I haven't seen one up yet and with the season well under way I figured I'd start one up. Always fun to see pics and read good hunting stories. I got this mulie on day 3 of archery season at 34 yards. He was too nice and too close to the truck to pass on. Speed goat tag starts this weekend so hopefully have another one coming soon.
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Hunting & Fishing 2023 Grip and Grins thread
- Thread starter zeroz
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They have a spray product out now that is supposed to work really well VelvaLok. I dont have any experience with it but good reviews.
I cut off the horns and they went in a bucket of methanol for 2 weeks. They look beautiful. I saved the head in the freezer and am waiting to do the euro on it at the same time as both of our pronghorn. 
I did the old lady's little muzzleloader buck she killed in velvet a couple years ago by soaking rags of formaldehyde wrapping them and then wrapping that in plastic wrap. I re soaked them every few days and left it like that for a couple weeks. It still looks good 3 years later. That dude was days from shedding and didn't have any soft horn and the velvet was pretty dry already. The guy above still had soft tips and I didn't want to risk it so I got methanol, which is what the real taxidermists use. I felt like a hack chopping the horns off but I guess its what they all do from what Ive read. Hopefully I can get them back on right and it looks good or I'll be pretty bummed. I'll post up a pic when its done.
I did the old lady's little muzzleloader buck she killed in velvet a couple years ago by soaking rags of formaldehyde wrapping them and then wrapping that in plastic wrap. I re soaked them every few days and left it like that for a couple weeks. It still looks good 3 years later. That dude was days from shedding and didn't have any soft horn and the velvet was pretty dry already. The guy above still had soft tips and I didn't want to risk it so I got methanol, which is what the real taxidermists use. I felt like a hack chopping the horns off but I guess its what they all do from what Ive read. Hopefully I can get them back on right and it looks good or I'll be pretty bummed. I'll post up a pic when its done.
I can’t speak to antler in velvet specifically- our deer are well in to hard antler by bow season- but of all of the euro mounts that I have had done by taxidermists, exactly 0 had the antlers cut from the skull and reattached. Well, I do have one that I mounted the antlers on a “replica” skull (but that was my DIY, not a taxidermist). It looks pretty good from a few feet away. It won’t pass the “sniff test” if you’re actually holding the mount.I cut off the horns and they went in a bucket of methanol for 2 weeks. They look beautiful. I saved the head in the freezer and am waiting to do the euro on it at the same time as both of our pronghorn.
I did the old lady's little muzzleloader buck she killed in velvet a couple years ago by soaking rags of formaldehyde wrapping them and then wrapping that in plastic wrap. I re soaked them every few days and left it like that for a couple weeks. It still looks good 3 years later. That dude was days from shedding and didn't have any soft horn and the velvet was pretty dry already. The guy above still had soft tips and I didn't want to risk it so I got methanol, which is what the real taxidermists use. I felt like a hack chopping the horns off but I guess its what they all do from what Ive read. Hopefully I can get them back on right and it looks good or I'll be pretty bummed. I'll post up a pic when its done.
That’s a nice deer regardless.
Only for velvet. No reason at all to pull them if its hard horned. Ive never done it on any of my other ones and like I said, I felt dirty doing it. Hopefully I dont regret it. I would have regretted the velvet rotting off and having to pull it so Im taking my chances on this one. The velvet was so nice I wanted to make sure it lasts.
Got it done this morning. Not a giant but he’ll do, especially since the tag is punched. Now we need to find the old lady a doe. .260 CDG’s cherry is popped!
Solid buck!! Congrats man!
My fiancé’s second year hunting and first spot and stalk.
Previous was a ground blind with food plot. Got her hooked on it!!
No kill for her, and now she realizes the need for more practice getting into position and rapidly settling into the shot.
Had good shot opportunities, she isnt fast enough yet (in our house, we leave being quick at things up to me!
)Proud of her for knowing her limits and not rushing and buggering up an animal.
She learned a lot and had a darn good time.
Fired her up for more hunting and the chase.
That has been the old lady’s problem in the past. Cost her one yesterday. She dumped a doe this morning tho. 440yards off the tripod. It was good
Got the goat knocked out.
