canoe in deer hunt 2016

[Odyssey]

Really cool video Robin. Thanks for that. Nice shoulder season trip guys.
A little inclement weather makes a fire all the more welcoming.

 

[redoleary]

Very nice Robin, I'm a little jealous, that looks like a fantastic way to spend a week.

 

[daveo4]

Robin
​What creek was it that you paddled up with the beaver dams?? Was that the connecting creek from Horseshoe Lake?

Dave

 

[Robin]

Robin
​What creek was it that you paddled up with the beaver dams?? Was that the connecting creek from Horseshoe Lake?

Dave

Hi Dave
If you look at the map, just before you get to the upper dam there is a creek that comes into Hitchins Pond from the tracks. My thoughts was to head up as far as I could go and maybe even reach dry land to walk the tracks. I crossed 5 beaver dams before I gave up, but I was into some pretty good wild territory and the chances of jumping something looked good...well, in my mind maybe, but I hung in there.

 

[forest runes]

Robin , Would have liked to have made it up there but just got back from a week in Maine two days before & the bride would have took it hard but I was considering it. Did the other fellows hunt ?. Get any good reading material to take with you ? Buck season doesn't start in Pa. till the end of November , don't think I would know how to deer hunt without freezing my tail off but that's just part of the scenery !

 

[Jim Dodd]

Great pics and video Robin !

​ A chill went down my spine when I saw that Marlin rocking on the gunnels, and soaking up all that moisture ! I'm guessing you can shoot from a canoe where you are at.

​Many outdoor magazines show big bucks being transported in canoes, often times snow covered. Hoping you can show us such pics !

Jim

 

[Robin]

Robin , Would have liked to have made it up there but just got back from a week in Maine two days before & the bride would have took it hard but I was considering it. Did the other fellows hunt ?. Get any good reading material to take with you ? Buck season doesn't start in Pa. till the end of November , don't think I would know how to deer hunt without freezing my tail off but that's just part of the scenery !

I was reading Camp and Trail Methods and also The Survival of the Bark Canoe (thanks Odyssey), one of the guys in the next site with the folks from BushcraftUSA hunted a little. Another group of 4 young guys went all the way to the western end of Lows but had no luck.

Great pics and video Robin !

​ A chill went down my spine when I saw that Marlin rocking on the gunnels, and soaking up all that moisture ! I'm guessing you can shoot from a canoe where you are at.



Jim

I figured that gun laying across the gunnels in the rain would probably get some attention. Hammer down, safety on, no worries. As far as getting it wet, not the first time nor the last. It's my only deer rifle and it's been a user from day one, lots of days in the woods with snow or rain.

As far as shooting from a canoe, it's legal, just can't shoot a deer that is in the water or be under the power of a motor, pretty much like waterfowl hunting.

 

[Robin]

Good to see you folks are keeping the snow down that way, we have not had but a few flakes yet.

Once you get a faux w/c Kevlar canoe you can do those trips for the next years Robin, good on you though, nice Hudson's Bay blankie and paddle.

I'm looking for a 17' Chestnut Prospector for next years hunt, gonna sit up on the rear deck it will be so full of comforts!!
(like the guy in the header here)

 

[Canotrouge]

Look like an awesome trip Robin, I really like your kit, quite similar to mine, other than the w/c canoe and the rifle lol. I use a Ruger #1 international and it is a user since day one. I try to protect it a bit when in the rain, but usually it is siting right in front of me on top of the gear!! I wipe it clean in the evening with an oily rag!! As for the 17 footer, I thin kI would get a 16 footer but deeper... You could modifie an old w/c by extending the rib ends...

 

[Robin]

I stand corrected, those young fellas who paddled to the western end of Lows where I was headed scored a nice deer after the snow event. One of them also had a moose walk within 20' of him. He said it was fun but tough, good to be young.
Good Job Guys! 9 points?

 

[Iskweo]

This is great. I guess I've had a distorted view of hunting my whole life but now that Canotrouge, Mem, and Robin have shown me how it's done I realize that I can be a hunter without having to give up my vegetarianism! Looking forward to regaining some of my manhood and swapping stories about the one that got away with my fellow hunters.

Alan

LOL...yes Alan, "hunting"is actually code for manly feats of endurance including but not limited to the use of canoes, beer, whiskey, dogs, fires, whiskey again, cigars, guns,....and occasionally seeking out tasty woodland creatures. On rare occasions....ie, when not in season... you may indeed find such creatures.

You could be an awesome hunter, I have no doubt.

Christy
ps...I do most of my hunting in other peoples freezers...my success rate is legendary.

 

[GGTBod]

Greetings folks I am the aforementioned Rob from England, humbled by the high praise and the great people I met on my recent adventuring, I will add my adventures here and there as they happen, sadly no bravado hunting tales as those gun things look heavy and I don't have any, the closest thing I have to a weapon on my travels is a 4 inch fixed blade knife, on my recent trip i was tempted to cause a deadfall armageddon on the local chipmunk population but that's a whole nother story.

I just added an intro thread on the forum, please drop byitand say hello

 

[Murat V]

Outstanding pics and trip video, Robin! Looks like you handled everything nature threw at you in comfort. Never get tired of seeing your custom hot tent in use. I'm totally inspired to try and customize something similar. Did you ever post what the weight difference was before and after your modifications?

 

[latremorej]

No Title

That site looks alot different without leaves on the trees! I broke out laughing with the resident squirrel comment. We were raided every night by what seemed like dozens of kangaroo? mice as week as field mice. THE hoppy ones weren't bashful at all. I guess Dawn took care of the ground hornet nest on the right side bank under the pine, too cold for them to come out anyways i imagine. The kangaroo mice begged more than the dog! GREAT video Robin, thanks.

 

[Robin]

Did you ever post what the weight difference was before and after your modifications?

I think I did somewhere but I forget now. Really wasn't much of a difference iirc. The big difference is in the interior frame, the closet pole frame with the 6 angle pieces really works well, quick set up, easy to transport in the floor of the canoe and much stronger than they appear when the tent is tied down to stakes. Plus you can use a small stove and less wood to heat the tent up.
If I had to do it over again, I might have made the tent 6" taller, (it's 54" now) but then the frame might not be as efficient in a strong wind as it is now.
Compared to what it costs to get into a Snowtreekker with a stove, this is alot cheaper.
I'm not saying it's better, but I don't winter camp so this tent really works well for me for the money.

 

[Guest]

Great report Robin. I canoe trip/camp and I primitive winter camp on land, but I just can't get into cold weather canoe camping. I once saw a Moose near Hitchins pond. I think that stream you mentioned is the Horseshoe lake outlet? Always wanted to try that route in, but the stretch above the lower dam is so pretty I hate to miss it! I always wanted a Ruger #1 international!
Turtle

 

[Canotrouge]

As for the Ruger #1 international, it is a nice rifle, but not a great rifle. A bit heavy for its size, and not the best trigger out there, like most rugger of the older days( I think new one have a adjustable triggers) but it does the job. I like its shortness, and shouldering ability!

 

[Adk Keith]

It was a nasty first week of regular gun season. Good for you folks for hanging in there and making the best of it.

 

[Mars]

Very cool!.

Thanks for the taking us along.

 

[deerfly]

as a noob on the site, I'm a bit late... but that video was excellent, captured the essence of what its all about.

Its too bad most people that are against hunting or think they are anyway, don't realize it really ain't about the killing