2007 A YEAR OF NEW TOYS               

2007 brought about the year of new toys for hunting, fishing and just having fun in the outdoors.  Not for just me but for Jerod as well.  Yep, I know when you read this most will say that I spoil my children. But your only a dad for a short while and then they grow up and move away.  Of course Jerod is grown up, graduated from high school, but is still living at home with my wife and I.  He says that he wants to work and get things he wants before he gets serious about getting married and starting a family of his own.

In January of 2007, I traded up a 2003 Kawasaki Bayou 250 from my brother in law Dink.  Dink had gotten one on a deal of some sort, either for working on a car or doing some remodeling work for someone.  Before getting the Bayou, Dink had told me that it was going to need brakes all around on it.  It ran great and rode fine.  I took it for a ride around his yard and made sure that it was worth getting.  So Dink and I did the deal.  Of course as soon as I brought the ATV home Jerod started that hew was going to have to get one.  He started looking in the trading papers for a used 4 wheeler.  He had about 800 dollars coming in from his income tax and he said he was going to use that to try and get one.

Well on a Saturday in February I decided that I was going to go to a local Kawasaki dealer and check on the brakes.  While there Jerod and I checked out the used 4 wheelers they had.  A salesman came along and asked if he could help us and Jerod asked him about some information on a Lakota.  He had found one in the trading paper and wanted to know something about it.  The salesman told him that Kawasaki didn't make the Lakota anymore but Suzuki, the dealer was also a Suzuki dealer, had something similar to the Lakota.  He told Jerod about the Suzuki Ozark 250.  He told us that the Ozark was a Quad Runner 250 racing style 4 wheeler turned into a utility 4 wheeler.  He asked if we could stick around for about 15 minutes cause he had just sold the one they had on the floor and the mechanics were uncrating another one and putting it together.  We told him sure we would stick around.

About 15 minutes later here pulls up beside the show room a black 4 wheeler, it was the Ozark 250.  The salesman got a helmet and handed towards Jerod and told him to take if for a ride.  Jerod politely told the salesman that he didn't want to ride it.  While we were waiting the salesman kept asking if I wanted him to process a credit application.  I had told him no that I didn't think I would qualify.  Well after seeing Jerod's eyes light up when he saw the Ozark I told the salesman to go ahead and run the application.  As soon as I said that Jerod said he would take it for a test ride through the back parking area. 

I sat down with the salesman while he took my information and after getting the information Jerod and I went outside to check out the Ozark while the salesman processed the application.  Jerod got on the Ozark and took it up and down the rear parking area and then came back and asked if I wanted to ride it.  So I hopped on it and took it up and down a few times.

The salesman came out and said you qualify enough to get two (2) of them if I wanted them.  I told him no that I had an old 2003 Bayou 250, but lets go ahead and get this Ozark.  Jerod and I talked about it while he processed the paper work.  I told Jerod that I would get this for him but I expected him to pay for it.  He agreed that his entire income tax would go on the 4 wheeler payment and then he would make the monthly payments. 

While the paper work was getting done I walked around and looked at some of the used 4 wheelers they had. 

Well Jerod and I came home with his new 2007 Suzuki Ozark 250 and on Sunday, after a deep snow, Jerod and I road 4 wheelers out the road where we live.  He rode the Ozark and I rode the old Bayou 250, we had a blast riding in the snow.

The following Monday, Jerod and I were back at the local dealership and I bought a 2006 Kawasaki Bayou 250.  Now both of us had brand new 4 wheelers and we didn't have to worry about doing any repairs to a used one.

One of the biggest reasons for getting the 4 wheelers was so we could use them on our hunting club lease.  After carrying in and out my ladder stand in 2006, which is a buddy stand, we decided that we needed a 4 wheeler.

        
Jerod's 2007 Suzuki Ozark 250                                                                   My 2006 Kawasaki Bayou 250

Here are some photo's of Jerod and I taking it easy after a ride on our new 4 wheelers.  We couldn't wait to get them out and do some riding in the woods.

