Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Hunting 2012-2013

Good going Todd! That's a bigger buck than I've shot in a number of years, and for sure bigger than one that I have yet to get this year.

Shup i seen somewhere there outlawing dog hunting (hounding) bears, cats and other animals in some states this coming year.. I don't think Colorado was one of them.. Always something aint it..

Scott -- great photos. I guess you wouldn't want to slip off the edge.

Todd -- A spear?? We gotta improve your aim.



Actually, isn't there now a deer spearing season in Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and a few other states?

Nice deer though.

Today is the last day in my part of WV to legally take a deer. I'd like one more small one for the freezer. My rifle is ready at the back door. I just need a deer to walk past the window while I read by the fire. It is a perfect day for it. Light snow all day on top of 8-9 inches already on the ground.

Love it, Ken!

Actually, the season runs through Monday, so you have another day to bag one. I need to do the same thing and hope to run out to the farm in a bit. Usually able to just drive up, see one, and kill it. Even without a spear!

Thanks, Scott. I was thrilled with him.

Yeah, they outlawed baiting and running bears with dogs there. The bear population is exploding now.

As for the cats, the outfitters weren't too happy having that many around. The guy that is running the "study" said there were only a few cats in the hunting zone, so he set the limit for that area at 5 cats, saying that all the cats in the area had a transmitter on them.

Not true, as this one didn't, and the other 3 that were seen running in front of the dogs didn't have collars either. The whole area quota could have been filled from just one canyon.....

Luckily when the outfitter and the hunter went in to check in the cat, the head honcho of the Colorado fish and wildlife was there, and got an earful. The guy that is running the study was back out on the property the next day.

It turns out that his girlfriend is from Ca. and was very instrumental in getting the Mt. Lion hunting stopped in that state........

The outfitters see the cats targeting the trophy Mule Deer Bucks vs. the does because the old boys are loners, and one set of eyes/ears is easier to fool than a whole herd of deer.

Lots of money being lost, not to mention livestock. The sheep in the area were moved off of the property 2 weeks earlier, and on Sunday we came across a sheep that was left behind. It was killed a couple of hours earlier as it was still warm and limber.

It'd be impossible to hunt the lions without dogs - you'd never see them.

Scott,

Aren't you going to show everyone what your "FREE" guide got you onto today?

I do apologize for being off on the time. I said they would show up at 9:15. It was 9:20

Alright....Post the pics for em'.

Hey, you got the same pics that I do, and know how to post them!

If the "free" guide was so good, he wouldn't have made his client get up at 4:00 a.m.! He'd have the Dekes in the field and take the client out there maybe 20 minutes before the birds showed up.

He'd also put the client on the "X".

O.K. lazy, here ya go.

Good thing you didn't see what happened when I shot that last goose...........

Standing on the slope of the ditch, leaning WWAAAYYYY back because I waited 'till the very last second to shoot, hoping that the birds would continue over you and Sam, when I shot the recoil shoved me off balance and I tipped over backwards into the ditch. The birds had actually flown overhead and were already past me. I couldn't pivot because I was standing on the steeply sloped bank of the ditch. I'm glad that it was full of snow and it wasn't full of water! Hey, at least the bird that I shot at fell and I didn't have to walk a half mile to finally shoot it to kill it.

Even tho we weren't on the "X" a few fell anyway.

My "guide" took his son on his first (or was this his 2nd?) waterfowl hunt. We were hunting in a chopped and chiseled cornfield. Really, really nice to walk in and drive over, especially when all the low areas were filled with snow. The farm manager said he'd run some of the equipment over places in the fields so we'd have a smooth place to drive. This is the second year that he's said that..... I think I'm going to show up there soon and tell him to give me the keys and I'll do it.

We had maybe 100+ Mallards land 481 yds away, and the main body of geese landed out more towards the center of the field, 150 yds away. (Laser rangefinders sure do come in handy!)

Here's his first Drake Mallard:


His first goose:


Here's a big goose that I dropped (when I tipped over):


Todays bag, minus one goose. We picked it up on the way out as it sailed a LONG ways (but it was dead right after it hit the ground. ):


Birds and gun:


And one with the mutt after I got home:


We had a pair of Pintails circling early in the day, but they wouldn't get low enough. I've been shooting too much with 1200 fps lead shot at clay birds and was over leading the birds by a bunch. If I would have been on my game there would have been more birds on the ground.

Not a bad morning for not even being on the "X". The geese didn't want to commit to the dekes for some reason. But, enough gave them a close enough look to knock down a few. Typically the landing gear was down, then retracted..

