December 10, 2004
Edison- A trip into the woods with Raymond Kimbrel and his daughter Jessica Parramore, 16, can teach you a new way to compete in an old sport.
But they start the game from a different position and they use original equipment.
"Call to 'em. I mean, almost immediately, make some noise," Kimbrel said.
The noise he's talking about is made by his Ground Thumper. It's what Raymond created to talk to deer in their language.
"His curiosity gets peaked and he wants to know 'Hey, who's in my back yard."
Spending hours in a deer stand can be mind-numbing. So Raymond says get out of the stand, get into the woods and get on the ground.
"Again, you're in their back yard. You put a stand up nine times out of ten, the first day you put that stand up, that deer has found that stand."
It's here that a hunter's site will change when it comes to the shooting game. If you thump and wait, the deer will come. Raymond has proof.
"This deer here is the first one I ever killed by thumping the ground," he said pointing to at set of antlers on a wall full of them.
He started using his ground thumper years ago when a deer thumped at him and he thumped back.
"I've called up literally, 500 to 600 deer in ten years time."
Now he's mounted so many sets of antlers, he's stopped shooting.
"My daughter does all my killing now."
But he hasn't stopped perfecting the Ground Thumper. He designs and makes them in his Edison home. Earlier models were made of wood, then of PVC pipe. He's settled on recyled rubber ends and galvanized tubing for a handle. He sold the first one last April.
"This was six months ahead of deer season. I'm right at the 200 mark, yes, yes."
Raymond video tapes their trips and kills. The footage comes with the purchase of a Ground Thumper.
"It's not a magic wand, but it will out perform any call on the market."
And, he says, it just makes sense.
"If he hears you, he can't resist. He's got to come."
So to find your way to the deer's backyard, Raymond recommends getting "out that stand, get in the woods and go back to hunting that animal."
It's a different, and safer way to play the game. But Raymond and Jessica will tell you, it only takes one shot to win.
You can take a look at a Ground Thumper at Bobcat Restaurant in Blakely, Widdon Deer Processing in Leary and Shellman Taxidermy.
To contact Raymond Kimbrel about the Ground Thumper, e-mail him at raymondkimbrel@aol.com.
posted at 10:50 p.m. by brannon.stewart@walb.com
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