I'm heading out for ShrewHaven camp today. This year is the Red Bird Memorial hunt with Red Bird arrows and the Red Bird bow. Pictures and stories when I return. :jumper:
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/After.JPG)
Good luck Ron. I'm sure Red Bird will be looking over your shoulder guiding your arrow.
Have fun Ron! Look forward to this thread every year.
Have a safe enjoyable hunt :archer:
Excellent......can't wait for the story.
Good luck to you!
Happy hunting and waiting for some good stories!!!
Have a great hunt Ron, you have a great group of guys to share your camp with :thumbsup: looking forward to the rest of the story.
Steve Jr
Good Luck Ron!!
good luck wild man!
Best of luck to you !!
Go get um Ron!
Hope your week is full of fond memories :campfire:
best of luck Ron
Good luck to you and the whole crew!
Have a great time!
Yep shoot straight and have fun!!
Ron, looking forward to the tale of your special hunt. May the spirit of Redbird be with you.
Good luck and God bless, Ron!
Can't wait to read stories :campfire:
Wonderful!
Have a great time!
F-Manny
:campfire: :archer:
Looking forward to hearing all of your stories!
Have a great time and be safe. Can't wait for the pics and stories.
Go get em' Ron.....let hear the tales....:-D
Ron, I wish you all the best on this hunt. I've lost loved ones too in my 68 years of dealing with life's curve balls thrown at me. The year my Dad passed away, right before bow season, I cried the whole way to camp. I'm driving my truck to camp and I'd look over at the passenger seat, and Dad was not there. Such an empty feeling that was.
Red Bird will be with you on this hunt. She is up there, sitting in her stand, not far from yours. Make her proud, Ron!
Go get em' Ron.....let hear the tales....:-D
Good luck on your season, Ron. I was up in that area last weekend and the leaf color was at it's peak.
I'll wait here..
:campfire:
:pray:
:campfire:
Good luck. I have a feeling you guys will need it. Although I don't doubt that a great time will be had by all even if the deer a scarce.
Have a great trip. Look forward to this thread every year! :campfire:
I look forward to this thread every year! Good luck Shrew Crew!!!!
Looking forward to your posts!
:campfire: :campfire:
Good Luck & Enjoy, Ron!!!!!
May the Great Spirit shine upon you all...
Can't wait for the pics to start rolling in. Hope ya'll have a great time!
:campfire:
Goodluck everyone
Have a good one!Looking forward to hearing about the hunt.
:campfire:
:campfire:
How great it will be to carry Redbird into the field, shot or no shot. Enjoy the hunt.
May the spirit of Shrewhaven heal and renew your soul Ron. There simply is nothing like the comradire of a hunting camp that has your back and you have theirs.
Good luck to all.
Looking forward to the stories , good luck and God bless you Ron .
Any good reports for the Shrew Crew???
Good luck! I'm sure this hunt will be a bit difficult without your beloved Red Bird, but her spirit will be cheering you on. We look forward to a lot of stories soon.
:campfire: :coffee:
Best of luck!
Eric
Good Luck Ron. Hope it is going good and will look forward to hearing stories.
God Bless
Chad
:campfire:
Good luck Ron. Remember how lucky you have been to have had your Red Bird so long. Besides she is still with you in a different way. God bless!
When is story time? Prayers for the smiles carried by good memories.
We are all back, just reorganizing gear today....stories coming soon. I had an awesome encounter with a wolf.....
:campfire:
:campfire: :coffee:
:campfire: :coffee:
It was an unusual year for me for camp. With only a few days available away from work it was more of a long weekend. Nonetheless camp is always a magical place. The weather has been unusually warm and wetting fall in Michigan and the starting weekend for the rest of the gang was exactly that. Roads were closed and the Armstrong creek grew to levels not seen before at camp.
My arrival brought a break in the weather and cooler temperature (not taking credit for that). The boys had just finished a evening around the campfire after cooking a whole lamb on a rotisserie grill. I pulled in to a plate of Greek salad and lamb. As usual the cooking was impeccable.
