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Notice: Uninitialized string offset: 0 in /home/xvps/sites/louisrielinstitute/wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-templates-controller.php on line 1 Blog – Page 474 – Welcome to Louis Riel Institute
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. (WWLP) – MassWildlife will hold a public hearing in June to discuss regulations on hunting pheasants, quail and other small game.
The hearing, which will be open to the public, will be held on June 22 at 3 pm at the MassWildlife field headquarters, located at 1 Rabbit Hill Road in Westborough. The following standards will be discussed:
Create a late season pheasant and quail: Hunters could go after any previously stocked uncatched birds through Dec. 31.
Extend hunting hours on stored WMAs: Hunting hours would remain from sunrise to sunset while hunting pheasant, but would be expanded for other species. For example, archery deer hunters can now hunt from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset in pheasant-filled WMAs.
Standardize hunting hours: The plan would be to establish pheasant and quail hunting hours from sunrise to sunset throughout the state.
Remove WMA hunting implement restrictions and standardize implements (shotgun and archery) for pheasant and quail: For example, bear and coyote hunters would now be allowed to use any legal hunting implement, including rifles, in WMAs filled with pheasants. Hunters would now only be able to use shotguns and archery equipment while hunting pheasants throughout the state.
Simplify and extend hare, cottontail, and gray squirrel seasons: Hunting seasons for jack rabbits, cottontails and gray squirrels would be extended through the end of February in a single state season for each species.
Eliminate Black-tailed Jackrabbit Season: MassWildlife staff believe the species is extirpated.
Written comments on the regulation changes will be accepted until July 6 at 5 p.m. If you are interested in submitting a written comment, you may email susan.sacco@mass.gov to the attention of the Board of Fish and Wildlife.
Supply chain shortages aside, we live in the golden age of turkey hunting ammunition. The integration of Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) into the longbeard load line has greatly revolutionized the sport since those early days of finicky paper projectiles and fixed chokes.
By comparison, tungsten’s incredible payload makes copper-clad lead look like cheap steel, and its patterns are as dense and purposeful as a swarm of angry wasps. Let’s also not overlook its benefit as a high-impact, non-toxic alternative that keeps lead out of the landscape. If you can’t tell, I’ve been a defender since I first put a TSS load in my old 12-gauge, and I don’t plan on going back.
The mind-blowing ballistics of this tungsten alloy have revealed opportunities with smaller caliber shotguns and extended lower-range killing power far beyond what we former lead lovers have grown accustomed to. To me, it’s this last point that strikes a nerve like two hot ounces of #9, and I think turkey hunters need to check when touting the benefits of this hot item. Just because tungsten charges let you kill a turkey at 80 yards doesn’t mean you should.
First, a warning: I have the mindset that hunters should support each other in the legal and ethical pursuit of hunting, especially when the anti-hunting community enjoys our infighting. Don’t misunderstand my complaint as a desire to limit the opportunities to put white meat on your table. Instead, think of it like venting a favorite hobby.
While not widespread, I have noticed a worrying trend of superiority in the turkey hunting community involving the lethal range of tungsten shots. Bragging about how a 7½s charge crushed a gobbler at 75 yards only seasons our ethics for the benefit of our egos. This technology should improve our shotgun’s performance at traditional lethal ranges, not encourage a reliance on space-age projectiles to cover previously closed distances with experience and dexterity in the wood. While it is ballistically possible and perfectly legal to kill a gobbler from across a football field with modern shooting, the desire to flex tungsten range for sport, in fact, erodes everything sporting about turkey hunting.
Admittedly, I have a tendency to be a turkey hunting stickler, a preference (and maybe a flaw, depending on one’s perspective) that I’ve come to embrace over the years. Consider it some sort of traditional southern hardwoods mentality unleashed in my Merriam’s zip code. For me, turkey hunting is undeniably intimate sport. That same form of intimacy seeps into the souls of like-minded hunters hunting whitetails or blowing bugles at September bulls, and it’s just as addictive. Being close to the game is a big part of the appeal.
There’s a reverence for the sound of strutting wings dragging the ground, the full sensory experience of a close-range drum shaking your insides, or the transformative richness and complexity of a gobble that can only be heard and appreciated from a shot. of stone from its source. None of these treasures are obtained by playing a 3-inch shell and bending that tom from the middle of the back 40, even as tungsten technology has made it possible. It is this pervasive intimacy that keeps me nursing my spring calendar all year long or smiling at the intrusion of a 3am wake-up call.
I also trust TSS for its unquestionable lethality at 30 yards, not the chance to throw one at him in desperation. Hand-to-hand combat with the forest’s most paranoid prey fuels the turkey hunter’s sincere adoration for his prey. When I’ve finally beaten him, pulling the trigger releases a wave of euphoria tinged with regret at closing the final chapter of my favorite spring story. While I have reverence for all game birds, my love for the wild turkey runs deeper. Out of respect, I want his death to be a quick and merciful blow that counters the slaughter with compassion and softens the primal nature of the wild hunt. TSS, for all the might of it, does this exceptionally well.
If you are looking for TSS housings in the market, we highly recommend the Federal line. They sell 24 different loads of premium turkey ranging from 3-inch .410 shells to 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge shells.
Spring turkey hunting has always revolved around how close you can get to a gobbler, not a chest-pounding competition to see who can kill one farther, no matter what tools we have at our disposal. At the risk of getting burned, I’ll go so far as to state that if you can’t get that devourer closer than 50 yards, you haven’t beaten it yet. Don’t cloud the keen survival instincts and dominance of your longbeard domain with a desperate push you wouldn’t have received in the age of the leader. Instead, hone your woodsmanship, sharpen your strategy, and fight him again tomorrow.
An adventure from Bartell’s Backroads to the most northeastern city in California.
FORT BIDWELL, Calif. — If you’re looking to get away from it all, Fort Bidwell is the place.
Located in the far reaches of the Surprise Valley of Modoc County, this small town is as laid back as it gets. There are more cows than people.
There is no need for a map in this city. If you’re looking for a church, go down Church Street. Do you want to know where the old bridge is? Turn onto Bridge Street. If someone says meet me at the willow, you guessed it. It’s on Willow Street.
They are very literal with their names at Fort Bidwell.
There are a number of abandoned buildings around town, but rest assured, people live here, and if you’re looking for something to eat, stop by the Fort Bidwell Hotel and Restaurant for their famous steak dinner.
Chef Peter Newell and baker Krystal Whittaker say the meat comes directly from a pasture on the other side of town.
“If someone told you to start a restaurant, this would be the last place they would tell you to start it, but we do it pretty well,” Newell said.
TAKE A TRIP ON THE BARTELL BACKROADS: ► See an interactive map of all the places John has visited on the backroads ► Watch all Backroads videos ► Follow John on Facebook
After your steak dinner, enjoy the charm of the old hotel. Photos and antiques from Fort Bidwell’s past are everywhere, and if you ask Newell, he’ll give you a history lesson.
The fort was established closer to 1865 and named after General John Bidwell. The soldiers stationed here were protecting the pioneers on the Apple Gate Trail from the dangers on the border.
The troops also fought in the Modoc War, California’s last war against Native Americans. In 1890, Fort Bidwell became an Indian reservation and has been ever since.
If you come in the spring, you can catch the annual Squirrel Wars hunting competition. Small rodents eat farmers’ crops, and Modoc County is infested with them. Poison is not an option, so the best way to manage the population is to hunt them.
“It’s basically target practice,” Newell said.
REACH THE ROADS: Summer is almost here! Plan your ultimate road trip with John Bartell’s list of the 10 best California destinations to visit.
Hunters will be able to return to the Savannah River site this fall.
The annual hunts are expected to begin on Friday, November 4, and continue every Wednesday and Friday through December 9.
The hunts take place on approximately 150,000 acres of land in the 310-square-mile complex owned by the Department of Energy and managed by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.
All hunts begin in the deer building where hunters’ equipment and weapons are inspected. At the building, hunters will be asked to present identification, their hunting license, and proof that they have been selected to hunt.
Hunts typically last about three to four hours and two methods of deer hunting are used: food plots and dog driving.
The dog-leading method uses dogs to chase deer past hunters waiting in trees or on shutters. Food Plots place a food source that attracts deer to a location where hunters can take them.
As the hunters search for deer, they are also offered the opportunity to capture any wild boar they find.
Once a deer or boar is taken, the animal is tagged and taken to an inspection area where it is checked for radiation.
A page on the SRS website says that the soil, plants, and land animals at the site have some amount of caesium-137 in their bodies due to nuclear weapons testing and work at the site. The DOE limit for exposure to caesium-137 is 22 millirems per year, and no animal with more than that amount in its body will be released.
Once the inspection is complete, the animals are dressed in the field (the animal’s internal organs are removed to prevent the meat from spoiling) and placed in a refrigerated truck to await the end of the hunt.
With the exception of 2021, the hunts have been held every year since 1965. The site also regularly hosts a hunt for injured current and former military and people with mobility issues. The hunt for the Wounded Warrior has been going on for more than 20 years.
Opportunities to participate in hunts are awarded through an application lottery. Lottery applications are expected to open in mid-June and close in early August.
He tells me to go where the path forks, to establish there in the corner. From that spot, she says, I’ll be able to see both lanes: the right one that leads to an old food patch, the left one that ends in bedding. Deer, she says, are likely to come from anywhere.
So mid-afternoon I slip in a good two hours before the night move. I find the spot you’ve described and slip into a thicket of seeds and green heather where I’ll be hidden in a chair on the ground. I can see down the right lane to where the trail turns into a fallow gap. But on the left side, I can only see a hundred feet to a curve, and beyond that is where I’m convinced the deer will be.
The problem is that I don’t know anything about white-tailed deer. I have never killed one. I have never seen one in the woods while hunting them. I come from small game animals, from hounds with kennels to rabbit-crazed beagles, old men who had squirrel dogs and Savage 24. For the most part, I was raised by fishermen. No one hunted deer except a great-uncle who lived on the opposite end of the state.
