wolc123

The Pats won the first two games against the Bills this season, but as long Bills win the third, it don't matter.

Billy Graham voted for Trump in 2016 and Franklin is one of his biggest supporters today. The Democrats have a tough row to hoe in this country, which is about 75 % Christian. One does not have to look very far to answer the question: What party does God Support ? Hint: Does God support Abortion ? Any group has outliers, and "Fake News" CNN managed to find one for this headline. Just like the impeachment nonsense, this one will backfire. The good news is, these "backfires" should result in Republican control of the House after 2020, which should allow Trump to get the Health care mess straightened out.

I can't recall ever cleaning the Ruger 10/22 that I have had for about 30 years. I have not had many "misses" with it, and most of those have been on crows at 100 yards and were likely due to my mis-judging the wind gusts. I put a cheap 4x Simmons 22 magnum scope on it which has never given me trouble. I always aim for the lungs on squirrels. That don't damage the meat and gives you more room for error. I aim for the head on woodchucks, otherwise they run off. Yellow Jackets feed ok on mine and those are what I use for most hunting. Coyotes only make it about 40 yards on average with one of those thru their lungs. I use cheaper solid-points of mixed variety for target shooting and for dispatching trapped animals. I have two rotary clips for it, one loaded with yellow jackets and the other with solid points. I did have feed issue with Remington thuderbolts one time, so I avoid those. I suppose maybe it is time for it's "quarter century" cleaning. I am pretty meticulous about regular (at least twice a year) cleaning of my deer guns, but that Ruger 10/22 squirrel gun pretty much gets ignored in that respect. It is kind of like "If it aint broke, dont fix it (or clean it)".

They love venison. I pick them off from a carcass pile, that is 100 yards from my bedroom window, with my Ruger 10/22. Getting the windage and elevation right is a challenge but I average about 50/50 on the shots. I have never killed one with a shotgun. They sometimes land on just bones and hides, after the meat is all stripped away, but I try and freshen that pile with "roadkill" deer when I find one nearby. That keeps up the daylight crow action, all winter long, in additional to some nighttime coyote and fox action. Coyote carcasses seem to be the only ones that crows wont touch.

Blowers suck. I use a rear plow and a front loader and never had an issue.

I have taken a few 3's in the past, but I may just hold off on them from here on out. The last two that I held off on were followed up (in 5 minutes or less) by 8's. I am not that much into antlers, but those on this year's were very symmetric and might have the highest B & C net score of any buck that I have killed. The one that followed up the three-point, back in 2016, had a body that looked to be about 2X the size of the three. That is the main reason that I hold off on the 1.5's early in the seasons. Getting chances at does is very rare on the southern zone properties where I hunt, so I need to get all the poundage I can out of my buck tags, or eat a lot more store-bought chicken. One of these odd number years, I might get a crack at a button buck, but it has not happened yet. They are in trouble in 2020 though.

I am going to use a few more vacation days, during the early Northern zone ML season, so I can take that whole week off. That will also put me up there for opening weekend of rifle season. That is my new favorite time of year to be up there, when I can deer hunt the mornings and late afternoons, and smallmouth bass fish mid-day. Thanksgiving weekend use to be my favorite, but was rough up there this year (other than my mother-in-laws cooking). The lake froze over, blocking out the fishing, and there was not enough snow for good deer hunting. There is always action (in the woods and waters) in October.

I see you are right and the price of them is more than double what it was last time I looked. They were getting $ 40 for used surplus ones 15 years ago and $ 80 for unused ones. Thankfully, my pair is still in very good shape and I expect to get about 10 more years out of them.

