bullets13

got in the stand 4 times this weekend and didn't see anything bigger than a rabbit.

I get so tired of these constant drop offs and rebuilding years from HJ ;)

Sweet!

I shot a doe last year broadside double lunged and left an exit wound the size of my fist.  But this year I lungshot a hog (a little too far for me to feel comfortable headshooting) and didn't get an exit wound.  Then the big bodied buck I shot last week was quartering towards me.  I took out the front lung and into the guts (either that or let him walk, and I knew I'd get the lung).  He dropped, kicked for a few seconds, then stood back up and walked down the road and around a corner.  I shoot a TC encore single shot 25-06, and he only had to walk about 10 yards to make the corner, so I couldn't put another shot in him.  I got down after a few minutes and found good dark blood, a little frothy, and knew I'd gotten lung, but just a few drops here, a few there.  Waited for my dad to come from across the lease, and we started trailing.  Followed blood for 35-40 yards, and the trail just stopped, but we heard him try to get up and then fall down and start kicking, so we left him, went back to the cabin, and let him die.  Went back an hour later, went in the woods where we had heard him, found him after a couple of minutes.  But he went 50 yards, and only bled for 30.  No exit wound, and then entry had plugged with a piece of fat.  Our lease is all shooting lanes surrounded by thick brush because the trees burned last year, and tracking a weak blood trail is extremely difficult.  I want an exit wound on the occasion that I have to shoot at an angle that takes a longer path thru the body when the angle necessitates it.  I just wanted to hear some other hunters' thoughts.  Sorry for the novel :)

I've been using Winchester silver tips, but I'm thinking about making a change.  Your thoughts?

Heading back this weekend to try and find a spike or pig. 

DDP has been full of flounder

12 trout in 3 hours this evening, 3 over 20 inches

Wooooow

losing by 40 every game is pretty bad. 

I don't like using live bait, but you can ask TVC... if they won't take an artificial, i'll dang sure throw a live shrimp or mullet at them if we can catch some.  we fish together a decent amount during the summer, and while we never go straight to catch live bait, if our arties aren't working, we'll go to what is.

i wonder how bad he's missing all those "quitters" this year... this year's team is BAD. 

sweet!

so get your pictures put up!  i enjoy looking at your pictures ALMOST as much as i enjoy making my own!!!

and of course my "two-year-old cull buck" from this year :) (thanks, westend!) [img][Hidden Content]] [img][Hidden Content]] [img][Hidden Content]]

[img][Hidden Content]] this year.

that was last year.

figured i'd bring this back for westend1 :) [img][Hidden Content]]

[quote name="Buccaneer#3" post="1343569" timestamp="1354054632"] I would but doe's don't count? Haha [/quote] sure they do!  if i shoot a spike later in the season or a hog, i'll throw another pic on here...  keeps the thread interesting.  we had a "bragging post" thread that died a couple of years ago.  i would revive it, but don't want to annoy westend with any more pics :)

i wanna see some other people put some pictures up!

[quote name="westend1" post="1343482" timestamp="1354045113"] Dang!  How many times are we going to have to look at that little 2 year old cull?                              ;D [/quote]ive been hunting 3 1/2 years, and this is my first buck.  Can't really blame me for being excited :).  I have a couple of other pics of him I can post if you want ;)

figure i might as well post another one, might be awhile before i get another chance :)

[img][Hidden Content]]

TVC, he scored out unofficially at 130 1/8, according to the taxidermist.  I think symmetry oughta be worth a little extra credit though :)

[quote name="tvc" post="1342360" timestamp="1353881890"] [quote author=bullets13 link=topic=103777.msg1342114#msg1342114 date=1353851465] [quote author=tvc link=topic=103777.msg1342053#msg1342053 date=1353821463] [quote author=bullets13 link=topic=103777.msg1342040#msg1342040 date=1353820691] only 14.5 inches wide, but tall and had mass... good mature deer, weighed 170. [/quote] About 140"? [/quote] didn't fool with all that last night.  i would expect he's a 130"=140" deer.  what i've seen says that width isn't as important as height and number of tines, and he's got plenty of both! [/quote] Let's say you have a 120" scored deer that has a 15" spread. If you increase that spread to a very impressive 20", you only made your score 125". The 20" rack looks more impressive (maybe way more impressive) but the actual score doesn't change much or from a 120-125". Tine length and number and mass is what really adds the score up. [/quote] well, he's got plenty of all three of those!  The taxidermist said he figured it was between 130-140.  Said he'd let me know at some point.  He said he knew for sure it was big enough for the Texas Big Game Awards.  I thought that was pretty cool.  I went and looked at them from last year, and there was only 1 that qualified from the county i hunt in.