Moose Elk and Coyote, no Turks.

[Ugly Sauce]

Turkey season opened yesterday, but they ain't gobbling yet. Great day in the woods though, I jumped up three Elk, saw a moose (the moose have no fear, they look at me and just kind of wander off) and when I was calling, it looked like Coyote might come and try to eat one of my decoys, as he started heading my way, but he vanished in a small fold in the land, and never emerged. Big guy, still had his fluffy winter coat. Weather was nice, although a bit windy. Oh well, I'll start hitting it about every other day or so until they decide to start to gobble.

 

[jmorris]

Yeah, I always see more wildlife out of their "season", than in. If they have had any pressure on them.

Nice photo. What's your gear there?

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Yeah, I always see more wildlife out of their "season", than in. If they have had any pressure on them.

Nice photo. What's your gear there?

Yes, the elk pretty much, most of them, leave that state land during hunting season, then come back in the spring. (there is a wildlife preserve nearby where they winter) The three I saw were very "jumpy", they were laying down, and once they figured out I was a people, it was full speed ahead. I did take them a minute to figure me out as I was able to slowly squat down and remain motionless. Yeah the moose, as we can't hunt them, I see them all the time. Don't know where the turks are hanging out, saw some last time/a few days ago, two big Toms.

That is my Brown Bess "Ranger Carbine", 11 gauge/.75". Three Turks so far with that gun. Primos slate turkey call.

 

[WisBorn]

The other wildlife that I see while hunting is a huge part of why I go.
This turkey season, I saw 1 Tom and 6 hens. I also enjoyed watching a bald eagle, 8 deer, several geese, 3 different types of woodpeckers, and several other small animals and birds.

I didn't fill my tag. Oh well there is always next year....

 

[Armored farmer]

I've been skunked this year also. I've been hunting many mornings, and have had a great time.
Since I don't have any pics for the 2024 hunting thread, I'm guessing that @Ugly Sauce wont mind if i tack a few up here?

FYI
You can put four hot biscuits in foil, and fill a thermos with gravy and have a pretty good breakfast/hunt!

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

^^^
Geez, I just take a couple breakfast bars...

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I'm guessing that @Ugly Sauce wont mind if i tack a few up here?

And you guess right.

 

[Armored farmer]

^^^
Geez, I just take a couple breakfast bars...

Phffft

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I sometimes take a steak. !! Wrap it in tin-foil, and throw it on the coals. But little fishes and crackers ain't bad.

 

[courtgreene]

I’m a nature valley and apple kind of fella. It’s quick and easy to throw in a bag or just keep in the car all the time.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

On a cold day, a small thermos of hot chili sure hits the spot.

I had to spend the night in the woods one time, a little snow on the ground time of year/late fall. During that long night, if someone had walked up, and offered me a choice of a hot drink, coffee tea or coco, or any kind of food, the hot drink would have been my choice. I've never been without the makings for coffee or tea since.

 

[M65Man]

I sometimes take a steak. !! Wrap it in tin-foil, and throw it on the coals. But little fishes and crackers ain't bad. View attachment 1207724

I like you'll style hunting, very much like mine, even den den! And for me it's always plenty bears & yotes few bobcats. I'm honestly thinking predators have gotten so bad, the birds are almost non vocal! IDK, but it seems possible! Saw few deer.
But I was afield with same food, but a longbow and backquiver. Had a great spring, never heard first gobbler, but finally found a dandy very near where I thought he should be. But something beat me too him. Looked like near 10" beard. Believe the varmint used spurs for toothpick!

 

[Armored farmer]

I like you'll style hunting, very much like mine, even den den! And for me it's always plenty bears & yotes few bobcats. I'm honestly thinking predators have gotten so bad, the birds are almost non vocal! IDK, but it seems possible! Saw few deer.
But I was afield with same food, but a longbow and backquiver. Had a great spring, never heard first gobbler, but finally found a dandy very near where I thought he should be. But something beat me too him. Looked like near 10" beard. Believe the varmint used spurs for toothpick!View attachment 1207885

Ah shoot.
I usually have a live/let live attitude towards predators.....but it sure is tempting to eliminate a few when your local game population starts dipping.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

But I was afield with same food, but a longbow and backquiver. Had a great spring, never heard first gobbler, but finally found a dandy very near where I thought he should be. But something beat me too him. Looked like near 10" beard. Believe the varmint used spurs for toothpick!

We have a good population of turks, so something else is going on with the gobbling around here. I find a coyote kill once in a while, but I don't think they get many of them here.

I am also an archer, sometimes take the bow out for turk, but my longbow is very long, 72" so it does not work so well in a blind. I have a nice Omega reflex/deflex "hybrid" bow, (some call them longbows) but at 66" I'd still have to rise up a little bit to make a good shot from either of my ground blinds. Fall season, when hens are legal and it's more of a matter of just stumbling into them that's when I sometimes take a bow.

At the moment, I'm having a Osage sinew backed Apache bow being made for me, it will be 46" and should work well in a blind. Season ends the end of May, so I don't know if it will arrive by then. At this point, if it arrives before then I won't really have time to make and tune arrows for it, and practice with it enough. But I am sure dying of anticipation to get it. Next year for sure. Just hope Bessie don't get jealous.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Ah shoot.
I usually have a live/let live attitude towards predators.....but it sure is tempting to eliminate a few when your local game population starts dipping.

I used to be an avid coyote hunter, but lost my taste for killing them, or killed so many it left a bad taste in me mouth, or something like that, so these days I just live and let them live. Yes...sometimes the temptation hits me, but I resist. I do enjoy seeing them. Right now it's the wolves up North that are wiping out the big game, but eliminating a few of those would get me in more trouble than I want. The already large wolf population in Northeastern Washington increased 20% in 2023. !!! There are numerous packs that cover about all the Northeastern part of the state. That sucks.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

But something beat me too him. Looked like near 10" beard. Believe the varmint used spurs for toothpick!

I make my own arrows, so finding a fresh kill like that provides me with a lot of fletching.

 

[M65Man]

I got a Howard Hill Cheetah last July, my first asl. It took some getting used too, but I'm really loving it! Came down a little in weight from my old r/d and bear recurves. The Hill is 68" 43#@28 and I'm getting I'm pretty sure 46# at my draw 29". I shot a turkey 2022, looked like good hit. It took out one hip I know. I watched it hobble one leg out to about 40yds away. It's head sagging, I knew it would hit ground anytime, so I just sit still. About 5 minutes later it managed one hop and sailed down into a hollow. If I'd known I would've ran on top it, should have! But I looked for hours never found it. Have shot couple more and drew only feathers & flight! Bowhunting turkeys is the ultimate! I'm done with shotguns and I may never kill another, but I love spring woods, stumping, deer scouting, mushrooms, all of it. I've spent more woods time since first March than I did all last fall, it's some good times. Ate plenty sardines in process and Vienna's too LOL!
Last April I called in my first to see Coydog to 15yds, fixing to draw my recurve. He for sure hadn't seen me, in a log jam, ghillie suit on a stool. But he smelled me right as I was putting tension on string, swirling breeze in back of a hollow. He was as pretty as any dog I'd ever seen. But I've seen black bear most my trips so far. Last fall I saw numerous black bear, several bobcats and yotes. We where rich in turkey but predators have definitely reduced them to what seems 1/4 of what we had 3-4 year ago!
I've considered a flintlock fowler many times but never committed, I got enough guns and bows to keep me busy. Not much of a bowhunter but I swear, a traditional bow in woods is some fine time. Killed a few deer with a bow, but mostly with a rifle. Used love squirrel hunting with a bow, klled a bunch, but I like a iron sighted 22 too well for that. Always wanted a good custom 32Cal for squirrels but never committed to that either.
My turkey gear opening morning.
And yes, sardines&Vienna's with crackers in the shoulder bag!
I've been making my own arrows for 20 years, cedar and Doug Fir recently, and I made some my own feathers from a turkey I killed back about 2005, but man I struggled splitting them things, getting em right. Gave up on that. But just so happens I watched a video just other day, a guy splitting his own. Why he made it look so easy, with a special board & razor blade attached. Went thru a bunch in no time. I might have to reconsider and make me one!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Clay Hays has a good video on making feathers into fletching. Putting the split feather in the fletching clamp jig, you can then sand it perfectly flat on a sheet of sand paper, or use a flat belt sander. That makes it way easier. I use cedar usually, but have tried the fir, and made some bamboo arrows for the little Indian bow I made myself, which was a tough one to get an arrow tuned for. The bamboo was a little more forgiving, but it's a bit more complicated just to make the shaft, the nock, and mounting a point. I may try it again when I get the Apache bow.

