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Back in the 1970's when I was a teenager, I always enjoyed reading the hunting, and outdoor adventure books, that my Dad always seemed to scrounge up at the library, or the used book stores. I was enthralled by African hunting adventures in particular. I couldn't wait for him to finish a book, so that I could have my turn at reading it. One of my favorites was " Man-eaters of Kumaon", by Jim Corbett. Corbett was a hunter/naturalist, who hunted man eating tigers and Leopards in India during the early 1900's. It was astounding how many people these maneater's killed, during their reign of terror. I came across a free PDF version of the "Man Eaters of Kumaon", and have since been reading it again. If anyone would like a copy, message me your email, and I will send it to you.

So those of you with a bear tag.......what are you waiting for. Momma needs a new bear skin rug for Christmas.

The Cowboys were on fire yesterday. Playoff spot on the line. Romo will choke in the playoffs.

Or Better yet,,,,,you can download some of his free e-books here. http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LEVjSmU5hUeeAA_QcPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByODJtaWUzBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--/RV=2/RE=1419297831/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2fwww.shakariconnection.com%2fjim-corbett-books.html/RK=0/RS=RUtbK4YpxvWo4GItKhkIhCZMVLo-

Always a good gift.

Dang Cardinals sure got spanked last night by Seattle. A 3rd string QB will not get the job done in the playoffs

Here are some great shotgun loads for when Obama's, ISIL, buddies get to American soil. Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

I bet that Buck is around 40". Cool old photo

TJ might want to stay away from Evil Knievel stunts on quads Glad to hear you will be O.K.

Excellent news! Tell T.J that we hope he heals up soon.

That's an awesome looking rig. Love those stars and stripes

Wow. ... T.J, is a good dude, and I am very sorry to hear that this happened to him. I sure hope it's nothing too serious. I'm pulling for you TJ.

I bought a pair of Cabela's brand snake boots some years ago. About $120 back then. They go all the way up the shin. I use them in the southern units, and they are great for cactus, and thorns. Fortunately.....they have never had to repel a snake yet, and I hope they never do.

Some say a spike buck will always be a spike buck. This proves them wrong! By Charles J. Alsheimer The process of getting a whitetail from the button buck stage to the Boone and Crockett category is a mystical journey that includes a complex assortment of variables. It takes four basic ingredients to produce a buck with a 170-inch rack: genetics, habitat, herd management and age. Too often hunters feel they can tell a buck’s potential by the kind of antlers it grows as a yearling. I’ve been fortunate to have hunted whitetails from New York to Texas to Saskatchewan, with many stops along the way. I’ve also had the unique opportunity of raising whitetails and studying their behavior for a quarter century. My journey as a hunter, photographer and researcher has taught me a few things about the whitetail. And one is that the size of a yearling’s antlers is seldom a predictor of what its antlers it will be when it fully matures. When I was a young man in the 1960s, many researchers felt that yearling spike bucks were genetically inferior, at least from an antler standpoint. Time has a way of changing people’s minds and we now know that it’s extremely difficult to tell a buck’s antler potential by the kind of antlers it grew as a yearling. The photos that accompany this essay help to illustrate and refute the old claim of “once a spike always a spike.” 1) 1 1/2 Years Old I had the privilege of photographing this buck his entire life. He was born on a wilderness estate in the heart of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. The family owned 3,000 acres and allowed no hunting on the property. The family also fed supplemental feed to deer living in the area. This buck was one of about 30 to 40 deer that stayed on the property. Herd numbers never got out of control due to severe winters and a healthy black bear and coyote population. As a yearling, this buck grew 3-inch spikes – not a very impressive start compared to what he would turn into at 4 1/2 years of age. 2) 2 1/2 Years Old When the buck reached 2 1/2 years of age, his body was typical for a buck of that age. However, his 85-inch, 8-point antlers were spindly and more typical of what a yearling’s antlers might look like in the rich farm-belt of the Midwest. 3) 3 1/2 Years Old When a whitetail reaches 3 1/2 years of age, its skeletal frame is done growing. From this point on the nutrients that previously went to bone growth can be transferred to antler growth. At 3 1/2 this buck was again an 8-pointer, but now he is beginning to show antler potential. His antlers have a gross score of 122-inches (B&C). His estimated live weight is approximately 200 pounds. The first three years of this buck’s life were typical of bucks living in an area having fully mature bucks in the population. Though he made many scrapes and rubs when he was 2 1/2 and 3 1/2, he exhibited all the common behaviors one would expect of a subordinate buck. 4) 4 1/2 Years Old As you can see his antler growth exploded in one year, quite typical of what takes place between age 3 and 4. Now he is a 164-inch, 11-pointer with an estimated body weight of about 240 pounds. 5) 5 1/2 Years Old His antlers are a little different from the previous year. He is a basic 9-pointer, but in spite of having two fewer points, his antlers are slightly larger than the previous year – 165 inches. His estimated body weight is 250 pounds. 6) 6 1/2 Years Old It took him six years but he finally made it to the magical Boone & Crockett class of 170 inches for typical bucks. Though only a 4×5, he measures 169 inches, the biggest he will ever grow. His estimated live weight is about 260 pounds. 7) 7 1/2 Years Old Still in his prime, his antlers are beginning to decline. He is still a 4×5 and his antlers are 166 inches. His estimated live weight is still in the 250 to 260 pound range. 8) 8 1/2 Years Old He is again a 4×5, but now he is beginning to show his age. His antlers have 160 inches of bone and his estimated live weight is slightly below 250 pounds. 9) 9 1/2 Years Old For the first time since he was 4 1/2, the buck is more than a 4×5. He is now a clean 5×5 with 160-inch antlers. Age is beginning to take its toll on this majestic buck. His fur is showing some of the battle scars from years of fighting and his estimated body weight barely makes 225 pounds. 10) 10 1/2 Years Old Now a basic 4×4, his antlers score 156 inches, which is very impressive for an 8-pointer. His estimated body weight appears to be about the same as the previous year. 11) 11 1/2 Years Old In human terms, the buck is now an old man. As the photo illustrates, the aging process has taken a toll on both body and antlers. His antlers are now 143 inches and his estimated live weight is barely 200 pounds. 12) 12 1/2 Years Old The end is near for this monarch. I took this photo two weeks before he died, just before the first snow fall in November. His body weight at death was 130 pounds and his antlers were 105 inches. 13) The Dominate Buck Once he reached 4 1/2, his large antlers, body size and aggressive attitude served notice to every buck in his core area. Even though some bucks would challenge him, he was clearly the dominant buck in his core area from 4 1/2 to 8 1/2 years of age. 14) Scraping Machine Since he was the dominant buck, throughout the autumn months when he was 4 1/2 to 8 1/2, he was a scraping and rubbing machine. 15) Patterns Change with Age When this buck was 9 1/2, he took a terrible beating from a younger, mature buck and he was never the same again. From this point on he shied away from other mature bucks and became very reclusive. 16) Once a Spike, Not Always a Spike! “Once a spike, always a spike.” Hardly. As this photo essay shows, you never know what a whitetail buck’s antler potential will be until it reaches full maturity, which usually doesn’t occur until a buck is 6 to 7 years old.

I don't know the particulars of this buck study. It's just a story that that popped up on my facebook feed that I thought was interesting.

The author studied this buck on private property through it's life cycle of 12.5 years. i imagine the antler scores are just educated guess's, or scored from sheds picked up by the author. just like we would make in the field. I had the privilege of photographing this buck his entire life. He was born on a wilderness estate in the heart of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. The family owned 3,000 acres and allowed no hunting on the property. The family also fed supplemental feed to deer living in the area. This buck was one of about 30 to 40 deer that stayed on the property. Herd numbers never got out of control due to severe winters and a healthy black bear and coyote population.

Dude has some Huevos http://www.mrctv.org/blog/video-unbelievable-aerobatic-jetman-flies-alongside-fighter-jets

There is probably freaky technology out there, that most of us will never lay eyes on it.

I got thunked once, shooting at a steep angle. No blood, just bruised.

I would be more concerned about theft. I think someone here had theirs stolen out of the garage. Does it have holes to bolt it to the floor. You can get the dehumidifiers for the safe to help during the monsoon season, and high humidity. Not sure about the heat.

I am all for sound conservation efforts. I am also for having a reasonable opportunity to hunt, but not at the expense of diminishing the quality experience by having too many hunters/hunts per unit. Sure, we can hike a couple miles off the beaten track to get away from most folks, but I don't want to be sitting in camp and have 20 or 30 OHV's ripping by all day. Even if that has nothing to do with conservation. Example: I started hunting in Unit 27 in 1979. It is my unit of choice. Rugged. Remote.Beautiful. Back then they had 2 mule deer hunts. a 4 day October hunt, and a 10 day hunt that followed that. I think there were a few thousand tags available between the 2 hunts. As the Mule deer declined in that unit, so did the tags. And only one 7 day hunt is now available,( Not including the December hunt) with available tags going as low as 700 I think. The Whitetail have expanded in this unit, and G&F started a 7 day October hunt for them. The initial tag allotment was 250. That has increased to 600. The December whitetail hunt used to have 150 tags. It is now 40. It was good conservation in lowering the tags for Mule deer. I am not sure about the Whitetail conservation. Seems sketchy to me, simply for the fact, that I can't see that unit supporting that many hunters for Whitetail, as Unit 27 does not have many roads, and the popular areas have hunters packed in like sardines in some spots. I don't know much about wildlife conservation when it comes to biological or statistical data, but something just seems to "Be off" with what G&F are doing with all these increases. Same thing go's for the Unit 27 Bull hunts. With the Fire wiping out so much cover, and habitat why are tags increasing by 20% for the rifle hunt. I heard that elk numbers have been reduced some in that unit. But i don't know for sure. IMO -there just needs to be a better blend of things.

Out of curiosity I was looking on line. Even the old livestock ear tags are round, oval, or square with a tab. The only ones I saw like this were markers for fence rows, and posts. Are there any trails up there with those numbers

If Stanton is out the remainder of the year, it could have a serious impact on any playoff implications. Defense wins games, but they need to be ahead on the scoreboard. Who is the Cardinals 3rd stringer QB