Tell Us Where To Place Out Stands - Scouting Video

I was able to get out and scout the locations that y'all chose this weekend. Here's the video of the area. Let us know what you think.

This scouting is for the Huntography - 2011 Deer Tour

Tell Us Where To Place Our Stands - Feedback

We received some feedback on the last post with the aerial and topo photos and were pointed to two areas. I marked the aerial photos with red dots for stands that are pretty much guaranteed and aqua dots for a possible stands. Of course, nothing is set in stone until they are scouted from the ground and the miles are put on the boots, but they appear pretty promising.

Given the fact that Oklahoma has had 37 of the last 45 days over 100 degrees, getting out to scout has been tough. We scouted two weeks ago starting at 6am and by 9am, we were soaked in sweat. The things we are willing to go through for scouting...As soon as I can get some time away, we will be scouting the area with both video and pictures to provide y'all with feedback as to what the spots you chose look like and we'll continue to work with you guys in the placement of the stands and execution of the hunts.

This scouting is for the Huntography - 2011 Deer Tour

Tell Us Where To Place Our Stands

I was sitting at home last night thinking about how to get our readers and followers more involved. That's when it dawned on me, why not post aerial photos and topographic maps of a location that we've been considering hunting, and have y'all choose our stand locations, entry points, etc. and tell us why you would choose that spot? We want your feedback and to involve you in our hunts and adventures. I have scaled down some of the aerial photos so as not to disclose the location as we do hunt public land.

First, let's start with the topo map. The horizontal line is the property line between the public and private land. The blue lines are creeks that have 15-25 foot banks that are straight up with no crossing points that we've seen. Spend some time looking at the topo prior to moving to the aerial so as not to taint your viewpoint on the area with anything other than the topo data.

These are the aerial photos. Now we have several spots that we like, but again, we don't want to taint your view. I want y'all's first opinions.The first is a zoomed out view with the 2nd through 4th going from left to right of the zoomed out view.

We will post a follow up blog with the locations that we had picked prior to our reader's input as well as the locations that y'all picked. Also, if it's easier for you, feel free to save the map/photo, add your own markers, then email it to us (makeithappenoutdoors@gmail.com) and we can compile the responses that we get then post the results.

This scouting is for the Huntography - 2011 Deer Tour

Bow Shoot, Bow Gear and Some Pre-Season Scouting

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been busy getting things ready for the hunting seasons right around the corner. I recently picked up a dozen GoldTip Hunter Expedition 5575 arrows at Oklahoma Archery. I enjoy using Oklahoma Archery due to their small size and expertise. They're a great help, just know that if you go within a month of bow season starting, you can't expect them to chit-chat with you all day, as they get swamped with business.

I also purchased a new sight. My old one had all of an inch of fiber optic for each pin and was not very friendly to make small adjustments on, plus, the pins disappeared at prime shooting time. After looking for a few months, I settled on the TruGlo Carbon XS sight. What attracted me to it is the fact that it has .19 pins which assist with better accuracy and do not cover the target so much at greater distances. It has roughly 6-7 inches of fiber optic cable per pin as well as a screw-in UV light that illuminates the pins like the noon sun. My groups have gotten significantly tighter since adding the sight and it also allows me to shoot at dusk when it's cool outside but low-light conditions. I highly recommend the sight to anyone looking to upgrade. In fact, my brother-in-law just added one to his new bow this year.

A video camera was acquired by myself as Matt already has one, but we did not want to stick ourselves to having to hunt together all the time in order to get footage. While figuring it out, I also used my digital camera and filmed a quick bow shoot that I had at dusk one night last week. Here's how it turned out.

I was pretty happy with the results. The camera does lack some low-light functionality which may come back to bite me during the season, but you do what you can when you can afford it. Let me know your thoughts on the video.

Matt and I also got out and did some scouting on Sunday at 6am trying to beat the ridiculous heatwave we've been under. We finished at 9am, and were already dripping sweat. We only saw 1 doe and a fawn, but were just looking at a new location for possible stand placements. We found a few areas of interest including a cedar tree on a small hill with a roughly 60 yard in diameter over grown field that butts up to a fence line providing somewhat of a funnel. We did locate a decent scrape from last year as well. Here's a quick video of some of our scouting.

We put in the work now to Make it Happen Outdoors this Fall. This scouting is for the Huntography - 2011 Deer Tour

Name Change - Make it Happen Outdoors

Ever since we started our journey in the outdoors as children, Matt and I have always wanted to make our own hunting and fishing videos. We started this realization a few months ago by starting this blog, our twitter account, and YouTube channel. Currently, we only hunt and fish on public land, however this may not always be the case. The previous name, Public Hunting Only, would be constrictive in future growth should we have opportunities to hunt and fish private land whether that be through leases or through our friends and contacts. We needed a name that would truly convey our goals and aspirations for this "dream".

Our friends, @Huntography and @JoshDickerson7, provided valuable insight and inspiration to create a name that we can own and be proud of. I've never thought that simply coming up with a name would be so difficult. After a couple of weeks of batting around ideas, the name came to us out of no-where. Make it Happen Outdoors was born. MiHOutdoors is our true passion. With only having access to public land currently, you really have to make it happen for yourself when it comes to being successful.

We have a couple of things in the works for the next couple of weeks for the blog and are currently working on video editing and everything that encompasses it. Until next time, Make it Happen when you're Outdoors.

