9/18/00

Marc, Rick, Steve, Larry and our newest "Junior" member of the VVHC - Lucas, made another scouting trip to  Houghton Lake this weekend.  We started out the weekend practicing our marksmanship skills by vaporizing 30-35 chipmunks with pellet guns.  We put a serious dent in the chipmunk population, but there is still more pest control work to be done.  Marc and Rick also combined on a squirrel kill, which was captured digitally by Steve.  Also, Lucas got a chance to "ride the ridin' lawnmower," so he was very happy.

Marc and Lucas had to travel to Alpena for a wedding on Saturday afternoon.  The rest of the crew headed into town to do some shopping.  On the way there they spotted 20 deer on Tower Hill road, several of which had racks.  The deer weren't more than a mile from the cabin and it was still daylight.

We went to the woods on Sunday in hopes of deciding on blind locations.  Rick's area had deer sign galore!  They were digging up the dirt rooting for acorns, bedding and beating down trails all throughout the area.  Barring a bunch of other hunters being in the area opening morning, he should have a great chance at seeing some deer.

Marc also found a nice spot overlooking a few valleys.  We think this area will also support one or two other hunters since there is ridge after ridge after ridge.  Maybe Darrin can head back there to find a spot for himself.

Steve and Larry weren't quite as lucky.  The tree that Larry picked out last weekend for a blind location had a blind built under it.  The same EXACT tree!  It was in an area where the deer sign is excellent, including a fresh rub that we found while walking to it.  The other area they scouted last week also had a "taj majal" blind build on it, with a sign stating that someone would be in it the entire month of November.  They are going to have to do some additional scouting to determine their blind locations.

All in all, it was a successful trip.  Three generations of Gorski's were up north in the woods, carrying on the hunting tradition. That's all that really matters!

Fred Bear.

9/9/00

Marc, Rick, Steve and Larry made a scouting trip to Houghton Lake.  We left around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, arriving at the new VVHC around 12:15 a.m.  After unwinding and watching a hunting video, we grabbed a few hours of shut eye.

We headed out in search of "the promised land" on Sunday morning at about 10:00 a.m.  After locating some potentially good spots (with some hills and valleys) on the map, we headed into the woods.  Rick and Marc went one way and Steve and Larry took off the other way, with both groups keeping in contact using the Motorola radios.  

After walking several miles and getting a good "lay of the land", both groups decided that this was the place that we have been searching for.  There is a great mix of terrain, with hills and ridges, open fields and thick brush.  There is also a lot of hardwoods (and acorns) that can be hunted.  Not only did the terrain look promising, but the amount of deer sign was incredible.  There were fresh tracks and beaten down trails everywhere.  This is definitely the place for the VVHC to begin the new millennium!

After getting back together at the truck and discussing our findings, we decided to take a ride in the truck and see if we could locate the roads that lead into the area.  Not only did we find the roads, but a 10 point buck jumped across the road in front of us and nearly ran into the truck.  It was a nice rack, and the best thing about it is that it came from the area we had just finished scouting!  It was definitely a productive trip.

Some of the crew may make another trip up this weekend (9/16/00) to start choosing spots for blinds.  If you are interested, please contact either Rick or Steve (or send an e-mail to the VVHC mailing list).

Fred Bear.

9/3/00

Larry, Rick and I spent Sunday morning scouting for a good hunting

area. We concentrated our efforts in an area west of 27 and north of 55

from 27 west to 66 (Lake City). It was not a very productive scouting

trip.

The state land in this area is mostly occupied by Pines and Evergreens.

That is not to say that there aren't any deer in this area, But seeing

through the thickest of thick conditions does not tend to resemble the

terrain we have been accustomed to. Many more scouting trips will have

to be undertaken to locate the future VENISON VALLEY.

The next area of scouting should be south of 55 and East of 27 towards

Clare. I am ordering Plat maps of Missauke and Rosscommon counties

today.

Let's discuss a possible BANSAI RUN this Sat night (9/9/00) with a return home

at 8:00pm Sunday night. If we get into the woods by 9:00am Sunday and scout

until 3:30pm, that will give us about 30 minutes to compare notes and GPS

readings on a map before we head home.

Steve "TONTO" Gorski