Home › Forums › Campfire Forum › Feeders / foodplots / supplemental feed!?!?!?
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Hello traditional bowhunting community! As I said in the mountain lion vs. deer post I am making this thread in reference to what the other guys were discussing in that same thread. I want to know how you all feel about feeders, foodplots, and any other type of supplemental feed? And secondly how many of you use any of them? For me it is just curiosity! Thanks
Chris -
One thing I enjoy about the TBM Website is Civility and Courtesy. I have no problem with food plots or simil;iar supplemental feeding. Feeders and baiting… for deer, I don’t like it, for other animals like bears… why not? Baiting Bears would give you the opportunity to look over several animals rather than shooting the first that comes along. I don’t think there is an easy answers for all situations – It Depends.
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And I thought my posts were sticky subjects, man this could get ugly if everyone isn’t courteous.
In my home state food plots and baiting are a way of the hunting life on private land with each landowner trying to pull his neighbors deer across the fence. It gets really complicated when after attracting all these deer the club wants to get some additional doe tags to thin the herd cause dang it, we need to get the herd in balance, we got too many does on this place! Meanwhile, the hunters on the neighboring property(be it public or private) are wondering what happened to all the deer. Hey guys, quit feedin em and their will be natural dispersment of bucks and does, no need for extra thinning of the herd.
All that being said I am on a lease, mainly for a place for my daughters to hunt. I helped plant food plots and will let my daughters hunt over them, but I will not. Well, at least not till January if I haven’t put anything in the cooler yet. I look at food plots as kinda like plan B, it’s the same way I feel about killing a deer with a gun or now a compound.
Corn feeders and supplements I’ve never hunted on. It just don’t melt my butter to hunt deer like that.
I’ve never really wanted to kill a bear though there are plenty around. If I did I think killing one with its head in a bucket or chomping on a jelly donut would seem a little queer. But thats just what I think.
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Food plots or baiting deer have nothing to do with the herd balance being out of whack. I live in Idaho where baiting deer is illegal and I have never seen a food plot and we have a deer herd the is way out of balance.
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Let me back up a bit, on our private land I think it skews the numbers but on public land we have the same problem as you Idahoans. Is that the right word?:D
Our culprit is a 48 combined days of modern gun and black powder season. There I go complaining again, sorry. -
No it is I Da Hoe! LOL.
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For the most part I have hunted public land where baiting is illegal but baiting deer is legal on private land in my state but baiting bears is not legal. Go figure. From my point of view, baiting deer is expensive and a lot of work when nature will provide all the bait you need for free. It’s up to you to find it. I have always hunted natural food sources but many of my friends have gone the baiting route. I tried it too one year, thats how I know it is alot of work. I have seen corn go bad on the ground when acorns are plentiful so I have stuck with what works for me. Find the acorns and you find the deer, let the corn stay in the cornfield.
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The basic premise of baiting is to draw an animal to a food source in order to either observe it as a possible candidate for harvest or to draw several animals in to attract others. Supplemental food sources may also be the goal. The use of urine, or scents must not be confused with baiting. Scents are attractants and not a food source so baiting is exclusively associated with food. Food should not be confused as baits if it is standing either planted or natural by virtue of it”s roots. Yes, this includes Oak trees, fruit trees and even standing corn or growing or dead food plots standing by its growth, or having fallen by the natural process of growth. OK, here is what some will say,” It”s baiting to grow a food plot”! Unless your state law specifically acknowleges that supplemental food plots are considered bait, they are not. Baits are introduced,not grown as a supplemental which may draw in the game for the same reasons one could introduce it after it has been harvested from growth. Freestanding corn which falls to the ground and eaten by an animal is not baiting, it is a supplemental food source.
