Went Huntin Again :)

[longislandhunter]

Had a really stressful day at work today so as soon as I got home this afternoon I grabbed my hunting gear, the Crosman G1  and headed for the woods.   Figured spending the last hours of daylight stalking through the woods would help get rid of my stress levels.  

Still hunted my way through a large section of hardwoods near my house but not a tree rat was to be found.  There was a thick briar patch on the edge of a field adjacent to the woods so I decided to slowly work my way around the edges, it was way to thick to actually walk into, in the hopes of spotting a rabbit or 2 sitting within sight.  

I did spot one nice sized rabbit, but he spotted me first and carelessly hopped deeper into the briar patch out of sight.  I knew where he went but there was no way to get in there and even though I could see one of his ears there was no way to get a shot.  

Spent the last 20 minutes of daylight watching a red tailed hawk doing his own rabbit hunting in the air space over the large field.  Needless to say the hawk did better than I did.  Had a great time, got to watch a real expert hunter at work and got rid of all that lousy stress.   A good day......

Jeff

[paul]

Thats what its all about,sometimes, your best hunt will be by not firing a shot or letting loose an arrow,but enjoying the hunt itself.

[Big_Bill]

Yes Jeff,

A few minutes with Ma Nature can cure the savage beast in us. I have also found my walks in nature to be tranquil, days even without seeing my desired game animals. The best I remember were walks through the untouched snow, viewing frozen waterfalls and just being amazed at the raw beauty of nature.

I have always loved to go hunting, but never felt that it was a bad day to come home "empty handed", as I still have those moments captured forever in my heart and mind.

One of my favorite memories, was when a Great Horned Owl chased me out of his tree when I was deer hunting, it was about a 20 foot fall/ jump, as he scared the heck out of me landing right behind my head. All that I could hear was his talons gripping the tree, and I could feel the force of the wind from his wings, on the back of my head. In 2/100th. of a second, I was trying to fly, all the way to the ground. Just being that close and personal made my hunt a lifetime success ! And looking back up there, watching this big beautiful bird was amazing !

Keep up the good work Jeff, I may not have many hunts left in me, but your hunts rekindle some fond old memories !

Bill

[r1derbike]

Jeff, I also watch hawks here, and have decided from the dead ones I see while I'm going and coming from work, that we are encroaching their territories even more.  We are inadvertently impacting their evolution.  Only the smart ones, who have figured-out how to avoid getting smashed by vehicles, are living.

They (when crossing the road after prey) swoop at an altitude just over the vehicles.  Smart birds.  I hate to see dead hawks with feathers askew littered on the roads.  Just isn't right.

Charles

[tat2dman]

Yeah Jeff,the red tails are the master hunters here in Indiana,got 1 that lives in my wood lot,I could sit and watch him all day...

[shadow]

Just being out there Jeff is enough to calm the soul for me. Most of my spare time is spent in the Airgun shop or out hunting :) and standing out in a snow covered landscape soaking in all wonder's and wildlife that we are so much a part of. So many try to seperate themselves from it when really we should become a part of it. It's good that you got out and washed that stress away buddy and you got to check out Ma Nature in action and that's worth every moment spent out there, it's my Zen also.:) Ed

[only1harry]

Oh yes, nothing like a walk through the woods and being close to nature to relieve stress.  That's the main reason I do it.  95% of the time when I go hunting down by the reservoir I come home empty handed but I don't mind.  It relaxes me and sooths the soul.  I don't even have to see any animals.  I just love walking through the woods, but watching a hawk is definitely a bonus and there are a lot of them up here, especially red tail hawks.  One of the reasons all the rabbits are gone :)

I like Bill's story too.  I can relate to it.  We had an owl fly right over our heads trying to scare us away when I was deer hunting with my friend in the Catskill Mountains about 15yrs ago.  The owl was very quiet but seeing its shadow by my feet and feeling the air after it went flew 2ft over our heads ran chills up my spine.  She landed on a branch about 30ft away from us looking at us with those big eyes.  After we had a good look at her we quickly got out of the area because those talons were scaring the crap out of me.  My friend kept looking behind him to make sure she didn't follow us.  Magnificent predator as most predatory birds are.  Too bad we didn't have digital cameras then like we do now.

I'm with you there, Mike! Luckily, it seems that several types of hawks have been making a big comeback in our area over the last several years, or at least are much more often seen in the vicinity of "civilization" and adapting somewhat to our encroachment. My brother from Alaska continues to report sighting the Coopers hawk by the coffee shop downtown, and I accidentally scared another one out of a birch tree just outside the backdoor of my folks house on Christmas day- my 3 brothers and I sat and watched him for ~30 minutes with binoculars as he sat on a fence in the next block over.

I hope they are here to stay.

Bryan

[r1derbike]

My uncle (lives on a farm) was buzzed by a bald eagle one day.  He said something told him to duck, as he heard something behind him, and it was the eagle, talons at the ready.  Must have been a nest close by.  Any horror stories about getting attacked by birds of prey?

Charles

[tat2dman]

Here in Indiana,if ya see one sittin take a good look,to many people and to much abuse,they don`t hang around long as a rule here...