"Hoo...Rah...Kimmy!"

The ex-cheerleader, (age 19), in the picture below was watching a road that led to a NATO military base when she observed a man digging by the road. She acquired the target, and she shot him. Turned out, he was a bomb maker for the Taliban and he was burying an “IED” that was to be detonated when a U.S. patrol walked by 30 minutes later. It would have certainly killed and wounded several soldiers.

The interesting fact of this story is the shot was measured at….725 yards, or a distance over the length of seven (7) football fields. She shot him as he was bent over burying the bomb. The shot struck him in the butt throwing him into the bomb which detonated. He was blown to pieces.
The Marine Corps made a motivational poster of her. Her name is “Kimmy.”

Please...say a prayer for all our brave, young, and courageous men and women who are holding “steadfast,” that line which keeps us safe and keeps us FREE! ~Marian ~

No Deer - Just Squirrels and Hunters

Saw two hunters (no deer) and shot this hunter going to his stand rather late.

Only saw 2 squirrels (no deer) and managed to shoot one with my camera as the sun was going down.

You can see how much he opened it up for me.

This past weekend I went hunting both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. As you can see from this picture their are a lot of limbs in the way. So the first picture is a before picture and the next one is after it was cleared by my step-son, Greg, a few weeks later. He did a fantastic job and also put my tin roof on top of my stand. Now I want get wet if it rains. I do have an camo tree half-umbrella but I prefer my roof. Now - if I can get a deer to walk in front of me!

Deer Picture Published

Here is a picture I shot with my camera while on the Arrowhead Stand at the famous Christmas Place Plantation and Hunting Club in the Mississippi Delta . It was published today in The Vicksburg Post. I saw 15 deer off of this stand that afternoon on a Youth Weekend hunt. The young hunters brought in seven deer that day. An exciting day for all of us in the great wild outdoors! Charming, Just Charming!

Vicksburg Youth On The Hunt

Garret Nelson, 10, shot this 175-pound, seven-point buck on November 28, in south Warren County while hunting with his grandfather, John Nelson, of Vicksburg. Garret is the son of Chris and Kay Nelson of Brandon. It was the first deer he killed.

Cody Church, 13 of Vancleave, killed his first deer while hunting on November 15 at False River Hunting Club with his uncle, Mike Smith. Cody shot the five-point, 210 buck with a .243 rifle at 160 yards.

During the Youth Hunt week at St. Alban's Hunting and Fishing Club, Shane Still killed his first deer, a doe. Shane took the 115-pounder with a .243 rifle at 127 yards.

Connor Smith, 12, killed this big nine-point, 235-pound buck on November 15 while hunting in north Warren County. Smith is the son of Carl and Stacey Smith of Vicksburg.

Torey Daniels killed a doe on November 29 while hunting with her father in south Warren County. She shot the 100 pound deer with a .243, the same rifle she used to take a five-point, 130-pound buck a week later.

Jon Edward King, 8, shot this 10-point buck on December 7 while hunting in northern Warren County. Jon is the son of Eddie and Shelly King of Vicksburg. Congratulations to all our young hunters in the great outdoors.

Bret's 13 pt. Buck and a Doe!!

Here is the story of Bret's doe and 13 pt. buck harvested in his own words through his grandmother, T, who has a MySpace site and a good friend of mine from north Mississippi.

Opening morning was just a normal day I thought for deer hunting. I was with my Gramp Gramp on a Juneville hunt in TN . We were sitting in my stand, and I fell asleep, and my gramp gramp woke me up. We saw a 4pt. and there were two does with it. They walked off before I could get my gun up. Then we waited a little longer and another 4pt. and doe came up, and we could see about 6 does on the hillside but they were not coming our way. Then a little while later a doe came out about 50 yards and I shot it. We waited for it to die. While waiting several deers came out but, then this buck came out facing us and I saw it horns but did not know exactly how many it was. It almost started walking away but finally turned broad sided, and I shot it, and it fell right there where I shot it. When we got down to the buck, it had its sticker pts. in the ground I couldn't see it so we thought it was a typical 8pt. Then we lifted the head up. Then I could see it was a non typical 13pt. He weighed 113 lbs. field dressed. This was the best hunt yet for me cause I killed a doe and buck opening morning. Bret S.