But the man who sent me to this corner knows deer and knows this place, which means of course he should listen. Instead, I grab my chair and slide around the bend. I bend over a stubby cedar that rubs against a pine tree. Now I can see to the end of the lane. About an hour before sunset, heavy footsteps come up behind me. The sound is way back, so I look over her shoulder and see her. She is a young doe, probably eighty pounds, her coat slick and tan as an acorn. Head down, she nibbles at the grass, then looks up with alert ears. She looks back to where she came from, takes a few steps and continues to feed.
illustration: Sunrise Yang
I decide I won’t move until it passes. The footsteps grow louder and I stand still, my eyes almost closed, my heartbeat drumming. At the final moment, I realize that I am sitting directly on a path. His head comes over my right shoulder close enough that I can touch it. I turn slightly just as he enters my peripheral vision, and that sudden movement widens his eyes. The doe nearly burst out of his skin, just a burst of muscle thundering across the ground and it was gone.
This is the first deer I have hunted and not killed. Instead, I tremble in amazement and wonder as she disappears. At that moment I realize that if a man sits still enough, he could disappear completely.
* * *
The problem with dying is that there is no good time to do it. When the turkeys stop gobbling, the flatheads start biting. The catfish die down just as the pigeons begin to dive into the corn stubble fields. The pigeons disappear and the whitetail routine begins. The season brings us back to the season, and we run fitfully in search of the game we’re after.
I half joke that it will be a heart attack that will get me out of this place. They’ll find me at the base of a tree with muddy gobbler tracks stamped across my body, or sprawled on a dock having been woken by a snap of bait, the slow tick-tock-tick-tock of a flathead taking the line until the spool is empty and the rod itself slides off the spring into oblivion. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love the outdoors. They ask me to accompany them on walks, and sometimes I go. The thing is, they walk too fast, at least for me. They tend to talk too much. When I’m with them, I keep up the pace and the conversation because I know that’s to be expected, but it annoys me how the forest fades around us. We are a fire that shines against a space that will not accept us. Nothing dares to enter that light.
As we stumble along, the deer hide and wait, the squirrels melt into the branches they cling to, and the birds stop singing. What we have become a part of does not want to be a part of us. Deep down, I want to tell the person I’m with to sit down and be still, that we need to be quiet and treat this place like a church. I want to tell you that if we don’t, we will surely miss the sermon. But instead I keep those things to myself for fear of ruining their good time, and in turn we see nothing. The more time passes, the more I tend to go to the forest alone.
* * *
In the heat of the day, the heat of the day always pushes me further into the night. Midnight finds me alone on the water, the mountains of North Carolina resting black against the sky. I move the beam of light from a spotlight along the shore and look for eyes that shine like copper coins. When the brightness finds them, bullfrogs go into a trance that will not be broken as long as the light is constant. They cling to the shadows of driftwood until I’m close enough to snag them on cattails and reeds.
As the boat passes between the shores, I shine my light on the water and see sunfish in craters of swept sand. The fish lean back and forth as if sleeping with their fins flapping softly like lullabies. A loud crack breaks the silence, and without turning on the light, I know that a beaver has struck its tail in warning. Above, blue-green nebulae hover like smoke amidst the sequins, and I’m dumbfounded that I missed this until now. Who could care more about what brought them here? I turn off the light and lie on the seat of the jon boat in amazement.
Come fall, when the leaves peak and the trees cast their color onto the ripples of the creek like oil fire, I see a brook trout come up in an eddy where the back of a stone breaks the current. A bow and arrow release launches a Cahill into the air, and when the fly lands, I flick my wrist to keep it there. The trout emerges through a sheen of mica, rolls on the fly, and plunges back down to a cobbled bottom. I place the hook and feel the weight.
After a few pulls, the fish flaps into the shallows next to my boots. I kneel down and wet my hand, put this wonderful thing on my fingers. Autumn reflects on the flanks, the colors blending like a sugar maple: green to goldenrod, tangerine to scarlet. The dark green back is swirled with lime marbling and red spots surrounded by pale blue crowns. There is a sunset painted on my palm.
Winter turns the landscape into pen and ink, and I am in a tree waiting for a deer that will not appear. An amulet of golden finches flies over the forest line, landing in the brush and pine trees at the far end of a clearing. Slowly, the birds make their way to me, landing in places that suit them for reasons I can’t figure out.
I’m warm and I’m cold, and that makes it easy to keep still. The base of the tree is in a hickory with a dogwood background. In a moment all the charm converges on that singular point. They cling to branches like leaves and are so close to me that when I focus on a single bird, I can see barbels and barbs of feathers, strands as fine as a baby’s hair. My vision recedes, and I’m surrounded by yellow that’s too bright to comprehend. The universe becomes one color, and I am trapped in it.
