garden pests

[Rustyinfla]

 Paul,
   you might check into your game laws a little bit. There might be a way to shoot those deer out of the pea patch legal like. Either by getting an agricultural permit, or just because they're on your property. Most states allow you to protect your agricultural interests.
 I have a friend in N.C who shoots them out of his soy beans using a .22 Hornet. He lungs them so they'll walk out of the field before dropping, That way he doesn't loose as many beans while trying to drag them out.

[PHATINJUN]

Sourdough it seems the old timers had a very good idea of what they needed to do when the shots were part of the budget. Kurt

[bigvarmnt]

Wyo Coyote Hunter, I started hunting Pheasant in the early 80's in Iowa Two to three trips season. I quit in the 90's cause people tied up the spots and leased them for the season. Farmers used to welcome you as friends. Then all they started seeing you as was a wallet. Same will be for coyote and hogs. Already on the way. After Iowa tried Kansas. Paid a guy to stay at his house and he took us to some good spots, but he started blasting birds before we got out of the truck. We went mostly for the dog work. He thought all we wanted were dead birds. I didn't like paying a few hundred bucks to watch him shoot birds
This year I've been seeing more Whistlepigs than usual. Maybe they know about the problem we're having getting ammo.

[gendoc]

i ain't got no g-hogs or p-dogs down here.... just lotsa treerats, dillos and coons..
best investment i have made fer tha varmits is that cheap 3rd generation night vision scope
that sportsman guide sells... found one nib on ebay awhile back for $200!!!!
it's been peaceful round hear now since tha boses flowers ain't dug-up and my strawberries
are all good now....

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  bigvarmit, Nice to hear you are seeing some hogs. there were a few in Pa. when I hunted there last summer, but nothing like before. There is still hunting to be had, just less of it and we have to work harder for it. I have lived in this valley for almost 40 years. At times would like to move somewhere else, but the people I know here are not replaceable. I still have access to some good hunting, but nothing like before. Phesants and stuff like that is tough because one must deal with farmers or ranchers. Hopefully the access programs may help. good shooting.

[snakeman]

bigvarmint,
I know what you mean about the pheasant hunting. I was born and raised in KS and still live here. I think that hunting has become to comercialized. It is hard to get permission to hunt alot of places because everyone is in it for the money. If you think that the pheasant hunting thing was bad you should try to get permission to hunt deer some where. The good thing is there is alot of land to hunt thanks to the walk-in-hunting program. We usually have around 1 million acres to hunt thanks to that. It really opens alot of oppertunities for people especially when you get more than an hour and a half from Wichita. If you ever decide to come back to Ks to hunt give me a yell. I have access to some good private land, and I will let you shoot the birds. FOR FREE!!!!! 


snakeman

[zoner]

where i grew up in Tioga county,Pennsylvania we hunted everybodys land with the owners blessing...it's dairy farm country...if your're just makin it working your farm havin a holstein break a leg in a woodchuck hole is a real set back. And for helpin em out with they're chucks folks were happy to let you come back during whitetail season. Nice place,you could walk down Main Street wearing a hunting coat,carrying your shotgun,and nobody would bat an eye or be alarmed in any way. Now i'm in Kaliforny...the other day some buddy's went to shoot skeet...when they got home they had to park about 2 blocks from home and while walking that 2 blocks with cased shotguns they ran across some cops who confiscated their guns(got em back but it wasn't easy) and dam near went to jail...they were not breaking ANY laws. I make a darn good living here,but beyond that i live in a zoo.....

[hunt-m-up]

You're right about the direction Iowa took with pheasant hunting, good numbers meant more commercialization. Don't worry it's not that way in many parts anymore. With $200+ an acre rent on crop ground, a lot of CRP is gone and guys are farming all of those waterways and ditches the pheasants used to nest in. Our harvest last year was under 500K for only the 2nd time since 1958, 5-10 years ago it was 1 million. I still have private land to hunt,but not much public land and no walk-in program hurts the overall population.

[bigvarmnt]

Snakeman, Thanks, Northwest Kansas was a nice area. A lot of abandoned houses and open areas. That guy wasn't too bad, just didn't know what we wanted at first. Got him squared away though. I saw a couple MONSTER Muley Bucks out there. Checked after I saw them and out of state licence wasn't bad price back then. I wanted to go back and knock one of those boys down.
I sold my dogs and Kennels a couple years back. Had a dozen Springers and an English pointer at one time. Two guys I hunted with had several dogs also. Was a lot of fun for a while. Been invited a couple times to S. Dakota. Maybe someday. Into throwing single pieces of lead now. ;)Yotes should be good huntin out there.
I'd be afraid to be in public with anything that looked like a cased gun in Calif.