My congrats to Bret in harvesting his 13 pt. buck and a doe in our great wild outdoors! Bret also shot a 8 pt. buck and doe last year on opening day! He loves to duck hunt more than anything. Looks like he is a natural born hunter and opening day is his lucky day! You go Bret!

New Site - Foggy Bottom Outdoors

My good friend Adam over at Deer Hunting Big Bucks has announced that he has a new website called, Foggy Bottom Outdoors. It is definitely a site for everyone who loves the great outdoors. He said it will have lots of outdoor information, tips, videos, pictures, stories...not only for deer hunting but also for fishing, camping, hiking or just grilling outdoors. He is so excited about his new adventure. Be sure and go over and congratulate Adam and check out his new site. I will most definitely add his newest site to my blogroll. Congrats Adam and good hunting my friend in the great outdoors.

(Photograph taken in the FoggyBottomOutdoors)

Louisiana SNOW a Week Ago!

Emma's Christmas!

This is my favorite postcard Christmas card with two pictures of my granddaughter, Emma, on it. She lives in Fredricksburg, VA, and I wish I could be with her. She is growing up so fast. She is 15 months here. Have a Merry Christmas little Emma. Gran Gran loves you very much!

Santa Deer???

A friend in Mount Vernon, Maine sent me this cute Christmas card and wanted to share it with you! She and her hubby love to hunt and he picked out the Christmas cards this year. Charming, Just Charming!

Prescribe The Nation: Vaseline Clinical Therapy 1

I was contacted to let you know about Vaseline’s newest product, Clinical Therapy, a prescription-strength lotion that is available without a prescription. Above is a video to show you how their new product works.

It started in Kodiak; one of Alaska’s many small towns, with a population of 6,000. Due to the location, Kodiak endures an extremely icy climate leaving many of its residents with dull, dry and cracking skin. This very reason is why Vaseline thought the demographic would be perfect to demonstrate the effectiveness of Clinical Therapy Lotion.

Clinical Therapy Lotion provides 60% more moisture than a prescription lotion, and the best part is that it’s not greasy, watered down or too thick and is available lightly fragranced. They have an unfragranced lotion also making Clinical Therapy great for the entire family.

I plan to use this product myself because my fingers crack and bleed during the winter months. Will post again to let you know the results of trying it. In the meantime go out and buy this lotion and see how it works for you!

Mrs Obama's Warning!

“It appears that our new first lady has, at least, a few smarts.” Go Michele...!

Human "Statue Of Liberty"

I find it amazing that this photo, taken so many years ago, actually still exists! And now, someone has put it online for all of us to see. This INCREDIBLE picture was taken in 1918.

It is 18,000 men preparing for war in a training camp at Camp Dodge, in Iowa EIGHTEEN THOUSAND MEN!!!!!

What a priceless gift from our grandfathers!

FACTS: Base to Shoulder: 150 feet Right Arm: 340 feet Widest part of arm holding torch: 12 1/2 feet Right thumb: 35 feet Thickest part of body: 29 feet Left hand length: 30 feet Face: 60 feet Nose: 21 feet Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet Torch and flame combined: 980 feet Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000 Number of men in torch: 2,800 Number of men in right arm: 1,200 Number of men in body, head and balance of figure only: 2,000 Total men: 18,000

Weather and rutting

make conditions good for deer....according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Favorable weather conditions and the onset of the rut are giving Mississippi's deer hunters good chances for success as the season passed the halfway mark.

"We are seeing an increase in deer movement statewide," MDWFP Deer Program Coordinator Chad Dacus said, "The cooler weather and the rut should have the bucks on the move."

Resident and non-resident hunters need to make sure their license is current. If you're planning on hunting one of the state's Wildlife Management Areas, you'll also need a WMA permit. Licenses may be purchased from a local sports retailer, online at http://www.mdwfp.com/ or by calling 1-800-546-4868. The second youth season and primitive weapon season both conclude Monday, while the gun without dogs season will wrap up December 23.

