3D White Oak Acorn Scent

I had the opportunity to go hunting for turkeys one last time this week with the Western Pennsylvania wounded warrior group.

Jeff the president picked me up Tuesday morning at 6 AM and we went out to the property where we met with Hayes, Ed and Philip. Ed and Philip are individuals with disabilities (paraplegic) and are fantastic hunters, sportsmen and friends.

We were all settled into our hunting ground blind's by 7:15 AM. I thought I would try out the new product some of my friends have been telling me about. It's a cover scent (White Oak Acorn Sent), it smells great almost sweet. With the added benefit of keeping bugs and gnats away according to my friends.

I was a little skeptical at first, but the four of us all used the spray. I can say after using it my friends were correct. This covers sent works great as a bug repellent, not one biting fly, gnat or no see-um bothered any of us.

We seen 4 young Tom's but had no shot opportunities. It was still a fantastic day with good friends!  So my spring turkey tag will remain unfilled. 

I plan on using this on all my hunts from now on.

Pa Hunter Trapper Safety Courses

New license go on sale soon, June 11, 2012.  Here is the local list of classes...

Applicants must be at least 11 years old to register. Call for information, register online only at www.pgc.state.pa.us.

Allegheny County

June 9-10 East Monongahela Sportsmen's Club, 5717 Ella Hollow Rd., Elizabeth, 15037. Sat. and Sun. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Class limit 50. 412-952-9023.
June 16-17 Logans Ferry Sportsman's Club, 210 Field Club Rd., New Kensington, 15068. Sat. and Sun. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Class limit 35. 724-335-1005, 412-335-0156.
July 14-15 Elizabeth Township Sportsmen's Assoc., Nichols Hills Rd., Elizabeth. Sat. and Sun. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Class limit 60. 412-952-9023.
July 20-21 Bullcreek Rod and Gun Club. 101 Thompson Rd., Tarentum 15084. Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Class limit 40. 412-767-4780, 724-448-9901.
July 20-21 Ross Township Municipal Building, Recreation Center, 1000 Municipal Dr., Pittsburgh 15237. Fri. 6-10 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Class limit 100. 412-635-0661.
July 28-29 Springdale District Sportsmen's Assoc., 2181 Butler Logan Rd., Tarentum 15084. Sat. and Sun. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 40. 724-335-7171.
Aug. 3-4 Clairton Sportsman's Club, 412 Coal Valley Rd., Clairton 15025. Fri., 7-9 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Class limit 80. 412-650-8508, 412-431-1680.
Aug. 10-11 Millvale Sportsmen's Club, 170 Sunny Hill Rd., Wexford 15090. Fri. 6-10 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Class limit 90. 724-935-4979.
Aug. 10-11 Whitehall Borough Community Room, 100 Borough Park Dr., Pittsburgh 15236. Fri. 6:30-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 55. 412-884-1100, 412-884-1100.

Armstrong County

June 22-23 Keystone Sportsmen's Club, 198 Hollow Rd., Creekside 15732. Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 50. 724-397-2361.
June 29-30 Pine Creek Sportsmen's Club, 1165 SR 1035, Templeton 16529. Fri. 5-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 50.
July 6-7 Buffalo Valley Sportsmen's Club, 365 Yellow Dog Rd., Worthington 16262. Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Class limit 50. 724-297-5555, 724-297-5266.
July 27-28 Freeport Sportsmen's Club. 197 Horseshoe Dr., Freeport 16229. Fri. 5:30-9:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Class limit 40. 724-294-3005, 724-882-3780.
Aug. 10-11 Ford City Sportsman's Assoc. 189 Gameland Rd., North Buffalo 16201. Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 25. 724-763-1748.

Beaver County

June 1-2 Rochester Sportsmen Club, 181 Sportsmen Lane, Rochester. Fri. 5:30-9:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Class limit 40. 724-775-3563.

Washington County

June 9-10 ACE Sporting Goods, 462 Washington Rd., Washington 15301. Sat. and Sun. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Class limit 80. 412-580-1642, 724-325-2543.
July 11, July 14 Canonsburg Sportsmen's Assoc., Allison Hollow Rd., Canonsburg 15317. Wed. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Class limit 60. 412-304-1907, 724-231-8919.
July 21-22 Charleroi Sportsmen's Club, 79 Gun Club Rd., Charleroi 15022. Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-noon. Class limit 40. 724-483-7441.

