Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Birth of a deer camp

Pam, if I know Joey, he's pretty fired up its his birthday....maybe not as much as you get but I'll bet he's excited.

I can't wait to see the pictures of his present.

I hope not!

Bill,
You will have to keep us informed of all the prep and of course a detailed account of the trip itself. Is the hunt in the mountains? If so, are you planning on an exercise program of some sort? I just started one for my archery elk hunt this fall (if we get drawn-find out really soon!).

Happy Birthday Joe!

Happy Birthday Joey!! Man you're growing up WAY to fast!

Charlie - I have the same problem with bait casters. Cast and untangle. Repeat.

I do run a Shimano on a Scheels Outfitter Tournament Series rod but I only use it for jigging and trolling.

I use spinning reels for casting.

Bill - Color me jealous! I would LOVE to do that!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,JOEY!!!!
Stan in SC

What are you doing? I highly recommend biking/spinning mixed with running/stair-climbing. You get GREAT cardio benefits without trashing you knees too much.

I wish I had started biking twenty years ago.

And, no, you don't have to wear spandex or lycra. Mountain biking cloths are baggy and usually have muted colors.

As a bonus, the scenery in spin class doesn't suck.

Big lures with spinning reels gets bothersome after a while. One you get it down, you can go a long time between rat's nests. If you are going to throw big lures, you will be better off learning to use a properly set up baitcaster. That makes a huge difference. Start by increasing spool tension until you get no backlashes and you can tell it is too tight. Then slowly work your way looser. Your thumb is your backlash control. Once you get it, you will enjoy it.

The terrain is quite varied BM. Extremely steep in some areas and flat expanses in others. I won't be hunting the steep stuff I can guarantee you. Lots of swamps, lakes and rivers. I will have to do some conditioning for sure. Craig (Our guide) told my son to tell me he has a side by side UTV that he and I will ride in. My son will use a quad.

A heavy braided line helps as well. Find something with little or no memory & a large diameter. It saves a lot of tangles & they are easier to untangle if/when it happens.

I like 70# braided Kevlar on my baitcasters. Northern pike & catfishes with that set-up.

Happy Birthday Joey, have a great one.

OK here's the skinny on baitcasters

Use good guality line but only put about 50-60 yards on it while you practice and learn how to set the break. Hold the rod tip at about one a clock position and push the button with your weight or lure tied on when the weight hits the floor it should not back lash it it does tighten up the break .

And don't cast into the wind ! Always use your thumb to slow down the spool . Get outside and practice !

You can do it heck my wife uses them too!

Once you get used to them, you will have the spool much looser so that if you let it hit the floor, it would backlash. But that takes a little practice.

Casting into the wind is dependent on the lure thrown to a great degree. Throwing a bucktail into the wind is frought with danger of a backlash. Throw an aerodynamic lure that is fairly heavy and you can get away with it after some practice. If you plan to do a bunch of casting, I would recommend baitcasters wholeheartedly!

It's definitely and acquired skill. Working into the wind you learn to keep your casts a little lower and shorter, use your thumb a bit more, and tighten up the spool brakes a bit. There's not a better platform for big fish, and also for speed work, like buzz baits and fast spinnerbaits. Hearing you guys talk about the Schimanos and Diawas, I just might have to pick a couple up and see what I think. I just had such good luck with my Ambassadeurs, it's hard to change. A good 5000 with a set of speed gears installed is a pretty tough reel to beat.

That is a happy face. You did good he will enjoy that for years. Happy tenth Birthday young man.

GREAT present!I am presuming that is a 30-30???
I have a friend whose son hunts with one and he uses a hand rolled 110 grain load. He killed two 8 point bucks this past year. Bang,flop.
I have his load and have loaded some of these. They are very accurate in my bolt action 30-30.

Stan in SC

Looks like an 'enry!

Very nice. Joe is going to really enjoy that rifle.

Son is looking at a Ruger American Compact in 243 for the GS.

Actually it's a rimfire. a Winchester 9422M (22WMR)

Pam got me one 10 or 12 years ago.... 12.

I've always liked the 9422's, buttery smooth, very well made little rifles and accurate too.

I started stock piling and stashing them away after I learned that they were no longer making them.

Nathan got one when he turned 10 as well. (almost 7 years ago)

From the bottom to the top, my 9422M, Joey's 9422M, Nate's 9422M and oddball Taylor's pink 10/22.