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Not a monster by all means but after many years being disabled happy to see my husband drop this 4 pt with his 10 point crossbow

There, I fixed it for you

Aquired a new piece of land this year in 7S and did some scouting..Found a nice grove of Oak trees bearing acorns adjacent to thick cover in a transition from hardwoods to pines.I hunted it a few times without much action until Monday morning.The wind blew hard all weekend then finally monday it dawned calm and clear.Setup my climber with the wind in my face and set in..I had things to do back at the cabin and only intended to hunt till 9am. Well 9 am comes and I stand up and take the arrow off the Excalibur and put it in the quiver,,As i'm pulling up the rope I hear movement to my right and I see the back of a deer through the pines only about 15 yds away! I gently take the arrow back out of the quiver put it on the crossbow and flick off the safety. i got deer walking right to me along the logging road only 10 yds away.First in a range was a doe and a yearling..another doe..a small button buck...then a nice big doe bringing up the rear. I put the crosshairs on her and let it fly.I saw the lumenok make a perfect shot and she ran 20 yds and fell over..she got back up and stumbled and fell for good. Venison for the freezer!.now its time for some horns.. Excalibur Matrix 310 , Illum.Diablo arrow and Excalibur Boltcutter 150 grn fixed broadhead.

With only around 40% of the population voting... many gun owners didn't even cast a ballot... some folks just don't think it's important enough... yet I'm sure there will be those that didn't take the time to vote that will be here complaining about the next big push against gun owners in NY... I know its their right NOT to vote.. just like its my right to say "If you couldn't take the time to vote, then SHUT UP... I don't want to hear it."

Took this buck with my Carbon Express Crossbow Monday morning 3 November. It is my first cross bow deer. I initially resisted the move to a cross bow but felt I was an interesting piece of weaponry and liked what I heard about its reputation for clean kills. I hunted two very enjoyable days in the ADK's last week but Monday was my first day hunting in the Southern zone this year near our present home. Got my butt into the woods early in morning in spite of 15- 20 degree F chill factors, NW wind 12 -15. Climbed into my tree stand at 0630. Didn't see a thing, 1000 hours came and went with no sign of deer and I started thinking about coming out of the tree stand and heading down to the house to dig some potatoes for supper. But told myself " the deer could be moving this morning because it is cold, you lazy comfort loving son of gun, you are going to stay in this tree at least another hour!" At about 1030 I saw a medium sized doe moving coming toward the stand. She looks back over her shoulder. Suddenly a buck emerges! He is on her trail! He proceeds closer to the stand but is moving quickly. At 20 yards I made a "verbal buck grunt". He stops. I fire an arrow into his rib cage and hear a "thwack". The buck runs to the west and I see him slow down as he goes out of view. I wait 10 minutes and get out of my tree stand. I locate the arrow that I fired and determine it has passed completely through the animal. I believe the arrow took out both lungs. I walk to where I saw him last and find him there only about 35-40 yards from the shot. I said a prayer of thanks for the animal and the way it all went down so quickly for the deer.

I took a nice plump doe this morning at 26 steps from the uprooted tree I was sitting against. I shot low thinking she may duck at the shot, but she never had time to react and I plugged her straight through the heart. As soon as I pulled the trigger, her side exploded in a cloud of red! She dropped in only 50yds after a the bolt passed completely through her. Sure wish we had some of yesterdays snow left for dragging today, but at least I wasn't freezing my nuts off,lol

When a state has a bear population that is at capacity, and the dense woods, that expand for millions of acres, demand these practices to control the population of bears, it is not about "fair chase", it's about sound wildlife management. If you don't like snares, baiting and hunting with hounds, you don't do it. But telling others what should be allowed by law is an arrogant attitude. Maybe we need to enforce fair chase for rats in NYC as well. No more poisons or baited traps. We can work much harder to control the rat population that way.

There is about 700,000 hunters in NY, assume they all voted for Astorino. In NYC one borough of Brooklyn has 2.6 million people, assume only half of them voted for Cuomo.... there you have it gents, its NYC problem and numbers game, I think we will get BOHICA once more.....

Yup, it's a new trend with the herd. They are getting Tattoos on their Butts stating their age and favorite hunter. Zoom in and you can see that buck is sweet on you at the age of 3.5.. lol

Only partly true. The real problem is us...the gun owners. IF we all got out and voted for Asterino, the election would have been different. Ask your club members if they got out and voted.

