wolc123

Just bumped this thread because Enigma asked to see a picture of my buck (on bbb’s 7 year itch thread), and someone just asked for a 2022 live thread on the 2021 one, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone.

Let her roll.

Sounds cool. With global warming kicking in harder every day, it make sense to move north, rather than south for retirement. That’s my plan, but I am only going as far as NY’s Adirondacks. I imagine when folks start to realize that in a few more years, you will see property values rise faster up there, than than they do down south. The best time to buy up there might be right now.

A low venison supply is always my biggest motivator to hunt. I have been giving venison away, mostly to folks at work, and they really appreciate it. I am banking on that early September gun season, and I sure hope they have it again this year. My goal is to get down to just one deer in the freezer by mid-September, so that I will be motivated to hit them hard then. There’s about (3) in there now, so we got a lot of eating and giving away to do between now and then.

It seems to me that the deer population in my home wmu (9F) is way too high. I am hoping they have the early antlerless gun season ages this December and that I will be able to hunt a little more of it than I did last year. If they do, I am going to try to kill (4) mature doe with my dmp tags. I will keep just (1) one for myself, and give the other (3) away. I don’t need more than that, since I probably have two years worth of vacuum sealed venison in the freezer now, at the rate we are using it. Butchering (1) fat doe a year is about all I can take. That take me almost twice as long as bucks for me to process, because it takes that long to trim out all the fat. It seems that the deer population is just about right or slightly above optimum in my northern zone spots (wmu 6c,6f). I will try my best to fill my antlerless ML/bow tag up there, but hold out for a buck with 3 or more points on a side. I use a butcher up there, because my in-laws are clean freaks, and would never want me to cut one up at their place. At home, a buck will need 4 or more points on a side, for the first half of the seasons. After the midpoints, I will use my buck tags on a 3” horned unicorn, if I get the chance. I rarely see any deer after the midpoint of gun season. I filled 4 of my 7 tags last season (technically the last one was this year), and I would be very happy if I can match or exceed that number this year, but one deer is all I will really need. The venison donation will take all they can get and I am not doing anyone any favors, by not trying to fill tags in the overpopulated areas where I hunt.

We certainly seem to be loaded up with them up in 9F. I saw about 20 in a field at the back side of our block on Saturday, and my parents have been seeing quite a few at their place, on the opposite corner of the WMU. I sure hope they have that September antlerless gun season here again this year. I missed half of it last year, because my brother chose to get married then, and I had to leave town. I only got to fill (2) of my (4) dmp’s, mostly due to that. He is still happily married though, so it was worth it.

It looks Iike we are down to just one today. Maybe chef, left field, and gobbler chaser have come to their senses. Maybe the $ 5 gas was the breaking point.

Two words for you: Keystone Pipeline. Who shut that down ?

I can’t imagine that too many folks who are paying more than $5.00 per gallon for gas, will vote Democrat in November. Do you think they are regretting shutting down that Keystone pipeline now ?

I am going to make a few changes to cut my gas consumption this year. First I need to register the rowboat that I picked up for $100 bucks a couple years ago, and get a portable kit for the little depth finder that I bought recently (that will also be handy for ice fishing). I’ll use that little boat for far trips and just use my bigger boat local. I have always wanted to try Hemlock lake and that will give me an excuse to do it. My 5.5 Evinrude uses a lot less gas than the 70 Johnson on my bigger boat and I can haul the 12 footer on top of our 25 mpg mini van, rather than our 15 mpg Silverado. That big thirsty truck is going to stay in the barn, unless I need it to tow my boat for local fishing trips or to haul something big. I’ll stick with my 32 mpg Equinox for most of my driving.

They might get their first votes, but once they get educated here, they will switch to the Republican side, as do most, after they secure the wisdom to do so. Only the unwise continue to vote Democrat.

Although saving innocent lives is the single most important reason for me to vote Republican, there are a few other good ones, that may trump that, if you are hung up on pro-choice. How high would gas prices have to get, before you admitted that your vote for Biden was a mistake ? Would you rather see more or less of the globe controlled by Communists ? Do you enjoy owning guns and shooting sports ? What is your opinion on the current southern border situation ? Do you expect that the Democrats will do ok in the upcoming midterm elections ? Our other resident lefties (left field, versatile hunter, and gobbler chaser, and more) are also encouraged to answer these questions.

