CRITTENDEN OUTDOORS HUNTING GUIDEmale. Female deer accounted for 45.7 percent of the overall har-vest. Biologists estimated the statewide herd at 1 million deer entering this past

HUNTINGGUIDEFALL - WINTER 2015CRITTENDEN COUNTYKENTUCKY

FALL - WINTER 2015CRITTENDEN COUNTYKENTUCKY

www.marionkentucky.org

CRITTENDEN OUTDOORS

Celebrities FillLocal Forests: LEGENDS OFTHE FALL ... Page 11

Celebrities FillLocal Forests: LEGENDS OFTHE FALL ... Page 11

Kentucky has officially etchedits name into the legendary annalsof Trophy Deer Hunting. It’s beenan interesting ride, and the labelhas not come without some sacri-fice and hard work through properwhitetail management.

“Several things have played arole in Kentucky climbing the lad-der as one of the top-producingtrophy states in the country andmanagement is right at the top ofthe list,” said Mark Williams, aland agent for Whitetail Proper-ties. “The success of the state isnot just in western Kentucky. Weare seeing huge deer being har-vested all over the state. QualityDeer Management (QDM) haschanged Kentucky for the better.”

The thing about QDM, Williamsexplains, is that it has encouragedhunters to stop harvesting juvenilemales – allowing bucks to growolder, thus creating a better agestructure. If you look at annualharvest data put out by the state,the average age of bucks taken isgetting older statewide.

There is at least one other fac-tor that will increase the chancesof hunters bagging a trophy buckthis season. Philip Sharp, a pri-vate lands biologist for theKDFWR, said Crittenden Countyhas a good number of quality deer

roaming the hillsidesthis fall. He has seenthe evidence on sev-eral trail camerasfrom across thearea.

“When I say gooddeer, I mean thosein the 150 range.That’s a good deer,” he said.

Sharp said Kentucky’s herd isjust now recovering to full strengthafter suffering an EHD outbreak in2007. The age dynamics of theherd has now allowed more ma-ture bucks to reach trophy poten-tial.

“You cannot harvest trophy deerif you don’t let them get old, that isjust a cold hard fact,” Williamsadded.

What has really improvedacross the state, Williams contin-ues, and is driven by QDM, is thatlandowners and those huntersleasing land have created betterhabitat on their properties. Habitatis one of the four corners of QDMand hunters have taken it to heart.

“I deal with selling hunting landevery day. It’s all I do,” Williamssaid. “The properties that I sellthat crank out big deer every yearall have one thing in common: thehunters do not harvest juvenilebucks, period.”

CRITTENDEN OUTDOORS2 TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN

Local herd has morebig bucks this season,say outdoors experts

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Beau Beckner’s patience andpersistence paid off with a monsterwhitetail buck last season whichwas good enough to claim firstprize in the local Big Buck Contestsponsored by Hodge’s Sports andApparel and the City of MarionTourism Commission.

Beckner, who has also sharedthe coyote hunting contest title thelast few years, is making quite aname for himself among local out-doorsmen.

The coal miner said he knewthere was a pretty good buck in theneighborhood of some huntingproperty near Fredonia where hehad permission, but he didn’t ex-pect what he dropped the finalweekend of rifle season.

“I had trail cam pics of this partic-ular buck back in October,” he said.“He didn't look near as big in thepics so I never tried pursuing thedeer.”

Beckner’s attention was turnedtoward another big deer on anotherpiece of property the week beforerifle season. He took a week’s va-cation to archery hunt before thegunners got in the woods, but hemissed a nice 150-class 10-pointer.

From there, his season took a fewsteps backward.

“I hunted the rest of the weekwithout getting a shot at anothernice buck. Gun season came inand I didn't get to hunt a lot exceptweekends due to work.”

In addition to working on fillinghis own buck tag, Beckner said hewanted to help his girlfriend ErinBoone take her first deer.

“So I passed up several decentbucks but no really big ones,” heexplained. “It came down to the lastweekend and I knew I had to gether a deer.”

By then, Beckner had almostgiven up on harvesting a trophy forhimself.

“I had hunted since Septemberand passed up over 30 bucks andmissed the big 10-point with abow,” he said.

It was the final weekend of rifleseason and Beckner focused fore-most on getting his gal a goodbuck.

“We hunted Saturday and noth-ing,” he said. “Sunday morningcame. I didn't want to get out ofbed. But I had to get her a shot at adeer, so we got up and went to the

property where I had those trailcam pics.”

Beckner hadn’t been on that par-ticular hunting tract all season. He’dworked all his other spots prettygood, yet to no avail.

“We got in the stand at daylight.Not 20 minutes after daylight webegan seeing deer. An hour afterdaylight, a buck came walking rightby. I told my girlfriend to get ready.She shot and her buck went down,”Beckner explained.

“She was really excited. I told herlet's keep sitting here a while somaybe I can get one.”

Shortly thereafter, another buckcame by chasing a doe. It wasn’tbig enough to harvest, so Becknerand his girlfriend enjoyed watchingit for a while.

“A few minutes later I heardsomething to my left thinking it wasa squirrel. I turned slowly to see thisbig buck making a rub on a tree 25yards away. I about had a heart at-tack,” he said.

It was a monster, and it was soclose Beckner knew it might seehim before he could get off a shot.

“I told my girlfriend not to move. Ieased my gun around and aimed.

The buck turned and looked right atme. But it was too late,” he said.

His aim was true. The big buckran about 75 yards and went down.

“I didn't realize he was as nice ashe was til I walked up to it,” he said.“It was a great hunt since we bothgot a buck.”

With the deer on the ground,Beckner saw that it had a 20-inchspread. It was field dressed andlater weighed in at 195 pounds.

At that point, he knew the chancehe took on buying a ticket for theBig Buck Contest might just pay off.

Beckner’s late-season buck scores big

Beau Beckner and Erin Boone show off the bucks they took last sea-son while hunting near Fredonia.

rion Feed Mill


KDFWR REPORTAfter two seasons of record har-

vests, Kentucky’s deer hunterskept the pace up last fall and win-ter.The 2014-15 season closed on

Jan. 19 with 138,892 deerchecked; the second highest totalon record and third consecutiveseason with a harvest exceeding130,000 deer.“I’m happy,” said Gabe Jenkins,

deer and elk program coordinatorwith the Kentucky Department ofFish and Wildlife Resources.“There are a lot of deer on thelandscape, and we’re seeing anuptick in license sales. We’re pro-viding hunting opportunity and ourhunters are able to be successful.As an agency, that’s what we wantto do.”A record 144,409 deer were

taken during the 2013-14 seasonwhen a spotty acorn crop put deeron the move.Acorns were plentiful across

much of the state last fall. Recog-nizing this, many hunters likelyshifted their focus from field edgesto the timber and travel corridorsinstead.A strong opening month and an

unprecedented start to the mod-ern gun deer season emerged askey drivers.“The three seasons where we

have had our three greatest har-vests have featured big Novem-bers,” said David Yancy, deerbiologist with Kentucky Fish andWildlife. “And there’s no questionSeptember has become more im-portant or more interesting tohunters. I think hunters have got-ten to where they like it and can’twait to get out there.”Hunters checked 5,928 deer in

September 2014, the third highesttotal on record for that month. Fa-vorable weather across the statespurred a record harvest on open-ing weekend of modern gun deerseason.Compared to the 2013 season,

the modern gun harvest finishedat 102,889, down less than 2 per-

cent from the season before.Archers bagged 18,368 deer

and muzzleloader hunters 14,673.Crossbow hunters accounted for2,962 of the harvest total.Owen County again led the

state. Hunters there checked3,470 whitetails. PendletonCounty was next with 3,305 fol-lowed by Crittenden County at3,224, Christian County at 3,062and Graves County at 2,964.The majority of deer taken were

male. Female deer accounted for45.7 percent of the overall har-vest.Biologists estimated the

statewide herd at 1 million deerentering this past season. Herdestimates are derived throughcomputer modeling that takes intoaccount harvest and age structuredata.Looking ahead, the prospects

are promising for a strong 2015season.“We really had a more pro-

nounced December and Januaryrut,” Jenkins said. “Those late rutsare usually an indicator of herdhealth. I heard a lot of people talk-ing about fawns cycling in Janu-ary. That’s strictly related tohealth; the fact that they’re good,fat and capable of doing that.More than likely, they will have afawn, and that equates to morefawns on the landscape thisspring which equates to morehunting opportunity (this) season.”

Kentucky harvestcontinues to growseason after season

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MOST COMMONGAME VIOLATIONS

KDFWR officials say these are themost common violations made duringhunting season.

1. Not filling out back ofhunting license.2. Failure to call KDFWRTelecheck system.3. Trespassing.4. Failure to wear appro-priate hunter orange.

DEER HUNTING

Kentucky has received nationalacclaim for the quality of its deerherd, and the numbers help drawthe attention.The state has produced hun-

dreds of trophy-class bucks overthe past five seasons and hunterslast season combined to take138,899 deer overall. It was thesecond highest harvest total onrecord behind only the 2013-14season.“I think this might be the new

norm for a little bit,” said GabeJenkins, deer and elk program co-ordinator for the Kentucky Depart-ment of Fish and WildlifeResources. “It’s also indicative ofhow many deer we have on thelandscape.”The 2015-16 deer season is al-

ready under way with archery sea-son, and the outlook points toanother good year for hunters. Bi-

ologists say the herd is doing welland estimate it to number aboutone million at the outset.“We’ve had two pretty harsh win-

ters in a row and people may drawthe conclusion that maybe we’reputting a hurt on the population,”Jenkins said. “With the mast cropthat we had last year, which gavethe animals that lived through theseason a good boost, and with amild and wet summer, the deershould be primed to go into thehunting season. I expect things tobe good.”Kentucky takes a four-zone ap-

proach to deer management withZones 2 and 3 considered thesweet spot.“That’s right where the popula-

tion is primed,” Jenkins said. “It’sgood and healthy, we’re not havinga lot of vehicle-deer collisions,we’re not seeing a lot of diseaseand we’re not having a lot of con-flicts with agriculture.“Zone 1 means we’ve got too

many deer. Zone 4 means we needto grow the deer population.”Crittenden is a Zone 1 county.Deer populations in some coun-

ties hit hardest by the most recentEpizootic Hemorrhagic Disease(EHD) outbreaks are back to pre-2007 levels or better. A change inzone assignments for some coun-ties in the Green River, Bluegrassand Southeast wildlife regions is in-dicative of that rebound.Bullitt, Green, Hopkins, LaRue

and Nelson counties are now Zone1. Hunters may harvest an unlim-ited number of antlerless deer inZone 1 counties but must have theappropriate number of additionaldeer permits.“You can expect a slight uptick in

the harvest total in those counties,”said Kyle Sams, deer biologist withKentucky Fish and Wildlife. “Mosthunters like to see that changefrom a Zone 2 to a Zone 1 becauseit gives them the option to harvestmore deer. And for the people thatare experiencing damage, it givesthem an outlet to take more deer.”Other zone shifts to note:

Grayson and Ohio counties havemoved to Zone 2 from Zone 3.Zone 2 offers a 16-day modern gunseason during which hunters may

take deer of either sex. AllenCounty was Zone 2 last season butwill be managed as a Zone 3county this season.The Kentucky Hunting and Trap-

ping Guide – available online atfw.ky.gov and wherever licensesare sold – includes informationabout those and other regulatorychanges from last season. Oneother note is that legal residenthunters, age 65 and older, maynow hunt deer with a crossbowthroughout the archery season.Deer are about to leave their

summer patterns. The pattern shiftsonce acorns start hitting theground.Early returns from mast surveys

point toward poor white oak acornproduction across the state and redoaks producing acorns in somespots but not others. Beech andhickory nut production looks to bebetter than last year. If the early re-turns hold true, hunters would do

well to focus on those trees that areproducing acorns. Landownersmay consider planting a late fall orwinter food plot in early fall.“If there’s not going to be that

bumper crop of oaks, that’s goingto make the deer search for food alittle more, potentially making them-selves more available to hunters,”Sams said. “If you can find a whiteoak that is producing that would bea good spot to set a tree stand orget out and do some huntingaround that area because they willkey in on that first thing.”Archery season continues

through Jan. 18, 2016. In between,early crossbow and muzzleloaderseasons arrive in October with thecrossbow season picking up againin November at the outset of mod-ern gun season. Modern gun sea-

son accounted for 74 percent of theoverall harvest total last seasonand this year opens statewide onNov. 14. December sees the latemuzzleloader and crossbow sea-sons end.Something else to consider is a

quota deer hunt. There are 29 tochoose from this year. New to thequota hunt lineup are a two-dayfirearms quota hunt in early No-vember at Kentucky River WMA inHenry and Owen counties and anearly December quota hunt forantlerless deer only at VeteransMemorial WMA in Scott County.Hunters may apply for quota huntsvia the department’s website or bycalling 1-877-598-2401 through theend of the September.Sams reminds everyone to be

safe in the woods this season.


