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Taken Sunday....not bad for a first buck....very proud DAD........

What a hard season but finally got it done tonight! Doe down! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Best dinner ever. Went with my folks to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary For you Erie County folk : Ripa's restaurant in Lancaster. It used to be a school when they first met 77 years ago. Mom was 12 and Pop was 14. It's now and has been a restaurant for many years. Both folks are in great health , wits about them, dad still drives and better than most. Love them so much When daughter was first born I was worried she may never get to know them as they were getting older. Daughter now 13 and they've all shared so much. I never met any of my grandparents as they passed before I was 1. Having a few tears shed right now. They bring so much joy to each other and everyone around. Love you Mom and Pop

Another deer down. She weighed #117.

The closest I ever got to any type of teaching position is NRA certified firearms instructor, and I don't know Papist from Adam. If you think we are the same person, put a large amount of cash on it and I'll split it with him to prove we aren't. I'll be 60 this month and currently consider my occupation "Independently Wealthy". When asked what I do these days, my answer is simply, "Whatever I want". Now, let's get back on topic here. You guys really have a very short attention span. Another reason this society is in a death spiral and headed for doom.

Thanks everyone, great advice and info! I went with the Ruger. Very lightweight. $329 on sale at Field and Stream.

Technically they poached it

Just go to the Mexican border and a whole lot more than 144 people crossed into the U.S. without i.d or any paper work. Thanks Mr. President.

It took me a while, but here's the 4 point I was talking about. I wasn't able to find the pictures of the buck at camp, but here's a pic of the skull.

Good thread here so far. FWIW..... Try some of the 165 gr's also and see if those are as accurate or better than 150's. Have taken close to 2 dozen critters in the 400-700 lb class; and bigger is better IMO.(Chambering would include; 270win,30-06,300RUM,375HH) A big fan of stiff contruction bullets and have had good results including shots from multiple angles. I get very few recoveries, I happen to like Swift Aframes and Trophy Bonded Bearclaws; but I did some volume culling on some smaller animals with a 243 and TSX's and they had excellent results. Loaded the 180grTSX in my 300 WBY and with now one animal down, I hope to use it for several hunts in the future; impressive stuff. I want 2 holes and be able to reach vitals from any position; and I want to break bones, preferably the offside leg if possible. Back to your first posts. I have two rifles I have 2 loads for (270win and 30-06), another with three ( 375 has a 300gr soft and 300gr solid to same point of impact and a Partition in 260gr with a second scope) . No big deal to work up 2 different loads if you want something softer for whitetails (and cheaper to plink with for chucks and targets). If grouping well, doesn't take more than 5 shots (or less) to get a scope zeroed, I use QD mounts and sometimes leave a second scope zeroed for another load. That extra scope always gets packed when travelling so with a few shots I could be back in business if required in case of a bad drop or accident to primary optic. Good luck on the hunt! Edit to add......Plenty of Elk have dropped to smaller calibers and the Partitions in all chamberings, good bullet. Most of the hunting I do involves a day rate and trophy fee; once that bullet leaves the muzzle, you own it. Positive blood trails, broken bones, and being able to possibly follow up very quickly make things just a little more stress free.

Apparently personal attacks are the diet du jour. The actual substance of an argument is all that most thinking people really care about. Trolls don't count. State a position and defend it. If you can't defend your position, you really shouldn't say it out loud, ie, post it on the internet. Stating that "It's a really difficult problem." got me thrown out of my junior high debating class in 1972. It didn't carry any weight then, and it still doesn't. If it wasn't a difficult problem we wouldn't be trying to discuss it.

So, is the new DEC ruling against using hunters to control feral hog populations working? Has the fact that hunters have been banned from dispersing hogs so that the DEC can successfully hunt or trap them been working? How many hogs has the DEC removed from the landscape. Where are the numbers? How many man-hours has the DEC devoted to the control of this invasive species? ....... Any??? Is the plan for eradication really working? Where's the story? How about it NYON, any plans for an investigative report to follow up on this story? Just wondering.

Minimum of 100 acres of corn and alfalfa. 20 to 30 cords of firewood cut each year. 150 acres of hay cut each year. Pasture 30 to 40 cows in the summer. This is a working 500 acre farm! And we have have killed mature bucks from here this year. As most years. Just saying, not as many seen the last couple of years. I'll let the experts sort it all out!

Very well said! I have been hunting a property for over 40 years, and this is the least amount of deer seen in that time.

