9 replies to this topic

[Air Rifle Hunter]

I've never hunted a Turkey before, but tomorrow I'm going to try my skills (such as they are) at tracking some down and hopefully bagging one. I'm going to try to get out there just before the sun comes up so I can head into my location and get set. Even if it's raining I'm still going to go and see what I might get (maybe I'll see some rabbits, quail or Eurasian doves while I'm out there). However, I'm really hoping to get a Turkey . Anyway, once I get back I'll post the results, whether they be good or bad and any photos I'm able to take. I'm really hoping to not get shot in the process of hunting too! Hopefully all of the trigger happy guys will be at home still sleeping and waiting for football to come on. I've got a bright orange bag to put the turkey in if I get one so that I don't get shot at carrying it out.Wish me the best...

[True2ThySelf]

Since I wasn't able to get out this weekend I plan on living vicariously through you! I wish you the best of luck and hope you bring back a buffalo of a turkey!

[Air Rifle Hunter]

I'll do my best to do just that!

[turkeyman85]

Was out there today and I got freaking soaked. heard one fly out of a tree close to me tho. We'll be back tomorrow

[sportyg]

You'll get him/her turkeyman... How'd you do air rifle hunter ???

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Well, sad to say, I did really bad today and will probably not go back to the location I went to today (at least not without a machete or axe). First off, I arrived at the spot I parked at around 5:30am this morning (Sunday, 11/13/2011) and started up the mountain with my light. However, right away the vegetation and trees were so massively over grown that there were virtually no clear paths to the area I was trying to get to. I was literally crawling on my knees and stomach, under brush and over grown oak brush trees while trying to reach my intended destination. That's how much brush, trees and other vegetation there was growing in the area I went. It was so difficult to get anywhere that you would have needed a chain saw or heavy duty machete to cut your way through. Needless to say, it was way to much work for one turkey. I fought through it all for 3 hours straight before sitting to rest from exhaustion for about 15 minutes and decided to give one score to the turkeys before taking another 2 1/2 hours or more to head down the mountain again. I spent a total of around 6 hours fighting with nature and nature won that one. I did hear one turkey, but it was so very, very far away and sounded like it was in the opposite direction I was trying to travel that it felt like it would have taken the entire day to reach the area where the sound was coming from with the conditions the way they were. Beside, not long after I heard it (about 10 minutes) I heard a gun shot come from that direction, so heading up there was probably a bit pointless. Most of my equipment (air rifle, scope, binos, rangefinder, etc.) got pretty well trashed from trying to fight my way through the over grown plants and trees. My shirt, pants and boots were covered in mud and I was soaking wet. I'm going to have to totally disassemble my entire gun to clean the crap out of every opening on the rifle , try to re-zero the scope and hope that it still works the way it did before. I was really nice to be outdoors and it was beautiful out there, don't get me wrong. And I'm not giving up on a turkey this fall season. However, I will need to be mentally and physically prepared to hunt in a place like the one I went to today before I try anything like that again. I don't mind a challenge, but trying to get through that wooded hazard, going uphill all the way is not my thing and I really doubt many would have even gotten as far as I did up the mountain unless they know an easier path that does not start from where I entered. Trying to travel through this location makes walking around other east county areas look and seem like it's super easy. There have to be easier, more accessible areas to hunt turkey than the one I tried (though there will probably be more people at those places). So my search for a Fall turkey continues... Today nature and the turkeys won the battle.

[turkeyman85]

AH man ARH Im sorry you had such a horrible experiance. Sorry if was ''spot'' was the one I gave you,I hunt in thick areas. I did tell you I go out of my way to get as far as possible from ppl. And didnt see any of the lil opening in there towards the east? IF it was the spot I gave you I'll give you another one I know of thats not thick its just freaking really really really long walk lol.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Hi Turkeyman85, No problem. I don't blame you at all and I really appreciate all the advice you've given me . For my first turkey hunt though, it was a bit more than I could take (and I can take a pretty good beating from nature). It wouldn't be bad with only a gun and no back pack, but it's a little far to go without the pack or hydro. When I saw how thick the vegetation was when I first walked in, I should have turned around and went back to the truck. However, not being one to give up too easily, I just kept going and hoping with every step through a bush, shrub, tree or boulder that there would be a clearing or some sort of game trail through there and I only saw a couple of small (10' diameter) clearings the entire time. The area was extremely thick and over grown (at least in my opinion). I don't think I've ever been through areas that thick, period (other than when I helped clear a flat area like that with a bull dozer). I even tried traveling up the dry creek. But that also had large boulders, brush and tree limbs making it impossible to do that most of the time. Sometimes it felt like the plants were alive and holding onto me so I couldn't get through . I literally have cuts, bruises and welts all over my legs, arms and side from the branches of the bushes and trees tearing at me and smacking me all the way up and down the mountain . I also took a few hard bounces on my rib cage across a few of the boulders (I'll heal though). My wife is a little concerned with my bruising and cuts, but I told her they don't hurt as bad as they look (at least for now). I was determined to make it to the area you talked about, but after trying for 3 hours to get there and covering very little ground, I couldn't take it anymore. According to the distance on my GPS I estimated that it would have taken me another 2 hours to get there and at that point I just wasn't willing to go through with it. When I got home, I did clean my Marauder (took it all the way apart and cleaned it), scope, binos, rangefinder and everything else that looked destroyed and I've gotten them all back to working order (took about 5 hours for everything) and just have to re-zero the scope. The only item I couldn't fix was my lense cap on the eye piece. A branch got a hold of it and broke it. I'll have to see if I can find a new one that will fit it. Well, that area is definitely a place where very, very few people would attempt to make it through there and it is defintely not easy to navigate. I made it to the bend at the top of the "V" and quite a ways to the East, but just couldn't manage to get to the end. I didn't see any other wildlife either (I could hear crows in the distance and some other birds, but never saw them). If I can find a place that I can walk to, I don't mind walking long distances (except if we're talking 6 to 10 miles) if I don't have to fight the trees and bushes all the way to get there. I'll PM you this week. Anyway, did you get out today and score a turkey? Saturday was a very wet day and you must have been soaked and cold.

[sportyg]

Great read.. I'd say you had a fun filled day...

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Yep! It was fun and frustrating all wrapped up in one package . I'm hoping to head out again this weekend (maybe very early Saturday morning) to try for a turkey again. I'll hopefully come back with fewer injuries this time and a turkey to boot. We'll see...