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Took this 8 point buck on Tuesday the 19th. I was sitting on the ground against a big old mossy stump, near the edge of a patch of hemlock. I had just looked at my cell phone to check the time, because I knew it was getting late. The time was 4:02 PM. Figured I would sit until the very last few seconds of legal light. It was going to be my last day of rifle hunting of the year in NY. Before I put the phone back into my pocket, I look up and see movement. I immediately see a good sized rack about 120 yards away. The deer is moving at a good pace, from my right to left, not just tip-toeing through the woods. I knew I had to make a move and fast, or he would be gone. I threw my phone onto the leaves to my right, and I jumped up. I moved forward about 5-10 steps to get behind a big hemlock. I rested my Marlin 30-30 on a broken branch to the left side of the tree. I look for a shooting lane he may pass through, and wait for the buck to come into view. Within seconds of getting my rifle rested, I see the buck come back into sight. Another second or two later the buck was in the shooting lane I was hoping he would move through. I made a loud bleat sound by mouth to get the buck to stop, he didn't hear it. I try again, this time very loud, almost just yelling, and he stopped in his tracks, broadside, and swung his head to look in my direction. I placed my crosshairs on him quickly, and squeezed the trigger. He didn't run far, first about 15-20 yards in the direction he was going, then spun around and started running back the way he came, maybe 30 yards. He paused for a second and I was about to fire another round, but he tipped over and fell. He weighed about 130 pounds dressed. He's also a red head! When I took him off the pole, he was frozen stiff and standing on his own...

Nailed a big doe this am,308 about 50 yards.She ran 30 and piled up.Took out her heart and one lung.

Our deer hang on opening morning. This was by 11:00. Should of had a nice 8 hanging but I rushed the shot and my neighbor took him. Hanging are two doe, button buck and another buck with broken antlers. Friend thought it was a doe. We did tag it as a doe because the 1 antler was 2.75 inches. 1st time hunter and newly weds were together and they shot the button buck!!

