Have you ever had such an experience, where you haven’t seen your college classmates after graduation, and only occasionally interact with them on social media? Have you ever had such a thought, wanting to relive the past friendship with your college classmates, and do some fun and exciting things together? If you have, then this article is for you. In this article, I will share my unforgettable trip with my college classmates Evelyn Fred, Jamie Tommy at Changde Jia Shan National Forest Park, and how we used equipment such as night vision devices and infrared binoculars to find and capture prey in the dark. I will also introduce the delicacies of Changde, such as Changde rice noodles, hot and sour noodles, stinky tofu, etc., and our dining experience in the local area. I hope this article can give you some inspiration and ideas, so that you can also explore the beauty of nature and culture in China with your college classmates.
Changde Jia Shan National Forest Park is a tourist attraction that integrates natural scenery and human history. It is located eight kilometers southeast of Shimen County in Changde City, Hunan Province. It is named “Jia Shan” because of the two peaks facing each other in the east and west, and a road passing through the north and south. The park covers an area of 1530 hectares, with a forest coverage rate of more than 90%. It is a suburban park-type forest park and was rated as “China AAAA-level tourist area” in 2014.
Jia Shan National Forest Park is located in the eastern wing of the Wuling Mountain Range, which belongs to the low mountain and hilly landform. The highest altitude in the park is 401.8 meters, the lowest altitude is 56.7 meters, and the relative height difference is 345.1 meters. The whole mountain range gradually rises from east to west, forming a low mountain and hilly landform with peaks and valleys alternating. The terrain is undulating and the landform is peculiar. The park has green hills, lush forests, fresh air, and elegant environment, presenting various forest landscape types. The vegetation belongs to the northern subzone of the mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, the Quercus-Phoebe Forest area of the Three Gorges Wuling Mountain. There are 204 species of woody plants in 65 families in the park. The main tree species are: fir, swamp pine, Pinus massoniana, camphor tree, maple fragrance, sandalwood, iron tip fir, cypress, willow fir, toon tree, oak tree, du ying tree, chestnut tree, nan bamboo, etc.; The main shrub species are: rhododendron, huaxiang tree, salt skin tree, oil tea tree, jin wood tree, ling wood tree, white oak tree, citrus tree, tea leaf tree, etc.; The main herbaceous plants are: five-section awn grass, sea gold sand grass, ferns, iron mang grass, mosses, etc.
Jia Shan National Forest Park not only has beautiful natural scenery, but also has rich historical and cultural heritage. There are national key cultural relics protection units Jia Shan Temple (including Chong Wang Tomb) and provincial key cultural relics protection units Zheng Dongguo General Tomb in the park. Jia Shan Temple is a public Buddhist activity place, enjoying the reputation of “three dynasties imperial repair” in Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. It has long been in the position of cultural center in Li River basin, and has Zen Buddhism Songmen first book “Bi Yan Lu Chuan Shi”, which is a key Buddhist temple. Chong Wang Tomb is the burial place of Chong Wang Li Zicheng, the leader of peasant uprising at the end of Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, who changed his name to Feng Tian Yu Chan after his defeat and died in Jia Shan Temple. It is a mausoleum composed of antique buildings and green belts. Zheng Dongguo General Tomb is the tomb of Zheng Dongguo, a famous general of Ming Dynasty, who participated in suppressing Li Zicheng’s uprising, and resisted Qing army’s invasion during Nanming period.
Jia Shan National Forest Park also has many other attractions and landscapes, such as Xi Mo Chi (Ink Washing Pool), Yu Xi Jing (Jade Seal Well), Bi Yan Quan (Green Rock Spring), etc., all have their own stories and legends. Jia Shan National Forest Park is a place worth visiting, where you can not only appreciate the natural wonders, but also feel the historical weight and cultural charm.
Hunting at night is a special experience that requires suitable equipment and skills to find and capture prey in the dark. In this part, we will introduce the essential equipment and skills for hunting at night, and help you enjoy the fun of hunting at night in Changde Jia Shan National Forest Park.
First of all, one of the essential equipment for hunting at night is night vision device. Night vision device is an optical instrument that can observe targets in low-light or no-light conditions. It uses photoelectric conversion and amplification technology to convert weak ambient light or infrared light into visible light and display it on the screen. Night vision device can be divided into active and passive types. Active night vision device needs to use an infrared emitter to illuminate the target with infrared light, while passive night vision device only relies on ambient light for observation. The advantage of active night vision device is that it can be used in complete darkness, but the disadvantage is that it is easy to be detected and located by other night vision devices, and vice versa.
