2023 Hunting Picture Thread

[Southerner up North]

I spent the early morning on a little puddle near Lawrenceville, IL with #1 son and his duck dog Lila.
View attachment 1127073 View attachment 1127075 View attachment 1127077 View attachment 1127079 View attachment 1127081
We were a little optimistic about this spot and only brought our old upland guns instead of our heavy waterfowlers.
Son did bring home one mallard thanks to his excellent dog hunting down a cripple.
Yours truly could have shot a little better I think.....but it was a great morning.

Any morning spent duck hunting is a great morning. Watching ducks come in, a great dog work and a greenhead in the bag are just bonuses. Please tell your son he has a beautiful lab

 

[27hand]

Breechface.
Thank you. I feel blessed to still be able and have the desire to keep on keeping on.
Of my 3 buddies who offered help, one has a really bad shoulder and Afib.
The other is my age and his help would have been good but slow.
The youngster is 59 and he has helped me 2 years previously. I could not lift the bucks the 4 feet embankment at the bottom.
I have made the statement that when I cannot drag a deer, I'll hang up my bow, rifle, revolver. I suppose it was a self challenge this year.

Very slowly, I was able to move him 6 inches to a foot at a time without excessive straining. I feel good that it's still in me and I have the common sense to not overdo it.

" A man has to know his limitations"

Great pics guys. Always a pleasure to see them

 

[FL-NC]

Pest control south of the big bend in Fl. last week. About 120 pounds.

 

[Barbaroja]

Here is a forky I shot off the front porch last night, I was planning on going out to sit in the stand but spent all day butchering a doe that my old man shot. I had just showered and sat down to relax when dad hollered at me that there was a buck in the yard. I grabbed my Walmart closeout savage axis 243win and snuck out the back door and crept around the side of the house. 200yd shot, barefoot lol.

95gn nosler BT, 41gn aa4350, win lrp
this is the second deer I’ve shot with the 95gn bt and I’m really liking them so far. I’d prefer bigger blood trail though. Both ran about 50yds without much blood. I didn’t find any blood until I got to within 20yds of him. Fortunately they were shot in the middle of a pasture, if it was thick brush I might have had trouble.

 

[marksman13]

Killed a couple big canadas this morning. I’m about done with deer hunting. The weather has been utterly stupid this season and I’m addicted to waterfowl now.

 

[Armored farmer]

Killed a couple big canadas this morning. I’m about done with deer hunting. The weather has been utterly stupid this season and I’m addicted to waterfowl now. View attachment 1128170

When I was quail hunting with my dogs some years back, deer season was no more than an annoyance. We couldn't hardly bird hunt without encountering a deer hunter.....usually a mad deer hunter...

#1 son has me waterfowl hunting now. It's pretty good sport!

 

[Armored farmer]

Does the 2023 hunting thread include trapping? (I think yes)
this is my old high school buddy. He is a farmer also. He likes to fish/hunt...but he loves to trap.
he caught this beautiful guy recently.

I spotted this Albino deer from the roadway near Marshall, Illinois. Pink eyes and skin....it was happily chewing its cud. White deer are safe from hunters in Illinois.

 

[Barbaroja]

Please let’s include trapping! I was going to post a new thread just now but I’ll post here instead. This is my first year trapping and today I had the best trap check yet. Got 1 opossum, 1 grey fox , 1 coyote and my very first bobcat, nice big Tom!
I’ll be trying out the cat meat as it’s supposed to be pretty tasty. If not I’ll use it for trapping bait.

 

[marksman13]

When I was quail hunting with my dogs some years back, deer season was no more than an annoyance. We couldn't hardly bird hunt without encountering a deer hunter.....usually a mad deer hunter...

View attachment 1128286#1 son has me waterfowl hunting now. It's pretty good sport!

I’ll still deer hunt, but the challenge of something new has been really nice. My daughter loves duck hunting and that’s a huge plus for me. My two year old son loves to talk about shooting ducks while he points his fingers into the sky. Hopefully by the time he’s old enough for a pair of waders, I’ll know enough about ducks to teach him how to hunt them. Right now I’m a complete novice. Never to old to start something new, so I guess we’re gonna see if they saying is true about old dogs and new tricks.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Me and my oldest waiting on a big one this year. (It never came out)

 

[Barbaroja]

Today’s catch. The raccoon was asleep when I walked up to it. The coyote ruined my hollow log bobcat cubby

before-
After-
Few less fawn and Turkey killers is always a good thing.

 

[Barbaroja]

Few photos from the last couple days.
Grey fox

another female coyote. First time I’ve had one howling at me as I approached pretty interesting.
Saw a flock of about 20 turkeys next to the road when I was riding out back home with this girl today. Made me smile, your welcome turkeys!

 

[md7]

My son killed a nice 9 point. Proud of him. 95 grain Winchester ballistic tip in 243 Win. Broadside shot around 60 yards. Died within 20 yards from where he was hit.

 

[md7]

Got the euro mount done from the 01/07/23 buck

Looks nice I think

 

[Bandit67]

Went Pheasant hunting with my buddy and Team GSP.

 

[Patocazador]

Is that a chukar next to you? Lotsa good eating there.

 

[Bandit67]

Yes it is a Chukar. That was a leftover bonus bird from someone else's hunt.

 

[LNF150]

These two filled my early December rifle tags.

I'd watched this eight and a six point walk by a narrow gap in the trees to bed down in an oxbow near a stream. They picked the perfect spot to nap and chew their cud, there was virtually no way to put the sneak on them from any direction without them detecting me first and running out the other way. So I sat for 4 hours waiting on them to make a move. Then it dawned on me to try to 'rattle' them up by crunching and smashing this water bottle between my hands. I'm not saying it worked but they both got up, crossed the stream to my side and this eight was broadside to me 254 yards out. I let him have it with one shot, he bucked then ran about 30 yards before tipping over.



This 1 1/2 year old doe was with a herd of does, half were in the trees and the other were just outside in the pasture. The whole group was moving straight at me, so I picked her out because she turned broadside to me. The bigger does were in the trees but I couldn't line one up. Anyway, I dropped her 80 yards.



Both were great hunts. The deer this year were really moving around midday. Before anyone says anything, I realize still have the stickers on my two year old Tikka. I actually have two t3x in the same caliber, 7mm-08. The older one is blued and it's done a fantastic job on previous deer. In 2021 I hunted with this stainless and never did get a shot at any deer. They were far and few between all season long in 2021. The weather, drought, timing of the rut, crop rotation everything was different between these two years.

 

[courtgreene]

These two filled my early December rifle tags.

I'd watched this eight and a six point walk by a narrow gap in the trees to bed down in an oxbow near a stream. They picked the perfect spot to nap and chew their cud, there was virtually no way to put the sneak on them from any direction without them detecting me first and running out the other way. So I sat for 4 hours waiting on them to make a move. Then it dawned on me to try to 'rattle' them up by crunching and smashing this water bottle between my hands. I'm not saying it worked but they both got up, crossed the stream to my side and this eight was broadside to me 254 yards out. I let him have it with one shot, he bucked then ran about 30 yards before tipping over.

View attachment 1130184

This 1 1/2 year old doe was with a herd of does, half were in the trees and the other were just outside in the pasture. The whole group was moving straight at me, so I picked her out because she turned broadside to me. The bigger does were in the trees but I couldn't line one up. Anyway, I dropped her 80 yards.

View attachment 1130185

Both were great hunts. The deer this year were really moving around midday. Before anyone says anything, I realize still have the stickers on my two year old Tikka. I actually have two t3x in the same caliber, 7mm-08. The older one is blued and it's done a fantastic job on previous deer. In 2021 I hunted with this stainless and never did get a shot at any deer. They were far and few between all season long in 2021. The weather, drought, timing of the rut, crop rotation everything was different between these two years.

View attachment 1130186

It comes in cycles. This season it was about perfect in NC. That means the next few years we will have to work for it.

 

[Patocazador]

It comes in cycles. This season it was about perfect in NC. That means the next few years we will have to work for it.

If it weren't for 5 days in Nov. following the main rut, I would not have killed a deer so far this season. Luckily, I have one more chance. I was invited on a western panhandle hunt the last weekend of gun season.

 

[courtgreene]

If it weren't for 5 days in Nov. following the main rut, I would not have killed a deer so far this season. Luckily, I have one more chance. I was invited on a western panhandle hunt the last weekend of gun season.

Good luck!

 

[Patocazador]

Thanks. This hunt is mainly for my 9 yo grandson. He has already contracted the hunting/shooting disease.

 

[marksman13]

Spent the morning shooting quail with some buddies from work. Really good time and some really good shooting today. Picked up 42 of 45 birds.

 

[Barbaroja]

Shot this big gal with my 444marlin handi rifle

 

[Armored farmer]

.