End of Season-Hunting Year in Review

[Atchman2]

Well today is the last day of the official hunting seasons.  Everything closes except pests, coyotes, and groundhogs.  It was a pretty good year for me if you include everything. 

This was a neat year for me with several firsts!

I got my first coyote! Called it in using a Primos CatNip call near Culbertson, NE.


Later I got my second one in December.  I shot it with a .22 LR in the lowlands in my backyard.  I used a lip squeak to call it back in after it left the yard. 

Also this year, I decided to try to hunt deer. I'd never tried to hunt them in my life! However, I read like crazy and watched a lot of shows.


It wasn't long before I shot this small doe with my .50 Traditions ML. 


Four days later I shot a much larger doe; also with the .50 Traditions ML.


The day after Thanksgiving I dropped a really big doe for ET; also with the .50  Traditions ML.


Finally I broke through and called in my first buck.


Here is my .50 ML posing with my buck

Just recently I went on my first hog hunt! 


These are some little ones


This one was a LOT bigger! 


Recently I lost my "hunting cat" Bobbie. I figure a coyote got her.  She was really old and brittle. I hope she just found a nice place and laid down to die.   

This year as an anniversary present my wife hooked me up with an outfitter for some prairie dog hunting! Mostly I used my .223 HandiRifle, but also took some with my beloved TF 89 .22 air rifle.


Here is my son Moses holding my rifle posing over a dead p-dog.


I really like the Hornady 53 grain BTHP-This dog didn't! 


Another first for me! My first verified crow kill! I got it with my Gamo Whisper .177.  I'd shot them before, but this is the first one I was able to recover. 

I've lost track of how many airgun squirrels I've taken this year!  A lot of them in small area behind my house, but some at other spots as well.  Also got quite a few raccoons and possums!


These were with a Beeman 1051. I recently gave it away to my sister for pest elimination. It is a great shooting inexpensive gun!


I put a 4X scope on it for short range shooting


This is my RWS 36C.  It is a truly great shooting air rifle!


A dead possum that fell to my TF 89 .22. It is the king of my air rifles for getting game!


Took this squirrel over at "The Bluff" with my Gamo Whisper .177.  It is deadly accurate and quiet.


Yet another squirrel fell to my RWS 350 Magnum .22.  It is the most expensive gun I own; powder or airgun.  It is the one rifle I'd feel good shooting stuff at long range.  Last year I took a prairie dog at 70 yards with it. 


My Gamo Whisper keeps the chippers out of the yard! 


The RWS 350 took this possum with a headshot at 35 yards


Another squirrel at over 35 yards from the RWS 36C .177


This is the only raccoon I've ever taken with a .177 gun. It is a TF 87 shooting Crosman Premier Ultra Magnums.  Since then I've sold the gun finally getting rid of all my .177 magnum air rifles.  Just didn't like them.


I did shoot a BUNCH of squirrels with it! The heavy pellets and flat shooting rifle made it deadly on squirrels almost as far as you can see them. 


I sold my Ruger Air Magnum this year to a local friend.  It is just insanely powerful.  I did find it really hard to shoot with the heavy barrel and light stock.

I'm sure I have other pictures, but this was a busy hunting year for me! The small game and night hunting weren't as good as previous years, but I took my share of larger game and put some nice meat in the fridge for me and to a couple local charities. 


I hope you enjoyed the pictures! As my friend Jake Martenis says, "See you in the woods".

[BenjiHunter]

Great pictures and hunting season!
Thanks for sharing.

[dk1677]

Great review Randy!

[only1harry]

That's awesome buddy.  Let's hope next season will be even better!

[Ken13]

Thanks for sharing the  pictures, looked like a good season   

[bradyman1]

Great season! Didn't you get a badger or something too?

[dust]

What did you hit the first song dog with?

[Atchman2]

Great season! Didn't you get a badger or something too?

Yeah but that got too many folks from the states where they are protected upset. I didn't post the pictures.  They are nuisance in KS and Nebraska to the cattle farmers.  There is no limit on them out there. 

What did you hit the first song dog with?

That is a H &R HandiRifle .223 with Hornady BTHP match ammo.  Not a fur friendly round!  It stunk so bad though I wasn't going to keep the fur anyway.  It had been eating on a dead calf and was putrid. 

[longislandhunter]

Hey "Hog Man"      Great post, pics and one heck of a year for a great air gun hunter (and smoke pole hunter too) 

I hope one of these days I get to share a hunt with the Atch man 

Jeff

[Bryan Heimann]

Looks like you had a pretty great season!  I always look forward to reading your hunting posts.  Like you already said, varmint are always in season... so keep em comin', brotha! 

[Air Rifle Hunter]

 Looks like a very nice hunting year!

[Rocker1]

 Great storey Randy and great looking guns buddy even that old beat up RWS36 looks good. lol!!!!   David

[shadow]

And what a great year it was for you bro. Super shooting, pics and vid but you still have the G-hogs and pest critters to deal with. Ed