High Country

I am envious...good luck, I hope you get one of them.

I have lost three deer that I hit...all does... 1. Muzzleloader...first deer I shot with a muzzleloader...385 grain Hornady Great Plains conical over 120 grains Pyrodex...quartering away angle at 50 yards...deer dropped at the shot...then got up, ran down the valley 30 yards, dropped again. Then got back up and ran up the side of the valley opposite of me into heavy cover. Blood sign was massive at each drop sight (4 foot square) and the trail in between. The trail in heavy cover was good for 50 yards then faded out. Searched for two days for that deer, with a friend and brother. 2. Bow...shot high through the back...sparse blood sign...trailed the deer for 3 hours that night...took the next day off of work and searched for 6 more hours...last sign of blood was a small drop on the barbed-wire fence leaving the farm. 3. Bow...shot the deer square through the shoulder at 20 yards...deer wheeled and ran off with the arrow in the shoulder...waited 45 minutes, went to look...massive blood trail (but no bubbles)...trailed the deer across two farms (stopped and got permission--and that took some time), more than 1000 yards before loosing the trail. Started over, and found my arrow only 20 yards beyond the shot. The Bear Super Razorhead (fixed, cut on contact, 2-blade with a bleeder blade) had folded-back double and penetration was only about 3 inches. Found the deer dead two days later in the creek next to the highway. Left shoulder was mangled, but the arrow had not penetrated the body cavity. I switched to chisel point heads, now shooting Muzzys.

In my first year of bowhunting...I missed, then missed some more...on the first Thursday in November back in 1993, I missed four different bucks the same morning (my quiver holds 4 arrows!)... I have only "missed" once with a rifle (my scope broke on the last shot I fired on the bench...after missing that 120 inch 8 point, I checked back in camp...missed a 3' x 3' target and had to switch to my backup rifle)... I did "loose" one deer with a muzzleloader, and two more with a bow (though the shot on one was nearly perfect, the broadhead (a 125 grain Bear Super Razorhead) bent double on hitting the ball of the humerous/shoulder...probably 1 in a million chance of happening...but I am now shooting Muzzys)

A Warren&Sweet climbing stand (16#) for bowhunting or hunting on public land. An old model (45#) Tree Lounge for gun hunting during the rut on private land. Easy to stay in it all day long. Hunt generally 20-25 feet high.

260 ft/s is plenty with a good, sharp broadhead. In order to get into the 300+ range the arrows must generally be pretty light (350 grains or so) and that starts producing two problems... 1. Light arrows shed momentum very quickly and frequently have difficulty with penetration, whereas normal 500 grain hunting shafts (at more reasonable speeds) drive through deer with ease. 2. The faster the arrow speed the greater the difficulty in stabilizing broadheads. Mechanicals were developed to help deal with this problem, but I am not a fan of them. 3. (Bonus)...Faster arrow speeds often come with increased vibration and sound. Keep in mind that the speed of sound is around 1100 ft/s, nearly four times the speed of a fast arrow.

While I try to play the scent-control game, and am obsessive in tree stand placement (in order for a deer to get downwind of my favorite tree stand it would have to grow wings and fly), I really think it depends on whether the deer associates the oder with danger. I don't think you can ever fool a deer's nose, but if a deer smells something "normal" it is not likely to spook. My uncle limits out every year with big bucks, frequently on well hunted public land. He uses a 3-foot high step ladder to sit on and seldom shoots farther than 50 yards. He swears by taking a shower every morning, shaving, putting on deoderant and splashing on Brute aftershave. Brute is a musky scent and I am wondering if a buck may "confuse" it with a dominant buck oder and come in to investigate?

I use a very small LED flashlight (bluish-white) to enter and exit from my ATV or truck/jeep. I keep a 4 D-cell Maglite in the vehicle/ATV in case I have to track one after dark.

I carry a Primos sonic dome diaphragm call in my fanny/back-pack during archery deer season as turkey is also in-season.

I have had no trouble with a Tasco 3-9x40 for deer hunting. I tapped the receiver of my Remington 1100 12-gauge and used a Weaver mount. Pictures attached.

Carbon Express with Blazer vanes spined to 60-70#, cut down to 26" with a 100 grain Muzzy 3-blade.

I met Phil a couple of years ago at a wildgame dinner event at Rose Hill Baptist Church in Ashland, KY. After everyone had stuffed him/herself on deer, wildturkey, duck, goose, boar, bear, elk, pheasant, rabbit, squirrel, various fish, and nearly any side you can think of, Phil gave an hour long talk that masterly blended his love of duck hunting (with examples of various duck calls) with his religious beliefs. He is an excellent speaker and I highly recommend him to anyone hosting one of these dinners.

I am still on antibiotics for one that partially embedded itself in my back...my wife extracted it (or at least part of it), then I had it checked by my MD. I picked that one up after work in my backyard garden (only 4 ten foot boxes, 3 planters, and a bed of pumpkins). They have been bad. When in the woods, I spray down in DeepWoods OFF. It has generally worked well for me.

