Bow season!!!

[red state]

DEER ARE SMART ANIMALS AND THEY LEARN REAL QUICK WHAT AND WHO TO AVOID! When an area has been hunted a lot they are skittish and quite easily spooked. They tend to move about with even more of the extreme caution that usual. They shy way from wide open spaces etc. On the other hand in areas never hunted they are often quite bold even during daylight hours. The cagey old bucks are even more alert and cautious. Often one has to let the doe's move on by to wait for the buck that lets them go forth to be the victim if danger awaits.-Tyr

Yes...and that hold true as to why CA and other liberal States have more big cat and bear attacks. The animals that once feared (or at least respected man) no longer have the need or necessity to do NEITHER. I'm trying not to ruin this thread with politics but sometimes a subject simply goes hand in hand with another. The SOUTH and SOUTH East have many deer and they all fear man BUT I've noticed how bold the deer, turkey and bear are when I'm out in Gatlinburg/Cosby area. Then again, you can go just a few miles and really see a difference in the wildlife's outlook on MAN. You can immediately tell where is hunted or not.

Our cabin in the Smokey Mountains has turkey, deer and bear walk by with just a bit of caution (which unnerves me a bit). HA! It truly is dangerous in the summer cuz you could very likely run smack dab into an old sow with her cub....and that just won't do for either of us cuz I'm ALWAYS glued to a pistol in the mountains.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

A client of mine in CA (who was once a good ole boy from AL and MO) says that there are plentiful game and they've actually had a problem with hogs in certain areas (I think in the mountainous areas North or North East of Sacramento. I'd try the base of mountains where ever green meet hardwoods and where plenty of water can be found. Whitetail, unlike other CA animals such as the big horn sheep, need lots and lots of water. I'm not sure but I'd suspect that those HUGE rabbits I saw need very little water cuz they certainly didn't seem to be around any water. Boy ole boy, I'd just LOVE to stick several of those long ears with my bow and arrow!!!! That'd be almost as much fun as bow fishing (which can also be discussed here if anyone wishes to do so). Have at it guys and gals....this is very enjoyable. WE all need the change!

Not me, I'd rather put a 33 inch arrow about 31 inches deep into one of those huge wild hogs. I bet some of them are good eating too! Hell, as a young man I rabbit hunted with a single shot 22 caliber rifle. Anybody ever rabbit hunted will tell you want a feat that is but as a kid I never knew it was. Those critters as super fast and do not run in a straight line ! I've killed a few as a kid with homemade bow and arrow but they were sitting not running.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Yes...and that hold true as to why CA and other liberal States have more big cat and bear attacks. The animals that once feared (or at least respected man) no longer have the need or necessity to do NEITHER. I'm trying not to ruin this thread with politics but sometimes a subject simply goes hand in hand with another. The SOUTH and SOUTH East have many deer and they all fear man BUT I've noticed how bold the deer, turkey and bear are when I'm out in Gatlinburg/Cosby area. Then again, you can go just a few miles and really see a difference in the wildlife's outlook on MAN. You can immediately tell where is hunted or not.

Our cabin in the Smokey Mountains has turkey, deer and bear walk by with just a bit of caution (which unnerves me a bit). HA! It truly is dangerous in the summer cuz you could very likely run smack dab into an old sow with her cub....and that just won't do for either of us cuz I'm ALWAYS glued to a pistol in the mountains.

That pistol should be a 44 magnum. I wouldn't trust anything smaller even with it being black bear and not a grizzly! Of course black bear can be killed with 12 shotgun gauge using slugs. When I go hunting I prefer a place where nobody else is around. Not just for safety reasons but also for the solitude and feeling of nature the way it was a couple hundred years ago here. I get this super peaceful feeling in a place like that, very hard to explain.. It's like I am in touch with my Native American ancestors when surrounded by nothing but trees and wild animals. .. Damn, I miss that.... -Tyr

[Robert A Whit]

Much of it is in having more land per deer. Another aspect is in the diverse regions of CA. You guys have one of the most beautiful States I've ever seen. You have mountains, rivers, valleys, desert, flats full of grapes and almost PERFECT weather in the Big Bay area!!! I saw no deer when I visited SF and Sacramento last year but while driving through the wineries, saw many HUGE jack rabbits. I didn't even know you had them (till I saw them) but it really depends on the area.....you simply haven't found them yet. There's places in my area that have MANY deer but you can go just two or three miles and rarely see one. It truly is LOCATION, Location, location. and where the perfect scenarios are is where the deer will be...or turkey...or coyote or anything really. The type of agriculture is different in CA so that is also a major factor. A lot of folks go for beautiful timbered areas so I'd suggest you look in the nasty areas where timber has been cut and replaced by hard to walk thickets.....that is where the deer are when there is no adequate agriculture. Hope this helps....and HAPPY HUNTING!

