OUTDOORS

If there is a ‘down time’ for outdoors people or for me at least, it is during the dead of summer, about right now! Oh, it’s not that I don’t have plenty to do with my writing, radio shows to record, and segments of our weekly TV show to work with, but I haven’t actually been out on a lake fishing or in the woods hunting hogs in several weeks. I’ve done a little pond fishing for bluegill and bass close to home just to keep my casting arm in practice. An outdoor person can spend only so much time in front of a computer and, this past week, I began devising things to do outdoors, albeit it during the first and last moments of daylight each day.

A call from my friend David Cotton in Kaufman County proved to be just the catalyst needed to get me out and about.

“Luke, our friend Larry Weishuhn is coming up to do a spotlight survey on our ranch tomorrow. How about joining us at camp just before dark. We will enjoy some grilled sausages and, when it gets good and dark, head out to do the deer survey. Daddy (Edgar) and your buddy “Bo” who works with us on the ranch and Jeff Davis will be looking for you,” said David. Although I’ve now known these fine folks about a year, they have all become dear friends. I love to listen to Edgar talk about hunting in Colorado back in the sixties. In his early eighties, Edgar is still an active outdoorsman. He killed a bull elk up in Colorado last fall as well as a fine whitetail buck on his ranch. Bo is a good natured larger than life fellow that for some reason ‘took a liking’ to me, and the feeling is mutual. I love to joke with him about how many bratwurst grilled sausages he can eat; to date that number equals what is left on the grill after everyone has eaten. Jeff Davis is one of my ‘go to’ rifle experts. Jeff will soon be attending gunsmithing school up in Oklahoma, but he’s already well on his way. David sort of ramrods the “get togethers”, serving as chief cook and driver on the deer surveys. Don’t think I’ve ever met a nicer couple of people than David and his dad Edgar who have made me feel like family. And, my longtime buddy Larry Weishuhn! We have a great time regardless of what we are doing. The world would be a much better place with more people like Larry!

I packed the truck with my AGM Global thermal scope and thermal spotter and showed up at their ranch in time to visit a bit before supper. It was good to get with my friends around a campfire, although the temperature was hovering at a toasty 100 degrees. There’s something about the blaze from a campfire that has a way of bringing folks together, even in the middle of a hot Texas summer!

The thermometer on the side of the lodge had dropped to a ‘chilly’ 97 degrees when we headed out on the survey. I wondered if deer would be up and moving in this heat and was pleasantly surprised at the number we observed on the six mile route we ran. Wildlife can’t be picky like we humans; they have to eat and go to water, regardless of the temperature.

Weishuhn explained the science behind a spotlight survey. “Every one tenth of a mile, the yardage right and left is observed and recorded. Later the acreage of visible land is calculated, and then divided by the number of deer spotted. Using this formula, an estimate is made of deer per acre.”

Obviously only a portion of the deer are actually observed during these surveys but the results of several spotlight surveys gives the biologist a very good idea of numbers, as well as buck to doe ratio. With this information, Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists determine how many bucks and doe are to be taken in order to keep the herd at a number that fits the habitat. During the survey, the use of the AGM thermal scope was a great help in determining the sex of deer sighted as well as antler development on the bucks. The survey, combined with trail camera photos and incidental sightings, shows that the ranch has a very healthy deer herd with some very promising bucks ready to harvest this fall.

I’ve been chomping at the bit to do a little close to home hog hunting. I have a corn feeder a half mile from home that’s been frequented by a fat little boar on a fairly regular basis sometime during the first couple hours of darkness. My trail camera has captured his image there under the feeder chomping corn between about 8:45 and 10pm most evenings. His hours pretty much fit my sleep schedule. I want to get out and do a bit of hunting and collect some fresh pork chops from the wild, but I’m not up for staying up half the night waiting them out!

I have a ladder stand about 25 yards from the feeder that I set up for bowhunting. I mounted my AGM Global Rattler on my 50 caliber Seneca Dragon Claw air rifle and plan to devote an evening soon to pork procurement! The Rattler has an onboard video camera, and my plan is to get some very sharp video from close range of the hog. For those not familiar with the power of big bore air rifles, the Dragon Claw II develops about 340 foot pounds of energy shooting a big 336 grain slug. I’ve killed a lot of hogs with my air rifles through the years and look forward to putting the Dragon Claw to work. The Dragon Claw is a traditional looking rifle with beautiful wood stock. With a recent factory power upgrade I consider it to be the best value in big bore airguns currently on the market.

Watch “A SPORTSMAN’S LIFE” on Carbon TV or YouTube. Luke filmed the deer survey, and the show is currently available. Contact Luke via his website www.catfishradio. org.