It is everyone's OBLIGATION to vote!!! For yourself, family and community. If you don't or didn't you waived your right to an opinion in every way.

I hate to ever say never, but if some of you thought there was hope you were blind. And while guns are important to a lot of us, they fall down on the list of important issue for most. Astir ink didn't even have guns in his campaign.

both replies offer good advice. also wear lots orange

I don't think anyone with a sense of numbers really gave Astorino a snowballs chance in an incubator - but he got many more votes than then expected! Second - the GOP swept the federal arena, not sure that's a good thing, but it sends a message.... Most importantly we dumped the states second biggest anti-hunter - Grisanati is GONE! Good riddance... We retained the few friends we have as well: Lalor, Nojay, Tenney, Difransico, Ricie, Valesky and a few others.... Only 34,000 votes were cast in senate 11 and we think we can remove Avella in 2 years based on that, despite he got 90 % of the vote... A number of punks retired as well... The assembly 106 was decided with only a spread of about 100 votes - tell me one vote does not matter sometimes..... Here is the most significant: Grisanti gone means a new chairman of the senate environmental conservation committee.... The retirement of Sweeney means a new chairman of the assembly environmental conservation committee. We need to focus on these chair positions, this is vital to all DEC bills unless the governor wants to push something through the budget... Stay tuned to NYDH's website and social media...

I can't believe there is no thread like this. Please could you post what area you are in and what you are seeing in the woods in a simple concise format? Area: Capital Region Phase: Pre-rut? Activity: Lot of deer on side of roads at night, including bucks. Seeing a few scrapes and rubs. Saw a small buck checking a scrape last night at around 4. Haven't seen any chasing or seeking activity. Thanks guys I think this is something that could help everyone!

That's great that the crossbow allowed him to get back in the woods and get a deer

the fact that you have never voted in any election is proof positive of exactly what is wrong with this country

Poster child for what is freaking wrong with our country. "Doesn't affect me, so why should I care?"

Seriously? You are 30 and never voted? I definitely didn't vote in every election, didn't vote in the last presidential election actually, since I knew for sure that Mickey Mouse would have a better chance of winning NY then Romney did. I was getting tired of holding my nose at the ballot box. However, I made damned sure I voted against Cuomo yesterday, eventhough I knew he'd win. It was just for the principle if nothing else. I can't stand the bastard for way more reasons than just the SAFE act, so I made sure I cast my vote against him just for my own satisfaction if for nothing else.

Congratulations to your husband for not only making the effort but also for succeeding! Also congratulations to you Lisa for supporting your man and understanding his quest for the greatest game anima on the planet..

The issue really is not if it is fair chase, but if it is sporting. Trap shooting pigeons out of a box is fair chase, because the birds can escape, but it is not sporting. Turkey shoots in which turkeys are tied to a stake and shot at is not fair chase because they cant escape without an act of God... The use of foot snares, hounds, and bait for bears would qualify as fair chase and sporting. But hunting is a sport which the regulations pertaining to method have historically been guided by what the local hunters deem sporting. But the agency does not accommodate the sporting community if doing so would conflict with sound conservation or management. If the state wildlife agency thinks the method would result in excess harvest, the agency might not allow the hunters to have it their way and set greater restrictions. Likewise, if the agency wants a heavier harvest, they will allow methods that will effect that result even if some hunters protest. In NY some hunters thought the crossbow was not sporting in the bow season. However, the DEC prioritized population control over the cultural wants of a segment of hunters. Some hunters in Maine may think traditional bear hunting methods are not sporting. Maine DIW however, feels the current harvest level should be maintained and would have rejected the referendum even if it was proposed by sportsmen. Interestingly, Maine's infamous Question 1 was not driven by sportsmen, it was driven by anti hunters. It was crafted by persons who even though they do not hunt, opine what is sporting. Never the less, in the context of method, it is easy to separate population control / nuisance and disease abatement from recreational hunting. Same as it would be easy to separate the outlawed practices of market hunting with modern day sport hunting. For example, in a CWD containment area, deer will be shot around the clock and with the aide of lights. That has no place in sport hunting. Relaxed regulations and/or an array of methods allow sport hunting to function as a population control tool; however this creates problems with the recreation aspect for some hunters and tarnishes the public's image of hunting/hunters. As controversies evolve, as they always do, discussions become convoluted and the recreational aspect of hunting gets lost. At this point opponents of hunting feel if a non lethal alternative exists the justification for hunting is removed. Since this has been occurring so long, most hunters are no longer able to articulate why they hunt, at least in a manner that will strike a cord with the public majority. This is compounded when new hunters are coached by other hunters. Those new hunters can not effectively defend hunting. Then that in turn creates a problem with recruiting new hunters who become wary or turned off by poor articulation. I hate to say this, but some Darwinism might be operating and we are only recruiting the less mentally endowed. I am not saying the antis are recruiting rocket scientists to their side because obviously that isn't true.

I think if you want to sidetrack a thread you should start a new thread. I notice you never once got into bear managent effectiveness in Maine. Instead you choose to discuss your opinion on what is fair chase. That's typical of your type.

Ohhh, now things are starting to get interesting,lol I've got two SETS of sheds from him. One from 2011, and the other from 2013 and they are both almost identical in mass and tine lengt with a few exceptions.. I have cam pics of him in 2012 but no antlers to show for it. Here's a little history... He first appeared on the scene back in 2011. He got the nickname "Franken-tines" from my first photos of him. I picked up this set of antlers in the spring of 2013 after they spent a year in the field. I never found either of his 2012 antlers, but he did pass through to give me a few pics. Last year I got no pics of him, but I did pic up another set of his antlers from that year. The main beams on these antlers a tad shy of 24" for size reference. So now he is back in town again keeping another set of antlers safe for me now that I already have his 2014 picture. I guess it just goes to show, that even when a buck has the body and rack structure of a 3.5 year old, it ain't always so. I guess my question now that you've seen his 2011 photo is how old was he back then, and where does that put him now?

Don't you have sheds off him from the past 2 years?

You don't seem to understand, it's not about fair chase, it's about sound wildlife management. If standard hunting methods are working to control the bear population, as they do in NY, no other methods are needed. If standard hunting methods don't work, like they don't in Maine, other methods are employed. The arrogance I was referring to was telling the state of Maine their legal practices should be banned because you think they should. The state of Maine is telling hunters what is OK and you are saying it's not. Mores have nothing to do with wildlife management. In NJ when deer got out of control in Princeton, due to a two decade old law banning any discharge of firearm or bow, the town hired sharpshooters who hunt at night over bait with night vision scopes, semi-auto .223's and silencers at a cost to the fools in Princeton of $1000 per deer. NJ hunters are not allowed to hunt with rifles! That's not about fair chase, that's about power and control. Emotional approaches to wildlife management have always turned out to be disasters. Stick to sound science and biology to control bears. Different practices are acceptable to control certain animals based on the needs of controlling that particular animal. Rats are an obvious example. When there are too many bears, that are not being found and taken by fair chase hunters, because they are mostly nocturnal, live in inaccessible swamps and woodlands, move very little unless pushed, or cover many miles a day looking for food, typical stand hunting for bears will not produce the desired amount of harvest the wildlife managers are looking for. Therefore the problems with nuisance bears will grow. Once the problem gets out of control, it is very hard to get it back under control. NJ is a fine example of bears out of control. NO bear hunting was allowed by dictatorial fiat, in defiance of all the wildlife biologists. Hunting was then allowed, but it is barely keeping the high population steady. Problems persist to this day and a man was just killed by a bear in NJ weeks ago because it was in a state area where no hunting of any kind is permitted. It's OK for the electorate to make wildlife management decisions, as long as they are making them while siding with professional wildlife managers, as they did in Maine, and going against HSUS and other anti-hunting organizations, who's end goal is elimination of all sport hunting, fair chase or not. Putting emotional questions on the ballot, in defiance of professional wildlife manager recommendations, is foolish and bound to cause problems in the future.

Burt, the big one on your property has a tatoo also. It says, "See ya, Burt (but not during hunting season!)" "Age 4.5". LOL

I'm having one of those days where - got to wonder with all the kids grown up why it is, I stay in this d|(& sore welfare state.

NY currently allows dogs in Fall season. Wondering if you ever ever done any of the above? It isn't like the are telling you that it is the only way you can hunt. Don't get injured falling off that high horse. So worried about what other people are doing (legally, I might add). And I would love to try deer with dogs.

I lost all my guns. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR............, I better kill one this week!

I'm so surprised how many upstate counties had very high percentages voting for cuomo. Wtf?

be happy, you saved yourself $450 and some wall space

Real problem is New York City....It will only happen in my dreams, but if we could succeed and become the 51st state things may change....Sad to say, until then, we have to suck it up, or move.

How to deal with a thief ? I refer you to the movie Purge......

I spotlight, and I do it on land I dont own or have permission to hunt. I do it legally, I have never poached a deer, and never plan to. I like seeing whats in the area, sometimes I take my kids and they enjoy seeing the deer. Meaningless to you maybe, but dont sit there and tell me what I should or shouldnt do LEGALLY. Spotlighting doesnt drive deer out of an area, and its not comparable to someone peeping in your windows. Screen the property as best you can, or build a house on it to make it not legally spot-able. Otherwise, you might as well get over it, theres nothing you can do. If people are trespassing, tearing down signs or poaching on your property, then get law enforcement involved, and dont back down from pressing charges. Also, 200 acres is not a very big chunk of property. I commend you for your management efforts (other than the genetic thing, your urinating in the wind with that), but Id be surprised if your chunk of land amounted for any of the deer's home range. They all leave your property at one time or another, most likely daily. They simply arent "your game". Good luck with your season!

I practice with it off. Earlier this year, I was bow hunting on at a ground setup and it was very close to sundown. I get a text from my hunting buddy that there are a few does right behind milling about. Realizing that I don't have enough time for them to get to me before legal shooting hour is over so I made the decision to head towards them instead of waiting for them to come to me. I stalked my way in and all of a sudden a doe pops out and is heading towards me. I drew my bow and took a broadside shot, center mass (mistake #1) with my 20 yard pin. She ducked the arrow (and she was actually only 13 yards out - mistake #2) and ran. Instead of running directly away, she ran a bit of a circle and is now 30-35 yards from me on my left giving me a second shot. Problem is...my quiver and the rest of my arrows are still sitting on the floor back where I had left it. (mistake #3)

ID is not required, but it should be. Vote early Vote Often, isnt that what they say.

Congrats great buck!!!

Sure a few small skirmishes have been won across NY and in D.C., but there is a war on, and all that matters is winning the war. The other side did much better in NY, and I'm not sure the D.C. wins are going to help stop the storm that is coming in NY state. Many other states in America will win big from the national shellacking the Democrats just took. Obama will surely have a much harder time destroying liberty and freedom on his own. But Little Andy ain't gonna worry about any liberty or freedom issues in NY anymore.

So, if snares, baiting and hounds are "fair chase" for bears, do you think they would be "fair chase" for deer? Turkey?

My weeks vacation that week!!!!!

It's crazy that Astorino lost even in his own county of Westchester.

Haha! That'd be just enough to roust Mr. Remington and his cousin Ithaca!

I agree completely and have used it a lot for such purposes over the years. Gimmick part is using it in an open uncontrolled attended environment and claiming it will be effective.

So with 0.00% of districts reporting and the polls closing 30 seconds ago ABC news said Andrew Cuomo won and they will tune in for his victory speech later.

Man you had us all hyped up and you couldn't just throw something in there that looked expensive!!!1

scents are the only legal baits for bear in NY. I would have to look it up but I think you can only use 1.5 ounces of liquid sent. The fish would be illegal baiting.

First archery deer / buck. Been hunting for about 17 years and had a few opportunities but could never connect. I started hunting a new property last year which is almost 70 acres mostly wooded with one big swamp and one small swamp. Saturday I counted 5 different bucks, something I never encountered. First two bucks were a nice basket six and a beautiful ten behind him. They were about to come into a shooting lane but winded me and took off. One hour later another six snuck up on me while I was watching some turkeys and I was able to stand up and take a shot but misjudged the distance and it went under him. Went home for lunch by 12 and came back in by 130. Nothing in site all afternoon then out of nowhere off to my left walking along the swamp came a spike with a six behind him and literally came within 7 yards. They came in so fast and so close that I wasnt even going to attempt a shot because I figured they would see or smell me immediately. The spike spotted me and ran out in front but the six got distracted for a second by the spike and gave me a chance to draw. Unfortunately as soon as I released the deer jumped forward and my shot went further back than I would have liked. Arrow didnt pass through and I watched him running with it for about 50 yards behind the rib cage. Of course he ran into the swamp and I couldnt hear him anymore. I let an hour and a half go by then got down and started looking for blood and of course could not find any. I went to the last spot I saw him and found my arrow with some blood and what looked like intestines. We briefly searched the swamp but it is near impossible at night so we decided to pull out and head back first thing in the morning. Long story short he made it through the swamp and found him on the other side with a gut/liver shot. First archery deer/buck. No monster but it felt great. Lots of big bucks under my belt with a gun but this one feels more accomplished.