November 14, 2013 It was hard to leave the warm comfort of my sleeping bag but it was already an hour later than I had planned on getting up to hunt that morning. I had driven seven hours the night before to meet up with longtime family friend, Ken, to hunt his slice of whitetail paradise in the Hocking Hills of southern Ohio for a few days. We didn’t go to bed until after midnight, but it was now 5 am and the sun would make its morning appearance at about 6:40. That didn’t leave much time to get in a tree, so it was time to move! Ken was just getting up as well and we gulped some coffee, I took a quick shower, and rushed out the door. As I stepped into the crisp, 25 degree, starlit hollow, I smelled a strong, musky odor… As the scent registered in my brain I heard a couple of loud snorts just up the hill from the camp as a big deer bounded away. Buck! Encouraged to know there was at least one rank buck in town, we both headed to our selected stand sites. Ken’s was at the head of one of the many small hollows that are typical of the area. I chose the leeward side of one of the steep hills that the deep hollows leave behind. Although the distance was relatively short, the steepness of the 300 foot climb left me quite hot despite only having a long-sleeved t-shirt on. Part of the problem were the insulated pants and two pairs of long underwear I was wearing. Although the sun was breaking the horizon I knew I had to cool down before I became too sweaty, so I took off my shirt, pulled my pants and one pair of long johns down, and stood there for 15-20 minutes. This worked amazingly well and soon I ascended the tree I had chosen. Settling in at about 7:30, I analyzed my surroundings, enjoying the crisp bluebird morning. A light dusting of snow covered the forest floor and I confirmed with milkweed that the steady south/southwest breeze was blowing my scent stream out into the tree tops of the hollow below. I felt reasonably confident I would not be busted by a buck’s notorious nose. After about thirty minutes I heard the unmistakable crunch-crunch-crunch of heavy footsteps in frozen leaves coming up the hill from the southwest. A stick broke as I scanned the hillside for movement. Presently a thick set of antlers glinted in the morning sun as a nice mature 8 pointer stepped into view. He approached an overhanging branch and raked it with his antlers, scent-marked it with his facial glands, and pawed the scrape at his feet. I reached for my bow with one hand and my grunt call with the other. Letting out a deep grunt, I called to him, and his ears snapped forward in my direction. Obviously game to take on the unforeseen foe, he took a few steps forward and pounded the life out of a poor, hapless sapling that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I grunted again. Unsure of exactly where the sound was coming from, he stepped into some thick greenbrier that separated us and I momentarily lost sight of him. I grunted three more times and that was it! Out of the prickers he came and he was locked onto my location. With a shaking hand, I placed my grunt call in my pack and shifted into shooting position as he closed the distance. When he got to twenty yards from the base of my tree, he laid his ears back and sided-stepped towards some yet unseen enemy. At ten yards he stopped and looked straight up at me! Apparently a motionless form thirty-five feet above him didn’t alarm him and he took a step behind a small tree which allowed me to draw. Two more steps and he stopped slightly quartering to. At the shot he bolted down the hill and stopped at fifty yards with half of my arrow sticking out. As he looked back in my direction, I reached for another arrow, but he suddenly flopped over, rolled down the steep hill twice, and was still. With a broadhead directly to the heart, it was all over in less than ten seconds. Ecstatic at my first day success, I sent a text message to Ken along with my brothers and friends. As the adrenaline coursed through my veins and I began to shake in the tree, I tried to catch my breath and enjoy the warming sunrise. Had I really just shot my first Ohio buck on the first morning? Did the buck really respond to my calling and come straight to my tree? Crunch-crunch-snap-crunch, I snapped back alert! Amazingly, a second mature buck appeared downhill from me to the northeast! He was locked on to where he must have heard my buck fall and in a few short moments he was 10 yards downwind of my dead buck. Too late, I realized my video camera’s battery was dead but I improvised with my cell phone and recorded the amazing scene that unfolded over the next nineteen minutes. (It is important to note there is a one buck limit in Ohio, so all I could do was watch and enjoy.) Catching my buck’s scent, the second buck (later dubbed “The Challenger”) climbed the steep hill to face my dead buck. Five feet from my buck’s lifeless nose, The Challenger (TC), postured sideways, laid his ears back, and with hackles on end, snort-wheezed, “fut-fffvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv!” Although I was hoping he would do that it still made me jump a little bit when it happened. He then began to paw an intimidation scrape, flinging snow-covered leaves behind him as he showed he was ready for whatever my buck was bringing. For a while I thought TC would actually attack, but after he spent a full twelve minutes of snort-wheezing, pawing, grunt-snort-wheezing, and pawing some more he seemed to realize my buck wasn’t going to throw down his gloves. At this point I attempted to call The Challenger closer by grunting and snort-wheezing to him using my mouth. Initially he acted as though the sound may have been echoing off the opposite hillside but once he got his bearings he began to make his way towards me. Rut-drunk and buzzing on testosterone, TC left my lifeless buck and took out some of his frustration on a sapling forty yards below me. I called to him again and straight up the hill he came, passing by me at about 25 yards. He reached the top of the hill and once more I called to him, which turned him. Right down the hill and directly under my tree he passed. I gasped when I saw his thick rack with long brow tines from above, especially as he was walking away. Finally he crested the hill and was gone, or so I thought. (While all of this was taking place I was trying to analyze TC. I could tell he had really good brow tines, appeared to have a nine point frame, and may have had a broken off drop tine. I realized he was a buck who’s matched 2011 shed antlers I had picked up in the yard of Ken’s camp 2 years before and I also had a trail camera video of him from last fall in 2012. When I initially saw him I thought he was similar in size to the buck I had already shot but as he came closer I could see his brow tines and mass more clearly and my estimation of his size continued to increase until I finally concluded that he was somewhere in the 150” neighborhood.) Later, I met Ken at the bottom of the hill and we made plans to meet back at my buck after I ran to the camp to get my good camera to document the scene. Ken rode his atv around on a trail that took him to the far end of the hill my buck was on and walked in my direction. As I searched for my arrow, I heard a bounding deer headed towards me. The Challenger again! He paused at the top of the hill and I grunted at him one more time. Amazingly, he locked in and took several steps in my direction! Ken suddenly appeared to my right and with one bound, TC vanished over the crest of the hill. Ken took several pictures of me with the dead buck at the scene and offered assistance with dragging my buck out, but there was no need, it was literally all downhill. In fact, because I was having so much difficulty holding him back, I just let him slide down the hill 50-60 feet a couple of times. It was the easiest “drag” I ever had. This was absolutely the most amazing show I’ve ever seen in the deer woods. My buck has nearly five inch bases and would have made Pope and Young if his left brow tine wasn’t broken off. He had several fresh punctures and cuts on his head and neck and also had a fresh broadhead wound in one of his hindquarters. With worn teeth and a shed antler I picked up two years ago, I suspect he was at least four years old and maybe five. Sure, it would have been slightly better if The Challenger had shown up first but I’m not complaining. To pick a spot on a map, call two mature bucks to the base of my tree, and be treated to such an adrenaline-pumping display was more than I could ever hope for. Would I drive fourteen hours in two days to see it again? You bet. Map: My Buck The Scene The "Drag" The Video: (turn up the volume to hear the buck and my poor commentary) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG5939stZvw

