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I just realized that I posted in Live From the Stand thread instead of this one, so I'll just copy and paste it if that's ok. Got it done last night with the bow in 1C. It seems like the second rut is in full swing down here on the Island. I scouted the area yesterday morning and I found plenty of new rubs in the woods as well as a few new scrapes. Even though it is a last light spot, I did get in a little later than I would have liked. I almost thought about bailing out as I was kicking up deer on the way in. I'm glad I didn't. It seemed liked everything was moving a little earlier last night. The weather was perfect. Very light NE winds, cold, and some flurries. Shortly after getting settled in, I had 4 does come in. The biggest one was no dummy. There was another stand about 50 yards from that someone left in the area. She came in with her head up looking for someone in it that wasn't there. Then she appeared to be checking every other tree in the area. I thought to myself, she's a smart one and needs to go. Unfortunately, she never gave me a shot. After they moved off, I also saw a 4 point with his nose to the ground, then he stopped to freshen up a scrape. He got a pass. Had 5 more does come in as it was getting dark as well as seeing a few more moving around in the thickets. Then a solid 8 with some decent mass appeared on the edge of the clearing about 60 yards out. He stood there for a few minutes checking out the area. Then just as I was losing light, he made a beeline towards me and the scrape. At 32 yards he went broadside, and I let one fly. Found my arrow and it looked good, but I decided to back out anyway and come back with a good light after dinner. I was literally on my hands and knees trying to get through blow downs and thorny thickets following his blood trail. He only went about 100 yards with a double lung hit. Not my best buck, but def my biggest this late in the season and a really good one for the area I was in, considering all of the pressure that is there earlier in the season.

And another.

Here you go.

My favorite since I was a little boy has always been Granny's home made Pollock pierogi's. I remember her making them up in everyones favorite fillings by the dozens, days ahead of time, then storing them on racks in her pantry until everyone showed up for Christmas, when she'd put the finishing touches on them. How that old lady got all those groceries home on the bus from the Broadway Market by herself is beyond me, but somehow she always managed to conquer the crowds and the weather. Gram's been dead a bunch of years now, and her recipe box was inherited by my sister so now she has taken over the chore of preparing the pierogis. She does a good job, but I think Gram knew that one day her box of secrets would be handed down, so she purposely left out a few key steps and ingredients that no one has been able to figure out yet.

Check this doe out, Main and Youngs in Williamsville

Fried Calamari and chunks of fried Striped Bass. All of this served with linguini and clam sauce.

IMHO the president and his AG seized on the ferguson tragedy to rally his base for the midterms and the Staten Island tragedy was also jumped on despite the fact that neither were racial based, especially the Staten Island case. But as we have learned the truth means nothing to the president and his minions. I believe they chose this path because they knew the public was waking up to their lies and empty promises. This was reflected in the midterm results including losing support of minorities. In the Eric Gartner case in SI there were four or five cops arresting that man and one black female sergeant supervising. Why was only one cop brought before the grand jury. I think they all should have been investigated especially the sergeant who was in charge and present. You can bet if it was a white male he would have been thrown under the bus. I am pro cop but when they make a mistake they need to be held accountable. So now we have two dead cops after Al Sharpton held demonstrations chanting What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now. I know he is a frequent and honored visitor at the White House with direct contact with the president, likewise Mayor big bird. So now the question is How can anyone vote Democrat when this is the result of their scheming in a failed attempt to keep power after failing their base?

Homemade ravioli half the size of a dinner plate. That and anything else my dear old Italian Momma makes.

Used to hunt out of tree stands or pine tree stands- no more. I make blinds out of natural blow downs, and they work great.

I don't know why in state sale would be more difficult. You ship to an FFL & they do the background check.

