Hunting!

'Tis the season, when men (and plenty of ladies too!) take off into the woods, sit in trees, get cold, fall asleep, walk countless miles, eat meat, and drink beer.

I'll be taking part in my second ever year hunting, and boy am I excited. Last year I was introduced to hunting whitetail deer during MN's two-week long firearm season. This year I'm giving bow hunting a try.

I've been practicing with a relatively low-poundage compound bow (41-42lbs right now) and am able to comfortably make my shots at 30 yards. I'm super stoked to get a few days in a row off of work to hit up the woods where I'm going to be trying to 'luck' a deer close enough to take a safe shot.

Last year I sat in a lone permanent stand, about 10 feet off the ground, wearing blaze orange and sitting on a bucket.

This year I'll be hunting in comfort and style, with increased mobility, using a "climbing" tree stand. I'll be taking this weekend to practice getting in and out of trees, but ideally I'll be able to put myself 15-20 feet up and out of sight of what most deer pay attention to.

I'll also be spending some time this upcoming winter trying to harvest a few small mammals for their pelts.. I have this kooky idea that I can tie flies for fishing out of all natural materials I harvested myself, and use bone hooks that I carved out of cow leg bones as well to up the "all natural" factor a bit. Getting at least one cottontail or snowshoe hare is on the list of goals!

Anyone else hunting this year?

You know I am! I've hunted deer every year since I was 12 :) its mine and my dads activity we still do together now that I've moved away from home and I love it every year.
My last bucks skull :)
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I grew up with my family hunting elk. I have many memories from it, good times. Carving pumpkins while up hunting, it was always SO cold to stick your hand in and dig out the pumpkin guts up there!! Also, the only time I ever beat my Grandpa at chess. He had an old green Army tent, and it had a wood stove that went in it. And, maybe rather morbid, but I had the hoof of a kill, and I remember they had put duct tape over the "cut off" end, and silly me was using it to "make tracks in the snow, so other hunters thought and animal had been there" (never mind the pint sized boot prints on either side of them, lol). Good luck on your hunt. And I like the natural fly idea.

Hubby used to duck hunt, I've got a shotgun too, but just haven't managed to find the the time for that either.

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I am! I will be trying to get my first dear this season while I have 3 day weekends I can go out more often. I will also be doing some elk hunting and my favorite duck hunting. I havent been hunting deer very long but I have been hunting duck and upland bird for 10 years (mostly duck) and I love it! But I really want to get a deer so thats my goal for this year.

Ill be bowhunting next year, going to buy myself a new rig in a month or 2 :D

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I'll be shooting some geese tomorrow hopefully! I feel bad for the little buggers flying through North Dakota =) Bow hunting season is also right around the corner! Any of you are welcome to come push woods for me if you wanna make the trip to East Grand Forks! :)

I wanna try geese hunting so badly, I've never done that or duck hunting. I mainly wanna goose hunt because they are a mean bird and I've heard it's a fun hunt added on to they taste good.

My husband has been hunting for years but this year is going to be my first and i cant wait :D

I went out last year because they legalized crossbow hunting in NY and I saw nothing. This year I will sure be out again. But this time with a rife.

I even dreamed about hunting last night....yeah it's gotten that bad already! And the season doesn't even start till November 17th up here!

I love hunting. I started going with my dad about 40+ years ago. Duck, pheasant, deer , bear, turkey, you name it. We still hunt together today and he is 75. We have done the tent thing in the UP in MI and you want to talk about cold. When its 3 outside and your sleeping in a tent, you better be doing it right with the heaters, sleepeing bags, and gear. Seemed like my feet never warmed up the whole week we were gone.

Now to the OP. Good luck bow hunting it is absolutely my favorite thing to do. However, if I may, at 42 pounds you are using very light poundage compared to some of todays bows. That being said, while you may be proficient out to 30 yards, there is a good possibility that at that range your arrow will lack the sustained kinetic energy to get good penetration. I would suggest keeping it at 20 yards or under, and be extremely selective when taking a shot. Make certain you have an unobstructed clear heart/lung shot. Passing on a marginal shot is always a better choice than wounding and losing an animal. You can always hunt an animal another day so long as you let it walk, but if you take a bad shot and wound, there is a good chance the opportunity of getting that animal will be lost forever.

