Shrewhaven part 2,pg 1- TV show of camp,old stories/pics pg 5/6

[Roger Norris]

That's actually pretty likely!

[Steve Jr]

That is cool! Thanks for sharing  

[T-Bowhunter]

Great Show!

[frassettor]

   Lets hear some  stories from Shrew Haven

[BRIARS]

Thanks for posting that link, I really enjoyed it.

[Timbuck2]

I enjoyed the show and may go back and watch it again.    

[ChuckC]

Nice. I didn't know about that show.  I need to watch it now.

Years ago there was a U.P. outdoor magazine, Maybe it was called "U.P. Outdoors".  I read that routinely, but it didn't make it.  Are there any similar magazines available that specialize in the U.P. ?

ChuckC

[katie]

[typical2]

Awesome traditions!

[jsparky93]

What a great video! You guy's are so fortunate to be able to share Shrewhaven together. Like others said I too was lost in it for a few moments & felt as if I was there.

[2nocks]

That's what it's all about. Friends, food, stories and hunting. Thanks for posting, looking forward to more pics from the hunt.

[Roger Norris]

I love these couple pictures. There are more, but the story is that Eric hit one in the evening, and we tracked it to the Brule. Crossing the Brule at night is a fools game. It is a strong river. It might be 2 feet deep, it might be 6. In the ink black night the UP serves up, there is no way of knowing until it is too late. So we came back in the morning. Crossing in daylight was much safer.

 

After an hour of serious tracking, we were stumped. We absolutely lucked in to finding her on a runway leading from the river. Dragging her back across was more work than we thought. The current caught her, and it took us both to hang on. Thank God Eric is bull strong. The guy in the camo vest is sometimes campmate Tom Jenkins, the unofficial Michigan Bowhunters Historian, inventor of the HackStacker broadhead   :p  

 

[Jack Rehacek]

I have been there done that. That river is always cold.

[Ray Lyon]

One of my favorite nights was Kevin's first deer. Kevin is the one in the video that says, 'yeah, I got my first deer and more......."

Well, Kevin had been trying for a couple of years to get his first deer with a bow.  I put him in my favorite stand, 'the Tressle' pine tree that's on a pinch point coming off Banana Ridge and heading down into the swamp.  Kevin shot a spike buck and came back to camp all excited, but worried because he couldn't find blood.  I've been hunting that section of the property for 3 or 4 years, so I had a pretty good idea where that deer was going.  The first thing I said when we pulled up is "does someone have a knife ?" and Kevin said 'yes, I've got a knife'.  At the start of the search, Kevin was very nervous and skeptical. The nice thing about Shrewhaven is that we've taken a lot of deer, and I've been on a lot of tracking jobs.  Most short, but a couple that have gone a ways. I reassured Kevin that we were going to find his deer.  Well we finally found blood and then got lined out and ten minutes later, we had the deer.  Kevin was elated. It was his first bow kill and after the congratulations and back slapping, I said let's get him gutted and back to camp so we can celebrate.  Well, Kevin produced a knife that had the edge of a butter knife.  Tim had a pocket knife that was not much better. I've gutted a lot of deer in my life and it's a 5 minute job.  Watching Kevin and Tim was grueling at best.

Now when we go on a track with Kevin, the question is 'do you have a SHARP knife????  I believe Ron (who knows how to put an edge on a knife like nobody else) gave Kevin a little tutorial.  Kevin has also acquired some nice cutlery, including a Randall or two that he carries with a nice edge.

[twitchstick]

Thanks for sharing it was very enjoyable.

[Ron LaClair]

Kevin and Eric #2 coming up Armstrong Creek with another deer that made it across the Brule before it gave up the ghost.

   

   

[Terry Green]

Great Stuff....I gotta go back and read about this years hunt...I think I missed it for being to busy.    

[Ray Lyon]

"The long track"- A few years ago, Greg shot a nice doe in the morning from his "Creek Stand".  He hit it a little further back than he wanted, so I volunteered to skip hunting the afternoon and take up the track with him. We wanted to give her at least 5-6 hours, but we wanted to beat the nighttime bears/coyotes to her.  We got on the track and it was slow going, but we were making headway.  About and hour in, we lost the track and were sweeping out on deer trails (they're well worn in Michigan's Upper Peninsula) trying to find more blood. All of a sudden, she stood up 25 yards from me---and here I stood with no bow.  Greg was off to the side about 30 yards away and no shot.  She trotted off and we could do nothing but mark the spot where we last saw her and head back to camp.  The next morning Ron came out with us.  We had blood for a ways and then slowed down to nothing again. We'd sweep forward, find a deer trail and follow it for a ways and then play the game all over again when we found blood.  Finally after another hour and a half we found some more blood and then 75 yards later, a dandy doe that was untouched by predators. It's hard to explain the elation and relief after a long, slow track, but it's what we owe to our quarry. Of course Greg and I have a tradition of gutting each others deer ever since he gutted my first deer when I was seventeen years old and I was promptly put to work.

 My daughters just got to see me gut two deer for Greg last week at our family farm during the rifle season-their first ever experience seeing that-so the tradition continues today, 35 years later.

[Ron LaClair]

Here's the happy ending picture to that story. Greg on the left and Ray on the right, November 2007.

   

[Ray Lyon]

Thanks for posting the picture Ron.  Two things I'd like to point out.  One, Greg's Armstrong Creek Skinner, that Ron sold before his new blacksmith was retained, on his belt is always very sharp!!  Also, around my waist you can see the strap from my old treestand safety strap.  It has a braided rope with a super heavy duty dog leash type snap.  When I went to the safety harnesses about 10 years ago I kept the strap because it works so well for dragging deer out of the woods.  Greg loves that my calf's are as big around as his thighs, since I'm the mule for dragging out deer.  This strap has been in on over 150 drags over the years and it's still going strong (four so far this year).  

Of course, that leads me to another story that's retold at least once per year.  If you go back up a few pictures on this page, you'll see Kevin and Eric coming up the creek. In the background, you'll see some tall grass and brush that is littered with old fallen tree stumps and logs.  One year Kevin shot a deer that landed in this zone along the creek, but on the non cabin side and closer to the two track trail out.  There was a group of us in on this track (5 total). After we found the deer, I told one of the guys to find a compass line out to the two track and lead the way. Kevin and I put our straps on the deer (he has one exactly like mine) and we took off into the dark with one guy in front with a flashlight and two behind.  It's thick and nasty and a real trick at night. I like to just pull and get it over with without much stopping to catch a breath.  At one point I felt like Kevin was slacking a little on helping to pull his deer out of the woods and one of the guys in the back yelled 'hold on Ray you're pulling Kevin too!" He had fallen and of course I only felt a little extra tug.  I told him next time I'm going to gut him too before I start dragging him.            :D