fly

My first thought was 130 before reading the other guesses.

First time I looked I missed the unicorn spike altogether. Thought it might be a optical illusion or something. I too was thinking 160 gross non-typical. I'd love to get more pics and even better a pic of my behind him!

I see 8 points - not 7. I'd say 120-125 inches when done growing. Real close to P&Y.

I've got MUD beat - about a 20-30 minute drive from my house. Our local Walmart took all their guns out of the cases due to the rioting and looting.

Thanks for posting. I wish her all the luck in the world, but a smart girl like Christina doesn't need luck. Great parenting skills William!

Might add a little before season starts. He might go 135. He wouldn't get a pass from me.

This is a recent buck I got on trail cam. The picture is not great, but good enough to see this is a unique buck. Am I crazy or does he sport a 12+ inch unicorn spike over the right eye? Also, he looks like a mainframe 8 but with a point growing next and partially into his left G-2 and right G-3. It's not an easy score but let's hear your best guess? This one might actually bring me to tears.

Required: 1. Knowledge of the states deer hunting laws 2 Paperwork the state requires to be legal (license, permit) 3. Weapon/ammo that is legal. 4. A place to hunt 5. Clothing (colors) as required by law. Highly Recommended: 1. Knowledge concerning field dressing (not required as you could get someone to do it for you or get the animal to a butcher within an hour or two. 2. Knife (sharp) 3. Small saw to cut limbs / make a ground blind 4. Clothing and boots that will make you comfortable in the conditions you hunt. 5. Rope/cart/sled or something to get the deer to your vehicle. 6. A plan for what to do with the deer (process / give it away, whatever) Recommend: 1. Tree stand(s) and safety equipment 2. Trail camera(s) 3. Binoculars 4. Ground blind 5. Grunt call 6. Thermacel (if bugs are an issue where you hunt) 7. Something to check wind direction (wether forecast, white powder bottle) 8. Camera with a timer and a small adjustable tripod that fits around small tree branches. 9. Doe estrus scent (Tinks) for the rut. 10. 400.00 to mount your first monster buck! Happy hunting

Frank fly 43 Hunting September 6 - January 18

My trail cams were set out about 3 weeks ago. A few days ago I checked and have several nice 8 pointers walking around. These pics are from a trial cam mounted on the tree my tree stand hangs from. These bucks are 18 yards away from my stand that sits about 16 feet above them. I'm guessing them to be in the 130 class. Nothing giant, but a lot better start compared to last year.

I do the same thing William does Ruth. Have been for about 10 years now. I use it so much I have the signature black card. I earn 200-300 points each year which = dollars in Cabelas merchandise. I get 1% when I purchase mon-Cabelas merchandise and 6% when I buy Cabelas stuff.

Good question - I've got 250.00 in Cabela's points and other than little stuff like cover scents and batteries, I have everything I need. Maybe limb saw that extends to 5 or 6 feet.

Pretty cool that the outfitter in WI does not have a limit on the days clients can hunt since the season is almost a month long. Looks like one has to get lucky and draw a permit. If I was hunting WI in a couple years I'd be sure to buy a preference point this year.

Need to think about what you want first. Spring or fall? Bear size? Color phase bear? Meat hunting, rug or full mount? How much can you spend and how hard do you want to work? Also, how reliable are the others involved and have a back-up plan if one or more bails on the trip. Outfitted hunts are more expensive but take less time and much easier on the back. I live in IL and have been on 4 bear hunts. The first was a 5 day spring hunt over bait with an outfitter (Black bear Lodge) in Canada - year 2000. It was terrible and after 5 days of hunting I never saw a bear. In 2008 I planned a DIY hunt in northern Idaho. Everyone bailed except one guy so we went. He saw a bear (no shot) and I didn't see a thing. However, I spoke with locals and other bear hunters and learned how to hunt them. I In 2010 I went back with 2 buddies and I got 2 bears over bait (one at 75 years and one at 20 yards). In 2012 I was focused on a color phase and got one on day 2 at 40 yards. My buddy got an average black one on the last evening. While I mixed it up between my bow and gun it just so happened all my bears were with a rifle.The bears in Idaho are plentiful and high percentage of color phase, but not as big as they are in Canada or Alaska. Recommendations: If you want to bow hunt I would plan on hunting over bait. If you want a big black bear (300+ pounds) 6Ft.+ I'd look at Alaska or Canada. If you want a color phase bear states like Idaho, Utah, Montana. If you want to do it yourself and want to bait allow 2 days to set up the baits, 5 days for them top get active, and at least 3 days to be there when the bears are (travel days not included). If I were to do it again I'd likely plan for a 2 week hunt not counting travel days. Hunting magazines often publish comparison charts (state by state) that provides information on the seasons, using bait or hounds, license costs and number of bears one can take. In some parts of Idaho a non-resident bear tag is 30 dollars, available over the counter, and you can get two of them. Idaho has a long spring and fall season and allows baiting. Most other states are more restrictive and expensive. Can't give you any advice on a good outfitter, I'll just say make sure you get references from previous year clients and call them before making your decision.

