2014/2015 Fall Days Afield Thread

[2FUNKY]

Just got back from a 4 day bird hunt out of Vale, OR. Pheasant are in good numbers. Shot 2 limits a day,2 guys, for 24.Quail are thick, we only shot a few for dinner one night to go with a pheasant. We try to leave the little guys alone.Chukar numbers are fucking horrid. We only got into 1 covey and killed 4 out of it. Talked to a few other hunters and they had similar results, guy I was with has hunted the area for 35 years and said the numbers have been way down the last 7 years. The dux n geese were in decent numbers as we decoyed quite a few birds. My FYL was on her A game. She makes me happier every year. I have put in a lot of work with her and it is paying off big time, plus she is real smart and birdy with tons of drive. Man the ground cover down there is fucking brutal on dogs feet. Like nothing I have ever seen. Every year I go down there, her feet get so trashed. May have to go to boots next year, that area is the only area we have feet issues.Sorry no pix guys, seems my SD card shit the bed.

Congrats to previous posters!

[yeahman]

Geez it happened just like I said, she spotted it and I shotted it. Nice fat calf that we could pack out on our backs in two trips. Home by 8 to let the babysitter go. Unbelievable.

[Phall]

Anyone have any Elk Breakfast Sausage or Chorizo recipes? I'm grinding my meats this weekend and will be doing half hamburger, then 1/4 breakfast and 1/4 chorizo sausage ( i think) any opinion?

Also, anyone hunt Yote's up near Park City? one of the EVP's at the company I work at has a problem on his land, but its in a higher end hoitey toitey neighborhood in PC. I think he's got an acre or two, but wants these fuckers gone. 22lr? supressed 223? Bow? Trap and kill? I have no problem killing yotes.

[2FUNKY]

Anyone have any Elk Breakfast Sausage or Chorizo recipes? I'm grinding my meats this weekend and will be doing half hamburger, then 1/4 breakfast and 1/4 chorizo sausage ( i think) any opinion?

Also, anyone hunt Yote's up near Park City? one of the EVP's at the company I work at has a problem on his land, but its in a higher end hoitey toitey neighborhood in PC. I think he's got an acre or two, but wants these fuckers gone. 22lr? supressed 223? Bow? Trap and kill? I have no problem killing yotes.

Mitchlichs out of Spokane WA has some great recipes, google them, online store.

As for the 'yotes, tree stand with a bow. Use ecaller and a decoy with your bow. They scan the area ground level for threats but never look up. Deadly and fun.

[MakersTeleMark]

This is what a 7/8 day DIYFS high country elk hunt looks like when you completely strike out b/c you are hiking in a mutherfucking t-shirt at 13.5k with a full moon.

http://imgur.com/a/guT1w

This Monday, the day after expiration of such tag, what might have happened? The final end of butthurtz? Elk landed on a comet?

[Grange]

Thought I'd post a couple pictures from my week bird hunting at the cottage.

Tico pointing a grouse with one of my parent's brittanies backing.


Snow came later in the week and we had to change tactics. Balsam Fir and mixed conifer upland and wetland forest were where we found most of the birds.


Next weekend is the start of gun deer season and if what I saw for deer and deer sign this fall is any indication it will be rough hunt in Northern WI.

[yeahman]

Has blue tongue disease wiped out the population? Or what's the deal?

Just got done with a frosty few days of deer hunting along the Marias River north of Great Falls. Eighteen below zero Friday morning, holy shit. Let's just say we were not out hunting at zero dark thirty, just sitting by the woodstove until it warmed slightly. Had a couple different muley bucks in my crosshairs at 150-200 yards but did not pull the trigger.

Still a couple weeks left in the season so I'll be sitting my stand on the edge of our property hoping the big rig in my profile photo comes sniffing around. Haven't seen him yet this year...maybe he got tagged last year. Maybe not. Even during the rut he's super reclusive.

[thebirdhunter]

Nice, dude! Which unit?

One of the Colorado 2nd season OTC units. Sorry don't want to give specific units on the internet. Hope you understand.

[MakersTeleMark]

One of the Colorado 2nd season OTC units. Sorry don't want to give specific units on the internet. Hope you understand.

Because a unit description in Colorado is so so fucking small.

Puleze, get over yourself.

Congrats.

[KQ]

I've got a question for you hunters - how is it hunters can fall 15ft out of a tree stand and die? Are they getting bonked on the head then dying of exposure? Are they hitting rocks/trees/debris below and getting impaled/bashed/etc? Are you strapped in in such a way that you can't mitigate the fall?

I just read yet another article about hunter dying from falling 15 feet and we've got a local HS kid who is paralyzed from his fall but then I saw a news story about a teen who fell 30ft from a Ferris wheel with no life threatening injuries. I don't get it - 15 feet onto the forest floor does not seem like a life threatening fall so I assume there is something I'm missing here because I read about these accidents more often than I'd like.

[yeahman]

I think there are a lot more falls than fatalities. Googling around for stories of tree stand falls, you find stuff like this:

"This year, Indiana has seen seven tree-stand falls, with Bowers' fall being the only one classified as a fatality, said conservation officer Lt. William Browne. In 2012, the state recorded 28 such falls, including one fatality. In 2011, 22 falls occurred, Browne said."

As somebody who painted residentially and commercially for 15 years and took several falls in the 15-20 foot range, I would say that the biggest dangers are 1) falling without warning, giving no time to assume any sort of defensive position; and 2) stuff below that you land on and hit when you fall. That's how I got injured one time on a job. Fell onto a piece of cut plywood and was semi-impaled.

I know what you mean, though, it doesn't seem like falling 15-20 feet to the forest floor would or should be fatal, and I think in most cases it isn't. You only hear about it when it is.

[Phall]

Another good week in the duck blind.
Utah picked up pretty good at the end of last week. Went out in a storm, busted the ice up and shot one Mallard, the next day went to the range to prevent the level of fuckery from happening again. That was a poor shoot. Monday PM and this morning redeemed it. Monday night led to 8 birds between my buddy and I, and I shot a limit this AM. Excited to get out again next week.

Mondays Shoot:
3 Bufflehead Hens
3 GWT
Pintail hen
and one we are unsure of (to the left of the Pinnie)


Monday Night Sunset


Today's Limit (L to R)
Mallard Drake
Shoveler Drake
Bufflehead Drake
3 Scaup ( I think)
GWT Drake

[The Reverend Floater]

You eat those fishlips?

[Phall]

I just ground all the birds from Wednesday (1.9lbs) and added in .5 lbs ground bacon and made some Asian seasoned burgers for a party tomorrow night, I had one today and it was pretty good, I dont know if I'll be eating the Buffles or Scaup just as breasts though.

[2FUNKY]

That is a Bull Pinnie, not a hen. Nice hunt. We have been crushing the dux's up here. 4 man limit of green on Sunday and 3 man limit on Monday. Killing me to not be out there today with the new snow.

[The Reverend Floater]

I just ground all the birds from Wednesday (1.9lbs) and added in .5 lbs ground bacon and made some Asian seasoned burgers for a party tomorrow night, I had one today and it was pretty good, I dont know if I'll be eating the Buffles or Scaup just as breasts though.

Good on you. I have a hard enough time muscling down all the puddlers!

[Phall]

That is a Bull Pinnie, not a hen. Nice hunt. We have been crushing the dux's up here. 4 man limit of green on Sunday and 3 man limit on Monday. Killing me to not be out there today with the new snow.

Thanks, we were wondering, but there was no pin on the tail, so we assumed hen. Where in Idaho? I think this next storm will be good for us too, but my travel options get limited with the snow, a bike can only get you so far.

Rev, the grind and add fat and season is a good way to mask some of that diver taste.

[yeahman]

Took a nice little 4-point whitetail yesterday from my stand...between that and the elk calf the freezer is nicely stocked. Psyched to be done, time to clean the guns and put everything away until next season. Give thanks to the animals for providing us with food.

[Phall]

Finally got the pic of my elk from my buddy, what a great hunt.

[2FUNKY]

Thanks, we were wondering, but there was no pin on the tail, so we assumed hen. Where in Idaho? I think this next storm will be good for us too, but my travel options get limited with the snow, a bike can only get you so far.

Rev, the grind and add fat and season is a good way to mask some of that diver taste.

Yeah not all bulls have pronounced tails. I live in CDA. It's been on up here for a week now and a bunch of specks just rolled into Sandpoint.

[~mikey b]

This guy's hanging out in my back yard right now.

[Phall]

Weather's been tough in UT for Waterfowl. Hunted only a handful days since my last post, got sick, got busy with thanksgiving, etc, but the warm spell left me lacking motivation. When my one buddy says its bad, that means its really bad, he always kills ducks. Finally had a successful day today, I had a group of 100 GWT respond to my teal calling and cup in to my decoys, dropped 4 with one shot! I could have limited if I had got another shot off at the group, but I was so astounded at what just happened I didn't. It was dead after that.

[FreakofSnow]

I missed this thread, i ended up getting out into the woods and putting up camp more than ever. It paid off with an archery bull (1st season) and a good whitetail buck. Lots of other fun too. Freezer's full!

[senior researcher]

Congrats! dayum nice.

[flyandski365]

Nice bull Freak!

So this year my girlfriend decided she wanted to become a falconer too, and asked me to be her sponsor. That's added an interesting dynamic to the relationship (ever taught a SO to ski? It's a bit like that...) but ultimately she's been successful. Below is a photo of her first hawk (redtail) with his very first rabbit. I was only able to get out chasing bunnies once before my guy came down with a respiratory infection, so he'll be laid up for another week or so.