With the season of Spring less than three weeks away, the hunter's heart beats to a new drum: that of...well, for some, Turkey Season. And this is great, but is limited by written laws and a bag limit. (And we would LOVE to see your turkey photos.) And forgive me if I am forgetting any other GAME seasons that come with spring (I know bear in some areas, pics??!!))

But for a lot of hunters, the BIGGER prospect of spring means something else: VARMINTS!

Why "BIGGER?" Not to put any type of hunt or game down; the term BIGGER in this post simply means "more, as in none or very liberal bag limits, year around seasons, etc. on varmints as in the rodent variety.

I know some of you have already been hitting the "Charlies," way to go!! Here in Colorado, at the lower elevations, ground squirrels (picket pins) and PRAIRIE DOGS are a prime target for the "spring season."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PEz44IOluc&feature=channel

I made this video last summer for Gary, but I got out today and drove 90 minutes to a small farm at lower elevation and popped some prairie dogs; and it was wonderful medicine for my mind and soul; Karen even said so!

Great cure for cabin fever! Indulge, fellow hunters!

Spring is coming.....really??!! I've got piles of snow taller than my 4wd F-150. The snow is also piled so high along the road that you can barely see the house. I'm just hoping to NOT need my snow shoes when spring gobbler season arrives.....in MAY!!!

Just got 4-5 feet up here in the last week, some spots 6ft, but that was a freak, and its staying pretty warm, 40's during the day, so spring is a lot closer than it was a couple months ago.

Most all of our snow is melted now except where plows piled it up.
Upper 50's today

PD'ing is in my future

PD'ing in the east means "Plow Driving".......I love the snow but your version of PD'ing sounds like a whole lot more fun right now!! I'm ITCHING for a range day.

Did someone mention CHARLIES!!!

I'm itching to get after them. Last year I got my first one March 17, luck-o-the irish.... maybe. Sure wasn't lucky for the charlie. LOL<LOL

Yesterday I had a trip to Buffalo. There is a flock of turkeys along the Genesee river I have been watching all winter. Looks like 20 give or take. They work the corn fields on the river bottom. They were up by the road in a small stand of white pines yesterday and looked healthy. Spring gobbler is the month of May here.

I saw one out on G-Hog Day this year....then I saw a fresh roads kill yesterday. Not sure where he came from with the deep snow we have.

No PD's or "Charlies" in the Osage, but I've been giving the coyotes a run since the pastures dried up enough to drive across.

I will have my son out this Saturday for the youth "Thunder Chicken" season. Hope I can post some pics next week.

........or.......

Option #2.....option #1 is rough on the teeth...LOL

Spring 3 weeks away... What a wonderful thought! We have had a relatively mild winter,but still have at least a month of it left. Snowing right now.
About 6 weeks till I can put out bear bait (4-15), but near 2 months before I can realisticaly(sp?) expect to start seeing bears. That's our turkey season I guess....

I hate to mention it to you fellows up north, but it is 70 degrees here today, sunshine & not much wind. It would be a good day to shoot, but I am stuck in the office ---- Tax Season. Will get a break about April 15.

This time of year for me, bad weather is almost welcomed. Makes it easier to stay hooked to this desk.

Turkey season comes in for us the month of April, mid-March in some parts of SC...chasing hogs and dogs until then.


WT, I'll be happy to give some of those pretty FA's a workout on your home range until you can get out and shoot for yourself!

56 degrees and lots of mud and very little snow left but prairie dogs everywhere and fat to, on the western slope of Colorado. Cant wait to start chasing them down with the new i4 inch 204 ruger.

I HATE mud season!!

I got 2 turkey tags in SD. I didn't draw a turkey tag here in the Big Horn Basin, but I can buy a general tag in the Black Hills. So if I fill out early in SD I might get a turkey tag and give that a go.

Bear will open may 1st here, not much chance of getting a black but I'll buy a tag just in case I run across one. There was an article in the Cody paper this week that said some of the bears are already coming out of there dens. Seems a bit early but maybe there as ready for spring as I am.

Then theres the varmints!!!!! Rock chucks are my favorite but picket pins and PD's will get there share of shooting.

Better get the rest of my loading done!