Good report. Where I have found deer in CA varies. Milpitas, CA a few miles south of me has them in the hills. I hear they are in my cities hills too. I am seldom up in our hills. I saw them north of Garberville, CA in the redwoods too. I see deer around Yosemite. Bear too. I honestly don't plan to hunt deer since I can't store the meat. I don't eat a lot of steaks and such. I was about 30 miles from Auburn, CA where I saw the deer laying in people's yards.

[red state]

Good report. Where I have found deer in CA varies. Milpitas, CA a few miles south of me has them in the hills. I hear they are in my cities hills too. I am seldom up in our hills. I saw them north of Garberville, CA in the redwoods too. I see deer around Yosemite. Bear too. I honestly don't plan to hunt deer since I can't store the meat. I don't eat a lot of steaks and such. I was about 30 miles from Auburn, CA where I saw the deer laying in people's yards.

Yep, the ones laying in folk's yard are the tinder ones! HA! Easy life would definitely make them tastier. The spooked kind that flinch every second or two make for TOUGH eating. As for you not hunting because you don't have anywhere to store it or because you don't eat much steak....I'll assure you that you'll not get a whole heck-of-a-lot of meat from one deer. I've a many of times thrown the shoulders on the BBQ and cut the rest up in jerky. I may save a few rumps for the following night or two but you'd be surprised at how quickly you can consume an entire deer....especially with much of it going to jerky. You can even soak it in your favorite sauce, make sure it is salted and drained before drying it (not cooking it) on the slowest setting in your oven. If you don't have a self-cleaning oven, put a pan under for the drippings. You'll have the BEST jerky you've ever had and it will not need refrigerating if you do it right.

[Robert A Whit]

A client of mine in CA (who was once a good ole boy from AL and MO) says that there are plentiful game and they've actually had a problem with hogs in certain areas (I think in the mountainous areas North or North East of Sacramento. I'd try the base of mountains where ever green meet hardwoods and where plenty of water can be found. Whitetail, unlike other CA animals such as the big horn sheep, need lots and lots of water. I'm not sure but I'd suspect that those HUGE rabbits I saw need very little water cuz they certainly didn't seem to be around any water. Boy ole boy, I'd just LOVE to stick several of those long ears with my bow and arrow!!!! That'd be almost as much fun as bow fishing (which can also be discussed here if anyone wishes to do so). Have at it guys and gals....this is very enjoyable. WE all need the change!

Ca is an enormous state and has plenty of game. I understand that wild hogs are in the hills around Monterey and Carmel and plenty more in the Napa Valley. Can't say I heard of them in the Sierras but the coastal mountain ranges seem to be a fine home to hogs. As a kid, I never saw any wild turkeys but now they are all over the place. I can find wild turkeys in maybe 5 to 7 miles.

I did not intend it to sound like we don't have plenty of deer but I noticed a lot of them near civilization in the East. I can't recall them in PA but surely they are there. Matter of fact, other than in VA I did not notice them in the East either and I was all up and down the East. I saw so little of North Carolina I can't speak much of it.

[Jeff]

Not me, I'd rather put a 33 inch arrow about 31 inches deep into one of those huge wild hogs. I bet some of them are good eating too! Hell, as a young man I rabbit hunted with a single shot 22 caliber rifle. Anybody ever rabbit hunted will tell you want a feat that is but as a kid I never knew it was. Those critters as super fast and do not run in a straight line ! I've killed a few as a kid with homemade bow and arrow but they were sitting not running.

We use to Hog hunt in Rag town SC, just south of Dillon and west of Florance , my buddy was a hunting and fishing guide up there and also wrote cook books on cooking wild game, well he made ribs from a hog one day and they where with out a doubt the best ribs I have ever had , they came right off the bone but didnt fall off and where so tender , they where fantastic , not sure where he learned to cook but he sure did a fine job on those ribs

[red state]

That pistol should be a 44 magnum. I wouldn't trust anything smaller even with it being black bear and not a grizzly! Of course black bear can be killed with 12 shotgun gauge using slugs. When I go hunting I prefer a place where nobody else is around. Not just for safety reasons but also for the solitude and feeling of nature the way it was a couple hundred years ago here. I get this super peaceful feeling in a place like that, very hard to explain.. It's like I am in touch with my Native American ancestors when surrounded by nothing but trees and wild animals. .. Damn, I miss that.... -Tyr

I figure a 38 or 40 would do just fine for a black bear. I agree that I would want a bazooka for grizz.

Hey Tyr, old buddy, if you want to connect with the Cherokee inside (and especially the Choctaw) put down the guns and bow and wittle you out a good throwing stick. We used to do that all the time in front of our beagles. Had some world class dogs at one time....have NONE now but when we didn't use the dogs, we'd either slip up on them and knock em in the head or we'd flush them out and twirl the stick. We had about a 10% chance like that but the other methods proved VERY effective.

I agree about being out in the wild....hard to find those places any more. When I was my son's age now (19) and years before, I could LEGALLY walk just about anywhere (for miles) without worrying about "posted" property but the more folks turned mean....the less stomping ground I had. It was in 1992 or 93 that I decided to buy land. Back then, I had 3-4 THOUSAND acres to hunt but I knew that land would soon be gone to clubs and such so I bought 120 acres smack dab in the middle of all the BEST hunting ground I had hunted for years. Sure enough, I watched this and that property go through death of the owners or hunting clubs. Sad really but that is the way of the times. Still, even hundreds of years ago....you'd better make darn sure you weren't a Cherokee from a certain tribe on the land of another tribe or "nation" altogether. HA! I'd be worse than a ticket from the game warden FOR CERTAIN. hA!!!!

[red state]

I'm glad we don't have hogs....they are too hazardous to other game species and to your property. We had some guys who would catch them and raise them only to turn them loose on other properties but we land owners got together and did something that I had heard, time and time again, was impossible if you ever got them started.....we cleaned them out. I wasn't impressed with the taste our wild hogs...I much preferred the domesticated BBQ. Now, I can make some outstanding BBQ using a sorry ole deer shoulder. I can even make a deer shoulder taste EXACTLY like Sunday Roast. It is a lot of trouble to some degree but it beats throwing that part of the deer away.

Dag-nab-it! Jeff, you've done made me hungry!!!! Fixin' to raid the kitchen now! See you guys later.

[Robert A Whit]

Yep, the ones laying in folk's yard are the tinder ones! HA! Easy life would definitely make them tastier. The spooked kind that flinch every second or two make for TOUGH eating. As for you not hunting because you don't have anywhere to store it or because you don't eat much steak....I'll assure you that you'll not get a whole heck-of-a-lot of meat from one deer. I've a many of times thrown the shoulders on the BBQ and cut the rest up in jerky. I may save a few rumps for the following night or two but you'd be surprised at how quickly you can consume an entire deer....especially with much of it going to jerky. You can even soak it in your favorite sauce, make sure it is salted and drained before drying it (not cooking it) on the slowest setting in your oven. If you don't have a self-cleaning oven, put a pan under for the drippings. You'll have the BEST jerky you've ever had and it will not need refrigerating if you do it right.

I am not sure those deer in the Sierras were that small. I did not get out of the car to disturb them. around my town, our deer are not very big and the local government does not look kindly on hunting them that I know of. I can store meat in the freezer but I don't have a deep freeze. I like your ideas.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

We use to Hog hunt in Rag town SC, just south of Dillon and west of Florance , my buddy was a hunting and fishing guide up there and also wrote cook books on cooking wild game, well he made ribs from a hog one day and they where with out a doubt the best ribs I have ever had , they came right off the bone but didnt fall off and where so tender , they where fantastic , not sure where he learned to cook but he sure did a fine job on those ribs

Damn , dude you just made me hungry! Eating this late at night would murder me! I've had Arkansas razorback ribs before and they were good too. Friend of my oldest brother was a great cook when it came to wild game and wild hog was one of his specialties. Damn shame he moved out west back in the early 90's. DAT MAN SHO' KUD COOK..-- He made a deer chili that was to die for! Hell, far better than mine....Tyr

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I'm glad we don't have hogs....they are too hazardous to other game species and to your property. We had some guys who would catch them and raise them only to turn them loose on other properties but we land owners got together and did something that I had heard, time and time again, was impossible if you ever got them started.....we cleaned them out. I wasn't impressed with the taste our wild hogs...I much preferred the domesticated BBQ. Now, I can make some outstanding BBQ using a sorry ole deer shoulder. I can even make a deer shoulder taste EXACTLY like Sunday Roast. It is a lot of trouble to some degree but it beats throwing that part of the deer away.

