Skillet

Takes 1000's of acres? Public land is the best place? The license fees and taxes from meat hunters pay for the same state land as that of the rack hunters.

One buck rule? Sure, sounds good, but I'll choose the buck thanks.

I've been trying to hold out for bigger bucks lately, but maybe because of people like you & comments like that, I'll shoot the next forkie I see, just because I can. "Entitled"? You're damn right people should be entitled to shoot whatever deer they want. Everyone pays for a license, why should you be "entitled" to say how they use it? If you want to hunt for racks, good for you. Buy your own land and implement AR on it, but why should you have any say over public land or especially someone else's private land? Meat hunters are "hunters" just like the trophy guys. I'm willing to bet there's meat hunters out there who are much more skilled than you. Who's the one acting entitled?

Haven't had one since April 10th of 2013. I quit the day I found out one of the guys at work had lung cancer. Never looked back. Good job guys!!!!!!!

Thanks! It's my favorite gun. I figured it was worth getting a good setup because hunting them is a lot more fun when you can hit them, & I really like eating them, so hitting them with a shotgun isn't my pick.

A Ruger 77/22 All weather, topped with a Zeiss Diavari 3-9.

I love late season squirrel hunting. It can be great action when it's not too freezing cold. I got these late in the day on Sunday, within 10 minutes of eachother. Two of them were small, 2nd from the left was a normal sized one, & the one on the far left was a monster! I get really into hunting them. It's nice to get out and hunt something that isn't so serious. There's no racks, no passing little ones, no measure of success other than a crockpot full of stew. It's just hunting.

Law, that was my GF posting. She's a full time taxidermist & has been one for quite a while, so I'm pretty sure she knows the business. Yes, the sun is good for whitening, & yes it takes several days.

You are doing the right thing and have all the right stuff. Once you have had the 40 vol on for like 12 to 24 hrs rinse it off and set it in the sun for three days. The sun bleaching will whiten it more and should achieve the bright white you desire. Glue the teeth in and give it a spray of antifungal aerosol available in Mckenzie Taxidermy supplies online or even a low shine clear sealer. Looks great!

So following your logic, if you're in the ghetto & someone attempts to mug you, you have no right to defend yourself? I mean, if you can see them coming, you should lock yourself in the car while they nicely put it up on blocks and strip it? You are in "criminal country", so it's really your fault, right? Got it.

It matters to me. There's something pleasing to me, about owning and using a USA made knife. Just holding it in my hand, I swear I can feel the difference from some chinese made knife, no matter the "quality" it may be. It's probably all in my head, but I don't care. I have the option to own an American made knife, so I do. If I could have an American made smart-phone, I would.

I hate non - US made knives! My girlfriend got me a Bear & Sons mutli tool, called "Bear jaws". It's like leatherman used to be, but even better. I've been playing with it since yesterday and have only stabbed myself once.

I do it like this:- 1. Cut all 4 feet off at the ankle. I lay the squirrel on a solid log or table, & set my hatchet blade on the foot where I want to cut, then hit the back of the blade with a stout piece of wood. It gives you a quick, accurate, clean cut every time. 2. Put a slice in the skin all the way around the body, in the midsection of the squirrel. 3. Work your fingers under the hide on each side of your slice and pull. The skin will easily pull off of the body like a sock. 4. Once you get the halves of the hide down to the tail and up to the head, cut them off, and the hide will be removed. -You can either gut the squirrel before or after skinning them this way. I like to skin and then gut them, but it's not always practical. I don't like leaving them with the guts in while I hunt all day, so I often gut them first. -Once you get the hang of it, you will end up with a nice clean carcass, relatively free of hair.

Next year will be my son's first year of bow hunting, so we've got a lot of work to do. We're going to spend a lot of time scouting, hanging a few double sets, and getting his bow dialed in. I'd like to get a crossbow before next season. I'm gonna try and bank as much vacation time as possible, so I can hit it hard again next year. Going to focus my time off around Halloween, instead of taking a day here and there all season like I did this year. Can't wait!

Congrats! My first kill was a squirrel, & they're still one of my favorite hunts. I go every fall before bow season, but I really enjoy late season. I love eating them. I like it best grilled, it's simple and easy. Post a pic when you can!

"Q: Can I take my young child (or an unlicensed person) with me while I am deer hunting? A: Yes, and we highly recommend it! Just make sure the child (or unlicensed person) is not hunting or assisting in any aspect of the hunt (like driving deer). Bring an extra pair of binoculars and plenty of snacks. Have a good time!" -It's in the FAQ section of the hunting page, on the DEC site.

Words don't cover it.

