wooly

I have a $50 gift card from Cabelas that I have no use for. I'm sure I could find something, but there's nothing I really need here. I'm looking to trade for equal or higher amount Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buy, or similar store card. Prefer to keep it an even trade, but I would add cash to the pot if you have the right store brand card of higher value up to $100. Check your wallets and let me know if you've got something you want to swap.

Nope, clean as new, with no chews. Would like to get a look at that rack your talking about. I have to imagine these bucks had a very violent death to be scattered around the woods in pieces that don't normally come apart like that. I've found a bunch of sheds with a good chunk of the skull still attached, but this seems to be a bit extreme for that,lol

This antler came to mind when I read that. It was fresh although weathered from finding it so late in the season, and obviously broke off somehow and not cut off, but I never found the carcass or skull from which it came. I assumed the deer was already dead when he lost this horn and something carried the antler and chunk of skull off to where I found it. I could never come up with a good explanation of what cracked the skull that way other than a motor vehicle collision. If that was the case, then this antler had some miles on it to end up here.

Not to highjack your post Joe, but I thought this may be a helpful example of what Elmo was saying and give you a few more things to think about before your next outing with your cam. I took this shot this past fall on an early overcast morning at ISO 3200. My camera has two more levels of adjustment at ISO 6400 and 128000 but I haven't had the need to mess with them too much other than a few test shots. I almost didn't bring the camera this day since conditions really sucked for photos with a light misty rain if I recall, but I'm really liking the way this camera compares to my old one at high ISO. This was straight out of the camera with no post processing noise removal. ISO- 3200 SS- 1/640 F-5.3 240mm Matrix metering Light crop to cut out tree trunk in bottom left corner. Those long range shots like you posted will magnify any camera shake especially at the maximum focal length the same way your rifle scope will when you max out its power. That's where getting closer becomes more important to me. I honestly think those deer in your pics are a bit too far for any real good pics, but they could serve as a good long range scouting tool for summer recon field edge sits. I'm just trying to offer some constructive criticism and in NO WAY am I trying to be overly critical of your photos. In the pic below I opened up to 240mm on the 300mm so I could open the aperture from 5.6 @ 300mm to a quicker 5.3 @ 240mm to get that extra little shutter speed that results in a sharper image... or at least less noticeable motion blurr and softness. Sometimes you'll get better results by backing off your lens max zoom a little bit for extra performance benefits. Pay attention to all that EXIF data now, and when you find yourself shooting under the same conditions in the future, you'll be able to adjust your settings accordingly before you start shooting for pre determined best results. There's also several noise removal programs available if you're still not happy with the way your camera handles it on its own. I've been using Noise Ninja since I got into this stuff, but I find I haven't been using it nearly as much with the new gear.

Hey thanks buddy, and same to you! This has really turned into more of a hobby for me than a habit. If I knew quitting the stink sticks would be so easy by going this route, I probably would have done it years ago.... who am I kidding, I got lucky and never intended to quit, but... I can honestly say, I don't miss the ciggs one bit, and I already feel like my lungs are recovering under load rather nicely! I've got 3 e-ciggs at the ready now at all times (probably a few more on the way soon) and about 20 bottles of juice of assorted flavors on my desk so no shortage to be concerned with there,lol. Great to hear it's working out for you as well! It feels good to finally be free from those nasty things!

Love the color on that early season antler G-man! Sweet 5.... I hope he didn't go to far with the mate!

Congrats guys on some fine deer and hunts! Enjoyed all the stories and pics this season!

It gets a little trickier when you're at the mercy of the environment Joe, but you did good to get out there and experience it for yourself! I keep my tripod strapped to my pack at ALL times just in case I need it. Your gonna want to keep that sucker (or at least a monopod) close by especially with no "IS" on that lens. Gloomy days are always tougher to keep things sharp shooting free hand at slower SS, so you gotta go to the extra mile carrying the extra gear if you want to bring some keeper shots home. Looks like you have plenty of cooperative targets around to give you some steady action behind the cam! Keep it up!

