Deer Hunting
Fair is Fair
It came out in the marriage conselling with the first wife that I had made a bargain when we were first married: She could determine what we were going to do on the weekends except for three weeks in April and May and 8 weeks in October and November. That left an 11 to 41 week disparity in who chose what. Still, the social worker thought that was still highly unfair, and that I should concede weekends in the Fall for things like shopping trips, weddings and such. Needless to say, the conselling sessions and the marraige ended shortly thereafter. … More . . .
Dennis comes to town; Shaman hits the bench.
Hurricane Dennis hit the Ohio Valley in a way that reminded me of one those interminable groupies from my days running the Black Hole Coffee House. Sluggish, bloated, Dennis moved in and never left. After putting up with him for a week now, it seems he will never leave. Day after day, we wake up to clinging mugginess, and the promise of a thunderstorm. Friday night, we finally decided that going to the farm was going to be well-nigh useless and stayed in town. If we were going to be shut up inside, we might as well have the extra … More . . .
Should you give it to ’em broadsides?
Over at the 24hourcampfire, we were all jawing about whether or not it’s important to wait for a broadside shot. Flinch made the following statement that summed up the feelings of many there: “I take the shot that is offered. Broudside shots are way over rated. From any angle, it is easy to hit vitals. Place the shot and punch tags.” Flinch While I prefer a single broadside or slight quartering-away shot, I’m not a snob. I’ve taken a brisket shots with a bow and a rifle. The bucks all travelled only a few yards. I’ve also done the Texas … More . . .
What kind of bullet do I use on deer?
I’ve spent most of my life living with cheap bullets and cheap ammo on deer and not had much of a problem. Most of my time has been spent with Remington 12 Ga sluggers and Walmart special 180 grain 30-06. I hunt dense cedars and Eastern hardwoods, and I hunt at very close range. I started out life as a bowhunter, and most of my deer hunting sensibilities lie in that sort of hunting. If I do not get within 80 yards of the deer, I am doing something wrong. Since I took up handloading a few years ago, I’ve … More . . .
I’m just a Lowly Acorn Farmer
It’s been several years now, and I have to say that I am so glad I took this up. What we are doing is trying our hand at acorn farming. See, we have acres and acres of white oak with tons and tons of acorns just lying on the ground. The problem is how to get them all vacuumed up and processed into something worth selling. About 5 years ago I hit on an idea: run all those acorns through the intestinal tract of whitetail deer and wild turkey, then harvest the critters. Those deer and turkeys just naturally go … More . . .
Choice of Rifle
JERRYO is a newbie over at KYHunting.net His question was: “which is the better rifle to hunt with single shot or repeater of some kind. “ Here is my answer: I guess what you need to answer is: what is BETTER for you? Now ask yourself: What is better for the game? Some folks feel a single shot rifle gives them more of a challenge. My personal motivation is that I am out there to hunt. That has always been challenge enough for me. I have never been all that enamoured by the one-shot-one-kill macho thing. I shoot. If I … More . . .
Mineral Licks– now’s the time!!!
Now is about the time of year I start thinking about my mineral licks. I’ll start refreshing my licks as soon as the ground begins to dry out, and I’ll keep this up until mid-July. First, I buy a bunch of bags of rock salt and some di-calcium phosphate. I’ve got about 5 salt licks that I refresh every March with a 50 lb of rock salt buried about a foot down. The salt dissolves into the soil and the deer spend all summer chewing on the dirt. About this time of year, I start doctoring the licks with ever-increasing … More . . .
The Ideal Deer Rifle/Cartridge
The question came up yet again on the 24hourcampfire: What is the Ideal Deer Rifle/Cartridge. Yes, one of those will do nicely. The fact of the matter is that they all seem to kill deer, some a bit better than others. However, we don’t have the luxury of replaying every deer hunt and retrying a shot with a different rifle or a different load. Would an ’06 done a better job? Should I have used a spitzer on that one? I will attempt to answer this in a different way. I always listen to the voices inside my head to … More . . .
Eeets Alive!!! PT II
You’ve probably guessed most of the answers already. Sorry, 270 Winchester never showed up. I’m not sure why. Ditto for the 250-3000. 30-06 never showed up. That was interesting in and of itself, so I decided to find out why. It took some doing. However I added a weighted system of ratings. If you figure in Energy at 100 yards, Dekker KOV, and drop at 100 yards, and then make the system search for the best balance of the 3, TADA! You get a result that ‘s a 30-06, with a 168 grain match bullet , loaded about 92 % … More . . .
Eeeets Alive Pt I
I once wrote years ago, when I first started dabbling with neural nets and artificial intelligence, that there comes a time in any mad scientist’s life when he feels compelled to grasp the table, lift his eyes to the heavens and exclaim: “EEEETS ALIVE!!!” I don’t think this is going to push the envelope any in regards to what is known about whitetail deer cartridges. However, this is a good example of one man’s quest for answers to the ultimate question in a deer hunter’s life: What is the best round? I have been downloading data from the Hodgdon and … More . . .
Acceptable Deer Rifle Accuracy?
Acceptable deer hunting accuracy? I’d say that is a two-part answer: What can the rifle do? What can I do with the rifle? I usually shoot a rifle from the bench and work toward a 1-2MOA groups with a given load. Sometimes, starting out, a rifle may print 6-10″ groups before I start tweeking. Once I get it down to 1-2″ at 100 yards, I stop trying. Going further is not necessary. I have a slug gun that shoots more like 4″ at fifty, but that’s okay. Then comes the real question: what can I do with the rifle. I’ve … More . . .
Glasses and Deer Hunting
I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 9. I have always been nearsighted. Iron sights have always been a bit of a problem for me, but scopes work fine. For the most part, I hunt with a 1.5-4.5X scope with decent eye relief, and I have no problems. There are few things you can do to make eyeglasses less of a hassle. First, buy yourself a glass strap. Croakies makes a good one. Use a strap. The last thing you want to do is lose your glasses while you’re out. Second, treat your glasses with some sort of anti-fog before … More . . .
223 for Deer?
muzzleloaderman writes on 24HourCampfire: .223 on deer #425666 – 02/06/05 07:02 PM Hey guys. I have been thinkin about getting a .223 for squirrels an other varments. Now I havnt checked the regulations but if its legal, what are your guys opinions on hunting blacktail with a .223? Ranges would ussually be up to a 100 yards occasionally out to 200. I know shot placement is the key, but still what are your guys’s opinions? ________________________________________________________________________I had a similar project in mind a few years ago. However, I could never find a load that satisfied me. 223 Rem on deer … More . . .
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