Went on a pheasant hunt with Marlie this weekend. Good dog. http://imgur.com/a/u7qg1 for full album.

Good pics! Looks like it was cold out.

12�F!

Great pics!

Brrrrrr!

Some of my pics are older, but im just figuring this picture thingy out. This is a pic of my best friend and I. It is not the best pic, but that is a 2 wheel drive Dodge Dakota, 4 cylinder, with a Honda Foreman 450 and 3 deer piled on. Theres a doe on the front rack, a nice buck with a long history with me on the back rack, and a doe on the tailgate.

Be funny to see that vehicle at the drive-thru at McDonalds.

For those of you having trouble with photo hosting, may I recommend http://imgur.com ? It's very easy to use (and I promise I have no financial stake in the company).

No sign-up, no registration needed.

Zep, honest to God that is exactly where we went. It is just a simple tradition for us, but we always grab a bite to eat real quick at McDonalds on our way thru the small town of Versailles. We even had a conservation officer pull up behind us at a stop sign and never even checked us, I could'nt believe that. It was a great day, 2 days actually. One of the deer was shot the night before, right at sundown, so we just iced it down and left it on the truck for the morning. It was definately a memorable time for me. I had just gotten out of the military the month before and this was my first time hunting the Hoosier Hills again in 7 years. It was a great welcome home for me.

Found out yesterday that the guys hunting on a few acres across the road shot the buck that I saw under my stand a few times during early October. It had 6 points on one side and a double brow tine on the other side, but was broken off after the G2 on the double-brow-tine side. The guy that shot it was quite proud of it, but there will be one less trophy buck in the woods next year. Well that's the way it goes. If you let the smaller or broken antlered deer walk, they may get shot elsewhere. I met the guys when they asked to track a doe through my place (3rd time in the last few years). They did not find it alsthough the tracks were very clear in the snow. It was bleeding very little and ran 1/4 mile on my place without being pushed. If it was not mortally wounded, it will be a lot more warry in the future. Happy New Year to all!!!

That's a shame. I'd hope guys would pass on bucks like that. This is from the outfitters web site in Colorado. I can't believe how busted up this rack is!

I pushed a doe to these guys this morning by accident. A few minutes later, boom-boom-boom; less than a minute later futher east, boom-boom-boom. Swiss-cheese hunters

They should take up hunting with a muzzleloader. They'd learn to pick their shots.

Got a buddy that's the same way. Really quick to pull the trigger, then usually empties the gun.

I had a line of 7 does walk past me last evening. I thought I could take the last one in line, but missed. Between 120 to 150 yds away, there was some brush/branches between us and they never stopped walking. I think the bullet hit something and deflected - no hair or blood at all (6" of snow on the ground), and I saw them all run off 20 minutes later when I went to check for any sign of a hit. Muzzleloader was resting on shooting sticks, I was seated in a chair. It felt right when the trigger broke, I was suprised she didn't go down.

Tomorrow evening I'll be out again.

I too have had shots hit brush that I did not initally see, but it is the exception not the rule. The guys said that they took one muzzleloader shot at the doe they wounded and we tracked through my property a couple days ago. I talked to my retired neighbor late this morning and he said that there were three shots in a row from these guys at that time, not one (he was checking traps just east of where they hunt). I should have had a clue when they carried a rifle (looked like a .357) in case they jumped the doe. They are not hunting on my land, so they can hunt as they please, but I will not risk rousting deer to track deer on my place in the future. The sad thing is that they are training a 13-year old to hunt the same way. The deer that they shot at today was standing 20 yards from me for 5 minutes but there was some brush in the way, so I did not shoot and it finally detected me standing on the ground and ran into the place that they hunt. I do not enjoy tracking a poorly shot deer, and no will go hungry if I do not shoot a deer. I feel really good this year; 5 shots (2 bow, 2 .44, and 1 muzzleloader) and 5 deer in the freezer. Three of these were heart shots (1 at 70 yards with the muzzleloader - luck), and the other 2 were double lung. This is my best markmanship for a deer season, and although I never saw a trophy buck, it was a satisfying season.

RAH if you wanna help them learn too shoot don't allow them on your property anymore.. They'll learn to shoot or you'll eat there deer pretty simple.. where I hunt we don't let anyone track on our property, and they don't let us track on there's which is expected..

I am trying not to be such a hard a## based on my wife's assessment, but I am in agreement with you.

Life sure is simpler when you limit your hunting to squirrels!

Deer hunters are a bit nuts which is what squirrels eat. Ironic...