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Chunks of lung, always a good sign on a bloodtrail! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Spent the last 2 days trying to get a doe for a friend that hasn't been able to get out, due to his wife having health issues. Gotter Done! Started hammering down the snow right after!! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I put up another post a few days ago about the buck I harvested and the favorable weather setup I took advantage of. A member replied asking me to expand on this and how barometric pressure impacts deer movement so I decided to make a new post about it. Cold fronts are one of the best catalysts for deer movement and there are three phases to any cold front which we will discuss later as it relates to hunting. I’ve generalized the wind conditions below which are based on our typical north westerly winds for cold fronts but we occasionally have a NE system come through: Just before: winds will typically shift NW to N and barometric pressure will start increasing as temps slowly start to drop During: winds typically still NW to N, barometric pressure is high (30.2+) but typically flattens out as temperatures bottom After: winds shift S to SW, barometric pressure starts dropping as temps increase Before we get to the hunting part I think it’s worth explaining why cold fronts impact deer movement and how the deer react and interpret the weather conditions. Cold weather causes deer to use more energy to sustain which means they need to eat more and thus must head to food more during day light. During the rut it also drives more movement because it’s more favorable for bucks to run around – think about working out on a 90 degree July day vs. a 60 degree September day; I bet you can do a lot more and be more comfortable in September than July. So how do deer react to a cold front? Deer can sense changes in barometric pressure - I believe through a sensor in their ear - and they know if it starts rising that probably means colder weather is coming and vice versa when it drops. This means you’ll see movement just before it hits because deer will sense the pressure rising and will hit the feed to try and get enough reserves to get through whatever is coming. Once the cold is here and pressure is high they will typically continue to feed heavy or if during rut running around like crazy (partly because does are out more trying to eat). Finally, once the pressure starts dropping deer will understand better conditions are coming which I find usually has one good day of movement where deer are out restocking feed reserves and getting their social fix; after the first day of warmer temps I find movement drops off pretty drastically. Now to the fun part – how do you hunt them? Most of you know how powerful a October or early-to-mid November cold front can be at getting deer – especially mature bucks – up on their feet and I think any one of the above phases is a good time to be in the woods, although I’ve seen the most movement in #2 when temps are the lowest followed by #1 just before it hits and deer are preparing for it. That all changes from my experience once we get past the middle of November - they are still just as powerful (if not more) at driving movement but require different tactics. The cold fronts are now much colder with typically higher wind speeds and the deer are much more run down from already going through the bulk of rut. This translates to much more movement on phase #1 when the first northerly winds come in and pressure starts rising (signaling to deer bad weather ahead and the need to feed) and phase #3 when wind switches out of the south, temps start rising and pressure starts falling (signaling to deer the coast is clear and better conditions ahead). I’ve spent many lonely cold hours in the stand during the middle of those cold fronts thinking deer would be out feeding hard when temps are the lowest but based on my observations they more so just hunker down in thermal bedding and forage on whatever is close to that. It’s almost like they avoid movement to try and conserve as much food reserves as they can which makes sense given the difference in temps (an October / early November cold front probably bottoms out at 20-40F while later season they will usually be single digits). I think the very low movement characteristics of phase #2 really enhance phase #3 which is by far my favorite time to hunt one of these cold fronts - phase #1 is good too and I definitely go out but I generally stay out of woods during phase #2 and do stuff like pull trail cam cards, put up new sets, etc. Deer are social creatures and become more like humans late season in that they don’t like nasty weather any more than us. Deer will crave social interaction after being bottled up for a couple days dealing with extreme cold so there’s two powerful factors driving movement in phase #3 (need to restore feed reserves and get their social fix). If you get one of these cold fronts from say 11/15 to 11/25 then you add another even more powerful factor and that’s the desire to breed with the tail end of rut. Bucks will finish breeding any does they are locked down with during the cold front but they don’t really go out seeking new ones until weather gets better so you can see some powerful seeking and chasing on the first south wind after a cold front (especially with mature bucks). This is exactly what happened on my hunt – Tuesday afternoon the winds shifted NW and pressure started rising so I jumped in an observation stand overlooking a creek bed and rye grass field on one of my properties and saw quite a few does and some bucks (including a big frame 10) hitting the tallest section of grass an hour before sunset. Temps dropped to single digits Wednesday and Thursday – I ended up hunting Thursday because it was thanksgiving and who doesn’t hunt on Thanksgiving (?!) but only saw a few does – I usually see at least one 3 year old buck and minimum of 10-15 deer every time I hunt this property so this was a very slow day. Friday AM was still very cold but winds switched to the south, pressure started dropping, and it was probably 35 degrees by 2PM when I headed out. I went to the closest spot I could get to where I saw the deer feeding in the rye on Tuesday which happened to be in a hedgerow – we didn’t have a stand on it so I put some brush together and made a DIY blind to ground hunt from. I had a 3 year 130-140 class 8 pointer cruise by within 60 yards of me less than ten minutes after I was set up and had constant action the rest of the evening (two mature bucks, two 3 year olds, three 2 year olds and ~15 small bucks and does). I had 8 does in front of me in the rye around 430PM when I saw one snap her head back to the creek bed at the head of the hedgerow I was on and a second later I had my buck in sight at a full run after her grunting like crazy. I couldn’t stop him and ended up shooting him on the run, but it was something I will never forget and is a good example of how powerful the action can be right after one of those brutal late November cold fronts. The best stand locations are pinch points between bedding and food or right on a food source (my favorite are green ones like winter wheat, clover, rye, etc. or a cut corn field). I like to sit an observation stand where I can see a lot of ground on the first phase so I can get an idea of where the deer are moving and then I move in on those spots and either ground hunt or do a hang and hunt on that first day of southerly winds (unless of course I’m lucky enough to already have a set hung there but I’m usually not that lucky). I hope this helps explain my strategy better and helps one of you put a nice buck on the ground! Definitely let me know if anyone has any questions or has different opinions or experience on the matter. --- Horn Hunter

