chowder

Heavy duty diesel pickup trucks are very expensive to own & maintain (older, poorly maintained units are notoriously hard/impossible to start in cold weather) and only 'pay for themselves' if you operate a business that requires you to haul a heavy payload or trailer day in and day out, otherwise they are an expensive 'toy'. Some people can truly afford to own & operate a 'toy' and there's nothing wrong w/ that & some people (cattle haulers,heavy duty truck repair people,etc) can actually pay for a diesel truck by using it but way too many people burn a lot of fuel and maintenance dollars up long after the 'thrill' of having a HD diesel truck is gone. Although I'm a dairy farm owner and have a lot of very large farm equipment and have to get large & heavy parts & tires, and tow heavy trailers and wagons on a regular basis I have never in twenty five years, owned anything larger than a F-150 Pickup w/ a small V8. I realize that my situation is very different from yours but I would look hard and realistically at the total costs of owning 2 older used vehicles vs. one modest, later model vehicle (SUV maybe?) that could handle both the bulk of life's obligations and your recreational desires at the same time. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. -Andy

Pearson 28' Triton is the boat you want. Time tested hull (been making them since the 60s), can sleep 4. These are classically designed and forgiving boats and from my personal experience can handle some very rough water. -Andy

I'm figuring there will be a few that will get past you guys that won't get past me

Good to see somebody is kicking this winter fishing season into gear! Thanks for the post. -Andy

It's the real deal, that's for sure! -Andy

another good source for hard water info http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php

I had a pair of those planing,line twisting pancake weights and I practically gave em away. If they are west coast progress I guess I'll stick w/ A-TOM-MIK, Michigan Stinger, DW, and Honey Bees! In all seriousness though I do think that a lot of the tackle that originated in the NW coastal fisheries were the 'origin' of a lot of our tackle (flashers,dipsy divers,squids,meat rigs etc) Although squids have sort of become 'old fashioned', I still like them for the early am b/c they have a lot of glow. It's my distinct impression that the NW coastal commercial trollers are probably the best 'fisherman' on the planet! -Andy

That's a heck of a buck, congrats to the Ray Bro! -Andy

Hey Andrew that new rig you got should be just the ticket for this dishy weather, if you need a crew let me know & then I'll take you out in my open 16' so you can remember what you are (not) missing out on -Andy

OK, this just goes to show what can happen if you hunt long enough! Last week I was experiencing a lot of frustrations w/ some of my employees and by Friday I felt like I should just go off and be by myself. My sister in law had taken off w/ our old Jeep which most of my hunting stuff was in but I managed to piece together some camo and dug out an old 870 w/ a slug barrel on it & found 2 slugs for it.At the last 2cd I realized I had no gloves and was forced to crash back into the house w/ my boots on. After rooting around in a rubbermaid tub labled "kids deer stuff' I found a brand new pair of heavy mittens w/ flip up finger & thumb covers (more on these later). I was not in a hard core hunting mood to say the least but I put my nose into the wind and found myself down in a brushy thicket where there is what we think of as more or less a 'bow stand'. My complete lack of scent prevention led me to believe this particular stand was my best chance w/ respect to the prevaling wind. Mostly I just wanted to be out in the woods and away from anything having to do w/ the business. Time drifted by pleasantly, I observed a pair of grouse, a wood pecker occupied my attention for quite awhile. I saw 2 doe come out into a meadow about 500 yds away & I watched them for awhile too. I was just peeking at my watch to see it was 4:30 and thinking to myself 'hey in a half an hour I can go in, legitimately have a beer and make dinner for my brood' when I catch some movement w/ some decent horns in the brush over my shoulder. Auto pilot mode takes over, heart beat up & adrenaline on, I position myself for close action. I still can't get much of a look at the buck b/c it's just too thick and he is trotting his way towards me at an angle. I'm making my final preparations now b/c I have to guess which side of the tree he is going to pass me on. I make my best guess, turning slowly and raising my shotgun. I can see him clearly now at 20 yards and I see a solid, wide but somewhat uneven 7 pointer staring around in that way that you know means he doesn't see you. I'm gonna let him pass b/c I wound up killing a buck like this in bow season and I don't need another 2cd rate rack or the meat and the hassle that goes w/ it. But here's what happens instead; He's almost under me now, I've lowered my gun & I'm easing back on the safety but some threads from these damm rag mittens have gotten snagged in the back side of the button as I was pushing it in. In close qtrs I always push the safety on an 870 from one side while cushioning the button from the other side. At any rate I'm trying to get the rag threads out and the safety back on when KABOOM the gun goes off. Stunned is not the word to use to describe what I experienced at that moment. I looked down at the gun & see 2 things 1. the finger flap of the mitten had gotten inside the trigger guard and 2. the slug has against all odds gone right down along and thru the outer edge of the bucks ribs producing a shower of hair. Needless to say he was prompt in getting the F- out of there. I on the other hand felt like I should check my drawers and sit down BUT now I've got a badly wounded but seriously pissed buck bolting away. I whisked my hand out of the mitten leaving it stuck in the safety, jacked my other slug in and got on the fleeing deer. Thanks to shooting enough trap,skeet & birds I was able to pile him up @ 37 yds when I got a clear shot. Jeez, so much for a mellow afternoon! P.S. Next day I threw the mittens in the dumpster and dropped the 870 off at Mayhood's for a check up w/ the gun smith just in case but in the end it's always the 'nut' behind the stock that's the real problem!

As I've said b4; when you have lots of does, lots of feed (active ag land), and lots of cover, bucks 2.5 and better can seem almost invisible but they are usually there in higher numbers than most folks think. I bow hunted by myself on 7 afternoons (2 till dark) saw 2 bucks >6 pts & killed 1.Saw 4 bucks from spike-6 pts. Saw 14 does in the same period & killed only 1 (getting soft in my old age) Ive hunted fire arms season 7 afternoons so far & seen 1 buck >6 pts & had to kill him due to extenuating circumstances (see my post 'another deer story'). During gun season I've also seen 3 bucks from spike-6pts. Seen 6 does & killed 3. Most years I start to see more 1.5 yr old bucks than does towards the end of firearms season b/c the does start to group and the groups are led by hunter educated mature does who do not expose their charges to the masses. I'm no expert on deer herd/buck management but under our conditions I would say that hunters should be aiming to kill 2 or 3 doe for every buck but I'm quite sure this is a long way from what's going on. What we have instead in probably .5 does killed /buck and probably 75% of the bucks are 1.5.

I'm breaking in a new yote eliminator (Savage 22-250, floating bull barrel,accutrigger,etc w/ Mueller 8.5-25x50) and I need a better bipod than what I've got which is a inexpensive Harris knock off I have on my old Savage 222.The el cheapo unit I've got has pretty short legs and doesn't swivel. I've looked at a few different possibilities but the 'tall' Harris unit, extends to 27", looks like it would give me the most options. Anybody using one of these tall, swiveling units that enables a shooter to shoot from a regular sitting position? They don't give these things away at $150 w/ the quik swivel lock option but maybe they are worth it? I'd probably use it on my 7mm Rem Mag for some much needed Doe management work too.

Oh definitely get a zara spook (great suggestion!) The strikes on the spooks are tremendous! Casting them is like having a dog on point- tremendous anticipation! Not sure how the fish do it, but on occasion they will whack them just as they hit the water- tell him not hurry the retrieve on these lures. -Andy

Sounds like you got a great Xmas thing going there Chris! I'd set him up w/ some 'Zoom Super Flukes' & show him how to rig em to hang straight/run weed less style. They will kill bucket mouths if they are worked properly to drop down in and dart around in the weed beds, you don't really have to cast them that far and it's not to hard a technique to use. -Andy

PM sent

I agree w/ Pete on the issue of inevitability w/ respect to leasing becoming the predominant hunting access rationing dynamic. As far as dealing w/ repeat trespassers I've found that coating the offender's vehicle about a foot deep with liquid dairy manure works wonders ( I've also been taken to court for doing this, so be careful!) -Andy

Great story & Chuck it sounds like you handled that situation like I wish all fathers would! -Andy