Crittenden CountyDEER HARVESTS

1993 ...............2,3571994 ...............1,8261995 ...............1,8571996 ...............2,0651997 ...............1,8741998 ...............2,7281999 ...............2,2012000 ...............2,5972001 ...............2,2722002 ...............2,6952003 ...............2,5862004 ...............3,0322005 ...............2,5932006 ...............3,0852007 ...............2,9272008 ...............2,7072009 ...............2,5492010 ...............2,9522011................2,8292012 ...............3,0102013 ...............3,0332014 ...............3,224

2014-15 Deer Harvest Results County Bucks Does Bow Rifle M’loader C’bow TotalCrittenden 1,606 1,618 454 2,456 268 46 3,224Webster 1,238 1,204 360 1,825 215 42 2,442Livingston 943 890 221 1,379 221 12 1,833Caldwell 973 737 209 1,331 145 25 1,710Union 570 489 264 721 60 14 1,059Lyon 445 365 200 536 50 24 810

KDFWR Statistics

The ‘Good Old Days’ of deer hunting are right now in the commonwealth

KENTUCKY AFIELDProper firearms maintenance is

important throughout the year, notjust on days leading up to the nextseason.“If you want your rifle to last

longer, the best way to do that isto keep it from getting rusty,” saidBill Balda, an expert marksmanand the Hunter Education Super-visor for the Kentucky Departmentof Fish and Wildlife Resources.“The best way to keep it from get-ting rusty is to clean and lubricateit. As a result, you get to knowyour rifle better and you know it’sin safe working condition.”A well-maintained rifle can last

generations and will perform bet-ter over time. Neglecting routinemaintenance can lead to a buildupof gunpowder residue and metalfouling.Muzzleloading rifles require

even more rigorous care.“The simplest way to unload a

muzzleloader is to fire it into asafe backstop. But the residuefrom burnt black powder and evenits substitutes is extremely corro-sive,” said Mark Marraccini, Ken-tucky Fish and Wildlifespokesman and a muzzleloadercraftsman. “If you leave that insidethe barrel for very long it would bejust like dipping any piece of steelinto corrosive acid or salt. It’sgoing to start etching its way intothe steel immediately.”Marraccini warns against creat-

ing pits in the barrel. “They will af-fect accuracy later and couldmake your muzzleloader unsafe,”he said.Before undertaking any clean-

ing routine, first make sure therifle is not loaded.For centerfire rifles, Balda sug-

gests cleaning the barrel withpatches wet with gun cleaner first,then, a wet brush for five to 10passes. After the initial cleaning,continue to use dry patches untilthey come out clean. A light coatof oil then can be applied in thebore.“If you want to remove copper

buildup after shooting 500 to1,000 rounds, there are chemicalcleaners that can be used. I use abore paste, which is like a jew-eler’s paste. It has grit in it that is

harder than copper but not hardenough to score the steel of thebarrel,” Balda said. “Most liquidcleaners have ammonia in them.When you run that patch throughand take it out and it has blue on itthat means you have copper inthe barrel. I would first brush it outand then go ahead and patch itdry. Then, put bore paste on an-other patch and scrub it in there.You can go back and forth, partic-ularly at the throat, seven or eighttimes.”Balda recommends placing a

piece of wood on the end of thebarrel to prevent the cleaning rodfrom coming out.“When you pull that out, that

paste is going to look black nomatter what,” he said. “Thencheck it with a wet patch. If the

wet patch is blue, there still is cop-per present. Then, you have tokeep doing it. Even if you only gethalf the copper out of it, it will stillshoot better.”While you’re at it, check the

bedding screws. Wood stockstend to shrink and swell withchanging environmental condi-tions and that can loosen thosescrews. For pesky screws that re-fuse to stay tight, Balda suggestssecuring them with blue Loctite.If your rifle is a bolt action,

Balda suggests removing the boltand cleaning the bolt face and thereceiver inside the action with atoothbrush-style cleaning brush.Then, wipe with a light coat of oil.Wipe down the outside of the rifleand clean the lenses on thescope.


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HUNTING SEASONSGroundhog Year RoundCoyote Daytime Year RoundBullfrog May 15 - Oct. 31Squirrel Aug. 15 - Nov. 13Dove Sept. 1 - Oct. 26Rail / Gallinule Sept. 1 - Nov. 9Canada Goose Sept. 1-15Archery Deer Sept. 5 - Jan. 18Archery Turkey Sept. 5 - Jan. 18Wilson Snipe Sept. 16 - Oct. 25Wood Duck, Teal Sept. 19-23Teal Only Sept. 24-27Crossbow Deer Oct. 1 - Oct. 18Crossbow Turkey Oct. 1 - Oct. 18Youth Deer Oct. 10 - 11Muzzleloader Oct. 17 - 18Shotgun Turkey Oct. 24 - Oct. 30Gun Deer Nov. 14 - Nov. 29Crossbow Deer Nov. 14 - Dec. 31Crossbow Turkey Nov. 14 - Dec. 31Rabbit, Quail Nov. 16 - Feb. 10Squirrel Nov. 16 - Feb. 29Duck Nov. 26-29Dove Nov. 26 - Dec. 6Western Goose Nov. 26 - Jan. 31Pennyrile Goose Nov. 26 - Jan. 31White-front Goose Nov. 26 - Jan. 31Snow Goose Nov. 26 - Jan. 31Wilson Snipe Nov. 26 - Jan. 31Shotgun Turkey Dec. 5 - Dec. 11Duck Dec. 7 to Jan. 31.Muzzleloader Dec. 12 - Dec. 20Dove Dec. 19 - Jan. 10Youth Deer Dec. 26 - 27Snow Conservation Feb. 1-5Snow Coservation Feb. 8 - March 31Youth Waterfowl Feb. 6-7

(Note: The above waterfowl seasonsare proposed dates by the KentuckyWildlife Commission and subject tofederal approval. Also, Eastern Hunt-ing Zones for Waterfowl are not listed).____________________________

Guns are heirlooms: Keep them firing right, well preserved


BY KATIE DAVIESMost teenage girls spend their

Saturday mornings curled up in bedwatching television or engagingfriends on social media.

Not this gal.My free time is spent harnessed

to a tree, battling the elements andhoning my natural skills as ahunter. It’s all part of my career-studies. I want to be an outdoorswriter and maybe even a televisionshow personality.

The only signal you get on thetrail of a monster whitetail buck isthe tell-tale signs he leaves onbranches or in the soft earth. Tech-nology, however, is part of mygame, too. It has to be if you’regoing to make it in this industry.There’s social media, then there’sthe technology that helps you scorebig bucks. It starts with high-techgear and I have several sponsorsthat provide me with the best in thebusiness.

A trail camera comes in handyand my bow has precision crafts-manship that seemingly defiesaerodynamics. A buck in range isas good as taken, but the true met-tle of a whitetail hunter is forged inbitter determination, patience andkeen observation.

The months leading up to lastyear’s whitetail hunting season wasrewarding, but also a real struggle.

Repeating year after year as asuccessful trophy hunter is a daunt-ing task. The chore was mademore difficult because much of mytime was devoted to high schoolclasses and an afternoon job. Still,countless hours were spent doingmy homework on harvesting ahuge buck for the second straightseason.

Just finding a trophy buck istough. Getting the inside track onwhere one lives, feeds and breedsis the first step. Getting a shot iseven tougher and making thatshot… well, I think I've proven my-self with the a bow and arrow. Suc-cess as a competition archer hasgiven me the needed confidencerequired to draw down on a wall-hanger. Just give me a shot, that'smy mission.

