MyNature – Is your digital guide to animal tracks and wildlife in the palm of your hand for iphone or ipod 3.0 or higher.

A couple of weeks ago Rick at Whitetail Woods wrote about MyNature and because I think it\’s a great app, I thought I would write about it here as well.

I loved to explain how it all works but it is much easier to watch the video.

What a great tool to have when out in the field or spending a day out in the woods with your kids teaching them about nature.

And if it was designed specifically for The Hunter\’s Wife – I\’d love for it to say…

“Fresh bear track – you better hightail it out of there – NOW!”

“And don\’t climb a tree – bears climb trees.”

Rumor has it that soon MyNature app will be available on other phones as well.   I have a Blackberry so I will have to wait until then.

Blog: MyNature Blog with updates and tips.

Download: The app is priced at $6.99 – download MyNature app.

Interview: My good friends at Outdoors With Dan Small radio did an interview with Jeff Greco from MyNature.

Have a great day all … and happy animal tracking.  And hightailing it out of there.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: animal tracking, hightail-it-out, iphone-or-ipod, kids, nature, outdoors, phones-as-well, social media, video, watch-the-video, woods

While fishing around the internet I came across the blog Fishing With Dad.  I loved one of his recent post about his memories of fishing with his Dad and then I came across a picture of a Tiki Bar.  So I emailed Dennis and asked if I could share the story of his Tiki Bar.

Outback Tiki Bar story from Dennis:

My wife went away on business for the week before Mother\’s day 07 and I wanted to do something special for her for Mother\’s day.  The traveling was getting to her and my kids (me too but they\’re first).  I had been thinking about doing a bar on the deck so I decided to run with the idea.

Me, my four y/o, 3 y/o, and one y/o (she didn\’t help but was there for moral support, lol) built the bar, with a three tier roof to allow smoke out when cooking, smoking an occasional cigar, or if company smokes out the top.  I did the roof so it keeps rain out but is well vented.

We did it ourselves (from plans in my head), didn\’t even want to call a friend, wanted it to be from me and the kids.  I pinned beams half way up, climbed the ladder, unpinned, leveled and then bolted them in.  I did the bar to mimic stuff we saw while on our honeymoon.

She got home Mother\’s day, we had finished it that morning.  She was really really surprised and it\’s been a lot of fun out there since.

Dennis

Ladies how would you like to come home to this …

And this …

Dianne (Dennis\’s wife) is one lucky lady.  I personally think it\’s the perfect Mother\’s Day gift. Or birthday gift. Or anniversary gift.

“Where\’s Jody?”

“Out Back”

“Again.”

“Yep.”

“Did she come in from last night?”

“Nope.”

Have a great day all … and did you notice the parrot hanging?  lol  Polly want a tiki martini?

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: built-the-bar, deer hunting, general outdoors, honeymoon, humor, internet, kids, memories, mother, outback-tiki, outdoor bars, outdoors, the hunters wife

Have you ever had one of those years where you just want to give up especially when you feel like you have worked harder than everyone around you but they seem to be the ones with the success?  This is my story about my 2009 hunting season that was horrible but then better than all previous seasons and you wonder how that could possibly be.  Chris, my boyfriend/hunting partner, and I have three places where we hunt – one is in Bossier Parish near my mom\’s house and is my favorite place to hunt, another is in Desoto Parish which is the closest to where I live and the other is in Natchitoches Parish about an hour drive from my house.   This year we decided to try something a little different by putting our trail cameras out early in Bossier Parish and Desoto Parish in hopes to get some pictures of bucks in velvet.  And that we did, in Desoto, we had pictures of a nice 8 point and a good 6 point which gave us high hopes long before the season started.  That wasn\’t true for my favorite place because I went from having lots of deer on my camera last year to having a doe, a yearling, and more hogs than I cared to count, which was a first for this area.  Of course I wasn\’t going to let some pesky hogs bring me down and keep me from hunting in that spot so I readied for opening day, clearing old and new shooting lanes.

Two weeks before the season opened we had a special youth hunt weekend and my 8 year old son, Mason, decided this summer that he wanted to start hunting with me this year so I bought him a new rifle.  Youth weekend he and I hunted the 8 point and 6 point that we had seen on camera.  We hunted all weekend long but only saw a doe with a yearling, not once but every time we were in the stand. Mason was tempted to shoot the doe but using his better judgment he decided against it since she had a baby and I was really proud of him for making that call.  Therefore, no first deer for him on youth weekend and he was ok with it.

When the season started I hunted every chance I could, every weekend going to Bossier and seeing nothing and then when I got the chance I would take off early and hunt the 8 and 6 point in Desoto since that stand was close to home.  I had made up my mind that if I saw the 6 point I would let him walk even though I had never killed a buck bigger than a 3 point – a very large bodied 3 point but nonetheless a 3 point.  I was going to save the 6 point for next year or if one of the kids were with me let them take it but I never saw the 6, the 8, or anything else and then sometime during November the gas well company came in and laid a saltwater line and really messed things up for the rest of the year.  Needless to say we were down one place to hunt but I continued to hunt hard in Bossier Parish in hopes that my luck or things there would change.  I couldn\’t imagine where all the deer had gone especially since I had never shot anything off of that stand but all the deer had disappeared.  Still nothing and I was now getting very discouraged because it seemed that the harder I worked or the more I went the less I saw. But Chris, on the other hand, saw deer every time he went hunting and it seemed as though everyone I talked to had been seeing a lot of deer but not me.  My discouragement led to us making a week day afternoon trip to Natchitoches Parish.

We took off work earlier than normal and Chris and I headed to Natchitoches Parish and I was glad we made that trip because I finally saw a deer and it was a buck. Yipee!  A very small 8 point came out just before dark and hung out in my shooting lane for a good while.  He was maybe a year and half old so I just watched him, knowing that in about 2 years he would be a nice one.  I didn\’t mind letting him walk because I was thankful to have seen a deer.  After seeing the little 8 point we made the decision to take off early Friday and hunt and camp there for the weekend.  When we arrived Friday afternoon we went straight to our stands I hunted the one where I saw the 8 point earlier in the week and Chris hunted what he calls long lanes.  We both hunted til dark and I saw nothing and Chris saw 3 does, I figured it wasn\’t a complete loss since he saw deer and he was only hunting about 400 yards from me therefore I knew I was bound to see something that weekend.  Saturday morning Chris and I both hunted the same stands again and again I saw nothing and he saw quite a few.  That Saturday afternoon the frustration was really working on me and I asked Chris to let me hunt his stand and he could hunt mine.  You can bet I will not make that mistake again.  At 4:15 pm I hear him shoot and nearly jumped out of my skin, and immediately sent him a text to verify it was him although I knew it was and he replied “isn\’t your lucky day”.  Now I was really getting frustrated – I asked him what he shot and just said “8”, my first thought was “he shot my little 8 point that I let walk” but I new better especially since he will not even shoot a doe.  He told me to stay in the stand and continue hunting the rest of the evening but I was too aggravated by now so I got down and went to see what he got.   When I saw the 8 point I couldn\’t believe it, it was huge.  At that moment, I got upset and decided that he was right I just don\’t have the luck and was ready to just quit all together but I\’m not a quitter.  I have been told that I threw a little fit but I don\’t believe it.

It took me a few days to get over being jealous and feeling sorry for myself and when I did I realized that the Thanksgiving holidays were in a few days and I would have extra time off work and more time to hunt.  The Friday after Thanksgiving I was up early not to shop like everyone else but to hunt in Bossier Parish and since my mom was out of town we had a place to camp for the weekend.  Mason wanted to hunt with us so Chris took Mason with him to give me time to focus without any distractions.  I hunted Friday evening in my favorite stand and again saw nothing until right at dark, when I looked to my left there one stood in my new lane that we extended this year.  The deer looked to have a very large body and I could see horns but couldn\’t tell how many because his head was behind a tree, I hesitated due to my fear of shooting one at dark and losing it.  I took my chances anyway thinking this may be the last one I see this year.  I shot and he ran and I panicked.  I immediately called Chris but he wouldn\’t answer so I waited a few minutes, got down and went to look for blood but couldn\’t find any and it was really getting dark.  I finally reached Chris and he and Mason came to help me look, I showed him where I thought he was standing and we looked around and found nothing.  I began to doubt my shot but I knew I hit him so Chris walked a little further down the lane and found blood and some yellow stuff.   That\’s when the sickening feeling set in, I had not only gut shot the deer but I obviously can\’t judge this lane like I thought because I thought he was a lot closer than what he actually was.  After calling a friend to bring his dog to help track him we found my deer – it was a spike, and I was devastated.  I don\’t shoot spikes, it is a rule I have but I had shot a spike.  The next morning when my alarm went off I didn\’t move I was still too upset with myself over making a bad decision.  Chris and Mason went hunting without me.  At 7:15 that morning Chris sent me a text message that said “Mason did it. He shot one.”  At that moment I forgot about myself and focused on Mason\’s success.  While I was getting dressed to go meet up with them Chris sends me another text “doesn\’t look good, gut shot, going to stay in the stand til 10 and then look.”  I crossed my fingers, said a little prayer and waited to hear back from them.  At 10 am we called the same friend with the dog and he trailed Mason\’s deer.  Mason didn\’t make a bad shot his was perfect the deer only ran about 50 yards a laid down Mason got his first deer – a spike.  I was very proud of him but still upset with me so we went home I was done for the weekend.  Sunday morning 7:00 am the phone rings it\’s one of my girlfriends; she needs Chris to come help her husband cape out the huge buck she just killed.  That was it I had had enough everyone around me was either seeing or killing deer and now one of my friends who doesn\’t hunt and gripes because I do every weekend has killed a mountable deer on her first time to go this year.  I quit!

Again I spent a few days dealing with what I now know was jealousy.  My aunt who isn\’t a hunter is the one who got my mind right.  She told me that I was trying too hard and maybe if I stopped focusing on that BIG BUCK and got back to the reason why I love to hunt then maybe things will change.  After talking to her I thought about the main reason why I love to hunt and that is because I love the outdoors and nature.  When I hunt I feel like a part of nature whether it be in the mornings when it awakens or the evenings when it is going to bed.  That is what I did the following weekend. Chris and I both took off work early Friday and headed to Natchitoches, but since I wasn\’t planning to hunt anymore this season we weren\’t prepared and didn\’t make it in time to hunt that evening.  During the night Chris and I both became very ill with a stomach virus but we hung in there determined not to be forced to go home.  We slept most of the day Saturday and at 2:00 pm we decided to give it a try and head for the stands.  Neither one of us had eaten since Friday and were extremely weak to the point that I didn\’t know if I would be able to climb in the stand.  I went to the stand called long lanes and Chris hunted what is called fence row.  Around 4:30pm I had a spike come out about 200 yards in front of me I watched him walk off in Chris\’s direction.  A few minutes late I had 3 does in my lane on the right so I watched them for a while.  At about 5:00 pm Chris sent me a text that he said he has 2 does to the right of his stand.  Things were looking up I was finally seeing deer.  Just before dark I had 3 more does come out on the lane to my left and began to wonder how I was getting back to the house because that was the way I had to walk out and I could still barely see them even well after dark.  I managed to get down and walk out without spooking the deer.  When I returned to the house Chris was waiting to tell me what he had seen.  Just after he sent me the text about the two does on his right a nice 8 point walked out behind them, he chose not to shoot in hopes that if I were to hunt that stand Sunday that maybe I would get a chance at him.

Sunday morning I hunted the fence row and he hunted the stand that I had hunted in the previous evening. That morning we hunted til about 11:00 am and I saw 8 does and Chris saw 5 does but no bucks. That evening we were back in the same stands that we hunted that morning and I am thinking Chris saw the buck the previous evening so maybe this will be my evening. Around 4:45 pm a doe stepped out to my right and my heart started pounding I was thinking this is it the buck can\’t be far behind her. I sent Chris a text and just as I pushed send the doe spooked and ran back in to the woods I knew then that he was on his way out. Directly across the shooting lane from where the doe came from, out stepped a spike. I knew then that the big buck wasn\’t there because the spike didn\’t seem too concerned. A few minutes later I get a text from Chris saying “the 8 pt is on my shooting lane to the right.”  Again my point is proven he was just luckier than me and the deer seem to follow him, but why?  A few minutes later he sends me another text that said “get down and come this way if he is hanging with this doe like I think he is you can make it.” My doe had returned and now I had 2 deer to my right about 75 yards from the stand and I didn\’t want to spook them but I climbed down anyway and just as I got to the bottom the doe started walking towards me and then stopped and watched. I never scared them and they just watched me walk away and at that moment I knew my luck had to be changing. The stand Chris was hunting in has a lane out front and lanes to the left and right, like a T with the stand in the center. I walked down the lane out front and headed straight for the stand trying to decide what in the world I was going to do once I got there or should I say if I got there without jumping up or spooking one that may be coming out on the lane I was walking down. I walked thru knee high water that filled my boots and made a loud squishy sound or at least to me it seemed loud.  I made it to the end just in front of the stand and was burning up from all the clothes I had on. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled out in to the lane facing the direction of the buck but he wasn\’t there only a doe and a 3 point were there. Chris whispered “he is in the woods snort wheezing at the 3 pt, so just be patient” but I was uncomfortable and needed to get out of my coat so I slowly took it off and laid it on the ground. I still wasn\’t sure how I was going to shoot from the ground and I knew I needed some type of rest. Everything from this moment on happened so fast that I will tell it how I think it happened. Chris pointed in the direction of the doe and the buck stepped out all I saw were horns and a huge body. I immediately stretched out, laid on my stomach, propped up on my jacket, and shot. He stumbled for a second and ran into the woods followed by the doe and then a few seconds later the 3 pt followed behind the doe. I did it I walked all the way over and I did it I got my first big buck with my brand new Savage 30-06 rifle that Chris bought me for an early Christmas present. That was an exciting moment but it wasn\’t over. After Chris got down from the stand we heard a lot of crashing in the woods and I got a bad feeling that I had made a bad shot and it was getting dark. The crashing lasted for about 5 minutes and I stood ready in the shooting lane while Chris went around to where he thought he was headed to send him back my way.  A few minutes later the crashing stopped and I could hear Chris walking thru the woods in my direction, he then yelled at me and told me to start walking the lane.  I went about 30 yards and spotted something white near the woods and there he was.  I didn\’t make a bad shot! Chris then told me that the crashing noises were from the 3 pt chasing the doe once he saw his window of opportunity. That\’s when the high fives began because I had made a perfect 75 yard shot from the ground. Some people may call that cheating of some form since the buck didn\’t come out by my stand but I call it one heck of an adrenaline rush and a really good story to tell.

I always thought of myself as a patient and non-jealous person but I let my emotions get the best of me and that is something that I will not let happen again.  When you let the things that you love to do become work and you try to hard to achieve the goal then you forget your reason for doing it at all.

Shreveport, LA

See the original article at CampWildGirls.com

Tags: aimee, chris, christmas, clothes, friends, kids, lane, mason, shooting, women hunting, year

I get asked all the time what type of .22 parents should get their kids, so I did a little research and here you go. For my kids\’ first gun, we went with a cheap bb gun. Nothing fancy, just something so they could learn the mechanics of loading, cocking, aiming and firing. It didn\’t take my son long and he wanted to “graduate”, so we looked at air rifles first, but then decided on a .22 rifle (I almost went with a .17, but that was more for me, so I restrained myself).

I already have 3 or 4 .22\’s around the house, but they were all too long for my son and not the right gun for him. So here are some good choices for your kids.

Basically, there are a few different kinds of rifle available for the new shooter: the single-shot bolt action, the bolt action repeater, the lever action repeater, the pump-action repeater, and the the semi-auto repeater.

I\’m a fan of single-shot bolt action rifles for first-time shooters, because shooting them requires several steps for loading, time to think about each shot, and the whole process is suitable for teaching. For smaller-statured kids, there\’s probably no better than Keystone Arms\’ Crickett, which comes in several kid-pleasing colors:

Keystone Arms\’ Crickett comes in several kid-pleasing colors

The little Cricketts are just over two feet in total length, weigh pretty much nothing, and are excellent “starter” rifles.

If you\’d like something a little more classy, then the Savage Cub is a pretty little thing:

The Savage Cub is a pretty little thing

…the Marlin 915Y isn\’t a bad choice either:

The Marlin915 aint bad either.

If your kids are older, and close to adult size, you may want to look at the Stevens Favorite:

Try the Stevens Favorite for older kids

If the budget\’s an issue, which it is for me, then a cheaper option is the H&R Sportster:

The H&R\’s 5lb weight makes it a natural for kids.

When it comes to affordable bolt-action repeating rifles, my pick is the Marlin 981T. It holds 14 rounds, the action is smooth, and the trigger is good.

A very accurate rifle

For about the same money, you could look at the Savage Mk II series (the only budget .22 rifle available left-hand):

The Savage also has the excellent “Accu-Trigger”, and has a removable 10-round magazine

Lever-action repeating rifles, are more expensive than both the above types. Probably the most common is the Marlin 39A:

the action of the “39” has had the longest uninterrupted production run (since 1891) of any rifle type in existence

Speaking of old-timers, one of the oldest names in rifles is “Henry”, and the Henry Repeating Arms Company makes a very pretty (but quite spendy) lever-action .22 rifle, the Golden Boy:

A good lookin’ gun, but I’m not sure it’s a great choice for kids.

When I was a kid, I had a pump-action repeater, but sadly, the market for them is not big—and I can\’t understand why because pump-action .22 rifles are a blast (pardon the pun) to shoot. Winchester no longer makes their ancient Model 62, and even Taurus\’s faithful copy, also called Model 62, seems to be getting hard to find. Here\’s the Taurus 62R:

Pump action .22s are my favorites

Henry also makes a pump-action rifle, and it has a cool looking octagonal barrel, but it\’s more expensive.

If you want to know, I\’d get a Henry Octagon in a heartbeat.

And finally, there\’s the Remington Mod 572 Fieldmaster.

This is what I had as a kid. I loved this gun.

Now, the only category left is the semi-auto repeater. In my humble opinion, these aren\’t the right choice for a kids first gun, so I\’m not going to list my picks here. I hope this helps, and I know I\’m probably going to get some argument from you. Let me know what you think.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: 22 rifle, action, facebook, gear/apparel, henry, henry-repeating, keystone-arms, kids, marlin, product promotions, remington, time

This post is sponsored by the wonderful folks at: Thompson Targets

I was offered the opportunity to review and giveaway, to one of my readers, a target from Thompson Targets. Since I\’m not the one that packs heat around here, my husband and his friend Troy, aka The Rootin\’ Tootin\’ Fisherman, had a chance to shoot em up. If I didn\’t live in the city and I wasn\’t afraid to venture out to the woods or hunting properties, I could have been the one smacking targets. But instead, Mark and Troy had a little fun this weekend.

Before the damage …

After the damage …

The Rootin\’ Tootin\’ Fisherman, Troy, and his 22 rifle…

The giveaway:
I am giving away the CS-35 – the CS-35 Centerfire

Description from their website:  The CS-35 Centerfire Spinner Target is a popular, two-disc spinning target for “big bore” pistol shooters.  It provides the shooter with a choice between the upper 3″ target and lower 5″ target.  The CS-35 is designed for use with Centerfire handguns up to .44 Magnum and provides shooting action you can easily see (spins when hit) and hear!  The heavy-duty steel frame provides years of trouble free practice and many outings of fun with family and friends. Portable and easy to use spinning targets mean no more knocked down targets to reset. A foot rest makes it easy to push targets into the hardest ground.

To enter please answer the following question:

If you won the CS-35 target, who would you give it to?

Maybe you will keep it for yourself, give it to your kids, or give it to your sister because she\’s the one that packs heat in your family.  And it is Christmas time and this would make the perfect gift.

The winner will be selected randomly and the contest will run from today, December 14, 2009 – Tuesday, December 15, 2009. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. The winner must claim their prize within 48 hours or a new winner will be selected. US residents only please.

(I can not guarantee that it will be there in time for Christmas.  The product will ship directly from Thomspon Targets and we all know that mail carriers are working as fast as they can this time of year.)

Good luck!!!

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: city, giveaways, kids, opportunity, sister, spinner-target, the hunters wife, the-opportunity, thompson-targets

Skepticism. That word describes how I felt about this product when I got it in the mail. A fishing hook that you don\’t tie onto your line? You just wrap your line around it a few times? Yeah, right. You\’ve gotta be kidding. Well, I have to admit it… I was wrong. These things are cool!

My family and I took these hooks and spent the summer fishing. From trout in the kids pond to sturgeon, these hooks fit the bill. Here\’s my review:

Ease of Use:
Couldn\’t get any easier. Now, I\’ve got to say that I\’m not going to introduce my kids to these hooks until they know how to tie “real” knots. There\’s really no practical reason for this, but I just want my kids to know how to tie the knots. Maybe it\’s that “old dog, new trick” thing.

Functionality:
Couldn\’t get any more functional.

Are They Practical?
For sure. Not much else to say.

Will My Buddies Make Fun of Me?
I have a few friends who might make fun of me for not tying my own knots… but I don\’t care.

TOTAL SCORE:
www.easy2hookusa.com

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: fishing, kids, line, summer, these-hooks, tying-fishing, word-describes, your-line

Thanksgiving Family Rules…

1. Shoes off please. So be sure to wear socks without holes.
2. No reaching around me to just have a “pinch” of something. It\’s rude and I didn\’t see you wash your hands. Nor does it end up being a pinch. It normally ends up being a whole serving.
3. If your Mom didn\’t come because she\’s mad at me again, I hope you brought her taco salad. If not, someone will take you home to get it. Be sure to tell your Mom you will be forced to take the first bite.
4. Don\’t blame me if the mashed potatoes are a bit lumpy. “Mad sister” in charge of mashing potatoes didn\’t show. Blame her.
5. To my other sister – It\’s not alright to sing, “Taco, burrito, what you got hanging out your speedo” in front of kids.
6. Can we go one holiday without crying? Thanks. You know who you are.
7. Please bring a sweater. If you tell me it\’s cold I will tell you this – while you slept in today in your nice warm bed and all you had to do was bring chips and pop, I was here breaking a sweat cooking your 10 course meal.
8. My dog is not a cat. Please don\’t throw him across the room thinking he\’s a cat.
9. Yes my hair is a bit darker since the last time you saw me. The winter weather makes it that way.
10. If you kick, bite or pull my dogs hair, I will do the same to you. And if my dog, who never bites, bites, it\’s your fault.
11. There is no running around the house. If your kid slips and falls on the hard wood floor, I\’m sorry. Your kids shouldn\’t be running around the house.
12. Isn\’t it polite to bring the host a gift? I\’ve been cooking for you people for almost 20 years.
13. Jer (my sister) if you slip and fall on the hard wood floor, I\’m sorry but we\’ll laugh. Oh and if by accident you somehow fall down the basement stairs again, for the love of depends, bring some clean underwear.
14. And Mark, it\’s not alright to say you are going to the bathroom and sneak off to bed. Not only can we hear you snoring but that trick is getting old.
15. Please make sure your kids do not drink out of my cup. That\’s all that needs to be said.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving all!!!

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: across-the-room, basement-stairs, bring-the-host, dogs, family, family-rules, house, kids, love, sister, take-the-first