# Hunting season



## powderhogg01

Here in Colorado we are less than a week until the bow hunting season starts. I am targeting elk and mule deer. Thought it might be fun to start a thread, see some harvests over the next few months.


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## Bee

Excellent idea! Our bow season starts much later than yours but it's around the bend. Sept. 28 is the beginning here and I'm hoping my boys get to hunt this year amid work schedules. 

Wanting to can some deer meat, some in hamburger, loin and also jerky! YUM.


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## 7chicks

Waiting for November 15th. Opener of deer rifle season. The day is like a holiday here. Even school is closed that day.


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## ChickenAdmin

I'll get laughed at, but I only hunt tree rats. It's all I have time for and they are in my yard.


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## Apyl

I'm finally getting back into hunting this year. I've had to skip the last couple years since we moved had no baby sitter. Deer Archery is still a ways off here, gun season is only a week at the end of November. Squirrel is coming in the next week or so , I plan to get out for that once the temps drop a bit and the leaves fall. Sadly Wisconsin doesnt allow kids to hunt till their 10. When we lived in Illinois my oldest was hunting at 6yo but now my son has to wait. I still haven't decided if i am going to do deer archery, I have yet to practice my bow and have never hunted with it. If I do go my oldest will probably go with me since we bought her a new Bear compound bow for 4-H archery.


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## powderhogg01

Archery is a very attached form of hunting. It's a lit more in tune with nature and really makes any hunt special. 
I say use the ol stick and bow and put some meat in the freezer


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## hennypenny68

Bee said:


> Excellent idea! Our bow season starts much later than yours but it's around the bend. Sept. 28 is the beginning here and I'm hoping my boys get to hunt this year amid work schedules.
> 
> Wanting to can some deer meat, some in hamburger, loin and also jerky! YUM.


Hey Bee can you share your canning recipe would love to can some deer meat as well.


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## hennypenny68

Yup around hear we have been hearing all the boys out sighting there guns next week is the first week for bow and the following week is guns the hubby is getting ready as well. We had 4 big buck in our front yard 2 weeks ago chasing the does


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## powderhogg01

Already chasing does? Whitetails must be a riot o hunt. Up here in the high country the big bucks are roaming solo, still building antler mass, they won't be in with the does until November. 
I'm hoping to be able to make it out to Tennessee where my mother is so I can help them store some meat for winter time, if it happens it will be my first experience chasing whitetail.


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## ChickenAdmin

hennypenny68 said:


> Yup around hear we have been hearing all the boys out sighting there guns next week is the first week for bow and the following week is guns the hubby is getting ready as well. We had 4 big buck in our front yard 2 weeks ago chasing the does


I've been hearing the same thing. It's funny, I've not had to zero in in sometime but I remember it being an excuse to shoot a ton.


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## Apyl

Alot of people shoot around here just to shoot ,gun shots are an everyday noise all year. My husband did recently sight in his Remington 700. Boy that thing is loud! I'm glad I'm not the one shooting it. Our dog is gun shy I swear he stayed hidden for a couple hours after my husband was done shooting. So much for our Pointer being a hunting dog lol.


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## powderhogg01

My pointer is also gun shy.. However... He does not waiver at the sound of my bowstring. I may not get a lot of kills, but the ones I get are awesome. 
Plus it's more about having the dog in the field hunting. Making him more important to the family then an ordinary pet.. Not to say pets do not have their place.


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## ChickenAdmin

Apyl said:


> Alot of people shoot around here just to shoot ,gun shots are an everyday noise all year. My husband did recently sight in his Remington 700. Boy that thing is loud! I'm glad I'm not the one shooting it. Our dog is gun shy I swear he stayed hidden for a couple hours after my husband was done shooting. So much for our Pointer being a hunting dog lol.


My dogs see my come out and start barking non stop excitedly. I half way trained my rat terrier to collect vermin, but if it's not killed she just wants to play with it.


