phade

Ha! That was good.

If turkey could smell, they'd likely be the hardest animal to hunt on earth. No shame in being fooled by those pea-brained birds. I know I have been. The two best tips I can generally offer: 1. Call less. Most people overcall 2. Hunt woods when not raining, hunt fields when raining. (not perfect rule, but oftentimes a general rule to follow) Welcome!

deerage.com

I do not, actually. Never really thought it'd be pic worthy. Not hard to do. The cheapest and easiest way is to buy a $10 kid pool at Walmart and set it under a runoff (say a bush/shrub with wide leaves that will direct rainwater into it. In cases where that's not possible, use a shovel and a contractor trash bag or two (heavy duty plastic) or a cheap plastic drop cloth. Dig out the space so the pool sits slightly below ground level and line the pool wall with plastic to direct the water into it from the surface. Mine never look pretty, but they work and work well. Ones in the ground tend to hold water better/longer. Probably more effective at "catching" it since the ground water runoff contributes to it. If the ground is sloped, you can use that to your advantage.

Mountain lions are protected. It's illegal to kill them. Oy! I couldn't either. I need to go kick my dog or something.

The accuracy above 3.5 falls with TRW, and that's where CA really shines. But, should you need an in-the-field (garage, etc) go at aging the buck via teeth look at the amount of dentine showing vs. the actual tooth wear. Dentine widens and appears on teeth "further back" as the bucks age. If you have dentine on tooth 6 that is appreciable...you are likely starting at 4.5+...if it is equal to the enamel, probably 4.5. If it is wider, you are looking at 5.5 and beyond. Now, that's not to say it's as accurate as CA, because it most certainly is not. But, it's a good guide when in the field and there is no sample going in for testing.

Saw this on the QDMA forum...looks nice. But, man, does she ever have you trained! 36 inches????? C'mon man! Gotta AT LEAST be 40" in an acceptable man cave format. Prefer a solid 50". I assume the kegerator is just off-side of the pic?

FLA- and G4. G4 is the best $100 and under cams available. That said, I am transitioning to black flash. I'll have my last G4 and FL-A up for sale soon. I may keep the FL-A for high risk locations or for turkey just because it takes good daytime pics. This thread has been great...lots of valuable input here from varous members. By far the best/most useful thread on this site in a long while.

Thicket pictures from this year. Only opening in the thicket. 3-4 acres with two ponds. Killed one of them opening day of bow.

Throw on some lined carhartts or denim and scout it right after snow melts and locate the beds. Then decide how they are using it and go from there. If the creek flows year-round, that may be a good spot to set a cam or start your search...maybe walk in there and see where the sign takes you. There will be crossings or travel corridors crossing it at some point I bet. Might even have bedding nearby or next to it if the buck can see a ways in the off-wind direction.

Bad day? Probably still going to be illegal. Cool, yes. Dangerous, yes. Drop one from the stand? That'll be a long 2-3 seconds til it hits.

One of the best mature buck bedding areas ever. Period. Don't understand why you would get rid of it for sake of a food plot. Quality bedding is much more rare than food in 99.99% of properties. I'd scout it when snow melts, and hang stands appropriately as close as possible while still being able to get in without blowing the beds up. One thing you may want to look at, is digging a small pond or placing a waterhole there (cheap kiddie pool or fountain pond liner) strategically in there. It's a great way to inventory the bucks via game cam in summer. If you have a safe haven water source mid-summer, you'll have plenty of day time pics to see what is out there. Also, it's a slam-dunk spot for the time when rut action i shot and heavy...people avoid water hunting at this time for funnels. Bucks drink as much water at that time as they do in mid-summer...they become de-hydrated when chasing and breeding. Bucks also like tending does in thick habitat...so you have a water hole and a thicket...think about it.

Was the hot "attention here" product at the ATA this year.... Whatever floats the boat. I doubt it would end up being legal in many states outside of pest/hog hunting.

DEC here is notorious for not allowing the practice. Local fire departments are more likely the best route as it is "practice" and PR. Are deer bedding in there...I don't think I'd ever want to burn tough to navigate thickets.

Can we get away from the name calling a bit? I think it's ok to joke once or twice, but repetitive name calling and ad hominum attacks do not help anyone. That's just low.

Certainly has the mass, but he really didn't put much on in spread, tine length, etc. this season. Nothing to complain about thought, that boy is a hoss.

So, story goes...I need a cheap, reliable black flash (BF) cam for an area I had in mind that could be open to theft. I'm not sinking $175+ into it for a Covert or Bushnell BF. I came across this cam in a deal and it certainly met the needs. Limitations right off the bat were limited extended illumination range at night. If you shop around, you can get this cam for less than $100. I got a smoking deal, so that helped me go that route. It retails over 100 in some places. Takes 4 C batteries and has an opening for external battery. 5 MP day and 1.3 MP night. Up to a four shot burst or video. Down to a 10 second delay minimum. I'll post pics this weekend after hanging it for a while. Pros Setup is easy - shares platform with WGI cams Cheap - for a Black Flash cam, it's cheap Sensor - This is an over-achieving sensor. It is crazy good - could easily put it up there with any cam. Day pics are acceptable Middle of the Road Size/shape. Not bad, but not super small. Small given cams in its category/price range (cheap BF), but not small like I prefer (SG550, 370, M80s, MP6, etc.) Filter clunk on transition - only happens when filter moves from day to night operation and vice versa. Can hear it from about 5-10 feet away. most cams have this issue in this price range, but some have it all the time. So, it's gets a "middle of the road" ranking on that aspect. Black Flash - It's marketed as such, but I'd warn that it is not true blackflash when compared to a Black 60 or Bushnell BF model. You can see a VERY faint glow from about 5 feet away in complete darkness - I locked myself in the bathroom to test it, ha. I doubt being outside that it'd be noticeable. Still, much less flash than any IR blob. Cons Night flash range - really 20-30 feet is max. Not a cam you want to set in a open field edge unless deer hug the edge. Would work for corners of fields where you can bounce flash off the cornering woods. Still, I find it acceptable for a $100 and under cam. Accessory lights - Duh...BF cams are supposed to be less visible. But, it has two lights, one for movement detection and another for battery/countdown. Close them up, it doesn't impact the cam's operation. C Batteries. I hate anything other than AA cams nowadays. Battery life is supposed to be great for C batteries and a cam of this cost category. Strap attachment...I hate them. I love tripod mount adapters for theft avoidance (hanging up high) and because you can aim them easier. No tripod mount on this cam. Overall Reliability seems to be high for the price on this model. I find that interesting as the WGI cams are anything but reliable on a much larger scale. I plan to put this thing immediately out in the elements on a set of C alkalines and letting it run, come hell, high water, or cold temps and snow. If it goes broke, then I'll warranty it and sell. But, so far, I seem to like the cam for its cost. I'd recommend it thus far based on price/performance for a black flash cam in an area where you don't want to strap several hundred dollar bills to a tree. I do think this cam is going to be GREAT for turkey season on a field...that sensor is accurate and reachs out far. It'll tell you what you need to know on a field. My plan is to use it for that and then also set it up for deer movement on a field corner in an area where I don't want the flash being seen by human or animal.

The harrisburg pa show was boycotted and closed. The conversation took place at the NY expo, where nobody to my knowledge was boycotting it. Different show.

I know of nobody boycotting the NY show this past weekend, so who exactly would you be in solidarity with? The show in Harrisburg, PA was boycotted and shuttered.

NY uses TRW and not CA testing. CA is too expensive and requires lab testing, and there's not much of a market for it - two major players really. TRW is in-the-field and as you said pretty accurate up to 3.5. Beyond that CA takes a front seat.

Analytics. Some states even outsorce them to professionals, with only the data collection in-field done by government personnel. Analytics is big money now. Edit. I just had a conversation with a co-worker who hunts. He holds an ivy-league Phd in statistics and analytics. When it comes to this stuff, he's one of the best in country, and paid appropriately, ha. He believes the necessary sample size per WMU could be VERY small and still provide an accurate (in his opinion) numercial data picture. He thinks they could go as low as 50 bucks per WMU, but probably puts the sample number at a 100-250 taken from a geographical spread within the WMU. The hardest part would be the balance (realistic) sample - balancing age classes of deer sent to processors with taxidermists, camps, etc. He believes they probably account for it in a mathematical calculation based on survey/research. But, for a sample size, he said it could be shockingly small and still be accurate. This is all assuming accurate aging by the in-field professionals, which I think at this point we have to take as a given.

Capital region is tough indeed. I know of one guy who is around there, he seems to do well, but he also is a 1%er so to speak. He takes two months off and hunts multiple states and the ground he owns in the Capital region. Honestly, if I lived there, I'd probably be hunting where the hunting is better...meaning not in the Capital region. Either that or I start duck hunting. And I don't want to duck hunt.

That's pretty true for this site. Usually, if there is a complaint, its from the people who target bigger bucks and complain that all the small ones are shot or that shooting a spike is less of a trophy to someone else. Most sites aren't like this though. Some places, people won't even post their kills for fear or ridicule.

Or turkey...they love the wineries.

I just picked up some work for the QDMA, too. Sheesh. Not a big deal, but the work is due in November. Talk about timing...I'll be in the tree on my tablet or smartphone getting work done, all the while on PTO from my normal gig. Hopefully I don't have to buy a baby-size harness, too. Good thing the better half lets me go out and play from time to time.