phade

Warmbag is ok but was loud duri.g the demo i saw at the harrisburg show. Hbs seemed warmest but a little more cumbersome in stand and bulky. People who use it always....ALWAYS...say they love it though. I really liked the iwom. It seems to be the most comprehensive one out there. I cant vouch for warmth but the hbs is probably warmest. Still i think the iwom would be my choice.

Apparently you may need look upside down with the pics.

Taken to the woods for 6 hunts total. About 50 rounds through the barrel. I love the gun but it's stuck "in-between" for me with my various 12 gauge smoothbores for short ranges and my ML for longer distance stand sites. The scope is a quality Bushnell Shotgun scope. I forget the model name but I have the box around somewhere. $400

I love my Vortek UL. I shoot BH209 and dont have an issue with loading powder. Cleaning isn't that hard either...pipe cleaners fit right in the ported holes. I got the camo/cerakote kit for $404 out the door at Cabelas...scope, mounts, everything. The scope is standard kit fare but has the BDC type reticle. It's exceptionally accurate. It's my first Traditions and I really like it. And the cleaning is very easy overall, but that's more to do with BH209. You are welcome to shoot it when we meet up if its not too cold out by then.

Ladder stands stay out with replacement parts checked as necessary. Hangons get pulled.

Sleep in a morning. Then it'll be a few days of relaxation for the holidays. Squirrels, setting a few traps for some coon, and then scouting/shed hunting. If ice ever comes in...I'm hoping for some pike.

If you have a Walmart nearby that sells the M80...many people are reporting the stores have them on clearance for $93.00. That is a steal for the cam. Not all stores carry them and some may not have them on clearance yet. There's a few stores out Utica/Herkimer way and Syracuse that show them in stock in the store. A quick call there to the store could let you know if that store is one that has them on clearance. The other deal is at walmart.com...it's the truth cam 46. $99. Pretty solid deal most walmart stores sell it for that. But...there's also another option you can choose that has the cam in a bundle with their 20/20 universal mount. The mount itself is $20-25 depending on where you shop. I just bought it for $107 (tax inc) with free shipping to the local wally world (close to work). It's a great value deal in and of itself. The cam is not the world's best but for $100 not many (if at all) cams are better, save the M80 on sale in my opinion. Getting the mount - which will work with almost all cameras - is a great deal. I use the mounts on my long-life (m80 and scoutguard) and set them up off the ground 10-12 feet for extended periods of time.

I've got a friend who told me that the M80s at Walmart went on sale for $93. I saw someone online post on AT and confirm it...of course NO wallys carry it around here. I'd scoop them up for that price.

So is the ultimate moral of the story that you should have shot the deer when you first saw it...so you weren't shooting at the dumb father and his kid (who is being taught poorly)? Shame on the father....that's for sure. It's one thing to take your own life in your hands...but your kid? C'mon.

With snow being a factor now...I'd suggest you orient the cam with the predominant wind direction in mind. Facing it into the wind will result in snow being built up over your lense or PIR sensor. When there is not snow...avoiding the sun glare/timing that cause cam issues should be heeded. This time of year...you are better off dealing with a east south orientation and losing a pic or two at dusk/dawn (if you get whiteouts at all) rather than having snow built up on the lense. If the snow ices...it's not coming off the lense quickly and you won't have ANY pics to show for it. For rain...rain won't be much of an issue...it's going to be going to be the fog and condensation. Some designs have a little hood or curves in the case to prevent or limit buildup. If you have fogging issues, set the cam up about 2-3 inches higher than normal and then take a small stick (size varies based on the tree you are attaching to, angle, etc.) and put on the back side of the cam in between the tree and the cam...at the top. It creates a very slight angle, which will limit rain from hitting the lense and will cause any fogging to run off faster. Stealth is not known for fast trigger speed and a matching zone of coverage (big deal in cams). If you cover a trail, try not to place the cam aiming straight across the trail...try to angle it down the trail a bit. This will allow the cam to capture the deer. Otherwise, you'll be getting a ton of empty photos or butts and legs. I agree on the burst mode..especially at this time of year. Hunting is over for the most part and the purpose (for scouting) should be to inventory the bucks that made it through and also to see if you can capture a late season pattern you can use to your advantage next season. If you are not on one of those so called winter food plots...try to place the cam on a trail to the evening food source. I find deer at this time of year, especially once the snow hits...will perform the "parade" single file on the trail....even bucks. I think you capture a better picture of the actual number of deer using the area rather than hoping for a pic on a plot where they may wander and may be done at night. The trail to the evening food source has a higher chance for day pics and also gives you more useful hunting info. Commerical cams come with problems...some people have great luck...while others have headaches and deal with returns, etc. Keep the receipt for warranty work. Stealth may have an update for that cam that you can download from their website. If they do, check it out on their site. It is easy to do and may avoid you having to call them to find that out first or even sending a cam back that just needs the firmware update.

Gander has went downhill so fast it's unreal. I went in there 2x to buy a gun before the deer season and the help behind the counter was so slow (understaffed) that I walked out without spending a dime. There used to be some great buys there...but even the sales are more expensive than other places. Dick's is what it is...a big box store. Sometimes deals can be had....don't expect much from service there, either. Hopefully their stands go on super sale soon...although the basic ladder stands SUCK MONKEY BALLS now with that cloth seat instead of the metal. Absolutely horrible. I brought two to Ohio and cursed every minute I sat in them.

I found a 4 pt shed last hunting season on the final Sunday of the regular season. Found another 4 pt later in winter on the same ground...both left sides and both were bucks that I saw and passed from the stand last season. Fast forward to this November 5....both darn bucks stroll past my cam and visit a scrape at 8:06 and 8:56 a.m. when I'm on my way to Ohio. Only sign of them all season...go figure. No idea if they made it through as hunting pressure picked up on an adjoining parcel this season. That was the earliest I've ever found a shed. It was about 20 feet from my stand right on the trail and with no snow on it. We got snow that night, so he had to had dropped it there within a very short time (hours) of me walking in that morning.

8H seemed like it took a slight downturn in overall numbers both buck and doe. I've trended down about 10% in sightings in 2009 to 2010 and then about 20% between 2010 to 2011. My percentage declines were fairly similar for bucks and does in 2010 but I had a huge dropoff in buck sightings on my main hunting ground despite good sign this year...so much so, that I have to discount much of my sighting information this season. Still haven't figured out why... But, the doe numbers were down a bit this year. I'd rate this year as one of the worst I've had in recent memory.

Remington and Winchester 777 are not as hot burning as the CCI...try the CCI209M.

We have a food day today here. I've got about 40 dishes of various foods sitting about 10 feet away in my department. Haven't hit into it. Must. Avoid. Temptation. Getting. Fatter. By. The. Second. I did just eat some xmas sized Kit Kat bars the boss brought in. It was more of a networking thing, though. I didn't wan't to say no.

They can levy the waste charge (wanton waste, etc.) in western states and Canada pretty easy based on the process. The requirement is to take all edible meat before taking the headgear. Conceivably, if they grabbed some quarters, the cape, and the skull, on the first trip, and left say another quarter (or some other consumable part), even with the intent of going back to retrieve it (later that day or the next morning), they can be hit. The rack has to be packed out last.

Way to close out the season!

We dragged a deer out of here yesterday morning. Not an easy drag going up a hillside. First evidence all year of it happening.

My blood is boiling. My lease was pushed between yesterday afternoon and this morning. So pissed....we were just here yesterday morning. Place is posted to no end too. Talk about a sinking feeling having to hunt here this afternoon on last day out.

Same to you! Im waiting on antlers. Enough meat for the year.

Wind not too bad here in 8f this morning. Last go at it today.

Shot a doe last night. Done pulling the trigger unless it has antlers. Getting ready to go out. Cold morning....relatively speaking with this December so far.

Got up to sit in the stand...packed the truck and decided it was too windy. First time in a very long time I've been kept out of the stand due to wind. I sat on the ground behind my house in a small woodlot and saw three does at 100 yds. doing Mach 2 across a green field about 7:40 a.m. Sat til 8:30 and that was enough with the wind. Going to sit out for the last hour or two tonight and hope something shows. So much for a useful day off of work hunting.

It's an island in the Mississippi River that's largely been bought up by an owner (9400 acres). Pretty unique fair chase, actually, with a ton of hunting history - deer can and do swim freely. A very early place of QDM. They take their QDM seriously. It's often a study location for major universities (Georgia, Miss, Texas, etc.). No different than some of the other popular fair chase outfitters - but of the highest character.

http://www.gilesisland.com/hunting