These Rifle Days!

The boyfriend is leaving tonight for Georgia to hopefully bring me home some venison! Our outdoor freezer which is usually stock piled with deer meat is empty, and mama ain't happy! So it's time for the men to bring home some more, but before they head out on their adventure, the rifles need to be sighted in! This is the rifle Tyler (the boyfriend) uses, it's a 300 Winchester Short Mag, and is a Remington model 700!

This rifle can be used to shoot anything in North America, from Ferral Hogs, to Elk, to Bears! In my opinion there is no better gun, rifle wise at least! Anyhow this morning we had the task of sighting in the rifle! If you don't know what sighting in is, it's when you adjust the scope on your gun to match exactly what your shooting! The scope is the telescope thingy you look through to shoot! If your scope is off, then chances are you're just going to be scaring away your deer instead of eating it! In order to adjust the scope you have to use the dials that are on top of your scope, the dials can be turned to either go left and right, or up and down according to what you need!

The bullet for this gun is below, and is what a full shell looks like and what an empty one looks like...

Every time  you shoot you make minor adjustments with the dials on the scope until you are shooting just where you are looking! After several rounds we had it where we needed it! 

After it was all done we did some great shooting! The deer is as good as in my freezer! 

Stay tuned for some delicious Venison recipes, just found a new one for deer steak I can't wait to share! 

In the mean time here are some pictures from the deer hunt of 2012

Hog Heaven!

If you know anything about Florida wildlife, you know we are just about over run with Feral Hogs! They are everywhere and therefore in season for hunters year round! This is good news for me because it gives me a reason to hunt in between turkey seasons! ;) I am fortunate enough to have permission to look for hogs on my friend Jack's property in Lithia! We have set up two tree stands, here is a picture of the first one..

This is where my brother Chris usually posts up! The second stand featured below is where the boy and I usually sit..

The stands are hidden but set up around a feeder we hung on the property! It goes off at the same time everyday and that is where every once in awhile you can find Wilbur showing up for snack! It's that blue thing you see hanging from the post! 

Now there are a lot of people who do not like to eat Feral Hogs! Just like any wild game, it's going to be tougher and much different than pork you buy at the grocery store! However this is not a problem for me and mine! If we don't use it, there is always a friend who is need of the extra meat in their freezer, so we don't hesitate to take one when the opportunity presents itself! 

How did you know there were Hogs on the property to begin with you ask? Well we first suspected it because as we were walking through the woods one day we noticed hog rooting! If you don't know what rooting is, it's when hogs dig up the ground to get to insects! They end up leaving holes and trenches in the ground that can be very damaging and dangerous should you step in one! So when we saw the rooting we set up trail cameras...

Low and behold the hogs had come to feed right where we had suspected! Below are some trail cam pictures we saved..

We even caught a theif red handed, stealing the pigs food! 

Hunting these Feral Hogs is so much fun and good for having meat all year round! 

Below are a few pictures from the latest Hog we took! Boy was he a big one!

Stay tuned for more creatures and fun with The Girl Outdoors!

Horse Trails!

Growing up in Texas, I was never very far from horse stables or barns! When given the choices of summer camps to attend, as a youngster it was always horse camp for me! So whenever I get the opportunity to ride these days, I jump at it! 

So today I had the opportunity to ride the Blanton horses with Ms. Robin and Ms. Cathy! Above is Sydney, the horse I rode today! Sydney is a mare, and a Quarter horse! There is a horse trail park about 20 minutes from where we live called Old Welcome Trails. I learned that it is an management property that the county owns! The early rise on a Saturday morning was a little rough, but totally worth it! 

This is Dieago who is the Gelding horse that Ms. Robin rides! Diego is half Arabian half Saddle bread! 

We rode for close to 4 hours, and at least 5 miles! It was a perfect day weather wise, not too cool or hot! We even got an afternoon shower back at the barn! One day I would like to own a horse of my own, but for now I'm glad I have friends that teach can teach me the in's and out's of horse ownership! 

About 2 miles out we ran into some horse friends! You should recognize them from the many Budweiser commercials they have been in, the world famous Clydesdales horses! They are so beautiful! I want! Santa take note! 

The day ended with hay for the horses, and beer for the humans! I had a blast and can't wait to go again! Stay tuned for more horse tales! Happy riding! 

Peppers A Plenty!

One of my guilty pleasures in life is PEPPERS! Any form will do! Red, yellow, green, sweet, savory, and the hotter the better! About two years ago I decided it was time for me to start growing my own! We currently are renting a town home, so we do not have a yard for me to plant in. The next best option, clay pots! I started with a few scoth bonnet pepper plants, just to see how they would do! Here are the red, and green ones! 

Scotch bonnets like alot of peppers, is hottest after it's turns red! Long story short the pepper plants faired very well, so now my garden has grown to include, yellow scotch bonnets, jalepenos, habaneros, and even Thai peppers plants! Thai peppers are pictured below!

I use the scotch bonnets to make pepper jelly, the jalepenos for salsa, and the Thai for crushed red peppers for chili and stews! Below is a picture of my famous pepper jelly! Canned and ready! 

When growing peppers it is best to water frequently, keep the soil fresh (if your using clay pots, like me), and place them in direct full sunlight! All the seeds can be found at your local Hardware store, except for the scotch bonnets, those you have to find an actual pepper and extract the seeds! One day I will have an actual vegetable garden, but for now these peppers keep me busy! Happy gardening ! 

Snake Trails!

So as I've told you before, no biking trip would be complete with out an animal sighting! Today was a first for me on the trails, a baby coral snake! 

Coral snakes are very poisones, however bites from them are very rare because they have such small mouths! The venom is the same as a Cobra, however most bites are to children because they will pick them up. This is really the only way they can bite you because their mouths don't allow them to bite anything but the webbing in between your fingers, or something like that!

Bike Trail Tales!

Mountain biking here in Florida is more of a conceptual thing! We don't have any mountains per say, but we do have an old Phosphate mine that was converted into state park biking trails! Boy do we have fun on the trails! No trip is complete with out at least one injury, smack talking, or an animal sighting! I have seen everything from deer,  to soft shell turtles, to armadillos!

A brand new bike was given to me last year by my amazing man, a Giant 29" with sand tires! I absolutely love it! 

Speaking of animal sighting look who I found hanging out on the bike path the other day....

....Wilbur is that you?? 

Pheasant Phenomenon!

Recently my boyfriend and his brother took a trip out west to Nebraska to hunt Pheasant! It was very cold and grey out, which I'm told makes for a great hunt! Pheasant is something I have on my to do list, school prevented me from tagging  along this year! Hopefully next year they will let me come along, until then here are some pictures I received from their adventures! 

These are the tail feathers from the birds, that will be made into mounts! Aren't they beautiful! God sure put some thought into these wonderful animals! 

Duck, Duck, Lanyards!

Since duck season is upon us, the boy asked me to make him some new duck call lanyards for his upcoming hunts. Since I love him, and I also don't want the 300 dollar duck call falling into the water, I agreed to make a couple for him! I found the Paracord I needed at my local home improvement store! I choose 4 different colors, two for each lanyard! 

This is the first color scheme I choose...

...and this is the second....

it took me about 8 hours to make two, they take awhile to make if you make them nice and tight! Like I said we don't want them falling apart on the water when he's hunting! Here is the finished product..

The boy was kind enough to send me a picture of him and the lanyard in use on his latest duck hunt. He said they worked great! Wish I was able to go on this trip, I had some studying to do for finals! Next time however, ducks beware!

And of course I had to make one for myself ;). Pink and black for me!