We own/lease/rent,etc hundreds of crop land acres in 4 towns here in a high altitude portion of 7M. Although I've largely given up attempting to contend w/ poaching/trespass issues because I simply can't spend the time on it and have gotten used to the outrageous extent of these activities.When I have been forced to deal w/ this stuff I have had the best luck working with the State Police on trespassing issues, and the worst luck w/ local law enforcement. For whatever reason the DEC is extremely backed up in my area and responds very slowly so I have minimal experience w/ their trespassing & game violation protocols. Since this seems like an appropriate place to vent over twenty years of frustration w/ this whole thing I will add my 2 cents to this diatribe by saying the following: You aren't really sick of gun season and trespassers till you see the same bunch of worthless 'unemployed, 'out on comp', or otherwise unwilling to work, white trash driving back and forth all day long to and from trespassing/hunting while you are too busy working to hold onto the land they are hunting to do anything about their B.S. except be weirdly jealous of the fact that somehow they can get away with hunting all day every day of the season. O.K. I feel better after getting that off my chest! -Andy

I think that the number of bucks you see as a careful stand hunter is going to be hugely influenced by 2 things; A. The stage of the rut, especially if you are hunting buck travel routes between and among doe cells and B. The number of does in these cells because, as Vince has said earlier, if there are lots of available does to breed w/ out risking exposure a mature buck can seem invisible during daylight. Personally, I think that factor B is more important than exact rut stage in my area. As I've pointed out in other posts it can be very difficult to harvest these does b/c they pattern humans much quicker than we can pattern them, especially when cover is as abundant as they are. As Greg's man Alsheimer has pointed out in numerous articles 'when you have large doe populations that are subjected to heavy hunting pressure it is important to harvest does at the first opportunity not the last'. Quite frankly I was a far more successful killer of mature bucks years ago when I targeted them in the very early part of bow season because I could pattern their fairly predictable routines/core areas,etc well before the rut began. Now that I'm a much more casual hunter (with a much happier wife) I'm more at the mercy of chance encounters that are influenced by the factors mentioned above and that are largely beyond my control. -Andy

Super nice buck! 4.5 for sure, congrats! -Andy

We counted 48 does out in our meadows while spreading lime 2 days b4 the fire arms opener & I have only seen 3 deer during 4 afternoons while on stand after the opener. I shower w/ dead down wind body wash & keep my scent lok stuff sealed up & don't suit up till I'm ready to walk in. We have very heavy hunting pressure in firearms season here and I can only hunt afternoons so I'm not out during the prime am hours but still If I didn't live and work on this land I would be very tempted to say there just are not very many deer here. I'm not trying to say that my observations hold true for other areas but once again folks we need to remember that if it was easy to find & kill these critters they would have been wiped out a long time ago!

I live in a relatively low income part of Chenango/Cortland county and gun hunting pressure is pretty high. Land prices are relatively low as well so we have lots of little hunting camps where 5 guys own 3 acres & try to hunt some other guy's 300 or they pound the state land. Around here very little progress is being made in terms of QDM. I see a clear correlation between liberal doe tag allotments & better survival of young bucks. Doe tags are tighter this year & was @ the general store yesterday & couldn't help but notice the pickup w/ 2 spikers in it. Drive hunting prevails around here and most of these pilgrims have a 'if it's a buck then try to whack it' mentality. In general I would have to say that very few bucks make it past 2.5 around here.

I do not hunt w/ in range of my property boundaries during the first 12 days of firearms season. Threw 2 guys off yesterday(both packing brand new high powered rifle/scope combos) that were walking w/ the wind thru about 40 acres of my woods. Supposedly they were 'tracking' a wounded deer (of course there was no blood trail). Last Sunday while spreading manure on one of our fields near the state land I saw 12 pilgrims preparing to push a 15 acre piece of brush/timber. While scraping out the spreader I heard at least 14 shots in that piece. Boy, do I miss bow season! If you don't have to deal w/ this kind of B.S. you should thank your lucky stars! Hope everybody has a safe & enjoyable holiday. -Andy

If you are gonna run FF combos off the riggers I'd run em tight to the ball and run at least 1 as close to the bottom as you can.

Good deal all the way around -Andy