Curious how everyone is feeling going into the fall, the ammo shortage is killing me and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be needing to hone in my rock throwing ability for bird this fall. If anyone has any good go to's for finding upland ammo I'm all ears or I'm in for a lot of dirty looks from my bird dogs when my hurled rocks miss this fall.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I switched to Bows this year, much more challenging than rifles and more importantly reusable ammo. Now whether or not I will actually get anything we shall see...
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I picked up a crossbow this year. Hoping to get to put it to use. I've not been shooting as much as normal, just due to lack of reloading supplies. But, I really don't get to hunt much as I'd like. I'll probably do more days of dove and rabbit than I will deer.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
It's a Barnett TS380 with crank cocker. It was a prize from a drawing. So, I can't say I went out of my way to choose it over a host of others. That said, it looks pretty nice. There are some mods people have shown online to adjust the rub on the rails, and adding adjustable stops. I haven't done any of that yet.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'm anxious for fall to arrive. I have 20 days off work in October November and December plus weekends. I've been building arrows and shooting my recurve a lot. Lots of map scouting and contemplating strategy based on prior years notes. Hoping for a good season.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I've never hunted with anything but recurves and longbows. Not really because of any need to stand out (apparently being "trad" is the thing now days), but that's just what my Dad taught me and it's what I've always enjoyed.
Yes, I use aluminum arrows with Zwickey broadheads. I doubt I'll ever change.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Got 2 full weeks off work to go out to the dakotas to bird hunt with my two bird dogs. Running my first NAVDHA test on my puppy then once were done with that off to north dakota for two full weeks of bird hunting as a reward. Been a long time since I had more than a week off at a time and its going be so nice to unhook from work and everything else and just hunt for two weeks. Might get in some deer hunting this fall but with a new pup in the fold I want to focus on giving him the opportunity to learn while hes young.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Anxious about cooler temps and hunting season. I'm going to try to do some bowhunting this year which I didn't get to do last season. Not seeing as many good bucks on camera as I have in years past, but there's a few out there and there's a ton of bears around that I'm going to try and thin out. This cooler weather and lower humidity coming at the end of the week, as well as football starting up really makes me miss the woods. Should start seeing velvet drop soon as well. Bring it on!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I am getting excited but need this heat to subside a little for it to really kick in. I haven't had time to do any prep for the season yet but I am feeling confident. We haven't had acorns the last 2 years so we should get some this year and the ag fields around me are corn and not beans so the deer haven't relocated all summer like last year. The bucks don't show up until September/October here because of the real high stem count in around me so they stay away until they have shed their velvet.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah wow that's even more than here in NoVA. Early rifle opens here this Saturday, and the late Archery season ends on 4/24/22, so it's deer season for almost 8 months of the year now.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Update on Chronic Wasting Disease (Pasted from Virginia Tech- VA Cooperative Extension)
Now that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been confirmed in the New River Valley, and a newly established Disease Management Area (DMA 3) that includes Montgomery, Floyd, and Pulaski Counties has been established by the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), important information is now available on what is going to be required of hunters, including mandatory and voluntary testing of harvested deer and restrictions on the movement of carcasses or parts thereof out of the DMA. A series of public meetings has been scheduled specifically for the DMA 3 region (plus another one for people up in the Shenandoah Valley/Culpeper area where the existing DMA 2 recently was expanded) where details of what hunters can expect and will be required to do. The first of these meetings is coming up extremely fast (on Tuesday, August 24th) for Montgomery County hunters, but other sessions will follow for adjoining Floyd and Pulaski Counties (see full details at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/diseases/cwd/). At this time, mandatory testing of any deer harvested within the DMA 3 region will be limited to only the opening day of the firearms season (Nov. 13th), but voluntary testing is recommended for deer harvested on other days throughout the entire season. Details on testing and drop-off sites are available on the DWR website (https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/DMA3-CWD-Sampling-Stat... and https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/DMA3-voluntary-CWD-sit...). Also, recent research has raised significant questions about the role that cooking of venison plays in denaturing the causative prion responsible for CWD [not!] and health experts now warn against consuming any meat from untested deer. More info on this issue is to be provided during the public meetings.
There is a tremendous amount of new information provided on the DWR website (https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/diseases/cwd/) and I encourage all hunters to visit this library of info as you prepare for the fall season.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Still looking for some pheasant or wild bird capes? Just lemme know I'll be vacuum packing a few for myself as well this year and I dont mind packing a few up for ya
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'll do my best and hope my pup doesnt shred too much on em and at min I'll pull the rump feathers and if the pelts are decent I'll save em. I'll have em sometime late october will be a big batch.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Will do I'll freeze em with some baking powder or some scent killer formula before I bag em. Only issue is I cant find any damn ammo so I may have to try and catch the birds with my hands this year. Either that or I need to do some serious archery practice.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'm now inside one week on the countdown to head west and chase elk in the Bob Marshall wilderness. Can't even sleep, I'm so excited. Cleared out every memory card I can get my hands on so I can fill them up with pictures, and if I'm lucky enough to get something, I could die happy.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
So envious, I've developed a connection to someone who elk hunts out west and I'm prepping for a trip hopefully in the next two years once I get the right gear.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
My son and I got 16 doves on Saturday. He cooked them on the grill two ways. First dove kabobs with prosciutto and figs. Then dove, jalapeños and cream cheese wrapped in bacon. Started with a Widow Jane primer. Hard to beat.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I bought a new Franchi Affinity 3 20 guage for doves. Couldn't find any #8s so bought #7.5 but only had it in 7/8 ounce. Couldn't get it to cycle at the range, so I got #6 one ounce shells for the dove hunt which cycled just fine. I also cleaned and lubricated it before the hunt and when I tried the #7.5 7/8 ounce shells they still didn't cycle. Any body have any ideas how to get the lighter shells to cycle? Do I just need to put more shells through it?
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Its an intertia gun it will certainly have a little bit of a break in - take it to the range and burn heavy shells also make sure you're leaning into it and you're probably still going to want 1oz loads min. I have the affinity 2 20ga...it's a top 3 favorite shotgun of my 20 or so.
Last suggestion would be to get in touch with Franchi the CS is pretty responsive. They might have a remedy or if your having a lot of trouble they'd likely warranty it.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Do you have any way to adjust the amount of gas that is diverted to cycling the action? I'm not familiar with the Affinity, but most modern semi autos have adjustments or different seals you can use to regulate the amount of gas that goes into working the action. This is assuming it's a gas operated gun and not inertia driven, which if it is none of the above matters.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I love my 20 gauge franchi I've had for years. Dunno the model it was used but it's sized for you to 3 inch loads and I've never been able to cycle lighter loads well. I use it for doves quail and pheasant and only #5s and up cycle well or anything 3 inch cycles fine it seems to be setup for heavier rounds and just doesn't like target ammo. If you find a solution I'm all ears but I've pumped thousands of rounds through mine and still the issue only with lighter loads.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I just accept they won't eject and have gotten in the habit of reaching up to pull the half ejected she'll out. I tried all sorts of ammo and I primarily shoot Winchester super x ammo as it's my go to maybe I'll try some of that this weekend and see.
I'm also saving for an M2 so I can finally ditch the super nova pump for bird hunting as it's way heavier than the M2. Walked by 2 used ones at greentop today and it killed.me not to walk out with one of them.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
One of my coworkers is currently in Washington state on an Elk hunt that he managed to tie in with a work trip, jealously is oozing out of me right now...
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Starting to stash money aside for a new semi-auto shotgun to accommodate the amount of upland and bird hunting I do and finally drop the heavy pump for a lighter wing shooting gun. Would love any recommendations people have currently I shoot all beneli and franchi guns and really like beneli and the M2 is the one I'm leaning to as its most in target range for price.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I mean if Benelli is in your price range its basically a no brainer. The M2 is a damn good shotgun.
Browning would be the other brand I give a spin. The new A5s are really nice and not terribly heavy at 6lbs 11oz they operate nearly the exact same with the obvious hump in the gun. I believe they cycle a fraction of a second faster which isn't really a huge deal but it's something. I'm pretty partial to browning and have a number of humpbacks new and old which would be the only reason I'd lean that way. Since you're used to Franchi/Benelli you're probably better off with the M2.
Also if you're coming from a Supernova literally any gun is going to feel like a sportscar. I lean very heavily to pump guns and remember shooting my buddies nova after shooting my BPS all day and its the clunkiest giantest, heaviest feeling shotgun I've ever shot.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
That's where I'm at, I love.my supernova for deer and turkey but it's a brute for upland hunting hiking long miles it gets to be a pain. I'd rather spend a little bit of money on a solid long time investment. I've always done the gunsmithing for my family and of all the guns they use the benellis simply seem to last and need the least maintenance to keep kicking.
I also love how durable my supernova has been and I've hunted on zero degree shit and it's been flawless duck hunting in snow and rain and at this point I'll have trouble not going with Benelli unless something turns my head in the next few months.
My uncle has always shot a5s and I like them alot so they'll be in the decision once I get around to picking one since I've liked them alot and they don't have issues like the newer Remington's and Winchester's that I've had issues with.
My dad has a super black eagle that I've used to trap shoot a few times and it's like a Ferrari compared with my super nova and it's gotten to the point where I hunt so much upland stuff now and only will be doing more and more it's a needed change.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah feel everything you've said is correct. Give the maxus ii a shot too if you're up for exploring imo it shots better than the new a5.
I've never held onto any benellis I've owned other than my franchi but I've loved them all. I just cycle through new shotguns while keeping all my older ones.
The only notably bad shotguns I've shot are a few cheap Turkish off brands (including Charles Daily) and the versamax lemon. I worked in the industry for 4 years and got to shoot just about every make and model of shotgun. Benneli Browning Beretta (might check the a400 out too) own the shotgun market in quality and name and it isn't close
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I would like to find a place I can demo some stuff so I'll be looking about for a demo day. Sounds like you have a solid gig getting to tryout all the new stuff I envy that. My family grew up on Remington 1100's and 870s and the old family guns that still work are great but the newer versions and newer remington guns are a big dropoff from the old 1100s to me theyre just too damn reliable and solid built.
Greentop just built a big display for their benelli franchi and stoeger display and having seen it in person its impressive and makes the wait even worse.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah it was a good run I worked for Cablea's corporate office for a bit focusing on firearms software - got to demo a lot of new releases when the companies came into town as well as working with hundreds of like minded people that had access to heavily discounted guns. Then moved to working for FN which is under the Browning Umbrella got to test a few guns there but mostly handguns putting hundreds of rounds through a 509 and getting paid was fun. I'm completely out of the firearms industry now but it was a fun run.
I also have an old 1100 - the gun I learned to shoot on and Wingmaster. Old Remington was awesome.
Fun fact the guy that ran Remington into the ground and sold them to Freedom Group - Same guy that ran Cabela's into the ground and sold them to Bass Pro.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
That sounds like an awesome gig really with awesome benefits. If I had a job that got me heavy or any discounts on guns I'd be John wick on steroids. My wife keeps me in the fishing section best she can when we go browsing knowing how bad I am at being a sucker for a new gun.
Funny you mention the wingmaster 1100 I just pulled out my old granddad's heirloom 1100 wingmaster to use to target shoot. Sadly it's a left handed and has chokeless barrels and not the patterns I use often so it doesn't see much use aside from the range but I love that gun.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Not at all what you're after, but I have been enjoying the hell out of a subframe 28 gauge O/U for upland/small game. They're light and have just been fun to shoot.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Im giving over unders a look but the price tag associated with most o/u's has kept me away mostly. I shot a browning once and loved it but it was one of their high dollar models unfortunately. I work right by greentop so I'm in there a few times a week perusing their used section in case a nice catch shows up and they have some decent over unders in there but nothing in my budget ATM
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Currently have two of the new production A5s one for upland/waterfowl and one for turkey/deer. They are phenomenal and the hump helps me sight align a lot quicker. That being said they like hotter shells so clays and doves get a higher DRAM shell and anything over 3" will be fine
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
What about 2-3/4 stuff I primarily will be shooting 2-3/4 out of this gun and rarely bigger for ducks but even for deer I shoot 2-3/4 rounds. I have a franchi that only likes heavier rounds so I've dealt with that and would prefer to avoid that issue
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Got out this Saturday on opening day of rifle season with two buddies and we each filled our Pronghorn tag! Talk about an awesome day. (I'd love to add a couple of pics if anyone could point me towards a tutorial on here)
Also bought a 20 gauge over-under with a short barrel and I'm gonna get to try it out chasing grouse around a bunch the next couple of weeks. Hopefully grabbing a sage grouse or two next couple of weeks, then chasing Blues around until pheasant opens in Nov.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
On desktop browser you'll have some copy or share links and the direct image link is the one you want.
In the comment posting area there is a insert image button click and paste the direct image link in the blank and then click insert and it should pop up in the preview if you do it correctly
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
What area of the state are you hunting? We had a great hunt last year in Area 27 in the TBNG. We usually make that trip every other year, however the drawing odds for good public land are making it logistically impossible to get enough points to draw. I've thought about going with an outfitter, but the price is too high for our group and we prefer to hunt on our own. We used to know several landowners that hooked us up a bit, but the outfitters have booked most everything up the last few years. Beautiful country and can't wait to get back, even without a tag.
Post some pics!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
We were hunting Area 106 north of Sweetwater Station. We all live in Lander so easy trip for us. Antelope numbers were down state-wide, really hard to draw any tags from out of state. And paying for an outfitter for antelope would be, a little frustrating, unless you were trying really hard for a trophy.