Crow Facts Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts. However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car. MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills. He very quickly concluded the cause: When crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger. They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah", not a single one could shout "Truck."

This some new type of gun? Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Opening morning after my 11 hour drive from NC. I put my climber up near the same spot where opening day last year a 4pt walked by. We are in a 3pt on one side area. So this guy comes in from my right rear and I'm watching him over my shoulder but he's walking in the exact wide open path I walked in on. He looks up at me and I am frozen. I suspect he sensed something he turned and started to walk behind me. I straightened my head and waited hoping he would come out on my left. Then I heard him snort. I stood up quickly with my gun and turned hoping he just jumped and looked back...which is exactly what he did. And my 270 went clean through with unbelievable blood trail for 20 yards. Sent from my SPH-L300 using Tapatalk

i guess its something different from her brother?? she was letting him have at it for a minute...

Hi guys just wanted to share some pics of 10 point doe in velvet that i shot on 11/17/13

I just wanna say thanks to you guys! It does suck that I used my tag but either way the deer won't be yote food or just rotting out there. It will be in my freezer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats on your piggies ! An old fellow who lived near here used to come into one of the local bars on Saturday night with a duck. He would sell raffle tickets for the duck at $1 apiece..After he had sold around 20 tickets, he'd draw the number. After that he would offer the winner $10 to buy the duck back...The winner, looking at having turned his $1 into $10, would usually sell the duck back to the guy who had raffled it. After that, the guy had $10 to drink on ( you could buy a draft beer for 15 cents) and he still had the duck to bring back and raffle off again next week.

When dec comes to classes they say if that happens to call them let them know what you are doing and either they will come and assist or say go ahead and if they get a call they know what is going on. legal no but with permission yes.

better pic of one of them

In class there are 4 basic rules that we teach. They are 1. treat every firearm as if it were loaded 2. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction 3. Know your target and well beyond 4. Always keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to fire. Honestly the one that is broken the most if the finger outside the trigger guard. But as I said I could train a monkey to follow those rules and people can do so for a demonstration. They are posted in my camp. My other rules at camp are everyone knows where everyone else is. If you are at camp alone you leave a note where you are. absolutely no alcohol until you are done hunting for the day We hunt by the law and if you do not like that, do not show up. If by chance you do hunt and you do break a law shoot something illegal basically, be prepared to face the consequences. 4 wheelers are only used to retrieve a deer or in emergency situations. HAVE fun I grill people on the 4 rules. My cousin who is a few years older than I am came to camp and brought his nephew with him. His nephew took the course from me 4 years ago. I started asking him about the safety rules and he was stumbling. My cousin says to him you should know there. I looked at my cousin and asked him what they were and he could not say either. I said umm you should know them too. We reviewed them. Honestly by teaching, I find it helps me to stay refreshed. Anyone who wants to sign up for a class can do so even if they have their certificate. If anyone feels they need it feel free. I utilize those people to tell how it is. You can also go to the DEC website and do the free online course at your own leisure. I encourage students to do so after class. But in my classes at least if you have to retake it, due to losing your privileges, I am twice as hard on you and I do ask you to tell what you did and how you plan to fix it. One of my best friends in the world has been after me for years to hunt with him. Has never asked to come to camp and hunt, due to the rules. he is always after me to go with him to places he hunts. I always turn him down. This year he asked why. I said well honestly i do not feel safe around you in the woods and I do not condone the way you hunt. We are still friends, but I will not hunt with him.

Watching my parents neighbors pint sized pup play in one of our fields I'm watching. He is having a blast, though not what I woke up at 4am to come watch , sometimes you just have to laugh at the situation at hand

Not sure if I know anyone that would not take the shot if it was a wounded deer that is going to die. I would. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Will some mod shoot a flare at these guys before they ruin yet another good thread with their schoolyard BS.

I LOVE when it snows, its the best hunting of the year.

If its dead nuts from a rest and then its off when you shoot it freehand , its not the gun.

Well, made it out for what was the last sit of the season with my course load gettin pretty hairy, thesis, and finals takin up all my time until end of season , unless my redneck kicks in again n says f it im goin ... But had this guy startle the crap outa me as I was creepin through the thickets in the swamp, ran 70 yds or so gave em a baaa, stopped n looked back an wammo with the 12 ga...doesn't surpass the bow buck by any means but a cool little buck on an orange army public land , trophy in itself lol... Counting down the days for what 2014 bow has to offer

After sitting in my stand for about 1 1/2 hours Saturday afternoon (11-16-13) at about 4:00pm I hear what I thought were antlers crashing about 100 yards behind me. I hit my rattles and blow a few tunes on my grunt call. 15 mins later I hear crunching coming from behind my tree stand. Thinking it's a squirrel I don't pay it much mind so I start glassing the corn field. A minute or so later as I'm glassing the field behind me the crunching gets louder and louder. As I put my binos down I see a buck coming out from the brush behind me. At first I only see what appeared to be a four point. Then I see 3 on one side. As I consciously make the decision to pass on him he comes out a bit farther all the while he's looking at me. Suddenly I see 4 points on one side and my adrenaline started pumping. I slowly put my binos down moving ever so gently as he continues to stare at me trying to figure out what I am. He looks away and I finally get my binos down. He's starts looking at me again. Now I see 8pts. He turns away and I get my hand on my Remy that was hanging on a tree hook. He turns back to me. I freeze for what seemed like an eternity with the stock of my Remy on my thigh. He turns away and starts walking away from me at 35 yards from my tree. I get my Remy down and the scope to my eye and safety off in a matter of 3 secs. He stops quartering away and I squeeze the trigger. Just as I squeeze the trigger he starts to turn further quartering away and the next thing I see is his rump go down and he drags himself into thick brush. My heart sinks. I felt like throwing up. I waited 20 mins and then I get down to start tracking him thinking I wounded him and I'm going to spend hours looking for him. I start tracking him in the thick brush. I chamber another round just in case but I come upon him about 20 yards into the thicket and he's already expired. I kneel over him and thank our good Lord for the second time today. Here he is in the field after dragging him about 50 yards and waiting for my BIL to come with his tractor Here he is capped out.

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Trashcan Turkey Sent with Tapatalk on my Samsung Galaxy 4

I whacked a doe. One more doe and my reg. season tags are full.

This is how it works .............. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=-LIpAxjPt9U

Many hunters do not take the time to become a good shot. They like to bench shoot and say the GUN is good and think they can be a good shot without shooting offhand. No different in bow, some practice a week or two before the season and say I am good. You and your father did the right thing, it is a shame to see this but it's and unfortunate part of hunting. Hats off to you both for using your tags on these deer, you are true ethical sportsman and have my respect.

Many years ago while standing on the side of Blue Mountain near the Appalachin trail with my grandfather I was hearing 4 5 shots ringing out all over the place. It sounded like Utah beach. I was getting upset and said, "they're killing all the buck before they get to us. My Grandfather leaned over and said " One shot deer, two shot maybe 3 shots no deer."

20 gague lmao.

It's old

It's like anything else, you can try to educate all you want, but "accidents" are still going to happen...............just look at all the media coverage and effort put into fighting drunk driving and that still happens way too frequently.

We have a 150 tree home orchard. Rootstocks m106, 111 and b118 are best. Get disease resistant apples. Waflers in Wolcott sells deer packs at 10 for $150. They'll be 2 year trees, averaging 6-7' tall and will bear the 2nd or third year. Bill Pitts is the guy, he's a hunter so he knows what he's doing. I buy 10 every year in establishing my "other wild orchard". Killed a doe in bow season under my 3 year old producing Rome tree. Get mouse guards and tree tubes, trust me!

Won? I typically think of pigs as "settling" when the night is coming to a close and all the hotties went home. Two is still a nice prize regardless.

Oh man that sounds sweet! Your lucky this weather isn't a day ahead of you, 19 degrees on Sunday night. I have to hand it to you, your a really good Dad! PS my folks live right down the road in baiting hollow if you need a warm bed!!! lol

Flare Please really take it to pm. Further BS posts will just be deleted. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

A lot of times I wish I had a free hand

only if my truck battery is charged up. But I use a new method for males. create your own visual there

some guys get a break he needs the help

soak it in buttermilk over night. Then in a cast iron skillet fry it in hot bacon fat. Get it as hot as possible and sere both sides then reduce heat covered for another 5 - 7 minutes until it's crispy on the edges. If you have any roast cook them in a crock pot on low for 8 hours with potatoes carrots celery and McCormick season mix. A steak you can cut up in to cubes and put in a crock pot with Campbells cream of mushroom soup. 1 can per pound of cubes. serve on top of egg noodles Venison strogonoff. Did you get the butcher's cut? The 2 small loins that ley up against the spine on the body cavity side. Those are the best cuts on a deer and the butchers usually keep them. You can pull them out with your fingers after you gut the deer.

Good job, good read. Props for not giving up and going back out to find him. In my 7th year of hunting and still every time a deer comes out for me I know that exact feeling you have of the heart pounding through your ears. The feeling has slowly decreased in time for me though. First couple years it would stay like that up to 30 seconds, now it's more like a 1-2 second spurt and then I settle in.

i can't believe this is a question.

Sight in on a solid rest, practice free hand

that will be an interesting report... Sex-F points 10 lol that will mess with their system... Fine trophy ...Congrats!

You can say that all you want, but we all know that there are people out there that don't. So it won't do victims much good to know that the guy that blew off their face didn't make sure of his target will it? My wearing blaze orange is not for the benefit of those that follow the rules. It is an act of self-preservation from those that don't. I don't care who's right or who's wrong. I just want to try to come out of the woods with no extra holes.

I second the Italian Dressing marinade. Let it soak for overnight and then grill.

I agree 100% however I am not willing to bet my life on someone else's hunting and safety ethics.

At this very moment it's a mute point as 5 dirt bikes just came tearing through.

I heard Danny's 71 year old partner upgraded- looks good!

This is where I will be sitting again on opening morning. NO climbing or safety harnesses needed.

Or put the wife's hairdryer in each boot for awhile, when she's not home of course....