FWC

Well boys I received my letter from FWC and it looks like I will be starting February 10th at my new job. I can't wait. Don't know if I will be hunting in S.D next year to early to tell but I should be done with training by then. Wish Me luck.

Deerkiller akk(beerkiller)

Got a snowmobile?

Dad says if you go to the farm that might be the only way to get around... (or snowshoes)

Pics from pre-Thanksgiving hunt

www.AkkermanAcres.com/pictures.html

Schedule???

What is everyone's time frame for the January hunt? I have some pheasant hunters that may be coming for Jan 1,2, and 3rd so the house may be warm Sunday. Terri and I will be in Texas for 2 weeks over Christmas and new year's, will probably be back in Nebraska on the 3rd, so you may have to start without me. Everyone should know their way around well enough to survive.
If it is going to be -20, you may want to bring your small heaters to take the edge off the cold in the deer stands. How many are coming for sure? Can you shake Soldier boy and/or chris loose to come along?
If anyone wants more deer, there should be more Clark Co. tags left, and clark co. is only 3 miles to the north.
beerkiller, thanks for the pictures.
The old farmer.

Topher's deer gets shot

Dad said this deer was shot in the food plot just to the south of the house. I'm pretty sure this was the deer that we were chasing in the south slough, the tight rack looks pretty familiar. By the way Toph, it is a 4x5.

Buck strikes back: hunter attacked

http://www.sedaliademocrat.com/news/sedalia_13125___article.html/headache_season.html

Hunting Preview

Well, I had a quick little preview this weekend in Clearwater county Minnesota. The pic above is the spike buck that our visiting Norwegian friend Bijorn-olaf shot. I had ample opportunity to take an identical one on the first morning, but I got greedy and by the time I had changed my mind and decided to shoot it, he was 10 feet away and six feet below me to the wrong side. My hood caught on a dead twig as I moved to aim the 'ol lever gun at it and... SNAP... and that deer was hopping around like a scared jackrabbit. Later that day I shot a button buck with the trusty .270 about two seconds after it showed its vitals out from the trees. It was fun, but strange to hunt deer in trees rather than prairie!

Update from the farm

Old Farmer "We have seen a nice 5X5 a few times, usually around the building site on the east farm. We have a 3X3 and about 3 yearling does that spend almost all their time lying in the north tree strip. After driving past the buck about 5 times in about 2 hours, we finally got him to move when one of the guys shot a pheasant about 1 foot from him."

"I just got a phone call from our renters, we had about 1/2 inch of pure ice during the night, he said you can't even stand or walk on a gravel road, but so far no wind, so the power is still on. On Saturday, I was scheduled to pour new concrete footings around one of the big grain bins that the groundhogs had undermined, but will now have to do it the week you guys are here, can I recruit a couple of volunteers?"

"Looking forward to "watching" you guys hunt, the latest opinion from the state is that if my wife is living in Nebraska and is a legal resident there, and I am still married to her, I can't qualify for a resident license. "The qualifying term that GFP uses is 'domicle', not legal residence" I'm tempted to buy a license, send a photo copy to the Kingsbury County Attorney, and tell him to set a court date, so we can get this thing finally resolved. Oh Yes!, the new county attorney is now the attorney that represented me during my last problem."

Nice camo

Sure it's pink camo, but check out how mean she can be. And she's got the "hunter's orange" on her shoes.

Deer stands are up!

Dad's pheasant hunters helped out this afternoon and they got both stands up. Dad says the view is pretty nice... Bang Bang Bang BANG!

Good samaritan

Check out the new hunting coat and gloves I just got in the mail! Someone truly cares for me.

Hunt is on

DeerKiller and I both got 2 doe tags. If anyone wants extras it looks like there are still 400 or so 2 doe tags leftover in clark county just to the north of us. Bang Bang :-)

15 yards anyone?

As you can see from the parking meter and sidewalk, Becca and I had a good shot at this one. She was less than a quarter mile from the 35W bridge in a small park near downtown Minneapolis. Just munching on crabapples, she didn't seem to mind us much.

