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I went up to the property this morning to disc up one of my food plots.. I was driving up a farm road, woods on my left and hayfield on my right, and I came up over a knoll.. There, about ten yards away, was a black blob that HAD to be a bear..Nothing else in nature is that black.. Suddenly a head popped up, and the bear ran into the woods, followed by THREE cubs...I'd guess they were perhaps 15 pounders.. I stopped for a few seconds and could see Mama standing about 30 yards back in the woods as the cubs scurried up trees.. Not wanting to stress her anymore, I drove up over the hill and tended to my business...

Bear track.

I don't know how big the bear is that made that track. But I can say with certainty, that it was alive when it made that track! (:-)

When it comes to semi auto rifles I have almost no experience. My one and only story involves a caribou archery hunt that ended with two dead bulls on the very last day of a unreal series of FUBAR days in Quebec back in 1988. Actually it was t supposed to be the last day but the base camp called our outpost camp on the soup can/string communications setup and told us we were coming out a full day early due to a nasty storm that was approaching. At noon that day the guide pulled his Remington 740 30-06 from his tent and said"you take this?" I said yup, then we smoked peace pipe and went hunting. From the canoe we spotted a small herd of bulls swimming the river. He motored up a bit downstream of where he expected them to hit the beach. I jumped out of the freighter canoe and did my best sneaking to get in a good spot. They hit shore and I killed two. Pretty lousy end to an even worse hunt. Oh yea, open sight on that gun too. The local injuns are probably still talking about 'Ol Deadeye I'd guess...........

Pics please....... I ain't buying your story! I'll bet they were woodchucks, and your just exaggerating!

Im no expert but its equivalent to 4 quarters im going to say small. Sorry I had to say it . I think its a decent size but i could be wrong I just put a bill up to my bears paw and tge paw was a few inches longer then the dollar

Not big I wouldn't think.

First a little back story. Last fall my 80 year old dad had the opportunity to kill his second biggest buck ever in a large snow storm. Afterwards we talked about how to preserve the memory and I volunteered to try a euro mount. After several months of research on here and on the web, I finally got it done. It was really special to do this for my dad. I got the plaque from Springbrook Laser Engraving www.springbrooklaser.com. They are super nice people to work with. Here is dad after he shot the buck After we got him home Here is the plaque when it arrived. Here is the finished mount with the skull attached. Here is the three of us presenting dad with his trophy.

Today marks 6 years me and my lady been together. Was almost a bad day...LOL I got her a card that fits us and after she went to bed I put in her laptop. When she's not at work the first thing she does in the morning if fire up her laptop and make her breakfast. I thought putting the card there would be a good surprise. I even moved the the darn thing where she would see it first thing. What does she do, uses her Kindle and phone to check email & FB. She heads in the shower and around 11AM on the way out the door to go shopping she gives me guff and sort of leaves the house in a huff telling me I suck and I forgot. I just sort of sat there in a mute anger myself. The one day she breaks her norm and I am the bad guy. Then I just shook it off and laughed. Now, I have decided I am not telling her the card is in her laptop. I also planned on making her a nice dinner ( spent all my spare money on my new guns ). She comes home, I help bring the groceries in and put them away, I can tell she seems a bit irritated at me. I am just going about things and letting her think I forgot and just don't feel like fighting about it right now. I get my pasta sauce going, walk into the living room and again she is on her Kindle. That battery dies and she goes back to the phone. Now I was like "WTF!". LOL I let my sauce simmer for two hours, I am just about ready to tell her to look when she makes a reminder of the gift she bought me. Now, I am in but head sarcastic mode! So I ask her if she an email me the screwed up bore hunting vid her bro sent. Thinking, she will use her laptop. NOPE! Back to the phone! So I come into my office, and do what I do. About 4:30PM she finally opens the laptop! What a change in her demeanor! Now it's all "Oh baby! I Love you! You are the best!". LOL I laughed and called her a jackass and that had she followed her routine she wouldn't have been mad in the first place. When everything was done for dinner, I made her a plate and took it to her. While she was on her damn laptop telling everyone how great I am. LMAO! Later tonight, I will be doing things I cannot discuss in here! Over a card and a home cooked meal.

Someone sent me this link in an email. I would have had to leave my underwear in the woods after this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jRTrRxamxQ

When you reach my age and diminished condition, you can reconsider that response. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not your average curmudgeon.

Never , ever poke the bear !

