Tim Herald Outdoors : Hunting Adventures

Will takes his first video BUCK!!!

2008-10-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

I am an awfully proud dad tonight. My twins had their 8th birthday yesterday. Last Sunday, I took Drew out on KY's youth deer season, and we got blanked. We didn't see a deer. We went to the same spot, and it was much cooler. This is property that Steve Hartley, owner of Steve Hartley's Guide Service (502-803-5899) has been letting us hunt for years, and there are lots of deer. After an hour in the Double Bull blind, our cameraman Mike Hockensmith nudged me and said, "buck...". Will and I looked up the hill and could see a nice little buck standing in the tall weeds about 50-60 yards out. He was really nervous, and stood around checking the area out for 5 minutes. When he looked away or took a step, Will and I slowly got him into position.

He calmed down some, and though we were having a little problem with the sun glaring in the scope and camera, but we got through it, and Will let the TC roll. With the smoke, I didn't know if he hit him as the deer dashed back in the woods. We got out to look as we had an hour or so of light left, and after about 20 yards, we found blood, and Will was able to track him. We found him about 100 yards down the hill all piled up. He hit him in the shoulder quartering to, and it exited out the far hip. I have no idea how the deer went anywhere. We were a happy group. These are the most special hunts I ever go on. Taking the kids out is what hunting is all about, and they are the memories that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. Congrats to Will and thanks to Mike for filming it for us...TH

TH Accepts Post at Bad Boy Buggies

2008-10-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

This past week I accepted the Director of Marketing poistion with Bad Boy Buggies in Natchez, MS. I am really excited to go to work with this great organization that makes an incredible product. I spent 4 days this week in MS, and the folks at Bad Boy are super. There are big things on the horizon for BBB, and I feel very fortunate to be a member of the team...

Last minute on the Jicarilla

2008-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

My annual elk hunt on the Jicarilla Apache Res in NM was tough but great this year. I hunted with my trusty TC muzzleloader and had bulls in range pretty much every day. I was definitely being picky. I saw plenty of 6x6 bulls, but no real mature ones, or ones that were "right".

Everyone in my group was knocking down good bulls, but we kept hunting hard. The first couple of days, the bulls responded well to calling, especially raking a shed on trees. My guide and old friend Larson Panzy called numerous bulls into bow range, and the 2nd day, we had a 6x6 come in to 4 yards. It was great. The 3rd afternoon, I passed up a beautiful 280ish 6x6 out in a sage flat at about 50 yards.

We had more great encounters, and the last day, we got in on 2 6x6's in a knock down, drag out fight. They were in intense battle, and it was a real spectacle. I figured we just weren't going to get one this year because the last afternoon, the temps were 80 and the wind was absolutely brutal.

We decided to sit water, and an hour or so before dark, we heard a distant bugle. After 30 minutes, elk began to emerge from up the draw, and eventually 25 or more cows, calves and spikes were moving toward our waterhole with the bull bugling out of sight. He finally came out herding cows, and I could see he had a huge body. Then I saw he was only a 5x5, but he was very mature, heavy and wide. He was definitely the boss of the area and kept all in line. He worked in and got down in the pond and drank and bugled only 40 yards from me. He was blocked for the camera then, so I waited for him to get out, and the TC hammered him at about 50 yards. Again, he was a 5x5, but he was a great bull in my opinion. Most of the 6x's I saw were smaller than him...last 15 minutes of the hunt, we pulled it out. That is 6 bulls in 6 years on the Jicarilla...Sorry about the photos. Like I said, he was last minute and my camera was in the truck, we had to get him out, and these are the only shots I got. We drove all night just to catch our flights the next day...TH

Back from British Columbia Moose Mt Goat Hunt

2008-09-30T04:18:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a great trip to northern British Columbia where I hunted Canada moose and mountain goat on a trip set up for me by Shoshone Wilderness Adventures.

We packed in 25 miles on horseback to a beautiful little valley.

The first day we spotted a mt goat from camp and devised a plan. Here is me in camp pointing out the goat on the ridge.

We rode and hiked for half a day, and had to cross a ridge, a basin and another ridge. Finally we got to about 380 yards of the goat. We were above him, and he was looking out over the valley the other way. Here he is in his bed.

