atthewall

Re: Last Weekend before season opener with the Lens Thanks guys, appreciate it! NEMODeerhunter. I'm shooting a Canon D350 with an image stabilized 75-300mm zoom lens. I move a lot and the Image Stabilization lens saves my bacon on zoomed shots. Probably would blur them all if I didn't have it. OJR they certainly will. I try to spend the last month before the season afield with the camera so I can capture them relaxed. It will take months after season to get them back into this shape. Many of the big mature animals will simply disappear till next spring.

Re: we need more deer hunters I think we have more bowhunters than we did back in the late 60s - late 80s. A lot of rifle hunters will eventually get to a point they will take up archery for a new challenge. I find each time I meet someone new and start the discussion of hunting, we talk about locations and weapons. Once they find out I'm a hardcore bowhunter, show them a few pics....the bug starts to bite. One of the things I like to tell gun hunters is pretty simple...you can shoot year round and never have to worry about a rifle range. Add 3D events into the mix (golf with a weapon with friends) and they typically dive in with both feet. I keep things fun and always mention the challenge and reward of using archery gear. Big bucks are big bucks...taking one with a bow is the ultimate.

Re: Practiceing IN SEASON>>>> All the time, year round. On hunts, it's something to do during mid-day and certainly provides a feeling of confidence and consistency to my shots when it's show time.

Re: lets see some pictures of your bows 2006 hunting rig left & back up bow right. Backup bow has been my primary hunting bow the past 3 years and she typically hits 3D shoots till her service is needed. So far, knock on wood, she's riding 2nd string.

Re: Letting them lay up............. If it's warm, all night with 4-6 hours of lay up on questionable shots. Typically the hunter will know as well as the sign read on the blood trail if it was a good hit or not. Colder weather, not a problem but varmits can make that deal a risk as well.

Re: Is hunting still \"HUNTING\"? The quality of whitetail in my region of Texas has gone way up due to QDM (State Biologists & Landowners). These same whitetails are every bit as leary as they always have been. Seeing one on camera and getting that same animal down with stick and string are two different stories. Deer patterns change from food sources and pressure as the season moves forward. If you snap pics of a deer you classify as a shooter, he may not be there by the time you hunt due to habitat change and pressure. Yes we have rangefinders, better equipment, management tools (game cameras, supplemental feeding programs etc.) but they are only tools used to better the whitetail habitat overall. It's still up to stand placement, reading the wind, practicing scent control, figuring out changes to habitat and pressure of the local whitetail herd and then executing a flawless shot. Yes modern compounds are way better than recurves/longbows from years gone by but if a person wants to add more challenge, they certainly can still use this gear to hunt today. The modern compound bow is a short range weapon no matter how advanced it is. I think new bowhunters would be less reluctant to use archery gear if they had to lean on our old gear from years gone by....starving sticks. I put in a lot of years with old gear and had many shots blown due to the challenge that gear poses. I still hunt with a recurve periodically when I'm hunting does to manage the overall whitetail herd but...I prefer to hunt bucks with my compound. I just can't see making things more challenging to put a mature buck down with a recurve when it's tough enough with a compound. If we could hunt year round, I'd certainly would dedicate more time to it but.....only have so many days to get it done it. I hunt archery through rifle season as well (100%) so I need all that time to figure the habits and provide more time on stand to get that mature deer down within bow range.

Re: Who\'s holding out.... Goal is to take a mature 5-6 year old class buck that hits Pope & Young. Spotted many all over the place and dialing them in at each respective area is going to require a lot of patience and time. Hunting with my best friend Drake this year...two in the stand. One on camera and the other on the bow. He's up first so we will go at it till he puts something down. We have a lot of does to take out to help keep the whitetail numbers managed. 4 does per hunter so what ever steps out to get this done will be covered. Free range Axis deer litter this area as well. Out of axis venison so thats another side to this season. We spotted one huge Axis buck on trail camera this summer and we are hunting them as well. No tag requirement to take one so even if we tag out, we will still be on the stand hunting axis. Our goal this year, a couple of mature bucks down and all shots on video this season. Bowhunting is tough enough...we just made things way tougher LOL!