Can't teach an old dog new tricks

But you can bet that they still know the old ones. The old farmer called and said he got stuck today... in the same spot he got the suburban stuck in last year. Apparently it has rained for a week but when the hunters told him "I think it's pretty dry, you can drive right through the slough." he decided to try it. He couldn't get the big tractor within 400 feet of it and and had to go borrow a bigger tractor to get it out! Gosh, it still sounds like more fun than I had this weekend...

Time to go a meat makin'

Sun and Moon data

U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department

Sun and Moon Data for One Day

The following information is provided for De Smet, Kingsbury County, South Dakota (longitude W97.5, latitude N44.4):

        Friday  
       21 November 2008      Central Standard Time         

                        SUN
       Begin civil twilight       7:03 a.m.                
       Sunrise                    7:35 a.m.                
       Sun transit               12:16 p.m.                
       Sunset                     4:57 p.m.                
       End civil twilight         5:29 p.m.                

                        MOON
       Moonset                    1:34 p.m. on preceding day
       Moonrise                   1:24 a.m.                
       Moon transit               7:45 a.m.                
       Moonset                    1:54 p.m.                
       Moonrise                   2:32 a.m. on following day

Phase of the Moon on 21 November: waning crescent with 31% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Last quarter Moon on 19 November 2008 at 3:31 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Got your tags?

I put in for mine today. Looks like there are 45 2 doe tags and 75 1 doe tags left for Kingsbury. Should be able to get one. Are Deerkiller and I still the only out of staters? Phil and I are planning to be on the farm sometime on Friday the 21st, maybe even late on the 20th. Then we'll leave maybe Tuesday night. What is everyone else's plan?

The count down is on!

Fall is here and the game is moving and Ryan,Topher,and I are talking on the phone every day. I know that we will have a great hunt I just hope that all the usual suspects can make it to the new and Improved Akkermans Acres. Topher and I looked into a Keg of Fat Tire ale and I think we are going to pass because with out Pistol Pat that much Beer would go to waste. We all Know that the Old Farmer and Old Grey Hunter will pass on the beer and find the spirtit.

Deer runs over the old farmer

Well, talked to dad tonight. He said he almost got ran over by a deer between the house and the car in the driveway. Just about gave him a heart attack. There were 3 in the alfalfa across the driveway and a couple more on the edge of the corn to the south of the house. He thinks he could have filled 4 or 5 tags from the deck with a .22... Anybody getting excited yet?

To Cool, but Not for School Kids

Can yall smell the gun power in the air. Fall is finally here it has been a long hot summer and time for the fun to begin. This is the new weapon in my arsenal. After we found Topher's lost one, I took it a a sign that even God thinks G20's are pretty cool.


GLOCK 20

A Perfect 10

The GLOCK 20 in 10 mm provides massive
firepower. The use of the recoil-damping
GLOCK hi-tech polymer considerably reduces
recoil. With muzzle energy of 750 Joule and a
magazine capacity of 15 rounds, it is the reliable
companion on every hunt. It allows a safe and accurate
finishing shot even when hunting big game.

South slough pic

new deer stand in the south slough

Dad is just about done with the second deer stand, this one will replace the stand that we had in the south slough which just had 3 sides on it. Any thoughts on exactly where to put it? Same place? other?

Hunting plans?

When does everyone plan to hunt? I've heard all kinds of crazy rumors about why people won't be able to be there over Thanksgiving.

• Pistol Pat knocked up his girlfriend and she won't let him come cause they're getting married that weekend.


• Tx Boy is afraid the old Farmer won't let him work and will force him to hunt the whole time.


• The Old Farmer can't get a license even though it's his land and he lives there so he decided to stay home in protest... Never mind, nobody will believe that one... :-)


• The Old Grey Hunter can't find the keys to his camper, and he locked all his guns inside.


• Phil the Deerhugger is going to dedicate himself to a life of not eating meat.


• Topher and Becca finally decided to tie the knot in a dual ceremony with Pat.


• Soldier Boy is waiting on a bigger gun so he doesn't have to clean his deer at all this year


• CP fell asleep after the last bottle and didn't wake up in time for the season.