Westmoreland County

June 9-10 Irwin Sportsmen's Assoc., Sandy Hill Rd., Irwin 15642. Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-noon. Class limit 40. 724-744-1730.
June 22-24 Kingston Vets Sportsman's Club, 138 Kingston Club Rd., Latrobe. Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun., 1-4 p.m. Class limit 55. 724-539-6689.
June 22-23 Youngwood Sportsmen's Club, 196 Sportsmen's Rd., Hunker. Fri. 6-10 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 40. 724-238-9523.
June 29-30 Keystone Rod and Gun Club, 112 McGrath, Hannastown 15635. Fri. 5:45-9:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Class limit 50. 724-238-9523.
July 7-8 Washington Township Firehall, 4078 Rte. 66, Apollo 15613. Sat. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-noon. Class limit 30. 724-567-7271, 724-727-3245.
July 14-15 Lloydsville Sportsman Assoc., 833 Latrobe-Crabtree Rd., Latrobe 15650. Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. noon-4 p.m. Class limit 15. 724-537-3281.
July 28-29 Murrysville Gun Club, 3751 Gun Club Rd., Murrysville 15668. Sat. and Sun. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 55. 412-580-1642, 724-325-2543.
Aug. 3-4 Police Rod and Gun Club, 153 Bigam Rd., New Alexandria 15670. Fri. 6-10 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Class limit 80. 412-817-1112, 724-838-9754.
Aug. 10-11 Christian Fellowship Church, 2005 Ridge Rd., Jeannette 15644. Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Class limit 60. 724-244-0127.

Charleroi Archery Rendezvous

Visit their website for more information.

Remington 750 Woodmaster Repair

I want to let everyone know what's going on with my Remington .270 Woodmaster that I purchased new from Cabelas last August.

If you remember from my previous post you know I had trouble with the rifle not going off or dry firing from day one. It cost me two monster whitetailed deer in Missouri last November on my Dreams Become Reality hunt.

I just spoke with the repair facility in Ohio today and the rifle is still not fixed.  they are "waiting on parts". They received the rifle on February 22, 2012 and determined that the forearm was bad from the factory. The repairs are still not complete and they are sending the rifle directly to Remington today.

I will be contacting Cabelas next week and demand a new rifle. I believe this is ridiculous, I am very unhappy with this Remington product and the amount of time I am without a rifle.

What are your thoughts? What would you do in my situation, do you think Cabelas should return the rifle and replace it with a new model?

HuntTrack

I use the Bushnell Back Track and I love it.  Check out the NEW model for hunters....

HuntTrack™

GPS

Model: 360500

Keeps you on game and on track.

A valuable tool that's made to hunt.

Our all-new HuntTrack™ combines the ease of use that has made our BackTrack™ units worldwide favorites, with hunt-specific features only Bushnell® could deliver.
The HuntTrack™ will enable you to accurately predict periods of peak game movement based on a variety of factors.
With just a glance you can plan your hunt, with times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset, as well as barometric pressure available as an independent data point.
And with five standard and 20 additional storable locations, it easily gets you back to your tree stands or blind locations, a downed animal, your vehicle and camp with a simple directional arrow and distance of travel.
At the end of the day, its "breadcrumbs" tracking feature logs exactly where you've been. A confident hunter is a better hunter, and nothing provides it like a HuntTrack™.

Features

• Logs up to 48 hours of trip data
• Mark and return to up to 25 locations
• View/record time in military or civilian, temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius, and altitude
• Distances in yards/miles or meters/kilometers
• Latitude and longitude coordinates
• Weather-resistant construction
• 1 year limited warranty

Dreams Become Reality Gun Bash Winners

Here are the winning numbers and the times they were drawn:

2:00pm-436
2:15pm-727
2:30pm-393
2:45pm-541
3:00pm-540
3:15pm-984
3:30pm-974
3:45pm-811
4:00pm-423
4:15pm-986
4:30pm-685
4:45pm-011
5:00pm-111
5:15pm-224
5:30pm-897
5:45pm-218
6:00pm-953
6:15pm-382
6:30pm-888
6:45pm-201
7:00pm-284

Accessible Hunter Shirts

This will be embroidered on the front left chest of my new dress shirts.  I plan on getting some fleece made for this fall and a few hats as well. 

What are your thoughts?

Remington 770 on a Chance

I won a Remington 770 rifle at the Dreams Become Reality gun bash on Sunday, on an additional chance ticket. The rifle was a 30.06 which is a little too much gun for me with the recoil, so I am getting it in a .270 caliber.

It will be camouflaged and have a stainless steel barrel and scope. The scope is attached and bore sighted from the factory. I can't wait to take it out to the wounded warrior property and sight it in. It will be a few weeks for the rifle to come in, I can hardly wait.

New Logo

Do you like the new Logo and color of this blog?  If I would do hats and shirts would you buy one?  What color shirt black or white?  Black or orange hat?  Just testing the waters....

The Camo is Finished

Adam finished the camo spray paint on the mossberg.  He remounted the scope so its all ready to sight in one day next week.  This gun mount works great for my crossbow but not for the recoil of the gun.

I'm in the process of getting a new gun mount, its at the fabricator now.  I took the top half off a Caldwell lead sled solo and the fabricator locally is making me a post to secure it to my power wheelchair.

Camouflaging a Shotgun

We are in the process of camouflaging my mossberg shotgun and it's looking pretty darn good if you ask me.


The first thing we did was use masking tape to cover the safety, action, trigger activator etc. Then we put a base coat of flat tan.

Next we used natural foliage (leaves, pine and grass) placed on top of the gun and spray-painted olive green over the material. Then we made a stencil resembling grass, and added flat black.

The next step will be spray-painting brown stenciled leaves and adding a clearcoat.  I will post the finished product soon.

Out of The Office

I will be out of my "office" as much as I can till May 31st, please listen to my soft yelps and follow my action trackchair's muddy tracks to locate me....lol

B Square Mount

I decided to remove my B-Square Mount  on my mossberg 535 shotgun.  I ordered a Picatinny rail to replace it.

The B-square mount was not secure and would rise on the recoil of my shotgun.  I'm not sure I had it installed correctly but the picatinny rail is a cheap (7.00) fix.  Taking it to a gunsmith would be much more.

I plan on using the 535 with it's slug barrel for whitetail this fall in Allegheny county, which is shotgun only.

Ratchet Straps

When duct tape is just not what your looking for..... I bring out the camo Ratchet Straps.

I now use two ratchet straps on my shotgun when using my adapted brace.  One to hold down the rear stock and another around the butt plate to eliminate recoil.  I add a plastic wire tie to the barrel and my shotgun doesn't move much when I shoot. 

My accuracy has gone up 200 %.  I will post some pictures of it all soon

A Turkey Is a Bonus

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go Turkey hunting with our local wounded warrior group. To say I had a great time would be an understatement.

Jeff came to the house and picked me up early in the morning and we went to the property in 84 PA. We were meeting Ed and Philip (two other hunters who use wheelchairs) along with Hayes who would be calling and assisting us.

We all gathered at the garage for coffee and donuts and to discuss the plan for the morning hunt, as well as the days safety procedures. Because of all the rain, it would be to risky to tow me to the top of the hill to the ground blind using a trailer while I stayed  in my power chair.  My mini van would not make it to the ground blind that was set up.

So Jeff and Hayes moved the ground blind and decoys just to be safe to our alternate spot. Ed transferred into his Kawasaki 4x4 mule and the rest of us all headed to the ground blind in our mini vans (yeah I said mini vans).

Jeff and Hayes made sure the three of us were all set up, locked and loaded or in Eds case, cocked and bolted (Ed was using a crossbow).

It was a beautiful morning to be in a ground blind with Philip and Hayes. We watched songbirds and robins scavenge for insects and worms in the grass around our decoys. Numerous squirrels kept us entertained as we listen to Hayes work his turkey calls.  We also talked about our lives, what we were doing now and plans for the future.