Not mine.... once I get my hands on them I never let 'em go! Have found a few over the years that I couldn't explain where they came from, or how they got there, but it makes no difference as they all end up in the same place in the end! Now you know your eyes are focused on target and should be able to spot some fresh antlers in the near future! Big meltdown here last night and raining cats and dogs this morning has kept me indoors until the creek goes down a few flood levels. Hope you can scoop a few up this season grow!

When your bros get bored with getting their glamour shots done, grab your wide angle lens and take a run over to Pygmy's for some artistic nudes,lol That will be a nice challenge of your post photo editing abilities! Keep on clickin' Joe! Your talent level will catch up to your enthusiasm in no time at this rate!

Happy B-day Doc!

Well, I appreciate all the suggestions fellas, but I decided to go with my gut and NOT listen to any of you,lol Nah, I honestly looked at them ALL and it helped me realize some features I really wanted in a hiker, and which I could do without. I decided to try a relatively new company that I'd never heard of in "OBOZ" sight unseen. A couple other brands I was looking at were AKU and Lowa which I don't think anyone mentioned here, but if anyone is in the market for new hikers, they are worth a look as well. Instead I went with the "Oboz Yellowstone II BDry" I found for $150. I think these should do what I'm expecting of them, it'll just be a matter of how long they hold up to my careless high mileage abuse and punishment through the woods and water this spring and summer. They seem like they'll fit like a glove..... even though they're a boot! http://obozfootwear.com/mens/mid-hiking/yellowstone-ii-bdry

... and when he finally opened his eyes, he discovered he was surrounded by "sea-men",lol

Happy B-day Cynthiafu! Good to hear from you again and hope you had a great day!

Last time I put this much energy into researching and comparing different boots, I ended up very disappointed with my final decision in the end. I'll never understand why women like shoe shopping so much! I'm already overwhelmed by all of the options and I haven't even thought about what color I want yet. I appreciate all the suggestions though. I would have been lost from the start.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've never heard of these Asolo's before but they sure do look like a real solidly constructed boot that's competitively priced to some of the other brands mentioned. Anything will be better than what I've been using after the snow clears, but I think I'm gonna give these some serious consideration when I'm done checking them all out. I was thinking somewhere in the $150 range would be my limit, but it looks like I'll have some good options to choose from with that budget even going a little over or under.

What's a good brand hiking boot to start looking at? I don't want hunting boots or work boots. I need a good pair of mid to high ankle hikers for spring and summer. I was buying those $30 Wally World specials, but it was costing me $1/day before I have to toss them in the trash after a month. Hoping to find something I can at least get through the summer with.

Looks great Joe! I'll give you an E+ XCELLENT! Can't wait to see some critters from you.

Hairpy 5021 effrey buddy~

http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,125076.0.html

Wrap the creamy skull in cellophane and put some heat to it now.

Nice find. Sometimes I'll take it one step farther and try to back track the deers path to where he died. Many times I already know of, or can find the stands near by that he was likely shot from which tells you a little more about what he was doing before he got himself killed. Obviously that one may have traveled quite some distance between the two spots with that hit, but it can still be valuable info if you can piece it all together.

I'd open a spa to so all the pretty boy hunters could get their hair, make-up, and nails done. I'd make a killing off all you killers!

Sweet- now send that Canon back and get yourself a real camera like a Nikon! Have fun with the new rig Joe. You'll learn everything you need to know the more you shoot it under a variety of conditions. I like shooting in aperture priority mode for most of my shots because it's the easiest for me to control, and I let the camera figure out the shutter speed with the available light. Check out some photography forums online to get familiar with all the settings and what they do. It was real frustrating for me in the beginning and I missed a lot of shots I wish I could do over again. Don't get discouraged and stick with it. I'd rather carry a camera to the woods any day over my gun or bow now.

Hopefully by the end of this season you wont be able to see any carpet! Good luck filling in all that dead space! Sweet pile.