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Joined: Apr 2003
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 823 |
Well, cold'n a witch's woohoo last Saturday, but it was worth it.
Seein's how he's bigger than the other mounts, my wife says I can bring them all down into her living room, now...course we'll have to paint and get furniture to make it all match.
Not sure who won in this deal...oh well. Buddy who scores for B&C, says rough & green around 174. Makes me proud!
Anybody else got any braggers to jaw about? I know, it ain't fish or pond related...just wanted to share! [img]http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6%3DzqH%3AxxqUD7qRUrKxzX7BHpUUKxgXP0a%3F87KR6xqpxQQQnxGoJxo00xv8uOc5xQQQ0Ql0aeloneqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXP0a%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,590,393[/img]
In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 34
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That my friend is the deer of a lifetime! Awesome and congrats. Unfortunately I am not going to get to do any deer hunting this year but starting next year I will be in the woods all through the very long Arkansas archery season.
Congrats again! Beautiful deer and feel free to pack up the back straps and send em my way, ;>)
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 214
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 214 |
Matt,
That will be a great looking mount - Congratulations.
Chip
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Hey Jack...no back straps left. All that meat (field dressed 212#, BTW) has either been canned or jerkified.
Called the wife 10 minutes after I killed the thing (still shakin' like a dog peeing razor blades) and told her I better just give up deer hunting, because I'll never get a shot at one like this again.
I am happy!
In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 34
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 34 |
At the Spirko house all contributions of jerky are welcome!
Seriously though I know all about the shakes, fortunately like you I always get them AFTER the shot. I have had a few guides describe me as one the the coolest heads they have ever seen followed by a blubbering, hyperactive (and many other adjectives) kid after the shot.
Of course that is why we do it though, isn't it.
Perhaps it is time to start chasing a new critter? Head west each fall and start chasing Elk or Pronghorns. Pronghorn especially can still be hunted without spending a fortune.
Either that or take up the bow, now that you brought home a buck like that switching to the bow and trying to hit 130 class could be your new challenge. I am still working on that one after more then 15 years.
With the bow I still get stoked over a doe!
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 234
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 234 |
Matt,
Now THATS a whitetail deer! Congrats. Ed
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,596 Likes: 36
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,596 Likes: 36 |
Matt, that sure beats the heck out of the trophy doe I shot last Saturday with my muzzle loader. Very nice buck, hopefully I will see a similar one before our muzzle loader season ends at the end of December, I still have an either or tag to fill.
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 773 Likes: 1
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 773 Likes: 1 |
Congratulations. He's truly a very fine trophy and something to be proud of.
One thing you got wrong is your chances of getting another of that caliber. The genetics are there for him, so they are still there for another. His offspring could easily get bigger than he is with the right conditions.
Manage your land, let the small ones grow old and improve there habitat. Getting big deer is just like getting big fish!! You just have to work at it and be patient.
Eddie
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Jack (and all): I appreciate the congrats. Means a lot, though I've not personally met any of you. His genetics are indeed out there, as he'd not one ounce of fat on him, which just proves he'd been out doing his "duty" prior to my seeing him. However, we hunt on 80 acres of my best hunting/fishing buddy's son's ground...it's all he has. The neighbors all around with one exception, shoot anything that walks on four legs. For that reason, we didn't believe there'd ever be a way to manage for quality. Two years ago, however, a guy who's been buying up land all over 3 counties bought 300 acres half a mile north of us. My pals got pissed because he doesn't allow much access, but he DOES improve habitat...built a 12 acre lake, planted thousands of trees (that's what he does for a living) and put in food plots. I've tried to tell them that means there's always the potential for a GREAT buck now. He limits deer hunting to a few friends who are then limited to taking does and poor bucks. As long as Randy doesn't sell his ground, we'll do all right. (He's got it on the market @ $275K - if some sucker walks in, we're done, but his retirement will be helped immensely - can't blame him as he doesn't hunt and bought the ground 20 years ago as an investment). I'm just hoping that if/when that day comes, my 50 acres will be in good enough shape to support our hunting. If just might happen, as the 2 guys I let hunt my place managed to take a big doe on my place and a decent 8 point buck next door. They said he had come from my ground. Let them trees grow!
In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277 |
Matt, I've looked 3 or 4 times now and over my envy enough to be civil. He's a beauty. I expect you had mixed emotions when you saw him down on the ground. I've never even seen a buck that size. However, we used to have some monster does on my land. That was in the days before does were allowed to be shot. Haven't seen one of them for 7 or 8 years. However, a neighbor shot one that went a shade over 200 lbs. That is extraordinary in Texas.
Lots of guys in Texas are trying, apparently succesfully, to improve their deer by feeding protien pellets on a year round basis.
Sounds like your wife set you up for some new furniture. It's worth it.
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.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Hey Dave...my wife is pretty sneaky that way. Mixed emotions...yeah, I suppose. Although he won't go to waste. You know, the IDNR has been HEAVILY focused on getting people to kill does to help thin the herd for about 5 years now. It's been a few years since anyone I know has killed a really big doe. Always seems like its these miniature does/buttons that get shot. We killed 2 other bucks, decent, not big. Average weight to slightly small. The fourth was a doe, about the size of a dalmation. Course, Gene says they always shrink immediately upon hitting the ground. Similar to the shrinkage I experience from time to time in my livewell. Knew somehow I'd turn this back to fishing...
