Average Joe Hunting Adventures with Dan and CJ

[sn.outdoors]

I have a unique job which affords me the opportunity to spend a lot of time outside. Today I did some land nav and a site survey for an upcoming exercise. I ended up finding some sheds too.

This picture doesn't show it very well, but it had to be an old bull.

All in all, not a bad day at the office. Tomorrow it's back to emails, phone calls, and desk piloting. It's good to breathe some fresh air every now and then.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

I'm still out trying to put a Florida gobbler down and my first long beard down.
Don't worry though, I've got my work cut out for me....
I've been chasing a very old gobbler who is always surrounded by his three hens.
If I have my bow then I get within 50 yards of him, just outside of the range I wanna shoot a gobbler with a bow.
When I have a shotgun then he will stay out at 80 yards.

I was almost convinced he was going down today.
I talked his girls into me and had them around me for about 30 minutes at 40 yard.
He stayed 80 yards away the whole time and then summoned them back to him with three mighty gobbles. Ahhhh
No worries, I'm gonna put this bird down!!!! I will kill my first long beard this year.


I also found a shed from last year on my way out today. Florida GIANT!

 

[sn.outdoors]

Wanna know a few tricks to ensure you see a bunch of cool stuff when you go out in nature?

Do not bring a rifle, neglect to charge your phone, and don't put an SD card in your camera.

I went full retard on the equipment front today.

I ended up finding zero sheds and zero elk. I did, however, see a ton of deer, six coyotes, and crossed paths with a mountain lion. I tried lip squeaking it in, but the cat saw my dog and took off. I'm not an expert at judging cats, but it looked big enough for me.

The icing on the cake? My dog cut most of one of the pads off his foot 5 miles from the truck, and I had to carry him back. I don't know how he did it, but it was a pretty serious cut. We'll see how good my field medicine skills are when we go to the vet in the morning.

It was one of the more frustrating days I've had in the woods.

Que the "pics or it didn't happen" meme. I'll suck less next time, I promise.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

AHHHHH today was closer than it's been so far!
My buddy and I got into some good birds. We were hiking around and calling in different areas.
At one spot we found what sounded like 5-6 gobblers way off in the distance. We grabbed out gear and sprinted towards them.
We got closers and set up. The were probably 100 yards out and coming in fast. We set up in a way we can double.
Well, the two lead birds were long beards and smart. Instead of coming directly in they circled 45 degrees to his side and came in.
I couldn't shoot because I would have been shooting in my buddies direction. The birds hung up at about 25 yards and didn't give my buddy an ethical shot. He just needed them to stick their heads up, but they weren't cooperating. So when they didn't see a hen they left. Beautiful birds! Fired up! Ahh!



Also found a bird hard been teasing us.... (see attached picture)


It was a great weeekend and I've been getting lots of experience in so far.
I cannot wait to finally kill my bird longbeard!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Also.... I just realized that NEW MEXICO DRAWS ARE IN 1 MONTH... AHHH!!!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

i plan on heading out Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to do some more turkey hunting!
I cannot wait and I've got a REALLY good feeling about it.

I've been working on another project the last few weeks.
Something I really became fond of since I joined the military is volunteering.
It started small when I first joined and grew stronger every year.
I've also always contributed to hunting conservation efforts. (Generally just small monetary donations)

With recent awareness efforts being pushed out about public land it made me evaluate what I was doing and how effective it was.
So I decided to start trying to do a little more.

I drove around the range I hunt and found a large amount of dump sites.
After I marked them on a gps, I got with the agency who manages the range, and set up a clean up effort.

It worked out great because they already had great connections with waste management and had lists of people who like to volunteer.

So on April 20th (earth day) we will be cleaning up an archery unit that's approximately 1300 acres. I found at least 20 dump sites so far so we will be cleaning up a bunch!

It's been very exciting setting this up and I hope to do a few more this summer.


Some of the dump sites....

 

[Lostinthewoods]

It's storming out hard right now.
Itll let off at midnight so tomorrow is a go!

I have no idea if turkeys act any different after storms, but I'm feeling good about tomorrow!

I even made a good luck dinner tonight to get me ready for tomorrow.
Homemade venison naan pizza!!!!

Yum yum yum!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Teaser....

 

[Lostinthewoods]

I really wish I had some awesome story where I told you I mastered the birds and defied all the odds, but....that's not the case.
I went out to a spot early in the morning where some birds have roosted before and set up with another guy.

After a few hours of calling and not seeing anything, we went to another spot.
The second spot was a clear cut and burn that they probably did two years ago.
Our plan was to sneak up to the clear cut and sound off into it and see if anything responded.
Before we even got set up to call a bird started firing off in the center of it! WOOOHOOO! Game time!

He was on the other side of a little knoll so we cut the distance using some terrain to our advantage.
We got within about 100 yards, I set up a decoy, and we snuck into some cover.
My buddy started calling and the bird started responding.
After about 30 minutes of talking back and forth to the bird he shut up.
My buddy started to get antsy and asked if I minded if he tried crawling up to get a better look.
He did a large flank around and I sat there continuing to call and waiting for something to happen.

BOOM BOOM..... my buddy was shooting way over on the other side of the clear cut.
I got my phone out to call him and looked up. From a completely different direction I saw this giant bird gliding down directly do my decoy!
It didn't take long for me to realize it was a big turkey and that it had a beard.
I snapped my safety off, he landed at my decoy, and BOOM.
3" turkey shot is pretty effective at 10 yards!

We still have no idea what honestly happened.....

I personally think that this bird was already coming in, got spooked by my buddy shooting, and basically made his way towards the timber quicker.
Everyone down here keeps telling me that birds will roost real late on this range because they are so used to getting shot out. So they think it could have been coming into my decoy....never the less, the tag is fill and I killed my first long beard!!!!!!


What a great way to start off the 2017 season!
He was 17lbs, 10.5" beard, and 1" spurs!


I am glowing and can't wait to get back out.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Wooohoo!!!

 

[sn.outdoors]

I got out yesterday with my daughter and explored a few new areas. Did about 8 miles with the kiddo, gear, food, and water on my back. We didn't find any sheds and only saw one elk. We did see a lot of deer, and the kid got to stay out way past her bedtime.

 

[sn.outdoors]

I snuck in a little more daddy daughter time before dinner.

It's amazing all the questions a young mind can conjure up when doing or witnessing something for the first time. I'm going to have to really think through my rationale for everything I do when I bring her out in the woods.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Just submitted my Oklahoma controlled hunt applications!
I have a really good feeling about this year and there is one hunt I REALLY hope I draw!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

I forgot to mention I got my Colorado PP today too for deer!


Is it Saturday yet? I'm dying to get out and chase more gobblers!
I hope everyone is having a great week.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Well I got out today and was CLOSE to putting a bird down with a bow.

After I finished up a bunch of projects around the house I decided to run off to an archery only area where I knew some birds lived.
People know they are there and hunt them, but I think once we get later into the season the pressure slows down.

I walked about a half mile in to a giant field that I've seen then in before and glassed.
Down at the opposite end of the field (approx 700-800 yards away) I saw a black body and it looked like s turkey.
I had no idea what it was, so I cut back in the timber and cut the distance. I popped out again around 200 yards and I saw it again.
When I saw the red head I knew it was go time.
I'm not picky when it comes to bow hunting a turkey. Especially as a noob. A red head or anything with a beard is fair game!
I cut back into the timber and came out again about 125 yards away.
This is when something kind of hit me.
You know how when you see a big deer or a big elk, you don't even need to really access it, you just know it's big and mature... well that was this bird...
He was a tank! Beard dragging, giant head, and he looked like a bruiser.
He was mulling around in the corner of the field so I crept closer to a point I felt like I could make something happen.
I was in some good cover with a lane and I was EXCITED!
I messaged one of my buddies "man, I'm 80 yards away from the biggest bird I've ever seen in my life... he's alone, I've got no blind or decoys, what should I do?????"

He told me I should get my slate and call quietly.
Ok, I can do that....

I look down into my binoharness where I keep my calls and wouldn't you know it... I lost my third striker of the year .

Well guess I have to use my mouth calls....
I popped one in and started calling.
At first he was just kind of sitting there cleaning himself and feeding, but then he started to go the other direction.
I figured whatever I was doing wasn't working, so I started calling a little different. This time I put a little more emotion behind it!
He stopped and looked around, but didn't fully commit yet.
So I started calling again, but this time I rustled some leaves around too....GOT HIM.
He changed his course and started making his way in towards me.
The demeanor of this bird just screamed smart... he never gobbled and he never ran.
He cautiously made his way in to me. About 45 yards out I heard him making this noise.
It sounded like he was clucking. I've heard alert noises before and this was not it.
So I figured he was just trying to locate me.
About the time he hit 43 yards he was about to pop out into my lane.

