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WIth the great weather weekend myself and the boys decided to give Mom a day to her self and loaded up the ATVs and headed for the mountains to do a little preseason turkey scouting and to see what is going on in the deep woods

We met my cousin and his wife and we headed off for a day of exploring. A knapsack of goodies and off we went.


Mass will need to have a moose season before to long. Moose crap can be found everywhere along with 7' tall scrapes on the trees. They have eaten much of the forage and forced the whitetails else where. What the moose haven't ruined the beavers have

The last winter storm we had did a hell of a job on the trees in the woods.

We had a great day in the woods exploring many of the mountainous trails, old Indian burial grounds, and the trout streams I fished as a teenager which hold native brook trout.

A few pics from the day Hope you enjoy

looks like a good time...

Looks like spring is there. Sounds like a fun trip. Is there talk of a moose season? Hard to beat moose steaks!

Spoiled One, yes spring is here I hope

To get a moose season here in Mass will take an act of Congress.....Unfortunately it will take a highway death or something similar for the people of these state to realize what a population we have here and the outcome if it isn't controlled. They are eating so high up into the trees that the deer have nothing to eat and end up being forced from the area. My cousin was out looking for shed's a few weeks ago and came across 16 moose in this one area all herded up.....they still had their racks then. Was hoping to see a few moose today but no luck for us.

The beavers are devastating the forests too. They are taking tree after tree down. Years back they banned trapping here in Mass. Since then the population is out of control. There are slides along all the hill sides, that are used on a daily basis by the beavers to get the timber to the water....


Oh grilled moose steaks....YUM!!!

Interesting about the beaver. What is the rational behind no trapping? Probably can't shoot them there either. I have never eaten the rodent, beaver, but hear it has a liver texture with a moose flavor. We have several hundred moose hit by vehicles and trains up here every winter. They sure do a number on a passenger vehicle.

To be blunt Mass had a vote years back on banning trapping. Peta crucified the trappers They had TV commercials of cats and dogs being caught in leg hold traps in the woods, they had video of raccoons in traps drowning along river banks and played the "bleeding heart" song and dance. It went to vote and passed....no more trapping.

My grandfather trapped for years. There were very few here in Mass that actually did it for a hobby, but enough that it kept control of animals like beaver, otter, raccoons, muskrat ect....

Shortly after the ban the waterways became backed up. People's cellars and businesses were being flooded by the rising waters.... all these that voted trapping down began to see what a select few trapper's in the state were capable of controlling......actually kinda funny how it all panned out.

Now pelts are worth little and nobody has interest in really trapping anymore. I'm not sure if it's legal now or not.

I hope all these tree hugger, tofu eater are happy with their vote They got what they wanted....indoor swimming pools

The picture above of the pond with the geese sitting on their nest is actually a pond created by a beaver damn. They things have gotta be 45-55 lbs.....you should have heard them slapping their tales on the water surface when we showed....I was told they make damns because they don't like the sound of running water It's not uncommon to see an otter swimming on it's back chowing down on a rainbow trout....one of those areas that you never know what you'll see...best science class my boys have ever had

Beaver tastes pretty good, if it is fresh. (Sorry couldn't help myself) I remember in Pennsylvania when they re-introduced Elk grandma's were saying why hunt such a magnificent animal.......... until they started eating her garden. Now they want to .

The girls are getting pretty deadly.



Maggie has a 28 inch draw dang!!!!!




Fred Bear style

Mark
2325 Wa Pacificskiff

Mark, What is their distance & accuracy Always enjoyed shooting a re curve

We had bumper stickers out here awhile back "Save a tree Eat a beaver" Pot & pan banger hunter harasser's didn't like that too much

Right now I am working on the basics. Form Form and more form. The girls are hitting a paper plate consistently at 20 yards. No sights.... all instinctual. Start at 5 yards..... 10 Yards ...... Finish the day at 20 yards. This Week if form is good balloons.

Cheers
Mark
2325 Wa Pacificskiff

The woods look inviting. This time of the year do you still have to worry about the deer ticks? Been a number of years since i went on a walk about throu the woods in the east coast. Tried my hand at trapping as a kid in Coventry RI in the 70's. That and hunting rabbits and squirrels in the woods was enjoyable. Last time I went off into the same area I was contacted by the police. I was a stranger parking a car and walking back into the woods behind the new subdivisions that now occupy the woods. The Coventry police had me dead to rights on the description and age. They asked where I had been for the last 10 or 12 years. Told him I was home on leave and that I was just stomping in my old grounds. He laughed and said he understood and bid me a good day!

Was the riding in MA? I have been thinking about getting a quad but thought there was no where to ride them except private land.

goatram, tick checks especially on the boys is a daily thing here in New England. My boys are in the woods as soon as they get off the bus. Homework plays second fiddle While ground hunting (turkey) you can sit and count them hopping aboard

Mac, yes here in W.Mass. There are many state trail systems http://www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/orv.htm

New Hampshire has some awesome riding as does New York. Out here we ride the mountains by permission from land owners. We treat the trails kind and bring a saw to clean the trails for the owners and other riders. Pickup trash as well. We also have permission to hunt these areas, and a few venison steaks or a turkey breast goes a long way.

We also ride many of the state discontinued washed out roads.

I also own 38 acres in Whately Mass. I have an 8 acre pond, and access this time of year is only by ATV. It is a parcel that abuts state land and is a discontinued road bed. There are moose, whitetail, bear, coyote, and turkey so it is a great area to frequent. We camp here in the summer although haven't done it in a few years. If you get a ATV you are more than welcome to ride it, or I'd be glad to meet you and show you around.

We use to snowmobile these areas but due to "Global Warming" we have sold the sleds and gone to ATV's.

Mark have Maggie relax her grip on the riser and don't let her drop her arm until the arrow has hit the target . I do miss shooting with the Oranco Bowmen.
I shoot instinctive Bow Hunter [ Compound ] and I'm still old school, 2219 XX75's , 31" draw. It's the Monkey thing

Sure is interesting to read about the diverse interests we have in this group. Brings back memories of Scout summer camp at the archery range. Somewhere in the house I have an old Mossberg 22 rifle single shot with a nail polish number on the faded stock. It was a shooting range rifle from camp when I was a counselor...they sold of 1/3 of the rifles each year and I got it for $5 in 1969...the fade is from being in the sun all summer with one side up! Such fun we all have!! THX Capt PJ

Wonder if In2Deep could put monkey arms to go with that raccoon face

Les very observant took that photo to show her the death grip and other nuances.

Ticks arghhh!!!! Still feeling the after effects of Lyme's Disease. Bitten in Colorado.

So did the scouting produce some Spring Turkey Areas ?????? Bow, Shot Gun or throwing rocks

AT you sure are living a good life with your boys Looking forward to seeing a big spread of tail feathers.

Cheers
Mark
2325 Wa Pacifiskiff

AlloyToy, Are you sure that was moose poop? Could be one of those carnivorous seven foot rabbits I see after 15 scotches or so. Just kidding. Great times with the kids, memories are priceless and last a lifetime!Mike

Cadbury Easter eggs Mike....we were hot on the Easter bunnies trail Mike lets get together with the little ladies and hit Spain for a nice dinner soon ......

Mojo Turkey season is still a month away.....can't wait My youngest has his calls all ready, his camo is already layed out, and if his report card is good I told him he can take opening day off from school

Next Sat would be good ,little woman reminded me Easter is that Sunday. Who knew i guess not Me clueless as usual!