In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 773 Likes: 1
Lunker
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 773 Likes: 1 |
Matt,
Did you say that the guy has 300 acres for sale with a 12 acre lake and improved habitat for $275,000?
That sounds too good to be true and one heck of a deal!!! Did I miss something?
Eddie
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 36
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Nice deer. Wish I had seen one like that. I too will have to settle with a doe I took with my muzzleloader. Cant wait to get the summer sausage back!
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 823
Lunker
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Eddie...naw, that's 2 separate properties. The one I hunt on os 80 acres and is on the market for about $275k.
The 300 acres is the neighbor's who only bought it a couple years ago. He's the one with the lake. I believe he's in the process of setting up some future hunting lodge, etc.
jg74...hey, doe meat beats eating a tag. Much juicier, and I've had to settle for that a time or 2 myself.
In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 823
Lunker
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Here's Jeffs big'un from a few years ago...10 pts from NE Missouri.
Keep trying, Jeff. It ain't all that hard to load photos...not if I can do it.
[img]http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6%3DzqH%3AxxqUD7qRUrKxzX7BHpUUKxgXP0Q%3F87KR6xqpxQQQnxGoJxo00xv8uOc5xQQQ0QlJaQeJQ0qpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXP0Q%7CRup6l0a%7C/of=50,555,443[/img]
In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 107
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 107 |
Thanks Matt Gotta love the outdoors,... fins, feathers and furs!
Jeff Gaines
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 37
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Well, I know I'm going to open myself up here, but those pictures are exactly why I don't hunt.
Wish me luck.
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,751 Likes: 295
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,751 Likes: 295 |
Poseidon, what do you mean?
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 37
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Posts: 37 |
I'm just too much of an animal lover. It doesn't bother me much to gut a fish, but the deer are just for lookin' at in my yard. Not trying to start anything, though. Just my 2c.
Wish me luck.
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,751 Likes: 295
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,751 Likes: 295 |
Yes, I'm sure everyone draws their own comfort line in different places.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,261
Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,261 |
its ok poseidon, one of the things i like about pondboss is the spectrum of folks involved and how each add value contributing from different walks of life.
in our case (foothills of CA), the black tails overpopulate because primary predators (i.e. cougars/mountain lions and big coyotes) were decimated long ago as ranching took hold in the area. when it gets dry in summer, there is almost no forage, the deer starve and get diseases. the only way here to keep a healthy population is by folks occassionally taking some and thinning the herds. That way eveybody is happy, cause no one likes looking at diseased deer. wildlife mgmt i think its called.
edited post.....p.s. matt, awesome buck.
GSF are people too!
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 773 Likes: 1
Lunker
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 773 Likes: 1 |
Poseidon, As you can see in my picture, I'm a hunter. I love to hunt just about everything all over the place. Some say it's an obsession, but to me it's a passion. In the four and a half years I've owned my land, I have not shot a single deer and don't plan on ever shooting one. My wife wants to shoot one and when that happens, it will be the only one killed here. I would rather see them alive and walking around my land more than anything!!!! Hogs are a different story. They get shot up all the time and it seems every year there are more than the last year. Eddie
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267 |
To each his own. I hunted deer growing up and enjoyed it. Now other family members keep the deer herd healthy by hunting and land management (food plots and game mgt. plan) and that lets me focus on the ponds. The worst sight I have ever seen wrt wildlife (worse than a week old fish kill) was the mass sickness and starvation of deer as a teen. The area we hunted had lots of deer- way to many. The State had ask for years for help in culling does but no one was interested. The herd got some kind of disease and hundreds of them were walking around completely disoriented all skin and bones while some others were healthy. Game and Fish supervised hunters with our help had to shoot several hundred sick ones to stop the suffering. The bodies were put in a pit and then buried. It was an appalling situation. I am glad for those today that manage the herd (as DIED noted) so that I don't have to experience that again.
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1 |
I don't personally deer hunt, but I respect others right to do so, and am thankful for their participation in a sport that I know keeps the deer herds healthy and viable. I also appreciate a forum where Poseidon can state an opinion. Good forum, good country.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,074
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This is “old fogey” talk, so bear with me. Growing up in East Texas during the years of the “Great Depression”, folks lived off the land. Trapping, fishing, and hunting when a person could scrounge enough to by shotgun shells. Rabbits, squirrels, possums, coons, and quail for the rich folks. I remember being in the woods with a 22 rifle as early as six years old. I was fortunate being the kid of a schoolteacher. There wasn’t much money, but teachers were highly regarded in those days. I loved to shoot a rifle – after WWII with an Expert rifleman qualification, I had a love for firearms. Loved to restock and covert military rifles to sporting arms, reload ammo, and bench rest shoot at the local rifle range. Never had much chance to hunt while raising kids and making a living, but loved the sport. Hunted pheasant in N. Kansas/S. Nebraska area, and a couple of trips to Wyoming for pronghorn and muleys. My sons are all avid outdoorsmen. My “pondboss” son moved to the country a few years ago to raise their sons – all avid hunters and fishermen. There is a lot to learn from hunting; self discipline for one, and respect for other persons and property - and above all, safety that carries over to everyday life. When I got too old to prowl the mountains in a jeep – I bought a boat... Just my 2 cents worth.
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