That's the 46" Osage bow I made myself many years ago. Look at how much set it has!! When I first made it, it pulled 82#'s. About six years ago I re-tiller'd it and I think it's around 55# now. It's replacement the Apache bow will be around 55-57#. No less than 55#.
I find hunting Turks with a flintlock is much more satisfying than with a shotgun. Commit yourself to a Fowler, you won't regret it.

Bears. I hunted bears all my life (just about) without ever getting one. I wanted a "big guy" so I passed on many, and sows with cubs. This one had lost it's fear of humans, totally unusual where I hunt, and was raiding hunting camp kitchens. !!! So I shot her. I gut shot her, and had to chase her around in very thick brush to find and finish her off. That was "exciting". But, I got a nice hide, quite a bit of the nicest purest bear oil I've ever seen, and made up into a bunch of delicious summer sausage. So now I'm back to looking for the Big Guy, maybe hunting season after next.

Top to bottom, my first bow, a #40 pound York, second down a 65# Hickory 73" long bow I made, third one down a 72" tri-laminated bamboo, EPE, and hickory bow from Rudder Bows. 65#, bends through the handle, fantastic bow. Then my 56# Omega, (also a fantastic bow) and on the bottom a 72# Browning Fury II that I hunted with "back in the day". It's a little heavy for me to get full draw on it now, and it has a lot of finger pinch. Got two deer with it, but it's retired. I do shoot it once in a while, or take it hiking/trekking. Even at a short draw it will break 200fps with a 500 grain arrow. The Omega, at 56#, will shoot the same arrow at just under 200fps. That's how good the Omega is.

Yep I love the bow, and often take one on wilderness treks, hikes, exploring, playing with the map and compass and things like that. A heavy caliber pistol goes along on the ride, but something about ghosting through the wilderness with bow and arrow is very "special" to me.

 

[M65Man]

Clay Hays has a good video on making feathers into fletching. Putting the split feather in the fletching clamp jig, you can then sand it perfectly flat on a sheet of sand paper, or use a flat belt sander. That makes it way easier. I use cedar usually, but have tried the fir, and made some bamboo arrows for the little Indian bow I made myself, which was a tough one to get an arrow tuned for. The bamboo was a little more forgiving, but it's a bit more complicated just to make the shaft, the nock, and mounting a point. I may try it again when I get the Apache bow.
View attachment 1207943
That's the 46" Osage bow I made myself many years ago. Look at how much set it has!! When I first made it, it pulled 82#'s. About six years ago I re-tiller'd it and I think it's around 55# now. It's replacement the Apache bow will be around 55-57#. No less than 55#. View attachment 1207944
I find hunting Turks with a flintlock is much more satisfying than with a shotgun. Commit yourself to a Fowler, you won't regret it.
View attachment 1207945
Bears. I hunted bears all my life (just about) without ever getting one. I wanted a "big guy" so I passed on many, and sows with cubs. This one had lost it's fear of humans, totally unusual where I hunt, and was raiding hunting camp kitchens. !!! So I shot her. I gut shot her, and had to chase her around in very thick brush to find and finish her off. That was "exciting". But, I got a nice hide, quite a bit of the nicest purest bear oil I've ever seen, and made up into a bunch of delicious summer sausage. So now I'm back to looking for the Big Guy, maybe hunting season after next.
View attachment 1207946
Top to bottom, my first bow, a #40 pound York, second down a 65# Hickory 73" long bow I made, third one down a 72" tri-laminated bamboo, EPE, and hickory bow from Rudder Bows. 65#, bends through the handle, fantastic bow. Then my 56# Omega, (also a fantastic bow) and on the bottom a 72# Browning Fury II that I hunted with "back in the day". It's a little heavy for me to get full draw on it now, and it has a lot of finger pinch. Got two deer with it, but it's retired. I do shoot it once in a while, or take it hiking/trekking. Even at a short draw it will break 200fps with a 500 grain arrow. The Omega, at 56#, will shoot the same arrow at just under 200fps. That's how good the Omega is.

Yep I love the bow, and often take one on wilderness treks, hikes, exploring, playing with the map and compass and things like that. A heavy caliber pistol goes along on the ride, but something about ghosting through the wilderness with bow and arrow is very "special" to me.
[/QUOT
Nice bows! That York is very special!
A Fowler in 20ga I sure considered a long time, so versatile! And I believe 62Cal? That's a big slug of lead for deer!
But even after I ever quit hunting? I'll still roam the woods with my bow. Stump Shooting like catch & release. I've been killing the same ones, may of them for years, and there no season or limit!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I got the York when I was 16 years old. Strung it backwards a couple times and wondered why it shot so poorly, and "what's up with the handle?" The it dawned on me, strung it up right, and could hardly believe the results.

Yes, 20 gauge is .62". Besides two deer and one bear, my .62" rifle has sheared a steel fence post in half. Zips right through a deer...never have recovered a ball. It has the power. But of course it can be loaded to any power level one desires.

Silent but deadly, one can shoot all the stumps one wants, without making a big bang. Yep I always carry a judo-point with me, and kill them stumps. Nice way to take small game too, without spooking the big game. That's the plan with the Apache bow, carry it Indian style instead of a pistol. I let a lot of grouse go free, always reluctant to pop off the pistol when deer or elk could be just around the corner.

 

[WisBorn]

Ah shoot.
I usually have a live/let live attitude towards predators.....but it sure is tempting to eliminate a few when your local game population starts dipping.

Very true statement! I get frustrated when I start seeing lots of wolves and no deer. Of course the wolves are protected. If the politicians would let the game department (DNR) do their jobs, we would have a better balance of what the population will handle.

 

[troy fairweather]

Hunt any other animal and the turkeys will be all over lol, I wish I had a place I could do some trekking and hunting over a few days.

 

[Armored farmer]

You deserve a special title in front of your name if you kill a turk with a traditional bow.
Dr.
Sir
Master....something like that.

#1 son has taken two or three with his compound...but he is a turkey whisperer. I think he hypnotizes them....

 

[Armored farmer]

That's the plan with the Apache bow, carry it Indian style instead of a pistol. I let a lot of grouse go free, always reluctant to pop off the pistol when deer or elk could be just around the corner.

Maybe you should try my trick:
I carry a foldable wrist rocket and a pouch of about a dozen .390 lead balls in my pack. Your .62s might be a bit heavy for a slingshot.
I hauled it all the way ti Saskatchewan last Sept for our goose hunt.....I never took it out of my pack, but I had it.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Maybe you should try my trick:
I carry a foldable wrist rocket and a pouch of about a dozen .390 lead balls in my pack. Your .62s might be a bit heavy for a slingshot.
I hauled it all the way ti Saskatchewan last Sept for our goose hunt.....I never took it out of my pack, but I had it.View attachment 1208012

Dang it Farmer, we think alike. Would you believe...I got my grandson and I a couple really nice sling-shots. We practiced hard and heavy and got pretty good. And that was my plan, to take grouse with it while hunting big game, or anything else edible in a survival situation. Then I discovered the it is illegal, believe it or not, to shoot small game with a sling shot. !! The weirdest thing ever. Yeah. A sling shot is an illegal weapon, in Washington State, for taking small game. !!!!???

Could I get away with it? Probably. But I hates them that break the game laws. And after doing two internships at city and county probation, and then six months of volunteer work, I know that the courts and probation looks at game violations as criminal offenses, even though they are not. I know how they think. So the last thing I want is any criminal violations (even though technically not) on my clean record. Dang it farmer, the sling shot is a brilliant idea, easy to pack, lighter than a pistol, and quite deadly. Surprisingly accurate if you know how to shoot them. I like ball bearings, they are really powerful. I have shot the .375" revolver balls, they work good, but velocity (trajectory) suffers a bit.

So, I still plan to use the sling shot for survival purposes, when on long treks and exploring, but a small bow is the only silent thing legal for small game. But who would imagine...sling shots...DENIED!!! What are they thinking, those high and mighty Washington State game law makers???? Must be on crack.