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#352462 10/01/13 08:02 AM
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This is a day I look forward to every year and have for a couple of decades now...opening day of archery season.

When asked 'which do you like most, hunting or fishing' I always have a really difficult time answering. It's almost like having to pick a favorite child...I love them both equally but differently.

For me fishing is darn near a 12 month pastime. It doesn't get cold enough here most years anymore to really get into ice fishing, but I effectively have a line in the water at least once or twice a week 10+ months a year or so. So purely from a quantity perspective I fish more than I hunt, no doubt about it. But from 10/1 through 12/15 or so my focus is definitely hunting over fishing.

For me it's specifically bow hunting for whitetails...I do a little upland bird/rabbit/squirrel occasionally, but that's more of a side deal. Deer hunting with limb and stick is definitely my passion when it comes to autumn activities.

My girlfriend asked me last year about this time 'if you had to give up hunting or fishing, which would it be?'

I hope to have many many years before I have to make that choice - if ever.


Dale

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dlowrance #352487 10/01/13 09:57 AM
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Hey DL I know what your talking about for sure! I am the same way. We have had a couple of cold snaps here and it's starting to get me in the hunting mode for sure! I don't bow hunt a lot but I do bow hunt. I will be going out this weekend for the first time and looking forward to the peaceful mornings and just chilling out in the woods. I guess I would have to say I would give up hunting before fishing but liike you said I hope I don't have to make choice for a while yet!

Good luck hunters and above anything else BE SAFE!!! I sure don't want to hear anything on this forum about someone getting hurt or worse!!

RC


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dlowrance #352491 10/01/13 10:21 AM
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Same to you RC...I'll get in the woods Saturday afternoon at the earliest. It's still 84 degrees here today so it's too darn hot to get too fired up yet.

Safety is something I've gotten much more serious as I get older. I used to be the typical bullet proof invincible guy 25 feet in the air with nothing keeping me there except gravity and attitude. Now you won't catch me in a stand without a 5 point harness.


Dale

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dlowrance #352499 10/01/13 10:58 AM
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I shot the techno hunt 3 times yesterday at the local bow shop. I won't be able to get to the woods until tomorrow night. Getting excited.

dlowrance #352502 10/01/13 11:04 AM
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Went out this morning and did not see a thing, that is until I got back to my backyard. I should have set up on my porch:)

RAH #352517 10/01/13 11:35 AM
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Choices......

Office and paperwork or in the woods?

Office won out. frown


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esshup #352520 10/01/13 11:42 AM
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No what you mean. Hope to squeeze some bowhunting in but I'm awful busy trying to get a pole barn dried in. Good Luck to all.


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dlowrance #352523 10/01/13 12:01 PM
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You guys need to prioritize better!!!

dlowrance #352525 10/01/13 12:12 PM
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Yeah, RAH, this past Saturday kid #1 and I drove 1 hour and hiked up to a mountain saddle for youth deer/bear day. That morning my wife texts me to let us know she's sipping coffee and watching a nice 8 pt grazing right behind the house.

Looking forward to this coming Saturday bow opener here in VA. Kid #2 will be in the stand with me, only she'll be targeting the local squirrel population with the .22, so it won't be a very serious deer effort. More about teaching her and spending that quality time.

dlowrance #352530 10/01/13 12:37 PM
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vamaz - Got your priorities right! Both of mine are off at college for the first time. Pretty quite around here. I always take opening week off of work, even though it is pretty slow in the woods. I always have plenty of opportunities over the season, but I sure enjoy being out even if there is no action.

dlowrance #352569 10/01/13 04:41 PM
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Mine kids are 8 and 9 so a ways to go before they're off to college...but they both have birthday parties to go to this Saturday afternoon, so Dad's going to get some quality time in the timber. Assuming it doesn't rain of course. We've been in a 3 month drought around here and as soon as season opens they're showing chances of rain all over the place. Figures.


Dale

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dlowrance #352571 10/01/13 05:32 PM
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Just a question: How much time do you bow hunters spend before the season in the woods scouting? Big deer, deer trails, lots of deer, etc. I am not a hunter but have many friends who bow hunt and the really successful ones spend a lot of time scouting deer, setting food plots, etc. The guys who continually get big deer spent about as much time before the season as when the season starts. I am in Fayette country Illinois and bow and arrow deer hunting is a really big deal.


"I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing they've come up with so far." � Neil Simon,
dlowrance #352578 10/01/13 07:14 PM
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Our state moved our seasons for this year. Usually, we'd have had a few days last week or next week. I've got to wait three more weeks.

When I put the chickens away, and checked the fish feeders this evening, the deer knew! There were eight antlerless deer in the field above my lower pond - within about 25-50 yards away. They just momentarily looked up at me!

Earlier in the afternoon, when I drove out to the county road to our mailbox, there was a big doe and two spotless fawns that watched me from our front field. After I got the mail and headed back to the house, they were still munching in the same area -- within about 25 feet of me and my noisy little UTV.

They all looked delicious.


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Bing #352579 10/01/13 07:21 PM
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I do not scout, per se, but early season hunting is kinda scouting time for me. I only hunt my own land, so its not like going to a new property. Saw a pair of big fawns under my tree, a button and a doe, but did not feel like dealing with a little doe. I do not take buttons on purpose, but it does happen. I took one last year and did not know it was a buck until I flipped it over to dress.

