coldwater

First time I got myself in this situation. Shot a small buck, and tracked it for way longer than it should have been. Bits of lung, bubbly blood. The shot was quartering away. Tracked for 650 yards, with copious blood, ending with the deer tumbling into the creek, which was very high because of recent rains. I had to wade downstream - super sketchy- for another 150 yards to find him beached up on a shallow gravel bench. A one-lung hit.

Two people here now have publicly announced they violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Nice work boys.

Oh, I so wish we could freeze this thread in time before someone comes to muck it up with common sense and intelligence. This is one beautiful collection of nonsense nuggets.

I went through the same questions a few years ago. I eventually bought, 5 years ago, a cheap 4x8 (or 5x8?) from Tractor Supply. I haul dead deer & firewood, stands, plus syruping supplies, and it works really well. It has sides but no ramp. The wheels are definitely not off-road types but they work just fine, they'll track behind wherever the ATV is pulling them. I promptly smashed to bits all the lights by hitting branches & trees, but that was to be expected. Sometimes I wish for something narrower for ease of navigation, but it's not a big deal.

Another big fan of Barnes TSX here (in .30-06 for me). Over the years I've found 3 of them post-shot, and they all looked exactly like the images above, mushroom-like.

A second recommendation for Cummins Nursery. In addition to disease-resistant cultivars, pay attention to rootstock. Get on the phone with them and tell them about your soil - they'll have good recommendations. I have moved away from dwarf rootstocks, and now favor standard size ones as they grow out of the reach of deer. It makes my fencing work lighter.

On the ground, Tyvek suit! https://www.amazon.com/Individually-Disposable-Protective-Coverall-Attached/dp/B00FU68QW8/ref=asc_df_B00FU68QW8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198071691282&hvpos=1o12&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15290553430741003860&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1022678&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-364516440175&psc=1

Finally some snow here in 8X, nice stiff W breeze, it all made for very good still hunting conditions. Lots of careful glassing, but in the end a group of 6 does and fawns popped up on a little plateau I was working through. It was one of those "pick the biggest one/wait until they turn sideways/shoot" moment that lasts about a half second. Average size doe, she dropped right there and there doesn't seem to be any damaged meat, besides the heart.

Looks like a barred owl?

Only one day left for all the Chicken Littles to protect their guns from Obama. You can do it!

College union leaders get a whopping...course release. On top of their generous 60k salary. The 1% is a distant mirage.

Great idea! I should do that.

Red-bellied snake. Looks like you guys had fun!

Probably Nanday Parakeet, also called Black-headed parakeet. Pretty neat!

Third boiling session yesterday, but first syrup draw (1.5 gallons). We're small potatoes, about a 100 taps. Sap at 2.5%.

Good tips from thphtm. That's right, the small trees won't be empire.

It should work, if the root system isn't damaged during transfer. Just know that if they are volunteer apple trees, you won't know what you're getting - they don't grow true to seed, and they might not be edible (deer might not care, though). Also, if they are sucker shoots, they will be coming from rootstock wood. Then they would likely be a crab apple variety.

A few years back I found a relatively fresh carp in the middle of my woods, 6.5 miles from the nearest body of water. I've seen osprey carry a "lunch" when they're migrating (facing forward for aerodynamics!), so I blamed it on them.

One last time: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004848 Detection of CWD Prions in Urine and Saliva of Deer by Transgenic Mouse Bioassay"The salient feature of chronic wasting disease is its facile transmission among its host species. Until recently, little was known regarding the mechanisms of this efficient transmissibility, however, we have previously demonstrated infectious prions in the saliva and blood of infected deer [6]. By using intracerebral inoculation of concentrated urine in cervid PrP transgenic mice, we report the presence of infectious prions in urine from CWD-infected cervids, and confirm the phenomenon of prionsialia in these animals. The identification of CWD prions in bodily fluids described in the current report could portend infectivity in secretions and excretions in other prion diseases."

And if you read the words..... "in CWD prions are shed in urine and feces, which most likely contributes to the horizontal transmission"

Early detection of chronic wasting disease prions in urine of pre-symptomatic deer by real-time quaking-induced conversion assay. "We report on detection of CWD prions in urine collected from pre-symptomatic deer and in fecal extracts by using real time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC). " http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23764839

It's been 7 years now that I use Barnes TSX or TTSX, and they leave really large holes, making for a lot of punch. It's the weight retention that seems to do it, and the shape it takes upon impact, kinda like four peeled-back, very sharp petals. I'm colorblind and have a difficult go at tracking, so those bullets (along with patience and proper shot placement) help me drop deer on the spot. Plus you're not feeding lead to the little ones.

Barnes Vor-tx TTSX Go lead-free!

Nice. Leica user here too (but full respect for Swarovski). My most important hunting tool besides my rifle & knife.

That looks like a chestnut oak, not an American chestnut. Cool tree, nonetheless.