phade

That's sold...thought I updated it.

What's the wash restrictions on that thing?

I do believe a snake in your kitchen counts as a nuisance/danger situation, regardless if it is poisonous. It wasn't in his yard to scurry away. It was in his KITCHEN. Milk snakes are known to have pesky attitudes. I've killed at least a half-dozen in my time. A neighbor got several in his basement. Snakes can get into homes pretty easy...sometimes ignorance is bliss until they show up where you can see them. I have a ton of snakes because I'm on a large limestone formation. My basement had to be blasted out....this limestone was one of the two finalist sections for the Mt. Morris Dam material. The other place won out, and this house was later built on it. I literally have inches of soil....very rare to get a shovel in the ground fully any place in my yard. As a result, lots of crevices to hold and house snakes and the stone warms up quick for their use. I once ran over 3 snakes in a single lawn mowing before I could see them in time to stop. I also hate snakes. God gets a chuckle every time I see one, I'm sure of it.

The wife picks up the turds. Don't know how I won that battle....I certainly lose the war. But I have to tote them to the dump, and I think that is worse because those bags always leak or get torn on a tie down or something in the truck bed. Yuck. I didn't bring the dogs into the relationship though, so I had that on my side.

I bought my Vortek UL at the Hamburg Cabelas bargain cave...price was outstanding on it.

I think this is going to be a tough season. Last season was some decent action as the gobblers were looking for hens as most (as noted above) were already sitting. I've been seeing fewer turkey overall this season and the past week has been really quiet behind the house...last year, I could step on the deck and hear them every morning sounding off. Only heard them three days so far this month and seen one strutter across the street where I have historically not seen them before as they never used to roost there. Hope that is not the case as I can't hunt over there.

Tarjac does Cerakote and is around the corner from you...

Motion blur is where I notice the pic degradation the most. I should have noted that. Good point Wooly. That Primos though...man that doesn't compare to some of the new black flash models. Even the new primos line. You must have got a good one because return rates seem to be higher on that model. The ones who do get a good one seem to like it for the price point. Shutter speeds and going the two lense route are the likely future roadmapping of cams. Many companies are toying with the shutter speeds now and Reconyx seems to have a viable two lense system getting rid of the filter.

I've been getting quite a few PMs asking about black flash. I figure it best to just have this thread to save me from having to re-type, and make it a little easier to resource. Right now, game cams can be had in white flash (traditional or LED), red IR, or "black flash." Black flash is a term used by multiple manufacturers and hunters in general; however, it means different things to different companies and people. One company's black flash may not be the same product type at another company. In my belief a black flash cam should be invisible to you locked into a closet, bathroom without a window, etc. and not being able to see it at 3 feet or so. The problem is that human eyes vary a bit, and some people are better at seeing black flash than others - so one person may see a black flash at 3 feet when another cannot. A good example of a difference would be a Covert Black 60 or a Bushnell black flash compared to say the Hunten GS35 or some early black flash moultries. I can see the Hunten fire at about 7-8 feet....just barely, but still, much more than the Covert or Bushnell. So, when you hear black flash, don't automatically assume it is completely invisible to the human eye, or deer eye. A covert or Bushnell is a good choice...they seem to have solid black flash capabilities. Reconyx too, but that's a different price class of cams most won't buy. I prefer Covert for a variety of reasons, but wouldn't outright scare someone from a Bushnell purchase if their mind is set on it. Black flash night pic quality is apple to apple a bit less clear than the same cam in IR. A good comparison is the Black 60 vs Red 40, or the Primos Blackout vs. their comparable red flash model (46 or 60). Now, in most cases, it's not a big difference and really shouldn't scare people away from the benefit of invisibility. The minor trade off is worth it in nearly every instance for every hunter. Eventually red IR will go the way of the dodo and dinosaur as tech develops and price points drop. White flash will remain as it has fans and has color night pics. Red IR is just a stick in the mud with no real room for development. As long as you don't need white flash, I suggest buying future cams in legit black flash only. Its ability to prevent mature bucks from showing cam avoidance has become clear to me. It also helps in security needs. If you have any questions, ask here and I can answer if I know it. If not, I can usually figure it out pretty quick.

Apples to apples, when I started scouting hard in late winter early spring...I noticeably started becoming a better hunter.

IN please.

I feel like I aced a test or something.

Row Machines are the cat's meow for building bow shooting muscles. Also, you can buy the elastic bow practice stretchers. There's a few people who make them. I have one and love it.

The value of scouting Feb-April cannot be understated. I just don't get guys who want to target big bucks yet don't scout at that time of year - it's mind boggling. I bet I put in more time scouting at that time of year than what I do in a treestand. Once green-up hits, you lose that ability to find what you need.

Nothing wrong with that...at that age difference, you're splitting hairs. IMO, if you can tell a 2.5 and under apart from a 3.5 and up...then you've mastered the general usefulness of the estimating process.

It is highly unlikely that that deer is 5.5 or older. In fact, I'm so convinced I'd be willing to make a major wager on it. There are very clear signs this deer is 4.5 or maybe even 3.5. The dentine wear is classic 4.5 though. The fifth cheek tooth has wider dentine than enamel. The real proof that this is not a 5.5 or older imo is the fifth and sixth cheek teeth together on each side. They are blunted but still yet show some sharpness - generally speaking a 5.5 will not have "sharpness" of any kind on those teeth. The point of debate for me is not 4.5 or 5.5 and older...but actually 3.5 or 4.5 as the prior teeth are still pointed to a degree. I'd say 90% 4.5 and maybe 10% 3.5 odds. The other thing, too, are wild herd odds. Roughly about 2% of bucks are in the 5.5 or older age brackets. 3.5 and 4.5 are statisically much more common. This is also a good example of why this type of estimating can be difficult...the forward teeth on each side are worn at a different pace - you can tell he favored chewing on one side over the other. As time goes on, this exasperates the differences.

Happy birthday you old crossbow loving anti-AR hunting fool! Enjoy the day Steve!

Sale pending.

I don't stockpile turkey loads as I typically like to try a brand or two each season just to see how it patterns, performs, etc. But, I usually have a box left over (or most of one as is doesn't take too many shots to settle on a load). This year, I planned to just stick with my traditional Winchester Supreme #5s and skip the testing/shooting. This weekend, I went to grab the 500 and go test it with a shot or two, just to make sure everything was OK. I couldn't find any turkey shells to save my life in my hunting room. Normally I keep my ammo in the nice Plano ammo boxes. Nada. So, I ran out to buy a box, Couldn't find Supreme #5s to save my life at any store. #4 and #6s...but no #5s. So, here I go, opted for Remington's middle of the road, copper plated magnum performance #5s. A few bucks more than Supremes cost. They had it in stock, so what the heck. Got home yesterday after work and went to grab the 500 in the hunting room...opened the door, and what do I see sitting on my shelf right by the door? My box of Supreme #5s that I had been looking for the whole time.

Flight control wads are designed for more open chokes. I bought a box of the hornady nickel plated ran a few shells through my Undertaker on my 500....and I was dumbfounded...pattern exploded as big as can be. Then I read the box...duh. I have to assume they make such shells for those with barrels on an improved size...still didn't like the Hornady even after trying my improved. Not enough shot...only 1.5 oz in a 3" 12 gauge. Interesting gonehntn got better results from tight chokes with flight control wads. Alot of it just traces back to the setup and seeing what works.

Been doing prep work for two months now...still not close to "done."

Bought one extra that I thought I would need, but ended up not needing it. NIB. $140 TYD Paypal gift.

I'm just happy these weapons were developed an made and not much was publicly known about them beforehand until the public release. Just like the stealth choppers...rumors, but no sightings, etc. Until...bam, dead OBL. It's not easy keeping such secrets in today's technological world.

Those who hunt close to the lake, do you notice variations in the wind direction from the prominent forecast? SW is the predominant wind direction on most days during bow season. I hunt a few places close to the lake and notice at times winds will be streaking N to S with no apparent thermal/lay of land factors. I know big bodies of water can do this, and assuming the water temp is higher than the air, that it could push wind currents onto shore. I have a spot that is within eyesight of the lake....so curious to hear about experiences. I have a good drive to get there, and don't want to get there expecting one wind and be met with another if I can help it.

Way to go!