NFA-ADK

One thing is for sure, we are loosing more hunters every year and we are not getting the recruits like we use to. Add in DEC regulations, restrictions and old age of many hunters can cause them to abandon hunting all together. Video games, phones, computers and TV cause our society to become inverted homebodies. We need more survival courses in schools which include hunting, trapping and fishing. We need something to get the younger generation out of the house!

Welcome aboard!

Second rut O yea! Vacation starts Thursday and I have the following week off! If work does not call me in! I guess I believe! Only thing needed for a second rut is one doe in heat! Good luck pt0217 hope you get a brute!

The food they eat is a big factor. The rut, mating, lack of eating plus exertion causing muscles to tighten might lead to lactic acid build up is one possibility. Sometimes this can happen when you have to chase a deer or even if it has been extremely active. That is why it is always considered good if you shoot them and they drop within a short distance. You never know what that deer was doing before you meet him. Ex: He might have been at the end of a 9 mile scout for hot doe or getting up from his bed.

Very NICE! Congrats, nice to see you actually get to do some hunting! Nice buck!

Nice bucks Fletch, good luck hope you get the big one, regardless two beauties.

Looks like a tool, knife possibly out of whale bone?

I would think the estimates are about right, gross around 141 ish net around 137.

Nice buck, congrats!

Not sure if I would have stated it that way, lol. I tend to follow up if it is still standing. Unloading just sounds like your clipping off rounds in the general direction.

Go Luna GO!!! You two are awesome! Love the stories of your adventures!

Welcome to the site. LI has some good hunting. Rocky point gets hit pretty hard during bow season but deer always seem to be in the area. The other spots all have a good population of deer as well, none that I would say DON'T go. Make sure you spray your clothes with permethrin, to prevent getting ticks on you and the Lyme associated with them! If you get picked. Good luck!

Congrats! Nice bucks!

Unfortunately my Dad got Lyme this year. He is run down and has no energy very untypical for him. This is very serous stuff. Protect yourself! On that note I am going out today and re-spraying all my clothes, boots, bags, back pack, socks etc. If I can find more, campsite and Dicks in Huntington are out of permethrin. Home Depot had some in the gardening department, they are my next stop then Walmart if they are out.

Depending on area will determine how much I call. I call less on state land than private just because deer hear people using calls all the time in high presser area's and will typically do it early season more than late season. Blind calling I will hit the grunt tube once or twice and the can usually 2 times never together and I try to call only 3-4 times a day max. I have multiple calls so I try to switch calls in the same area to sound like different age groups and so I do not sound the same every time. Overcalling will have them pin point your location. While still hunting I will call after I move a few hundred yards or more or when I get into another area. I try to use the grunt tube sparingly and rely more on the can when I am hunting bucks. My preferred call for a grunt tube sounds like a young buck 2-3 year old max. The soft grunt I have found works the best, just loud enough for them to hear. My favorite calling is early season using the Maaa Maa call by mouth for doe. I do this type of calling blind when I know deer are in the area but can not see me. This is a distress call and has to be done loud! I use this call once in an area for the year usually. After a few weeks I might try again. Just be ready because if doe are in the area sometimes they charge in! This has been my most productive way to call deer. Public land I call maybe 2-3 times a day private sometimes more but as the season wears on I call less as they seem to ignore calling more. Higher the hunting presser the less I call.

Depending upon how much you trim can be a factor in the time it takes. I don't do my own just because it's more than I want to deal with and I usually only shoot one deer a year. As I get into population control this might be an issue due to cost of processing. I will wait until I hit that bridge. If you have the time and space it is rewarding that's for sure. Hope it becomes necessary!

Congrats on your first! Hard to track when you have no permission. If they had that many hunters on the other side she probably was taken by one of them. Not much you can do when your game is on land you have no permission for. Check the other side if possible and walk the boundary to see if she came back in. Otherwise keep hunting! Valuable lesson learned, if your game is still standing after a shot then put them down with one more if you have the opportunity. Keep your head up and get back into the woods. No one is perfect but being prepared and proficient with your weapon will always help. Keep hunting! Good luck the rest of the season and enjoy your harvest! PS: Nice shot on your first, slightly back but a center punch that works every time!

Hard to tell but 3+ sounds good to me.

So true! I have hunted in NY where a 300-700 yard plus shot was available but most of my hunting now is less than 70 yards.

I believe you are right, the main part of the rut is over. (At least it seems that way here on LI.) Hope the second rut will start next weekend but it will probably be better the following weekend. 12/12/15

50 yards

WoW some real brutes taken this year!

Congrats! Nice bear!

Cool story! Nice buck! Congrats!

Happy Birthday! Hope its the best!