Bag limits for all season are one buck per day - four points or more - not to exceed three per license year. The bag limit on anterless deer is the same as bucks, except two additional does may be taken with a bow per license year. (Taken from The Vicksburg Post ~ Outdoors)

Youth On The Hunt

Nine-year-old Abby Grant killed this six-point, 160 pound buck on November 22 while hunting on private land in Issaquena County. Grant was hunting with her father, Thomas, when she got the deer with a .22-250 rifle from 50 yards away. It was her first deer. Abby is the daughter of Thomas Grand and Rosemary Haggard.

Austin Holman, 7, killed this three-point buck, his first, on November 16. Austin is the son of Lisa and Ed Holman of Vicksburg.

Josh Collins shot his first deer, a 125-pound doe, while hunting with his father at St. Albans Hunting and Fishing Club on November 15. Josh is the son of Jay and Sheri Ghrigsby of Vicksburg. Congratulations to all our young hunters in our great wild outdoors! Charming, Just Charming!

Views of the Past

A friend of mine, Steve, sent me this site today that is really awesome. It's called Superior View and is a collection of old pictures by photographer Jack Deo of Marquette, MI. He had assembled some 50,000 historic photos and cataloged well over 10,000. It all started in the 1970s when Jack found and bought collections of negatives of Upper Peninsula photographers from the late 1800s. Often he prints from the original glass-plate negative. You could look for hours at all the photos of fishing, hunting, sports, people, towns, transportation, maritime and occupations. Of course back then there was no camouflage and mostly lever action. Today it is amazing what you can spend now on hunting. It's a nice bunch old pictures of when life was a lot simpler in our great outdoors. Enjoy!

A Christmas Poem

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'

This poem was written by a Marine and he requested to let everyone see it because Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for us being able to celebrate these festivities. We need to stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

Winters of Long Ago

This is beautiful - Enjoy the presentation!

Life seemed so much more simple then...if only...

Click Here

Taking Their Stand

Katie Carter ~ The Vicksburg Post

Steve Sanoski wrote and interesting article in yesterday’s Vicksburg Post about women and girls showing an increase desire to go to the woods to hunt......

It’s about Tanya Anderson, her husband and daughters on hunting in our great outdoors.

Tanya Anderson didn’t grow up in a hunting family, but she took to it after marrying Bill Anderson.

"At first it was just a way to spend some time with him,” she said. “I didn’t come from that kind of background, but I would go along and just sit on the stand with him.”

Her first year tagging along, Tanya Anderson spotted a “massive buck” while sitting just below her husband on a stand. She tried to point him out to her husband, but he couldn’t spot the deer from where he was sitting.

“I had never really wanted to kill a deer before, but I said ‘hand me the gun,’” recalled Tanya, who harvested her first deer last season with a muzzleloader.

She didn’t get a shot off at that first deer, but she got that first shot of adrenalin that turns many first-time hunters into lifelong enthusiasts. Since then she has gone hunting with her husband year after year, and the couple’s three daughters have followed her footsteps into the woods.

Tanya Anderson and her daughters are a part of a growing number of girl and women hunters in Mississippi and across the nation.

Because the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks does not require gender information when a license is bought, spokesman Jim Walker said the department does not have any statistical record of an increase in women hunters in the state. However, based upon his experience in the field, Walker said there is definitely an increase in women taking to outdoors sports.

“Go to your local sporting goods store; go to a wildlife trade show; go to a hunting camp and you will see lots more women than you ever have before,” he said. “I have noticed a large increase in women, and that’s great.”

According to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation — the latest census the department has released — the number of female hunters has held steady since 1996, while the total number of hunters has dropped slightly. An estimated 1.2 million women hunt in the United States each year, compared to 11.4 million men.

“I love getting up in the stand. When you shoot, your stomach drops and it’s the best feeling in the world — it’s the greatest,” said the Anderson’s 13-year-old daughter, Anna, who harvested her first deer, a doe, last season.