Turkeys were non existent on the property this year. There were no acorns on the oak ridge so birds had moved to other areas. The deer were also scarce up on banana ridge. With a second year of no doe harvesting allowed even on an archery deer tag it made for slim pickin's of legal targets. More to come......
:campfire:
This it what I've been waiting for :coffee: Not making my annual trip to the great north woods next month, and am going to miss it. Roger, those big dogs are quite a sight when they get up close and personal, I've had a couple run ins the last two years up there in the areas I hunt.
Jason
Can't wait for pics and stories.
What happen to the deer herd in that area? Numbers must really be low to shut down anterless (doe) harvest for archery hunters.
Okay I'm back. Deer herd is down due to hard winters and predators. Wolves, black bears, coyote all contribute to fawn mortality. Two winters ago we lost an entire fawn crop. They are supposed to have one more year of no doe harvesting on any license after this fall, however if there is an easier winter this yearand good fawn rrecruitment maybe they'll have limited doe harvesting next fall. We did see more deer than last year and a few does with twin fawns.
Ron took the lion's share of photos so hopefully he'll post some soon. A few bucks were seen and there was one blood trail that didn't work out. Bucks are required to have three points or better on a side to be legal on a combination tag and camp property has a six point or better rule.
Thanks for the background.
Looking forward to the pictures and stories.
:campfire:
My first morning in camp was met with good strong coffee and Greg (camp chef) and Tim Cosgrove (owner of Kustom King) grabbed shotguns, Greg's Labrador and headed to hunt grouse and woodcock in between Roger and Eric hoping that perhaps we'd push something in their direction. We bagged a few woodcock but move no deer past the others. In the afternoon after some leftover pork (a whole pig was roasted on Sunday night) I went and scouted the food plot by my favorite.'tresssle stand'. It was grown over and Ron later told me that the ground in the food plot was too rocky to work. This food plot had been a turkey magnet in the past but was not so this year. After scouting for an hour more I headed back to camp to prep some food for the evening meal. Wednesday night was going to be gyros made out of the left over lamb. Ron was in town picking up supplies and I was relaxing in the cabin the last hour of daylight enjoying a bourbon and a cigar. The interior of the cabin is very cozy and the wood stove was putting out some fabulous heat. Greg came back early and he said he had a high,sharp angled hit on a six point but no bottom exit. He was calling a wait for the morning. We finished prepping gyros and the gang filtered in from the evening hunt for incredible lamb gyros. We topped off the evening listening to the debate after discussing plans for the morning.
In between all of that I sharpened my Zwickey Eskimos on my Redbird arrows ,shot a bunch of arrows and got gear in order. This is a typical day in camp life. One person usually takes the afternoon hunt off to get dinner prepped/going so the rest can hunt.
Sipping some :campfire:
:campfire:
A great time was had by all again at ShrewHaven. This is the RedBird bow and RedBird arrows on the hill above Armstrong Creek.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/images/redbird-bow-and-arrows-web.jpg)
Hopefully the boys will post some of the outdoor photos. Typically it's much colder and dinners are hosted inside around the big table. This year, Kevin Marshall erected an outdoor 'garage' next to the fire pit and then set up his new rotisserie grill near that. Several evenings were spent around the outdoor fire instead of the cozy cabin due to warmer temps. With yours truly missing, there were 14 people there on Sunday night for the pig roast.
Eric Bell and Ron's grandson Jordon saw a dandy 10 point while traveling to set up a stand. It was bedded in the pines and got up when they stopped to take a picture.
Fittingly, there's also a new sign that Ron erected on Redbird lane, the trail into the cabin, where Nancy would sit in her pop-up blind. I told Ron on my way back to the cabin after my afternoon scouting that a doe and two fawns crossed in front of me a bowshot from where Nancy sat vigil on many a hunt. She was there in spirit with us last week.
And then there were the custom arrows that Paul Jalon crafted for us as Ron posted above. Everyone's initials were on each arrow and many of us were using Zwickey Eskimo's in honor of Nancy's use of them in her latter hunting career. Paul's arrows are second to none and if you've not shot them you're in for a treat. All are spined within three pounds and weigh within 10 grains. They're so consistent and straight they shoot like aluminum arrows. My goal is to harvest a deer with one at home this fall and then put them away for camp use only.
One of the fun things we've mentioned before about camp is getting to see some prototype equipment in it's infancy. This year Ron had a 60 inch Super Shrew that Jim Belcher is working on for him. Ron says there's still 'some changes' to be made, however the bow is a fabulous shooter (it was only 38# and it was zipping the arrows in there at 20 yards). Shrew fans are going to be happy with this tweaked design. Anyone who thinks Ron just puts his name on a bow that somebody else makes is sorely mistaken. Prototypes are made, input given and then back to the presses. It's cool to be part of the 'test' crew when the stars align. :thumbsup:
some pictures from this year and prior years:
chasing the sun across the horizon on the way to camp. Always exciting on the way there and mixed emotions on the way home.
(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/20161018_193325_zps7gy6q7bp.jpg) (http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/shrewshooter/media/20161018_193325_zps7gy6q7bp.jpg.html)
fall colors in Northern MI are incredible
(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/20161018_154448_zpsd0athvni.jpg) (http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/shrewshooter/media/20161018_154448_zpsd0athvni.jpg.html)
Redbird arrows special crest
(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/20161008_122514_zpsar9egeog.jpg) (http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/shrewshooter/media/20161008_122514_zpsar9egeog.jpg.html)
Normal dinner table scene in most years
(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/PB050049_zpsa1bf0710.jpg) (http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/shrewshooter/media/PB050049_zpsa1bf0710.jpg.html)
No chance of this kind of picture this year
(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/PB0600171_zps62217246.jpg) (http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/shrewshooter/media/PB0600171_zps62217246.jpg.html)
Great pics/ stories ,please keep them coming boys.
I had a meeting in Ironwood before I went in to Shrewhaven...
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/20161013_160559_zpsmmb6xsa0.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/20161013_160559_zpsmmb6xsa0.jpg.html)
Blade and Bow Bourbon and pickled bologna, a Shrewhaven classic :bigsmyl:
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/20161013_224026_zpschxjkvjh.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/20161013_224026_zpschxjkvjh.jpg.html)
No doe tags, but the herd is looking healthier
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/20161019_091332_zpscg8fpgni.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/20161019_091332_zpscg8fpgni.jpg.html)
:archer2:
Thanks for sharing . :campfire: :archer:
Very encouraging Roger. I'll be in Copper Country State Forest beginning Nov.11th.
OK, I'm ready to post a few pictures. Sorry I didn't get them up sooner, but one of my "buddy's" gave me the flu bug and I've been down for almost three days now.
This is camp this year with the canopy set up in front for our big meals we had planned
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161015_165118546_HDR1.jpg)
Here's the 70# pig in the bottom of Kevin's new roaster ready to be cooked
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161016_1145110501.jpg)
The fire was on top instead of below and it cooked to a turn. :campfire:
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161016_1735173601.jpg)
I took this picture before the company showed up to help eat the pig. That's my Grandson in the chair by the fire.
You couldn't ask for better weather, beautiful Indian Summer most of the week.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161016_1828143191.jpg)
Armstrong Creek in all it's fall glory. 440 acres of ShrewHaven as far as the eye can see
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161018_1447343301.jpg)
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161021_1656391551.jpg)
BEautisuckle, Ron...
I can see dark and shirt sleeves....what's wrong with that picture?
Aint you guys to be bundled up in MI come this time of year???
:campfire: :coffee:
Keepum coming
I love to hear the Shrewhaven stories :campfire:
On Tuesday we put a 50# lamb on an electric spit run by one of my Honda generators
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161018_1232420091.jpg)
Have you ever sat and watched a lamb roast?...it's like watching grass grow
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161018_1314554881.jpg)
It's finely ready, VERY succulent
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161018_1315141471.jpg)
VERY SUCCULENT Lamb Shank
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161019_1853394211.jpg)
Beautiful pictures Ron, thank to you, and all your ShrewHaven partners for sharing with us. I always look forward to the posts from you and your "gang". Sadly my brother and I wont be making the trip across the Mighty Mac this year, I will miss it, but this helps. Looking forward to more pics and posts. I hope that the time spent in camp with your friends, and memories of your Red Bird has helped heal your loss a little bit, my prayers are still with you.
