Outdoorsman Thread

[TripleF]

That stinks Mel!

Better hit the fresh side and look for some crappie....mighty fine eatin'!!

[Dinadan]

Mel,
Red tide has been lingering around the panhandle a lot longer than usual this year, seems like from St. Joe to Panama it's still a news item about once a week .
Treefarmer

I have seen reports about red tide off and on for a while now. I have been hitting the water at least once a week all summer and fall: yesterday was the first time this year that I have seen a fish kill.

That stinks Mel!

I bet it really does today! Yesterday I did not notice any stench.

[TripleF]

When I made tent camping reservations over a month ago I thought this 3 day/2 night excursion would be a delight.

It was...................for the mosquitoes.

Hot, hot, hot.....sweat, sweat, sweat.

I bailed a 01:30 and took the boys home, then myself, the first night as it was too hot (for me) to sleep in a tent.

Then tore down camp the next day as rain lingered....

Highlight was a tasty hobo meal for dinner on Tuesday and these Sheffield Multi Tool and Flashlight set I got each of my grands. Their smiles are what keep my mission dream moving!

[Old Hunter]

Good stuff Scott - you'll be forever in their minds and hearts. OH

[Paladin]

Handsome lads, Scott. Believe me, they will remember these days for the rest of their lives. You too!
Merry Christmas to you and the crew.

Ray

[Colonel26]

Scott that's good stuff. I bet them boys thought they were mighty big men with those outfits, I would have at their age. Ya done good.

[tjmurphy]

Most excellent, Scott

[zp4ja]

Great stuff Scott!
Went out to an area about 20 miles out of town called Midas. We hit the range first to make sure we were sighted in with the LEAD sled. They cost 100 bucks and pay for themselves with the ammo saved to get dead on. We didn't get out until 10 a.m. after we went to the range and we had to leave at 2pm as my hunting partner had a date. Both of us are hitting a 1.5 inch plate at a hundred yards consistently. The rifles are dead on and any misses are the fault of the guy behind the trigger.
Initial goal was hunt some song dogs but area we go to runs along the river. Some areas it comes pretty close to the road and guess what, we see about a hundred ducks about 100 yards off the road. We park and make a game plan and slowly stalk up on the high riverbank side where when we come out right where they are there twenty yards away. What a beautiful sight seeing 100 Green heads and some of their gals launch straight up into the air trying to escape the inevitable. My shotgun shooting was less than stellar this weekend but I nailed one and my buddy got two. Since we were coyote hunting I didn't bring my dog with me and that meant my buddy that shot his and it dropped on the other side of the river went swimming. It was snowing in the water was icing up temperature was about 20 degrees. Just not right to leave it downed animal when hunting to waste in my opinion. Even a coyote, if I nail one, I'll take at least the ears or the pelt. They're getting decent money for pelts right now , anywhere from 60 to 110 bucks if you are good at processing them.
Around here it would be rare that you just see a coyote walk on by but it happens. Most hunters use "setups". Basically find an area with small high ground which could be at 20 foot hill or higher so you can see over the sagebrush for a long distance. Set your call and decoy out about 50 yards and don't move and start scanning the landscape. If you end up taking a shot you have to drive roughly 5 or 6 miles away and set up again. If you don't take shot, then two or three miles will do. Each setup only last 25 minutes and then you move on. Actually only the second time I've ever went coyote hunting but I foresee all doing it a lot in my future. It's like a game when they're calling them and It is pretty exciting.
Didn't see any dogs yesterday but we did learn quite a bit for future hunts.
Thanks for allowing me to share.
Merry Christmas all. Regards, Jerry

[Colonel26]

Good stuff there Jerry thanks for sharing with us. And that scenery of yours is stunning.

[Dinadan]

Scott - I bet those boys will always remember the camping trip where grandpa had to take them home in the middle of the night because it was too hot. I still remember the first time my Dad took me camping. It rained most of the night! Funny but I remember the bad camping trips better than the good ones.

Jerry - great story and photos!

[zp4ja]

Good stuff there Jerry thanks for sharing with us. And that scenery of yours is stunning.

Merry Christmas Wade and all!

Wade my friend,
I am going thru what some must consider (as I do) some pretty severe personal things at this point in my life. It is all good at the moment and I am doing well and the best I can. That said, being a "man of the cloth" like yourself, as my Father used to say, throw a prayer my way if you see fit as I can use all the help I can get.

As to your comment as to the "scenery" above ...

I have been contemplating moving back to LA and I had a stark realization the other day on that hunt. Honest to God on this special day today, I looked up at that scenery on that hunt and said to myself, "Where else can I do something like this and enjoy such a beautiful day that God gave us besides here". Certainly not in LA, no offense intended to our forum brothers and sisters in that neck of the woods. Thinking pretty hard that this will be were I (location wise) will be when it is all said and done.

What a beautiful day and hunt. Although fruitless on harvest (the coyote portion) of the hunt except the duck that I will cook up today that I am grateful to have, it was a great day and I realized I am very happy with my current location, would miss the Outdoors here greatly and I am very thankful for all that I have.

Best to you and your on this special day.

Mel, same above for the most part to you my friend (besides the person specific stuff). I hope life finds you well.

Regards, Jerry

[jerryd6818]

Los Angles SUX. But then that's the way I feel about all large cities. Stay put Jerry.

[Colonel26]

Jerry, you've got a pm. And ya caught me at a good time! I've got lots of time to pray since Valerie won't hardly let me out of my chair while I recuperate! Lol

[Paladin]

Jerry,
Not sure what the problem might be but God will sort it out. I sent a prayer up right away.

