wolc123

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Oddly enough, I killed a big swamp buck from a hang-on that was about 6 ft up last season, with my slug gun. The older I get, the less fond that I am of heights. The land that I hunt, in the southern zone, is all very flat. I like to get up just high enough to improve visibility and to get some down-angle for my shots. I am most comfortable on flat land, about 6 feet off the ground. That is high enough to put my own shots in the ground (after hopefully passing thru deer), and to get me out of the line of fire from neighbors (none of my spots are that big). I never use a safety harness, but most of my stands have 3 foot safety-rail/shooting-rest all the way around (the hang on last year did not, but a 6 foot fall into the soft swamp ground would probably not hurt me that bad). Last year, I lowered my last 12 ft high ladder stand, by removing the lower ladder section. That stand is far more comfortable for me to hunt out of now. I just planted some turnips, in a small plot near it today, so it should be a good late ML spot. Now, all of my stands are less than 7 feet high, and all but two hang-ons have safety rails. I am going to leave the one that I killed the big buck out of last year, right where it is . I plan to move the other one to the nearest suitable tree to the spot where I had a pop-up blind last season. I killed what might be my largest ever button buck from that pop-up with my crossbow last season. Nonetheless, I will not hunt from a pop-up there this year, because I suffered a bad spider bite on a later hunt (brown recluse maybe). When hunting with a crossbow or gun, it is not as important to get up so high, since there is no need to make that quick draw motion, when a deer is in close, like there is with a vertical bow. In 2017, I killed a slightly larger-bodied, but smaller-racked 3.5 year old buck from the second story of a big ground blind (deck was about 6 feet up with a 3 ft high wall for cover, weapon rest, and safety), with my crossbow from a range of about 15 yards. The poor bastard never knew what hit him. Nor did the big one last year, but he was out about 100 yards when my slugs hit him.

Ruffed grouse. Top - wing, Bottom - tail.

Prayers sent for speedy recovery.

Being a Christian, I NEVER feel alone. Staying on good terms with He who controls the fate of all living things has certainly made hunting a lot easier, and a lot more enjoyable for me. He never ceases to amaze me with His blessings and hunting and fishing let me see those more clearly than any other activity I have partaken in.

The folks who live next door to my family's place up there bought a small group of islands a few years ago, not too far from the shipping lane. They built a fancy shack on one and have a grill out there. We take the kids there to swim, because the water is much clearer and cooler than in the bay, which tends to get very weedy and too hot at this time of year. Besides the swimming, It is a cool place to watch the sunsets and the ships go by. My brother's girlfriend is a great cook and she whipped up some tasty cassidias while we were out there last week. I will have to try some fish on the grill next time I go, which probably won't be till next August.

8:00 pm at the Regal Transit/Wherle ? Wife and I were there last night. That was the second time she saw it. She thought I would like it and I did. I was never too fond of hippies or karate dudes and it was nice to see them each handled nicely by Pitt and Dicaprio. My favorite part was the Bruce Lee scene. I would say it is my new favorite Tarantino movie.

It really is a beautiful place. That region is tied with the Adirondacks, for my favorite places to be. I feel very blessed to have family with a cottage and a home in each of those spots. It has been about (4) years since I have been inside Bolt castle (usually I drop off the kids and fish nearby while they tour the castle or eat ice cream at the snack bar). Maybe it is time for me to go back inside and check out the progress. Do they still have the musky on the mantle in the billiard room ? At home in WNY, we have a Niagara river musky, along with a St Lawrence pike and walleye, hanging above the bar in our own billiard room. I caught all of those "by accident" while fishing for bass (I have yet to mount a bass). The last time I was at Bolt castle, a couple from Texas was having their wedding there, and planned to do their honeymoon in the area. It amazed me how the folks from down south talked about that place in the summer, like us northerner's talk about Hawaii, or other tropic retreats in the winter. Apparently, there is no place on earth with a more comfortable summer climate than the Thousand islands region. I would say that is true from about July 1 until around August 15. During that time, the main river temperature runs 75 - 78 degrees (perfect swimming) temperature range, and it keeps the air temperature on those islands in that comfortable range. We are already seeing the start of the cooler nights now, so your trip was just in the nick of time to enjoy the best of the best. When I am up there, I spend most of my time on the water or in the water, and I have not been to Clayton in quite a while. A buddy from work asked me to stop over there for the big antique boat auction and flea-market last weekend, but the fishing and swimming was too good further down river for me to leave it. I also don't care much for the touristy/shopping stuff in Alex bay. Prices on fishing tackle and price and quality at the food joints is better down in the nearby Black lake area (The fish-bone grill is my kind of place). If you need boating supplies or service, Shimmerhorn, downstream on Chippewa bay is the place to go.