I’m frigging tired, walked just shy of 9 miles in over a foot of snow. Followed a smoking hot buck track for about half a mile but after following him I knew he wasn’t a shooter and kept going with my loop never got on a big track but saw 3 does and a little basket. Woods were pretty, it was a good day. Sitting here google mapping a spot to head to tomorrow since all my normal spots have too much snow to track. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Because we all know with 100% certainty that the day you take the break or miss a sit is the very day the buck of a lifetime stops by.

Seen squat. Bundling up and off to switch out cam cards. Going to walk through some thick stuff and hope I jump one Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats to all the hunters that were fortunate enough to harvest something this weekend! Here's some better pictures of the buck I harvested Friday evening. Unfortunately his body was just a little too long for my weight station set up with my hoist, but I was able to get a reading of 220 lbs (before field dressing) with his head and antlers still on the ground so I'm going to guess a live weight of 240-250. Ended up with about 90-95 lbs of meat which still needs to be boned out and trimmed after dry aging but most meat I've ever got off a deer. His body was much bigger than his antlers that I scored at 127"... nice 20 to 21" beams but no mass with his bases measuring 4 to 4 1/2" and everything else in the 3s. That said, I'm happy as hell with him, I'll take a big body over big antlers any day. I've been passing 3 years olds all year including a nice 130-140 class 8 point I saw maybe an hour before I shot this one and I can't say 100% this buck is 4 but he had a long body and nice saggy belly so despite having the antlers of a 3 year old I think he was 4. Even if he's 3, he came out of the woods chasing a doe with his mouth open, nose flared and grunting like crazy which is something I will never forget and that's what counts! I'm also pretty sure he died quickly despite me backing out and giving him time and there was no coyote damage so all around very successful hunt. The neighbor had shot a big 10 pointer Wednesday (he got put up on NY Big Buck Club so I'm sure some of you have seen it... beautiful mid-150 class) that I had 7 encounters with during bow just as I was getting out of my stand so I had been a little bummed out but I got back after it Friday, set up a home made ground blind in some thick brush piles and ended up taking my buck within 100 yards of where the neighbor shot the big ten. Just goes to show you, stay after it and good things happen! FWIW, I figured Friday was going to be a good day to catch some bucks cruising because it was the first south wind after several days of brutal northerly winds that brought temps down to single digits around Rochester. Cold fronts are great for October and first half of November, but I find once we get past mid-November the deer just hunker down during them and the best time to hunt them is either the first day the winds shift to the north and pressure just starts to rise or the first south wind when pressure starts dropping and temps warm up. I've spent many lonely hours freezing my ass off in the stand thinking the cold would get them moving but they don't appear to like it anymore than us. It's been a pretty reliable formula I've used to see a lot of bucks so hopefully that helps one of you put one down too!

im rooting hard for Bionic, TF and Biz's Dad ! they are putting in the time and effort for sure. Everyday checking and hoping to see their hero pics! I was getting pretty disgusted this bow season and it turned in an instant 2 days before it ended - hang in there guys!

