ApexerER

So I am fairly new to bow hunting (3 or 4 years) but I did take my first deer last week and the week before I hit one but was not as fortunate and lost it. So I felt the need for new broad heads. The first year I purchased Rage, I think they were chisel tips. I went in the woods twice with them. What a piece of crap they are. I can't believe people have luck with them. They would come open in my quiver, and while on my bow. Seemed like every time I looked at them they were open. I never shot an arrow with them, I quickly replaced them with NAP mechanicals with a two inch cut. I believe they were called spitfires. These never came apart but I wasn't sure how they would work on a deer. (Turns out they work well with both broadheads opening) With taking the deer last week that I buried in the backside shoulder and the week before I buried one in the dirt after a passthough I wanted to get some new broadheads. I went to Dicks last night and of course they have 6 million packages of Rage. The NAP's with the two inch cut were all sold out. They had NAP's that were similar with 1 7/8" cut but the blades were not tucked in as nice on these and they were a lot cheaper. So anyway I purchased a 4 pk of NAP mechanicals that are a 3 blade with a 2" cut. So I guess my question is, I have a brand new 2 blade left and the package of 3 blades. Which one would you choose for the locked and loaded arrow?

I don't know what that is but it isn't a rub.....Search the forum, there are a lot of pics of rubs that people have posted. If a deer rubbed that tree it would be the biggest one I have ever seen.

Yea I know but between all of us on the lease there is at least 30 stands maybe more...( I have never counted them) 11 guys 3-4-5 stands each....I usually sit in 3 of them routinely so those will be easy but I had them all marked....We all share stands as well.....Its going to be a while before I get them all back in....probably after the season....

Last year on the last day of rifle season we were doing deer drives. I wound up shooting a good sized doe to fill my tag. My buddy that has been hunting with me for the last several years has always made fun of me for carrying as much ammo as I do. (I carry 15 rounds and hunt with a Browning semi auto .308) For years I have had to hear about how I clank through the woods like my pockets are full of change. Well last year my buddy couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. (normal for him) He wound up running out of ammo (and never got a deer) . He shoots a 30-06 so I couldn't help him out so he ended up begging other guys in our hunting party for ammo. It sure was fun listening to all the guys raz him and I am sure I will never hear another word about what I carry in the woods.....

I uninstalled it last night and redownloaded the app. Now it appears it is working ok but I still lost all my stand placements and deer data....

My buddies make fun of me.....I used to freeze, even if was 50 degrees out sitting still and not moving I would get cold. I have made it a point every year to purchase something that will make me warmer. Now I wear 2000 Insulate Boots with Thermocells and wool socks. UnderArmor cold gear top and bottom first layer. I have a pair of very thick Fleece (polyester not cotton) pants and I wear them under my insulated hunting pants. On my top half I walk in with my UA cold gear base layer and my hunting coat. I put the rest of my top layers in my back pack. When I get to the stand I put my Cabela's heated vest (with 3 extra batteries) on over the UA cold gear, then a very thick fleece, sometimes another layer and then my hunting coat. When it is going to be colder than 25 degrees I roll up my very insulated coveralls and attach them to my backpack. If I get cold with all that other gear on I jump in the coveralls.....and I would never admit it to my buddies......but sometimes I am still cold......I can't imagine they don't all freeze to death with what they wear....Probably why they are still hunting by 8:30 and I am in the stand until it is time for lunch....

Yes I had to log in, figured that would make me all set....but nope....I am going to try uninstalling it and downloading it again I guess....not sure what else to do...

Yummmm, can you share that recipe?

Anyone use the ScoutLook app? I got it two years ago....had all my stands marked....seemed pretty accurate for wind direction...I used it everytime I hunted. I logged the deer a saw, time of day etc. When I tried it this year it said I needed to update the app. So I did...Now I have lost all my stand placements, deer logs and everytime I try to sign back in it says I need to update and start over....It isn't he end all be all but I liked the app...now I can't use it. Anyone else having this problem or can you suggest another app....

Got it done, morning of 10/18....

Well, after losing one last week and doing everything I could to find it I closed the deal yesterday morning on a good sized doe.....

