Skin a Deer Destroy a Phone

As you can see in the video, I'm a happy guy.  I just got my new electric hoist,  I got a deer hanging (not one I shot-- it was donated) and I have my beautiful wife in the barn with me ready to record my very first YouTube Instructional video. Unlike many other instruction videos on the web, I was going to make mine quick and to the point.  All was going well until the end of the video...   The golf ball shot out and we had to stop the shoot--- unfortunately you cannot do second takes on a project like this.   I intended to start back up after tying the ball back in the hide, but my wife had a different plan.   After laughing at my deer skinning failure (her snort is the last sound you hear before things go black),  she set my phone on the back of the truck and ran inside to check the kids.   Well... the phone took the same route as the golf ball except it didn't bounce quite as nice.  So...... what you see is what you get.  The rest of the skinning was flawless, although it happened without quite as big of a smile as the first half.

FIRST

I've been pretty quiet so far this hunting season, and with good reason. Unless of course you wanted me to re-tell the stories of Bryan and Andrews successful hunts from my perspective which was from 90 yards away in another tree stand. I had to watch a nice six walk in front of me during the early doe season, and ever since then it's been almost nothing but bird watching. The good part is that I have my 5 year old in my tree stand with me this year so the time in the woods is well spent even when the deer don't show.

Tonight I decided to give it a try again after Elijah and I almost got to poke a little spike in the rain yesterday. (He is a common visitor to the area, so I think we should give him a name........Larry) This time I was going solo, no Eli and no bro's as 90 yard spectators. (in case you haven't figured out already, our tree stands are very close which provides one of the best HD Hunting Shows possible.) I climbed in the stand at 5:30 and took my hat off to say a little prayer. Within 20 minutes 4 deer were moving in. Spike (Larry) , Momma Doe, Baby girl, and Button Brother.  Larry was chasing the doe hoping for an early score but Momma wasn't having any.  Anyway, they made there way in while I put my hat on and stood to grab my bow. Some how I remained undetected, and was able to come to full draw.

This part of the story will only be understood by bow hunters..... I had a PERFECT broadside 20 yard shot. I took my sweet time finding all my anchor points. I had to hit Momma Doe perfect so we could maintain our 100% recovery rate for the year. Also it was Deer #1 for the new Destroyer Bow and I wanted to make a good first impression with the Ottawa County deer population. Anyway, I had already set in motion the steps leading to the trigger pull. It all happened within that second... Lustful Larry tried at Momma again, Once more she denied the man and quickly wheeled around. At that exact moment my series of “trigger pulling” steps had just completed and I watched my arrow fly into the dirt where Momma was standing only a second before.

The deer scattered, but Momma held up about 30 yards out in some thick cover and waited for her children to reconvene. Then the most amazing thing happened, a dejected, sad, defeated hunter made a last ditch effort. I grabbed for my trusty deer call and gave it a most desperate grunt. I'm pretty sure the doe just felt bad for me, because she turned around and walk right back to me. I already had my number 2 arrow knocked, I was at full draw for the second time in only a few minutes.  She came it to 15 yards, almost facing me I put my pin on her chest right along the shoulder...................... Flashback. I've been here before. The shoulder is hard and won't allow a pass through, the brisket is thick and full of fat, the deer would probably die but it would likely wander too far and would leave almost no blood trail. I could see the look of disappointment on Bryans face after losing the blood trail and having to admit that I stuck a deer in the chest again.

So I waited until she gave me a decent quartering shot. It only took 10 seconds, but for me ten seconds of holding a pin on a deer guarantees that the shaking has already escalated to seriously bad level. I let #2 fly and it it ripped through her upper shoulder through both lungs and didn't slow until it was dripping blood and stuck in the mud. Momma ran about 60 yards, and left a blood trail that I could have followed with my eyes closed.

I am very grateful for this deer! I know some people aren't going to be happy to know that I shot a mother doe. Just understand that I am not out there to kill for a thrill. As George W. Bush would say “I'm putting food on my family”. (pull up a youtube video of George's funny lines and this will make more sense to you). Here are the details

80 Lb. Doe

Taken October 19 2012

Upper “Killer Stand”

Shot with Easton Axis Arrows and Montec Broadhead

15 yards

double lung

recovery 60 yards

This should probably be a separate post. But I just wanted to quickly show you my latest project. It's a CVA Wolf for my kids. Hoping to get Elijah's first deer this year. I cut down the barrel and the stock. It seems to fit him really well. A 200 grain sabot and 50 grains of white hots should do the trick.

If you don't believe me, watch last weeks episode of Michigan Out of Doors.