We made a move and got to 270 yards. We had a bad crosswind, but we set up. Rob Snider got his camera set up, and I looked across and there was a snow squall coming in fast. You can see the storm moving in. We looked out the ridge, and it seemed I could get even closer, so Leaf, my guide<>

He was 9.5 years old and had heavy 9.5" horns. I was pretty happy woth th etrophy. 2 minutes after the shot, the snow came in, but moved out just as quickly.

We then switched to moose hunting. We thought the rut would be in full swing, but we hunted for days without seeing a moose, or getting a response to calls. Finally one afternoon, a bull grunted back to our calls. He eventually emerged from the timber on the river bank and started our way. When he was about 150 yards, I hammered him with my TC Endeavor. He went about 15 yards and flipped backwards. The 250 gr Shockwave took out his heart and part of both lungs.

The moose was 51", which is pretty nice for a Canada moose. he was a prime bull at 8 1/2 years old, and a great trophy. We got all of both hunts on HD video, and it is stunning footage.

We had to come back the next day with 3 pack horses to get the bull back to camp.

The next day, we rode back out to the main lodge and then I began my journey home. This was a super hunt, and a mt goat was one of those animals I had dreamed of since I was a kid. The moose was a super bonus. Anyone that gets a chance to hunt a true north wilderness area with no roads, civilization, etc., should try to go. It is the kind of hunt that is few in far between these days, and it is wonderful to hear no road noise, no jets, drink straight from a clean clear river, etc.

Home for a week, and then off to the Jicarilla in NM for elk...TH

New Sponsor on Board for TH Outdoors - PRIMO'S

2008-08-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to drop a note on here to let everyone know about an exciting new development for TH Outdoors. Today I came to an agreement with Primo's to promote their quality line of products. I have used their Double Bull blinds for years and had great success with B-mobile this spring, and as of today, I will try to do all I can to promote the hunting calls, accessories, etc. Primo's is definitely a leader in the hunting industry, and I am proud to be officially associated with them.

Thanks to all the great folks at Primo's. I know this will be a great and long lasting relationship.

Back from Bowhunt in Namibia

2008-07-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a good bowunt with AR member Roger Coomber and Vieranas Safaris. This was a bow hunt for me and my co-host Steve Gruber hunted with bow and gun. Also my good friend Lee Brit went aloong and bowhunted.

We travelled through London Gatwick via Delta and then transferred to Air Namibia. We had a day in London and went out site seeing. I had never been, and it was a good day, but I have learned that I would rather just travel and get to the hunting destination as quickly as possible. I hate going through JoBurg, but I really didn't like the 14 hour layover.
When we arrived in Windhoek, we got all our bags for 5 people except 1. Steve's cameraman had a bag missing and it took a week for it to be delivered to camp.
Roger picked us up and graciously took me to a store where I could buy a pair of Courtney boots. Thanks Rog! Then the 6-ish hour drive to his hunt area.
We arrived late afternoon and got settled in. Here is the cottage I stayed in.

The next morning, we got up and shot our bows to make sure they were on and so Roger could check our shooting abilities. We headed to the blinds about 10 AM.
My cameraman Mike and Roger discussing the days hunt.
Photo of one of Roger's great bow blinds

Some of you may remember Roger had sent me some trail cam photos before the trip with eland and leopard. Before we went to the blinds, one of the trackers went out and collected cards from the trail cams and we checked them out. The afternoon we arrived, the big herd of eland that were using Roger's area had been in to drink a half hour before dark the day we arrived. It seemed they were coming to drink every 2-3 days. There were 2 big blue bulls. One was the short massive bull I posted photos of before, and another old blue bull that had wider horns but wasn't as worn, or quite as massive. Eland was my number 1 priority as these were free range animals, and I wanted to take one with bow in that situation. I wanted one of the 2 blue bulls or nothing and I decided I would sit that blind for a week waiting on them if I had to.
We saw some gemsbok and young kudu that day, but no eland. That evening, Steve killed a good warthog. I sat the whole next day and saw more kudu, gemsbok and giraffe, but the eland didn't show Steve killed a nice 52" kudu that night and Lee killed a 25 1/2" Red hartabeest that should score in the top 5 with a bow.
Back to the blind for an all day sit on day 3. It was really windy and the action was slow most of the day. About 5 pm, a shadow came across my view from the blind window, and I knew it couldn't be from birds flying around. I got up, and a young bull eland was at 20 yards. He had sneaked right in. My cameraman Mike got on him and asked if I was going to shoot him as he had really nice horns, but I told him "NO - he isn't blue". I heard clicking, and looked out to the right, and whispered, "...but here comes one I will shoot.". It was the old blue bull that had the wider horns. He ambled in, and by then the young bull was drinking. The big bull began to drink broadside, but the young bull was blocking his vitals. I kept watching to see if more animals were headed in, but ultimately none did. Finally after an eternity, the young bull cleared out, and I had the old bull broadside at 19 yards. I drew, settled my pin low and straight up the foreleg, and I let fly. The big bull kicked and jumped, and as he took off, he was less than 40 yards out when his back end started getting away from him. I saw him begin to stumble and within 75 yards, he crashed.
I couldn't believe such a huge animal could go down so quickly from an arrow. I got a complete pass through and had hit him square in the heart. ENTRY

