last spring (some gory pics)

[surfclod]

Springtime and ground squirrel shooting seems like a very long wait.

I don't bird or do any big game hunting anymore so this is a sad time for me

So here are a few photos from this past summer that maybe can help others cope with the horrible withdrawal symptoms that I am going through myself.



Just got into place and set up. My winter project is to build a nice bench, similar to the BR Pivot that many here have.





204 and 22 ready for customers. The fence at end of field is approx 375 yards away, once i accounted for shooting uphill i was about 75% accurate on this calm day.




My first customer, this greedy fellow was in the crop.




Gotta love the red mist




This fellow was doing some home renovations, all I could see was little bits of earth being flung up and then a head poke up when I used my call. He was not cautious but just busy, (no doubt his wife had given him an ultimatum and he needed to get the addition done before he could watch the ballgame). It was my most tricky shot as only the top of his head was visible at 195 yards.




Close up of this headshot, home reno's are on hold now I guess.





The sight on the way home. Though none of these are real trophy bucks, I still think I would hunt this area if I was after muledeer. I didn't get a real good photo of these fellas but they did give me time to stop, climb into truck bed, find camera, change setting from macro to sunset and take the pic.

Why does March/April have to be so far away??

[Ray P]

surfclod..........With drawl........yep Thanks for sharing the pics! Beautiful counrty you have there. Head shots...........If that all ya got........then go for it..........his loss.
Thanks again for sharing.
Later
Ray P

[Rick in Oregon]

surfclod: Great pics, and the country and terrain are remarkably similar to ours here....beautiful in any mans book. Your shooting conditons are also just about like ours, and like you, my crew and I are also going through withdrawals, as we didn't get drawn for either mule deer or elk, and fun with Skippy is still months away, so the "winter pout" is on for the duration.

Below is where I'd rather be and what I'd rather be doing!



I'm using the time wisely...catching up on some rifle bedding projects I've put off for too long.

[broncsandwhiskey]

Great pics and nice shooting keep up the great work. About the dear in that very good photo you took, everyone of those is a great prospect for being dinner on the table. Good job and Ride Up!!!

[Captqc]

SWEET!!!!! These shots will help me cheer up after the election results and get me through to next spring! Thanks Gary

[Silverfox]

surfclod--Excellent photos! Thanks for posting them. I LOVE that RED MIST photo!!! Thanks for sharing. I look forward to seeing more reports in the future.

Do you ever try your hand at calling predators? I would think you would have some excellent populations of coyotes around there. That's what I do in the fall/winter to keep buring powder until spring and summer arrive. After shooting the smaller prairie dogs all summer at distances from 25 yards on out to 350 yards, most of the shots I get on coyotes (100 to 200 yards) are extremely easy to make.

[Gube]

Surfclod

Awesome pics. What kind of camera did you use? Your pics seem quite crisp and detailed.

[surfclod]

The camera I use is an

OLYMPUS Stylus 720 SW, 7.1 Megapixel.

I've had it for about 3 years now and the features that sold me on it were the Shockproof (5ft drop) and Waterproof (10ft Depth).

I tested both, (dropped 4 feet onto concrete by accident) and used the underwater feature.



Some trout in the Old Man River in SW Alberta.

There are some tiny watermarks inside the lens from an underwater excursion but it doesn't seem to effect the photos so i have stopped worrying about it.

Do you ever try your hand at calling predators?

When back visiting the farm two years ago I called in my first coyote, there were a lot around as my mother was raising Boer Goats at the time and while the dogs prevented any losses the coyotes were constantly around the yard, testing the defences.

I walked about a 1/2 - 3/4 miles from the barnyard all camoed up and began calling at the base of a small tree. I set up my 204 on a bipod facing the bushline that i had seen a coyote run into but after less than 15 minutes of calling 2 came from behind me. They were scared away by my actions of moving the gun 180 degrees but i just went back to calling and in less than 5 minutes a lone yote came trotting straight in to me without even a pause to check for scent. He dropped behind a slight rise and i guessed where he would show and took the time he was hidden from view to move the gun to where he would come. Even with the scope down to 6X all i could see was fur when he crested the slight rise about 12-15 yards away, so shot placement was poor and i knew the pelt was ruined when there was still hair floating in the air after i got to him. The bullet struck the spine behind the shoulder area and left a grapefruit sized hole in the pelt.

The yotes back home near my folks place in SE Saskatchewan have never really been hunted because their numbers have been kept small by mange for many years, now they have over come that cycle and are increasing in population but not being hunted don't flee at first sight. Also they have never been called so even a rank amateur like myself was able to fool them. (I bought the rabbit in distress call and a cassette tape on a friday, practiced in the truck while listening to the tape for part of the 10 hr drive and called in my first coyote the next monday) Very lucky but the coyotes were easy to fool in that area.

I will keep putting up some pictures of past outings to prevent to much winter depression

BTW sorry about the election, Democrats in all 3 houses is bad. Luckily there are a suprising number of pro-gun democrats from rural areas that will prevent any real attacks on the 2nd amendment like the hard core liberal wing of the Democatic party would like to do.

Sometimes you need a Jimmy Carter to show people the country needs a Ronald Reagan, or so we can hope.