phade

Yeah, I think it's been on here already. Same story...came from Alabama.

I tend to hang a bit higher...I'm hanging them 8 ft and higher now and angling down. Less chance of getting stolen, better view for information (buck identification) and also seems to be way better at avoiding the deer's attention.

I've always been amazed at the crime rate in Wayne Co. Have family up that way and hunt there a bit. Hear a ton of petty thefts/larceny and home break-ins.

Diaphragm or the esophogus? Sounds like it should be dead.

My best hunting parcel is within ear shot of not one...but TWO ranges (clubs). Sounds like WWIII on the weekends but that hasn't stopped the deer one bit.

Good point...imagine that kind of season?

Several units have the special tags whre you can earn an either sex tag, including 8c. For most..2...for some 3. I wonder if you could in theory go up to 4 if you hunt westchester and another special wmu such as 8c.?

When people ask why I hunt so much...that gets to me sometimes. If's its unrelated to my family commitments, then I can hunt as much as I want. Even adding it up, I spend WAY LESS time hunting than others do watching TV laying on the couch over the course of a year. One hunting buddy is going through that with girls (casual relationships or beginning of them)...of course he's in that 22-25 y/o range and these girls want to confiscate his time...kind of funny watching him go through it since I did the same when I was his age. It's just one of those things people will never understand. Sometimes he looks like he's been chewed up one side and down the other when he show's up to hunt.

Definitely need to try them out. Everyone is different. After all was said and done, I have a love affair with my Elite Z28. It's just a downright pleasure to shoot and hunt with. I shot Hoyt and PSE for years before that...but my Elite is in the driver's seat now.

The kid's a real man...he shoots pink vanes! Congrats to him...what a fine trophy.

Very true. Need to find the right spots. Deer have to feed multiple times a day - they are FORCED to move. Sometimes it's not far, but many times it's enough to get in between them. Mornings weren't great for me, but in three afternoon hunts - all in some windy and rainy weather - I've seen 9-15-8 deer...that's more than 30 deer.

I've used a variant from another company - Trophy Blend Scents. I don't use the herd stick for much more than a deer stop (if there's only one lane, etc.). I did have luck with the estrous stick but have since went on to using a local supplier. Overall, I'd say its the only scent I've had luck with (outside of the peak of the chasing).

Yep...I've burned it on a doe during MZ a time or two as well.

I've had three times. Once was a brute of a buck being chased by the dogs (dog running in VA). I skipped the 7mm Mag right over his back at about 15 yards. I can still see him running in my head to this day and still see the dust cloud of the bullet impact just above and behind him. The other was a complete failure of yardage...underestimated a nice 3.5 y/o broadside in a field. Arrow went right under his legs. The third I can thankfully chalk up to a scope/rings/base issue. On the ground after a morning sit and walking a field edge before heading in for the afternoon to warm up. Notice a mature buck crossing a wide open field and was able to move into position within 60 yards. Buck stops perfectly broadside looking the opposite direction. I'm already kneeling against a tree with a crotched limbed for a rest. Slug took hair off his back and actually knocked him to the ground. I thought for sure I hit him at that point but no dice. He popped up and was into cover before I could get another shot. Turned out my scope lost zero...took me forever to figure it out as it would hold zero for 3-4 shots and then start to move. New rings and base fixed it. At the time, that was the 5th shot as I had taken a doe close range and completed a nice 3 shot group to ensure my scope was on the week of opener.

I ruptured a disc in my back on Nov. 2, 2008. Ended up having surgery on December 2. Needless to say, I missed the remainder of archery season. Doc knew I was jonesing for some hunting and I asked him if I could shoot a gun and hunt opening day. He told me I could as long as I didn't lift more than a gallon of milk and if I did not have pain shooting...he knew my physical therapist was a die hard hunter as well and between the two of them, they recommended I shoot the muzzleloader. I kind of got a kick out of it. Only other stipulation was to stay on the ground (obviously, as I was in a fair amount of pain from a pinched nerve caused by the rupture). My hunting partner went out, set up a blind on a funnel and even carried my gun for me to the blind (it weighed about a milk jug). I trodded along limping in the darkness and actually hunted. I saw three does that day...could have pulled the trigger on one but I didn't want my buddy to have to do more of my work. If it was a nice buck...that might have been a different story. Good thing you were not hurt too bad...but you'll be surprised what you and your friends will put up with when it does happen so you can get out in the field.

Human intrusion tied to the cams is likely much more of an impact than the cams themselves. Most people fail to practice the same level of scnet control, and entry and exit routes. I've always found that cams (sans bait/attractant) will always have lower hits as the checks continue. Now I rarely use them for anything other than pure information in the late summer for an inventory and occassionally if sign appears and I cannot immediately hunt it or need to learn more based on the info I know. In that case, I set it and then pull it...not swapping cards. Ultimately, it's situational. Bryan Kinkel has done some work with cams in this same strain of thought. He relies on Reconyx last I heard for inventorying. Setting the cams up high and aiming down has also show to be relatively effective. I also check them less often when I do set them up higher.

I actually have done well going to Lacrosse rubber boots. I actually hunted out of the uninsulated version last year for the entire season by using a liner sock and a quality wool sock with a toe warmer in the really bad stuff. The uninsulated has neoprene, which is a natural insulator to a degree. For days where I may sit and then still hunt or push to my hunter partner...I rely on lace-ups with the same setup.

That's why I use the 'lil can...it's smaller and marketed for early season...but I find that it avoids that type of long bleat. From a personal observation, the lil can is not as loud, but it also seems to bring in more deer than the regular and larger can models.

I saw all three of the suit type products at the Harrisburg show this year...one thing is for sure, I rarely hear of complaints about the HBS, other than it takes some getting used to in the donning the duds department. Once on, people say it's great. I was personally not impressed with the warmbag as the material was noisey and the zipper was not as easily zipped down. The IWOM suit actually looked the easiest to use but I don't think it'd be near as warm as the HBS....could be wrong. I was all set to by the HBS at the show and then after seeing the IWOM, I waffled and held off altogether. Hopefully I can make up my mind one of these days and just get one.

That's smack in the middle of some great Ohio hunting. I'm hunting about an hour NW of there. I can't imagine what the bowhunters are doing there now...Can you imagine all of sudden having these animals potentially in your hunting area? Makes for a brisk walk to the stand.

Welcome...another roclife member, eh?

That's a walking tank!

I prefer to do it myself; however, time dictates when I have to send it to a processor - usually always send 1 a season to them. In most cases, that's Sunday nights on a given weekend if I am not on vacation that Monday. Especially early in the season where I can't let it hang for long. Later in the year, not a big deal because I can hang it and process Monday evening. I passed up some does Sunday night because of that (I'll burn a vacation day for a shooter buck...plenty of doe chances during the season). Strong preference for doing it myself, though.

Wow!

Opening morning I didn't see anything. Hunting partner jumped a nice buck about 40 yards from his stand. Afternoon, the weather was horrible, but I sat out and saw 9 deer with one of them being a 1.5 yo...he was bumping the does off of the field about 40 yards away. Had one of those "moments" watching the deer in the field about 5:45 or so when two doe snuck by me at 10 yards and before I even knew they has stepped into tight cover...I got as far as clipping the release. I should have known better. To my defense, it was wet (quiet) and I could not see them approaching due to a cover screen of 8' saplings as thick as a multi-flora thicket. Certainly got my heart racing when they "appeared" out of nowhere. Jumped does this a.m. on a hedgerow walking in the smart way (wind-wise) and paid the price as they blew and blew and blew for as far as the eye could see. Nothing while on the stand and then saw a nice buck returning to the lot I just left as I hit the truck at 10:00. Such is life.