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A “cruiser” came thru the woods behind my new stand, scent checking a clover plot, 5 minutes after sunset. I was able to cash in on the new 1/2 hour rule: A BB and bb (during early antlerless gun season) from that stand this year.

I had the honor this afternoon of guiding a veteran, Tim, on a deer hunt through Wounded Warriors Outdoor Adventures. He was brought to the farm we just sold, but have retained hunting rights to. Bob Giordano and his buddy Phil brought Tim out in a trailer since he’s confined to a scooter. Our adventure started with the Jeep and trailer getting stuck in the mud on the way up to the ground blind, so I walked back for the tractor and towed them up there. After getting situated in the blind, we stashed the tractor and the trailer on the backside of the tree line and Bob and Phil left. Tim and I started getting acquainted as we waited for a deer to show itself. Tim had tags for either sex. I was amazed when Tim shared that he had been placed under hospice care today. His attitude and demeanor were such that you would never guess that was the case. I hope and pray I half of his grace when it’s my turn. We visited for about an hour or so when Tim said “there’s a deer”. I looked and saw a 4 pointer in the brassicas, 75 yards in front of us. I started videoing on my phone and Tim settled in and took the shot. The buck did a little dance and looked around, then started eating again. I told Tim to shoot again and he said “he’s down”. I should mention at this point that Tim is blind in one eye. I quickly scanned the brassicas and the only deer there was still standing. I told Tim he must see a rock on the edge of the field, and to shoot again. He shot and hit the buck, which then ran into our woods. It was snowing pretty good, so I told him I’m going to check for sign before it got covered in snow. When I got out of the blind, I saw a deer down in the soybean field, 125 yards away. It was a doe and she had been in the blind spot between windows in the blind and I couldn’t see her from my position. And yes, I have two good eyes. I found one drop of blood in the field, and 10 yards into the woods I saw the buck get out of a bed and run 50 yards and bed down again. My nephew (Ralph) was in a blind in the woods only 150 yards away, so I told him to get ready I was going to push the buck to him. The buck took off towards him, then bedded down again 40 yards later. At this point I called Ralph and told him to climb down and work his way towards us. About 10 minutes later the buck went on alert as Ralph approached, then got up and ran another short distance before bedding again. Ralph got on him and soon put him out of his misery. I told Ralph I could call the DEC and explain what happened and they may come and take it so he wouldn’t have to use his tag. He graciously used his tag to help a fellow vet out. Big shoutout to Mike Fennessey for the processing job he’s going to do for Tim. Tim’s last hunt and he shot two deer!

Not sure how to word this because disappointment is wrong and regret is wrong but it’s definitely mixed emotions. Just before 8am I spotted a lone deer to my east 100 yards out but no shot then it disappeared into the thick stuff. I kept my eye on that area hopeful that it would angle my way which it did. A little after 8 I can now see 3 or 4 deer working towards one of my shooting lanes. Gun up scope dialed in I wait. First one to pop through is a small yearling. The second one into the lane is twice the size easily. I check the head for antlers don’t see anything steady the cross hairs over the vitals and squeeze the trigger. Deer I shot jumps and takes off 30 yards where I’m pretty sure I see it go down. The others all scramble further away. I wait 2 hours to get down before I go and investigate. Just as I expected the deer went 30 yards and went down. Here’s where the mixed emotions come in. Its a buck… a spike buck, barely legal to be tagged as a buck. 3” on one side and 3.5” on the other side. I never saw the antlers on his head through the scope had I seen them I would have passed on him. I’m very happy for a good shot that was a quick kill. I’m happy for the meat that will be put in the freezer. I’ll have a beer to celebrate the harvest as all deer big or small should be celebrated. He’s hung up and I’m back out for the evening sit in the same spot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

9 deer entered. 8 left. #mademeat Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Doe down Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bdd

My son duck hunted Cayuga Lake this morning near Aurora. Banded black duck frosting on top.