Jason
Thanks for posting the pics Ron.I truly love the Western Yoop.
QuoteOriginally posted by Roger Norris:
Blade and Bow Bourbon and pickled bologna, a Shrewhaven classic :bigsmyl:
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/20161013_224026_zpschxjkvjh.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/20161013_224026_zpschxjkvjh.jpg.html)
This is our camp chef Greg Nicolaou. He trained at the Culinary institute of America and knows his way around the kitchen. The tall jar next to the pickled baloney was filled with 'pepper shooters' that Greg makes. There's about one hundred in a jar that size and Roger eats about seventy five before we know it's been opened. :p
Just to refresh everyone's memory this year was a Special hunt in honor of Nancy "RedBird" LaClair. Everyone had their special RedBird arrows made by my friend Paul Jalon of Elite Arrows. Paul did a phenomenal job as usual.
Also my friend Randy Gustafson of Northwoods Outfitters had a special sign made that we put on an oak tree 20 feet from where Nancy had her blind every year. It borders our drive that runs 1/3rd mile off the two track to camp. I know Nancy would love it,
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161021_1004233131.jpg)
The picture of Greg and the pickled baloney was before I got to camp. You may not be able to see it in this picture but there is a "swear jar" on the table. Nancy didn't like swearing so in honor of her anyone that used profanity had to put a dollar in the jar. At first the money flowed into to it pretty fast but soon everyone started watching their language.... I'd like to think it was more in respect for Nancy than the loss of money. Thanks guys.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161020_0818068431.jpg)
There it is, the silver top square glass jar with money in it. :goldtooth:
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161020_0817435901.jpg)
That's cool Randy had that sign made up. It looks good.
:campfire:
That's just without words .
QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:
There it is, the silver top square glass jar with money in it. :goldtooth:
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161020_0817435901.jpg)
Ron snapped this photo just before Helga, our camp maid, showed up. :D
The dish washing system is shown in the background. Two pots of water sit on the wood stove and this year there was plenty of rain water runoff to use instead of creek water. Dishes and cabin get tidied up after the morning hunt and late morning breakfast. If we're lucky, Ron makes his famous breakfast burritos. It's the only thing besides ' we got a blood trail' that will pull Roger off his morning hunt early.
Roger sleeps on the Futon sofa in the main room. He's also the keeper of the nightly fire. It's a delicate balance of keeping it going and not roasting the upper bunk boys. Wednesday night Roger still had his face paint on when he went to bed. Tim pointed it out and Roger said 'it'll save me four minutes in the morning'. Nobody beats Roger to the woods in the morning.
So what is it about deer camp that makes it so special. I contemplated that as I sat in the lazy boy chair waiting for the gang to pile back in from the evening hunt. This would be the second year of a deerless camp in a row. I believe it's the tradition of the little nuances of camp and the characters involved. As you can see the area is truly special and beautiful from the pictures Ron posted. However I think this group of guys could make camp anywhere there was a place to gather and the chance of harvesting a deer with our traditional bows.
Wht kind of deer numbers did you guys see?
Is it good hunting in that area?
Brad,
Numbers are coming up. In the early 90's on my first sit on Banana Ridge, with acorns all over the ground, I had no less than 20 deer parade through in an evening sit. By the mid 90's mother nature fixed this skewed herd with 1995 and 1996 back to back winters that were devastating. By 1998 we had one of our best years with 4 bucks and 4 does taken. The camp property went to a 6 point or better rule on bucks a couple of years after that and we would harvest a buck now and then after that but mostly were keeping the doe herd in check while mother nature kept winters in line. Most years we averaged between 6-10 does taken and because the rut is so much later in the UP, the rifle hunters using the property usually bagged 3-4 nice bucks off the property each fall. Guys were seeing deer every sit for the most part this year, which was an improvement over the last two, but for a week of hunting, only 3 legal bucks were seen, two while hunting and one on a trip into the stand site. The area we hunt is excellent deer and upland bird habitat. However go 50 miles north and you're in mature forest and swamp with little agriculture. The property we hunt has had the aspen managed for timber and it has a diverse age of young aspen stands throughout that deer, turkey and upland birds like along with some food plots that the property owners put in (my spot I mentioned above from a couple of years ago was put in by an outside source that had larger equipment than the club uses internally for food plots). The herd bounces back fairly quickly, although there are more predators to fawns now than in the early 1990's before bears were regulated with a drawing system (that started in 1999 and for 5 weeks in the spring, bears will hunt fawning cover like a bird dog, flushing a fawn, which has no chance).
