Hello to all my followers and friends. As some of you already know last year I tagged out extremely early because you cant pass on a 150+ inch 8 point no matter what. (unless its 2) Well this year I only lasted a few more days. (6 days) This 4 year old (est) would hit his peak next season, but he was in an area where QDM (management) is not an option because of small land tracts that make up a single big woods. Many hunters in the area have the thought if its brown its down. No one else is even seeing deer in our whole region as the temps since season started were 85 degrees; 20 degrees above avg. In addition we are in a pretty severe drought. Last year we had a drought and it was hot, but not this hot so I used the same technique as I did the year before this year but in a totally different area in our region. The question is how to be successful early season? Hunt between bedding and water. Find a small water hole. The key here is small. So when I tell people this they always say "I was on the river bank" or "near a pond". That just won't cut it. My response to them is always the same: "How do you know where on the pond or river the deer will choose to drink from?" The obvious answer is nobody knows! So just because people are saying we are hunting over water does not mean they are doing so in a manner that will change the outcome; seeing nothing. Once you find your honey hole, look at a topo map to see where the nearest water is or could be and see if it is dry. All places you check need to be dry. My rule of thumb is no water for 1 mile at least but the more miles/distance the better your odds. Next, the deer are in a pattern at this time of year so check the tracks around the hole to see if there are any buck tracks. It there are not any, there is water elsewhere and you need to find it. If all criteria are met hang a stand on the predominate downwind side of the hole. When I use this scenario, try to hang the stand between 30 and 40 feet high and be around 30 yards off the water.(my water hole held about 7 gallons.) This gives you room to screw up a little and not spook a thing. My exact setup for this hunt was 40 feet in the air and 35 yards from the water. It took a half hour for him to get in range and the whole time that I noticed him he was no more than 75 yards away. This was the first time I sat in this stand as well. 3 of us put the stand up 3 days prior and left foot prints in the sand that you could still see on the day I was hunting. This buck was so paranoid that he went to that foot print and stuck his nose right on it. Remember this is a 3 day old foot print. He immediately went from totally realxed to sneak and alert mode like all mature bucks would do. Luckly there were does around to calm his nerves but he never got real comfortable again. At this point he was quartering toward me and the target for the shot shrunk drastically but I had to take it because I was afraid he was going to take off. He only went 50 yds with a pass through shot that destroyed both lungs and the liver. Here is what to take from this: Drought and hot temps can acutally improve your chances of getting a giant if you use nature and a little research to tell you what to do; not some magazine or book. I took this deer in an awful weather set up and all the hunting calenders were saying this was one of the worst days to hunt and I shot him within the worst hours on one of the worst days according to the calender. Let nature guide you. If you have questions, or disagree with me then post it and Ill research it and try my best to help everyone improve their hunting. My goal is to have my friends get a 100% success rate and have fun. Also if you are interested in hunting Indiana or Illinois shoot me a message and Ill let you know the information for private land hunts that I maintain; the pics speak for themselves. You will have access to the lands that all my pictures were taken from. Good luck!

Lemon Pound Cake 3 sticks unsalted butter room temperature 2 ? cups sugar or Splenda for baking sugar substitute 1 tbsp lemon zest 8 Large eggs room temperature 1cup sour cream room temperature 1 tbsp vanilla 1-cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (not the bottled stuff) 3-? cups all-purpose flour (not self–rising) ? tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder Pre heat oven to 325 degrees Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or12 cup Bundt pan In a mixing bowl set on low cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until creamy Break eggs into a separate bowl and add to cream mixture one at a time, make sure to completely mix in each egg before adding another, switch to medium and add sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients add to creamed mixture ? cup at a time until all flour is incorporated, pour batter into prepared pan smooth with the back of f a spoon to make sure batter is evenly distributed in pan make sure rack is placed in the middle of oven place pan in 325 degree preheated oven bake undisturbed for 1 hour and 10 minutes, cake is done when a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and free of wet crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes before tuning cake out onto rack to continue cooling once cake has cooled completely pour glaze over cake let glaze harden a little before serving. Lemon Glaze 1 cup powdered sugar 2 tbsp lemon fresh lemon juice 1 to 2 tbsp milk Sift powdered sugar into small mixing bowl add lemon juice stir with a rubber spatula Until smooth add milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency spoon over Completely cooled cake *For a decorative touch sprinkle lemon zest or candied lemon peel over top of cake *Bake in two loaf pans if you don’t have a tube or Bundt pan *If freezing wrap tightly in plastic wrap and cover with foil, can be frozen this way for up to 3 months *Brush outside of cake with Lemon simple syrup for added flavor and moisture *Meyer lemons give the best results, they are a cross between a lemon and sweet orange or mandarin orange this cross breeding give it a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common lemon Lemon Simple Syrup 2 cups sugar 2 cups water Peel from one lemon 1 cup lemon juice To make Lemon simple syrup remove peel from one lemon with a vegetable peeler taking care to only remove the yellow part not the white pith as it is bitter Place peel into a pan of boiling water for 5 to ten minutes remove and discard water. Place 2 cups water, 2 cups sugar and peel in saucepan over medium high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved bring to a boil pour through a strainer into a medium bowl let cool completely. Stir in lemon juice pour into an airtight container or glass jar And refrigerate will keep for up to three months.