Here's a couple of photos of antelope hunting and a canyon we walked for grouse & chukar:
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
We got into some ruffed and blue grouse up on top of this canyon, that was fun, but tight shooting in the lodgepoles. Too early in the season for the chukars, they were skittish and blew out really fast. They are abundant in this canyon, but don't really group up until we get some snow in the area to keep them on the South facing slopes. Sure is a gorgeous hike though, and saw some nice muley's on the opposite slope, on private land.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
They are really cool birds, smart and fast and fun to shoot. Chukar and Pheasant are my favorite upland birds because hunting them is such a chess match. It's constantly challenging and really rewarding. Their meat is so tender too, great eating.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'm jealous I wish we had a more natural bird population to hunt in Virginia like that. I love mule deer as well but never had the chance to hunt them I want to but it's daunting to get into it without any real experience big game hunting out west.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
We are fairly marginal for chukar and pheasant (my favorites) here in western WY, but there are lots grouse in the area. The upland birds really are a great thing to have around, it is definitely my favorite type of hunting.
I feel you on it being daunting. I don't know much about hunting ungulates and have been learning from friends in my 30's. Antelope and deer finally feel manageable, though finding big deer on public land is still challenging near me. But elk is just so intimidating, bigger and harder to hunt in every way. I'm also an obsessed rock climber, and taking a whole season away from that to learn about elk is just so painful for me, so I haven't put the time in yet.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
What kinds of grouse do you guys have there? I've only ever hunted sharptails out west but would love to go after the ruffed ones on the north east if I ever figure them out. We used to hunt bobwhite quail but they're thinned out badly and not really huntable anymore which sucks but is what it is unfortunately. I'm gonna have to branch out and start duck hunting to scratch the bird itch it seems
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I agree. I just wish I had a good place to go. Grew up hunting doves but disrespectful and unsafe "hunters" caused all the farmers who gave us permission to change their tune.
Also, in response to Nator, there's still some good grouse hunting right here in Virginia. Most people I know don't shoot them like they used to due to population decline (due to forest mismanagement, but that's a whole different conversation), but several folks with dogs still chase them to work their dogs, etc. And a few shoot a few now and then. If you ever want to go and give your dog some work, let me know how to get in touch with you outside of TKP and I'll send some spots. Hell I might even tag along.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah do e hunting has had it's issues with stupid people and the one good spot I had we lost for that reason. Issue with dove hunting is usually beer is a big part so yeah.
Man I would definitely be interested in the grouse stuff depending where it is. Honestly I'd carry a gun solely to let the dog know we're hunting but I wouldn't shoot if populations are down. I do it with our local quail covey's, the dogs give me ugly looks when I don't shoot but they enjoy the work still. Do you have a Instagram account?
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I usually dove hunt but this year all my places were still in soy beans. Also my pup hasn't gotten a full on hunt yet so I'm kind of holding this fall for upland stuff in a week. Dove hunting will be a big thing next fall once he has developed his pointing and working instinct. Also soybean fields suck hoping we get some corn next year or I'll plant some sunflower strips and hope for the best
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Lots of Blue/Dusky grouse, more and more ruffed it seems, and sage grouse as well. I don't know how to hunt grouse real well, I just kindof wander ridgelines and cliffs for blues, and go down to the forest/stream boundaries for ruffed.
The sage grouse are fairly easy to hunt, just walk the water out on the plains, but their population is down a lot due to habitat fragmentation, so I usually only go once a year for them. Sage grouse also has some pretty strange meat, really dark for a non-migratory bird. I usually brine it and then treat it like its antelope (cook it rare and usually with a sauce or lots of spice), but lots of folks don't like it.
What's the range on Sharptail's? I would love to go south sometime and hunt some quail or other upland birds, but I don't have my own dog, and my obsession with climbing usually dominates any trips I schedule.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Dunno if Ive ever seen a blue or dusky grouse I'll need to Google em and see.
I've heard the drought has had a big hit on the upper Midwest this year, I'm looking at alot thinner cover this year where we usually hunt than normal which will yield interesting results.
I'm not sure on the range of the sharptails outside where I hunt in North Dakota I assume they're on the northern edge there. I can't remember the last one we got as usually we're so honed in on pheasant when they flush we pass mostly due to the fact they look and are colored just like a hen pheasant. If their meat is anything like the darker thigh and leg meat of pheasants I have a killer crock pot recipe to use that makes gamey though dark meat from birds delicate and delicious. It goes great over rice or mashed potatoes and works so well with pheasant thighs and legs. When I clean a pheasant I always take breasts and if intact thighs and legs for crock pot and jerky meat.
Blue/Dusky are the very nearly the same species, they have been lumped together or divided into sub-species, I can never remember. Despite our drought (not nearly as bad as in many other areas) I have seen a ton of them this year.
I will definitely check out this recipe and report back, cause I have not had good luck with the legs and thighs. Thanks for the heads up!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Oh most def! That canyon is actually only like 10 min from my home, central/western WY sure is gorgeous. I'd say about half of why I hunt is to go hike new beautiful places.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Man I miss hunting stuff like this in Colorado and Wyoming even the openness of Nebraska. Spot and stalk hunting gave me hope. Now I still hunt in a swamp and I'm not even confident I could see deer if they walked 10 yards from me. I've felt very awful at deer hunting the past 2 years because I have no idea how to find deer in pine swamps.
Here's a screen grab from me holding my phone above my head trying to find the road last year.
and same video at chest height looking forward at a slight down angle:
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Honestly I'd really rather not know the answer to your question. I know they're there but there's 0 chance of avoiding them through the brush considering I can't see the ground 90% of the time.
There are certainly some open areas to hunt but they're hundreds of acres of planted pines in dead flat terrain and that seems even more useless to hunt than in here.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
So deer hunting and I have a love hate relationship. I struggle to identify the best spots unless I can find food sources and water. I gave up on a property that was all pine plantation that looked like your videos as I couldn't figure it out to save my life.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah water doesn't work cause that's all 3-6" of water but the reason I'm so far back in that shit is eventually those pines get to a grove of oaks. Pretty much the only food in FMNF is acorn, pine cone, and gooseberry.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Acorns are the key here in VA for bow season and if you can find those it can be a big deal but even when I've found oak groves I've had little success it's all about location. Whitetails are just a pain to me and with dog hunting so prevalent here your limited to bow season to learn to pattern deer before they go awol
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Got a late invite and now I'll be taking my dog through his and my first NAVDHA test this weekend. First time allowing someone not myself to judge and hunt over a dog I've trained so this will be interesting fingers crossed he does well as we prep for pheasant season in a few weeks.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
That's awesome good luck. One regret I have with my current dog is not getting him in waterfowl trials now he just sits on the couch and picks up a couple marsh hens ever year.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
My guy kicked ass, finished with a 107 out of possible 112 points for a Prize 2 in his NAVDHA NA. One more point would have been a Prize 1 and most likely he could've snagged a perfect score but the first few minutes of his search test he was a bit high wired and when the first shot was fired he went looking for the gunner instead of staying on the search. After that he was literally flawless the rest of his search he found and pointed 4 birds and didnt flush any of them(which was my biggest worry). Tracking was the one thing I hadnt properly trained him for and I was anxious to see him do that but he got on the track and pulled away from me before I was planning on letting him go but he was on the track and hit it hard lost it once circled back and followed and pointed the pheasant perfectly. Swimming was a breeze and hes in perfect health so the judges were really impressed.
For anyone who does bird hunting and trains dogs look at your local NAVDHA chapters for training days and other stuff those guys are super helpful.
Next test up for him is the Utility Test which is brutal and covers both upland and waterfowl hunting. We have a few years to work on it before I will give it a go with him as I dont waterfowl hunt alot so I'll have to start doing that again if we go that route. I got to watch one of my dogs cousins run her UT test and score a prize one which is really rare and it was cool to see how well trained they can be and still have so much personality.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Just returned from 10 days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in MT. Closest we got to an elk was watching tan rumps hoofing it over the ridge into the next canyon. Still an epic trip of a lifetime, though. Scenery was amazing, sat and watched a grizzly bear do grizzly bear things at about 200 yards, and caught my very first cutthroat trout. I'm fired up to get out there again, just as soon as my butt forgets what 10 straight hours on horseback feels like.
I took a 10 day pack trip there back in the summer of '99 with my dad. A few of the trails were still impassible with snow in early July. Unbelievable place and I'd love to go back, especially to hunt. We caught a lot of cuthroat in the Sun and Flathead rivers as we made our way through. Awesome experience for me. Glad you guys had fun and stayed safe.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Who's ready for the archery opener this weekend? I've been shooting my recurve a lot while also trying to get a longbow setup for a friend of mine. I've messed with arrow spines, lengths, and point weights until I'm blue in the face. Got mine shooting pretty good if I can shake the rust off my form, and hope to get an opportunity Saturday.
I'd hoped to have an opportunity to get after some early bear this week, but I had a breakthrough COVID case last week that's buried me in work and kept me at home. I felt like crap for a few days but feeling good now, just gotta dig out from under the pile.
Good luck to everyone out there and stay safe.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I had a trip to visit friends get pushed from Labor Day weekend to this one so I'll miss the opener. I do plan on getting out there the following weekend and checking out a couple spots I've e-scouted. I would love to get one within range but am mostly just looking forward to being in the woods again.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Ah, fellow recurve shooter. Not many of us out there.
I'm really excited for Saturday. Have a few good spots picked out, I've been shooting and confident out to 25 yards, and built some new arrows. I haven't done anything but work since May, so looking forward to cashing in my brownie points for the next three months.
Good luck and stay safe!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Honestly didn't even realize it was that time of year till I saw that. The weather feels right but it's weird that it's already here to me. I'd be going but I'll be busy packing for my trip to the Dakota's the following week. Best of luck and stay safe!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Packed my bow and climber up for the one afternoon of bow season I generally hunt here. This afternoon looks rough with west wind 0-1mph. gonna try the corner of a little branch that runs through and see what happens.
Edit: just ended up being a quiet afternoon in the woods.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Stands are all checked, bow is dialed in and the cool weather is here. With meat prices being high, I am excited to fill the freezer and also donate 1 or 2 this year. With the ammo shortages, I am really glad I bought a bunch of boxes at the end of last season when I found some online. 20g Sabot Slugs were incredibly hard to find.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Where are you at? I'm sure a lot of TKPers would be willing to help, getting into hunting can be daunting without someone to show you the ropes, depending on your area there might be a conservation organization that has a first time hunter program - I've run a few for waterfowl and upland bird hunting, I imagine there's something similar for big game.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Agreed.
1. Where are you located?
2. Do you have access to private land (friends, family, work connections, etc)? This isn't a deal breaker but it makes getting into hunting easier. There are a lot of public lands but they get crowded and certain times, outright dangerous in gun season.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Richmond City or a county around Richmond? This can make a big difference in regulations.
1. Go https://dwr.virginia.gov/ and read on white tail deer, look at what WMAs (wildlife management areas) are near you if you have to go to public land.
2. Start learning about deer on other websites. Learning their behavior, what they eat at different times of the year, how bucks and does act differently (bed in different locations, use different trails, the rut), and get as much information as you can. This will help when you go with someone so you can ask good questions or understand the things they are talking about.
3. Don't watch hunting shows on TV and think that is anything like hunting around here. There are good YT channels of amateurs recording their hunts and talking that are much more useful. (Catman Outdoors, GrowingDeer.TV)
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Maybe a better question I have is: does this apply to hunting from a tree stand/blind the same way it does as from the ground? It might not be the "right way" but from the hunters at my work it seemed like a lot of them set up a bunch of trail cams around their property to try and see which deer were on their property and try and learn their movement, then they'd set up a stand in that general area and bait them.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
In Virginia that describes it pretty well. Using cameras to hone in on deer in the area is a fun way to learn a property but can be costly. With experience you'll learn how to read the ground and figure things out easier without cameras.
Baiting however is something that's polarizing in hunting, personally I'm against it in most cases and I don't enjoy seeing it in deer hunting. It is legal in some places I believe but now where I tend to hunt in northern VA. I'd advise reading and talking to as many people as you can.
One good source to learn is find a few local hunt clubs and talk to them and see if they wouldn't mind you tagging along on a few hunts to see if it's for you before going gungho into it.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
The DWR site will not translate to skill I'm hunting directly but it has general information about deer. The skill in finding where to set up takes time, experience, and understanding the land and surrounding area you will be hunting.
Do you have access to any private land that you can hunt? This would be the first thing because private and public land are going to be treated a little differently in your approaches.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
That is okay. There are public options available. Always keep an eye and ear out for that opportunity to get hunting rights. Even in the city limits or chesterfield where there is Urban Archery, a small piece of land behind a neighborhood could be a honey hole. vahuntingforum.com has some more information as well and some people that hunt only urban areas that can help there too.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
A side benefit for the hunter safety course besides a requirement for a hunting license is it can be used to get your CWP (at least it used to be able to)
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Headed out to a spot where I regrettably passed up a really nice 6 point opening day of muzzleloader last year. National forest spot that doesn't get hunted too hard. Hope to have some luck but if nothing else going to hang a couple cameras and leave them until February.
