WonderMonkey

On 11/7/2021 at 6:37 PM, rustynut2 said:

You need to get a deer sled.  Deer goes in, ice it down, dump it out when needed.  No mess and easy for us old guys.  Toe it behind the atv

I have one of those, called a JetSled for the brand I have.  This year I took the trailer I have for my atv.  With the old logging roads that I travel on it will work well.  However there have been times I would have given a fair amount of money to have the sled to pull the deer out of some woods before I got my ATV.

7 hours ago, rustynut2 said:

WonderMonkey, I saw your pic, I would be down across from the shade if that is an evening hunt. A tree stand in the middle of that setup might cover both ends though. Feeders aren't allowed here so what do I know, they might come from anywhere. Having a second tree to sit in wouldn't be a bad thing depending on wind....

Most x-bows can shoot past 40 yards, but its not recommended as a deer might take a step turning a good hunt to bad. 

It's not clear to me just yet if I should go to one spot or the other.  It's 100 yd to the left and about 75 yd to the right from my stand.  This is my first year in this spot so I'll let things pan out.

I was going to get a gun boot, but I was given grippers, so I'm using those.  For hunting I don't travel off the old logging road so I don't worry about things grabbing my rifle.  Of course I may go off-trail when going in to get a deer that ran a bit, but I'll deal with that.  On the back of my atv I have a Plano Sportsman's trunk and use it to keep "stuff" that I may need.

3 minutes ago, Wheeler said:

I just re-installed my gas can holder, guns & ammo loaded, going to pick up camper & head to bush for three days. I’ll post back with some pics..

 

Sounds fun!  I have several Jerry cans that I could pack nicely for long range trips.  On their side they lay nicely and things can be placed on top of them.

2 hours ago, rustynut2 said:

The scorpyd deathstalker has killed everything that I aimed at. There are faster models out now but for hunting its deadly. I have a centerpoint as backu that hasn't been to the woods yet. For the latest reviews head on over to https://www.crossbownation.com/forums/

 

If you do buy new Dave will set you up, highly recommended and no sales tax, https://www.wyverncreations.com/

Thanks for those two links.  I'm certainly not hung up on raw FPS, but I'll take whatever gets the job done, plus 1.  From my normal rifle season stand I have my feeder to the left and deer come out behind it, and deer to my right on a large trail.  With one of the advanced crossbows I could cover both areas, or I could go more moderately priced and put a stand nearer to one spot or the other.  Of course it's always the conundrum of a hunter, where to put the stand to see what you need to see, at the right time of the year.

3 hours ago, jeepwm69 said:

I think @retro has a pretty sweet crossbow setup.  @wheelsquad does as well, but he hasn't been on much lately.

 

 

I picked up a couple of Walmart specials on clearance, but haven't gotten around to shooting them yet.  Bear Pledge compound and a Barnett Whitetail II.   They were too cheap to pass up, so I snagged them when I came across them.

I'll go look for that thread.  Thanks!

Somehow, somewhere, at some time, I developed a crack in my compound bow.  It's old.  I'm the third owner of the bow.  Also, I sold my muzzleloader a bunch of years ago and have been using my bow during that season.  With the recent (last x years) advances in crossbows, I may end up getting a nice crossbow instead of buying a reasonable crossbow AND a muzzleloader.  My brother and another of our hunting party both have Ravin 29's.  It has enough consistency and killing power to take a shot out to 100 yards, if you wanted to.

https://ravincrossbows.com/product/r29-crossbow/

1 hour ago, shadetree said:

that barrel boy doesn't even own a shop that i know of ?, and he's never working on anything, why in the world is he worried about our messy shops ???..ROFL. i've been in yer shop, looks just like catfishes...NO PLACE TO STEP WITHOUT BREAKING A LEG !..

I judge from afar, and frequently.

It's muzzleloader opener this weekend.  I'll ground blind bow instead.  I was supposed to go hunt last weekend but I was called to a SAR instead.  I'm looking forward to being in the woods.

8 minutes ago, shadetree said:

it's messy, cuz i work in there...what's yer excuse ??..lol.

I'm an old-fashioned procrastinator.

You need to sweep out your shop, it's unsightly.

Let me know when you are done with that assigned chore.

10 minutes ago, Goober said:

I’m too clumsy and fidgety to hunt from a stand, so I adopted the ninja stalk. I don’t call yet but i have a bunch of calls. 

You are missing out on one of the joys of hunting, which is a tree stand nap.

I've stalked and also used a ground blind, but mostly I hunt from a stand.

A story left for a campfire and a few beverages is when I ground stalked with just my fixed-blade knife, and came within just a step or two from making my move and having the deer kick my !.

10 minutes ago, Goober said:

Good question thanks mine is more of a bino harness

I use a Gen 1 (front opening) bino harness in ATACS AUX from T&K Hunting Gear. It’s coupled with a range finder pouch (Vortex Ranger 1800) and bear spray pack (Protec 1400 LED flashlight). It’s secured with magnets; this could be a problem if you’re not careful with the flaps and the magnets come crashing together.

Tyler designed a Gen 2 harness with rear opener and hook closure—much improved—but I’ll stick with my G1.

 

 

Looks nice!  I hunt from a stand normally and don't use a bino harness.  I've thought about it, though and will keep the brand in mind.

1 hour ago, Goober said:

Got my first antelope on Monday morning.

Opening day just had many hunters. i felt unsafe after hearing some shots twang around me. had to figure out how to hunt this piece of public land. It’s a canyon about 4 square miles—one way in. Hunters everywhere; saw a buck and doe at 149 yards. shot twice and missed.

second day saw nothing but hiked further afield where i saw the two goats and tried some perches. No trees to hide behind just cactus. 
third day i started hiking out at 530 heading SouthWest for 2 miles. 30 minutes later i see this truck about 1000 yards to my left—I’m heading South onto private prop!!! Corrected my trail but never got to where i wanted to be by shooting light. No goats anywhere i could see, so this was gonna be another scout, right?
Found the perfect hide and figured I would sit there all day. Then another hunter shows up and walks a big circle around me. Argh!
i pick up on a herd of 8 goats that popped out of the canyon onto the east rim but it’s right in line with the highway and a mile. Then a rancher shows up to feed his cattle they’re all crowded around the fence between me and the goats. This second hunter walks past the rancher, stirs up all the cows and pushes the goats into the canyon.

So i start hiking northeast around the knob I’m on to the rim of the canyon. I crawl to the ridge and see those goats at the bottom about 500 yards and 200 feet below me. I think this other hunter is gonna spook em so i set up for a shot.
i set my bipod as low as it will go, take my chest pack off and use my backpack as a gunstock rest. I crawl to the rim, avoiding cactus, and set up my shot. 534 yards I have to account for 35 inches of drop. 

I see this beautiful buck and his harem. Not taking a long shot at the buck—don’t want to ruin his looks. So I pick out a large doe and take her.  First shot is high on the shoulder; I’m saving that scapula. second shot is between the eye and ear.

 I had to drag that goat, my rifle and my pack 2.5 miles back to the truck! I got 12 pounds of great looking steaks, 10 pounds of sirloin roasts and the remaining 25 pounds for grind. The two little steaks at the bottom are from the shoulder blade—flat irons. My fave.

 

Awesome!  Send some my way!

Myself and my group lease land to hunt on.  It's an expense, but we don't run into the things that you did on public land.

What kind of chest rig do you carry?  I have a SAR V2 from Hill People Gear.

1 hour ago, PROV said:

I don't usually carry any on a day ride. The Rubi can go 100 miles on a tank. 

I go back and re-read your initial post but then I assume you base camp somewhere and have extra fuel there.  Somehow I thought you were doing the entire trip from your atv.

FYI your trip sounds like a bunch of fun!

9 hours ago, PROV said:

We've rode 145 miles so far. Some light rain first day and a half. Been all over different terrain. Come across a fair amount of grouse so far plus lots of exploring. Have only seen 2 people since Friday. 4 more days remaining.

 

How much fuel do you carry on these trips?

1 hour ago, shadetree said:

do not use front rack mounts that are sideways !. this is a big no no when it comes to riding in brush.

I can see how they would get hung up on passing "stuff".  I have clear paths to my stand, but I'm not always guaranteed to go to that stand in the future.

1 hour ago, shadetree said:

yeah, my marlin has a sling, and thats how i was transporting it over my back, but on rides, it gets bounced around a tad, so i went with this gun boot, can't go wrong for the price, bought it from rocky mountain atv, model is koplin IV.

Thanks, I was going to ask you which model.  I like the boot over the cradle that I see all over on front racks.  If I order it, I'll name it after you.

27 minutes ago, shadetree said:

on another note, i finally bought and installed a koplin gun boot and mount for my trx450fm, installed in yesterday, i think it will work great, both the boot and mount cost me right over $ 99.00 bucks, very happy with it so far. have not taken any pic's yet ?, but surely ya'll know what a gun boot looks like on atv's..right ?..lol.

I've been chewing back and forth on how to carry my rifle from cabin to tree stand.  It's not a difficult ride and I could always sling it cross body, but I'm going to hear how you feel yours travels and possibly pick one one.  I've been eyeing those.

1 hour ago, shadetree said:

as per what fish^^^ said, i got my hands on a winchester model '94, 30-30 just the other day, paid $ 400.00+ box of ammo, claim has it, its never been fired ?, i'd argue it has, as the ammo gate has scratches on it, who owns a 30-30 and never shoots it ?.

I doubt this firearm works.  Want me to take it off your hands?

Sat in my stand for bow last weekend.  I didn't take a bow as my stand is setup for rifle (distance, etc) but wanted to get a handle on the patterns for that time of the year.  This is a new stand location for me so in the off-season I'll put up ANOTHER stand that is where I think it would be effective for bow.  Both are focused on my feeder and salt block.  You can see in the below photo that where I expect deer to emerge is too far of a shot for my compound bow.  I would not be confident in placing a kill shot from that distance.  My brother has a Ravin R29X crossbow and I think that would deliver accuracy and kill from there, but I haven't researched it enough to know for sure.  Either way, I don't HAVE an R29X so I'll be watching and looking for a suitable bow spot for next year.

Below is the view from my stand to my feeder, which is 103 yds away.  Due to the surrounding terrain, I expect most deer to come from behind the feed or to the right towards the feeder.  To the left in this photo and actually behind my stand is a river that borders part of the property.

Here is a panorama from left to right from my stand.  The photo makes it appear as if the field is in a "V" shape but it's actually straight .... one long field.  On the right side of the field is a tree line and I expect deer to use that to travel.  They could (and have) cross anywhere in that field but when the shooting starts I expect them to be more careful.  Of course the rut makes them lunatics so all bets are off then that's occurring. 

On 9/23/2021 at 9:30 PM, 01RUBY500 said:

Nice looking buck.  Not even filled out yet.  In a year or two it's going to be large.

On 9/23/2021 at 9:29 PM, 01RUBY500 said:

Another week until opening day, and these guy’s know it. They have a calendar and go nocturnal, well most of the time until the rut. 

Is that where you have a salt block?

5 hours ago, jeepwm69 said:

 

Now where's the fun in that?

 

You gotta have a 218 bee and a 257 Roberts around.  Just because.

Well that's true.  I'm all for having something just because you want/NEED it.