A walk in the woods..................for Ruffed Grouse

Two days after Thanksgiving, my brothers and I drove up to Pine City for a half day of grouse hunting before my dad's 80th birthday party later that day.  We met in Forest Lake at 7 am and piled into John's mini van - John, Dave, me and John's black lab - Carmen John.  A quick stop at McDonald's for breakfast and hot coffee, then onto Hwy 35 and north to Pine City.

Zone 1 firearms season over

We loaded up the guns and entered the woods at 8:15.  Carmen was ready to go on this crisp sunny morning at 11ºF.  After 40 minutes of walking, Carmen kicked up a group of four birds off to John's right.  No shots were fired as the birds were well out of range.  Typical late season grouse hunting. 

Carmen John looking for grouse

If you're a grouse hunter, you know that these birds normally don't fly too far and the chance for a followup shot is good.  30 minutes later our chance came.  This time the birds held tight and one took wing behind Dave.  He wheeled around to shoot but his gun didn't fire due to a faulty shell. The grouse didn't see me until it was too late.  I shot it in self defense.

Ruffed Grouse

We continued our slow walk through a forest bordered by swamp.  This forest is full of Poplar, Alders, Birch, a few Maples and some White oaks. A perfect grouse forest.

Ruffed grouse woods!

This woods is also home to many Whitetail deer as evidenced by the numerous tracks in the fresh snow, deer beds and a antler rub.  Deer thrive in this forest. 

Whitetail track

We've been hunting grouse here for 30+ years and always see tons of deer tracks and quite a few deer stands.  Since this is public hunting land, you cannot claim a stand as your own.  What a bummer; find a spot, trim the unwanted limbs, haul in the wood, construct the stand, blaze a trail and hope no one is in your stand on opening day. One of the stands 100 yards from the road has a sign listing the "owner's" name and address.  Is this supposed to keep folks out of "his" stand? 

Deer stand

His idea must be fairly successful as I've seen this same deer stand for years and it's always in usable condition.  Like anything exposed to the elements, it will fall apart if not maintained.  This stand has a new ladder with the original base made from a large wire spool. When I was a kid many of these discarded wire spools were used  for picnic tables.

After two hours of slow walking we made it to the northern section of the woods where a small peninsula typically holds grouse.  This time there were none to be found. We turned around, shifted our track 50 yards east and followed the sun back towards the road.

Blaze orange brother Dave

We typically spread out with 50 yards between us and keep each other in sight. The safety blaze orange is very helpful to keep tabs on your fellow hunter.  I've been hunting with these brothers of mine for so many years that we know where the other guy is, keep a consistent pace and don't take any risky shots.  We ran into another group of birds - probably the same group - and one flew into view and I dropped it with my trusty 12 gauge Mossberg 500.

What a day!

My old Mossberg is a great gun.  I've used it over the past 35+ years to take Ruffed grouse, Spruce grouse, Whitetail deer, Grey squirrel, Fox squirrel, wild turkey (forgot the type -Eastern?), Ringnecked pheasant, Hungarian partridge and a variety of stumps, dead trees, bottles, a T.V. and miscellaneous targets as a youth.  I bought the Mossberg used at Larry's Live Bait on White Bear Avenue in Maplewood.  My buddies and I took gun safety at LLB back in the early 70's.  It was incredible.  A dozen bloodthirsty teenage boys itching to get their gun safety certificates so we could legally  hunt.  Mr. Don Nelson was instrumental in taking us hunting as my father was not a hunter.  Please note, dad was not an anti-hunter, he just didn't hunt.  Thanks a million Don!!!!!

12 gauge!

We continued our southerly walk knowing we had to get to the birthday party.  A few years back surely we'd a come up with an excuse for being late for the party.  Now as responsible adults (did I just write that?) it was time to head home.  Wow, my dad will be 80 on December 3rd.  Thanks God for richly blessing his life and for keeping him and mom together for all these years.  

