ApexerER

So I went out to the hunting lease yesterday to take a walk on such a beautiful day and it was logged. I know it was mentioned as a possibility by the land owner but totally forgot about it. Yesterdays walk was supposed to be a shed hunt/turkey scout. (no luck with either) The loggers sure made a mess. They took all the big dollar trees knocking over anything in their path to get to them, limbed them and left the mess. There were so many downed limbs some of the places were hard to walk through. The most heavily logged area is the only place I know of that turkeys roost on the property. I can't imagine they didn't move on. What is your experience with logging and hunting. It also looks like they took a few of our trees stands. Either that or the terrain is so different looking I couldn't find them. I know in a year this should actually make the hunting better with more cover and new growth in the thinned out areas but what can I expect this year for both deer and turkey season. What has been your experience after the land was logged.

You may be able to find a Stoger autoloader in that price range which I believe is made by Benelli. I have looked at them and they seem nice. You are not going to get the rifled barrel and scope with it at that price that is for sure. You may have to look at something like a Remington 870 which is a pump. If I was looking in that price range I would be looking at all the gun shops I could to see if they have something used that is already set up with what your looking for....but even used I don't think you are going to find a set up autoloader for less than $500...Keep in mind a gun is something you have forever.....If you need to wait a little longer to get what you want you will be happier in the long run. I wish I did that when I was younger....I have a couple guns I wish I never purchased that just sit in the safe now that I have gotten what I wanted in the first place.....

Great story and Pics.....Thanks for sharing and congrats.....

Very sorry for you loss.......

No, he will just be my pal......

Thanks guys.....and gals....My mind tells me it is too soon but my heart feels empty without a dog at my side.....

As some of you read I lost my best friend (my dog) on 2/20......Life seems terribly empty without a dog by my side so I am hopeful a new addition will be just what the doctor ordered. He is only 5 weeks old so I can't have him until 3/28. I will never forget my boy Zimba but I am hoping for many new great memories with the new addition. I am thinking about calling him Milo..........Ruger, Parker, Samson, Chevy and Hudson are some other names on the list but I keep going back to Milo....

Thank you all so much for the well wishes.........It doesn't feel any easier today than yesterday but as time passes I know it will.....Again.....Thank you

Well I lost my 12 year old golden retriever Zimba to cancer on Friday. He would have been 13 on March 4th. I am struggling something awful with this to the point where I am thinking something is wrong with me. I have lost family members that haven't bothered me 1/10th as much. I feel like a part of me died with him. He was with me every second of the day. From the time my feet hit the floor in the morning until I went to bed. He used to sleep at foot of the bed but he hadn't been able to jump up on it for about a year so I would have to be careful not to step on him when I got up because he slept as close to me as he could get. Even taking a shower he would stick his head in and check on me and then lay there until I was done. This started a long time ago because if I closed him out of the bathroom he would scratch on the door. As I am at my work typing this he should be laying under my desk on my feet keeping them warm. There is no escape because he was always right there with me. I was 28 when I got him at a rough time in my life and he has been there with me ever since. I shut the door to my office today and told everyone I don't want to be bothered. First day at work without him and I don't want to answer any questions. Even on his last day he gave me the gift of dying in his sleep without a whimper knowing that I would never be able to make the tough decision that lay ahead. Hopefully time really does heal all wounds because this is the largest one I have ever dealt with.

Well supposedly Cabela's distributer has a rifle for me. Not sure how much longer this is going to take. Some of you guys I wonder if you read my post at all. I would not be complaining about 3" groups at 100 yds at all. I understood that buying a semiauto rifle I was not going to be putting rounds on top of eachother at 100 yds. But 4" to 6" groups at 50 yds is unacceptable. I never even tried shooting the rifle at 100 yds. I don't think the rounds would land on the paper.

I wouldn't quit. In fact I might spend more time in the woods. It would mean I would get to see all the bucks that I don't see now. I can just picture 150"+ bucks dancing around right in front of my stand.....all while laughing at me, but hey at least I would get to see them.....

No, not yet if you can believe that. My last correspondence with them was they would have one in January. I did kill another deer with it this season but just a doe. About a 40 yd shot. I had a beautiful buck in my crosshairs at about 90 yds and followed it out to 150+ before I lost sight of it. I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger with this rifle. The last thing I want to do is wound an animal. I wanted to chuck it in the creek when that buck walked out of site.....I am well passed being fed up.....Hopefully in the next few weeks I will get a new one and put all this behind me.....

You had to pass the 8....knowing your target and what is beyond is part of responsible hunting. I think you have to do what will make you happy and keep you in the woods. I am 41 and have killed multiply doe. I didn't get a my first buck until year before last. A small 4pt. Then last year I got another small 4 pt. If I get a chance this year. I will probably take another small 4. I did see a 6pt last year while bow hunting and I have let a couple of spikes go. I have never seen a deer in the woods while on stand bigger than the small 6pt last year and I have been hunting since I was 16. It could be a long wait like it has been for me. Do whatever will make you happy and keep you interested in hunting. Hopefully someday I will have one I can hand on the wall. Until then I will be proud of whatever I get.....

