"Cow Hunting In Wisconsin"

How many of you have gone hunting and while your posting you see a heard of cows off in the distance. And when you see the cows you think to yourself "I wonder if I could shoot that cow from here?"...... Don't lie if you've hunted you've thought about it and I know it...Especially you Greg.....See growing up on a farm up North was great and so was the hunting (lots of neighbors had woods). And of course with every hunt sometimes you had to be careful about not shooting towards the cows. But when I moved to Southern WI in my older age I was driving to work one day and saw some cows. I thought to myself I have not thought about cow hunting for years.

See I think that you should be able to legally hunt cows in WI. To be honest farmers don't get paid much for raising a cow and this would be a way for them to raise money and stay in business. I mean we have all gone to the pheasant farms and paid for birds right? We have all gone to the Big Game farms and hunted big Elk right? Well hows about we legalize Cow Hunting?Sure: I know what your thinking how could cow hunting be challenging? Well what is so challenging about going to a big deer farm and waiting for a deer to come out that has been spoon fed from birth? Here is how we make cow hunting fun for hunters a challenge.

First we must pick the weapon of choice and you must follow this guidline. Let's say that you can only hunt the cows with a 20 gage single shot shotgun. And the limit of bullets you get is only 3. To make it fair you can only hunt the cow from 7 am till 3 pm (we have to give the cow a chance and some rest for the next days hunt). Now every farmer has to have a 200 acre area that the the cow is released into (this gives the cow a chance). You get 3 bullets and 3 different spots that you can shoot from (each distance is 300 yards minimum/ if you want to get to 200 yards you have to pay the farmer more ......and 100 yards is the closest you can get). If you cant hit the cow with the shotgun from one spot you can move to spot 2, 3 etc. Remember you only have 3 bullets...choose your shot wisely.

Also to make the hunt more fun you can sit there and call the cow...MOOOOOOOOO.....Let's try that call again...MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo.......Sometimes you may get lucky and he or she will come running for you.....Sometimes the cow may sit there and just chew it's cud and look at you like your a dum ass / that is what most cows do anyway.... To me I love the taste of beef over deer and the short of it is cows dont live forever. All Im saying today is let's give the farmers a chance to survive/ and give us hunters a hunt we can cherish forever/ and give the cow the knowledge that he or she made a difference in someones life. Let's put a positive perspective on Cow Hunting In Wisconsin.

The Black Widow

4 Tactics For Hunting Bigfoot

Two things I have always been fascinated with are Aliens and Bigfoot. For today's story we will cover Big Foot because I probably would have a better chance of hunting him than Aliens. Anyway we have all seen the classic photo of Bigfoot walking in the deep forests of California. And recently there was a group of guys who said they got Bigfoot (see the photo of Bigfoot in the cooler). Only to find out that even after the press showed up of course the Big Foot was a fake. And then there are those adds where the guy in a car offers Bigfoot some beef jerky and then speeds away....fricken classic. My point is even if its garbage everyone or at least most people love hearing this shit.

Well here are my first thoughts when it comes to Fantasy Hunting......I would love to hunt Big Foot. But there is a problem right now with how people are hunting him. Most times I see guys with a rifle with a scope. Or they are riding horses and probably being watched by Big Foot. See I don't think Bigfoot is very nice and I don't' think he wants to be found. And if he is found that fkr is not going to lay down and die. He is going to eat you just as soon look at you. So having said that I have come up with 4 tactics on how I would hunt Big Foot.

TACTIC #1

First off no rifle with a scope (why?). If Bigfoot found you he is going to come at you probably from the top of a tree (like a wood tick jumping down on his prey). Your not going to have time to find Big Foot in a scope. No I totally recommend what I think is becoming my weapon of choice the AA-12. If that beast so much as winks in your direction you open up on him with 300 rounds per minute. Whats more the AA-12 has a range of about 300 yards. And if that ain't enough you can literally mow down the trees before Big Foot has a chance to hide behind them. If you can afford one I highly recommend you pick one up.

TACTIC #2

Another issue could arise in the fact that maybe Big Foot gets the drop on you and knocks the AA-12 out of your hands. This is a tough spot for you because now he's going to grab your throat and take a bite. Whoa....big fella its time you say hello to my little friends (Smith and Wesson pistols)...Pull one of these 500's out of your ass / shoot first and ask questions later. For roughly $1400 dollars you can pick up a little added protection.

TACTIC #3

Big Foot might be immune to bullets (or at least might be able to take a lot of pain) so one of your final options would be to defend yourself with a knife. You can pick one of these up at Wall mart or any hardware store. You always have to have a knife for hunting and or when hunting Big Foot.

TACTIC #4

Above all this is most important....please listen carefully. One thing I have noticed in all the shows I have watched is there is always 2 people hunting Big Foot at one time. Why the hell is that I have thought for all of these years? Today it just dawned on me....If tactic #1 - #3 fail you need someone to knock down so Big Foot kills him first. That should give you an extra minute to close the distance between you and your truck...Now if you 3 miles in the woods I would say you better be a great runner.......................And after trying to kill Big Foot with guns and knives he probably ain't going to like you very much. Its ok to break down and cry as your running for the truck....Bottom line I would guess Big Foot, if he's really out there is like that first movie "Predator"....and he was an mother f........Come to think about it he didnt like being hunted either...

Happy Hunting....

The Black Widow

High Tech Weapons vs Old School 30-30

Recently I read a post in which a hunter was sick of hearing about automatic weapons. A thought had occurred to me that he is right. To me automatic weapons are cool but they are more for fantasy hunting (which is kind of what my blog is about). They look cool in the movies but when you come right down to it not many people use them for deer hunting. If I'm wrong on this subject I would love to know where your from and where you hunt (Don't get me wrong I also love automatic weapons and I'm just asking). Anyway in my mind a good hunter is not made by the gun a good hunter is made by how he or she is taught to hunt. I will give you 2 examples of why I think this is true.

Example 1: When I was growing up the first thing I did was take hunters safety. I learned how to carry a gun/ store it/clean it/ what I could point the gun at etc. To this day the first thing I think about before I shoot a gun is where are my counterparts are in a hunt. The second thing I think about is where are the surrounding farms ( I never in my 42 years have shot towards a house or farm). And the third thing I think about is do I have my safety off now that I am posting. I've seen a few good hunters miss deer this way.

These three things are good but they do not make me a good hunter. They make me a safe hunter yes but here is what makes me a good hunter. I know where I am at all times vs the woods and other hunters from my parties and other hunting parties in the area. This is important because I want to know where I can shoot and if a deer suddenly pops into my kill zone I don't have to hesitate to shoot at it. And if I have a 1 mile shot I plan accordingly on what gun I'm posting with (sometimes depending on where we are for posting we will swap guns on a certain drive). A 30-30 is my all time favorite but If I have the longer shot I want the 243 or 30-06 with a scope. Here the automatic super heat seeking shot gun would be great too but lets face it I actually like eating my deer and don't want it blown apart.

Example 2 (Munich). In 1972 there were some Israeli Olympians killed which was not a good idea. The book I'm thinking about was called Munich I think and it was a great story. See the thing I remember about that book was how and what guns the Israeli government gave their team to track down the Black September members. In the book If I recall they simply used a 22 caliper gun. The whole time I was reading this book I was thinking what? a 22?????? The Israeli government was training a team of assassins in this book with only 22's? Dam them....I want high power stuff. The point as I remember it from the story the guy doing the training said something to the point of this. We want this as up close and personal as possible/ we want people to know we can get you any time any where.....And he said anybody can kill anybody all you need are two things....Time.....and Money......His point was you have to plan a kill and get up close to your enemy. You don't need a high power rifle for this you just wait till your enemy slips up. He's out drinking and not paying attention and you walk up and pop.pop....he's lying on the floor.

What I'm getting at here to make a long story is a good hunter / Plans his or her hunt. You don't just show up with the wrong rifle or your really not a good hunter. On the other hand to much fire power if your not use to it will not do you any good/ You will Miss.....Im guessing the majority of hunters out there are not trained with automatic weapons. If you are then you have a hand up on the rest of us (or do you?).

Plan The Hunt......

The Black Widow

ULTIMATE HUNTING TRUCKS

Im always thinking of one thing for fantasy hunting and that is the ultimate hunting truck. Today I started looking at the FMTV from Stewart and Stevenson and the M-ATV from Oshkosh Truck. But then my mind did something I did not think could happen today. What is that? Initially my ultimate fantasy hunts were sky is the limit "spare no expense". But todays blog is really gearing it to the average joe as far as cost is concern. Why is that interesting? Well after seeing who made the trucks above I'm beginning to think you really can have an ultimate fantasy truck.

The trucks above were modified by a company in Texas called Whitetail Trucks. What I think is totally cool about these trucks is anyone can grab their truck and modify it to what you want. You dont have to go buy and Military SUV I mean lets be practical. Take a look these babies/ the ford 150 is very much to my liking. For moving 10 guys like my hunting party I really love the SUV above. But lets face it in todays post Im going with the ultimate hunting truck with the sniper tower.

Imagine that when your hunting....being able to pull up next to a 40 acre woods and get the tower in position. Now also think about WI with our 40 below windchill. I could see adding one more modification to this and that is an indoor heating system. Right now Im not sure what is cooler about this truck. The fact that some guy down in Texas actually dreamed it up "We're Not Worthy"......Or that fact that a group of guys down in Texas put this sum bitch together...."We Are Also Not Worthy"........

My initial fantasy truck was a Hum V with an automatic weapon mounted on the back. But the Ford 350 above gives you the ultimate sniping power one can only dream about. Not to mention the lower tower which can also be used....Un .........B..........Lieve......ABLE>>>>>>>>.

ULTIMATE FANTASY HUNTING TRUCK>>>>>>>>CASE CLOSED>.......

Now if I can only fullfill my quest for the Ultimate Hunting Rifle.

The Black Widow.

Ground Swatting In Gilman WI

GroundSwatting


Today I want to talk about a hunting lodge in Gilman WI. The place is called Big Rock Hunting Preserve. They do not remember me but I remember them well. You see its been over 10 years since I was able to hunt there. Somewhere along the line I had kids, moved away from that area and have never have gotten back. Anyway the folks at Big Rock were always very friendly and they made the hunt fun. What type of hunt? Well if I remember they would release Quail and some other fowl and then you would go shoot them. They had a few 40 acre spots that they would put the birds on and then you simply show up and let the shooting begin.

Now as all my readers know I'm not a hunting professional or a professional writer / I just love to hunt. The reason I'm writing today is I have a confession to make. At that time we had our normal hunting party and we did not have hunting dogs so we drove each field and then I posted on the end of it. We did not do this at first but we soon learned that if it was raining outside the birds would not fly. The little sneaky bastards would run from one hunting patch to another. So instead of jumping up into the sky and letting us shoot them they simply ran off (the nerve of them).

Enter what I called groundswatting and here is my confession. See we were not suppose to shoot the birds on the ground that was a rule at Big Rock. Now if your a rule type of hunter you would not have shot the birds as so directed. But we really looked at that as more of a guideline. Our group as an example playing sheaped (she ped) cheat like a mother f......So do you think we were really going to follow that rule ?.....(no). After a full morning of hunting and getting no birds we dropped the rule and started driving the birds to me at the posting side. It was like shooting frogs in a pond they just came to me at the edge of the sorghum patch and bam they were groundswatted. When they came out of that patch and they saw you there, the look in their eyes was like "Shit".......After your hunt at Big Rock they use to clean your birds for you. When the owner looked at some of our birds and noticed they at a lot of bbs....He said you guys did not shoot any of these on the ground did you? OOOOOOHHHHH>>>>NOOOOOO....not us......(the things you find funny when your a younger kid).

The other reason I remember this hunt so well is for a couple of things. The first thing I remember after this hunt was the thought (how can I love bird hunting more than deer hunting) ? Then I thought (the amount of bird shooting I got in was huge and that was totally cool). I don't love anything more than deer hunting. But when your paying for the birds and they are like waiting in a field for you to shoot its worth it. Your never going to hunt Quail in the woods and get that much shooting. When you look at the total of birds that day we probably got 15 to 20 birds. And If I recall its somewhere in the neighborhood of $20.00 a bird. But the thing is Big Rock gave us a deal on our cabin so the night before our hunting party was able to have a lot of family time (drinking and eating chilli/ playing cards and talking smart). That was the coolest thing of all and I still have the photos from all those years ago. Big Rock made you feel welcome and treated you like a family. If you ever get to Northern WI check out Big Rock Hunting Preserve I totally recommend it. Just remember one thing.....Dont confess to groundswatting........


The Black Widow

It Was Huge (ah really more like a goat)

Take a good look at deer in the woods on the left. Not only is it exciting to have them run by you its exciting just to watch them (they are truly beautiful). Now take a look at the little goat in the photo above. This goat is really not that much bigger than my shitzu. He's very cute but in todays example he's about the size of a deer Dan and Mousey shot one day (yes I'm being sarcastic/ the doe was legal but the first thing I thought of when I saw the deer was a goat).


So here is where we our story beigins for today. It was a dark and stormy night the night before our hunt. The wind blew our house rattled as the snow infested our siding. The morning after it was like Christmas the world was a blanket of snow. It was like 40 below (OK I'm stretching it a bit). Anyway we were going to hunt my favorite piece of woods that day. Why was it my favorite piece of woods? Because when it comes to hunting I'm really only there to see my family and not spend much energy. This woods is about a 1/2 mile from my parents house and to say the least its easy to walk through (no tag alters/ not much brush etc). Plus the big bonus is when you kill the 30 pointer you only have to walk a small distance grab a truck and then get home before noon for some chili...Did I mention the fact I really love chili?


So Geoff and I are driving the woods to the south with our dad. Funny thing about driving a woods you never know sometimes where you come out. On this day Geoff and I came out fairly close together. Before we did we heard what I thought was an automatic rifle. Of course it was Dan and Mousey on the West side shooting at a big buck? that must have come out. You know when your driving a woods and you hear gun shots its like yea....we got one....... Well Geoff and I were really full of anticipation on this one because we heard lots of excited screams and yells.


We headed west toward the posters. Now again let me say this part again because this is important to the story. Geoff and I were driving the woods south and we were suppose to have a poster there. But both our boys were on the West end. And whats more about 3/4 of a mile away from where Geoff and I came out. The point here first of all is we left a lot of open space. But as it turns out in the 3/4 mile apparently our doe looked much bigger to Dan and Mousey. As the photo above shows that's about how big the doe was.

There are a couple of points to this story. First we never came out of a woods where we thought. And when you tell a poster where he should be he may be thinking of a different area of the hunt. And finally when your hunting with us never, ever get to excited about guns going off. You really never know what your going to get until you walk up and actually see it. As it was I took the deer threw it over my shoulder and walked home for chili. That is after my brother Geoff the Dr. had to field dress the deer. We call my brother Geoff the Dr. The joke is the deer is laying there all bloody after being shot and we need the Dr. to save him. Usually the Dr.s patients never survive. Well unfortunately after many years of hunting the Dr. has not saved one patient. But that is another story.


The Black Widow

The Green Van Vrs DNR Restrictions

Later in my years I found its hard to get all the brothers together for hunting. We had a great group but it was not only my dad but my 2 brothers and 2 of my brothers best friends we will call them Shark and Mousey. Now Mousey was older and a great guy as was Shark (we will talk about Shark in tomorrows story). Anyway my parents farm was about 1 mile from any of the woods we would hunt. Each year Mousey would show up with the van. The thing about the van was Mousey and Sharks parents use to run a milk and ice cream store. So there were no seats in the van. So what Mousey would do was he would put milk carton crates on the floor and we would sit on them. And if we got a deer we would throw it in the back of the van and we could always spray it out the blood that is. There were times when we would have 4 or 5 deer in that van with 7 people sitting on milk cartons (totally comical).

The issue with this van was the seating. The longer you rode in the van the more your back would kill you because of the crates. Not to mention the fact that when you hit the brakes the crates and you would slide forward. In otherwords you had to work at sitting and staying in one spot. Mousey would always drive and my brother Dan would sit in the front with him stagging up the smell of the van with a corncob pipe. My brother was also one for saying "Mousey Stop the Truck I want to get out and shoot that deer".

Well it got me thinking one time I told Dan you know you can only hunt like 75' off the road or whatever the stipulation was. The going joke from that day forward was Dan said "I can hunt right from that ditch if I want too". Now of course he was joking but you know how each year when you buy that hunting liscense there is a ton of rules? The DNR is very strict about those rules so just fyi you really are wise to follow them or the DNR might want your truck and or your rifle and some money.

But the point of hunting is getting together with friends and family. Having some of moms awesome chili and maybe a bacardi or two. And yes the rule book from the DNR? Well in our household we read it every year and think of the rules we would like to break and how we would like to rewrite certain pages. And its always important to have a truck that you can get bloody, dirty or even hairy from a deer. We have also found it fun to take the van out in my fathers farm and drive around and talk about the old days. We dont do much hunting at that point but we are together and its always nice to see your family. Some day they are not going to be there and its nice to make memories.

That dam green van went for about 20 years (we used it about 10 years of hunting). Dont know what ever happened to it but I will never forget it.

The Black Widow