I’ve been witness to one of the craziest bow shots of all time. And personally experienced one of the strangest shooting incidents.

Circa about 1994 some high school friends and I were doing late season bow drives in Pilot Mound MN. The drive consists of actually driving the deer from one property across Hwy 30 then onto another property. The shooters were lined up along the hwy and the deer start coming. I was standing about 30 yards from where the deer were going to hop the fence, right in front of one of our shooters. Well, the small buck stopped broadside right in front of the fence. Our guy let one fly and buried the tip of a muzzy broadhead dead center between the two strands of the barbed wire. Arrow stopped dead on impact. Not a hair was harmed on the deer. It was maybe a 10 yard shot.

The second strange event happened with a muzzleloader about 4 years ago. I was with my young son, and the deer came out into a field at dusk. I steadied for the 50 yard shot and pulled the trigger. One of the deer dropped in it’s tracks. I calmly reloaded and carefully approached knowing that sometimes they can get up and run. As we got closer to the deer I could see it was not dead. So I proceeded to put a round in the back of it’s head. After the shot I was curious where the first shot hit. I couldn’t find the point of impact. It was cold and I didn’t want to mess around too much and wanted to get my son out of the cold and back home. Upon arrival home, my neighbor stopped over and we did a full on necropsy on the deer and couldn’t find another hole anywhere on the deer except in the rear of the skull. There were also no other signs of an abrasion to the skull..thinking perhaps I grazed his head and knocked him out with the first shot. The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is the that one of the other deer standing next to it kicked at the sound of the shot and knocked him out. Or as they turned to run they bonked heads. Either way I doubt I’ll ever experience either of these events ever again.

I’m loving these replies. One year my parents gave me a gift card to magnum sports in chatfield mn. I bought a predator camo jacket and pants. I still have them! That was around 1995. Now my son wears the jacket when we go out hunting.

Grumpy old men. 1 and 2.

God I love MN. I wonder if this strange subculture exists anywhere else?Now let’s go fishing.

I appreciate the info. Just going by the DNR lake survey it looks like small panfish and hammer handle pike. And that is OK, the kids don’t mind what they catch. I will be able to trailer the boat, so I’ve been eyeballing spider lake just to the north. I always like trying out new waters.

Thanks for the info Tyler. Do you suppose the heat could be reduced by using less charcoal and choking down the air intake? Or will that just be a bad experiment?

Thanks for the reply. I remember seeing that post last winter. I’m not sure I want to hassle with having build my own. Just hoping to get someone on here who has used the pit barrel cooker to smoke sausages or snack sticks. From what I have read, it appears sausages require a lower temp, and perhaps the PBC is not good at controlling low temps. Kind of hoping to hear otherwise, as I really like the PBC design…no parts to wear out. I hate having to service my toys.

Good advice for sure. I should have mentioned that my smartphone sure does not like cold weather. It will die almost immediately if I take it out of my pocket in winter.

I’ve never fished beaver creek, but I have been through the park several times. It is nice place for sure. As far as the fishing…those trout see a lot of human traffic because of the walking trails next to the stream. My advice would be to get away from the normal traffic as much as possible. Otherwise fish early or late in the day. Make sure your shadow or outline doesn’t show over the stream. There are definitely fish in there. I’ve seen a lot of them while walking. If that doesn’t pan out there are several other good options in the area.

I’ve literally been reading Clancy’s work all my life. Truly one of the best outdoor writers.

Thanks for all you’ve done for outdoorsman and for you service to our country. RIP Gary Clancy.

All these years I’ve been using a cooler filled with ice.

His mother is in there. Nope, wrong state on the plates.

I have used all the brands. The arm n hammer idea is one I had not considered.

Nose jammer is a unique idea, but I prefer to be as scent free as possible.

It will be a zoo in the barn tonight. Likely over 10K people. This will be the most aggressive wrestling of the season. Big Ten championship and #1 ranking on the line. This is the number 1 rivalry in college wrestling hands down. INTENSITY!!!

It starts at 6 pm and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. #1 vs #2.

I will NOT be wishing any sort of luck for Iowa. Go Gophers!!!

As a gopher fan I’m not ready to crown us champs quite yet. What I’m most excited about is the progress. We are finally building towards a respectable program. It is nice not to be the doormat anymore. Hopefully some talented kids across the country are taking notice and we can start to get a few big recruits. Or at least keep the talent in MN instead of them all heading to WI.

Most things in life rarely boil down to choice A or choice B. Money, stress, and freedom are all quantitatively relative. Each individual values and responds differently when faced with lack of/excess of money, stress, and freedom. For me the trick is doing work that I like, where the amount of stress is in proportion to the paycheck. When the responsibility to paycheck ratio gets out of whack, that is when I and most people start really getting stressed out.

I have to remind myself everyday, that this is the only life I’m going to live. What am I going to fill it up with? Chasing the almighty dollar, or trying to create good memories? It is not as easy of a choice as you would think.

It is always interesting when you have to face reality. This past summer I happened to be staying in a hotel and swimming with my kids. I decided that I would go to the deep end and swim around. Just for giggles I tried to see how long I could tread water. The answer was….not very long! I’m a young and fairly fit person by today’s standards. My advice to anyone who thinks they don’t need a PFD….go tread water for a while and see how long you last. I can’t imagine how hard it would be fully clothed in cold water.

Nug, can you elaborate a little bit. What sort of problems have you had?

nice use of a tube sock in that first picture.

Lights work. So this morning I give it one more try, after it had been in the house and warmed up. Push the power button, and now it works!?!?!?!? Not feeling good about using it while ice fishing. Probably will be making the call to Marcum support.

X4…the WCHA was how hockey was meant to be. Nearly every game was a rivalry. With maybe only AA and Mich Tech being the exception. I’ve really lost interest. Does anyone know if all the Big Ten schools are going to field a team. Can’t wait to watch the U take on Purdue….whoopee!

I’m predicting he will be a bust for too many reasons to list here. Simply put, he is not what NFL coaches are looking for. He likely get drafted early because some owner or GM just won’t be able to resist. His style of play and lack of size and arm strength just will not work in the NFL.

I bet that guy doesn’t fish.

It is not from a grease gun. Basically it is a hydrualic swivel without any flats on it for tightening it down. We use it in a testing application. I’ve looked everywhere one of them. A few places come close, but never have found an exact match. I have no idea where the retired guy I replaced got his hands on it.

I just went through this process last week. All I did was peel the registration sticker off the boat and take it to the dmv. They looked everthing up and was taking care of in very short order.

I do not have a bill of sale. I purchased the boat with cash from a private party.

Rush Creek???? Please clarify which rush creek? Are we speaking of the one in SE MN? In the Lewiston and Rushford area?

Grumpy old men 1 and 2
Office Space

My old man has worked at the blue zoo for 41 years!!! God bless him. He was never much of a fisherman, but he took the time take my brother and I fishing. I’m hooked for life. He is soon set to retire and it will be my turn to take him and his grandkids fishing.