Outdoorsman Thread

[treefarmer]

CheckSix,
Lots of the folks we knew, carried a "dog 1st aid kit" in the airboat. They would suture one up and turn him loose to go again if it wasn't too serious. One of the home health nurses that visited me when I had my hip replaced told us she figured her husband married her so she could sew up the catch dogs!
We've been blessed not to have any on our small farm but they are now on our lease property about 2 miles away as the crow flies .
Treefarmer

[TripleF]

I was on a mission with my youngest grandson last year and while stopping to check out the deer we spotted to wild boar within 20 yards.
He got pretty nervous.....

My grandsons can spot wild boar torn up ground at the Park. It's pretty cool actually.

In a wild boar encounter they've been told to climb a tree and I'll take care of the boar, that's why I now carry an solid hickory wood metal ice scraper end as my walking stick.

[Quick Steel]

I dunno Scott. I've been pretty close to wild boar a few times in AZ and HI. I can't feature going hand to hand with a boar. Maybe sometime you could send a photo of your anti-boar stick. Most boar will run away, but when they decide to charge.....

[TripleF]

I dunno Scott. I've been pretty close to wild boar a few times in AZ and HI. I can't feature going hand to hand with a boar. Maybe sometime you could send a photo of your anti-boar stick. Most boar will run away, but when they decide to charge.....

I hear ya bud, BUT.....BUT I'd like some sort of shot at diversion....this is what I carry (just not as purty as this pic I swiped)

[Quick Steel]

I understand. It is reassuring to have something in hand rather than nothing. Back in the 80s I stumbled upon a large lone boar on Mt.Kaala, the largest mountain on Ohau. As the boar stood still deciding what he was going to do with me, out of the brush where he had been exploring popped my white German Shepherd and the fight was on. The dog, Micah, was brave but overmatched. I found a section of rotted log and through it at the boar. Luckily it struck the boar on the side which provided enough of a distraction that the boar decided to split.

On the hike home Micah was full of himself trying to convince me he was a direct decendant of a Roman war dog.

[#goldpan]

Yes Dave I am out here in California's Gold Country! I don't claim the rest of the state of confusion......... The Mother Load is my home

[CheckSix]

I was on a mission with my youngest grandson last year and while stopping to check out the deer we spotted to wild boar within 20 yards.
He got pretty nervous.....

My grandsons can spot wild boar torn up ground at the Park. It's pretty cool actually.

In a wild boar encounter they've been told to climb a tree and I'll take care of the boar, that's why I now carry an solid hickory wood metal ice scraper end as my walking stick.

Seen any Florida Panthers yet?

I saw 2 out in the swamp one day around 1995, iirc.... and I got within 30 yds of them. It was right before official sunrise. They were right on the edge of "civilization" and wilderness. Never saw one... but I've been told there is a small population of black bears in Florida also.

I did have encounters with a lot of eastern diamondbacks and pygmy rattlers when out scouting. Some of the eastern diamondbacks were huge.

Coolest thing I ever saw down there, were 2 whitetails evading us and they went into the water and left the tip of their nose up in the air to breathe. My buddy and I couldn't believe it!! When we spooked them again, they exploded out of the water with water plants dangling from their antlers. I wish I had video of this.

[#goldpan]

[quote=]Coolest thing I ever saw down there, were 2 whitetails evading us and they went into the water and left the tip of their nose up in the air to breathe. My buddy and I couldn't believe it!! When we spooked them again, they exploded out of the water with water plants dangling from their antlers. I wish I had video of this.[/quote]

That's cool Dave! We saw this one come out of water while fishing for salmon last November.

[CheckSix]

That's cool Dave! We saw this one come out of water while fishing for salmon last November.

What amazed us, was they had figured out how to hide in the water. They were not moving like your deer picture crossing the water. They were still, nose tip out in the air. When we approached, they bolted.

[TripleF]

Wow, that is whack!!