     
Click on picture to see larger.

Here is a short video, but the clarity isn't good.  I shot this with a cheap digital camera.  The first 4 wheeler is my brother in law (Big Al) on his 2003 Bayou 250 and the second one is Jerod on his 2007 Suzuki Ozark 250.  We found this old strip bench on our hunting club property and it was loaded with some good mud holes, not real deep but just deep enough to have some fun!!

Click the block to see the video.

Can't forget that Big Al also got a ATV this year. It is a 2003 Kawasaki Bayou 250 that I picked up in a trade before I bought the new one and then I traded the 2003 to him.

Another New Toy

Here is another new toy...of course in 2005 I got a new truck...well at least new to me.  If you go back to the link for 2005 you will see I got a 2001 Chevy S-10 4x4.  Well in August of this year Jerod got a new truck.  It was about time, too!  I had given him my old 1984 Chevy S-10 4x4 that had close to 165,000 miles on it and the body already had a quart and a half of bondo in it. 

Jerod got him a 2004 Toyota Tacoma SR5 Off Road 4x4!!  He really needed this truck and he was tickled to death that I helped him get the truck that he had been wanting since he got his drivers license.  Your only a dad once and you want to do anything you can do to help your children so they can have a better life than what you did.

Jerod's 2004 Toyota Tacoma SR5 Off Road 4X4

Other little toys that we got for 2007 was Whisker Biscuits for my Martin Jaguar and Jerod's Mathews Solo Cam.  Anything to help in the pursuit of the elusive whitetail deer. I purchased a used Hoyt Raptor compound bow off of an individual along with some accessories. It came with a quiver, sites, rest and three carbon arrows.  

I also got a new Moultrie 4.0 mega pixel camera for Christmas.  Now I have two Moultrie cameras...a 2.1 mega pixel and the 4.0 mega pixel to go along with my Stealth 35mm game camera.

2007 Spring Gobbler Season

Well there is not much to type here.  We never got a chance to get out and turkey hunt.  With Jerod working his new job and my work we just couldn't seem to get our schedules right so we could hunt. We know that the area we bow hunt is loaded with turkeys. So not much scouting is necessary. Oh well, maybe next year we can get things to come together.

2007 Archery Season with a little Pre-Season Hunt

2007 saw a little pre-season hunt compliments of my boss who had received some crop damage permits. He asked if my son and I would like to take a couple deer but we had to do it with a bow. The area where he wanted some deer eliminated was to close to houses to use a rifle. Also, we could only shoot does. This wasn't his preference it was the DNR regulations for the crop damage permits, only does and no spot lighting for deer.

So Jerod and I decided on a particular day to hunt. This would be our first attempt at hunting a farm where you basically had to hunt the open fields. Well I decided to hunt in the field where there was a large tree with some high brush around it. Jerod was going to hunt the edge of the field, just inside the woods. 

The first thing I found out was that no matter how much camo you have on and how concealed you think you are the deer will bust you!! That day Jerod and I was unsuccessful in taking a doe. We saw a total of about 14 deer, but the ones I saw would spot me before coming all the way into the field. They would either turn and go back the way they came or make a few jumps across the field and they would be gone.

The next trip we decided to take our climbing stands with us and just setup inside the woods enough to provide us with some cover. This turned out to be a better approach at trying to get setup to see some deer. The first time out with the stands was an uneventful trip. Jerod didn't see any deer and I spotted two that were just out past 100 yards. One was a doe and the other was a nice looking 6 point in velvet.

Then finally on Labor Day our setup paid off. Jerod had decided to go down close to a pond to setup and I went back to the tree where I had setup earlier.  

By that evening the deer started to pour into the field, just outside of bow range. They began to feed on the clover and the grass and work their way across the field at an angle towards me. I radioed Jerod and told him that I was watching 5 deer and that they were working their way towards him.

There were 4 does and that 6 point buck. As the daylight started to fade the deer made it across the field to the other side directly across from me, but outside of my bow range. The deer were 95 yards out in front of me making their way down the fence line towards the pond where Jerod was setup.  

