Back roads of our memories

A buck like this must be hunted properly without spooking him
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

Fishermen love their  "fishing memories," and continue going back time after time to the same old spot. Sometimes it works on deer, and sometime it doesn't, but memories often remain long after the size of the rack and the venison has disappeared.

Hunters often have the same problem. We develop a feeling for certain ground blinds or tree stands, and often this can be good. In many cases, if a particular stand was once good, it may still be good.

For three years I shared the same tree stand with a good friend. It probably produced a dozen nice bucks for us, and then it seemed to go dead. They didn't hunt it daily, and it may only have been hunted once or twice per week.

My buddy took a few nice 8-pointers there, as did I, and we still talk fondly about hunting that tree. However, as I make my rounds to study deer behavior and travel routes, it has become obvious that deer had quit moving past that tree.

That tree was on an elevated knob 15 feet above a great deer trail.

I've got several memories of favorite tree stands, and those thoughts often are built around having taken a really good buck from it or having seen a wide-racked buck nearby. In some cases, a new stand may reveal a great travel corridor than has been overlooked.

One particular stand sticks out because I had seen a heavy beamed 10-pointer there, and I noted the time he passed by. I was there the next night but he wasn't, and several deer were passed up because I didn't want to shoot a lesser buck if the big one may be nearby.

I went back to that stand periodically, and saw that buck on three occasions but he was either screened by heavy brush or just too far away. And this brings up a point: bow hunters should know what their maximum range is for making an accurate shot.

Shooting at a buck too far away usually results in a miss but a deer that is spooked by an irresponsible shot may never return. Even worse, a bad hit may be made, and that may result in a long tracking job and even then, the animal may never be found. Sportsmen must know their limitations, and strive not to exceed them.

Know your limitations and always hunt within them. Never take long shots.

Years ago, one of my favorite tree stands was in a crooked tree. If a back didn't hurt when they climbed in, it would be hurting when they climbed down. That stand, many years ago,  was positioned between a bedding area and nearby crop fields, and it produced quite a few bucks. It is no longer being hunted.

Another of my favorite locations was a dead elm, and it was located 15 yards from a hole in a fence between my land and a neighbors, and was positioned for a broadside shot once the deer came through. Many people do not realize that given the chance, a deer often prefers going through a hole in the fence rather jumping the wire.

The last time I came down out from that fence-hole stand I felt the tree shudder. I kept going and made it to the ground. The next day I drove down a wooded trail past that tree, and it was on the ground.

Hunting memories, my phrase for going back to tree stands that once produced shots at good whitetail bucks, is something that hunters do. Some of it is nostalgia, and some is to determine if that area is as good as it once was.

These memories are good for hunters. It helps us remember a stand that once led to the arrowing a nice buck, or a memorable miss, or a stand that just makes us feel good.

I'm willing to bet that all of us have such memories. A little thought can make them reappear on demand, and part of hunting's thrill is traveling down the back roads of our memories.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Morels aren't done just yet

A handful of morel bounty

My son, David Richey, with a double-handful of white morel mushrooms.

My eldest son, David, didn't learn this from his daddy. Morel mushrooms must be big enough for me to trip over before I can see them these days.

Even at that, if they are a bit soft, they won't trip me up. I can walk by a 10-inch tall white morel mushroom, and not see it even though I'm looking for the tasty fungi.

David got his in-the-field training from noted salmon and steelhead fishing guide, and morel mushroom guru, Mark Rinckey of Honor. This happened several years ago. They went out together, and David picked up some of Mark's key tricks, including key places to look and how to hide your car so people can't find you.

Look close for morels. I can't see 'em but maybe you can.

He was taught to look for black ash and popple trees. He was taught to check the level places, the hillsides, and steep slopes, especially on the south-facing slopes, and even the bottom of a valley. He was told that south-facing slopes pay off in cool weather because the south slopes get the most sunlight. Makes sense to me.

David learned that if you find one morel, look close, and chances are very good there will be others nearby. He learned those lessons well.

He went out mushroom hunting a couple of days ago at a spot he found himself. He wouldn't return to any of Rinckey's hotspots. It's an ethical thing, and I can lay claim to instilling that lesson in my son.

He began with two large onion bags, and within an hour they were filled and he'd picked about five pounds. He was ecstatic about his good fortune.

Check as many areas as possible near ash and popple trees.

"It pays to learn from an expert," he said, holding up a 12-inch morel as proof. "We've had so much rain lately, and all we needed was a bit of warmer weather. Can't stick around. I left one spot with at least a dozen more big mushrooms but I had no way of carrying any more."

He had taken his two dogs with him the first time, and the dogs stepped on some of the mushrooms. He left the dogs in his car with the window down slightly, and headed back into the woods near Mesick.

Many mushroom pickers felt the mushroom fruiting season had ended recently, but such apparently was not the case. David said that everywhere he went today, there were white morels.

