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Thermal imagining and high capacity magazines.fully know your target and whats behind it
Seriously when hunting pest predators like skunks etc. i walk in the ready position, sometimes contact is made at very close range 6 feet or so, if the target bolts you have little time to react. |
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Interesting you say that. A couple times when I thought I may be in a good area to call a yote, I'd stumble into someone's house. The area looked totally secluded, but actually wasn't. You just couldn't tell because it was such thick forest and vegitation. I thought to myself, "Damn. You really have to make sure you have a backstop here." Not like the old desert. |
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[Axle] Welcome to the Jungle Baby! [/Axle]
That third pic down looked as good as it gets to me for westside hunting besides clear cuts. Find some game trails, know your prevailing winds for each area and scout the terrain well. I never like hunting in areas I'm not intimately firmilliar with due to those that choose to live in the hills full time. Personally, I leave the lowlands and head uphill in the morning as the game is coming down to the lower areas to eat. Winds in most areas I've been will go downhill in the morning and uphill in the evening due to thermals when the critters are heading back to folliage to bed down. I like to head uphill and if I don't see anything find a good spot and take a nap for a few hours then head back downhill in the late afternoon/dusk times and if Im not overly concerned about shooting something there is always time to scout the area better if you have some decent glass on you. The higher area's here will give some decent vantage points near clear cuts etc. Remember, animals will take the path of least resistance just like us. Logging roads, near clear cuts and ravines all have been good providers for me in the past. If not outright ON the road, there is generally a game trail near by. We don't like thrashing through that underbrush and neither do they, I can't count the times I've had game walk right up on me squatting on the side of a logging road. Hunting on this side can be a challenge if you like to get out of the truck though. Try stalking some elk in this shit, I laugh my ass off every time I've been out and heard a herd stampeding away after getting spooked cause it's near impossible unless the winds are in my favor big time. Make sure you have a good brush gun too, (looks like you have that covered) the longest shot I've ever been able to take over here outside of a clear cut is 100 yards max. Good luck man and enjoy your time cause the best part of hunting IMO is just getting out there regardless of whether or not you fill the freezer. Nice pics BTW, looks like you had fun! |
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bosifus pretty much hit it on the head.
I tend to head up high in the early mornings or mid afternoon and wait for stuff to come up. My area has lots of old logging roads and I simply look for the water source, and try and hit them as they are coming in... Im learning a whole new style here also, I lived in So Cal. and would head out to the desert. I dont hae many probs with backstops, I tend to sit on one side of a bowl and shoot down and across. Now your talking to the guy that has only gotten one buck last year, and a grouse this year. Coyotes on the other hand....you just need to find a farmer that will let you hunt their area, I can drill those little turds all day long if I wanted to around here. |
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Oh by the way, I was also hunting for cougar and bear (had a SA .44mag revolver on a shoulder holster you can't see in the pic).
Anyone hunt bear? |
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Right now Im hunting Bear/Cougar (really it is a excuse to scout for Deer). Im hunting with a old Sported out 1917 Eddystone in 30.06 with a old Weaver 3X scope, and a Ruger Blackhawk in 44 Mag. The rifle is my beater, When Deer Season comes up I have a Rem 700 with a 3-9x40 mildot. |
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That's a hollywood pic. I wasn't shooting. That's airsoft. Yeah, that's the ticket. |
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It gets quite a bit worse as you head west. When you can see salt water, you better have a machete or chainsaw, or at least some tin pants, if you want to leave the road.
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I don't know the exact law, but solid projectiles can and will ricochet off of water at the proper angle of trajectory. (Stop by my house sometime if you want a demo.... envision skipping rocks, but faster and further). Hence the law.... for saftey sake.
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But basically, it's bad because it's against the law here, right? |
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According to state and federal law you are not allowed to shoot across a body of water.
The face says it all.
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I think the idea is to stop people from shooting across lakes and what not. But if thats true that would include snow as well. Would it not? |
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Jarheads. Snow is not water unless it's melted. |
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I just took a call the other day for some guy that decided to suck-start his shotgun on FSR62 ..... It started so fast, that it blew his mind... |
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Im willing to bet there are some bugs and birds the do not agree... |
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Popular place for that, back when we had the ambulance a guy did the same thing with a 30.06, blew pieces of skull all over the landing, he stood outside the drivers door and push the trigger with a stick, left the rifle in the cab of the pickup. The scene in full metal jacket, is not how it happens when it is real. |
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That is all you need to say as proof to me that you have also seen what a .30 cal does for ones brain bucket. |
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If you are serious about hunting anything in Western Washington you can buy access permits from local logging companies and go onto their land. Vast clearcuts will give you the range. having to actually pay for permit will save you from hordes of orange vest wearing, noisy, sometimes drunk, shooting in every direction at anything that moves "hunters".
If you are in South Puget Sound I could show you couple of spots where you can have nice long range open clearcuts where you can set up your caller andfind good elevated position to shoot from. |
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You better learn where "no shooting zone" is. It it quite large and covers most of more or less populated areas around here. Nothing like getting ride in the back of police cruiser after your coyote hunt and donating your rifle to local police department. |
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You talking around "here" or around "there"? LCR all the way baby. |
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Well, I did look up "firearm restriction areas." In the hunt regs, there are listings for each county on areas that restrict firearms (i.e., no centerfire rifles, etc).
Hopefully, I was in the correct areas. It can be difficult to read and understand and correlate all the different areas. As far as the logging roads and clear cut areas... I would definitely be interested. I'll have to check out the price of the permit to see if it's reasonable. |
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They are not reasonable. Weyerhouser gives you permit to drive on their land but you have to be out before gates close in the afternoon. Hancock Reserve actually gives you key for two main gates that will allow you access to just about all of their land east of Enumclaw but it will cost you around $150 or so if I am not mistaken. I am not sure about Plum Creek. I think they have permit too. I do not advocate trespassing, it is illegal after all but let just say I know some people that do that all the time. Learn the area. There are couple of spots where you can get around gates in good 4 x 4 even though they are built like anti tank defense line. Also, motorcycle will get you around any gates. if caught by logging company security which is extremely unlikely to happen, only happened once to that guy I knew, play dumb and nice and they will escort you back to the gate and tell you not to do it again. I would recommend getting motorcycle. Cheap old beater Honda will get you into areas where you have next to zero human traffic and much more game than on any National Forest lands. If it is old closed logging area than you can be the only human for miles around. There are some of the most beautiful, game rich areas up there. You see so much elk, deer and even bear that you feel like you drive through "safari style" zoo at times. |
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Great info. Thanks.
I think I'll look into the hancock reserve pass. Thanks again. |
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They have an office in Enumclaw but sell permits through store on Hwy 410. I think it is called "sports and more" or "work and more" something like that. |
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