G-Man

Here a big flock before break up in the spring,and a few other ones i like..

Its an individual thing, i shoot target out to 70 yards...i have shot a buck at 58, standing in an openfield with is head down grazing no wind. My average shot is between 15-25 deer hunting but its nice to have the confidence to be able to shoot farther.

Well if they shot that many deer 80? most would have to be done during the hunting season,that means someone(maybe not the neighbors) got a legal deer!! The dec doesn't issue that many permits for nuisence damage. One of my neighbors insist that my group kills all the deer and thats why he doesn't see any. (we average 5-8buck and 10 doe a year) on my property...his belief is we shoot everything we see.. noothing could be further from the truth. When i bought my property in 93 i found 12 winterkilled deer in the spring, i had no undergrowth everything was nipped off 4 inches off the ground. The population needed to be thinned. I can imagine the damage 80 deer would do in an orchard rubs, eating buds, knocking apples down.... Are there less deer on my property than in 93' yes, are they healthier yes, and as a bonus we see more buck instead of 15-20 doe running by. The dec can only give broad permits out for a large area 2-3 towns in a management unit. If your not seeing the deer numbers in your area you want to see don't fill your doe tag! the population grows very fast! and if your getting damage from the deer shoot more doe ...no tags invite more hunters sounds like that is what happened on this farm. I know they didn't kill all the deer there,sounds like the neighbors need to put/create some habitat to keep the deer on their property, not complain that a farmer let a bunch of people hunt their land.

WE use to use motorola's but have since basicaly switched to a quick text on a cell phone. the only time we use radio's now is late muzzleloder on our annual deer drive, just to let everone know we are starting and ending, the older models seem clearer with earbuds while the newer ones seem to drop out even with their extended range..

Well i had two high points, having my good friend get his best buck ever(bow or gun) a nice 8pt out of my stand, and getting a droptine buck i was after for 2 years. My low point...getting the buck i was after for two years.. might sound wierd to some of you but when you put in two years of scouting, hanging and moving stands, planting food plots, trying to figure out how the deer will react to pressure from the other neighbors hunting the same deer... i'm not sure what to do with myself..

I agree with you geno!! I know i few cases where the hunter shot a deer and it crossed a property line the hunter tried unsucessfuly to get permission to follow it...he was sure the deer would die but was unable to recover it. Now if i had permission to hunt that piece and found the deer i would think..why didn't the hunter follow this deer it died right in a logging road! what a slob! when he did his best but was ethical about crossing a posted property line that he didn't have permission to cross. And i am sure the hunter believes the owner just wanted the deer for him/her self.

As a sportsman i wonder why we allow our elected officials to control out game and game laws? We don't even have a hunting season next year unless they vote to allow it! Yes it seems like we have one every year but it is not a given! Why not let our fees pay for that which we love our wild game and fish! Stop fighting over crossbows, phesant farms,fish hatcherys and seasons that are not given anyway and instead try to get out of this financal trouble the state is putting us in and create a seperate game commission! Funded by our lience fees and the robertson pittman act. I am sick of writing to my elected officals who tell me there is no money as everthing seems to get swollowed by the general fund and gets sucked downstate!!

Well a lot of hunters don't follow up on a shot figuring they missed. I've also seen a hunter shoot at a monster hit it and go in the completely different direction to track it then the direction the deer went (i guess buck fever was the driving factor) yes it is a shame the hunter that shot this deer didn't recover it. As for the snow.. i once shot a great 8pt 24 in inside spread that i knew i had to have hit. but when i got to where i shot there was no blood i mean no blood at all! I had lots of snow 2' plus and it was early so i decided to track it...i caught up to it 200 yards later almost dead standing with its head down. and finished it with a second shot. The fact was it was bleeding the entire time.. hot blood drops dropping right threw the powdery snow laying almost 1' below the surface.( i found this out when i went back to look for my knife that i forgot in all my excitement a day later, the snow had melted down and it revieled a pink path 5 yrds wide from point of impact to where i had caught up with it.) So maybe this guy looked and figured he missed it not knowing the true outcome. I think stuff like this happens and there are not a lot of slob hunters out there as we sometime think.

Doewacker, My brother had a beagle that would track a wounded deer (found 6 out of seven) was never certified, we just never carried a weapon with us and kept him on a long lead 50' rope. Just taking a dog for a walk.....was handy to have around.

I've used them before with good results,but keep in mind they get swamped during the season. If there is snow Try tracking your harvested deer backward. you'll learn more about deer's habits and tendancys and it will help you when you lose a blood trail in the future.

A crossbow has the same range as a compound bow a 150lbs crossbow =a 50 lbs draw compound. most crossbows are around 250lbs pull or about a 65lbs compound. I've see a bow hunter consistantly hit a 5in circle at 80 yards. and a crossbow shooter miss consistantly at 40yrds, its practice people!! a 7mm mag might be capable of killing a deer at 500yrds but can the person pulling the trigger do it? I've watched newbies shoot a crossbow and watched the bolt drop 4 feet or more at 50 yrds. Yes there are stronger crossbows out there but there are stronger bows out there as well.

One old one i find interesting and a few more

Done some fishing on cuba lake got a few good northern 40" 28" and son 9-10in perch. ice 5in or so thick. saw a few guys out on case lake i assume they were trying for trout.

I've had great sucess with my browning bps using brenneke originals...but the best advice if it ain't broke dont fix it!!

Well i think food plots have taken the place of nature method which we put out every chance we get..forest fires!!! you need regrowth open areas edge cover, most people i know put small openings on their property thus creating edge if they plant the opening with a food source they are still letting light into the understory and starting regowth there. I agree that the big push is food plots..it is also something everone can participate in the hunting club or family. I really dont care for the term qdm i tend to think what i do is total habitat management, it brings in turkey,deer,geese,sm.game in general. Deer will come and most of what i try to do in my natural improvement is increase my ruffed grouse habitat.. the deer just keep coming though..

I've had some older bucks shy from the flash but i like to see the color pics, i have learned if they are real spooky its usually from being shined with spotlights (i wish they'ed make that illegal but thats another post) you can avoid scarign them with a flash by putting your camera high looking downward.. i think they think it might be lightning.. it limits your coverage area but works!!

I got the droptine buck with bow nov 13th,(pic in other post) My 72 year old neighbor got the heavy 8pt opening day of gun.I got a nice 8 wed of gun season.(pic on other post) The wide 8 and 10 pt made it thru the gun season.,along with some other smaller 8,6,4,and such, and friend almost got shot at wide 8 last sat of muzzleloader. We Had a good year at camp taking 11 buck and 10 doe from bow-muzzleloader...seems like a lot but we average around 5-8 buck and 10 doe a year here with 10 guys on average. I run 5 cameras year round and had 32 different buck on camera this year. Should be another good season next year...hopefully with a chance a a bear.

Well brand names: arrest, and post. one takes care of grasses (rye,orchard,ect) and the other broadleaf(pigweed,dandalion,ect) they can be bought with out a poision permit and can be found in just about any catalog that sells footplot seed(they are not cheap and be sure to follow proper mixing insturction for the size plot your treating). there are others but you need to take a certification class(most farmers have one if they spray)

Joe i agree with you,for me its the scouting and setting up on an older buck i enjoy the most! I am just as happy if i get it or one of my friends gets it out of my set up! I know i did the hard part right!

Cam's have helped change the minds of almost all the guys i hunt with at my camp. I had one "non-believer" who only hunted opening day for years, convinced him to hunt a week at camp. he did and was rewarded with his best buck a 2year old 8pt that he proudly had mounted. he now hunts a week and is content taking a doe for meat while waiting for his next biggest buck!

Well maybe not in your or my lifetime i'm afraid...but i do what i can and now have 5 other neighbors at least wanting to put foodplots in...yes i will help them even if it draws deer away from my own propery. I think it all starts with a good idea, and the conviction to follow it thru..hopefully others will join and carry it on long after i am gone...

I agree, we need to find a way (and have to understand it may take awhile) to make the average hunter want to sign up if you will. unfortunatly the tv shows make everyone want instant results!! the ar's work to a point in pa as now years have passed and the general population of hunters are enjoying sucess. Unfortunatly for pa lot of hunters backlash of being told what to do create poor gov and civilian relations and animosity toward other hunters landowers.... wish i had a majic lamp to rub and be given a program to solve this easily....

Your right there is no such thing a 0%. the point i was try to make and i am sure you understand, the conception is if you pass little bucks and let them grow your woods will be full of big bucks! A mature buck is a hard animal to kill, those that do it consistantly spend countless hr in persuit of them. The Average hunter does not put in the months of effort to harvest them so they don't exist in their area,or trophy hunters are poachers,ect lots of excuses... I believe the best way to change peoples minds on letting the young ones walk is thru photos of game in your own area whats avaible...when i started getting serious about bigger bucks i was happy with a 2yr od now i wait for 3 or 4 plus. I still take doe and my camp takes small bucks as well but we have increased the size(weight) of our deer and everyone goes home happy at end of season. To try and have the state mandate what we can or can't take size wise is poor management on their part,they need to manage numbers not quality, quality is up to the individual...face it if your neighbor consistantly kills 110in plus eventually you'll wait for one to wander onto your property as well...and it will SLOWLY spread to your neighbors. I wish this could be sped up but anytime ar's are brought up hard feelings and agressiveness rises with it...slow and steady i say.

Well i believe that the corn i plant for the wildlife is why there were so many here this year.. i have 6 acres of standing in one field and 2 1/2 in another. Had the 2 cubs at 25yrds while bow hunting deer but they were together and regs state no bears in groups... Had a big one up and active untill 2-3 days into muzzleloader i tracked it to an old house trailer..i believe it denned under it but wasn't about to look under...tracks went in but not out. any tips on estimating size/weight .here's the last pic i had of what i call a big one.

I own 174 acres and have access to another 400 or so.