A Wintry Mix

Today, rain and ice are falling over Water Valley and it looks like it is going to get worse. God knows how many deers lives will be saved because of the ugly weather.
the Mailman has cancelled his trip to camp and it looks like we are too.
So this is the end of deer season, but we will stay after the hogs.
Time to visit some blogs!

Scenes From The Season

Still Shilling For Jeff

Dad gave a talk about his book "Jeff's God" to the Coffeeville Womens' Progressive Club on Thursday. He and my Aunt Maralyn are seated. Sue Rogers his publisher and Sarah Williams of the Coffeeville Courier are standing.

A Smooth Weekend

For once everything was relaxed at the Christmas Place. No one was too worried about getting a deer, it was more of just a good fun time. Denise went hunting with me for a hog. She couldn't shoot a deer but something about those hogs gets her blood up.
At night it was warm enough to have a fire outside, we ate hearty, talked and just enjoyed wrapping up the season.
This weekend will wrap up the season, and it has been a good one.
The Great Hog Hunt will be coming up around the end of February which should be fun. Ground Deer Day is February 2 when all the bucks peep out of their holes to see if it is safe. There will be reports on that stupid Thunderhoof too.
We will look for shed antlers (like Steve), scout and explore the property and then it will be turkey season.

A Trio Of Pairs

The weather was finally warmer this weekend at the famous Christmas Place and Dad decided to give the ducks one last try. Early saturday morning his shotgun started blasting over at the Pond Stand and he managed to finally get some ducks. He brought in a pair of wood ducks that morning (the first ducks of the year for him).
Burney came in Saturday morning and headed to the Slough while Trent went up to the GraveYard. A pair of does were taken that afternoon by them and as it got late on Saturday and everyone was coming in, rifle shots erupted at the Pivot off the Big Field. Paul and our old friend David Hyde were there as two hogs came out at pitch dark. They counted One...Two...Three and both rifles roared. A nice pair of wild hogs bit the dust. Here is a pic of the hog hunters.

Hog Camp ??

This weekend I am heading to camp with the objective of blasting a hog. This has gone on far too long and I am about to Phillip those SOB's.
If Denise comes we ought to have double action.
Camo is coming because she hates every animal that walks, crawls or flys down there.
David Hyde will be there to drink and uhhh... shoot a hog.
Mark will be there because he has an undying hatred for those porcine varmints.
Spencer will be there to blast Trents' big buck.
Paul and Michael are coming because, hey.. it is still hunting season.
Trent will be there to.... I have no idea why he is coming, all the big ones are dead. Trigger will have to console him now that his BFF Bob is not coming.
Will update you when we get back.

The Final Run

We are in the final run of deer season at the famous Christmas Place. Yesterday was the last day of the regular gun season and even though Trent took the day off and went to shoot the big deer Bob saw, it didn't happen. Two weeks of muzzleloader season on private lands is still going on. Hoping to get Spencer to come up for a chance at a big buck before it is over. (Kids can still use rifles)
I will be using the .45/70. Poor Hogs :(
In other important news, this weekend Denise and I are getting after the hogs. Damn, she is beginning to act like Mark and hates a hog too!
It should be very interesting.

Heavy Discussions

Most of the time after we come in from hunting we will sit around the kitchen table and talk about hunting etc while we wait for supper. Guest visit with us, we relive the day or talk about what is going on in our immediate area that affects our hunting. Here is a pic of the other night when Randy and Stephanie came over and we got into a big discussion about the state of hunting on the refuge, the wild hog problem, hunting in general,and what was I going to do about that stupid deer that is eating up the governments crops. Me? I don't even like that damn varmint. In fact, as soon as he comes by my stand I am going to put a bullet in him.

Murder Inc.

After we brought out Bob's deer it was raining so hard that you almost could not see. Trent, Tony, Bob, Mark, Marian and I headed to the kitchen table to hear his story, have a drink and talk about deer and hog hunting. Ten minutes into this, I thought I was in a gangster movie. All we needed was the Capo Di Porko to make the scene complete. Mailrider and Bob began the discussion on how to kill hogs and the gleam in their eyes made me sit back and just listen. They spent way too much time talking about hating them, blasting them and many different ways to trap and kill them. The discussion raised the hair on the back of my neck as it moved into ways to cook, bury and eat the hogs. I began to feel sorry for the damn things.
Anyway, I can assure you that those two hate a damn hog and I think they will keep hunting them every chance they get. I think the hogs better find a new place to roam if they want to live.

Lazarus Strikes Again

Bob (Lazarus) Phillips has been a lot more fun since he came back from the dead (and a better hunter). Marian and Bob came over this weekend to hunt and Bob was rarin' to get after a hog.
He went back to haunt the North cornfield where he shot his hog and this time almost scored a double. He missed a hog but a nice young deer came out and he wasted no time blasting it. Congratulations Bob!
Don't worry Marian, there is a hog out there with your name on it.
Go over and see what Marian had to say about her weekend.

Management

Burniac and the Stand Stealer were in great form this weekend. Burney took this cull buck and Mark got a doe. Don't those two have a damn job?

The Hog Menace

Last night Trent, Dad and I drove to Coffeeville to a wild hog seminar given by the state. They covvered history, disease and the population growth of swine in the U.S. It was interesting and informative but on leaving I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie. This is what I learned.
1. You have got a problem.
2. You are on your on.
Luckily for me, I know a man that never met a hog that wouldn't look better with a bullet in him.

P.S. (3 men)- see comments

The Tennessee Contingent

This past weekend Mark brought in the Tennessee Contingent. Brad, Clint and Brandon are all from up around the Henderson, TN area. They are also diehard Vol fans. They seemed to have a really good time even with my brothers efforts to thwart them from blasting a big buck. They took it in stride and ignored the idiots of course.
Then the hunting started. Those guys blasted everything that moved. Deer, hogs, (thank God I did not take Camo), and anything else. Hooping and hollering and blasting all over the place. Looked like Mushy on a Saturday night.
We always enjoy their company. They are great guests and fun to be around. Hope they cash in a mule ticket one of these days. All in all 7 deer were taken and 4 hogs.
They did pretty damn well.


Where is Clint with his deer and hog?

The Weekend Was A "10"

This weekend it was cold as a Canuckian deer hunter. I hunted the point and it was 9 degrees wind chill that morning. The upside was that the deer were moving like crazy.
At 8:40AM this 10-point came by your friendly neighborhood blogger and I blasted him at about 75 yards. This is basically the end of my hunting and a great way to end it.
Being the nice guy I am, I gave everyone else hell the rest of the day. the deer weighed 215 lbs. and was really nice but later Mark was feeling so bad, and pitiful, and dejected, and disadvantaged that I took pity on him and told him where to go hunt a deer that I had been saving for next year. I was tired of his moping around and whining. He quickly blasted this fine 10 point at the Cheeseburger Stand and came in with a giant smile and handshakes all around (he tried to screw it up but got lucky). Congratulations Mark, that is a mule!
Anyway two really nice 10-points for the weekend.

Beauty

I am off to camp this afternoon and it is going to be cold, cold, COLD. No matter how the deer hunting goes I am always drawn back because of images like this. An absoulutely beautiful view of the slough next to the bean fields. Hope you will visit in the spring so we can enjoy these sights together.

Results So Far

In Case you Haven't Heard

In case you haven't heard, the Ole Miss Rebels beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 21-7 in the Cotton Bowl. It was the ugliest football game ever but the Rebels came out victorious. Here is a pic of Hillary at the game with Colonel Reb.




Spencer and Camo were not impressed.

Action

We did not take any big bucks this weekend, but there was plenty of action anyway. For management, Paul and Spencer each took a doe and Trent got a hog.
I shot a hog that got away and blasted a coyote.
All in all a productive, action filled weekend.