Catching Up

I realize that things have been awfully slow lately around here at NC Outdoor Ramblings. I could come up with any number of reasons (or excuses, truth be told) about why there has been a lack of blogging on my part, but rather than do that, I thought I'd share some of the highlights from the past few months that occurred while the blog has been neglected. I would say that I'm going to try to keep things updated a little more frequently around here, but then again I know better than to try to make a promise that I'm not sure I'll be able to keep. Since they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, I'll try to use that to make up for the thousands of words I'm behind writing on here.

Some of these pictures will have their own posts written in the near future, along with more details provided about the story behind them. Here's what's been going on since hunting season has kicked into full swing around here.

Dove and 20 Gauge

The season started off with a bang in September, much like it did in 2012, with the opening day of dove season. The usual suspects got together for the opening day hunt, and then a few days later I still had the dove hunting bug but nowhere to go since I was a guest of some friends on opening day and didn't have access to the cornfields we were hunting by myself. I decided to do a little scouting around at the farm I hunt, and found a few doves flying back and forth to the pond located below the barn. I found out that a motorized decoy and a little cover to hide in would allow me to have a few shots, and I decided to try out a new 20 gauge over-and-under that I had purchased after Christmas last year. The combination of decoying birds and the 20 gauge made for a couple of exciting afternoons, and some very tasty dove breasts for the grill.

Muzzleloader Buck

The week after dove season brought the opening of archery season in western North Carolina, and while I was able to get out and do a little hunting during September, I didn't have any luck. I did see a few deer, but never had a shot at any. Then came October and muzzleloader season. I had gotten a new muzzleloader for Christmas last year, and I was anxious to try it out. I guess now I should admit that my luck with a muzzleloader has been less than stellar. I had missed two or three deer over the years with a muzzleloader, and had never been able to successfully harvest a deer during muzzleloader season. In my defense, it did seem like bad luck because I was always very careful to make sure that my muzzleloader was sighted in, but for whatever reason my scope would get bumped or something else would go wrong. I'm just thankful that the shots I had taken at deer were clean misses, instead of wounding one and not recovering it. This year, I felt like maybe a new gun would change my luck. The first day of the season, I slipped in the woods after work and it wasn't an hour or so until two deer made an appearance. A squeeze of the trigger, lots of smoke and noise, and when everything cleared I had my first muzzleloader deer.

Making a European Mount

I decided I wanted to try my had at a little simple taxidermy after I harvested my buck, and with the help of a good friend who had done it before I made a European mount. I enjoyed the process, and I think that I will be doing this for any bucks that don't wind up getting mounted by a taxidermist. I think they make a unique trophy and great memento of an exciting hunt.

I was also able to film a couple deer from the stand during muzzleloader season. These two does and little spike were close enough to touch at one point, and it made for an exciting morning in the stand. During the time between muzzleloader and rifle season, I did get out and bow hunt a couple of times, but not nearly as much as I had intended to.

Two of the beagles working a thicket

As the end of November approached, I found myself getting more and more excited about the upcoming rifle season, and hopefully the rut as well. I was lucky enough to get an invitation to go rabbit hunting on opening day, which falls on the Saturday before our gun season opens on the following Monday. We had a good time and managed a few rabbits between all of us, and more importantly I got the chance to see the beagles work and walk a few miles carrying a shotgun. It just whetted my appetite for all the rabbit hunts that will hopefully follow the end of deer season next week.

Dave and I with his buck

After the rabbit hunt on Saturday, rifle season finally opened for us here in western North Carolina. I've spent every day that I could in the stand, and have managed to see a few deer here and there, but I have yet to pull the trigger. One thing that got me more excited than usual about this year's deer season was my father-in-law asked if he could possibly tag along for a few hunts. He is originally from northwest Pennsylvania, and grew up around deer hunting but had never been himself. He's always enjoyed venison, and I've noticed the last year or two just how excited he gets when my brother-in-law or myself have managed to get a deer. I've invited him to come hunting the last few years, but he took me by surprise when he asked to go this year. He was able to harvest his first deer while hunting with me this year, and this is a story that deserves its own post. I plan to write up the whole story for the blog very soon.

