Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Shooting and Hunting => Topic started by: BowEd on December 24, 2021, 05:26:05 am

Title: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on December 24, 2021, 05:26:05 am
I can't remember when I've seen misquitos hovering around while hunting in the end of december up here,but it's happening.It's late muzzle loader season.
Been watching deer feed in the corn field.Seeing around a dozen to a half a dozen or so every time out.Bucks are pushing does around occasionally.
I have other hunters on both sides of my property in elevated blinds.I hear an occasional shot once in a while in the distance but not from us yet.
Bow hunting is permitted but pretty sure we are all toting muzzle loaders.
1 more tag to fill for me.It's an antlerless tag.So looking to shoot a big old doe.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Morgan on December 24, 2021, 06:00:30 am
Same down here. Be nearly 80° today and mid 70’s tomorrow. Sure strange for late December in eastern Oklahoma. 70° days are fairly regular here off and on in December, but this one has felt more like late March than December. I don’t hate it one bit.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on December 24, 2021, 08:25:39 am
Season runs till the 10th of january here in Iowa.I'm letting 2 out of state hunters from Wisconsin park their pickup on my yard to get to their platform blind across the fence from a shorter distance.Nice fellas.Sure hope they get a shot.I can't tell them their business but I would of put their platform blind in a different spot.
They have to watch deer in my cornfield on my side of the fence and let them go.Hard rules but I make them stick to the law.
They have to buy a license,habitat fee,& then their tag.
Total for deer for them buck or doe is $644.00
For turkey it's $265.00.
That's not counting their cost of their platform kits they bought.Conservatively it probably costs them $2000.00 per person not knowing what the land owner charges them also.All because of the reputation this area has for harboring large bucks.
Being a resident landowner my fee for an extra late muzzle loader antlerless tag is $15.00 because I used up my cheap $2.00 bow tags.No cost for hunting license or habitat fee.
Quite a difference.Who REALLY gets rich from these hunting seasons?
Land leasing by outfitters for hunting in this area is in the area of $30.00/acre.Demographically that can be different too.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: gifford on December 24, 2021, 05:23:14 pm
Down here in KC, the record high for this date was 66 degrees and it occurred 66 years ago. Well, it is 72 degrees at our local weather station. So new record high. The record low for KC on Christmas Eve was -18 degrees, set in 1983.

Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Pat B on December 25, 2021, 09:42:25 am
49 degrees here on Christmas morning here. I think this will be one of our warmest Christmases on record. Hope Santa packed his Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian shirts and flip flops.  ::)
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: PaSteve on December 25, 2021, 11:22:30 am
Mornings here have been pretty normal weather wise but daytime highs have been in the lower 50's. A little warm for December. Tomorrow starts our extended bow and flintlock season. Unfortunately, I won't be out for either. My girlfriend and I both got covid for Christmas. Hopefully, I'll make it out before season closes.
     Good on you Ed for allowing those out of state hunters to park on your property. Hope you get a chance at a big Iowa doe.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on December 25, 2021, 11:39:34 am
When the outfitter who had deer hunting control of over 2000 acres 1/2 mile to the north of me,I used to get people lost on my yard every year from Alabama and Florida looking for his bunk house.Pulled a couple out of from being stuck in the snow with their truck too.
It's good deer meat seasoning weather here right now.Into the 40's in the day and 20's at night.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: mmattockx on December 25, 2021, 01:15:19 pm
If anybody wants to trade some of their warm temps, I'm in. It's currently -28C (-18F) here with a breeze and heading down to overnight lows of -40C/F for the next few nights. Global warming my ass...


Mark
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Pappy on December 25, 2021, 02:13:13 pm
Ya it’s 75 here , I think we are supposed to set a record for high here today, high 60’s next few days then rain and back in a The freezer late next week, I like colder weather but can take either, just wished it would make up its mind . Good luck Ed. We got till the 2nd of January then 5 day land owner hunt, doe only. Then 2 day youth hunt and it’s over for another year, I am going to give it a go weather permitting but OK either way, freezer is full so that’s all that really matters even though I like being out there after them. Pappy
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Hawkdancer on December 25, 2021, 04:01:49 pm
We have a week left for muzzleloader, then 15 days late firearm, season choice antler less only.  Statewide archery funds until 31 Dec.  There has been too much wind, warm weather and a bothersome knee, not to mention car troubles that make me Leary about driving very far.  Resident tags are reasonable under $90. 
Hawkdancer
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on December 26, 2021, 07:48:17 am
It'll eventually get closer to wintertime temps here later into january/february.Single digits at night and teens in the day.Once a body gets used to the cold it's easier to live with at least for me.
One good thing at least for Robin anyway about -10 F. or more temps is that it sets those wood ticks back a bit.I hav'nt skinned a deer here in the fall and winter with an excessive amount of ticks or any at all yet.
I've heard of some complaints about that in states where it stays warmer throughout the winter.
Been passing on a few deer here.Eventually I'll take the smoke pole shot.Good thing about using a gun is that you don't need as much room to shoot.Made a natural blind in a large brush pile in a small wash made up of osage limbs scrapped out from harvesting posts along a fence line.Nice blind in that it never rots away and can be used for years and years.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Don W on December 27, 2021, 07:57:04 am
It's been on the warm side here but nothing extreme. It rained all Xmas day but hovered slightly above freezing. Had it been snow, it would have been some work!

I didn't hunt the late season. My freezer is full and I spend the time cutting some firewood for the neighbors that let hint Thier farm.

I do remember warmer hunting seasons. This one seems warmer, but cold enough to feel like winter.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on December 27, 2021, 08:13:28 am
I got this muzzle loader tag in case I did'nt fullfill my tags with the self bow.As luck would have it I did fill my 3 bow tags with 200 pounds of deer meat.An extra 50 to 60 pounds won't hurt.We will eat it and I know an elderly couple that would like a good 15-20 pounds of smoked summer sausge too.
We have to have 2 larger freezers and can goods/dehydrated items in the cupboards to sustain throughout the year.A 14 cubic foot chest and a 5 cubic foot chest one.Plus the freezer compartment in the frig.All the food with no artificial preservatives/flavorings or processing with chemicals.I believe many people are sick because they don't have a good gut.
It blew pretty hard yesterday sitting.Had a big old gobbler come to within 5 yards of my brush blind down wind yesterday evening.I don't like firing a gun off in a future deer hunting site.They can't seem to smell like deer can...ha ha.Could of whacked him with a stick.If he does that again which I doubt,after I fill the muzzle loader deer tag he'll be in the freezer too.His season runs till the 10th of january.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on January 02, 2022, 08:27:50 am
All in all I love living in Iowa and it's 4 seasons with temperatures ranging from-30 F air tenp. to 100 F.There's a challenge to every season.Old man winter has blew in at the moment with a gift of 10" of snow/0 F. air temp.and 30 mph winds which puts wind chill factors down to -30 F.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Morgan on January 03, 2022, 04:09:36 pm
We didn’t get the snow, but went from near 80 during Christmas to single digits last couple nights with wind chills in the sub zero range. Little bit of ice and snow but just a very little. Hard to acclimate when it bounces around like that.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on January 03, 2022, 06:50:11 pm
Yep...A lot of people get sick because of it too.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on January 16, 2022, 10:46:28 am
Well so much for the balmy december.This is the second 8" snow we've had through the month of january.Pretty time of year.Got my 3/4 mile lane plowed good for the second time for visitors.As both Robin and me both drive 4 wheeled vehicles anyway.
(https://i.imgur.com/VOR2lVk.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4LKpSys.jpg)
Pin oaks still holding their leaves.
(https://i.imgur.com/v34RoH9.jpg)
Deer are a lot more easily spotted now being bedded down and moving about.Deer season is over for me now anyway.Time for things to settle down around here.The owls/bobcats/and coyotes will get after the rabbits good now.Most everything else like the coon/opposum/and skunks will hole up off and on throughout the winter depending on the temps.Otters and mink will find their nitch by some pond or creek.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Pat B on January 16, 2022, 11:33:25 am
We finally got our winter with over 10" so far and 24 degrees now and not above 30 degrees today...(https://i.imgur.com/jBqCSre.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Z7KJoa0.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/6rEZTs9.jpg)