I'm sick of DEC trying to BS us. They must think we're really stupid. "It's lack of participation, lots of mast on the ground, poor weather for hunting, lack of hunter proficiency, blah, blah, blah". I've got some ocean front property you might be interested in, if you're actually buying their lies. At least in my corner of 8N, the deer are NOT here. Like I said before, trail cameras don't lie. We have several cams, in different spots on the property, that have always produced a lot of pics. Yes, we have deer this year, but less than half of what we used to see on camera. Unless the deer (& turkeys, there's not many of them around either) have learned to avoid the cameras, THEY JUST AREN'T THERE. Yeah, there was a lot of food this year, but that's happened before. The difference is, in years past that had good mast crops, there were deer around to eat it. There's still apples laying under the trees at our place, as well as a lot of WHITE oak acorns. Don't feed me some crap about the deer not having to move to eat. There's no magical Mary Poppin's style, endless pile of freakin nuts laying in every bedding area. There were a lot of guys out down my way, too. I didn't notice any decrease in the amount of cars I saw parked, or hunters I saw in town. The only thing that decreased was the amount of shots. It's not just my place either. The neighbors aren't seeing jack. Sightings were even way down this year, at my friend's place in Scottsville, & we always used to see a LOT of deer there. That place was like a meat market, up until the last two seasons. Guys I know who hunt all over the region, are not seeing deer. One guy from my camp is a butcher in Walworth. Last week, he was at #74 for the year, where as he's usually into the 120's by now. Funny thing, he had DEC come by to check him out, & he had no deer on the floor. DEC guy said the last two butchers had no deer either. Strange. It's so disappointing that we hunters just suck lately. I'm sure that somehow, all the guys who know how to kill deer were either butchering them at home, or using other processors. Look at the amount of us on this site, who are just not seeing deer. It's not coincidence. Here at work, the amount of calls to remove roadkill deer has gone WAY down this year. Amazing! What a coincidence. People's driving skills must have improved, simultaneously with the decrease in hunter ability! Know what else is amazing? There's no huge packs of coyotes caught on camera either. No bears, cougars, wendigos, or any other type of super predator who could wipe out the deer. That's must mean it's not the predators! Shocking, right?!! It's the hard winters, too many damage permits, too many dmp's, & a DEC that wants the deer numbers decimated. Simple. They lie, & they'll continue to lie. Hunters are part of the problem, too. We sit here and decry the lack of deer, yet how many of us are willing to lay down the guns, & leave dmp's unfilled? I for one, am not filling any doe tags down at our place. Not this season, nor any time in the future, until I see a turnaround in deer numbers. Screw you DEC.

Need GPS dart to shoot out of trail cam at time of picture. It would make tracking and finding these bucks a lot easier Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Holy crap, Chas !! 3500 FPS for a 130 in the .270 Win would be REALLY hot !! Typical muzzle velocities for that bullet in the .270 Win are around 3100.... You sure your chrony is telling you the truth ? If that velocity is correct I would worry about the safety of my load. Early production Barnes bullets had some issues..Many rifles would not group them well and excessive copper fouling was a problem.. Barnes addressed the problems, and modern TSX and TTSX Group as well or better in my rifles as any other bullets and copper fouling has been reduced .. They are a great hunting bullet.

You realize that this thread is from last year, right?

I had decoys. 4 larger sized fawns at 25 yards. Browsed for a bit and meandered off. Ok , so this is what they look like again. Larger variety now please

d-bone - Ford is right. Papist is a provocateur, good for a chuckle now and then. Papist - If you are the academician you claim, don't you have grades to do? No other prof I know has as much time as you for this stuff.

Killed 5 miles away. That is alot of asskicking.

Very cool! Looks like an old warrior, with a broken rack from sparring.

http://youtu.be/isKkiZYt8Tw X-Calibur Lighting Systems http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

Two inch thick lamb chops basted with olive oil, home grown garlic and chopped rosemary, grilled medium rare, plus oven roasted sweet potato and steamed green beans....Oh yeah...and BEER...

Dead serious Stoneam, it works! Your old buddy Skillet wouldn't lead ya wrong.

There were adults trying to discuss something on this thread so I'm not sure why you felt the need to get involved. But if I missed the point please let me know how what you posted has relevance? I'm sure letting gay people get married is somehow leading to mass shootings and the downfall of this country to right?

