Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Stupid hawks

Finnally got out to shoot squirrels off my rimrocks. Finnally found the missing road that let me hunt the far side of the canyon without acctually having to cross that hell hole. Meant only about a mile hike each way. Good so far.

This side of the canyon is STEEP. All the shots are either below you, or Straight drown. Kinda cool. Seems like about the time I would work my way out on one of the bluffs and get in a couple of shots. Here comes this damn redtail hawk. He would pass about 25yards below me, makin alota noise the whole time. Wich means all my targets go into hiding. Sooner or later you would get a shot off at a stupid squirrel that just had to look around a lil but it wasnt like it was. Damn thing followed me rimrock to rimrock for probly 1/2 mile over the course of about 3 hours. He would check out my kills and then get back to work makin sure those squirrels werent goona give me a easy shot.

Please tell me that everybody else has this problem and I'm not alone

Pics are from a previous hike in. But bassicaly the same spot. Still managed to get off almost a box worth of 17HMR though, so I guess it wasnt to bad.

Can only see about half way down to the bottom of the canyon in the pics. Cant put into words how pleased I am about finnally figuring out a way around this damn thing. I got no problem walkin. But Crossing this canyon twice in a day just to shoot squirrels only happend once, and it wasnt goona happen again, unless I found the shortcut

I can see your irritation on both counts! Yeah, the hawks will sure mess you up on a varmint hunt. Looks like some Hardcore Varmint Hunting to me. My hats off to you. I generally also try to keep my varmint hunting from becoming too hardcore....

"Wing shooting" could take on a whole new meaning......

Not really that hard core. Just not quite the same as shootin a fresh cut alfalfa field Consider it scouting for deer (I do)

Only real PITA is that with .223 or .243 you got all the bulk of the ammo to bring in an brass to bring out. Wich means you gotta bring a pack and such. Main reason why I stick with the HMR here. Dump a box of shells in my pocket and your good to go.

Wing shooting did flash across my mind a time or two.....

pic from the other side of the canyon. Was working these rocks.

damn, i never shot at a hawk from above

Of coures, I know of NO ONE who has shot a bird of prey......

BTW, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Mud_bogger: I don't Hunt the "country Ground Squirrels" very often - like you are obviously doing but I do partake heavily of Hunting the hoardes of "cultivated field Ground Squirrels"!
And indeed when Hawks, Falcons, Eagles and even Crows or Ravens fly over the fields the Ground Squirrels often head for cover!
The good thing about Hunting these high concentrations of Ground Squirrels in cultivated fields is there are so many of them that there is always a percentage of Ground Squirrels that are below ground when the big birds fly over and its a short time until the field fills up with new "unalarmed" Varmints!
I read a college type paper once on Ground Squirrels that among other interesting things professed that at any one time only 20% of the areas population of Ground squirrels are above ground at that particular time!
I don't know - I have seen some amazing numbers of Ground Squirrels "above ground" - and if those amazing numbers are only 20% of the population then there is indeed a hellacious number of Ground Squirrels in some of the fields I Hunt.
Great photos - thanks for sharing.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Boggy,

Great pics and story, man.
Ya been to the "lake" this year??
I need to take the trail bike in and catch some brookies - do a bit of double dipping w/the .17.......

Nope. My tires are so bald you can see the air on the inside if you look close. They wont handle that last stretch of road.
Section of bluffs above the eastside of that lake was fairly productive for squirrels. Also got to talkin to a guy that lived up near there and he claimed there was a mine tunnel somewhere on that canyon wall.

His directions consited of lining this tree up this rock on the other side of the canyon. Then hold up your thumb to the side of the rock and on the other edge of you thumb the mine shaft should be. Or somethin like that

Did bust a handfull of grouse and 1 nice buck. LOTS of deer hangin out in that dark timber too.

Hey guys! I am temporarily, by design (and Dr's orders) unemployed for a while, have nice new tires on my KLR650.....

I just LOVE lakes, and gophers, and

Am thinkin you would be awfull sore after ridin the KLR down to medford

Just kiddin anyway. We have some good rodent spots around here. I do love exploreing and seeing new spots. I might ride it all the way to Jordan Valley, however. KLR650's are pretty decent long range bikes with modest dirt capabilities. Many ride them up to Alaska and back on a regular basis.

In any event, good luck with your lakefront rodent shoots and what happens to hawks in the way high up mountains, stays in the way high up mountains

LOL either way, if you get your azz down here I'm sure we could hook you up with a couple rodents to shoot.

That lake is a stupid place to its hard to figure out what to do.

Your fishin and look way up on the canyon side and wonder if theres a squirrel on one of them rocks. NExt thing ya know.....

MB,

I haven't made it to the lake this year either.... been way too busy and it isn't going to any better soon.

There should be plenty of water, I would think.
Plenty of Brookies, I know for a fact!

Single tracking the KLR to the lake would be ugly! I took mine out a couple of times and tried to use it like a trail bike and it was a lot of work. They're a bitch to try to pick up, too!!
My last trip in (2010) I ran my modified TW200 in. That little bike is in it's element there.

MB, those are some GREAT pictures! Looks like a fun place.

Blacktail53; yeah, I have tried, once or twice, to use the KLR as a trail bike and then hurt for WEEKS after.

I have been contemplating one of those TW200's. You sound like you like yours pretty well. Mind if I ask what your height/weight is? I am a little worried that at 6'3" and 245lbs the 200cc's would be a bit stretched in packing me around.

Safariman,

Here's a picture of one of my son's on it.

I put a moto cross type fender on the front. Simply made a bracket and it bolted right up. I also raised the handle bars about and inch and a half. There's a rack on the back of it now, too.
I weigh 175 and I'm 5' 10". It scoots me around just fine.
A friend made a tow hitch carrier for it and I just take it wherever, whenever.

Thats it.... gotta have me one. I had a motorcycle rack put onto the back of my camping trailer so that when we go camping we can take our two dual sport M/C's but when I tried to load my pig like KLR 650 onto the rack, the front of the trailer went straightup in the air! Not a good plan for towing.....

Do you know how much your Yammy 200 wieghs in at?

Yea heavy bikes suck. I took the 520KTM in last summer before I sold it. Was grabbing gears and slinging shale all the way down that road. A steering dampner makes so much difference in that kinda terrain. I think it was like 246lbs and a bit over 50hp. Was cool. The newer one is cooler but seems to prefer breaking expensive parts alot.

I railed around a buddies XR-650. It was nice in the straight stretches. A heavy bike doesnt get thrown around as much. But in the corners it was a workout. Biggest issue for me was the suspension was so plush and kooshy that when you went to start it 1/2 your kick was absorbed by the rear shock. It sucked.

Those lil TW200's are bad ass. Always thought they were cool.