Now for you experienced turkey hunters, don't have a go at me when I say this next part because it was just something I never considered...
I drew when he got behind my draw point and held as he came out at 40.
If I would have let him come in closer he would have bagged me drawing.
He was walking, stopping, walking, stopping, at about 37 yards I picked my mark and shot.
I watched my arrow soar right by the bird.... close close close close close!
It was the right height for the shot, but went a few inches to the right.... ahhhhhh!
He flew about 8 yards and looked around. I didn't move or make a noise in case he wasn't too spooked. He walked the opposite direction of me and went off into the wood.

I was not pleased!!!! I hate missing!!!!
I was riding such a natural high up until that point.
Here I was calling in (with a mouth call) an old bird on public land. It felt great, until the arrow didn't meet its mark!

After I called a few of my turkey friends to ask some questions, they really broke it down to me that vitals on a turkey are nothing like vitals on a deer or elk.
Most of them limit themselves to 25 yards or less and I will now do that too.
I'll be back out there tomorrow with some decoys and hopefully some better luck!


I decided after the hunt to pop into a spot that I hunt out there to pull a camera from deer season....
GONE! Someone decided that they wanted the camera....
I've had a few cameras stolen now, but this one ticked me off the most.
It's on an active military base, so that means someone with a DOD id stole it.
General public are not allowed to hunt it. So that really got my blood boiling!
No worries though, no reason to dwell over it. I guess I just need to hide them even better now on a place I didn't think I need to.



Tomorrow will be a better day!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

What another interesting day!

I woke up at 3 am, got out to my spot NICE and early, and waited for the sun to come up.
Around 6:30 I started some calling and got a bird to respond. He was a bit further out than I had hoped, but he was talking with me. I figured he was approximately 120 yards away.

After a few minutes of talking he went quiet. I figured he flew down and was either coming my way or had already found another hen. After 10 minutes I saw movement out in the field I was on. It was a hen and she was running right towards where the gobbler was. No!!!!!!!!!!

No worries, I was set up next to a field that I was expecting mid day action at. I've scouted this field twice. One day it has three gobblers in it around noon just feeding and the other time was yesterday when I found that solo bird.
I figured that once the gobblers broke away from hens they went out here for some mid day searching or it's just a place they hung out.
I set my jake decoy up over a hen so I could hopefully rial one of them up when they saw it.

Around 9:50 I decided to start calling again. About 10 minutes later I saw a bird coming my way. It was a hen and she fed right towards my calling. She came right into my decoys and hung out for a little while. It was exciting to listen to her talk to my decoys and then I watched her walk off. I was fired up because everything seemed right.
Then my mood quickly changed. I saw movement again come from across the field.
This time is was something large... a deer maybe? Nope.... I threw my binos up and saw a hunter coming from the woods. The well marked, clearly off limits woods that all the animals like to stay in. I was LIVID! Again, this was on a military base. So what in the world is this guy doing hunting in an off limits area on a military base. I know he saw my decoys because he started walking away fast. He went even faster when I jumped up and started walking out his way. He was at least 500 yards away and unless I sprinted I wasn't going to catch him, but I hope he knows he was bagged. All I wanted to do was talk to the individual and see if they knew it was off limits and remind them that it was if they "didn't know". Now that he ran I will call and notify a couple agencies tomorrow. I'll also be on the look out for this guy again. As a person I hold myself to a certain standard, but as a military member I have to hold myself to a higher standard. I do this because any negative actions can reflect back on your career. So it blows my mind that someone would knowingly enter an off limit zone. Oh... this off limit zone is behind a firing range....
Not smart!


Needless to say I wasn't pleased, so I decided that was my sign to head home and hang out with the family. I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with my wife and baby and I cooked them up a nice little treat. Smoked short ribs and naan pizza! Yum!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

My September just got a little more busy...... I'll be chasing elk in New Mexico!!!!!!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

I just applied for Idaho moose

 

[sn.outdoors]

My September just got a little more busy...... I'll be chasing elk in New Mexico!!!!!!

Lucky you.

Looks like September got a lot less complicated. NM wasn't as kind to me this year as it was in the past.

I'm anxiously waiting for ID big game results to come out, and also hoping to get lucky in the Oregon draw. Who would have thought having sooooooo many options would be this stressful.

 

[sn.outdoors]

While Dan's killing turkeys down across the country in KY, I'm wandering aimlessly. (I'm patiently waiting for Dan to update everyone from his hunt this morning. I won't ruin the surprise.)

Since I only have a day, I'm staying fairly close to home and checking out a few new areas. If I catch a bear on its feet I'll try to shoot it too. Though I'm not holding out much hope