whiskey

You sound irritated to me. To me fair chase has to be determined by the individual hunter. Some deer hunters consider baiting as cheating, but are fine with food plots. Some hunters consider anything but archery equipment as cheating. Most hunters in TN never get an opportunity to hunt deer with dogs, so when they see it or hear about it, they don't understand the sport in it. Same goes for bear hunting. If I shoot a bear that is digging in my trash, or if I shoot a bear that is treed by dogs, or if I shoot a bear that comes into a bait barrel, or if I shoot a bear that I spot and stalk, I still have 1 dead bear. For most hound hunters, the joy of the hunt is working the dogs, not shooting the bear. You mention all the bad apples that trespass and then are rude when confronted. I would say that is probably an unfair generalization. There is a percentage of bad apples in everything, hunting is no different. In 2006 there were 309 bears checked in. 2007 had 337, 2008 had 446, 2009 had 573 and 2010 had 310. So far this year 373 have been checked in. This tells me that there just aren't many bears being killed each year. If you take dog hunters out of that mix, how many do you think would be killed? For comparison, there have been almost 27,000 deer checked in THIS year so far, and gun season hasn't opened yet.

Yep.

There is also a $25.00 rebate from Remington on 597's right now. Rebates and Promotions - Firearm Rebates - Ammunition Rebates

The normal green stocked 597 at Dick's does usually come with a scope. The ones I have seen there anyway. I owned one once and it shot well, no problems. Wish I had kept it as a knock around gun. If you have a choice, get the one with iron sights and get a better scope when you can afford it. Where is TN do you live? Dick's Sporting Goods - Every Season Starts At Dick's - Official Site.

Hopefully fixed

I had forgotten about the "Hunter's Toolbox" on the TWRA website. It is a wealth of information. You can look up all the big game that you have checked in over the past 6 years or so. You can see harvest numbers per county or per WMA. You can check your priority points for quota hunts. Lots of good free info. New Link http://www.tn.gov/twra/hunterstoolbox.html

I guess our county isn't the only one with blind draw issues... I'd like to duck hunt, but I can't seem to get drawn. I didn't even bother going to the blind drawn this year.

Nikon has a free software program called Spot On. You can use it on their website. It allows you to select your caliber and factory loaded ammo, then it gives you an idea of where you will hit at a given distance with a given sighting range. There are lots of other ballistic software programs out there too. For most deer hunters, using common deer calibers and common commercial loads, sighting in 1 or 2 inches high at 100 yards will give you wiggle room out to 200 yards.

I can tell you, without a doubt, hogs are here to stay. No season or lack of season can undo the hog population. They are too efficient at breeding and adapting to habitat and hunting pressure to eradicate them. Ask Florida, Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma how to eradicate hogs. Among the allowable methods are spot lighting, feeders, no limits, no restrictions for weapons or methods. They all still have hog problems. Certainly, restricting hunters from shooting them, when an opportunity allows, is not the answer. The news paper article points to a larger problem with the TWRA council. That problem is writing "easier to enforce" laws. They are focused on helping the officer in the field, rather than the law abiding hunter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

Not naming names, but the laws are extra confusing if you have been sniffing Hoppe's #9 for too long.

First you need to figure out which UNIT you are hunting in. A, B or L. If you are hunting near Nashville, it's likely unit L. The dates and bag limits may vary per unit, so make sure you are clear about which unit you are hunting in. This link has the dates and limits per unit Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - Deer Hunting Seasons For example, Muzzleloader in unit L is open from Nov. 5 till Nov. 18th and there is a 3/anterless deer per day limit. The limit for bucks is 3 per year, statewide, but only 1 buck per day.

Very lucky young lady got a nice deer in Montgomery county. From this thread: http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/DTCBUCKHUNTER/1029111138a.jpg[/img]]Tennessee Deer Talk: Really nice Montgomery co. juvi buck

You add BACON! I have to admit that I have never eaten one of these, but now that it has bacon, I may try it... Welcome to KFC.com

Congrats Alleycat and lil' miss alleycat. Nothing better than sharing a hunt with your daughter.

I got a T/C Impact last year and killed two deer with it. I'm gonna try and bust some lungs again this year.

Good luck to all the kids. We are sleeping in tomorrow. We may do a little spot and stalk in the afternoons/evenings if my daughter is up for it. She's had a rough week, so I didn't push back when she asked to just sleep in. She's not really fired up about gun hunting this year. She got a bow last Christmas and she is practicing for a Thanksgivings week bow hunt that we have planned. We may just go get in some bow time this weekend and skip hunting all together.

I buy the sportsman's license every March. Since I hunt turkey, deer A/M/G, small game, fish, fish for trout, WMA's and put in for draw hunts (free for sportsman's holders) I think I get my moneys worth.

I owned a T3 Lite in .308. It was a nice gun and shot well, but I let a friend borrow it and he pestered me until I finally sold it to him. I would buy another.

Ultra Light Handi Rifle. I bought a UL handi in .243. It wouldn't shoot minute of paper plate at 50 yards. I tried playing with it, doing the helpful hints I found on the net, brough a dozen different rounds to test, only shot 1 round every 15 minutes, changed scopes and mounts.... it still wouldn't shoot for crap. So I sold it and bought a UL Handi in .223. I figured I had just gotten a lemon with .243. Wrong. The .223 had the same crappy results. Being a stubborn fool, I tried even harder to get the .223 to shoot. It wouldn't.

If he is 13 and over 120 pounds, go with the 12 guage if you want to give him a shotgun. A mossberg pump is hard to beat as a first gun. A .22 rifle is hard to beat as a learning tool. It is also a great squirrel gun. Cheap to practice, no recoil problems. It will teach him good trigger pulling skills. As for hunting, there are lots of opportunities on public land near you. You and your son would have lots of fun hunting together if you approach it correctly. I'd recommend starting with squirrels as soon as you get licensed and have the basic marksmanship skills down. This could be as soon as this winter. Deer season is over in early Jan, and the public land is usually empty after that. You and your son could spend some time in the woods and teach him the value of enjoying the sport more than the harvest. Deer hunting can follow the next year after some considerable range time with the 30-30. I was 13 and about 100 pounds when I started with a 30-30. He should be fine as long as you start him off right.

Probably a peanut allergy I know what you mean, I have been chasing my wife around the house, but she don't want nothing to do with me.

I need something with backpack straps. I can't tote my gun and my coffee and my comfortably chair if I have to carry a duffle bag.

I have only used Cabela's duck decoy mesh bags with backpack straps. Works well for turkey decoys and it's cheap.

Big congrats on his first deer!

On a side note: if you are looking at fixed power scopes, take a look at the Weaver K-Series for hunting. Fixed powers are lighter and generally though to be "tougher". No moving parts leaves less things to break.