BFD In Minnesota!!!

Hunted the corner set in Annandale for the afternoon sit. Strong N/NW wind blowing at 15 to 20 mph. Cloudy sky and spitting rain every now and again. A great fall afternoon. At 6:10 PM I picked up movement to my right. I saw a Red Fox sneaking towards my main shooting lane about 20 yards out. By the time I got my bow and stopped the fox it was standing in some brush. After sitting in the brush for 10 seconds the fox worked its way towards the corn field without offering me a shot. I quickly made a dying rabbit/mouse noise with my lips and hand to try and call the fox back. It worked like a charm and the fox came trotting into my set on a rope. At 13 yards the fox stopped directly in my shooting lane to have a look for the dying animal he thought he was hunting. Instead of a rabbit/mouse he got a Carbon Express arrow tipped with a Spitfire broad head directly in his face for dinner. Bon Appetit sucka! The fox didn't even think about holding it, he just dropped to the ground and gave up. That was my first fox kill with a bow. It was especially cool calling him back freestyle! BFD in MN!

Delany Finally Ends the Drought !!!! No Joke!!!!

During the summer months I was real optimistic that my 8 year drought of not getting a deer with my bow was going to come to an end. My wife and hunting buddies didn't think so, but I had a good feeling about it. I finally bucked up and bought a range finder, which limited my excuses if I did miss. Not that missing deer has been my problem, I just haven't been presented with a lot of opportunities over the past several years.

I was headed just North of Marshall, MO on October 11th to hunt a new property that I have permission for. My friend Jud and I hung a set early in September overlooking a bean field where three draws all meet up. Without a lot of scouting it looked like a good spot to start, worst case it would be a good observation stand. The temps were in the mid-50s with a slight S to SE wind. On the way up I was seeing a lot of deer in the fields which got me all worked up for the morning sit. The day started out slow with three coons being the only activity right off the bat. I am very sentimental so I decided to let the coons pass. Once there was good light I noticed some branches that I hadn't cut in September were blocking my view of the entire field edge. I kept having to lean out to check the field edge and thinking that deer would be right on top of me before I saw them.

Around 7:20am I saw 4 deer in field about 130 yards out and headed my direction. I got out my range finder and checked several yardages so I'd be ready if they kept working my direction. As the deer got closer I realized this may be the end to my long archery drought and the adrenaline started pumping. I could hear my heart pounding and the anticipation was at a fever pitch. As the deer approached the branches that had been blocking my view, I drew back the Hoyt and prepared for the shot. The first deer into the shooting lane was a doe fawn, but she was quickly followed by a mature doe. The doe stopped at 23 yards slightly quartering to me. I settled the pin just off her front shoulder and touched off the shot. The arrow flew true and I watched the Rage chew her up with a complete pass through. She tried to hold it, but after 5o yards or so she took a dirt nap.

Even though it was early and there were some fresh rubs near the stand, I had to get down and start burning up the phone lines. I was all jacked up after waiting almost a decade to end my archery drought. It was a great morning in the MO woods, and now Delany is finally on the archery board!

I have to dedicate this hunt to my idol Pete Eisentrager, without his guidance and tutelage over the years none of this would be possible. I would also like to mention Pete's brother Scott who has been my spirital guide in my quest to break my 8 year drought. Without the two of them I would still hunting with the wind at my back and storing my clothes next to my lawn mower. You guys are the greatest, seriously. BD

MN Waterfowl- Week #2

Logan and I arrived at our cabin in Barry, MN the evening of 10/11/08. There had been showers and thunderstorms in the area all day on Saturday. Around 3 AM I woke up to a large thunderstorm that was pounding the cabin. When the alarm went off at 6 AM the storm had passed but the sky was still spitting rain and the wind had switch to an increasingly strong 10-15 mph southeast wind. Bill and Ryan Burns would be joining Logan and I for morning hunt on our Mecca Pond.

When we arrived at the slough we where greeted by about 200 hundred ducks and 100 geese busting off the pound. It looked like we where in for another good shoot. Again, I only placed about 18 ducks and a couple goose decoy out on the slough. We also added Mojo to the spread for the morning shoot, but I actually think he flared a LOT more birds then he decoyed. We set up in the exact same spot as last weekend (Southeast corner). Shooting time was roughly 7:10 and we where waiting with loaded guns when it was time. We had a strong 20-30 MPH wind and rain was falling when shooting time arrived. The rain never stopped the rest of the morning and neither did the wind.

The morning quickly started with Logan and I piling up a handful of ducks in the first couple of minutes of shooting time. After birds continued to drop into my side of the spread I switched spots with Ryan and let him chew up his dad's supply of heavy shot. Mojo's day ended around 9 AM with another flock of Mallards flaring right before committing to the spread. Goose movement was also zero for the day.

Around 9:30 AM Logan and I took a walk over to the Donut slough after watching several flocks of good birds work the Northwest corner of slough. After a short walk Logan and I set up in the northwest corner along some trees with a 30 MPH wind pounding us in the face. Just what you are looking for when picking a spot to set up for ducks! After a short sit in our new location a mallard came over the field and presented me a 20 yard shot directly overhead into the 30 MPH wind. Easy money! The highlight of the shot was Logan bailing out of the way as the duck nearly took his head off and I actually got to bat it out of the air with the barrel of my gun. I can now cross another item off my bucket list. Shortly after that I added a big, fat gray duck to the stack and got to watch Logan wrestle it down in the cut bean field. The gray duck didn't stand a chance in that fight. Just before returning to the Mecca Slough I pulled a big fat Spoonbill out of the air on a nice 45 yard shoot, that will be some good eating! Below is a photo of my retriever with our Donut Slough ducks.


After a windy, cool and wet morning we called it quits shortly before 11 AM. Over all it was a great morning of duck hunting. We ended up killing 15 of our 18 birds (1 Wood Duck, 2 Spoonbill, 4 Mallards, 4 Gadwall, 2 Widgeon, 1 Bluewing and 1 ganser). There is a chance Logan and I will make it out for one more duck shoot the weekend of Oct 25-26, but or 2008 waterfowl season most likely ended on Sunday morning. If my season did end it ended in style with my final bird of 2008 being a Spoonbill. We've had a great 2008 waterfowl season and Logan is now hooked on duck hunting.

2008 MN Duck Opener

10/04/08- Logan and I left for Barry, MN around 4:30 AM on Saturday morning. We arrived at the cabin around 7:30 AM. After quickly changing into our camo and loading our decoys into the car we where off to the North slough for the MN duck opener. On the way to the north slough I spotted a large flock of Mallards milling around in the middle of the field. We stopped the car to watch them for a minute and while we watched another large group of ducks flew up from the field. Logan and I got out of the car and walked over the hill to find the field pothole was full of water and easily holding 400 puddle ducks. We quickly parked the car, grabbed our gear and headed down to hunt our new found duck mecca! Below is a picture our mecca on Saturday evening (the black spots on the left side of the pond are ducks feeding in the field).

After putting out18 mallard, a couple wood duck and 1 goose decoy Logan and I settled in and waited for 9 AM to open the season. We had mostly sunny skies and a strong south/southeast wind at 15 to 20 MPH. Our season started with a green wing teal shortly after 9 AM. That was followed up by a bluewing teal, 2 wood ducks, a Gadwall and 1 Susie. Opening day lasted a grand total of 25 minutes. A brief gun issue cost me a chip shot at two geese right before we started picking up the decoys. Not a bad way for Logan to start his duck hunting career! Below is a picture of Logan and I with our opening day limit.

Saturday evening Logan and I set up shop on top of the hill to spend the last 45 minutes of day light observing our pot hole. Right before leaving for our scouting trip Logan noticed a Pigeon fly into one of the silos behind the cabin. Logan and I hustled inside for the 12 gauge, flushed the bird into the wind and made an easy 20 yard shot. Pigeon down! By the time we arrived (6:30) at the hill the pot hole was already holding hundreds of ducks. Over the course of the next hour another 150 to 200 ducks must have joined the flock. Needless to say expectations where high for Sunday mornings hunt. While Logan and I sat on the hillside we had 5 deer walk to within 20 yards of us. Logan managed to get a shot off with his BB gun and connected with a doe’s ass! The boy was more than pleased with himself to say the least. Below is a picture of Logan with his favorite game bird.

10/05/08- We woke up to a strong southeast wind blowing at 20 mph and pouring rain. We got down to the pothole at 6:45 and busted hundreds of Mallards off the pond. I quickly set out a dozen decoys and we settled in for a wet morning of duck hunting. We where covered up with Wood Ducks the entire morning. I could have easily killed 20 Wood Ducks if I wanted to act like I was from Arkansas. The morning started with a full dressed Green Wing Teal cart wheeling into the pound and seconds later a double on Wood Ducks. After a couple misses a Drake Mallard found his way into the bag headed for the back of our car. Another Bluewing Teal took a spanking and I couldn’t resist finishing the day with a big ole’ Spoonbill (greatest duck on the planet). 35 minutes of hunting and Logan and I where heading home soaking wet with another limit of MN ducks. Easily my best opening weekend of hunting ever and Logan is now hooked on duck hunting! We should be back next Saturday for another crack at some ducks and possibly a pheasant or two. Below is a photo of Logan with Sundays shoot.

Double The Fun In MO!

9/27/08 Clear skies and warm temps (58 degrees) welcomed us as we arrived in Cambria, MO on Saturday morning. There was absolutely no wind to speak of. Pete was hunting the hog house set, Brian was on the ridge top and I hunted the upper pond set. Pete saw no deer movement and Brian had some deer blow at him while walking into his set. I guess deer don't like his Old Spice, earth spray and gasoline cover scent, who would have guessed that?

Just after 7:00 AM a had a doe come running directly under my stand from the west. I tried stopping her with a grunt but she kept on working to the east. Seconds behind her was a young buck and my grunts did stop him in his tracks 15 yards in front of me. He was just a 1 1/2 year old 5 pt so he was granted his walking papers. As he milled around in front of me the doe started to work back towards me. She got 10 yards to my north but was in some thick cover and never presented a shot. The young buck then chased after her and both deer went running back to the east.

5 minutes later I had another doe come down the hill directly in front of me trotting from west to east. she worked about 60 yards to my right and stopped on the back side of the pond. After milling around for about 5 minutes she slowly started to walk back towards my set. After taking her sweet time she finally stepped out in front of me and presented a slightly quarter towards me 15 yard chipper. The Doe ran about 60 yards to the Northwest before crashing in site. Archery deer #1 is on the board. Below is a picture of my first deer of 2008.

While sending Pete a quick "Doe Down" text message another Doe calmly walked in from the left (south). She got into the creek bottom and I came to full draw expecting a 20 yard shot. Right before the shot presented its self she turned and walked away from me into the brush. After milling around for a couple minutes she turned around again and came right back towards me on the path I had just shot my first deer. Seconds later I released arrow #2 and double lunged my second deer of the season at 21 yards. This deer was literally standing 5 steps from the same place I had shot deer #1.

2 adult doe in 10 minutes. You have to love MO whitetail hunting. No more action for the rest of the morning unless you count mosquito kills which I am sure I limited out on by 8 AM. Below is a picture of Doe #2.

The afternoon hunt found temps in the upper 70's and a light east breeze. Not a cloud in the sky. Pete and I hunted Ground Zero after moving the Ameristep ground blind. Pete was shooting his Hoyt and I was shooting a video camera. Neither of us touched our weapons of choice. Brian hunted the North meadow and also saw nothing. Below is a picture of my two death sticks from earlier in the day.

9/28/09 Almost identical to Saturday. Clear skies, temps in the low 60's and no wind to start the morning. Pete hunted the low pond set and I hunted the beach. Nothing doing at either location.

We did hang Pete's Secret Set in the late morning. On the way to the tree we came across a shed from last year. A real nice 8 pt that would have been close to 150 last year. Here's hoping he added a couple more points and a lot more length and mass.

The afternoon hunt found Pete back in the Ameristep ground blind hoping for another glimpse of the big boy. I was hunting the North end of the bean field. On my way down the levy I spotted a doe bedded in the beans next to the small creek in the middle of the field. She kept her head down and acted like she was invisible. Temps where in the 80's and after removing a couple fallen limbs I was sweating like a fat kid in a sauna. To top it off the mosquito's where the worst I have ever dealt with. I had to get completely covered up as soon as I was in the stand to keep the bugs off me, which led to more sweat. by 6:30 I had probably lost 10 pounds in water weight and had to stink like road kill in August from all the BO. Of course I had two doe cross in front of me along the hillside and then come over the levy 50 yards to my west. The 2 doe then worked their way directly down wind from me. This lasted for about 2 seconds before they had smelled me and took off running. I should have used Brians Old Spice! The night ended with no more deer sightings and 1 coon "sighting". I got out of the stand a bit early so I didn't spook anymore deer. Simply the most miserable night of hunting in my life. Pete saw no deer in the meadow.

9/29/08 Pete and I woke up to thunder storms rolling in. We weren't able to hunt but got a couple more hours of sleep. My next trip to MO can't come fast enough.

MO Archery 2008 - On the Board!

9/19/08 - I arrived at the North MO farm around 4:45pm. I talked with Roger a while and he said he's seen more deer this summer than ever before. This got me even more fired up to get the season started. I hunted the North set because of the SE wind at 5-10 mph. I got into the set around 5:30pm and settled in for the evening hunt. There was no deer movement at all. I did have a coon climb the tree next to me around 7pm and cause a racket the rest of the evening. A disappointing start.

9/20/08 (AM setup) - I hunted the Ridge Top set this morning. The wind was out of the East at 7-10 mph with temps around 57, which worked out perfectly for this set. There was heavy fog driving into the farm and it got worse as I headed towards the bottom fields. The acorns were pouring out of the trees and the squirrels were having a field day collecting their winter stashes. I didn't see any deer, but the ridge top was covered up with tracks and sign. The fog moving through the timber made for an exceptional sunrise and morning sit. I got down around 9:45am and hung another set west of the meadow pond and set up a ground blind on the SE edge of the meadow.

(PM setup) - I got into the ground blind set around 4:45pm. The temps were in the upper 70s with a strong E / SE wind, which was perfect for the setup. Around 6:45pm I spotted a good buck working up the levee from the north. When he was about 80 yards out several yotes topped the meadow and appeared to chase after the buck. He was not going to have anything to do with them and took off in short order to the south. He ran by the blind at about 50 yards in the bean field. It looked like a good 140+ 8 or 9 point, I couldn't get a good look at him to be positive. Right at last shooting light I was starting to pack up the video camera when I looked to the West and saw antlers approaching from the back side of the pond dam. I'm almost positive it was the same giant 10 I saw several times last year, but he added a lot of tine length and mass. He stopped on top of the dam at 36 yards, but was facing straight towards me and didn't offer a shot opportunity. He proceeded to drop down onto my side of the dam but took the wash out just South of the blind and passed me at 13 yards, but all I could see was his antlers. So close, yet so far away!!! He made it to the bean field were I glassed him for about 5 minutes until he feed North out of view. It was an amazing encounter. He had no idea I was even in the world, so I'm very optimistic he'll make another appearance before the season is out, and hopefully I'll be waiting.

9/21/08 (AM setup) - On Sunday morning I was greeted by overcast skies, temp of 63, and a SE wind around 8mph. There was a little fog in the bottom fields, but nothing like Saturday morning. I setup in the Meadow Pond set hoping to catch deer coming back from the fields to bed. I had a deer walk up on me right after I was in the stand but it was to dark to make out what it was. There was very little activity besides squirrels and acorns falling. I was only going to hunt until 9am, because several tree limbs had fallen into my shooting lanes, and I didn't check this stand before the season started. I figured I could get the shooting lanes cleaned up before the rain moved in. At 8:53am I decided it was time to get down. I took the arrow off my bow and grabbed my quiver off the hanger and set it in my lap. When I turned to grab my bow I was very surprised to see a big doe walking along the pond bank right at my set. She had me in a bind at this point. My mask and gloves were off, my quiver was laying across my lap, and I didn't have an arrow nocked. She kept heading NE and walked right into the main shooting lane. I grunted at her and she stopped perfectly broadside and looked back in my direction. I decided to give it a go. I took an arrow out of the quiver and got it nocked without her picking me off. I came to full draw with my quiver still resting across my legs and settled the 20 yard pin on her. Lights out, the shot was absolutely perfect and she didn't make it 30 yards before tipping over. The Rage in the Cage was to much for her to try an hold. I got down and picked up my arrow and decided to follow the blood trial, even though I saw her fall. There was literally blood splattered 3-4 ft. high on everything she passed before she expired. It capped a good first weekend to the 2008 MO Archery season. I'll be back next weekend with Scott and hopefully get to catch up with the big 10.