Best of luck to you.

I can't wait! We got our muzzleloader sighted in and ready to go! I'm also real excited for trapping season. This year should be good since I have mouse pee-soaked pine to use as bait plus the mice themselves. So excited!

I wish I was hunting this year. v.v I want to learn soooo badly. My parents never got into the hunting things. Luckily got into the outdoors and target practice, but just never crossed that line I guess. I'm hoping next year I can start getting things in order for licenses and stuffs and then finding (kidnapping/forcing? lol) someone to bring me and my mate to teach us.

I'd love for someone to teach me how bc i know id enjoy it. I know its probably not a ton to explain, but me just marching off into the woods with a gun isnt a very good idea haha. For now ill stick to "hunting" the chipmunks in my garden! :gj:

EDIT: One of my highschool teachers was big into bow hunting deer. He also hunted various waterfowl and competetively trained dogs for retrieval and that kinda stuff. He was apparently pretty good at it. Of course he loved fishing too haha.

My dad just got a bird dog. Its a Black lab german short hair mix. I have a friend that has one and he loves her! My dad and I will be training her up the next year and hopefully she will be ready next season. Shes 8 weeks old and this will be the first time we have bird hunted with a dog. It should make for a somewhat easier hunt for us, at least we are hoping.

Don't worry, I'm well aware of the capabilities of myself as a shooter and my bow to choose an ethical shot! Double lung is the only shot I'm going to take if it's available. And pshaw on 20 yards, I'm hoping for 10 :P Don't want to give the deer much time to react to the sound of the arrow.

I'm pretty much self-taught when it comes to finding game. I've spent the last few years shooting 'em with a camera, it's pretty crazy and cool what you're able to observe when you sit still in a tree stand.

This will be my 3rd season of bowhunting, and i am also going to try to take a deer with my pistol this year for the first time.

Well trained hunting dogs are fun to watch. My uncle makes and owns a custom bow shop you can check out his work at http://www.kotabows.com/ he makes some pretty cool stuff!

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Originally Posted by Andybill

My dad just got a bird dog. Its a Black lab german short hair mix. I have a friend that has one and he loves her! My dad and I will be training her up the next year and hopefully she will be ready next season. Shes 8 weeks old and this will be the first time we have bird hunted with a dog. It should make for a somewhat easier hunt for us, at least we are hoping.

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Yea he had 2 labs. Theyre the best retrievers according to him. He did a presentation on the soccer fields at our school once. It was AMAZING to see it in action. With just whistles and hand signals the dog would run X yards this way and then turn, sit, and stare back at him and wait for the next command where to go.

Also he used something called a winger, not sure if thats a real word or a redneck term lol, to launch fake ducks an then give the dogs commands to go find them. It was used to help train them. It was really cool. I love it when people use dogs for what they were bred for like hunting, retrieving, herding, protection, etc.

You wont be disapointed, should be lots of fun!

I wanna start going hunting so bad! My mom was always a pacifist "don't kill Bambi!" type and my dad wasn't around so I've never gotten to go but I'm determined to start going as an adult...just gotta get the gear and find someone to show me the ropes.

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i love hunting white tail. sucks i won't be able to hunt as much as i'd like to this season since I'm goin back to school, but i gotta get that degree. lol i enjoy dove hunting. hunted rabbits before too, but white tail are by far my favorite. love getting out in the woods real early and watching the sun come up. lol

I've been hunting since I was 6 and have never looked back. I've taken deer with muzzleloader, modern rifle and compound bow. Only thing that I'm hunting this year is Taliban, though. My dad owns 700 acres in central Missouri and he just emailed me today to say that he is our at his cabin on the place and has been seeing deer left and right and that he's been practicing with his bow this weekend. I SO wish I was home right now!

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Originally Posted by gsarchie

I've been hunting since I was 6 and have never looked back. I've taken deer with muzzleloader, modern rifle and compound bow. Only thing that I'm hunting this year is Taliban, though. My dad owns 700 acres in central Missouri and he just emailed me today to say that he is our at his cabin on the place and has been seeing deer left and right and that he's been practicing with his bow this weekend. I SO wish I was home right now!