Now that 2019 deer hunting it is over for 99.5 % of us, how did yours go ? Mine had its ups and downs, but overall I would rate it a bit above average. Early ML season in the northern zone was tough, with just three deer sightings and I could not tell if any had horns. I had an either/or tag, and an antlerless tag, but I was not willing to "send it" from 50 yards and risk loosing my either/or tag prior to opening of SZ crossbow. One of them deer offered a semi-clear, off-hand, quartering-away shot that I am about 80 % certain I could have made. SZ crossbow was good for me this year. On my first outing, I passed a three point "scout", then punched my either/or tag soon after with a solid 3.5 year old 8-point. The body was big on the three, and I was tempted to take the chip shot that he offered. My patience paid off, just like the last time I passed a three-point buck with my crossbow from that very same blind. The big 8 gave me a scare on the recovery though, as I mistook another deer (probably the scout) crashing in the nearby thicket for him. I wasted about a half hour searching that thicket, while I should have just stayed on the "real" blood trail. The big guy made it about 150 yards, after taking the double-lunger. That was odd because the other (4) bucks that I killed with that crossbow all dropped dead within 40 yards. All those were with new mechanical broadheads though, while this one was with a used one that I had re-sharpened I hunted 5 or 6 more times during that season, trying to fill my (5) doe tags, but seeing only smaller antlered bucks. Three antlerless deer finaly showed up for me on opening day of SZ gun season and I mistakingly killed the big doe rather than the larger of the two fawns, as I had intended. That mistake likely cost me any other deer sightings on that SZ property for the remainder of gun season. Thanksgiving weekend in the NZ was tough with very little snow and horribly crunchy conditions. I ran into some unidentified deer on my first late afternoon hunt, but likely scared them all out of the county by the noise I made on my walk out that evening. I saw no deer on my next (5) hunts up there. Would have been a miserable trip were it not for my mother in laws outstanding cooking. Late ML season, back home in the SZ also had some ups and downs. I made it down to my buddy's camp in the southern tier. The partying and comeraderie was good, getting to see some old friends and make some new ones. I finally got to see some deer but blew it on chances at two doe. Watching The Bills beat the Steelers while enjoying rare backstraps and sipping on Crown whenever the Bills did something good was the highlight of that trip. I even scored the tail of a button-buck that our host had shot off his patio earlier that afternoon. Hopefully I can convert that into a few smallmouth bass from jigs that I tie this winter. So the bottom line was, it was a good season. Hopefully, the venison I secured, added to leftover vacuum-sealed stuff from last season, will be enough to see us thru until mid October of 2020. I am already planning for a shortfall though, and am going to take vacation days for all of the NZ early ML season in 2020. That will also give me the first two (weekend) days of their rifle season. I would have to be very fussy to come back from that trip without any venison.

Yes

Probably because venison is better eating than paper. A better question would be "Why not take that shot ? " These examples show that a shot taken from the rear can result in less meat damage than one taken from the front. If the only alternative is an unfilled tag, it would seem dumb not to take that shot. There still seems to be a few folks, on some kind of moral/ethical high horse, who are just too proud to ever consider such a thing. Hopefully they enjoy their store-bought chicken. I prefer red meat.

One of these years, I might get a buck with a 30/30. It sure is nicer carrying those around up in the Adirondacks, than my big heavy 30/06. My Marlin 336BL has fiber-optic sights and my father in law's 336W has a 3-9X Marlin scope. Both of them seem very good in low light. I hope to find out some day how the 150 gr Federal Fusion 30/30 ammo will do on deer. Hopefully, they will drop in their tracks and have minimal meat damage, as has both I have shot up there with 150 gr Federal classic 30/06.

CLP worked very well to free up the stuck firing pin on my T/C Omega ML. I will probably stick with that until something better comes along.

Our kids favorite meal, venison tacos. I ate three big ones and they were awsome with a Genny light. The 6-day hide-on, in-the garage aging of the 3.5 year old buck carcass worked out good, for the grind anyhow. It was very tender.

I spent the last 1.5 hours of daylight in the "scout-blind", but the scout did not show. I will give him one more chance Monday afternoon (if I still have my buck tag by then). This was about the best afternoon of the season from a weather standpoint, very light winds, no rain, nice soft silent snow, but no deer.

I am on the 5th season on the pair I have now and they are showing no signs of wear. I use them for hunting, anytime it is colder than about 32 F, and also for ice-fishing. Never had cold feet in them. The only drawback is, if you need water-proof deeper than about 10". I got a soaker on one when I had to cross a deep ditch several times when I killed a doe from the other side. If I ever need to go thru deep water again with them, I will try lacing them real tight and going real fast. I am guessing they will last me 15-20 years. My father in law always got around 5 years out of them, wearing them 8-10 hours, every day of the winter, on a concrete floor in an un-heated dairy barn. He used the warmer white ones, when it was real cold, but the black ones 90 % of the time. He gave me a new black pair, that I have now, for Christmas (so they were free for me) about 17 years ago. I always thought they were too goofy-looking to wear, but finally succumbed to his badgering, up at their retirement home in the Adirondacks, 5 years ago. I should have tried them sooner. I can't believe all the money folks waste on the fancy boots.