I own the rights to the painting, and get the original back once they are done formatting and proofing the stamp (it is quite a process). When one enters the contest (and anyone in the US over age 18 can enter) you must sign an agreement that if you win, you will grant them the right to use the image as the Federal Duck Stamp (obviously) and that they may also use the image to promote the Federal Duck Stamp program. You also agree to sign things for them and do some travel (most of it is paid for by the festivals that one goes to) to help represent the program. A lot of people ask, "What is in it for the artist?" Before I won, I had only a very basic idea. I am being transparent about this in case it helps any future winners. The answer really depends on what the artist wants to do. There is no prize money whatsoever. $0.98 of every dollar the stamp makes goes directly toward conservation efforts (habitat purchase/maintenance, etc). I do get a single pane of stamps as a prize next September. There is considerable notoriety; it's a very big honor to win and it may bring the winning artist more attention at a national level. If the winning artist does nothing beyond the requirements set, then it can actually cost the artist money to win. Entry fees are $125+ shipping, and not all of the travel and related expenses are covered (again the money the stamp makes is NOT put aside for this, it goes to conservation). Most artists, however, do prints of their winning painting. Prints are expected by collectors, and a part of the prints that no one ever seems to talk about but is very important-- Ducks Unlimited gets a large number (thousands) of the prints to raffle and sell at chapter meetings, to raise even more money (remember this is independent of the fund that the Duck Stamp sales go into) for wetlands and conservation. So, it is in the artist's best interest to do prints, and they also really give a huge leg up to organizations like DU for their fundraising. The prints are completely independent of the Federal Duck Stamp (the stamp) and are on the artist's shoulders to produce. In the past, in the 1980s and early '90s, the wildlife art print market was booming. Some consider that it was out of control. Back then, an artist would usually sign with a publisher, and get a check, and then the artist would just have to sign and do remarques (little paintings in the margins). That's sort of a nutshell version. These days the market is not even a shadow of what it was due to many variables (economy, but also the age of collectors has generally gotten to the point where many are no longer collecting) so most artists find that they self publish, which has its pros and cons, but is a very large investment out of pocket and it turns into a full time job for about a year. In the end, what is in it for the artist? Some fame, a little fortune (these days) if one is good at marketing oneself, a lot of work, and a very good feeling of being part of one of the world's most successful conservation efforts in history.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/Hunting-Treestands/Tower-Box-Blinds%7C/pc/104791680/c/104783580/sc/104424480/The-TreeBlind-by-Nature-Blinds/1602308.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ftower-box-blinds%2F_%2FN-1100105%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104424480%3FWTz_l%3DUnknown%253Bcat104783580&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104783580%3Bcat104424480 ^ ^ WANT !!!

This man speaks the truth. I've used USPS, FedEx and UPS. I don't recall how FedEx wanted it as the gun was sent back for some work on the builders dime..........UPS was done via the main hub on Cayuga Rd, no sweat. USPS was easy too.

i've had great performance with Covert MP6 black flash cameras. I've got 5 of them with the oldest being about 1& 1/2 yrs old and have been outside since new. No failures, decent pic quality, and 4 months plus on battery life with literally thousands of pics. Choice of either 4 or 8 AA's but I've always went with 8. They're the older model, but still available online for about $125.

Lots of posts about this here. Search and surf my friend. One advantage with a tree stand is that you're scent is above the ground and might stay that way depending on air movement. Another is that it gets your line of sight above the stuff that's on the forest floor which could give you a better shot opportunity. The biggest advantage with a tree stand when it comes to a new(ish) hunter is that it keeps them in one spot so they don't wander around scaring everything.

I see no advantages of sitting on ground Advantages of treestand : Better view, scent control, less likely get nabbed moving by vision of deer as traditionally they don't have predators in trees. And #1 reason is it's so fun to pee my name in the snow from 18 ' from up in a tree

Seems the pack has found new ground for now, but I did have one big male on cam from the other night. Hunted 2 sets, no luck. Unfortunately ( I guess it was him ) had a big set of tracks sneak through behind me. On my way out I saw the tracks and followed them to his bed in the hardwoods.... came in upwind of the caller... who would have guessed ! Ah well, back and it next week or maybe an evening with good moon light.

He will pull through my friend,keep your head up for his family and your friend.Hind sight is 20/20 and what ifs wont change a thing.WHen the benefit comes around please let us know.Its a far drive for me but I will gladly send something your way to put in the benefit to help your friend and his family.Keep your head held high!!! My thoughts and prayers go to your friend and his family this sunday AM.

My prayers are for these, and all the officers out there everyday. I think it should get worse.....for the people that are threatening to do the shooting that is. It's about time for a huge crack down on people who want to do any crime without worry of getting killed, while trying to tie the hands of cops so they are in such danger on the job, they get killed. According to respected researcher Dr. John R. Lott, “In 2013, the assault rate for the general public in the United States was 229 per 100,000 people. But the rate police were assaulted that year was 9,300 per 100,000 officers – a rate 41 times higher. … This data also suggests that police are not actively looking for excuses to fire their weapons. The number of justifiable killings by police equals less than one percent of the assaults on police. Thus even when assaulted, police rarely resort to killing their attackers.” As for police who do kill their assailants, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics, the rate of black officers who kill black felons is 32 per 100,000 black officers, which is more than twice the rate of white officers who kill black felons – 14 per 100,000 white officers. I also applaud the officers for their action here: http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/us/nyc-mayor-de-blasio-shows-up-at-hospital-to-pay-respects-for-fallen-officers-nypd-cops-do-this

I took these while sitting in my blind before season opened a few years ago....it is a favorite spring feeding area for some reason...I think little blk beetles......... so I built a raised blind there....they then started roosting right over the blind so I have to go in way before light...Lol...... hearing them thunder in the morning right above your head is a trip.......Have fun this season...

Prayers and I fear bubba is right....sad day

I would not be disappointed with him, good buck

One of our bigger plates loaded with a few slices of glazed ham, mashed potatoes, squash, frozen corn, some slices of good rye bread w/ REAL BUTTER. And maybe some applesauce. Top that all off with a good strong cup of coffee. Follow all that up with any kind of pie and then it's nap time.

Congrats on your buck. Job Well done Merry Christmas.

As funny & stupid as the above comment may sound, it is true! Long barrel length & super full chokes are a trade-off. Give really dense & tighter (small) patterns at closer distances, but give suitable patterns at longer distance. As you've seen from most members, a shot size of #5 or 6 is prefered. I personally use the #5/6 combo as my gun likes it! Think I've purchased most every turkey call ever made over the years. Part of my gobbler hunting ADD..! Never could seem to master the slate/glass calls, just me! Had a ~30yo Quaker Boy box call that seemed to never fail me. Distance, tone, call varieties, etc. Could even hold it backwards and give a 1/2 a$$'ed gobble. Cheap box calls in the big box hunting stores are mass produced from cheap, less desirable woods. Thus, the tone is not great on most. FYI - Not promoting this, but on ebay you can get a great box call that's handmade out of more preferable woods and sometimes even etched with designs for ~$50. For the beginner, definitely a slate or box call to begin with, but you'll eventually want to get proficient with a mouth (diaphragm) call for close-up, hands-free calling. Set-up is paramount! Meaning, for example - if you're s/u in an open area calling & the Tom doesn't see the hen, he'll lose interest. Or, if in thicker cover, they can come in silent & be in your lap when you're not prepared to shoot! Also, there's a fine balance between over calling and not keeping the gobbler interested. All part of the frustrating learning curve of hunting gobblers. Fun, addictive and frustrating, all at the same time! TV shows depicting turkey hunting are ....misleading, at best. Most are in areas where turkey populations are very high. Like others have mentioned, a 30min show has been edited from hours/days of hunting and make it look almost too easy! Best you can hope to gain from watching them are the basics. Wish I could point you in the specific direction, but the very best one I've ever seen was video of just the turkeys milling around & their sounds (calls) with no hunting. May have been on YouTube..? Do NOT use actual turkey calls when scouting in pre-season!!! Lot of the reason why public land gobblers are so hard to hunt. When hunting, as you'll find out, shock calls like crow, woodpecker, bike horns (??), etc sometimes get a response gobble. If they are close, these calls give you a better chance to s/u. If you've located a nearby Tom with a turkey sound, he may already be on his way in and it becomes a WTF scenario. lol BTW - If you don't own one, get a ThermaCell. Nothing more distracting than trying to "talk turkey" when the small black flies are swarming around your face mask! Not to mention, getting eated alive! The first one you get after he's come in to your calling, all fanned out, strutting, feverishly gobbling, whether a 4" or 10" beard......YOU'LL BE HOOKED!!!!

That thing is a bute!! I love old school, gloss wood and blued steel rifles…………….Im sure Im not alone…... Good luck.

I just whipped up a batch of egg nog, it's chilling in the fridge. I'll try it tomorrow with some bourbon

Yes it should be an amazing year in 2015...For Doe Tag's! I am sure you will see some crazy numbers of tags giving away in many areas. If hunter numbers continue to drop and more years like this one rolls around it wont be good. Just saw on the Newz where the city of Syracuse's mayor is all over Mr Joe at the DEC office to rid the city of so many deer...Funny part is they are leaning towards sharpshooters and BIRTH CONTROL at 1100 bucks a deer. Yup thats where we are at in the hunting world. Scary!

Where the hell are you bowhunting........Afghanistan? LMAO- I hope you took an extended lunch break after all that. I'll quit bowhunting the very same day it ever sounds like that around here!