SD Controlled Hunting Access Program

Looks like SD GFP is trying out a new land use program. They are contracting with landowners on a limited basis to allow public hunters on their land. Reservations are necessary and they only allow certain activities. There is a 320 ac one a mile west and just north of the Akkerman farmhouse called:

42A Kingsbury Larson CHAP 320

Rules:

1. Hunting allowed for deer only.
2. Small game, waterfowl and turkeys are not allowed to be hunted at any time.
3. Permission to access Larson CHAP is done by reservation only by contacting the GFP Region 3 office in Sioux Falls by calling 605-362-2720, Mondays through Fridays from 8 am – 5 pm, Central Time. If no one is available, please leave a message.
4. A maximum of 2 hunting parties per day will be allowed to hunt. A hunting party may have up to two members.

Map: http://www.sdgfp.info/Publications/Atlas/61-I4.pdf

Thought ya'll might be interested.

Hunting shack/ bunkhouse

Dad wanted me to put these pics up. I think the Old Grey Hunter is interested in this old school house for a hunting shack/ bunkhouse. Here are the pics. I don't know what the dimensions are.

Back from the Lake

Wow, I go and do something different for a week or two (OK 10 or 12) and everyone is talking about hunting again. Got back from the Lake Superior after putting Annie B to bed for the winter. I will post some pictures in a day or two. This should give us all something to do during the non hunting time. I will also put a picture or two up from Greece good hunting there as well but the "game" is a little different.
Lots of stuff going on here but I need to get to school and get things going. Tonight I am going out to my stand on Ray's land I will take a picture or two of that set up as well.
More later

East River Deer Application

This document has everything you need to know about getting deer tags for this year...
http://www.sdgfp.info/WILDLIFE/HUNTING/APPLICATIONS/PDFS/ERREFUGEMUZZLELOADERDEER.PDF

Idle Hands

So the bed of a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 is exactly 2" shorter and 1" narrower (at the tailgate) than a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500. Why is this relevant? Well it means that if you decided to put the Truxedo from your old truck onto your new truck you would have to modify every single piece. (Ok, not the toolbox, but yes the tool box mounts).

But it worked, and only took five hours and an industrial sewing machine.

Its these kinds of projects that occupy Gentlemen of Leisure like me and The Old Farmer.

New deer blind progress

I was up at the farm this week. Dad and I worked on the deer blind that he had started. Here are some pictures of the progress.

• It is 4' x 6'.
• Sides and top have tin on the outside, insulation in the middle (the blue), and paneling on the inside.
• The windows on the ends slide up and down.
• The large windows on the sides swing in and can be hooked up out of the way.
• The door is in the floor
  
• Dad will add some trim around the windows and corners, as well as carpet the floor.
• Then it is simply a matter of getting the posts in the ground and setting this monster up on them :-)
• We haven't decided for sure where it should go. Any votes?
  

Tennesse Mountains

Sorry TXboy, I guess it is just me and you that remember how to read!

I just returned from a trip to Knoxville, TN with the youth delegates from the Nebraska Conference of the UCC. This was for our national gathering of youth from the entire USA for the National Youth Event, held every 4 years. It was a long drive (18 hours), but well worth it.

On Sunday, I was able to go up into the Smoky Mountains about 50 miles east of Knoxville, to visit my cousin and her husband, who retired from California a few years ago, and built on some property his grandfather had given them years ago. They live on the side of a mountain, on a road (?) that deadends at their property. They built their house from the trees that they had to cut down to make room for the cabin. He still speaks quite bitterly of the atrocities that occurred during the "War of Northern Aggression!"

He said they have lots of turkeys around, and if you walk up on the ridge, you can find razor back wild hogs, that have been crossed with wild Russian Boars years ago, they are supposed to be quite nasty. He also showed me where the bears had drug out some garbage that he failed to secure a few days ago. They had also had a mountain lion on the roof of their house last spring, watching the neighbor's horses.

He likes to target shoot pistols, and has a collection that range from Glock, military 45, 30 cal, and down to 22. He also has his own winery, and is establishing a reputation for that. He brews his own beer, he calls it Flat Tire, it is supposed to be better than Fat Tire. He gave me a pint to take along for hunting season, as well as a gallon of wine. He doesn't make moonshine yet, but most of their neighbors do.

I think he would fit in pretty well with our group.

TX boy and I will be pounding nails and doing lots of screwing this weekend. (on deer stands)

talk to us, the old farmer

Pick out a deer for you?

