Lookout Mountain Outdoors

01/18/2024

Can always tell when the rut is on around here…the big ones start rolling through 💪

05/08/2023

The 2023 turkey season was a memorable one to say the least! Those 4:00 am mornings start wearing on you after a while, but it’s worth it when it all comes together👍

Jake didn’t miss many times this year either 😆

Time to get in the water and wrestle some catfish now 💪

03/28/2023

Crew Smashing those birds already!

03/26/2023

We’re on the board in Alabama 👌

03/08/2023

She should know better by now….there’s always a season for something 🤷🏽‍♂️

02/07/2023

Throwback to Jake’s first turkey 😆

02/03/2023

A couple Etowah County STUDS!

Hunting season is winding down….get those deer to me if you want your skull mount finished this season!

01/11/2023

12/25/2022

Christmas sit 🤞

12/25/2022

Atta boy Riley Green

12/19/2022

***Very long read warning***

This ol Buck has caused me a lot of back pain from all day sits and a lot of sleepless nights from close encounters that didn’t work out. I first got this deer on camera back in 2019 when I joined our club (Parts Unknown). My first encounter with him was on a power line. I heard him grunting from two ridges over. Soon, a doe busted over the ridge, followed by a spike, followed by him…..I was literally yelling at him trying to get him to stop as he passed about 50 yards by my stand and was gone 😒

I was able to take a pretty big 9 point from that same stand later in that season. When he was taken, this deer showed back up on camera and I hoped he would make through the spring and summer without getting ran over or something else.

Fast forward to fall of 2021/2022 season. We lost that part of the hunting club where I had been hunting, so I found a place nearby that was getting little to no pressure because it was very thick and only an old logging road could be hunted. I put a few cameras out and eventually HE showed up, even bigger than the year before! I let tons of deer that I would have normally taken walk, because I was just sure he would be right behind them one of the times…..he never was though. The trail camera would haunt me….ol big boy would show up just after I would leave or show up while I was at Sunday School one morning 😆. The only encounter I had with him that season was the two times he quickly crossed the road I was hunting with no time to even take a shot. Time ran out on the season, but he was still on camera in March 🤞

Right before this season began, I took a new job that I absolutely love but would keep me out of the woods every single day….which was probably a good thing. This buck started showing up on camera again pretty early in October and had gained some mass. There’s been lots of evenings after work spent dragging the kids to the club to make sure the does stay fed to keep him in the area. Here’s where things get kind of crazy….My cardiologist scheduled a stress test and a lot of other tests to be done on Friday December 16. So I ask off from work for the day. When I got there, the lady that was supposed to be doing some of the imaging wasn’t in, so I only did the stress test and was in and out in 30 minutes. This also allowed me to make it to go see one of my best friends who was at the funeral home for his mom’s passing…love ya Jimbo. At this point, I’m thinking I might actually get in an evening hunt since Rooks was spending the night with Granny and Josie was staying with a friend. I went on home and put my old hand me down hunting clothes from Dad on and headed to the club.

I got to my spot around 230 and shortly after had several does and a six point out in front of me. I could also hear a deer grunting and chasing over in the thicket to my right for a couple of hours. I pulled my old knight and Hale ez grunter out and started matching the bucks grunts every time he did it. As the does out in front of me got more alarmed, the grunts got closer and closer. Finally, the hot doe busted out in the road in front of me so I was going to go ahead and ready my weapon BUT THE SAFETY WOULDNT RELEASE! 3 years of hunting this particular buck and I’m having a weapon malfunction!!! I look up and this big horse looking buck that I would recognize from a million miles away is now 75 yards in front of me walking and looking straight at me! I fiddled and prayed and probably cussed some, and I finally got the malfunction fixed…..but he was GONE! My heart broke into a million pieces 😫. I texted my buddy Jake Miller and told him I blew it!

A few minutes later some of the does popped back out and continued feeding. I pulled the grunter back out and was basically growling with it hoping the ol buck would come back. THEN that hot doe darted across the road again so I readied. In just an instant that big ol buck I had been chasing for three years appeared again on the edge of the road still in the woods. I squeezed and all the deer disappeared 😒. I gathered all of my stuff and went to the shot site and couldn’t find anything indicating which way he went or if he was hit 😭

My gut feeling was that I hit him good and he wouldn’t go far but as most trackers like myself know….you just never know! It was about to get dark and the area was so thick so I backed out. I called several people asking for advice. I was about to load Nitro up and go pick up Jake and meet my buddy John Brockman down there but me and Chris Handy decided we better just wait it out until the morning just in case I got a little too far back with the shot.

I slept, but not well….checking the camera every so often to see if he was on it. I decided I would hunt that spot the next morning for a few hours then see what I could find. Jake, couldn’t stand it and ended up meeting me down there around 730 to start looking. I showed him where he was standing….he went right and I went left. About 3 minutes in Jake hollered that he had found blood…then another minute later he was yelling for me to “Come get this big ol buck deer!” Barreling through the briars to get over to him I tore myself all to pieces. When I saw that deer laying on the ground and how hyped up “JMILL” was, all I could feel was relief! I’m glad I got to share that moment with one of my best buds!

We carried him home where Kinsie could take some pictures for us and let Nitro check him out….he gave me a big ol bloody kiss to congratulate me 😁

We carried him up to Keith Dodd’s taxidermy shop where he measured out right at 140” We couldn’t weigh him, but he was a good bit heavier than my biggest before this one at 225. We guesstimate he was 6.5 years old but will check the jawbone to make sure.

If you’ve made it this far, you are probably a “hunter” yourself. Hunting and being outdoors is something that is absolutely a part of me….probably a much bigger part than is healthy. Some of my best memories are from hunting with Dad, Pooch, Jim, Little Jim, Jackie, and the whole crew when I was younger. I’m glad my father in law got me into his club to be able to have these opportunities now.

The battle between me and this ol 11 point has come to an end, but there’s a new buck in town already that’s got my focus now….😀😀😀

11/07/2022

10/21/2022

"After what he thought was a bad shot my brother was scrambling out of his tree stand to take another shot when his ladder came out from under him. We rushed out to the hospital for a fractured leg and what we think is a broken back. His buddy tracked his deer and brought to the hospital for him today!

He’s been chasing this one for a while now so it’s be super cool if y’all could give him a shout out! Killed in Northeast Arkansas!!"

10/17/2022

Congrats to Ethan on his first recurve harvest!

He called me this morning right after the shot and was shaking like a leaf on a tree from “Doe Fever” 😄

10/17/2022

had a good opening weekend! Tracked one to the lake twice and handed out a tailgate ticket on the other one! He’s got a deer leg to gnaw on so he’s happy….and so am I 🥰

10/10/2022

Nitro is ready for deer season!! Give us a call if you need help tracking one….we’ll do our best! 💪

05/09/2022

“Turkey Season 2022” is in the books and gonna be hard to beat!

Now it’s time to focus on the catfish 😁

04/02/2022

Awesome hunt this morning!

03/30/2022

Two birds in two days, sitting in the same spot!

The only thing better than turkey hunting is turkey hunting with your buddies 😀

03/25/2022

Doubled up and double beard!

03/25/2022

Atta girl!

03/17/2022

This Bobcat turned out really nice! No more turkey for this guy 💪

03/14/2022

Congrats Larry!

Congratulations to Larry Bigelow from Attalla for catching a 50 dollar tagged fish

03/11/2022

03/02/2022

Last batch of skull mounts finished up!

Ended up doing close to 200 deer this year! Thank you so much to all of you! I really appreciate your business 👍🦌

02/20/2022

The bites are hard to come by, but fun when they do 😍

02/10/2022

A couple of Dekalb County and a Cherokee County deer 🦌

02/10/2022

That’s a lot of deer!

02/07/2022

Congrats and Good Luck Brantley and Dallon!

Pisgah High School Anglers Brantley & Dallon are just a short trip down the mountain to fish on the Big G. I am sure they have Back to Back victories 🏆 in their minds, but they are facing 199 teams of the most talented Anglers in North Alabama from the Alabama Bass Nation High School Tide Division❗️

Who will own the G❓

02/07/2022

The late season hunt has been good for some folks….busy day for