Last coon hunt of '08

And I finally have something to write about. Went out for some coon callin' yesterday before the bad weather moved in. Hunted for around an hour, saw one set of eyes that just would not leave the tree, when my caller started acting up. My foxpro sounded like a bad record, it started popping and skipping real bad, at first I thought it was just the recording I put on it. After I tried some of the other sounds that came on the caller I realized my batteries were going dead. So into "town" I go to get some new batteries,of course town only has 2 gas stations and one of them is closed. The one that's open had one pack of D, C, AAA, and of course a flat battery but no AA of which I need 4. So off to the bigger town I go and after 20 miles and $5.00 I'm back in business. I went out to the same tree to try and pull the coon out far enough for a shot , and I got nothing he didn't even look out to see what the problem was. So I went to the edge of the forest where it drops off to a creek bed and goes back up on the other side to some more forest , set up my caller and started calling. These sounds are the best I've ever used and after about 3 min I heard a coon coming in. After a little searching with the light and a brief wait he was clear enough for a shot at 5 yds. The shot put him down, I probably would've given it a follow up shot however my gun is not operating properly and is going to be shipped back to Remington yet again at the end of coon season-(do not buy a 597!)- . Anyway I got one coon and fit in one more stand before the weather got too bad. I'm going out New Year's day after work and if it's a nice day I might try to get some Video. Wish me luck. As I wish you a happy New Year!

The long hard road of a dedicated hunter

Well yesterday started with a duck hunt, not an average duck hunt but a sled in duck hunt. You see the reservoir I usually hunt has been froze over for a while so I got a spot down from the dam that I have permission to hunt. So I hauled all my gear down there set up and only saw 2 quackers. The weather didn't really want to work with me, it kept snowing all morning making my dekes snow piles. So I pulled 'em and headed in and of course then the sun pops out, but I already had it in my mind I was going Pheasant hunting when I got home. So I put all my duck hunting gear away and got ready to go Pheasant hunting. I got to the prop around 1:00 and with the fresh snow that morning my plan was simple cut a track and follow it. Apparently yesterday was skip work and go pheasant hunting day, I saw 6 trucks at the first spot I wanted to hit so I went down the road a little further and started walking. I cut a track and followed it for at least an hour and a half to no avail. So I got back in the car and took off for another section I've shot birds at. There were tracks everywhere so I just stared pushing small sections of cover, going real slow, changing directions often, and stopping alot. Nothing, not even a rabbit. It was starting to get late by now and just when I almost ran out of options I heard a rally call. A cock was getting ready to roost and looking for company, so I took off towards the sound and let me tell ya he just wouldn't shut up which was good for me. I had to cross a ravine and two small sections of cover but finally got close enough to almost see the bird (of so I thought). Then he just shut up so I did what I thought was my best option and rushed the bird. Nothing no bird, so I started running through this postage stamp of cover trying to flush him out. Sure am glad nobody saw the orange idiot running through the tall grass. Then just when I was ready to give up I saw him about 5 feet from me at the base of a small tree. Well after working this hard all day I was going to go for the ground pound and right now I wish I could've accomplished that. What happened instead was he saw me and took off I unleashed the fury of my mossberg. What fell to the ground was more hamburger than my prized pheasant.
Yes I took him home, yes I surgically removed all the bad stuff and saved what I could. I'll be making some pheasant soup today and now the meat is practically all cut up.
So I had a good day yesterday only to be screwed by today. Today was supposed to rain all day and as I write this looking outside on this bluebird day I just gotta wonder how many quackers I coulda had this morning?