Zhe Wiz

I've tried both. There seems to be no reaction difference between red and green. It seems to be animal specific. Deer typically don't care - they just stare into the light, foxes tend to come toward me, though I've seen some of those run too. Young yotes have hung around and gone back to feeding while spotlighted. The yotes that have hit the pile over the last few nights have run at green and red. I have a handheld red. I sometimes use it to confirm the presence of "shiny eyes". That light was spooking them so I went straight to the gun with the green light. Still spooked. Zhe Wiz

That's true, not sure I consider it hunting. My admitted goal is killing. I literally saw more coyotes hunting behind my house this year than I did deer. They need to be thinned out. I'll save the sport for later. :-) Zhe Wiz

Thanks! Good idea, or just disconnect it. I put it up the day I got it, so didn't look to see how easy it would be to take it apart and cover or disable the LED. I'm annoyed that the damn LED is behind the same lens as the sensor. Would have been an easy fix if they had kept that LED separate. Additional sensors are "only" $22, so I'll order another and see if I can do surgery on it. I'm sure I'll need to do something, as the smart ones won't stick around for me to shoot. Zhe Wiz

I have good glass, but not superb. It's a Bushnell Elite 4200. I can say that you are correct. Without the snow it would have been difficult to verify it was a yote, and even if I were able to do that, picking the spot to shoot would be near impossible. MAYBE if there's a good bit of moonlight? The other alternative is to try moving the bait pile closer when the snow melts, should be easier to see them at 75 yards than it is at 180/190. But then I'm not sure I want to deal with the smell. It's bad enough up there where it is when the wind blows the "wrong" direction. :-) I do have a spotlight mounted on top of my scope - a green LED spotlight. It's apparent, however, that they do not like light! The INSTANT i light 'em up, they are GONE. Foxes (and young coyotes) seem much more tolerant of the light. That's why last night I tried going lightless and it worked. Hopefully I can get one or two more before the snow disappears again. Zhe Wiz

Yes, I got the idea from these forums when someone asked about motion detectors for yotes. It's a Chamberlain CWA2000, selling for less than $60 on Amazon.com. It's sensitive enough to pick up small critters - foxes and probably smaller even, but I rarely get false alarms. I had a few when it was REALLY windy last week, but otherwise it's been dead on. The only thing I do NOT like about it, is that behind the motion sensor lens is an LED that flashes when it senses motion. Seems to BRIEFLY spook the yotes, but not enough to keep them away. They tend to trot off then come right back. Range is really good too. I have it 180 yards away from the house and it triggers the interior receiver even when it's on the opposite side of the house. It's a LITTLE quiet if there's a lot going on, but it's loud enough to wake you up at night, that's for sure. BTW, I weighed the yote, she was exactly 40lbs. Biggest I've ever shot, but I just started hunting them last year when we moved into this place. Zhe Wiz

Shot her about 30 minutes ago. Adult female, 190 yards. Neck shot with 22-250, 35 grain bullet. I was woken up by my Chamberlain motion detector near a bait pile behind my house just before 1am. No light used, but on 8x and with the snow I could easily tell it was a coyote. Crosshairs on her and BOOM, DRT. Zhe Wiz

See now that's written in a way I can respect. I see you are passionate about it, I get that, I really do. What I don't quite understand yet is why it matters to you that I'm NOT so passionate about it. Traditional bowhunting won't ever go away completely. It will become even more exclusive. Your passion and love is my frustration. Bowhunting is hard, VERY hard. Xbow hunting is easier, but still not easy. But I prefer it, it's what I'm comfortable with. I don't want to take away your tradition, I simply do not wish to participate in it. Sort of, but you take it too far. The thing is, I'm NOT asking that your tradition be taken away. You can continue bow hunting with whatever you want. I'm not "getting" the point of making me participate in your tradition. Zhe Wiz

Hey! We're on the same "side" in this thread. :-) No, she actually was quite average, possibly slightly below average in size. I wouldn't have guessed that when she was on her feet, but the closer I walked to her, the smaller she seemed to become. :-) I now have two deer carcasses about 180 yards from my back porch now. Hoping I'll catch a few more daytime yotes over the next few days. Zhe Wiz

Here it is, from #41, just like you said. And see, I AM capable of following simple directions at least: Ahh, excellent. So you do concede the point. I see you're having difficult saying it again, so I won't ask you to repeat yourself. :-) You agree with me! The elitist in me loves it when that happens. ;-) You thought THAT was a "rant"? Hmmm. Interesting. But anyway, I do NOT hear anywhere NEAR as many gun shots during BOW season as I do during the first couple days of gun season. After that things calm down. BUT, you missed the ENTIRE POINT. I mean, you are incredible, you can take this thing in all sorts of directions! Apparently you think it's OK to use RIFLES during bow season, but not xbows? Is that what you are arguing now? I gave clear (to most people) examples of how your silliness (you are the one that asked, "why not guns during archery?") ruins my hunt and then asked you to do the same with xbows. Trouble is, you can't! So instead you attack my reasons (if you remember, I warned you that MY OPINION was coming up) for enjoying bow season! Do you not hear yourself? Honestly, your argument is sounding weaker with every keystroke! That's almost funny right there! YOU accusing ME of being incapable of intelligent conversation! You're killing me! And like I said, I saw the smiley, I get that you gave the underhanded remark as if it were a joke, but I don't believe you. Zhe Wiz

See, now why didn't you just lead with that? That right there tells me everything I need to know about your xbow opinion. Now where's my definition of elitist again? Oh yea, there it is. God, not to piss you off right from the start by using the "E" word again, but damned if your statement doesn't sound a whole lot like what an Elitist would say. If you don't do or use what I do or use, then I am right, I am better than you. Is that a good translation? Nice try on the smiley, I'm not buying it! You're sucks worse. AND, unlike you, I'm going to defend my statement. See, your argument is that not allowing xbows gets kids to use bows so they can hunt earlier in the season. OK, I'm all in for more kids hunting, but where we differ is, you believe that because you love traditional archery so much, that everyone else should love it too and be forced to try it. My argument is that if xbows are allowed, kids can STILL start early, they just won't be forced to use a bow, though they can if they choose to, or if their mean ol' dad forces them to. I believe that if someone loves it they WILL try it, and if they don't, they won't! I don't care if in 10 years 90% of archery hunters use an xbow and 10% use a "wussy" compound bow. What I fail to understand is why that bothers you (not just you dbone, but you anti-xbow people) so much? Keep holding on to your traditions if you want to, but don't make me do it too. Recurves, traditional and compound bows will never go away. There's always someone looking to try something new or to challenge themselves more. I may very well get in that boat someday myself. That doesn't mean I believe we should force someone to use a tool they don't want to use just so they can hunt earlier in the season. In summary, I see your argument, but to me it's weightless. I don't care who likes and who doesn't like the way I hunt or what I use. I like my xbow, I like my 243, I like my smokeless ML and I like my semi-auto shotty. But I don't force anyone to use what I use. I tell them the pros and cons and let them decide. If bow hunting is so awesome, people will do it. Like I said before, it's not me trying to please dbone (ha!) or anyone else with how or what I hunt with. It's all about me vs. the deer and the personal challenge of putting a projectile where I want to put it when I want to put it there. (Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, I'm not even going to concede that anyone can "just pull a trigger." I took a riflery class in college, there are a LOT of people who cannot. I witnessed it first hand and it wasn't pretty.) I'm not going to force any of you to hunt the way I do either. So I'm assuming that since no one has answered my MAIN QUESTION (dbone, why do you keep ignoring it?) that the anti-xbow group must agree with me. There is nothing my use of an xbow does that will have any negative impact on your hunt with whatever bow you feel makes you a non-wuss. Is that true? Are you conceding that point? Can anyone give an example, like I did with rifles, of how my use of an xbow negatively impacts your hunt? Is there anything? At all? If not, then stop it with the elitism, (and shouting up and down while stomping that you are not an elitist doesn't make it so. Please look up the definition) let us use xbows during bow season, keep using your whatever-makes-you-feel-like-a-non-wuss bow and get on with your hunting enjoyment. Let me get on with mine. I promise to save some deer for you, I promise to teach my son about all of his options and let him choose the one he wants, whatever bow that may be, if any. It's amazing how vocal the anti's are on this topic. I know a lot of hunters, and only about 10-20% of them are opposed to allowing the user of xbows during archery season. We xbow proponents need to start voicing our opinion so our wonderful government doesn't mistakenly think the anti's are in the majority here. The argument always seems to be "thou shalt save the tradition". Guess what? I don't care about that tradition. Someone will keep it going just like black powder and flint locks are still going even though I'll probably never use either. Enjoy them if you want, but don't make me! Zhe Wiz

I shot an adult female this afternoon. I was going out to get some wood, looked up and saw her 50 yards away outside our dog fence. She saw me, I turned around and ran for my coyote gun, earmuffs and a couple bullets. Came back prepared this time. :-) She was now 75 yards away and watching a herd of 6-8 deer, so she didn't even see me open the door. I lowered the bipod, put the crosshairs on her chest and BOOOM. 35 grain bullet at nearly 4500 fps from my Rem 700 22-250 knocked her down right there. I love that load. :-) So that was today's coyote gun, though I've used my Browning X-Bolt 243 on occasion as well. Zhe Wiz

Awwww, poor dbone. I apparently touched a nerve. It would be nice if you could actually answer my questions instead of being silly. You are very defensive for some reason. Sorry I "PO'd you off", but shouldn't I be the one that's pissed? After all, you're the one telling me what to use, I'm saying use what you want! To me (please read those two words carefully, it implies that what is coming is my opinion) archery season is about quiet woods, calm deer, close contact with them, no hearing protection and warm(er) weather. An xbow changes NONE of what archery season is to me. I'm having trouble seeing what it is that YOU like about archery season that my use of an xbow will change. So let me try wording it this way: If I have an xbow and you have a compound, how is that different from us both having a compound? What part of archery season have i messed up? Please remember when answering that it's YOUR CHOICE to use a compound because you prefer it. So here, I'll go first using YOUR rifles/xbow example. Lets assume I prefer my xbow over my .243 for some reason. I don't want rifles allowed during archery because it ruins the quiet woods and the calm deer. Those two things are important to me, and if you choose a rifle while I'm using my xbow, MY hunting experience is changed in a very negative way. Please help me to see how my use of an xbow during archery season affects YOUR hunting experience in a negative way. To hear some of your responses, hunting is competitive. Like it's hunter vs hunter and we have to have a "level playing field." What? For me hunting isn't me vs other hunters, it's the personal challenge of me vs the deer. I thought we were all on the same "team." Maybe that's the difference? Because I have the perceived "better" tool I might somehow "beat" you? Is that it? Yes, I'm fishing here, trying to understand. Please help me out. Look, I'm really not trying to piss anyone off...well, maybe dbone (just kidding!) :-)...I'm simply trying to understand the argument that xbows shouldn't be allowed in archery season. Zhe Wiz

What are you guys so afraid of? So what if I'd rather use a crossbow instead of a bow during bow season? What's wrong with that? Just because YOU want to use a bow means I have to too? That's the main argument I hear and it makes NO SENSE. No one is gonna make you switch. Keep using your bow if that's what you want to do and it's what you enjoy. Who cares if my son prefers the crossbow? At least he's hunting with HIS preferred tool. Just like some prefer recurves, black powder and pistols to increase the challenge, some will always use compound bows for the same reason. Even IF xbows are "better", what difference does that make exactly? Are you afraid we'll kill "your" deer? I've been hunting all my life with a gun, just took up bow hunting 4 years ago, been using a gun for 35 years. Even with that, I'm more accurate with my bow than I am with my xbow. Groups are tighter. But I am still MUCH more comfortable shooting an xbow. That is my preference. It's still plenty challenging for me, range estimation is still CRITICAL. Better not shoot with the limbs too close to the tree either. So why exactly should I have to use a bow? What exactly are you all afraid of? Sounds more like some odd jealousy thing more than a solid argument. Zhe Wiz

Sign this: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/impeach-governor-andrew-cuomo/b4NBSNTR

I've killed 3 deer with that bullet and load. 1 at 100-110 yards, double lung, she ran 75 yards. 1 at 40 yards, double lung she went 50. And the best? A small buck quartering at 30 yards, double lung, missed both legs, but DRT. That last one was the most impressive. Knocked him head over heels, thought I had broken his far side leg, but it was untouched. Small sample size so far, but I'm impressed with what I've seen so far.

I use 58 grains of VVH N120 under a 300 grain Barnes Original. Very accurate out of my thumbhole Savage.

Can't explain why the difference between what you are seeing and what I saw, only things I can think of are possible hunger levels, and the fact that the one I witnessed feasting on an adult coyote was obviously this year's pup. Fact remains they will eat each other. I've had dead possums and turkey carcasses go untouched by coyote over several days, eaten only by birds and foxes in an area with plenty of coyotes. I chalked it up to the location of the "bait" but never put much thought into it.

Absolutely 100% FALSE!!!! I shot a coyote that was in the process of eating another coyote that I had shot a couple days before!! They absolutely WILL eat each other, I saw it with my own two eyes. Zhe Wiz

Another Savage smokeless guy here. It gets loaded and kept that way until I shoot at a deer (or coyote). Ahhh, one of the MANY joys of smokeless... :-)

I "caught" 3 of them on camera here in Tompkins county this summer too. Looks like they are making a comeback in southern NY. Zhe Wiz

Lawdwaz - yep, I saw that post. That bullet is the exact one I'm hunting with this year. Can't wait! Zhe Wiz

This is a GREAT muzzleloader. I have the laminated thumbhole version and absolutely LOVE it. Someone buy it before I am tempted to buy a backup. :-) Zhe Wiz

The .243 IS the perfect deer gun. Low recoil, accurate, flat shooter. I'd take ANY shot with the 243 that I'd take with an <insert unnecessarily overpowered caliber here>. You really think a 243 can't fully penetrate a deer? Give me a break. You guys keep using your <insert unnecessarily overpowered caliber here> and I'll keep using my 243. I'll kill as many or more than you will. I've seen TWO deer shot at with a 243, 55 grain VARMINT bullet. BOTH were DRT. Granted one was a head shot, but the other was a high shoulder shot. Would I recommend that bullet or those shots? Hell no, but the fact that a VARMINT bullet out of a 243 can do that tells me that a deer bulletin out of a 243 will have no issue whatsoever. What exactly do you people think these deer are made out of? Have you not seen what an arrow does to them? It's ok to hunt them with a bow but a 243 is underpowered? What are you guys smoking? I honestly don't mind that you're shooting them with an <insert unnecessarily overpowered caliber here>, but don't sit there and tell me that the 243 is lacking something when it comes to deer hunting. Actually, go ahead and say it all you want, I K N O W better. Why do I bother? Clearly the marketing departments for the <insert unnecessarily overpowered caliber here> is way better than I am. They sure have you guys eating out of their hands!! Zhe Wiz

Browning x-bolt .243 with handloaded 80 grain TTSX bullets in Cayuga county. Browning semi-auto 12ga with 3" Accutips or Savage smokeless ML with 300 grain Barnes Originals in Tompkins county around my house. Zhe Wiz

You guys complaining about the danger of treestands should take a peek at DRIVING accident statistics. You're more likely to get in an accident DRIVING to the woods to hunt in your ground blind than you are to have a treestand accident. I think we should add trucks to the list of things NY should outlaw. Do you realize how much you sound like the people trying to outlaw guns? "They're dangerous, better outlaw 'em." When is it going to end? Prayers to his family, very sad. He was trying to do the right thing - safety harness and everything. When it's your time, it's your time. Zhe Wiz