I am about ready for it to start warming up here in the Missouri Ozarks. Snow is probably over for this year, at least in any quantity. Robins and Buzzards are back, which is a good sign Spring is here. Geese have been flying over, and I have noticed the deer are breaking back up into smaller groups. I had been seeing groups of 6 to 12 out in fields. Turkeys seem to have made it through the Winter ok this year. I have been seeing several. I see one group of probably 40 in a field down by the creek about every day. I have not been seeing very many Coyotes around.
With the weather warming up, our Defensive Pistol and Rimfire Bench Rest Matches should perk up again. We have lots of older guys who shoot in them, and most are smart enough to stay home when it is real nasty out. I am in the group who is not all that smart, I make every match, rain or shine.
I was at the range yesterday afternoon looking over a spare steel clanger about a foot square we have with no mounting points. I think I will get a stand for it in the works, and get a couple mounting points welded on the back and put it up at 100 yards on the range. Spring is project time.

yay for March!!! yes it is the first faint promise that spring is on the way and eventually Ol' Man Winter's Back is broke and all that white stuff WILL go away.


I too got 'chucks and other rodents on the menu!! LOLOL!!

Hey Dan B: You say: "I HATE mud season!!"

But if ya take it as it comes and take it one day at a time then ya know every mud day is one day closer to paradise!

Yup ground squirrels are about 6 weeks away. Gregg showed me a fun little spot a couple of years ago where I worked the ground squirrels over pretty hard last summer. Danged things got pretty wise to where 25 yards was a close one. I shot them only with iron sighted revolvers last year (ok I did murder a couple with a 1911).










Lots of fun and great sport with a iron sighted revolver...

Nice shots!!

The handguns look even better!!!!!!!!

ummmmm eye candy....

Nice, Fowler.

Where's the head on the last one?

Just remember it is a secret place and your life is in danger should you dispell where it is...

Yea he and I had a talk and he sort of lost head over the whole incident!

And remember where what is?

Oooohh... I see... he lost his head.....

Good shootin', buddy.

We need to get out there soon and pop some caps! I want to see your new steel target set-up and blast it!

Here in Massachusetts, spring means trout season as well as spring turkey season. Unfortunately for us the turkey hunting is limited to shotgun or archery only. I wish I was able to take a fine gobbler with my TC Contender with the 22 Hornet barrel. To me that would be a great challenge. Calling in a bird and hitting that golf ball sized target with a specialty handgun.

As a teenager I shot many woodchucks in the spring and summer but most of the dairy farms that provided them habitat had gone under. They are now host to cluster housing and other development. Here in Massachusetts we have a season on coyote. The season will close this Monday on March 8th. I wished we could hunt them during the pup season to thin them out but the burro crats think otherwise.

We have a list of what is called unprotected game in Massachusetts that can be hunted year round without any bag limit.

The list is as follows:

OPEN SEASONS
The following species may be taken year-round (except during shotgun deer season) by licensed hunters with no daily or seasonal bag limit: English sparrow, flying squirrel, red squirrel, chipmunk, porcupine, skunk, starling, weasel, woodchuck.

I saw my first groundhog this week (3/5) driving to work. He was out crawling across the snow; I guess he had all he could take and had cabin fever too. As such, I put the Contender back in the truck when I went to feed on Saturday. As luck would have it I spotted a small brown rock moving across a south facing pasture that had just melted off.
I sure hope the "Farm n' ac" is off and spring is on its way. I have and enough this winter and lets not even get started on Mud. I have chains on a four wheel drive tractor and still can't feed in some places.

Nice job geo!!!

223 is great medicine for charlies.

Thanks Trigger, I have to get ahead while I can. I generally carry the rig shown above and my hunting buddy carries a heavy barreled AR. I'm ahead right now though :-)!!!

Hey geojanitor, What is that shootin stick set up?

I think that is a Stoney Point.

When resting the barrel directly on the sticks does it change the point of impact vs shooting off sand bags or other rests?

runngun,
Gregg ask me the same thing. I have not noticed a POI shift or accuracy problems. Your mileage may very.

A way to test it if it is changing POI or not is to shoot it both ways off of the sticks and the way you originally sighted it in at the farthest distance you would use the sticks.
Even if there is some POI change it may not be enough to be an issue at those distances for the game you are hunting.
What it ultimately does though is give you confidence of knowing what you and your rig is capable of from varying field rests at your max distances.

And confidence is the better part of equation.

There is nothing better than tested/field proven confidence that comes from practicing from field positions.
Get off of the bench, once you are zeroed and have your load developed!