southern traditions outdoors dec12-jan13

Complimentary Copy DECEMBER ’12 - JANUARY ‘13

TROLLING FOR DEER

BUSY AS A BEE

TROPHY DEER IN TENNESSEE

WATERFOWL HOT SPOTS

2 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | DEC2012-JAN2013

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Advertising Information: Southern Traditions Outdoors | Rob Somerville

(731) 446-8052 [email protected]

DISCLAIMER - Neither the authors nor Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine LLC assume any responsibility or liability for any actions by readers who utilize any information contained within. Readers are advised that the use of any and all information contained within Southern Traditions Outdoors is at their own risk.

On the CoverChief, owned by Tom Schwartz of Dyersburg, Tennessee, retrieves a Suzie Mallard in eastern Arkansas timber. Photo by John Houston.

Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine Mission Statement:Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine vows to put forth a publication to promote the outdoors lifestyle in a positive manner. We will strive to encourage veteran and novice outdoorsmen, women, kids, and the physically challenged to participate in the outdoors in a safe and ethical manner. Our publication will bring positive attention to the wondrous beauty of the world of Nature in the mid-south.

Garry MasonWalter WilkersonTerry WilkersonSteve McCadamsKelley PowersJohn Houston

Eddie BrunswickLarry Self John SloanRichard SimmsJohn MeachamBuck Gardner

Scott MarcinEd LankfordDrew BrooksJohn LathamJohn Roberts

Field Staff Editors

Owners - Eddie Anderson Rob Somerville Kevin GriffithPublisher - Eddie AndersonEditor - Rob Somerville

Magazine Design - Kalli LipkeAdvertising Sales Rob Somerville - Managing PartnerDistribution Johnathan Anderson

Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine, LLC

PG .................ARTICLE ......................................................AUTHOR8 ........................ TWRA News .................................................................11 ....................... Hunting Camp: Chicken Soup for the Soul .................. Rob Somerville 16....................... Born and Raised: A Duck Hunter’s Story ...................... John Houston20....................... Late Season Waterfowl Hot Spots ................................ Garry Mason22....................... Trophy Deer Hunting in Tennessee .............................. Walter Wilkerson24....................... Women in the Outdoors: Wild Cooking ......................... Terry Wilkerson26....................... Busy as a Bee ............................................................... Kevin Griffith30....................... NWTF Celebrates 40th Anniversary32....................... Trolling for Bucks .......................................................... Rob Somerville36....................... Kids and Puppies - Who’s Training Who? .................... Garry Mason38....................... Hot Products42 ......................Trophy Room43....................... Kid’s Korner

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3

DEC2012-JAN2013 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 5

Happy Holidays

Christmas is upon us and the New Year is quickly approaching. I want to take this time to thank God for my family and friends, especially Eddie Anderson and his family, who have become so dear to my heart. I also want to thank our other STO Magazine partner, Kevin Griffith, as well as our beautiful and creative graphic designer, Kalli Lipke for making this magazine successful.

STO Magazine would not be the top rated outdoor magazine in the region without our awesome writers such as Walter and Terry Wilkerson, Garry Mason, Eddie Brunswick, Gil Lackey, Joe King Jr. and others. Thanks, my friends!

Our entire staff wishes to express our sincere gratitude to the loyal family of advertisers that allow all of you reading this publication, to receive it free of charge!

The entire team at STO wants to thank our readers, for making us what we are today, as well.Last, but most certainly not least, I want to thank God for blessing me by putting all of you in my life.From the entire STO Magazine family to all of you … have a very merry Christmas and may God bless all

of you in the coming year!

Rob Somerville STO Editor

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COMMISSION HOLDS FINAL MEETING OF CALENDAR YEAR

The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission held its fi-nal meeting of 2012 in a special one day gathering on Fri-day, Nov. 30th. The commission heard from Mike Patterson, a Middle Tennessee sportsman, voic-ing concerns about planned restrictions by the U.S. Corps of Engineers allowing boating access below dams along the Cumberland River. Specifics of the restrictions are not known at this time. Frank Fiss, TWRA Assistant Chief of the Fisheries Divi-sion, gave an update on tail water management along the Watauga, South Holston and Caney Fork rivers. He pre-sented a summary of recent public meetings that were held to identify any resourc-es issues. Chuck Yoest, TWRA Wild-life Division Big Game Coordi-nator, gave a report on the recently completed fall turkey season and the fast start to this year’s deer hunting sea-son. About 2,700 birds were harvested dur-ing the turkey season, which ran from Oct. 13th -26th. The figures were almost identical to the 2011 fall totals. The deer hunting season, which began with the archery segment in late September, has seen an increase in harvest numbers. As of early on Nov. 30TH, about 117,000 deer were harvested, an increase from the 110,000 through the same time period last year. Gun season for deer began on Nov. 17th and will continue through Jan. 6th, 2013. Yoest presented an agency recommendation that adds the Pennsylvania counties of Adam and York to the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) restrictive zones. He also asked to remove the statewide restriction on New York and decrease the restriction to only include Madison and Oneida counties. The commission approved the recommendations.A status report on the Cummings Cove Wildlife Management Area was presented by David McKinney, TWRA Chief of En-vironmental Services. The 1,200 acre Cummings Cove WMA

is located on Aetna Mountain, in Hamilton and Marion coun-ties. The area has been heavily used by Off-Road Vehicles, which are causing environmental concerns. During the last year, TWRA has participated in a pub-lic meeting, to answer the public’s questions on why Cum-mings Cove WMA has regulations that prohibit ORV use. The TWRA also solicited public comments over a 76-day period,

from March 1st, 2012 to May 15th, 2012, in an ef-fort to determine what the public expected in

the way of recreational opportunities on the WMA. In addition, TWRA conducted

several site visits to Cummings Cove WMA with various state and feder-

al agencies, including TDEC and USDA Forest Legacy. The commission viewed a recently aired video of a CBS evening News segment that was filmed in Montgomery County on White Nose Syn-drome (WNS). Bill Reeves, TWRA Chief of Biodiversity,

said an artificial bat cave was built by the Nature Conservan-

cy on TWRA land in Montgom-ery County to combat WNS. WNS

is a fungus infection threatening the populations of bats that live in caves

in North American. The artificial bat cave project is designed to attract bats and hope-

fully be used in a study to evaluate ways to treat and prevent WNS. The TFWC set its next meeting for Jan. 17th – 18th, 2013. The first meeting of the New Year will be held Thursday and Friday.

GUILTY PLEAS REACHED IN CASES INVOLVING WILD HOGS

Two guilty pleas have been made in cases involving nu-merous charges involving wild hogs, in Moore and Lewis counties in Middle Tennessee. Dr. Stacy Smith, of Lynchburg, pled guilty to 16 counts of illegal possession of wildlife. He also pled guilty to fail-ure to use an approved source, failure to maintain records for a preserve, violation of a quarantine order and criminal conspiracy. The veterinarian received a total of $4,944.00 in

TWRA NEWSFrom the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency


fines and court costs. Timothy Chapman, of Mt. Pleasant pled guilty to seven counts of illegal possession of wildlife. He received fines and courts costs totaling $1,654.00 and loss of his hunting and trapping privileges for one year. The cases involved a joint effort by the Tennessee Wild-life Resources Agency special investigation unit, wildlife of-ficers from TWRA Region II & III, Moore County District Attorney, Lewis County District Attorney and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The Smith case was settled Aug. 7th, while the Chapman plea agreement was made Sept. 17th. The announcement comes as a reward program that has now been established for information leading to a conviction of persons dealing in the sale, illegal transportation and/or stocking of wild hogs. A reward of $3,500 is now in effect and made possible by contributions from TWRA, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation and the Tennessee Ornithological Society. Wild hogs cause extensive damage to farm crops, wildlife habitat, contribute to extreme erosion and stream pollution, and carry diseases harmful to livestock or other animals as well as humans. A primary reason for wild hogs rapid spread is illegal movement by those who wish to establish hog populations for hunting in areas that may have little or no wild hog pop-ulations. Illegal transport and release is the leading contrib-uting factor in the spread of wild hogs. The TWRA is among the more than 20 entities, from both private sector organizations and state government agencies that have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing to work cooperatively in regard to wild hogs. The partnership between the private sector and state agencies is working jointly to create and implement outreach tools to ef-fectively disseminate information to the public, defining the problems associated with wild hogs in Tennessee and how the parties are working cooperatively to help landowners combat the problems associated with wild hogs.

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he campfire spits a spark, high in to the

chilled air, from the flaming oak logs that are ablaze with fire. As the aromatic tendrils of smoke curl upward in to the starlit sky, a peaceful sol-itude falls over the hunting camp. The group of hunters, with a two-day old growth of whiskers on their faces, stare into the multicolor flames as if held in a hypnotic trance. There is no need for verbal communication here. These men have hunted together for years and are comfortable in

the serene calmness of the evening. Now and then, one of the hunters will glance up at the meat pole, imagining five trophy bucks, hanging in the frosty air, with their eyes twinkling in the firelight. There is always one sto-ryteller in the group, and he clears his throat to speak. His tale usually begins with, “I remember when …” This scene is played out yearly, in one fashion or an-other, at hunting camps all across the United States. Whether you are sitting out-

side your circled tents around a campfire, or nestled in com-fortable recliners inside a ce-dar lodge, a hunting camp is a magical place. Conversa-tions include the latest inno-vations in hunting equipment, the weather forecast or who drew cooking and clean-up duty that night. Good-na-tured bragging about woods-manship and hunting skills abound. Friendly ribbing will generally follow, targeting someone who missed an easy shot, fell into the swamp or got lost in the woods. A year-

ly debate, which will never be solved, will ensue on the topic of which is the best caliber rifle for deer. It is a place where boys learn to be men and men aren’t afraid to behave like boys. Essentially, all hunting camps are made up of similar characters. Let’s take a look around an average camp and see who we find. Furthest from the fire is the “Gadget Freak.” This person is staying away from the smoke to keep his new scent-free suit from

Hunting Camp:By Rob Somerville

T

Chicken Soup for The Soul

continued on next page


being contaminated. He has read every book and maga-zine available to man on the subject of deer hunting. He has a suitcase full of deer urine, scent blockers and cover scents. If an article of clothing can be made in camo, he owns it. He may never harvest a deer, but he looks good. Next to him is the “Rookie.” The rookie is clothed in hand-me-down camo. He has borrowed a gun and ammo for this trip and hasn’t even bothered to sight it in. He doesn’t own a deer stand and often even gets lost trying to find the bathroom in the dark in his own house, let alone a deer stand in the deep woods. He will be put in the furthest deer stand, far from the most serious hunters in camp, so as not to spook deer off of others, and for some reason, he is usually the one to bag the big buck on opening day. Sitting across from the rookie is the “Grizzled Veteran.” He doesn’t say much, but when he talks the oth-ers have learned from experience to listen. He has learned woods-m a n s h i p a n d h u n t i n g s k i l l s the proper way: through experi-ence. To the left of the grizzled veteran sits the “Den Mother.” This member of camp is the or-ganizer. He plans menus, decides

who should hunt where and makes sure the important supplies are always on hand, such as aspirin, antacids and toilet paper. Crouched down on his aching knees, and usu-ally found spitting chewing tobacco into the fire sits “The Complainer.” He is happiest when grip-ing about the weather, the moon phases, his job or life in general. Immediately to his right, and serving to counter-balance the griper, is the “Court Jester.” This individual doesn’t necessarily care if he takes a deer or not, he is there pure-ly for entertaining the troops. He is funny enough to have his own sitcom, and uses gestures and voice imperson-ations to perfection. All hunt-ing camps I have been privi-leged to be a part of have had

some sort of combination of all of these character traits. And somehow, as if Mother Nature stirred the contents of this melting pot with her magic wand, the end result is a happy and cohesive group of hunters. Stress disappears as soon as the hunters pull in to camp. Expectancy levels are high and each member looks for-ward to the bond of fellow-ship and camaraderie they share together. The aromas from the cook’s fire are a wonder in itself. Homemade deer chili, simmering in a cauldron above an open fire, makes the crew salivate like a pack of hungry wolves. Even though the spicy chili burns their gut with prom-ises of an early morning trip to the frozen toilet seat of the outhouse, the camp members

greedily fill their bowls with helping after helping. After supper, as the gang clasps steaming cups of strong coffee in their gloved hands, more to keep their hands warm than for the caf-feine high, stories of past hunts begin to flow from their mouths. There always seems to be talk of a legendary and phan-tom-like buck in the area. It is usually a monster 12 or 14 pointer, weighing in at well over 250 lbs. The buck usu-ally has a nickname like “The Gray Ghost,” “Bullwinkle,” or “The Hat Rack.” This giant deer may or may not exist, but it builds up the anticipation and excite-ment level of the hunters un-til they reach a fevered pitch similar to ancient African war tribes just prior to battle.

Hunting Camp Continued


Humorous tales soon fol-low, usually attempts to em-barrass a present hunter, causing these grown men to laugh insanely like school children until they finally have to walk away to catch their breath and wipe the tears from their eyes. It doesn’t matter how many times the stories are told; they always draw a fascinat-ed and amused crowd. And who cares that if with each telling, some more details are added to make the story more amusing. Maybe a time of reminiscence will follow, where a hunting companion who has passed on to a bet-ter place is remembered and paid tribute to. Eventually the talk will turn to who will hunt where in the morning. These spots will change dozens of times as indecisions and hunches are the general rule of thumb.

Finally, the hunters will be-gin to head to their sleeping quarters for a night of tossing and turning; fitfully dream-ing of a huge buck. All the hunters will retire, except one. He is the most senior of the group, the grizzled vet-eran of many a deer camp and he remains alone at the smoldering fire. He pokes a stick through the embers as if in search of something. As we edge of the shadows of a nearby large oak tree. We can hear him sigh, and see him hoist himself up, on creaky arthritic knees. He has a smile on his face. He looks up in to the heavens and rais-ing a gnarled hand to the sky he mutters softly, “Thank you Lord for this little piece of Heaven on earth.” Pouring the remaining cof-fee on the fire to extinguish the glowing embers, he am-bles off, towards the sleeping

shanty. He rests easy, know-ing he is the only one who will sleep like a baby tonight.Summary One of the most overlooked advantages of a hunting club is the camaraderie formed while scouting, planting food plots and hunting. All of my best friends have become so, through my association with them as fellow mem-bers of hunting leases I am on. Planning, putting up deer stands, brushing duck blinds and sitting around the camp fire all help form a bond filled with memories that will last a lifetime. I have been in clubs where four generations of hunters sat around the lodge swap-ping stories and laughing. To put it simply, a hunting club’s quality will be decid-ed upon by who the members are and what they put in to it. An unwritten code of eth-

ics should also be discussed. This includes never leaving the property until all hunters are at the designated parking space and accounted for, and never acting disrespectful to another member. Last year, on the evening before the opening of the Juvenile deer hunt, I looked around the campfire. I saw smiles and looks of content-ment on all of the adults, and excitement and awe in the eyes of the kids. I remem-ber saying a silent prayer of thanks to the Father of all things wild, and whispering to myself, “It just doesn’t get any better than this.” I hope that your hunt-ing club venture will be a success.

