MGH_PA

Congrats Ryan, and Mauser! Haven't been around here much, but finished out the PA rifle season last evening. Passed on plenty of does all season, even in rifle. My dad took a decent 8point on Dec.2, so we have enough venison for now. I saw plenty of deer during rifle as well ( averaged about 3 per sit), and plenty of small bucks, but no shooters. I will hunt a little in late archery over our remaining food source (our winter wheat/rye plot), but I'm not going at it as hard. A bit burnt out, but it was a rewarding season. I certainly saw more deer this year than ever, and had one really nice one within range. Hopefully I can continue to improve over the next year.

mauser06

thanx Matt...


heres a couple pics...



skull my buddy boiled for me...i gotta touch up the bases a bit...i dont know how he does the bleaching but sometimes its on the antlers and sometimes its not....cant complain for a FREE euro....he even did the bottom jaws and glued everything back in place for me(i have them off i was examining them )

heres the only pic of the deer i have....well, a couple others but same thing..hanging in the garage...just a big mess with dead batteries etc...love my camera...but stinks when its dead because it has its own battery...might have to buy a spare to keep handy....wouldnt be a bad idea.....




still dont know how old he is...im definently saying 3.5+ based on teeth wear and color for what i can tell....just looking at the full body tells me he is mature...i dont know that he was on the decline...maybe just bad genes or nutrition...definently wasnt a baby!

and yes, the busted G2 does make him legal...it measures 1.5" or something...definently over an inch....i know you guys wouldnt likely call me out on it....but i wont post it anywhere else because i know it would turn into a disaster with me trying to prove its legality!

rybohunter

Nice buck mauser. Sure does have a big body, as far as age goes though I am not one to even take a guess.

I'm guessing you had a real good look at him to pick out that busted off tine [8D]

mauser06

actually knew it was busted before i shot...seen the good brow and the nub...i knew the nub was going to be close but felt confident it was over an inch...actually thought he had the other brow...him and a pile of does trotted right to me on the far side of the ravine and they seemed to stop to try to decide which way to go...


could you imagine me posting him on HPA Ryan?!?! those guys would hang me by my balls...saying he wasnt legal and then saying that im "unethical" and theres no way i knew he was legal...


im poly-ing a couple cherry slabs i cut a year or 2 back....im going to mout the skull on one and mount my first bucks rack on another piece and hang them up...its Christmas break....i usually strip the flintlock stock and refinish it but i finally got it looking how i want...FOR NOW lol...so now i gotta find other things to occupy my time on rainy days....nice days i'll take the shotgun or 22 for a walk small game hunting/scouting for next bow season....

Theinespines3

Nice buck there, and i like the mount.

I am headed out tomorrow to check the camera and then i am hunting sat-tuedsay morning. cant wait. the deer are hitting the unplowed colver that is burried by snow and the uncut corn.

Seen lots of tracks.

Just got wind that there is a 15 pointer out on the farm just across the fence!!!

Will let you know
Mike

mauser06

thanx Mike! good luck!!! food sources would be a hot spot this time of year!


i will have to take a new pic of the mount....got it on a cherry slab hanging on the wall now...also mounted my first bucks rack on another cherry slab...both are beside my first bow kill mount...Christmas break...i get bored and like to tinker...dont get to get out deer hunting till the 26th when our late season comes in...i'll be hunting for a doe or 2 with the flintlock....

i love the euro mounts....but im going to have to start doing my own...sometimes my buddy bleaches the antlers like he did mine...sometimes he doesnt lol....and he used bleach, not peroxide. the bleach will continue to eat at the bone which isnt good...cant complain about FREE...and right now i dont have a place to do my own(smells pretttttty bad for 8 hours!) i will eventually get around to trying to stain the bleached bases to match the color...might be a little tricky being the antlers are kinda different colored..

rybohunter

Mauser, sometimes you can complain about free. I’ll give you a free air conditioner. It doesn’t work and leaks Freon, but you can’t complain about free right?

If your buddy is using bleach, he’s “freely” ruining your treasured trophies. Request that he not use bleach on yours. I’m not familiar enough to know how long the process takes for the bleach to chalk the bone, or if there is anything that can be done to lesson or minimize it.

Mike,
Good luck getting after them, food is the key these days.

kshunter

Nice Looking buck there Mauser, Congrats! I agree, can't complain about free!

We didn't have any luck during the rifle season here. Saw a few doe's and small bucks, but nothing worth shooting. I'll be headed up north of Saskatoon here in about 10 days. It was kind of a last minute thing, but was able to squeeze it in over the Xmas & New Years holidays. Should be some cold weather hunting up there... last I checked it was -25F & -47F with windchill. Hope we see some bucks!

Good luck to you guys still out hunting!

mauser06

rybo, i hear ya! instead of criticizing his methods and telling him what hes been doing for 30 or 40 years is wrong, i had him teach me how to skin the heads and how to boil them....all i need is a place to boil them and i'll be able to do my own...not hard, but its nice to have someone show you the steps and process first hand....his method works....i just dont like the bleach and the way he bleaches...

i dont know how long it takes to break the bone down bad enough that it falls apart...he has some one his wall that are probably 20 years old...

if nothing else, i'll boil them at his place and whiten them myself...but, i think i can find me an outdoor burner that will work perfect and not stink up the house....

Rob/PA Bowyer

Glad to see our team still talking it up. Sorry I've been MIA recently, busy busy busy.

I'm still pulling for ya'll that haven't scored.

Nice buck captain, shame he busted that G2 but he has character and you know how I like character in my bucks.

It's been a fun year guys, keep at it if you can.