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Punched my tag on a small 4x4. 630 yards through the heart with my semi custom tikka 300 wsm and 212 ELDX
My daughter dropping the hammer on her first deer. 
Proud Dad moment.
Proud Dad moment.
I finally got the velvet euro put back together. Turned out pretty decent. The skull got left in the peroxide a little too long so it's a bit pitted. The antlers went back on pretty well and the velvet looks great after the methanol soak.
There are two kickers but only one would technically count since the other is just a nub. Thats about as good a pic and any, they're pretty small. Gives him some character beyond a "boring" 4x4 with brows.
Second season bull tag starting Saturday. If I can dump a decent one it will have been a pretty damn good season for horns and meat in CO. All I drew this year was the pronghorn and I ended up with that archery deer and a 2nd season bull. Maybe my luck will carry though that and to Indiana and then Alabama for whitetails. Sounds like you dumped a cow first season; saw you bragging about eating backstop and drinking whisky in another thread.
Second season bull tag starting Saturday. If I can dump a decent one it will have been a pretty damn good season for horns and meat in CO. All I drew this year was the pronghorn and I ended up with that archery deer and a 2nd season bull. Maybe my luck will carry though that and to Indiana and then Alabama for whitetails. Sounds like you dumped a cow first season; saw you bragging about eating backstop and drinking whisky in another thread.
I had a second season rifle tag in CO a few years ago. I hope you do better than me. All I saw were hunters, and plenty of them. Moreover, we hiked a good ways into one of the wildernesses and we’re still covered up in them.
OTC hunting here is tough. Pressure is high and success rates are low. This isn't an OTC tag and as much as I hate to jinx myself, a lifetime of hunting here and building relationships for thru access tells me I'll have a slightly different experience, though you never know these days. OnX and other software like it have definitely increased pressure in some of the fringe spots that I hunt.
I have also heard that if the bleaching was not complete, you can use that KILS white paint.
I suppose if it looked real bad you could paint it white. I cant imagine it would look great, and certainly not have the sheen of real bone. If I had one that wouldn't whiten I would probably just have the old lady do some of her artsy stuff with it. She has done some pretty cool ones with hers. I had her do one for a fishing buddy of mine who got married last year. I shot a 2x3 whitetail (for '23) and I told her I wanted a brown trout theme with a color scale that goes with their house deco. Turned out sweet.
I have had the peroxide get through my masking job and whiten a little bit of antler before. I sparingly dabbed it with provincial stain. You can dab a little and go slow to match the color back in. You could definitely fake it and make them super dark if that was your thing, hell you could use ebony.
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As per usual with bulls, it was in the bottom of the nastiest country around. My buddy and I definitely worked hard for every delicious pound of meat ( 219# when trimmed and wrapped)
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Holy Crap that is a beauty!!
Congrats man
My buddy got a big bull last year, 80 yds to a 4x4 road we could get a truck down.
Never happened before, likely to not happen again.
We dont hunt elk because it’s easy!
Congrats man
My buddy got a big bull last year, 80 yds to a 4x4 road we could get a truck down.
Never happened before, likely to not happen again.
We dont hunt elk because it’s easy!
That thing is a tank! Congrats. Im back at em this afternoon. Passed on a small 5 pt on opening day and my buddy shot a cow out of the herd. Got it butchered up and am headed back out to try and fill this bull tag.
He certainly got bigger the longer we looked at him. 1's and 2's were over 23" except one, 3rds were 23" and swords were 18"
There were some other 6x6 bulls in the area and even a 7x7, but this one dwarfed them in frame size.
There were some other 6x6 bulls in the area and even a 7x7, but this one dwarfed them in frame size.
NOT a monster, but one of the "triplets" that walked under my stand to refresh the scrape they all visit. I shot this one about 2 weeks ago to get on the board and get the monkey off my back...the way this season is going, I'll probably give up soon and just tag out on one of the other two (actually tomorrow or Thursday if I can get out).
Here he is refreshing the scrape and leaving his card on the tree above it. 10 seconds later he walked 15' forward and took a NAP Killzone through both lungs at 18 yards.
