I apologize that the quality isn’t very good, unfortunately I always seem to see these deer at the very farthest reach of my camera’s zoom. Hopefully you can get a decent idea of the size of these bucks. That being said, I’d be interested in your opinions on what class bucks these are. My guess is that the top buck is maybe a low 130 and the second buck is closer to 140. I know these pics aren’t ideal for field judging, but what do you guys think?

]]> http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/07/26/local-bruisers-how-many-inches/feed/ 6 http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/07/15/illinois-bruisers-showing-up-on-trailcam/ http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/07/15/illinois-bruisers-showing-up-on-trailcam/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:20:01 +0000 Mark Kenyon http://wiredtohunt.com/?p=1982 Continuing with the theme of scouting out your top bucks in the summer, I’ve now gotten an exciting look at some of the dandy’s I’ll be chasing in Illinois this fall! I’m hunting this fall with Oak Tree Outfitters in Illinois and the owner, Josh, recently sent me a batch of trailcam pics from the farms! Needless to say, I was stoked to see the bucks and I definitely wasn’t disappointed when I saw the boneheads that are starting to show up on camera. Even though I was really impressed with these bucks, Josh reassured me that there should be much bigger bucks showing up eventually, so I can’t wait to see those! I imagine these pictured bucks are even more impressive by now with a few more weeks of growth.

In just a couple weeks I’ll be heading down to Illinois to shoot a little video and help out some on the farm too. I’m looking forward to getting to see the areas I’ll be hunting and to start prepping for one of these Illinois giants! As far as I know, there are still a few openings at Oak Tree for this fall. So if you’re looking for a great outfitter to hunt with this fall, check out Oak Tree Outfitters! Maybe I’ll see ya there!

Oak Tree Outfitters of Illinois

Well I wasn’t disappointed. I saw a boatload of does and young bucks, as well as 3 or 4 really nice bucks. At least 2 of them looked to be Pope & Young status and one of them I’d put at 140+! That makes it the largest buck I’ve personally ever seen in Michigan! Check out this quick video of a couple of the bucks I saw and make sure to stick to the end, because the film quality and deer size gets better and better!

Wired To Hunt: My Biggest MI Buck on Film from Mark Kenyon on Vimeo.

I am finally back from a long, exciting and exhausting vacation! My girlfriend and I headed south for the past 9 days to explore the great state of Tennessee from Nashville to Knoxville and all the way down to the Great Smoky Mountains.

We began our journey in Nashville where we sampled, err, sampled quite heavily,  the acclaimed nightlife, honky tonks and alcohol of the music city. In addition to a lot of great up and coming bands, we also enjoyed riverside concerts from Julianne Hough and Trace Adkins. Both of whom performed during the 4th of July celebration, which was amazing. The fire works were jaw dropping. They beat out what I saw in NYC a couple years ago, by far.

After Nashville we visited some of Kylie’s family. Where we grilled out, swapped old hunting stories with her uncle and did some bass fishing. After our short stop there we proceeded into Great Smoky Mountain National Park for some camping, hiking and backpacking.

We first did a two day backpack up to the top of Mount Sterling on the east side of the park. This was a particularly interesting backpack, as it involved nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain and a close encounter during dinner with two bears. We luckily made it out of that all right and actually ended up seeing two more bears in another area of the park within 24 hours of that initial encounter. We finished our trip with a hike along the appalachian trail to the top of Charlies Bunion. On our way home from Tennessee we also stopped in Louisville, Kentucky for the Quality Deer Management Nation Convention and Whitetail Expo. But I’ll share more about that with you all later!

Overall it was a great trip and a welcome break from the day to day. I’ve got some awesome stories, a few blisters and a sore hip, and lots of great memories.

Now, that being said, I know that none of you actually care about what I did on vacation. So to keep things relevant and interesting for ya’ll, I also got some velvet footage of a couple nice bucks in Tennessee. I found these bucks in an area of Smoky Mountain National Park  that is called Cades Cove, we ended seeing probably close to 40 deer in this one area and about 10-15 of them were bucks! Nothing fancy, but who doesn’t like to see wide racked antlers?

Walking out into the cool crisp air this morning, I was suddenly transported forward through time to an early fall dawn. The dark, starry skies and the silence of my surroundings overwhelmed me and I felt a chill run down my spine. I could  feel it inching closer and closer, it’s now only three months away. I feel as if I can nearly taste it. Yes, my deer season opens exactly three months from today and what a glorious thought that is.

Three months from now I’ll step out on my porch to a very similar morning, maybe with less leaves on the trees, but certainly with more bounce in my step. I’ll take those first steps into the crunchy leaves, full of hope and promise, each pace taking more closer to the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I’ll find my destination, albeit slowly and with several stumbles in the dark, but I’ll get there. Climbing up into my treestand, the piercing cold of the metal steps will numb my hands and each step will see me sucking air just a little more. But once I settle into my seat, all will be well.

