stubborn1VT

It is in the manual. I don't have it in front of me, but I de-cock at the end of every hunt. 1. Take the bolt out 2. Push the lever to bipass the anti-dry fire and switch the safety to "Fire" 3. Slide one hook all the way down to the handle and put both hooks on the string, so that all the rest of the rope is on your dominant hand side 4. I double up the rope and grab it in the middle (not by the handle) 5. Put your foot in the stirrup and pull the trigger. 6. Let the rope down. Of course there is a Youtube video of this that explains it better.

Nice! Congrats Biz! I was starting to think this was an elaborate hoax. Glad your buck drought is over. (Shorter than the Yanks championship drought, however.) Look forward to hearing the story and seeing this buck in the "What's for dinner" thread. Way to go!

I read that he Biz zipped up his blind at 0635.

That's a donkey! Wind isn't had here at all now. Good luck to those who are out. (But if you are out you're already pretty lucky in my book.)

If you have the info you should use it. I have hung a stand at noon in a light rain and shot a patterned buck out of it before 6pm the same day.

The very economical Centerpoint Sniper 370 can be de-cocked with the rope. Awfully nice feature.

Jealous. After today, deer season is closed for 2 weeks in Vermont. (Except for 2 days of youth) My least favorite time of the year. The rut ramping up while the state has us sitting on our thumbs. Guess that will change next year though.

Last day of Vermont archery season. I didn't plan on hunting, but my basement is flooded and there's trees down in the road in front of the house. Makes me think I would be better off in the woods.

Good luck Dan! I had considered trying to trap coyotes here at the house, but an experienced trapper I know warned me that I would catch every bobcat around. Since I don't want to target bobcats (or try to release them) I decided against it. Looking forward to reading about your trapping season.

Hope you brought extra TP. Dang!

That sucks. I had a similar experience with a new Savage 30-06. Turned out it was really picky about ammo. It would only shoot 1.5" groups with $40 a box Federals. Everything else it spit out all over. That rifle sits in my gun safe.

Good info. He has some kind of bad juju. I know his regular season numbers are ridiculous.

As a general rule, pitching wins in the post season. This seems to be the exception. Crappy put it best. ( I laughed cuz I always always call the Spankees catcher "Dirty Sanchez") I really do believe that the Astros are the better team, but the Nats are playing better baseball right now. As for great pitchers like Cole and Verlander stinking in the post season, that just isn't true. They both had bad games, but both have been money earlier this post season.

I really like the idea of being able to wear the harness in to hunt. It would be quiet and light. I am put off by the cost of the gear, which is why I would like to figure out as much DIY hacks as possible. There's lots of info online and on the Youtube, but it bothers me that I don't know a single person who saddle hunts around here. I have worn a rock climbing harness for doing tree work and found it comfortable and secure, but I was always moving. I worry that it would be uncomfortable for just lounging in. Maybe that's the advantage of the pricey stuff like Tetherd etc. I guess I will have to do some more research. Thanks for your input everyone.

I am intrigued by the idea of saddle hunting. 3 or 4 sticks with "aiders" and teeny platform and you can hunt most anywhere. Instead of needing a stand for every wind direction, you could just adjust. Of course this is all, in theory for me. I have no experience, and hated to lug my climber. Seemed like no matter what, I would sweat carrying it in and getting set up. Took a lot of the fun out of hunting for me. Give me a ladder stand or a nice set of climbing sticks any time. Out of the 3, lighted nocks seems like the easiest change. I may look into a rock climbing harness, a DIY platform and some good sticks for next year. That way I could practice. I had a friend that used a Summit Open Shot climber, and he had dozens of trees trimmed out for it. I think it would be neat to do something similar with the saddle.

You did "humbly request". It was the least I could do.

Wish I had lighted nock when I shot my buck, if only to help me find the bolt afterwards. I had to pace over the field the next day in order to literally trip over it.

Since Buckmaster mentioned it, and Crappyice requested it, I thought I would start a thread on these things. I am interested in tree saddles, should use lighted nocks, and have considered switching to Blackhorn 209. Does anyone use a rock climbing harness instead of a "hunting" harness? I can see how it is versatile, but I wonder if it's comfortable. Is the cost of gear considerable? I tried lighted nocks with my compound and they were a PITA. My shoulder now has me wielding a crossbow. What do folks use for lighted nocks on crossbow bolts? Is one brand better than another? Should this be in a separate thread in the Crossbow section? I shoot an older CVA Kodiak, and I'm not sure they make a dedicated breech plug for Blackhorn. Is a Blackhorn specific breech plug necessary? Can you really just drill the old one out? Should I take advice about explosive propellants from people on the internet? For the little bit of shooting I do each year with a muzzleloader, is it worth the switch? What makes this powder one of the greatest advances in hunting history? Discuss.

YES SIR, CRAPPY SIR!!!

The log roads at my buddy's lease were improved by an excavation company. They put in water bars, crowned the road etc and planted everything with conservation mix on their way out. What we consider conservation mix is ryegrass, fescue, timothy and clovers. 10 years later the roads are in great shape and haven't eroded. We plan to widen certain areas, especially at intersections to make micro plots. I agree that cutting back shade trees and lime are important, maybe more important than what you plant.

Strange season, but I got a tag filled. I run my own business and make my own schedule, so I have plenty of time to hunt. I saw a 1.5 year old buck opening day at 90 yards, and then not a single deer for the next 10 sits. Not sure if it was the weather, the moon, or what. Took a couple days off from hunting because of rain and warm weather. A small cold front moved through and I hurried to a new stand that I had hung. When I got into town there were off and on showers that hadn't been in the forecast. It was too cold, so I went and sat anyway. I saw 7 or 8 deer from the stand and 7 more on the walk out. That was more like it! Had a couple more deer-less sits. I bounced around to different stands, waiting for a south wind to go back to my new power line stand. Sunday's forecast had a 5mph south wind, so I went in early. I got in the stand just after 3pm and as soon as I sat down a tall spike came out. He was 200 yards away, but they were moving! Half and hour later a doe and fawn came out at 30 yards. Instead of using a brush-hogged trail to cross the power line, they dove off in the tall grass, goldenrod and berry bushes. I could only see the does ears. I had no intention of shooting her, but was surprised that I couldn't see her from 17 feet up. Two hours passed and nothing else appeared. It started drizzling. I decided to sneak down to check the fields with the last 20 minutes of legal shooting light. I came out to the field edge and stood in some tall grass against an 8 foot tall dirt berm and watched the field. There was nothing out, so I dropped my backpack and lounged against the berm. It was still sprinkling and the wind had switched from south to southeast. A buck came trotting out into the middle of the narrow hay field 100 yards up the hill from me. He had a big body and at least a fork on one side. I waited until he started feeding on clover, then got down on my belly and crawled through the waist high brown grass to the very edge of the field, pausing when he picked his head up. I was calm and not amped up. I figured it would either work, or it wouldn't, but I was going to try to get a shot. As he slowly fed closer, I pulled my neck gaiter over the bottom of my face and wiped the scope lenses clean with my sleeve. He continued to feed broadside down the hill. It didn't take him long to close the distance. The field is only 70 yards wide right there, which made the middle only 35 yards away. I had practiced at 32 yards a lot and was totally steady from a prone shooting position. I lined him up and touched off the shot. The crossbow seems fast to me after years of shooting a "slow" compound. The bolt makes a hollow sound and the buck spun and made his death dash to the woods. I watch him stumble into the timber and hear him crash. I went down to the farm house and tell my brother. We head back with flashlights and a knife. The rain had washed the blood out of the field in the 40 minutes I was gone, but I walked to the spot where he went in the woods and find blood spray on the yellow and orange leaves and the grey trunks of the small maples. 40 yards later we find him on the other side of an old stone wall. He looks long in the light of my headlamp. We get him out, cleaned up and hung for the night. In the morning I bring him to a reporting station (I'm in VT as the name implies) and weigh him. 5 points 170lbs. I am thankful. It just goes to show you: You don't have to be good or clever, but you do have to go out and HUNT and you do need to be able to shoot. It can change in a heartbeat.

Dead zone above the lungs and below the spine. I have seen then live when hit there, bow and rifle. My buddy hit a buck in that area with a 30-06. It dropped and went out of sight. Somebody shot it 12 days later chasing does 3/4 of a mile away. Had an exit hole the size of a baseball just under the spine. Of course every deer and situation is different.

No heated vest, just a down vest. It's packable, inexpensive and very warm. I put one in a compression bag and crush it down. It would fit in the cargo pocket of my camo pants. I wouldn't wear it as an outer layer, but for insulation it's hard to beat.

It is hard to express what it feels like to hit a deer and not be able to find it. You and your dogs give hunters a very good chance at finding the deer under challenging conditions. Or to figure out that the deer is still running and not mortally wounded. Thanks for all you do. It is great to see the hero pics and to know that folks are doing all they can do to make a recovery. Feel good thread of the season! (Every season.)