Hunting is like life, it's not always about winning

[humbolt]

I'm going hunting tomorrow. Big storm coming and the bucks will be moving. Funny how weather that is too bad to work in is just right to hunt in.:lol:

It is funny, and it happens every year. What are the odds of that? Heh.

 

[notquiteright]

Deer season hasn't started yet. I hunt for meat, have plenty of opportunities to watch nature other times to include just looking out the front window- this is business. My admiring of nature out in nature at the crack of dawn is watching the young bucks and does play while I wait for the big boy to show up.

Though my wife rolls her eyes, I don't raise my rifle for less than 8 points when filling my buck tag. I do take a nice sized doe to make her happy. My venison costs me just under 2 bucks a pound so it is far cheaper than store bought meats, far leaner and fresher too. (I don't hunt just to kill something or pay more for wild game than what I raise)

I guess since my livelihood is caring for cute new born calves until they are ready to go to a feedlot, and then to you folks, I don't have qualms about cutting out the middlemen when gathering my own meat. I am getting older so i don't stalk the woods anymore and my work truck's bale spear can be converted to a gutting hoist so I don't do a lot of heavy lifting. I prefer to do my own gutting, I get to see the health of the animal, what it was eating, and the effect of my bullet/shot placement.

I only have three racks on the wall, my first 8 point, a 12 point (my biggest) and the farther shot (486 yards), past that not much point.

I am a bit disappointed if I don't get my buck the first day, but I also know it won't take more than 3 days until my deer tags are filled. It is business and the sooner taken care of, the better. Not saying I don't enjoy hunting, but like putting up hay- when I have those long rows of round bales signifying I can feed my cows for the winter, so to having two deer in the freezer is a comfort to me and my wife...

 

[tech30528]

I quit hunting from about age 16 till I was 40 or so. Then the Wife suggested we suppliment our groceries with some fresh meat.

Being that we had a couple or 3 places to hunt for free and the fact it's a lot of fun, we decided to take a deer or two each season. [we also share it with family]

I too have become more of a soft-hearted animal lover in my old age. One of my worse fears is wounding an animal and not being able to find it.

It's a good thing my Wife is my hunting/processing buddy or there might not be that extra meat in the freezer.

Do you bow hunt? I've got an idea (and have located the components) to put radio transmitters in arrow shafts right behind the broadhead (in case the animal breaks the shaft off) that can be tracked with a hand held directional receiver. Never lose another animal. The transmitters have a range of over 3 miles and they keep transmitting until the internal battery fails, up to 4 days depending on temperature. Pretty cool, huh?

 

[WCH]

Do you bow hunt? I've got an idea (and have located the components) to put radio transmitters in arrow shafts right behind the broadhead (in case the animal breaks the shaft off) that can be tracked with a hand held directional receiver. Never lose another animal. The transmitters have a range of over 3 miles and they keep transmitting until the internal battery fails, up to 4 days depending on temperature. Pretty cool, huh?

That's a great idea, especially for bow hunting.

I only use my .270 although we have considered getting a crossbow for the over abundance of neighborhood deer who like our fruit trees a bit too much.

 

[tech30528]

That's a great idea, especially for bow hunting.

I only use my .270 although we have considered getting a crossbow for the over abundance of neighborhood deer who like our fruit trees a bit too much.

.270 is a nice caliber for deer. I like the .243 as well, that one takes some care if you are a reloader though. You can overload it or use too fast a powder and end up blowing out a case. But either way the reduced .308s are great flat shooters.

Interesting thing about crossbows, it is easier to miss with one of those than with a bow. I wouldn't have thought so but after talking to several experienced bow hunters that seems to be the concensus. The bolt, even with the increased power of the crossbow, is not supersonic. Crossbows tend to have a distinct "thump" to them when they are fired, and deer will often jump at the sound of it. They hear it and react before the bolt gets to them. A compound or long bow, while having less power, is quieter. Particularly if you are using a silencer. Never seen one on a crossbow, although somebody may make one by now.

Yes, I would need to talk to a bunch of bow hunters to see if the tracking system would really sell. It would cost about $600 to get started because you have to buy the receiver. But the transmitters are relatively cheap, like in the $40-$50 range. Being a hobby guy, I know for a lot of outdoor people this cost wouldn't be a big deal. Think of all the money spent on stands, camo, scent blocker, cameras, etc. I don't do any of that. I stalk them, and I get close enough for a clean bow kill if I hunted that way. But alas, I'm a rifle guy. I'm not even interested in shotgun season.

 

[WCH]

.270 is a nice caliber for deer. I like the .243 as well, that one takes some care if you are a reloader though. You can overload it or use too fast a powder and end up blowing out a case. But either way the reduced .308s are great flat shooters.

Interesting thing about crossbows, it is easier to miss with one of those than with a bow. I wouldn't have thought so but after talking to several experienced bow hunters that seems to be the concensus. The bolt, even with the increased power of the crossbow, is not supersonic. Crossbows tend to have a distinct "thump" to them when they are fired, and deer will often jump at the sound of it. They hear it and react before the bolt gets to them. A compound or long bow, while having less power, is quieter. Particularly if you are using a silencer. Never seen one on a crossbow, although somebody may make one by now.

Yes, I would need to talk to a bunch of bow hunters to see if the tracking system would really sell. It would cost about $600 to get started because you have to buy the receiver. But the transmitters are relatively cheap, like in the $40-$50 range. Being a hobby guy, I know for a lot of outdoor people this cost wouldn't be a big deal. Think of all the money spent on stands, camo, scent blocker, cameras, etc. I don't do any of that. I stalk them, and I get close enough for a clean bow kill if I hunted that way. But alas, I'm a rifle guy. I'm not even interested in shotgun season.

