Hi there
So I have been gearing up to go hunting for the first time as an adult (I`m 35) but I don`t have any hunting friends so it`s been hard to get started. I have really done alot of research on possible locations and bought the backroads map book that is now available. I have been building my kit for winter and have a really great set of gear. My 8 year old Danner Ft. Lewis 200g`s with marino wool socks are perfect for my feet. A Canada Goose expedition keeps me warm up top. Of course I have a blaze orange vest and hat on top.
I`m a small game hunter and have a permit for game birds, but rabbit and squirrels are just as good in the slow cooker. I brought my scoped 10/22 and a 14 inch norinco hp9 both on slings, the shotgun on my back along with my backpack full of supplies/game bags.
I drove about an hour out of town to a forestry road, and drove down that , totally knowing where I was going having studied the area with google maps on the satellite view . I now understood that the "open" looking areas on the map were marshy water areas without tall poplars and spruce. So I drove to a trail head that looked promising on the map and unloaded the dog and gear.
I wasn't expecting a full day of hunting, just scouting around and checking out the area. So I head up the trail and I see these trails of dog prints everywhere so I look for boot prints from a man-none. These must be coyote tracks. I'm looking around and noticing how quiet things are, no highway noise, and not a human track anywhere. I became aware of a sound coming from ahead that sounded like "Gaw, Gaw, Gaw" , and then a different sound that made me think maybe some hunters were ahead and making were making calls for animals.
As I got closer using a technique of going ahead 10 steps then pausing to listen allowed me to zero in on the area where the "Gaw" sounds were coming from, then I saw a huge black bird fly to another tree top, followed by another big black bird. I broke away from the trail and headed into the bush toward whatever was in that clearing. The bush wasn't too dense and I became aware I was actually in a water area when my boot broke through the ice into 10 inches of black loose mud. The ice make cracking sounds but I thought I was on a puddle, but really I was in a marsh area. Ft. Lewis boot totally took the hit and my foot remained dry.
So I get closer to the area and I see 2 smaller grey (huns) birds hanging around, then I see it. All the commotion is about a deer carcass that was half frozen into the marsh. It was a buck with antlers and had been hollowed out by animals, but the skin was still in a body shape. They ate through the bung and created a hollow cavity within the deer. I was looking at all the loose hair spread around when I became aware of a crashing sound coming toward me, Yikes something big coming, I dropped my 10/22 in the snow and unslung the Hp9. I make alot of rukus and whatever it was took off running, I didn't get to see it. I wasn't sacred, but I was spooked and I thought it might be a good idea to get away from this carcass before a bear shows up.
I did get to shoot a rabbit on the way back to the truck, I was doing my 10 steps then pause thing, and I was looking around for that black eye. I saw it, right in front of a log. I raised up and braced against a tree and the rabbit took off. I followed him with the gun, and he paused to look back, that's when I shot and caught him in the upper neck. He flipped and flopped for a second then was still. I collected him in a game bag and headed for home around 2pm
.[
I had a great time in the bush, enjoying the wilderness and remoteness of the experience.I learned alot from my first time out, and expect to learn a great deal more. I'm adding what I learned from my Grandfather on the farm.My dog though didn't have as much fun, she's 12 and I think she just wanted to get home in front of the fire. My thunder maker didn't impress her at all. Oh well, she was good company nonetheless
I ended up eating the rabbit but roasted on the fire in the yard with the partner, wow, winter rabbits are lean
Can't wait to get out there again. It's great to have a spot to go hunting , we are lucky in this province to have such great land. Canada rocks
So anyway it's tough to head out by yourself, but if you want it bad enough you learn it's hardest the first time.
thank you for reading, it wasn't much, but it was my first time.
So I have been gearing up to go hunting for the first time as an adult (I`m 35) but I don`t have any hunting friends so it`s been hard to get started. I have really done alot of research on possible locations and bought the backroads map book that is now available. I have been building my kit for winter and have a really great set of gear. My 8 year old Danner Ft. Lewis 200g`s with marino wool socks are perfect for my feet. A Canada Goose expedition keeps me warm up top. Of course I have a blaze orange vest and hat on top.
I`m a small game hunter and have a permit for game birds, but rabbit and squirrels are just as good in the slow cooker. I brought my scoped 10/22 and a 14 inch norinco hp9 both on slings, the shotgun on my back along with my backpack full of supplies/game bags.
I drove about an hour out of town to a forestry road, and drove down that , totally knowing where I was going having studied the area with google maps on the satellite view . I now understood that the "open" looking areas on the map were marshy water areas without tall poplars and spruce. So I drove to a trail head that looked promising on the map and unloaded the dog and gear.
I wasn't expecting a full day of hunting, just scouting around and checking out the area. So I head up the trail and I see these trails of dog prints everywhere so I look for boot prints from a man-none. These must be coyote tracks. I'm looking around and noticing how quiet things are, no highway noise, and not a human track anywhere. I became aware of a sound coming from ahead that sounded like "Gaw, Gaw, Gaw" , and then a different sound that made me think maybe some hunters were ahead and making were making calls for animals.
As I got closer using a technique of going ahead 10 steps then pausing to listen allowed me to zero in on the area where the "Gaw" sounds were coming from, then I saw a huge black bird fly to another tree top, followed by another big black bird. I broke away from the trail and headed into the bush toward whatever was in that clearing. The bush wasn't too dense and I became aware I was actually in a water area when my boot broke through the ice into 10 inches of black loose mud. The ice make cracking sounds but I thought I was on a puddle, but really I was in a marsh area. Ft. Lewis boot totally took the hit and my foot remained dry.
So I get closer to the area and I see 2 smaller grey (huns) birds hanging around, then I see it. All the commotion is about a deer carcass that was half frozen into the marsh. It was a buck with antlers and had been hollowed out by animals, but the skin was still in a body shape. They ate through the bung and created a hollow cavity within the deer. I was looking at all the loose hair spread around when I became aware of a crashing sound coming toward me, Yikes something big coming, I dropped my 10/22 in the snow and unslung the Hp9. I make alot of rukus and whatever it was took off running, I didn't get to see it. I wasn't sacred, but I was spooked and I thought it might be a good idea to get away from this carcass before a bear shows up.
I did get to shoot a rabbit on the way back to the truck, I was doing my 10 steps then pause thing, and I was looking around for that black eye. I saw it, right in front of a log. I raised up and braced against a tree and the rabbit took off. I followed him with the gun, and he paused to look back, that's when I shot and caught him in the upper neck. He flipped and flopped for a second then was still. I collected him in a game bag and headed for home around 2pm
.[
I had a great time in the bush, enjoying the wilderness and remoteness of the experience.I learned alot from my first time out, and expect to learn a great deal more. I'm adding what I learned from my Grandfather on the farm.My dog though didn't have as much fun, she's 12 and I think she just wanted to get home in front of the fire. My thunder maker didn't impress her at all. Oh well, she was good company nonetheless
I ended up eating the rabbit but roasted on the fire in the yard with the partner, wow, winter rabbits are lean
Can't wait to get out there again. It's great to have a spot to go hunting , we are lucky in this province to have such great land. Canada rocks
So anyway it's tough to head out by yourself, but if you want it bad enough you learn it's hardest the first time.
thank you for reading, it wasn't much, but it was my first time.
Last edited:
Nothing quite like nailing a rabbit on the run with a .410 or 20. Good job on the neck shot. Showshoe hare (which, I believe is what you will see - the cottontails having fled south for the winter) will typically stop and look back when spooked - just like yours did. Chances are if you head back to the same area you will see more.
