I guess I'm a mixed bag. I love nothing more than taking my kids hunting, but I love to drop the hammer on a big ol' tom or buck too. I really love to eat what I've shot or caught, and to feed it to friends and family. I've loved just being in the woods for as long as I remember. I filled the freezer w/venison this past fall, but I didn't shoot a buck, and I'm totally fine w/it. Yet, I'll damn sure be after a biggun' next fall. I bowhunt, but mostly to extend my hunting days, not to 'handicap' myself. I called in my brother's first turkey, and was more excited when he shot it than he was. I just flat-out love being 'out there', I consider it my church, and it's the prettiest one of them all.

Thanks 2Poppa, now I'll have to find room in my bass tacklebox for some vanilla extract.

Price and performance. I've been using Winchester super X's for decades in my .270 and have been feeding my family venison the whole time. The price is right, and they flat-out work. If I were hunting elk, or moose I'd probably spring for some pricier loads, but for whitetail, I personally haven't seen any need for 'upgrading' to a pricier round.

I saw a tom strutting for a bunch of hens this evening just outside of Liberty Mo. REALLY got the old blood pumpin!! I've been seeing the same group of birds on my drive home for a week. I think the strutting JUST started, tonight was the first time I'd seen it.

Can't put it any better than the posts above. I read an article when my first child was very young that said you'll have some busted hunts,and alot of hunts cut short, but they'll only be that age once, so enjoy it, and let em' go at their own pace. Now she's 12, my boy's 8, and before you know it, they'll be all grown up, and I'll really miss these days of short hunts, and constant 'snack breaks'. Congrats. I say start taking them whenever they want to go w/you. My daughter started goin w/me @5, I shot a nice tom w/my son when he was 3, my wife laughed at me when I said I was going to take him turkey hunting. Some of my very fondest memories.

Good shootin! Can't be a bad gun either.

I bought one on clearance at KMart about 12 years ago. Was $19 bucks. It's got 4 pockets and a big back pouch. Had a thin butt pad. The new ones have tons of specialty pockets, extra padding, lots of good features, but my Kmart special hauls everything I need, so I can't justify spending all the dough. I'll pack a waterproof "wedge" padded seat if I'm planning on a long sit, otherwise, I go light for my usual run and gunning.

I've got a Pfleuger President on a 6' Zebco ultra-light rod. 6#flouro. My favorite rod is a Zebco Omega thumb-caster, yep, you read it right, a thumb-caster. I've got it on a 6' cheapo Zebco rod that I broke the last 6" off of. Now it's a 5 1/2', stiff, and I can zing rooster tails and panther martins a looong ways w/it. Rooster's and Panthers make up 90% of my lure arsenal. The "hot" color seems to change w/every fishing trip. So naturally, I carry an extensive assortment, much to the chagrin of my wife. Rebel baby craws caught me my biggest brown ever last spring. I make my own dough-bait for the rare occasion that lures aren't hitting.

Shooting my first buck @16. My Dad and my Grandpa were there to help me gut it. They're both gone now, so I doubt I'll ever top that hunt.

I'm w/ Ethan3, the curly tailed minnow grubs work awesome on crappie. My fav's the white, and I use a black or yellow jighead. They are pricey, and I haven't used alot of them, but what I've tried have been successful.

Vanish fluoro

Rode 4wheelers w/my kids all weekend. Coaching my boy's basketball team. Doin some shooting. Playin rock n roll.

huntnow, I pulled down 2 stands yesterday and found the exact same thing. Didn't see squat from either during the bow/rifle season. I think they change their patterns w/the food supply. There were crops still in during the hunting season, and I hope that's why several of my stand set-ups proved lousy. I got a game cam. for Christmas, and I plan on using it alot to help me pick better spots next fall.

I used to 'bottle' it, now I let it fly. May go back to the bottle after this poor season. If you can hold it the entire hunt, you either have a WAY bigger bladder than me, or you aren't hunting long enough.

I hose down w/maximum strength bug spray, but those little bastards just love me. As soon as I break a sweat hiking, bam, they attack. The person who comes up w/ a sure-fire way to repel ticks is gonna be rich, very rich. And they'll deserve every penny.

I'd get a Savage. Cheaper, more accurate, made in the USA. To each his own, though.

Shoot one, and if you can afford it, go for it. Just because it's expensive doesn't necessarily mean it's the 'best' for you. Personally, I love my Reflex, but that's just me. If I'd had a 'Mathews" budget at the time, I may very well have bought one. Since I couldn't afford one, I didn't bother trying one out.

I've used 150's for years. An old, wise shooter told me years and years ago to use the heavier bullets for better accuracy, so I bought some. The accuracy, and the results, have given me no reason to change.

hengst, so sorry for ya. I'm going through the "back and forth" right now w/ my 13 yr. old Shepherd Mojo. It's horrible to watch, but he's still my 'baby boy', and as of yet, I can't bring myself to put him down. His back hips are virtually gone, and if any of the other dogs so much as brush by him, he falls down pitifully. God was he somethin' in his prime though! Pure white, 120 pounds, scare the livin sh** outta anybody who came close to the house. After that long as the 'family protector', it just seems wrong to cut his life off. Or maybe it's wrong to let him suffer in pain? And THAT'S my 'back and forth".

I didn't ask the question, but I appreciate the answers. I've been butchering my own for about 11 years now, usually 4-6 per year. We eat every bit and love it, but I'm always looking for good advice on butchering, and good recipes. I'm still full from the venison enchiladas I had for supper. mmmmm

All good advice above. Purrs and puts on a diaphragm, and alot of patience will do the trick alot of the time. Scratching the leaves works too, but you gotta be careful not to be seen moving. Sometimes I've found using no decoy keeps him looking and coming. Sometimes, it doesn't matter what you do, he's just going to be stubborn.

Thank you for your service to your country. Sorry you gotta miss the fishin, but it'll be worth it. Good luck, and God bless.

just like frosted flakes, "THEYRRRRE GRRREAT"!

I've seen several groups of longbeards in bachelor groups. Got the fever too!

Nothings worse than impaled whores:)

I second the recommendation for a Pfleuger President. I bought 2 last year @ Basspro's 'reel trade in', so I saved some dough on them by trading in some old reels. I got an ultra-light, and a full-size, and they both work great.

I agree w/ the Panther Martins, and don't forget a good selection of Rooster Tails. Those 2 lures, in various colors, have accounted for 95% of the trout I've caught. Rebel baby craws work great on Brown's too. Just keep trying different lures/colors until you get one that they like. Good luck.

I believe the line came from the movie 'Jackie Brown', that Sam Jackson's character said: "When you absolutely gotta' kill every mother..... in the room, AK-47".

So alabamaoutlaw, if my boats on fire, I just remove the boat, problem solved? Got it, thanks;)

The one that weighs 180 grains, and shoots the best in YOUR particular rifle.

Get a 'bore-snake'. Any gun shop will have your caliber, heck Wally World even has some of the popular calibers. I usually run a solvent patch down the barrel, but I cut the patch where it doesn't have to be 'forced' down, just gently pushed. Next, a clean patch. This get's alot of the 'heavy' stuff out, then a drop of oil on the bore-snake, pull it thru, from action to muzzle. Twice for good measure. Voila! Clean as a whistle. Takes about 2 minutes total. I've got em' for just about every caliber I own. Even cleans a filthy .50 cal muzzleloader lickety split.

I've always heard it will hurt the rifling. Don't know for sure. I've always used hollow points, and a real accurate gun.

+1 to Kenton. I have a Mossberg and an 870, and if I was buying one today, I'd go w/ the 870. They're both excellent, but personally I think the 870 is quite a bit 'nicer' for the money. I know Benneli's are great, but 1, their prices are retarded, 2, who needs the business/jobs right now? Italy or America? Remington 870's have been made in the USA for decades, and nomatter how great the competition is, there'll never be more game taken w/any other shotgun, period. Whatever you buy, CLEAN THE DAMN THING! Happy shopping.

I'm w/ those above, I'm calling BULLS**T!! One of the dumbest things I've ever heard actually, and I've heard alot of dumb things.

Like the first answer said, go to 'Hunting" and you can find tons of good advice about turkey hunting. Get ready to become addicted for life! Good luck!

270 Win. for me. Nothing wrong w/ the WSM, but the shells are too pricey, or I'm too cheap.

I've got permission to hunt on 560 acres, it butts up to 300 acres of corn and soybeans. There's oak, persimmon, and clover all over it, along w/tons of browse I probably don't even recognize. 4 ponds and 2 creeks run thru it, so, I don't plant plots. It's big timber ridges, and 200 acres of crp. It's deer and turkey paradise, and I will cry like a baby whenever the day eventually comes when I can hunt it no more.

In general, you can't have too many calls. That's the line I give my wife, and I'm stickin' to it. I do believe that different calls work in different situations, so I like to have a variety.

Reflex Growler

I think it'd be ok. In hunting and home defense, know your target, and what's BEYOND your target.

Most common fires are best treated w/water, thus removing the heat. Electrical, and chemical fires call for O2 removal. Most of your home/boat fire extinguishers 'smother' the fire.

My kid's use a youth .243, it's deadly, and accurate. I'd recommend it.

Split the difference and get a 20ga. Ammo's cheaper than 12 and 16. Without knowing what your gonna' do w/it, it's hard to recommend a gun.

I always learn stuff on the "Answers" page. Thanks, I'd like to see the 'glowing eyes' for myself. Sounds interesting, spooky, but interesting.

My buddy has one, works great. My kid's have a youth 20ga., same model, excellent gun for the money.

I agree w/ country road, mine fits that bill, and I can haul the whole family in it. 2001 F-150 Supercrew 4x4. Got a steal on some mud tires last fall, and the thing just goes anywhere now! 153,000 miles, and runs like a top.

Get a couple of good calls, box calls and friction calls are the easiest to learn on, mouth calls are best when the birds w/in sight, but they take the most practice to master. Try to find a buddy who know's turkey hunting to take you, if that's not an option, watch some turkey hunting videos or on tv. "Roost" birds before your hunt, and don't be afraid to move if you're setup is wrong. For every tom I've shot in the early morning, I've shot 3 after 10am.

I've put thousands and thousands of rounds through my Ruger 10/22 over the last 23 years, and it's still exceptionally accurate and reliable. I'll buy another for my son in a couple years. Can't speak for the rest of the guns mentioned here, but the Ruger can't be beat in my opinion.

I think it's a good idea for everyone who possibly can to learn it. I've had many classes in it, and have done the hymlic (?) on my infant daughter, and my Mother. Believe me, it's alot like a gun, it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

I agree w/ alot of the guys above, the "who cooks for you, who cooks for you alll" works excellent in first light, or last light if your 'roosting' birds. If I'm covering ground I'll blow a crow call up until about 10am, after that, I've had minimal success w/locators,and stick w/ cuts, yelps, and purrs exclusively.

They're both good, but Leopold's are made in the USA, and have an excellent warranty record. Who needs the jobs more right now, America or Japan?

Unfortunately I'm a smoker. I use nicotine gum to keep from doing it while deer hunting. Funny thing, on 3 different hunts this year, I'd sat for hours w/o seeing anything, and had gotten all the fix I could from the gum. So I said to myself "f-it, I'm not seeing nothing anyways", and lit up. All 3 times I saw deer before I finished the cig. Now, I know it's just a coincidence, but by the 3rd time I was joking to myself " might as well smoke, it's the only time I see deer"!

Liberty Mo, 15 min. from KC. Love deer and turkey hunting. Fish for everything I can. Hardcore mushroom hunter. All my huntin buddies have either 'gone yuppie' or are gettin too old to leave the porch/beer and actually DO something. It's gotten so bad I'm taking my WIFE with me trout fishing for my birthday in March! Just kiddin, she LOVES fishin too!

I've got a cleaning table in the basement. Turn a fan on if I'm cleaning more than one gun. I use Hoppes 9 on the action and barrel. Scrub the action real good w/brushes (old tooth brushes, brass wire brush on some stuff), run a patch soaked in solvent down the barrel. Run clean patches down til' it's clean. I've managed to buy 'boresnakes' for all my popular calibers, and it does cut barrel cleaning time a bunch. Lightly coat everything w/Remoil and put it in the safe.

I bought a Pfleuger President ultra-light reel 2 yrs ago. It's worked great for trout. It's on a cheap Zebco rod. Just put some flouro on it for this spring. Not too fancy, but it catches fish just fine. Has a good drag for the bigger ones too.

I got one on my kid's youth rifle, really made a difference in my kid's shooting.

I use the bench to make sure I'm zeroed, then I shoot like I'm gonna' hunt. Standing, sitting w/ no bench, Kneeling down. If the guy at the range isn't a hunter, or he's a shooting house potatoe, then I suppose it doesn't matter if he can shoot off-hand or not.

1. .270 cuz that's what I use 2. .30-06, cuz that's what I used to use For all around 'big game', it's hard to argue sir Petzel's pick- .338 Win. What you own and shoot is almost always gonna' be your favorite, and what you're MOST COMFORTABLE and CONFIDENT shooting is what you should use.

I'd go w/a .22lr. It should be everyone's 1st handgun. Ruger's are an excellent choice for the money.

Sounds like an advertisement to me.

It's flooding on the East Coast, I guess that's Obama's fault too? The guy was in the service well berfore Obama took office. I think the CIA dropped the ball big time on this one, and yes, the political correctness that scares people from action is to blame too. Muslim's will continue to keep 'biting this country in the ass' until this COUNTRY stops 'kissing Muslim's asses'.

It's flooding on the East Coast, I guess that's Obama's fault too? The guy was in the service well berfore Obama took office. I think the CIA dropped the ball big time on this one, and yes, the political correctness that scares people from action is to blame too. Muslim's will continue to keep 'biting this country in the ass' until this COUNTRY stops 'kissing Muslim's asses'.

I've got a Leupold 3x9 on my .270 because the lower mag. works great for quick and close, and the 9x is nice for far away, and picking shooting lanes in thick cover Another 3x9 on my .243 for the same reasons, 2x7 on my kid's .243 because the scope is compact and fits the small 'youth' rifle great. Have an old fixed 4x Leupold on my muzzleloader because I wasn't using it for anything else, and 4x is plenty on that gun since it's basically a 100yd. or less gun.

Keep visualizing him coming in, and you drawing your bow and making the shot.

Stick w/what your doing. Sounds like you know where the does are, and soon enough, the bucks will be there too.

The crops next to my hunting spot are still in too. The deer trails look like cattle trails going in and out of the corn and soybean fields. I saw a doe and a 6pt. yesterday about 8am. It was a full moon last night too. I definitely think a new moon during this time of the year is great for hunting, but w/ my work sched. I gotta' go whenever I can.

Happy Birthday! My Great Uncle George gave me a Ruger 10/22 for my 12th birthday. Never did a thing to it besides clean it and feed it lot of ammo. It came w/a 2x scope on it though. So that would be my only advice, is put a cheap, low power scope on it and blast away. Great first gun!

I'm from Mo too Goose, and the only feral hogs I hear much about are in the Southern part of the state. Mark Twain Nat. forest is supposed to have some good populations of them. Never know where a few small pockets of them might be though. I hunted a place in Northern Mo 15 years ago that had some feral hogs. Saw their tracks and rooting, never saw one though. You're in whitetail heaven though, hope you got a good spot up there to get a biggun'.

Love my .270, and can't argue w/ the .25-06 or .308 or .30-06 either. All great deer killers.

I don't think you get what you pay for w/ UnderArmour. A hand muff pouch w/ a hand warmer inside is my go-to. That way, I can wear thin gloves that make handling my rifle/bow/calls easier, but my hands stay warm. I've spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars buying boots over the years to try to keep my feet warm. Consequently, as I've gotten older, my tolerance for cold has dropped. My advice is, buy a bunch of the 'boot warmers', and save on the boots. They were hunt savers for me last season.

Man isn't buying new gear great! If your hunting near some scrapes, that's where I'd put the buck urine. I'll string a scent wick thru a rubber band, and on the walk in to my stand, I'll dip it in estrous scent, and stretch the rubber band around my boot. Depending on the lenght of the walk, I'll stop and freshen it a few times. Once I'm close to my spot, I just slip the rubber band off, and hang it on a branch. If you want to continue your gear buying binge, the BEST way to use scents in my opinion, is with decoys. I've got a small buck and a doe decoy, and with a little scent, you'll be amazed at the encounters you can have in the woods! Good luck.

I'd take your bow and arrows to a good bow shop. You wanna make sure your arrows are strong enough for today's fast bows.

Sounds like Granny's from the old-school line of thought. When deer numbers were very low decades ago, bucks were the only acceptable deer to take. Maybe you can sway Grandma's thinking by giving her some info on high deer numbers in your area. I fit doesn't work, then turn up the 'sweet' dial. If she's still against it, then I guess you wait for a buck. Good luck.

It wouldn't hurt to scope out a woman with a good career too. Seriously though, if I had it all to do over again, I'd do something I love, it's worth more than making a little extra doing something you hate.

I set a personal goal each season. Last year it was '10 points or better', shot a big 8 in heavy brush, was really disappointed w/myself. This year, it's '10 or better' again.

I've broke-in a couple of guns using the 1 shot, clean, up to 10 shots. Seemed to work good. I've NOT used this method on several guns, and they seem to shoot good too. Go figure.

AMEN! Love the Jefferson quote.

Way to go!

Same reason you can't hunt deer w/ rifles in Iowa, WHO THE HELL KNOWS WHY?

Yep, its plenty. Get huntin'!

gentle purrs and putts are my go-to "deal closers" when I've got a tom gobbling. The fighting purr is basically the same, just louder, more aggressive, and raspier. I've read that it can bring in a tom for a fight, but I haven't seen it. I've bagged 15 toms w/ the gentle purr though.

1. Good gun/bow 2. Good boots 3. Good clothes 4. Good knife 5. Calls

My Dad let me learn alot of stuff the hard way. I was 13, when I was a drive on a deer drive, ended up lost as hell. Had to fire my gun a couple of times to signal where I was at. Pretty funny now, but I was terrified after wandering aimlessly for over an hour.

Shoot the coyote. My hunting spot is full of em.

Print off a satellite pic of your land off of Google earth, it really helps see natural funnels, and mark all the important stuff you find (beds, good stuff to eat, rubs, scrapes, trails, water, creek/ditch crossings). Try it, it's cheap, and all it takes is a printer, and a good walk through your land. Good stand spots will show themselves guaranteed.

I couldn't get a clear bow-shot @ a HUGE 14 pointer in the fall of 07'. Wide chocolate rack, tall tines, just a beautiful deer. Turned him around w/ a short-wheeze, drew my bow as he passed under a tree 15 yds. away, and as soon as his head cleared the leaf canopy, he looked straight up at me! I'm at full draw on the biggest deer I've ever seen. After an eternity-long stare-down, I released the arrow and he trotted off unharmed. Watched him cross a creek, and walk broadside @ 50-75 yds for a full 2 minutes. Awesome experience, but I wanted to throw up at the time!

Amen! Let's be thankful for their service, and pray for their loved ones. Great post.

I think it's unsportsmanlike, and it's illegal here in MO, even though it still occurs regularly. Gives us hunters a bad name.

I don't think so, but I detest 'yotes.

I'd find a new archery shop.

Take a crack @ fly-tying, or spruce up some tail skirts on bass and crappie lures.

I don't fly-fish, so my advice is for regular rod & reel. I've got hundreds of trout on 6# mono, caught my best trout ever this spring on 4#, but I've been really impressed w/ the flourocarbon Berkley Vanish I bought for my bass rod. So, I bought some 4# fluoro to put on my ultra-light spinning reel. The stuff is strong, and really disappears in the water. Yeah, it's pricey, but I think it will last longer than the mono I've used for years. Also, it has hardly any memory, so w/light lures, like I use for trout, that's a plus. Just remember, trout have good vision, and spook easily, so heavier test line can sometimes be unsuccessful. Having said that, I watched my best friend pull in several rainbows and browns w/ my Zebco 33 spooled w/ 10#.

My first choice would be the river bottom, but I'd have a stand in both.

Why don't you have any treestands? I'd use a ground blind if a stand wasn't available. Do a little scouting close to opening day, preferably after a rain, and find the fresh sign. That can key you into where they're traveling and what they're eating at that time. I used to hunt a 100 ac. tract that was very long and narrow, so an ATV was fine to use in my opinion, but I still parked it at least 100 yds. from my stand. Good luck!

Curse profusely, it's about all you can do. Yeah, I'd report it, but the chances of recovery are super slim I'm afraid.

I'd say I like both. I love the versatility of my Leupold 3X9 on my .270, I like the 'no frills' of my OLD Leupold 4X on my muzzleloader.

First off, congrats on your test. As for a bow stand, I use hang-on's or my climber. For my hang-on's, I use screw-in steps mostly, since I think they're much less noticable to deer. I love my climber because I can 'hop around' from spot to spot relatively easily. I hate my climber because at least once a season, it will shift a bit while I'm in it, usually resulting in a split second loss of bowel control. Good luck

Here in Missouri, bow season opened Sep. 15. I've been working as much as I can, and haven't had the chance to go out yet.

Awesome. I'd love to sit and listen to ol' Dolph tell stories for 10 or 20 hours!

I agree w/ BioGuy, I traded in one of my 'extra' deer rifles a few years ago, and doubled my hunting days. The only thing that sucks about it here in MO is that you have to use the same buck tag (you only get one) for rifle season and/or muzzleloader season. So if you get a buck during rifle season, you can only shoot a doe during the later muzzleloader season. As for brand, CVA and Traditions are hard to beat for the guy on a budget.

A good light rain is good hunting, heavy rain,,, no thanks.

Hope they take a hint here in Missouri too!

5 hour energy. Tried it this spring on a couple turkey hunts w/ very little sleep the night before, worked great. I was a ball of fire all morning! I agree w/ those who say there's nothing wrong w/ sleeping while hunting though. It happens, just try to stay awake for the first few hours at least! Good luck!

I've used it for over 20 years on guns. Any lube will 'gum-up' a receiver if you use too much and don't clean it enough. I usually use WD as an 'outer coat' on my guns, and a squirt of Rem-oil in the actions. This is all done after a thorough cleaning w/ Butch's Bore-Shine, Hoppe's #9, and Bore Scrubber

I've got an old 1100 that's been a workhorse, and a Super X2 that's been a workhorse, so I'd say both are good guns, even though I don't have an X3, I doubt Win. put out a 'lesser' gun than my X2.

I like Mossy Oak Brush, especially if I'm on the ground. Whatever's on sale too, I bought a 3D leaf suit on clearance @ Wally World about 8 years ago, it's been washed dozens of times, and is ripped and tattered, but it's faded-out enough that it works perfect over just about anything. That's the problem with most camo to me, is it's too dark. Alot of the new stuff coming out is lightening up alot, but I can't go buy all new stuff, so I 'fade' my own camo.

Alot of people skin them and sell the hides, alot of people just shoot them to thin the numbers, since they are voracious predators of deer, particularly fawns, turkey, rabbits, quail, etc.

Keep your head up Idaho, you're a true sportsman. I support you 100%, and envy your wolf kill 100%! I measure insults by who's making them. Those who are attacking you are ignorant, and should be treated as such. F' em'!

For the money it's a decent gun. I agree w/ libertyfirst and pennst8hunter, if you can afford it, make another choice. If not, it'll shoot just fine, just one shot at a time.

I skin em', dunk em' in an egg & milk wash, then throw em' in a paper sack 1/4 full of my fish batter mix. (flour,cornmeal,breadcrumbs,crushed saltines, numerous spices) Shake the bag up good, then put em' in the grease. MMMMMM good eatin!! Frying the skin sounds disgusting, and trying to get loin meat off the back seems like a whole lotta' work for very little reward.

Mine go down to the creek behind my house. It's timbered, and there's plenty of coyotes, possum, coons, foxes there already. The skins and bones get drug off pretty quickly. If you don't have a place close to home, haul it out to the country, or your hunting spot, and chuck it in a hollow. If there's woods, there's scavengers. If your real urban, bag it up and throw it in a dumpster.

We learned about evolution in school, and I graduated in 1993. How exactly was Obama responsible for that? The Bible is a book of STORIES! It's not a history book. In fact, it's STORIES are almost identical to many STORIES found in Islam's Koran, whick is a much older book. I belive in God, but I don't think that means one can't also believe in evolution. I personally find it humorous how some religious folks bash 'Science" constantly, but when a loved one gets ill, where do you take them? The Hospital, where leaps and bounds in SCIENCE save lives every day. I wonder, why don't you take your sick child to church and pray for them instead? Ahhhh, hypocrisy, as big a part of organized religion as creation. Oh, and the Bible, or what was deemed to be appropriate to be included in the Bible, was put together by a bunch of Catholics. There's hundreds of pages that were excluded because they were too 'controversial' to Catholicism's conservative doctrine. Now, the Catholic church was actively protecting child molestors 5 years ago, but I'm to believe they made ALL the right choices over 50 years ago as to what I should learn and know about God? Please. Let the -1's rain forth!! I care not.

Awesome job! Congratulations.

Where I hunt in Mo it's timbered bluffs, and bottom cropland. As far as strategy, it's about finding what they're eating. Where I hunt, it's pretty obvious that the 300 acre soy bean field and 200 acre corn field butting up to my property is an all you can eat buffet for the area's deer. I've got a stand on a logging road that heads down a timber ridge to the crops. A climber stand, while my least favorite stand, is great for early bow season because you can easily and relatively quietly move to the 'right' spot if you guess a little wrong the first try. Good luck.

Both make great quads. I've had 2 Kawasaki's, and haven't owned, but have ridden several Honda's, and have ridden w/ several friends who own them. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki all make great quads. Polaris has come along way from their problematic beginnings, but they still demand top of the line prices for "middle of the pack" reliability. I haven't owned a Honda yet, so I'd say Honda.

I make trails w/my 4 wheeler every year around my hunting property. I've seen fresh tracks as quickly as the next day in 'new' atv paths. The deer use the trails like highways through the thick grass and dense timber where I hunt. Granted, we ride atv's there year 'round, so I don't believe the deer are overly disturbed by them, and have become somewhat accustomed to them. The quad won't 'cut' like a brush hog, but it's alot more fun, and if you don't have access to a brush hog, as I don't, it works as a substitute.

I make trails w/my 4 wheeler every year around my hunting property. I've seen fresh tracks as quickly as the next day in 'new' atv paths. The deer use the trails like highways through the thick grass and dense timber where I hunt. Granted, we ride atv's there year 'round, so I don't believe the deer are overly disturbed by them, and have become somewhat accustomed to them. The quad won't 'cut' like a brush hog, but it's alot more fun, and if you don't have access to a brush hog, as I don't, it works as a substitute.

Work is a HUGE setback on my hunting and fishing. 4-midnight shift, evenings are shot, can't wind down and get to bed before 2am, so most mornings are shot. I still got a job though, and for that I am thankful. Hopin to change shifts in a month.

I've had good luck w/ Thunderheads and Muzzy's, but there's soo many good ones out there to choose from, I can't possibly afford to try them all. I had 3 sets of new blades left for my Muzzys, so I put them on my 3 primary hunting arrows for this season. I'll probably try some new ones next year.

I like mine just fine. For the money, you can't beat em.

I've got tons of knives, several Bucks, a couple Schrade's, but I'll tell you about a steal. Sportsman's Guide started selling these Swedish Mora knives about 6 yrs ago, and I bought one. It was only $10 bucks, and I wanted a carbon steel blade unstead of stainless. Well, the sucker works great. For $10 bucks, you can't hardly beat it, they must've bought a ton of them, cuz now they're in their magazines for 2/$22 or something like that. Anyways, it's high carbon, so it'll rust like a sumbitch if you don't keep it clean and oiled, but man does it hold an edge. I usually gut a deer w/mine, skin it a few days later, and get it mostly deboned before having to 'touch up' the blade, and 'touch up' is right, about 30 seconds and it's back to scary sharp. The hard plastic sheath ain't the greatest, but for the money, the knives a no-brainer. I usually carry an 'Old Timer' in my pocket for on-stand tasks. I keep my knive assortment in a fanny pack under the back seat of my pickup, and when I get a deer down, I head back to the truck and get the knives/hatchet/ATV for the dirty work.

