I do some vermin hunting up here, mainly coyotes, and I'm fine with a more heavy-handed "eradication" approach on those critters so to speak but that does seem to cross a line. Much of that is because they posted it online and it comes like a sick stunt. You still need to respect the fact that you're taking a life. I'd love to go hog hunting sometime, but for me it'd be an excuse to buy a big-bore lever action rifle. That's cute. I'd be a liar if I didn't say I was almost buzzing like that after shooting a turkey this spring. I went up North for some grouse hunting with my dog yesterday afternoon and he flushed one sitting right in the middle of a trail around a bend, but it was the one damn spot with a downed pine tree in the way so I just watched it fly away through the branches. It was less than 50 yards from where he flushed a bird the last time we were there too. Didn't see any turkeys or deer. Oh well, at least the weather was great and my dog had fun. I kept my eyes peeled for deer signs and the usual spots in this 80 acre looked busy. I'll be hunting deer on the property with my .270 during the second firearms weekend (Nov 15) with a buddy and haven't yet decided where to place our stands. Lots of options.
Hell nah! We just want some bruisers round here. Not that big for a mule deer but she's like 8. I remember the first time I saw a decent sized buck hunting. Could have confused me for Benny Hill when I reached for my gun. The buck saw me immediately and bolted. Im sort of jelly about you guys out west and your ability to shoot bigger animals. I mainly hunt for the meat. It'd be nice to get an elk or moose that have back straps that weigh more than what I normally get off the does I shoot. I see pictures of peoples' kills on other sites and man those animals are the size of houses. Also, it's a Cincinnati thing but I made venison geotta the other week and thought I'd share since it's super easy and has become a breakfast food staple for me. Slow cooker geotta. I just substituted one pound of venison for one of the two pounds sausage suggested. I also seasoned the meat not the oats and didn't pre-cook the meat just cooked it a bit longer. Must used steel cut oats. Slice it and fry that shit up with bacon. MMMMMM Bitch.
After my sisters funeral Sunday I needed to clear my head and be alone for a while. I just got in my truck and drove. I unfortunately didn't get to stay as long as I wanted but I made a road trip to Beavers Bend in Oklahoma and camped out for a night and went trout fishing in the river. Biggest dinner I caught was 15.5 inches. I had a few bigger ones on the line but the line broke.
Cute video and great that she could share that moment with her dad. Anyone who's been hunting can definitely relate.
I know a few that don't but they are the kind that kill as many deer as possible but only keep a few for themselves.
Another kid losing it after SMOKING a big buck. Linked off of the first video. I could watch these all day long.
I used to be straight-horns guy. Like a virgin in a strip club, the bigger the rack, the more I wanted it. Until I realized the meat was delicious part (i.e., once I grew a pair and started cooking it myself instead of letting someone else make leather for me). Now the bigger the doe, the more I want to fuck her. In the face. With my rifle. Until I saw this gorgeous 10-pointer around my place, and I got buck fever all over again. And now I have permission to take him. Very mature buck and a lot of meat, though not sure how that will compare to what I normally take. Regardless, dude has a better rack than my wife. YES PLEASE!!!!
I'll happily shoot a big 'ol buck but have yet to feel bad about all the tasty does I've brought home instead. Just haven't been presented with the opportunity to shoot a legit buck yet. Oh well. My girlfriend prefers a fresh venison backstrap steak to a ribeye so I have that going for me. I saw a couple of HUGE ground scrapes on the 80-acre property I'll be hunting the second firearm weekend on, with deep and wide tine marks in the dirt, so I'm confident they are in the vicinity but obviously they don't get big being stupid. Last year was the first time that I was cool and collected after spotting and while shooting my doe, like I was able to sit down, click the safety off, and aim at it with a calm heartbeat, but after I shot and it went down I lost it again. Legs weak, heart beating out of my chest, in disbelief at the past 10 seconds. I took my dog up North again this past weekend and he had his first major screwup in the woods. On our first pass through the property I was walking along the tops of some gullies and spotted a group of turkeys coming towards us, maybe 75 yards away. Buck was less than 10 yards to my left and I called him to me, so we could sit tight and wait for the turkeys. Dumbass spotted them and tore off after them while I tried getting him back, and he ended up chasing them probably 200 yards. Eventually he came back and after an attitude adjustment was listening fine for the rest of the day, but he hadn't pulled a stunt like that in the field before. He knew exactly what he did and I was furious. Call it a learning lesson for both of us.
I've never hunted dogs, but I've known a few that would go nuts for anything they came across and others that couldn't give two shits ever. Our Newf was usually in the don't care category, but every blue moon she'd decide she wanted to chase something and there was next to nothing you could do to stop her. Deer wandering up the path behind the house to the barn, or a squirrel running around her doghouse picking up stray food? She'd look at them then roll over and go back to sleep. Then from the front porch she'd see deer come into the field a good 80+ yards away and tear off after them. She'd stop as soon as they'd disappear back into the treeline. She never had an 'I'm protecting the house' look; the most I could ever figure is she was bored and decided they looked like they'd be fun to play with.
This is a dog that should know better, as in anything but game birds is off-limits for him to chase (like squirrels and rabbits) and his self-control has improved a lot since last year too. Now I'll concede that it probably was his first time seeing turkeys up close like that and must have been awful exciting for a bird dog, but he knew I wanted him by my side first and did not want him chasing those turkeys. My girlfriend and sisters don't understand why I want such a highly disciplined dog, but they also aren't hunting on land shared with skunks, porcupines, bears, wolves, etc, all sorts of things I don't want the dog to chase ranging from highly inconvenient to dangerous.
So far, yes. I am thinking his check cord will come out again tonight and tomorrow. Haven't introduced an E-collar yet too. Part of my frustration was simply how he'd been progressing well and then decided to show is stupid (stubborn) side. If it were last year I wouldn't be surprised, but it seemed out of character for him today. Thankfully it may have been his last trip up North for the year since deer opener is this coming weekend and we'll hunt pheasants in southern Minnesota through December, so he won't be near any more turkeys. Side note, this Remington ad is hilarious. A reminder that I should bring my pellet gun hunting with me.
The smoke is from the campfire behind the table. My deer is on the right. I just got back from opening weekend of gun season in Texas and had some luck finally go in my direction. We've been on our current lease for 3 years now, and I have not been able to shoot any decent bucks for the area. A couple of the guys I hunt with have shot deer from 8-12 pts with 16 inch or better spreads. Last year I never saw a deer with at least 8 points. This was the first trip I've been able to take on opening weekend. In the past I've been in school and couldn't justify missing class especially when I was in college. On opening morning I wasn't expecting to see much, but the first deer I saw was the one I shot. The buck was there before the sun was up and came back when I could see him. He stopped to eat some corn and turned broadside. Shot placement was good and I followed a blood trail that looked like it was painted onto the grass with a paintbrush. I have never shot a deer that left a trail like this one did. He ran about 30 yards and collapsed. While cleaning him it looked like I hit his heart and maybe his lungs. He ended up being a 9pt with a 16" spread. Weighing 155lbs he was the largest/oldest deer our group shot during the weekend.