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Hunting ‘23/‘24: Bag ‘em and Tag ‘em


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11 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

5.5-6.5. If he were 6.5 I wouldn't expect him to have added the body mass he has compared from last year, but this is the 3rd year in a row he's shown up on my cameras and he was pretty well developed when he started coming around. So, I don't have a clue. But he's going in the freezer in a couple weeks

Gods for you letting him age.  Nothing more annoying than greedy gun mofos that shoot young bucks. 

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Gods for you letting him age.  Nothing more annoying than greedy gun mofos that shoot young bucks. 

I've never been overly concerned with antlers, nor do I understand those that are. I can say it's a lot easier to say that when you've got a 13 point and an atypical 12 with double drops hanging on the wall and that's what you compare everything else you see to lol. It's also a lot easier to do it with this guy because he's at my house.

I do get very angry with my dad's older brother because he hunts at the family farm and if it has antlers he's shooting it. His son and son in law are the same. We have 51 MLDP doe tags and only 3 bucks this year as opposed to the 5 we got last year, and dad said he isn't giving them any buck tags so we'll see how that goes.
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33 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:


I've never been overly concerned with antlers, nor do I understand those that are. I can say it's a lot easier to say that when you've got a 13 point and an atypical 12 with double drops hanging on the wall and that's what you compare everything else you see to lol. It's also a lot easier to do it with this guy because he's at my house.

I do get very angry with my dad's older brother because he hunts at the family farm and if it has antlers he's shooting it. His son and son in law are the same. We have 51 MLDP doe tags and only 3 bucks this year as opposed to the 5 we got last year, and dad said he isn't giving them any buck tags so we'll see how that goes.

Your uncle and his crew are a problem. 
 

51 doe tags and 3 buck tags is TPWD biologist clubbing them over the head to tell them they’re a problem.   That ratio is laughable.  
 

Either they don’t get it or they just don’t care.   Stupid or selfish.  Which is it?  Both?

 

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Your uncle and his crew are a problem. 
 
51 doe tags and 3 buck tags is TPWD biologist clubbing them over the head to tell them they’re a problem.   That ratio is laughable.  
 
Either they don’t get it or they just don’t care.   Stupid or selfish.  Which is it?  Both?
 

It's both for sure. They live in Sugar Land and only show up at the farm when it benefits them. As soon as the mention of work comes up then they've got to get back home to Houston. Never fails.


Last year was our first year in the MLD program and we turned in 7 doe tags and 4 buck tags. Game warden said if we fill everything we will probably get a bump next year, but I honestly don't see a need to shoot anything with antlers unless it is out of this world. On most days from late September through early March you can look out in our bottom fields and count north of 70 doe in one field, but there's only 1-2 fellas that will make an appearance. Obvsiouly someone is fertilizing the ladies, but I'd like to see our ratio get a little better than 30:1.
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7 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

It's both for sure. They live in Sugar Land and only show up at the farm when it benefits them. As soon as the mention of work comes up then they've got to get back home to Houston. Never fails.

Ungrateful and don't know how good they have it.

I use to have access to hunt on a lady's property in east Texas. Knew her since I was about 14. Good friend and neighbor up the county road where I grew up. Knew her father first. WWII vet, salt of the earth kind of fellow and as nice as you'll ever meet. He traded honey for our peaches. Years down the road when I'd go up that way to check on our place, I'd often visit and do work on her place for her as a favor. Plumbing, fix things, move heavy stuff, whatever. At the time, I had no idea how much property she had, and thought she only owned a 10 acre plot of the homestead. When I learned she owned more across the road, I asked if I could hunt it and she acquiesced. Great lady. Wish she was still around. Lung cancer got her.

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Ungrateful and don't know how good they have it.
I use to have access to hunt on a lady's property in east Texas. Knew her since I was about 14. Good friend and neighbor up the county road where I grew up. Knew her father first. WWII vet, salt of the earth kind of fellow and as nice as you'll ever meet. He traded honey for our peaches. Years down the road when I'd go up that way to check on our place, I'd often visit and do work on her place for her as a favor. Plumbing, fix things, move heavy stuff, whatever. At the time, I had no idea how much property she had, and thought she only owned a 10 acre plot of the homestead. When I learned she owned more across the road, I asked if I could hunt it and she acquiesced. Great lady. Wish she was still around. Lung cancer got her.

