Leaderboard

Oh damn....., I don't want any ones imagination to get carried away,lol! Thank you very much!

Bucks in a bachelor group 8/12/15. Starting to pay off by passing on small eights with bow and gun. Many of them will get whacked of course, but that is OK. Makes some other hunter happy! But if they get through to become 3.5 year olds, then they become literally something to shoot for. The small eight gets a free pass this year. If I need the meat, I'll shoot a spike or a yearling or a small doe.

Most of the time I don't have enough time to look a deer over good and determine if it is a 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 or whatever age it could be. You guys/gals really have the time to do that?????? Damn.........................I'm doing something wrong.

In 2012, and again in 2014 I spent opening week of the northern zone deer season camped at Lows Lake, NY with my wall tent and a wood stove. I hunted the Tomar Mt area, I saw more moose sign than deer sign, but just having an opportunity to spend some time in those big woods was very rewarding. I don't hunt hard, at 66 years old my days of sitting in the woods from dark to dark are over, but I enjoy time around the camp as much as time in the woods, so not seeing deer was no big dissapointment. I live in Connecticut and always manage to have venison in the freezer by years end, so the pressure is off at Lows, just relax and enjoy. I posted a couple of videos on youtube, Here are some pics of 2012 and 2014 My wall. tent, I cut an 8x10 by 6'6" high tent down to about 7x6 deep by 54" high, with an interior frame and a 12x12 by 8" high wood stove I paddle a 16' Chestnut Pal wood canvas canoe, I eat prety good in camp, this picture is from 2012 when the wood stove was 12x12x12, I have since cut it down to only 8" high Cruising the shoreline early am, Enjoying some time in the big woods, Up on Tomar Mt,

I know there is a bunch of diffrent ways to view the SD card from a trail camera,I figured I would share my new to me method for this year. I bought the external SD USB card reader and the USB adapter from best buy. Just plug the SD card into the reader and the phone automatically opens them,select all and save ,go on to the next camera and do the same thing ,it saves a bunch of time screwing around in the woods and allows for instant gratification.

I have been getting pictures of this every day. These are 2 different cams 600 yds. apart. Both pictures within 20 minutes. The second one is right behind the house heading to it.

Fast moving storm. And ribs on the grill eehhhh I might fight threw a tornado to finish them lol.

Id rather kill a wacky racked 1.5 year old over a typical 2.5 year old 8 pt if that makes any sense.

Nice looking bucks. I have read and seen studies that show a how a buck may be a spike in his first year but when left to grow can produce a great rack in a few years.

I don't think too many QDM properties would have public hunting. After the expenses and work of plots and propery management, most are kept private. But perhaps you could find a lease property to your liking. Quality land access is the most challenging aspect of hunting these days.

I too have kept a detailed log for well over 20 years. And in our area of 4h, I stand by November 1st. to the 14th. for having the best buck movement year in and year out. The best three days being November 9th. 10th. and 11th. for having bucks on their feet and actively searching out does. This is the time when you see bucks standing out in the middle of fields, running across roads and being a little less cautious than normal. Intensity as always depends on weather as if it's very warm, more activity will happen during the cooler period of night time hours. I agree that there are flurries of activity that happen in October and later in the season, that vary year to year. That is why you hunt every day you can. You just never know what will show up any time during the season. That's what keeps me out there all season! Or until I tag out.

Thank you for the nice gift! I can't stop looking at it....... it's so wild, and amazingly beautiful, and exotic! It's everything I could ever dream of seeing,lol Your pal, wooly

You are welcome my skinny ass knobby knee friend

I've had a few large coyotes on my cam, going to carry a few extra arrows this year

So the wife and I went down to the Florida Keys last week for our first anniversary. Not sure if you were aware, but there is a sub species of weight tailed deer that live down there called "Key Deer". I thought I would share some pictures of a nice buck that we saw while we were down there. And yes, that is a normal sized sign next to it. They are the smallest sub species of deer. I have some better pics on the actual camera, but the phone ones were easier to upload. You can't hunt them, but I'm thinking about going down and trying to find some sheds from this boy. Would make nice compact rattling antlers. ????

Back in the observation stand yesterday evening. Had a good flow of does starting around 6pm, then had a nice bachelor group of bucks stroll by me.

https://youtu.be/Z1vk2SsWRdA

Nice buck...but NOT the same deer that you posted earlier.

Just enjoy it , it all looks the same in freezer paper

You can't shoot what you don't see . Shoot what is available . I have taken doe and let small bucks walk only to eat my buck tags . It doesn't bother me because I have meat in the freezer !

I would shoot a crazy horned buck of any age if I saw one.

you're only problem is worrying about what others think...get past that and all is good.

Thanks, but I don't know. The TV guys out in the Midwest with their farm raised bucks would probably yawn if they saw him. Here is a better picture. But not a bad buck at all for down here in Wellsville, right on the Pa. border. We have the genetics, but the bucks are hunted so hard here, few make it through unless they are very lucky and run into some crazy man like me that lets them walk as a decent 8 pointer.