Here he is refreshing the scrape and leaving his card on the tree above it. 10 seconds later he walked 15' forward and took a NAP Killzone through both lungs at 18 yards.
Holy moly. I watched a harvest that took a guy two days to get out. He ended up deboning and then hanging what he could in game bags up in the trees. So, the first load out was backstrap and hams. I think the next was hide, shoulders, and rack. He was by himself.
So, yeah, if you can hunt with a buddy, and really should on these back country hunts, that is the way to go.
And it is easy to get lost.
Last season, a hunter got lost in one of the smaller parcels of the public land that I hunt. I mean, like, it is about 10 acres total in that spot. But, you can get disoriented. That is why I carry a compass. And also, blaze orange ribbon to tie on to tree branches. I had gotten lost my first time to the bigger section. It was about a few minutes of breathing calmly and I knew which was East and had to head east and make windage to my left and then I found the main trail.
Im a sucker for huge thirds, and those are huge thirds.
I got it done on Wednesday. Super fun hunt. Spotted them on the opposite ridge that I was on (of course) with about 2 hours of daylight left. Hauled ass down and up and got into the patch of quakies that they were filtering through towards a small meadow. Slipped through the aspen with them for quite awhile with the perfect wind. Shadowed them at about 200 yards for awhile. The aspen were too thick and only offering tiny little windows for a shot that I didn't like. With the wind as good as it was I pulled back and hauled ass to try to get in front of them since they were feeding towards the meadow. Got lucky as hell and this guy came sauntering by at 20 yards. He was the biggest one I had seen in the herd but of course the giant ran by when the whole herd filed out of there after the shot. .260 rem, 140 tgk, but was wishing at that instant I had my bow. Three steps and down. Got the euro done and him stowed in the freezer the last few days. Hell of a year in CO. Now Im off to chase whiteys in IN and AL.
Done. Did the typing on the laptop and then added it in with an edit on my phone. You saw it to fast.
Used my smokeless muzzleloader on an antelope buck at 272 yards and a 4 point mule deer at 277 yards. 300gr @ 2650fps seems to knock them down like right now.
Also filled one of my elk tags with a 50ish yard offhand head shot from my 260rem. One more elk tag might try and use my smokeless muzzleloader on that if I go. Neighbor gave me a front quarter from a moose so we plenty of meat going into the winter now.
Also filled one of my elk tags with a 50ish yard offhand head shot from my 260rem. One more elk tag might try and use my smokeless muzzleloader on that if I go. Neighbor gave me a front quarter from a moose so we plenty of meat going into the winter now.
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You have had a good season as well. Solid work. What kind of powder load are you using to get those speeds out with that grain?
67 gr of imr4198 with a 300gr Fury bullet. That's as high as I have tested so far. First group at 400 yards was 2" so I went with it for the season. Trajectory is pretty great for hunting though 1" high at 100 is 1" low at 200, 3.5moa at 300, 7moa at 400
It's a PVA smokeless muzzleloader prefit on a Bighorn Origin with their shockwave brake. Thing is a hammer and I'm not even standing on it. 308 ballistics, crazy energy, and it recoils like my 6creed
My dad and I both filled our cow tags. This was his first big game hunt. Mine was at 763 yards and his was at 753 yards. Both with a 300wm and 215 hybrids
Ahead of time, bake some Jiffy cornbread muffins.
finely chop half of an onion. Clean and finely chop baby sweet peppers.
Clean and finely chop de-stemmed mushrooms.
drain 1 can of low sodium chopped tomatoes or even a few cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes.
In a large pot heat some water, the tomatoes, sprinkle in Fiesta Quick Chili Mix and a teaspoon of baking cocoa.
In a large skillet that is hot, spray some vegetable oil and saute the onions and peppers. Sprinkle some garlic powder on this and in the pot.
Lightly brown the elk meat, do NOT overcook. Just as the meat is browning, throw in the mushrooms.
Add skillet contents to the pot and stir and turn the heat to low for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and cover for a few minutes.
Crumble a cornbread muffin in a bowl and top with the elk chili.
Heck, just invite me over and I will cook.
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