Rattle Them In

Since that day, rattling is what I do - from opening day of bow, to the end of muzzle loader season.  I'm not trying to brag, but I've rattled in and harvested a buck every year since that first encounter.  It works. 

So, how is it done?  First, I use a rattling box, which you can buy anywhere.  Real antlers are bulky, and I think there's a safety issue when you're waving around real antlers while hunting.  There are also rattling bags.  They work well, but I think they're a little bit heavy to carry. 

While on stand, for one minute every hour, I do a rattling sequence.  I try to sound like two small bucks sparring, nothing real aggressive.  I also add in some buck grunts and doe bleats.  Next, I quickly put everything away, and get ready.  If it works, it happens fast.  All of a sudden, a buck will be right in your lap.  You have to be ready.

So, you have a choice.  Sit there day after day, and hope a deer walks by, or call them in.  Bucks, like humans, love to see a good fight, and are very curious.

I guarantee if you give this a try, it will work.  But, you have to be consistent.  Rattle for one minute every hour while on stand.  Rattling will change your deer hunting life.

 Good luck,
Bill Joseph - Nature's Way Taxidermy

DON'T LET THEM HANG AROUND

A fellow came into my shop and told me he harvested a deer in the Alabama Swamps last year.  He also told me how bad the deer tasted.  He said it must have been the swamp water it was drinking.  I then asked him how he went about gutting the deer, how long he let it hang, and what the temperature was like.  He then explained that, after gutting the deer, he washed the cavity with water, then hung the deer for three days in about 50-60 degree temperatures.  I then told him that that was why his meat tasted bad.  Let me explain.

The first thing he did wrong was wash the deer out with water.  Introducing water into a deer carcass will actually start bacteria growth.  You want the blood and juices to dry, sealing the meat.  You'll notice after washing the cavity, that the meat will remain slimy.  That sliminess is bacteria, quickly spoiling your meat.  Stop washing the cavity, please.  If you have to put ice into the cavity of the deer due to extreme temperatures, make sure to double-bag the ice, so water doesn't escape into the cavity.

Next, he let his deer hang too long.  This is my rule. If the temperature is above 50 degrees, your deer has to be processed and in the freezer within 24 hours.  If the temperature is below 50 degrees, your deer should be processed and frozen within 3 days.  And, of course, temps below freezing, your deer will be OK until it thaws out.

And, if there are flies present, process deer immediately.

I know what you're going to say.  Your grandfather used to hang his deer for weeks, and that's why a lot of people don't like the taste of deer meat today.

I've processed thousands of deer, and I've seen and heard it all.  The faster you get your deer meat in the freezer, the better it will taste.  Feel free to call me anytime with questions about this topic

As a side note; when gutting your deer, you MUST remove the pee sack.  Leaving this in the deer will spoil your deer within 24 hours.

One more thing, if you're bringing your deer to a professional processor, bring it immediately.  DON'T let it hang around, because we may not be able to get to your deer immediately.

Good Luck,
Bill Joseph, Taxidermist - Nature's Way Taxidermy

When it comes to bowhunting, the most important thing you could talk about is recovering your deer after you've arrowed one. Last year I gut shot the biggest buck of my life, something I'm not proud of, but this is the reality of bowhunting. Anything can happen when you release an arrow.
So when you've made a bad shot, you have two choices. Chase the deer all over the county, or let him bed down and recover your trophy.
So I decided to wait ten hours and recover my deer. He laid down 100 yards from my stand and expired. To say I was happy is an understatement.
They say 20 % of deer are not recovered, and those are pretty bad odds. The gut, liver shot is the shot that falls into this bad percentage spot. All bowhunters know you need to let a gut/liver shot deer go at least ten hours before you start tracking them. They teach you this at the bowhunters safety course. And after years of bowhunting, I truly believed it was almost impossible to recover a gut-shot deer. And I didn't care how long you let him bed down.

So, what was the difference this day? I waited an hour before getting down out of my stand, and instead of looking for my arrow, and looking for first blood, I quickly snuck out of the woods and then waited ten hours. **Please read that again, because this is the secret to recovering a gut/liver shot deer.

Now this is the point of this article. It took me 25 years of bowhunting to understand that when you look for your arrow and first blood, you have now begun tracking your deer. And because a gut/liver shot deer will not go far to lay down, you have now alerted the deer with your search for your arrow and first blood, sending him on the run. At this point, you can throw the ten-hour waiting time out the window, because you didn't wait. Recovery will be almost impossible at this point. To make matters more confusing, is the fact that a liver-shot deer bleeds a lot, making the hunter believe the deer will expire quickly, and there is nothing farther from the truth.