I'll take a cool looking rack over an older deer. I don't see why not, YOU still can decide what to shoot or what not to shoot this year. I'll take this guy in a heart beat over an older deer with a bigger rack.

They all look like different bucks to me. The first one could be a 1.5 all day long around here though.

Nice pics.

Nice pic's! Nice bucks! That 10 in the lower right is VERY nice! Keep doing what you're doing, it seems to be working well. Good luck this season!

I know last year the rut was late as was expected by me, and I know it does vary, Nov 1 to 18th, with best 3 days somewhere in between those dates, but I think knowing it's will be early.or late lest.me pick when I want to be there

That has not been my experience and my data does not support the simple notion that the rut peaks every year at the same time. The peak of the rut, when all the bucks are on their feet in the daytime has up to a three week swing on our solar calendars.) Sometimes it happens in late October, and sometimes as late as the middle of November. I have been keeping a detailed log for about 20 years on it. I do not buy into the seeking, resting, chasing phase categories. The main point of determining the peak of the rut is figuring the best time to be on stand, when those big bucks are on their feet all day and all night running does, scrape lines and aggressive towards each other. It is easy to miss it by as much as a week or by thinking that it always peaks at the same time (on our calendars.) If we used a lunar calendar I could agree that it peaks at the same time each year.

Mother Nature is a cruel, cruel gal. She taketh and giveth, tough deal for us sometimes!

Too watch them walk on by while I deer hunt is would be my preferred way to hunt them.

Shoot, shovel and shad app!

I have always aimed to be in the stand about 1/2 hour before sunrise on opening day of gun, the first Saturday, and Thanksgiving (the "big 3" in our area). Other days and archery & ML seasons, I usually wait until legal light prior to walking in. I have spent most of the last 30 opening days of gun season on our farm in the southern zone, which has been in the family since just after the Civil war. I have killed about 15 deer on those days and more than half were from 1 to 10 minutes after legal shooting light and shot from a stand. I always check the times in the paper and do not load my gun prior to sunrise and I also unload it prior to sunset. I will never forget my first and fastest (the 1 minute buck). That was also the shortest season I ever had. It was my third year hunting and I was just 19 years old. I chewed tobacco back then and I could see in the moonlight that the brown spot I was trying to spit on in the snow below my stand was getting larger as the seconds ticked away. With about 2 minutes to go, I heard what sounded like clumsy person struggling thru the brush next to me, on the neighbors land. I kept looking back and forth between my watch and the spot the noise was coming from as I held a 16 ga slug in my right hand. Suddenly a feisty looking buck with a couple busted off tines, and 7 remaining points, stepped out of the brush right below my stand. I had seen this same buck several times during archery season but never in range. He buried his nose in the tobacco spot as his last minute ticked away. I prayed that the slug would find its way into the chamber, as I shoved it in and cycled the pump on my granddad's old bottom-loading, Ithaca model 37. Then I centered the crosshairs of the old 1.5X Weaver scope on the top of his shoulder and was relieved to hear the bang and feel the heavy recoil of the "featherweight" gun against my shoulder. The buck went into a spastic "break dance" and flopped around at the base of my tree for several minutes before laying still. I gutted him quick, hung him in the garage and made it to college in time to take an exam (not sure how I did on that one, but I did pass the class). Our neighbors don't have any clear lanes on their land so they usually follow our adjacent lane on their way into the woods, just after first light. Most of the rest of my opening morning kills were pushed to me by them at this time. I am glad some folks wait until daylight on the "big-days", as we would go hungry some years otherwise. My first buck came in the first minute of an opening day and my largest-racked, symmetric, "typical" came on the last just a few years ago. I never would have taken that one had I not climbed down from my stand 3 minutes prior to legal sunset. The only reason I did that was because the Bible I was reading at the time slipped mysteriously from my hands, falling to the forest floor below. I had filled a doe tag in the morning (thank you next door neighbor) and a freind had given me another so I had no real need to hunt until the last minute. Our meat supply was good. As soon as I got to the ground with the same loaded 16 ga Ithaca in my right hand (sorry about the "safety" issue but it paid off this time), and reaching for the Bible with my left, a flock of turkeys landed almost on top of me. As is often the case around here, they were accompanied by a deer. The turkeys like to hang with the deer to capitalize on their good sense of smell, and the deer appreciate the turkey's superior eyesight. Combined, they have a nearly impregnable defense against a hunter clad in blaze-orange. This wise old buck's line of turkeys was breeched now however, and his big rack and head popped out from behind a bush just 10 yards away. I brought up the gun, centered the older, 1.5X Weaver scope on his neck and put him down in his tracks, with just a few seconds of legal light remaining. As I have just explained here, I have pushed it close to the limit at least twice, but in thirty years, I have never been tempted by a shot prior to or after legal sunrise or sunset. I also have no respect for those who call them selves hunters yet think nothing of shooting way before or after the legal times. They are "poachers" in my book and there certainly is no shortage of them in these parts based on the shots I hear in the dark.

The link i posted was the for 2013 and 2015 seasons i was explaining that in 2013 the license year was October 1 through September 31 and you were required to have last years license to hunt prior to October 1 but since they changed the license year to Septeber 1 through August 31 in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 seasons you need current license to hunt early bow because bow season opens after license year has gone into effect. I am explaining this to whoever thinks they can still use last years license for this year.

