Nicknames
Have you ever been to a hunting spot that doesn’t have a name on the map? And, instead of telling your buddies, “remember that spot off of the old logging road?”, you decide to name it after something significant.
My best friend, Mark, and I have done this for a very long time and, for several reasons. We can talk to each other about a spot in front of other people and, they have no idea where we are talking about and, does not give the area away.
Because we grew up in the desert in Arizona, we have hunted waterholes alot, especially during the summer for coyotes, rabbits, and whatever was legal.
Because water is a valuable resource here, we have seen every type of animal imaginable come to drink without noticing us.
Names such as Banana tank, The Flume, The Square, Playboy Tank, Rock tank, Cedar Tank. Turkey Ridge, Dogleg Tank, Hidden tank, The Groves, Middle Mountain Tank, all got named by us as a great reference for us without giving our spot away to others.
Even though these names will never be on a map, they have special meaning to Mark and I, and after several years of neither of us visiting a certain spot, we know immediately where the other is referring to when it is mentioned.
The photo included was taken by Mark at Coyote Tank during the month of June many years ago, and shows an example of what you can see when sitting a tank in 115 degree heat. Incidentally, this tank was named after Mark and I killed several coyotes with bow and arrow from it. It was a favorite of ours as you could count on seeing several species of game including coyote, bobcat, javelina, mule deer, literally hundreds of quail, and 1 time I counted 46 cottontail and jackrabbits in about 3 1/2 hours.
If you ever want to see what is in the area you hunt, check waterholes during the summer, and the tracks will give away some secrets. Then, find a nice tree to get under downwind, and enjoy nature at it’s best.
keep em sharp,
Garth
true, we name lots of places and it can be confusing to outsiders. Watching waterholes and studying tracks is a good idea too.
Sometimes explaining a place name is a great story. In California, we have the canyons named. mainly because all of the creeks are dry from may until November. The Buckeye, the Mine, Berries, the Bridge, the Long Canyon, etc..
When we go out of state we seem to refer to the creeks since they are running during hunting season. When you find a good lookout and have some success there it get’s your name associated with it. We have Dan’s point, and Paul’s meadow, and “Action alley” where one of the boys had a stand off with a bear…
Thanks for making me remmber the stories behind the names..
I’m pretty new to the hunting scene and at first I was a little put off by the secrecy that guys had over their “spots.” But I’m starting to get it! Most of my buddies hunt on private land and so there isn’t as much of a problem, but they still won’t tell an outsider where it’s at.
Hopefully though, you are writing it down in a book that you keep under your mattress or something so that your kids and grand kids can find the same spot.
http://www.rodandriflerag.com/
My brother and I do this all the time. One thing that really makes this interesting in Oregon where I live is that the vegetation is always growing so fast, things can change drastically from year to year. Hunting with friends and family and these special places, “where we saw those two four-pointers cross the logging road,” is a part of what makes hunting so special.
Thanks for the nice post.
~nimrod243
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Totally agreed on some sort of coding for the different spots that you marked, so that you won’t give the area that easily. Done it several times with my buddy too.
I wouldnt mind hunting the Coyote Tank!
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Totaly agree with having to have the secrecy in the woods. My husband and I do it all the time and I find it to be crucial when there are many other people that may hunt the same piece of land.