NFA-ADK

THANKS guys I am still amazed how this happened! This is the deer that after 13 years of Hunting started my quest in Moose River Plains. (My first) After hearing "Anyone can get lucky once." so many times after my first buck, I was on a mission to get 3 to prove to myself it can be done in some of the hardest most remote wilderness I could find while still hunting, Moose River Plains fit the profile perfect. 2000 NFA (L-R) Shawn McGauley Jeff Calderone, Chris Flathmann, Greg Fives (The 4 Original NFA members.) The trials and tribulation before getting this second deer were numerous with many rookie mistakes make along the way but I thank the Lord I was able to correct most of those mistakes before catching up to this brute. He was worth the wait and pain of my errors and learning that is for sure. 2010 NFA (L-R) Anthony Beck, Mike MacDonald, Jason Bennett, Jeff Calderone, Shawn McGauly This Buck was the crowning moment of my ADK hunting to this point. Such an amazing trip! So happy I still have my bow tag to play around with the LI deer! Who knows this might be the year I actually shoot at one with the bow! Just wish these stupid Dells would stop breaking down, it is getting monotonous with the hard drives going bad ever week or so... It's cutting into my bow time so I am just venting a little with the though that this would have been my first full day alone in the Adirondack Deer Camp had lady luck not shined on my birthday. (I am going to cherish my bed tonight!) Thanks Chris Flathmann, this was a gift from Heaven that I will cherish forever!

More like the facts in that study are not in our region but OK. Believe what you want, I will keep on following Mr.Charles Alsheimer...

Love Indian Lake area! But then I love most area's in the ADK!

Thanks!

I put the video together, its ok I think. Check it out and tell me what you think, its raw and uncut... I usually do not post video of us hunting but felt this one was special. Hope this encourages more people to try this adventure, it is so fun and anyone can do it. But being prepared is essential as this land can be the most hostile, unforgiving place when things go bad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXFZgf0Xeb0&feature=youtu.be Adult language...

VERY NICE! Congrats on a successful hunt! Awesome job and nice buck!

Thanks! That drag was LONG!!! I wanted to stay till Sunday when my friend was suppose to go back but he wanted to go home so I could not disagree... But that was 3 days of WORK! So much food, water, wood, wall tents, poles, tarps, spikes, wood burning stove, cooler and clothes for a month. I am tired just typing it... Thinking back on last years hunt I know how blessed I was this year to stumble upon a buck so pathetically quick and in wet conditions. Even with snow they seem to be so illusive and avoid roads or travel directly on the tire tracks. I only found 2 buck tracks last year and missed a grunting buck so close I was afraid to turn around fearing he would see my movement... I am still in shock! And recover mode...

Wow that is a pretty awesome day! Nice! And getting out undetected is a pretty amazing feat... Very cool!

I wash all my clothes and keep them in bags or containers with pine cones. I use the soaps and sometimes the towels. But I know the minute I make a fire at base camp I will smell like camp fire... But most deer are not alarmed by this. Smoking is my other bad habit but I have been lucky enough to work around that when I am serious about the area I am in and not just scouting the area. I find when still hunting many deer try and circle me to figure out what I smell like. I keep my boots in a plastic bag and only put them on when I am hunting and never use them for anything else. Even on LI with less than a hour drive I will not wear my clothes before I get their and keep them in the coved truck bed. The deer I shot this year walked right past my tracks and up to my ridge but I do not think he could smell me and that is probably why he came to investigate. I do what I can for scent control then light up... ARG I need to quit... The way I see it is if the wind is right and the alert doe gets your scent its over, same with a smart buck. But when good sign presents itself its game on and a nicotine patch goes on. I don't think we can ever fool a whitetails nose but every step taken to cut down smell on clothes helps in them detecting our presence.

Food is a big issue on how a deer will move no doubt but as the prime rut gets closer the bucks will be chasing more. Hang in there and put in your time, they will hopefully come back in your area. With prime rut getting so close things should really start getting crazy and anything can happen when crazy bucks start chasing doe! Good Luck!

Cool pic!

Still unpacking, at least I only have one day of clothes to clean! I will upload the video soon, that came out better than the pictures. THANKS for all the compliments, it means the world to hear these from my peers... ADK deer hunting is my passion as many of you know. I consider LI my testing grounds for deer and ADK my proving grounds. Bites his tong. Nothing against LI deer it's just that I could get a monster LI buck and it will still never compete with and deep woods ADK buck... JMO I still can not believe this happened on day one... I did not even get to put on any war paint!!! So happy I took up bow hunting, not only has it raised my game it has given me more time to hunt now that rifle is over. While luck, I believe is always a part of hunting, I seem to be getter better every year at creating my own. Between the books, videos, internet and obsession with getting and proving I can become a good ADK deer hunter I think has finally brought me to this point. But man the speed bumps I hit on the way where as bad as the dirt road ride onto Moose River! My passion for ADK deer hunting has come to a climax yet I still have this nagging itch to go back up and help my friends, just wonder if they are still going to go up... Between my shooting skills, getting into better shape and putting many resources to work and using them in the field with the 26 years of experience on top has proven that if you work at something hard enough, you can accomplish it. Funny I though the itch might go away after proving to myself that I could take 3 deer out of this remote area but I was wrong. So much for 24 days of hunting, wow I have a lot of vacation time left... Bow on LI is fun and I learn so much while doing it! Unreal, I still can not believe I am home lol. WOW

I am on cloud 9 right now! I had jumped a deer(Never saw it) earlier in the day and tried to call him back with some rattling, ended up going and paying a visit to the area where I took my last buck in 2010 and did not see any other deer. Forgetting my Marlboro at base camp I headed out and made it back to camp around 1:15. My buddy Mike informed me of his intention to read his book then take a nap... (He was not happy it was raining and nasty out, I was like I LIVE for this!!!) I told him I would probably be out of radio contact until after dark but to turn the radio on at that point. (I was planning a long hike down a trail with good sign about a mile back.) 1:37pm I headed up to the spot where I missed my 2010 Birthday buck and tried some doe calls while sitting in cover. After about 25-30 minutes I heard a grunt in the direction I know deer travel and responded with a similar low toned young sounding grunt, no response to my grunt call so I kept quiet. I could hear a rubbing noise just out of view and was wondering what it was... He was just below the ridge I was on and out of sight but I could hear him make what sounded like 3 rubs in about a half hour then he wanted to see what was going on and walked into view. I hesitated for a minute contemplating if he was big enough but that was short lived as the side he showed me had enough gear for my heart to start pumping! The lever action 44 Mag worked again... He ran from about 40 yards in front of me down hill to about 40 yards above me uphill in a big half circle. 3:30 Due to so much rain and bad weather I did not try blood tracking and climbed straight up the last spot I saw him. Not seeing any movement as I looked uphill I started to get upset that maybe I MISSED him? As I get the GPS to mark my spot I look over to my left and 10 feet away he is down. Two rounds behind the shoulder with one taking out the heart ensured a quick recovery. I tagged then cleaned him and dragged him to the trail then I hiked a mile back to base camp to get Mike to help, a few hours later we made it back to camp. The relieve of finding him so easily, getting him on my birthday and the first day of hunting and being able to call him into me with enough understanding of what not to do just thrills me to no end... Playing around with the calls on LI while bow hunting has helped my hunting tremendously. He is not a monster bruiser but I will never complain about getting a 9 pt ADK buck they are like unicorns! WOW I think I might just go off the deep end now, crazy. Now I get to spend Thanksgiving with the family and FOOD!!! Camera pictures are not that great but the video is OK...

Good luck, he looks like a real brute!

BUCK down!!! Very nice!

That sucks. Public land can be frustrating. Good luck! Hope you get your stand back.

Terrain and elevation can help with locating some funnels but I find the best bet after doing all that research is to scout it out. And I agree that bow hunting the ADK is extremely tough to do with all the vegetation still present at that time of the year. One thing that has helped me over the years is tracking in the snow, it will show what a deer did for that day and if your lucky you can locate some doe and key in on them when the rut hits. While areal photos are nice, you really need to scout out to find and key in on the food sources... The other thing that helps me is wet conditions while not that simple to track the foot prints still tell a story... Good luck and treat every outing like its and adventure and you will always enjoy it every time!

Sounds bad, so happy I hunt public land! Sounds like a travel agent with some money issues... If this was a publicity stunt is has gone horribly wrong... Unsatisfied customers that did not even get to hunt, pathetic...

Made the long trip up to Moose River Wed for 10 days of hunting with supplies and clothes for a month because I was going to go back to work for a week then head back up that Friday night for 2 more weeks. Base camp took all day as usual to set up with securing the tarps, tent, stove, cook shack and unpacking everything. Day 2 I head out about 9 am Ahh too tired now, quick version. I called in a buck, took the beauty around 3:30, details to follow just need sleep for now... So tired 3 days 1 set up 2 shoot deer and drag out a mile day 3 repack everything and drive home Arg I am so tired!!! But Thrilled at the fact that I accomplished a life time goal set up with almost a month to accomplish and did in one day, on my Birthday!!! My 3rd Moose River buck!!! This trip, and deer are dedicated to Christopher James Flathmann. RIP Love you Brother! He was with us in spirit!!!

Very Nice!

Sounds like they are bedding on or near your land. You could try a mock scrape and or some doe in heat lure to get a possible daytime viewing. Otherwise I would try to find where they come out in the AM and set up for that ambush if you have access to the land. Good luck, the rut is just getting started! They will move more during the day just to cover ground...

Very Nice, Congrats on a awesome buck!!!

Nice! Welcome aboard! Hope you enjoy. Nice area, good luck!

Congrats!!! It only gets better! Nice way to regroup and finish!!!

No but it's not right and you feel the same way or you would not post this. Let him know how you feel and that hunting ethically is the only way to go... Plus it gives you a better chance at deer if he follows the rules. One buck per season max!!! What if he shot 2 monsters this year during bow then 2 more for rifle and you get nothing... Good luck and tread lightly!!!