Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

Video Footage from Our Archery Buck

Here is the edited video from our October 22 hunt. It is essentially a highlight film; Jake took about a half-hour of footage and cut it down to 8.5 minutes. He took out most of the talking, you know the standard "We're here in..." and "We're gonna back out and then go look for the deer in..." and "I smoked him!"

Actually, I didn't say that I smoked him, on or off camera. That expression really gets on my nerves when I hear it on hunting shows and, to me, is only appropriate when used in reference to meat preparation.

The footage though, fills me with pride; not so much because of the deer but more because of all the hard work my 10-year-old son put in on the video. Taping this hunt will forever preserve the memories of a great day we had together. I should warn you though, that it does contain an impact shot and some rather graphic frames of a field-dressed deer. If you're squeamish, you should hit stop about the time Cowboy fires up the tractor.

Meanwhile, Nick and I hunted the muzzleloader opener together. We saw lots of deer, including one huge buck. Nick had the crosshairs of the Thompson Center Impact on it at 91 yards.

"Do I have the green light?" he asked me. I told him to wait until it came a little closer just before the buck disappeared into the woods.

We're hoping to get a hunt or two in over the next couple days, so I'll have more on the muzzleloader hunt later this week. Hope you enjoy the video!

Guest Blogger: Kasey Werner on Teaching Kids to Hunt

Kasey from HuntAndFishGuides.com sent this guest post over on Halloween. Enjoy!

This September (2011), Michigan hunting laws were changed to allow children ten years or older to firearm deer hunt. This really excited both my son and I. Finding things that you and your children enjoy doing together creates some of the strongest bonding experiences possible. There is almost always the chance to teach them something new as well, even if it is just the new experience itself. Hunting has always facilitated some of the most long-lasting bonds that people have. The recent death of my Grandfather really brought this point home to me.

When I was a kid my Dad wasn’t around. It was my Grandfather who stepped in to fill that role. Some of my most cherished childhood memories are of my time with my Gramps, many of those revolve around hunting. I remember waking up when it was still dark, piling on layers of clothes until I looked like a bodybuilder, and tasting coffee for the first time. We would make our way across the field out back and find our spot. Once we settled in, I’d get bored. I fidgeted and sighed, daydreamed, and fell asleep a few times, none of which are desirable hunting skills. With seemingly never-ending patience my Grandfather would explain how and why these things would lessen our chances of a successful hunt. When we were hunting Gramps treated me different. Every question I asked was answered and explanations were long and thorough. I was treated like an adult.

Those hunting trips taught me how to be a responsible and effective sportsman. Recently I realized something else they taught me; how to be patient while teaching my own child how to hunt. Things that we take for granted are completely new ideas to a young mind. Concepts like staying downwind, being silent or getting to your spot before the game is moving require more explanation than you would think. Children are why machines, so be prepared. That infinite patience that most of us were given as children should be foremost on your mind.

Teaching children about hunting can be a daunting task. There are so many different aspects to the sport that you’re really only getting them started, they will spend the rest of their lives “learning”. Hunter’s safety is a great first step. This will teach them how to handle a firearm, and to just be a safe hunter in general. I’m sure anyone reading this knows what hunter’s safety entails so I won’t go into a lot of detail. One tip I would give, is to go with your child to the class. It will help them focus and show them that the material isn’t to be taken lightly. It will also give you the peace of mind of knowing what they know about being safe, so you can add anything that you feel is important.

Get your child comfortable with a firearm. In hunter’s safety class my son shot two rounds out of a .22, and two rounds out of a 12ga. This does not equate to any kind of real training. I would recommend spending several months before hunting season getting them familiar with the exact firearm that they will be using. If you have access to others, by all means teach them how those work as well, just make sure they are very capable with the firearm they will be hunting with. Most firearm accidents are a result of not knowing how to safely handle them.

Most hunters have a preferred strategy. Explain to your child what this is and why you use it. I don’t like crawling around or going for long hikes so I have a blind set up about a mile from home. This is what works for me. I made sure to let my son know why I do it this way and some other methods that are popular. Maybe later we’ll try out some new techniques together, that’s part of the fun of hunting with your child. Just explaining the different strategies and reasoning will get them pretty excited about trying to outsmart their game. Whatever hunting methods you use, show your child before opening day. If you do any work on your hunting area take them with you. If you have a set path or spot take them out and show them. The more you expose them to all of the different aspects of hunting the more positive reaction you’ll get.

Make sure they will be warm and comfortable and highly visible. This doesn’t necessarily mean spending a fortune on new gear. Just make sure they will be warm and able to move freely. If they are too cold or their clothing too restricted they will feel miserable and not enjoy the hunt. I would also highly recommend making sure that your child will be very visible, regardless of what laws are in place, to avoid any tragic accidents.

