Photo courtesy of KDFWR

Just because 2011 has come and gone, doesn’t mean that it’s time to kick back in the recliner and watch Bone Collector reruns until turkey season.  Fortunately for Kentucky hunters, there are still plenty of outdoor opportunities to be had, long after the ball drops on New Year’s Day.  Let’s take a quick look at what the Bluegrass State has to offer hunters in the early months of 2012.

1) Archery deer season

Archery deer season is still in through Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 16th, 2012.  Late season can be a great time to be in the woods, as the deer group up and return to a more patternable feeding routine.  In addition, the colder temps often have them moving during daylight hours, so be sure to take advantage of those opportunities.

2) Small Game seasons

Rather than break them out individually, I decided to lump Kentucky’s small game seasons into one category.  This includes squirrel, rabbit, quail and grouse here in the Bluegrass state.  Regardless of where you live in Kentucky, chances are you are just a short drive from decent small game hunting.  Squirrels are abundant across the state, and decent rabbit hunting can still be found.  For you diehard bird hunters, it may take a little more tire tread and boot rubber to put those bird dogs to work.  Below are the small game season dates.

Rabbit & Quail – Nov. 14, 2011 – Feb. 10, 2012, in the following counties: Allen, Ballard, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Fulton, Graves, Hancock, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McLean, McCracken, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Union, Warren and Webster. Nov. 1-11 and Nov. 14, 2011 – Jan. 31, 2012 in all other counties.

Squirrel - open through February 29th, 2012 statewide.

Grouse – Nov. 1-11 and Nov. 14, 2011 – Feb. 29, 2012 in the following counties only: Adair, Bath, Bell, Boyd, Bracken, Breathitt, Campbell, Carter, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Estill, Fleming, Floyd, Garrard, Greenup, Harlan, Harrison, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Magoffin, Martin, Mason, McCreary, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Nicholas, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Robertson, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Wayne, Whitley and Wolfe.

3) Predator Hunting

Kentucky has no shortage of coyotes, and fortunately for those who love to hunt them, the season is open all year long.  In addition to coyotes, Kentucky has an ample supply of bobcats, and that season is open through the end of January.

4) Miscellaneous Seasons

Hopefully no one will be offended by me lumping the rest of these seasons into the “miscellaneous” category.  It’s not that these seasons are any less important or exciting than the others, it’s just that they are less utilized.  This includes furbearer season that is open through February 29th, 2012.  This includes Otter, Muskrat, Mink, Beaver, Red Fox, Gray Fox, Weasel & Striped Skunk.  In addition to these, Raccoon, Opossum and Crow seasons are in through February 29th, 2012, as well.

Need a break from all the holiday chaos? Take advantage of some late season hunting action to get out of the house and get in some much needed time in the field.

So, as I sit down to set some goals for the new year, I want to issue a challenge to each of you (along with myself)… include these 5 resolutions (or goals) to your list for 2012.  These are all relatively easy to accomplish, and won’t take up a ton of your time or energy.  Even if you come up short, you won’t be sorry for giving them a shot.

1) Introduce someone to hunting

We’ve all seen the statistics and heard the bad news that the numbers of hunters are declining. As a result, we are that much more vulnerable to attacks by the anti-hunting fringe, and it also puts a strain on our fish & wildlife agencies that depend on those license dollars to manage our wildlife resources.  In my mind, we ALL have a responsibility to help get someone involved in the outdoors…whether it be a child, grandchild, nephew, or just a neighborhood kid. Actually, it doesn’t have to be a kid at all.  Why not ask a friend, co-worker, or neighbor?  Studies have shown that most people would give hunting a try if someone would just ASK them.  So be the one to pop the question!

I have been fortunate enough over the years to introduce a few people to the outdoors, and even more fortunate to watch a few of those harvest their first deer/buck/turkey, etc.  There is no better feeling in the world than watching someone squeeze the trigger on their first deer and seeing the excitement in their eyes, knowing that they are now hooked for life!

So take some time in 2012 to introduce someone new to the outdoors.  Who knows what lasting impact you may have on that person’s life, and you will be strengthening the ranks of the hunting community, to boot.

2) Get involved in a conservation organization 

This is another decision that can have a lasting impact.  With state fish and wildlife agencies being strapped financially, more and more conservation organizations are having to step up and fill the void with their own funds and effort.  Organizations like the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), Ducks Unlimited (DU), Delta Waterfowl, Quail Forever (QF), and Quail Unlimited (QU) are all working on worthy goals, like improving wildlife habitat, increasing public access for hunting, introducing youth/women/disabled to the outdoors, educating the public on wildlife management, as well as scientific research.