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Born and Raised: A Duck Hunter’s Story

ive minutes. It is just starting to get light on the morning of November 17th, 2012, and one of the men in the duck pit has just announced how much time is left before shooting time. It is the opening morning of duck season, and I am sitting in the middle of a field in eastern Arkansas. Four min-utes. The last straggler hur-ries into the pit from park-ing a four wheeler a little ways off while the rest of us fumble around getting shot-gun shells loaded into our re-spective guns. Three minutes. Someone is pointing out that we have ducks buzzing all around the pit and it is just getting light enough to see them. Two minutes. I con-template searching my back-pack for my duck calls, but

decide against it because I do not want to miss out on any action. One minute. Our talk-ing amongst the group has quieted down to just pointing out which direction the ducks are flying. Anxiousness per-meates the pit and is so obvi-ous that the dogs can sense it and start to whine and fidget. A group of teal are approach-ing fast. “It’s time,” someone whispers. Seven shotguns go off to kickoff what is my fa-vorite time of year. I have been coming to Ar-kansas to duck hunt as long as I can remember. My dad and a few of his friends start-ed this duck hunting club in 1994, and this fall marks the beginning of its nine-teenth season. The club has members spanning all across Tennessee, but no matter the

number of hours it takes to get there we all still love to come. We have kept a re-cord book each season of the number of ducks and geese killed, as well as who has hunted and out of which duck blind. As digital photography has grown, our hunts have become better documented through pictures, and our hunting lodge has a desig-nated wall that has amassed several intriguing and hilari-ous photographs. There have also been numerous retriev-ers that have come and gone in the nearly two decades our club has existed. Out of all the different types of game I have hunted over the years, duck hunting is the one I love the most. I have been blessed to hunt alongside my father and my

grandfather while growing up. Even my sister has been raised loving to hunt, and despite being three years younger than me, she man-aged to kill a deer before I did. Through the busy years of high school and the dis-tance of going to college in Knoxville, Tennessee, my passion for duck hunting per-sisted and now I go as often as I can. It is a sport that has been a major part of three quarters of my life, and the passion continues to grow as I age. On this aforementioned opening morning this past November, my hunting group had an hour to hunt before a second group of club mem-bers came to swap out in our pit. This rotation was due to the fact that so many people

By John Houston

F


were in town that weekend to hunt. We managed to kill our allotted quota of six ducks a person on mostly teal and mallards in forty-five min-utes, so our time limitation was not a factor. The shoot-ing was fast all morning and the retrievers were ready for

a break by the time we were finished. I was lucky enough again on Sunday morning to limit out with the group I hunted with, although it took a little bit longer to kill our quota that morning than it did Saturday morning. There are two pits in two

different fields that our club uses to hunt. Based on the flat eastern Arkansas land-scape, it is better to hunt down in these pits with a view at ground level. We use a roll-top cover for cam-ouflage while we sit in these pits, and each pit holds be-tween six and eight people, along with dog boxes on each side. This past summer some of our club members built an above ground duck blind for our newly added, wooded hunting area. This “timber hole” has done well killing ducks and has been a nice addition to our club this year. Members take turns rotating from each duck blind morn-ing to morning to make sure everyone gets equal oppor-tunities to hunt in different locations. There is never a distinguished “sweet spot” among the duck blinds, but it is a matter of luck on any given morning as to where

the ducks will be flying. Thus far I have managed to go duck hunting on open-ing weekend and Thanksgiv-ing weekend this November. Opening weekend was a lot more successful for num-ber of ducks killed. Arkan-sas’s duck season had a two week break after Thanksgiv-ing through the first of De-cember. I plan on heading back each weekend through the Christmas holiday, and hopefully it will get cold enough to send more ducks down from the North. As fun as the duck hunting is, I have just as much fun from the ca-maraderie amongst the men in the club, the time spent riding over from West Ten-nessee, the goofing off, the naps, and the other miscel-laneous activities that come from being at hunting camp. I look forward to another great season of my favorite time of year.

December 2011, the author’s family tradition of duck hunting together continues every year with their duck club. - Photo couretsy of John Houston.

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The inaugural year of the author’s duck hunting club, 1994. Front row (l to r): John Houston, Michael Boehmler, Sarah Houston, Jackie Boehmler, Blake Boehmler. Back row: Jim Houston and Bill Boehmler. - Photo courtesy of John Houston


Late Season Waterfowl Hot Spots

By Garry Mason

Pictured here are Tim Hayes and Marshall Minton, with a Kentucky Lake goose. Photo by Garry Mason


any waterfowl-ers enjoy taking

a trip now and again, to get to hunt new places in differ-ent areas. I have been very blessed to get to hunt some of America’s finest duck hunt-ing locations and one thing is for sure, the more you re-search and prepare, the bet-ter your hunt will be. Follow along with me, while I tell you about some of the won-derful places and great guides that I have been privileged to share a blind with.

Stan Jones of Mallard Lodge,

Arkansas Stan’s lodge sits on over eight thousand acres of flood-ed rice, in the northern sec-tion of Arkansas. This is the land that made duck hunting famous. As migrating flocks of water fowl head south, it is corn and rice that they seek to provide fuel for the flight so to speak, and Stan sets a huge table. What you will find when you get there is that Stan’s lodge can accom-modate up to twenty eight people and his blinds are pit style blinds, sitting over one hundred and fifty decoys, plus speckle belly decoys. Decoys are removed after each days hunt. Stan also of-fers Arkansas style, flooded green timber hunts. Cypress blinds, in flooded sloughs, are also a very unique ex-perience that Stan offers to his clients. Evening pheas-ant hunts are the norm at Stan Jones Mallard Lodge, so come prepared to enjoy a full day of hunting activities while you are there.

Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee

The three guides that I have hunted with at Reelfoot Lake are Billy Blakely, Ron-

nie Capps and Ben Parker. All offer heated blinds and great meals can be expected while hunting with any of these guys. Reelfoot Lake has a history of over one hundred and fifty years of great duck and goose hunting and just a trip to this pristine area is worth every penny spent. The scenery is beauti-ful and the hospitality great. There are many places to stay around Reelfoot and these folks throw the welcome mat out for hunters during duck season. While you’re in the area, be sure to stop by Fi-nal Flight Outfitters in Union City. Kelly, Jon Ed, and Trip have put together one of the finest stores in America for Water fowlers. Don’t forget to get something for the little lady for Christmas while you are there.

Steve McCadams of

Kentucky Lake in Paris, TN

Steve hunts on Kentucky Lake, just off of the Tennes-see River. His blind is just south of the northern part of the Tennessee National Wild-life Refuge, which is one of the largest refuge systems in the state. He has over forty years of guiding waterfowl hunters in this area of the reservoir and his blind sets in a natural pocket, protected from the northern winds that blow down the big lake. For years, this area has been a natural flyway for ducks and geese, as they travel up and down the Tennessee River in between the refuge system. A hearty breakfast at Renate’s restaurant in Big Sandy, Ten-nessee is always a treat be-fore the morning’s hunt. A drive through the refuge is always a pleasant experience this time of year and be sure

to bring your camera along. Scot Kerron of Stuttgart

Arkansas I have hunted with Scot Kerron on several occasions and both he and his guides work really hard to make sure that you enjoy a great hunt. Most of his places are flooded rice and bean fields and you can expect to shoot a variety of waterfowl while there. Most of Scot’s prop-erties are adjacent to the fa-mous Bayou Meto Wildlife Management area. Scott has bird cleaning available and while there I suggest staying at Cross Heirs Retreat Center. If you are going to Stuttgart,

be sure and stop by Mack’s Prairie wings and pick up a few of the items that you have always dreamed of hav-ing. Mack’s has everything that a waterfowl hunter can imagine. While some of the loca-tions in this article offer day trips for hunters, and some of them are package hunts, two things are for sure. There is a great hunting trip available here for almost everyone’s budget. All of these men are true professionals and do a great job to insure that you and your hunting buddies will have a safe and enjoy-able hunting trip.

The author is pictured here with a brace of mallards and a pintail. Photo courtesy of Garry Mason

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ack when I started hunting in 1972, we had to travel to Weakley County or Big Sandy in Tennessee, just to even see a deer and could only kill two bucks a year. At that time, there were NO does allowed to be taken. Then, around 1982, our deer herd grew so rapidly that the TWRA started having doe hunts and raised our buck harvest limit to eleven bucks a year. This sounded like a good thing, but it really ending up hurting the quality of our herd. It was like before. We would have to travel to different counties, or even other states, just get a chance to harvest a nice whitetail buck. In 1994, we opened our family owned and operated, Wilk-erson’s Taxidermy business. At that time, the average deer that came in to be mounted was only 1 ½ years old. By the mid to late 90’s, the TWRA dropped our state-wide buck limit down to 2, and then back up to 3, where it remains today. Over the years, I could see our deer herd getting a little more age and with age comes m o r e m a t u r e whitetai ls . In the past three years, our deer herd has grown to a more ma-ture herd, with larger bodied bucks and more impressive ant-ler size. As I write this article, we are only half way through our deer season, and in my shop it looks l i k e a M i d -Western Taxi-dermy shop. I probably have over ten Boone and Crocke t t racks and Lord only knows how many Pope and Young racks .

This was unheard of twenty years ago. Talk about QDM (quality deer management), our TWRA has really done an outstanding job managing our deer herd for all of our ben-efit. The meat hunters can fill their freezers with does, and the trophy hunters can have their Wall Hangers. Now, we still go on out of country or on other state hunts for the adventure, not so much for the trophy anymore. So, that means more money stays in our County and State to support our TWRA, as well as local businesses. They have given us a 3 buck bag limit and its working. We all need to remember ‘’Beauty is in the eye of the be-holder.’’ It doesn’t matter if you have a 110 inch or 180 inch deer. If that deer gets your heart racing, then its a trophy to you, whether it be a Spike or a Booner.

Good Luck This Season!Walt ‘’Keeping the Tradition Alive’’ Wilkerson

Trophy Deer

Hunting in TennesseeBy Walter Wilkerson

Through the Quality Deer Management policies and harvest quotas put in place by the TWRA, we now have the opportunity to hunt trophy bucks, right here in Tennessee. Photo by Rob Somerville

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If I’m not able to be doing something wild outdoors, I like to be cooking something wild in the kitchen. Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes to do indoors. We eat a lot of wild meat, duck, deer and fish. There is a sense of accomplish-ment in cleaning, preparing and cooking fresh meat that you have killed or caught. I would love to share some of my fa-vorite recipes with you. These are a few of my family’s fa-vorite venison, tips, marinades and recipes, as well as some interesting and fun whitetail deer facts.

ITALIAN DEER ROAST SANDWICHES

INGREDIENTS:Ham roast from deer.1 bottle Italian salad dressing.1 to 2 jars of whole or sliced banana peppers. Onion.Sliced cheese (provolone is my choice).Submarine sandwich buns.

DIRECTIONS:Place roast in a slow cooker.Cover with water adding cut up onion and seasoning to taste.Cook the roast on high, for 4 to 6 hours, or until ham will shred easily.Remove meat from crock pot. Discard water and onion.Shred ham like BBQ and return to cooker.Add Italian dressing (not to much, but you want it juicy.)Add juice from banana peppers (reserve the peppers until ready to serve.)Heat and let flavors mix thoroughly.Toast buns lightly in oven.Add meat, peppers and cheese to sandwich buns.Serve with chips or fries.

DEER TENDERLOIN PEPPER STEAKINGREDIENTS:1 whole loin, cut into strips (mari-nate 6 - 12 hrs in refrigerator).1 bell pepper & 1 small onion cut into strips.¼ cup olive oil.¼ cup canola oil.

½ cup allegro or Worcestershire.Salt, pepper, or garlic powder seasoned to taste.

DIRECTIONS:Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet (I love my iron skillet).Add sliced bell pepper and onion, cook until tender and re-move from pan.Add deer tenderloin strips into heated canola oil, cook until well done. Drain oil and add vegetables. Serve over rice or noodles

DEER McNUGGETSINGREDIENTS:1 whole deer tenderloin - cut into 2” chunks {marinate 6 - 12 hrs in refrigera-tor in Allegro or milk marinade).Dipping sauce (steak seasoning, ketchup, ranch

dressing or other).¼ to ½ cup of canola oil.

DIRECTIONS: Remove tenderloin nuggets from marinade and pat dry on paper towels.Roll nuggets in flour and fry until golden brown in heavy skillet.Serve with favorite dipping sauce, or with mashed potatoes and gravy

Wild in the Kitchen


WHITETAIL DEER FACTS• Well-nourished bucks begin sprouting new racks each April. Antlers can grow more than 1/2” per day. • If temperatures drop to single digits, whitetail deer often move during the midday hours. • The large ears of a deer can rotate 180 degrees and pick up high-frequency sounds. • The entire molting process for whitetails is gradual, tak-ing several months to complete. From early spring to late summer, a deer’s coat transforms from a ragged brown to a solid, deep auburn. • When hunting in October, hunters will notice that the deer’s coat has changed from red to grey. The change occurs quick-ly, often within one to two weeks. • A whitetail’s hair appears bluish-grey in winter. New hair that grew in during autumn provides whitetails with added insulation. The tips on these new hairs are dark, giving the winter hide its richer hue. • Studies have shown that deer can smell human scent on underbrush for days after we leave the woods. Wary bucks react very negatively when they run across our scent, often becoming leery of the area for weeks afterwards. • Bucks most often bed by laying on their right side and facing downwind, which allows them to use their eyes, ears and nose to detect danger approaching from any direction. • Deer are quick and skillful swimmers, often taking to water when frightened. Deer can easily swim across lakes or rivers, at over 10 miles per hour. • When running, a deer takes a long stride, with its tracks spaced as much as 25 feet apart.

I love cooking for my family and friends, but not everyone likes wild meat. I can honestly say I have never tried to serve wild meat without telling everyone what it actually is. I wouldn’t want it done to me, so that’s just always been one of my rules. But, any of these recipes you could pass off as beef or chicken and wild game is the healthiest meat you can eat; free of steroids and growth chemicals. The key to making it absolutely delicious, is to let your meat

soak to get all the blood out and marinade it to make it tender.If you have any questions about any of these recipes please don’t hesitate to call. Hunting is hard work and the results are very rewarding, but you have to know how to cook what you’re hunting. I hope you will try these recipes and enjoy them!

Happy Hunting Everyone!Terry “Living Life Outdoors’’ Wilkerson

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ees… These amazing creatures spend their brief lives gath-ering in times of abundance to survive. We all benefit from their existence wheth-er we have our own hive(s) or not. By assisting in plant reproduction, bees are an es-sential part of the food chain of this planet.

The Value of Bees

So, why would you want to keep bees on your own property? Besides helping the production of any crops or orchards you may have, the obvious benefit is provid-ing a natural sweetener that has multiple health benefits.

The most commonly known is how honey made from lo-cal nectar may help relieve the symptoms of allergies. My understanding is that it works very much like obtain-ing allergy shots, desensitiz-ing an individual from the inside out to environmental pollen allergies. Obviously, the more local your honey source the greater its per-sonal benefit. Thus, if you have pollen allergies, having your own bees gathering nec-tar around your home would produce the best possible hy-poallergenic honey for you and your family!

But, let’s not forget the value of having your own

natural sweetener that is healthier than using refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup. And honey will never spoil… its sugar content will just crystalize. There was even useable honey found re-cently in an Egyptian tomb! In addition, the wax from the honeycomb has many prac-tical uses including the cre-ation of soap and candles.

Our journey into bee keeping started when my brother, Kris, moved to Ten-nessee to help out on our family farm. Soon after he arrived, Kris began talking about the value of having our own hives. I soon gave in to his logic and located a local

bee keeper to obtain our first hive. We could have ordered everything we needed from a catalog or on-line, includ-ing the bees. However, we chose to start with an expe-rienced beekeeper that was willing to deliver the hive and train us on the basics of hive care and honey process-ing. And boy, were we ever happy we did!

Maintaining Bee HealthI have been amazed at all

that is involved in maintain-ing healthy hives and pro-cessing their honey. It is not as simple as just setting up the hive and waiting for the honey. Bees have many en-

Busy as a BeeBy Kevin Griffith

B

One visit to a bee hive demonstrates how the saying, “Busy as a bee” came to be. STO file photo


emies that require human in-tervention. Mites, viruses, hive beetles and wax moths are the most common. Each has their own treatment. But, it takes frequent inspections to identify the attacking pest and prevent hive damage. We’ve learned that checking the hive every 10 days or so will catch potential infesta-tion issues in time. We open the hive, look for any sign of pests and check to see if the bees seem vigorous and healthy.

A side benefit of these hive inspections is that you really get to know your bees, their productivity and needs. For instance, if your bees have run out of space to store honey, many of your bees may leave to start another hive. Adding an addition-al “super” (the box shaped attachment containing the

frames where the bees store honey) will give them the added space they need. Con-versely, you may find that your bees are running out of their stored food reserves. This will quickly kill your hive through starvation. In this case you can supplement their stores with sugar wa-ter, winter patties (manmade pollen/honey substitute) or by adding frames of honey-combs back into the hive. Starvation most frequently happens in the winter when too much has been removed from the hive to last the bee colony until spring.

While inspect ing the hive you’ll also notice shade differences in the honey. These shades reflect the var-ious sources of plant nectar used in the honey produc-tion. We’ve seen colorations ranging from pitch black to

virtually clear. Because of the time required to sepa-rately process these differ-ent shades, most beekeepers simply mix all the varia-tions together. We’ve cho-sen to process the lighter and darker shades separately creating two distinct flavors. The lighter color is mild and sweet while the darker has a stronger, bolder flavor.

Processing Honey

Speaking of processing, the steps involved in har-vesting are numerous and do consume a fair amount of time whether you have one or twenty hives. The first step after the removal of the honey filled supers (averag-ing 60 lbs.) from the hives involves uncapping each of the honeycomb frames. We use a long knife or an elec-tric (heated) knife to cut off

the wax caps covering the honey chambers within the comb. Eventually we hope to upgrade to a time saving automated uncapping table.

The next step involves placing these frames in a cen-trifugal extractor that slings the honey out of the frames. The basic extractor is hand cranked… we chose an elec-tric model. The hand crank model just reminded me too much of the old ice cream maker… but on steroids. I could imagine both my broth-er and I getting worn out pretty rapidly. These ex-tractors (at least the electric ones) effectively remove the honey from the frames and collect the honey for the next step in processing, heating.

The heater we chose re-minds me of a double boiler. There is an outer jacket that you fill with water. The wa-


The color variation is due to the different plant nectar used in the bees’ honey production. Lighter shades are more mild compared to the bold flavor of the dark honey.-Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake Farms

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ter is heated which in turn heats the honey within the inner container. Just like a double boiler, the water in the outer chamber even-ly distributes the heat pre-venting hot spots that could burn portions of the honey. Once heated, the honey is thin enough to filter.

Filtering can be as simple as pouring the honey through a screen and filter cloth. We simply open the spigot on the heater and manually filter the

honey by holding a basket shaped screen lined with fil-ter cloth as the honey flows into a 5 gallon food grade bucket. Once filtered the honey is ready for bottling.

Mason jars are a common container used for bottling. However, my favorite is the traditional plastic honey bear. They make great gifts and are easy to sell. Large pro-ducers use automated bot-tling machines. We manu-ally fill each container, cap

it and affix our Fyrne Lake label. The first couple years all of our extra honey pro-duction went to our family and friends. Now, with 20+ hives, we have a significant surplus that we’re turning into additional farm income. In Conclusion

Keeping bees has been an adventure and has added a new dimension of indepen-dence and income production to our farm. However, it has

been a challenge with a steep learning curve. We’ve lost entire hives to pests, captured wild swarms for neighbors and learned there are extreme quality differences in bee suits (ouch!). Are you ready for a new challenge, hobby, or income source? If so, I would recommend spending some time with a local bee-keeper and check it out for yourself. You may just get the bug!

Protective equipment, such as this qaulity “bee suit” is important to prevent potentially fatal stings. Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake Farms


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he NWTF National Con-vention and Sport Show, sponsored by MidwayUSA, will celebrate the NWTF’s 40th birthday when it returns to the Gaylord Opryland Re-sort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee on Feb. 15th through the 17th. There’s plenty to explore at the NWTF’s annual gath-ering, beginning with the 220,000-square foot exhibit hall. Last year, 44,000 people made a pilgrimage through the 650 booths stocked with the latest in top-quality out-door merchandise. Outdoor enthusiasts can browse through the exciting displays of taxidermy, art and specialty turkey calls, or watch the best turkey callers in the nation go head-to-head demonstrating their skills. Anyone looking for some-thing special to take home can bid on a new Chevy

truck, an African safari or one of many other fantastic prizes. “There’s no better place in-doors for hunters and conser-vationists,” said NWTF CEO George C. Thornton. “It’s be-come a favorite way for them to prepare for the upcoming spring season.” The event has something for everybody, beginning with “The Roost,” an area featur-ing air gun and archery rang-es and other hands-on edu-cational activities designed for youth. The centerpiece of The Roost is an inflatable cave that youth can explore, courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Outdoor celebrities, in-cluding some of the cast of The History Channel’s “Swamp People,” Michael Waddell, Brenda Valentine, Lee and Tiffany Lakosky and Will Primos, will sign auto-

graphs and mingle with fans at the Sport Show. Seminars will feature tips from hunt-ing pros such as Mark and Terry Drury and leading bi-ologists specializing in land management. With its “Then, Now, Al-ways” theme, the convention will recognize NWTF accom-plishments of the past while stressing the urgency of the organization’s current and future missions. “Our 40th anniversary is a special time for NWTF members to come together and celebrate the success our organization has enjoyed and the challenges that we still face,” said Thornton. Admission to the Sport Show and various contests is free for NWTF members and active-duty military person-nel. An NWTF membership card or military ID provides quick entry.

