The Hunting & Fishing Thread

[Batmobile_Engage]

Do you have a rifle, shotgun or any other equipment to get back out there and start hunting again? Also, a hunter's safety course is always a good experience and in many states is required to buy a non-apprentice license. I highly recommend finding one in your area. Sometimes they are multiple days, but you should be able to find one that is completed in one 8-hour session on a Saturday.

Then later on sometime, if you were to buy a Michigan base license and drive up here for a weekend, I would definitely take you out small game hunting.

We'd go full on field-to-plate with some tasty critters.

 

[Alin]

No, I don't have a shotgun or rifle as I only have two handguns. An AR-15 or a sniper rifle is more interesting than a shotgun for me.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

No, I don't have a shotgun or rifle as I only have two handguns. An AR-15 or a sniper rifle is more interesting than a shotgun for me.

I could always lend you a .22 LR Rifle or 12 gauge shotgun to use if you came up here. But of course, gotta get a hunter's safety course under your belt and have to buy a Michigan license first.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

T-minus: 2 Months to Opening Day (2019 Firearm Deer Season - Michigan) !!!

I was home this weekend babysitting my son while my wife was out of town visiting a sick friend. In the 40 hours she was gone, I went through over 12 hours of pre-season deer hunting podcasts. I don't know how I will be able to stand waiting another 2 months. :banghead:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Seriously, I've been cyber scouting for about an hour every day. It's on this year! I've gotta repeat if I'm gonna progress as a deer hunter. I've been fortunate enough to harvest two real nice bucks, one of which was big enough for the record books, on state land in the last 3 years. State Land deer hunting in Michigan is one of the toughest situations in which to be successful in America. The same generally goes for states like NY, WV, MD and especially PA, which is where I grew up hunting. So you have to pull out all the stops and be relentless to be successful. For example, the nice 8-point I got last year was the first deer I had seen all season, which I shot Nov 24th. The season opened Nov 15th. I continued to hunt well into December and didn't see another deer the entire time.

 

[Alin]

You better get us some pictures when you go out this season!

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

You better get us some pictures when you go out this season!

I usually do!

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Finally decided to buy a treestand. Lone Wolf Wide Sit & Climb II

 

[Alin]

What's the weight limit on one of those stands? How high is it rated for hanging up? What do you use to climb a tree and hang up the stand?

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

What's the weight limit on one of those stands? How high is it rated for hanging up? What do you use to climb a tree and hang up the stand?

Weight limit is 350 lbs. It folds down into a 4" thick square to carry on your back, at only 21 lbs. I could be up about as high as reasonably safe. For even quite large trees, 35 feet seems to be about the max. Most people are in the 10-25 foot range depending on the terrain topography, brush and so forth. I'm sure I'll be 20 feet up or more. The higher you go, the narrower the tree gets and the more the wind moves you around.

The stand itself is the climbing device. There are ladder stands that, well...have a ladder attached. Lock (Hang) On stands that you put up on the tree and access with multiple lengths of 'climbing sticks'. Climbing Stands operate much like a lineman going up a telephone pole with two straps and a harness. I'll find a video to show you...

Skip ahead to 3 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OYiaKXWKgQ

 

[Alin]

That's sick! Reminds me of the old school tools electricians used to use to climb telephone poles!

Hmm, maybe they still do, but I haven't personally seen this in over 20 years.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Re: The Hunting & Fishing Thread

Tried it out tonight for the first time. Will have to tweak a couple things, but so far so good. This is the only tree in my yard and its a little too large in diameter so obviously I can't get up too high. I'll be looking for a tree as much like a telephone pole as possible and get up there +20 feet.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Fun Fact: Some hardcore hunters get a pedicure a couple weeks before a major hunt, especially in hilly or mountainous terrain. I don't usually go that far, but I do often cut my toenails back quite a bit and carefully carve out any edges that could become an in-grown nail. Failure to cut your toenails before descending ridge after ridge in heavy boots, can cause them to turn blue and fall out due to the constant pressure against the front of the boot. The nail bed becomes inflamed and detaches, leading to the aforementioned symptoms. The more you know... :lol:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't head shoot a squirrel with a shotgun.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

And 2 more...

All 3 are going to become "chicken" pot pies.

 

[Alin]

What does squirrel taste like?

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

What does squirrel taste like?

Dark-meat chicken, like thighs and such. I parboiled them last night to make it easier to get all the meat off the bones. When it was all shredded up in bowl, it looked a lot like smoked chicken thigh meat or even pulled pork. It's VERY lean, so you have to be really careful not to overcook it or you'll have better luck eating a bicycle tire. :lol:

Now that I have it prepared to this extent, I'm going to finish the veggies and gravy and mix it all together with the meat and pour it into pie crusts for mini-pot pies. I'll take some photos and post it to the Cooking thread later tonight.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Cleaned and butchered...

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[Batmobile_Engage]

Cooked and shredded...

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[Batmobile_Engage]

Check out the Cooking thread for more...

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