Daveboone

Find out if a camp up on blocks is considered permanent. Depending on the size, you can put up / purchase a very comfortable sized shed/ camp for a great price if you shop around. Look at Dura Sheds (pretty sure that was the name). That is what we were going to go with initially for about a 24/24 shed/ camp shell, but ended up buying with a 24/36 foot cabin on blocks in place.

This is Daisy, my 8 year old Rottie. She pretty much goes where I go. She is real tiny for her breed, only about 70 lbs, but that makes her very portable (and much healthier than the biguns).

I have left a couple ladder stands in discreet locations for many years, which is a gamble. It is county land, and the foresters are NOT fond of stands, and may (rightfully) take them down. The area where my stands are is slated to be logged this winter, and my trees are conspicuously marked for cutting. This week end I will be getting out there to remove them.

How old is the scope? What is their written warranty? Friends of mine have gone through who knows how many Weavers, Bushnells, Simmons and Tascos, seems eventually they all go. Their outlook with a few of them was that they had lifetime warranties and they just send them back. To me, that is just totally unacceptable, as that could mean a very curtailed hunting season. You probably were lucky to get what you got...now go out and buy a Leupold. I have owned four, with no problems with any of them, the oldest is thirty years old, and that includes several hard rocking years of heavy 45-70 use. If I was looking for a best deal, shop eBay or look for a factory reconditioned one (I have gotten them before from Sanchez Shooting Supply). Leupolds lifetime warranty follows the scope, not the owner. If you need warranty use, it is the best...better yet, chances are you wont need it. I bought a used Leupold about 10 years ago, and before I mounted it I called them up to ask if they had a service to check over the scope first. Their response was to mail it to them, and they would go through it totally and return it to factory specs and have it back to me within a week. Wow. As it was, I got impatient and mounted it, where it still is and is 100% Aok.

Not too much...I always like to shoot my deer as late in the season as possible to spend as much time in the woods as possible. This year I tagged out 6 days early, only a mild bummer. I hadn't checked my game camera in about 3 weeks and didn't until the day after I tagged out. At that time, I found out there were still four different bucks...all bigger than mine....still running around. I would have held off a few more days at least if I had known that, but am happy with my spike. He tastes just fine!

it is absolutely beautiful. I have a prime red done as a small rug, and would love to add a gray , but don't think I have the heart to shoot one.

The countless times I watch the pure snow fall, hating to leave it for lifes call

great poem, well put together video. My favorite Frost poem is 'Stopping by the woods on a Snowy Eve". It runs through my mind every winter outing. Mysterious, beautiful, lonely.

Trapping or calling? I have them on my game camera regularly Few things in the world more beautiful than a fox...any fox.

Nah, cant hold a candle to a red....sunlit on snow, they glow, with the black tips and edge of the hair afire....amazing....but close

ps...I bought two different 94s, both pre 64, both well under 400.oo from there.

Give a call to Tims guns over in Elbridge, not too far away. When I was in there a month or so ago he had a couple. I didnt check the tags, but they arent going cheap anywhere. A number of years ago, I found very good prices on them at Kittery Trading Post, just across the Maine, NH border. They are a large and very reputable sporting goods shop, about 5 hrs away though... We had made a couple day trips out there, combining it with the Cabelas not far away, and a good seafood dinner for a busy but long day. Kittery has a very good website listing thier used guns (There is no problem legality wise buying a rifle in Maine from a dealer and bringing it back). They have a large assortment (probably seasonally) and better prices on guns than we are used to seeing, generally.

i have three VX 3s and love them. Never a problem, My oldest is over 30 years old without a hitch.

Overall, good. I love being in the woods early on, but wasn't, esp. during muzzleloading season, as much as I prefer. I took a fair bit of time later, and for productivity I like hunting the slop, which come mid November was around aplenty. I saw enough deer to keep my attention, and ended up with a doe and a spike, which filled the freezer nicely. I usually don't fill my tag until the last week end of the season, just so I can be out there, and I finished up about a week early, so I was only bumming for not having a reason to go out (but I was butchering instead).

If I need snow shoes to hunt deer, I probably am not going....I wouldn't be able to get the deer back. It is tough to say when you need them though...a foot of light fluffy is different than a foot of lake effect, which is much more tiring to walk through. a foot with a crusty ice on top...horrible going, and if you have snowshoes with cleats, it makes it much easier and safer. There a quite a variety of snowshoes out there. The bear paws are great for very rough or brushy terrain. Racquette type are a compromise between bearpaws and the longer trail shoes (there are a hundred different names for the different types). I got a great deal on a pair of the longer trail shoes, they are about 40 inches long but quite narrow. They now are my favorite for open terrain. Much easier to walk in and they track well. Good for you still getting out. If there is snow on the ground and I am out, I always pack a small tarp in a daypack. I wrap the deer in it and it pulls right along like a toboggan, as long as the snow isn't too deep.

That sounds great! I hunted Georgia about 20 years ago, and that was alot of fun, combining hogs and deer would be great. What is the limit (optimistically speaking?)

Okay, has anyone here ever heard of or followed the legendary ..."mall cop" thread from another site, that made quite a bit of news? Reads too much like this...

The block of wood is what the screws through the plaque tighten into to hold it in place. The horns I had professionally done were done like I did mine...needing a cut to the antler hole, but you can fold the edge over and glue it/ tack it so it is very minimal and doesn't look out of place. Honestly, my work is better looking than the 1/2 dozen I had done by 3 different taxidermists, and i like the felt cover look much better than the bald skull look. If I have chance, I will take a couple pics of the ones I did, but of course, too late to show the construction steps.

So you know him to talk to him (per you mentioning your conversation with him...)...or at least know his thoughts?

Fun easy winter project to mount them yourself. Find a nice piece of wood/ plaque. trim down the cap to a size to balance the plaque. epoxy/ construction glue a block of wood to the back of it, shaping the wood to roughly conform to the cap, at the angle you want to the antlers to come off the plaque at. For just a couple dollars buy some plaster at a hardware store. Wrap a cutting board/ plank, anything in saran wrap/foil, and position the antlers on the covered board at the angle you want it on the plaque, and form plaster roughly around and under the antlers. (wrap the antler bases first with saran wrap). The plaster sets up rather quickly, but you have about 5-10 minutes, and in this time you are very hands on building an "egg " around the cap. It will be hard enought to work in about 1/2 hr. Then you take a coarse file/rasp and sandpaper, shaping the plaster "egg" to the cap size and shape you want. For a few dollars you can buy some decent felt at any craft store. this is the trickies.t....roughly cut out the fabric with plenty of excess to wrap the cap, you cut out the antler holes, leaving them small...the fabric stretches. I use contact cement on the plast, pulling it snug around. The loose ends are held in place when you put screws through the plaque to the wood you glued in place. With a little trial and error , you can easily do a better looking job than what alot of folks pay for. If you dont like it...good news. You take everything down and start again, nothing ruined. Certainly they get better the more you do, but your first job can look great. Plaque from Ebay: 5 bucks. Engraved plate for the plaque...about 4 bucks on Ebay....Plaster, 3 bucks for enough for about 8 mounts, felt, 3-4 dollars. I have done my moose and several deer. Total project time is about an hour.

My favorite hunting / deer knife is my basic Grohman. Holds a wonderful edge, just seems to point and handle itself. I have a close match Grohman but a bit fancier with bone handles I pack for a go to, but my favorite buchcrafting / heavy duty knife is my Camillus Air Force survivial knife. Indestructable, not too big, sharpening stone right there with it. But....I usually have a Victorinox swiss army for real fine stuff, screwdriver / bottle opener and corkscrew. The three of them, I am ready of anything!

Even with my inline, I prefer the soap and water technique...I use either blackpowder (for my Lyman Great Plains,) or 777. I allways pull the breech plug. If I don't, it will seize up and rust. The patches will get satureated immediately with use. It is a good idea to run a brush first.

For centerfire, Hoppes #9 is tried and true, but I think Shooters Choice is actually better for heavy copper/brass, lead deposits. For muzzleloaders, even with the newer propellants I don't think anything works as good as a sink/bucket of boiling water and dish soap, a good scrub and plungering water in and out through the breech / nipple hole with a tight patch. run patches until dry,, chances are the bbl will be too hot to handle from the water, and will evaporate dry very well. Run a patch of your preferred lube/ etc. down the bore and ready to go. It takes only a little longer than cleaning with just the solvent of choice, but dangit, I never have to worry about any rust a year down the line.

I have chosen a base of the neck shot a fair number of times. A bit high, you brain em, a bit low you still take out the neck. Gruesome yes, but the deer were no deader than if I shot them elsewhere. I chose this shot over a butt shot each time, which I will not take (and which my rifle and I can easily handle). I am aiming directly at the kill zone, not two feet in front of where the vitals are and most likely if I pull the shot to the sides, the deer is missed. As is mentioned previously, if the deer isn't angled perfectly for the rear shot for you despite your best aiming, very unhappy results follow. I love whitetails. The most beautiful animal on the planet, and I am sorry each time I kill one, but that is part of the life. I do not have to and will not take a questionable shot, and my intent is to utilize the deer to the best of my skill and utility. It starts with the pull of the trigger. There are a lot of deer in the woods. I can wait for the next one. All the folks I knew who felt they had to shoot at every seen deer I eventually quit hunting with because they were ...a little too eager to shoot in general.

For what its worth, Patey and Sons usually is at the January sportsman show at the NY state fairgrounds.