PAhunterJEN

Hey Texan Okie - those are nice hogs. I wouldn't mind hunting them sometime. Congratulations!

Eightwgt - I can't see your pic

Illinois Bowhuntin

I havent heard nor seen many of our members in awhile.Hope they are still interested in the contest.If you all come in please say something like just checking in so we know please.I only see a handful of us posting and sometimes I get worried.Must be the dad in me LOL

Bowfreak4life

Hey Dad, Iam here,,LOL,,
I went back to work today,, after 8 weeks off due to surgey, I wish it would have happend now insted of 8 weeks ago..
Jen, nice 8 point,, I would put it down,, good first bow buck..
Tex, those are some nice looking hogs,, Looks like you got bacon for a while.. Just to let ya-all know if You don't see me for a while don't fret I an still here, alot to make up for with work, I will jump in when I can, I got some good bucks pics, I had to take the pic with my cell phone do the quilty is kinda crapy I will try to post it for you all to ooohhh and ahhhhh over..LOL Well I'll talk to you all later. sorry about the pic quilty..

Illinois Bowhuntin

Quality hell that is a nice buck.Tall tines got a little width to him too .Looks close to a P&Y buck.I am guessing 130 ish.Good deer for the team to score on LOL>Good luck and hope you feel better being back at work.I know ho wbeing off can be.I get laid off during the winter usually so in the spring I am ready to go back.

MNpurple

Ok, back from the bear hunt and settled in so I suppose I will be the last to introduce myself.

My name is Craig and I am from extreme SE MN. I am 27 years old and have been bowhunting for 11 years with 17 deer to my credit. Nothign too large, about a 120" 9 pointer is my biggest buck but where I hunt is one of the top B&C producing counties in MN. I tend to be very picky in the bucks I shoot because in MN you can only tag one buck/year, so if I shoot a buck during bow season, my gun season is then over and done with too. I shoot a63lb Hoyt Razortec with goldtip arrows and 100 gr Thunderheads. I just got the Hoyt this year and retired a 9 year old golden eagle. Talk about comingout of the dark ages huh?!?!

I have had my game camera up most of the summer andhave gottena few very nice bucks on it. All summer long I got pictures of bucks and does in bean fields during shooting hours but within the last week as most bucks velvet has come off I have noticed quite a change. I am still getting pictures of does in these fields during shooting hours, butthe bucks have gone completely nocturnal. I haven't gotten any buck pictures during daylight hours.[:@]

Glad to be on your team everyone!

MNpurple

PAhunterJEN

Hey Bowfreak! Oohhh, Ahhhhh...... LOL

My bow is in the shop until tomorrow...
I went in to get my half dozen arrows and asked for advice on why I keep torquing the bow when I shoot. I was told to draw back the bow as if I was shooting. Right away the bowyer told me that my draw length needed to be slightly shortened. So he made a slight adjustment to the bow and had me draw it back again. I could notice the difference right away. By doing this he told me that it had reduced my draw weight. So he increased the weight and I drew again. I told him it felt normal there and he offered to increase it again. I said 'sure why not'. It was now 58 lbs. and I drew it back with no problem. So then he started looking at the bow and noticed that my string looked rough. Forgive me as I don't know all these technical terms, but it's not the shooting string. As he examined the string it began unraveling - four strands were broke! Well, of course, he recommended replacing it. I looked at it and agreed. Four strands looked like 1/4 of the entire string and that worried me. So... I will be picking the bow up tomorrow some time. Oh, and he did say I might have to make a slight adjustment to my sights but other than that everything should be fine and I should be shooting faster and better.
Spent the evening watching a field. There are two areas of corn which had oats planted in between. The oats have been harvested and the feed corn is ready now. I didn't see a thing. But this is the same field that had hunters all over it the other day so maybe the deer are cautious of it now.
Only about 18 days until the season starts here.....

eightwgt

Here ya go Jen

Illinois Bowhuntin

TRhe bucks havent gone nocturnal just yet.If you want to know where they are at then go and fins the oak trees.The acorns are dropping now if you do any reading then you will find out that during Oct acorns are about 80% of a deers diet.They are hanigng back in the oak trees gorging themselves on acorns.So Craig go find them oak trees my friend and you will probably start seeing rubs and scrapes on some lesser used trails leading to them.That is where you need to have a stand at.Or even on the edge of them.If you hunt in the morning then be there at the oaks before atleast a half hour before sunrise.If you are going to hunt them in the evening then make sure you come in with the wind in your face and be careful.They may be there before you get there.
We have a lot of oaks here in southern illinois and I hunt them almost exclusively during Oct.I see almost as much action in the oak flats as I do during the rut.If you can find the white oaks with the little acorns then that is where you need to be at.I am sorry if I am telling any of you something you already know about.But hopefully if one of you didnt know this and uses it and it works then great.
I am buyinga new set of sites as well as a new rest this friday.I will have around 2 weeks to get it paper tuned and sighted in.I dont feel worried the least,I am ready with my stands.I have 2 more to place and then come opening day I am in the woods first 2 days of the season.I do not know just yet what sight I am going with.All I know is it will have a lot of fiber optic in it for low light.As for the rest I am going with a drop away.again I dont know what brand yet.But I am also buying a new 12 pack of Gold Tip arrows.I went to a archery shop today and they didnt have Gold Tip he tried selling me some Beamans LOL.Said they were as close to Gold Tips as he had.Very light and good arrows.Told him if they werent Gold Tip he wasnt going to get me to buy them period.He finally gave up.

MNpurple

I hear you about the oaks. It just seems that in my areas there are so many oaks that it is impossible to zero in on one a cluster of them. They are everywhere and many with acorns, many whites too.

I put on a drop away this year, trophy taker shakey hunter and have been very very happy with it. I just covered the whole thing with moleskin and it has been a great rest. I second all your thoughts about goldtips, love em. If you are having trouble finding them, I have had very good luck ordering from http://www.mountain-archery.com/

Illinois Bowhuntin

No problem finding them.I can about 8.50 a piece 10 miles away or I can go to Gnader MOuntain in Paducah Ky takes abouta hour to get there and pay around 60 for adozen.There is word that Bass Pro Shops s looking at buying property in Carbondale and Word it that Cabela's is opening a store at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta.If all this happens I wont have a problem buying anything.Like I said I have paid $12.50 a aorrow and shot worse then with them then I do the Gold Tips.I will always shoot Gold Tips as long as they make them.