jperch

My hunter safety course was taken at my high school and was taught by one of my teachers. That was 46 years ago, in Rochester. We didn't fire any guns but he brought in his single shot 10 gauge and a 22 for us to look at. I remember some graphic pictures. I don't recall the hunter hanging from a fence but I do remember a picture of a deceased male with a hole in his forehead. It made an impression on me. Thank you Mr. Sinowski. We also went rabbit hunting with him after passing the course. He used that 10 gauge on the bunnies!

For cold hands try one of those strap on muffs. Mine is from Cabelas but there are lots of choices. I use the hand warmers inside that and only wear very thin gloves. My hands stay completely warm and no loss of dexterity with the thin gloves.

That is a serious stud, good luck with him!

Grizzly's is outstanding. Yes, at least during archery season, they age the venison in their cooler. I am not sure if they are able to do this during gun season when there is a higher volume. (I hunt a different area during gun season.) Aside from that the venison is meticulously trimmed and packaged. I wish I could take all my venison there, they are that good. jperch

And make sure the deer is pointed toward the truck as you squeeze the trigger!

My plastic jet sled for ice fishing is always on call. Some areas I hunt are muddy briar patches that the tractor can not access. That way the deer gets back to the truck without mud. It's easier with snow but even without it's much easier than just dragging the carcass across the mud. I take my time and hope my buddy will answer his cell phone!

This will be my 46 th year of deer hunting and I am lucky to be able to hunt with a couple of the same people from my initial deer camp. Back then we had access to 200 acres of prime oak forest South of Rochester. We also had permission to camp. Our deer camp consisted of 6 to 8 hunters. We had this arrangement because we offered to work a couple of days during the summer for the landowner. We cut firewood, cleaned his heating system, painted and did general maintenance. He usually provided meals. We became good friends over the years and it was a great relationship. We lost the right to hunt that property after he passed. After that experience my uncle bought a small property that bordered state land. As I became older I made it a priority to purchase hunting land by borrowing for a down payment on a small property that the owner was willing to hold the mortgage on. It made things extremely tight at the time but I am very happy that I did so. I have had many people ask permission to hunt but never once has anyone offered to give a hand. Of course there has been the usual problems with trespassers and poachers, even timber theft. My advice for obtaining permission to hunt is to politely approach the landowner, acknowledge that hunting on his/her property is valuable to you and offer compensation in the form of elbow grease. This worked for me on another farm property where previously no hunting of any kind was allowed.