April Showers bring…Free Shipping!

Just in time for Turkey Season we are shipping your stuff for free! Good through April 30th! Good luck ladies!

What Do I do with the spurs? Make Jewelry of Course!

What do I do with the spurs? Make Jewelry of Course! by Irene Pawlisch

It has been 6 LONG years since my last Eastern turkey harvest.  Speculation of bad winters and predation have made it appear there are less birds on the property combined with bad luck of weather make a harvest that much more difficult to achieve.  This year, I got my bird!  Twenty-two pounds, 10 inch beard, and 1 inch spurs.  Beautiful matching spurs at that.  I have wanted to make a necklace for years and at last I had my chance.

It is a simple method to clean up the spurs.

1. Cut off the feet at the knee knuckle with your hunting knife when butchering the bird.
2. Get a hacksaw.  Hold the knee end on a firm surface and slowly as close to the spur cut off the foot end.
3. Still holding at the knee end cut off the other side of the spur with the saw.
4. Using a toothpick or wooden skewer poke out the insides of the bones.
5. Remove as much skin and soft tissue as possible with your knife.
6. Boil spur in water with a few drops of dish soap for a few minutes.
7. Spur will discolor temporarily.  Remove as much additional soft tissue as possible.  Reboil until clean.  The longer you wait to clean off the bone the yellower it will be in the end.
8. Let dry then use a fine sandpaper to smooth out the bone edges and clean up bone appearance.
9. Apply a coat of polyurethane or clear nail polish to the spurs for a glossy finish.
10. You can now treat your spurs like beads!

If you are not an experienced beader you can take your spurs to a bead store for assistance.  I have done this a couple times so I decided to dive in and purchased all my supplies for minimal cost at a big box store.  (I went to a store that starts with a W if you like the beads on my necklace.)  After searching the internet bead jewelry for design inspiration I decided on copying a necklace I tend to wear often.  I copied the lengths and everything from this necklace.

Some design tips I have found helpful.  Beads that look the same rectangular shape and color of the bone section of the spur help blend the spurs into the necklace design.  Patterns make the necklace more appealing to the eye.  Layout your pattern in full and experiment with different patterns before you commit.  Natural stones and wood seems the best match for spurs.

You could do the traditional leather strap with wooden beads but I like a little shine and sparkle.  I am still a girl at heart even if I have dirt under my nails 90% of the time.  I am the only hunter in my circle of girlfriends and I love that my spur necklace would stand up to their bling when we have girls night out.

Kicking Beards II for Kicking Bear Kicks Back!

When I won the spot at the Kicking Beards 2 Pro/Am event in Kansas, I really didn’t have a clue what it was about. I thought it looked like a good organization to donate to and if I should win, it would be fun to go turkey hunting. Boy I had no clue what I was getting into.

First of all getting to “hang out” with the awesome Pros that were there was an absolute hoot. Guys like Heath Painter, and his camera man Chris Dyer a.k.a. “Catfish” a.k.a. “Flathead” who hosted in my first turkey kill, Mike Miller a.k.a. the “Assassin” who called in and filmed my second pinch, Tom King, Trevon Stoltzfus, Jimmy Big Time, J.T. Harden, Ryan Litwin, Casey and Chris Keefer, Matt Burtin and David Langston just to name a few. Meeting new friends like Thad Pool, Jodi Smith, Doug Gilmore, Maria Dupertuis, Durk Stark and the other winners and volunteers, well that in itself was more than worth the donation. I know I am going to ruin a bunch of macho egos, but you couldn’t find a bigger hearted, giving group of people that like to have fun. Add in Kevin Blake Weldon, who put on a concert, and the Locked Horn Outfitter owners Jared and Lizzie Crider and things were rocking.

We put down 25 turkeys total and I shot my first and 2^nd turkeys on film. I hunted hard and made great contacts, but that was not what I really want to tell you about today.

I want to help get the word out about Kicking Bear One on One. This program was started by Ray Howell whose dad abandoned him, as a young child. Ray proceeded in life getting into trouble and eventually someone took the time and introduced him to hunting. It changed his life.

