Opening Day In Michigan

I know that I may get some slack from the gun-slingers out there, but this is my opinion and well, that's that. Opening day of gun season in Michigan is a day I dread, as well as many other devoted ethical hunters. When opening day first light appears and I look out into a field and it looks like a never harvested pumpkin patch, it makes me sick.

First of all, sitting less than 50 yards from a person with a gun is unsafe! Why in the world would anyone think this is okay? I lay some of this on the property owners, be responsible with your land, manage it and who treads on it. And as for the hunter who thinks it's okay when he see orange to just walk a few more feet and pop-a-squat too, well I hope your wearing a bullet-proof vest. I don't wish ill on any gun hunter, I want them all to be safe and I DO want them all to have a chance at a mature whitetail deer. However, that brings me to my next rant.

HOW MANY SHOTS DOES IT TAKE TO SHOOT A DEER?! ONE PEOPLE, ONLY ONE! If you have to make more than one shot on a deer, you shouldn't be hunting! I have had to hear numerous stories of how many shots it took someone to "drop their deer at 70yds". Well, please hunter, tell me, had you practiced a 70yrds shot with your gun, no? Then why the hell are you taking it!!!??? It's like any one who owns a gun and knows how to pull the trigger is hunting. Please, practice your shots, so you don't have to risk injuring a deer and not recovering it, or better yet, so your meat isn't full of lead.

When I wake up opening morning and see the pumpkins and hear the chorus of gunshots, I am sickened. Sicken that so many uneducated, unethical and unsafe people (I won't even call all of the hunters, as they have not put in the work) are out in that field killing whatever is brown. You should be ashamed if this is you.

Oh and Michigan, what the hell are YOU thinking?! Why in the world are your regulations so lax to allow this to happen? Why is out gun season the longest of any other state?! And why are people allowed to shoot two bucks!? There has got to be a better way, oh wait, there is, other states are doing it.

Maybe, you should have to shoot a does first, to earn a buck tag. Gun season should be shortened and this early season, what the hell is that? Lets spook the deer before bow season, thanks, that helps. I am just so sick of seeing button bucks, yearlings and small immature bucks posted to Facebook walls. Look, if it's your very first deer and you have put in the work, OK, that's fine. But if you have been hunting for years and you take a 1-2 year old buck because he ran under your stand, you have no respect from me.

Take mature deer. Take a doe and feed your family. Hunting should not be about the trophy, it should be about feeding your family with the resources God gave you and managing those resources for those who follow you. Set good examples, do your research, make good choices and feel remorse for your kill. If you can't do that, please stay at home.

The Valentines

We're Back and Gettin' It Done!

I know it's been a while since we have posted, life may have taken us away from the blog for a while, but certainly not away from the great out-of-doors! This year was a very exciting year for our family, with Mrs. Valentine bagging her first deer, first buck and first heart shot with a straight arrow! He's a funny-looking dude, but a nice catch for a first mount. And she was extremely proud to be able to feed her family and very grateful that is was a clean and ethical kill.

More to come on the hunt! You'll be hearing from us soon!

The Valentines

Gobble Till You Wobble!

It's Turkey Time! Spring turkey season has officially begun! And how can we tell?

WE DON'T SEE TURKEY'S ANYWHERE!


Isn't it strange how you can go from seeing field after field filled with huge flocks of hens or toms one week, to the next week, those same fields being completely blank? It's like animals have a sense when their season is about to start. They see orange in their dreams and hear shots before one is even taken!

BUT, turkey season is one of our favorites for this reason. It means we have to be extremely sneaky and put a great stalk out on a big bird. Stalking is why we love turkey hunting so much! It's such a different routine from our sitting in a tree stand in the fall. It's a way for us to spot some great birds and really become a part of nature.

Patterning a flocks activity a few weeks before can also help you with your stalk, getting use to their alarm and tracking which fields they decorate most often. Put in the work and your outcome will be a long beard and a nice Easter dinner!

Happy Hunting!
The Valentines

Minor Adjustments...Major Benefits!

Making slight modifications to your equipment can really enhance your hunting or fishing adventure. There are several things that we do to modify our equipment to save us time, energy and in some cases, money. When is comes to wind direction, instead of buying an expensive electronic device to give you a simple wind direction reading, or purchasing a small bottle filled with powder that you have to fumble with in your pocket risking being detected by the animal, we opt to tape a small length of sewing thread to the lower limb of our bows. It requires less time and movement to simply glance over at our bow while hanging on its hanger than it does to fumble in our pocket like you would with a more expensive alternative.

Recently, horizontal ice fishing jigs have gained enormous popularity. One of the major downfalls to horizontal jigs is that you have to constantly make sure your jig is hanging horizontally. After catching several fish or jigging aggressively your jig tends to hang diagonally or even nearly vertical to your line, thus, rendering its horizontal benefits useless. One minor adjustment that we make to our horizontal jigs that make a major difference in our fishing success is to add a small length of clear rubber tubing, roughly 1/16 of an inch long, to our line prior to tying on our jig. Once we have our jig tied onto our line, we simply slide the clear rubber tubing over the eyelet and the knot. This helps to keep our jigs horizontal for much longer which saves us a lot of time, especially when our holes are filled with fish and it's imperative that we get our jigs back down the hole as soon as possible.

Now that we've given you a couple modifications that we like to use to better our hunting and fishing experience, lets hear what adjustments you like to make to your equipment to enhance your hunting and fishing adventures.

The Valentines