With the days getting shorter and the temperatures dropping it starting to feel like fall out there. I’ve got the T/C Omega sighted in and I’m trying to get the rest of my equipment together. Checking on camo, inspecting safety straps, replacing flashlight batteries, and a number of other countless projects to complete before the first deer hunt. The eastern muzzleloader season is here now and hopefully I’ll get sometime in a tree in the next week or so.

Safety should be on your mind as you check your equipment for the upcoming season. Any questionable straps should be discarded and replaced, ladders & stands should be checked to make sure there is no breaks in the welds and the metals are in good repair. Any rust spots should be sanded out and painted over, bolts should be tight. Don’t skimp on your stands because a tumble out of one could be your last hunt.

Fall certainly seems to be in the air and prime deer hunting time is just around the bend so lets get ready.

Hunting season will be here soon so this weekend we did some work at the hunt club. Moving stands and checking stands for safety hazards was a big part of what we did. Safety issues to keep in mind is the health of the tree the stand is in as well as those around it. We had one stand where a large dead pine was leaning against it and it took a bit of an effort to get it out without the stand getting crushed or one of us getting crushed.
Checking straps on the stands is also important and any that are questionable should be replace. The other thing we encounter was wasp nests, treestands seem to be a place they like to build them. Trust me you hate to discover the nest when you 15 feet up in the air.
Clearing shooting lanes and cutting brush off the trails so you can get in and out of the stand quietly and without leaving a lot of scent is also pretty important.

We’ve got a number of stands still left to check and a few other projects including checking the posted signs. Of course this year with the new Landowners Protection Act we can mark the property with purple paint.

Blind Side is a new water fowl ammunition from Winchester that is set to hit store shelves real soon. Technology continues to help improve the non lead shot options for waterfowl hunting and if the hype I’m hearing about Blind Side is true this will be a great addition to the blind bag this fall.

Key Features of Blind Side™ Ammunition

• High Packing Density
With the unique shape of HEX™ Shot, we can literally pack the shot into the wad shot cup more efficiently to give the hunter up to 15 percent more shot pellets per shell.

• Hex™ Steel Shot
Six-sided, multiple-edged shot provides increased trauma and wound channels, resulting in fast kills and 250 percent more trauma. The shot is designed to hit waterfowl like high-velocity tumbling bricks—preventing over penetration and maximizing energy deposit and knock-down shock within the bird.

• Diamond Cut Wad
The Blind Side Diamond Cut Wad is designed to maximize pattern performance of Hex Shot, resulting in consistent patterns that increase the kill zone up to 25 percent. Blind Side™ HEX™ Shot and the Diamond Cut Wad system is also choke responsive, providing consistent patterns through improved cylinder, modified or full choke systems.

• Drylok Super Steel® System
Important to duck hunters is keeping your powder dry. This system seals out water and moisture and is corrosion resistant for improved patterning and consistent velocities.

Blind Side Product Offerings (AVAILABILITY, FALL, 2011)

Winchester

I’ve got to admit the stacked feature of this shot has me intrigued and seems logical to me that one would get a more consistent shot with this feature. The shape of the shot…. cubed…. is suppose to deliver better killing results on birds.

I shot flighted ducks at ranges from 30-50 yards through a Modified choke and if I hit a duck squarely, it fell out of the sky. The difference between Blind Side and regular round pellets was this: we did not see ducks fly off as if unhit, only to bleed out and fall later as you sometimes see with regular steel. Solidly hit birds came down and most of them were dead in the air. Birds that weren’t solidly hit didn’t fall, but that happened with lead, too, a fact that steel-haters conveniently forget.

Read the Gun Nut’s full report on Winchester Blind Side

Well if I get the chance I’ll try this out on some resident geese in September.

Last evening in a venue more often used for Rock Concerts then talks about navigating rocky streams I met T Edwards Nickens. He is currently Editor at Large for Field and Stream magazine and just released his first book The Total Outdoorsman Manual. A book filled with outdoor skills that if you can master will give you a PHD in the great outdoors. Every page is loaded with diagrams, photos, skills and tips to make your next outing a success be it fishing at Lake Raleigh or driving the Dalton road to Prudhoe Bay.

I didn’t realize that T Edward Nickens lived in Raleigh so I was a bit surprised when I saw the article in the N&O announcing his Monday Evening presentation at the club Kings in downtown Raleigh. The crowd of about 200 people squeezed in to hear the stories and photos of a life full of hunting and fishing all over the world. Photos of giant brook trout caught in Canada where few have ever ventured as well as stories about hunting with his children in Johnston County.
The evening went by way to fast and like the campfire at the hunt camp you hate to end it because there is always one more story to tell and one skill tidbit to pass on but you know you must end. After the presentation I got to pick up my own copy of his book and he graciously signed it for me. I haven’t completely read it yet but I can tell you it will become an important reference tool for me. I’m sure no matter your outdoor abilities you’ll find things in this book that will help you in your outdoor pursuits.

In what had to be one of the most ridiculous laws on the book requiring anyone purchasing a crossbow in the state of North Carolina use to be required to obtain a pistol permit first. So last year when crossbows became legal to use during archery season a number of people crossed stateliness to purchase crossbows and avoid the extra expense and hassle of getting a pistol permit.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is advising hunters that a bill removing the requirement to obtain a pistol permit in order to purchase or transfer ownership of a crossbow has been signed into law.
Previously, state law required anyone buying or otherwise receiving a crossbow in North Carolina to have either a pistol permit from their local sheriff’s office or a concealed handgun permit.
Crossbows are a legal method of hunting in North Carolina, permissible anytime bow-and-arrow hunting is allowed. However, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission does not regulate the sale or purchase of firearms and crossbows.

