General Questions

real hunting show

gehee — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:16:27 GMT

I've been watching hunting shows by various groups and watching some of the posts of people on here so I have a hunting show proposal for Buckmasters.

We need to see you hunt on public land... under the conditions we hunt under. Nation wide it's figured that nearly 70% of the hunters only hunt public land, which means that all those private farm hunts, reserve hunts and guided hunts we are often shown are only applicable to 30% of us combined... and most of those are private farm hunters, not guided hunts to Kansas or reserve hunts in Texas. Those 70% of the hunters are only able to take about 30% of the deer though.

So what we'd really like to see is you hunt public land during the time when most of us are hunting, rifle season, and we'd like you to do it on land close to where most of us are hunting, cities and towns, on the east coast near a city. Over half of the US hunters live within 2 states of the Atlantic coast, which means most of your hunters are within a long days drive of the Atlantic seaboard. America is nearly 75% urban now, which means most of us hunt near cities, the east coast is even more urban than that.

My proposal is this. Come to Pennsylvania, Lancaster county and hunt our public land here. The state of PA has about 1 million licensed hunters annually. Pennsylvanians take about 320,000 deer annually of which less than half are bucks. 150,000 bucks, about 30% taken on public lands... or 50,000 bucks for 700,000 hunters. we'll go further, Outdoor Life and Field and Stream editors have noticed the numbers and have commented that the SE PA public land hunt is one of the toughest in America, thus my proposition. Lancaster county has around 44,000 licensed hunters in any given year, 31,000 or so will hunt public land. last year around 9,000 deer were taken in Lancaster county, around 2800 of those on public land. of those only 1300 were bucks. if you're doing the math that's one buck per 24 hunters.

What I'd like to see is you come to Lancaster county, using limited means as though you are living on a typical salary, scout the local public lands only (you can't use private lands even if offered as most locals won't offer them to the rest of us but might to a public figure), using a single tree stand, (people will often steal ones left in the woods so you only want a climber) tag a buck, 8 points or better. And in the show, more than the impact shots, show how you did it. What did you look for? What did you see? how did you choose your stand site/sights? what scents did you use? rattles? That you CAN do it is fascinating, HOW you did it invaluable.

You could even keep a blog and perhaps a video blog here on the website to show what you did and how you did it. If you can be successful in Lancaster county on public lands, you can be successful anywhere, as most places have better deer to hunter ratios.

if you like the idea say so.

Is deer meat still good?

crtet — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:59:25 GMT

I shot a deer first morning around 7:30. It was raining and we did find blood but not a lot. After tracking for a couple of hours in the rain we lost the blood trail completely and it poured the rest of the day. The next day my husband shot a deer at the end of the afternoon hunt and while looking for his blood trail we found my deer from the morning before. It had lain down in a foot or so of water near a brook flowing through a swampy area. When I shot him I could not get him to stop and my shot was off and I had hit his gut, hence the low blood sign. The water was very cold and most of his body was submerged. My question is, is the meat still good after being there for a day and a half?

Good Place for an Illinois Hunt

pjab217 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:52:35 GMT

I have two grown boys that are into hunting. I want to take them to a good public Illinois place for soem bow hunting. Does anyone have a recommendation on a good Illinois public place where they could see some action?

What is deer hunting?

michaelw730 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:22:36 GMT

As for most shows on television they are generally on a ranch or farm, pirched in a treestand overlooking a huge piece of flat land like a nearly wide open forest floor or field of wildlife attractant. My question or topic is how come you never see them actually hunting the moutains, like where I'm from in Kentucky? As for this part of the state the mountains are fairly steep and you generally find yourself watching an old road or a flat bench about 15 to 20 feet wide. While our whitetail population is fairly decent it makes for a more challenging hunt and your hunting style or techniqe is tremendously different than what we see on hunting shows. I know big deer, good footage, and a hunters personality is what makes the sponsors money, but has anyone here tried to use a deer call, rattling horns or scent in the head of a hollow? Its much easier sad than done. Although it can lead to success, its much harder to get a deer's attention than what it would be if it was wide open country. Pretty much I was wondering if anyone else is getting bored of watching t.v. hosts sit in a deer blind over a wide open field, seeing 30 to 40 deer a sitting, hunting in the IDEAL world that most of us average hunters only dream about. While I watch my fair share of hunting shows and actually enjoy it, I seem to feel like they are actually just "shooting" rather than hunting, and as a die hard hunter can see why the misconception of our tradition is in the spotlight of anti gun and hunting orginizations. As all of us true deer hunters know that what we see on television is not what most of us face in our outings, I was wondering if anyone else can see where I am coming from when I ask "What is Deer Hunting?"

Bullet wieght and powder charge ?

heightman55 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:53:01 GMT

Last night I purchased a Thompson Center Omega 50cal. rifle. I am just wondering if anyone has a suggestion as to what weight/type bullet works best in this rifle and how much powder/ or how many pellets should be used. I hunt in an area that rarely presents more than a 100 yard clean shot. I have never fired a blackpowder rifle so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance and Good Luck to all this season.

mossberg help

mrs.deerhunter82 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:43:41 GMT

hey guys I am looking for this gun no one in my area has it can you help me its a mossburg 500 super bantam field/deer combo 20 gauge please let me know asap thank you

questions about acorn rage

hoggtown_32 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:37:46 GMT

I am going hunting on a asturday through monday and i was wondering how much i need to put out and how early i need to put it out. i have at least thirty pounds of acorn rage. any advice from hunters who have used this would be a great help. also i was thinking about the c'mere deer liquid products and three day harvest.

The rut

hunt5months — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:55:41 GMT

I am 37 years old and been hunting all my life.Last year the peek of the rut hit in October here in Arkansas that i can remember it has always started between the 10th and 15th of November every year.It is looking like it is back to normal this year.Just woundering if anyone else seen anything differant last year and how it is looking this year so far.

.223 bullet drop

nhhunter1 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:52:15 GMT

im shooting a 55graing .223 round and have it sighted in at 3/4 inch high at 50yrds dont have any room further than that to shoot in and im wondoring how far the bullet will drop at 100 yrds if any any helkp will be appreciated

Agriculture Land Challenges

LoneGirlHunter — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:58:16 GMT

Stands have been established since last year; food plots in on wooded edges and in clearings; been watching deer travel patterns.......but, we just have too many crops (corn) still standing. I know the hunting will be great in late season; as they will change to fence-rows and more wooded area coverage. But, any advice during the earlier season? I've spent DAYS bow-hunting; only to see the occasional doe/fawn pairs or trios and 2 young bucks. Great videos; but no vension. I'm not into the whole rattle/call/over use of scents/over pressuring of 1 stand/ect. Any advice for the rest of the earlier season or for setting the stage for next year? (NE Wisconsin)