Trad Gang

(http://www.tradgang.com/dh/Gene.jpg)


Brother Gene got the monster buck we've been chasing since October this morning. We've both seen and video taped him over a half dozen times each. We had his number and I knew it was just a matter of time. Some people might think I feel bad that Gene got him instead of myself, but I couldn't be happier. I've always considered us a team and could care less who tagged him. We've had a fantastic year to put it mildly. Both of us got 160 inch plus bucks earlier in November; I got a good 6x5 buck in Kansas a couple weeks ago and we both got big bucks in Texas last week (I got the very one everyone saw me miss on TV last year). Gene doesn't want to brag so I'll do it for him. I'm really proud of our joint efforts and want everyone to know we put a LOT of concentrated effort into this one. It all came together, totally legit, totally legal, and totally fairchase. I wanted to thank all of our friends who have shared opinions and supported us in the pursuit of this fantastic critter. Sharing this all is half the fun.I don't know how to post pictures but will try to get 'er done. You guys all need to sit down and get ready for this one! He's 25 inches inside spread, 30 inches outside spread with four droptines. We haven't put a tape to him yet but don't really care. And yes... if anyone wants to x-ray him they're welcome to it. Thanks and Happy New Year to all. Barry Wensel

Congratulations Gene (and Barry) !!!  That sounds like one heck of a trophy but the love you express and have for your brother is a trophy as well.  Teamwork wins!!!

Looking forward to the pix.

Can't wait to see the pics...

I'll check back in a couple minutes  :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

I've already seen this monster, he is a keeper. Gene sent me a photo this afternoon, boy wish we had bucks like that in Montana. Congrat's Gene and Barry.
Bob Burton

:scared:   Holy Cow! Literally! Can I hear those measurments again? You guys have done well this year but that is an exceptional Buck that you speak of. Can't wait to see the pics. Congrats Gene! CK

WOOHOOO! Congrat!. Glad all the hard efforts paid off for yall. I understand your happiness for your brother Gene. I just as soon have a close friend or new hunter take a deer at our place. Look forward to the pics and reading about the hunt.

Can't wait to see.  Congratulations guys.

Barry send me a pic at Meathook65@hotmail.com and I will have it up in a matter of minutes.   :D

Barry email me the pic and I will insert it in your post.

Congrats to Gene, can't wait to see it. Sounds like a whopper!

I knew it was just a matter of time

That there says about everything! Confedence!
 
Congrats Gene! Now get them pics up barry!

You guy's are awesome congratulations.  :thumbsup:

what bow did he use? Not that it matters just interested.  ron

Way to go guys!!!  Can't wait to see the pics.

Pic on its way.

Great GOOGLY MOOGLY!!!!!!!!

Wowser!!!  :notworthy:    :notworthy:

Barry, you are serious for once, aren't you.  ;)    Is it fair to allow you guys to put your two heads full of knowledge together like this. All kidding aside awesome specimen. Congrats to you both and Gene especially who got the opportunity for the shot.....Mac~

Holy Cow that is a monster............

Congrats Wensels......

Congratulations!!!!!!

Dang, what a brute!!!  Congratulations!

Claudia

I'm assuming he had a valid moose tag?

Congrats! That's quite a deer.

Awesome, and to have brothers share it makes it all the better.  Great job guys.


David

Barry, That's a great accomplishment for the two of you. Congratulations. We wouldn't expect anything less from our Heroes.

Oh yea, Nice hat.

Warren

To the Wensels  :notworthy:

Here's another view

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/theferret111/gene.jpg)

Dayyeemmm what a buck! Congrats again Gene. I'm gonna send the pic to Rotten Randy and let him drool all over his keyboard.

That buck is one magnificent creation! Congratulations on taking him in on such honorable terms.

Ya might know a thing or two at that! Bofayaz!

Killdeer  :bigsmyl:

Gezzus what a monster. Way to go! Enjoy it. It seems to firm up the fact that the Wensels are the real deal when it comes to deer.

Barry, did Gene use Daryl for following up and recovery?

VERY NICE!!!! Congrats to the TEAM!!!  :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

In My Dreams!    

I could nail 100# does all day long at 20 yards. Woulda missed him at 10.

Gotta get that book, oh yeh, "Come November" back out and reread it. Nice job guys.

Nice job! Most Guys that get a nice buck like that don't smile in the pictures it is good to see. You can tell He loves it and it is not an ego thing.

You gents sure put the time in, Congrats to ya both!

