Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    My Lab and I had a lot of good times this season, but the best single
    moment was the 3 geese we took the week before Christmas.  It wasn't
    so much that we got the geese, but the picture in my mind of how
    they came in.
    
    We were mostly duck hunting out of my boat.  Tide was about 3 feet
    below high, which meant a spit of land separating us from the bay
    was about 3 feet above water level.  We had planned to leave at
    11:00 to get back to work, but couldn't drag ourselves away.
    At 11:30 my partner said he saw geese coming our way.  I couldn't
    see them until they crossed over the spit of land.  They were
    flying so low that they had to gain altitude to get over the spit
    of land.  There were approximately 8 of them flying abreast at full
    speed, almost directly at us, and they couldn't have been more than
    5 feet above the water.  WHAT A SIGHT!!! It looked like a B52 coming
    in for a landing!  My heart jumped into my throat when I first saw 
    them and everything else happened so fast it was a blurr.  Afterwards, 
    we weren't sure who had shot which geese, but we sure were happy.
    
    Mark,
    

    We were hunting pheasent at a game reserve, the field was full of
    hunters. We stoped and let them all pass their various ways, zig
    zaging all over the place. Anyway the field clears, we start across
    and the dog (a good dog) picks up a scent, oh its just a field mouse
    or something. Com'on dog, lets go. She wont leave, "she's on something"
    she pounces on a big clump of grass, up goes a big cock pheasent
    right where 6 - 8 hunters, 3 dogs have just been. The closest in
    our ranks fires two shots, the second fires two shots, all misses.
    By now all the guys who just went thru the field are all looking.
    The third and last hunter in our group, and the farthest away, and
    the owner of the dog fires one shot and brings him down cold.
    
    We planned it that way! :^)
    
Don

    I consider the fact that I met a neighbor of mine who is a very
    conscientious and highly ethical sportsman to be the highlight of
    my hunting season.
    
    Roy has a very well-trained Golden Retriever who literally dove
    off a railroad trestle from 12 feet to retrieve a mallard in October.
    He's also responsible for my taking up archery.
    
    Although I didn't bag a deer this year, I did manage to hunt a new
    area in Durham that is pretty much left alone by other hunters.
    Roy and I received permission to hunt on private land, and although
    I did manage to see 13 deer this season, I was only presented with
    1 quality shot...and a small oak tree jumped in the way :^).
    
    That oak tree looks mighty fine - mounted over my fireplace.

    The most frustrating (humorous) event of the year occurred on opening
    day of firearms season.  About 11:30 that morning, I missed a huge
    doe (see above tree kill).  Anyway, while tracking the doe (to make
    sure if I made a clean miss, which I did, after discovering the
    wounded tree), I manage to push a couple of other deer, but didn't
    shoot as they were running.  Total for the day so far...3 deer.
    
    After legal shooting ended, I jumped in the truck to head home.
    I hadn't even shifted into 3rd gear when I slam on my brakes to
    avoid hitting a nice buck with a huge rack standing in the road!
    So here I am, sitting with my truck in neutral, gun in the rack,
    2 cars behind me, and a massive buck standing in front of me staring
    into my headlights.  I couldn't believe it.
    
    To make matters worse (as if possible), 2 does cross the road behind
    the buck.  Total deer for the day: 6.
    
    Believe it or not, I laughed my butt off all the way home.  
    
    What a great sport!!
    
    Mark.

    Helped FRA drag his first of two bow-killed deer (VT)
    Helped a friend drag his first muzzleloader deer (7pt/148#) after
    going dry for 7 years.  Took a 5 pointer with the rifle in NH.
    My 1988 logbook summary:
    TOTAL/PARTIAL DAYS HUNTED = 42
    DEER SIGHTED              = 58
    LARGE DEER (175+#)        =  5
    BOW SHOTS                 =  0
    MUZZLELOADER SHOTS        =  3
    RIFLE SHOTS               =  1
    
    But as always the best moments are those spent with friends sharing
    memories of past hunts (and past hunters as well).
    
