Chambers Co., AL 10/28 & 10/29

This was our morning view!

This weekend John and I headed to East Alabama for a little football and bow hunting. Our plan was to hunt Saturday and Sunday morning. On Saturday morning, after a stop for some gas station coffee, we headed up the road to Chambers County. It was John's turn to launch an arrow and I was running camera. The temperatures on Saturday were in the mid 40's with 20-25 mph gusting winds. It wasn't exactly the most ideal hunting conditions but we were determined. The morning was super slow! We didn't see the first bird or squirrel because of the wind. There were times when I had to sit down in my stand because the wind was rocking our tree so much, I thought I would fall. (Thats why we always wear a safety harness) The morning had been so slow we agreed, that if a big ole doe walked up we would take her. At about 8:50 I saw a doe coming towards us from the east. By the time I had them in the camera frame we realized there were 5 deer in the group running towards us. They moved quickly and we barely had time to capture decent footage. They passed behind a large cluster of small trees and then into an opening. John was able to quickly stop them and sling an arrow. It all happend so fast! We saw the doe lurch like she'd been hit and took off in a different direction from the other 4. We gave her plenty of time before we climbed down. We found the arrow, small blood, and a pile of hair. From looking at the arrow, and going back to look at the footage, we didn't think it was a great hit. We found a good blood trail and proceeded to follow it. About 2 hours and 3/4ths of a mile later the blood trail dried up. Needless to say we were extremly frustrated.

We talked about it later and it all happened so fast. John ranged several of the surrounding trees earlier in the morning to get a good feel for shooting distances. However, because the wind was blowing so hard and it happened so fast, the shot was a little off. I guess that's how hunting goes sometimes! Its tough because John and I know we owe it to the animal to make an ethical harvest, but if you hunt long enough these things happen sometimes.

We cannot dwell on the frustrations of the weekend (got completely skunked on Sunday). Next week the crew heads to Illinois to hunt the rut in Pike County at Harpole's Heartland Lodge. Check them out here http://www.heartlandlodge.com/.

Camera #1 ready!

My view of John.

Gonna be hanging stands this evening in Chambers Co., AL...weather is looking like it could work out perfect.

Checking in on the Arkansas Prairie

This week I had a chance to visit with the guys from Backwoods Duck Club and Lodge in Wabbaseka, AR. They are about 15 miles from Stuttgart and back up to the west side of Bayou Meto. With the reports that are coming from DU out of the Dakota's, these guys are pumped up about the upcoming season. This years forecast is calling for a record increase in most duck species. The guys at Backwoods are even more prepared this year too! They've increased their square footage with the addition of a guide house so that more hunters can stay in the lodge. They have also recently completed a new shop that will be a great place to store gear, dogs, decoys and more. They may even let you build your own duck call on their lathe during your stay.

On top of having the same fields and property as last season, they have added some new private green timber holes. They have the ability to pump and flood these holes if the winter turns out to be a dry one.

The Backroads crew is looking forward to filming at their lodge this season and getting some great Arkansas duck hunting footage. We will be there on opening day and hope to see some smoking gun barrels! There is a link to their website under the "Partners" tab on our website www.huntbackroads.com. Check it out for more information on how you can book a hunt with them.

Here are some photos of the lodge and their new shop!

Some photos of our trip last year.

What is Back Roads Outdoors?

John and Clayton have decided to turn a passion into a real experience that can be shared with all their viewers. This hunting season they will be traveling the southeast filming hunts. They already have multiple deer and turkey hunts scheduled in Alabama; a bow hunting trip to Pike County, Illinois; a quail hunt in South Georgia; and duck hunts in Alabama and Stuttgart, Arkansas. They will also be filming a hunt with the Outdoor Friends Forever organization in Alexander City, Alabama. With professional quailty video and editing equipment they will be producing entertaining videos from all of their excursions. There will be a few mini webisodes and trailers posted throughout the hunting season. Most of their full length videos will be posted in the spring after the hunting season is over.

T-SHIRTS!!

Send us an email if you are interested in one of our t-shirts! You can choose from olive or gray. Email us at backroadsoutdoors@gmail.com or send us a message on our Back Roads Outdoors Facebook page.

Pre-Season Training

Welcome to the Back Roads Outdoors blog. We hope you will enjoy the outdoor webisodes we will be periodically posting. We will be traveling the Southeast this upcoming hunting season attempting to capture exciting hunts on video. This first episode will not be as exciting as the ones to come but we hope that it will give you an idea of our future productions. So please, tell your friends to check us out regularly to see what we’ll post next. Feel free to add comments with your feed back. We will cherish the input from all of our viewers so that our productions will continue to improve.

“Training Day” is an episode we filmed in Chambers County Alabama. We took the cameras along to get a glimpse into what some of the pre-season training is like for waterfowl dogs. It is tough getting up before dawn in August when hunting season seems like it will never come. We try to make sure the dogs are back in shape for the upcoming season and begin to re-polish their marking abilities. Knocking the rust off now will pay off when the temperatures drop and the birds are committed!