Road Kill, Trail Cameras and Thanksgiving

During the last few days my wife and I drove across the State and back to visit family and friends. It has just been amazing to us the amount of wildlife we have seen run over along the highways. It is such a shame all those deer that have been hit and were usable were just wasted. I do wish the State of Texas would come up with some way for deer vehicle collisions to be called in and the deer removed for human or even pet food. In this day and time there is no excuse for wasting such a resource. In the last few days I identified deer, exotic deer, and other wildlife by the hundreds, We also saw skunks, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, coyotes and other wildlife flattened on the pavement. We swerved to miss a large turtle crossing the road and the car behind us also missed it so we are hoping he made it across. When I was young all those bobcat, fox, raccoon and coyote would have been picked up and the furs used or sold. My wife and I remember a Thanksgiving trip many years ago, from Round Rock to Colorado City, that we picked up every raccoon, ringtail, coyote, bobcat and fox that we came across. The next day after skinning all those furs I took them to a local feed store that bought furs and they wrote me a check for over $400.00, not bad for a young married couple in the 1970s to get paid for picking up road kill on a Thanksgiving trip. Maybe someday people will come to their senses and remember that God put wildlife here for man's use and start wearing furs and leather again so our resources will have a value. Remember as long as an animal has a value to man, he will strive to preserve it.

While traveling we took time to run by the family place and put a new SD card in the camera we had left set up to take pictures of whatever came in to our supplemental feeder. We have one new camera in the shop so this camera is the only one I have letting me see what deer and other wildlife are showing up at the place. We could not wait to get back and see what was on the camera. We did not have a laptop with us on this trip so I put the SD card in my camera to get a quick look at whatever had come into the feeder for a handout. It is so hard to tell much on the little camera viewer so we could not wait to get home and put them on the PC monitor to see what was what.

The mystery and excitement of the game camera pictures has become as important as or maybe even more so to my family than actually sitting in a blind or stand and hunting. It is also something that can continue even after the hunting season is over. If you are not yet using trail cameras you should consider it as I can assure you it is a lot of fun and you will see wildlife you did not even know existed in your area. Warning, it is addictive, Wild Ed

Remington Big Horn Backpack at Walmart

I ran across what looks like a really good buy on a Remington Big Horn backpack the other day in Walmart for $29.99. They also carry several other Remington Packs and accessories. I also liked the fact that you can purchase additional pouches that strap on to the Big Horn Pack in the same camo pattern. Not all Walmarts carry them and I have seen them in other stores for double the price so I would think they are a special buy. I have embedded a youtube review that you might want to watch. You may need to scroll down to my playlist at the bottom of the page and pause the music or mute so you can hear the video. This backpack may not equal a top of the line $100.00 plus priced backpack, but for my day to day hunting and photography trips it should do the job. If you have one please leave your opinion of the pack in the comments below. I will report back on how my new one works out. For now it sure is a nice camo print and looks good on my back. Have a great Thanksgiving and count your many blessings, Wild Ed









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Back to the New Mexico High Country

I was back in the New Mexico high country for a couple of days this last week and got to spend some time on a beautiful ranch and observe some of the native wildlife in their natural habitat. This article will be heavy on pictures so that I can share with you just a small part of the amazing time I spent in this part of New Mexico.

It is almost magic the way game appears in the early and late hours. One moment you are looking at landscape and the next moment one of God’s creatures is standing there looking at you, many times just as curious to get a look at this weird human as you are to get a look at it. Remember these pictures were all taken free hand on the run and in many cases terrible lighting, yet they will let you see some of what I enjoyed and give you some idea of the memories this trip will hold for me for many years. Get outside and enjoy your time there wherever it may be, Wild Ed

PS: I had a real scare with Pulmonary Edema on this trip and would urge each of you going from low elevations to high elevations to learn about altitude sickness and how it might affect you. This can be serious if you have heart issues or other complications. If you have any health issues discuss going to high altitude with your doctor so that you know what to do.

Ken thanks again for all your help. ET

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Tasco 5MP Trail Camera Problems

I have been using a Bushnell Trophy Camera since they came out and have often recommended the little camera to my readers. I bought my trail cameras with my hard earned money just like the rest of you so I review them just as I find them. If I recommend the Bushnell Trail Camera it is because it has performed well for me.


Just a few weeks ago I ran across a Tasco 5MP game camera on sale for around $60.00 less than the cost of the Bushnell. I thought since it was made by the same parent company it should be fine to take pictures at one of my feeders that was not monitored by a camera. I should have known better as in the saying you get what you pay for. The camera took about 6 pictures in one week. Thinking maybe the batteries were weak or the SD card was old I placed new batteries in the camera along with a new San Disk SD card. I reprogrammed the setup and I hung the Tasco right next to a year old Bushnell Trophy Cam. In one week the Bushnell took almost 700 pictures of all sorts of animals coming to the feeder both day and night. The Tasco took, if I remember correctly, seven pictures of the feeder, no animals and no night pictures. If I had not had the Bushnell there I would have thought that a hundred pounds of corn had disappeared into thin air.
After holding on the phone twice for over 30 minutes I finally get a human that tells me I must send the camera back and they will see what is wrong. After I got mad about having to pay shipping to send back a brand new camera they tell me they are sending me a pre-stamped sticker to mail the camera back to Bushnell/Tasco. Now I am waiting to see when this comes in and how long the turn around will be. I know that a company can have a problem or some product goes bad once in a while, but it really upsets me when a brand new product does not work. I always try to be honest and let you know of products good and bad and will keep you filled in on how this problem is addressed. Meanwhile I have to go buy another camera if I want to know what is coming in to the feeder this season. We shall see what happens from here. I will keep you informed on the progress or lack there of, Wild Ed

Update:

Recieved Prepaid shipping sticker late Saturday 11/13/2010 I will ship it out Monday 11/15/2010

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What Makes a Successful Hunt?

