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October 4th doe My first deer with bow on state land

It's not a trophy by anybody elses standards but who really cares. Today i got into my blind and around 17:18 ( i say around but this is exact times) i noticed 3 deer headed across the field at 126.5 yards so i got up when they went blind to try to cut them off on other side of scrub, i got over there...and got busted, looked over at my blind...of course theres a deer 30 yards from it walked slowly back over to my blind sat down doe had disappeared. Couple minutes went by and i heard crashing in woods next to blind so i drew back and started looking since i knew it'd be coming fast i looked to left and there was the deer RUNNING TO ME i sat up it stopped and went to turn and run and i shot it at that moment, the shot distance was a measured 11 feet 6 inches from me to where it dug its foot into dirt. So it took of back into the woods it went about 21 yards before crashing got up went 3 more yards and hit its head on a tree and went down and never got back up. the time was now 17:36 after 2 minutes of not moving i decided to get up and climb the tree and watch the deer thru binocs and no chest movement so i climbed down, hands first hit deer at 17:41 heres pics for those that want them 65# button buck

Mine is on the left, friend's is on right. Mine was hit high into liver after a deflection, but she went down within 75 yds. Moog was too busy typing on his phone to notice bucks walking by on this hunt, lol.

Ended up in a rifle stand and had 2 different doe feeding at 70 yards. Second 1 I thought it try to sneak down my stand and stalk. If I got within 30 yards I'd take the shot. She spotted me when I was about 69 yards away. I'm so stealthy

Morning hunt. With the SE wind I decided to try to sneak onto the hill bucks seem to like to bed on at the north end of a small hayfield. I have picked up 3 different sheds there in the last 8 years and more than once I’ve seen bucks headed in that direction at dawn. The hill offers great visibility from high vantage points with thick mountain laurel escape cover to the N on the downhill slope that drops into a nature preserve. Using my GPS in the dark, I was able to locate a spot 100 yards downwind of the highest point, 50 yards from a massive shed I found last spring, and 70 yards from where I sat just out of the action a year ago. Downhill from me there was a long-forgotten ¼ acre paddock framed by stonewalls with barways through both the north and south walls. A heavy trail ran straight through. I was able to get totally settled just before it got light enough to see clearly, which was a little later than I’d planned. A few minutes into shooting light a doe appeared uphill to the east about 50 yards away. She fed on acorns for about 30 minutes, but I was never tempted to shoot- I hadn’t snuck all the way into this high-stakes spot to shoot a doe. She eventually made her way north of my position where she must have caught my scent, because she suddenly went on red alert and stiff-legged it down towards the mountain laurel to way to the north. A little before 8 I caught movement below me to the northwest. The legs of a deer came into focus below the canopy and as the deer continued in my direction I could see it was a nice 8 point buck. He paused momentarily before passing through the north barway into the stone wall paddock. At a slow walk he angled closer to my position. At 25 yards he walked behind a small sapling that blocked his view and I drew my bow. Directly downhill to my west, I needed him to take one more step and he would be in the open, but he locked up as if he smelled something. He immediately turned around and started to stalk away in the manner that deer do when they know something is wrong and are going to leave but are not necessarily startled. I knew I had to make up my mind fast so I put it right behind his shoulder and let the string drop. He took another step as the arrow flew and a solid “thunk” confirmed a hit. He ran back through the barway in the direction that he came from. From what I could see the arrow struck farther back than I intended but he was quartering away hard, so I hoped the arrow made its way into the vitals. He paused about 70 yards away but I lost sight of him in the dense canopy. A few moments later I saw two bucks in the same area walking away to the west. Shortly after I thought I heard a crash near the last place I saw my buck go but I wasn’t sure. Because of the questionable hit, I decided to wait two hours before trying to find him. After thirty minutes I talked myself into at least looking for the arrow. While on the ground in the vicinity of where I shot the buck a doe suddenly appeared near the north barway, which she walked through right in my direction. Soon she was ten yards away, but my bow was 20 feet up a tree and I wouldn’t be inclined to shoot not knowing the outcome of the buck. After a few moments she spotted me and bounded away to the south and then stomped around and blew at me for ten minutes or so at about 50 yards. In that time period a deer jumped up to the northwest and flagged away, presumably one of the other bucks I’d seen after I shot mine (and hopefully not the one I shot). Not being able to locate the arrow or blood in the immediate area of where the buck was when I shot, I decided to go back up the tree and finish my wait. Not long after getting strapped back into my harness, another doe appeared at the barway and walked to the spot where the buck was at the shot. Again I held off because of my uncertainty with the buck. I noticed she did a lot of sniffing behind a fallen log just beyond the shot site. Finally the two hours had passed and I went right to the log where the doe had been sniffing. Sure enough, my arrow was laying there. Covered in blood, the arrow also had the smell of a gut shot, but the blood made me feel more confident that the arrow had found vitals. I found first blood just on the other side of the barway. The trail was spotty and hard to follow but within 30 yards I found a significant puddle of blood. From there the blood continued downhill to the north and into the thick mountain laurel. Several times the trail switched directions, but when I started seeing a lot of scuffed up leaves, I became confident that he was close. Sure enough, while looking for the next drop of blood I spotted him 20 yards below me. The arrow entered just above the flank and exited right behind the elbow on the opposite side. Upon examining his rack I recognized him as the nice buck I had on a trail camera over half a mile away two evenings before. Although a nice buck I’ll be the first to admit that I was a bit disappointed that he was a 3 year old and not a year or so older, but the hunt was exciting and it was very satisfying to combine prior knowledge with a little intuition and a lot of luck, resulting in catching a buck coming back to his bed. In the satellite photo you can faintly see the outlines of stonewalls that were built more than a century ago (maybe 2 or 3) and you should be able to make out the small "paddock" I described. P.S. Although he came from downwind, I had a significant altitude advantage, so I am guessing my scent was blowing straight over the top of him.

