Five Seasons

well i'm glad i don't stoop to insults when you do. Enjoy your leafblower.

I've never once made a personal insult or attack to grow (besides her kindle ). I do rile her up though and hope she knows it doesn't come from any deep rooted disliking. Just a little ball busting.

1st year online and no problems. Seems i wait forever in stores or their system is down or they're out of paper more often than i can count. Nuts to that nonsense.

then i would vote climber, but i also think there is no right answer. As many have mentioned it depends on the tree. When I climber hunted i never once climbed a tree i hadn't already scouted or trimmed and of course found some that would be great but wouldn't work for a climber. With both cases you need to find and mark some potential trees and decide what method will work best.

she would if she could. bury her garbage under it first though.

maybe i misunderstood the question, but if the question is set a hang on and leave it for the season or carry a climber in and out and up and down every hunt, it would boggle my mind to think a climber is less work. Now if we're talking doing a hang on temporarily? hell yes i agree with you.

it all depends on how and where you hunt. We have close to 10 stands on a 50 acre property. No need to move the stands, you move to them. for public land or those who don't want to invest the time to maintain 10 stands then yes, a climber is a better option. I guess you still need good approach trails and shooting lanes etc., so investing a little more time to hang one with some stick seems obvious for a land owner/lease.

that's a very fair point. And you're absolutely right. Having a limited skill set due to lack of practice does not mean you're unethical if you hunt within your skills. However, I guess you have more faith in man than me. that 10 point standing at 30 with a bush covering his back half and pine covering his shoulder giving you a sliver of a shot at the vitals is something too many guys will give into, whether they're trained at that shot and distance or not.

I am not great in any one real hobby, but have a lot and prefer to enjoy them rather than become so dedicated that they become work or money pits. Hunting is probably the closest to the top. I work on cars and bikes. I can't tune an engine but I can tear one down and put it back together. Just about any mechanical work is within my skill set sans welding and custom work. I love to hunt deer, turkey, pheasants, fish and am going for bear. But I'm not taking trips out west or to Africa. I like to golf, but only a few times a year and have accepted that I will never be great at it. I still play casual videogames but just for fun and am not anywhere "good" at it anymore or do I have the time to be. I like craft beer, but I don't really know sh!t compared to some guys. I don't get to church as much as I'd like and I don't do bible studies. But I'm a man of faith. I work out 4 times a week, but really just enough to stay in shape and healthy and not enough to become shredded. I own some long guns and some pistols, but I don't reload or own anything exotic or anything that doesn't serve a purpose. I get to the range a lot less than i should. I can build computers but only do so once every 5 years or so and feel like i have to relearn all the new tech that's out. lately I just focus on doing well at my job, being a good father and a good husband. It's hard

You probably do very little trimming because you mentioned hunting fields. I hunt a lot of thick transition areas, so yeah not everyone needs to trim, but he said "no trimming". Seems you still do a little. And I have no qualms with not using scent control, that's why i didn't mention that specifically as being irresponsible. practice comment was specific to archery, i think the 3 shots you take is even above what the majority of gun hunters do and must gun wounding comes from poor judgment, not guns. I didn't get the impression he was a still hunter. It is very true that every hunter and their circumstances are unique. We all have some stands with some cake shots that would be hard to miss even if you tried. But deer don't always do what they're supposed to and we're forced to take more challenging shots or smaller windowed shots. Throw in adrenaline (something stubby doesn't get) and any bit of practice will be your friend. Ask any athlete and they will concur. Archery hunting is a form of athletics/skill/sport in my opinion.

I was literally at the gate headed to palm bay last year in October when i canceled because of Matthew. Not worth it man.

from that picture it looks like one good gust of wind will ruin your tunnel.

Hunted for 2 years with a summit viper. I was always sweaty, never high enough and always louder than I wanted to be. I became a pro after over 100 sits but a nicely setup and positioned hang on is the way to go if you own/lease the land. I have used my climber to scout new spots though when not sure I want to put in the effort yet. Or when bear hunting public land. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sure flat footed no pressure. Now hunting requires practice and muscle memory. I'm not saying everyday, but you should be shooting before and during the season. But also no trimming? Again, deflection or poor shot because of growth is irresponsible. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Wow that's huge. I can't always find everything I want and the big box stores have you by the balls even more with gander gone. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good to hear, thanks! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

this isn't meant any other way but as a discussion. We really don't know how deer react, and everyone has different goals. But the intelligence of a 4 and a mature buck are very different.

aside from food plots and not washing your clothes, most of that is irresponsible. A poor shot or deflected arrow from a twig isn't always just a clean miss.

I've said it 100 times before on this site, and don't get it twisted, I'm out there to shoot the biggest baddest buck I can. But I love my "time" in the woods. I even cherished the 4 hours sweating with mosquitoes buzzing around me, scratches on my arms from all the briers and pain in my lower back that my 63 year old dad and I spent trimming and putting in a new stand this past sunday. I just love my woods therapy. It's why I still turkey hunt eventhough i suck at it. It's why I'm going bear hunting next weekend with no real hope of tagging one. The satisfaction of letting loose an arrow is undeniable. But watching the woods come to life and the morning sun burn off the dew? Nothing tops it.

another part to this discussion is what may not bother "deer", still might bother that mature 3.5 you're after. It all depends on your goals of course, but just saying that if a doe of 1.5 hangs around your wheeler it doesn't mean a booner will too.

i use them once or twice a year but have never had any luck. I don't like restrictions and dont agree with this but this is also one that i wouldn't scream and cry about. seems the dec has been much more interested in coming down on the hunter than doing anything to help us. Makes me wonder where the $97 i just spent on my license goes and if they forget where it came from...

I know you guys love these pics. And I'll tell you, there's nothing cooler than having 2 of my 3 boys (the youngest cant walk yet), jump up and down with excitement when daddy gets his targets out. They want to shoot too and they've got the itch already!

these stories are like the guy who talks about wearing his work jeans and boots and smoking a cig in the stand when he dropped his 10 point. it can always work if the conditions are right. but... I subscribe to doing everything you can to improve your odds. Driving an atv to the stand does not improve your odds. If you had to compromise i would drive it to a certain distance outside of your hunting area as long as its not disturbing travel or bedding areas.

I am a little concerned about that is well. The lightfields just destroyed deer... and these hornadys weigh a lot less. It was even noticeable by the size of the holes in the paper compared to my .30-06 superformance. Wasn't much larger. I guess time will tell this season. They do get rave reviews by most hunters. you know what's nice about rifles? same cost for a box of 20 as it is for 5 slugs lol. But you're right. I am very comfortable with my gun. The new ammo just has me pondering. I'm glad I can hunt 8f with my rifle, but still need my slug gun for 7j. I subscribe to this theory as well. The problem i have is with deer, you don't always have a broadside shot, you also aren't shooting from a bench and sometimes your heart is pounding or your fingers numb. I will probably compensate if shooting 200 (very unlikely) and maybe aim a tad, and I mean a tad low at 50 and under. I have never taken a neck shot but I know those that have on nice deer when it was their only shot and have been successful. that's where it gets a little dicey. yeah 6" is really high. and at least take 2, if not the preferred 3. good to hear your story ended up ok though.

good to hear. I'll be picking up some "scents and lures" to try for now.