Yep. Those arrangements are old school, and great. We had SOMETHING like that until recently. It wasn’t family land, it was a hunting ranch purchased for that reason, but it really was recreational, they’d invite friends and such…expecting in return that you’d put in work, contribute to new blinds and feeders, etc.
And several years ago, we started getting invites. We’d contribute when we went up and hunted, we’d go there for a couple of “work weekends” a year. Cut wood, paint blinds, fix a tractor, all that shit. So, we kept getting invited back. It was a good period for the boy and me, and lasted us till he went away for college - then they sold the ranch this year. Life changes and moves on.
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We have 51 MLDP doe tags and only 3 bucks this year as opposed to the 5 we got last year, and dad said he isn't giving them any buck tags so we'll see how that goes.


Good for your dad! Getting after that many does is work. A nice high fence place with a big doe MLD quota I was invited to a few times had what I’d call a “does and bros” weekend for opening weekend, where guests were welcome, but bucks were strictly off limits and you had to shoot at least one doe.

I’m trying to get about 5 - 6 guys out to our family place opening weekend to try and shoot 10 does at least. We should probably shoot more than that. Our ratios aren’t as bad as yours, but they are probably 5 does : 1 buck. My dad won’t shoot does either and doesn’t like cleaning deer generally, which adds work to my plate.
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A friend’s mother-in-law made the unfortunate decision awhile ago to hand-feed and try to make a pet out of a wild buck fawn, which is now a ~ 2.5 yr old.  The buck went off on her last week in the yard. Crazy to say, but she’s probably lucky she wasn’t killed. After the hospital trip and getting the m-i-l back home, my buddy called the GW and sent some video of the buck. Warden gave him the go-ahead to put the deer down. Crazy stuff. Buck tore up the old lady’s arms and legs bad. Trying to spoiler this in case you’re eating while reading:

Spoiler


image.thumb.jpeg.0f1e95a546e7fa964e43f172c8322497.jpeg

 

 

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10 hours ago, 686 said:

A friend’s mother-in-law made the unfortunate decision awhile ago to hand-feed and try to make a pet out of a wild buck fawn, which is now a ~ 2.5 yr old.  The buck went off on her last week in the yard. Crazy to say, but she’s probably lucky she wasn’t killed. After the hospital trip and getting the m-i-l back home, my buddy called the GW and sent some video of the buck. Warden gave him the go-ahead to put the deer down. Crazy stuff. Buck tore up the old lady’s arms and legs bad. Trying to spoiler this in case you’re eating while reading:

  Hide contents


image.thumb.jpeg.0f1e95a546e7fa964e43f172c8322497.jpeg

 

 

You mean it’s not like a Disney film?

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16 hours ago, 686 said:

 


Good for your dad! Getting after that many does is work. A nice high fence place with a big doe MLD quota I was invited to a few times had what I’d call a “does and bros” weekend for opening weekend, where guests were welcome, but bucks were strictly off limits and you had to shoot at least one doe.

I’m trying to get about 5 - 6 guys out to our family place opening weekend to try and shoot 10 does at least. We should probably shoot more than that. Our ratios aren’t as bad as yours, but they are probably 5 does : 1 buck. My dad won’t shoot does either and doesn’t like cleaning deer generally, which adds work to my plate.

 

We used to do that on a *friends  acquaintance's place every couple of years.  It was purely due to their extreme mismanagement.  They abused the MLD, abused the other laws associated with it, etc.  State finally came out and demo'd their entire herd at one point.   Also used to be their "clean up" crew.  They some of the most non-shootingest clients you ever saw, and we'd get the invite the following week.   "Hey, if you see that 180" thats missing a front leg, he's all yours" type clean up crew.  Half the time you were just collecting huge racks from the buzzards :(

I sat yesterday and saw a really nice buck with a small bachelor group.  Nicest one I've seen in my pasture in last 4 years.  I couldn't get a good read on him as it was real close to dark but hoping he's old enough.  God knows we have a ton of 2.5-3.5's then they disappear into a black hole never to be seen again; hoping he's one that disappeared a few years ago.  He appeared a bit thin, but had some ridiculous G2's.  Wouldn't be much at some of yalls places, but a really good deer for where we are.   Also had a few hogs come in after dark, and 6 beards show.  Was a good sit.  Didn't get home until about 0200 this AM but was worth it. 

