airedale

For me it has nothing to do with the other site per-se, it is some the members that left here that to be honest I have no use for and do not want to associate with period. All the back biting, sniping cheap shot artists and trouble making political trolls are gone and I for one am glad of it. I totally agree with Four Seasons, this site has never been better and I enjoy and like the members that stayed. Numbers do not mean a thing to me, it is all about content and I like this site's content without all the bull!! Al

It is most useful in dark conditions, that is when blood will show up best. In the daytime I can pretty much spot blood on my own. Al

So I had a chance to use one of those Outdoor Edge replaceable hunting knifes that Amazon will not ship to NY State. These knives follow the same scheme as the old transition from straight razors to safety razors, instead of sharpening when dull, you just toss the old blade and put in new. The blades for these knives are very sharp and hold their edge well, but here is the thing. After doing some skinning work and meat cutting I put the blade to one of my good stones and had it razor sharp again in a jiffy. In my opinion it would be stupid or just plain lazy to throw away the blade and not resharpen it. Personally I will keep sharpening the blades until they will no longer hold an edge. Al

So like the 'gadget sucker" I am I got one of those tracking lights mentioned above, had some deer blood from the Doe I took the other day and gave the light a test to see what it does. It definitely will make any blood stand out when the light hits it, I can see it would help recovery of a deer in some cases. Al

Thanks folks hanging in there after three quarters of a century and feeling good, still have enough left in the tank to drag my deer out alone the other day with no problems. Those over the shoulder deer drag harnesses work great. Al

Good one Tim, congrats on a nice Buck, love the way the whole clan took shifts dragging. Al

Well I cut to the chase tonight and took one of the Does I have been seeing all Fall with the Howa Superlight 6.5 Creedmoor. Nothing great but I got something to put into the freezer. About 125 yds, threaded the needle though some small openings and that was that. Now I can look forward to some Squirrel hunting. Al

I have 2 1/2 straight power and 1X4 variables on my exposed hammer lever rifles, have a 1X5 on my Savage 99 for just a bit more power because it is chambered in 250 Savage, a cartridge that has some longer range potential. The lower powered scopes I use provide wide fields of view and long eye relief which is a main concern for me as I use them in the woods shooting relatively short ranges so high power is not important. Pickings are kind of slim for straight low powered scopes, Leupold discontinued both it's 3X and 2.5X ultra light, like new can be found on ebay at times, they still make the 1X4 which is a good choice. Both Vortex and Bushnell make a 1X4 that look pretty good. I had problems seeing open sights when the lighting was dim early mornings and just before dark, scoping my lever actions remedied that problem. Al

Zip, nadda for me so far for a Buck, been seeing Does and have been holding out hoping they will bring in a Buck. Got a little snow on the ground now, I like hunting on snow. Al

I have been using a couple of these Rick Young Binocular harnesses for several years and they have exceeded all of my expectations, comfort and versatility make these great. To look at this thing you would think it is cheesy and cheap, it is anything but, and once you use it you will see why it is so well thought of. Try one, you will not be sorry you did. Amazon has them on sale at a good price, they make great stocking stuffers.

I use a sled also, I like it best because it can be used in almost any type of terrain, really works great with a little snow. I would not say a drag is exactly easy but a Hell of a lot easier than dragging without it. Mine gets double duty as I not only have used it to drag out a deer but also use it for chores here on the farm hauling around all sorts of stuff. Al

Not that many years ago around here it would be rare not to hear a couple of shots off in the distance during afternoon hunts, I have yet to hear a single shot this year. Al

Same old story for me the last couple of days, just Does and Turkeys, the Tom was fanned out and strutting like it was spring. Al

