Mauser - A GPS makes land nav sooooo much easier! :-) The topo maps and the aerial photos I found were 20+ years old and quite outdated. Anyways - it was easier to walk an extra 10 miles looking for a landmark or recognize the terrain when I was in my 20's. Now I'm older & wiser [not to mention lazier] and can afford to cheat with electronics. hehe.... Got a compass in my emergency kit but as long as the GPS works...
I assumed that what we found was a bedding area. It was about 10a and I had FINALLY gotten my son to stop stepping on every damned branch he saw. <img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle> He got the hand signals down and we were communicating just fine!!! Step.. step.. step.. look and listen.... I'm scanning the trees on the right and he's scanning the trees on the left...
The instead of making a click noise with his mouth to get my attention to give me a signal - he hollers out 'DAD!!!!' I turn my head ready to chastize him for noise discipline and 'WOW!!' THERE'S A SHOOTER!!! Geeesh...and there he goes... and that buck could reallllly run FAST through all that brush! <img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>
We went to where we saw him so I could mark the spot on my GPS to transfer to the map later and that's when we noticed the depression in the grass on the ground like he'd been laying there. Gun season in Texas doesn't start until 11/2. So, I figured a buck that big on a WMA must be smart cuz he's sticking to the outa da way places. So we started looking for his water and food areas. Well, we were on a squirrel hunt so looking for acorns was kinda dual purpose. hehe..
We then found a trail WAYY back in the bush and a rub when we were walking towards some oaks we saw in the distance. About 20m past that we found a little creek and our first squirrel of the day!! WOHOO!!
Marked 'em all on the GPS and just now marked it on the map. Looking at it I think he's been sticking to the low brush covered depressions for both his food and water.
I think one more trip to scout out the area between the two places and I can find a good ambush spot. Where we found the signs there was nothing but solid brush and no good lanes of fire. Of course we'll thin the nut eatin' squirrel population a bit while we're there. hehe... Gotta leave the food so that buck will hang around for a month or two more.
On a more technical note. What sounds to squirrels make?? We were stalking what we thought was a squirrel only to scare off some damned bird. The squirrels we saw were quietly munching on nuts and not making any noise - well, except for the *THUMP* sound they made when they hit the gound. hehe.. We spotted them from the movement and when they rustled the leaves. If we knew what to listen for - we prolly coulda gotten more.
Houston, TX