Wolfy

That old boy is beautiful, I meant the deer  :bigsmyl:

YEEOWWWSAA!! Awesome buck. Bet it'll be as long time before that smile is off Gene's mug...LOL

No one else said it, so I will...Don't hurt your back holding up all that antler weight!
Good gravy! Well fellas, congrats! And I guess its been proven once again, if you dream of antlers, there's no such thing as dreaming too big!

HOT DANG!!!! that is a awesome buck!Congrats.BTW what is the T/D bow he is shooting?Looks real nice.<><

AWESOME deer!  I want to know how you figured him out, what was the stand setup and was he rutting, feeding or what?  DETAILS--lots of them!

I read Gene's book, Come November, so I know he can write a chapter (or two) for all us us on this great deer!  Just post it here on TradGang.

Congrats---

Kurt

What a fantastic trophy!  Congratulations!

Congrats Guy's

HOLY MONKEY POO that is a huge deer!!!  :eek:    :eek:    :eek:    :thumbsup:    :notworthy:

:eek:    :eek:  As Meathook put it, GREAT GOOGLEY MOOGLEY!!Congrats to both of you.  I'm looking forward to the story.

Man-o-man-man that is a monster    :scared:    :notworthy:    :notworthy:    :notworthy:    :notworthy:

Great job guys  :notworthy:    :notworthy:    :notworthy:

Nice going Gene...a real beauty. I always said not only were you better looking but also the better hunter! (only kidding Barry). Congrats again Gene.

That is what dreams are made of.  Congratulations to Team Wensel.  Great Job!  Thank you for sharing.

Kind of looks like Gene. All knorrly headed and all, Congrates and enjoy this memory forever. Its great when a plan comes togather especially when its with your brother.  Out Door Dan

wow!!!! and WOW!!!! that is a HOG!!! way to go GENE!

I was talking to Gene a couple of weeks ago about the Africa trip and he mentioned that he was chasing a bigon.  I guess he wasn't kidding  :thumbsup:  Joseph

GREAT deer! YOWSA!!!!!!!!

I'll hope for a story about this deer at The United Bowhunters of Pa. Winter Rendevous!!

Barry is more excited than Gene ...lol...I know Im a twin , its a twin thing! cool really cool...mark#78  :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:  ya gotta love it!!!

That ol' fella's MAGNIFICENT!!! (the deer, Gene...).  Congratulations!  :thumbsup:

That one's big enough to get ol'Gene smiling! CONGRATS to you both on an unbelievable season. He sure looks to be an old timer,,,,,

So,,, Do  ya take payment plans on that deer school thang?????   :help:  MAN, that is one awsome deer!!!  :thumbsup:  

Hutch  :thumbsup:

Thanks to all for the kind words. I won't go into great detail but in a nutshell he was living in a creek bottom and feeding a hidden uncut bean field. We had six treestands set up for him and played musical treestands several days. We got most of the video footage from about fifty yards during the gun season. We don't gun hunt and were scared to death someone would find him and shoot him from across the fence. Our luck held out. I thought it was time to get agressive since a few of the bucks are starting to shed antlers already. I said to Gene I thought if we covered three stands in the timber and had someone that knew what they were doing to gently nudge the bedding area one of us would get a crack at him. My oldest son, Jason, Gene and I got on stand. We had good friend Daryl Kempher do the nudging honors and I must say he did an outstanding job. Not only did my prediction come true but all three of us had him at under 20 yards Tuesday morning. Jason had him at 18 yards and passed him up because it was a frontal shot. I'm really proud of my son as I know a lot of guys who would have taken the shot no matter. The buck then came by Gene at ten yards and he got a deflection. The buck ran by me and I stopped him with a grunt. He slammed on the brakes in the only place I couldn't shoot. Two feet sooner or two feet later would have given me a sucker shot. When he cleared the brush I shot but also got a deflection. Two minutes after he left, I double lunged his wife just to make myself feel better about the miss. Yesterday we duplicated the maneuver and Daryl put him right under Gene's stand. After a questionable hit and a great tracking effort we backed off. This morning Gene got out in front in case he was still alive. I cut the blood trail again and found him dead a hundred yards from where we left him. You probably heard us whooping it up and doing back-flips. Gene was using a Bob Morrison recurve and of all things a Wensel Woodsman broadhead. He has named the buck "Woody". Thanks again to all. BW

Now that's a really nice deer. Congrats, Gene!  :thumbsup:

Man I want to be like you guys!!!!!! you guys are awsome!!!! WOW!!!