By this time there were a total of nine (9) deer at the fence line. Now there was two bucks, that 6 point and then a basket rack looking buck. Never could tell how many points he was. 

Just after the deer started down the hill towards the pond I heard the sound of a arrow smack. When I heard that I knew Jerod had scored. I was correct cause about the time I heard the smack I saw several does jump back towards me. Jerod radioed and said that he had gotten a big doe and that she had dropped right near the base of his tree. I told him I knew he had shot at one but wasn't sure if he had connected with it.

I told Jerod that some of the does had jumped back up the hill towards me and that I was watching two that looked like they were going to come over to my side. But these deer were curious about what had happened to one of their own and started walking back towards Jerod with their heads up and their ears perked out. I told Jerod that they were working their way back towards him to see what was going on. He told me that he was going to come down and maybe that would spook them back my way. 

It did exactly what he thought. The does jumped back up the hill and then began to walk towards my location.

As they got closer I went ahead and came to full draw. While standing there in the tree waiting for the doe to get closer I began to shake just a little. The doe was taking her time so I had to let off very slowly as to not draw attention to me.

Finally the doe got within 40 yards and she was beginning to angle away from me. I knew I would have to take the shot if I wanted to score. I felt confident about shooting at 40, especially in an open field, since I had practiced shooting at 40 yards and was pretty good at hitting the target.

I came to full drawn and found my mark and released. I heard the smack of the arrow against her and saw her bolt into the air. Three jumps and she jumped the fence about 60 yards to my right. I watched her make it to the woods and go down the hill behind me and then I lost site of her. I knew that I had complete pass through due to the fact there was no arrow in her.

I radioed Jerod and told him that I scored. He came over to help me track her since it was getting dark. We found her about 100 yards down the hill.

Jerod and I scored on two nice does on Labor Day and even though some people would think that wasn't hunting, I disagree with them. The way we went about it was just as if it was mid October and it was archery season. The only difference was it was August/September not October with the fall colors and the crisp morning and evening air.

I used the Hoyt Raptor compound that I had bought from a fellow from the WVSportsman.net website. I had bought this bow as a back up bow to my Martin Jaguar. The Raptor came already setup and included three (3) carbon arrows. I had never hunted with carbons so I thought what the heck I will give them a try. Also, a friend of mine from Beckley who owned a sporting goods store had given me 3 - 100 grain Slick Trick broadheads that he wanted me to try out and let him know how they preformed. So that was my setup for the crop damage permit hunt. 

This hunt now has me convinced to switch to carbons and that the Slick Tricks work as good as or better than my 100 grain Wasp Bullet broadheads. Changing over to carbons and the new QAD Drop Away Rest that I got for my birthday should really make my Martin fling the arrows to the target...no matter if it is a target or a deer.

The anticipation is over...October 13, 2007 has finally come and gone. This day holds two special places in my heart...it is my oldest son's birthday...Brandon is now 27 years old and I took a spike buck.

Jerod...my youngest son (22) and my brother in law (Alvin) and I were in the woods and in our stands by 6 AM Saturday morning. 

Having a 4 wheeler gets you to your stand in a hurry.

After getting everything setup...strapped to the tree, bow hung with care, backpack setting beside me in the buddy stand I was ready to hunt. I turned off my light and sat there in the pitch blackness. The only sign of light was the glistening of the stars and the glow in the dark ring on my Tru-Glow sites.

In the mist of the darkness I heard a deer blow off in the distance toward where I knew Alvin's stand was. A few minutes later I heard another deer blow behind me on another ridge. I guess these deer were maybe being jumped by other hunters coming in to their stands.

As the darkness started to dissipate and the woods became alive with birds signing and squirrels jumping from tree to tree my awareness of things around me became exciting. Up on a knob above the ridge I was hunting I heard what sounded like a smack...then I saw three deer running down the holler behind me and up on a finger ridge. I knew that a young man had a stand up on that knob so I was sure that he had connected with a deer.