Not an Animal House fan huh?

Not what you'd call "live" from the woods, but I haven't had internet till tonight. Took this young doe Wednesday afternoon, young and dumb... double dumb really, she did two stupid things which allowed me to give her the bad news. Actually it wasn't hard at all. I just walked out, pointed my evil killing machine towards the woods, set it on full semi auto and it just went crazy killing everything in sight. Amazingly, no children were harmed.

My family, and I were out in Lancaster area of PA today. We made sure to stop at our favorite store! Shady Maple.

geeze - didnt even get the leaves raked before this year hit. We had a long winter that stretched into spring last year and already off to a tough start. Below zero for the first time in November on record, already had a snow day at work, no indian summer whatsoever. This isnt shaping up to be a light winter. Was thinking it might be with all the fall rain and wind etc. Hoping this trend/pattern breaks soon.

Old bull, a bull in his prime, and a youngster stand on a hill looking at some cows. Old bull says," I can still hang in there and will breed some of those cows." Prime bull says "I'm a stud and will get many of them cows to stand for me." Young bull says," I may be young but I'm gonna try for the first time to breed a few cows." Just then the farmer pulls in with his trailer and the biggest, badass bull anyone has ever seen charges out..... Old bull says,"I'm past my prime and guess I'll sit this year out" Prime bull says," Ya, this breeding thing is overrated and think I'll just hang here and chew my cud" They look over and the youngster is snorting and pawing the ground, putting on a challenge to this new comer. The old bull says," ain't worth it son, that bull is going to kill you; what are you thinking?" "I just want to make sure he knows I'm a bull !"

"Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now! Cause when the going gets tough.. The tough get goin'. Who's with me?"

I’m out myself guys, 3k spot. 32 and light wet snow. I spoke to my sister’s other half yesterday, he saw one 8 pointer, and some straggly odd looking spikes, unicorns, and 3 pointers, doe, and one bobcat. They live about 6 or so miles away. Had to skip yesterday, but I’m out each day until Monday. Fingers crossed.

Last 15 minutes of 20 minute drive sucked. Windy and snowing hard. Going to sit in the tower and hope they hit the big plot.

Stupid little spike that wouldn’t leave me alone all weekend was in 3K so antler restrictions, saw a lot of does but no doe tags due to preference points have to wait Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I really think cold fronts can play a huge role in movement - not that we don't hunt when its not in our favor but its nice to be able to focus when it is. I never paid much attention to lunar stuff. That is an area where I still question its usefulness but I know some swear by it.

It’s awful, I think it’s worse now than it’s ever been. If I shoot a real buck this year I don’t have a clue how I’d get it out, bunch of Pieces I guess because I can’t wear any kind of a pack and dragging will be brutal but hopefully I find out today! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t think your stand is fooling anyone Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Found or should I say wife found a hidden pack of venison cube steaks in the chest freezer. , lightly dusted with some of Bionics cow massage rub and sliced up some River Rat mean n nasty aged cheddar. So dang good Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'.m damn near deaf....By the time I hear the crunch crunch it is too late....<<Sigh>>….

This might be a few posts in the thread....net' issues for some reason. LOL Spent a week fishing over Thanksgiving fishing in the Amazon basin of Brazil (and yes I blew off Deer season opener for the first time ever in 28 years) This trip was lodged based on the Rio Travessao, a steam that eventually feeds to Rio Negro and then the Amazon at Manaus, Brazil where I flew into from Miami. Conditons ranged from 85-95* with high humidity and occasional thunderstorms. Rained sometime on 5 of 7 days and this is their dry season. River gained and lost visible depth during our stay by about a foot. Equiptment; you are responsible for all terminal tackle and outfit supplied up to date rods and reels; A light spinning with Shimano 2500, a casting with Shimano Curado , heavy spinning catfish/chunk bait Ugly Stick with Diawa 6500 (100lb braid). I chose to additionally take a TFO 3 pc casting rod and Shimano Curado K reel just to have something familiar in hand; but it wasn't necessary to bring. Casts are frequent and rapid; Peacock bass here are fast and aggressive; I was under prepared for the technical aspect and this ain't no chuck and duck trip for smallies. Nothing for a 6lb Peacock to straiten a 2x heavy 2/0 treble. Bent the Ugly Stick all the way doubled on more than one occasion on multiple fish. I was one of the only first timers of the group of 8, 5 of whom had already been Peacock fishing on another river for a week before changing to this camp. All where super helpful and I was assigned to a boat/cabin with a guy who was on his 15th Amazon trip all with this outfit. He was terrific partner to get me on fish and we shared a great experience, I hope he feels the same. Bird and vegetation were spectacular, a real treat to see untouched wilderness. The fishing is by agreement with local indigenous reservation who gains employment and currency for exclusive fishing rights. Guides are VERY respectful of catch and release and are expecting anglers to be the same. But most folks just like pics....so here are a few and some comments. Red Tail Catfish; best one for the week in camp; Bait; Chunked Piranha Peacock bass.....holy crap these guys can fight. Multiple jumps and runs. Always watchful Caiman looking for some lost bait scraps; Record class Black Piranha; these guys got serious teeth and require careful handling; Wolf fish....Trairao.....35 lbs (best in camp was my partner at 38 lbs minutes after this one). Caught many of these on chunk and big lures from 16-24 lbs. 20 lber Last day of last light and the reason I went fishing here; Paraiba catfish....64" and about 100+ lbs; 40 minute fight to land; And Francisco expert boat handler and guide; The end. Link to more pics;https://imgur.com/a/IrU2Rnf

Yeah, I remember back in the fifties also... However, generally the severe weather did not really start until December....This is about the crappiest deer season that I remember, weather wise, and I ain't no spring chicken...

Whats with you people and these teasers? Your killing me. Im living vicariously through you guys from a high rise in NYC and all you guys can post is a pic. of blood...jeez..

are those tanks of rocket fuel behind that buck? cause thats about the only thing that would keep me from shooting... lol....still might .....im a good shot......

Farm property just got 8+ inches of heavy wet snow today. Will make it a bit tougher on me to slog through the thickets, trying to get a deer to my partner, and grandson this weekend. You guys still out there giving all ya got, are the REAL hunters on this forum!!! Hang in there! Take a break if need be. Never give up! You are truly inspiring!

Old bull and young bull stand atop a hill overlooking a pasture of cows. Young bull says, "Let's run down this hill and screw one of those cows." Old bull says, "No. Let's walk down and screw them all." Some lessons are only taught with age. Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using Tapatalk

A buck does not really know what it has for headgear and his actions are determined more by his demeanor as much as his age. Bigger,older deer know when to hold em per say. They know when she is ready and will not expend needed energy chasing a doe that just smells good. And as we all know every animal is different but when they hit 3 years and up in a state with woodlots set up like ours they really do turn into a totally different beast. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Turkeyfeathers,just rest up a little. You have been at it hard,but it is not over yet. If the hunting gods were watching they are about to send a big buck towards you and bionic as well. I have gone through phases of being frustrated and bored,doing archery makes for a looong season,and not to forget muzzle loader. The deer will go back to their regular patterns soon,although regular is not a good word for what they are up to this year. They are all over the place here,no good food crops to find them consistently.

I'd really like to meet this fella in the daylight...I've got stands 15-50 yards from all of these Moog you sneakin around central ny?

brown down ! need to restock those cube steaks!

Classic Thermos that was given to me by parents for Christmas 1989. It has survived farm work for 20 years, and thousands of hunting and fishing adventures. When I drink from it, the face reflected in the cup has gotten older and older, but boy what memories we share. Still keeps the coffee hot all day long.

Bob - thank you for sharing their story and make sure you tell them it’s much appreciated. Makes you remember what it’s all about. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Vermont rifle season ended yesterday. All I saw over the last 3 days was a fawn and a spike, so I have to eat my tag. You guys/gals in NY are blessed with LONG seasons. I hunted 10 out of the 16 days for a total of 67 hours. I saw 17 deer and only 2 legal bucks. I passed on a little 3 point that didn't weigh 100lbs. The forkhorn I saw was head down and trotting through the brush and I couldn't get a clear enough shot. All in all, not a great season for me. Luckily, I only have to wait until Saturday for our 9 day muzzleloader season to start. I can shoot a buck or doe (but still no spikehorn!) and I'm hoping to do some tracking. I have one in the freezer from bow season, but one more would fill it up nicely. Time to dig out the black powder supplies and do a little shooting.

ive done them weeks later, never been an issue

9 game win streak!! Young kids on the team playing their hearts out and working well together! Pretty impressive!

Actually, you may be right. I left early for breakfast mid rut when it was sleeting and freezing and sure enough the big buck we all wanted walked 15yds from my stand while I sat in the diner. Didn't live that down for a while. That said, I killed him 3 seasons later so your theory actually played out. lol

I agree 100% must include Biz’s dad!

Few more pics. Officially net green scored 198 7/8...

Bagged it. Going to clean n wipe down ML and put in safe. I’m about done hunting this year. Not fun anymore.

there's a huge difference between a buck that's 5.5+ years old like the one originally posted and a 2.5 yr old. doe are submissive to whatever is around. they have to be. which is why they might be bred by more than one buck. like you could have twins with different dads. i'm with john in that a buck with a scrub rack might be more full of piss and fight to drive off other bucks off than one with a large rack. large racks are less common and reclusive because otherwise it wouldn't be alive. scrub racks have had a life that affords them to run around without a care in front of more hunters trying to fight and breed everything it can. even more so if it got the genetic card of a massive body with a scrub rack. if a buck has a scrub rack because it's just a runt, that's different. that's my take and experience.

Probably 10 years ago I watched (with only antlerless tags in my pocket) a giant of epic portions in the rut. I had three or four other bucks around me and one hot doe. The younger (an assumption of course) bucks just about crapped their drawers when the King showed up. He didn’t even partake in too much chasing, he just kind of cruised through......an unforgettable snowy November 13 day I’ll always remember.

My Dad was a chef and i remember one time he called out a restaurant we were at for this. He told the chef that his scallops were fish and the chef said he ordered them as scallops. My dad even knew where he got them from and told him scallops shouldnt flake like fish and what texture they should be etc. We left there and didnt go back. We used to go to some restaurants and they would ask him to come back in the kitchen to show them how to prepare something - he was always more than happy to help out, he loved it.

Fried heart both the road kill Bambi doe and the 2.5 buck. Lightly fried in butter in a cast iron pan yum! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That deer said cheese for sure. He’s doing a better job of looking at the camera then my 16month old does Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And that's the truth

The experience and harvest from a first timer's view. This is the write up that Tanya sent me. " On Sunday, November 18th I went on my first hunt. I’m 42. The daughter of a retired Massachusetts State Trooper, I was introduced to guns at an early age. Five years ago, I decided I wanted to shoot a deer. First, I needed to get comfortable with a gun again. I took a junior rifle class at my range. I applied for and received my pistol permit. I bought a .22 pistol and trained with a few friends. A few years went by, and I acknowledged that I wasn’t making any progress with hunter education, learning to shoot a larger caliber gun, or finding land to hunt. When Field & Fork had an outreach table at the Rochester Public Market, I knew it was an incredible opportunity. With the help of QDMA and a team of mentors, I have been learning about hunting and how to shoot larger caliber rifles since September. We spent about 12 hours in the classroom and two hours in the range. I tried a .22 rifle, a 30-30 and a .30-06. The mentors patiently answered a zillion questions about shot placement, field dressing, deer behavior, and how and when to get a hunting permit. On hunt day, the second day of the rifle season, I suited up into my (brand new, purchased the night before) camo coat and pants and orange vest. I drove an hour south of the city where I live to Springwater, NY. My mentor, Mike Edwards, was waiting for me outside his house. We hiked down into his land. As we walked in, he got a text from his trail camera that a fawn was eating in the field. It was gone when we arrived. We settled into the (heated!) enclosure just before noon and talked quietly. The enclosure sits on a hill on the edge of a forested area adjacent to a field of soybean, clover and apples (see photo). There was a light snow falling. We reviewed how his .30-06 worked, where a deer might come from, and how we would communicate about a shot. We watched a group of eight turkeys come into the soybeans from across the field, wander to the north and back into the woods. The toms were circling and bickering. We talked about Mike’s family's childhood hunting camps and how many people take the whole week of opening season to stay in the woods, play cards, hunt and eat with their friends. The field was peaceful and the experience felt restorative to me. It did not feel like we had been in the enclosure for two hours, but I took out a book close to 2:00PM and read a paragraph at a time. I had a sense that reading would summon a deer. I continued to scan the field and the forest edges every few minutes. Around 2:05, a buck stepped out into the soybeans directly across from us. Mike saw him first. He was 110-120 yards away. We opened a window and I fumbled with the binoculars for a minute and then decided to watch the buck through the gun scope. Keeping the safety on, I put the muzzle out of the enclosure and got into ready position. The buck was facing us. I could see through the scope that he had six or eight points. I recall thinking that he was beautiful. We waited silently and expectantly. The buck took a slight turn and ate for a few minutes. I followed him with the scope. It was tiring to stay still and ready as the minutes ticked by. I was conscious of my nerves, but it was not until the buck turned broadside that my body started to shake. When Mike gave word that I could take off the safety and shoot, my excitement and anxiety shot up. I tried to settle into the rifle. I could not do it. I was too nervous. I lifted my head off the stock, looked at the ceiling of the enclosure and took a huge breath. I exhaled fully. I breathed in again and exhaled halfway. Mike reminded me to pull the trigger steadily. I settled back into the gun, found the buck through the scope, took aim, and pulled the trigger. I don’t remember the recoil being hard, but I rode through the shot with my cheek on the stock of the gun. I watched the buck leap into the air through the scope. He took off into the woods across the field where he had first emerged. I pulled the gun back into the enclosure and asked if I could hand it to Mike. He acknowledged and took the gun from me. I knew we had time to sit and wait and I was thankful for that. All the emotion swept over me. My legs and hands were shaking. My head was pounding with blood. I was in disbelief. We discussed the shot and what we each saw. We knew I hit the buck but we weren’t sure where the shot landed or if it was fatal. Mike looked through the binoculars and saw blood on the field. We discussed whether we should get the tractor, which was up at the barn, then or after we tracked the deer. We decided to sit and wait. We were happy with what had happened. I texted a few people, including my dad, to let them know I had taken a shot. After about 15 minutes, we wondered aloud if we might see another deer. As soon as we said it, a fawn walked into the field from the south and started eating soybean. He pranced over to the apples and started eating those. We inspected him, assessed his size and age, and decided to let him be (see photo). A little after 2:30, we left the enclosure and walked through the soybeans to the spot where the deer was standing. The fawn, who was previously unaware of our presence in the stand, bounded off into the woods from the apple trees. We found bright red blood in the field in the snow and on the soybeans. Some of it was clotted. At some points, we didn’t see any blood for a few feet. We followed the trail into the woods with Mike leading the way. About 40 yards from where I took the shot, the buck was on the ground face down. Mike saw it first but let me see it on my own before he said anything. We hugged and walked over to the deer. He confirmed it was dead and I kneeled down in the snow. I touched its wet fur head. I talked to it. We rolled the buck over and found the shot and the exit wound. I had hit the shot a little low but had likely damaged the heart and lungs. We dragged the deer over to flat land, put it on his back, and I cut open the stomach. We found its stomach had been punctured by bone from the shot. He called his friend John who brought down the tractor and some rubber gloves. Somehow it was after 3:30 by this time. John field dressed the deer for us because I had only seen one video about this process. The undigested food from the stomach smelled wretched. John took pictures of Mike and me with the deer after the field dressing. We loaded the deer onto the tractor and rode up to the barn to hang it next to a doe that Mike’s friend shot on opening day. I drove home extremely happy but also in a stupor. That night I was exhausted but slept soundly. I have felt a great sense of pride over the last two days. Tonight (Tuesday 11-20), I will butcher the deer with my other Field to Fork classmates, two of whom shot bucks on opening day. I feel lucky to have had this experience on my first hunt. I could not have done this without QDMA, Bob and Mike. I’m proud of myself for the shot, which was far for me, and for handling a .30-06 with confidence even though I had only used it once before. I’m hooked on the experience of hunting. I need more time in the woods. I enjoy the primal nature of the sport. I love shooting. I know I will enjoy the venison that we will eat this winter. And I’m the city girl who will be proudly wearing camo whenever I get the chance. After Sunday, I believe hunting will become part of my culture. My 13-year old daughter is expressing an interest, and my dad is sending a .22 rifle at Thanksgiving for her to learn how to shoot. Thank you QDMA, Mike, Bob and Terry for being so gracious with your time and for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm with us. This experience has been life changing for me."

For tonight. Double dry hopped hayburner Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk