sampotter

They are nice without a doubt, just not what I'm looking for.

The 1st 2 cameras I ever bought were Stealth cams back in '05. They crapped out within a year and they had zero warranty. And I never considered buying another.

Thanks- but they're not my type. I think (hope) there's a 5 year old around, but I haven't gotten a clear look at him yet.

Me too, but I don't hold my breath in this neck of the woods...

Here's a couple of up and comers that are starting to feel a rise in their testosterone levels.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7uQgun-XFc

It seems to be the individual camera rather than the make. My 1st Bushnell Trophy Cam has been running since 2010, but several others have bit the dust. I bought my 1st Coverts last year but just sent them in on warranty because they started leaking water. The Cuddebacks I've only had for about 2 months. Bushnell and Covert both have excellent reputations for their customer service and I called Cuddeback about a setup question and they were very responsive and helpful. The price tags have all gotten low enough that you can get a darned good camera for $150 or less.

At least one of them (the one on the right) has some sort of skeletal malformation. It has a roman nose and shorter than normal legs.

Holy canoli man! I sure like that monster in the last picture! The other buck with him is nice too, but the spotlight is definitely on the boss!

I have Bushnell, Cuddeback, and Coverts. All have their own merits, but sooner or later they will all die. I sometimes wonder if they have a built in mechanism that causes them to burn out after a set period of time. It wouldn't do the manufacturer's any good if I never bought another trail camera because the ones I already had lasted forever. I bought 2 of the Cuddeback E3s this year and am impressed with the housing design. The card access is on the bottom and the only way water can get inside is if the 1/4" wide gasket fails AND the camera was on it's side or upside down. Trigger speed has been impressive as well and finally the price tag is competitive.

That's a nice up and comer!

To add to what Phade so eloquently said; there is no such thing as a cull buck unless you are hunting behind a fence. Consider these facts (some have already been mentioned) * It is impossible to predict what a mature buck's antlers will look like based on his 1st or 2nd sets of antlers (a study was performed in Texas where they trapped and tagged spikes vs. 8 pt yearlings that showed no significant difference in B+C score at maturity, "once a spike, always a spike" is total BS) * Most if not all yearling bucks disperse to new ranges other than where they were born (Mother Nature's anti-inbreeding defense plan), so that means that buck fawns born on your land will be someone else's mature bucks and vice versa. * Does contribute 50% of the genes to the fawns (I always wonder if I am killing the mother of a future B+C buck every time I shoot a doe). * The heritability of antler genetics are poorly understood, even by deer breeders. (It is unknown if lack of brow tines is a simple dominant/recessive gene or is influenced by multiple alleles.)

I didn't feel like reading all 8 pages, but Chief- I disagree with the statement about the master baiters having a dozen wall hangers. I think it is more likely that the master baiters are the same ones that shoot the 1st spike (or multiple on their family member's tags) and then complain that there aren't any big bucks around. Doubtful they have even one legitimate wall hanger although I do believe that any hunter regardless of ability will get a random dumb luck chance at a monster one time by accident in their hunting career.

We (the farm) finished planting last week. I planted my plots yesterday. I'm not worried.

Looks like the antler was broken and now it is growing funny. You can see the break in the 2nd picture.

Good tip on the Gesso, Bone Seeker. I had a couple of old racks that I repaired using Antler Sculpt but after I painted them with regular primer I struggled with the potassium permanganate. I finally got it to work of by mixing the PP with rubbing alcohol, but that didn't leave me much of a window to work with.

Be careful with the wood stain! If the antlers have lost their shiny, hard outer finish, a little bit of wood stain will make them look black, but if they are still shiny, then you may be able to get away with it. Just go slow.

There's plenty of doubt for sure considering what the one guy did, but he was not the one who originally posted pictures either. There have also been quite a few wild bucks that are a bit bigger, so I personally wouldn't be surprised either way, but give the deer 70/30 odds of being legit.

If the deer breeding business is anything like the cattle breeding business, then yes, I would take FSW's word for it.

Something like 250 NT and 190 Net T, but the typical frame netted 220 before the NT growth was subtracted, so the typical frame is indeed one of the largest ever.

Whoops, I meant "bet"

Thanks Biz- now I have that stupid song in my head!

I bet SteveB hadn't even had his 1st cup of coffee yet.

Nice work SteveB! You don't go by ohiobooners on some other sites, do you newbiehunter?

And that is a LOT of tea folks. Good thing it isn't yours to be Lawdwaz.

Thanks Wooly!