Teaching your child about hunting can be very rewarding. You will have a common interest to share, create a deeper bond than you had before, and have a lifelong hunting partner. Figure out what way your child learns best and approach it from that angle. For example, my son likes to read about things before he tries them, so I find him all the hunting literature I can. After we discuss it, we go out into the field and practice what he learned. The more care you take in ensuring your child enjoys the learning process the better. Above all, be patient, don’t rush things, and remember the acronym K.I.S.S., keep it simple stupid. Don’t bombard them with every little detail you’ve picked up over the years. Start them out slow and build on that knowledge one day at a time.

Whitetail Down: Archery Nine Point

My son and I had plans yesterday to do some sight-in with friends for the upcoming muzzleloader deer season. Those plans fell through.

Good thing. Because if we'd been shooting muzzleloaders, we wouldn't have gone bow hunting. And if we hadn't gone bow hunting, I wouldn't have had a chance to shoot this nine-point buck right before dark.

And if I hadn't shot the deer, my son Jake wouldn't have gotten it on film. He's working on editing the video now. Wait for that. It's some incredible footage! My other son Nick came out and took the photos this morning and got in one himself.

Getting a big deer is always a thrill, but harvesting one through a team effort with my sons is the best.

And speaking of team effort, it's a good thing the Cowboy checked in to make sure we were OK when we hadn't come back to camp until way past dark. Because that gave him the chance to offer to bring his tractor back to the upper field and help us get the buck out. The Cowboy and his tractor save us a TON of work. Thanks!

No still pictures of the tractor work, but it's on the video, which Cowboy was a big help on too. Hopefully, Jake will have the footage ready to post within a few days. Check back soon!

Virginia Youth Deer Hunt 2011: Success!

The 2011 Virginia Youth Deer Hunt took place September 24, and it turned out to be a big day in the life of my oldest son and myself.  I'm not sure which of us was happier:

Jake got his deer!

Even better, his buddy who was with us got one too.

 

If there's a better feeling than sitting between two ten-year-old kids as they both drop deer within a span of about two minutes I haven't experienced it yet.  Jake got his at about 105 yards (way farther than his dad has ever shot one from) and his buddy got his a minute or two later when his deer appeared right in front of our stand.

Here a couple shots from before the bullets started flying.

 
Hiking to the box blind

 
Jake smiling in anticipation

The joy we experienced that day was short-lived of course.  As many of you know, we lost my mom about 36 hours later.  But it meant a lot that Jake got a chance to tell his "Grandmama" about his deer.

"It was a big deer," she said to him, lying on her hospital bed.

And it was a big deer: to her, to him and to me.

Author's Note: A special thanks is in order to our host for the youth deer hunt.  This was a huge day for our family that was made possible by your generosity.

I'd like to add that the youth deer hunting day may be the best thing anyone has ever done for the future of hunting here in my beloved Virginia.  I complain a lot about not being able to hunt on Sundays, but the reality is that this is a pretty good place to be a hunter!

Camp Cowboy Reunion

Several members of the original cast of the Bright Idea Blog reunited Saturday night for our traditional end-of-summer campout at the Bright Idea Outdoors Camp Cowboy headquarters. It's been more than five years now since I started writing this blog, and it was great to go back to the place where it all began and to whoop it up with some of the people who helped inspire it.

On hand were the Captain, the Cowboy, myself (it was the first time anyone had called me Rooster in forever), and, of course, the most important element of any good Bright Idea Blog story: a whole bunch of kids.

We pitched some tents, cooked some hot dogs and venison burgers, checked and repaired some tree stands, shot some bows and arrows and told some scary (and silly) stories.
The highlight of the trip though, had to be the whiffle ball game.

I'm not sure there is anything that could make me smile the way watching my kids play baseball in hunting boots does! I just wish I had put a little thought into adjusting the camera for action shots. A lot of what would have been the best pictures came out blurry. Still, I think you get the idea from these.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this great campout happen. I hope to be seeing more of all of you in the near future.

And that goes for all you blog readers too!

Some Bright Spots

 My family and I have been dealing with some tough stuff this summer, and it's been so hot that even I have had a hard time enjoying the outdoors. But, as you can see from the following pictures, it hasn't been all bad!

 
 
 
 
We've got three weeks left until school starts and less than a month before deer season gets underway.  Preparation for both needs to start now, but, in the meantime, we've got one more summer trip planned, and we're going to get everything we can out of the last few weeks of summer 2011!

 

Product Review: Fisher Price Power Wheels Kawasaki KFX Ride-On

My kids often lose interest in new toys after a few days or, in some cases, a few hours.  The things they'd wanted so bad for Christmas or their birthdays are put in a corner or a box in the basement or garage, only to be re-discovered months later, played with briefly and forgotten again.

This is not one of the those toys:

 
Brett rides his "Four Wheeler," a Power Wheels product from Fisher Price , every chance he gets.  He'd ride it all day long in 20-degree weather if I'd let him.  Yesterday was a lot nicer than that, so we took the four-wheeler to the playground.

