Mike,

Thanks for the offer. I am pretty lucky to have asolid accountant, she seems to save/make me money yearly. I won't be afraid to ask questions though if some come up.I just give her all my paper work and she does wonders with it!

Just a little update. I was able to get some quality scouting in for next archery elk season guys. I went intoa coolspoton Saturday for the day...into a new area near my new home location. Dang did we get rained and snowed on...gortex..is pretty key here...I was very pleased with what I found. I went to look this big drainage over and shed hunt it. The quad ride in was wild. We had to traverse a creek bottom that was raging at times we had our quads almost completely under water to get them across the channels. Oh well anything for a good scouting outing.

A friend of mine whom doesnt bowhunt wanted to show me this area. I told him I had a couple buddies from HNI coming out to bow hunt elk. He only rifle hunts, hethought this would be a great place for us to get on some bulls during the rut. I loved the area. Very steep out of the creek bottom but once I got up about 200 yards the country is loaded with thick timber on the norths and open glades on the souths. Big benches, great looking elk habitatand it was full of ELK!!!! We saw 1 big 6x6 and a nice young 4x4 bull ..along with a big group of cows we jumped. The bulls were hanging out together but seperate of the cows. This area was littered with elk and moose rubs as well. Anyway guys, Mike and Rybo, just wanted you to know I amgetting a little homework in. THis is an area that will hold elk year around, ithas everything they need and isnt the easiest to hike around in.The more options and spots we have the better come Sept..have a good one guys..

I shed hunted Sunday then it snowed pretty good. I didnt find a bone! grrrrrr

Troy

Shed, I would like to give that elk hunting a try one day, It would not be this next year but someday. I will keep you in my mind, and if you would still be willing at that time, I will try to put it together. Thanks and best wishes to your family.

Do you have a Cabelas near by you? There stores are great just to wonder through.

Hi Guys - greetings from San Antonio - stopped here overnight. Will be going down to Chrystal City tomorrow - will start hunting at 1:00 and hopefully havepictures of some porkers tomorrow night!!

Hit two Cabela's on the way down - Fort Worth and Budah TX - KC was not quite open when we went through!

Take Care - Mike

Good luck Mike - hopefully we can see some success pics. I'd say your calendar will be pretty crowded as tax time approaches. Hey - I can deduct my student loan interest, right? Good luck on your hunt - I'm fiendin' for some fresh hunting stories.

Troy - have you found any of this years' sheds yet? I went out for a walk Saturday morningw/a friendand wefound a dead 9 pointer (about 14"), but no sheds.It was amainframe eight with a 2" kicker coming off the back of the left beam right at the G2. Whew did he stink - the meat was eaten, all that was left was a rotten fur with with some inedible guts.My friendthinks it was a buck that his neighbor hit in rifle season, so we're sending him in there to get it. Stunk too bad to carry out, and no saw. He'd have been a really nice buck this season. BTW - I hope that fender bender works out for ya - insurance adjusters can be ruthless.

Rybo - Nemacolin Woodlands is having a coyote hunt ($5/team) sometime soon. I think my calendar is crammed, but if I enter a team, I'll shoot you a PM, and you can jump in the fray if you like. Not much on my agenda (hunting-wise)between now and spring turkey - just gotta get out there and shore up some new ground and scout.

Button - good luck getting settled in with the new house

Hoosier - just keep an eye on the turkey forum - there's a lot of useful info there. It takes a lot of practice - but if you can mimic the sounds, eventually you will succeed.

I swear, I have no freetime anymore. I'm getting married in June, so this wedding is really a lot of work, and is eatin' up my free time.We'regetting married inPunta Cana, DR. Should be fun, but more hassel than I planned on...

Troy - I still owe you for the shirt.

My fiancee is really wondering what XX means, she's convinced that it's stripclub-related, but the names on the back really throw her for a loop. LOL It's one of those deals where girls get inquisitive about something (no matter how stupid) and if you're just cryptic enough in your answer, they really start to wonder, and it turns into a big deal, which really gets funny. The more she wonders, the more I wear it.

Quick, Congrats man! I didn't know you were tying the knot. My wife has questions about the XX shirt too LOL. If its clean and it fits, I'll wear just about anything lol.

Troy
Great to hear about the elk scouting. I am completely confident in you.

Quick,
Sounds great, pretty much anything after super bowl weekend I should be pretty clear. It still hasn't sunk in that we are headed to the super bowl. GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!

Mike,
Can't wait for the TX update. Best of luck.

As for me, not much going on except following the steelers hoopla, this city is crazy with excitement. I've been hiking and shed hunting in a park near my house. I have found 2 coyote kills in 2 weeks. Boy do they make short work of a deer. I'm going to have to start doing some calling from adjacent lands. So quick, if that hunt allows yotes from anywhere, I'll have one local spot to try.

Howdy Guys,

Well I gotta pull for the Seachickens...since they are the "Northwests" team.Should be a good game, Steelers are tough...

Everything is going pretty good here, we finally got some nice weather. Sunny and cold. My buddy and I went back into the general area where we scouted last week and we saw a HUGE bull. Monster 7x7 350 + bull, a real pig. Probably the best bull I have seen in these parts for some time. There was a good foot of snow or more on the ground so we didnt shed hunt to hard, instead we looked for deer andelk/elk sign...etc.

Quick you don't owe me a thing for the shirt.... no sheds this past week, the recentsnow covered any of the fresh ones in the area I was scouting. I will be back out again this weekend.

Mike have a good hunt, I wish you well.

Ryan, Mike, I will get that Elk vocolization out in the mail ...sorry been busy and forgot about sending it... I will get on it..

Thanks for kind words, Button - but the closer it gets, the more my feet are getting "chilly." LOL

I know what you're sayin' Rybo - it's getting crazy in the burgh. I'm trying to geta bunch of friendsto go over to the Southside to watch the game. I don't want to miss out on anything.This could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Pittsburgh go totally nuts. It's a tough sell, though, b/c we all know that there will be about 90 Million people over there, andsome of themare alreadywhining about it being "too crowded," andthey "gotta get up for work pretty early." ............nancies.... I told 'em to buck up and take the skirts off,and it's looking like my idea may be gaining some steam... time will tell.

What are you doing for the game?

By the way - we went to that new country placeat Station Squarecalled "Saddle Ridge," and it's a good time. There are lots of scantily clad lassies, dolled up like Coyote Ugly and Jessica Simpson in the Dukes. Also, they have a mechanical bull for $3 per ride - and that's the most fun thatyou can on this planethave for 3 bucks, as far as I know. If you do good, the drunks will cheer you on.

The crowd ranges in age from 21to60, so there's a pretty diverse crowd. Lots of cowboy hats, leather, camoand corsets. $5-10 cover, drinks are about $3 each. If you haven't made it over there yet, you and your wife would probably get a pretty big charge out of it. Make a fictitious birthday reservation, and get the cover charge waived. So, when you account for the eye candyand the mechanical bull, it's worth the trip. Really funny to watch the drunks fall off the bull all night. The later it gets, the more they think they belong on the PBR circuit.

Troy - come on, man - the Steelers are the official football team of TEAMXX. You should know that. If they win, the Steelerslogo might find it's way onto the DEFENDING CHAMPS banner. Just maybe....

Coincidence that the soon to be super bowl champs are from pittsburghand the HNI bowhunting champs have 2 guys from pittsburgh on thier team......they don't call it the city of champions for nothing.

Hey guys, supper bowl around the corner and only about 45min. away and cant get a ticket!!! What kind of sport makes the best game of the year only posible to view from the TV????? Unless you know someone...

Anyway, did anyone notice that we out scored the gun hunters? Thats sweet!!!! Have a good weekend fellas
Mark