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Showing posts with label ThermaCELL. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Chasing Easterns in Alabama

I’m sure you all remember my quest to shoot a turkey with my bow, but failed miserably.

This year I changed my game plan entirely and headed south to Alabama with a shotgun to chase Easterns. I met up with my friend Hilary Dyer of Grandview Media at the Davis Quail Hunts lodge. Our host Field Trial Hall of Famer, Colvin Davis and his wife Maize Davis, greeted us. We all got a laugh at Hilary’s expense when she left her choke tubes at home and had to use the loaner gun – a 10-gauge pump. After that laugh we ate a good southern meal and prepped for the hunt.

There was turkey sign everywhere and I was pumped! However, that feeling was short-lived as Murphy’s Law crept down to Alabama. Next thing I know, turkeys aren’t answering my calls, turkey tracks lead to nowhere, roosting spots disappear and hens are aplenty but toms are absent.

I hunted three times a day with no luck. I sat…I spot-n-stalked…tried every method in the book with no results. On the last morning, determined, I set out with Hilary and Maize. The night before they were able to locate a roosted gobbler not far from the lodge.

We set up our decoys on an elevated field and started calling at first light. Within minutes we heard a gobble probably 300 yards behind us. He was fired up too! However, behind us was another field sandwiched between two ditches. It became apparent that the gobbler was walking up and down the ditch line, refusing to cross over.

If this gobbler wasn’t coming to us, we were going to him! We left our decoys and blind behind, as we knew we had to move fast. We crossed one ditch in hopes our big boy was in the field. After calling again, a silhouette appeared. My stomach turned when Maize confirmed our guy was about 200 yards across the field and on the other side of another ditch!

After strategizing for a brief moment we determined that Hilary and myself were going to army crawl to the other side of the field and set up right along the ditch. Maize would stay back about 50 yards and call. The game plan was to lure the tom right along the ditch line and shoot him from the other side. It was a fail-proof plan.

I took off my pack, clipped my ThermaCELL to the small of my back and started crawling. Hilary and I slowly but steadily made our way across the field. My motivation came when our tom would gobble. We got set up on the edge of the ditch and waited….and waited.

After a long sit we heard crows overhead causing a ruckus. Shortly after that Maize walked up to us and said she saw the crows harassing the tom and he took off in flight. Bummer!

Every Spring I am haunted by Facebook status updates and Twitter feeds – photos of successful hunters smiling while displaying a fan of feathers and long beards. Men, women and children, young and old, experienced and novice all are mocking me for one simple thing.

I can’t seem to kill a turkey. People now have a name for it…the Slayer/Salyer turkey curse.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Early Opening to Turkey Season

Florida is a destination for a lot of people but it interests me for one reason only....Osceola turkeys. When I worked for the National Wild Turkey Federation I help trap and transfer some birds once but had never hunted. Thanks to an invite from good friend Greg Gatto, that was all about to change.

I was lucky enough to have Ray Eye to help with the calling for me and videoing the proceedings for Outdoor Life's Chasing Spring. Actually, when hunting with Ray you have to work pretty hard to get a yelp in....he does love to call. A trait I admire in a turkey hunter. The hunt also served as another chance to put my Nikon Turkey Pro scope and Xtended Range shells to the test. Happily I can report it all worked as planned.

The bird was a good one even by Osceola standards, sporting spurs well past the inch mark. And he completed my Grand Slam. A great trip with some good friends.

If you go, even this early in March, do not forget your Thermacell. You'll thank me for reminding you.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

starting the season off

Author Tom Kelly would call it a "field expediency." My dad would say I "made do." I just knew I was not drivi

ng back to the house to get it and I am too old to hunt without it. So, I dug a motorcycle ratchet strap out of my truck and used it to tether myself to the tree. I figured if it will keep a 900-lb motorcycle on a trailer at 70mph it should keep a sweaty, 200lb bowhunter from falling.

In defense of my decision, I did have the vest, just not the tree strap.

The deer, the reason I was up the tree in the first place, decided to show up from an unexpected direction and winded me before it even got close to being in range.

And for the record, if it would have been my Thermacell I left behind, you can bet I would have gone back to the house and gotten it. I'm not that crazy....

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Shannon's Canadian Sub-Arctic Bear Hunt

As soon as I booked the flight and got my passport I thought to myself, “Can I really handle this?” A week in the Canadian Sub-Arctic with no running water, limited electricity, tents and a hole in the ground with a piece of plywood as a toilet, I questioned if I was capable of a wilderness hunt.

