A buddy of mine used to take down tree stands he found on his land and left a note for the owners to contact him if they wanted them back. It only happened a time or two, and the owners apparently didn't want them that bad. I'd keep the camera, but I also like Rush's suggestion.
Had a good weekend. On Saturday morning, Buck and I went up North to try and flush out some grouse since it was the opening day of small game season. We heard some but didn't see any- not surprising since the underbrush is still very thick and very green. Trails on the property were pretty well overgrown with weeds and the landowner asked me to knock them down some with their ATV, so I ended up spending most of the day ripping around the trails and being productive at the same time- fun! I also learned the dog loves running along trails behind the thing or finding the way in front of me in the completely overgrown spots and he had a great day, he slept pretty much all of yesterday. Here he was in front of the field I will sit over again with my .270 for deer season, it has grown over with clover and other good stuff and is full of tracks. Then yesterday ms. katokoch and I took the canoe out and bushwhacked through some woods in a park to access a small lake that doesn't have any public beaches or boat ramps. Learned she does not like the idea of pulling a canoe over fallen trees and then launching from mucky shitty mud but I got redemption once we started catching fish. The lake is surrounded by big houses and yards that are fertilized super green so the water was soupy green and weedy and kept us mainly working the surface. My original target for us was northern pike but instead we got a few fat little bass- none very long but all very chubby. I don't think we'll be going back to that little lake anytime soon but at least it was fun drifting around in the canoe and being the only people out on the water for a few hours.
Just got back home from another trip to the Boundary waters- the weather was good and so was the fishing. We camped on Lake Three and also fished Horseshoe Lake and Brewis Lake. Caught plenty of pike to eat and I also got a nice largemouth bass that was colored like a smallmouth, it is only the second time I've seen a largemouth in the BWCA after a couple dozen trips and was released. A couple pike hit on topwater buzzbaits, which is always lots of fun. As the sun was setting on our last evening I caught my biggest northern pike yet, a 36" long and about 13 pound fish that was lurking under lilypads- also released. I was gunning for bigger pike and didn't catch as many fish as I have on other trips but overall they were bigger this time and we all had a great time.
I did not know that Bass Pro bought Cabela's. There were a few Cabela's brand items that I liked better than Bass Pro, so I hope they keep that going.
Wow... that should be interesting. Being in Canada, the closest of either was Bass Pro in Vaughn, and I found that they generally had better selection than the Canadian Cabela's. Here's hoping they merge to become better than either was before, and don't just wither away and die off because there's no longer any competition.
I'm finally going to be getting back to my outdoorsman roots next year and am going to take up rabbit and maybe turkey hunting is a 20 gauge solid for turkey? I'm getting my dads old one and not sure if I need to buy a bigger shotgun or would rather spend that money elsewhere
No inmo. Two disavantages: Turkey hunting requires a pretty close shot and a 20 ga will limit your range, for sure. Then, you are NOT going to kill a turkey without a head shot. You'll need 20 ga that will take a 3" shell to get enough boom. Otherwise, that turkey will just laugh as he's flying away. If you're getting your dad's old one, I doubt it takes a 3" shell. Finding a turkey load for 20 ga in 2 3/4" is pretty tough. Now, all that said, if you a) are an excellent caller or hunt with some one who is, so that you can call the bird into 20-25 yards or you b) hunt in a blind in a high bird population area that allows closer shots like that, then rock on.
What kind of shotgun is it? Have you shot it before? If the gun patterns tight as hell with a turkey load, and you're a solid shot with it and like Rush said can limit yourself to good shots, go for it. I am turkey hunting this weekend with my 12 gauge and Winchester Longbeard XR 1 3/4 oz. #4 loads that pattern significantly better than the handful of turkey loads I've previously tried. Frankly the load may very well be overkill too, I mean it's like firing artillery compared to a lot of the other stuff I shoot through the gun, but it does give me a lot more margin for error to help ensure I'll kill the bird cleanly. Plus I may very well be stalking up on birds rather than strictly calling them in this weekend too and can't guarantee a nice 25-30 yard shot while it's decoyed up and I'm sitting against a tree. The maximum I'd shoot this weekend is about 40-45 yards but regardless that is probably a lot further than I'd be willing to go with a 20 gauge.