Always bittersweet for me when the season closes............I know it's time to get my life back on track as I have neglected much for the past 10 weeks. Don't misunderstand; bills get paid, kids are fed and hauled to & fro, leaves are picked up, pets are fairly healthy and love is made but other things need to be caught up and organized. I sure do miss the time in the woods, messing with the guns & bow, excited calls & text messages from friends and family, packing up the duffel etc. When I get home from a few days away the most excited one to see me is the dog. The rest of them seem to get by OK.....................LOL. Oh well, 9.5 months till archery opens. Woot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grow - you are correct, I've done the research. If things don't work out and I don't get married in June, I'm selling the ring and going on a sheep hunt! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You could do that "random act of kindness" with her. Give her a couple $20 gift cards to Walmart or something, then take her there. She's not allowed to spend them, but she can't leave the store with them either. She has to give them away to whatever random strangers she chooses, for whatever reasons she chooses. It makes her feel good about HERSELF..., it makes her(and you) feel good about YOU..., and it makes those you touch with your unexpected generosity feel good about MAN KIND! Make sure you grab a lottery ticket on your way out the door...., because I guarantee you you're gonna get lucky,lol!

OK - so I have been complaining (mostly to myself) about how I haven't got a shot on mature buck this season. Only had one encounter with a legit shooter in bow and he wouldn't stop. Haven't seen any antlers since regular season opened. Seemed like the shooters knew which stand I chose and would taunt me by walking by the other stands only to have their photos taken (starting to hate those trail cams - lol). I have been a bit down thinking I should be able to kill a wall-mounter every year. Why did this highly anticipated season go so wrong? But wait, after further reflection, was the season a success? I may not see any antlers the rest of this season, but it was a HUGE success: 1. Plenty of time in the woods enjoying nature; 2. 10 straight days off from work, with nothing to do but hunt with friends. Upon reflection, good times even when we didn't necessarily recognize it since none of us got on a buck we really wanted. 3. Perhaps should be No. 1 on the list, brought my five year old daughter out for the first time Thanksgiving day morning. She did great quietly walking into the blind and sitting for 1.5 hours. We didn't see anything and she was getting ready to "go find the deer". So I text Phade explaining that she was nearing the end and ask him to shoot the next doe he sees to keep it interesting for her. Sure enough, Phade accommodated. 5 minutes later - shots and 2 deer down. Of course, Phade needed her help in "tracking" those deer and confirming they had expired. Great morning for sure. She will be back in the woods without a doubt. She did finally see a live deer walking out but we decided not to shoot with two down already. 4. Arrowed 3 doe in archery season and successfully shot a doe in rifle at 225-250yds (my longest shot by far - one that I won't likely repeat again). Plenty of delicious meat in the freezer. 5. Fortunately survived a 10-12' fall with barely a scratch while stupidly moving a ladder tree stand on my own during bow. 6. Spent a memorable morning talking to a button buck that simply would not leave my stand, no matter what I said to him - whether in English or Spanish. 7. Learned a few new tricks that will be put into practice in the future. Even though I know it already, sometimes I need to remind myself that hunting is not all about killing the big buck. Great season for sure. Maybe Mr. Big will stroll by when I least expect it, but it doesn't matter. The season was awesome! Thanks God, Natalie, Phade, David and Steve! Good times with a few more hunts to go.

Yeah, I would be really hesitant to shoot these. My first concern would be how the arrow sits in my rest. Where the heck are the actuating mechanisms going to be at full draw? It appears like you'd have to shoot an arrow that was 2-3 inches longer than your current one. I know these were just released earlier this fall so it will be interesting to see if anyone actually buys them and uses them. They're pretty pricey too, $150 per 6. I know it was mentioned above that a pass through would not likely result, but I think that is part of their design. To allow for maximum carnage no matter where you hit the deer. Seems like its an excuse for guys who routinely make poor shots on deer and don't recover it to finally be able to make a recovery from a bad shot. If that makes any sense.

They have a web sight...and I have used them as well...but to be honest and the guys at WHT Tail Instatute will tell you this as well...You HAVE to have the conditions pretty close to perfact...they are hybrids bred in perfect conditions... Go to Welter Seed and honey Company..on web....they will sell smaller bags and and have good prices ...they are regular ag turnips and forage turnips but will grow a bit better in less than perfect conditions ...also try Hog radish....thesewill help break up your soil deep...bring up and deposit nutrients at ground level saving you some time and work and money...You can also dble crop let turnips grow then late season a couple of weeks before frost...walk WR over them just before a good rain ... try not over spending on fancy seed until you see how regular seed will grow first and how the deer react to what you plant...besides...IT TAKES TIME FOR LIME TO WORK...and in a wooded setting a little will be needed each year do to leaf decay

Thoughts & Prayers to them, his Family & you

That is sad to hear. Hope they pull through this. Keep us posted.

You had an open invite to come hunt 750 acres of some of the best hunting in Jefferson County. We would love to have ya. Even take you on a day trip to the middle of a 107,000 acre military base for an afternoon hunt! Still a weekend left up here if your game?

Two doe tags filled! Passed many 2.5 y/o and younger bucks, still waiting for the big guy!

Shot this 4 pointer yesterday at 445. My first thought was it was a vital hit so tracking in the dark won't be too bad...boy was I wrong. I found the arrow about 15 ft into the woods that he ran into and snapped off around 6 inches from the tip of the broadhead. It had some bright red blood and hair. Good sign! I searched the woods for him until around 930 pm and finally had to call it a night when I found only 4 drops of blood. So I continued today in the morning and still after another 3 hours of searching I can only find 4 drops and I started to think I may have just wounded him. I started to do a grid search in small sections closest to the last blood drop and another hour and I found him. Turned out to be a double lung shot that stuck into the right shoulder and that's why the arrow didn't pass through and broke off when he ran. The arrow shaft pretty much plugged the entry and that's why the blood was so hard too find. First deer with a bow for my first bow season ever and I'm stoked it ended up not being a bad shot!

11/08

Me and ol' "Turkenstein" woke up at the witches hour to get an early jump into our honey hole! Before the sun came up, things were awefully quiet, but eventually I started to hear some yells from the ladies as the branches were now ghoulishly silhouetted against the morning sky. Turkenstein was 30yds in front of me keeping a watchfull eye out for that other monster of a bird that has been haunting me for the last few weeks. Suddenly the silence was broke as the hellish beast let out his evil morning scream from the tree tops! The tension was building, and neither me nor Turkenstein dared to move an inch. The demon finally swooped down and collected his flock of virgins. Like ghosts, they all vanished before our eyes. I assume he took them off to the dungeon to have his way with them as he has so many times before! I looked at Turkenstein to see what we should do next, when out of the silence we heard a blood curdling scream from below us. We knew what had to be done... we had to be brave... we had to pursue the creature before he disappeared back in his lair. We took chase and headed the giant off. It was now or never. With nerves of steel, Turkenstein spread his chest and stood tall to his nemesis! As his rival appeared and approached, they engaged in a brief stare down before the demon swaggered over to Turkenstein and literally spewed venom in his face..."GRRRROOOBBBBBLE GOBBBLE GRRROOOOBBBBBLE....", rendering him motionless and petrified! It was now up to me to protect my friend who had been so brave, and sacrificed so much for me! I said a quick prayer, and without hesitation I cocked the hammer on my gun of holy goodness, and peppered the devil in the neck with my blessed BB's! Together, me and Turkenstein had finally vanquished the woodland warlord, and dragged his carcass through the forest for all Gods other creatures to see! Today I was "The Chosen One"! You could hear the other creatures celebrate when I announced Thunderdome was finally dead and..."We finally get to sleep in!" Oh yeah, stats.... 9 1/2" beard... 1 1/8" spurs... no idea on the weight. Probably 65-70 lbs,lol

Yeah, I can understand not allowing metal items to be permanently screwed or driven into trees. These things can become forgotten or simply left behind causing quite a hazard to loggers or sawmill operators (I have heard some pretty ugly horror stories). I can also appreciate rules against hacking on trees and doing damage that will eventually lead to health problems of trees. However, it is unfortunate that some common sense can't be applied somewhere along the line. As I said earlier, I have never seen a decent bowhunting spot that didn't need some kind of shooting lane trimming. That just isn't a normal scenario in a normal woods. That also applies whether you are in a tree stand or hunting from the ground. Also as I pointed out earlier, it would be nice if there were some commonality in DEC philosophy between hunting situations and non-hunting situations on public forested land when it comes to modifications to trees and brush. I have seen much worse damage done to trees, vegetation, and the natural state of public lands by the construction of mountain bike trails than anything I have ever seen done by hunters. In fact, the lane clearing that is done by hunters is seldom even detectable by the following spring.