wtnhunt

Looks like your taxidermist did a nice job. Congrats again.

Shoulder mount. Think we decided on a sneak pose. Allison asked me about 2 weeks ago if I thought the mount would be ready yet. lol.

Pretty cool. Don't think we have any around here, seems like they are supposed to be in this area though.

I will try to come back and read that Dave, but without reading, I am very aware of the direction things are going. We live in a society today where everything has become too pc and too sensitive. Our daughters are 23, 17 and 13, and our son is 7. So a millennial and our other kids are gen z I think they call it. My own children and the influences they are pressured with are ridiculous. I have had some good conversations with my son in law on how his college experience and the influences he was subjected to at the university of Tennessee in Knoxville. The expectations kids are given and with the left leaning so far into social programs that these kids THINK plays into their favor. My son in law is a smart kid, got his chemical engineering degree, but much like so many of these kids he is very ignorant to how the world works. He liked what burnie sanders was spewing and was actually going to vote for him, I mean what is not to like when "free college" and "free healthcare" are the premise of their campaign promises. I honestly don't think kids should vote until they have had some years of working and been tax payers who get to see where their paycheck goes. Once they have worked a few years and see the first 30-35 percent of their pay going to the government for them to spend frivolously they may have a different take on life and how they wish to vote. These kids go off to college, and often times end up with therapists telling them how they are not responsible for their issues. There is no accountability. Kids are made to believe that mommy and daddy screwed up raising them because they were too tough on them or that society dealt them a bad hand and they are somehow due some special circumstances for whatever the reason. I question why so many campuses have either free therapists services or low cost therapy services they give to these kids. I think this is where a lot of the "snowflake" issue is coming in. What in the world are these therapists doing to our kids. Why are they even there? It is too easy for kids today to not like something and place blame elsewhere rather than accept that they are responsible for their actions. We as a society have become too soft. How that is resolved is beyond me, but I fear for the following generations. When the mindset is what it is for so many millions of young people, what does that mean for those who will be behind them and for their children. Social media is evil. It is tough being a parent in this day and age and trying to guide your kids in the right direction with all the liberal influence and misinformation they rapidly find on the internet. Example: pop stars like taylor swift who once were good role models and others who now have gotten political given very bad advice filled with misinformation to young girls and all kids for that matter. My oldest 2 daughters, both of who will be voting next election believe Marsha Blackburn, our state senator, is anti woman all because of crap they have read on the internet. It is her anti abortion views that has earned Marsha Blackburn an unfair view by some as being unfavorable to women. Trying to reason with them about voting records and what they mean is pointless. Sad thing is they tend to believe things that are far from fact and trying to educate them at times is like beating your head against a wall. What boggles my mind is that my kids when you talk to them do have values consistent with a conservative Christian mindset, but when you start talking about rights and issues we face today, they seem to lean towards the "accept everything" more liberal type mindset. Yes, schools and today's society have made subjects like homosexuality popular and if you do not accept it as "ok" and support giving them "rights" or however they think you should, then kids view you as being intolerant. Very sad. Seems planting seeds sometimes works, you can talk with them and try your best to educate them with hopes they will later on figure it out "on their own". Have to have some hope.

Congratulations to you and your family Shaun. Expecting our first grandchild very soon here, due date April 20.

Kids on spring break. A lot of spring clean up stuff here yesterday, had to worm cows, was an awesome spring day yesterday wish we got more days like yesterday. Rain today, nothing planned but probably get some inside chores done.

With so many variants, either of those out of the box has the ability to be very accurate without having to buy anything else. Most will have adjustable triggers. My 700 varmint stainless fluted .308 is probably my most accurate bolt gun in my hands. Those 2 you mentioned would be my personal top picks, but if your buddy has to have a different brand he may want to check out tikka or bergara. Most rifles are capable of being plenty accurate enough for hunting if the shooter takes the time to get comfortable with their gun and find what rounds the gun likes best.

Have had bad shoulders for a good while, think it stemmed from the abuse between lifting in my younger years and work. Bursitis and rotator cuff issues. I shot my bow at 70 lbs for a long time, I can still draw the bow without it hurting me without any problem, however the doctor strongly suggested not shooting a compound anymore. I don't know if TN has really seen all that much of a rise in harvest during archery since it made it legal to use a crossbow during the archery season. I have not killed anything with the crossbow I bought, just never seem to get decent deer to show up during our archery season.

Back years ago, sure that happened on a regular basis back before states began trying to manage game. In today's world, that scenario likely would make for that person getting a handout. Honestly the system so many live on today was designed to help people get back on their feet and not be a way of life, guess to me that sounds like an excuse to do something illegal. I know a lot of people give meat to hunters for the hungry, and had in the past heard of processors that would have unclaimed meat. I am not a waterfowl hunter, have never been and never tried despite having ducks and geese around here regularly in the fall/winter. From some of the conversations I have had with our game warden about the shooting we hear around here, I think our warden frowns heavily on unplugged guns. I guess that is an unfair advantage that allows them to take more shots and likely kill ducks they might not otherwise take. I mean from what I have seen when you have a group of waterfowl committed it is usually multiple birds. It is still cheating in my opinion. It is the same guys that engage in that type activity that will bait where it is not legal. If someone is doing something with the intent that they are knowingly doing wrong and hoping they can get away with it, that is unethical.

Should be a pretty weekend for a change, plenty to do around here. Wife is having a baby shower for our oldest daughter, Christina, tomorrow. Our first grandchild is due April 20 so getting close. Not sure if our son in law is coming with Christina or not, but I will be outside doing something while all the ladies are here. Don't know if I will get to it this weekend or not but going to try to sandbag a spot to divert the water flow back where it belongs in one channel using feedbags. Have 15-20 feed bags to fill with sand that has been washed into the channel from the floods, not sure how it will go but nothing to lose but my time and fuel. I need to rent a medium sized excavator sometime soon after we get some dry weather and clean the channel out. Have some coyote traps I want to get out in the bottom. Have several limbs I need to cut, cleanup around the yard to get ready to start mowing. Might need to mow the weeds and wild onions next week if it is dry enough.

Had the same thoughts.

Archery here in Tennessee is given early ahead of all other seasons before the heavier pressure of the hunters who do not hunt archery get into the woods. An archery license holder however can hunt with archery gear during all the season from season start to season end so long as he or she is hunting with archery gear. This gives a more fair opportunity to those who are using a weapon that is not capable of being effective at longer distances and are typically under circumstances that allow one shot. Archery is more challenging than gun or muzzleloader hunting and so those hunters are given first crack before deer get more wary/spooky. That being said, I miss the old TN seasons that were split. We used to have two archery segments, two muzzleloader segments and two gun segments. There were early and late, now we have a single archery season that opens early, 4th Sat of Sept, then our muzzleloader usually opens the first Saturday of November runs for two weeks and then the gun season opens. Deer around our property seem to be most likely to move during daylight in that special mid November time frame that is more consistent with the timing of our muzzleloading season. In more recent years we have improved doe movement on our property by keeping standing bean plots. In return more bucks have also been around. While archery season has some advantages, the disadvantages on our farm are far greater in my opinion. Cover is still very heavy, and it is for the most part still warm. Usually still too many ag crops in in the area making for deer not having to move around much for food. Couple those factors with the rut here not really getting going until November and the chances are just not great for filling a tag on a decent buck. Archery is far from its original form. I don't know that there was ever a reg that said archery was a recurve, but regs I know have adapted. Tennessee now allows the use of crossbows during the archery season, used to have to get a medical form signed by a physician, but now is allowed for anyone. I have shoulder issues now and while I would love to be able to shoot my compound, it is just not good for my shoulders. As with anything, the argument can be made about technology and advances and how we look at the way hunting has changed. In my mind, if you are close enough with a crossbow, while it is obviously easier than drawing a bow, chances are you are still going to only get one shot and still have to be in relatively close range and go to getting a shot without being seen or winded. In its original form the muzzleloader season gave similar advantages to the hunter as archery while having some disadvantages that a gun hunter would not have. Less hunters in the woods than with gun season, more pressure, but increased range. Muzzleloader is typically a one shot, rare you get a follow up but it does happen sometimes. Around our property the muzzleloading season coincides with the perfect timing of the rut where bucks are after does. Modern muzzleloading rifles in the hands of a capable hunter now can effectively kill deer at over 200 yards. That being said, some of the old timers were capable of extreme long range shots with old flintlocks and iron sights. The thing was they had to be and they were more honed and skilled. Modern makes it easier to be more accurate. Personally I want to be as accurate as possible to put down my animal as quickly and humanely as possible, so I do take the advances as advantages in modern inline and using modern powder, sabots, and a scope. To clarify our "gun" season includes shotgun, but only with slugs. Shot is not allowed for deer in TN. Our "gun" season is pretty well anything goes though and is now quite lengthy. You can hunt with your archery or muzzleloader gear in TN's gun season. You can hunt with a shotgun or a semi auto rifle, bolt action or a single shot rifle. In the past 10 years regs have been adapted to allow any centerfire cartridge from .223 up, used to be .24. There are some shotgun only state grounds and some areas like the arsenal that are shotgun or muzzleloader only where centerfire rifles are not allowed. As to the original form of the seasons, they were all established well before my time. I have seen a lot of change though in my 25+ years of hunting this area. So, then begs the question. Should I hunt with archery gear in the muzzleloading season or gun season. I have considered it. I have killed a lot of deer in archery range with the muzzleloader and gun, hard for me to put down any gun for a bow or crossbow due to the unknowns with range. I guess I am an opportunist of sorts while deer hunting in that I will take a shot on any coyote I see and it is nice knowing if I have one walk out at 150 yards I am not limited to the range of the bow in my hands. I have however hunted some with the muzzleloader during gun season, here the only disadvantage I am really giving up from gun to muzzleloader is timing for secondary or follow up shots.

Looks great Ross. Think doing any checkering or design in the wood would take away, like it as it is.

In my book "poachers" are not hunters at all, and they do still get pointed out as poachers rather than hunters by some media in some places. They are cheats and thieves. Far as what to call em, think poacher still fits. Of course some degrees of violations varying would lead me to think some may not be as bad of poachers. The tresspasser that unknowingly in the heat of the moment shoots the deer that is over an iffy line, is not quite the same as the poacher that is out shooting deer in headlights at night off of a road out of his truck. Sometimes accidents happen and some make honest mistakes that are still game violations, it is how they handle those circumstances, in some situations violators are not "poachers". It is those who know they are doing wrong and do it anyways or those who deliberately act ignorantly of laws or take advantage, and yes you are right they get lumped in with hunters which is disgusting

Sorry to hear the troubles Dave. I do know the frustration of things not going right or as easy as they should. Seems when I am exhausted or the most inopportune times that things seem to take those turns where murphy's law seems to take hold. Hope you get a break from the snow soon.