WOW, awesome Buck guys! Congratulations Gene. Lots of character on that one!

MAN!! What a beautiful Deer! Many Congrats. You guys really get it done!   :thumbsup:  

:notworthy:   :notworthy:   :notworthy:   :notworthy:

My son & I are going out tomorrow for the last gasp try at a 7x7 we've been playing hopscotch with all season.

Larry

Well done boys!!!

Nothing like the fruits of hard work.  Sure sounded like alot of fun chasing that fellow around.

Have a Happy New Year.

Can I get an AMEN on that!!!!

Congrats to both of you.  I've never taken one near that big but I took my best ever while hunting with my older brother on our parents farm about 400 yards from the house.  I can still play that one back in my mind like it was yesterday.

Could you show some of the video of him on the hoof on here?  Maybe just a 30 second clip or something to give us an idea what it's like to see a deer like that moving around in the woods.

Dang, what a way to end the year!

Wow! what kind of steroids do y'all drop into the feed bucket?   :thumbsup:

Nice work fellers. Good thinking to get agressive this time of year. A friend muzzled a mature 8 point two days ago and the antlers went flying when the buck hit the ground. Glad your monster buck's decorations were still on tight.

You might want to get that one mounted. Just a thought...
Shaun

Super deer!   :thumbsup:  Congrats Gene! I met you briefly several years ago when you were promoting your book "Hunting  Rutting Whitetails"

I still have the copy you signed for me.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

I think that one impressed Barry so much he put his hat on straight  ;)

Congratulations on an awesome deer!  Maybe it's time to go to "boot camp"

Bryan

Totally Awesome!  :thumbsup:  

KT

OH MY LORD, what a deer!!! Congrats.

Danny

Sweet ! Nice when good things happen to good people. Thanks for sharing

P.S. Barry, you mentioned you had videoed him several times prior to the kill. sure would be cool to see that footage here. If you're willing, I'm sure Admin. can get it up and running

wow......WOW.

Congratulations to Barry and Gene, and also to Jason for takin' the pass.  Obviously a GREAT day for all of you !

Did you age him ?  I'd be real interested in how old he was.  Love the rack...lots of character, some trash with sophistication sorta.  I especially like the forked tines.

It looked like you were holding a Morrison, but wasn't sure.

Again, congratulations....a very special day for all of you I'm sure !

God Bless.

Way to go guys. What a beauty. Even more awesome than the buck is the relationship you guys have. Makes me wish I had a brother. All the best in the new year. Denny

Wow,what a monster,congratulations and well done!

What a fantastic buck WOW  What a great way to end the year.  Thanks for showing the picture.  Congratulations and very Happy New Year.    Mike

I agree with Denny, coolest thing about that success is you shared it together. Makes it even that much more of an accomplishment in my book.

Now, if we could only figure out how to download all the stuff you guys know to the rest of our pea brains....we wouldn't havta worry about deer population control.

Is that an Iowa deer?  Been thinking of moving anyway.  It would be easier to teach the kids to spell Iowa that Tennessee.

After 5 pages I dont know what more to add!!!!!

But Gene and Barry have had a huge influence on me, more than they'll ever know. After being around them for more than 20 years they long ago stopped amazing me...I kinda expect it out of em each year BUT that buck...whew  :thumbsup:

I'm tickled for you both.  That is one dandy buck.  Hope to read and see more of him in the future.

You two are something else.  ;)

....double lunged his wife...lol
thats funny. i didnt know bucks got that big!

Magnifico Gene & Barry! Are you bringing that one to the Kzoo show? Would like to see that rack up close.
Denny Sturgis Jr, I've seen some of the results of your hunts as well, and I'm volunteering to be your adopted brother. The camaraderie and the hunts we will share...  :D   just like real brothers!

Looks like ya got'er done

Looking forward to the article when it gets written. Is this an Iowa buck? When ya going to put a tape on it?

I'M speechless...  :bigsmyl:

Nice buck Gene and thanks for the post Barry. Gotta get you two up here for a hunt!

Did ya see any big ones while you were out?  ;)

Now I know why you guys left Montana for Iowa.  Wasn't because ya like cornfields and the summer weather.  The last couple of seasons have produced some nice deer for you both.

 I'd would bet you didn't drag him out by his antlers.  Would be a bummer to be standing there with a shed in each hand and the buck laying at your feet.

Congrats!!!

