horst

.50 caliber ML

Good point popgun, if he hadnt hit the sack we probably wouldnt have paid much attention.Dont know how apparent it woulda been after the guts were out lying on the ground:confused:

Last week dad shot a nice sized doe.Me and my brother went to help him drag her out and since I convienently forgot my knife my brother was going to gut her. He made his cuts then went to split the hitch, He popped the knife trough the hitch and fluid started coming out, didnt think much of it at first figuring he had hit the bladder or something.But the fluid looked funny, it was clear and just kept running.I told him to stop for a minute, lifted the intestines back out of the way and found the doe was carrying twins:( Weve gutted literally hundreds of deer over the years this late in the season and never found onethis far along before, she must have been bred way earlier then most of them.They were about 2 inches long, had started to form legs, and were in a clear sack, they both had kind of a yolk around them, a clear jelly like fluid. I realize most ofthe older does are in fact pregnant right now but somehow this seemed kinda messed up.Anyone else ever run into this?

Another thing that will slow it down is if you have to many programs running during start up, a lotta the stuff you install will automatically begin running when you turn the computer on and take up all the CPU usage.Goto task manager and see how many processes you have running, before you stop any of them make sure you know what they do.

Roofing and construction have taken a toll on mine as well.Its not constant yet but once in awhile my lower back flares up, its like the entire mid section of my body locks up and the pain about puts me on the ground.It dont last long really but theres about 3 or 4 days after its just dull throbbing pain.Must be a pinched nerve or something I get occasionaly:(

Bama Austins 12, he will be 13 this year.He has been hunting with me since he was 4, got his first BB gun at 5 and last fall he passed his hunter safety course and got his certificate.Hes now legally able to hunt in this state by himself. Most of the time he isnt alone,me or my dad go with him.Even when he is alone one of us is near by, close enough to hear him shoot anyway if he isnt directly in our sight. Honestly hes probably a couple years away from really going all out by himself.For example the spot he killed the deer in we have had him up there 4 or 5 times before that with one of us, he knew where the stand was and we knew he only had to follow the driveway in and out so he had little chance of getting lost in the chest high grass out there.My biggest concern was he would follow a blood trail into that grass and get turned around in the dark, seriously, Ive been in that stuff after dark and its easy to do even if youve hunted it for 20 years. Ive tried teaching him what I could and hes very safe in handling his guns and paying attention to whats going on{other hunters coming in, houses in the background etc...}I just decided it was time to loosen his leash a little bit this year and see how he did. The only real rules I made were he had to use a ladder stand if he was going up by himself, otherwise he had to hunt from the ground.And as I said earlier he couldnt wander off from where he was supposed to be sitting.If he didnt see the deer go down and it headed away from the road he has to either wait for one of us, or mark the spot he shot it and walk back out to the road if theres enough light.Theres 1100 acres of slough around the area we hunt and it would be impossible to find him if he wandered into it untill daylight the next day. He follows these rules even if he doesnt like them because he knows if he doesnt he will be done hunting for the year.Basically I guesse Im saying if you think your kids ready to handle it you can give him a little slack without really letting him make all the decisions himself.Make a few simple rules, make sure you know where hes hunting, and if possible you can put him out by himself and still stay close enough to see the action.I put him in ladder stands because theyre easier to get up and down in and secondly thier heavy, hes not likely to try moving it himself:D

Weve got some good deer up around here but nothing compared to other parts of the state.My uncle went to southern Iowa this year on a bowhunt with his brother in law and a guy he works with.He had a 8 pointer come in that woulda been a nice deer in this end of the state.He shot it without thinking much about it, then he got yelled at by the landowner, the other guy, and one of the nieghbors for shooting a dink:D Ordinarily this kinda behavior makes me mad but they were just giving him a hard time and didnt mean nothing by it, but they sure had him going for a minute.One of the best areas in the state, middle of the rut, and he wacks a deer he coulda killed at home, after he realized what he did he felt kinda bad anyway.