I use different recipes every year, used some dry cures this year that turned out really good, but I cook it all in my oven. I spread a sheet of foil across the bottom, then get a pack of shishkabob skewers and put 6 to 8 strips of jerkey per stick, and dangle it between the oven racks. Works great, no mess, just set the oven to 200, prop the door cracked w/ a spatula, and in about 2 hours, voiola!

Try craigslist, look under motorcycles, sporting, and occasionally farm equip. There's some real steals to be had on there in my area, but you might be a little more flexible w/ your model. I'd look for a suburb Rancher a year or 2 older, good luck.

I agree that sunrise and sunset are the best overall, but if it's morning, stay as long as you can, if it's evening get there as early as you can, and if it's late October to early November, stay all day if you can.

It was pre-Obama. One good thing that came from all the "hysteria" after Obama's election (ammo stockpiling, mad rush to by AR's) is that virtually all gun control proposals were shelved due to the rapid spike in gun sales, ammo sales, and NRA membership. Noone wants to bring forth legislation that could cost them their sweet reelection.

I keep a stainless, Springfield Arms 1911 .45 in my truck. You can't argue w/ the knockdown power of a .45 for self defense. As for a hunting pistol, I agree w/ tony167n, the .41 mag is a wonderful and often overlooked caliber, I deer hunt w/ one, and it drops em' just as dead as my .44

I agree w/ above, go w/ 100 grain broadheads, and buy 2 boxes, one set for hunting, and one set for practicing. Practice with what you hunt with. Good luck.

I've killed truckloads of deer over the years w/ cheap old Winchester Super X bullets. My .270 patterns under an inch @ 100 yds with them, and the deer drop just as dead as if they were shot by $50 a box ammo. The old lead noses ALWAYS expand, and you're hunting whitetails, not moose, so I'd advise you find a round that suits your rifle, and get to practicing w/it, and don't worry about minute expansion differences.

Look for sunflowers, I've had good luck walking dirt paths between corn fields, when I see birds flying, I stand or sit still up against the corn.

I've got a Winchester pre-64 .270 that, between my Grandfather and I, has taken literally TONS of deer. I've heard good things ballistically about the WSM, but 60+ years and lots of good loin steaks tells me to put your money in the .270. And yes, ammo is everywhere, and the more popular the cartridge, the cheaper you can find it.

they've saved many hunts for me. I put one or 2 in a camo 'muff', then wear thin gloves, and put my hands in. Beats the heck out of all the expensive gloves I've bought over the years that still left me w/ numb fingers, and still had to be removed to fire a shot or arrow. Hothands is the brand I usually buy, haven't had any duds yet.

I'd recommend a can call and a good deep grunt tube like the 'buck roar' or 'buck growler'.

Late October, early to mid-November. I use it during bow season w/ my decoys, and have had good results. I've had bucks follow a drag line into my stand several times.

I was lucky enough to go to highschool in a rural town where almost everyone hunted or fished, but you hold your head high. Be proud to be an outdoorsman.

Looks cool, but I'll stick w/ my 10-22.

I have a Gorilla stand that I bought on sale a few years back, it works great. Some of the prices on Summit's and Lone Wolf's stands are simply rediculous. I've bought every stand I own on sale, several different brands, and haven't had a problem with any of them. As for cheapest, scrap wood and nails have put more hunter's over deer than all the brands combined. Granted, you have to hunt in an area that allows it, and it's best to pick a good spot cuz' you can't exactly move it easily.

I shoot a Reflex Growler, made by Hoyt, light, fast, quiet, and I love it. Is it the best bow on the market 'spec' wise, Nah, is it a helluva bow for the money, you betcha! I don't put alot of weight on 'specs', you gotta' find the bow that works best for you, and your budget.

With today's technology there aren't many 'bad bows' out there. Bows have come so far in the past 20 years, I'd say if you like it, and the price is right, go for it. Good luck hunting.

I'd recommend a hang on stand and some climbing sticks. The problem w/ a new place, is that if you put a bunch of time into a stand/blind and it's in the wrong spot, then what do you do? With an easy to hang stand, or pop-up blind, you can jump from promising spot to spot fairly easily until you hit the right one. Good luck. Climber stands are good for this too, but you do have to find the right tree

It it's a big bass, I throw it back, otherwise, heat up the grease! It does have to be legal length, but man, if there's a better meal than fried fish and cold beer, I'd love to hear it.

I spooled one of my bass rigs w/ 14# Vanish, stuff casts like a dream, and is practically impossible to see in the water. It wasn't cheap, so I only bought a small spool, but I think it's worth it. Biggest bass so far w/it was a 5 pounder, but it landed her. Looks about like 6 or 8 pound test, and the name is accurate, if you're worried about spooking fish, I'd give it a try.

I gave up on buyin high dollar gloves last year. Bought a fleece hand warmer 'muff', and put hand warmers inside. Bought some of the little adhesive feet warmers too. Jeeze, only $2, and to think of all the $100's of dollars I've spent over the years trying to buy boots and socks to keep my feet warm. My feet and hands were warmer than they'd been in years. Sure, you can go the route I did, and blow tons of dough, but I'd recommend the hand/feet warmers if you're on a budget.

I gave up on buyin high dollar gloves last year. Bought a fleece hand warmer 'muff', and put hand warmers inside. Bought some of the little adhesive feet warmers too. Jeeze, only $2, and to think of all the $100's of dollars I've spent over the years trying to buy boots and socks to keep my feet warm. My feet and hands were warmer than they'd been in years. Sure, you can go the route I did, and blow tons of dough, but I'd recommend the hand/feet warmers if you're on a budget.

Get some good slugs that suit your gun's barrel. Good luck.

go w/ buckhunter's advice. Super Glue a new tip on, and voila, you have a good as new rod (just a bit shorter)

Seems kinda gimmicky to me. I know deer have good hearing, but I still think it'd have to be pretty darn close to hear this. I think if a deers close enough to hear another deer eating acorns, you probably don't want to zero it's attention on you by using this. Time will tell, but as a bonafide gear junky, I'm not putting one on my wish list.

Clay, I was joking, seeing how you piss so many people off on this site with your "Done it all better, know it all" BS. Not knowing a joke when you read it shows how IGNORANT you are. As does stating "this kid is a product of the wacked out group of the Democratic Party", don't forget, your last 'beloved' Republican president was a recovering coke-fiend and alcoholic.

Get some little treble hooks, and some white bread. Ball the bread up into dough balls, mash it on the treble, and toss it out. Hold on tight!

Another good idea is to trim the brush/smaller trees from around the base of Oaks. I did this on my property, and the deer and turkey are constantly under those Oaks when the acorns start falling.

One of the nicest bucks I've taken came out while I was standing up in my stand , taking a whiz in a bottle. Luckily I didn't miss him. Last fall, I had a buck and doe decoy out during bow season. I fell asleep, and I swear to God, I was woke up by a buck SNORTING at my decoys. I opened my eyes, figured out where in the hell I actually was, then looked over to see a nice 8 pointer snorting at my decoys. 30 yds., broadside, he saw me move, and slowly wandered off, I grunted him back 4 or 5 times, but never into bow range. He was blowing the entire time. Embarrassed? You bet I am, but hey, it's a funny story to tell, you just gotta' be able to laugh at yourself.

Big Brown Trout w/the 'hook' bottom jaw.

5 in the gun, a little fold pouch holds 10 I think. I've learned the hard way the consequences of not taking enough ammo. Put your ego aside, the game deserves better. Don't care who you are, if you hunt long enough, at some point, you WILL miss, or worse, wound your quarry. Not having spare ammo at this time will leave you w/ a sickening feeling that you will never forget.

Here's how I do it. Gut it immediately after killing it, get it home and thoroughly rinse out the body cavity, then hang it. If it's cold, I'll let it hand 2 or 3 days, if it's warm, I'll ice it overnight then dress it the next morning. Nothing on a deer contributes to the good taste except the meat. No fat, no bone, no membrane/tissue, trim everything away but the meat. A bit of fat in the burger isn't terrible, but every other cut of meat must be trimmed well. I get 5 buckets, 5 gal. each, and fill them w/clean water. Loins get a bucket, roasts get a bucket, burger meat gets 2 buckets, jerkey meat gets a bucket. Once the meats trimmed, it goes in the bucket. A good cold water soak for an hour or 2 is plenty. Bring it out of the water, pat dry w/papertowels, then wrap the roasts in freezer paper, run the burger thru the grinder and wrap it, cut your loin steaks to desired thickness, and wrap them too, put your jerkey meat in gallon freezer bags. I've fed deer to dozens of 'non-deer' eaters w/o them knowing it until I tell them after they've eaten. I don't soak the meat in anything but clean water, don't use vacuum seal. Just freezer paper and a grease pencil. The secret is in good field dressing, good cavity cleaning, and getting all the tissue/fat/bone off the meat.

I shoot 10-20 per shooting session, I don't shoot everyday until around 2 weeks before bow season. I know, I should shoot more.

I take a ziplock of almonds, and those mini-candy bars. My rationale is that the almonds are 'natural' smelling, and I gobble the little candy bars in one bite. Usually take a small thermos of coffee, and always water. I do 'clean-up' w/ scent spray and wipes after snacking. If I'm taking my kids, the amount of snacks increases 10 fold, and I don't worry near as much about the scent.

I bought 2 Pflueger Presidents this spring. One, and ultralight, and a mid-size one. Both have worked excellent, and were reasonably priced. Quick bit of info-- Bass Pro had a 'reel trade-in' this spring, where you bring in a working old reel, and they donate it to kid's fishing programs, while giving you a discount on a new reel. I had some old reels lying around, so I took them in since I wanted a couple new reels. Here's the kicker, the discount was accepted on ALL brands of reels in the store except Shimano. I know Shimano is top of the line stuff, but still, it definitely seemed crappy that EVERY other brand sold at Basspro supported the trade in, but not Shimano. So, I bought the 2 Pfluegers, and have been extremely impressed, plus, saved a bunch over Shimano.

I'd definitely get Gramps to boot the current hunters. As for feeding, I wouldn't recommend it. For the money you're wanting to spend, I'd look at some food plot seeding.

I'm glad your Grandpa is ok, and the judge dropped the case. I think it's irrational to try to put a 'limit' to whats acceptable firing when in a situation like that. Clay Cooper, I'm not the least bit surprised a woman pulled a shotgun on you

Not sure what your budget is, but I put a limbsaver recoil pad on my daughter's youth .243, not only did it really take the recoil down, but it added about 1.5" of length to the stock. I used the gun easily to hunt out of a small ground blind, and I'm 6'1". Just sayin', for around $25-$30, you can "lengthen" your youth gun, and use your money to buy an affordable 12 or 20ga. for your Ohio hunt. Good luck

Funny actually. How did they euthanize the turkey?

Smokepole, I agree w/ you , though you do have a truly horrendous screen name. I understand some people's arguments for it, but all in all, I think it's bad for our sport from a 'public perception' point of view. As I've said before, 'public perception', like it or not, is where the future of our hunting rights unfortunately hang. Just because something's legal, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do, a brief look through a history book will bring this into perspective. I live in Missouri, where soybeans, corn, acorns, berries, etc. etc. are everywhere, so I won't pretend to understand what it's like to hunt in the 'big woods' up north, where many think you have no chance of shooting a deer if you don't bait. I guarantee you though, if baiting were banned everywhere, people would still be checking-in deer EVERYWHERE. They just might have to actually "HUNT" a little harder. Those deer were there for thousands of years before your bait pile, eating SOMETHING. What was it?

2Poppa, I actually laughed out loud at your answer! Personally, I had a 7mm Rem ULTRA Mag for about a year. Kicked way worse than my 3.5" 12ga. Nocked my Leopold out of zero about every 3 shots too. Hit my first 400' bullseye w/that gun. Sold it at a huge loss to Cabelas, needed a muzzleloader at the time. I know it ain't no 460 Wby, but the thing was painful to shoot, so I ditched it. Still got a box and a half of ammo for it if anyone's looking. Would like to shoot some of the big "African" gun calibers just to see what it's like.

Stick around

I go whenever I possibly can. Cold front/ even better. Raining, go stalk. Pick the right stand for the wind. Regardless, I gotta' be out there when I get my chances, because work,family,life don't always let me pick and choose the 'best' times.

Gotta get a .22 pistol. They're a blast, and reasonable to buy and shoot. Can't go wrong w/a Ruger, mine's ancient (pre-mark) and still shoots great and very accurate.

Short answer, yes, it can. You can do alot to help prevent it though. Keep it out of the wind, say in a blind. Also, wrap it in some old camo. Helps camo it and insulate it. If it's real cold, wrap a hand warmer under the camo. Good luck

I've had some great experiences w/ jug fishing, and some total busts. If the cats aren't bitin', they ain't bitin. Liver and perch are some good baits, as are worms and crawdads. Make sure you've got a weight on your line to get the bait down to the depth you want. Keep at it, it'll pay off eventually.

2 3/4" have killed more game than 3 or 3.5 combined. With the right load, you can use them for anything.

I'd recommend a loop as well.

I've got a VX-II I bought for around $280 a couple years back, and I inherited my Dad's VX-III when he passed. Also have an OLD Leopold 4X fixed from when my Dad upgraded to the VX-III. It's on my muzzleloader. The VX2 is on my .270, and the VX3, which is a compact one, is on my Daughters youth .243. They all work great, and I'd recommend them to anyone.

