July is usually the dip in my website traffic counts.  Looks like we are beginning to climb out of the rut as summer moves closer to the start of some hunting seasons and I start having more interesting things to post about. Right now I’m tossing around the idea of doing a hunt-by-hunt video diary [...]

I’ve mentioned a couple times that there is a work-in-progress going up in my backyard.  Totally framed out now.  Just need to get some siding up this weekend and then it will be on to the roof. Dimensions are 10×14 with 8 foot walls and two 4 foot lofts – one in front and one [...]

Finally assembled all the pieces to the puzzle on Friday and spent the weekend getting my “new” (to me) bow firing bulls-eyes with my top pin. Snapped some pictures of my set-up with the Kodak digital this morning, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking. 60 pound limbs maxed at 63 pounds.  Don’t know [...]

Went fishing yesterday with my buddy Pete.  Threw a spinnerbait and Texas rigged plastic worm most of the day.  Started off slow but as the sun burned off the cloud cover, the fish really picked up and we ended up boating 20 bass. 3 really solid fish in the 4-5 pound range. I put this [...]

The Outdoor Smorgasbord will rear its ugly head again soon, so don’t tap out on me.  I know it’s incredibly aggravating to go back to a website and see the same thing at the top time after time.  But never fear…fall is near. Well late summer anyways.  And so will start the beginning of deer [...]

I had the privilege of testing a Smart Shield sunscreen product over the past couple of weeks.  I always like to use a new product several times before forming my opinion – so now that that has been accomplished, here’s what I thought. I used the product pictured on left which is rated at 30 [...]

I purchased a 2009 Elite z28 on Friday.  Will arrive on Wednesday, but I am excited to have a new weapon in my hunting arsenal.  Will post pics when it arrives.  Time to dress it up for hunting season.  Of course, I’ll document the process and report on all the accessories I add to the [...]

I did make it out to the swamplands on Wednesday of last week.  Unfortunately, all we killed were mosquitoes and a big moccasin.  Hog sign was everywhere and I’d say a conservative estimate is that 4 or 5 different sounders were using different parts of the property, but with daytime temps in the 100s – [...]

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent several hours shooting new model bows in a couple different pro shops Thursday before last. I love my bow and it will be hard to set down, but there are so many improvements that I can make to my equipment and with my bow being harder [...]

…through the summer. Been getting plenty of office work done between the end of the spring semester and the start of the second summer mini-semester when I’ll be taking a class on Habitat Occupancy and Modeling. I did make it up to Alexander City, AL, last week with a buddy to shoot some bows.  I [...]

Day 1: What a beast of a drive it is from Auburn, Alabama to Southeast Kansas – especially when you miss a stinkin’ exit and think you can outsmart Mapquest.  I missed an exit in Birmingham and instead of just going to the next exit and turning around, I thought it would be nice to [...]

Dad and one of his buddies visited our place here in Alabama weekend before last. Sat in the woods one morning just to see if we could see some deer and maybe hear a turkey.  Watched 3 bucks sprouting next fall’s headgear wander down the opposite ridge, then had a turkey come gobbling, strutting, and [...]

Here are some pictures from Kara and I’s week long vacation that we took to Cozumel Mexico.  We stayed at the El Cid La Ceiba resort south of the only town on the island and had an awesome time. It rained the evening we flew into town, but then never again as long as we [...]

Don’t worry folks, I’ve not forgotten about the blog.  Just been busy with work and play lately. On the work side, my semester wrapped up yesterday and I’m trying to get a few other projects knocked out before week’s end.  Nothing terribly grueling, just having to plug away at the stack of papers laying on [...]

Been bringing the sun up a few mornings over the past week and a half chasing turkeys.
First exciting experience was last week when this coyote nearly plowed us over.  Buddy’s slate call was cast aside and a fine running shot ended this turkey hunter’s days.

Monday morning was eventful in the respect that the birds were [...]

Well, this is the 500th post ever on The Outdoor Smorgasbord. That’s a lot of writing no matter how you cut it.
I’ll use it to remind all wishful Western big game hunters who happen to live on this side of the Mississippi River that your best chance at hunting elk on this side of the [...]

Been fishing twice over the last 2 weeks.  First trip out was good on the quantity side of things, GREAT on the quality side.  Buddy netted this 7-7 largemouth dragging a spinnerbait where some shallow water met deep water.  Also put a couple 4s in the boat.

Next trip was Saturday and quality was great, but [...]

…and I apologize for not having updated the blog in the last week or so.  I’m trying to meet some of the more significant deadlines in my  PhD program this week and next, so the outdoor activities have been heavily scaled back.
My wife and I did, however, make a trip back to North Carolina over [...]

I was finishing up my GPS collar round-up last Friday morning when I picked up a couple of the bigger sets at the research site.

Set #1 was a buck we called “Mystery Buck” because he managed to avoid 12 cameras running for the last 6 months entirely on the property.  He was sighted a few [...]

Took a friend and his son fishing last Thursday.  We were primarily in pursuit of some bream to throw in the frying pan, but also managed to catch a couple nice size bass.

Biggest bream of the day was this big “bull” 14 ouncer.

Weekend before yesterday’s weekend (if that makes sense) I took a trip to the coastal plain of South Carolina to help my fellow PhD student Clint out with his research project.  He is putting out GPS radiocollars on mature bucks on a property owned privately by Norfolk Southern Railroad near Charleston, South Carolina.
Here is his [...]

I was down picking up some of my GPS radiocollars at the research site yesterday when I stumbled onto the antler of one  GPS collared bucks while looking for his collar.  Fortunately, I found his collar also but here is how the antler was laying when I spotted it.

As a 5 year old, he should [...]

If you’re looking to kill a few minutes, jump over to the website/blog of the Wildworks Crew.  I’ve enjoyed following the videos posted of self-filmed hunting adventures on the website HuntingFootage.com for a long time now and these guys consistently put out some of the best quality videos.  They have been shifting towards a more [...]

I was down at the research site yesterday collecting my GPS radiocollars that had fallen off some of my bucks and decided to cast a crankbait out over the main point of the lake for 20 minutes.  I was starting to think the water was still a bit too cold for the bass to be [...]

Last Thursday we took 5 hunters to the woods in search of wild hogs.  In terms of seeing hogs, it was quite an off day.  In fact, it was plain horrible.  Nobody saw a single pig.  It wasn’t for lack of sign as there was fresh rooting, tracks, and rubbed trees around most of the [...]

Tomorrow and Saturday will see 14 hunters enter the woods in search of wild swine in the dangerous Alabama swamps.  Stay tuned to see if the guides (my neighbor and I) can put the guys on em’.  Absolutely beautiful weather so we won’t have that excuse to fall back on.

Finished up my antler mount of the G2 buck that I shot this January in Alabama.

I spent more than twice what was necessary to do an antler mount, but I think it is more than twice as nice as the other antler mounts I have done with a simple walnut plaque and red velvet covering.  [...]

I apologize that my blogging frequency has slowed down recently.  Lots of work in the field and at the office, not to mention my favorite time of year and source of much writing fodder has passed – deer season.
But I have been getting out tagging some deer at my research site – several buttonheads along [...]

Well, taking on this subject in the world of hunting is a touchy one to say the least.  Nearly everyone has an opinion – and at that – usually a strong one.  As most of you know, I’m doing my doctorate research at Auburn University on a piece of private property that also happens to [...]

I did more than my fair share of hunting this fall as you all know.  I’ll cut to the numbers.
62 total hunts
28 morning hunts
34 evening hunts
5 hunts in Mississippi
6 hunts in North Carolina
9 hunts in Kansas
5 Alabama public land hunts
18 Alabama private land hunts
19 research site hunts
Saw 29 unique bucks in Mississippi, NC, KS, and [...]