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Shot this 8 last evening. Seen 4 basket bucks coming my way, the one 8 pointer was pretty nice and very tough to pass. But I seen this buck about 300 yards out, and was hoping he joined the group. His body was much bigger then the other 4 and I could see the rack was bigger. About 10 does followed the 4 bucks , some as close as a couple yards from my stand They were all crunching acorns, with no suspicions I was there . It was like nothing I have ever experienced, quite amazing. I could see this buck and 1 other buck coming to join the group, they kept stopping and fighting with each other ( I could hear there antlers crashing from 2-300 yards out) . After about an hour he got within range, he stepped out at 30 yards,. The rage did the job , I heard him crash about 30 yards into the woods.I waited about 30 minutes after harvesting him for all the deer to finally clear from around my stand. This is my first opening day bow harvest and biggest bow harvest yet. Great day !!!

Found em about 150 yards from where I bumped em. Absolutely STUNK. Sun was beating em on and the flies were going crazy. I got one lung/ liver, and stomach. What a tough animal. Was 250 yards from where I shot em. So glad I backed out and waited. Looked like he was dead for a few hours by the time I got to him, but better safe than sorry. Thanks everyone for the good juju!! I gut em and just stuffed him/ covered him with bags of ice. Will hang em up overnight . Hopefully the meat is good My wife was so happy for me that she took a few awesome pics when I got him home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Opening day success was never so sweet for a young hunter! 3 months into his first season of archery and hunting on his first day out he connects from my stand! Was passing those spike bucks last year worth it, hell yea! Now this young hunter is hooked and hopefully will have many more years of success! The smile says it all! Congratulations John!

I had to use my buck tag but I'm alright with it he was probably a deer another guy on the property wounded as a spike last season, he has a scar on his right front leg. Went to a tried-and-true early stand on public property this morning was hearing a ton of snorting all up and down the ridge before light. This is a very thick area with only a few lanes and a lot of immature beach still fully greened out at deer head height. Around 7:10 I caught a ear flick than a tail flick about 25 yards out front of me in dense thicket. Assumed it was a decent buck as it was alone and good bodied. But as it approached within 10 yards I could not spot antlers and the head, eyes and ears seemed big. I drew twice on the deer and both times held forever as he hesitated to go through my lane. At this point it was only brown rectangle passing close to my lane I could no longer see the head and thought mature lone doe and released. 520 grains 200 upfront went through the shoulder and out the lower ribcage. He bounded 10 yards, looked around and fell over. Was initially disappointed with antler but quickly turned the attitude around when I noticed the body size. 1/1 w/the new APA Mamba Air TF and 6mm FMJ Strickland Helix combo. 1st 10/1 deer.

I just shot a doe, shot was forward but I got a passthru.

Got em!!! Pics to come tnt... but in the meantime Couldnt be happier!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Today was the Grouse hunting opener in the Catskills of NY. I like to give them a sporting chance till they wise up. Hence the single shot H&R .410

Haley and I had a fun sit. Had a few does come close but wouldn’t get into a lane. First time she had her bow in her hand and release on the sting waiting to draw. She kept talking about how hard her heart was beating. She really wants a deer this year especially since last year was a waste after I injured my knee.

First Bow kill 9/28 Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Ok so I finally got it done although it didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked.I have bow hunted for 4 years without releasing an arrow and last night seemed to be following that pattern until about 630. I had been sitting since 4 and had seen nor heard anything not even a squirrel. I was battling misquotes for my sanity when I heard a twig snap of my left hand shoulder, it turned out to be a spike about 25 yards of quartering slightly towards me between two brush piles. There was an open window between the 2 brush piles of about 2 foot I thought plenty of room. At the shot the deer ducked and started to turn he then took off and I thought I had missed I could see my lighted nock arrow stuck in the ground. I heard him crash seconds later. I gave it till dark and waited for the rest of my hunting party to go look. I Got Him! It ended up being a crappy shot I'm not sure if it's all because he moved at the shot or if it was me getting jittery or a combination of both I took him right across the throat and the rage hypedermics did there job. He had only went about 60 yrds. Finally I got one with a bow not a textbook shot but I got it! Feeling stoked!! Not a giant but will always be a memorial deer for me. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Well i just rebounded fast, go in stand, 5 minutes later just got a doe. Big one and dead in sight.