According to different forms and functions, night vision devices can be divided into monocular, binocular, binocular, monocular, handheld, head-mounted, firearm and other types. Among them, binocular binocular night vision device (also known as night vision binoculars) is the most commonly used one. It has two objectives and two eyepieces, which can provide stereoscopic and depth perception, suitable for observing distant targets. Night vision binoculars can be selected according to parameters such as magnification, objective diameter, resolution, weight, battery life, etc. Generally speaking, the higher the magnification, the farther the observation distance, but the narrower the field of view; the larger the objective diameter, the more ambient light collected, the clearer the image, but the heavier the weight; the higher the resolution, the more delicate the image, but the more expensive the price.
In addition to night vision binoculars, there is another special night vision device that is infrared binoculars (also known as infrared binocular camera), which can not only observe targets in the dark, but also take photos and videos, and save them in built-in or external storage cards. Infrared binocular camera can be selected according to parameters such as screen size, pixel, zoom ratio, storage capacity, etc. Generally speaking, the larger the screen size, the better the viewing effect; the higher the pixel, the higher the shooting quality; the larger the zoom ratio, the wider the adjustment range; the larger the storage capacity, The more saved quantity.
Secondly, another essential equipment for hunting at night is hunting firearms. Hunting firearms are weapons used for shooting prey. They can be divided into rifles, pistols, shotguns and other types. Among them, rifles are the most commonly used ones. They have long barrels and long stocks, which can provide high accuracy and range, suitable for shooting distant targets. Rifles can be selected according to parameters such as caliber, ammunition, gun mechanism, gun stock, sight, etc. Generally speaking, the larger the caliber, the greater the power, but also the greater the recoil ; ammunition can be divided into soft-point bullets, hollow-point bullets, full metal bullets and other types, different bullets have different killing effects and penetration power ; gun mechanism can be divided into manual, semi-automatic, fully automatic and other types, different gun mechanisms have different shooting speed and reliability ; gun stock can be divided into fixed type, folding type, telescopic type and other types, different gun stocks have different comfort and portability ; sight can be divided into mechanical type, optical type, red dot type, night vision type and other types, different sights have different magnification and field of view.
In addition to hunting firearms, there is another special hunting weapon that is bow and arrow. Bow and arrow is a weapon that uses bowstring tension to shoot arrows. It has advantages such as low noise, good concealment, and no legal restrictions. It is suitable for shooting close-range targets. Bow and arrow can be selected according to parameters such as bow shape, draw weight, material, length, etc. Generally speaking, the more complex the bow shape, the higher the accuracy, but also heavier; draw weight The bigger it is, the farther it shoots, but also harder; material can be divided into wood, metal, carbon fiber and other types, different materials have different strength and durability; length can be adjusted according to personal height and arm span to ensure comfort and stability.
Finally, one of the essential skills for hunting at night is to master the wind direction. Wind direction refers to the direction of air flow, which has an important impact on hunting at night. On the one hand, wind direction affects the spread of smell. If you approach the prey from the upwind, you are likely to be smelled by the prey and run away; if you approach the prey from the downwind, you can avoid being detected and get closer. On the other hand, wind direction affects the spread of sound. If you approach the prey from the downwind, you are likely to be heard by the prey and alert; if you approach the prey from the upwind, you can reduce the leakage of sound and conceal. Therefore, when hunting at night, you should always pay attention to the changes of wind direction, and choose the appropriate approach route and shooting position according to the wind direction.
The second essential skill for hunting at night is to use sound. Sound refers to the wave that propagates in the air, which also plays an important role in hunting at night. On the one hand, sound can be used to lure or disturb prey. By imitating or making specific sounds, you can attract or scare prey, and change their behavior or position. For example, when hunting pheasants, you can use a whistle or a pheasant call to imitate the sound of a rooster, and attract the attention of hens, and then shoot them. When hunting foxes, you can use a rabbit call or a mouse call to imitate the frightened sound of a rabbit or a mouse, and lure the foxes to appear, and then shoot them quickly. Conversely, when hunting cheetahs, you can use a lion call or an elephant call to imitate the intimidating sound of a lion or an elephant, and disturb the nerves of cheetahs, make them lose their alertness for a while, and then approach and shoot them quietly. On the other hand, sound can also be used to cover or deceive prey. By making or creating specific sounds, you can distract or mislead their attention, and get better shooting opportunities. For example, when hunting deer, you can make some slight noises with branches or stones, and make deer think that there are other animals moving around, and reduce their vigilance; when hunting rabbits, you can make some sudden noises with whistles or car horns, and make rabbits panic, and expose their positions.
In Changde Jia Shan National Forest Park, the fun of hunting at night is not only in equipment and skills, but also in experience and feeling. In this part, we will describe our hunting experience in the forest park, including the animals we saw, the interesting or thrilling things that happened, our harvest and feeling, etc.
