Anybody Hunting out there?/if so what?

saxman · Post by **saxman** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:02 pm

Just wondering if there are any seasons open,what they are and who is doing it and with what weapon.I've got a fever,and the only prescription is,not more cowbell but Hunting.
Turkey is open here but no chance to go yet,I hope to get out with my donor and his 6year old son but now he is dealing with some foot issues and doesn't want to walk.

Pydpiper · Post by **Pydpiper** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:17 am

I'm out there, every day!
I am developing a bad habit for crow hunting in the morning, got one with the bow a couple days ago. I do that from the backyard over the cornfield, it seems to be a major travel way in the morning. I usually hunt them with a shotgun and a call.
Evenings/afternoons I spend prowling for yotes, it is mostly an excuse for early turkey scouting though

I have my birds patterned pretty good now, have since deer season ended.

I do most of this close to home, but lately I have been traveling a bit north where the coyotes are much bigger, 15 minutes of driving makes all the difference in the world it seems.
Crows, coyotes and fox are always in season around here, turkeys don't start up until the 25th, and I am ready.
I hope you get some time out there soon Scott!

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:00 am

Got any nutria down there, Sax? That's something you can always hunt, 24/7 - 365 days a year ... and nutria need killing, wherever they're found. Louisiana even has a bounty on them, I think!

Some folks eat 'em, too!

saxman · Post by **saxman** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:57 am

I have seen some big rodent looking things in the swamps before,kinda freaked me out,I had never seen anything like it and I never brought it up to the elders at camp for fear of them saying I was spooked and saw the boogy man.Some of our swamps can give you the heebe geebe's just being in there let alone seeing something you've never seen.

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:08 am

Nutria, no doubt! I'm guessing you know what a muskrat is. Nutria look more like a little beaver with a skinny tail ... might weigh 15-20 pounds.

When you see 'em, take 'em out. They're an invasive species, and do untold damage to fragile wetland ecosystems.

Good with 'taters and carrots, too, I hear.

saxman · Post by **saxman** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:21 am

I thought about muskrat but these didn't look the same,must be nutria
I'll have to get in there after em.I still get spooked in those big swamps,so easy to get turned around.I got down out of a treestand one afternoon when the rain got pretty heavy and decided to stalk my way back to the truck,I saw a doe in about knee deep water so I flung an arrow and missed,I stalked her a long time and then got a funny feeling,I looked around and everything looked the same,I was in water over my knees and got scared,took me hours to get out and when I did I was miles from the truck but was probably never more than 300 yards from the road the whole time,I thought I was way back in there.,I got lucky

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:45 am

I know all about swamp disorientation, Sax! People who aren't familiar with their unique environments just don't understand, and can't until they get in one for once and learn. Our pocosin habitats are even worse than hardwood swamp ... go 50 yards in, close your eyes and turn around twice, and unless the sun is out, you can be badly mixed up. I have to laugh at some of the hunting shows on which they speak of "thick brush" ... I've seen balding men with more stuff on their head. You want thick, we've got it in our woods. You can't see five feet ahead of you in lots of places. It's just not the same as those wide open park-like woods in other places.

Our swamps and pocosins and pondpine flats can be very dangerous, too. There are places where the vegetation actually grows on floating mats of peat, and it's possible to break through into underground water. Many of our streams and swamps have muck bottoms ... if you're in a boat and you lose it, you're not walking out, plain and simple. Better find a log to float on, 'cause cypress knees make for rough sitting!

I love our wetlands and swamps and pocosins for their vast wildness and incredible diversity ... so much more wildlife (and everything else, snakes and bugs too!) than is found in other areas ... and for their adversity. You gotta love a land that can kill you so easily if you don't watch out.

There's beauty there, too ... as is true of all areas.

And yes, there are those moments "back in there" when things just don't feel right. Time to go home. Who knows why?

I like to have a compass with me, and try to be aware of some directional reference point. These new GPS units are the thing ... have to get one someday.

Stay safe, Sax ... but relax ... I've never heard of a man-eating nutria!

tuskntine · Post by **tuskntine** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:57 pm

Turkey season opened Sat. the 22nd here in Georgia. Hunted Ft. Stewart in Hinesville, Ga. but there has been so much training going on and a lot of controlled burning that the turkeys seem to have all headed for the river swamp. Due to recent back surgery , walking a lot is out of the question . Found some private property this week and hope to try it out next week .
Hope to get my first ever turkey with my Mossberg 500 then switch to my Phoenix .

M&M · Post by **M&M** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:23 pm

hey pydpiper can ya eat them crows or are they just too nasty and taken as varmints? M&M

Maritimer · Post by **Maritimer** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:49 pm

I am waiting for bear season, it starts on the first of April.

Pydpiper · Post by **Pydpiper** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:34 pm

I am sure there are people who eat them, however, I am not one of them.
In the neighbouring town they come in on garbage day by the thousands, tear open every bag and leave a trail of trash in their wake. I try to snag them on the way out of town.

M&M wrote:hey pydpiper can ya eat them crows or are they just too nasty and taken as varmints? M&M

LV2HNT · Post by **LV2HNT** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:56 am

I used to work for a park about 10 years ago and I would see crows everywhere. They would team up with the squirrels and together they would get on a trash can and pop off the top. Then they feasted, but they would make quite a mess, so it was pretty annoying.

Near the end of my stay at the park, West Nile Virus started showing up and changed things quite a bit. I had to put down a couple birds and I can tell you from looking at them that it must be a nasty way to die. Now, I still see crows but never any giant flocks like I used to. There numbers have deffinately declined.

As for hunting, I havn't been doing any. I am trying to get all my chores done around the house so I can get out for turkeys. Only three more weeks I believe.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:29 am

I am still running after yotes almost every day. Every year there just seems to be more here in Southern Ohio.

warningshot · Post by **warningshot** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:34 pm

deer sheds and rabbits here thats all.....turkey in a month thought...whooaa

cdup · Post by **cdup** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:34 am

I'm after the hogs right now. Took a 135 .lb last sat. afternoon.