Monday, December 31, 2012
Limit of Ducks on the North Fork of the Rivanna
This morning, my brother and I went for a goose hunt on a river bottom field to try and pull a few birds from their normal flyway and bring them into our dozen decoys. Despite our attempts, the most we got was 4 geese to circle a couple of times, but I guarantee we saw 500 geese... Hurts to watch bunches of geese fly straight over your decoys into a pond you can't hunt... We thought we heard some puddle duck noises behind us on the river, so we got up and walked to the river bank. When I reached the top of the bank, I looked down and saw two ducks about to get up around 25 yards away, I am a sportsman, but if I am jump shooting, especially on the North Fork (where I had never killed a duck before) , I plan on killing ducks, a jump can only be so sporty. So when I pulled the trigger on one of them, sending 3&1/2 inches of #2 steel shot intended for a honker flying his way, yes, he was still on the water, but guess what, he died, very quickly and humanely, the same way he would've died if he was flying. A couple pellets hit the other duck, but not enough to keep it on the water, and by now I had realized they were black ducks, so I couldn't shoot it, and Wyatt was having gun troubles in the brush and didn't get a shot on the bird. I retrieved my duck, a big pretty drake black duck, my one bird "limit" of "ducks" haha. Not a bad morning by central Virginia standards, a duck is quite a prize in this area. Thanks for reading!
Squirrel Hunt with a New Scope
My friend and I went for a little early morning squirrel hunt with his Remington 597 .22 and my Savage MKII FVXP .22... We killed 3, all with my gun, the squirrels simply weren't close enough for his 3-9x32 scope. My gun now has its brand new 4-16x50 AO illuminated mil dot reticle scope on it, so the 50 plus yard shots were a breeze. I was using CCI Green Tag 1070 fps 40 grain round nosed competition ammo, this stuff really makes a difference on those 60 to 100 yard shots. I killed two squirrels on our hunt, one at 50 yards, and one at 65 yards. My friend spotted one sticking its head out of a hole while I was cleaning the two I shot, and he set up prone with the bipod on my gun and as soon as it left the hole, it was bye-bye squirrel at 75 yards. We marinated the squirrels in Worcestershire sauce with a little Terryaki and various seasonings mixed in. We seared them in a skillet and wrapped them in bacon and tinfoil and baked them for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Yum... Thanks for reading!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Goose Hunting in High Winds
On friday, I took the day off from school to hunt with a friend who was already on winter break because he goes to private school. We went to a farm pond where we have had great success between 9:30 and 10:30, the geese feed on cornfields all morning and then fly to the ponds to rest and snack on grass untill they head back to the cornfields in the evening. We set up 8 decoys with flocked heads at 20 yards on a point of land jutting out into the pond. We sat around and fished from our hiding spot in the reeds when all of a sudden I looked up to see 5 geese, cupped wings and dropping fast into the decoys. Right when they were about to land I said "cut 'em", we unloaded our guns, feathers were flying...and one bird hit the water... Terrible shooting...
We figured the birds caught us off guard and we would clean up with the next group. About an hour later, we weren't paying attention when a flock of 10 birds silently came over the trees and dropped in, but we were more prepared this time. We unloaded our guns, and again, one bird fell, I will be honest, I missed with both barrels of my citori, well I messed up one bird pretty badly, but the law says I have to shoot steel, so cripples are common, but that bird managed to get his wings under him and head out. We also found a second bird from the first group that died as well, stiff, but warm, so it was definitely from the first group. My conclusion is that steel shot does funny stuff in high winds, and the geese look like they are hovering in front of the decoys when they really are not, so we were probably shooting behind the birds. Oh well, we still knocked down 3, and that sure as heck beats a day at school!
We were shooting 3" Winchester 1550fps BB steel loads with improved cylinder chokes, along with a couple experimental 1700fps Hypersonic Steel BBs given to me by my Uncle for a "test drive" so to speak. I was using a Browning Citori 12ga and Jackson was shooting a Benelli Nova 12ga pump (in the picture). Thanks for reading!
My friend Jackson with our 3 birds for the day, note how little the two birds on the righ are, the farthest one to the left being about the size of a mallard!
We figured the birds caught us off guard and we would clean up with the next group. About an hour later, we weren't paying attention when a flock of 10 birds silently came over the trees and dropped in, but we were more prepared this time. We unloaded our guns, and again, one bird fell, I will be honest, I missed with both barrels of my citori, well I messed up one bird pretty badly, but the law says I have to shoot steel, so cripples are common, but that bird managed to get his wings under him and head out. We also found a second bird from the first group that died as well, stiff, but warm, so it was definitely from the first group. My conclusion is that steel shot does funny stuff in high winds, and the geese look like they are hovering in front of the decoys when they really are not, so we were probably shooting behind the birds. Oh well, we still knocked down 3, and that sure as heck beats a day at school!
