Normally in Michigan the rut doesn’t really start to kick in until the last week of October, first part of November……..or does it?

My sister’s boyfriend captured these pictures on his trailcam recently, and after seeing them we were trying to decide if the start of the season shouldn’t be moved up a little bit.  Haha!  I’m sure he wasn’t expecting these pics when he checked the cam.  I’m sure this young buck was just “practicing”, but I still think these are once-in-a-lifetime shots, especially during this time of year.

Hopefully this little guy gets a chance to pro-create later in the year, and hopefully this doe gets a rest before then.  I’m thinking she’s probably a little annoyed at him at the moment.  Although, maybe she needs the practice too.:):)

Upcoming posts: This week we’ll have some more camping escapades, along with a post about shooting the 3-D course.  And maybe we’ll do a post once Jeff gets his new boat as well.  Stay tuned!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Since my wife had our daughter last year, obviously she wasn’t doing much hunting…….either was I actually.  This year, though, she’s hoping to make it out at least a couple of times.  In order for that to happen, though, we had to get her bow back up to speed; it has been sitting on the shelf collecting dust for the last couple of years, and it was time to dust it off and get it back in action.

I met her after work last night, at a local archery shop we discovered recently, and we started the process of getting her bow back in hunting shape.  It needs a new string, and the nice gentleman in the shop is going to take care of that for us and have it ready early next week.  Sweet!

Our archery season opens up in a little over a month, and we really need to get her shooting before it arrives.  I’m confident it won’t take her long to feel comfortable again, but I honestly wish we had more time; that is just the way life goes sometimes, though.  Sometimes you just lose track of time……especially when you have kids.

While we’re on the topic it is so nice to have a local archery shop that actually appreciates you.  We lost our trusted archery expert a few years ago – he closed his shop – so it’s nice to find another local archery dealer who appreciates your business and has great customer service skills; being knowledgeable as he is, is a bonus as well!  If you’re in the Mid-Michigan area I highly recommend Lifford’s archery.

Hopefully the wife will be back in bowhunting action next week.  Once the bow is out of the shop we’ll get her back on the 3-D course, and get her shooting; it will feel good to have her back again!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Jeff and I headed out to one of the properties we can hunt again last Sunday.  We needed to finalize some treestand issues, and plus we wanted to check the trailcam again.  I was chomping at the bit to check it, after what we found on it a week ago.

Unfortunately, Mr. Big didn’t make a return visit, but we did catch a decent little buck on camera.  And if any of you are keeping score, there have only been two pictures – in the entire three weeks that the cam has been out there – that did not have a buck in them.

We decided to leave our stands where they are for now, and we’ll play it by ear as the season progresses.  We also moved the camera closer to where Jeff’s main stand on the property is, so hopefully that produces some good trailcam pictures as well.

In a related story, one of Jeff’s friends – who hunts a property near Jeff’s house – was out scoping some fields in the area a few weeks ago, and captured some footage of a few nice bucks.  The video quality isn’t the greatest, but trust me you wont need any better footage to see exactly how big these deer are.  For those of you who don’t want to watch the whole video, skip ahead to about the 2 minute mark – that is where the action really starts.

The season is only a few weeks away, and Jeff and I will have to make the decision that every hunter dreams of:  which big buck property should we hunt tonight?

Popularity: 2% [?]

Jeff apparently has way more time on his hands than I do, because he picked up on something pretty cool last week.  Hopefully by now all of you saw the nice buck I captured on trailcam, and if you didn’t, here he is again along with a picture of him from last year……or at least we think so.

A very distinguishable feature of this buck is his uneven brow tines, and if you notice they are uneven in both pictures, and look pretty similar.  Jeff, myself, as well as a few people on a forum Jeff’s frequents agree that the buck in both pictures is the same buck.

The other part we’re very excited about is that the buck had a nice-sized body in November of last year.  I can only imagine what he’ll look like come November of this year – sporting his nice new head gear, and all bulked up for the rut.

Now if only one of us could pull off being able to have a picture taken with him, we’d complete the series.  I’d love to wrap my hands around those antlers, and I’m sure Jeff would too.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Just last weekend we camped at Tawas Point State Park and had a great time.  Immediately I knew it had to be featured in the SimplyOutdoors Michigan Sanctuaries Series.  Please read on.

———————————————————————

We’ve camped in many parts of the state, and at many state parks, but for some reason we’ve never camped on the east side of state.  I’m not sure why that is, or why all of us gravitates towards the middle and west side of the state, but that has always been the case.  This past weekend, after my wife’s uncle found a neat little park on the east side of the state, we changed all of that.

Tawas Point State Park is a very unique park.  It is located near East Tawas, Mi, and its shear location makes it a prime camping destination.  With Tawas Bay on one side, and Lake Huron on the other, the park provides all occupants with some very unique and scenic views.

We stayed there with the wife’s family last weekend, and had an absolute blast.  I think all of us were sorry that we hadn’t camped on this side of the state until this point.  The park’s scenery is top-notch, and the unique location makes for a very memorable trip.

The park also features a lighthouse that is located within the park, and is available for tours.  We paid the low fee of $2 and headed inside.  Getting to see Lake Huron and Tawas Bay from the top of the lighthouse was a very unique experience.

There aren’t many hunting opportunities nearby, but for those who like to fish there is ample opportunity for that.  Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate for us, so we weren’t able to get any fishing in, but there is a state pier located directly across from the park, and it provides ample opportunity to take in some scenery and catch a few fish.

And for those interested, there are some great kite boarding opportunities.  I’ve never been myself, but it is HUGE in this part of the state, and they were out in full force even though the weather wasn’t that great.

The camping area of the park is very well kept.   Everyone was very friendly, and all the facilities were perfect.  The beach areas are very unique, and provide opportunities to swim in Tawas Bay or Lake Huron.  There are also ample bike paths within the park, and I took full advantage of those while we were there too.

We had an excellent time, and despite the wind and the weather our Eureka tent performed superbly as well.  Little Abby had a great time, and got to get her hands in the sand for the first time.  They even had a little walkway so that we could take the stroller right down on the beach, and she loved every minute of that even though it felt like we could get blown away at any minute; there were 30+mph winds at one point, and it made things very interesting.

Last weekend was a great time and we enjoyed every minute of our time within Tawas Point State Park.  If you’re looking for a park in Michigan, and want to camp on the east side of the state, you can’t go wrong with this park.  Its uniqueness and one of a kind opportunities will keep you coming back.

Note: Stay tuned this week for some more trailcam pics I found last weekend, as well as an interesting post about something Jeff discovered with the trailcam pics.

Popularity: 3% [?]