Maybe that's what scared me and several kids when on a mission a couple years ago. I said "WAIT....don't move!"
We listened to this running sound in shallow water and what got my heart racing was I couldn't see a dang thing
because of the forest.....but I promise ya, my heart was a thumpin'!!!

Never did figure out what it was either

[Dinadan]

Feral pigs have a long history in my area. Back around 1960 there several old hog trap pens in the woods where we hunted, but the pigs were just about wiped out by then. Folks would do as Treefarmer said and feed them up before butchering them. Now days the feral pigs are back with a vengeance. Plenty in the woods, but they are even more shy than deer and hardly ever seen.

The feral pigs do have a bad reputation and a lot of folks are scared of them. A few years ago I was at work with a rather tough young man who is a hunter and thorough outdoorsman. We spotted a sounder of swine, about twenty of mixed sizes. The biggest was an impressive boar or sow, no doubt about that. I was really surprised when my companion expressed concern about them charging us; we had worked together for years and I had never heard him express fear of anything, man or beast. I just tried to get close enough to get a good photo but they ran as soon as they saw me. I have heard of local folks saying that the wild hogs chased them up a tree, but I suspect that what actually happened was that the folks were scared and climbed the tree without being chased!

[#goldpan]

They were not moving like your deer picture crossing the water. They were still, nose tip out in the air.

Wow Dave that is amazing! Would have loved to have been with you. The deer in my photo had crossed in the other direction and then decided to come back across I had a whole series of photo of this.

Nothing as unique as yours. Here he is as he started back.

And then as he came out of the water he appeared to morph into a horse for a second! At least it was a wonderful illusion caused by the tree branches.... but pretty cool!

[#goldpan]

Went out in the heavy rain this morning for my 3 mile hike to the lake and back and saw this otter in the lake. I watched him swim through a culvert into the pond on the other side.

Sorry about the fuzzy pics. It was raining pretty hard... Hope the folks in Oroville are going to be alright! The evacuated 188.000 people from the surrounding area when the spillways began to fail! Tallest damn dam around these parts! The otter pics were taken below Folsom Dam in Lake Natoma. Folsom is Bureau of Reclamation project and in much better shape than Oroville Dam which operated by the state.

[Paladin]

Went out in the heavy rain this morning for my 3 mile hike to the lake and back and saw this otter in the lake. I watched him swim through a culvert into the pond on the other side.

IMG_20170217_082807817.jpgIMG_20170217_083840454.jpg
Sorry about the fuzzy pics. It was raining pretty hard... Hope the folks in Oroville are going to be alright! The evacuated 188.000 people from the surrounding area when the spillways began to fail! Tallest damn dam around these parts! The otter pics were taken below Folsom Dam in Lake Natoma. Folsom is Bureau of Reclamation project and in much better shape than Oroville Dam which operated by the state.

I'm going to be an otter in my next life. Those suckers always seem to be able to have fun in whatever they are doing.

Ray

[#goldpan]

You got that right Ray! They sure do know how to have fun.

[Dinadan]

Randy - very cool photos of the deer and otter. Those misty deer photos look surreal, or perhaps impressionistic. Only one time in my life have I seen deer swimming: that was decades ago when I was camping alone on a lake. I love seeing otters but I have not seen one in years. They are very curious and I have had one lift its front end out of the water to look at me and try to figure out what I was. Regarding otter having fun, have you ever seen an otter slide? I have never seen otters using one (unfortunately) but along a river with steep banks maybe ten feet high I have seen the slick clay slides which old timers told me were otter slides.

[#goldpan]

Mel I have never seen an otter use a slide either but I have seen the clay slides along the river banks around here. There are lots of beaver signs around here as well, but have yet to see one in the last 30 years. Used to see them all the time.

[treefarmer]

Miss Joy and I went to our oldest daughter's to celebrate her youngest boy's birthday last weekend. They live in a subdivision in Lawrenceville, GA.
The grandsons wanted me to bring materials to build a deer feeder to put along the small creek that separates the back property lines between the houses on one street from another street. The narrow creek and adjoining ridge is no more than 30 to 50 yards wide between all the houses and their back yards.

