nhbowhunter

Great looking deer! He is going to look nice on the wall! Congratulations...

I had a similar problem with the folding Gerber-type saws. Here is what I have learned. These type of "L" shaped folding saws do have their limits. 3 inches is a pretty hefty limb. I have found that these kind of saws work best on limbs no larger than 1 1/2 inches in diameter. On larger limbs I bet your saw usually breaks when you are pushing forward, yes? The tip of the saw catches and the momentum of your forward thrust causes the blade to bend or break. SLOW DOWN! On larger limbs apply the majority of your force when you pull the blade TOWARD your body. Lighten up significantly on the AWAY from body stroke. Let the blade to do the work. Don't try and muscle things through. Apply even pressure while sawing. If you can feel your biceps or triceps, flexing like you are curling 30lb dumbbells then you are using to much muscle. Lastly, use the right tool for the job. Don't use a 5lb sledge hammer to drive a penny nail... Also don't try to drive a railroad spike with a fly-swatter. For larger diameter limbs I recommend a folding pack saw like this one http://duluthpack.com/folding-saw.html , but remember rules 1, 2, and 3 above still apply.

10 feet tall with a smile a mile wide!!! Congrats on ayour first buck and a GREAT looking deer!

You can send your disappointing buck to me and I will gladly display it on my trophy wall and I would even credit you with shooting it. What great character! You were successful, be thankful. You must have seen the rack before the shot, why didn't you pass? Sun glare, some one else telling you to "shoot", etc are not excuses YOU are ultimately in control and have the final decision to shoot or not shoot. Count yourself lucky... hunter success is less than 10% nationally. You are in an exclusive club in 2009.

I agree with MNcrittergittr. I would be less worried about someone taking my stand as I would sending the signal "Hey everyone! Hunt here! This is a good spot and I did all the leg work so you don't have to!". Leaving a stand out all year is as good as hanging a billboard saying "Hunt here". I have come across hundreds of permanent stands where hunters have tried to conceal or hide them. If you leave it out there SOMEONE WILL EVENTUALLY see it... I guarantee it!

I take a slightly different approach. On public land I will actually still hunt escape corridors and security cover. The majority of hunters who are still out will be hunting food sources and there is a good chance that they will drive deer into security areas to avoid the last minute push from hunters. I shoot more deer on public land by patterning other hunters and then determining how the deer will react.

I have always been a fan of the Summit line of tree stands. I have used them for 10 seasons and cannot complain. You would not be ill served by a Summit.

Welcome to the forums Nicole. It sounds like you are well on your way to becoming a great archery hunter. I think there are a few things here that you need to consider. There are a few releases out there that will help with your wrist problem. Winn Archery and TRU Ball both make some great glove style releases. I think that the RipShot might be a little overkill for what you need. As a new bow hunter your wrist, arms, shoulder, are not use to shooting. You should take steps to prevent further strain on your wrist (which could cause injury) and at the same time strengthen. To relieve strain on your wrist a glove style release is a good first step. I would also suggest that you limit the amount of shooting you do. You may simply be suffering from overuse. If your bow is dialed in you probably don't need to shoot more than 3 days a week and roughly 15 - 20 shots, especially during the season. You may also want to consider lightening up the poundage on your bow, even a 5 pound reduction can make a big difference. As you get stronger and your body gets use to shooting you can increase your poundage, the number of days you shoot, and how many shots you take. If you train yourself properly and avoid injury you will be able to build the strength to hunt for many successful seasons to come! Good Luck!

Great buck and by the looks of the smile on your face I'd say you earned it! I love logging on here and reading titles like "First Buck...", "Deer Down...", or "Got Him..."! This is your first buck this season. How many are you allowed in your neck o' the woods?

A deer's sense of smell (and their ability to smell) does not change with the temperatures. What does change is the behavior of scent molecules. Extremely low temeratures do slow down molecules but in the outdoors this is pretty much negligble since there is always wind or at the very least air flow pushing those molecules along.

Played peek-a-boo from 6:50AM until 1PM with a blonde haired buck running around my stand all morning... I thought it was "Game Over" so I climbed out of my stand and pull out my camera to start taking pictures of scrapes and rubs for my website, suddenly... "crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch..." the same buck I saw all morning comes back with his nose plastered to the ground, cruising for does. He stops, 20 feet in front of me... THHHHHHH-WACK!!! The sound of the arrow piercing his body rang in my ears... Buck down, 8 pt. frame with 2 broken points (He is a rut fighting brute)... 201lbs... hair as blonde as Pam Anderson's. Pictures coming soon!!!

Awesome story!!! Gotta, be ready for anything and it sounds like yo were... The bucks ALWAYS come around when you least expect it... Congratulations!!!

I have a pair of uninsulated LaCrosse Burly boots as well as a pair of LaCrosse AlphaBurly 1000 grams insulated. The insulated boots are extremely warm BUT rubber boots do not breath and if your feet sweat your toes will get cold. That should not be a major problem if you are in a stand or blind. If you were stalking not only is foot sweat a concern but so is weight. LaCrosse boots are HEAVY (at least mine are I wear a size 14) and will drain your energy and make your legs feel like lead by the end of the day. Another boot to consider is Cabelas Snowy Range 1200 series. Very warm and breath better.

Your other option is to find an investor who can cover those costs. I would recommend a family member you can create your own loan and terms at www.circlelending.com or www.virginmoneyus.com. I can understand your position but if you do not get an attorney and protect your idea you run the very real risk of your idea making a lot of money for someone else and you left standing there with nothing. Good luck!

As an all day stand hunter I can sympathize with you. Many people have already mentioned a number of things that I do including: Investing in a foot rest. On a climber adjusting the set portion so it is lower and close to the standing platform. Modify the padding of your seat and/or bring a cushion. I also make it a point to stand for 20 minutes each hour. This way I cut down the amount of time i am sitting by 33%. This helps significantly. Sit for 40 minutes, stand for 20 minutes (repeat every hour). If you can alternate sitting and standing every 30 minutes you reduce the amount of time you spend sitting and getting pressure soreness by 50%!!!

If you have the means to design and develop a prototype on your own that is awesome. Before you show your design to anyone you need to protect your idea with a utility patent. I repeat DO NOT show your design to a manufacturer or a stand company without the protection of a patent!!! The filing fee is $540, but the forms are not simple and an attorney might be necessary. If you have the experience to design/develop a prototype here are the steps I would follow: Research patent records to see if there is an existing design out there. Some companies do not actually build products past a certain stage but still have a patent. Just because there are no products on the market like tehone yo are thinking about doesn't mean someone has already started doing it or protected it with a patent. Design, build, test (repeat as necessary) a prototype of your product. Get an attorney. Let me say that again, GET AN ATTORNEY. You will want to have them assist you with a patent filing as well as draft an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). The NDA is extra protection that you make others sign before you show them your product. You can choose to sell your design to a company like Summit or API or you can contract with a manufacturing facility and begin making them on your own. (Of course you would want to develop a business plan, etc). If you do not have the ability to make this yourself and you need assistance then I would: Research the idea... make sure no one else has a patent on it. GET AN ATTORNEY. You will want to have an NDA and other associated contracts drawn up so you can partner with an engineer to make you prototype. Find an engineer who yo can contract with to make your prototype. have your attorney draft up NDA and other associated agreements so you can go to manufacturers. Shop around for manufacturers. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to protect your idea by working with an attorney. If you do not you run the very real risk of having your idea stolen. An attorney may cost you $2000, patent filings $540, technical drawings (if you cannot do them yourself) $500 - $1000. Working with a design engineer (if you cannot do it yourself) $4000 - $8000 (this would include technical drawings). Initial investment to have your stand made depends on number of units. Many manufacturers have a minimum dollar amount or minimum units requirement. Either way I would epext that you are probably looking at a minimum upfront manufacturing cost of $5,000 - $10,000, but I cannot be sure of that number. If you really believe that your idea is worth it GET IT PROTECTED before you do anything else. Good luck!!!

I have used both and would have to agree with what was previously said. The Primos Roar is my pick. It does not get "goosey" sounding if you blow to hard. The MAD Growl is not as loud and it's design is a little big and bulky. As for whether or not it works? Never had success "roaring" or "growling". The sex ratios up here are not condusive to extreme calling BUT the Roar makes incredible grunts. That alone makes it worth buying.

I really don't see anything to complain about. You are given X number of tags to shoot X number of deer. Once your tags are done you stop hunting. It is up to the hunter to decide how many tags they are going to purchase and then decide how they are going to use them. You chose to use you tag during archery season and scored a great buck, I would say that you made a wise choice.

Most people on here know that I have been a long time fan and outspoken advocate of Summit treestands. Which is what makes my next comment almost unthinkable but I am considering changing to API. I love my Summit Cobras but they have stopped making them. I have found Summit stands to be incredibly easy to use in the field (especially in the dark), light weight, durable, and above all else quiet. I prefer stands that have an open front. Unfortunately Summit is not offering as many options in open front stands. This is the main reason I am conidering API.

I am not one to promote overreaction to any so-called "crisis" but a lot of the concern surrounding CWD is due to a number of factors: 1. It is highly infectious. 2. It does not have a cure. 3. The exact incubation and "life cycle" of the disease is not fully understood in wild populations but once infected death usually occurs within 24 months. 4. In populations that have suffered from CWD massive die offs have occurred. The reality is that under the right conditions CWD could in fact cause localized "extinctions" of wild deer populations. I do not condone over dramatizing an issue but this disease could have a profound impact on the state of deer herds. CWD is only one of the many factors stressing our nation’s deer populations. Habitat loss and poor management being two others. If I were in charge of setting priorities I would focus on habitat first, CWD second and changing management strategies third. After all if you do not preserve the habitat and prevent the spread of lethal disease you would not have anything to manage.

It comes down to marketing prowess and strategic business partnerships that lead to one being seen more than others. If Scent-Lok did license to Scent Blocker then they not only get the benefit of having a strong brand but they also get royalties of every sale of the "competing" Scent Blocker. As far as why do you see more Scent-Lok in RealTree patterns than Scent Blocker, good question! In this instance I think that Scent Lok is benefiting from the extreme market penetration enjoyed by RealTree. This does not explain all of it since one could argue that Scent Blocker comes in RealTree as well. But Scent-Lok was first to market and probably had very little competition during start-up. With smart business decisions (Partnering with RealTree & Licensing their technology to their competitor) and a little luck on their side (RealTree’s ultra strong brand recognition) Scent-Lok is able to become the dominant brand in the market. By paying Scent-Lok licensing fees for their technology, Scent Blocker is at a disadvantage. Every time Scent Blocker makes a sale they have to pay Scent-Lok a royalty on the technology. Every time Scent-Lok makes a sale they pay no one for the technology. Due to licensing, Scent-Lok has the upper hand by controlling a larger portion of the available cash base of the market.

I agree... Summit I have been a fan of Summit since the first day I owned one. I have the older cobra xls and find it to be one of the quietest, safe, and reliable stands I have ever owned. Easy to set up, easy to climb in, and comfortable. I spend nearly 25 days a year sitting in one (all day for 8 hours or more a day). The Summit line is definitely my choice and teh only series of stands that I recommend.

Re: Ok, I did it!! Blaze orange..the controversy. I live in one of the few state that does not mandate hunter orange. Since the 1960's hunting accidents have steadily decreased. The primary factors? 1. Required hunter education 2. Expanded hunting seasons. Our hunting season begins 9/15 and goes through 12/15. Our hunters can use multiple methods over a very long period of time, avoiding a "glut" of activity in a short period. 3. Legislation that permits the accessability of large private tracks of land to public hunting. If the solution to prevent accidents was mandated hunter orange then states that required orange should have no accidents. But this is not the case. Why? Negligence on the part of hunters, who, regardless of orange mandates will shoot at any sound or movement. Education and respect is the key. People wearing orange are still the vicitms of accidents, a lot of good mandated hunter orange laws do them. Mandating hunter orange does very little if you don't educate people. Case in point, states that do not require hunter orange and have been able to decrease the number of hunting related accidents.

Re: To be honest Its kinda sickening!!! If we stick to the facts about who, why, and/or why not we would all be a lot better off. First, a state game department just doesn't ask someone not to come back. In order to keep the Benoit's from hunting, ME would have to have charged them with a game offense and take away their right to hunt in that state. If they were charged it would have been BIG news in the hunting community. Oh btw they were hunting in ME in 2005, 2004, 2003 so I guess they weren't "asked" to leave perminantly. Second, the 2005 Maine season they tagged 2 great bucks in ME and they were on bare ground. Third, "brag" about not using scopes? They have always written and spoke about preferring not to use them in the past but now 3 of them readily admit to using scopes (seems age takes a toll on the eyes). Sheald, you seem to be pointing an "all knowing finger" of opinion and judgement, first at the Real Tree guys, now the Benoits. So far you are all about trying to tear people down with hearsay. You strike me as the guy in a hunting camp that likes to put other people's success down... Do you have anything positive to say or contribute?

Re: well dumb question Yes it is legal to use but I think it is not the right gun to use. IMO I would not consider anything smaller than a .270. I like and prefer .280 and .30-06 for deer rifles.