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So my story is I've never been a deer hunter, I've been deer hunting twice in my life so I am very green to it. Duck hunting just took me over before I could try deer hunting I guess.

Anyway I've been going into the local gun shop for the past few months looking at rifles and today the owner was finally tired of seeing me walk out empty handed and said "what can I do to make you walk out with a rifle" Now I like to think I know a thing or two about shotguns but rifles not so much and in these months we'd talk about calibers and such. I finally decided on a .308 after shooting my friends .270, .308, 30-06 I liked the .308 the best. Long story short I walked out with a nice little Savage 110 in .308 with a decent Bushnell on top. He gave me a deal I just couldn't pass up.

Woot woot gonna put some deer in the freezer this year right next to the duck! I wish my camera on my phone wasn't broken or else I'd post a pic.

Awesome man good luck. I don't deer hunt hardly at all anymore. It's too boring down here with corn feeders, no sport. I usually just pop a few does or spikes for meat ad get back to duck hunting.

Good gun by the way!

My friend's family owns 300 acres and pretty much he's the only one left in the family that hunts so he invited me to come out and put a stand up. How can I turn that down?

That's cool. Lots of people experiment with alternative lifestyles in their youth.

DeadEye_Dan wrote:That's cool. Lots of people experiment with alternative lifestyles in their youth.

Haha.

I very rarely hunt deer anymore. Our lease got too expensive so we let it go. I am dying to stick one with my crossbow though. I've been blanked probably 15 times with it.

Westie25 wrote:I've been blanked probably 15 times with it.

So that's what the kids call facials these days!

I've never killed a deer yet either, have always been totally consumed in duck hunting. I've bought a rifle tag a few times, went one weekend then duck opens and I'm gone. The last two years I made the jump to trying with a bow, this way I get the whole month before duck to try. So far have still been skunked, maybe this year.

It doesn't hold the same action and excitement that duck hunting does.

3legged_lab wrote:I've never killed a deer yet either, have always been totally consumed in duck hunting. I've bought a rifle tag a few times, went one weekend then duck opens and I'm gone. The last two years I made the jump to trying with a bow, this way I get the whole month before duck to try. So far have still been skunked, maybe this year.

It's hard to stick a deer. Takes a lot more scouting a preparation than rifle does. I get tired of carrying my climber around.

I honestly have almost zero patience for deer hunting. Dad quit hunting back in the 80's. I grew up shooting but not hunting. I've been deer hunting maybe 10 times. Skunked every time. I just want to walk out and pick one off from like 200 yards away and go back to bed. I swear I have ADHD and its almost impossible for me to sit still for more than 15 minutes.

I take a lot of naps during deer season.

MOhuntingGuy wrote: I swear I have ADHD and its almost impossible for me to sit still for more than 15 minutes.

This is why I'm still a deer 'virgin'.

I tell you what I cant get enough of, and that's squirrel hunting.

Westie25 wrote:I tell you what I cant get enough of, and that's squirrel hunting.

haha, we've been shooting ground squirrels again this year with our bows.... very fun. I took my buddy out to a field last week, between the two of us we killed 24. That doesnt sound like a lot, but with bows that was our biggest hunt to date. Longest kill was at 40 yards.

Westie25 wrote:I tell you what I cant get enough of, and that's squirrel hunting.

I love shooting squirrels. Thats how I learned how to shoot a .22 really good. Just aim for the eye..

I don't have enough room to use a .22. One place is public that it's not allowed. And the few places around here have houses in the general vicinity. I carry a single shot 20 gauge I got when I was about 9. It's a log too. Always fun to get it out.

3legged_lab wrote:

Westie25 wrote:I tell you what I cant get enough of, and that's squirrel hunting.

haha, we've been shooting ground squirrels again this year with our bows.... very fun. I took my buddy out to a field last week, between the two of us we killed 24. That doesnt sound like a lot, but with bows that was our biggest hunt to date. Longest kill was at 40 yards.

Marmots?

Westie25 wrote:

3legged_lab wrote:

Westie25 wrote:I tell you what I cant get enough of, and that's squirrel hunting.

haha, we've been shooting ground squirrels again this year with our bows.... very fun. I took my buddy out to a field last week, between the two of us we killed 24. That doesnt sound like a lot, but with bows that was our biggest hunt to date. Longest kill was at 40 yards.

Marmots?

Nope. The little ones, some call them whistle pigs, we call em sage rats or ground squirrels. Around here the marmots are in big rock piles, that backdrop is not 'user friendly' for arrows.

Yes no doubt. I had never heard the term 'ground squirrel' before.

Westie25 wrote:Yes no doubt. I had never heard the term 'ground squirrel' before.

We call chipmunks ground squirrels. And regular squirrels are called tree rats.

They taste too good to be called tree rats. Squirrel dumplings is killer.

We just call them that because they are annoying as hell. I haven't ever ate squirrel either. I'm going to give it a try though come fall.

Westie25 wrote:They taste too good to be called tree rats. Squirrel dumplings is killer.

The effort to skin a squirrel vs the reward of meat seems too small to chase them.

Flightstopper wrote:

Westie25 wrote:They taste too good to be called tree rats. Squirrel dumplings is killer.

The effort to skin a squirrel vs the reward of meat seems too small to chase them.

You can knock one out in about 2 minutes.

There was an episode of Anthony Bordain where he was in MO. They showed a way how to clean them. It looked super easy.

I grew up on a farm, and my family still owns m/l 2,000 acres...I cant tell you how many deer I've killed, I lost track many moons ago.
Crop damage permits, disease control permits, block permits, basic antler less tags...for nearly 20 years I shot, and shot, and shot...and they kept coming back.
I bow "hunted" once for about 2 hours...shot 3 deer, gave it up and went back to the rifle for efficiency sake.
Pistols, muzzle loaders, shotguns, rifles, single shots, lever guns, auto loaders, bolt guns, used 'em all...I counted once and near as I could remember I'd killed deer with something like 18 or 19 different calibers.

Thankfully, my nephews are getting old enough to take care of the wet work...I've shot 1 deer each of the last 2 years, haven't needed more than 20 minutes either year.

MOhuntingGuy wrote:There was an episode of Anthony Bordain where he was in MO. They showed a way how to clean them. It looked super easy.

I seen that episode. Some guy slipped in the boat when they were bow fishing and cracked that dome.

I will own a farm one day Dan. It will happen.

DeadEye_Dan wrote:...I've shot 1 deer each of the last 2 years, haven't needed more than 20 minutes either year.

That would be a nice way to pop my deer cherry.