Good detective work, you must have found the "food plot" that we saw in a thread earlier this morning! Lol oh and another thing, there must not be any coyotes around that field for miles!

October 2nd doe harvest

Although my notes from each day are very extensive, I'll try to keep this as short as possible: 9/30/14: Flew with my Dad from NYC to Denver to Casper where we were picked up by Lee Iberlin (http://www.iberlinranch.com/page-index.html). Lee is in his young 20's and just began offering guided hunts a few years ago. His family has over 70,000 acres of private property loaded with Mule Deer and Antelope. He is also a fly fishing guide on the world famous North Platte River. We sighted in our rifles and took a quick ride around on his property before dark and saw a bunch of Mule Deer and Antelope. 10/1/14 - 10/4/14: We hunted mule deer as our top priority since me and my Dad both had tags. I also had an antelope tag but didn't care to worry about them until we got nice mule deer. Opening day (10/1/14) rained pretty much the whole day, but we still saw lots of bucks but nothing quite worth shooting. Day 2 (10/2/14) we saw some better quality bucks in the morning, but still not quite what we wanted so we held out. The afternoon brought a cold front with 45mph winds and snow, so we didn't see much later in the day. Day 3 (10/3/14) we woke up to a couple inches of snow but clear skies and saw a ton of bucks. At 1030am we spotted a group of 5 bucks in a draw, one of which was a nice 4x4. I was willing to take my chances and pass him up. My Dad thought hard on it and decided he wanted him. We made a good stalk playing the wind perfectly. My Dad shot him at 125 yards while he was feeding and had no idea we were above him on a hill. He turned out to be a nice 4x4 with brow points, so 10 scoreable points. He was 20" wide with nice forks. Later that day I shot an even better 4x4 with brow points, again 10 scoreable points. Mine was 21" wide but with better mass and better forks. My buck was with 2 other nice bucks, but I definitely shot the best one. We stalked from 500+ yards to 140 yards when I shot him with a quick shot as him and the other bucks were staring right at us. This was the first day ever that my Dad and I both shot bucks on the same day, so that was pretty cool. Day 4 (10/4/14) I held out all day before shooting a great antelope at 5:15pm at 180 yards. I was fine going home without an antelope unless I saw a really special one. This one turned out to be 14" with exceptional mass (close to 7" in some spots) and great cutters (just under 6"). I'll get him officially scored someday down the road, but I think he is mid to high 70's (B&C is 80" awards, 82" all-time). All in all it was a great trip considering we had bad weather 1 1/2 to 2 out of the 4 days. We saw tons of bucks and saw lots of mule deer bucks sparring and fighting with each other. The antelope were in rut and chasing does like crazy. Amazing how fast they can cover a lot of land. Lee knows his property like the back of his hand, he knew every draw to check, had to play the wind perfectly, etc. I'll definitely be heading back in 2 or 3 years to hunt again with him. Maybe next time with the crossbow in an attempt to get a velvet mule deer. If you are looking for a reasonable hunt out west, I definitely recommend Lee. By the way, the lodging in the ranch house was great (my Dad and I each had our own bedrooms). The food/drinks was also great. Lee's girlfriend was a great cook and host. Enjoy the pics- I did the best I could with my iphone and little digital camera.

I know where that is going. lol

All we need is a Disney writer to add the cries, "Mommy, Mommy, What have they done to you Mommy?" Anthropomorphism is alive and well even in the ranks of us hunters.....lol. But seriously, I can not fault anyone for this kind of reaction. We aren't exactly supposed to be heartless. But with a little luck perhaps we can keep these kinds of emotions under control. Heck we get beat over the head with enough of this nonsense from the anti-hunters without us doing it to ourselves.

Oct 2

Had a good hunt Sunday morning with a limit of wood ducks and a few mallards added in. Shot a great looking male woody that might end up on the wall. Got to introduce my future bird dog to her first duck as well.

Deer under the stand? Nooooo! Across the street in the neighbors yard? Yeeepppp!

i changed it for you, do you likes??? lol

haha this post is funny

I feel disrespected too- as a taxpayer.

I'm of the thought that one should be able to draw their bow while seated with feet off the ground under ideal conditions . Now when you'er on stand in the cold for hours your draw should still be smooth with minimum movement and effort .

The only thing that I would take issue with is your title.." Morals/Ethics question, Does with fawns"... The very title itself suggests that perhaps taking does with fawns is immoral or unethical. Whether you shoot them or not is a personal choice. If it bothers you, don't do it.. Just don't suggest that those who DON'T are somehow morally or ethically superior to those who DO shoot legal does and fawns.. I really don't think that you intended for your post to come across that way, but it did...

Never like ladder for the reason they are accessable to any one, a good hang on with a rail climbing system, or screw in steps. remove bottom section or sections and bottom 4-5 steps takes it out of harms way in tresspassed areas. after awhile the seem to give up and move on.

This is what you have to do if you've had a DUI .......

Long Island? No sir. Erie County, upsate NY.

Good luck guys no hunting for me today...PT in the morning and today we have been married 35 yrs....Gator is our gift to each other...and I'll be cooking and baking his favorites today...

you just aren't doin it for me the way Stevie does! Lol

Sorry got behind on this thread. Received my call last week. I like supporting the small business guy as well as others, and appreciate what goes into making one of these. I did research on it all well and let me tell you it is lower sounding then any call I've ever heard. It sounds so realistic compared to the big boy store brands. I compared sounds with a couple store bought brands that I had (primos) and it is literally night and day. I also went back and forth talking with the guy for a few days, great guy and enjoys the outdoors and stories that go with it as much as we do. Do a Google search of "vector calls vimeo" and there will be a video that comes up of him making the calls. Pretty cool Here's mine

I have not had to deal with anything like this in 25 plus years,but if a guy has a hang on set then I would pretty much stay away from it. Heck use his position to hunt where deer will skirt him. It's hard to tell who was there first if one is using a climber .

Guess it's that time of the year again. This baby grew overnight, soaking rain yesterday, chill sunny weather today. I thought to myself let me check that old oak stump. Way more than I can eat so I'm gonna try pickling the rest after tonight's mushroom saute.

Tagged out for 2014.

I got the asat leafy suit. You can throw it over anything and it works great. Cost around $120 for everything and really could be the only camo you own. Light weight for early season or layer for later. Fits me at 6'1" 330ish.

If you are going to attend a clay shooting fundraiser, don't do it for the gas industry please. These clowns will stoop to anything. They have been trying to convince hunters that hunters and the gas industry are partners... If you hunted doves and traveled out of state to gas land, you would see these sort of newspaper ads all over. Ridiculous...

Field on Harris Hill by Wehrle in Williamsville holds 30 every night. About to leave work now . Brought binos to look for head gear but dang it gets dark early

Perhaps persons caught doing something like cutting straps on ladder-stands should be prosecuted the same as cutting someone's brake lines on a car.

I have had land owners that didn't care and others that just ask that screw ins were not use in marketable hardwood trees. Example: beech was ok to use them in but maple and oak was not)

Can you swim?

Wow. According to the article, the guy who introduced this bill is also responsible for many others. He should be an election day target for replacement. In general, you can't prove a negative. I don't know what constitutes "proof" that you are a danger, but it would seem very difficult to "prove" you are not. Based on the views of many an anti, the simple fact that you own a gun makes you a "threat" or "danger." If a bill like this was ever signed, you could say that two branches of government - leg and exec - agree with that premise. That means you have to roll the dice with the judicial branch to "beg" for return of your rights (and property). Would be nice to see the bill include stiff penalties (large punitive damages and/or jail time) for falsely accusing someone of being a danger. Without that you are left with a well-funded group on antis with access to a pistol license holders list.

