Daveboone

It may very well be just well rubbed. Spring bear hunting in Canada, it wasnt unusual to see rubbed bears...which look very much like this guy, sometimes very close. As best as can be seen on this one, and the ones I have seen (sometimes at about 3 foot!!) although the hair is rubbed off, his skin doesnt look irritated/ mangy. My first bear, shot at last light....I was very dissapointed to find he was rubbed just like this one...mainly on the back hams, butt and sides. I was hoping for a rug, settled for a head mount.

Underhammers were actually relatively common...not as much as regular side hammers, but the nipple fired directly down to the charge...not deflected in the drum like most sidehammers, so more reliable ignition. I always wondered if there was a problem with the primers falling off though.

Lifer in the upstate NY area...mainly Syracuse and the Tug Hill, for the past 33 years. This year was what an average year used to be like...granted, the Tug did get a memorable hit a couple times, but overall the season totals were barely a historic average. The past twenty five years have been pretty wimpy. That said, I got snowed out from my last week of Northern TIer deer hunting. I couldnt get to the camp! I was just glad to see the deer herd overall came through in good shape. A year ago though, we moved to Cortland, and as we expected, a mild winter compared to what we were used to.

I love reading classic books from the 1800s from the pioneers....If I recall the title correctly, 44 years of a life of a Hunter...the biography of a gentleman originally from New Jersey if I recall correctly, but moves inland over time...He tells of the deer and bear hunts of the time (he was a market hunter) particularly in the fall, where game gathered especially in the chestnut forests to feast. He describes bears literalyt juts rolling on the ground, dragging themselves from one area to another to feast, ,and it was common to shoot multiple bears and deer from a stand (a stand meaning where the hunter chose to shoot from after a stalk). Certainly the native population also took advantage of the same opportunities. Just the same also, the indians took advantage of salmon/ trout/ sucker/pike /eel runs that occured over known areas, to stock their larders.

Granted, I do understand the only reason they have deer in numbers such as they are is because of the supplemental feeding and water...but I agree with you just the same. Different neighborhood...different games.

One of my best friends has hunted Texas a fair number of times. Most of Texas is private land, and feeders are allowed. they were enjoying an afternoon preparing to go out for the evening, and he asked about when..."The feeders go off at six". They were put on stand at five thirty, at six the feeders went off and it was like a call for "last call" in a beer bar. The deer came literally running to the feeder. Not much hunt there.

Kinda like shooting deer in a pen....turns the sport into just shooting...not hunting. Besides...doesnt it exist already? Its spelled...CORN. One reason it isnt legal to bait.

We moved from town of Constantia to Cortland last spring...smaller, easier to maintain house, better weather. Same commute to work, but boy what a change for weather. No snow that wasnt easily removed with a shovel, and this week end /past couple weeks really shows all that we are not missing. We sure know it is winter still, but we dont worry about it.

Muzzlebreaks are a mixed blessing...they are quite pricey to have installed, I hate the increased bark. Semi autos also go for a lot more than a bolt and will be a longer action/wt, proportionatly. Some loss of accuracy as its lock up simply isnt as tight as a bolt...but for practical hunting accuracy probably no concern. I highly doubt anyone of average size would have any problem with recoil from a .270....dont shoot off a bench with a T shirt only. Wear your hunting clothes and dont be afraid to pad your shoulder. I routinely do no matter what I shoot...I am a bit boney, and even light calibers can start to bruise after a while.

Felt recoil from a bench will be much more than off hand...be sure to wear your hunting coat, etc.. For that matter, I allways pad with a folded towel also. My main rifles have always been 8x 57 Mauser and .308...bullet wt and felt recoil very similar. I picked up a .270 several years ago and was delighted with its light recoil and wonderful accuracy. The .270 certainly has much more capability than the .243 (my opinion is the .243 is totally inadequate for consistent results on northern white tails and larger big game), and is capable of taking any thing short of the great bears...and has been used for that! Of course, the exact bullet wt you shoot and rifle set up makes a big difference.

Sorry, no pic. First week of NT muzzleloading season started off real slow as hot as it was, but for thursday a cold front moved in with rain forecast for the pm. I was in my stand at the camp, and about an hour before sun down heard the lovely prancing sound of hooves coming up from behind. A nice three point (2 1/2 year old...they dont get much for antlers up there) wandered into my food plot. Of all things, wouldnt ya know... mis fire with my cap! I shoot league every week with that rifle, and all year never had one! Luckily the silly deer couldnt figure out where I was, and I was able to get another cap on, and boom. I dropped him where he was with my .54 cal. Lyman Great Plains rifle, about 35 yards. I was glad to get the meat early, and really didnt have a chance to get out much until my planned for last week of the season after Thanksgiving....and then wouldnt ya know, heavy snow kept me from driving to the camp. I did walk in, but the snow was deep enough they deer werent moving, and I didnt know how I would get one out anyway, so i bagged it for the season, being grateful for my black powder buck.

I dont have a chance to chase them much anymore, but they are some of the first critters scampering around in first light. Once the sun is hitting the tree tops they like to soak up what they can. Then the last couple hrs before dark.

We had a very busy last year, selling our old house and moving in/getting established in our new (to us) home. Time is opening up now, so I am working on completing a flintlock rifle I have been building, catching up on some reloading needs, similar projects. I have to make time to get up to our camp buried in the Tug Hill to check on things...I have to hike in, so it will be at least an overnight. I want to heat the place up well to melt the snow off the roof.

When we are up to camp, any deer seen in the yard/neighbors yard are off limits. They are visitors. When I was hunting in Georgia a bunch of years ago, some of the guys there talked about using dogs (legally). They hunted huge tracks of swamp land, which was pretty much inaccessible, so dogs were allowed to move them out. Ok, I get it. But they had one hell of a lot of deer down there, with amazing bag limits. Not my game, but it is thier neighborhood so ok by me. High fence/pay hunts. Nope. Not a hunt. Its a shoot. I have no need to have an engineered freak on my wall. I will be happy with what nature intended them to be. It may take more time given the size of the area, but if you are paying, you are shooting

You be asking, so you know it is time to get it checked out. May very well be just overdid something, but if it is unusual for her, worth getting it checked.