phade

It's a cheap, light stand with a cam lock style strap (design premise of LW stands, although slightly different). It's 10 lbs...super light. At $49 for both...it can be a basic Dick's hang-on for all I care...the rapid rails alone are worth it...then toss in a light stand, linesman belt, rope, hook, lock...and I bought two....

I think it ALSO comes with: a lock, to lock the rails, full body harness, linesmans rope, accessory hooks, and an equipment hoist rope...

Passing on a link that was posted on AT originally...can't turn this one down. A decent stand and rails for $50. The rails alone are usually $60-$70. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bone-Colle...Rails/22018250

I am starting to find I prefer the shorter guns, too. No shame in that.

Getting a bow was the best hunting decision I ever made. If you think gun hunting is fun, try staring down a buck at full draw. Talk about an adrenaline rush. I also strongly urge the CVA Wolf. As much as TC is a quality firearm, the CVA Wolf is by far capable and cost-effective. I have a much more high end muzzleloader, but still take my Wolf out each year. Heck, the doe I shot this regular season was with the Wolf.

Ice fishing is something I generally make time to do 2-4 times a season. And, I really look forward to them. This year I may be out of luck as I have a little one due late Jan. Last year I made it out 2x and only once for any period of time, and that day was a blast. Didn't catch much other than a handful of perch, but we had a nice shanty, fresh venision chili cooked on the ice, and had a balst. I ran off to a flag and slipped feet up comedy movie style. Thankfully I wasn't hurt and we all had a good laugh. Times like that are rare these days since I largely hunt alone or with one person max. Nothing like being able to do some hunting/fishing with friends and family.

Off topic, but how heavy is the MZ pressure on Letchworth? I'll probably use the MZ and maybe borrow the FIL's crossbow if I feel the urge. I'll be out Thursday afternoon, and then the weekend.

The truthful answer is that most inline MZ with a quality load will outshoot the skill level of 99% of hunters. I know my Vortek UL does. I rarely hunt in places with shots longer than 100 yards, and that's typically going to be my max.

Looks slightly better for the forecast...hoping the trend continues.

I tell you what...when I started gaining private permission in Ohio, I was initially thinking their requirement was crazy. If you don't own the land (or I think have a formal hunting lease agreement), you need to have signed permission slips on your person. After a few seasons there, I have grown to LOVE it. It really makes life simple and creates good hunter practices. Each season, hunters visit the landowners and get the forms signed. This prevents the common situation where someone gets access once and then hunts the ground year after year without checking in with the owner or touching base with them before season. I LOVE IT. I make a trip in September each year to get the forms signed and sit down with a few of the landowners. I actually really enjoy that weekend as it is relaxing and pretty fun.

777 pellets and 777 primers are easy, but certainly not the best as mentioned. Easy and readily available loads are Hornady SST low drag, the XTP, or Shockwave variants. I strongly suggest BH209...if it is local, buy it and send a few shots downrange at 90 and 100...chances are one of them will group well with your choice of projectile. Use CCI209M primers with the BH209, which is a hot primer. Many BH209 users go with the 209M.

Clover...and then plant some fall annual to attract them...brassica for late season, maybe some oats for bow.

Yeah, and the miserable kind of wet...only thing missing is high wind. I may be in a blind all weekend as a result. I usually don't mind the rain, but at this point of the season...it usually does to get to me.

Alot of people do that, but I don't know if I'd do that to a B&C caliber buck. Great buck to say the least.

I'd never re-mount it...maybe touch it up as mentioned. Nothing wrong with an old mount...it was shot a while ago, so let it be.

Wow...tough way to go. Doesn't look emaciated though. With the lower jaw gone, I bet it died of thirst and dehydration. Hence it being in the pond.

The evolvment of our country's education system is symptomatic of how we handle all our issues...talk til people are blue or red in the face and repeat the same mistake in a different fashion with more money, less taxes, less money, more taxes...etc. I have an undergraduate degree in education. I thought that helping kids grow as a teach would be a noble career, even if it didn't pay all that well (save for retirement system and benefits). When student teaching at one of the better districts, the teacher I was learning under was in his 14th year making $43k a year and had to pave driveways or paint houses in the summer to make ends meet. Great teacher, too. That's stupid...the guy has a graduate degree and 14 years into a career and makes that little change. I promptly graduated and went into the business field as a result and made more than he did in my first year out of college. So what's the answer? The whole educational system needs to be torn down and rebuilt...band aids don't work. I also think that students are NOT getting the level of hands-on experience they need to compete in the current global economy. I work with two visa holders from China who perform risk analytics for a major company in NY. I also work with two Americans who do the same job - one of them...parents were both professors. The other...a country boy like me who simply chose to work hard and take initiative to gain the experience. Experiential learning and initiative was really the only common trait amongst all people in my microcosm. You can't change whether someone is intrinsic or extrinsic as far as motivation goes...but you can influence the education system to impart experiential learning. I get to see the value of an MBA in my role, and let me tell you, there's a big difference. Tier 1 MBAs can do. Lesser MBAs have zero clue. Those Tier 1 MBA are super agressive in study AND practice. No so for lesser MBA programs. The same can be applied to all technical roles and even trade skills.

NY people, too. I may be wrong, but I remember the guy behind it being a big AR proponent in some fashion.

All about efficient use of time...I suspect the DEC knows their closing rate of such cases with a dump site. Probably much lower than what their time otherwise is spent on, such as working a hot case, a crime in progress (this is not one in progress), etc. They also likely know the rate at which dump sites will be revisited by the offender. They probably know it isn't high. Drop the bodies and move on to the next dump spot. I still don't like it, but I guess I understand to a degree of the over-worked and underpaid and under-manned group.

Locks and chain or cable just add $$ to the amount you lose when stolen or cut. Half of the stands I have had stolen over the years were locked with expensive cables and/or locks. Take the prices of a $40-$50 stand up to $65-75 that you lose. Nothing a pair of $10 bolt cutters from Harbor Frieght can't overcome. If they want it, they will steal it.

I'll be honest here, I really don't mind well-organized pushes later into gun season/muzzleloader season. I think they can be safe and effective and are actually fun after a long grinding season. I don't think it's something that should be done all the time, early in the season, etc., but it has it's place. I just don't know enough hunters and don't hunt but with one other person at a time, if that, and I'm on a few small parcels spread out over great distance (three counties). Anything other than a slow one man push to a stander on the parcel after a morning sit is impossible. Not feasible to hit multiple parcels due to drive time and how short the pushes would be. I'm early 30's myself, but some of my fondest memories as a kid was a late season day of pushes with the family and extended friends. Safe, and fun. Doesn't happen any longer as pretty much everyone in the group has left hunting as a whole. Something to be said for that style of hunting. Kicked off by a good breakfast and planning meeting...

I hardly EVER have a tag displayed outside the deer, I've had them pinned in the ear, in a film canistert wrapped around an antler, and lost em all at some point, whether dragging (I no longer attach until at truck as is legal), or in the truck on the ride home. Now, I simply FOLD the tag up, and slide it inside the deer's gumline and mouth. Great tip from a DEC officer - he said you might get asked about it if stopped, but it's in there and ain't going anywhere.

Look for sign of them opening up again in the next week or so as some does, a small percent, will go into estrous. Its a real small amount, but if you do see it, then that might help you key in on a buck.

Since you cant scout it...it takes a little to learn. I like the area north of i 90...theres a seperate small parcel on the map near clyde. Lots of tracks n rubs. But not a ton of deer were reported killed there.

Pretty sure its dead. Pics seem like it.