Good luck and safe hunting to everyone headed out for the Virginia bow opener this morning.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Start with hunter safety classes. The IBEP is about bow hunting but covers deer anatomy stand safety and blood trailing among other things. Gun safety is also good to take. Virginia has an apprentice hunting program.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Finally got out with the bow this past Saturday. Only had a couple hours to hunt as I was meeting someone around lunch time to buy some muzzleloader primers and it's an hour drive to the WMA each direction for me. Had a small doe come in quick right before I was about to climb down. Drew back, noticed my bow was touching the rail on my climber, tried to adjust and rushed the shot for a clean miss my first time letting an arrow fly at a deer with the bow. Pretty bummed about about it because it was a close shot but a clean miss is better than a dirty hit. Oh well I'll get another chance this season to put some venison in the freezer I'm sure.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Duck season isn't here yet but I am looking for Mallard wings. I use the blue / purple feathers for my earring business.
If anyone shoots a Mallard this year and feels like helping a fellow Hokie out with an interesting trade, I'll take the whole wings in pairs for fly tying. They don't need to be treated or anything, I'm going to pull out the feathers I need. In exchange, I'll send you a pair of "Flies" for your significant other (or you) from that same bird, which is a $40 value. I'll cover shipping on both ends.
You can reach me at knotthereelworld (at) gmail dot com.
Edited per dumb federal laws.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Thank you, I edited it. The laws are dumb as fuck, not to mention confusing. I can walk into a craft store and buy as many duck and goose feathers as I'd like and those stores sell them to be used in arts and crafts and jewelry. Doesn't get any more ornamental than a dyed blue and green goose feather for a mardi gras prop.
The Migratory Bird Act of 1918 is an important law that was meant to help protect birds, which is great. But you can obviously still shoot and kill them. And people can own cats, which kill a few billion birds per year in the U.S. What a joke. I'll stop my rant there before getting too political and calling our lawmakers fucking morons.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
So ND game and fish were on a crack down this year and I didnt bring back any pelts from the pheasants this trip since they had checkpoints all over for the out of state pheasant hunters. Hell I had to hide the one whitetail shed I found in fear theyd write me up for it though it was weathered and old as dirt. In order to prove the bird in possession they dont do a tag system they require you to leave a wing on the breast all attached and if you take a leg its gotta be clipped so a spur is present. I could shoot 3 per day for the 14 day license I paid for which would net me 42 pheasants but legally in possession at once I'm only allowed to carry 12 per person with a license. And even more screwed they made it so game processors cant process the game into jerky or anything else due to the new laws they could get in trouble for doing so. They had checkpoints on all the major roads out of the state and luckily we were fully legal in how we did it or we wouldve been in serious trouble. I'll hold onto some of the better birds from PA later this year for ya theyre bit more mature and prettier as well.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
No worries man, it sounds like it might be a lot of trouble, so if you don't feel like it, I don't blame you. I've got like 6 pheasant skins laying around the the rump is what I go through the most. I gotta find a way to buy just that!
Edit: What do you know, a quick google search and I can get the rump for $7!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Finally back from North Dakota. Overwhelming success on the plains this year and even with a 9 month pup. He didnt have much interest the first day after the long drive and opted to chasing tumbleweeds and jack rabbits but settled in as the week went and by day 6 was really showing progress and understanding. He was timid to fetch kicking birds at the beginning but after shadowing my dads older dog all week and seeing him fetch time and time again he got over that and now parades birds with a cocky strut thats fun to watch.
Long story short they had one of the top 3 worst droughts in history where we hunt and the cover was thin and in some places gone as it was dry enough the farmers planted in bottoms where usually there was cover. The drought also knocked the crap out of the bird population so hunting was alot tougher than normal where we usually would hunt and hour or 2 to limit out we were hunting 5-6 hours a day and walking well over 12 miles a day to get 3-4 birds a day. We still hit our trip limit since ND has some of the dumbest regs in the game where you can shoot 3 a day for two weeks but can only have 12 max in possession and if caught you get the ban hammer.
Didnt see many hunters this year and even saw that they were refunding deer tags in fear of how hard the deer population had been hit. Limited people meant we actually hunted some PLOTS land and since we were later than usual hunted some other public land we had always looked at but never had the chance.
Got up to Teddy roosevelt and toured it for the day on a bad weather day. If you're ever in the area it is well worth the entry fee. Saw one massive bull elk walk a ridge and into a valley to feed and that was all I needed to see to be worth it. Scenery is killer and the wildlife is everywhere. Just watch out for the cactus.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Looks like a great trip man! Glad your pup is coming around. I didn't know ND started their pheasant season so early, here in WY we don't open until Nov. 1.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Always love going out there and yeah its earlier than most due to the weather being so wacky. We were actually a week later than opening weekend but it actually wasnt that bad. ND has a law where first week of hunting seasons only ND residents can hunt public land so alot of the out of state guys dont usually show up till the second week but due to low numbers bird wise alot of people didnt show up this year. Still saw the typical big groups at the local hunting lodges but no where near the number of regular hunters.
My pup is really coming around his search and point are typical griff stuff, closer search range(30-40 yards max) and his pointing has been solid. I'm used to GWP's and GSP's who as pups are more flushers than pointers and require alot of correction but hes been rock solid and wont move even after a flush and to get him to release sometimes I really have to urge the alright command to get him off the point. NEver had that happen before so I"m learning some new stuff trying to train post shot stuff which I think I can do well but we will see.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Legit question and he's a beautiful dog. Would these dogs be better hunters and more effective if they didn't have the hair hanging in front of their eyes? I feel like it would drive me nuts having to look through that 24/7.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I had that debate until I owned one and now I see why. The hair when damp sticks together and is no longer in their eyes like when his coat is dry. That coat is unreal in the way it reduces when wet he looks like a big ol new york city subway rat if wet. So when I hunt him if its dry and hes not getting his face wet I carry water for him to wet his nose to help him smell and ill splash his bangs to get them to wet and tuck out the way. They also help shied his eyes in thicker cover too. The breeder I got him from says to never trim the hair unless its really really bad his snout hair can work its way there so I trim that sometimes. I do wonder if its why maybe he doesnt see the birds when they fall sometimes but his nose makes up for that. Theyre excellent waterfowling dogs with the extra coat in winter, I dont do enough of that but he may make me have to pick up that hobby again. That coat makes him warm in everything we hunted in the teens with steady 30 mph wind out of the north and he was jumping in the frozen lake to cool off. Looked goofy as he got out the hair and water refroze.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Finally getting around to picking up a Benelli M2 and hung up on barrel length. I've been shooting a 26 inch on my nova and it handles well but I kind of want to jump to a 28" for all the wingshooting I do I feel a longer smoother gun would help. Anyone have any experience with this stuff? If I had a 28 inch barrel gun I'd go shoot it but all my stuff is 26".
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'm weird in barrel lengths too. For waterfowling I think there is a distinct disadvantage of not having a 28" barrel its a much more natural swing. For upland I can get a 26" barrel up faster and I tend to just shave as much weight as possible for long walk days.
In short, I use both. If I had to just have 1 for all wingshooting I'd shoot a 28" because its what most of my shotguns are so I'm most comfortable with that the only cons to that 2 extra inches is weight and maneuverability in thick brush. The 2in difference isn't something to get too hung up about, you'll get used to the longer barrel pretty quickly. Its all personal choice, I've taken 30" trap guns and 18" bullpups out upland hunting....I wouldn't recommend either but 26-28 isn't a huge deal.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Thanks man for the advice. I've always hunted 26 for everything from deer to grouse but I feel a little longer gun would help as I'm a tall lanky dude. I'm going to see if greentop would let me shoot one before I doubt it but maybe they will. If not I'll try swinging and pulling up both and see if theres a difference. I'm so used to shooting a bulky nova that I feel like the longer barrel on an M2 would feel more natural to me but thats really it. I'd love to start waterfowling more if I can figure it out better so I dont want to go any shorter.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Finally snagged me an M2 in 12 GA with a 28 inch barrel, cant wait to get it out and hunt tomorrow it shoots so smooth it aint funny. Anyone else getting out for general firearms tomorrow morning? So far its been really quiet in the woods and I havent been seeing much at all aside from some scrapes and rubs but no real activity.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Seeing tons of does but no bucks really seeking or chasing yet. I figured I'd see some of that rut activity by now. Have seen many rubs but not a lot of scrape action where I hunt, at least not yet.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I have yet to see any bucks even the little guys are laying low. Hoping this front today might kick them into gear and hopefully we didnt miss the rut.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I've been so busy I didn't even know what season tomorrow was going to be. Finally figured everything out. Managed to sneak out and shoot my 6.5x55 yesterday. Have to dig out all of my crap before tomorrow morning. Hunting a farm I've never hunted. And probably going to a spot I've only been once in my life. That one time included getting a 4 wheeler stuck. So, it could be an interesting morning.
I'm also pondering a ridge, for later in the weekend and season, that has some heavy bear traffic. I'll have to wait until later in the month for the bear. But, it'll be a nice spot to take my .45-70. All short range shots. If the right range were to show itself there, I'll be trying with a .44 pistol.
I might be one of those people who likes a challenge...
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Since I moved further from my hunting area I've contemplated trying more public land around me but didnt go scout enough this year to try it maybe next year if gas stays this high I will have to find more local spots.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'm not much on bear hunting but sounds fun. I have got a nice S&W 45 six shooter I want to carry hunting but I cant find a decent holster for less than $100 min so I carry a 9 typically. The wife always asks why I need the six shooter if I dont hunt with it but I always explain its there to scare shit not hit shit.
Wish I could rifle hunt in Essex and King and Queen where I hunt but all the dogs make rifle hunting a bad time. Maybe I'll use my 556 I built with holo sights and a 15 round clip this year I'm bound to land a few hits.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
That doesn't sound fun. But a different kind of pain than what I experience. I never see hunters but I also rarely see bucks. Pretty easy to see a few does each time out but I've found no consistency to areas bucks use. Random rubs all over. No scrapes. Jump one or two bucks a season in different spots every year. The mountains have really low deer densities thanks to the tree hugging way of managing the national forest, so if constant action and lots of deer is your thing, you'd probably not enjoy it any more than hearing the neighbors dogs run. But it's all I have so it is what it is...
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Saw a medium sized bear this morning on national forest. Nothing else so far. Cold and windy, about to punt and go pregame for the 330 cellar dweller showdown...
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Nothing beats driving hour and a half at 3:30 to get in the woods early to have a trespasser walk up on you right as the only deer I've seen the last two weeks in the woods. The guy didn't even apologize and it took all I had to not blow a fuse. I love deer hunting but it's crap like this that makes me debate going anymore. The buck was a scrub but meat and I was waiting for him to step out of the laurel for a shot and the guy literally was strolling right under me at 9 o clock and spooked him before I could get a shot.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I've almost always found trespassers in pairs. So, I've been hesitant to engage. I will say they've almost always been the worst hunters imaginable. Oblivious to their surroundings, loud, toss trash everywhere, and shoot anything that moves, regardless of season.
I'm not the type that goes off on people. But I've been tempted many times in situations you describe. I have found solace in things like taking out all their tree stand steps and putting them up on the stand and relocating reflectors. . It's the little things that make life fun.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I meant to respond to this. Gosh it chaps my ass when people do that. I just was raised on the ethical do no wrong style and it kills me to hear the stories let alone when it happen to me.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
So I grew up a feverish hunter. Tagged out every year as a kid on amazing land under the youth hunter license in VA. My property backs up to bow only property under the Army Core land here in GA. We have many piss poor hunters that tear up our fences and sometimes let our livestock get out. (Many are also amazing and I appreciate and help them out). I've marked our property with no trespass every 30 yards. I've also let folks know hot spots based off of me being there if they seem like quality folks. They take care and watch out for my space. Question is, is there a better way to make my property known it is off limits? I've never called DNR. I generally find if I can talk to folks they understand but I have a few that won't listen. Stinks because I grew up hunting and dont want to ruin a good space for ethical hunters.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Sorry for a long post but not used to public hunting so close. On the plus I've popped a few coyotes messing in my fields. .223 did it's job along with the rabbit squall.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Finally saw deer this morning so they do exist. The only problem is they waited until I took my first step down in my climber to come out, needless to say they all lived.
Also SC allowing dog drives on public land is such a joke. I grew up driving dogs, it has absolutely 0 place on public land. The unit I was hunting isn't open for dogs but the one next to it was this morning, one dog ran under my stand. I came out of the woods and these fucking idiots have chairs out in the middle of the road, a public dirt road, which is certainly not legal. Thank God they never shot as my truck would have almost certainly caught some lead.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Don't come hunt in eastern VA it's nothing but road hunters here. Dodged em all day driving around as always. Been seeing so few deer I'm taking my pup out for some squirrel hunting instead
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Just blatant disregard for anyone else using the land. Went out again this morning and a guy was about to turn his dogs loose at 5am. I asked what he was doing since the unit wasn't open for drives and it was like an hour till legal light anyway. "Oh I lost a dog yesterday so I think I'm gonna use these to find that one" -???????
Last year my bud found one with a collar on super beat down but friendly as all, called the number n the collar guy said "oh leave him out there I don't want him"-??????
Rough morning again this morning. The outer swamp is really dry I think everything is just packed into the middle when it is pretty much physically impossible to get to. I'm done with public land this year.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Killed a 5 point on national forest on 11/18/21. About a 900 yard drag with 500 vertical feet back up to the truck. I decided to quarter and pack him out. Took two trips but I don't think I'll ever drag another one very far.
Looking forward to hopefully tagging something a bit bigger in December.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
thats awesome man! congrats! these mountain deer can be tough as heck to find. my buddy just killed one in a similar scenario and packed it out as well
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Hey all, just saw this for the first time, but happy to chime in with the Colorado big game hunting report:
It sucked like a UVA frosh on a Zima.