Perhaps that was what made amissed opportunity early last fall ona mature buck at Land Between theLakes so disheartening. In fact, ithaunted me day and night.

My cameraman and I had huntedLBL for several days. We foundfresh sign of a nice buck and a fewtrail camera pictures backed up mynotion that something really bigwas lurking in the big timber androlling hills between the Tennesseeand Cumberland rivers.

I forget the hours I'd sat motion-less in the stand waiting for achance at this buck. Then when heappeared one morning, my hardwork was for naught.

The 160-class buck was chasinga doe. He closed quickly on posi-tion, and I waited too long to draw.The blonde-racked buck wasstanding 15 yards in front of meand a fellow along to film the hunt.We couldn't move. He'd spot thetiniest twitch. A buck like this does-n't grow a crown if he's stupid.

This big boy turned around andwalked straight away. I was neverpresented another shot.

It’s funny, but I felt like I had reallylet my cameraman down. Both ofus had worked really hard to makeit happen and I choked.

A few weeks later, I was reallyexcited to get a chance to hunt inOhio County. I had always heardabout the monster bucks that havebeen taken there. I was hunting300 acres on the outskirts ofBeaver Dam. The first morning I gotinto the stand about 45 minutes be-fore daylight. When it got light, I no-ticed that some corn we had put outprior to the hunt was gone. As themorning opened, there was a goodbit of nearby deer activity, but noshooters. I was hunting a naturalfunnel in the back of a clover field.About 10 a.m., I took a break andthen relocated my stand. The newlocation was next to a huge cedartree. We trimmed enough limbs tofilm and shoot the hunt on video-tape, but were careful not to makea mess of the area.

That afternoon, I had a 135-inch8-pointer come in to a feeder thatwas spiked with C'mere Deer Corn

Coat. Several whitetials had shownup, but nothing to draw on.

The next morning I got back inthe same stand 45 minutes beforedaylight. The plan was to hunt allday. I saw numerous deer movethrough the area, and some chas-ing smaller bucks. Right at dusk, abig body deer started moving myway. Unfortunately, darkness set inbefore the deer made its way closeto enough to be sure, but I thoughtit was a mature buck. I stayed onthe stand well into the darkness inorder to avoid spooking the deer bygetting down too soon. After thedeer moved away, I slipped out.

This was supposed to be the lastday I could hunt because I was asenior in high school and home-work and classes were calling meback to reality. Because I had aspecial study program, I was ableto miss one more day at school andit paid big dividends.

The next morning was perfecthunting weather, about 30 degrees.I got into the stand about 30 min-utes before daylight. It was to beanother full day’s hunt, if neces-sary. When daylight broke therewas no activity and I was becomingworried. Around 6:30 a.m., I waslooking at the edge of a CRP fieldand saw a deer standing alone. Icould tell it was a male whitetail. Ilifted my Opti-Logic Binoculars andconfirmed that it was a huge buck.He had a nice, blonde rack. Thebuck was sniffing around, appar-ently looking for doe. A series ofgrunt calls got the buck’s attention,but he wouldn’t commit to close thegap between his spot and mine. Itwas time to try the snort wheeze –the sound a deer makes to showhis dominance around other males.It’s like telling a buck to either leavethe area or come fight. This big fel-low lifted his head, postured andaccepted the challenge. He headedright toward my stand. After abouttwo minutes, however, he lost inter-est and began moving away. An-other snort wheeze drew him a bitcloser, but at about 50 yards, hestarted to veer into the woods.Itwas time for another grunt andwheeze.

That did the trick. He went to fullalert, looking for combat. As hepassed the feeder, I knew the buckwas within range. I eased up myOpti-Logic Range Finder to pinpointthe distnace – 18 yards. Perfect!

I pulled back the string on myXpedition bow and the buckstopped to sniff where other deerhad been feeding earlier. I didn’thave a good angle and the stringwas getting very heavy. Finally heturned to the left and I put my Cop-per John Sights 20-yard pin rightbehind his shoulder and releasedthe arrow.

My heart was pounding so hard.I was not exactly sure where the100 grain Swhacker broadheadhad pierced the buck, but my cam-eraman saw it all. As the deerbolted, he said, “You smoked him.”

The buck ran about 35 yards anddropped.

I could see him on the groundthrough my binoculars. It looked tome like a world record. I wanted to

get down immediately and go thedeer, but I knew I had to wait andmake sure the buck didn’t get up.Meantime, we shot some takes inthe stand to help improve the videofootage and I sent a text to my dadabout the success.

Finally, after ample time hadpassed, I climbed down andwalked over to see this trophy upclose. The body size was enou-mous and his rack was huge.

It was early November and thearea was full of rifle hunters. Aftertaking the buck out to a nearbyroad, it was like a party. Everyonewas stopping by and checking outthis monster whitetail which turnedthe tape at almost 175 inches onthe Boone and Crockett scoringsystem. My second straight“Booner!”

•Author Katie Davies is a CrittendenCounty High School graduate and an as-piring professional archer and hunter.

Katie Davies was a senior in high school last year when she baggedthis monster whitetail buck. She is a former student-outdoors writerfor The Crittenden Press and a competitive tournament archer.

Local high school student takes monster chasing outdoors career


Fredonia gunnerdoes it again in ‘14“What a surprise!” says 13-

year-old Jacob Chambliss of Fre-donia. Indeed it was! Another trophy whitetail in 2014

made the young man from Fredo-nia the Marion Big Buck Contest’sfirst ever back-to-back youthchampion. In fact, it is the firsttime in the whole 10 years of thecontest sponsored by Hodge Out-door Sports and Marion Tourismthat there has been a repeatchampion. “We have never had anyone win

it two times,” said Michelle Ed-wards, tourism director. “Jacobmust be a great hunter,” she said,pointing to the 10-pointer he tookto win the 2013 big buck title andthe 11-pointer he bagged thistime. Chambliss and his father won

both of the big buck contests ayear ago, and this past season

dad was right there by his side asthe two put in the hard work ittakes to harvest a trophy buck.“I spent all summer checking

trail cameras and putting out cornand minerals with my dad andbrother,” Chambliss said. “We gota few trail cam pics of some goodlooking bucks that really neededanother year or two. We didn'thave any pics that I would con-sider big bucks.” As summer morphed into fall,

the Chambliss clan kept hopingsomething good would show upon their cameras, but it never did.At that point, it looked like the sea-son could be a real bummer un-less something changed. “Dad and I hunted as much as

we could during bow season withno luck,” he said. “Youth rifle sea-son and muzzleloader seasonwas more of the same. The onlydeer any of us were seeing weresmall bucks and does.” When rifle season arrived in No-

vember, Chambliss couldn't waitto hit the woods. Not seeing any-

thing substantial to that point in-creased Chambliss’s anxiousness. He knew the rut could make a

major difference as deer becomemuch more active with bucksmoving outside of their normalrange in search of females. Butfirst, there was some youth sportsobligations that got in the way onopening weekend. “We weren't able to hunt until

the third day of rifle season. It wasabnormally warm on that Mondayafternoon. I climbed in the blindwith my dad, and my little brotherclimbed in the blind with my mom,just like last year,” Chambliss said. With the warm weather, deer

were not moving at all. “I sat there thinking about all the

Instagram pictures of big bucksthat have been shot, and wonder-ing if I would even see one deerthat afternoon,” said the teenager. With the day’s light fading fast

through the afternoon’s westernsky, Chambliss thought his huntwas about over when his father,Kevin, spotted movement nearby.

“Dad said, ‘A buck just chased adoe out of the woods,’” he re-called. Chasing a doe across a picked

cornfield was a buck with his headdown, making it nearly impossiblefor the young hunter to see theantlers and judge whether it was a

Continued on Page 17

BUCKED UP! Chambliss repeats title

Jacob Chambliss scores back-to-back in youth big buck con-test. Above is last year’s deer.

20132014

Hunters need to know theproper way to care for and dis-pose of their deer carcass beforeand after processing, says theKentucky Department of Fish andWildlife Resources.

If you plan on having your tro-phy preserved by a taxidermist,the best policy is to keep the hideclean and undamaged. If you re-move the head from the carcassyourself, remember to leavemore than enough skin beyondthe neck area. You can neverhave too much hide, says localtaxidermist Todd Lucas.

If you will be cutting up thevenison yourself, be sure to getthe animal into a cool, shadyarea as quickly as possible.Never leave it in direct sunlight,even during fall days when tem-peratures might seem appropri-ate for hanging a deer withsafety. November sunshine cancause problems quickly for thecarcass.

Crittenden County’s Hunters forthe Hungry program will acceptdeer donated by hunters. TheFamily Butcher Shop will accept

donated deer at 346 RoosterLane off Ky. 654 North Mondaythrough Saturday. Hunters for theHungry operates on donations,so please give to the organiza-tion when you donate a deer.Your contribution helps pay pro-cessing fees. The venison is dis-tributed by the Crittenden CountyFood Bank at the former healthdepartment building in Marion.

One thing hunters should neverdo is to discard a carcass im-properly or illegally. Leaving theremains on the property whereyou harvested the deer is thebest disposal method. If you arehunting on another person’sproperty, ask the landownerwhere you can dispose of thedeer’s carcass and offer to buryit. Respect the landowner’s

wishes. Deer hunters shouldnever throw deer remains along-side the road or onto someoneelse’s property.

“Disposing of it on the side ofthe road is not a good idea, it islittering,” said Tina Brunjes of theKentucky Department of Fish andWildlife Resources. “This practicemakes hunters look bad. Nobodywants to see or smell a deer car-

cass. Be considerate of others.Just because you’ve taken adeer, that doesn’t mean it’s over.Disposing of the carcass is partof the process of deer hunting.”

Hunters who plan to carry acarcass out of Kentucky need toknow the laws in the destinationstate and the states throughwhich the deer will be trans-ported.


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If excellent accomodations, outstanding dog work and birds that will challenge the most experiencedwing shooter “at an affordable price” is what you are looking for, we invite you tovisit us this fall.

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Carcass care is key to quality venison, trophy preservation, legal disposal


STAFF REPORTEver wonder where all the big

bucks have gone?Truth is, they’ve gone to Florida,

Georgia, Alabama and the myriadof other states where CrittendenCounty’s new breed of hunter orig-inates.“Hunters have become more

secretive,” said Philip Sharp, aKentucky Department of Fish andWildlife biologist who lives in Crit-tenden County.“Used to, if someone killed a

160 class or bigger buck, they’dhaul it around on the tailgate fortwo weeks because they wantedeveryone to see it,” he said. “Now,these guys don’t even want theirfamilies to know about it if they geta really big buck.”The reason? It’s all about money.Sharp, who closely follows

trends in outdoor recreation, saidhunters keep their trophies secretin order to protect their leases,

and the prices they pay for them.Twenty or 25 years ago, there

were only a few acres leased forhunting in Crittenden County.Those lands that were rented tohunters fetched about $2 to $5 anacre. Now, land leases for $10 to$25 an acre – sometimes more.Darrin Tabor, a local real estate

agent who brokers outdoor recre-ation property, said there’s noquestion that hunters have goneunderground when it comes to thebucks they’re taking.“They don't want to broadcast

what they’re taking because theydon’t want someone else to comealong and steal their lease,” Taborsaid.“I wish we still had to check

deer in at Hodge’s like we used to.It was a community event backthen, people would stand aroundat the check station and talk abouthunting or the big buck that just

Continued on page 15

WHERE HAVE BIG BUCKS GONE?

Hunters keeping trophy deerunder wraps for protection


BY CHRIS EVANSTHE CRITTENDEN PRESS

There is a popular television show called“Dancing with the Stars.” Nearly everyonein the country has at least heard somethingabout it, making the program a householdname.

Crittenden County could probably put itsmoniker on the tongues of many Americansby producing a show called “Hunting withthe Pros.” In fact, there is actually onecalled “Major League Bowhunter” and itstars former professional baseball playersMatt Duff and Chipper Jones. Duff pitchedfor the St. Louis Cardinals and Jones was abeloved third-base all-star, National LeagueMVP and most likely a future Hall of Famerfor the Atlanta Braves. The two of themwere in Crittenden County in Septembershooting a segment for their program that isbroadcast regularly on The SportsmanChannel.

Chris Redman, a former NFL quarterback(Atlanta Falcons), graces the cover of thisyear’s Crittenden Outdoors Hunting Guide.Redman’s picture with a nice western Ken-tucky buck is courtesy of Curt Phelps, anavid local hunter, who has been hostingRedman on hunts for several years. An-other former NFL quarterback Jake Locker

(Tennessee Titans) also visits regularly forhunts with Phelps.

Redman owns property here, too. Hedoesn’t just pass through. New York Yan-kees third baseman Chase Headley is alsoa local landowner. They are just a few of thestar-studded camouflaged gunners thatmight roam into town for lunch on a rainy

fall day.Kory Wheeler, who owns a couple of

Marion restaurants, says celebrities arecommon at the Main Street Italian Grill andThe Front Porch. She also does somecatering for hunters who are too busy todrive to town.

Dustin Johnson, the No. 7 ranked profes-sional golfer in the United States, has beento Marion this fall on a hunting trip. Andcelebrity hunters like Jackie Bushman ofBuckmasters fame and Spook Spann areregulars to the area and other famoushunters like Bill Jordan and Michael Wad-dell have spent time in our forests. BrettFavre, the certain-NFL Hall of Fame quar-terback of the Green Bay Packers, spendssome time in the northern part of the countyhunting deer near the Tradewater River.

