Zem18

Happy Birthday zeek!! Hope you enjoy the day.

When my kids were younger, I changed diapers that color. Sorry, just sayin

12.3.16 - Morning My BIL invited me up to his place for Saturday morning. He has 5 acres that is bordered by several other plots he has permission on. I got there at 7 and he was out back already. Load the rifle and head to the side of the house and look out at the hedgehog and there is a deer feeding along. I called my BIL and told him I'll try to push it to him. Well I did and there were 2 of them but they snuck through in the only spot he had not shot at. Figures. Started snowing pretty steady and watched a small bowl area from the ridge until 930 and didn't see anything. Headed to my in laws house and went to my bow stand. Sat for 5 minutes and then still hunted onto the neighbors where I have permission. Saw a new treestand up there and a gut pile not too far from it. Stood until Noon and then headed home as had errands and soccer. 12.4.16 Sunday Hunted the 100 acre wood with my buddy and his Dad this morning. This is where I shot a button last year with my muzzleloader on the last Sunday of the late season. Got there at 7 a full 20 minutes before sun up. Saw two other hunters headed into the same patch of woods so I figured if the deer were there, someone would get them moving. I crunched down to my favorite lookout and cleared the leaves around a big Hemlock. Lots of shooting all around us and one shot close but no deer sighted. I saw one of the two hunters twice in the 3 hours I was there. The second time I saw him, he sat 60 yards to my left for 10 minutes before he saw me. Then he moved 20 yards further and was sitting within 50 yards of my buddy and his 9 year old son. He was a younger teenage hunter and most likely was cold and wandered to get warm. I headed towards him to let him know he could sit where I was as I had to leave but he headed in the other direction. Worked on the 9pt Euro for a bit this afternoon. I stripped my 7pt before I simmered it and wished I had done the same with the 9pt. Wow what a major PITA this one was. Then I cut the last vertebrae off crooked. Hoping it will hang straight. Still have more scraping unfortunately. Work all week and will see what next week brings. Sunday will be drives at my buddy's camp to fill doe tags for sure.

At a second spot and nadda here. Saw 1 this morning but no shot opp

Teaser pic - We want up close and personal

Yeah I thought it was neat. I checked on You Tube and there are other videos of different guys with Bucks walking up to them. Crazy stuff but cool to watch.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/friendly-deer-greets-hunter-woods-214005621.html

'For a good time, call your Mom. I did and it was great" This one was in the outhouse at my grandparents cottage on Cayuga growing up "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat" TOP 50 BEST BATHROOM GAFFITI PICS IN INTERNET HISTORY http://www.ranker.com/list/the-50-best-bathroom-graffiti-pictures-in-internet-history/brian-gilmore

Happy Birthday MACHINIST. Hope you are enjoying the day.

It may but I'm not positive. The one I gave the 2nd coat too I didn't use any glue on so I have no experience there. Let us know what you find out for future work.

Looks great for your first one. You'll notice as it dries more and more inside the house that it will yellow up a bit. You'll also notice little dark spots that almost look wet. These will be grease spots that rise to the surface out of the bone. You can re treat it with peroxide in a few months and it will whiten up again. Super glue is your friend, embrace it, HAHAHA Nice work.

You'll need em as your fantasy team is going to lose this week.

Wishing I was out there instead of in here, believe me. Good luck Jay.

Happy Birthday. Hope you enjoy your day.

Happy Birthday. Hope you had a great day and enjoy the party Saturday.

Looks great Mr. G. I've never used the powder. How many coats of peroxide and powder did you use? Did you add any heat to really let the peroxide bubble up? I'm still working on the plaque for my bow buck from last year and here I am doing my rifle buck from this year and my buddies shotgun buck. Not enough time in the day.

