Boy Scouting

[FullChoke]

I'm heading out Saturday to do a little preseason scouting. I was successfully selected for one of our state WMAs draw hunts for Thursday and Friday of next week. This particular WMA has had isolated infestations of pine borer beetles in recent years and the timber guys 'treat' it by cutting blocks of infected pine woods and just leaving the trees on the ground to rot. This effectively eliminates that area for birds, so I need to find out if there is any more clear cutting in the places that I intend to chase them. I will also be doing some reconnaissance on the patterns of the birds in the cattle pastures that I found them in last year. Everything and anything can change from one year to the next so I head out to reset my references and start anew.

It's almost here. Cheers 

FC

[FullChoke]

I was able to map out a good route in the back door of a prime location for birds on a creek and plan on heading in there next week. This creek has alwys held a population of gobblers.

I then went to the cattle operation to see if I could get some answers as to the available birds in that area. I took a climbing tree stand and shinnied up a pine tree at the edge and could see the whole thing. The problem with this setup became obvious as the afternoon wore on. The temps were around 45 degrees with a strong west wind of 15-20 mph blowing right in my undercovered face. I eventually got to the point where I had to pull the plug on the plan and head back to the vehicle to warm up. As I was driving out I glanced over into a pasture and there stood a flock of 12 birds feeding at the cattle feeder just over the fence. They were all hens, but it showed that last years hatch had been very successful. The old gobbler that I saw last year is surely still in the vicinity and should provide hours of fun this season.

All in all a real good recon trip. More on the hunt later this week.

Cheers 

FC