.243 is fine for deer. I've shot lots w/this caliber. I have a Ruger 77 Stainless w/ a laminate stock that I really love. Got my Daughter a NEF single shot youth gun, it's light, compact, accurate, and she bagged a dandy 8 pointer w/it last fall, her first deer. If I was buying one today I'd get a Savage. They're American made, and the most accurate for the money. You can get one w/ a nice walnut stock for under $700 if plastic isn't for you. Don't let these other guys talk you out of the caliber you want to use, one of the best deer hunters I've ever known shot a .243 for 20 years, and he'd gladly beat the piss out of anyone who said he wasn't a 'man' for using a smaller caliber. Now that I have my daughter's gun as a backup, I don't need the Ruger, if you're close to Missouri, let me know, I'll sell it to ya' way cheaper than you'll buy one new. Good luck.

I'm a nut about scent too. After the washing ritual, I store all clothes in plastic sealed tubs w/charcoal in bottom. Tub goes in the bed of the truck w/the boots, put it on right before I walk into the woods. Spray myself head to toe w/ scent eliminator spray, before and after I'm dressed. Yeah, you gotta play the wind too, but I've sure seen alot more deer up close since I got crazy w/ the scent control

I've use the detergent mostly because it was safe for the carbon clothing I was washing, and it's scent free. As for the UV reduction, can't say, but I've had multiple close-encounters w/clothes i've washed in the stuff. Plus, I got mine on sale, so it was cheaper than the other hunting detergents. (I'm a bargain hunter)

If you're asking us, then the 'roughness' obviously doesn't have alot of sentimental value. I'd go w/Ed Palumbo on this, and refinish it.

All good tips. As for when, late October to mid-November is the best for most of the country. If you know where the deer are feeding, you can set up along trails heading to the chow. If possible, do a quick scout of your area after a good rain, the closer to hunting season the better. This can point out fresh tracks/trails so you know where the deer are traveling at that time. Now find a good tree close by, and get ready to hunt. Also, if possible, leave your stand at the base of the tree you select. Lock it up if you're hunting public, but I don't care what the brand, you will make noise trying to carry it in and set it up in the dark. I leave mine at the base of a tree, mark the tree w/a reflective tack, and put some brush over the stand. When the wind is right, I walk right to the tree, secure my harness, tie my bow/gun to the pull rope, and up I go. I've learned this after many debacles in the dark. Good luck and be careful, climbers are dangerous bastards.

rooster tail and panther martin. Get an assortment, because trout are very fickle, and you never know what the "hot' color will be on any given day. Slayed em' this past spring w/a yellow rooster tail w/ a black 'bug' design painted on the body, gold blade and brown skirt. Both my fishing buddies bought identical lures at the local convenience store/tackle shop so they could enjoy the success I was having, which brings up another point, save a few bucks to buy something at the local shops. Happens every time I go, no matter how many different lures I bring w/me.

Don't think much of it either. I agree, reporting it is best, if one gets started, pretty soon there will be TONS of businesses trying to advertise for free on here.

Sharkfin is on the right track, but I'd put my livers out on some jug lines as soon as I hit the water, that way they're fishing as long as I am. Walleye love jig heads tipped w/ nightcrawlers, and trout love the rooster tails too. Sounds like a great place to fish, just keep changin' lures until you find what's bitin'. Good luck.

I haven't got a game cam yet, it's next on my list. Good thing is, a buddy that hunts the same ground as me put one up next to a mineral lick and got a video of 2 monster bucks in velvet right @ dusk. He's got a big blind out in the middle of a crp field overlooking the lick, but what he doesn't know is I've got a sweet stand 100yds in the timber next to the lick. Hope I see one of those bruisers before he does!

Go w/metal. If you camp on rocky soil, they won't break.

Give it a day or two to get over it's sore mouth, then get back fishing. Don't horse the next one when you get it close to shore, get ya a good dip net w/ a handle long enough to 'scoop' it up w/ once you get it close. Good luck

Christmas. I can hunt deer for months, there's only one Christmas

I've got 2 German Shepherds, and I agree w/Jim in Mo, they are the best. Nothing against labs Blackwater, I've got a yellow one. One of my Shep's is a female I rescued from some idiots who didn't care for her, and named her Harley. Dumb name for a girl, so I changed it to Holly. She's freakin' awesome, great w/kids, and a rediculously good guard dog. Plus we saved her right before Christmas, so Holly kinda went w/the season. If you don't already have a name you really like, then go w/ Jim's advice and get to know her for a few hours or a day or two, you'll figure out her personality and what a good name for her is.

I'd stay clear of the 2D ones unless you just absolutely cannot afford a 3d. A friend told me a story of several deer on several occasions spooking and taking off when they circled the 2d and it "disappeared". He was bowhunting by the way. I've had some awesome experiences w/my deer decoys, and I truly believe they work. My buck deke is a delta, can't remember the brand of my doe, but I watched a buck lick her for over 2 minutes last season, he also bumped the buck deke w/his rack several times, all the while a BIG 9pointer stayed just outta bow range watching the little buck mess w/the fakes. This is just one of a dozen stories I could tell you about hunting over dekes. Post a ? if you get one, I've got some great pointers for ya

I shoot alot better w/a release, I'd say give em' a try, you can get a pretty good one for not alot of money, that way if it isn't for you, you're not out a bunch of dough.

I agree w/ya willkillsdeer, they look cheap and awful. Passed on one, and got a NEF youth gun for my daughter, based on a relatives good experience w/them. Very pleased w/the gun, cost a little more than a Rossi, but it looks and shoots excellent.

I agree w/BlackWater, if your spot is close enough to do this. If it's too far to scout/excercise,, then get your butt hiking somewhere, and bring a pack w/drinks and snacks.

I don't think you'll notice much difference at all, unless, you're 20ga. is heavy, and the rifle you buy is light. I've shot a .270 since I was 15, and I think you'll be just fine.

Yes. I try to pick the best spot, put the stand up early (put 2 up last weekend), and leave it alone until I'm ready to hunt.

I still hunted in that snow last muzzleloader season, and walked right up on a bedded doe. She stood up, and gave me a perfect 30yd. shot. I didn't take it, because I knew she had a yearling w/ her somewhere, and that's the deer I wanted. I hunt young does, the meat is absolutely awesome! By the way, I already had 4 deer in the freezer when this happened, so i was being rather picky w/my freezer space.

I personally love my .270. If I was in the wonderful position that you're in (buying your first deer gun), I'd probably get a 25-06. Farthest shot I've ever seen made on a deer was w/a 25-06. The choices are almost endless, good luck.

I shoot a Reflex, and it is deadly. They're made by Hoyt, and it definitely does not shoot like a "cheapo". Nothing against those other bows, I just couldn't afford them at the time, and the "pro" at my local archery shop recommended them. Think about this, Chuck Adams, arguably the "best" bow hunter in the world, w/numerous record-book animals to his credit, shoots a Reflex, and he could shoot any bow he wanted to. Buy what you can afford, and yes, have a 'pro' set it up for you. Bows have come so far in the past 20 years, that you will likely be happy w/any brand you go with, as long as it's set-up for you.

Get a hang-on stand, and some strap-on steps, all easily movable, but "in place". Climbers are for quick set-ups in promising places. Get-in, get-out. If you know you want to hunt the same spot multiple times, better off with a hang-on

Nightcrawlers too.

I had 2 ladder stands stolen from private property where I foolishly thought they were safe. So, I got a bunch of locks w/matching keys, and a bunch of 4 to 5' lengths of log chain, and now I lock EVERY stand I put up, ladder and hang-on alike. I keep one of the 'master' keys on my truck key chain, so I can unlock any of them whenever I decide to move it.

Let me first say that I was young and STUPID. My friends and I used to have bb gun wars, and I'm not proud to say I've shot several of my friends w/a bb gun SEVERAL times. I've been shot by them a bunch too. It was idiotic, and we're all very lucky noone was seriously hurt. Thing is, in the small hick-town I grew up in, this was a very common practice! Like I said, young and STUPID! I'm religiously safe w/all firearms now, especially since my children are with me while shooting more often than not.

Thanks to all of you who've served our country. Yes, I've been peppered, and once while deer hunting on private land, I was almost shot by an idiot. I was sitting in the only patch of timber on the piece of ground I had permission to hunt. It was in the corner of the property, and it was the lowest spot of the property. A doe came over the horizon of the field in front of me, and ran towards the timber I had my stand in. Then, BOOM! I look up, and some a hole is shooting downhill, right toward me! I started waving my arms and yelling, and once he saw me he turned and took off. I was in a full-fledged fit of rage, and it's a damn good thing he was gone by the time I got down from the tree and up the hill.

Sorry about your pal, my old German Shepherd Mojo is probably enjoying his last Summer, and I'm dreading his loss. I lost a lab 8 years ago, and got another one the next day, so I think looking for your new friend is a great idea.

Well put 2Poppa, man your hands must be sore! Largemouth's are just as common in rivers as they are in lakes.

Can't say any better than country road.

MUST....KEEP.......MOUTH.....SHUT!

Search 'morel mushrooms' on this site. There was a good article on hunting them this past spring. Key on Elm trees, dead or alive. Cover lots of ground w/ your head down, once you find one, SLOW DOWN, there's usually more.

I've shot 2 w/ my 44 mag Super Blackhawk. I'm using a .41 Mag this year. Things crazy accurate, and feels like it doesn't kick at all compared to the .44, plus I haven't taken a whitetail w/it yet.

hjohn429 is dead on, if you can pull it back sitting, then you're good to go. Keep pulling it back every day and it'll just get easier and easier. One more point, I'm not sure what the let-off is on your PSE, but the longer you can hold it back w/o getting the shakes, the better. Trust me, a good buck is freakish in their ability to take FOREVER to step out from behind a tree or branch once you've drawn.

I shot alot of deer growing up w/a .243, and both my kids shoot one. Very mild recoil, very accurate. I also agree w/ Clay and rudyglove27, a 25-06 is an excellent round, and if you're used to shooting a 16 ga. then the little extra recoil over the .243 won't be an issue. Same goes w/ the .308. I personally use a .270, and the contents of my deep freeze are evidence enough that it is a great whitetail killer. Actually shot my first buck @ 16 w/ a .270. Good luck kiddo, and welcome to a lifetime of enjoyment hunting whitetails.

I put a Bushnell Elite on my .243 a couple of years ago, and for under $200, it is an excellent scope. Great light gathering ability, really clear. I honestly can't tell the difference in sharpness/low light between it and the VX4 I've got. Mine was on sale @ Cabela's for $150, and it came w/a sweet 20X spotting scope. Steal of a deal I think. If I had the $600 to spend though, you can't go wrong w/ a Leupold, and the lifetime warranty is a BIG plus! Wish I was in your shoes!

I use a .270 because the rifle was given to me by my Grandpa, it's a pre-64 Model 70, and it is hell on deer. Plus, I've hunted w/ lots of calibers and I've never had anything OUT perform Grandad's old .270. Performance + nostalgia. I've killed ton's of deer w/it, as did my Grandpa. I've killed hours and hours on stand just looking at it, and imagining where all the nicks and scratches came from on his hunts way before I was even born. With the cheapest Winchester ammo you can buy, it'll shoot 3 shot groups @ 100yds that I can cover w/a nickel. Need I say more?

cooner, I gave you a +1 because I was going to write the exact same thing. I also agree w/jlfreeborn, if I did something that goofy, I wouldn't tell.

WA Mtnhunter, I give you a +1, and agree w/you. What is sad is what fans of "black rifles" did to Zumbo. He lost his JOB over an opinion, one which he apologized for no less. I think he's a true American, and it's a shame what his "fellow sportsmen" did to him and his career.

I've got a Super Blackhawk w/ Pachmeyer grips, stainless, 8" barrel. It's hell on deer.

I'm w/ dakotaman on my love of pre-64 Mod. 70's. Mine in .270 is 'death in it's own self' as Petzel would say. My .243 in Ruger M77 has been and excellent backup/loaner/youth gun for a decade now. Only had 1 700, and it was a beaut. My next gun will probably be a Savage though, if and when I can ever afford a new gun.

Pssst, ever heard of craigslist?

Well if the newer one is reading 'deeper', I'd say it adds a bit to compensate for being underwater, not on the surface. This is purely a guess w/no evidence to back it up whatsoever. I just know that when I see the depth on my sonar, especially when I'm shallow, I ask myself "is it 3 feet from the bottom of the sonar, or 3 feet from the bottom to the surface", so maybe w/new units, manufacturers are "adding" a foot or 2 to give folks a closer "bottom to surface" depth. Hell, I don't know

It can kill everything, and hurt your shoulder and wallet less while doing it.

I use a 6" to bust the rib cage and pelvis too, a 4" works best for me on all the body cavity work.

I agree w/buckeye, it's funny that 20 years ago, most knives were carbon steele, and the pricier ones were stainless, nowadays, stainless knives are dirt cheap, and you end up paying big bucks for most carbon steel blades.

I personally think the .243 is as small as you should go.

2Poppa very nice. I live about 20 min. from there and have a nephew who works there. They also make .308 sniper rounds.

I did up until Fall of 07, when my old garage-sale Martin Cougar started squeeking like an old screen door when I drew it back. Gave it to a friend who wanted to hang it on his wall, bought a new bow. Don't miss it a bit

I like my in-line just fine, but I definitely don't discount the allure of the traditional smoke-pole

I tried em' out for a few years, got some cheap a@@ knives , but I mainly bought it to have another hunting mag subscription. Then I realized they're all about covering guided hunts which I'll probably never be able to afford, and are constantly trying to sell me stuff. Also completely right wing politically, and I like objectivity in my politics, and very little of that in a hunting mag. Quit payin em over a year ago, still get letters WEEKLY promising HUGE SAVINGS! BS.

What is this 1965? Who doesn't believe in shooting does? Let the little guy walk for sure, but really, people still exhist that don't shoot does? Man you're missin out on some gooooood eatin!

Both. My wife likes turkey hunting, but come deer season, she's nowhere near the woods, thinks they're too pretty for her to be able to shoot.