Great pictures, and it seems that everyone had a really great time. Red Bird Lane, now that is a nice touch to honor the memory of your life partner.
I visited Michigan for the first time this past weekend and saw a few deer. They are a lot bigger than the deer we have here. Thanks for sharing your good times with the rest of us.
Ray,
That's great. Man it does sound really good. Didn't realize there was any ag around the camp area. That helps draw deer compared to the big woods like you said.
You guys seem to Really get into them in short time..
So your rifle season is during the rut there? We have 2 weeks left to our bow season. Then bear then deer rifle after thanksgiving. Wish we was like some other state that let the Archery's continue to hunt up till rifle. We miss some really good weeks. But maybe the game commission wants it that way.
You guys seen a wolf last season rite? Any sighting this year?
QuoteYou guys seen a wolf last season rite? Any sighting this year?
Roger had a very close encounter with a wolf this year from a ground blind in the pines, he'll probably come on and tell about it before long.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/45/4d/00/454d0055d9c185eecbb368c39f31e481.jpg)
:campfire: :coffee: Guys, Thanks for sharing your camp with us!!!
I saw my first wolf two years ago (see the snow picture on a previous page). That was the year that we saw his print all over the property on a regular basis. I had gone up on top of banana ridge one morning when the snow fall had frozen over in a crunchy half inch cover. Fortunately, I had raked out a path up the hillside and the last 50 yards to my stand in a triple trunk oak tree so it was a quiet entry for me because the snow didn't stick to the dirt. About an hour into my sit, I heard a single animal crunching along steadily. I thought it might be a buck cruising the ridge, but as it came into view it was a huge wolf striding along. His gate was one I won't forget as his body just floated along. There's certainly mixed emotions about the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula, but managed properly, they're a cool sight to see.
I should mention my first encounter with wolves at camp was really back in the late summer of 2000 when the cabin was moved to the property and Ron and I were up there doing some remodeling to the cabin (I had hauled up the kitchen cabinet with sink and Ron brought up the woodstove and they were set in place). We were sitting around the campfire outside that night when our local friends who were out at the cabin were chatting with us. All of a sudden, a wolf pack opened up. Our friend Randy who was there had been on many a journey with the then UP wildlife biologist Jim Hammell and he described that they were in the middle of a hunt. There was a den on the property at the time up on Banana ridge close to the 'tressle stand' (to the right in the picture Ron took of Armstrong creek up the hillside). While we didn't see them, the howls were eerily incredible and they ended up within a few hundred yards of the cabin.
Do you guys go back to Shrewhaven for black powder season, or is it just a once per year archery camp?
Ron used to go back with Nancy in December for the black powder season, however the most recent years it's just during our archery camp.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ray Lyon:
So what is it about deer camp that makes it so special. I contemplated that as I sat in the lazy boy chair waiting for the gang to pile back in from the evening hunt. This would be the second year of a deerless camp in a row. I believe it's the tradition of the little nuances of camp and the characters involved. As you can see the area is truly special and beautiful from the pictures Ron posted. However I think this group of guys could make camp anywhere there was a place to gather and the chance of harvesting a deer with our traditional bows.
I've had those same thoughts Ray, I've been very fortunate to spend time in deer camp with my Grandpa before he passed away and my Dad who I lost last year November 3rd, and my brother and uncle. I can still close my eyes and picture us all together and hear all the stories in my mind, those are the trophies in my mind getting to harvest a deer with them is a bonus. I also had a similar experience with a wolf the only year tags were available for them here, 23 paces from me before it realized I was there and turned back up the ridge to stop and look back at me, very awesome site to see. There were 6 or 7 of them howling that morning when my brother and I left the truck that morning.