Doe down

This busted up 8 pointer cruised thru the woods behind my new tree stand 5 minutes after sunset. I wanted to save my buck tag for an Adirondack trip next weekend, so I was looking for one that had at least 4 points on a side. He still had 5 on the right, but only three on the left, having lost that side’s brow and g-3. No big deal for me, being mostly a meat guy, and with a 42-1/4” chest girth, he should provide plenty of that. When he stopped broadside at 50 yards, his front and rear ends were hidden behind big trees. The 1.5 Weaver on my old Ithaca 37 16 ga was fogged over from the cold and snow. I brushed the inside lens with glove, still all grey, then brushed the outside lens. Fortunately, he kept still long enough for me to get the scope cleared. I held as close as I dared to the front tree. The slug caught him right about on the diaphragm, midway up. He mule kicked and left a decent blood trail in the snow from the entry hole. It took me a while to find the trail as there was just a light dusting of snow. He piled up after about 50 yards. I did a quick gut job in the dark and didn’t save the nuts. I found the slug intact inside when I got him home and did a thougrough cleaning. It must have stopped against a rib on the outboard side.

Got a couple myself best cookin ever

Daughter’s buck; Stephanie got in the same stand that we got two bucks from already. She had some quick activity in the field with the same does and spikes that we’ve been seeing. She had one group of does at 150 yds that were hanging around feeding for about 15 minutes when this guy stepped out at the far tree line. She said he wasn’t going after the does but was interested in them, just hanging around watching them. After a couple of minutes he gave her a perfect pose at about 140 yds. Nice 9 pointer dropped in place with a .270. So daughter’s family takes home 2 bucks and a doe from their annual visit. Great week! Granddaughter Evelyn, the Chief Whitetail Inspector approves of mommy’s buck! Had trailcam pics of her buck too. Daughter likes to edit Josh Allen jumping over things photos, lol.

I broke the streak!!! Doe down finally have meat to put in the freezer. Wierd recovery though. I will explain in the after the shot post.

Pulled the plug. Put up 3 tails on way out. Heard a few shots. Off to the Seneca niagara casino to enjoy presidential suite given by friend who gambles a lot and comped. Gonna sit in the jacuzzi, drink wine , play with the remotes for blinds , tv from jacuzzi and go to Cole Swindell concert with amazing seats later. I don’t even pull slots lol. Back at it for evening watch tomorrow. Good luck out there everyone

Sitting till dark in a different spot trying to catch one more coming into the field. I have signal, so here's the story from the deer earlier. I was walking in around 2 for the pm sit. There's a strong WNW wind. My plan was to walk south along the tree line all the way to the bottom of the field, then still hunt into the wind heading west until i hit the hedge row, then North up the hedge row until getting to my spot where I can watch the creek that runs along the north edge of the field. Wind would be in my favor for most of that walk. I'm about 300yds in along that tree line when a buck pops up 10 feet in front of me! I was watching him as motionless as i could. My wind was going right to him and he was watching me. I expected him to bolt any second. It was weird though. He just sat there and appeared to be a little off balance. I'm thinking he might have been injured. After two or three minutes with my wind in his face and him watching me, i slowly brought the gun up. Put the X on his chest and pulled the trigger and watched him flop over. I'll watch for sign of an earlier injury when I get him home. I'm stoked that i got one for the freezer. Between work and family obligations, i won't have many more chances to get out this season. Grateful for the harvest.

Dropped her off at butchers weight was 82 pounds . Woohoo back at it tomorrow just hunting closer to the truck this time . Hopefully my ankle gets alittle better

11/23/21 at 12:14 I jumped this guy while still hunting/tracking in our first snow, shot him with my Remington 760 in .35 REM.

My “go to” bait for smallmouth bass is hand-tied 1/8 oz bucktail jigs. I have a head mold, so most of the material is free. That limits the cost to the price of the hook. My last bass of 2021 naturally fell to one of those. Sometime this winter, I am going to make up 6 “special” ones with his tail and from the lead that this big guy caught for me with his rib cage last night:

About 12:00, I heard the bordering neighbor FINALLY cutting his corn. Made a mad dash out out the door to get to my closest stand to the field (~80 yards). Nothing yet, but he’s working his way towards me… Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Work. Work. Work. Lameeeeeeeee.

