first bowkill of 2011

ishootbambi · #1 04-13-2011, 01:26 PM

after a major surgery last year, robin had to sit out the archery season as she couldnt pull her bow. well, shes strong again and itching to get back in shape. we went out for a few hours on sunday and between us we figured we got over 60 of the little buggers. man that field is gonna be some kinda awesome when the young uns come out.

Spennydubs · #2 04-13-2011, 02:31 PM

Looks like a blast! I'm planning on getting out this weekend. What kind of points were you guys using?

Stop Staring at my Rack · #3 04-13-2011, 03:33 PM

looks like fun, we will be out this weekend , got to get ready to go for bears in may, this a great way to practice!!!

ishootbambi · #4 04-13-2011, 07:11 PM

ridiculously good for practice. they are a small target, and smacking them consistently is a huge confidence booster....especially for those less experienced with archery gear (robin is a good example). its tempting to keep the hit percentage high by taking closer shots, but i like to extend the range as far as i would shoot at big game. for most shots i prefer just a field point when i have a mound as a backstop, but for longer shots or if they are on bare ground or particularly with tall grass behind them i like zwickey judos. i had to pick up some cheapo knockoffs (easton i think) from wal mart when the local archery guy was sold out. they arent much cheaper in price, but the quality is terrible. the spring arms bend way too easy and the point is big and blunt, basically ensuring they seldom stick in the ground.

rielbowhunter · #5 04-13-2011, 07:31 PM

I like the G5 SGH . great field point. http://www.g5outdoors.com/#sec_sgh

nick0danger · #6 04-13-2011, 07:46 PM

Wait the young ones are not out yet? What are those skinny ones out there that i keep whacking?

ishootbambi · #7 04-13-2011, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick0danger

Wait the young ones are not out yet? What are those skinny ones out there that i keep whacking?

just skinny ones i reckon. youll know the babies when you see em. shoot one and 5 more will come to see what the first one is squeakin about. you wont miss them. im not entirely sure when they emerge, but a few weeks for sure.

ganderblaster · #8 04-15-2011, 11:10 PM

End of May beginning of June I think the little ones start there initial forages

pottymouth · #9 04-16-2011, 12:50 AM

I already had my cousin out shooting some babies last week !

ishootbambi · #10 04-16-2011, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ganderblaster

End of May beginning of June I think the little ones start there initial forages

that sounds about right. ive never marked it on the calendar and every year i wonder what the date is, but that should be close. i went out today and pasted several dozen more....no sign of juveniles yet.

WildCanuck · #11 04-17-2011, 11:52 AM

I didn't like the G5's... after two trips whapping gofers all of the ends tips were broken and sheared off. I prefer judo points.
Lots of fun, but it can get expensive on arrows! I broke quite a few on rocks and lost a few more in the grass last summer.

WildCanuck

ishootbambi · #12 04-17-2011, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildCanuck

I didn't like the G5's... after two trips whapping gofers all of the ends tips were broken and sheared off. I prefer judo points.
Lots of fun, but it can get expensive on arrows! I broke quite a few on rocks and lost a few more in the grass last summer.

WildCanuck

ive had days where im down half a dozen arrows.....and at times can go weeks without a donation. 2 trips this year we are down one arrow between us. i went through a gopher into the mound behind him and hit a rock that was buried. i try to be careful when i can see the rocks, but sometimes them hidden ones will claim one on you. i dunno......in the long run i think i spend less on arrow than i would on bullets.....not that it matters.....soooooooooooooo worth it in fun!

hey, when someone does see this years baby crop start to emerge lets note it here and then next year we can look at it again instead of wondering when it happens.

Alberta Bigbore · #13 04-17-2011, 01:07 PM

Nice Kill shots !! Looks like fun times

Bohuntr · #14 04-18-2011, 07:56 PM

I use flat washers behind the field point for gophers. The hole is 3/16 and the outside diameter is about 7/8". This gives the arrow lots of impact and prevents most arrows from burying under grass. I bought the last washers at Home Depot. They call them fender washers and they are cheap, 20 cents each. If you bend one on a rock just remove the washer and whack it with a hammer and it is good as new.
I use whatever old arrows I have. After 30 years i have an assortment including feathers vanes and flu-flus. I find with my fallaway rest that the arrows all shoot well enough out to 20 or 30 yards.

gunner72 · #15 04-20-2011, 08:00 AM

Thats an awesome idea! I guess they must be still accurate? I'll have to try it.

ishootbambi · #16 04-24-2011, 10:31 PM

so i went out to give em heck again today. i was talking to a friend about the baby situation and he says that gophers are kind of unique in thier breeding. they are one of the few rodents that only have one litter a year. i didnt know that so i googled it to be sure and yepper. on todays venture, i paid attention to what i was shooting. only one of todays casualties was a female. that seemed odd as according to the interweb, females should outnumber males around 4 to 1. anyway, the female i shot happened to tear open pretty good, and she was full of yoots. i have no idea what they should look like as newborns, but they looked to my untrained eye like it oughta be soon. again, according to the web, once hatched they should emerge 28 days afterward.......cant wait for it!!!

ULTRAlite · #17 04-24-2011, 11:42 PM

lots of fun!!

ishootbambi · #18 04-29-2011, 10:00 AM

made it out to the gopher patch again yesterday. again nearly every kill was a male and once again a female pregnosaur was found. still no babies in sight.

Stinky Buffalo · #19 04-29-2011, 12:19 PM

Looks like a ton o' fun! Good shooting!

pottymouth · #20 05-01-2011, 11:55 PM

ISB, strange , I've had babies out at my place for awhile now. Actually was watching the hawks pick off 2 last week.

redranger15 · #21 05-02-2011, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bohuntr

I use flat washers behind the field point for gophers. The hole is 3/16 and the outside diameter is about 7/8". This gives the arrow lots of impact and prevents most arrows from burying under grass. I bought the last washers at Home Depot. They call them fender washers and they are cheap, 20 cents each. If you bend one on a rock just remove the washer and whack it with a hammer and it is good as new.
I use whatever old arrows I have. After 30 years i have an assortment including feathers vanes and flu-flus. I find with my fallaway rest that the arrows all shoot well enough out to 20 or 30 yards.

This is what we used to do when shooting chickens and gophers. Way cheaper then judo pionts and smacks them really good.

ishootbambi · #22 05-02-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pottymouth

ISB, strange , I've had babies out at my place for awhile now. Actually was watching the hawks pick off 2 last week.

im not calling you a liar by any means.....but it seems pretty odd. i dont think ive ever seen babies in april. maybe grab a pic of them...... i mean dead and beside a full grown one. this years babies shouldnt be more than half the size of an adult. ill post pics as soon as i see them emerge here. you cant miss the new ones....they are really small.

Lefty-Canuck · #23 05-02-2011, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

im not calling you a liar by any means.....but it seems pretty odd. i dont think ive ever seen babies in april. maybe grab a pic of them...... i mean dead and beside a full grown one. this years babies shouldnt be more than half the size of an adult. ill post pics as soon as i see them emerge here. you cant miss the new ones....they are really small.

I can confirm no babies out in the Edmonton-Leduc area yet. I was out yesterday, ISB thanks for getting me addicted again to shooting gophers with the bow....my wife will love you for that!

Lefty

ishootbambi · #24 05-02-2011, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I can confirm no babies out in the Edmonton-Leduc area yet. I was out yesterday, ISB thanks for getting me addicted again to shooting gophers with the bow....my wife will love you for that!

Lefty

if shes anything like mine, it would be nothing to get her in on the fun too. robin has every bit as much fun out there as i do.

pottymouth · #25 05-02-2011, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

im not calling you a liar by any means.....but it seems pretty odd. i dont think ive ever seen babies in april. maybe grab a pic of them...... i mean dead and beside a full grown one. this years babies shouldnt be more than half the size of an adult. ill post pics as soon as i see them emerge here. you cant miss the new ones....they are really small.

No prob, I'll see if I can arrow one on Wed. There only 36 yds from my deck. there was 5 , this morning I only saw 4. I don't even think there half the size of an adult.

ishootbambi · #26 05-15-2011, 11:09 AM

BABIES!!!!!!!

kinda odd how fast it happened. there are about a gazillion along the highway in town-walmart-perkins yada yada. yesterday i was looking hard and saw no yoots at all. today.....dozens. well, maybe hundreds. note for next year....babies emerge around may 15th in the medicine hat area. im pretty busy most of the day, but ill see if i cant sneak out for a few minutes to gets pics.

ishootbambi · #27 05-20-2011, 01:28 PM

well, may 20th now and i still havent managed to whack a baby and lay it beside an adult for size comparison, but these pics were taken at tim hortons the other day. 11 babies in one hole is a good indicator that they are new. the most i could get in one shot was this one.

hard to guage for size, but this adult was in the hole next door.

Jigsaw · #28 05-28-2011, 08:57 PM

I got out today for a few hours with my two boys. We had a blast. I rolled a few over with a washer behind a field tip and it worked like a charm. We didn't lose any arrows this way. My oldest just got his first "real bow"- a diamond razor edge and he could not be happier with it. Look out little gophers were comin' for ya!