Anna’s twin sister, Sara, said she became interested in hunting after spending time target-shooting with her father and sitting with him on the stand.

"After shooting on a target range for a while I really wanted to go hunting,” she said. “But shooting at a target is totally different from shooting at a deer. You’re so nervous in the stand, but it’s awesome.”

She has killed three does in her three years on the stand. “I’m really excited to shoot my first buck,” she said.

Bill Anderson credits the MDWFP that introduced the youth hunts years ago with helping him get all his girls — including his eldest, 20-year-old Jessica — interested in hunting.

“The traditional deer camp can be kind of intimidating for the girls, but the youth hunts give me a chance to go out with just the girls and have a good time,” he said. “You have to make it fun for them or they’ll never learn to love it.”

Amanda Mills, host of MDWFP’s Mississippi Outdoors TV show and outreach coordinator for women and children, said many women and girls are taking to hunting through the same family-orientated process the Andersons have.

“It’s quality time spent outdoors with their family members, and that alone is a huge draw for females,” said Mills. “The numbers are increasing not only in Mississippi, but nationwide. We’re making it easier for women to learn to hunt, and they’re finding it less intimidating to go out and do it.”

One way the MDWFP is trying to introduce more girls and women to the outdoors is a weekend event called Women In The Outdoors, which it will co-sponsor with the National Wild Turkey Federation in May at Roosevelt State Park in Morton. The Women In The Outdoors weekend will feature clinics on sporting clays, archery, hiking, fishing, disc golf and Dutch oven cooking. The event — a first of its kind in Mississippi — was originally scheduled to take place in September, but was cancelled and rescheduled because of Hurricane Gustav.

Mills said an increasing number of young hunters are participating in the youth hunts each year and are acquiring a special first-kill certificate through the department’s Mississippi Outdoors for Kids program. Among those getting the certificates, which are available through the MDWFP Web site at http://www.mdwfp.com/, there appears to be an equal number of boys and girls.

“This generation is different, and it’s really a new age in hunting,” she said. “There are a lot of girls who have been given an opportunity to hunt and they’re really taking an interest in it.”

Christmas Decorations!

Her Lucky Hat!!

Got this one from Dennis and he says....

“And this one is a “food for thought” offering for all you wonderful and loving wives and sweethearts whose ‘Hubby’s’ have been so understanding and grateful that you insisted on taking part in everything he does.”

A Lucky Hat.....

“My considerate, loving husband invited me to go hunting with him, and being the generous, thoughtful man that he is, he even gave me an 'opening day' present.” “I'm so lucky to be married to him --- I never thought I would find a husband so unselfish and willing to share his ‘guy time’ with me.”

Young Vicksburger's On The Hunt

Wade Dickard killed his first deer while hunting with his father, Bob, in Holmes County on November 23, 2008.

Six-year-old Lexi Douglas got a pair of deer on opening weekend. She killed this doe, in 26-degree weather, on November 22 with the .22-250 at Ridgeway Hunting Club. The next day, she shot a second doe from the same stand. Lexi is the daughter of Shea and Shaun Douglas of Vicksburg.

The same day, Katie's 9-year-old sister, Kristen, also killed a spike buck for her first deer. The girls are the daughter of Ricky and Lee Martin of Redwood, MS.

Katie Martin, 12, shot her first deer on November 15. She bagged this 4-point buck while hunting in northern Warren County with her father.

On November 15, the same day, Karley's 8-year-old sister, Kaylee, shot her first deer, a five-point buck, while hunting with her father in northern Warren County. Kayee and Karley are the daughters of Mark and Stacy Hinson of Vicksburg.

Karley Hinson, 11, shot a 7-point buck and a 130-pound hog on November 15, while hunting in Warren County with her father, whom she is pictured with. Congrats to all our young hunters in our great wild outdoors at their respective deer camps.

The "Perfect" Walking Stick

Bob and I were fortunate to have met a very nice guy by the name of Paul at the UPS store one day. Come to find out he makes the perfect walking sticks for veterans, family and friends and actually gave one to Bob and I. Below is Paul's story behind his perfect walking sticks in our great outdoors! A walking stick would make the "perfect" Christmas present!

