Alabama Hunting Articles
Coyote Hunting East of the Mississippi
If coyote hunting was only as easy as it's portrayed on television. You just set up on a big, open area, turn on the caller, and within minutes coyotes come running from all directions. Heck, the hardest part is deciding which one to shoot! In the real world, however, it seldom works out that way (For me, it NEVER works out that way). What you don't see in those 30 minute shows is all the times that the hunters set up, called, and didn't see anything.
Setting Goals for Hunters
It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. 2011 is long gone ...we're well into 2012. And with a new year comes hopes of better days ahead. It is a time when the slate is wiped clean, and we have the opportunity to make the new year better than the last. Many of us began 2012 with resolutions. For some, those included plans to eat healthier, exercise more, and hopefully to weigh less. For others, it may have included a promotion, a career change, or maybe the beginning of a new business venture. Very rarely, though, do you hear any of us diehard hunters talking about our hunting resolutions for the new year.
Deer Behavior During the Rut
Big, mature whitetails don't get that way by being dumb. A true trophy deer has figured out where to bed, when to move and when things just "don't seem right." It's as if they develop a sixth sense. There is a brief window of opportunity, however, when his defenses go down and that big buck turns his attention to other matters. To an avid deer hunter, there is no more exciting time of year - it's the whitetail rut. There seems to be a lot of confusion amongst hunters - almost a mystique - about the rut. Maybe that's because so much has been written on the subject.
Pigging Out: Wild Hog Hunting
My doctor denies it exists, but I know I have it. I am even fairly certain that most big game hunters share the excess anxiety and unspent energy brought about by PSSS, or post season stress syndrome. Other than occasionally venturing to the woods to change out trail camera cards or batteries, this time of year brings about little contact with the ungulates that were the focus of most of my time, energy and thoughts over the fall and winter. I am left with a giant void in my schedule and a burning desire to fill it with a similar activity. Bring on the hogs!
Sweat the Small Stuff: Whitetail Hunting Primer - Part 2
Continuing from the first article that primarily covered how to find the right spot for your deer hunt. If we chose wisely and set up correctly it's simply a matter of time before game will pass by. When it finally does, you have little time to wonder or be surprised. You must simply react and do it as quickly as possible. No, this doesn't mean we jump up, raise our gun and release the safety right now. It does mean we need to formulate a game plan (pun intended) immediately, however. Make sure your movements won't be seen as you ready your rifle and make sure you do not slide your safety off until you know you want to shoot and also you figure it will (the safety) not be heard.
Sweat the Small Stuff: Whitetail Hunting Primer-Part 1
There have been hundreds of books written on the subject of hunting whitetails. In no way am I about to give anyone a thorough lesson that will make you a complete whitetail hunter. After all, I am still learning myself. I have been hunting deer for over 40 years, but must admit to having lost most or all of 12-15 seasons while I was a pilot in the U.S. Army from the late '70s through the late '90s.
Get High on Whitetails
Today, the vast majority of deer hunters take to the trees. So popular is this movement that an entire industry has evolved along with a paradigm shift in how hunters approach the deer woods. Despite the effectiveness of tree stands, some ask if this strategy is creating a new generation of unskilled reactive hunters. More to the point, there are pros and cons to hunting from the trees, but in the end, it's hard to deny its effectiveness. Let's take a look at what it means to get high on whitetails.
Tree Stand Safety
Every year countless hunters fall victim to tree stand accidents. Fall being the operative word, using tree stands can be risky business. Unfortunate but true, no one plans to go airborne, but it happens. I know several individuals myself who have suffered injuries while putting up, sitting in, or taking down stands. The good news is that commercial tree stands have evolved plenty over the past couple decades. Furthermore, by taking a few extra precautions we can avoid, or at very least minimize, the potential for tree stand mishaps.
For the Traveling Sportsman
Every year thousands of hunters across the continent book outfitted hunts. Some are booked in their home state or province; others require considerable travel by air. For those with the means, exotic trips abroad are a unique privilege. But regardless of where a hunter goes, the research, booking and travel aspects are imminent. Simple or complex, logistics are a part of the game. I've seen it more than once with first time traveling sportsmen.
Whitetail Scents & Sensibility
"Always hunt into the wind" - Sage words of wisdom, this is perhaps the single most important tip any neophyte hunter learns at the outset of their hunting career. Deer rely heavily on their sense of smell. So it stands to reason that if we're to avoid detection, we should use the wind in our favor. Combine this with the appropriate use of scents or scent-blockers, and you're off to the races!
Extreme Scent Control
Every hunter alive has probably read, heard or watched on television about the importance of personal scent control. It has been drilled into our heads to wash our clothes in unscented detergents and wash our bodies with soaps produced specifically with the big game hunter in mind. Unfortunately, there are still some hunters out there that know very little about the subject, and others that are still disbelievers as to how important it is to eliminate as much human related odors as possible. They feel that they have been successful without following a scent control program and using such products, so they believe it is all hype.
After the Shot: Deer Tracking Tips
You wait until he's broadside, then, as the big 12-pointer lowers his head; you raise your rifle and centre the crosshairs behind his shoulder. You breathe, control your nerves, and squeeze the trigger... In a perfect world, he'd drop right then and there. But, as any experienced deer hunter knows, that's not always the case.
Bowfishing 101
One of the fastest growing outdoor sports in the country right now is bowfishing. Bowfishing is a cross between fishing and bowhunting. Across the United States and the entire world, fish like the common carp, garpike, and Asian flying carp are taking over our rivers and streams. There are very few ways of controlling these invaders, but one way to get rid of a few and have fun at the same time is to shoot them with a bow.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He had approached from behind and was standing 30 yards to my right and glared in my direction. His eyes seemed to search through every inch of the grass that I lay in, trying to locate the rabbit that lured him in. I remained still, waited for his shoulder to appear in my scope and squeezed the trigger. As I made my way to the coyote, I couldn't help but to admire the ghillie suit that had kept me hidden so well among the grass and wonder why I hadn't tried this before.
Alligator Hunting: Big Business Across the South
Stretched taut, the rope led into the dark water, holding a prehistoric animal in an extremely bad mood at the other end. The guide snatched the cord with a rake-like pole and pulled it toward the flatboat. Grabbing the rope, he pulled with all his might. Tangled in the aquatic vegetation, the prehistoric reptile erupted from the murk, snapping at anything it could find. Flinging vegetation and spray, the gator attempts a "death roll." Unable to chew, alligators snap their heads and roll repeatedly to rip prey apart with their razor teeth or destroy enemies. The powerful tail, almost as dangerous as the toothy jaws, whipped the black water into froth.
Rattling 101
Rattling is one of those techniques that you either have complete confidence in or completely lack confidence in. It's true that there are few hunters these days who steadfastly maintain that rattling is little more than a gimmick and that the technique only works in Texas where the countryside is supposedly crawling with whitetails. They're convinced that no self-respecting northern whitetail would ever fall for the trick and that the fad will eventually blow over.
Gettin' Hidden: A Camouflage and Concealment Guide
Big game hunting and camouflage go hand in hand. However, there seems to be a myth in many a hunting camp that by pulling on a pair of camouflage pants and jacket you instantly become invisible. Unfortunately, such is not the case. There's actually more to becoming totally concealed than simply wearing camouflage.
The Truth about Wild Hogs
Crawling on all fours through the nastiest tangled cover you can imagine, I wove my bow through the overhanging branches. Minutes before, my guide and I had spotted a massive Hungarian Razorback grazing through the timber. Anticipating that the huge boar might follow the most heavily used trail, we hoped to intercept him.
Planning Your Outfitted Hunt
So you've saved your money and your significant other has granted permission to book a hunt. Perhaps it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal, or maybe you're one of the lucky ones that gets to do it every year. Regardless of your circumstance, a daunting decision remains... choosing an outfitter.
The Other Hunting Rut
When the word "rut" is mentioned in a conversation among hunters, chances are the discussion will include talk of screaming bull elk, or big whitetail bucks, that for a brief period of time drop their defenses and act like teenage boys. There is another rut out there, however, that doesn't receive a lot of attention. This one affects the hunter rather than the animal and actually decreases our odds of success.