Heading for Assiteaque Island this morning for the weekend. This afternoon I can bow hunt and Friday and Saturday is Black Powder. Man it will be nice to get back to the dunes and watch the sun rise and hopefully get a lil monster.
Ya All have a good weekend.
Time for a Sika hunt
Moderator: Excalibur Marketing Dude
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Divemaster920
- Posts: 32
- Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2005 5:09 pm
- Location: Madison Heights, VA
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BigBird-VA
- Posts: 262
- Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:15 pm
- Location: Chesapeake, VA.
http://members.cox.net/4seasons/Sika.jpg
I hunted the lower part in VA for many years. A new biologist took over the refuge and decided that sika needed to go. They're a non-native species and they displace the whitetail - so they say. My thoughts are even with the sika all but gone the WT deer have not taken off that well. The habitat is poor for them but the sika seem to do well. They raised the bag limit for sika to 5 a day per hunter. You used to see 10+ a day - sometimes as many as 30 a day - on a trip up there. Last year I saw 2 and took 1. I'm not going this year as it's almost a total waste of time and $$$.
I took the guy in the pic at 20yds from the ground in a natural blind of sorts. He was chasing a doe. Went 20 yds and dropped. I really miss the hunt up there as it was the high point of my local season.
I hunted the lower part in VA for many years. A new biologist took over the refuge and decided that sika needed to go. They're a non-native species and they displace the whitetail - so they say. My thoughts are even with the sika all but gone the WT deer have not taken off that well. The habitat is poor for them but the sika seem to do well. They raised the bag limit for sika to 5 a day per hunter. You used to see 10+ a day - sometimes as many as 30 a day - on a trip up there. Last year I saw 2 and took 1. I'm not going this year as it's almost a total waste of time and $$$.
I took the guy in the pic at 20yds from the ground in a natural blind of sorts. He was chasing a doe. Went 20 yds and dropped. I really miss the hunt up there as it was the high point of my local season.
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mdcrossbow
- Posts: 1368
- Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2003 12:48 pm
Thursday was a bust for bow hunting, the guys in my shop removed my bow when they loaded furniture up in the morning for delievery and I didn't check to see if it was in, I guess I should assume.So in the morning I loaded up the Knight disc.
My hunt started out like everyone elses, waiting for approvel to drive on the beach because of high tide wash outs and when buy 8 AM a no go I started walking a little over a mile and found a nice little place I'm calling "The shooting gallery" LOL After crawling for 30 yards and cutting my way through that ungodly brambles and crowling some more I found a sweet spot. 3 wallows and rubs and it was all in a little area about 7X20 yards. 1st I set up a quick makesift ground blind and turn on the Therma Cell and waited but I soon realized I didn't have the best view of the enterence so I picked up and made another quick blind and 10 minites later the biggest stag I've ever seen was standing 35 yards out looking at me. I only had a quarting towards me shot for a second so I put my cross hairs between his shoulder neck and fired , dam ! miss, high over his back. I followed where he went and he lead me into another little honey hole little bigger and more wallowers and rubs. I jumped a doe walking in and I figered this has got to be hot if cows are bedded. It was like a little island with the wide part of a V being brambles leading to hard woods. This area was about 40 yards by 20 yards with huge pines and brambles on the back side and march on 2 side like a V. On the far sides of the water were hard woods. I knew this was a good place to be. I found a maple tree at the far end and had to jump to the 1st limb of the tree. I found a configuration of branches that cave be back suport and foot rest sort of like a lounge chair, Sweet! OK the a cow came in and I wasn't ready I missed then a 12" spike came in I drilled him 20 yards broad side. I lissoned to him run through the end of the V into the water. I zig zaged that marsh for 2 hours in water up over my knees with knee boots on. I got wet and no deer. I know he is dead but tuff to find in black water. SO I went back to my tree and shimmed up again this time a little spike came in and I waited for him to have his head pointed to the back of the V where I was and fired he want 30 yards and was down. Not to bad of a morning. Some of the guys down their told me them sika will dive under water to hide. Maybe he did.
I found out only 3 sika were taken Friday out of 80+ hunters and I was one of the lucky one's. LOL
My hunt started out like everyone elses, waiting for approvel to drive on the beach because of high tide wash outs and when buy 8 AM a no go I started walking a little over a mile and found a nice little place I'm calling "The shooting gallery" LOL After crawling for 30 yards and cutting my way through that ungodly brambles and crowling some more I found a sweet spot. 3 wallows and rubs and it was all in a little area about 7X20 yards. 1st I set up a quick makesift ground blind and turn on the Therma Cell and waited but I soon realized I didn't have the best view of the enterence so I picked up and made another quick blind and 10 minites later the biggest stag I've ever seen was standing 35 yards out looking at me. I only had a quarting towards me shot for a second so I put my cross hairs between his shoulder neck and fired , dam ! miss, high over his back. I followed where he went and he lead me into another little honey hole little bigger and more wallowers and rubs. I jumped a doe walking in and I figered this has got to be hot if cows are bedded. It was like a little island with the wide part of a V being brambles leading to hard woods. This area was about 40 yards by 20 yards with huge pines and brambles on the back side and march on 2 side like a V. On the far sides of the water were hard woods. I knew this was a good place to be. I found a maple tree at the far end and had to jump to the 1st limb of the tree. I found a configuration of branches that cave be back suport and foot rest sort of like a lounge chair, Sweet! OK the a cow came in and I wasn't ready I missed then a 12" spike came in I drilled him 20 yards broad side. I lissoned to him run through the end of the V into the water. I zig zaged that marsh for 2 hours in water up over my knees with knee boots on. I got wet and no deer. I know he is dead but tuff to find in black water. SO I went back to my tree and shimmed up again this time a little spike came in and I waited for him to have his head pointed to the back of the V where I was and fired he want 30 yards and was down. Not to bad of a morning. Some of the guys down their told me them sika will dive under water to hide. Maybe he did.
I found out only 3 sika were taken Friday out of 80+ hunters and I was one of the lucky one's. LOL