Unfortunately the camera was screwed up and we dint get pics with this one:(Season ended yesterday, all in all it was a good year, Austin managed to take 2 bucks and a doe, nothing with his bow though.Next year Im positive he will accomplish that. Seemed like yesterday he was 4 yrs old and tagging along with me to a duck blind at 4:30 in the morning, Never forget that, he was so excited to go on his first hunt, we got there early and set up, I picked a spot in the cattails where we could just pass shoot so he wasnt out in the water.By the time the ducks started flying he was asleep in the cattails, killed almost a limit of ducks and he never even moved:D Had a cripple go down in the creek that morning, when he got up he was upset he had slept through it, took him down where the cripple had went down and we snuck up and shot it off the water, he forgot all about being upset in a few seconds:cool: Now hes off deer hunting by himself and succeeding at it, guesse I musta done something right with him:)

I think being in the right place at the right time requires a certain degree of luck, after that it takes skill to put em on the ground, congrats:cool:

Well my son got to try out his hand at hunting by himself the other night, wife was working and I had to watch the other two kids, he went with my dad and the spot dad was hunting is only big enough for 1 guy.We discussed it and decided Austin could go to my uncles ladder stand, it sits about 1/2 mile from where dad was hunting at the top of the hill on some public ground. I was nervous the entire time, they were only gone about 2 1/2 hours but it seemed much longer.Its about 1/4 mile walk into the property where the stand sits and I kept wondering if he found the stand ok and if he got a shot at a deer what he would do afterwards.We have discussed it on and off all year about following upon a shot, hes been with me many times when weve went after deer that one of has shot, but I didt know how much had sunk in. Apparently about 45 minues before dark a doe showed up behind him, he got turned around and took the shot.He watched her go into a little bunch of cattails and thought she went down.He reloaded his ML, and waited untill just before dark.He then climbed down and walked towards where she had dissapeared, From the ground he couldnt tell exactly where she had went in so he walked back to where she came out of the grove and found the blood trail. He said wasnt going to follow it at first but it was easy to see, she sprayed blood everywhere and it went the direction he had to go to get out anyway so he followed it.He tracked his first deer on his own and followed it up to where she layed, he marked the spot and walked out to the road to wait for dad to show up.Then they called me to come drag her out:D On the bright side he was so excited about his first do it yourself hunt he had her halfway to the road before I showed up, hadnt even bothered to gut her:cool:Near as I can tell he did everything as Ive showed him, he waited after the shot, reloaded his gun in case she got back up, even remembered to double back and pick up the blood trail when he couldnt find where she went down the first time.Kid just might be a good hunter yet I believe, probably doesnt even need the old man around slowing him up anymore:D

Suppose if he bought 400 acres Id be out of line asking him if I could hunt his property:D

Just thinking about when we were shooting the other day.I have to say I did notice the pellets werent very uniform, most slid down the barrel nicely but every 4th or 5 th one would rub the edges of the barrel and have to be pushed down withthe ramrod. Another thing I was going to mention and forgot about was kinda strange.When they were shooting and I was standing off to the side you could see a trail of smoke from the barrel, it would go out like 20 ft or better, its hard to explain but Ive never seen one do it before.It was a real thin trail of smoke that would shoot out in a straight line from the gun, almost like the sabot was burning or had powder stuck to it or something :confused:The closest I can think to describe it would be like a military tracer round or something, it seemed to dissapear as soon as the sabot and bullet would seperate:confused:

All this bickerings reminded me I need to go talk to my wife:D

The thing is I guesse I hate it when Im on public ground and people set up right beside me, I never say anything since theyre not doing anything actually illegal, but I do find it very inconsiderate and if theyre to close Ill do everything in my power to make sure nobodies getting a shot at anything that night:D Most guys are great about it around here, we all occasionaly mess each other up by walking into an area thats being hunted accidently, I know Ive done it and had it done to me as well.But were also for the most part respectfull about it, apologize and get back outta the area as quietly as possible. Thats why it really floored me this dude thought I was being rude setting up where I did.3/4 of a miles a long ways for a deer to go in a straight line, in all reality the ones I seen wouldnt have even reached him by dark, most probably turned off the trail well before hitting the highway as a matter of fact. Where he was sitting was IMO a ridiculous spot to set up, he stuck out like a sore thumb and would have had to shoot directly at the highway to get a shot off before being busted, thats why I thought he surely must have been hunting a different group of deer coming in from behind him somewhere:rolleyes: But since nobody else seems to think I was to close Im not gonna worry about it, if he wants to push the issue with only 3 days left I can guarantee hes not going to fill his tag, Ill sit close enough to hold hands with him:)

Heres the basic layout.Theres a farm nobody can hunt thats leased by a guy that tagged out over a month ago.Its got a big grove, a couple acres of pine trees and tall, a creek and everything running through it, after the guy is done it becomes a sanctuary area for deer to bed in where they dont get bothered.What it doesnt have is anything for them to eat. East of the farm is about 3/4 of a mile of really nasty public hunting ground, sloughs, chest high switchgrass, waist deep snow, and a lotta bad ice covering the sloughs you have to get acrossed.Nobody ever goes into this chunk of public ground but the deer come acrossed it every night.To get where you need to be to intercept the deer you have to go through a little over 1/4 mile of this junk to find a spot to sit. Theres a highway on the east side of this public ground, and on the other side of it there is another chunk of public ground.This ones much nicer, they bail it, it has mowed paths, food plots etc...Now theres a guy hunting this, he walks back maybe 100 yrds into the property and hides behind a dyke on a dried up pond, Ive seen him there and knew he was hunting it.I left it alone and took my kid into the worse chunk across the road. We parked the car over a mile away from this guy .When we set up we are roughly 3/4 of a mile away from him on an entirely different property.We hunted it for 3 nights and never fire a shot, we watched deer go past us in the private ground where we cant hunt and head up towards this guy. The other night he shows up madder than heck, despite the fact were almost a mile away, let the deer go past us, and parked in the other side of the section so we didnt screw up his hunt he starts screaming weve set up on the trail he is hunting and are screwing up his hunting Hes actually hunting right beside a large slough, it has deer in it and I actually thought he was probably hunting those deer, why he is laying so far from the deer we were watching hoping they cross a major highway to get to him Ill never know:confused: Apparently were hunting the same trail, just 3/4 of a mile apart.My personal opinion is the guys just to lazy to walk into where we were sitting, his opinion seems to be Im deliberately setting up in front of him to shoot at deer he has been hunting.Im not sure what expectation of privacy he has hunting on public ground but I actually though I was being pretty respectfull by staying that far away, I could have set up right across the road fromhim and saved myself a nightmarish walk. So, in your opinions am I in the wrong here?Is it bad etiquette to set up as I have done?Or is this guy expecting something unrealitic where public ground is concerned?

Very interesting artical, thanks. Our Walmarts have been sold out of everything for a week or better.Dad and m brother both got new Ml there, last two in the store, both CVa wolfs for about 100$ a piece and my cousin got the CVA kodiak with the nickel barrel for 130$.Last three any Walmarts had in this area of the state.Powder and accessoeries were all sold out before I even knew they went on clearance:(

Im a little behind times, I have had a bunch 777 I got on sale two years ago Ive been shooting, I kept reading about the powder with Jim Shockeys name on it{ cant think of what its called} and never got a chance to try it.My cousin bought his first muzzleloader today and we were using the 50 grain sticks of this stuff and I was amazed, we shot an entire box of Shockwaves through his gun and never had trouble loading it at all, no problems with accuracy, nothing.About 10 shots into the box I ran one patch through it just to see what it looked like, the patch was barely dirty. So are there any negatives to this powder I should be aware of?Im considering switching, I kinda liked the sticks as they were easy to load but may go with the loose powder, Ive got just about enough 777 to last the rest of the season then Im gonna have to buy some more of one brand or another.