I hunt alone about 95 % of the time. I have killed about 75 % of my deer on our home farm. When I get one at home, I haul the carcass back to our garage "butcher shop" by myself (with a tractor). The last few years, I have been killing more of them off of our farm, either at my folks place (on the opposite end of WMU 9F), or at my in-laws place up in the Adirondacks (WMU 6F). Although I always hunt alone at those places, it is nice to have my dad or my father in law available with their ATV'e or tractors, just a cell-phone call away. By the time I get the deer gutted, they are usually on the scene. Although neither of them still hunts, they really enjoy helping out with the recoveries. I have invited friends along on hunts on our farm on occasion, but I do not enjoy those hunts as much as those when I am alone. I still cringe when I remember a buddy from work texting me on opening day morning a couple years ago, that he had a buck down. It got back up and escaped, as he was texting. Why he did not use that finger on his trigger, rather than his smart-phone, is beyond my understanding. There were 4 more 12 gauge slugs in the magazine of his Remington 870 as that buck got back up from where it was downed in an open field, and disappeared into heavy cover. We searched for it for hours (not my idea of a fun opening day), and I was out till midnight trying to find it with "bloodglow", to no avail (would much rather have got a good night's sleep). When I am alone, I can apply all of my concentration to the task at hand. I wonder how many deer owe their lives to a smart phone ?

Bolt castle is cool. I like the musky over the fireplace in the billiard room. There is usually a nice smallmouth under the tour boat dock. I have taken a few from there when I dropped the kids off for ice-cream. I did not get a chance to try for one there last week while we were up. The smallmouth bite was off from what we usually see in late June, but the Largemouth bite was very good in Lake of the Isles and Goose bay. We brought back plenty of vacuum-sealed fillets to get us thru winter. Lots of fish in the perfect "eating size" range of 12 - 16". Filletting largemouths is easier on my hands, but they don't fight nearly as well as the smallmouths. The pike bite was up a bit from the last few seasons. I think they do well with the high water levels. The one day that we did not get our limits (there was an East wind), my 15 yr old daughter caught a 13-1/2 inch largemouth off the dock in Goose bay, while casting a broken off yellow rubber jig at a pop bottle that was floating in the solid green weed cover. She screamed when it erupted up thru the solid weed matt to grab her lure. I had just finished filletting our morning catch and really did not want to get the stuff back out for one fish but she insisted that we keep it and eat it. I threw it in the boat's livewell and paddled out with a kayak and a heavy duty rod/reel with a weedless yellow frog lure. Casting that into the weed matt, just past the next dock, yielded a fat 16-1/2 inch largemouth. That one pulled the kayak around a bit then burried in the weeds. Added to my daughters fish, it made another good freezer pack of fish, but still left me one short of my limit that day. Our other daugther turned 16 the day before, and did not have a licence yet, so she could not fish that day (I am a stickler for the rules).

Park where he wants you to, then pay him $20 to drop you off with his pickup truck, back by the woods. During the ride, he can give you pointers on stand locations, etc. It is a win-win deal, he gets to take the wife out to Mcdonald's for dinner and you get a ride and some prime intel.

Different bucks, unless it stepped out of a Delorian prior to the recent photo.

Good memory, that was back in 2014. My range estimate was a bit off and what I thought was a 50 yard shot was a lot closer to 60. That made the bolt strike lower than I intended. Considering that the penetration of the mechanical broadhead from my 300 fps, entry-level crossbow was a paltry 8", it was only the strike in that location (center of heart) that put the 1-1/2 year old buck down within 40 yards from where he took the bolt (that is the 40 yards that I meant), such that I could "hear the crash". The range was far on that one, but it was not the toughest shot I have made with that crossbow. Range is just one variable of many that can make or break a shot. 60 yards is no big deal for a broadside shot at a standing, distracted deer, from a rest, with a telescopic sight, across an open field with no wind. My toughest shot was on this 3.5 year old (43" chest girth) slob that might be the heaviest buck that I have ever taken. The shot was around 20 yards, quartering away but he was walking thru some "unseen" branches in a poor light situation. The bolt held true to course however, and drilled him diagonally thru both lungs, once again letting me "hear the crash" and dropping him dead after a sprint of less than 40 yards. My other two crossbow/mechanical bucks were basically "chip shots" at about 15 yards, but one was a less than ideal "quartering to angle". That was the only one that I watched fall after he staggered off about 30 yards, dragging the hind leg from which the bolt exited, after passing diagonally thru both lungs and some gut. My overall range works out pretty close to the 19 yard average of the OP's quoted study. Confidence in your equipment no doubt plays a big role in recovering deer, but the biggest factor for me has been staying on good terms with He who controls the fate of all living things.

I thought it was a good read and a good study, very "scientifically" done. It was especially interesting how the data disproved the author's "pre-conceved" notions. I am not at all surprised that the crossbow with mechanical broadheads came out on top for recovery percentage, compared to compound vertical bow / fixed or mechanical or crossbow / fixed. That definitely correlates well with my own personal experience although I have yet to try fixed broadheads on deer with my crossbow (and probably never will after reading this study). I see no reason to mess with my current 100 % dead deer within 40 yards that I have enjoyed since picking up the crossbow in 2014.

Someone asked about what to do for one of these in the "General Chit-Chat" section. While out brush-hogging today, I opened up a "hidden 1/4 acre" by a ladder stand, near the front of our farm, so I gave it a go. It took about an hour to find the 2-bottom plow, hook it up to my Ford 8N, get the sod turned over, and return the plow to its winter storage condition (greased the three fittings and coated the blades with used motor oil). In a few weeks, I will get that plot disked and ready to plant with a mix of wheat, soybeans, and white clover, at the same time that I plant another 1 acre spot that is way out back. A side benefit is that this gives me an excuse to use a small (6.5 ft 3-point) disk that I had not used yet this year and make sure that it is properly prepared for winter storage (that will take a full tube of grease). It fits perfect on the 8n. I used my wider, pull-type disk on the larger plot, but that one don't work so well on small plots, plus it is already greased up and ready for winter.

That has always been my favorite thing on the Mcdonalds menu. I had (4) of them last week, down in Virginia, and they were all very good. I did not notice less cheese, but I would be ok with that. The fish, tarter sauce and buns are my favorite parts anyhow. They were all cooked just right and very tasty. It has always taken two of them to make a meal for me. One of the Mcdonald's down there even had table service. You got to love that Southern hospitality. That was my second favorite meal of the trip, and was beat out only by the $ 12 wed. prime rib special at Oroark's in Gettysburg.

I leave them out year round and try to check them for safety and trim shooting lanes by Labor day weekend. This year I am only moving one, and I hope to get that done soon. I killed a deer from a cheap pop-up blind last season, but it got crushed later by snow. I plan on moving a hang-on stand to a tree near that location. It is over at my folks place and I am a bit reluctant to do it. I do not like spending a lot of time in the woods until after a good frost for fear of tics and Lyme disease. My dad just got diagnosed with that, so I suggest anyone working in the woods now take precautions (Sawyers, deet, etc).

No problem. Right now there is about one and a quarter mature bucks in our freezer, in addition to a couple of button buck roasts (I am saving those for "special occasions"). We have been "eating out" more than usual this year, so our venison is holding out better than usual. As far as live ones go, I have been able to hold button bucks without much trouble as they tend to stick close to their mothers which are very territorial. After they get those protruding antlers in their second year, there don't seem to be any way to hold them on small properties. It always seems to be the does that control the "best" food and cover areas. I don't really care where the mature bucks go, outside of about three weeks centered on Veteran's day. Having some "resident" does around at that time has always caused a few mature bucks to cruise thru and make it to the ultimate final destination: "deer heaven" - my family's food supply.

A few years ago, Aldis was selling a small three-legged folding camo hunting stool that has lower back support and is easily carried for $ 9.00. The legs are not adjustable, but as long as the grade is not that steep, you can position the back-rest for maximum comfort. My favorite chair, without a blind, is a hammock-style seat with a single telescoping front pedestal leg and a strap on back to attach to a tree. That thing is so comfortable that it is easy to fall asleep in it. It is no good in the rain though (you will get a wet behind sitting in that "funnel", even if you deploy a tree umbrella, as the water running off the tree will fill the hammock). The best thing about it is that you can swivel a full 360 degrees to shoot deer all the way around. The last buck that I shot from mine appeared directly behind me, but I was able to silently make the turn and put him down in his tracks with a single well-placed shot. The cost was less than $30 and it is very easy to carry.

I use my ears like radar in the stands/blinds and probably hear 4 or 5 deer first for every one that I see first. Folks with impaired hearing would be better off using other methods (like tracking), rather than stand hunting.

This is the best time to start one. Get the ground tilled now (I prefer that over using chemicals to kill the weeds because I like to keep the meat as "organic" as possible). Till it again a few more times, until late August. Prior to your last tilling, broadcast 5-10-5 or other low-nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of about 50 pounds/acre, then till it into the soil. Next, broadcast wheat at a rate of about 50 pounds per acre, and soybeans at about 25 pounds per acre. Use a cultipacker, drag a log, or use your ATV tires to push that wheat and soybean seed into the tilled ground. Next, broadcast white clover at about 5 pounds per acre, then cultipack again (at about a 90 degree angle from your first packing direction). The soybeans will draw deer to that plot like candy as soon as they start to sprout. The first good frost will kill what remains of those soybeans before they make pods, but that may not occur until well after October 1st. In the mean time, nothing is more attractive to deer than green, sprouting soybeans, which are also very high in protein. Next, the wheat will kick in and hold the deer on the plot thru fall and winter (Frost don't kill wheat). Wheat is considerably more attractive to deer than cerial rye, besides being cheaper and easier to find (cost is about $ 8 for 50 pounds). Next spring, mow off the wheat before it goes to seed. It serves the dual purpose of attracting deer thru late season, and providing a "nurse" crop for the clover, keeping the weeds under control. As long as your soil is not too acidic (a soil test would be a good idea, and add lime if needed), you will find a lush crop of white clover after the wheat is mowed off in the late spring. That white clover will give you several more years of prime deer attraction with nothing more than a couple annual mowings for maintenance.

I have never used a hydro for food-plotting, but I may get the chance next year. One thing that might be tougher is spraying, where it is important to get even distribution of spray over a large area. That is easy with gear, but I suppose it could be done with a hydro using "cruise control". I am also a little concerned about using one with a moldboard plow. When and if I do, I will let you know how it goes. Have you ever used a plow with yours ? How about a sprayer ? I have mostly used hydro's for lawn-mowing and they are definitely great for that, as long as they have enough hp. As I mentioned in my prior post, the gear transmission gets the lawn cut using less power. I have used a hydro tractor/backhoe with a front loader and there I agree that for that use, it is way better than a gear tractor.

How is the search going ? I see there is a Ferguson TO-30 on Buffalo CL right now for $ 900. That is very similar to a Ford 8n. It say's that it starts but needs some carburator work. Seems like a very good price.

Best scene that didn't make it into the movie