, lose their patience more rapidly, and have to go to the bathroom more often than we adults do. My advice is that you don't plan a full week of hunting for a child who is first learning. Getting yourself way out in the boonies with a ton of gear and a week's worth of food could make you feel like you have to force a child to stay at camp longer than they want to. The most important thing for you to do at this stage is make sure they have a positive and enjoyable overall experience. If a day or two is enough for them now, be happy with that. You should also expect that you will get up early, get both of you dressed, and hike to your stand only to have your child announce they have to pee the moment the sun peeks over the horizon. If you expect it, you can smile about it and take them back to camp. Remember, bagging a deer is not how you define success for a young hunter-success is the child having a good experience. If they get a deer, its a huge bonus. This is one of the bigger mistakes I made early on. I'm willing to suffer bitter cold, pouring rain, biting mosquitos, and hours of boredom in my hunting - but my son, like most kids, wasn't there yet.

Step 5: Make it about the experience - Let your child help set up your camp, even if you are only going to be there for the day. Let them experience as close to a real hunting camp as you can. Set up a tent, build a fire, show them how to make some of your favorite camp foods (safely, of course). Go exploring, even if its during hunting hours (assuming you can do so safely - beware of other hunters and wear orange!). This is a great way to let the child have fun and also take opportunities to show them how to identify rubs, scrapes, scat, and other types of hunting education. Set up for target shooting or just plinking. When my son was little I let him take his BB gun, and I swear he had more fun with that around the campsite than anything else.

Step 6: Make it special - One of the best things I did was engraving the forend of my son's Rossi before I gave it to him. I sketched the words on it with a pencil first and then used my Dremel tool to engrave "Mitch Crider. First Gun. Nov. 03. From Dad." It turned an $80 .410 into a priceless heirloom to him, and even though he outgrew it long ago, he still pulls it out to show to every new friend who comes over. One day he will pass it along to his son or daughter - and I plan to be there to see it. I'm not saying you should do this, exactly, but I do encourage you to think of your own way to make the hunting experience a special memory for your child - something that your child, grand-children, and great-grandchildren will continue passing along long after you're gone.

Thats it for now. I am devoting a comprehensive chapter in my book to this subject. In it, I am going into a few more steps and will provide a lot more background stories about my experiences with my son as well as the experiences of friends who taught their own kids around the same time I was teaching mine.

Here's to a great season for you and your child, and I hope you will come back here to share with me how it goes.

Scott

Bear Trailcam Pics

My cousin and hunting partner has some beautiful land in north-central Arkansas. Back in April we were turkey hunting there and we went to check a trailcam he'd left there previously. When we got to the trailcam it was laying on the ground, with its mount broken. We initially thought it was vandalism, but when we downloaded the pics we found this.

This bear showed up immediately after nightfall on the evening my cousin hung the trailcam, took one whiff, and tore it off the tree. The second pic captures the bear's legs as it walks away.

What is "Fair Chase?"

I’m writing The Deer Camp Reader book and blog for hunters like myself – hunters who are also parents, who have careers and relationships to maintain, who respect the outdoor environment, and who share my belief in adhering to the rules of fair chase.

 

I'm not planning to make a big debate out of fair chase here, but I do feel that I should lay out my position on it because it so deeply defines the kind of hunter I am.  Plus, I can archive this post and direct people to it in the future when, and if, the topic comes up again.

 

For my definition of fair chase, I’ve chosen Boone & Crockett’s statement that defines it as: "...the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals."

 

This statement contains a lot of information that everyone can interpret differently. An extremist, for example, might say that using a weapon of any kind gives a hunter an improper advantage over the animal. I don’t agree with that.

 

In nature, predators hunt other animals. In almost every circumstance, predators have an advantage over their prey – it’s what makes them predators. The eagle can fly and attack rabbits silently from above. The spider has the ability to spin a web and the instinctive intelligence to place it in a strategically advantageous place. This list could go on and on.

 

Boone & Crockett does not say hunters should have no advantage over animals. It says hunters should have no improper advantage.

 

We could debate for days about what an improper advantage is, but I think one thing most of us can agree on is that hunters who go to ranches that offer “guaranteed success” hunting farm-raised, fenced deer are not practicing fair chase.

 

Farm-raised, fenced deer are neither wild nor free-ranging. And the notion that success can be guaranteed suggests the deer have little, if any, chance of eluding the hunter.

 

In an attempt to be fair, I went looking for someone who defends hunting deer in this manner. I found this post by Albert Rasch of The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles.

 

About the owners of fenced hunting ranches, Rasch asks, “are any laws of the nation being subverted? I can't find any that will stand the light of investigation.”  Further, Rash states “there are some arguments based on preferences that border on ethics, but none that are incontrovertibly immoral or unethical.”

 

I would have to say that I agree with Rash on the subject of the landowners. Landowners are free to capitalize upon their land assets in any way they choose whether it be by selling timber, exploring for gas and oil, or creating fenced hunting ranches.

 

It is not the landowners I have difficulty identifying with, but rather the so-called “hunters” who harvest deer under these conditions.

 

About these “hunters,” Rasch rationalizes, “a trophy hunter is not motivated by hunger or need, but by a desire for pleasure. It pleases him to pursue and collect. I don't know about you, but I pursue and collect stamps. I am having a hard time differentiating any moral or ethical issues between them.”

 

For me, Rasch’s attempt to compare hunting farm-raised, fenced deer to the hobby of stamp collecting leaves much to be desired. Lets set aside the most obvious problem with Rasch’s argument – that stamps are not living creatures – and explore it in a more “apples-to-apples” comparison.

 

If he is a serious stamp collector, Rasch probably devotes some degree of his time and financial resources to “pursuing and collecting” stamps he wishes to have. He will probably spend time researching, reading websites, attending stamp shows, and investing money into the stamps when he finds them.

 

Once a prized stamp is collected and properly displayed, he no doubt feels a sense of pride and accomplishment.

 

Now suppose that someone called Rasch one day and told him that they had a highly prized collectible stamp that he had been wanting to have in his collection for years, and that all he had to do to acquire it would be to pay a large sum for it – far more than it is actually worth – and come pick it up.

 

Would Rasch feel the same sense of accomplishment in acquiring this stamp? Would he be as proud to display it in his collection?

 

Somehow I doubt it.

 

But regardless of how Rasch would feel about this stamp, I know how I would feel about it.

 

More than one of those stamps exists, and I know that if I were patient, and worked hard enough, I could find one on my own without paying an exorbitant sum for it. And I also know that if I found it on my own, and was able to make a smart investment in it, I would feel a much greater sense of accomplishment and would be far more proud to have it in my collection.

 

The same is true of trophy bucks. There are plenty out there in the wild – including public land. I know that if I am patient, and if I hone my skills and work hard enough at it, the chances are good that I will eventually have my shot at a true trophy. And I also know that every hour, day, and season I invest in creating that opportunity for myself will make the sense of accomplishment and pride I feel all the greater.

 

So, its not that I am critical of you if you hunt farm-raised, fenced deer. It’s that I simply don’t understand how you can hang that buck on your wall and feel any sense of pride or accomplishment in it.

 

To quote Seinfeld’s George Costanza, “Its not you, it’s me.”

 

Teaching a Child to Hunt

My son Mitch is 13 now, and becoming a very good outdoorsman. This is him with the 5-point he took all by himself last season. He took this buck at a little over 100 yards with my 30.06 - with me sitting right next to him in a blind I'd set up on the edge of a large field. It's his second buck, and his best so far, taken with his longest shot so far.

He's very proud of it, and I am enormously proud of him. It's really fun watching his confidence grow with each hunting season and I feel good about the hunter I've helped him become. He knows how to read sign, choose a stand location, and how to get to and from it while keeping the wind in mind. He is also a hunter who knows how to be safe, respects wildlife, and is careful to leave nothing but footprints behind.

But I remember very well how mystified I was about how to go about teaching him to hunt when I first began planning to take him to "deer camp" when he was 5.

I didn't grow up in a hunting household so, as a self-taught hunter, I didn't have the experience of being taught by someone else. Looking back, I see that I did a lot of things right - and a few things wrong.

I'd like to help other dads (and moms!) who are about to embark on the heady task of introducing a child to a part of what makes us who we are. I'll be publishing a full post about it this coming weekend, so I hope you will drop back by to check it out.

I'll add that I don't propose to have all the answers - just some tips that worked for my son and me - so I'll be asking you to comment with some advice and questions of your own too. I think we can all help each other and create some new, devoted, and quality hunters in the process.

Welcome to The Deer Camp Reader

Hi there and welcome to The Deer Camp Reader!

My name is Scott Crider and I am a 44-year-old father of two, hunter, fisherman, and Creative Director from Little Rock, Arkansas. I’ve been a hunter and fisherman all my life and one thing I’ve found is that – for the most part – real hunters have a lot in common.

I also have some experience as a blogger, having been the first person to launch a presidential election blog for my friend Mike Huckabee way back in 2005. That blog got a lot of attention and I worked hard at it for over three years. By the election’s end it had received nearly 650,000 visitors and it drove a lot of support for Huckabee.

It was an amazing ride, feeling like I could have an effect – however small – on presidential politics from my laptop in my bedroom. Since then, I’ve taken some time to figure out what to do next, and this is it. I am combining some of my passions – hunting, writing, the Internet, and helping people – by creating The Deer Camp Reader.

This is a blog for real hunters. By “real” hunters I mean guys (and gals!) who hunt wild deer under the rules of fair chase, as defined by Boone & Crockett.

I once had a client who was a doctor. He had an amazing trophy room in his office full of huge bucks with elk-sized antlers with drop tines and all kinds of amazing stuff. Every one of them came from fenced deer farms with heated, soft-chaired stands, guides, and catered meals.

He and I didn’t have much in common.

I want to connect hunters who don’t always have the best equipment and best land, and who work at their sport and are proud to take a buck because its a real, wild deer – not just because its a record of some kind.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not slamming hunters who have the money to buy nice gear, private land and guided hunts. As long as you are a real hunter — meaning you go out and hunt deer under the rules of fair chase – you are OK in my book.

I am also writing a book for hunters like us, also called The Deer Camp Reader (which will be a companion to this blog). I know that real hunters share a lot in common. From the joy and camaraderie of hunting to the challenges of fatherhood and careers. My vision is share my experiences with other hunters like myself and to provide a platform on the Internet to connect real hunters, with real lives, to one another. 

I belive that together we can make connections and create friendships that help us all become better hunters, better fathers, better businessmen, and better people.

We are going to have some fun here getting connected on social networks, too. More about that soon.

Scott

The Value of Web-Enabled Cell Phones for Hunters

When it comes to communications equipment, I have come to the conclusion that hunters should look at cell phones the same way we do any other piece of hunting gear. Cell phones have already replaced walkie talkies for many hunters and offer the benefit of silent communications through text messaging.

 Now, with the availability of real time information online that is important to hunters, it has become almost a necessity to carry the most modern web-enabled cell phones. Aside from the obvious advantage of having emergency communications, hunters with web-enabled phones can access real time weather reports, information about sunrise and sunset times, moon phases, and game reports.

 In addition, web-enabled phones allow hunters to access needed information and services from the wildlife management agencies in their state. Increasingly, state wildlife agencies are allowing hunters to buy licenses, register game, and access hunting regulations and season dates online – all of which can be done from a web-enabled phone.

 Being able to do these things online, from deer camp, is a fantastic time saver for hunters like me who sometimes forget things like buying a license in my rush to get out of town. And registering game online is a wonderful alternative to the long drive into town to visit the check station.

 There are many other ways web-enabled cell phones can save you time, money, and help out in emergencies. Here is just one recent example from my own experience.

 On a turkey hunt this year, my cousin badly gashed the first knuckle on his left hand with his hunting knife. It was a deep, bad-looking wound that clearly needed stitches. The trouble was we were in the boonies, at least an hour drive from the nearest emergency room. Worse, neither of us liked the idea of driving all that way and then spending hours of our precious hunting time waiting for a few stitches.

 We tried applying pressure and keeping a snug bandage on it, but the wound wouldn’t stay closed. It was looking like we needed to head to the ER when I thought I remembered hearing somewhere that super glue could be used to close wounds in an emergency. I got out my cell phone and used Google to search for “super gluing lacerations” and found plenty of information about it.

 So we drove into town that night to buy a tube of it and fixed the wound without any problem. We didn’t miss any hunting time and we didn’t spend hours at the ER – not to mention hundreds of my cousin’s hard-earned dollars.

 Needless to say, super glue is now a permanent part of my first aid kit, but my web-enabled cell phone was just as important. Plus, in order to fully benefit from the connections you can make with other real hunters through The Deer Camp Reader, you’re going to need one.

 If you have a web-enabled phone already, great! But if you don’t, or if you are thinking about upgrading, here is a little bit of advice I can give.

 Hardware

You can get online and connect with the social networking sites discussed in this chapter with just about any web-enabled cell phone, but some are better than others. Two that I have personal experience with are the iPhone and the Blackberry.

 I am on the iPhone 3G now and it is an excellent social networking phone with a large color screen, fast connection speed, and a full keyboard that makes it easier to type messages. It also has a great camera that can be used to snap photos and instantly upload them to social networking sites to share with others.

 The Blackberry Curve is another great phone for social networking use and has a similar set of features as the iPhone. It is also available on more cellular networks.

 I don’t have much experience beyond these two brands, so I recommend you do your own research before you buy a new phone. The main thing to remember is to let your sales person know that you want to be able to connect the internet use social networking sites easily.

Those of you with additional advice to offer, please comment!

Anticipation

We’re deep into the time of year now that all of us real hunters hate — turkey season is over, the bass spawn is over, and there is little to look forward to outside now except hot weather and mowing lawns until archery season rolls around.

I think its important to spend as much time as I can focusing on my career as a Creative Director for a digital ad agency during this lull between seasons. I read industry news, attend online training sessions, and  generally poke around in the digital space, turning over rocks to see whats there.

And I’m working on the campanion book I’m writing that goes with this blog, also titled The Deer Camp Reader.

I also spend time with my kids and friends I don’t see much during the hunting season. But man, its HARD to not think about deer hunting. Especially this year.

Last season, the land I’d been hunting for 12 years became overrun with natural gas wells. The owner of the land, a really great guy who is my cousin’s father-in-law, owns a lot of land that he operates as a business. That means if there is money to be made off of it – whether its logging, selling rock, or natural gas – he takes advantage of it. I don’t blame him at all, because if I had a lot of land I needed to generate income off of, I’d probably do the same thing.

The point is, last season I found myself a hunting nomad, wandering from place to place with my son on the invitation of friends, and it just didn’t feel right. Hunting is chicken soup for my soul, and I like to know its there when I need it.

So this coming season, I’ve done something I haven’t done in a long time. I joined a hunting club with 25 other guys, on 2,500 acres of land owned by a timber company.

Its called Roundhill Hunting Club and its less than an hour’s drive from my house. I don’t know a single one of the other guys, but it sounded so perfect that I forked over my $500 without ever seeing the land (no biggie, I’ve lived here a long time and I know what to expect from timber company land).

I called the fellow who is running it and talked to him for a long time about what it was like. I told him I’m a dad, who will be bringing my boy, and that I didn’t have any interest in being around a bunch of nonsense – especially drunks with guns. He assured me Roundhill is a family hunting camp, and there are strict rules about safety. He also told me that they had kicked a guy out last year for breaking the rules – that was good enough for me, and I wrote my check.

The trouble is, he was headed out on vacation so I have not gotten my key and map yet…and I am about to burst with anticipation to see the place.

I’ll be keeping you up to date on our experiences at Roundhill Hunting Club this year, and I trust you will do the same!

Archery season, here I come.