Daveboone

All of my percussion and flintlocks I lower the hammer to release the spring tension, and also on my bolts...which I can close the bolt with the trigger held back, so the firing pin is not cocked ( Mauser/Mauser clones). My hammer fired guns...winchesters, falling block, Marlins..the same. My centerfire revolvers I would never store cocked...even if unloaded, but in my mind a handgun is useless if it isnt loaded, so regardless the hammer is lowered. Of course, rimfires you do not want to dry fire, and probably modern centerfires in general it isnt necessary but you can harmlessly dry fire them to do the same.

I have often found/seen deer on cold clear days in relatively open areas sunning themselves.

Dont rattle it! I have owned Mossbergs, Remingtons, Winchesters, Brownings and Ithacas. All rattled to some extent. That said, some of it I am sure was engineered in to be sure they didnt bind.

I am a .308 man. The Mauser m18 is a fantastic rifle that has been out for a few years now. Just bought one last year. Bolt with removable magazine, the best dang trigger I ever pulled, three position safety, synthetic stock that doesnt look like crap...LIst price is around eight hundred bucks, but I found mine for under five on Gunbroker, delivered to a local shop.

Meat should absolutely be fine.

You have a stand you know produces. have patience and sit in it. You can not predict what five second period a deer may choose to walk through....usually five minutes before or after we are there, or the five seconds our nose is in the cell phone/etc.

I am pretty careful about what I buy, and am not easily swayed by hype. That said, the biggest disappointment I ever had was with a Henry Rifle. I love single shots, and I love the .308. I thought my dream rifle was created when they came out with the break top single shot a few years back. I saw one in person at Runnings at a good price, with easily the prettiest wood on a stock rifle I had ever seen. It had the most god awful heavy rough trigger pull of any firearm I have ever had, and had an incredibly high failure to fire rate. I am a pretty mechanical, and nothing I love more than taking a firearm that isnt a "shooter" and making it so. This rifle was a dead end. It utilized a horrible system with a single spring for both the hammer and trigger. I spent a lot of time on the internet looking for cures, tried a number, and did not get what I wanted. This was a very wide sped problem with this rifle. Luckily I was able to trade it for what I had in it. On the shooting forums, many owners sent them back to Henry and returned them with the same problem intact, so I didnt see the point in that route. After the fact, Henry did a recall supposedly to fix the problems. After that, I doubt I will ever buy another of their firearms.

Not sure what you are referring to in the NZ ML season. This year it started the same time period (which floats a bit depending on the weekend of the month...this year a bit later) as it has for years. It is scheduled earlier in the season than in the southern zone due to NT deer yarding up and literally being sitting ducks in alot of deer yards late season.

I would be sure to confirm from a known source the minimum caliber. At one time the minimum caliber for handgun hunting in new york was 35 cal. I know that of course there are many single shot handguns that shoot .30 cal. rounds (30-30, .308, etc) so that well may be old and obsolete, but when I used to assist with teaching NYS hunter safety classes this was a common question.. and like I already mentioned, may no longer be true.

I just found this thread...What a great adventure, and it is great that your wife is a good sport too to enjoy it...even if it is on a limited basis, with you.

A few hours...nothin. I make sure I eat well in the a.m. and hydrate well. In the pm before going to my stand a candy bar snack and hydrate.I dont want to move in my tree stand any more than necessary. If I am going for a few hour walk/still hunt, I will likely bring a snickers bar and a bottle of water to enjoy as I find a good look out. Now, on a bear hunt when I am going to be in my ground stand for maybe eight hours, I will bring a couple sandwiches made up of leftovrs, some cookies and at least a bottle of water.The only problem with that is I am guaranteed to have a critter show just as I am getting into my vittles.

Most anyone that processes deer will be happy to take you hides, but they will not pay for them. They dont get very much.

Unseasonably warm at the start of the season. Historically most deer are taken opening day/week end, when the most people are out. My game camera is showing plenty of deer, just moving at night when it is cooler.

Difficult to tell with that angle...the head looks awful big, so I am thinking it isnt a monster. I also am thinking a fat sow around 225 ish.

Hunting southern tier I have shot alot of deer with 12 gauge slugs, including many heart shots. Darn things still would run heart shot dead on their feet for a good hundred feet. There is no doubt that a 12 gauge recoil is about as stiff recoil as ever handed out, and they are more difficult to mount a scope to. Once our ST area went ok for rifles, we never looked back, shoot less and get more deer.

By chance anything stinky in a pocket or overlooked somewhere?

What did you sight in at? (at what range is it dead on?). It may very well be dropping that much for you depending on what your actual rested dead on sight in is. It doesnt mean that it is actually dropping that much. Now, my patched round ball is sighted dead on at 25, and at 100 yards drops about 16 inches. No clue what it will do at 200. I cant see to hit that far, and never will find out.

Every one in my family loves pickled venison heart. Slice it thin and slow simmer it in a mix of vinegar and water, some pickling spices. I forget the exact proportions, but easy to look up a recipe. We just cold pack it and eat it up. I want to try some of the sear fried recipes for it.

Depends on the exact angle, more than anything else. Sometimes we overthink things. I try to avoid hitting the shoulder,so just behind the line. Large margin of error and will take out both lungs. I aim center line or a smidge higher...better than aiming too low. Heart shot deer almost always bolt and can run a good 100 feet or more dead on their feet.. the longer the shot the more likely I am to aim for center of the boiler maker for margin of error.

We always had a cat growing up, and the wife had one for a long time ...the thing was seventeen when it died! We are primarily dog people now, but there are times when I miss one. I am very particular about my cats though. We had Siamese (real Siamese, not the bred out stupid things that are popular now) and Manx.

I own ten acres, but the deer only move through a few acres of it. Same as if you go to a thousand acre lot. The deer still generally only use a smidgen of it. (We are northern woodland, no crops, but some wild apples).

Paula, I dont think so. She was tiny when I got her, if she got kicked she would have been a smudge spot on a hoof. Me thinks just weird.

Goofy is ok in this neighborhood. I was on a bear hunt a few years back up in Canada. A group from New Jersey (of course) showed up, and everyone was acting like a girlfriends husband was hiding behind every tree. The next morning they left early. The chief guide/outfitter related this to me... After dinner as he (the guide) was leaving for errands, the eldest, apparent leader of the group approached him when they were alone out doors. He asks the guide...."Level with me...is there anything out there that can "Gitcha?".. The guide responded....."Well, I've Never been got". The next morning the group departed back to N.J., before breakfast call.

Just dogs barking on TV, or horses. She hates horses, which is weird as she grew up around them., and she knows the difference from cows. weird dog.

A lot depends on where they are planning on hunting, and expected ranges. I am not a fan of either, and have shot both. A better compromise of the two would be a 30-30. Better range and flatter shooting than a .44, more mass than a .243 (yup, I am well aware of velocity differences) , and a lot of rifle options. Not to mention bullet choices. In this day and age though, I would give considerable thought to the cartridge availability.