Blackwater NWR Shotgun Hunt 11/30/12

Just got back from the range !



Took my Savage 220 20 gauge bolt action rifled slug gun and my Savage 210F 12 gauge bolt action rifled slug gun and checked the scope settings one more time !



Heading out for the Blackwater NWR in the wee hours of the morning friday !

My climber is chain locked to a tree there . But it had to endure the hurricane/flood a couple weeks ago . So I'm taking the seat outta my other climber just in cse the seat in this one got dislodged and floated away .



Got all my hunting clothes in the washing machine geting cleaned and descented before I leave .



All I'll need to do when I wake up at 12:30 AM friday morning is take a shower dress and make a couple sandwiches to go in my camo soft cooler . Gonna go prepared to stay up the tree all day . Although I've hunted this tree two other times in 2005 and 2010 . In 2005 I killed the 6 point Sika thats in my avatar and in 2010 I got a pair of Sika hinds . Both times I was on the way home by 9:30AM . So if I go prepared for the whole day perhaps I won't need it after all !

Since the cell service there sucks I'm gonna take along a paperback just in case I start getting bored :doh:
 
FWIW , I have older Leupold Vari XII 3-9's on both sluggers !

In the 20 I'm shooting the Remington 2 3/4" AccuTip . Sighted dead on at 100 yards .

In the 12 I'm also shooting the Remington 2 3/4" AccuTip and again sighted dead on at 100 yards . The 12 will generally shoot the Remington AccuTip , Hornady SST and Winchester XP3 to the same POI at 100 yards .

Anyway they both are ready .

I had comtemplated taking those two as well as my Ithaca SxS 10 gauge 2 7/8" gun loaded with my handloads of "00 Buck" and taking the 20 gauge slug gun and the 10 gauge up the tree . But there's really no need for that . Just the 20 gauge is plenty to have to carry in and carry back out !
 
A friend spent last week deer hunting in WI - only saw does - so no tag for him!

Hope you have a good day up the tree, watch out for rogue lumberjacks though...
 
A friend spent last week deer hunting in WI - only saw does - so no tag for him!

Hope you have a good day up the tree, watch out for rogue lumberjacks though...

Thanks !

No lumberjacks on a National Wildlife Refuge .

This is one of the original places that was set aside for waterfowl a number of years ago .
 
Hi 6pt,
good idea to take the 20 only you dont want too much hadware up a tree stand.
Having Sika wild in Maryland gives an extra dimension to deer hunting.

how much is the permit for out of State hunters

Good luck, dont fall asleep, wear a harness.
 
Hi 6pt,
good idea to take the 20 only you dont want too much hadware up a tree stand.
Having Sika wild in Maryland gives an extra dimension to deer hunting.

how much is the permit for out of State hunters

Good luck, dont fall asleep, wear a harness.

The "permit" is $10 for anyone . The non res license for gun and ML hunting is $155 . So I pay $175 for one day of ML and one day of shotgun . In those two days I could take 22 whitetails of which 2 would be bucks and 3 Sika deer of which again two could be bucks .

Sleeping is no big deal , the climber I use has you kinda encased . You literally have to try to fall out of it !
 
22 whitetails of which 2 would be bucks and 3 Sika deer

Well that sounds too much
lets hope you get ONE
Think Ill fly over and join you next year,archery, ML, and shotgun
will make a change from rifle shooting.
 
22 whitetails of which 2 would be bucks and 3 Sika deer

Well that sounds too much
lets hope you get ONE
Think Ill fly over and join you next year,archery, ML, and shotgun
will make a change from rifle shooting.
If I lived closer I'd ditch the white tails and hunt Sika's exclusively but it's about a 4 hour drive to where the refuge is !
 
With two Sika per season that's six a year that would be plenty for me ! Can't do much with a cpound anymore since my left shoulder went south but I could do the archery season with a crossbow !
 
congrats you got one
thanks for the photos
looks like swampy country
difficult to get around.
 
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congrats you got one
thanks for the photos
looks like swampy country
difficult to get around.
Technically I suppose you call this are "tidal wet uplands" , I think of it as semi tidal marsh . The Cheasapeake Bay is only a mile or so away and I'd say the ground below us maybe 10-15 feet above sea level might not even be that much !
 
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