Twax10

With all due respect that isn't the state sticking their hands in peoples pockets like they do in so many other ways. For one this is a Federal Duck Stamp. And two its $15 a year that goes towards conserving habitat for the birds and keeps you (and your kids) hunting them for years to come. Did I mention it's $15 a year?

Imo, HIP takes 5 minutes of your time and the $15 is well worth the trip with your daughter. Plus that $15 you pay for a stamp goes towards wetlands conservation. Thats a small amount to give up and a lot of good to be done.

Yes I did. The taxidermist offered to fix it for free so I said go for it. I was able to get my hands on some trail cam pictures of the buck taken only a week before and he was completely intact. I know it wasn't how he was shot but I wanted him shown as nature grew him.

It's the off season. It's cold, you can't hunt much and most of us have cabin fever like crazy. So I figured I'd put up a little whitetail story to help scratch that itch. I'm a waterfowl guy through and through, but this is one I havent shared and it's my first buck which makes it that much sweeter. Nov 17th 2013 The day before the hunt I ended up getting stuck at work late. I worked until about 4 in the morning which gave me the next day off. I wasn't too tired when I got home and we had just gotten a fresh coat of snow. It was a beautiful morning and I only had a few hours until daylight so I figured I'd take my morning nap against a tree. I suited up and got to my spot just as the sun was cresting the horizon. I sat there for a few minutes just taking it all in and made a quick phone call I had to make (I know not the place to do it). I hang up the phone and as I'm sliding it into my jacket pocket I catch some brown about 150 yards out that dissapears behind a knoll. So I turn to my right and make a crawl about 20 yards to higher ground. I see it's a doe and I have a doe tag so I pull my father's BLR up and get her in the crosshairs. She's at about 100 yards at this point and headed my way so I was in no rush to pull the trigger. Plus it's Nov. 17th, I'd be an idiot to rush a shot on a lone doe headed my way. As i'm watching her through the scope I catch more movement behind her. Heart starts going. It's a yearly. Then instantly more movement. I can see horn now. It was like he showed up in the open timber out of nowhere. I instantly switch to him. As I do that he turns and begins to walk down the deer run i'm sitting on, right towards me. He covered the next 60 yards with a tree directly between his main beems. Now he's at about 40 yards and keep in mind I'm on one knee using a 2" sapling as a rest, I'm not very covered. Finally he clears that tree and is standing there facing directly at me. I put the crosshairs on his chest and pull the trigger... CLICK... The freaking gun doesn't go off!! Now he's looking directly at me but from some act of god doesn't decide to bolt quite yet. Instinct kicks in and I barely remember doing it but I cycled the lever and let her fly. I look up from the scope and he's already done a 180 and is headed down the hill. I watched him fall at 100 yards. Now that has been my fathers gun for years and years. He's killed MANY deer with that firearm and has never had a single malfunction. I'm not sure if it was a dud round or just the deer gods testing me but looking back I'm glad it happened. Makes the story that much more interesting.

Just to clarify, everything I said above isn't to be taken as the bible. That is all just information on what I use to kill geese and what works for me. As far as transporting decoys I agree that fullbodies aren't an option for some, thats why I suggested sillos. But if you can swing it than I think it helps. There's a hundred ways to get it done for sure. You just need to find what fits your style of hunting and particular situation.

This is close to what I was talking about. Obviously this is a larger spread but think the same concept except shrunk down a little. As you can see the blinds are at the base of the "U" facing the kill hole with the wind to the hunters backs. Geese will almost always land with the wind in their face so use that to your advantage. Typically if I have a real light or changing wind I will keep my "U" tight like what is shown in the picture. This helps keep the birds that are decoying in a more concentrated area and less unpredictable. If I have a nice strong wind I will open that "U" up more and provide a larer area for them to land. Keeping the wind at your back will ensure the birds in your face. When I say flag at tips and tails I mean only when the birds are not facing directly at you. When their wing tips or their tails are facing you. Motion in the spread is a great thing and it helps us kill a lot of birds that aren't fully commited yet. But, you also don't want them busting you when you stick your hand out of the blind to wave that flag. Flag to get the flocks attention while they're way out and as they get closer stop (say 100-200 yards). If they aren't coming on a string and decide to circle give that flag a few flaps as they're on the edge of their swing around the spread. The idea is to catch their eye with some movement, sort of a confidence booster. As far as the silo socks go we only use those for snow geese in the spring. The reason being because we like to run around 500 minimum and I would have to sell my house to buy that many fullbodies . I'm a fan of quality over quantity but you have to start somewhere and I'd be lieing if I said I didn't think you'd kill some birds over them. And the last and probly most important thing, that I left out of my last post, is to scout like crazy.You'll learn way more from watching geese land and feed in a field from the side of the road than you will reading what I have to say. Watch the formation they're in, where they land, what they're feeding on and what they sound like. Here is a picture from the last weekend in Sept 2014. 48 birds in about 2 hours. Thats what its all about!! I'm the idiot on my dads shoulders but I shot a band that day (bird I'm holding) so I was pumped. As I said it can become real addicting real fast. Good luck!