It was getting dark by the time we got out and tried to take photos

So I talked Roger into having him gutted so we could take good photos the next mornning. It was a pain to take him out of the cooler and back out, but it was worth it. The old bull was all blue and almost had no hair from the neck back. he was absolutely huge bodied and his horns were 34 1/2" long and right at 11" at the bases.

With my primary animal down after 3 days and about 32 hours in the blind, I wanted a mt zebra, kudu and gemsbok in that priority though I had permits for everything, and was happy to take any of a variety of animals.
The next day my cameraman Mike shot a medium warthog. He really wanted a pig and a gemsbok.

An hour before dark, a big bunch of red harabeest came in, and after 5 minutes of trying to size them up and judge them, one of the 2 big bulls gave me a shot. I took him through both lungs and the top of the heart, and he went about 60 yards and piled up within sight. He was 24 1/2 inches and really heavy. I am sure no judge of hartabeest, but Roger said he was an excellent bull. Sorry about the photos. It was obviously close to dark, and I couldn't get him cleaned up very well. You can see his mass and length in the 2 photos

The next day, I saw quite a few animals including springbok, warthog, kudu, gemsbok, but no shooter bulls or rams. I did shoot a huge old male baboon that afternoon. He came in first before the whole bunch got in, and I nailed him. All 4 canines were broken, and he was just obviously an ancient old guy

This warthog came in and wallowed in the baboon blood...nasty!

..and we got a closeup look at this secretary bird as well. My buddy Lee killed a big mountain Zebra stallion that day. The following day we went in just at daylight, and to my horror, there was a herd of zebra at the water when we got there, and we spooked them off. We saw a decent amount of animals that morning, but nothing shootable.

About noon, Mike whispered "Zebra" and we all went into serious mode. A single zebra came in close to the water, but kept prancing back and forth very nervous. It wanted to drink, but kept running in and out, throwing its head, staring at the blind, backing out, etc. Roger said it looked like a stallion that had just matured and would be challenging a herd stallion for dominance. It just didn't look to me like it would ever calm down enough to drink. It turned broadside at 30 yards and I told Roger I could take it, but before I could draw, it had dashed out again. I made up my mind, the next shot I got, I was taking as I thought the zebra would eventually bug out. It got to about 30 yards and turned broadside again, but as I drew, it turned. It was quartering away, but I knew I could make the shot. I put the pin behind the shoulder, and let fly. The zebra went about 80 yards and dropped. I got both lungs at 32 yards. The zebra ended up being a big mare, but she will make a beautiful rug, and was the only zebra I got a shot at the whole trip, so I was very pleased. Roger and me with the mt zebra. I had my top 2 animals in the salt, and things were looking up. I shot another big male baboon and a medium warthog the next day. We were winding down on time, and I was getting nervous about kudu and gemsbok. I had seen a lot of young kudus with lots of potential, but only one mature bull, and he didn't look to be quite 50". Here is a beautiful young bull.

