I just went thru approx. 3000 photos and picked approx. 150 of favorite memories ...
Killing time on the PC > A walk down memory lane with some old crossbow hunt pictures and a recent wild game dinner as well as a 2015 near end of season Jack Rabbit Hunt .
Some of the pictures are random > Some are in order , some not > Rambling , as I recall the memories > There are lots of them > Enjoy !
Season over > Freezer full > A shout out to Court Petersen and family for putting together another great wild game dinner last Saturday … here are a few pictures of my favorite dishes ! ( perch/pickerel/duck breast wrapped in bacon/smoked venison roast/salmon etc )
When my daughter was very young she use to spend lots of time with me outdoors > Here is a picture my wife took many years ago > I was taking a picture of a racoon eating a fish and my daughter Jillian was determined to catch him in a net ! ( she would have been about 6 years old then … )
Here is a picture about same age > Carefully watching a deer pass when we were on a ground stand …
Now at 23 years old she is busy with school but still gets out with me occationally ...
Some of you may recognize Vern ( forum name Greylag ) > Vern is one of the older members in our group and we have hunted together for over 20 years … Here is a picture from the late 90’s when he had taken a nice 8 point with an older model ( carved tipped limbs ) Excalibur Exomag .
Here is a picture of him mid 2000’s with a nice turkey taken on a farm I had just got permission on .
Vern is 76 years old now with two knee replacements and still gets out in the field as often as he can .
Joe is Vern’s neighbor > And he enjoys chasing Jack Rabbits > I last hunted with him about 8 years ago ( the 1st picture below , he hoists a jack from that hunt he was 68 years old then ) > A few years later Joe had chest pains while snow shoeing for Jacks , went to hospital for check up and ended up with triple bypass heart surgery …
Vern called me up last week and said we should get together for a hunt with Joe , chasing Jacks for old times sake … Here is a picture of Joe from yesterday > He is 76 years old now and still can snow roust a jack when he needs one !
While we were out yesterday we found a couple new turkey spots to ask permission on for the spring hunt ! I got a few good pictures !
Glenn and Humple have long passed … But they were the oldest members of our Pelee Island group .
I remember taking this picture as they rested on an old van seat at the back of our host property .
We use to have quite a few Jacks on the farms we hunted ( see below a double from years ago and a magazine from USA picked up a two page article on our Jack adventures )
The 1st time I got a picture of deer under the stand of a buddy while hunting … years ago , Chris H passed these does waiting for a buck > We later took many deer from that stand before the property changed hands and was sold to the township for dump land …
The 1st time I had a rut drunk buck respond to call mid day …
And later a mature 8 point taken with an older model Excalibur Exocet …
The 1st time I had a buck come to check out a decoy set up …
1st time I tried to sneak up on two bucks … I did get close enough but blew the shot ( over the back of one buck ) , but did get one picture to keep to remind me of that outing ..
1st time I got an action “ fox on the run “ picture .
1st time I got a picture of deer bunching up in the queue before jumping fence during a deer drive at a place we have taken many deer over the years ..
1st treasure found during a duck hunt > I found a beauty ambush spot along the river > I found this old shell belt buried in the mud/moss and remember thinking “ wonder if the previous owner saw the same value of that hunting spot !
My 1st matched set of shed antlers ( mid early 2000’s )
The same farm had this buck on it > Never did get a shot at him but found one side of his rack in the spring …
My 1st decent “ Coyote in the corn “ picture series > approx 2002 .
Mid 2000’s an invite North from Frank found me in the bush for some deer pictures …
Some spring Fox pup pictures ….
1st mature tom I took with my Remington 870 SPS > A beauty local bird taken within 20 mins of home .
My 1st mature tom taken with and Excalibur Vortex and the 1st of many pictures taken at an old shed on a property we hunt turkeys and deer …
1st time I got a picture of a nicely feathered cock pheasant > It was cool that the wind blew his tail up for a unique picture ..
One of many ground hogs taken over the years with my Remington Model 700 (.223 )
1st time I got a woodcock to stand still long enough for a picture !
1st time I took a mature tom on a river flat property with my Hatsun Escort > I remember it was a fly down bird and I had to shoot thru some cover … Anybody remember what year that was when turkey tags were brown ?
I’m partial to snow camo … Years ago I won a brown Vixen in a Boo sponsored photo contest . Later, I did a home snow camo paint job on it with some cedar branches and eventually took a mature buck with that bow > I’ve always said the Vixen is more than enough bow to taken down Ontario big game !
Years ago > Met some forum members at Bass Pro … Here is Lou ( ComfyBear ) checking out the new Excalibur models back then ( I think it was when the Exomax came out ? )
Late season > years ago > Nearly frozen hen pheasant > thought it was a Jack Rabbit hiding in the snow !
Many years ago as well > Randy Samson’s 1st Whitetail ( a big doe ) with an old Model Excalibur Exomag .( I remember that day because we both got a doe on opening day ) ( I’m still looking for that picture )
And many years later ( 2013 ) his first Monster Buck with a newer Model Excalibur Equinox !
I got some a few cool frames of the third rut that season during a snowfall of a 20 yard buck with a hot doe … he chased her everywhere !
2013 was good season and we put our Excalibur Matrix 380’s to work on some rutted bucks …
Jacob G . taking a beauty …
Myself arrowing a mature buck as well later that season …
Hunting from a stand I hadn't been at for awhile . It is not far off the ground ( here is a picture of my gear at the tree )
Dragged / Tagged / Field dressed and ready for the butcher.
Christmas day my wife , daughter and I saw a Monster buck chasing does in the field mid day … so I called a few friends and told them the 3rd rut was in progress and to plan some hunts .
Well to make a long story short my long time hunting partner Randy S and his son Rob stopped by last night and had some crazy action !
Rob had approx 25 deer in and around his stand location and was in sight of the stand his dad was in when Randy let the air out of the Monster !
Excalibur Equinox , Custom Boo String , Firebolt carbon with a 150 gr Bolt Cutter Broaddhead … 20 yards , perfect double lung , in ran approx 30 yards and expired within site of the stand .
I was watching the action thru binocular's and was just about to text Randy telling him there was a high rack 8 point coming towards him , when he passed an arrow thru this one ! He had 5 other smaller bucks and multiple does pass and kept his nerve long enough to get the scope on this Monster !
Now I say Monster , because in our area this is a Big Rack Buck ! …
I know that Equinox because Rob H. used it to ground his 1st mature whitetail buck then he sold it to me when he bought his Matrix 380 > I sold the Equinox to Randy ( bows move around in our group )
I also have pictures on file of both Randy’s sons first mature whitetail bucks ! ( Joe in the 1st picture , Rob in the 3rd picture )
David and Robin on a late season hunt years ago with Exclaibur tackle …
My 1st mature Saskatchewan buck …
Collection of some of the Crossbow arrows I’ve used with my Excalibur Crossbows over the years
Chris H’s 1st mature crossbow buck …
One of many he would ground with Excalibur Crossbows … I remember this one on an opening day years ago > He had a trail camera picture > We hunted together that day > I was watching a doe and fawn from my tree stand location , when I got the text message , I had to spook the doe and fawn away so I could come down to drive to his location form the filed pictures ….
Fast forward to 2014 and I was able to photo document a successful shotgun hunt with Chris .
We hunted three days this week ( 1st week of November ) of our controlled shotgun hunt … we took four doe off different farms and Chris H. connected with a beauty buck as we wrapped up yesterday > That was the only mature buck we had in front of the gun in those three days .
Hunting from a corn ground blind position , overlooking corn rows cut between the field > This buck presented an 80 yard shot that Chris capitalized on ! I took some field pictures , with a couple different views showing the character of that bucks rack ( cool tall brow tines ) .. he was an older buck with his teeth nearly worn down to nothing .
Here is a scramble of misc crossbows and deer taken with older model Excalibur crossbows … Some of these crossbows are now in other forum members collections … and I even put in 4 pictures from the Excalibur open house years ago ….
I remember when the Exomax came out ... had to have one !
When the Exocet 200 came out > Had to have one ... it was my favorite back then .
Some of the older model , hand painted / carved tipped limb models .. and a mix of newer models .
This was the only “one man push “ series of shots I have on file … Chris H and I spotted this deer ( late season ) years ago … it was a perfect pinch point funnel set up … Chris walked it right to me and I made the passing shot with my Excalibur Y25 Relayer …
And another buck with then Y25 Relayer ...
Back to the trap line ! ...
Again ... killing time on the PC > RJ , out .
