not a gun.....but close

**0rion** · 10-07-2015, 07:01 AM

ahhh....wedding dumbassery. Know it very well.

I learned a long time ago....well....2 years ago....not to climb shit ever. I'm kinda done getting more than a foot stool's height off the ground. Just bad shit tends to happen. I'm fairly healed up now so I've been hunting the last 2 weekends. Passed on a small deer 2 weeks ago that I'm guessing was a button buck due to it being alone. Hung a ladder Friday in the rain so I just walked the ladder in and put it on the tree. Walked up on 4 deer going to and from my stand....all 4 were inside of 20 yards before they bumped. Sat in the rain Saturday morning and didn't see shit. Decided to sit in the camper and watch football Saturday afternoon. Looked out and 3 doe were walking by the camper....bow was in the truck

**Zinergy** · 10-07-2015, 11:09 AM

I have dozens of deer on the 4 properties I hunt. 3 good sized bucks and one that I know is around that leaves monster scrapes, rubs and prints that I have not seen and do not have on camera yet. The only real question is can I heal up in time or should I buy a crossbow. My wrist does feel a little better. I can squirt toothpaste out of the tube with my left hand now.

I also have a poacher on one of the properties. I have him on camera messing with the camera(not his face though). The property owners said they have caught people trespassing before and would like us to let them know if we see anyone and hopefully our presence will keep them away.

***SMWS6TA*** · 10-07-2015, 11:12 AM

Damn near pulled a Jeff's wife last night coming home. It was a blind turn so I slowed down going into it and damn it if there wasn't a doe on the road. Hit the brakes and she just gets off the road in time. Big one too. Most times I see them they are about the size of a large Doberman.

**Zinergy** · 10-07-2015, 11:19 AM

I could have shot 10 deer this year just riding ATVs on trails. That is how many I have had to come to a complete stop for cause they just stand there.

**0rion** · 10-08-2015, 12:57 AM

sounds like it's your left wrist then that broke? You a right handed shooter? Me personally I think I could probably do that but I would either wrap the shit out of it or get a brace. Never been in that situation though so no idea how hard drawing is on that off wrist. Just give it a try and see what it feels like. Keep in mind you'll only have to draw once......hopefully.

**Zinergy** · 10-08-2015, 05:53 AM

Yes and Yes. I have been trying a few different things. I rigged up a brace in my basement. Still don't think I could make an accurate shot. So much pressure sits on the wrist. Even holding the bow in the raised position is difficult. Drawing and holding are next to impossible and keeping the left hand steady enough to get good groups doesn't happen at the moment.

**0rion** · 10-08-2015, 09:44 AM

yeah...that's a tough situation. Like I said.....I'd have to be put in the position. It's easy for me to say "do this or do that" because I don't know the pain involved. I do know that I would have to figure something out. That's a pretty long recovery time....rut will be over by the time that's healed. Sounds like it's just holding the weight that's getting you and not the actual drawing. Not sure there's much you can do about that......crossbow bound it sounds like

**Zinergy** · 10-08-2015, 10:05 AM

Drawing and holding is the most difficult part and with that keeping the left hand steady for the accurate shot. Some people have said "that's not even the hand you draw with" Yea well the bow still needs force against it otherwise it would just move back towards me when I draw. It's not like the bow is just magically floating there, you have to hold it in place. The pain is there no doubt, but that I can deal with, it's the fact that my wrist just starts to give out. Like I can't stop it from moving around.

**0rion** · 10-11-2015, 01:18 PM

shot a doe with the new bow yesterday. Not an ideal situation but it worked out. It was about 15 minutes before quitting time yesterday afternoon and 2 doe came feeding in taking their sweet time. Both were decent sized doe but the one in the rear was bigger and the one I wanted. They were moving slow though and it was getting dark in a hurry so I took the smaller one in the front. Made what I thought was a good shot on her and I watched the arrow all the way in...looked like a good hit. I was in my climber so I waited a couple minutes then climbed down. It was dark at that point. I go over and find the arrow and no blood on it but it was covered in guts. It kinda pissed me off because I watched that arrow and was sure that it was a good hit....but I've been wrong before. I watched her run down into a little ravine but I didn't see or hear her come up the other side out of it so I walked to the edge of it and shined my light around but no sign. I decided it was best just to head back to camp and let her lay up overnight although that rarely works out on a gut shot deer.
I get up this morning and wait for the sun to come up and head in to look for her. I find 2 drops of blood about 20 yards from where I hit her but nothing after that. I walk down to where I had went the night before and then up on the other side of the ravine and found her laying about 20 yards from that ravine. She only ran about 50 total. I go look at my shot and it was a good shot like I thought....went in between 2 ribs and took out a lung, the liver, then exited out her bottom side through the guts which is why my arrow looked like that. I was kinda worried about the meat but it was 32 degrees here last night and she was only out about 12 hours from the time I shot her until the time I found her. I skinned and quartered her and got her in a cooler asap and there's no smell to the meat so I'm sure it's fine. I'm going to butcher it out tonight and I'll double check it then but the cooler doesn't stink at all. I've been on a few tracks that were all day kinda deals in warmer weather than that and the meat was fine so I'm pretty certain this one is too.

That new bow is bad ass. It's a huge step up from what I had. As soon as I clicked the release the arrow was hitting her.....that arrow is hauling ass. I still can't decide if I want to keep the sights on it or put my old pendulum sight on there. I really like that keller site and I'm very comfortable with it. Last night around the fire about about 10 beers in and thinking I gut shot her I was swearing that site was getting swapped out. Then today I find her and find that I made a good shot I'm not sure anymore.

**Zinergy** · 10-19-2015, 06:02 AM

Shot a 6 pointer with my new crossbow last night. It's a tenpoint titan. 335fps. The rage mechanical broadheads tore it up, double lung shot. I found no blood where I shot it. Granted it was dark by this point. Couldn't find my bolt. A buddy who was hunting a little way down the path said "did you shoot something, because something big just came crashing through". I was busy beating myself up for missing the shot when he called me and said I got blood. Once I got to his stand we realized there was a trail Helen Keller could follow.

**0rion** · 10-19-2015, 10:25 AM

congrats on the deer....you guys get more than one buck right? I went last weekend and didn't see anything. I got in late Saturday and sat in the stand from 10am til dark. Kinda the wrong time of year for that but I didn't want to go in at 10 and turn right around and come out a few hours later so I just stayed in. Sunday I took the shotgun out and got a couple squirrels. Movement should increase in the next 2 weeks. I've still yet to see my first buck other than the small button opening weekend.

Here's the hit on that doe...people are busy with those rage broadheads but I'll stick with my muzzy's that can go through a brick wall.

**Zinergy** · 10-19-2015, 11:29 AM

Not at the moment. If tags have been slow they will open up bonus buck tags but right now I am done shooting bucks for bow. I didn't even know it was a buck to be honest. I was watching a yearling and doe come up the ridge. They were moving slow, I watched them move 50 yards in 20-30 minutes. They were coming right for me. Then they both looked to their left.... which is the direction my back was facing. The doe snuffed and they both ran in different directions. I heard the doe coming back sniffing super hard, trying to get the yearling to return to her. I heard a deer coming from the direction the yearling went but I could see it's body and knew it was way too big. So I lined up my scope in a clearing ahead of the deer and waiting for it to come into my scope and when I saw body I shot.

I am happy to shoot a buck don't get me wrong but we have two monsters on another property. I told my friends though if that monster 12 comes out I might need to borrow a tag.

Congrats on your deer as well.

**0rion** · 10-19-2015, 01:30 PM

I've shot my share of 6 pointers......I hate doing that before rut though. I've probably passed on more than I've shot but there's been more than a couple times I end up regretting that pass. These days not so much....as long as I can put a doe in the freezer I'm pretty comfortable passing on smaller bucks. My hope is that they somehow make it through gun season and I get to see them next season....yet to really have that happen that I know of. Even for me when gun season comes around it's brown and down. At that point time is running out and the hunting really starts to suck after gun season.

**Zinergy** · 10-19-2015, 01:47 PM

When gun season comes around hunting changes for sure. Too many gun shots, too many guys in the woods. I have my places to myself but you can hear gun shots going off all the time. Brown and down is right.

**0rion** · 01-06-2016, 03:46 AM

update to thread.....finally got the damn muzzle loaders shooting right although mine still puzzles the hell out of me. I put a scope on Zach's and his settled right down and after 2 initial shots he's shooting 1" groups at 50 yards. We may try to have him take some longer shots today just to see how he does but 50 is a good place to start. Doubt I'd have him shooting out much past that right now. My muzzy on the other hand is a head scratcher. Earlier in this thread I posted my shots showing them way left and my scope was maxed to the right. I get it out yesterday and it's shooting way right so I adjusted it back over and now it's shooting dead on. Who knows where it'll be next time I get it out. I'm going to shoot it some more today. I kinda wonder if I shouldn't take those screws out of the rings and drop some loctite on them or not. I normally do that but that scope has been on there a decade and who knows if I did that when I originally put it on. I also thought about tossing my son's 9x32 truglow he got with his shotgun since the scope is too short for him and his eye relief sucks on it. I just don't see how a scope gets off by FEET year to year. From where it was last year and where it started this year the distance is a good 2 feet left to right. Vertical seems to stay on.....it's the windage that I have problems with.

**0rion** · 09-13-2016, 12:56 PM

getting all my shit together again for bow season. Ordered some new broadheads last week. My buddy almost had me talked into trying swhackers but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I've shot muzzy for 2 decades and have no reason to change really other than to just try something else. I did change up the model of muzzy and hopefully that doesn't bite me in the ass. I went from regular 100 gr muzzy to the new muzzy trocar 100 which are supposed to fly better out of higher speed bows. I really didn't have a ton of issues out of my old broadhead but every few shots that arrow would look funky. It would have a little tail wiggle to it. It would still be on target...just flying a little funky on the way there and not every arrow did it. The trocar have offset blades to help induce spin which should help stabilize the arrow. The thing that kinda bothers me is that although they're still the same 1 3/16" cutting diameter the head itself is way smaller than the regular 100 grain. Much shorter with steep angled blades. I'll give them a try but if I lose a deer with them I'll wish I would've just stayed with the old tried and true. Those swhackers still have my interest. I don't like the band idea though. Seems like that could cause an issue at some point.

**Zinergy** · 09-13-2016, 01:30 PM

The band thing scared me too when I first switched to expanding broadheads. I have tried 3 so far, the rage, the G5 havocs and some cheap dunhams brand I can't remember. The rages worked last year without issue but I can tell you from fit and feel the G5s are by far the best feeling. The band that holds the blades closed is plastic and actually locks into place with 2 notches very well. I can't confirm the damage though as I haven't shot anything with these broadheads yet.

**0rion** · 09-13-2016, 06:02 PM

I like those swhackers because of the tip design. The first thing that hits the deer is a tip very similar to the muzzy then the blades open after that. I think I would be more apt to use those than any where the blades are the first thing to hit. You couldn't pay me to shoot rage heads. I've just heard of way to many lost deer with them.

**Zinergy** · 09-14-2016, 06:20 AM

They all have tips that hit before the blades.

**0rion** · 09-14-2016, 08:31 AM

that was a short lived experiment with the muzzy trocar. Had the wrong inserts for the broadheads. I shipped them back today. They were tiny ass broadheads anyhow. I put it side by side against a regular 100 gr muzzy and even though they're the same weight and same cutting diameter the regular muzzy dwarfed them. I'm just gonna stick with what I've used forever.