* * *
Everything I know about beauty, I learned with cane or rifle. For me, fishing and hunting have been the mechanisms that put me squarely in the heart of things. I do not mean to suggest that this is the only way, only that without some project few would climb twenty feet up a pine tree two hours before sunrise. People chase views to catch sunrises. They round the bends in the trails and run into black bears, surely a stroke of luck. But who else is shivering in the dark high up in a tree miles from any road or trail and waiting when the blue mist melts off the saddle at first light? photographers? Crazy men? Maybe. And if so, I will gladly share the forest with them.
What I liked most about those mornings is turning on the switch when the world turns on. You enter a completely dark place and wait for the silence to pass. You are there when the first bird sings and the second responds, when life springs suddenly from every space that offered the least shelter of the night. The only requirement is that you stand still and don’t dare break the spell. As Wendell Berry wrote: “For a time [you] rest in the grace of the world, and [are] free.”
* * *
The pine forests have been opened by fire, and spring has begun to bring out its green face from the ash and the black. By summer, what has burned empty will fill up again, but for now there is no shelter and no place to hide, so I crawl through a dry creek bed, praying the turkey doesn’t see me approaching.
The morning has just lightened from black to sapphire, and the bird hammers again from its perch, a sound so loud and close that it crashes into me like thunder. I look over the edge of the bank for somewhere to sneak into range, and I see an old three-foot pine tree that’s more than enough to hide me. I lean against the tree, my torso now a log, my legs sprawling across the charred ground like exposed roots. Somehow I’ve managed to get within fifty meters of where the gobbler is perched.
illustration: Song Kang
The forest is waking up around me and I have to fight the urge to rush things. I wait a few minutes for the light to come on before knocking, and when I do it’s nothing loud or surprising, just a subtle tree howl sent by a trumpet bell. I’m not waiting for the answer. There is no flapping of wings or downward flight, just gravity and earth, the thud of the bird hitting the earth as it falls from the branch like a stone. He stands in the clearing and cranes his neck to study the layers of shadow where the call is coming from, but I’m in a dark hole that the light hasn’t found yet, and no matter how hard I try, it can’t see me. For the turkey, survival requires absolute certainty, so the wooden line becomes its sand line. It won’t come any closer.
A winter dogwood puts its breath in the air, each bite a sound written like a score of smoke that hangs before it until the echo fades. He puffs himself up into a swagger and brushes his wingtips across the icy grass, his head as white as ice. For a long time, this is all that exists between us. I am a tree, and he is a dancer. It takes an hour for the sun to crown the pines, to warm up that icy blue dawn, and in that time he walks like eyes across a page, without taking a single step in the margins.
As the first rays break the treetops, I watch their feathers turn into stained glass, a backlit fan of bronze and bars, the outer curve edged with gold. I can’t move, and I don’t want to. This is where I would spend my forever, heaven and earth in the same place, though even as I breathe it in, I know it can’t last. As fast as it has come, it will go. There’s always the flip of the switch. The world is awash with miracles, and I am grateful to simply bear witness.
I have had many amazing experiences in the field. From my early days as a moose guide to my years traveling the world with Steven Rinella, I have been fortunate to hunt and fish in some of the most incredible places on the planet.
Still, I believe that hunting requires a lifelong obsession with learning. “On the Hunt” is dedicated to my love of being both the mentor and the mentee. In some episodes, I take a new hunter out into the field to show him the ropes. Other times I bring out experienced hunters, like my friend Rue Mapp, and try to show them something new.
But I still have a lot to learn. That’s why some of these episodes will also take me places where I’m not an expert, which I rarely am, and allow me to master new skills. In this season alone, I learn moose singing from Jason Phelps, lion biology and management from Bart George, and bear hunting from Clay Newcomb.
I’ll also introduce you to people who have mentored me in the past, like my friend and moose guide, Ethan Kohn, and my turkey hunting mentor, James Miller. These two have impacted my hunting style and life in general, and I can’t wait to get them involved in the fun.
Whether teaching or learning, I always try to add a touch of adventure to these episodes. Tune in every Tuesday at 4pm MST from May 3 to June 7 and let me know what you think in the comments. I will be there to answer as many questions as I can.
Jessie, ‘Alone’ season 9 competitor (Photo by: Brendan George Ko / The History Channel)
the history channel Only season nine episode three picks up the action on the 12th. Episode two featured the first touch of a survivor (Jacques), and at the end of episode three, the contestant count is still nine.
Episode three, “The Law of the Earth,” includes survival facts about berm shelters (like Jessie’s) that create a natural thermal mass to help absorb/store heat. Some of the contestants are building on top of a muskeg, a swamp made of water and dead vegetation. And willow branches are good for building because of their flexibility. The episode also confirmed that contestants can bring up to two pounds of wire as one of their 10 survival items.
Episode three focused on Jessie, Igor, Adam, Benji, Juan Pablo, and Karie Lee.
Jessie, age 49, Pagosa Springs, CO
Day 12: Jessie is determined to finally get to work on her long-term shelter. Ella’s short-term shelter is close to her, and her long-term shelter will use four existing trees for structural support. She believes that the addition of live trees will make the structure more stable.
The weather is unpredictable and Jessie wants a shelter that is protected from moisture. She admits that she is a workaholic, just like her family. Her mom was a single mom who loved being outdoors, and Jessie thinks about her struggles (paying for college, raising a child on her own, etc.) when the going gets tough.
Day 13: He is happy to have found huge bunches of berries and will feast on them for lunch. She confesses that she is tired of them, but at least they are giving her sustenance. She has lost 15 pounds and has not eaten many calories. She did not expect the food situation to be so difficult.
Jessie hasn’t seen any rabbits or grouse, but there are squirrels nearby. She has experience setting traps and traps, and she places 15 lines of traps on fallen trees. A squirrel yells at her while she works and she confesses that she doesn’t like to kill things but she knows it’s necessary.
A short time later, he gets his first squirrel. Jessie thanks the squirrel for her 270 calorie dinner. She tastes like chicken.
Jessie hopes that once she’s done with her cabin, she can turn her attention to getting more (and bigger) games.
Day 14: Today’s task is to put the support posts in place and build a roof. You’re designing a shelter that doesn’t really fit any particular style. It’s kind of a shed design, but it has other elements.
He’s burning 375 calories an hour working at a shelter and admits it’s going to be more work than he initially thought.
Day 15: Jessie gets some sun before work. She breaks through, checks her traps and finds a dead squirrel. A live one yells at him and then walks over to the dead squirrel. It looks like the squirrel is trying to get her fallen friend up from her, but she doesn’t move. She sits just inches away and chatters, a sound that is absolutely heartbreaking. Jessie apologizes and feels bad to see what she thinks she is the dead squirrel’s mother trying to help her dead child.
Jessie understands that this is how it works, but acknowledges that these animals have feelings. “Every day we live, other things must die, and that’s the law of nature,” she says Jessie. “This is how things work, and we don’t realize in our modern lives that the same thing is happening indirectly due to our actions.”
‘Alone’ season 9 competitor Igor (Photo by: Brendan George Ko / The History Channel)
Igor, 39, Bountiful, UT
Day 12: Igor is eating sea wood, creating a stew that he calls his staple food. Hunting and fishing attempts on him have so far been unsuccessful. He has lost 19 pounds in 12 days and has yet to build a permanent shelter.
Igor’s shelter will eventually be a log cabin because it’s sturdy enough for the area. The winds and animals will not be able to reach him, however, he is disappointed that he has not advanced further. The area is so soft that he decided he needs to build a floor. It’s not ideal, and it’s a lot of work, but the flooring is necessary because of the moisture in the soil.
Igor ends the day and sees a grouse. He throws down his saw and kills, noting that this is the first time he has killed with a saw. The grouse is amazing and Igor thinks it is an indication that he is building in the right place.
Adam, ‘Alone’ season 9 competitor (Photo by: Brendan George Ko / The History Channel)
Adam, 36, Fayetteville, AR
Day 13: Adam built a decent shelter and decides to add a cob (clay, sand and straw) stone fireplace. His shelter doesn’t allow smoke to escape since it’s well sealed, so he needs to add a chimney. Adam explains that he is using willow and wattle and mud design to build the fireplace and fireplace walls.
Adam sticks to a slow and steady pace and says he doesn’t get flustered easily.
While working on his shelter, he hears a grouse. Instead of potentially wasting an arrow, he uses his throwing staff. He is missed. Fortunately, he has been seeing more grouse near his site, but his success comes mostly from fishing.
He makes a weather flap for his fireplace and then uses his fireplace for the first time. It is holding up well and the structure is smoke free.
Day 15: Adam came up with a vise system to help him work with flies. He uses part of the inner lining of his boot to create different types of flies, some that sink and some that float.
Adam is hungry and has no food stored while he is out fishing. The weather is perfect (although it’s just above freezing) and he thinks he’s doing great so far. Winning would transform the life of his family; His parents get by on just $20,000 a year.
He doesn’t get any bite and decides to put a fishing rod. The level of the river is dropping and he worries that the fishing opportunities in it are running out. He is only fishing in two small areas and all the fish may soon be gone.
Adam takes a break to do “The Hunger Dance” as the songs always make the cut. Only. Adam’s musical talent is about two out of 10; he definitely shouldn’t give up his day job.
Day 16: Adam does some target practice because he has no aim. He has decided that he will do this every day to get better at hunting. His fishing spot is no longer a viable option and he wants to focus his attention on finding a black bear.
While checking the area, he finds his first bolete mushroom. It’s old but still edible.
Adam doesn’t think he can survive more than 80 days without bagging a bear. He finds a good spot on the plateau to spot game and is pleased to find some fresh-looking bear droppings.
Adam decides to keep exploring as he is finding signs of bears. Gambling it all is the only way he will survive and he firmly believes that sitting in his shelter conserving calories is not the way to succeed. Only.
Adam’s practice pays off when he shoots a grouse. He is his first grouse of the adventure after shooting nearly a dozen.
Adam stuffs his grouse with cranberries and other items before cooking the bird. Grouse has a flavor to match, but Adam describes it as having an amazing flavor.
‘Alone’ season 9 competitor Benji (Photo by: Brendan George Ko / The History Channel)
Benji, age 46, Bellevue, ID
Day 14: Benji admires the beauty of his area and the beautiful sky while making his video log. Benji thinks it’s time to get serious about building a rubble shack, as the weather is going to get much colder soon. He finds a spot among the trees near the beach and determines how to position his structure based on wind direction and other factors (including the lack of animal tracks).
Initially focused on familiarizing himself with his area and finding food, he is now ready to work on his permanent shelter. It won’t make a raised platform or bed because it feels more comfortable on the ground.
Benji Island doesn’t have many animals, but it does have squirrels. He shoots one, cooks it, and confesses that he’s not much of an organ eater. However, it will eat the squirrel’s organs because they are loaded with vitamins and minerals.
Benji feels amazing and happy about the amount of food he eats. (He has lost 19 pounds). “I feel more alive every day I’m here,” says Benji. He can’t wait for Labrador to try to break him and is determined to hang on.
Day 16: Benji is having incredible luck fishing and, in fact, he catches so many that he creates a fish stash to store his surplus. Although he came to hunt, fishing provides him with abundant food.
He sees a beaver trail and follows it to the creek. Benji explains that the best way to hunt is to find a high-traffic area and an ambush spot, and discovers the perfect spot to try and find a beaver.
Benji sees one not far away and shoots. He misses, but manages to fire a second shot that hits the beaver but doesn’t kill it. The injured beaver disappears into the water and Benji tries to find out the location of it. He looks at the water but does not come out. Benji looks around and has no luck there either.
It’s getting dark, so he’s giving up for now and will search again in the morning. He hopes that the beaver expires in peace.
Juan, ‘Alone’ season 9 competitor (Photo by: Brendan George Ko / The History Channel)
Juan Pablo, 30 years old, Pinawa, CAN
Day 14: We catch up with Juan, since he has missed shooting a squirrel. He has explored upriver and found nothing, so he sets off in a different direction. His area is difficult to walk in and he hasn’t eaten much since he shot a grouse 10 days ago.
He comes across a bear print that is larger than his hand, meaning it could weigh over 400 pounds. Juan is happy with the discovery because he is eager to hunt a bear, since that would mean that he would have a month of food. However, a bear near the camp is too dangerous. He sets out some of the cans he found and hangs them up to make noise.
Then Juan comes up with the idea of making a real bell out of an old frying pan and a huge nail.
‘Alone’ season 9 competitor Karie (Photo by: Brendan George Ko / The History Channel)
Karie Lee, 57, Sandpoint, ID
Day 15: Karie washes her hair before working on her goal for day 15 of building her permanent shelter. She states that the earth dictated how to build the shelter and that she is going to use clay to keep warm. She feels blessed with the abundance that the earth has to give.
She places the tarp over the shelter as the temperature drops. Karie hasn’t been eating much and she thinks she needs to take some time to just “be”.
Karie spends her first night in her new shelter and is happy to finally have a fire inside as she prepares to call it a night.
She has discovered that she is a perfectionist and will have to go back in order to survive. Now that the shelter is built, she will focus on getting food.
If you like math, keep reading. We will do a lot of that. Me? I’m not a math guy. I trust numbers only when absolutely necessary. But this discussion is one of those cases.
In Michigan, we have a pretty fair turkey hunt. But a late April open and a one-bird cap leaves too much spring and not enough flop. Because of this, I always visit at least three other states each spring, but I need to do it on a budget that matches my stingy style.
Over the years, I’ve learned a thing or two about cheap hunting. At first, it was a function of pure necessity. I just didn’t have the extra funds to commit. I am now a little older and a little further along in my career and have added bolsters to my financial stability. But the old ways are hard to do and I just refuse to spend more than I really need to. This is how I make the most of each spring and spend as little money as possible while doing it.
Now, while these are specific to turkey hunting, they can also apply to the fall when you’re chasing whitetails.
Gas prices are never universal
Let’s face it, even when gas is “cheap”, it’s still expensive. I’ve tried just about everything to cut fuel costs, including traveling across the country in a 2000s Pontiac Vibe 5-speed. Pushing 35 miles per gallon, that plucky steed definitely saved money on gas. But, as nice as that little car was, there are some adventures a commuter car just can’t tackle. Fuel economy on trucks has improved, but it’s still not great. So regardless of what you drive, the advice here is to be smart.
Never, repeat never, just wait until the “Low Fuel” light flashes on the dash. Plan ahead and use a fuel finder app like GasBuddy. I have saved literally hundreds of dollars on fuel over the course of a year or two just by using the app religiously. Fuel costs vary greatly by location. For example, I know that every time I head west from my home state of Michigan, I will never make a fuel stop in Illinois. Gas taxes and other factors mean that Illinois’ fuel costs are significantly higher than neighboring states. So, I refueled in Michigan and didn’t stop until I got to Iowa or Missouri or literally any other state. Doing so during a recent excursion to Nebraska saved $1 per gallon.
But even in the same state, I opened the app and found gas 25 to 30 cents a gallon cheaper just a few miles down the road.
Hotels are an unnecessary expense
I can’t remember the last time I stayed in a hotel or motel while hunting. It was once standard procedure to find the cheapest motel and call it home base. Then it dawned on me and I realized that I was literally paying for nothing but a shitty bed and a weak shower.
I have also found myself less and less interested in hunting areas that have such conveniences nearby. Hotels and restaurants mean humans. Humans mean hunting pressure. Therefore, I avoid both.
Now, I will sleep in my truck almost exclusively during spring turkey hunts. I have a decent camp setup for my truck bed under the lid. For short weekend outings, the backseat of my F-150 crew cab is a comfortable bed, and I can land anywhere I find birds gobbling. A few gallons of water and a bar of soap do wonders for hygiene during the hunt.
Obviously, you can take a tent and go camping. But the campgrounds are about $20 a night and again I’m just looking for a place to sleep. I have spent many a night hanging around in a public parking lot and the savings add up.
Food costs add up
I admit it. I’m addicted to Casey’s pizza. There’s nothing better after a morning of heavy beatings at the hands of the bearded locals. At about $4 for a slice and a pop, it’s a splurge that I’ll gladly do.
Much has been written about bringing your own food to save costs on hunting trips. I’m not offering any truly novel ideas here, but it bears repeating. The biggest cost savings for me comes from bringing my own drinks and food.
As I mentioned, I’m willing to drop a few bucks for a quick Casey stop. But, for the most part, I’m packing what I need in a cooler and carrying Sam’s Choice soda (half price, all caffeine), water, and a variety of quick snacks that keep me in the woods and away from the drive-thrus. that sucks money
Be smart about licensing
As much as I love to hunt turkeys, I’m a whitetail guy at heart. Truth be told, my spring turkey hunts are simply deer scouting missions in the fall. I plan my labels accordingly, which can also lead to big savings.
For example, since I live fairly close to Ohio, it’s obvious that I would hunt deer there. This is ideal since Ohio regulations require you to purchase a hunting license in addition to a deer tag. This means that for an additional $38, I can hunt turkeys in the spring. I could have opted to hunt in neighboring Indiana, but that tag would set me back $175. The same scenario plays out in Iowa. To hunt turkeys in Iowa, you need a hunting license and a turkey tag. In the years that I can draw an Iowa deer tag, I’ll be turkey hunting there too. In the years I can’t draw a deer tag, I won’t go turkey hunting there and opt for a nearby state with a lower cost turkey license.
A group of wild squirrels have been given a life of luxury, thanks to a furry animal lover.
Jason Lenzi has created a mini-cinema for the area’s wild squirrels, complete with handmade promotional posters, a concession stand and a fully functioning movie screen.
And the 30-year-old American did it because one day he woke up and realized that squirrels could never properly experience a movie theater in real life.
The videos show Jason, who works in video production, building the entire theater from scratch in two months at a cost of around £450 (about $560).
He used an old tablet that played his own chipmunk movie as a screen and built a miniature concession stand and filled it with goodies.
The furry animal event receives tubs of their favorite snacks (Image: Collaboration / SWNS)
Jason added LED string lights for ambiance, popcorn bowls filled with squirrel treats, and finished off with handmade promotional movie posters.
He also installed four cameras inside to monitor squirrel activity and placed the theater in his large backyard in the woods.
Jason, from Detroit, Michigan, said, “I love to build and create things.
“I thought this would be a perfect project to challenge myself and my building skills, as well as do something fun with my time.
“Also, I REALLY wanted to know what all the squirrels would do with their own mini theater! Honestly, they loved it!
Advertising screens show the latest ‘blockbuster’ on display at the mini cinema (Image: Collaboration / SWNS)
“They got to experience what a movie theater is like and I’m glad I got to show it to them.
“They ate delicious treats and snacks while watching the wonderful ‘Revenge of the Chipmunks’ movie I made for them. It was great to do it all.”
While the theater appears large enough to fit several squirrels, it may not contain the oversized squirrels that have been nicknamed “squirrelzilla,” which have left homeowners stunned after taking over their gardens in America in the last months.
The stocky, big-boned animals have been hunting for food in the gardens, and one homeowner claims a squirrel knocks on his door begging for food.
Reports of the monstrous gray squirrels appear to have increased in the US state of Maine with owners claiming that they appear to be larger than in the past.
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Designing a shotgun can be as easy or as difficult as you like. There are so many options when it comes to shell size, shot size, shot composition, chokes, shotgun make/model, bore and barrel length that trying each and every combination would be almost impossible. We all want the densest patterns at the longest ranges, but finding that shell and choke combo that gives you the best possible pattern is way out of the reach of the average person. The following gives you a rundown of how I approach the shotgun pattern for turkey hunting, but the principles can be applied to any ballistic endeavor.
First, determine what your constants will be. I wish I could buy a new weapon for every season and scenario I could imagine, but that’s not reasonable. Determine which shotgun you’ll be using – a 12 gauge is pretty standard and a 20 will be fine. If you want to use a smaller gauge, there will be more considerations and potential costs involved to get the results you want. Once you’ve chosen your shotgun, determine what your targets are, and then start with the variables.
Determine your goals. Again, if you want the best pattern in the world, you will need a lot of money and a lot of time. If your goal is to have a consistent pattern over a reasonable range while minimizing the chance of injuring or losing an animal you are hunting, then you are in luck.
Think about the area you will be hunting in, how thick the ground is, and what kind of distance, you will most likely be presented with a shot. If the ground is very thick and visibility is less than 30 yards from the ground, almost any traditional lead turkey load will work. If you want to extend your range a bit more, consider a higher density shot like Tungsten or TSS. The denser material allows the use of a smaller shot size, which translates to more shots per payload.
This season I wanted to find a shell and choke combo for my Franchi Affinity that would give me dense patterns up to 45 yards. I hunt a lot of big fields and the big toms tend to hang around the 40 yard marker. I picked up a Federal TSS No. 7 3-inch 12-gauge case. The density of TSS is nearly 50 percent heavier than lead, allowing the use of smaller shot that still carries the lower-range energy of the largest lead shot. A smaller shot means higher pattern density and a higher chance of a clean kill. I had a few boxes of shells from various manufacturers and size/pellet material left over from past seasons, so I was able to compare how the new stuff stacked up against shells I’d used in the past.
Now, with your chosen shotgun and cartridge, choose a choke. Some shotguns come with a factory-filled, extra-filled, or turkey choke; if you already have one, start there. If you want to buy a choke, figure out your budget first, and then try to cut it down from there. There are many options, luckily most of them work very well. Carlson, TruGlo, Kicks, Patternmaster are all good products, although results vary gun to gun, load to load. Many choke manufacturers make chokes for specific turkey loads, these are usually an excellent choice.
I bought a Carlson TSS choke. It was reasonably priced and I have had good experience with Carlson chokes in the past.
Now try your combo. Set up a large target (approximately 30 inches by 30 inches) in the range you want to pattern and see what happens. Aim at the center of the paper and fire a round. Use a marker pen and note the scope, shell, and choke used. Pull out the paper and draw a 10-inch circle around the densest part of the pattern, then count the number of shots inside that circle. Repeat the process with new paper and different shells if you are testing multiple.
Generally speaking, you want at least 100 pellets in that 10-inch circle. The more the better. If your best pattern gives you less than 100 on the 10-inch circle, it’s time to change one variable at a time. Change choke or shell, but do not change both at the same time. Changing more than one variable will not allow you to determine if the new shell or choke is an improvement. If you change the choke, run through the same projectiles at the same distances, if you change the projectiles, try them through the same choke. You’ll eventually find a combo that works with your weapon and suits your goals.
I tried three different loads through the Franchi Affinity with the Carlson choke. Lead charge No. 5 placed no more than 100 shot in a 10-inch ring at 45 yards. The densest pattern came from the shell with the highest pellet count, which is not surprising. After counting over 170 shot in the 10-inch ring at 45 yards, I was done making patterns. Finding a dense pattern that would work at 45 yards was the goal, I found it quickly and didn’t feel the need to push the range any further. In all, I fired six rounds from three different shell manufacturers through one choke. Both high-end tungsten/TSS shells had a higher pattern density than their lead counterpart.
The rule of diminishing returns applies here: it will take a lot of money and time to find that pattern that gives you the latest return percentages. I’ve had a lot of experience with this in manual loading, getting a load to generate sub MOA pools isn’t difficult or time consuming, but trying to shrink that pool further is resource intensive. At the end of the day, a turkey won’t know the difference between getting hit in the head with 10 or 12 shots.
Go with reasonable expectations and you’ll find them pretty quickly. I can’t stress this enough. We’re all obsessed with how to be better hunters, and the gear we choose to wear is one of the few variables we have complete control over, but don’t let it be the only facet of your focus. Get the pattern you’re happy with, in the range you’re comfortable with, and spend your time exploring and learning about the animal you’re going after. Knowing where the birds are will benefit you more than finding a pattern that stretches 60 yards. No pattern, no matter how dense, is going to kill a turkey if there are no turkeys around.
Notes and tips
If you’re using a smaller gauge shotgun, you’ll have less pellets in each shell, so you may need to decrease the range until you find a pattern you’re happy with.
Bring in some cheap target loadouts to see how your weapon traces before you send the turkey loadouts down. If you are using a red dot or scope, using target loads will help you get down to paper and get close to zero without the high price tag and pain.
Take your time and don’t underestimate the kickback of turkey loads. Heavy turkey loads will take a toll on your shoulder and your ability to aim. Use a break and take breaks – developing a flinch will affect your shotgun just as much as it does when firing a rifle.
