This gem is an awesome video our member cnggack from Minnesota made to showcase the pics entered in the 2008 JHO Game Cam Pic Contest. If you're like me and just love to grab a cup of hot cider and scroll through great animal pics then you're gonna love this montage of wildlife. Enjoy.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone
I'd like to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I'm very thankful to have you here to share my ramblings in the field. Please don't drink and drive or let anyone else either.
I usually venture out every Thanksgiving for a quick hunt and this year had no joy in the local San Bernardino National Forest . This was a small Merriam's hen I shot with my shotgun in the Kaibab National Forest AZ in 2001 during a November hunt.
I'll be heading out this weekend one more time to try and lure in a turkey bird. I actually like hunting turkeys almost better in the fall than the spring. There are less hunters out and not quite the pressure. The turkeys are usually bunched up and more vocal than in the spring in my opinion. Plus you can shoot a hen or tom so your chances of potting one are higher.
I like taking small hens, called "Jennies", in the fall so I can make use of their wingbones for making wingbone yelper calls. The smaller hen bones make a higher pitched sound then the bigger tom turkey wingbones. Here's an example of a wingbone yelper made by my buddy Jim Groenier from Wisconsin.
Native Americans have used wingbone yelpers since as early as 6500 B.C. The first wingbone design of the Native Americans used just the radius bone or mouthpiece of today's designs. In the late 1800's, a call maker named Charles Jordon helped the wingbone yelpers gain popularity with hunters by mass producing the yelpers. Hunters later added cane or the humerus or ulna wingbones to make a new style of 2 bone call. At the turn of the 20th century, callmakers started using trumpet-like bells made of cow horns or wood to make the 3 section calls we know today. Some refer to these trumpet wingbone yelpers as "Turpin" calls. If you'd like to learn how to make a wingbone yelper call click here.
If you're headed out, good luck on pulling a sneak on a fall bird. Let us know how you do by dropping by our Turkey Hunting Forum.
P.S. We're also have a Fall Turkey Hunt Pic Contest on the Turkey Forum. It's here
The winner will receive a nice custom JHO glass call made by Gene's Custom Turkey Calls.
I usually venture out every Thanksgiving for a quick hunt and this year had no joy in the local San Bernardino National Forest . This was a small Merriam's hen I shot with my shotgun in the Kaibab National Forest AZ in 2001 during a November hunt.
I'll be heading out this weekend one more time to try and lure in a turkey bird. I actually like hunting turkeys almost better in the fall than the spring. There are less hunters out and not quite the pressure. The turkeys are usually bunched up and more vocal than in the spring in my opinion. Plus you can shoot a hen or tom so your chances of potting one are higher.
I like taking small hens, called "Jennies", in the fall so I can make use of their wingbones for making wingbone yelper calls. The smaller hen bones make a higher pitched sound then the bigger tom turkey wingbones. Here's an example of a wingbone yelper made by my buddy Jim Groenier from Wisconsin.
Native Americans have used wingbone yelpers since as early as 6500 B.C. The first wingbone design of the Native Americans used just the radius bone or mouthpiece of today's designs. In the late 1800's, a call maker named Charles Jordon helped the wingbone yelpers gain popularity with hunters by mass producing the yelpers. Hunters later added cane or the humerus or ulna wingbones to make a new style of 2 bone call. At the turn of the 20th century, callmakers started using trumpet-like bells made of cow horns or wood to make the 3 section calls we know today. Some refer to these trumpet wingbone yelpers as "Turpin" calls. If you'd like to learn how to make a wingbone yelper call click here.
If you're headed out, good luck on pulling a sneak on a fall bird. Let us know how you do by dropping by our Turkey Hunting Forum.
P.S. We're also have a Fall Turkey Hunt Pic Contest on the Turkey Forum. It's here
The winner will receive a nice custom JHO glass call made by Gene's Custom Turkey Calls.
Friday, October 30, 2009
BIGGEST BUCK EVER IN SAN BERNARDINO D14?
Brace yourself, this one's a doozy for SoCal.
============================================
BIGGEST BUCK EVER? Jim Matthews column-ONS - 29oct09
San Bernardino Mountains' buck may be the biggest ever taken from local mountains
By JIM MATTHEWS, www.OutdoorNewsService.com
Richard Sturgis has hunted deer in the San Bernardino Mountains for over 30 years, and this past Sunday he shot what may be the largest buck ever taken from the region. The old deer was a heavy-horned, symmetrical, five-by-five buck with cheater points protruding out of both sides of the main frame.
"I couldn't believe it was on this mountain," said Sturgis, a 43-year-old San Bernardino resident who has taken at least one buck a year from the local mountains "for as long as I can remember."
Taxidermist Herman Magenheim of Herman's Taxidermy in Beaumont said it was the best buck he's ever seen from the San Bernardino Mountains. "He's a dandy," said Magenheim. He's' a deer you'd have shot in Utah or Colorado, and he's the best I've ever seen here. I'd say he'd score 170 or 180 points [using the Boone and Crocket scoring system."
A 160-point buck of the mule deer subspecies (California) that live in the local mountains is the equivalent of a 220-class Rocky Mountain mule deer, a much bigger subspecies. A buck gross scoring over 170 from the local mountains is simply unprecedented.
Fires that have burned massive areas of the National Forest over the last decade have turned old, decadent chaparral habitat that was poor forage for deer into a veritable supermarket of high value browse. The good feed is growing better antlers and bigger deer, and production has been better in the burn areas.
Mangenheim said he was seeing a lot of quality bucks from all of the local deer zones, and he thought the recent fires were a big factor in the increased number and quality of deer taken in the local mountains.
The late Bonnar Blong, a former Department of Fish and Game deer biologist for this region, said fire suppression was one of the worst things for our local deer herds. Deer thrive in burned areas. One of his colleagues quoted Blong as saying, "The problem with these arsonists is that we need to get them a map. They've got the right idea, but they start these fires in all the wrong places to help our deer."
Recent fires have burned some of the right spots if the latest crop of deer being taken by local hunters is any indication.
Sturgis, who had to pack his boned out and caped buck out of a nasty canyon, said he thought the live weight of his deer was around 200 pounds.. That is a healthy buck.
Hunters will be interested to know this buck wasn't miles into the backcountry. In fact, Sturgis said they spotted the buck from a paved road with a 20-power spotting scope in a steep, rocky area that had been burned five years ago. The buck was spotted Oct. 23, and Sturgis tried to get a hunting buddy in on the buck on Friday. His friend got a shot at the deer, but managed to only punch a hole through the buck's ear and spook it off into a deep canyon.
Sturgis spent the next three days hunting this big deer and finally got his chance Wednesday when he spotted the buck again. His long stalk brought him within range of the buck, but the deer sensed or heard Sturgis and was moving over a small saddle. Winded, Sturgis decided not to take a hurried shot like his hunting buddy had done Friday. Sturgis climbed higher and sat down, watching a clearing and ridgeline. The buck snuck back up over the ridge and Sturgis made the 200 yard shot in the late afternoon.
While it was only about an hour hike to the truck, it took Sturgis until past dark to backpack the meat and cape out to his vehicle out of the nasty canyon where it ended up after the shot.
"It took me 30 years to get a buck like this," said Sturgis. "I doubt if I'll ever see another one this big."
End article
=========================================
Congrats Richard, there are some of us with tags who won't sleep a wink now after seeing that pic. Heck of a buck for D14.
FYI for those licking the screen and wondering if there are any D14 tags left, the zone sold out this year for the first time in a few years. The Station Fire closure pushed a lot of D11 hunters over our way I think this year.
============================================
BIGGEST BUCK EVER? Jim Matthews column-ONS - 29oct09
San Bernardino Mountains' buck may be the biggest ever taken from local mountains
By JIM MATTHEWS, www.OutdoorNewsService.com
Richard Sturgis has hunted deer in the San Bernardino Mountains for over 30 years, and this past Sunday he shot what may be the largest buck ever taken from the region. The old deer was a heavy-horned, symmetrical, five-by-five buck with cheater points protruding out of both sides of the main frame.
"I couldn't believe it was on this mountain," said Sturgis, a 43-year-old San Bernardino resident who has taken at least one buck a year from the local mountains "for as long as I can remember."