Figuring out what they're after

I'd hit Roger's Lures, a family shop close to me, and get a new reel, some high-dollar fluorocarbon line for my ultralights, and a bunch of grubs n jigs/ roadrunners/ roostertails and panther martins. Oh, and some soft plastic minnows and small crankbaits. As usual, I've probably gone over-budget

I've got several, and they're my favorite topwater lure. My killer is a silver shad colored one. Make a good cast, pull it just a bit, stop, twitch, stop, twitch, stop, pull a foot, stop.... you get the picture. The last hour of daylight is THE BEST for this, or any topwater lure in my book, as is the first hour, but I'm not much of a morning person when it comes to fishing. If you don't want your torpedo's anymore, I'll take em.

Remember what your doing-- FISHING. It's not called CATCHING. Sometimes you get skunked, like Jim said, at least your outdoors. "My worst day fishing is better than my best day at work" not sure who said that, but they were smart.

They used to run adds for this in the back of North American Hunter all the time. There's a reason you don't see those adds much anymore. I believe matouse3 touched on the reason pretty well.

I'll be totally honest here, I hunt mostly on posted/private land, so I would beat the shi@ out of him, then call the law. I've attained hunting rights to several pieces of ground based on the premise that I'll keep tresspassers OUT, and I take that duty very seriously, plus, if I'm hunting, and someone walks in and screws up my hunt, I go ballistic. I cherish the time I get to hunt, and I can't afford to lease or buy land, so if myself and my kids get to hunt a piece of ground as long as I'm a total A-hole to tresspassers, hippie or not, then you better watch where you tread. If it's a chick, I won't harm her, but trust me, she'll be leaving quickly, and won't be returning.

Cast to the shady side and let it sink

I agree w/ huntcamp on this. Age effects tenderness more than sex.

I'd make every attempt to track it and finish it off.

I can't count the deer I've gotten w/in 15 feet of before spotting them.

I enjoyed both too. Yeah, I sat in treestands alone, but I always loved hunting w/my Dad. As I got older, I believe I was a "better" hunter than him, but I wouldn't change the hunts we shared together for the world. He passed way too soon, and the best advice I can give is to cherish times in the woods with your Father. When he's gone, whether it's in 2 or 50 years, you will be thankful for every second you spent together.

Welcome to the "audacity of paranoia". Since November, the ammo/gun industry has enjoyed a 'feast of fear'. I've seen signs of the idiocy getting better in Mo, I actually found a brick of .22 ammo @ Basspro last week, but it'll still be awhile before the whole country realizes the Government isn't going to ban ammo/guns just because Obama got elected. The one good thing to come of this, is that the current administration has openly put "gun control" on the back burner based on the steep rise in firearms permit applications, and NRA membership. Remember, every politician wants re-elected, Rep. or Dem.

I'd get a good bolt action for hunting. If you do go w/ and AR style, for God's sake get a .308. You don't want to find out first-hand the limitations of the .223 on deer.

The 500 has been killing all 3 for years w/ no problem. It's not as pretty as more expensive guns, but the deer/turkey/pheasant still end up just as dead as if they've been shot by a $1500 gun.

Getting startled by the strike and setting the hook too soon. I've done it countless times myself, I admit. Still do it, just can't help it sometimes.

I also agree w/prarieghost, yet I struggle to call it "hunting". If you want to shoot caged, fed animals, visit a cattle or pork operation, the best way for hunters to "stick together" is for those so-called "hunters" to actually HUNT. If we "hunters" stuck together, and did away with high-fence outfits it would be a huge + for public perception, where the future of our rights to hunt unforunately rests. "Sticking together" no matter what, as long as it's called "hunting" is BS. "You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anyting", you've all heard the song, but seriously, I can't stand with folks who support high-fence "shooting" just because they call themselves "hunters". They are not "hunters" in my opinion, so I don't feel obligated to "stand" with them. Now, if you actually HUNT, then I'll support you through thick and thin, regardless of if your tactics are the same as mine. The fact is , if the animal can't leave the area your hunting, regardless of if it's 5 acres or 5000, then your not "hunting' in my book. Go ahead, give me your -1's, I STAND for what I believe in, and I'm proud of it~!

.270, unless the recoil is too much. Nothin' wrong w/a .243

I've got a 2 burner propane because I couldn't afford another Campstove at the time, I've been very impressed w/it. The bottles last a long time too. 3 buddies and I cooked on mine for 4 days and only used 1 bottle. Not bad. It's a Brinkman, stainless, and folds up to the size of a small briefcase.

I agree w/u.

Sit down and call.

375. Wouldn't want to mess w/ a Cape Buffalo w/ only a bow.

It's been hot where I live, and the bit's usually real slow. Had good luck in the evening last weekend. Dusk and Dawn, though I have a hard time makin it to the dawn part.

In Missouri you can pretty much buy as many doe tags as you want to fill. One buck w/ gun, 2 deer (any sex) w/ a bow.

I agree w/ above.

Have my best luck w/Rooster Tails and Panther Martins. Get an assortment of colors and just keep switchin up until one produces. The 'hot' lure color changes every year for me. This past spring it was a gold-bladed rooster tail w/yellow & black bug pattern body and a brownish fur tail. Red & White the year before that, gold Panther Martin before that. Good luck

I do, and I think it helps. Nothing takes the place of keeping the wind in your favor, but it can't hurt.

Shoot him, brilliant ? by the way, simply brilliant.

All of the above. Don't use live bait much, except when my kids and I pick up a mess of nightcrawlers. Cranks/topwater/rubber frogs/worms for bass, jigs & soft plastics for crappie, same for bluegill. Livers/stinky stuff/bluegills for cats. Trout I go w/inline spinners then home-made dough. Unfortunately, that's about all the fish I can go for on my budget.

8X does fine for me. Mine are Nikons I got on sale for $70, they've lasted 5 seasons so far, and quite a few 'drops' (rain, and out of a treestand)

I'd say chartreuse.

Personal opinion only, rifle; Winchester pre-64 Model 70, shotgun; Remington 870. I wouldn't disagree w/ a Springfield M-1, considering it's track record, and I know Bennelli's w/the inertia system are supposedly unstoppable, but personally, I've never owned either gun, so I'll go w/ what I know. Del, you've obviously got an opinion on this, do tell.

Whitetail rifle. I'll be doing that far longer than I'll be able to draw a bow.

Weatherby's are pretty, but I wouldn't be able to afford the ammo personally. Ponder this, the old, slow .30.30 has killed more whitetail's than all of Wby's calibers combined X 10. Even if the rifle's a steal, you still gotta feed it. If you're not gonna' shoot it much, or if cost isn't a factor, then buy it if you really want it.

Same as above, Ruger 10/22

I'm not gonna' jump to conclusions and assume it's your fault kid. There's alot of a@@hole dads and step-dads out there. The fact that this guy has a kid interested in hunting and he's not willing to try venison, or let you keep it tells me the problem's probably w/him. Get your Mom in on this, explain to her how passionate you are about hunting, and enjoying the rewards of your harvest, then both of you talk to him. If he's still against it, then let him know a real man can kill his own dinner, and a real Dad supports his children's passions, especially when the passion is something as positive as hunting. Good luck, deer is a terrible thing to let go to waste.

tony, my next rifle will be a 25-06 Savage. Remington, Winchester, and Ruger are also great choices. American made, and getting more accurate every year. I use a Winchester .270, and it has never let me down. I've heard some good stuff about Marlin's new bolt actions, even from Petzel himself, and they're definitely easy on the wallet. Truth be told, if you're confident w/ your old 30.06, keep packin' it.

Yep

Just re-strung my baitcaster w/ Berkely Vanish. #12 test, looks like 4#. It's my first try w/fluorocarbon, so I'm no expert, but the stuff cast's EXCELLENT! Strong too. I usually go w/mono, but wanted to try some 'super-braid' on my baitcaster I got for my birthday. Time will tell if it's worth the extra price.

Just re-strung my baitcaster w/ Berkely Vanish. #12 test, looks like 4#. It's my first try w/fluorocarbon, so I'm no expert, but the stuff cast's EXCELLENT! Strong too. I usually go w/mono, but wanted to try some 'super-braid' on my baitcaster I got for my birthday. Time will tell if it's worth the extra price.

venison loin/trout

Del's got it. My turkey vest is a K-mart special, bought it 10 years ago, have stitched it up several times, it's faded to a nice light camo shade, so I just keep on using it. I honestly can't believe some of the prices vests are bringing now. Think I gave $18 for mine on sale, and have used the hell out of it. As for calls, if your new to turkey hunting, try a push button yelper, it's goof-proof. Next would be a box, then a slate/friction call, then a diaphragm. Mouth calls are the hardest to learn, but take the least amount of movement, so buy one early on, and practice w/it until you're confident enough to use it. Good luck.

The secret is after you 'shred' them, nuke em' in the microwave for about 5 minutes to cook the potatoes, then brown them in the skillet. Keep a paper towel over them in the micro to help steam them, and to keep them from drying out too much. Hope this helps.

I'd go with a .243, basically because that's the caliber I'm most familiar/confident with. Whichever you choose, congrats, I'm sure it's gonna be a sweet rifle.

30.06, .270, .308. You can kill everything in NA, excluding the big bears, w/all 3. Truth be told, I'm sure TONS of brown bears have fallen to the .06 too. I'm surprised I haven't seen an argument for the 12 guage on this one.

Early in the season, it's usually close to an hour before first light. As the season goes on, and I get lazy, it's 1/2 hour. Wish I was more of an early riser, I'd like to get there as early as 2Poppa!

I've never mounted one myself, but my bro-in-law uses a guy who charges $10 an inch. He got a bass done 15 yrs. ago and it still looks great. Can't wait to see the 4# crappie he's getting mounted now. I took him to MY honey hole when he caught it!

Can't add much here, but a chain-saw can speed up ground blind making. Also, I've found that you probably know or are related to someone w/enough scrap lumber laying around to build a good tree stand.

Depends on the particular set-up, but for me, tree

Nice ones, I gotta agree w/ 2Poppa, but the Duke had so many good ones, it's tough to decide.

I've had some success w/it catching channelcat, I usually go w/livers myself

I also think the last couple hours before dark is best. Not a morning person when it comes to fishing, but I know it's good too.

The one you're most confident with.

I'd go w/ the Remington or Mossberg as well.

Got my daughter a New England Firearms single-shot about 18 months ago. The local gun-shop ordered it for me. I think it was $230. Sweet little gun, it's a youth model, so it's short and light. Saw my girl drop her first buck dead w/it @ 100 yds. It's size makes it great for using in a ground blind too, where I used it to drop a doe.

jagerbomb's or PBR. Man I crack myself up, but I do have a horribly funny story to support this claim. Wasn't me, but I witnessed it firsthand.

roostertails and panther martins have been my staples for years. The 'hot' color changes w/each trip, and plan on buying a few at local shops, no matter how many I bring, I always end up doing this. Small Rebel craw's are deadly on browns too. As for bait, I've never used nightcrawlers, but have heard good things about them, haven't had alot of luck w/powerbait, but know plenty who swear by it. I concoct my own dough-bait that works better than anything I've tried personally. Here's the recipe; If there's a hatchery/trout park near by, go there. Near the hatchery ponds, at least in my home state, there's always a gumball type machine dispensing 'trout-food' so people can walk the hatchery ponds and feed the trout. By some, put it in a sandwich baggie, then go to the river. Don't add tap water, use river water. Add just enough water to the trout pellets to soak them good, but not too much. Let them set for an hour or so. Now the pellets should be soft enough to smash up in the bag. Once they're all mushed up into a brown nasty looking paste, add a tablespoon of molasses. This is approximate, as I never measure. Now start adding flour and mixing it in by squeezing the baggie in all different directions. Keep adding flour in small amounts and mixing until you have a nice firm dough. A bit of advice is add a little more flour now, as your hands will usually be wet when you reach in the bag, and you want your dough firm enough to stick on a small treble hook. Bait up, add a split shot if you need to for distance, and start casting upstream in promising spots and letting it drift. You WILL catch trout, and from my experience, buddies using powerbait nearby will soon be asking you for some of your concoction. I know this is a long-a** post, but hey, if your gonna go, you might as well be the guy catching the fish, right?

I do the same as matouse3, exactly. Having a whisker-biscuit or other arrow rest that holds the arrow firmly in place helps tremendously when handling your bow w/ arrow nocked.

Yep, hunted w/one for a few years on my uncle's land before he sold it. His name was Clay, and he was cool as hell. What troubled me was that he told me w/so many farmer's in his congregation, he had TONS of good hunting spots, yet every deer season, he ALWAYS came to mine! Like I said he was cool, and a good shot, so I didn't mind.

Can't go wrong w/leupold, got 3 of them on rifles right now. Put a Bushnell on my .243 3 years ago, it was a great buy, and is just as clear to me as the leupolds I have.

October 15, kinda excited already

A big game rifle should put down game effectively. What holds the bullets in is a non-factor to me.

I agree w/above. But it's not that bad. Also, it depends on the gun, not just the round. 2.5" @ 100yds. was about par for the corse in many guns just a decade ago. Accuracy has improved greatly in off-the-shelf guns in the past few years. Try the tips listed though, and most importantly, know your, and your gun's limitations when shooting at game. The animal deserves it. Good luck.

they're both good. I shop basspro mostly because there's a store only 15 min. from my house. Both are pricey in my opinion so you gotta' shop the sales. Basspro's Redhead line ain't what it used to be either, bought a pair of turkey hunting boots last year, and they're already worn out.

OK, I'll give you one of my less embarrassing ones. Last fall, I'm bowhunting. I've got a buck decoy about 20yds. from my stand. So, I have a nice 8pt. come thru, and I pass on him, but it's a fun encounter. Then I get sleepy. I fall asleep soundly, and the next thing I know, I hear this SHEWWWW! SHEWWWW! I wake up startled, and look over, and there's a NICE 9 pointer about 30yds, broadside, snorting at my decoy! He starts to move off, and I grunt and snort wheeze, turning him around 3 or 4 different times, but never getting him back in range. Not my proudest moment hunting, but hey, I can laugh at myself.

