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.
No comments:
Post a Comment