Hunting Season 2019...

[Blowgunner]

The rabbit was indeed on his way somewhere....
But he is a prey animal...Hawks , coyotes , cats and dogs , may have also ended his life that day as well.
Far better for the rabbit to end up on a dinner plate or feeding another , then to have been hit by a car , and left along the road to die.

To hunt , is to take an actual , active , part in the life cycle around us....not just being a passive observer.
In turn one needs to understand and respect the life that one hunts.
Andy

Well said Andy!

 

[11Charlie]

I go hunting because the I like the people I hunt with. If I need meet I go to the store!! Because like @MountainBear I am unlucky as HE!!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

It seems as if the game animals have read the hunting regs and know where to go , come fall...LOL
Also many tend to be in spots where , even if you do have a good shot...it would be extremely difficult to recover the animal after being shot...

On a more serious note...

Everyday is hunting season for most animals...they are either eating or being eaten.
When a human hunts , the animal has the "home court advantage" so to speak ...
The animal knows the ground...
Has far more "wood sense" , than I...
And is used to avoiding other predators everyday....
So when I go out come fall...the critters that I hunt , have many more chances on their side , than I do.
Andy

 

[Joe13]

It would be slightly easier if the hipsters from Portland wouldn't head out into the woods for a hike with their dogs off leash either .

 

[11Charlie]

It would be slightly easier if the hipsters from Portland wouldn't head out into the woods for a hike with their dogs off leash either .

Those hipsters are lucky they ran into you instead of some blow hard that shoots first and asks questions later or they might be light one dog heading home!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I usually walk our dogs off leash when in the woods...but...
All of our dogs have been well trained...so there is that difference.

Lots to smell and see for a dog "out there"...but yeah when they just run with no control...that is no good.
Andy

 

[11Charlie]

I usually walk our dogs off leash when in the woods...but...
All of our dogs have been well trained...so there is that difference.

Lots to smell and see for a dog "out there"...but yeah when they just run with no control...that is no good.
Andy

Andy you don't do it during hunting season either. Big difference between summer and opening weekend of Elk. These ladies weren't wearing orange or nothing.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Oh yeah...no walking off leash during hunting season for sure...

I understand that many folks don't know when hunting season is or that an area is open to hunting....
Some signage at the trail head or such may be of help here , for those folks that can read that is....
Andy

 

[bbbass]

This is why going duck hunting might be a challenge for me. I am keeping an open mind, but I look at this bunny and I don't think fry it up. I think this bunny was on its way somewhere and now it ain't. And then I'm showing a house today and what do I find in the back yard... his buddy and it wouldn't stop starring at me! How do you find your focus?

Ducks are kinda pretty and I love to watch them flair to land on the water. Calling is fun too but if done wrong can actually scare the ducks off. Wabbits are pretty. Deer are pretty. I believe that like the natives, we have to thank the animal for giving itself for our nourishment.

I've always thought that if I was going to eat meat, it would be good to do my own killing. Those that won't or can't, well...

How does one find their focus? ... There's a ring with a knurled knob on the rear objective of the scope.

I drew Eastern Oregon elk this year and will go if I can get time off work.

But since I am the worlds worst or unluckiest hunter, having hunted since 1998 with nothing but grouse and duck to show for it, it will likely be just another year of taking a rifle for a walk in the woods...

Where at? Maybe we could have a beer!

My hunting buds drew Ukiah 1st spike season. Not sure I will be in camp this year due to wife's onset of dementia symptoms.

Just think of it as grocery shopping. Every piece of meat at the store came from a live animal. I'd rather take an animal that has lived freely than an animal tortured in a factory farm.

^^^ This.

The actual killing shouldn't be the pleasant part... the enjoyment is in the chase and the harvest. Providing for oneself is an ancient tradition that engenders much self-respect. I harden my heart for one moment and then bless the animal and appreciate it's beauty.