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I understand that what I am about to type can cause me some enemies but I want to state that these are just my opinions. I understand they may conflict with those of others. With that being said if anyone can reply with anything that might change such opinions then so be it. I am new to hunting, say about 6 years, the last two with a bow, the last year with a recurve. In my quest to become a complete bowhunter, I have read and researched quite a bit. I have seen video of hunters using feeders to take deer. Hunting from treestands while the feeder was operating at 15 to 20 yards away. I saw one in which a hunter stated he used feeders to harvest quality bucks. I have a problem with that. I don’t believe that to be fair chase. I guess that video has prompted my opinion that all feeders are unethical. In recent posts I have read some ideas that have come to make sense. Like use of a feeder so mom and pop can watch the deer. I have come to accept that as a valid use under circumstances. Like no one hunting the deer while they move to from the feeder as the feeder creates patterns in feeding habits. I have also seen video of “MONSTER” bucks being raised on hormones in fenced “no pressure” food plots. Again I have a problem with that. I think hunting only “monsters” has taking away from what hunting should be. The my buck is bigger than your buck syndrome has changed the way people hunt. To me hunting is about being out in nature, the stalk the hours of practice and careful planning to harvest an animal to feed you family. Big record book racks are nice but you cant eat them. I don’t believe any type of plot planted for the purpose of attracting game is right. I do not have an issue with say Farmer Jones leaving a couple rows of his crop for the wildlife. In my humble opinion, hunting is very simple. A lot of hard work, yes. A lot of time and commitment, definitely. I believe you should know the animal, know its habits and habitat. Where it beds, where the waters sources are. Know the country in which you plan to hunt. I believe in not shooting until you have a shot that you know with out a doubt you can take the animal quickly and cleanly. To me there is no greater achievement than having a table/freezer full of food that you harvested doing it right. Maybe that’s a little to black and white for some. We all know how much time goes into the preparation and skill of a hunt. I just believe that everyone has to have their own commitment to their own morals of hunting. These are just mine. I will not use plots. Nor will I use feeders or trail cams. I don’t think the idea of using such “tools” to find big or quality bucks, or bulls for that matter will work for me. I myself will hunt and if a buck or a bull is not the one I want then I just wont take it. Do I believe in game management? Yes! I believe in taking a mature buck or bull, letting the little ones grow to their potential. Same with a cow or a doe. The same way I believe in taking out the lame or crippled to improve heard quality. I believe in luck. No matter how much or how hard you prepare your hunt or how much or how far you hike or camp, everything must come together. Sometimes luck plays a sometimes major part . As does dumb luck for some of us. With all that said I feel I have been long winded enough for now. I am sure I have more to say, and as it comes to me I’ll take the time to post it. I would like to say thank you for reading and I look forward to your comments.
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I agree with Hirams response but would like to also mention that in drawing the animals to a new food source by baiting you are intentionally creating a pattern that did not previously exist, such as getting deer to leave your neighbors property and go to yours in an artificial manner.
On the other hand I think food plots that are intended for maximizing nutrition during the summer growth cycle are OK. Those plots will be depleted by hunting season and fall patterns will prevail. Agriculture is part of rural life and part of a hunters consideration when looking over a property and planning an approach. I don’t consider hunting near crops baiting.
On a similar note I have intentionally altered travel routes by cutting / clearing minimal amounts of undergrowth with a pair of pruning shears that I keep in my pack to offer a “path of least resistance” to deer and other game. It won’t guarantee a shot but it does seem to help funnel deer that are naturally moving across the terrain.
And I do have a feeder in my yard because Mom and Pop like to watch the deer and other critters. It’s pretty funny to see a rabbit jump on a does head “protecting” his corn pile. -
Exactly Snuffer! I think maybe a little difference may exist from private property areas in the midwest and federal land hunting in the west. I heard nightmarish stories of guides feeding Elk range cubes and bugeling when they dump the food out. With a client, they bugle and the Elk come runnin for range cubes! What a chicken crap way of doing it! Thats not what we do with supplemental food plots.
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Okay I feel it is time to give my own opinion. I absolutely hate corn/apple pile, guys do that around here all the time! Ii is not good for the deer, they all believe they are making a healthier deer heard? I try and explain that deer are browse feeders and that the corn pile you placed is probably only feeding a handful of deer! Because the deer will stand there and get there fill and move on. Another problem with suplemental feed of any type, is disease, you are getting deer to come together and live in closer quarters, they are going to get as close to that food source as they can, especially in the winter months. That is great breeding ground for Cronic waste disease. We do not have it bad here in Maryland, but from what I here PA got it bad in some spots up there!? One guy we talked to in a Gander Mountain up in PA showed us pictures of some of the deer he was finding dead, they were some big bucks, and some massive does. It was terrible, he was not going to have a season! They were finding deer by the hundereds! Anyway that is something to think about. I think the only reason we did not get hammered by CWD is becuase we have a steady agricultural system and the deer dont clump together in the winter because they have plenty of food, but when guys do piles in the winter in the middle of the woods, that is bad news!