I absolutely love rabbit hunting. Are you going to be using dogs? My Dad has some really good dogs that love to work. A lot of times we don't even take shots until the dogs have had their fun running the rabbit. I'm in agreement with the other guys, the 20 gauge will obviously have more limitations. I've never hunted for turkey, but I did take a 20 gauge to a turkey shoot, where you shoot at a target for prizes. The gun did not perform well at all.
I was only knocking a 20 ga for turkey hunting. I have 6 different 20 ga shotguns. I use my Winchester Ranger 20 ga a good bit. It's got adjustable chokes, and is perfect for pen-raised quail hunting. I also have a Remington 1100 20 ga that I've used for sporting clays events when we're shooting 100+ targets. (However, I'm not a good enough shot to stick with that, and usually just suffer through a sore shoulder the next day, and use a 12 ga.)
Same, I wish there were rabbits on the property I hunt here. I like to spend at least one day a year focused on squirrels and rabbits for the hell of it. Never with dogs though, unless you count my lab running around making a racket (not a very effective squirrel hunter but still fun to watch).
Yeah, my 20 gauge spreads out too much for turkey. It's great gun for dove and other birds you shoot in flight. Of course, shooting for prizes, you can only use certain chokes and the 20 gauge wouldn't compete with any of the 12s. I wasted my money shooting that night. I don't think I'd know how to hunt rabbits without a few beagles to get in the brush for me. That's the best part, watching those dogs scare them out and run them back to you. I can't still hunt, I always end up taking a nap, so rabbit hunting is my thing because it requires walking.
I've hunted them like upland birds, you walk brushy field edges or kick around stuff like old overgrown farmsteads and junk piles to flush them out. I grew up hunting without dogs so... I was basically the dog for years. If you don't get them on the run, you sit tight and see if they circle back in a bit or have fun tracking like Elmer Fudd if there's fresh snow. Rabbit is some of my favorite wild game to eat.
Had fun chasing grouse in the Superior National Forest yesterday with a buddy and my dog. We just walked along trails off logging roads and flushed five birds. I got in a few shots but only blasted trees, sometimes that's how it goes but it's still a lot better than not seeing anything and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I am ready for deer hunting.
My spike buck from opening day, taken with one shot from my .270 at a little over 200 yards at 1:30 pm. First time I've even seen a deer on the opener, we got lucky. Weather was unbelievably warm too, I think it was about 70 degrees out when I shot the deer- usually it hovers between 30-40 at this time. There was a little over 60 pounds of meat laying there. I just started checkering the grip of the rifle a couple weeks before opener and will finish the rest now. Here's my buddy who first spotted it looking back towards the foxhole we were sitting in, it was in the right side of that green strip of grass in the background.
Enjoy. About ten years ago, I had access to 2000 acres to turkey hunt. The guy that let me hunt there had a relationship with the property owner, and he only deer hunted; so, let me have it to myself during turkey season. Then, they had a falling out and I lost my connection. Currently, I have to fight for space with all the common folk on government land.
I know the property owner directly and I'm the only person who has permission to hunt the 80 acres. I spend a few hours in there with a chainsaw every year to keep trails and stuff clear, that's all they've asked of me in exchange for accessing it though I share smoked turkey and goodies like that. As you can see it has been good to me and I try to be good back to them too.
MMmmh fresh meat. With the weather like this you can't even age the shit you'd have to get it right in the freezer.
I can't ever remember deer hunting (in Ontario, it's always the first 2 full weeks of November) without snow. There was one day where it got to about 8 degrees and snow was melting, but that just made a ton of slush and wasn't fun.