Thanksgiving Hunting with Family & Friends

Frying the turkey for Thanksgiving.

Watching the Turkey cook and drinking a beer.

Mmmm, look at all that crispy goodness!

The kids wanting to go for a ride in the Jeep.

A couple of the wives heading out for a drive around the Ranch.

I did not have room for my bow in the truck with all the gear so I decided to hunt with my 38 Super IPSC pistol.  Nothing ever came up.

One of the guys I hunt with is a doctor and when I saw his stethoscope hanging out of his hunting bag, I just had to take a picture.  It looks so out of place.

Early morning sun rise on the lever action rifles.

Safety is key when in a tree stand.  Always wear a safety harness.  One of the guys dropped his bow and it landed on the quiver and drove a broadhead through it.  Fortunately is was not a long drop so his bow is ok.

White Tail Deer Hunt November 17-18 "The Rut Begins"

The weekend showed the beginning signs of the rut here in Central Texas. The Bucks did not pay too much attention to the feeders and the does were running around like a bunch of sorority girls at a fraternity party. As my son and I sat in a 2-person tree stand with no activity, it was evident that we needed to try something else. So we pulled out the Rattling Bag Deer Call and began making some noise. It was not long before a young buck showed up in the distance so I gave a mature buck grunt on my Grunt Call. However, my grunt must have been too mature because he left as quick as he came and never got close enough for me to get a bead on him with my 38 Super IPSC pistol I was hunting with.

My Uncle had better results when this fantastic 11 point came up near his blind to rub on a bush.  One shot from his ARPerformance 6.8SPC was all it took.  This one will be going on the wall.

My cousin also had some luck and shot this young 8-point with his Bison Armory 6.8SPC.  Below is a video of his hunt from last year using my ARPerformance 6.8SPC.  He liked it so much he had to get one too :)

My son and I never got a shot off.  We'll give it another try this weekend.  I with my pistol and he with his 22 Chipmunk rifle in hopes of getting a turkey.

Me and my son sitting in a box blind waiting for the big one that never came.  Oh well, he got in a good game of Plants vs Zombies and I got to enjoy a nice cup of coffee.  Its time well spent!

Checking the brightness of my red dot on my 38 super pistol in anticipation of a deer.

Using the rattling bag deer call to see if anything comes up.  Only a young buck came up.

Opening White Tail Deer Season in Central Texas

What a great weekend! It was nice to see the guys. Some I had not seen since last hunting season a year ago! But that is what hunting season is all about. Getting out and bonding with the guys and having a good time. And of course hunting for the elusive trophy white tail buck!. One of the guys got a nice buck, probably scored about 118 and weighed 130 on the hoof. Not to be out done, I shot a big body eight point that weighed 159 on the hoof. Of course the antlers were not as big as my buddies, but both deer were a good trophy for a low fence property where you have no control over genetics. Here are a few pictures from opening weekend. Videos to come soon so be sure and check back frequently!

I was trying to flush a Sika that I knew was hanging out  in some thick brush so I had my friend set up where it would most likely come out.   Well it came out right in front of him about 10 feet away.  Unfortunately his Henry 1866 45LC misfired.  Here is a fantastic screen shot from the video.  I hope to upload the video soon.

My buddies 8 point shot with the traditional 30-30 Winchester

My 8 point shot with a bow at 33 yards.

Axis deer shot with a Henry 1866 chambered in 45 Long Colt

My cousins Axis deer taken with a 6.8SPC

Some of the Hardware

More!

More

More!

More

Side arms and FLIR!

Texas Holdem on the deck of the cabin.  See the video here: http://texasnative00.blogspot.com/2012/09/our-hunting-cabin-in-central-texas.html

Bacon wrapped dove from a previous hunt.

Cold front moving in.

Close up of the sunset.

Dove & Coyote Hunting in South Texas

I spent the weekend at a friends ranch in South Texas (about 40 miles from the Mexico border). We had a fun time Dove Hunting and just kicking back. I limited out the 1st evening and did not do as well the second evening. The birds were just not flying the second day. So I slipped away and set up to call in some predators. I saw a magnificent bobcat and shot a coyote at around 230 yards with my competition AR15 that I used in my 2012 Texas Multigun videos posted on the NicTaylor00 YouTube channel. Be sure and check back for when I post these hunt videos to my TexasNative00 YouTube channel.

I paced it off at 230 yards. 55g SP right behind the ear.

This bobcat came in drawn by my electronic call.

Taking a shot with my Remington 1100. Review coming soon!

Holding my camera and shooting did not pay off. I could not hit anything.

Two of us limited out.

Rattle snakes are abundant so you have to take precautions like these snake guards that I borrowed.

Hunting coyotes with my competition 3-Gun rifle. See my YouTube channel NicTaylor00 for the assembly videos of this rifle built on the Black Rain Ordnance upper and lower.

I saw Quail everywhere.  Unfortunately they are not in season.

The view from my dove hunt location near the stock pond.

A fantastic sunset!

I failed to change into my boots and my shoes suffered.  Everything had thorns in it.

Here is the thorn I removed.

2012 Opening Weekend for Archery Deer Season

Well opening weekend came and went. Even though I had both kids with me (4 and 6), they did not sit in the stand with me since it RAINED all weekend! Central Texas has been under drought conditions for some time now and it finally rains in my area and it happens to be on opening weekend. Well, the rain not only discouraged my children from hunting with me but also kept the deer away.

The only animals I saw where a few turkey and it began to rain just as they came up. I tried to cover my camera with my water proof hat and dropped it. They saw me and my hat and took off. The only thing I ended up killing over the weekend was some beer. Hopefully next weekend will be better. I plan to do a little dove and predator hunting in South Texas and hope to get some video from that hunt to post to the channel. In the mean time, here are a few pics from the weekend. The only animals that we got was a turkey that one of the 12 year olds shot with his bow and a baby rattle snake I ran over with the Jeep.

First Turkey Ever!

Almost got the Jeep Stuck!

The view from my Tree Stand, about a 25-30 yard shot.

The tip of the iceberg!  The 2 wheel drive F350 almost did not make it back to the house as the skies opened up on us.

I found this baby rattle snake in the road while on one of my walks.  We must have run over him that morning.  The ants are about half a centimeter in length.  From what I can tell, there is no rattles on this snake yet.

Trail Camera Photos September 22, 2012

I just did a quick trip to the ranch to check on the trail camera and sight in an AR15. Here are a few of the highlights from the trail camera that I have set up at my new tree stand in the video below. Remember, our area is over populated with white tail. I think the first picture proves it. If you recall from my previous post, my camera date is not set properly so the date is still off.