    

         The best momemt of my 88 season was after i had shot my buck
    in Maine. Ihad shot him on the back side of the mountain from my
    car and dragged him down the back side of the mountain because it
    was a lot shorter distance to a road. At the bottom of the mountain
    i had to strip to the waist to cross a stream that was about crouth
    deep. On the other side of the stream it was almost 90 degrees uphill
    for about 300 yards to the road. There was no way i could drag that
    225 pound deer up that hill by my self. So i left the deer beside
    the stream and went up to the road. The first car that went by stoped
    but was an older man that wasn't plysically able to help, but he
    offered to go to look for some help at a local hunting camp down
    the road aways. While he was gone two CONN. hunters from that camp
    stopped and offered to help. It took the three of us about half
    an hour to get the deer up to the road and they wouldn't accept
    anything but thanks from me for their help. Just as we were dragging
    the deer into the road an older hunter from maine stopped and offered
    to drive me and the deer around the mountain to my car. I shot the
    deer around 10:30 and got back to the bed & breakfast were i was
    staying about 4:00 that afternoon. To top this off when i was checking
    out of the bed & breakfast the next morning i had to remind the
    lady i was staying with that i owed her for my stay. She said that
    we had been having such a good time that she forgot that i was a
    paying client. All the people icame into contact with in Andover,
    Maine were wonderful people and i hope that all the people i meet
    on any future hunts anywhere are as nice as the people in Maine.
    
    
    BRUCE

    Best moment - shaking my buddy's hand after he shot his first
    buck.
    
    Hon. mention - watching a big rack on opening morning of the 
    Mass. bow season, scraping about 60 yards out. Ran out of
    vacation time, didn't see him again, next year......
    
    Dana

    
    	Beth (2 year-old GSP) and I were down at the bottom of the hill
getting rid of the TWO YEAR OLD Squirmies. You know- that wild energy
    that comes out of every canine blood cell after the bell-collar goes on.    
	I had loaded up the Twenty guage semi-auto with three #6s and
    was trying to avoid the alders and wetland sink-holes and not paying
    much attention to the dog. I start out in alders to slow her down
    and work closer before heading up into the hardwoods for a hoped
    for grouse. Where is that Damn dog ? 
    
    	I walked the required thirty yards or so to the edge of the 
    hardwoods and there about 15 feet from me she stood locked up 
    and pointing at a dead-fall birch. The tree, which formed a V shape
    was leaning against an oak about three feet off the ground at the
    point where it made contact. Beyond the oak a foot or so was another
    dead-fall oak, I just could not see anything to draw her on point.
    Maybe a squirrel or a snow-shoe hare is what I expected.
    	I was positioned almost directly behind her, so gun tight to
    my shoulder I took a few steps to the right and up along side of
    her and said "Whoa!" and Whoosh! Wirr! TWO Grouse shot up from under
    the birch and flew off at a two oclock direction from me. I nailed
    the first one before it got ten yards, the second one veared just
    as I fired #2 but the third round crumpled him too. I'll admit to
    at that point of going into shock. I then thought of the dog and
    wondered why she hadn't broken point. Beth has only held point after
    shot 4-5 times in her breif career, which was the reason for the
    loud WHOA!
    	Well almost instinctively, I had reached in my Coat pocket for
    a for 3 more rounds and had loaded one in the open breech of the
    Smith & Wesson and, as I turned to look at Beth, I closed the chamber
    on the shell. Whoosh! From about six feet in front of Beth and right
    under the birch log came Papa Grouse flying directly away from me.
    Up came the twenty. Boom! Phoof! And now Beth takes off.  
    	She brought the last bird to me and I had to show her one of the two
    others. What can you expect of a energetic young dog? 
    
    	I have seen families of grouse together before, but usually in
    the summer months. By hunting season they are usually singles.
    One factor may be, that I am the only person who hunts the area.
      I have thought alot about the situation and a whole bunch of luck
    was involved. Both Beth and I came up on the birds suddenly. No
    crunch! crunch! crunch! as we walked out of really marshy cover.
    She pinned the nearest bird under the birch dead-fall.
	I just walked the right direction and flushed the first two
    with my whoa.  They probably had not seen either of us because of
    the fallen oak and birch logs. I don't think Beth was aware
    that there was more than the one bird, but lots of scent from 
    three put her hard on point.
    
    I am convinced that this or similar situations can't happen again.
    I lose my Buck right along with the rest of the lottery players.    
    

    Good hunting! Jack