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## powderhogg01

I've got a rescued German pointer, he was partially bird trained, but the original owners did not gun train him. I fear that when he got scared of a shotgun he got beat, and that makes it all worse.. 
The foster family stated that he ran more then a mile nonstop to the house when they tried to hunt with him. 
I'm a bow hunter, and so he and I get along like peas in a pod. I've got him trained to fetch my arrows( most miss, as hitting a ptarmigan or grouse on the wind with a bow is not easy)


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## Apyl

Wilbur ( our pointer) is gun shy from his previous owners. They had him caged in a 12 x 12 fence and would hang bottles and stuff in the branches right next to the kennel. Then shoot them and shoot stuff right over his head. It also doesn't help the guy beat Wilbur and only fed him bread. I felt so bad when I heard his story. The guy went to jail for domestic and his wife asked if we wanted the dog. So of course I took him. Now he is an indoor dog and a part of the family. We've had him 2 1/2 years now and luckily his only issue is being afraid of loud noises.


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## hennypenny68

Apyl said:


> Wilbur ( our pointer) is gun shy from his previous owners. They had him caged in a 12 x 12 fence and would hang bottles and stuff in the brantches right nest to the kennel. Then shoot them and shoot stuff right over his head. It also doesn't help the guy beat Wilbur and only fed him bread. I felt so bad when I heard his story. The guy went to jail for domestic and his wife asked if we wanted the dog. So of course I took him. Now he is an indoor dog and a part of the family. We've had him 2 1/2 years now and luckily his only issue is being afraid of loud noises.


I would just like to say its good people like you that make a dogs life safer and happier good for you for what u did your truly good people  I to have rescued many animals from unwanted home and some were horrible like what your poor dog went through.


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## Apyl

Ok so you guys should get a kick out of this..... I decided try out my bow today and try to get accurate. Well that didnt happen. The very first shot I was way off and the arrow went way farther than I thought and slammed into my truck lmao. So now it looks like someone shot the side of my truck and the tip of the arrow is flattened. So needless to say I doubt I'll be going deer archery this year lol. But I will be going squirrel hunting on the 14th.


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## hennypenny68

Apyl said:


> Ok so you guys should get a kick out of this..... I decided try out my bow today and try to get accurate. Well that didnt happen. The very first shot I was way off and the arrow went way farther than I thought and slammed into my truck lmao. So now it looks like someone shot the side of my truck and the tip of the arrow is flattened. So needless to say I doubt I'll be going deer archery this year lol. But I will be going squirrel hunting on the 14th.


Lmao that would be me I have shot guns but never a bow just remember practice makes it perfect I think lol


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## Apyl

Whats really sad is my 11 yo was actually hitting the target lol


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## powderhogg01

Apyl said:


> Whats really sad is my 11 yo was actually hitting the target lol


Teaching good form is crucial. Easier to learn then to relearn. 
Form is everything, get back after it an you will be confident in no time. Get your quarry, work the wind.


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## powderhogg01

Well after opening weekend I have managed to fill a doe tag and locate a whopper buck and a few elk.









This image is through a 60x spotting scope at a mile. I was able to get within 100 yards.. But sadly that to me is too far for an ethical kill. 
This trophy mule deer still is out there in the high country.









They were at the top of this 13,000 foot peak.. What a weekend indeed


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## Bee

Wow! How nice that you have that kind of game nearby! Congrats on the meat, as that is the real trophy in that sport, isn't it?


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## powderhogg01

I do agree. The chase and the feed.. The kill is a by product. 
Nothin like putting your wits against that of a monarch buck like this one. My focus is food.


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## ricepaddydaddy

I can kill animals in self defense, or defense of my animals, and have done so, but when I tried hunting turkeys with a friend a few years ago I was unable to drop the hammer. There was just something about shooting an unsuspecting animal that made me think of when I was the hunted.
But I do enjoy venison. And have a friend who likes to hunt deer. So each year he gives me meat and throughout the year I keep him supplied with eggs and fresh vegetables from our homestead.
The ol' barter system at it's best!


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## powderhogg01

These bucks








Live at the top of this









These elk live just below


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## Itsacutefuzzball

I'm thinking of hunting rabbits with my brother this year. Can't wait! 
Not because I like to kill, but I think hunting will be a great experience.


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## Bee

My mouth is watering over all those big deer!!!  I can just taste the tenderloin..and the jerky!!!  Wish we had big deer like that still in these parts...used to have but they've been pretty well hunted out, poached out and each year the deer get smaller and smaller, less and less plentiful.


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## hennypenny68

powderhogg01 said:


> These bucks
> 
> Live at the top of this
> 
> These elk live just below


Oh my god those are big boys there look at the rack n the one it's huge


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## powderhogg01

Colorado has some true splenders. I was able to get into a bugle match with a big bull elk, but my tag is for a cow, so I enjoyed nature and its splendor of bugling elk. 
The big deer you see pictures is named Edmund, in honor of Edmund Hilary, the late great mountain climber. 
These deer stay up on there hideout, 13,000 feet above sea level. There is no way into their lair without being busted. They move at night, and are up there from first light until its too dark for my scope. Truly a memorable hunt, An awesome area.


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## hennypenny68

I actually had an elk pass through my front yard last weekend we have mule deer here but they don't get as big as yours I did have tree bucks pass through my property about 3 weeks ago they were so beautiful the biggest had 5points on one side so that's big for around here. I don't hunt but my hubby does I'm the one that does the skinning after the fact. We're hoping to get a couple for the freezer this fall. He did put in for a moose tag but didn't get it maybe next year.


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## powderhogg01

I have been applying for a moose tag for 10 years in 3 states.. Still no moose, once in a lifetime that hunt would be.


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## ChickenAdmin

you have to apply to hunt moose? I'm sorry I'm in Texas and have never had an opportunity. 

Can you tell me more?


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## powderhogg01

In Colorado they use a lottery/preference point system. It took me a few years to figure out. But basically, every year I give the state an application fee, which goes towards building enough preference points. 
Once you have enough points you get a tag. It's a once in 15 years I believe that you will get the tag. 
Moose is the largest of the North American ungulates, and it is my top goal with a bow and arrow.


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## hennypenny68

Here in Canada it's a little diff you have to fill out a limited draw entry and they basically go into a pot and they do a draw they have so many tags a year and if your name gets pulled you get a draw and you get a tag. It's been a couple of years for us since we last got one.


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## powderhogg01

Reckon you guys have a few more moose then we have here in Colorado. I will likely end up going to Alaska or Canada for the moose, but I'm young and have plenty of time


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## hennypenny68

I live in British Columbia and my hubby goes up to Prince George to hunt that heading up toward the Yukon it's all drive him and his dad usually go for a week at a time and camp and hunt lots of grizzly as well.


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## ChickenAdmin

So moose is a once in a lifetime hunt it seems. 

Are they endangered?


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## powderhogg01

I do not think that the moose is on any lists. It is simply a rare find on most of the southern states, and the hunting tags for them are rather hard to come by, unless your swimming in money, the. It's a different story.


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## hennypenny68

Yah see here were I live its like that for elk my hubby has tried for the last 20 some odd years to get a tag for elk and never had any success and I love elk mmmmm yummy it's my favourite.


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## chicken_coop99

I can't wait for archery season opens the first of October but i really enjoy hunting rabbit they seem to be one of the hardest ones cause you have to hit them running


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## powderhogg01

Will trade elk for moose... Just saying..

I sure do love moose and I rarely get it. Elk however is everyday thing here. I'm trying to get it done on one with my bow right now.


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## hennypenny68

Well how did u do did u get one and I would love to trade but being we're I am and u being we're u r I don't think I could get it through the border lol


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## Bee

powderhogg01 said:


> Will trade elk for moose... Just saying..
> 
> I sure do love moose and I rarely get it. Elk however is everyday thing here. I'm trying to get it done on one with my bow right now.


We'll be expecting some pics, of course!  Love to see folks harvesting wild game..it's a dying art, particularly bowhunting.


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## ChickenAdmin

chicken_coop99 said:


> I can't wait for archery season opens the first of October but i really enjoy hunting rabbit they seem to be one of the hardest ones cause you have to hit them running


I've just started into archery. I have a small bow, but I would think hunting rabbits would be one of the more difficult animals with a bow.


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## powderhogg01

The tricky part with rabbits is seeing them first. Once you get your form down you will find that you are as accurate at close range as a rifle. 
Proper form is everything.


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## ChickenAdmin

I'm hoping so. I started out with a cheap bow, but I'm thinking it's time to find a new one and start going to ranges.


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## LittleWings

Powderhogg01 I hope you are far away from the flooding! It looks pretty bad up that way.


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## powderhogg01

Those floods are initiating here. It's been nothing but rain clouds for days.









It has made the hunting much more difficult, but things are expected to calm down in a little while


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## ChickenAdmin

Where are you located?


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## powderhogg01

I live in central Colorado, my house sits at over 9,200 feet above sea level. It's one of the greatest places one could live... As long as you love snow..


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## ChickenAdmin

How close are you neighbors?


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## powderhogg01

The closest neighbors are about 15 feet away from my house.


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## Apyl

My closest full time neighbor is about 4 acres through the woods. We have seasonal families that only come up in the summer and deer season , they are closer but still separated by woods. The nearest one is the trailer across the street it a few hundred feet from us I think.


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## ricepaddydaddy

powderhogg01 said:


> I live in central Colorado, my house sits at over 9,200 feet above sea level. It's one of the greatest places one could live... As long as you love snow..
> 
> View attachment 12337


Colorado is a beautiful state. I spent a little over a year once at Fort Carson, in the late 60's. My first experience with snow. A Florida boy does not belong on field maneuvers sleeping in tents in the boonies of Colorado in January.
I have not seen snow since.


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## powderhogg01

I have 8 days yet to find and harvest an elk. I have had many opportunities, but none seemed right for a shot. 
Here are some photos of the area I hunt. Spot and stalk, high country hunting. 
There are no fences or bait piles, no feed plots or water holes... This is as wild as it gets, and about as tough hunting as I have experienced.

































And here is one harvested animal. Though I do not often put up pics of dead animals, a kill with bow and arrow is a righteous one indeed.









The kill is the satisfying, yet essential, conclusion to a successful hunt. But I take no pleasure in the act itself. One does not hunt order to kill, rather kills in order to have hunted. Then why do I hunt? The same reason my well fed cat hunts... Because I must, because it is in the blood. Because I am descendant of a thousand of generations of hunters. I hunt because I am a hunter ~ Finn Aagard


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## LittleWings

You need one of these. Only $22,000 ea. 
Good luck getting your elk.

http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/18/t...erver-usb-ports-an-ipad-mini-and-aims-itself/


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## powderhogg01

Haha, just set that bad boy to target predators near the coop. How's the for predator protection..


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## Apyl

AWESOME pics! So far we've gone squirrel hunting twice at a new place we found. So far I've got 5 squirrels, enough to make a decent stew


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## LittleWings

powderhogg01 said:


> Haha, just set that bad boy to target predators near the coop. How's the for predator protection..


That thing will hit moving game at 1200 yards. You can get em long before they close to the coop.


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## ChickenAdmin

Apyl said:


> AWESOME pics! So far we've gone squirrel hunting twice at a new place we found. So far I've got 5 squirrels, enough to make a decent stew


Good deal! Love hunting squirrel. Tree rats are tasty.


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## LittleWings

Austin said:


> Good deal! Love hunting squirrel. Tree rats are tasty.


Got a good recipe? I have been getting a few lately. They are getting all of my pecans.


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## ChickenAdmin

I grill it. Clean it up, and just straight grill it, bones and all. 

There's not a lot of meat on them, and people won't eat them that way, so you may want to strip the meat from the bone.


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## Apyl

Ooo I never grilled them. I will need to try that out. I am having some friends over next weekend and was going to make Squirrel Stew with homemade biscuits.


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## powderhogg01

Final weekend for the Colorado archery. Good luck to those with tags to fill elsewhere in the states, heritage is a big part of hunting.. Pass it down


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## powderhogg01

Managed to fill my second tag today. And tomorrow is the last day of the season for archery. Still have an elk tag to try and fill


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## LittleWings

Congratulations!!! Good kill. You got that with a bow? That's awesome.


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## powderhogg01

Yes ma'am. I was unable to close the deal on an elk, but that's alright. There is always next year, and now I've got birds on my brain. Upland game is next and I sure fancy pheasant.
Sadly I do not know of any good pheasant grounds, eastern Colorado is likely me best bet without leaving the state


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## powderhogg01

Yup, at 40 yards, clean lung shot , she even ran to the road and perished not 15 feet from the road we hiked in from


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## ChickenAdmin

Apyl said:


> Ooo I never grilled them. I will need to try that out. I am having some friends over next weekend and was going to make Squirrel Stew with homemade biscuits.


How was it?


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## Apyl

Austin said:


> How was it?


I cooked one for my husband on Friday. I used a beer can chicken rub I had to season it. He liked and said it was the first time he had it grilled.  We still have 8 more in the freezer that I want to make a stew with and a few more on the property that need shot. I think I may try a brine on one to see how that goes too.


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## ChickenAdmin

I'm glad he liked it!


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## Bee

First deer of the season(bow kill)...YUM.


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## powderhogg01

Awesome work. Any pics?


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## Bee

Nah...son's kill and they don't get excited about killing deer anymore unless it's an exceptional one like a piebald or a big buck. This was just a young buck, tender and sweet. Table meat and my favorite kind of deer...I don't care about antlers!


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## powderhogg01

That's how i am now a day. I focus on table meat. Out here we do not have exotic piebald or axis deer. Mule deer and elk. If I drive to the plains there are also some whitetails. 
Let you boy know that he is the spirit of America and keeping those traditions alive is exceptional.


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## Bee

Two more deer taken by nephews, so we've been doing a lot of jerky today..that's how they wanted their deer. The house smells GREAT!


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## powderhogg01

I love jerky days. I have been doing some small game hunting, and some bird hunting. 
Goal of filling every seasons tags with a bow includes birds, and boy that's a toughy...


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## matt_kas

I'm on my way up to relatives house now for deer season!!!!!!


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## Bee

powderhogg01 said:


> I love jerky days. I have been doing some small game hunting, and some bird hunting.
> Goal of filling every seasons tags with a bow includes birds, and boy that's a toughy...


Yes! My Dad used to turkey hunt with a bow. It's a whole different skill level to kill birds with a bow.


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## powderhogg01

Turkey, snow goosed, pheasant... Anything that taste good. I am loving shooting the recurve bow on a quick draw. Took a ptarmigan and a blue grouse today, I shoot flu flu arrows with blunt tips for the smaller birds, and shoot a large diameter fixed blade for turkey and waterfowl.


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## matt_kas

Went up to my relatives an wednesday, took a doe thursday morning after being int he woods for not even 40 minutes, then dad got one 20 minutes later, rest of the family got theres the next day. Went up with six hunters& 0 deer, came home with six hunters and6 deer!


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## powderhogg01

All does? What weapon was used? I can smell the back straps on the grill


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## matt_kas

Some button bucks but mostly does, i used an inline muzzle loader so did my dada and uncle and my great uncle. My brother used a 22 and my cousin used a 7mm08


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## matt_kas

Sorry i meant dad not dada


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## powderhogg01

.22 for a deer? Seems slightly under powered. I would not use anything less then say .243.


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## matt_kas

He had 2 antlerless deer tags, when he shot at his second all the brush that a muzzle loader would have went through stopped his bullet


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## powderhogg01

So what your sayin is it was too little gun, and should not be used for big game. In Colorado it is illegal to pursue big game with anything smaller then a .223. The rim fire rifles do not pack enough punch to be a effective, and humane. To wound but not kill an animal is not very sporty..


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## matt_kas

Sorry i got mixed up, my brother took down a button buck with his 22 it was my cousins 7mm08 that wouldn't go through the brush.


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## powderhogg01

That is not correct. The 7mm08 is essentially a .308. That size round can punch through bushes. .22 not likely. 
I know people who hunt elk with .308, so I feel as though something is off here. Perhaps they are simply not a great shot and blamed the bushes.? 
At 150 grains that 7mm would not have suffered trajectory loss off a bush. 
None the less, good wok filling freezers..


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## matt_kas

He said his scope was off and he had the vital organ area in the crosshairs.


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## matt_kas

Do you go elk hunting every year?