"I didn't see a single person in the woods," he noted. "Everything is still wet from 10 days of on-and-off rain, but that's fine by me. I can walk along at a steady pace, look ahead for black ash trees, and keep finding morel mushrooms."

It's rare to not see other pickers. High gas prices may be a problem.

He did say that a few of the morels he found were pretty old, and he didn't pick them. He also said he wasn't finding very many false morels.

"Good spots are near ash-popple stands," he said, "but I'm finding quite a few near old stumps, on small hummocks, and even in the low bottoms of valleys where water has run downhill. I think the abundance of rain has helped the mushrooms grow in some places where normally I wouldn't be looking for them there."

He said some of the white morels stand up straight, and some are tall and then begin to curve sideways from the weight of the fruiting head. He said a couple of the largest mushrooms would weigh several ounces, and in such cases, it's difficult not to pick a heavy bag of mushrooms.

His picking strategy is similar to many people although he doesn't uproot the base of the mushroom or break off the stem. He uses a sharp knife, and cuts through the stem close to the ground. It leaves a clean cut, and he can utilize more of the stem this way. Breaking the stem is not a good idea because they often break at the weakest point, and that can leave too much stem behind.

I used to shake each mushroom back in the days when I could still see them. It was how I was taught to pick, and the thought behind shaking them over the ground, was to put more spores on the ground. It was felt, then and now, that it may lead to more mushrooms next spring. Who knows if it works, but he picked up that trait form me.

Morel mushrooms are a certain sign of spring, and Mother's Day always used to mark the peak of the morel fruiting season. A week ago, many foragers felt the season was dead and gone.

That's what thought did for them, and I can't believe my son found the only morel hotspot in Wexford County. He thinks, as I do, that there are more mushrooms to come and that is a comforting thought for pickers.

Establish A Winter Practice Routine

Several people I know have small archery ranges in their basement, but they are narrow and limited in length.

One man I know has a 17-yard range in his basement, and it serves he and his wife well. They can go downstairs any time they please, and shoot a dozen or two dozen arrows at the 17-yard target. He cut a shooting hole through a plywood partition, and now they can now shoot 25 yards.

It helps keep their muscles limber, and their shooting eye in good working order. They can pick up their bow, and shoot standing up or sitting down. It offers them a fine way to practice.

Some archery shops have leagues, and that is another good way for winter hunters to continue practicing without having to go outside and wade through the snow. League shoots are fun because there is always some camaraderie among the shooters along with the competition.

This deer wouldn't offer a clean shot unless the hunter was behind and off to one side.

But one man I know has a 3-D course set up in his back yard. There is one tree stand location with two targets, and four ground targets. He goes over the area with a snowblower after every snow, and keeps the lanes reasonably open for he and his wife ir friebds to shoot.

Of course, during a winter like this one, it's rather hard to stay ahead of the snow. It's even more difficult to keep shooting lanes open, and the snow has to go somewhere. He's constantly moving his 3-D targets, and any miss means a lost arrow until spring arrives and the snow melts.

There is a distinct advantage to shooting outdoors during the winter months. Each archer is dressed in clothing similar to what they would wear during a December bow hunt, and they can learn to judge when fingers are warm enough to help them shoot straight. It also seems to toughen up their body, allows them to build up a tolerance to the cold, and makes them less miserable in cold and snowy weather.

Another friend has a long garage, and it has a small wood burning stove that he keeps going all winter. One corner of the garage is set up solely for the purpose of winter target practice.

His longest shot is 20 yards, and he has targets set at 10, 15 and 20 yards. He also has built an easily moved shooting window to replicate hunting from inside a coop.

He fashioned it out of a single sheet of plywood with braces at the bottom so it will stand erect. He has the shooting window positioned so it will be at the perfect height for taking shots while sitting down. He shoots all of his deer while sitting, and he can easily move his targets or the shooting window to make shots easy or difficult.

He also has a rheostat on his garage lighting system. He can make the garage as bright as noon on a sunny day or he can dim the lights to simulate those shots taken during the last few minutes of legal shooting time. One year he took his used Christmas tree out of the house on New Years Day, stood it up where a buck appeared to be coming out from behind a tree.

Taking a shot at any of these deer means knowing the exact distance. Winter practice can help.

It added a degree of realism to his target shooting. He even went so far as to build a ladder stand at one end of his garage, and could practice shooting down at targets from a height of about 10 feet.

Does all of this practice help these hunters? All of them shot bucks last year, and none of them missed a deer, and every one of these folks were able to bow-shoot a buck and place the arrow with enough accuracy that not one animal traveled over 75 yards before dropping.

Winter archery practice is important.

Is this taking things too far? I don't think so. I mentioned above that I shoot every day, but I do it inside where it is warm and dry. Shooting outdoors, from a tree stand, or inside a garage means these folks are as serious as a heart attack when it comes to shooting and killing a deer.

My hat is tipped to anyone who practices shooting during the winter, spring and summer months. Come fall, they are ready to hunt. And when a buck offers a shot, and they decide to take it, that deer's life is measured in mere seconds because they won't miss.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors