I don't have time to fart around.

OK Krispinwah, now that you jumped in so nicely, how about telling us about your interests in rocks?

I'm not a hunter and I don't like to take an animal life myself. But I'm not a vegetarian neither and I'm aware that the chicken or pig I ate from these days had a far worse life and maybe a worse death than the deer in the picture.

Gophers are quite tasty but the Drumsticks don't got a lot of meat on em !


Harley

Nice deer, Mark. Congrats.

Russ

Whether you’re an avid sportsman or purely a wildlife-watcher , it’s a fact that the animals, birds and fish you endeavor to see are “paid for” mostly by hunters. Those who engage in hunting, fishing and trapping are the major contributors to conservation funds in almost every state. Surprisingly, the monies animal-viewers and birdwatchers donate to conservation efforts rarely add up to even a third or a half of what hunters put into department of natural resources funds — even though watchers greatly outnumber them.
blog.gaiam.com/as-hunter-numbers-decline-how-will-we-fund-wildlife-conservation/

Sportsmen’s role in wildlife conservation
Hunting and angling are the cornerstones of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (brochure) . These activities continue to be the primary source of funding for conservation efforts in North America. Through a 10 percent to 12 percent excise tax on hunting, angling and shooting sports equipment, hunters and anglers have generated more than $10 billion toward wildlife conservation since 1937.

Though past conservation efforts have focused on hunted species, non-hunted species reap the rewards as well. Protecting wetlands for ducks, forests for deer and grasslands for pronghorn have saved countless non-hunted species from peril.

What if hunting ends?
Hunters and anglers actively support wildlife conservation through tangible actions such as buying licenses and paying taxes on hunting and fishing equipment.

Why are hunters and anglers so willing to support conservation through their pocketbooks? Because people place added value on — and are willing to pay for — what they can use.

In some states, the number of hunting and fishing licenses sold has remained stable in recent years. But given the rate of population growth, particularly in Western states, the percentage of people participating in hunting and fishing is actually decreasing.

There is no alternative funding system in place to replace the potential lost funds for conservation. If hunting ends, funding for wildlife conservation is in peril.
www.azgfd.gov/h_f/northamericanmodel.shtml

Mark K - outstanding job my friend!! where the heck did you hit him & was it gun or bow??

@krispinwah - once you are old enough to drive, try meeting up with Bambi at 55-70mph with the lights on & horn blaring as it jumps out in front of you, then we'll see how you feel about legal hunting aka population control of deer and your insurance company will love the claim on Mom & Dad's insurance policy assuming you don't total the vehicle when it happens - oh, and hopefully you walk away from it too.

It'd be gopher cicle today. Had our first snow last night. No more goppher hunting until after spring thaw.

I had been watching these deer on my trail cams and for some reason the one in this spot went to video mode. I never changed it and it turned out to be a good thing. The cam ended up with some deer building a scrape right in front of it. I have video of a few deer working the scrape over the past few weeks. I moved my stand to this spot on Wednesday hoping to get a shot at the big ten. Saturday morning I climbed into my stand and got settled in and began the wait. I think I got into it about 0615. The stand was looking to the south because I couldn't get it to sit level in the position I really wanted. There were too many roots in the way and I didn't have a shovel with to dig a hole for the bottom of the ladder to go into. As I am sitting there I have video equipment with but wasn't in the stand long enough to get it set up. As soon as it gets light I hear something behind me. I know it was a squirrel because of the amount of noise it was making. I am looking around thinking how screwed I am going to be if something comes to work the scrape. I pretty much have my back to them. If something comes to work the scrape, I will need to get up and slowly turn around in the stand and try for a shot through the buckthorn which is in the way. 30 yards through buckthorn is like shooting through toilet paper so that is not the problem. The problem is getting turned around without something seeing me and raising hell on its way out of there.
Fortunately for me the deer came from the other direction. I am sitting there wondering if I had made a mistake in not going to get a shovel to put the stand where I really wanted it. I am thinking that after season is over, I am going to place it in a better position. While I am thinking this, there he is. Mr Sneaky. Head down smelling for the girls. I shoot left handed so he was in the perfect position for an easy shot when I first saw him. The problem is that he has someplace to be and that place is high on his list of priorities. He is moving pretty quickly and is turning towards the really heavy brush where I will not get a chance to get him. He has walked past a clump of buckthorn which is too thick to see through and is now in a bad position. I have to turn into an awkward position and I can't get a good shot. I turned the barrel to where he is going to be and wait for him to get there. As soon as he gets to the chosen spot I put the sights on the boiler room and squeeze on off. He bucked and kicked with his hind legs. This is normally a good sign. They do not usually kick like a jackass if they are not heart shot. I stand up while pumping another round into the chamber. I did not get a followup shot and he did not go down right away as they usually do when I shoot them. I sit for a few minutes and I am wondering if I missed because I can't see any blood or other sign of a hit. I gave it about 15 minutes just in case it is hit and bleeding out or in case another deer comes along. I get down from the stand and head to where I thought it was when I fired. No blood. No good. I go in the direction he headed after the shot and still no blood. A few feet later, Blood! No wait, it is a small red leaf. A few feet later, blood for real. A lot of it. It looks like someone was pouring blood from a bucket. I am thinking that this is a good thing. With this much blood there is no way it could be anything but a lethal hit. About 30 yards from the stand it lays. Blood everywhere. He went to a section of my brother's old motocross track that is abandoned. He is not the big 10 I wanted, but the 2nd choice 8. From the stand I could not tell which one he was. I make sure that he is dead and not just wounded and head down to go get the truck.
If you know how to do it, you can get a pretty big buck into the back of a truck alone. I have a topper. This makes it a bit harder, but I still did it using the same principles. I have a 7 foot box and he filled it from almost front to back.
I hit him right behind the leg and the angle of the shot took the bullet right past the bottom half of the heart, bruising the point and tearing a small, superficial chunk out of the side. The liver was hit dead center and was blown to bits. The stomach was also hit and it was almost empty. The bottom of a lung was hit and the diaphragm was ripped open. He only made it a few feet. If he had gone the way he was heading in the first place, he would have crashed in front of me. It also would have been a lot more work to get him out of the woods. All in all it was a good hunt.

I'm heading out squirrel hunting with my son this afternoon. The traditional meal the night before the opener is a big roaster full of squirrels. The owne to the camp grills them, the puts them in a roaster with cream and onions and cooks them in the wood stove oven for several hours. They fall off the bones, there's nothing tough about them. At home, I do the same thing, but use a crockpot.

Great story, Mark. I love hearing hunting stories.

Good stories Mark and Don. I have not hunted since I was taking my son out and teaching him. He is now 47 so it has been a while. Like Mel I ate a lot of wild game as a kid and young adult so I do not care for it any more.

If everyone stopped hunting we would go from hunters paying for the privilege to the government paying a huge amount of money to cut down the numbers of animals so they do not eat us out of house and home. A very bad trade off.
Jim