A dog and his boy

We unloaded the guns, took off our extra clothes and soaked up the November sun while John took a few shots with his new model 70 Winchester with a stainless bull barrel, nice furniture, 20X40 power Redfield scope and .243 Winchester cambering.  Hopefully soon we'll be out hunting Yodel dogs at the Anderson Farm.

Sniper.................

China - part I

China Blog Part 1

Terra Cotta Soldiers

China, the land of mystery, beauty, good food, good people and an unending sea of faces.

Wow, I remember as a kid growing up in Minnesota and hearing many stories about China. Most of the stories were of human rights violations or the imminent threat of communism.  Back in the late 80's I was flying to Manila with my family to participate in Nancy and Romel's wedding.  I looked out the plane window into the dark sky knowing that China was somewhere out my window.  What was happening in this mysterious land.  What if our plane crashed, would we be made to work as slaves?  These thoughts and many more raced through my unknowing mind.

Early in 2000, I got my first opportunity to visit this unknown land.  I met a work colleague (he's also a good friend) in Shanghai late one night. The flight was long from Minneapolis to Tokyo, then a short four hour flight to Shanghai Pudong Airport.  Finally arriving in Pudong, dead tired, I jumped in a taxi and hoped to make it to the hotel.  I sure was glad to see Leo at the hotel. I slept a few hours then wide awake thanks to jet lag.  Leo also couldn't sleep so we met for an early breakfast then out for a walk.  It was about 5:30 and the air was thick with humidity.  I couldn't believe it. How were we going to survive here for a few weeks.  

Soon we were on a plane to Qingdao where the weather was a little bit nicer.  The company van picked us up and we drove through the countryside along a very nice highway. The air conditioned Kia van hummed along and we both caught a little shut eye.  Soon it was time to get off the nice highway and onto the back roads. I was shocked and the huge difference between the main road with the nice BWMs, Mercedes, Buicks, Toyotas etc and the back roads with the donkeys and broken down trucks and masses of people.  We saw many buildings that were partially completed and then abandoned.  I was like a little kid staring out the window with my face pressed against the glass.

Near the Ming Tombs in Beijing

Eventually we arrived at the chemical plant where we were greeted by friendly Chinese and their foreign business partners.  We worked hard. One day we worked from 8 am until 5 am the next day. Then back to the hotel for an hour of sleep then back to work.  Eventually this pace wore us down and 10 days later we left the plant site with most of the machinery operational. We were too pooped to work anymore.  Leo made me laugh when we saw two men digging a hole. Leo said, "hey, those guys are digging to America!"  We both had a good laugh. 

When we arrived at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Qingdao, the cook took us aside and told us he'd make us anything we wanted as he could tell we were beat. He was on loan to the Crown Plaza from Chicago! We live in a strange world. After and good dinner and a walk along the ocean, I went back to my hotel room and watched Midway on the teley. Soon sleep. 

I've been to China 6 times since that first trip. Every time I go I am more relaxed and more in awe of this mysterious country.  In part two, I will forget the work part and tell you more about places such as Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin, Wenzhou, Urumqi, Xian, Hangzhou, Wushi, Shenzen and Hong Kong.  Also, plenty of photos.

Whitetail Deer Hunt 2010!

Wow, another deer season has come and gone!  As the old folks say, time flies when you get old. I never really understood what they meant until I got old, now I get it!

The 2010 season was bittersweet for me.  The bitter part is that my daughters were too busy to hunt this year. Anne now in college and Kayla devoted to her swimming and diving team. I am proud of the girls for working very hard!  Anne has already shot two nice bucks and Kayla brings great joy and good cooking skills to deer camp.  The sweet part is seeing my niece Haley in her first deer hunt.  Hopefully the warm camper and good weather will spark her interest and keep her hunting!  Also, I shot my nicest buck ever! 

