nugget108 1,408 Posted October 1, 2018 Hello all, Haven't posted much on chasing nuggets since its been so flipping hot. Then archery season started in August for my sons junior deer tag, then Sept for muzzleloader season and now rifle is starting. So kind of busy with hunting seasons now till Feb. I took the boys out this morning to go scout for my sons bull elk tag in 3 weeks and we ended up 1 sage hen shy of a 3 person limit. That season opened yesterday so i figured we would hunt them after scouting for his bull. Took my little guy dang near a box to shoot his 2 birds but he finally did it haha. Got his first sage hen ever. Then they jumped a few mallards off of the pond up there. Then my oldest son comes tramping down the hill with a huge smile and this awesome 5x6 non typical dead head. Not huge but its a nice find. Anyway, figured I'd share our weekend of hunting everything but gold. Had a great time with my 2 boys. Take care everyone. 7 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,812 Posted October 1, 2018 Looks like an awesome day with the boys! That sage hen is some excellent fare. Great job! In New Mexico those winterkill racks are illegal to pick up. You can only possess sheds. And they are mighty serious about it too. Not to say I would not pick it up myself, but in my neck of the woods if a Game Warden saw that head his first question would be "Where is the tag?". If it was not tagged he would confiscate it! An artist friend of mine decorates them with turquoise and slick murals painted on them. She had several she was selling for big bucks in Santa Fe. She spent many hours painting them and lots of money on stones and stuff to decorate them. On her first day at the show she was approached by a Game Warden and had her entire collection confiscated. If the horns are attached to the skull you MUST have a game tag or permit to possess it or sell it. No doubt a few bigwigs in New Mexico Game and Fish have some beautiful artwork hanging on their wall. My artist friend got a citation and lost her hunting privileges for three years for picking up winterkills and decorating them. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,408 Posted October 1, 2018 Wow what a bummer about her art. We can pick them up here without any issues, but we do have a shed hunting season that started last year. That was put in place because people were running the deer and elk through the trees and thick brush to get their horns to drop off. Then they would just go over and pick it up. Typical case of people ruining things for everyone. We also have a lot of lion kills here. Its pretty common to be out roaming and find a half buried deer or elk. The lions are getting really over populated here for some reason. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,812 Posted October 1, 2018 (edited) I have heard tales of guys doing crazy stuff to make horns drop. I don't know what some guys use for brains. We have laws that prohibit harassment of animals here for any reason. But you can hunt sheds any time (I think). No one pays much attention to laws like that here anyway. I always snag a winterkill even if it is really stinky and funky. I love hunting mountain grouse up in the high country with a bow. I have never hunted the sage hen like you guys do. As a child I lived in Wyoming for several years and my father loved to hunt sage hen out in the hills. There are not too many birds here in New Mexico though and I have never gotten around to hunting for them. Everything is wacky these days. We used to have a lot of lions but no more. Now we have jaguarundis and javelinas. The coues deer are everywhere ... I had never seen one in New Mexico until ten years ago. I see antelope in the mountains all the time. It is like freaky Friday every day. The times they are a changin'. Edited October 1, 2018 by Bedrock Bob 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morlock 1,248 Posted October 1, 2018 14 hours ago, nugget108 said: Hello all, Haven't posted much on chasing nuggets since its been so flipping hot. Then archery season started in August for my sons junior deer tag, then Sept for muzzleloader season and now rifle is starting. So kind of busy with hunting seasons now till Feb. I took the boys out this morning to go scout for my sons bull elk tag in 3 weeks and we ended up 1 sage hen shy of a 3 person limit. That season opened yesterday so i figured we would hunt them after scouting for his bull. Took my little guy dang near a box to shoot his 2 birds but he finally did it haha. Got his first sage hen ever. Then they jumped a few mallards off of the pond up there. Then my oldest son comes tramping down the hill with a huge smile and this awesome 5x6 non typical dead head. Not huge but its a nice find. Anyway, figured I'd share our weekend of hunting everything but gold. Had a great time with my 2 boys. Take care everyone. Dan Gold comes in many forms. You've had some wonderful times and that's better then the real thing. 2 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,408 Posted October 1, 2018 We are starting to see more and more antelope up in the mountains too. Im talking 6000 to 7000 feet. We are also getting heavily populated on antelope too. I cant believe the heards we are seeing now and where we are seeing them. Here we cant shed hunt from January 1st to April 30th. But it still happens. And its only like 6 counties here that it applies to. Folks make more money per pound on a nice fresh shed than they do on an older drop that sits in the elements. So thats why they run them and harass them till they drop. We were getting huge shed hunting parties from Idaho and Utah coming over here and beating the brush for sheds. Then going back and selling them to their horn buyers for major bucks per pound. It was getting crazy. We love hunting sage hen and blue and ruffed grouse. But when its waterfowl season, nothing else really matters haha. Theres nothing better than decoying in a big flock of geese, or mallards dropping into the spread. Elk and deer season kinda has a hold on our early waterfowl season this year. Dang kids and their big game tags haha. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,408 Posted October 1, 2018 6 minutes ago, Morlock said: Dan Gold comes in many forms. You've had some wonderful times and that's better then the real thing. You got that right. Like i said before, them boys are my best friends. They are quite amazing kids. My daughters are pretty awesome too of course haha. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,812 Posted October 1, 2018 5 minutes ago, nugget108 said: We are starting to see more and more antelope up in the mountains too. Im talking 6000 to 7000 feet. We are also getting heavily populated on antelope too. I cant believe the heards we are seeing now and where we are seeing them. Here we cant shed hunt from January 1st to April 30th. But it still happens. And its only like 6 counties here that it applies to. Folks make more money per pound on a nice fresh shed than they do on an older drop that sits in the elements. So thats why they run them and harass them till they drop. We were getting huge shed hunting parties from Idaho and Utah coming over here and beating the brush for sheds. Then going back and selling them to their horn buyers for major bucks per pound. It was getting crazy. We love hunting sage hen and blue and ruffed grouse. But when its waterfowl season, nothing else really matters haha. Theres nothing better than decoying in a big flock of geese, or mallards dropping into the spread. Elk and deer season kinda has a hold on our early waterfowl season this year. Dang kids and their big game tags haha. Here it is Sandhill Crane. Ribeye in the sky. Yeah, youngsters and their "big game". I would rather spend the day chasing quail or walking the woods for grouse. I get excited about mule deer but everything else is just an excuse to get out with my son in the woods. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,408 Posted October 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Bedrock Bob said: Here it is Sandhill Crane. Ribeye in the sky. Yeah, youngsters and their "big game". I would rather spend the day chasing quail or walking the woods for grouse. I get excited about mule deer but everything else is just an excuse to get out with my son in the woods. I have always heard that sandhills are amazing. We have a bunch of them here, but no season on them. Dang near every state around us has a season. My cousin lives in Idaho and we talked about heading up there some time to give it a go, but just haven't done it yet. Im the same way, i love hunting big mulies and elk, especially elk. But we just love sitting over decoys and calling in them birds. Something about it. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Furness 1,362 Posted October 2, 2018 The generations hunting together ... nothing like it! Your story brings back memories of when my boys were much younger. They're 41 and 39 now ... have jobs and responsibilities that keep them out of the woods. My older son Jay is on his way back to NH after spending 10 or so years in Texas. Hoping to get him into a kayak next summer and a little KBF tourney fishing! He has been wanting to go fishing BUT well work and obligations ya know! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,408 Posted October 2, 2018 Your right Mike, nothing like hanging out with the kids. Get him a kayak and get him out in it. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Furness 1,362 Posted October 2, 2018 That's the plan! Next May! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NvAuMiner 251 Posted October 12, 2018 Fun times for sure.. Congrats on the hens and the great find!!! Don't be fooled!!! Memories like those..... are gold-en. . . 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
