[armedoldhippy]

the management area i go to normally has the Rainbow Coalition camping there early in the season. quite an entertaining bunch; some with bones through their noses, ears gauged, older hippies from 60s feeding them in converted soup kitchen buses, old Viet Nam vets. the girls are MOST uninhibited, changing/shedding clothes wherever it strikes them. ahh, the flower of youth..."be still, my pounding heart!"

[Wendull C.]

Originally Posted by trichrider

last turkey hunt was fucked up.
my brother and i (he was a game warden) went to his secret spot.
we sat in a blind before dawn listening to them and when it was light enough they began flying down from their roosts, but never approached our blind.

we noticed a rafter making their way down a creek and decided to bail the blind and stalk closer hoping to get a shot. as they came closer we concealed ourselves in a thicket.

there were about 15 in that flock and got to within ten feet of us. brother told me when they got between two trees to take a headshot...which i did, discharging my 12 guage browning loaded with 00buck. direct hit. i was elated!

hurrying out and around the thicket we were surprised and dismayed to discover two dead birds with but one tag to cover.

brother was angry, i was pissed that i hadn't seen the second tom...

my brother passed a year or two later, it was the last time i hunted.

i miss him but not hunting...

We all make mistakes out in the woods. It is what we do afterwards that counts. My hunting partner is old, eyes going on him. I put him on a forky and a doe. He shot the doe by mistake. Everyone else wanted to let it lay. I called on myself and told the warden what had happened and my buddy admitted he just couldn't see well enough.

Not only did the warden thank us, he let my buddy keep the doe and just validated his buck tag. This was in Colorado. My friend waited 3 years to draw a buck tag in that unit. He couldve gotten the antlerless permit every year with no preference points.

[Wendull C.]

Sorry to hear about your brother, trichrider.

[Wendull C.]

Originally Posted by armedoldhippy

i use an old single shot 10 gauge most of the time. i have a little 20 ga. model 37 winchester i carry if i get optimistic. when really happy i carry my longbow. i've missed a LOT of turkeys with a bow, lol...

20 guage? We got a sharp shooter here. I could use a lesson or two hippie. I missed so many chuckar this year i still cry when i think about it lol. Good note though, when the '06 barks antlers hit the dirt.

[Capt.Ahab]

I'll be using a 12 ga. 870 with three inch shells and a Patternmaster choke tube.

[Bud Green Sr.]

I can't give you rep again yet Ahab....

My old 870 only takes 2 3/4 inch shells... But that's OK with me...

My 34 inch goose barrel is a fixed full choke. .. I've never had screw in adjustables...

[Mtn. Nectar]

no native birds in Idaho......Mtn's birds are merri's......Valley birds Rio......and hyb's possible where overlap occurs......son was slaying chukars .....gotta put in the miles if ya want a bag full.....
here in Sierra foothills birds are abundant and with warm weather already looking to breed......watching 'ol tom putting young jakes in their place......
gobble on.......

[Wendull C.]

Those chuckar are a bitch! Half a day hike straight up and 3 shots if your lucky to watch em fly/ glide cross canyon to a place that would take anoyher day to get to.

In my best spot they are in the flats. Still got to get em before they get into the pick up size boulders the lime stone mine uses as a fence.

Worse than mule deer, thats,why i hunt em. Other than they eat better than quail. Quail are too easy anyway.

[TychoMonolyth]

There are so many turkeys in my neck of the woods it's increased the coyote population dramatically. I can easily count 25-50 daily while driving around my place. Without trying. I'm saving them in case we have an apocalypse. lol.

[Capt.Ahab]

Im going to visit relatives in central Ma. next week and thinking about doing some coyote hunting while Im up there. Plenty of those yodel dogs running around.
My youngest bought me an ATN X-Sight 11 3x14 day/night scope for Christmas. Im tempted to throw it on at SIG .223 bolt action I have and put it to use.