Around 8:19 to 8:20, I heard the same sound again but out the ridge from where I was hunting. This is where Jerod was hunting, well he called me on the radio and told me that he shot a doe and to keep my eyes open. The shot wasn't a good one...he had missed his mark and hit the deer in the back leg and the arrow was in her. I watched and listened to see if she was coming my way. Jerod told me that she jumped and then started walking and it appeared she was coming my way. I never saw or heard her, but at about 8:40 I saw two deer coming down the hill towards me.

As they were coming down I stood up and watched them. As they got closer I pulled my bow back and waited. I was able to determine the first one was a spike, then I checked the second one out...it was a spike also.

This was the two spikes that I have on film. They are always together in every picture I have.  The second spike was smaller so I took aim on the first one. He was only 15 yards from my stand.

I released and the arrow hit the deer behind the ribs but high in the back. The spike jumped and kicked and looked like he was going to go down but he just hunkered up and took off. I could tell that it wasn't a good shot cause I could see the arrow. 

Thank goodness for the white fletch wrap. 

I watched the deer go out the ridge a little and down the hill to the holler to my right.

I radioed Jerod and told him that I had got one, but the shot wasn't a good one and that I would wait for maybe and hour before trying to track. Jerod told me that he was going to start tracking his.

I walked up to the 4 wheeler and put my pack in the box and locked it up. While there I saw Jerod coming up the hill and I walked over to him. I decided to help Jerod track his. I knew that I should give my deer some time before tracking it.

We tracked for 4 hours and never jumped the deer but once and that was about 3 hours later. She never bedded down and when we jumped her she crossed the road and we followed. Finally we lost the blood trail. We searched for another hour but never found her. I told him that I didn't think he had a killing shot and that the deer would live. 

We did recover his arrow.

I went back and started tracking my deer. He went about 80 yards and bedded down under a hemlock.

It was a good day except for Jerod not being able to get his deer. I told him not to feel bad, that in all the years I had been hunting there were many times that I lost a deer. We all hate when that happens, but we do and we did all we could to try and recover game we shoot. 

Again I feel his deer wasn't mortally wounded. We will probably see her again and we did later the next week. Both while hunting and on his camera. He had hit her in the hind quarter and apparently not in a vital area, like an artery, cause we saw her all bow season long. Jerod and I had decided and agreed that we wouldn't shoot her. She had been through enough already.

My 2007 spike buck.

Jerod's luck changed the next weekend. He scored with a 4 point buck the second weekend of the 2007 Archery Season.

We arrived again early in the morning...well before daylight. Again those ATV's make getting to your hunting area a quick chore. We don't ride them directly to our stand but within maybe 50 yards and try to park them under some sort of cover to breakup their outline. Jerod parks his under a hemlock, which really conceals his four wheeler. I park mine near a dead fall that still has leaves on it. From what we have observed so far the deer aren't paying any attention to the four wheelers.

Back to the hunt.

Jerod was up in his ladder stand well before daylight. Once daylight was upon us the woods became alive again with all sorts of sounds from birds and the occasional squirrel barking off in the distance. Sometimes you would even hear the very quite putt putt putt of some turkeys feeding on the nearby hillside.

Alvin was even lucky this year during the 2007 season.  Alvin scored his very first bow harvest after years of practice and years of missed shots.  It was a shining moment for him.  I knew how he felt, cause for many years when I first got into bow hunting I was scoreless.  He didn't get a big trophy, just a small doe, but if any of you remember the feeling you had when you took your first deer, well then we know how he felt.

2007 Buck Season

The 2007 Buck Season was pretty good...for Big Al that is.  Jerod and I didn't score a buck at all during the 2 week buck season.  We got to hunt eight (8) days out of the twelve days we had to hunt. 

Opening morning Jerod and I both saw the 8 pointer that we had been hoping to get during bow season. We had several pictures of him, but during bow season he always kept his distance. 

Monday morning shortly after daybreak Alvin scores on a nice 6 pointer.  Jerod and I both congratulate him over the radio and we proceed to hunt our spots.  

