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I met my friend 3 yrs ago through my sister at her BBQ.Anyway we talked got to know each other and became friends.After geeting to know my friend over 3 yrs I finally felt ok to invite him to bowhunt with me this yr.My friend wally is 61 and has prostate cancer. Also he has a back injury which left him with disabilities. He had a really closeup and personal encounter over this weekend with a nice 7 pt and he talked about it til today. He last hunted with another guy who got pissed cause he shot a deer off his property(so why invite him).Anyway between his disability and illness its really hard for him to get out. This afternoon I asked him to accompany me to hunt setting him up in a ladderstand on a ridge overlooking a swamp and bedding area.As I rejoined him this evening around 4:45 he was out of the stand and had his light on.As I approached Wally I asked if he got a deer.To my delight he said yes.I asked if it was down and what sex.He told me it was already gutted and a buck It made me fell so great to see the overwhelming joy and energetic behavior coming from him.I high 5'd him and he checked out his deer.Not a trophy by any means but just to see his joy and gratefulness bought tears to my eyes.I guess I forgot what its like to see someone who has so much wrong enjoy the moment or maybe not thinking about his problems if only for a moment.If anybody who reads this ever has a chance to help someone in this or other ways that has llife problems give it a shot the feeling it gives you will overwelm you.Its such a great experience that I had to share it with this forum.

Hunt with a buddy that can't run as fast as you can . If you are attacked by a bear in the dark , knock your buddy down and run as fast as you can !

I am as equal opportunity as anyone, probably more than most, I dislike everyone the same. "People are....", ....Lazy, Stupid, selfish, morons, slobs, disrespectful, ghey, poor sports, ignorant, pain in the asses. and you can substitute for " PEOPLE" any other term you want, ie, Black, White, City dweller, Logger, Farmer, Woman, Kid, Hound Hunter, Bowhunter, Fisherman, Feminist, Racist, Liberal...guides.... PEOPLE are all those things, a PERSON is not. I have guided full time year round for over 30 years, as did my father and his father and his father. One thing remains true and one thing only, people are easy to hate....a person is not. well that, and for enough money a guide can tolerate anyone. LOL. the OP is taking an emotion he or she has and is shotgunning a generalization out there to express it. I wont waste time trying to argue it, not until the OP says clearly what it is the issue is, I hear you saying" I hate when people wound and lose deer. I hate bowhunters because I think they do it most." If that is your statement? I will agree with the first part, especially now that leashed tracking dogs are wide spread in NY and are FREE to call and use. second statement? bowhunters wound and lose more deer than other hunters? the numbers simply are not there to back that up. Rifle season especially when there are doe tags, leads the way for unrecovered deer. Now let me ask the OP this; Do you think the deer hunter losing a deer means that deer is wasted? everything that eats meat will eat a dead deer. consider this. what happens to the 400 million animals hit and killed in the USA every year on the roads? University testing labs torture over and over then finally kill 100 million animals a year in the USA. I honestly ask why a comparebly tiny number of bowhunting lost deer ticks you off with 400 million animals hit on the roads per year and wasted and that doesnt bother you? 100 million animals having hairspray and gasoline sprayed in their eyes to see if it blinds them, dogs, cats, monkeys and rabbits being given cancer and birth defects doesnt bother you? the handful of deer lost to hunters but still part of the mountains ecology...that bothers you most? Boy, I wish I were you and a few deer being lost to hunters and eaten by eagles, coyotes, fox, bear, possums, coons, birds, owls, ravens, crows, mice, weasels, mink, fisher, bobcats, et als, was my main problem in life. I will make you a deal, get the UNiversities in the USA to stop torturing animals and I will make sure all hunters ahve the means to recover all wounded deer if fatally wounded.