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Feeders and food plots appear to have two clear uses:
1, Herd management, where new plots or feeders are established to encourage dispersal of a herd and reduce feeding pressure on areas that are in danger of becoming over grazed or damaging commercial crops. The wider a herd can be encouraged to roam the less pressure it puts on natural resources the more opportunity to widen the gene pool and more opportunity for other hunters.2, Increased hunting opportunities, as previously stated in its simplest form plots and feeders are no more that ambush points, they may be sited in such a way as to insure that animals are funnelled into shooting lanes and the trophies can then be assessed and picked off as required. But how does that compare with pronghorn over waterholes in Wyoming or Zebra in Okavango, neither of which most of us would have a problem with.
It may be that plots and feeders both have a place in hunting and herd management but as ever it’s the hunter that may be the faulty component, if you are hunting over leased land or if you are lucky enough to own your own land then you are in it for the long haul, you may be prepared to let an opportunity go because there will be another day. However if you have one opportunity to hunt in the year and have saved your hard earnt, placated the wife sat up a tree all morning who’s to say you can’t shoot the trophy buck that has just walked into view.
I put out wild bird feeders for pheasant and they are often to be found vandalised by deer, I would not ever consider shooting over one but I know that we see and kill more deer because of the feeders.
This can only come down to personal ethics and as Ronnie says after all the effort required why cheapen or degrade traditional hunting.
Mark.
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Greatreearcher wrote: I think the only reason we did not get hammered by CWD is becuase we have a steady agricultural system and the deer dont clump together in the winter because they have plenty of food, but when guys do piles in the winter in the middle of the woods, that is bad news!
I’m not a biologigist (nor do I play one on the internet). The theory of CWD spreading by deer feeding on bait piles is speculative at best. Maybe it’s true; maybe it’s not. I don’t know, but we have rampant CWD in northcentral Illinois, and baiting for deer has never been legal in this state.
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J.Wesbrock wrote: [quote=Greatreearcher] I think the only reason we did not get hammered by CWD is becuase we have a steady agricultural system and the deer dont clump together in the winter because they have plenty of food, but when guys do piles in the winter in the middle of the woods, that is bad news!
I’m not a biologigist (nor do I play one on the internet). The theory of CWD spreading by deer feeding on bait piles is speculative at best. Maybe it’s true; maybe it’s not. I don’t know, but we have rampant CWD in northcentral Illinois, and baiting for deer has never been legal in this state.
But if CWD is contagious among deer it stands to reason that deer yarded up around a convenient food source in winter could be a recipe for disaster. On the other hand deer often yard up in thickets in colder weather with or without the food source. Guess we need more info on how it spreads to be able to make the determination that bait piles contribute to the spread. -
Hiram wrote: Exactly Snuffer! I think maybe a little difference may exist from private property areas in the midwest and federal land hunting in the west. I heard nightmarish stories of guides feeding Elk range cubes and bugeling when they dump the food out. With a client, they bugle and the Elk come runnin for range cubes! What a chicken crap way of doing it! Thats not what we do with supplemental food plots.
Yeah, that sounds pretty low down. My only western experience was a do it yourself trip to Wyoming back in the 80’s where a friend of a friend rancher was guiding rifle hunters on his ranch and BLM land for mule deer and antelope. I tagged my lope the first day. Spent the rest of the week helping my partners spot mule deer or trying to catch those cutthroats in the little creek that ran by the bunk house and welding up every broke thing that rancher had around there.(He found out 2 of us were welders) I always thought I would do another western hunt with the bow but life happened and I never went back.
BTW – what the heck is a range cube? -
J.Wesbrock wrote: I’m not a biologigist (nor do I play one on the internet). The theory of CWD spreading by deer feeding on bait piles is speculative at best. Maybe it’s true; maybe it’s not. I don’t know, but we have rampant CWD in northcentral Illinois, and baiting for deer has never been legal in this state.
