Ice Fishing in Minnesota….So I was ice fishing at Gull Lake in Brainerd, MN and I was using a swedish pimple. I use them because I like them, also there really nice. I went out Thursday and Friday and caught nothing. I was in 20 feet of water. I went out deeper to 80 feet, put down the swedish and right away Read More of the Story…
Hog Within 20 Yrds: Sight To Shot….So there I was heading to my feeder at night just after 10pm. My Springfield 45 XDM had a full clip in but I usually carry it without one chambered, that night was no different. I was heading to the feeder to set the camera with the new set a batteries I had gotten for it. I had the spot light going as I usually do to see what kind of eyes I can see. It is 2 weeks before archery season opens Read More of the Story…
Would you shoot a Fawn?Most of us, if not all, have had that dream of harvesting a monster buck. But have any of us had a dream about harvesting a fawn? Well, I know I haven’t yet.
Think albino deer are rare? The attached photos are of a black whitetail fawn in a neighborhood north of Austin, TX. All the deer pictured are wild. The fawn is melanistic, which means Read More of the Story…
First FishWe tend to pride ourselves with providing more for our kids than we had, so I took our fancy camera out into the fish house while I brought our 3 year old on his first fishing expedition. After the holes were drilled, camera set up, and heater was turned on we started out fishing. I know that having all the bells and whistles kind of “takes away” from the learning curve that many of us learn on our own, but fishing is something that will never change in our family. It is just fun to watch a child catch their first fish!
Nice One!While perusing through this wonderful site many different stories come to mind. Thoughts of hours stranded in a boat with no juice in the battery to start the motor, stumbling through the woods to find a deer right in front of me, or even shooting a deer three times with a muzzleloader! But, even some of the less frustrating/exciting stories are worth noting. The entire approach that has been taken by the founders of this site is amazing and should be used to humble everyone taking part in the story telling process. “Grandpa, I thought you said it was a thirty point buck? This thing looks like it has 8 with a couple nubbins on it.” “Nah those nubbins are over an inch which makes them ‘Legal’.” While it is nice to stretch stories past it is also nice just to relive the stories.
With the changing of the season I am anxiously awaiting ice time. I am sure I will share some more stories with every one of the interesting excursions had by the Spencer family!
Franchi Shotgun Opener
Over the past three years my older brother, Boner, has came up to my place around my birthday to celebrate with me by shooting some clay pigeons and sighting in our deer rifles. This year was a blast as usual.
We talked earlier in the week, finalizing our plan. He hinted around that he had been looking at new shotguns and couldn’t believe how much they were, he’s kinda tight. I knew what he meant as I had bought one last year, used though and I am kinda tight also. So, imagine my surprise when he showed up at my place to unveil a new Franchi, Italian, semi-auto shotgun. What a nice gun and off we went to break it in.
We arrived at our normal shooting gravel pit in a MN state forest and got set up. A beautiful September day, partly sunny with a slight south breeze and around 70 degrees. We started with sighting in our deer rifles. Our shots were consistent and he beat me in our final shoot off by a 1/8″. On to the fun stuff, clay pigeons. I thought it would be appropriate to have him shoot and me throw first, give this Italian stallion shotgun a chance to prove itself. Sure as (you know), first clay he smoked it. After that he had a drought for awhile. We alternated shooting and throwing. He was still in his drought when we talked about switching shotguns to see how they each shot. He grabbed my Remington, American, shotgun and stepped up by taking three out of five clays. I didn’t do as well with the Italian gun by only going one out of five. We were down to only four clays after starting with a case of ninety. In our final clay pigeon shoot off I redeemed myself from the deer rifle final shoot off and took him down. After nearly four hours of being there, it was time to leave.
We went back to my house and had some burgers and beers, talking about the day and the hunting trips coming up. What a way to spend a day, Thanks Boner!
Shooting by committeeOne fine fall day in mid-season we decided it was time to leave the cabin and make an attempt at a deer drive. Standers were assigned their spots and four of “the brothers” started down the field road to get to the other end of the woods and start the drive. We had only gone a short distance when brother Tom whispered, “deer!”. Sure enough, 120 yards down, a nice doe was eating acorns under an oak tree right on the side of the road. We were caught in the open with nowhere to hide, but the deer seemed totally unaware of our presence. After a quickly convened family meeting it was decided that brother Glen, the youngest, should do the shooting. Glen took careful aim and let fly with a round from his .308. The dirt kicked up at the deer’s feet,but it continued to eat, oblivious to the commotion down the road. “Higher” someone whispered. Glen fired another round and managed to trim a branch right over the deer’s head. “Lower” was the unanimous verdict on that shot. And so it continued, brothers offering advice and Glen spraying lead to all points of the compass. Eventually he ran out of ammo so Tom offered his gun and the circus continued. Through all this commotion the deer was totally unconcerned, obviously word of the Virnig gang’s marksmanship had previously reached the wildlife community. After approximately 15 non-lethal shots the doe appeared perturbed at the interruption of it’s lunch hour and wandered off. Later in the day we ran into a neighboring party. They asked us how many deer were in the herd we were shooting at around noon. We just cast a knowing glance at each other and kept silent. Family honor was at stake.
Happy Birthday Steve!
Mike and RoseAnn