That pretty much wraps up my ramblings for the last few months. We've got another week left of rifle season here, and after that I'm looking forward to doing some rabbit and squirrel hunting. Also, I've found myself thinking more and more lately about smallmouth bass and rising trout. I do believe I will have to start tying a few flies and looking for some warm days where I can get up to the mountains to try to fool a few trout. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy what little is left of deer season, and enjoy spending time with my family over Christmas. As always, thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings.

- Joseph

Beagle Music

Last Saturday, I once again had the opportunity to go rabbit hunting with some good friends and good beagles. We started our day hunting a cut over that was a few years old, and was thick with head high briars and small trees. It was excellent rabbit habitat, and the beagles jumped several rabbits, but it presented a challenge to us hunters, both in visibility and mobility. I did see a woodcock flush out of a swampy little creek, and one of the hunters did manage a rabbit, but overall it was difficult to see any of the rabbits the dogs were running.

The cut over where we started

After spending an hour or two hunting this thicket, we moved to another spot across the road that was a little less thick and we were able to have a successful day hunting. This area was more open woods with a couple fields that were full of broom sage, but not the head high briars that we had encountered earlier. There were several smaller thickets in these fields, and it just had the look of good rabbit habitat. In the distance, there was snow on the Blue Ridge mountains, and it made a scenic backdrop for the day's hunt.

Snow on the Blue Ridge (background) with the South Mountains in the foreground

 The dogs jumped several rabbits, and to my surprise, about half of the rabbits we jumped were hiding in the high broom sage in the fields, rather than in the briar thickets that were scattered throughout the field. We did jump several rabbits in the thickets, but I had never seen so many rabbits hiding in the middle of fields. I guess the broom sage was high and thick enough to provide them with adequate cover.

Some of the hunting party in the woods

All in all, it was a great day to be outdoors, and I never get tired of seeing and hearing the beagles make their own special music as they trail a rabbit. I've often thought that there's a lesson to be learned from these wonderful little dogs. They approach their "job" with an excitement and enthusiasm that is hard to match anywhere else. 

Beagles working out a track

Rabbit season is quickly coming to a close here in North Carolina, with February 28 marking the last day of most of our small game seasons, including rabbit, squirrel, and quail. I'm going to miss the Saturday morning fellowship and the walks following the dogs, but I know that it won't be too long until it will be time for us to get together to hear that wonderful beagle music once again. 

Thanks for stopping by!

- Joseph

Cabbage, Rabbits, and Giving Back

The last few weeks have been busy ones for me, which is the excuse I'm going to give for the recent lack of blog posts. It seems like this time of year would be a slow time for me as an outdoorsman, with deer season over and fishing possible but not likely for the next month or two. However, it's been just the opposite. Here's a rambling account of the month of January, as it relates to my outdoor pursuits.

Beagles working the thicket

A couple of Saturdays ago I went on another rabbit hunt, but this hunt involved lots of walking through some good looking rabbit cover with the dogs only jumping one rabbit. It was still a nice day to be outdoors with good dogs and good friends, and a walk in the woods is always worthwhile, rabbits or not. It was a mystery that we didn't jump more rabbits, because we were hunting areas that had been productive for us during past seasons. It seemed more like a deer hunt instead of a rabbit hunt, as we jumped deer several times during the course of the day. Luckily the dogs left the deer alone for the most part, although they did have to be called off of the first group of deer that we jumped.

Clay watching for a rabbit

In the meantime, the cabbage plants that my wife and I set out back during the fall were finally ready to be harvested. I'm not too much of a winter gardener but I do usually grow a few cabbage and occasionally some broccoli. There is something about being able to pick fresh vegetables in January that still amazes me, and the slaw and cooked cabbage was a nice compliment to a meal of pintos and cornbread on a cold night. I'm not sure if it's just the fact that we grew it or not, but cabbage from the garden always seems to have a different flavor than cabbage from the grocery store. It could be my imagination, but it does give me an excuse to plant a few every year.