This year's lineup of hunters includes the famous Mr. Erp for  Marshfield Wisconsin, my brother Dave from White Bear Township, my brother John and his daughter Haley from Lake Elmo and yours truly.  We have an assortment of guns and ammo, lots of good food and a can do attitude required for deer hunting.  This year I was given a nice pickup camper for Mr. Morin.  It will be fun to get a good night of sleep without freezing!  Thanks Mike!!

'93 Silverado with camper

The lineup of guns includes:  two model 700 Remingtons (.270 Win and .280 Rem), two model 336 Marlins in the venerable 30-30 Win., a model X Winchester in 30-06 and a potent .410 slug gun.  Rifles sure work well as our hunting location is a mixture of hills, swamps and open grass land yielding a maximum range of about 250 yards.  We have six tree stands spread out on the 45 acre plot with good coverage and specific return routes to the cabin if you shoot your deer early.

Erp's Camper - Dave making burgers

Opening Day Saturday November 6th.

John and Haley hunted in "Annie's Stand" and enjoyed a nice time together with coffee and snacks.  Annie's stand was originally build for my daughter Anne and me.  Enough room for both of us with a view to the north, a hill behind and our first buck taken from Annie's stand a few years ago.  John (Jin) and Haley shot out a few text messages to keep in touch with everyone and possibly an MP3 player to keep the boredom to a minimum.  Haley did a great job of keeping quiet, keeping her eyes open and keeping her dad from falling asleep.  Way to go Haley!  



Papa John and daughter Haley 



Dave hunted in "Jin's Stand".  A large oak tree which backs up to a woods full of butternut and oak trees.  Woods are to the north, east and west of the stand.  A view to the south allows the hunter to watch a 1 acre swamp, a hillside and a portion of the distant 10 acre bean field.  The cabin is a stone's throw away if you get hungry. At 8:45 Dave was spotted by a 4 point buck and wasn't able to get off a shot.  Good for him because a few minutes later a large 8 pointer appeared from the woods.  3 quick shots with his 30-30 lever action Marlin took down this heavy deer with a well developed 8 point rack. Largest deer taken from the property.  Nice work Dave!!

The Brute!

Erpy hunted in "Gibba's Stand".  This stand is located at the highest elevation of the property.  It affords a great view to the east, a brushed out trail along the west, but unfortunately it has yet to produce deer. However the eastern view gives the hunter a chance for a long shot.  Although Erpy didn't see any deer, he did see the huge peasant rooster who'd been making a racket all morning.  Stand kinda squeaky on a windy day due to the construction between three small trees and a buried timber  We are continually learning about stand design.

I hunted in "Jonathan's Stand".  My nephew Jonathan and I built this stand about 5 years ago. It is located in a boxelder at the southern end of the property along a large swamp.  It faces southeast and allows the hunter to cover the swamp, hillside and a potential long shot to the north.  This year we didn't get a chance for the usual stand maintenance so I had to rebuild the stand on Friday night before the opener. I would never had done this a few years ago.  Back then we consumed the "advise" of Dr. Ken Nordberg and his methods of deer hunting. Although good ideas, they are not always practical.  The good doctor would have frowned on pounding nails 12 hours before opener.  On the way to the stand, I kicked up three does as I drove the Paul's Polaris Sportsman.

Facing southeast across the swamp

Anyway, the stand was repaired and I was hunkered down with a loaded model 700 in .280 Remington by 7:15 Saturday morning. Since daylight savings time doesn't happen until the next day, we woke up at our normal time.  At 8:00 I heard noise from the brush line across the swamp.  After 15 minutes a doe came into view at the edge of a bean field south of the property line.  I could hear grunting from the brush by the swamp and knew a buck must be traveling with this doe.  Sure enough, a wide racked 8 pointer appeared in the brush.  All I could see was the rack.  I couldn't tell which direction the body was facing.  Slowly I lifted my Remington and picked up the buck in my Vari-X II Leopold scope.  This scope has allowed me to get two deer I could not have taken without a good quality scope.  I put the cross hairs on the bucks right shoulder and squeezed of a round.  The buck moved forward about 5 ft, turned around and dropped dead.  The 139 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter ripped a gorge through the heart killing it instantly.  Sure pays to have good equipment!

My best Whitetail

After field dressing the buck, I sat in my stand another hour, but didn't see any deer. Back for Paul's  Sportsman to haul out the deer.  Found out the hard way that the electronic four wheel drive wasn't working and I buried the Polaris in the swamp.  Thank goodness the guys and Haley came to fish me out of the swamp.

Bummer - stuck Sportsman

We got the deer back to camp and tied up to the meat pole. Then back to the woods to drag out Dave's monster buck.  We put Dave's deer on the front rack and slowly drove the Polaris to camp.  By the time we arrived the front rack and headlight were covered in blood. What a mess.

Hanging out at the campfire.  A very tired Gibby!

Next fresh tenderloins and chatter around the campfire.  Then back out for the evening hunt while the Crock Pot simmered the evening meal.  No deer spotted to my knowledge. Dinner consisted of a wonderful pot roast complete with potatoes, onions, schrooms and the fixings.  Erp has repeatedly earned the honored name of Cookie.  Thanks again Erp!  Soon bedtime with dreams of success on Sunday.



Tenderloins!


As if the tenderloins weren't enough, Erp made us a nice pot roast for dinner.  One of the best parts about deer hunting is the great food. Cookie Erbst is an incredible cook!

Erp's famous pot roast!

Sunday November 7

Erp setup his ground blind on Saturday afternoon in preparation for a Sunday am hunt.  I sat in the ladder stand to cover the western edge of the northern swamp.  John and Haley hunted from the ground just south of my location and Dave hunted in Annie's stand.  At about 9, the John and Haley team moved up the hill and kicked out a few does.  They ran towards Erp's ground blind but not within range. One broke off and ran by Dave. Too bad he was texting and couldn't shoot the deer that stood 10 yards away.  Argh!!!  About 30 minutes later I hear the report from Erp's ought 6. One shot.


The shot ripped through the button buck's front legs shattering both.  The deer was tracked for 100 yds before John put this gallant deer down.  Erpy's shot didn't damage any meat and soon "Buddy" was hanging on the heat pole with the 8 pointers.  No other deer taken on Sunday. 

Buddy (c) hanging out with the big boys

It got lonely in camp on Sunday night as John and Haley went home. Dave, Erp and I went to the Firehouse in Garfield for dinner. Food was ok and the service was marginal at best. The waitress kept screwing up my order and giving me the food she claims I asked for.  Weird customer service at the Firehouse.

Monday November 8.

Monday morning sunrise

Those two bums slept in while I hunting Jin's stand.  About 9 am Erp let out the breakfast call and since I hadn't seen anything but a few Pileated Woodpecks it was time to eat.  Eggs, sausage, coffee and cookies were great.  We piled the deer in Dave's Dodge Dakota and started to break camp.

All loaded and ready to go.

We closed up camp, locked all the buildings, picked up our garbage and headed to Garfield to register our deer.  The deer registration process in Minnesota is quite simple.  You walk into the registration station, show them your license, tell them what type of deer you shot (Whitetail doe, buck or antlerless), they record the information for the DNR's records and you're on your way. 

Moving out after a successful deer season

A few hours after registration we arrived at my house and started to butcher the deer. With a few guys and an assembly line the deer were processed and wrapped for the freezer that evening. Trimmings were brought to a local meat market to be made into burger, summer sausage and Polish sausage.  They will be ready in a few weeks.  After a few hours of work, we enjoyed a nice meal of back-straps, salad, potatoes and ice cold milk.  Thanks for the meal Marilyn and Kayla. 



Whitetail deer ready for butcher


It was a good year for us. We enjoyed wonderful weather, good friends and brothers, a new hunter and deer!  Thanks God!!

Next year who knows.  Will we all still be alive?  Will the season still be allowed?  Will the woods and fields and swamps still hold deer?  Tell you in 11 months.