New Arrival!

My wife and I welcomed our son into the world on Friday, November 9, 2012 at 12:41 a.m.!  He was 5lbs. 15oz. and we have named him Drake Adler Huston.  Welcome Drake!

Deer Season Continues

As the deer season progresses here in Northern Maine, the number of bucks being harvested is up substantially from what we have seen the last five years.  Many of the bucks that are being taken are younger deer and I think many of them can be attributed to the mild winters we have experienced over the last 3 years.  This week is another week of moose hunting, which is a subject of great debate among the locals.  Many people feel that the added hunting pressure put on the deer herd due to the extra hunters in search of their "swamp donkey" has the potential to be detrimental to our struggling herd.  I guess I would have to agree that it might be wise to not apply additional pressure on the deer herd while they are rebuilding.  That being said, the idea of being able to harvest two species while on a hunt does hold a certain allure and would be an added challenge and draw for any hunter.

Okay, enough ranting and more deer!

The Coffin family has done well to round out their deer tags.  After Bryce got his deer, the family ventured back out to try their hand yet again and Kendra shot her first ever whitetail, a nice 3 point buck.  Way to go Kendra!

Not to be outdone by his kids, Ked had to try his hand at a little deer hunting as well.  Pulling some quick thinking and shooting, he managed to get a shot off at a very nice buck.  A quick follow up showed that the bullet had found it's mark and his hands were able to grasp the rack of a mature buck.  The buck broke into the "Big Buck Club" when it topped the scales at 206 lbs.  Congrats Ked!

Tim Cyr was in one of his favorite hunting areas when he saw a white flag signaling the departure of a deer.  As he glassed the bounding deer it's bald head was disheartening, until he saw the second deer.  As his heart rate sky rocketed, the optics came to rest on the deer's head and it also was bald.  Heart rate returning closer to normal, he decided to glass the rest of the surrounding area.  He had almost given up when out of no where, a deer suddenly materialized and as the optics cleared the blurred lines between the bushes and deer and... and ... antlers!  Wasting little time, Tim centered the cross hairs on the deer's shoulder and squeezed the trigger.  Tim was able to put his tag on a 128 pound 5 point buck.  Congrats Tim!

I have more deer pictures and stories to come, but right now I also have some skinning to do so I better get to work!  Stay tuned for some more updates.

Moose Hunt 2012

Below is one of the moose hunting stories that I promised.  Enjoy!

The afternoon sun was waning as the Pelletier trio headed into the cutover area in search of a bull moose.  Their minds were only half focused on the hunt, as they were still preoccupied with the funeral they had just left.  The patriarch Pelletier had passed away and the funeral had just ended as they headed for the woods in an attempt to clear their minds for a few hours.  The coveted Zone 2 bull tag had been drawn and the hunters were as ready as could be expected due to the circumstances.  As they rounded a bend, a dark form was spotted along one of the harvesting trails.  A glimpse through the binoculars confirmed the status of an antlered moose and after a minute the head turned to reveal the size of the bull’s headgear.  It was quickly decided that it was a “shooter” and the floodgates of adrenaline opened.  As the permit holder, the senior Pelletier let the first lead fly, quickly followed by a round from the sub-permittee Nick as the moose took off on a run.  Nick quickly sprinted to the last place they had seen the moose and saw it heading up the trail.  Another shot quickly anchored it and down it went.  The rest of the party had caught up at this point and the permit holder headed towards the downed behemoth.  As he neared the bull, it mustered a last dose of adrenaline, rose and charged him.  Despite his best attempts to sidestep, the moose still managed to knock him to the ground and although unharmed, the experience was one not to be soon forgotten.  The moose was a prime example of what Northern Maine has to offer with it’s moose herd, sporting 53” wide headgear and topping the scales at 775 pounds.  Congratulations to the hunters!

 The last weekend before deer season opened up, found me deep in the 3.5 million acres that is called the North Maine Woods.  A group of us had decided to try our hand at shooting some "big woods" birds.  We ventured into the Ramsay Brook and Big Brook country just to the East of the famed Allagash River.  The birds have been plentiful this year, but that day the weather was just not conducive to our hunting efforts with most of the day being filled with pouring rain.  We did still manage to shoot a few of the hunkered down birds, with a group total of 9.  Even though when you go hunting there is no way to control how the hunting is going to be, one thing you can control is how well you eat.  The Coleman stoves cooked up some delicious beans and hotdogs.  Isn't it amazing how much better food can taste when eaten off a tailgate in the middle of the woods?  The battle of the day was between Mossberg and Remington, as I shoot partridge with a Remington 870 and my Father shoots a Mossberg.  At the end of the day, we ended with the same number of birds so it was deemed a tie.