A buddy of mine that lives here in IL had been looking for land and after a year wasn't finding anything reasonable in IL so he bought 100 acres near Land Between the Lakes. I've been helping him set up food plots and we have 10 stands set up. Trail cameras are out so on the next trip we will see what made it through the winter. Ky bow season opens in September which is right around the corner. I also got drawn for a week hunt in a good area here in IL so I'm expecting this year to be a good one. Debating on also applying for a Land Between the Lakes permit. Anyone ever hunted there? Worth it?

If it's one thing I've learned over the years it's that hunters should support all forms of legal hunting. This is why... there are more anti-hunting activists than I thought and many are not intelligent and may not even be sane. However, they DO vote and write to the Facebook people, and try to ruin the lives of hunters when they get the chance. Therefore publicly I put all my personal hunting preferences and reasons why I hunt in my own personal inbox and simply support ALL forms of legal hunting. While hunting a 200 inch whitetail deer inside a high fenced in area is not my thing, as long as it's legal I support it.

These anti-hunters are so incredibly stupid. A picture of Steven Spielberg sitting next to the sick (looks dead) triceratops from Jurassic Park was found by these people and they all bashed him too - saying things like he's a bad man for killing rare animals that should be protected!

I talked to my taxi about how long and he said about 4 weeks when the temp is over 70 degrees outside. I have a coyote skull buried since early June. Will wait until August before checking.

Saw that on FB Luke. This type of response from anti-hunters is what all hunters need to be aware of! Maybe then we (hunters) will finally stop running other hunters down about hunting with crossbows, or hunting in high fenced areas, trophy hunting, or whatever. Hunters need to stand together and support all legal hunting period!

I bought a TenPoint a couple years ago and flat out love it. I am more accurate with it out to 50 yards than I am with any of my slug shotguns. I have the Stealth XLT model that is no longer made. It shoots bolts about 316 FPS which is wicked fast. I shot a buck and the bolt went completely through and completely buried in the ground. Most models are made for three or four years then TenPoint gets faster and changes things around. I bought mine new for $900.00 on sale as they were discontinuing the model. The Titan Xtreme is currently running at the top end of your budget and for under 800.00 it's not a bad choice in my opinion. It shoots 333 FPS and comes with a scope, quiver, and bolts. Looks like Native outdoors lists it for 769.00. The turn crank accudraw is my favorite accessory. It allows me to easily reload while up in my treestand or practicing. Don't know much about the type without wheels. I hear they last longer, but I've never shot one.

Great write up and pictures! Colorado Bob and I planned to sit in that red chair as soon as Steve got up, but the bear tag drawing odds were not in our favor for 2015. We plan to apply again this fall for 2016. If so I'm sure Bob and I will be picking your brain from successful strategies! >Frank

I heard that Steve, we drove through the refuge many times and did not see any elk at all. Seemed odd to me as I expected to see cows with calf's in the lower meadows.

I heard that Steve, we drove through the refuge many times and did not see any elk at all. Seemed odd to me as I expected to see cows with calf's in the lower meadows.

Nice video Justin. Looks like some high quality equipment went into producing that video. While I didn't see you taking the shot, it was cool that you included the knife work.

Thanks for the kind words. Seeing a bear has been on the list for years. Nothing in the Rockies, Smokies, or Tetons. Finally near the end of the trip in Yellowstone we saw bears and a lot of them! We saw 7 in all. look closely and you'll see cubs with the sow. No Grizzly emerged on this trip, but that's okay. The rams were a fantastic finish as we were driving out of the park.