I agree w/u Alex. It's 105 degree heat index right now, and I can't even imagine fishing unless it was early or late.

I've kept a hunting journal for the past few years. I agree, its helpful to management, but it's best to re-read and relive the memories. It's amazing the little details you forget from one season to the next, but when I read about it, it all comes back.

I prefer bolt, but the fact is, whatever gun you're most confident using, is the one you should use. I've tried to retire my Grandpa's old M70 at least 1/2 doz. times, but I always go back to it, so I've since stopped denying it. The plus is that several people have gotten good deals on barely used rifles that I've tried to replace it with. Go with what you know.

I'd go w/a .243. I've seen it drop many many deer.

I understand your problem. I had a huge chow-lookin dog screw up my turkey hunting 4 times this spring. I almost shot him, but couldn't. I could just tell he was someone's pet. Haven't seen him since, so I'm glad he's gone, and not because I killed him. I have shot a dog while deer hunting, he was following me all over this private land. Every time I'd get set-up in a good spot, here he'd come. He'd stop about 50-60 yds. away and just bark and bark. After 3 hours of this I shot him. It made me feel sick. I have 4 dogs myself.

I agree w/ above. CVA and Traditions both make some dandy smoke-poles at very affordable prices.

I pass on the little guys, and fill the freezer w/gals. I try to harvest 4-6 a year between me and my kids. We eat the hell out of deer. I hold out for a good buck myself, but I always get a few does regardless. I love the feeling of passing on a decent buck, knowing that if I see him next year he'll be a monster, and I'll feel glad I did. I did this w/ a nice 8 point 4 times last fall. He was long tined, but narrow, and I really wanted to see him in another year. Another hunter on the land I hunt shot him the last evening of the season. I wasn't mad, the guy had hunted hard and he was proud of it. That's how it goes.

I agree. I'd definitely cycle the hell out of it before buying. If it still shucks good, then refinish the barrel, or buy a new/used one.

I've got an old smooth-bore slug barrel on my 870 that shoots rifled slugs well, and is hell on watermoccassins w/birdshot. Won't be able to hold a tight pattern, and won't be the MOST accuracy you can get out of a slug-gun, but it does work for both.

Yes, for the past 10 years. The meat's so much better when you take the time to get all the fat and membrane off of it. I bought a grinder attachment for the Kitchenaid mixer my wife got for our wedding. That thing has ground up probably 200# of venison over the years.

Love my Winchester M70 .270. Good luck, and good choice in caliber. By the way, Rem. 700's are hard to beat, as are Ruger's, and Savage's. All are made right here in the good ol' US of A too.

Listen to the folks kiddo. If your looking to see bigger bucks, let the little ones walk.

Love them .243's, I've got 2 myself, if I was in the market for another rifle it'd be a 25-.06. As far as brand, buy American, luckily, there really isn't any "bad" rifles being made in the US right now, so price is your only factor. Good luck and good hunting.

CPT Brad got it.

libertyfirst- What does your voting record have to do w/my life? I'm interested to know. Throw me some facts, I'd like to know which elected official that you voted for did something to positively influence my life, and which one you psychically know that I voted for hurt my life. "A working class man voting Republican is like a chicken voting for Col. Sanders" I deal in facts, not campaign speeches, or the latest "doom & gloom" spewed forth by talk radio & Fox news. fishhead- We went to Iraq on the premise that they were hoarding weapons of mass destruction. Not a single 9-11 hijacker was from Iraq, and after 8 years not a single connection has been made between Sadaam Hussein and Al Quida, nor has a single weapon of mass destruction been found. Thousands of American soldiers and American workers have been killed in Iraq since the invasion. We've changed the objective to "liberating" the Iraqi people, and "ridding the world of a tyrannical dictator", and both are very nice, but they are NOT the reasons given to the American public for going to war. So, lets deal with cold hard facts, here's an unpopular question, how many American's have DIED because of Obama's lies???

I feel for you guys who can't hunt on Sundays. that is a truly rediculous law. I also miss check stations, but I don't miss the 30 min. drive to and from. I don't think all regulations are for the good of the wildlife/environment, good ol' moola plays a big part in everything.

I've had mountain oysters and turkey fries, never had squirrel brains though.

I agree w/above. Shot placement, but you must have enough gun too.

I drive a Ford F150 Supercrew. 4x4, tows my boat and quads great, big enough bed for gear n' deer. libertyfirst; Ford didn't take any government money, give em' a try.

I vote Democrat because I'm working class. I'm a member of a Union, which invented the 'middle-class', and John McCain HATES unions. I look at voting records for candidates, and vote for who supports issues that puts food on my children's plates. I'm not fooled by Republican's "religous/conservative" bs. They are for the rich and powerful, period. I realize that the Republicans could have easily banned abortion in the first 6 years of W's presidency, since they had Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court, but they will never do it because it's a great devisive issue to draw the sheep to them. I hunt and fish religously. I still have ALL my guns, and most importantly, I still have a JOB. I never had a single assault weapon confiscated from me in Clinton's presidency either. I think both parties are full of liars and crooks. Congratulations to all of you for being wealthy, but most American's are not, and if you look at the Republican's voting records, you'll see who their really looking out for. Now go ahead and throw your -'s on my comment.

I've got a Pflueger President ultra-light, can't remember the rod type, but it's bargain bin price. Strung w/4#mono, works great on trout n crappie. Just wore out a Zebco Omega, love that reel, and I must've caught 20 fish-fry's worth of trout, crappie, and perch with that thing before it gave out. Yeah, it's a thumb-caster, make fun if you want. I'll definitely buy another one, and I've got the fillets in the deep freeze, that's my priority.

I believe in Jesus Christ, and I pray to him while outdoors. You can believe what you want, not my business. You may think it silly what I believe, I may think it silly what you believe.

The guy was from Texas, of course he was full of sh**. he he, actually I have some really close friends who live there.

I have a Stihl that slings alot of oil too, works great though, so I just keep adding oil as needed. Didn't know you guys were so passionate about your chainsaws.

3 to 1 sounds ok. I use buttermilk, something to do with the enzymes in it that regular milk doesn't have.

I always wondered how you fish those things.

Penthouse. I have respect for Field & Stream.

I don't think everyone hates cops. Just like any group of people, there's a few "bad" cops that tarnish the image for the whole sometimes. I had a very bad experience with cops in Mission Kansas, so I myself hate THOSE cops, but I also have a good friend, and a cousin that are cops, and I love them. SOME cops just have a chip on their shoulder, and when people deal w/them, they form a stereotype of all cops. I personally respect the job they do.

Favorite is definitely top water. Torpedo in shad colors, man that's fun in the evening. Maybe not the most successful, but to me, the most fun.

Del is pretty dead-on with the technical side of it, but basically, you never know. Different deer in different parts of the country stop growing rack at different times. Good luck chasing him though!

Had a truck load of idiots come into my uncle's land to drive it during deer season. My truck was in plain view @ the entrence. Had a guy dressed completely in carhart brown, on a brown ATV driving around screaming, trying to drive deer towards his friends. Needless to say, there was some foul language exchanged when I threw the lot of them out.

If it's a grass-carp then use a weapon, you'll waste hours trying to "catch" him. Try "chummin'". Get some cheap white-bread, break it into pieces and mash it into balls. Throw some handfulls of it out. Might take a time or two, but eventually he'll find it, and most likely love it. Now, get yourself a small treble hook, and mash some bread around it. Throw out some "chum", and your "hooked chum", and hold on! I don't "fish" for carp, but when the fishing's slow @ the boat dock, I've done this before out of boredom and hooked several. Have stout tackle though, a big carp will snap 10 lb. mono like string cheese, as I've personally found out. Good luck. I'm curious to know how the carp is "owning" your creek?

I'm surprised that you didn't hear any gobbles from the roost @ sunrise. Next season, go out the evening before the opener and try some hen yelps, barred owl calls, or crow calls. Gobblers will "usually" sound off from the roost, works best the last 30 min. before dark. Keep after them, believe me, if there's hens, there's toms. You ever see a bunch of gal's and no guys around?

Sorry, no tips, but I truly envy you. Can't wait for the story. Stay warm!

You might try a release. My shooting improved greatly when I bought one. Oh, and lot of practice!

Fillet em, dunk em in an egg/milk wash, throw em in a paper grocery bag filled w/your batter. Flour,cornmeal,spices you like,even crushed saltines or crushed corn flakes. Fry em. Add a side of fried taters and onions and a cold beer. If you find a better meal, please post!

I bought a multi-pack @ Basspro this spring. Cannot for the life of me remember the brand, it wasn't any of the usual names though. The tape on the calls is red, and they were cheap. Called a group of 9 toms and jakes in w/ the 2 reed last weekend, worked great.

I agree w/ya. Got my Tom this way last weekend!

Love my .41 mag. Feels like half the recoil compared to my .44, deadly accurate. Love my .44 too, and have seen it do impressive things to whitetails.

I listen to everything, but when I'm heading to the woods or the water, country just seems right.

For your size I'd say a 20ga. I'd definitely go to a gun shop w/ a good selection, and shoulder several different guns to see what fits you best. If the recoil of a 12 doesn't bother you, then I'd go with that personally. Can you think of anyone who would take you shooting and let you try a 12 or 20? Might start there. Opinions are great, but yours is the one that matters most to you. Good luck.

matouse3 is right, gotta know the size and depth. It it is big enough, and deep enough, then catch some bass from another pond/lake, and put them in there.

I've seen the chemicals work, I've also seen grass carp do the trick.

jay is right. I've had luck w/ grunts some days, bleats some days, rattle's some days, and snort wheezes(done w/o call) some days. You never know what might get a particular bucks attention. I personally never hit the deer woods w/o my bleat can and "buck growl" grunt tube.

I agree w/ matous3, good luck hunting!

Realistically, rabbits,squirrels,small game. Technically, anything.

Nice answer Ken, it's basically the gun/ammo industry enjoying a bonanza of fear. Now I can't buy a brick of .22 ammo anywhere. I just want to take my kids shooting. I don't think a ban is impossible, I just think the knee-jerk reaction is a bit premature.

Dough's are good, but don't rule out chicken livers, hot dogs, worms, or small fish (shad,bluegill,etc.)

Basspro, purely because it's 30 min. closer to my house than Cabela's.

Good ? I agree w/ Idahooutdoors, email the webmaster and try to sway them.

Anglers sounds better than liars. If it is called that because hooks were called "angles", then it sure beats "hookers" and "hooking"!

Congrats! Nice bird. Got mine Saturday here in Missouri. 10" beard, 3/4" spurs, 21#. Not my biggest by far, but they've been henned up BAD where I hunt, and I'm not complaining, especially since it was the next-to-last day of the season, and I'd hunted HARD for 3 weeks straight!

I've had excellent luck w/ Winchester Supremes. My first one in the pipe is a no. 4, followed by 2 no. 5's. I've got 4 breasts in the deep-freeze, and 4 drumsticks in the crock-pot right now, and have had similar results since I started hunting turkeys. With today's technology though, there's really no "bad" turkey loads I've heard of. Remember, the birds were hunted to near extinction in most of North America using 2 3/4" shells w/lead shot, so even your "cheapest" options will get the job done.

Yes, just make sure the reel has a good drag system.

Phil's right.

My first shotgun was an autoloader, and I mastered it quickly and still love it. So I'd say get whatever you prefer and can afford. You'll likely shoot ALOT more trap than you will intruders, so the "shuck-shuck" of a pump wouldn't be my deciding factor. Besides, when I shuck a shell into an autoloader, it makes a rather menacing sound too. Not a darn thing wrong w/ pumps though, I've got a Mossberg 500 and an 870 too! Good luck.

It's really helpful to find someone who's good at it and watch them. If you get real good, you can throw the body back in the water and the fish will "swim off". I didn't believe this til I saw an old-timer do it @ the marina. I've since been able to accomplish it twice, and that's out of LOTS of tries.

I agree w/ Del in Ks, shoot several @ a pro shop. Ask the pro lots of ?'s too. I did this 2 years ago, and he explained that the Reflex was made by Hoyt, w/ the same cams and materials, just cheaper. I ended up buying a Reflex Growler, and I love it. Fast, quiet, lots of let-off, and I got it fully equipped, w/12 carbon arrows for less than a Mathews/Diamond/Hoyt. If money's no option, then buy whichever shoots best and fits best for you. Good luck!

I've had good luck w/ Muzzy's. I believe w/ today's technology, there are tons of good fixed blades out there though. If I had the need/money, I'd try the Montecs though, they'll probably be what I buy next.

18 Toms, 4 Jakes, 3 hens, give or take a couple on the Toms. Gettin' old does terrible things to your memory.

I'd check out used stuff on Craigslist. Lots of deals to be had usually. If you're talkin about putting 600 pounds of guys, plus 50-100 pounds of gear, I wouldn't recommend anything shorter than a 16'. Good luck, and wear your life-jackets!

I'd say "all" semi-modern compound bows can (say those made in the last 10 years). Recurves, no.

When the economy was better, I'd buy a couple a year. I've only sold guns I didn't have a use for, or because I didn't like their performance, usually to help pay for another gun. Lately I've had to be content with what I have.

I agree w/pretty much all the answers.

Berkley Gulp frogs in a color that closely matches your area's frogs. It's spring spawning now though, so dropping just about anything in the right spot can get you a strike from a bass on the nest. Caught a 7 pounder last spring on a crappie jig and ultralight reel. Needless to say, I was after crappie, and was very thankful to land the hog. Good luck!

Found a sweet Leatherman tool while deer hunting years and years ago. Still have it in my truck, and use it quite often. I know I've unwittingly donated to future hunter's finds.

"If Bulls**t was music, he'd be a brass band", my friends Dad, speaking of my friend, after he told a hunting 'story'.

My Winchester pre-64 Mod. 70, .270. My Grandpa gave it to me, and I shot my first buck w/it. The stock looks like hell, and the blueing is worn off in several spots, but the thing is a killing machine. It also shoots 3 shot groups you can cover w/a nickel @ 100', with the cheapest Win. ammo no less. Not bad for a gun made in the 1950's! I wouldn't sell it for $10,000.

