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I've been bowhunting for 36 years and I wouldn't take that shot for all the tea in China. Do yourself a favor and forget about it. 50 yards is for gun season.......

Let's start one thread showing all the successful kid's....I'll start with my son's 6 point taken on Saturday....

Had a really hard time getting out of bed this morning and getting motivated. (Been on 9 hunts in the past 8 days and spent 32hrs on the stand already) I check accuweather.com every morning before leaving to get a current wind direction. When I got to the cabin, I checked the wind, and it was blowing in almost the complete opposite direction as it was suppose to be! I was pissed and scrapped my plan and decided to hunt a stand along a thicket near a cornfield, hoping to catch the deer heading back to bed. I just wasn't feeling it and was regretting going this morning. Then, to top it off, right about daylight, the wind kept shifting to where it was expected to be blowing from today, directly across in between the thicket and the cornfield! S#@&!! I pulled out the grunt call and gave a few grunts to kill some time. A few minutes later (7:30), I saw a nice buck walking directly at me!!! I recognized him as a nice 8pt that I've gotten several pics of all over! He kept closing the distance and started angling slightly to a mock scrape that I made ~15 yards from the stand. I thought this was going to be too easy!! He stopped ~15 yards from the scrape and kept sniffing. He scent checked the scrape from downwind! (I have never seen this before in 30 years of bowhunting, only read and heard about it, and honestly never believed it!!) I think if I would have freshened it this morning before getting into the stand, he would have come right in! Plus the wind screwed me! If it didn't shift, just minutes before, he would have had to walk into the open to check it! He turned and started walking up into the thicket. Panic sets in! He stopped at 29.5 yards (25 is my self imposed limit!!)! He stood there for what seemed like 5 minutes, completely broadside, in the wide open browsing on leaves!! The devil on my shoulder was screaming "SHOOT"!!!! Then, he extended the facing leg, really opening up the vitals and increasing temptation! I let him get ~40 yards and gave him a grunt. He looked up, then looked away. I gave him another grunt. He turned 180 degrees and started angling back to me! The path he was on would take him to 15 yards, broadside, in the wide open! I was ready!! Then, "IT" happened... the wind shifted, so he was coming in from directly downwind of me!!! He stopped at 30 yards, and double-timed it back to where he came from!!! DAMN!!!! SOOOOO Close!!! He didn't snort and crash out of there of anything, but he smelled me and knew there was a human in the area anyway! That sure perked me up though!! LOL First responce I've gotten to grunts yet this year! It won't be long.........................

Look at the bright side, this all could of been happening further into the season. Plenty of time to get out there. Good luck.

Vic's first deer. 7mm-08 Browning, one shot at 65 yards.

First buck 8 pointer Sullivan county 10-3-2012

Sorry to hear about the camera Doc.. Hope he falls from his tree stand but is saved from hitting the ground when his ball sack gets caught on a tree step..

I got pictures off guys mooning my camera, kinda wish it was stolen instead

Ever wonder what it would take to orchestrate a statewide cover-up. Imagine the volume of DEC personel that would have to be sworn to life-time secrecy. Imagine trying to control that information and contain it from all of NYS. Let's face it, this is not the CIA that we're dealing with .... lol. And of course there is the motive ... what could that possibly be?

I shot a nice doe last year on the opening day of the Pennsylvania deer season. I shot her towards dusk, 200 yards, head on. I had an exceptionally good rest and figured I smack her right engine room. At the shot she flipped back over on her backside. Basically she disappeared from my view. By the time I got to her it was dark enough that a headlamp a big help. I'm always looking for bullets after the fact and figured that one got into the guts someplace and ended up on the ground, never to be recovered. I quartered her that night at the farmers son's place then finished her up the next day at home. Well, this afternoon I was slicing up a roast for some stew and looky what I found. A perfect specimen of a Barnes TTSX. This is a 80gr. 6mm shot out of my 243 Winchester chambered LH Remington 700 CDL. 100% weight retention. Not sure how that happens with the tip missing but I figure the little bit of meat stuck in place makes up for it?? Cool. I thought it was worthy of some pics........

After having trouble sleeping from hearing that my grandmother had a stroke yesterday i went in to work to do some masonry. As i was unpacking the pick up truck i got a call from one of my best friends rob who served with me in the usmc. I greeted him with cheer and the sound of his voice struck my mood away as i walked down the driveway of the house screaming no my friend was on the other line explaining that my best of friends John had had it and decided to turn his gun on himself. After protecting our country and risking his life the battle finally caught up with him. He was a hero, and a friend with a laugh as contagious as the flu. I will always remember the way he smiled and the day he could not wait to tell me that he has signed up in the United States Marine Corps just as i was coming home from boot camp. I remember the worry that ran across my mind and i was overwhelmed with pride that there are men out there that give a damn. There are heros that throw shit to the ground and make a stand for each and every one of our freedom. So the next time you come across a vet. Shake his hand and thank him for protecting your loved ones. John I will always love you brother until we meet again. Semper Fi Brother...

