Hunting Fishing Is A Great Way To Get Healthy
Ready to push yourself back from the desk and start enjoying the great outdoors again? Reclaim your former outdoor hobbies of hunting fishing and other outdoor interests that require physical activity. It’s a great way to get yourself back into shape and get out of the house.
Also, you can use these activities as a way to be alone with your spouse or your children and rediscover the fine art of conversation and conservation, without the outside interruptions of television, video games or a new text message that just came in on your teen’s cell phone.
One of the first things you need to address before you go trekking out into the bush, is whether or not you’re physically up to the challenge of hunting fishing activities. You may have to spend hours in the forest or brush, in a boat or hiking to find those perfect hunting and fishing spots. Getting a physical regularly is a good idea anyway, but make sure that you tell your doctor the types of activities you plan on doing and get the green light on your health before you hit the great outdoors.
Along with getting your physical health checked, you need to make sure to remember the safety basics for hunting fishing outdoor recreational activities. First of all, if you’re going to indulge in any of these pastimes, tell at least one other person where you are going and leave a map of the route you plan to take to your favorite fishing hole, place to hunt whitetail deer or hiking trail. It’s important because if you encounter a difficult situation and you are unable to call for help, then others will know the routes to take to find you.
For your expedition, make sure that you are well-versed in the basics of gun safety. As well, it’s imperative to wear an orange reflective vest during deer hunting season so that you will not be mistaken for big game. Using a turkey call is a good way to let other hunters know you’re in the area too. Because the deer herd actually considers the call of a turkey to be calming, this won’t give away your location or cause the deer to run. Just remember that when engaging in such a sport, being visible to other hunters will avoid a tragic accident.
Reconnecting with your family is a great aspect of enjoying outdoor recreational activities. Whether it’s hunting fishing or taking the family for a hike through a “not often traveled” trail, it’s great to get away from the stresses of life and enjoy the simple pleasures that don’t involve cell phones, laptop computers or text messages, at least for a weekend.
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Tips on Grouse for Hunters and Photographers
The most prized game bird of upland game hunters in the northern belt of states is the ruffed grouse, one of a large family of birds that inhabit North America. In the same family is the pinnated grouse commonly known as the prairie chicken. Other members of the family include the dusky grouse of the west, Franklin’s grouse of the Pacific states, the Hudsonian grouse of northern Canada, sharp-tailed grouse of the western plains states and their numerous subspecies.
The grouse is almost impossible to raise in captivity, so its restocking is much more difficult than with other birds. Mother Nature, then, is the grouse’s only guide, with man its best friend and protector. Nature takes care of the grouse by constantly varying the cycle of abundance.
When the birds become too crowded in a certain area, she steps in with a disease which all but eliminates the species. Then, for a few years, the number of birds gradually increases again. Most conservation authorities have tried to follow these natural cycles in an effort to keep the birds at a more even level.
Grouse are readily identified by the black and brown-banded fan-shaped tail, the two tufts or ruffs on each side of the neck and the crested head. Both male and female are colored alike. There are two general hues of color, one gray and the other rust-red.
The most interesting time of the year is in the spring, when they are in the mating mood and when they can be seen and photographed while drumming on a log to attract a female. The whirr of their wings can be heard for some distance in the woods, as they vibrate their flight feathers in a terrific dance to impress their mate-to-be. At this time it is possible to approach with the camera for some excellent photos of the courtship.
Their flight when aroused is quick and erratic. They explode from the brush and quite often the gunner or observer is shocked momentarily because of the sudden sound coming from almost beneath his feet. The course of flight from there on out will be one of zig-zags through the leaves and branches as the bird tries to put as much natural cover between himself and you.
No two grouse ever rise in the same way, so there is no characteristic flight to study in order to be a better shot. Hunters who are successful on grouse shoot instinctively. Somehow or other their shotgun barrels seem to point in the right direction, with enough lead to deliver the shot pattern on target. They are even harder to photograph because their course in the air is so unpredictable.
Grouse are best hunted with dogs, preferably a springer spaniel or perhaps an English setter. These dogs should be trained for grouse specifically, since grouse act entirely differently than pheasants or other game birds. A good quail dog is often at a loss, due to a strange and complicated terrain.
The perfect experience is enjoyed with a good dog who is able to locate a grouse on the ground and hold it on point until the hunter moves up to flush it. If the bird is shot, its coloration blends so perfectly with the forest floor that the dog, with his keen sense of smell is relied upon to fetch it.
Grouse usually live to an age of about six years and are able to stand the severe winters of the northern climes. They are smart too, and in recent years boldly hold out in the face of real estate developments and advancing civilization. The key to their survival is food, mostly berries and seeds, and a good supply of unpolluted water. They prefer to live near the hemlock and pine forests where they can dodge their predators and take flight into the thick trees. Near their protective haunts, they must have a generous food supply year-round.
With these pointers in mind, the hunter and photographer alike should enjoy the beauty of the grouse.
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How to Plan Your Hunting Trip
The real purpose of any big-game hunting trip is to have an enjoyable and rewarding experience in the great outdoors. In addition, every hunter hopes to climax such an experience by taking a prized game animal. That is the unsurpassed thrill of any hunt.
It is wise to do some thoughtful and early planning. Careful preparation not only assures your own enjoyment, but it is the best guarantee for the success of the hunt and the safety of yourself and your hunting companions.
