2014 Hunting Megathread

Spent the morning in the woods hunting squirrel (and scouting for deer at the same time). My son and I dragged the wife along this time.....she had a blast. Just after the woods started to wake up we heard the thumping and crashing of a deer..........came within I think 40 yards of us. We sat still as we could and I think it "scented" us and took off in a hurry......we got to see the tail bouncing as it went away! Truly an awesome experience for my wife as it was her first time hunting. Saw some squirrels but they are a bit too far out to take a poke at. But on the way back to the car we found a big ol batch of concord grapes growing on the edge of the field......spent 20 minutes filling our hunting vests with a bounty of grapes! Now we'll spend the afternoon making jam! You never know what a morning in the woods will bring you!
 
whacko said:
Spent the morning in the woods hunting squirrel (and scouting for deer at the same time). My son and I dragged the wife along this time.....she had a blast. Just after the woods started to wake up we heard the thumping and crashing of a deer..........came within I think 40 yards of us. We sat still as we could and I think it "scented" us and took off in a hurry......we got to see the tail bouncing as it went away! Truly an awesome experience for my wife as it was her first time hunting. Saw some squirrels but they are a bit too far out to take a poke at. But on the way back to the car we found a big ol batch of concord grapes growing on the edge of the field......spent 20 minutes filling our hunting vests with a bounty of grapes! Now we'll spend the afternoon making jam! You never know what a morning in the woods will bring you!
Click to expand...
Now is definitely the time of the year for picking grapes. I picked a ziplock bag full of river bank grapes a couple weeks back. Ate some but it's definitely a different taste than domestics you get from the store. They are supposed to get much sweeter after the first frost if the birds haven't eaten them all and supposedly make good wine. I want to try making some next year as these things are all over my area.
 
Shot this bear in the White Mountains Thursday night at 6pm. Not the biggest that I had on the camera, but a bear. passed on a sow with 2 cubs the week before. Traditions in-line muzzle loader with a 300 grain copper sabot. ran about 80 yards after the hit. gave the "bear death moan", really creepy since it was the only sound in the forest at the time.



now moving on to deer with the bow...
 
Tweed said:
Shot this bear in the White Mountains Thursday night at 6pm. Not the biggest that I had on the camera, but a bear. passed on a sow with 2 cubs the week before. Traditions in-line muzzle loader with a 300 grain copper sabot. ran about 80 yards after the hit. gave the "bear death moan", really creepy since it was the only sound in the forest at the time.



now moving on to deer with the bow...
Click to expand...

It ran 80 yards with all that hanging out of him! Wow what a will to live!
 
Today was opening day for ducks in Maine - anyone have any luck? I went out for a few hours this morning - brought some in to my decoy spread, but most shied away just before coming into range (the only set that came all the way in were right after legal shooting started, so it was still pretty dark and I didn't see them until it was too late). I'll be out tomorrow morning - maybe a little better luck.

And even though I didn't have duck for dinner, I did get to enjoy the morning looking at this beautiful scenery:
photo (2).jpg
 
I decided to go out and do some squirrel hunting/deer scouting on a property I hunt...the area has 60 acres of soybeans (last year it was corn) so I'm sneaking in along a field edge and I stop and glass and keep moving and stop and glass a little more...I hear a little leave crunching and stick breaking down the bank a little which drops into a pond on the west side of the field...I'm thinking its a beaver so I go back to glassing...then it startsmaking more noise walking through the brush so I stop and try to figure out what it is...its a bear 15 yards from me....easily 250+ he/she saw me move hissed and went up a tree for a while so I just kept going about my business got my adrenaline pumping!...too bad it wasn't bear season...would have been an easy shot! Great morning and experience!
 
Going out with my dad for some yotes very soon!! Can't wait.

I didnt land a turkey in the spring, but I've got high hopes for this fall season.
 
Haven't seen anything in the last two weeks. I did check my cam on another property i hunt tonight and have a few does all in the morning. Saw a fisher tonight, looked like he was going after some squirrels or something.
 
Hitting up zone 9 for squirrel tomorrow with the boy! I love getting out there early!
 
whacko said:
Hitting up zone 9 for squirrel tomorrow with the boy! I love getting out there early!
Click to expand...
Saw a few.......they were in range of my boy and his 20 gauge too. He's still hesitating to take the shot though and the damn squirrels get behind the tree or take off. He got one shot off on one that was running but hit behind it. Funny because he hits 15 to 17 on the trap field with that 20gauge. Hell figure it out soon enough. Jumped and spooked two nice does in the woods and the boy thought it was cool to see em run away. Too bad those does will be long gone after this Saturday when pheasant season opens up. The land I was on was WMA stocked land. Big fat oak trees on this property and the woods are kome walking on a gravel drive with a the acorns on the ground right now.
 
Spent last weekend in Pittsburg, NH with my two boys, my friend and his two boys.
Our 2nd year, got skunked last year.

Managed to bag three birds on first day and had a decent amount of flushes the next 2 days but no luck.
We typically do two good hunts in the am, break for lunch and then hit the gravel pits for clay shooting, .22 and some pistol. If the kids aren't getting any shooting they are only good for so long and it can be tough slogging up there.

The boys burned through 5 cases of 20 ga. and just as many pigeons..........Nothing better than watching your 12 and 15 year old sons crush clay after clay, including doubles, with their 20 ga. pump guns and my O/U....[grin] Four teenage boys competing with each other on the trap range - they couldn't get enough of that.
They didn't bag a bird but they are game for next year.

birdphoto A1.jpg

Scout the pheasant dog became well educated on those stinky grouse this year....
 
Last edited:
Congratulations Dropride! very nice mount..

I'm a little late writing, but I had good luck in upper CT River valley recently, upland game and waterfowl in Haverhill and Piermont.

2 cockbirds, and 1 Mallard duck.

I plan to got out again, usually mid week because it's much more accessible.

Appreciate you folks spreading the news of success..

Posto
 
Wow, nice mount, I have never heard of a turn around time like that!!! I only hope I can hit you up for his info one of these days :)
 
I had it done at Hillside Taxidermy in Nashua. I think it helped getting one on the first day and having it there a couple days later. He was finishing a few from last season when i dropped it off so he wasn't overly busy. When i was there he had 4 or 5 moose that had just been dropped off.
 

Similar threads

Hunting from a ground blind.
Replies
20
Views
275
wjsmall97
W
Chair for hunting blind
Replies
0
Views
81
wjsmall97
W
Caribou hunting
Replies
4
Views
426
Mark from MA
M
rabbit hunting
Replies
3
Views
310
whacko
whacko
Squirrel hunting probably my favorite
Replies
15
Views
643
rogerk
R
Back
Top Bottom