TCR, my acronym for (trail cam revelations.)  No matter how well I think I know my properties, each and every summer reveals just how little I actually do know.  Like most whitetail nuts we have history with certain deer but amazingly bucks also show up that we have no idea even exist.   This makes for long evenings waiting on the opening of season but it sure does add even more excitement!

A new piece of property, from the looks of it there is some definite promise!

The October 1 opener can't get here fast enough!

As I sit here and post this I am blessed to be staring out across the southern Colorado Rockies. The temperature is about 58 degrees and I just got off the phone with my dad back in Oklahoma where the temp was hovering around 104.  Several days ago my family and I stole a couple of days and came out here to do some trout fishing, though, truth be told, that was really just an excuse to get away from the heat of Oklahoma.  Welding shops and hay fields tend to lose their luster by the first of August.  In all reality  I ought to be ashamed of myself because in less than 4 weeks I will turn around and make the trek back to this area because I have a pretty good mulie tag in the desk drawer back home.  That will be the first stop in a gut-busting fall that will hopefully see no less than four different species walk in front of me.  Big ideas,I know, but thankfully in a few short days the fall seasons will be in full swing.  I can’t wait!

My son, Eli Fate, the real fisherman in the family. Dad didn't catch anything!

Even in a storm the Colorado Rockies are magnificent.

I love the July 4th holiday.  And, seeing as how it is just around the corner I thought it would be worth mentioning what that means around my household.  First, I use this holiday as my official start date for trail camera deployment, hoping that for the next several weeks I will get some photos of the great bucks that will no doubt make a fool out of me come this fall.  Also, by this time most of the western draws are complete so I generally know what my fall will entail.  As is generally the case, this year proved to treat me pretty much the same way in the draws as it has for the past several, meaning, lots of refund checks, and very few hunts.  I say that as a true hypocrite because I actually have a very full plate this fall and the coming holiday always drives the point home that in a few short weeks we will all be unleashed by the western states to match wits with the animals that keep us up planning, scheming and hoping that this will be the year.  I hope everyone’s fall is turning into what you want it to be!  Also, I don’t have any pictures to post with this because frankly, I don’t really know what type of photo would be appropriate!

This gobbler made me look like a fool several times but in the end I got the last laugh.

The OK spring turkey season has come and gone, and while  I didn’t quite chase gobblers as rabidly as I have in the past I did manage to put this old bird down.  Way back on April 11 I was able to get everything right and was rewarded with this nice eastern bird.  A veritable cussing match between myself and an obnoxious hen was more than this old bird could take, and he paid dearly for it.

Right at 1 1/8'' long, not bad.

This spring has proven to bring other quarry my way at seemingly every drop of the hat.  Over the last 6 weeks I have killed numerous hogs, the photo is of the first of two boars I killed in a two day span.  I guess to some people hogs are a great game animal and a joy to hunt, however, I view them in a slightly different light.  In addition to my main business, my family and myself have always been in the cattle business.  Owning several thousand acres and running a registered seedstock operation has made my disdain for hogs literally drip with every word spoken concerning them.  When hogs first started to become prevalent the sportsman in me thought it would be great; something else to chase throughout the year.  Trust me, any excitement I once harbored for these animals is now completely gone and I view them now as nothing more than a pest.  The destruction they reek wherever they go is terribly devastating and in fact there are certain areas of our ranch that have been completely decimated.  Simply the thought of trying to take a tractor in there and fix it makes my back hurt and the fact of the matter is it would be pointless.  At some point they would show back up and destroy it, thus continuing a cycle that I really want no part of.  So, I will continue to trap, kill, and do whatever is necessary to battle the other white meat. 

If you’re like me, seasons come and seasons go, and unfortunately each season seems to go by too fast.  For the last two years though, I have extended my season by making a jaunt to my good friend Abraham Garcia’s ranch in Old Mexico.  It has co

Big animals have a way of putting a smile on our face!

Slightly different angle, still a pretty good buck!

me to be one of the most enjoyable trips I take each year, not simply because of the phenomenal deer hunting, but because of the great people and the fact that my family gets to go also.  Everything about this hunt is world class, but, if I were to tell you about the deer hunting most people would probably call me a liar, and truth be told, I simply can’t conjure up the words to accurately describe it.  This year, on New Year’s Eve I was lucky enough to harvest this incredible buck.  I actually have a little bit of history with this deer.  Last year I passed him up because he had broke off his entire right G-2.  It was a hard pill to swallow right then, but at 4:50 on 12/31/09 it became apparent I had made the right decision the previous year.  This buck sauntered into view and offered me a great opportunity at 19 yards.  I was also able to slip in on a javelina thanks in no small part to the Optifade.  From California to Colorado to Kansas, Oklahoma and even into Old Mexico, this pattern has continued to amaze me.  I don’t want to sound like an advertisement but I’m serious about extending your hunting season.  If you would like to (and who wouldn’t) check out Abraham’s website at 2joutfitters.com.  Absolutely incredible.

This past weekend proved to be fairly eventful here in Oklahoma.  I was able to harvest this great buck, although, he turned out to be a different buck than what I thought.  Not that it matters, though.  I’ll take mistakes like this anytime they come my way!  This old buck and another equally impressive eight-point were flanking the same doe and I did what I felt was right, shot the one with more points!  This fills my last buck tag here in OK so I guess my Dad and brothers will have to try and put one of  their tags on the bigger ten-point that is still runnin’ around out there.  My brother-in-law also had success shooting a good-looking mature eight-point.  It looks like now I can focus on some of those pigs that seem to be everywhere!

You'd think I'd look happier than that. Having no more tags will do that to you.

What a magnificent creature (the buck, not me) haha!

