I just read your age structure post and I just wanted to say thank you. I know it's been rough here lately at times, but some people just don't realize how easy you make information.
Quick background on me. I grew up a military brat. When I reached hunting age we were living in Germany and there was no way to hunt. When we moved back stateside we were stationed in Arkansas. We started going once a year for a week to southern Missouri. This was my grandpa, uncles, Dad and my brother. Our principle at the time even excused us for the week, because he considered it family bonding. Although I would never take those times back, I don't think we hunted the way most people would say was "right". We would drive deer, scent wasn't even a thought, a deer was a deer and a buck was just a bonus. A yearling was "good eaten". Anyways as my grandpa got older and couldn't hunt anymore those trips stopped. I didn't hunt for 20 years. I joined the Air Force myself and then found Harley's and women.
Anyways I ended up finding the love of my life and when we married I got a microwave family out of the deal. 1 boy and 1 girl. Things weren't always easy before me and my son really had problems trusting or even wanting to be around adult men. He had seen some pretty bad things with his "other dad". At 5 and 6 he learned if he drove his drunk Dad home the long way he would pass out and maybe not beat up his mom that night (wow this is getting long and I am getting sidetracked)
One thing my son wanted to do was hunt. He loves the outdoors and fishing and hunting have always been something he loves. My brother farms rice in Arkansas and although he doesn't duck hunt he saw the explosion and started putting in pits. Ended up a guy 15 minutes from my house wanted to lease some pits, and owned a small 70 acre farm. My brother swapped a couple pits for hunting rights on the farm.
First year we showed up the day before deer season and the guy showed us where he had two man stands. We hunted, but we really bonded. We would talk and joke and even killed a deer. It was a yearling doe and we were so excited.
Then one day a friend at work asked me if I have ever seen Tndeer. I ended up joining and I have learned so much from this site. I admit I asked some really dumb questions (asked how many points a deer would grow a year on average) but BSK answered most my questions without ever once laughing, at least that I know of). You have always shared so much knowledge that in all honesty you could charge for with what you do.
Today I am a totally different hunter than I was. We have put in food plots, planted trees, created bedding areas and have turned deer season to a 365 day thing we do together. We both now bow, ML and rifle hunt. I am still waiting on my first buck 5 years later. I had a young 8 at 15 yards during bow season last year that just wouldn't leave. I just want to make sure I am shooting the right deer now. We have thinned some does out and my son has got a couple bucks (much better than me shooting them). I am now trying to teach him the best way. He used to hunt with his other Dad but only during youth hunt and they would set under a feeder (legal there) while his dunk Dad did the shooting.
So to wrap up this ramble, thanks again for your time and sharing your knowledge on here. SCN, you're another one that does a service here that goes above and beyond. I am sure there are others as well. For me personally you have helped me build a strong relationship with my son. Through our hunting time he was able to start trusting and we now have a strong bond.
Now if you would get up to speed on Turkeys. That's a rough crowd to try and pick their brains at time....
Wow this thing got long, it's no Wes post but still
His big Arkansas buck
His first double
When we first started running cameras we had all does. Last year we had pictures of 11 different bucks. Here is one of them
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quick background on me. I grew up a military brat. When I reached hunting age we were living in Germany and there was no way to hunt. When we moved back stateside we were stationed in Arkansas. We started going once a year for a week to southern Missouri. This was my grandpa, uncles, Dad and my brother. Our principle at the time even excused us for the week, because he considered it family bonding. Although I would never take those times back, I don't think we hunted the way most people would say was "right". We would drive deer, scent wasn't even a thought, a deer was a deer and a buck was just a bonus. A yearling was "good eaten". Anyways as my grandpa got older and couldn't hunt anymore those trips stopped. I didn't hunt for 20 years. I joined the Air Force myself and then found Harley's and women.
Anyways I ended up finding the love of my life and when we married I got a microwave family out of the deal. 1 boy and 1 girl. Things weren't always easy before me and my son really had problems trusting or even wanting to be around adult men. He had seen some pretty bad things with his "other dad". At 5 and 6 he learned if he drove his drunk Dad home the long way he would pass out and maybe not beat up his mom that night (wow this is getting long and I am getting sidetracked)
One thing my son wanted to do was hunt. He loves the outdoors and fishing and hunting have always been something he loves. My brother farms rice in Arkansas and although he doesn't duck hunt he saw the explosion and started putting in pits. Ended up a guy 15 minutes from my house wanted to lease some pits, and owned a small 70 acre farm. My brother swapped a couple pits for hunting rights on the farm.
First year we showed up the day before deer season and the guy showed us where he had two man stands. We hunted, but we really bonded. We would talk and joke and even killed a deer. It was a yearling doe and we were so excited.
Then one day a friend at work asked me if I have ever seen Tndeer. I ended up joining and I have learned so much from this site. I admit I asked some really dumb questions (asked how many points a deer would grow a year on average) but BSK answered most my questions without ever once laughing, at least that I know of). You have always shared so much knowledge that in all honesty you could charge for with what you do.
Today I am a totally different hunter than I was. We have put in food plots, planted trees, created bedding areas and have turned deer season to a 365 day thing we do together. We both now bow, ML and rifle hunt. I am still waiting on my first buck 5 years later. I had a young 8 at 15 yards during bow season last year that just wouldn't leave. I just want to make sure I am shooting the right deer now. We have thinned some does out and my son has got a couple bucks (much better than me shooting them). I am now trying to teach him the best way. He used to hunt with his other Dad but only during youth hunt and they would set under a feeder (legal there) while his dunk Dad did the shooting.
So to wrap up this ramble, thanks again for your time and sharing your knowledge on here. SCN, you're another one that does a service here that goes above and beyond. I am sure there are others as well. For me personally you have helped me build a strong relationship with my son. Through our hunting time he was able to start trusting and we now have a strong bond.
Now if you would get up to speed on Turkeys. That's a rough crowd to try and pick their brains at time....
Wow this thing got long, it's no Wes post but still
His big Arkansas buck
His first double
When we first started running cameras we had all does. Last year we had pictures of 11 different bucks. Here is one of them
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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