2008 Hunting Season Starts In Western MN

The 2008 MN Early Goose Season opened up saturday (9/06/08) morning around 6:25 AM. The opener found Pete, Logan and I hunting the northeast corner of the island on the north slough. We had mostly clear skies on saturday with a light wind blowing from the south. Goose movement was slow going to start the day. We hardly heard any shooting and saw no geese for the first hour and a half of the hunt. I was starting to worry that Pete drove all the way from MO to shoot doves and clay pigeons. The good news was the number of ducks we where seeing. There where hundreds of Mallards and other puddlers dropping in and out of the slough all morning long.

The first flock of geese showed up around 8:30 AM. Over the course of the next hour to an hour and half we scratched out 5 geese. Below is a photo of Logan with the mornings shoot.


Later that afternoon I managed to put a pigeon in Pete's freezer and we also added another goose to the bag right before sunset. Hardly any geese where moving during the evening. The wind picked up out of the southwest to about 15 mph before switching to a west/northwest right before dark. The single we killed came into the slough with about 5 minutes of legal shooting time left. Pete and I called him directly into the decoys and put him away with a 10 yard poke. Below is a photo of Logan and Pete retrieving the 6th bird of the day. The retrieve was Pete's first of the day!

Sunday morning had us back on the island in the North Slough. The wind switched back to the southwest and was blowing around 10 mph. The sky was clear after an over night shower had passed through. The goose action started right away Sunday morning. We called a flock of 6 birds in about 10 minutes after legal shooting time. After some less than stellar shooting we had 1 goose in the bag. A couple minutes later a pair of geese came in but broke off right before committing to the decoys. I managed to pull down one of the birds with me best shot of the weekend, a 55-60 yard poke.

Things settled down until around nine o'clock. We had two more singles come in and Pete promptly put both of them into the meat wagon. We saw several other flocks of geese but they wouldn't commit to the island after the wind stopped blowing. The weekend ended with Pete and I putting the tacks to one last goose that tried to settle in just outside our decoys. We finished up with 11 geese for the weekend. We probably should have added about 5 more birds to that total, but you can't complain about 11 birds. It was a great weekend and a perfect start to the 2008 hunting season! Logan and I will be back in Western MN on Saturday to try and add a couple more geese to the freezer. Below is a picture of Logan with Sundays kill.

Pete's Fall 2008 Hunting Road Trips

9/6 - 9/8 - Early Goose Season, Barry, MN (Scott, Logan, Pete)
9/19 - 9/21 - Bowhunting, New Cambria, MO (Pete)
9/26 - 9/29 - Bowhunting, New Cambria, MO (Scott & Pete)

10/10 - 10/12 - Bowhunting, Williamburg, MO (Ralph & Pete)
10/18 - 10/19 - Bowhunting, Williamsburg, MO (Ralph, Bobby, Pete)
10/25 - 10/26 - Bowhunting, New Cambria, Mo (Pete & Brian)

10/31 - 11-9 - Bowhunting, New Cambria, Mo (Scott, Pete, Ralph)
11/15 -11/17 - Rifle, New Cambria, MO (Pete)
11/21 - 11/23 - Rifle, Williamsburg, MO (Ralph, Bobby, Pete, Shana)
11/27 - Bowhunting, New Bloomfield, MO (Pete)
11/28 - 11/30 - Muzzleloader, Williamsburg, Mo (Ralph & Pete)

12/6 - 12/7 - Muzzleloader, New Cambria, MO (Pete)
12/12 - 12/16 - Bow & Rifle Hunt, Throckmorton, TX (Scott & Pete)
12/20 - 12/21 - Duck hunt, Rockville, MO (Brian & Pete)
12/24 - Duck hunt, Rockville, MO (Pete, Shana, Brian)
12/25 - 12/28 - Bowhunt, Williamsburg, MO (Ralph & Pete)

1/3 - 1/4 - Bowhunting, New Cambria, Mo (Pete)

Scott's 2008 Hunting Schedule

-September 6 -7- MN Early Goose Hunt- Barry, MN (Logan and Pete)
-September 13- MN Early Goose Hunt- Barry, MN (Logan)
-September 14- Archery Hunt Whitetail- Annandale, MN
-September 26-28- Archery Hunt Whitetail- Macon, MO (Pete)

-October 4-5- MN Duck Opener- Barry, MN (Logan)
-October 11-12- Archery Hunt Whitetail- Annandale, MN
-October 25-26- Archery Hunt Whitetail- Annandale, MN
-October 29- Archery Hunt Whitetail- Annandale, MN

-November 1-8- Archery Hunt Whitetail- Macon, MO (Pete)
-November 15-16- MN Rifle Hunt Whitetail- Garrison, MN
-November 22-23- Archery Hunt Whitetail- Annandale, MN
-November 29-30- Muzzleloader Hunt Whitetail- Annandale, MN

-December 7- Muzzlelaoder Hunt Whitetail- Annandale, MN
-December 13-17- Texas Deer/Hog Hunt- Throckmorton, TX (Pete)
-December 24- Pheasant Hunt- Western, MN (Logan)

MO Turkey

5/3/08- I started out the morning hunting at Green's farm. I set up on the west edge of the timber where Scott & Josh had seen several birds the previous weekend. The temps were in the low 40s with strong west winds gusting 20-30mph. There were 5-6 toms roosted along the creek about 100 yards to the east of my setup. They were gobbling great all morning and responding to all of my calls. I heard them fly down around 6:20am, but the birds were hesitant to move much. Around 6:45 a pair of toms finally committed and starting closing the distance, they were gobbling every 10-15 seconds. Then they just shut up. About 3 minutes later I spotted movement to the north, only to see Brian walking down the fence row. I'm guessing the birds saw him and bugged out. I got on him pretty good about screwing me again and not staying put. All this after I told him I'd come get him around 9am. I'm pretty sure he knew I was pissed by the time I got done laying into him.

We decided to move to Glen's middle farm and on the way in spotted 7 birds in the corner of the field. We snuck around the east side of the property and got into the creek bed that paralleled their position. The conditions were perfect with strong winds and the location of the birds. We worked our way through the creek bed south and popped up were we thought the birds should be. Our guess was on the money. 1 tom and 6 hens in field about 60 yards out from us, the game was on. We crawled out of the creek and into the grass leading into up to the field. 4 of the hens started to feed west and past us at 20 yards without ever knowing we were laying there. One of the hens had about a 7 inch beard. Once they fed past us I continued the sneak. I got to within 30 yards of the tom and the other 2 hens, and stopped to make sure Brian stayed put. There was no need for both of us to keep going. There was a small drainage ditch in the grass and it was the perfect route to get even closer then we had planned. I crawled into the drainage and followed it for another 15 yards and was literally 5 feet from the field edge and still undetected. I could make out the tom through the grass as he was just standing in the field watching his lady friends. I stayed put for about five minutes hoping he'd work west and follow the other hens right past me, but he was locked on the 2 remaining hens. The tom gobbled one time and I decided it was go time. I took the safety off and slowly started to raise up above the grass. The birds had no idea I was even there. The shot absolutely stoned the big tom in his tracks, not even so much as a wing flop out of him. I was twelve steps from him when I let the Benelli bark. It was a huge relief after having a pretty frustrating season to this point. The bird was a solid 2 year old weighing in at 20lbs. with a 9 1/2 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs.

To top the day off we hammered fish on Big Pond for the rest of the afternoon.