Nub World: March 2009

Turkey Season Weekend #2

March 20-22, 2009
Emily and I went down to the farm Friday around 3:00 to try and beat darkness and traffic getting there. We stopped on the way at Bass Pro and got a couple mineral supplement blocks, couple more Cuddeback Captures (proving to be a great product thus far), and a different predator caller I had researched a lot about, the FoxPro FX3 (http://www.gofoxpro.com/) which is definitely worth the extra money over any other brand. It has a lot more distance on the wireless remote, and you can download sounds directly to it versus having to buy cards...just seems to be ahead of the rest in product technology that works well. We will see how it performs later this year. We got some gas and cold beers and got down right in time to go check the game camera from last week and maybe, roost a turkey. We did roost some birds right near where we parked while AG was feeding. And from the game camera, we got some of picture- a couple of doe's and a one horned spike, cant wait to see what we get with three cameras out.

The next morning I got up and had an amazing hunt. Called in two birds first thing, near where we had roosted some. I was sure they were good gobblers, both gobbling their heads off and strutting. I am glad I waited to shoot as I could not see anything but heads till they were 5 yards away. They were both young jakes with 4-5 inch beards, so I let them ease all around me and slide away listening to them shock gobble at everything! That was a successful hunt in my book. So I went and scouted the area a little bit for a spot where I am planning to put a feeder. Then, as I was heading in, I decided to hit the crow call, and boom at least two gobblers sounded off not to far away. I eased around a road using the topography to help hide me, and with a little calling here came three red headed long beards right in. Nailed the one that had the easiest shot at 25-30 yards....a bit longer than I thought he was, but that new choke tube and shells I got at the end of last year paid off. (I missed/wounded one like that last year at about 35-40 yards). The bird had two beards (an 11" paintbrush and a 5" second beard), he weighed 16 lbs. 4 ounces and had about 3/4" spurs, which was surprisingly short for the beard. The spurs were not very pointy either...maybe he had worn them to a nubbin? Great start to the season!!

After cleaning the turkey, we took off to Union Springs to get some lunch (Subway) and buy some groceries for supper and breakfast. We took our time getting there and rode around some to show Emily the area more. We also stopped by and saw some neighbors who were getting ready to have a fish fry. When we got back to the camp, we started smoking some deer backstrap and a turkey breast from the freezer and slow cooking some fresh turnip greens. While everything was cooking, we dismantled an old feeder that has not been in operation for like 10 years. We used steel wool to clean the rust off and get it ready to paint. I plan on rehabing this old barrel and add a feeder kit to it when I buy the other feeders, soon. Dinner turned out great and we had a blast just chilling on the porch with baby and doggies. Before dinner Amy Grace decided to spend some time attempting to roll over, good stuff.

The next day we slept-in to catch up on rest after a long week, and after breakfast, we went out in the field to put out the two new cameras and two mineral blocks. We had fun getting the dogs some running in, watching Star try and hitch a ride on the golf cart. We saw several turkeys and a couple of racked bucks. Then when we got back to the camp, we cleaned up, packed, and got back on the road to fight Spring Break traffic home! This weekend showed us even more so, how it would really fit us and our personalities to live somewhere like this. Maybe one day we will be able to move closer to the farm or even to live on it. Dreams for the future to work for...

Longleafs planted in 2003-04 growing well

Turkey tracks in road:

Amy Grace loaded up and ready to head back to B'ham:

Turkey Season 2009 Starts

March 15-16, 2009

For the past 5-7 years a group of us from college has met every year for opening weekend to hunt turkeys at the farm. Alabama also starts their season before their home hunting states of Georgia and now Kentucky. But, this year's season started a bit different than normal with the opening weekend (14th-15th) being dedicated to children only. So being above the age, Jake, Jim, Tim, and myself decided to meet up and hang out Sunday afternoon and all take off Monday and give the birds a shot, on the first day for adults. Well like the Squirrel Hunt, we were looking at a lot of rain keeping us cooped up, but having been a year since we had all gotten together, we went anyway. We got to spend time Sunday afternoon drinking beer and catching up and then we got a couple of hours the next day to hunt in a mist. But the turkeys were smarter than we were and held up, probably in trees all day. I did stop by Bass Pro Shops in Prattville to buy some gear. It has been a long time since i bought any hunting gear and i was quite impressed with the selections and improvements in technology. I bought a Cuddeback Capture (http://www.cuddeback.com/), a Jimmy Stewart Predator Call (which was a piece of junk and I took it back the next week), several crow decoys and an owl decoys to hunt crows, and a new turkey vest/shirt and a seat pad which velcros on your belt (great ideas made by Ol Tom which eliminates the clunky vest - http://www.oltomgobbler.com/). I put out the game camera on a spot till I can get the feeders bought and put up. I am excited about these game cameras...let's you kinda scout without being there.

Maybe next weekend will bring better weather and better turkey hunting...

February-March

We ended up staying around the house some in February after our last Oak Mountain trip...spent time with some friends and family. Also, had our annual squirrel hunt and prepared for turkey season. Also, we have spent a lot of time on getting started on a feeding program for the creatures at the farm. This has been a project of mine for a few years and we are going to start that as soon as turkey season ends....here are some random pics from hanging out on the deck and Amy Grace aging away....

Squirrel hunting at the farm on last weekend of February/last weekend of squirrel hunting season -- It rained cats and dogs the whole time, but we managed to get out for about 30 minutes of hunting right at dark on Friday afternoon. That short time yielded 3 squirrels and some fun and laughter. On Saturday the rain finally stopped after lunch, so we gave it a shot for a couple hours before heading back home. It was windy (and squirrel hunting is not so easy in the wind), but started off promising, as we got one right of the bat. But that was it for 2008-09 Annual Squirrel Hunt.

Oak Mountain

February 12-15, 2009

We pulled the camper out to Oak Mountain on Thursday to ensure a decent spot (as we learned before, there are not too many pristine spots in the closest campground to Birmingham--Sucks!). But we made the best of it and got the same site as we have before. It was a lot of fun to drive home the next morning early and shower at the house before going to work. Amy Grace had fun...