He called the deer "woody"? I thought that was a bird of some sort.

Congrats on the monster.

Atta boy, boys. Congrats and Happy New Year to you and yours.

Hey Gene and Barry!

Congrats on the whopper!  Gene, I hope you incorporated this story in your presentation at the United Bowhunters of PA Rendevous in feb.  I'll be the one taking notes!!!!

A Wensel Woodsmen, huh?  Go  figure!!!

Lee Vivian  :thumbsup:    :notworthy:

Beautiful animal. Almost as much grey in that bucks face as in on Gene's hea...er...upper lip.   :bigsmyl:  

Congrats fellows. Sounds like you had one heck of a year.

We're not worthy!  We're not worthy! (to the deer)  :notworthy:    :notworthy:    :notworthy:  

But no doubt Gene and Barry most certainly are!  Congrats to the Wensel family, great deer and great story.   How can I get adopted into that family?  

Thanks guys for keeping dreams alive for us all!

Tremendous deer. Congratulations Gene.  John in N.S.

Whatta stud!  :bigsmyl:  

 :thumbsup:    :notworthy:

Looks a lot like sticshooter's 20 pointer   :D  

Dang That's a good deer... and it sounds like you had one heck of a time.  

Congrats!  BIG CONGRATS!

-Frankb

Congrats Barry and Gene, that is a beauty!  Happy New Year.

UFF-DA! for sure

What a wonderful looking animal.

Could you imagine how big he'd look if Too F. Short posed in the picture?    

Congratulations guys.

Awsome buck guy's, I look forward to hereing the story at the Kzoo expo in a few weeks.Hope you both have a very happy new year. Jeff Hren.

Congrats Gene and Barry.  What a beautiful deer!
Happy New Year and as others have said, What a great end to a great season.

David

Way to go!! You two really have a knack for tracking down the big ones  :)  That is one heck of a buck, the deer of my dreams    :notworthy:

Well done and a big congrats!

kevin.

Very cool to have that experience with your brother and son.  You are very rich in that regard.  Thanks for sharing the story with us.

Congrats, Gene.. What a buck!!  :thumbsup:    :notworthy:

didn't know moose lived in iowa????  i'm with mr. baker on this one, you doing any adopting in the near future.  congrads to the wensel gang for a great hunt. nothing like doing it family style.
>~Rob~>

Congrats boys! That is one beautiful buck!

Happy New Year,
Donavan

Good Grief  :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:  ....Van

What a monster! I'd probably be too scared of it to shoot!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Jakeboy

Wow NICE BUCK

What broadhead you use on that one   :saywhat:

Gene & Barry

  WOW!!!!! Congratulations, I love to hear of family teaming up to hunt. Thanks for letting us share with your joy. Frank

Congratulations,

I'm continually impressed with your strategies guys, sometimes I kick myself in the but for being to conservative when chasing the big'ns.

You got me in the mood to make a nudge the last weekend!

Again, it's good to be an Iowan EEEHHH!

Great deer guys.Down here in Florida we can only dream of deer like that.Wishing you the best in 2005!Maybe a new book.I've read Come November 3 times,learn something new each time!

