Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

Your Favorite Backyard Hunts

My favorite backyard hunt ever was when I was a teenager, my cousin and I would go to my granddads house, he'd pull out some old shotguns and had them over and say, you boys go down to the tank (a pond as we call it in Texas) down in the pasture and get you a few ducks. We'd been playing in and around this tank our whole lives, and our parents had played around and in this tank their whole lives. So it was, and the memory still is, so meaningful to go down there with a purpose. We'd sneak up behind the tank dam. Peak over to see about where the duck were, because the tank was too big to jump shoot all from one spot. We'd adjust to get within range, start sneaking up the damn, charge ahead when they saw us, slam on the brakes and let 'em have it. We'd then carry three or four big ol' greenheads or pintails us to granddad's house, proud as could be. We'd clean them together and he'd tell us what good boys we were and how glad he was that he could teach us to do stuff like this. Then he'd chicken fry the ducks up, serve them with mashed potatoes, biscuits and country gravy.

Damn that's a good memory, now I'm crying and salivating!
 
Deer and turkey are the main stays here. The past couple of years, I have been really enjoying going out and squirrel hunting with a .22.
My wife and I enjoy mushroom hunting too. And Lord only knows how many miles we have walked looking for Native American artifacts these past 23 years.
Top buck was killed 5 minute walk from the house.
Next buck was killed 30 minutes from home on public.
Next one was killed 40 minutes from the house on public.
Last one was 15 minutes from home.
That's all the dead animal pics from near home I have on my phone.
 

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Living in Alaska, all my hunts involve travel...120 miles to rock ptarmigan,
60 mile boat ride to duck camp for 10 days, etc.

I do feel blessed the I can hike right from the house...a loop to and from the house can be 1-hour or 8-hours
of gravel roads, and I may see one vehicle on my neighborhood hike.
MorningDogWalk.jpg
 
I called this fella in last weekend for my best friend, on his farm, literally like a .5 mile from my house. His first gobbler and I enjoyed it as much as if I had shot it myself.
 

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We don’t have any true “out the back door” hunting, living in a city where we are, but no shortage of very nearby fishing. My favorite fishing, and I mean favorite place I’ve ever fished:
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and favorite fish I’ve ever caught:
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is about a two hour drive away. Go 45 minutes further, and the landscape is still cool:
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and these can be found thereabouts:
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(Sorry for the terrible critter pics.) One thing we can get in my neighborhood though, especially with the aid of cute children, are pilfered berries in the summer from neighbor’s and friends’ yards:
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Crane hunting. Most years the places I have permission to hunt don’t offer them anything they want to eat, so it’s usually pass shooting. That’s quick and easy, just show up and find some cover. Decoying them in is much more thrilling on the years that one of the farmers plants something they want to land in. With a new baby at home I hardly got to go in the 2019/20 season. Hopefully I can get out there more this fall.

I have a video you’d probably get a kick out of it you wanted to see it. @Big Fin
 

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Having grown up near the Texas Coast, I got spoiled on the day trips we would make on the weekends. It usually consisted of loading up my Ford ranger with a couple buddies (one of them having to sit in the sideways jump seat in the back) and all of our gear hanging off the bed, and everyone scraping quarters to pitch in for gas. But the fishing was worth it. View attachment 135967View attachment 135968
Then after high school I moved to North Texas for college, and stayed in the general area for the first few years post grad. The opportunities that yielded there were also pretty nice.

View attachment 135969View attachment 135970View attachment 135971
Now I recently moved to NE KS, where I'm excited to learn about the local opportunities here.
How big was that crappie?? Holy smacks!
 
No, looking back I could have chose something better but it comes from being brainwashed by my sister and brother in law about Texas ATM and being a big fan.
Gig em

How big was that crappie?? Holy smacks!
I think he was about 15 inches if memory serves me correct. We caught the fall feeding frenzy just right that day, I think we caught over 30 of them over 12 inches
 
I was lucky enough to be born and raised on a ranch that backed up to National forest in Arizona. Backyard hunting in Arizona in the 1940's and 50's were the finest hunting times of my life. Although later in life my husband and I were lucky enough to hunt Africa, Europe, S. America, New Zealand, Australia and several wonderful and beautiful places in North America, I do believe that nothing will ever surpass the memories of throwing a bridle on that mare and jumping on her bareback with a fishing pole or my combination. Me, my horse, and my dog going fishing and hunting together are some pretty sweet memories. The big game hunting with my granddad and dad in our "back yard" are also some pretty sweet memories. Arizona offered ( and still does actually ) a wonderful and large cross section of big game animals as well as upland and waterfowl. Thanks Big Fin for the thread, writing this post and "remembering" brings wonderful memories to my mind and tears ( happy tears ) to my eyes, at a time I need the strength of good memories.

Dirltclod, walking bird, luv2hunt-----I wish I was having an adult beverage with you fellows --right now!

In reading this thread, many of you fellows have some great "back yards" and "families" Wonderful combination! Congratulation and Enjoy
 

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