Outdoorsman Thread

[garddogg56]

All you talk about is what I fear most that is why I'm never going to retire fully I truely believe man should keep as busy as possible,I'm hoping to be buried in the woods afta a hunt.

[djknife13]

Phil, I know exactly what you are going through. I'm 68 (until June) and hoping to keep working at what I love to do, but every year looks more like my last. We worked outside today and the cold just ate me up. All the Nelson men as far back as I know of were gone by my age or close to it. I'm claiming my Mom's genes which should buy me another 20 years, but at the same time, I'm getting tired. I do have all my original parts, as worn as they are. I bet if you bag that buck you'll have a different outlook almost instantly. I didn't have to worry about getting my deer this year because there weren't enough around here to bother hunting. Take care. ___Dave

[jerryd6818]

All you talk about is what I fear most that is why I'm never going to retire fully I truely believe man should keep as busy as possible,I'm hoping to be buried in the woods afta a hunt.

Dogg, it sounds like you want to go like my cousin Bill. He went deer hunting several years ago and never came home. They found him dead and the doctor said he was dead before he hit the ground. He was laying on his front and there was nothing sucked up his nose or in his mouth. He was pretty young when he went. I'm going to guess in his '50s. We weren't real close with him and his brothers and sister.

[Old Hunter]

Phil, hang in there brother, maybe you can get out before the season ends. One reason I hunt hard is that too many friends and relatives (who loved to hunt) have developed injuries and/or illnesses over the years that take it away from them. I go now when I have the opportunity, so I won't wish I had gone, when I arrive at that point later in life and something stops me (of course I imagine I will still miss it badly). Take care, your brother hunter, Bruce

[jerryd6818]

Philip.

[garddogg56]

All you talk about is what I fear most that is why I'm never going to retire fully I truely believe man should keep as busy as possible,I'm hoping to be buried in the woods afta a hunt.

Dogg, it sounds like you want to go like my cousin Bill. He went deer hunting several years ago and never came home. They found him dead and the doctor said he was dead before he hit the ground. He was laying on his front and there was nothing sucked up his nose or in his mouth. He was pretty young when he went. I'm going to guess in his '50s. We weren't real close with him and his brothers and sister.

Damn near exactly Jerry

[jerryd6818]

Well, maybe you could hold off on that for a little while.

[TripleF]

MAn, Philip........I oughtta jump in this loaner car and head your way to hunt that stand!
The guy at the dealership said......just don't leave the state!

[treefarmer]

Fellers, I ain't about to give up. Venison is too good to do without, if I can't climb I'll figure out how to shoot one from ground level . I sure wanted to go this afternoon, Miss Joy could tell I wanted to go down in the woods, but she reminded me what happens when you kill one. Since it's still rainin' and my skinnin' station is under a big water oak by my shop, this would be a good evenin' not have to dress one . When it rains everything has to be moved under the shed and is not as easy as hangin' from the oak limb.
I've killed deer while walking, stalking is probably the right term, some call it "slip huntin", I've killed deer while riding a horse, I've killed 'em riding on the golf cart but most have been from an elevated stand. There is just something about huntin' up above everything and enjoying so many critters you normally wouldn't see from a ground blind or while "slip huntin".
My 1st tree stand was two 2X4's nailed to two pine trees about 3 feet apart. A piece of 3/4"plywood to stand or sit on, with bridge spikes for a steps, about 10 foot off the ground. Quickly realized I needed another 16d nail to hang my rifle on either tree. Stands progressed from that 1st one to elevated shooting houses with metal roofs with old office chairs and propane heat if it's cold enough. Now if I had only built a set of stairs rather than a ladder when I was able to take on such projects it would be a lot easier to climb.
Here's a picture of the stand I'm having trouble climbing and a picture from a couple of seasons back that shows Florida can have some fair antlers.
We've had close to 12 inches of rain this month and the farm is wet, wet, wet!
Scott, you'll need some rubber boots to get to that stand. While you've got the loaner car, go ahead a bring an airboat so we can retrieve Bambi without gettin' the truck stuck in the mud .
Hope y'all don't mind me ramblin' along here on the Outdoorsman Thread rememberin' how it used to be.
Treefarmer

[garddogg56]

Very nice TF and keep on rambling on Jerry only the good die young

[Colonel26]

TF, that's a real nice Cadillac of a tree stand. I can see why you enjoy hunting out of it.

But if health allows hunting on the ground ain't bad either. It's pretty fun sitting there dead still letting the does walk all around you while you wait on ol big boy to saunter in.

[TripleF]

I remember back when there were no tree stands......everybody hunted from the ground. Only the pros built ground blinds......