Slammin the Salmon

Okay, so the title is a little on the lame side especially since all the fish aren't even salmon. Oh well it got your attention didn't it. As many of you faithful readers may remember, there was a post about a successful fishing trip on the day my daughter was born last September. There have been some "Legendary"** and also some mildly successful fishing trips since then. But nothing like this. The word on the water is that this is the best year on the big lake since the 70's. Three quarters of the Krak Boy Team wasn't alive then but we were able to travel back in time to see what the good old days were really about. Andrew and I (Chad) Woke up at 4 in the morning to try to repeat the success that we had this past September. Lines were in the water before the sun came up............. Just like last time we couldn't keep lines down. For the record, if you don't have auto pilot on your boat, always make sure to have three people on board. I had to be to work at 9, but within the 2 and a half hour window that we had to fish we were able to land 8 nice fish. (Andrew will comment on species and size). With one more man on board and another hour to fish we might have actually limited out. Good times! All we need now is to figure out how to catch these things during daylight hours. **Legendary--- is a term coined by Old Bro Krak. When used reference to a fishing trip it is simply a trip in which few or no fish were caught, the coast guard rescue boat is involved and vomiting is at the front of everyone's mind with the exception of the driver who is usually not prone to sea sickness.

Big Lake Big Expectations

Last night we were able to hook into 2 nice steel-head and a lake trout that just hit it's 20" size limit. My Mom, Dad, Elijah, Easton and I were headed out to 160' of water when Bryan called and told us to try it in 30 - 50 feet. He gets his info from a much more reliable source, so we dropped lines and gave it a try. After an hour of nothing I was just about to pull up and go deep when we hooked the first fish. Got it on a down rigger 30 feet down. The second and largest fish of the night came about an hour after the first and was caught on my Dad's Brand new Copper Pole. The third was again about 45 min. to an hour later on that same copper line. 3 of 4 isn't a bad night for a Kraker Cruise, but it was far from the stories of 17 for 21, etc... that we have been hearing about. I'll try not to complain.

New for 2012!

Every year after the whitetail season closes I fill my mind with thoughts of coyote hunting and usually thinking is all the further I get. As you can tell from the blog this January and February have been filled with nothing as far as hunting or fishing. It didn't help that ice was pretty much non existent this year. I'm not really that disappointed as ice fishing ranks right up there with carp shooting in my book. They are pretty much there to just pass the time until real hunting and fishing seasons come around. (my personal opinion, feel free to strongly disagree)
Thankfully my wife came through with a SWEEEEEET new toy for our 6th wedding anniversary.




This is a used Bow Tech Destroyer 340. Old Bro Bryan found it on Ebay for a great price! I'm slightly sad to see my old bow get set aside, it did it's job and did it quite well. Not to mention that it was really the first bow I owned. (not including my old fiberglass re-curve, and my first 20 dollar compound bow that mom bought at a garage sale) The old Diamond Justice really wasn't even used for my first deer kill, that honor goes to my Dads old Tan 110 Lb bow with 2% let off. The Justice was also given to me as a gift from my wife, and for that reason it'll stick around forever, but it's hunting days are over. I have taken somewhere around 15 deer (probably a slightly high estimate) with the Justice but still am only mildly sad to see it retire.



This new bow will likely stick around a few years longer than old Justice. It is shooting over 320 FPS completely set up. (compared to 260 from the Diamond) And personally I love how it looks especially with the “black ops” finish. Not to mention that it was an anniversary gift from my wife. This bow has already made a few memories and has also already shed some blood. Unfortunately it was my blood..... I'm not quite used to the hard plastic grip and while doing some video target practice with my brothers I let the bow slip out of my sweaty hand at about half draw. It flew back and the cable guard caught my trigger finger and knuckle. The good thing was that it gave me an excuse when I ended up losing the video shoot.

BTW--- This I'm not the only one with new Equipment this year. More stories are soon to follow.

The Hunters Helpers

My first wall hanger came to me this year on opening day of the Michigan gun season. It always looks impressive when you see someone holding up a nice set of antlers, and it is usually assumed that the guy in the picture did most of the work. However in this hunt there should be a few others standing by my side. My own Father, my Father in-law, brother in-law, and a gracious land owner all played a part in this story.


Weapon – Mossberg 20 ga. Pump
Ammo- Slug
Shot Distance -20-30 yards (first shot, I'll not mention the others)
Dressed Weights -170 lbs
Shot Placement – GUT (yes it says gut, and yes it also says 20 yards, and yes I did win Krak Shot this year---Buck Fever)
Sex - Male
Points – 8
16" inside spread