Hunting Forum

Posted By crippledhunter on 11 Sep 2012 12:04 AM

jim as far as i know you can on dip net for smelt here! i am a salmon guy! the kings can get to 60 and up! best i have done is 54 pounds! took me 20 minutes to land her! we fish with beads and yarn, using coils of lead, weight is factored different for each and every trip depending on speed of the river!
best of luck to you, hope you able to get out there and visit mother nature often! and that you fill all your tags!

Here, people fish with just about everything (a neighbor town, Destin, has been a fishing village since as far back as I can
remember).  Too much politics there now, though, so I wouldn't want to live there......

As for the "tags" ... we don't have those.  They call them stamps, but basically, it's all a printed receipt-style hunting
license that just shows what you've paid for.  In mine, it's hunting + deer + turkey.  And on the Eglin AFB public land,
if I read the regs from last year (haven't seen this year's yet), there are no season limits for deer---only antler size
minimums and a daily limit.  So that would mean getting a nice buck every day I go out (which I'm hoping will be every
weekday that Eglin isn't doing operations in the area(s) I'll be going to.  (You have to call in every morning before you
head out to see if the area you plan on going to is going to be off-limits---usually they won't be, but that's subject to
change).

Later,
   --jim

PS:  I did take the net out Saturday morning, and was disappointed that most of the areas I thought were public areas where
I could fish, were either private or marked "No Fishing".  But I did find a dock on the Sound (not as good), and made one
throw on a few speckled trout, but they got away.  The fish around here are always on the lookout for a human with a cast
net, or worse, a cast net in the air heading towards them, and can blast away between the time you throw and the net
hits the water...mullet are good at it;  speck is really good;  sheepshead is VERY good, and redfish is insanely good not only
at avoiding nets, but escaping them if caught..    If you're familiar with sheepshead, you know that their size is all vertical,
and they aren't exactly very wide (they're a type of drum).  I had one under the net when the net was inches from the
bottom....so what did he do?  He turned on his side and went under it.  I heard about a redfish that WAS caught in the net,
that did a few laps around the net looking for any weakness, found a spot where the bottom was just a bit shallower (i.e.,
a gap between the lead line and the bottom), lined up at the other side, and darted under the net at that low spot and was
gone in the blink of an eye.

Well leaveing Thusday for two weeks in the woods .Got my hoist set up yesterday atacted to my quad so if I get one I can get it out .You ever see a disabled old man and his disabled wife load a 200 lb deer in a truck .Good thing no one had a camera aroung .

For a 200 lb deer (150 lb is very large around here), I'd do anything to find a way.... :-) That's a lot of meat, and a lot of money I'd save by
not having to buy it. I'm still going with the ask at the Jackson Guard (the group that handles the Eglin AFB public range) if someone can either
hunt with me or if I can call someone when I need help. That would be great.

I'll be going out to do some simple recon when I get my permit (that day, I'll just be driving around, getting a feel for the geography and roads,
but the next day, when I can get out EARLY, I'll be watching for deer and/or hogs). I'll post some photos if I have any worth posting.

Later,
--jim

Good luck and enjoy!  A pic. of your quad with the hoist on it would be cool.

Posted By Steve on 11 Sep 2012 11:05 AM
Good luck and enjoy!  A pic. of your quad with the hoist on it would be cool.

Wow...somehow, when I opened the tab with this thread, I was put into another topic, and my response (to another post
that I thought was in this thread) ended up there.  I never even selected that group.  :-)   Strange.

In terms of deer hunting, what's a quad?   And for now, the pics I'm talking about are just recon // intelligence gathering
pics (i.e., if I see a nice cluster of deer or hogs all within easy shooting range).  I'll be taking my old Nikon Coolpix camera
(with a 3x telephoto), my Pentax 35mm (with a 300mm lens), and my Android phone, as a last-resort backup.  I'm just
wondering how the deer will react to a shutter click (particularly from the 35mm)....

Later,
   --jim

A quad is an atv. As for the shutter click - no clue but too late at that point anyhow, ya have the pic.. ;-D

Posted By Steve on 11 Sep 2012 11:59 AM
A quad is an atv. As for the shutter click - no clue but too late at that point anyhow, ya have the pic.. ;-D

Ah, and ATV.  Can't drive on the Eglin public land except for the roads (including non-paved roads).  No ATVs.
I don't have one, anyways (I have a 2007 Honda Civic Si with a big trunk...even bigger if I fold the back seat down).

