Red Russian, Proud Uncle, Happy Nephew

Joseph Creath - Great Guide & all around excellent man, Paul Jr., me & Garrett "Safety" Bennett
Hanging Hog

Ribs on the Smoker Baby!

Garrett & I with his harvest

Garrett had never been hunting before he moved here to Georgia. I remember my Uncle Jerry taking me when I was about his age - I was hooked!

Garrett didn't like the early morning hunts & truth be told, neither do I. He's hunted faithfully with me for 2 seasons now. He got the knick-name "Safety" for missing a doe due to his safety being on & the hammer stopping short with a 'click' - The deer had enough of that & I had to take the shot. He asked how long he'd have that name & I told him until he got a deer. That was 2 years ago & its stuck with him. He is also very careful & has the best muzzle control of a greenhorn hunter that I've ever seen. So his name started off as a jab but ended up as a compliment.

Yesterday evening we ran down to the Creath plantation as we call it. The Creath's have around 50 acres in Perry. Joseph met us & we killed some time fishing. I caught three nice bass - one over 5 lbs.

Then we headed to the back fields where the hogs had been sighted.

We got into position & lay down under some low hanging branches that afforded us a great view of the field. The pigs were supposed to come out in front of us across the field but as fate would have it, they flanked us & entered the field very close to us on OUR side. There were 12 wild pigs in all. 5 large shooters & 7 small piglets.

Garrett is left handed & left eyed so this was a perfect set up for him. Joseph, our guide, handled everything so smoothly. He told us when to be still & when to get set up for the shot. Then when the piglets got nervous & headed back to the woods, He picked out the Red Russian sow & told Garrett to shoot her.

Garrett is the calmest rookie hunter I've ever seen. He's just a natural - able to control his emotions, line up the cross hairs & squeeze off a shot as the whole herd is headed back to the woods. There was a lot of pressure on him but his shot rang out & the pigs scattered. He said, "Great, I missed!" due to all the pigs bolting & squealing into the woods. When his red pig hit the forest line, it piled up & began squealing for all it was worth. Joseph instructed us to stay put & he ran over & put a 40 cal. pistol round between the ears. All was quiet except for the congratulations. I was so proud of Garrett & I think he was a little proud of himself.

I asked God to give Garrett success as we were lying there waiting for the pigs to show up. God answered that prayer with one of the most memorable hunts I can remember.

Way to go "Safety"!

A Hole In One to Remember!

During bow season this year our good buddy Phil had this buck walk out just 20 yards or so from his blind. He waited patiently for a decent crossbow shot. The buck finally gave him a quartering away shot. Phil leaned in, aimed, & squeezed the trigger. Just when the bolt took flight, the buck turned slightly...HOLE IN ONE!

I'm not making this up. The poor thing didn't run that far ( I understand that!). When Ken came to pick Phil up he says that, "Phil had a sheepish look on his face". "Did you get anything" asked Ken. "A buck, come & see" replied Phil sheepishly. Ken said when he saw that deer, he just busted out laughing.

Right then, Ken hatched a plan to get a replica mount of Phil's "Hole in One" & give it to him for Chirstmas. I don't know if you can hear Ken on the video but he says, "We were going to get the front end mounted but we couldn't get the look off his face!"

The Hole in One now hangs proudly over Phil's desk in his office. Now when he's having a bad day, all he has to do is to look up & realize..."It could be a lot worse!"

No Way!

The above is the summit viper classic climbing stand. I have to make a confession here - I've been lusting after this thing since before hunting season started. We've come on some lean times financially & I just couldn't see my way clear to buy it. I can usually talk myself into any selfish purchase but no dice this time.
One of the features I really like is the quick connect system that is very quiet as well as quick. The solid climbing brackets were also a great feature.
My hunting partner & mentor, Mr. Ken Goings, has been an off the hook blessing to me this past year. He manages a 1,000 hunting club in Crawford county. I hunted Turkey with him there this past spring. I lost my lease in Monroe county this past summer. Ken decided to give me a membership to his club which he paid for. We've had some amazing hunts there already this year. I harvested 2 does last Friday morning. I shot one at 8 a.m. & one at 9 a.m. Both were big does. Ken took an even bigger doe that evening & one two days later.
On opening day of bow season, Ken noticed that the cable on my climbing stand was cut nearly in two. He advised me not to use it. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't take his advice & I was pretty nervous.
Ken called me Monday to meet up with me so I could pick up the cooler with the last deer in it. We met at Dicks sporting goods in Macon. I put the cooler in my truck & Ken then sheepishly admitted that he had an ulterior motive. With that Goings grin he said, "I'm gonna get you an early Christmas present - the Summit Viper climbing stand." NO WAY!!!
I am the very proud new owner of the latest in quick & quiet climbing technology! I cannot wait to give it a test run soon.
God has sure blessed me with good friends like Ken. He meets not only my needs but my wants as well. Simply Amazing!