If, in February, you are reading the yearly article in Field and Stream where they talk about how Colorado has unlimited over-the-counter bull elk tags available for a couple bajillion acres of public land and you think to yourself "man, that could be fun", calmly tear out the page, put it in your woodchipper and start planning a trip to Idaho or Montana.
The majority of the open bull elk tag seasons are seeing success rates of less than 20%, with many in the single digits. The whole thing is a racket in the best of times, but since COVID kicked off, Colorado has seen successive years of record breaking hunter participation and applications. That means that a place WAYYYY out in the high country that is NOT easy to get to where I usually go and get a cow elk to fill up the freezer and have some quiet time had TWELVE damn trucks parked nearby two hours before sunrise on opening morning.
If you don't have the scratch to pay for private land access and you don't have enough preference points to win one of the mythical high success rate hunts just skip Colorado all together. This isn't me being a bitter native mad at all the tourists telling people to go back home, this is me telling you I live less than two miles from open space land called "Elk Meadow" and I am deciding between New Mexico and Wyoming for next year.
It's that freaking bad out here, and not just for elk. I couldn't find a doe antelope tag for areas that are a 6 hour drive from Denver. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, speedgoat meat's gaminess is only matched by its toughness, and the old joke is that you make it into jerky to soften it up. Typically those hunts have hundreds of unclaimed licenses the state literally can't give away, but this year they were drawn out in record time.
This year I have chatted with guys from WI, MI, MO, TN and even two lunatics who drove all the way out here from freaking GA. (Side note: Muddin' tires are NOT snow tires.) None of them saw a single damn elk all year. I feel bad given the cost and time off it must have taken for those guys to get out here only to see a parade of blaze orange everywhere you are hoping to see an animal. If you are feeling spicy and want to come out west, head elsewhere and let me know how it goes.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I hear you on the Elk stuff. I trip out to ND from VA every year to bird hunt and this year we saw some stupid numbers of folks trying it out. Due to the drought being atrocious and bird numbers being really really low most of them we met at bars and such all said they werent coming back after how poor the hunting was this year. We still tagged out but lots of these guys had no idea what they were doing or simply thought using the hunt wise app and youtube could net them in success.
On the Elk my best suggestion is find some bars where the cattle farmers drink and get some drinks for em and talk with them. They HATE and I ;mean hate elk and if you play your cards right theyll offer you access to their land to hunt the elk and those guys will even point ya in the right direction and help pack em out. I have two standing offers on in ND and one in SD for places to elk hunt if I can ever win a tag. SD is contemplating getting in on the nuttiness around Elk and opening it up to non residents and ND its tough to draw a tag as well. I have no idea how to truly elk hunt but I figure with a good rancher or two to help I oculd figure it out in due time but we have to win a tag first.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
It's been tough to find ranchers who give away hunting rights on their land of late. Tough to blame them, honestly. Some of these outfitters are giving $8K for land access. If our land had elk you bet your rump roast my family would do the same.
And I am right there with you on ditch parrots this year. Eastern CO is dicey at the best of times, but with the drought and the hunting pressure it's dismal. Lotta youtube warriors with dogs who've never been in the field wandering around and wondering where their limit of birds is.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Well if you find one do everything to keep em happy and they usually will return the favor. We lease most of all our land to deer hunters here in VA so I get the sentiment gotta pay the taxes and the bills and if someone is willing to pay that kind of money I get it.
We hunted a public land piece this year and saw some what I would assume are gen x whatever tik tok shit is and they had a few camera guys with em and they didnt get a single bird up but took ages shooting different shots in the field. Hope it was a cool insta reel or whatever it was but saw some odd shit this year in the field. Talked to some folks that were genuinely pissed the birds were having a down year which I dont get its stuff you cant control. Mother nature always bats last folks.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Hey, don't hate on speedgoat! I grind most of mine for burger and at 15% bacon it gets rave reviews! And the backstraps and tenderloins are as good as what you get off an elk or deer, no gaminess at all. I've heard horror stories about pronghorn meat...but I've had pretty good luck for the most part.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
To be faiirrrrrr, I have had some decent antelope meat from NM, but most of the speedgoat from NW Colorado is very sage-y, and I think that doesn't help. Maybe I should just lean into the sage taste and make my own Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage.
My uncle swears that his beer and maple syrup marinade is the secret to tasty antelope meat. It is...not.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Been after rabbits and squirrels the last few weekends and finally found a squirrel foolish enough to step out in front of me and my puppy. I have to get better at my technique but I'm slowly figuring it out. Rabbits are difficult just one man and his dog but we've come really close the last few trips and we are very close to getting some rabbits I think. Took the gun out and shot a pile of trap at Old Forge sporting clays, definitely a good place to practice and reasonably priced. I swear the M2 shoots as lightly as my old 20 gauge over under its nuts.
Anyone got any good recpies for squirrel otherwise I'll probably just fry it up cant go wrong there.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
is anyone in here a saddle hunter? my buddies and i just opened up a tree stand company called Barren Ridge Treestands and we developed a climbing platform for saddle hunting. our stand collapses so it fits in most backpacks and weighs under 4lbs.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Just looked up the video on that. That's a pretty great idea the entire reason I didn't ever get into saddle hunting was the idea of messing with sticks in the dark seemed clunky and time consuming compared to my climber. This looks like a great idea to bridge the gap.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
yes sir! we wanted to offer an easy to pack climber for those who hunt larger tracts and public ground who have to hike in and for people like us who love saddle hunting and climbers.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah really I'd love to see some full gear pics of people that are hiking in for climbers or saddle. I'm always looking for ways to shed weight/bulk so I can haul in further.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
thanks! were really excited to be able to be working in the hunting world. its something were passionate about and put everything we have into it. we have 2 videos out; the first was shot from an iphone that was sent to the testing facility in Georgia where we had it tested for static load, repetition, and for adherance. we passed all three tests and the weight rating is for 300lbs. if you can find the second video its quality is substantially better, id post here but im kind of illiterate on how to do so lol
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'm definitely interested in this. How's your inventory? Also, what kind of safety factor do you think that 300 lbs has? I'm about 265 without all my gear. Might be a hair over 300 with pack, weapon, boots, and clothing. I know you probably can't say for sure, since the limit is 300 and for liability reasons it is what it is, but other than losing 25 lbs this off season, do you think this would work for me?
Good luck with the company. Awesome to see some Hokies innovating in this space. Never would have thought Virginia Tech would be inventing the future...of saddle hunting.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
as for inventory, we have several bronze and a few black powdercoated ones left, should be getting more black and green this week. the 300lb safety rating was achieved by holding 600lbs for two minutes. the welds on the stands go all the way around so they're extremely strong. i would think you would be good to go. if an order is placed before noon we ship that day via UPS.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Does anyone on here have leftover turkey feathers they would be willing to sell? Less of the fan / tail, though I am interested in those. I specifically need the body feathers. I realize turkey season is in a few months and I'll take them then too, but I need them now.
Willing to pay $$$.
Thank you!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Finally got up to PA to do some public land hunting this winter over the holidays. Turns out PA has a very robust public land system and releases a pile of pheasants on some of them every fall. Full disclosure it can get chaotic on the release days but if youre willing to work the non ideal cover or go on the off days around the release it can be just fine. We happened to be there right after a stocking and when we started out it was one other pair of people and when we left the parking lot was full and every field and piece of cover had someone hunting it and I was glad we tagged out and got out it was getting sketchy with people shooting all over and most of them shooting the birds on the ground. Most people we encountered didnt have dogs or had non bird dogs so we had plenty of luck with our two well seasoned pheasant hunting dogs. Got a couple roosters just letting others hunt in front and cleaning up as they left. HAd good luck the days after the stockings as the crowds subsided to nobody only catch was the bastard roosters all went into nasty woodslines with unholy amounts of briars. I destroyed my briar pants in the 5 days I hunted there. Glad I had a good vest for the dogs to keep them from getting to cut up. Overall the public land in PA is beautiful and very very well maintained and provided me with a few nice meals of fresh pheasant picatta on rice. Still have the legs to crock pot for lunches next week but a solid trip to bird hunt some nice scenery.
Really really pleased with how far my pup has come in his first season, started out he wouldnt leave my side now without a word he can follow and search and knows what cover to look for and is well on his way to being a damn fine dog considering whos trained him. I think I love watching it all click for a puppy the most when it comes to training anymore.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Hes figuring it all out and its been fun, usually I train retrieve and let the dog instinctively learn to point in the field but this time I went the other way focused on the pointing and trained it hard. Best decision I've made in a while but having people who are willing to help is huge the breeder I went with has been awesome in helping train and with everything in general. Actually got to hunt with his breeder and my pups mom while I was in PA and it was cool seeing him hunt alongside his mom I couldnt pick the two apart at times.
I usually donate my feathers to said guide but the few from PA that werent mangled, still working on training a soft mouth retrieve, I gave to a friend whos training his pup up for wrapping dummies. He has been asking for a while and I felt it couldnt hurt fly guy is next up for the next few birds we get. I'll be turkey hunting this spring so he will get some then unless turkeys magically disappear.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Will note that on the wings I usually clip them for training purposes to use for dogs but I may have a few extra lemme check my stash. I typically bag a turkey or two every year if luck strikes I'll borax the cape and let ya know!
Im guessing you want body hairs on the turkeys? I only keep fans and beards so if ya want body feathers I'll be more than happy to cape and borax one for ya
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I've got several fans that the dogs and cats have mangled. There's a few body feathers there from the rump areas as well as a bunch of tail feathers. Would these work? If so I can bag them up and mail them to you. I have access to a bunch of turkeys in the spring so I can cover you up once April rolls around.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
That would be fantastic. Those turkey rump feathers will definitely work. Happy to pay you for them and for shipping. What's your email? I can be reached easily from my website
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Just saw where Boone and Crockett banned the use of smart scopes and wireless trailcameras for trophies added to their ranks. Dunno how theyll enforce the camera one but this is an interesting step after Utah banned all trail camera use during hunting seasons now.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I saw that too. I think it's bullshit. It should be more nuanced than that. Where I hunt, even if I had a cell cam photo of a target buck (which by the way is just a good mountain 8 point for me, anything over 100" is getting an acute case of lead poisoning), it would take me 6 hours to get from my house to the spot where my camera is. That deer is long gone by then.
Sure, if you are caught killing an animal because you got a cell cam photo of it and went over there and shot it, that's not fair chase. But the blanket ban doesn't sit well with me. People shooting deer over bait or chased by dogs is supposed to be fair chase? Can of worms, I know, but both of those methods aren't fair chase compared to how it's done out here in the mountains on public.
That being said, they aren't illegal in Virginia, just can't qualify for the B+C book. I highly doubt I'll ever have to worry about that lol.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
As with everything its a select few who fuck it up for everyone else especially in the outdoors. Not surprised B&C did this they tend to be the upity crowd anyway. I agree on fair chase I'm all for modern tech to help bring more ethical kills into hunting if tech makes it easier to make cleaner kills I'm all for it. I dont mind B&C doing it as its something I'll never have to concern myself with hunting in VA anyway but it feels like a crappy move thanks to a few shitty people who network cameras to hunt deer. I know a few folks who do it so it does happen. It aint baiting but it isnt far off it to me.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
LOL, meanwhile in fishing, every serious pro/tournament angler has >$10k in electronics on their boat so they can run live stream videos underwater. In that light, I appreciate B&C's attempt to keep the 'hunt' in hunting, though as WildTurkey noted - it'll be very hard to get the wording just right, and even harder to enforce.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Missed the first two weekends of bow season due to having guests in town and a wedding to go to. I should be getting to the WMA and climbing a tree right now like I planned but work dumped a bunch of stuff in my lap at noon today vs earlier in the week when I was asking for it so now I'm dealing with that horseshit. Depending on how long it takes I probably won't make it out today and typically try to avoid public land on the weekends due to all the crowds so we'll see what happens. Not in a great mood about it.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Comments
Curious how everyone is feeling going into the fall, the ammo shortage is killing me and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be needing to hone in my rock throwing ability for bird this fall. If anyone has any good go to's for finding upland ammo I'm all ears or I'm in for a lot of dirty looks from my bird dogs when my hurled rocks miss this fall.
I switched to Bows this year, much more challenging than rifles and more importantly reusable ammo. Now whether or not I will actually get anything we shall see...
I picked up a crossbow this year. Hoping to get to put it to use. I've not been shooting as much as normal, just due to lack of reloading supplies. But, I really don't get to hunt much as I'd like. I'll probably do more days of dove and rabbit than I will deer.
What crossbow did you get? I've been thinking about getting one for a while and just curious what people use.
It's a Barnett TS380 with crank cocker. It was a prize from a drawing. So, I can't say I went out of my way to choose it over a host of others. That said, it looks pretty nice. There are some mods people have shown online to adjust the rub on the rails, and adding adjustable stops. I haven't done any of that yet.
Crank is a good choice especially with a high power crossbow. Decocking can break your bow if not done correctly.
I'm anxious for fall to arrive. I have 20 days off work in October November and December plus weekends. I've been building arrows and shooting my recurve a lot. Lots of map scouting and contemplating strategy based on prior years notes. Hoping for a good season.
Going fred bear this year? I assume your using fixed broadheads then?
I've never hunted with anything but recurves and longbows. Not really because of any need to stand out (apparently being "trad" is the thing now days), but that's just what my Dad taught me and it's what I've always enjoyed.
Yes, I use aluminum arrows with Zwickey broadheads. I doubt I'll ever change.
