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Just wanted to wish all of you an enjoyable and safe holiday. Hopefully the DEC will bring us wise management choices in the coming year, and also hoping that the camo-wearing Santa Claus gets us all what we want for our future outdoor pursuits. Merry Christmas to a wonderful group on HNY.com!

Well, the season is finally over...after 3 months of hunting I'm sitting at the dining room table with a cup of coffee thinking about some of the hunts. Some really comical with people busting up a hunt while grunting in a buck with their dog and on horseback coming right on top of me. Got to spend a lot of time in the woods and had a good time. Got my honey's "do" list ready to go for the day in preparation for the Christmas dinner. Got a good wife that puts up with a lot during hunting season! But I do have to admit the tag tastes like crap however you fix it! Have a great Christmas everybody and God bless you all with a healthy, peaceful new year! Jeff

I've been waiting for a golden crack at a red fox for some time now but never pulled the trigger since I didn't know what the hell I'd do with one. On 11-3-15 this dude came rolling by the stand at 8yds and I immediately knew I would come up with something.] He was originally supposed to be turned into a fuzzy trappers hat, but insteaed got sewed into a ML accessory pouch. I sewed a fleece liner and stitched it in the best I could. It ain't perfect, but it 's a great reminder of the quiet encounter.

No cranker here, but you can imagine how sweet a gals first deer/buck was at the end of the day. I've never had such a happy hunt in my entire life! It wasn't the most perfect shot. She caught him a lil far back so we trailed him over 300yds. My head was glued to the blood trail which was running out by the step. Sis looked over and spotted him trying to get to his feet. A littlttle confusion amongst us at that point, but she finally settled the crosshairs to DUMP him for good! This was my most memorable hunt EVER! F= big bucks!

Got this doe on the last day in the poring rain. Of course come out of woods the sun comes out....

You know, there was a time when I would have said exactly that about the NYS Safe Act. I take nothing for granted anymore.

Here we go again with the small caliber bow cartridges . Next is the head shots and exact placement ending in I have killed several deer with a 223 or my buddy did . Why not use a caliber that is going to knock the snot out of a deer !

I hope many of us view ourselves as not just hunters or sportsman, but outdoorsman. I hope many of us appreciate and value the peace and beauty of the great outdoors. I believe we should be even more appreciative as our pheasant fields are turned into walmarts, and our golf courses built around our creeks. Anyhow, I don't understand why we leave behind the garbage that we do. I constantly pick up water and beer bottles near the public land I hunt left behind by fellow hunters. I also don't understand why a mostly conservative group tends to be the loudest voice against environmental regulations aimed at reducing pollution. Regardless of your opinion on global warming, anything we can do to preserve our earth should be welcomed. What we've already done with regards to polluted soil and water is fact. I know many of us remember not being allowed to eat the fish out of the Great Lakes. Please guys, as a group we need to do our part to keep are woods and our waters clean. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The caption of this picture was "We saw his star in the east, & have come to worship him". It made me think about how thankful I am, that I get to share such a wonderful part of my life, with such great people. We come from all walks of life & we disagree often, but we all unite on a love for God's creation. Outdoorsmen, I think, have a unique understanding of our bond to our Creator & the natural world. As we look back at the year, let's be thankful for our time out there with family & friends, our harvests, & win or lose, just the blessing to experience it all. I see this group as a family. A dysfunctional family, but a family. Thanks for making me feel a part of you this year, & sharing your adventures with me. God willing, here's to many more!

Didn't see this post I think I put in in rifle harvest thread.... Anyways after a stalk and miss sat in the snow ended up connecting on this nice doe Sunday 140 yards dropped right there. Jumped her walking in from truck she ran uphill stopped to look back at us gave me just enough time...buddy connected on a wounded button buck 30 min later good day to be in the snow. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Its Christmas Eve lets be nice.

Not only do they know when the season is over, but they also know exactly what tags you have left when sitting in your stand.

My youngest son drove past Tinker Nature Park on Calkins Road in Henrietta around 4 pm yesterday . He said he saw a dozen deer feeding in the open near the road . When he got home in Honeoye Falls , the back light was on and 5 deer were feeding by the garden . They know when they are safe !

Killed this one in NY one morning in 2014 prior to the deer opener. Called it in using an old Herter's Dying Rabbit mouth call. A real loud squealer of a call. After deer seasons are done, I find I can only get them to come in at night. I like to hunt them after dark when there is snow and a full moon. It's still important to watch the wind. Took two this year, but took them while deer hunting.

you should check out the FoxPro forums, there is a wealth of knowledge on predator hunting and the guys on the forum are super helpful. Like Chrisw said, they are a lot harder to call in and kill than people realize. I found that out the same way most newbies do. Make scent control your number one priority and make sure your wind isn't blowing into the area you want to hunt while walking in. I like to put my e caller upwind so that the coyotes want to "fall in my lap" while getting downwind of the caller. I also like to stay a minimum of an hour on each stand. Start your caller on a low volume and work your way up through the set. One other thing I have learned, for me, is that you gotta give them something for a wind advantage. That's why I like crosswinds. A lot of the time, coyotes that come in for me hang up on the wood's edge and don't want to come out in the open, even at night. So a setup where you can shoot to that edge will help you. If not, u can turn the caller down to where you can barely hear it and it can pull them in, or switch to a coaxer sound like a vole squeak, barely audible to your ears, to try and pull them in. It is also a rule of thumb for our eastern coyotes that you might have a coyote show itself to your calling 1 out of 12 stands. So be patient and keep at it. a lot of times I think coyotes come into my calling, investigate, and leave without me ever knowing. Hope this helps some and feel free to PM if you have any questions at all. Be sure to build as much knowledge as possible before getting out there because the first stand in an area will be your best shot. You will also learn something every stand you make. Just make sure to cross your i's and dot your t's bc every "mistake" you make in your setup, they will capitalize on it.

What it's Christmas Eve ??? Guess I gotta run out and start shopping , how late is the Dollar Store open ?

Yeah, I'm joking. I can be an A-hole, but a criminal? No.

Well heck, I never saw THIS thread! Although I've posted about this deer already, I may as well give this thread some life. I did kill my buck this year with the ML but that was in the "regular season" and has already been posted in the "gun season" harvest thread. The doe above was shot last Saturday afternoon in Lima. I hunted the morning and it was by far the coldest day I've hunted in a while. IIRC it was about 25 degrees and a 20mph+ wind out of the west. I pussed out and opted for a box blind. I saw a young 10pt and a doe but couldn't get a clear crack at her. I stuck it out until 10am or so then went to a another spot to mooch around and see how much sign I could see in the fresh snow. Never saw a deer and the tracks were sparse, putting it mildly. I was back in a box blind but not the same one as the morning hunt by 2pm. At 4pm a doe and a couple fawn stepped out. I thought I'd have a gimme but all of a sudden they took off on a trot across the field. Fortunately they stopped and I re-positioned to another window (!) for the shot. Bang flop. As I walked up I thought I shot the wrong one, seems I have the darnedest time sometimes when shooting doe. Once they're on the ground they don't always look as big as I thought. I snapped a quick pic with the phone then gutted her then hoisted her into the truck. (Yes, another perk to the box blind is the drive-up capability. And yes, she was a very nice sized deer, probably at least 2.5 years old and loaded with fay when I butchered her Tuesday. I'd GUESS, 110 lbs or so. maybe a touch more. I had a couple brutal drags this year and two I could drive to. I'm happy to take the good with the tough! PS, sorry for the grainy barn pic; I used the self timer on the phone with the camera propped up on the seat of the wheeler, it was cold as heck, the deer was spinning on the hoist and I wanted to get to the house for whiskey to knock the chill out of my bones.

Just the fact that its being talked about is pure BS.These people wont be happy till all guns are gone.....I take that back they will never be happy for anything because they will move onto their next agenda.The stupidity of the people that believe this is astonishing.The fact that things like how many cars,booze,gas or cigarettes you can buy isn't on the list but guns are tells you one thing,They don't give a shyt about you or anyone because any one of those things kill more people than guns doIm not for banning or limiting anything in life,if you're a functioning member of the community and not a POS that feeds off anyone then you should be able to drive what and where you want,smoke and drink as much poisons as you would like and shoot as much ammo as you want.

If it's effective, & humane, & gets more people hunting, it should be a no-brainer.

Coyotes are a lot more difficult to kill than you're thinking. Do some research. Its going to take more than dog food or an electronic caller to be successful. Be patient and read up on tactics. It can be done but don't go in expecting to stack up coyotes because it won't happen. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

A few things that quickly come to mind...... -To use them with the scope, your head won't be where it should be, down on the stock. Thus you will be changing the sight picture as your head will be flopping in the breeze. -If it is raining or snowing THAT hard, you'll have a difficult time lining up the bead with the rear sight in all the crap as the see thru mounts aren't that awful large. Then try and paste the sight on a the deer's bread basket. -Although I haven't handled them 36 (grin) years, I'd bet that they lack considerably in quality, I wouldn't trust them. If you insist on using open sights in inclement weather, get a quick detach quality mount and go forth. Try some BC caps, you won't regret the $20 spent on them. There are other companies that sell similar types of products but I've had the best luck with BC caps.

Man, this is a winner! If your scope isn't a POS Butler Creek scope caps should solve the problem. I'm not sure but I think I've been using them for 35 years. My Leupold scopes have never fogged on me but I guess that is just luck? Not.................. See thru rings are not the answer to ANY problem.

If it's still moving I'm still shooting!

I'm anxious to shoot it. If it weren't so windy here I'd have sighted it in today. Oh well, I have some time.

The DEC is simply building a case to maintain deer populations at levels that satisfy the politics of satisfying moneyed stakeholders. Yes, we all remember days when hunting was exciting because of so many opportunities. Apparently the DEC has decided to put the "hunt" back into hunting. And boy the explanations all fly fast and furious each year, don't they? Some of the more arrogant hunters like to blame it all on hunters who apparently have recently gotten stupid or lazy or blind, or who just simply all of a sudden don't have a clue how to hunt. And then there are the weather critics ...... it was too warm. Don't like that one, how about too many acorns ....ok how about not enough acorns? Bad winters? Predators? Look, how about the answer that makes the most sense. The DEC's estimates of herd size are either mistakenly too high, or they simply are purposely distorting the numbers to support their agenda of whacking down the herd to something that is insignificant in terms of deer damage to the various financial interests who are impacted by the deer. The big question now is just how far down do they have to draw the herd size down to satisfy all those squeaky wheels that have established political control over DEC policies. I guess time will tell. And in the mean time we will listen to those that remember a better time. and we will still be amused at all of the annual excuses as to why we just aren't seeing the deer we used to. And the DEC will continue to claim higher and higher deer populations. Its all pretty fun to watch.

Tell your friend to go somewhere else and buy/enjoy the new gun. Lever action has nothing to do with new regulations. And even semi-auto .22s with tube magazine are OK (Marlin model 60, etc)

Thanks for the responses guys! I bought the .17 so I can shoot further than 50 yards accurately. The spots I'll be hunting are wide open hardwoods so I'll plop my a$$ on the ground and keep my eyes open. Should be able to shoot 100 yards easily. This is what she looks like now. Topped her off with a Vortex 6-18x44 and have a Boyd's thumbhole stock on order. Also have a Caldwell bipod that isn't being used that I'll throw on.

As hunters and fisherman, we are in especially good position to enjoy God's blessings. Can it be a coincidence that his first four followers were fisherman? At this time of year, when God gave us that greatest gift of all, it is important to remember that it is better to give than to receive. May you all have a merry Christmas.

Some of the biggest bucks and wisest old does hide in thickets within 100 feet of a house where no one bothers them. This year alone I've seen where 140" class bucks were doing this. And here I am walking 2 miles down into the park to find them.

Sent from my LGL16C using Tapatalk

I hunt them often and have never connected few missed shots busted so many times I lost track...I'll tell ya sitting in the dark at all hours of night with a pack of yotes howling is spooky and awsome all at the same time....one point to I will say is if you plan on hunting darkness invest in a good light...makes a huge difference. I personally use mouth calls as I like them better and have used decoys a Lil bit. My light set up is 2. 1mil candlewatt rechargeable lights and a backpack with a motorcycle battery in it with a 12v power connector for another backup if needed lasts longer than I do usually...alot of fun and always chances at Fox bc they are alot more curios Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Learning to hunt/call coyotes, beats sitting around listening to them howl all night. Yeah I'm sure it will be a challenge. But I'm up for it! Game on! And may the best dog win!

I too laugh every time I see newbies to coyote hunting going in all gung-ho. I was there once too so I fully understand. Coyotes make deer look really dumb, I'll be the first to admit I don't kill a lot of coyotes but I get a few every year and its no easy task. I bet your predator thread stays pretty quiet despite the millions of yotes people "know" are there. To the OP, I don't mean to come off negative, you should definitely get out there and have fun just don't get discouraged because kills are generally few and far between. There have been numerous threads lately on the coyote topic and most peoples knowledge of them is very limited/unfounded. If you need any help/information feel free to ask. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

Nope not you, I'm implying we have lots of experts here. Note the times posted on your post and mine; I type with one finger............and the thought has been on my brain for a while. Lots of big talk from all the coyote killers and they have no idea just how difficult it is to do without dogs or while deer hunting. Sure, it can be done but it's difficult. Most guys get out in the winter and freeze their onions off or get too scared if hunting after dark.

Probably not the best choice in bullets for any chambering. Why not a Partition or Barnes TSX?

picked up these guys and a red fox too buy it was dark when I got him so no pics and he got muddy as hell with I seen him clean myself Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I agree, the fighting amongst hunters is sickening, which is why I'm trying to stay away from those arguments, at least in this thread. X-Calibur Lighting Systems http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

8G and 9F available for anybody to add to their tag soup ????

Pouring rain and I had to drag him, by his hind legs, a good 50yards through thick nasty swampy crap, just to get him to an opening where I could turn him around and get the ATV near him. It took over a half hour… Short but miserable drag. I looked worse than the deer.

Like I said .. purely anecdotal... and yes you have control of what man does because you are the man I was referring to. You will spend the rest of your life trying to eliminate coyotes from your land really solving nothing other than making yourself feel better. But, whatever blows your skirt up. Just stop calling it fact... you observe only what you want to observe... that does not make it fact. Especially since 800 acres is a pimple on the ass of the overall habitat the coyotes will run.

So you are also against bows for hunting since they are quiet and can be used in urban areas? X-Calibur Lighting Systems http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

Now I agree with everything said as far as bottles, cans, wrappers, coffee cups, empty bottles of "buck bomb". Anything along those lines should be carried out. But are you seriously telling me you carry out your used toilet paper, rather than bury it? That is beyond unreasonable. You do understand that toilet paper breaks down in oh about one good rain shower? I'm all for conservation but when I have to "go" in the woods the used TP ain't coming with me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!!!! I really enjoyed this thread this year and even though I don't know a single person on this forum personally....I enjoy reading and hearing from each and everyone of you......Good luck to those of you that can still hunt on the island.....

Ditto that!!!

Nighttime. They were in the field when I got there. With no time to set up I simply lip squeaked and the 4 of them came in 400yds on a string. I laid this big male flat at 30yds with a.22Mag 45gr JHP. Sent from my LGL16C using Tapatalk

I think that it would be useful to carve a little chunk of the budget out and put up some public service announcements around hunting seasons that is aimed at changing attitudes about doe harvests and the necessity of population control. I think hunters minds and attitudes can be changed with even the most minimal of effort. I think it is also a good way to get the benefits and necessity of hunting put out there (as a side effect). I have always contended that the DEC does not have as big a public presence as they should have. It may be time to change that. I realize that DEC budgets have been cut to the bone, but with a bit of reprioritizing of expenditures they may find that a little more public exposure will offer more bang for the buck. Perhaps some media presence would start creating positive hunter attitudes through public education rather than trying to come up with all of these hair-brained fixes to throw band-aids over the effects of neglected bad, outdated, or uninformed attitudes.

Seared on a pan tonight, usually grill them but not tonight. It was awesome

Monty Python