South Texas day 2

It's easy to wake up early when you're in big deer country.  Deer hunters will understand this.  Most of the time I'm counting the minutes 'til the alarm goes off.

It was cold, overcast & still light raining when Joey and I left camp.  No hurry, it wouldn't be light 'til almost 7.

A pleasant north wind was still blowing when we got to our spot, the kind that would chill you to the bone if you didn't have a cozy blind to roll into.

Before I could see, Joey said there was a deer under the feeder but he couldn't tell how big.  It was still way too dark. The last time he said that, it turned out to be a really nice 8 point that I missed last year. And I'd almost forgotten about it.

This guy was an old 10 point that seemed more intent on eating corn than anything else.  A big mature 8 did show up, but we weren't looking for a cull today. 

A beautiful young 9 and several does came and went throughout the morning, along with all kinds of other birds & animals to watch.  It's amazing how much life the dry brush country can hold.

Down the road, a nice young 10 showed up, the kind of deer that could really be something if he lives 4 more years. And when I put the binocs down I saw another one coming out behind him.  A big one.

"It's him!" We both said at the same time...

Firsts for 2015

First of all, this was going to be my last deer hunt of the season, first one for the new year though.  And since I hadn't gotten to hunt but one time way back in October, I was itching to go.

We got invited to a ranch south of Freer, Tx., in the famed brush country where I'd also be trying out my new AAC supressor that I had installed on my 7mm-08.

It was cold and misty when we arrived, perfect deer hunting weather, and my guide Joey was waiting to take me out as soon as we got unloaded.  20 minutes later, we were parked next to a brand new,  wheelchair trailer blind by Atascosa Wildlife Supply.  Let me just say that I've been in a lot of blinds in my life that were supposedly accessible, but this one was done right.  It's moblie, spacious (plenty of room for a chairbound hunter and a companion), the windows are the correct height and there's a ledge that runs around the entire inside for shooting off of.  I was impressed.

It was parked along the gravel road where we could also see down a scendero about 100 yds to a feeder.  I knew it was going to be a great afternoon.

We watched several good young bucks come and go, and finally settled on this one big cull buck to take out before it got too dark to see.  He was chasing does all over the place but the last time he came out on the road I was ready for him.

One shot, one kill on a big six!

The First Blog

Hi everybody, after a 2 year absence from blogging, been spending all my time working on this new site & magazine, I'm coming back on the air.  The site will be up soon and I wanted to get this started to keep y'all up-to-date on what we are doing at Able Outdoors in 2015 and also so you can follow me on some of the adventures we are planning.

The seasons are coming to an end here, but if you're planning on going hunting out-of-state, January & February are the months to start figuring out where you want to go, what you want to hunt for and then submitting your applications to either the organizations in charge of the hunt or to the state's wildlife departments, or both.  It sounds complicated I know, but it really isn't.  Everything is done online these days and with a little help it's pretty easy to figure out.

This week I'm heading down to south Texas to hunt on the famed Sweden ranch.  I haven't gotten to deer hunt much this year so I'm uber-excited to be going, plus it's been cold & rainy for about a week and I'm just ready to get out of the house!  I will be posting pics and updates here as we go so check back.  It will be my first, and last, real deer hunt this season.

I've been receiving some great stories already from challenged sportsmen across the country and I'm looking forward to reading more of them as we get ready to launch the magazine.  I really want to try to get them all out eventually either on the site or in print so please feel free to send us all your ideas.  Your stories are going to be what makes this magazine go.

Okay that's enough for now.  It feels good to be plugged back in and I'm looking forward to doing this thing!