One of my slowest hunt years

[shadow]

so far. :0 I gotta order some more hunt Zen from my Voodoo Doctor then do a Hunt dance for the Hunting God's I tell you. 2010 has been a been a slow start with the Squirrel hunting and the season is just about over on the State Land with only one Fox nutter, Chip-n-Dale and a Red, not a good body count considering all the nutters I have seen. :0 It's my first year hunting the State Land and half of the season was spent scouting out the locations that hold nutters then locked into still hunting for them due to the ever increasing snow depth out there. :0  Today was the first time that I had a chance to get out there to do some hunting and the sun was shinning with clear skies and no wind. I was pumped on the drive out there thinking of all those nutters out and sunning themselves just waiting for me and the Disco. I turned onto the back road's that lead deep into the State Land and made my way slowly down the road, lot's of snow. I closed in on my favorite location and my heart sank as I pulled up to the entrance to the parking area, snow piled up to about three feet and blocking the way. :0 The state snowplow hadn't bladed out the lot just the road and there's no room to park on the road. My mind raced for a solution and not even any 4x4's have been in there so I sadly decided to check on several other location's. I moved on down the road but upon arriving at both locations the sight just made the hunting heart sink even further, completely blocked from the lot's  :emoticon: and I grit my teeth. I had wasted a hour and a half driving around with nothing to show for it other then less gas in the tank so off to one last spot. I arrived there and found that several rig's had been in and out but it was still pretty dicey but what the ...........hang on were blazing a trail in and I put the steam to the rig and slid my way into the lot. I chilled out in the rig for a moment to relax my mind and get back into the right mojo then grabbed the Disco and headed out. I made my way in to a location that I had seen several nutters earlier in the year but this area wasn't high on the list for activity and the lack of any track's anywhere wasn't a good sign. :0 I found myself a spot next to some downed timber after wading through the deep snow which was about two feet deep. I settled in and started to scan the bare tree's and ground for any movement still not seeing any track's around and after a half a hour I spotted a Fox Squirrel about forty yard's off trying to make his way through the snow. I hunkered down and with the Disco ready I was just hoping that he would make his way closer and with a clear shot. No such luck as I watched him jump onto a tree then he made his way up and off in another direction. :0 I sat there another three hour's and only spotted several crow's off in the distance but not a critter anywhere. I decided to do a walk about and check the area for track's and maybe a nutter but after another hour of blazing a path through the snow I only spotted some Deer track's and Turkey track's. I decided to call it a day and drag myself back to the rig and I knew there was a reason that I didn't hunt this area but the choices were slim today. :0 I was tempted to head to some of my private land and hunt knowing that there's nutters there but I told myself that I would focus on the State land during the nutter hunt season then hit the private reserve when the season closes on State Land. I still have some time left to hunt it and I haven't thrown in the towel yet but it sure would be nice to have something wild for dinner the icebox is empty except for the regular ol meat and I can eat that anytime. Just had to get this off my chest hehe and I should have took a dogsled and left the rig at home. I'm still jazzed about spring into summer and hunting the private land and the night patrol hunt's will start up again, guess I'll eat this chicken in the fridge and tell myself it's a tasty nutter lol. Ed

[dk1677]

Sorry for the No luck hunt Ed! We have to get you some hunting Zen!

[longislandhunter]

Hang in there buddy..... with all the cold and snow you got this year it's no wonder the nutters are hold up in their dens and nests.  I had the same problem here for a while.... but since the weather has started to warm the nutters have slowly gotten back to their "normal" activity.  

I'm sure your next trip out you'll be whacking those nutters like there's no tomorrow  

Jeff

[shadow]

Thanks brother's and the weather was perfect today and my prime spot was out of reach. Hopefully some 4x4's will bust a path through to give me a running start next time but I'll pack a shovel if a have to hehe. Ed

[Wingman115]

Throwing some So-Cal Mojo your way buddy.. Get ready to attack those nutters!

[dk1677]

Here's what you need Ed!  http://www.cafepress.com/+squirrel-hunting+boxers

[only1harry]

I feel for you Ed!!  Hang in there buddy!  The way it works is, we have a nice run (you had an awesome run, non-stop coons, country rats and squirrels) with some good luck, and then a dry run for a while.  That's just the way it is.  Squirrels don't move around a lot in the winter time especially with snow on the ground or on the trees, so going for squirrel with the cold and crappy weather we 've been having is risky and your chances are very low so I give you a lot of credit for trying.  

It has been a lot slower than normal for me too but then again I 'm only dealing with my backyard  There is only so much you can shoot in 3yrs and not run out of critters..  No raccoons this year and no crows either!  The 2 critters I like to shoot the most in the winter time.  But I make do with what I have so I concentrated on the Starlings and finally lured them in only after trying for 2-3 months.

You 'll get back into the swing of things, you 'll see.  Have faith and don't think about it too much, and the critters will be there when you least expect it

[shadow]

Love the Boxers hehe and Harry I figure by next year on the State Land hunt's I should have it down and not spend time scouting and more shooting. Ed

[airiscool]

Sorry to hear about the poor conditions Ed. Maybe you gave too much of your "hunt zen" away to others. I've never seen great results either my first year in an area while I was learning the "what and where" of it.

I went out in Febuary with one of my daughters our first year here and found out why others don't even bother trying to hunt  Squirrel after December.  The cold and snow build up in the woods keeps them in their dens too much, and unless you like using snow shoes it's very tough getting around where there might be some critters.  The next year I got some bear paw shoes only to discover it can be almost as much work getting around on snow shoes in the woods with all the brush, uneven snow densities, and melt ice layers in the snow that happen in the woods.  !!!

Around here, the guys who can take hunting in the cold and deep snow sit behind a few round bales and try calling in Yotes this time of year.

Paul

[shadow]

I plan on doing some Yote and Fox hunting this year over at my stepsons place and I don't mind the snow too much just when I can't get into the hunting grounds hehe. Ed