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Went out this morning to East Otto State Forest. Jumped about 4 on the way to my stand and figured my day was over in that spot. Settled in around 630 and watched the sun come up. After an hour and a half false alarms hearing the squirrels jump around I heard footsteps coming through the trees behind me, looked over my shoulder and saw what I thought was a 4 pt walking by at what I thought was 30 yards. I nocked an arrow, drew back, and let it fly right over his back. He jumped up and ran about 20 yards but stopped when I blew the grunt. He wandered back into range on my second grunt. This time I settled the 20 yard pin behind his shoulder and let another fly. I heard the "thwack" I've only heard on tv and knew I hit something. I climbed down to find bright red blood on the leaves, thinking it was a good lung hit I sat for a half hour and took up the trail. It was heavy and tracking was easy until 40 yards along I found my arrow covered in chunks of green stuff and I knew I had a gut shot on my hands. I backed off, packed up my climber, and took it to the car and grabbed a coffee at the gas station to pass the time. I moved back in and took up the trail again. It was thick and bright, I figured the tracking would be easy but before I knew it I was on my hands and knees finding one or two drops every 15 yds. Right at the road the trail went completely cold. I checked by the two ponds in the thickets, I was starting to feel sick thinking I'd lose the deer. On my way out i decided to walk through a field of tall grass I had found and there he was, bedded down too weak to get up. I put one more in him and I felt so bad at hearing him gurgle that I put one more in him and he died. This was my second deer ever, my first with a bow, and my first with antlers. They may be small but he's a trophy to me. I'm going to do a European mount in honor of my first buck.

Here's a bruiser of a buck that I have a little bit of history with. This pic was emailed to me by a buddy of mine who is hunting this deer. He's not the biggest racked buck that I ever seen but dang, he's got a neck on him for Sept 22nd!!! This guy has to be at least 6.5 years old...a real old-timer by NY standards. Last year's trailcam pic: Last year's sheds. I found the right side and the neighbor kid found the left: The mass at the base of the shed is by far the most impressive feature... His antler from last year compared to a previous set (either from '09 or '08): Crappy still shots from my handicam in '09:

I had mine done last February. The day of the surgery my vision was tested at 20/1000, legally blind. After the most nerve wracking 10 minutes of my life and a day of rest I drove myself to the followup appointment the following day and my vision was tested at 20/15, better than perfect. If you have the money I would highly recommend it. Mine was $3000 and the place that did it specializes in the all-laser (bladeless) version. If you're located near Buffalo I would highly recommend Atwol eye associates in Cheektowaga.

That's smack in the middle of some great Ohio hunting. I'm hunting about an hour NW of there. I can't imagine what the bowhunters are doing there now...Can you imagine all of sudden having these animals potentially in your hunting area? Makes for a brisk walk to the stand.

Geeze, that reminds me...I need to buy another camoflage flask. Got drunk and dropped my old one out of my treestand last year....

Welcome! Time to do your share. Good luck!

Oh yeah!

Here's a thought. You said that initially the 4-point was with some does. Perhaps the blowing that you heard was one of the does and not the buck at all.

Western, They are pests!! they are everywhere down at my camp in southern tier. They kill trees especially pines cause they eat the bark, they chew through our camps, sheds storage areas and crap all over the place. They are pretty much good for nothing but destruction. any and every chance we get we shoot them.

Ive been draggin my poor 7yr old with me..we walked into the field at 430..low and behold a young doe watching us..i drew and shot..w i f f..knowing i shouldnt have shot..but i still did..i found it dificult to restrain myself..but i did..hindsight being 20 20 glad i missed..altho he wasnt..she was small..and id rather totally miss than wound her..trying to explain this as being part of the "game" is like pullin teeth..

Yeah, that's his brisket...they become more pronounced with age. I'd like to see what his neck looks like now after another month of being jacked up on testosterone. I bet there's some shredded trees around!!! The area that this buck calls home has produced several giants over the past few years. All three of these bucks were killed within a mile or so from where this guy is... Another friend's bowkill form '08: A 15 year old amish kid just over the kill shot this one in '09... And of course there's this monster from last season. He was killed on the same property as the buck from the trailcam pics... But, we have no big deer in this state, right? Better shoot that 4-pt before the neighbor get him... .

OMG, three bucks, huge ten running with two large rack eights. Forty five yards, no shot, now they crossed the creek. Now I have to empty the shorts.

