SATURDAYS HUNTING

With only two weeks left of duck season, we went for the ducks.
Bill and I have been watching the ducks at his farm, waiting for some mallards to start using his flood pond. There were some nice groups showing up in the morning and late afternoon. Bill invited his son Scott,my Uncle Buddy [world famous waterfowl hunter],and Bill Wright. The day before, Bill and I put up a blind where the ducks were landing, on the north east end of the flood pond. We met at his farm at 6:30 Saturday morning to set out the decoys. There were a good 1/4 inch of ice that we had to break up for the decoys and to have places for the ducks to land. It wasn't a good day for duck hunting - no wind and a clear sky. A group of mallards did fly over and Buddy did his best to try to call them in. They circled a few times but didn't like the way our decoys just sat still - they were looking for movement.Soon after that group left a single drake showed up and Buddy talked him into joining our decoys. We tried to get Scott to shoot but I guess it was too much pressure on him so his dad took the shot. To his surprise he got it. I left my dogs home because of the lack of room in the blind, so Buddy made the retrieve. Not long after that, here comes a group of snow geese. Buddy called them in. We knocked down four of them and let one get away. Darn if he didn't come back around and gave us another shot and down he went. Buddy left around 8:30 to shoot snow geese and we quit around 10:00.
Bill and I went back about 4:00. I bought my dogs. We had about four groups come in close enough to shot and got 3 more mallards before the end of shooting time. Lots came after sun set and were fun to watch. I went home and cooked some deer chops. I had a bowl of my Mexican deer sausage soup to go with it. Then went in the house with the dogs and had a glass of my wine. Both dogs passed out.

RABBIT HUNTING

I called Calvin and invited him and his dogs over for a little rabbit hunt.
He excepted my invitation and we met at my house at 9:30. He had Dave with him.I also invited my friend Frank. We crossed the ditch and started down the hedge row. In only a few yards we jumped a rabbit. The dogs ran about half way down and lost it. Score: 1 - rabbits 0 - hunters. Calvin called the dogs back and threatened them with finding them a new home. We started hunting where we left off and within a few minutes the dogs jumped another rabbit. This rabbit headed west. He ran past the cabin and shed to the dirt road and came back to the bush pile behind the cabin. The dogs stayed on him but he wasn't coming out of the bush pile. Score: 2 - rabbits 0 - hunters.
Well the dogs didn't get in trouble over that one. We hunted out to the end of the hedge row and along the edge of the woods. Soon jumped #3. This rabbit knew just where he wanted to be. He went straight to a hole about 200 yards down the edge. Score: 3 - rabbits 0 - hunters. We got the dogs out of that hole and went back to edge to find #4.
Within a few minutes the dogs were going strong. This one bypassed the hole and ran Calvin's way.

We got to the corner of the woods and jumped #5. This rabbit did a little woods running and field running till Dave put a stop to it.
We went back in the corner and dogs where running again. Calvin got this one coming back .
I jumped the next one in the new bush pile behind my duck blind.
The dogs saw him come out and were on it hard. The rabbit made a nice big circle. Frank and I stayed at the bush pile, the dogs were getting close to the bush pile when the rabbit came out from under the duck blind. I emptied both barrels at him and he just keep going and going.
But in a few minutes I heard a shot and Calvin stopped him.
We went to the thicket by the wetlands next. Calvin got two more. I jumped a big covey of quail on the east side of the thicket, they flew across to the woods on the other side of the road. That hasn't happened since the 1980's, it was really a great site. Then we headed over by plot 4. Dave and I got some rabbits. Ended the day there about 2:30, with a total bag of 11. Leaving lots of rabbits for the next hunt. Calvin said it was his best day this season. HABITAT IS THE KEY.

GOT MEAT

Bill and I went Quail hunting Saturday morning. We were in the tall weeds by plot #2. We found lots of roost. When the covey got up we may have missed the dogs on point since the weeds are so tall. There were about 15 or so birds in the covey, they flew to the edge of the woods. Dakota went on point and I flushed the bird. It went left, just has I took my first shot. My second shot connected and Dakota made a nice retrieve. He dropped it at my feet.
Janey found the next one and held it for a long time before we found her on point.
It was Bills turn to shoot. The bird ran out back and got behind cover - not giving Bill a shot. We heard more birds get up but couldn't see them. We decided to look for another covey. Headed over to hunt near the wet lands and down the ditch but didn't find any more.
We did jump a small deer out of the thicket and two more good size does along the back lane on the way back.
Bill and I made a plan to meet at his farm around three to deer hunt.
I went flying for a hour and then cut wood till 3 o'clock.
When I got to the farm Bill was already in a stand. I walked straight across the field - about 250 yard - to another stand . I brought both my cross bow and shot gun. Had the wind blowing to my back. The stand had been there a few years and was built by some guys who weren't happy when Bill bought the farm and stopped them from hunting. You can see they tore all the walls and the roof off but left the back.
I leaned my shot gun in one corner and my cross bow in another. Within about 20 minutes six does came out into the field on my left. As I reached over for my shot gun, because they where out about 50 yards away, the biggest one saw me just as I was ready to shoot. They bolted and ran to Bill's stand. His gun went off and they all ran.About 30 minutes later I heard some noise to my right and here comes more deer. The first one in line was a nice size doe. I had my shot gun in hand - she was 10 yards away - so I wanted to use my cross bow. By now I could see at least five more. Three small and another nice one. But I couldn't make the weapon switch without getting seen and they bolted back into the woods. Well, in about 20 minutes I stood up and looked behind me. There's more deer looking right at me - all does. The smaller ones walk out past me but the two bigger ones bolt. There went that chance. I still don't believe it but 20 minutes go by and I hear more deer coming from behind me. This time I'm ready with the cross bow. The first three were smaller ones and came right past me. The next one was staring right at me -I froze -finally she came out and the other nice one came too. When she got 20 yards out, she turned, quartering me, giving me my shot.I shot fast and heard the arrow hit her as she jumped and went into the woods. I heard her crash. Bill got out of his stand and walked over to where the deer he had shot had been standing. I found my arrow in the ground covered with good blood but didn't see a blood trail to follow. I walked over to Bill and we found some blood from the deer he shot but not much of it. Since it was getting dark, and Bill had somewhere to go, I told him I would come back after supper with the dogs. Dakota found the deer I shot right away.The dogs and I looked for Bill's deer with no luck. Called Bill - he said he would be back in the morning. I got my deer home and hang for the night.
Bill hunted for his deer for hours, finding only some pieces of bone - it seems like he hit it in the leg.

MATT GETS A DOUBLE

Last Friday and Saturday was shot gun for deer. The Jersey guys came to hunt.
Matt took the stand in the corner at plot 1. I had to work but just as I got home
I got a call from ED. He said his son Matt had got one and could use some help getting it out of the woods. I loaded up the dogs, drove the Kia back to the woods and found Matt only fifty yards from the edge. He was pretty much gave out. He said about four o'clock he saw a doe standing in the wood path where he and his dad had cleared an opening.
As he made his shot the doe took a step causing him to hit further back than he was aiming. He found some blood where she was standing but no trail to follow. He could see the way she went by the leaves she was kicking up. He kept on the trail,finding blood only where she stopped. She must have went over 200 yards, crossing the ditch. I took some pictures and gave him a hand with the last fifty yards.
Matt said earlier in the day he had shot a fox. Making over a hundred yard shot on it.
His dad Ed gave him a little help getting ready for the butcher.
I found out about a guy in Greensboro who cuts up deer so we took it to him.
He had a scale and weighted it for us. It was 100 lbs - thats a nice size doe.
I volunteered to pick up the meat - hopefully nobody knows how many chops a 100 lbs deer has.

OLD WARRIOR

My old friend Johnny stopped into the garage last Wednesday with another deer.
He said I may not want this one because it was an older buck. He wanted me to have a look at it. It wasn't a real big deer. Just by guessing it looked to be 4 or 5 years old. It's left rear leg was missing at the knee & had healed over really well.
It must have been shot off less than a year ago. Just amazes me how it had healed so well on its own. The left side of his rack was a decent 8 points & had that old deer look. So maybe he was older then I guessed. The right side of the rack was really messed up due to the leg injury.
I was surprised when Johnny said he was going to take it to the taxidermist to get it
caped out and would drop him off later. I questioned him having it mounted and he said he was a older deer and it was his way of showing his respect. I didn't have my camera at the garage so I did not get any pictures. When Johnny gets it back from the taxidermist I'll post some.
Anyway, since it was a bigger deer I took it to the butcher. So I picked up my meat last night. Fired up the cook stove and opened the box of meat to find this taped inside..I called the butcher to find out where it was found. He said it was in the front shoulder and was well healed over. The broad head does look to be old: a single blade on a wooden shaft. That deer now has my respect. I think if Johnny knew, he would have let him walk. I will think of his life with very bite.

FOX

The Jersey guys were down last weekend and hunted Friday and Saturday.
Ed hit a doe but not good enough, he only found some hair. I think they all saw some does but no big bucks. Tim had these pictures on his camera. This is the buck he got last time he was down.You can see that the right side antlers were goofy.
The best picture was of this fox that went by his tree stand.
That's a nice looking fox. I have been seeing one like him in the field behind the house.
I'm going to try and call him in with my caller over the weekend.
The dogs and I found a big covey of birds on a walk by the new bi-color lespedeza
plot. There must have been at least 15 to 20 birds.