My wife Trina with a winter cabbage from the garden

This past Saturday a good friend and I went squirrel hunting, but once again it turned out to be a nice walk in the woods carrying a .22 rifle. It was the day after we had experienced some nasty winter weather, and I think this might have affected the squirrel movement. We covered a lot of ground, and did manage to find some several rubbed trees that the deer had left behind, but we didn't see a single squirrel. We did hear two barred owls calling to each other, and found some fresh scratchings left behind by a flock of turkeys.

Hunter Safety Instructor Badge

To top it all off, this week I have been helping teach Hunter Safety after school. This past summer a friend and fellow agriculture teacher and I took the course to become certified NC Hunter Safety Volunteer Instructors and this week marks the second time we have taught the class. I'm thoroughly enjoying teaching this, both because I love any chance to share my passion for the outdoors, and also because I feel like in some small way I'm helping preserve the outdoor lifestyle for future generations. It makes me feel good to know that some of my students share my love of the outdoors, and hopefully through that they will become motivated to become the next generation of sportsmen conservationists.

It has been a busy January for sure, but all the different directions my outdoor ramblings have taken me in this past month have only helped make it more interesting.

Thanks for stopping by!

- Joseph

Small Game Saturday

This past Saturday, with deer season over and Christmas and New Year's behind me, I got the opportunity to go rabbit hunting with some good friends. I've never owned any beagles myself, but I have been fortunate enough to have friends that have beagles and don't mind me tagging along. We started out around 9:00 am and the dogs jumped a rabbit within the first few minutes after we got into the briers.

Starting the Hunt

 From there on, it was steady action with the dogs jumping rabbits from all the likely places. For anyone who has never been rabbit hunting, let me say this - a running rabbit presents a pretty good challenge, especially if your shotgun skills are a little rusty like mine were. The last rabbit hunt I had been on was at the end of the season last February, so needless to say I missed more rabbits than I hit. I did manage one rabbit, but missed a few others. Fortunately my hunting companions were better shots than I was that day. In all, our group ended up with 10 rabbits, and there were a few that got away.

Dale with a rabbit

For me, rabbit hunting has always been about the dogs. I enjoy eating fried rabbit about as much as any wild game, but the big draw for me is seeing the beagles work out a trail and listening to their music as they trail a rabbit through the briers and brush. I have often said that if I had more time to work with them, I would like to get some beagles myself. For the present though, I'm thankful that I have friends who invite me to hunt with them. We had a successful morning, and jumped a dozen or so rabbits, along with a covey of quail. I was excited to see the bobwhites, because they have become scarce around home in the last several years.

Luke and Dale

 We had planned to wind up our hunt around 1:00 pm, and by 1:30 or so we had the dogs caught and loaded up. After the usual story telling around the tailgate, it was time to call it a day. My friend Luke and I had decided the day before that after we finished rabbit hunting, there would be plenty of time left in the day to go squirrel hunting for a few hours.

Tired after a day of hunting

Squirrel hunting was my introduction to the sport of hunting, and for several years was the main type of hunting I did. When I was young, there weren't that many deer around home, and there were even less when my Dad was growing up. Dad has never been a deer or turkey hunter, but squirrel, rabbit, and dove hunting were what he grew up doing. He introduced me to these when I was young, and I've never lost my enjoyment of small game hunting. I'm grateful that I was introduced to hunting this way, because squirrel hunting taught me skills that helped me when I decided to try hunting deer and turkeys, patience being among the key lessons.

Gray Squirrel

After everyone left from our rabbit hunt, Luke and I swapped our shotguns for .22 rifles and headed to the woods to see if we could have any success with the squirrels. We managed three in an hour or two of hunting, and it was a fitting end to the day. Then it was time to clean the squirrels and rabbits, and prepare for some good eating down the road. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday outdoors than with good friends and good dogs. I truly enjoy deer and turkey hunting, but I think that when I have children and the time comes to introduce them to hunting, it will be on a hardwood ridge with a .22 rifle or 20 gauge shotgun and hopefully a tree full of squirrels. I don't know of any better way to pass on the same values and appreciation of hunting and nature that Dad taught me many years ago.

Thanks for stopping by!

- Joseph