We were shooting 3" Winchester 1550fps BB steel loads with improved cylinder chokes, along with a couple experimental 1700fps Hypersonic Steel BBs given to me by my Uncle for a "test drive" so to speak. I was using a Browning Citori 12ga and Jackson was shooting a Benelli Nova 12ga pump (in the picture). Thanks for reading!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Not-So-Successful Goose Hunt
On Saturday, I went goose hunting with my dad, my brothers, and one of my brothers friends. We set up before daylight on a pond that has been used by 200-300 or so geese for a couple weeks, but unfortunately they decided to roost there so when we showed up, we had to run them off, and that was the reason the birds wouldn't commit to our decoys. We saw at least 300 birds, but only got 2 in gun range, and killed them both. We got to witness bunches and bunches of geese repeatedly circle the decoys, and then slowly gain altitude and head out after around 5 "laps" around us. We learned a lot though, something that always happens each time we go hunting, no matter how many times we may have done it before. We know that the geese want to come to a field bordering the pond so seeing decoys beside and in the pond just didn't seem right. We also learned that one of the reasons they wouldn't commit is because we didn't run them off the place the night before hunting. Thanks for reading!
My brothers friend Alex with his fist goose, taken with a youth 870 20 guage.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Canada Goose Smackdown.
We had been watching a cattle pond for a few weeks before the migratory season opened up here in Virginia, and it was getting hammered by geese consistantly every day between 9:45 and 10:30. We slept in (a hunting luxury) and arrived at 8:00, set up decoys, and settled into some mud and sparse reeds. After about 30 minutes or so, we decoyed a single, and after 7 shots, he coasted down into the field 100 yards away, we all cracked up, because that was just awful shooting, and goose hunting isn't a high-stakes thing, so laughing is "allowed". Might I add that I didn't have a safe shot untill he was 60 yards away or so I shot hoping I would get a lucky bb in him, ya never know and I thought the goose was going to check out so it was a last ditch effort (this happened because I was repositioning decoys when it came in, doing anything except being prepared is better than the best decoys, best calls, and best men behind the calls, I don't care who you are, birds will decoy when you aren't prepared.). We had a group of 5 or 6 birds decoy, and someone jumped the gun and shot when birds were out of range, so we only killed 3.
Some time later, we were standing around in a group, about to pack it in, whe 3 birds began circling. My dad said "guys, DON'T move!" we all did our best to stand still, but after the 3rd circle the geese did, we were all in tears of laughter, because here were 6 of us standing up in 2" of grass 30 yards from out decoys, and the birds were coming in. I think we killed one of those birds, it was difficult to get out of the huddle and start shooting haha. Well one guy left and his son stayed with us, and pretty soon we had 10 birds decoy, and killed 4. We really needed to get our act together, we were missing like crazy. We were almost ready to call it a day, when we heard the mother lode we had been waiting for, coming in. We sat still for what seemed like eternity, the geese were circling and circling....and circling...and circling. Finally one birds sat down and was followed by around 50 others. Once we had 50 in range on the water, we opened up fire. For all of you that say water swatting is unsportsmanlike, I'll have you know that it is legal, and that only one bird was shot on the water in this group, with video footage to prove it, youtube video will be up shortly. After all the madness, we counted 11 birds, and 8 empty hulls, looks like we made up for all of our missing with some "ammo conservation". And after further review, the ruling on the field was incorrect, my friend hunting with us sent 3 inches of BB black cloud straight into the pond, pulling the trigger before he was on the birds, so it was 11 birds in 7 shots. But excitement gets the best of all of us. And after those birds left, a confused single came in, we thought we were limited out so we let it land and fly away, but as it was flying away, I saw a very rare event that isn't witnessed my many, he smacked into a power line and fell straight out of the sky! After counting our birds, we realized we were two short, so my brother went over to finish that bird, but it got up and flew back to the pond. He should've known not to give the Minor boys a second chance, Ewing smoked him with the Mossberg 20 guage. We ended up with 17/18 birds we could've shot on a 6 man limit. Thanks for reading!
Here they are... Special thanks to my awesome Lab Walt, he did a lot of work that day, including bringing back 2 Canadas at once haha.