Pa’s most wanted

100% agree with you and I don’t have any remorse on it at all. I’m more of a meat hunter than an antler hunter but I do like to pass those small bucks. Not because I’m waiting for that giant to step out but more because I like to see bucks roaming the woods. Wether it be in person or on camera. It’s hard to describe but then again maybe it doesn’t need to be described because most of us feel the same way or at least know the feeling. It’s funny because hunting thanksgiving with my daughter I asked her what we where going to shoot if we had the chance and she said shoot anything with antlers or a big doe. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok let me know… I can be there in 45 min or so if you need help Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I guess you needed to find out because of pressure from this forum? I'd say f'em and shoot what you want. If you're happy with them and think they are a certain age, then go with that. Screw what the " forum" says.

Easing out that ravine just before dark a small flathead made the mistake of crossing my path. Meat for the freezer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finally made some meat! I'll write it up in the harvest thread when I get home.

I don’t appreciate the taunting.

Our son-in-law joined us for two days after spending the weekend at his Dad’s camp in Allegheny county. Unfortunately, he didn’t score on a buck over there this year. So he still had his buck tag but they’re from out of state so no doe tags available for him in our area. I consigned mine over to him so he didn’t have to leave here without a deer and told him don’t be shy about using it. He rode one of the wheelers out early to within a few hundred yards from the far side of the property about a mile back and slipped in to the stand I took my buck from on opening afternoon. He was in for less than an hour and had a buck come in pushing a doe across the field from his left to his right. He shot the buck on a trot at about 100 yds, and the buck fell forward in a heap right there, the .308 disconnecting the heart from the rest of the plumbing. At the shot, the doe bolted about 60 yards and stopped broadside. He dropped her right there, clipping off the bottom of the heart at 150. Not wanting to make too much noise with the tractor during morning prime-time, I waited about an hour before going out to retrieve them. I found him comfortably relaxing and enjoying some quiet time in the morning deer woods. I found a trail pic of his buck from October. That one tine that has a squiggle in it that made him easily identifiable.

I have killed a few with a .223 shooting barns copper bullets. I like to shoot them right below the head in the neck. It is like someone just shut the lights off. I wouldn’t take a deer with that caliber over 100 yards. I took this doe last year in December 6 at 4pm. She didnt even twitch, the shot was around 80 yards.

Atta boy!!! Enjoy them balls!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Doe Down .... 4H

What it's all about ....

I’ll be honest ,I don’t care how old anything is ,it’s dead now so it won’t be getting any older .not knocking ya at all ,who cares what anyone thinks it’s age is .You’re happy ,and that’s what matters . One thing I notice on these forums and Facebook ,everyone seems to worry what people are going to think about THEIR deer .I’d be off these forums way before I’ll ever care .

Having been on both sides of this I can certainly add some insight. I hunted public land for 16 years and did quite well, but not on great bucks. I killed a few respectable bucks in the 105-115" range on public. There were a few on camera that were really good but few and far in-between. Now for the last 3 years we've had a lease on some really good farmland. I now see multiple bucks over 110" every year, even multiple in the same sit. The guys who consistently kill big bucks have mostly the same thing in common, great property. It doesn't take an extremely skillful hunter to get big bucks on occasion if they are plentiful. I killed a bigger buck in my first archery season on the lease than I had ever seen in the woods on public in 16+ years. My standards increase/decrease with the deer present. If I ever lose out on the lease and go back to public, my standards will be lower for sure. It really can be short sighted to base others opportunities off of your own. Having hunted public for most of my career, I can't imagine going back to strictly public. Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk

I actually love my Sitka fanatic jacket for that reason it zippers on the diagonal and has a built in muff Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You don’t have the stones to post a pic! Lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hopefully the orange army and duckers start pushing and shooting early to get the deer moving early today. In honor of the orange army I am using some warm orange force today…ok I watched some Star Wars movie last night ha be safe today in ur travels and good luck to everyone out there today

Up and ready going to freeze my ass off but that's hunting in my book . Love to be outdoors . Hopefully I shoot straight today and the trees stop jumping in front of my bullets . I should know better then to shot at a running deer.

No deer. I wish squirrels had more meat on them!!!

I had to press the butt out into service on both ends tonight. Also makes nice drag handle:

Sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive another 'Economic Stimulus' payment. This is indeed a very exciting program, and I'll explain it by using a Q & A format: Q. What is an 'Economic Stimulus' payment ? A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. Q. Where will the government get this money ? A. From taxpayers. Q. So the government is giving me back my own money ? A. Only a smidgen of it. Q. What is the purpose of this payment ? A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ? A. Shut up. Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. Economy by spending your stimulus check wisely: * If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka * If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs. * If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan or China * If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala * If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea . * If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan . * If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore. Instead, keep the money in America by: 1) Spending it at yard sales, or 2) Going to ball games, or 3) Spending it on prostitutes, or 4) Beer or 5) Tattoos. (These are the only American businesses still operating in the U.S. ) Conclusion: Go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day ! No need to thank me, I'm just glad I could be of help.

My luck is usually good when I hunt for an hour ,anything longer my luck is non existent . Pretty basic type hunt .Walked in confident I’ll be walking out with a doe as I see plenty in the apples around 4:20 typically in this spot .Seen plenty of smaller bucks as well .Haven’t had any nice bucks all season in this spot on cam so they didn’t cross my mind but ya never know what could happen. Got settled in around 3:40 or so ,after deep frying some turkeys with my buddy .I told him I’m walking out with a deer tonight as it just “felt right”.It was a light mist ,light wind (SW),and dreary feeling .Knowing my scent was blowing in the SW direction ,I wasn’t confident anything would come out in that corner ,but I got up as high as I could (for me) ya never know right ?At around 4:13 pm I spotted this guy coming through the thick stuff slowly ,I had one window of opportunity that I knew of to get a shot at it .It was still threading the needle on the shot but that Savage 220 with the scope I have it could be done . There wasn’t much time or room to wait for him to turn broadside ,he got to the spot I need him to ,he put his head down to feed on an apple ,facing toward me ,and put the cross hair on top between his shoulders and let it fly .He dropped instantly .I could see his back end ,I sat and waited to maybe score a doe .Minutes gone by and I looked and all the sudden didn’t see him .I was like wtf .Next thing I know he got to his feet ,ran maybe 5 yards and dropped dead . Being as I had to head to dinner at 5 ,I got down and walked up to my friends house to grab the wheeler .I then found out ,his sister and friend who is in town ,took the dog for a walk right to the edge of the orchard ,after they were told I was in there .It was maybe 5 minutes after I shot they walked up with the dog .I wasn’t happy about that as they came within 50 yards of me in the stand .She’s and animal activist so I’m not surprised.Anyway ,here he is ,looks like I may just do a euro mount .(the buck is tagged )Also,the rope was wrapped around him already the way you see it .

Doe from last night. Muzzleloader

I will always opt for the highest percentage shot, that gives the most room for error, the lung shot. The neck shot is devastating, but a bit more room for error or a clean miss. Yes, I have taken deer with the neck shot, when that was the only one presented. I like to play the better odds though.

I know 2 guys that hunt with a 300 win mag and if the deer is inside 100 yards and the neck shot is available they take it. They are both very good shooters and are both confident in there abilities. Every deer has dropped immediately when that shot was taken. I consider myself a good shot but I do not have the confidence to do it. I’ll take one in the boiler room every time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 2 quarter horses startled me with walking in. Get to 30 yards of stand and 5 sets of deer eyes gleaming with red headlamp directly under my stand.

Another day...another go. Taking friends daughter out 1st season has to hunt with an adult. She is 15. Gonna go to a blind where I shot my 10 pointer last year. Hope she gonna get something since I won't be bringing a gun it will be all up to her. Wind wnw about 20mph..gonna be cold!

Thats why they need to make poaching a mandatory fine and loss of license. Nothing that can be pleaded down. $1000.00 starting and make the fine bigger for every inch of antler. Same thing with poaching fish, snagging, over the limits. No license should be 4 or 5 times the cost of a licence.

We all take great care to put a bullet into the vitals and that requires actually seeing the deer, sizing it up and placing the cross hairs in the right spot. How does someone just shoot at movement is beyond me. The victim not having blaze on isnt an excuse. People do walk thru the woods this time of year, walking dogs or just hiking.

Got some work cut out for me today.