They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I think that is pretty much true. But besides that, I think pictures also bring back good memories. They help to jog the mind and allow us to remember a certain place and time. All of that, in turn, allows us to live that moment all over again.

We have a myspace page for the site, and it was brought to our attention that we were seriously lacking when it cames to pictures on the myspace page. I put Jeff on the task and he did a great job getting pictures added to our profile for people to enjoy. We obviously have a photo page on this site as well, but I couldn’t resist going through and checking out the pictures that Jeff had put on the myspace page. He obviously has some different pictures than I, so I was curious as to what he included on the site.

After checking out the pictures, I came across this picture of Jeff’s son, Tyler, holding a nice little steelie that I caught. Well, to be honest, it was kind of a dual effort. Jeff and I were fishing the Pere Marquette here in Michigan, and we just happened to fish when the conditions were just right. It was the first week of April, and in the low 70′s-not a typical day for steelhead fishing that is for sure. I was a little relunctant, but Jeff convinced me to go, and the first spot we hit that day made for the perfect storm-little fishing pressure, fresh fish moving upstream, and three fisherman eager to seize the opportunity.

I had the first fish on, but ended up losing it quickly. It seemed just my luck, but soon after, it was on! Jeff and I probably had 30 steelhead on in a matter of about 5 hours, and we landed half or more of them. It was the greatest fishing day I’ve ever had. The action would be hot and heavy for awhile, cool off for a bit, then turn right back on as fresh fish moved upstream. It was amazing. We honestly landed so many fish that we started to set the hook on them and let Tyler land ‘em. Tyler was a little young at the time to wade, so he had to try his luck from the bank. My memory is a little foggy, but I know that he landed a few fish all by himself. It was a great day on the water.

If my memory serves me right, the fish in the picture Tyler didn’t land-he actually did one better and was just as proud. I hooked into the fish, and he immediately took me for a ride downstream. I obviously didn’t want to lose the fish, but I knew that with his spunk I was going to need a net man, and Jeff was busy checking out the fishing situation from the opposite bank-It was Tylers turn to shine.

I told him he was going to have to help me land the fish, and he took on the job quite well. He manned himself with the net, and got in position. Now, remember, that Tyler couldn’t wade in the river, so I proceeded to “steer” the fish towards the bank and Tyler did a perfect job of laying flat on his stomach and netting the fish from the prone position. It was a thing of beauty and a moment I won’t forget for a long time.

I guess that is why we take and keep pictures. Sometimes a memory can be shuffled to the back of our mind, and then we stumble across a particular photo, and all the memories come rushing back. A great day on the river and one I will never forget! I’m sure Tyler remembers as well!

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I mentioned yesterday that we shot our pistols Sunday evening, and that we also shot other things as well. Well now I get to tell you what those other things were–our bows. The best part of the whole thing though, is that we not only shot our bows, we got to shoot them on our new and improved 3-D course. We have finally come full circle from one year ago and the aftermath of the tornado. (If you would like to see a refresher of what the course looked like after the storm click here.)

The course orginally was setup last year right around this time. SimplyOutdoors was just in its infancy, and things were going great. Then the tornado hit in August, and completely changed all that. All of our newly purchased targets were thrown through the country side (we never did find any part of them) and the 3-D course was history. Well, thanks to insurance, and a little patience, we finally got around to setting the 3-d course back up. Sweet!

The course is even better than least year, and the targets are amazing. They are the 3-D Mackenzie targets and they are outstanding. They should last us for many years to come, and provide for some great times I’m sure.

We have 5 targets total-four of them are deer and one is a boar. We stand in a stationary position and have to shoot at the different targets from various ranges. It is a complete blast and I’m happy to report that I WON EVERY ROUND TWO NIGHTS AGO. I won’t even mention that Jeff completely missed a target though–whoops, I guess I just did.

The night was great, and we all had a really good time shooting the course again. Jeff, Tyler, Ron, and I will be back out there again very soon I’m sure. It was awesome to finally have things completely back to the way they were before the tornado.

Grilling, food, guns, and bows. What more could you ask for in a single evening?

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I wrote a post awhile back about my struggles with Taurus, and the difficulty I was having getting my front sight replaced. I finally came in contact with a very nice lady in customer service at Taurus, and after explaining to her the things that I had went through, and the frustration that I was feeling, she was completely shocked. She couldn’t believe that I had went through that much work in order to get this site replaced, and I am happy to report that my front site arrived at the house on Saturday-a full 4 days ahead of schedule. I think the planets finally aligned.

After all the work that I had to go through in order to get this site, you can bet that I wasn’t wasting anytime in putting it on and trying it out. Sunday night we headed over to my cousins house and got the pistols out and plinked around for quite awhile. I was pretty happy with the results considering, and I hate to admit this, but I hadn’t shot the gun in almost a year. I will let the picture speak for itself, but I was pretty happy with the results (at 20yds).

My cousin got in on the act with his Springfield XD .40, and we also let my nephew get involved with his Ruger 10/22. It was a night of shooting all around and it was a complete blast. We shot other things too, but I will elaborate more on that in my post tomorrow. It was a great, great night.

The highlight of the night for me though, was my wife shooting the pistol. You don’t mess with a pregnant woman with a gun I tell ya. She shot pretty well, like she always does, but she didn’t shoot quite as much as the rest of us. That was fine by me. I really couldn’t help but wonder what little Abigail thought about what was going on. I’m sure it was something to the effect of “Man, my mom is cool”, or something like that.

It felt great to shoot the gun again, and all of us had a really good time, and just enjoyed the time spent together, and the time we got to spend outside. It is so relaxing for me when I get outside and shoot. I know that sounds funny, but it really is.

I can’t wait until the next time, and I’m glad my gun is back to %100.

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I have been asked this question quite a few times over the years. I think that it is a very important question to ask, as well as a very important answer to share. I am always curious how many years people hunted before they actually killed their first deer, or got their first kill. Some of the best names in the business went years before they shot their first deer. Years!!!! All of you novice hunters out there, take note, it doesn’t always happen the first time out.

I know there are exceptions to this rule, and everyone reads or hears about a case of beginners luck from time to time. It happens. But I bet you would find the majority of hunters, regardless of what game animal they were pursuing, went quite awhile before they bagged their first one. I had an old boss, when I was first starting to get serious about deer hunting, always telling me how “The first one is the hardest. Once you get that one it will start to get easier”. Boy, how right he was.

I went 8 years before I shot my first deer. My brother, although I’m not quite sure how many years exactly, went quite awhile before he shot his first deer as well. I believe Mr. Nugent went at least 10 years before he shot his first deer. It can definitely take some time. So, if you’re a beginning deer hunter, don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen right away. As my wife always tells me when I start to get frustrated-”You can’t control Mother Nature”. It is true. Sometimes the best laid plans, and the greatest scouting in the world, will still not produce a deer for you that season, but DO NOT get discouraged.

Now, my question to you, dear readers, is this: How long did you go before your first kill? I would love to know. Leave me the answer in the comments.

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After reading Tom’s story this morning about his itchy trigger finger, I decided that I must share this story. I am going to be honest and tell you that this story isn’t going to make me look very good, but in the end it might teach everyone a lesson. And it will definitely give my brother a good chuckle. I’m sure I’m not the only one this has happened too, but I bet I’m one of the few who will admit it.

It was the opening day of our firearms season a few years back, and my wife, brother, cousin, and myself all headed out for our morning hunts. I was located about 200yds down from Jeff’s location and watched through the binoculars as he plugged a very nice buck that morning. I could see him moving down the edge, and was just waiting for the shot, when suddenly-BOOM-, Jeff’s 12 gauge rang out. I could see the impact of the bullet, and knew immediately it was lethal shot. We both watched the buck run about 150yds into the cut bean field and collapse in a heap. We got on our two-way radios and talked about the shot, and Jeff told me how the buck was “bleeding out his blood hole”. I think that the excitement was getting to him a little bit. Ya think? The morning was off to a good start.

We let the buck lay for quite awhile, but with a lull in the action, we decided to meet out in the field and get him field dressed and up to the house. We get to the deer, and are admiring the kill, when we happen to glance over to the south and see this very nice buck just coming out of the woods on a trot. Now, Jeff and I had hunted this property for quite a few years, and knew exactly the route this buck was going to take, so immediately our plan went into action.

There was a big grassy area, in the middle of the open field, that we were on one side of, and we knew that the buck would be coming down the other side of the grass area, through this swale that was located in the middle of the field as well. We crouched and made our way to the edge, where the grassy area met the open field, and waited. This is where it starts to get a little fuzzy for me. I’m not sure if I was in a trance, or what happened, but I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t quite have the gun up at the ready position, and suddenly the buck was on us.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of time to shoot, and I did eventually get the gun to my shoulder, but as this big behemoth stepped out-white face and all-I froze. I couldn’t do anything. Wait, I did click the safety off, but after that I just wasn’t ready. What seemed like an eternity, but was probably only about 4 seconds, passed by, and that buck turned and looked at us, and realizing what was happening, bust out of there like his arse was on fire. And with that went my chance to shoot the biggest buck I’ve probably ever encountered in the wild.

I guess you can call it buck fever, or whatever you want, but I have to admit that I was rattled. At this point in time I hadn’t shot that many deer, and for some reason, I just was not ready to take the shot. I can honestly still see his gray face, with his very nice set of antlers, staring right at me. What can I say? I blew it. I guess you live and learn.

So, I didn’t exactly have the same issue that Tom had, but it was still a problem either way. Oh, how those moments stay with us forever, and I guess the bottom line is, that is what it’s all about.

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