Pygmy

" Sarcastic"...??... In my opinion, well delivered sarcasm is a legitimate form of communication.< GRIN>... Welcome aboard !

I have done DIY hunts from Alaska to New Mexico. It is a great experience to do it yourself, and my partners and I took some nice animals over the years...We felt a great deal of pride and self satisfaction having done it ourselves. I used to say that I'd rather shoot a cow hunting by myself than shoot a big bull walking around behind a guide. That said, the driving force was money...If I had to pay for guided/outfitted hunts, I would not have been able to afford half the hunts that I did. However, successful DIY hunts take a lot of careful planning. Many hunters don't have the time, know how or resources to put a good hunt together. Many poorly planned or poorly organized DIY hunts have turned into nightmares. Also, DIY hunts can be very physically demanding. Not everybody is able ( or willing) to do thier own butchering and packing. Carry an elk quarter 3 or 4 miles on your back over rough country and you'll know what I mean. I for one, am no longer physically able to do that. DIY hunts can be great, but they are not for everyone.. For many hunters an outfitted or guided hunt is a better option.

..PM sent...

I've spent my share of time in tents... 5 hunts in Alaska..All DIY unguided..We hired an air taxi to drop us in the wilderness and stayed in small tents.. I had some great experiences and a few real MISERABLE nights, like when a storm wrecked one of our two tents and soaked all the gear in that tent. We had to put 4 of us in one small tent with only 2 sleeping bags while it rained for another five days until the weather finally cleared enough so we could be flown out. I've also hunted elk and mule deer in Colorado and New Mexico and camped in small tents. Once on a caribou hunt in northern Quebec, the outfitter flew 5 of us out to a spike camp..We spent a miserable and scary night huddled in a little tent through 50-60 MPH gales and rain. That was perhaps the LONGEST night I have ever spent, but in the morning we put on our raingear, went out on the tundra and killed 3 more bull caribou to fill our tags. Now that I'm older, I don't do tents much anymore, but I wouldn't pass up a hunt in a nice comfortable wall tent as long as I had a COT to sleep on...

The stock matches the upholstery nicely..<<grin>>.. Sounds like your lovely bride has a nice deer rig and you did a good job researching it. There are many good deer calibers, but it's tough to find one BETTER than the 7mm08. I've used it in my Remington Mountain Rifle for about 15 years now. The light weight and shorter barrels of the youth model rifle tends to increase recoil and muzzle blast somewhat, but in a standard weight rifle with a 22" BBL it is quite mild to shoot, noticeably milder than the .270/.280/30-06 class cartridges.

Shucks, that's NOSEBLEED HEIGHT for me....

Looks like somebody's coonhound.

Great idea !! I think I'll donate my BUTT to science... I always figured I'd end up famous one way or another...

My family had an airedale as a house pet when I was a kid. She was a great dog.

Post offices buy a certain amount because they don't want to get stuck with extras... 2014 duck stamps don't sell too well in 2015.. There have been a couple times over the years I have had to shop around to find one. That reminds me..I haven't bought mine yet, and duck season opens here the 18th..

Good point, JB. I need that like I need another hole in my head.

You can buy as many as you want to shell out $15 apiece for. Send your Grandma to buy them if you want. The post office will cheerfully sell her all she wants. <<grin>...

Happy birthday Belo !! 31...???..Holy CRAP, your testicles haven't even descended yet...<<grin>>...

There are more antelope in Wyoming than there are people. I can identify with Papa Biz. At age 40, I was in better shape than I was at 30, because I had been a heavy smoker but quit when I was 31. At age 50, I felt as fit as I did at 40...From 50 to 60...BIG difference. Now in my mid 60s I can still make it to the top of the mountain, but it TAKES me a lot longer....<<sigh>>... I no longer try to keep up with the younger guys and if they offer to drag my deer, I smile and LET them...<<grin>>....

I have a collection of ONE, my first one from 1963.

It's a little early for flight birds. usually the last week of October is a better bet. There might be enough local birds around to keep you interested, though.

Been there twice... More fun than watching your cross eyed aunt give Uncle an enema !! Be sure to bring your hearing protection...

Excellent tip about running the backside of the blade along your thumb when cutting loose the esophagus... I never thought of that. I am always very wary while reaching up out of sight with a knife.. I'm somewhat paranoid about that.. Thanks, TF...

BUY the 16 gauge, Ants...!! <<grin>>...I love 16 gauge guns...I have had a number over the years, but I only have one now, a Win Model 12. I'm echoing Moog...Never owned a CZ shotgun, but I have a CZ rifle and know several friends who have them...Excellent value, very well made and SCARY accurate. If I handled a CZ O/U or S/S and liked the way it handled, I would not hesitate to buy it...

I've heard that the kidneys are good, but you have to boil the piss out of them...

The 25-06 is an excellent deer cartridge. Probably one of the best for long range work. If it has a down side it is the fact that in order to achieve it's best performance with the slow burning powders that it favors, it requires at least a 24 inch barrel. No big disadvantage, unless you prefer a short, light rifle.

I have found several on The Mermaid's property ( 8X) and I haven't really been looking for them. I have a trailcam on my clover plot and there just happened to be an overhanging oak limb in front of the camera, so I have some shots of a nice buck scraping and working the licking branch in the clover plot.

Nice trip report, Biz... Congrats to you and Papa Biz on your bucks...Really nice mulies.. That pronghorn is a TOAD !! Helluva buck..CONGRATS !!

Yeah, like the guy who posted just ahead of you...

The only thing that I would take issue with is your title.." Morals/Ethics question, Does with fawns"... The very title itself suggests that perhaps taking does with fawns is immoral or unethical. Whether you shoot them or not is a personal choice. If it bothers you, don't do it.. Just don't suggest that those who DON'T are somehow morally or ethically superior to those who DO shoot legal does and fawns.. I really don't think that you intended for your post to come across that way, but it did...