Five Minute Mistake

They say a lot of sports are games of inches. Today, I learned that hunting can be a game of minutes… or seconds.

I got in my stand a little before 2:00 this afternoon. Long story, but I should have been there sooner. I’d just gotten my safety harness hooked up, hung up my pack, and hung up my bow on a old hook that I didn’t plan on using. I was putting up my E-Z Hanger on the right wide of the tree when a deer caught my eye about 75 yards away. At first glance from the side, he looked a little short on tine length. I thought it was the 2 year old 7 pointer I’ve been seeing. So I went back to screwing in the hanger. He turned to come towards me, and I realized it definitely was not a young buck. He was wider than his ears, and right away I was thinking shooter. Now my dilemma. I was still working on the bow hanger, my bow was on the other side of the tree (still in the bow sling), and this buck wasn’t slowing down.

I gave up on the hanger and stuffed it in my pocket. I turned to my left to grab my bow and start pulling off the sling. 40 yards away and trotting. Three snaps (I was sure he would hear those) and two straps to get the sling off and I hung it up. The buck is now within 20 yards and I still need to nock an arrow. As I’m doing that, I’m still not sure what side of the tree he’s going to go to.  When I see him turn to my right (the worst of the 2 directions), I still need to get the arrow nocked and turn 180 degrees. I start my slow turn while attaching my release. I get maybe halfway around, and it’s over before it even begins. The buck was 10 yards away looking right up at me, for just a split second before he takes 2 giant leaps and is out of range. I saw him long enough to figure him to be about mid 130’s.  He stopped about 75 yards away, looked back my way (I wear he just laughed), and walked off.

Five minutes. That’s all I needed and I would have been ready. Had I not ran through Casey’s to get my Gatorade I would have been there. Had I not went back home for my cell phone I would have been there 5 minutes sooner. Had I not put up some trail markers for Austin on the way to this stand, I would have been there 5 minutes sooner. I can think of all kinds of things that would have bought me an extra 5 minutes and gotten me ready for that buck to come by.

But I didn’t get there in time, and the bucks win again.

Oh well, tomorrow’s another day.

Random Thoughts

Here’s some random thoughts from the last few weeks…

Mancation. Guess that’s new word for those vacation days you take off to hunt/fish. The first day of mine started today, Nov. 11th. I’m off until the 23rd. I think it’s the longest hunting vacation I’ve ever been able to take all at once. We’ll see how many chores show up on my list while I’m out hunting. I already know of one. Doesn’t help matters that my wife’s birthday is November 20th, which coincides with the gun season opener this year.

Change and adapt. What a challenge this season has been. Cold weather early. Rain, rain, and more rain. Standing crops. Then hot weather. For someone who mainly gets to hunt weekends, every weekend was different. Here’s a few pics of what one spot looked like the last weekend of October. In the left corner is a stand that I normally save for November. The day I took this pic, I had ducks swimming under my stand in 4’ of water.

Somewhere off to the right in the photo below, is another stand that I save until the big boys start cruising the creek from one bedding area to another.  This little river shut down one of the main travel corridors that runs through this property.

I finally saw my first shooter of the year as everything (including me) headed for higher ground the weekend before last. Just when my new lake dried up in the bottoms, out came the warm temps and everything just shut down. Now, the corn next to the timber got shelled yesterday and things changed again (along with the weather… again). Of several stands I have up, not one of them is good for an east wind. I’m wondering if the deer are half as confused as I am.

Treestand Safety. I figured I better not start a blog entry with that title, or nobody would read it. But just wanted to remind everyone to be safe out there. My 14 year old son Austin had a close call last weekend, and it sure made us rethink our safety. To make a long story short, Austin was on a step going into a stand (using climbing sticks) and his wet boot slipped off the step about 10 feet up. He came tumbling down about 6 feet and caught a few steps on the way down. One step caught a pocket on his jacket, and left him hanging with his feet about 4 feet off the ground. After I helped him down, we surveyed the damage. One step apparently hit him about mid-thigh (on the inside) and worked it’s way up. It ripped a 12” hole in his camo, his jeans (brand new according to mom), and up to his underwear. How it kept from ripping his “boy parts” I’ll never know. He’s a lucky kid. He’s got a bruise about the size of a football on his leg, along with several others.

At fault was what I consider a design flaw on the sticks. While this brand is made to work on crooked trees, the steps themselves don’t adjust. The steps are made to come out perpendicular to the stick when it’s installed straight. But once the sticks lean with the tree, one side of the steps angles downward. Definitely not safe when you’re dealing with wet boots (which has been hard to avoid this fall). We’ll be looking for a new set of sticks with a better design, or investing in a lifeline to stay attached to the tree while climbing.

Boots. I bought a new pair of boots this year. I normally wouldn’t be on here pushing products, but I had to let you know about these. After years of Rocky (which I’ll never buy again after 2 failures) and LaCrosse (no complaints with AlphaBurleys)… I made the switch to Muck Boots. I bought the Woody Elites, and so far they’re amazing. I’ve never thought of a boot as being comfortable. They’ve always been more of a necessity, and I’ve dealt with the less than perfect fit, and struggling to get them on and off. The Muck boots actually feel good to have on. Easy to get on and off. Cushioned soles. Neoprene uppers that flex. Hopefully they hold up and I get my money’s worth!

Saw a little chasing from younger bucks today. One funny event happened when a doe was being chased hard by a yearling buck, and she jumped in the creek to get away. She swam downstream about 50 yards while the little forky paced back and forth on the bank like a young kid afraid of diving into the pool. When she finally hit the other bank, he charged across to follow her. By the time he got there he was greeted by a 2 year old who joined in the chase. After about 10 minutes, the doe hit the water again to get away from the guys. It didn’t work this time either, as she eventually got out and got chased some more. For all I know they may be in the next county by now.

Back at it tomorrow. Pretty uneventful day except for that little chasing at last light. I guess the rest of us are still in transition mode.

DNR Fee Increases

There’s been a lot of talk lately about proposed fee increases for the IDNR. I’ve had several conversations with individuals who served on the Conservation Congress funding committee, fellow bowhunters, and even Director Miller himself. After batting this subject around the internet for the past few years, and seeing concrete proposals in ink from CC, I’m still on the fence on the whole thing.

Don’t get me wrong. IDNR needs funds. They need dedicated sources of revenue that can’t be taken away from them. Between budget cuts over the last 8 years, and more that’s sure to come, the department simply can’t survive without additional revenue sources. As a sporstman with a vested interest in the future of the outdoors in IL, I’m more than willing to pay my fair share. I’ve been told that the proposed fees could add $20 million to the IDNR’s coffers.

But will this state’s politicians really allow it to happen?

Technically, there are ways to protect the funds. However, it didn’t stop our past governor from sweeping funds. What made it worse was when our state lawmakers, who wrote the statutes that were supposed to PROTECT those funds, also allowed the funds to be swept. So, could the politicians really keep their hands off this NEW money? Even if funds don’t get swept, the General Assembly could simply vote to reduce the IDNR’s appropriations next year by $20 million, down to about $30 million, which would mean no net gain after the increases. It’s happened before, and I don’t think anyone can guarantee that it won’t happen again. Will any government agency really be allowed to expand while the state sits in a $100 billion budget deficit?

Several years ago, sportsmen were promised by IDNR leadership that the increases in non-resident archery permits were going to be invested into improving hunting access in the state. It never got protected, and the money simply got lumped together with everything else (wildlife and fish fund). More than a decade later, we’re still talking about improving access in IL and we have no more money now than we did before the permit increases.

On a side note, I just got word today that Governor Quinn has just recently swept more money out of dedicated funds. I serve on a local non-profit board of directors (not hunting related). Earlier this year, the organization applied for a tourism grant through funds that were “dedicated” to events celebrating Lincoln’s 200th birthday. The grant was approved, so this organization proceeded with the expenses, expecting about $93,000 in reimbursements. Now, 90 days after spending the money, we’re told that Quinn has swept this fund, and there’s nothing left to pay out. As you can imagine, a $93,000 non-profit budget deficit is devastating in today’s economy. So, this non-profit that has been in business since 1986 could be faced with closing its doors because of these political games that continue to be played.

So, now I’m torn. While I want nothing more than for IDNR to succeed, I have to remain cautious because of the past actions of our politicians. They just haven’t proven themselves to have our best interest at heart.

Lucky Shot

Like the saying goes… even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while. After years of buying a $5.50 insurance policy (the one you carry all season long that keeps the turkeys away), I finally got to cash one in.

As I sat in my stand this morning, I was thinking how I’d never even pulled my bow back on a turkey. I usually see a few throughout the year, but I’ve never had one within bow range. I came close last year, but needed about 10 more yards before they got close enough.  Ten sets of turkey eyes are tough to fool when you’re sitting in a bare tree. It was actually hunting the same stand this morning, with a little more cover.

I had a noisy entrance to my stand after losing my favorite flashlight on my way through the CRP (don’t ask, that’s a different blog by itself). I had no idea there were 8 turkeys roosted within 40 yards of my stand as I bumbled my way in. After sitting by myself in the woods (no deer sightings) in the first 90 minutes of shooting light, the thunderbirds started their descent from the trees. So much for my morning nap.

I like seeing and listening to turkeys in the fall. You get to hear all the sounds the birds make. Cackles. Yelps. Clucks. Purrs. Kee-kee’s. They put on a good show for 15 minutes before this guy made the mistake of leading the group south, instead of north like they started out. As he walked behind a tree at 15 yards, I drew back and was waiting for him as he exited out the other side. At least he was nice enough to stop for me.

So, I finally got my first fall turkey, and my first bird with a bow. My son, now 14, quickly reminded me that I’m still one behind him in the archery turkey kill department.

Not a bad morning. Now I just have to replace my flashlight.

CC - Access Committee

Well, it’s been a while since I attended my first Conservation Congress Access Committee meeting. It’s been another learning experience. I’ve tried to keep an open mind, but it gets harder and harder.

First off, here’s a link to a survey being done about the three areas of focus for CC (access, funding, youth recruitment).

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=d_2fZVx9gzCQ9OpCIlnvZ94g_3d_3d

I wish I could say that each committee will carefully review the results of the survey before making any recommendations. But the truth is, all of the committees will have their proposals wrapped up before the survey results are even revealed. In fact, most of us on the committees didn’t even know that a survey was being done. Nevertheless, there’s some good questions there. Maybe the results will be used somewhere down the road. I do know that the Access committee will continue to meet, even after the CC convention later this month.

As far as this committee, the tone was set from the beginning when the DNR gave its presentation titled “Access - Mission Impossible”. In the presentation, we were told of how many other committees had failed to move any kind of access plan forward. And we were told how many obstacles we’d have to overcome this time around. In a way, it seems like the deck was stacked against us from the beginning.

Just this week, the committee was sent a list of access-related proposals from the last CC in 2003. It seems this same group came up with the same ideas in 2003, but none of the ideas went anywhere. I certainly hope after hundreds of volunteer hours and thousands of miles being driven, that something comes out of the proposals this time around.

Some parts of the committee meetings have been great. I’ve learned about some of the issues affecting other user groups. I’ve learned that navigable water law in IL is a joke. I’ve learned that the trial lawyers are much more powerful than any other lobby in IL (including the IL Farm Bureau) when it comes to landowner liability statutes. My favorite part of the meetings thus far was when an ex-CPO got up in front of the committee and presented numerous issues directed at the DNR. I certainly hope someone was taking notes, and everyone gets to see the minutes of that meeting. But mostly, like any other meeting with a dozen different stakeholder groups involved, it’s tough to get much accomplished with so many different agendas.

One a side note, this is my whole problem with turning over the entire DNR to a commission. This was just one committee with only a dozen different interests. I can only imagine how hunters would become a minority in a game commission, just like we have on these CC committees. In the Quincy meeting, resident bowhunters were berated in a five minute tirade by one group’s representative. In another meeting in Springfield, another group just couldn’t understand how deer hunters have issues with access.

While I’m still trying to keep an open mind, I have to wonder how we can ever accomplish anything with access with so many factors working against us.

Anyway, take the survey and let me know what you think…