Spring turkey hunting is much more fun when the turkeys come to call... this spring I have been out quite a few times (perhaps 10-12 trips)... the birds simply do not seem interested in dialog. No gobbles throughout the day and very few responses after about 7:30 or 8:00 AM. This is much more like autumn turkey hunting and I don't do that. The "best part" is the show of a big tom challenging the deeks and having the on and on dialog with them in the woods.
I will probably give up for this spring. Hate to do it, but if they don't do their part, I won't do my part either.
Lots of pictures to show... will post them later this week.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Survival class training opportunity.
Several instructors finished a training academy last week to hone our teaching skillset for survival. Thanks to KDWP Hunter Education coordinator WC Doyle for putting this together.
Mr. Peter Kummerfeldt was out instructor and each in attendance was given a copy of his latest book, Surviving a Wilderness Emergency. This is a well written book, very clear and a remarkably easy read... something once started is difficult to put down. Having been around survival training for his entire career, Mr. Kummerfeldt was a warm and pleasant instructor, and he offered a great deal of wisdom and experience in the classroom. Their business (of survival training and equipment) maintains a web page. that is: www.OutdoorSafe.com Visit this web page and enjoy all of the info to be found there.
We briefly discuss the basics of survival in each hunter education class. Attending this class last Saturday, I realized we really do a credible job in our hunter education class presentation. One thing we always focus upon is the continuing need to practice these skills before they are needed. Practice building a fire in nasty weather and also finding sheltered places. Your choice of clothing is a life or death choice... cotton kills. The incorrect clothing choice can invite hypothermia and we all know what that offers. As we continue to remind students in class, practice, practice, practice.
Mr. Kummerfeldt reminded us that a great deal of "information" printed in sports magazines is just simply wrong... some of this bad info has been repeated for years on end and those magazine editors simply keep printing the same crap time and time again. For your safety and sake, read responsibly and credible training materials, and this book certainly is on that list. OutdoorSafe offers materials, information, and training for those who go outdoors, so please learn and practice these skills. When all hell breaks loose, we fall back on our training so, without correct training, it could be a serious matter of life or death in a matter of a very few hours. My day bag I carry hunting is a little too big and bulky but I keep enough gear in it to make a night or two outdoors less unpleasant.
Mr. Peter Kummerfeldt was out instructor and each in attendance was given a copy of his latest book, Surviving a Wilderness Emergency. This is a well written book, very clear and a remarkably easy read... something once started is difficult to put down. Having been around survival training for his entire career, Mr. Kummerfeldt was a warm and pleasant instructor, and he offered a great deal of wisdom and experience in the classroom. Their business (of survival training and equipment) maintains a web page. that is: www.OutdoorSafe.com Visit this web page and enjoy all of the info to be found there.
We briefly discuss the basics of survival in each hunter education class. Attending this class last Saturday, I realized we really do a credible job in our hunter education class presentation. One thing we always focus upon is the continuing need to practice these skills before they are needed. Practice building a fire in nasty weather and also finding sheltered places. Your choice of clothing is a life or death choice... cotton kills. The incorrect clothing choice can invite hypothermia and we all know what that offers. As we continue to remind students in class, practice, practice, practice.
Mr. Kummerfeldt reminded us that a great deal of "information" printed in sports magazines is just simply wrong... some of this bad info has been repeated for years on end and those magazine editors simply keep printing the same crap time and time again. For your safety and sake, read responsibly and credible training materials, and this book certainly is on that list. OutdoorSafe offers materials, information, and training for those who go outdoors, so please learn and practice these skills. When all hell breaks loose, we fall back on our training so, without correct training, it could be a serious matter of life or death in a matter of a very few hours. My day bag I carry hunting is a little too big and bulky but I keep enough gear in it to make a night or two outdoors less unpleasant.
Party hunting
No, not only what my 20 year old son does on Friday nights... This kind of party hunting is an ongoing issue and it is simply unlawful. Party hunting is when one person shoots critters for (or on) another person's license or tag...
Example offered: Three of us are dark goose hunting and the daily limit is three birds, either gender. Person #1 has been practicing with her call, and also at the range so she calls birds to the deeks and shoots her three birds before 8:00 AM... mean while the other two of us are still playing Frisbee with the canines and spilling coffee in the blinds so we have not even taken one shot. If the #1 hunter shoots more birds (for #2 or #3) she is party hunting. Each person has a daily limit. True, the three hunters have a total of nine birds possible, but that does not allow any one person to shoot more than a limit.
Bad idea. Don't do it because it is both unethical and unlawful. This is not just a waterfowl issue as it is for everyone in the field for each species with a daily limit.
Example offered: Three of us are dark goose hunting and the daily limit is three birds, either gender. Person #1 has been practicing with her call, and also at the range so she calls birds to the deeks and shoots her three birds before 8:00 AM... mean while the other two of us are still playing Frisbee with the canines and spilling coffee in the blinds so we have not even taken one shot. If the #1 hunter shoots more birds (for #2 or #3) she is party hunting. Each person has a daily limit. True, the three hunters have a total of nine birds possible, but that does not allow any one person to shoot more than a limit.