The Hunting Partner
Perhaps the most important is the wise choice of a hunting partner. Solo hunts, or occasionally taking off into the hills alone to enjoy getting back to nature, are fine experiences. But in big hunting country, where the remaining concentrations of our big-game supply are found, hunting alone is not sensible.
It is far safer, especially when after the larger species of game, to hunt with a partner and it is less laborious to be able to share the necessary heavy chores. But most important, a hunting trip, like any satisfying experience, must be shared with someone to be completely enjoyed.
Unless the partner has been on previous hunts, good questions to ask about him are: How stable a person is he? How does he react to unavoidable inconvenience? How dependable would he be if the chips were down and someone’s life depended upon his decisions and courage?
The partner who qualifies in such vital respects, and loves the outdoors, is apt to have the numerous other qualities which will make him a prized companion. And, of course, he has the right to expect the same overall sportsmanship and dependability from you.
Choosing A Hunting Area
The game one wishes to hunt is, of course, a fundamental consideration. No hunter should ever plan a hunt with the simple hope that he will bag anything that jumps up, or that he is “out after everything.” Well in advance of his hunt, he should determine what species he wants most, then route the hunt into a region where he is most apt to find that species. Additional species should be regarded as a bonus.
Broadly speaking, the best areas for any game species are those regions where game has been hunted the least. There the biggest trophy heads will be found. Competition with other hunters will be less keen. Danger will be less all the way around. And the game itself, in proportion to the degree it has previously been in contact with man, will be less wary.
Sources of Hunting Information
In choosing a region in which to hunt any game species, one of the hunter’s best tools is a good map. Some of the best maps for the purpose are the hunting maps published by the state game departments especially for hunters. These usually are available free by early fall in states having shootable numbers of any game species. The interested hunter may obtain one simply by writing the Fish & Game Department at the capital of the state or province in which he wishes to hunt.
Outfitters and Guides
Some states and provinces require the services of a licensed guide for the nonresident hunter. Such a service is considered by the game commissions to be necessary not only as a measure to prevent game-law violations but, equally important, to keep hunters unfamiliar with the country from becoming lost.
In primitive country, the lost-hunter situation each fall is a serious business. The Forest Service, Fish & Game Departments, mounted posses, and state flying organizations have to donate time, money, and effort to retrieving lost hunters from rugged, remote mountain terrain. Requiring the nonresident hunter to employ a licensed guide or outfitter largely eliminates this problem.
He can lead the hunter to the best trophies. And as part of his services, the guide does much of the prosaic camp work, such as tending horses and pack mules, logging up wood, setting up camp, and lugging things around. This leaves the hunter all his time to hunt and enjoy himself.
Plan your hunting trip well and you will be more successful and enjoy yourself more.
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Hunting the Wild Turkey Explained
The familiar barnyard gobbler is the same species as the wild turkey. It has merely adapted itself, with the aid of man, to live with the other fowl of the farm rather than stay in woods where it first came from.
Everybody knows what the barnyard turkey looks like, since he is the traditional bird of the Thanksgiving and Christmas table. The early explorers of our country depended upon him for many a main course at the family table.
Yet, this bird in the wild state is perhaps the most tricky and hardest to stalk of any of the game birds of America (due to its shy and alert nature) even though it is a large bird, our largest. He is a recluse of the dense forests, hardly ever ranging in the open country particularly when men with guns are abroad. In the early days the wild turkey roamed over almost all the land, but the inroads of civilization caused him to retreat until today he is found only in the remotest woods and swamps.
Conservation departments of the various states where he formerly lived in peace are trying to stage a comeback for him by restocking and protecting him from over hunting and predators. It is a long hard pull against heavy odds. In New York State, for instance, stocking the woods of the state forests has gradually re-established the bird in several very small areas.
Working from farmer stock bred with captured wild birds, a strain has been developed which seems to be holding on. The southland states of Florida, Georgia and their neighbors have many areas where the wild turkey is still found in great abundance.
This is the only game bird which can also be shot legally with a rifle as well as a shotgun. Dogs are no help in turkey hunting. The hunter uses a small call to attract the bird, or attempts to hold his attention until he can be seen or approached. The turkey will run every time rather than flush into the air. It is a rare and beautiful sight to see one streaking through the pines in full flight with its powerful wings biting the air and its magnificent tail spread.
The male grows to a length of forty-eight inches, the female, usually about thirty-seven inches. Both have a wing-spread of about five feet, and weigh between fifteen and twenty pounds.
Gobblers live where they can feed on acorns, nuts, berries, plants, seeds, and insects. They lay between nine and eighteen eggs each spring and grow to a ripe old age of twelve years.
Their tail feathers were used by the Indians for tribal costumes, especially when eagle feathers were not obtainable. Today their feathers are of value to trout fly tiers and are also for other decorative purposes. As for their use as food, they are much superior in flavor to their farm-raised brothers, but of course, the flabby farm stock is much more tender.
If you live in an area where the turkey was once a “native,” try to get the local gun club boys to cooperate with the state conservation department to attempt reintroducing the turkey to your woodlands. You can probably enlist the help of an owner of private posted land, or use an Audubon sanctuary for your initial stocking.
Good luck with hunting the turkey!
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