“I saw him here a couple of years ago,”said local real estate agent Darrin Tabor.“He’s a big man. I mean a big fellow. A lotbigger than you’d think.”

Tabor said some of his other real estateconnections hosted members of the famous“Duck Dynasty” Robertson family on a lateSeptember hunt on a Crittenden County.

Mark Williams, an agent for WhitetailProperties, says he’s marketed property toColts kicker Adam Vinatieri and former NFL

quarterback Kerry Collins. Kentucky’s reputation as a destination for

hunters has improved over the pastdecade, Williams explains. In 2012, Ken-tucky produced more Boone and Crockettbucks than any other state. That’s a majormeasuring stick, he said.

“These guys obviously have the money toinvest, but they’re looking for the most bangfor their buck, too,” Williams said.

His company, Whitetail Properties, spe-cializes in brokering hunting and recre-ational property. The niche industry hashelped promote this otherwise remote anduninspiring area to hunters, but there arevarious other factors that help make thisarea attractive, Williams said.

“It’s appealing for a number of reasons,”he said, including relatively inexpensiveover-the-counter hunting licenses with noquotas for out-of-state hunters, land valuesare much lower than other traditional trophyhunting states like Illinois and Iowa, taxesare reasonable and the chance for a bigbuck are high, especially when you figurethe tolerably low number of hunters and tro-phy whitetails per square mile.

“When you put all that together, it’s veryattractive for hunters,” Williams added.

Crittenden provides celebrities bang for their buck

Former Tennessee Titans quarterbackJake Locker shows off a buck he took inthis area last season.

LEGENDS OF THE FALL



Big Rivers Wildlife ManagementArea and State Forest betweenSturgis and Marion is open forpublic hunting. It officially openedin the fall of 2013 just in time forthe quota deer hunt.

This wildlife management areatotals 6,812 acres of fields andwoodlands at the confluence ofthe Ohio and Tradewater rivers inUnion and Crittenden counties.

No special permit is required forentry. However, there is a quotaon deer during the rifle season.

“This area offers excellent deer,turkey and squirrel hunting, plusexcellent hiking and wildlife view-ing opportunities,” said ScottHarp, regional wildlife coordinatorfor the Kentucky Department ofFish and Wildlife Resources. “Wealso have several habitat projectscurrently planned to enhance quailand rabbit hunting.”

Game Mangement ForemanJohn Zimmer said development ofnew outdoors opportunities hasbeen in full swing on the BigRivers WMA.

“We planted 20,000 shrubs thispast February. They are borderingthe fields directly behind the office.They will be acting as a shrub cor-ridor, which wildlife will use for es-cape cover and nesting habitat. Italso adds diversity amongst ourlarger crop fields,” Zimmer said.

Part of the recent managementplan included a prescribed burnon about 300 acres.

“They were mostly in thick, neg-lected areas that we were wantingto come back in on to do follow-uptreatment on honey locust andsericea lespedeza,” Zimmer said.

Three new shallow water areashave been established for water-fowl. Two of the areas are nearStump Lake, which was also re-cently revitalized.

Zimmer said the shallow waterareas will help attract and holdwaterfowl.

“All together, we are creatingaround 30 more acres of water-fowl habitat,” he said.

The WMA plans on stockingStump Lake this fall with bluegilland catfish and then bass nextspring. The first new wood duckbrood was raised on Stump Lakethis year. The lake – a one-timehot spot for local fishermen – hadbeen drained by the previouslandowner before the WMA wasformed.

Big Rivers is open understatewide regulations for squirrel,rabbit, quail, furbearer and fallturkey seasons. However, there isa special quota drawing for rifledeer hunts. Applications are duein the late summer. That is theonly opportunity for rifle huntingfor deer on the WMA, except forfree youth seasons in October andDecember.

Big Rivers WMA and State For-est is otherwise open forarchery/crossbow deer season(except during the quota hunt)and is open for the free youthweekend hunt in December.

While the area offers adequateparking, some of the road infra-structure is still under evaluationand development. Maps of thearea are available online atfw.ky.gov. Click the maps and on-line services tab, then the wildlifemanagement areas tab. Boat-inaccess to interior areas is allowed.

View Map Onlinehttp://fw.ky.gov/More/Documents/BigRiversWMA_and_StateForest_all.pdf

BIG RIVERS WMANew opportunitiescoming for WMA inCrittenden-Union

CRITTENDEN OUTDOORSPAGE 14 TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN

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KENTUCKY AFIELDKentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife

law enforcement officials ended in August ac-tive investigation into the circumstances sur-rounding the December 2014 appearance ofa 125-pound mountain lion on a BourbonCounty farm.“We’ve exhausted all our leads,” said

Major Shane Carrier. “We have conductedour investigation and worked jointly with U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement of-ficers to determine how this animal arrived inKentucky. At this time, we are unable to def-initely say who brought the lion into thestate.”Kentucky state law prohibits persons from

possessing inherently dangerous animals,such as mountain lions, or bringing them intothe state without proper transportation per-mits.On Dec. 15, 2014, a conservation officer

responding to a complaint found the approx-imately 5-year-old male mountain lion treedby a homeowner’s Rhodesian ridgeback dogin a populated area about two miles north-east of Paris shortly before dark. While enroute, the officer consulted with a wildlife bi-ologist and learned tranquilizing was not a vi-

able or an available option. Due to over-whelming public safety concerns, the officershot the lion, which then leaped and disap-peared into the underbrush. When backupofficers arrived shortly thereafter, theysearched in the dark and found it dead in thebrush nearby.Mountain lions, apex predators once native

to Kentucky, were extirpated from the statemore than 150 years ago. The U.S. Fish andWildlife Service has declared the easternmountain lion to be extinct. “These facts figured heavily in our decision

to euthanize the lion when we encounteredit,” said Kentucky Department of Fish andWildlife Biologist Steven Dobey. “A releasedor escaped captive lion that has lost its fearof humans is a much greater threat to publicsafety than a truly wild, free-ranging lion.”Necropsy results and tooth-aging analyses

indicate the lion was a 5-year-old male, 125pounds, and in good physical condition andhealth. DNA analyses link the genetic originof the lion to a population in the Black Hills ofSouth Dakota, more than 1,100 miles north-west of Paris, Ky. A few mountain lions inwestern states have moved eastward, butneither law enforcement investigators nor

wildlife biologists found any evidence thatsuggests this mountain lion made its way toKentucky on its own.Dobey noted that a 5-year old lion should

already have an established home range andmatured beyond the roaming age. Long dis-tance traveling is typically the behavior of a1½-to 2-year-old mountain lion.

