Thought i would start a hunting and fishing thread where we could post pics and the story behind those pics.

Last weekend, the admiral granted my request for shore leave so I could go upland game hunting. I have a spot that is a 5 minute drive plus a 15 minute walk where I hunt dove. I had also seen quail there and thay season opened on the 19th.

My goal was quail and then dove and pigeon. I stalked up on the trees where the quail were and took my first shot. That sent about 50 dove flying from the trees and put the first two quail in my cooler. Flushed a couple more while tromping through some grass. Managed to shoot 3 doce, one from a tree and two in flight. I had and perfect shot on and pigeon but opted to take the dove in and tree instead. I started to pack up and another flock of pigeons flew over and I scrambled to take the shot. But, it worked and I bagged and no pigeon. Then, as I was leaving a eurasian dove fluttered into one of the trees so I got one of those. On the way back to the truck a cottontail crossed my path. I let it go as I had enough new stuff to cook.

All told I had 4 quail, 3 mourning dove, 1 eurasian dove and 1 pigeon.



Cooked them up for a natural dinner with veggies out of the aquaponics garden.



Wife liked the quail. Son liked the quail better than the dove but ate it all.

I like to pig hunt but the photos I have of it aren't real pretty.

The results of a good days fishing.

My buddy got this one about 30 feet from the truck, one shot.

It was kind of funny. It was pitch black and I was asleep behind the wheel. Was letting my friend take the odd shot that would come by. He nudged me awake and said there was one out in a earlier rooting area we had baited. We agreed we would open the doors as the same time, count to three and I would spot light it.

We did this and when I put the light on it the hog was deep in the hole with it's snout down. From my angle all I could see was a large, hairy round thing. No eyes, shoulders, tail, ears...just a round thing. I thought we were getting ready to shoot Cousin It. I asked what is it? Buddy had a side view and he could see everything I couldn't. He dropped it. It fell so hard we didn't even check it, just crawled back into the truck.

Took the oldest out fishing a couple weeks ago to get him on some fish as it had been a while since he caught anything. Local pond had been recently stocked and we made good use of our time. It was cool that we both hooked into decent sized stockers at the same time.



This past weekend I went to one of my fishing spots to hunt for quail. Only got one, but it was bigger than the ones I got into before.

Sunday took our son out for his first hunting trip. He had fun and we got one more. It was a good experience for him and I am hoping to engage him in more active outdoor activities. He rides his bike when other kids are around and plays winter basketball, but he can use more fresh air. So can I.


He was king of the hill with his marshmallow gun.

Those times are the best.

it's almost that time of year. i thought i was going to read you got a partridge in a pear tree.

I shot a gray partridge last year. Haven't run across any yet this year.

Going out in the morning for quail and rabbit.

Threw my back out after chores and hunting last Saturday. Hunted in the morning, put tires in back of truck when I got home and then did grocery shopping.

Got everything in and then on the last load I felt it go.

While laying in bed, wife picked up my shotgun to take it upstairs.

She said, no wonder you hurt your back. This thing is heavy. If you're going to hunt you should buy a lighter gun.

Huh, what, you're blessing to buy another gun? I should get hurt more often.

Looking into the Benelli Ultralight 12ga. 6.1 lbs in a semi auto. Alternative might be a Franchi Affinity at 6.4 lbs. Current Beretta A300 is 7.5 lbs.

It's not the guns fault but I ain't passing up an opportunity to upgrade.

She's a keeper.....

p.s. It's great to see a Daddy taking his son out to hunt....more photos.....

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p.s. It's great to see a Daddy taking his son out to hunt....more photos..... [/quote]

I agree with this statement 1000%. I took both my boys deer hunting as soon as they were old enough and responsible enough to sit through and understand the hunter safety course. They have been at deer camp with me every year since...my oldest is 25 and younger is 23. Spent the week with no TV, limited phone and enjoyed every minute. We stay in a rustic cabin that my uncle and I built 20 years ago that is back oft the main roads and we only see people that we know or they are lost.
I was told by and ole timer in my early years "son, if you never wanna hafta to go hunting for your boys take em hunting". It wasn't the PC thing to do at the time and often get the you "hunt" look/speech. I have taken other friends that never had the chance to go and converted them. Something about being afield.
So far this year I'm the only one without a deer....go figure. But I'm to the point that I would rather see my boys be successful and enjoy their time off then get a deer. I consider it a successful season either way.

