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Post by subzero350 on Dec 3, 2012 16:07:35 GMT -5
My Dad had some does walk right under his stand where he was hunting in Huntington Co. during (early) archery season, but spooked them off when he tried to reposition himself to take a shot.
Shotgun season was a bust for me and my wife. My dad did manage to shoot a deer the 2nd weekend of shotgun in Steuben Co. and I think that was because of the cold weather we had that weekend up there.
Yesterday AM (last day of shotgun), we were hunting in Steuben Co. again and didn't see anything until we left for lunch. Saw 15 does on the opposite side of the pond from where we hunt; half were just standing there, other half were just bedded down not 10 yards from the road (single lane road that surrounds the pond). Temps were in the 50's with occasional light rain. As far as I can tell, they are simply not moving on the warm days.
The trail cam I set up on the hunting property in Steuben Co. caught a 6pt buck at 9pm and a doe in the same spot 2 hours later on Nov 25th.
There are still plenty of deer around. Just need the cold weather to hit to force them to start moving instead of standing around with a thumb up their you-know-whats.
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Post by subzero350 on Nov 28, 2012 20:56:34 GMT -5
My bad, didn't see the other thread.
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Post by subzero350 on Nov 28, 2012 20:50:41 GMT -5
Source: www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2362.htmChanges that apply to Deer hunting: 312 IAC 9-2-15 Hunter Orange & Ground Blinds: -If the hunter is required to wear hunter orange to hunt a species of wild animal, then a ground blind used by that hunter would also have to have hunter orange if used from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset during the deer special youth season, firearms season, muzzleloader season, new primitive muzzleloading season, and special antlerless only season. 312 IAC 9-3-2 General Requirements for deer hunting -Adds the nonresident youth extra deer bonus antlerless license as a license type for a youth to take deer during the special youth deer season. -Makes additional technical changes 312 IAC 9-3-3 Equipment for deer hunting -Allows a draw-loc device to be used with archery equipment when crossbows are allowed to be used during the archery season -Removes the prohibition on the use of over-and-under combination rifle-shotguns. This prohibition is no longer needed since certain rifle cartridges and shotguns can be used. -Specifies the muzzleloaders that can be used during the new proposed primitive muzzleloader season -Specifies that crossbows cannot be used in the archery season from Sept. 15 through Sept. 30 312 IAC 9-3-4 Deer Season dates and bag limits -Changes the starting date for the archery season to September 15. During the dates of September 15-September 30, crossbows would not be legal to use. -Adds a new primitive muzzleloader season that would start the first Monday in January and continue for an additional 6 consecutive days. The bag limit would be combined with the bag limit during the regular muzzleloader season (one deer of either sex).
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Post by subzero350 on Nov 28, 2012 19:53:03 GMT -5
I don't understand the "dawn to dusk" portion of the rule. The lake my family has a cabin on has tons of carp but we rarely see them moving into the shallows until after dark. But after it gets dark, we have TONS of carp in the channels and shallows and it would be nice to be able to shoot them with a CROSSBOW. My garden could use more fertilizer.
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Post by subzero350 on Oct 31, 2012 19:12:24 GMT -5
Got a Barnett Quad 400 crossbow package from Dunham's Sports when they went on sale before the start of the season this year. IIRC, it was $389 + tax for the crossbow which included 4 bolts, removable quiver, a 4x32 scope, and the crank cocking device (which costs $99 if you buy it separately).
Specs: Speed: 345 fps Draw Weight: 150 lb Energy: 112 ft-lbs Power Stroke: 15.5" Length: 37" Width: 26.75" Weight: 9 lbs Arrow Length: 22"
A couple of observations: This thing is pretty heavy, but that's not an issue if you are going to be stand-hunting. The crank cocking device is slow and has an audible "click" with the anti-rollback "safety" engaged. You can cock it with that turned off to keep it quiet, but you had better not let go of the handle before it is fully cocked.
The major issue I found with this device is what to do with it once you've cocked the crossbow. You basically have this 3" wide, somewhat bulky metal framework that hangs off of two strings that go back into the crank mechanism that can't be disassembled or removed. The metal framework grabs the string (to cock it), but you need to remove it from the firing area of the bow once you've cocked the bow and do something with it before you can shoot the crossbow. I found that if you pull it back out and then put it over the scope and let it engage on one of the ribs of the scope rail between you and the scope, you can tighten the cocking mechanism to take up the loose slack in the attached rings and to pull the metal framework tight so it doesn't clang around while handling the bow. I think it would have been better if the manufacturer would have made it so you could have detatched the metal framework from the cocking device strings easily in the field.
Despite this, the Quad 400 is still a solid crossbow and it is accurate. I set it up in my LeadSled to sight it in and I was getting some pretty impressive groups at 30 yards. I'm sure there are better crossbows out there, but I think the price we got this one for was hard to beat.
NOTE: With scope attached, this crossbow will not fit inside the Flambeau hard case. (Attached scope makes the crossbow too tall to close the case without it putting significant pressure on the scope).
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Post by subzero350 on Oct 31, 2012 15:58:07 GMT -5
DISCLAIMER: This "mod" is not intended to substitute for or replace a proper full body harness / fall arrester. It should be considered to only be a supplement to it. You should always wear a proper full body harness / fall arrester and have it properly attached to the tree when you leave the ground.
What I do is go to the junkyard and pull the lap belts from cars (usually from the center of the rear seat). These lap belts are usually adjustable and simple. They are usually fastened to the car body using one large bolt at each end that requires a large star bit (T-45 or bigger) to remove them. You can usually get to these bolts by removing the rear seat bottom section.
What you can do with this lap belt is bolt it to the seat panel/plate of your tree stand. Being adjustable, you can keep it tight to make sure you don't slip out of your seat or you can loosen it enough to allow you to stand - this will give you something to support yourself against while standing to ensure you don't fall out of the stand.
Just something I've been using for a number of years and it certainly helps keep me more secure in my tree stand. If you don't want to leave the belt out in the weather, you can attach it to the stand using a bolt and wing nut so it can be quickly and easily removed when you leave the stand. (Truth be told - I've left the seat belts I got from GM cars out in the weather for entire hunting seasons and they have continued to work fine, year after year.)
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Post by subzero350 on Oct 30, 2012 18:01:57 GMT -5
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Post by subzero350 on Oct 30, 2012 17:48:55 GMT -5
My dad has owned some land in Steuben county for 30+ years, and about 7 years ago we decided to start hunting it. At first, the neighbors of the property right next to ours (who also hunt their own property) didn't have an issue with us hunting on ours. But last year that all changed I think due to issues within their (the neighbor's) family and property usage by other members of that family and such (long story).
In the 2011 shotgun season, my dad shot a deer on his own property and it ran onto and expired on the neighbor's property. The neighbor showed up while my dad was walking on his (my dad's) side of the property line looking for where the deer went. The neighbor threw a fit, launched several false accusations and such - finally telling my dad to retrieve his deer and then never come onto the property again.
This year my dad has a concern about shooting a deer and having it run onto and expire on the neighbor's property and wants to know what he should do if that happens. Should he contact DNR if this happens or just let the deer go? We have the phone number of the neighbor, but the neighbor expressed desire to never communicate with us again.
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