Vintage Ben

Ben is his own man...even though he's still a little boy. I took him hunting last Sunday evening. We sat for 3 hours in a cramped & rickety stand. He did great! At one point he heard some leaves rustling & said, "I hear a deer!" I figured it was an armidillo as they sound like an elephant coming through the woods. Sure enough it was. I watched Ben as he first spyed the armor plated pest. He 'wispered' - "look Daddy, a piggy!"

Gotta love that boy!

Recent Pics

Turns out Emma is the one baby of ours that doesn't like Daddy's harmonica playing! I tried fast, slow, happy - nothing doing - she listened for a few bars & cried. Everyone's a critic!
Lauging with Momma! Beth had her laughing out loud for the first time. Glad I was there to see & hear it

Ben cleaned up on High Ho Cherio! I'm thinking of taking that kid to Vegas!

So exciting to be in 36 pants again! Zija Weight Management System is the bomb! Check it out at www.drdz777.myzija.com

Laughing with Daddy...as long as he doesn't play the harmonica!

Gut Be Gone!!!

Random pics found on the camera. Anna's close up

Ben's first deer hunting trip. He did great!

Virgin Hunter & An Epic Hunt

My nephew Josh came by for a visit this past week. I haven't seen him in a quite some time. He asked about going hunting so Jr. & I took him. Josh couldn't believe that you just sat still for hours. I could tell this wasn't going to work for him so after about an hour we did some stalking hunting. We covered about a mile & saw 7 armadillos. One just about ran over Josh's sneakers! He was amazed by that. We did jump 2 deer but we didn't have a shot. Along about 6:15 pm we heard a shot ring out over near where Jr. was hunting.

When we got there, Jr. was knelt down near the entrance to the forest. I told Josh that he was either kneeling by the deer or by the last blood drops. It was last blood. We marked it & Jr. & I made a few careful forays into the dense woods. No deer.

We needed a better flashlight for tracking. The way the blood trail dried up, I figured we'd better give this animal time to die & not push it clear to the next county!

So we went to town & got a couple of good flash lights & something to drink. After an hour or so we were back to tracking our wounded game.

Josh proved to have excellent eyes for blood tracking. We hit a couple of 'dry' spots but the young fellas with their young eyes always seemed to find the next spot.

We hit a dry creek bed & saw where the deer leaned up against a tree. It was good blood - a lung shot based on the color & the bubbles in it. I told the guys that the deer wouldn't be far. It was 10 yards from that spot but the trail dried up. I decided to drop back into the creek bed to search further down for more blood. Not 15 feet from there was the beautiful young buck.

Jr. put a fantastic shot on him but it was a little high so the blood stayed in the animal which explained the light blood trail.

I knew there was a quicker way out of the woods so I headed due west. I could see the logging road only 20 yards ahead. Then I stumbled over something. When I caught myself I shined the light on a grave from the 1800's. Pastor Washington Cromwell Cleveland - born in 1803 died in 1869. The inscription read, "His death was a triumph of God's Grace"

There was a 7 year old daughter buried next to him with this inscription, "Here lies our sweet little daughter. We will be with her again soon"

One grave with a little lamb on top of the stone was that of a one month old infant.

I had several emotions & oddly enough, fear was not one of them. One was a sense of blessing to find such a lost treasure. The thought of how blessed I am to live in the 21st century where my babies don't die from now curable diseases. I also thought of the truth of those inscriptions. This primitive baptist Pastor knew the same Jesus that I know. He served the same master that I do. I will meet him one day as I sing the praises of the lamb around the throne. It was a hallowed spot & a holy moment. I was reminded that death is as much a part of life as birth is. I was also reminded that one day I too will be laid to rest. People will say nice things about me & then life will go on. I may be as forgotten as Pastor Cleveland only to be discovered again a century & a half later by a Father & Pastor. Maybe my grave will serve to shake him out of the lethargy of the moment and into the urgency of the Kingdom. Here was my take away: Life is short so live for what lasts longest - eternity. Life is hard, ie - burying several of your children - but God is good & you can still die in his service without being bitter at His sovereign hand in your life. Life is good, this world may forget about me & the forest my take over my resting place but because of Christ, no trees of this world will ever blot out what my Jesus did on that old rugged tree on skull hill outside of Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. Life is good because God is good even when you bury your babies. This man died with his pastoral boots on even though several of his babies preceded him in death. The verse that comes to mind is Hebrews 11:4 "He being dead yet speaketh". Pastor Cleveland spoke to me even though he's been dead since 1869 thanks to a well preserved vault stone. He spoke to my son & nephew as well. I reminded them that this was a hallowed spot & that though we would document what we found we would in no way desecrate that place or the memories of that family. They were in full agreement & what a time we had.

