Scooter

Great job on the piggies! Hey, I noticed in the picture one of you guys has limbsavers on his limbs... do they reduce the hand shock a lot or just a little???

The thing about spot-and-stalk hunting that I've found the most interesting is the fact that now I actually enjoy WATCHING deer through the glass more than I do actually stalking them. I get way more out of watching a big buck fending off other bucks or watching does get run down for hundreds of yards. I don't know how I will ever be able to sit still in a treestand of ground blind again when I go back to Texas. It will bore the living daylights out of me.

I'm moving my 5 pin down a little after deer season... I had it at 20,30,40,50,60 but I have been shooting the 70 target at the range and now I think I'm steady enough to set a pin near there. Might go with a slight adjustment to 25,35,45,55,65 so that all I would have to do at the even number ranges is execute a 6 o'clock hold under and a 12 o'clock hold over on my horizontal sight pins.

PM'd you... welcome back Chris

It ends when it ends... I would wager in most places that the season closing on the 31st will cut people's chances off before the end of the 2nd rut does.

Back in Texas, I've personally seen people latch onto HUGE bass and stripers trying to retrieve their ducks... Remember when retrieving ducks with this particular method you should make sure you have a fishing license to avoid any issues with Mr. Greenjeans! Most people buy a combo license, but if you only buy the hunting stamps you'd be in hot water.

did you happen to see how many curls those mallards had??? You'll want to mount the one with the best and most curls on the tail.

That's a good price! I shy away from the beef when I'm hunting, but that's still a crazy deal to eat at $4.50/day

I think most of the people who've voiced their concerns are concerned mainly because reading a post like this might "trigger" a bunch of people who are not pacticing or are not considered proficient at these extended archery distances to try it anyway "because I read somebody did it on CWT". Your fears are noted, but just because "Cam Hanes" does it does not necessarily mean everyone will try it. Hunting is a personal experience the details of which should be left up to the individual to decide what is ethical/unethical and what truly defines their hunting style. As for ending the thread, I personally like the "drama" as long as it stays away from nonintellectual name-calling and remains an actual adult discussion where we can share ideas and experiences. You should, at this point in life, be able to push the BS aside and get to the meat of what people are saying and why they are saying it.

I just think you may be skipping out on the many benefits of muscle memory in your assessment of the "mental control" factor. I understand that your large amount of experiences are going to dictate your perspectives on things. Why shouldn't they? That does not necessarily mean your experiences represent a one-size-fits-all on this issue. Most folks practice 98% with field points and 2% with their broadheads. Nobody does a 7 page thread on that one.... Why? It seems like that would be a better debate.

Simple. Cattle trails if there are cattle tracks and cow pies on them, and illegal immigrant/drug smuggler trails if you find discarded 1970's style winter jackets and Jumex cans. Hey, not many people know this, but the deer use both of those kinds of trails...

I'm taking my Pietta 1858 Rem .44 caliber cap-and-ball Replica with me with Buffalo Bullet conicals. I don't know if I would use it past 15yds. For longer distances, my primary will be an old T/C Tree Hawk percussion .50cal carbine with 320gr Maxi-Hunter pills. I look forward to it!!!

I think Mountain House is the best way to go with food. It's delicious, comes in resealable bags, it's light as a feather, and it doesn't give me the gastric issues that MRE's can provide. Trust me, in my current job I've eaten lots of MRE's and they do taste pretty good- but the stomach issues are undeniable. It doesn't take much water to eat Mountain House for 3-4 days maybe more than a week. I could probably get by with carrying an extra 60-100oz. bladder for my hydration pack. It only takes 10oz. of water to cook those. Most of them say 12-14oz, but you can boil them with 8-10oz per bag and be just fine. Remember, the normal size MH meals will feed you for an entire day. Eat 'em right from the bag, no cookware is needed other than your boiling pot. Most of your pack weight should be for water and shelter. If you want to do a bivy hunt I'd suggest buying 4-6 of those reflective emergency blankets/bags and a small roll of Duct Tape. They can insulate you in LOTS of different ways and they're re-useable for many things. My favorite way is to double it up and tape it to the sleeping mat. No heat escaping and no cold coming up from the ground! another way is to use them as curtains on the inside of your tent to reflect the heat down and keep the cold from getting into the vents. Can't go outside and not have 550 cord. 150ft will get you pretty far. If you don't need all the strings inside they can be pulled out and used separately. 550 cord is just an awesome item. A good set of pruners. Gerber pruners to be exact. Not only can you build a blind in no-time at all, the can be used to make a shelter, or clip through a pelvic bone if you still use the gutting method.

