2019/2020

Discussions, Stories, Hints & Tips about everything outdoors. Biking, Hiking, Fishing, Shooting, Camping etc.
User avatar
Jaegerschnitzel1990
Spotter
Posts: 75
Joined: April 12th, 2018, 3:35 am
Location: Southern germany
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by Jaegerschnitzel1990 »

Good job Valrag, Congrats!

I´m back from Namibia and just as I imagined the whole experience was a complete blast to say the least...we´ve been there for a total of three weeks with four hunting days included and even without the hunting it would have been the trip of our lives.

In those four days I managed to bag seven animals, whereas only two counted as trophies. The rest was shot for camp meat for the lodge and the farm workers. Therefore the hunting was pretty cheap, allthough there´s only gonna be the wildebeest and pumba on my wall.

My first outing ended with this beautiful young Plains Zebra stallion. We stalked the group for nearly an hour before I was able to get a shot:

Image

Later that day I got this Blue Wildebeest bull. He is one of the two animals shot as a trophy:

Image

The next day included a lot of walking and stalking, but unfortunately with no animal bagged in the end. In the evening we sat at a waterhole when this young Gemsbok cow showed up and was taken for meat:

Image

On the morning of the third day, my wife joined me and we sat overlooking another waterhole. A huge Impala ram came towards us, but unfortunately got spooked by some Kudu. Just before we decided to leave the stand for lunch, three young Impala rams showed up and I took the worst one for meat:

Image

The following evening was the one I will remember the most, because I just sat behind some bushes overlooking another waterhole, when I had a big White Rino bull and some Elephants arguing over the water just 30 yards in front of me. I would be lying if I said I wasn´t shi**ing my pants a little :-D In the end they all vanished into the bushes again and some Mountain Zebra came in. I took this old mare that was the only one of the group without a youngster. Notice the lack of "shadow stripes" on the hindquarters, showing the best difference between Mountain and Plains Zebra:

Image

On the morning of my last hunting day I was anxious to try for either an Eland cow for meat or a trophy specimen of Warthog, Impala, Gemsbok or Springbok. Luck turned out to be on my side and I got a really big Eland cow. Field dressed she came in at about 400kg:

Image

Image

And because the trip was insane from the start, I closed my rifle hunting in Namibia with this great old and nasty Warthog. If you look at his tips, you will see that they would be way longer if they weren´t polished down that much:

Image

On demand of the farm owner, I was given a shotgun the next day and told to get some guinea fowl for supper. Unfortunately that wasn´t as challenging as I thought as you hardly get them to fly up but mostly have to shoot them running. Nontheless they are really cool creatures and they taste magnificent:

Image
User avatar
InstinctiveArcher
Outfitter
Posts: 4876
Joined: May 2nd, 2015, 10:57 am
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by InstinctiveArcher »

Looks like a great trip!
Guess this thread has been dead for a while, but since things seem to be picking up slightly, how did everyone do this year?
Image

In hunting, impossible doesn't exist any more than a sure thing does. - Tom Miranda
User avatar
xOEDragonx
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 2391
Joined: November 17th, 2016, 5:25 pm
Location: Maryland, USA
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by xOEDragonx »

Where are my turkey hunters at? Where are any of you hunters at all? This thread has been rather quiet compared to previous years, surely some of you out there are still hunting more than just pixels!

Can we send this year's thread out with a bang? If you have a real life trophy you've harvested during the 2019-2020 season, please share it. I enjoy this thread and it's a shame to see it's been collecting dust while I know you all are out there filling your freezers. We're right in the heart of turkey season here in the states... what other seasons are open for you guys around the world right now?

I brought home a turkey myself this morning. I've been after this guy for two weeks now after having a very close encounter with him and one of his lady friends on opening day. I didn't want to interrupt their date so I missed my chance at a shot. The next morning, he stood me up completely since his hens were still hanging around. Last week he was looking for love and eyeing up my decoys but he didn't like that they weren't coming to him... and he proceeded to stand in one spot 150m away complaining about it for almost two hours before shrugging me off and leaving. This morning I set up in a different part of the field that he's been frequenting and it paid off when he came quietly poking across the field well after sunrise. It's not the biggest bird I've harvested on the property, but I believe it's the one that's been keeping all other birds off our farm this year. I've heard a whole lot of gobbling so far this season, just not on our mountain.

