stubborn1VT

That is a sweet pic Wooly. Lookin' badazz in the snow camo!

Hunted the home farm for the VT rifle opener. Had to pass a buck at 7:15. He was in the goldenrod and I couldn't make out any forks. We can't shoot spikes here. He wasn't very big, but I didn't get a bow deer, so... Saw a small doe around 8:00. Sat dark-dark, and that was all I saw besides, ravens, chickadees, squirrels, and partridge. It was 11 degrees when I left the house and topped out around 28. I was nice and warm once the sun got over the trees. It was good to be out there, but I don't care for the part where I go 8 hours without seeing a deer. Congrats to today's winning contestants. I will be out there dark and early tomorrow. Good luck all!

I'm in the same boat. Didn't sleep much. My best stand is on a powerline, but there is an excavation crew working there during the week. My brother thinks they parked one of the excavators about 45 yards from my stand. It will just sit there until Monday morning, but I was debating whether it would spook the deer. It's a farm, so they're used to tractors. Don't know. My second best option is a stand I put up on sign in the hardwoods, and I never hunt the hardwoods. I'll go in early and see what my gut tells me as well.

I live about 20 minutes from the brewery. They have trouble keeping it stocked around here too!

Bow season is still on where my buddy is.

My buddy keeps texting me pictures from Western PA. He is covered in bucks, and only has doe tags in his pocket. Poor guy!

Thanks guys. I will try and find it. May not be able to get it here in Vermont.

I used to really enjoy Saranac's Black &Tan, but they discontinued it. Can one of you "experts" suggest another reasonably priced alternative?

Good luck Grow. Anyone who has hunted for awhile can relate to your situation. I imagine he's lying there somewhere. If you didn't open up the paunch, he will be fine in these temps. Hope you trip over him in the goldenrod!

I've had mixed results with rifles. My first buck I shot at 18yds in fresh snow with a .32-40. No blood at all. Hit him twice, double lung, and through the windpipe. He went 70yds and tipped over. The rest of my deer have been taken with 140-160 grain bullets out of a 7mm Rem Mag. Out of the 20 deer I've killed with that, most blood trails have been weak. I have always gotten an exit hole. The only buck that bled well was a big spike that I shot lengthwise and had to track over 1/4 mile. The exit was low in his hind quarters and he bled lots. I don't have any great advice. Your setup is an excellent one, IMO. Shoulder shots do anchor deer, but I hate to ruin meat. I shoot double lung/heart and then go a little ways and find them. Good luck!

Sounds like they're moving just ahead of this big cold front. Wish I was hunting... I guess it isn't that far across the lake!

Rain just got here. Just got back from town and was unloading groceries and saw a 6 pt in our back pasture. He was pacing around with his nose on the ground and his tail going non-stop. Not a giant, but still cool to see. I'm not picky!

It's amazing he has lived this long without you Grow!

Crown & ginger by the woodstove.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm leaning toward the Great Plains bullets. I looked up No Excuses bullets. They are still selling for 75 cents each. The price goes down the more boxes (50 in a box) that you buy. I may try a few bullets. Found some 250 grain Shockwaves with my black powder gear. I'm expecting shots under 100 yards, so it probably isn't critical. I would like to come up with a recipe that works & I can stick with.

On all day sits I bring soup, hot tea, PB&J, granola bars, nuts, candy bars, jerky, and "cow pie" cookies. I don't bring all those at once, but that's kind of the basics for me.

Hopefully he didn't remember to change his clocks!

Up drinking coffee in Vermont. Here's an excuse: The season isn't open. Stupid time of year to not be hunting deer. Good luck to all the youth hunters. We don't start again here until Saturday...

Oh, I will probably be shooting Triple 7 pellets for powder. I'm not against switching to another propellant, but that's what I have on hand now.

I don't have much experience with muzzleloaders. Over the last few years I have been shooting a 245 grain Hornady bullet out of a sabot, but I'm thinking of switching to something like a Maxi-hunter. Over a buck a piece? Really? I'm not looking for long distance shots out of my muzzleloader. Is there a good bullet that folks would recommend? I'll be shooting a CVA. Anyone try the Hornady Great Plains bullets? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for this Doc. It's great to know that we're all too stupid to even know how stupid we are.

I'm SOOO jealous. Bow season ended in VT yesterday, and I can't hunt again until next Saturday. It's youth rifle this weekend. I'm stuck doing a bunch of work to keep my customers happy (and make some $). Good luck out there everyone. I finally saw a buck on its feet and now I can't hunt. It'll be lockdown by the time the state lets us hunt again...

8x32 Luepolds. I can't justify any more weight than that. I owned a pair of 10x32, and those were great too, but some jackwagon broke into my truck and stole them. Anything in the 8-10 power should do you. I personally wouldn't carry a pair of 42s, but I would love a pair for the truck/windowsill.

I have to work until Nov 10th this year. Then I'm off until December. Work a week, then off a week for muzzleloader.

I never really had any luck with it, but I'm sure it works some of the time. Every trick has its time and place. However... when I was a teenager I was building a permanent stand on the edge of a bedding area. It was between Vermont's bow and rifle seasons, and I was mostly done. I was starting nails in 2x4s for steps on the soft ground, and I stacked them up. As I whacked the nails, the 2x4s were bouncing and smacking together. Must have sounded like a fight. A fair sized 5 point came charging out of the cedars and circled me, then stopped at 10 yards. I thought I was going to have to throw the hammer at him! Of course, the only buck I ever saw from that stand was a button buck...