Looks like I am going to cut way back on the fertilizer on my corn this year. I can adjust the rate of “starter” fertilizer on my 2-row planter, and I will be planting corn only on old clover ground, so there should be enough free “fixed” nitrogen in the ground to make half-way decent corn yields. I have plenty of leftover corn seed and wheat from last year. I also have plenty of gly, which I only apply directly on the corn rows. I expect to spend less money on food plots this year, than I did last year. My goal with food plots is always the same - minimize the cost of boneless venison after subtracting all input costs. I got under $ 1.00 per pound last year, and hope to do that again this year. I plan on a little white clover frost seeding, over at my folks place in the next few weeks, and a small, early fall wheat/oat/clover planting, with no fertilizer on any of it. At home, my 4 acres of corn lasted thru February, so I know I used more fertilizer than I needed to last year. I only need it to last until January 1. I don’t care what the deer eat or where they go after that. Deer are extremely efficient users of corn. The keys to making it last longer for them are: 1) Eradicate the local coons, which are the least efficient users of corn and the easiest of all furbearer to trap and kill. 2) Eradicate the weeds by spraying gly on the rows and cultivating in between. I get 2 years out of 2.5 gallons of gly, on 4 acres of corn, using it this way. Last year, I bought (4) 50 lb bags of triple 15 fertilizer, so this year I will buy just (2), if the cost is doubled. I will also put in (4) acres of un-fertilized early fall plantings of wheat/white clover and oats/white clover, in the plots where I planted corn at home last year. I am also going to try my first experiment with “minimum-tillage” this year, in effort to save some fuel and improve some bad soil. There is crappy soil in a big part of my larger (2.5) acre corn plot from last year. I am going to bush hog it after it dries up enough this spring. I will then disk it lightly, in late May, and plant it with buckwheat. In early September, I will broadcast wheat and white clover into the standing buckwheat and roll it over with a cultipacker. It will be interesting to see how that wheat/clover grows, compared to the spots where I use conventional tillage on good black dirt, prior to planting. Nothing has ever grown worth a darn, in that crappy soil, so I can’t see where it could cause any harm. The state hauled in some bad dirt, to fill in an old creek bed that they rerouted back there, about 50 years ago. I have good black dirt everywhere else, but that old creek bed is red sand. I won’t ever go full no-till, because that takes lots of herbicide, and I like to keep my venison as “organic” as I can.

He got the dead arch-liberal SCOUS justice RBG replaced, right at the tail end, with a strong conservative, had the Southern border very secure, and completely stripped ISIS of all of the territory that it controlled. You have got to be feeling a little remorse, over your Biden vote by now ? Would you if Taiwan falls to China ? If gas cost $ 10 per gallon by the fouth of July ? What would it take for you to admit that you goofed ?

Wise choice, for a “backwoods carry” gun, and has probably killed more deer in NY than any other caliber. I bought a Marlin 30/30 about 4 years ago, and still haven’t got a shot at a deer with it. It sure is a pleasure to carry, compared to the big heavy Ruger 77 30/06 that I used to lug around. This damn smart phone cost me a great chance a big Adirondack buck with it on northern zone opening day two years ago. The bastard snuck in to 15 yards, on wet leaves, while I was on this site. Squirrels don’t snap twigs is the most important lesson I learned that day, along with leaving the phone in my pocket, when the leaves are wet. The biggest reason I haven’t got a shot at a deer with it, is that usually I don’t have a buck tag left when I could use it, and there are no antlerless permits available where I hunt with it up north. I would love to see first hand, how a 150 gr 30/30 bullets perform on a deer. One of these years, we will get snow up north on opening weekend, which makes it at least 10 times easier to get a buck up there regardless of what rifle you carry. The last few years, I punched my buck tag at home, in the southern zone, before they got any decent snow up north.

Between 1/4 and 1/2 of my shots on deer with guns are intentionally at the shoulder, for reasons mentioned above. I really have to try and hit that shoulder blade, from the stand I have hunted on southern zone opening day, the last (4) years. It is on the edge of a swamp. Dragging carcasses out of that swamp is not much fun. I just missed the shoulder blade on a smaller 2.5 year old buck two years ago, and nearly had a heart attack dragging him out. He was double lunged, and there was minimal meat damage, but the 100 yard drag by myself out of that swamp was horrific. Two years before that, I hit a larger buck (who was standing knee deep in the swamp) too far back with (2) 12 ga Hornady sst slugs. The first passed thru, just under the spine, and the second right thru it, paralyzing his back legs. I finished him with a point blank high neck shot. This was a heavy buck and I made no attempt to drag him out of that swamp alone. I called my brother, who brought back a big plastic sled, and we used that to “float” him out. I thought I would loose much of the back straps from that one, but was pleasantly surprised to just loose a couple thin chops, where the slugs passed thru. I did loose the neck roast from the finisher though. He was out a bit over 100 yards for the first two shots. I am thinking that a 45-70 would have been similar, as far as meat damage, to those 12 ga sst sabots. Unfortunately, I am in a shotgun only zone, so I will never find out on my own, at home anyhow.

I judge Trump more by his accomplishments as President which were light years above those of the current administration and the one before him. His biggest accomplishment, in my opinion, was the seating of three Supreme Court justices. As I gave stated before, that will help end the abortion holocost, which had taken more far more innocent lives in the USA since RoeVWade, than the Nazis did thru WW 2. While I am not thrilled that He got a pick, I am thankful that President Biden selected a woman of color. After she crunches the numbers, and realizes that babies of color have been aborted at 5 times the rate of whites, she too might vote to end this evil practice.

Were any of those deer struck on the shoulder. If so, how extensive was the meat damage ? I don’t see a lot of meat damage, on deer that have been struck on the shoulder with relatively slow and heavy shotgun slugs. I would think that a 45-70 might be similar in that respect, unlike a fast little screamer like Larry’s .243, which turns much of the front half of the deer into grape jello. I use the shoulder blade shot most often when a group of legal deer is in range. If the leader is “anchored” with one, the others (especially the offspring) usually stick around. I also like it when tracking conditions are bad and/or when hunting near others or near unhuntable land.

The biggest issue, is that the Ruger # 1 is a single shot, not a lever action. That said, it is one hell of a rifle, and one that I like shooting on the range. At my age (57), I would not consider it too much for hunting use. The reasons for that are: First, it is way too heavy to carry afield; Second, no good reason to limit myself to one shot, when more is legal. I have no experience with the .45/70. My neighbor had one chambered in .458 Win magnum. That gun was so heavy, that the felt recoil was significantly less than I get hit with from my Ithaca 16ga featherlight slug-gun. I could have shot it on the range all day long, were the rounds not so damn expensive. If you do buy it, I doubt you will notice much recoil, considering how little I felt from that model in a .458 Win magnum. The .45/70 is probably less than half the muzzle energy, and the ammo should cost a lot less than half as much, and be way easier to find. If you are young and strong and looking for a one shot challenge and a good workout on your hunts, then go for it. It is also, in my opinion, one of the best looking rifles ever produced by any manufacturer. If I were to buy one (mostly as a range gun), the .45/70 would be a good choice in caliber.

I enjoyed my Thanksgiving meal more than ever last year. I don’t care much for turkey, or any other white-meated bird (except ruffed grouse). We hosted for the extended family and I talked my wife into stuffing a second turkey with a button buck roast. That was the best of those that I have ever had. It came out perfectly cooked, medium-rare all the way thru, with the temp measuring 165 F with a meat thermometer. Other years, I always liked the sides a lot better than the meat, but not last year. The sides were very good last year also.

I just topped off at Dodge an Hopkins Mobile for 3.99.

Once global warming kicks in a little harder, in a few years, they will be heading north again. Even today, you couldn’t pay me to live south of Gettysburg PA. It is fine to visit down there, in the winter and early spring, but no way would I want to live down there, in the summer or fall.

The last few years, the only time I have got away for over a week of hunting, was up in the Adirondacks for early ML and opening weekend of gun. My “hosts” only stock “fancy beers”. I find the Modelo negra’s and/or Dosequis especial’s the most tolerable of those, but by the end of the trip, I am always craving the cool, crisp, and refreshing taste of a Genny light. I always eat well up there, because my mother in law is a phenomenal cook. She don’t do the stuffed cabbage, like my wife makes at home though. That was always one of my favorites. My wife makes it even better than my mom does, because she uses ground venison. I greatly prefer that over ground beef. With absolutely no doubt, there is nothing I like more, to eat and drink when I get home from 9 days up north, than a big plate of venison-stuffed cabbage and a Genny light. I like Genny cream also, and always keep some in stock, but that is too filling to have with a big plate of stuffed cabbage. Here is what’s in my fridge right now, well stocked with 5 of my favorites:

How could he expect folks to remain silent when he asked for support for the “uranium” people ?

Stuffed cabbage made with ground venison, and Genny light.