Derby City Game Calls a Hit at NWTF Convention

Judging by what we witnessed down at the NWTF Convention in Nashville this past weekend, Derby City Game Calls is going to do very well this season. Not only did their calls earn them 3 medals at the NWTF Grand National Call Competition, but their booth always seemed to have a crowd around it. When we spoke to them midday Saturday, they had already sold out all their trough calls, and were running low on their limited run redwood calls, as well.

We are proud to have Derby City Game Calls as the official turkey call of Poor Boys Outdoors and look forward to a long partnership with those guys.

KDFWR Announces New Non-Typical Bull Elk Record

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Announces New Non-Typical Bull Elk Record
Boone and Crockett Score - 372 6/8

News Release from The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
New state record certified for bull elk with non-typical antlers; taken on public access land



FRANKFORT, KY. – Kentucky has a new state record for a bull elk with non-typical antlers.
Harrodsburg resident Terrell Royalty’s 7x7 elk scored 372 6/8 in the Boone and Crockett Club scoring system, besting the old record of 367 7/8 taken in Harlan County in 2008. Royalty took his record elk from a wildlife management area in Knott County on Oct. 4, 2009.

“This new state record shows the quality elk hunting we have on our public lands,” said Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Jon Gassett. “In addition to the great elk hunting on private lands, Kentucky boasts world-class elk hunting on public lands as well.”

A non-typical rack means the tines are not located in a typical location. Royalty’s elk had seven tines each on either side of its rack. The score is the totaled measurements of the main beams, tines, width and mass. The trophy could not be officially scored until after a 60-day drying period.

“I’ve hunted all of my life, I’ve had buck fever and all, but this bull was by far the biggest adrenaline rush of my life,” said Royalty, 52. “Once it hit the ground, I felt like I was being stabbed with a million needles and it lasted two or three hours. I was almost in shock.”

Royalty said he scouted the area with help from his friend Paul Moore, who participated in the 2008 cow elk hunt. “We started scouting well before the hunt and found this bull,” Royalty said. “Paul and I grew up together, and he helped me a bunch.”

The first week of the 2009 bull elk season started Saturday, Oct. 3. Royalty’s hunt proved fruitless for a day and half. Then, about 2 p.m. Sunday, Royalty, who was hunting with his best friend, Brad Smith, and guide Bob Hunter, heard a bugle.

“After we heard that bugle, we moved to get out front and downwind,” he said. “We tracked and tracked to stay out in front of this bull. About 5 p.m. or so, a cow calf came out and we cow called back and forth. Then, the one cow calf turned into about nine. The cows came out in twos and got older and bigger as they came out.”

The trophy bull then appeared in the clearing around 6 p.m. and bugled at another bull in the distance. “He turned broadside and everything was perfect,” Royalty said. “It took 15 minutes to get the right angle on him.”

Royalty, who estimated that he was 340 yards away from the bull, aimed his .300 Winchester Short Magnum rifle and shot only once.

Tina Brunjes, big game coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, was not surprised to learn the record had been broken. “Kentucky continues to produce new state records with regularity,” she said. “Each year drawn hunters can reasonably expect a chance to beat the state record.”
Applications for this year’s hunt are now on sale online at fw.ky.gov, the official Web site of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. It costs $10 to apply, and a hunter may apply only once. The drawing for the elk quota hunt is open to residents and non-residents. The deadline to apply for this year’s hunt is April 30.

Spring Thunder

Right now we are under eight inches of snow with more to come. Despite that I am consumed with daydreams of dogwoods blooming, morels to be found and the thunder of turkeys in the springtime woods. Even though the Ky season is still a month away I am prepping calls, practicing with my bow and scouting.

The most important part of my prep time is outfitting my four year old granddaughter to keep grandpa company in the woods. While she may not make every trip the ones she does come on will be the most important ones of the season. I feel it is important to take the time to carry children that show interest to the woods at a young, age. They are our future and we all should do our part to hook them on the outdoors.

