nyslowhand

Used those for years with a compound bow. Dependable, easily resharpened and decent penetration. Depending on hit, had situations where blood trail was not great. Montec did it's job, just more internal bleeding than onto a blood trail. They don't have the biggest cut diameter as some others do. BTW - Had been anti-mechanical BHs my entire life for compound bows, a personal choice. Bite the bullet and when I got a Xbow & started using the NAP Spitfire mechanical BHs. Not a single complaint with them!

Been there, done that - opening day buck with a bow. Unfortunately, now you have ~40 days to 2nd guess that decision. Just wait until the rut when you're armed with an anterless tag only! Trust me, that's a hard pill to swallow! Congrat all the same! Recurve bow?

That's been my experience, a cam at ~5-6' off the ground & right along a path gets noticed fairly regularly. Assuming mainly the red recording indicator lights that most cams have or the slight sounds the cam may make snapping photos & not so much the cam housing itself. Not to say deer (does) haven't walked right up to within inches of the cam for a selfie. BBs are a little camera shy. Mounted a little higher &/or slightly off the path don't get noticed as often. That's all for daytime cam photos/vids. Nighttime cam photos/vids are a different story depending on your cam's flash. My cam has a pretty big array of LEDs that show up as red when flash is needed for nighttime photos. That gets noticed by the deer!!! Nice buck!!

Hunt the way you want to & shoot the deer you feel comfortable shooting. If a 4/6pt'er gets your adrenaline flowing, shoot it! If you pass on a small-ish buck, live with the consequences of a neighbor within a couple of miles of your hunting location shooting that exact small buck you'd passed on. If you are holding out for mature, BBs, be prepared to eat tag soup. Even then there's the fact whitetail biologist seem to agree upon; at least once during the annual rut a buck may travel up to 5 miles seeking available does. Meaning, you just never know what'll be traveling past your stand. Could be a buck you assumed you've managed or just a sort of wildcard BB on a mission from parts unknown. If the lease is the habitat you described being all hardwoods, there may not even be any bigger/mature bucks taking up residence within that 85 acres. You'll never know until you've hunted that property a few years &/or done some trail cam surveillance. IDK, but this seems to be the typical issue with leasing new properties!??! Is it or isn't it.... Maybe others that regularly lease have better advice!!! Good luck!!

Pretty sure that was on BowTech's entry into the Xbow market where the limbs were failing &/or delaminating. If it was on their compound bow limbs, I'm not aware of any. Will agree that if you purchase a name brand compound bow, the damned thing will out-live the user with minimal maintenance. Just in my experience, finding a used bow at an archery shop for a decent price is an unlikely occurrence. Private for-sale listings on bow sites, hunting forums, Craigslist, ebay, etc have a better selection & pricing. Needless to say - buyer beware! JMO, best time to shop for used bows is late spring thru early summer when others have upgraded to the latest n greatest bows. But ... you do what ya' gotta do!?! You already know this, but .... be aware of a used bows DL and poundage adjustable ranges.

Wearing prescription glasses has its' pit-falls, but the deer seeing a reflection from the lens shouldn't be a top 5 reason not to wear them. If you have prescription glasses due to correcting eye sight irregularities... shooting with & w/o them can be two different "point of aim" scenarios. If this is an OCD concern for you to worry about, there is a non-glare coating that can be added to the lenses, new ones I'm assuming.

I generally get some decent, mature, shooter-type bucks around my area caught on trail cams during summer time. I don't assign them a :"top 5 #", have no hit list, rarely name them and do NOT have a single head mount on my wall. Sad fact - When the velvet comes off, there are times you might never see a decent buck again while hunting. I ruined one hunting season by holding out for that "one shooter BB" I'd gotten photos of all summer long. Disappointing & frustration season, only to later learn a neighbor shot him with a 7mm!! It is what it is. For me, it's all about what gets my adrenaline flowing, the heart pounding & the overall experience or encounter. For the record, I do try and hold out for a mature BB. There are times when a 6pt buck's encounter has gotten my "heart pumping" and I took him. Another time I shot a doe & a basket 8pt within minutes after the bow season opener (~7AM on Oct 1st). Also times while hunting the last weekend of SZ bow season I've been .. less discriminating with my expectations and smaller bucks become fair game. There have been times in the past when putting meat on the table was the most important objective. Not so much any more, so the overall hunting experience and unexpected encounters are much more satisfying. Everyone defines a shooter buck differently. It can be meat on the table, a P&Y caliber buck, one taken with more primitive weapons or simply one that gets the heart pumping. No right or wrong answer to OP's proposed question!!.

What usually happens in my neck of the woods is - Early part of September the velvet comes off, most BBs go solo, smaller bucks may still be together and the big boys tend to disappear with only the occasional night time photo. The summertime bachelor group boys don't like each other anymore after velvet is off and eventually turns into a hate relationship with sparring, etc. Weird enough, following spring they are buddies again....

Never heard of this. Pretty bizarre! Has a regular stock in one photo, but assuming you wouldn't want to shoulder that cannon!!!

Love those hooters, huh? Very nice!!!

Nearby in Carson City area I assuming you can hunt rabbits at the Bunny Ranch...

Somehow I don't think Julia Roberts is still working at the Mystic Pizza since 1988.

No advice, just think it's weird what we consider "small trucks" now-a-days. And the MSRPs......nothing compared to full-sized truck prices, but sticker shock all the same. JMO!

As a kid it was mainly about helping my dad put meat in the freezer, so let the lead fly! At some point it become more important to enjoy the experience. So, the up close & personal bow hunting (& ML) evolved as a more suitable style of hunting for me. Admittedly I'm guilty, to some extent. Don't consider myself a BB trophy hunter, per se! I do enjoy the anticipation and excitement of have an encounter with a big bodied, mature buck. Not to say I haven't shot a few younger 6pts, mainly because it was an exciting encounter and got my adrenaline flowing. Also only share my successful hunts with a few close friends and never via social media. If I think it was an exciting and successful hunt, that's all that matters. Not out to impress anyone other than my own ego.

Yeah, sardines as bait. Generic ones for ~$1/can will work. A coon or opossum aren't overly discriminating, if it smells, they'll go after it! Center bait in area behind the trigger paddle, otherwise they'll reach in from outside the trap & feast on your sardine bait. A well place 22LR or mag to top of head is instantaneous. Some blood, not a lot. If it turns out to be a skunk in the trap, have no advice. Have heard they won't spay if you sneak-up on the trap and cover it with a towel/blanket. Not sure what you do then......possibly the drowning method!?!

I've read a lot of your post on this forum and think you'll be a great instructor. You'll be addressing a bunch of newbies with sponges for their hunting brains! Fill them with your wisdom & vast experience (& safety) to ensure they'll become like you some day!! Great that you can "Pay it forward"!! You can do it!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't this topic mostly about a hunter evolving, favorite game &/or weapon? Back in my younger (& foolish) days, I'd walk endless miles hoping to flush pheasant, grouse, woodcock, etc. My dad always had a couple beagles, so rabbit hunting with them was fun & enjoyable, even in the snow & cold temps! Also back then I loved hunting deer during reg SZ shotgun season, late Nov/early Dec in cold & snow. As I've gotten older matured, the snow and cold temps seem to be less tolerable and not a lot of enjoyment vs suffering derived from hunting those conditions. This is when Oct & early Nov bow hunting became more enticing. Always liked bow hunting, but it got way more of a tolerable way to enjoy deer hunting. Needless to say, any bunny & bird hunting has ended for me. Loved turkey hunting when I started in the 1980s, when there were quite a few around where I lived then. Recently live where the turkey population is struggling, so shooting one seems less desirable than allowing them to try and repopulate slowly. Sort of an ethical decision on my part. As far as a favorite weapon, had always lived in the SZ, so shotguns were SOP. Had them all!, single shot 410/20ga/12ga mag turkey shotgun, over/under 20ga-22 to semi-auto Rem 1100 & Browning LT 12ga Did get a rifle when they were recently allowed in my region. Do carry it, but would rather use my TC Triump BP rifle. Still prefer some sort of the "up close & personal" bow hunting and the addition of a Xbow has become my favorite. Esp with my aging less than toned physic, it is easier for me to enjoy and use successfully.

If you've used it in the past with good results - you'll swear by it! For me, wish I had the $$ in hand I've spent over the years on Tink's, Code Blue, Buck Magic, scent sticks/wicks, etc & real doe urine. None seemed to work as far as I know while in the stand! But there's a sucker born every minute, I still get 1-2 cans of Tinks aerosol with the hope it'll work...

So, my question is; This revelation took a survey to publish a fact most hunters already knew? IDK, is there any state forest/public land in NYS comparable to this 114k acre location in Pa where survey was done?

What's older than dirt, fossils. Anyone qualify or own up to remembering the below fossil era things? Sky King and my 1st love, Penny, Or 2nd love, Mouseketeer Annette, Captain Midnight and those Ovaltine offers, Listening to Roy Rogers or Lone Ranger on the radio, B&W TVs with mini ~10/12" screens and a refrig sized cabinet, A pack of smokes for 25¢ out of a vending machine & there were 2 pennies wrapped inside cellophane as change, fallout shelters, reel push mowers, cars with fins & vent windows, shoveling out your parent's driveway, Oh yeah, mowing the lawn or clearing sidewalk for widow down the street simply because it was the right thing to do, and finally my all time favorite, days when you didn't worry about locking your doors when no one was home.

Buck 110 I've carried since I purchased it ~50yrs ago.

For those on a budget... Might I suggest a lucky, blue rabbit's foot key chain for under $10. Carried mine past 4yrs and have gotten decent bucks each year, so it's working, right!??!

IRC, there is not a NAP (3 blade) Spitfire for strictly Xbows. Correct me if I'm wrong. I've used them also for 4yrs with a 180# Xbow and haven't had a single one not deploy upon impact or prematurely. If they do, may be from the blade becoming dislodged from the seat of the BH. I always make sure they are seated before putting on to my cocked Xbow. JMO, an additional rubber band isn't necessary. BUT ... do whatever makes you confident using them!

This is where a cam set for video can be handy.

Just out curiosity, with SO many bucks around - how are you making the correlation that 2017 drop time BB is same as 2018 BB...? I'm not seeing it, but that doesn't make it true....