I made the scrape on Sunday 11/2....I was not back in the area until Saturday morning 11/8. I freshened up the scrape and checked my camera on the way out. I hunted my stand yesterday morning but did not touch the scrape or the camera. I will be back there Saturday morning for rifle unless someone thinks I should do something else before then.

I know making a mock scrape doesn't mean that a buck will come into it for sure. Week before last I had a nice 8 point on camera almost every night. I think he skipped two night out of the week. So after hunting on Saturday I went to Dicks and got a Magnum scent dripper and some golden scrape. When I was done hunting for the day on Sunday I made a mock scrape using a stick while wearing rubber gloves and hung the scent dripper. I put the little bit remaining from the bottle in the scrape. Fast forward to this weekend and the only buck I have on camera is a little fork horn smelling the scent dripper. I have twice as many does as I have in the past but no sign of the nice 8 pt I was getting a pic of almost every night. Did I screw something up? Hunting this weekend I saw a lot of doe. Yesterday I saw six together. 4 little guys and two bigger ones. I was surprised they were not separated yet. Is it possible the rut isn't fully kicked in yet. I am hunting just outside of Albany in East Greenbush. Did I scare the 8 off with the mock scrape. I have never made one before. Yesterday I freshened the scrape up and sprayed a little buck bomb in it. Am I doing everything I can do? Saturday starts rifle and I would really like a shot at that nice 8. Should I get down there one evening this week and do something else?

I don't wear orange during bow at all. If I was on public land I would for sure. I wear an orange vest and hat during rifle. I usually don't take it off

I am getting annoyed with the weather. I can generally only hunt Sunday mornings because of work and my daughters Saturday soccer games. Every Sunday morning has been windy. This past Sunday was crazy windy. I have seen deer but it sure makes for a miserable sit and Sunday seemed like a dangerous sit. Then Monday comes along, go out to leave for work and not a breath of wind. Same this morning....

I would have to say no although there are a lot of morning I would think about it. My neighbor and I hunt together and it is about a 45 min drive to the lease. He text me yesterday at 4:30 and asked if I was still going with the howling wind. My reply was can't see them from my bed. So off we went. I had a spike right under my stand and saw two doe that wouldn't break 30 yds. He saw a spike, a 4 or 6 and 4 doe. Neither one of us got a shot but as far as I am concerned it was a great morning. I went expecting to see nothing the way the wind was blowing.....and I got to say I told you so....which was the best part....

This is my second year bow hunting after more than 20 years of rifle hunting. I never gave bow hunting the respect it deserved. I really thought I would have at least gotten a doe by now. Last year for whatever reason I didn't see a lot of deer. I blew it with a 6 pointer by waiting too long to retrieve my bow off the bow hook and getting stuck in a stare down but that was my only opportunity. This year I have seen deer on every sit. I usually can only get out on Sunday morning so I don't have a lot of time in the woods but my time has been productive. I have drawn my bow back 4 different times. There is just never a perfect time to shoot. The deer are at the wrong angle, there are saplings in the way. They don't come in close enough and change direction at the last minute. All of the deer I have seen I could have easily blasted with the rifle. This bow hunting is extremely challenging and I am hooked. When I do connect it will be a very meaningful trophy to me even if it is the little spike that wouldn't give me a good angle yesterday morning. I never gave you all enough credit. Might have to leave the rifle at home when the season opens. I am dying to put one on the ground with the bow.....

I have been toying with the idea of purchasing one the last two years. I have yet to pull the trigger. It seems like threads like this pop up from time to time and I always read them. It seems there is always one person that swears by it and a bunch of people that wouldn't waste their money. Do the people who say it is kool-aide or that it is a waste have one? Have they ever used one? Do they no somebody that has used one? I don't know anybody that has one or has used one but the one thing I do know is there is always someone that swears they work. There are never any used ones available in the classifieds on this site or any other that I have found so the people that purchase them seem to be keeping them. There was an article I read where they were able to fool a tracking dogs nose with one. The dog still found the person but it took him more than twice as long and he seemed unsure when he did find the person. Still $400 is a lot of coin to me but I am very interested in purchasing one at some point. If I ever do I will be sure to post my findings. I will just make sure I have my flame suit on.....

I can't answer your question sorry. As for an update....I am still waiting on having my BAR replaced. Cabela's has had one on order for ever. I guess I won't be taking shots this deer season much longer than what I can shoot with my bow.......As I look at my old posts, I can't believe this situation isn't resolved for me yet....

How do you guys go about making mock scrapes. I never have anything show up on my trail camera when I have tried in the past...Is only getting too it once a week an issue?

Deer like that are the reason I sit in my treestand and wake up at 4 am......Haven't had the chance at one yet, hopefully someday.....Awesome Deer, Congrats

If it gets you in the woods and you can shoot it competently get out there and get after some deer......

Won't be out tomorrow. I usually take it off just because I can't wait to get in the woods. This year my wife is traveling for work and I have to get my daughter on and off the bus. I could probably hunt 10-2:30 but I feel like that would be a complete waste of time. I will be out Sunday morning.....