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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/14/22 in Posts

  1. Next year will be his first year hunting instead of tagging along. Crazy how fast time goes by.
    4 points
  2. Bears are not cheap IMO. Great bear mounts are even less cheap. Rugs are shockingly expensive. Because people may never get one again or choose to mount another, I’d probably be willing to pay the premium for the right guy/gal to do the work once. I have a full mount Turkey. Love it. But I likely will never get another one mounted so I paid a premium for a really good job.
    4 points
  3. Need a Tow to the Charger Station ....
    3 points
  4. This is a half mount of my black bear I took with my crossbow a couple of years ago. I really like the half mount and I chose to have one with the mouth closed. I paid less than 4 figures for my mount but I will agree that you get what you pay for when it comes to quality of the mount. However you decide do not skimp on quality. You may never get another bear worth mounting and the memory of your hunt is priceless. valoroutdoors.com
    3 points
  5. Where i hunt ...in the woods, it is unusual to have shots longer than 75 yards. I rarely take a shot that far, and shoot strictly open sights so I am dead on at 75. Sight your gun at expected ranges, then take a few shots at half that distance so you know what it does. Regardless what a lot of folks think , even with the new powders, modern black powders and projectiles still have a trajectory like a rainbow compared to modern cartridges. Dont worry about the legendary 200 yard shots you hear bragged about. Sight for where you are hunting. And I certainly hunt differently with my ML than I do with centerfire....pickier on shots, closer, etc.
    3 points
  6. Photos were taken last night. Work beckons. Once they are back to me I’ll post. I don’t think I got a single “good” photo of it in the field Sunday. Too much of a rush to get dressed and out of the woods across an ag field we had major issues crossing with the truck. Ugh. So bad we called the farmer to let him know before he saw it. Short of a hand drag the ground was that soft mud. Thankfully farmer is cool and knows we take away mouths that feed out of his pocket.
    3 points
  7. 3 points
  8. I went with the 1/2 mount with both closed on mine and absolutely love the 1/2 mount.
    2 points
  9. I can see where this type of taxidermy is pricey as a lot of works goes into that kind of mount, can't tell you if those prices are the going rates but I can see why you are looking to have it done, a crossbow bear is an exceptional accomplishment in my view. Al
    2 points
  10. I guess the real answer is what is the expected range of shot. It would be a miracle to get a shot over a hundred yards on my property. I zero at 60 yards.
    2 points
  11. not sure what the law is now.... but my buddy bought a loader last week no back ground paperwork just went in and bought same day....
    2 points
  12. It’s ok to have powder and bullet in it, as long as there is no percussion cap or primer on it. It is still a “firearm” though, so you need a lock on your case, if you leave it unattended in the vehicle. With my in-line, I always load it the first day of the season, and just uncap it at the end of each hunt. I leave it out on my unheated barn, or out on the porch at my in-laws, to avoid the condensation moisture from bringing it into and out of a heated space. Never had a mis-fire or hang fire from doing that. Last year, my load was in from mid-December until January 1.
    2 points
  13. Stalked him using his tracks in the snow we got in 3M on Sunday. I tracked him for about 2 hours before I saw him. I was at 31yrds when he heard me, he turned around, stood up on both legs, right arm on a tree, left arm covering his heart. I shot him dead on in the heart, through his left arm. 452grain arrows, Sevr 2.0 broadhead. The arrow shattered the bone in his arm, shattered 2 ribs, and stopped in the heart, no passthrough even with 200ishlbs of KE. The bear ran 20yrds, let out a loud moan then expired.
    2 points
  14. He went along ways, I think. The shot was maybe 100 yards with a 50 cal, 245 grain sabot, and two 50 grain pyrodex pellets.
    2 points
  15. I think 23. I can fit inside this guys spread when we hung him. In a rush since Sunday evening. But I wear 38-40” waist jeans and I could fit inside his spread without a prob. Got a couple busted times but still a stud. Let us know when freezer gets room lol. Weighed 185 field dressed. Better pics tomorrow after work.
    2 points
  16. Dude, this one is going on the wall for sure! Lol. It may rival David’s wide one for spread…
    2 points
  17. Been so busy past couple of weeks , I haven’t been able to post on this topic until now , but better late than never , right ! So , getting right to the point , with the release of the Twitter docs by Musk , it is now abundantly clear that there was significant election interference in ‘20 to suppress the Hunter Biden story. The FBI was meeting regularly meeting with Twitter execs, presenting it as “ Russian disinformation” , which has clearly been proven to be untrue and inaccurate in and of itself ; moreover , Twitter was more than eager to oblige as they’re run by hardcore partisan Lefty Dems ( well , at least they were at the time !). This is unconscionable and VERY disturbing . I don’t care how much you loathe a public leader , ESPECIALLY the Prez of the Uniate States , you do NOT put your thumb on the scale to interfere in our National elections in order to make sure your guy wins !! I have VERY little faith in our elections process as it is ; and even less now . This MUST not be allowed to ever happened again !!
