Doc

Good post! The one thing I notice first when walking up to my camera is the strap around the tree. That seems to stick out like a sore thumb. One thing I wish the manufacturers would do is apply the old original tre-bark camo to the case of the camera (remember that old gray and black bark pattern?). Since 95% of the time the camera is attached to a tree, it would seem that bark-style camo would be the best.

And apparently you missed where it all wound up. Let me refresh your memory: Quote from pawle 76: “Waiting is not hunting ? If you're in a treestand you are waiting. Hence people who hunt out of treestands are not hunters. That's exactly what you said.” Your reply: “Good Boy.. Thats exactly my opinion...you don't have to agree... thats ok...” Let me emphasize the word "exactly". So, I don't know what all this spin and dancing is all about, but if your own words do not mean anything, then .......

Well geez, don't be getting all upset. I wasn't the one that told you that you are not hunting. It appears that I am not the only one who has a problem with your remarks about stand hunting not being hunting. Did you notice that? It does have a certain ring of arrogance to it.

Actually, I have tried some of the sights that use the little bitty pins with the balls on the end and always had problems with their inability to show up in marginal lighting conditions. I also never liked the idea of covering up the bullseye with the ball of the pin. With rings, you look right through the sight-pin. Also, I found the idea of concentricity is kind of a natural way to sight on things. So all-in-all, the ring pins do exactly what I want them to do. Unfortunately, nobody makes such a thing so given the fact that I have no fancy manufacturing facilities, they do not have that finished professionally manufactured look. But they sure do work.

I often do practice some ridiculously long shots. You can learn a lot from them. Just watching the flight can tell you a bit about tuning problems. Plus it's just plain fun. There is also that confidence you get when you step back up to realistic hunting distances. It makes the shorter shots seem real easy. One other thing that I found out is that when I am having problems with "follow through", stepping back seems to help out with that for some unexplained reason. At any rate, long distance shots on the archery range can be a lot of fun.

Yeah, there is some subtle fine point of distinction that apparently I am not getting. Stand hunting is not hunting, but rather it is waiting. But that doesn't mean he is not hunting "at all" (whatever that means). So I guess it is hunting, a little bit but not actually but ...... All these years I always thought I was hunting, and now someone is telling me that because I don't do it the way he does that I am not hunting, but waiting. I guess when you think about it, that is kind of funny. It appears that I should have taken up some of that there "bow-walkin" stuff if I really wanted to be hunting.....lol. But anyway, I've probably got it right if I were to say that anyone who doesn't hunt your way is not a hunter....right?

Yes, the dinner plate size accuracy is guaranteed to stick an arrow somewhere in the deer's rump. And I guess you didn't learn anything from the long distance thread regarding the foolishness of trying to relate archery range marksmanship to what can reliably be done afield while hunting. As noted in that thread, unpredictable things happen when in hunting situations and taking a shot that requires you to be exactly as good as you are on the range is simply not the best and most responsible shot selection. That's why your hunter training instructor stressed that your shot selection be limited to "high percentage shots" (remember that term?). That would mean not looking for the smallest kill zone you can find, but the biggest and accepting nothing less.

I just hope there are no new, young hunters who are taking any of this rump-shot garbage seriously. I know it has been a long time, but I really don't recall anything in the hunter training courses that recommended a butt-shot as an ethical, high percentage shot.

Oh my gosh ..... try to discuss a topic and along comes Bill Clinton trying to change the topic to a discussion of what "is" means ..... lol.

So what do we have to do to get a Cabelas store in Henrietta or maybe a Bass-Pro?

Here is their web site: http://www.springwaterfiddlersfair.net/ You might want to consider taking a drive next year. I would guess its probably a good 2 hour drive by the time you wiggle around those dirt roads in the hills around Springwater, but I think you might find it worth the drive.

Actually my illustration of ridiculousness using absurdity was spot on. If you didn't catch it, that's not my problem. Just because a shot involving extraordinary luck can occasionally cause a quick death does not make it a recommended and responsible shot to be taking. And don't get me started on head and neck shots. But also, don't try to put them in the same category of sloppy and irresponsible shooting with the butt shot. Actually like someone else who replied to this thread, I also find it amazing that we are still even discussing a butt-shot. That really is hard to believe. I would have thought that a half a page at most would have put that ridiculous notion to bed.

