Some fur and feathers - IV upland report 12/27

WaterDawg

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Nov 20, 2016
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Found myself with an unexpected free day so made an IV run. I wanted to shoot my .22 and my shotgun so devised a plan where I arrived at a cottontail spot at sun up. Some big hay stacks next to an alf Alfa field with a patch of native desert on the other side. Went full camo and set up my tripod and stool for some sniper action with scoped Ruger 10/22. The rabbits were pretty abundant but most were popping out 75 to 100 yards out, where my skills just weren’t up to the job. After missing several shots I moved closer to the sweet spot and picked off a few.

A3A49673-100E-4D0E-BBEA-A2170DA359B8.jpeg

Then I went looking for some bird action and found a mother lode of ECDs but they were in Imperial city limits and not safe to shoot anyway. Typical ECD frustration, plenty of birds but not shootable.

So cruised some canals on the east side and spotted a quail covey. Parked and stalked where I saw them heading. Five feet in front of me about 20 birds flushed at once and I went full Elmer Fudd, missing everything with three shots. It was the ol’ too many targets at once deal. Chased them around for a while but couldn’t get any good opportunities. Moved on to a favorite spot of mine. Loaded up with steel 6’s because there are usually some bunnies there along with quail. Flushed several coveys, and they were calling loudly trying to regroup. That made it easy to dial in on them and I bagged five as it was getting dusky. A poor decision resulted in another bird downed but in the canal 25 feet from the bank. Took one more cottontail here too.

F8D85D99-2249-4C14-A186-27E13C198F79.jpeg
Fun day shooting and scouting. Nice cool temps for hunting. Happy New Year everyone.
 
Kevin,

Now that's a great day of hunting in the IV.....It's amazing how much game that one county can produce.....Congrats.
 
Forgive my ignorance, but can you just hunt anywhere in the IV (outside city limits) as long as it is NOT posted?
 
Forgive my ignorance, but can you just hunt anywhere in the IV (outside city limits) as long as it is NOT posted?

Pretty much.....UNLESS it's cultivated with a row crop.....Such as lettuce, sugar beets, onions, etc.

Harvested wheat and corn are OK.....Bermuda grass, alfalfa, and sudan grass are OK....Unless they're posted or fenced.

There is a little known county ordinance about shooting 50 yds from any state maintained road (see below)....The shooting over a named road and a 150 yds from any occupied dwelling, barn, or out building still apply (state law).

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJ5KmOk7DYAhWhjFQKHUggA_wQFgg1MAI&url=https://library.municode.com/ca/imperial_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT11PUPEWE_CH11.08WE&usg=AOvVaw1Tj2RlJSLadiUIr8AGaDkM
.
 
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And a tank of gas to do it!

Well done Kevin!

Yep, lots of driving involved from where I live. Doing my part to support the oil field workers. Thank God for Spotify and XM Radio.
 
Found myself with an unexpected free day so made an IV run. I wanted to shoot my .22 and my shotgun so devised a plan where I arrived at a cottontail spot at sun up. Some big hay stacks next to an alf Alfa field with a patch of native desert on the other side. Went full camo and set up my tripod and stool for some sniper action with scoped Ruger 10/22. The rabbits were pretty abundant but most were popping out 75 to 100 yards out, where my skills just weren’t up to the job. After missing several shots I moved closer to the sweet spot and picked off a few.

View attachment 34094

Then I went looking for some bird action and found a mother lode of ECDs but they were in Imperial city limits and not safe to shoot anyway. Typical ECD frustration, plenty of birds but not shootable.

So cruised some canals on the east side and spotted a quail covey. Parked and stalked where I saw them heading. Five feet in front of me about 20 birds flushed at once and I went full Elmer Fudd, missing everything with three shots. It was the ol’ too many targets at once deal. Chased them around for a while but couldn’t get any good opportunities. Moved on to a favorite spot of mine. Loaded up with steel 6’s because there are usually some bunnies there along with quail. Flushed several coveys, and they were calling loudly trying to regroup. That made it easy to dial in on them and I bagged five as it was getting dusky. A poor decision resulted in another bird downed but in the canal 25 feet from the bank. Took one more cottontail here too.

View attachment 34093
Fun day shooting and scouting. Nice cool temps for hunting. Happy New Year everyone.

Nice report! I can’t wait to make my first trip out to IV...


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