These organizations depend on volunteers like yourself, working in local chapters, to raise funds and reach out to their community.  I know from firsthand experience that good, hard-working volunteers are hard to come by, and that often a small handful of guys end up carrying the weight of the efforts.  That’s why it is so important that we all get involved with one (or more) of these organizations to make a lasting impact in our community.  Find the one that most interests you, and make an effort to get involved in 2012.

3) Take some time to soak it all in

This one should be the easiest to accomplish, but is probably the one most often overlooked.  I simply challenge each and every one of you to take some time out this year, while you are in the field or the stand, to stop and soak in your surroundings.  Soak in that sunrise or sunset, marvel at the squirrels, chasing each other, and storing away their food for the winter.  Just take a deep breath and enjoy the magnificent creation in which we have been entrusted.  While there is nothing wrong with taking your hunting seriously, be sure that it doesn’t become so serious that we lose the joy of why we are out there.  Take some time this year to just enjoy your time in the field…regardless of whether you pull the trigger or fling an arrow.

4) Try something new

This is the one that I often have the hardest time with.  I always joke that I don’t need another hobby, and there is a lot of truth to that, but there is always time to give something new a chance.  It can be a completely new type of hunting, or just a new method to something you already hunt.  For instance, I hope to make 2012 the year that I FINALLY give traditional archery a try.  I have been thinking and talking about it for years, and it just feels like a good time to find out if it is something I will enjoy.  I also want to get back into squirrel hunting, because it is something that my 12-year old son is interested in doing.  For others, maybe it is predator hunting, or waterfowl hunting…maybe you have been wanting to give crossbow hunting a try.  Whatever that interest is that you’ve been contemplating for years, make 2012 the year you finally give it try!

5) Hone your skills

Maybe you could use this resolution, or maybe you already got this one under control.  I know for myself, however, that I can always use a little more archery practice (among many other things!).  So, whatever your weapon of choice, think about investing a little more time in 2012 to hone your shooting skills.  Or, maybe you’re a diehard turkey hunter that wants to hone your turkey calling skills…same could hold true for waterfowl hunters.  Whatever your passion, set a goal this year to hone your craft a little more than you have in the past.  It just may make for your best season ever.

Regardless of what it is that you hope to accomplish for 2012, be sure to take some time to think it through and put it down on paper.  Reflect on it ofter, and plan often and accordingly to make those goals a reality.  Lets all strive for a better 2012, both in the field and at home.

Please take a minute to share your thoughts on this article, or share some of your new year’s resolutions for 2012.  Also, for more detailed information on setting hunting goals, check out the January issue of Kentucky Outdoors the Magazine.

(Watch the video of this close encounter below)

For those of you following along, you know that one of the bucks that I am after is a nice 10-pointer that we’ve named “Mr. Crabs” because of his unique crab claw on the end of each main beam.  Prior to the season opening, he was showing up every evening during daylight hours.  Then, he suddenly moved to a more nocturnal pattern, only showing up every couple of days.

After hunting that stand twice and only seeing one small buck,  a doe (which we couldn’t get a shot at), and a fawn.  We were trying to play things smart and only hunt the stand once or twice a week, as to not wear the spot out.  On Thursday, September 15th, a cold front had passed through and temps were down in the upper 60s with a wind out of the north.  Hoping this drop in temps would have the deer up on their feet, we headed to the stand with high hopes of filling a tag.

Around 7pm, a small buck slipped into our setup and started feeding.  With an hour of daylight left, we were hoping this was a good sign of what was to come.  Sure enough, not 15 minutes later, I spotted movement out in front of me.  I could tell it was a decent buck, but wasn’t sure which one, at this point.  As the buck neared, it became apparent that it wasn’t either of my hit list bucks, but a decent 8 pointer that had just recently showed up on our trail cams.  Almost immediately after making out the 8-pointer, I caught another glimpse of movement behind him.  It was Mr. Crabs! I couldn’t believe my eyes.  My adrenaline immediately kicked into overdrive.

The 8 pointer came straight into our setup and started feeding with the small buck.  Showing his older, wiser ways, Mr. Crabs circled around much more cautiously.  It was an emotional roller coaster, as one minute he would appear to be coming in, and the next he would turn and act like he was leaving.  FINALLY, he seemed to commit and was coming right in to our setup.  He needed about 3 to 4 more steps to get into my main shooting lane, but suddenly froze as if he knew something wasn’t quite right.  Then, just as he came in, he backed up and headed out.  At one point I drew, as he was about to step into a smaller, but manageable shooting lane, but once again he denied me by turning directly away from me and walking away…leaving me without a shot.  An exciting encounter that definitely pumps me up for the rest of the season.  Hopefully this won’t be my last encounter with Mr. Crabs.

One thing is for sure.  The next big cold front that comes through…you can be sure I’ll be sitting in that stand, patiently awaiting his return.

Till next time,

Brian

Close Encounter w/ Mr. Crabs

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My son Dakota with his first buck - 2009

With deer season just days away, to say I’m a little excited would be an understatement!  The 7 month wait is over, and it’s finally about time to slip by into the deer woods and see if I can’t let the air out of a few deer – and capture it all on video.  Of course, it helps to have a great looking 10-pointer coming in daily to pose for the Spypoint trail camera!  But that’s not what really fires me up about the upcoming deer season.  I’m excited because my son and wife will both be joining me in the deer woods this year with a bow in their hands for the first time.  Now, that’s something to get stoked about!

After getting my son’s bow a few days ago from good friend and prostaffer Billie Crider, we headed out to Kings Archery to get it all set up.  Scott and his staff do a great job of working with new shooters, taking the time to make sure the bow’s draw length and poundage were just right, and that everything on the bow was working as it should.  Even though Dakota had never really shot a bow with sights/peep sight, they had him shooting a pretty decent group at 10 yards in a matter of minutes.  Sure,  it’s going to take a few weeks of solid practice before I feel comfortable letting him draw back on a deer, but I am already anticipating our first bowhunt together.

To top things off, when we got home from getting the bow all set up, I had my wife, Tina, draw it back and it fit her perfectly.  She has wanted to get out more with me for a while now, and fitting in hunts during a very short 16 day gun season is always tough (although she has managed to kill 2 deer on 2 hunts over the last two season…not too shabby!).  With nearly 5 months of bow season, there should be a lot of opportunities to spend time together in the field.

While killing that big 10-pointer (Mr. Crabs) on video would be extremely rewarding, nothing could make this season more special than getting to see my son and wife harvest their first deer with a bow.  I hope you’ll follow along, as the season progresses and see how things go.  I will be posting regular blog entries, video clips, etc., to keep you updated.

Brian

A couple weeks back, however, I did squeak in an afternoon to get out with the kids and hang a couple of my Spypoint trail cameras.  It felt great just to get out the house for a while, and I instantly went into the “kid-before-Christmas” mode waiting to check them and see what was cruising my favorite hunting spot.  A week later, I was headed back to the farm to see what I “caught” on the Spypoints.  The results were bitter sweet.  On the positive side, I had quite a few pictures, and most of them were during daylight hours.  The down side was that every deer pic I had was of slickheads…not a buck to be found!  Since the deer had really just started finding the corn over the last few days, I decided to leave the cameras alone for one more week.  If I didn’t have any bucks at that point, I would start moving them around in search of a bachelor group.

A week later, Cory and myself were headed back out with the intentions of moving the cameras, especially one in particular that only had about 1/3 of the pictures that the second camera had.  But when we got to that camera to check the card, I was shocked to see that we had almost 300 pics since the last visit.  I was even MORE shocked when we started looking at the pictures!

Crab Claws

El Diablo

Looks like Cory and myself had our first “Hit List” bucks.  The smaller of the two is a 10-pointer that’s main beams come back and almost touch.  He has two very distinct “crab claws” – one at the end of each main beam that has resulted in us calling him “Crab Claws”.  Original, I know.  The bigger buck is an absolute beast of a deer.  I have to believe he is a 5 ½ year old deer, as he has the classic pot belly, short looking legs, broad neck, etc., not to mention the tremendous amount of mass he is packing on his 8-point rack.  We have aptly named him “El Diablo”.

While neither buck may be “Boone & Crockett” caliber, I would be more than happy to let the air out of either one, and will do so if given the chance!

A third camera check has also revealed that Crab Claws is coming in every evening during daylight hours, and sometimes visits twice (once around 6:30pm and again between 8:00 and 8:30pm).  El Diablo is a bit more cautious, typically only showing up after dark.  He did pop up one day right in the middle of the day, but that was his last daylight appearance.

With two weeks to go, I’ve got to get over there very soon and hang a stand set as quietly as possible…hopefully during or right before a rain shower to alleviate the worry of leaving a bunch of scent behind.  Given the right wind, we will definitely be sitting in a stand nearby on the opening evening of deer season!  I’ll keep you posted on how things go.

Brian

Sunday's haul from Lake Cumberland

Myself and prostaffer Cory McBride recently spent the weekend on Lake Cumberland striper fishing with Captain Jim Durham and Captain Larry Ulmer of StriperFun guide service. As our luck would have it, we chose the exact date that the Corp of Engineers decided to open up the dam and start dropping the lake. Despite the setback, Larry and Jim were able to find the fish and we had a great time reeling in a mess of 24 to 28 inch fish. This was the first time that Cory and me had ever striper fished, so we were able to learn a lot and have a successful trip thanks to our guides. As always, we had the cameras rolling, and you’ll be able to see exactly how we did when the show airs sometime in August (we’ll keep you posted on the exact date).

StiperFun is based out of Lee’s Ford Marina, just outside of Somerset. The folks at Lee’s Ford put us up in a nice cabin and treated us to some first class eating at their restaurant, which was conveniently located just across the street from the cabin! If you’re interested in trying your hand at Striper fishing, or just want to spend a quiet weekend away at Lake Cumberland, contact the folks at Striper Fun and Lee’s Ford Marina and they will hook you up. Tell ‘em that Poor Boys sent you!

“When seeking out a trail camera manufacturer to partner with, we looked for a company that provided the highest quality product available at an affordable price,” said Brian Grossman, president of Poor Boys Outdoors, LLC. “As our name implies, we cater to the average, hard working, blue-collar hunter that has to stretch every dollar as far as he or she can. Based on those requirements, Spypoint was the hands down winner.”

“I think what impressed us most was their ease of use,” said Grossman, “along with the fact that trigger speeds were quick, both the sensor and flash reach were impressive and the overall quality of the pictures were great.”

Spypoint offers a variety of cameras – from the 5MP IR-5, up to the 12MP PRO-X Plus model, which not only takes video, but records sound as well.  Along with their full line of cameras, Spypoint also offers a variety of accessories, including memory card viewers, rechargeable battery packs, and security cases and locks to make sure your cameras stay were you put them! For more information about Spypoint Cameras, check out their website at www.spypoint.com/EN/home.html .

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]]> http://www.poorboysoutdoors.com/2011/03/poor-boys-outdoors-partners-with-spypoint-cameras/feed/ 0 http://www.poorboysoutdoors.com/2011/03/spending-the-day-at-walkabout-farms/ http://www.poorboysoutdoors.com/2011/03/spending-the-day-at-walkabout-farms/#comments Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:52:41 +0000 Brian Grossman http://www.poorboysoutdoors.com/?p=1448

Last Saturday, Poor Boys Outdoors prostaffers Brian Grossman, Jason Waddle and Justin Baird were fortunate enough to spend the day with some good friends down at Walkabout Farms in Boston, KY.  Walkabout is a full service hunting preserve that offers a variety of bird hunting packages, including pheasant, quail and chukar.  You can bring your own dogs, or use some of the fine dogs available on site.  The food, accommodations and hospitality were all first class.

The young guys did most of the shooting, while us “older” guys ran cameras and done the occasional clean up job.  At the end of the day, 38 quail, 8 pheasant and 1 chukar had hit the ground and I think I can safely say everyone had a great time.  We were able to get some excellent footage of the days events, which we will feature on an episode of Season 2 beginning in July!

Now it’s time to turn our attention to the upcoming youth turkey season, which is less than 2 weeks away.  Stay tuned as we’ll be updating regularly as the season progresses.

For more information on Walkabout Farms, or to book a hunt, check out their website at http://www.walkaboutfarms.net or give Danny Meredith a call at (502) 609-2849.

Poor Boys Outdoors is please to announce that it will be expanding its coverage this July to a nearly statewide audience with the addition of Wazoo Sports Network.

Founded in 2007, Wazoo Sports, Inc. is a Regional Sports Network that delivers original Kentucky sports programming twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, including LIVE broadcasts of high school, NCAA, NAIA and youth sports on television and over the Internet. Wazoo Sports has aired over 325 live games online since December 2007 and has broadcast 37 games on television including NBC, ABC and FOX affiliates during the 2008-2009 basketball season.  Since sports and the outdoors go hand-in-hand, Poor Boys Outdoors decided that the Wazoo Network would be a great way to expand our current coverage to an audience that is likely to already have an interest in hunting and fishing.

“The Wazoo Sports Network will allow us to bring Poor Boys Outdoors to the Lexington and Owensboro markets, as well as across much of eastern Kentucky and several counties in the west.” said Brian Grossman, founder and president of Poor Boys Outdoors.  ”We feel like its definitely a win-win situation for both PBO and Wazoo.”

While the exact airtime has not been nailed down, it will be a weekend time slot similar to the 3:30pm slot that they will have with WBNA21.  For more information on Wazoo Sports Network, check out their website at http://www.wazoosports.com

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Poor Boys Outdoors is pleased to announce that Muddy Outdoors has committed to remaining a key partner for the 2011 season.  Muddy manufactures camera arms, treestands, climbing sticks and safety harnesses with the goal of “Delivering category leading gear for the best value in the hunting industry.”

To say that they are meeting that goal would be an understatement.  Muddy continues to lead the pack in producing innovative and affordable products while maintaining customer service that is second to none.  Poor Boys Outdoors is proud to be associated with such a company and looks forward to a long and productive relationship with Muddy Outdoors.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the all new Muddy commercial on Season 2 of Poor Boys Outdoors, premiering in July.  For more information on Muddy products, visit their website at http://www.gomuddy.com

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