NWTF memberships are $35 for adults and $10 for youth under 18, can be pur-chased at www.nwtf.org or by calling (800) THE-NWTF. Memberships and $25 single-day admission tickets also will be available at the door. Can’t make it to the conven-tion? No problem. You can win a hunt without attending. Just go to www.nwtf.org/con-tests for details on how to get in on the action. Country music favorites Craig Morgan and Sawyer Brown headline the entertain-ment at night. So the NWTF urges people to purchase spe-cial-events tickets early, be-fore they can sell out. For more information about the NWTF Convention, in-cluding accommodations at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, visit www.nwtf.org and click on the convention icon.

NWTF Celebrates 40th Anniversary with National Convention in Nashville

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SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS MAGAZINE sponsored teamplaces 2nd in the 2012 DYERSBURG DUCK BLAST

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Trolling for Bucks

When a bedded buck like the one pictured here, gets a scent of a hot doe’s trail, a hunter can “reel” him in by trolling. STO file photo

By Rob Somerville


uring early December, love is in the air… at

least in the deer woods. Yes, it is that magical time in which our four-legged friends travel the fields and forests in hopes of contributing to the procreation of their spe-cies. In laymen’s terms – big bucks are chasing does in hope of a romantic interlude. Today, I will share how I got one to go, “Looking for love in all the wrong places.” (My apologies go out to all coun-try music fans.)

Love Hurts A few years ago, around December 1st, I knew the timing would be right. The rut was in full swing. The does were ready to accept the amorous attentions of their antlered better halves and of course, the bucks were also. With noses to the ground and eyes wide open, they were trolling for a receptive

partner. It was a cloudy afternoon in the wooded bottoms where I hunt. I knew a storm front was due to hit our area late that night, which meant that the deer would be moving earlier than usual. This was the deciding factor in get-ting to the woods early. The terrain was thick and full of cypress trees. Recent rains had flooded the majority of my leased ground. I chose to hunt an area that I call the “old clover lane.” It con-sists of a twelve foot wide strip of land that cuts a swath through the woods from the hill ground, all the way down to the river. The elevation of this area is about a foot higher than the bottomland woods on both sides, thus making a sort of dry express-way for deer. I wanted to pull in one of these love-struck bucks, in-

stead of taking a chance that one would pass me by from my stand location. I opted for a method I call, “trolling.” I cut a six-foot piece of bal-ing twine and tied a hang-man’s noose in one end to at-tach temporarily to my leg. I then tied a small piece of rag to the other end, which had been washed in scent-free de-tergent and soaked with Code Blue’s “Standing Estrus” doe urine. With my “drag rag” in place, I walked to the stand, trailing this scent trail be-hind me. When I got about forty yards in front of my deer stand, I loosened the hang-man’s noose from my boot and hung this smelly concoc-tion in the lower branches of a tree. I was trying out my new Traditions Premiere Pro muzzleloader. It was now 2:10 p.m. With-in ten minutes, a doe and her

fawn appeared behind me, splashing through the slough creek. Amazingly to me, they bedded down within ten feet and directly behind me. She was facing towards me to make matters even worse.

Now what? I couldn’t move. I was afraid to even breathe. I had a white-tailed alarm system ready to bust me. I kept cut-ting my eyes towards her as she groomed herself. I just knew that if a shooter buck came by and I raised my gun up, she would send off an alarm whistle and the game would be over. After about fifteen minutes of be-ing afraid to scratch my nose, which of course seemed to need it badly, I decided I needed to get rid of her. I took out my grunt call and blew it softly. No reaction. Louder still – and again no reaction!

D



Frustrated, I stood up; wav-ing my arms and still the seemingly mentally unstable deer would not budge. I final-ly gave up, deciding that she must be deaf, dumb or both.

The Fish Are Biting As I turned around and got back settled into my deer stand, finally scratching my insistent nose, I saw a tawny shape easing down the clo-ver lane with its nose down. It was a doe. I eased my gun up, saying to myself, “May-be old “big boy” is right be-hind her.” Well, miracle of miracles, he was. His nose was to the ground and he was as anxious

as a coon dog on a full moon night to find a girlfriend who wouldn’t run away from him. I mouth grunted to get him to stop in my shooting lane. He was broadside. I raised my smoke pole up, putting the crosshairs directly be-hind his shoulder and fired. Boom! The smoke filled the air. When it cleared, the nice 8-pointer laid on the ground, not having moved a step. I savored the moment and said a prayer of thanks to the Maker of all that is wild. When I got to my buck, I saw that there was no way that I could get him on my four-wheeler by myself. He

would dress out at over 175 lbs. and was 2 ½ years old. I went to get the landowner, who helped me load the deer and took a few pictures. I love to fish and hunt, but this is the first time I ever

combined the two and trolled for a deer. I don’t think it will be the last either. Take a kid hunting or fish-ing. After all, they are our most precious natural re-source. They are our future.

Deer Trolling Continued

Pictured is the author’s nice buck, which he trolled to his stand location during muzzleloader season. Photo by Rob Somerville

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ack in the 1960’s my Granddad had bird dogs

for quail hunting and I helped him train them on occasion. From time to time, he would sit me down and tell me things that made no sense to me then, but what strong words of wisdom they have turned out to be for me since that time. I remember one particular day he said to me, “Son, raising puppies and kids should be approached with the same manner of di-rection. Most folks want to work with their puppy when

he is cute and cuddly and they try to work with him too much and too long at a time. Then, the puppy starts to re-alize that he is being made to work and the training ses-sions get less and less fun for the dog. Once the pup gets to be six or seven months old, most folks have just given up on training or have run into problems that they have no idea how to handle. Kids are the same as a puppy.” Now, before any of you get upset with me for comparing your young’uns to a puppy,

hear me out on this philoso-phy. Let’s take a look back to Granddads theory. Most folks get a new puppy and boy, they are proud of that new little bundle of joy. They can’t wait to show him off to all of their buddies. You see, deep down inside, most of us want to prove something through this puppy. We want to show just what our skill level is by training this young pup to turn out to be the best that he can be, so all of our buddies will acknowledge our expertise in the months

to come. We all like to be bragged on from time to time and we feel that through this wonderful puppy we can ob-tain a certain level of high status with our hunting com-rades. This is not true all of the time, according to my Granddad, but most of the time it is. The minute that a hunter gets a puppy he starts the training process. He be-gins by taking the pup with him everywhere he goes. He lets him ride in the front seat of the truck with him and the pup gets to do all kinds of

B

Kids and Puppies - Who is Training Who?