I guess its about time I get on here to thank you people for the congratulations, comments and expressions of mutual happiness for what happened to Barry and I this season. We're still floating on high. Lets face it, at sixty years old, we're almost wrinkled old men now. What hair is left is gray, our eyes are not as good as they used to be and I seem to use ladder stands more than monkey seats. I told someone I used to stand in my treestands until my feet got tired, then sat for a while. Now I sit until my ass gets sore, then stand up for a while :>) My dad used to say there is a fine line between wisdom and senility.
  Most of you know we've been at this game all our lives. A lot of time, effort, teamwork, mental stress and lost sleep went into this one. We constantly worried over multiple close gunshots, poaching, pressuring him too much, etc. Having it all come together, taking him fair and square the right way was most important. Just knowing he was out there made use of the alarm clock unnecessary.
  Knowing the passion that guys like us share is a special thing. This is far more than an accomplishment for my brother and I. It is who we are and its nice to know there are lots of others who feel like us.
  I will plan on writing a magazine story with all the details but here are some to fill in the blank spots. I named this buck Woody...not as in Woodsman and not as in woodpeckers. Enough said. Woody is a very special deer. He has it all. Brains, dominance and unpredictable movement patterns. His rack has good tine length, good mass, bladed tines, a wide spread (30" outside), four droptines, a dark forehead, lots of character in his face and scars from fighting other bucks whose racks fit between his main beams. We have at least three set camera pix of him (three more rolls of trail camera film are yet to be developed as of this writing). Last night I discovered I have a shed antler from him two years ago before he developed the droptines. No question about it. I think he is 5 1/2 years old. Cementum analysis will confirm this later.
  I spotted him first in September of 2003. I saw him twice and Barry saw him twice that season. Barry came close to getting a shot at him. A couple friends hunting the same area also had close encounters. We never found his sheds last spring. Barry got video footage of him on October 17 this season. He disappeared when the rut kicked in. I suspect he went on the road spreading his seeds.
   Both of us killed great bucks in early November so our tags were filled. Each of us saw Woody half a dozen times before our late season primitive weapons buck tags kicked in after Christmas, but before Christmas he was always out of range, in low light and never in the same place twice anyway. I was lucky enough to take almost 40 minutes of footage of him one evening during gun season but since I don't hunt with guns, I only had my video camera with me. I got other great deer footage in late November, filled some doe tags and Barry even got footage of a bobcat stalking and killing a squirrel ten yards from his stand. I still don't understand why a guy can't hunt with a bow and arrow during gun season in this state.
  By Christmas, Woody's preferred unpicked bean field was pretty much depleted of beans. He moved to a neighboring property to feed on standing corn nightly. When antlers started shedding on local mature bucks, we decided to get more aggressive in our hunting strategies a few days ago. I will save the details for the magazine article but we were blessed with good luck, good friends, good weather, good wind directions, good stand placement and plans that all fell into place. The rest is history.
  You know I've heard all this wild stuff that happens when someone kills a monster. My phone has been busy more often than not. Emails are relentless. Biggie Hoffman had to be tied down to be kept from driving up from Georgia just to fondle a set of deer antlers. This morning I was offered $20,000. for Woody's warm nuts, presumably for live sperm. I told the guy they had already assunmed room temperature. Hell, I'll sell Barry's jewels for ten grand though.
   I'm sure there will be rumors arise. They will all be untrue. When a guy really loves this sort of stuff and spends a good portion of his life pondering choices, you can't help but wonder about deer and people as individuals and ask oneself why we do what we do. I once heard a guy say if he ever killed a giant nontypical he would give up bowhunting because he had "done it all." I know another guy who in fact did hang it up. I can't help but wonder if they ever loved it in the first place.
  I'm fairly certain I've now taken the biggest buck of my life. I don't know how many more seasons I'll get but I'm running below 3/4 of a tank. I'm not only grateful for the opportunity and the outcome, but thankful for close friends, an understanding wife/family and a brother who shares the passion as much as I do. I'm a lucky and blessed guy.
  You know that feeling of "hunter's remorse" that sets in after the fact? It ain't happening this time. I feel GREAT. Thank you one and all. May all your hunts get better.

Good words Gene.Thanks for taking the time to pen them.

Now.....PUT A TAPE ON HIM ALREADY?  :D

Once again, gotta say congratulations to you all.

Aaaaannnndddd....I gotta ask if there is any chance of seeing any of that video here or in a production video in the future?

WOW Gene! What a buck.

Congratulations to both you and Barry. Like others have said, It couldn't have happened to a nicer couple of guys. Sure would like to see that brute in Kzoo sometime. Every time I think of you guys, I can't help but think about the story of the natives, baboon, and the superglue.   :D

Gene, Thanks a lot for taking the time to share those details, of this special event, with the TradGang membership.

You and your brother Barry, have certainly been an inspiration and source of knowledge for most all of us. It's always nice to see our hero's, continue to shine.

With me being 6 months older than the two of you, I can certainly relate to a lot of your, in this time in my life, comments.

Thank You,

Warren

Gene, congratulations to you and Barry.

My heart would still be jumping out of my chest if I had a deer that size come by my stand.

Rick

Congratulations to both of you.  What a truly spectacular and beautiful animal.  And i don't mean Barry.  You guys put a ton of effort into it and deserve it.  Kudos to the both of you again.  All the best, Al.

Awesome deer and Awesome pic Barry. The snakeskin backed bow aint bad either.

I have to disagree a little with some of the prior posts, It could happen to a better guy, (me) but I know you guys have worked hard at what ya get.

Every time I'm on here I have GOT to pull this thread up and look at that monster. wow

:notworthy:

Dang Barry, was that you behind Gene in the first pic?
I almost didn't recognize you with your hat on straight!
CONGRATS on that WHOPPER!!!

