I’m sure that many readers of this blog are familiar with Gun Safety Innovations, and their main product, the Gunslinger. I wanted to share two things about this company: 1- It makes a great birthday gift (I know from experience), and 2- You can get involved in the company by renaming their product!

1. Big K’s birthday was this week. I’m really bad with birthdays, so I ordered his present a few weeks ago. Dad received a Gunslinger in the mail! I must say 2 things: 1- Ordering from GSI was a breeze. I even asked them to order to a different address and there wasn’t a single problem; 2- Dad loved it! What makes the Gunslinger an awesome present is that it’s perfect for the hunter who has everything. It shows them you care about their safety, while also showing them something that they may not have known about! Happy Birthday Dad!!!
2. Want a free Gunslinger & T-shirt?!?!?! You can take your stab at re-naming the product. if your suggestions is chosen, you win! It’s that easy! For more info, click HERE.

deerPhD, GSI, Gun Safety Innovations, Gunslinger, prostaff

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Back in February, I was invited to give a talk on the Psychology of Hunting at the opening dinner of the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show. This dinner is also a gathering of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association. At this event, I met a writer named Christian Berg. He and I conversed a few times since then, and just the other day I received an awesome e-mail from Chris that contained a few photos!

I don’t consider myself to be overly lucky, but on Friday morning, the hunting gods were certainly smiling on me. A large group of does came past my stand shortly before 8 a.m., and wouldn’t you know I missed one of them on a gimme, 18-yard broadside shot. Arrow flew right over her back.

Well, thank God I screwed up, because a few minutes later, those does walked up alongside a nearby meadow, and I saw this guy come tearing across the field. I don’t know what happened, but those does must have wanted nothing to do with him, because a minute later, he was coming down into the woods and headed straight for me. I had placed some estus doe urine along the trail to my stand, and I had to bleat three times to stop him before I was able to make a perfect quartering away shot from less than 10 yards. He went about 50 yards and piled up.

Chris even has a “before” pic!

Chris authors a weekly column for The Morning Call in Allentown, PA. Go check-out his column when you get a chance.

Congrats to Chris on a wonderful PA 8-point!

bow, Christian Berg, deer, Harvest, hunting, outdoor writer, POWA, The Morning Call

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The field of Psychology is tackling outdoor conservation from a fairly new angle. It’s called “Conservation Psychology“, and it’s “the scientific study of the reciprocal relationships between humans and the rest of nature, with a particular focus on how to encourage conservation of the natural world.”

Simply stated, it’s the science of understanding how and why people interact with nature, and what causes people to participate in conservation-oriented activities.

Here’s a blurb from conservationpsychology.org:

Conservation psychology is an applied field that uses psychological principles, theories, or methods to understand and solve issues related to human aspects of conservation.
One way to organize research areas in Conservation Psychology is according to two broad outcome areas:

• How people behave toward nature (with the goal of creating durable behavior change at multiple levels and sustainable relationships), and/or
• How people care about/value nature (with the goal of creating harmonious relationships and an environmental ethic)

A scientific understanding of what underlies our outdoor conservation efforts (and lack thereof) will lay the foundation for future conservation efforts. We will know what motivates people, what encourages people, and what deters people from outdoor conservation.

If you’re interested in more information, here’s a link to an article that was published in the Monitor on Psychology (a publication of the American Psychological Association).

Looks like us psychology-folks are more than shrinks afterall!!!

conservation, Conservation Psychology, Outdoor, Psychology, WATG

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I’m need a little help, everyone. I’ve never hunted with a decoy before, and I’m wondering if you all could share your experiences with deer decoys while hunting. Since I tagged out, I’m thinking of experimenting with a decoy to do a little field study of my own, but I’d really appreciate your advice first.

1. What are your experiences with decoys?
2. Do you have any tips or strategies?
3. What about scents with decoys….yay or nay?

Looking forward to your responses…

decoys, Deer season, hunting tips, strategy

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Earlier this month, I promised a report from Kent State on the Empty Holster Protest. Well, as far as I could have known, the protest didn’t exist. Maybe I missed something, but I searched our school paper and saw nothing. I saw no students wearing empty holsters, and I heard no chatter about it.