I do not play a biologist either. But I would think that as hunters we would all consider ourselves semi-experts on the quarry we pursuit. I know for a fact that I have actually read some things that biologists have writen that was wrong. And I could back it up using film! How would those lab coats know the quarry better than I, I spend at least 180 days afeild! There are some things that you can not learn from a book, and I would be willing to say that wildlife biology did not start as some crap out of a book. Neither did game managment, people got out and just wong it! As far as the CWD in illinois did you ever think that it could be because of the crowded deer in that part of the state? Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t northcentral illinios still crowded, you guys have the “best” deer heard in the states? From what I have read the deer population is out of control. I wouldnt be suprised, how can you control a deer population without a rifle season?
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Greatreearcher wrote: But I would think that as hunters we would all consider ourselves semi-experts on the quarry we pursuit.
There’s a difference between being able to drive a car, and knowing how to rebuild an engine.
Greatreearcher wrote: As far as the CWD in illinois did you ever think that it could be because of the crowded deer in that part of the state? Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t northcentral illinios still crowded, you guys have the “best” deer heard in the states? From what I have read the deer population is out of control. I wouldnt be suprised, how can you control a deer population without a rifle season?
Illinois’ highest whitetail deer population densities are generally found in the west central region, and despite yearly testing, CWD has never been found in that area. The north central part of the state is far from a high-density location, yet that is the only area where CWD has been found.
As far as having the “best” deer herd in the states, that’s more outfitter marketing hype than reality.
Pretty much the only people who think our deer herd is out of control are the Illinois Farm Bureau and our insurance lobby that keeps pushing our DNR for more dead deer every year. As a matter of fact, up until a few years ago there were counties in Illinois where hunters weren’t even allowed to kill does during the early season due to low deer numbers.
Illinois only has an estimated 750k deer. That population level has been consistent for many years. Wisconsin—a state with the same approximate landmass—has roughly twice the number of deer found in Illinois. Michigan’s deer population is higher still.
Prior to the discovery of CWD in WI preceding the 2002 season, baiting for deer was and had been legal for decades. In response to CWD, Wisconsin banned baiting for deer in the CWD area and some surrounding counties. Baiting remains legal elsewhere throughout Wisconsin, yet CWD has never been found outside the southern third of the state.
I’m not saying that baiting does or does not facilitate in the spreading of CWD. As I posted earlier, I don’t know, and I’m not qualified to make that determination.
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J.Wesbrock wrote: There’s a difference between being able to drive a car, and knowing how to rebuild an engine.
True but there is not a big difference between knowing how to fix an engine and rebuilding one, that is exactly like being a hunter and a biologist!
J.Wesbrock wrote: Illinois only has an estimated 750k deer. That population level has been consistent for many years. Wisconsin—a state with the same approximate landmass—has roughly twice the number of deer found in Illinois. Michigan’s deer population is higher still.
Prior to the discovery of CWD in WI preceding the 2002 season, baiting for deer was and had been legal for decades. In response to CWD, Wisconsin banned baiting for deer in the CWD area and some surrounding counties. Baiting remains legal elsewhere throughout Wisconsin, yet CWD has never been found outside the southern third of the state.
Maryland is 11787 SQ. MI, and Illinois is 57,918 SQ. MI the estimated deer population in maryland is 269000 and the estimated deer population in Illinois is 800000. So there goes my theory of Illinios being cramed together to much, but I still think that corn laying around for weeks could become contaminated and that is undefiably one way that CWD is transmitted. I am aware that Illinois having the “best” deer heard is hype, that is why I put it in quoteation marks in the beginning. I know where the best deer herd is in North America and it is not in the states! I would say that your example of Wisconsin is proof enough that baiting could help spread the disease, sounds to me like they containted the problem, in the area. I am not saying that bait is the cause of CWD, I am simply saying that if a deer infected with CWD comes to the bait and eats some, then the other deer that come and eat will probably get infected as well!
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Greatreearcher wrote:
I would say that your example of Wisconsin is proof enough that baiting could help spread the disease, sounds to me like they containted the problem, in the area.There’s a difference between correlation and causation. One does not equate to the other.
Greatreearcher wrote: I am not saying that bait is the cause of CWD, I am simply saying that if a deer infected with CWD comes to the bait and eats some, then the other deer that come and eat will probably get infected as well!
