Archive through December 02, 2009

[kide]

Art:
Come to central Michigan... I heard this weekend it's so bad in some of the areas about 40-50 miles north of here that some of the large farmer are shooting them in the corn fields and leaving them to rot - just too many of them. Our DNR doesn't seem to be able to get a handle on over-population......

 

[jdiederichs]

Art,

Let's herd them up and haul a bunch back to WI. That might stem the upcoming "Endangered Species" tag for whitetails in our state. We could maybe trade for wolves, we sure have plenty of them!

 

[aschumacher]

OK, Lyle and other guys,from a City Kid... How do you move something that big out of the woods??? Be sure you drop it near a road where you can use a big front-end loader?? Bet Charlie would liked to have had that rack for the front of his store.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Allen, with an elk, caribou or moose, typically you would quarter it where it drops and pack it out in parts. On the elk hunts I've been on we packed in on horseback, up to around 10,000 ft elevation, the outfitter would drop us off at the campsite with our gear then take the the horses back out. The elk we harvested were quartered and hung in a nearby tree until the outfitter came up with the horses, then he would pack them out. With a whitetail deer they can be dragged out or even carried out in one piece (after gutting it out) if they aren't to big. In recent years the ATV has mostly done away with dragging a deer. My father used to go on hunts in Alaska for caribou, they would get dropped off out in the middle of nowhere via float plane. Any caribou that he and his hunting partners shot were quartered and hauled back close to camp via backpacks, but not too close because of grizzly bears. They would typically have to hike several miles from camp to find the caribou. Here's a photo of him with the antlers on his last trip back to camp with his caribou, you haul the meat out first, I think he moved the antlers some distance from the kill site just in case the grizzly got to it before they got all the meat out. He shot two nice caribou, on separate trips. I think he got a small moose in Canada one year as well.

Here's some photos from his 2003 elk hunt in Colorado that show the pack horses and the camp. This is out in what they call flat top country.

And a view from the top of the flat tops looking down at Peltier Lake in a nearby valley, not too far from Meeker, CO. (For those wanting to play on Google Earth, the hunting area is just slightly south and east of Meeker, CO., search for "peltier basin, co" and it should take you near the area.)

 

[aschumacher]

Wow! That looks like an expedition to hunt for an ancient city! That rack would make a good coat holder in a hotel. Any danger of being hit by lightning when carrying that thing?

Kraig thanks for the reply. A.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Allen, well it is an expedition of sorts.

Hmmm, not sure if antlers are electrically conductive.

The two Caribou antlers are hanging on the wall at my parent's house, the first one in the family room and the second one is in the 3 season porch, and yes they would make good coat racks.

 

[bcook]

Here are a couple of pictures of my first deer, a 7pt buck, taken with 1 shot at 35yds. on Nov. 30th. at 10:42AM.

I used my 12ga. Remington 870 Express and fully rifled barrel, and a 2.75" Remington Premier Copper Solid Hollow Point Magnum 1oz. Sabot Slug.

We harvested right at 80lb. of meat from him.

So far, my wife has made venison lasagna, we have had grilled venison steaks, and we are also making jerky.

 

[bbowman]

Bill Cook;
Is that your first deer of the season or your "first" deer?
Either way,congradulations!
I use those same slugs in my Remington 1100;a lot of knock-down power!
I'm going to try there new Accu-Tip sabot. Supposed to have better ballistics and more energy.
Hard to beat a Copper-Solid though!
Bobby B.

 

[bcook]

Thanks Bobby!

This is my -<u>first</u>- deer...ever!

Ohio has a split shotgun season, and different bag limits depending on what part of the state you are hunting in. You are allowed 1 'antlered deer' and 1 'anterless deer' where I hunt. Hopefully on Dec. 19th or 20th, I can get a doe also.

Here how I got him:
It had rained some the night before, and the leaves were soft...not making any noise when stepped on, or kicked around.

It was about 10:10am, and I was sitting still and being quiet with the gun across my lap..and I saw something move out of the corner of my right eye...I turned my head, and standing 25-30 yards from me was a buck...bigger than the 1 I shot. I saw him about the time he saw me. I started to move my hand to the guns fore end, and he spun around and was gone!! I was pretty bummed, but kept waiting. Then I saw this buck coming from the exact place the first one ran to. I got the gun up early, and let him walk in towards me. He stopped, right 'behind' a large Walnut tree...and for 20-30 seconds I couldn't see him at all. When he walked beyond the tree enough I could see his entire body, I shot him. He dropped, then spun around on his front legs and tried to run... He had his front end up, and his head was pointed straight up. He tried to get up 2 more times, then laid down.

He didn't move 3' from where I shot him, and within 5 minutes he had died.

I had to shoot slightly uphill to him, and with 'buck fever' (man, my heart was POUNDING!!) I hit him kind of 'high'. I hit a lung, and nearly blew his spine in two!

 

[kmcconaughey]

Bill, nice buck! Congrats on your first deer.

 

[bcook]

Thanks Kraig!

 

[wcompton]

Now that all but pheasant season is over here in SD (unless I go late season antelope), it's time to reload! This winter's project will be finding a good elk load for the 30-06.

It's either that or loading up all 4000 rounds of empties I have sitting in bags!

 

[fcurrier]

My season's deer hunt:

Huh, no pic. You do the math.
It's been said that every day a man spends fishing isn't deducted from his lifespan. I'd like to think the same thing holds for hunting. Coming, Wilbur.

 

[bcarl]

Bill,

Nice deer. The first buck I shot was with a Remington 870 that I got for my 11th birthday. Didn't have rifled slug barrels back then. I still have that gun. A few years later my Dad got me a Winchester 32 Special. I'm now usning a Remington 308

Frank,

Yep, every day spent in the woods adds another day to your life. Same as every day spent on the water adds a day to your life. I think it has something to do with time away from your wife?

Don't feel bad. I saw 3 different buck during the PA rifle season on my brothers farm and didn't get a shot at any. They were like rabbits hiding in the briar patches. One was a huge 8 point that ran out in front of my brother in an open field directly in line with a house. They don't get big by being stupid. Far as I know 2 of the 3 are still around.

Bruce

 

[dcharette]

here's some goose hunting pics from this fall.

 

[dcharette]

I think I got some more resized,
Ducks and geese from November.

 

[bbowman]

Finally got another trail cam.Only been out a week.Got plenty of does and fawns,just havn't seen any bucks.
Our rut won't kick off till mid January.

Got some predators,too!

 

[dross]

Bobby, What is that in the third picture?

 

[bcook]

Bruce: Thanks!

My wife told me the other night that she now prefers using the venison over even ground chuck in recipies.

Dave: You guys were really tearing the ducks and geese up!!

Bobby: Is the 3rd. picture a bobcat? I've never seen anything like it in my part of Ohio.

 

[bbowman]

Yep,big ol' male bobcat!He's been seen 3 times in the last two weeks,which is rare.They are usually very elusive.He's fixing to cross my property line in that pic,and the neighboring landowner manages and hunts bobwhite quail,plus the wild turkeys are making a comeback in this area.So...,this cat may be fixing to take a dirt nap!

Meow!