    1 point
  18. I put up a hi quality video I think is one of the best explaining Coyote hunting using decoy dogs, some hunters use the word tolling. The Airedale in this video is well trained and doing exactly what is needed to bring the Coyotes to the gun. Al
    1 point
  19. Got this guy last day of the season. He came in to about 40yrds and wasn’t letting him go last day of the season with a tag in my pocket
    1 point
  20. yeah my son will be 11 next season and I'm already starting to think about his christmas gift for a gun that winter. I'm leaning towards a .270
    1 point
  21. Congrats on stalking the best and getting it with your crossbow. That's a huge accomplishment.
    1 point
  22. That's the other thing. I keep going back and forth on the half mount or the rug! I keep getting this nagging feeling that the rug doesn't look right to me but at the same time at least the entire bear was kept whole, he had a fat ass If I went the half mount I would still get the back half tanned, with the paws attached. My thought were to make a hat with the ass end and let the claws hang on the side like ear warmers ... lol
    1 point
  23. You ask " I know this taxidermist charges a premium as they do amazing work, but is this price far above normal for what I am getting?" What is normal price? Are there other taxidermist in the area? Some small part-time hobby taxidermist in another part of rural USA working out of his/her barn with no overhead (store, taxes, etc) could probably do it for less, but is that practical? Taxidermy is expensive and I have never met a rich/wealthy taxidermist.
    1 point
  24. I love to do stuff myself. Love to learn new things and after getting into predator hunting I didn't like the idea of kill and leave and did a bunch of research. The coon creek outdoors guy has some great videos and after watching a bunch I came to the conclusion that it was just too much work or too much prep needed if I was only going to do 1 or 2 ever. I can't imagine the effort for a big bear and as phade said, if I was ever lucky enough to get one I'd just suck it up as it probably wouldn't ever happen again.
    1 point
  25. I'm a hardcore turkey hunter and have killed a lot of nice toms but just have never had the urge to get one mounted. There is an incredibly huge gap between a really good turkey mount and a poor looking dust collector. So, if I charge you the premium price on this year's deer are you never going to get another one mounted? lmao
    1 point
  26. My Taxi charges $800 for a Deer mount. He does amazing work and I don't mind spending the money. If I ever shot a Bear he would get it, no doubt. Spend the money so you are not disappointed in the end. Congrats on the Bear.
    1 point
  27. Some of the best days in MZ are driven by weather and pressure. MZ pressure is much much less IMO. I find that the Thursday and Friday PMs of MZ week are very good. As is the final Tuesday. Pressure is even less during the work week. We haven’t hunted a single PM M-W following regular season close ever. We use that time to let deer acclimate to lower pressure and scout from afar in the evenings with glass. Once we figure out where they prefer to feed we look at hunting Thursday or Friday PM. Late season IMO is similar in approach to early season where quality sits matter more than seat time. It gets hard again to find a solid AM scenario, too. It happens but it’s a needle in the haystack. A few days of next to no or no pressure can really open the door to a pattern to go after. Scout twice as much as you hunt late season.
    1 point
  28. I’m dead on at 50 yards for my Wolf. I see about a 1” drop at 100 yards with my setup. I don’t hunt in too many places where I’m shooting 100+ yards late season. I don’t know what it’d do beyond that. My Vortek UL is 1” high at 50 yards and I’m capable of deer accuracy out to 140-150 yards without accounting for holdover. I lose a lot of height after 150 however as my load is not hot. Runs out of steam fast. With MZ you do need to test each scenario to know limits.
    1 point
  29. Where is it at 30 yards and again at 150 yards? Whats your muzzle velocity and energy? What bullet?
    1 point
  30. Short answer yes..without primer it is considered unloaded I am not a lawyer
    1 point
  31. Is a muzzleloader considered a firearm now? Last I knew, you could still buy one and have it shipped to your home … but the last time I bought one was pre-2013. The “lock up” implications wolc mentioned got me thinking … Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  32. I do not believe Gov Hochul has created any new laws prohibiting this...but give her time!
    1 point
  33. A quick note on a tool I have used recently for the first time. I am a big fan of turn in style rings and bases formerly by Redfield and still made by Leupold and Burris. I forever used a screw driver handle made from either wood or plastic to turn in and square up the front ring. Was gifted a Leupold ring wrench for my birthday and got to use it a couple of time recently, works great and a big thumbs up. Slips over the front ring and makes squaring it up easy. This would be great for anyone that does a lot of scope mounting work, for the casual guy a screwdriver handles works. Al
    1 point
  34. your boy kinda looks like a baby moog haha. nothing better than woods time with a child!