Getting Social with America’s Whitetail Deer Hunters

Just announced this morning is Huntography's road-trip to film some of today's social media deer hunters. From his blog: 

Huntography

 
1 Huntographer. 12 States. 19 Deer Hunters. 5,000 Miles. Fall 2011


This fall, I’ll be hitting the road again to film more of America’s whitetail deer hunters. Each one of these folks I met via social media. Through Twitter, Facebook, a blog or a forum, a relationship was forged.
I’ll visit them, on their private back 40 or on some local public land of their choice and capture their hunting experiences, deer camp culture and heritage on camera in HD. We’ll also be sharing what’s happening in realtime using a vast array of social media tools and websites.
Huntography is a movement to showcase how the rest of us hunt and how we are using technology to connect with each other across the country, from online to offline.
We’ll see you online and in the woods this fall. It’s on!

 

Fall Deer Hunting Dates:

Wisconsin: Bowhunting – October 16-18

Michigan: Bowhunting – October 19-23rd

Ohio: Bowhunting – October 24-25

Maryland: Bowhunting – October 26-27

Virgina: Bowhunting – October 28-29

North Carolina: Bowhunting – October 30-31

Georgia: Rifle – Nov 1-2

Tennessee: Bowhunting – November – 3-4

Arkansas: Bowhunting – November 6-7

Oklahoma: Bowhunting – November 8-9

 

 

 We can't explain how excited we are about this opportunity to work with Rudy and be included  in his trip. A huge thank you to @huntography for choosing to spend a couple of days filming us. We are his last stop on his enormous loop throughout the country and are bound to make an impression. You will get a chance to see us in all of our "glory," humor, and just being the everyday outdoorsmen.

Ethics, Responsibility, and Common Courtesy in The Woods.

Whether you hunt public or private land, you either have had, or will have, a bad encounter with another "hunter". There's that moment when you are just dumbfounded by the lack of respect for others and their efforts. I'm pretty sure that the longest chapter in Hunter Education courses covers ethics, responsibility, and courtesy. Private land hunters don't typically have much to worry about unless a trespasser is involved. However open leases and public land is all a matter of time before you run into that individual who will almost purposefully wreck your experience in the woods and not think twice.

I have had several experiences where I couldn't believe what was happening. Here's a few. I found a perfect funnel during the summer with plenty of sign, however it was not far from a parking area, so I knew it was going to get pressure. The first 2-3 weeks of the season were hot, and I saw a lot of deer movement including a spike that came in directly behind me at 3 yards, however I wasn't able to get a clear shot through the vines that I had against my back. The first time I sat in the location I noticed that someone had placed a make-shift feeder on a tree 15 yards in front of my chosen ground blind location. 20 yards from that, a hanging stand had been placed.

One morning I started walking into the funnel only to get whistled at. I promptly turned around and found another location several hundred downwind. Several days later, I arrived at 3:00pm to try and catch early deer movement. Around 5pm, I see movement to my 10 o'clock. I see two hunters about 150 yards away walking toward me. I notice it is a guy and his roughly 8-year old son. The guy stops at the edge of the field and sits down. His son then proceeds to continue my direction being as stealthy as a heard of elephants. I whistle. He doesn't react. I whistle again, this time louder and more drawn out. Nothing. I keep whistling but he ignores it. I start waving, he stares directly at me but does not stop. He gets within 20 yards and I finally stand up and yell "Hey, I'm over here." The kid shuffles around, walks 20 yards back toward his dad and relieves himself, then goes and sits with his dad. It's 5:30 by now and I know the hunt is blown. Big deal, it's public land, it's bound to happen right?

I pack up my gear and decide I should inform this gentleman that his son is unaware of what whistling means when moving through the woods while hunting. I make plenty of noise on my way so I do not catch them by surprise. I approach them cautiously and the guy says "hi". I ask him if he has taught his son about hunting etiquette and whistling. He said "yes". I then ask his son if he heard me whistling and saw me waving at him. He says "yes". I then ask why he didn't stop and turn around. His dad chimes in "Because I told him to go check my stand and see who was sitting in it." I told him thanks for ruining my hunt intentionally, and that I was on the ground, not in his stand. I then proceed to head toward my truck.

After about 150 yards, I began to build a rage inside. I turned and confronted the guy again. I asked how on earth he could send his own son into the woods to check as to where another hunter, with a weapon, was at. I told him that he was a pathetic excuse for a father for putting his own son at risk like that and he should be more respectful of other's space, time, and efforts. I told him that he was lucky that it was me in the woods and not someone who shoots at movements and sounds.

As a father, I cannot imagine knowingly sending my child into harms way "just to see who is sitting in my stand". Have hunters, and people as a whole, really become that self-centered and inconsiderate? It's no wonder those who hunt have acquired a bad name if this is more of the norm than the exception.

Another instance occurred last year as well. Matt and I made our way toward our stands. We were just walking into the wood-line as another hunter pulled up. We made sure that he saw us and then continued walking in. There was a north wind that day. The other hunter stops 75 yards north of us, walks into the woods and starts yelling asking us if we planned to hunt there. We replied yes, trying to get him to quiet down, he continued yelling about how he needed to check a stand of his which is conveniently due north of my stand location, thus he was dropping a scent line which would surely screw up and deer movement from the north. Sure enough, not a single deer was seen that night.

Per the Oklahoma Hunter's Education handbook:
"The greatest threat to hunting in North America is not anti-hunters. It is the negative hunter image created by poor hunter behavior in the field."


"All hunters have a personal code of conduct dictating how they act. There are many different personal codes of conduct. People hunt differently in different parts of the country. Individuals place personal limits on how they pursue game based on their skills and abilities. One thing is universal. A good code of conduct includes actions and attitudes that show responsibility and respect."


"Respect for other people including yourself, landowners, other hunters and non-hunters: Before you hunt, ask "Is this safe?" and "Is this sporting?" 

What are your thoughts and personal experiences? Let us know in the comments.