Round 3, new location

[wraithen]

Went out again today, wife was running a 5k :barf: So I got all morning to hit up some new stands. Went down to the state park near eatonville and elbe. First stand I had to walk in a little ways to get set up. I stuck the wobblin rabbit in a stump and set my foxpro right next to it. Started going with the calls about 5 minutes after I got all settled. Used some new sounds and they are some sadistic ones! I switched it up to pup in distress for the last 10 minutes. Never saw a thing. Walked back to the road and on the way I noticed what looked like little tiny pony tracks. I've never hunted before so I'm not sure what they were other than not doe tracks. If they were deer they musta been HUGE. Along the game trail I was walking I saw what looked like natures version of whoppers. Poo is fun! 

Next stand looked to be a doozy of a walk through thick undergrowth smashed down on felled trees. Took me about 20 minutes to hike to a spot where I had some small amount of a kill box in site. Set up the decoy and the foxpro and hiked up to my spot about 3/4 of the way up the kill. Nestled in and started callin. Figured I'd mix it up so I set the foxpro to a dying cottontail and used an open reed to make some yips and a closed reed crow call. After about a half hour a hawk comes screamin in, then pulls up and screams that ear piercing call at me. Those things get really loud up close! Switched to a mixed tape that I'm pretty sure Kain made and waited another half hour. At this point I'm getting a little disheartened and started with a fem coyote call and then to distressed pup. Really really shiny crow showed up and started circling my decoy. I'm really bored so I'm tempted to see how hard it would be to blast a crow out of the sky from 100 yardsish, but I decided not to so I just kept the safety on and tried to keep him in my scope at full power. The sun is BRIGHT!    Remembering that sometimes bobcats will come in pretty late in a stand I stuck it out until my foxpro remote said 2 hours. It was getting really warm anyway so I glassed the area and started to pack up. I stripped down outta the camo and took my undershirt off, picked up the decoy and foxpro and took a gametrail that ended at the road that was closed but led to my truck. Halfway down the trail I see a coyote track. I don't think it was new enough to be from my efforts though, but at least I now know they exist! I walked down the road and the poo gods rewarded me again. Looked like a giant kitty turd. I turned around and looked a bit closer and it looks like a cougar ate a dear recently judging by the hair in the turd.

All in all I learned that for a fact coyotes exist, that cougars poop, that some other animal poops and it looks like whoppers, and that I can't call chit still.  

The weekend after christmas if anyone is headed to capitol forest or the state land I was at today and wouldn't mind going to a couple of my setups with me I'd be grateful. At least that way I could see if it's me doing something wrong or a lack of game in the area.

Total count: 6 stands, 0 seen, 0 shot.

[JimmyHoffa]

Sounds like you are having fun.  The whoppers are probably from elk.  And the track from a pony, would likely only be pony or horse if it wasn't a split hooved animal.  But most ponies/horses would have shoes...unless you have feral horses there too.   If the track was split hoof could be elk/deer.

[wraithen]

That's why I was confused. It was the same shape as a horse hoof so it well could have been a horse or mule or something like that except it was too small for anything bigger than maybe a burro. The fact it was so close to what I figured were elk droppings got me wondering. At this point I'm going to buy a handheld gps and pack some extra supplies and spot and stalk kats and dogs 

[400out]

Sure sounds like you are having fun and learning a lot  But are you sure they didn't look like milk duds   

[wraithen]

Yep, milk duds are too shiny! I am having a blast and I am learning a lot about the woods out here. I did have a question that got me wondering... is there anything deadly venomous in the area's I'm in? I got a glock on my hip so I'm not too worried about a p.o.'ed bear or cougar, but I'm not a good enough shot at a rattlesnake sized target. So far I haven't seen any wildlife that doesn't have wings though. Gotta learn to be ninja sneaky.

[FALFire]

You don't have to worry about snakes that are poisonous, just the ones that will very silently wrap themselves around you and squeeze the life from your body in a matter of minutes.

It really don't hurt much until you hear the sound of snapping bones, however, it's comforting to know that the end is near when you feel the warm blood flowing from your ears, you know, just about the time when you see your eyes pooping out of your face.  They usually are attracted to pup distress sounds and leave whopper piles of poop in their pathway.

 Otherwise not to worry! 

[wraithen]

If the snake is big enough to crush me it's big enough to shoot. Might yank the wife outta the apartment tonight. I need to get something caught or killed and I know for a fact I can get squid. Maybe I'll make a fishy bait pile in the woods and check on it. Oh I forgot I have next friday off so if anyone is headed to either forest and wants a tag along... :fish:

[BOWHUNTER45]

  that was good .. you have more patients than me ...I may give it 1/2 max... most yotes I call in are coming within a couple of minutes and no more than 10 ... but I am hunting wood lots so if they are there then they come quick or never come at all ...

[wraithen]

Yeah I was hoping a bobbie would show up if nothing else. Had nothing better to do and it was such a workout getting in there because I didn't realize the closed road ran right next to where I was going. I'm pretty sure it was wishful thinking anyway. The trees there were all about 2-3 ft tall so if one came in unless he came from a certain area I'd never know he was there. I got patience, I don't know any better

[Shed Stud]

Sounds like your new to the sport, hang in there, if you call they will come.
 And thank you for not trying a shot on  a crow in the air

[wraithen]

The crow had a solid hill as a backdrop for the times I considered shooting. I wouldn't fire straight into the air, those rounds are almost as fast going down as going up    I was in an area used for target practice though. Not cool to look over wondering what that white square is on the ground and realize it's holey steel 

[wraithen]

oh, and out of curiosity, are there any uses for a deer skin minus the cape? See them all over and was thinking about making some moccasins, or maybe a few thongs