Jack,

Your right! I'm guilty. I do use coast and put on the after shave. I do all those things at least once a month. Do you think my deer hunting will improve if I only clean up maybe once every six months?

I saw your post on the "favorite guns" thread. I now understand why you use those things to attract deer. If you would use a rifle instead of a pistol for hunting deer, they wouldn't have to come and investigate that horrible smell so closely.

Oh well, good luck on your deer hunting, but don't invite me over for a venison dinner. I don't eat kinky deer either.

Ted

 

Ted,
Everybody has their opinons on deer hunting with regards to gun choice, caliber,scents and methods used and I beleive our choices are determined by the terrain in which we hunt. Your correct to assume that I need to get closer to my quarry than some body using a rifle but getting close is what makes the hunt so exciting. My son shoots deer at 350yards.To me that's not hunting ,that's target shooting. Oh well, to each his own.That brings me to this question. Do you own a Yamaha big bear and Honda 450ES? If you do ,how would you rate them both. I would be interested in their positives and negatives. Thanks Ted.
Jack

 

Jack,

Your right, everyone has their own way of hunting deer and from my point of veiw; more power to them. I actually enjoy getting ready to hunt more than hunting. I get to plan the hunt all year. I sat and watched a large doe last weekend for 15 minutes. She was less than 50 yards from me. She had two half grown yearlings with her. I had my scope on her and my finger on the trigger, but never pulled the trigger. Next weekend, I may pull the trigger and I may not. For me, the reward was in knowing that I was able to do some things which made her come to me. If she had been a deer with some antlers, I probably would be eating venison right now.

In answer to your ATV question, yes. I do have both the big bear and the foreman 450. I first bought the 350 rancher es and loved it so much I gave it to my wife and went back to the honda dealer to get me one. They were out of ranchers and wouldn't be getting any more for a couple of months. I went to the yamaha dealer and bought the yamaha big bear. I rode it for almost a year and it was a really good machine. It had some quirks which kept irritating me like the highest gear on the big bear was ratioed like third or fourth gear on most of the other ATV's. I would ride it wide open with the engine screaming in high gear at about 37 miles per hour. My wife would go around me on the rancher and leave me in the dust. I then bought the foreman 450 es and think it is great, but the best of the three is still the 350 rancher. That thing has over 3500 miles on it and runs like the day I bought it. I kept the yamaha for friends to ride when they visit us.

Ted

 

Most mineral type blocks contain at least some molasses and seem to work well, although where I hunt the feral hogs tend to eat it up first. Try a product called "DeerSense" it's an incense stick that really seems to work, at least for me. The part "A" stick makes a great cover scent for clothing too. Contrary to popular belief deer are not afraid of smoke, this can be a natural smell in their enviorment.

 

Ted,
Thanks for your response and your view points. I got a couple of questions. First question is I have heard the ES shifting can be a problem sometimes, have you had any trouble with yours? Number 2 question is Why do you like the 350 Rancher better than the 450? Is it the ride ? The comfort? or what? Also, I live in Northern N.Y. and we get SNOW so would I be better off with the 450? My wife has a bad back so comfort is a priority! Getting back to hunting. The deer season opened up yesterday where I live and for the first time I had to sit it out. I've got some up coming surgery and can't get a cold. We had really foul weather with heavy snow and alot of downed trees and wires. I hope to go out this afternoon. I like you, spend alot of time in preparation. I did some scouting, did some reloading and spent some time at the range. I like knowing where my bullet is going. I get a kick out of getting ready. It saddens me that I have two boys that hunt and neither one spends any preparation time. I think you owe it to the animal to harvest it as quickly and cleanly as possible. That assures good tasting venison as well. Any how thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Jack

 

Jack,

I'm more than happy to answer your questions. Like you, I am always hearing about problems with the ES on the Hondas. The problem is, I can't find anyone who actually experienced them. I certainly haven't. We ride our machines hard in all kinds of conditions without major problems. We have the same problems as every one else like a squeaky brake or shock, but they always run when we want them to. I like the rancher over the foreman because the 350 engine just seems like a more gutsy engine than the 450. The 450 engine always sounds like the valve lash is too loose. The dealer says he can adjust the valve clearence, but he really doesn't recommend running tighter than I am. The rancher is smaller than the foreman but will outperform the foreman in almost every way. I really do like the selectable four wheel drive on the foreman, but I understand the next version of rancher will also have that. The foreman also has a third headlight which I don't like. It is mounted on the bars and no way is provided to turn it off separate from the regular headlights. The problem with the light is that it takes up space that could be used to carry stuff on the front rack. When I am trying to carry stuff on the rack at night the light shines on the stuff I am carrying and the glare makes it hard to see where I are going. It's no big deal, but you would think someone would have thought to design a switch into the system that would allow you to turn off the third light when you don't need it.