NCWRC

They should do away with Pistol Permits altogether but that’s another conversation.

Probably some of the most asked questions by new hunters is around the vocabulary of the wild turkey. Turkeys make a lot of sounds and a hunter that can mimic some will increase the likelihood of filling their tag. The National Wild Turkey Federation has a wealth of information including a page that has many of the calls of the wild turkey. Check it out and maybe this spring you’ll be eating an early Thanksgiving.

Prior to going to the woods or field in pursuit of turkeys you should check the pattern of your gun, At 40 yards this is a deadly spread of number 6 shot. In the woods it is unlikely I’d even be tempted to take a shot over 40 yards. In the fields I often use decoys and they help me make sure I stay with 40 yards being the max range.

I used a new choke tube, Primos Tightwad and shot both Remington and Federal turkey loads the Remington’s seemed to have a slightly better pattern in my Mossberg 935.

A product safety warning has been issued for 45Auto ammunition if you use this ammo please check your lot numbers to make sure you don’t have any of the ammo under the warning.

Certain lots of recently manufactured 45 Auto ammunition may contain an incorrect propellant
charge. Use of product from these lots may result in firearm damage and possible
serious injury.
DO NOT USE PRODUCT FROM THE FOLLOWING LOTS:
38X628 through 38X765
38T401 through 38T414

Product Warning Issued 2/22/11

Many of us I’m sure recall the uproar Jim Zumbo caused some years back when he made disparaging remarks about the use of black guns when it comes to hunting. The AR15 has long been the standard for the use by our military but now it is gaining popularity among sportsmen as well. I’ve only shot one once but it is a pretty fun gun to use and now gaining popularity in hunting circles. I came across this video put out by the NSSF and thought it be good to share with my readers. Many of the anti wackos including the mainstream press have led the general public and I think many in our ranks to believe these “assault weapons” have no place in our society never mind yours and mine gun safes.

I think this is a well done video and hope others will share it with people and educate them on the facts. Who knows when the time comes for me to add another rifle to my hunting and shooting collection and AR15 might be on the top of this fudd’s list.

The Annual Swan hunt was a spectacular success with us filling our 8 tags in rather short order. This was our 6th time we have gathered at Conman’s to enjoy the hunt. While the group of hunters may change slightly from year to year depending on who drew a tundra swan tag or other commitments we are all friends who have for the most part met each other on the net. Many of these individuals have become like family to me so it is great the few times a year we gather together and visit.

This hunt has become known as the Darleen Memorial Hunt in honor of our good friend who was taken from us suddenly a few years back. I know I’m not the only one out there that takes a glimpse at the rising sun as we scramble to put the decoys out and thinks this would have been a day she would have loved to be in a muddy ditch with us.

We hadn’t even finished putting out the decoys when the first swan buzzed over us. We quickly finished the task and climbed into the blind erected along the fields ditch bank. Glad to have my waders on with my feet sinking into the mud at the bottom of the ditch and I could sit on the muddy side of the ditch without getting my butt soaked.

The wheat field we were hunting was obviously getting hit hard by the hungry birds and the farmers could not be happy with the damages they were causing. The wheat near the farm road where we parked our trucks was almost as thick as a manicured lawn but once you got out into the field there was far more dirt visible then wheat as the birds had pulled up lots of it to fill there bellies.

Tundra Swan winter in North Carolina and then migrates back to the Alaskan Tundra to raise their young in the spring and summer. North Carolina is one of the few places where there is a tundra swan season. People often ask me why we would want to hunt swans and do you actually eat them? Swan is excellent table fare similar to goose and a natural resource. Money raised off the sales of licenses, tags, and stamps help fund habitat protection and restoration which benefits many species not just waterfowl. Depredation of farmers’ crops by a number of species often times leads to the farmers culling many of those critters and they go to waste.

Hunting is the best way to control wildlife populations while making sure there are still animals around for everyone to enjoy. I know in the bygone days with market hunting many species were hunted completely out. The vast majorities of hunters these days do it for recreation as well as for the organic meat and would not want to do anything to damage the population. Many hunters are part of conservation groups that purchase critical habitat and make improvements to land to help wildlife.

I finally got a chance to shoot the Remington Hyper Sonic Steel after a few bad luck hunts for geese where I never even got a chance to shoot. On the swan I typically use either T or BBB but I had the Hyper Sonic Steel in BB so I used it. The shot I got was a 20 yard shot about 8ft off the ground moving from my right to left. The shot as you can see delivered a deadly load crushing the swan in flight. I was extremely please with its performance. I’m still anxious to get it out on some geese but with the season winding down it might have to wait till next year. This has been a miserable goose season for me but that’s another whole story for another day.

How to Go Tundra Swan Hunting

Every year NCWRC holds a lottery to award 5,000 Tundra Swan Permits look for the information on getting into next year’s lottery in the 2011 / 2012 Permit Hunting Booklet available at their website.
Once you get the permit I’d suggest you go with a guide service because land access as well as decoys could be rather expensive. I’d recommend Conman’s on Lake Phelps .