I suppose I'll chime in....Obvious I'd shoot him for the buck I shot has a smaller rack than that....and I'm more that happy with it.....Don't much care how old he is...not biggest racked buck I've ever shot...but good sized body... Here's my take on this...I didn't shoot one of the biggest bucks of my life...at ten yards...just because it made me nearly pass out and I was having a hard enough time just not dropping the bow and tumbling out of the stand...fact...that buck was shot around 2MILES away a week later...It wasin the pics at a local gun shop.... So I know how far a deer will travel with a major highway and hundreds of hunters between us...I never see the bucks I do shoot on any of my many cams nor near any of my plots....this years buck was being hunted and seen on camera by at least four other bow hunters I know ...I hadn't seen him....the point is every one hunts different areas and for different reasons...why even ask ...ppl need to start hunting for whats right for THEM...not what LOOKS right for OTHERS...and enjoy the experience and be proud of a good kill...do I have any "standards"? ....Yes I have and do pass on 6 and under....but if a really big 6 showed up...I may think hard...I pass on doe with triplets and twins...they are the buck producers....they are the ones I really hope survive so that as with this year I can pass 7 buck in one morning....but I also fill my doe tags....I good clean kill is an accomplishment and kudos to all hunters that have been blessed with the experience...what ever the quarry(sp)?

I'd take em and wouldnt think about it twice..You cant eat the rack sounds like a pot of people are hunting for the wrong reason!

Just as you get frustrated with bow hunters, I get frustrated with the gun hunters who "spray and pray", and hit everything except the deer that ran right in front of them. What sense does it make to fire 6 rounds in a attempt to put down a deer. I bow hut because it takes great skill and you have only one shot. I gun hunt with a ML because you only get one shot. That is how it is where I come from - One shot one kill. Trying to draw a line between bow hunters and gun hunters is absolutely retarded! If you are jealous of the nice bucks we get to shoot during bow season then get off your ass and put the time in the trees, or better yet do it on the ground and really hunt the deer! Until then you are no different from anyone else. 308 When you stalk and drop a buck like this on the ground (gun or bow) then give a call! Until then take your mamby pamby sensitive ass somewhere else. The best thing I like about bow season is that I have 3 deer already. How many do you have?

Did .308 ask you to bring up the archery hits? LOL

these guys just love using technical terms which they damn well know you havent heard of or you wouldnt be asking about what to do with a skull. they want you to reply and ask as you did just so they can go " oh this is the process in which, yadi, yadi, yada". makes em sound real smart instead of just saying that taxiderms have flesh eating beetles which they put in a tank with yer skull for a week or two and they do all the work.

Synthetic stocks and a good sling help. I do have to say I liked the light weight for carrying my Mossy, but the extra weight of the 870 helps a bit with recoil. Its all personal preference

Me either I am thinking I should have taken next week off oh well love being in the woods so it doesn't matter. I don't think I should be wearing camo though in this treestand a bathing suit and some sun tan lotion would do it!

Both, very nice looking birds with great stories, congrats to both, and thanks for sharing.

By me I wouldn't say the rut in on, nothing moving. Thought I would have seen some activity this past few days but nothing so far. Have seen deer in the fields in the am and even in mid day, no bucks bothering them.

i do not bow hunt and dont like it but dont go after people who do it . it is their choice . i like to hit the deer and know that it will die . i cant hit the inside of a barn with and arrow if i was inside . so it is your choice and i would not do anything to take that away from you . i like some of these posts and some are just assnine . but to each his own .i have taken deer that someone has shot and not bothered to track or look for if . i have gotten 3 deer that way . i dont mind that i got them but i do mind that they didnt even look for them . i watched one run thur the field and lay down under a bush the guy didnt even walk out to the field to see if he hit her . i will say this there are good hunters and there are people ( wont call them hunters ) that give hunting a bad name

I'll take every deer in the state wounded than 1 hunter losing his life. How many bowhunting deaths vs gunhunting deaths? How many accidents by bowhunters vs gunhunters? I think treestand falls kill more people than bowhunters. Attached is dec's report from 2008 look at the 5 year averages 0 incidents with bow and arrow, 32.4 incidents with a firearm. This was the safest year on record at the time btw. Me, I'm frustrated with idiots. Have a nice day! NY_HRSI_SUMMARY_08_draft1.pdf

Dave sorry about not being able to take Bailey. Wish it could of worked out for both you guys, Bailey and ourselves. I will keep weeding through some people I know as well. Keep at it you will find her a perfect home. Nice talking to you on the phone I could just hear the passion in your voice about the dog. She is a good looking pup someone will fit her needs keep the faith.

lets just face it.its not the weapon.Its how much you practice with your weapon and how confident you are with it.And how ethical you are. I lost deer with shot gun.I have only wounded a deer that i didn't recover with bow.It jumped the string and got fatty tissue from going through its skin above its back. I know my limitations with a bow.I practice and i only take shots i know i can make now with whatever weapon i use. Its not the damn weapon thats the problem. I have such a passion for bow hunting cause its is so close and personal.You have to have all the elements in perfect order.Wind,distance,clear shot and not get noticed by your game you are persuing.The challenge of it has me so addicted that i dont even care to gun hunt.To me it is a hunting of another level.My 11 yr old son could drop a deer at 200 yds with the 308 or 30-06 if i would let him.In his stinky foot ball clothes on and talking normal tone.Whats the sport in that?BTW.i wouldn't let him but you see what i mean. I hear this all the time about bow hunters.And the reason i first started bow hunting was cause i never saw deer during gun.I started bow hunting and have gotten so much closer to the animal i have gained more respect for the animal.I have watched them do their normal thing and let them walk by.Before i bow hunted i woulda smoked any one of them with my ithaca deerslayer. Bottom line.Have respect for that animal and dont make unethical shots.No matter what implement.

Boy I'm in this one kinda late but i have to say that i agree with some of what 308 has said but i just don't think he said it very well. Bow hunting is my passion but i agree that maybe in the past few years things have gotten a bit out of control with SOME types of bow hunters. I do come across alot of guys that are flinging arrows around like fools. Some even laugh about it the same way i guy jokes about emptying his 12 guage at a running deer from 125 yrds. Someone stated earlier that these types of hunters do it with both weapons. Well i personally think its about time us bow hunters started standing up to fellow bow hunters and say knock this crap off. We need to re-instate the ethical choices that most bow hunters carry into the wood already, and start demanding it of the ones who don't. I really hate to blame it on the media but i think the problem has gotten alot worse with these people thinking they are Micheal Wadell or something. They sit and watch the hunting shows for 11 months of the year and then when the first deer comes within 45 yrds they let it fly. If they hit it great. if not oh well. Now i do think this type of bow hunter is way in the minority and i believe 99% of the guys on this site are very careful hunters, so i'm not singleing anyone here out but i do think we bowhunters should continue to strive to set ourselves apart and hold ourselves up to higher standards than we have been. There is always room for improvement.

Thats exactly right.. thats how i got to 58.. I averaged out the circums to about 16" total...FYI there are always 4 circum measurements per side even on a 6-point

Nothing like having a good response to a debate... gotta say some of the responses are just as ridiculous as the original statement... It would be nice to think that those responses are from the immature kids here and not some of the adults.

308 is the kind of guy who will steal your game camera or tree stand because he is jealous of bow hunters and feels they are shooting his deer. A real low life.

You didnt say how old you are or how long you have hunted. I have 10 mounted so far that are 125 and above and an 8pt from this year that is just shy of 130in. That might seem like alot but i have hunted for 35 years and i have made it a point to go where the deer are and to always let a young buck walk.You can take does to fill the freezer is most areas.The ones you cant then by all means take a small buck. I guess im saying if you make it your all out effort to go where the deer are 100in will be an easy mark!!

What an assnine statement. I could just about guarntee that on opening weekend of shotgun/rifle in the southern teir there are more deer wounded and run off to die or wounded and still hangin on for another day than there is wounded in the southern and northern zone bow all year!!. 308 that is such a joke!!! If you have never lost a deer in your life you need to become a hunters ed teacher or something. I suppose all the guys you hunt with all have perfect record's also. I would say just another disgruntled gun hunter that is pissed off because the bow's are in the wood's first. If that in fact is the case then you need to pick yurself up a bow and get out here with us. As good as you are with a gun,a bow should be no problem!!

Yup, thats pretty much it. Some guys down south refer to whitetails that way but it's really a western thing. Here's a pic of my Wyoming Muley. He's a 5x5 with junk. Brows and a kicker make him 13. The guys out west almost peed themselves when they saw the brow on him. I told them the brows look like a 2.5 yr old whitetail where i'm from.

I dont think that statement even justifies a reply.. That dog could take on a fight in a few different way's. Im sure every bowhunter on this site would be wiling to rip into this one but me i think i will save my word's because god knows i dont stand a chance to fight someone with perfection!!!

I should have put this up earlier but this is what i usually put on a pumpkin.

Ive been shot at three times by individuals that i believe were sober. I don't want to take my chances with a guy that has alcohol in his system.

no 1 is gonna stop me from crackin my beer @ 8a.m....but also thats only when i am hoppin on the tractor to go pick my deer up @ the woods. all the guys i hunt with, were all pretty young and extremely good friends. no 1 drinks before hunts or in the woods @ all. but after that bow / shotgun is hung up after the evening hunt were always gonna tie one on. nothing but business sun up to sun down, but after that its time for strip steaks some potatos n mushrooms, stoke up the wood burner and tell tales from the days hunt and throw ur feet up n relax. everyone gets a good nights sleep and were back @ it again.

Same here 12 mounts and let my guy cape out each one.He said there was no extra charge for that and he would much rather do it himself to save problems when getting the mount put together!!!

Pass for sure, especially knowing what you got running around. As for the meat hunters, doe's are plenty and generally taste better, why not increase the buck age structure and harest doe's first, you can't eat the horns anyway right?

To each there own but untill you mature as a hunter ang go after only mature animals the rest are just like yearlings.If he was to keep a log on that buck without shooting him i would bet that buck would walk by him time and again and run through the woods helter skelter during the rut.Not a big challange there.Again thats the good thing about maturing as a hunter.First few years its kill as many as you can and then 20 years and hundreds of deer under the belt you will go after a deer that will beat you many times before that fatefull morning when you finally outsmart him.In the meantime shoot all those stupid does runnin around to fill yur gut!!!

SImply put- want a big buck? dont shoot a little one......all the truth and insight you need is there. Dead bucks dont grow. His rack was small because he was young. If you can start to pass bucks like this you will be amazed at how much better your ground gets (of any reasonable size) and the numebr of deer you see. In the mid 90s I wouldve wanted him mounted on the wall- shot a few 2.5s in the early 2000s- now I watch him and his buddies enjoy their adolesecnce- fight, feed frolick and .... and when his old brothers come out I am reassured it is all worthwhile. The area this pic is form is where I hunt and know best....there are lots of does here- there is the meat.......people hide behind excuses and folks who shoot 2.5s do so because they feel they cannot do better. Most areas this si exclusive to a lack of selfcontrol. Just my two cents though...the legality and liberties are in palce for folks to do what theyd like in NY

Nope. Funny how so many guys like QDM but would shoot a 2.5. LOL. Amazing to think the DEC said 40%+ of bucks shot last year were this old or older. Sad state of affairs here in NY for male deer.....

remember on some of the hunting shows he is a cull only 8pt's just ask lee & tiffiny

Fasteddie, there' something to be said about proof reading. In your post to the kid, you put"Lookes", when it's looks. Maybe we should all take a step back and give him some slack.

I've been charged ...by deer...circled by yote and I went to camp to bow hunt bear...left gear in truck that was backed up to cabin door....at 4 am I decided to get gear and not to turn on the outside light...opened door took 2 steps and opened passenger door of the Dodge..The dome light came on and I hear HUMPP....HUMPH Oh..that's not good ...I leaned around the cab and standing/leaning on truck is the bear I came to hunt! Ya well brain was yelling jump in truck ...make for door...but the feet weren't in the conversation and there I stood...listening as he plopped to the ground and rustle through the oak leaves to the back of truck...My mind now yelling if he rounds that bed your in trouble move!..hhmm nope...I saw him moving away up hill to the woods...turned grabbed gear and hopped back inside I showered ate and out the door I went in the dark...light in pocket...bow in one hand and my trusty little gutting knife in the other...I get about 100 ft from cabin and the woods behind the cabin erupt in scream/growls ...snapping trees and a god awful scream...i TRUELY BELIEVE i STOOD IN THAT DRIVE GROWING HAIR JUST SO IT COULD STAND ON END...AS SUDDEN AS IT STARTED IT STOPPED...THAT WAS A LONG MILE HIKE TO MY STAND AND FAST...oops sorry about caps....I sat 12 hours that day and never saw even a deer

I have seen bears 4 or 5 times while hunting. the last time was this pass opening day of gun season for deer that 300lb+ bear came with in 20 feet I was hunting on the ground. I told it to get!! and it walked away. I did walk into one going to my stand during bow season in the dark and just yelled HEY BEAR!!! and it took off. nothing like a bear in the morning to wake you up better then coffee.