Ray has a much higher calling in life. There is a love for people that simply oozes from his gentle giant. You feel it the first time you are near him. Ray started Kicking Bear to give kids the chance to be mentored in hunting and hopefully change their lives for the better also. My favorite movie is Pay it Forward and that is exactly how Ray Howell lives his life. In the movie each person had to pay a kindness forward to 3 people, Ray has long surpassed that number. His program is one that will continue to breed a “pay it forward” attitude, while changing, and in some cases healing, the lives of not only our youth, but the people that surround them.

The following is the philosophy behind the Kicking Bear program.

Impacting the children of tomorrow… Showing youth a better way of life while providing them with a weekend of fun to experience new things and meet new friends.

Nothing we do is as important as the impact that we have on the youth community.

1. 1. Engaging activities develop values, skills and relationships. Activities are not seen as ends in themselves, but as vehicles for creating values, building skills and solidifying peer and adult relationships. An engaging activity is one that holds the youth’s attention, awakens their imagination, and inspires them to want to learn more.
2. 2. All youth have equal rights to be accepted, respected and valued by others. Youth are viewed as individuals to be developed, not problems to be solved.
3. 3. Youth should be involved in decision-making and program design. If children get to choose how, when, in what and with whom to be engaged, they are far more likely to enjoy themselves and behave cooperatively.
4. 4. When we listen for understanding everyone learns — youth and adults alike. We are constantly able to learn from the youth as well as each other. Everyone is a learner.

Kicking Bear also follows up by providing free hunting and fishing experiences for kids that cannot afford it. That pretty much says it all.

I went to Kicking Beards thinking about what I could do for myself. I left Kicking Beards thinking about what I could do for others. I had someone that taught me in the beginning (thanks dad) and there are so many kids, (and adults) out there whose lives could be changed by having a mentor.

Kicking Bear holds camps all across the country at no cost to the kids. Please take the time to find out more about the Kicking Bear program and how you can help. Volunteer your time, donate your resources, or simply put out the word. No gift to this program will go unused. If someone taught you, please “pay it forward” it could change a life.

For more information about the Kicking Bear Program click here.

Learning to Call-By Mia Anstine

I love so much learning new things when it comes to hunting.  This spring, one of our clients suggested that I try a specific mouth reed for turkey calling.  He recommended the “Lost Poult” from Cane Creek calls.  I got on-line and found the reed.  I also viewed a video which they have on their site about how to use it, as well as what it should sound like.  I placed my order and awaited the arrival of my new call!

I practiced with my glass call, slate and box call in anticipation of the arrival of “The Reed”.

Finally the day arrived.  I received “Lost Poult” in the mail.  My husband watched as I held it up with a big smile and popped it in my mouth.  He being experienced at calling with a reed, immediately began to laugh.  I smiled and tried to blow….  kchhhhhlllllllccccchchhchhhhh.  Nothing but static!  I sounded like the suction tube at the dentist office.  We laughed, and he warned me not to choke on it.  I tried to catch my breath from laughing, and nearly did swallow the reed.  Hmmm.  I tried again.  “ssschhhheeek”  Oh no!  I was definitely going to need practice at this thing!  A few more squawks, out of me, and then my husband broke out his reed and showed me how it was done.

Now I had competition.  Now I had to figure out that call!

Picture this.  I drive an hour to and from work every day.  That means I have plenty of spare time on my hands.  I try not to text and drive.  I try not to take photos while I drive.  I also try to stay awake while I drive.  I drive and I drive and I drive.  I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to practice my “Lost Poult” call!   I loaded the YouTube video onto my black berry, and played the “Lost Poult” for inspiration.  Then I proceeded to practice.

Well, I must tell you that I also had already been playing around with a reed for a coyote call.  I found that one fairly easy to use.  It wasn’t so technical to make a sound with the way that the turkey call was.  One day while driving, I was admiring the gigantic prairie dogs that were popping up out of the snow.  I gazed across the field and spotted a coyote sleeping in the field off to the right.  I pulled over and decided to try out my skills.  I popped my reed in and yelped a couple of times.  The coyote raised its head.  I then yelped like a pup, and the coyote got to its feet.  It started to come to me.  Knowing that my husband would NEVER belive me, I pulled out my trusty camera which I never leave at home.  I took photos of it and I yelped and called as the traffic drove by until it finally was scared off by a big semi.

When I arrived at my destination, I called my husband and told him my story of calling in a coyote.  I knew it.  He didn’t belive me.  That evening, I showed him my proof, and he smiled.

I see plenty of wild life on my daily trips to and from work.  I see prairie dogs, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, deer, elk, and I also see none other than wild turkeys!  Well, now that I had barked at a coyote, I needed to try my “Lost Poult” on a real live turkey.

One sunshiny spring afternoon, I was cruising along, driving and driving and driving.  I saw out of the corner of my eye two turkeys.  I quickly grabbed my reed, veered, pulled off the road, rolled down the window and grabbed my camera.  I clucked at the hens and they ignored me.  Hmm.  I thought.  I better try a shock.  I bocked a loud call to them and got their attention.  Then I purred.  They purred back and headed toward me.  Toward the highway with the passing vehicles.  Woah.  I decided that I was satisfied with that!  I turned off my camera and put my reed away.  I headed for home with a big grin on my face.

Upon arrival at the house, I pulled out my camera and showed my husband the pics of the hens.  He said “no way”.  I told him that I now know how to use my call.  He asked me to show him.  I grabbed my reed, bocked, purred and cackled as he watched with his eyes wide open!

The best way to learn a call….  Many hours of driving!  

Thank you to Cane Creek for their YouTube video and instruction.  I couldn’t have done it with out you!  Season starts Saturday.  Let’s see how I do!

Mia has a blog at http://outfitterlife.wordpress.com/ . You can find several more of her exciting stories and adventures there.

February’s “Woman of the Wild”- Jennifer L. Metzker!

When I was a small girl, I remember going to my uncle’s property to hunt deer, turkey, dove, quail, etc with my family. I loved being out in the woods, running free, watching the wildlife. My dad would take me to hunting camp, despite the comments from the older members; dad would put me in the woods with my grandfather’s Smith & Wesson model 1000 shotgun and say, “sit still and good luck”! I only ever shot one doe, and we never found her…I was heart broken.

As the years went by, the family grew apart. I found myself driving my very old Grandfather to hunting camp, just so I could get another chance at another deer.  No Luck, I grew older as did the relatives, and there was no one to take me hunting, but you could always find me outdoors either at the horse shows or at the mud hole, which is where I met my husband of 19 years.

Bryan has been a hunter all his life and we kicked it off immediately.  We married, had a son and moved to North Carolina and had our second son. Bryan joined a Hunting club in Georgia, that we are still apart of to this day. It was at this club with my husband, that I really learned how to hunt. I was taught how to watch and “let the deer get closer” and where to put a stand, etc. I harvested my first doe on that club, weighing in at 120 lbs, while my husband sat in the truck with the boys watching a clear cut. That was it, I was really hooked! No, I wasn’t the first woman in camp to hunt, but I was the first to hunt as hard as the men do.  Sure, I have heard the same questions over the years; “How do you do it”? My only answer to that was “How can you not”? The woods are my sanctuary. Things always seem clear when I’m in the woods. And I have seen some wonderful things in the woods!

Over the years, I have harvested some nice deer and I’m always proud of whatever I do harvest. I hunt Alligator, Turkey, Deer, Ducks, Coyotes, Fox and Bobcat. I am open to try anything once. I fly fish in the spring and summer months but hunting is always on my mind.

I have been married for 19 years to my “hunting mentor” lol, Bryan. We have two sons, Bryan Jr. and Boone. Bryan Jr. is currently in the Navy and fishes and duck hunts with us when he takes leave. Boone is in the woods and water with us all the time and has become quite the hunter.  I know a lot of other ladies that hunt hard like me and I love meeting other lady hunters.

Jennifer L. Metzker