chrisw

Whichever you are confident in is more important. If it makes you feel more confident in that situation then that's probably the right choice for you. I will add though that you say the deer isn't going to move when gun hunting, but I'd argue that more deer are shot at while actively moving with a gun than a bow. I know I've shot at far more deer that were running, walking, trotting etc with a gun than a bow. Therefore it's similar in the fact that you can't always know where you're going to impact the deer, but my bullet choice doesn't change with the "what if's" and neither does my broadhead. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Forget the numbers then... The point is a bad shot is a bad shot, there's no miracle broadhead that's going to knock a deer over no matter where you hit them. Focus more on shot angles, distance and accuracy and less on the broadhead is what I'm getting at. Like I said previously, if you hit one in the guts you want the largest cut possible, if you hit one in the shoulder you want a stout, small head. If you hit them between those two spots it doesn't much matter! The reason there isn't a debate on which bullets work best for deer is because if you hit them where you're supposed to it doesn't make a damn bit of difference. Now you can research all of the premium hype put out by bullet manufacturers and if that's you that's fine, but there's not a deer out there that will live with a cheapo soft point through it's lungs. Now if you plan on shooting at the south end of a deer running away then it would behoove you to have a premium round, otherwise it doesn't make a damn bit of difference! Same with broadheads, if you take ethical shots at broadside or quartering away deer and can put that head where it needs to go, it doesn't matter! I'm not immune from marketing or hunting show hype but the older I get and now that I've killed a pile of deer with a lot of different implements, I see that deer hunting is quite a simple process, there's no need to try and reinvent the wheel... Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

There are several factors to consider, I was just stating a simplified version. Point being with today's archery advancements and technology, it's much less of a concern than it used to be. A 475 grain arrow traveling at 310fps is going to be deadly with just about anything on the front of it. Shot angles and bad shots are what screw 90% of bowhunters out there, not the broadheads. That's why I take a lot of horror broadheads stories with a grain of salt, it's generally the Indian not the arrow. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I think more thought goes into broadheads than necessary. Use a good flying head, make sure it's sharp and shoot straight. You can use a 1" bone breaker of a broadheads, hit one too far back and wish you had a bigger cutting surface. Or you can use a 2.5" head and hit one in the shoulder and wish you had the 1." Everyone has different experiences with different heads because every situation is different. These are thin skinned light game we're talking about, not Africa. Don't overthink it! I shot a 190lb dressed buck last year with my trusty NAP Spitfire XXX and it blew right through him. If you have a heavy draw weight bow don't be afraid of big holes. Decrease cutting diameter as your draw weight goes down. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

The does decide when they want to die by walking into range. I like to shoot does early, that way I'm not stressed out the last week of archery because I haven't killed any. My goal every year is shoot the first two 1.5yr old + does when the opportunity arises. Once that's complete I'll usually let the rest walk and look for antlers. 3 deer per year is what my wife and I use so I don't like going over 3 or 4 at most. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Almost has me wanting a crossbow to play with during late season! Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I don't have the time to solve all of those problems, and I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anything. I'm simply pointing out the hypocrisy on this site. I don't bait deer, i know people that do. I know people who feed deer that don't hunt said areas. I wouldn't care if it was illegal in NY or not. I don't see baiting much differently than food plots so... I'm sure I'll get grief over that comment too... Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

It does shock me how many times guys post illegal bait pictures on this site then act surprised when they get lash back. Whether you're using a cattle loophole or not, you know what you're doing and yes I still consider it illegal as some ECO officers might as well to your surprise. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I really don't care either way, I'm sure there's more guys than him that are frequent on this site that bait deer. Baiting deer is no different than shooting coyotes out of season and half of the guys here consider themselves heroes for that so... Who's calling out who....? Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

More importantly you can stand and take a leak in the better sit on models! Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Yes you're supposed to. I haven't bothered to register it and probably never will. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I've got a 3 waters big fish, I like it, very stable, not unmanageably heavy,not terribly expensive. I've got a trolling motor mounted up to mine. I've added rod holders, anchor etc. Trolling in a kayak is pretty fun. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Once your efficient at it the noise is negligible. I hunt within 30 yds of a 3 acre thick bedding area and routinely hunt the downwind side of it. I have had deer come in before I even brought my bow up, as I've had deer come in while I'm halfway back down the tree and they were none the wiser. If you only hunt out of it a few times a season you're going to be loud. Once you use it enough and get a system down it is very quiet and fast. And I generally always have a tree picked out from previous scouting trips, I'll put a reflective tack in the tree so I can find it pre light. Are permanent stands easier? Sometimes. Would I give up all of my permanent stands and only keep a climber if need be, absolutely. I've killed 90% (roughly 50) of my deer from the same summit viper. Another benefit for me is that I can hunt at 25-30' regularly. I've been close to 40' at times during rifle season, I've got a few big stateland brushlots that you can't see 10' into but if you get up high enough you can see pretty much every deer in there and find openings to shoot them. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Same as Moog, I shot 4 deer with Montecs and had terrible blood trails every time. Killed all 4 and I recovered them all but if the hits were marginal I doubt I'd have been able to recover them. If I were to go back to fixed blades I'd be shooting Ramcats again, But deer are simple to kill and mechanicals work every time for me... Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Catfish came out pretty good. I did a bit of a test, when I cubed up the meat I generally try to shave off and dark meat, fat etc. I intentionally left a few pieces with some dark meat in them. You could definitely taste a hint of the river is the way I would put it in the darker pieces. The white/clean meat was good with no "water" taste. Overall pretty decent eating! Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I think catfish is good. Sometimes they take a hair more prep work when you get them mid summer and the water is warm. I soak them in milk for a few hours before I cook them, takes the mud/water taste out. I'm going to fry up a batch tonight so I'll update the thread with results! Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I'm not surprised by the spinners I guess, just not what I expected today! Catfish are predatory fish, not just scavengers as many assume. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Went for cats mid day in the kayaks, tried bouncing baits around bottom to no avail. I decided to throw one of my homemade inline spinners for smallies. Caught a few smallies then got trucked by something that instantly started peeling drag. After about 10 minutes I finally got a look at it, big cat! 10 minutes later another one! 9 and 13 lbs on the scale. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I hunt almost exclusively from my climber. I own 2 summit vipers, take the time to modify your setup a bit to set it up exactly as you like and you'll never look back. Use it, get comfortable, shoot deer. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Yea I understand that a short paragraph and a handful of pics is tricky to get the whole picture but I was pretty obsessed with this one particular buck last year as I love the big abnormal racks. I studied everything I could about him Everytime he showed up. I'm pretty sure I saw him this spring at the end of May while hanging a new stand. A big buck and a year old buck stepped out of cover into the beans, the buck was 3x the size of the dink buck, thick bases. Well now this buck in question is hanging with a year old 6 point. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

It's definitely the same deer. There's no question the shed and the 2019 buck are the same, big palmated with 2 tines off the top and 2 brow tines at the base. We essentially watched him on and off from September through April on trail cams, there's no other deer around that's even 1% similar. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I'm with you on the same deer. The odds of having 2 deer on the same piece with a big bladed pickle fork looking antler are too slim to me. The deer last year did have 2 brows at the base of the deformed antler, we didn't even realize it until late in the season when we got an angled picture of him. And the opposite antler, (his right antler last year and his left this year) the brow is way up on the main beam. I'm really confident it the same deer. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

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So, last year we had a cool looking buck hanging around until mid October then he vanished. He resurfaced Thanksgiving morning (on cell cam). Got sporadic pics of him the rest of the winter then he disappeared again. I was really hoping to tag him last year but I never saw him. We'll fast forward to this spring and I found his deformed left side antler. He recently showed back up on camera, but the odd thing is that his antlers completely switched sides? His deformed rack bears the same qualities it did last year but on the opposite sides. Last year I assumed that he had sustained some sort of injury to his right side (body) causing the left antler to grow odd and that the left would be odd again... Any thoughts on this? I've never seen a deers rack flip flop characteristics? Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Live from the berry patch. 5 of us picked 15 quarts this morning. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk