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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. ????

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

I am willing to bet that 95% of the hunters and anti hunters have never see the inside of a coyote den.I have seen a few , One is a sight I will never forget , in the area I live there are some pretty steep hills with many large rocky areas and thick growth. One day we stumbled in to an old bears den. big enough to walk into which we did , after seeing coyote's heading to that spot. In side we found body parts , some still with flesh on them and whole fawn deer caucuses and not just 1 or 2 but a pile of them. The area outside had scat with all sorts of hair mixed in . This was before hunting season and the weather was not that bad. I think they kill a good part of the time just to kill not to kill for survival and this is why I despise them.

Shoot whatever makes you happy. If you can get 2 doe early you have plenty of time to get a big buck or take a 4 or 6pt if you want. As long as you are not in an AR zone you choose what you want. Like some have said dont worry what others think, do what makes you happy. If you see no deer and a buck is big enough to shoot then do it. No matter what you do someone will complain lol. Just have fun and be safe, good luck this year! Hope to see some of your success!

Very novel philosophy, sort of reverse AR..!?! lol. Whatever makes you happy in the woods and while attaching a tag!!!

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 !

It pays off doesn't it though .

Track, scatter and call back is what I've always done, but recently I did go with dogs and as I get older the scattering gets easier using them, can't run to fast anymore,that dam age thing creeping up on me

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.

Mr B hit a solid 2 1/2 year old spike buck with his truck...actually the buck ran into the side of the truck behind the drivers seat...the spikes were 12+ inches long and looked exactly like two flat pointed dagger blades...very cool looking strange too...I'll have to look in one of the buckets for them...

I keep logs but I can not be in the woods all the time. Up north November 4th- 24th prime time 10th-18th I do believe the fluctuation (In activity.) is due to lunar cycles but can be overrun by poor weather causing most activity to happen at night or delay it until colder weather comes in. Weather simply can wreak havoc on your hunt. I believe in the theory that if the temperature is 20 deg. above normal deer shut down. EX: If your average is 40 and it's 60 deer seem to shut down. Warm weather forces them to stay put. This IMO seems to delay the rut from what I have seen. Regardless of lunar calendar or weather I want to be in the woods as much as possible the last week in October and first of November on LI. Then November 5th-as long as I can stay up north. Usually a 2 week stay is all work will allow.

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

first one is definitely a 2.5 yr old I agree. that second one is a nice deer anywhere.

Very nice to see the results of not shooting a deer. Good luck with him, this would be a target for me thats for sure.

Last year the pre-rut kicked off the earliest I've ever seen it in my area. Rubs and scrapes were popping up by the third week of August and steady through Oct. Bucks were harassing doe in the fields the entire time as well even in full velvet. I was expecting to see some serious chasing between Nov 6'th-9'th at the latest, but it never happened. I really thought I missed my favorite time to be on stand with the bow. Opening day of regular season (Nov. 15'th), the bucks were running doe like crazy, so I hadn't missed it after all and managed to connect then. Once the frantic chasing begins, there's only like a 3 day window before they lock down with their doe to breed. Although the rut is a long drawn out process that escalates over the course of weeks and months... there's only 3 days I get REALLY excited about and focus on nailing!

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

Cute pooch! Gonna be tough to keep up with those legs.

Uhhhhhhh If I ever stated anything incriminating on here I WAS HACKED it wasnt me. LOL

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

LMFAO Must be they are reading this, its now been removed from the website.

I spent many summers up at Sabattis, and several return trips between then and now. One of my all time favorite spots in the world. It is very easy to imagine yourself 150 years ago. I haven't been up there in at least 15 years...you inspire me to get back up there. Thanks for sharing! The last time I was up there was after the last "big blow"...in the mid 90s. a lot of the virgin timber on the south west end was flattened. Sad to see, but it was a natural event, probably happened 100s of times over the centuries.

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 :- )

Nice pic. Yep, that's up there a bit.

I just brought back a longbranch that someone had sporterised ..its all back to the way it was when a service man carryed it on the field. This one is a great shooter as well. Its a mix master of parts but it looks like it should. . I will be hitting all the gun show's this fall looking for the correct parts .so I can make it as close as I can.

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.

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........

Are they ever right ?

Basic answer to your question is, long enough to get a well placed shoot off on an animal within your comfort range and as unnoticed as possible. Lot of things influence this and it becomes more of a complex question, with varying answers. Many factors in determining how long you can or even need to hold at full draw. Your equipment - Like others have mentioned. You - Your body type, muscle tone and to some extent, what you do for a living. For people with less than Rambo-ish physics or that sit at a desk for a living, this can be augmented by specific exercises. Naturally, the more you practice with your bow, the more you develop this specific set of muscles and the longer you can hold at full draw. Shooting style - The biggy! If you practice standing up, better plan on shooting this way at your prey. If using a climber tree stand and shooting sitting down, practice the same way - sitting. Do yourself a favor and do NOT get caught up in the mentality of bigger is better. If you have to come to full draw using the proverbial "windmill" motion, lower you draw wgt until you can draw directly back with a fluid motion. Then as you practice more you can progressively increase draw wgt while still maintaining that fluid, horizontal draw movement. Nothing less effective or unethical about shooting in the 50# draw wgt range. Hunting habitat - A reasonable time to be at full draw varies according to the ground cover you're hunting in. Meaning shoot opportunities. Open woods, dense cover with shooting lanes, edge of a field or brushlot. Each scenario presents different situations of being ready &/or drawing your bow as unnoticed as possible. This is where that fluid draw motion comes into play!! Oh yeah, better practice what gun hunters refer to as snap shooting. ID target, get ready, aim, good form and release an arrow in a 5-10sec time frame. Deer don't always come in leisurely walking thru the woods or a field, giving you 5min to prepare mentally and pick your shot, as depicted on TV. Ingenuity - If any of the above or combination of factors, presents a problem for you, Use you brain to over come them and make your shortcomings work in your favor If you find you can't hold at full draw for 1min or more, hunt from a stand where you are sitting, but shoot standing up, hunt in the open woods - be prepared to adjust your stand placement &/or concealment to level the playing field. This is where trail cams, scouting, finding travel routes or considering what your profile looks like or the back drop of the stand is very helpful. IMHO, deer will pick up your movement more often when you're trying to stand up than drawing the bow. Do this early! Learn from my mistakes, an ideal looking stand location becomes blatantly useless when the leaves are off the trees in the fall and any movements can be picked off 100yrds away. Granted, may seem really removed from your original question, but adaptability has a huge impact on your hunting and the need to be at full draw for lengthy periods.

What the guys have said and this...If he gives you enough of a visual lead take a quick glance around . Many times it's not the deer your drawing down on that nails you...it's the one with them you didn't see due to tunnel vision...

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