Pics posted here https://huntingny.com/forums/topic/35467-in-the-zone-with-zem-2016/

Ok so I promised some pictures of working on my Euro mount. First we let it simmer. Take it out and scrape off anything that looks like it will smell as it dries cuz believe me it will smell. Dig into the nasal cavity like you are digging for gold and get everything out of there. It's hard to get all the black stuff out so keep digging and get as much out as possible. The peroxide will help clean it up as well later on and eat away at some of the hidden nasties you can't see. On the back of the skull, I did a few where you put a coat hanger in the brain hole and scramble them around. What a PITA that was. Now I just saw that last vertebrae off and it opens up a much larger area to help clean it out. No one will see that part and you can still hang it on a plaque or wall with whatever you want to hang it with. I did a little more scraping tonight to get the slimy stuff off and that stubborn meat on the top back portion of the skull. Again the peroxide will eat away at that later on so if it dries, no huge deal. I simmer mine on Saturday and then let it sit in clean soapy water until tonight. Then to get that slimy off I used a plastic bristle dish brush loaded with Dawn dish soap and scrubbed. Going to let it dry a little and scrape once more and then off to peroxide stage most likely this weekend. I'll post more on that later.

Didn't mean to quote.

Wait til you stand up and that "healthy" food kicks in, LOL

Yeah don't forget to pop those ear canals out on both sides too. Screwdriver works there. I also cut the back off where the last vertebrae connects into the brain cavity. Wayyyy easier to clean out rather than poke in that little hole. You wont see the back so as long as you can hang it, no issues. Air is a great idea as is dental picks. My buck had some major plaque build up and a touch of gingivitis. Beetles are not cheap. I got quotes last year and the cheapest was $75 and I had already skinned the head and removed the lower jaw. Plus doing it yourself is a lot more satisfying.

No problem. Im no expert either but Ive done a few and you learn the tricks on each one to get better and faster at it. I'll snap some pictures of mine tonight as I said I would before and get them in my journal so you can see how I do it for reference. Ive never done the Elmers glue coating but saw that on you tube last night actually. I like the matte white look and not sure if Id like the gloss look or not. No bleach either, Peroxide, as bleach will weaken the bone.

Yeah you need to get that out or it will smell. Flat head Screwdriver or needle nose or pressure washer. You can break all that off in there and pull it out. On the under side - you can poke in there from the back as well. You want it hollow. Just keep picking at it. Looking good. Also noticed you lost a nasal bone on the right side and the skull cap is separating on the left side. This means you cooked it a little too long. They can be repaired with glue no problem though. I wouldn't put any more heat to it but do keep it wet in soapy water until you can work on it more. I do the initial cleaning and then soak it soapy water until I have more time to dedicate to scraping and it helps degrease it.

Success means something different to everyone here I am sure. Just look at some of the other threads like the one about AR's or the Texas Heart Shot. Some agree and some don't and there are even debates about whether or not I should agree with your success versus my success. It is measured on an individual basis so it's hard to explain why some are "more successful" than others each year when it comes to hunting. Just because a hunter shoots a deer every year and another doesn't, does not mean that both hunters weren't successful in what they set out to accomplish. Our society has turned into one of instant gratification so if it doesn't happen within say 2 or 3 hours on a hunt , its on to something else for most people. Passion or the "grunt" mentality is not found in every person. Lets face it, a lot of hunters half ass it at some point, myself included. To me it comes down to drive. Do you have the drive or motivation to stick with it and spend as much time as possible chasing what you are after? Again, a large percentage have other things going on that prevent them from spending every second out there and not seeing anything on stand does not satisfy that instant gratification. I set up trail cameras before bow season and get pics of some nice deer. I see where they come from and I see where they are headed but do not have access to where they are going. It's frustrating and yes I have bagged early a few times as I wasn't getting the gratification I expected from seeing all the action on the cams. Its funny because I find myself comparing how I hunt to how my buddy hunts as well. He is older than me and has a busier schedule but has no kids. I have two kids and a wife that isn't always understanding of my passion to be out there. During bow season this year I had almost triple the time he spent on stand and I only had a few more sightings than him. Even worse is, my time on stand the past few years has dropped in half or more. Neither one of us shot one with the bow yet we were both satisfied that it was a good season and saw deer during daylight while on stand. So many factors play in here as everyone has mentioned above and all of them are spot on.

Never said either, Biggest I've shot was an 8 point(er)