You both deserve a big pat on the back this season.

Allen

Holey #@*&^! nice deer! Excellent photo! Now share some of the details, will ya???

There oughta be a law agin two brudders with so much "good stuff" goin' for 'em!   ;)    :thumbsup:

The deer looks like 4&1/2 maybe 5&1/2 years old....just think how big he woulda been had you showed some restraint and waited another year...

Wow.
Lots of knife handles there.

Very nice buck and a great story.

Have always crossed my eyes at the "no bows during gun season" laws.   Makes no sense, but I guess we're fortunate to have the bow season we have.

Congrats guys that is one awsome buck
Larry

Gene & Barry, once again congratulations. You two are well deserving of a deer of this magnitude. I'm looking forawrd to reading more about him in Gene's article. All the best guys!!
  PS If either of you want to adopt me I'm available...LOL

Congrats guys,I have always heard alot of great things about you two folks through my best bud,Nook.I have never had tthe pleasure of talking to ya but look forward to it some day.John Vargo always speaks highly of you all when I see him at The Hickory shoot.Great hunt guys,look up to ya and your dedication to our sport.thanks for the inspirations.....Two hats

D*#n!

This is great, Thanks for sharing and congrats to the whole family  :thumbsup:

:eek:    :scared:  WOW congrats Gene&Barry

Well, if that buck can't make Gene break into a genuine ear to ear Chuckie smile, nothing will!  Looks like the move to Iowa was worth it!

Jeff Holchin

Many thanks for sharing those words Gene.  It means more than you know.  Can't wait to see and hear more about Woody.  Tell Barry I said hi.

Biggie....awe shad up!!!!!!  :knothead:

WAY TO GO ,BOYS  :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Wonderful deer guys!!! Living less than 20 miles west of Gene, I get to see some nice deer but not quite that big. Gene as per email conversations a month or so ago, I asked if you gave any lessons on shooting form and you told me that you would be the last person to teach form. You said your theory was to get very very close. Well I guess that I should have talked more about it to you and then maybe I would not have completely shot over the back of a 180's class buck last month. I didn't think that I was too bad with Buck fever but I found out I definetly have Monster fever. After the miss I think I had the shakes for an hour or more. Anyway, Congratulations to Clan Wensel!!

Red Necks have all the fun!  Nice Deer just does not seems to cover this occasion.  Congrats to GW and BW.

Terry, didn't get the rise I thought I'd get.................

Gene called me while he and Barry were standing over the deer when they found it. I don't know which of them was more excited. Great guys both.
Two of my closest friends and I can't say enough about how hard they go at it. I used to think I was a diehard whitetail bowhunter but I'm just a weekendeder compared to these guys.

That's alot of bone between the two of you this season ! Congratulations !!!!!!!! WOW....  Paul

Biggie,

Barry once confided in me that he learned all his secrets from you! He said "that Sweet Biggie is a "BIG" deer hunter."

Peter

I am one of the few guys fortunate enough to see Gene's Woody in person.  He showed it to me in his garage last Thursday evening.  Great length and mass, a real show stopper.  Stop smiling Gene...I'm talking about the deer!

I got to transport Woody to the taxidermist who lives near where I live.  Armed escorts and secret routes the entire way.  Unfortunately I did not get trusted to transport the rack, just the cape.  Foiled my entire plan.  I was going to call Gene about an hour after leaving on my cell phone and say "I don't know what to say...I stopped at McDonalds to get a burger and wasn't inside any longer than three minutes...".  Ha, would have loved to see him squirm while pulling this on him!

Dang John, that would have cost ya big!  I could just see ya on the phone telling Gene that line then doing a Larry the Cable Guy head turn and "forgive me Lord".

Hey Gene, I meant to ask ya if this one made your knees shake?  I was in the middle of reading your book "Come November" that I got for Christmas this year when these pics first popped up and that is the first thing I thought about.  He'd make me shake so bad I'd probably drop my bow.

Man that is one AWESOME animal!!!! Congrads!!!!

TF

SON OF A BEACH! WHAT AN ANIMAL. CAREFUL WITH THAT HEADGEAR. CONGRADULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU INVOLVED IN THE TAKING OF THIS MONSTER. SURE GLAD YOU GOT HIM OUT OF THE WOODS.....IT WOULDN'T BE SAFE FOR THE KIDDIES AT HALLOWEEN.
BENN'''
 :bigsmyl: