NFA-ADK

My heart was pumping the first time I read it and was thinking, how far is this deer going to go!!!??? Crazy story. Congratulations! Too cool! I had to reread it today again. Now that was a hell of an adventure!

A couple of Vermont guys who hunt in the same area I do use this. They still hunt on opposite area's like NyAntler said, possibly one up high and one in a valley or opposite sides of the mountain. They are pretty successful. The good thing about doing this is if its a new area you will get a better understanding of the amount of deer in a area. I am sure many times while still hunting I have passed deer with NO knowledge of them gained due to them staying in tight cover causing me to pass right by. PS: Loved your story Joe with the muzzleloader last year! Epic!

Happy anniversary! I do not like to use online orders personally. But I am spoiled with Campsite in Huntington, they can get anything. Just another option for you. Have a great day!!!

NO way he is 500lbs, closer to 700lbs! LOL What a shot! Love it! As always your shots are amazing!

I love those stories Hardcore! More More! I did not use calls well until about 7 years ago, I just had no luck and was probably using too low and noisy of a grunt trying to imitate a brute and never had any luck. I used a fawn wheeze called kmerdeer I think, just because I heard a fawn and mother both use it and I could imitate it but again no luck. One thing is for sure the right situation dictates the call and effect. Some of the shows my buddy gave me makes me laugh how bad some can use the call yet still have a deer come in. Not so true in the real world of ground hunting. Between scent and them pegging your position it is a cat and mouse game. Another reason I use them sparingly and usually when in cover. Anyone ever hear a Buck in heat, grunting every few seconds while trailing. I never have but this video is well I guess it exemplifies how I see a buck on a doe track with only one thing on his mind. One of my favorites. Nice little 4 point but WOW is he intent on that trail with nothing else except finding that doe on his mind. I think he gets in 5 grunts in 20 seconds lol. Crazy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzMljN6Ut7s

NO, A Sportsman! STAY! Please! Not a dead post just too much for me to finish last night. I love these post and reference them throughout the year! So much great info from so many sources! I usually use up all my LIKES on these post. THis is where I stopped last night. IF no sign is found during rifle season, the first snow I cover at least 5 miles to find fresh tracks, if I am lucky enough to have snow. I base my next move on the tracks I find. No big bucks and I move on to another area unless I find many doe, never happened in the ADK deep woods yet. Town area's are different then deep woods and I have found much higher concentration of deer in "rural" ADK woods. Da open area hello! To bad deep woods are devoid of this habitat! One thing out of all others is working in your boots! I cover ground when no sign is present so I can understand hiking 6 miles in a big circle. That is how I like to cover an area. Your loop IF studied properly (Snow is huge in this aspect) will show any trails or buck sign that is present but you need a very close inspection if no snow is present. No snow, then only cover 3 miles and inspect everything for deer sign like "A Sportsman" said no sign, no deer. You are just north of where I hunt. Go to the area's you know of and hike in a half mile then start your scouting. If you saw no sign on the last 6 mile loop then do a new area. Not only will this help with finding deer it will help you put the bigger picture together. Understanding buck beds, why doe and buck inhabit different area's. How doe stay in one area for the most part and bucks will travel and travel to find a hot doe. Picking a good steady food source, this is one aspect I find the hardest. Understanding why deer like this area vs the one next to it. If you can, take the family "camping" in your hunting area and scout the heck out of it!!! Great way to satisfy everyone if they like that stuff, can’t hurt to try!!! The other thing is use some calls! But don't move for at least a half hour after you call, this will help if you think deer are present yet not moving. If you can, scouting while snow is still on the ground within the next month, this will show where deer like to travel. One reason I like to hunt more than 4 or even 7 days is sometimes it takes me that long to figure out the area and where the deer are, then I have to go home. With 2 weeks I can spend the first few days basically speed scouting and then try to come up with a game plan to get the best results of an area. This is a great way to get info quickly yet snow makes this process much faster and helps with patterning doe and bucks. One thing I notice is doe tend to stay in the same area's. The core area seem to be less than 2 mile radius when adult doe are present, younger doe tend to travel slightly more up to 5 miles. Bucks, after they mature to 1.5 or older tend to leave the doe herd and find a new home range. They can cover some ground as in miles and usually have much larger areas. The older I get the more I like to chase or stick around the doe, just seems like less travel at times. Like NY Antler said check the streams, valleys and water edges deer tend to use these area's to forage and many deer use this as a travel corridor. When coming to a ledge or ridge be careful and glass the area for bedded deer. Again they like those ledges to see and smell. Wind should dictate how you enter a area and hunt it. Do as much as possible to eliminate scent. Clear calm days suck for still hunting IMO. Any movement or snap of a twig gives you and your game up and can ruin a area. So true Sportsman! If you have to hunt on these days it is a good time to sit and try calling. Bad weather, rain, slight wind or snow are what I consider ideal stalking conditions. Prep for the worst conditions so weather is never a factor in making you leave the woods. Be prepared to stay until dark and navigate out with confidence. Extra food helps with those extra long and exhausting hikes and helps keep you focused on the task instead of what you are going to eat when you get back to camp. You have the ability to hike and seem to be able to navigate with confidence. Try hunting some ridges and find the easy spots that connect other area's. After you hike the ridge, come back in the valley by the steams. check any edges of lakes, steep cliffs, narrow valleys these funnel type area always show deer sign if present. Continued: From Thursday. I would try scouting as much area as possible during off season. This time of the year is GREAT! Trails found now will be utilized when the season opens, provided they are finished with the deer yard. (I always find doe in season by deer yards (not in) for what that's worth, bucks check these areas.) The snow again is key and makes interpretation easy vs no snow. It can be done with out snow but it is much harder. Rain I have found if excessive leads to muddy conditions, da. A good time to look for tracks if no snow is available. Attributes: Some things that have helped me in my quest to become a ADK hunter, I am still trying! Knowing deer: Seeing deer, this might sound silly to many here that see them every day. For many of us deer sightings and resulting information gained is minimal. Getting out and scouting area for deer even if you do not or can not hunt that area will give great insight to how deer like to travel, bed, sleep and avoid predators or people. This knowledge is very helpful. Endurance: The better shape you are in the easer travel will be. Especially if you get a deer way back! ARG I need to work out! Mental focus: This is obtained through repetition with your weapon and endless prepping. Plain and simple your chance at a buck are few, don't mess it up like me! Practice your weapon so you are DEADLY at any range you may encounter! Not just 50 yards. You have one chance a year at a ADK buck IF your lucky! Some of us get a lucky horse shoe up our but and get a second like me. Don't let your knowledge of trajectory or lack of cause you to loose a deer, it is the worst excuse I have. Arg Where does your gun hit at 5 ft? Heightened sensory perception: (This is real! OMG now they will think I am crazy. O well.) This is the hardest thing to learn and explain. The better you are connected to nature the more heightened your perception will be in my experience. Why did the birds stop chirping? How come I feel eyes on me in this area? Is that a deer I smell? These little things tune you into your environment and can only help. Deer have this perception and get more in tune as they age and experience predators. Another thing I need work on due to so much disconnect from nature. The ability to think like a deer. This is gained through years of hunting and observation yet each deer is different. Next time you are in a area say to yourself, "If I was a deer, where would I go?" Think food water and shelter. Leave the wood as you found it or better with as little change as possible. Don't touch anything if possible and brake as few branches sticks and twigs as possible and descent the boots you only put on when you get to the hunting spot. I can not stress how important this is. The less scent you leave the better your chances on return. This is their house and anything out of place will alert them to your presence. OK now I am ready to go up and scout! Lets do it! Moose River, Big Moose its all good! Arg now I will be on topo's for a few hours! PS: I am no expert but these topics are my passion and I have studied them in depth out of obsession after missing so many. Use the Bruce Lee method of hunting and take what is useful and disregard the rest. Man I love this topic, Sportsman Love your impute! Don't stop!