Taxidermist Herman Magenheim of Herman's Taxidermy in Beaumont said it was the best buck he's ever seen from the San Bernardino Mountains. "He's a dandy," said Magenheim. He's' a deer you'd have shot in Utah or Colorado, and he's the best I've ever seen here. I'd say he'd score 170 or 180 points [using the Boone and Crocket scoring system."
A 160-point buck of the mule deer subspecies (California) that live in the local mountains is the equivalent of a 220-class Rocky Mountain mule deer, a much bigger subspecies. A buck gross scoring over 170 from the local mountains is simply unprecedented.
Fires that have burned massive areas of the National Forest over the last decade have turned old, decadent chaparral habitat that was poor forage for deer into a veritable supermarket of high value browse. The good feed is growing better antlers and bigger deer, and production has been better in the burn areas.
Mangenheim said he was seeing a lot of quality bucks from all of the local deer zones, and he thought the recent fires were a big factor in the increased number and quality of deer taken in the local mountains.
The late Bonnar Blong, a former Department of Fish and Game deer biologist for this region, said fire suppression was one of the worst things for our local deer herds. Deer thrive in burned areas. One of his colleagues quoted Blong as saying, "The problem with these arsonists is that we need to get them a map. They've got the right idea, but they start these fires in all the wrong places to help our deer."
Recent fires have burned some of the right spots if the latest crop of deer being taken by local hunters is any indication.
Sturgis, who had to pack his boned out and caped buck out of a nasty canyon, said he thought the live weight of his deer was around 200 pounds.. That is a healthy buck.
Hunters will be interested to know this buck wasn't miles into the backcountry. In fact, Sturgis said they spotted the buck from a paved road with a 20-power spotting scope in a steep, rocky area that had been burned five years ago. The buck was spotted Oct. 23, and Sturgis tried to get a hunting buddy in on the buck on Friday. His friend got a shot at the deer, but managed to only punch a hole through the buck's ear and spook it off into a deep canyon.
Sturgis spent the next three days hunting this big deer and finally got his chance Wednesday when he spotted the buck again. His long stalk brought him within range of the buck, but the deer sensed or heard Sturgis and was moving over a small saddle. Winded, Sturgis decided not to take a hurried shot like his hunting buddy had done Friday. Sturgis climbed higher and sat down, watching a clearing and ridgeline. The buck snuck back up over the ridge and Sturgis made the 200 yard shot in the late afternoon.
While it was only about an hour hike to the truck, it took Sturgis until past dark to backpack the meat and cape out to his vehicle out of the nasty canyon where it ended up after the shot.
"It took me 30 years to get a buck like this," said Sturgis. "I doubt if I'll ever see another one this big."
End article
=========================================
Congrats Richard, there are some of us with tags who won't sleep a wink now after seeing that pic. Heck of a buck for D14.
FYI for those licking the screen and wondering if there are any D14 tags left, the zone sold out this year for the first time in a few years. The Station Fire closure pushed a lot of D11 hunters over our way I think this year.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Missing Guide/Outfitter Larry Heathington In AZ
I'm posting this on behalf of Don Martin, Ariizona Wildlife Outfitters.
For those of you that haven't heard, my friend Larry Heathington, the owner of Sheep Limited, who lives in Williams has been missing since Friday, September 11th.
Larry was suppose to meet two clients on Friday in New Mexico to go on a private lands antelope hunt, and when his cousin last spoke to him he was two hours from Secorro.
He hasn't been heard from since Thursday afternoon. Larry was in his gray Ford F-350 Super Duty, towing his Jeep.
A missing person's report has been made with the Holbrook, AZ Police Department as someone close to Larry said they had seen his truck/jeep on Monday in Holbrook.
Please, we are very concerned about this situation and fear for Larry's safety. If you know Larry, you know it is not like him to not show up where and when he is suppose to.
If you know ANYTHING about where Larry is, or have seen his vehicles please contact the Holbrook PD or call me at 928-681-4867.
Thank you, Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters
Larry is on right
Here is the picture of his jeep note the custom plates....SHPLTD ARIZONA PLATES
For those of you that haven't heard, my friend Larry Heathington, the owner of Sheep Limited, who lives in Williams has been missing since Friday, September 11th.
Larry was suppose to meet two clients on Friday in New Mexico to go on a private lands antelope hunt, and when his cousin last spoke to him he was two hours from Secorro.
