[Killdeer]

in reply to: Don Thomas Deer carry method? #16197

[quote=assenheimer]I live and hunt in southeastern Virginia,mostly flat and swampy.

Sounds positively Dismal!:wink:
If I had cell service where I hunt, I would perhaps start the boning-out thing. Or drag it to camp where I could be a little more obsessive-compulsive about the process.:roll:

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: ATAR west va. #16191

I have gone to ATAR six years running. I only go to two shoots a year, as time off is generous but not infinite in my job. I go to ATAR and to the Baltimore Bowmen Trad Classic.

Here are some pics from ATAR;

Very family friendly!

The tractor ride to the comp course:

Caught knapping…:

Nice campgrounds:

A little competition for spice:

Two fun ranges, an Iron Man competition, and the kids have their own Dinosaur Range!

Bernie Dunn is the official Dinosaur Wrangler. He herds them up all year long, with help from his assistants, and brings them to ATAR for the kids to win as prizes on the range, or for being helpful, or for being out on a course with their parents. All the kids love to shoot for dinosaur prizes, and all the kids take a few of them home, whether they shoot or not. For family members who do not shoot, there are lots of other activities at the lake that will keep them happily spending their days while you lose arrows in the woods.

There are aerial competitions, and a “popup” 3D competition, too, some years. It just seems to get better and better as the TBSWV hones its skill at presenting a high-quality shoot with something for everyone.

I guess you can tell that I have enjoyed myself immensely there.
Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Don Thomas Deer carry method? #16177

You can make yourself crazy trying to figure out the reasons behind some of the laws that we must live with! Best I can figure is that it is easier for a warden to see exactly who has what instead of having to reassemble a jigsaw puzzle of pieces-parts when he came upon a successful group of hunters.

Don, I am trying to picture exactly how that cougar tail would be in the way. 😆

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Whole deer vs. boning #16168

I would clarify here that in Virginia, you do have to check in your deer. You can do that over the phone, however, and you will be issued a number which you then write on your notched tag. I try not to blab this, but it is a fifteen or twenty minute drive to a “sweet spot” where I can use the cell phone to accomplish this.

So, just in case the warden is waiting in camp when I get back with my deer, I drag it out after field dressing, make my drive and then butcher. Oh, and in the mountains, dragging IS a big deal! They always run to the far side of the ridge, and anywhere you need to take that deer is always uphill, lol. Besides that, they are bigger than I am.

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Don Thomas Deer carry method? #14870

“I can bone out a deer in about 20 minutes. Best, Don”

It takes me that long to get one backstrap off. ( I jealously recover EVERY scrap!)

Oh, to have a surgeon’s skill!
Luckily, nobody has to witness my ineptitude. First reason is that I rarely kill anything but time, and secondly, the deer has to be removed from the place of kill whole, in Virginia. I did try to carry a fawn once. Found out that even a fawn is bigger than I am. I may outweigh them, but they can whup me even after they have expired.

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Small Game Heads #36973

The hex head is the best stumping head I have found, though I buried and then exhumed mine a few times today, what with all the leaves on the ground. I have split a Gold tip, because the stump fought back, and I only use the carbons that I have footed with aluminum for stumping now.

I have lost a couple of squirrels to them, however, even with good penetration in the chest cavity. I guess I don’t jump on them quick enough when they get to the ground, and they run up a tree or into a hole right away.

Here are pics of the arrow after a chest hit on a gray squirrel last year:

You can see good penetration by the smear of blood over the rear of the aluminum foot. This is the 175 grain head on a 28″ CE 90, from a 46 pound bow.

I now carry old Zwickeys for squirrels. Rabbits, on the other hand, can be easily killed with the hex head.

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Please introduce yourselves, I'll start #23933

Hey all, good to see my friends here.
I’m an ol’ married lady, work as a mailma’am in Virginia. Been shooting bows since ’64 or ’65, hunt a lot but kill mostly time. I am usually a quiet person until I get near a keyboard or the devil tweaks my sense of humor.:)

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Public, Private or both? #41884

I hunt public land, the National forest and one Wildlife Management Area. I have an offer to hunt a friend’s farm, but I work six days a week and have only Sunday off. There is no Sunday hunting in Virginia.:(

I do not want to hunt on a day before a workday anyway, as an afternoon kill will keep me busy late into the night, and then I would need a day to butcher the meat. So, I take a block of time off in the fall, and do what I can on public land. Hunter numbers are way down up there, which is good, but it is likely because game populations have dropped dramatically. There are many coyotes, and I suspect a lot of poaching as well. I heard coyotes close to camp for the first time this year, and it sounded like a fairly large pack.

It used to be that there were a lot of hunters, and a ton of deer, turkeys and snowshoe hares. Now, I see few deer, but more bears, and I have not seen a snowshoe in about twenty years.

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Sitka deer in Maryland/delmarva?!?!? #34465

Chris, one of the finest trad shoots is held in May, just outside of Baltimore. Look up Baltimore Bowmen for more info. Bring a tent.

Killdeer:D

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Eagles' Flight Quivers #61300

I dunno if I understand the parameters involved here. Is the riser shorter or thinner than a Centaur’s? The new Totem (I like the model because it has a connecting rod between the two pieces, guaranteeing consistent placement, no slippage) has an adjustable connecting rod, so that it can fit any length riser. My personal quiver predates this feature, and I shortened the rod to fit the bow.

I do not know the minimum limb circumference that the quiver straps would accommodate. If you contact the maker, Don Ward, I think you will find him to be a pleasant, helpful chap, easy to talk to. Heck of a shot, too.

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Any Central Virginia Bowhunters Here? #61040

I know from other websites that there are a bunch of centrally located traditional bowhunters in our state. I am not one of them. I live in the paved-over part of Virginia, but see those ne’er-do-wells annually at ATAR, held in Survey, WV. Check around for some trad meets in VA, and it will be easy to hook up with like-minded hunters in your area. It is kinda late in the year, but there should be some shoots still, before we all hit the woods.

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

in reply to: In need of a helping hand #61031

This guy’s friend’s ex-girlfriend’s brother by another mother doesn’t reside in Nigeria, does he?:?

Killdeer:lol:

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Monarch Bows, Monty Moravec? #60120

I remember reading an interview with Monty in TBM some years back. (Was it an interview or an article? Old-Timers’ is setting in…) I could probably dig it up, as I have stacks of old TBMs, but then, I guess there are a few folks around here who have them as well.:roll:

[Killdeer]

in reply to: NRA pros and cons #60117

Thank you Dr. Ashby, that gets right to the nubbin.

I was a bit miffed at the NRA’s getting into the crossbow thing, but I can see where there would be a sizable faction of their membership who would applaud it.
Originally, the NRA was an educational organization, devoted to the teaching of marksmanship to the citizenry, that the recruits in the armed services would have a leg up in their training and the population and the nation as a whole would be stronger. As times changed, the legislative side of things took more and more of a front seat in the priorities of the organization. Thus was born the Institute for Legislative Action.

The NRA is “too political” because it is politics that can preserve or take away our right to bear arms.

I am nonplussed at a lot of things that the Republican Party seems to back, and find following a strict “party line” of any group to be stifling and mindless. However, the Republican position is strong on self-reliance, including the right to use arms in self-defense. I tend to think that as long as the populace is armed, we will be able to hang on to those freedoms and ideals that we hold dear.

Killdeer
Benefactor Member, NRA
Life Member, Virginia Shooting Sports Association
Life Member, Izaak Walton League
Member, Virginia Bowhunters’ Association

[Killdeer]

in reply to: Good news/bad news #60099

Delaying a project gives one more time in which to visualize perfection.

~Killdeer’s Theory of Procrastination
😀

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