Diamond Willow - Pure "ART" from Mother Nature

The sticks are made out of diamond willow and is found in Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota. The diamond willow is also found all along the Hudson Bay and Missouri/Mississippi watersheds. There is supposed to be diamond willow in Alaska and Northern Canada, but not evidence of diamond willow in the Fraser River watershed, or across the continental divide in the USA has been found.

The diamond willow is actually a member of the "Alder" family of trees and bush. It grows along rivers and in bogs that hold moisture year round.

The diamond part of willow is not caused by weather or freezing. It is caused by a fungus. The fungus follows the rivers in these regions of North America. This fungus attacks the crotch of the branch, and causes the enlarging and color change of the branch. This fungus eventually kills the branch it is on, but does not kill the roots. This is why there are always new shoots coming out from the base of the plant. Eventually the entire bush will die, but if the willow is harvested, this keeps the roots healthy, and allows shoots to come out again. This fungus attacks a number of different willows. It has been researched there are about 75 species of willows in the North American continent. Of these, about 4 are considered the best "Diamond" willows.

The interior of the Diamond Willow stick is normally reddish. The red color in the diamonds is due to the bark. If too much of the bark or red from the diamond is removed, all the darker red (actually *brown*) is gone and the stick is left with only the red from the interior of the stick. This means I do not carve down too deep into the diamond, only to sand it smooth and then stop. When the stick dies, the white wood gradually turns brown. In some sticks the red interior is grown over, leaving a think white outer layer. In other sticks the red interior has a very small diameter compared with the diameter of the stick.

I complete all of my diamond willow work by hand. One stick usually takes about a week. Each is hand carved, sanded by 3 grits (60, 220, 600) and has 6 coats of Tung Oil applied by hand. Each stick is allowing to air dry. Between the 3rd and 4th coats I lightly sand each again lightly with 600 grit sandpaper. Then I apply the last 3 coats of oil.

Depending on the person, I may finish the stick with a leather lace hand grip just below a wrist loop at the top of the stick. I personalize each stick by burning the name of the stick's owner into the side of the stick by hand. At the base of each stick are my initials and the stick's number in order of completion.

Here are four sticks in various states of completion:

a) as found in the bush

b) barked cleaned off and out of diamond

c) sanded

d) finished with Tung Oil

Bark hides various sins but can hide excellent diamonds too. So can that lichen. Sometimes I leave just enough Lichen in the diamond to give recognition that these sticks are found in areas of the North American continent.

My "Perfect" walking sticks are usually between 4 and 5 feet in length.

I have done some 6-6.5 feet long. These generally are more costly due to shipping lengths above 6 feet by UPS. These I refer to as "Staffs". Most are used by Boy Scouts and taller hikers that need a little extra length.

The sticks beauty is not the only attribute. The sticks are very light yet dense enough to guarantee against being broken during normal use.

The shortest "Perfect" stick I carved was slightly less then 3 feet in length.

"Canes" are usually 4 feet in length or less, and have a handled grip also of diamond willow attached at 90 degrees to the end of the stick.

I have a fairly good inventory of finished "Perfect" walking sticks.

Paul Kuzinski CPE, CI, Six Sigma Master BB

4302 Camelot Drive

Vicksburg, MS 39180

601.661.6182

Worrell's World

A bit before 7:00 a. m., Wednesday, November 26th, this is how the Llano River appeared at my front yard. These shots were taken over a time span of perhaps ten minutes, I am not certain. It certainly made me realize that there is not such thing as same. Nothing is the same. Split a nana second into a thousand parts and everything is different in each part. What a marvelous and fantastic world we are blessed to live in. What an incredible universe there is. Bill Worrell

Dave's Deer Video

Dave said that he is still playing around with his video software and these were all taken from several hundred pictures he took with his trail cameras this past summer in our great wild outdoors! Enjoy!

Dear Heavenly Father, Please

help me to be the man my

dog thinks I am... Amen

D. Robert (Dave) Quick

Member: Christian Outdoor Fellowship of America

Member: Pilots 4 Christ
MY WEBSITE:HANDLOADING FOR HUNTING

MY DISCUSSION FORUM:HFH DISCUSSION FORUMS

Don't tell GOD how big your storm is.

Tell the storm how Big your GOD is!

Hwy 61 N Hunting Club Coon Hunt

Jerry Cook looks to the trees for a raccoon after his dog, Chief, starts to howl.

Jerry Cook, left and Mel Malone release their dogs, Chief and Dan, Saturday night to begin an official one-hour American Coon Hunting Association hunt. The goal is for one of both to tree a raccoon and stay at the tree for at least 5 minutes. The winner is determined on a point system based on the dog's behavior throughout the hunt. Chief was the winner.

Mel Malone's Dan wears a GPS on his collar for tracking.

On my post Sunday, November 30, I had mentioned about the hunters getting out of the woods Saturday so that a coon hunt could begin. Our hunting club was packed with trucks all over the place and I did not realized that this was going to take place until one of the hunters told us. That's when I met Kate at the camp house who was with the Post to take pictures of the event. There was a big writeup about the coon hunt in yesterday's Vicksburg Post. The big prize is the big brag - and a big ring!

While many area hunters use dogs to drive deer into the open - hoping for a trophy - Vicksburg coon hunter Mel Malone and his dogs have their eyes on a bigger price: the American Coon Hunters Association World Championship.

"It's the granddaddy of them all," said Malone, president of the Three Rivers Coon Hunter's Association in Vicksburg and ACHA hunt director. "There's a lot of bragging rights involved, and the big thing is getting the ring. It's like a Super Bowl ring."

The ACHA World Championship - the oldest of four raccoon-hunting titles in the country - will come to Vicksburg for the first time in its 62-year history in late February. About 200 coon hounds from across the country are expected to be entered in the three-night hunt - which is one with out gunfire.

It's just to find the best coon hound, and it's very competitive. No animals are harmed, in fact, the dogs are penalized points if they catch a coon on the ground," said Malone.

For anyone who hasn't witnessed a coon-hunting competition, the idea is pretty basic. With a judge on hand, a cast of four dogs is released into the woods and win behavior-based points. The goal is to pick up the trail of a coon and trap it up a tree for 5 minutes. The hounds can lose points for barking up the wrong tree, abandoning a tree with a coon in it before time elapses and other infractions.

The competition will be headquartered at the Vicksburg Riding Club grounds on U.S. 61 North, while the half-dozen evening hunts will take place in Warren, Yazoo and Sharkey counties, as well as Madison, Richland and Tensas parishes across the Mississippi River.

Vicksburg was chosen because of the abundance of public hunting lands in the Warren County area, as well as the attractions in the city. Competitive coon hunting has been on the decline in popularity. In its heyday in the mid-1980's, as many as 700 hounds would be entered in the world championship. However, the demographics of the typical coon hunter are changing and this year's world championship hunt in Vicksburg - the farthest south it has ever been - will help the sport regain some popularity in our great outdoors. Charming, Just Charming!

No Deer - Just Wild Turkeys!

While sitting on my deer stand I decided to pull a "his-self" who takes pictures of his shoes!

This is to the right of my deer stand going towards the camp house. I have seen deer cross this road coming up the hill from the left to the right side. The Big Black River is to the far right.

To the left of my stand is the road going towards the main gate. My grandson shot at a big buck as it was crossing this road last year, but missed. The land abuts two deer camps, Mill Pond and Homewood Hunting Club.

Looking down towards the bottom of the hill where I saw 6 wild turkeys walk by. It was a very windy day and I enjoyed just sitting there and waiting for a deer to appear and watching squirrels, chipmunks and birds at my camp, Jasper Bottom Hunting Club in Claiborne County. I have actually harvest a doe coming up the hill towards the road a few years ago. It was good to know that there were three other hunters there just in case I harvested a deer and needed help. I have hunted this land for over 22 years now and where I harvested my first deer, a six point buck opening day near the Big Black River in our great outdoors!