Evening y'all.
Day here was overcast, around 40 ish, according to my porch meter. Went and watched part of the Rose Bowl on Youtube (don't watch football much, and don't have tv, so Youtube is where I go to watch) with a friend, then came back home and have read some books. Tomorrow starts school again. Though my load won't be that hard this semester.
Slim, I was shooting lead.
PE, I'll admit it doesn't fit as well as it could, though it fits better than my other shotgun. It does affect the center of the pattern when I swing it, but all shots were taken from a good solid position (minus the rabbit). That is what is so perplexing about the whole incident. Though, if I've learned nothing else, I am done with shotguns.
Now, I'm going to have a soapbox moment here. And yes, I'm sort of singling you out, Arcey.
For starters, What is a better way to teach a dog to fetch a bird, than with a real wing? That being said, I figured the 5 cents I paid for a shotgun shell would be cheaper than going to Sportsman's Warehouse and buying one.
Second, I'll just give you a break down of the hunting schedule.
I left the house at 7:30am, and arrived at the hunting spot at 7:45. The first two shots were taken at 8:00 and 8:23 (i checked my watch.) I spent twenty minutes searching for that squirrel the first time, but the second, there was no sign that he was hurt, and at the place I was hunting, and where he went over the edge of the mountain, the landscape drops off nearly 300 feet in a lateral distance of 15 feet.
I shot at the raven at about 8:27. For the next hour I ran up and down the road (road follows the ridge) calling the raven, and trying to get a second shot, and hopefully kill it. If I may ask, when was the last time you ran up a 5% grade with a ten pound shotgun for an hour at 5000 feet?
At 9:30 exactly, I walked farther up the road, hoping to get a shot at the raven. About two hundred yards up the road, the rabbit popped out. I just plain missed him. I followed the raven until he flew away farther than I could see.
at 10:00, I got in the car and drove farther up the road. At 10:30, I got out and hit a trail, where I walked another 4 miles round trip, this time closer to 5500-6000 feet. I did not get any shots there.
At 11:55, I got back to the car, and started down. At 12:15 (car is high geared, and that is a steep road. down is faster than up), I returned to where I shot the raven. From 12:20 when I got set up, until 12:30, I was calling for ravens. When that didn't work, I went down a small logging road that goes across the face of the mountain. At 12:45, I shot the jay. I followed him across the forest floor (these birds will sneak along the ground, rather than fly, since their primary predators around here are hawks), until 1:15 when I shot him the second and third times. After those, he flew away. If he was still flying, I don't think he was hurt that badly. If he was hurt, he would have flown differently, as well. Trust me, I know these birds. And he flew over private property, owned by someone who doesn't speak English as well as they speak Class 3 AK.
Now to address your accusations of of being a "Vandal," and my "lack of choice of equipment."
From the previous information, it is now known that I followed a single bird for an hour and a second for half of that. This is through terrain that had to be helicopter logged, because the only vehicles that would fit on the road was an ATV and a small tractor. The deck for the cut was three miles down hill. On top of that, the vegetation is so thick that visibility is very short. about four feet up hill. Down hill, you look over the tops of the bushes, and can see nearly 100 miles. When you're following a bird on the ground, that 100 miles is totally useless.
And, would one not assume that a gun that it highly recommended for shooting doves would kill a bird the same size as a dove? Or a squirrel? or even a raven from 15 feet? Seriously, is a 20ga a bad choice? Whether it is or not, I'm still using a 22 next time.
Say what you will about me, but I don't give a d@mn, now.
Okay the soapbox is back under the sink.
--TK
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