Whose mind is on hunting season already?

[deemus]

Got two feeders up and running. Added a remote activator this year.

A buddy has one and its a blast to watch.

I have also been working up a load for my 300 blackout. New place has a ton of pigs.

 

[Andy]

Got a dove-hunt booked for me and 3 others - this is going to be a special one.

My dad and I haven't seen each other in 9 years - once I left Iraq and moved to the US, I couldn't leave here due to the Green Card process (where they want to see you at practically a day's notice - the drive from Dallas to Houston and back just to have my fingerprints taken will stick in my mind forever!) and then my wife and I were too busy saving up for our house.... and time marches on.

He's recently retired and moved from South Africa back to the UK (free medical, UK pension to supplement his South Africa one, lower crime-rate, etc) - and although he taught me how to shoot, how to handload, etc, I don't think we've ever actually hunted together. At around 70 years old (in decent health) and living in the UK, I do believe that this is likely to be the last opportunity we'll get to hunt together as father/son - so I'm doing whatever I can to make this memorable for both of us.

He'll use my 12-ga O/U, I'll stick with my little .410 SxS - it should be a hoot

 

[Major Kong]

Sounds like a great plan Andy. Hope you have a successful hunt, but believe you will have an awesome time even if you don't.

 

[karlac]

Got a dove-hunt booked for me and 3 others - this is going to be a special one.

My dad and I haven't seen each other in 9 years - once I left Iraq and moved to the US, I couldn't leave here due to the Green Card process (where they want to see you at practically a day's notice - the drive from Dallas to Houston and back just to have my fingerprints taken will stick in my mind forever!) and then my wife and I were too busy saving up for our house.... and time marches on.

He's recently retired and moved from South Africa back to the UK (free medical, UK pension to supplement his South Africa one, lower crime-rate, etc) - and although he taught me how to shoot, how to handload, etc, I don't think we've ever actually hunted together. At around 70 years old (in decent health) and living in the UK, I do believe that this is likely to be the last opportunity we'll get to hunt together as father/son - so I'm doing whatever I can to make this memorable for both of us.

He'll use my 12-ga O/U, I'll stick with my little .410 SxS - it should be a hoot

Same age as your Dad, and my Dad is 91, we still get to shoot and hunt together, so I know exactly how you feel. Hope you have a wonderful time, it will be a memorable hunt, for sure.

 

[Andy]

Thanks, fellers - it's a good excuse to buy a camera, too

 

[deemus]

Bought a remote control feeder activator last night. I think it's all ready now.

 

[vmax]

here is my new deer rifle


View attachment 29737

 

[kusai]

Just came back from rocksprings, it was a good experience and saw a few small doe's but no luck on good axis bucks.

 

[TexMex247]

I get out to rocksprings a few times a year myself Kusai. My friends place down there has plenty of turkeys, whitetails, axis, elk, aoudad and pigs. I'll be hoping for an invite closer to deer season.

However, I'm currently gearing up for dove out in Granger. This year we were lucky enough to have a huge patch of sunflowers pop up right on the edge of the tank. I think it will be the perfect place for the Mojo dove.

I need to get over to Academy soon a pick up a case of Remington sure shot heavy dove loads. I think they're still on sale. After 20 plus years, they remain my all time favorite.

It's also time to renew the hunting license ! Hell ya my mind is on hunting !

 

[bodhi]

My mind has been on hunting since I moved to TX from VA. Mostly on how expensive it is to hunt here and how I need to find a lease

 

[vmax]

My mind has been on hunting since I moved to TX from VA. Mostly on how expensive it is to hunt here and how I need to find a lease

until I bought my own land, for years I got onto leases or scored day hunts by working for lease holders and land owners.
I helped them build camps, ran feeders for them so they wouldn't have to drive 3 hours one way and just generally paid with sweat equity. Lots of times I got to bow hunt prior to gun season and then I got to bat clean up by gun hunting after Christmas when everyone on the lease was pretty much done. I went in an hunted for meat, which is 75% of why I hunt any way.

I said that to show you that there are ways to hunt here cheaply if you work at it.

 

[picker]

Hunting.
Should be interesting this year. Our place has been leased to the same guy for 20 years. (Ag purposes, not hunting)
A new guy took over the ag lease in July. Bovine head count went from 80 or so to 7.
Had some good rains. I hardly recognize the place. I wouldn't call it "lush" but it's got more ground cover than I've seen in, ever.
Cultivated areas are being rested and rotated. Sunflowers galore.
We've had no deer or hogs to speak of. I'm guessing that'll change.

I've got scouting to do. Already found deer droppings on my 100yd range.

You folks West have it going on, I have never seen it rain out there like it has the last few years.
Best/j

 

[picker]

I don't hunt like I used to, but I manage to smoke/dry 40 pounds in my old smoke house.
Best/j

PS recipe 20/10/10 plenty garlic and black pepper, bout all I use

 

[jordanmills]

Vmax, good thread. I have not found too many hunters on this forum. Our doves are looking thick this year, and I am super ready for deer season. Missed my chance last year.

Here's what our hogs are looking like.

lookit all that bacon!

 

[Chupacabra Hunter]

Looking forward to dove season..
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=KyQT-jmyUB7oz1qR7CHIxA&bvm=bv.73231344,d.aWw

 

[Andy]

Thanks for the link

 

[vmax]

I've probably posted this before, but its worth repeating.

this is the song my phone's alarm is set to during the entire hunting season. At the camp, this song wakes me up each day before hunting. I love laying in bed for a few extra minutes and listening to this while my coffee brews...
this is my video and I took several of the photos myself.
this song moves me in a personal way thinking of all of the time I have spent in the woods from my childhood

 

[Sapper740]

I haven't hunted since I moved to Texas, but BOY! did I hunt in British Columbia! Moose, Elk, Caribou, Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Buffalo, Black Bear, Grizzly bear, Cougar, Mountain Goat, four of the five North American Mountain Sheep, Wolf, Coyote, Lynx, Bob Cat....the list is endless. B.C. has 364,800 square miles of which 94% is Crown Land. Crown Land, comparable to Federal Land here is wide open to hunting which means I had over 342,000 square miles of land to hunt on outside of any National Park. That's a larger area than the entire state of Texas. I can't get my head around being limited to hunting on a few hundred acres or less and hunting over bait.

 

[vmax]

I haven't hunted since I moved to Texas, but BOY! did I hunt in British Columbia! Moose, Elk, Caribou, Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Buffalo, Black Bear, Grizzly bear, Cougar, Mountain Goat, four of the five North American Mountain Sheep, Wolf, Coyote, Lynx, Bob Cat....the list is endless. B.C. has 364,800 square miles of which 94% is Crown Land. Crown Land, comparable to Federal Land here is wide open to hunting which means I had over 342,000 square miles of land to hunt on outside of any National Park. That's a larger area than the entire state of Texas. I can't get my head around being limited to hunting on a few hundred acres or less and hunting over bait.

I figure it is hard to adapt. I'd rather hunt on my small acre ranch though then not hunt at all.
I have spent lots of awesome sunrises in the woods hunting with my son that I wouldn't trade for anything.

 

[abntxn]

I'm ready! Anybody had any experience with the TPWD public hunting areas? Looking at going to the Bruceville-Eddy one. Safe shootin & full bags to y'all