Ray

[treefarmer]

Hey Jerry! At 1st I thought you were mentioning the real LA where we live, Lower Alabama, aka Florida Panhandle . In this LA all you do is set in a deer stand and sooner or later one of them "song dogs" as you call 'em will come by, then you can light him up!
I'll join our AAPK friends in praying the Lord will bless you as you go through a rough spot in the road of life. It's a great time of the year to remember why Jesus came to the earth.
Best wishes to you!
Treefarmer

[Old Hunter]

Jerry, I suppose you could be referring to Louisiana, but there are plenty of ducks there the right time of year, and some good people too. You have my prayer for you too on this Christmas Day. OH

[zp4ja]

I can't thank you enough for the prayers Gents! I'm a simple man & I don't do Facebook or any other type of social media that you can think of. This is the only forum that I belong to on the Internet. That being said, we have a great group of people here and that's why I hang around. I made quite a few friends that maybe have never met but we've chatted via phone. Proud to know you all.
Don't worry about me I'm a survivor. We all go thru rough patches once in awhile and hopefully not often. One of the rougher ones I've been through but I'm making and will get thru it. That said, as a mentioned, prayers certainly can't hurt. Went to church today right before my hunt and said some prayers. Here's a picture of my church (and coyote set spot). Personally think it's the most beautiful church there is.
Jerry

PS: I should have clarified, but I was referring to Los Angeles when I said LA. Sorry for the confusion.

[garddogg56]

Prayer sent to help and thats my type of church also,and I'm not a facebooker also too many other things to partake in

[zp4ja]

Thanks so much GD. I wish you and your the best.

I am sure God will forgive (or understand) that I went from "Amen" after my prayers to calling song dogs and my reticle for scanning in quick fashion. No dogs today but only my third hunt and I learn more and more every trip as to what I am not doing right. My buddy did nail a Kit Fox and many quail which he sheared the harvest with my today which was awesome. Also had Christmas Dinner and talk time with my sons, DILs and grandkids so the day went well.

Phillip, Bruce, Dogg and all, Merry Christmas my friends.

Regards, Jerry

[TripleF]

Thanks for sharing Jerry!!

Hope all works well for you....

[garddogg56]

Merry Christmas to you and yours Jerry.

[TripleF]

No pics, but we had our 3rd Annual Christmas Eve Mission Thursday.

7 kids total. 2 other dads.

The goal before leaving was to show the kids how to get back if they were lost in the woods.
I told them to "mark" things they saw and use them to navigate their way back. Before we left I selected one of the boys (there was one girl in the mix) to lead us back to where we began.

I took them off the trail and into where the woods and scrub palms all looked the same (wasn't that far off the main trail, but deep enough where there eyes were filled with "sameness" everywhere they looked).

Ok, I said to the appointed boy......take us back!

I made all the others stay at bay with me. After a few minutes I hollered...."Are you lost?" He was....he knew it. We all walked to him and I selected another child to take us home.

Took us walking in circles and each kid having a turn before I turned to my 7 yr old grandson and said....."Take us back." He's a cheater though, he has a built in GPS tracking device he obtained from his blood grandad. In minutes we were back.

I stopped him along the way and asked, why are we going this way. He said, because I remember these small pine trees you pointed out on the way in. I remember that growth on that tall pine tree over there.

I hope it was a good learning experience for all. I know I had a blast.

I also asked if the Dad's could have gotten us "out"? One said yes, and the other said he had no idea.

[Colonel26]

Sounds like a great mission Scott. And I wouldn't say he cheats, he just uses all the tools at his disposal! He sounds like a very sharp kid.

[TripleF]

Sounds like a great mission Scott. And I wouldn't say he cheats, he just uses all the tools at his disposal! He sounds like a very sharp kid.

Yeah....wasn't saying cheating "literally" just like he doesn't lterally have a GPS built in.
He's naturally gifted and bright at all he does. Makes me look like a hobo (not literally - )

[treefarmer]

Old age symptoms seems to have overtaken me by surprise . Should have known it was coming but didn't want to admit it or give in. Last year I had a knee and a hip replaced, this year I had the other knee scoped, both shoulders get shots as often as allowed and just gettin' over what the surgeon thinks is a case of sciatica. Supposed to see a arthritis doctor for that.

You say what has all this got to do with the Outdoorsman Thread? Well let me tell you! I killed my first 2 deer when I was 20 years old and have been wide open every year since, except last season and so far this season. I managed to kill 2 last year and haven't gone but a couple of times so far this season. I took the grandsons on Thanksgiving and the following afternoon. My father-in-law is 92 and still hard at it, I'm only 69 and wore slam out, I believe we are made of different stock . The day before I had my knee scoped, we dug a waterhole on our hunting lease, but since then things have just gone down hill.

Maybe I'm blowin' off a little steam about not bein' able to be in the woods all the time after I retired . I am thankful for all the years of not being hindered by health issue that allowed me to pursue Bambi wide open!

Maybe I'll feel like gettin' in the woods in a few days, the deer are still comin' to to the feeders and gettin' their pictures made . Here's a picture from a few days ago, the printed time is still on daylight saving time. It looks like around 4 pm some body need to be settin' in the shootin' house .
Here's what I've been missin'! That big one ought to show up during the rut which has not yet got underway in the Florida panhandle. The peak is around the 3rd week of January and on into February.
Treefarmer