No more pics yet. He didn't go with me on the last trip and this weekend mom is working and 5 month old doesn't like loud noises. Next weekend I hope to get some time in the field and hopefully he will go with me.

I have never gone deer hunting. Next fall I plan to start that part of my hunting experience. He'll have to wait a few years before he goes on deer trips. He needs to be ready physically and emotionally. In Idaho the age limit is 10 so we have 2 years at a minimum.

If I am successful, momma might be a little surprised with having deer hanging up.

This post is related to hunting and fishing, but mainly I wanted to post some pics of a rifle my son built.

It's a .308 built on a Remington 700 action. He built the rifle over the past year and just had the powder coating put on this month.




Yup, that's a silencer on the end of the barrel. It's legal, he has the stamp.








That desert camo hides it pretty well.


I haven't shot it yet, but he has and has gotten a few coyotes with it. He lives out in the boontoolies and is lucky enough to have a 300 yard range right on his property. Oh, and a lot fewer coyotes. He says with the right load (he rolls his own) it will do 1/4MOA.

I have the same can that he does. It looks like the AAC 7.62SDN-6. It's a nice can and that's a nice rifle.

That's next. I need a hunting rifle because carrying a 12lb .308 isn't going to work very well.

I haven't decided if I am going with a .308, .30-06, 6.5 Creedmore or something else.

Thanks for sharing. I always like pics of guns.

well, i finally bit the bullet (so to speak) and decided i didn't want to be the last armed american. i settled on the original assault rifle, which it turns out, is legal in all states, including NY.
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it's a rossi 92 (winchester clone) chambered in 38 special / 357 magnum. it will hold 10 38 special rounds in the magazine and is relatively easy on the wallet in terms of practice rounds. if i ever get a hand gun, it will shoot the same rounds.

it's a relatively low-end rifle (in terms of cost) and needed some work to finish it nicely (which i knew before purchasing it). i removed and refinshed the wood work, shortened the mag spring, replaced a plastic mag follower with a stainless one, and bought a kit to slick up the action (winter project). i also added a 2x scout scope for my aging eyes. it needs a long eye relief (ie pistol) scope as cases eject from the top, like the original winchester.

here it is after some work..


the scope has quick release levers and the rail can then be used as the rear sight (i had to replace the semi-buckhorn rear sights with the rail for the scope).

i've never hunted before, but understand i could use 357 magnum rounds for some light hunting duty if needed. in an end-of-world scenario, not sure if i would need 38's or 357's for zombies. gotta figure that one out.

Bruce, that looks much better now. Nice job on the stock. The scope makes it a usable rifle for hunting but check your NY regs to make sure the .357 round is legal for deer if that's what you're going for. On small game like raccoons, foxes, etc., I think just about anything is legal.

It doesn't even look like the same stock...

What scope did you put on it?

Something I just discovered that in the lower part of Michigan, in the regular firearm deer season, you are normally restricted to a shotgun.

However, you can also use a pistol caliber rifle as long as it is a .35 caliber or larger, uses straight-walled cartridges, and have a case length of between 1.16~1.80 inches.

Which means that a .38/.357 lever action rifle can be used in the "shotgun" zones. I guess I am in the market for one.

We have a similar short range rule which allows for pistol calibers and other straight walled cartridges. I have 3 or 4 pistol caliber carbines though they are all in 9mm. A lever action would be a nice addition.

The other round that could qualify depending on how the law reads is the .300blk. It's a 7.62 projectile in a .223 case that has been expanded. Subsonic with a suppressor is stupid quiet, but it bleeds energy pretty fast. Supersonic rounds should work fine out to a reasonable distance.

I am old-fashioned, and in Ks. I don't have range limitations for firearms.

Dad's deer rifle, is my deer rifle, which is quite capable of bigger, or smaller critters depending on what I feed if from my ammo loading bench.

Dad's B.A.R., Browning Autoloading Rifle, .308 Winchester, about 2 years younger than I am.




And the "kitchen" where I craft what she eats:




It's been a tough year this year, no time to chase birdies, did not see a single critter for all of my Dec. deer season, I will be out the first 10 days of January, still trying, I have a freezer that needs filling..................