Josh was taken a back a bit by his earthy uncle & cousin but was more than up for the traditional face painting for all virgin hunters on their first harvest experience. We let him off the hook really as local tradition calls for a bite out of the still warm heart.

All in all it was an epic hunt. I was proud of my son for his commitment to find that animal even if it took all night. That young man has some great ethics which are the markers of greatness.

What a night, what a hunt, what a God & what a Gospel!

Big Shoes To Fill

Every boy love to wear his Daddy's shoes. Ben loves my boots. So here he is in my new hunting boots. They kind of work like waders for him. He knows how to turn my hat light on without looking just like an old hunter.

I may take him hunting with me before the year is over but after taking Sam the other night, I'll need a few weeks to forget.

Life as of Late...

Vintage Ben
"Stickies"

Garrett aka "Safety" & that waskilly wabbit

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Just some pics of life in the Dziadul Cave as of late.

Deer Deer Everywhere

Well, I took Anna & Becky (my niece) hunting the other night. A young buck walked out but it wasn't big enough to shoot in our hunting club. It meandered into the pines & about 10 minutes later, it came out right under the box stand. What a joy to watch that deer feed literally right under us. Then just at the end of shooting light, a doe walked out. My scope had fogged up as I shot...and I clean missed it.
Then I took my nephew Garrett a few days later for a very early morning hunt. A nice shooter buck walked out & we both shot at the same time...& we both missed. I need to go sight my scope in as I believe it may be a little low. We looked for blood & hair - but there was nothing. We got back in the stand & about 45 minutes later, it was time to leave. I was listening to my voice mail when I looked up & in the fog I saw a deer walk out into the logging road. I literally dropped my phone. I told Garrett to shoot. His safety was on so the hammer dropped & stopped short. The deer heard the click & was ready to bolt. I squeezed the trigger & she dropped down and faltered in the front. I knew I hit her. Garrett was so excited. We got down & when we got to the spot...NO BLOOD! I couldn't believe it! I got on my hands & knees & found some white hairs. Then I found a little piece of meat about the size of a pencil eraser with one white hair in it. I told Garrett that I hit that deer low & way to the front. I couldn't figure out why there was no blood though. We went into the pines and I figured the deer would circle down & away from the stand toward the creek. We searched in concentric erratic circles for about 20 minutes to no avail.
When we got back to the logging road, my son Jr. was walking our way. He is an excellent woodsman. He disagreed with my 'logic' & said the deer was just as likely to circle back towards the stand. He also looked at the evidence on the logging road and said with confidence that the deer was down in these pines. This time I went to the far right. The game trails in there are really something. I was trying to make circles but ended up following a well worn trail. I took me about 80 yards back in the direction of the stand and then took a sharp left...towards the creek. That made sense to me. I walked just a few yards on the down slope of the trail & there lying in the brambles was a nice big healthy doe. I hit her in the brisket & she eventually folded up. I was so thankful that we found her.
What a great experience for Garrett. I've never seen him so excited or energized. The shot was such that we didn't ruin any of the meat. Amazing! God is so good.

More Hunting News

I actually think I'm slowing down on the hunting front. Paul Jr. harvested a big doe on Friday morning. She was betweed 8 & 9 years old based on her teeth. I took a button buck on a quota hunt at Rum Creek WMA. I shot him at a dead run at 250 yards. I'm making corned roasts of of him.
The creath fellas gave me a couple of Virginia deer & my son Zack spent the better part of a day processing the meat. We'll process the two deer from last week on Monday. My niece Becky wants to go hunting so I may take her this week. With my luck we'll get another deer.
I was skinning & gutting my buck at the rum creek check station. Another hunter came up with his buck & we got to talking. Turns out he was a deer processor. Merry Christmas to me! He & his buddy schooled me in the fastest & neatest way to process a deer. What a God send. They were also Christ followers & we had some great fellowship talking about God's Word.
I got to hunt my good friend's land on Saturday morning. I must confess that I was dreaming more about the waffles his wife was making at the house than the deer around us. We had a great time of fellowship that morning. I'll be making my ever evolving venison pin wheels for Thanksgiving again this year. Hopefully I'll have this year's recipe & pics on thanksgiving night to post.
Thanks Chuck for reminding me how lax I've been in my postings.

Ellie's First Deer

My three eldest children were off at a youth retreat this weekend & we had the three youngest at home. Elizabeth mentioned that it would be a good time to take Ellie hunting & spend some time with her. I had just convinced myself of not going hunting on Saturday when my wife mentioned that to me.
Ellie & I got a late start & stopped in the shooting range at the Beaverdam WMA at 3:30 pm. I had to sight in the new 243 youth model rifle that I picked up for a steal last month. It only took 3 shots to zero it in at 40 yards. I gave Ellie some instructions & then she loaded the rifle, aimed, & fired. About an inch to the left of the bull's eye. Next shot, an inch high. Third shot, an inch to the left...good enough.
We drove around & found what looked like a food plot on an aerial map I found of the place on the Internet. Sure enough, just a few hundred yards down a closed logging road was a beautiful food plot just full of deer tracks & sign. It was Walmart for deer. We set up our ground blind with some tangled bushes for a backdrop. Several hours of hushed conversation & reading went by. About 6:15 pm I saw a brown spot at the end of the field. My eyesight is failing (for real) so I asked Ellie to look. "Its a deer daddy!" she whispered with great excitement. She wasn't in the right spot for a shot so she slowly stood up & I moved her stool to give her a shot at the deer. It took her about 5 minutes to find the deer in the scope. By this time the deer had moved to about 75 yards & politely turned broadside for a clean shot. "I see it now" she whispered with an amazing calm. I told her to just squeeze the trigger - "Crack!" - before I finished my instruction.
The deer seemed to drop it's rear end by a couple of inches but it didn't move. I pulled up to take a shot. Just as I squeezed off my shot the deer disappeared from my scope & my shot went off into the woods. "Where did it go?" I asked Ellie. I thought it ran away. "I think it fell over" was her reply. Well, we went to see. Sure enough, there was the young buck (6 points) lying in the tall grass. Ellie is reserved & not really all that excitable but she was shaking with the thrill of all that just took place. We folded up the blind, chairs & hunting bag & together drug the deer to the truck. She assisted in cleaning the deer & our good friends, the Metcalfes, agreed to help skining & quarter the deer at 10 pm on a Saturday. My big boys were at camp & not available.
It was a picture perfect moment that I look forward to having with all my children. I was with Paul Jr. & Zack when they took their first deer. Now Anna is on fire to get her first deer. I hope that happens soon for her so we can all get some rest around here.
(I'll post pics as soon as I get them from Don)

Doe with a Bow

The fruit of my labor & God's provision

Bella meets Bambi

Patience - an elusive virtue that is only needed when not wanted by him in greatest need of it. I shot a nice doe in the same location last year. I gave it an hour & started tracking it. I jumped it, it ran, tracked it over a mile, never recovered it.
Last evening I got to the stand way too late - 6pm. I decided to set up as quietly as possible & sit until dark. I jumped 3 does on the way in - a good & bad sign. About 7 pm I looked to my left & much to my surprise, there was a nice doe not 15 yards from me. I put the pin just behind the shoulder & released. She was quartering away from me so everything was perfect. I listened to her run & heard her crash. Unlike last year, I eased out of the woods, went home to get supper, gear, & help. I gave the deer nearly 3 hours to expire. I figured it would be easy to find her knowing that she was within 30 to 40 yards of the stand. Not so. She made circles all over that swamp. The blood trail all but dried up. I left my girls standing at last blood & started 'making circles'. You walk in 10 yard over lapping circles. It was so thick that 'circles' were impossible. As I made my way back to the girls, I followed a small overgrown creek. On my hands & knees in the mud I came to a tight bend in the creek not 12 feet from the girls & there was the deer, laying partially submerged in the creek. Getting her out of there was a chore as was the next 2 hours or so of getting it quartered & in the cooler.
I was able to take my girls & nephew with me plus my friend Randy & his boys (it was on his land). My son, Paul Jr. came over & was a huge help in processing the deer. I love that he never shys away from hard work. It was a memorable & tiring night. I went to bed at 2 a.m. tired but grateful.

Start Em Young

Sam went on his first "Quirrel" hunt as he says it. We had a blast and it was unforgettable for me. He even had his little toy pistol with him. By some miracle, we actually got a squirrel which made it all the better. As close to a perfect hunt as I can recall. Sam was a real trooper. Zachary was great with his little brother as was Paul Jr. We all carried him as some point that evening. The winter woods are my favorite place to be. The barreness of it all is latent with the promise of life. It is somehow pure. The cold cleans up the place. The winter woods are a hallowed place to me and to be there with my three sons was more than I could ask for.
I'll never forget the satisfaction of that hunt. On the way home I treated my "men" to a coke at the local gas station. What a great time even that was. God has truly blessed my with fine young men and one in the making.