dbHunterNY

on the family farm that's about 352 acres we've got a swamp/pine stand that's about 20 acres that is basically a sanctuary. during hunting season everyone stays out and as the season continues on the deer use it more and more. we don't do anything in it other than run a trail cam to see what's made it through the season. it's more than thick enough to provide cover. browse and food is there, but ag fields are all around it right up to it's edges for additional food. really no funnels into it that would make for great hunting. the farm is layed out the way it is with field lay out that comes first. I have a spot that did have a brushy bottom of maybe 5 acres. it was really thick and nobody went down in there. I'd see 13+ deer per morning OR evening sit. my dad not caring so much about deer movement then put an access road right through the middle of it. then my cousin built a treestand right down in the middle of it where the wind swirls all around down there. I now see a few deer in the mornings during the regular season and that's it.

darn... well I guess I'd have to buy a kit then or hunt with a silly recurve from 15 yards away.

what if I use my Prohunter in-line without the BDC reticle equipped scope?

it'd be cool to get some help build a kit flintlock and shoot a deer with it then. that said would I be allowed to use my recurve, with no sights and shooting off the riser shelf? I don't think my conscience could afford to buy another gun right now.

always good to see deer on stand. it's good you know he's still alive this late in the season.

curious what does everyone use for arrow selection charts to determine correct spine? I like and always seem to use Easton's http://www.eastonarchery.com/uploads/files/52_target-sel-chart.pdf they seem to not leave any assumptions and spell everything that effects spine.

well I agree they won't let you get away with archery murder, everything you said. I agree you still need to use good form, but nobody's form is perfect and everyone's is different. that said, a well tuned bow will be more forgiving and be easier to shoot. things like tuning a bow with the slightly different nock and arrow height going through the burger button hole will make a bow hold better or worse. there's a lot of little stuff that will help. I do agree a well tuned bow will most efficiently transfer energy into getting the shaft in motion to the target, instead of energy lost into the arrow flexing more than it needs to. from an improperly tuned bow your arrow hasn't settled as much or has more horizontal or vertical nock movement, just to explain a couple. energy that goes into creating this movement is lost in the sense that it's not causing the arrow to move forward along the intended path.

I like to use it as a starting point. when you change poundage and other things brace height and other specs will change. I think if you start with factory specs by the time you're done you'll be "within reason". I already that they don't always have to be set to factory specs exactly but most of the time it helps eliminate some issues. I've never had any problems with the clamps. some used to be plastic and those were junk. they'd break often. the metal ones though I think work just fine. companies like QAD wouldn't still supply them if they were junk I'd think. I guess we all have are tuning methods. as long as the arrow goes where it's supposed to that's all that counts.

surprised this is only two pages long. if you shoot well you can get an out of tune bow to stack field points on top of each other. also if you shoot a lot I'm saying your bow won't hold it's tune thoughout summer/early fall shooting. the strings and cables will stretch a little and you might have to add a twist or two to each, even with good strings. you don't have to paper tune to get a bow shooting reasonably well. if you want the most out of your bow, you do have to do additional tuning than just eyeballing things though. fine tuning your setup helps accuracy, but not so much the accuracy of the bow. it makes the bow more forgiving which can drastically increase your accuracy. you here all the time how people can shoot the smallest uncommon groups at ranges out past 40 yards on nice firm flat ground with little wind. don't know about you but most of the time I'm shooting at a whitetail from a treestand, siiting in a blind, up or down a ridge, on a side hill, standing in a hole, standing on rocks, etc. those situations are where you need the forgiveness of a fine tuned bow to make that shot count. bow tuning is an art when done right. you really can't say a bow is tuned or is not tuned. any bow can be tuned better or worse. people don't have to but can make it complicated. there isn't anything wrong with this, because there's a lot going on when a bow is drawn and shot, especially with today's high energy bows. I always start by getting the bow set to factory specs at maximum poundage as that was how it was designed to perform best. these specs should still be true after you time the cam or cams, have correct tiller, etc. also that's with accessories installed in strings and cables, just not in necessarily the exact spot. otherwise your bow may not be to spec after you install them, as installing them changes the lengths of the string and cables. another pet peeve I have is with drop away rest installations. install the rest cords to the bow's cable string with the metal clamps that come with the rest. if you serve them in you've got to put the bow in a press and cut the serving any time you need to re-time or adjust the rest, which should be any time you adjust poundage, arrows, or string accessories unless in kind. I suppose you could leave a tag end at the rest for adjustment but nobody I know does that. I could type for months about this stuff I assume this is a thread where someone can ask a specific question with the hopes of being helped out or the question being answered. i'll leave it at that.