My brother-in-law's buck. Another great buck from the Eaves farm.

Sometimes we get lucky!

One of the prettiest bucks I've ever had the fortune of shooting.

The first 3 and a half weeks of whitetail season here in Oklahoma have been pretty uneventful for me.  Between work, battling the H1N1 virus, building a new home and getting overrun with hogs everytime I try to find a good buck, things have not exactly went per script.  That all changed late on the evening of the 27th however.  The early stages of the pre-rut and favorable weather conditions have had the bucks making tracks of late.  This buck was obviously convinced the little doe he was with was his soul mate.  Unfortunately for him, she didn’t seem to harbor the same feelings and I was lucky enough to be positioned in the right ground blind at the right time.  The shot was a classic; 22 yards broadside with the classic result we all strive for.  Hopefully things will only get better from here!

Just returned from a grueling high-country mulie hunt in southern Colorado.  I say grueling because, it’s rare when you have to walk past bighorn sheep to get to the mulie stomping grounds, however, that is precisely what we ended up doing.  A buddy and I spent a week and a half above timberline looking over countless bucks.  The basin we found ourselves in was literally covered up with great bucks, unfortunately, for the most part they were unkillable.  It seemed every option to approach them was in some way protected, be it the prevailing wind, other bucks, shale slides, or any of a number of other obstacles.  Irregardless, we attempted stalks daily, and on day four my partner harvested a great buck. 

The rugged Colorado backcountry-where mulie dreams can come true

On day five I found a magnificent 31” 5×5 that I hadn’t seen since day one.  He was bedded high up on a wind-swept point with a very respectable 3×3.  For two hours I watched him,waiting on the wind to stabilize, strategizing, dreaming, hoping this would be the attempt that everything would work out.  A couple hours later I was lying face down in the grass, 42 yards from the buck.  Mere inches from being ready to deliver a fatal strike I felt that all too familiar gust of wind fan the back of my neck.  Knowing it was over, but hoping against hope, I looked up, praying for an opportunity to salvage all my hard work.  It was not meant to be though. 

Finding them was easy-getting to them was a different story!

The buck was big for a reason, and when the stench of countless failed stalks reached his nose he knew what to do.  As he rounded the point of the mountain he never paused to question what his nose had told him.  He knew I was close and he was bound and determined to remedy that situation. 

Six hard days but the sweat, blood and tears during that time make success even sweeter!

On day six I was finally able to connect on a respectable buck.  The shot proved to be a tough one but luckilyI was able to deliver one of the best shots I’ve ever made.  I just wish it could have been two days earlier.  Enjoy the photos…

Hoping the northern California country will relinquish one of its prized blacktails

Patience and perseverence often pay off in red

Five hard days but things finally paid off!

Knowing I'm blessed to have my hands on such an animal

Just thought I would drop a few lines and some photos about my first hunt of the 2009 season.  Things were looking a bit grim, but, as I’ve said many times before, perseverence will pay off.  This California blacktail drove that point home to me, when I drove a Tight Point tipped FMJ through the boiler room.  Enjoy the photos.

As I sit here and write this the long, hot Oklahoma summer seems to be dragging by.  However, there is reason to rejoice; two days from now I’ll head out for the first hunt of the 2009 fall season.  I’ve had a lot of questions in recent weeks about my preparation leading up to a hunt, and, seeing as how many guys are suffering from the same pre-season doldrums as I, this seemed like a good time to “blog” for the first time. 

 I take pre-season practice extremely serious, adhering to the belief that if I train myself and my equipment beyond what I expect to encounter in the field this fall then good things will happen.  Mr. Tony had an excellent post recently about pushing one’s body and the resulting benefits it can produce during the fall.  And, let’s be honest, if we weren’t expecting to be rewarded at some point most of us wouldn’t train hard.  I believe the same mentality should roll over into our shooting practice as well as our choices in gear. 

 I believe shooting sessions should as closely resemble the real thing as we can possibly make them.  I know that is a trendy statement to make, however, I also know for the most part, that is all it is; a statement.  When it comes to practice, generally by mid-June I am shooting broadheads exclusively.  Being a borderline OCD equipment guy, by this time I have already weeded out any shooting accessories that won’t “cut the mustard” so to speak.  Sights, rests, stabilizers; if it fails during the middle of summer in Oklahoma, trust me, I don’t want anything to do with it after mid-June. 

It’s also about this time that shooting skill is tested to the max.  I will be shooting broadhead groups all the way out to 120 yards.  I would never take a shot at such ranges, but believe me, it is a humbling beginning when you start.  It may get expensive, (lost arrows jump to mind) however, I have a theory that goes like this,”It’s not where you start but where you finish.”  For me personally, nothing I have done has helped my shooting as much as this extreme range practice.  Form becomes priority one, and it only takes a few errant arrows to convince you to shoot the shot until the arrow finds it’s mark.  If I’m feeling really salty I will even shoot these 100-120 yard groups in full Sitka attire.  I better be feelling really good though! 

Also, it goes without saying, uphill, downhill, sidehill, off your knees, all of this needs to be practiced.  Another great benefit of this is you can really see if your shooting setup is up to snuff.  Are your fiber optic pins too big, not bright enough? Is that fully loaded quiver causing you to inadvertently torque the bow at the shot?  Extreme range practice will tell all the truths.  Finally, if you’re like me, stretching the yardage out like this will at first be overwhelming.  However, like anything, if you take control of the situation and let the bow do the shooting I think you will find, come fall, this training will pay off.  Who knows, you may even start to like it, just don’t try this in the Celcius Series in July in Oklahoma, I don’t recommend it!

Most shots don't come easy--be prepared!

Four arrow 90 yard broadhead group