posted by Jim on Sep 14

 Welcome to this years Waterfowl hunting and filming competition. As always, it’s heating up right off the bat. First off, let’s introduce this seasons Scream Team hunters. Tim Pickett and Johnny Newland are “Team Goose Downers”. They hail from Parma, Michigan.  And, then we have two brothers, Travis and TJ Colpetsir, who make up the team, “Team Light um up”. They shack up in Colon, Michigan.

Teams are pouring in daily and with no entry fee needed and we are seeing a plethora of camo clad hunters from all walks of life trying to wade into the limelight of Waterfowl fame and fortune.  So how can I get involved in all these reindeer games? Its just this easy: Get a team together of two shooters. Then, pick a team name. You need to film or get your hunts filmed, and most important of all, create your own slogan that you Scream out at the top of your lungs when its time to burn some powder on the feathered participants.

     As our popularity grows each year, we are paid the ultimate compliment, as many followers have now started there own copycat team competitions based off of the original, Dream Season.  But there is room for all of us out there and we harbor no animosity what so ever. We feel we bring something fresh to television, yet it still has a distinct odor to it that separates us from the pack. An almost fowl smell if you will.

     You will need to make all others aware of your slogan as it tells a lot about a team and sets you apart as individuals. You will be penalized for not screaming out your slogan to call the shot. Current slogans taken are as follows: “Bring the Rain!” and “Light um up!” Pictures and short hunt recaps will be needed on the Waterfowl forum of this site for bragging rights and a little, ”In yo face!” for the other teams to drool over. All states are welcomed, all ages, all genders, all gauges, all legal harvest methods or North against the South….we don’t care. Please represent all hunters with tolerable language while on film. The last guys I filmed, after all the beeps were installed during editing,  all we had for audio was one long beep with an occasional vowel. And you know who you were!

     You will be judged by your peers in the same industry. Or, a dirty guy stumbling out of an alley, late one night, carrying a bottle of Boonesfarm. But that’s not the point here. This is about world wide fame and notoriety. Endorsements and autographs, which means you can’t just sign with an X anymore. (Tim) Feel free to step on the shoulders of Hunters Pro Staff to get to the top, just don’t forget us please.

     All decent footage WILL be used on this year’s Waterfowl DVD. (At our discretion) We are still tossing around a title but we feel real good about “There’s a fowl smell in this blind” or  “Did you just hear that?” any other suggestions WILL be used. (At our discretion) Obviously humor will be tolerated and suggested, however, to obtain the major prize award of an all expense paid trip to the Tundra to hunt the Arctic swan (At our discretion) you will have to put some beaks in the dirt and close the deal. Missing is no laughing matter! Let’s put the fun back in hunting fellas and become stars in our own minds, if nothing else. Keep at it and don’t give up. Did the Mexicans give up when the Pygmies canoed over and bombed Pearl Harbor? Now let’s get out there and “Burn some feathers!”

posted by Jim on Sep 4

DEER RAISED ON QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND FOOD PLOTS !!!!!

A VINTAGE PICTURE OF DEER HARVESTED OVER BAIT WITH MY GREAT FRIEND AND HERO ROBERT MILLER

 There was a day when I thought deer couldn’t be harvested without spreading some golden acorns on the ground.  I had hunted many years without harvesting a deer.  I hunted in the Northwest lower peninsula and it was for bucks only.  I would see does during the gun season, but in the 4 straight years I hunted, I saw one buck and I missed him with my smooth bore Winchester Model 12.  I was young and I was determined to be successful.  Then,  I met a guy named Bob Miller.  He was an inspiration just to be around.  He was Vietnam Veteran who had seen the worst and suffered severe injuries, leaving him with minimal use of his legs.  Bob is a sportsman like no other I had met, because he didn’t let constant pain, or difficulty to get around defeat his desire to be in the woods or in the marsh.  What in the hell does this have to do with baiting?  Well, Bob invited me to hunt his 80 acres of private joy in Curran, Michigan.  The first day Bob took me to my stand,  he looked at me and said, “Now pay attention when the feeder goes off.  It’s like a dinner bell.  The deer will be coming from all directions.”  My first thought was that this guy was high on the drugs he was taking for his pain or that he had done some serious pot smoking while in Vietnam.  He rolled away in his golf cart, smoking a cigarette, and wished me luck with his stern voice. 

I prepared myself, but I wasn’t overly anxious.   Just as I settled in and I was at peace with the beautiful surroundings,  the feeder went off, spinning at 1,000 RPM’S.   HOLY SH__! I almost fell out of the tree and left a stain in my new long underwear.  The shelled corn, bouncing off the aluminum feeder, and flying 30 feet off trees and the feeders metal posts sounded like machine gun fire.  I thought to myself, what a joke!  I am not going to see a thing after that racket.  And, then to my disbelief, I began to see deer pop up from the heather and from the cedar swamp below me. They were coming from every direction.  Bucks and does running to the feeder.  I literally forgot I was hunting because I was blown away.  I had no less than 20 deer all around me.  I shot my first buck ten minutes later and I was hooked.  After several years of hunting over bait, I began to study deer and their behaviors.  I went many days on stand watching hundreds of deer without raising my bow or gun.  I was always fascinated to watch deer standing on their hind legs boxing, for the right to eat at the site.  I saw mature does in the winter beating off yearlings, so they could eat first. A cruel lesson in survival.  Read the rest … »