Bad idea. Don't do it because it is both unethical and unlawful. This is not just a waterfowl issue as it is for everyone in the field for each species with a daily limit.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Hooked on quack.
Continuing the ongoing series of "Hooked on quack"...
Incoming waterfowl over deeks:
Don’t shoot into a flock of birds, overhead, coming, going, never ever… the collateral damage is frequently remarkable and we must have the discipline to wait until an ethical shot avails itself. The only thing you should shoot a flock of birds with is your camera.
Shoot only the birds you know are sure, safe shots… unless, of course, one of them is flaunting jewelry. (Just teasing, hopefully. Just don‘t taunt me with a banded drake cinnamon teal.)
When you are completely certain of your shootgun skillset, dog, and the morning, a double is not unheard of. Select a bird in the back of the approaching flock, making certain of all pertinent issues… positive identity and gender. Look at one close in front of that one and again, be most certain of that identity and gender. If these two birds fit your plan at this moment, do a final check on the general position of the flock, take your shooting posture, telling your dog to mark it (the falls), insert the muzzle behind the farthest bird, swing to and into the flight path of that bird, through the back bird, (butt, belly, beak, bang) and continue swinging through the second bird (repeated, butt, belly, beak, bang). KEEP SWINGING! Two dead birds falling from the sky at the same moment is the ideal situ, but look closely at both of the birds' heads. If either head is not hanging “limp” but is looking around for a hiding place, make the choice then and there… is your dog going to choose the correct bird and act upon this choice quickly enough? Do not hesitate to shoot the still alive bird again in the air before it has opportunity to swim away to escape cover. My Chessie, Sheba, would aggressively chase down a wounded bird over DRT floaters. She was so confident (read: stubborn) if she thought she saw a splash or movement 20 or 40 yards away from where the “easy” bird fell, she would swim to that area first and search for wounded escaped birds… sometimes in error, but she would not give up until her confidence convinced her to hear my whistle and follow those commands. (Fetch the expletive deleted dead!) Tri-Tronics has products which helped convince her to listen to my whistle, but she was a wonderful dog and I miss her daily.
Shooting into a flock of birds almost guarantees multiple birds will carry pellets and die from your unethical and ill-chosen behavior. Please make certain you only shoot birds you have virtual certainty of recovery to your bag. Sure, coyotes gotta eat too, but you do not need to serve them.
Practice this incoming pair on the shootgun range with carefully positioned and precisely released targets. Missing clay hurts nothing except over inflated egos, however the wisdom gained in this practice is valuable.
I deeply miss my Chessie Sheba, and I'm still hooked on quack. Missy (yellow Lab) is learning and will someday always mark the wounded first. Only time will tell if she gains the wisdom of Sheba. We continue to work on these skills frequently each and every week.
Incoming waterfowl over deeks:
Don’t shoot into a flock of birds, overhead, coming, going, never ever… the collateral damage is frequently remarkable and we must have the discipline to wait until an ethical shot avails itself. The only thing you should shoot a flock of birds with is your camera.
Shoot only the birds you know are sure, safe shots… unless, of course, one of them is flaunting jewelry. (Just teasing, hopefully. Just don‘t taunt me with a banded drake cinnamon teal.)
When you are completely certain of your shootgun skillset, dog, and the morning, a double is not unheard of. Select a bird in the back of the approaching flock, making certain of all pertinent issues… positive identity and gender. Look at one close in front of that one and again, be most certain of that identity and gender. If these two birds fit your plan at this moment, do a final check on the general position of the flock, take your shooting posture, telling your dog to mark it (the falls), insert the muzzle behind the farthest bird, swing to and into the flight path of that bird, through the back bird, (butt, belly, beak, bang) and continue swinging through the second bird (repeated, butt, belly, beak, bang). KEEP SWINGING! Two dead birds falling from the sky at the same moment is the ideal situ, but look closely at both of the birds' heads. If either head is not hanging “limp” but is looking around for a hiding place, make the choice then and there… is your dog going to choose the correct bird and act upon this choice quickly enough? Do not hesitate to shoot the still alive bird again in the air before it has opportunity to swim away to escape cover. My Chessie, Sheba, would aggressively chase down a wounded bird over DRT floaters. She was so confident (read: stubborn) if she thought she saw a splash or movement 20 or 40 yards away from where the “easy” bird fell, she would swim to that area first and search for wounded escaped birds… sometimes in error, but she would not give up until her confidence convinced her to hear my whistle and follow those commands. (Fetch the expletive deleted dead!) Tri-Tronics has products which helped convince her to listen to my whistle, but she was a wonderful dog and I miss her daily.
Shooting into a flock of birds almost guarantees multiple birds will carry pellets and die from your unethical and ill-chosen behavior. Please make certain you only shoot birds you have virtual certainty of recovery to your bag. Sure, coyotes gotta eat too, but you do not need to serve them.
Practice this incoming pair on the shootgun range with carefully positioned and precisely released targets. Missing clay hurts nothing except over inflated egos, however the wisdom gained in this practice is valuable.
I deeply miss my Chessie Sheba, and I'm still hooked on quack. Missy (yellow Lab) is learning and will someday always mark the wounded first. Only time will tell if she gains the wisdom of Sheba. We continue to work on these skills frequently each and every week.
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