Dag-nab-it! Jeff, you've done made me hungry!!!! Fixin' to raid the kitchen now! See you guys later.

Hey Bud, drink a cold brew and leave that heavy food alone this late at night. You'll thank me in da mornin'. --Tyr

[red state]

Funny you should mention that...I could actually use a beer about now (although I don't drink).

All that talk sounded good last night but I've had too much BBQ and "bad stuff" apparently....my wife had me weigh and although I thought I had lost after some heavier work schedules and many honey do tasks.....I actually gained two pounds (from 185 -187). WOW! I was so depressed that I ate very lightly (although I had eaten NO supper). I know it is the worst thing you can do is to eat late but that is just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. At least I rarely eat desserts (VERY rarely) but I eat enough of the other stuff to make up for it I'm sure.

I am tall and show my weight very well but I should actually *(by my own account) weight in at around 210 or 220. Even then, folks were shocked that I wasn't 185 or so. Those days are over cuz even it they still mistake my weight, they could still (EASILY) guess me in at 240-250. At my college days of 210 - 220, I look very trim and fit....even tho my ball playing days had me weigh in at a fast, agile 190. That is what I weighed for a long, long time till age (and a lot of college beer) caught up with me. HA!!!

I want to be around to bow hunt for a few more years so my wife has now ordered some sort of meal thingy she wants me to do with her. YIKES!!! Goodbye REAL food! I'm actually going to try and follow her lead, however, and hope to reap the benefits in 6 months or so. I truly can't allow myself to get any heavier. We take care of our bows and guns and it isn't right to not take better care of our most important aspects that allow us to enjoy life in the outdoors.

[red state]

I was 38 or so in this photo, quite able to do just about anything and everything and weighed about 250 (which may be a good size for me now that I'm an older adult). I don't think it good to lose too much......I've seen too many folks lose too much, too quickly and they end up looking HORRIBLE.

I am simply going to have to reduce my intake cuz I'm not NEARLY as active as I was (even just a few years ago) and cutting wood to clear my roads and stuff or running and gunning for a king tom turkey isn't taking the pounds off as it once did. Yep, my goal is 240 but I'll settle for 250.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Funny you should mention that...I could actually use a beer about now (although I don't drink).

All that talk sounded good last night but I've had too much BBQ and "bad stuff" apparently....my wife had me weigh and although I thought I had lost after some heavier work schedules and many honey do tasks.....I actually gained two pounds (from 185 -187). WOW! I was so depressed that I ate very lightly (although I had eaten NO supper). I know it is the worst thing you can do is to eat late but that is just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. At least I rarely eat desserts (VERY rarely) but I eat enough of the other stuff to make up for it I'm sure.

I am tall and show my weight very well but I should actually *(by my own account) weight in at around 210 or 220. Even then, folks were shocked that I wasn't 185 or so. Those days are over cuz even it they still mistake my weight, they could still (EASILY) guess me in at 240-250. At my college days of 210 - 220, I look very trim and fit....even tho my ball playing days had me weigh in at a fast, agile 190. That is what I weighed for a long, long time till age (and a lot of college beer) caught up with me. HA!!!

I want to be around to bow hunt for a few more years so my wife has now ordered some sort of meal thingy she wants me to do with her. YIKES!!! Goodbye REAL food! I'm actually going to try and follow her lead, however, and hope to reap the benefits in 6 months or so. I truly can't allow myself to get any heavier. We take care of our bows and guns and it isn't right to not take better care of our most important aspects that allow us to enjoy life in the outdoors.

OH no!!!!!! Not the dreaded go on a diet with the wife thing!! I've done that a few times and it ended badly each time. Never go on a diet unless its in your heart to do so. I've never heard of a wife going on a diet because the husband did.. Of course could be a further bonding thing with your wife and a good thing. Only you know the specifics so don't take my advice in the wrong way my friend. By the way I did the error of eating late last night after I signed off here. Ate a left over pork chop and sure as hell my blood pressure was high this morning. I should have taken my own advice and had that beer! Then I could bitch about losing sleep waking up twice to go urinate when I should have been sleeping. My wife did mention a few weeks back my weight gain .. Although she said it wasn't too bad. She had just gotten use to my slim belly after the first year of extreme diet right after my heart attack. -Tyr