Most of the morning was quiet until we heard a gobbler thunder back to a sweet call from Hayes. Tom turkey was behind us and sounded about 100 yards away.

We were excited and worked the gobbler in closer for the next hour or so hoping he would circle around to our decoys but it was not to be. Although he responded with loud gobbles we would not have an opportunity to fill our tags.

At noon Jeff came to get us and we headed down to the garage for some grilled burgers and beverages. As we ate lunch and talked about our morning hunt, we all agreed it was a fantastic day afield and a gobbler would have been a bonus to a spectacular day.

For three guys who use wheelchairs for mobility we said as a group, the day was successful just getting into a ground blind and working a hot gobbler. We all went many years without the opportunity to hunt at all after our spinal cord injuries. Without the Western Pennsylvania wounded warrior group we would not have had this great day hunting!  Thanks to all its members, volunteers and those who donate to the cause.

　

　

　

All Day Spring Turkey Hunting

Beginning on Monday, May 14, Pa hunters will be permitted to hunt from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. The expanded hunting hours will continue through the last day of the season, which is Thursday, May 31.

“The 2011 spring gobbler season was the first year of all-day hunting during the second half of the season, and the overall harvest was a slight decrease from the 2010 harvest,” Mary Jo Casalena said. “Afternoon harvest comprised six percent of the total reported harvests and 22 percent of the harvest during the all-day portion of the season.  During the all-day season, 78 percent of the harvest occurred before noon.”

For the afternoon segment, Casalena said the majority of the harvest occurred between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with the last reported harvest at 8:35 p.m. (NOTE: Hunting hours closed between 8:39 p.m. in the eastern part of the state, and 9:11 p.m. in the western part of the state.)

“The Game Commission will continue to monitor the afternoon harvest in relation to population trends and age class of gobblers to gauge the impact of all-day hunting,” Casalena said. “Of the 49 states that conduct turkey seasons, 34 have all-day hunting for all or part of the season, including Maryland, Ohio and Virginia.”

BMF Trigger Activator

I want to say thank you BMF trigger activators, www.facebook.com/#!/pages/BMF-Activator/325651661702

for sponsoring me with several brand-new BMF triggers! As a person with a disability I rely on these activators to be as independent as possible while hunting. I have used them for several years and believe they are the best trigger activator on the market!

Mossberg 835 Turkey Thug

Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag Turkey Thug 12 Gauge  835 TURKEY THUG with RED DOT scope

Caliber: 12 Gauge Chamber: 3.5" Choke Tubes: X-Factor Ported Choke

Sights: Adjustable Fiber Optic

Barrel Length: 20" Vent Rib Overbored Barrel

Additional Info: LPA Trigger Additional Info: Picatinny Camo Rail Installed.

This is my new favorite shotgun ever, it hits hard and tight.  I can't wait until I get a chance to shoot this at a spring turkey.  I have been tearing up the targets with it.

Turkey Eggs

How long does it take before we see a turkey come out of this nest ?  Twenty-eight days....

We should be seeing young poults running around our hunting areas the first weeks in June.

Batteries and Scopes

Let's talk about being prepared. First of all, I should say I am Obsessive Compulsive and one of the things I hate most in life is being unprepared. The old saying two is one and one is none, should always be used when you're in the field.

I recently purchased a new truglo red dot scope for spring turkey and I absolutely love it. But like all electronics it uses batteries. If I was able bodied I could simply turn the scope on and off independently when I operate the safety. But being a Hunter with a disability, dexterity and fine motor movement is not my specialty. So I turn the scope on once I am set up and ready to hunt and leave it on.

The scope operates on a three volt lithium battery. The cost to replace the batteries is very minimal and I have several replacements in my backpack. I would hate to miss my spring gobbler because I was fumbling with the Scopes on switch trying to save $1.99.

How do you prepare, what are some of your hunting tips?

I've Got It Bad Doctor

Sighted in, Hunting in the AM

Using the new Mossberg turkey thug with red dot scope. I shot at 30 yards using Federal #4 shot 2 3/4 inch, 12 gauge loads.  The 3'' magnum loads were just to much recoil for me to take.