At the end of the road to nowhere...

J

jetman

New member

You know that road, that road to the middle of nowhere.
Well I was on that road hunting turkey. At the end of that road there is a road that turns off and goes farther. And that's where we STARTED to hunt.


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We had a hunting area of around 200 square MILES a little more actually. And we were looking for maybe 10 ish turkeys.
Let me back up a little...
We tried a turkey hunt WAY out east, My boy had been hearing of some sporadic reports of turkey from his operatives. At 3:00 am we hit the road , the first 179 miles are paved so we made good time. After about 50 or so miles of gravel the roads start to play out and turn to dirt with grass down the middle, by now the sun was 'bout up. When your on BLM land the roads are all numbered single digit numbers mean fair roads and are mine routes, double digits less so and so on. We , by now where on roads with seven digit ... and a letter...
Yeah, kinda small and many that have not had tires on for some years.
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By 7:00 we did our first turkey call. Nothing calling back.
After MANY calling sets it was 11:00 ish. Covered Many two wheel track roads and ridges .
Not even a turkey sighting, let alone a lonesome tom.
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A fast bite to eat and coyote hunter kicked in .
You know me the coyote gear is SOP in your tucks.
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After all this is where coyotes come to go on vacation.
The wind was picking up but we figured a 5 hour drive has to be hunted 100%.
A few set ups and we found one that HAD to produce.
This country is SO big two set of eyes are not always enough.
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With the call between us and in to the wind we set facing opposite directions. Nine minutes in to the set The boys 12 gauge /223 went off. The shotgun barrel ...
I said to my self "NO FREEKING WAY" Right to my left lay a very dead coyote no more then 30 yards from ME.

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I had not seen or herd a thing till the gun went off...
DANG I love it when coyotes die.
I guess I was just looking at stuff like this .
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[:$]

As long as coyotes die I'm a very happy man.
By now 4:00 it was time to find our way back to some kind of road and then to reality, civilization.
On the way out we tripped across a very big Badger. Poor Critter encountered an oz. and a half of coyote shot at 50 yards...

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A very good turkey hunt.
Only way it could have been better was to have at least herd a tom maybe even bagged on but other then that a wonderful hunt. 600 miles and 15 hours but fun.


 
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Forget the turkeys; the scenery alone is worth the trip
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. Nice stroy, great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
hm
 

That's some kind of territory for sure. Not easy to get to it seems, but worth being there once you do.
 
That sounds like an awesome day and the scenery ain't too bad either.
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I am jealous of the badger sighting (and kill). I have never seen a badger in the wild. Well, there was one "possible" sighting on the shoulder of I-84 while I was clipping along well over the speed limit.
 
Originally Posted By: shankboneThat sounds like an awesome day and the scenery ain't too bad either.
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I am jealous of the badger sighting (and kill). I have never seen a badger in the wild. Well, there was one "possible" sighting on the shoulder of I-84 while I was clipping along well over the speed limit.
I always like reading of badger encounters. We see them here every year but can't shoot them legally.
 
Yep, badgers are neat critters; somewhat rare on the ranches I hunt and are protected by the landowner. Have seen only three in the last three years stomping around over 21,000 acres.

Here is a pair of youngsters that stepped out into the two track in front of the jeep. The male was ready to take on the interloper; the female not so sure.
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The female crossed the road right away, disappearing into the tall grass, but the male stood his ground until I got into his personal space.



Not sure but he appears to be blinded in his right eye.

Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: hm1996

Not sure but he appears to be blinded in his right eye.

Regards,
hm

Those are great pictures. Badgers are cool as heck and I can't wait to see one in the wild. The "blind" badger may just be a flirting with you.
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Got to love those roads and places. Those are roads you wish went on forever and that the sun never set on. Thanks for sharing.
 
jetman--That is some beautiful country you were hunting in and I'd have to say well worth the trip even if you didn't bag a gobbler. Viewing that nice country and downing that coyote would have made the trip worthwhile to me. Thanks for sharing the story and the terrific photos!!!
 
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