I wish you all the best of luck this season and don't forget to post how your season goes. Keep em sharp!

Intro

First I want to thank Brian for allowing me to be a part of Poor Boys Outdoors. I am a 43 year old traditional nut. Like many bowhunters who choose to carry a recurve or longbow I did start out with a compound before switching. I reside in central Ky and hunt mainly a family farm and a couple of WMA's.

I look forward to contributing to this site on a regular basis and encourage everyone to share your success stories and any other bowhunting news you may have. Spring turkey season is just around the corner followed by bowfishing. If you have not done so before I encourage you to attend the Carporee held in May. More info can be found at the United Bowhunters of Ky website. That's all for now. Keep em sharp!

Derby City Game Calls

Poor Boys Outdoors would like to announce a partnership with Derby City Game Calls as the exclusive Turkey call of Poor Boys Outdoors. Derby City is new to the game of turkey calls, but the wood they use is not. Derby City prides itself in using instrument quality, old growth hardwoods to construct the finest sounding calls on the market today. Much of the wood they use is 250 to 500 years old and it absolutely makes a difference in the sound quality. Look for them at the NWTF Convention in Nashville. You can visit thier website @ http://www.derbycitycalls.com/

Here is a clip from Kentucky Afield where Tim Farmer makes a visit to First Quality Music Supplies, the parent company of Derby City Game Calls.

Reward Offered for Information on Kentucky Elk Poachers : The Outdoor Wire

Reward Offered for Information on Kentucky Elk Poachers : The Outdoor Wire

The youth season brings success for Team Poor Boys

After a long and stressful week of no hunting, I finally got to get out Saturday evening with my son Dakota. We were hunting the north farm with Cory and his daughter Lauren and Billie and his daughter Bailee. I set up on the food plot where Cory killed his doe early in the bow season. There was a ton of sign and it finally looked like the deer were starting to work on the rape that we planted back in August. They've been hitting the clover all along, but I guess it has taken them a while to figure out the rape is good stuff, too.

We set the blind up in the same spot that Cory and I had for his deer - in a tall patch of weeds on the end of the food plot - and I brushed the blind in as good as I could with the surrounding weeds. Deer were moving early, as we had already seen a few on the drive in. We hadn't been there long when Dakota and I heard a loud shot ring from close by. Turned out that Lauren had popped a doe before they even got settled in (I'll let Cory tell the whole story on that one). By 4:45pm, we saw our first doe at the back corner of the field. She looked the situation over and decided to head back into the woods. About an hour later, another doe came into the back of the field and started feeding. She only ate for a minute or so and then quickly turned and headed back into the cover, never offering a broadside shot. At around 6:40pm, another doe showed up in the back corner of the field again and this time she was determined to come out and feed. She eased her way out into the middle of the field and turned broadside, presenting a perfect shot opportunity. I made sure I had the camera all zoomed in, in focus, etc and gave Dakota the go-ahead to take a shot when he was ready. He quickly squeezed the trigger and the doe jumped and bolted back into the cover. I was so focused on the camera, that I really didn't know if or where he had hit her. He felt good about the shot, so we rewound the tape and watched the footage. You could see the bullet's impact right on the deer's shoulder, and I was certain that the deer wouldn't be far.

After getting some additional footage, we headed down to where the deer was standing to start looking for blood before we lost daylight. It took forever to find blood (just finding where the deer had been standing), but once we did, it wasn't any trouble to trail her the 50 or so yards that she ran before expiring. I was one proud dad at the shot he had made. It was great to have another good kill on video, and even better that Dakota and Lauren got a double. I just wish Cory had a camera with him to capture Lauren's hunt.

We went back out this evening to the 30-acre woods here by my house, but didn't have any luck. Hopefully Cory and I will get back out a day or two for some bowhunting this week. These days of being able to slip out after work for an evening hunt will soon be coming to an end when that clock rolls back. Got to get them while you can!