I try to practice with both eyes open with the bow, rifle and shotgun. In the heat of the moment I always seem to revert right back and close one eye. I haven't for some reason been able to shake that habit. Even when I am practicing I have to make myself open my opposite eye still......

I have no idea where Waddington is but I am hunting in East Greenbush....

Thanks for the responses guys......The arrow was covered in blood from the tip to the fletch....there wasn't any trace of guts or waxy fat on the arrow. The hit was not a liver hit....the blood was not that dark..It was just not the bright color of lung blood. I have shot a deer in the liver with the rifle before. I also think if it was a liver hit I would have found the deer with the grid search we did and the time that had passed. The deer search guy could have said it was above the spine instead of below the spine. Coverage was spotty and I was having a difficult time hearing him on my cell phone from the woods but I was pretty sure he said below the spine....I don't understand how I blew the shot that badly to hit above the spine....I practice often and most of my practice is from my elevated deck to simulate the angles from the tree stand. I have never used lighted knocks....I am going to get some....I was unable to see the arrow flight and where it hit exactly. Maybe the knocks will help. Still mad at myself but I will be back out there for sure.....

So those of you that read my post this year I am just going to hunt....I did just that yesterday. It was turning out to be one of the best morning I have ever had in the stand. Had a deer come through the thick stuff just before 7am. Never could tell what it was....Not long after that, with the chipmunks making a racket I had a deer sneak in to my left. I don't know how it got to within 20 yds without me hearing it. Amazing how quiet the are. It was small so I just watched as it worked its way past my stand and up the hill to my right. A few minutes later a deer came down the hill to my right and I was thinking it was the same deer. When I realized it was a very large doe I slowly turned in my stand while bring up my bow. She looked right at me and we had a stare down. Finally she looked away and kept coming toward me and past my stand. When she got so she was just quartering away I drew. Told my self to aim small miss small, picked out the spot and thwack. She took off. Ran about 50 yds....I could just see her standing there thought he thick stuff. Then she disappeared. I was hoping she went down right there. Then as I am wondering what to do 5 more deer come down and I watch them mill around my stand for 30-45 minutes. When they work their way out of the area I go down and find my arrow....It is covered in dark red blood and there is blood on the ground. Use the range finder back to my stand and it is 17 yds. Figured I should have had a good shot with the 20 yd pin but this wasn't lung blood. Decided to back out and I went to Dunkin Donuts. While I was there my hunting buddy called and said he had a doe down so I went in and helped him. About 2 hrs had passed and my buddy and I went in....I left my arrow in the ground marking the blood trail and we started tracking. Tracked to where I could see her standing. Pretty good pool of blood on the ground. After that the blood was very spotty. We tracked it to within 10 yds of the power line on a game trail. After that we could not find a spec of blood. We spent hours on our hands and knees trying to find what direction the deer went when it went out on the power line. I check every game trail leaving the power line I could find up and down for 200 yds. I called deer search at about 2:00 and they said they didn't have anyone in my area at this time. The guy asked me a million questions and said he thinks I hit to high and went just under the spine but missed all the vitals and that the deer is going to be fine. I say thanks and call everyone I can think off. I meet 6 more buddies that don't even hunt. I take them back in the woods...show them what I am looking for....We spread out....I tell them we just need a spec to get a direction, make sure you look over the ground really well before you step etc. My hunting buddy and I lead two groups making circles on our hands an knees out from last blood...Never finding another spec. We split up and again check the game trails even farther in leaving the power lines. At around 5:30 or so we started a grid search and searched until dark. I have never lost a deer before...I am sick to my stomach.....I shot the doe around 7:45 and did everything I could to find it until dark .Anything else I could do if I go back out there around 3. I don't mind looking more but I don't know what else I could possibly do that I haven't already done.....I just hope the deer is ok....

So I have been thinking a lot about all the prep I do for hunting. One of my greatest memories from when I was 5 or 6 years old was when my father took me to hunting camp. This was back in the 70's. I can remember the room being cloudy from all the people smoking cigars and cigarettes in the light of the lanterns burning above the kitchen table. In the morning they would get up and cook bacon and eggs over the coal stove never thinking for a second what they smelled like. They would put on their wool red and black or red and green coats and whatever they wore for pants and boots and head out after breakfast. Most of them with a cigarette in their mouth. I can remember my Dad and I saw 22 deer that day. All while my Dad was toting around a 5 or 6 year old that I am sure wasn't exactly quiet. They were all doe (they didn't have doe tags back then) but still, 22 deer. Now when I go hunting I get up an hour early. Take a shower in the special soap, put on deodorant that doesn't smell (or work) take my cloths that have been washed in a special detergent and leave them in a tote in the back of my truck. Go to my hunting area and get dressed while freezing making sure not to make my cloths smell like the inside of my truck. Spray myself down with some magic elixir so I don't smell and to this day I have never seen 22 deer in one day. I have never seen a buck bigger than a 6pt. So I haven't been out yet this year but I decided that Sunday, when I go out....My cloths will be washed in the magic detergent but they won't be in a tote and I will probably spray down with the magic spray but only because I have it. I am not going to worry about it, I am just going to hunt and see what the season brings me.....Does anybody else just hunt anymore?

Not yet, hopefully this week I will get to the range. I will report as soon as I do......

If you want answers to that question you should probably start a new post......I have head nothing but good things about them but I don't own one....

Well I received my new BAR from Cabela's today.....Had to go through another background check and pay another firearm transfer fee that I will hopefully be reimbursed for. (Thank you safe act) Hopefully I can get to the range ASAP, make sure this thing shoots straight and put this long story to bed.....

A lot of things have changed for me over the years. The biggest thing that has changed for me is patience. When I first started hunting with my father when I was 16 I would trek for miles and miles each day. I called it still hunting but it was more of a casual walk through the woods. There was really nothing still about it. If I did sit it was for 10 minutes and it felt like it was 2 hours and I would be moving again. I actually saw a lot of deer but they were always running and were just glimpses of them as they bounded away. Now I have progressed to the point that my hunting buddies make fun of me for never moving. I will sit in one spot all day because I am sure the second I climb down I am going to spook that big buck that is creeping in. I also take a lot more time waiting for the perfect shot where when I was young I would just bang away and regretfully lost a couple of deer in doing so. The third thing that has changed for me is the equipment I am not able to buy compared to when I was younger. I couldn't afford a tree stand and I hunted with my grandfathers bolt action 20 gauge which I still have of course. But now I have a couple of different rifles to choose from, numerous tree stands to decide where to sit each day, and plenty of gear to keep me warm for my all day sits. I also enjoy all the little things a lot more than I did when I was younger. The woods coming alive, watching chipmunks playing etc....The beauty of the SILENCE.....I have evolved quite a bit in my 25 years of hunting....

Well, for those of you interested, Cabela's finally received my new rifle from Browning...I just went to the gun shop to ship my old gun back and pay the firearm transfer fee and shipping that Cabela's says they are going to reimburse me for. Hopefully the new rifle will shoot great and I can finally put this issue behind me.

It works, I got mine at tractor supply.....I put it on me from the waist down yesterday and walked about 3 miles in the woods and didn't get any. I wore light colors and kept checking myself as well just to see. I haven't used it during deer season but I use it for turkey. I hate those nasty things....

I love the woods, seeing the animals, being out in the fresh air etc. etc.....but the real reason I hunt is buck fever....I have raced motorcycles, dirt bikes, still race my car and nothing gives me an adrenaline rush like seeing the animal I am hunting whether it be Deer or Turkey. It doesn't matter to me what it is...I get just as excited seeing a Doe as I do a Buck. If I ever see a big boy it will be hard for me to keep my composure enough to get a shot off. That is why I get up at crazy hours, sit in the rain, sit in the cold. For those few minutes or seconds of the encounter.....

I couldn't do it....I like my pickup truck.....I guess I will be one of those people that sacrifices elsewhere to drive what I want to driver regardless of the gas price....

I wish, this wasn't managed by anybody that cared about the woods. My guess is the landowner bid it out to the highest bidder and he went out and hacked it up. Huge trenches where the skidsteer has been. Knocked over trees. The trees that are left are damaged at the bases from equipment hitting them. It is really a mess and a huge disappointment. If I was the landowner I would be furious but I don't think this landowner cares at all. I don't think he even ever sees the property....He lives down state and receives a check from us once a year.....I have never even met him....