Thanks for the input guys, I just recieved a reply from Knight and they are awesome, theyll sell me the new stock for dealer cost, about 50$ plus shipping.Gonna call and get it ordered as soon as dad shows up.

I knew one guy, or more then likely his kid and his friends, that would steal stands out of the area i hunt.Me and his dad hunt a lot of the same ground and I ran into him one day out there while he was trying to hang a stand and we started talking.I helped him get his stand hung, he told me I could use it as well if his truck wasnt in the parking lot.We started comparing notes and we both had numerous stands hung out in the same properties, we came to an agreeent, if one of us wasnt there the other guy could use any of the stands in the properties, if one of our trucks was there the other guy would just goto the next property. It actually worked out pretty good, he farms so most of the season I had twice as many stands to pick from, we both hunt different gun seasons so they didnt overlap, and the guy gave me permission for all the ground he farmed.And best of all things quit dissapearing, for me anyway, he musta told his kid and his friends to leave things alone.Either way I never had a stand dissapear again.

Steve, I looked at the Knight websight before posting here and they carry the stocks for the Wolverine LK-93 with the 209 ignition.Dads was one of the original ones with the #11 ignition.Would you know off hand if these are the same stocks for both guns?Ive emailed Knight about it but thought Id look around anyway in case someone had one theyd swapped out for a different stock at some point and wanted to get rid of. Knight wants $124 for a new stock, I can get the whole gun for the same price online, go figure:D

Its gotten ridiculous around here, I know 2 guys both had homemade ladder stands they put out, both were stolen.The thing was these 2 stands werent even something anyone could really want, they were heavy, uncomfortable, and both were rather dangerous to sit in IMPO. Kinda makes me think maybe theyre not stealing the stands just to use them.Weve reduced our deer herd, have more guys hunting with bows and late season muzzleloaders, and good spots on public ground are hard to get.I think theyre just stealing things to keep other people out of these areas so they can hunt them themselves:mad:

My dads stock on his Knight LK-93 muzzleloader somehow broke last night as he was climbing out of his ladderstand.If anyone has one theyd like to get rid of let me know please, or even know of somewhere on line I can order one a link would be great.

Kinda like the dog whisperer:D:D

When you lay the powder in the pan make sure you run it the entire length of the pan, dont push it up in front of the flash hole.This acts like a fuse funneling the spark into the hole, if its bunched up you just blow the charge out of the pan when it ignites and nothing goes into the hole. Also make sure the hole itselfs cleaned out, if its plugged youll never get it to fire.

Ive got a scope on my muzzleloader that my sons been using this year.The other day we noticed the gun was hitting a little higher then normal, no big deal it has been used pretty hard since about Sept and I figured it got bumped a little. We resighted it and brought it home cleaned it and afterwards i got done and could see the front sight in the scope when I shouldered the gun:confused: I checked the scope mount screws, they were tight, checked the screw that holds the barrel in place and it was tight.It occured to me I had taken the barrel off while cleaning it and that might have moved something so after checking the screws I shouldered it again and couldnt see front sight anymore. Shot it again and it was hitting good so I thought maybe I was imagining things.Then last night my son and dad came back from hunting, Austin had missed a doe and mentioned he could see the front site when he shouldered the gun to shoot at her, dad also looked through the scope after he shot and could see it. I told him to bring the gun in and when we uncased it nobody could see the front sight in it:confused: This time I took the scope completely off, checked the bases, all the mounting screws, everything appeared tight. What might be causing this if everythings tight?Youd have to physically move the entire scope and tip it down to see the sight in it wouldnt you?Im baffled and not even sure he should be hunting with it at this point unless I can find whats causing it.Were gonna shoot it again today and see what happens since I removed the scope last night{ maybe, the wind chills -30 right now I think}