Great shot wooly! You definitely an eye for it :- )

Cool pic. You take great pictures.

You can buy salt at Wegmans. Same stuff.

Very nice, enjoy your new lever.

simple gunvault safe on the bedstand or at the very lease a loaded mag in a separate compartment.

I actually forgot my true worst mishap with a gun. My truck was at the dealer getting warranty work and they gave me a loaner. Decided to head to the range to shoot my new to me CZ premium 30-06. Put the cased gun on top of the loaner since I had to open the trunk to load other equipment. Loaded equipment and off to the range. You guessed it, get to the range and where is my gun? Holy smokes, I forgot it on the roof of the car. Several trips back and forth looking for the case on the side of the road and nothing. Not knowing what to do, I call the police and explain what happened. 2 days later, cops call to say that someone found my gun and had put it on the lost and found on craigslist. They return it with no damage. I call the young man who turned it in and he refused to accept a reward, explaining that he saw it lying in the side of the road in front of my street and grabbed it before another truck that had stopped. Nice to know we have some honest people around. I really wanted to do something for him, but he just wouldn't have it and complimented the gun.

My buddy opened the safe door (packed to the gills) and before he could catch it his VERY first shotgun he ever owned (an ancient Ithaca Model 37 12ga, scoped) fell out of the safe. This might not sound to catastrophic but the gun was stored barrel down to accommodate a few extra guns in the overcrowded safe. Well, when it hit the concrete basement floor it snapped the stock at the wrist and clunked on the scope too. I don't recall exactly what he did but it was repaired/replaced as it has been back in service for a few years since the mishap. This is the same guy who, about 15 years ago slipped while hunting tahr and chamois in NZ and snapped the wrist on his awesome old Mannlicher-Schoenauer DST 30-06. If you spend enough time around these things, things are going to happen! Usually bad........

As a teenager, I'm walking down the ice on a frozen creek with my M 69 Winchester .22.. the ice is lick and both feet go out from under me..The rifle goes into the air, does a couple of cartwheels and lands on the ice with a sickening CRACK !.. Broke off the front sight and cracked the stock...Got both repaired by a local gunsmith, but the rifle always bore the scars.. This is a REALLY dumb one....I am standing a quarterdeck mid watch on a Navy Destroyer.. The lazy ass CPO who is in charge of the watch is down in the chief's quarters watching TV and drinking coffee, leaving me alone... I'm bored stiff..I'm wearing a holstered, unloaded 1911 .45 with two loaded clips in a belt carrier... I wonder...." How long would it take me to get this pistol into action if I ever needed it ?" SO , standing alone on the quarterdeck in the middle of the night, I do a little "quickdraw" exercise.... I draw the pistol, pull a mag, load it in the pistol and rack the slide....Pretty dang quick, too, if I remember correctly.. Ok....Here I stand, locked and loaded, safety off....Time to unload the pistol.... I hold back the hammer and press the trigger to drop the hammer, something I had done many times with many different guns.. But this time the hammer SLIPS off my thumb... I swear to God it made the loudest CLICK I have ever heard in my life... Sweat pouring off my brow, I dropped the mag and ejected the round..The primer was dented, but not QUITE enough to ignite the primer... If that thing had gone off they would probably STILL have me in the brig, and that was in 1972..

LMAO- you rock Burty boy! Charlie has become somewhat an idol to me for his photography skills, but I don't pay much attention to ANYONES predictions outside my own observations any more.

Are they ever right ?

With all the talk about excessive deer on Long Island and sharpshooters and nueturing,etc....The DEC comes up with a way to LESSEN hunter participation.....unbelievable....

I'll second what Daveboone said. A compass and the ability to start a fire, are your two best friends in big woods. Since you're relatively new to deer hunting, finding a trail that the deer are using, and watching it from down wind may be a good option. I have a pet spot in some spruces along a beaver pond, that any does in the area always seem to travel. I've never seen a buck there early in the season, but from about the 10th of November on, there's no place I'd rather be. Find the does, and sooner or later a buck will be along to check on them. I always loved to still hunt, but my knees are shot, and until I get them replaced, most of my deer hunting is done sitting on my butt these days.

Seeing them like that makes me want to annihilate coyotes more and more.

I'm not sure what the loaded weight was, pretty heavy though. I built a heavy duty portage cart and stashed it in the woods at the carry at the upper dam, but I was able to make the trip across the carry in one trip with everything in the canoe and one pack on my back. It's about a 4 1/2 hour drive from home, then about 4-5 hours paddle into the site I used (about 12 miles), I made it there just before dark, long day, I slept well the first night. I agree, wall tents are as good as it gets, Thank You Heading in, loaded canoe, Comfortable camp, Beautiful NY

Now finally!!.. a good reason to get there early. I do remember one archery season day being in my stand at dark because I heard there was going to be a meteor shower that AM... front row to the best light show I've ever seen... worth every minute of sitting in the darkness.

Glo Sticks !!!