Got 2 full weeks off work to go out to the dakotas to bird hunt with my two bird dogs. Running my first NAVDHA test on my puppy then once were done with that off to north dakota for two full weeks of bird hunting as a reward. Been a long time since I had more than a week off at a time and its going be so nice to unhook from work and everything else and just hunt for two weeks. Might get in some deer hunting this fall but with a new pup in the fold I want to focus on giving him the opportunity to learn while hes young.
Anxious about cooler temps and hunting season. I'm going to try to do some bowhunting this year which I didn't get to do last season. Not seeing as many good bucks on camera as I have in years past, but there's a few out there and there's a ton of bears around that I'm going to try and thin out. This cooler weather and lower humidity coming at the end of the week, as well as football starting up really makes me miss the woods. Should start seeing velvet drop soon as well. Bring it on!
I am getting excited but need this heat to subside a little for it to really kick in. I haven't had time to do any prep for the season yet but I am feeling confident. We haven't had acorns the last 2 years so we should get some this year and the ag fields around me are corn and not beans so the deer haven't relocated all summer like last year. The bucks don't show up until September/October here because of the real high stem count in around me so they stay away until they have shed their velvet.
South Carolina Private land archery season is already over...rifle opens tomorrow our seasons are so ridiculous.
Yeah wow that's even more than here in NoVA. Early rifle opens here this Saturday, and the late Archery season ends on 4/24/22, so it's deer season for almost 8 months of the year now.
Update on Chronic Wasting Disease (Pasted from Virginia Tech- VA Cooperative Extension)
Now that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been confirmed in the New River Valley, and a newly established Disease Management Area (DMA 3) that includes Montgomery, Floyd, and Pulaski Counties has been established by the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), important information is now available on what is going to be required of hunters, including mandatory and voluntary testing of harvested deer and restrictions on the movement of carcasses or parts thereof out of the DMA. A series of public meetings has been scheduled specifically for the DMA 3 region (plus another one for people up in the Shenandoah Valley/Culpeper area where the existing DMA 2 recently was expanded) where details of what hunters can expect and will be required to do. The first of these meetings is coming up extremely fast (on Tuesday, August 24th) for Montgomery County hunters, but other sessions will follow for adjoining Floyd and Pulaski Counties (see full details at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/diseases/cwd/). At this time, mandatory testing of any deer harvested within the DMA 3 region will be limited to only the opening day of the firearms season (Nov. 13th), but voluntary testing is recommended for deer harvested on other days throughout the entire season. Details on testing and drop-off sites are available on the DWR website (https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/DMA3-CWD-Sampling-Stat... and https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/DMA3-voluntary-CWD-sit...). Also, recent research has raised significant questions about the role that cooking of venison plays in denaturing the causative prion responsible for CWD [not!] and health experts now warn against consuming any meat from untested deer. More info on this issue is to be provided during the public meetings.
There is a tremendous amount of new information provided on the DWR website (https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/diseases/cwd/) and I encourage all hunters to visit this library of info as you prepare for the fall season.
Not good. Creeping south.
Saw this a lot in Michigan. Sad to see it spread
If anyone shoots a deer and wants to donate the tail, I'll take it.
In the spring, I need turkey feathers.
Willing to buy them or trade for earrings for a significant other.
Any use for hog fur(hair?)? I'm more likely to shoot one of those this year after checking out my normal spots this afternoon
Still looking for some pheasant or wild bird capes? Just lemme know I'll be vacuum packing a few for myself as well this year and I dont mind packing a few up for ya
Yes, I go through a lot of the rump section (short bluish / green feathers) on the Ringneck pheasants! Frankly, I'll take any bird. Thanks dude
I'll do my best and hope my pup doesnt shred too much on em and at min I'll pull the rump feathers and if the pelts are decent I'll save em. I'll have em sometime late october will be a big batch.
Don't spend time pulling them. So much easier for me if they are on the pelt. If you can save the pelt, great. If not, no big deal!
Will do I'll freeze em with some baking powder or some scent killer formula before I bag em. Only issue is I cant find any damn ammo so I may have to try and catch the birds with my hands this year. Either that or I need to do some serious archery practice.
Thanks dude. I bet I could kill one with a fly rod!
More worried about the black bear in the area around the house.
I have so much black bear hair and it isn't used for a ton of flies. Actually hoping to sell some of it.
I'm now inside one week on the countdown to head west and chase elk in the Bob Marshall wilderness. Can't even sleep, I'm so excited. Cleared out every memory card I can get my hands on so I can fill them up with pictures, and if I'm lucky enough to get something, I could die happy.
So envious, I've developed a connection to someone who elk hunts out west and I'm prepping for a trip hopefully in the next two years once I get the right gear.
My son and I got 16 doves on Saturday. He cooked them on the grill two ways. First dove kabobs with prosciutto and figs. Then dove, jalapeños and cream cheese wrapped in bacon. Started with a Widow Jane primer. Hard to beat.
Wrapping them in bacon and cream cheese is the best. Didnt get to hunt as all the fields I hunt are still soy beans so no bueno.
I bought a new Franchi Affinity 3 20 guage for doves. Couldn't find any #8s so bought #7.5 but only had it in 7/8 ounce. Couldn't get it to cycle at the range, so I got #6 one ounce shells for the dove hunt which cycled just fine. I also cleaned and lubricated it before the hunt and when I tried the #7.5 7/8 ounce shells they still didn't cycle. Any body have any ideas how to get the lighter shells to cycle? Do I just need to put more shells through it?
Its an intertia gun it will certainly have a little bit of a break in - take it to the range and burn heavy shells also make sure you're leaning into it and you're probably still going to want 1oz loads min. I have the affinity 2 20ga...it's a top 3 favorite shotgun of my 20 or so.
Last suggestion would be to get in touch with Franchi the CS is pretty responsive. They might have a remedy or if your having a lot of trouble they'd likely warranty it.
Thanks.
Do you have any way to adjust the amount of gas that is diverted to cycling the action? I'm not familiar with the Affinity, but most modern semi autos have adjustments or different seals you can use to regulate the amount of gas that goes into working the action. This is assuming it's a gas operated gun and not inertia driven, which if it is none of the above matters.
The affinity is the M2 'clone' its an inertia gun
Affinity is owned by Benelli and uses the same inertia/recoil system. It does not use a gas port.
I love my 20 gauge franchi I've had for years. Dunno the model it was used but it's sized for you to 3 inch loads and I've never been able to cycle lighter loads well. I use it for doves quail and pheasant and only #5s and up cycle well or anything 3 inch cycles fine it seems to be setup for heavier rounds and just doesn't like target ammo. If you find a solution I'm all ears but I've pumped thousands of rounds through mine and still the issue only with lighter loads.
Thanks for the insight. I sent an email to Franchi Customer Service and I will let you know if they provide a solution.
Awesome please keep us posted I'd love to see what they say. If there's a fix I'm all ears as I'd love to use it more often
I've pretty much only shot Winchester AA Heavy Target through mine. They're a 1oz load I've never had any issue.
I just accept they won't eject and have gotten in the habit of reaching up to pull the half ejected she'll out. I tried all sorts of ammo and I primarily shoot Winchester super x ammo as it's my go to maybe I'll try some of that this weekend and see.
I'm also saving for an M2 so I can finally ditch the super nova pump for bird hunting as it's way heavier than the M2. Walked by 2 used ones at greentop today and it killed.me not to walk out with one of them.
One of my coworkers is currently in Washington state on an Elk hunt that he managed to tie in with a work trip, jealously is oozing out of me right now...
Getting ready for bow to start. Hoping to track down the big buck we've been seeing on cameras since last year.
Starting to stash money aside for a new semi-auto shotgun to accommodate the amount of upland and bird hunting I do and finally drop the heavy pump for a lighter wing shooting gun. Would love any recommendations people have currently I shoot all beneli and franchi guns and really like beneli and the M2 is the one I'm leaning to as its most in target range for price.
I mean if Benelli is in your price range its basically a no brainer. The M2 is a damn good shotgun.
Browning would be the other brand I give a spin. The new A5s are really nice and not terribly heavy at 6lbs 11oz they operate nearly the exact same with the obvious hump in the gun. I believe they cycle a fraction of a second faster which isn't really a huge deal but it's something. I'm pretty partial to browning and have a number of humpbacks new and old which would be the only reason I'd lean that way. Since you're used to Franchi/Benelli you're probably better off with the M2.
Also if you're coming from a Supernova literally any gun is going to feel like a sportscar. I lean very heavily to pump guns and remember shooting my buddies nova after shooting my BPS all day and its the clunkiest giantest, heaviest feeling shotgun I've ever shot.
That's where I'm at, I love.my supernova for deer and turkey but it's a brute for upland hunting hiking long miles it gets to be a pain. I'd rather spend a little bit of money on a solid long time investment. I've always done the gunsmithing for my family and of all the guns they use the benellis simply seem to last and need the least maintenance to keep kicking.
I also love how durable my supernova has been and I've hunted on zero degree shit and it's been flawless duck hunting in snow and rain and at this point I'll have trouble not going with Benelli unless something turns my head in the next few months.
My uncle has always shot a5s and I like them alot so they'll be in the decision once I get around to picking one since I've liked them alot and they don't have issues like the newer Remington's and Winchester's that I've had issues with.
My dad has a super black eagle that I've used to trap shoot a few times and it's like a Ferrari compared with my super nova and it's gotten to the point where I hunt so much upland stuff now and only will be doing more and more it's a needed change.
Yeah feel everything you've said is correct. Give the maxus ii a shot too if you're up for exploring imo it shots better than the new a5.
I've never held onto any benellis I've owned other than my franchi but I've loved them all. I just cycle through new shotguns while keeping all my older ones.
The only notably bad shotguns I've shot are a few cheap Turkish off brands (including Charles Daily) and the versamax lemon. I worked in the industry for 4 years and got to shoot just about every make and model of shotgun. Benneli Browning Beretta (might check the a400 out too) own the shotgun market in quality and name and it isn't close
I would like to find a place I can demo some stuff so I'll be looking about for a demo day. Sounds like you have a solid gig getting to tryout all the new stuff I envy that. My family grew up on Remington 1100's and 870s and the old family guns that still work are great but the newer versions and newer remington guns are a big dropoff from the old 1100s to me theyre just too damn reliable and solid built.
Greentop just built a big display for their benelli franchi and stoeger display and having seen it in person its impressive and makes the wait even worse.
Yeah it was a good run I worked for Cablea's corporate office for a bit focusing on firearms software - got to demo a lot of new releases when the companies came into town as well as working with hundreds of like minded people that had access to heavily discounted guns. Then moved to working for FN which is under the Browning Umbrella got to test a few guns there but mostly handguns putting hundreds of rounds through a 509 and getting paid was fun. I'm completely out of the firearms industry now but it was a fun run.
I also have an old 1100 - the gun I learned to shoot on and Wingmaster. Old Remington was awesome.
Fun fact the guy that ran Remington into the ground and sold them to Freedom Group - Same guy that ran Cabela's into the ground and sold them to Bass Pro.
That sounds like an awesome gig really with awesome benefits. If I had a job that got me heavy or any discounts on guns I'd be John wick on steroids. My wife keeps me in the fishing section best she can when we go browsing knowing how bad I am at being a sucker for a new gun.
Funny you mention the wingmaster 1100 I just pulled out my old granddad's heirloom 1100 wingmaster to use to target shoot. Sadly it's a left handed and has chokeless barrels and not the patterns I use often so it doesn't see much use aside from the range but I love that gun.
Not at all what you're after, but I have been enjoying the hell out of a subframe 28 gauge O/U for upland/small game. They're light and have just been fun to shoot.
Im giving over unders a look but the price tag associated with most o/u's has kept me away mostly. I shot a browning once and loved it but it was one of their high dollar models unfortunately. I work right by greentop so I'm in there a few times a week perusing their used section in case a nice catch shows up and they have some decent over unders in there but nothing in my budget ATM
Currently have two of the new production A5s one for upland/waterfowl and one for turkey/deer. They are phenomenal and the hump helps me sight align a lot quicker. That being said they like hotter shells so clays and doves get a higher DRAM shell and anything over 3" will be fine
What about 2-3/4 stuff I primarily will be shooting 2-3/4 out of this gun and rarely bigger for ducks but even for deer I shoot 2-3/4 rounds. I have a franchi that only likes heavier rounds so I've dealt with that and would prefer to avoid that issue
Got out this Saturday on opening day of rifle season with two buddies and we each filled our Pronghorn tag! Talk about an awesome day. (I'd love to add a couple of pics if anyone could point me towards a tutorial on here)
Also bought a 20 gauge over-under with a short barrel and I'm gonna get to try it out chasing grouse around a bunch the next couple of weeks. Hopefully grabbing a sage grouse or two next couple of weeks, then chasing Blues around until pheasant opens in Nov.
Create an imgur account
Upload images to imgur as a hidden album or image
On desktop browser you'll have some copy or share links and the direct image link is the one you want.
In the comment posting area there is a insert image button click and paste the direct image link in the blank and then click insert and it should pop up in the preview if you do it correctly
Thank you very much for the help.
One day I'll do a video/tutorial to help make it simpler but if you have any questions let me know.
What area of the state are you hunting? We had a great hunt last year in Area 27 in the TBNG. We usually make that trip every other year, however the drawing odds for good public land are making it logistically impossible to get enough points to draw. I've thought about going with an outfitter, but the price is too high for our group and we prefer to hunt on our own. We used to know several landowners that hooked us up a bit, but the outfitters have booked most everything up the last few years. Beautiful country and can't wait to get back, even without a tag.
Post some pics!
