Rybo - I reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised by the Nova's performance. Either way, good luck getting everything together. That's stress that you don't need right now. Hey man, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I swear, things always wait until the worst possible time to malfunction. I think it's a law of nature. By the way, if you ever want to dredge up some new hunting grounds, just drop me a line and I can help. I'm not shy at all about asking. I know a lot of good areas in Fayette and Greene Counties, and I wouldn't mind expanding my ventures into Washington Co.

Sum - good luck on the new bow. You'll see that there's not that much difference between the $400 bows and the $800 variety, other than the name. Check out the Reflex Highlander - it's a good bow for the price, with good warranty. I shoot an eight-year-old Jennings (airmaster), and I'm getting the same speeds and performance that most of the '05 models are getting - so you don't necessarily need the latest & greatest. You just have to read between the lines and do your homework tosee through the marketing. I'm probably gonna have toupgrade my bow sometime in the next three years too. I like the Allegiances, but there's no way I'm spending that kind of dough on a bow. I need furniture. LOL

Hoosier - I'm with you on this one - I'm a little (a lot)jealous of our lucky elk hunters.

Oh, and I figure I'll just throw this out to you guys while I'm on the subject of traveling to hunt - if any of you guys want to make it out to PA for some archery hunting (even rifle season), I can hook y'all up with some good places to hunt, and an air mattress in my spare bedroom. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to get off work (9-5)to go with ya, but I can personally take you to your stands in the morning and pick you up every night if you don't have a car or don't wanna pay to rent one. I'll also offer round-trip shuttle service to/from Pittsburgh International. Also, I have access to my family's hunting camp in the Allegheny National Forest - it sleeps about 18. Very isolated, with miles and miles of access to public land. Not the greatest hunting, but there are some deer, and it's quite peaceful, complete with that "Pennsylvania Deer Camp" kinda feeling. You won't see another hunter. I know it's nice to get out and see other places, so if any of you guys have some vacation time, y'all can come out. If you wanna bring your wife/girlfriend/hunting partner, that's cool too. Mi casa su casa.

Scouting update: Last night I was out again - complaining wife in tow. Totally amazing - it was a severe electrical storm, complete with intermittent showers. The bucks were out and about like it wasn't even storming. No sign of the monster, but I did cross paths with a tremendous 4x4 just up the road from where I park. The big bucks are traveling together, and I finallygot a look atthe boys of summer on my favorite farm. They were too far out to make any kind of positive i.d., but there were four together that were each ear-wide or better, with nice tine length. One of them looks like he's sporting a lot of points, but he didn't stick around.

QUICK - I might have to take you up on that offer. Have any clue on what a non-resident tag costs? There isn't anywhere better than being in the middle of the bush for a four or five days.

Quick,
I'm aware of the Nova's capabilities, as I used one for almost 8 years, this one I'm using now just has different cams. I soldmy bow to a friend who was supposed to get into bow hunting and i figured "selling" it next to nothing would get him down the road for very little investment, but he's just not made the time so it sits in his closet.

And in scouting news, I finally got out to glass a night at one of my spots. I seen a whopper. It was getting real dark, so I don't know exactly how many points, but he was HUGE. One of the taller bucks I've seen, it must be a trait in this area, I see lots of high racks on this farm. And actually there was a smaller one that rack shape was identical he was just smaller. If I had to guess on the big one, I'd put him at 17" wide and g2's that probably go 10".

Rybo - those Novas are good bows. I shot a PSE spirit as my first bow, which may have predated the Nova. That bow is still around, my neighbor's nephew has it now and it still shoots, plastic wheels and all.

Keep tabs on that big boy. His pattern probably won't change all that much between now and 10/1. I hate that when it's just light enough to see the rack, but too dim to see it clearly. The bucks aren't being too shy about hitting the fields before dark these days. If they keep it up, they just might be in trouble on opening night.

Jeff - PA NR licenses run around $110, and your archery license is an extra $30. So you're looking at $140 total. If you do want to come out, consider traveling on Sunday b/c we have no Sunday hunting. You only get one buck tag, but if you'd show up and tag outearly,I could get you on a good farm in WV (1 hour drive from where I live now)- their NR licenses are around the same price.

Deer camp is about a 3.5 hour drive from my home in Sheffield, PA (near the PA/NY border in Warren County). It has propane heat, beds, electric, outhouse,gravity-fed water, stove, 3 br w/ bunks, sleeper sofaand all the amenities. Like I said, I could drop you up there for a week too (but I won't have vacation time to stay). You'd have a tougher time arrowing a big buck there, but it's a really nice place and you can't quite put a value on doing deer camp for a week with no phone, no tv reception (we have tv/dvd/vcr - and you can bring your own playstation) - cell phones do work up there, but reception is spotty. There's a little bar/restaurant within walking distance (under 1 mile) out along the highway. It's a good place for a small hunting party to kick back and relax, drink beers, play cards or sit around the fire, so if you bring a buddy or three along, that's your best option. You can pretty much do whatever you want up there, and it's really nice country. There are a lot of deer, but the woods are seemingly neverending.

Hey boys, its been a while and still have just a little time to get this note out.
Good looking pics. of the families.

Did any of you see the post on the video of your hunts and extra points for the team? ?Cool idea but for the pain and expence I think maybe Huntingnet is getting away from the starting idea. It takes away from the beginner hunter, and may push away new people.

scouting has bee good. I have seen 6 different bucks. 2 spike, 2 6ers. real tall 4, and a nice 10. I am ready to hit it.

I'm hoping, and it looks like the video portion will be a seperate contest. I like keeping things simple.

Here's a few doe pics I got on my trail cam

Ryan thoose are some good looking pictures.

Quick that is a very nice gesture and I wish I could take you up on it but right now cash is so tight that I don't think I will make it up their to hunt. I hope that some time in the future I will be able to make it up their to hunt.

I hope all is going well and will talk at you guys later.

William

Hey Quick,
Maybe we could all try to get to the camp for turkey season. The team! That would be real cool.

Hoosier, Where do you live?
I am in Tecumseh.

Hello, again. I've been busy hanging a few stands, shooting, glassing the fields, etc. I'm hoping to pick up a new trail cam this weekend at Bass Pro. I've got the Mathews dialed in, but I think I need to get ME dialed in. I'm having a hard time shooting over 50 times a night. I guess its time to break out the bowflex, lol. Darn office job, I'm turning into a flabalanche.[:'(]

Rybo - Do you have a digital trailcam, or is that a scanned 35mm? Either way, those are very nice pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing more. Any word on your replacement limbs yet?

Button - You might have to start double-dosing on your Geritol or just slamming down two or three Ensures before you go out to shoot. You might need Extra Strength Geritol. If that's no good, you'll have to see a doctor for some heavier stuff. Just kidding. --- Fifty times!!?? Holy cow - I can't remember ever shooting my bow that much. 10-15 shots every week or so, that's as good as it gets for me. I must be a slacker when it comes to shooting. I get bored and sidetracked real easy. Glad to hear you have your stands up already. I've been slacking on that, but I do have a couple still hanging from last year.

AR/Hoosier - you guys are welcome to make a road trip out here to hunt anytime - turkey, deer, anything.

Scouting update: I went out glassing on Tuesday night, and saw 10 bucks. Six of them I hadseen before, all scrubs with a nice seven pointer. Four were new - one is a really high-racked five pointer that will be really nice next season. The other three came together at dark. At least two of them were ear-wide, and I couldn't even get a look at the third, I just know he had antlers. One of them didventure out into a well-lit area and he looked like a mainframe eight, maybe 15-17" outside, but it was so dark, I can't be sure. I'm always positioned at least200 yards away on a knob overlooking the field. Some of them are wayout there, pushing 600 yards. They were sparring again, and this time I took my buddy along, so I have a credible witness. It was the same group of younger bucks as last timethat were pushing each other around (7, 6, 6, & 4).

They just come out of the woodwork around this one soybean field starting around 7:00.This field is surrounded by low brush, not treestand accessible anywhere. It's a PRIMO spot for a groundblind in the edge, but I'm gonna be hunting mostly on the opposite end of the farm, tucked away behind the cornfields. I'd like to get a trail cam in there.