flat9999

Got the newer GPSMap 66 this year, but have used other GPS's from Garmin in the past. Also use their watch and bike computer; so I am a bit of a Garmin fanboy. Phone apps are great, and for average day-hunts, they are plenty. For longer backcountry hunts, phones start to run into problems. Touch screens don't work well in very cold temps, batteries drain quickly in cold temps, waterproofness, ruggedness,etc... That is where a handheld is a little more desirable. I also like to be able to upload all my activites to Garmin, Strava, etc., and have them saved in an easily viewable format.

For a first handgun, a .22. Easiest to shoot, cheapest ammo, guns are not terribly expensive and they are more useful for learning than any other caliber, hands down. S&W Victory, Browning Buckmark and Ruger Mark IV are pretty much the de facto leaders in the .22 world, with a strong leaning towards the Ruger. After that, the sky is pretty much the limit; although I have a tendency to lean towards either a good 38/357 revolver or a striker fired 9mm semi-auto. For revolvers, you can't go wrong with any of the S&W or Ruger variants. For semi-auto, you can just cheat the whole vetting process and get what was chosen by the military or FBI; and that would be the Sig P320/M17 or Glock 17/19 Gen 5.

With Milo for VP?

Shoot one, the rest will run away.

Great Blue Heron. Seen one catch and eat a chipmunk a few months ago in my yard.

Have a bunch, and usually try to match the scope to the rifle that it would be going on. I seldom, if ever, will swap a scope from one gun to another. Nightforce is nice glass, but usually too big and heavy except on precision/bench guns. Vortex has come a long way, and I would place it in the top 5 favorite of all optics manufacturers. Swaro and Leupold go on my hunting rifles based on cost/use. Steiner also has awesome glass, and despite some initial QC issues, sits on my "tactical" gun. Favorite overall would be Swarovski . At the top-tier, I don't think that you could buy a better hunting scope, at least anything noticeably better, at any price.

Your best groups will come from ammo that was fire-formed in your chamber. My best advice, get some good quality ammo from manufacturers that have good brass (Federal Gold Medal, Blackhills Match, Norma Match, Nosler,etc.) and see which shoots best in your gun. Then buy a bunch of that ammo and practice, practice, practice. Save all your once-fired, same headstamp brass. This will get you familiar with the gun, give you a very good baseline to gauge improvement, and give you a supply of fire-formed brass. Use that brass to develop a good load and neck size only.

Not uncommon at all to carry without a round in the chamber. "Israeli Carry", if practiced, only adds a fraction of a second to getting a pistol into the fight. Not saying that I do it, but there are valid reasons for it (such as zero chance of AD/ND during draw and reholster). Best practice from a lot of outfitters is to have one person do the quartering, and the other on watch with a loaded rifle.

Only one pick for The Deer Hunter thus far, and it took 3 pages, wow. I'll add the second nomination. The Revenant - newer movie, but the story itself is mind boggling. And, since it so close to Christmas time - Its a Wonderful Life .

Stone sheep. Rainbows in Patagonia.

For NYC, surprised nobody said Old Homestead. IMO, better than the hype of Luger. For NJ, I really do enjoy me some Sammy's . For home, prime aged ribeye or strip from Elite Meats. Souse Vide with a touch of butter, seasoned with Kosher salt and cracked pepper and then dropped on a 900° BGE for a quick char. And, there simply is no better way to cook salmon.

Looks like you hit "the void". Deer are tough animals, I'm sure it'll survive.

The time to have this fight is not at 5AM against two cops who likely don't want to be there in the first place. You fight it in court, in elections, in the State House, etc..

Looks like an eastern milk snake.

First night, find/put a stand that has the best view of the property overall. It looks like it would be very close to the blue dot. As other have said, glass, glass, glass. Note (write down) everything you see, where it came from, where it went, etc.. You might want to throw in a rattle or two. Next morning, Go to a stand that will allow you to glass any promising parts of the property that you couldn't see from the night before. Glass, glass, glass. Find the does, bucks will be there.