FSU_Seminole

Well guys I already made up my mind. I'm going to buy an Xtrema 2 this coming March for Turkey season.

I just think it all depends on how its done & what network your show is on. I was watching a Beretta program about 2 weeks ago. Gerald McRaney shot a mule deer at 350 yards & it stood up on its hind legs and literally walked around on them in a circle before it die. I saw the host of GoreTex outdoors shoot a mule deer at 250 yards with a 300 win mag. That deer stiffened up & rolled over with all 4 hooves sticking straight up in the air. Those kills are what I call clean kills on cable TV. Some cable channels like the outdoor channel IMO is just like watching HBO or cinemax. HBO & cinemax openly show gay porn documentaries like its sesame street. If those cable channels can show that then the outdoor channel & its shows should be able to show clean kill shots. ESPN & Versus on the other hand you may run into a PR problem. Those channels are suppose to be geared more toward family programing. If you show deer getting blasted with their tongues, guts & blood running everywhere you may be asking for trouble. I think if you're program is on ESPN leave the really graphic kills on your DVD & sell it. If its the outdoor channel I don't see why it should be a problem showing kills all the way through.

Another tip that I've learned. If you hunt a lot in the early mornings try sitting until about 11 am. I know some people that climbed down about 9 or 9:30, that's a big mistake. I always like to sit well into mid morning.

To kill a big buck you basically need 4 things. Patience, food & does. If you're bow hunting I'd also highly recommend scent control. If I were chasing a big buck & it was early in the season I'd hunt a trail leading to a food source or hunt right on top of a food source like a big soybean field with a rifle, its your choice. As the old saying goes the best time to pick a mature buck off is during the rut. I shot my 11 pointer this year the day after Thanksgiving. I was sitting on the edge of a soybean field when he stepped out of the woods chasing 3 does. He walked right toward me & offered a 90 yard chip shot, I took care of the rest with my .270. Unlike most guys I do NOT hunt the woods during the rut. I hunt doe groups that come out and feed in bean fields, food plots or cut corn fields. Big bucks will chase them in open fields all times of day.

I'd go with a 25.06 or 7mm08.

I've used this product before & it does work. But here is the catch. It works best as a spring mineral lick. I've used it before as a lure, no luck. I then tried it as a mineral lick in the spring. What I did was use the c'mere deer as a base. I use this at the very bottom of a mineral lick. I dig a circular depression in the ground about 6 inches deep, pour c'mere deer powder. Then I cover this up with a little dirt then I pour whatever minerals I'm using on top of c'mere deer then mix it with top soil, my mineral licks have been fantastic. C'mere deer works in big woods & places where their aren't many preferred forages for deer. If you are up against soybeans, corn, oats, acorns ect ect save your money if you want to use this as an "attractant". If you are looking for something to attract deer, I would suggest the Trophy Rock. That thing WORKS where I hunt. I've bought about 20 trophy rocks over 3 years & I can't keep them on the ground. Whether its spring, summer, winter or fall. Deer where I hunt love them & they are only 15$.

Thanks for the input guys. I was really leaning to the 26" barrel & thats what I'm going to get. And spur, I might take you up on that. I am looking for perhaps an 11-87 SuperMag or the Beretta Xtrema2.

Hey guys, sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum but I thought it would be best to ask here. I'm going to buy a new shotgun next month. I'm wondering what most of you use. A 24, 26, 28 or 30 inch barrel on your turkey gun & what are your opinions on which is best? This gun will primarily be my turkey gun. I may use it to shoot doves every now & then & I might use it on the very rare ocassion someone invites me on a duck hunt. Last season I used a gun with a 28 inch barrel & it got kind of cumbersome carrying it with all the equipment & decoys. I'm leaning towards a 24 or 26 inch barrel but I've heard people say they don't pattern as good at long range like the 28 & 30 inch barrels. Is this true? Or is the shell & choke what really counts?

Ok sure thing. Florence is 35 minutes from me. I'm not sure of where that Dick's Sporting Goods is, but I do know where ACE Scofield hardware is. They also carry some very nice hunting equipment. Bows, guns ammo clothing ect ect.

I agree with this to. It all depends on where you hunt. I know around here in SC 140 class deer are considered monsters. Anything 150 & above is considered a giant. I think the SC all time typical record is 176. Overall I think a 150 inch buck is considered a monster about anywhere. Their are hundreds of guys who travel to Canada to shoot a 150" deer or bigger. 160 on up & you are talking giants anywhere.

Sorry if this is old, but I just saw this. A friend sent it in an email & I thought it was pretty amazing & not fake. WHAT IS THAT? A deer caught 1.5 miles offshore while fishing The guys who caught this buck said it barely fought them to get on board. It was just a little struggle, he was so tired he acted like he was glad to get into the boat and rest after a few minutes. And yes, they turned him loose when they got back to shore where he took off into the woods. Do you guys think this little fella just lost his bearings & was just going to literally paddle himself to death out to sea?

I hunt Turkeys in Clarendon & Sumter counties. Mostly down in Clarendon near Manning SC. Yeah I know the season was tough here last year. Or so I was told. I heard several birds gobble & I saw 2 big toms while actually hunting. Turkey seem to be like deer right before the season opens. In late March I can take you down a few hwys near Manning SC about 11 am & you will see flocks of turkeys up & down that road about mid day. Its almost automatic, but when the season starts they vanish except for this 1 field off the road. I don't think anyone is hunting there because turkeys hang out in this field like people in Miami beach. Even when I didn't turkey hunt years prior I use to always see turkeys in this 1 particular spot almost year round.

I know what you mean. Its gotten to the point where I hunt, I only use heavy tripods. People here were stealing lock ons but they were also backing their trucks up & stealing ladder stands that fold in the middle. Taking them right off the tree in the middle of the morning.

Yeah that was hilarious. LOL!!!!!! I didn't know how else to describe my turkey hunting experience. I just picked up a shotgun, taught myself to call & went to the woods. I know its a lot more to it than that. I certainly love the sport of it. Some people say they love turkey hunting more than deer. I won't say that but it darn sure is close. Maybe that will change when I get a tom standing 35 yards from me for the first time & I'm shaking like a leaf on a tree.

Nice pic.

Yes I'm a turkey harvest virgin. I've never shot a bird before BUT I only started turkey hunting last year here in South Carolina & I LOVED IT. A friend encouraged me last January to take up turkey hunting. I never gave turkey hunting a thought because I love to deer hunt so much. I started watching programs & when I would go to wal mart I'd see all the turkey calls DVDs, camo ect ect. Something inside me clicked & it felt like waiting for deer season to open. Last year I read this board a ton picking up tips & pointers from you guys, I didn't post anything because I didn't want to ask any dumb questions being that I was a complete novice. But I'm going to ask this year when I need the info. The season here starts at the begining of April until May 1st. I taught myself to use a box & friction call & I called a few hens into myself last year & I spooked a huge globbler trying to sneak my way into another field. That bird was coming to my call but I guess I wasn't patient enough & I didn't see him, he saw me. Oh well beginers mistake, it was alot of fun. I plan on buying a new shotgun this March & hopefully I can take a tom down this season. I love my new spring hobby. Somebody should have put me on to this sooner.

I have a Yamaha Grizzly 660, 03 model. Love it hasn't given me 1 problem in 5 years now. Most people I talk to say you can't go wrong with a Yamaha & Honda. Even here where I live I had both people at Yamaha & Honda compliment each other from different stores. The reason I chose a Yamaha is because the dealer is closer to my house & the guy who sold me my machine just got back from serving in Iraq. I made a good choice.

He's right about the 300 win mag, but you said you didn't want too much recoil. I don't know your body type so of the 3 you mentioned I'd go with the 280. I have 7mm & when I get near the end of a box of shells at the shooting range I start to feel the recoil. I've fallen in love with the 280. Shoots just as flat as a 270, same recoil & you can get 160 & 165 grain bullets for a 280 where the .270 tops out at 150.

Beautiful gun, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if this is the reason many outfitters have dropped their prices?

Swarovski optics are also top notch but Swarovski doesn't have an assembly plant here in the USA like Zeiss. Swaro American line scopes start at 1,000$ where the Zeiss Conquest starts at 399$. Zeiss is able to cut the cost considerably in their Conquest line because they get tax breaks for employing American workers. They make the parts of the Conquest line but its assembled here in America. Another reason Swarovski scopes are more pricey is because they are very aggressive with advertising their products. Nothing wrong with their scopes though. In fact they make 1 heck of a scope.

Hey guys I work with a company out of Maryland & I speak with several guys up there on a weekly basis. Maryland is a hidden gold mine when it comes to deer hunting so the guys up there say. They have so many deer per square mile that its silly. I was just talking with a guy last week & he said 140-160 class bucks are common & in some places up there, they just stroll through developing neighborhoods on the fringes of the their territory. The guy was telling me when people drive to work big bucks walk down the streets & people avoid them like you're trying to avoid squirrels in the average neighborhood. This is an amazing animal for sure.

Usually I let people tell me what they've killed first, how long they've been hunting ect ect. I don't like to rub people the wrong way or start any drama. I think that if people want to shoot young deer on public land, or if they have their own private land they can do whatever they want to do as long as its legal & it makes them happy while hunting. For me personally I've long been over shooting young deer. I waited 3 months to pull the trigger this season & my patience got me a dandy buck!!!! I was just telling my girlfriend the other day I'm already excited about next season because their are several handsome smaller bucks & 2 defenite border line shooters that are staying on my land. If they survive the next 3 weeks & survive the winter I will have 2 monster bucks to hunt next season along with any dominant traveling bucks during the rut. I could have shot both those deer way earlier in the season. A big 6 point & a nice young wide 8 who should be a stud next year. Alot of guys I know aren't interested in food plots, mineral licks, deer & property management. So I really don't tell everyone I know that I "pass deer up". I just tell them what I took in that particular year.

Yeah good advice. Meoptas are great scopes to!!!

TC Zeiss has 2 scope lines. The 1" tube version called the Conquest & a 30mm tube called the Diavari line. The Diavari line are probably the best if not the best hunting optics on earth in low light. The Conquest line is directed more toward the American hunter. For those that cna legally hunt 1/2 hour past sunset. I suggest you go with something in the Conquest model. Someting like a 3.5-10x50. Zeiss offers different recticles with their Conquest models. I'm not trying to knock the Nikon or Leupold guys but I have a Leupold & its no comparison to the Conquest model for roughly the same price. If you are willing to spend 400-700 on a scope get a Zeiss. They are brilliant in low light.