pistolp71

Right on the money. I often use a skeet choke as well.

Been rabbit hunting long island my whole life. Definetly improved cylinder choke. Anything tighter really destroys them. A lot of close shots, they often hold tight. Doesn't take much to kill a rabbit. I reload, so my rabbit loads are a mix of 6x7 1/2. Either will do.

Cool buck. I love the really different racks.

Lots in 4O. Shot a big male last deer season. Had one come in spring turkey hunting last spring. Shot another one bow season 2 yrs ago. Pics on my trail cams. We hunt them in the winter with dogs and there are still too many.

He'll make a great first deer. He would be a great deer for a lot of people. You'll have plenty of time for all that other stuff. Good luck.

Looks like photoshop to me. I haven't heard anything about this. Some people just have too much time on their hands.

PM sent.

Cool, sounds like fun!

Geno, did it have a drop tine on his left side?

that's what I was thinking. If you missed then what was the whack sound you heard? Especially in a field. Deer usually don't run off like you described from a bow shot without being hit. All you can do is put in a good effort. Don't beat yourself up. Good luck.

Was out in 4O half of Sat and half of Sunday. A few does and got soaked. Bad weather weekend.

Thanks all. My guess was 3.5. Body is consistant of other 3.5's from the area. If I can keep myself from releasing an arrow on him, he'll be a stud next year.

What are your opinions on this deers age?

Yeah, that deer was killed in 2009, maybe Feb 2010 is when it was officially scored. That CT deer is a monster. I read somewhere that the thing was walking down someones driveway in broad daylight right before it was killed. I thought that was strange.

Heading up tomorrow at noon. Meredith. Good luck.

You are very right. Wish I could help the kid. I hate the feeling he is having. We all do.

And I can assure you, again, that I could care less if you or anybody else for that matter considers it a recovery. I don't need to "back up" my position. Anyway, this isn't about me. I sure hope the kid finds his deer, no matter when...

You are entitled to you opinion, as ridiculous as it may be. I really could care less if you consider it a recovery or not.

Certainly nothing "unethical" about what you did. You absolutely made the right choice by backing out and going back the next day. Was the shot a complete pass through? Maybe you just caught one lung. They can go a long long way on that shot. A liver shot, if you did what you said and immediately backed out, let him lay the night and went back 23 hours later he should be dead not very far from the shot. Nobody wants to lose the meat, but if you push the deer you highly risk not finding him at all. I know exactly what you feel like, I had a similiar situation happen last season on a big deer. All I can say is don't give up, keep looking. It took me 6 days of hard looking but he's on my wall, so keep at it. They are calling for lots of rain the next couple of days. You may have to do grid searches. Big deer die hard you may have to look further than you thought. GOOD LUCK!

Been reloading the .35 for many years. Mostly fo my Contender. I only neck size and have reloaded my Remington brass at least 6-7 times with no problem.

I think the guy is a little dramatic: "I went in thinking it would be like shooing a rabbit away," he said. "But the next thing I know, I am in the battle of my life. I was just defending myself. It was either me or the deer." We are talking about a 80lb "buck" it must have been a yearling button buck. A real man eater!

Decided to sleep in this morning. Just don't have the drive like I used to. Went out this afternoon. Nothing, not a deer. Tough hunting right now. Abundance of acorns and warm weather. Looking foward to the rut. Good luck all.

Good luck to the long island crew. I'll be out tomorrow.

4O and 1C

This is an easy one. On a gut/liver shot deer, wait LONGER than 6 1/2 hours before trying to recover the deer. It is not enough!