BowmanMike

I shoot 100gr of Whitehots with a 250 gr shockwave bullet in my Wolf in-line muzzleloader. I get great groups at 100 yds and I think it is cleaner than the pyrodex pellets I used to use. I hunt with the muzzleloader during regular and late season. I enjoy the challenge of having to pick my shot well, and so far have no regrets. I would feel comfortable shooting out to 150 yds probably, haven;t had to do that yet though.

Well, I have learned a lot. This was my first bow season and I enjoyed it immensely. It is great to see deer act normal and not be on high alert all the time, like in gun season. I spooked a few does earlier in the season by them coming from downwind, and some are definitely smarter than others. It is not good enough to be close to the right spot, you have to be right on. It is about being in the right place at the right time. I think you can improve your chances by good scouting but there are no guarantees, which makes it exciting. This is the first year I really heard bucks grunting and calling, so that was good. We had a ton of apples here in 4F and the deer were/are hitting them hard. It is much better to set up on a travel route to the food than right on the food, since you don't catch them in the daylight if you are right at the source. Most of the time anyway. I also set up two cams for the first time and boy is it nice to get some pictures of the big boys that are around. I would have never known how big some of the deer around here get. I also learned that I am hooked for life with this bowhunting thing.

I went stillhunting this afternoon in 4F. Saw a decent buck sniffing the ground like a bloodhound. He was a little too far away and did not respond to my grunting. Then he took off. About 1 hour later I came on a group of does and as I was trying to sneak closer I hear grunting and see some commotion. It is a buck chasing the girls around. Some of the does take off slowly as I get closer, and the buck and a doe move away over a little knoll. 5 mins later and I catch up with the buck. It is only a 4 point and now he is walking towards me. I decide that he looks pretty small and he walks past me at 14 yards. I am not even behind a tree. Finally he makes it downwind from me and realizes something is up and high-tails it. Was a pretty cool experience and I got to listen to him grunt at the girls, so I figured I learned a lot. Going out tomorrow morning, since the rut is finally on!

I am eating venison chili right now. That has to be good for you. This is my first shoulder issue ever, aside from it feeling a bit stiff here and there from work. I am 43 years old, and have to learn to watch things a little more closely and to do exercises to keep limber. It is encouraging to hear that other people deal with more pain and issues than me. Just a new thing for me to keep track of I guess. Thanks for the encouragement.

So, here is an update on my shoulder problem. Not quite sure what happened,maybe bursitis or some minor tear of stuff. I could hardly move my arm, had a lot of pain and trouble sleeping, but finally after a week the pain started to subside and I got some exercises from a PT friend. It is pretty depressing how fast muscles can atrophy. The saying Use it or loose it is too true. I feel like I can maybe get back in the game next week. Would be nice

Thank you for the info guys. I just got back from my orthopedic surgeon and she thought it was nothing major. Boy do I hope she is right. I got a cortisone shot and am supposed to report back in a few days and take it easy until then. Joe, I do realize my right shoulder has definetely less range of motion than my left shoulder on the best of days. Comes from working as a mason for almost 20 years now. Sometimes it is pretty tight and I do some exercises to keep supple, but I do not do it enough. I have my bow set at 60# and shot a few 3d shoots before the season, one was 40 targets and had no problem with fatigue or soreness. Maybe the cold temps were the big factor. I have to take a few days off, too bad I can not hunt!! Probably have to give it a rest until the rut really kicks in. I have to be better by then.

I screwed up my right shoulder( am righthanded) somehow. I don't really know what I did to it. I was out hunting on Sunday afternoon and got pretty cold and drew the bow back once and then let it off again. It didn't feel bad then. I got really chilled before I climbed down and got out of the woods. Sunday night I was feeling fine, but Monday morning the shoulder felt a little stiff and only got worse throughout the day. It is right on top of the shoulder. Could hardly sleep last night. I don't know if I slept in a weird position or what the heck is going on. Any thoughts? I am seeing a doctor today for unrelated issue, but might as well get two for one, right?

Only thing I can add is that you should try to flex your leg and foot muscles every once in a while to keep some blood flowing. If you just sit still your whole metabolism slows down and your feet and hands will get cold. You can do that without really moving much.

I am excited for the weekend. Last weekend things seemed very slow with the warm temps. I have a ton of chores to do before winter comes a knocking, but it looks like I have to arrange for some quality time in the woods. Good luck to everyone.

Wow, that is a giant four point. Congrats on your success. I have been seeing what I thought was a four point with big horns around here, but now his horns do not look quite so impressive. It is all relative, I guess.

I like it! You said you had a little time to kill, and it really only took a little time to kill that doe! Lol A man of his word. She really is a football. Good going

I just set up a spot for a climber early this afternoon and then sat in it till dark. A little button buck came by within 9 yds and never knew I was there. Little while later two doe cam down the hill upwind from me and the older stopped dead in her tracks when she picked up my scent on the ground from the previous trimming job. She could not quite figure out where I was, but she decided not to stick around to find out, so she bolted. Her buddy was not as tuned into the danger. I am looking for a buck right now though, so these girls got a pass. Nice afternoon though.

Well, it is bound to cool back down soon enough. This is New York after all.

I found out that I have not lost my biggest talent when it comes to deerhunting. I will, without fail, scare some deer away on my way to the stand. Usually right from under my stand. I spooked nothing on my 1/2 mile walk until I was almost in my stand. Awesome. Doesn't seem to matter where my stand is, either.

Sounds like you had a pretty good time out there. It is hard to keep your cool when get that close to a deer on the ground. Lots of things can go wrong, and it is easy to misjudge the distance as well. Keep at it and practice will make perfect. Clean miss is better than a bad hit.

hey phade I am still living firmly in the last century, it is a wonder I can use the internet, so pictures are a different thing. No cell phone for me. Forgot to bring the wife's camera, maybe a good thing.

I was on my way to my stand yesterday afternoon around 2.45 pm when I saw a couple of does at the edge of a field. I tried to stalk closer to them to maybe get a shot at one of them. After managing to cut the distance quite a bit I could not get closer than 45 yds, a distance I definetly do not feel confident with yet. Now we were in a wooded area. The does just kept feeding and milling around. The wind was right from the does to me. One of them walked to the left of me into some thick stuff and out of sight. I tried to follow the other one slowly but she kept moving and I could not close the distance. She disappeared but the other doe came back from the thick stuff. I let her walk past me at about 35 yds since there were to many branches in the way. So I followed her for a bit and then saw her bed down. Her head was behind a tree which I kept between us as I managed to close in to 20 yds. I could see her body really well and I was still hidden by the tree. I was trying to decide if I should take the shot, since a bedded doe is not my first shot choice. I picked a spot right behind her shoulder and waited for my heartbeat to get back to normal. Then I released and saw the arrow hit almost exactly where I aimed. She jumped up and ran off. This is where some problems started. The angle of the doe wasn't quite as broadside as it appeared, she was curled up a little. I couldn't find my arrow so I gave it 30 mins and then started tracking her. Not much blood, but her trail on the ground was fairly easy to follow. I tracked her for 400 yds and then I jumped her out of some tall weeds. I checked her bedding spot and saw blood and stomach contents. Not what I wanted to see. So I backed off and went back to my house to regroup, maybe get some help and call the landowner of the property the doe led me on. I got permission but no help, so a few hours later,at about 6 pm I went looking for her again. I picked up the trail from the side I entered the property and followed it as it was getting dark. Found some more spots where she bedded but lost the trail on the driveway. I decided to get my buddy now, since he was done hunting. I got in my truck and as I turned around in the driveway my headlights shone right on the dead doe next to the driveway. Can you believe it? She was 18 yds from the last bed I checked out. I looked her over and found I hit her just behind the shoulder in the center, but the exit hole was at the bottom and end of the ribcage, so I hit one lung, the liver and the stomach. Moral of the story is that shooting a bedded doe is not the best idea, and sticking to the tracking pays of. She was probably 700 yds from where I shot her. I am still very excited about my first deer with the bow though. But I learned a lot.

Hi Everyone! I have been browsing this webpage for a month and have been reading a lot of the old bowhunting topics. There sure is a lot of good information here. This is my first year bowhuntig and only my 4th year hunting with a muzzleloader, even during regular season. I am 43 years old and apparently got a late start to hunting. Better late than never!!