Hey guys, After seeing a post earlier i have to say this, I am an avid small game hunter, I currently dont have my archery tag as i couldnt get into a course this year(my fault i waited too long). But as i was raised and hunted with my father and grandfather growing up i was taught to respect any and all hunters in the woods. that means if im hunting small game in the early season and i see that there may be other hunters in the woods you pay even more attention and respect their hunting area, i personally have never walked up on another hunter in the woods and try to steer clear of them if i do happen to see them. but the woods are fair game for all of us and we should all be respectful of each individuals pursuit of their choice in game to take at any given time assuming it is in a legal manner. Now to what i read, you die hard archery guys that are complaining about the youth hunt and small game hunters ruining your day in the stand, wake up and remember it is those youths and small game guys and gals that help keep hunting a sport we can all enjoy. Now i also understand not all hunters have the same respect when they see blaze orange in a stand 100 yards away, i personally am not going to pull up to pick off a squirrel if i see an archer in stand. thats just not right, there is alot of game in season this time of year and we all need to be able to respect and enjoy the sport we have to spend so much money on to enjoy. sorry for going on and on but it pisses me off when i hear people talkin bad about the youth hunts and small game hunters "ruining" a day in the archery stand.

Yep.

I for one am glad to hear that you are willing to stick with your limit and wait for a shot you feel comfortable with. Better than not being patient, stretching it and maybe gut-shooting him. Oh, and cool to hear that he responded to the grunt. I have always had good luck with a grunt too.

Kind of what I was thinking too! Thought the story might spark some interest and let people know that it might be a good idea to pull the grunt tubes out now.

Isn't this a topic about grunting in a buck in early October & not about criticizing an individual for setting his own limitations?

No big deal if he gets bent out of shape over it. My dad has 6 brothers and 6 sisters so I've got plenty of cousins left to hang out with...lol.

Four donated to Hunters Helping The Hungry... one for hot dogs and pepper stix and the other went to my buds at the gas station... another great thing I love about hunting, sharing the venison and the smiles on their faces!

MOOG...CONGRATS!! Phade..what a swell guy!

First deer ever and thrilled it was taken with a bow. Here she is. Now I have to butcher her. Another first, but hopefully not the last. Phade, thanks a ton with all your help. For the other forum members, Phade was awesome. He helped walked the land with me Saturday and put my blind in a great spot. Got her 1 1/2 hours into my first sit there. Then I called him so excited that he came and helped track. Great guy and member.

For me, the challenge of bowhunting is the fact that I have to get close. That's what I got into bowhunting for was to take on the challenge of a short-range weapon for hunting. Maybe I'm in the minority on that these days. But I think I'm much more impressed with a bowhunter that gets his deer at 10 or 15 yards than some guy who had to "settle" for a 50 yard shot.

Everyone has their limit. Outside of that buck, ive only taken three shots longer than 30 yards...32, 42, and 45. Ive killed somewhere around 45-50 deer with a bow, so that is minor number of encounters. Ethics be damned...much of it is situational. Ask a kansas bowhunter, and a 40 yd shot is pretty common scenario. Ask a NY hunter and its a poke. People become comfortable with what they are familiar with and close range is common here....longer shots are more common in open areas of the midwest. Deer dont jump string at long distances, but there is plenty that can go wrong. You cant willy nilly let the arrow go. The buck i shot was not moving any time soon, and looking away at another buck.

I'm sure there are some wacked out bowhunters out there just like there are in the gun-hunting community. I haven't run into them yet, but will not deny that bowhunters are people and like any segment of people there has to be a certain percent that acts badly. But I really don't see the value of starting a thread which paints a whole group of hunters with a broad brush that makes it sound like all or even most bowhunters are a bunch of crazies that hog the woods and rant and rave at every other hunter that comes near their stand. To me it is just more of this anti-bowhunter mania that seems to be so popular these days. In reality, bowhunters share the woods with more different kinds of hunters (and non-hunters) than anyone else. Whatever needs a season, it is thrown into bowseason. So these accusations about bowhunters being selfish are pretty much B.S. and getting just a bit tiresome.

I have to use ground blinds. Usually they are just a small wall of brush and logs built from stuff on-site. I have just begun experimenting with pop-up blinds but have not connected yet. To me there is no doubt that treestands have great advantages. There is some scent advantage although I believe much over-rated. Being out of the line of sight has advantages also as long as there is adequate back-cover. I spent quite a few decades hunting from treestands until a fear of heights finally took over. Eventually I realized that you can't shoot a bow with both arms wrapped around the tree trunk. I went through a transition stage where I built a huge treestand that was 4'x5' with a railing all the way around. You could hold a square dance up in that thing. It was all built out of pressure treated 2x8's and held to the tree with 6" heavily galvanized lag bolts. I'm sure that will be there for decades after I'm gone. But eventually, I couldn't even get comfortable in that either. What I have learned in the years since, is that there is absolutely nothing more exciting than hunting deer from the ground, eyeball-to-eyeball. I have had deer almost within touching distance, and there isn't anything that will get your heart pounding more. So now, even if the fear of hieghts was to leave me, I'm not sure I would ever get up in a tree again.

On an unrelated subject, My neighbor's son shot a nice 6 point Monday. We scored the rack at 62 3/4 and estimate the weight around 120 lbs. Got it skinned and quartered and he is gonna get it mounted.

I would really like to see someone climb in a camera.

Did you call the DEC? They might want to know and also shed some light.

See what those evil foodplotters are doing to these deer! Feeding them to death! I better go plow mine under in the morning.

I am so sorry for the loss of your friend and a fellow veteran! May he rest in peace!

Nuisance permits are for crop damage that involves a business were income is being threatened.. I doubt very much that you can get a permit for damage done to a crop planted for the purpose of attracting the animal that is the niusance... kind of defeats the purpose of the permit.

Wow! That is a show around 8:30. That Big guy needs to go down. What an awesome rack!

God Bless, Thats why its important to talk to someone because sometimes it can be more than anyone can handle on their own. I am not in the military but I am familiar with the high suicide rate in the Police Dept. This is kinda of a cheese quote but I like it "Life is like surfing, Sometimes you're on top of the wave and other times you're getting crushed by the wave, but its always worth getting back on your board!"

Sorry. It is amazing though, how some dirt bags think. "it's not mine, but it's there so take it??" Over the years I have come across all kinds of stuff. Stands, blinds, decoys.... Never considered stealing them. The closest I came was when I found a guys lock on stand on our property, after he had been told time after time to stay out. Each time, he gave me attitude. I left his stand and steps at the bottom of the tree, after I used bolt cutters to snap off the whole chain. Sorry again. People will be low life's. I like dave6x6's thought. lol

I caught a logger on our property a couple of years back.I asked him to leave since I knew there was no way whats so ever he had any ok from the owner he left and that was that I thought.Caught him marking trees on the other of the property a week later,he said he had permission and I should mind my bussiness.I assured him he was in a bad spot now and being from the Bronx I had no problem burying him where we were.I have not seen him since.

Another one......

Sold.

Thats what im talkin about!! Great Buck!!!

Niagara Falls...during bow season? What?!?!?!?!?! See it once...pretty neat. See it twice...OK.....third time..."why is everything so expensive?"

If you think this is bad, wait until next year when crossbows become legal for archery.

Hey Elmo, your story is no doubt one that gets a man thinking, holy CRAP! Anyway replace that climber with a good quality heavy duty climber, spend 250+ plus bucks. Also you have to pick good straight trees without branches that are so thick that you just cant cut them with a little folding saw, and never put your feet/weight too close to the tree.... And i know this may sound cleyshay but you must get right back up on that horse that threw you, there is so so much truth to that. Not meaning the same stand of course but get hold of another good quality unit and do a few practice climbs in daylight to get your confidence back.. And yes those could very well be the start of some early scraping in the photos, not always easy to smell the pee as it absorbs into the dirt quickly with rain and dew.

I expect that in some cases small game hunters have "made" an archers hunt, whether the archer knew it or not.

Try this ..................... http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/46245.html

http://www.gohuntn.com/gohuntn/trail-cam-proof-are-cougars-living-michigan/ maybe its this cougar....................ran to MI and got the same pic.....amazing

They are all snakeoil salesmen steve, its just a matter of figuring out which one sells the more harmful snakeoil

Every minute in stand is prime time in my opinion. Mornings just plain dont favor out well for me though lol. But most activity I see is 11 till sunset. When I sit I most likely will be in stand by 10 and stay put till sunset. If Im not up for that long of a stent I will be in well before light and then back out in evening but that is rare as I hardly ever see deer in am. Im not positive but I recall only shooting one deer in the morning in over 20 years of deer hunting. You have to remember deer dont lay down all darn day long, they need to feed, drink and evacuate waste just like us humans. So having a book, or the android to occupy some of that time sure is helpful. All the while paying attention. Volume is on mute obviously. You might be suprised how alert you actually are, especially hearing, you arent sitting there for hours straining to hear every little squeek in the woods, but rather you hear them more naturally as an odd sound or even a movement from not straining so damn hard on every little object. Its funny to me how every tree stumps turns into a deer after so much time of just staring at them lmao.

It baffles me some people do not understand the difference between dropping food and planting food. Buying bags of food = illegal baiting planting food=legal baiting Why because the DEC has said so and they are responsible for the deer herds of NY. Foodplots dispers deer over a larger area to avoid spreading of diseases like CWD and a host of other nasty diseases that kill deer. Bait piles put deer faces in close proximity with one another for easy spreading of diseases.

Then go about it in a way that would work...try getting them in for small game and turkey first The way that has been tried has not worked.... switch up tactics....leave that dead horse for the compost pile

+ 1 !!!

Now if we can just get crossbows included into archery season, and a program in the schools for archery, etc, we will be doing great!