Jeff Cheseldine I started my outdoor passion at age 7, 28 years ago, and have never looked back! My dad and uncle got me in the woods and I could never thank them enough for it. From chasing whitetails in late summer to early winter, turkeys in the spring, and any other game in between...I am addicted to the outdoors and LOVE it! Hunting is a 365 days a year thing for me and I enjoy getting "ready" for the hunt almost as much as the hunt itself. You can find me at my home farm in GA, or maybe in the midwest, but your gonna find me in the woods! Jeff Cheseldine(http://www.bigjoutdoors.com/ )
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| Tracy Truman
In 2007 Tracy introduced a groundbreaking idea to fur trappers and biologists across the United States. While many trappers and biologists had been frustrated in their attempts to determine population densities for the animals the pursued, and what techniques would be more productive to capture them, Tracy introduced the idea of using trail cameras to solve these problems. Tracy set cameras in spring denning areas to determine predator reproduction, on water sources during the summer months, and in travel ways during early fall. These observations allowed him to predict animal populations and potential harvest numbers. More importantly, he used trail cameras to test different attractants (lures and baits), and was able to observe which attractants worked the best, why they worked, what reactions they caused in various animals, and which attractants caused the greatest interest in animals. Later, during the winter trapping season, Tracy set trail cameras near his traps to video the animal’s approach to different trap sets, their responses to the lures and baits, and learned valuable information about how to improve his trapping techniques. Tracy used that information to publish a book entitled “Modern Gray Fox Trapping” where he showed the role trail cameras played in improving a trapper’s skills. But Tracy wanted to someday use video footage and produce a DVD to “show” trappers and biologists what he had observed through the still photographs of his trail cameras. Although Tracy used 8 different makes and models of trail cameras in his early work, he was frustrated with the performance of each camera. None of them operated with the consistency he needed under harsh conditions to obtain the footage he felt he needed – particularly video footage. That led him to eventually find the ScoutGuard 550 trail camera. This camera was super small so it could be camouflaged from people and animals, it used “no-flash” technology, and it captured video footage flawlessly. Using the new ScoutGuard cameras, Tracy quickly improved his trapping techniques and is now considered one of the country’s top gray fox trappers. His work with the ScoutGuard 550 led him to produce two DVD’s, entitled “Modern Gray Fox Trapping,” and “Cage Trapping Bobcats and Gray Fox.” Both DVD’s show actual footage taken with the ScoutGuard 550 cameras of how to effectively pre-season scout for fur, how animals approach traps, and how they react to different baits and lures. The DVD’s have become a standard in the fur harvesting industry and numerous trappers and biologists now use the same methods and cameras to improve their success as well. Tracy is a native of Nevada but has trapped much of the West. He started trapping as a young boy and paid for most of his college education as a trapper, working on coyotes during the summer for sheepmen, and trapping bobcats, fox, coyotes and badgers during the winter fur season. He is an attorney by profession and still manages to make triple digit gray fox catches every year, as well as getting his share of those high-priced Nevada bobcats. http://www.grayfoxtrapping.com/
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