[djknife13]

Before the portable stands, we always build 2x4 and board stands and farmers used to take venison whenever they needed additional meat. My Grandfather would have out-of-season deer hanging in his machine shed in plane sight, and the game warden would stop in for coffee. I'm not sure what the game wardens back then actually did to earn their money besides drink coffee. For a number of years I used to hunt on an alfalfa field from a lawn chair tucked into some pine trees and usually had two deer within 20 minutes of the season opener. The guy that owned the field died and new owners wanted to hunt it themselves so we lost that goldmine. Now I hunt from a ladder stand, but it's been kind of spotty hunting. I don't have good forest to bother putting the stand on my own land. We've traditionally eaten mostly venison for meat, but this year it'll be pork and beef unless some nearsighted doe walks out in front of my work truck. I'm not above roadkill. ___Dave

[Old Hunter]

Nice stand Phil and a very nice buck. Ground blinds work, but I like elevation too. The best ground blind I ever had sat near the top of a ridge, looking down at the low ground (flood plain) just off the Tar River. There was a block of woods on each side and you had about 180 yard view down the steep, clay road; deer crossed between those blocks of woods regularly - but better have a low range 4WD to go down (and back up) that road when it was wet. I also started, about 40 years ago, climbing up short lengths of 2x4 nailed to an oak tree with 16d nails - sat on one big limb with my feet on a lower limb. I watched a doe and two yearlings eating acorns right under me for 30 minutes one evening - lots of great memories. I sure wouldn't trust my neck to tree limbs anymore! Keep rambling Phil (and the rest of you deer hunters), I call that enjoying your memories. Don't know about you guys, but I started keeping a hunting journal in 1983 (wish I had started in 1973) - I've got nearly every hunt recorded in that journal and I enjoy reading through it - even my Dad and Uncle will tell me to bring the journal over so we can laugh at long ago goose hunts on the James River in VA and on the Eastern Shore in MD, etc. OH

[jmh58]

Soo.. Our annual New Years Day hike got put on hold till Sunday.. So I am going out with my buddy and his hounds to see if we can roust a few bunnies!!! See what happens!!! John

[treefarmer]

It's amazing how similar some of our hunting experiences are! The love of being out in God's Creation and enjoying it to the fullest is what hunting is all about. Lots of folks disagree but that's their right but I see no difference between killing a deer in the woods or a hog or a beef in the butcher pen.
Been doing the journal thing for many years, been using the little 3"x5" spiral note books, just a record of the time, weather conditions, what I saw or what I didn't see and sometimes a very short description of what's going on with the family. I'm on book #7.
Y'all remember how some of the old western movies used to mention "notches on his gun", I have a friend who lives in central Florida that used to put a small notch on the rifle he used each time he killed a deer. That was a raggedy lookin' old rifle, it was a tool to him, not something to be careful with and not scratch. I never got to that point, but I did start puttin' notches on the window sill of one shootin' house and the door jamb of the other, the one in the picture. There are over 60 notches on those stands.
This mornin' about 6:30 I rode down our road out to the main grade on the cart. 4 deer crossed the road in front of me, they were in the branch (creek) and you could hear them runnin' in the water. Couldn't see any antlers but at least I got to see 'em. Miss Joy's dog saw the deer also but she won't run a deer if you tell her no. She is a great blood trailer but is terribly gun shy. She can't stand thunder, fireworks or gun fire . 1/2 Lab and 1/2 Australian Shep.
We had another 1.2" of rain in the gauge this am, since noon yesterday. There was over 12.5" of rain in December. Needless to say the woods are wet, the ponds are over flowing and the creeks are flowing.
We've got till the end of Feb. to hunt Bambi, the rut is coming and my old legs are feelin' better every day, maybe I'll make it !
Treefarmer

[jerryd6818]

Philip, how's that pond doin' that you dug (I think) this past summer or was it the summer before?

[treefarmer]

Jerry, it's on our hunting lease and I just haven't felt like ridin' over there to check things out. I set up a short ladder stand, there's an automatic corn feeder, there's also a mineral site that has been there for over 20 years plus the new water hole. Last time I checked it before the season had started, there were plenty of deer sign around and in the bottom of the small water hole. The hole was dug where there is a lot of clay and it should hold water after the deer walk in it and seal the bottom. Maybe I'll ease over there and get a picture and post it here on the Outdoor thread .
Treefarmer

[ken98k]

Caribou

[treefarmer]

Wow, that's pretty cool, figuratively and literally. Is that critter almost all white or did the snow just pile up on him? The back ground is totally incredible, another beautiful part of God's creation !
Treefarmer

[garddogg56]

GOOD JOB Ken great eating

[ken98k]

Wow, that's pretty cool, figuratively and literally. Is that critter almost all white or did the snow just pile up on him? The back ground is totally incredible, another beautiful part of God's creation !
Treefarmer

They are very light colored this time of year but the one in the photo also has a lot of snow on it from being towed behind a snowmachine.

[Colonel26]

Wow Ken! That's pretty awesome!

[TripleF]

That is awesome Ken!!! Congrats!

[Old Hunter]

Nice Caribou Ken - tell us about the hunt - and congratulations! OH