tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034Wed, 28 Aug 2024 15:56:56 +0000huntingturkey and turkey huntinggoose hunting2011 turkey odysseylists upon lists2014 turkey odysseydeer huntinghunting ethicsgoose callingtaboo of the dayrandom thoughtshunting gearduck callingduck huntinggame callswaterfowl hunting2012 turkey odysseyconservationfundraisinghunting regulationsnational wild turkey federationreflectionsa few observations...them crooked gobblersupdatesvarmint huntingcalling contestshunting humorrecipesturkey hunting clotheswomen's hunting2013 turkey odysseyand they call it...big game huntingcorrectionshaikus?hunting safetylandowner permissionmoose huntingsmall game huntingsocial mediatake a kid huntingthe hypocrisy linewhitetail deerwild gamewritingNostalgia, News, Stories, Opinions, and Lies.http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)Blogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-4577033011793389107Tue, 14 Apr 2015 01:42:00 +00002015-04-13T21:44:16.345-04:00 Get Out & Go Hunting has moved! All the same lunacy, bad comedy, amateur photographs, and occasionally insightful hunting observations can now be found at www.getoutandgohunting.com Thanks to everyone for following here, and I hope you'll continue to check in on what I've got brewing on the new website. The new format is just the first change, and Get Out & Go Hunting will be http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2015/04/we-have-moved.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-4998327247072748625Thu, 26 Feb 2015 14:28:00 +00002015-02-26T09:28:18.823-05:00huntingreflections This past week, a beagle won the Westminster.  That’s good. I have a soft spot for beagles, and although I’d rather see one running low through the snow on the trail of a snowshoe hare as opposed to jauntily trotting around in a show-ring, I couldn’t help but smile to see the Best in Show ribbon next to the stately little canine. I enjoy beagles.  Real beagles. Working beagles. http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2015/02/in-defense-of-beagles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-6618044839745003909Mon, 02 Feb 2015 17:08:00 +00002015-02-02T12:11:11.261-05:00huntingthem crooked gobblersturkey and turkey hunting While the previous two installments here were about birds that worked long, or that were repeat offenders, this chapter is about a bird that was in my life for all of twenty minutes, but it was still twenty very intense minutes that taught me a lesson that I put to good use in future seasons.  Although this bird beat me, what he taught me helped me to kill other birds after him.  This http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2015/02/them-crooked-gobblers-part-three.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-8043733025580802622Fri, 16 Jan 2015 15:49:00 +00002015-01-17T11:00:12.393-05:00huntinghunting ethicsrandom thoughtsreflections As surely as there are death and taxes, you can bet that however, wherever, and whatever you choose to hunt that there will be someone out there that knows how to find fault with the way you do it. I long ago got used to the opinions, taunts, jibes, and snide remarks of the taciturn, illogical anti-hunter or the misinformed and self-assured non-hunter (which are two distinct sides to the samehttp://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2015/01/honour-among-thieves-unity-among.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-7399132034644384722Tue, 30 Dec 2014 19:10:00 +00002014-12-30T14:15:14.525-05:00huntingthem crooked gobblersturkey and turkey hunting The first installment of this series was about a gobbler I ended up tagging, but this edition is about one I didn’t.  On consecutive hunts this bird did the same thing to me.  On the third hunt I tried to double-bluff him, and he still managed to trick me. Sometimes you can’t win and you just have to tip your cap and chalk up a learning experience. My only proof that this was the http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/12/them-crooked-gobblers-part-two-backdoor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-3798702959459641752Wed, 24 Dec 2014 13:41:00 +00002014-12-30T14:11:32.151-05:00huntingthem crooked gobblersturkey and turkey hunting Although Get Out and Go Hunting has taken a brief hiatus (forced by the fact that I have a cripplingly busy winter schedule with my real job; this blogging doesn’t exactly pay the bills), fear not for I have returned just in time for Christmas. Consider this my gift to you.  A last-minute, thoughtless gift that you probably won’t really use and one you will have a hard time re-gifting tohttp://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/12/them-crooked-gobblers-part-one.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-8884837269566495003Wed, 22 Oct 2014 01:47:00 +00002014-10-21T21:50:28.509-04:00goose huntinghuntingtake a kid hunting Something special happened on this past Thanksgiving weekend, and it was something I had been planning for the past five years. In August of 2009, my first son was born and it was a distant wish at that time that one day I’d get to take him hunting with me.  After all, not every son or daughter grows up to love the same things their parents love, and my wife and I had long previously http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/10/something-special.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-3967755695036346197Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:30:00 +00002014-07-30T12:30:36.125-04:00hunting ethicsthe hypocrisy line It has been some time since I last had the time or inspiration to write something here, but a recent conversation, as well as some troubling media that I’ve seen has prompted my crotchety and opinionated side to come out for this particular post.  Despite the murky and nebulous philosophical wrangling that is about to take place, this may become an item that will make recurring appearances http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/07/fair-chase-hypocrisy-line.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-6681658412648625842Sun, 08 Jun 2014 04:10:00 +00002014-06-08T00:30:52.497-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting Not even four days removed from the end of what was an epic adventure in southeastern British Columbia, I found myself loading all my gear (as well as my wife, as well as my two sons who are both under the age of five) into the car for a trip to the family farm on the Bruce Peninsula.  Pulling into the laneway, the weather forecast was for sunny skies, but temperatures well below seasonal http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/06/family-friends-and-wild-turkeys-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-7010735172955492773Thu, 05 Jun 2014 00:11:00 +00002014-06-04T20:21:58.861-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting 3:15am came far earlier than I had anticipated, but I was galvanized to put in a hard last shift before flying out that night.  I was feeling the pressure to show my friend Chris that I actually knew how to hunt turkeys, and I believe (although he didn’t show it) that Chris was feeling the pressure to put a gobbler in front of my gun barrel. We made the trailhead in a chilly and dim http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/06/2014-merriams-turkey-adventure-part.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-6522179153369623229Sat, 24 May 2014 01:56:00 +00002014-05-23T21:56:17.665-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting Day Three The plan had been to get up earlier than we had the previous day, but even then arising at 4:15am put us to our parking spot with too much daylight to make an unnoticed entry to the woods.  Luckily a dense fog draped over the area and we geared up and stalked our way in.  Every now and then we paused and I blew out the tell-tale notes of the barred owl. Not a turkey http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-merriams-turkey-adventure-part-two.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-5719061836495637505Thu, 15 May 2014 01:09:00 +00002014-05-14T21:09:44.348-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting Day One: I boarded the Beechcraft 1900 with some level of trepidation.  I fly a lot in my career, but never in a plane so small.  Another first for my aviation experiences was when Air Canada removed one of the passengers and re-routed them to another flight for “weight and balance precautions”.  I was glad I hadn’t had that chocolate chip cookie with my lunch. I was tucked http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-merriams-turkey-adventure-part-one.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-215092938864424250Fri, 02 May 2014 02:20:00 +00002014-05-01T22:20:56.781-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting A light drizzle carried by a chill wind greeted me when I went out to load my shotgun and decoys in the car.  It was 4:40am and I was heading out to get my dad so that we could kick off the 2014 spring turkey season at a local haunt where we’ve often tagged gobblers. I kissed my wife on the cheek before I left and for the umpteenth time in our marriage her muttered, early morning http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-opener.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-5068215789928949659Thu, 17 Apr 2014 00:26:00 +00002014-04-16T20:26:37.042-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting I was doing a good job of holding things together.  Really I was. A couple of weeks ago I saw my first strutting turkey of 2014.  It was nice; a bit of an omen that spring was breaking through the tenacious, unrelenting grip of this frigid and nightmarish winter.  It renewed my optimism for the speedy return of spring gobbler hunting, but I didn’t get too carried away.  http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/04/keeping-it-all-together.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-8141851873727904865Tue, 01 Apr 2014 01:55:00 +00002014-03-31T21:55:02.481-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting There is a unique element of uncertainty in my upcoming trip to British Columbia, and while it has not been causing me stress, it has been on my mind. That uncertainty is that, in some ways at least, my friend Chris and I have no idea what we’re doing. I can’t speak for myself, but I know my man Chris is a capable woodsman, and that I can rely on his knowledge of the area and his http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/03/friends-helping-friends.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-3044302013157898704Mon, 24 Mar 2014 18:55:00 +00002014-03-24T15:20:57.704-04:002014 turkey odysseyturkey and turkey hunting I’m just over a month from opening day, and pretty much every weekend of the season is now booked.  That opening weekend is earmarked for sitting under a tree and trying to lure an early season tom into range is pretty much a given.  I’ll be guiding around a friend who missed last season via the birth of his first child on the weekend after that.  Then I’m off to BC for a much http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/03/gaining-momentum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-5377749986207833989Sat, 08 Feb 2014 03:50:00 +00002014-02-07T22:52:11.570-05:002014 turkey odysseyhuntingturkey and turkey hunting In reviewing past posts to this forum I’ve noticed a distinct trend. The last few years, right around February, I start to go stir-crazy and begin writing about turkey hunting.  I write about preparations, I write about memories, and I write about the malaise and madness that precedes any turkey season in my household. And this year it will be no different.  Except that it will http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-2014-turkey-odyssey-begins-today.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-8739244816772822879Fri, 13 Dec 2013 02:38:00 +00002013-12-13T21:13:52.226-05:00deer huntinghunting As we settle into the holiday madness, which is immediately followed by a prolonged lull in my hunting seasons (with really no action, outside of occasional coyote hunting, until spring turkey season), I like to take the time to reflect back on the deer season which recently ended. Like most every deer season I’ve partaken in, I didn’t shoot a deer.  Which is perfectly fine, given that http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-doe-of-contempt-and-pity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-8355552846553305917Sat, 02 Nov 2013 01:08:00 +00002013-11-01T21:08:42.683-04:00deer huntinghunting Every year I create a checklist of the gear, clothing and goodies I need to pack for deer season, and just today I put the finishing touches on the 2013 edition of that document.  It is a seasonal task that I look forward to far more than I do to other fall tasks such as raking leaves, preparing the yard for winter, and putting ice-scrapers in my car. You see, the list means deer season http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-grumpy-foul-smelling-deer-hunter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-4118184512935599526Fri, 13 Sep 2013 03:25:00 +00002013-09-12T23:25:54.932-04:00goose huntinghunting I’ve long held a theory that when there aren’t many of a given species of animal around, those animals in reality become easier to hunt.  Harder to find, but once found, relatively simpler to hunt. When early goose opened up, I got a text from a friend of mine that a crew of guys had been really putting the hurt on the geese in our preferred hunting area.  Working them hard, http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/09/hunted-hard-makes-for-hard-hunting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-2303419534062211062Fri, 06 Sep 2013 02:51:00 +00002013-09-05T22:54:04.434-04:00goose huntinghunting With just a few short days remaining until I get into my goose season here in Ontario and with it the unofficial “start of fall” for me, I’m just pacing around the house like a tiger in a cage.  I constantly wander around thinking about the upcoming hunt, planning for different weather contingencies, practicing my calling, and prepping and re-prepping my equipment.  I can’t do anythinghttp://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/09/fits-starts-tinkering-fixingand-then_5.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-6542395654443268273Tue, 30 Jul 2013 04:42:00 +00002013-08-17T12:52:37.738-04:00duck callingduck huntinggoose callinggoose huntingwaterfowl huntingAs with most things you’ve read here, what follows is a matter of opinion.  If you and I are similarly-minded, then I imagine we are not going to have too much to debate in the below ramblings.  If we are found to not share such ideals, then I defer to the time-proven axiom of “to each their own” and I can still share the field with you if you’d have me. I haven’t hunted African http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-primacy-of-waterfowling_30.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-3930486762899484118Fri, 10 May 2013 00:47:00 +00002013-05-09T20:47:11.570-04:002013 turkey odysseyhuntingturkey and turkey hunting When the phone rang at 4:15 in the morning, I knew it was bad news.  Those phone calls mean someone either passed away or that someone had just had a baby.  I didn’t know anyone who was pregnant. What I did know, however, was that my mother was approaching the inevitable end of a four-year battle with bone cancer.  With recovery not an option and treatments being more than she http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/05/hunting-for-therapy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-5037098417597514545Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:50:00 +00002013-04-01T21:50:13.446-04:00huntingrandom thoughts There are some things that many of you don’t know about me, and sometimes that is for the best.  I work in a corporate environment and frequently people learn something new about my personality and they say “Well, that’s a surprise…” And they’re not always saying that just because I don’t look like a ‘typical’ hunter. I don’t drive a big 4x4.  I don’t have a drawl or a regional http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-punk-rock-parallels-and-perils-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474928880913307034.post-101436017970213734Thu, 07 Feb 2013 04:25:00 +00002013-02-06T23:25:21.214-05:00huntingvarmint hunting There wasn’t much that was keeping the moon from being full on the drive up to my cousin Luke’s house with my wife and two kids (one of which decided an appropriate course of action would be to scream for two straight hours from the backseat).  I kept thinking that on that moonlit Friday night in late January plenty of coyotes would be up rambling around straight through the wee hours of http://getoutandgohunting.blogspot.com/2013/02/nothing-dainty-about-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shawn West)0