Doc

It is amazing how competition can put frustrations on an activity that you love and really totally screw it up for you. I was an adult when terminal target panic set in, and eventually drove me out of competition and turned my interests toward hunting. The frustration of competition can be an ugly force, and sometimes it is best to step away for a bit and maybe even forever. What I found was that it set up a "death spiral". The more I worked at form and performance, the worse my scores went and the more entrenched the target panic became. It became an incurable downward trend. So I decided that before things got so bad that I absolutely hated the bow, I would discontinue the part of archery that was ruining archery for me. As it turned out, it was the right choice. I think that as long as she has given it a fair try, she has probably made the right choice for what she is experiencing.

Right now, it is strictly so I can practice and improve my off-hand shooting for regular guns, so I don't really want to get anything that does not replicate the feel of shooting a regular powder gun as far as holding and feel. So thanks for the tip.

It is also worse than that when regarding the problems of violence. While we are all busy patting ourselves on the back for the latest rounds of worthless gun laws, all our efforts and resources and energies are being squandered chasing worthless solutions that have been proven through history to be absolutely ineffective at lessening the escalating violence. Instead of using a bit of analysis and real logical thinking or even the most fundamental and basic intelligence, humans are fond of simply flailing about without much real thought at what the true problems are. We go after the guns, not even thinking for a minute that they are really inanimate things that can do nothing without the sick individuals to misuse them. Guns are not the root causes of violence are they? But for many decades, laws and restrictions on guns have kept our consciences soothed and satisfied and ignorantly thinking that we have actually done something significant.

So, I am looking at purchasing a pellet rifle for some intensive off-hand rifle shooting practice. I have some unique requirements. First of all, I am not looking for too much power. All shots will be taken at extremely close distances (mostly in my basement at 15 yards), and I don't want so much power that I have to be concerned with ricochets. I want repetitive accuracy so that I know that any variations are only my errors. I would like the ability to mount a scope. I don't want to break the bank with cost. I will need some good suggestions on makes and models and good places to purchase. I have absolutely no knowledge of these things so don't assume that I know anything about these kinds of rifles. Are their bee-bee guns that could give some good accurate practice at off-hand shooting or would you all suggest that I stay with a pellet gun. That is all it will ever be used for. Can anyone give me a quick schooling on light-duty indoor rifles?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Fun little definition of insanity, but has a powerful ring of truth when one looks at the long history of gun laws and their actual effectiveness. So how long are these mental midgets going to keep clinging to this same mentality of insane repetition of piling gun law after gun law, each time declaring success and never realizing that they have really done nothing?

We already have more laws than any one person can read. I am sure that there are enough unknown laws buried deep enough in those massive law book volumes that we probably have broken at least a few of them without even knowing it. And what has the result been? Every year, the number of mass shootings increase. Is that even debatable? Is there a law that can be added to the mass of existing laws that will reverse this trend? What new laws will make us all pat ourselves on the back and make this phenomenon reverse itself. Well history tells us that there is no such amazing piece of legislation that is likely to have any impact at all. The only thing that laws do is to deflect us away from the real root causes of these tragedies......but it does make us feel good though, doesn't it? It also has occurred to me that if guns were totally removed, we have terrorists teaching kids and others how to effectively cause mass deaths without firing a single bullet. The internet will instruct a complete idiot as to how to build a bomb. Motor vehicles have been proven to be very effective at mowing down large groups of gathered people. There have even been some pretty effective mass murders performed using a lowly machete. The problem is not the means, but rather the desire. That old saying of "Where there's a will, there's a way" is never so appropriate as it is with any form of violence that is growing in our society.

Do any of you have consistent luck on calling in foxes or coyotes during daylight hours?

Can you describe the details of your favorite calling set-ups for foxes. How about coyotes? Terrain (fields, brush lots, open woods, flats, hills, valley bottoms, elevated positions?) Calling sequence ( timing, style of call, volume variations, etc.) Time of day (night, morning daylight, afternoon daylight) Do you use any visual attractants

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So which recorded calls seem to work best for you when hunting Coyotes? How about foxes (red or grey)? What WMU are you hunting?

Yes, my shooting off a rest has improve 2000% when I finally mastered the "surprise" triggering with a slow measured increase in trigger pressure until it all-of-a-sudden goes off. And that is the problem with off-hand shooting. The sight is constantly in motion in random patterns such that I start to try to time the shot and take a wild stab at the trigger when I "think the crosshairs will be over the target. That is just pure disaster and almost never works. The other thing is that the longer that I am aiming, the wilder the sight motion becomes. So it gets to be a jerk-the-trigger style of timing activity or the movement gets continually worse and worse. But I am thinking of getting some kind of pellet gun so I can practice in the basement and maybe find something that works for me.

Turkeys are really getting a break this year. Getting some nice warm-ups at just the right times to make this winter easier for them. Now, if they just get a good nesting season, they should really start picking up in numbers.

I would say that you have rated it about right. Maybe I would have gone as high as 7 out of 10. I am from the era where most of the movies were westerns. Even the weekly westerns on TV were something to look forward to. But all that is gone now. I don't know whether it was the political correctness that has caused the demise of westerns as the main theme or what, but I do miss the days of good westerns. That is why whenever someone bothers to even put one out, it gets a few extra points just for the attempt.

I think that yarding is a movement to escape negative or uncomfortable environmental situations. Unprotected areas, or areas where winter food supplies are inadequate can spur mass movement. That is not really any different than the migration purposes of caribou and elk.

We have a pile of sub-forums on this site. I was just wondering if like me, you have all picked out a few of these that you always check in on, and a bunch of them that you usually skip over. I always check out the "Recent Topics" area and then the: Chit-Chat forum General Hunting Deer Hunting Bow Hunting The two Picture forums then finally the politics forum I am generally in a bit of a hurry so I just skip over the rest or just check the most recent post listed on the contents page depending on my time situation. Pretty soon I will be checking out the fishing forum.

With constant improvements in bow speed there has always been controversy over whether a deer can react to the sound of a bow shot. And right along with each round of controversy there is video footage that proves that they can. The only thing in question on a case by case situation is whether they will choose to react or not. There have been huge innovations in bow noise also, but on a calm quiet day there is no bow that can cheat the deer's ears either. The only time that can work is if there is a high wind producing competing noises. So, I believe that those who aim low (heart area) are the ones who have put a bit of a cushion into their shot. It is no guarantee, but it does put the odds more in your favor. Another thing to be aware of is that the deer seldom drops straight down. Often he is twisting into a turn at the same time, which moves him laterally as well.

My entire front yard is tracked-up like a barnyard, and deer come here every day for supper. going down my driveway through the woods, I have to be always on the look-out for deer running across. It's hard not to be reminded of hunting with all that going on.

I once saw a huge deer yard with literally hundreds, maybe even thousands of deer clustered around the southern end of Honeoye Lake. I am quite sure that they were not all locals. That sure looked like a migration of deer. It is not an annual thing anymore .... thankfully. They were all looking gaunt and at death's door as they stripped all available forage from the entire area. Every field and opening in the area was covered with deer . Some alive....some dead. Migration? It all depends on how you define the word.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2013/02/do-whitetails-migrate-washington-study-aims-pattern-deer-movement

Other than my first deer many, many years ago shot at 35 yards with a recurve, every deer I have shot since was under 25 yards. These days, I am satisfied with getting each arrow inside of each of my four 3" circles on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. I shoot most of my arrows during a practice session at twenty yards and stir in a few 30, 40 and 50 yard shots just for fun. Back in my tournament (NFAA) days we had an 80 yard shot that I could score on .... once in a while....lol.

I believe that I may hold the record for being the crappiest off-hand shooter around. It's the same as a moving target except it is my crosshairs that are moving and bouncing around. Just a wiggly old fart. I doubt there is any amount of practice that will settle down that sight. That is why if I can't find a good gun rest or at least a tree to lean against, I don't shoot. Its that bad. My deer stands for gun season are all designed the same. Kind of like log and branch walls with gun rests all the way around. When still hunting, I have a Primos bi-pod that goes with me.

Wow this thread sure jumped off to the side......lol. Let me just add to this thread deflection that just because people are critical of crazy Muslim extremists that are determined to kill us, it should not be assumed that they hate Muslims. I find myself a bit intolerant of those individuals who publicly state that they have a sworn duty to kill me. Somehow that does not fit into the realm of racism in my book. I understand that there are some who get a feeling of superiority when they call people racists even when there is no basis for the allegation. There is a lot of that going on these days.

Actually I have gotten pretty quick with the vise. I usually can crack the shell within a couple of spins on the handle. A good bench vise can develop huge amounts of force, and it is always a controlled application of the force so that the nut-meats don't wind up to be powder. This year I have gone after black walnuts, butternuts, and hickory nuts. The wife made a cake with hickory nuts. It was fantastic, and as far as I know it is something you can't buy. But I am curious as to how they commercially process black walnuts. I am assuming that you can buy black walnut meats somewhere, but I can't say that I have ever seen them. But processing any of these nuts has to be heavily labor intensive. Anybody know any processing tricks that commercial producers use?

Do it yourself hunts are much more satisfying to me, but they don't come with any guarantees. We did a DIY moose hunt way up in northern Ontario Canada, and it took us two years to get a moose. Yes that brought the total price up pretty good, but we didn't have anyone doing all the actual hunting for us and telling us step by step what to do. There are pros and cons to guided hunts vs. DIY. But it is just another thing to investigate and decide on.

Corrugated card board stacked into a 4' x 4' with two rows of 12" cardboard that cold be reversed to refresh the target thick and drawn down tight using 1/2" threaded rod will last almost forever. NOT FOR BROADHEAD USE. I made two of these, one for my outdoor range and built into a little shed. The other mounted on saw horses in the basement. They have both been rebuilt by reversing the entry (front) layer with the rear layer. This was done in about the 5th year. Then I went about another four years and had to rebuild again by with new cardboard. And I was heavy into NFAA indoor and outdoor competitive shooting and was practicing regularly nearly every night. So these butts were taking a constant beating. Shooting into the ends of the corrugations made them self sealing. Yes, there was a lot of time and labor gathering and cutting the cardboard, but it didn't have to be done over and over. And with the cardboard retrieved from the dumpsters behind the local grocery store, the materials were free. I got the idea from a commercial indoor archery range in Rochester where they used the compressed cardboard that used some big old heavy bales of excelsior to compress the cardboard under the weight of the bales.