Franklin County Monster Buck

Jay Gousset of Pearl, Mississippi commented that a friend's son got this once-in-a-lifetime monster buck this past Wednesday on a farm in Franklin County.  I'm sure it will be mounted proudly for years to come to enjoy and tell the deer hunting story behind this very nice buck.   

They certainly grow them BIG in Mississippi.  

Brianna's 10-Pointer

Brianna Poole of my hometown of Vicksburg, MS, took this 10-point buck on Thanksgiving morning while hunting with her father, Nick.  A wall hanger for sure in our wild Mississippi outdoors.  What a wonderful blessing for Thanksgiving!  Congratulations, Brianna!

Little Starving Fawn

The Land Hunting Camp

I was invited to hunt at a camp called, "The Land" in Edwards, MS, this past Saturday and was so excited to get back in the woods.  It has been almost a year since I have hunted and also had a knee replacement last November.   I saw a spike, mama doe, and two yearlings and three does out in the field. I shot at a doe but missed her and either I jerked it off or my .270 rifle was off.  I have not shot or seen a deer in the last two seasons and anything is possible.  Will be getting my rifle checked out before I head back to the woods.  Here are some photos I took of my first hunt of the 2017-18 deer season. 
  

A nice hunting cabin.

A beautiful lake for fishing.

Love this "new" deer stand called, The Pond Stand, with a staircase.  New windows will soon be installed soon the owner said.

Being dropped off by the hunter who owns the land that invited me with his wife who is also a deer hunter.

Driving to their deer stand to hunt.

He told me to watch to the left side of the stand.

A big buck was killed to the right of the stand.  

A very nice opened field planted with mustard greens that the deer have been snacking on. 

As I raised up to look down this funny looking spike was right in front of the stand.

Mama doe with two yearlings to the left showed up.

A doe comes out in the field and then there were three. 

Had a wonderful afternoon hunt and was great to get out in the wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors.  Maybe next time I will get lucky and get meat in the freezer.

Charlie's Huge MS Doe!

Young hunter Charlie who lives in Memphis, TN came to MS with his Dad to put the smack down on this huge doe yesterday.  Dad, Chris Tudor said it was almost 200 lbs. and he made a perfect shot at her with his savage 12 LPR and a 129 grain Hornady American Whitetail.  He said the closer they got the bigger she got and thought, O LORD, I can't even move her but was able to drag her 40 yards then got a tractor and couldn't lift her so had to get help but it all worked out alright.  The nice scope is an Athlon Cronus, 4.5-29x56 MIL.  Chris said he absolutely loves it, and Charlie does also. 

What a big rifle and doe for this little hunter!  Congratulations, Charlie on an awesome HUGE doe in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!  Way to go!

Thanksgiving Buck For Grizzly Douglas!

Cindy Elmore of Leflore County, MS posted this picture today of her husband, Douglas who killed this very nice buck Thanksgiving morning on public land.   

My congratulations to "Grizzly" Douglas on such a nice awesome buck in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!  A lot to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggers & Hunting Friends

Reese's First Buck!

Tim Fox of Magee, Mississippi said his baby girl, Reese got her first buck yesterday evening.  He is one proud daddy!

Congratulations to Reese on a very fine 8 point buck in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors! 

America Paddle Wheeler Stayed Overnight

America moored overnight in my civil war town of Vicksburg, MS, this past Sunday, and Monday.  You can see M/V Deborah Miles getting ready to pass by America coming from the Port of Vicksburg in the Yazoo Diversion Canal and heading north to her destination.  

I turned around and took a picture of the Trustmark Building which houses a restaurant on the rooftop called, 10 South Rooftop Bar & Grill which is a great place to eat with a great view of the canal, Lake Claiborne and the MS River in the distance.  Also, gorgeous view of sunsets.

M/V Deborah Miles pushing an empty barge heading south and then north up the Mighty Mississippi River.  

America paddle wheeler was launched in 2016,

America spending the night with her passengers.  She will be back on Wednesday, November 29, 2017, with more passengers to tour our civil war town. 

A Seventeen Point Buck!!!

Carmen Lindsay Anderson above is from Athens, Texas and a mother of three.  Her husband built her a new deer stand about a month or so ago and just started hunting by herself the last two weekends.  She had to take her 1-1/2-year-old baby girl with her because she didn't have a sitter.  It turns out she was her good luck charm!  Saturday was the biggest day of her hunting life!  Nobody had this guy on camera so they had no idea he was even out there.  She thought she had missed him and was terribly upset.  Long story short, it turns out she made a miracle perfect shot, she said.  A 17 point buck with a rough score of 190.  She admitted that this was her once in a lifetime buck and I believe it!

Congratulations to Carmen on a buck of a lifetime in the wild outdoors of the great state of Texas!  Way to go girl!  

Opening Day Of Hot/Cold Weather

Mark Sandifer of Bentonia, MS was trying to deer hunt this afternoon and said he was hugging a tree with 40 mph winds blowing.  For opening day of rifle season in Mississippi, it was pretty hot but later in the afternoon that all changed.  Another hunter said he had just shot one and the bottom fell out before he could track it and hopes to find his deer.  Temperature has dropped pretty fast.    

I did not get to go hunting this opening weekend but hopefully next weekend I will.  When you don't belong to a camp anymore and you have to be invited it is few and far between hunts which I hate.  I wished I own land with a deer camp on it.  I would love that!   

I remember my first deer hunt which was on an opening day back in 1986.  A big thunderstorm came and we all waited for a couple of hours for it to slacked up but all the other hunters got impatient and left camp and went home.  We stayed and finally after the rain slowed we got on the 3-wheeler and went to our stands.  I climbed up on my stand and within 5 minutes I had a 6-point buck on the ground.  Sometimes it pays to be patient and wait it out in our great wild Mississippi outdoors.

American Queen Underway

I made it to our waterfront as the Grand American Queen was underway today but took a couple of pictures and a video of the calliope playing that I posted on my Facebook page.  

The Grand American Queen is heading south in the Yazoo Diversion Canal to the Mississippi River.  Most likely she turned around in the canal.  The AQ Captain decides how to get back to the river.  I have seen AQ back out because the canal was too low and/or go north to the Port of Vicksburg to turn around.  

I'm chasing the American Queen up the Mississippi River.  I'm at Waterview Casino's parking lot taking more pictures before she is on her way and out of sight.  

I zoomed in with my camera and got the American Queen heading up the MS River at Vicksburg, MS.

She has just passed some workers on the MS River to curb bank erosion.

Wishing the American Queen and her passenger's safe travels to all ports-of-call up the Mighty Mississippi River.  She will be back to Vicksburg next Wednesday for an all-day visit to our historic civil war town with more passengers.  Vicksburg:  The Key To The South! 

Kate's First Buck

Lisa Fortner posted that her daughter, Kate got her first buck this past weekend. It weighed 129lbs. and was an 8-point buck!  She was hunting with her Dad and killed it with a 308.  

Congratulations to little Kate on her first buck in our great Mississippi wild and wonderful outdoors!  Way to go Kate!  I'm proud of you!

Three Boats In Vicksburg Today

My Facebook friend and Banjo player, Dan Knowles was back on the Mississippi again and arrived with a real treat in my hometown of Vicksburg today.  Three riverboats were moored and in his 19 years of working these rivers had never seen anything quite like this before.  I have lived here all my life and never seen anything like it and wished I had made it to the waterfront today. 

Dan said the closest is America, then Queen of the Mississippi and further out is American Dutchess.

Sorry, I couldn't help but take this picture, he said.

Many thanks to my friend Dan Knowles for taking and posting these pictures on Facebook.  

Warren County Bucks!

I live in Warren County in Vicksburg, MS and the only city in the county.  Looks like Hunter Landers hit the jackpot when he killed two bucks with his bow and said so far it's the two biggest with his bow in his whole life!

Hunter is a Junior at St. Aloysius High School.  

A 7-point with his Mathews!

What a rack!

Congratulations to Hunter on both his bucks in our own backyard of Warren County in the wild Mississippi outdoors!

Charlie's First Deer

My congrats to 10-year-old, Charlie on his very first deer, a spike.  Charlie's Mother, Cassie Jo is married to my nephew, Marion "Bubba" Love.  His Dad, Adam Hamby took him hunting over the weekend.   

Looks like Charlie got initiated as a hunter!  You go, Charlie!

Charlie is shown here with his Dad, Adam. I'm so proud of Charlie in getting his first deer in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!

Godson's Nice 9-Point Buck!

My Godchild, John Kirk Ring harvested a nice 9-point buck in Kansas a few days ago.  Kirk is an assistant professor at Louisiana Tech University.  I'm so proud of him and now has meat on the table for his family.  He and his family live in West Monroe, Louisiana.  Congratulations on your deer in our great wild and wonderful outdoors, Kirk!  

Kirk on his way home from a Kansas hunting trip today with his mounted deer he harvested last season.  The looks he gets is priceless!  He said one woman at a gas station took a picture of him and his deer on the front seat.  While driving a lady from California passed him and noticed she hit an owl and it was stuck on the grill of her car.  He pulled alongside her trying to wave her down but she looked at him and sped up.  Maybe the deer riding shotgun in his truck made him look a little crazy, he said.   I'm sure he will be glad to get home.  He told his wife he was going to hang it in the living room and she commented with a crying emoji on Facebook. 

Cougar vs. Skunk

A good way to start the day!

Kaci Killed A Cull Buck

Bobby Beach said his baby girl, Kaci put down this 5-year-old cull buck with an AR platform recently.  

Checking it over.

My congrats to Kaci in our great wild Mississippi outdoors!

Proud Kaci with her Dad in Hattiesburg, MS.  Raising them right!

American Queen @ Vicksburg Waterfront

The American Queen was moored here all day in our historic civil war town of Vicksburg, MS, for their passengers to tour the Vicksburg National Military Park, Old Court House Museum, antebellum homes, churches, etc. The American Queen headed down the river at 5:00 this afternoon and the American Duchess will be here Friday.  When headed down river, the boats travel at 18 mph, which allows them to be here all day on Wednesdays. When headed up the river, they travel at 8 mph, which is why they are here for only a half day on Fridays. (River Level: 16.89 feet - Change: -0.29 foot - Flood Stage:  43 feet)

Flood Marks

Water Safety Laws

City of Vicksburg, MS

Fall is in the air.

A Synergy tugboat passing by the Queen in the Yazoo Diversion Canal.