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The No-Gear Hunt Thread

Nutterbuster

Nutterbuster

Well-Known Member
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Oct 12, 2017
Messages
10,068
Location
Where the skys are so blue!
In response to the ever-increasing number of boring posts about how best to waste a stimulus check and how to make venison as expensive a meal as possible, I'm starting this thread. Rules for contributing as follows

RULES

  • No gear doesn't mean no clothes. No nudity or the fun-police will shut this place down. (looking at you, @Blinginpse). You can wear clothes. You're encouraged to wear clothes. Acceptable clothes include pants, shirts, shorts, cut-offs (got my eye on @gcr0003 though) most headwear, socks, shoes, jackets, shades, and maybe even a nice necktie. Unacceptable clothes include thongs, g strings, mankinis, and flat bill hats.
  • Weapons don't count as gear. Feel free to post up that fester stick, training wheel bow, crossgun, blunderbuss, or even that tattooed earplug-wearer of a rifle cartridge, the 6.5 creedmore. I will tolerate ONE and I mean ONE "hardy har Nutterbuster I got this one with a 97 Chevy lol" post.
  • Everything that isn't clothes and a hole punch has to either fit IN YOUR POCKETS or be carried IN YOUR HANDS. No backpacks, fanny packs, chest rigs, frame packs, 5 gallon buckets, or cute dogs with little panel bags allowed.
  • NO TREESTANDS, SADDLES, GROUND BLINDS, GHILLIE SUITS, etc. Try to claim that your saddle and all the junk you shoved in the accessory pouch are clothes and I will...no. It's going to happen. See above rule. One exception allowed. NOT PER INDIVIDUAL YOU ABSOLUTE ANIMALS!!
With that all being said, post up some pics and stories about your notable hunts that involved you, a weapon, and some free time. I'll start...
 
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Killed this one squirrel hunting the last weekend of our gun deer season. Had nothing but a compass and a single shot 20 gauge. Yes, I wore that ridiculous hat often back in the day and still break it out from time to time.

I wandered into an area where I'd seen deer in the past and figured I'd grab a seat on a fallen cedar tree and ponder whether to start heading back with my 3 or 4 squirrels or press on. Was sitting there resting and mulling it over when he stood up maybe 40 yards away and started scratching his head with his back feet like a dog. About had a heart attack before I was able to shuck my #5 lead out and swap for a foster slug. Plugged him, called my dad, paddled back to the ramp, and came back for some help getting him out of the woods for a picture.
 
@Nutterbuster always carries a foster slug... Even in the shower





Just kidding:tonguewink: that is a awesome story and an even better buck.
I haven't been in the hunting game but a few years, but consider myself blessed to have taken a black bear a few years ago and my first whitetail this past year both with rifles.
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I had my bow, release, and my pocket knife when I killed her.

I hunted in a different area earlier in the morning and got bored so I paddled up the creek another 400yds or so and left all my saddle gear in the canoe. I had seen a old clear cut on the satellite pics on my phone so I took off to go find it and see what it looked like. As I got close I noticed the old logging roads were pretty easy to traverse so I decided to walk the road to the upwind side and let my scent blow into the clear cut...I quickly power walked back to the downwind side just in time to watch a big doe group coming out of the clear looking back into the clear cut..shot her at unknown range kneeling in the mud (guessing 18-22yd). Walked back to the canoe for kill kit and pack to haul her out. U guys seen this pic before...sorry I didn't get any others ... hard to take pics solo in the rain with crappy cell phone


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Weldabeast said:
I had my bow, release, and my pocket knife when I killed her.

I hunted in a different area earlier in the morning and got bored so I paddled up the creek another 400yds or so and left all my saddle gear in the canoe. I had seen a old clear cut on the satellite pics on my phone so I took off to go find it and see what it looked like. As I got close I noticed the old logging roads were pretty easy to traverse so I decided to walk the road to the upwind side and let my scent blow into the clear cut...I quickly power walked back to the downwind side just in time to watch a big doe group coming out of the clear looking back into the clear cut..shot her at unknown range kneeling in the mud (guessing 18-22yd). Walked back to the canoe for kill kit and pack to haul her out. U guys seen this pic before...sorry I didn't get any others ... hard to take pics solo in the rain with crappy cell phone


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Is that the newest Kuiu camo pattern?


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I wish I had more pictures from back in my youth. I'd be willing to wager my that at least my first 20 whitetails kills met this criteria. All I had back then was a weapon. I didn't build my first treestand until 1987 or 88 and didn't buy a commercial one until in the early 90's. Before that I just picked a tree I could climb and stood on a branch. I shot my first buck standing in a field with nothing but my deer rifle. First bow buck I was standing on a stump about 5 feet off the ground in a pouring rain. Second one with a bow (pictured) I was standing on a branch in a maple in sight of my truck.
It wasn't until just relatively recently, at least from my perspective, that you could actually hunt from a tree with a firearm in Michigan. I've killed most of my firearm buck hunkered in a pit blind dug into a saddle (aka. terrain feature) between two openings in a clearcut.

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boyne bowhunter said:
I wish I had more pictures from back in my youth. I'd be willing to wager my that at least my first 20 whitetails kills met this criteria. All I had back then was a weapon. I didn't build my first treestand until 1987 or 88 and didn't buy a commercial one until in the early 90's. Before that I just picked a tree I could climb and stood on a branch. I shot my first buck standing in a field with nothing but my deer rifle. First bow buck I was standing on a stump about 5 feet off the ground in a pouring rain. Second one with a bow (pictured) I was standing on a branch in a maple in sight of my truck.
It wasn't until just relatively recently, at least from my perspective, that you could actually hunt from a tree with a firearm in Michigan. I've killed most of my firearm buck hunkered in a pit blind dug into a saddle (aka. terrain feature) between two openings in a clearcut.

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what im talkin bout right der
 
A bow bear I took in the mid-80's. You're looking at everything I had with me in this picture. I was setup over a bait pile in a swamp standing on branch about 10 feet off the ground with the bait pile inside 10 yds away. At the time I was in college and worked as a bartender to pay my way. I used to trade beer for unsold pizzas from the local Pizza Hut delivery guys that I added to my bait pile. I also had a fishing buddy who owned the local McDonalds. He had his crews dumping the out of age, unsold burgers and breakfasts into a box that I picked up every day. That bear was eating better than I was. If you got within 50 yards of the pile you'd wonder why the heck someone had opened a McDonalds in the middle of swamp. The smell was that distinct. This bear was pushing the sausage patties off the biscuits so he could eat the biscuits.

This bear walked right in and started eating in the middle of the day. He was so close to me that when I drew my bow he lifted his head and completely blocked out all his vitals. I had to wait for him to turn his head to the side to give me the straight down shot between his shoulder blades. He went 40 yds. When we skinned him my buddy said " Here's your broadhead" to which I said, "What? We recovered my arrow, remember?" This bear had an old bear style broadhead imbedded between the vertebrae of his neck that was completely overgrown with scar tissue. It couldn't have been a happy existence.


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This pic of a big 6 pt shot in 1993. It was warm and stormed all night. The rain let up right after 7:00 that morning and nobody was going hunting. Just to say I went hunting I reluctantly put on some hip boots and OFF bug spray. There was a climber in the slough behind the camp that was a short walk. It was daylight, the mosquitoes were buzzing me and the water went over my hip boot on the way to the stand. I was looking for a reason to do something else, maybe shoot some wood ducks. That’s when I heard what sounded like some ducks landing in the deeper water behind me. When I turned around there was the big six point swimming/ tip toeing across maybe 75 yds away. I shot him at the water line and he went to the bottom in about 4’ of water. My clothes aren’t wet in the pic because all but my boxers stayed in the climber.
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Nutterbuster said:
View attachment 45399

Killed this one squirrel hunting the last weekend of our gun deer season. Had nothing but a compass and a single shot 20 gauge. Yes, I wore that ridiculous hat often back in the day and still break it out from time to time.

I wandered into an area where I'd seen deer in the past and figured I'd grab a seat on a fallen cedar tree and ponder whether to start heading back with my 3 or 4 squirrels or press on. Was sitting there resting and mulling it over when he stood up maybe 40 yards away and started scratching his head with his back feet like a dog. About had a heart attack before I was able to shuck my #5 lead out and swap for a foster slug. Plugged him, called my dad, paddled back to the ramp, and came back for some help getting him out of the woods for a picture.
Click to expand...
Love that Grumman!
 
4 years ago my father was walking back from his hunting shed( propane heater, 4 walls 4 windows, door, 2 chairs and a stool) with a .308 and a big yellow golf umbrella, it was the second day of rifle and I had to work. Mature 9 pt 3 yards from my treestand tree. I don't have a pic on this phone but old enough the antlers were wide and small, major back sag.

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boyne bowhunter said:
A bow bear I took in the mid-80's. You're looking at everything I had with me in this picture. I was setup over a bait pile in swamp standing on branch about 10 feet off the ground with the bait pile inside 10 yds away. At the time I was in college and worked as a bartender to pay my way. I used to trade beer for unsold pizzas from the local Pizza Hut delivery guys that I added to my bait pile. I also had a fishing buddy who owned the local McDonalds. He had his crews dumping the out of age, unsold burgers and breakfasts into a box that I picked up every day. That bear was eating better than I was. If you got within 50 yards of the pile you'd wonder why the heck someone had opened a McDonalds in the middle of swamp. The smell was that distinct. This bear was pushing the sausage patties off the biscuits so he could eat the biscuits.

This bear walked right in and started eating in the middle of the day. He was so close to me that when I drew my bow he lifted his head and completely blocked out all his vitals. I had to wait for him to turn his head to the side to give me the straight down shot between his shoulder blades. He went 40 yds. When we skinned him my buddy said " Here's your broadhead" to which I said, "What? We recovered my arrow, remember?" This bear had an old bear style broadhead imbedded between the vertebrae of his neck that was completely overgrown with scar tissue. It couldn't have been a happy existence.


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My eyes played tricks on me when I read this section

“...local Pizza Hut delivery guys that I added to my bait pile”


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