The Hunting Thread

I was 2 for 2 my first two times. I didn't kill one for 2 years despite having them in my lap after that. They can make you look really stupid

 

If they could smell like a deer, you'd never kill one.

 

Yep

 

Absolutely love turkey hunting, for me nothing beats it for a number of reasons. One is that if you do it long enough all the crazy experiences you’ll have. Birds walking by within two feet. Double kills with friends. Calling one in to your front have him walk a circle 300 yards around you and surprise you from behind. It’s just a different level of suspense.

I got one yesterday. Had two big toms at 45 yards or so. Decoys in between us and them. Was going to let them come in closer and all the sudden in the corner of my eye I see movement and I’ve got 3 jakes right beside me. It quickly becomes evident the toms want nothing to do with them or are spooked by the decoys and they quickly start moving away so I throw up quick and blast one at 50 yards.

 

Stroked him at about 100 yards

 

Once I get settled I need a place to deer hunt. Just some does

 

We got a ton of ducks, but this wind has made them hard to work.

 

We killed 13 today but saw thousands

 

I'm about to go fire up generators and ice eaters

 

Everything froze over and the ducks headed to the woods. But man there were a ton of them yesterday.

 

I brought four mallards home. Three of them were rice breast. I kept one of the three, since it only had a few cysts, so I'll chance it.

But I had to throw two out. I am rather annoyed.

75% of cleaned ducks being infected is either a bad sign, or I'm just unlucky.

 

Literally every one of my buddies hunts. It's just not in my blood. Cant explain it. They call me a [ussy pay] constantly because I won't go and they are in Arkansas this morn. Just not my thing. Hell I don't know that I can afford it. Some of their outfits supposedly are very expensive

 

I don't have much desire to anymore. I go cause the old man asks me to go. Once he hangs it up, I'll be done, except to take the kid a few times as he grows up.

 

Honestly I think with a few of my buddies it's a man thing to feel manly. Others like the meat aspect, others just like to hang out and a couple consider it a sport and compete. I'm good with the hanging out part but when they bring back 20 dead ducks that were having a good day flying around I'm probably going to start thinking about if they were people and that happened to us and have to leave due to weirdness.

 

I eat 'em, but I can get whole duck at Whole Foods. And if I want to compete, I can shoot trap. And if I want to watch the sun come up on the water, I can do that by just walking out in the woods in the morning.

I get annoyed when we cripple one and it lands long and gets up under grass and we can't retrieve it, cause that was a waste. And I get annoyed by things like today, where the duck is infected with a parasite, and I have to toss the meat, because I'm not going to risk feeding it to the family. Because it was a waste.

 

I didn’t buy it all at once, but total cost of everything I’d be wearing on a cold morning deer hunting is kind of embarrassing. The expensive stuff is it worth it to me though, it’s not all worth the money but much of it is.

 

If my clothes allow me to sit in a stand for an extra hour and allow me to sit still and quiet then it’s worth every penny.

 

For me it’s that the nice stuff I have now weighs about 1/3 of what the nice stuff weighed 15 or 20 years ago.

 

Yep. Plus, it controls my scent better and wicks away moisture from my body. Merino wool is the greatest material ever.