Shortly after Alvin taking his deer I looked down the holler towards my ladder stand location and caught the glimps of something running through some trees. I raised my 30-06 and picked up the movement in my scope. It was a doe but behind her was the 8 pointer. He was giving chase to that doe. 

I just knew she would lead him right up by me, but it wasn't my time. She turned abruptly up the hill and he followed. 

This sudden turn caused me to have to shift around and try and pick him up again in the scope. By the time I had him all I saw was a tail as they headed back out the point and over the hill towards Jerod. 

I immediately radioed Jerod to be on the lookout.  Well, Jerod told me that they had come up past him once and then just before I radioed him they came charging again past him. 

He had no opportunity to get his rifle up due to the terrain they were gone just as quickly as he spotted them.

We didn't see anything else that morning and by noon we went out for lunch. Jerod had to leave at noon so he could go to work. While out for lunch we checked out Alvin's nice 6 pointer. He had already went and checked it in and was waiting at the truck for us to come out. One of the two Fayette County Conservation Officers pulls up while were out at lunch and check us. We talk to him for a little and I thank him for patrolling the hunting club property.

After Jerod left to go home and get ready for work I went back that afternoon and decided to hunt between Jerod's ladder stand and my ladder stand. I hadn't been in my spot no more than 30 minutes when I heard a shot that if Jerod would of been there I would of sworn that it was him. It was only one shot and no more. I knew in the back of my mind that someone had taken the 8 pointer. But who I didn't know. I knew pretty much who was hunting the area due to how you had to come into the area we hunted.

About 15 minutes later here came this doe from towards Jerod's stand. She walked right in front of me about 40 yards out going towards my stand. I watched her carefully, looking at her body language and watching to see if she was watching for anything. I knew this had to be the doe I saw earlier. 

I watched her for almost an hour. Nothing ever showed up and that just confirmed my feeling that someone had taken the 8 pointer.

Just before she left the area I noticed a spooked reaction from her and looked the direction she was looking. I saw another deer coming straight up the point. I immediately pulled up my scope to see a buck! But, it wasn't the 8 pointer. It was a very tall spike coming up the point. The doe went over the hill but the spike didn't seem interested in her and turned to go out towards Jerod's stand.

That was the only deer I saw the rest of the day.

The rest of the week, up until Friday, Jerod or I didn't see a deer one.

On Friday I got a shot at a really big buck...bigger than the 8 pointer. But I missed!! 

So Jerod and I was scoreless for for the 2007 Buck Season. But, Alvin scored the first buck of the group with a NICE 6 point buck and then the second week he got a 5 point.

Late fall of 2007 was a year of celebration for the WVSportsman.net website/forum that began as the West Virginia Hunting Forum on a free server hosted by Proboards.com, it had is 1 year anniversary.  WVSportsman.net had really grown in popularity since moving from the Proboards site.  The only catch with Proboards was that if you wanted free server space you had to allow for advertising.  Another bad thing with the Proboards setup was you were limited as to what you could do and offer on your forum.  

After about a little over a year a fellow West Virginian sportsman kindly developed the new site and took care of getting it hosted on a full blown server at IX Webhosting.  The new site had more to offer and of course we didn't have to allow ads on the site since now we would be paying for the server space.  We are able to store pictures, have a blog, and many other member related items.

Membership on WVSportsman.net has grown since the move from the old site.

Also, 2007 was a year of sadness for our family.  This year we lost a hunting partner and a friend.  He was a brother, a brother in law, a uncle and a son.  Harold J. Kowalsky, Jr. (Sonny) went to be with our Lord and Savior on December 17, 2007.  I had hunted with Sonny ever since I started hunting with the family.  Sonny and I were best of friends, heck we were more like brothers, always helping each other when the other would ask.  Sonny you are greatly missed by everyone, we know that your in a better place now and you would not trade if for anything.  We will always think of you and especially during hunting season.

Harold J. Kowalsky, Jr.
Nov. 17, 1954 - Dec. 17, 2007

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