Doc you have an open invite to my ADK camp anytime you want!!! Wall tent with wood burning stove! What bliss!

Scouting if possible will increase your odds. While I do not get to scout that often it is a big part of successful ADK hunters. 6 miles in is a long hike, how much area did you cover after you get into the 6 mile area? 6 in and 6 out is a long day. Sometimes you are better off setting up a remote base camp to eliminate that long of a hike every time and staying a few days minimum. This will allow more time to check the area. My average stalk is anywhere from a mile to about 3 miles for the day depending on how many deer are in the area. More deer causes me to move much slower out of fear of being seen. I did a 7 mile in hike and it kicked my but!!! I was not able to cover the area like I usually do from exhaustion. Send me a pm with the exact area you hunt and I might be able to help you pin point some "preferred" area's the deer tend to use more. Food is a good indication of deer in the area. If you are not seeing deer hitting food sources you might want to check another area. Some area's are void of deer more than others, key in on the ones with deer makes your sightings much better and a hell of a lot more fun. One thing about deep ADK woods that has helped me is finding a good food source but this is not a simple task as food sources can vary from area and time of year. Doe are another key ingredient to finding bucks, they want to get a girl even if it is only for a few days! When rut is on bucks will abandon their core area to chase doe and tend to any doe that is close to breading. Pre-rut will see them patrolling the doe to see if any are in heat and how many are in the area. Mature bucks tend to like high places with a good view and good scent that rises to let them know about any predators. Find valleys that connect high peaks for early season and as the cold and rut progresses look for them near the doe as this is the main driving force during peak rut. During "lockdown" when bucks are tending doe it is feast or famine. If you have doe you will have bucks. After rut is over the bucks will key in on food again. Patience, persistence. A drive to accomplish what your goal is. Attention to detail is critical. Become an expert shot with any weapon you use knowing where to aim from 5 ft out to as far as you can shoot. (For me that is 5 ft to less than 80 yards due to cover.) Topo and satellite maps are great to find pinch points, connecting valleys and sometimes even cover and food sources. Another thing is this. ADK in many area's is deep woods just by stepping off the dirt road. Do not feel like you have to go back a few miles to get your deer. In area's with high human traffic and activity I have found that most action is about a half mile for bucks yet doe do not seem to be upset by human activity as bucks do. Cover some area you think might be good with a fine tooth comb! I tend to look more for deer than sign when hunting and when scouting I will look more for sign then actual deer. Are the tips of plants chewed off? Any rubs or scrapes. And food sources along with water and easy water crossings. Lake edges tend to attract deer and they are expert swimmers that can swim more than 7 miles with no problem so not many lakes are a big barrier. Big lakes tend to have a area of blow down that deer love usually on the windy side where all the trees fall. Become an expert tracker, the story told in the tracks can not only tell you the type of deer(male/female) it can tell you the area he came from and where he is going and if lucky you can plot to ambush or stalk them. You can determine if he is a swamp buck or a high ridge deer when you really get good at it. I am not their, yet! One thing is for sure your task of getting a buck is a big one that many give up on after a few failed attempts. When and if you finally do it is and accomplishment like no other, especially when you plan it out and everything comes together. PS: If you do get one you might be addicted to hunting deer for the rest of your life. While my first in 2000 did not set me on that path the one in 2010 sure did. The misses I had in between 2000 and 2010 drove me crazy and I was determined to connect with a brute. Another reason I say to know your weapons and become a expert woodsman. Hello my name is Jeff and I am addicted to hunting ADK whitetails. But any whitetail gets my blood pumping!!!

Who uses them. How do you use it. Low pitch, high pitch anyone try using the can with your mouth? Works good for an extra long call. When do you use it. Early late day? Early season late season. What type of luck have you had. Favorite call. I love using doe in heat can's the big can and medium are my favorite. I never really used buck grunt calls until a few years ago and love the buck roar but use it sparingly. My main call is a basic grunt tube set with a high pitch to indicate a young buck that others would like to push around. I have called in 3 bucks with the can and took two, second one was coaxed in the final 50 yards with the grunt tube at a high pitch indicated before. I tend to use the calls less if I can not find deer and more when located or believed to be in the area. Early season I almost never use calls but as the rut progresses into late October and early November I tent to "play" with calls more often. I did the Ma MAA call by mouth and WOW 2 doe charged me but I know that they had a fawn, SHOCKED at the reaction but loved the effectiveness, just wish the buck in the valley reacted the same! Bad use of a call at the time but man it was fun! I do not use the calls that often, maximum of 5 times a day and more than 20 minutes apart minimum. I always wanted to talk to deer and find Peter Feduccia,s videos to be extremely helpful. One think I notice is deer from over 100 yards away and closer have a uncanny ability to pin point your location and keeping motionless is key especially when calling. Now if I can just get my scent under control I might actually see more deer! In the off season I love to play with calling Long Island deer. Helps me see how they react and what calls seem more effective. Nice to test calls in a non hunting situation to get a handle of the effectiveness of the ones you are using. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14NucAEvZBc One of his videos, highly recommend his DVD's.

Another note: While I have taken most of my deer during mid day. The most action and best times seem to be first and last light. This is a long day of hunting, before first light to get to a good spot and then staying until you can not legally shoot is usually a 12+ hour day or longer depending how far back you hunt. With limited time to hunt I like to make the most out of it by hunting hard late morning to dark and find good sign, then getting up early to set up an ambush/stalk when the sign indicates good morning feeding. Buck sign in remote area can be extremely difficult to find, this is why I try to key in on doe as much as possible. For me it is better to find a few doe groups as oppose to trying to key in on a buck that might have vacated the area looking for doe. Early season bow, bucks tend to still be in groups but that brakes up as buck become filled with testosterone and do not tolerate younger buck competition. I have guys who have stayed in the area of great buck sign to see no deer for the week. I feel the same way Doc! A good nap at 12 ish is usually required just to keep alert. If I sleep it is usually the hottest part of the day. 4:30 am to 6:30 + pm can cause problems if you do not sleep enough. 9pm is a late night under these conditions but my hunting partners will usually keep me up to at least 11 pm requiring a mid day nap.

Southern property is more expensive. Lease would reflect that price increase. Closer to 1500-1900 for the lease or more depending on how options are set up for possible purchase.

Leases range in price and area. I would expect to lease that small of and area for a cheap price depending on stipulations of buy out. If you would have exclusive rights 900 -1200 possibly more if you are trying to buy out. If possible see if other area's are available for additional buy out. Sometimes you will get a better deal on larger tracks.

Unreal.

A map detailing the property line would help. Do not see that on the web site.

Yea he looks big!

The makers of this gun should sue the news company for slander!!! Pathetic how these guns are portrayed as just mindless killing machines. Mine must be broke! It has not killed anything ever.

Ahh

AWESOME!

Nice just to get outside! Shot one of my best long distance 3D yesterday at about 72 yards. Just wish I could do this every time! FORM FORM FORM!

I agree Hardcore it was a bad shot but understandable after such an event. His calling was horrible but that snort wheeze did the trick! Awesome video!

Looks nice!!! Hope to get mine back soon!

I want one!

Welcome aboard! Enjoy!

So basically they are saying they had a closed meeting with closed minded individuals who do not represent true sportsman. Sounds typical. Wow a whole 6 people invited, great representations of the state. Typical BS advertising for re-election. Ha look what I am doing! I am having a meeting and telling people crossbows are OK! PS: I brought a law enforcement officer to justify the safe act and explain how it does not affect you until we come to your house!

OMG cabin fever. Need to get out! Come on warm weather. Going to try for a yote before the season ends! Can not wait for turkey!