Outdoorsman Thread

[jerryd6818]

Thanks Philip!

I'm teaching them the same 2 rules my dad taught me:
1). Never, ever point a gun at someone else
2). Always, always act as if the gun is loaded, even if you know it isn't!

And the one that's most difficult for them (and a lot of adults) to master, "Always keep the firearm pointed at the ground or up in the air until you're ready to pull the trigger".


Philip and especially Scott -- I just saw on the Weather.com site that they are predicting a colder than normal winter for the South. Also a wetter than normal winter. Only time will tell.

[TripleF]

Yessirree..... I saw that too Jerry!
Got my fingers crossed. Old Farmer's Almanac also predicts a colder winter!

[big monk]

Runnin' a little behind on my readin' .
Big Monk, y'all appear to be ready for deer season to get cranked off! That ground blind looks good but not for me just yet. I may have to go to ground blinds in the future but it'll be after a lot of kickin' and screamin'! I love to hunt from an elevated stand! Miss Joy says, "You're too old to be climbing into those shooting houses!" I told her, "I gave up the climbing stands a few years back but I ain't givin' up the ladder stands and shootin' houses! Look, I've got a new knee, a new hip and a freshly 'scoped knee, I ought to be able to sit up there with the crows and watch 'em walk by!" She says she's concerned 'cause she still loves me .
Treefarmer

Phillip,__ I still have ladder stands too *** ( I put up (6) new ones and have access to hunt about (6) more ^^^ ( don't do any climbing either, cause I ""love myself"" )______ I'll be in the ladder stands, when the acorns start dropping & a few leaves fall from the limbs !! ___

think I'll hitch up the boat & do a little fishing this week to ""bide my time"" __ heard they are starting to ""school on top"" chasing some bait !!!! better go catch a few before deer season opens

[jerryd6818]

Found a sign for y'all.

[big monk]

NEET-O !!!!!!!!__________ on the sign,JerryD !!!!

Some more photos of the ""hunting blinds" / ladder stands with views of the ""food plots"" we planted** -- this was my /our first try, planting the food plots__ cow peas,brassica mix, clover, buckwheat,& rye grass *** -we plowed and planted Sept.6,2015 --got our first rain 5 days later and wow !!! I'm really pleased for my first try !! __________hope I'm not ""boring you ""knife guys"" with this outdoor stuff ?? but I'm having a ball playing with this ""deer hunting hobby""

1."Ground Condo"
2.""Cow Peas food plot"" view from ""Condo""
3.Creek side ladder stand watching the ""feeder""
4.Feeder near creek**
5.Buckwheat food plot**
6.Mineral Lick (salt) they have used all summer**
7.Ladder stand deeper in woods**
8.Another "Cow Peas"" food plot **

Hope I will have some ""deer"" & ""sausage"" photos,soon !!!!

[garddogg56]

GREAT pictures Monk I can't wait till opening day ::pace::First pic is coydog blind 2nd pic is view frim inside,3rd campfire at truck parking kitchen,4th covered ground blind,5th hilltop ground blind,6th rolling Moose blind7th results

[big monk]

Great pic's dogg !!!!!__________ you guys build the "natural blinds" (KOOL !!!)

I hit a deer with my smaller Toyota truck, some years back,___________with the same results as your ""rolling Moose blind""

[zp4ja]

Great pics Gents. Tis the season.

Likely be going after one of these 3 bucks soon. Loading pics from phone. Hope they expand a little.

Jerry

[big monk]

Nice ones !!!!!!

[TripleF]

Very cool Jerry!

[Old Hunter]

Yes indeed, all these great photo's mean one thing - it's fall and hunting season is nearly here! With my buddy Billy we went around the Wilson County farm yesterday and sprayed the stands with wasp nests in them. Then set up some old political signs with targets on them and practiced from the stand - that is always an eye opener - practice, practice, practice. Here is a picture of Billy shooting from the Clover Patch Stand. OH

[big monk]

Bruce--- if I had a stand like that,I'd get dish network & internet hooked up __ & move in for the season !!!! _________happy hunting my friend !!!________Monk

[garddogg56]

hell thats better than my house OH Sum nice deer there Jerry

[Dinadan]

Interesting photos from Maine, Nevada, and North Carolina. I have not hunted for a couple of decades, but just seeing how you fellows are preparing makes my blood tingle. I am happy that autumn is finally here. Still a bit hot in my area, but nothing like a month ago. Old Hunter, if I had a blind like yours, I cannot imagine how hard it would be to stay awake in the late afternoon. On a cold day when the late afternoon sun hits that shooting house, it would be perfect for a nap!