aging by looking at teeth is pretty easy up to 2.5 years old. then not by replacement but by wear, you could tell if it was say 2.5-4.5 or 5.5+. some days I don't get a jaw bone wrong and then the next I won't get one right. I will say that if you combine tooth wear, limited history, and several trail cam pics you can come within 1 year of a bucks age. you've got to look at the whole picture and not just one physical characteristic. cementum analysis is the way to go. I haven't done it yet though. I'm not paying over $100 for someone to tell me the deer I shot AROUND HERE is 2.5 or 3.5 years old.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/cannon-safe-inc-silica-gel-dehumidifier-102042299--1 I guess mine is silica it's blue then turns to pink as it absorbs moisture. http://www.tractorsupply.com//ProductDisplay?errorViewName=ProductDisplayErrorView&catalogId=10051&storeId=10151&urlLangId=&parent_category_rn=&langId=-1&categoryId=25&urlRequestType=Base&top_category=&productId=242003 Then this is basically the same as the other I have in there. my gun is a 24 gun safe and it works well have both in there. I probably plug in the one to recharge it maybe once a week. after close to a year the canister is finally needing to be recharged.

Seems I always pass deer throughout the season and then end up waiting until the last minute. I end up going out in the cold, in the late season, and fill all my tags with the muzzleloader. My TC Prohunter smoke pole and tactics always seem to pull through though. One of these years I really will fill tags earlier, I'm sure. It just never seems to happen .Anyone else torture themselves like this?

definitely a great buck! thanks for sharing. I wish the mentality would change around here to let one live long enough to get that big.

I have a dry unfinished basement, that's where my safe is kept. the safe is cardboard that's on wood boards up off the concrete floor. I use a dehumidifier during the spring and summer months down in the basement. I've got a Field & Stream 24 gun safe. I keep the Remington dehumidifier, that plugs in to be recharged. I also have in the safe a metal screened canister with desiccant gel beads, that's recharged by putting it in the oven.

yea I got that emailed to me from DEC. I understand maybe causing them to be wary with people shooting at them and then they scatter but.... as with others I think it will bite them. if a pig is around here everyone will be after it. haven't really heard of any around here. some tv shows were they hunt hogs to help ranchers are retarded. they run all over the country side trying to literally catch the thing with dogs often. I'm all for the dogs but for the love of a farmers field shoot the thing when you see it! don't try to tie it up or stick it with a knife. not to seem heartless but just shoot and go find the next one. I understand where DEC is coming from in that they want to efficiently take them and not scare the rest away. if there's one there should be more, unless someone's pig got out. I'm thinking they'd rather bait them and then use a blast net to catch a bunch at a time. I still think the population can get away from them though.

this would seem to make sense. I'd make sure the primers aren't old and haven't taken on any moisture. in all honestly Don Lur from western powders told me they've had best results with CCI 209M primers. we were talking about using my TC Prohunter though. I'll send you a PM with his contact info. Maybe he's still around and can help.

came yesterday. I haven't gotten to use them yet but the Dexter Russell Softgrip white handle knives seem very good. the grip was nice and non-slip. the blades right out of the package were sharp enough. I could hold a sheet of paper out in front of me with one hand, then horizontally and cleanly slice sections off working down the sheet of paper. i just have to wait to see how they handle on a deer and how long they hold a sufficient enough edge.

I've actually got permethrin but haven't used it yet. I've noticed ticks on necks of deer I've taken. this year wasn't bad. I usually find a couple on me a season. it's really important to check yourself every evening when you come back inside. take a show and check good. finding a tick within several hours helps a ton.

I've noticed that about fawn sightings too. Running trail cams early tends to help. Our ground is either hay, woods, or swamp on the family farm. Most of it being hay fields.

I think it's tough to tell the difference between a red wolf, someone's mixed breed dog out and about chasing deer, or big coyote. they're all the same to me.

not that I huff the stuff like some of you over Hoppe's but TC BoreButter smells nice.... kind of mint like.

good to know

yea that's not good.... that means it's mother didn't get bred in her first cycle i'm thinking. either that or a young fawn doe finally got up to weight and came into estrous later. hope it makes it too. I think you did the right thing. I can't imagine you'd get much of anything meat wise from it and to shoot a deer just to shoot a deer isn't right.

I'd think the funding would be out of DEC's money, nothing having to do with NYSA enforcement or other funds from the state. Successful is relative I think. You're right they're not changing it unless there's a problem. That said i still think the system will work better if the quality of data that goes into it is better or more accurate.

wait you mean I can hunt with an AR when crossbow season comes around? sweet!