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38 degrees with a light north wind is pretty hard to beat. I had a small 2.5 year old 8; 5 does and 8 turkeys. Also, had a hog at 55 yards but that’s out of my range. 
 

Most of the time we have a group but sometimes it’s enjoyable just being solo; can’t wait to get out to the country again

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I’m going for elk Friday-Sunday. The winds will favor my approach (you’d have to be there to understand) on Saturday and Sunday, but not Friday, so I may skip Friday. I don’t want to scare them off our land. I have multiple cellular trail cams, and the elk were on our land 10/6-10/10 and 10/17-today, so they are likely to leave for several days if I spook them.
The bulls I’ve seen aren’t worth taking this year, although a couple have matured nicely since 2022 (if they are even the same ones). I may just go for a fat cow (don’t tell Vick).
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Are you in NM? Man that bull in the back looks good to me. You have a great setup and are smart to play the wind
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This dumbass has been chasing some poor doe around our yard. The house is right on the edge of a huge chunk of woods, and we’ll have 20-30 deer hanging out at the tree line. My cameras started going off like crazy. Thought maybe we had a break in. Nope. Just chasing her around and around the house. She needs to get a protective order.

My wife said she knows how that doe feels 🙄
 

 

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Edited by UT_OB1
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3 hours ago, 686 said:


Are you in NM? Man that bull in the back looks good to me. You have a great setup and are smart to play the wind

I’m in South Dakota, Black Hills, about 20 miles SE of Mt. Rushmore. That bull may be better than I suspect if he’s not one I’ve already caught on trail cams. Elk mounts aren’t cheap, and if I shoot a bull that was better left for next year, I may end up waiting a few more years for a better one.

The wind will be out of the SE on Friday, but the approach into the wind would require crossing a third mile of open ground with no topographical advantage. I’m not interested in unnecessary 500 yard shots. This is approximately the ground I’d have to cover going into that wind.

IMG-5098.jpg

When the wind shifts out of the NW, I have a wooded ridge with a bit of a ravine that provides some cover.

Another problem with approaching from the north (behind the photo) is that my neighbor to the north likes to hunt and I’d be exposed to any elk on his land. I kinda doubt he’d appreciate me spooking them. 

Edited by ImissWallyPryor
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The wind will be out of the SE on Friday, but the approach into the wind would require crossing a third mile of open ground with no topographical advantage. I’m not interested in unnecessary 500 yard shots. This is approximately the ground I’d have to cover going into that wind.
IMG-5098.jpg
When the wind shifts out of the NW, I have a wooded ridge with a bit of a ravine that provides some cover.



Can you cover the 1/3 mile in the dark early Friday AM, get posted up in a good spot and wait? Where do you think they bed down mid-day?
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12 hours ago, UT_OB1 said:

This dumbass has been chasing some poor doe around our yard. The house is right on the edge of a huge chunk of woods, and we’ll have 20-30 deer hanging out at the tree line. My cameras started going off like crazy. Thought maybe we had a break in. Nope. Just chasing her around and around the house. She needs to get a protective order.

My wife said she knows how that doe feels 🙄
 

 

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Tackle it!

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9 hours ago, 686 said:

 

 


Can you cover the 1/3 mile in the dark early Friday AM, get posted up in a good spot and wait? Where do you think they bed down mid-day?

 

 

Where they bed down at night is a bit of a mystery. I caught a bull wandering about an hour or two after sunset once. Other than that, the pics have all been in daylight.

They will bed down midday in that meadow in my pics. Other cameras just show them passing by. I have a camera to the south which has been very inactive recently, so if that means they bed down at night to the north, that might not go well for me. I can’t approach from the W or NW because our property boarders Custer State Park along the west side.

Unless they have moved off our land, I should be able to bag one Saturday or Sunday. Otherwise, I’ll just have to wait for them to come back before the 30th. 

Edited by ImissWallyPryor
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On 10/6/2023 at 10:36 AM, Storm the Field said:

Dad informed us earlier this week that he finished the stand. Brother and I heading out to the lease tomorrow afternoon to set up a new feeder to replace one of the busted ones. Dad is meeting us out there with the new stand at sunup on Sunday. Just gotta unload it and attach the roof. 