I just researched this Cam Hanes guy... What a beast! Anyone that says he doesn't respect the animal because he (or anyone else who trains half as hard as he does) shoots long distances just doesn't know, or is afraid to find out. I also challenge the haters to do as much for RMEF as he does. I say it again... If we never push the limits we will never realize our true capability. We are advanced creatures, and we have all the tools to determine what is effective and what is not. We can use science and math to test things out. We already know that today's bows can propel an arrow fast enough to deliver an arrow with enough KE to get a laser-sharpened blade into an animal far enough to cause lethal damage. That's old news. We know the biology of our quarry, and where the best place to put that blade is in order to maximize lethality. That's old news. We have aiming devices and rangefinders that allow us to place arrows very accurately at distances beyond 60 yards. That's old news. Again, I use Cam Hanes as a reference- he does some wicked hill climbs, sprints, and push ups to replicate the conditions so that he is ready when the time comes. I do a trail run with my bow around my club's walk-through range to practice shooting when my heart is pumping and I'm breathing heavy. I still have a 60 yard limit on my shots because I'm not proficient enough out further. Ethics in the distance you should shoot an animal with archery equipment is not any specific number, it's a personal assessment of your skills and practice sessions. I don't think you can fairly assume since someone doesn't stalk to within 20 yards that they have no respect for the animal. Very small-minded to think that way. Couesmagnet- are you saying that the only way you can practice is by shooting deer? I would have to strongly disagree with that. People have been practicing marksmanship for quite a long time and I think that the more they practice the better they are when the time comes. We don't all live on a high-fence game farm in Texas where we can double-lung Corsican Rams and hogs daily... If that's the only REAL form of practice then I don't know how any orange dot shooter ever kills a deer. Blind luck I guess.

That "tells ya" not to buy cheap thunderhead knock-offs from Wally World...

Price drop to $125... you still pay shipping. Anybody?

Looking to sell this Ruger 10/22 gear as a whole package for $125: Ram Line Side Folding synthetic stock UTG Quad Rail full length with integral scope base and covers picatinny Bipod (6"-9" version) Single point sling 1- 32rd Pro Mag metal lip magazine 1- 25rd Butler Creek Steel Lip magazine 2- 50rd Ram Line double stack mags bolt-on Muzzle brake (not pictured) and needs set screw Everything is a drop-in fit- and it all fits together on a standard 10/22 barrel profile (not heavy barrel unless you like to remove material). some wear and fitting marks- but very functional and makes your plinker look like a zombie slayer!!! FTF cash in Sierra Vista area preferred, but if I have to ship- you pay shipping.

Actually I think this thread has been quite civil. The worst name calling I saw was the "cam hanes" comment and I don't know excatly who and what a cam hanes is supposed to be, but he must be able to shoot pretty far with a bow.

I hope the thieves die a horribly embarrassing and painfully slow public death.

that's an amazingly useful tip! I'm gonna try it after I use my first blade this weekend

The minute we try to legislate "Ethics" is when we're gonna get "awesome" game laws like some other states close by: No scopes on a muzzleloader, no sabot projectiles, no lighted nocks, no "barbed" broadheads, 45lb minimum draw weight, .243 or bigger for big game, no electronic calls or decoys, blah blah blah. All part of the grand scheme by those in power to erode the very freedoms your license fees and votes are supposed to protect. If he killed the deer at 135yds- that's an amazing shot. If you cannot kill at that distance- don't.

If someone could shoot consistent and accurate groups at that distance, and they have chrono'd and adequately tested the penetration of the broadhead/arrow combination, I see no reason why someone shouldn't take the shot. The reason people are complaining and calling "foul" is because they KNOW that a deer can be killed by an arrow at that distance, but they feel the risk of wounding one is far greater than the chance that someone very talented can consistently deliver one to the pump station... If my bow and I could shoot that far accurately and lethally- I'd be taking that shot. If people never push the "accepted" boundaries, we will never find and reach our full potential.

The area won't open up again until Friday so I'll get in there after their "morning commute" and set up while they are gone. Hopefully on Saturday and Sunday they keep the same pattern. Only two weekends left!

I know where he goes almost every day, but with the amount of does and Javelina in the area I can't seem to get close to him. After 4 blown stalks on the same group of deer- I think it's time to get a little creative and actually put my blind up near the trail. I've been glassing these deer from 300-600yds away for two weeks now and I feel like they are pretty much patterned. Do Y'all think if I put my blind up they'd still continue to follow the same general trail???

It'll be more dependent on where I can "hide" it due to the wide open grass country it will be sitting in. There are lots of well-used deer trails all over the place and to worry about crossing them would be like watching Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets" walk down the cracked sidewalk... I keep my boots outside away from the dogs and house so I ain't worried too much about that. I can use the wind to get in and out and be okay since it's dry sandy dirt. I'm more concerned about the blind sticking out in that really sparse scrub cover.