Biologists have been studying the spread of CWD for more than forty years. To date, they have been unable to prove that hypothesis. Since it would be silly of me to think I know more about wildlife biology and disease transmission than people who are experts in that field, I’ll defer to them in such matters.
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To me, and of course this is just my opinion, hunting over food plots, piles of corn, salt blocks, etc. isn’t much different than hunting acorn producing trees in a pine thicket or water holes in dry conditions.
That being said, its a matter of hunting ethics that differentiate the two examples. We typically see acorns and water holes as okay because it is naturally provided whereas food plots and the like are artificially introduced.
On the other hand most people I think would sympathize with the guy who uses corn to hunt deer because if he doesn’t kill something his family doesn’t eat while we wouldn’t give as much sympathy to the trophy hunter only interested in racks.
While there are numerous reasons as to why it is right or wrong or what conditions are necessary to make it right or wrong I would argue that ultimately it is a personal choice and if you are comfortable with it then do it and if not then don’t.
For the record I have hunted over food plots in the past and I didn’t feel right about it, like I was cheating, but on the same token I don’t feel right criticizing someone who does it.
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J.Wesbrock wrote: There’s a difference between correlation and causation. One does not equate to the other.
I understand that, I have studied statistics as well as wildlife biology and environmental resource managment. But again I would not classify myself as a expert. I would be willing to be that other states have done the same with similar results, one would just have to reseach!
J.Wesbrock wrote: Since it would be silly of me to think I know more about wildlife biology and disease transmission than people who are experts in that field, I’ll defer to them in such matters.
Would you trust a politician to know what is best for our country? Because I would not, I do not think that the study of CWD is as extensive as it should be. I think that is has taken a back seat to other studies that are of more importance. Well of more importance to what the nuckle head in the Department of Natural Resources!
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Greatreearcher wrote: I would be willing to be that other states have done the same with similar results, one would just have to reseach!
Again, correlation does not equate to causation.
Greatreearcher wrote: Would you trust a politician to know what is best for our country?
More than I would trust someone to rebuild my truck’s engine simply because they know how to drive a vehicle, treat lung cancer because they answer phones in an oncologist’s office, or make biological decisions concerning wildlife because they bought a hunting license. I suppose that’s the curse of growing older; we eventually come to realize that we don’t know everything.
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An Analogy. Wrote a speeding ticket and defense attorney ask me in his segment. So, you can use a Radar? Yes. So if you can use it, explain how the internal components are put together? I don’t know! Well if you can use it, why do you not know how the internal components are put together? Well I’ll answer by asking you a question! Judge? Ok, I’ll allow it. You have on your wrist a watch? Yes, well you can tell what time it is can’t you? Attorney, well this is not a Radar unit! Judge, I’ve heard enough, attorney, but your Honor I am not talking about watches! Judge, I see the officers point. You may be able to operate a Radar unit with out knowing the internal components!
Simblance? Yes indeed, You may operate a car, or other things in your life, but not understand the internal components from which they operate. Now of course I know about the Doppler principle and Christian Doppler but that does not explain the internal propriety of the manufacturors construction! CWD is a disease which affects the Nuero area of animals. There is no cases of a human contracting it. There are however, concerns that in the herd, and food sources it could possibly be passed from one animal to the other. Illinois does not have a Mega Deer Population! They do however have a soil that grows agricultural crops very well. Agriculture plays a large role in Deer growth and nutrition. This in part, is what the discussion is about. I believe that one could assume that feeding multiple Deer from the same introduced food bin (feeders) in an infected area(reported accounts of CWD) That it could be spread in this way (see evidence facts).this is unlikely to be the case in small applications but, nonetheless a possibility. In Mr. Wesbrooks area, Highly unlikely! Why? well first of all as he has stated, “its illegal”. Now as far as a rifle season in Illinois? These shotgun hunters have the slug game down! 100 yds. is not a problem for a rifled slug gun which is scoped. Further than that would not surprise me. The rifle vs. shotgun having anything to do with the firearms harvest is a moot point. I suggest that in this case, Valid points exist by both Gentlemen! Let us all hope that this CWD thing dissipates into the past, never to return, -
The fascinating element of bowhunting deer–or bears–is learning to understand how the animals behave naturally and using that knowledge to take an animal with stick and string. Artificially altering their behavior undermines that effort. The losers are those who confuse the result with hunting. Don
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Very good point Don. Arguably, the same could be said of those who use our best friend to chase Mountain lions to a tree and shoot it while being greatly outnumbered and cornered to such an extent that escape would mean certain death. Fairly chased? Given the chance to escape? I submit that the issue of Baiting should not be confused with supplemental food plots etc. The complexity of this subject may also be geographical and relative to the amount of hunting property one has access to. Now, am I against using dogs? No. A generalized statement must be well thought out and regarded to all the variables that exist. With respect to you sir!