The boys had bought a trail camera earlier last year and had captured several critters moving along a faint trail parallel to the creek, so they figured they could get critters to pose if they were stopping by a feeder.

I cut a scrap of 6" PVC pipe to 30" long, found 3 old angle brackets, a 6" PVC cap and a piece of 2X12 about 14" long. All we needed was their dads portable drill and some screws.

They assembled the feeder, we took it and a few tools to the strip of woods between the houses and found a good spot for the feeder about 20' from where their camera was lashed to a small tree. We cut a branch and made 2 braces to anchor the feeder to another small sapling with some deck screws. We filled the feeder with corn, put the cap on the top and scattered a little bit of corn along the trail, project over.

They had to mess with the camera, the batteries were wet but they thought they were okay. They took the card home to read it and confirmed it was taking pictures. (They don't have the date set properly.)

In a couple of days they sent their grandmother a text saying they had 77 pictures and there was a big buck. It took them several days to e-mail me the pictures but my goodness, what a buck .

It is hard to imagine a buck like that living so close to so many people, all the traffic on so many streets and main roads. Google Earth shows the creek bottom running through many neighborhoods and going under many roads. I need to move to town to deer hunt . I don't know how wide this old raggedy lookin' buck is but I'd be glad to have him in the freezer and his antlers on the wall!
Treefarmer

Boys assembling the feeder

Plumbing the feeder and preparing to brace it to a small sapling

Headin' along the trail to the feeder

What a deer!

Edit: Looking at the picture a little closer, I just realized that this is buck is a 9 point! Maybe they can find his sheds along the trail.

[Quick Steel]

A great series of photos. Thank you. And the buck! Perhaps the buck has successfully avoided hunters by staying so near houses. I recall that somewhere in the East, probably NY or NJ there was a very wide and green road divider. Lots of trees, bushes, all pretty dense. The deer learned to hang out there during the hunting season. Because of the risks of traffic accidents at night the state hired bowmen to teach the deer that the road divider was not safe for them.

[CheckSix]

Philip,
I think that is simply great! That has to be a thrill for the young lads.

[TripleF]

Very impressive Philip! I love the outdoor spirit these young fellas have!!

Much respect!

[zp4ja]

Great pics all. Almost no wild pigs in Nevada. In twenty years here I have never seen one. Not even a recognized species by the Department of Wildlife. So if one is seen, no license or tag required. Only heard of 2 ever being seen and taken here. About 10 years ago by the owner of the hardware. Saw them in his walk in cooler. Other than that, nada. Likely not the best habitat for them around these parts.

Jerry

[jerryd6818]

Only heard of 2 ever being seen and taken here. About 10 years ago by the owner of the hardware. Saw them in his walk in cooler.

Jerry

Anybody around there that raises hogs missing a couple out of their feed lot?

[zp4ja]

Only heard of 2 ever being seen and taken here. About 10 years ago by the owner of the hardware. Saw them in his walk in cooler.

Jerry

Anybody around there that raises hogs missing a couple out of their feed lot?

Possible but never heard of anyone raising them. Around here based on climate and terrain, farmers and ranchers do hay, straw and cattle. Sheep Ranches used to be huge around here when all the Basque were here. Some ranches are hundreds of thousands of acres. There's one rancher that has about 10,000 goats.
Nevada is home to the largest wild horse population in the United States. They must be somewhere else cause I haven't seen one. Seen quite a few wild burros though.

[Old Hunter]

I took my wife and daughter for a ride down the Tar River this afternoon (84 today). My hunting/shooting/fishing buddy took his girlfriend in his boat - we cruised along and enjoyed the unusually warm day. Saw turtles sunning on logs and a pair of otters playing in the river. There were some water skiers out and plenty of boats with bikini clad girls - it's like June around here. OH