Hot damn, the lease is now gonna have at least 1 fully-functioning stand and feeder combo ready to go in time for the season. And hopefully it will have been feeding for long enough to get some regular diners. 

itshappening.gif

Got the new stand delivered and set up at a promising location. Heading back out Saturday to clear out some shooting lanes and finish getting its feeder set up. Only got it about halfway done before we had to get back to town. Should end up being a good feeder for the money, but it was a bitch to put together. Next time, we'll probably just spring for the extra $200 or so to buy a fully-built model that we just have to pop on a trailer. 

Dad also fixed a broken control unit on an otherwise functional feeder at one of the existing stands, so we'll get that popped back on, fill it up with corn, and get it back on schedule.

If all goes according to plan, I should get back to town Sunday evening having 2 more stand/feeder combos ready for the season than today.

 

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6 hours ago, huge said:

I hadnt considered the cost.  I saw several in those pics that I would be happy to have mounted above the mantle of in the great room of the house of my dreams that I don't own.

My buddy shot a decent (but not great) 5x5 last fall during our NM hunt.  He ended up getting a Euro mount, and it turned out pretty slick.  His motivation was a low ceiling height, but the significantly cheaper cost didn't hurt either.   Plus, we didn't have to really cape it out in the field.  Which was nice.  

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Man…I love elk. Maybe my favorite game meat. And you get a CRAPLOAD of it. Back when I was in college, I worked for a lawyer with a place in NM who got a cow tag. He shot one, filled all his freezers, and his wife got ticked and told him he had to unload as much as he could. He came up to the office and made the offer…I was a poor student, told him I’d take whatever he’d give me. I think I got 80+ lbs of meat. Ate like a king that semester.

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On 9/25/2023 at 9:04 AM, BabaYaga said:

Cool stary bra time - I might have told this before, but I was changing batteries out on one feeders with a cage and I left it open.  Had to run back to the house and when I got back a juvenile coon was nestled inside the cage eating corn.  Ok little guy, lets go....so I get a stick and poke at him and he freaks out.  Starts hissing and loosing his shit.  Ok man, I really have to close this cage and that little shit was going full honey badger.  I try a few more times, but I'm not getting bit by a damn coon.  I walk back to the truck, get my 1911, he's still refusing to move.  When he was clear of the spinner, I put the barrel to the cage, little shit bites the barrel, and I pull the trigger.

You know those gel cavitation videos....it was glorious....

44-mag-gel-test-bad-day.gif


show him who’s boss !!!

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On 10/18/2023 at 8:40 PM, UT_OB1 said:

This dumbass has been chasing some poor doe around our yard. The house is right on the edge of a huge chunk of woods, and we’ll have 20-30 deer hanging out at the tree line. My cameras started going off like crazy. Thought maybe we had a break in. Nope. Just chasing her around and around the house. She needs to get a protective order.

My wife said she knows how that doe feels 🙄
 

 

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Lol, there have been studies that have shown a surprising amount of deer are bred by pretty young bucks. He was just trying to get some the only way he knows how. 

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On 10/17/2023 at 7:21 PM, JCHIL said:

054E426F-D9A1-4DBE-B8DD-99AB69B2A635.jpeg.bff75d470a71d61b26d26800149f5638.jpeg

4.5 yo? What says Surly buck gurus?

 

3.5 yo.  Tight stomach, flat back, long legs, lower in the front than in the rear, no wobbly brisket. 

Very healthy young buck.  The kind that gets a window in it when it should be allowed to pass and spread his genes for at least 3 years.

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1 hour ago, deadshank said:

3.5 yo.  Tight stomach, flat back, long legs, lower in the front than in the rear, no wobbly brisket. 

Very healthy young buck.  The kind that gets a window in it when it should be allowed to pass and spread his genes for at least 3 years.

Nice and heavy up too, too. The best kind.   I’m heading south to sit this afternoon.  Hope the one I saw last week gives me a better look.  

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20 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Man…I love elk. Maybe my favorite game meat. And you get a CRAPLOAD of it. Back when I was in college, I worked for a lawyer with a place in NM who got a cow tag. He shot one, filled all his freezers, and his wife got ticked and told him he had to unload as much as he could. He came up to the office and made the offer…I was a poor student, told him I’d take whatever he’d give me. I think I got 80+ lbs of meat. Ate like a king that semester.

Both of my mom's younger brothers went on annual elk hunts when I was in college. So I got every bit of their elk meat from the year before, usually 400-500 lbs. We lived on the end apartment and had a barrel pit pulled up beside our exterior wall. We would get a keg of "Natty" and cook about two dozen "elk burgers" every Friday after class. Wonderful poor, poor times. We fed half the apartment complex.

CHIEF

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18 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:
On 10/19/2023 at 1:40 AM, UT_OB1 said:

This dumbass has been chasing some poor doe around our yard. The house is right on the edge of a huge chunk of woods, and we’ll have 20-30 deer hanging out at the tree line. My cameras started going off like crazy. Thought maybe we had a break in. Nope. Just chasing her around and around the house. She needs to get a protective order.

My wife said she knows how that doe feels 🙄

Lol, there have been studies that have shown a surprising amount of deer are bred by pretty young bucks. He was just trying to get some the only way he knows how.

Public Service Announcement: The Rut is Coming, and No Females Are Safe

Alittlemorethanthelawwillallow.thumb.jpg.3c4b51e8cce749d4a4b48655dfac5972.jpg

... THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE LAW WILL ALLOW ...

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Big rifle for the little guy - heavy, from a blind he doesn't need to support it's weight and the recoil is probably minimal.  I started my oldest with my laminated wood stock, heavy barrel 22-250.  It's not a running around with gun, but from a rest, it's a laser beam across any field we have.  He can sit and snipe to his hearts content.  

Still no pigs.  Fingers crossed...

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3 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Big rifle for the little guy - heavy, from a blind he doesn't need to support it's weight and the recoil is probably minimal.  I started my oldest with my laminated wood stock, heavy barrel 22-250.  It's not a running around with gun, but from a rest, it's a laser beam across any field we have.  He can sit and snipe to his hearts content.  

Still no pigs.  Fingers crossed...

The boys granddad is a Marine Vietnam vet.  He’s schooled them on shooting with scoped .22 rifles.   My job was easy taking them to the range and going up in class to .243 and .270.  The younger used my mothballed .243 and the older used the .270 shown in the pics.  
 

Naturally they incorrectly equated the heavy .270 bench gun with “a big kick.”   I explained to them the extra weight minimizes recoil and once they resolved that in their brains they were good to go.  
 

First deer ever taken for the older was a 145 yard head shot through its left eye and out the back.  Dropped like a stone and never moved.  
 

I advised a headshot because a miss is a miss. A nervous first timer can turn a shoulder shot into a gut shot rodeo or ruin a lot of meat.  I saw them at the range and they were both filling up the red at 100 and I know the rifles are very accurate and consistent so I had confidence in their ability and it was only a matter of calming them into a smooth bottom of the breath squeeze.  

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4 minutes ago, Frank Drebin said:

Most years we have to kill over 200 deer and we have had our ranch since the 1980s.  Guests of all ages and all levels of experience do a lot of the shooting. Needless to say, there has been a lot of trial and error.  What I have found that is nearly fool proof is the following when it comes to small kids shooting

1. Have them shoot at 100-yard target on the range when they get to the ranch.  They use my rifle I have zeroed in.  For kids, I use a 243 with Barnes TSX

2. Show them a video of deer at feeders and point out where to shoot them (I say square in shoulder, but that is another discussion) and when to shoot them (when the deer is perfectly broadside).  Replay a video and have them point out the proper time to shoot and where to shoot the animal.

3. In blind, have them sit to my left.

4. Use sandbag in window

5. Rest the butt of the rifle on a Primo bipod trigger stick (below) to keep the back end stable

6. I will line up the shot lefthanded (shooter is to my left) and get it "close" to lined up

7. Kid takes over and pull trigger

The shooting stick keeps the rifle rock solid and even a kid can keep it very still.  Using this protocol, I have never had a kid miss or injure a deer.

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Oh, and I get them noise cancelling ear muff hearing protection.  Proper hearing protection at range and blind do two things.  Protect hearing and people shoot better.

Nice.  I used one of those fitted sandbag rests that balances on the window.  In a pinch I've used my jacket before.  The kids love it.  I've got mine trained on shots at the base of the neck.  55gr PSPs have never let me down and we've never had a deer clean the feeder pen.  

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1 minute ago, Pdawg88 said:

IMG_0205.thumb.jpeg.744f4b4689aa82de50e783c7992f1c9e.jpegShot this guy here in Oklahoma. Wife and I bought 15 acres to build a house on. It’s northwest of downtown OKC by about 15 miles. Shot him last night and waited till this morning to go find him. 

Hell yeah. Those 2’s and 3’s are no joke.  You have a guess on what he tapes? 

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