As for the shutter click, I'm referring to before the season opens, when the only thing I'll be shooting with is a
camera (documenting what I see at each spot I check out prior to the season opening, around 6 weeks later).

Thanks,
   --jim

Come over and visit us old guys in Everyday Hunter sometime. We have a feller that lives right there by you who would most likely jump at the chance to hunt with you. He hunts Eglin all the time. I know this because I used to go doewn there every couple weeks when my son lived there. Come over and get to know us over there a bit and go from there.

Posted By Brian Warner on 13 Dec 2012 10:45 AM
Come over and visit us old guys in Everyday Hunter sometime. We have a feller that lives right there by you who would most likely jump at the chance to hunt with you. He hunts Eglin all the time. I know this because I used to go doewn there every couple weeks when my son lived there. Come over and get to know us over there a bit and go from there.

Contact info?

Thanks,

   ---jim

http://w11.zetaboards.com/Everyday_...ter/index/

Just drop on in ansd say HI. Get to know the folks in there. Alot of us are disabled one way or another but together we work out some good times.

Posted By Brian Warner on 13 Dec 2012 11:07 AM

http://w11.zetaboards.com/Everyday_...ter/index/

Just drop on in ansd say HI. Get to know the folks in there. Alot of us are disabled one way or another but together we work out some good times.

Awwww, and here I was thinking this was a local (FWB, FL) hunting club.  By "contact info" I was hoping for the location (and time, etc.) where everyone meets.  :-(

Btw, would someone please answer the question I've posted in "Hunting Lodge" about regular gun oil vs rust-prevent products for muzzleloader cleaning?  Please......  I used regular gun oil, and am hoping that's ok, because I don't have the money to buy ANYTHING extra until the 3rd when I get my January SSD deposit......

It IS sorta. There are a couple members that live right there and work on Eglin and Pensacola. My son's place was in Navarre right by the back side to Eglin. I'm not steering you wrong here. The only way to reach Quailman is through that forum.

As far as the oil in the Muzzle loader goes, regu;lar gun oil will work. Just be sure to keep an eye out for corrosion in the off season.

Posted By Brian Warner on 26 Dec 2012 04:32 PM

It IS sorta. There are a couple members that live right there and work on Eglin and Pensacola. My son's place was in Navarre right by the back side to Eglin. I'm not steering you wrong here. The only way to reach Quailman is through that forum.

As far as the oil in the Muzzle loader goes, regu;lar gun oil will work. Just be sure to keep an eye out for corrosion in the off season.

Thanks.  The rut (Late Archery/Muzzleloader) isn't until February, and by then, my budget should be fully recovered, so I'll be able to buy the rust prevent stuff.  :-)

To be honest, I just the the rust preventive stuff for storage more than a few weeks.

I would find a way to hook a deer cart to yur chair. They do make one. Have someone help with installing a hoist. That way when you get back itll be ready for you. Im disabled also and my son helps me alot but for the most part i try to be indepedant.

Posted By sscott14 on 27 Dec 2012 01:45 AM
I would find a way to hook a deer cart to yur chair. They do make one. Have someone help with installing a hoist. That way when you get back itll be ready for you. Im disabled also and my son helps me alot but for the most part i try to be indepedant.

I like the idea of having a hoist mounted here at home...would solve the problem of getting the deer up the steps to the small deck outside the front (and back) door.  I've got a friend who could weld one together and get it installed as a big frame box-like thing, but it would be very expensive, so it might be a long time.....  As for the deer cart, first, wouldn't it make more sense to hook the chair (which I plan on carrying in on or in my new backpack (ordering both from Sportsman's Guide on the 3rd when I get my next SSD deposit)?  And second, regarding a deer cart, it'd have to be one with BIG and WIDE wheels---it would have to be able to be pushed/pulled easily on beach sand.  You have to go pretty far inland here in NW Florida before you reach soil; until then, it's all sand (some with grass, some without).  I haven't seen any that fit that description, and I suspect that any that do are far beyond my budget.  :-(

I am, however, open to suggestions on the cart.....  I had, until I saw how much of some key areas are mostly sand (tough to walk through, but I'm getting better at it each time I go out), thought of one at Sp. Guide (a "Guide Gear" aluminum deer cart for about $69, I think , but I seriously doubt it'd handle beach sand.......

