To answer your question, yes and no on deer returning to same spots 24 hours later. In my experience if the deer didnt know you were there the gunshot sound they cant pinpoint so they arent sure where it came from or where to run away to. If they knew you were there, that deer itself might not be back for a few days.

Not sure of your trees but around here we pretty much always set up in treestands anywhere between 14-20 feet up. In your case, if you get up a little higher by climbing a good sized tree, you can see them coming and get ready before they are right on top of you. Also it may help them not be able to catch your smells if your up above their area a bit.

Any further questions feel free to email, Good Luck!!!

Doc --- I totally agree that more deer will just move in to take any fallen deer's place. However, in this one case, I think it would be worthwhile. As I've mentioned before, we're pretty certain this deer got through our defenses during a power outage and learned that the garden was a safe spot despite the deterrent. We hope that if we take out the one smart deer, we can keep fooling the rest of the stupid deer for another six months or a year until someone else wises up.

David --- Interesting distinction between a deer returning to a spot where they saw me vs. just heard a gunshot. This deer definitely saw me, and I didn't see any signs of life when I staked out a nearby spot this morning.

People around here use deerstands a lot too. I was hoping to not have to go to the expense/effort of building or buying one (and just wasn't sure enough of myself to know where to put it!), but I'm thinking I may have to. I may be about hunted out, though, and willing to put effort into our boundary instead and wait to hunt again until the fall. It was just so nice when I could see through the leaves and have a better idea where the deer were at!

Iron sights in general are adjusted for a certain yardage. Many have adjustments you can make at the time of the shot. Especially with your carbine using what is ostensibly a handgun cartridge, distance of the shot is important.

For example, if you're using Federal jacketed hollowpoints in 180 grain (muzzle velocity of 1000 feet per second) then the bullet will drop a foot from the point at which it exits the barrel at 80 yards distance. Depending on the yardage your sights are adjusted to, depends on how high you will actually have to aim. At what distance did y'all sight in the gun? At 150 yards, the drop is over 4 feet! A carbine like yours is great for short range... short means 50-75 yards or less in most cases. Dense summer woods like yours most likely mean most of your shots would be under 50 yards, at which bullet drop is about 5".

Clearly, you need to come up this winter and give me some gun lessons...

I was remembering that the bullet drops after target practicing and having to aim a bit higher than I thought I should have. I'm not sure what distance the sight was adjusted for.... I'm pretty sure I'm not going to try any shots more than 50 yards away (I'd be hard pressed to try something at 50 feet! )

About the nook --- I've been meaning to write a review, but haven't gotten around to it. Here're the highlights:

Good:

• I definitely like having a separate ebook reader. It's just like reading a book, and I don't get distracted by email, looking up answers to questions that drift through my head on the internet, etc. I can read it outside in the sun or inside in dim light. I just wish my childhood dream had become a complete reality and they'd not only invented ereaders and electronic books but also made the ereader waterproof so I could read it in the bathtub.

• It's awesome to have two dozen books saved up on my nook. My most recent trip was the first one I'd ever been on where I didn't need to fill half my luggage with heavy paper books!

• I chose the nook over the kindle because it reads pdf documents. That definitely makes it easier to download books by non-huge authors!

Bad:

• The battery life is not all it's cracked up to be. I think that the figures the manufacturers quote are based on you not turning any pages, and I turn a lot of pages. It barely lasts me through two or three books before I have to plug it back in.

• It crashes a lot. Yes, I run linux that even I can't crash more than once a year or so, so I guess I'm spoiled. But the nook seems to have a bad habit of crashing when it's hot, when I knock it (not too hard!) on a hard surface, and just when it feels like I'm reading too fast. Total crashes in the last six months that I've owned the nook have been around 50.

• I hate touch pads. Most people probably won't find the touch-sensitive screen at the bottom annoying, but I detest the things and would highly prefer just having arrow keys or something. If it has to have a touch pad, can't there be a way to turn it off so that I don't accidentally brush it and end up exiting my book or skipping to a random page?!?!

• I think it's rude of Barnes and Noble that they won't let you download their free ebooks without inputting your credit card information. I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't buy any more books by getting the nook, and I've stuck to it, but since I can buy a book with one click now that they've saved my payment information (I wanted some free, old chicken books), it's enticing.

