| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Bookworm |
Posted - December 14 2004 : 08:22:53 AM
It's been pretty quite here on the Board. In these cold and wintry days,I guess everyone's thoughts have turned to . . . hunting! Here in Pennsylvania, home to the second-largest number of hunters after Texas, but second to no one in its enthusiasm for the chase, it seems as if hunting and Christmas receive equal amounts of attention this time of year. So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, or at least turn the focus of their attention into a topic for the Board:
Who hunts? What do you hunt? And with what firearm(s)? HOw many flintlock hunters among us? Any luck this year? Have a favorite hunting story you'd like to share? Looking forward to your replies. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - December 16 2004 : 11:09:05 PM
quote:
Bookworm said: That was quite an achievement for a twelve-year-old, Sarge! Easy to understand why it's your most memorable. My husband tells me that his paternal grandfather knew Fred Bear.
I never had the honor to meet Mr. Bear, but a friend of my dad did back in the 1950's. That man's name was Chuck Kohler, and he used to own the Mobil gas station on Troy Hill. He was an interesting guy, who was instrumental in bringing a separate archery season to Pennsylvania. He also flew Hawker Hurricanes for the RCAF during the Battle of Britain (When he was 17). I remember him showing me how to make my own arrows (And how to use a fletch-gig) using cedar dowel rods and laquered turkey feathers for the fletching.
Your Most Humble Servant,
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| Seamus |
Posted - December 15 2004 : 08:58:06 AM
Vehicle/deer/bear collisions can be quite destructive, expensive and on occassion, tragic. In my 25 years on the job, I have picked up more dead deer and bears than I can count anymore. I am fortunate, however, that I never had a human fatality, but came real close a few times. It was not unusual for me to remove over 100 roadkilled deer a year. Pennsylvania kills in excess of 100,000 a year on its highways, and these are the countable ones. Many others get away to die undiscovered in the forests and fields from their injuries. Some actually survive their injuries, but are maimed. Whenever we got a usable one, it was given to an underprivileged family, a list of whom I carried in my badge case.
Some of the incidents are memorable, however, like the young couple who hit a deer with his dad's car on the way to dinner before the prom, then clobbered another with HER dad's car on the way home after the prom. I gave the kids a ride home both times that night because the cars were rendered useless!
Another time a deer came up through the windshield, severely injuring a 17 year old girl with broken glass and kicking her senseless. The boy driving the car got it stopped against a guide rail, got himself and her out of it, but left it in gear, and the deer badly hurt but still very much alive and dangerous in the backseat. I got there before the police, as they were tied up elsewhere, shut off the car, made sure the kids were going to be OK, then shot the deer in the car and dragged it out before it bled too much more all over the place. The car was already ruined inside with blood and glass, so I figured a bit more wouldn't be a problem. Besides, the deer was beyond fixing.
One night I went to pick up a deer (along 8th Street Road, Mary, about 1/2 mile from Warrior Run Church) which turned out to be a huge 10 point buck. While I was gathering information and filling out a permit for the driver to take it, another big buck, this time an 8 point, tried to cross the highway and got itself mangled about 30 yards from where we sat! Now, that was exciting!! I am amazed to this day that no one was hit by the deer or the car.
Then there are numerous Interstate 80 horror stories about high speed vehicles ignoring flares and red strobes at accident scenes, or gathering mangled remains at the risk of one's life.
There are many more tales, but these will suffice for now.
Anyway, this time of year--the hunting seasons and the rut-- calls for serious focus on driving and paying attention to the task at hand to avoid as many of these incidents as possible. Remember--when you see a deer cross safely, always watch for another one behind it, or for it to suddenly turn and go back to where it came from. Be alert!! |
| Kurt |
Posted - December 15 2004 : 08:23:52 AM
The last day of modern gun season in the southern zone was yesterday. The archers and muzzleloaders have another week or so and then its small game till February. Reenacting has taught me ignition but until I get better at hitting (I did 300% better at my second woods walk - I hit one gong and put two out of three shots on a sheet of notebook paper (out of 25 shots total)) I am not ready to take the first model brown bess for a walk in the woods.