The months leading up to my Manitoba bear hunt, I practiced with my Vicxen everyday. I simulated countless shooting scenarios as well as mentally prepared myself for the wilderness. I also brushed up on my camera skills, as I would be filming Vicki Cianciarulo of Archer’s Choice TV!

Finally the day arrived and I was in Winnipeg boarding a chartered plane with Vicki, Ralph and Dusty (from the ACM Posse) to the main lodge. The plane banked hard to the right and we got a great view of the gravel runway with a bear crossing it! Shortly after landing, we boarded a float plane to our final destination. Dusty and myself were nervous as we both had never flown on a float plane, it is safe to say we both got over our fear of air turbulence and actually enjoy float planes! About 45 minutes later we landed on Whitmore Lake (google it). Our guides John and Marshall were there with boats to greet us and take us to our camp on an island. We unloaded our gear and got settled into camp.

The next morning we got up and ran bait with the guides. We checked the Stealth Cams to see what bears were hitting the bait and restock the bait if necessary. It was on this morning that I realized I loved bear hunting for the following reasons:

1) You get to sleep in late

2) The bait is perfect for snacking; popcorn and licorice are two of my favorite things

The next few days we saw quality bears, but no shot opportunities. It was exciting since I had never seen a bear in the wild! Vicki taught me how to judge a bear, how to tell the difference between a sow and a boar as well as how to stay composed in the presence of a bear (breathe, no sudden movements, etc.).

I also got to experience the camaraderie of our small camp. All of the laughter around a pot of coffee, the pranks around camp and stories told by the guides of past hunting adventures, I will never forget.

I was also taking a liking to the wilderness hunt. We fished for Walleye for our meals and built fires to keep warm. It was so neat to be camping in such a remote location. I got to see the Northern Lights, a mating pair of artic wolves and see land that no human has ever walked. It was a really humbling experience.

On the fourth day it was Vicki’s turn to hunt. Dusty made two of her lucky peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It worked for Ralph, he shot an amazing chocolate bear the day Dusty made him a PB&J. We ate our PB&Js as soon as we got settled in. Vicki and I were in hour 8 or 9 of the 11-hour sit when like a ghost, a quality bear appeared. I was excited because if this boar came into the bait, I would have the honor of filming Vicki!

The boar came in and immediately sat behind the bait. We waited and waited. Vicki had that all familiar look of contemplation and I asked her what she was thinking. She turned and said, “Give me the camera.”

Questioning Vicki how I was going to logistically hand her the camera, tripod, headphones, change the second angle camera, get my bow out of the sling, put on my release, take off my quiver and knock an arrow without alerting the bear that is stands 14 yards away. To which she replied, “Slowly and quietly.”

After a few minutes, the camera was in Vicki’s hands and I was standing with my Vicxen, waiting for the perfect opportunity. An hour went by and no shot. I kept reminding myself to stay calm, draw and anchor the same way I practiced, pick a spot on the bear, don’t jerk the trigger and keep my arm up. Finally the bear stood up and gave me a broadside shot.

I watched as my Beman hit the double-lung sweet spot. My bear ran 44 yards from the stand. Every doubt I had about myself and every fear I thought vanished when that bear dropped. Emotions overwhelmed me when I looked at Vicki and whispered, “I did it.”

This was a life-changing hunt. I questioned if I would be capable of living in the wilderness for a week without life’s luxuries, if I would be capable of hunting an animal that could hunt me back and if I would be capable of accepting that if something went wrong, help was a day away. Not only did I learn that I am capable of all of this, but I enjoyed every moment of it. This hunt instilled a newfound confidence inside of me. When I accepted the invitation from Vicki, I had no idea it was going to change my life.

I can’t thank Ralph and Vicki enough for giving me the opportunity to go on this hunt, especially Vicki; that should have been her bear. She is the most giving person I know, and I am grateful to have her as my friend. Also, without the continual support of my coworkers, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today, thank you. I want to thank Dusty for my lucky PB&J and making me laugh time and time again.

Thank you to Ken Gangler for an unforgettable experience in your territory. A big thanks to our guides John and Marshall, who both taught me so much about bear hunting. It is a priceless and solid foundation that I will utilize for the rest of my life.