Great info so far, not much new to add but here's what we do for 10+ a season...
Gut fast, open cavity. We skin out and cut hanging on a pulley gambrel close by. Cooler with ice to throw meat into right off the animal. We take everything off the bone while hanging.
Vacuum sealed same day...
Sold cutco back in the day, we have a fleet of the hunting knives and guthooks.
DD edge works great on skinning them out and they make fast work on muscle.
After 3 or 4 whitetail they usually need to be sent in... less if my brother is skinning them through the hair.
Any chips or anything...
Flying back out of Denver they'll usually take it to a side room and inspect so that might be a few extra minutes.
You watch from the outside and you may not be able to repack it to your satisfaction.
Less hunters in the east/midwest, more dedicated out west hunters has been my observation.
Much easier to get hooked on your first spot and stalk hunt than freezing in a hang on deer stand sitting still. Multigenerational deer camps have been declining among folks I know.
All good! Funny enough just got the missus an axis II .223 compact. Small in stature so we looked a bunch of options, most felt awful for her.
We had a strict budget... when the pawn shops had nothing, limited inventory or no idea when production would resume, other compacts became too pricey...
My rule is keep it how you shot it.
If a tip gets broken or something like that in transit, friend knocks it off a wall, etc. then fix it. But I don't "fix" anything to be different than how the animal was when harvested.
I wouldn't touch the stock for youth, it's mostly an action preference. Admittedly I haven't dealt with the RA action a ton, but in limited handling liked the tikka and felt it would be a better choice for youth.
Lurked for a few years, great info and thanks for sharing. Mostly whitetail hunter in Southern VA and a few outfitter trips over the years.
Started DIY hunting out west this year. 1 cow elk tag soup. Hooked on the planning and controlling my own destiny part of it. Learned a lot from lurking...
If he's going to shotgun birds often go lefty for all long guns. Rifle only I'd go righty for the better options and borrowability.
Pheasants is the only time my dominant left eye comes into play and its a pain to train my right eye up/left eye down before those trips.
My brother is a...
I have an x bolt hc speed in 300, recoil hawg. Shot federal 180 sciroccos factory ammo under an inch out of the box. 1 in 8 twist.
The barrel is long for woods, but not terrible just need to be aware with it on your shoulder. Great in open and lightweight. Colorado, oregon, vancouver island...