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Post by Toby Benoit on Jul 15, 2008 15:07:45 GMT 12.75
August marks the beginning of deer season in South Florida and South Carolina. I personally won't get to start up again until mid September, but it's time to break out the old war bag and go through it to make sure my gear's all in order and then take the bow out for a good workout a couple of times a week from now on. Too many venison recipes going unused around the old casa del Benoit. Gotta fix that by refilling the freezer. I can't hardly wait!
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Post by Two Tales on Jul 16, 2008 18:46:02 GMT 12.75
Archery season starts Sept 15 here in CT, I aint even touched my bow sense early season last year...I've had some pain in both arms off and on for the last couple of months especially during damp weather...not sure what's causing it, maybe arthritis...will have to work on it I guess...aint helping that I've been working 10 a day 7 days a week either...Aint exactly true about not touching the bow, took it out and went over it, the arrows and other stuff just to make sure that every thing was/is still in good shape...time to give it a try and drop some in the center...Up until this year I would practice nearly every day, a minimum of 5 arrows...at varring distances of 5 to 50 yards...
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Post by Paws on Jul 17, 2008 0:14:44 GMT 12.75
Maybe me too! My thoughts are "screw the weather". The years of hunting are growing smaller and if I take it slow all should be OK. That nice cross bow old Brian gifted me needs still to be blooded. Just if you guys would do me a favor.... If I don't show up here for three days running please let the authorities know before the cats eat all the body.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Jul 18, 2008 9:49:19 GMT 12.75
Just be sure to have your dental records available to investigators because the cats won't eat that part. Gotta sweet little bow! First, second, then third shot landed inside the ten ring on my Mckenzie 3D deer target at twenty-five yards and were all three touching. I went ahead and fired several more rounds of three arrows and only an occasional one landed outside of the ten ring. Sahweeeet!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by azslim on Jul 20, 2008 17:40:16 GMT 12.75
I have been piddlin with my Hoyt Vectrix but I think I might use my Reflex Grizzly on my elk hunt just to fill it out. I have a mule deer and javelina with it, get an elk then I can relegate it to back-up status. The Vectrix is more expensive and supposed to be a better shooter. While is is more comfortable with less hand shock I still have many thousands more arrow flung with the Grizzly.
Deer in the mtn country opens towards the end of August, but last year I was on a fire in Montana and missed it. And according to my pocketbook I really hope I am on one this year.
I will for sure be ready for elk in Sep, then will be looking forward to hunting a wilderness area for deer in Dec.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Jul 21, 2008 11:37:39 GMT 12.75
Slim, you get your elk tags over the counter or do ya'll have to draw for preference points like us foreigners?
Az elk tags are hot, hot items on an archers wish list. Ya'll grow them things HUGE out there.
Never been to AZ, but if my legs would hold out I'd be doing anything I could to get one of them.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Jul 21, 2008 11:44:14 GMT 12.75
I forgot to tell ya'll. I got a new hony hole to hunt with a mile of river frontage on the Withlacoochee River here in Central Fl and two nights ago I went out for a coonhunt, but while we were waiting for it to get dark enough to cast out our hounds, we were driving aroundt he pasture and I saw one of the biggest mofo's of a boar hog I ever did see. It wasn't so much that he was really tall, or even that he was especially tall, but he was so FAT that he just rolled across that pasture when he tried to run. That boy had more rolls than a Jewish baker! I never especially target big boar hogs, not so much for the myth that they aren't fit to eat, but because they're so much harder to skin out than the younger stuff, but I realy want to get an arrow into this boy. He had GOOD cutters and was colored like a Red-brindle bull dog. Make a fine mount and all that fat on him ought to render out some pretty good cracklin's too! Gonna hang a feeder there in a couple of weeks to keep him hanging around!
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Post by azslim on Jul 22, 2008 9:57:41 GMT 12.75
Toby, all big game tags in Az are draw - with the exception of archery deer. That is OTC for most of the state, but this year they did make the Kaibab and a couple other units draw for archery too.
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Post by othmar on Jul 23, 2008 4:37:49 GMT 12.75
Here in British Columbia the hunting season opens on September 1st with one week bowhunting after that it is GOS (General Open Season) during which we can use bow, crossbow and firearms. British Columbia is the game richest region in all of North America on game species and population numbers. All tags are available over the counter with exception of grizzly bear (will be over the counter for resident hunters next year), bison and woodland caribou. Having just moved into the hunting paradise of the Okanagen Valley I will purchase a mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, moose and black bear tag this year. Best of all is that all the hunting is basically right at my front door. Yes I am spoiled.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Jul 24, 2008 11:24:21 GMT 12.75
Heck Othmar, you still gotta break in that new rifle your purty wife done bought ya last year. What ya gonna target first? Whitetail, Elk, Moose???
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Post by othmar on Jul 25, 2008 3:14:27 GMT 12.75
That rifle licked her first blood last year. We have so much game here that decided to shoot whatever shows up first. Went for a short drive yesterday evening and saw fifty deer, four moose and ten bears, all less than three miles outside town. Like I said we’re spoiled up here. ;D I am off now, got to get ready to give a seminar in two hours at the local gun club and then it's off over the weekend to a sportsman show and another series of seminars spread over three days. If that keeps up I wont get much hunting done.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Jul 25, 2008 9:48:31 GMT 12.75
Well, if you get too busy you're welcome to ship that rifle down here to Florida. I'll be glad to let it keep me company during the season. No moose, elk, mulies, or bear; but we got plenty of whitetails, wild boar, and sambar deer to fill a freezer!
I've still got a new inline ML to break in myself though, come October and I'm about talked myself into ordering a new .243 barrel for my NE Handi-Rifle.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Sept 6, 2008 9:04:03 GMT 12.75
Well, the spots picked out for opening day! I've got a little patch of sapling oaks about ten of them growing together about four inches in diameter with some low brush and a couple of palmettos fringing them. I got in the middle and wallered out a decent spot to sit and then I cut some more brush out away from that area and carried it in there for better side and back cover. Very concealed! The spot's located in a pretty open area where the deer are crossing through, funneled by a field fence and pretty deep ditch. I'll be shooting across the ditch at a range of about twenty-five yards to the wire. Lots of fresh sign in there and I spotted five deer on the trail just yesterday as I drove through the area. Prolly gonna save that for the opening evening and go for Fall turkeys in the morning over in the Richloam WMA. Not so much sign as in the last few years, but enough to give it a try. Got my wingbone caller all tuned up and my blind set up; same spot I opened the season last year in an oak hammock bordered by dense swamp and a clear cut. Can't wait!
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Post by Carter Northcutt on Sept 6, 2008 15:39:18 GMT 12.75
Good luck Toby I thought bears lived in Florida. You remember ol' slewfoot don't you
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Post by Toby Benoit on Sept 6, 2008 16:06:59 GMT 12.75
You bet I remember Ol' Slewfoot! I live only about forty miles from where that movie (The Yearling) was filmed and grew up hunting thme woods. You'd be amazed at the number of bears around here, but you aren't allowed to hunt them.
They can be an enormous pain in the butt, tearing up feeders, tearing into your camp for groceries, and running off deer while you're hunting.
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Post by Mars on Sept 6, 2008 19:17:26 GMT 12.75
Good luck Toby! Our season opens the 27th but I'm not going after deer but bear. They decided to allow the first bear season as an archery only and no dogs season and it runs during the deer season. I can't hunt bear at the house because I'm in a bear reserve(not preserve) but once they cross the street they are legal. It's only 30 yards to get across the street and nothing I've seen in the regs says the bear has to get there alive or under it's own power. ;D I bought a Barnette recurve crossbow just for the bears.
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Post by Snake Eyes on Sept 6, 2008 19:49:43 GMT 12.75
Toby, Sounds like you are ready to go. Best of luck! Not being a bow hunter my first chance at deer will be Oct 25th with my .45cal percussion Hawken.Be hunting squirrel till then with my .32cal Traditions Crockett. I sure love this time of the year! snake-eyes
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Post by azslim on Sept 7, 2008 4:36:00 GMT 12.75
I am all set and rarin to go. Archery elk opens next friday and I have a cow tag. Leaving on wednesday to set up camp, that way I get the one I want. I swapped out the rest on my Vectrix, was never happy with the Ripcord as it made a tremendous slap on the shelf, it hit so hard that it knocked itself out of alignment. I put on a top loading Trophy Taker and have been shooting better than ever. Brian is shipping me a couple of calls to put to the test since I have a friend coming along that has never taken an elk, he has a cow tag too, and one of my outfitters is bringing up a guy with a bull tag. Hope to be able to share some good pics of the elk Brian's call brought in.
For those of you that are worried about the heat and your game get a cooler and fill it with frozen 12 oz water bottles, then qtr up your game and stick it in the cooler on a layer of bottles and stack the rest of the bottles where ever you can fit them. This trick works great down here in Az where at times I have killed deer south in 90+ degree weather. Just get them dressed, skinned and in the cooler as quick as you can. I have a 120 qt cooler that I use for elk, will need it as it will be in the high 80's next week during the day.
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Post by azslim on Sept 7, 2008 12:14:07 GMT 12.75
The calls Brian sent got here today. I nailed the cow call right off but have some work to do with the bugle. Opening morning can't get here soon enough.
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Post by Carter Northcutt on Sept 7, 2008 12:42:12 GMT 12.75
Good luck to everyone
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