If you’re interested in the protest, there’s a pretty good, two-sided article about it on Fox News.

Empty Holster Protest, Students for Concealed Carry

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Went out with my camera to look for the buck making all of the rubs
I mentioned earlier. Saturday night seemed to be a great night. Temperature was dropping into the lower 50’s/upper 40’s. It was a bit windy, however, and they may have kept the deer in. Didn’t find the buck, but on my walk to the stand I came across this doe. She was bedding in this field when I first saw her. She looked at me as if to say, “I was here first, buddy.” She’s about 25 yards away.

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Went for a walk last evening in the pouring rain. It was pretty windy too, so I figured the bucks would be bedding (i.e., I wouldn’t jump them). I wanted to scout some new property. As you can see in the pictures, I’m pretty happy with what I found. All of the above photos are within 100 yards of each other. The 1st two pics each include at least 3 rubs each, and these pics were taken only 5 yards apart. I’m looking forward to scouting this land further during the pre-rut & rut. Hopefully I’ll have some pics to show you what is behind these rubs!

buck, buck rubs, deer, hunting, pre rut, rubs, rut

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This just in from HuntingLife.com. They are recruiting hunters to send pictures their way. Here’s the blurb:

Send them to Kevin@huntinglife.com and we will post them up on the blogs and in the photo gallery.  Best Hunting picture sent between now and November 30, 2007 will be eligible for a free membership(paid for by HuntingLife.com) to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation or the National Wild Turkey Foundation(your choice).

You’ve got nothin’ to lose…so why not send your pics today (or as soon as you bag that monster!)?

hunting, Hunting Life, HuntingLife, HuntingLife.com, Kevin Paulson, pictures

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I’ve read a few interesting articles over the past few years on what’s being called a “trickle rut”. According to the Team Whitetail Fanatic Resource Center:

A trickle rut occurs in areas where there are 5 or more does for each mature buck or daytime weather conditions are too warm to permit aggressive deer movement or both. With an unbalanced ratio, bucks won’t have to look too hard to find an available doe and there will be no noticeable peak in breeding activity. Unseasonably warm weather will often restrict deer movement to the cooler evening hours.
A trickle rut may last up to twice as long as a frenzied rut.

Many areas of the country, including the Midwest and Eastern states, are experiencing record highs. These highs may lead to decreased deer movement, even during what might usually be the ‘heart of the rut’. Here are a few tips that may help you succeed if deer aren’t moving as much as you would expect:

1. Remind yourself that the deer are still there (assuming you have a prime location). As Big K (head of deerPhD ProStaff) says, “The deer can’t go in!”
2. Find the travel routes deer use when their movement is limited. Search for food sources close to bedding areas. Deer may not travel all the way to the bean field you’ve been hunting if the weather is warm. They may stay in the woods looking for acorns and other vegetation.
3. Keep your eye on the weather forecast. If there is any sign of decreasing temperatures, head for the woods. These drops in temperature are sure to  get bucks moving. This may not coincide with your plans (work, family, etc.). If you have to take time off to hunt, I’d recommend waiting until the conditions present the optimal opportunity.

deer, hunting, rut, tips, trickle rut

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I’ll tell you at the start, this post has next-to-nothing to do with the outdoors. As many of you know, I’m pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology. I mentioned a while back that I have 2 hurdles left: 1) defending my dissertation, and 2) completing a 1-year clinical internship (much like a medical residency).

For the past 2 months I’ve been working on my internship applications. I’ll be applying to 18 sites across the country. The application is a hefty 30 pages, with many parts needing to be tailored to each site. As frustrating as a  process as it can be, it’s fun to think about where my wife and I could be headed next year.

From a hunter’s perspective, I could get whole new experiences next year. There’s a chance I could end-up in Texas, or Arizona, or Washington. Who knows?

That being said, if we have to move, it would be tough to leave some of the spots I’ll be scouting this weekend. There’s some new property I’ll be watching this weekend, and I’ve seen tons of rubs pop-up there this year. I also jumped a real nice 8-point earlier this season at this site. I’d love to get a chance to hunt it…but I’ll be following the internship trail…

deer, internship, Psychology, rubs

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