I am a gung-ho deer hunter, but much more than that, I am a gung-ho hunter of all-things fun, sport, meat, trophy conservation!
Every deer hunter that I know also hunts all sorts of small game and big game here, there and everywhere.
“I hunt too much!” nobody ever said!
As much as I absolutely love deer hunting, I do indeed crave my sacred time in the duck blind with Happy, Sadie and Coco when the fowl are flying.
And with all my habitat renovation and varmint control over the years, we have some incredible pheasant and rabbit hunting on the old Nugent swamp these days.
It’s been awhile since I arrowed a pronghorn, elk, caribou or moose, but that’s because I so crave my time at home with my family during the fall/winter seasons, and the plethora of game that abounds on our home grounds.
With the borders still shut down due to the Communist Chinese virus scam, my Canadian bear hunting fun, like my beloved rock-n-roll fun, has been painfully curtailed this year.
But alas!! After 17 years of applying, I finally drew a much-coveted black bear tag for our Northern Michigan property, and with a ridiculous overpopulation of bears thanks to the denial, ineptitude and dishonesty of our game department, I’m expecting a rugsteak boogie like never before!
Smack dab in the vast Manistee National Forest, our little family log cabin is in the lap of God as far as Northwoods game habitat goes, and we have scouted out a killer ambush spot for old blackie.
I have bowkilled many magnificent bears in my lifetime, stalking, running with hounds and ambushing over bait, and with my feeble new titanium knees, rambling over hill and dale chasing those magnificent howling canines is pretty much out of the question for this old gimping backstrapper, so baiting here I come!
I love all of the various bear hunting methodologies, but the excitement and anticipation of hunting over a food destination is the most enjoyable of all. Just like my preferred favorite deer hunting.
Bordering a fantastic, thick marshland and adjoining cedar swamp, son Toby and I set up a pair of ladderstands on a tall knob overlooking a deep cut gulch where a bear can feel relatively confident moving about.
Deep down at the lowest point in this pocket we created a V-shaped backdrop to encourage a bruin to give a killer broadside pose for my arrow, into which we will place the SuperNuge UltraGONZO RugSteakGoo SpiritBait.
Placing a pile of dry dog food in the V, we cook up a slab of bacon right there at the bait site, adding a load of sweet maple syrup as it sizzles. Once boiling, I vigorously stir in a package of strawberry Jell-O, a bag of marshmallows, then a pound or so of white cane sugar, creating a huge, white, wafting plume of bacony, sweet aromatic goo smoke that sails all over the damn place and permeates the forestlands with bear dope.
We pour this slop over the dry dog food, add some sugary pastries, cover with logs, then spoon gobs of white vanilla frosting on the logs.
We are not done just yet!
We then spray a shower of anise oil and liquid smoke all around, saturating the surrounding grounds so every critter that approaches this sweet, aromatic stinkzone walks away with saturated paws, leaving a network of stinky spokes leading in every direction back to the bait.
With a bunch of killer commercial bear bait outfits out there, we also add some Northwoods scented sprays, some Signal11 bear scents and a cloud of Bill Weisner family bear product to turn our little knob into the ultimate black bear candy store.
Considering how the irresponsible overpopulation of black bears in the region has destroyed every bird feeder and trash can, and created dangerous conditions in the entire five-county area, I can only imagine how an army of bears will discover this smorgasbord of super bear slop, and descend upon my little rugsteak ambush zone.
I think and dream BIG!
As usual, I have been practicing diligently and daily with my Mathews bow from a makeshift archery tower, replicating the exact angle and distance to my bait up North. On a 3D bear target, I am shooting 100% pumpstation disconnect and anticipate some of the most fun and exciting bowhunting of my life.
All critters are special, but bears are special special. Something mystic and mythical about the spirit of the bear that kicks up the adrenalin factor a notch or two just in anticipation of seeing one.
When the skulking beast does finally appear, it is noticeably different than an encounter with a deer, or elk or other creatures.
Spirit and nerve management comes into clear and present play in the presence of a bear, and your shot sequence had better be on a muscle/spirit memory life of its own, seared permanently onto your psyche and soul when that nerve-racking moment of truth arrives.
The bear rug is a special trophy that will inspire an immediate return to that moment of truth, and bear meat can be some of the best venison that a hunter can prepare.
All in all, my dreams have been filled with graphic images of sneaky, beautiful, dangerous bears more than usual, and I am expecting great things, great memories, great arrows and great BBQ in the not too distant future.
Join me at HuntTheVote.org so we can be a WE THE PEOPLE positive force to reckon with taking back America. Pledge to register to vote God, family, country, freedom and our hunting lifestyle, or the enemies of America will laugh at our failure to do so.
Multi-platinum guitar legend TED NUGENT has a new full-length album THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT, on Round Hill Records. The album is available now for order everywhere, and the title track “The Music Made Me Do It” is available to download and stream wherever music is sold.
And now, the Ted Nugent Spirit Campfire with John Brenkus, is #1 on Billboard’s Top Facebook Live Video Chart! The ever-articulate Nugent and co-host Brenkus, the Emmy-winning broadcaster from ESPN, make for a high-energy and entertaining combination. The show launched in June 2020 and offers a front row glimpse into musical inspirations, hilarious anecdotes, thoughtful recollections and an enviable lineup of legendary talent.The Ted Nugent Spirit Campfire with John Brenkus airs live on Mondays and Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EST on Facebook and YouTube.
With more than 40 million albums sold, rock legend Ted Nugent is equally well known as the nation’s most outspoken proponent of our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, conducting thousands of pro-gun, pro-freedom, pro-American interviews in major media worldwide. Nugent is a New York Times best-selling author whose works include Ted, White & Blue —The Nugent Manifesto; God, Guns & Rock ‘n’ Roll and Kill It & Grill It. This year, his award-winning Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild TV show celebrates its 500th episode! For all things Nuge, visit www.tednugent.com
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