philoshop

Well, the rag was in the nearby pocket and I needed to wipe my hands. Going for the gun or the rag? It's hard to tell sometimes. The guy left, and I don't imagine he'll be back. It's just very strange to be bullied on your own property by someone who has no right to bully you on your property. The IRS or EPA can do it because they're the government. But some schmoe who thinks he can hunt on your property just because, is way out of line.

I was changing the oil in my tractor today when a guy pulled into my driveway. He wanted permission to hunt on my property and got a little agitated when I said no. I'm not sure what part of NO he misunderstood. NO I don't want you on my property, or NO I don't want you hunting on my property. I thought they were both pretty straight-forward responses to his question. The guy wasn't local, I know most all the local inhabitants and miscreants. He was pushy to the point where I crawled out from under the tractor with my hand on my hip holster. I tried not to be rude, but I asked him very specifically to leave my property and not come back. I'm thinking he was a Democrat, but that's just speculation. ;-)

No gravy and smashed potatoes.

I don't think so TF. I just have a generally healthy respect for anyone who rises to the top level of their chosen career. Even if it involves writing silly comic books. Stan Lee did that, and I'll give him credit for it. Kudos my spidey friend. I have friends my age (60-ish) with boxes of vacuum-sealed comics and baseball cards. Seems pretty foolish to me because I've always been a coin collector. To each his own, I guess.

I never was a comic book guy or kid. Didn't interest me at all. But I remember the name Stan Lee. Best to his friends and family.

I've taken several deer with my T/C contender in .44 Mag with a 10" barrel and Leupold 2x scope. I lost one in a wicked snowstorm where any tracking became impossible almost immediately after the shot. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't even taken the shot. But it is what it is. I couldn't even find my own tracks to get off the unfamiliar property by the time I gave up. I might have stepped right on the dead deer covered with snow and not known about it. I'm not sure the results would have been any different with something other than a handgun though.

Unless you've had some drag material sitting out in nature for the last few months you're best off with a commercial setup. As far as scent, go with the freshest you can get. Archery shops usually have a refrigerator for fresh scents taken from local deer. You'll pay for it, but unless you're hunting really dumb deer it will make a difference. It's fun, and best of luck.

I have a twenty+ year old very basic Bushnell that has seen as much service in construction as it has in hunting. When I first got it I used it as a learning tool. Walk through the woods every day and guess at ranges to stumps, flower clusters ,ferns, or whatever, and then check with the range finder. It's surprising how quickly you'll be able to tell the difference between 18 yds and 22 yds. It's a tool in your kit, but it doesn't need to be really fancy.

The Dems have lost any coherent message they may have had over the last 60 years, and yet they're desperate to regain power. JFK today could easily run as a moderate Republican (think Mitt Romney). Bill Clinton was actually a decent President, with the help of people like Newt Gingrich which kept things in check. What brought their entire party to a screeching halt was the blatant Marxism of Barrack H. Obama. The country has largely rejected that ideology outside of the usual enclaves of Socialist thought. Academia, entertainment, and the media. And yet they persist. I'll give them points for tenacity, but nothing at all for smarts or for an understanding of the heart of America. They just don't get it.

If it was all simple, easy, and foolproof, it would be called grocery shopping. I've certainly had my share of blunders. One that really sticks with me involves a mile long round-about scent drag that ended with me in my treestand and completely forgetting to leave the scent drag at a distance on the ground. It was still tied to my ankle. Every deer I saw that morning was looking straight at me while sniffing the air. Deer aren't intelligent by human standards, but even they know that the doe of their dreams is not sitting in a tree.

The blue coastal states are simply where the people with the most money tend to congregate. If NY or CA managed to become red states, by some miracle, the whole equation would change. I would also argue that both NY and CA are currently red states by sheer area. And also, the coastal socialites and elites don't generally move to places like Arkansas. It would offend their sensibilities.

I hope this doesn't get kicked over to political

Personally, I don't like the sound of: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: Chairman of the Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters (yup. She would have oversight control of US banks and Wall Street .); or chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff (Yo Shiffty) Red votes will help to prevent these things.

First: Don't forget to set your clocks back tonight. Second: Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. Vote wisely. The future of the country is in the balance That ends this PSA.

Many years ago I bought a cheap block and tackle setup to get deer into the truck bed for the ride home when I was alone. It works great for hoisting as well. I think it's 5 to1 mechanical advantage, so a 150 pound deer is like raising or moving 30 pounds. simple and effective.

Yeah. It generally takes a tractor and some stout roof structure to get the hide off a cold deer. You can buy mesh bags for a whole carcass to keep most insects and whatnot away. Skin it when it's fresh and save yourself the headache.

A friend of mine bought a big commercial fridge from a restaurant foreclosure at auction. He uses it mostly to dry-age beef because he's does some butchering but it'll hold four or five deer when necessary. He got it pretty cheap, but I'll bet it costs him at least a hundred bucks a month to keep plugged in.

Either before rigor mortis,. or after it eases. Depends on temperature. Skinning is always less of a hassle with a fresh carcass, of course, and I don't think I've ever noticed any difference in the taste of the meat one way or the other. A deer is not the same as a fat-laden cow.

I was supposed to do some squirrel hunting with Pygmy today and was looking forward to it. But I've been in bed since about noon on Sunday. "Bad body episode". I hope there will be decent weather days before the snow sets in for the next six months, and that we can reschedule the hunt.

Load that grilled cheese up like a pizza. Peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni and sausage. Don't be shy. Or just cook a pizza and have that with the tomato soup. Works either way.

With any normal meat I'd agree completely. I'm talking about pure venison steak without any marbling or fat content whatsoever. The times I've browned it first have lessened the overall quality of the stew. Agree to disagree, I guess.

Nope. It goes into the bottom of the crockpot raw. Some people put a layer of onion under the meat, but I don't bother.. It comes out in nice juicy perfectly cooked chunks. I've found that browning the meat first keeps the various flavors from mingling. Mingling is good in a stew. Full admission here: I use venison steak for my stew. No fat and no silver-skin. Stew meat gets tossed into the the chili pot.

My Grandmother used to pickle and can all of the organs from deer, cows, pigs, everything...It was never my favorite food, but it wasn't bad. Filling the pantry was the primary concern with subsistence living.

I don't mean to pile on here but Culver Creek is exactly right. Postmortem inspection will tell you what you did right and what you did wrong. It's important to know what you hit, and why you may have missed what thought you may have been aiming at. Elevation and angles and all that stuff. The last buck I shot with a bow from a tree-stand was moving pretty quickly right under me and I was running out of room to swing the bow. I took the shot because he was twelve feet under me and I was confident I could hit his liver. Cut it right in half and watched him circle around and die right under my stand. Had I gone for a heart or lung shot it would have been a complete whiff. I know where the vital organs are. It's probably the most important thing I learned very early on.

I'd have to build a bigger shack, er, house, just to mount that guy on the wall. Nice job on the successful hunt! Glad you had fun!