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Killed my best deer(by 60 inches) to date this weekend after Saturdays rain in Orange County. He green scored 167/164 net when we measured him at the taxidermist. He's a perfect text book 10. I got permission to hunt this deer finally after 3 years two days before I shot him at 22 yards. He was aged at 4.5 and we were able to get pictures of him for the last 3 years from people around the area. I have some awesome trail camera pictures of him with another 115 8 pointer two days before. I named him Tremor after I saw him at first light on opening morning and realized how big he was. Talk about buck fever when he finally walked in on Saturday!! He ran about 100 yards and crashed. I think i only climbed down about 5ft before I just jumped out of my climbing stand to run to my buddies and tell him(not the best post shot procedure). I now have to wait the 90 day drying period to get an official score but hopefully there isn't too much shrinkage. What amazing weekend with a buck of a life time.

Check out my wife's first deer! Got the entire hunt on film, came in to eat in a turnip and bean food plot and have her a 20yrd broadside shot! IMG_9700.jpeg

didn't know how to attach the image to my post when editing so here is the deer mentioned in my prior post. She's not a huge doe, but mature nonetheless and will provide me with some fabulous back straps and provide some nice food for some hungry poor. (Donated first deer of season hoping I can get some points from the big guy upstairs as well as the other deer on the property) Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

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.

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'm a huge hockey fan and even a bigger Ranger fan. I was star struck by this guy. I walk at lunch everyday, my half way point is down in Hells Kitchen. Henrik lives there wife his wife and daughter. I was walking down 52 st and looked up to see a beautiful sports car and Henrik standing next to it. I did a double take and called out his name. It was just the two of us for 15 minutes talking hockey!! He was great, told me the Rangers are going to be real, real fast this year and it will be extremely exciting hockey to watch. The thing was that he didn't rush me, asked questions back to me and made eye contact the whole time. You hear how nice this guy is from television and reading about him but man meeting him personally was just awesome!

Got lucky with a nice doe perfect broadside double lung shot yesterday around quarter to 6 last night, she ran no more than 48 steps from where my arrow stuck in the ground, a nice swift end.

Thanks everyone! That's just how I roll... I wish my Dad, Granddad, and Great-Granddad had done the same. They chronicled some of their trips to Canada or out west, but there's nothing better than a good 'ole deer hunting story if you ask me...

Headed into my stand just after day light on the second day of the season after I got rained on the first day and decided to pack it up. As soon as I got my climber in to position I heard what I thought was my buck I had got on cam just a week earlier in the swamp just a head of me but I cannot see the swamp.I sat there patiently waiting for him to appear, after 20 minutes of swimming and splashing around or whatever these creatures do he walks in front of my camera for one last photo shoot. He walks halfway towards me but I still have no shot or at least I am not willing to take one just yet. This goes on for what seemed like forever and then I spot his buddy which is a bigger buck but with a abnormal rack and I had already decided I was out for the seven. He presented a perfect broadside shot at 25 yards, I hit him just a little high from the tree stand but I must have hit him right in the artery as there was a great blood trail from the rage BY. he ran for about 150 yards before he piled up. It took me 5 hours from the time I let the arrow rip until I had him out of the woods, not a drag I will ever look forward to do again by myself but he sure tasted good when me and my buddies processed the meat. Good luck out there guys. I been lurking since I started hunting last year.

I ratchet strap mine down on my flatbed. Still get weird looks..... I'm debating figuring out a way to have them standing up to really make people wonder.....

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

Well it's official. I'm hooked. Can't wait to get out and do it again. Spent tons of time researching(thanks to all of you)practicing my shooting and game planning for this. Went out Sunday morning for the first time. My hunting buddy and I are both rookies so expectations were low. We felt that the day would not be a waste no matter what happened because you are always learning. We'll at about 9:30 in the morning I was walking through a field with waist high grass hoping to scare up some pheasants(no dog...yet). About 100 yards away from me a single pheasant flys in from the North side and lands. Talk about getting juiced up. Now I know there is something in this field. I slowly stalked the pheasant and as I got about 30yds away I could see the grass moving as the pheasant tried to run on the ground. At about 20yds it took flight and I swung my Shotgun around and took the shot. First time not shooting at paper. I am hooked.....can't wait to get out and try again. Thanks for all the help and teaching from all your posts on this forum. I felt prepared and confident.

I'm pretty sure that if I were one that projected human emotions and reactions onto the critters that I hunt, I probably wouldn't be a hunter. I do understand the limitations in terms of reasoning and emotion that animals possess, and I am quite sure that a fawn may temporarily become disoriented and confused by having the doe taken out, but I don't mistake that as mourning.

Had an opportunity at a doe one of the first times I ever used a treestand. I was still petrified of heights so I was a little nervous to begin with being up there. Any movements I made were done very precise and gingerly. When I went to draw down on her, I heard an awful clang, my bow locked up mid draw, and I sent an arrow into outer space when I hit the release on accident. I forgot I still had my bow rope hooked up and the carribiner clip was hooked through the bottom cam on the bow,lol

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

Ive had a pretty awesome first week of hunting so far. This is my second year at it and I've been fortunate enough to see some good action. Went up to my cuz's hunting cabin up in Roxbury for the first 3 days of the season. I really wanted to tag a bear, so I set up over one of his food plots that he had seen bear activity at and hoped to see some action. On the 2nd day of the hunt I was fortunate enough to have a 150lb sow come in with two cubs. Obviously not going to shoot a mother and cubs, I watched them play around on their two legs while the mother was looking around for food. One of the cubs was chasing the other one, right to the tree i was sitting in. Not knowing I was sitting 15' above them, one of the cubs actually started climbing my tree. This is when the mother walked over and started to smell the ladder of the stand and knew something was up. She ended up taking off and the cubs quickly followed, but I was basically $hltting my pants. Saturday I came back to Westchester and sat for the afternoon hunt. Few does came by the stand in the first few hours, but let them walk. I decided to take my rattlers out and see if I can call in this big 7 that I have on camera. Started rattling with no response, waited an hour until it was almost last shooting light and tried them again. Within 2 minutes I had buck come in. The deer looked like it had a nice big body, but It was getting dark and i couldn't tell if it was the big boy or not. I decided to let him walk. He ended up seeing me while I was moving around trying to see how big he was, and he ran off snorting and wheezing for a good 2 minutes. Sunday morning I went to my other spot in Westchester and posted up in my stand. Within 30 minutes of sitting I had 2 does come in. I decided I had passed up on enough already this season and decided to take one. I picked the bigger of the two and waiting for her to come in. As soon as she turned her head to look around i drew on her. Waited for a perfect broadside shot and smoked her. She went about 30 yards and dropped. My first deer ever was down! After about 10 minutes of not moving, I got out of the stand and went to go check her out. Both lungs were deflated and i'm pretty sure I got the heart too. She wasn't very big at all, but I was super happy with her. I have definitely been lucky so far this season, but hope I can take down the big boy soon. I can't even tell you how addicted I am to bow hunting now. -Stevie Sac

Thank you to who Evers natural blind and camo Mat I'm using at kensico in westchester

I've heard that the kidneys are good, but you have to boil the piss out of them...

Today's my birthday so hopefully I be able to get my first deer today right? Lol well heading out soon I can't wait

how to make this short? Never skimp on the tower it's self..PT posts and at least 2x8 side rails and PT decking with PT 2x4 floor joist. Now for the building it's self, I use 2x2...2x4's cut length wise...your not sitting on it so weight baring isn't an issue there..saves money ....not PT except bottom rails. I have made all mine from scraps...ask construction sites for scrape wood ...they have lots that gets tossed. I made one single person blind from a crate card board and tarp...been hunting from it for 5 yrs now ...it has a cloth office chair in it that has never gotten wet. one I made using construction scraps and stuff I had around the house and the doors are made from cardboard that I covered in contact shelf liner that's 3or 4 yrs old now the windows plexi glass...some scrap some very thin that I put tinting on... one blind has an oriental carpet, 2 chairs, a heater and cot...I insulated the walls with folded up card board and lined them with old luan and vinyl covered card board. The cross braises and lower leg rails for the tower it's self can be cut from your land ...basswood,ash, or blk locust...Locust was the preferred fence post wood...basswood was used to make old time ladders and ash was used to make ladder rungs...just de-bark and drill the holes for nails or screws ...apply linseed the following year and then every few years... I am now in the process of making 2 more card board blinds 5x6...the card board will be painted with a wht acrylic roofing rubber paint tinted light green water weather proof..lasts longer than on a roof for it's on a vertical surface under over hangs. ...I'll then camo paint trees on it..those windows will be tinted vinyl stretched and stapled to frames I make..cheaper than plexi...flip up windows because they block rain and blowing snow and if I want to block the wind while they are open I have a inside slide up up cover. Ok to the guys that have seen these ...sorry for the repeat...to guys that are looking for ideas...here are some pics...by the way..THIS IS NOT a BRAG...but if you don't know.... I'm a middle aged woman and all this work was done by just me...so anyone can do these

Tied them on the fenders & across the trunk all the time years ago. one time had 3 on the trunk & 2 across the roof of a 68 Plymouth Fury! First day of season. Had 2 cars 7 guys & we all got deer by 3 pm. 5 bucks with racks & 2 button bucks. Those were the days!

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

That's WOOLY ! He found a roadkill and he's taking it to use for bait for his trailcam setup...<<grin>>.... He's wearing long pants because his shorts were in the wash that day.

Common site back in the day :-)

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

I know this is going to seem like kind of a rant but I live in southern westchester no hunting at all not even bow due to town ordinance. Now I know for a fact that there are a few plots of land, the woods across from stew Lennords and next to ridge hill, the Irvington resivor and the woods of the sprain north of Jackson ave that are hunted local police officers. It just pisses me off that these are are loaded with deer closed to the public but the cops use it as their own personal hunting club. Also I was waking in the woods by orchard beach behind the Nypd shooting range a few weeks ago and the was a stand back there too! I wonder who that belongs to. Just a rant and something that really bothers me.

Friends have built 2 now . Wood burning stove, carpeting, great windows etc. He, his young son, daughter and I hunted once from up in one of them . He and I manned the windows as the kids played Uno and ate snacks,lol. We eventually cooked up lunch on the stove via cast iron. Sorta funny hunting with slippers he supplied. Had to explain to daughter that "this isn't how daddy usually hunts". There's times when I'll be freezing in my climber and he'll text me a pic of them sitting up there with short sleeves. His 2 "tower of power" have a trap door entrance. One has been up for as long as I can remember and no signs of rot or collapse. Number one rule : make sure your muzzle is completely outside the window before touching one off ! (and no this isn't by ill experience) Have fun with it. Wish I had property and skills to put one up on.

I don't have pictures. Sunday night I harvested a 5.5 year old doe that weighed 122 lbs dressed.

I built my tower stand a few years ago, using Elevator brackets. http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/Elevators-4-Pk.-4X4-Double-8-Brackets/0000000006518?utm_source=googleps&utm_medium=shopping%2Bsearch&utm_campaign=google%2Bproduct%20search&gslfah&gclid=CjwKEAjwns6hBRDTpb_jkbTv1UYSJACBhberXGsBTtZuDtSURDiVuBpFaxGxLIELxkkdHEaEbBJCtxoC82jw_wcB Made it easier for someone like myself that has no carpentry skills! LOL Always wanted to enclose mine, but never did. I just secure a pop up blind on top every year before hunting season. Works great, especially for taking kids along, which is why I built mine.

Thats Awesome! love HANK!

Going to head out at 430 hopefully after work

Vince owes me lol.

Very nice and great shot young lady !

Nice job! Congrats to you both! Looks like you had a great time together!

Exactly. Look at the recent case of the gun range that was forced to close. Gun range was there "forever." Developer came in and built new homes nearby. Residents didn't like the range. One resident claims she was hit by a "stray bullet." From everything I read, this claim was never proven - only alleged. Town board gets together and attempts to close range. ConEd (owner of property) agrees to non-renewal of lease. Right/wrong isn't a factor - gun range lost the war. These people were fully aware they were buying homes next to a gun range. However, their "rights" suddenly became more important than those of the range owners/users. Their "fears" - regardless of how unfounded - took priority. This thinking is a big problem. A person sees a gun or finds out their neighbor is a gun "enthusiast" and they get scared. Their "fear" is very real, even if it is irrational. The "system" will often side with the person who is afraid. The actions are often justified by the well publicized cases which could have been prevented. No one wants to be that judge/police officer who ignored that one claim which was valid. Kind of a "boy who cried wolf" in reverse - even knowing that 99% of claims are false, they treat every claim as if 100% accurate. Ironically, this is the opposite of our system which is based on "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." The more gun owners are driven "underground" and portrayed as "crazies" in the media, the more the non-gun owner becomes "afraid" of guns. The ones who fear guns greatly outnumber those who don't in NY (in my experience). It is this fear that the politicians exploit when they write new laws and what the judges use to justify their upholding of these right-stripping laws.

gonna be sending my check today after work!

Personally I think it is the best whitetail caliber, especially for this area... Of all the deer I've shot with it only 2 have moved from where they stood... 1 went 20 yards, the other a big 9 point went 25 yards.. I use Federal Fusion 120 grain...

Great video. There are others that vary slightly, but the one thing that he uses that I have to get is a small bone saw. I like the idea of opening up the pelvic bone, and the sternum. Currently I have not been doing that and it makes the job a whole lot more difficult pulling the anus and colon through that opening under the bone. It can be hard cutting every bit of the connective tissue. With that bone cut, everything is exposed and easy to remove. As far as splitting the sternum, the less distance that I have to reach up inside to get to the windpipe, the less mess all over my forearms. Also, if there is a broadhead or pieces of broadhead hidden up inside there, having things as wide open and visible as possible lessens the chances of getting sliced on them. So even an old geezer like myself can pick up some pointers. Thanks for posting the link to this video. Now, I have to go out and find a mini-bone saw.

I use pop-up blind, enough room to draw and nice when its raining. This one doesn't really look comfortable, just my 2 cents....

Anything is possible. Theres threads on here from years past and many.. And I mean many people said I was nuts for thinking they would possibly take semi-autos or ban them and.... End of story !!

"I thought I would recognize him in the line up detective, but they all look like some tough thugs" LOL just kidding. Nice job all of you. Never been duck hunting but looks like fun and a lot of shooting time. Congrats again.

I disagree this stuff won't hold up in a court of law. I've seen too many infringements on firearm ownership in my lifetime to think the courts will defend my individual firearm ownership rights.

Sure it is lol

There's more than one for me but not putting black powder in my rifle behind my lead ball. Found out after I popped off three caps at an 8 point in the Adirondacks.

As we speak

About 25 years ago I was in a tree that was only about 50% alive......half way through opening day I THOUGHT I butted out my cigar that I sent in a dead spot in a crotch of the tree and it started it on fire. Smoldered for a few hours.............. I bet I can think of a few more good stories..........

good insurance and forget about it

Today my buddy called in a doe with a fawn distress

Im making a slight change to the rules. Specifically the contest card. I dont have the time to design and create them, so you will need to do the following. With a black marker, make your contest card on a sheet of paper. Write large enough so it can be seen in one of the entry photos. It should include the following At the top, write - 2014 HuntingNY Whitetail Challenge below that include your screen name, and the date and location of the harvest (WMU) All other rules stay the same, still need photos clearly showing the tag, etc. Also, if you are entring the youth division, please PM me and let me know so I can modify your thread.

http://www.wildlifecreates.com/ in Millbrook, NY Wildlife Creations for me, Brian is a great guy.... have to support the Veterans :-)