30 years for my wife and I. Still don't have her figured out. When I think she's going to zig, she zag's. She is my best friend and it's true, opposites do attract!

I like the part where the bear almost has a look like "sorry ,i didn't realize you were up here" and then climbs back down.

SOS.... So many people are so concerned about what the OTHER guy is doing, that they can't enjoy the sport themselves...

Here's a pic of the ammo & a pic of both guns. Sorry about the bad pic of the ammo, the camera in my phone is touchy.

You only hunt to control the numbers... And you'd pass a 140? I'm sorry but I call bullshit

I've needed and took advantage of my semi-auto shotgun. Glad I had it. But I've also had a shell jam on extraction preventing a follow up shot after a miss. I've had both good and bad experience. I think bolt action is the way to go for a rifle. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Grow - A bunch of family and close friends are hunting this property. I don't control what they shoot. I make sure everyone has a doe tag of some sort for opening weekend so we will have a pile of carcasses to cut up Monday. Personally, at this point I only kill deer to control numbers and fill the freezer. Big buck, small buck, doe, whatever. If I had a 140" or better walk by, I would probably take a pass. Any buck that can live that long around here deserves another chance. Last opening weekend Sunday -

heading out now to pick ...yogurt with fresh berries for dessert tonight.

Never understood the fast follow up shot either...take the shot you know you can make, or pass on the shot. Sure, anyone can have an error..a twig you didn't see, etc. but that makes the 2nd shot even less optimal. Now the animal is moving, you aren't as prepared. etc. When we hunted southern tier when shotguns were the norm, we certainly got pretty dang good with working the pumps purty dang good, but that was also before learning of the importance of patience and shot placement, and the lack of importance of needing to bring a deer home.

The large objective lens pulling in more light is a myth. While it may allow more light in, an objective lens that is larger than the power rating by more than a factor of 5 will allow more light in than the pupil of the human eye will admit. The objective lens diameter divided by power is called exit pupil & an exit pupil of over 5mm is wasted. A 20mm objective lens @ 4 power will admit all of the light that the human eye can admit. (20/4 = 5)

More likely black color phase grey squirrels.

Never owned or shot a semi auto large cal rifle other than in the Marine Corps . Too risky to shoot in flat country . I prefer my single shot 25-06 . What is a follow up shot ?

Inch and a half groups are more than enough for any practical big game hunting..My M70 bolt action in .280 never shot smaller groups than that on it's best day and I've killed a number of critters with it at 300-400 yards. That said, although I have shot semi auto shotguns all my life, semi auto centerfire rifles just have never tripped my trigger. My only centerfire semi auto rifle is my M1 Garand, which I use with issue sights. My groups with it off the bench run about 4 inches with a 150 spitzer and 47 grains of IMR 4895, which supposedly duplicates the WWII era military loads..

If you get in a jam with that bear and I have to come down to sort things out I'm bringing my spinning rod and some of your jigs. One way or the other I'm not going home empty handed.............

Damn..., that dude had a talent for creating excitement when there was not much to be excited about during a Bills game the last decade or two... Bummer for sure.

Cool deal Dan. Headed onto Sis's place? I don't have any NYS bear encounter stories to add but in PA I had very close deals three years in a row while hunting spring gobblers in '93, '94 and '95. First year I watched a sow and 5 (yes five) cubs plod across a field while I sat in my truck. They came as close as 75 yards or so I'd guess. 2nd year it was a sow and a few (?) cubs I bumped into in the pitch dark around 4:30am as I headed to the top of the mountain for a gobbler I roosted the night before. The cubs climbed a red pine within 30 yards of me while the sow took off for less stinky cover. (the stink came from my shorts at that point) The cubs bawled like a crazy for quite a while. I know this because at that point no gobbler was worth hanging around for on that ridge. I bailed out and went back down the mountain and up the other side of the narrow valley. I could hear the bawling for a long time. Then I killed a jake and hit the road......... The third time was a sow and two cubs that crossed a trail ahead of me on a very damp morning within 40-50 yards. They never saw me which is just as well....... Note that all three encounters were in the same small valley maybe 1/2 mile apart. Cool beans.... There is a possibility that time has clouded some of the finer details of the accounts above and a little Brian Williams action could be at play but IIRC, it's pretty damn accurate.

Many deer die from lead poisoning, every fall.

He'll be missed by many....RIP Van.

A camera is meant to take any video or picture you choose. I use Go Pro and they are great. Easy to use. Small and light weight. I use a helment strap and put it right on my hat. It works perfect. And you don't have to worry about rain, cold, anything.

ALL available 130-150 grain bullets will do a good job on game.. From point blank to 300 yards, there isn't enough difference in factory loads, in terminal performance or trajectory, to quibble about. Find the cheapest 130, 140, or 150 grain factory load that groups well in your rifle, sight it in 3" high at 100 yards and hold center ribcage on any deer or similar sized game out to 300 yards, and you'll have meat on the table.

Representative James Clyburn (D-S.C.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would in effect vastly expand federal prohibited person categories. Worse, he is exploiting a recent tragedy and misinformation reported in the media to do so. According the FBI’s most recent NICS operations report, 9% of FBI NICS checks in 2014 were delayed “for additional review.” The report does not go on to detail how many of those delays extended beyond three days. Nevertheless, based on the total number of NICS check the FBI ran in 2014, these delays affected some 743,102 people. Meanwhile, the delays resulted in only 2,511 actions for firearm retrievals (or three-tenths of one percent of total delays). Thus, in over 99.6% of delayed cases, the delay was less than three days, the FBI could not substantiate the person was prohibited, or the FFL did not transfer the firearm. That hardly seems to indicate a public safety crisis demanding congressional intervention. This is especially so, because where prohibitions are substantiated after firearms are transferred following the three day window, law enforcement authorities already have the tools to act under current law. So what's the problem with the current system? Open the link to find out. https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150717/background-check-bill-seeks-to-create-backdoor-gun-prohibition-while-bloomberg-group-piles-on

I am guessing that not all high-fence operations are created the same in terms of fair chase. It is not the height of the fence that makes for a canned hunt, or an unfair advantage, it is more the size of the area inside the fence and the human interfaces with the animals inside. If you're dealing with animals that have had too much contact with the owners and are stocked critters with names, you are probably dealing with a hunt that is not all that "fair chase" in nature. But, if you have a thousand or two acres of wild land and a truly wild population inside, you probably would be surprised how often you will return empty handed. Take away the fence and all is well?? Hardly. There are plenty of ways to condition the prey animals to cooperate for your hunting success without using a fence at all. Animals are a slave to their food sources, and many hunters have the ability to manipulate those food sources without ever using a single piece of fencing. I think the primary purpose of fencing often has as much to do with keeping trespassers out than keeping deer in.

So how do I tell a doe apart from ones staying on my property??? That is kind of silly. These people can make an art out of growing bigger bucks and trying to keep them to yourself. I don't have the time for this, nor would I spend the time trying to grow bigger bucks. I'm tired and know I wont hunt much this year so I guess I'm grouchy! lol

if you go down the side of the sternum it is light cartilage and no need for any hammering. cuts through pretty easy

That is an awesome euro mount! The scull work and the plaque are top notch! What a wonderful way for Dad and all of you to remember a great hunt and deer. Nice job!

Oxford, MS where I live has a suburban archery program. You sign up, take a written and accuracy test and are assigned some land that an owner has asked to be hunted. Essentially you have to take 3 doe before you can shoot a buck and have to follow some basic rules. I assume the conditions will be similar to the show Chasing Tail that was on history without being as extreme. I'm thinking of doing it to help fill the freezer... and because I've seen some nice bucks early morning in my backyard. I live in the burbs but have an acre and it's not uncommon to have 5 to 10 deer in my front or back yard... sometimes eating my fruit trees. These shots were a few days ago. Kind of a cool experience for my boy to see them so close. Would you sign up?

I just thought of NYC. I may or may not have vomited in my throat.

Why did I not fill out my survey? Because they wanted it back in December, well my hunting season goes until January. The last thing I am thinking about in December is a survey for the DEC. Funny thing is most of the action I saw last year was after the survey period. If you want to survey someone for an activity they do then it should be done after the season is over not in the middle of it when all hell is braking loose. Gjs4 Every person with a license should have a vote, but way to stir up the pot.