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## powderhogg01

I do not always get an elk tag. But I do big game hunt every year. I no longer hunt big game with a rifle, as I was once shot over by a deer hunter, I could hear the bullet wiz by. Now I only hunt big game with a bow. 
I will admit my success rate has dropped, but my freezer is full and most of my tags get filled.


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## matt_kas

I am going ti try to get an elk tag next year, WOW that must have been scary!!


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## powderhogg01

Scary enough to have me make the switch. I would never go back, save only a special draw tag for an area with big animals and few hunters. 
Even then I would prefer to use my ditch and string. It's something that has no words to describe. It's a level well Beyoncé even black powder. 
No excuses, one on one, success or failure.


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## matt_kas

I live in pa outside of philladelphia but we have a cabin out int he western part of the state near an elk hunting zone if you win te lottery for the tag.


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## matt_kas

I mean if i win the lottery fort the tag


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## powderhogg01

Keep applying and you will get it eventually. Elk hunting is incredibly addicting, especially if you can score a rut hunt. 
Good luck out in the woods, be safe, and GET A BOW...


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## matt_kas

Im only 14 so i have a lot more chances to get the tag, im thinking about buying wither a compound or a crossbow


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## matt_kas

This only A part of our harvest this morning loaded up the white tails to take them to the bucther, too many to proccess our selves


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## powderhogg01

Must take more whitetails to fill the freezer. One good Muley fills a truck, same with elk. Good work though, keep it up, I would recommend a compound bow, I got mine when I was 12 off the internet(with help from my pops) for 40 dollars. It's a life long passion that you will do well with. 

Being up close and personal, tracking , it's all an amazing experience well beyond any type of rifle hunting.


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## matt_kas

Ive never made a kill where it just dropped, I'm goods t tracking now, they run about 50-75 yard then drip, so at least tey arent suffering there when i find them


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## matt_kas

These were small for the white tails, some does are huge a and bucks can be even bigger but nit bug enough to fill a truck.


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## matt_kas

My uncle went elk hunting, he said they are even mire skiddish than deer and will run sooner.


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## powderhogg01

I exaggerated. My deer both weighed over 150 dressed. I too will confirm the skittish.. Here in Colorado we have an awesome herd and a lot of opportunity. 
Keep up with your passion, home your skills on small game. Waste not want not, most importantly, enjoy your time in the woods with those you love


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## matt_kas

Dad just told me that we might go out to our cabin for whitetail buck in december!!!! Im either using my in-line muzzleloader or my brothers 308, not archery then


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## powderhogg01

I would use the muzzle, and with all the meat you guys got I would hold off for a true monster. Good luck, perseverance, hard work, and luck all have factors. Keep it up


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## matt_kas

I was wrong, my cousin uses a 7mm08 and my brother uses 308 I got mixed up


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## powderhogg01

The guns are so similar it's an honest mistake. Tagged this fella


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## matt_kas

Nice, I wish my parents let me hunt squirrel, there in season here in PA too but they like them in the yard too much


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## powderhogg01

Maybe if you go out of the yard? Ha. Good target and stealth practice


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## matt_kas

We'll yeah I meant in the forest next to our house


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## Apyl

We had luck with squirrel this year, got 9 so far. I dried the tails and hung them above our bar that separates the kitchen from living room. We have more on the other sides but not as many as this side (the pic posted) . Even thought we got quit a few of the squirrels on our property there are still a lot out there. I just don't feel like skinning them anymore lol. Does anyone know a good way to skin them that doesn't leave little hairs all over the meat ? How annoying, and running them under water does nothing to get the hair off, so I end up picking it off piece by piece. The other pic is of the stew I made with 5 of the squirrels, I leave it with thinner liquid cause my husband likes to add crackers.


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## powderhogg01

That stew sure looks good


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## Sundancers

From one of our trail cams ... (about 100 yards from the house)


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## kaufranc

From one of our trail cams


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## Apyl

We need a trail camera ! Great pics, I hope they leave your flocks alone.


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## powderhogg01

First day of trapping season yielded me a grey fox and a ****.









I nearly passed the set, this fox came in from the trees I think as there were no tracks in the snow.









Here she is hung, large size grey fox.


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