I guess laying down @ the car wash and pressure washing the hell out of the undercarriage might've helped.

I use one w/ my climber, I don't w/ my fixed stands. When I put a hang-on really high up, I'll use a safety rope attached to my waist just to avoid 'stepping off'. Not as safe as I should be, I know

I just got a Basspro sale flyer w/ a PSE package (bow,quiver,sight,whisker biscuit) for $499. Looked like a pretty good deal. Haven't seen prices on the 'edge', but most of the Diamond stuff I've seen has been pretty pricey. Good luck!

The climber I bought several years back stated in the manual that the plastic coating would rub-off with use, and I've trimmed the "frayed" stuff off a couple of times to minimize hang-ups. Not sure how to minimize wear though.

Rattlesnakes. A good friend of mine just got out of the hospital today after getting bit by one on Sunday. This was 20 feet from where I park my truck and enter my hunting spot! It almost killed him, and he had to have 12 vials of antivenom before he got better. My biggest fear is that my children walk those woods w/me alot, and after seeing what a split-second bite did to a 200 pound man, I shudder to think what it could to a child.

I agree w/ idaho, locktite the screws, line rings w/tape, tighten until it hurts.

auburn's right. I'd keep a good mess, say a dozen or so, then see how it goes. If you're still catching tons of little ones, keep another mess. Good luck finding a helpful conservation agent, and congrats on having a fun place to fish~!

Nothing has been put forth by the Obama administration, but folks are very worried that it will. In the meantime, ammunition manufacturers are enjoying a bonanza capitalizing on the "fear".

Great posts. A good hunter respects his quarry, and is persistent. If you keep at it, and learn everytime you go, you're on your way to being a "great" hunter. Any kill is a "trophy" to me. Sure, a nice wall hanger is great, but it's definitely not a "must" to be a good hunter.

No. The bullet is too small for the barrel bore, and will 'bounce' down the barrel. Could seriously damage your rifling. If you'd never do it, why waste time asking?

Deer for big, squirrels for small. It's all fun though.

Reid, I agree w/you. I have 2 .243's, and they both work marvelously on deer. I hunt w/ a .270, but whenever finances permit, my next rifle will definitely be a .25-06. It's ballistics are impressive. I don't really have a need for one or I'd already have it, but when my son get's old enough for a full-size rifle (one of the .243's is a youth model) I'll probably be in the market for a .25-06.

Guess you didn't watch the videos. That's 'real-time' video of the Toyota's bed almost falling off the f'n truck. Betcha' didn't check the CNN story either, huh? Cuz' the media loves the big 3 SOOO much, I'm sure they're biased too, right? And, I'll gladly take your bet against my F-150 w/ over 150,000 miles. Gladly.

Good for you and keep on hunting!

I agree, it'd be nice.

They've been really henned up in my neck of the woods. Hopin' this week is better!

bluegill, bream, perch, sunfish. All related, and all eager for a little piece of worm.

Bottom line is, the bottom dollar goes back to Japan. I suggest you do a little research and see how much money Toyota donated after 9-11. NOTHING! Ford, GM, and Dodge donated MILLIONS in money and vehicles. This after Toyota posted record sales the month before. Yeah, that's American. I'd also suggest you get on youtube and search "ford, chevy, dodge, toyota truck challenge". Watch a few of those videos, and see how well your beloved Jap-crap truck fares. It's ok for them to reap millions in profits off of us Americans, but when tragedy strikes, where are the foreign manufacturers? Google the CNN report on actual figures, then get back on here and talk about your definition of "American". please

I don't see a problem w/it.

Boy there's lots to choose from! It's hard to beat the 870. I've used a Winchester SuperX2 for the past 9 years, and it's hell on turkeys too.

Basspro for me, but that's mostly because there's one 15 min. from my house. A little too close actually.

Man I hope it's me, but if it's not, then I hope it's you.

A close friend of mine was bitten by a timber rattler yesterday while we were mushroom hunting together. He's currently had 12 vials of antivenom, and is still hospitalized. He is an idiot, and tried to catch the snake by hand, I hope he recovers though. It was amazing the effect the snake's venom had on a 200# man though, definitely should be respected.

That's kinda like asking which fishing lure works best. It all depends on the buck. I've personally had more luck w/grunting than rattling, but I know several people who would say the exact opposite.

I bought my daughter a New England Arms single shot youth .243. It's light, short, suprisingly accurate, and has a very managable recoil. I bought this particular model based on budget/value, there's tons of good youth guns out there though if cost isn't a big factor.

Sounds bunk to me. Anyone figures out how to grow a morel will be a millionaire, not trying to sell the "secret" in the classified's.

Big hunting groups paying high price is rampant here in Missouri. I've lost several awesome pieces of ground because of this, I don't blame farmers or landowners for trying to make some money off their land, I just can't compete financially.

I've seen them bristle up, but never fan. Definitely believe it's possible though.

Call the boss n tell him you got "swine flu".

Around dead elm, in greened up areas of the woods.

The best caller/caller's in the world can't beat the real thing. That's turkey hunting.

The 870 is the most popular shotgun of all time for a reason. Have had good luck w/ Mossberg's too. Both a good value.

If folks weren't buyin' the boner pills, they wouldn't be paying F&S to advertise em. I personally find them humorous.

I'd ask him to "say hello to my little friend"!!!

In the arena of "public opinion", where unfortunately, alot of our hunting rights precariously hang, I believe "hi-fence" hunting is unethical and bad for sportsman as a whole, I'm not against "baiting" completely, but it's "image" is bad for sportsman as a whole.

Mouth, slate, box in that order.

No. I'd rather have company while fishing.

Rebel is full of ?'s today! They are called "honey holes" for a reason. I have over a dozen for everything from bucks to birds to trout to mushrooms. They are in Missouri, that's as accurate as I can get as to "where"

I'm fortunate enough to hunt mostly private land this year. In past years I've hunted alot of public land, and next year I could be back at public land again.

Winchester Supreme's, 3" or 3.5", no. 4's or no.5's

Nice bird! Mo's season starts Monday, can't wait!

The informal rule on my spot which I "split" w/2 other guys is " you can bring your kids hunting, not your friends", and "My stand's here, keep away if I'm hunting".

"Sit still and relax" -deer hunting 101

Also try putting a little tongue pressure on the call and saying "kee-yoke,kee-yoke,kee-yoke". That's how I learned the basic yelp. Don't try to learn on a mouth call w/more than 2 reeds, the more reeds, the trickier to learn on.

Get out there early and listen for gobbles from the roost. Try to sneak close. A push button yelper is the easiest call to use, boxes and frictions aren't much harder. Mouth calls take alot of practice, but are the most rewarding personally, and they require the least movement when the Tom's in sight. Google "turkey calling", and you can find some cool sites w/ all the turkey vocalizations so you can hear what your trying to sound like. A turkey hunting dvd wouldn't hurt either. Good luck!

I used to use a snuff can call, and liked it, but I lost it in the woods. I've got so many mouth-calls, box-calls, and frictions that I just haven't bought/made another one.

I've got the Primos call, and I think it works well. I had good luck w/it this past archery/gun season. Don't know if it was the "roar" necessarily, but the grunts are very deep, and seem to carry a ways.

The 2nd Amendment is to protect US from the government, that was it's purpose all along. It's not for "sportsmen", it's not for "hunting" purposes, it's to defend ourselves, and overthrow those in power if need be. Any "controlling" of guns is therefore, against the 2nd Amendment. Now, do you or I want convicted felons to be able to purchase guns, No, but that's "gun control". Is a background check a horrible idea? No, but that's gun control. Should a 12 year old be able to buy an assault rifle? No, but that's "common sense" gun control. Kind of a catch 22 ain't it.

Too bad he was crucified by his peers, and fired from Outdoor Life. Pitiful treatment for such a Great Sportsman, indeed.

It sounds like they got what they deserved. Using customer's ssn's unknowingly is serious, I don't care if it was just to check in a deer.

Bella, I admire your courage. Speaking truth to Republican die-hards is not easy. I hope we're all still on here chatting/whining in 4 years, then we'll compare presidencies. Deal?

I agree. I think Winchester makes the best "bargain" bullet. And yes, sometimes deer are freaks of nature. I could tell tons of stories supporting this, but I won't bore you, lets just say I shot a buck w/a 30.06 @ 75yds, he ran for over 100 yards. When I found him, he had no heart! It was totally destroyed, in little pieces. Running the length of a football field, through timber, w/ an exploded heart! freak of nature

Your best bet is to go out after a rain. Check creek bottoms, logging roads, trails. It shouldn't be hard to find their tracks and figure out where they like to travel. As for bait, dead stuff.

As for bodies, North ='s bigger, as for racks, don't count out Missouri along w/Kansas, Illinois,Iowa, Ohio,etc. etc..

Yes they'll hear you. I'd throw a decoy or 2 or 3 out if you've got em. I'd try a box-call if it's windy, they really carry far.

You are correct. Can't add anything that wasn't explained above.

Had a bald eagle buzz a stand I was in on the bank of a small river. He was about 15 feet away, and BELOW my line of vision. Heard his wing flaps, then turned and watched him. He looked to be cruising the river for food. Awesome experience.

I trust a step that I can anchor in the tree much more than the "strap-on" ladder sections I bought. Those things work great, but @ least one section always "shifts" a bit while I'm climbing up or down, causing me to lose bladder control for a split second. The key w/ screw in steps is to get enough, too many people space them too far apart, where if you buy just a few more, you can easily get up and down the tree w/o searching or stretching for the next step.

I have an old a303, and it's a clay/dove/quail terror! I won a Boy Scouts Trap competition w/it 19 years ago, then my older cousin asked to borrow it. I let him, which was idiotic, I finally got it back 6 months later, and the barrel was covered w/pits. That was 18 years ago, and I still wish him harm every time I see that gun

.410

I think it will be in extremely uniform mass produced bullets. Not that they're not uniform now, but I'm talkin miniscule tolerances. Match-grade @ bargain prices, at least I hope so. Most likely they'll keep churnin' out "new" chamberings that really won't do much more than the "old" chamberings.

Yes. By the way, I've never heard of anyone going out and recovering their prarie-dog and eating it. My .270 makes 200+ yd.shots easy, with some practice, your's will too.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

I trout fish down-stream from the hatchery, so I make my own bait because I've never had much luck w/ Powerbait. I mix hatchery pellets (they sell them out of a gum-ball machine so you can feed the fish in the hatchery tanks) w/river water, flour, and molasses. Get it thick, and pack some on a little treble w/ a split shot 18" up the line, and voila', you're using homemade bait to catch dinner.

I feel for ya' little man. Keep your head up, you'll be old enough to go by yourself before you know it. Missouri's opening day is on a Monday, so my kids always have to miss it.

Stick w/ the .22 Marlin for now. You're lucky to hit the side of a barn w/ a Bersa .380 as an experienced shot. Start CLOSE, say 20 feet. Your rifle is probably open sights, so lign up your front sight level w/ the back sight, cover up half your bullseye w/ the sights, and shoot. Squeeze don't jerk. Fire a few shots like this, then see where your gun shoots. You may have to put the entire bullseye on top of your sights when they're lined up. But start close, learn your gun, and gain confidence, then back it up a little bit at a time. Good Luck!

What distances are you comfortable shooting @? If you're primarily tree-stand hunting, then a rangefinder and an elevated stand is your best bet. Having a kid or buddy help you makes this much easier. I'd start w/ 20', 25', 30', and 35' for my pin settings.

Learn to spot Elm trees, they're found around them alot, Cedars too. Take an old-timer w/you, I did this last spring and found a BUNCH. I'm a bit of a novice myself, and that "experienced" mushroomer taught me alot about where to look, and where not to waste your time. Congrats on the turkey.

I tried this last weekend, guess I don't have the "touch". My kids laughed @ me though, and that's always rewarding, then we scoured the church parking lot and found a bunch.

Thanks Dakotaman, I just dropped my bucket off @ a processor yesterday. I can pick it up full of cattle blood next Monday. I'm wondering how long it takes to congeal, and if i have to leave the bucket uncovered to do so? I'll figure it out.

Tie a brick in the middle, then you end up fishing multiple depths. I use livers n stink baits for channels, bluegills for flats and blues.

Hadn't heard of the bentonite, but it sounds promising, I fish a small pond w/ a leak, so I might just try it.

Yeah, Idaho, most of the public land I've hunted in MO has been crowded, and stalkin is pretty dangerous. Love doin' it on private groung tho.

They can be entertaining, and I wish I could devote the time and moolah to hunting like they do. Alot of them are extremely annoying though, the hunters i mean.

Shot a 10 pointer w/ my Reflex Growler.

Love em' both. It's like picking a favorite kid.

It's all about the $! As you have read above, your only limited by your budget. As for caliber, I'd stick w/ a 12 or @ least a 20 guage.

I hit BassPro this time last year, and they had the coolest display up. All the different models of slates/crystals/aluminums/etc. w/strikers on cords. YOu could try em' all. I found a sweet crystal slate that was about the cheapest call there, and it sounds GREAT! Probably wouldn't have bought the call if I hadn't heard it first. It sounded better to me than all the pricier ones I had my eye on.

agree w/ wallofsam, also, Puts are the same as purring, you just push down a bit harder on the striker to make it kinda "skip" down the slate, making "puts" along the way. Practice practice practice

Stay after him later. Hopefully, by mid-morning most of those hens will leave him to go nest. If you stay put, he very well may come back around, if you follow him until the girls exit, you may be able to coax him in. I've got an old boss gobbler on my hunting ground that's really hard to trick, but I'm gonna try a Bmobile gobbler decoy this spring and see if I can rile him up that way.

You don't get to claim your deer, unless of course you shot it. I know it's frustrating, but life's tough. As w/any "deer camp", you have multiple hunters chasing the same deer in the same general area. It's all part of the game. I scouted my area all summer into fall. Had 2 good stands on the same ridge. A fellow hunter w/permission to hunt this land walked in, went straight past one stand, was on his way towards the next when he took a pot-shot at a MONSTER! He hit him, and tracked him for several hundred yards before losing the blood. He looked hard all the next day, but never found the deer. Yeah, it's aggrivating, but it's hunting.

gold blade/gold body panther martin w/dark skirt. White/red rooster tail. Gold blade, yellow/black rooster w/brown skirt/single red hook. Killed em this past March w/ that one.

I recently bought 2 Pflueger Presidents, one in ultra-light, one in full size, and I've been very impressed w/both. Used the ultralight almost exclusively for 4 days straight on a trout fishing trip, and it worked flawlessly. As for Zebco, their Omega thumb-casters are top of the line. Yeah, they're thumb-casters, but they're made very well and they last. I've had one for 6 years, and have caught literally hundreds of panfish and bass w/it. All I do is clean it well and re-spool it w/6# mono every spring, and the thing just plain works. My kids snag em all the time, so I went w/ a quality spincast cuz they don't know how to use them yet!:)

A big-ol' aluminum v-bottom bass boat. Aluminum for the gravel banks, v-bottom cuz' I'm sick of getting drenched @ the local lake in my old flat bottom, and a whole bunch of horsepower, cuz' that's just fun.

Agree w/ above answers. It's tedious, but unless you wanna' trash em and buy new, you gotta re-skirt em. I have heard of using those tiny zip-ties unstead of the little rubber bands to hold the skirting on, this saves you from doing this again when the rubber band loses it's elasticity. Wherever your storage is, it apparently get's too hot.

Try some micro-fleece. You can buy 3 or 4 layers worth for the price of 1 underarmor baselayer. I've tried the stuff, and it seems like overpriced spandex to me. My 7 year old loves the UA facemask though, he thinks he's a "camo-ninja" when he wears it.

I've done the same thing to 2 of my rods, on purpose. I like the stiffer feel, and a shorter rod works better for me in most of my fishing situations (in a small boat w/children). Re-tip it and you're good to go.

Most mammals, deer included, cannot see infra-red light.

Thanks for the answers. I didn't even ask the ?, but I'm thinkin' about a trailcam, and "real" hunter word of mouth is worth much more to me than clever advertising.

If I'm drivin', I'm packin'. End of story.

You gotta define "not too expensive". I've got some Nikon's that I paid $70 for, would I like a nicer pair, yep, but they work good for me, and they're all I could afford.

Topwater is alot of fun. frogs work great, buzzbaits, poppers, and my personal favorite, torpedoes. It's a great way to spend alot of money.

steve182 is right, assuming your talking about turkeys. Learn to do a good Barred Owl impression, or buy a call to do it. It works well most of the time to get a recently roosted Tom to sound off. Also, be there EARLY in the morning, to listen carefully for gobbles.

4lb. on one ultralight, 6lb. on 2 others.

It's a blast, and I don't believe it disturbs their nesting too much. I usually release any big females I catch in the shallow's in springtime. I caught what I believe was the same bass 3 times last spring from the same exact spot over a 2 week period, so I don't think I was disturbing her that much, because she kept returning to her nest, and guarding it aggressively.

It is maddening! Getting used to "stopping" the spool w/ my thumb when the lure hits the water is the toughest part for me. I can tell that I won't be casting many light lures w/mine.

I love both, but I definitely feel more confident w/ a gun. I've gun hunted for 24 years though, and I've only bow hunted for the past 5.

I was thrilled that we made a forceful rescue. Sends a strong message too.

Never seen "paint yourself" deeks, but personally, I'd go w/2 hens. Grey heads.

I go w/ rooster tails and panther martins mostly. Gotta mix up the colors, you never know what they'll like. 2 weeks ago, it was a rooster tail, single hook, gold blade, yellow and black body. Trip before that it was silver blade, white body. Gold bladed and gold bodied panthers were the killer lure on the trip before that! Keeps you guessin, but it is exciting when u find what they want.

I've caught catfish w/mine, and I sure don't see anything wrong with it. It's exciting as hell to bait up a trot line, get some shut-eye, and run it in the morning. When you feel something pulling it around, it's cool working your way hook to hook until you get to it. Yeah, it's not as exciting as rod n reel fishing, but who said you gotta do one or the other. I got a deep freeze.

Ask permission! If you don't get it, go public. Bring some pruning shears w/u and trim branches/saplings, brush yourself in. With really good camo you can get by w/o decoys. Practice w/ your calls. Good luck

Definitely not too soon. Get out there and see what's goin' on.

Yes, and it's hard to beat getting "paid" to fish!

Mine does, along w/both of my kids.

I bought a $20 pair from basspro w/ light brown tint. Wore them constantly on a 4 day trout trip in March, and they worked excellent. Saw ton's of fish thru the water, and the lighter tint worked great in the evening. Also, when I lose them or break them, as I most definitely will, I'm only out $20. If money's no option, then go top of the line I guess.

I'd vote none on a 30-30. But if you must, I'd recommend a fixed 4 power, and money is the limit as far as brand.

I have 1 Bushnell Elite, that works excellent. I have a Leopold VXII, and a VXIII, and an OLD fixed power that all work excellent. I agree, it depends on your budget.

Yes, my Wife will shoot a turkey, but not a deer because they're "too pretty" and she thinks turkeys are "ugly". She cooks the h*ll outta' everything though, God bless her.

No, the .30-06 is the most mass produced rifle cartridge for hunting, so it's cheaper.

I'm partial to my .44, but it definitely depends on your budget and intended use.

A .243 is excellent for deer. I've shot many w/it, currently have one as a backup deer rifle, and my 11 year old daughter had dropped 2 bucks w/ her youth model. I prefer 100gr. bullets for deer myself.

I'm from Missouri, and it's bucks and toms for me. Also morel mushrooms.

I agree w/ hunterkid94. I'm a bit of a bargain shopper myself

Why wouldn't Winchester still make these, with so many people, David Petzal included, wishing for them?

It works ----"OH TAY!!" I crack myself up.

I think you did the right thing, had to do it a few times over the years myself.

I'd agree w/ 25-06. If elk and moose are in your future, and you want the same gun for those and pronghorns, I'd say .270, if recoil is a consideration. I also believe a 300 is alot for antelope, but to each his own.

Whomever you are, I envy you. I know it's breaking one of the 10 commandments, but dangit, I envy you!

I'd buy an AR-10 because I like the .308 better than the .223 for my needs/preferences.

Doing this:)

For hunting 7.5", for protection 4.5".

I mostly agree w/Ann on this. I say mostly, because as w/ every statement/article she's put out in her career, she blames everything wrong in the world on "liberals". If a comet strikes Earth tomorrow, you can bet your gun collection Ann Coulter will blame a "liberal". I love guns, I have more than some gun shops, but I am a Democrat. I don't agree w/gun control, but I'm in a Union. My job feeds my family, so I vote according to my family's needs. I didn't agree w/ the assault weapons/clip restriction bans of the 90's, but I still had assault weapons, and I still had hi-capacity magazines, and I could still buy both @ any gun shop, albeit @ a somewhat higher price because they have to be "pre-ban". I sure made alot more money in those years though.

Just took my kids last weekend for the Youth season. No luck, I think the weather played a big part. 4/20 is the regular season opener though, and I'll be there.

$20. I was on a birthday mini-spree @ Basspro, and I'm not proud of it, unless of course, it catches me ALOT of fish!

Yep. You should definitely go to a sporting goods store that has a good bow section where a pro can set it up for you. You'll be thankful you did.

Jim in MO is right, here in Missouri, Spoonbill or paddlefish have their own snagging season. It's the only way to catch them, and for as long as I can remember, there's been a season, so it can't be negatively impacting the population too much.

I have a good friend who dealt w/one buzzing the dock he was catfishing from. Kept flying by and screwing up all his lines. After the 3rd time, he cast out a big old treble hook, and caught the guy. Yanked him right off the ski. Highly illegal of course, but it cracked me up when I heard him tell it.

Wait til the Tom dis-mounts, then just hose her off.

When hunting, I use a waist muff w/ handwarmers too. A thin Pair of gloves is all I wear. When I need to shoot, I pull my hands out of the muff, shoulder my gun and shoot. I've tried so many different pairs of gloves I can't recall them all, and as I get older, I get colder. This combo kept me huntin all season this year, and my hands stayed warm.

I hooked my Dad's hat on my backcast when I was a kid. I casted, his hat went PLOP in the water, I turned around in the little 10' john boat we fished in, and I will never ever forget the look on his face! From that day on, I always paid close attention to my back swing!

Rooster tails, Panther Martins

boomer1, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. Here's what I've done for 20 years: Make sure your scope is mounted level and TIGHT, get a stable shooting rest (for years this was my truck hood w/ a blanket over it, now it's a small table and a gun rest) and shoot a round thru. Don't even worry about shooting the 1st round @ the target, because w/a new, or recently cleaned barrel, your 1st shot is often off target. Now, shoot 3 shots @ a target 25-30 yds. away. Make adjustments to your scope as needed (left/right, up/down). Repeat this until your dead-on @ close range. Now, back your target up to 100 yds. Shoot 3 shot's @ the bullseye, and check your target. Make fine adjustments @ this distance. If this is a deer rifle, say in the caliber range of .243-30.06, then a good rule of thumb is to sight in 2-3" high @ 100', which w/most calibers will put u almost dead on @ 150', an inch or 2 low @ 200', and 3-4" low @ 250'. So basically, you can hold dead-on the vitals and shoot from 0-250', which is where 95% of your hunting shots will be. Good luck.

Well I have 4, but my favorite was stolen last year, and it's painful to speak of. It was a S&W mod.42 competition target .22, a gift from my Great Uncle (RIP), who got me into gun collecting. I shot this gun w/ him as a little boy, and when my Father passed, my widowed Great Aunt gave it to me. I have an OLD Ruger auto, pre-MkII, that shoots great, and a Browning Buckmark that's a nail-driver, along w/a S&W revolver that's accurate too, but none even compare to the Mod. 42. That thing was the epitome of accuracy. I truly hope whomever stole it dies a slow and painful death from cancer of the eyes.

Howdy MLH, I'm lucky enough to have a deer rifle that shoots everything really well, so I typically use the cheap stuff from Winchester. My daughter's .243 likes Remington's, in 100gr. and I saw it take down 3 deer very effectively this year. In my .270 I use 150gr. Winchester's, and my old Model 70 shoots 100' groups you can cover w/a quarter w/ these $14 a box babys. Good enough for me, and the deer die just as dead as if they were shot by $30 a box ammo.

I also use a flour/cornmeal mix w/lots of spices. Some crushes saltines and breadcrumbs too. I soak my fish in buttermilk overnight, or @ least an hour or 2 before battering. Really works good on strong tasting fish. Gonna try the 7up, sounds good.

No, the reason is convenience/easier manufacturing.

Bore snakes work great on shotgun or rifle barrel's. I've bought them for most of my firearm calibers over the years, especially the ones i shoot alot. Hoppe's no. 9 is pretty cheap, and has always worked well for my shotguns.

I strongly doubt it. Where there's girls, there's guys.

Do it the last 1/2hour before dark. I've heard gobblers sound off late at night, but the hoot owls were positively going off apparently all around it.

I agree w/buckhunter, 35 yds, no. 6's. good luck

I'd have to agree w/ the .357 revolver. It's wonderful because you can practice w/cheaper .38 special ammo, and it's reliable. Oh, and teufelhunden, a Kimber 45 is an excellent firearm, but I wouldn't classify it as "reasonably priced". If .45 is what your after, Taurus has several models that are really reliable, and a bargain usually compared to other manufacturers.

I don't know how big your hunting ground is, but shed's aren't that easy to find. for one thing, if you knew all your buck's hidey holes, you would have their racks on your walls, so it's not surprising that you can't easily find where they drop their headgear.

The anti-'s will be screaming because of it, and since the Obama administration has already talked about re-instituting the assault weapons ban, and magazine restrictions, this will help to push those 2 measures thru, but I don't think anything else will come of it.

Unfortunately, in today's rediculous society, where schools overreact enormously, this good kid could get suspended. I read of a kindergardener who got suspended for drawing a picture of a gun, so anything's possible. It's a sad world we live in these days.

Also great fried w/ mashed potatoes and brown gravy. It's like the best chicken fried steak ever!

Check out Stoeger's semi-auto. The company was bought by Benelli, and they have the same inertia-driven mechanics of a $1000+ Benelli. They sell them for $499 @ the Bass Pro close to me. A Benelli rep @ the store told me you're basically getting a Benelli @ under $500. It's pistol-gripped, and fully camoed. If I was in the market for a new 12guage, I would hands down by one, and when my son turns 12, I'll probably buy him one. Good luck!

I'd say all 3. Depends on the turkey though. If your hunting in my neck of the woods, 10" is a good beard, 20+ lbs. is a good weight, and 1" or better is a good spur. Some places w/lots of rocky/hilly country produce turkeys that have nubs for spurs.

Trout, then bass, crappie&cats tie for 3rd.

Sheds are small buildings that you keep an enormous amount of stuff in:)

Kev, a 270 is very capable of 250 yd. shots, and with an adjustable scope, works fine in the brushy stuff too. I've used the same 270 for 17 seasons straight, and it's dropped deer dead in almost every possible scenario. Before that, my Grandpa used the same gun to do the same thing for 40 years!

Good answer beagleboy. I go by height of the rub mostly, but say a rub's 3-4' up a tree w/ a diameter of 6" or better, then my pulse starts acting up

Those who've never owned one, will undoubtedly not recommend it, but the fact is, if u learn to shoot a .410 well, you well be a holy terror on trap,rabbits,quail,squirrels, u name it, when you grow into .20's and .12's. Wouldn't recommend it for deer, unless it's your only option, and you've got a spot offering a CLOSE shot. It is too bad the ammo's high

I love Panther Martin's, but overall, I've caught more trout w/ Rooster Tails. I keep a vast, and I mean VAST collection of both in my tacklebox, cuz trout are finicky buggers.