I used to wear worn out cammies when I used go duck hunting back when I was with Marine Reserve in the early 80's. Didn't feel any harm then or if you do it today. I didnt leave any rank on cammies. Actually had few compliments "nice camo" when I wore camo face paint when hunting tonawnda wildlife management area. I don't see any disrespect. After all, we earned the title "Marine"

((I really don't think that you intended for your post to come across that way, but it did...)) Ah, I can see how that could be misconstrude. My bad on poor choice of wording.

My turn to work and see the stories. Must work fast might get afternoon hunt in. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Congrats on your second..May you two share along happy life together...also congrats on your deer...

No that's the yellow food plot he recently planted

I would just get a long string and a couple of old tin cans that way you guys can chit chat while your up in your stands lol

Your comment to the OP "Should have bought a Recurve Excalibur with no cams"... so, you have the loudest crossbow made, yes, Excalibur makes the loudest crossbows and compare their limb weight to speed ratio to compound crossbows and stopping all of that weight, it's gotta be loud! Now for your Excalibur trigger... check out this thread by a Excal fan, guy has multiple Excals and all the Ecal owners chime in how disappointed they are with having to replace triggers. http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2302313 Excal trigger recall: http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/content/safety_notice OP is looking for help and you bash him with "Should have bought a Recurve Excalibur with no cams"...

Yes, will post a new thread report tomorrow sometime. Had zero cell service all week. Sitting on the runway in NY right now, just landed. Despite bad weather 2 out of 4 days, We filled all 3 tags with nice trophies; me deer and lope, dad deer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why the debate? Or why the .243? In the case of the debate, it's because everyone tends to think their choice is the best. In the case of the actual caliber my only argument is that it's what I have, I can hit with it, I have a lifetime's worth of ammo loaded for it, and I can't afford to buy another gun right now.

I think aside of getting the excitement from seeing a buck myself is getting texts from buddies in various areas getting one knocked down or a fellow member of the forum getting a nice deer! That always pumps me up I was day dreaming a little bit about your buck this evenings sit as if your bucks twin brother was going to slip in behind me lmao. Congrats again

But I'm not a trophy hunter....I'm a outdoorsman and the doe I shot last night was just as thrilling and tasty as the really nice 8pt I shot last year....besides can't eat the head gear....congrats again on the buck he's a dandy

I scored two of these wonderful calls myself this week, both will be gifts. One to ME (!) and one to a friend......... I have a few others that never did much for me but after Phade's endorsement and some research I could see that these are the real deal.

Can we leave Cuomo and/or the Safe Act out of one post? Cuomo, like Obama, was initially Pro-fracking. Obama probably still is. Currently, Last I heard, Cuomo is not committing to a stance on fracking, and is going along with the legislature and the public and agrees to weigh a health impact study not yet completed. The intended message here, is the industry is spending money and making an effort to befriend hunters. They don't offer me a darn thing, if you think they offer you something, then be pro-fracking. Personally I am anti-fracking.... I am also anti-BS. And it gets under my skin that the industry is basically trying to weasel their way into the good graces of the hunting community. I think disingenuous weaseling gets under the skin of most people. Cuomo didn't act alone in the safe act, and there are more vulnerable politicians in the legislature than him. A lot of all this is just wind or a loyalty to the republican party, because if one was truly concerned, they would be after those in the legislature, including the republicans who wrote the safe act and the republicans who voted for the safe act. Cuomo is under a term limit, the lawmakers are not.... We have one of the most egregious republicans in senate district 60 reeling, yet why aren't all the tough guys pouring it on? Promote Kevin Stocker who took the republican nomination away from Grisanti. On this site, below each post there are buttons for FB, twitter, google plus and other social media sites - start using them...

AGREED! KEEP YOUR LAND AND YOUR MINERAL RIGHTS YOURS!!! DON'T GIVE IN TO THESE SCUMBAGS. THEY DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT HELP IT. and yea I know I had my caps lock key on!

As my brother and I were having fun taking the picture of our surprise guest, my sister in-law pulls the SUV around back , unrolls the window and whispers " not in front of the kids". After that comment, fearing my nephews early childhood development,my new priority is to take the little squirts hunting ASAP