phade

A few form tweaks and she's golden, lol.

Some targets I wouldn't shoot mechs into if I wanted to reuse them. That's why they include a practice head in the pack. They fly true to the real thing. The other thing you can do is use dental floss to close the blades shut. The minor weight doesn't impact it at hunting distance. But, again, the practice head is where it is at.

A lean mast crop makes for better hunting.

WGI cams have their place in high risk/low cost areas. Setting the expectation that they may not work as well as what you want or as well as other manufcaturers with slightly higher price points is the best thing to do from the onset. If you have a WGI cam last a year without issues, you have done well for your money.

I know some people hate it as an eyesore, but when I usually "take over" a property, I post the living snot out of it. I don't care if they think I am crazy. I want them to, in fact. Most of the neighbors are usually met by then and explaining why I am doing that usually is met with positive remarks. They're just as concerned about yahoos on their ground, too.

Me and Moog did ALOT of work this off-season and we're still a bit behind where we should be due to some property access changes and timing. We'll make it work though.

I got smart the second time around and married a woman whose father hunts. They practically push him out the door to me when gun season rolls around and act like I'm doing them a favor, lol.

Grim reaper is the only mech head I trust. If the bh is giving you any problems with opening, it can usually be traced back to the way the user put the spring and clip in. I dont shoot heavy poundage nor a super fast bow and the 1 3/8 razortips have really produced for me. They leave great blood trails and I believe they made a difference in a buck I shot where it was shot too far back for my liking. Empirical evidence, but I havent had an issue where I thought this head was at fault. Been using them since 2010.

That took alot longer than I thought.

Double edged sword if you don't plan on killing it as the OP noted (if he's not killing them, then what? LOL). You can't remove the animal and then relocate it...that's breaking the law.

Experience, mentorship, and fun. You'll figure it out on the way.

Like x 1,000. Can't understate the importance of what you said there. I missed a brute of a buck with my rifle (I was new to rifle hunting at the time in my early 20s) at about 15 yards on the run from a few dogs. I was a member of a hunt club in VA and I was on a powerline. We all had CBs and stands were a few hundred yards apart. I heard the crackle "I think the kid missed him." "Yep, he missed." I got back to camp for lunch and 40 guys were wanting to hear how I missed that buck. I had only shot once and went to pump the rifle instead of work the bolt. By the time I realized it, the buck was across the powerline and into cover with the dog trailing. I had never had to go through a follow-up shot with a rifle before after years of shotgun hunting. So, this old guy asked me to show him how I cycle through the rifle (unloaded) and the crowd of guys gathered around. I shouldered, and every so slightly took the rifle down to work the bolt (pretty fast). He gave me the thumbs up for my speed but told me I had one glaring defect that probably cost me the buck. He took my rifle, and this guy was early 70s, and worked the action without ever moving the gun off the shoulder and repeated it 3-4x super fast. Everyone got a great laugh out of it and I learned a great lesson. You don't get that hunting by yourself all the time. There's a time and place to hunt solo. But, there's also time that should be spent with others pursuing the game.

Nice looking branch! I hate it when that happens, lol. Good luck with the bucks.

Power lines? Good luck with that. Talk about a conduit for tresspassing.

A safety release...every bow shop worth a lick uses one.

First year hunting new parcel? Let it be and just observe. You'll learn more in the long run than trying to tinker with already established activity. People make changes too fast sometimes.

I believe a show last year he was talking about how he doesn't even hunt at all until the end of October. You can do that when you are in prime hunting real estate and your farm is on super lockdown, and you have ample time to get in a tree stand for the next two to two and a half months. There are so many things he does on his Iowa farm that just are not realistic most anywhere else in the country. I congratulate him on being able to do that as he's a hard worker and deserves what he has sown. Unfortunately, I believe his advice is slowly losing its relatability as he knows nothing else. What I really do like is his philosphy on stand selection. He worries about entry and exit alot and won't hunt a spot where he can't get in and out safely. Good stuff, but again, the knock on it is that perfect entry isn't always attainable in the real world (small acreage, hunter density, property lines). It's much different on a massive low pressure farm and surrounding area. I'd like to see him do more about real world hunting, ie what do you do when your entry/exit isn't right - what conditions would make him go for it? What would be the deal breaker to not go in at all? So on and so forth.

I really like midwest, but alot of the tactics he talks about apply largely to parcels and conditions were not privy to.

I have active non mock scrapes now.

His posts just litter the QDMA forum. Kind of annoying and trollish.

I've hunted September in the south for deer. That was an odd feeling. But you get used to it, as much as possible.

Different, but not wrong. Trying to argue hunting vs. shooting is a poor attempt at trying to deflect the reality of the situation. Just because it is different doesn't mean it is wrong or not hunting. People baited long before compound bows, long before modern hunting. Bait is just another tool in the shed.

This needs to be rethought and you alluded to it. It's not antler obsession or at least it alone. Reduced time and increasing demands on the constantly reducing free time are a factor. Easier to hunt might be a goal from someone with less free time - and that's an overwhelming majority of hunters. Don't forget most licenses are bought by people who don't hunt that many days. They are a valuable portion of our ranks to help continue our ability to influence things (as much as possible given we are in NY here). I actually think the "easier" part isn't as much about antlers as it is limited time.

I have the bull barrel 20 ga Ultra Hunter with the thumbhole. I have it topped with the Bushnell DOA reticle for shotguns in a 3-9x40. Great combo and not all that pricey. Many people like the Remington Accutips out of these. I found the same with mine.

Is it the one with the heavy barrel? If so, I'd opt for a nice shotgun specific scope - even something like the Bushnell or Nikons with BDC reticles. The H&R Ultra Slug Hunter with the bull barrel is one of the two most accurate mass produced slug shooters out there (along with the 220). Shooting out to 150 with that gun is feasible with practice.