I actually use a low recoil round with 115 grain bullet. Much easier on my shoulder.

As far as all the camo and other hunting accessories, our parents never used any of that stuff. They would go find a deer trail and sit in their normal clothes waiting for one to pass by.

I know lots of guys who hunt hogs with bows and crossbows in heavy brush. They would love your tracking devise at a reasonable price.

 

[FederalRepublic]

I went elk hunting with my brother last week. We shot at two bulls at the same time/place. After looking for sign of mine for 4 hours and packing his out for another 10 hours, I was SO HAPPY that I didn't have to quarter and pack out a second bull...

 

[sawyerloggingon]

In that particular county, 5 deer..no more than 2 bucks. [except spikes and antlerless]

Axis are exotic....no limit.

You guys must have a lot of deer. Probably because of no winter kill and lack of predators. Around here we get one deer but even that one can be tough to get. Winter can wipe out the herd and an ever increasing mt lion population is thinning them out too..

 

[WCH]

You guys must have a lot of deer. Probably because of no winter kill and lack of predators. Around here we get one deer but even that one can be tough to get. Winter can wipe out the herd and an ever increasing mt lion population is thinning them out too..

Texas has the largest deer population the US. [more than 4 million Whitetail plus a vast number of exotics]

Just to give you a little sample, we live in a rural neighborhood of around 140 property owners and we have more deer than owners.

When we moved to this country in the late 90's, there were very few deer. Now they have become a nuisance.

Can people not hunt predators in Idaho?

 

[sawyerloggingon]

Texas has the largest deer population the US. [more than 4 million Whitetail plus a vast number of exotics]

Just to give you a little sample, we live in a rural neighborhood of around 140 property owners and we have more deer than owners.

When we moved to this country in the late 90's, there were very few deer. Now they have become a nuisance.

Can people not hunt predators in Idaho?

Sounds like a good place to live if you like venison. People just don't hunt lions like they used to here, I'm not sure why. Got my buck this morning, nice fat fork horn. Should be good eatin.

 

[WCH]

Sounds like a good place to live if you like venison. People just don't hunt lions like they used to here, I'm not sure why. Got my buck this morning, nice fat fork horn. Should be good eatin.

Congrats.

My BIL lives in Boise. Maybe I'll get to do some Idaho hunting or fishing sometime. [so far only whitewater rafting]

 

[sawyerloggingon]

Congrats.

My BIL lives in Boise. Maybe I'll get to do some Idaho hunting or fishing sometime. [so far only whitewater rafting]

There's some beautiful country down there.

 

[Dittohead not!]

Texas has the largest deer population the US. [more than 4 million Whitetail plus a vast number of exotics]

Just to give you a little sample, we live in a rural neighborhood of around 140 property owners and we have more deer than owners.

When we moved to this country in the late 90's, there were very few deer. Now they have become a nuisance.

Can people not hunt predators in Idaho?

The feel good environmentalists outlawed the hunting of mountain lions in California a couple of decades ago, so we have lots of them now (and not so many deer, coincidentally)

You're welcome to bring some of our mountain lions to Texas. I'm sure they'd be happy to help with the deer overpopulation problem, and we can easily spare some.

 

[WCH]

The feel good environmentalists outlawed the hunting of mountain lions in California a couple of decades ago, so we have lots of them now (and not so many deer, coincidentally)

You're welcome to bring some of our mountain lions to Texas. I'm sure they'd be happy to help with the deer overpopulation problem, and we can easily spare some.

We have Mountain lions here locally. [the original local HS team is named after them] They can be shot on sight...anywhere any time.

People have moved into the deer's habitat creating all sorts of issues. We have permits from Texas Parks and Wildlife to 'remove' as many as 120 deer from our neighborhood but, some people don't want it to happen.

I kind of like watching them [two fawns were born in our backyard this last spring] would rather keep them around in case the SHTF.

 

[Dittohead not!]

We have Mountain lions here locally. [the original local HS team is named after them] They can be shot on sight...anywhere any time.

People have moved into the deer's habitat creating all sorts of issues. We have permits from Texas Parks and Wildlife to 'remove' as many as 120 deer from our neighborhood but, some people don't want it to happen.

I kind of like watching them [two fawns were born in our backyard this last spring] would rather keep them around in case the SHTF.

People like having deer around, until they start eating their roses or wander out into the road in front of their car. A deer can really rearrange your grill work.

 

[WCH]

People like having deer around, until they start eating their roses or wander out into the road in front of their car. A deer can really rearrange your grill work.

I hit a good size one going 75 MPH and the force knock my front fender into my front tire, locking it up. [$3250 in damage]

That damn deer got up and ran off.

 

[Dittohead not!]

I hit a good size one going 75 MPH and the force knock my front fender into my front tire, locking it up. [$3250 in damage]

That damn deer got up and ran off.

That's some expensive venison, and you didn't even get to put it in your freezer.

 

[FederalRepublic]

I hit a good size one going 75 MPH and the force knock my front fender into my front tire, locking it up. [$3250 in damage]

That damn deer got up and ran off.

I hit one at 75 mph on 290 just outside Houston a few years ago. Nearly $9,000 damage to my car (which was about a year old at the time).

 

[tech30528]

The deer are pretty thick around here too, I'm a bit surprised I haven't hit one. But my truck is pretty stout and our mountain roads don't allow for much over 60mph. If I hit one it's coming home with me. My truck (with me in it) contains a pocket knife, a pistol, a machete, 200 feet of rope and a cargo net. We'll fix the truck after we fix dinner.

 

[sawyerloggingon]

I put a deer guard on my PU, saves a lot of money in the long run.



EDIT: I shouldn't of used the paper towel to cover my plate that I used to wipe blood off my hands from skinning a deer. GROSS! :lol: