Gator

You know though, if it happens again and again, it can't just be luck. I think that he may have made a deal down in Georgia with a fiddler...

Silver Spoon...

How much room do you have on your wall lol? One of the two I've ever caught over 20 lbs went to a taxidermist who used to work out of Rochester Hollow Grinder. She passed away before I got my mount back, and when I went down to the shop it was a free-for-all. Somebody had taken my steelhead , but the guy who was trying to sort it all out offered me an unclaimed mount of a fish in the 14 lb range. Since I'd given her half the $ up front, that seemed 40% more than fair to me . That mount sits above my desk in my office at work. And that's my story. The fish isn't a trophy to me, but the story lives on.

It's strange to be on the sidelines this morning, but after having taken the safety off and then passing on a nice nine point and several mature doe last Sunday, I figure that's a clue to myself that I'm done. It's either that or just take a camera into the stand. It was a great season. Now it's time to enjoy the family, hike with the dog, put the ice fishing gear together lol, and celebrate my kid getting accepted at UR last night (yea!! It was her first choice). Meliora!

It's funny, I have several different models of the Browning trail cameras and one of them, the BTC5HD, purchased in 2015, is far and away better than the others. It's my best camera and I leave it in my best spot. I'm not sure how the 2017 BTC5HD-850 compares. I have no idea why one year's model would be killer and the next year's, with better specs on paper, isn't nearly as good. The BTC8FHD-P model, a spec ops platinum 16 GB with invisible leds, just plain sucks in my hands. Go figure.

It wasn't you, Tommy. I dropped my gun all by myself. Barrel plugged with dirt, scope power adjustment won't turn, probably FUBAR. At least it's stripped and clean now.

Go shoot a buck now, Tommy! I must have hit my scope on Saturday when swapping out an SD card because the zoom ring is frozen at 2x (on a variable 1-4.5x Bushnell Banner). I have no clue as to why, or how to get it unstuck. At the very least, I need to take a shot to make sure the scope is on prior to using it in the field. Luckily, beyond this weekend it won't matter and I can get it taken care of during the off season. I may not even hunt with it, if I'm in rifle country. Still, sucks...

And appearing for a single encore, it's Zombie Chicken:

Go get 'em, guys! And I use guys in it's plural gender-neutral iteration . Although I've got to say that I'm surprised at the lack of female participation on this thread. I hope that an increasing number of female participants might partially offset hunters' numbers declining - otherwise we're going to become a fraternity of old farts. Hmmm. Might be too late .

Hey, that's a deer! I recognize that thing. Been awhile, but I recognize it. Congrats, Dan. what are you going to do with the spare 14 hours a day you just freed up? lol

Then this weekend should be a real doozy. I'm seeing wind switching around willy-nilly like that's it's job.

Wow, no safe ice and already three pages! You guys are hard-core. Or really, really bored with deer hunting .

As usual, my place rots during gun season. I took a brief walk yesterday evening. Tracks everywhere, but the only deer I saw was a pair of button bucks feeding on crabapple just behind the neighbor's house and a small six that was on another neighbor's property. I'm convinced that the cagey buggers head to the park during the day, then hold a party after dark at my place. That park is both boon and bane. And yet I'll still hunt there, because you just never know what might get stupid and wander across the street at any moment.

Hey Billy, if you're curing the meat first, which I suspect that you are, then you don't need to worry as much. Just like when you make lox, the cure inhibits bacterial growth. If you just sliced raw meat and left it to dehydrate, then... I'll check out the Traeger 850. I don't cold-smoke salmon, and I don't know what my trusty Luhr Jensen Big Chief gets up to, but I bet it's above 165.

