@Anastasis What part of Texas? That's a huge deal for me as far as aging a buck.
Regardless of horn size and structure, the body structure of a typical mature deer in one region of TX can vary from that in another.
I like what TexasBuckRegistry has done in putting out some photo charts showing age range by region.
So much this - Leave me at the altar. Don't marry me, knock me up, and then takeoff.
Be upfront and open. Tell them the situation. You may be pleasantly surprised.
That's not odd in my club!!!!!!!!!!!
A stranger said something to me in a restaurant once (it was possibly tinged in sarcasm from my perception) in the late 90's and I didn't have a good comeback but thought of one 3 days later....after hours of spinning over it.
I looked for her every time I went back there and fanaticized about when I would see her ........and I'd say this and she'd say that then I'd do this and she'd do tha................
Hours spent reliving / re-feeling something - only about 1% of which ever happened. She made my resentment list.
My sponsor pointed out that had I actually run into her years later (hell, even minutes later), she'd have thought I was a mental ward escapee babbling incoherently.
I never drank the way I really wanted to when in public. I would control my drinking (would control it but wouldn't enjoy it) until I got home and could drink the way I wanted to.
Socially, many of my friends would drink more than I. The difference was they chose the amount they drank, enjoyed themselves, and when they went home, they went to bed. For me, the only thing the few drinks I had would accomplished was to make me more thirsty.
Had I drank in public like I really wanted to, I always picture the scene to be like in a movie when the needle is drug across a record and the whole party turns and stares in shock and silence. Drinking vs. DRINKING - sort of like naked vs. nekkid.
Seems to be some signs. They can compensate and make you question yourself and if you are over reacting but something is up. The docs will have some tests they can do which can show the deficiencies or compensation.
Best to get a diagnosis now. It will only get worse- never better.
@BabaYaga isn't doing it justice when he says inedible. It's worse. I'm convinced they'll ruin a good smoker or grill, and you wouldn't dream of putting one in the oven inside your house. I had a buddy load one in the back of a suburban and damn near had to sell the vehicle because he couldn't get rid of the smell.
You might be able to choke down a young ewe, but an old ram will gag you.
He's also right about them being hard to kill.
Part of that is that they are as tough as an anvil and the other part of that is the fact that their anatomy is slightly different than a whitetail.
Similar to a lot of African species, their heart is further forward in their chest than a deer. A typical whitetail hunter will shoot one behind the shoulder expecting to get heart and lungs, but will only get lungs. They can take a helluva pounding and go a long way on a lung shot.
That's also why they're so hard to kill AND recover when bowhunting. They aren't going to die anywhere close when only lung shot. With a broadhead, you have to get a quartering away angle and tuck the arrow behind the front shoulder and angling into the front of the chest cavity to get cardiac tissue.
Finally, their hide is tough and seals up, so they leave a shitty blood trail.
Amazing animals!
@CHIEF That's a big goat! I think I can smell him from here.
I'm pretty sure the freeze took a toll on the ones in the hill country - not to the extent it did on axis and blackbuck, but our number appear to be down this summer.
Those are cagy beasts. Nothing I hunt is as wary as they are. They can be a pain in the ass if their numbers go unchecked but they can be fun to chase.
I'm not disputing anything about Alex, the family, or all the other ills.
It may well be all Alex (probably is) but nothing with this family seems to be linear except that they are the common denominator in a shit load of grief in this community.
My bet -
Paul is (was) a psychopath who killed his mother in a fit of rage (the multiple rifle shots) and Alex shot Paul twice with the shotgun when he came on the scene, or in defending himself/wife.
Alex then takes both weapons and dumps them in the slough to cover it all up "for the sake of the family", before calling the police.
The enormity of what's happened, along with his own embezzlement surfacing is too much, so decides he just wants to check out, but his hitman misses.
I'm most likely wrong, but that's the feeling I got after listening to the vocal fry podcast.
I certainly hope you and your team are successful. One thing "I think I think" is that while all alcoholics can't imagine life without alcohol, those that are receptive to help are the ones who still can't imagine life without alcohol, but get to the point they can no longer imagine life WITH alcohol. That points to Bear's comments about allowing them the dignity to experience their own consequences. Many die before they get there, but we can recover if we want it and are rigorously honest with ourselves and others.
Without consequences, the screaming disease in the mind drowns out logic and reality. It says we're losing our best friend and our lifeline to ease and comfort. When the heart and soul get sick and tired of being sick and tired - the the gut level feeling of knowing it can't go on like this opens the blinders to another way of life.
I pray your team and those around him can break through that barrier and he comes to realize he can't live with alcohol any longer. Having an recovered/recovering alcoholic talk the language will really help. Seeing a living, breathing, at ease soul who had the same horrific fears about how he'll navigate life without his crutch is the gift of hope for us. It literally feels impossible to us, until we see evidence it can happen, hear our own story in someone else's, relate, and think...maybe there's a chance.
Godspeed.
So much this. My experience has been that deer loathe turkey more than any other wildlife. I can only guess that a flock creates so much movement and noise around them the deer feel vulnerable and their defenses are compromised so they exit quickly.
Never underestimate the power of an addiction to spin a situation so far out of control that even Hollywood couldn't make it up.
Not excusing his actions nor making light of the circumstances, but holy hell, he has to be thinking what else can go wrong - the hitman I hired fucked up my own murder.....what else can go wrong.
The fingerprints floor me. I can't help but think something wasn't right with that finish. It shouldn't be so fragile that a little humidity and fingerprints leave permanent damage. The fact that some cleaners didn't wipe those away at a minimum is incredible.
That's a pretty complex equation that factors in deer density, pressure, normal movement, and other food sources (natural and man-provided). If there haven't been feeders running on the place in some long time period, and if they aren't located in area where the deer move through daily, it may take a few weeks - especially in East Texas.
In areas where the sound of feeders is ingrained in their memory - it's usually a day or two at the most.
They'll find it soon enough.
Yep- it’s the Soviet 30-30 and the 30-30 has killed, oh I don’t know- eleventy billion whitetail. Soft shooting round in a bolt gun- cheap Ammo to practice with. Great truck gun combo or perfect for a new, small framed shooter to learn and hunt with. I’d love to have that CZ either with open sights or a LPVO.
Yeah - Better than that...after you pack it out the feds keep most of the meat and you only get a certain amount.
Helluva deal, but people still line up for it. Mark Twain-ish whitewashing deal.
They'll need to exhume and reinvestigate half of the county's deaths for the last 10 years at the rate this is progressing.
Next thing will be that the old man who died 3 days after his grandson and DIL were killed had received a clean bill of health that morning from his internist.
Looks like I'm going to need a flow chart and accompanying PowerPoint to follow this shitshow.
So swirling around this family they have 4 total dead, 1 "unsuccessful" headshot, a looted law firm account, rehab, a boat crash, a coroner who can't tell the difference in a GSW and a hit and run, and local authorities running cover for the county's royal family ?
This shit would be scrapped by As The World Turns as not believable and too far flung for their sophisticated daytime audience.
There are some buffalo hunts that the feds sponsor to keep the population in check on certain federal properties. You have to meet some requirements and apply through a lottery but that's along the same vein.
Liberal amounts of Ballistol. Find a way to let it soak or saturate and then use a soft cloth to brush it off. It that won't take it off, repeat and then gently use the some very fine bronze wool soaked in Ballistol. Should pull surface rusting right off.
I’ve had factory guys show up this year in U-Haul and Lowe’s trucks. Only ride they could get. Fly in, Uber over an pick it up.
Reservations don’t mean much. More like a wishful request. Make damn sure you have backup plans regardless of reservation or status with the renter.