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What a great place it sounds like your family has. A cabin on 700 acres is a huge tract. Before I moved to GA, my dad and I used to lease a place in the UP which had a cabin on 280 acres. The cabin was a late 1800s post office that had been dismantled and moved from the town out to into the woods. The sides were made of 12" X 12" square cut hard wood poles cut to length and stacked and mortared together. It had a wood burning stove for heat and propane gas stove and lights with a hand pump well. It was some of my fondest and worse memories. Fondest because my dad took his biggest deer there. Worst because one morning we woke to my Dad having a heart attack and becuase we were out in the woods in the middle of nowhere, about 2.5 hours passed before we got him in the hospital and that was in an ambulance. Thought I was going to lose him.

Get home safe as fast as you can and take your boys out there hunting with you dad. We appreciate you.

Thank you. You cabin sounds awesome! Our cabin is a rustic log cabin with a stone foundation and stone fireplace. There are two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. We've put in plumbing and electricity, but the only water that we have comes from a cistern so we have to bring our own drinking water (but we also bring a lot of beer!). I was glad to finish the part about your Dad and hear that he didn't pass when he had his heart attack!

Gosh I can't wait to get back into archery! I used to do competitive Recurve back in the day, but I tore a good portion of muscles in my shoulder while I was training for the Winter Games :( Went to physio and doctors and they said I'd never hold my arm above my head again. That I'd only have about 50% strength that I used to have in that arm. They offered me surgery to fix it, but said that either it would fix it, or it could cause even more damage over time.

So I took 7 years off to let it heal (it would re-tear slightly every few months due to general activity). Got into doing weight lifting and general strength training. I can now do a push-up! And I've been able to lift my arm over my head for the past 4 years.

My other half comes up to me the other day and says: "I'm really wanting to hit the lanes again, babe. Do you want to come with me?" (He did competitive archery the same years I did when we were kids. We were two regions apart! Haha. Too funny). So we go to the lanes and I start talking to the tech in the back. I can't do recurve anymore because my shoulder just can't hold 25lbs in a stationary position. However, I had a theory I could probably do Compound due to the let-off.

So they set me up with a 10lb hold. I struggled the first few shots because it's so different from recurve. Eventually I started to group at 10 yards. Soon I was getting NICE groups. And after about an hour, I was hitting 9-9-10 at ten yards.

I almost cried, because I was so happy. The owner of the lanes even came over to give me pointers, because he said he could see I had such a passion for it.

So we're officially picking me up a nice compound bow this winter, and I'm going to start training again. I asked if we could get a bow that we could increase for later, in case I wanted to get into hunting. The lane owner said they'd hook me up for sure and get me on the right path.

I'm hoping in the next year or two, we can go out hunting. And that will be just beyond words.

I also have our hunting rifles at home, but there's just something different about bows.

Yessir!

Hunt mostly birds, waterfowl and upland ground birds.

This weekend was our double opener for geese and ducks and the start to a very busy season for me.

Knock em' down fellas... And ladies!

:gj:

Hunting is kind of like backpacking for people who don't understand leave no trace ethics.

Got it.

So I guess I like something SIMILAR to hunting minus the loud noises, dead animals, and risk of getting shot.

Ignorant and rude comment from someone that doesn't understand that conservation is a big part of the hunting culture - nor understands where their food actually comes from. Yea - i got it.

Keeping herds from overpopulating is a huge issue in my state. Funny ...an uniformed opinion from Mass**** - shocker...

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Originally Posted by Highline Reptiles South

Keeping herds from overpopulating is a huge issue in my state.

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We have similar problems. Our deer populations have been declining in the past few years due to booming Coyote populations. Our winters have not been as harsh in the past 5 years and with no natural predators hunting is the only way to control the over population of coyotes and to keep a sustainable population of deer.

And to those that may not agree with 'us' hunters here is what I have to say...

I Understand hunting is a hard topic for some people and that many people are against it and that's fine by me. What gets to me is the comments are made and opinions are formed based on a lack of information and a misunderstanding of the full spectrum of what hunting and hunting culture does for communities all over the world.

We harvest animals for the purpose of food and population control, not to go out and kill an animal for the thrill. Often just the comradery and everything that leads up to the moment where you have the opportunity to pull the trigger is enough of a 'thrill'.

Sure there are people that abuse hunting and what it stands for, but that goes for anything. Every industry has some impact on the 'perfect' world we live in. I'm sure you know someone who has left their dog in a car on a hot day. You have probably read about someone not using a T-stat and their reptile dying. How about the processed food industry? Where did the materials for the home you live in come from? I find that it is un-fair for people to judge so quickly and to take a stand against something that would greatly change the world we live in if it were to not exist.

Hunting is not only a right, it is a necessity.

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Originally Posted by el8ch

Hunting is not only a right, it is a necessity.

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:gj:

While I am a devout animal and nature lover I also thoroughly enjoy hunting. I wont lie and say that I dont get excited when I have a successful hunt. I love the role of the hunter. I like goin out and working hard for my food, getting dirty. And I love the animalistic nature of it. But I HATE poachers and rule breakers. I HATE people that disrespect wildlife. Worst of all I hate losing an animal that I have wounded, not because I didnt bag it, but because I just killed or harmed an animal for no reason. That actually saddens me... I try my best to be as efficient a hunter as possible out of respect for the animals. But its not a perfect world. I continue to hunt partly because it is necessary to maintain wildlife populations and because its a chance for me to do some quality father/son bonding.

Been hunting since I was 11 so 21 years now. Started dove hunting and moved up to rabbit and squirrel. Been deer for the last 15 and wild bore hunting for the last 6. I'm one of these hunters that doesn't trophy hunt, I'm a firm believer that hunting and other forms of predation build a bigger stronger herd of animals. What I am not a fan of is "high fence" hunting that's trophy shooting not hunting. Looking forward to trying to do some Mule deer, Antelope, and elk hunting in CO/WY in the next two or three years.. Oh and Pheasant.

My dad, my uncle, my cousin and I always go out to a friends land with muzzleloaders in Nov. Cant wait for this year, its my favorite trip.. on the last day all of my uncles get together and we shoot for fun... Everyone of them is a gun collector so its awlays exciting when someone pulls out the Bren lol

I'm not even going to touch that first comment, lol. Are we going to have a discussion about ignorance now? What do you understand about ecology? Are you surprised that I'm from MA and have a conflicting opinion to yours? Are you surprised to know that Massachusetts is considered the 'most educated state' as a close second behind Washington DC?

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Originally Posted by el8ch

Our deer populations have been declining in the past few years due to booming Coyote populations.

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I'm obviously taking an extreme position. I'd lean closer to what Freakie said though and agree that a handful of idiots have very much taken the face of the sport for all of you. Idiots like this guy:

The guy who owns the convenience store down the street from me has a coat rack of coyote hides in his store. I heard him explaining to a lady one day "you see, we can't hunt coyotes but we can kill them when they're a nuisance on our property. All those coyote were eating all my dear on my land, so I had to deal with them." These hides are next to about 10x 10+ point white tail racks.

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Originally Posted by Highline Reptiles South

uniformed opinion

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Oh wait, we do agree. Fair enough... I misread the first time.

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Originally Posted by Highline Reptiles South

from Mass**** - shocker...

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This was a crack at Romney? We agree again!

You know - oddly enough i know Mass well - i lived in Boston for many years. Got my undergraduate and graduate degrees there. You remind me a lot of my time there.

You have come on a thread - insult and degrade people, their traditions and hobbies - and generally be smug little person. You want to compare folks to one person at a supposed convenience store. It isn't fair, and it is certainly disrespectful.

For the record - Just some of the benefits of hunting include:

Population control - there are very little predators in my area - and most. Overpopulation is a real problem, with disease and starvation the the ultimate result.

Conservation - hunting fees and licenses have largely funded wildlife conservation efforts in North America.

Time in the woods, friendship, tradition, camaraderie, a tradition of stewardship.

Add to that adding "free range" , no hormone, low in cholesterol food to one's diet.

In GA alone - over 300,000lbs in venison taken legally through population control has been donated to the poor and hungry through GA Hunters for the Hungry charity.

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I'm sure there are more but i'm watching football. Have a nice day!

Couple of my boys from last 2 years...can't wait to get back there!

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Blacktail season in Oregon starts soon! Can't wait!

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Originally Posted by Highline Reptiles South

In GA alone - over 300,000lbs in venison taken legally through population control has been donated to the poor and hungry through GA Hunters for the Hungry charity.

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A few years ago our area had a cull hunt that was over seen by the Wildlife Department, our area took 100 animals at an average of 125lbs each, the meat was processed free of charge by a local company and we donted it to area homeless and low income familys to the tune of 50lbs of meat per family we put food in the bellys of 115 familys..

One of my favorite things is the youth activitys, parterning with Big brother's - Big Sister's and offering a free weekend for Bigs and their little's to hunt or fish over 5,000 acre's of prime Mississippi timber and heartland. Getting kids out in the outdoors and teaching them that there are things to do year round that doesn't involve Xbox or Facebook is an awesome feeling..

Or getting the Wounded Warrior program to help set up a Wild Hog Hunt for a real American Hero..hunting is more about being in the outdoors than harvesting game. True hunters can look back on a hunt where they didn't even take a single animal and consider it a great hunt simply because of the time in the woods.

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Originally Posted by Vasiliki

So we're officially picking me up a nice compound bow this winter, and I'm going to start training again. I asked if we could get a bow that we could increase for later, in case I wanted to get into hunting. The lane owner said they'd hook me up for sure and get me on the right path.

I'm hoping in the next year or two, we can go out hunting. And that will be just beyond words.

I also have our hunting rifles at home, but there's just something different about bows.

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My wife isn't a hunter, but she LOVES her PSE Chaos. For that matter, I enjoy shooting it (on the rare occasion she offers to let me, that is - I suppose the fact that she's barely willing to put it down means it was a success as a birthday present). It's pretty light, has a really nice natural balance in the hand, and is very easy to be accurate with. I guess the theory is that it's supposedly a "youth" bow, but the draw weight is high enough to be legal for deer, so you could certainly hunt with it if you wanted to. Were I you, I'd get the guys at the archery shop to let you try one out if they carry it, as it seems like it or something similar is what you're after.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

A few years ago our area had a cull hunt that was over seen by the Wildlife Department, our area took 100 animals at an average of 125lbs each, the meat was processed free of charge by a local company and we donted it to area homeless and low income familys to the tune of 50lbs of meat per family we put food in the bellys of 115 families.

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How do you find out when that sort of thing is happening? I'm not currently a hunter, but I can definitely place bullets accurately with a rifle, and harvesting from nature to feed those in need is an appealing idea.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

A few years ago our area had a cull hunt that was over seen by the Wildlife Department, our area took 100 animals at an average of 125lbs each, the meat was processed free of charge by a local company and we donted it to area homeless and low income familys to the tune of 50lbs of meat per family we put food in the bellys of 115 familys..

One of my favorite things is the youth activitys, parterning with Big brother's - Big Sister's and offering a free weekend for Bigs and their little's to hunt or fish over 5,000 acre's of prime Mississippi timber and heartland. Getting kids out in the outdoors and teaching them that there are things to do year round that doesn't involve Xbox or Facebook is an awesome feeling..

Or getting the Wounded Warrior program to help set up a Wild Hog Hunt for a real American Hero..hunting is more about being in the outdoors than harvesting game. True hunters can look back on a hunt where they didn't even take a single animal and consider it a great hunt simply because of the time in the woods.

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All that works for me.

Hunting is a family tradition. Waking up early, sitting with your dad in the woods eating stinky food out of cans and telling funny stories not so quietly during lunch.. even though you know you might be ruining your chances of getting a deer.

Hunting is something I used to do with my cousin, my best friend every year. We were 9 months apart and would always make too much noise..

Hunting is sitting quietly in the woods.. alone but together with your friends, and family focusing intently on your surroundings for hours... its like meditation...

Hunting is freezing my toes off even though my boots weigh a hundred pounds.. and accidently dozing off against a tree...

Hunting is a thrill when successful...

Hunting has provided me with some of the best memories of my life... regardless of whether we brought something home or not.