Trapping season is now well under way and the traps are all ready to go, so stay tuned for some upcoming fur reports!

Deer season is officially underway as well and some stories of deer have been drifting around.  I will try to get some more stories and pictures to everyone soon.  As for my season, on Saturday I did not see any of the whitetail species, but did see a few moose and several grouse.  Monday was also uneventful.  I had hopes of big moves by the deer right before Hurricane Sandy hit, but it was rather quiet on the deer end.  Tuesday put me in the North Maine Woods again, this time closer to the confluence of the St. John and Allagash Rivers and put a deer in front of me.  As my eyes strained to see antlers between the ears, I was elated when a set of spikes appeared out of the brush.  Not quite the deer I am looking to shoot, but exciting all in all.  Unlike many places where hunters pursue whitetail, the sighting of a legal buck in Northern Maine is not very frequent, so it must be relished.  Make sure to check back often, as it is an eventful time of year and there will be lots more coming soon!

Deer Season 2012

This past Saturday was "youth day" which marks the start of the 2012 Maine Deer Season. On "youth day"  hunters who hold a junior license (10-16 years of age) have an exclusive chance to harvest a whitetail.  On Monday morning, the first buck pictures of 2012 found their way into my inbox, courtesy of a friend of mine Bryce Coffin.  He was out on Saturday, hunting with his father Ked, when Bryce pulled off some fine shooting on a nice buck.  The details on location are being kept under wraps, but as the story unfolded, Bryce's quick thinking and shooting skills were the recurring theme that allowed his outing to be successful.  According to second hand reports, Bryce spends a lot of time practicing his shooting and it definitely has paid off.  This is the third year in a row Bryce has produced a buck, firing the same number of shells, 3 shots equaling 3 deer.  The shot opportunity on this year's buck was far from perfect with only the neck and head visible, but he wasted no time in settling his nerves and squeezing off the 75 yard free hand shot to anchor the buck in his tracks.  Congratulations to Bryce and keep up the good work!  Stay tuned for lots more articles soon to come.

Excuses...Excuses!

I know I haven't been around much lately and I know I am full of excuses, but this time of year the project list seems dauntingly long and takes much of my time that I would have had to keep everyone here up to date.  I thought I would put up a couple pictures to keep everyone interested.  I do still have some moose and bear hunting stories on the go, not to mention the long awaited canoe article.  Also trapping season is getting under way and deer season is right around the corner!

A quick note about the 2012 moose hunting season:
I checked in faithfully at the Quigley's Outdoors tagging station during the first two weeks of the season and admired the moose as they came in.  The tagging station was well set up and efficient, which proved to be crucial to the large numbers of moose as they came in.  The bulls were impressive to say the least and the weights were even higher than I expected.  I am guessing that maybe the rut was a little further behind than in years past and the bulls hadn't lost their weight yet.  Check out some of the nice bulls that came in!

I have also been working on couple of European mounts for some friends.  One was a mule deer and the other a whitetail.  The mule deer came out very nice, but the whitetail was more of a learning project.  I have learned a lot since then though!

The skinning shed is filling up as well and keeping me occupied!  Stay Tuned!

Limited Out!

Today was the second day of "bird season" when everyone targets Ruffed Grouse, locally called partridge or "thunder chickens".  I managed to make it into the woods for a brief time and was fortunate enough to bag my limit rather quickly.  The birds were tough to see as the leaf and grass cover is still quite thick and hasn't been knocked down by frost yet, but I employed an old standby technique to produce the results.  Hunting involves all of your senses and when the visibility is limited due to vegetation, sometimes listening is your best offensive tactic.  Driving slowly and listening for the distinct leaf rustling that the birds make during their attempt at a Houdini act can be extremely productive for locating them in cover that makes them all but invisible.  It certainly paid off today!  Stay tuned for several upcoming stories.