phade

Batteries can be a sore spot for people who use trail cams. As such people fall into three or four camps: Lithium users Rechargeable users External/solar users Alkaline (both cheapos and brand name buyers) I don't dabble in homebrews, but I run 8-10 cams a year. I once owned as many as 15 at a time. I've probably owned somewhere along the lines of 65-75 cams since I started with a Photo Hunter (very early on in the game cam market). I think one of the allures for me was that I was "growing up" both as a hunter and also going through high school/college/career at that time and tech was part of that, so the aspect intrigued me in a hunting setting. I've been there done that with battery wars. No fit is perfect for everyone. I transitioned away from anything other than AA batteries. Cams using C or D just are not fun to work with because of the cost and trouble finding deals. Rechargeables are OK, but again, it's too much tinkering. Plus, one thing I really didn't account for, is the fact I LOST quite a few of them. I'd throw them in my pocket in the woods at one set, check the next cam, and lose one or two when I bent over to check the cam. Or, I'd be unloading gear at the truck, and lose a handful in 3 feet of snow (Ever drop your keys after a good snow storm? Ugh), and I wouldn't find them until it melted. Externals are nice, but are a big outlay upfront, and let's be honest here...they're stupid bulky to deal with on a tree. We don't plop a cam in front of a feeder or lick here as it is not legal. Unless you leave a cam in a single spot year round or maybe move it once, it's a pain to move and you reduce the number of trees you can easily set the cam on. It becomes much more troublesome when you mount cams high (6-7 ft. plus) Lithiums rock in certain cams. No doubt, they have the longevity and cold weather markets cornered. But, realize almost all cams that have battery meters are not going to be realistic with lithiums installed. It'll say "full bars"....all the way up until it quits - it'll never give you an accurate battery reading for what users need. It's not going to read along the lines of an alkaline that loses power over time. Lithiums just quit - it works, then doesn't. You won't know it in the field until it's dead. I like to know that if my cam says 1 bar out of 3, then I need to toss in some freshies.There's also no real deals. Ebay has some for .50-$1.00 each, but quite a few people have reported they get more bad apples in the bunch than the traditional Energizer lithium pack purchases. So, in my search for the best cost vs. real world use, I came across Utilitech batteries at Lowes. On Black Friday, you can buy 30 packs for $4. Normally, you can buy 100 packs for $22. They are alkaline and honestly, over the past 18 mos. I have significantly reduced my battery costs and I still get more than acceptable battery life and use. I bet I likely let cams soak longer than anyone on this site on average and I still don't feel like I need to worry about whether the cam will be dead when I arrive. Two xmas ago, I bought 4 30 packs of them on Black Friday. I ran 8.5 cams (I sold one midway) on that purchase for the entire year, save for two months where I pulled cams. I also had more than half a pack left, and I was not judicious when switching batteries as I likely could have let every single battery swap out go longer. The cams were 75% on video use and 25% on pic use...and video is much more demanding of battery power. I even went through most of the winter months with cams in the field. The cams seem to lock up before the batteries give way. Case in point, a Spypoint shut down for a few days with the cold temps this past month and the batteries were still reading full after 3 weeks, about 50 pics, and low single digit temps. Lithiums make an argument in super cold temps, and from time to time i'll use them if I need to for a specific purpose, but honestly, I'm not all that worried about Late Jan and Feb. images for my hunting purposes. These Utilitechs still work well in cold temps to the point I didn't use lithiums at all last year. For $18 after tax, I powered all of my cams and had leftover batteries. If you use AA batteries in your cams, I'd consider these as a viable option. http://www.lowes.com...eries=

Didn't get the Covert MMS cams in time...I suppose you'll have them up soon? Stinks to see. I've belonged to a hunt club where dogs were run for deer, so I know all too well the issues with dogs and property lines. I still don't think I'd like people stomping on ground I paid for - I bet if you stomped on theirs, they'd be ticked.

Sounds like fun actually. Lots of plotting acreage to toy with. I'd look into strip plotting anything other than nurse crops (ie to cover clover). You can do a smorgasboard and see what is a hit with the deer a little easier.

I think it moved to teh Tech Park? No real interest in going...been a poor shoow for years, even after the new promoter.

SPF

This is a champ of a cam, works reliably. I mistakenly broke one latch on it shortly after I bought it, but it works and does not leak. Otherwise, this cam is perfect. I am original owner. I'm moving to black flash and MMS cams. Therefore, given that, I'm pricing this cam to move. I will include a 2GB card ready to rock in this cam. $60 Paypal COUS. Pics from cam this past card pull.

Pic

There's a mennonite-run store down toward Penn Yan...They had great prices on Alice wc and PTT last year. I forget the name of it, but prices on the seed were excellent.

It won't cost you anything more than time over other plantings of the same seed. People do it all the time.

Wow! That is a ton for local pricing. Check out slayer seed. His from WI, and his site is pretty basic, but his stuff is good. Lots of reports from happy customers.

Yes to question 1. Re-read post 20. It explains that the story changed as it often does.

Re-read post 20. It explains that the story changed as it often does.

Huntington I believe.

I've always wanted to do Deal's Gap/Tail of the dragon.

Pic attached. B & C confirmed the brows are 13" long, so that should give you some idea on the frame, mass, etc.

As such, stories morph. Turns out it's the Indiana buck that is being hyped up. Non typical...309. Obviously lots of internet chatter, but its been scored by a B&C scorer and a sheet has been submitted. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. If the score stands through the process and panel, it may be the biggest buck ever taken by a hunter. Hard to say, as pics seem to not do it justice, but if a sheet has been submitted...then it's got to be at least ball park accurate.

If you end up getting the equipment and time....this is what I would envision. Blue is your screen line...plant the fast growing spruces. Then work in a line of screen grasses/EW, etc. Yellow is corn...notice the way it is shaped. By doing this you prevent bucks from fully seeing the field, requiring them to navigate it whilst checking for does. You can get more elaborate than this, but it gives you an idea. Red dots are stand sites to take advantage of the the designed visibility, wind direciton, and the least intrusive entry/exit. I'm not a fan of hunting field edges, but this can be good for a few bow hunts and probably better for regular and late season with bang sticks if pressure is kept at a minimum. Green are your clover/chicory mix plots. I assume you already have a stand in between those two plots. Black should be some bedding grasses. They'll help screen you also should you need a stand further in the interior of the property and need to get in without deer on the field seeing you. The remainder of the field should be looked into for radish/brassica/oats, etc...that will fill their stomachs throughout the year/season. Don't think of crops as just providing food. Think about how they relate to structure, hunting, and forcing movement.

Get a permanent screen going ASAP. There are deer on a bag screen mixes available. Egyptian Wheat is one. Given you have zero equipment, you're over thinking and over-planning yourself imo. If corn is what you want, to supplement the clover plot... 7 Acres? Cash rent the ground to the farm closest...let them plant corn on all 7, give them 5 for the service and require that they leave 2 standing next to the timber. Make sure the contract includes replenishing the soil. Think about it...outside of planting the temp/permanent screen...you're effort is minimal and you can better spend your time scouting, prepping, etc. It'd be wonderful if you can block in a small section in the corner to plant a brassica/radish mix. That way you'd have the corn that is left up surrounding the brassica/radish and a clover plot next door. That's not too much work on your part...just gotta get the farmer to sign on the line. With the price of corn these days, 5 acres of corn should be enough to make it worth his while to plant/maintain the rest.

Why not dynamite or hand grenades? There aer likely multiple inputs for the numbers, but in the end, it seems pretty clear that youths are not using the xbow in the fashion proponents suggest. It does seem to suggest that older hunters opt for the xbow. Maybe an age slot/disability allowance is ideal as a compromise at this point given the curernt hunting community temperature here in NY. Who knows how it will play out.

Go to fivver...that place has tons of people willing to do logos for cheap.

USA made, used a few hunts. 4 mini sticks. $110.

The chart seems to show that people in their late 30's and up picked up the xbow in a higher volume, with less of a younger crowd. I have to assume that these are not first time hunters. Having experienced hunters of any sort to me would likely result in the group skewing towards higher success via that experience. Sure some are better than others, but compared to the regular archers group, where the use was more slanted on youth (ie inexperience) side comparatively, the xbow group as it is shown has more years of hunting under the belt (woodsmanship, etc.). Sort of like comparing freshman and a senior on the football team. Sure, the freshman may be good, but on average, the senior-laden teams are most often slightly better.

This is just conjecture on my part, but i think part of it is that gun hunters who transition to using an xbow have a closer apples to apples transition (ie, shooting like a gun). Also, for those who bow hunted before and then went to xbow, I have to assume the experience level was higher on average and with an arguably more proficient weapon, the success rate was more. I think the longevity of that advantage is going to be something to watch. If 10 years from now the % is still higher, then it may very well be due to the more efficient vs. practice ratio of the xbow. I wonder if they would have tracked or surveyed the average shot distance between the vertical bows and the xbow. I guess the xbow would be slightly further on average.

I think Redfield is the best "working man's" option. I like Vortex glass, but the cost of their scopes are a bit higher.

This is a formal agency study/survey on xbow impact, and nothing to do with compounds, sling shots, javelins, or otherwise. It is what it is. The lack of youth use to me was most concerning. Seems like that is one of the major flagship benefits promised; based on this study, that's not true imo. Interesting stuff though, that's for sure.