CanyonMan
05-06-2007, 13:28
Well, this ain't much of one, but it is all I got!
I went out behind the ranch house Saturday afternoon, for the first time all season, (to hunt that is). Drove about a mile down into the canyon to our back pasture, walked about 300 yds, to one of my favorite spots. Took my 58# Martin recurve bow, stoked with Easton XX75's and 3 blade Snuffers. Man i am all set. 30 minutes before sunset.
Well, we have had, (thank God), MUCHO rain the last few weeks, a very rare thing here. So the creek bottoms down below the canyons, where I was at, were standng in muddy water. There was also something else there as well. " I'll get to that. "
I put the diaphram call in my mouth and let out a few good yelps. Instantly, I heard "thunderous gobbles," no more than 60 yds from me.
I knocked an arrow on the shelf, hunkered behind a small ceder, pulled the face mask down, and let loose with some very sexy calls.
Well sir, here came the decendants of 'Godzilla himself' !
I am talking some major birds here. The kind that need a wheel barrel to carry their beard, (so to speak), and huge bodies. They fanned out, struted, and headed my way. I got ready, fingers on the string, slightly pulling back just a tad, here came MR. 'dominate,' he was a really big bird. 45yds, now 35yds, now giving me a frontal chest shot.
I got about 'two inches from full draw', all was looking good, then the 'nightmare' hit me like a bad movie. A huge swarm of black gnats engulfed my head, and roosted under my eyelids. I blinked, and blinked, etc, and here came old Tom, now about 30yds, and BAM, I went blind! Man i mean these suckers took over my head. I said..."Dang it," as i began to swat and wave, no longer being able to take it.
I suppose you can figure out the rest of this. The merry band of monster toms split pronto!
Being only a few yards from the (now filled creek), and in the middle of tons of mesquite and tall grass, it was a haven for these black devils, along with their mosquito buddies.
So, i played stalk, and "cut them off at the pass," as they were headed for the wheat field, and then to some roosting trees for the night..... Same senerio. Every gnat in Texas was in my eyes nose, and face mask. I suppose the Toms thought I was out there to "wave goodbye to them," (with all the swatting I was doing), since the season is over here.
Oh well, I got to see a young mountain Lion, about a year and half hold I'd say, on the way out, and a beatiful sunset, a great cool walk back up to the truck, and drive up and out of the canyon and to the house, where I went in and spent the next 30 minutes washing gnats out of my eyes, nose and ears.
Not to worry. There is plenty of Milo growing in our upper pasture, and the rain has really helped to bring it up, so there will be plenty of turkes, dove, quail, and deer, 'as always', for many more years to come.
Now if we can just corral this stinking gnats!
That's my story. If I were to send a pic, all you would see would be a man with gnats in his eyes, and waving..... So !
Adios!
CanyonMan
I went out behind the ranch house Saturday afternoon, for the first time all season, (to hunt that is). Drove about a mile down into the canyon to our back pasture, walked about 300 yds, to one of my favorite spots. Took my 58# Martin recurve bow, stoked with Easton XX75's and 3 blade Snuffers. Man i am all set. 30 minutes before sunset.
Well, we have had, (thank God), MUCHO rain the last few weeks, a very rare thing here. So the creek bottoms down below the canyons, where I was at, were standng in muddy water. There was also something else there as well. " I'll get to that. "
I put the diaphram call in my mouth and let out a few good yelps. Instantly, I heard "thunderous gobbles," no more than 60 yds from me.
I knocked an arrow on the shelf, hunkered behind a small ceder, pulled the face mask down, and let loose with some very sexy calls.
Well sir, here came the decendants of 'Godzilla himself' !
I am talking some major birds here. The kind that need a wheel barrel to carry their beard, (so to speak), and huge bodies. They fanned out, struted, and headed my way. I got ready, fingers on the string, slightly pulling back just a tad, here came MR. 'dominate,' he was a really big bird. 45yds, now 35yds, now giving me a frontal chest shot.
I got about 'two inches from full draw', all was looking good, then the 'nightmare' hit me like a bad movie. A huge swarm of black gnats engulfed my head, and roosted under my eyelids. I blinked, and blinked, etc, and here came old Tom, now about 30yds, and BAM, I went blind! Man i mean these suckers took over my head. I said..."Dang it," as i began to swat and wave, no longer being able to take it.
I suppose you can figure out the rest of this. The merry band of monster toms split pronto!
Being only a few yards from the (now filled creek), and in the middle of tons of mesquite and tall grass, it was a haven for these black devils, along with their mosquito buddies.
So, i played stalk, and "cut them off at the pass," as they were headed for the wheat field, and then to some roosting trees for the night..... Same senerio. Every gnat in Texas was in my eyes nose, and face mask. I suppose the Toms thought I was out there to "wave goodbye to them," (with all the swatting I was doing), since the season is over here.
Oh well, I got to see a young mountain Lion, about a year and half hold I'd say, on the way out, and a beatiful sunset, a great cool walk back up to the truck, and drive up and out of the canyon and to the house, where I went in and spent the next 30 minutes washing gnats out of my eyes, nose and ears.
Not to worry. There is plenty of Milo growing in our upper pasture, and the rain has really helped to bring it up, so there will be plenty of turkes, dove, quail, and deer, 'as always', for many more years to come.
Now if we can just corral this stinking gnats!
That's my story. If I were to send a pic, all you would see would be a man with gnats in his eyes, and waving..... So !
Adios!
CanyonMan