First Buck of the season

[iddee]

Got a 6 inch spike this morning. "Opening day". Making jerky out of the two loins.
Roast from the hindquarters.
The rest went into burger except the ribs.
Got to find some honey. Used the last of mine in the jerky, but OH! is it good.

[LEAD PIPE]

Congrats! where are the pix? Heres mine.

PHOTOBUCKET.COM (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/LEADPIPE/IMG_1090.jpg)

[Sundance]

Congrats you guys!!!

Here's my son in laws pair of 4X4's from last Saturday.

I dropped a 5X5 and a 4X4 this morning. I have 3 doe tags to fill yet........

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/Sundance1955/6774a10b.jpg

[ November 12, 2005, 05:19 PM: Message edited by: Sundance ]

[The Honey House]

Here's mine.
Spike 121 Pounds 30 yards
50 Cal Muzzle Loader (TC White Mountain Carbine)
17th deer with that rifle.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/DaveNH/IM000276.jpg

[Barry Digman]

Good shooting boys. No Bambi for me this year, but I drew an elk tag for December. Wish me luck, and a bigger freezer.

[Sundance]

Ummmmmmmmmmm Elk.............. We have only limited Elk drawings here and have yet to draw one. Hard to beat elk meat.

[Barry Digman]

Ours are limited too. We'll be hunting on the western border of the Jicarilla reservation this year. Maybe someone will take pity on me and run something over the line. I'm not passionate enough to pay for a hunt on the reservation itself. Some of the bulls in these photos can run around $10,000 per. (My tag is a cow anyway.)

http://www.jicarillahunt.com/index.html?http://www.jicarillahunt.com/hunt/

[Sundance]

I'm not too high on paid hunts. Some are like shooting cattle. Crazy what some folks will pay to shoot an animal!!

Even if I had the cash I don't think I would enjoy that type of "hunting". Gotta work for it to be worth it IMO.

[Dan Williamson]

Nothing for me yet. I've seen 9 different bucks and passed on 5 of them. Missed a heavy 7-point with my bow.... That didn't make my day to say the least. I'm spot on at 25 yards but when you shoot 25 yards from the ground its alot different than when you are 25 ft up a tree. In my excitement I failed to compensate. Alas, there's always tomorrow.

I'm a big fan of letting the deer grow up. As selective shooting for inproving the quality of the herd. I'll shoot a doe for meat if I can't get a decent buck. But to each their own.

Good luck and may your shots be true (unlike mine smile.gif )

[Sundance]

The deer here are like rodents and you can take as many does as you want (one per $20.00 tag).

For meat I like the bucks due to body weight.

Dan........ have you tried one of the pendulum sights designed for tree stands? They work very well.

[The Honey House]

I'm a big fan of letting the deer grow up. Yea, I've said that a few times in the past too! smile.gif

[Michael Bush]

>I'm a big fan of letting the deer grow up.

So am I. Then I'm a big fan of thinning out the bucks and filling the freezer. smile.gif

[Dan Williamson]

>>Dan........ have you tried one of the pendulum sights designed for tree stands? They work very well.

No, but I should. I've heard that they are pretty good. I don't usually miss but I'm in a bedding area and I had my stands up alot higher. I just forgot to account for the height when I shot.

I'll practice with one after the season is over and see how it works for me.

>>Yea, I've said that a few times in the past too!

You know, I've been like that since I was a little kid. I always wanted to see big antlers. I've shot the doe walking beside the buck before because he was a little 4-point or something. If I'm gonna shoot a buck I want it to be a mature whitetail. My rule this year was I won't shoot any buck less than an 8-point. Well, I broke my rule when I shot at the 7-point but it was bigger than the 8-point I'd seen earlier and was obviously an old-mature deer. (probably on the downhill side). I passed on 2 spikes, 4,5,and 6 point bucks this year. (I didn't have a shot at the 8 point and others). I just started hunting this property last year and am the only hunter hunting it. We can only get one buck a year (for all seasons) so I need to be selective. In 3-4 years there are gonna be decent bucks running around. I just need to shoot some does.

I guess I just like the whole management side of it. I'd love to have 1,000 acres to manage exclusively for mature whitetails.

[Sundance]

If ultimate genetics is our goal we would pass on all the monster bucks. A friend of mine scored a 6X6 on Saturday.

My 4X4 out weighed my 5X5 by 30 pounds dressed. 221# to 190#.

Corn fed pigs.......

[Barry Digman]

I found this in a quick search for comparative weights of mule deer vs. whitetails. We don't have whitetails here, and I'd always thought they were just big german shepards with antlers. Guess not. What sizes are you guys getting? I've noticed that over the years the really big mule deer bucks are not what they used to be, and in some places the locals will tell you they're much smaller "mutants" because of the pressure to kill the trophies.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/special/huntingguide.php?story=story2

"Montana's deer body-weight record whitetail weighed 275 pounds, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The record dressed mule deer was 340.

The heaviest 4.5-year-old-plus whitetail from Texas' Hill Country from 1954 through 1999 weighed just 141 pounds and was taken in 1994.

The heaviest Nebraska whitetail on record was 287 pounds field dressed (about 355 pounds live weight).

The biggest whitetail from New York state weighed 286 pounds field-dressed.

Georgia - which surprised me - had a record field-dressed buck of 355, but then I read further and found out this was the offspring of stock imported from Wisconsin by a hunt club there.

The world record for years weighed 354 pounds and was taken in upper Michigan.

Maine had a monster whitetail that field-dressed at 355 pounds.

There were old reports of a 386-pound dressed whitetail out of Wisconsin taken in 1924, but the weighing wasn't officially witnessed.

Another big Wisconsin buck was taken in 1941 and weighed 371 pounds, but it also wasn't officially witnessed.

The biggest whitetail of all that I found came out of Minnesota. A hunter there had a 402-pound field dressed whitetail taken in 1926. And, believe it or not, another hunter matched that 402-pounder in 1981.

When you head out into the field this fall, you'll quickly note that mule deer are generally heavier than whitetails. But even with saying that, you'd be hard-pressed to find one that could come close to those 402-pound monsters from Minnesota."

[Sundance]

The monster bucks I hear are in Saskatchewan.

Nice whitetails bucks here average 150# dressed with occasional 200#+. There are reports of 300 pounders but one must seperate fact from fiction. And that can be tough.

Doe's are much smaller of course and I am grateful when I peg one that dresses out at 120 to 130#.

I am going to try for a Mule Deer next fall in western ND.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>I'm a big fan of letting the deer grow up. As selective shooting for inproving the quality of the herd. I'll shoot a doe for meat if I can't get a decent buck. But to each their own.

Well said DT. We are limited to one buck here too. There has been very intensive thinning of the heards due to the insurance companies pressure in the State House. :( Plus they let all those out of staters come in here for the big $bucks$. :mad:

I let my brother have 'The' shot two years ago and I got skunked last year. But then I won't shoot for meat as I don't cook or have a cook, but I will find a taker for the meat if I find another trophy, but it has to be bigger than my eight and ten and better than a Boon & Crocket 195. Big bucks are just too tough and nasty eating, they make alright summer sausage or BBQ burgers, otherwise it's dog meat. Shoot a young doe for table meat.

[Dan Williamson]

Sundance, Bullseye Bill, and any other knowledgeable pendulum sight informants:

Can anyone recommend a quality pendulum sight? I've heard some swear by them others were not so excited about them. What's the scoop?

Bullseye Bill. I'm assuming you have some knowledge about such things as you own a shop.

Thanks guys.

[ November 15, 2005, 07:12 AM: Message edited by: dtwilliamson ]

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>Bullseye Bill. I'm assuming you have some knowledge about such things as you own a shop.

Unfortunatly I have never been involved in high tech archery nor have I had the time to hunt with it. I do some special orders but that is about it.

My archery experiance is limited to longbow shooting in the SCA.

[Sundance]

In the mid 70's I ran an small archery shop out of my garage. I mean small.... sold only 30 to 50 bows a year. I fletched arrows and did full service to compounds.

Haven't picked the bow up for over 10 years :( But have been threatening to pick it up again.

Fall is tough with waterfowl taking most my time. Also I don't like taking a deer in warm weather cuz of meat handling.

That babbling aside......... The Cobra View Master Extreme is a nice low cost pendulum sight with a cam lock for ground shooting. It can be had for $40 to $55.

[Michael Bush]

I really want a long bow. I have a compound, but the real appeal of archery, to me, is the simplicity. There is nothing more simple, in archer, than a stick and a string. Instinctive (with no sights) is by far the quickest most versitile way to hit anything.