I didn't want to pollute this thread, but I know most of the guys on here do some form of their own processing and I'm researching buying a pellet smoker. Here's the link to the thread:

I'm researching pellet smokers and wondered if anyone has some guidance they could share. Based on in silico analysis (lol), it looks like Mak's "The General" and RecTec's "The Bull" may be good options, but I'm open to alternatives. Great temperature control and the ability to make changes via a cell phone app are appealing features, as is stainless 302 construction. I know that pellets produce a less intense smoky flavor, but what's the consensus? Yeah or nea? I'd also like to be able to smoke fish without just baking them, but it looks like the lowest operating temperature is in the 200F range. Great for meat, but less so for fish. Offset smoker box? Who has what and how do you feel about it? What do you smoke (that's a loaded question, but keep it clean lol)? Thanks!

Great buck! I know of a few people who've been texting or surfing when they should have been looking this year. Myself included. I conclude that cell phones and social media were invented by deer.

I looked at the Evo line, and the extra space is nice...I'm not sure with the shape how usable it is...but tent part folds up into the base, which leaves quite a bit less room for gear. It also means that you need to unpack completely before putting the tent up. Or at least that's my understanding. The Fishtrap Legend XL that I have is listed at 48 lbs. I saved extra weight and space by removing the molded seat and going with a folding Millennium hunting chair. There's nearly 17 sqft of space inside. Definitely not a two man, but not cramped either.

I got a nice soft case that holds ten rods, so maybe I'll stop breaking them. But I wrapped a few new ones anyway, just to see how they feel . Actually, I love my setup just the way it is. It's light, well-organized, and effective. Or at least as effective as I am, which may leave some room for interpretation. I hear Gambler is looking for some new toys. His shanty and equipment only weighs 200 lbs and he needs a second kitchen sink .

Dang, I can confirm that!! Oh wait, I've been promised a trade for some Costanza's garlic romano sausage. Until that happens, he's a freakin' genius. Although whoever said it was going to be a warmer than normal November earlier in this thread was off their rocker. Unless it was Scotty, in which case November isn't over yet. Did you see the 14 degrees we're going to have to sit through Thanksgiving Day and the day after? Oh, my aching...whatever. Here's the Gator guarantee: winter is coming (cue music). Now if George RR would just get off his keister and finish the books.

Congratulations to everyone! I saw jack in the morning, changed locations by 20 miles, and had a buddy who got there 15 minutes before me shoot a big doe while I was walking to the stand. It was his second doe of the day, after taking a nice buck on the opener. I think he's spent a grand total of less than an hour on stand. Walmart, here we come! More DMP, please. I. on the other hand, sat in the back of the property for 4 hours and saw diddly/squat.

A foot of snow at my place and only 6" at our land by Brockport. South of here's worse yet. I spent two hours shoveling, then went for a quick walk at the property. Other than seeing very few sets of fresh tracks from this morning, I think we're good to go for tomorrow. The piece of 2" PVC that I used to prop up the ground blind from inside worked excellent, not that I'll ever hunt it. It's a blind specifically for taking kids out. Three years running now, my buddy has shot a deer from it with his youngster in tow during crossbow (last year with a propane heater running ). I myself like to be in a tree, up high where they can see me from a long ways away, so they don't bother me and I can play on my iPhone .

That's why we love you, Rob. Always know how to get a laugh. So, today was rough. We ended up recovering my buddy's deer that he shot first thing this morning, but what an ordeal. The hit was back and the buck took us across the road and into some of the thickest stuff I've had to fight through in awhile. We'd have not found the deer if not for snow. Very, very little blood. And all-in-all probably 1200 ft tracking, with 2 hours of letting him lay, after we found four places he bedded down within a 30 yard section. It was 3 pm before we were gutting him, and it took over an hour to get him 400 ft back to the road. Nasty, thick, briar-filled, overgrown patch of deer heaven. But it's done and I'm home, having only locked the brakes up on hills three times on the back way from Brockport to Rush. We'll see what it looks like tomorrow. I am whupped.

Jim makes Osso Bucco, which I'm fairly sure is fancy talk for shanks, and swears by it. I'll have to get his recipe.