We got him! We hunted him several days last week with no sightings. Saturday morning, I went to hunt a different property with my son, & my girlfriend hunted the stand at my uncle's. On her way out after the morning hunt, she noticed fresh tracks in the snow with an obvious drag mark, leading up into the bedding area. She called me, & we decided to go after him. The plan was that she would post at the end of the thicket, and I would ease through, trying to gently push him to her. My son went with her because it's illegal for a kid to drive, and I wanted to be as sneaky as possible. I slowly worked into the thicket, zig zagging back and forth toward her. The snow was soft, and I made very little noise. About 1/3 of the way through, I looked up to see him watching me from his bed, 20 yards from me. I cocked the hammer and killed him with a neck shot. He never got out of the bed. Walking up to him, I realized what a mess he was. I'm pretty sure it was a gunshot wound on his shoulder. I could smell his wound from 15 feet downwind, it was full of gangrene. His neck was nothing but skin and bone, His shoulders & hips were thin and his spine was sticking out. It was sad to see such an animal in that shape. When I went to pull him out, the antlers both pulled off with very little force. She said that a stressed or injured deer will lose their antlers early. It definitely wasn't any kind of hunt to be proud of, but I know we did the right thing. I'm glad he's not out there like that anymore. This was a real reminder for me of what can happen when we make a poor shot. Obviously the meat is no good, but that's not important on this one. He's definitely not a 10 point like I thought, but like I said, he was in very thick brush when I first saw him. I don't care at all about the rack anyway. Thankful my killer girlfriend was paying attention, and that our efforts paid off.

Thanks everybody, I appreciate it.

NIce job Wooly. Must be one hell of a load you're shooting. Impact blew the antlers right off him! LoL

Fair question. Normally, I'm ok with a deer getting by me. It sucks when you can't close the deal, but there's always another day. I've come close on big deer before and had them give me the slip. This one hurts because I know he's out there suffering and I was really close to putting him out of it. Do I want to kill a big buck? Hell yeah, and anybody who says they don't is lying. But, I don't see finishing off a gimped buck as any kind of trophy or accomplishment. I think it's just the right thing to do. I don't care what the deer is, if it's wounded that bad I think we're obligated to finish it. It sucks to see any deer like that. I don't think the size of the rack has much to do with the way I feel about him.

I work noon to midnight in the winter, so I hunt almost every weekday morning. Yesterday morning, I was hunting my uncle's property with the muzzleloader, just west of Rochester. It's a small brushy piece that is pretty much landlocked on 3 sides by recently cut corn fields, & a 50 yard wide swath of thicket connecting it to the swamp a few hundred yards away. I have my stand in the corner attached to the thicket, and I was hoping yesterday to catch a doe sneaking in to go to bed. I had a fawn come through early, and nothing else until 9:45. Then, I hear something strange to my left, and look over to see a really nice buck (he looked to be a 10, with about 8 or 9" G2's, and an 18-20" inside spread. Good mass with a bone white color rack) standing in the thicket 30yds away, facing into my uncle's property. He was alert, but upwind of me and I was in a high stand that's got good cover. It was way too thick to shoot, so I had no choice but to freeze and wait him out. After a couple of minutes, he turned parallel to me. When he looked away I quickly stood up in hopes of getting a shot when he moved. From a standing position, I realized I had a decent shot at his shoulder through a small window in the brush. I pulled the ML up (I shoot a Traditions Deerhunter sidelock). I was taking my time. I wanted to be sure and I wanted the shot to feel right. Before I could shoot, He suddenly took a large step that looked really strange. I no longer had a shot. He kept moving but it was obvious that he was walking really funny & favoring his front shoulder. He kept heading into thicker cover and he was really struggling to walk. He could only do a step about every 3 seconds, and I could hear his leg dragging. I tried really hard to find an opening to shoot through, but he got away and disappeared into the thicket on my uncle's property. I briefly thought about getting down and trying to go after him, but there was no way I could sneak up on him in that thick stuff, and I wasn't willing to bet he was unable to run. I've seen 3 legged deer before that had trouble walking, but could still run pretty well when it counted. I decided that since it's a small property with only one likely way on and off, that I would wait for him to come out in the evening. I felt obligated, and I didn't think he'd busted me, so I thought he'd definitely be back out. I texted my boss and took a sick day. Sat in the stand until dark, but he never showed. I feel like an idiot. I guess I should've rushed to shoot a little bit, but I didn't know he was wounded. I'm pretty new to the ML thing, so I was being extra careful lining up the shot. I've only started hunting with it this year, and while I killed a doe with it on opening day, I was nowhere near confident enough to try shooting through heavy brush (I wouldn't do that even with my shotgun). I've been kicking myself all day today. I don't see how he'll survive the winter, he can't paw at the ground, and I think it would be easy for coyotes to run him down. I couldn't see him well enough to see what had happened to him, but I'm guessing either a shot or a car. Hindsight is killing me on this one. Not sure why I'm posting this, just needed to get it off my chest I guess.

That's so cool. Good for you!

Farms often rotate crops from year to year. Your best bet would be to talk to the farmer and see what he's got planned.

Sorry to confuse you, I was trying to point out that Larry's comment was definitely intended to knock the guy down. Not saying you were.