Now I know what you're thinking. How do you know if you've gut/liver shot a deer? A deer will usually hunch up like a mad cat and just slowly walk away. But in any case, if you're in doubt of your shot placement, follow the same strategy as a gut/liver shot deer.

I'm sorry, but I've got to say it again. If you've gut/liver shot your deer - DO NOT look for your arrow or first blood. Sneak out of the woods and wait ten hours, not eight hours, not nine hours, but at least ten. This is true, even in rain or snow. Your deer will lay down within 150 yards and die. Yes, it may be hard finding a deer with no blood, but I guarantee you will not find him if you push him to the next county.
I hope this helps someone out there this year.

Good luck. Please call me if you have any questions about this.

WOODSMEN - WHERE ARE YOU?

The other day I was flipping through the 500 channels on TV, when I came across a deer-hunting show. After five minutes of disbelief, I couldn't watch it any more. This show had "hunting teams" shooting deer for points and a prize at the end. It made me sick to my stomach. I thought, "what have we sportsmen become?" 

All I hear any more from guys is them talking about food plots, trail cams, QDM, horn restrictions and "what did that deer score?". And guess what, I have been guilty all of this. We need to stop what we're doing. The heritage of hunting is in jeopardy. Soon, being a woodsman will not matter. If you harvest a deer for any reason other than food, you are doing it for the wrong reasons. 

Furthermore, fathers are even teaching their kids instant gratification mentality. Just plant a food plot, pattern the deer with a trail cam and - Instant deer! The anti-hunters are giving us all the rope we need to hang ourselves, and we're doing a good job of it. 

It's up to us senior hunters to teach our youth that there are no shortcuts to become a respected woodsman.

We need to get back to the basics. Leave your 4-wheeler at home, get rid of all the gizmos, and become one with nature. Enjoy your time in the woods and appreciate the deer that you harvest - big or small. 
 

Baler Stewart 9 yrs. 
Click for bigger pic

Bill Joseph

It's time to start bass fishing, and the coast guard drift is the hot spot. Trust me, you don't have to go to Lake Erie to catch big bass. This drift will produce numbers of smaller bass all season long, but if you want bass in the 5-pound class, you'll need to know a few tricks about this drift. The big bass are not always there. They spend most of their time in deep water in Lake Ontario, making them hard to target. 

What drives the big bass into the river is wind, hard north-easterlies, which means bad weather. The high winds will destabilize the water temperatures in the lake, pushing the big bass into the river. So what I do is watch the weather and fish hard during and a couple days following the weather front. The big bass will quickly move out to deep water once the lake stabilizes. 

Now, how do you catch them? First, you have to find them. I'll start in front of the South Fort boat launch, doing the typical drift out into the lake. Keep trying different depths until you hook up. Most of the big bass will be in about 30 feet of water, where the river meets the lake, just past the coast guard base. This spot will not be a nice place to be with North winds. 

The rigs I use are the typical 3-way swivel rigs. With a shiner, worm, or - I'll share a little secret that my good friend Captain Tony LaRosa shared with me about 5 years ago - Jumbo Peeled Cooked Shrimp. Big bass love them! And if the fishing is slow, you can eat them for lunch! The most important thing about drifting the coast guard drift is staying on the bottom. If you're not snagging up 50% of the time, you're not doing it right. So, when everyone's home watching fishing on TV, because the weather is bad, you'll know where to find me.

Good luck, Bill Joseph

How to Tag a Niagara County Turkey

As you know, there are turkeys everywhere in Niagara County. So, it should be easy to get one. But the fact is, with so many birds, and the sport becoming so popular, it's become harder to tag a mature bird. Big Toms have so many hens, that there is no need for them to gobble or come to your calls. And when he does sound off, hunters are everywhere, setting up in that 10-acre hardwood you're hunting. So, after 20 years of chasing turkeys, I've learned a few things. For now, I'll talk about scouting.
 

Here are some things to remember when scouting:

1. Get out a couple weeks before the season opens and pattern the birds. This doesn't mean walking all over the area you plan on hunting. 

2. Scout from a distance. 

3. Get out at sunrise. 

4. Set up in a hedgerow or across the field from where the turkeys like to roost. 

5. Listen and watch - no calling! See where the turkeys want to go.

Just remember, in Niagara County, the wood lots are small and the land is flat. You can't just walk around without a plan. You'll just bump the birds out of your hot spot.

Hope this helps! Get out as much as possible and BE SAFE!

See picture & story of Bill's 2008 Niagara County Turkey report below GO HERE

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