If your interested in comfort over performance, get a Polaris Sportsman. That isn't a knock on Polaris, but I have friends who have them and they are always complaining about mechanical problems. When they are running, they seem to be the best riding ATV on the market. I really believe they are like all things mechanical. When you get the bugs worked out, they are fine. While I like the Hondas ride, they are not soft riding. You are pretty tired at the end of a long day. The selectable four wheel drive really makes a difference. If you don't need four wheel drive, ride in two wheel drive. At the end of the day, your arms and shoulders will thank you.

We don't get snow in East Texas, so it's hard for me to comment on how they handle in the snow. I think with the right tires, both machines would do well in the snow. I believe I would prefer the foreman because the 450 engine would also make the use of a snow plow easier.

I don't know where Argyle N.Y. is, but I have friends in Painted Post and Olean. I am in that area a lot. Great area. Good country folks. Some of my friends in that area took vacation this week to hunt. Like you, most of them hunt with pistols. We compare notes often and tell many lies to each other. If you can't lie, why go hunting or fishing?

I live in the middle of a forrest. I drive my ATV's out of my yard into the forrest. I belong to a hunting club which surrounds my place and provides 7000 acres of great riding and great hunting. When deer season is closed, hog season never closes and there are lots more hogs than deer running around. They also eat good.

Hope all goes well with your surgery. A friend just went through double bypass surgery and can't stand being off his four wheeler. Doctor told him he can't ride or hunt for four months. My wife and I are very fortunate. We are 60 and 61 years old respectively, but live life and feel like we are much younger. We had a scare a couple of weeks ago when the doctor told the wife she had blocked arteries. They ran that scope up near her heart and found her to be totally clean. I told the doctor that if I am going to continue paying him, he should give some kind of warrenty. I think a ten year, no break down warranty is reasonable.

If you have any more questions, fire away!

Ted

 

MustHunt,

I've always kept the large mineral blocks out. I'm talking about the large blocks that are kinda redish brown in color and weigh maybe 20 lbs. The folks at the feed store told me the hogs won't eat them, but the deer do. I think they are wrong. It always seems the blocks are being moved around when the the hogs come through. I really put them out as a mineral supplement for the deer. East Texas seems to grow a smaller whitetail than most other parts of Texas. Most people tell me it is due to mineral difficiencies in their diet. I also put one of those mineral/molasses tubs out today. I thought the guy told me it would weigh 30 lbs. It actually weighed 80 lbs. I don't know how it will work. I really expect the hogs to go wild over that mixture. I don't care. I feed year round and do it mostly to observe the wildlife. I take a hog occasionally and a deer in season. In all honesty, I'm not really that interested in shooting a deer on my lease in east texas. I will be going to a lease near brady texas this weekend and will take one there.

Ted

 

Ted,
Thanks for all the great info and LMAO at your humor. Well I 'm really confused now! Originally I thought I had my choice down to two machines. The Honda ES 450 or the Kodiak 450. I was tentative about the ES on the Honda and the belt and water leak on the Kodiak so I started thinking Honda S or Yamaha Big Bear. I have a friend that owned a Polaris and although fast left alot to be desired with reliability! I want a machine that's ultra reliable and tough as nails. I'm not asking much am I ? LOL .My wife and I aren't really concerned with high top end though we want maybe a little more than your Big Bear.You have given me food for thought with the Honda lighting issue.I can relate to your wife's health condition.I have had tacacardia [ speeding pluse rate] for a number of years now and have had the whole work up and I too have clean arteries. They say keep doing what your doing and I said you mean a pizza a day to keep the doctor away.LOL. My surgery involves my intestines and plastic surgery because of a simple hernia operation that got infected. Anyway, I won't go into detail other than to say if you can avoid it , stay away from hospitals sometimes what you get from there is worse than your illness. I actually live on Cossayuna Lake which is about 30 miles from Lake George. Home of the Americade! Our lake is 3 miles long and full of bass, perch, bluegill,crappie, nothern pike and tiger musky. The largest northern I have caught is 22 lbs.

