Any hunters out there???

Originally Posted by swstout I have hunted and fished most of my life. My father started me out with a single shot shotgun (my family had double barrel's, pumps, and auto's). I started both my son's the same way. As a teenager, I hunted rabbit, squirrel, woodchuck, pheasant, partridge (ruffled grouse), and whitetail deer. As time marched on, I also bow hunted. Have never tried muzzle loaders though. To date, I have 3 whitetail's and one black bear (big game). My favorite though is partridge. I think it is the best tasting of all game. My family has a hunting cabin at Deer River Flow. It is about 30 miles from Lake Placid. You have to get to it by boat. A one room cabin with a outhouse. It has a Ben Franklin stove and a hand pump for water. No phone, no electricity, and no neighbors. My brother's and I got the black bear there when we were bow hunting deer. Will never try that again. Haven't been hunting since I moved here to South Carolina but I miss it. I have a new neighbor who moved here from Pensilvania who wants to start up again. Maybe this fall. Steve hahaha! Wonder why? I think I would like to bear hunt, just not too sure what I would do with it once I shot it! I don't know how many deer I have shot. I know that one year I shot 2 deer in 3 minutes time from the same stand. A few years later I shot 2 deer in 2 minutes, the next year I shot 3 deer in 2 minutes. The 5 were from the same stand.

[Steve]

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I have seen some really crazy bear hunt videos that go awry and it always made me wonder, can you carry a sidearm with you in the woods in case things really go bad and you find yourself in very close proximity to a bear?

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[swstout]

Originally Posted by Steve

I have seen some really crazy bear hunt videos that go awry and it always made me wonder, can you carry a sidearm with you in the woods in case things really go bad and you find yourself in very close proximity to a bear?

Carrying a side arm depends on the State I guess. In NY you have to have a permit. I had a Browning 38 Super and my brother had a Colt Detective Special 38. They weren't big enough.

I don't think I will ever hunt bear again. If I come across another while hunting anything else, I'll pass. As to what to do with it? Don't plan on eating it. It is sort of like eating worn out chewing gum dipped in Crisco. We dragged it out, had it dressed and packaged and then had one meal. Threw the rest out or gave it away. Maybe there is a way to cook it so it is better but I have no interest in trying it again!

Steve

[Steve]

Out of all the hunting you have done, what meat did you like the most to least?

[swstout]

Originally Posted by Steve

Out of all the hunting you have done, what meat did you like the most to least?

In descending order:
Partridge
Pheasant
Quail
Deer
Duck
Turkey
Rabbit
Bear
Steve

[Green2Green]

I don't necessarily prefer one type of hunting over another. They each pose their own challenges and have their own benefits.

Sika deer are actually a species of Asian Elk. They are smaller than Whitetails and like the nasitest areas around. The prefer and thrive in marshy / swampy areas. The Stags (Males) can be very elusive, especially once they've been around for a while. A serious trophy Sika Stag would be a 6 pointer and on EXTREMELY rare occasions a 7 or 8 pointer. I took a really nice 6 pointer last year during muzzleloader. Body size, a large Stag dresses out at around 80 to 90 pounds. Their rack grows up, instead of out like a whitetails. The meat is excellent and many prefer it over the whitetail. The Stags bugle just like an elk. God I love hearing that sound when I out and about. Overall they are very vocal deer. Even the Hinds (Females) make several different vocalizations and do so quite often. Both predominantly vocalize more so in the early mornings and evenings thru the night.

When the RUT is on, the vocalizations are even more frequent and dramamtic.

They were not indigineous to our country but were release in Maryland many moons ago. Since then they have thrived with an ever growing wild population on Maryland Eastern Shore.

I could go on and on, but I gotta go.

Talk to ya'll soon.

[Steve]

I'd love to see some pictures of some of the hunts!