Long Run Solutions

Great Buck Fight Video

I just had to post this video because it is such an incredible buck fight. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Download Incredible Buck Fight wmv

Whitetail high snow

I was sent this picture by a friend today and I just found it fascinating. Enjoy.

Eddie's Big Cats

As promised, below are the pictures of my neighbor's big cats. For the story, go to this link.

THE COUGAR

 

THE BOBCAT

Pheasant Hunting South Dakota

Have you ever been on a Magic Pheasant Bus? In your dreams? Or, maybe sometime in the 1960's you took a trip....let's skip that one.

Well folks, I can tell you that I have indeed been on THE Magic Pheasant Bus and I can tell you that it was a great ride. Better yet, you too can take a ride if you go to hunt at Pheasant Cove Outfitters.

Pheasant Cove Outfitters is not your run of the mill South Dakota hunting experience. It is many times better. First of all, if you are looking to rough it, this is not your place. So, you might be thinking..."Well then, what is an outdoors geek like you doing there?"..."Aren't you all about roughing it?"

I guess the answer to that must be yes and no. The biggest reason I was there was because it was a chance to do something with my dad. He is the guy on the right in this picture. He is 74 years old and I bet you ten bucks you wouldn't guess that if you were sitting next to him and if you hunted with him you wouldn't believe he was that age. One fun story from this trip is that we were out to dinner on the final night of our trip with a group of 15 guys. My dad was sitting across the table from me next to a tall slender older fella who I actually heard say to my father, "Well, when you get to be as old as me it.....". My father looked at him and said, "How old are you?" To which the tall older fella proudly said, "Seventy-one".

Is that funny or what? I smiled and thought how lucky I am to still hunt without a thought or concern with a guy you might never guess is 74 years young.

Marv and Carol are the owner operators of Pheasant Cove Outfitters and they do a terrific job. The food is home cooking and it is excellent! The bar is open and has just about whatever you might want. And, getting a limit of pheasants was never really a question. We saw and shot a whole bunch of pheasants. I'd show you pictures, but dead pheasant pictures are just not that interesting. Check out  Pheasant Cove's website and go to the picture gallery for a whole bunch of dead bird pictures.

The lodge is very comfortable and the dogs were great. Hmmm. This is starting to sound like an advertisement. Suffice it to say Pheasant Cove Outfitters is a top notch pheasant outfitter in South Dakota.

Thanks to Marv and Carol for the excellent trip. Thanks especially to my Dad for going along for a fun hunt.

Wisconsin Gun Deer Hunt 2008

Somehow I neglected to write a post on our Gun Deer Hunt in northwestern Wisconsin. As is often the case, the weather turned pretty crisp for opening morning. We awoke to temperature around 15 degrees which can be tough to stay warm in while sitting in a tree stand.

The winner of the longest stay in the tree award was my brother Kurt. And, he was rewarded for his stay on Saturday afternoon with a nice 8 point buck.

 

These three are part of the poker playing crew. Notice what happens when someone forgets the poker chips. Go ahead and look close, those are puzzle pieces.

  I'm not sure what the guy on the right is doing, maybe he is scared of cameras. But one thing for sure, those are two fine young men with him.

The only deer harvested was the one shown above. I think our lack of additional success may have had something to do with the gusty winds. We did not see as many bucks as normal.

All in all we had a great a hunt.

Comment of the Month for November - Bobcat vs. Deer

On January 17, 2008, I posted an article that I am linking to here titled "Bobcat vs. Deer?". Below is a comment that I recieved this week that is just priceless.

That's not right. what the hell. What would you have gained from killing that poor cat? If you're still engulfed in the thought that it's so 'amazing', you're sick.
Imagine this. You and I are at the supermarket. There's only one turkey left. It's thanksgiving. We both want that turkey. I take hold of it's leg, you of its breast. I pull a knife and shank you. Lovely isn't it?

Posted by: repulsed and disgusted | November 23, 2008 at 12:03 PM

Dear "repulsed and disgusted",

One of the things that is fun about writing a blog is to see and hear what kind of reaction my website generates. This article (Bobcat vs. Deer?)is the most read article on this blog. Check out the link and read the other comments. It has generated some interesting comments and somehow readers have come away with the idea that I shot these animals. Don't get me wrong, I would be bragging about it if I did. But, I was only passing the information and pictures along.

Besides, the article titled "Deer with Arrow"was much more disturbing, but didn't get a single comment. Come on man, blow that picture up and tell me how you like it....please. Someone could have at least claimed I was a sicko for republishing it. Oh, and if you want to know the second all time most searched and read or maybe in this case "viewed" article on this site, it is "The Most Amazing Hunting Video Ever".Both this post and the bobcat post have been widely linked to and distributed on hunting sites around the country.

Oh, and just one more note to my friend who posted the note I copied above: Thanks for stopping by my website. Your thoughts and ideas are welcome here.....and laughed at. You have inspired this idea of a post called "Comment of the Month".

Another 2008 QDM Bow Hunting Whitetail

My brother and crew were hunting our QDM property in northern Wisconsin this last weekend. They all saw quality bucks and could have harvested more than just this animal. Some were bigger than the one Kevin harvested below.

      

Congratulations Kevin. I understand that this buck actually hung around his stand for quite a while tending a doe.This makes two QDM bucks with a bow in two years for Kevin.

This is also the second QDM buck harvested by bow this year on our land. The moral to the story is.....plant some clover and grow some nice whitetails.

Buffalo County Monster

I wish I could claim this amazing monster rack as part of our QDM success, but I cannot. This beauty was shot in Buffalo County, Wisconsin. Anyone who knows anything about big whitetails is familiar with the reputation of Buffalo County. Buffalo County is dominated by private land and QDM programs.

 

My sister and her family live in the Mondovi area and there are always stories of big bucks. This is a very rural area of the country and they grow some dandy whitetails. Congratulations to Bob Decker of Eau Claire, Wisonsin. From here on out this rack, this mount, will be known as the "Decker Deer". Hmmmm, must be nice!

Read the whole story by clicking on this link.

Another Quality Whitetail

As promised, I am posting another quality buck picture from the Wisconsin QDM property. This beauty was taken by bow from a ground blind at 26 yards.  

Nice mass and really nice G2 and G3 antlers. This big guy green scored around 135 Pope and Young and weighed in at a solid 180 pounds. The young man pictured with this whitetail made a picture perfect double lung shot. The buck managed to cross a small creek, but only made it 100 yards from where he took the arrow. Congratulations Kurt!

Wisconsin Trail Cam Buck

For some years now we have been practicing quality deer management (QDM) on property in northern Wisconsin outside of Turtle Lake. QDM makes a lot of sense from my perspective for a number of reasons, however, I'm also aware of the "trophy hunting" mentality that sometimes takes over a well meaning QDM effort.

After years of decidedly mixed success, we are finally seeing some real results. And the difference has been clover. At first we noticed almost no difference in the deer herd. There was a big difference in the hunt because we weren't shooting the first deer we saw. Consequently, we were watching a lot more deer and learning much more about their behavior.

But we were not harvesting bigger bucks until we got serious about the clover. Now we are consistently seeing more bucks and bigger bucks and we are harvesting them, too.

 

At left is my son Blake with his quality whitetail from our 2007 gun deer hunt. Rumor has it I will have another picture of a quality deer, a Pope and Young class animal, very soon. So, check back soon.