The surrounding land area is made up of farm land and mountain woods. I don't own any hunting land so must seek permission from the land owners. Some land owners have had bad experiences with people from the city coming up and shooting their goats instead of the deer. Sounds like you have a great place down there. It really makes it nice to be able to go out your back door and hunt. I have that same thing with my fishing. Walk down to our dock and take off.

I went walking in the woods this afternoon for a couple of hours but saw nothing with horns. I might go again this am if I can get off this computer! Oh well, talk to you again I'm sure and if you can think of any other things with your wheelers let me know.
Jack

 

Jack,

In my mind, I have eliminated all brands of ATV's for future purchase with the exception of Honda and Yamaha. If I was a drinking man, and found myself inebriated with some extra money in my pocket; I might consider a Prairie 650. Since I don't drink, and attempt to retain and use my mental facilities at all times; I believe I would once again buy a Honda. That decision would be based strictly on what I perceive as the highest quality. With the previously stated limitations of the Foreman 450 in mind, my next ATV will probably be another Foreman or larger Honda. The only reason I would go larger than a foreman is the fact that the foreman 450 still will not go as fast as I like to travel at times. In a nutshell, "to each his on".

I agree with your thoughts on hospitals. After my wifes recent visit to the hospital, I am happy to report that my wife is healthy, but my bank account is challenged. I find myself thinking it's a shame they couldn't find anything wrong with her since it cost so much. Maybe that way of thinking is also why I still prefer Honda's.

I've always had minor tachacardia. About 94. All my other indicators are great. Bp 105/62. HDL & LDL below 200. My doctor says don't worry about it. I will probably die from low blood pressure.

I'm not familiar with the area where you live. I am familiar with the finger lakes area and love it. I like to drive between the lakes in the spring when the snow has melted or is melting. And I like to drive the same area in the summer when the farmers are harvesting their crops. They always have hundreds of roadside stands selling their fresh produce. I have always lived in areas where the farmers all grew cotton, or corn, or wheat or some other commodity crop. I never was excited about stopping at a roadside stand to buy 5 lbs of cotton or ten bushels of corn, or a truckload of fresh wheat. In the finger lakes area, you can find farmers growing and selling just about anything you can think of.

Those farmers who own goats are being totally unreasonable. They should do like farmers around here with cattle. They write "COW" on both sides of the animal and then trust that you must be able to read in order to get a hunting license. Apparently, their trust is unfounded. How big is a goat? Is there room to write "goat'? Are hunters in New York state required to show their third grade diploma before they can obtain a hunting license?

Like you, I also have water nearby and love it. I have a 12 acre pond which wraps around two sides of my house. About fifty yards from the pond is the "Angelina" river. Both bodies of water have all the fish you mention with the exception of the northern's and muskies. We also have a few critters you didn't mention like catfish (great eating) and alligator(fair eating). The largest gator in the pond this summer was only twelve feet long. I also have dogs that enjoy swimming. Somehow I sense a problem there.

Americade?

Ted

 

Ted,
Sounds like you are a very lucky man! A great place to trailride, hunt and fish and the good health to enjoy those sports. I forgot one more species we have the bullheads both kinds the ones that swim and the ones that walk ! LOL. One thing we don't have is the alligators and at twevle foot long I'm sure our Newfies don't miss em. Like I mentioned before we have some people that come up from the city and shoot anything that moves. Some of these guys can't speak hardly any English ! Anyway, Due to their un ethical behavior more and more land around here is posted. I just talked to a land owner yesterday that said NO! no more hunters allowed ! Last year he had someone shoot a 5 point right in his back yard and shot it going towards his house. I talked with him for about an hour inside his house and after our talk he had a change of heart and agreed to let me hunt a parcel of his land. I asked him if he would be kind enough to show me the boundries before I actually hunted because I like to know what lies over the hills so I could avoid shooting towards any houses. I'll tell you he was really pleased that I was concerned with that and not just in a hurry to go shooting. He also hinted that a helping hand goes a long way in regards to getting hunting privledges. One more thing, Americade is the huge motorcyle happening of the Northeast. Usually held the first week of June in Lake George, N.Y. About 50,000 people and machines with major manufacturers and test rides. It's a week long event and a pretty good time. Well talk to ya later.
Jack