mickeydim468 wrote:

Field dress, does that mean the innerds? The stomach, and organs etc?

Yup

huntingnut.com/index.p...&sid=4

Dimitri

Thankyou Big D...Knew it was there someplace.

Hey, that was a good article. Thanks guys! Sure is a nasty job though, but that is to be expected.

Get your son to do the field dressing. That is my job when we go hunting because no one else wants to do it.

Dimitri

Just because you can't go for distance shouldn't stop you. Walking slow and quiet is a great way to see a lot of different animal. I like to move slow and stop about every 10 to 15 feet for an minute of longer. Try hunting small game too. It will be a great chance for you and the boys to spend some great time together!

Good point- I hunt by walking slowly ,stopping every 100 feet or so to pay closer attention to my surroundings and sometimes sitting at a spot for a while .My Strategy works- I have shot crow,squirrel ,and at a deer with my Mossberg 500.

Great advice guys. Yes I am going to have my older son (19) carry a 20Ga. or a .243, and my younger son (14) carry a .22lr and a .22Mag pistol. My younger son is the better shot. Go figure! They are both excited about going. I think if we use a 20 yd or less stop and go pattern it will do 2 things. 1) It will give us time and opportunity to scan the area for movement of any kind, and 2) It will give me time to rest or recuperate from the walk.

Here is another question for you guys; When we go out for a pre season scouting trip, what are we going to need to look for. A few weekends ago, we went for a drive out to the area where I think my tags are going to be issued just to get a lay of the land. There are lots of hills and canyons with huge amounts of trees. There are so many trees that I have no idea how we are going to be able to navigate through even if I was 100% and 20 years younger, I am not sure I could get through it. Very dense underbrush etc... Do we look for small trails that the animals use or what. I did see a few of them that go right in the midst of the brush, but the were very small. I wouldn't think a deer or an elk could fit through them.

What are some of the other things that we need to look for in terms of scat or hoof prints etc that may give us a better opportunity to be successful?

We found a water source too but it turned out to be a stream that went along for miles. There would be countless opportunities for these animals to drink, and luck would really have to be on my side to pick the right spot on the water.

There are countless books out there with info to get you started. See if you can find a copy of "The Complete Guide to Hunting" from Creative Publishing. Its a basic "starter" for a number of different types of hunting.

Mike , I live in AZ, I hunt for Elk and deer, The units here are large and are miles wide , I get on Google earth and punch in the terrain and roads, you would be amazed at what you will see, you can find and mark the ponds, trails and elevations, you will be able to find meadows and trails , give it a try, it will save you a lot of time and energy. Good luck. Rob

Hey! and welcome. A little bit basic, but I think in Orygun they require a hunter safety course for young men and women below a certain age.

Attend with your kids, it will be a good refresher, and talk to people. Find out where and what. Then, start a walking program till hunting season. It will help.

Some states have handicapped hunter programs. My son in law hunts from a wheelchair/4-wheeler, and he does very well. We were sighting in his rifle the other day at the range.

Slow and easy will cover a lot of ground by the end of the day.

Take your kids for walks in the country, and take the rifles. Plink with the hunting guns. It will pay devidends come hunting season. Small game...IIRC, Oregon has squirrels, and I know it has jackrabbits, and other sorts of small game. They will sharpen skills and taste good, too. (some of 'em)

Go to Varmint al's site, and make a Bi-fur-pod. Or buy one. It makes an amazing walking stick, besides being a great rest.

If you can swing it, there are game farms in Oregon that have some huge piggies. I think they are fair chase places. I saw one mounted at an outdoor show, and thought it was a steer until I got closer. I wouldn't want to shoot one that big, tho, It might just make him mad!

Good luck.

Well, I have taken all of your advice and have been out scouting over the past few (4 or 5) weekends. I have been doing as much walking as my legs and back will allow during the week too, and have been able to go farther on some days than others. I find that if I use a walking stick, even on a sidewalk, I can go farther. I make sure to stop frequently, so I don't overdo it, so that I can't get back home or to the truck. There were a few times I had to have help, but my son has been great. He is a great help.

Well, the bottom line is that Black Bear season opens tomorrow here in Oregon, and my son and I are going out early to be where we have seen a nice male foraging on a few occasions and we are going "Loaded for Bear" (Pun intended!)
I don't know who is more excited, me or my son. He is out getting things loaded into the truck right now and he even broke out the cleaners and is cleaning and even vacuuming the truck. That is very uncommon. He usually balks at having to clean out the truck and I didn't even have to ask him today.
Since we have been scouting together and going out together we have become so much closer. I wish I had thought of hunting together before I was hurt, our relationship may have turned out even better than it has been in the past. But I lived in California and in the city you don't hear too much about hunting. So it was out of sight and out of mind.

One of you suggested I take a hunting course with my son... It is funny you mention that. I plan on it before the October deer season starts. I am going to take it too. Tomorrows hunt will be my first ever in my life. I could use the info too!

I will let you guys know how we do. I don't expect to be successful tomorrow, but if we are, that will be such a great experience, especially for my son. Even though he can't shoot tomorrow he will become more interested if we are successful. I hope it goes good!

Well, my son and I went Bear hunting that next day as planned. When we got out to where we had found the bear signs there was a guy siting there cooking breakfast. Right there where we had intended to hunt for that bear. He was just sitting there flipping his bacon. So, new plan! We went down to another area where we had seen some elk sign and decided to look around. We ended up spending the day sitting and waiting and looking around but never did see any bear or anything else. It was all my 15yr old son could do to sit still and be quiet. I think he was nervous. I did ok on the walking through the woods, but one time, I almost didn't make it back to the truck. I felt like I was dying! I could barely breathe and had to sit down right there in the middle of the path. My son ran and got me some water and I sat there for about 10 minutes and then I could go again.

Since then I have still been exercising on a new to me home gym and walking as much as I can stand it. I have been on a few more outing since that day with my wife and have done better than that day, but I am not sure if it is just me not pushing so hard or if it's me getting better. But I am still going out there and trying.

I sure do love the forest and the thrill of possibly being able to bag me a bear. Every time I go out, I feel like a kid on a trip to Disney Land or something.

I bought a new rifle last week too. I got a Weatherby Vangard chambered in .300 Win Mag. My reloading dies finally got here yesterday. I did do some shooting with it to zero the scope a bit and to break it in as the manual recommends. So far it feels good. I am using the scope that I had on my M1917 30-06 and it seems to be holding up under the kick of this big Magnum just fine so far. I know I need to get better glass than this Center Point 4-16X40 Mil dot, but funds will have to accumulate again before I can do that. I will be making up some hand loads today and maybe tomorrow I will go to the range and get the scope dialed in a little better. With Federal Power Shock 150Gr factory loads, I shot a three shot group which measured 1.4"@100, so I was pretty pleased. What the heck, the guarantee is 1.5" or better, so I am right within the limits there first time out. I am sure that will improve, especially with my own brew in there.

Have a good one guys and gals!