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Bucket List Scratch Off
#9136407
11/10/24 04:28 PM
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Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,333
QMC SW/EXW
OP
Pro Tracker
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OP
Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,333 |
I have always been the type that likes the unusual and uncommon. So when work to me to deep south TX in the Rio Grande Valley it didn't take me long to realize I have a gamebird here that is somewhat unique, the Brown Chachalaca. You can only hunt them in deep south TX and even there they are only legal to hunt in 3 counties, one of which I currently live in. So as soon as I got here I began researching them and found I had several public hunting areas near me that it was legal to hunt them on. I called the game warden for the area and sort of picked his brain and he recommended I concentrate on one of the unit of the Los Palomas WMA. The season opened on Oct 26 and I went but had no luck. Then I went last weekend and had no luck on birds but did pop a couple of cottontails with a Rossi 410 single shot. But today was a different story. About 30 min after first light I was making my way along an overgrown path and heard some in a couple of big mesquites. These things are really loud and the game warden had told me I would probably hear them before seeing them. He was correct and fortunately I knew from the 2 weeks before that the path I was on would take me next to the mesquites. As I slipped in I saw a chachalaca on a bare limb and it took flight but a load of #7 1/2s stopped that as it crossed the path. About 7 or 8 other birds also took off and I managed to get another shell in the 410 and dropped the last bird in some really thick brush. The first bird was easy to recover since it fell next to the path but I ended up crawling on my belly to get the second bird. These things are pretty cool. The back is sort of an olive green with a tan and white breast. Tail feathers are about 10 inches long with most of the feathers having a white tip. I'd guess them to be about half again the size on a big pigeon. I plucked them and will try roasting one and will break the other one down to fry. They had an incredible amount of yellow fat in the cavity and the crops were full of a purple berry. Now I know what food source to concentrate on. On my way out I came to a big chilipetin bush and picked about 50 chilis to dry for later use. For those that haven't seen them they are very small but incredibly hot and make a great addition to chili or other dishes. So how cool was that morning? It isn't every day you get to scratch one off the bucket list! Cheers Y'All
Retired Navy Chief NJROTC Instructor for Los Fresnos High School
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136421
11/10/24 05:01 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Texas buckeye
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375 |
Cool story and congrats on getting that list a little smaller.
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136424
11/10/24 05:05 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,540
ElkOne
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,540 |
Great job, don't know but I'll bet they are real good to eat.
ElkOne
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136428
11/10/24 05:07 PM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 17,659
Jimbo1
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 17,659 |
Great story. Always wondered about those birds, seeing them in the regs, now I know.
Awake - Not Woke!
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136430
11/10/24 05:15 PM
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 19,515
TEXASLEFTY
THF Whiskey Sommelier
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THF Whiskey Sommelier
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 19,515 |
Love the peppers and that’s a bucket list animal for me also!!!
Congrats!
Never been to a camping world. I prefer Dick's to be honest.
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136502
11/10/24 07:50 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 24,900
dkershen
Rev Dave
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Rev Dave
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 24,900 |
Very cool. Interested in hearing how they eat.
To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.www.NewHopeEquine.com - Health and Healing through Horses.
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136509
11/10/24 08:04 PM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 11,178
DQ Kid
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 11,178 |
Bet they're a cross of quail and chicken as far as taste is concerned. Lived in Harlingen as a kid for 2 years, 76-77, saw and heard some in heavy brush near the canal. Believe Harlingen is in one of the legal hunting counties or previously was.
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136533
11/10/24 09:07 PM
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Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 20,515
Biscuit
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 20,515 |
This is a true hunting story, congratulations and thanks so much for sharing
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136543
11/10/24 09:18 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 100
Startfireman
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 100 |
Matt J. Letlow
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136683
11/11/24 02:06 AM
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 265
Reata
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 265 |
Great story and very cool bird!
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136694
11/11/24 02:24 AM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,241
Fltmedic
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,241 |
Don't take life so seriously, you'll never make it out alive!
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136745
11/11/24 06:26 AM
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,575
Smokey Bear
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,575 |
Congrate sir. I still have a few bucket list birds I’d like to scratch off the list…
Smokey Bear---Lone Star State.
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136817
11/11/24 01:43 PM
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 723
Capt.JVH
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 723 |
that is really cool. Well done on doing it the right way! I know a lot of taxidermist friends that would just sit out in people's back yards down there and wait for them to pop out to eat, then shoot them. Hunting them like a grouse sounds really cool and challenging.
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: Biscuit]
#9136890
11/11/24 03:50 PM
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Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 15,246
Hudbone
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 15,246 |
This is a true hunting story, congratulations and thanks so much for sharing Could not agree more. Thank you!
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9136975
11/11/24 05:45 PM
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 348
fredgus
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 348 |
in the early 80's I hunted a ranch in Mexico that had a population of those birds, of course we only had rifles so we never hunted them, but saw them on a regular basis,havent seen any since
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9137036
11/11/24 07:30 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 726
MAP
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 726 |
Those are some of the best pictures ive seen of those birds, thanks for posting. Those pictures look like they where taken in the yucatan.
We have some that live at our farm, i got excited when i first saw them on trail camera. We are about 2 hours north of macallen, so we cant hunt them. I would actually like to get one mounted on a table top display.
Are you going to go out again and try for more?
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9137286
11/12/24 01:54 AM
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Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 641
Catperch
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 641 |
Heck of a story! Thanks for sharing……and with the ole single shot too!
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9137323
11/12/24 02:48 AM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,848
pigplinker
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,848 |
congratulations on the list scratch off.
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9137473
11/12/24 02:37 PM
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Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 81
BigHutch
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 81 |
Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing the story and the pictures.
Big Hutch
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9138390
11/13/24 08:21 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 62,069
BOBO the Clown
kind of a big deal
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kind of a big deal
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 62,069 |
Great adventure!!!! Living right Sir.
Bottom line, never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals.-Sen Joni Ernst
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9138564
11/14/24 12:43 AM
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,287
Ringtail
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,287 |
Great stuff! Let us know how they taste!
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9138815
11/14/24 03:26 PM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 13,875
1860.colt
emoji colt.45
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emoji colt.45
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 13,875 |
Awesome Got up this morning & kicked the bucket. it gets tougher & tougher.
i'm postaddic
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9138820
11/14/24 03:33 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 10,667
unclebubba
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 10,667 |
I had never contemplated a Chachalaca hunt...but now I have. Thanks for sharing!
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Re: Bucket List Scratch Off
[Re: QMC SW/EXW]
#9138841
11/14/24 04:01 PM
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 21,137
TurkeyHunter
determined
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determined
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 21,137 |
That's a very cool story. Thanks for sharing. How will you prepare the rabbit?
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