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Bet you wished you looked as good as me Jack!

First timer ever hunting I had a deer about 30 inches nose to my barrel and the deer lived. That safety worked no matter how hard I pulled the trigger. Hooked.

OK, almost 30 years ago a group of guys I hunted in PA with had an idea. They wanted to hunt the back of a mountain in Tioga, PA. To access it we'd have to use a boat & motor we could carry down to the Tioga river from the highway. Opening day of Buck Season dawned cool, damp and foggy. We got to the water edge at least an hour before legal shooting time, after lugging the boat & motor down the slick bank. I don't recall the exact number of guys but 9 could have been it. Multiple trips back and forth to ferry the guys took some time as I don't think we had more than 4 in the boat at a time. Between loaded packs, empty guns, heavy clothes and winter boots we were pushing the Coast Guard limits on the boat tag................................. All went well during the days hunt, typical opening day in Pennsylvania; rain, snow, wind, ice and fog. We fanned out all across the mountain, some climbed to the top, others stayed near the bottom. We had the entire joint to ourselves, we thought. One of the guys shoots a spike buck near the top and while tracking his buck stumbles onto a back tag that some other guy NOT in our group lost!! (in those days that was called a bonus tag) The weather got even worse, the snow/rain mix turned to ice pellets for a bit that stung like #9 shot from a .410......................All this is before cell phone or even reasonably priced two way radios or we probably would have beat it out of there. We had no contact with each other during the day, the plan was to meet at dusk back at the cruise ship. (12' Sears row boat) One deer died that day, that was it. One guy saw a bear, most saw zip when it came to deer, some doe of course but they were safe, We noted when we got to the river at dusk that she was starting to skim over with ice. Ahh, that could make it sporty! The wind was picking up and now snowing harder. Two guys and the captain per trip was all we could do with the gunnel's close to the water line. The boat had some water in it from splashing over the edge in some of the open water we tried to navigate through. It was cold and damned scary. The young guys were last to go across. Three of us, a spike buck and 4" of water in the boat made the water line closer to us than we liked. Breaking ice on the water, snow, darkness and crappy little flashlights made for a white knuckle ride back to safety. We pulled the boat & motor back up the hill with the help of all the guys and a couple drag ropes (that didn't see any action that day either) to the highway, Rt 15. Cars were spinning out and a tractor trailer jack knifed into a ditch. A couple of the guys have passed on but it is still fresh in the minds of the rest of us.

Try Trout Town Amber Ale from the Roscoe Beer Co., or Lake Placid's UBU Ale

40 bucks for 2 hog panels + 24 bucks for 2 rolls of camo burlap + 14 bucks for a roll of die cut leaf camo fabric + couple bucks 4 black spray paint + couple bucks for 2 bags of zipties + Hose for rifle rest on windows, Free + 4 pallets, Free + 2 2x4's, Free + Roll of landscape fabric, Free + Piece of tarp (that im gonna put in the roof area for waterproofing) Free, + Misc Nails staples fencing staples ect ect, a few bucks = approx 100 bucks Shooting the buck of a lifetime - priceless I finished it for you

Well its almost done!!!

We always like to tell the stories about that big buck that we got. But How about experiences where you didn't get anything? deer hunting is about a lot more than just the shooting a big buck. How about those times when the deer never gave you a shot, or some other critter made the hunt memorable or maybe some other weird but memorable thing happened? How about fessing up to a severe case of buck fever that totally screwed you out of a kill. I have a few recollections of watching other hunters do some screwy things. Also some situations where I could hear a buck but never saw him. I have also had some close encounters with squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons. And then there were the weird noises heard on the way home in the dark. And then the two times I almost got ran over by a deer. There has to be a million stories that could serve as warm-ups for the coming season. How about a few.

this is many times...every time I sneak into one of my best stands an hour before light...I mean any light... and I no sooner am I half way up the ladder the chasing and fighting starts...I'll settle in and listen to the boys spare and fight...then the doe's being chased...Lots of time it all ends before light...but when they are rt under you during all the action...it's great hunting