[treefarmer]

Here you go Mel, another shooting house to whet your appetite! This one is in Lower Alabama aka Florida panhandle. Great place to read, think, nap and every once in a while, bust ol' Bambi!
One of the grandboys climbing up last Thanksgiving.
Treefarmer

[TripleF]

Awesome stands fellas......
I gotta figure out how to get out hunting
I'd also have to figure out where I'd store the meat in this 1250 square foot condo

[Dinadan]

Autumn is really here! Today I saw my first Northern Harrier over the marsh where I was fishing. There are certain migratory birds whose arrival and departure mark the change of seasons: the arrival of the Northern Harrier means autumn is here. Plants also mark the change of seasons, and I have noticed that the autumn plants are beginning their display. I was fortunate enough to be on the water yesterday and today. Had a great time both days, but today I got soaked by both rain and sea spray as I headed in.

[FRJ]

Nice catch, Mel. Sounds like a nice time out there both observing and catching.

I love to be out in nature and around water.

[TripleF]

Good stuff Mel!

Thanks for sharing the season updates!! I am indeed grateful!!

[zp4ja]

Cool Mel! Also all Scott said.

Great to see and hear about the outdoors in different parts of the country.

Jerry

[garddogg56]

Good stuff Mel and TF

[zp4ja]

Opening day Mule deer hunt yesterday. Season October 5 thru 20th.

Pole Canyon, NV. Scouted the night before and watch 4 decent bucks bed down for the night. We knew the would be close to where they were when season opened next day.
"Pole Canyon" pic of where they are. Pic taken at 4500', mountain peak at 8500'. Bucks are over a mile away a few hundred yards above the aspens center photo.

I have to say that the shooting house and blinds that OH and Dogg posted have me a bit envious when I look at what we are facing. Oh well, it is what it is.

Opening day, beat 10 hunters up the hill from the back of the mountain. Road runs just below ridge line. So we are at about 8000 plus feet elevation and above the bucks we bedded down the night before if they are still there. We get in 2 hours early and stay quiet waiting for the sun to come up.

Legal shooting time arrives, season open. We had parked above the next wash over and spotted no bucks there at first light. We headed down that wash to remain unseen a hundred yards or so and over to a rock formation on a ridge between the 2 washes hoping the bucks from the night before were still there.

They were! All 4 bucks thrashing some patches of bushes. The 2 larger ones were really buried in them thrashing around. No shot. I also have many hunters in the area and all I need to blow this deal and scatter those bucks is a vehicle or UTV to come barreling down the road. What the other hunters are doing play a HUGE role in success or not out here hunting, more than most places in my experience and opinion.

Long story shorter, line of sight about 300 yards 30 to 35 degree decline shot on one buck I have a shot at. 265 yards according to Bushnell compensating rangefinder which adjusts for angle. Great investment!
Felt comfortable from the 30 rounds I fired day before from Dad's 30.06 out to 400 yards at the range. He dropped where he stood from a heart shot. Killing him was awesome enough but the fact he didn't run was even better as you will understand quickly. He was killed 14 minutes into the 2 week season.

2 options now since no helicopter was available...

1. Hike down, bone him out and pack him back up the ~1/2 mile to the Jeep up a 35 degree slope of loose dirt and rock.
2. Hike down, bone him out. Son drive 2 hours to where we scouted the night before. Walks a mile and a half and we both walk out.

Oh yea, both options include lugging a 70 pound pack each. Here is where that he dropped where I shot him was a HUGE deal. Had I winged him and he ran downhill or for some distance, we may have chose differently. We chose option 1 and an hour and 45 minutes later, we are at the Jeep.

As hunts go, it went perfect. Our plans worked out, had a great time, bagged a nice buck and we both got home safe. Best hunt of my life and one I will never forget.

Interestingly, the buck was a big bodied fellow. Torso was like a barrel. Had an extra layer of fat and meat on him.

As always, thanks for letting me share this great time. Look forward to seeing all your hunting pics and hearing of your hunts as well.

Jerry

[big monk]

Thanks for taking me on the hunt ""with ya' "" !!!!! Great share & congats on a fine buck !!!!___ looking at them ""hills"" makes me glad, I hunt on "flat land" with 60 yd. shots --Monk**

[treefarmer]

Great deer, great story and pictures, Jerry! Like big monk said, "makes me glad I hunt on flat land"!
My dad's brother lived and hunted in Colorado. His tactics were similar, he would go high up a mountain, before everybody started stirring 'em up on opening morning. He would sit and wait on the deer to travel to a higher elevation to escape all the dudes rambling around below. That was 60 years ago when I first heard that story, never got to go out west and hunt with him.
Doesn't look like there is much difference in the way you pull the backstraps up on a mountain, they look just like the ones we peel off our "little" Whitetails. Hopefully y'all were going to eat the heart, it's a shame you had to put a hole right through the middle of it .
Ol' buck couldn't have been dressed with a finer knife either, that's a fine lookin' Case!
Treefarmer

[Dinadan]

Great story and photos, Jerry, thanks for posting. That is a fine buck you got there! I guess you are in pretty good shape if you humped a seventy pound pack up that slope. That is the only part of the story that I do not envy! Anyway, I know how great it feels when a plan works and everything falls into place instead of falling apart. Congrats.