10/2 Today was a 3 track day. I received a call from an anxious dad....his son had shot a spike last night and he was requesting some help. We agreed on meeting at 8:00 this morning due to not knowing how good (or bad) the shot was. We started at the hit site and Luna quickly took us to where the hunter and his Dad had backed out last night. They did everything right by marking the blood and getting out of there. A dream call. Luna took us through a small area of swamp grass, then into some tag alders. Roughly 100 yards into it, we made this young hunters day by finding his buck. It was actually an emotional moment. Carter turned 12 on September 28th. 3 days after becoming old enough to hunt, he had his first buck. Talk about a proud Dad! It turns out the shot was a little high, but angled down enough to catch lung. Our second track today was another example of how it should be done. The hunter shot a buck last evening and watched for about 40 minutes as it stood in the area. It finally got dark and the hunter climbed down, saw evidence of a gutshot on the arrow and backed out. He went back this morning and followed blood a short distance, lost it, marked it, then backed out and called me without grid searching. Luna quickly took us to the edge of a very thick swampy area where we found a bed with dark red blood in it. Luna took us into the swamp and appeared to be on the track although we weren't seeing any blood. We went in a few hundred yards, crossing a couple deeper beaver runs. As we kept going it seemed like Luna was no longer on it, so we fought our way through the tangled mess back to last blood and did a restart. Sure enough, a few yards into it she took a different trail. We were a hundred yards into it and I spotted a dropped of blood on the swamp grass. This pleased me. We continued on another couple hundred yards and Luna started her high pitched bark. A few minutes later we heard the buck take off, only 20 yards away. It was way too thick to even see him. The hunter from his angle could see the grass moving and said it stopped right on the edge of some tag alders. I had him hold Luna and I circled around with my handgun, hoping to get a killing a shot. The buck had given us the slip so I put Luna back on him and off we went. We were really hustling trying to catch up, just about running when the terrain allowed. He went into the woods and repeatedly went into a rocky creek trying to give us the slip. Luna was having none of it and stayed right on the track. The buck eventually left the woods and crossed a meadow. Luna took us through the meadow to a six foot fence and was pushing, trying to get through. At this point we decided that if the buck still had the strength to jump that fence, we better back out and give him some more time. I headed out to my third track, promising I'd come back later. My third track was a low shot on a doe, made last night. The hunter had tracked her for a couple hundred yards before losing blood. He looked around some, then backed out and called me. Luna quickly took us to the point of loss, then went in the opposite direction the hunter thought the doe had gone. Luna knows best! We went a short distance and Luna started her high pitched bark.....another live deer. We were seeing fresh blood as we tried to catch up with her, but ended up with property line issues and had to quit. Two hours after leaving the second track, I was back. We took Luna to the opposite side of the fence, expecting to see blood after the jump the deer had made, but now Luna wanted to go back to the other side of the fence! We went around and sure enough she showed me a spot of blood inside the edge of the woods and started pulling hard. Back into the woods and into the creek we went, this time going uphill. After a couple hundred yards we found him still alive, laying in the creek, so I finished him. This was 20 hours after he was shot yesterday.

Besides the recurve bow, I will be going back in time this season with the firearms.

Tried posting this earlier, but I had zero service and then my phone died. I shot this fawn around 3:10. She came in behind me and gave me only a few seconds to shoot since the wind was about to switch towards her. It didn't look as small as it is from 25 yards out, but also turns out this doe is a hermaphrodite. Makes sense why it came in alone and was so small. When I skinned her out, she had almost no fat on her. Deer on that property (including the fawns) usually have inches of fat due to all the apple orchards and farms literally right next to the property. Glad I took her out since she wouldn't have made it through the winter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Saturday morning I had to run up to work for something and took my bow & Block with me. I figured it was a nice morning and wanted to stretch a few shots out when I could. The boss was there as the showroom closes at noon. He said "hey, mind if I take a couple shots with your bow?" I VERY reluctantly said "ok....." You see, my boss is not a hunter, shooter or anything even close to it. As far as I know, all he is ever shot is a .22 maybe once or twice ever and a xbow 3-4 shots a couple years ago. He is very jerky about stuff like this and as we were walking back I said he had to shoot at 6-8 feet as I was afraid he'd miss the Block by a mile and snake one under the grass, gone forever! Actually, that wasn't my real fear. I was hesitant because I could see him yanking the bow past the draw stop, releasing the entire bow or any one of 37 things that could monkey up my bow. NOT what I need on September 30. If it was 6 weeks ago, no problem. I just was awfully nervous....... He watched me take a few shots and was blown away by the release, he said "WTH is THAT thing?" That did it for him, he said he'd pass on the opportunity but it looked too complicated. Phew...........