Nancy and I some years ago during the December muzzleloading season at ShrewHaven
(http://***********.bowsite.com/tf/pics/00small45993548.JPG)
Thx for sharing .
Setup is vey close to our Cajun microwave
God Bless you Ron. May your arrows fly straight and true. :thumbsup:
Good stuff so far. Ron, Great tribute to Nancy Red Bird! :campfire:
QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:
QuoteYou guys seen a wolf last season rite? Any sighting this year?
Roger had a very close encounter with a wolf this year from a ground blind in the pines, he'll probably come on and tell about it before long.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/45/4d/00/454d0055d9c185eecbb368c39f31e481.jpg) [/b]
Yes I did....I was hunting a favorite spot (where I have seen wolves before), a thicket of jackpines. The pines once had a lot of poplars mixed in, but they came in and timbered off the poplars as well as some of the more mature pines. They left a lot of tops, which makes for dozens of natural ground blinds scattered throughout the section.
I was in one of these pine bow ground blinds Tuesday morning, and had been sitting since about 6:00 a.m. several does and littles ones had passed through earlier, but around 11:00 a.m. things had slowed down. I was leaning against a pine, reading a book, and relaxing more than hunting. I caught movement out of my peripheral vison, and slowly raised my head to take a peak....I was face to face with a young wolf. he wasn't any further than 10 feet. As soon as our eyes met, he wheeled and trotted off. Like I said, I have seen wolves in this spot before, but never this close. Also unique was that he appeared to still have his summer coat......he was lean, kind lanky, and looked very healthy.
A couple folks have asked me if I was scared or felt threatened....no. It all happened quickly, and as soon as he realized what I was, he was gone. We may be competitors for the same deer, but it's a good feeling knowing that ShrewHaven is still wild enough to support a creature like that.
Wolves in MI? I didn't know that.
QuoteWolves in MI? I didn't know that.
Check it out
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/04/michigans_wolf_population_viab.html
I'm a beagle man and for over 50 years I've had some great dogs. The problem with dogs is we get attached to then and they die too soon. My last dog Dolly was a great companion but I lost her a year ago last June.
I needed another beagle so this is Ruger. He is from registered hunting stock and I think is going to be a great dog. I took him to camp this year because he wants to be with me all the time. The guys loved him and he had a great time.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20160910_185043478_HDR1.jpg)
Here we are on the porch of Lobo's Lair, my private cave that has gas heat and electricity supplied by generator.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161016_164431031_HDR1.jpg)
Ruger in the main cabin watching out the window
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/IMG_20161019_085353388_HDR1.jpg)
Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy reading about and seeing pictures of Shrewhaven. One of my favorite posts of the year.
I really enjoyed your post, Ron, and like your new best buddy, Ruger.
Nice photo of Nancy and you, the good times. Flintlock building and shooting is my second hobby as well.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:
Nancy and I some years ago during the December muzzleloading season at ShrewHaven
(http://***********.bowsite.com/tf/pics/00small45993548.JPG)
That's a fine looking dog Ron. I love those ears. We always had a pack of beagles when I was growing up and rabbit hunting was the sport back then.
This is one of my favorite threads to read each year. What a great tradition you have there! Thanks for your stories guys! :clapper:
Bernie
Wow, great thread! Looks like a ton of fun! That wolf story was really interesting, thanks for sharing.
Good looking dog. My dad used to raise beagles when there were still rabbits around here, but they aren't as plentiful here as they used to be.
Great looking dog there, Ron. :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by David Mitchell:
Great looking dog there, Ron. :thumbsup:
And a fine Name for him also!!
Cool story on the wolf Roger. I have seen them in the past, but not that close. While hunting the late season a few years back in NW Iron County. I had just shot a doe with my new BW longbow, It was snowing pretty good so I began tracking her and found her about 75 yards away. While field dressing her , Wolves started to howl . I took a brake from finishing and just listened. I thought this is the way it should be. It was one of more memorable hunts ever.
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
QuoteOriginally posted by David Mitchell:
Great looking dog there, Ron. :thumbsup:
And a fine Name for him also!! [/b]
He was going to name him "Roger" but it was too confusing.