He hasn't been heard from since Thursday afternoon. Larry was in his gray Ford F-350 Super Duty, towing his Jeep.
A missing person's report has been made with the Holbrook, AZ Police Department as someone close to Larry said they had seen his truck/jeep on Monday in Holbrook.
Please, we are very concerned about this situation and fear for Larry's safety. If you know Larry, you know it is not like him to not show up where and when he is suppose to.
If you know ANYTHING about where Larry is, or have seen his vehicles please contact the Holbrook PD or call me at 928-681-4867.
Thank you, Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters
Larry is on right
Here is the picture of his jeep note the custom plates....SHPLTD ARIZONA PLATES
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Stake In The Heart. Dove Opener Cancelled For Me
Well almost, with the fires raging in SoCal my dove opener looked grim. I had to cancel plans to head to Blythe to film the Big Breast Contest. That's biggest "dove breast" for all you knuckle draggers.
So today I went into the bosses office and made a pest of myself, more like I threw a fit a 3 year old would have been proud of. I had been doing yeoman's work all weekend working at the La Canada fire and I asked for just a bit of time to go shoot some gray rockets. It must have been when I ran my bosses favorite thumb drive through the shredder when he decided it might be in his best interest to get rid of me for the night
Off I raced home to sneak out for an evening hunt.
A few singles all out of range at first. No worries, I had scouted the old haunt a few times in the month before.
Friendly sheriff volunteers stopped by to say hello. They let me know they had seen 8 rattlesnakes in my spot earlier in the day. Lovely. I was overjoyed at the news since I'm known as a snake magnet on dove hunts.
Right about sunset a flight of 4 low fliers came in from behind me and I missed the lead bird going off into the sunset. I dropped the 2nd bird but it was out a bit far and it dropped into a boulder strewn wash I was next to. I scrambled down the dirt berm to get the bird when I heard that distinct sound, a snake buzzin'.
Crap.
I could see my bird but them big boulders are easy to get bit by a snake in since you can't see under them real good and the light was fading. I wasn't real sure where the buzzing was coming from either and I wasn't going to press my luck so I ended up leaving my only bird.
Old orange orchard where I set up.
I repositioned so as not to drop any birds into the wash again but never saw any more birds in range. A few high fliers going to roost and that was it.
Sunset on another dove opener. Haze is from the smoke from all the fires here. Twas good to take the shotgun for a walk and bust the first caps of the season on live game.
So today I went into the bosses office and made a pest of myself, more like I threw a fit a 3 year old would have been proud of. I had been doing yeoman's work all weekend working at the La Canada fire and I asked for just a bit of time to go shoot some gray rockets. It must have been when I ran my bosses favorite thumb drive through the shredder when he decided it might be in his best interest to get rid of me for the night
Off I raced home to sneak out for an evening hunt.
A few singles all out of range at first. No worries, I had scouted the old haunt a few times in the month before.
Friendly sheriff volunteers stopped by to say hello. They let me know they had seen 8 rattlesnakes in my spot earlier in the day. Lovely. I was overjoyed at the news since I'm known as a snake magnet on dove hunts.
Right about sunset a flight of 4 low fliers came in from behind me and I missed the lead bird going off into the sunset. I dropped the 2nd bird but it was out a bit far and it dropped into a boulder strewn wash I was next to. I scrambled down the dirt berm to get the bird when I heard that distinct sound, a snake buzzin'.
Crap.
I could see my bird but them big boulders are easy to get bit by a snake in since you can't see under them real good and the light was fading. I wasn't real sure where the buzzing was coming from either and I wasn't going to press my luck so I ended up leaving my only bird.
Old orange orchard where I set up.
I repositioned so as not to drop any birds into the wash again but never saw any more birds in range. A few high fliers going to roost and that was it.
Sunset on another dove opener. Haze is from the smoke from all the fires here. Twas good to take the shotgun for a walk and bust the first caps of the season on live game.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Bass Pro Fall Classic Booth Pics
Every August Bass Pro Shops is kind enough to let us man a couple of booths at their stores. Bryce Mann from our JHO staff has been working a booth at the Manteca CA store and I've been doing my part at the Rancho Cucamonga CA Store.
Here's some pics of the fun we have teaching kids the sounds of the animals and how to make the calls for them too. We also enjoy meeting the outdoorsmen and women who visit the stores.