“The age of this lion is huge,” said Dobey.“This was a mature adult. We have consultedwith western biologists who work closely withlions and they agree that a 5-year-old lion isliving where it is going to spend the rest of hislife.“Furthermore, this animal was in remark-

ably good condition with few cuts and scars,and no broken teeth or claws often found onwild mountain lions of the same age,” hesaid.Dobey said the absence of previous sight-

ing reports and trail camera photos of thislion also are significant. “If this lion came herefrom the Black Hills on its own, it would havemoved across South Dakota, Nebraska,Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and into Ken-tucky during the peaks of those states’ biggame and deer hunting seasons,” he said. “That means moving past thousands of

hunters on the ground and possibly tens ofthousands of infrared trail cameras. Biolo-gists in midwestern states have seen west-ern mountain lions move into their states, butwith all the cameras hunters use now toscout game, there are good records and pho-tos of those animals with locations, dates andtime stamps.”Fish and Wildlife Deputy Commissioner

and Wildlife Biologist Dr. Karen Waldropagreed. “There is no evidence supporting this ani-

mal traveled that distance on its own, or evenspent any length of time on the ground here.This was either a released or escaped cap-tive lion.“Lions that become associated with people

are extremely dangerous,” she said. “Theycannot be released. Sometimes well-mean-ing people do not realize that keeping wildanimals almost always means condemningthem to an early demise.”Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has released its

investigative reports of the case, includingthe DNA analysis of the animal. This informa-tion is posted online at fw.ky.gov, the depart-ment’s website.

KDFWR ends investigation; cougar probably brought here


346 Rooster Ln. (just off KY 654 N, 3 mi. from US 60 E.)Open 6 Days A Week 5 a.m. - 10 p.m. / No Sunday Business

Out-of-State Hunters WelcomeQuick Processing Available

Participant for Hunters for the Hungry Program

DEER PROCESSINGCUSTOM PROCESSING

Summer Sausage • Jerky • Snack Stix • BratwurstSkin, Cool & Process $68 • Caping $20

Local Grass or Grain Fed Beef or Pork For Your Freezer

Hunters possess a long history oftaking actions that benefit wildlifeconservation. They tax themselvesand buy licenses, permits andstamps that support the vitality ofboth game and non-game animals.

The Harvest Information Pro-gram (H.I.P.) of the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service is an evolution ofthese long-standing practices, saywildlife officials. This year, changesto the program caused some con-sternation among outdoors enthu-siasts who must answer a fewquestions after purchasing theirKentucky Migratory Game Bird Wa-terfowl Hunting Permit.

“People are always concernedabout change,” said John Brunjes,migratory bird program coordinatorfor the Kentucky Department ofFish and Wildlife Resources. “Wepreviously collected this informationin a manner that produced insuffi-cient harvest data. So, we arechanging how we do it.”

Brunjes explained the changesare not made to place an additionalburden on hunters.

The H.I.P. program came about

because biologists and manage-ment professionals at both thestate and federal level realized theydidn’t have an accurate number ofmigratory bird hunters.

“We could guess by the numberof migratory bird – waterfowl hunt-ing permits sold,” Brunjes said.“But, those who purchase a sen-ior/disabled license or a Sports-man’s license get a permit with theirlicense, whether they hunt migra-tory birds or not.”

A similar situation exists for thefederal migratory bird hunting per-mit, commonly called a duck

stamp. Many purchase them tohelp with conservation of waterfowl,but don’t hunt.

“Consequently, we didn’t knowhow many birds were being har-vested,” Brunjes said. “The H.I.P.survey gives us a tool to tell us howmany hunters we have in Kentucky.It also shows us how many of eachspecies is being harvested as wellas the age and sex ratio of the har-vested birds.”

Completing the H.I.P. survey al-lows the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService to classify hunters into asampling group based on thespecies hunted and the number ofmigratory birds harvested in orderto get more comprehensive, volun-tary information later.

“They may contact you via mailto participate in these surveys orthey may ask you to participate in awing collection survey,” Brunjessaid. “This information gives biolo-gists at the state and federal levelmore accurate data to help bettermanage these populations.”

Inconsistent data in Kentuckyand across the nation usually

means more conservative dove,duck and goose seasons.

The fluctuation in the daily duckbag limit for canvasback ducksover the past 10 to 12 years is anexample of the impact of insuffi-cient data. This data also showed adove harvest estimate of about633,000 birds in 2013, but only255,000 birds last year. This wildfluctuation is likely rooted in incon-sistent H.I.P. data.

The H.I.P. process is simple and

it takes less than five minutes. Onthe Kentucky Fish and Wildlifewebpage at fw.ky.gov, click on the“My Profile” tab on the upper leftsection of the page. This will bringyou to a page that asks for somebasic information to confirm youridentity. After completing the H.I.P.questions, you will receive a confir-mation number that must be writtenon your hunting license or Ken-tucky Migratory Game Bird – Wa-terfowl Hunting Permit.

It’s the Law: Hunters must complete HIP SurveyDoves, Ducks included

Everyone who plans to hunt mi-gratory birds this season – includingducks and doves – must fill out aHarvest Inventory Program or HIPSurvey online. It asks two ques-tions, whether you plan to hunt mi-gratory birds this year and whetheryou did last year. You will receive aconfirmation number which must bepresent with you while hunting mi-gratory birds. It’s the law.___________________________

GONEContinued from page 10

rolled in,” Tabor continued. “Now,they keep them hidden untilthey’re out of state. I can’t evenget the guys who hunt on myproperty to give me pictures ofwhat they’re shooting.”

Sharp and Tabor agree thatmuch of today’s hunting in Critten-den County is by residents of thedeep South. Local hunters stilllucky enough to have a place tohunt are also reluctant to publicize

their success. Only a few yearsago, the newspaper was full ofhunters showing off trophy bucks.Nowadays, only a few trickle in atthe newspaper.

The trophy heads leave Critten-den County very inconspicuouslyand now hang on walls in theSouth.

“I have friends who come uphere from Florida and they takevery nice deer, but they load themin a truck and head back toFlorida and very few people knowwhat they’ve taken,” Sharp said.


The Kentucky Department ofFish and Wildlife Resources andthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicehave a great stake in the huntingand fishing industries of Kentucky.

“Fishing, hunting, and wildlifeviewing together comprise a topindustry in Kentucky and acrossthe nation,” said Benjy Kinman,Deputy Commissioner with Ken-tucky Fish and Wildlife. “These ac-tivities are important to the socialfabric of Kentucky’s communities,in addition to supporting tens ofthousands of jobs and generatingthe funds for fish and wildlife con-servation in the Commonwealth.”

A recent study of 2011 datashows the tremendous interest inoutdoors activities in the common-wealth. The survey is conductedevery five years by fish andwildlife officials and the U.S. Cen-sus Bureau. It has become one ofthe most important sources of in-formation on fish and wildliferecreation in the United States.

Following are highlights fromthat national survey of hunting andwildlife-associated recreation:

n 554,000 people 16 years andolder spent a combined total of10.2 million days fishing.

n 347,000 people 16 years andolder spent a combined total of12.2 million days hunting.

n 1.3 million people 16 yearsand older watched wildlife in Ken-tucky.

n $2.9 billion total was spent onwildlife-related recreation in Ken-tucky.

n $807 million was spent inKentucky on fishing-related activi-ties.

n $798 million was spent in

Kentucky on hunting-related activ-ities.

n $773 million was spent inKentucky on wildlife-watching ac-tivities.

n More than 90 million U.S.residents 16 years old and olderparticipated in some form ofwildlife-related recreation in 2011,up 3 percent from five years ear-lier. The increase was primarilyamong those who fished andhunted.

n Wildlife recreationists in theU.S. spent $144.7 billion in 2011on their activities, which equatedto one percent of the Gross Do-mestic Product. Of the totalamount spent, $49.5 billion wastrip-related, $70.4 billion wasspent on equipment, and $25.1billion was spent on other itemssuch as licenses and land leasingand ownership.

n The number of people whohunted or fished or both rose from33.9 million in 2006 to 37.4 millionin 2011.

n 71.8 million U.S. residentsobserved, fed, and/or pho-tographed wildlife in 2011. Almost68.6 million people wildlifewatched around their homes, and22.5 million people took trips of atleast one mile from home primarilyto watch wildlife.

n Of the 46.7 million peoplewho observed wild birds, 88 per-cent did so around their homesand 38 percent on trips a mile ormore from home.

n People spent $54.9 billion ontheir wildlife-watching trips, equip-ment, and other items in 2011.This amounted to $981 on aver-age per spender for the year.

Hunting’s impactmoves big bucks

While Land Between the Lakes(LBL) National Recreation area inwestern Kentucky offers a varietyof quota hunting opportunities formodern firearms, it is also a granddestination for archers. The re-quirements for bowhunting aremore convenient.

Quota rifle hunt applications aregenerally due over the summer. Ifthere are unfilled quota permits forthe Youth Hunt, those can be pur-

chased in early September.Archers need not apply. The 2015-16 bow season is Sept. 15 to Jan.18, except on quota hunt daysand one day immediately beforeeach quota hunt.

Hunters need only to have avalid Kentucky license and a $25LBL Hunter Use Permit.

Deer taken in LBL are bonusanimals. They do not countagainst statewide limits.

Deer are bonus at Land Between the Lakes


Youth Big BuckContinued from page 8

shooter or not. “Though I couldn't see his

horns, I remember him being twotimes as big as the doe he waschasing,” Chambliss remarked.“Dad was sitting beside me check-ing the buck out with his binocu-lars. All at once dad said, ‘I thinkhe's a good one Jake, get onhim.’” Chambliss poked his trusty .25-

06 out of the blind and tried tosteady the crosshairs on the mov-ing buck. The 11-pointer wasabout 150 yards away when hestopped, facing the blind dead on.Not a good shot to take. “He stood there for what

seemed like forever before finally

turning broadside,” Chamblisssaid. “When he turned, dad said,‘There's your shot Jake, busthim.’” His first round hit the buck,but the big whitetail was still on hisfeet. He kicked another shell intothe chamber and took the fatalshot. “Within minutes all four of us

were standing over my buck justlike last year,” Chambliss recalls.“He was a big bodied, broken-up11- pointer. It was great to havemy family there to share the mo-ment. As it turns out, we neverhad a single picture of this buck allyear nor did we have a picture ofa buck this big all year.“Just goes to show how the rut

can change things in the blink ofan eye,” he added.

License or Permit Resident NonresidentAnnual Fishing $20.00 $50.00Joint Husband/Wife Annual Fishing $36.00 Not available1-Day Fishing $7.00 $10.003-Year Fishing (available online only) $55.00 Not availableNonresident 7-Day Fishing Not available $30.00Nonresident 15-Day Fishing Not available $40.00Annual Hunting $20.00 $140.001-Day Hunting (not valid for deer or turkey) $7.00 $15.007-Day Hunting (not valid for deer or turkey) Not available $55.00Annual Youth Hunting (ages 12-15 only) $6.00 $10.00Annual Combination Hunting/Fishing $30.00 Not availableSenior/Disabled Comb Hunting/Fishing $5.00 Not availableSportsman's License $95.00 Not availableYouth (ages 12-15) Sportsman's License $30.00 Not availableStatewide Deer Permit (two deer) $35.00 $120.00Youth (ages 12-15) Deer Permit (one deer) $10.00 $15.00Additional Deer Permit (two deer) $15.00 $15.00Spring Turkey Permit (two turkeys) $30.00 $75.00Youth Turkey Permit (one turkey, spring or fall) $10.00 $15.00Fall Turkey Permit (four turkeys) $30.00 $75.00Migratory Bird/Waterfowl Permit $15.00 $15.00

KENTUCKY HUNTING LICENSE FEES

CRITTENDEN OUTDOORSPAGE 18 TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN

Those late evening serenades by preda-tors known as song dogs tend to be their un-doing when it the annual Hodge OutdoorSports Coyote Contest kicks off.

James Reece and Beau Beckner, two Fre-donia hunters, won their second straight con-test late last winter sponsored by the localoutdoors store and Marion Tourism Commis-sion.

Reece said to be a successful coyotehunter one needs to do his homework.

“It’s like any other hunting, you have toscout,” he said.

The duo spends a good bit of time huntingtogether. They start after deer season and

call coyotes toward their weapons well intoMarch, just before turkey hunters take overthe woods.

The easiest way to locate a coyote is to lis-ten for his song at dusk.

“You can figure out where they’re denningby listening for them howling,” Reece said.“We pinpoint those areas and then leavethose spots alone. We hunt all the time, butwe leave the better spots alone until the tour-nament.”

In early 2015, the pair dropped five songdogs. Because new laws allow for night hunt-ing, Reece was able to bag one coyote wellafter dark on a cold February Friday, hunting

solely by the light of the moon. He doesn’tlike using artificial light although the its al-lowed during February and March.

Reece said coyotes are often scared off bythe lights and because you have to use ashotgun at night, he prefers luring them witha rabbit squealer on a moonlit night.

Reece hunted alone Friday because hispartner had to work. The next morning, theystarted early. By 7 a.m., Saturday they hadfour predators down. They scored a doubleon the first setup, then almost pulled anotherdouble 500 yards away on the second setup,but one of them got away wounded.

The next coyote came in alone. Because

it’s breeding season, most hunts provide achance at two because they’re running inpairs.

Although most of his success comes witha mouth-squealer, he says a howler can begood this time of year. It’s like rattling antlersduring the deer rut, he explained.

Reece has entered the coyote contestevery year since it started five winters ago.He has shared the title with partners threetimes and was second twice.

“It’s a good thing we got them when we didbecause the wind picked up Saturday morn-ing and we didn’t do any good after that,”Reece added.

CoyoteCutthroatsLocal duo has no mercyduring late winter songdog hunting contests

BeauBecknerand JamesReece wontheir secondstraightcoyotecontesttitle latelast winter.


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