wildcat junkie

I didn't mean to imply that I would have much intentional impact on genetics. I'm not worried about it. I'm just making observations. I observed the that when the big 285# (live weight) 4-point was around, he seemed to run off all the rack bucks. Over a 3 year period I never saw anything bigger than a 2 1/2 year old 6-point until he was eliminated. Like a switch, in the following seasons 8 points became fairly common. I have also observed there seems to be an uncanny genetic similarity to to some of those racks. In addition, there seems to be better antler traits & increased body weight since the late '90s when the population was way too high. 100# yearling bucks & 2 1/2 year old bucks with odd, uneven & scrawny antlers were the norm for the 1st 5 years or so. All of that, other than the dominance of the 4-point keeping other bucks off his turf & low body weight due to over browsing, seems to point to genetic traits. I have some racks & a shed that I'll post PIX of.

A few times I have successfully played the opposite of the "get in deeper than the rest" of the hunters. Seems nobody bothers to hunt near the entry points. My wife once took a huge doe when I posted her just a few yards in from a parking area where the steep terrain funneled deer through.

Rear view mirrors that clamp onto square tubing. Total flex in the arm utilizing segmented coolant hose used for machining coolant spray. Segments can be added subtracted for length. http://www.travers.com/99-003-801?Category=UserSearch=99-003-801&gclid=CMOliv3U3cICFaHm7AodZmkA_A Adaptors need to integrate the mounting clamp to the tubing & the tubing to an inexpensive, readily available bicycle mirror. Mirrors need to be large enough to afford a good view yet small enought to be unobtrusive. They will be mounted high tucked under the roof eaves. This relacement lens is about 3-4" in diameter, it has a polycarbonate back with a tab for #10 screw mount. It is slightly concave for a wide angle view. They are less than $4. http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/mirrycle-mountain-mirror-replacement-lens?gclid=CPKit9jV3cICFfPm7AoduloAjQ I need to fabricate 1 for my tri-pod & 2 for my penthouse ladder stand 3 total. I'm sure at least 1 buck has given me the slip behind. I found his tracks when I got down & headed in.

Not much character in the wood either.

15 acres is only the core area that is grown over from logging in the winter of '98/'99. It is surrounded by various types of mini habitat growth. Cedars, hemlocks, oaks/popples, oaks/maples, mature pines/oaks & hay fields. Small water holes from road material borrow are scattered along the perimiter of the core area. I own 74 acres & control another 32 acres. It is a pinch point/funnel. I could probably get a look at just about every buck in the area traveling through if I could spread out my observation points. Its not a lot of acreage, but it's a pretty good spot. It does take patience. I've lost track but since 1999 there have been 28 bucks & probably close to a dozen does taken from the place by 5 different hunters. No hunting in 2012 & little in 2011. We stopped shooting small bucks in 2010. I want to make a purchase long before May. Right now heating oil is taking all of my income.

There used to be a nucleous of world class traditional archers at the Hawkeye Bowmen Archery Club just South of Alden, NY http://hawkeyebowmen.com/ Their 3 day traditional shoot was out last show of the season. It was held around the middle of August. The last time we attended, the dyed in the wool stick bow guys weren't running it anymore & it showed. Strickly compound bow shooters can't usually set up a traditonal course well. The shoots end up way too long & they don't incorporate the exreme up/down angles & shooting obstacle challenges that the traditional guys would set up. Croutching/canting the bow to shoot under foliage & such. I used to shoot witha bunch of guys in Indiana. We would play H-O-R-S-E with bows, just like basketball. When one guy made a shot, the next guy had to put his foot on the same spot & make the shot. We would shoot under stuff, & sometimes cant the bow upside down. (horizontal with the arrow on the bottom) I would keep some flu-flus in my hip quiver & make indirect fire shots, lobbing the arrow over an object to hit a mark that was out of the line of sight. I would use an aimpoint above the target. Since I was the only one with flu-flus, it made things hard on the next guy in line.

Once I started my traditional archery business, I became too busy to shoot much. After moving here to the NZ of NY state, I closed down the business but I couldn't get fired up much about bowhunting since the best part of bow hunting here is about 1 week into the gun season. Indiana's bow season starts on Oct. 1st, but I never saw much buck action until after Halloween. If I lived in the SZ, I would probably be bowhunting a lot. Before I started making arrows I shot nearly every day from spring until mid Novemeber. I even hunted squirrels with flu-flu arrows but was never succesful at harvesting a squirrel. I hit a couple though.

I had a CDL in 280 that would group right around 1/2" for 3 shots at 100yds. It was a heavy sumbitch. If you want a mountain rifle, a M700 in a long action isn't the best choice. The long action M700 is 3 3/4" long. Actually, that's magnum length since standard length cartridges are 3.340" & a 3 3/8 length action would be ample. I had a M700 Mountain Rifle DBM in 7mm-08. It was nimble & shot 3/8" groups with premium factory ammo. The short action M700 is a full 7/8" shorter than the (too) long M700 action. My advice is if you want a M700 mountain rifle, find a 7mm-08 specimine & have the barrel shortened, thinned down & crowned. Might be better to just have a new barrel fitted. 7mm-08 loaded with a 140gr polymer tipped bullets at 2900fps will shoot 3" low at 300yds when sighted in 2 1/2" high at 100yds. With practice it will be able to take game further. 7mm-08 with a 140gr bullet has more retained energy at longer ranges than a 308 with a 150gr bullet.

"3-under" can lead to looking down the shaft. It does somewhat reduce the chance of pinching, but that can be eliminated with proper split finger form. IMO one up, two down "split finger" is the most versitile being adaptable to wing shooting as well as shooting up & down at steep angles. Tab or glove is a personal thing. I started hunting with a "can't pinch" tab but one time I discovered my tab on the ground after a was 12' up the tree & all settled in with my climbing stand. Gloves can be slipped off the tips of the ringers & still remained "attached" to the wrist when fumbling with gear. Bare fingers work OK with very light weight bows, but a tab of glove gives a smoother release than soft, bare flesh when a hunting weight bow is being used. Books will help emensely in teaching the proper set-up,tuning, gear selection, etc. It might be to the OPs advantage to find someone with a defelction spine tester to select & fine tune the arrow spine. One can be cobbled up in a few minutes if need be. This guy makes it look a whole lot harder tha it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkZ_6GYFb-A#t=28 Here is the web page that supports the video. http://poorfolkbows.com/spine3.htm

My concern with dogs would be lethality at close range.

The problem with this video is that it might encourage some less ethical & realistic "hunters" to take shots at this range. And how far will the deer jump between the time it hears the noise of the shot & when the arrow arrives? How much will wind, shot angle & other variable affct the POI?

When does it become available for the deer?

Hey, thanks for the link phade! Buying right now is out of the question. Maybe after the 1st of the year, but before the spring turkey rush. At $80 a pop, I could afford about 6 of them. I like the 4-shot burst feature. Another option would be 4 of them & 1 of the Black 60s. Not sure if video would be a priority. Not looking for absolute trophy quality bucks, just the better specimins on the property. Since I took the big dominant 4-point out of the gene pool ten years ago, The genetics seem to produce some nice symetrical 8-points. I would like to take a 125-130 class but for a buck to survive past 4 1/2 years old in these parts would be rare. I did find a 4-point (1/2 rack) shed that scored 57 7/8" several years back. I shot his great, great, great grandson in '09. He scored right at 100" at 3 1/2 years old. Almost a perfect smaller copy of the shed.

Oyster stuffing in a BIG turkey. Eat it for days with turkey gravy poured over it.

I once left a gut pile right in the logging road all the hunters had walked out on for lunch. They had to step over/around it on the way back in for the evening watch.

Rabbit PIE!

I killed most of my public land deer in Indiana between 10:00AM & 1:30PM. Always kept an eye on my watch with anticipation as 10:00AM aproached.

Hunting with beagles is rewarding even if you don't get any bunnies. Did the dog bring it around?

When I hunted State forest land in S. Indiana I looked for a "back door". An overlooked entry point that was downwind of the areas frequented by hunters. It doesn't have to be a large area either.

Pine trees won't hold squirrels, or much of any small game except maybe roosting grouse when there is snow.. Look for oaks or other nut trees.

My 1st scope was a 3-9X40 Leupold Vari-X II I paid either $79 or $97 for it at Sols in Homestead, PA in 1968. It sat atop my Rem M760 that I bought at K-Mart for $150 the same year. Redfield Jr Base & rings.

With $19,900.00 marked on it?

If your livestock (horse) that is running loose is involved in an interaction with a motor vehicle, you are responsible for the damages. The same applies to a pet. (dog) One of the local farmers' dogs ran out in front of me. I was able to brake enough so that injury to the dog was minimal. It took the brunt of the impact on the shoulder. There was considerable damage to the car & his homeowners insuarnce promptly wrote me a check. I don't see it being different for a deer that was raised behind a fence from stock that was either imported or if it was raised from birth. The "preserve" owns the animal thus they do not need to abide by game laws.

Is that sausage ready to eat? It sure looks good!

I would think that Stillwater still owns the "livestock" & they are still responsible. It was raised behind a fence so it isn't a game animal that belongs to the state or the citizens thereof.