Willow's Shed

Willow Bainbridge is shed hunting in the mountains of Colorado with her Dad.  Starting them early in our great wild outdoors.

When Do We Eat?

Mickey Dill caught some nice bluegill here in Mississippi!  

M/V City of Joliet Passing By My Hometown

After leaving the waterfront and taking pictures of the American Queen's return to our historical civil war town, I headed to the Louisiana Circle to see if I could see a towboat passing by and I was in luck.  

M/V City Of Joliet passing by my hometown of Vicksburg, MS.

M/V City Of Joliet coming to the bend in the MS River. 

M/V City of Joliet northbound.  Safe travels!

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

American Queen Returns To Vicksburg!

It was so great to see the majestic American Queen return to our historical civil war town of Vicksburg, MS.  Her last visit was the latter part of December 2015.  I never get tired of taking pictures of her and below are some that I took for you to enjoy on a beautiful Friday here in my hometown.  

American Queen is docked in the Yazoo Diversion Canal off of the Mighty Mississippi River.

Four buses were taking tourist around to all the historical sites in my hometown.

Last three pictures were taken from Catfish Row Children's Art Park with the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals on the flood wall.

Finding A Nice Shed

Christian Carver posted this picture on Facebook group page Parenting Done Right Outdoors of his son who found this nice shed while out looking for owls the other day.  The family does it all - camping, fishing and hunting and the kids absolutely love it, he said. What a nice find and I'm sure he will treasure it.  My congrats to this future hunter in our great outdoors!

Big Fork Buck

Van Probst is so proud of his wife, Kay's first bow kill at 69 years of age. She took down this big fork buck last season near Susanville, CA.  He said that he could not get her to ride in the front of the truck going home and stayed in the back holding the head up so the velvet would not get rubbed off.  

My congrats to Kay on her fine buck in our great wild outdoors! It's never too late!

Catfish Hand-Grabbing

Brandi Kendall Salley of Holcomb, Mississippi, caught a 72 lb. flat head catfish by hand-grabbing.  Her mother said she does this every year and has the scars to prove it.  Brandi thinks the scales were messed up but agrees that he ate good and had a big fish fry off of that big boy! My congrats to Brandi in our great outdoors! That's really awesome!

Feeding Duck Behavior

A short look at feeding behavior of ducks in a crop of corn. It shows how important cooperative farmers (local farmers contracted to farm the refuge) are to the management of the refuge. Most take pride in what they produce for the purpose of feeding the waterfowl and other wildlife. It usually takes the support and participation of the local community for true conservation to happen on a refuge. We are thankful to our local farmers!

Notice most ducks are mallards, but at the end of this video, a pair of gadwells come into the picture.

Catch & Release

John Sturdivant's son, Grant and his playmate, are checking out this red ear slider (aka) painted turtle that will bite you.  Of course, they had to release it back into the water but they were having a great time checking it out.  This is parenting done right in our great wild outdoors.

Catch &

Release

Hog & A Squirrel

This little guy had a great time hunting in Mississippi recently getting a big ole nasty hog and a black squirrel. His grandmother, Cindy Barton Elmore, of Greenwood, MS, was so proud of him and posted this on the site, I Killed It In Mississippi!  My congrats to him in our great wild outdoors!  That's the way to go little hunter!

Fishing Is Really Good In MS

Dustin Smith and his son are showing off their large catch of the day of striped bass in Perkinston, Mississippi.  

This is great for a Dad and his son to enjoy time together fishing in our great outdoors.

Hand full-of-fish!

First Time Beagle Hunting!

Kody Bidwell's little girls turned their beagles loose on some rabbits for the very first time recently. He said it was definitely a morning he will not forget. Kudos to Kody for taking his daughters out to hunt rabbits in our great wild outdoors. This is cuteness on overload!

They Definitely Know

Hunter Ruby posted these two pictures on Facebook page "I Killed It In Mississippi" that deer know that it's not hunting season.  They are smarter than we think, he said.  Pictures were taken this past week in Lafayette County, MS.

  

A comment was made that they don't smell humans, hear gun shots, 4-wheeler's, and all the early morning traffic.  The only problems this year was the flooding and early acorn fall that was definitely a hard year for some hunters having a rough hunting season.

They definitely know!

A Wildlife Refuge Find

Hunters in Mississippi found an intact casket in a wildlife refuge and authorities returned it to its grave.

Adams County Coroner James Lee tells The Natchez Democrat that the casket apparently floated out of a family cemetery on the refuge during floods in January.

He says he was called Saturday to deal with the casket, found in the open at the St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge.  He says it held the remains of someone who had been buried within the last six months.

Lee says he and the sheriff's office identified the body, located the cemetery, notified the family, and returned the casket.

He says the main thing is that they were able to return it to the cemetery in a "in a dignified manner."

Raccoon Trophies!

Kurt Koeneman of Lewisburg, MS, took his son hunting recently and he got his first kills, two raccoon's instead. Dad said we tried for a buck but no luck and you would've thought he got one. I'm sure the buck will come in time for this young boy. 

