TreeGuy

I won't lie, I didn't read any of the posts after the ops. I had flier issues with my ml for years and always just stayed inside 75yrds for my shots. Two years ago I decided to try every available sabot/powder/cap combo available. It took about a week's worth of shooting and cleaning but my gun needed 3 777 pellets, hornady 250gr sabots and 777 caps. Now it's a tack driver to 200+. I hope you can find your MLS combo cheaper than I did !

Well. 19th gun season ended for me with a first of no deer. Had no real opportunity's on any big guys even during bow. Barely was seeing any doe. As of Sunday night me and the kids were up all night barfing with a nasty stomach bug. Wife came home early from work and the snow was really coming down, she sat down next to me and said " didn't you get a big buck a couple years ago during a snow storm ?". Really sweetheart !?! How could she say that. So I decided to take a hot shower and if I felt up to it, bundle my butt up and hit the stand... Well, I did. Now I will tell you there was a few times I thought I was gonna have a rearend eruption and after I shot I almost puked a few times, but this unlucky buck came out into the cut corn @ 125yrds. Hit em and he dropped like a rock. Not my biggest but a decent buck and he's got bad Genetics anyways.. was 2.5 and only a 6, 17" wide. We have a couple bucks on the farm I wanted dead and he was on the list. Very happy to fill at least one tag this year !!

Well. 21st gun season and my first ZERO on the board.....still have muzzle but I'm already crossing 16' off the list. Ah well.

The final hours are upon us. Drove home from MI last night and had a toddler barfing all night so I wasn't able to get out this am. Headed out now for the final count down. Hoping to notch the new slug gun... Good luck all

Hunting 9f this evening and saw some serious chasing. It was literally a buck parade. I know I saw 3 if not 4 different bucks chasing a doe. All 1.5 yr olds. I'll be hunting that same stand as much as possible the next couple days. Once she goes hot I hope the big boys come find her. I've been watching the does pile out in the cut corn everynight. And every night small bucks have been tagging along. Seems it could get good by me in the next few days. What is everybody else seeing ?

Well, lots of good points being made but, i can only really speak for myself. Nothing can "break" me. Nothing will make me want to change being a trophy hunter. If you think general deer season is tough, consistently hunt mature bucks. Pick one or twice if your lucky on your property to hunt. It's like taking the hard sport of hunting and multiplying it by 1000. I let ALOT of deer go by me. Some real nice bucks. Some trophy's to others. But it's my way and I can hunt that way if I want. I won't even kill a doe till I have a buck down ( or its very late in season ). With all that being said, I get why some guys might break. Too many years of small bucks or no bucks. Or just losing patience with hunting in general. All these guys are posting book bucks and your out freezing your butt off in the rain. I get it. I love my family first, but the only other passion I have is for mature bucks. It's what gets me up and out everyday. Will I score every year ? Heck no. Am I oK with that ? Heck yes. I have learned an enormous amount about the woods just from being out there. It's at times beyond discouraging hunting this way, but it forces me to adapt and overcome. Giant bucks do it, so I must too. I wish everyone the best of luck on not being broken by hunting. And be thankful for every opportunity you do and don't get !

Idiot... Just realized this is in the ML section.

112 paces. Smoothbore 12ga 870 w/ Reddot. I took a knee and she was in a cut corn field. Shoulders, dropped. Now I have e the savage 220 which i am comfortable to 300+ with the BDC scope. Patiently waiting for the opportunity !

Odd... Maybe a hard to read sarcastic question ?

The ARs dd's ranch sell have that exact setup, and are compliant. Or get the stupid ( imo ) thorsden stock.

If I may hijack a bit and plug a local gun shop that has awesome service and is the only one around Erie county area to have a huge stock in safe act legal AR's and all kinds of parts and kits.... Look up https://ddsranch.com/ Guy knows his stuff and always has a selection. I've spent ALOT here. Gives great pricing on guns and gear saved me 300$ on my savage 220 scoped over cabelas. It's also nice to support the local guys

3 or 4, 150-170#, 130-135"

Not sure if you already have one but RR has a " varmint " trigger like their match but I believe it's 2.5#. Best bang for your buck and depending on what you plan to do with your rig it's an important investment.

I picked up a sweet little rig too,savage 16 lightweight hunter. Best groups were hornady 150g American whitetail. Now I just need to see how they punch through shoulders....

I like the name ribcage for him. Just sayin

and starts the March of the orange army.

Hunting new farm this year... Early scouting showed a healthy herd. First couple days of bow were amazing. Piles of deer in the field every night. Since then I have seen 2 2.5 bucks and maybe a doe or 2. Appears as if this is not a rut/ late season area. Could be a bunch of other variables but with all the bedding around I can't believe the lack of action ! Ah well. Can't get em on the couch. Pulling stands today and getting ready for gun fun

Umm, that broken broadhead would have worked great on a vitals hit... Did you recover deer ?

Looks like muscle blood. Backstrap or no man's land. From what you describe of blood it may not be fatal. But, you could have hit one or two lungs on top which can be a real B* to track. Nose to the ground or get the dogs. I've heard you should track a hit like that for 400yrds before calling it.

I'm nuts.... Scent free everything. Love scent blocker and scentlok, washed when needed in dead down wind. Field spray is ddw also. I like it because it's advertised to protect against more than human odors. Also,i run an ozonics in the field. And I can tell you, I'm a believer. I leave it at that. U can fall for alot of hypes (guilty) But the ozonics to me has been the only way to actually fool the deer nose, down wind or not.

Nothing beats the real thing, laminated and labeled. If you want to really be cheap, get packing tape and put hair between 2 pieces and put a small piece of paper with written label in. Cut to size, poke hole, keyring. Done

I'm kind of crazy when it comes to the tracking... So many things can be figured out immediately. I know a guy who's been tracking longer than I've been breathing. It's usually the same questions. Blood, hair , what did the deer do upon impact, how far was first blood, how did the deer run away, what angle was the shot, where do you think you hit the deer, arrow in or out, pass through, deers tail while walking/running away etc. Usually you get a few of those right of the bat if you call deer search. Now, as hunters, if we consistently look for these things on every shot we will have much better success on recovery's. And, rule of thumb is 400yrds of tracking before even considering quitting.

Beyond a necessity for deer hunting, especially when it's stick and sting.

A perfect time to have a hair example book. Any luck ?