Some time later, we were standing around in a group, about to pack it in, whe 3 birds began circling. My dad said "guys, DON'T move!" we all did our best to stand still, but after the 3rd circle the geese did, we were all in tears of laughter, because here were 6 of us standing up in 2" of grass 30 yards from out decoys, and the birds were coming in. I think we killed one of those birds, it was difficult to get out of the huddle and start shooting haha. Well one guy left and his son stayed with us, and pretty soon we had 10 birds decoy, and killed 4. We really needed to get our act together, we were missing like crazy. We were almost ready to call it a day, when we heard the mother lode we had been waiting for, coming in. We sat still for what seemed like eternity, the geese were circling and circling....and circling...and circling. Finally one birds sat down and was followed by around 50 others. Once we had 50 in range on the water, we opened up fire. For all of you that say water swatting is unsportsmanlike, I'll have you know that it is legal, and that only one bird was shot on the water in this group, with video footage to prove it, youtube video will be up shortly. After all the madness, we counted 11 birds, and 8 empty hulls, looks like we made up for all of our missing with some "ammo conservation". And after further review, the ruling on the field was incorrect, my friend hunting with us sent 3 inches of BB black cloud straight into the pond, pulling the trigger before he was on the birds, so it was 11 birds in 7 shots. But excitement gets the best of all of us. And after those birds left, a confused single came in, we thought we were limited out so we let it land and fly away, but as it was flying away, I saw a very rare event that isn't witnessed my many, he smacked into a power line and fell straight out of the sky! After counting our birds, we realized we were two short, so my brother went over to finish that bird, but it got up and flew back to the pond. He should've known not to give the Minor boys a second chance, Ewing smoked him with the Mossberg 20 guage. We ended up with 17/18 birds we could've shot on a 6 man limit. Thanks for reading!
My First Archery Deer.
I pursued deer with a bow for 3 long years. I hunted from the ground, with no blind, somewhere between still and stand hunting. I had a couple experiences with deer that I didn't recover and after that I started using better judgement and waiting for ethical shots, which don't come easy when your bow is maxed out on its poundage at 40lbs shooting little fairy-toothpick-light arrows with 75-85 grain broadheads. But I hunted... Every day of the season I could possibly hunt. Even if it was 45 minutes after I got home from school, I knew it would have to come together if I hunted enough.
However unlucky the number 13 is supposed to be, I consider it good luck, because it was the 13th when I connected with my first archery deer. On that crisp October morning, I woke up slightly before daylight, "suited up", grabbed my bow, and set out with high hopes, this was going to be my 7th day deer hunting this year...hmm... seems like some funny stuff is going on with numbers, if you get my drift... Anyways, I spooked around 15 deer on my way in, and thought surely none would return that morning, but I wasn't about to call it quits. I set up on a ridgetop, with a tractor trail, about 8 yards wide, punching a hole through the hardwoods for about 100 yards before turning out of sight. This was going to be my shooting lane... Or so I thought...
Immediately after I had enough light to see my pins, a decent 6 pointer caught my attention about 75 yards away, nose to the ground, trailing a doe. Once I saw he wasn't going to come within range, I turned over the bleat can a couple times, but he was too focused to notice, even at 40 yards. When he moved on out of sight, I settled myself back in, and looked over my shoulder just in time to see 3 does, curious about all the bleating, spook from about 50 yards. I thought to myself "this is going to be another one of those days when everything goes right...for the deer...". I waited for another 25 minutes before seeing a doe feeding along a deer trail about 60 yards away. I watched her for a while, not bothering with the can because she was downwind and I was praying she didn't smell me. She didn't, but she didn't come in range either, and headed "on her way".
After another half hour, I heard footsteps behind me, very far off, it was a squirrel. I kept listening and realised this was no squirrel, so I clipped my release onto the loop and turned to look in the direction of the noise while slowly adjusting my position so I could get a shot. My gaze was met by two huge eyes of a yearling doe about 5 yards behind my, staring straight at me. I froze but it was too late, she bounded away, snorting like crazy, letting all the deer in the woods know that I was there. I heard her stop at about 75 yards over the hill, and decided it was pretty much over at this point, so I turned over the bleat can. The bleat was responded to by a loud snort, but I figured I could keep playing, so I did. She kept snorting, but pretty soon I could hear the snorts getting closer, and before I knew it she was 40 yards away. I called one last time, and then clipped my release closed and got ready. I saw her walking broadside at 30 yards, stomping loudly with each high-knee step, but I drew, and she stopped. My bow was zeroed at 15 yards, so I knew I would have to compensate for some drop. I drew, settled the pin in her back, above her lungs, and squeezed. I saw the arrow zip straight to her and hit only an inch or two below my point of aim, and was overcome with that sick feeling any hunter gets when he or she know her shot did not strike where it should have, I knew this would turn out like all the other failed attempts.
To my suprise, she dropped, but knowing this was a spine shot, I got up and bounded through sticks and brush and immediately sent one through her vitals. I walked away for a brief moment to allow the deer to pass on, and once she stopped kicking, I headed over to analyze the situation. I realized why my arrow hit high. The deer was so small that I misjudged the distance. I am not upset that my first deer was a young one, nor am I upset about taking a young animal. It is legal, youger animals are much less tough and gamey, and hey when you can drag your deer back with one hand on the leg, its awesome! I field dressed the deer, and headed home. The deer was never frozen with the exception of a hindquarter I exchanged for use of a climbing stand this season (thanks Scott!), we literally ate the backstraps on the first day, the shoulders the second day afterwords, and the hindquarter on the 3rd day after the harvest. My quest was complete, but this was just the beginning of my bowhunting adventures...Thanks for reading!
The gut cavity is sunken in because of the deer being field dressed don't worry, she was perfectly healthy.
However unlucky the number 13 is supposed to be, I consider it good luck, because it was the 13th when I connected with my first archery deer. On that crisp October morning, I woke up slightly before daylight, "suited up", grabbed my bow, and set out with high hopes, this was going to be my 7th day deer hunting this year...hmm... seems like some funny stuff is going on with numbers, if you get my drift... Anyways, I spooked around 15 deer on my way in, and thought surely none would return that morning, but I wasn't about to call it quits. I set up on a ridgetop, with a tractor trail, about 8 yards wide, punching a hole through the hardwoods for about 100 yards before turning out of sight. This was going to be my shooting lane... Or so I thought...
Immediately after I had enough light to see my pins, a decent 6 pointer caught my attention about 75 yards away, nose to the ground, trailing a doe. Once I saw he wasn't going to come within range, I turned over the bleat can a couple times, but he was too focused to notice, even at 40 yards. When he moved on out of sight, I settled myself back in, and looked over my shoulder just in time to see 3 does, curious about all the bleating, spook from about 50 yards. I thought to myself "this is going to be another one of those days when everything goes right...for the deer...". I waited for another 25 minutes before seeing a doe feeding along a deer trail about 60 yards away. I watched her for a while, not bothering with the can because she was downwind and I was praying she didn't smell me. She didn't, but she didn't come in range either, and headed "on her way".
After another half hour, I heard footsteps behind me, very far off, it was a squirrel. I kept listening and realised this was no squirrel, so I clipped my release onto the loop and turned to look in the direction of the noise while slowly adjusting my position so I could get a shot. My gaze was met by two huge eyes of a yearling doe about 5 yards behind my, staring straight at me. I froze but it was too late, she bounded away, snorting like crazy, letting all the deer in the woods know that I was there. I heard her stop at about 75 yards over the hill, and decided it was pretty much over at this point, so I turned over the bleat can. The bleat was responded to by a loud snort, but I figured I could keep playing, so I did. She kept snorting, but pretty soon I could hear the snorts getting closer, and before I knew it she was 40 yards away. I called one last time, and then clipped my release closed and got ready. I saw her walking broadside at 30 yards, stomping loudly with each high-knee step, but I drew, and she stopped. My bow was zeroed at 15 yards, so I knew I would have to compensate for some drop. I drew, settled the pin in her back, above her lungs, and squeezed. I saw the arrow zip straight to her and hit only an inch or two below my point of aim, and was overcome with that sick feeling any hunter gets when he or she know her shot did not strike where it should have, I knew this would turn out like all the other failed attempts.
To my suprise, she dropped, but knowing this was a spine shot, I got up and bounded through sticks and brush and immediately sent one through her vitals. I walked away for a brief moment to allow the deer to pass on, and once she stopped kicking, I headed over to analyze the situation. I realized why my arrow hit high. The deer was so small that I misjudged the distance. I am not upset that my first deer was a young one, nor am I upset about taking a young animal. It is legal, youger animals are much less tough and gamey, and hey when you can drag your deer back with one hand on the leg, its awesome! I field dressed the deer, and headed home. The deer was never frozen with the exception of a hindquarter I exchanged for use of a climbing stand this season (thanks Scott!), we literally ate the backstraps on the first day, the shoulders the second day afterwords, and the hindquarter on the 3rd day after the harvest. My quest was complete, but this was just the beginning of my bowhunting adventures...Thanks for reading!
Brief Overview...
Since my fishing blog is so entertaining to post on, I decided to make a seperate blog for my hunting stories. Obviously this one won't be as active because hunting season isn't like "fishing season" so to speak, and hunting is not a catch and release sport. I thoroughly enjoy the outdoors every minute I can, and even if I don't have a successful day, I always learn something new. But hopefully I will be able to post about my hunting adventures after deer season ends on January 5th. Plenty of goose, duck, squirrel, rabbit, and eventually spring turkey season to write about. And after that is all over with I will be doing some pigeon, starling, english sparrow, and groundhog hunting in the summer. So check in every now and then, I should be able to post at least once every 1-3 weeks. And of course I will have to post a few stories to "kick things off".
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