BSmaster

My last pin is set at 40 but I was shooting natural feel at 50 and shooting 80% in the kill zone. The likely hood of me ever using this distance is nil. feeling comfortable with your shot selection is important to me. Wounding deer may seem like part of the hunt to some people but it it affects me deeply and I remember every deer I wounded and didn't retrieve. To me that is disrespectful and that is why I try to be more responsible about my shot. Does it still happen - sure, but I don't take it lightly. I shot a few arrows at 60 and even though they hit in the right spot I saw them do some funky movement in the last 10-20 yards, so to me this means that even open field I would not try this with my set up. Most of my situations are set up for a 20 -30 yd shot and this I feel is pretty predictable (high confidence). I saw the guy on bone crushers shoot a pronghorn at 60 yds at last light in high wind and it made me cringe. He killed it. The dogs ate it. He is proud of it. Same episode same guy shoots a muley in the back of the back. I don't watch the show too much anymore. Another (different) show, woman sees the biggest buck she has ever seen hunting and the shot was just outside of her comfort zone and she let it walk. I was more happy that they filmed that than all of the other shows I saw this year combined. Clint Eastwood: "A man has to know his limitations"

Is that kind of like Certified Organic? When you say Grand Master I think of Karate and that would be cool to watch. "Paint scale left hand up. Paint scale right hand down. Breathe in noise out mouth - very important." I too thought that reps were more like 15-18/in depending on whether the artist was hand painting or air brushing. But with that said I do know that there are some guys doing stuff cheaper or less expensive and quality is in the eye of the beholder. The ones I know of, do it more as a hobby than a business. I am somewhat cheap and I can honestly say that I want top quality for something like this or I would rather remember it from photos and my memory and if I can't afford it so be it. I am amazed by Paul's work so I am inclined to take him at his word. Anyways, no gaurantees in life that you pay more and get better either...

Nice mount... I can picture that on my wall - very nice........ I have struggled with size. For me it is about character and this is one instance where the ladies just don't do it for me. I saw a guy drag out a smallish king (18 ish) male one fall with the most beautiful kype and coloration (might have been one of those chinhos) and I thought to myself that would make a nice mount. But I would rather have a 25lb male with an angry look on his Kype (preferrably more olive than Black) than a 40lb hen waiting to get bumped. So size doesn't matter in this regard. Character 1st , size 2nd.

I guess I should clarify. I didn't know anything you said except that deer eat them in the winter when the browse is low. The trees are for my yard. If I wanted deer cover I would pick a different tree for sure. I would like to get some apple/pear trees in the near future.

Box stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Check Tractor supply as well. Walmart's stock is probably dead. I am waiting for Cedar trees to go on clearance.

I for one am not asking to be spoon fed. I enjoy the posts (w/ pics) and congratulations on finding some. Waiting for summer to knock it down a lil bit before I start trying to hit em. I prefer that people do not post skinny water catches at all and if they do just keep the information to a bare minimum. Reeleyz, don't get mad & don't apologize - just catch more and then post some more pics.

There are a few shows I can not watch - most notably "Bone Collector". I like to watch them (in general) because I think it is the closest I will come to experiencing the real thing. On a different note - I finished prepping the last stand on Sunday so I am feeling good. Going to start cleaning and prepping my hunting clothing now.

If you are going to hunt, I found using a discharge bolt to be extremely beneficial. You can shoot it in the ground or into a hay bail which I prefer because there is no dirt to clean off.

You need to get a target rated for crossbows and a puller. The friction as the bolt goes in melts the material, condenses, and grabs the shaft. I think it is a pain pulling them but it is what it is. I have a Barnett Vengeance. It was easier sighting in than my Muzzle loader. I did have difficulty installing the inverted limb which led to several conversations with Barnett trying to figure out their manufacturing practice so I could get the bolts to line up. I am (100%) pretty sure there was 2 different locations where the two totally different materials were precisely machined. All I wanted to know is which one needed to be slightly warmer so the CTE mismatch wasn't an issue for the alignment. They were not helpfull. I think customer service for some of these companies is where to hide an under performing family member that you can not fire. I thought it would be better dealing directly with Barnett, however, sometimes it may be beneficial to work with an experienced bow tech as an intermediate. I bought directly from Barnett so there was no one else. This led to some frustration until I finally got the limb attached.

Panic here too. I let everything walk last year so I am anxious to see if the quality has increased. I have some pre rut stands and some more I think will be better for rut to put up and also some gun stands that I need to relocate.

Nice pic - frame it. She has the best show and tell story when she starts school.

Your thread has become a daily read for me in the fall. I look forward to it as much as the Christmas lights at the top of the page. Thank you, Joe

This thread should be locked.

I came up with an interesting idea to take my family to Otisco lake for a boat ride with Justin. I was really nervous taking my wife and kids because they do not have my interests at my level (or at all really) and any real walleye fisherman knows that nothing is guaranteed. So I convinced my wife that it was a very comfortable ride ion a covered pontoon boat and that we would be moving around the lake sight seeing while we trolled up some fish. She did not have to reel in any fish but I would be more than willing to buy her a 3 day license and actually encouraged it. In the end she was not into that but did want to go and I even got her to get up before 3 so we could make the almost 2hr drive to get to the campground. In the end they agreed that a morning ride before the heat wave would be best. I had fished with Justin last summer and I knew that he would be the best option for me to get my family on a fishing boat and have them like the experience. So we arrived at 6 - got on the water shortly after AND could not have asked for a more beautiful morning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and several times the lake laid down flat. We set up and ran up the lake marking lots of bait and hooks and fishing is not getting. It took a few hours but we ended up with 3 eyes and 1 large smallmouth. My son reeled in the small mouth and then petered out so my daughter reeled in the 3 eyes and then we quit shortly after. Both kids and my wife had a great time and never once asked me when we were leaving. Justin let the kids maneuver around the boat and participate whenever possible. On the way in he shared lake information with my wife because he picked up on the fact she was not too into fishing and she enjoyed that. I have never taken my wife and kids fishing and got this positive reaction before so that made my day right there - The fresh fish was a bonus. The day not over I had decided to drive up to Skaneateles and have lunch - then walk out on the pier. We left there and went to Camillus to walk thru the Sunflower Maze. Left there and drove over to Finger lakes Mall to do some shopping then cruised down the west side of Cayuga and cut over to Hector so I could buy some peaches and we got home in time for dinner. I was exhausted but it was an overall great day and it all started out with a good charter and to that I owe Justin a big THANK YOU. For anyone considering a charter and worried about comfort and accessibility, a pontoon boat set up for fishing is extremely comfortable. Put that Pontoon boat under a captain like Justin and you have yourself an enjoyable experience. Here are some pics... Sorry about the rotation - I dono why or how to fix.

One of my favorite episodes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu-f9wLie7A

Looked at the picture several times thru out the day trying to decide if the 2 @~3lb smallmouth I caught yesterday, can offset the envy I have when I look at that beautiful fish. I expect to catch big bass (>5lb) while fishing for other fish in April and May and I don't like to count them as my best fish. Since season, I haven't been able to exceed 18 inches. It is nice to see someone doing extremely well.