Tbryant

That stand is dangerous. I've probably spent more time with my eyes closed in that stand than with them open. Way too comfortable

I've had some good luck with Bushnell's over the years as well as some Moultrie's. Picked up a bunch of the Essential E2's when they were on sale a few years back and they're still going strong. Bought 2 of the Moultrie M40i's over the summer when they were stupid cheap and they're better than I expected so far. I'd say both are pretty even with photo quality, only thing I would say that differs is the Moultrie has a better detection when on video mode. I like to use video a lot and it seems the Bushnell's are a little delayed when picking up detection.

Sticks and lock on. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to hang one quicker than getting in a tree with a climber. You can also get into any tree you want unlike climbers. I sold 2 of my climbers to fund a run and gun set and I haven't looked back. Picked up the Hawk Helium sticks because I like the double step option and they were on sale for $100. Bought 2 packs of them (3 in a pack), sold 2 sticks on Archery Talk and was only in the hole about $130 for 4 sticks. Any big name lock on will work so that's personal preference.......but if you do end up going with a climber, Summits are way more comfortable than the LW.

Get the 220. I started out swapping barrels with the 870 but there's no comparison to the two. The 220 is in a league of its own.

Shot them last year but switched to the Axis this year. Always performed well but they got expensive to replace when a few bent after passing through deer. They're a heavier/slower arrow which I'm not too much of a fan of either.

Simon Peters. Live over an hour away but well worth the trip.

I tend to think most people down here live life on the edge when it comes to the outdoors. A guy down by Lake O who was hog hunting Saturday got bit in the leg during the early hours by a gator. Emergency services couldn't get there but some guys with swamp buggies heard the signal shot and found him and his wife. Guy had to get air lifted out. It sucks the dangers that are in these woods/waters down here. https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/florida/2019/11/12/florida-man-nearly-loses-leg-and-life-alligator-while-hunting-hogs/2572862001/

No hard feelings, I've come to understand you're a huge advocate for safety. I on the other hand don't live in a world where I cover myself in bubble wrap. Might sound ignorant, but taking my harness off for 30 seconds to get a shot off 99.9% of the time isn't going to kill me. Could it? Sure. I could also die hanging from my harness 20 ft up if the stand failed. To each their own...

Strap in at the top with a climber and loc on. Ladders I don't strap myself in. A lot of times while strapped in my harness gets in the way of drawing so I'll usually unstrap for the draw and shot. Also extremely guilty for usually not wearing a harness when hanging sticks and stands during a hang and hunt.

Sorry to hear about that. Happens a lot down here sadly. Hunted a WMA Monday and some guys running deer/pigs had their blue tick get smacked by a 10 footer. Shot the s**t out of the gator but couldn't save the dog.

I mainly use them for inventory and enjoyment to see what's going on. I'm slowly migrating to all cell cams to keep me out of the woods as much as possible checking cams, changing batteries, etc. They stay on minerals usually until bachelor groups split then they're on trails, pinch points, oaks for the remainder of the season. I feel people now a days rely way too much on them though and think they show everything. I also believe there are some strategies to hanging cams, over bait is not one of them, that gives you the ability to really key in on specific bucks and pattern them incredibly well.

When I first started my dad told me it was frowned upon to shoot does. Does = bucks so leave the does and bucks will come. Back then I’d have no problem seeing 20-30 does a sit, especially mid December and on but bucks were few and far between. Now after smacking a ton of does the last few years, it’s hard filling a damn EAB tag but seeing at least one buck every sit is common. I’d say 1:3/1:4 max in the area.

First one was the biggest we had on cam at the time (2017). Had a buddy shoot him during shotgun, scored high 140's. Second was the second biggest during that season. I shot him a 3 days before my buddy shot the big one. To make matter worse, both these bucks were on cam December 2nd at 7am and 715am. My dads on cam at 830am swapping cards Last pic is the one I'm after this year. Showed up for a week mid August and has been a ghost since.

I mainly target bass so my go bag is spinner bait, chatter bait, a few crank baits, rapalas, swim baits (keitechs), senkos, and creature baits. Have caught catfish on a swimbait, pickerel hit anything, rapalas catch everything. For trout, rooster tails are all I use besides eggs.