I always aim for $ 1 per pound for my venison, after subtracting input costs. I have got it for less than that a few years, including last. I am not doing so hot this year however, having purchased a new scope for my shotgun and 3 new mechanical broadheads for my crossbow. I am at about $ 3 per pound right now. Hopefully, some action over my last (3) days of ML hunting will bring it down some. I also prefer wild game, over food bought from the store or restaurants (especially the oysters). More folks probably would too, if only they had the balls to give them a try.

I am not all that into antlers, but I prefer a typical with some "character". Too much symmetry looks fake, and too much non-typical looks grotesque.

I am on the fence on the shoulder shots. With my 12 ga shotgun & SST slugs,, or 16 gauge and foster slugs, I go for them and meat damage is not bad. I think those relatively slow, heavy bullets are the key to minimizing meat damage. The most meat damage to a shoulder, that I have seen, was on the 2-1/2 year old buck that my neighbor gave me last year after he shot it in the hip and the shoulder with his .243. That was enough for me to take that caliber out of the running for my own use on deer. My 30/06 might be just as bad, but I never hit one there with it. I suspect that the heavier, slower bullet would be at least a little less meat damage however. There are times when a shoulder shot is called for, including a "multiple deer" situation, a deer close to the border of posted land, where I don't have permission to enter, or when tracking conditions are bad. You nailed it Larry. It did happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas and there is no doubt Who had a hand in the guiding of that bullet. I ain't that good of a shot on my own.

The secret was to get the pointed bullet inside the deer, without having to penetrate the hide. That would have caused some "mushroom" type expansion. A pointed bullet makes a pin-hole thru soft tissue. The first hard material the bullet struck, was the spine in the middle of the neck. That is why there was no noticeable tissue damage, until it reached that point. The exit hole thru the hide, in the front of the neck, was about 3/4" diameter. I will admit that I was expecting a messy gutting job. I was pleasantly surprised that it was one of the cleanest ones that I ever did. The meat loss, due to wound damage, was also close to the least that I have seen on a deer killed with a gun. I would like to find that bullet. It probably would not be too difficult with a metal detector. I will never forget the location of the best shot that I ever made. Others have taken the Texas heart shot, but none that I know of has pulled it off as successfully.

Not really, The range was only 50 yards, I had a very good rest, a 3-9x scope (on 3), the buck was perfectly still, and my Ruger m77 30/06 has always held a 3/4" or less group at 100 yards using the Federal Classic 150 grain factory-cartridge that I used. The buck's alignment was fortunate. Even the tenderloins were not bruised, there was no entry hole, and the guts came out as clean as a whistle. I was surprised that the butt-out II worked out perfectly on this one, also serving as a "bore gauge" to verify the centered placement of the shot on the intended "point of aim".

If the shot is perfectly executed, the only meat that is lost is a small neck roast. I know, from first-hand experience, that shot can be made on a standing deer, but not so sure about one that is moving.

Welcome Musky to the best site on the net.

Yeah baby.

Most of the corn planted these days is gly-resistant and it will reseed itself somewhat but not enough to amount to much. The corn that sprouts the following year retains the gly-resistant trait, so you would need to use a grass-specific type herbicide to kill it. I always rotate areas that were corn with a mix of white clover, wheat, and soybeans, planted in the early fall. A mower is used to clip the wheat before it goes to seed the following year and to control the grassy weeds (including reseeded corn) in the clover over the next several years. Ideally, you should have about 4 acres of clover for every acre of corn to support that rotation. The clover also provides the deer something to eat at night, but they will usually spend daylight hours in the corn which is the only plot that provides exactly the type of feed deer seek, along with the cover they need throughout hunting season. The clover also builds up nitrogen in the soil, reducing the fertilizer cost for subsequent corn crops. Spring planted soybeans may attract coyotes and does before and during fawning time. That is the reason I prefer to only use them as part of a fall-planted mix. Why not have their period of maximum attractiveness line up with early archery season ? An easy way to do 2 acres of corn would be to sub the job out to a neighbor with the equipment to do it.