2021 will be a traveling season for SFC B and CPO!!!

[SFC B]

Today inspired me to start this thread. As many of you know I was lucky enough to find Doug a good home this morning (at list price no less). Well later in the morning I got another great call. Both CPO and I were drawn for the IL WT draw hunt!!! So, as long as this silliness eases by the fall we will be doing a whole Midwest whitetail tour!!! We are going to start with a bit of a group hunt for the gun opener in (Back Home Again...) IN. From there we will motor over to IL for the Lake Shelbyville hunt in IL first gun season. Finally, we will swing up to WI to not only hunt whitetails but to get together with old friends who occasionally share our camp in CO .....Kory and Kevin are great folks. This will all be in the 2 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Prior to that we will be in camp for 2nd season if schedules allow (CPO is still working for the man). I am also hopeful of drawing the deer tag I put in for here which would be a first week of DEC limited entry hunt. On top of that I WILL actually get to hunt some waterfowl this year come hell or high water.

 

[duckhunt]

Following

 

[SFC B]

Well, found out for sure that I am starting the 21 season early! I will be taking a Vet turkey hunting in IN this weekend. We will be out in the woods west of Scottsburg. Only my second Turkey hunt so we will be hoping to put a couple on the board. Weather looks a bit iffy but we'll do our best. No matter what, I am always happy to be back home <3

 

[SFC B]

Man it was a shakey start, flight was late due to crew and the connection was tight already. I was lucky enough to meet the franchisees for the new Whataburger coming to the Springs and got a lil swag. Here is a pic of that and the view from the porch of our cabin. Also, my first stop in IN (double cheese, onion chips and Diet Coke).

 

[SFC B]

I am back from the homeland and finally have some time to do some writing.

The first night I went out with Devon (our local contact) before Dave (my SILs boyfriend and fellow Vet) could arrive. He was coming from Northern Indiana and had some Household 6 issues to deal with before he could leave Devon and I headed out to a portion of the Jackson/Washington state forest for the hour or 2 before dark to try and put some birds to bed. The area we were in gave us what sounded like a single bird flying up right at dark....but nothing for sure.

Dave got in right as we were returning to the cabin. We unloaded his stuff and then headed out for a late dinner and a Wally World run. We ended up at good Mexican joint with huge portions. Stuffed, we headed back to the cabin to discuss the next morning's plan....which may have also led to a few rounds of the Champagne of Beers and a short sleep cycle

 

[Khunter]

SFB, up your game man! We need hunt stories and pics. Whataburger and wally world? You have 8 more months of 2021 to amp it up.

 

[SFC B]

Saturday

The plan was to head to some public land, proceed down off of a ridgeline into a valley that bordered a private hay field and had hills all around and a creek running through it and see if we could get some birds to talk. We got in place at the time we had shot for and found a good place to set up.

About 30 minutes after shooting light we got a group of gobblers to respond to Devon's calls. Seemed to be one a couple hundred yards at first but as they moved closer it was clear that it was 3-4 birds. This back and forth went on for 45-60 minutes as they slowly moved toward us when we were surprised with a gobble coming from the other side of the hay field. Back and forth the gobbles went with the birds from private really making time. By about 1030 or so both groups were within probably 75-100 yards of us (visibility in the trees kept us from laying eyes on) and we were excited.......that ended quickly when right after Devon made a call BANG from private land about 200 feet above us on the ridge we came in through (there is a public access lane through private to the state forest). We stayed put and tried calling for another half hour or so but that shot shut the birds up for the long haul. Before we left for a late lunch we tried a few more spots up the valley with zero results. On the way out for lunch we found this dead head. From his teeth he was only a 1.5 or 2.5 yo deer and would have been a dandy. Devon also found 6 morels (he has a side business selling them-currently over $50 a pound in IN)

After a lunch of Hoosier staples, breaded tenderloin and fried mushrooms, we spent the late afternoon and evening cruising through the forest trying calls at pullouts around the way looking for birds. Nothing else spoke back to us that night .

 

[SFC B]

Sunday morning came around and we headed to another spot in the SF where Devon had heard some activity recently. We worked that area for a couple of hours without a gobble to be heard. Dave had to head home by 1600 which meant we had to head back to the cabin around 1500. As such the tactic changed after a quick lunch of sammiches at Devon's. We started driving through the forest stopping every few hundred yards at pull offs and heading the calls trying to stir up a gobble. Finally, about 1330, we hit a nice deep gobble at the pull off at the top of a ridge. We quietly got out of the car and started to circle a couple hundred yards to the side before heading down hill through some nasty stuff and get closer to the bird. We had no sooner just about reached the downhill point we wanted when another car pull into the pull out, all the way the edge of the hill and it's driver got out and ......slammed the door That was that for that bird, not another peep to be heard. We pulled ourselves woefully up the hill to the car and finished up the last half hour without any responses to calling. We got Dave back to the cabin so he could head out and Devon and I took a couple hour break. That evening we split up to go and try to a) stumble on a bird or b) put some to bed. I headed to the spot where we had gone the first night and got 2 gobbles reasonably close right before dark. Devon got zero at the spot where he had been so we made a plan to head to my spot early and try to peg their location coming out of the roost.