The Monday before Thanksgiving was opening day for modern gun this year. I hunt a shotgun county and this year cast and loaded my own slugs. The first week was warmer than the last few years and the deer just weren't moving. It is nice to be out in the woods but by Thursday having to stay home to tend the fire in the smoker for the turkey (getting up at six am. beats getting up at 4 am.) was nice too. Friday was still warm. In the morning, in hopes of at least seeing something, I tried sneaking slowly (as opposed to my standard sit unmoving on stand tactic) and heard and then saw a white flag retreat through the thick brush. It is surprizing how that distinct white tail and rump prevents you from seeing the rest of the deer. In the afternoon I headed back to the stand location. Four male robins were arguing over who owned which part of the stone wall. My cousin tells me that male robins winter over now when there is sufficient cover. I proceded on to a ridge overlooking a ravine fifty feet wide and thirty feet deep. Sitting back from the edge so only my head and shoulders were visible from the bottom of the ravine, I prepared to wait for sundown. Maybe the squirrels would come out. Suddenly, there was a loud thrashing on the horizon. More thumping racing forms flew forth and back in the trees. Then the spike stoped near the bottom of the ravine. The handload got the job done and the real work started. It took about an hour to prepare and drag the spike out of the ravine to where I could get the truck. My cousin came by (he processes six a year so he is more practiced) and the hide was off and it was in quarters in less than an hour. Saturday was spent boning and getting two pound packages into the freezer. On Sunday we had medalions of the filet mignon fried with onions which were great. It's a lot of work but it is nice to have venison in the freezer.
The squirrel soup went over well at the potluck at Ft. Stanwix earlier in November. I guess the way I prepared the meat is called it "pulled" these days so there isn't any visual inhibitors for folks who haven't had it before. Hopefully I will get out a few more times before the season closes at the end of February. I normally use a .22 but I should figure out how to load shot in the bess since when I shred I can pick out the shot. |
| Bookworm |
Posted - December 15 2004 : 07:52:49 AM
That was quite an achievement for a twelve-year-old, Sarge! Easy to understand why it's your most memorable. My husband tells me that his paternal grandfather knew Fred Bear. Apparently Fred was an ornery cuss who didn't like very many people, but Grandpa Yoder, who must have been a very amiable guy, was one of the few he got along with. |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - December 15 2004 : 12:15:40 AM
I haven't been hunting for over a decade. I used to hunt alot during my youth, mostly archery but I have used shotgun, centerfire rifle and flintlock. My most memoriable hunt was in 1979, when I was twelve years old, and had taken my first deer. It was a buck, four points, and I used my Fred Bear 60-pound draw-weight recurve bow (Back then, compound bows were for wussies). I got him 'on the stalk', since my dad used to say that tree-stands were an unfair advantage and was more like 'ambushing' as opposed to hunting. It was one of the few times in my life when my dad and I actually got along, and seen things eye-to-eye (The only other two times like that in my life was when I first came home on leave from the military, and when I graduated the police academy).
I've gotten off topic again. After the Gulf War, I had come home, and tried to get out that fall for my first deer hunt in years. I remember looking at the deer through my sights, and deciding that I just couldn't kill him. Something in me changed during the war, and I just couldn't kill something that I didn't feel animosity toward, or that was not blocking a mission objective (And once you have hunted men, killing anything else just doesn't get 'the juices flowing' the same way). Either way, I haven't been hunting since, but I do envy those who still go out and pursue the birthright of all free people.
Your Most Humble Servant,
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| Bookworm |
Posted - December 14 2004 : 9:17:47 PM
Same here, WW -- on my 20-mile commute along I-81, I regularly see deer that didn't survive their encounters with cars. And if I'm seeing them, then it's too late for the meat to be given to someone who could use it, which is a shame. Mike, congratulations on a very efficient hunt! Yep, I do recall your days in conservation law enforcement, and how annoying all those phone calls could be. Now you can enjoy being out there without having to check on what everyone else is doing. As for sunrises, I'll try to adopt your attitude, when the alarm goes off and/or the dog nudges me to say she's ready for her walk -- "we're going to see a sunrise!" |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - December 14 2004 : 8:04:57 PM
Our area of New York State has a lot of hunters, as well. Must be because we're so close to the border with Pennsylvania! Perhaps it's catching??
I do not come from a hunting family, so have never been interested in it; however, I certainly have no problem with anyone else hunting, as long as it is done legally. In fact, we are so overrun with deer around here that I definitely approve of a hunting/management program. It seems like so many are killed by cars.
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| Seamus |
Posted - December 14 2004 : 2:07:14 PM
Been feasting on fresh venison..........can't beat it! Hey Mary! My hunt lasted 20 minutes the first day. My deer management plan at the cabin works quite well. There are many of them, and I try to harvest a large doe or two so that the young ones will survive a harsh winter, which happens more often than not up there.
I use a .60 cal flintlock......haven't used a cartridge rifle in YEARS. You KNOW I am a hunter, and that I hunt whatever is in season. You also know my background in Conservation Law Enforcement (retired), so you know where I will be and what I will be doing from mid-September to mid-January. I like to be in the woods well before daylight. God only made so many sunrises, and I am going to see them all. Hunting season or not, I am in the woods as often as a I can be there. |
| susquesus |
Posted - December 14 2004 : 1:54:47 PM
Haven't hunted since I was a teen, but man I miss those deer-sticks and venison steaks! Yum. |
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