Image

This bird was 19.75lbs (9 kg), had a 9.25" beard (23.5 cm), one spur was 15/16" (2.4 cm) and the other had the tip broke off so it was 13/16" (2 cm). Score is roughly 55.75 if anyone is checking the scoresheet :D

So who else is chasing these thunder chickens?
User avatar
InstinctiveArcher
Outfitter
Posts: 4876
Joined: May 2nd, 2015, 10:57 am
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by InstinctiveArcher »

Nice bird!
I shot a Jake last Sunday. Was my last day I was going to be able to hunt and I was not going to be picky!
Image

In hunting, impossible doesn't exist any more than a sure thing does. - Tom Miranda
User avatar
XxStrong1xX
Outfitter
Posts: 1199
Joined: February 25th, 2018, 8:09 pm
Location: Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by XxStrong1xX »

After not hunting for more than 22 years, this turkey season was my first time back out in the woods. Due to some stuff going on in my personal life I didn't have a lot of opportunities to go but as we have a 2 month season here in Georgia I did make it out about 8 times or so. I didn't have access to a lot of my old equipment from my hunting days so I bought a new crossbow and used an old caller that my dad had made. I didn't buy any decoys but wound up not needing them anyway. I mostly hunted on private land that I own.( A mini farm that my parents owned and my siblings and I now own but is currently up for sale.) I had several good days where I had turkeys gobbling all around me but I guess I was too rusty and over eager and called too much, because none of them ever came all the way to me. Still it was great to get back out in the great outdoors again. I have also started back trout fishing which is something else I haven't done much of in many years. Having much better luck with that. :) Hopefully the fall deer and bear seasons will be a little kinder to me. Congrats to everyone who had a good 2019/2020 season and let's hope 2020/2021 is even better!

Playing off and on since 2010. My original forum profile https://forum.thehunter.com/memberlist. ... le&u=13071
User avatar
xOEDragonx
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 2391
Joined: November 17th, 2016, 5:25 pm
Location: Maryland, USA
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by xOEDragonx »

InstinctiveArcher wrote:Nice bird!
I shot a Jake last Sunday. Was my last day I was going to be able to hunt and I was not going to be picky!
Definitely can't be picky if you're running out of time. I normally let jakes pass, but they better not find me on my last day with an unfilled tag. Or on public land. Anything goes on public land :lol:
XxStrong1xX wrote:After not hunting for more than 22 years, this turkey season was my first time back out in the woods.
That's awesome that you're getting back out into the woods after such a long break! It's a shame the birds didn't want to cooperate for you but at least it sounds like they're around. Just hearing birds makes for a fun day for me even if I never to get to see them! Our birds in Maryland got pretty quiet after the first couple weekends, I haven't even heard a gobble at all in the last week. Might be the crazy weather up here, sunny and 70 degrees F one day and freeze warnings, blowing a gale and snowing the next. Plus the seemingly constant rain... farmers don't even have fields plowed around here yet because everything just keeps laying wet. :(

I'll look forward to seeing whatever trophy deer you happen to cross paths with this fall. Does Georgia have an open season for bear or do they do a lottery down that way?
User avatar
XxStrong1xX
Outfitter
Posts: 1199
Joined: February 25th, 2018, 8:09 pm
Location: Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by XxStrong1xX »

Yeah at this point in my life I am just happy to be back out in Nature and trying to get some meat. Weather has been kinda crazy here and my last 2 trips I didn't hear anything either.

Yeah bear season is open and coincides pretty much with deer season. Most of the WMA's have coinciding deer/bear/hog hunts as well. Even though we have some of the most liberal seasons and limits down here not a lot of people that target bears specifically. I guess because the terrain where you normally find them can be a little rough.

When I was younger and did a lot of hunting the seasons were shorter and limits were much lower. Bear season was open back then but only lasted 2 weeks so never had a chance to bag one so hope to get one this year.

Playing off and on since 2010. My original forum profile https://forum.thehunter.com/memberlist. ... le&u=13071
User avatar
xOEDragonx
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 2391
Joined: November 17th, 2016, 5:25 pm
Location: Maryland, USA
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by xOEDragonx »

Well I certainly hope you get one this year! They're not nearly as bad eating as many make them out to be. And if you go shooting a 400 pounder make sure you have you have at least a four wheeler to get it out with... they're difficult to move :P

My father and I have talked about heading south for a hog hunt at some point. Don't know when or if that'll ever happen. I guess if we keep waiting long enough we'll probably end up with hogs to hunt up here. Thankfully the invasion has not made it to us yet.
User avatar
XxStrong1xX
Outfitter
Posts: 1199
Joined: February 25th, 2018, 8:09 pm
Location: Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by XxStrong1xX »

I've eaten bear before and like it, that is why I've always wanted to get one. Most of them are around 200-300 max but the areas around here are pretty steep hills so they aren't much fun to drag out of the woods unless you get lucky and can drag them downhill.

Yeah there are plenty of hogs down here. Let me know if you wanna head down this way, Nonresident licenses in Georgia are pretty cheap compared to most states.

Playing off and on since 2010. My original forum profile https://forum.thehunter.com/memberlist. ... le&u=13071
User avatar
Tod1d
Lead Moderator
Lead Moderator
Posts: 8221
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 7:13 pm
Location: 42.655701 N, 82.61936 W
Contact:

Re: 2019/2020

Post by Tod1d »

xOEDragonx wrote:And if you go shooting a 400 pounder make sure you have you have at least a four wheeler to get it out with... they're difficult to move :P
Or a bone saw! :lol:

I gotta say I like bear meat much more than venison. Got our bear applications in yesterday, but probably won't get drawn until next year.
It's "Tod", with one bloody 'd'!
Post Reply

Return to “The Great Outdoors”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest