Is Hunting Season over ?

[fasteddie]

Is Hunting Season over ? Does anyone hunt small game , varmints , etc ?  

[First-light]

I may take a walk around the property with the 12 gauge. Bunny or grouse. This deer season burnt me out for sure. 

[bruno1]

Our deer season end’s Tuesday and waterfowl ends tomorrow for us on Long Island 

[airedale]

Still going strong for me, the Gray squirrels are low in numbers so they are getting substituted with Reds, takes about three Reds to equal one Gray. Put up several Patridges as the old timers call them, they were gone in a flash and I did not even pull the trigger. Been sneaking around in the alders and Balsams trying to pot a Hare but no luck as of yet. Now with this "Chaga" mushroom saga I wrote about about I will be taking a few walks looking for it and combining in some small game hunting so long as the snow stays fairly light. Had a nice Red Fox come in to a woodpecker call but he got a pass.

Nothing like being in the woods hunting.

Al

Edited January 28, 2023 by airedale

[heavuser]

Not stopping till Feb 28th

 

3M here. 

[New York Hillbilly]

With it finally sunny, I did take my dogs for a walk to the creek to stretch out legs. I worry it's too tough for my little old Westie, whereas the younger, big pup just plows through. The little girl stays behind me hopping from one boot tract to the next. lol In the morning I plan to take a long hike up the hill with the .22 to do a little squirrel hunting, which is something I have not done in many, many years. 

[GreeneHunter]

I am going to try and take out a couple Coyote's , have until March 26 !

[GreenDrake]

Been hunting crows pretty hard then hitting the grain bunkers afterwards for pigeons. Good shooting despite the much lower numbers of crows this winter.  Not getting the big roosts and flyways the past 2 years. Still chasing grouse as well.  Plenty of real fun shooting to do. Especially crows snd pigeons when you can laugh and  cut up while doing it. 

[DirtTime]

Hmm.. I know a guy that knows a guy's brother, that knows a guy who was just taking about this same thing someplace else.

 

No, my season isn't over. Taken a few grays and some crows, but have yet to take down a coyote which is my goal. I suppose this is all for the 2023 season though seeing it's been after the first of the year.

[jperch]

I went hunting for a package of venison loin in my chest freezer earlier today and  I bagged one!  It was trying to hide beneath a bag of burger but I was not fooled.

I might go out once for bunnies locally.  I used to love hunting for them and partridge.  At 68 jumping up and down on brushpiles is tough.  I count it as a successful outing if I get a shot at one.  They sure are tasty.

[First-light]

15 hours ago, bruno1 said:

Our deer season end’s Tuesday and waterfowl ends tomorrow for us on Long Island 

Miss doing the late season at Otis or Rocky point. My gang usually goes out a few times but not this year. I'm brining down a cooler of venison next weekend maybe that is why! lol

[Robby]

Squirrel's are still pretty numerous, probably not for long though, the fishers have moved in. 

Robby

 

[Grouse]

On a nice sunny day I will go out for Grouse, squirrel and rabbits.

[airedale]

Took a walk this morning for small game but was mainly looking to see if I could find any Chaga mushroom growths. Totally struck out with the Chaga, not many white birch where I was hunting and the ground is high and dry. Got a couple of better places to check out down the road. 

Did see a couple of Deer, a big fat porcupine and one Squirrel, let them slide and saved them for later.

Al

[Northcountryman]

Al, do you use any calls when your squirrel hunting?  I read that rubbing the ends of 2 quarters produces a sound that imitates squirrels feeding on acrorns/nuts ; used it a number of years ago but results were mixed in terms of success.

[Shoots100]

Coyote ends March 26th, so I'll be out there till the stroke of midnight on the 26th hunting coyote.

[airedale]

16 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Al, do you use any calls when your squirrel hunting? 

I do have a bunch of Squirrel calls and use them on occasion with very mixed results. The ones I have had the best responses with are the rubber bulb type that mimics a gray squirrel's alarm call. Sometimes they respond by answering back and even moving toward me, other times they pay zero attention so go figure.

Al

[Northcountryman]

Where'd you get that call? I might try it this year.

 

 

[fasteddie]

1 hour ago, airedale said:

I do have a bunch of Squirrel calls and use them on occasion with very mixed results. The ones I have had the best responses with are the rubber bulb type that mimics a gray squirrel's alarm call. Sometimes they respond by answering back and even moving toward me, other times they pay zero attention so go figure.

Al

I will have to look for mine  It is a rubber bulb call . I am sure it is in a cabinet in the garage . Never brought any in to me . 

[Robby]

Anyone else remember the original Herter's company? The catalog was a thrill in and of itself, I really miss it. Anyway, I bought this squirrel call over fifty years ago and it still works just fine. Run the knurled rod across the edge of the brass plate and it gives that scratchy noise they make, brings them close enough for a shot.

 

[airedale]

4 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Where'd you get that call? I might try it this year.

 

My favorite call is a Black Creek call that was locally made, they are no longer in production but there are a multitude of bellows type calls being made and sold, just do a search and you will get plenty of examples.

 

42 minutes ago, Robby said:

Anyone else remember the original Herter's company? The catalog was a thrill in and of itself, I really miss it.

I have somewhere in my memorabilia stash an old Herter's catalog, they were pretty entertaining and old man Herter was quite the salesman. Bought quite a bit of stuff from them back in the day. Never tried one of his Squirrel calls.

With a bit of practice one can produce pretty realistic Squirrel calls by just sucking on the back of your hand.

Al

Edited January 31, 2023 by airedale

[airedale]

Fox hunting with a Hound has fallen by the wayside in recent years, I suspect because of the overwhelming majority of hunters now use calls and can hunt at night with lights.

I had a good friend that owned a well trained Harrier hound female that we hunted quite a bit on Fox. Same techniques for Hare hunting except the terrain was a bit more open. We liked hunting under the large powerlines after a fresh snow with spots that had big woods on both sides. Fox would make a bigger circle than a Hare and go out of hearing a lot. It was a panic.

Once winter ended and Spring sprung it was time for my favorite, "Woodchucks" seemed like the fun never ended.

Al

Edited January 31, 2023 by airedale

[New York Hillbilly]

17 hours ago, Robby said:

Anyone else remember the original Herter's company? The catalog was a thrill in and of itself, I really miss it. Anyway, I bought this squirrel call over fifty years ago and it still works just fine. Run the knurled rod across the edge of the brass plate and it gives that scratchy noise they make, brings them close enough for a shot.

 

Cool! In all my years of hunting I have never seen such a thing for squirrels. 

[ANTLERS]

[WNYBuckHunter]

I’m still hunting yotes and fox, though not as often as I hoped.