Yup, you ought to see the shelves and drawers down in my shop if you want to see an attempt to keep up with the latest fad technology in hunting. I went through all of that and I don't think it is any exaggeration to say that I have spent thousands of dollars trying to find that magic gadget that would make my bow invincible.....lol. However, I did eventually grow out of all that, and have nearly stopped all spending except for those broken items that need replacment. I guess there comes a time when most of us realize that some of this crap is just plain crap. You kind of build up a defense against the "sucker for a good ad" syndrome. Others just keep thinking that the next trinket will do the trick and hunting will become easy. And I guess that's what keeps hunting industry chugging along.

I don't know, but that guy was pretty fast .... lol. The way that knife was flying around there, I would be careful about getting too close.....

I don't understand why you are taking this all so personally. I have not been naming names. How does that saying go? ..."it's not always all about you"

S.O.B.- You might want to stick a bow level on your sight for a while and check out if you have developed a natural cant to the bow. I have to watch that myself. My archery range is chopped into the side of the hill behind the house so I have a rather step slope that I tend to mentally try to square myself up with. That's all well and good until I find myself shooting somewhere else that has the reverse slope or no slope at all ..... lol. So periodically, I have a pin with a bubble level on it that I stick into my sight just to make sure that nothing is going wacky. Another clue that bow cant is a problem is when the pins all have a taper relative to the rest of the bow. Just something you might want to check if you haven't already.

Let's do it!!

"Bow walking"

Oh no ........ to be a real hunter, tools like spears and stone tips are not allowed! Just a swift leap onto their back and a good bite on the neck and wrestle them to the ground to finish them off. That's a real hunter! On a slightly more serious note, I find it difficult to believe that anyone could seriously argue that the main thrust today is to simply buy some article(s) that will make our hunting easier. People are getting rich off that notion. Actually that has been the case since the mass marketing of compounds ..... and probably to a lesser extent, long before that. I find more emphasis these days on what is available in the sporting goods department than learning more on how to hunt. I didn't really think that was an original observation.....lol. We just want it all to be easier! All this 'challenge' stuff just takes way too much time and effort.

Accidents will happen and occasionally they do turn out with a happy ending. And thankfully, most of us never turn those freak accidents that end well into justifications for trying to do those shots on purpose.

As I have said several times already, anytime this subject comes up, we get all these replies that trot out a whole list of aquaintances or videos that they have seen that demonstrate amazing things done on the archery range, and never is there any mention of any other factors being part of the shooting distance equation. The implication is obvious ...... If you are able to shoot coffee cup groups at 60 or 70 yards, you're ready to take those shots at deer. I have yet to hear any advocates of long bow shots ever acknowledge that there are any other considerations when deciding how far to shoot. My answer has consistantly been that of all the considerations for that decision, archery range performance is way down on the list of criteria. And yet I will guarantee that we will see that same reply repeated many more times that the decision for how far a bowhunter should shoot should be based on his ability.

It's funny how different species relate to each other. They seem to have it all figured out which ones are threats and which ones are not.

Yeah, they haven't convinced me yet. I'm always willing to listen, but as long as their arguments are constantly linked with a sales pitch to sell me something, they have a long uphill battle to get me to listen very long.

Just got back from the Fiddler's fair over in Springwater. First time ever attending that event.That was quite a day. They had a mixture of some very talented musicians with every kind of back-woods stringed instrument you could imagine and then some. Unfortunately the gal in one of the groups (a duet) did sound like an American Idol reject, but their set was short. Mostly it was just a real good time for those of us that like that kind of music. Some pretty good music straight out of the hills and back-woods of the old days. I never saw so many musicians in one place before. Not bad food either. The only problem is that I misjudged the weather a bit and was a bit under-dressed for a day that never did warm up. I froze! I'm already planning on heading down there again next year. Anybody else happen to wind up there today?

Actually, you could bank a shot off a boulder and drill that sucker right in the jugular, and that would also be a deadly shot. So what? Would that be an ethical shot? You can shoot a deer in the brain and kill it (dropping it right in its tracks) ...... if you are lucky and you don't just blow its jaws off. Is that an ethical shot. There are a lot of people who think it might be. We've all seen the pictures. I'm one that's not afraid to say that I don't think any of those kinds of risky shots are ethical. And, I will say the same thing about the so-called Texas heart shot.