steve863

I don't buy into this aging of venison thing. Cut them up as soon as possible. Unless you have a cooler that will keep a constant temperature, hanging them somewhere in a barn or outside won't do it. Just this season I heard of one crew who shot a couple of deer opening weekend and then let them hang in the shade at camp somewhere for a whole week until these dudes came back hunting again the next weekend. No way in hell was the temperature below 40 degrees for the entire week where they hunted. Way more chances of screwing up your meat this way, then if you butcher it up and freeze it promptly. If the venison is cooked properly I can guarantee anyone that they won't be able to tell the difference if the meat was aged or not.

Belo just inspired me to write a country song about him on behalf of all the rednecks he just offended. "He can kill a buck, he can skin a skunk, even when he's drunk, but they still call him a LOOOOOSER."

I'm trying to figure out who you DIDN'T offend with your rant here? Having a hard time though. LOL

Actually a very interesting observation. I hunt Delaware county also. I can't say that I am seeing more deer where I hunt, but can't say I am seeing a lot less either. I never have seen deer everyday out in my area, and usually the ones you see you'd better put down, because they may be the last ones you get to see. I think there most certainly are WAY less hunters out than ever before. That may or may not have a good effect on deer movement. Hunters may move them in directions away from our stands, so sometimes it's better not to harass their normal patterns thru hunting pressure. I do believe that deer have become accustomed to finding food around populated areas, thus you will see most of the deer in such areas. Food plots don't help one bit either, I am sorry to say. Yeah, people use the excuse that they do it to benefit the herd, but that is pretty much BS. They do it to keep the deer on their turf, and that's pretty much the end of the story. Why would a deer trudge thru other wooded areas or over mountains (where we may be waiting for them) when they can find all the food they need from areas with food plots or other food around the populated areas? They'd be stupid to make the trip. Like humans and other critters, deer will do whatever makes it easiest on them. If plenty of food is available, why would they move to other areas where they might have to search hard for it? The answer is that they shouldn't and in most cases DON'T.

Don't want to hijack this thread, but if someone from the DEC aged your buck at 2.5, they are not very good at aging deer. Just no way that your buck is older than 1.5. Nothing wrong with killing such a buck, just saying that I've seen PLENTY of buck like yours over the years, and they were no older than 1.5 years.

You may regret saying that.

I was actually expecting a fist fight or an all out shoot out, so I was honestly a bit disappointed with the story. LOL

Robinson, where have you been?? Congrats on your buck. Before I even opened this thread I knew it wasn't going to be just an ordinary kill story!! LOL Just not possible I reckon when Robinson goes a huntin'. LOL

Who would need doe tags then, if we could use the bow/ml tag during the regular season?? Everything would be shot up and I doubt there would be anything left!

I don't know where some of you hunt? If I hear 10 shots on opening day(with most of the shots in the far off distance) in the last few years, that is a lot. I hear fewer and fewer shots each season and see fewer and fewer hunters around. Go back to the 60's, 70's and 80's on opening week and you'd think there was a war going on. These days it is not even close to what it once was where I hunt.

A lot of guys say this. Not me though. I sleep like a baby. Maybe I was like you years ago, but definitely not these days.

If you're going to use the property to live on, or for family recreation year round, then owning the land may be worth it. To buy it solely to hunt on surely is not. For the money you will pay on taxes for any reasonable size hunting land, you can go on a nice outfitted hunt where chances of getting a nice deer are probably better. And if you include the original purchase price, then you can go on nice hunts for years into the future! Leases are good, but they of course can come to an end, or costs can go up. Nothing is a complete safe bet.

And I almost forgot about the total nude version that's for Paula's eyes only. LOL

There most likely would be two versions of this picture. A camo thong version for most of us here and then a blaze orange version for Doc. LOL

I reckon you don't read his posts? He is NOT a fan of blaze orange and doesn't see the safety benefits of it.

***Asterisk. The above post is not for Bubba to read. LOL

My first deer season was 1979. Missed a few opening days while in college, but never since then.

Look, I've been hunting since before you were born and been around hunters longer than I really should have been and probably would have been better served if I did something more productive with all that time. In all my freakin years hunting I have NEVER heard of any serious and experienced deer hunter recommend a .223 over all the other well known and proven cartridges. So I may be a stupid idiot, but I know that at least some of the other hunters out there do know a thing or two about what works best. Until I hear the majority of others say that a .223 is a perfectly good deer round in all the different hunting situations that may arise, I surely won't be taking your word for it. Sorry.

So you are advocating your .223 for the 300 yard shot??

Sure they could be chasing. I've never been one to believe that bucks will all be chasing at the same time. I think they can chase anytime between October thru December if he comes across a receptive doe. Just because one is chasing in my area, don't mean you'll see one chasing in yours either. They are the same as human males. Have a girl lift her skirt a bit and give you a wink and most of us will get stupid real fast. No different for a buck.

I have used the .270 almost exclusively for close to 30 years and have killed over 50 deer and various other game with it. Would be an absolute great choice for anyone, but I still say that the .308 is a better overall caliber for hunting deer in the northeast. You can get a shorter action, shorter gun with a .308 and there isn't ONE deer that I killed with my .270 that wouldn't have been just as dead with a .308. I surely can't say the same for the .223 or a .243. I have a .22-250 which is the .223's bigger brother and would never dream of hunting deer with that piddly little bullet.

Yeah, you're right, we can shoot what we want, but most people who look to buy a genuine deer rifle, that will get the job in the various situations that might arise will buy something more potent than the .243. I can guarantee you that if a poll was conducted on what caliber people would recommend for deer, the .243 would not be at the top of the list. Maybe someone should start a poll.

Yes, if I had to pick ONE caliber it would be the .308 for all the reasons you state. Eventhough the 7mm-08 is just as good or maybe even better, one will not find as many factory loads available nor will they be as cheap. For an equivalent load, in most cases you will be paying more for a 7mm-08. Doc has admitted to being cheap numerous times on this forum, so this will be of importance to him.LOL

Yeah, one can wound a deer with any caliber, but I will not be convinced that a .24 caliber bullet will slow down a poorly hit deer as quickly as a deer that has had a .30 caliber round sizzle thru it. Eventhough it's better than a .223, I am far from a .243 fan also. In the hands of a really good shot it will surely kill deer. Most of the time it's given to a young hunter, and it leaves little room for error. A round like a 7mm-08 or .308 would be considerably better, yet not have a hell of a lot more recoil. As with the .223, the .243 is at the bottom end of deer capable calibers, thus in my opinion is NOT the ideal choice for someone choosing a rifle specifically for deer.

Yeah, only if thing were so clear cut in the hunting fields. We hear the same tune from the expert bowhunters here, where they tell people to wait until the deer is within 20 yards, broadside, looking away, etc. yet we heard of plenty of screw-ups this year from them. Deer are considered BIG game and one should use a BIG game rifle to hunt them. Even the freaking military has issues with the piddly .223. We used to WIN wars when we had soldiers firing the .30-06 round from their M-1's. Since the M16 and the .223/5.56 came around we haven't won anything decisively. That alone tells me that if the .223 can't even put humans down, it will have a hard time putting down a deer for keeps in the various situations that one will be presented sooner or later.