and of course the dogs love it...
(https://i.imgur.com/V436Kqy.jpg)
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on January 16, 2022, 12:39:32 pm
You better enjoy it while you can.It won't hang around long for you.Kind of a novelty or a partial visitation of winter for you guys.Won't hang around for much more than a week.I'm sure it's wet heavy snow you got because of the temps.
Many different types of snow.It all depends on how cold it is when it snows.Colder temps/dryer air/less moisture in snow but still piles up.Blows around easily to drift.One benefit of really cold weather is that it's too cold and dry for air to hold much moisture.Rarely does it snow when it's below 0 F.Winds can be mean then though.Humidities can go down to 30% inside in the winter.
Seen ice dry up on account of the cold winds many times.It saps the moisture from the air.
It's fun for some that don't have to deal with it very long,but there are ways of getting along with it longer term and taking advantage of it's presence.
Real winter is a different ball game here.Lived here my whole life.Most times when it comes in november it'll keep piling on the rest of the winter deeper and deeper.It's here till march.We've had well below 0 F. for good stretches of time here now.Ponds are well over a foot thick in ice.
Ice fishing is next on the list of game meat.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Don W on January 16, 2022, 01:37:03 pm
It was -8 here this morning.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Pat B on January 16, 2022, 01:40:28 pm
This is all gulf moisture. We need moisture from the south and cold from the northwest before we get snow here. Snow very rarely comes over the mountains from the northwest. It's 26deg. now with a mix of sleet and snow. In a few hours it will be all snow til after midnight.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Eric Krewson on January 16, 2022, 02:07:13 pm
Snowing like crazy in N Alabama but it is still 34 degrees and nothing is sticking, it rained solid for the last 24 hours.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Pappy on January 16, 2022, 02:33:00 pm
Ya we got a couple inches of snow , but an inch of ice before the snow, not nearly what they were calling for,5-7 inches, about all the weather people around here are good for is telling you what happened afterwards. ??? :) :) I am pretty sure they got a deal with Kroger's and and all the local markets,and it works. :)
 Pappy
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on January 17, 2022, 05:00:44 am
Yea weathermen or women can get it wrong sometimes.I realize Pat B from where the moisture for your snow is coming from.That's why it's so heavy and wet with your moderate temperatures.
Once it gets cold and long enough for the ground to freeze the snow will stick around longer.In these parts ground can and will freeze close to 4' deep.That's why water lines are set 6' deep.
A good thing in the end though.As it mellows out the ground when it thaws and dries for easier work with equipment and better mellow base for crops to grow in.It also helps the ground to better percolate during prolonged rainy spells.
Just like in a sense how certain hard shelled seeds need to be stratified before they can grow.
It's best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best in all things before winter comes.
6 cords for the house here that usually lasts me 2 winters.I stay a year ahead to be sure the wood is good and dry when used and in case I have an injury Robin would have wood to burn through that period.Osage,hickory,honey locust,and elm.I try to use mostly osage during the very cold spells.Not all that much here.I used to burn 7 cords a winter farther north but did'nt use as hard of wood then either.
(https://i.imgur.com/SgMnU8z.jpg)
People that really get dumped on is up at the great lakes.Call it lake affect snow but not so much the very cold dry harsh winds.
The dakotas out in the country farther north can get mean this time of year too with the cold/wind/and snow.
If you got kids yanking them around on a car hood with the tractor or nowadays the 4 wheeler is a blast for them.
When I was a kid I went to the towns very hilly golf course with my sled.Very steep long hills on that course.Bet there would be 50 to 60 kids there at times.The trails would turn into ice from being used so much.Lots of speed then.
Anyway the pond has plenty of water in it.Bluegills will be biting.Got some good 8 to 9 inch bluegills in there.
As Pappy says Life is good.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Pappy on January 20, 2022, 08:40:15 am
No more balmy here in Tennessee, more snow and freezing rain last night and is not supposed to be out of the low teens at night and 30's in the day time for at least a week or more, time for a big fire ans some shop work.  :)
 Pappy
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on January 20, 2022, 03:02:02 pm
I can remember traveling one morning from NW Iowa down to southern Missouri/Arkansas border in the evening back in the middle 90's to deliver a stud fee puppy in february once.Temperatures were -15 f. when I left and when I arrived at the Missouri/Arkansas border the spring peepers were chirping.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: DV IN MN on January 20, 2022, 05:45:12 pm
At least in MN I think the BALM has now left the winter. High of -4 today.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: BowEd on January 22, 2022, 04:14:37 am
Yes.It's a bit hard on the wild life but they have a way of surviving.The cold at least sets the wood ticks back a bit.
Title: Re: balmy december
Post by: Outbackbob48 on January 22, 2022, 04:31:37 pm
-11 in Nw penna this morning, Bob