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Everything posted by dawsonscreek
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I am looking for a new or used stock/forend for a 20 gauge 870. I currently have a gorgeous dark walnut youth model stock on and, while it fit me when I was 12, now 12 years later it does not. I would really like to keep it wood and am willing to buy a forend as well to keep the pieces matching, but I would consider a synthetic set as well. Must be a 20 gauge though, I tried a 12 gauge stock and it did not fit. Any leads are appreciated. PM me here, reply or email [email protected]
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likely you are on a downward side of their cycle, cottontail populations experience cycles, with peaks very several years. Coyotes, hawks, feral house cats, and other predators will also affect the populations, especially if there is a lack of habitat. Hares must be fun though, I'd love to shoot some of them!
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Heard good things about Canavan from local guide.
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Any news on how much ice is there now?
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I too was wondering the same thing, thinking about a Thursday afternoon trip.
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You hit the nail on the head! It's so easy to blame the coyotes and other predators, when our habitat (or lack thereof) is the true issue.
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Let's hear/see some of your favorite recipes. Do they vary depending on the species? Here's my go-to for mallards. Duck gumbo!! Start by making a medium roux: Equal parts flour and oil (1 cup each should make a pot of gumbo for about 4 people, 2 if you eat like I do ) Put the oil in a pot and hear till almost smoking, add the flour little by little, whisk it thoroughly. Cook over low heat for about 1.5 hrs.It is CRUCIAL to Stir this mixture constantly, if it burns it is ruined. When your roux is the color of dark peanut butter add 1 small bunch celery (chopped), 2 green peppers chopped, 1 large onion chopped and cook them for about 10 minutes. When thu are soft, add 32oz chicken stock and stir well. In another pan, lightly brown 4 cubed duck breast, then add to the gumbo pot and stir. I like to make my own creole seasoning, but many can be bought pre made at the store. Add about 3-4 tbs of creole seasons depending on how flavorful you'd like it. Brin to a boil for about 10 minutes then reduce to a Simmer on low for about an hour then add 3 links of smoked andouille sausage (sliced) and 1 clove of garlic (diced or pressed). Simmer on low for another hour and serve over rice, preferably with a dark beer. Here is mine, paired with Embrr from Ithaca Beer Co. Enjoy, let's hear some recipes!!
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Canadian side off the river closer to home paid off
dawsonscreek replied to Kevin J Legg's topic in Waterfowl / Bird Game
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Predator Hunting-Foxes, and a humbling experience.
dawsonscreek replied to dawsonscreek's topic in Big / Small Game
I see what you're saying and am not offended by it. I think stupid is the wrong word to use though. It is near impossible to use the word "stupid" without I being condescending. I admitted to making a foolish mistake, but by no means was what I did "very stupid". Thanks, for chiming in. And thanks to everybody else for backing me. -
I see this "kill em all" attitude far too often about coyotes, and it's quite ignorant really. I understand that they kill deer as other game species, and I even hunt them myself, but if we were to kill all the coyotes we would have no deer to hunt soon after. A quote from Aldo Leopold "I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear of its deer. And perhaps with better cause, for while a buck pulled down by wolves can be replaced in two or three years, a range pulled down by too many deer may fail of replacement in as many decades" I am by no means trying to pick a fight with anybody here, or even against the hunting of coyotes, like if said, I hunt them myself. I just feel they deserve more respect than we give them. Personally, I do not dislike coyotes, but respect them as the area's top predator (next to humans of course) and understand tag they do need to be managed, but not eliminated. Just my two cents, have a safe and productive season. Jeff I too have wondered about how running them with dogs works too, I saw a bunch of people last Saturday getting ready to go out for them. Congrats on a successful hunt with the dogs, I know how proud I am of my hound when she runs a rabbit!
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Another one to be cautious of along with cold water is swamp mud. I hunted a warm water swamp the last two days that is impossible to wade because the mud is so soft you will sink past your hips and could be in trouble fast. You could easily lose your balance and drown. Thankfully my buddy has hunted the swamp for years and knows of one spot where you can cross, even there at one point the mud was to my knees an water to my chest, we brought the kayak to retrieve ducks as well. Think things through and use caution even on things you've done 1000 times. Good luck with the rest of the season! I had some spectacular misses this morning
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Hunted the cohocton river today. We saw flocks of mallards and blacks drop into a swamp that borders it as well as a few flocks of a small fast duck we couldn't identify. Ice chunks kept ducks off the river in te morning so we decided to go take a look at the swamp. Had we hunted the swamp like we thought about, we would have probably limited. we Jumped alot of ducks off the swamp. My buddy shot one that looked like a hen mallard to we got our hands on it. It was too small to be a mallard and lacked the blue speculum. I believe by the speculum that this is a gadwall.
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Predator Hunting-Foxes, and a humbling experience.
dawsonscreek replied to dawsonscreek's topic in Big / Small Game
Thank you, Les! -
Predator Hunting-Foxes, and a humbling experience.
dawsonscreek replied to dawsonscreek's topic in Big / Small Game
Try Scream-N-gray fox. And different rabbit sounds. First fox came in to the fox sound second came in to a rabbit distress. Persistence and being in a low pressure area with a decent population helps. Good luck! These were the first animals I've actually brought in, apart from a coyote last year. -
I took the Foxpro out tonight with hopes of a gray fox. First set was right before dark, to my surprise, a gray came in and I fumbled to get the safety on the rifle off and ended up not getting a shot. A few more sets produced no foxes. We got dinner and headed to a different property, first set a gray came bounding in.It was now pitch dark so I switched to using a shotgun with an extra full choke and Federal's Dead Coyote load. I took a shot I probably shouldn't have, and hit the fox but did not kill it. My friend tried to finish it off, but missed. I've never shot in the dark, and regret not practicing it. At one point we each had a shot at the fox again, but he was between me and my friend, so safety being the number one concern, no shots were taken. We tried to catch up to the fox but it got away, definitely wounded. We will return tomorrow to make every effort to find the animal. It's more than just some varmint to me. Every animal deserves respect, whether it be a monster buck or a coyote. Can't help but feel humbled by tonight's experience. No hunter is above making a bad shot, and any one who thinks they are will be proven wrong. Positives- I was successful. I couldn't be more elated that two grays came in to the call. It was a lot of fun. Due to life events, i.e. growing up, and work, I have lost contact with a good friend that I used to hunt with all the time. Tonight, it was nice to have a new friend to spend time in the outdoors with. I realized my mistakes, and will not make them again. I didn't let the excitement of the hunt jeopardize our safety. Negatives- I took a shot I was not 100% sure of, and for that, I am having a hard time coming to terms with. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.
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I saw some sign this year. A few other guys that hunt my lease saw them, and one guy shot one. I didn't see any this year, nor would I shoot one if I did. I am not against the taking of bears, but personally would not want to kill one myself. I have had some cool experiences over the years with them though, including a bruin laying down 30 yards from me in archery season and just eating cob after cob of corn.
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Deer season was no good, time for small game!
dawsonscreek replied to dawsonscreek's topic in Big / Small Game
It is tough to find good spots anymore. The place I hunt is a hunting lease that I am on, which seems to be the story for most land around anymore. Either it's controlled by a lease and you have to pay what is usually a lot of money to hunt, or the landowner doesn't give out permission. I live near Erwin/Addsion and there is one particular lease that controls gobs of land along that area. I'm not familiar with Waverly, but Erwin has a large chunk of state land that has good squirrel hunting and decent grouse hunting on it if you're looking for a place to go let me know and I'll try and point you in the right direction.











