Caveman

It isn't always bad. I've had a lot of good experiences. Hell, I met one of my best friends in the parking lot of state land back when I was in college. We hunt and fish together every year. I've just had a lot of bad ones too. Keep in mind, it isn't always "I almost got shot." Sometimes it's as simple as a person setting up a hundred yards across a saddle that you're watching. They know you're there (I wear a lot of orange) and have no problem watching the same saddle with you as their backstop. Your choices become stay and hope they're responsible enough to hold off when a deer walks between you, or leave a spot you got there early to get. I much prefer private land, as I'm sure most of us would.

That's a nice situation to be in. I'm in Batavia and we have a really light, almost perfect snow for deer hunting right now. Unfortunately, my only chance to hunt up here is by going to public land and trying not to die. I'd have 120 acres to myself in the southern tier, but I'm just not sure it's worth the 2 hour drive in this weather.

Damn. I was on the fence about hunting Allegany tomorrow morning. Now I'm not sure it's worth the 2 hour drive if the weather is that bad. I don't seem to see deer in the middle of heavy storms like this.

Without anything in the shot for scale, I say house cat. Domestic shorthair, to be specific.

I saw this on another website. To the extent it's true, it reflects poorly on all of us, whether that's fair or not.

This forum is amazing. You get used to 80% of threads turning into petty pissing matches. You see a thread about shooting a deer in the a$$, and come in expecting to see a heated debate about what is clearly an unethical shot. Just when you think you know how it's going to go, PLOT TWIST! It's a debate about religion. M. Night Shyamalan would be proud of this one.

Engineer, the black boots you have now are "Mickey Mouse Boots." The white ones are commonly referred to as "Bunny Boots." The Mickies aren't rated for as cold as the Bunnies you had. Both are heavy as hell and warm as hell though. As long as you don't have a long hike, I think they're the best value in hunting boots.

Is this something that is generally accepted within the veterinary community, or your wife's advice based on her personal experience? My vet said large, uncooked bones were fine is the only reason I ask.

I keep the femurs for my hound. He loves them. It's the only treat I've ever seen him get possessive over.

I'll add wear your harnesses, folks. A fairly short fall can sideline your hunting career long term.

You may be able to get financing through a small, local credit union. Expect them to require a substantial down payment and a high interest rate if they're interested at all. You can also look at brokers that specialize in recreational property like Christmas and Associates (http://www.landandcamps.com/). They offer to finance some of the properties they sell on their website. I don't know for sure, but you may be able to get someone like that to finance your purchase or point you in the direction of a lender. Again, big down payment and high interest rates compared to improved property. Your last option is to find a seller who is open to holding a mortgage on the property. I really wouldn't count on it though. My suggestion is to get a bunch of buddies and go in on it together. Just make sure you see an attorney to drawn up papers that specify how issues will be handled handled, i.e. someone wants out, someone dies, etc.

I would normally carry my Remington 660 in .308 shooting 150 gr Barnes Vortex TTSX. It's my wife's first deer season though, so I'm letting her use that rifle and taking my 870 shooting Remington Copper solid sabots.

Uptown, I've never waded into the merits of the arguments you start here, and I'm not going to start. Can I just point out, however, that "Little Hitler Trump" isn't nearly as clever as you think. It doesn't rhyme. It doesn't play on any major campaign scandal. It isn't particularly catchy. It just doesn't make sense. It feels like when a child tries really hard to be funny amongst adults, but falls flat.

Barnes Vor-tx TTSX 150 gr. They group well, drop them quickly, and I don't have to expose my family to lead.

Good luck, Cabin Fever. My father was laid off about 5 years ago when the company he worked for closed its Buffalo office. He was in the same boat. He interviewed for entry-level jobs despite 25 years' experience, and he was often passed over for being over-qualified. It's tough and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. What ultimately worked for him was finding 90-day contract work, which led to a reference and a permanent offer elsewhere. All in all, he was unemployed for 8 months. I'm not in your field or your area, otherwise I'd like to help. All I can say is keep plugging away, and keep your head up.

Five minutes ago. I saw this thread and realized that after 6 years on this site with varying degrees of participation I had never given my screen name any thought. Maybe it's a midlife crisis?

My nickname when I was working as an EMT after college was Caveman. As in, "just hit it with a rock, Caveman." I got it my first week on the job when I fixed a malfunctioning heart monitor by punching it. I guess you can say finesse has never been my specialty. Previously, I was Wildcats160 which was my first email address and was used in a pinch because I wanted to jump into the conversation and didn't have time to be creative. Real name is Dave. Edit: I guess spelling isn't my specialty either.

We didn't get a tag on anything, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Saturday morning I had two does about 30 yards off, but it was way too early to shoot. We did a drive in the afternoon and kicked a few out, but they didn't cooperate and ran directly between two shooters. Luckily our group isn't comprised of complete idiots so no one shot. Two guys in our group took shots during the evening sit, but one clean missed and the other one hit a sapling he didn't see. Someone else's drive ruined Sunday morning. Similar story for our afternoon drive with uncooperative deer, and the evening was a bust. Still, there are worse ways to spend a weekend in October.

What load does your Hawken like? Mine is obnoxiously picky. After a very long period of trial and error, I found that 70 gr Pyrodex behind a .490 round ball and Crisco-greased pillow ticking patch groups best for me.

No, I haven't. I've used 777, Pyrodex, and American Pioneer. As dirty as it is, Pyrodex groups best for me. I don't mind the residue either. Cleaning the old girl up is as much a part of the ritual as stuffing and firing it. I actually had a CVA Wolf in-line for years that I sold last summer. It shot great groups out to 100 and I felt comfortable shooting deer at 150, but I wanted to free up cash and dedicate myself to the more primitive muzzleloader. There's just something cool to me about hunting with the same technology as the mountain men that explored the West.

There have been some days while trying to work up a good load for it that I've wanted to wrap it around a tree and buy an in-line, trust me. Luckily I'm too stubborn to actually do it.

My group will be up in the Saratoga area this weekend sitting in the morning and evening and driving creek bottoms in the afternoons. I'm already catching flack for my Hawken and iron sights. I took it out this morning before work and shot a 2 inch group at 50 yards with 70 gr of pyrodex behind a .50 patched round ball. My eyes aren't good enough to shoot much past 75 anyway, so I'm happy with that. Now let's hope the deer cooperate.

My condolences. I had an old '02 Ranger that I drove through college and a little bit after. I traded it in with 186k and never did anything but brake pads and oil changes. I take that back, I replaced a front caliper once, but it was a small price to pay. I bought a '13 F150 last December with 29k on it. She'll roll over 48k this week and I'm already dreading the day I have to give her up.

I'll be out in the woods tomorrow, but not for deer. My wife just got her first hunting license two days ago and I'm taking her out squirrel hunting. Plus, she needs the experience shooting some more before deer season. Early season bow never really appealed to me anyway. It's too hot and doesn't feel like fall yet. I probably won't be in a stand until the last week of October, then it's on.

I just bought my first recurve this year. It's just a cheap Samick Sage. I'm hoping to be proficient enough to hunt with it by next year. I'll have to remember this trick.