stubborn1VT

I admire the dedication, and my grandfather used to say "Anything you learn, they can't take away from you." My dad got his CDL when he quit farming, and now makes his living as an independent trucker. Hope that patch of ground treats you right this fall.

Too bad you needed to get a CDL. Any 16 year old kid with a license can legally drive that truck on a farm in Vermont.

#6. Buy something new /new-to-you and bring it as your backup gun, "just to break it in".

Deer might eat it when it's small, along with almost every other plant, but I don't believe they eat it once it's bigger. I've never seen a deer eat goldenrod. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I wouldn't consider it palatable compared to any number of other native plants. I used to brush-hog trails through tall goldenrod. The deer fed on the grasses that grew up, used the paths for travel, and still felt secure with the rest of the goldenrod for cover. It was fun to watch all of this from a treestand in October.

I have always shot middle. The downside is that in most cases I have hit the far shoulder and got no real exit hole and lousy blood. The upside was the deer went 100 yards or less.

This time of the year the bees are into it pretty heavy. I'm told that it makes their honey darker and "spicier". I cannot confirm the last part.

Definitely a woodchuck. Tail does look kind of long, but I'd know that fur anywhere. Killed a pile of them on the farm.

Yep. Makes for good cover, but otherwise not useful for mammals. Honey bees, butterflies and moths like it too.

My guess is that bow hunters feel worse about it, and take to social media. The gun hunters just don't admit it. No proof, just my experience. More gun hunters and more bullets fired = more wounded deer. I very well could be wrong, but it makes sense to me.

Honest question. What is the reason you want to carry a pistol for hunting? I don't own one. I'm cool with the idea, I'm just trying to understand the appeal.

80 degrees yesterday, but the leaves are changing and starting to fall. Things do seem out of whack.

I like this idea, and think much the same way. If I shoot 20 arrows in a practice session, I only really pay attention to my worst shot. That is most likely the one you will make on a deer. If my worst shot is on the edge of 4" circle, then I feel okay. It is up the hunter. I limit myself quite a bit. Wounding and losing a deer sucks to the point of making me want to quit bow hunting. All I can do is shoot every day, and know my limits. Here's to the whole process of bow hunting. Short blood trails everyone.

Good for you. I don't shoot a Hoyt.

Your Mathews may be quiet, but far from silent. You're awful proud of your IBO. Guess we all gotta be proud of something. I'm proud that my broadheads don't whistle. Then again, I shoot a 500+ grain arrow, and give a hoot about speed. To each his own. Good luck finding a head that works. Did you say you tried a Rocket?

Isn't knowing or estimating your yardage part of proficiency? Come on Biz, this stuff is EASY.

Will you have to start calling yourself "Whistling Death"?

Do they make a truck that will last 10 winters in this part of the world? At least the Tacoma will be be mechanically sound in the long run. Mine is 13 years old. The body isn't great, but it has been totally dependable for close to 200,000 miles. There aren't many "domestic made" trucks that will regularly do that. With that said, I drive a 10 year old Silverado for work, and the body on that is awfully good. It has been babied for the most part, but I wouldn't call it hassle free mechanically.

I know a guy that was given a round wheel Bear bow a bunch of years ago. I watched him glue a bent paper clip on as sight. He put a drop of nail polish on the end of the wire. He tweaked it with a pair of needle nose pliers. Then he went out and shot a 4 pointer with it. He hunted for food, and man could he get it done. It taught me how little the gear mattered.

It could be sediment in the high jet of your carb.

That would be cheating. Same as using a X bow or X gun or whatever it is you guys carry when you pretend to bow hunt. I'm kidding. I started with a deerskin shooting glove and aluminum arrows. Never found a reason to change. I can't get my mind around putting a trigger on a bow. If I had time, and didn't need the meat so bad, I would switch to a recurve.

I wish I could find a lighted nock that would work for me. I shoot fingers and always have them turn on when I draw. No bueno. I can obviously kill deer without lighted nocks, but being able to follow your arrow in low light conditions can be a real benefit.

That's funny. A trail cam video of that would be cool to see. A guy I knew messed with his buddy's cement deer statues. They were a close to life-sized buck and doe with rectangular based. Pretty heavy. He doused the doe with Tink's doe-in-heat one fall. There were tracks all over the place, and the cement buck got knocked over.

It may be Sodfather, but me and my buddies have been stopping deer that way for 20+ years with good results. Maybe I should be a star!

I think you have to read the situation. I've waited for deer to stop on their own, and I've stopped them by bleating at them. Never had a deer get too spooked by a bleat. That said, I shot a buck at a slow walk because I didn't dare try to stop him. If you spend enough time watching deer, you learn to read body language. I have confidence in stopping deer by bleating at them because I have done it, year round, for as long as I can remember. I do it just to see how they will react, or I do it just to get a better look. To each his own, but I don't practice on a moving target with my bow, so I'd rather not shoot at a moving deer.

This wet spring/summer made it a bad one for fungi. The bad news is it can lead to leaf drop like that. The good news is that it usually isn't fatal. Pruning is a good idea. Pruning an overgrown tree all at once can be hard on them. Some folks recommend re-shaping a tree over 3 or 3 years. I'm no expert. I have over-pruned a neglected tree and set it back for a year. Grow gives good advice in regards to dormant oil and spring spraying. Don't give up hope!