We use primarily basic ladder stands (no arm rests etc.) and only 12" to platform. They work fine for us. We try to have back cover whenever possible, but have some without it and still kill deer. Move slow and strategically is the only advice I can offer.

It's getting tough to find a quiet spot on public land

Sure

10/1 Luna and I had a busy day with 4 tracks today. Our first one this morning was for an eight pointer that had been shot last night. The experienced hunter was sure he had made a killing shot. He actually heard the buck crash and called in some help for the drag. He waited about 5 minutes and went to get his buck. To his dismay, the buck jumped up and ran off. He and a friend tracked for a short distance and then lost blood. They searched the area with no success and backed out for the night. They were back at first light and searched for a couple hours with no luck, then called me. Luna took us quickly to last blood, then worked the area until she showed me a drop about 30 yards away. Off we went for an 800 yard track. At the end of the track we found the buck, minus any meat. A bear had found him overnight and eaten every bit. The hunter gets bear pictures all the time on his game cameras, and had heard a bear as he sat in his stand last night. I didn't know this, but bears will pull rocks off of rock walls to get at apples the squirrels and chipmunks hide in there. He had heard rocks being moved around last night. The hunter was disappointed at losing the meat, but happy to have closure. The second track was for a big buck, according to the hunter. He shot him last night and was able to track him for a good distance before losing blood. He went back this morning with friends and grid searched for quite a while before calling me. We had a hard time getting past the hunters point of loss, but eventually did. This whole area had been logged off 2 years ago. We advanced the track about 150 yards before coming to an overgrown thick area full of tops left from the logging. This large area was too thick for Luna to walk through, so I carried her. We worked the other side of this area trying to find where the buck had come out, but were not able to find any sign. I think there's a chance he died in there and you'd have to practically step on him to find him. On the third track the hunter said he had hit a 5 pointer, but had no idea where. He had followed a few drops of blood for a short distance and lost it, then grid searched. We went to the hit site, which was in the middle of a dense thicket. I have no idea how he got an arrow in there. It hit a limb before hitting the deer. We had no luck at all advancing this track. The fourth track was for a doe that had been hit in the left side of the rump this morning. The hunter tracked her through the woods for a while, then backed out while still on blood. He called me, and while we were on the phone he spotted her bedded down in an adjoining alfalfa field. As he was watching her she got up and with some difficulty walked into the woods. At this point he didn't realize exactly where she had been hit. We decided to wait until early evening to go look for her. We started at the hit site to give Luna time to gather as much scent information as possible. She took us beyond where the hunter had tracked, then a short distance later started her high pitched bark, which indicates a live deer. Off we went, but didn't see the deer or evidence it was the deer we were tracking. We stayed on the track for a while but eventually lost it. I decided we should go to see if we could find the bed in the alfalfa field and start over there. We located it and followed the track back into the woods. We were led into an extremely thick area. The hunter had his young son with us and we decided he should be taken home. We only had about an hour of daylight left, so he was going to bring flashlights back with him. I continued on the track and he was going to catch up. A few minutes later as we continued, Luna started her barking again. Shortly after that the hunter called me and said she had walked back into the field and bedded down a couple hundred yards away. We were able to locate her in the field and finish her. If he hadn't seen her in the field, who knows how much longer it would have taken to figure this out.

When was anything ever NOT a conspiracy with Papist?

2 days in and we already got a celebrity button buck. Damn it's gonna be a good year lol

Had this guy eating acorns at 10 yds this morning.

Good Luck this year everyone. I know season has started So Congrats to toughs who have been successful thus far So happy I will be back in Western NY this year we changed weeks & going one week later Nov 3rd to the 12th hope we made the right decision hopefully I will be on here more often as things have finally changed for the better at home & work

Damn...do you need to burn both tags to be politically correct? Congrats! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

9/30 I received 3 calls within minutes of each mid morning. One was for a bear, one a gutshot buck, and the other a gutshot doe. All had been shot that morning. I took the bear call first to give the deer time to expire. The hunter was at the base of his tree getting ready to climb up when he heard a noise. He turned around and saw a large bear coming across the beaver dam straight to him. He had to dig the release out of his buttoned pocket and then nock an arrow before making the 35 yard shot. He hit the bear behind the front shoulder, but high, and missed the vitals. He and a neighbor tracked decent blood for about 75 yards then lost it. They looked a round a little, then called me. At the point of loss Luna took us up over a large rock ledge where we found some blood. We were following sporadic blood trail when the hunter saw movement up ahead and we realized a coyote was on the trail too. We only saw the coyote once, I'm sure he vacated our area after seeing us. We ended up at a swamp where Luna showed us a spot of blood on a cattail leading in. It was narrow at that point so we managed to get across. We came out right to a ladder stand, with fresh cut limbs laying around. It turned out that after the neighbor helped track earlier he went to his stand to clear shooting lanes. (which was a long ways from where the bear was shot) It was here that Luna clearly lost the track. I don't know if the neighbor had blood on his boots and spread scent all over the area or if the bear saw him and backtracked. We checked all the trails that weren't too deep, checked trails coming out, backtracked, everything I could think of, but never got back on him. Total frustration! We tracked 1.18 miles per my gps. On the second track Luna easily took us past the hunters point of loss. About 100 yards further, we saw a deer run off out of a thick area. We couldn't see the head to tell if it was the buck or not, but went in search of it's bed. We found the bed and there were a couple drops of blood in it. I had to decide at this point whether to pursue or back out and give it more time. I decided to continue, but if we bumped it again without getting a shot at it, we'd leave and come back later. 50 yards further I saw him bedded again, about 20 yards in front of us. The DEC likes the hunter to finish the job using the weapon of the season., so although I could have finished him with my pistol, I had the hunter make the shot with his bow. He made a nice shot and we recovered the deer a short distance away. After meeting my wife and friends for dinner, we headed out to the third track. The hunters arrow was broken in half with stomach matter on the front half, with clean fletchings on the back. This track never went anywhere. We never found any blood or sign after circling the area, following trails, etc. I'm at a loss as to why not, but it certainly wasn't from lack of effort. Luna certainly got her exercise yesterday. My wife had taken her for a three mile walk first thing in the morning. We're not going to do the walks anymore during tracking season. I did carry Luna out of the woods in a new backpack after the bear track.

Can't wait !! Weather looks a little warm and possibly wet. After last season and first deer season for daughter she never got a shot. Crazy as had 19 different bucks on 3 cams in 7 day check. Most were all day pics too. Hunted 3 days and didn't see a single deer ! Had her out a few times in regular season but again ,no shot. She has 2 DMP's for area we hunt so hoping this year she gets a shot or 2 Little Remington youth 20 gauge all dialed in and ready to go. She helped me immensely at raking out and old logging trail and planted clover and timothy grass. With assumption of PH off (had a few ferns) and lack of sun it's not doing great but it's very green from afar and brings in deer at all times of the day. Ordered a new pop up blind and have that set at one end of plot with normal wind we're good to go. Brushed it in and it looks great. Checklist of things needed and will start to round them up tomorrow As it looks now we'll hunt Saturday until 10:30 or so and Sunday til 11 or so Have to get her to ballet early afternoon. How's that for different ends of the spectrum? Maybe an evening hunt thrown in on one of those days too. Monday we have all day if needed. Hoping she gets one on the ground this year and punches her first ever tag. Then we have to get her a spring turkey . Good luck in advance to anyone taking out a youth this Columbus day weekend. Many memories will be built for us and hope for some others too regardless of outcome.

I have the tissues ready to dry my eyes, knowing how hard you two have worked for it! I can't wait to see the smiling faces and that old barrel leaned against a deer! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Crazy, glad we saw him again this yr. Here's one of my favorites rip

Depending on your future "style" of hunting,it may NOT get easier. That's the thrill, and why bowhuntin is awesome ! Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

I support full inclusion. But anyone who so "chooses", can still hunt with compound or traditional bow. I say "chooses", because I don't think I should be making my "choice", impact other hunters. Each hunter should have their own "choice", on how they want to hunt, as long as it's legal. I'ts all good.

I support full inclusion for everyone. All archery equipment belongs in the archery season. Otherwise, compounds should be segmented off into their own season as well.

I’m going to check with the neighbor when they get home from work if I can check, I have a general direction where she went. I marked last blood also.

how long did you wait till she was jumped. I promise you lack of blood doesn't mean she's fine. if the exit is plugged it's all internal bleeding. You may very well be right, just saying you may want to head out tonight a do a little grid search before you call it a day. trail cameras around your spot might help to spot her alive and well too. make you feel better at least.

10/2 (Morning): hunted dark to 10am in 3S from the ground but perched up about 10-12 feet on some rocks. It was 41 degrees and foggy. Had a piece of camo wood I found behind me. 3pt came in at 645am from behind to my right at 35yds walking away from me. Then came back at 710 right in front of me under 20yds. He did a big circle around me while I videotaped him. Since I can’t post video, i screen shotted him when he was at 20yds. He never spooked. Didn’t see any other deer. Checked cams and had pic of basket 6/7pt and the same 3pt. no bigger bucks, but found another fresh buck. Not sure where I will head this afternoon. Probably back to parents land in 3N where there are at least 4 shooters (for me).

Sounds pretty normal for a mature buck. He's making a 4 day loop in his home range. He went through during the 8 days, but you didn't get a picture of him. Especially where there's no fields, he will make his loop and browse. The rut may mess up his pattern, so I agree with Biggame. You should hunt him now while there's some kind of pattern. My only other advice would be to set up a 2nd stand. You need to be careful of the wind when you hunt an older buck, or he will be gone. Good luck!

For Christmas, ask for a Ipad instead of a new bow/gun/dishwasher/tractor/pond/drag etc etc. PLEASE........

Found, only went 75 yards. Stinky but hoseing it out and quartering for the fridge.

Well, speaking as a leftist media reporter, it's painfully obvious that this is all Trump's fault. I have no idea how or why, but it just has to be, right? There's no way this could happen in our Utopia. Right? Don't you agree? /sarc/

You can't group all ladder stands the same. You have the cheap 15 foot basic ones. These work fine you just need to find the best spots. I find these work in a multi trunk tree. I have one that is 19 feet like this. I bought 4 and took one to add one extra length to the rest. I have it in a tree with 4 trunks. It is perfect. Sit and lean into tree behind. Stand and lean on tree to right. Then there are real nice ladder stands. I have an X-stand. 18 feet. Rails, fold up seat, drink holder..... No matter what stand you are using you need to watch your back ground and cover. A bunch of guys already gave good advise to brush it in. I find ladder stands to be very safe and sturdy as I get older. Putting up hang ons is just not fun for me anymore. I also have my climber if I feel like being somewhere else.

Mine came with a blunt tip de-cocking bolt. They do go pretty far !! Mine went 100 yards into the woods, never to be found again Next time, I'll shoot it into the ground.

You need to brush it in more. Take wire ties and cut down a bunch of pine branches and basically cover yourself up to your waist so the only thing deer can see is above your waist, it will help. Make sure you brush in under the feet stand area real good it helps when deer are close and allows for more movement. Good luck.

Better get on him while he's on the summer pattern. Chances of you seeing/getting him decrease drastically everyday. He may stick around or be in and out for rut but most likely he will vanish. Wind is your first priority. If the wind is wrong, stay home. Good luck !!! Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

OJ is out. I’m predicting he impregnates Kaitlyn and then they get their own reality show.

Go to work, save those days for early November

I don't recall any shortage of .35 Rem ammo down here along the Pensyltucky border...Seems like even the little backwoods sports stores have a box or two on the shelves...

30 yd shot...quartering away...chinadermic performed flawlessly. Only made it 40 yds with blood spraying everywhere!!!

I'm ready to get some serious blood on my hands! Split my arrow @ 30 yards! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lol. Grunted, bleated coughed, threw sticks and finally after laughing and yelling it got up and bolted. Turns out neighbor did not shoot the shooter. Got spooked. Shot a buck with him. We found him.

There is my buddys buck,dropped almost on the spot!!!