Last year, Jeff and I were both successful in our turkey hunting pursuits – Jeff shot a nice jake, and I shot my first bird – a jake – as well.  And we were lucky enough to capture both of those hunts on film too.

I love sharing these videos with all of you, and I love them for selfish reasons as well.  It’s just great to, not only be able to re-live the moment in your mind, but also to be able to see the moment over and over again.  And even though I wasn’t exactly patient when it came to the whole filming thing, so we didn’t get to capture the actual kill on film, it’s still cool to see the emotion that was experienced afterward.

This video is interesting too, because I always tend to be a little hard on TV shows that put so much focus on celebrating after a kill.  But I have to realize that emotion is a huge piece of the hunting puzzle and has to be included.  My elation in this video isn’t necessarily all about the kill; it was more about finally achieving a goal, and about never giving up.  And, in there somewhere, it was about providing some quality food for the table that the whole family feasted on later.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this latest video.  I get so excited in the video that I almost can’t even stand to watch myself.  But it was true, raw emotion; we don’t use cue cards in SimplyOutdoors’ videos.

Enjoy!

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It’s been one heck of a month here at SimplyOutdoors, and it just keeps getting better.  I’m very proud and pleased to announce that we have our first sponsor – Cottage Craft Works.

Cottage Craft Works make all kinds of unique things – hand-made furniture, fishing lures, custom gun stocks, toys and, of course, my personal favorite, hunting calls.  They make box calls, slate calls, owl hoots, grunt calls, and duck calls.  And many of their craftsmen work in small home-based shops across the United States, and some of their products come from deep within the Amish community and are made without the help of modern machinery or electricity.  How is that for a unique product?

We received our first calls this week, and to say that we were pleased would be an understatement.  The calls are gorgeous, they’re very unique, and they sound awesome.  I’m sure they will definitely help us to persuade a wary tom to head for our setup this spring.

And, in the true SimplyOutdoors’ spirit, we got the kids involved with the calls as well.  My little Abby gave the slate call a try with Uncle Jeff’s direction, and then later on, she gave the box call a try with some help from daddy.  I’m happy to report that she approved of both calls, and had a blast giving them a try (as you can see in the picture to the right).

We are very happy with the calls, and we can’t wait to take them into the field and put them to the test.  I know that they are going to help immensely in our turkey hunting pursuits.

And we’re proud to have Cottage Craft Works supporting us.

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I walked out the back door yesterday afternoon – to take out the trash – and I was promptly met by spring.  This weekend the weather has been unbelievable, especially considering that we were ice fishing just last weekend; we hit the 50 degree mark yesterday, and we’re supposed to be in the high 40’s, low 50’s all week this week.  So much for ice fishing, I guess.

What I experienced this weekend, though, is one of the big things I love about Michigan – the definite change of the seasons.  And while it was a little depressing to know that the melt off would signal the end of our ice fishing for the season, it’s great to know that the melt off also signals to the steelhead that it’s time to head upstream.  You have to love the variety that Michigan’s woods and water provide!

And, I can’t forget, that this warm spell will also start to stir something inside Michigan’s turkey flock as well; they will starting thinking about those good-looking hens, and start gobbling from their roost very soon.  Of course, come the second of May, I will be in those woods and appreciating the newly regenerated woodlot and hoping that a lovesick tom heads my way.

Watching the changing of the seasons in Michigan is a very unique and one-of-a-kind experience.  And not a season goes by that doesn’t provide something exciting and stirring to do outdoors – and this year it has been even better. Usually this time of year I would be experiencing some serious cabin fever, but with my new ice fishing discovery, those feelings were definitely kept at bay.

As March arrives, there are no thoughts of cabin fever or seclusion.  The thoughts I have are those of anticipation and reflection; reflection on the first fish I ever hauled through the ice, and my wife’s first pike through the ice; reflection on quads heading across the frozen tundra that was Houghton Lake, and sitting on the ice eating hot pizza; and anticipation for the steelhead that will be running soon and the turkeys who will be answering our new Cottage Craft Works calls.

Every one of Michigan’s seasons brings with it a chance for a great outdoor experience.  And I look forward to every one of them.

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I know we still have plenty of winter left, but with the abnormally warm temperatures we’ve been having lately, I can’t help but think about turkey hunting; I’m ready for the 40 degree temps, and the sound of a longbeard’s gobble breaking the morning silence.

My mind has been on turkey hunting anyway, and with the email that arrived in my mailbox a few days ago, I started to think about turkey hunting even more.  Michigan turkey hunters only have until the end of this month to make the decision that affects their thunder chicken hunting future – choosing their hunt period.

My dilemma right now is whether to take the early hunt – which I believe gives you a better chance of killing a bird, but also requires you to submit an application – or go a different route than I normally do, and choose the late hunt.  The early hunt only provides for two weeks of hunting, while the late hunt provides almost a whole month.  Plus, I can buy the late season license over-the-counter right now, an not have to submit an application or wait to buy a left-over permit.

Decision. Decisions.

I think I’ve convinced the wife to turkey hunt this year as well, so that makes the decision even harder.  If we go with the early hunt, I think the birds are a little more active and haven’t been well-educated by hunter’s calls yet.  But, as I said before, it limits us to only two weeks of hunting.  At this point, I’m leaning towards one of us choosing the early hunt, and the other – the wife – choosing the late hunt.

I hope that works out, and it would be awesome if we could get my wife to down a nice thunder chicken before the season was over.  If that happened it would be her first official wild game kill, and I’d be ecstatic.  And having her hunt the late season will mean that it will be a tad warmer as well – always a good thing when the wife is involved.

I still have a few weeks to make the decision, but that’s what I’m leaning towards right now.

I simply cannot wait for the first longbeard to answer one of my calls.  And I can’t wait to share that entire experience with the wife.  It should be awesome.

Hopefully all of you Michigan hunters have already put some thought into this, but if you’re reading this, and you haven’t thought about it yet, now is the time.

And if you need directions on how to apply for a limited-quota hunt, you can do so here.  And for any other turkey hunting information go here.

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It was a moment men who hunt dream about.

I had just shown my wife my new turkey plaque – complete with tail feathers and beard – when she said something most guys wish for,  “You should take that one set of wedding pictures down, and put that up there.  I’m getting bored with them anyway.”

What?  Did she just say what I thought she said?  And in front of all my family member’s wives as well.  Of course I would fully cooperate with her request, and she immediately received a marriage proposal from one of my cousins…….who’s already married.

Honestly, though, I wasn’t surprised.

My wife is one of those wives that doesn’t come around very often.  She has always understood my passion for the outdoors, and has even grown an outdoor passion of her own in the process.  Sure she isn’t as gung-ho about hunting as I am, but she still hunts, fishes, and loves to be outside as much as I do.  So, to hear her say something like that didn’t come as much of a shock to me, but it was a little daring considering the company she was in.  I don’t think she created any hard feelings, though, just maybe some conversation between hunting husbands and wives on the way home.

After that conversation, I promptly adhered to her request, took the old wedding pictures down, and happily replaced them with my first turkey mount ever.  And while it isn’t a stellar tail fan, and surely isn’t the biggest beard anyone’s ever seen, I’m still quite fond of it.  It will stay in the living room for years to come, and remind me of one great hunt; one great moment of honest emotion we captured on film;  and a moment in time when sticking with it, and never giving up actually paid off.

I think it looks good there, and don’t worry – we still have some wedding pictures up in the living room.

Author’s note: Jeff fixed up the turkey breast from both of our turkeys on Saturday, and man was it good.  We grilled them with a little BBQ sauce, and they tasted absolutely awesome.  There is simply nothing like eating pure wild food, knowing the work and dedication that goes into acquiring it, and reaping the benefits of – while also getting to experience – Mother Nature at her finest.

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