sampotter

I've had a Buck Boiler for a couple of years and it worked great (30-40 heads) until the end of last spring. I've taken it apart twice and removed a ridiculous amount of rust and slake from the elements. Even after cleaning it I can't get it to heat above 140 degrees. I saw a thread about a DIY version so I went to Tractor Supply to try to buy the components. They were sold out of the drain-plug tank heating elements but the manager did point out this unit that you just drop in the bucket. I was skeptical but she suggested that if it didn’t do what I wanted it to that I could just return it. For $36.99 I figured what the heck. Well, it works really well ! I had a head of my cousin’s (including hair, eyes, jaw, brains, etc.) that I had been working on in the old Buck Boiler and I threw it in a new bucket with some cascade, water, and the new heating element. After 3 hours it was up to 200 degrees. At that point I removed the head and gave it a good shake. The bottom jaw fell off and all of the major flesh came off with a few flicks of my knife. There was still some cartilage left so I replaced the water and let it go 2 more hours. I hit the skull with the pressure washer and the end result is below. I still need to degrease the skull, but otherwise it is done. I found the same heating unit on Amazon for $39.99. The reviews are the most interesting part. People are using it to heat hot tubs and swimming pools! The big thing about this unit is that it is a HEATER, not a de-icer, so it has no thermostat and will not shut off on it's own. http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precisi.../dp/B000BDB4UG Today I ordered a thermostat control unit off Amazon which shipped for about $27. I am going to add this so I can maintain a 180-190 temp and not over to prevent damage to the skull.

No but my brother suggested my cousin send his son up the tree to hogtie the cat to bring to the Adirondacks! He's a tough little bugger- he kind of looks like he was going to give a try...

My cousin in Montana just sent me this pic of a kitty they treed yesterday:

Not much of a rack on the big boy but he sure is the boss!

This one isn't that hard to tell. It's the south end of a northbound coyote.

Almost looks like there could be an ice dam on the roof?

A jaw-dropper for sure. Not so convinced that deer was only 3 years old though. Phade- do you know what the gross typical score was?

I am now. I can't wait for the snow to melt off so I can get back into that CRP.

This alfalfa field is getting pounded by the deer: I want to find the sheds of the buck that rubbed this tree! (I wear a 13) Shaggy rub: Nearly every bed I found had a big ball of burdock in it: Stats as of 1/24/14: Miles: 34.6 Sheds: 3 -----WT: 2 -----Moose: 1 Antler pieces: 1 Dead Bucks: 4 Dead antlerless: 3 Mylar balloons: 1

1/24/14 I went out for a relatively short 4 mile scouting hike. Too much snow to do much serious shed hunting. Some bedding and feeding activity in a CRP field: Cat: More feeding activity: Bingo! First freshie of the year! I actually kicked the tip of one of the tines of this antler. Out of habit, I looked down hoping I’d felt an antler like I always do, and for once it actually was!

Hmmmm.... One guy has reported several hundred sightings since the 1990s? Sounds like he's a cousin to the Bigfoot hunter....

I've carried a lot uglier shards of antler out of the woods...

That's pretty lucky and funny Wooly! Some people just can't see them.

It seems like for every 2 sheds I find one balloon but I never kept track, so we'll see if that is fairly accurate. I see them EVERYWHERE, including the Adirondacks.

1/17/14 I did some more suburban shed hunting. I found this dead 6 pointer right off the bat and was able to use the new hack saw I bought just 10 minutes prior: Some nice rubs: A dead doe not far from the road: Hey now! Looky here, looky here! An oldy moldy but I’ll take it for my 1st (while actually shed hunting) for 2013-14! I managed to break off the one tine in the thick buckthorn and am NOT going back in that mess looking for it. Lastly, a peculiar rub very close to the ground: Stats as of 1/17/14: Miles: 30.6 Sheds: 2 WT: 1 Moose: 1 Antler pieces: 1 Dead Bucks: 4 Dead antlerless: 3 Mylar balloons: 1

That's IC for you. I hope they weren't white girls with dreadlocks. Grossest. Thing. Ever. Has anyone shot a collared or tagged deer down there?

It's fun snapping pictures of interesting things that you would forget otherwise...

Nice work and burn the boot leather!

1/12/14 I found this antler tine next to a mock scrape I made 2 years ago… It dawned on me that I might know what deer this tine belonged to… a buck I passed during bow season that my Dad later shot during gun: I chuckled when I saw this well-used bed. [insert caption here] A few generations of bucks have rubbed this tree… I really do think this is a legitimate rub: Still no sheds except for the moose palm I picked up in September. Miles: 26.2 Sheds: 1 WT: 0 Moose: 1 Antler pieces: 1 Dead Bucks: 3 Dead antlerless: 2 Mylar balloons: 1

I would love to see a spring bear season. One of there objectives is to promote a "bear hunting culture" which is hard to do when the current season runs concurrent with deer seasons.

The deer has a severed Achilles tendon, no more, no less. The major blood flow is unaffected as well as the nerves. His handicaps are a useless leg and the possibility of infection. The leg is not going to shrivel up and fall off unless the infection gets too bad. I found a dead buck a few years ago that had been shot in the same spot. He died of gangrene.

Unbelievable deer

Whoops. Looks like it was killed in 2009? Not quite as long ago as I thought. If it didn't have NT points it would have netted 211 as an 8 point!

That deer was killed 5-6 years ago- at least. Was on the front cover of NA Whitetail. The measurements sound about right and it was from Ohio.

I'd bet your local DEC officer would give you the go ahead to take him out. We had a cow blow her Achilles one time. As soon as o saw his lower leg parallel to the ground I knew that was what this was, then I blew the pictures up on my phone and saw the wound. There's no guarantee he'll die from it but life sure won't be easy.