• I thought I'd like having reference books on the nook, but I don't. The only books I buy nowadays are thinks like cookbooks and how to manuals that I'll be referring back to a lot, and I've bought a grand total of one book like that this year to try out the nook. Since Barnes and Noble sells their books in a non-pdf format, I can't just download the file to my computer and have it easily searchable, and the search function on the nook is clunky. I found myself wishing I'd bought a paper copy so that I'd really have that information at my fingertips.

• Barnes and Noble doesn't have nearly as good of a selection of ebooks as Amazon does. And, of course, Amazon won't sell ebooks in a format readable by the nook. This doesn't really bother me since I very rarely buy books, but it should factor into your decision. (On the other hand, the kindle won't read pdf files, so you won't be able to read many free books if you go that route.)

I guess that wasn't really the short version....

Anna, I haven't tried it myself, but the Amazon site says that you can read an Acrobat (pdf) file on the Kindle. Check this link - http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_navbox_recognize_200375630?nodeId=200375630&#recognize

I know it doesn't matter to you since you already have the Nook, but I thought others might like to know.

J.

Thanks for your long review... I'll definitely take the PDF issue into account if I decide to purchase an ereader. I know many focus on the different display technologies (e-ink vs. the other) but I haven't really done much research since I've been resisting purchasing another gadget. My life is filled with more than enough tech already... but an ereader could certainly be useful in my line of work.

As for shooting, if I can make it up that way again this winter, I'd love to give you some pointers. Sorry I missed you guys a month ago. I had a great trip to NC and accomplished my first stretch of the Appalachian Trail. Many more trips in the future I think.

A Patient hunter eats.

I believe you are accomplishing your goal with your ten day hunt.
Goal: Remove deer predation of garden. Process: Spend time in deer safe zone and cause deer to find another location to hang out.

Hunters will not cross or hang around the trail that they expect the deer to follow. Scent is the hunters enemy. This is the main reason for much of our prehunt rituals. You are letting your presents be known. And hopefully after a few pot shots they will see you as a predator. DEER WILL STAY AWAY FROM HIGH PRESSURE AREAS. Neighboring hunting areas can have major differences in population just due to hunting pressure.

I think in your case, if my main priority was not meat, I would take walks in the deer traffic areas with my gun in hand at dusk and dawn. Use this time to study the terrain and deer trails. Learn where they come from and are going to and possible bedding down. Block trails that bring them near you crops and maybe clear some that take them around the other way. Often all it takes is one well placed limb at a fork in the trail. Maybe if your quiet enough or find a curious deer you can fill your freezer. Either way you win. There is nothing better than a walk in the woods just before the sun rises.

After your ten days, keep up your presence with a walk 2 or 3 times a week. Re-acquaint yourself with those out of the way areas of your acreage. Keep up you barricades and block any new trails.

Good Luck and now I am going to have to go soak up some nature since talking about it has got me worked up.

Shannon --- If you're better at focusing on reading on your computer than I am, you may not need an ereader. Joey has no problem reading books on his computer, but I'm distractible....

We were sorry to miss you too, though it was a good thing we didn't try to set anything up. We were sick for the entire week plus time you were in the area! Very strange....

Erich --- Excellent points and advice! I totally agree with you that even if I don't get a deer, just being a predatory presence (and finally starting to hone my skills a bit) will be worth it. I think I'll also start taking your advice about changing their paths with bits of brush --- I've been walking the hillside this afternoon, and it's clear that a fallen tree across a path takes it out of use. I really appreciate your continued advice!

Distraction is the bane of my existence the last few years. Sitting in front of a computer for a living means endless sources of distraction... constantly.

I tend to prefer the feel of a real book in my hands, but maybe that's because I am used to being on the laptop and being distracted. Maybe an ereader would have the convenience of an electronic gadget without having to lug dead wood around all the time but still allow me to focus.

Hmm... I must give this some more thought.

Sorry to hear y'all were so sick.

http://wildlifecontrol.info/deer/pages/deertrapping.aspx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wob4CWTs7iY

Looks like fun. With a little pre-planning next time you get a kill permit, you might be able to trap and then dispatch the deer.