We wanted to listen to the debates, but the evening AM signal is horrible. Fixed it with a skillet :bigsmyl:
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/20161019_203149_zpsdztbnr6o.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/20161019_203149_zpsdztbnr6o.jpg.html)
:bigsmyl:
Just read your beautiful poem about Nancy in TBM. A wonderful tribute. Love truly is everlasting and evident within you.
Thank you Al. We were married for over 57 years and she was my hunting partner until the last year or so when the Parkinson's took away her strength to pull her bow. I'll never forget the day when she realized she could no longer pull her bow...tears came to her eyes...and mine too, I felt so bad for her. I still took her to the woods with me and she enjoyed the hunt being with me. She's still with me in Spirit.
Nancy was a hunter even before I met her in January of 1958. She came from an outdoor family, her dad, granddad and her uncles were all hunters and fishermen. She loved the outdoors and we shared that love for all those years together.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Nancy-rifle.jpg)
Ron, your love and devotion to Nancy is a wonderful example to all of us on here. God bless you for that.
Love the Shrewhaven posts, feel like I hunt with you guys. Strange weather everywhere this year. Still mid 80's where I can hunt and I refuse to go until it gets at least cool. Tough on you guys who have a set time slot these years. I have hunted up in that area for grouse and would love to deer hunt.
Thanks for sharing
We had some heavy deer poles in years past, here's one from not too many years ago
(http://www.tradgang.com/user_images/hanging-another-one.jpg)
This is a familiar one that Kustom King uses for their magazine ad's
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/ShrewHaven_zpsf0vgxvot.jpg)
:clapper:
Ron, I also saw your poem in Traditional Bowhunter. It was a beautiful tribute to your wife. Yes, she will always be with you in spirit. It is obvious that y'all shared something very special.
Looking to the north to where Armstrong Creek disappears around the bend
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Overlooking_Armstrong_creek.JPG)
Here's a man that has been to Shrewhaven several times. His name is Tom (Rooster) Jenkins and he's probably the best deer tracker I've ever met. Some years back I shared a hunting camp in the northern lower with Tom and his Dad Tom Sr.
We had several deer on the buck pole behind camp and one day a friend of ours stopped in for a visit. After checking out the deer on the pole he laughing said, "those deer are shot every where but where they're supposed to be shot" to which Tom replied, "ya, we're not very good shots but we're darn good trackers" :biglaugh:
Here Tom is examining one of his broadheads that he puts together, a 2 blade M-A 2 with shick ejector blades glued on. I named the head the "Hack-Stacker"
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2010/ShrewHaven2010020-1.jpg)
One of the guys in camp shot a deer one time and couldn't find it. Tom tracked it to the Brule river which is the Michigan/Wisconsin border. After calling the Wis. C/O we got permission to cross into Wis. to recover the deer.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2010/ShrewHaven2010090-1.jpg)
Tom found the deer in short order
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2010/ShrewHaven2010108.jpg)
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2010/ShrewHaven2010103-1.jpg)
Who needs a tracking dog when you've got a guy like that around? :biglaugh:
Great stories. I love reading this thread.
After a tricky crossing in the Brule's swift current the deer was soon back on the Michigan side
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2010/ShrewHaven2010099-1.jpg)
Tom's great at tracking and he's quite the evening story teller. He's essentially the historian of the Michigan Bow Hunters Association that included the likes of Fred Bear, Frank Scott, Floyd Eccleston, Nels Grumley. He's got a boatload of historical documents and information on MI's bow hunting history. Quite a treat to have in camp.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:
After a tricky crossing in the Brule's swift current the deer was soon back on the Michigan side
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2010/ShrewHaven2010099-1.jpg)
The Brule was impassable this year. With all the flooding rain from the weekend it had swollen to historic fall levels.
Another deer coming into camp by canoe up the Armstrong Creek....is that a pale looking figure I see standing back there in the trees? :eek: :scared:
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Camp_09%205.JPG)
(http://www.shrewbows.com/2004_pics/shrewhaven_ron.jpg)
It was unseasonably warm this year. I spent several afternoons sitting on this wonderfully comfortable stump on the north side of Banana Ridge.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/IMG_0552_zpsoc41cx0u.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/IMG_0552_zpsoc41cx0u.jpg.html)
No deer, but not entirely unproductive
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/IMG_0562_zpsjdzdg3ce.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/IMG_0562_zpsjdzdg3ce.jpg.html)
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/20161016_151732_zpsw1r9yuny.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/20161016_151732_zpsw1r9yuny.jpg.html)
Nothing all that spectacular here, but for some reason this spot always captivates my attention. I sit here many mornings after the hunt is over and just speculate....
I take a picture of it every year, it hasn't changed much.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/IMG_0572_zpsj4gewjqs.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/IMG_0572_zpsj4gewjqs.jpg.html)
Good photos, keep 'em coming and thanks.
Sometimes we get a covering of snow and that always changes things.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2014082_zpsd0dc5535.jpg)
Roger heading to one of his stands in the pines
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2014060_zpsdca5cdc8.jpg)
Ray Lyon with a big doe. No worries about meat spoiling in this kind of weather.
(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/Armstrong%20Creek%20Hunt%201993%20Ray%20with%201st%20UP%20deer_zpsohyuaajf.jpg)
(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/PB0600171_zps62217246.jpg)
Sometimes it just feels good to stay snug and warm in the cabin, here's Tim Cosgrove doing just that.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2014002_zps7b9e1666.jpg)
A view from the back of the cabin near twilight. Chef Greg inside preparing supper.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/soft%20glow.JPG)
Ron how did shrewhaven come to be? would love to hear the story. just by your guys post I can tell its a special place. looks like heaven on earth.
I'm so appreciating these posts .
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences . :campfire:
Billy,
I sent you a copy of the article that was published in TBM that I wrote a few years back. It gives some history of our camp. You can also use the search feature on Tradgang and pull up the threads from each year and get A LOT of history. Hope that helps.
Ray
Ray I would love to read that article if it's easy to send. I'll try to look up if you can't thanks.
Thanks ray.
I'm curious as to why you only use it once per year. I'd be there several times each year.
Michael, it should be in your Yahoo account
I own property in the Eastern UP where the deer are few and far between, but I still hunt up there every year because there is something very special about being north of the Mackinac Bridge. I have to say I really enjoy the annual Shrewhaven report.
Foxboro, Greg has been at camp for two and a half weeks before.Ron was going to spend a week there in june but had some health problems. Roger started a new business venture in the last year and i have high school daughters who are high level competing athletes and I run an 8 million dollar a year business. We would all LOVE to spend six weeks at Shrewhaven,but other than Greg, Ron (but then his customers would have to leave him alone)and maybe Kevin could be there more.
Great pics, I love the snow.
Sometimes we celebrate if a Holiday happens while we're in camp. This was Halloween one year
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven2010/ShrewHaven2010057.jpg)
Looking up the hill to the cabin from Armstrong Creek
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Shrewhaven_Armstrong.JPG)
At times it's so peaceful and quiet there you can hear the blood flowing throw your arteries.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/008%20Ron%20relaxing.JPG)
A big mess of squirrels ready for the cast Iron skillet.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/Shrewhaven20140042_zps1de59e99.jpg)
The "Snowstorm Buck" the best buck I've taken to date at ShrewHaven
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Snowstorm_Buck.jpg)
(http://***********.bowsite.com/TF/pics/00small39342961.JPG)
Bringing him out.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/canoe_deer.jpg)
We probably have the fanciest outhouse in the U P.
Tim Cosgrove and his Son in law Eric built it a few years ago. The wood toilet seat on the back wall has a carving of my avatar on it.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Shrewhaven_2011%20new%20privy.JPG)
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Shrewhaven_2011-privy%202.JPG)
There are some dandy bucks in the area. This is our C/O buddy Dave when he brought this 12 point to show us that was poached near our camp.
(http://***********.bowsite.com/tf/pics/00small10170344.JPG)
Wow Ron, Dave looks young in that picture!
Dave is as good as they get in law enforcement. Practical and smart without any attitude.
It was only a few years ago that Dave won the honor of Conservation Officer of the year for the whole state of Michigan.
Great stuff and story like always.
Dave is a great guy for sure.