Re: Backstraps for breakfast boys!!! Congratulations on breaking the ice this season!

Re: Some buck pics from North LA...need an opinion The buck in pics 2 & 3 is mature and a completely different buck. He's the one you want. Good luck, he's a bruiser! He looks like the same buck in the last pic. Note the G4 on his right main beam and matching tines on his left main beam. Bucks will grow kickers between years. Some years they have them and others they dont. He's put on more body weight and is roughly 5 or 6 years old now.

Spent my last non-hunting weekend of 2006 with my lens. Spotted only two bucks still in velvet, the rest were hard horned. This 2 year old is showing territorial activity. Cooler weather and fresh acorns have now triggered early Fall whitetail activity. Blackbucks are fighting over territory as well. These guys are free range ferals and you can hunt them as well. Fawns are nursing and browsing. So many spotted fawns this year. The rut was way late last year for many does. Acorns and fresh browse from recent rains brought out several families. This is a bordering area with a thickly lined ravine just behind these whitetails, with oaks and open grasslands out front. Acorns are gobbled up as they browse around filling up on both. Browsing along on the edge of thick cover. Ticks are still very bad. This old boy was mad at a few along his back. Note the ticks on both flanks in between his tail-less rump. This one is a very unique whitetail and this is my first year to see something like that. Glad I managed to catch him 2 weeks in a row. These whitetail are not pressured right now so they are pretty predictable....this will change very soon. A velvety 3 & 2 year old rise out from the ravine looking for browse. Horned motion at speed. I got blowing doe busted with this guy on a stalk from up high. This son of a gun had excellent climbing gear and ran up a craggy vertical ravine like a billy goat. The turkeys were out filling up on acorns and grasshoppers. Here's a double bearded Tom. Spotted 3 bearded hens today. Here's hen number one. And a pair of bearded ladies feeding together. What are the odds? Should have purchased a lottery ticket today. 3 Toms feeding in a meadow.

Re: hunting on riges I hunt below the ridges in West Texas. Whitetails out here will funnel up canyons and bed down half way up with their backs to the hill and face forward into the wind. Depending on the heat or cold, either they will bed on the south side (cold) or the north side (hot) using sun or shadow to regulate temps. I've watched way too many bucks stay as low as possible when traveling terrain in West Texas. Draw bottoms (dry creek beds) lined with heavy brush are their preferred routes down off the hill on afternoon hunts as the work out into the low areas to graze and browse. Edwards Plateu Texas whitetails will feed graze or browse 67% of the time so areas that show a lot of feed activity from bed to food are hunted. South Texas deer feed exclusively on Forbes. Down there we still hunt low areas even though the terrain is flat or slightly rolling. For some reason even a 1-3ft drop below the ground seems to fit their low profile mindset. When the rut is on, I focus on semi open flats. Not too expansive and typically these small flats are an acre to couple of acres big with thick brush surrounding them. Hill country or South Texas, too wide is not good but compact and open with thick brush surrounding these flats seems to be the best.

Re: Whats your plan of attack? Hitting the stand on Sept 30th, bow opener. Working 5 popups, 4 tripods, 2 ladder stands and 3 cling on stands. The stands deep in the oaks and mixed with persimmon will get hunted first. Acorns are dropping and the deer here in Texas are going to town on them. Persimmons started dropping 2 weeks ago and everyone of them have circles of tracks around them. Setups are either along game trails, pre-staging areas to food plots (70 acres of oats) or on vegetation transition areas (mesquite flats to oaks) where typically the more mature whitetail bucks travel (just along the edges of the oaks). As the season cools down, things go into winter mode, game trails working into the oats with setups a couple hundred yards in the brush out to 1/2 mile on corridors along fence line intersections, vegetation transition areas and low draws that feed through the flats to the oat field are hunted hard.

Re: tell us your setup this year Primary bow this season 2004 Hoyt Xtec 28.5 @ 70lbs BlackHawk Vapors cut 29", 2 inch Blazers & 100 grain Magnus Stinger 4 blades. Overall hunting weight 386 grains, .003 straightness. Cut the arrows to size from both ends to tighten overall straightness value. Copper John DeadNuts Pro III with 6 pins 20-60 Trophy Taker Shakey Hunter drop away Carter Chocolate Addiction 4 finger release Kwikee Quiver (rides outside my backpack on my back ala Cat Quiver Style) Fletcher Tru Peep VaporTrail VTX Strings and Cables String loop Doinker 7" Hunter stabilizer Bomar Super Slide with stock cable guard Backup bow 2003 Hoyt UltraTec 28.5 inch draw @ 73lbs Hoyt offset cable slide with Bomar Super Slide Everything else on the Xtec rides on thE UltraTec including the same arrows.

Re: Blazer Vanes I switched when they first came out. I gained some FPS and they do stabilize a broadhead nicely. Just as well as my 4 inch feather or plastics with less weight and quiet compared to feathers.

Re: Dang POTHEADS!! If it's not the smell, their activity in the area will keep deer alerted for awhile but it will pass after it's all taken care of. Just hope for a good drenching rain and keep on hunting after it's all said and done.

Re: First deer ever *pics* Congratulations. Sweet isn't it!

Re: What are the chances... I've had decent luck hunting with 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 part water. It doesn't spook Texas whitetail even if they smell it but I don't know if it will work up there. Sounds like you will be hunting a very tight wind. Depending on the trail leading to your stand, they may come in from the downwind side as they work up the trail. Never know till you give it a shot. If you can, try to figure out another stand location to work a South wind in the same area. This will give you two options. I know this might be too late for this hunt but you may get away with setting something up mid day before leaving to go home? Even if you think this spot is your best spot to see deer, sometimes it's a good alternative to find a South wind stand elsewhere close by. Don't forget to keep the bottoms of your hunting boots scent free as well as cleaning your bow and release. With a wind this tight, you have to think of everything including your equipment. Good luck!

Re: Almost had him Stay with it. Now you have a score to settle, good luck!

Re: A few Pre-Season Pics Thank you guys! Hoping to have a few more to share once the season kicks off. Good luck to all this season and may this year be a season of season. Be safe and share the passion with friends and family! Rob

Re: A few Pre-Season Pics The drought may have taken it's toll, but this is the key to helping the herd. When you scout land in Texas to hunt game, here's what you need during those summer months. Several miles on either side of this water source, the game continues to thrive.

Re: A few Pre-Season Pics A few more blackbuck scenes Topping the Rise Scissor Walk Broken right beam

Re: A few Pre-Season Pics Then the whitetail bucks. Some were in velvet, shedding velvet and hard horned. Sunset doe Then the big boys This majestic 8 pointer was trying to clear his velvet shed on a cedar tree. G2s are way long and he's a stud.

We had a pretty tough 3 month drought in Texas this year (June - August). Concerned it was bad enough to impact the local critters and it has but not to a point they can't recover from our recent rounds of well needed rains. Hoping they can catch up before winter hits. Thank goodness winters in Texas are typically mild even when it's a cold one. El Nino this winter does bring the promise of more rain..fingers are crossed. Shot these pics roaming around a low fence ranch in Central Texas. Spent roughly 3 weekends following the scene and here are a few shot during September. Bearded Hen Free range Blackbuck (Texas feral animal) marking his territory on an open field. Blackbucks use dung piles vs a whitetail using scrapes. They always mark an area where they can see a long way and then strut around waiting on does before lighting off. Interesting and beautiful animals. Blackbuck strutting his doe

Re: lumenoks? They are great for filming shots and replaying video before you track. Burt Coyote Lumenok on my buck last season.

Re: alluminum or carbon????????? I shot aluminum for years and had to replace arrows every year. With carbon, it's a whole nother game.