Email #1John, There will be more pictures and words to come. I'm still rushing to get things sorted out with a deer and such before I have to go back to work tomorrow. But, I wanted to send my favorite picture of the trip along. This picture is hours before I put my son on a plane in Kansas City to go home to Ohio (I stayed to hunt some more). We had time for one more walk in one more field on the way to the airport and got the nicest Rooster of the the trip--24" tail feathers. I'm happy to report my son is hooked on hunting in the Midwest. Regards Bill
Email #2John, As promised here is a more comprehensive update of my annual trip to [location deleted] and [location deleted]. First the birds then the bucks. I'm happy to report that my 9year old son is hooked on Midwest hunting. He had a great time for the four days he tagged along with me. We saw lots of birds and I'm glad I took your advice to try [location deleted] as the cover was just right for him and game plentiful to keep him interested. I later found birds spotty in [location deleted] where I was planning to take him (but ultimately found them in good numbers and had a great hunt). As reported, we found quail to be abundant and we are not quail hunters. Many birds would hold well enough for a point and we have some great memories of good dog work. The best rooster, clearly an older bird, had 24" tail feathers. Enclosed are a few pictures of the bird hunting. A dusting of snow later in the trip made for some real fun and helped to show just how tight some birds would hold--a set of tracks going into a clump of thick stuff and none coming out. Pretty good evidence of location and a couple kicks would usually produce a hen that certainly did not want to get out of the warm hiding spot. This tighter holding behavior allowed a couple true doubles which are always a treat and something to remember. As usual, we saw some tremendous deer and lots of turkey as we wandered. My son can not wait till next year! I do want to pass along some other tidbits: I badly sprained my knee on day three when I stepped into a hidden hole. This slowed us down but we made the most of it with frequent icing, a brace and loads of aspirin. Be careful of the holes!
I discovered a decent campground in [location deleted] on the south side of town (not in MAHA yellow pages). Electric and running water for cleaning birds to be found, $6 per night, but no means to pay?? Also a city campground in [location deleted] (not in MAHA yellow pages) but has electric and water at the site. The guy in the house on the southeast corner of [location deleted] is quite outspoken. Does not like us and watches his line--DO NOT CROSS under any circumstances. Apparently he names the roosters and thinks their his. I'm happy to report I relieved his memory some while hunting the association land next to his. It was funny, I shot a rooster and a split second later a covey of quail got up and I shot one of them--all while he was watching me standing next to my car. The quail dropped on top of the rooster and I picked them both up without moving my feet. [Location deleted] needs some doe hunters badly. I put out no less than 30 does from the southwest corner. If anyone has a youngster (BB gunner) going along, get a disposable camera for them. It is really interesting what they want to take pictures of. I continue to be lucky with deer hunting and tried one of the new properties added this year-- [location deleted] I first want to thank you again for the great land quality maintained and recently added. I also want to thank you for something that does not frequently come up. I am an impatient deer hunter and always end up still hunting. I commend and thank you for keeping some deer sections on the large side. It would certainly help your bottom line to divide them and hold less leases, but clearly you and Jon see things from the hunters point of view. With my still hunting tendency, I tend to "chew up" a deer hunting property like a bird hunter. Having some size to the section allows a corner to be left for morning and evening watching while I can wander slowly over the other parts without mixing things up too much. In any case, I had a great deer hunt. The fun started when I went in to hang my stand a few days before opening day. Bearing in mind that I had never seen this property before and had selected a stand location from a satellite photo, I think it is astounding that I saw 5 bucks in the 30 minutes it took to walk to the stand location. None of them were really great, but the sheer opportunity is amazing.
Fortunately the snow and relatively flat ground allowed me to get the deer out before dark without much trouble. My sprained knee still howled in pain! I do have to say I was very tempted to drive on the property but did not. Regards Bill |
The [location deleted] campground it first rate and highly recommended as a base of operation for campers. Worth noting they have electric, water at each site and hot showers (bathhouse) and first three days camping are free.
Opening day was eventful with a group of 6 does playing and bedding less than 75 yards from the stand and a crotch horn running them every which-way. But the cold and my impatience forced me to walk around on day two. I bumped the deer I shot in a small patch woods and I backtracked 150 yards to try to outflank him assuming he really wanted to stay where he was rather than run into the next county. He was smart enough to hook up with a doe and follow her back into the woods. It was a tenuous situation as the doe was within 25yards of me before he showed himself. But, the flanking maneuver ultimately worked and when she wasn't looking I was able to get a clean shot and he did not go far. Please forgive my disrespect for the game by sitting on him. By the time the picture was taken in Ohio he was frozen stiff and I really had to pull on his horns to turn the head. For a sense of size, the widest inside spread is 18.5" and the longest tine is right at 10"