So the other morning I went for hunt and the temps were in the high teens, I was bundled up good with warm clothes so I could stay out for a bit. I was carrying my new Model 70 6.5 PRC and spotted a Doe about 75 yds out in hardwoods meandering around grubbing for acorns. I pulled up on her with the rifle to take a look and found with all those heavy clothes on it changed the eye relief on my scope for full field of view, I had to crane my head forward in an unnatural shooting position to get a perfect full sight picture. For a standing shot I could make things work ok but for a quick shot where speed comes into play it would and could be a problem and cost you. I want a perfect sight picture immediately when the rifle is shouldered, no craning my neck for sure! When I mounted the scope in the Fall I thought I had it back far enough and with the hunting clothes I am usually wearing everything came up good. I did not take into account hunting in colder temps wearing extra heavy thick clothes. It is a common mistake, most mount their scopes when the weather is pleasant and do most of their shooting in light clothes. You will get a surprise when you shoulder that same rifle wearing a lot of clothes. Also some scopes are much more forgiving when it comes to eye relief having several inches to play with to get a perfect field of view. So the Winchester will be getting a different scope, I will be using a Burris Timberline on that rifle, with four inches of eye relief it is perfect for cold weather. Al

Still have not seen a Buck, Doe sightings have been picking up, had four in front of me yesterday, went out this morning for a short stand and saw four again. Not going to hold out for a buck much longer and will just take a Doe I think. Al

Congrats, nice Buck, good shooting and nice rifle. Al

Pretty bad when it is so you can not even get hunting knives shipped here, slowly but surely going down the toilet, everything the Democrats get control of turns to crap! Al

Finding even a good amount of blood does not always equal a fatal shot or even a debilitating injury. Deer are tough and can survive an injury that bleeds bad, from the way this episode sounds it was just not a good hit as what was first thought. Speaking of blood trails I was clued in on supposedly a really great blood tracking tool made by Primos. A light that when shown on blood in dim light will make it stand out and glow, the guys telling me about this thing were really fired up about it because it works so well. I believe these lights have been around for some time but I personally never paid too much attention to them but after listening to these boys on how well it works I did a little investigating over on Amazon reading reviews. Same thing over there the reviews were raving. So what the Hell, another gadget in the hunter's toolbox is on the way but from the way, it sounds it is a winner. Whether it works or not I have a good tracking dog that I have total confidence in so I am covered. Al

The first 40 yrs of my hunting life there were no smart phones and I got along hunting just fine without one. Now I did buy one a few years back and it sits on my desk at home, I don't carry it around with me and I don't think I have used it more than a half dozen times, I use a regular cordless phone when making a phone call. To each their own but when I am hunting I want zero distractions and the way I see it those phones are one of todays life's all around biggest distractions. People just can't seem to put them down, they are addicted and I just do not get it, I have better things to do. Al

I am going squeeze a short hunt in this morning, get back home early and get the chores done, having family over for Dinner this afternoon. If I plunk one it will make things tight. Al

Big tree got blown over yesterday down the road from me, fell on the power lines and snapped off a pole at 6.23 PM knocking out the electric power, just came back on at 5.30 PM, off about 23 hours. Had the generator fired up so things operated half way normal around here but it screwed up my routine, there was no hunting today. Hope to get out early in the morning for a quick hunt, having family over in the afternoon for Thanksgiving. Al

I just came in after a couple of hours, 25 degrees and too windy for me, I still saw the same two Does and one Squirrel. Al

More than one way to skin a cat! The same knife and blades already here from Ebay, black handle instead of orange. Al

Colder than a Witch's tit this morning, out for a couple of hours, no Deer seen, a couple of Squirrels and the Turkeys but they were not too spry, feathers all puffed up trying to stay warm. Al

Went out for a couple of hours this morning and as Yogi Berra would say it was Deja vu all over, an almost exact copy of yesterday's morning hunt. The squirrels were active (saw a Black One) just a smallish Doe was seen feeding, and in comes the Turkey mob raising all kind of Cain, and the Deer takes off into the thick stuff tail up. I leave for home and went and picked up another load of hay. GroundHog Day! Al