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I like to bait, hound hunt and trap, man I really must not know what hunting is!:wink:
I have only harvested one animal over bait and it took more time and effort than probably all the others.
If it is legal and you enjoy your time in the woods I am all for it.
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Hiram I absolutely loved everything about your post before Mr. Don Thomas’s! Right on the money for both I and J.
To Mr. J, who I have been so intently civily debating with, you are sure right about one thing, and it has bitten me in the rear in every heated debate I have had on this site. I am a young 18 year old boy and I am surely never wrong! That is just how we are. MABYE one day I will grow out of it, I sure hope I do!
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My state G&F agency plants food plots. Doe anyone else know theirs does? I submit that food plots are not specifically used for baiting. Food plots balance the diet when mast crops are lacking due to early frosts etc. Education is key to these subjects and I believe the biologists at the G&F agencies know this. Wild Turkey benefit a lot from the supplementals also.
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Hiram, I dont think my state does, they should! I hunt a WMA where there are feilds, I just dont think Maryland has the funding for it right now but those deer could use some nutrition, I dont hunt deer there, but I definatly hunt there squirrels, they have a heafty squirrel population!
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Hiram wrote: Hey Pagosa did you get an Elk? I was in your area not long ago. I respect everybody until they show me different. Bet your a stand up guy. I may disagree but respect everyones opinion.:)Is Judd Cooney still alive?
Hey Hiram, thanks. I dont know Judd Cooney. At least not by name. I know so many people its possible I know him or of him just not by name. I had 4 chances at a cows this year. 1st. one was opening day. She was at 44 yards. I wont take a shot that long. I was hoping she would work her way to me. As luck would have it 2 guys came from above me and spooked her. The second I had 3 cows coming across a meadow to me and a muzzle loader took a shoot at some elk a couple hundred yards way. Spooked them outta there. The third I stocked up up to 2 yards while she was bedded. She got up and turned giving me no shot. Tried to give her time before I followed her. She was shot at 10 min mins later by a muzzle who missed. Ran into a bear and her cubs following her. The last was last day. I was eating lunch and she came walking by. She went between me and a dead fall leaving me a head shot at 23 yards. So I dint tale that. Close but not cigar. I had a great time though. Learned a lot and enjoyed my time out.
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Thanks for the post Pagosa. I’ve been up there many times in your area to hunt. I have guys want me to go with them but I always hunt by myself. I wish The muzzleloading season was not so popular up there. They spend the 500 for a tag and want to have a better chance to kill. I have always Bowhunted on my trips to Colorado. I have killed a few (3) with a Bow and packed them all out by myself. I did not hunt this year because my wife got sick while we were there. I enjoy her presence with me and am honored that my wife wants to spend time with me on vacation but, she may have to stay home next year lol. I want to hunt. I used to be tough and in good shape. I would walk 10-15 a day up there looking for Elk. I have had a couple run ins with Bears but nothing serious. Looking forward to next year. Judd Cooney used to write a few articles in Bowhunting mags and lived in Pagosa Springs. I think he also did some guide work.
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Hey Greatree your a great young man! Wish I would have had a son like you. I really respect Don Thomas! He is an Ambassador of Bowhunters and has accomplished much in his life to help people. I have to pretty much Bow to him like a Sensai even in a post here on the forum. David Peterson and TJ and Larry have the same status of respect and should be recognized as such. We are fortunate that they participate here on the forum. I feel honored to talk to them in post form. Maybe some day Greatree, we will meet them all personally. Remember that: in any discussion friendship is more important than disagreement. We can continue to debate any topic with that premise in mind. In other words, we can talk about anything without having a “falling out” over it. That is exactly why “us Bowhunters” get along so well! Blessings
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