4/22/13 Level I Turkey Hunt

4/22/13  Level I Turkey Hunt

It rained pretty much all night, but lightly, and at 7:30 a.m. it stopped and got a little brighter out, so I grabbed my M-66 and walked out to the fenceline between the gullies and dug in by some little pines in case a few decided to cross the field like I see them do all the time.  I heard a couple of little babbles and one sounded off way up in the valley toward the corner. Other than that I had a nice little hour and a half before it started to sprinkle again, so I went in.  The rain continued on and off and I decided to take about a 2-hour bike ride. Near the end I was in the valley next to mine, closer to town and 4 hens crossed the road in front of me in the light drizzle! So I guess it was a Level 2 bike ride. Cleaned the gun up and cased it, gonna take it to the trap range and give it a work out when the weather turns nicer.

4/21/13 Level I Turkey Hunt

4/21/13  Level I Turkey Hunt

My intention was to go out very early in the morning and try and ambush one, but when I awoke I noticed some piddly little snowflakes coming down, so I knew it was cold.  I waited a bit and it got stronger and by 10:00 a.m. there was an inch of snow on the ground.  Everything was white and my pickup truck was white.  Then, about noon, it all just melted, almost instantly!  I did some chores and went on an hour and a half bike ride, getting sprinkled on by rain, snow, and sun.  In the late afternoon I dressed warm, grabbed the Ithaca M-66 again and some 3-inch magnum #5's and climbed up the hillside quite a bit west of yesterday's haunt, to a place we call the sleeping spot.  I dug myself in where I could have a good look down at some swales in the direction of the spring.  You have to have your back to something and I chose the saddle top.  After an hour, there was a mild caterwauling behind me--followed by some gaggling.  I think it might have been a small group of hens that was traversing the area and the scout spotted me, although I had been perfectly still at the time.  No further action, except for a robin telling the entire woods how happy she was in her new nest down the hillside somewhere.  Saw no deer today either.  At the appropriate time, I thought I heard two flutters way up over the saddle and far to the west down the other side, but just then a big group of cacauphonous crows went through and I couldn't focus on the weak sounds any more.  I think it's a pretty good bet that it was the group of hens, now roosting for the night.  Then I heard a tom sounding off up toward the ridge and far beyond the rock ledges, twice or three times but far between and weaker the last time.  Ultimately I had to give it up, but it was again another wonderful late afternoon, giving me the feeling of deer hunting, but with nicer weather by far.  Nothing has budded out yet in the woods and you can see very far.  It won't be that way very long.  A rainstorm is approaching and may spoil any efforts tomorrow to continue.

4/20/13 Level 1 Turkey Hunt

On a beautiful afternoon of sunshine and coolness, I took my Ithaca M-66 and hiked up to the base of the lumber road to the left of the spring.  Nestling into a couple of fallen trees, I hid as best I could and just totally enjoyed the comings and goings of Nuthatches, Chicadees, Pileated Woodpeckers, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Squirrels, Jays, Crows, and even a couple of Chicken Hawks that clambered through.  I didn't really expect a Turkey to wander right past me, but I hoped at least to hear them roosting at the end of the day and get a bearing on where to position myself in the future.  Kind of like bowhunting for Whitetails.  A Whitetail doe did sneak right up the draw below me, very cautiously, but no Turkeys, although I think I heard some "putting" very far off somewhere. 
When the sun went down, it got cold very quickly and I was glad to get up and huff it back down to the farmhouse to get warmed up.  I call it a Level 1 hunt, using my old criterion for bowhunting: Level 1 is just enjoying a time period in the woods of quietness and alertness, just as I enjoyed today.  Level 2 is being fortunate enough to actually see a specimen of the game one is hunting.
Level 3 is getting a shot.
Level 4 is getting a hit, and if it is not a kill, it is the most frustrating experience.
Level 5 is bringing the game to bag.

Ithaca Model M-66 12-gauge shotgun

Ithaca Model M-66 12-gauge shotgun

This was my first shotgun, given to me by my dad.  It took me a long time to work up the nerve to shoot it the first time, because I was afraid of the impending recoil.  He got a kick out of that (no pun intended) and I think he liked the fact that I was so fearsome of this weapon.  It was a good beginning of respect for a firearm.  Mine has the 3-inch chamber and I have had it out hunting for ducks, however my high school friend and I were hardly really hunting since we had no retriever, no skill, and no spot that was worthwhile.  I have, over the years tried a little clay pigeon with it, but largely it has sat in my safe until today, when I dragged it out to give it the once-over and some kind of work out before cleaning it up.  It is spring turkey hunting season and there is no reason not to go sit in the woods with it a little bit and see if I can figure out where they are roosting.

Here is a schematic of the gun from Ithaca's website.  It is a lot simpler than a lot of guns I have.

Footnote M

Here's a trap shooting link to try for the upcoming season:

www.Shotgunworld.com/traptips.html

Seem like pretty good tips to start with.  I will try and nail them down with my first ten or twenty rounds in Wisconsin

Footnote L

Winter Florida Trap Using Remington 870
Winter, 2013

I used the winter season as a warm-up and introduction to trap shooting by attempting to shoot weekly at the range and by gleaning advice from as many of the capable people there as I could. I have to say that I improved to an acceptable level considering I am a neophyte using a field gun.  I had a heck of a good time doing it.  I got to experiment with different chokes, different loads, and different firing lines, although I am trying to nail down my skills at the 16-yard line.  I am not afraid to look bad by trying at the handicapping distances.  It's fun.  A diagrammatic outline of my progress:

Choke            16-yds     17-yds     18-yds     19-yds     20-yds     21-yds     22-yds     23-yds

Skeet              7

Modified        13, 18
                       15, 18
                       13, 16
                       11, 13
                       17
                       13, 12

Full                 7                              11
                        12                                                                              3
                        11, 18

Sometimes it's windy, sometimes your head just isn't in it.  It's always fun.

My average over 11 rounds with modified choke is 14.45  Gives me something to shoot for when I go up north and shoot in the trap league for the first time.

Footnote K Browning BT-99 Manual

Footnote K

Browning BT-99 Owner's Manual

http://media.browning.com/pdf/om/bt99_02260_om_s.pdf

This is a good link for the Bt-99 because it has some diagrams and such, as well as the technical information.

Browning BT-99 12-gauge shotgun

Browning BT-99 Single barrel 12-ga shotgun

I had the good fortune to be able to shoot a round of trap with this gun, the only addition being an adjustable comb on top of the stock.  It was great to shoot a 3000-dollar trap gun! I broke only 16 with it, but I was getting used to the comb after shooting my Remington 870, and thought I did OK for the first attempt.  It was an easy pointer; the only strange thing I noticed was the fact that the forestock, which is tapered, leaves a bit of room for your fingers to get near the barrel, which gets mighty hot!  Shooting it ws a real treat.