Every dead animal has its place..........

[Denahue]

Don't use my 30-30 any more. Went over to a 100# bow for the last few years that I hunted. Been about 10 years.

[ram416]

I used to...but I do not have the time right now in my life...but I do miss it...one problem here in the midwest is that you have use a shotgun for deer hunting and like rifle better...one bullet, one hit, one dead animal, no tracking a wounded animal if you know how to use a rifle....

[Denahue]

If you hit an animal with a bow, I guarantee you'll be tracking it.
If your good, it won't be far........

[ram416]

Originally Posted by Denahue

If you hit an animal with a bow, I guarantee you'll be tracking it.
If your good, it won't be far........

I've done mt share of bow hunting too...Bear Compound...didn't take many a shot because I was waiting for a clean heart shot...as you said, some tracking, but not for a long distance...still, I prefer single round, high velocity...gun control means 19 out of 20 in the black at 100 yards on a moving target...

[HRPuffinStuff-cr]

Originally Posted by Cycleman

SOMEONE start talking about killing a hog or a dear again please....

I was wondering if any of you guys were damn killers.

I thought maybe I was the only one.

My 2007 deer hunting report, for cycleman:

Deer Hunting Report - 2007

Wisconsin is divided into approximately 100 discrete deer management units (DMUs) for purposes of managing the whitetail deer herd. This allows the Department of Natural Resources to tailor the management needs of the individual units based upon agricultural crop damage, forest crop damage, car / deer collisions and so forth. The deer hunter is issued one deer permit (i.e. “carcass tag” or simply “tag”) for a buck deer (having an antler length of 3” or greater) in any DMU statewide, and one deer permit for an antlerless deer (doe or buck having an antler length of 3” or less) in specified Herd Reduction units (primarily agricultural units).

I find the Herd Reduction unit tag essentially worthless, because I do not care to hunt agricultural land. In addition to these permits, however, a limited number of antlerless tags are issued for forest block units, such as where my hunting cabin is located. I was fortunate enough to draw an antlerless tag for forest unit 49A, and border forest / agricultural unit 49B.

Thus suitably festooned with deer permits and bristling with artillery, I headed up to the cabin on Friday, November 16th, 2007.

Saturday, November 17th I awoke at 4:00AM and hastily prepared a breakfast of Pelkins Smokehouse ham sandwiches and strong coffee. A thermos was filled and I packed some of the giant home-made oatmeal raisin cookies my wife had graciously provided into the pocket of my hunting jacket. I piled into the CJ and drove the ten miles or so to the Northfork – Chickadee Wilderness gate and headed off into the woods on foot.

I took up a stand in the inky pre-dawn darkness on a north-south running ridge, facing west, overlooking a small dry creek bed. It was 5:10AM. A million stars twinkled above, and a particularly magnificent meteor shower held my rapt attention. It was unseasonably warm, approximately 32 degrees.

At approximately 6:50AM I heard the distinct and heavy footfalls of a large, approaching deer. I clutched the 30.06 in anticipation and silently slipped off the safety. Then the footfalls stopped and the woods were once again silent. I strained to see any sign of the deer in the heavy cover. I returned the safety to the safety position.

At 6:55AM I once again heard the heavy footfalls and caught a glimpse of a deer sporting boney headgear slipping slowly through the forest to my left. Suddenly, and miraculously, there he stood. In a heartbeat, the crosshairs found the front left shoulder and the 30.06 shattered the morning silence. The 165 grains had done their devilish work. The deer stumbled, trotted about ten yards, and fell over in a heap. I stood transfixed, eyes glued to the spot where he had fallen. Steam rose in small clouds and then ceased. I waited the customary few minutes to allow the deer to expire, and then approached with caution, ready with a follow-up shot if necessary. It wasn’t.

He was a magnificent beast, sporting three points on each side, with a broad deep chest. Like many Nicolet National Forest deer, he did not possess an impressive rack, but DID possess a massive and powerfully built body. The buck tag was validated and attached to an antler. The messy unpleasantries were attended to and accomplished in short order. Then began the arduous and nearly suicidal drag out of the terrain that we Wisconsin hunters “affectionately” call “leg-break” and back to the truck. It took over three hours to drag the animal the nearly two miles back to the truck.

The field-dressed buck sagged the scales to 177 pounds on the tripod scale at the Crooked Lake Little Store registration station. Probable live weight 217-225 pounds. Currently #58 out of 165 bucks weighed at the registration station, the biggest being a 254 pound (field –dressed) 14 point monster.

It was enjoyable to sit on the screen porch and finally get to enjoy my cookies and coffee with a fat six-pointer swinging from the maple tree.

Sunday, I hunted a different spot, one that I call McCaslin Brook – West. Shortly into legal shooting hours a sleek forkhorn was observed parading and frolicking about, followed by a very small doe with an impossibly small fawn. It is extremely unusual to see fawns that small this late in the year. If you wanted to shoot “Bambi”, there he was. I could have shot the whole damn family that morning, Papa, Mama and Bambi. But the doe was too small and the fawn surely would not survive and the buck tag was already filled, so those deer vanished off into the forest. Shortly thereafter, a plump doe approached. I only caught glimpses of the animal through the cover, and struggled to locate the deer in the riflescope. The deer had scented or seen me, and vanished off to my left. It was only then that I noticed a SECOND plump doe was standing right there looking at me. As slowly as possible I raised the rifle, but she would have none of it, and she scampered into the forest, white flag raised in a sincere FU. I returned to the cabin to watch the Packer game and got supremely hammered.

Monday I awoke to 35 degrees and pouring rain. I had already moved the six-pointer into the garage, and really had no desire to hunt in the pouring rain, so I went back to bed. I hunted a few hours in the evening mist but saw no deer.

Tuesday morning I took the six-pointer into town to Pelkins Meat Market for processing. I took up a stand very near my cabin (Tar Dam Road) for the last hours of daylight that evening. It was rather dreary and I was rather hungry, so I headed back to the Jeep just before dark. Just as I was about to unload my rifle, two does emerged from the heavy forest and out into the opening in which I was parked! The bigger, lead doe immediately bounded off, but the second, smaller doe just (stupidly) stood right there. The crosshairs once again found the left front shoulder. 1001-1002-1003. I counted silently. The deer just stood right there. BAM, I fired, and the doe bounded off into the woods. I listened intently for the death thrash, but heard nothing. I waited. It was nearly dark.

I went to the spot where the doe had stood, but found no blood. By flashlight, I searched in ever-increasing circles from the point of impact in an attempt to find a blood trail, or to find the damn deer. I searched for over THREE HOURS for the deer, stumbling through the devil-dark, with packs of coyotes in full-cry all around me. Finally, I slipped on some rotten log, twisting my ankle and falling flat on my face, breaking my spectacles. Lying there, face down in the clean, fresh earth, I decided to call it a night, before I got myself lost out there, or broke my damn leg.

Sleep was fitful that night. I could not believe that I could have possibly missed the deer at that range. Yet, why was there no blood? A deer shot at 25 yards with a 30.06 rarely goes more than 20-25 yards after being shot. It HAD TO BE right there. I feared that the coyotes were tearing the meat from the hindquarters as I sat in the cabin. I sat on the edge of the bed at 2:00AM sipping a Pabst. I finally fell into a deep sleep.

I awoke at 6:00AM and the ankle was really sore and swollen. I did not think I could hunt. Yet after I gritted my teeth and pulled the hunting boot over the swollen ankle, it felt much better. I headed back to Tar Dam Road where I had shot the doe.

In about twenty minutes I had found the deer. The bullet had done its work a little too well, and pushed a plug of tissue out of the exit wound, blocking the flow of blood. The deer had run approximately 100 yards and expired amongst a pile of downed trees. It was untouched by the coyotes. I validated the doe tag and attached it to an ear, and field-dressed the deer. She was a fine specimen. Nothing spectacular. Fortunately, she had fallen only about 20 yards from a Forest Service road so I could drive the CJ right back in there and get her. I took her down to Crooked Lake and really washed out the body cavity, since she had laid there all night. Lucky it was cold.

I had now filled both my buck tag and DMU 49A antlerless tag, and had only the DMU 49B antlerless tag and (worthless) Herd Reduction unit tag left. I took the rest of the day off Wednesday to rest the ankle, then took off all day Thursday to watch football and eat venison tenderloin (from the buck) sautéed in a cast iron pan with butter, a big white onion and fresh mushrooms, washed down with several gallons of beer. I enjoyed many numerous large campfires and just enjoyed being outside the majority of the past ten days.

I scouted out DMU 49B on Friday in extreme cold, but saw no deer. I’ll give it another try during the four-day December 6th – December 9th antlerless-only hunt. I took the doe to Pelkins Meat Market on Friday afternoon. She was frozen like a rock.

2007 – Year of the Suitably Heavy Meatpole.

Opening Day 2008 is twelve days away.

God give me strength.

[Madmike]

I HUNT Michael...Deer and Rabbit...Going again this weekend..yet to kill a deer this year...I shoot a cheapo Savage .270 Bolt...but it is accurate.

[riverdog-cr]

I grew up hunting most anything that wears fur or feathers. As a kid that was quail, doves, ducks and squirrels. As I got older deer, and my best friends dad ran hogs in Georgia's Oconee, Ocmulgee and Savannah River swamps. When we were around 14 or 15 he decided we were sufficiently responsible to let us hog hunt with him. Lots of fun, lots of running, and lots more thinking required than first glance would tell you. A little bit of danger, but the biggest danger was busting your ass falling running flat out through the swamp.

I deer hunted every fall (TC Contender, 14" barrel with muzzle break, 7-30 Waters, consistent 1" groups at 75 yards with sling and brace, shoot them in the ear, put them in the freezer hunting) until ten years ago when we built our house on the land where I had previously done most of my deer hunting. Corn feeding is legal in NC and I continued to supplement feed after we moved into the house. By the first fall the deer were so tame I think I could literally kill one with a hammer. Kind of lost it's luster for me.

Now I bird hunt with my Italian Spinoni - quail, pheasant, chukar, doves, ducks. They are very versatile dogs, great noses and the best house dogs ever if you can stand dog spit and hair. Great, great family dogs.

[JTokash]

I gave up hunting about 10 years ago. Not to sound like an egomaniac, but it was just too easy. My first buck at age 12 was a hip shot, and I mean the gun was at my hip, not that I shot the deer in the hip, LOL, no lie.

I've had a gun in my hand since I was about 3-4 years old. BB guns at first, then 22LR, and on up through the .223, .308, 30-06, 50BMG, you name it. State championships for target shooting were the norm for me in high school, and trips to the National Matches were the highlight of my summer breaks. I got my Distinguished Expert rank from the NRA (4 position rifle) at age 17. After grouping sub-MOA targets at 600 yards with an M-14 with open sights, it just not a challenge to hit a deer anymore... unless it was further than 1000 yards away.

-JT

[andrew_will1]

Sorry fellas I don't hunt. I'm really not much of a gun advocate at all. I'm certainly not against LEGAL (and by that I mean registered) guns. I just don't see the need for them myself as I do not hunt.