Author Topic: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny  (Read 452 times)

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Offline kynardsj

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Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« on: December 30, 2011, 02:33:09 AM »
Took a friend to my deer hunting club yesterday for his first time there. We did a morning hunt and decided to go a few miles to a local resturant for lunch. Left everything at camp behind a locked gate, unloaded our rifles, put them in the jeep and went and ate. Came back, hung around a while and went on an afternoon hunt. Now let me explain how I've always done things so it will set the stage for what comes next. When I go to deer camp, I get my rifle out, a TC Encore, load it and unless I fire it, it stays loaded until I pack it up to go home. Also when I hunt a greenfield with a shoot house I always take a paperback to read between checking the field out. I hunted a powerline stand that afternoon. I put the sneak on the field hoping to catch a good one feeding, then got in the stand and got fixed up and started reading between frequent looks around. About an hour into the hunt I finally heard the little voice in my head and checked my rifle. The bullet was still in my pocket from lunch. It would have been the perfect time for the Hartford Elk to step out and stick his tounge out at me. As it was I just felt silly and loaded my gun.
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.

Offline magooch

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2011, 03:04:02 AM »
Things must be quite different in your part of the country; I've never heard of a hunting club, or a shoot house, or going to a restaurant for lunch while hunting.  Reading a book while hunting?  Very, very different, but it's all good.
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Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2011, 03:18:41 AM »
I worked with a guy who said his uncle got a 30-30 Winchester. He decided to pratice and would aim and work the action saying bang each time. This went on for weeks. The first day of deer season the guy I knew was hunting with his uncle. They came up to a field with several deer standing in it. His uncle gets out and jacks all rounds out on the ground going bang each time.
A friends father told me he loaded his gun on the first day and didn't unload until he shot or the season was over. Said one year on the last day he opened the action and no shells were in the gun. Had hunted all season with an unloaded gun.
So don't feel like the lone ranger.
 
On the other hand a guy I was in college with went home for break. His father kept a shotgun loaded with #9's by the door . He had a pointer that would climb the fence to get out the pen. He was far enough away the 9's would sting but not break skin. The father was away and someone was in the yard looking around. The son replaced the 9's with 00 buck. The son didn't change back and the father called and told the son he had messed up and killed the pointer. Don't know if the son came clean or not ?
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Offline kynardsj

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2011, 03:49:15 AM »
After telling my story to a couple of my friends, the one that was with me fessed up to hunting three days ago with his 30-30 and loading the magazine but never chambering a round. The other told me that he hunted all day some years ago with an empty rifle. Up until now he had only told his father. He said if I could laugh at myself he could too.
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.

Offline kynardsj

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2011, 04:14:58 AM »
Wanted to write more a while ago but the boss ( my wife ) had some chores for me. magooch, we have hunting clubs here in the south where a group of us lease some land and develope it for hunting. A shoothouse is a box stand. They can be store bought or homemade. Ours are homemade, four walls, a roof and shooting ports on at least three sides. Nice for bad weather hunting. The reading thing is just something I do when the game isn't moving much. If it's an active day I never pick the book up. The resturant thing was just something that happened yesterday. Usually we take something and cook it at camp. SHOOTALL, I witnessed something similar to what you wrote about. Many years ago I watched a guy lever every shell out of his 30-30 without pulling the trigger when a buck crossed the field we were on. He looked at me and said "dang man, I missed him." Bad deal all around about the pointer.
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.

Offline bilmac

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2011, 04:34:44 AM »
I cleaned my 6 shooter one evening. When I was done I loaded her up and headed for the stairs. On the way I "dry fired" at a button on my waders hanging under the steps. The waders were folded back so I had a bunch of holes to patch. I was in the basement so no damage to the wall.   DON"T EVER POINT YOUR GUN AT ANYTHING YOU DON"T INTEND TO SHOOT.

Offline magooch

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2011, 04:41:00 AM »
PETA would probably approve of the "bang, bang lever guy's" shooting method.  I have to wonder why he bothers with loading, though.
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Offline huntswithdogs

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2011, 05:27:46 AM »
My BIL had buck chasing a doe on the ridge above him. Back and forth, back and forth. Couldn't get a clean shot. They finally bedded down. He stood rooted against a tree for about 2 hours and could only see their ears flicker occasionally with the aid of his binocs. The doe finally stood back up and came down the ridge picking at acorns. The buck was right behind her. The BIL had a good rest on a tree when the buck finally presented a good shot. He eased off the safety and gently squeezed the trigger. At the SNAP of the firing pin falling on the empty chamber, both deer took off over the ridge side, leaving my BIL with his mouth hanging open. I was waiting on me at the truck when I got back a few hours later. I don't think I'd ever seen him so down that he'd just quit.

I got all my junk loaded in the truck one morning for a 90 minute ride to  a place that I'd killed some really nice deer in over the years. Did my little check list, all was accounted for. Got down to the WMA, long before daylight, to make a good hike back into an area that no one else seemed to want to go to. Pack on, headlite on, rifle out of the case, load magazine, insert it in rifle....wait a minute...something didn't look right. Pull magazine back outa rifle, look closely at ammo.....CRAP!!! I'd put a sleeve of 243s in the case instead of the 308s. Take off all my crap and drive 10 miles down the road to the WallyWorld. Thankfully it was one of the 24hr ones. Didn't get anything that day but sure did learn to pay closer attention to what I'm doing when I'm getting ready from then on.


HWD

Offline kynardsj

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2011, 06:21:04 AM »
huntswithdogs, I would probably get caught in the no ammo or wrong ammo trap if I didn't keep an ammo wallet with the proper stuff in it in the case of whichever rifle I end up hunting with. Plus I keep a tool box style container in the back of my ride with snacks and such and at least a half dozen rounds for each my hunting guns.
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.

Offline Sourdough

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2011, 06:47:04 AM »
From the early 70s, till just a few years ago, I hunted with a group every year.  It was 36 miles of some of the worst swamp you ever seen.  We used Nodwells (Big Tracked Tractors) to get there.  Every year someone either forgot his shells, his gun, lost his shells, or his gun, on the way in.  Any way we always needed at least one extra gun, sometimes two.  That's why I bought my first Handi rifle, an extra gun I could just throw it on the dash of the tractor and leave it there till needed.

So many times I watched these guys throw that single shot up and shoot a Moose, Caribou, or Bear.  Make a good shot, but when the animal did not go instantly down, they pulled the hammer back and the gun went click.  So they pulled the hammer back again and the gun went click.  Good thing they had made a good shot.  In their excitement they were forgetting to open the breech and put a new shell on the chamber.  They just kept pulling the hammer and going click.  They all shot bolt guns normally.

Had a friend back in the 70s that had built a hunting blind out in a good valley.  Every year his wife would have him do something extra to the blind.  After a few years that tree house had all the comforts of home.  Metal roof, waxed cardboard and foam walls.  A sink, and kitchen area with propane stove. a closet with a toilet seat, a couple of old recliners, a double bed, windows that opened for shooting ports on every wall.  The side that faced the valley, had a table along that wall, with shooting rest in place.  The two recliners faced that window.  The trees that supported the house were spiked to keep Black Bears from climbing up there.  At night they pulled the ladder up and was nice and safe for her comfort.  They used that tree house for 18 to 20 years, then a forest fire came along, and whoosh, everything gone.
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Offline PowPow

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2011, 08:10:04 AM »
I hunt with a Ruger 1 and can see a hint of the brass rim in the tiny gap between the block and barrel so empty gun is a not a problem. Looking at it every 5 minutes is the problem.


My #$%&" moment comes when I climb 30' up a tree and realize I didn't tie my gun to the drag line. Once I climbed up and down 3 times. Had it happen a few times this year.

kynardsj - I was hunting in Minter Al last 2 days, between Selma and Camden. You hunt near there, right? There were 6 deer on the greenfield, when a truck drove by, and they scattered. Then, from a house about 2-300 yards away, they get out the boombox and crank the the rap music up to 11. I thought "hunting's done", but the the deer came back out and started looking in that direction. Who knew deer were into rap music? Got a nice doe.

Our "hunting club" is 6 friends who lease 640 acres from a timber company. 4 miles to the east is the county courthouse. 4 miles to the west is an interstate exit with a Super Walmart, Holiday Inn Express, several fast food and sit-down resturants, and a deer processor. You can hunt in the morning and evening, and in between you can shop,  eat a nice lunch and renew your driver's license.
While waiting for prime time in my climber, shooting house, or chair blind, I usually check GBO or respond to e-mails on my driod, since our whole deer lease has 3G reception. You can drive a car to anywhere in it.


 
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Offline kynardsj

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Re: Might Have Been Ugly, Ended Up Funny
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2011, 10:52:15 AM »
PowPow, the hunting club I was in for 37 years was just east of Selma at Burnsville. It got sold and a few years later I got in a small club (210 acres) at Highland Home with two other guys. Verizon must have a tower close as the signal on my cell is pegged out and if needed I can pull up color radar and such. Times have changed, used to be that we kept in touch with each other at the club with two way radios. Now we just text.
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.