This years season is over for me. Friday starts the opening of the firearms deer season and the temperature is forecasted to drop.

This was the first year I did the early Teal Season which was fun but seamed to hot to be hunting. It was a great scouting tool and way to shake out the bugs before the regular season. I was unable to hunt as much as I wanted to and was scared to go out alone because of my knees but overall a good season. Many thanks were given to my hunting buddy for making sure I didn't over do it in the field. He may have fed me a few too many beers after the hunt though. I did end up with quite a few birds for the season.

After being away from duck hunting for a while I noticed somethings that maybe were there before and I ignored or maybe they are just changes in people over the years. Opening day has always been cluster. But this year I was amazed at the way the "sportsman" acted. Many of the so called hunters were blowing their kazoo's at birds just to keep them from other hunters. Birds that were actually working someone's decoys. Sky busting has always been a thing but what I witnessed this season was dumbfounding. Ray Charles could plainly see these guys had no chance of hitting the birds they were shooting at. They were simply shooting to scare the birds away from other hunters. I also saw quite a few long shots resulting in cripples that the shooters made no attempt what so ever to recover. Hunters clearly setting up far to close to others just to antagonized each other. And then argue back and forth all morning about it.

Several of the lakes I hunt have unimproved landings with very shallow water and muddy bottoms. The hunters are backing their trucks so far in the lake their front bumper is past the shore resulting in them getting stuck in the lake and tearing up the accesses. Or just plainly making no effort not to tear up the landing and spinning tires.

Someone ran into my friends boat trailer bending the heck out of it and not even left so much as a sorry note.

I have noticed more youngsters in the sport and more people hunting later in the season. But what concerns me is the total lack of respect for others, the environment and the recourses that we all share. When I asked a couple of younger guys at the landing how they did as they were waiting for me to load my boat they replied "Go * yourself and get your *-ing * out of the way". This is the first time I had ever seen the two lads. The poor lads didn't realize there were four other guys with trucks and boats at the top of the landing with me.

I was happy to see the Game Warden out several times this season. He only checked our licenses the first time we saw him for the year. But he is always interested in out harvest and equipment. We have had several long chats with him and remembers us each time we run into him.

I have always hunted these same public waters and have never seen it so bad. Or is it just me? Am I getting to "sensitive" at the old age of 53. I know society has changed as a whole so I guess our hunting society is also changing...

“wiersay111” wrote:

…I have always hunted these same public waters and have never seen it so bad. Or is it just me? Am I getting to "sensitive" at the old age of 53. I know society has changed as a whole so I guess our hunting society is also changing...

No mate, you’re not getting too sensitive…it’s the general attitude of the younger “entitled” idiots these days. They care about nothing or anybody other than themselves, and woe betide anybody who dares question their attitude. It would have been interesting had those four other truck loads of guys wandered down and asked why the young’uns were being so testy.

Maybe a couple of closed seasons, with Game Wardens saturating the areas on a regular basis to drag any poachers into Court and strip them of their hunting equipment, including licences, for life. Might bring some back down to earth and make them a bit more amenable to others.

“wiersay111” wrote:

…I was unable to hunt as much as I wanted to and was scared to go out alone because of my knees but overall a good season.

I can understand your concerns with your knees mate, but unless you push things a little and test out your knees, you will always be scared.
There is more than one way to skin a cat mate…try to think outside the box for ways and means of hunting. For instance, I now have a quad bike with three rifle racks fitted to the front (one .22 one .223 and my SxS 12g), along with a shooting support. I can simply toddle around at walking pace to hunt. If nothing else, I am getting out into the scrub mate.

Well Vince evidently I killed the cat. Tonight I was hanging up decoys and gathering the goodies I need for my deer stand and now my knee is so swollen I can hardly bend it at all.

Those young lads did have an uh-oh look on their face when they got to the top of the access where the five of us were standing around shooting the breeze. It was funny how quickly their attitude changed.

Doh!

-DallanC

DallanC wrote:

Doh! -DallanC

“wiersay111” wrote:

…I killed the cat…

Are you getting any sort of physiotherapy mate? A good Physiotherapist who is trained and qualified in rehabilitation will be able to work wonders on your knee. My Physio wasn’t happy until I reached a minimum of 90° flexion after my knee replacement. I’d apply the RICE principle on your knee at the moment mate…R est, I ce, C ompression and E levation and take things easy for a few days until the swelling subsides.

If you are able to take anti-inflammatories, I’d also take them to assist. Be aware though that aspirin, ibruprofen, nurofen and anti-inflammatories are very similar and shouldn’t be taken together unless under a Dr’s advice. I find Voltaren Emulgel is very good, so you may be able to take the tablet form of Voltaren…I can’t because of below.

One other thing I’d say is be EXTREMELY careful if you are prescribed Naprosyn…it’s responsible for giving me two duodenal ulcers and also put my Father-in-Law in ICU for a week.

Oh yea buddy I had all kinds of therapy, I did great I could almost touch my heel to my butt again. But something changed the Dr has drained blood out of the right knee a couple times. The last surgery he cauterized a bunch of what looked like possible bleeders and everything was good for a couple weeks. Now it is starting to swell like before.

I drove out to my deer stand tonight to put the chairs and heater in. I had to pull out the chainsaw to cut up a big limb that was across the trail. I had to move around very carefully. But no problems at all. SWMBO was with me to make sure I didn't do anything stupid.

good on you for being careful...I really hope you carry an EPIRB /PLB with you.....even with a mate around,if the shit gets real fast it may save your life.... no phone reception etc and somehow end up immobile is not a good idea when critters the size you lot have is not a flash idea.

Elvis wrote:

good on you for being careful...I really hope you carry an EPIRB /PLB with you.....even with a mate around,if the shit gets real fast it may save your life.... no phone reception etc and somehow end up immobile is not a good idea when critters the size you lot have is not a flash idea.

In my area I'm pretty much the top of the food chain. We have black bears but very seldom ever see them.

Wiersay111…I’d be going back to see the Surgeon who did the work on your knee. I’d be looking for an MRI to identify possible bleeders so they can be fixed…your knee shouldn’t be swelling like it is after being drained. Hey, maybe they somehow left a wheel off one of their trolleys in there, slowing down the healing. Seriously though mate, there has to be a reason for the fluid on your knee (be it blood or otherwise) and an MRI might well be the way to identify the problem.

Elvis’s suggestion of an EPIRB or PLB is a wise idea, especially if you don’t have cell phone reception or you can’t get to your phone if you go “base over apex”. My Mum had an Emergency Pendant, but when her mobility scooter tipped over in the backyard she couldn’t reach the button. She was trapped for 2 hours with a broken arm before a neighbour heard her feeble calls for help.

This is the time when SWMBO earns heaps of “brownie points” looking after you mate…bringing you meals whilst you are resting with your leg elevated, bringing you the odd beer or whiskey, as appropriate, and scrubbing your back in the shower. Mind you, you have to pay it all back later mate…but that’s ok, it’s what marriage is all about…looking after one another.

Been in contact with the Dr and he's trying to figure out why it is doing this.

SWMBO has been a champ. she is even deer hunting with me this weekend. Of course she doesn't mind sitting in the big heated stand.

It's still fairly warm up here and I'm still seeing lots of ducks around so maybe if deer hunting goes well maybe I could get one or two duck hunts in yet? Provided my knee behaves.