[LEAD PIPE]

I'm not a big fan of the pendulum sights. I just don't like the fact that my sights are moving, hard to get used to. I had one friend that loved his and another who through his in the garbage. I would rather practice from an elevated position.

[Dan Williamson]

>>Instinctive (with no sights) is by far the quickest most versitile way to hit anything.

I didn't use a long bow, but I did shoot with fingers instinctively for a couple of years.

A couple of years ago I bought a Matthews bow which was much shorter and I had problems trying to shoot with fingers. I switched to a release which was hard for me to do. Then someone talked me into trying shooting with a sight. My accuracy greatly improved so I just kept doing it that way.

I've looked at the Keller pendulum sights ($76)but just don't know enough about these types of sights to make an informed decision (yet).

>>I would rather practice from an elevated position.

I'd rather do that too. My problem is that I have several different types of stand set-ups from 16' ladder stands to lock-on to climbing stands. I prefer to be at least 20' up but not all situations will allow. The bottom line is that I am usually between 16-25' off the ground but not always. (sometimes higher, rarely lower) I would love a sight that helped compensate for me. I won't shoot at a deer over 30 yards.

>>I had one friend that loved his and another who through his in the garbage.

I've had the same experience. Makes it hard to put up the money when you can't get a majority opinion. I'd say the best arrow rest decision I've ever made was the Whisker Biscuit. It's not a target shooters rest but I think it's hard to beat for a hunting rest.

>>But have been threatening to pick it up again.

Don't do it... Unless you want the adrenalin rush. smile.gif The one problem I see with my early archery season and bees is that with a large number of hives it would be difficult to do both and manage to keep my wife from turning the bow on me! ;)

[ November 15, 2005, 02:33 PM: Message edited by: dtwilliamson ]

[LEAD PIPE]

I love my Mathews, conquest light; it’s the longest bow they made at that time. I find the longer the bow the smoother it is to shoot.

I practice from 18’, ground to bottom of the stand,
I find that I can go up 5' with out changing the shot placement. I am pulling 70# and using aluminum carbon hybrid arrows, I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

[MountainCamp]

I have shot a Robertson Stybow - Prairie Ghost and have for the last 20 years.
Plain simple take down recurve bow with no sights, the only way to go.
They make great bows. www.robertsonstykbow.com (http://www.robertsonstykbow.com)

[Sundance]

I still have my ol' Martin Cougar Magnum. Made in the 70's. An earlier cam bow that is plenty fast for me.

Does anyone remember the Bear Delta V?? What a wild bow!! I sold only one as it was spendy even back then. It was very fast....... 265 fps if memory serves me. That was way fast back then.

Heres a link that shows some older bows. Including the Delta V

http://www.archeryhistory.com/compounds/80.htm


MB......... I have toyed with long bows and for awhile toyed with building one. I like the alure of bare bow as well.

[LEAD PIPE]

I was never a big fan of Bear bows. My first bow was a used Stemmler. I quickly switched to a Jennings Shooting star which I killed my first deer with and it lasted me several years. I've owned a couple PSE bows but was I wasn't happy with the way they shot. I got the idea to use target bows for hunting because of the accuracy. My research led me to an Oregon bow which I loved. The company started to have financial problems and the quality went down hill. That’s when I switched to the Mathews Conquest, my current bow, which I also love.

[Michael Bush]

Here's my dream bow:

http://www.stotlerarchery.com/GameGetter.htm

[Dan Williamson]

I didn't realize those bows were that pricey. Ah go ahead... make your dream come true.... you deserve it... (That's how I convince myself) doesn't take much!!! ;)

[LEAD PIPE]

Traditional is nice but you have to practice like a mad man if you want to hunt with it and not maim deer. I just don't have the time anymore.

I just put up a tree stand in a new spot that looks very promising.

[ November 16, 2005, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: LEAD PIPE ]

[Sundance]

Lead Pipe makes a very good point. Sights do allow an archer to get dead on in a much shorter time.

When I ran the small shop I could often get begining archers consistantly on the "pie plate" in less than 10 minutes.

[LEAD PIPE]

The rut is finally here in CT. My new spot has been great. I usually see 8 doe that walk within 20 yards of my stand. A couple of small bucks have come in to chase the doe but they haven't been very interested.

I was looking out my back window today and saw a doe being tended by a very large buck. He was 15 yards from my tree stand. I have to work tonight but I'm off the rest of the week. I can't wait for Tuesday morning.

[Sundance]

Good luck LP...... May the force be with you.