 
Brett's four-wheeler, which runs on a re-chargable 12-volt battery, has held up well in the approximately two months that he's had it.  We own another Power Wheels product, a truck that we've had for about eight years, and it still works, but it's never gotten as much use as Brett is giving the four-wheeler.  He's started driving it off curbs, which worries me that he will break or bend the the axles (not to mention my concern that he will ride it into the street!)

 
Other than that, the only drawback to the Fisher Price Power Wheels Kawasaki KFX Ride-On is that it is in fact rear-wheel drive, rather than four-wheel drive, and tends to get stuck in wet grass even on slight slopes.  Still, if you have a little kid that likes things that go and someplace for him or her to ride it, I highly recommend this product.

If you do get one, I also recommend getting an extra battery.  That way, you can switch to a charged one when the other runs out of juice and avoid an untimely end to an afternoon of four-wheelin' fun.  You might also avoid pushing the four-wheeler back from the playground!

A Great Weekend on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

Hard to believe it's sleeting outside my window right now, and they're calling for up to five inches of snow tonight...  Just yesterday, my family and I were standing on the beach wishing we could stay for the week!

When we hit the sand at Virginia Beach Sunday afternoon, it was the first time my kids had seen the ocean in winter.  The approximately 45 degree temperature and 25 mile per hour wind meant we kept our jackets on, but the Atlantic Ocean is just as beautiful in February as it is in July.  For a group as stricken with cabin fever as we've been, it was a sight to behold!

We've got beach pictures, but they haven't been downloaded yet, so I'll have to wait until later in the week to post them.  I do have a few phone cam pictures though from earlier in the weekend.

The Virginia Beach trip was actually just a 45-minute stop on our way home from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where we'd gone to visit my late father's farm.  It's been nearly a year since we lost him, but I feel extremely fortunate that we're still able to visit my stepmother there.  Spending time with my kids in the place that Dad loved so much keeps him alive.

"Pillow Mountains" have been one of the highlights of our Eastern Shore trips ever since Jake and Nick and I started going there five years ago.

 
Brett and I walked through the woods to the marsh Sunday morning.  I've been saying I wanted to do this for years, but Sunday was the first time I actually did.

 
Brett doesn't remember much about his "Grandpop."  To him, he's some larger than life character in my stories... which I guess is a pretty good thing to be!

A Nice Day

The sun came out today, and the thermometer read 75 when I pulled up to the house.  I saw several boys in my back yard that I hadn't seen in months and a few I'd never seen before.

 

A lot of the boys, including myself, took advantage of the warm weather and wore shorts.  But for Brett, it was the standard cowboy boots and camo.

 

A Day in the Woods With Kids

Although I did not drive away from the woods this weekend with a deer in the bed of my truck, I did carry with me some memories that will last a lot longer than venison.  I can only hope the day means as much to my kids as it did to me.

It started at daybreak Saturday with my middle son Nick, who hadn't hunted with me in awhile and actually hadn't shown much interest in hunting in a couple years.  This year though, he started asking me to take him again, and Saturday he was eager to see me harvest a deer; any deer.

Nick still has a hard time sitting still, and, even though we'd seen a buck at our first spot, we was ready to move by about 7:00.  It was cold, about 30 degrees, and I figured a walk would help him stay warm, so, as quietly as we could manage, we relocated from the log we sat on at first to a clump of cedars on the edge of the field.

After about half an hour there, Nick was eager to move again, but it was then that I caught movement to our right.

"Nick, there's a buck," I whispered.  A forkhorn was heading right toward the opening where I wanted to shoot.  "Do you want me to shoot it?"

Nick nodded, as the deer disappeared behind a tree.

"It's not a very big deer," I said.

"I don't care."

When the young buck emerged, he saw us but wasn't sure what we were.  For a couple minutes that seemed like an hour, he stood in a spot where I could have shot.  I aimed but just couldn't bring myself to do it; there was just a little too much brush between us and the deer for me to feel confident with the shot.

When the deer was gone, Nick expressed his disappointment, but I hope he will remember what I told him.

"If you have any doubt in your mind about whether you should shoot, that means don't shoot."

We moved again and saw another buck, this one with a nice rack and walking with a limp but way out of range.

My three-year-old has been asking me to take him hunting since July, so at mid-day it was his turn.  Armed with toy guns, we "stalked" the deer on his grandfather's farm.  I'm pretty sure Brett enjoyed it as much as I did, and I hope it will be the first of many stalks we make together.

The day wound down with my oldest son Jake and I watching two deer cross the field out of range of his shotgun.  I too had brough along a scattergun, thinking it would give me the best chance for an effective follow-up shot.  As the deer grazed about 60 yards away I wished I had brought the muzzleloader but did not allow that thought to linger any longer than the deer.

My memories of this long day of hunting with my kids have no place for regrets.