wooly

Hurry home Eddie! Prayers going up.

Finally got both my saws back up and running. Figured I'd try a horsay! 40 incher and only had one shoe that fit!

Yep- I burn and oil most all of them since I'm an awful painter! When I'm feeling a little frisky as I was on this guy, I'll mix in a little staining every here and there as well. I'm working on getting better at shading and coloring different tones with the torch. Seeing some progress in both areas but always got room for improvement.

Thanks guys! I'm working on getting some bigger material, then I have a few other critters in mind to try. Still got a few good chunks here to keep me busy until then. I had to walk away from this one a few times as the feathers were doing a number on my wrists and eyeballs, BUT I had promised a buyer to finish it up this week so I wanted to make sure it got done in time. Turned out better than I expected to be honest with ya.

I've been working on this guy for close to a week now. I did the big bold stuff with the saw, and then picked away at the detail stuff on the head, chest, and back with the Dremel. He's right around 30" tall Finally got him buttoned up tonight and I think I've had enough feather work for a while,lol

Honestly believe that many of the "professional" jaw bone age estimates floating around out there are WAY off myself, especially when guys have no previous years history with a buck and just "officially" stamp a number on it. A close acquaintance of mine has a 140" 13pt taken from the property I've hunted and picked up sheds from for the past 30 years. He had it aged (by DEC if I'm not mistaking)), and it came back as a 2.5 year old. Now it doesn't matter how impressive of a buck someone else takes from the property.... it's only ever a 1.5yo, and that's the reason we never see any 3.5's and 4.5's. I'm not saying you're wrong when you say you can't age by antlers, but after a few dozen years of collecting what the property consistently grows each year in each class with a few exceptions, I think you can be fairly accurate in the 1.5 - 4.5 yo category even if you may have never seen a 4.5 on the hoof. Properties being posted this year so should be covered up in 100"-125" yearlings at the very least,lol All this ageing and scoring crap has gone to everyones head if you ask me!

Looks like the infamous "longhorn fun-guy",lol

Bear Whitetail II Bear Kodiak recurve (one and done hunt) PSE Polaris Express Hoyt V-max Bear Instinct Darton Maverick PSE Bow Madness Horton Fury

Blackberry panther

Happy B-day bud!

Great shot Chris! A few years back I had two fawns that would follow me around the creek bottom every time I stepped foot in their woods. I'd snap a few pics.., enjoy a little quiet time with them.., and then move on. This was almost a daily occurrence to have them within arms reach of me from spring right on through the summer. Once falls deer season rolled around, I got a little nervous for them, but it was the same deal with them from the beginning of bow season, right to the end of late ML/bow. The had both survived the entire season simply by holding tight to their home territory that receives minimal pressure from any outsiders. So scare them off to instill some fear of man into them, or leave them be to sort things out for themselves..? I guess there's no right or wrong answer to that, but I always like to let things unfold how they will with the least amount of impact. BTW- my fawn season with the camera was a huge flop this year due to minimal time invested into chasing them, so it was nice to see you post this round of spots!

Man, I wont touch one of those things no matter how affordable they are! Almost weekly I see guys in FB groups turning their hands into hamburger with them. My grinder with a 24 grit carbide wheel scares me more than the saws and has almost bit me a few times already. I'm gonna pass on that one for my own good and find another way to get things done a little safer than that. I don't see why it wouldn't be. To me all/any wood is good. I haven't made any museum quality stuff yet and that's likely not gonna change anytime soon! Most guys prefer to use pine as it's easier on the body and equipment, but anything will work as long as it's not rotten or full of nails! Not really that good with this stuff yet,lol The bears are pretty basic and I can cut those out of a hunk of firewood if I wanted. Once I get some bigger stuff I'll need to plan ahead a little more. That's where all my screw ups are becoming important learning tools to what I can and can't do on the skills end of things.

Sorry for your loss Burt.

Sorry for your loss Burt.

Cool man- I'll have to check some of them out! While I'm here it looks like I forgot to post the finished piece. I ended up giving this one to sis just for all she's helped me out with these past few years. Also have been busy working on a bunch of other stuff. Mostly bears that don't stick around too long. Experimented with a few new things that didn't work out so well, but like I said before, I learn the most from my screw ups. The biggest thing I've learned so far is DON'T be afraid to try something new and screw up! Once I get some bigger wood, I'm planning on some strutting gobblers, bedded bucks, horse heads, and plenty of other things, Also did a short vid of carving out the bear head just for shits and giggles. I may try something a little different with this in the future.

Zip- done!

I gotta get my wood from somewhere,lol I scooped this one up from Hodgsons on Seneca. So far, so good, fair price! Not sure yet, but I don't think so. Find out later this week after they operate. I'm freakin' horrible with these small engines so....

Another one followed me home! She's used, but not abused........ YET! Accidently dropped a hefty log on my 170 last week already and had to take her in to the saw docs when she wouldn't idle after getting banged up. She's going under the knife already, but expected to pull through.

Got out yesterday and found a few different shrooms and a big ol' puffball for you guys who like to kick 'em and watch the dust fly,lol

Happy B-day bud! Keep 'em coming!

I used to have a paper route so I'd know just how to stuff that in the "paper box",lol

Not too pumped myself, but I've been feeling this way for quite a few years now. If it wasn't for hunting with my sis, I'm sure I would have thrown in the towel by now and found something else to do with my fall seasons. I'm perfectly fine with never killing another deer myself, but still enjoy time in the woods with her and seeing her connect. I think hunting was just a fad for me, and a phase I was going through for the last 30 years,lol. I got other crap to do now besides freeze my balls off at natures shooting gallery! I lost my biggest, best, and closest piece of property to hunt this year as well, so that puts a damper on things a LOT! I wasn't joking when I said I'd probably be running the saw all season,lol

Fugg them things! Just yesterday I saw a good sized one at an intersection up the road from me attached to the back octagon of a stop sign! Made me wonder how many folks have pulled up beside and spotted it and just put the pedal to the floor without looking at what they were about to pull out in front of in the non stop crossing traffic.

Thanks again guys! Jerkman- I'm adding a pair of chainsaw chaps to my Christmas list. I watched a few videos on them and it's pretty amazing how even a cheap pair will bind up and kill a saw if it comes into contact with them. They don't work quite as well as the pricier name brand chaps, but they do work and something is better than nothing considering that femoral artery is a pretty important one,lol I know I should have them right now, but hopefully wont need them before then. Anyhow, I got a little more accomplished today on this guy. Layed some hair on him with the angle grinder.., got some rolls added to his neck..., put the burn on 'em with the torch.., and brushed on a coat of antique walnut stain mixed with the boiled linseed oil. About all that's left to do on him will be done with the Dremel. Eyes, nose, mouth, feet, and I'm going to carve a few bear tracks around the base and that should do it! Gonna pick up a gallon of spar varnish and I think that will finish him off quite nicely. Here's a few shots of todays progress.