Ruger American for me. I own a .308 American as well as a 700SPS .308. Nikkon on both rifles. Both are tack drivers, but I'm only willing to truck the ruger through the woods. For the prices, I'm not going to bang up a $650 rifle in the woods when I can bang up one that costs a lot less and does the job just as well. Plus, the Ruger is much lighter, shorter and way more maneuverable. Shoots <1" @ 100yds with 150 grain Remmy Express Core Lokt. (tried Fusion and a couple winchester styles, but the Core Lokt shot more consistently). The mag feels loose, and makes me a bit nervous, but a few hundred rounds and still no issues. My hunting buddy just recently purchased a Savage 11 combo. Hated the scope and switched it out immediately for a ProStaff. He loves the gun, but I have no experience with it.

I think it is a lot of things as previously posted I will add that antler restriction and less doe permits in some areas alleviates a lot of the shooting at tales or movement.

Why is it that when we make a list of reasons for not seeing deer or a "bad" season... one thing that is never on the list is our ability as a deer hunter... 99 times out of 100.. it is something we are doing wrong... For example: Sitting in the same tree stand all season and not seeing deer isn't a bad season it's insane... hammering the same 100 acres of woods every day and not seeing a deer is not a bad season it's bad tactics Whitetail populations can fluctuate everywhere in NY due to many different factors from year to year... a good or bad season is usually on the hunter... unless of course there are absolutely NO deer... If there are fewer deer.. the better hunters will still usually find and kill one.. and if they don't they usually have a heck of a good time doing it and still chalk it up to a good season of hunting. When you have what you call a "bad" season it does much better to look at what YOU"RE doing and what you could do differently to be more successful. The population of deer in any area will always have it's up and down years

he left after I pissed out of the tree.

One farm I hunt in Lima is 250 acres; about 200 fields and 50 hardwoods/creekbottom combined. The place is FILTHY with coyotes. We see them all the time but rarely get a shot. A local trapper gets some but there are still a ton of them AND a ton of deer. Coyotes get plenty of fawns in the spring but I don't think they are doing THAT good of a job in lowering the population. I try and do my part...........are YOU?

As mentioned, the acorn crop was huge. Amazing how that changes their feeding habits, they just aren't out in the fields like normal years but sure are in the woods and don't move far at all.

First off one brow tine is broken so reality it's a nine, but in MY book it's a TEN. Work schedule has prevented me from hunting NYS so far this year, last year I passed on a 6 but I did get to shoot big coyote. Got this guy Sunday morning in Monmouth County, NJ on a horse farm my FIL owns. I passed on many 6's and 8's and even saw bigger 10's but this 10 presented me with a shot. The rack does have some character with a forked G2 and near the end of each main beam are Bot Fly holes which are pretty neat.

Yes, reports from Delaware are dismal. Otsego - at least here - is very different. None of the locals are complaining. Why? I'm guessing Delaware is a harder place for a deer to make a living.

I saw more deer Than ever this bow( I think because I'm getting smarter as a hunter... I think) but as soon as the guns went off. Warm weather+food supply they went nocturnal.

What about Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber?? Im starting to think YES

I love all music. Just saw whats left of the Dead at MSG on Halloween night. They were amazing. Bob Weir is a legend. John Maier was quite a pleasant surprise too.

So, I see you & your Mom in the pic, but where's Dad?

So. I'll try and keep my venting and excitement to a minimum ( if that makes sense). This has been a very tough year for me, moved to a new house and lost my backyard 100 acre honeyhole, Lost permission on the 400+acre farm close to me, found fresh shot shells beneath my treestand in the only spot I had close by the house, hour ride to the camp every couple days mainly because I've been trying to get my dad on any deer and its the only spot he can go, he was in a bad car wreck and can't walk but was given a non ambulatory / hunt from the atv or truck liscense but I've got to unpack and unload him and get him in a spot which is stressful for multiple reasons ( mainly he can't get to where the deer are) on top of the new house honey do list, a 2 year old and a 4 month old... Etc etc.. Don't get me wrong, I am greatful to have what I do, but for the past 6 years I had primo ground in my back yard. Now for the good part. Went to camp for a morning hunt, about 9am dad calls and says guys pulling up the driveway. It was his partner on our land. They only do drives so I figured it can't hurt since they too wanted my dad to get a deer. Well, they pushed deer by everybody but my dad. 1 doe killed. So I figured we could give a friend of mines a try. Big open field with hay bails in the middle. Sent dad up with the Wheeler and I trekked yo he other side of the hill. We never deer hunted here before so I had the hard part of finding a spot. Now it's about 330 and I make the peak. Oddly enough I found a stand! Hopped in and had this guy and a couple does come out within a half hour... Rest is history! Keep the faith guys!!!

pap- you ever been with women this hot???? I think i'd need to double up on my super male vitality

My buddy calls it the toothpaste method

I'll propose a first step toward this country's rehabilitation: Stop taking drugs as an easy way out of a medical condition. Chances are very good that there's a better and safer alternative for the more common problems. More importantly: Stop feeding the children drugs as an easy way out of parenting. Adam Lanza, the Newtown shooter, wasn't just an isolated nut job. He was a kid who had been raised on pharmaceuticals. The same can be said for a number of recent domestic terrorists. The guns have been in every household in this country for about five centuries. Think about why they're being misused today.

Another vote for Ruger.

Many people have said we should limit rights on other threads, as well as in the media. It's the mantra of the Left, but they try to label it as "common sense". Why you think I'm saying "do nothing" is puzzling. I'm saying what we need to do isn't a quick and simple fix. I'm sorry if you hope there is an easy way to resolve these issues, like ban all guns. Try to imagine, with an open mind, how that will only make things much worse. For example, your kids should be protected by armed security everywhere these days. Schools, theaters, churches, parks, etc. But the Left shouts that down as crazy and paranoid. Why aren't you shouting back at them that it's not? This situation has been coming for a long time. The warnings have been there for years. It's not about guns. It's about a multitude of things like: people's lack of respect for human life, low values, lack of morals, crack pot child rearing, drugged up kids (both legal and illegal), crazy child psychologists, illegal immigration, big government, buying votes, political power struggles, allowing terrorists into this land, and on and on. I don't know why people think it's a surprise our society has devolved to where it is, when we have been encouraging it's demise for decades with unadulterated permissiveness in every regard. Warnings have been preached for decades about the country winding up where it is, but those warnings were mocked and cast aside as delusional and paranoid. Well, they weren't. How do we fix it? The same way we broke it. One issue at a time. And we decide on the right path based on where it takes us. If it improves the country as a whole and enhances the safety and quality of life, we do it. If it doesn't, we don't. Political correctness needs to be the first thing done away with. It's going to take as many decades to reverse the damage as it did to do the damage. People always want instant solutions to problems that took decades to create. I'm sorry to say it doesn't work that way. Better buckle up and get ready for a long, difficult solution situation. Even when we know where we went wrong, there will be plenty of people who resist the corrections needed and will continue to demand change continue on it's mentally deranged course. The problems we are dealing with today, will get much worse before the idiots who supported them are finally silenced for good. And that will only happen when people start to demand real common sense.

Starting 2016 no minimum age. If your under 10 they can't be 20' away. But my son will be sitting with me the whole time.

Yeah, pretty soon I will be heading down to the basement and pulling a sheet off our decorated 4' artificial and carrying it upstairs to set it up on a card table and plug it in. That's all there is to it. It has been the same tradition for about a decade. I have tried a few different ways to wrestle with the Christmas tree fiasco. First we ran around the hill getting something that didn't look too scrubby. Then eventually we bought one of those chopped trees that start showing up some time in October or November (No telling exactly when it was actually cut.) Yeah the attempt to police up all the needles got old pretty quick. Ever notice how those little suckers get knitted into some kinds of carpets? And then I saw some of the artificials that you have to stare at up close for a while to tell that they are not real. That did it. I bought one that I can hold in one hand and that was it. Yeah, it is starting to look a bit beat up now, and should be replaced soon.

I am doing a euro mount on this guy because in my 1850 built home the ceilings are kinda low. I will be hanging him in the shed with my other euro mounts. I never did put a tape on him, I can't wait to get him back from the butcher and do some measuring. He is on the wide side. I saw eight bucks on Veterans Day Nov 11, it was the peak of the rut with the two bigger deer ( a 10 & a 8 ) locked on to hot doe's. The smaller bucks ( small 8's & 6's ) running around frantically, it was the best day I ever had for watching deer, no shot presented itself on the bigger deer and I passed on the smaller ones. It was the peak of the rut and I sat in my tree all day.

A guy like you that has a bit more knowledge of food plots and stand placements on managed property probably won't notice much difference in small pattern changes... the weekend warrior that has only one stand on 25 acres might notice much more... and between you and me (shhh), the guys complaining about not seeing deer ( that we all know are there) are the latter. and for those that don't believe the deer are there... just take a walk around your property a day after a new snow...

5 is the only one that might have a real impact.