I'm headed up to the farm this weekend for a visit. I plan to pick out a deer for myself. Anyone else want one? Cathy is going to name it and make it into a pet... :-)

Does anyone besides me look at this anymore?

Nice Deer

Terri and I were in Chadron, NE for our churches annual conference meeting last weekend. While driving across campus, I stopped at a 4-way stop sign, and started to turn left. We had to slam on the brakes, because of 4 deer running down the sidewalk. They stayed in the crosswalk, so we had to yield the right of way, or they would have run into the side of the car. There was one really nice mule deer buck (big rack, in full velvet).
We also had a good laugh with our keynote speaker, a black female minister from Columbus, Ohio. She serves an urban church in a poor neighborhood. We were telling stories about growing up in the midwest, and one lady told about the time they came home from church, and a rattlesnake was coiled up against their door on the back porch. This minister asked, what in the world did you do? The other person replied, "Go get a hoe to chop it's head off". The minister replied, "A Ho! Why have a Ho do it?
We had more nasty weather last night, I suppose most of you saw the news about the tornado in the boy scout camp just across the river in Iowa.
So far, no major flooding up at the farm, but it is still wet.

Later, the old farmer

spring update

I have three food plots planted, the first is down in the big slough by the deer stand, 2nd is on the south side of the big pond near the straw bale stand, and the third is south of the house, south of the tree strip. In at least part of each, I have planted 2 rows of grain sorghum, 4 rows of a short "hunting" corn, and 2 rows of regular, tall corn. When repeated across the field, this will give a 4-4-4 pattern. We also have 5 more low spots that we have not been able to plant any crop in yet, If they dry up soon, I may try to put a small corn food plot in each of those areas also. Depending on weather and other conditions, I may or may not harvest the tall corn before deer season.
I am in the process of cleaning out the basement of the house, to allow sleeping quarters down there. The Illinois hunters are going to try to find me some bunk/single beds to put down there, this should allow sleeping room for 6-8 guys. We may have a couple of pheasant hunters joining us over thanksgiving, but shouldn't cause any conflicts. They may or may not also apply for doe tags.
Both pheasants and deer had a very easy winter, minimal death loss, now we need a good growing season, and we should have a great fall hunt.
I should have time to start building deer stands in the next month, it is time to quit talking about them, and actually do some construction. (will try to send progess photos)
Still no job, but I really have enough to do to keep busy.

Thanks for the food plot donations!
See you soon!
"the old farmer"

Hey Patrick, looking to do some roofing? Our house is ready for you... :-) Seriously, with all the hail and tornado's (we had a tornado go through our neighborhood about 3 weeks ago. missed our house by about 100 yards) we're having a hard time getting a roofer, not to mention that shingle prices are through the roof (get it, through the roof)

HUNTING?

Is it to soon to start talking about hunting yet?

Daniel has it figured out.

The Schmidt's went camping this weekend. After they packed up and got in the car to leave they saw a deer. Daniel immediately said "chk chk, pow! I shot that deer" I think he'll fit in just fine (the car was moving, etc.. :-) And then Sam said "Stop it, don't shoot the deer"... "chk chk bang, chk chk bang, chk chk bang!" -;)

Later he was telling his new friend about how he was going hunting this fall and that he needed a camouflage shirt. Gary was invited to come along so he could cut the horns off Daniels deer.

New strategy

http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2008/03/hapless-deer-be.html
Looks like this would make things easier... Of course, you could just shoot them when you are trying to attatch the cell phone... :-)

The three little pigs

Akkerman Acres?

Any suggestions for a name for the farm/hunting lodge? Dad's first idea is the title...

Pictures

Try the link below. Let Me know if doesn't work.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cagronewold/January2008Hunting?authkey=JYkvjzP_JSY

Pictures forthcoming

I know that those of you who couldn't make it are excited to see some pictures of the meat, but we just got it all cut up yesterday. I don't even have my camera cable in SD! I'll have 'em up soon.

Unfortunately we didn't get any pics from west river which is too bad because those hills were absolutely fantastic. Its hard to get a good picture when you've chased deer a mile and a half and you've got to carry one out on a stick over 400 foot saddles and draws. Maybe next time we'll hire a photographer...

No more hunting 'till fall for me. Back to the cities today.