Hunting with the Hedge 2021

[JB G]

18 Dec 21

Sloppy wet warm weather here. Hope fall returns on Sunday? Get some cool weather and these whitetails should start moving and browsing hard. Not many red oaks have anything left under them now. Few here and there between the raccoons, turkeys, deer, fox squirrels they get cleaned up right quick when other food is gone. We are not a bait state which is how fair chase should be. No animals taken under a bait state station should be considered fair chase harvest. In Tenn they find a kernel of corn within 200yds of your stand your loosing gun, bow, truck, license. Four miles away in KY, guys dump thousands of pounds of shell corn at stand locations. Guess thats hunting?

HH~

[Allyn T]

I agree, bait piles are ridiculous. I'm not a fan of trail cams either but cell trail cams for sure shouldn't be allowed

[JB G]

I get a grin outta harvest pics with a feeder in back ground. Mighty bait hunters I can see it to rid hogs or non natives. Putting animals in books taken under bait or bait states should get an asterisk!

HH

[BowEd]

It's the same in Iowa.No baiting.A person can hunt along fields & harvested fields and food plots though.I also get a grin out of people showing their big adrenaline rush out of a 100,200,or 300 yard shot.
We are lucky here that hogs have not gotten a foothold here in Iowa.They are destructive.Otherwise my bows and .54 would do more work here and we would be eating a lot more pork.I've had opportunities to go to Oklahoma or Texas with a group of fellas but hav'nt taken it up.

[Eric Krewson]

Baiting was legalized in Alabama last year, I was surprised how many hunters instantly started putting out feeders or scattering corn, they are everywhere.

I may have posted this story before;

I went up to across the line to the TN co-op to buy some deer radish seed (daikon), not for the deer but to plant in my winter garden for me to eat, I love them.

These are really good.



I was taking to one of the employees about baiting, he mentioned just how much feed corn they sold just for that purpose. The Co-op is just a couple miles from the state line and closer for local Bama deer hunters to go to than to drive to Florence for the same thing.

The clerk said a guy pulled up and said he wanted "deer corn", about a half a ton of it. While the customer was inside the clerk loaded the corn in his truck. When the guy came back outside he took a look at the bags of corn and said "I WANTED DEER CORN, THE BAGS WITH A PICTURE OF DEER ON THEM". The clerk told him it was feed corn and was the same, at which point the customer said "it is not DEER CORN, unload it and refund my money" which the clerk did.

City folk I guess.......

I have a food plot about 75 yards from my back porch and have killed 1 deer off it for a friend in need, this is the only deer I have killed off it in the last 20 years. I could have killed 100 or more off it, there were 5 does on it yesterday evening. I am currently almost house bound because of blowing out a knee the day before Bama M/L season, I see the surgeon tomorrow, I have already had the MRI.

I had raked up a big bucket of juicy acorns just when they started dropping from under a tree that deer preferred above all the others. If I can't get to the woods or have some one give me a deer by the end of season the acorns are going out on my plot and I will watch them from my deck with my .308 in hands, but corn? not on my place. I know, it is the same, but a corn feeder just rubs me the wrong way. 

[JB G]

I know farms and leases in KY that use thousands of lbs of shell corn each fall. No record book should allow any entries from a bait state in my view. Just not fair chase. Its bait chase.

HH

[JB G]

Hope the surgeon can fix ya up Eric. Best of luck Sir.

Shawn~

[Eric Krewson]

Another story about Deer Corn, a friend went to Tractor supply the other day, he noticed sign for "deer corn" for sale for $9.99 for 40#, they were completely sold out of it. Close by was a pallet of "feed corn" for $7.95 for 50#, it was untouched.

 I went on the hospital patient portal and found my MRI results; a significant Posterior Horn Medial Meniscus Tear. From what I can find out with a little research this should heal in time, I hope my surgeon sees it the same way.

[JB G]

Yep

Guess the bait hunters are really that dumb? Shell corn is shell corn……


Take AL off P & Y now too. Not fair Chase.


One niblet in Tn buried under six inches of dirt 200yds radius from your stand and you are liable to be pinched, forfeit, bow/gun and or trk. Bait hunting brings in NR tag sales to be honest. No gettin around it!

[BowEd]

That's the state for ya.It's all about the green backs.
One thing I can tell you about the bucks I shoot is how much meat and how big and thick it's hide is after brain tanning.

[JB G]

Yep Ed a really big horned buck you get a extra knife handle or two. A big bodied buck you get an extra week or two of protein and a big blanket.

HH

[BowEd]

An extra 60 pounds off 1 of the bruisers here lasts Robin and me more than a week or two and the extra length skin makes a full length 34" inseam pants pipe.

[JB G]

21 Dec 21

Was other other morning varmint hunting and looking to reduce some doe's from the herd. Saw around 30 of them and a fat doe come by. 27 doe and one buck, yep got doe issues here again. Everyone wants to kill horns, they dont eat em and the doe ratio goes totally upside down FAST!!!!

Fat as a tic. Full of corn in gut and what looked like horse feed apparently someone has an illegal feeder nearby. When I opened her up fat was just popping out of her. looked to be 90-100lb animal as I was able to clear her off ground and onto the 4whlr without to much issue. Could'nt find he kidneys to take out, took out next day in the skin shed, in about 4" of white fat. She will make some good sausage. Steaked and roasted her out. Had couple guys who needed some meat to hold em for the next several months. Now got maybe 20lbs of meat to grind. Have some Chorizo flavored mix to try from Lem coming today. Need some pork fat.

Got a buddy coming Friday morning to take a few of these long legged corn and bean eaters home with him. Need to hire a couple more guys to take a few too.

HH~

[JB G]

25 Dec 2021

Warm Warm warm. . . .  . 72 degrees and wind blowing steady at 20mph

No hunting today.
Finishing up Gils new 2022 Target Bow. Just over 50@28" now, sand it into finally weight. Its a tad over built, actually a bunch over built but Gil has to hold for a long time as his vision is compromised so he needs a new bow every 2.5 to three years as they take a pounding. If he never shoots more than 30 arrows a session with it I think we will get some extended use from it. We shall have a talk about this more. . . .
Have to take it and do a final grip fit to his hand as a good portion of it is gone. So, it has to be right so when he presents it to the target the bow is sitting at correct orientation to target.



HH~

[JB G]

31Jan21

Looks like this one have a 2022 date on it. She done. 50@27 and a hard shooter. Shot it with 575-600grn 45/50 and 50/55’s and shoot right down the line. Het a finish on it and strike plate and shelf elk leather and call it done.

HH