 

[SFC B]

Monday morning Devon and I headed out to the finger where I had heard gobbles the night before. We got there right on time and settled in for a bit and knew we had to be aggressive as I could only hunt until about 10:00 as I had to go back, pack up and head back to Indy to catch my flight and make a mandatory stop. Devon started a calling sequence and after a few minutes we got two distinct gobbles back. Both of them were down below us and quite a bit apart. I had tweaked my knee earlier in the week (before hunting) and was not looking forward to dropping down the very steep, briar filled hillside but it had to be done. Down we scrambled. At the bottom we crossed a small creek and step up on the edge of a good sized hay field. Calling again only got one response this time. The response came diagonally across the field and what seemed like slightly uphill. We high tailed it that direction, having to cross the creek again. Once we were up the hill about 100yds Devon hit the call again and got an instant gobble back pretty close. Heading that direction we came across an old logging road running the same direction. Around the first bend everything went to poo........we heard another gobble CLOSE .......and saw a guy set up on the logging road between us and the bird. He must have dropped off the hill after we had when he heard us going back and forth

That was a real bummer as the bird couldn't have been more than 50 yds past him. We backed out and headed back across the hay field to try and raise a response from the other bird we had heard. We sat down knowing this was our last chance and hit the calls. Nothing came back so we wait for 10-15 minutes and gave it a shot. This time we got a really rasping hen response from the direction we had come from. Excitement turned to disappointment as into view came the guy we had seen up on the hill. He was on his way out. He walked directly at us and then stopped to chat. This is where it really hurts. Come to find out the gobble we were getting wasn't from A bird it was a group of 4 Jakes. He had them at 20 yards for quite a bit but HE wasn't interested in a Jake .....SMFH I would have shot anything with a beard as I have not taken one yet. To add insult to injury as we sit there a BIG gobble pops off toward the end of the hayfield somewhere. As our eyes sparkle the "dude" crushes me once more......that one was a CAPTIVE turkey the landowner the abuts the end of the hayfield keeps in a pen right on the edge of his property. #$$%%@$%@$%!!!

That sealed the deal on my chances. Devon and I had to head straight up hill through the briars to get to the car. In the car, tired and sweaty, I assured Devon what a good time it had been despite the lack of a dead bird. Back to the cabin for a quick shower and I was off to Indy. Before I headed to the airport I had to make a mandatory stop. This place is on my home Eastside and opened just before I was born. I have literally been eating their incredible products since I was old enough to leave the house They have a full range of baked goods from cookies to cakes to bread to pastries to pretzels.....every single thing amazing. They also have an adjoining shop selling all things German. The owner and master baker, Jurgen Jungbauer, arrived in Indy originally as a draftee (foreign nationals in the US more than 6 months at the time were subject to draft) assigned to For Harrison in 1966. JJ is an icon http://heidelberghaus.com/index.php?l=l_home.php&r=r_cafe_menu.htm

Satisfied, I headed to the airport. I checked in and waited in the USO until it was time to fly. For some reason, this trip more than any I have had, I really got sad about leaving home. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE CO, but Indiana is simply a large portion of who I am. Every year when this is played at the start of the 500 (no matter where I am) I stop, sing quietly and get a little misty (having spent so much time away makes it mean that much more).....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wcgaRkHAWY

 

[SFC B]

Welp, the creepy creep apparently got me. No deer tag for me in CO this year. I did get the IL tag so I am still looking at 3 deer guns seasons .....don't cry for me Argentina I'll be interested to see what the tag DID draw out at though.

 

[Crossbowguy]

I will be following along as usual.

 

[SFC B]

Just finally got a look at the draw statistics and it wasn't as bad as I feared. The hunt I want still drew out at 10 pts this year, just at about 50%......I was not one of the lucky ones. Could be worse. Also, in anticipation of ACTUALLY getting to hunt geese this year I have taken delivery of a Franchi Affinity 3.5.......praying for huge flocks of stupid geese!!!!

 

[thomas89]

Just finally got a look at the draw statistics and it wasn't as bad as I feared. The hunt I want still drew out at 10 pts this year, just at about 50%......I was not one of the lucky ones. Could be worse. Also, in anticipation of ACTUALLY getting to hunt geese this year I have taken delivery of a Franchi Affinity 3.5.......praying for huge flocks of stupid geese!!!!

The front range always sees big flocks of stupid geese, you might do better to pray for access to where they want to be

 

[SFC B]

BIG news in the SFC B household today. Guess who got an email from CPW......this guy !!!! I will be chasing a buck on USAFA this year after all!!!! woooohoooo!!! 10 points officially GONE!!!

 

[Mudranger1]

BIG news in the SFC B household today. Guess who got an email from CPW......this guy !!!! I will be chasing a buck on USAFA this year after all!!!! woooohoooo!!! 10 points officially GONE!!!

Hope to see how this goes....plus I wonder why a guy would build 10 points for deer in Colorado

 

[SFC B]

Hope to see how this goes....plus I wonder why a guy would build 10 points for deer in Colorado

Biggest reason is I have been able to get tags 2nd choice in 26 2nd season every year up until this year.

 

[SFC B]

Sent in my payment this evening after a well deserved celebratory beer with a friend at the new Red Leg complex here in town. The best part about this tag (beside the chance at a nice deer) is that it is very close to the house and I will actually be able to scout.

 

[SFC B]

It arrived!!!

 

[Redman]

Man I am getting pumped for the season...especially after I am down to the last deer steaks. End of September is youth season so my son and daughter can get some meat in the freezer then archery deer opens after that. Late October CO elk back to Indiana for a few weeks then you and the crew will meet up for gun opener.... It will be here before we know it! Congratulations on the CO tag!

 

[SFC B]

Man I am getting pumped for the season...especially after I am down to the last deer steaks. End of September is youth season so my son and daughter can get some meat in the freezer then archery deer opens after that. Late October CO elk back to Indiana for a few weeks then you and the crew will meet up for gun opener.... It will be here before we know it! Congratulations on the CO tag!

Me too!!! And the cooler weather can't come soon enough either!