I prefer to shoot a 245 grain Powerbelt Aero over 100 grains of loose Pyrodex. Very good accuracy from my CVA Wolf, and is pretty efficient on the deer. My father prefers to shoot a 295 grain Powerbelt Aero over 120 grains of loose Pyrodex from his T/C Grayhawk sidelock. Seems to be very efficient as he has killed two 8 points, a 10 point, several does, and a 210 pound boar all with single shots without any going more than a couple dozen yards.

One of my favorite "public" areas to deer hunt is the Fort Knox military base located near Louisville, Kentucky. Every year, there are a number of very large bucks harvested, and I anxiously apply for the gun hunt with dreams of encountering one of those monsters (so far, I have harvested only 120-130 class bucks during my two day hunt). I ran into another forum that had several harvest pics from the 08 season while surfing yesterday ( http://www.kentuckyhunting.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52006 ). Attached are a few of my favorite "dream" deer. For more information on hunting Fort Knox... http://www.knox.army.mil/fw/

Turkey: Harold Knight of Knight and Hale Game calls Whitetail: Mark and Terry Drury

High Country Ultra One Cam set at 63#...Keller Pendulum sight...26" carbon shaft...whisker buscuit...Muzzy MX3 100 grain 3 blade. Very fast and accurate.

If you are really into smallies consider Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky/Tennessee line... I have had a lot of enjoyable trips on Cherokee Lake as well...and have caught more variety of fish on a single trip than anywhere else (...largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striper, black/white crappie, blue gill, channel catfish, drum...)

Sometimes I hunt alone, usually in the early bow season. However, I greatly prefer to hunt with my family (my father, brother, wife and son). The most memorable hunts I have had was when I killed my first deer (my wife was with me), my wife's first deer, and a wide racked 6 point (my father and I watched a doe in heat prance around a field for four hours waiting on the buck) I killed several years ago.

Live in Georgetown...frequently hunt in south-eastern Kentucky (Letcher and Knott Cos) or on WMAs in central KY (Kleber, KY River, Taylorsville, Ft Knox). Saw several deer while out during the spring squirrel and turkey seasons...

A few years ago, I decided to start seriously hunting the Fort Knox military reservation here in Kentucky. Fort Knox's reputation as a big buck area is well earned, and each year I have seen several 160+ class bucks that have been harvested (just not be me, unfortunately). Since the military base requires only shotguns with slugs or muzzleloading rifles for gun hunting, I purchased a shotgun with hunting there in mind. 1. I purchased a plain, synthetic stocked Remington 1100 (2 3/4" chamber) with a 28" Remchoked vent-rib barrel at Walmart for about $400 (the 1187 option was $100 more at the time). 2. I purchased a 20" fully rifled barrel with rifle sights from Cabelas for about $225. 3. I purchased a Weaver rail mount (I think mine was originally for a Marlin .30-30) for about $10 and tapped the receiver for the rail. 4. I purchased two Tasco scopes for about $79 each...one is a Tasco Bantam 1-4X20 with a circle plex that is use with the vent rib barrel and superfull choke for turkey hunting (the 1187 with a 3" chamber would have been a better choice for this)...the second is a Tasco "Deerhunter" 3-9x40 that I use with the rifled barrel for deer hunting. I chose to go with the rifle sights and receiver mounted scope so that I would have a redundant sight system, since Fort Knox is very strict on equipment in possession (no 2nd firearm in your vehicle, etc). I shoot Hornady 300 grain SST slugs sighted in at 75 yards (directions on the box are for sighting in at 100 yards) with the scope and 50 yards with the open sights. Total cost was about $800 and I have a "specialty" shotgun for both deer and turkey.

Bucks: heads up by the antlers Does: legs up (but I field dress all of the way up through the chest cavity so the blood drains easily out)

My favorite slugs (from my Remington 1100) is the Hornady 300 grain SSTs at about 2000 ft/s. These are very hot loads, very accurate and devestating on deer out to 150 yards or so. Surprizingly, I do not find them to be heavy recoiling rounds.

Remington 1100 in 20 gauge with a cantilever scope mount rifled barrel...try Hornady 20 gauge SSTs. Also consider one of the special ballistic plex scopes for shotguns. Gives you an effective weapon past 100 yards.

Remington 1100 12 gauge with a 20" fully rifled iron sighted barrel...has a 3-9x40 scope on it in a Quad-lok weaver mount attached to the receiver. Hornady 300 grain SST at around 2000 ft/s. Very accurate and powerful out to 150 yards. Devestating on deer.

The Smith & Wesson's are great guns, but I would consider the Ruger revolvers as well. The GP100 with either a 4" or 6" barrel is a great home defense revolver... My personal favorite is the SP101 in .357...small enough to carry concealed...yet still shootable, even with good defensive loads...125 grain JHPs at 1400 ft/s.