The silence will set around me, nothing but the wind blowing through the branches, the occasional bird releases a chirp and my ears straining to make sense of it all. There won’t be much to see yet, nothing but a smiling moon and shadows playing tricks on my mind. I’ll close my eyes and breathe the fresh air deep into my lungs and as I breathe out, all of my worries, stresses and struggles are washed away. In this moment, the breeze brushing my face and the dry smell of autumn filling me, my soul will be truly refreshed.

I finally am where I belong. And now I wait.

And today is no different, as I turn back around off my porch and head back inside. Now I must wait, three more months of hope and anticipation, preparation and research, sleepless nights and antler filled dreams.

Three more months until I will finally be where I belong.

Since I moved here to my farm in January, visuals or pics of bucks have been very hard to come by. This buck is obviously nothing to write home about, but I was excited to see him none the less. The antlers on this guy aren’t impressive, but he seems to have decent body mass. I’m putting my money on him being a 2.5 year old 6 point when it’s all said and done. Although according to the “Antler Growth Timeline” I posted earlier this year, all main points should be growing by now. I don’t know, but I see this deer getting at least 6. As for age, antlers would indicate a yearling, but this is Michigan and I do think the body looks a bit full for a one year old. What do you guys think?

Hopefully will have a lot more pics to come and I sure hope I can put some eyes or cameras on a mature buck or two! Make sure to share your trailcam pics on the Wired To Hunt Facebook page too. Post your best velvet buck pics up and embarrass me and my lil buck! If I see some really good ones, I’ll post them on here too!

In addition I also showed a little bit of our trip out to Iowa and our time spent with friends out there. Keep your eyes out for the 158″ Iowa monster at the end of the video!

I’m back from Iowa and the WKP Video School, and I had a blast. I learned a ton about filming hunts from Todd and the White Knuckle Productions team and also really enjoyed getting to meet more members of the crew. That being said, as great as the video school was, I can’t say the same about my trip getting there.

Saturday morning I ended up getting directions to Todd Pringnitz’s, where the school was, from Mapquest. Unfortunately the maps sent me to the wrong place. As I approached what I thought was the correct road, I saw the gravel disappear and a black dirt two track laid in front of me. My options were limited and I was running late, so I decided to try heading down the road anyways. Although the road looked packed down and firm, as soon as my tires hit the track, the top two inches of dirt dissolved into a chocolate milkshake of muck. The tires on my girlfriend’s Sebring began to spin wildly and I immediately began to slide at an angle. At about 10 mph the car slid slowly and hopelessly out of control into the ditch. This trip wasn’t starting well.

Luckily I was able to back out of the ditch successfully and I found my way to Todd’s house soon after! Once at Todd’s, the school began and we dove head first into the techniques used to film hunts the WKP way. Here are a couple tips that I thought were particularly interesting…

• Todd coined a new rule of thirds for filming deer. When focused on a deer, he recommended zooming in close enough to have a space above and below the deer that was about as tall as a deer’s body would be from belly to back.
• Let the camera run for at least 10 minutes after making a shot on a deer. The emotions and reactions in this most exciting 10 minute period of a hunt truly can’t be replicated ever again. Film it all and you’ll capture a truly memorable moment.
• When filming your interviews, try having your camera man move the aim and focus of the camera. A static tripod shot of an interview can get boring, but add in some controlled movement and that action can keep the viewer’s attention.
• Film “walk off” shots. Whether it is a shot of you or a deer walking off camera, it can offer a great transition for you or your editor to cut away and edit in a new piece.

Look for a video coming soon featuring some more filming tips from Todd Pringnitz and Kyle Reenders.

In addition to the WKP Video School, Kylie and I also got to visit with some friends of ours that live in Iowa. We had a great time together and this visit once again ingrained in me why I need to move to Iowa. There are BIG deer in Iowa and lots of them! Here are a few pics of our visit and our friend Corey’s Iowa conquests.

For more info about White Knuckle Productions and the WKP Video School click on these links.

]]> http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/05/24/back-from-iowa-and-the-wkp-video-school/feed/ 2 http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/05/20/westward-bound-for-iowa-and-the-wkp-video-school/ http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/05/20/westward-bound-for-iowa-and-the-wkp-video-school/#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 00:37:16 +0000 Mark Kenyon http://wiredtohunt.com/?p=1796

Well we’re almost in Indiana with about 5 hours left til we hit our destination. Iowa. I’m heading to the White Knuckle Productions Video School in Mt Pleasant, Iowa. Saturday morning I’ll be joining the WKP crew and other avid hunter/filmers as we aim to learn a thing or two about documenting the incredible journey of a deer hunting season on film.

I’ll be back on Sunday, hopefully with some great tips to share with you all and a lot of great video too! But for now I’ve got to turn my attention to scanning the fields we’re passing. It’s always a tight competition and right now Kylie has seen two deer and I’ve seen none. Rest assured, I’m not planning on letting her win this one, so I suppose I ought to focus now.

For more info about the WKP Video School, check out this post.