Hunt it on public

[HighDesertSage]

I had this great idea to drag this:
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Through here:
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But I accidentally brushed the ladder on my elbow when hanging a stand...
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I feel your pain, @HighDesertSage ! It didn't dawn on me until after I left, but if a stranger tries to hunt from one of the stands they are in for quite the surprise

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Mine is finally clearing up two weeks later and multiple steroid doses.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Scouted 2 goose spots last night - one had no recent activity, and the other has a few geese that flew off after sunset. I opted to gamble on a third, un-scouted spot. No geese this AM, but did see tons of other wildlife including a "bonus" bird.

 

[Gellar]

Scouted 2 goose spots last night - one had no recent activity, and the other has a few geese that flew off after sunset. I opted to gamble on a third, un-scouted spot. No geese this AM, but did see tons of other wildlife including a "bonus" bird.
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I like the raccoon picture. Is the raccoon picture from the raccoon river? Lol!

 

[Pucky Freak]

I like the raccoon picture. Is the raccoon picture from the raccoon river? Lol!

I should have tried to get a picture of some skunks

 

[Pucky Freak]

Slow morning on the duck pond. I saw 3, 2 came in, and I shot 1 hen woodie. I may try hunting open water by kayak on Monday when it's not so crowded.


I ground up the last of the venison in preparation for this year's animals

 

[Gellar]

Slow morning on the duck pond. I saw 3, 2 came in, and I shot 1 hen woodie. I may try hunting open water by kayak on Monday when it's not so crowded.
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I ground up the last of the venison in preparation for this year's animals
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I have never seen as many duck hunters and boats in Lansing and Harpers Ferry as I have seen since Thursday. I have not been seeing many ducks though.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Quick action at first light. About 100 teal zipped by, pass shooting and it was pretty much over 20 minutes to sunrise. Managed to knock one down and missed a bunch more!

My black running pants were a bad idea - rather than pick the thousands of stickers out I just threw the pants away.

 

[Bowmannate2000]

Quick action at first light. About 100 teal zipped by, pass shooting and it was pretty much over 20 minutes to sunrise. Managed to knock one down and missed a bunch more!
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My black running pants were a bad idea - rather than pick the thousands of stickers out I just threw the pants away.

Holy porcupine legs

 

[Pucky Freak]

Nature’s acupuncture

 

[vanish]

My black running pants were a bad idea - rather than pick the thousands of stickers out I just threw the pants away.

Wow, I thought they were some kind of ghilly pant! They blended in great with the grass

 

[Pucky Freak]

I’d wear a ghillie suit under a 100 degree noon sun before wearing those pants again. I’d have shed them a lot earlier, but then I imagined getting pulled over and having to explain wearing only briefs with $1k binos on hand

 

[Pucky Freak]

October has been very warm, and the 10-day forecast has more of the same. Plan to start bow-hunting once it cools down. A lot of practice lately and I finally got a really nice set at 20 yards. It’s been fun to shoot with my daughter, she really likes the long bow we got her. Just about every time we put her younger brothers down for a nap she asks if we can go shoot.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Rainy Day Reward
Forecast of lots of rain starting at midnight through about 4 PM today. I thought I'd try and intercept 2 groups of turkeys I had previously scouted on oxbows, using wet leaf litter to my advantage. I slowly picked my way from a likely feeding area towards likely roosts at first light. Spotted this doe feeding on submerged vegetation, and crept in to 18 yards for a picture. She eventually winded me and took off.


I was only finding old turkey sign, approximately from when I last turned up group #1. I moved on to group #2 (two hens), and a shape at 200 yards caught my attention. Binos up and confirmed it was one of the hens. I backed up a little and approached behind cover, then relocated the bird at 90. She was leisurely feeding on seeds on a sand flat. I crawled in another 20 yards, and ran out of cover. At this point I was debating whether to set up for shot in the off chance that she walked towards me vs. back up 300 yards and make a huge loop around and slip in from behind. I x'ed the latter idea as she was on the move, albeit slowly, and chances were when I got back to where I left her she would not be there.

I ever-so-slowly nudged 4 yards closer until there was no more cover whatsoever, at which point it was just a dice roll on whether she'd walk 16 yards towards me vs. any other direction. As luck would have it, within 10 minutes she was angling towards me. 60 yards, 55, 50, 48...I debated getting greedy on a 45-yard shot, but decided I had as fine a shot as any and
squeezed the trigger. The bird flopped, but then started to struggle to get up. I shot out of the brush like a rocket to put her down, but apparently my base-stealing days are behind me, as I felt my knee twinge and I was down in a heap. After collecting myself up I hobbled over and finished her off.

As it lay, opening day:


My knee felt fair on the 2-mile hike out. I bumped turkey group #1 onto private property about halfway back, and marked the spot on OnX. They appeared to have been loafing near a small, secluded, picked soybean plot.

Once I got home my knee was hurting a bit more and late this afternoon it gave out on me. Soon after this my ankle of the same leg began to crescendo into such intense pain to the point where I blacked out. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this was unbearable. I was watching my kids but rendered helpless as I cried, screamed, tucked in a fetal position, and struggled to even think clearly as I kept slipping towards blacking out again. In moments of lucidity I was able to walk my 4-year-old through finding my phone so I could call my wife.

Long-story short and 1 hospital trip later (I was there last year as well on Oct 1st...I'm on a tear), I may have a dislocated bone in my foot at worst, at best multiple sprains. Review with the foot specialist tomorrow to learn more.

 

[Gellar]

Congratulations on the turkey….holy cow on the leg! Glad your daughter was able to get a hold of your phone to call for help.

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Tough deal. Congrats on the bird. I’ll be hoping for the best for your foot, and a quick recovery either way.

 

[duckhunt]

Great bird but that injury sucks. Hopefully that's not the end of your season.

 

[CouesKelly]

Congrats on the bird! Hoping for a speedy recovery on the leg.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Podiatrist reviewed x-rays and it looks good. I got a knee brace and an ankle brace, and I can walk in cowboy boots. It may be awhile before I make it out hunting again. I would go sooner than later but my wife insists I heal up first. I hate to accept it but she’s right.

 

[Bowmannate2000]

Congrats on the bird, but sorry about the injury. Get better soon!

 

[JHB4]

Congratulations!