For those of you that weren\’t reading my blog last year, I was stalking baby mallard duck eggs.  For weeks I saw the male and female hanging between our house and a neighbor\’s house.  Finally we found that mother duck found the perfect bedding spot for her eggs.

And she sat.

And sat.

For weeks.

And according to several online sites about mallards, her cute little babies were to hatch within the week.

Until …

A Dirty Rotten Nasty Fox ate them.

I was horrified and heartbroken when I saw the photos from our trail cam.

So this year I\’ve been waiting on their return.   I heard them one morning a couple of weeks ago and saw them in a neighbors yard once. As of last week, no sign of them at all. I\’ve been searching and searching in our yard, a few neighbor\’s yards, driving my car slowing around the neighborhood, secretly peeking in neighbors bushes in hopes of locating them. No luck.

Until…

I was minding my own business on Facebook when my husband walked in and said, “Marty (neighbor across the street) has duck eggs in his bushes.”

Me: Are you kidding? Why oh why would she lay her eggs over there. That\’s right in the path of a running fox. His yard isn\’t fenced. We have a yard with a fence and lots of bushes to protect her. Why in the world would she lay them over there?

Mark: Jody, I better not catch you over there peeking in his bushes.

Me:  Don\’t you have somewhere to go?  I think you need more grass seed.

911 what\’s your emergency: I think we have a peeping tom. There\’s a crazy lady dressed in a black sweatsuit with her hood on peeking in our bushes. Yes you heard me right.  Not our window. Our bushes.

Maybe if I wear camouflage no one will notice me.

Have a good day all … I have sweet little baby duck eggs to find. And think I better practice my fence jumping skills.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: bushes, cute, dirty-rotten, duck eggs, eggs, emergency, facebook, hood-on-peeking, house, humor, mallard-duck, neighborhood

Before I left for vacation I asked a few bloggers if they\’d like to do a guest post here at The Hunter\’s Wife.  Nancy Jo Adams from Shenanigans From the Field sent me this guest post a couple of weeks ago.  I thought today would be the perfect day  to share it with my readers.

Saturday morning was a slow morning in the blind as I sat on the edge of a field in hopes of seeing the Grand Poopah; a name I dubbed the trophy bird that we filmed on this land earlier this season. As I sat there listening…and watching the weeds grow…my beloved Crackie vibrated in my cargo pant pocket. I thought to myself, I guess now would be the perfect time to catch up with what is waiting in my inbox. It was well after fly-down time and we had not heard a tom in over thirty minutes which was a tell-tale sign that they were “henned-up”.

As I looked through the messages in my inbox I ran across a Facebook message from Jody aka the Hunter\’s Wife. Interesting, I am going to have to read this one now; knowing that it was going to bring a chuckle or a pondering thought. The message was asking if I wanted to write a guest post. Guest post? Shoot yeah, I want the opportunity to write a guest post on Jody\’s blog.

As I sat there thinking how ironic that was…an avid “if I will eat it-I will hunt it” hunter writing a guest post in a blog by a camo-loving, crappie fishing, cupcake baking non-hunter. This can\’t be too hard–not so long ago, I WAS a hunter\’s wife so I have experience here; I think.

So I sat and pondered for a little bit and it must have been the dew dampened earth permeating my nostrils, or the beam of sunshine that crept through a crack in the blind window that warmed my shoulder, or maybe even the song birds serenading me with a tune they were programmed to sing before their first light–I don\’t know what it was exactly but the thought that Jody was missing out on all of these things was sad to me. The thrill of seeing an animal in their natural habitat unknowing of your presence, the communication of the animals among each other, the interaction between a caller and a tom as that tom methodically displays all of his grandeur; the colors ricocheting off his feathers of gold, copper, beige and the stark red, white and blue of his head. The sound, which cannot be explained in words, of a gobble as it rattles the stillness of a cool morning and the building anticipation while watching a tom strutting into your decoy setup; gobbling the entire way. The heart pounding moment that you raise your gun in attempt to harvest that tom and the wing flapping, dust flying moment right after the shot as you run out to get a better look at your prize harvest.

Wow! I wondered to myself, “What would it take to get Jody into the woods to experience all this?”

But like a needle SCREECHING across a record, glass SHATTERING on concrete, or two pots CLANGING together….I popped back to reality. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I could just see it now…calamity in the field. I could just envision the morning now:

Turkey: {Gobbling from the tree!}
Jody: What was that racket?
Nancy Jo: That was a gobble. Didn\’t it give you chills and make your hair on your arms stand on end?
Jody: More like raised the hair on the nape of my neck…what a racket!
Nancy Jo: Look at that beautiful sunrise!
Jody: Great! Now it is going to get hot and muggy. My hair is going to be a wreck!
Nancy Jo: The birds are on the ground now. We should see them any minute.
Jody: What is that smell? Peww..It smells musky!
Nancy Jo: That is the damp ground from the dew. Smells fresh, eh?
Jody: Like fresh mildew. Is this smell going to stay in my clothes and hair?
Nancy Jo: That sun beam coming through the window feels good doesn\’t it? Warms you clean to the core.
Jody: Look at all that dust and pollen blowing in the air…ewww….is that going to stay in my clothes and hair?
Nancy Jo: Look Jody!! Look, the tom is headed our way.
Jody: Oh my!! What an ugly bird! He looks like a buzzard!!
Nancy Jo: Look! Look at that! He is strutting, putting on a show for the decoys! Isn\’t that the neatest thing? Simply beautiful!
Jody: Is that a bug on my pant leg?? Oh! Oh! Is that a TICK? Get it off!! Get it off of me!!
Nancy Jo: Shhhh!! You are going to scare off the tom.
Jody: I am bored! Do you have any games on Crackie? How about the Internet? Anything?
Turkey: {Gobbles.} {Struts.} {Gobbles.} {Struts.} {Gobbles.} {Strut.}
Jody: What a racket! Can you get him to shut up? Shoo him away or something. Make him stop all that non-sense. What does he think he is doing anyways with all that poofing up and charades he is doing?
Nancy Jo: He is strutting for the decoys. I am fixing to make him quiet, dead quiet.
Nancy Jo: Raises her gun. Clicks the safety off and prepares to make a cluck to make the tom alert for the shot.
Jody: WAIT! ARE YOU GOING TO SHOOT HIM?
Nancy Jo: Yep! Look at that beautiful beard on him. I sure hope he has nice long spurs too!
Jody: NO!! You can\’t shoot that BEAUTIFUL bird. Look how cute he is all puffed out. Look at the wonderful colors reflecting off of him. Look how pretty his pony tail is. He is so patriotic looking with that red, white, and blue head….NO!! You can\’t shoot him!! No! No!
Nancy Jo: He is a trophy bird Jody—I can\’t shoo him off!! He will also make an awesome honey bourbon grilled turkey breast.
Jody: No!! As she rises to stick her head out of the blind…shoo bird, shoo… get out of here–waving her arms frantically in the air.
Turkey: {Putt!} {Putt!}
Nancy Jo: As I watch tail feathers waggling, beard flopping from side to side and the bird disappear over the terrace in a dead run, I click the safety on and lower my gun, shaking my head as I slump my shoulders.
Jody: With a big smile on her face. See, that wasn\’t hard at all. I\’m hungry. Let\’s go see if we can find a cupcake some place. Does my hair look okay?

Yeah, what was I thinking?? Like the song birds, programmed for a predetermined sound before hatching…some women are born NOT to be in the woods with a gun sitting in their lap, sun on their shoulder, damp earth permeating their nostrils, and anticipation keeping them glued to their seat for hours on end as they ponder many things… crazy things at times.

Nancy Jo Adams – Shenanigans From the Field

Thank you Nancy Jo.

To my readers: Nancy Jo is a great follow on Facebook. That showoff outdoor chick does nothing but hunt.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: deer hunting, facebook, field, hair, hunter, internet, nostrils, perfect, readers, turkeys

Training a new pup isn\’t easy and it is going to take time! Start with the basics.

It isn\’t easy and it is going to take time! Start with the basics. Sit, stay and come, and make him understand that a command given is to be obeyed. This is done through repetition but keep the sessions short. You must also understand that dog training isn\’t a democracy, the pup has to understand that he has no say in what takes place. If the pup gets the idea that he can obey only when he feels like it, you are going to have problems.

There are lots of good books on dog training out there but my favorites are Gun Dog, Game Dog and Family Dog all by Richard Walters and have been in publication for over 30 years. These three great books will help you train your new pup without making lots of mistakes that will create consequences that you might have to live with for years. By avoiding a few common fundamental mistakes, you can help your pup achieve a high level of performance that you will enjoy for years.

Here are a few things in my opinion that you should not do with a new pup.

1. Don\’t ever play tug-of-war if you want your pup to retrieve. That teaches him to play keep-away and teaches him he doesn\’t have to give up the training dummies. Don\’t let him chew or mouth training dummies either if you ever want an edible bird retrieved.
2. Don\’t verbally or physically discipline a pup for picking up or carrying something you don\’t want him to have. You might send him the message that retrieving is bad. Simply take it away from him.
3. Don\’t use different terms for a command. For example, “Here” and “Come” mean the same thing so just pick one and stick with it.
4. Don\’t chase a pup because you might scare him, or he might just see it as a game and you will have a harder time teaching him to come on your command.
5. Don\’t ignore the small things like occasionally barking in the crate or kennel. Once these behaviors become ingrained, the more difficult they are to break.
6. Don\’t let the pup get away with anything like sleeping on the sofa, stealing food, or eating birds that you don\’t want him to do for life.
7. Don\’t get stuck in a rut. Training in the same place at the same time with drills in the same order doesn\’t allow him to think on his own. Teach him to adapt by varying his training grounds and routines.
8. Don\’t discipline a dog randomly. Be careful that the pup can connect the discipline directly to his behavior. The same thinking applies to his rewards.

These simple don\’ts will help turn you pup into the hunting dog that will give you more pleasure and pride that could possibly be explained in words. Please let me know your thoughts.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: basics, cory glauner, discipline, facebook, family, hunting, linkedin, training

One of our PH\’s in Zululand has a Rogue Elephant bull available. He is approx. 20 to 30 years old and very similar to the one on this picture (approx. 25 to 30 pound tusks).

Rogue Elephant Bull Hunt in Zululand

$28,950 plus daily rates – 7 days minimum
It\’s a good deal but the hunt needs to take place in the near future.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: begin-sexy, cory glauner, daily-rates, days-minimum, discounted trips, elephant, facebook, general outdoors, international, linkedin, picture, pound-tusks, the-original, upon-something

This is why you ALWAYS wear sunglasses fishing.

It\’s up to you whether the lenses are glass or plastic, but I would say plastic is safer.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: begin-sexy, facebook, fishing, general outdoors, lenses, linkedin, outdoors international, safety, stumble, the-lenses, the-original, wear-sunglasses

I grew up in the city and never lived on a farm or milked cows or had to clean up a chicken coop.  I\’ve driven past pig farms and thought, “Oh heavens to pet poo who in their right mind would want to smell that all day. Goodness.”  With my sweatshirt pulled over my nose.   I\’m a city girl that once stepped in dog doo and threw my shoe away.

So if I were to ever have a pet lamb … he\’d have to live in the house …

Yes, I shared this on Twitter and Facebook twice. But I can\’t help it. It makes me smile. And laugh. And want to hug him. So I told Mark we need a pet lamb …

Me: Mark I need a cute baby pet lamb.
Mark: No
Me: Isn\’t he the cutest? Bouncy bounce. Boing Boing Boing
Mark: No
Me: I don\’t remember you being the one that makes all the decisions around here.
Mark: Get a pet lamb Jody. And you can clean the …

Does anyone have a cute baby pet house lamb I can come visit?

Have a good day all … and just like in any other hunting household, we\’ll probably have lamb chops for dinner.  And I\’ll have salad.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: being-the-one, city, cows-or-had, decisions, deer hunting, facebook, farm-or-milked, hunting, pet-lamb, the-decisions

On November 6, a friend in South Dakota had seen a buck in the distance with his head down. It wasn\’t moving, and although she honked the car horn repeatedly, he wouldn\’t raise his head. She grabbed her binoculars and looked at him, and saw that the buck\’s horns were entangled with those of another one, which was dead. So she called friends and asked if they wanted an adventure — untangling them.

They were tangled in an old fence line just east of a golf course, where some railroad tracks had been. The live buck was on the high side, and the dead buck on the slope. They estimated that other buck had been dead for 2 or 3 days. The live buck had the bigger rack – a 5 x 6. The dead buck was bigger bodied and looked to be an older deer. It had more “stickers” on its rack

They attempted to break a point off the dead buck\’s rack with his pliers, but couldn\’t. Then they tried turning the dead buck\’s head but the other one just became more frightened and started backing up. The now scared buck eventually got out of the fence, and out in the open. Terry pulled an old post out of the fence line and used it to try and pry the racks loose, but it didn\’t work.

They finally decided to go to a friend\’s house in order to borrow his chainsaw, but then they thought something quieter would be better, and so got a hacksaw instead. Terry sawed the main beam on the dead buck and then other one was free!

The buck didn\’t realize this for probably 30 seconds or so. When he did, he started striking the dead buck in the face repeatedly. He finally raised his head a little, and then a little more. He stood there with his head held high looking at them and they wondered if he was going to try charging them! Then he turned and ran off rather wobbly. He went a short distance, lay down briefly, and then got up and took off in the direction of the Big Sioux River .

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: binoculars, buck, facebook, fence, general information, honked-the-car, locked up, railroad-tracks, sawed-the-main, started-backing

It\’s my opinion that men were made to hunt.
God put it in our DNA.

I am addicted to hunting. I don\’t golf or play tennis or hang out in the bars with my buddies. I hunt. When I am not hunting, I am thinking about hunting. When I am doing something my motives are simple, it is either doing something that will make a better life for my family (with me God and Family are always first) or to promote my next hunting adventure.

It\’s my opinion that men were made to hunt. God put it in our DNA. Tell me the truth… Have you ever been driving around and saw a cow in a pasture and thought to yourself, wow, the way he is quartering away with his front leg a little forward, that would be a great bow shot, and if that was a bull elk could I make a stalk. Or walked out of a store and when you felt the wind, you instantly knew it was from the Northwest and it would be a good day to be in your favorite hunting blind. Or have you ever agonized over which Broadhead to use, fixed blade or expendables, or should I use my 308 of my 300 WSSM. Now, lets throw a trip to Africa into the mix. You think your obsessed now, wait till you have Africa to think about. My partner Cory and I are going to Africa in May. I\’ve been several times but it\’s Cory\’s first trip. He is so screwed, he will never get over it. Tell me! Is this kind of thinking normal?

Yes, I am addicted to hunting and no I don\’t need help. I don\’t want help. I live to hunt. I crave a meadow full of Elk or a snow covered mountain with Bighorns working their way up the canyons and when I make it back to my dusty truck, I love to sit on the tailgate, light up a good cigar and ponder about some of Gods wonderful creations that have been so thoughtfully placed here for us hunters to enjoy. Whether I kill or not is not important. I have given everything to my passion and my passion is hunting and if your passion is like mine, it\’s a passion to be shared with friends and family. So to my friend Cory. Lets go to Africa!!!!!!

If you share the same passion that Cory and I have and hunting consumes your every thought we encourage you to leave a comment below. We would also love to exchange stories of obsession so keep us posted on your thoughts.

May God Bless,
Doak

ps. Sometimes I like to fish as well. Today I went crappie fishing. Enjoy the pictures!

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: bars, facebook, hunting, linkedin, northwest, obsessed, opinion, outdoors international, passion, south-africa

White Rhino Cow Management Hunt

This hunt is for a +/- minus 28 Inch White rhino cow
$ 2950.00 per inch
$ 460.00 per day min 5 day hunt
The White Rhino, through much effort by hunters and conservationists has increased in numbers sufficiently to once again be hunted in South Africa. The Black Rhino (Diceros bicomis) has not made such a successful comeback and is still highly protected. The White Rhino or square-lipped rhino is much larger than the Black or hook-lipped rhino weighing in at as much as two and one-half tons. He has a broader and longer head and a prominent hump in the shoulder region. The White Rhino is an exclusive grazer, social in nature and relatively docile except when mating or protecting their young. The Rhino can live as long as 40 years. The smaller Black Rhino can be identified by his smaller, shorter head and rounder ears; he has a distinct prehensile or hooked upper lip. He is an exclusive browser. The Black Rhino weighs in at just about a ton and can be much more aggressive than his cousin the White Rhino. He has been known to charge without provocation.

This is the cow that will be hunted

Both species and both sexes carry two continuously growing dense hair like horns. Dominant breeding bulls can be very territorial. Possessed of extremely good hearing and a well-developed sense of smell, their eyesight is poor making them fairly easy to approach from downwind if your stalk is done slowly and quietly.

This member of the Big Five has very thick skin thus larger caliber rifles with well-constructed bullets are the order of the day. Solids would always be a good choice for their excellent penetration but remember to be cognizant of what is behind your target, as this type bullet will often exit. Once again look to the PH for guidance.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: black, black-rhino, facebook, general outdoors, international, linkedin, management, outdoors international, upon-something