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RAH #352607 10/02/13 01:19 AM
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Opening day has come and gone for me and it was successful.I left the office at 6:00 and was hanging 25 ft off the ground by 6:45 and did not see a thing. I went home and got 4 hours of sleep (I work 3rd shift) and then back out to the woods by 3:00 p.m. At about 7:15, a big doe caught me by surprise and stepped out at 20 yrds. LIGHTS OUT ! I placed a good shot but for some reason the arrow came out of her hip. She dropped in her tracks then jumped and bolted. I had good blood for about 30 yards then nothing. I called my dad and a great friend and after 2 hours, we found her. 1 down, 7 to go. Here is a pic of her on my camera.

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dlowrance #352612 10/02/13 07:21 AM
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Most of the properties I hunt around here are small, 20 acres or less, so there's not much scouting to be done. New properties require more time, but the old ones I know where the oaks are and simply make a quick pass through a week or so before the opener to access which trees are being hit the hardest. This year there's virtually no acorns, so we'll set up on known travel corridors.

Confirmed this morning that #2 will be up for an afternoon hunt Saturday. I hope her legs have grown some since last year. When sitting on the stand, they didn't reach the platform and she couldn't stop swinging them. Bright white sneakers swingin back and forth, kinda hard for the deer to miss that!

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Originally Posted By: airborne3118
Opening day has come and gone for me and it was successful.I left the office at 6:00 and was hanging 25 ft off the ground by 6:45 and did not see a thing. I went home and got 4 hours of sleep (I work 3rd shift) and then back out to the woods by 3:00 p.m. At about 7:15, a big doe caught me by surprise and stepped out at 20 yrds. LIGHTS OUT ! I placed a good shot but for some reason the arrow came out of her hip. She dropped in her tracks then jumped and bolted. I had good blood for about 30 yards then nothing. I called my dad and a great friend and after 2 hours, we found her. 1 down, 7 to go. Here is a pic of her on my camera.


Great start to the season...congrats! Meat in the freezer right there.


Dale

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Bing #352616 10/02/13 08:05 AM
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Originally Posted By: Bing
Just a question: How much time do you bow hunters spend before the season in the woods scouting? Big deer, deer trails, lots of deer, etc. I am not a hunter but have many friends who bow hunt and the really successful ones spend a lot of time scouting deer, setting food plots, etc. The guys who continually get big deer spent about as much time before the season as when the season starts. I am in Fayette country Illinois and bow and arrow deer hunting is a really big deal.


I typically do some scouting in the August/Early September timeframe. I may or may not hang cameras. I also hunt the same ground and have for the last several years so mostly it's a matter of tuning up my stands, foodplots if I'm doing any (only did one this year due to the drought) and a whole lot of target practice.


Dale

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dlowrance #352619 10/02/13 08:13 AM
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Off to southern Iowa for a long four day weekend of early season Iowa archery!! A bunch of mature bucks on camera during daylight so excited to get down there.

dlowrance #352789 10/03/13 03:37 PM
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Last Saturday was Youth Day in Virginia. My ten-year old made good use of it, taking a doe and an 8-pointer with a 243. My 12-year old also did well, taking a button buck with his bow. That kid loves archery (like me) and has gotten pretty deadly with his bow. This Saturday is the archery opener, but my season couldn't get any better than it already is.

If I can just get caught up on sleep after quartering, putting in coolers of ice, and packing for the freezer...

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dlowrance #352796 10/03/13 07:28 PM
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Hunting was by far my favorite when I was a little younger. I have since moved and grown to truly enjoy fishing a lot more. It helps that I live very close to one of, in my opinion, the very best reservoirs in our state.

The taste of deer isn't there for me any more. I hate to say it, but now that I can afford beef... deer is about only good for jerky to me.

All that said, I do still enjoy going for the opening day of Rifle in both MD and PA (MD is Saturday and PA is Monday). But I really look forward to that first warm spell in Spring to get a line wet.

dlowrance #352826 10/04/13 04:58 AM
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I'll be leaving in about 30 minutes to check things out for 3 14 year olds to bow hunt tomorrow morning.

I have never used a stick and string to hunt.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

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dlowrance #352846 10/04/13 08:24 AM
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On the topic of the taste of venison I have a theory...I live in the breadbasket of the US - most of my hunting areas are 100% surrounded by crop fields that rotate between corn and soybeans. So the deer I harvest are fed as well if not better than most beef you buy in the store. I've had literally dozens of people over the years tell me they don't like the taste of venison...often times at the same time they are EATING it. For the vast majority of dishes people can't tell the difference between my venison and beef. I also believe that has a lot to do with how and when you harvest and process the deer.

Now I've also eaten venison from less agricultural areas...IMHO that meat has the potential to be much more gamey. A couple of years ago a friend of mine went down to West Texas - mesquite country - and brought venison back. The meat was mesquite flavored...which was pretty dang good in chili.


Dale

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dlowrance #352849 10/04/13 08:30 AM
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That's been the same thing that I've experienced with Whitetails. Here? They eat minimal browse, but really chow down on corn and soybeans. Northern Wisconsin they only eat browse - no large scale agriculture in the area. The deer from here get made into steaks and burger, up there they end up in sausage or given away.


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dlowrance #352854 10/04/13 08:48 AM
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Do ya think the animals around my pond have figured out that I don't hunt?

Rob C

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