It's finally almost time to head for the tree stand, and if you're like us, then you can barely wait. Many Native Americans believe that when you're destined to harvest a big deer, it will come to you in your dreams before the hunt. It's said that many Natives hunt only when an animal comes to them in their dream. Recently, I harvested a nice big non-typical in one of my dreams. In the dream, I walked up on the buck, paid my respect to the animal, and got down to see the animal's antlers. The last thing I saw in the dream was my arrow lodged within its torso. Is my dream a premonition? I don't know, but I guess in October we'll find out.
September Newswire Contents
- Teal Season Review
- Deer Season
- Guardian Firearms
- Our Top 8 Compound Bows for 2012
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The best day we had was Wednesday September 12. Dan New and I headed down to Goose Pond for the Wednesday evening draw. The draw goes at 11:00AM, and parties of 2,3,or 4 hunt until sunset. There were about 12 parties of 3 or 4 guys. We got lucky and won first pick. We went to the same pool that we got rained out of the week before. The party with the second pick also chose the same pool that Dan and I picked. This was our first hunt to really try out our newly built marsh boats. Danny and I split up heading for separate patches of smartweed. I was cutting back some smartweed to add to my boat for natural cover when I started noticing blue wings zipping by. I decided I needed to get a handful of decoys out and get started ASAP. With other hunters getting to their spots, I figured the birds were being frantically pushed from their cover. I wasn't hidden as good as I would've liked, but the birds flying by were shootable. It wasn't a half hour into the hunt when I had a pair of Blue Wingers heading right for my dekes. They dipped low, soaring only inches off the water to my right. I had to swing all the way around to my right to get a shot. The bead on the end of my gun was nestled on the second bird. BAM and the teal hit the water. My first blue winged teal, and my first duck of 2012. Fifteen minutes later I had a single come in high flying, but dipped low as soon as the duck saw my decoys. This bird also made a quick drop and met my #4 steel shot. I had only been out 45 minutes and I had two ducks with two to go. Danny had shot a couple times, but I didn't see ducks hit water. I threw out a couple more decoys as I noticed some ducks landing in bigger groups. No longer than I got back in my boat that I had another pair come in to my left. The ducks split the smart weed patch I was sitting in. One headed to the right while the other flew to the left, I pulled up and shot the one on the left. Within an hour I was a bird away from my limit. I decided to wait for a drake, because all that I had shot were hens. Teal hens out number teal drakes, so it's not unusual to shoot mostly hens. After letting a couple of hens fly, I called over to Danny. I didn't want him to miss out. He paddled his boat over, set up, and again within 15 minutes he dropped his first ever teal. Shortly after Danny dropped another blue wing hen. Danny has been waiting for now 4 years to get a teal, and it wasn't until this day (his birthday) that he bagged his first teal. I got too picky waiting for the drake, and only ended up with 3. We had to leave a little early because Danny's family was throwing a party for his birthday back in Danville. Happy with our bounty, we decided to head on home.
The day payed off as we learned a some things about teal hunting, we learned our rebuilt boats work, and we got to hunt a pool that we've never hunted. Only bad thing is that we have to wait until November 3rd for duck season to come back in! Unlike 2011, I feel that 2012 is going to be a great waterfowl season.
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There are a few changes to this years deer season. We discussed the rule changes in the August Newswire. The dates are usually about the same each year, but there are a few differences this year. Dates are listed below.
For Bag Limits, Rules, Regulations, and Other Info check out the Indiana Hunting and Trapping Guide at Indiana Hunting & Trapping Guide_______________________________________________________________________
When I was a kid I remember going out to Putnam County to go through a firearms course. My Great Uncle Jim Baugh was the instructor. I remember my cousin Gayle and I took the course together, and to this day things still stick with me. One thing that really stuck out to me was when Uncle Jim told everyone to watch the jug of water as he shot it with a .357 revolver. He lined up the gun, pulled the trigger, and the water jug exploded. He looked back at us kids and said "that jug of water exploding is a near equivalent of what would happen to a human being shot in the head, and this is why we have to put safety first". From that day forward I had a new respect for firearms.
Since then my Great Uncle Jim Baugh has passed away, but his passion for firearms and firearms safety lives on in his son and nephew my cousins Jerrod Baugh and Justin Tate. Together they have created Guardian Firearm Academy. The training takes place at none other than Jim Baugh Firearm Shooting Range in Greencastle, IN. The course is not only for people just starting out, but it can be for seasoned shooters as well. If you or someone you know may be interested in doing a Firearms training course, then follow the link or email below for more information. These courses may one day save your life.
From the Guardian Firearms Academy Website:
"The Guardian Firearms Academy is training based in the use of firearms for defensive purposes. They offer the following classes...
- NRA Basic Pistol
- Defensive Carry Pistol
- Defensive Rifle
- Shotgun Home Defense
- Private Instruction
A registration form, photocopy of your ID, Handgun License, and deposit of 50% of the tuition are due at least two weeks before the class starts. Student positions are limited, places are held on a first come basis. Participants must be 18 years of age or older for the Defensive Shooting Classes. Requirements for the NRA Basic Pistol Class are a minimum age of 14 and accompanied in class by a parent.
Requirements for Defensive firearms training classes, and any time you are transporting a handgun to class, is a License to Carry a Handgun (Indiana or any other reciprocity state)."
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Below are our top 8 choices for new bows in 2012. We've tried to display bows in all price ranges, we've got them from $399 - $1400. If you're in the market for a new bow, we recommend one of these.
For more information on the above bows, check out their websites.
Mission Archery
Mathews Archery
PSE Archery
Hoyt Archery
Bowtech Archery
Bear Archery
Parker Bows
Quest Bowhunting
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We appreciate your taking the time to read Willowpine Outdoors' September Newswire. We also very much appreciate your support in WPO. As mentioned above, we're always looking for people interested in contributing their writing, taking pictures, adding videos, etc. If you think you might like to do this, then please shoot us an email at willowpineoutdoors@gmail.com. If you haven't already, please take a moment to add us as a friend on Facebook. If you like what we're doing, and want to support us, the best way is to tell a friend! Always remember that Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we can control our appetite. - Joey W. Buttram, Willowpine Outdoors
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