Cool turkey pic's and Late Season goose opener ...

Crossbow Hunting
R.J.
Posts: 4505
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2002 2:12 pm
Location: Innerkip , Ontario , Canada

Cool turkey pic's and Late Season goose opener ...

Post by R.J. »

Started the morning by driving North to post signs about my lost snowshoes .... then I headed East to Orangeville and South towards Toronto to hook up with Jon ( aka Kendo Kid ) to set up in a corn stubble field for to ring in the Late goose opener ...

On the way up North I saw some turkeys in a field ... pulled over and snuck into a small bush cover to get 2 frames of a Tom that was getting an early start on strutting ! :lol: :lol:

It was actually 2 Toms , a jake and a hen .... when I gobbled at them the Toms stretched their necks out and gobbled back !

Image
Image

The turkeys eventually saw me when I tried to move closer and took off ... I moved on , and posted my " lost snowshoe " signs .... as I drove to the main highway , I saw a young turkey along side the road ... I turned around and got out to get a picture , but only managed 1 shot as he flew off ...

Image

Headed out to meet Jon .... What a beautifull day , a great day for a drive ...

Met Jon at " location X " :lol: :lol:

We had quite a haul to get our gear into the field ... 2 sleds with pop up chairs , guns etc. and 2 magnum sized decoy bags ...

The field looked good with lots of geese tracks from previous days , and a spinkling of left over corn which was obviously the draw to that field !

Image
Image

Jons previous scouting put the geese into the field by 2:30 pm , so we set up early enough to get a jump on them ... as we dragged the sleds into the field approx 9 deer busted from some side cover ... I got a quick frame of 4 as they left ....

Image

Started to set up my shooting station ... that Skyline camo blends in nicely ( see my chair bedside the last decoy on the RH side )

Image

Jon worked on his , while I headed back for load of decoys # 2 ...

Image

This shot shows you how far into the field we were ...

Image

All set up ... the decoys looked good ...

Image
Image

The next hour ... all we saw were planes ....

Image
Image

I got comfortable in my chair and drifted off in a deeeeeep sleeeeep ! Only to be jerked from my slumber about an hour later to the sound of Jon's goose call .... Oh crap ! , I pear out of my decoy chair to see a flight of birds setting their wings right on top of me ! :lol: :lol: I roll out of the chair mount my 870 , lead the fist bird and start to yank on the trigger ! .... :oops: :oops: Safety on ! ... birds flare out of range ! ...

I look over at Jon and we bust out laughing ! :lol: :lol:

It is 4:20 pm now ... and the next hour brings in many flights of birds ... they came out of the sun and so my flight pictures didn't turn out that good ... but here are some shots that did ...

Jon waiting / watching ...

Image

Jon squatting behind his chair as he calls in a small flock of 4 birds ....

Image

I only manged to peer out of the decoy chair in time to get a picture of one bird falling to earth ! Good shot Jon !

Image

He knocked down a couple .... Fetch Jon , Fetch ! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Image

Eventually I get a good shot of birds setting their wings ...

Image

Oh crap ! ... they are right over me ... steady , steady .... bang , bang = a double ... " no way Jon's going to show me up ! " :lol: :lol:

Image
Image

We eventually shoot our limit ... 5 birds each .... at one point we discuss ... I say " I think the late season is 8 birds each " ... But for some reason , I got 5 birds in my head .... so we error , on the side of caution and start to pack up .... I mean 10 big Canada's is plenty to pack out on top of all our gear !

I take one more picture of the last bird down ... and start to pack the decoys ...

Image

The geese tease us .... here is a flock that settles over Jon as he is packing his gear ...

Image

I wave at few flocks and get 1 picture of the sun going down behing the treeline ...

Image

By the time we pick up the decoys , pick up our spent shells , pack all gear and bungee everything to the sleds ... then back pack two sets of deeks , and pack the truck it is 6:30 pm ...

We hit a local resturant for super... and re-live the shots of the afternoon ! I pull out the late season reg's and confirm it is 8 birds each ! ... Oh well , we error on the side of caution , got some awsome shooting and left the area fairly undisturbed for next Tuesday ! :lol:

Thanks again Jon ... great day out ! enjoy the pictures !
Last edited by R.J. on Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
See Ya. ... R.J. > " Remember , Trophies are measured by the time and energy expended to get them , not the size or quantity of the quarry "
TPM
Posts: 2108
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:48 pm
Location: Kitchener, Ontario

Post by TPM »

Looks like a fine afternoon. Looks like your decoy spread was working well. How many do you use for this late season? I do most of my goose hunting in Sept/Oct and find that the more dekes the better but of often heard that in this late season "less is more" with many guys using more more than four or five in a spread. Still experimenting myself.
R.J.
Posts: 4505
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2002 2:12 pm
Location: Innerkip , Ontario , Canada

Post by R.J. »

Yep .... less is better , and if you can get way out in the field away from cover they seem to be more confident .. We used 10-12 magnums including the chairs and approx 1 dozen standard shells ...
Last edited by R.J. on Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
See Ya. ... R.J. > " Remember , Trophies are measured by the time and energy expended to get them , not the size or quantity of the quarry "
groundpounder
Posts: 1280
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:15 pm
Location: Monroe, Georgia

Post by groundpounder »

Your write ups and pics are always great R.J., keep them coming.
Why ride when you can walk!
ecoaster
Posts: 2889
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2004 8:35 pm
Location: Nova Scotia

Post by ecoaster »

Great shots again RJ. You made up for the "safety shot" with that double. You got me itching to get out again. I'm usually in ice fishing mode this time of year, but the smell of gun powder would also be welcome :lol: .
I hunt for memories, the meat's a bonus!
csharkie
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2003 10:46 pm
Location: Greely, Ontario

Post by csharkie »

Great pics as always RJ. Love the close-up turkey pic!
Greylag
Posts: 39
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 2:18 pm
Location: Kitchener Canada

Post by Greylag »

Nice pictures R.J. You make me feel like I was out with you for the day.

ecoaster, I'm usually in the ice fishing mode this time of year also, any news of where the fishing is good right now.?

V.A.
Wishing all of you the wind at your back,
Good friends by your side,
and a lifetime of adventures ahead.
Kenton
Posts: 869
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:21 pm
Location: ohio
Contact:

Post by Kenton »

looks and sounds like you guys had a great time.
"You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, and publicity." - Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I pilot
axis
Posts: 173
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:10 am
Location: 808

Nice

Post by axis »

Nice goose pic. injoyed looking at them. :) What kind of goose dicoys are those? They look good.


Axis
GaryL
Posts: 7484
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2002 5:00 pm
Location: Ohio fer now!!

Post by GaryL »

Just super R.J. Great pictures as always, keep'em coming .... 8)
Always learning!!
Home fer now!
R.J.
Posts: 4505
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2002 2:12 pm
Location: Innerkip , Ontario , Canada

Post by R.J. »

Thanks guys ... Definately nice to get out in the late season and do our part to thin some geese out !

Have had several PM's re: gear ... so here is a list .

Camera : Pentax K100D digital SLR ... shooting 1600 ISO ( see the propeller stopped on the small plane ? = that's what you get with 1600 ISO , but grainy pictures in bright light ) , 75-300mm lens .... difficult to switch back and forth from 200 ISO to 1600 ISO when you are trying to hide from the geese and juggle from camera to gun .... :lol: :lol:

Gun : Remington 870 SP pump ... 32" barrel (* from out west ) full rem choke .

Shells : Challenger 3 inch mag BBB steel .

Decoys : Flambeau magnum shells .

Scouting : = long hours ... watching flights and following them to food source then ask permission and cross your fingers ... !

In this case Jon ( aka Kendo Kid ) , had scouted the field and the birds were feeding on a property he already had permission on ... I got the invite and the rest is a great memory of a great day in the field , preserved with some cool snap shots !

I'm still chuckling ... when I recall our super afterwards .... we are sitting in Montana's .... I'm in full camo :lol: :lol: They have a brown paper table cloth and a cup of crayons ... Jon and I take turns , drawing out " did you see this " , " when the geese did this " and " when I shot like this " " what about the flock that came from behind " etc. etc. ... many times our hands raised holding an imaginery gun and re-living the shots from a few hours ago ... :lol: :lol: Priceless !

BTW : Jon is a gentleman , and a privledge to share a goose field with !!
See Ya. ... R.J. > " Remember , Trophies are measured by the time and energy expended to get them , not the size or quantity of the quarry "
BUCKSHOT
Posts: 1040
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2004 7:40 pm
Location: Port Sydney On.

R.J

Post by BUCKSHOT »

I did the good old painfull dial-up download this a.m.
Loved the pic's and wanted to say so but I was pushing the wire to make the grind on time!
Totally awesome pic's and rendition as usual R.J. 8)

Good fortune Teusday!

Question: After a day trip, and long ride home, do you clean your birds e.t.c. the night of the hunt?
Would make for a late one, I would think!
Enjoy the Harvest!
User avatar
Big John
Posts: 3124
Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 9:29 pm
Location: Niagara Region

geese

Post by Big John »

I knew that would happen. :( :( :(
I just got off work now RJ and another 1/2 day and I'm done the contract.
I'm glad you guy's did good! I'm going to set up in my field on Sat. and hope for some straglers.
Phoenix - 375 gr. BEE's (babyneilsons)
Micro 315 - 410 gr. Zombies/Lumenoks
Micro 355. - Punisher-Zombies/Lumenoks

Arrowmaker - Retired
rem.exc.shooter@hotmail.com
R.J.
Posts: 4505
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2002 2:12 pm
Location: Innerkip , Ontario , Canada

Post by R.J. »

Buckshot wrote :
After a day trip, and long ride home, do you clean your birds e.t.c. the night of the hunt?
I did 3 last night ( that's why the pictures didn't get posted till 11:15pm ) :lol: :lol: , and 2 today ... That is the behind the scene stuff I should take pictures of to describe the work involved in going full circle ... cleaning birds ... drying out gear , cleaning gun , sorting shells etc. to prep for next hunt !
:lol: :lol:

John : Glad you finished up .... good luck on Saturday !
See Ya. ... R.J. > " Remember , Trophies are measured by the time and energy expended to get them , not the size or quantity of the quarry "
User avatar
wabi
Posts: 13443
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2002 9:21 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by wabi »

Love the pic of the running turkey!
Looks like you had a great day!
wabi
Post Reply