The morning of day 8 was incredible. Gemsbok began coming in at 7:35 am, followed by a herd springbok, and then Roger spotted a good kudu bull about 200 yards out. He made a slow arc around or position always staying at 200 yards. He got to the extreme right of our vision, and began feeding. He was watching the animals around the water, and it seemed he didn't want to come in with them there. Then 20 hartabeest came in and got their chaos going. More gemsbok and warthog showed, then 2 ostrich came in. It was the most game we had seen all week, but they were all keeping the 1 animal I wanted away. Finally the kudu disappeared in the brush. I hoped when things calmed down, he would slip in. A few minutes later, 5 young kudu bulls showed up. We watched them for a few minutes, and relaxed. Then from nowhere, the mature bull just stepped into the middle of the young bulls at 25 yards. I got my bow, and he edged up to the water. He was quite nervous, so when he backed up from the water, but was still broadside, I drew and sent an arrow straight through his heart. I wasn't waiting around to give him a chance to leave. He went the farthest of any animal I shot - 150 yards. I was so excited and releived to get him. I hated the thought of a plainsgame hunt with no kudu. It was 8:55AM when I shot him, so it took almost an hour and a half for him to come in.

A mature old gemsbok came in about noon, and we saw she had no calf and didn't appear pregnant, so Mike decided to take her. He double lunged her, and she went about 100 yards. He and I had had a great day and were quite pleased.

Our last day, we decided to hunt about 2 1/2 hours and then finish up a lot of the video work we had to complete and take still photos. We sat and didn't see anything and I then climbed a copy and took some sceenery photos showing what the terrain looked like.

You can see a blind in the middle of this one

...my freind Lee took a mature kudu on the last hour of the hunt, as well as a good mature gemsbok and a baboon. Steve Gruber went on to kill another kudu and gemsbok with a rifle, and he also took the female leopard that I had posted the trail cam pix of. She was old and bare. She came in to 21 yards from the blind at 7:45 AM. Sorry I don't have photos of their trophies yet - as we were all hunting in 3 different directions.
I ended up not seeing a mature gemsbok bull or a big springbok, but we all had a great trip. Roger and his wife Amelia treated us like family, and we really enjoyed them and all the staff. Roger is a very dedicated bowhunter, and he obviously lives for the sport. He is very involved with NAPHA and the government when it comes to bowhunting in Namibia. Thanks so much to Roger and Vieranas Safaris for such an enjoyable time.
We ended up taking 19 animals - 16 with bow and 3 with rifle. We got some excellent footage for Outdoor America that will air next year on Outdoor Channel.
I really enjoyed getting up close and personal and bowhunting these beautiful animals, but I must admit, that I do enjoy spot and stalking with a gun more. I love getting close and I missed covering ground, stalking, seing different terrain all the time, etc. I am very glad I did a bowhunt, as it was so different from my past African experiences. I was fortunate in the fact that all the game animals I took were 1 shot clean bow kills. I did shoot the first baboon again, just to save suffering, but he was mortally wounded and bleeding profusely on the first shot.
All the flights home went smoothly, I even got upgraded to 1st class on the Delta flight from London to Cincy which was great. All baggage made it home, and I got a good night ssleep and don't feel terribly jet lagged. I guess it is time to really start finalizing plans for 2009 DG hunt!

Alberta Bear Bow Hunt

2008-05-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

This is going to be sort of long, but here goes...
I was back in northern Alberta hunting with my friends at W&L Guide Service last week. I took 2 great bears last year and couldn't wait to go back

Night #1 - saw 1 bear - many times and though it was a good one, I was watching for one of the absolute monsters they have up there. I took some photos of him and enjoyed the show.

Night #2 - I went to the same stand, and saw the same bear. I estimated him at 6 1/2 feet, so we decided he would be a good back up bear toward the end of the week.

Night #3 - Hunted a new stand and saw 2 small bears and one dandy. The big bear was very wary and made a big loop around the stand using the wind. At 75 yards, he got my wind and was gone. Camp really scored that night. Glenn Gilbert from American Hunter killed 2 - 6 footers, Linda Powell from Remington got a monster 7'8" boar, Mark Nelson from Cabela's killed a 6'3" and John Snow from Outdoor Life killed a 5'9" bear. 5 bears in one night. I was the only one of the group not to score.

Night #4 - I saw the same big bear. He did the same thing and got my wind at 60 yards. Busted again!

Night #5 - I went to a new stand and told John Snow he should go with a gun and try to kill the big bear that kept busting me (the bear didn't show). At about 7:30 - I looked left and spotted a bear coming in about 80 yards out. He cautiously came in, but he did come in. He began to feed, and I let him get settled in. Once relaxed, I waited on the broadside shot, and I nailed him. I shot him with my BowTech 82nd Airborne with a Carbon Express Maxima Hunter and Rage 100 gr 2 blade head. It took both lungs, and he went about 80 yards before piling up. He ended up being a nice 6'8" boar.
Night #6 - Last night, so I decided to go back to my backup bear. My cameraman was in the tree and I was tying my bow to my pull rope, when the cameraguy told me to look. The bear was standing 20 feet away! I scurried up the tree and got settled. He never left, and went and grabbed a piece of meat and took it in a thicket about 30 yards behind the stand. I could hear bones crunching, and I knew he would be back.
A few minutes later, he came back and went to feed on oats in our barrel. There were 3 big trees blocking the camera view, but I could see him. I told the cameraguy that I would move and let him have my spot so he could see the bear, so I climbed out of the stand. He got in my spot and started rolling as I reached the ground. I walked about 5 steps toward the bear (who was facing away) and to the left. I took a deep breath, and the bear heard me and jumped to the side and then turned to face me. He stood up, and I thought what a stupid move I had made. I just stood still, and he dropped back down. When he turned broadside at 16 steps, I drew, and punched one right behind his shoulder. He took off straight away and died in a sprint. The Rage tore a huge hole in him.

He ended up being another boar that was exactly 6'8" like the first. It was pretty exciting shooting him from the ground so close. I don't think I was in any real danger, but it sure got the old heart beating!!

That night Linda shot a beautiful cinnamon bear, and Mark shot a really aggressive 5'8" sow that charged him. She was short, but really bulky.

So ended another great hunt. I am already booked in for early May 2009. I can't wait.

Turkey Season ReCAP

2008-04-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

Turkey season is all but over for me. I am hunting tomorrow morning with my dad, and that is it. I didn't hunt nearly as much as usual. Killed the 2 good birds in FL, then went to TX and only got 1 longbeard. It was really tough hunting with little gobbling and a million jakes. It will be great down there next year. I talked to 20+ people who hunted TX, and everyone had a rough hunt. That bird down there is the first gobbler I have ever killed that I didn't get a photo of. I shot him at 7PM and didn't have my camera with me. It was dark when we got back to camp and we went on and cleaned him.

On the KY opener, I went with my buddy Lee Britt about 30 minutes from home. We had a great hunt from the roost, and an hour and 15 minutes after fly down, this nice 2 year-old came all the way into the dekes. I smoked him with the TC.

We got great footage for Outdoor America, and it was a super way to start the KY season. Thanks to Lee for taking me!

A couple days later, I drove to West KY to hunt at TC's Game Trails. Buddies, Neil Sanders, Gregg Ritz, and Alex Rutledge were in camp, and it was a blast. Jason Kidd a friend from KY was guiding there, and he had located some birds for me. We set up the next morning, and 4 toms and a gaggle of hens flew into the field. It took an hour and a half, but two of the longbeards finally came 250 yards across the field and committed. They beat Bmobile to death. One bred my new DSD decoy, went back and kicked Bmobile again, and then went back and bred the DSD again. We had incredible footage, and I shot him right off the deke's back the second time around. Again, he was a nice 2 year-old.

Everyone had a great hunt at Game Trails as you can see from this group photo. The best bird had 5 beards!

The most special hunt of my career was next. On April 26, it was supposed to storm and be nasty. I hadn't been able to take either of my boys all season, and Drew and I decided to go for a couple of hours. My buddy Steve Hartley had a food plot where they had been seeing 4 jakes regularly, and after 2 unsuccesful seasons trying to get the boys a bird, we would have been very happy with a jake.

We got in the blind before daylight and it hadn't rained yet. We expected no gobbling and hoped to get the jakes into the field in the rain. Drew had a baseball game in the afternoon, so we couldn't hunt long.

Long story short - 3 birds gobbled near us at dawn. The 2 close ones worked away, and the farthest one moved in. Soon he gobbled 100 yards out, then after a little light calling, he was at 60 but over a rise. Then I saw his head, and he strutted off and on into range. I told Drew I would call and get his head up and to shoot when it was up. I called, he shot, and Drew had his first gobbler!!!

It was a 20 pound 2 year-old, and neither of us could have been more excited. He made a great shot, and an hour after fly down with lots of gobbling and strutting, our 3 season quest was over. We said a prayer of thanks to the Good Lord, and took the bird home to surprise mom and WIll. I will never forget those hours that morning. They were some of the most precious of my life.

Hopefully we can get dad on a bird tomorrow. I am off to AB for black bears with a bow on Thursday (May 1). SO I will post again around the 10th.

Back from Boar Osceola hunt in FL...

2008-03-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

I have been Osceola hunting in FL for 18 years, and I would say without a doubt this was my best trip ever. We started off filming hogs at Chase Ruck's dairy near Okeechobee. I ended up with a nice 160 pound sow and a huge bodied boar that was estimated at 350 pounds at a minimum. The photo doesn't come close to doing the body justice. He had some tusks, but they just don't seem to get big teeth at this dairy.

Then it was off to the ranch I hunt near Haines City. I scouted that afternoon and the next morning, and there were so many gobblers, I couldn't believe it. Last year the hunting was tough. On Friday at noon, I went and set my blind where I thought some gobblers would come out to strut the next morning.

The photo shows the setup in daylight, though I obviously didn't put out the dekes until the next day. Opening day of turkey season had a bunch of birds gobbling in the woods about 150 yards off. Soon after fly down, a big tom came into my field, and slowly worked in to the dekes. He gobbled well to my call and it took him about 15 minutes to strut 80 yards. He came in and smacked B-mobile a bit, and I sliced him with a Rage broadhead at 5 steps as he was pecking B-mobile. After that, another gobbler came in and worked up to the dekes before we could get out of the blind. When he left, we sneaked out, and got my bird and the dekes and left. I planned to come back the next morning.

My bow bird only had about an 8" beard, but he had 1.5" razor spurs. That afternoon, I put writer David Hart in a place I had been seeing some birds and he missed one gobbler, and ended up killing a different bird that came in to 15 yards.

2nd morning had less gobbling as it rained all night, but soon after flydown, a big tom came out in the field. He acted like he was coming in, but then took off running to my right. I soon saw why. 2 more longbeards and a hen had stepped out of the woods, and he didn't want to fight 2 birds. I made a loud yelp, and the 2 longbeards looked my way, saw B-mobile and forgot their hen. They came right in and aggressive purred, etc. One bird was at 3 steps and my cameraman moved and was spotted. The birds trotted out and were leaving, so I picked up the TC and dropped the back bird at 15 steps. He had a 10" beard and 1.25" spurs. Again, I got pinned in the blind, and over the next 2.5 hours, I had a ridiculous amount of gobblers come in to my setup - all within 10 yards.

I had put writer Bob Humphrey at the far corner of my pasture about a mile away - and at 10:30 after working him for 1 solid hour, Bob killed a nice mature bird. So when we got back at lunch, the only guy left without a bird was Eddie Stevenson from Remington Ammunition. I told Eddie to grab a bite to eat and I would take him to my blind. I kidded him that he would be back with a bird by 2PM. He was in my blind about 10 minutes when 3 gobblers (who came in on me that morning) showed and marched right into his dekes. One strutted and whipped up on B-Mobile, and Eddie gave him a dirt nap at 20 steps. It was 1:15 and he was back to camp before 2PM! SO we got all 5 of our birds by lunch on the second day. The birds gobbled and worked well. It was a rare treat to have everyone on good birds that acted like turkeys should. It was a great hunt for Osceolas. If you want to go - drop me an e-mail. The guy that manages the ranch I was hunting is about to get 2 more big leases, and he will have lots of birds. I love this hunt because it is do it yourself with no guides, etc. A nice house, good property and that's it.

Here are the 3 birds that Bob, Eddie and I killed the 2nd day...

We got super footage for Trijicon's Outdoor America, and it should be the best turkey show I have ever been a part of...

Lost my hair at ATA for a good cause...

2008-01-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

I know it is a little scary, but here is a photo of Andy and Angie Ross shaving my head at the 2008 ATA show in Indy. Steve Gruber, Tom Nelson, Jon LaCorte, Ann Clark, JY Jones and I all got shaved to raise money for the ASL Cancer Research fund. It was a great success and thelast I heard, we had raised $112,000. Dr Leonard's Fund is very important and I was honored to be able to help in some small way.

Anyone interested in donations - please seee www.aslcancerfund.com . Hopefully for my Wife's sake - it will grow back!

Home for about 10 days then off to the SCI show in Reno...TH

Back from Sonora desert mule deer hunt...

2008-01-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

Just got back last night from hunting mule deer with my good buddy Hunter Ross of Desert Safaris (http://www.desertsafaris.com/) down in the Sonora Desert. It was a nightmare trip from a traveling/filming standpoint.

First, on the way down, my cameraman filming for T/C Game Trails (Chris Douglas) was delayed and had to stay in LA overnight. He got in late the next evening. So that was a day of the hunt cut out. The worst part was that we went out looking for deer that afternoon before Chris got to camp, and we found a deer in the 200" range. He was bedded and sound asleep at 75 yards - for 10 minutes. Hunter finally walked up to 35 yards before the deer woke and took off. Man it was awful - seeing that big guy in easy range and just having to watch him with a tag in my pocket.

Well Chris got to camp - and the airlines had lost his luggage! We had 1 tape and 1 battery. The luggage arrived the next night. For 3 days, we played cat and mouse with a really big buck that was 32-34" wide as he would leave an alfalfa field in the mornings. We never could get set up right to get him on film in shooting distance. The last morning of the trip, we could have stalked him and gotten within range pretty easily, but there was no way to do it with the camera.

Chris got really sick about an hour into the hunt on the last day, and we had to take him back to the ranch house. He was in bad shape...

So Hunter deceided to try to film for me, but we never got an opportunity at a big buck that morning. That afternon (our last) Chris was still in bad shape. Hunter and I went out to hunt, and left the camera behind. It was the last few hours, and we hoped to get a good buck to salvage the hunt, and hopefully I could get some magazine stories from the trip.

To make a long story short, we found a good buck trailing a doe. As we assessed him, they kept moving in and out of the brush- getting further away. We debated back and forth on whether or not to shoot him, and finally decided I better try to take him. I know Hunter was hoping I would get a 190-200" buck, but things just kept going wrong.

I shot the buck at some where between 200-250 yards as he walked through a small opening headed into some heavy brush. As usual, the .30 T/C Icon did a great job, and I had my Sonora mulie.

He was heavier than I thought and very tall. He was aged at 7.5-8.5 years old, and we figure he was on his way down. The buck (though he has weak forks on one side) still is right at 180 due to mass. He is a cool old buck with some brow stickers and a small cheater off his G-2. I was sure proud to get him.

This was one of those dream trips for me, and though it didn't turn out nearly as good as it could have, it was great to get to spend a week with Hunter and bring home a neat old buck. I felt bad for Hunter because I could have killed 2 much better bucks off camera, but we were really trying to get a show, and that os a hazard of this business. Hunter's operation in Mexico is 1st Class and is the place to go if you want a HUGE mulie.

That is my last hunt until March except for an occasional duck or coyote hunt here around home. I have ATA, SCI and SHOT shows coming up, so there will be more travel soon. Hope everyone had a happy New Year while I was gone...TH

Merry Christmas - a little early

2007-12-21T12:31:00.000-08:00

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, just a little early. The family and I are headed to my parents' house tomorrow for a couple of days to celebrate, and then we will be home for Christmas Eve and Christmas. The holidays are a blast with 7 year-old twins!

After Christmas it will be time to check the ol' T/C Icon and make sure it's still driving tacks, get packed and prepared for my desert mule deer hunt in Sonora, Mexico beginning on Dec. 29th.

So...Ho-Ho-Ho...and Merry Christmas to all!!!

TH

Checking in...

2007-12-18T04:47:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

We are just setting up this blog and getting going, so I thought I would check in. This is a slow time for me right now. Just catching up on office work after a long hunting and filming season. We got some great footage for Outdoor America this year.

For those of you who don't know, my buddy Scott Haugen and I are stepping in to fill the primary host positions for Outdoor America after 14 years on the air. Steve Gruber has always hosted the show, and he is stepping back to do other things. Steve will still do 3-4 shows a year, and he really wants to concentrate on BIG whitetails. So Scott and I will be sharing most of the host duties.

The first show of the year will be an introduction to our new format with Scott and me as hosts - and the fact that we are switching to all big game and no fishing! You know that is how I prefer things to go. We are upgrading the show. As of now, we have a new open for the first few shows, and we have a graphics specialist working on a permanent open that will show up a few weeks later that is supposed to rock...

Our new airtimes are Mondays at 8AM - Thursdays at 11AM and Sundays at 1:30PM (all eastern times). I am pumped about the Sunday afternoon spot. It is a big improvement. The new shows begin the week of Dec 31-Jan 6. Tune in and let me know what you think. As always...you can contact me at tim@grandslamhunts.com .

Tim Herald: TV Host /Outdoor Writer

2007-12-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

Tim Herald lives in Lexington, KY and has been hunting since he was six years old. He has hunted and fished all over the U.S., Mexico, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Canada and New Zealand, and has harvested 18 wild turkey Grand Slams and 1 Royal Slam. In 2003 Tim took a double Grand Slam; one with a muzzleloading shotgun, one with a modern shotgun. Herald was only the 11^th person on record to complete a single season blackpowder Grand Slam, and only the 3^rd on record to complete both a blackpowder and modern shotgun Grand Slam in one spring. Herald finished out 2003 by taking both a bull elk and whitetail deer with his muzzleloader that qualified for the record book. In 2006, Herald completed his first wild turkey Grand Slam with a bow.

After receiving a Master’s degree in Natural Resource Conservation, Tim has shared his experiences afield through the many newspaper and magazine articles that he has written (credits include, Turkey Call, SPORTS AFIELD, Wildfowl, Turkey & Turkey Hunting, Deer & Deer Hunting, North American Hunter, Peterson’s Bowhunting, etc.). Herald is a member of the Southeast Outdoor Press Association, is the “Destination Deer” columnist in Whitetail Journal and writes the “Bowhunting Tactics” column for Bowhunt America. In 2001 Tim’s first book Gobblers I Have Known…The Evolution and Ramblings of a Turkey Hunter was published. Herald now owns and operates a hunt consulting service (www.grandslamhunts.com). In his capacity as a Knight & Hale Game Calls, Thompson Center Arms, BowTech, ThermaCell, Horn Hunter Packs, Carbon Express Arrows, Winner’s Choice Bowstrings, Nikon Optics and Under Armour Outdoor ProStaffer, Tim particularly enjoys teaching newcomers to hunting the calling concepts and decoy strategies that will make them successful in the field. Tim has conducted seminars throughout the U.S. and has also been featured in many major outdoor publications, television and radio shows, hunting videos, as well as ads, catalogs and commercials for various outdoor companies. Along with frequent appearances on television programs such as Realtree Roadtrips, Mossy Oak’s Hunting the Country, Knight and Hale’s Ultimate Hunting, North American Hunter, etc., Herald joined the staff of the Hunters Journal Television Show on the Outdoor Channel in 2003. Tim was added to the panel of 2006-2007 pros for Whitetail Country (ESPN2 Sunday mornings), and co-hosted LimbSaver Outdoors in 2007 on the Men’s Channel. Wolf Creek Productions recently announced that Herald and good friend Scott Haugen will host the award winning Outdoor America in 2008.

Herald has appeared on:
-Whitetail Country (ESPN2) 2006, 2007
-American Hunter TV (The Outdoor Channel)– 2007
-Thompson Center Game Trails (The Outdoor Channel) 2007
-North American Hunter TV ( VS) - 2007
-The Hunter’s Journal (The Outdoor Channel) 2003-2007
-Realtree Roadtrips (The Outdoor Channel) 2005
-Mossy Oak’s Hunting The Country (The Outdoor Channel) 2006
-Limbsaver Outdoors – (The Men’s Channel) 2006-2007
-American Archer (The Outdoor Channel)– 2006 - 2007 Right -Place, Right Time (Parrott and Jones) (The Men’s Channel) 2006 & 2007
-Outdoor America (The Outdoor Channel) 2007
-Knight & Hale’s Ultimate Hunting (The Outdoor Channel) 2001-2005
-Knight & Hale’s Ultimate Spring- retail video/DVDs – volumes 9, 10 & 11 Turkey Traxx – retail -DVDs – volumes 1, 2, 4 &5
-Mossy Oak’s Mega Bucks 10 – retail DVD
-Drury Outdoors’ Elk Madness II- retail DVD