My first rifle was a target model Daisy BB gun. From that little rifle I progressed to a Benjamin .177 caliber pellet rifle. A lot of vermin and small game fell to that rifle as I learned firearm safety and hunting skills. I moved on to cartridge firearms and my airguns were put in the back of a closet for many years. Later in life I once again returned to airguns in the form of adult size airguns. I again felt the thrill of going into the field with a pellet rifle. Adult size airguns will have a place in my gun safe as long as I am able to shoot. I have found them also a perfect tool to introduce my grandson and nephew to the shooting sport and I gave them both a Daisy BB gun for Christmas. I am sure a Crosman or Benjamin will be in their futures if they learn their safety and hunting lessons well.

If you look at my list of favorite websites one is 54 Airgun Sport Forum
http://www.network54.com/Forum/543831/

I used to spend a lot of time over there and the group on that site are experts on hunting with airguns. Drop in and spend some time with them and you just might be seeing an adult size airgun in your future. The article this week is by one of my buddies from over at 54 Airgun Sport. I hope you enjoy Rob's story, Wild Ed

"What Makes a Successful Hunt"

I am fulfilling a long time promise to Wild Ed by writing this, but at the same time, I am fulfilling a personal whim to be featured on his site. I've been astounded by Wild Ed's knowledge and writings for some time now and feel honored to be a contributor. I thought long and hard about what I may write about and then this idea came to me just about 15 minutes ago.


I took a stroll this past weekend in the many acres behind my house in search of squirrel and think I may have found the answer to what makes a successful hunt. I didn't bag a single squirrel that day, nor did I even take a shot.

The day was fairly calm in the mountains of Western North Carolina, deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The wind would only infrequently blow, but when it did, it did so with authority. The colors were in full plume and the woods were painted with reds, oranges, and yellows back dropped against a sky that was as pretty a shade of blue as one could ever hope for. Temperatures were around 60 and the recent frost ensured that the annoying bugs were well in hiding.

I wandered up an old logging road and could hear squirrels off in the distance barking and fussing at nothing in particular. The odd squeak of a chipmunk broke through the normal sounds of birds chirping. As I walked up this road I'd walked up a hundred times before, I noticed a small, but mature Chinquapin tree and I mentally marked its location to keep an eye out. The Chinquapin is a close relative to the Chestnut, and although much smaller, the taste is by far superior and they are not as common around here as they once were so this was a treat indeed.

A little further up the road, I saw where some turkey had been scratching around looking for acorns. Wild turkey are plentiful here so this was not of much interest, but did catch my attention enough to cause me to miss a squirrel that had been hiding nearby. He bolted over to another branch and then up and over to another tree and safely out of range. I sat down in hopes he may display himself for a long range shot, but after about 10 minutes of waiting, my attention shifted to a rustle of leaves about 8 feet away at a tree stump. After watching and listening for several minutes, a small mouse emerged long enough to scurry about and duck back into the leaves, presumably inside the stump.

I got up and wandered up the road some more. At one point, the wind picked up and I was instantly bombarded with acorns, small branches, and leaves. I thought this to be a good time to cover some ground and so moved briskly to a point I had been eyeing from afar that I wanted to sit to wait. As I made it there, the barking of the squirrels stopped and my cover was blown by a chipmunk who squeaked angrily at me. I never did see it, but rest assured, it saw me.

I don’t know if the relationship I seemed to have witnessed between chipmunk and squirrel can be called a symbiotic one as they are both rodents, but be it coincidence or not.... as the minutes went by and the chipmunk started squeaking less and less, the woods started to come alive again with squirrels. By the time the chipmunk had stopped squeaking, I was smack in the middle of a carnival of activity. It truly was as if the squirrels were waiting on the chipmunk to be satisfied that the danger had passed before venturing back out.

I have made a bit of a pact with myself to not take any shot less than perfect this year. It's been paying off as I've shot three squirrels so far this season and have yet to miss. All three so far had been head shots at ranges of roughly 15, 25, and 35 yards. As I waited for the perfect shot, something happened that could have just as easily been on the big screen at a Disney movie or a nature documentary.

I was waiting for my shot and I noticed a small shadow move over the landscape.... a shrill scream of a Red Tailed Hawk sent every squirrel in Buncombe County into hiding. Odd thing was I didn't see much movement nor hear much....everything just froze and there was not a squirrel to be seen. Even a couple I had been eyeing about 40 yards off had all of a sudden vanished into thin air. The hawk flew into a nearby tree and I watched him for a while, I wondered what alerted the squirrels to his presence. Perhaps he was a young and inexperienced hawk...perhaps he wasn't really interested in a meal and just wanted to boost his own ego. I like to think that he'd been watching me and got a good laugh out of scaring away all the squirrels leaving me to sit and go home empty handed. Whatever the reason, that's exactly what I did. After several minutes of watching him, I got up and headed homeward.

I didn't have anything for the freezer, but I came back richer for the experience. I found a new Chinquapin tree, I was pelted by acorns, watched a mouse in an environment where it cannot be considered a pest... I witnessed a relationship between chipmunk and squirrel much akin to the buddy system.... and I let my imagination go wild as I personified a hawk. I'd say that the only thing that would have made that hunt more successful is if others who have never experienced such could have. Enjoy your next hunt, Rob.

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