Slappy

Merry Christmas everyone! Even in my ripe age of 29, I still have a hard time sleeping. Haha

:wave:   Fellow contact wearer here!    I've worn them for about 12 years or so.  I started w/ glasses but with all my outdoor activities, I really got tired of them sliding down my nose and not being able to wear sunglasses and see at the same time.  So I switched to contacts and have been very pleased w/ them.  Try out a couple different pairs from your optometrist to find the ones that are the most comfortable for you.  Also, I have noticed different comfort levels w/ different types of solution.  I have 2 astigmatisms that cause haze and streaks from lights, so that sorta sucks when looking through an AimPoint...but for some reason Eotechs to ok w/ me.  Oh well.  Good luck to you and DO NOT make a habit of sleeping in them.  If you do sleep in them, and they get sticky on your eyes, make sure you squirt some rewetting drops or solution (not the peroxide kind) before removing them.  I just yanked them out one time and scratched the crap out of my eye.  That hurt and was the only time I have had to call off of work!  

It's not fair to say Hondas are bad because UTV's are better. You are comparing two completely different machines. I have both a 1997 Honda Foreman that has been duck hunting, deer hauling and recreational use and it's been great. I also have a Polaris Ranger 800. Which is far more comfortable and offers far greater utility but much more expensive. The OP needs to decide on a budget and decide on how much utility he wants/needs before deciding ATV vs UTV. But my point is, Hondas are great machines and cannot be fairly compared to a machine that is completely different.

May be a good time to find the money for my lifetime then.

When would that go through and would it be effective immediately for the 2015-2016 year?

The utility of a Polaris (or similar) Side-by-side/UTV is second to none. We have the Ranger XP 800 and the all electric one. We use them all the time out at our farm. I'd said that if you are a property owner. UTV is the way to go. If you just lease land or joyride, then a regular 4 wheeler would be fine.

Honda Foreman would be the way to go in my opinion. Ours runs like a top and we have not been kind to it. :-)

Very creative givers we have here!  I see now why this was so popular last year. 

Red, we are managin our property to QDMA Standards. Essentially that means year round nutrition, balancing the buck:doe ratio, reducing herd density to match carrying capacity of land (do this by shooting does, not bucks), and protecting bucks 3.5 years old or younger. Scroll back a page or two to see the buck I killed a few weeks ago. He was 5.5 years old.

I'm hunting right now. Hunting over a 30 acre soybean field surrounded by hardwoods. They haven't been hitting the beans too hard lately so it will be interesting to see how my hunt shapes out. But so far I saw one big doe running, then a young 6pt chasing her. I let both keep running.

I'm hunting right now. Decided to sleep in though. In the same field I killed my 10point in but just lookin for a doe or two this time.

Nice stash Parrot! I like that dog tag idea. Very creative.

I ordered my person's gifts yesterday! Glad I went ahead and did it. I'm just having the company I ordered from ship it directly to them as a gift. That way I don't have to go to the icky post office and suffer in those lines.

Luke: I took a good buddy of mine hunting in order to get him a doe.  We get settled into the stand by 2:30pm and at 2:31 a lone button buck comes out into the 4.5acre clover plot we were hunting over.  We watched him for a minute or two and then his twin sister came out.  Then at 2:32 big momma walks out.  So I told my buddy, there is your deer if you want to take her.  He said that he wasn't expecting to get so much action within 60 seconds of settling in the stand and he sorta wanted to wait for a bit so it actually feels like "hunting", LOL.  So we waited a a few more minutes, big momma kept looking back in the woods but seemed more/less unconcerned with what was going on as she and her babies kept munching away on clover.  Well a few more minutes pass by and my buddy has the binoculars going and then says he sees a buck...a big buck.  Now you know plenty of people who hunt, and there are 2 types of people out there who can communicate completely opposite things when seeing a "big buck".  There are the people who say they saw a big buck...and its actually big, and there are people who say they saw a big buck and its actually not.  Well, my buddy falls into the former.  When he said it was big...I knew he meant it.  So I throw my binoculars up and sure enough, the bruiser was just inside the wood line, eating something.  Wasn't chasing the doe(s) but was sticking by to them closely.  He eventually came out and became broadside.  Then i knew this was a shooter buck consistent w/ the goals we have for our property.  So I asked my buddy if it was ok if I shot him, and he said absolutely!  (good friend I got there right?)  So I shoulder the trusty Remington 700 .270 and send a 130gr winchester soft point down to him.  When I hit him, he kicked his back legs up as high as the Eiffel Tower and ran into the woods with his head low.  The next 45 minutes seemed like an eternity.  I shot that deer at 2:45 and we got out of the stand at 3:30 to look for him.  He didn't leave much of a blood trail but it was enough to get to him.  He didn't run 40 yards into the woods.   Such an awesome experience on such a nice deer.  He is a trophy in my book.    Ruger/Luke: So yeah, thats my Suburban...or as I like to call it, my War Wagon. I have a Weathertech Mat in the back there that he is laying on (3rd row seat has been removed to create space for my Doberman and Great Dane as well as Monster Bucks).  I got a little blood outside of the Weathertech but hey, the "U" in SUV means utility and my SUV has never been happier than having a big ole' 10 point in the back.  I mean, it drove straighter, got the gas milage of a prius, and instantly had a new coat of wax on it thats how happy my War Wagon was.  Well, not really any of that is true, but I'd imagine if that old truck had feelings, he would be pretty happy he was being used.  

Got a trophy today! Biggest buck so far for me. We have worked really hard on our property, taking off tons of does and letting nice, but younger, bucks walk to help raise our age structure. This bruiser was 4.5 maybe 5.5 years old. The processor was shocked how big his body was, hard to tell from the pics, but he has had quite good nutrition since we took the property over. Anyways, I am super excited and getting him mounted! Made a perfect double lung shot at ~100 yards. He is a 10pt. I thought he would hit 200lbs, but he weighed in at 180. [url=http://s532.photobucket.com/user/jtv14/media/IMG_4003_zps373be436.jpg.html][/URL] [url=http://s532.photobucket.com/user/jtv14/media/IMG_3990_zpsa529e826.jpg.html][/URL] [url=http://s532.photobucket.com/user/jtv14/media/IMG_4001_zpsc68ff24d.jpg.html][/URL] [url=http://s532.photobucket.com/user/jtv14/media/IMG_3991_zps6c2920f4.jpg.html][/URL] [url=http://s532.photobucket.com/user/jtv14/media/IMG_3993_zpsa1cfdf73.jpg.html][/URL]

I use Dead Down Wind on everything.  Usually rock a Scent Away wafer cover scent.  99% of the time, I don't use any type of grunt calls or doe pee scents and what not.  Last year I had a doe around 300 yards at last light, decided as a last resort to do a fawn bleat.  Well it worked like a charm, she came in to 187 yards and then I put her down.  So, my goal this year is to get a little more experience w/ different types of deer attractants but I don't put a lot of weight into their effectiveness.  But like I said earlier, I never use them, haha.  

I've had a beard before there was such thing as a "hipster" all those effer's saw how awesomely rugged I looked and put their urban progressive spin on it.  As I sit, I am wearing my beard and my flannel, but the difference is...I know how to clean a deer and I actually have a pair.   These wussified beta males need to stop. 

I'll play!

I saw 6 doe and 1 very healthy looking 4pt.  He will be a fantastic deer in the next 2-3 years if my neighbors don't shoot him.  All within 80 yards which was fun.  I elected not to shoot though.  It was a great hunt!  

Had 3 doe come into field but I elected not to shoot. Love seeing things!

I'm sleepy!!! Need Mr Deer to walk out and help wake me up.

Great job man! Color me impressed.

LOL, I can't help but imagine the conversation the deer must have had this morning...."So this guy dressing up to look like a tree is after us. Here's the plan: When he comes in and puts his bow in his stand, then comes down to see if he has any naked pictures of us...at that moment, show yourself, laugh really hard at him and then dissapear!"

Stupid stupid STUPID!  :wall:  :wall:   Yeah, after 18 years of hunting....I make a mistake that likely cost me some backstrap.     So I had a great hunt tonight!  Weather was perfect, wind at my face, clover field thick and lush and deer all over me.     First came out 3 doe.  They came from across the gravel road headed to me.  When they hit about 80 yards out, they alerted to the left and then high tailed it out of there.  I thought, well dang, they were coming right to me...must be a big daddy round the corner!!     About 30 minutes later, 2 nice bucks come from the same area...across the gravel road headed right to me.  They were both 2.5 year old 8 points...one was larger than the other so he might have been pushing 3 years old.  Both trophy's w/ a bow shot for sure!   Nice thick bodies, good racks, just some beautiful animals! Well once they got out to about 75 yards from me...they both alerted to the left and then high tailed it out of there.     I was like BIG BIG DADDY COMING!    Then it hit me...I must have not parked the Polaris quite as concealed as I thought I did.  Sure enough, I walked near to where all 5 deer alerted, and there she was just a sitting right where I parked her.  I mean, this thing is camo and parked behind some sparse brush and about 125 yards away from them....man I feel like an idiot.     Maybe it was a blessing in disguise though because had those doe not alerted and taken off, if one got within bow range I would have taken a shot...and that would have made me miss seeing these 2 bucks....at least thats what I keep telling myself.  :-)      Sometimes I feel like all I learn are lessons! 

    I know there are many here that work much more than I do.  I work 9-6 M-F but last week volunteered to work our Saturday/Sunday shift as well.  So I have been working 10 days straight and have off till Monday...so I am REALLY excited about getting out in the woods.  I am disappointed that it falls over the youth hunt weekend, but hey, I'll keep busy.   Question: If I want to coyote hunt during the youth deer hunt...can I?  I looked at TWRA and couldn't find a definitive answer.