By Garry Mason

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fun and exciting stuff each day, as everyone pets him and loves on him. But, then the work starts one morn-ing, and the puppy realizes that it is just not so fun any-more and he starts to get into bad habits. Before long, the owner loses interest and the puppy becomes just another pet around the farm, instead of reaching his full potential as a wonderful hunting com-panion. This is not something that happens overnight and many folks don’t even see it coming. Granddad told me that kids are the same, in a lot of ways, as that puppy. They

love to have fun and play and they don’t even mind a little work every now and then, especially if they don’t real-ize that they are working. We worked training puppies my Granddad and me, but I don’t think I ever understood that it was work. He had a certain personality with both puppies and kids that made you just want to be around him. He always made you feel like you were the most important part of everything that was being done, no matter what it was that we were doing. As I grew older, I got to hunt a time or two with Granddad and his hunting

buddies. I don’t think he ever tired of his friends, mak-ing good comments about me or my manners. He had taught me safe gun handling and good shooting skills, as well as conservation. Grand-dad would not hunt a single quail. He would take his dogs on to another covey, instead of hunting the singles after breaking up a covey. The bot-tom line is that he made work fun for both me and the pups that we were training and he never let you know that you were in training. When I look back at all of the won-derful things that my Grand-dad taught me, I realize now

that we were both in train-ing. You see I was his first grandkid and I took to the training really well. What a great Granddad he turned out to be, and I remember all of my buddies bragging about how wonderful he was. I now have five grandchildren of my own and another one on the way. I get to hunt and fish with each one of them and even though they are all different, one thing remains the same. I am being trained by the best of the best and I am sure that if you will stop and think about it, you are as well.

ABOVE - Hannah Henegar is shown reeling in her first fish, under the tutelage of Grandpa - Garry Mason.Photo courtesy of Garry Mason

RIGHT - The author ’s grandson - Austin Flow-ers, is shown here fishing with Granddad.Photo courtesy of Garry Mason

LEFT - The author’s grand-daughter, Morgan Mason is pictured here with her dad- Michael Mason, and her very first turkey.Photo courtesy of Garry Mason


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Jordan Ludwick killed her first deer, this nice buck, while hunting with her dad Larry during a youth hunt in Ripley County in Tennessee on November 4th, 2012.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s Taxidermy

This is Dylan Beaver’s’s first deer, shot with a 30/30 rifle, on Dec. 21st, 2011, while hunting with with his brother in-law, Drew Rice in Crocket County, Tennessee.Photo courtesy of Chris Beaver

Pictured is Jackson Fortner, holding up his first bass ever, which he caught on March 24th, 2012.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s Taxidermy

Autry Sartin, of Dyersburg, Tennessee trapped this rare albino raccoon at Coon Creek in Lenox, Tennessee.Photo submitted by Steve Sartin


Clay Hollingsworth killed this huge, 9-point buck while hunting with his granddad, Pete Hollingsworth on Nov.26th, 2012 in Dyer County.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s Taxidermy

Young Daniel Clegg makes his second Trophy Room appearance in this issue with an alligator gar that he shot while bow fishing on the Tennessee River.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s Taxidermy

Pictured here is fourteen year-old Daniel Clegg of Dyersburg,Tennessee with his first bow-killed doe. It was a 25 yard shot.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s Taxidermy


Jennifer Whalen killed this huge, 11-point - 165 inch whitetail on Nov. 5th, 2012 while hunting in Carroll County.Photo submitted by Wilkerson’s Taxidermy

Andrew Griffith, 8 years old, shot his first buck, which had 7-points, on his parents property in Dyersburg. Photo submitted by Kevin Griffith

Ethan Smith harvested this nice 9-point buck on November 3rd, 2012.Photo submitted by Wilkerson’s Taxidermy


Tim Smith is pictured here with his great buck, which he took in Weakley County, on opening day of muzzleloader season. It had 11-points and dressed out at 207 pounds.Photo courtesy of Wilkersons Taxidermy

Parker Lamb harvested this nice, ten-point buck in Dyer County, Tennessee this past November, while hunting with his dad - Marty. Photo submitted by Donna Hicks

Pictured here is Will Welch, with his first buck ever. He was hunting with his dad, Joe Welch in Dyer County.Photo submitted by Wilkerson’s Taxidermy


This nice doe was taken by Kathryn Clegg during the Tennessee muzzleloader season, while hunting with her husband Chris, over a new food plot.Photo submitted by Wilkerson’s Taxidermy

Mary Malone Adcock, who is 11 years-old, bagged this awesome 8-point buck while hunting with her dad and sister, in Northwest Tennessee.Photo submitted by David Adcock

Marty Lamb took this buck on the same hunt in Dyer County that his son - Parker harvested a ten-point buck. Talk about a father and son team!Photo submitted by Donna Hicks


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TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Rob Somerville

Now listen my friends and you shall hear,Of a Christmas tale so strange and so rare.

Twas the day before Christmas, a cold, snowy day you see,An hour before morning, found me perched high in a tree.

I had one more buck tag to fill for this year,As I sat bundled in all the warm clothes I could wear.

All of a sudden I saw such a strange and wondrous sight,Twas a bright red light, soaring high through the night.

As I sat and pondered as to what I just saw,A tremendous noise broke the silence and filled me with awe.

Limbs crashed and rained down, as the woods seemed to shatter,And I woke from my stupor at this boisterous clatter.

Bodies were crashing, and running askew,Could it be a whole deer herd? Well it was more than a few.

I slipped quietly from my stand, a few steps had I taken,Is that sleigh bells I hear? No, I must be mistaken.As daylight arose, I crossed my fingers for luck,

Peeking around a huge oak tree I spied a huge buck.My legs turned to Jell-O, and I shivered and shook,

At the chance of this trophy, which would make record book.I forced myself to steady and raised my rifle to aim,When from over my shoulder a cheerful voice came.It said, “Just hold on a minute Rob, and listen to me.

And in my voice I believe some logic you’ll see.I’ve got no problem at all with hunting, my friend,

But if you shoot this animal, then Christmas might end.He’s not a whitetail, of that you should know.”

And as I looked through my scope, I saw the deer’s nose all aglow.“Rudolph?” I asked with my voice all a stammer,

And the voice simply said yes, hitting home like a hammer.So I turned to the voice and said, “Then you must be ….. ,”

But I was cut off with a wink, a Ho-Ho, and Tee-Hee.“That’s right”, said the old man in red and in white,So chubby and happy with pink cheeks so bright.

“I’m Santa Claus, who some call Saint Nick,And I’ve got a big problem. You see, Rudolph is sick.”


TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Rob Somerville

Now listen my friends and you shall hear,Of a Christmas tale so strange and so rare.

Twas the day before Christmas, a cold, snowy day you see,An hour before morning, found me perched high in a tree.

I had one more buck tag to fill for this year,As I sat bundled in all the warm clothes I could wear.

All of a sudden I saw such a strange and wondrous sight,Twas a bright red light, soaring high through the night.

As I sat and pondered as to what I just saw,A tremendous noise broke the silence and filled me with awe.

Limbs crashed and rained down, as the woods seemed to shatter,And I woke from my stupor at this boisterous clatter.

Bodies were crashing, and running askew,Could it be a whole deer herd? Well it was more than a few.

I slipped quietly from my stand, a few steps had I taken,Is that sleigh bells I hear? No, I must be mistaken.As daylight arose, I crossed my fingers for luck,

Peeking around a huge oak tree I spied a huge buck.My legs turned to Jell-O, and I shivered and shook,

At the chance of this trophy, which would make record book.I forced myself to steady and raised my rifle to aim,When from over my shoulder a cheerful voice came.It said, “Just hold on a minute Rob, and listen to me.

And in my voice I believe some logic you’ll see.I’ve got no problem at all with hunting, my friend,

But if you shoot this animal, then Christmas might end.He’s not a whitetail, of that you should know.”

And as I looked through my scope, I saw the deer’s nose all aglow.“Rudolph?” I asked with my voice all a stammer,

And the voice simply said yes, hitting home like a hammer.So I turned to the voice and said, “Then you must be ….. ,”

But I was cut off with a wink, a Ho-Ho, and Tee-Hee.“That’s right”, said the old man in red and in white,So chubby and happy with pink cheeks so bright.

“I’m Santa Claus, who some call Saint Nick,And I’ve got a big problem. You see, Rudolph is sick.”


I stepped back on to something, and heard a funny noise,And looking around, I saw thousands of toys.

I glanced up in a tree, and saw a sleigh upside down,All broken up, with presents strewn all over the ground.

As Rudolph walked up and licked Santa’s hand,I saw a tear run down the cheek of that man.

He said, “Well Rudy, we must be just a couple of old fools.We’ve outlived our uses, and bent all the rules.I guess there will be some sad girls and boys,

Who behaved all year, but still wont get their toys.”I sat down on a stump, blinking back my tears,

As memories filled me, from past Christmas years.When I, as a boy, crawled in to my bed,

And visions of presents filled my young head.But what could I do, no magic had I,

I could barely run, let alone could I fly.I told Santa, you know I’d help if I could,If I knew what to do, I certainly would.

As I stared down at my boots, feeling so useless and weak,I felt a wet nose, as It nuzzled my cheek.

It was Rudolph the red, who nudged me to stand,And he lit up his nose, as he tugged at my hand.


I stepped back on to something, and heard a funny noise,And looking around, I saw thousands of toys.

I glanced up in a tree, and saw a sleigh upside down,All broken up, with presents strewn all over the ground.

As Rudolph walked up and licked Santa’s hand,I saw a tear run down the cheek of that man.

He said, “Well Rudy, we must be just a couple of old fools.We’ve outlived our uses, and bent all the rules.I guess there will be some sad girls and boys,

Who behaved all year, but still wont get their toys.”I sat down on a stump, blinking back my tears,

As memories filled me, from past Christmas years.When I, as a boy, crawled in to my bed,

And visions of presents filled my young head.But what could I do, no magic had I,

I could barely run, let alone could I fly.I told Santa, you know I’d help if I could,If I knew what to do, I certainly would.

As I stared down at my boots, feeling so useless and weak,I felt a wet nose, as It nuzzled my cheek.

It was Rudolph the red, who nudged me to stand,And he lit up his nose, as he tugged at my hand.

“It seems Rudy likes you,” said the fat man in red,“And it just might work,” with a wink, Santa said.

Oh no, not me, I’m just an ordinary man,But Santa smiled at me and said, “If you believe, then you can.”

The next thing I knew, my four-wheeler was packed,With candy canes, teddy bears, and presents all stacked.

Rudolph was hooked up to my front-end winch,Santa pulled out some Skoal and thumbed out a pinch.

He sprinkled the dust on me and my ride,Saying, “This magic dust will give you the power to glide.

Though Rudolph is too old to pull such a load,His bright red beacon will light up your road.”

To make sure I wasn’t dreaming, I pinched myself hard,Thinking that we must look like a strange Christmas card.Santa jumped up behind me, and gave the throttle a tweak,

And I thanked my heavy-duty shocks as they let out a shriek.We tore out through the woods, and soared through the sky,

Over mountains and valleys, so far and so high.The rest of the night went by like a blur,

It went by in fast motion, with a dizzying whir.We went down the chimneys of millions of houses,

We awoke not a soul, not even the mouses.We ate milk and cookies, till I felt my belly would pop,

And at the end of it all, I just wanted to drop.“Here’s the last stop Rob”, I heard Santa say,

As I stepped on to the roof, and said “What a day!”We had arrived at my own house; and I was ready for bed,

So I hugged old Saint Nick, all clothed in red.He said, “One more thing, before you leave,

I have one more gift, and it’s yours to receive.”He handed me a box, wrapped in paper and bow,

It read, “Do not open, until tomorrow.”He told me he loved me, and I hugged Rudolph’s neck,

I bent over to Santa, and gave his cheek a peck.“I’ll never forget you, please call me next year,

And we’ll do this again, me, you, and that deer.”The next morning I rushed to the tree like a kid,To see what present under the paper were hid.

I tore it apart, and eyed it with glee,It was a photo of Santa, and Rudolph, and me.

Santa is magic, and Christmas is too,It’s not just for kids, but also for you.

Keep Christ in Christmas, for his birth is the reason,That we celebrate with gifts, during this glorious season.

I hope your holidays, are filled with peace, love, and light.Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

MERRY CHRISTMASFROM THE STO STAFF!


2012 NISSAN TITAN PRO 4 X 4 CREW CABFINALLY......

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The Nissan Titan is a serious, full-size pickup truck designed for work and play. It is available in both rear-wheel and four-wheel drive configurations, with two body styles - extended (King) Cab and Crew Cab. The Titan is offered in four trim levels: S, SV, PRO-4X and SL. All are powered by a 317-hp 5.6-liter En-durance V8 engine, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with Tow/Haul mode. When properly equipped, the Nissan Titan King Cab has a 9500 pound towing capacity and the Crew Cab has a 9400 pound towing capacity. Safety features include active front head restraints, dual front airbags, anti-lock disc brakes and a tire pressure monitoring system. Standard equipment for all models include side curtain airbags, panic brake assist, and electronic stability control. The PRO-4X and the SL trims feature standard hands free Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The 2012 Nissan Titan receives a new SV Sport Appearance Package, and new exterior colors. To test drive the Titan or any of Nissan’s fine line of cars, trucks and SUV’s - go see our friends at Rick Hill Nissan. They are located at 2700 Parr Avenue in Dyersburg, Tennessee. You can call them 731-285-6294 or view their entire inventory of new and used vehicles at www.rickhillnissan.com.- Rob Somerville

2012 ARCTIC CAT 550 H1 4-Stroke Engine w/EFI Any day that involves your machine calls for fun and performance - that’s what you get with this 545cc EFI power plant. Plenty of

muscle for work and plenty of go for play time. Ride-In Suspension

Designed and proven on the racetrack, its Ride-in suspension features a lower profile and seat design, allowing for a lower center of gravity without sacrificing travel. Double A-arms prevent deflections during cornering, so steering remains consistent. This suspension gives you plenty of performance-oriented control and it still maintains 11 inches of ground clearance.

Digital Gauge Displays your critical information indicators, including speedometer, tachometer, clock, hour meter, fuel level, odom-eter/tripmeter, gear position, 2WD/4WD, front differential lock, battery condition, temperature and oil pressure

Duro 2 Star Kaden Tires & Powder-Coated Steel Wheels Powder-coated steel rims wrapped in Duro 2 Star Kaden tires. With these tires, you get the benefits of a 2-ply rating with a tread pattern that’s designed to get you through all types of terrain. Displaying all-around durability, traction and performance. alternating sized shoulder lugs.

Front & Rear Steel Racks These front and rear steel racks provide the durability you want and the storage capacity you need. For more information on this ATV visit our friends at:OuterLimit Powersports 470 Highway 51 Bypass - Dyersburg, TN - 38024(731) 285-2060 (731) 285-2078 www.outerlimitpowersports.comRIDERS MUST BE 16 YEARS OF AGE. SEE DEALER FOR SAFETY & TRAINING INFORMATION.

2012 Arctic Cat 550i 4x4 Only $7,799

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