We'll be at the Bass Pro stores 1 more weekend Aug 21-23 2009. I will be at the Rancho Cumcamong CA store and Bryce will also be doing seminars on upland hunting and upland dogs at the Las Vegas Bass Pro Store. Stop on by for a free JHO decal.
Young hound dawg and owner stopping by to say hello.
Jim Matthews, outdoor writer and owner of Outdoor News Service, passing out info.
Boy learning how to run a turkey boxcall. The girls pick up how to run the calls a lot faster than the boys for some reason.
Brother and sister goofing with the rattlin' antlers.
Skip Clemens from Adventure Hunts and Jesse (me) from JHO.
Skip and his wife at California Pizza Kitchen in the nearby Victoria Gardens Mall.
Jim Matthews and his wife Becky at California Pizza Kitchen in the nearby Victoria Gardens Mall
Here's some pics of the fun we have teaching kids the sounds of the animals and how to make the calls for them too. We also enjoy meeting the outdoorsmen and women who visit the stores.
We'll be at the Bass Pro stores 1 more weekend Aug 21-23 2009. I will be at the Rancho Cumcamong CA store and Bryce will also be doing seminars on upland hunting and upland dogs at the Las Vegas Bass Pro Store. Stop on by for a free JHO decal.
Young hound dawg and owner stopping by to say hello.
Jim Matthews, outdoor writer and owner of Outdoor News Service, passing out info.
Boy learning how to run a turkey boxcall. The girls pick up how to run the calls a lot faster than the boys for some reason.
Brother and sister goofing with the rattlin' antlers.
Skip Clemens from Adventure Hunts and Jesse (me) from JHO.
Skip and his wife at California Pizza Kitchen in the nearby Victoria Gardens Mall.
Jim Matthews and his wife Becky at California Pizza Kitchen in the nearby Victoria Gardens Mall
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Sugar Gliders & Flying Squirrels. Childhood Pets
As adventurous kids we were always dragging home garter snakes, box turtles, lightning bugs and leopard frogs to mom's despair. Springtime was when we found many pets as the little ones tumbled out of their nests and got lost. One of the best finds in the woods behind our house was a flying squirrel. There's something magical about animals that soar and these little guys are fearless. They can sail like Superman from tall oak tree to maple tree.
I first saw a flying squirrel along Coldwater Creek behind our home in MO. At first glance it looked like many of the tree squirrels that sailed limb to limb along the lush park that bounded the creek. Something was different about this little guy though so I moved closer to watch it fly. My friend Randy later caught a baby flying squirrel and we made it our pet.
The first thing we noticed was they should come with a butt plug because they pooped everywhere. Even when you made sure it had taken care of business before you took it out of it's cage it would proceed to crap all over mom's new couch. We took the squirrel to school for show and tell and he was the hit of the day.
The longest I can remember one sailing was about 70 feet in a tree to tree jump. I thought he was going to break his little neck in the descent and hard landing.
Nope.
He got up, dusted himself off and started scoping out his next DZ.
Nowadays I see sugar gliders from Austrailia as pets in MO, they're illegal to own here in CA and a couple other states. A bit cuter than the flying squirrels we knew but the same poop warning applies.
A video of some of the fun you can have with the high wire acrobats of the forest.
I first saw a flying squirrel along Coldwater Creek behind our home in MO. At first glance it looked like many of the tree squirrels that sailed limb to limb along the lush park that bounded the creek. Something was different about this little guy though so I moved closer to watch it fly. My friend Randy later caught a baby flying squirrel and we made it our pet.
The first thing we noticed was they should come with a butt plug because they pooped everywhere. Even when you made sure it had taken care of business before you took it out of it's cage it would proceed to crap all over mom's new couch. We took the squirrel to school for show and tell and he was the hit of the day.
The longest I can remember one sailing was about 70 feet in a tree to tree jump. I thought he was going to break his little neck in the descent and hard landing.
Nope.
He got up, dusted himself off and started scoping out his next DZ.
Nowadays I see sugar gliders from Austrailia as pets in MO, they're illegal to own here in CA and a couple other states. A bit cuter than the flying squirrels we knew but the same poop warning applies.
A video of some of the fun you can have with the high wire acrobats of the forest.
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