In our spread we run about 5 dz fullbodies, 3 dz sillos and about 4 dz shells. IMO the more the better when it comes to waterfowling. With that said you can certainly kill birds with 10-20 decoys, especially early in the season. If you're not trying to break the bank go with silhouette decoys. They're easy to pack in, still give you good realism and a lot cheaper than the fullbodies. BUT if you're willing to spend the money buy the fullbodies. Quality can make a difference. We typically run the "U" pattern with our decoys. Leave some landing room in front of the blinds and keep the wind at your back. And as Mike said invest in a flag and learn when to use it. Only flag at tips and tails. It can be a game changer at times. And lastely pick up a call and start practising. We all run short reeds but they can be tricky to get the hang of. For a beginner a flute call is great. Easy to run and easy to get good tone. Good luck. This game can be real addicting.

I have a buddy that shot one for about 5 years as his primary waterfowl/upland gun. Stoeger M3000 semi. It is certainly a cheaper gun but I will say it held up very well considering we hunt very hard all season long and do a lot of shooting in the off season. If you can afford a more quality gun there are better ones out there but if that is your price range than I'd say give it a shot.

I used the Mossy Oak graphics on my girlfriends 20ga also and it came out great. It's really good material to work with. I've done a lot of wrapping with 3M materials in the past and I found this stuff much easier to get correct. Plus at like $35 you can't go wrong

It's sort of like when my tummy gets use to eating steak and taters for dinner every night then I get stuck at work late and have to stop at Mcdonalds at 8pm for a big mac and by 9pm I'm pooing my brains out and it feels like I've been shot in the stomach. Don't feed deer Mcdonalds

I was watching a flock of turkeys cross the road a few years ago. I see a van coming in the opposite direction and as it gets closer I notice it isn't slowing down. I'm not sure if it was a clueless driver or just an a**hole who thought it was funny but he plowed right into one of the hens as she crossed. Sent the bird a good ways through the air. He never tapped the breaks and kept going. Anyhow, I called my local ECO and told him what happened and if I could have the bird and he said go for. Most tender turkey tits I've ever had

It gives a description of the WMU's that the South Zone consists of under the map. Then you can go on and look up the road boundary for the WMU you're refering too and make sure you're within the lines. Pain in the ass system. Probably doesn't matter though considering most of the state needs two feet of snow to melt before the birds head in anyways. I don't see it happening by March 10th.

Got one myself while shooting pigeons for a local farmer. I still haven't contracted Chirpes so I think I'm in the clear...

I lost my retriever last May and for the follow months I would have disagreed with this comment. I felt like I would be replacing her which I knew could never be done. As time pasted and it got easier, my thoughts changed from the pain of losing her to how incredible it was to have her. For the both of us. So in October I went and got myself a little lab puppy. She's six months old today and I love her to death. I'll never forget my last dog but its great making memories with my new one. Best of luck, I know how tough it can be.

I will end up paying a total of $800 in the end but I brought him a wood duck to do also, so not to bad for both. He just sent me a few teaser photos. He said he still had some tweaking to do and it will be laying down on a rock base.

We do this every weekend and have a blast. To go up for an hour or two and come back with 40+ birds isnt uncommon at all. It's expensive when you're going through a brick of shells at a time but it will make a damn good wing shot out of anyone real quick. Got this guy about a month ago...

That could be just the way youre percieving her behavior Dan. Think about it the other way. Retrivers are just that, they love to pick things up and show them off. Maybe its not her taunting you about what she has and you don't, but her saying look what i can do. Either way you should try and channel that urge into a training situation and swing it to your benefit (obviously not with slippers). If shes going to be a bird dog start with some basic retriver drills. If not then simple games of fetch are great too. And one last thing... when she does pick something up give tons of praise for giving it to you. It'll encourage her to finish the last step of retreiving. And I use a sportdog sd-425. Little expensive but a great collar.

^^^^ What doewhacker said! E collars are a great and very valuable tool but if used incorrectly can ruin a dog of the collar real quick. I've seen dogs that wont even move a muscle when the collar is put on because they're scared of doing something wrong, no good. Your dogs just being a rebellious teenager right now and a mix of tough love,consistancy and time should do her good. A nice long lead when she's outside for a while is a great way to keep control of her too.

EVAAAAAAA

A lot of people don't know its good for the heard to remove the pedafile bucks... In all seriousness congrats, very nice buck.

We hunted fish creek just off the lake yesterday. Not a ton of mallards and we saw a ton of geese but mostly high flyers heading south. I'm hoping the warmer weather might keep a few around for next weekend.

I'd get in trouble with that thing Edit: Let me add that it wouldn't be while looking for deer.

Cool thanks. Keep me posted.

I've heard good things about this stuff. Pretty cheap and seems a lot easier than other ways. But I also want a quality job done. I plan to grab some soon and give it a test run.

What method do you use for tanning? I'm going to start doing my own hides this year as well and seems like there's a lot of different ways to go about it.