We hunted in Changde Jia Shan National Forest Park from dusk to midnight, lasting about six hours. We chose a night with a brighter moon, so that we could have more ambient light, and also enjoy the forest scenery under the moonlight. We entered the forest along a small road, looking for some suitable places for hunting. We brought two rifles, a bow and arrow, two-night vision binoculars, an infrared binocular camera, some whistles and calls, etc., as well as some food and water and other necessities.
We had just entered the forest for a while, when we heard some bird calls, some were crisp and pleasant, some were harsh and sharp. We observed them with night vision binoculars, and found some bird figures, such as egrets, magpies, woodpeckers, cuckoos, etc. Among them, what surprised us most was a peacock. It spread its beautiful tail on a branch, shining with blue and green light. We took this rare picture with an infrared binocular camera, and saved it in a storage card.
We continued to walk forward for a while, and found some traces of small animals, some were paw prints, some were feces, some were hair. We imitated some animal sounds with whistles and calls, trying to attract them to appear. Sure enough, after a while, we saw some small animal figures, such as squirrels, rabbits, hedgehogs, foxes, etc. Among them, what excited us most was a wild rabbit. It jumped out of the bushes, stopped not far from us. We immediately picked up our bow and arrow, aimed at its head, and gently pulled back the bowstring. Just as we were about to shoot, suddenly a fox rushed out from beside us, bit the rabbit’s neck, and ran away quickly. We were stunned. We didn’t expect such a situation to happen. We had no choice but to put down our bow and arrow, and continue to walk forward.
We walked for about an hour and came to an open grassland. There were some tall trees and bushes on the grassland, as well as some rocks and pools. There were also some large animals on the grassland, such as deer, boars, buffaloes, etc. Among them, what made us nervous was a boar, which was standing not far from us, eating the food on the grassland. Boars are very fierce and dangerous animals, their tusks can easily pierce human skin and muscles, and even bones. We decided not to provoke it, but to quietly bypass it and look for other targets.
We found a hidden place near the edge of the grassland, hiding behind some water lilies and bushes. We observed the surrounding situation with night vision binoculars, and found some suitable animals for hunting, such as deer, pheasants, ducks, etc. We chose a deer as our target, which was standing about a hundred meters away from us, eating the food on the grassland. We picked up our rifles, aimed at its heart, and gently pulled the trigger. Just then, we heard a loud noise, and then saw a flash of fire, followed by a burst of smoke. We were startled and didn’t know what happened. We looked at it with night vision binoculars and found out that someone had set off a firework on the grassland, probably to celebrate some festival or activity. The sound and light of the firework alarmed all the animals, and they scattered and ran away. Our target deer was no exception, it ran very fast and soon disappeared into the woods. Our bullet also missed it, only hitting a stone on the grassland. We sighed helplessly and felt sorry.
We waited on the grassland for a while until the fireworks ended and the smoke cleared before continuing to walk forward. We hoped to find some more animals to make up for our mistake. We walked for about half an hour and came to a small lake. The lake was clear and transparent, and the moonlight reflected on the water surface, forming a beautiful picture. There were some aquatic plants and animals by the lake, such as water lilies, narcissus, water hyacinth, etc.; there were carp, crucian carp, frogs, turtles, etc. Among them, what surprised us most was a group of ducks, which were floating on the water or diving into the water for food. Ducks are a delicious food, their meat is tender and juicy, rich in protein and vitamins. We decided to try hunting ducks and add some flavor to ourselves.
We found a place close to the lake side, hiding behind some water hyacinth and bushes. We observed the surrounding situation with night vision binoculars, and found that some ducks were approaching our position. We picked up our shotguns, aimed at one of them, and gently pulled the trigger. Just then, we heard a scream, and then saw a person jump out of the water. It turned out that someone was swimming in the lake, and happened to be in our hunting direction. We were scared and quickly put down our shotguns, apologizing to him. He was a young man, who was also startled, thinking that we were going to kill him. We explained to him that we were here for hunting, not intentionally hurting him. He listened to our explanation, and calmed down, forgiving our mistake. He said he was a tourist, who liked swimming in the lake, and didn’t expect to meet hunters. We chatted with him for a while, and found that he was also an interesting person, who was interested in Chinese culture and scenery. We invited him to have dinner with us, and he gladly agreed. We met a new friend in this way, which was also an unexpected gain.
For more hunting articles, please click:
https://www.newsbreak.com/1723939/3094376025167-how-we-hunted-a-twelve-pointed-deer-with-night-vision-binoculars
https://www.mifare.net/support/forum/users/night-hunting-trip-in-wu-nao-shan-national-forest/
https://heatcaster.com/the-thrilling-night-hunting-trip-in-wayne-national-forest/
https://www.diigo.com/item/note/9fe43/besp?k=3186ebba9b1fe7edebf1b8de0dc190d9