My congrats to this proud and happy boy on his raccoon trophies in our great wild outdoors!

 

Look what's in the pot to be cooked...a nice coon roast for the family to enjoy!

Paula's 10 Point Buck

Paula Garrison from Baxterville, Mississippi, killed this very nice 10 point buck this past Thursday.   A very nice buck in anyone's book.  My congrats to Paula on her harvest in our great wild outdoors! Way to go!

Spring Break Camp @ Tara Wildlife

Tara Wildlife is located 30 minutes northwest of my hometown of Vicksburg, MS.  It boast 8 miles of Mississippi River frontage and 9,000 acres of oxbow lakes and hardwood forests.

  

There's just a few more days to take advantage of this great offer! Call today to register your child at 601-279-4261.

                        Spring Break Youth Camp Information

March 14 - March 18

View Deer Trail Cams

2015/16 Season

Got Her Game Face On!

Destiny is showing off her very first fox squirrel with a .22 rifle near Armstrong, PA, today.  Looks like she has her game face on!  Wishing her my congrats in our great wild outdoors. Way to go!

A Young Hunter's First Buck

Police officer, Larry L. Boeke, from West Point, Mississippi, is very proud of his son in killing his very first buck recently.  My congrats to this young hunter in our great outdoors!  Good job!

Bringing Home The Bacon!

Dudley Stone is posed with his two dogs and all the hogs he killed yesterday in the Delta near Parchman, MS.  We need to eradicate these 

nasty ole hogs in our great wild outdoors!  

Good Luck Slippers!

My Facebook friend, Darion Branham of PA, took his 10 year old daughter hunting last November.  While running out the door to get to the woods, she forgot her boots and had her slippers on.   She shot and killed her very first deer, a nice 6 point buck, and he was so happy and proud for her.  He said, "Don't mind the slippers....we accidentally left her boots back home."  

What a story she will tell about her first deer kill while hunting with her Dad wearing her slippers!

My congrats to her and to her proud Dad for taking the time to teach her to hunt in our great wild outdoors.  Great job Dad!

A Trophy Spike!

This picture was posted on Facebook page, Chasing Trophy Whitetails, which had a lot of responses. One response that I read which made sense, was that this is a debate/argument that will last for as long as man hunts deer.  He said, many studies and tests have been done, but remember, not all deer grow the same everywhere.  A study in Alabama, may not produce the same results as the same test in Michigan. Also, these studies can't allow for "freaks" of nature.  Perhaps this deer was injured shortly after birth. Perhaps a second generation doe bread with the father or uncle.  There are many reasons as to why something like this might have happened, but they may not be "Common" reasons.  This might be a 1 in 100,000 deer that this might happen in.  And this might be a 1 in 500,000 chance that is survived to this point.  Fact is, if this deer had shot 3-4-5 years ago, we never would seen/heard about it.  I have seen spikes that were fairly heavy and 10-12 inches long.  Had they not been shot, they might have ended up just like this deer in another 3-5 years.

Myself, I would mount this deer in a heart beat.  My congrats to the deer hunter and what a deer story he will tell for the rest of his life in our great wild outdoors.  

What A Rub!

Mike Dykes found this awesome rub while looking for sheds this past Friday in north Mississippi.  Thought it might be a black bear but it had a scrape under it, he said. 

Not a bad start for a weekend of shed hunting.  

Kyle's Nice 7 Pt. Buck

Kyle Dunnam got this really nice 7-point buck this morning in Jones County, MS.  It weighed 175 pounds and it's rack measured 16-3/4 inches wide.  My congrats on a nice looking buck in our great wild outdoors!

A friend had him on camera as well with a blind left eye and a fighting mark on it's side.

On Kyle's camera watching him all season.

A Great Hunting Season!

Young Branson South really had a great hunting season getting two nine-points and a nice eight-point near Harley, Mississippi.  

He got this one with his bow and found it the next day.  

Another nice 9-point!

My congrats to Branson!  A hunting season I know he will always remember in our great wild outdoors.

Buck With Character!

Jon Dodridge's proudly shows off his 180-inch plus giant bow kill recently in Ohio. This buck really has a lot of character and looks pretty old to me.  My congrats to Jon on a very cool looking buck in our great wild outdoors!

A Young Hunter

How cute is this?

Nature Watching

A few clips from Ray Ray Adventures trail camera in September 2015 of deer, coyote, raccoon, turkey and a small opossum. 
Reconyx UltaFire XR6.  

Small Game Hunting To Reopen Today

Small game hunting and the taking of wild hogs in the areas closed due to high water on the Mississippi River will resume today.

The MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks reminds all hunters that squirrels are the only game animals that can legally be taken from a boat, provided the motor has been completely shut off and progress has ended.

Hunters are advised to avoid hunting in areas that have a high concentrations of displaced deer so they don't cause further stress to the animals.

The department will continue its increased law enforcement of the affected areas to patrol the levees and promote public safety for residents affected by the flood waters.