We were hunting Area 106 north of Sweetwater Station. We all live in Lander so easy trip for us. Antelope numbers were down state-wide, really hard to draw any tags from out of state. And paying for an outfitter for antelope would be, a little frustrating, unless you were trying really hard for a trophy.
Here's a couple of photos of antelope hunting and a canyon we walked for grouse & chukar:
How was the chukar and grouse hunting? Looks amazing
We got into some ruffed and blue grouse up on top of this canyon, that was fun, but tight shooting in the lodgepoles. Too early in the season for the chukars, they were skittish and blew out really fast. They are abundant in this canyon, but don't really group up until we get some snow in the area to keep them on the South facing slopes. Sure is a gorgeous hike though, and saw some nice muley's on the opposite slope, on private land.
til what a "chukar" is
They are really cool birds, smart and fast and fun to shoot. Chukar and Pheasant are my favorite upland birds because hunting them is such a chess match. It's constantly challenging and really rewarding. Their meat is so tender too, great eating.
I'm jealous I wish we had a more natural bird population to hunt in Virginia like that. I love mule deer as well but never had the chance to hunt them I want to but it's daunting to get into it without any real experience big game hunting out west.
We are fairly marginal for chukar and pheasant (my favorites) here in western WY, but there are lots grouse in the area. The upland birds really are a great thing to have around, it is definitely my favorite type of hunting.
I feel you on it being daunting. I don't know much about hunting ungulates and have been learning from friends in my 30's. Antelope and deer finally feel manageable, though finding big deer on public land is still challenging near me. But elk is just so intimidating, bigger and harder to hunt in every way. I'm also an obsessed rock climber, and taking a whole season away from that to learn about elk is just so painful for me, so I haven't put the time in yet.
What kinds of grouse do you guys have there? I've only ever hunted sharptails out west but would love to go after the ruffed ones on the north east if I ever figure them out. We used to hunt bobwhite quail but they're thinned out badly and not really huntable anymore which sucks but is what it is unfortunately. I'm gonna have to branch out and start duck hunting to scratch the bird itch it seems
Dove are plentiful and make for a fun hunt.
I agree. I just wish I had a good place to go. Grew up hunting doves but disrespectful and unsafe "hunters" caused all the farmers who gave us permission to change their tune.
Also, in response to Nator, there's still some good grouse hunting right here in Virginia. Most people I know don't shoot them like they used to due to population decline (due to forest mismanagement, but that's a whole different conversation), but several folks with dogs still chase them to work their dogs, etc. And a few shoot a few now and then. If you ever want to go and give your dog some work, let me know how to get in touch with you outside of TKP and I'll send some spots. Hell I might even tag along.
Yeah do e hunting has had it's issues with stupid people and the one good spot I had we lost for that reason. Issue with dove hunting is usually beer is a big part so yeah.
Man I would definitely be interested in the grouse stuff depending where it is. Honestly I'd carry a gun solely to let the dog know we're hunting but I wouldn't shoot if populations are down. I do it with our local quail covey's, the dogs give me ugly looks when I don't shoot but they enjoy the work still. Do you have a Instagram account?
I usually dove hunt but this year all my places were still in soy beans. Also my pup hasn't gotten a full on hunt yet so I'm kind of holding this fall for upland stuff in a week. Dove hunting will be a big thing next fall once he has developed his pointing and working instinct. Also soybean fields suck hoping we get some corn next year or I'll plant some sunflower strips and hope for the best
Lots of Blue/Dusky grouse, more and more ruffed it seems, and sage grouse as well. I don't know how to hunt grouse real well, I just kindof wander ridgelines and cliffs for blues, and go down to the forest/stream boundaries for ruffed.
The sage grouse are fairly easy to hunt, just walk the water out on the plains, but their population is down a lot due to habitat fragmentation, so I usually only go once a year for them. Sage grouse also has some pretty strange meat, really dark for a non-migratory bird. I usually brine it and then treat it like its antelope (cook it rare and usually with a sauce or lots of spice), but lots of folks don't like it.
What's the range on Sharptail's? I would love to go south sometime and hunt some quail or other upland birds, but I don't have my own dog, and my obsession with climbing usually dominates any trips I schedule.
Dunno if Ive ever seen a blue or dusky grouse I'll need to Google em and see.
I've heard the drought has had a big hit on the upper Midwest this year, I'm looking at alot thinner cover this year where we usually hunt than normal which will yield interesting results.
I'm not sure on the range of the sharptails outside where I hunt in North Dakota I assume they're on the northern edge there. I can't remember the last one we got as usually we're so honed in on pheasant when they flush we pass mostly due to the fact they look and are colored just like a hen pheasant. If their meat is anything like the darker thigh and leg meat of pheasants I have a killer crock pot recipe to use that makes gamey though dark meat from birds delicate and delicious. It goes great over rice or mashed potatoes and works so well with pheasant thighs and legs. When I clean a pheasant I always take breasts and if intact thighs and legs for crock pot and jerky meat.
https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/main-course-chicken/annes...
Blue/Dusky are the very nearly the same species, they have been lumped together or divided into sub-species, I can never remember. Despite our drought (not nearly as bad as in many other areas) I have seen a ton of them this year.
I will definitely check out this recipe and report back, cause I have not had good luck with the legs and thighs. Thanks for the heads up!
Absolutely gorgeous country. Hope you enjoyed the views as well.
Oh most def! That canyon is actually only like 10 min from my home, central/western WY sure is gorgeous. I'd say about half of why I hunt is to go hike new beautiful places.
Man I miss hunting stuff like this in Colorado and Wyoming even the openness of Nebraska. Spot and stalk hunting gave me hope. Now I still hunt in a swamp and I'm not even confident I could see deer if they walked 10 yards from me. I've felt very awful at deer hunting the past 2 years because I have no idea how to find deer in pine swamps.
Here's a screen grab from me holding my phone above my head trying to find the road last year.
and same video at chest height looking forward at a slight down angle:
I only see three deer in the top photo, and none in the bottom. That one looks like a nice buck though.....
What is the cotton-mouth to deer ratio?
Honestly I'd really rather not know the answer to your question. I know they're there but there's 0 chance of avoiding them through the brush considering I can't see the ground 90% of the time.
There are certainly some open areas to hunt but they're hundreds of acres of planted pines in dead flat terrain and that seems even more useless to hunt than in here.
So deer hunting and I have a love hate relationship. I struggle to identify the best spots unless I can find food sources and water. I gave up on a property that was all pine plantation that looked like your videos as I couldn't figure it out to save my life.
Yeah water doesn't work cause that's all 3-6" of water but the reason I'm so far back in that shit is eventually those pines get to a grove of oaks. Pretty much the only food in FMNF is acorn, pine cone, and gooseberry.
Acorns are the key here in VA for bow season and if you can find those it can be a big deal but even when I've found oak groves I've had little success it's all about location. Whitetails are just a pain to me and with dog hunting so prevalent here your limited to bow season to learn to pattern deer before they go awol
Hunting in there looks ridiculously difficult. Good on you for keeping at it man!
Got a late invite and now I'll be taking my dog through his and my first NAVDHA test this weekend. First time allowing someone not myself to judge and hunt over a dog I've trained so this will be interesting fingers crossed he does well as we prep for pheasant season in a few weeks.
That's awesome good luck. One regret I have with my current dog is not getting him in waterfowl trials now he just sits on the couch and picks up a couple marsh hens ever year.
My guy kicked ass, finished with a 107 out of possible 112 points for a Prize 2 in his NAVDHA NA. One more point would have been a Prize 1 and most likely he could've snagged a perfect score but the first few minutes of his search test he was a bit high wired and when the first shot was fired he went looking for the gunner instead of staying on the search. After that he was literally flawless the rest of his search he found and pointed 4 birds and didnt flush any of them(which was my biggest worry). Tracking was the one thing I hadnt properly trained him for and I was anxious to see him do that but he got on the track and pulled away from me before I was planning on letting him go but he was on the track and hit it hard lost it once circled back and followed and pointed the pheasant perfectly. Swimming was a breeze and hes in perfect health so the judges were really impressed.
For anyone who does bird hunting and trains dogs look at your local NAVDHA chapters for training days and other stuff those guys are super helpful.
Next test up for him is the Utility Test which is brutal and covers both upland and waterfowl hunting. We have a few years to work on it before I will give it a go with him as I dont waterfowl hunt alot so I'll have to start doing that again if we go that route. I got to watch one of my dogs cousins run her UT test and score a prize one which is really rare and it was cool to see how well trained they can be and still have so much personality.
Just returned from 10 days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in MT. Closest we got to an elk was watching tan rumps hoofing it over the ridge into the next canyon. Still an epic trip of a lifetime, though. Scenery was amazing, sat and watched a grizzly bear do grizzly bear things at about 200 yards, and caught my very first cutthroat trout. I'm fired up to get out there again, just as soon as my butt forgets what 10 straight hours on horseback feels like.
I took a 10 day pack trip there back in the summer of '99 with my dad. A few of the trails were still impassible with snow in early July. Unbelievable place and I'd love to go back, especially to hunt. We caught a lot of cuthroat in the Sun and Flathead rivers as we made our way through. Awesome experience for me. Glad you guys had fun and stayed safe.
Who's ready for the archery opener this weekend? I've been shooting my recurve a lot while also trying to get a longbow setup for a friend of mine. I've messed with arrow spines, lengths, and point weights until I'm blue in the face. Got mine shooting pretty good if I can shake the rust off my form, and hope to get an opportunity Saturday.
I'd hoped to have an opportunity to get after some early bear this week, but I had a breakthrough COVID case last week that's buried me in work and kept me at home. I felt like crap for a few days but feeling good now, just gotta dig out from under the pile.
Good luck to everyone out there and stay safe.
I had a trip to visit friends get pushed from Labor Day weekend to this one so I'll miss the opener. I do plan on getting out there the following weekend and checking out a couple spots I've e-scouted. I would love to get one within range but am mostly just looking forward to being in the woods again.
Ah, fellow recurve shooter. Not many of us out there.
I'm really excited for Saturday. Have a few good spots picked out, I've been shooting and confident out to 25 yards, and built some new arrows. I haven't done anything but work since May, so looking forward to cashing in my brownie points for the next three months.
Good luck and stay safe!
Honestly didn't even realize it was that time of year till I saw that. The weather feels right but it's weird that it's already here to me. I'd be going but I'll be busy packing for my trip to the Dakota's the following week. Best of luck and stay safe!
Packed my bow and climber up for the one afternoon of bow season I generally hunt here. This afternoon looks rough with west wind 0-1mph. gonna try the corner of a little branch that runs through and see what happens.
Edit: just ended up being a quiet afternoon in the woods.
Stands are all checked, bow is dialed in and the cool weather is here. With meat prices being high, I am excited to fill the freezer and also donate 1 or 2 this year. With the ammo shortages, I am really glad I bought a bunch of boxes at the end of last season when I found some online. 20g Sabot Slugs were incredibly hard to find.
I've wanted to get into deer hunting but it's not really in my family so I've never been and have nobody to learn from.
Anyone willing to show me the ropes? You can keep any meat/trophy I end up with.
Where are you at? I'm sure a lot of TKPers would be willing to help, getting into hunting can be daunting without someone to show you the ropes, depending on your area there might be a conservation organization that has a first time hunter program - I've run a few for waterfowl and upland bird hunting, I imagine there's something similar for big game.
Agreed.
1. Where are you located?
2. Do you have access to private land (friends, family, work connections, etc)? This isn't a deal breaker but it makes getting into hunting easier. There are a lot of public lands but they get crowded and certain times, outright dangerous in gun season.
Richmond but would be willing to travel around the state
Richmond City or a county around Richmond? This can make a big difference in regulations.
1. Go https://dwr.virginia.gov/ and read on white tail deer, look at what WMAs (wildlife management areas) are near you if you have to go to public land.
2. Start learning about deer on other websites. Learning their behavior, what they eat at different times of the year, how bucks and does act differently (bed in different locations, use different trails, the rut), and get as much information as you can. This will help when you go with someone so you can ask good questions or understand the things they are talking about.
3. Don't watch hunting shows on TV and think that is anything like hunting around here. There are good YT channels of amateurs recording their hunts and talking that are much more useful. (Catman Outdoors, GrowingDeer.TV)
City. Does reading material like this actually translate to real practical skill?
Maybe a better question I have is: does this apply to hunting from a tree stand/blind the same way it does as from the ground? It might not be the "right way" but from the hunters at my work it seemed like a lot of them set up a bunch of trail cams around their property to try and see which deer were on their property and try and learn their movement, then they'd set up a stand in that general area and bait them.
In Virginia that describes it pretty well. Using cameras to hone in on deer in the area is a fun way to learn a property but can be costly. With experience you'll learn how to read the ground and figure things out easier without cameras.
Baiting however is something that's polarizing in hunting, personally I'm against it in most cases and I don't enjoy seeing it in deer hunting. It is legal in some places I believe but now where I tend to hunt in northern VA. I'd advise reading and talking to as many people as you can.
One good source to learn is find a few local hunt clubs and talk to them and see if they wouldn't mind you tagging along on a few hunts to see if it's for you before going gungho into it.
Baiting is illegal in VA for deer. By the book, all bait must be cleaned up by Sept 1 and through the season.
The DWR site will not translate to skill I'm hunting directly but it has general information about deer. The skill in finding where to set up takes time, experience, and understanding the land and surrounding area you will be hunting.
Do you have access to any private land that you can hunt? This would be the first thing because private and public land are going to be treated a little differently in your approaches.
I do not currently
That is okay. There are public options available. Always keep an eye and ear out for that opportunity to get hunting rights. Even in the city limits or chesterfield where there is Urban Archery, a small piece of land behind a neighborhood could be a honey hole. vahuntingforum.com has some more information as well and some people that hunt only urban areas that can help there too.
First thing I'd do is sign up for an online hunter safety course if you haven't done it already.
A side benefit for the hunter safety course besides a requirement for a hunting license is it can be used to get your CWP (at least it used to be able to)
Already got it
Headed out to a spot where I regrettably passed up a really nice 6 point opening day of muzzleloader last year. National forest spot that doesn't get hunted too hard. Hope to have some luck but if nothing else going to hang a couple cameras and leave them until February.
Good luck and safe hunting to everyone headed out for the Virginia bow opener this morning.
Start with hunter safety classes. The IBEP is about bow hunting but covers deer anatomy stand safety and blood trailing among other things. Gun safety is also good to take. Virginia has an apprentice hunting program.
I saw that apprentice program that seems pretty neat. Just need someone to be my master lol
Finally got out with the bow this past Saturday. Only had a couple hours to hunt as I was meeting someone around lunch time to buy some muzzleloader primers and it's an hour drive to the WMA each direction for me. Had a small doe come in quick right before I was about to climb down. Drew back, noticed my bow was touching the rail on my climber, tried to adjust and rushed the shot for a clean miss my first time letting an arrow fly at a deer with the bow. Pretty bummed about about it because it was a close shot but a clean miss is better than a dirty hit. Oh well I'll get another chance this season to put some venison in the freezer I'm sure.
Had a pretty rough go this year. The swamp is pretty dry and the hunting spots look better but just no movement kinda strange
Duck season isn't here yet but I am looking for Mallard wings. I use the blue / purple feathers for my earring business.
If anyone shoots a Mallard this year and feels like helping a fellow Hokie out with an interesting trade, I'll take the whole wings in pairs for fly tying. They don't need to be treated or anything, I'm going to pull out the feathers I need. In exchange, I'll send you a pair of "Flies" for your significant other (or you) from that same bird, which is a $40 value. I'll cover shipping on both ends.
You can reach me at knotthereelworld (at) gmail dot com.
Edited per dumb federal laws.
Careful posting this one. It's legal federally for flies but specifically prohibited for ornamental use under CFR 50 20.91- duck laws are so strange.
I'm not a lawyer but might want to swing this wording on this
Thank you, I edited it. The laws are dumb as fuck, not to mention confusing. I can walk into a craft store and buy as many duck and goose feathers as I'd like and those stores sell them to be used in arts and crafts and jewelry. Doesn't get any more ornamental than a dyed blue and green goose feather for a mardi gras prop.
The Migratory Bird Act of 1918 is an important law that was meant to help protect birds, which is great. But you can obviously still shoot and kill them. And people can own cats, which kill a few billion birds per year in the U.S. What a joke. I'll stop my rant there before getting too political and calling our lawmakers fucking morons.
So ND game and fish were on a crack down this year and I didnt bring back any pelts from the pheasants this trip since they had checkpoints all over for the out of state pheasant hunters. Hell I had to hide the one whitetail shed I found in fear theyd write me up for it though it was weathered and old as dirt. In order to prove the bird in possession they dont do a tag system they require you to leave a wing on the breast all attached and if you take a leg its gotta be clipped so a spur is present. I could shoot 3 per day for the 14 day license I paid for which would net me 42 pheasants but legally in possession at once I'm only allowed to carry 12 per person with a license. And even more screwed they made it so game processors cant process the game into jerky or anything else due to the new laws they could get in trouble for doing so. They had checkpoints on all the major roads out of the state and luckily we were fully legal in how we did it or we wouldve been in serious trouble. I'll hold onto some of the better birds from PA later this year for ya theyre bit more mature and prettier as well.
No worries man, it sounds like it might be a lot of trouble, so if you don't feel like it, I don't blame you. I've got like 6 pheasant skins laying around the the rump is what I go through the most. I gotta find a way to buy just that!
Edit: What do you know, a quick google search and I can get the rump for $7!
Finally back from North Dakota. Overwhelming success on the plains this year and even with a 9 month pup. He didnt have much interest the first day after the long drive and opted to chasing tumbleweeds and jack rabbits but settled in as the week went and by day 6 was really showing progress and understanding. He was timid to fetch kicking birds at the beginning but after shadowing my dads older dog all week and seeing him fetch time and time again he got over that and now parades birds with a cocky strut thats fun to watch.
Long story short they had one of the top 3 worst droughts in history where we hunt and the cover was thin and in some places gone as it was dry enough the farmers planted in bottoms where usually there was cover. The drought also knocked the crap out of the bird population so hunting was alot tougher than normal where we usually would hunt and hour or 2 to limit out we were hunting 5-6 hours a day and walking well over 12 miles a day to get 3-4 birds a day. We still hit our trip limit since ND has some of the dumbest regs in the game where you can shoot 3 a day for two weeks but can only have 12 max in possession and if caught you get the ban hammer.
Didnt see many hunters this year and even saw that they were refunding deer tags in fear of how hard the deer population had been hit. Limited people meant we actually hunted some PLOTS land and since we were later than usual hunted some other public land we had always looked at but never had the chance.
Got up to Teddy roosevelt and toured it for the day on a bad weather day. If you're ever in the area it is well worth the entry fee. Saw one massive bull elk walk a ridge and into a valley to feed and that was all I needed to see to be worth it. Scenery is killer and the wildlife is everywhere. Just watch out for the cactus.
Looks like a great trip man! Glad your pup is coming around. I didn't know ND started their pheasant season so early, here in WY we don't open until Nov. 1.
Always love going out there and yeah its earlier than most due to the weather being so wacky. We were actually a week later than opening weekend but it actually wasnt that bad. ND has a law where first week of hunting seasons only ND residents can hunt public land so alot of the out of state guys dont usually show up till the second week but due to low numbers bird wise alot of people didnt show up this year. Still saw the typical big groups at the local hunting lodges but no where near the number of regular hunters.
My pup is really coming around his search and point are typical griff stuff, closer search range(30-40 yards max) and his pointing has been solid. I'm used to GWP's and GSP's who as pups are more flushers than pointers and require alot of correction but hes been rock solid and wont move even after a flush and to get him to release sometimes I really have to urge the alright command to get him off the point. NEver had that happen before so I"m learning some new stuff trying to train post shot stuff which I think I can do well but we will see.
Legit question and he's a beautiful dog. Would these dogs be better hunters and more effective if they didn't have the hair hanging in front of their eyes? I feel like it would drive me nuts having to look through that 24/7.
I had that debate until I owned one and now I see why. The hair when damp sticks together and is no longer in their eyes like when his coat is dry. That coat is unreal in the way it reduces when wet he looks like a big ol new york city subway rat if wet. So when I hunt him if its dry and hes not getting his face wet I carry water for him to wet his nose to help him smell and ill splash his bangs to get them to wet and tuck out the way. They also help shied his eyes in thicker cover too. The breeder I got him from says to never trim the hair unless its really really bad his snout hair can work its way there so I trim that sometimes. I do wonder if its why maybe he doesnt see the birds when they fall sometimes but his nose makes up for that. Theyre excellent waterfowling dogs with the extra coat in winter, I dont do enough of that but he may make me have to pick up that hobby again. That coat makes him warm in everything we hunted in the teens with steady 30 mph wind out of the north and he was jumping in the frozen lake to cool off. Looked goofy as he got out the hair and water refroze.
Finally getting around to picking up a Benelli M2 and hung up on barrel length. I've been shooting a 26 inch on my nova and it handles well but I kind of want to jump to a 28" for all the wingshooting I do I feel a longer smoother gun would help. Anyone have any experience with this stuff? If I had a 28 inch barrel gun I'd go shoot it but all my stuff is 26".
I'm weird in barrel lengths too. For waterfowling I think there is a distinct disadvantage of not having a 28" barrel its a much more natural swing. For upland I can get a 26" barrel up faster and I tend to just shave as much weight as possible for long walk days.
In short, I use both. If I had to just have 1 for all wingshooting I'd shoot a 28" because its what most of my shotguns are so I'm most comfortable with that the only cons to that 2 extra inches is weight and maneuverability in thick brush. The 2in difference isn't something to get too hung up about, you'll get used to the longer barrel pretty quickly. Its all personal choice, I've taken 30" trap guns and 18" bullpups out upland hunting....I wouldn't recommend either but 26-28 isn't a huge deal.
Thanks man for the advice. I've always hunted 26 for everything from deer to grouse but I feel a little longer gun would help as I'm a tall lanky dude. I'm going to see if greentop would let me shoot one before I doubt it but maybe they will. If not I'll try swinging and pulling up both and see if theres a difference. I'm so used to shooting a bulky nova that I feel like the longer barrel on an M2 would feel more natural to me but thats really it. I'd love to start waterfowling more if I can figure it out better so I dont want to go any shorter.
Finally snagged me an M2 in 12 GA with a 28 inch barrel, cant wait to get it out and hunt tomorrow it shoots so smooth it aint funny. Anyone else getting out for general firearms tomorrow morning? So far its been really quiet in the woods and I havent been seeing much at all aside from some scrapes and rubs but no real activity.
Seeing tons of does but no bucks really seeking or chasing yet. I figured I'd see some of that rut activity by now. Have seen many rubs but not a lot of scrape action where I hunt, at least not yet.
I have yet to see any bucks even the little guys are laying low. Hoping this front today might kick them into gear and hopefully we didnt miss the rut.
I've been so busy I didn't even know what season tomorrow was going to be. Finally figured everything out. Managed to sneak out and shoot my 6.5x55 yesterday. Have to dig out all of my crap before tomorrow morning. Hunting a farm I've never hunted. And probably going to a spot I've only been once in my life. That one time included getting a 4 wheeler stuck. So, it could be an interesting morning.
I'm also pondering a ridge, for later in the weekend and season, that has some heavy bear traffic. I'll have to wait until later in the month for the bear. But, it'll be a nice spot to take my .45-70. All short range shots. If the right range were to show itself there, I'll be trying with a .44 pistol.
I might be one of those people who likes a challenge...
If you want a challenge, come hunt public with me...
Since I moved further from my hunting area I've contemplated trying more public land around me but didnt go scout enough this year to try it maybe next year if gas stays this high I will have to find more local spots.
I'm not much on bear hunting but sounds fun. I have got a nice S&W 45 six shooter I want to carry hunting but I cant find a decent holster for less than $100 min so I carry a 9 typically. The wife always asks why I need the six shooter if I dont hunt with it but I always explain its there to scare shit not hit shit.
Wish I could rifle hunt in Essex and King and Queen where I hunt but all the dogs make rifle hunting a bad time. Maybe I'll use my 556 I built with holo sights and a 15 round clip this year I'm bound to land a few hits.
That doesn't sound fun. But a different kind of pain than what I experience. I never see hunters but I also rarely see bucks. Pretty easy to see a few does each time out but I've found no consistency to areas bucks use. Random rubs all over. No scrapes. Jump one or two bucks a season in different spots every year. The mountains have really low deer densities thanks to the tree hugging way of managing the national forest, so if constant action and lots of deer is your thing, you'd probably not enjoy it any more than hearing the neighbors dogs run. But it's all I have so it is what it is...
Saw a medium sized bear this morning on national forest. Nothing else so far. Cold and windy, about to punt and go pregame for the 330 cellar dweller showdown...
Nothing beats driving hour and a half at 3:30 to get in the woods early to have a trespasser walk up on you right as the only deer I've seen the last two weeks in the woods. The guy didn't even apologize and it took all I had to not blow a fuse. I love deer hunting but it's crap like this that makes me debate going anymore. The buck was a scrub but meat and I was waiting for him to step out of the laurel for a shot and the guy literally was strolling right under me at 9 o clock and spooked him before I could get a shot.
I've almost always found trespassers in pairs. So, I've been hesitant to engage. I will say they've almost always been the worst hunters imaginable. Oblivious to their surroundings, loud, toss trash everywhere, and shoot anything that moves, regardless of season.
I'm not the type that goes off on people. But I've been tempted many times in situations you describe. I have found solace in things like taking out all their tree stand steps and putting them up on the stand and relocating reflectors. . It's the little things that make life fun.
I meant to respond to this. Gosh it chaps my ass when people do that. I just was raised on the ethical do no wrong style and it kills me to hear the stories let alone when it happen to me.
So I grew up a feverish hunter. Tagged out every year as a kid on amazing land under the youth hunter license in VA. My property backs up to bow only property under the Army Core land here in GA. We have many piss poor hunters that tear up our fences and sometimes let our livestock get out. (Many are also amazing and I appreciate and help them out). I've marked our property with no trespass every 30 yards. I've also let folks know hot spots based off of me being there if they seem like quality folks. They take care and watch out for my space. Question is, is there a better way to make my property known it is off limits? I've never called DNR. I generally find if I can talk to folks they understand but I have a few that won't listen. Stinks because I grew up hunting and dont want to ruin a good space for ethical hunters.
Sorry for a long post but not used to public hunting so close. On the plus I've popped a few coyotes messing in my fields. .223 did it's job along with the rabbit squall.
Finally saw deer this morning so they do exist. The only problem is they waited until I took my first step down in my climber to come out, needless to say they all lived.
Also SC allowing dog drives on public land is such a joke. I grew up driving dogs, it has absolutely 0 place on public land. The unit I was hunting isn't open for dogs but the one next to it was this morning, one dog ran under my stand. I came out of the woods and these fucking idiots have chairs out in the middle of the road, a public dirt road, which is certainly not legal. Thank God they never shot as my truck would have almost certainly caught some lead.
Don't come hunt in eastern VA it's nothing but road hunters here. Dodged em all day driving around as always. Been seeing so few deer I'm taking my pup out for some squirrel hunting instead
Just blatant disregard for anyone else using the land. Went out again this morning and a guy was about to turn his dogs loose at 5am. I asked what he was doing since the unit wasn't open for drives and it was like an hour till legal light anyway. "Oh I lost a dog yesterday so I think I'm gonna use these to find that one" -???????
Last year my bud found one with a collar on super beat down but friendly as all, called the number n the collar guy said "oh leave him out there I don't want him"-??????
Rough morning again this morning. The outer swamp is really dry I think everything is just packed into the middle when it is pretty much physically impossible to get to. I'm done with public land this year.
Killed a 5 point on national forest on 11/18/21. About a 900 yard drag with 500 vertical feet back up to the truck. I decided to quarter and pack him out. Took two trips but I don't think I'll ever drag another one very far.
Looking forward to hopefully tagging something a bit bigger in December.
thats awesome man! congrats! these mountain deer can be tough as heck to find. my buddy just killed one in a similar scenario and packed it out as well
Hey all, just saw this for the first time, but happy to chime in with the Colorado big game hunting report:
It sucked like a UVA frosh on a Zima.
If, in February, you are reading the yearly article in Field and Stream where they talk about how Colorado has unlimited over-the-counter bull elk tags available for a couple bajillion acres of public land and you think to yourself "man, that could be fun", calmly tear out the page, put it in your woodchipper and start planning a trip to Idaho or Montana.
The majority of the open bull elk tag seasons are seeing success rates of less than 20%, with many in the single digits. The whole thing is a racket in the best of times, but since COVID kicked off, Colorado has seen successive years of record breaking hunter participation and applications. That means that a place WAYYYY out in the high country that is NOT easy to get to where I usually go and get a cow elk to fill up the freezer and have some quiet time had TWELVE damn trucks parked nearby two hours before sunrise on opening morning.
If you don't have the scratch to pay for private land access and you don't have enough preference points to win one of the mythical high success rate hunts just skip Colorado all together. This isn't me being a bitter native mad at all the tourists telling people to go back home, this is me telling you I live less than two miles from open space land called "Elk Meadow" and I am deciding between New Mexico and Wyoming for next year.
It's that freaking bad out here, and not just for elk. I couldn't find a doe antelope tag for areas that are a 6 hour drive from Denver. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, speedgoat meat's gaminess is only matched by its toughness, and the old joke is that you make it into jerky to soften it up. Typically those hunts have hundreds of unclaimed licenses the state literally can't give away, but this year they were drawn out in record time.
This year I have chatted with guys from WI, MI, MO, TN and even two lunatics who drove all the way out here from freaking GA. (Side note: Muddin' tires are NOT snow tires.) None of them saw a single damn elk all year. I feel bad given the cost and time off it must have taken for those guys to get out here only to see a parade of blaze orange everywhere you are hoping to see an animal. If you are feeling spicy and want to come out west, head elsewhere and let me know how it goes.
I hear you on the Elk stuff. I trip out to ND from VA every year to bird hunt and this year we saw some stupid numbers of folks trying it out. Due to the drought being atrocious and bird numbers being really really low most of them we met at bars and such all said they werent coming back after how poor the hunting was this year. We still tagged out but lots of these guys had no idea what they were doing or simply thought using the hunt wise app and youtube could net them in success.
On the Elk my best suggestion is find some bars where the cattle farmers drink and get some drinks for em and talk with them. They HATE and I ;mean hate elk and if you play your cards right theyll offer you access to their land to hunt the elk and those guys will even point ya in the right direction and help pack em out. I have two standing offers on in ND and one in SD for places to elk hunt if I can ever win a tag. SD is contemplating getting in on the nuttiness around Elk and opening it up to non residents and ND its tough to draw a tag as well. I have no idea how to truly elk hunt but I figure with a good rancher or two to help I oculd figure it out in due time but we have to win a tag first.
It's been tough to find ranchers who give away hunting rights on their land of late. Tough to blame them, honestly. Some of these outfitters are giving $8K for land access. If our land had elk you bet your rump roast my family would do the same.
And I am right there with you on ditch parrots this year. Eastern CO is dicey at the best of times, but with the drought and the hunting pressure it's dismal. Lotta youtube warriors with dogs who've never been in the field wandering around and wondering where their limit of birds is.
Well if you find one do everything to keep em happy and they usually will return the favor. We lease most of all our land to deer hunters here in VA so I get the sentiment gotta pay the taxes and the bills and if someone is willing to pay that kind of money I get it.
We hunted a public land piece this year and saw some what I would assume are gen x whatever tik tok shit is and they had a few camera guys with em and they didnt get a single bird up but took ages shooting different shots in the field. Hope it was a cool insta reel or whatever it was but saw some odd shit this year in the field. Talked to some folks that were genuinely pissed the birds were having a down year which I dont get its stuff you cant control. Mother nature always bats last folks.
Hey, don't hate on speedgoat! I grind most of mine for burger and at 15% bacon it gets rave reviews! And the backstraps and tenderloins are as good as what you get off an elk or deer, no gaminess at all. I've heard horror stories about pronghorn meat...but I've had pretty good luck for the most part.
To be faiirrrrrr, I have had some decent antelope meat from NM, but most of the speedgoat from NW Colorado is very sage-y, and I think that doesn't help. Maybe I should just lean into the sage taste and make my own Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage.
My uncle swears that his beer and maple syrup marinade is the secret to tasty antelope meat. It is...not.
Been after rabbits and squirrels the last few weekends and finally found a squirrel foolish enough to step out in front of me and my puppy. I have to get better at my technique but I'm slowly figuring it out. Rabbits are difficult just one man and his dog but we've come really close the last few trips and we are very close to getting some rabbits I think. Took the gun out and shot a pile of trap at Old Forge sporting clays, definitely a good place to practice and reasonably priced. I swear the M2 shoots as lightly as my old 20 gauge over under its nuts.
Anyone got any good recpies for squirrel otherwise I'll probably just fry it up cant go wrong there.
is anyone in here a saddle hunter? my buddies and i just opened up a tree stand company called Barren Ridge Treestands and we developed a climbing platform for saddle hunting. our stand collapses so it fits in most backpacks and weighs under 4lbs.
Just looked up the video on that. That's a pretty great idea the entire reason I didn't ever get into saddle hunting was the idea of messing with sticks in the dark seemed clunky and time consuming compared to my climber. This looks like a great idea to bridge the gap.
yes sir! we wanted to offer an easy to pack climber for those who hunt larger tracts and public ground who have to hike in and for people like us who love saddle hunting and climbers.
Yeah really I'd love to see some full gear pics of people that are hiking in for climbers or saddle. I'm always looking for ways to shed weight/bulk so I can haul in further.
I'm honestly suprised to see this hasnt been done yet its ingenious.
thanks! were really excited to be able to be working in the hunting world. its something were passionate about and put everything we have into it. we have 2 videos out; the first was shot from an iphone that was sent to the testing facility in Georgia where we had it tested for static load, repetition, and for adherance. we passed all three tests and the weight rating is for 300lbs. if you can find the second video its quality is substantially better, id post here but im kind of illiterate on how to do so lol
I'm definitely interested in this. How's your inventory? Also, what kind of safety factor do you think that 300 lbs has? I'm about 265 without all my gear. Might be a hair over 300 with pack, weapon, boots, and clothing. I know you probably can't say for sure, since the limit is 300 and for liability reasons it is what it is, but other than losing 25 lbs this off season, do you think this would work for me?
Good luck with the company. Awesome to see some Hokies innovating in this space. Never would have thought Virginia Tech would be inventing the future...of saddle hunting.
as for inventory, we have several bronze and a few black powdercoated ones left, should be getting more black and green this week. the 300lb safety rating was achieved by holding 600lbs for two minutes. the welds on the stands go all the way around so they're extremely strong. i would think you would be good to go. if an order is placed before noon we ship that day via UPS.
Does anyone on here have leftover turkey feathers they would be willing to sell? Less of the fan / tail, though I am interested in those. I specifically need the body feathers. I realize turkey season is in a few months and I'll take them then too, but I need them now.
Willing to pay $$$.
Thank you!
Finally got up to PA to do some public land hunting this winter over the holidays. Turns out PA has a very robust public land system and releases a pile of pheasants on some of them every fall. Full disclosure it can get chaotic on the release days but if youre willing to work the non ideal cover or go on the off days around the release it can be just fine. We happened to be there right after a stocking and when we started out it was one other pair of people and when we left the parking lot was full and every field and piece of cover had someone hunting it and I was glad we tagged out and got out it was getting sketchy with people shooting all over and most of them shooting the birds on the ground. Most people we encountered didnt have dogs or had non bird dogs so we had plenty of luck with our two well seasoned pheasant hunting dogs. Got a couple roosters just letting others hunt in front and cleaning up as they left. HAd good luck the days after the stockings as the crowds subsided to nobody only catch was the bastard roosters all went into nasty woodslines with unholy amounts of briars. I destroyed my briar pants in the 5 days I hunted there. Glad I had a good vest for the dogs to keep them from getting to cut up. Overall the public land in PA is beautiful and very very well maintained and provided me with a few nice meals of fresh pheasant picatta on rice. Still have the legs to crock pot for lunches next week but a solid trip to bird hunt some nice scenery.
Really really pleased with how far my pup has come in his first season, started out he wouldnt leave my side now without a word he can follow and search and knows what cover to look for and is well on his way to being a damn fine dog considering whos trained him. I think I love watching it all click for a puppy the most when it comes to training anymore.
Very nice. Good dog!
I think there's a fishing guide on here that might like some of those feathers if you have any available.
Hes figuring it all out and its been fun, usually I train retrieve and let the dog instinctively learn to point in the field but this time I went the other way focused on the pointing and trained it hard. Best decision I've made in a while but having people who are willing to help is huge the breeder I went with has been awesome in helping train and with everything in general. Actually got to hunt with his breeder and my pups mom while I was in PA and it was cool seeing him hunt alongside his mom I couldnt pick the two apart at times.
I usually donate my feathers to said guide but the few from PA that werent mangled, still working on training a soft mouth retrieve, I gave to a friend whos training his pup up for wrapping dummies. He has been asking for a while and I felt it couldnt hurt fly guy is next up for the next few birds we get. I'll be turkey hunting this spring so he will get some then unless turkeys magically disappear.
I could use the pheasant wings but don't need the body. Can get a full skin for $12 online. I need all the turkey feathers!!
Will note that on the wings I usually clip them for training purposes to use for dogs but I may have a few extra lemme check my stash. I typically bag a turkey or two every year if luck strikes I'll borax the cape and let ya know!
Im guessing you want body hairs on the turkeys? I only keep fans and beards so if ya want body feathers I'll be more than happy to cape and borax one for ya
Yes, the body feathers are what I need mostly. That would be fantastic dude, thanks! Willing to pay you for it
I've got several fans that the dogs and cats have mangled. There's a few body feathers there from the rump areas as well as a bunch of tail feathers. Would these work? If so I can bag them up and mail them to you. I have access to a bunch of turkeys in the spring so I can cover you up once April rolls around.
That would be fantastic. Those turkey rump feathers will definitely work. Happy to pay you for them and for shipping. What's your email? I can be reached easily from my website
Email sent via your website.
Just saw where Boone and Crockett banned the use of smart scopes and wireless trailcameras for trophies added to their ranks. Dunno how theyll enforce the camera one but this is an interesting step after Utah banned all trail camera use during hunting seasons now.
I saw that too. I think it's bullshit. It should be more nuanced than that. Where I hunt, even if I had a cell cam photo of a target buck (which by the way is just a good mountain 8 point for me, anything over 100" is getting an acute case of lead poisoning), it would take me 6 hours to get from my house to the spot where my camera is. That deer is long gone by then.
Sure, if you are caught killing an animal because you got a cell cam photo of it and went over there and shot it, that's not fair chase. But the blanket ban doesn't sit well with me. People shooting deer over bait or chased by dogs is supposed to be fair chase? Can of worms, I know, but both of those methods aren't fair chase compared to how it's done out here in the mountains on public.
That being said, they aren't illegal in Virginia, just can't qualify for the B+C book. I highly doubt I'll ever have to worry about that lol.
As with everything its a select few who fuck it up for everyone else especially in the outdoors. Not surprised B&C did this they tend to be the upity crowd anyway. I agree on fair chase I'm all for modern tech to help bring more ethical kills into hunting if tech makes it easier to make cleaner kills I'm all for it. I dont mind B&C doing it as its something I'll never have to concern myself with hunting in VA anyway but it feels like a crappy move thanks to a few shitty people who network cameras to hunt deer. I know a few folks who do it so it does happen. It aint baiting but it isnt far off it to me.
LOL, meanwhile in fishing, every serious pro/tournament angler has >$10k in electronics on their boat so they can run live stream videos underwater. In that light, I appreciate B&C's attempt to keep the 'hunt' in hunting, though as WildTurkey noted - it'll be very hard to get the wording just right, and even harder to enforce.
Missed the first two weekends of bow season due to having guests in town and a wedding to go to. I should be getting to the WMA and climbing a tree right now like I planned but work dumped a bunch of stuff in my lap at noon today vs earlier in the week when I was asking for it so now I'm dealing with that horseshit. Depending on how long it takes I probably won't make it out today and typically try to avoid public land on the weekends due to all the crowds so we'll see what happens. Not in a great mood about it.