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The 2018 Hunting Thread

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NotActuallyALonghorn

NotActuallyALonghorn 4976

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10 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

So, we had a tale of two weekends at the ranch.  

Part 1

Got up to the ranch Saturday afternoon.  Weather was perfect.  Had a great hunt Saturday night with my son.  Lots of deer, but no shooters.  We're trying to put him on a cull buck at our place before we head to my uncle's ranch in South Texas.  Got back to the cabin and enjoyed steaks and some good company with by BIL and my nephew around the campfire.  Watched the stars and turned in at a decent hour.  Another great hunt Sunday morning.  Several doe and a small axis buck.  My BIL had a big group of pigs come in to the stand just before shooting light.  They bolted when the feeder went off, but he was able to knock down two perfect sows before they cleared the area.  We got out of the stand early and processed the pigs.  Had a breakfast beer and listened to Townes Van Zandt while we quartered them.  Just a really nice morning.  

Part 2

My BIL had to head back at a decent hour to get my nephew to a birthday party.  They left about 9:30.  I wanted to push the timers back on the feeders a bit and I needed to clean up camp, so we stayed around.  I have a new truck (maybe two weeks old... that part is important), and I turned it on, threw my phone on the charger and started loading up.  I shut the drivers side door and went back to the house to grab our bags.  Got back to the truck, and it was locked.  You may say, "Spaulding, don't you have keyless entry?"  And the answer is yes.  BUT, Ford somehow neglected to put the card with the code in the owners manual.  Going back to the dealership to get that code was on my to-do list this week.  As was mounting a spare under the body.  

So, here I am.  Truck running.  Keys on the console.  Phone on the console.  I'm in the middle-of-nowhere Kimble County.  I don't know the neighbors yet.  Nobody else around.  No phone at the cabin.  Nada.  Fuck.  At least I have beer.

So, I start to think.  What do I have in my toolbox and in the shop?  I find my dad's plastic speed square.  And some felt pads we were using for the bottom of the furniture.  And an electrician's fish tape.  I'm in business.  So, I'm able to wedge open the door using the speed square and the felt pads without scratching the paint just enough to get the fish tape in the cabin.  This takes me about 25 minutes (that's an important piece of information).  I'm dangling this fish tape around, trying to push the unlock button, the windows, the moon roof, the sliding window in the back.  ANYTHING.  I just can't get any leverage to press hard enough.  The handles are reverse of an old style truck in that you push down instead of lifting up.  As I'm reaching to try and open the moon roof, the fish tape is sort of bobbing in the middle of the cabin and somehow taps the screen in the middle of the dash.  My favorites contact list was up on the screen and I managed to dial my business partner.  He answers.  I'm yelling at him through glass.  He's confused and says he can barely hear me.  I'm thinking "No shit.  I'm outside of a running truck standing on a step stool."  I tell him to call my wife to have her call my BIL to have him turn around and come back to the ranch.  He hangs up, and thirty seconds later, the truck shuts off.  There's an auto-idle shut-off that kicks in after 30 minutes if you don't put it in gear. 

So, now my phone is blowing up.  My wife, my BIL, my business partner.  And, of course, I can't answer it.  I'm hoping my message got through, but I knew my BIL had to get home.  I'm not sure if my wife would try to drive up and bring me the spare key, or if my dad would drive up, or if my BIL would turn around or if we were stuck.

Since the truck is no longer running, I can't try to use the power windows to get it open.  My only option is the unlock button... or the keys.   After about 30 minutes, I'm finally able to grab the keys with the fish tape.  All I have on the key ring is the truck keyless start (no actual truck key) and a Yeti bottle opener.  Very carefully, I bring the fish tape back to the door with out falling.  I start pulling them gently through the opening.  I get the bottle opener through.  I'm on cloud nine!  I pull gently... and the key ring pulls apart.  I have a bottle opener in hand, and the keys fall to the floor board next to the door.  Fuck me.  

So, I try a myriad of other options.  I try to grab the lock on the back door, try to access from the other side across the cabin.  I just can't get any leverage with the fish tape.  I can't push hard enough on anything to get it to open.  

It's 1:30 now.  I've been at this for 3.5 hours.  I'm mentally exhausted and getting frustrated.  My son and his buddy are getting bored, but they've patiently stayed away.  I figure we'll go for a walk and adjust the feeders and I can clear my head.  The next options are to walk to the neighboring ranch to see if anyone is home.  Option 2 is stay the night again and wait for my dad who's coming up Monday morning to meet the electrician.  Option 3 is break a window.  I write a little sign on a piece of cardboard and stick it on the back of the truck saying we're out for a walk.  Just as we leave, I hear a truck pulling up.  It's my BIL.  With a locksmith right behind him.  He gets us unlocked in less than 5 minutes.  

So, I guess all's well that ends well.  We got home much later than anticipated.  My nephew missed a birthday party.  But, other than that, we just have a good story to tell.  

IMG-4472.jpg

Easter Sunday last Spring, I was putting our 1.5 year old in her car seat. It was a warm day, and we just have a detached carport since we live at the lake. I drop the keys into the driver seat as I am putting her in the seat so my wife can start the car and get the AC running while I finish buckling her in. I finish buckling her in before the wife gets in and close the back door. The car, in all of its wisdom, decides to lock the doors all on own. We have no spare. The only keys we have are now locked inside with our daughter on a hot Sunday morning and my wife and I are outside dressed for church. That stupid yard sign she had sitting outside? It got sacrificed to the door wedging gods. After a few frantic searches I was able to locate something stiff enough to hit the unlock button while I wedged the door open enough to slip it in. I guess what I'm saying is at least you didn't have a kid inside in the heat. And also at least I didn't destroy any expensive clothes getting it open.

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Pescado_Rojo
Pescado_Rojo

Little Rojo broke his arm last week, and we thought his season was done. He took it upon himself to learn to shoot lefty, practiced for two days, then went out and hammered this guy. 

Errestaurants
Errestaurants

Had a hunch last night so I went out this morning. shot it with a 1952 Model 70 featherweight in .270. 

jofus
jofus

My brother just shot this guy

Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Easter Sunday last Spring, I was putting our 1.5 year old in her car seat. It was a warm day, and we just have a detached carport since we live at the lake. I drop the keys into the driver seat as I am putting her in the seat so my wife can start the car and get the AC running while I finish buckling her in. I finish buckling her in before the wife gets in and close the back door. The car, in all of its wisdom, decides to lock the doors all on own. We have no spare. The only keys we have are now locked inside with our daughter on a hot Sunday morning and my wife and I are outside dressed for church. That stupid yard sign she had sitting outside? It got sacrificed to the door wedging gods. After a few frantic searches I was able to locate something stiff enough to hit the unlock button while I wedged the door open enough to slip it in. I guess what I'm saying is at least you didn't have a kid inside in the heat. And also at least I didn't destroy any expensive clothes getting it open.

Great point.  Totally different ballgame if I had a little one or my dog in the truck.  

Funny enough, I talked to my uncle last night and told him the story.  He said the same damn thing happened at his ranch about a month ago.  Except it was raining and cold and he's 60 and his truck has 150,000 miles, so it took him 45 minutes of screwing with the door before he decided to break a back window with a piece of angle iron.

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jofus

jofus 2266

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/17/2018 at 7:40 PM, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Easter Sunday last Spring, I was putting our 1.5 year old in her car seat. It was a warm day.

Go have a dumb key made at Walmart (no chip and can’t start the vehicle, but can manually unlock the door), and stick it in a magnetic box somewhere in the undercarriage. 

Edited by jofus
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Both Tacos

Both Tacos 1806

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Posted
need some help.  taking the kiddo out on a duck hunt pretty soon.  What all do we need for gear?  
Depends on how you are going to hunt. If from dry land and someone else is putting out decoys and retrieving dead ducks, then just warm clothes and gloves. If you and boy will be getting in the water, then waders will be needed. Other than that, a facemask, license, waterfowl stamp, steel shotgun shells and your shotgun.
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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

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On December 26, 2018 at 12:36 AM, Both Tacos said:
On December 23, 2018 at 2:31 PM, pepper brooks said:
need some help.  taking the kiddo out on a duck hunt pretty soon.  What all do we need for gear?  

Depends on how you are going to hunt. If from dry land and someone else is putting out decoys and retrieving dead ducks, then just warm clothes and gloves. If you and boy will be getting in the water, then waders will be needed. Other than that, a facemask, license, waterfowl stamp, steel shotgun shells and your shotgun.

This is exactly right.  When I duck hunt with a guide, it's pretty simple.  Be warm, have license / stamp, shotgun / shells.  If I'm hunting for myself, my list grows by 3X.  5X if you factor in my dog and his stuff.  

We're headed out tomorrow, and my buddy has decoys galore.  It's going to be chilly, so my list for the blind is as follows:

Waders + boots, long johns, wool socks, base layer, fleece shirt, heavy jacket, gloves with removable fingers, camo beanie with built-in headlamp, face mask, neoprene shell belt, duck straps, shotgun, 3" #4 steel shot, ziplock bags, game shears, knife, calls, dog's neoprene vest, eCollar and a big thermos for coffee

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Both Tacos

Both Tacos 1806

Posted
Posted

Went out this morning solo. No dog, no kids or buddies. Just me and mother nature. It has been a long time since I hunted by myself. It's good for the soul. Ended up with a mixed bag of gadwall and wigeon.
After the rain last night, the water was way up. Usually the spot where I park the rhino is dry and it was halfway up the tires this morning.831fd4d4f84e180e0766c097d4bb76f2.jpg8b759f3fda9f6434c24277850c408214.jpg850d06efbb500382adfaad3f9831e4dc.jpg

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Pescado_Rojo

Pescado_Rojo 19416

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It’s my FILs old Remington. Not sure the model, but it’s mid-50s with a 60s era Weaver 4x. It’s a .222. My son is the 3rd generation to shoot his first deer with that rifle. Super soft shooting and dead accurate at 100 yds. .222 is a little light on knockdown power, but it’s such a soft shooter the kids can focus and make an accurate shot...also minimizes shock in the body cavity, so more meat. 

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

Posted
Posted
On December 29, 2018 at 7:19 PM, Pescado_Rojo said:

Little Rojo broke his arm last week, and we thought his season was done. He took it upon himself to learn to shoot lefty, practiced for two days, then went out and hammered this guy. 

da466eec-65a2-4960-a7f1-f7aa7db34275-jpe

That dude had been scrapping this year!  Love wide racks that don't kick back in at the end of the main beam.  Nice job!

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

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We had a pretty awesome week last week.  Headed out to the ranch late Christmas Day.  We're just getting everything buttoned up, so it was the first time I took my wife and all three kids to stay the night.  My mom and dad came up as well and brought my 85 year old grandmother.  She grew up in Knippa on a ranch, so she loved being out there.  It was nice to not work our asses off and actually sit back and enjoy the place.

My dad hunted Christmas evening and saw a cull buck that we've had our eye on.  So, my son and I went to that stand Wednesday morning.  He came out to the feeder shortly after the timer went off.  We watched him for a bit with another small buck.  It took him a while to clear the feeder and the other deer, but my son put a decent shot on him.  He pulled it a bit and missed the vitals, but I knew he hit him solidly.  He limped back into the brush and we watched him just stand there for a good 30 min.  He started to move and was walking towards the back fence line, so I decided to hop out of the blind and head around his flank in the hopes of pushing him back away from the fence line.  The strategy worked, and he moved back behind the feeder.  I lost sight of him, so I headed back to the feeder.  My son did a great job of keeping the binoculars on him and saw him tucked back in a little clearing at about 150 yds.  He put a good shot on him that time and dropped him.  It's his first buck and the first deer taken on our new ranch.  Nothing special, but a good cull buck for a 10 year old.  About 140 lb on the hoof and we aged him at 3.5 years.  He was stoked.  We enjoyed the morning together skinning and quartering him, ate a big late breakfast, then went out and popped a few dove that afternoon.  Just a damn fine day.

IMG-8662.jpg

Followed that up with my annual duck hunt this weekend.  Much slower than in years past.  We think it was the fact that there's so many ponds full right now.  One bird shy of two 5-man limits, but those took two hours instead of 30 minutes.  Had to work harder than in years past and had some long shots on occasion, but we made it work.  Also didn't have the variety that we've had in the past.  Lots of teal, a few gadwall and widgeon, and too many ring necks.  But, it was still a blast.  We're just spoiled.

IMG-4174.jpg

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105095

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We had a pretty awesome week last week.  Headed out to the ranch late Christmas Day.  We're just getting everything buttoned up, so it was the first time I took my wife and all three kids to stay the night.  My mom and dad came up as well and brought my 85 year old grandmother.  She grew up in Knippa on a ranch, so she loved being out there.  It was nice to not work our asses off and actually sit back and enjoy the place.
My dad hunted Christmas evening and saw a cull buck that we've had our eye on.  So, my son and I went to that stand Wednesday morning.  He came out to the feeder shortly after the timer went off.  We watched him for a bit with another small buck.  It took him a while to clear the feeder and the other deer, but my son put a decent shot on him.  He pulled it a bit and missed the vitals, but I knew he hit him solidly.  He limped back into the brush and we watched him just stand there for a good 30 min.  He started to move and was walking towards the back fence line, so I decided to hop out of the blind and head around his flank in the hopes of pushing him back away from the fence line.  The strategy worked, and he moved back behind the feeder.  I lost sight of him, so I headed back to the feeder.  My son did a great job of keeping the binoculars on him and saw him tucked back in a little clearing at about 150 yds.  He put a good shot on him that time and dropped him.  It's his first buck and the first deer taken on our new ranch.  Nothing special, but a good cull buck for a 10 year old.  About 140 lb on the hoof and we aged him at 3.5 years.  He was stoked.  We enjoyed the morning together skinning and quartering him, ate a big late breakfast, then went out and popped a few dove that afternoon.  Just a damn fine day.
IMG-8662.jpg
Followed that up with my annual duck hunt this weekend.  Much slower than in years past.  We think it was the fact that there's so many ponds full right now.  One bird shy of two 5-man limits, but those took two hours instead of 30 minutes.  Had to work harder than in years past and had some long shots on occasion, but we made it work.  Also didn't have the variety that we've had in the past.  Lots of teal, a few gadwall and widgeon, and too many ring necks.  But, it was still a blast.  We're just spoiled.
IMG-4174.jpg

I haven’t even been out at our place this year. Ponds are overtopped. Birds are way scattered. Last season ended this way, too. Hate to say “we could use some dry months,” but there you have it.
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noharleyyet

noharleyyet 2838

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"Forgive me if you've already said, but I haven't read the whole thread...Looking at the racks above and this picture of the land, it looks like you might be close to us. Eastern Llano County, between the river and Lake Buchanan? " -Pescado Roho 

 

 

^^^no sir Redfish, North Central, Clay County. You are in some pretty country.

Edited by noharleyyet
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Parliament

Parliament 14255

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I'm hunting at a ranch west of San Antonio in 2 weeks.  Four of us are going.  They're all hunting eland and I'm shooting pigs.  No night (pig) hunting at this place which will be a change.  I'm bringing my AR15 in 300BLK with a silencer, and Ruger Valquero.  Weather looks to be in the 40's at night and 60's during the day.

What advice do you have for me?

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

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7 hours ago, Parliament said:

I'm hunting at a ranch west of San Antonio in 2 weeks.  Four of us are going.  They're all hunting eland and I'm shooting pigs.  No night (pig) hunting at this place which will be a change.  I'm bringing my AR15 in 300BLK with a silencer, and Ruger Valquero.  Weather looks to be in the 40's at night and 60's during the day.

What advice do you have for me?

Depends on the set up of the ranch.  If they're just dropping you in a blind, then I would hope they have been watching movements or have some idea of location, etc.  Pigs get wise and get nocturnal if you whack em under the feeder hunt after hunt.  From my experience, even when they're not nocturnal, they're moving right at first light and last light.  Get in the blind plenty early in the morning and stay plenty late in the evening.  If you're shooting a semi-automatic rifle, take dead aim on the first one, but see if you can pop a few more once they start to run.  

Also, eat steaks and drink whiskey and have fun.  

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Reagan1k

Reagan1k 3024

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Posted

I'd always ask if they want the pigs brought back to camp to butcher or if they want to feed the buzzards. 

Some places don't even want a hog in the back of their truck/mule.....others want everything brought back from the field.  

You may want the loins or you may not want to deal with those nasty fuckers.

That'll tell you whether to shoot them in the head or shoot them behind the shoulder and let them run off.  Sucks to find out that you have to drag off a bunch of heavy swine you head-shot when you could have let them do the work and run off themselves. 

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, thestud said:

Y’all have lost your damn minds eating those nasty things.

<50 lb, and I'm going full poacher's quarter.  

>50 lb, and I'm dragging it into the woods to feed the buzzards.

We killed two little sows (35 lb each) right before Christmas.  Those were some of the most tender backstraps I've ever had.  My entire family loved them, including my wife who usually steers away from wild game.  Conversely, I shot a 100 lb boar at the start of deer season and his ass was nasty.  Covered in ticks and I could smell him from 20 ft away.  I wasn't about to touch that meat.

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