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BTW, what did they say the statistic is for the "average" elk hunter in good times? ... One elk every 7yrs I think it was. Some hunters exceed this by a lot, some are way lower than that. I thank the ones that are lower for leaving some elk for me, and for beating the bushes to get the elk moving.

Regarding elk reading the regs and knowing what the seasons are... here the ODFW breaks up the herds just before seasons start. That and the bow hunters start cruising the woods in the summer. When the woods get quiet and sneaky, the elk know............. Wanna shoot a deer, go find a logging site!

 

[IOM]

Good size bunny there Blowgunner...
I like rabbit , but most of the ones I see 'round here are just too damn small to bother with....
That said...rabbit fried up with bacon , taters , corn and onions is a excellent meal.
Andy

Andy sound's like Frodo of Middle Earth...!!!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Where I usually hunt is public land...lots of folks , both hunters and non hunters can be out there during the season.
It pays to be careful with how you present yourself , when interacting with the non-hunters...

I have had many a interesting conversations , with non-hunters , when I was hunting...mostly good , especially if I was hunting with a muzzleloader and or in my mountain man clothes....
Andy

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Andy sound's like Frodo of Middle Earth...!!!

That certainly "rings" true....
Andy

 

[IOM]

I have had many a interesting conversations especially if I was hunting with a muzzleloader and or in my mountain man clothes....
Andy

Oh Lord, not hunting in his Loin Cloth again...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Oh Lord, not hunting in his Loin Cloth again...

Hey it worked for Tarzan....
And its excellent for "cougar hunting"...
Andy

 

[bbbass]

Where I usually hunt is public land...lots of folks , both hunters and non hunters can be out there during the season.
It pays to be careful with how you present yourself , when interacting with the non-hunters...

I have had many a interesting conversations , with non-hunters , when I was hunting...mostly good , especially if I was hunting with a muzzleloader and or in my mountain man clothes....
Andy

During big game season here, the only non-hunter folks out in the woods are getting their winter wood in. Not a real good time to have a convo...

And its excellent for "cougar hunting"...
Andy

In your dreams Andy!!!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

In your dreams Andy!!!

Why just the other night there I was with :
Helen Mirren...
Sophie Loren...
Ann Margret...
Raquel Welch...
Angie Dickinson...
Pam Grier...
And then I .....woke up
Andy

 

[MountainBear]

I drew spike or better 1st season Elk in Desolation outside John Day/Prairie City. The elk know when season starts and they are up over the top of the mountains. There was a fire in the unit 20 years ago and the reprod is so thick, you have to step on an elk to have a shot.

But I hunt with my dad and that makes it worthwhile...

General west side deer is just a matter of finding a place to hunt. If we don't start getting rain, I'm going to have to find private land.

Either season, I don't trophy hunt. Any legal animal works, because I'm just looking for freezer filler. I have a freezer full of good beef and pork, salmon and halibut, but there's nothing better than elk...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

but there's nothing better than elk...

My last elk , I took during muzzleloading season...duh...
When packing out the elk , I ran into a game warden...
He checked my tags and wanted to check my rifle to make sure it was legal...so
When I pulled this rifle out of the wool rifle case it was in....

His reply of : "That is not a Thompson Center or what I was expecting "...was priceless...

Hunting with dad , other family or close friends is a great way to connect with each other.
Andy

 

[P7M13]

For those times when I need to be weally , weally qwiet....
Andy
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I set up a 30m target in my back yard and go out and practice every evening. The twang of a bow is a very distinctive sound to me. Some of my arrows are noisy (feather fletched), and that, too, is very distinctive.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I set up a 30m target in my back yard and go out and practice every evening. The twang of a bow is a very distinctive sound to me. Some of my arrows are noisy (feather fletched), and that, too, is very distinctive.

Do you use "bow silencers"...these are bits of fur or material , you can thread into your bow string dampen the noise...also wood arrows and real feathers seem quieter...
I don't seem to hear much noise when shooting my traditional ( wood stick and string ) bow
Andy