1994 I turned 16 in time for the last 3 days of Southern tier shotgun. My Dad had been watching a big 11 pt in a small stand of spruce in the middle of an uncut hayfield out back all day while I was in school the day before. About daylight he sent me up to the edge of the woods to get on watch and he went through that patch of trees. I was standing along a mowed path between the hayfield and the woods and heard a deer coming. I got ready and saw a doe jump into and across the mowed area. I let my guard down because I thought she was alone when I heard another deer coming, looked up and all I saw over the grass was HORNS! This buck crossed right where the doe did and I stood there on my tongue, my gun across my chest and eyes wide. In two jumps he was gone and a minute later I heard a flurry of shots in my cousins woods bordering ours. I nearly cried thinking they got "my" buck. Turns out a friend of ours saw the buck and did almost the same thing I did, except he lost it in the scope and unloaded the gun without touching a hair. A few years later I was hunting with some friends and a couple hundred yards away across a field I watched a nice buck walk out right in front of a guy. He stood there and pumped 5 rounds into the ground right in front of himself. He looked right at the deer the whole time but never lifted the gun, just moved his head to follow it and shot then pumped until the gun was empty!

I'm not as accurate at 60 yards as I am 40 yards. So yeah, I would say so. By the way, why the heck are you shooting at 3-5 yards? If I get a deer that close I'm using my knife, cause there's no way I'm drawing a bow without them seeing...haha. Seriously though, quit shooting inside 10 yards, there's no benefit to it.

The Craft Beer industry is finally giving us a chance to taste what real beer should taste like........I was a Coor's light guy until I started trying all the different Craft Beer's, now it just taste's light crap.

Dogfish head Raison D'tre is my go to beer most times. I'm open to most craft beers although I'm a malt guy so hoppy IPA's are not my favorites. I also support Genesee Brewery as local brewery's are almost a thing of the past, and while Kodak,Xerox and B&L have layed off tens of thousands ,Genny has hired people! So ya I drink Genny, Red,Ice,and even a few Cream Ales from time to time. The brothers hit the Brew Pub after work last Fri. That was fun.

Becks brings back memories . I remember buying Munich Beer for .99 cents a six pack.

The only odd or unusual occurrence while bow hunting deer was in 1978 when, on stand in the late afternoon, a hot air balloon coasted directly over me and just over the treetops. The balloon was occasionally firing flame into the balloon for loft as it came over me. The balloon actually pushed several startled deer right past me. Of course, I was busy watching the balloon overhead and was not prepared for the 8 point that trotted by that was with the group...never forget that one...At least the wine was tasty while telling the story that evening at camp.

Maybe 10 years ago at bow season. It was an afternoon hunt around 4:00, overcast 38 degrees no wind. In my favorite stand at my BIL house. Behind me was some dense cover and I heard deer walking. I stood up and my back was to them. I turn my head to see a doe be tended by a massive buck. He was not grunting but making this long clicking noise. I heard about this noise and it is when the buck is locked n on the doe and a bulldozer couldn't separate the two. Now I have this massive wood limb Browning bow that I'm holding. It starts to get heavy as she is working her way down towards me. She is now 10 yards broadside but the buck is thrashing a small pine tree30 yards off no shot. She catches movement of my bow that sends her bounding 20 yards and stops. The buck charges towards her and offers me a perfect 25 yard shot. The arrow sails right under his chest. I was so excited that I dropped the bow on the shot. He was a stockey 3.5 8 point. We found his sheds that winter, what a deer. They hang on the front of my cabin...........

Christ .........If I started trying all these beers today , I'd be a raging alcoholic .

I was good beer fiend and then got whacked with the gluten intolerance curse around 30...7 years later i home brew again and will be making a GF stout any day now. Just playing the hand i was dealt Old favs-Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, any Unibroue belgian, Molson Stock Ale, the occasional EKU 23 or Arrogant Bastard Ale, loved Guinness and Murphys Double Chocolate Stouts, Franzikaner (sp), Dunkel......okay....most beers made... some of the locals are duds imo just priding themselves off being near the wine trail...Being stuck gluten free stinks but will say the only giant miss is Guinness- nothing else like it

About 8 years ago durring slug season, I spotted two deer coming my way one ridge over from the stump I was sitting on. The lead doe stopped in a clear lane and she looked like a fatty so I sent an ounce of lead her way. I watched her run off and I was sure she dropped just out of sight so I immediately followed up on her. I finally got to a point I could see her white belly laying there, so my pace quickened. In my mad dash to get to her, I didn't notice the big ol' buck standing next to her dead carcass untill he took a few hops out of sight. I assumed he made his way off so I began to field dress my doe. A few minutes later, something caught my attention, and I looked up to see the buck standing there watching me gut his girlfriend. I slowly eased over to my shotgun laying a few feet away and let a shot fly from an awkward position. The buck bounded off once again, but I couldn't tell if he was hit or not. I left the doe lay while I went to look for blood from the buck. When I got to where he was standing I searched for any signs of a hit but found nothing. A little disgusted, but I'd just get back to my doe and finish up my work with her. When I picked my head up from the ground in front of me to turn around, I heard the buck blow at me and saw he'd been standing behind a tree trunk watching me the whole time. Certainly by now he'd seen enough and was probably already in the next county, so I got back to my doe, and finished cleaning her up, and began the drag home. Not long into my drag, I stopped to take a smoke break. When I kneeled down and unslung the gun from my shoulder and rested it against a nearby tree. As I sat there smoking, something once again caught my eye coming down the same bloody trail I'd dragged the doe..... yup, you guessed it.... the buck was still following all this time and I could never be ready for him even having so many oppertunities. That memory always comes to mind any time I shoot a doe durring the rut now days.

My normal beers are Coors light and Bud , but also like Heineken and Moosehead. I don't care for the taste of the high alcohol content of Canadian beer. Last night at a party I tried a few Blue Moon beers that I didn't like either....just drank them to be polite.

I knew I smelled something burning !

Hey everyone just wanted to introduce myself as a new member. Thanks for having me.

The vast majority of my drinking is from my own home. I have a wife and little one to take care of. No need going and getting a dui! Not to mention I could never live with myself if I got drunk and killed someone else.

Just an update. Since going over and talking with them it seems they are doing a much better job keeping the dogs inside when they are gone. I also think the dog is getting used to me and my dog. Things are much better, thank DOG,

i agree with you in a sense but blowing the guys spot up is a bad approach. if the OP's following threads contain more WANTS then the MODS will handle it. We dont want to beat him over the head the second he steps foot in here. but i hear what you are saying

Cracks me up....."float like a butterfly.....punch like a flea....jack! That Sy is a riot!

he started a thread looking for land to hunt on today and then asked for someone to give him a dmp in another thread...there's a thread for dmp swaps where someone else was called out because they were looking for a dmp with nothing to offer in exchange....a lot for someone to be asking the first day they enter a forum, sorry..............and actually it was a moderator who called the person out for asking for a dmp with nothing to offer in exchange.

no harm in asking... ask and one may receive, there may be someone here willing to part with one who knows.

good stuff, looks like it would have been pretty cool to watch. 55 years? yikes lol dont say that out loud eddie... jk

I don't see the reasoning to flame a newcomer for asking a legitimate question. A respectable person would simply just turn the page if he/she didn't have a solution. I personally know of a few people who get DMP's and never use them, but do give them away from time to time. I think the OP was just trying to make conversation. Act as you will, but nobody cares for a village scrooge

you would fit right in joe lol

lighten up... he did not ask for land to hunt on... he said he had land in both WMU's

Thanks guys-screen capture works on I-pad. I just suck with paint and crap! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

Ha! I even got her to dance with me to a George Strait song playing on the radio while I was BBQing earlier!

he just registered here today and is already asking for tags and land to hunt on..........I wouldn't even waste my time responding.

with ipad im pretty sure hold down the power button and while holding, press the home button. Thats how to take a screenshot on the ipod iphone

Next time hide it all. You were oh so close to turning your wife into a hunter...

The Holocaust didn't start at the Holocaust and I don't believe we are there yet, but I do believe we are rapidly approaching a tipping point where if the right (or wrong) thing happens we could go either way. Our Government employees were faced with that decision in 1942 when they rounded up American citizens of Japanese ancestry and put them in camps. You are making my point for me though, even if some do resign there will always be those who will enforce the law no matter how wrong it is just because "it's their job". The news has stories nearly every day of "bad" or "rogue" cops who do things like tase little old ladies for not getting out of their car fast enough. What I am afraid of is when enough of your normal LEOs (who I actually do believe are in the majority) decide that they can no longer do the job because of the bad laws resign, all we will be left with are the sadists and the guys with the super-cop complex who get off on stuff like that.

Wondered if you could drive to some public golf course, early in the morning, with some decent trees and practice with your climber a little. I gave up with the climber a while ago. I have had more success just creating a quick ground blind and a tripod stool. So far...3 bucks on the ground, 1 up in a ladder stand.

July -September should be minimum shooting practice IMO. Shooting every other day will give enough time to get the motion down pat, along with good form the confidence building is what I count on. I will only shoot at distances I can hit the heart, that can range from 30 yards to about 60 + when my form is perfect. With the exception of a defective release I am replacing today, I never have an issue with releasing early. Just like shooting the gun the more you do it the more shooting becomes second hand and the other aspects of hunting can be focused on. EX: Proper breathing when the time to shoot is picked and figuring distance and pin placement for a perfect shot, this takes my mind off the deer and on the best shot. Once you determine that you will shoot concentrate on those steps, breathing and pin placement, don't worry about antlers or size, you will see that hopefully up close... I agree 100% with shooting at 3d vs paper. I never get target panic on 3D yet paper causes me to shoot left just before getting onto the bull.

Looks like it's gonna be a good year at the Yellowdog Ranch!

Just getting my feet wet on this site. Been a fan of this site for a while now and just had to sign up. Been hunting for over 40 years and really enjoy bow hunting. Cannot wait to get hunting next month.

Doc, I have read in several places now your comments on LE "doing their jobs". Where do you draw the line on the "just doing my job" thing though? That's what the concentration camp guards in Europe and the internment camp guards in the US said during WW2. Ours didn't torture, rape and murder millions of people but they did confiscate the property of and lock up American citizens without due process, so it's happened on our soil before. I am not saying that enforcing the SAFE act is at the same level as gassing millions of Jews, Slavs, etc. but using that claim is a slippery slope. People have used less justification for doing some pretty heinous stuff and seeing the way some individuals in LE conduct themselves, I shudder at the thought of allowing anyone to be able to fall back on their job as protection.

I find very little to applaud the police for.

I have had great luck with the Tech20 from Gander. Its the soft side material, but wow, I'm running on like year 6 or 7 on it, and it's be phenomenal. I cringe at the day where I need to replace it, because as everyone has stated, good rain gear is hard to come by. I do know they've changed the tech20 line a bit, so I don't know if it is as effective.

You know how quickly pee breaks down? Also, do you know how its collected? They piss on the floor of the barn (many deer) and it runs into a collection vat, along with all of the other crap on the floor. How many scents are you really pouring out of that bottle? Not worth it to me. The only pee Ill use is my own in scrapes. Works just as well as the deer pee you buy. JMO of course.

Im not using scents any longer. Never had any luck with them, dont care to keep on experimenting. I have also given up on blind calling and rattling. Low impact is my game.

Left: Dutchess County- Red Hook Middle: Dutchess County-Rhinebeck Right: Suffolk County- East Hampton

if you want seed, 4th of july is best time to plant. deer eat mine plant when growing and seeds when grown, turkey as well. honey bees love it and it makes a top quality honey. as well as sobekowa pillows from the seed hulls, and flower for buckwheat pancakes.....mmmmm