It really wasn't meant for hunters. Other activities? It does awesome with

I really have to disagree with you on this one. Like I said before, we have two of them out right now and have nothing but great results with them both. Both during the day AND at night. we have them set at the simple settings of 4mp for the camera so we can get the most pics out of the cards (not that we should worry with 32gb cards in them) and I dont have them set up for video. As far as the audible click, I havent noticed anything like that. And as far as I can tell, neither have the animals. We have had the same animal stick around for 30-45 mins at a time taking anywhere from 60 to 100 pictures. If there was an audible click when the camera shot a pic, I'm pretty sure they wouldnt be sticking around for as long as they do. Then as far as the flash, I will say that I am not sure about the flash range, but again, we have plenty of night shots of all different kinds of animals and none of them have seemed to concerned about a flash. These are just a few samples of the pics we are getting with our Trace cam's

Academy sports has the Trace for $39.99 now on their site. Don't fool yourselves thinking this is a great cam, but it is a good cam for the money. It has an audible click, no delay, and night range isn't great. I have 6 of them for high risk areas or areas where I can cover the sound (say a creek). I lucked out and bought most of mine @ 2 for $59 shipped. Should have bought more just to have since they its pretty much a throw away cost.

For mass produced options...the Barnes seems like a deer's worst nightmare. Moog shoots them and the damage done is unreal.

unfortunately that has become the standard of all decisions lately the smaller the group the louder the voice they have it. Seems,everyone evolves as a hunter, it takes time and accumulated knowledge, unfortunately the media of today shows antler crazed 20 and 30 somethings on huge leases or private land holding shooting monsters with 1 or two hunters per square mile. When the reality in new York is 30 acre parcels being average and 50 or more acres making you a land barron. Hunter densities are 20 higher than the hunts you see on tv. Big bucks get big by being smart, ar's in a high hunter density will only high grade the herd in a short amount of time,and we WILL be over run with giant 4pts and 6pt as they will be left as all your best 8pt and 10 pts are shot as 2 year-olds if not as yearlings. if the state wants to implement ar's on all Stateline that's fine, I know for the 8 grand plus I pay for my recreational land they better give me a tax break as I would not be able to supplement my meat if I was restricted in what I shot. as for tomorow trophy today, if all you shot was 130 in plus is that a trophy? Or will that be the average and now you require more to make it a trophy, perhaps 170 in , where does it stop? I know many new hunters who are greatly impressed with their 1st trophy spike, or 4 pt, a trophy is different to many people, if you want a "book" buck go buy one, and don't give the response well kids and elderly can shoot what they want, what about the spouse that is in their thirties who decides to take up the sport to spend more time with their significant other? The Co worker who hears. You talk about hunting all the time that wants to give it a try? If a big buck is what you want pass up all the deer you want and wait for one,they are out there . I find more big buck skulls that die of old age or were never seen more than 1 or 2x in daylight, I hope your hunting skills are up to the challenge, older deer bucks and doe can avoid a hunter with uncanny ability, especially in pressured areas. Perhaps a trip to Canada or mid west where you may be the only hunter a deer as seen in years will help your mad hunting skills, myself I'll take what I can and if I get a nice one every few years or 1 a decade I'll appreciate it more for the rarity a harvest like that brings.

The only person I heard of getting a survey in my area- which holds the highest concentration of hunters- didn't buy a license last year and only had one prior. Everything about the survey- methods, unavailable to be shared, quiet concealed results, wonky questions should have eye brows raised.... But oh wait- they didn't care before or after.... Just wasting time and money (think of the cheaper alternates that would get more participation).... Caring about deer is sort of like spending money on a Republican Governors campaign here.... Great effort , known different and disgusting result where you scratch your head and wondered why do they make it seem like there is even a chance for something good to happen.?....... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'll stay legal and stick with my 2 blade Rage . They pass right through deer . Never saw the need to even try the 3 blade . What's the advantage ? I used to shoot Tekan 2's and loved those blades . They are also considered BARBED so I went with the Rage 2's .

Looking for a candidate in Wildlife Removal for the queens area in New York, As a wildlife removal tech we remove animals such as bat, snake, squirrel, raccoon and ect. Must be willing to be lisenced in Animal Damage Control. Must have truck or van, ladders, traps, and equipment. Experienced trappers, ex military and retired law enforcement do well in this setting. Call 304-395-1400 ask for Jim for more details. Or visit us at www.thewildlifeprofessionals.com/ or apestremoval.com/

The Rage 2 works great . The Rage 3 is illegal . I wouldn't tak e a chance on getting caught wirh a Rage 3 Broadhead in my quiver . I had not heard the bit about sometimes they don't fold back and sometimes they do so they aren't consistant . I have only been told by DEC officials that they are illegal and that's good enough for me .