wooly

BURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR............, I better kill one this week!

Are you sure?

Mine comes off. As windy as it's been this season, I like a lower profile to my bow without the added surface area to get blown around. Also as greensider said, sometimes the arrows loosen up in the quiver and the added noise upon release is not something I like the thought of.

Any guesses on age for this one?

I think you can be banned for a comment like that! I wish the entire deer was made up of inside tenderloins.....and antlers,lol

I took a nice plump doe this morning at 26 steps from the uprooted tree I was sitting against. I shot low thinking she may duck at the shot, but she never had time to react and I plugged her straight through the heart. As soon as I pulled the trigger, her side exploded in a cloud of red! She dropped in only 50yds after a the bolt passed completely through her. Sure wish we had some of yesterdays snow left for dragging today, but at least I wasn't freezing my nuts off,lol

I have ZERO natural insulation..... I froze my butt off, and I was layered up to the gills. I sure don't mind hiking around in the REALLY cold stuff, but sitting on my ass for hours on end in it just doesn't happen any more.

I didn't even want to climb into any of my stands with it until I'm more farmiliar handling this thing. It was a little too slick to compound the issues I was already having.

Can't wait to see this beast..... you did kill one right? My opening day experience wasn't as delightfull. Summer shooting in the backyard was fun, but hunting with this thing is a real PIA! Started out getting hung up on every branch and twig on the way through the timber. I may as well have had an 8ft 2x4 strapped to my back the long way. Even with a sling there's no comfortable way to carry it except around my back. When I did have to hold it in my hands to slip through some tight spots is when I really felt all 8lbs of this beast real quick. My stock obviously wasn't designed with carrying comfort in mind. Although mine has a pistol grip behind the trigger, I found it to be too short for my entire hand to grip, and kept finding my trigger finger creeping towards the trigger for extra stability. Once I finally reached my natural ground blind, it didn't take me long to see I didn't know where or how I was going to prop this bad boy up within reach. With no hooks hung in advance, I ended up laying it on the ground where it was more in the way than anything. Maybe I'm over paranoid, but I was constantly on edge having a cocked and loaded weapon "laying around" at my feet. I also got that uncomfortable feeling carrying it out after dark. Even though I removed the bolt, and my bow has an anti-dry fire mechanism, it was constantly in the back of my mind that the string could release and slice my ear clean off,lol. The slick snow covered downhill trip home added to my anxiety. While in my un-roofed blind last night, the snow started accumulating on my scope, bolt, limbs, and bolt shelf. The snow never really let up, so I found myself dusting it off every few minutes which lead to soaking wet gloves, and frozen fingers. No doubt in my mind I would have had a hard time manipulating the safety to "FIRE" if a deer actually did show up. I don't know what kind of accumulation you can have on your rig before it starts to affect accuracy, but I know there has to be some degree there. The thought of not knowing how much was weighing heavily on my mind, so I began to question why I was even still out there. Just before dark, I did finally spot some turkey scratching their way across the beech ridge so I readied my x-bow for it's first taste of Thanksgiving dinner. As 8 soaking wet jakes strolled by at 30yds I discovered my scope was fogged over and I couldn't find them in it. I wiped off the rear lens and took a peak through it, but the front was still all fogged up. I flipped it around to wipe that lens off, but the birds had noticed something and didn't waste any time getting outta Dodge. X-bow hunting...... piece of cake!

Thanks guys! The turkey and deer pics are from a Nikon D-3200 and the snake and dragonfly are from a D-3000.

Few shots I snapped from the stands and blinds so far this season with two more summer filler pics on the end.

22 right.... 13 left..... 8 right... Hey, ya never know!

OK, here's the plan...... ...never mind, I'll fill you in when I get there. Don't worry, the coffee and donuts are on me this time! Damn, what a buck!

I almost started my own topic on this the other day. To put it simply, if you've never hunted over scrapes before, or have had limited success in the past with scrape hunting tactics.... this is definitely going to be the week to try it. I've been watching a scrape line grow in length, and with unique visitor frequency the last few days. Random aggression scrapes are also popping up all over lately which I don't pay much attention to, but if you've got a line that's getting opened up now, you can expect to see any number of bucks pay it a visit at any time of the day. Find a strategically placed stand down wind and with a little luck, you'll see some great action!

Maybe that rotting carcass stench is what draws them in for me. Don't worry Pygmy, I pray for you every night, but I don't think anyone is listening!

I've been passing bucks with the bow that I would normally shoot in a heartbeat this year. I'm looking forward to dropping one with the x-bow, and that has kept many deer alive so far! Things have really picked up here in 9h this past weekend. Activity should almost be at it's peak by next week.

I totally enjoy them! Found a den of 8 coyote pups a few years ago and enjoyed a few hours photographing them. Watched two yotes work together this spring to chase down and kill a fawn right before my eyes. When you see something like that, it makes you realize there's no place for human intervention when nature runs its course as it sees fit. IMO they are a necessary critter to have around, especially when hunters alone can't keep deer numbers in check in some areas. By targeting the weak, diseased, and the young, I think they make for a healthier heard. It's likely if you have a good coyote population in an area, you also have an abundance, and variety of other critters that keep them fed. They're anything but the easiest creature to get close to so encounters are cherished from my point of view. Yep, I like 'em!

Talking about deer here Paula, not men.... That said, I like my deer the way I like my woman... meaty AND horny,lol

What were you cutting them with a chainsaw? I guess it doesn't matter at this point. You likely wont live to see my post!

I had this same problem hunting a field edge in the first two weeks of season. Deer would start staging in the cut field at sunset and eventually work their way up to a standing cornfield by dark. Sometimes 20 or more deer eventually made their way out there, but for the most part they all started to show at the same time spread out over the last hour. Many nights I sat in my stand till 9pm just to make sure they were all gone. This probably legaly wasn't the smartest move in hindsight, but one night after I thought they had all passed on to the corn, under complete darkness I was about to finally climb down when I heard some "rattling". Then further below me in the field I heard two more bucks "rattling". By now I just wanted to get home. I didn't want to spook 4 bucks from the field, and I really wanted to see what the heck they were so I hit them with my flashlight. Unfortunately it wasn't bright enough to make out any racks, but it did get their attention as I saw their beady little eyes reflecting back at me. ..... then they all got together and started "rattling" again as I impatiently worked the strobes from the treetops,lol. I think I sat there for another 1/2 hr to 45 minutes before they finally made their way off on their own. I still get some good action from that stand, but I know if I ever leave it early, I'll bump into every deer that hasn't arrived yet and kill that spot for a while.

I didn't even get my 3-D glasses on and she's already popping off my screen! Maybe you can add a little "scratch-n-sniff" effect to the next one for additional realism,lol

I took this shot the other day hiking home from the days hunt. I don't really have an eye for this sort of stuff, but this scene just popped out at me. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and glad I noticed it!

Hey, you found Pygmy's dentures,lol

All those critters must have come through after I freshened your scrape with my special "Wild and Wooly Sauce",lol. Make sure you wash your hands...... I chased the bobcat away after he lost the pissing match over territory, and we may have got a little overspray on your cam. Let me know if you need help loading the pics and I'll see if I can get one of these guys to help you out!

Just fill them out with you Cap'n Crunch invisible ink pen, and make copies of them on your etch-a-sketch. DEC officials have special de-coder rings, glasses, and scanners to keep track of your harvests this way. They are aware these plastic tags suck and are fully prepared to handle issues such as this!