    1 point
  35. Hit a nice buck in thick brush at 730 am. He laid down 2 times within 50 yards. Only small spec of blood in 2nd bed. Just jumped out of bed again about 150 yards. Again small spec of blood. Semi broad sided. Blood appears to be from mouth based on bed. No blood in the snow while tracking.
    1 point
  36. Last 15 minutes of Northern muzzle. Freezer Queen number 3. Two giving to people in need and this one headed to Miller’s for Jalapeño and Cheese summer sausage. Life is good.
    1 point
  37. A little snow this morning. Finally felt like gun season
    1 point
  38. I bought my daughter her lifetime license on-line recently after she finished the hunters education course and before she turned 12. Everything came in the mail in just a few days. When we went to get her the doe permits she had to be there to sign what was printed out then. Not sure how old he is but if/when you ever go to a brick and mortar store for a license for him bring a school ID or something with you. I was not expecting her to need an ID but the store let it slide. You can also get the doe permits online for him and avoid the store as well. For us it was just a timing thing and we couldn't do it online.
    1 point
  39. I don’t know if you have to have him with you or not. I would think if buying as a gift if you had hunter ed paperwork with you that you should be good to go. I would think you can do it online but i have had my lifetime for so long I don’t think they did sales online back then. I go to the town clerk to get my doe permits since it is a 2 minute drive from my house so I don’t even do those online. Lol. I get my license in the mail every year mid/late July.
    1 point
  40. First hunting in the 70's for the first days of SZ crossbow. Then it was days of only seeing doe and few of them as it be. Finally, today I see a lot more movement. Around 10:30 this guy comes trotting by at 35 yards. Double lung shot. He only went 30 yards.
    1 point
  41. I haven’t seen too many deer at home so far thru crossbow season (just one 4-pointer), which I passed at 15 yards on the second morning. I also haven’t seen any fawns this year. I trapped (7) coons in my sweetcorn in the late summer, all but (1) were adult males, and all were exhumed by coyotes within (2) days of my burying them. Almost every night, one can hear the yips and howling of coyotes. I was out hunting this morning, in the upper deck of my favorite stand. At about 8:15, I noticed motion in the hay field to my north. It was a large coyote, running across, from west to east. There were others behind it, spaced about 20 yards apart, 6 to 8 of them in total. The path they were on, would have taken them safely past, at about 100 yards range, but the leader turned in my direction, and stopped, facing me at exactly 40 yards. That just happened to be the maximum distance, where I had sighted in the third green dot, on my Barnett Recruit crossbow. I always wondered if those NAP Spitfire, 100 grain broadheads wound hit exactly the same as a 100 grain field tip, but I was too cheap to try one on a target, to find out. There is no more need for that “waste” after today, thanks to this coyote. I put the third dot on the base of his neck and squeezed the trigger. That’s exactly where it struck: That shot dropped that coyote right on the spot, but it did not kill it. It paralyzed both front legs. For at least (5) minutes, it spun circles with its back legs, and lifted its head. It barked quite a few times, sounding just like a deep pitched German Shepard dog. Again, being very cheap, I was unwilling to send a second bolt into it. When it stopped moving, after about 10 minutes, I walked over to it. It was still drawing shallow breaths. I had nothing to club it with and I didn’t want to risk a bite. I held its head down with the foot bar of my reloaded Recruit, and stood on its chest for about 10 more minutes, until it finally drew its last breath. While it had dropped very easily, it certainly died hard. I already have one tanned grey coyote hide in the house and my wife didn’t want another. My neighbor, who traps them, said the hides were virtually worthless. I cut off its tail and skinned, salted and hung it down in the basement, with my deer tails. Maybe, I’ll try making some jigs from it. It must have bit off the back part of the bolt, trying to yank it out of its shoulder. The broadhead pulled out rather easily, and still looks to be in decent shape. I’ll touch up the blades on a stone and keep it in reserve. Tomorrow will be my last chance to fill a buck tag during archery season, because I have to leave the state for work the rest of the week. I’ll hunt the first hour and the last 4. If I can’t get it done then (I’ll settle for a 3-1/32” unicorn), it will have to wait till late ML season. I hope I don’t regret passing the 4-pointer on the second day. I was surprised how heavy that big red male coyote was, when I tried lifting him by the tail. I had weighed the last one I killed at night on the butcher pile, years before (55 pounds) and this one felt heavier. Apparently they have been very well fed from coons and antlerless deer that the neighbors have been nocking off with their nussance permits. I roped a back leg to drag it up front.
    1 point
  42. Been super slow and was getting very discouraged,, had this buck on trail cam at night and thought as years past I would never see him in daylight hours well tonight thinking I only going to see does again,, he sneaks up on me and blast him at 25 yards and watch him drip at 80 …
    1 point
  43. I told him that I would do it that way for him but he wanted it to look normal...lol. Here is one that I mounted for another buddy last year that also had a droopy ear that I did mount that way...
    1 point
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