jmez
WKR
Finally done decent weather yesterday. My oldest, on my left shot this Tom yesterday. He's in the smoker now!!
Snowing again today.
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Snowing again today.
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Very coolHey all,
The ol’ man’s tired of the hopelessness and fear that’s infiltrated this forum.
My state’s on “lockdown” too but I wanna make sure people know I’m also not hiding behind the powdered milk in the basement with a loaded shotgun guarding the toilet paper with the kids.
Ya, my own father’s 70 with heart disease, and we’ve isolated him to his house. We’re gonna follow the guidelines as much as possible and I’m not saying you should violate yours, but let’s also not lay down and die here.
Rokslide is the original “social distancing” crowd, so I want this thread to be a place to show and talk about what you’re doing to get ready for what we do: hunting and all things related.
First, my job is pretty much at half time right now, and I hate to admit it, it feels good.
I’ve prepared for something like this for years by staying out of debt and can float a while without paychecks. I hope you can too. If you can’t, I’m sorry, and it’s no time to go in debt, so look for cheaper ops, phone a friend, have a garage sale, whatever it takes. Even then, I still think there is something for you on this thread.
And remember, tough times are what friends are for, so look for hunt ops with friends that can float you for while. And if you can help someone, do it. I’ve already got my hand out to a few people so they know they’ll get though this. You should too.
So after some thoughts and prayers, I’m still preparing for the future that I’m pretty sure will come.
First, I’m still applying for hunts pretty much like normal. I’m not risking money I can’t afford to lose, and you shouldn’t either. Like I said in my book, you should try to hunt as close to home as possible as logistically you’re more efficient. And if funds are (or are gonna be) tight, it’s just plain cheaper.
So I’m maximizing those ops, but since I don’t have any control over the western states’ draw sequence, I still have to put in apps now. So I’ve aimed for a fewer longer shots this year but kinda hoping I’ll just be home hunting, BUT if I draw something great, I’m going.
If the “government” shuts it all down and I encounter the national guard on my way to Colorado, oh well, what’s a few preference points? And as some wise men on Rokslide have said “I can make more money but I can’t make more time.”
Also, now that I’m working a few less hours, I getta spend some more time with the family. I got home early enough to grab the kids and scout out a local lake. Surprisingly the ice is coming off and the fish are packed against the shore. Sophie said “Dad! I wanna go fishing!”
In our state, we can be outdoors with people we live with and/or 6 feet from those we don’t, as long as it’s not a “public gathering” so by this time tomorrow night, I hope to show you guys a bucket of fish that we’ll be frying up in the dutch ovens this weekend.
So please support this thread with what you’re able to do to get in the outdoors during this time, (even if it’s building a shed in the backyard like @Justin Crossley) or what you’re planning for 2020 hunts.
NO NEGATIVE SOCIAL SHAMING either (there’s already threads for that stuff).
And if all my optimism is wrong, and the the zombies do show up while I’m in the backyard shooting my bow, I guess I’ll die a happy man to the sounds of the kid’s shotgun blasts ringing in my ears.
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Spent some time out of the house Saturday.
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So great to see all these photos, definitely getting me excited for turkey season and giving me some ideas for household projects! I live in NYC so this pandemic is not an abstract concept for us, we hear ambulance sirens constantly and know a fair number of people who have COVID-19. So far everyone we know who has it is relatively young and healthy so not in serious danger but this virus is no joke, our friends have taken a month or more to recover and have been pretty damned sick. I'm not the type to panic but I won't lie, seeing the streets of NYC so empty is a little unnerving.
We're lucky though, my wife can/is working from home now, I've worked from home for years anyway, and neither of us is an essential worker so we're able to minimize risk pretty well. I'm self-employed as an education/nonprofit consultant and my income took a hit but nothing we can't handle. A fair amount of my work has been postponed (rather than canceled luckily) so I'm using the extra time to do some pro bono consulting for educators and organizations I know who are dealing with serious challenges right now.
As far as the outdoors goes, I'm definitely spending some time e-scouting, catching up on podcasts, and reading. My German Wirehair is very close to retirement and I'll probably get a new pup within the next year so I figured this would be a good time for a refresher on my favorite training books. Also doing some obedience training with my wife's little 6-month old French bulldog puppy, which is a blast!
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I was halfway considering a Black Hills turkey hunt this year but that seems unwise at this point so I'll just hunt harder here in NY to make sure I fill both of my tags. We had a good time scouting yesterday and got serious about ramps along the way. If we have to stay close to home through the summer, I should have plenty to keep me busy...sighting in a new rifle/scope combo, fishing for smallies, scouting this wily Catskills buck I've been after, maybe even considering an early Fall bear hunt hear, which would be totally new for me.
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That pasta looks amazing.
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crazy footage! I take it you filled a tag when the screen went black? I have never seen bear do that, what was the scenario? I was close to 2 one night that sounded like they were doing that, super loud violent growls... it was really thick, I got as close as I could, but still couldn't see them.... I didn't want to get found out, because they were in a mood that made them seem a little more sketchy than normal, and all I had was my bow. I stopped on the edge of one of the few 10yd openings, and I had a buddy with me who was not liking the aspect of me trying to get close..... when you are bear hunting, and you hear bear, going the other way because they sound scary is a poor strategy for success, haha.... we were walking out and had covered and glassed a lot of country, it finally started to get dark, and we lost track of the bears, so we finally got out of there.This guy was NOT obeying social distancing. First one of his buddies had to tell him, then he came over to invade my space and I had to tell him.
Then I had to tell him
Amen!Worrying doesn't stop
the bad stuff from happening,
it just stops you
from enjoying the good stuff.
crazy footage! I take it you filled a tag when the screen went black? I have never seen bear do that, what was the scenario? I was close to 2 one night that sounded like they were doing that, super loud violent growls... it was really thick, I got as close as I could, but still couldn't see them.... I didn't want to get found out, because they were in a mood that made them seem a little more sketchy than normal, and all I had was my bow. I stopped on the edge of one of the few 10yd openings, and I had a buddy with me who was not liking the aspect of me trying to get close..... when you are bear hunting, and you hear bear, going the other way because they sound scary is a poor strategy for success, haha.... we were walking out and had covered and glassed a lot of country, it finally started to get dark, and we lost track of the bears, so we finally got out of there.
I imagine it looked something like what you guys filmed, but that's speculation. were those bear making any vocalizations?
really cool footage!