I don't know if it's dedication...obsession or fear...lol...been chased ...charged....followed and stalked going to stands pre-dawn...getting too old to out run and now with more bear in the area.... out bluff critters...besides God gave me the wink on a couple of close skunk encounters....But Oh ya I have a Tree lounge and yes..I strapped my self in good and tight(fear I'd "sleep walk") and slept in that. a couple of times...hung and then zip tied bow and gun to a screw in step....those were warm calm weather hunts...but skeeters and some wild screaming in the woods had me rethink that...you'd be surprised the noises out there...like my closed windows & latched doors....

LMAO, here's a bit of history on the town..... Big Indian is a hamlet within the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York, United States, located along State Route 28, within the Catskill Park 17 miles west of Woodstock. The Esopus Creek runs through the area, as Birch Creek feeds in from the north. Big Indian Hollow is located slightly to the west, while Big Indian Mountain sits to the southwest.[1] The community is located at 42°10′25″N 74°44′37″W / 42.17361°N 74.74361°W / 42.17361; -74.74361.[2] Contents 1 Origin of name 2 Notable people 3 See also 4 References [edit] Origin of name Once a Munsee named Winneesook (the name means "snowfall") lived near Marbletown, New York; because of his height of about seven feet, he was also called Big Indian. He was in love with a local woman, Gertrude Molyneux, who eventually loved him as well; because her parents opposed the match, they arranged a marriage with one Joseph Bundy. Disliking Bundy, Gertrude eloped with Winneesook into the wilderness. Some years later, a party of people searching for a missing cow was led by Bundy; still seeking revenge, he accused "that big Indian" of stealing the cow. When they finally found Winneesook, Bundy shot him with his rifle and injured him severely; after being left alone, Winneesook crawled to a pine tree where Gertrude found him later dying. After Winneesook's death and burial, Gertrude and her children moved to the site; the hamlet of Big Indian later developed at that location. Local lore holds that the pine tree stood until the railroad through Big Indian was built in the 1880s.[3]

As i've stated before, at least food plotters can say one thing. The only guarantee you have when you put in a plot is that wildlife will benifit from it. What can you non plotters say you do?? Most hunters don't do anything more than your average green piece member. Thank goodness they at least buy tags. Maybe $5 will go towards wildlife and habitat improvements. Thanks for the effort guys. Then there are you guys who all last week were lamenting about how the hunting #'s are low and kids are not interested in taking up the sport. Well how would you like to be 16 and dads got you convinced that hunting is awesome so were going together this year. When the son asks what to expect dad says "well son, were going to get up at 4am and head to our stands and sit there til 11 and maybe we'll see a squrrel which will be really cool and then will go back after lunch and sit for 4 or 5 hrs totally motionless so we dont spook the chipmunks. Then we'll do it again Sunday. Doesn't that sound great. If we get cold then we'll get down and still hunt really slow and maybe if we are lucky we will actually see a deer. Well a fawn and button buck. What teenager in their right mind would ever want to try that again next yr.? I have clients who have hunted that way for years. They have worked their whole life and bought a nice piece of property and because the nieghbors shoot everything that moves, he calls me and says i'm sick of hunting a barren waistland, is there anything you can do to help my hunting experience to be more enjoyable? I don't need to grow monster buck, he says, but it would be nice to bring my son or friends out here and have a chance to shoot something. Maybe a food plot would keep the deer content on my property during more of the yr, so Joe lead-slinger doesn't shoot them the minute they drop their spots. And then when they do and mention it to someone like Steve, they get the whole baloney, stickup his arss attitude about food plots. It's no wonder the DEC can't get anything right in this state when every little issue is followed by public meetings filled with blow hard hunters who are either jealous of what some other hunters accomplish by doing things different then them or they are totally unwilling to give up their ways even if it is for the good of the hunter and wildlife. God forbid you try to move the archery season. God forbid you allow cross bows. God forbid you implement antler restrictions in some zones. nyantler i know you have been doing things for the wildlife and hunters for a long time but some of you others who like to mock someone and call them full of crap when they mention plots benifitting the wildlife, Id like to know what the heck are you doing? Anything?? Maybe you should be thanking them for the rest of the freeloading members of the hunting community. You know who you are.

I prefer mid day as the season progresses. I have taken more deer between 10am and 2 pm. When most guys are coming our from their morning watch, I am settling in. The deer pattern hunters, and seem to move more when the pressure is down.

i have only been seeing them lately in the morn. i love hunting the evenings but they have not been too productive for me... id prefer to hit one in the morn, leaves me some daylight to do the recovery and what not.