Leo

Prayers Sent!

Glad to see you back. Hope it all works out for you. The physical therapy is a huge part of the success. Don't miss any days if you can possibly help it. I know that's easier said than done.

In a philosophical debate between student and teacher the student always loses. The teacher holds all the cards. Right or wrong has little to do with it. Choose your battles wisely, wait until when you can actually fight back. In other words, graduate. As an alumni all her power over you is absolutely gone. You are also much more likely to be listened to by the administration.

Now thats cool! Good for you!!!

I'd stick with a super glue type gel. Gels have a much better gap fill and honestly inserts don't fit all that tight. Word of caution when using these gels. DO NOT use water to clean the dust out of the arrows before gluing in the inserts. This will significantly weaken the bond. Use acetone on a q-tip instead.

Like PAstringking I like to use both. It depends on what you're hunting and what you need the head to do. Most importantly, it depends on what your set up shoots well. Not all fixed heads shoot the same, nor do all mechanical heads shoot the same. Shooting them further out than 30 yards really separates the ones that will work for you and the ones that won't. Notice I didn't say good ones from bad. Broadheads are very setup specific. What shoots great for you may be a disaster for your buddy. In my experience faster bows have a lot more tuning issues with fixed heads than slower ones. Faster than 260fps, fixed head tuning gets tricky. Sometimes a large cutting diameter mechanical is exactly what you need and sometimes a deep penetrating fixed is a better choice. Don't limit yourself to one or the other. IMO, that's a mistake.

Bear hunting is fun. But it can get a little dicey. Glad to know you're taking precautions. Hopefully a big boar will start hitting the bait soon and momma will be on her way.

Your current attitude is very powerful. Keep it up. It will help you overcome. Just don't shopping for shoes on us!!!

Tropical Depression Andrea contributed to about 1/2" of rain last night. That I'm thankful for. She is weak and disorganized and does not pose a serious threat. This is also good news! Honestly, the last thing I need right now is a hurricane and an evacuation. I'm seriously glad this storm isn't worse.

That's a legitimate fear. I wouldn't try that on a Jack Russell.

Guess you're finding out why Jack Russell's are the dog of choice to hunt Leopards in Namibia. Most of the ones I've been around have been live wires with no insulation. They have a naturally "sparky" personality. All dogs calm down as they get older but the smaller breeds tend to take longer (sometimes years). My advice is find something else to wear the dog's energy out other than walking. Young dogs win that battle every time. If he won't fetch. Sometimes they will chase the heck out of a remote car. You gotta find something that drains this guys batteries and not yours. I don't know what that is for this guy. Good luck with him.

Two words - Graduate Degree If you go straight into to the working world with just a bachelors of Science in Wildlife Biology the competition will be far higher than you can possibly imagine at this point. Contrary to what almost every university official will tell you, a Bachelors degree in Wildlife biology does not guarantee you a job. You need to be flexible about moving (sometimes far) and go where the work is. Even then having only a Bachelors will keep ALL the plumb jobs out of reach. If that's as far as you want to go, then go for it. If not seriously think about this not being just a four year commitment. The school you get this degree from better be ranked really high nationally in that program. It really makes a difference. Don't ask anyone at the school's admission office, they just lie to get tuition money. No one ever can sue a university for awarding them a degree they can't get hired with. It's not happening and they know it. So they can lie to your face with absolute safety. Completing a degree in a university that has little respect for producing quality graduates in that field will just cost you money, put you in debt and not get you a job. Find out where potential employers are hiring candidates from. Their opinion matters not the schools. A Masters Degree will really open some doors and a Doctorate is huge from one of the respected schools. Good luck to you. It's smart of you to start doing your homework now.

Our good friend and neighbor just returned from his deployment in Iraq. My wife and I decided to treat him and his wife to a welcome home dinner. The Menu: Charcoal grilled Axis Deer meat Kabobs, Steamed rice and Steamed broccoli. French Silk pie for dessert. He must have liked them. He ate FIVE!

It's been my experience that the larger older bucks don't follow the main trails. They typically have at least two alternate trails that run parallel to the main trails. They choose which one to use that day based on the wind direction. In other words they try and stay down wind of the main trails. Most often these parallel trails are less than 60yds from the main trail and often have an astounding number of rubs on them. The key rubs to search for are the very large signpost rubs and rubs that have been hit on BOTH sides of the tree.

Prayers sent !!

I realized I have had the same signature for over 2yrs. Figured it was well past time for a little change. What ya think?

If you have an above the arrowrest hole cable bar. I'd say go with the Muzzy Zero Effect. But make sure the guy installing it knows what he's doing!!! Flubbed installs on this rest happen way too often!! Otherwise I'd go with a Copper John Alley Cat. This is a terrific cable style drop away quite a few of my friends use.

A friend of mine has been trying for years to get that tag. He blanked again this year and is major bummed. If you don't already know where there is one. Start looking now

IMO. The toughest thing to shoot through biscuits is turbonocks. Blazers are a great second choice if you want to stick with traditionally glued on fletchings.

Sometimes you just get lucky. This time I did.

Another vote for using fill flash, which I also highly recommend in daylight hours. BTW, fill flash also produces some nice shots with shutter priority mode. Here's a couple tips for trophy photos. 1. Position the animal so the sun is at the photographers back. 2. Remove all intervening vegetation between camera and subject. 3. The photograph should never be taken with the camera above eye level of the subject. Keep the camera low and angle the shot up wards. If you can get sky behing the horns, do it. 4. Frame the shot correctly. This kills me to even mention but I've seen so many shots where the hunter and animal look like specs in the middle of scenic landscape photo I gotta. Especially on digital cameras when it's possible to instantly review the shot there is no excuse for this. Combine those tips and you'll be ready when you get something like this

If you want an inexpensive way to experience torqueless. Just take you old grip off. Put some camo duct tape on the handle and shoot with a jersey glove on that hand. That ugly tape handle shoots beautifully.

This is my second trip to Texas attempting to get an axis deer. This time I went with Action Outdoors. In total, I've got seven days trying to get an axis deer with a bow under my belt. It had reached submission point for me. I was quite soundly whipped and knew it. It was time to put away the knives and start a gun fight. I borrowed my friend Tony's 257 Weatherby. Even then, I had no illusions, I was still in for quite a challenge. The closest I got to an axis with a bow after 30hrs of blind sitting was 43 yards. It stayed behind heavy cover and never offered an open shot. I ended up getting mine on another ranch Richard has access to. The shot I finally got at a deer was almost 130 yards away. That was as close as I was gonna get. He was in a herd. It's tough to pick a clean shot when you have multiple animals. I've never had to hold a rifle steady for so long trying to get an opportunity. Sitting on my rear end bracing off my knees is something I've practiced before. It is still awfully difficult to pick out the right deer and a clear shot in multiple animals. There are lots of things you have to consider. Clear shot in front and behind is the first. In a herd, obstacles are also moving. In addition, you have to mind not being spotted and blowing your chance. Not so easy. It took a great deal of concentration. God was looking out for me I managed to get the biggest buck they had on that ranch! My deer had just come out of velvet. There were still some tatters of velvet on my bucks antlers. He's got two stickers on the backs of his main beams which are unusual. Not score able stickers but definitely add character to the typical slick and uniform axis antlers. He is a hoss of a deer and weighed 230lbs. His main beams were 31 1/4". Richard said, "You did real good!" I'm elated. Axis deer are tropical deer whose antler loss and growth is cyclical based on their birthday, not the season like whitetails. This means part of the herd is always in rut, part is just sprouting antlers and part is somewhere in between. Axis are the only deer you have a chance to harvest hard horn year round. This variation makes these deer practically impossible to pattern. This lack of patternability and a spread out breeding season is a bane to bowhunters. It must be yet another survival trait these deer have developed to survive living in the land of tigers in their native India. A year long breeding and birthing season gives them an advantage. The meat is outstanding and well worth getting home. Taking the meat back is a huge plus hunting Texas.

Not that unusual for an animal not to bleed within the first 20yds with any broadhead. In fact I've found animals I've taken before finding the first drop of blood just following tracks. If there is blood on the arrow I know it's a hit. Bloodtrailing is tracks and blood. Always.

Good luck on the Black Bear Ty. They can be dangerous so don't take them for granted. They can climb and move much quieter than you would think an animal their size could. Aim point on them is much further back than African animals. Study up on it. Get your dad to help ya. He's pointing ya in the right direction so far.