Thanks,

   --jim

Depending on the cart you might could skip the chair. I have one out at the farm that is shaped like a Lounge chair almost. The wheels are where the bend is. I put a pad from the lawn furniture on it and sit on that. It's low and easily camo'd with one of those ground blind things that sets up on sticks. It can be tricky with a deer on it though. Kinda top heavy so take the time to be sure you strap the deer and clear the path as you go.

Posted By Brian Warner on 27 Dec 2012 07:54 PM
Depending on the cart you might could skip the chair. I have one out at the farm that is shaped like a Lounge chair almost. The wheels are where the bend is. I put a pad from the lawn furniture on it and sit on that. It's low and easily camo'd with one of those ground blind things that sets up on sticks. It can be tricky with a deer on it though. Kinda top heavy so take the time to be sure you strap the deer and clear the path as you go.

I've already got the chair picked out---it's the  WX2-138868 - Alps Mountaineering Turkey Chair from Sportsman's Guide, for $40 and change---along with a new backpack[1].  And regarding the camo you referred to, I've got one.....  I used it during my last hunt (last day of the December muzzleloader season) ... after going out for a silent walk to check out the area around me, when I got back, knowing where to look, it took me a few minutes to find it (or rather, to SEE it).  That answered a question that I'd been wondering about, whether RealTree or Mossy Oak was better here.  Definitely RealTree for the plants and trees in this area.  It was basically invisible.  And finally, clearing the path for the cart would mean getting a bulldozer to remove about 50 feet (depth) of beach sand.  Being a bit inland, it might be more like 25 feet, but still.......  No, it's a deer drag all the way.  The thing that WOULD be nice is one of those drag sleds, which I might buy later.  Right now, my plan is to wrap the deer (or hog) in an old sheet first, then the smallish blanket the hospital gave me when I was admitted for cancer #1, all wrapped with bunjy cords (oh, and this is after field dressing, of course) and then attach the deer drag to the legs as usual and drag it out....stopping if/when needed to take a break and have some water from the Camelbak that I was issuee with the backpack.  Like I said, to get through the sand roads here, (only two of the range roads are red clay---the rest are all beach sand...and even a 4x4 truck can get stuck on those.  A deer cart most likely wouldn't stand a chance.  My car certainly didn't....  I had to get towed out by a guy driving a 4x4 with tires that were up to my chest in height, and very, very wide with deep traction.  Very nice guy, too...by his mannerisms and extreme courtesy, I'm 99% sure he had to have been active duty.

Thanks,

   --jim

[1] I've got a Blackhawk backpack that was DoD issue when I was at 16th SOW Intelligence, but it seems like it's breaking down or        something inside---anything in it gets small bits of the inside black material all over it.  I've seen this with other backpacks, too,          but those only took a few years, whereas this one took about 13 years.  Still, time for a new one.

I know the range is tough there. The one by where my son lived is up 87 a bit near the Black River. We went in there and just in there a bit was some prime turkey hunting. He got 2 in there. If you can get a northern buddy to get you one of those plastic snow sleds like a shallow pan. They are about 18 inches wide and 3 ft long give or take. They slide GREAT on the sand, clay, grass or leaves even with a deer on them.

Posted By Brian Warner on 01 Jan 2013 04:37 PM
I know the range is tough there. The one by where my son lived is up 87 a bit near the Black River. We went in there and just in there a bit was some prime turkey hunting. He got 2 in there. If you can get a northern buddy to get you one of those plastic snow sleds like a shallow pan. They are about 18 inches wide and 3 ft long give or take. They slide GREAT on the sand, clay, grass or leaves even with a deer on them.

I've seen at least one on sale from one of the hunting shops (including WalMart's Sporting Goods), but I'm not sure which.  I do remember that it was around $10 or $20, but at the time, I didn't have even that much.....  Yeah, that's what I definitely want.  I can easily see where it'd be great on sand.  :-)

Thanks,

   --jim

PS:  I'm hunting in the Robert's Pond area, NW of Ft Walton and N of Hurlburt.  Lots of swamp area, which I've been advixed (by a friend at the Jackson Guard office---they're the ones who manage the whole Eglin public range) not to even attempt to enter, whether there's water there or not, as it's so thick even they don't try to get in there.....  But on the other hand, I've read that swamp deer are typically MUCH larger than the area's average....I'm anxious to find out when the rut finally arrives next month.