fasteddie

Deer do look up . This BB walked on pm path to the stand and sniffed where I pee'd . I had my bino-cam in my hands and made a slight movement . He was too close for the focus .

Congrats on recovering your deer . Nice job .

Fox and Turkey buzzards will take care of it .

Looks like someone choked a chicken !

Think of what restrictions your hunting partner would have as a quadraplegic !

Deer live with death around them so it probably isn't a big deal . If anything . I would probably drag it out of any path / trail that might get used . I have had deer walk past and through gut piles before but not positive as to a reaction to a deer body laying there .

I missed this thread and posted a question as to when the DMPs would be available ...........oops !!!

We have 7 ( seven ) days time to report the kills .

Is Nov 1st ( tomorrow ) when we can apply for the extra DMPs ?

NorthCountry Deer Report Week #3 2011 This week we decided to change the name of our weekly report from “Dougherty Deer Report” to the “NorthCountry Deer Report”. Since starting the report 3 years ago, our circulation has grown dramatically and so has the volume of information we are getting from the field. We have effectively developed a highly qualified and informed network of deer watchers and while we gather our own data and document our own observations, the weekly report is informed by the observations of others as well. This not only keeps us honest, (as we strive to make sense of all the data) but leads to more rigorous reporting on our part. Secondly, we want to reinforce the fact that our rut tracking and behavior reporting is based primarily north of the Mason Dixon. The rut tracks differently in many areas of the south and while the rut related behaviors remain the same, the dates and timing do not necessarily hold true. If you hunt in the south, you can take our behavior reports to the bank but our timing might not shake hands with yours. Last week we observed 7 bucks 31 does and 21 fawns in 21 hrs. of stand sitting. This nets out to 2.8 deer observed per hr. of sitting. Of the bucks observed, slightly more than 50% were 2.5 or older. While our buck age structure appears to be on target, the buck to doe ratio is still uncertain. We expect that ratio to move in the right direction over the next few weeks as the bucks become more active but it looks as though we definitely need to be taking more does. We normally don’t spend much time on kills but one doe kill this week was noteworthy. Craig arrowed a nice doe one evening and the group decided to have dinner before heading out with Radar to recover the deer. After a 100 yard tracking job Radar was on the deer but the coyotes had beaten him to her. A short 1-1.5 hrs. after dark and about 3 hrs. after she was shot. Craig’s Outdoor Life coyote blog of a few weeks cautioned not to wait too long to recover deer in coyote country. Looks like we’ll be tracking evening shot deer on an empty stomach here at Kindred Spirits until our coyote population changes. As far as rut related behavior goes, we are seeing it steadily ramp up. We are seeing young bucks starting to hang out on or near food sources and other doe gathering spots. The young bucks are often just staring at the does not sure how to respond to the testosterone pulsing through their bodies. As often as not, they do a “rush and flush” and send the does and fawns scurrying out of the plot and into the surrounding cover while they stand around looking stupid. The older aged bucks on the other hand, know exactly they need to be doing with their new found energy. They are working licking branches, making scrapes and basically getting ready to accommodate the first receptive does of the breeding season. On the other hand, our mature bucks the ones we are really interested in, are still making themselves scarce during daylight hours and mainly showing up on camera at night. As a sure sign of upcoming breeding, our buck groups have broken up and we seldom see 2 or more older bucks hanging out together. They have now gone to their respective corners and “ready to rumble” with any rival. We have not yet observed much in the way of the “obsessive marching” (our best time to hunt older age bucks) by bucks so often associated with the pre breeding period of the rut. Nor have we observed any breeding specific behavior. In other words, ”everyone is measuring but nobody is hammering”. Since early Sept. the testosterone level in northern bucks has doubled which effects not only breeding behavior but feeding as well. Bucks are no longer in their so called “summer feeding” pattern. In early September bucks adopted a feeding pattern which we refer to as the “fall chow down” to add body mass and muscle. Body mass is probably more important to a fighting buck than even antlers so it all makes sense that hardening and peeling antlers coupled with adding body mass (mostly muscle) is what a buck does prior to breeding. The “fall chow down” is ending now as the bucks are now in prime fighting condition and ready to begin to loose up to 25% of their body weight as they enter their month long breeding season. Two weeks ago we referred to “summer feeding patterns”. We should have referred to their feeding behavior as “chowing down” on fall foods as they are different behaviors. Our does are still “familied up” in groups of 3-6 or so. They feed together and drive our doe-fawn sighting numbers up. When watching food sources it is difficult not to double or even triple count the does and fawns using a plot in a 3 hr. period of time. Shortly, the young buck pressure will intensify to the point to where many of the does start to abandon commonly used food sources in favor of areas where the young bucks aren’t waiting for their arrival. This drives our buck sighting numbers up and our doe sightings down. Watch for the buck to doe ratios to change during the next few weeks. This week we expect to be seeing an uptick in older age buck sightings as the breeding time rapidly approaches. We will probably start taking some morning sits (we have hunted only evenings so far) later this week and into the weekend. We will also start staking out known buck travel routes in anticipation of more daylight activity of mature bucks. We wouldn’t use up all our vacation time just yet, but it might be a good time to get all the clutter off your desk. The highlight of our week occurred last evening when one of our gang (Steve) had a sow and two cubs walk under his stand. Mama picked up his scent and started a regular fuss. Unable to locate the source of her discomfort she decided to stay put until she could sort it out. She stormed around and twice charged 20 yards or more to Steve’s tree in a “bluff charge”. Before long the teeth popping whirling dervish roared “tree” and up went the cubs. Trouble was one of them went up the tree next to Steve and they were eyeball to eyeball at twenty feet. With things showing no signs of calming down and mama still looking for trouble our hunter roared a warning of his own which succeeded in getting the cub in the next tree to “abandon tree”. Trouble was, he no sooner hit the ground and mama gave the “I said tree!” command again. This time the cub chose Steve’s tree as a safe haven (for the cub, not Steve). The cub was halfway up the tree when Steve had enough and let out a warning bellow of his own. Down went the cub and he and mama, having located the source of their concern, took off for safer pastures leaving the other cub up a nearby tree. The cub cried and bawled for 20 minutes before bailing out in search of mom. Steve gathered up his gear and started for terra firma when he spied a fourth bear on his way in. Something about legal shooting hours and tracking a bear with a flashlight ended his report for the evening. Keep the reports coming and get ready for some fun. Best regards, NorthCountry Whitetails www.NorthCountryWhitetails.com

I shot the buck Wednesday (26th) and was sitting in my stand yesterday thinking I have to put the tag in the freezer with the deer . Then it dawned on me that with everything that was going on in my life I hadn't reported the kill yet . I called the 1-866-426-3778# yesterday afternoon and took care of business . I have been critical of folks not reporting and then I almost screw up !!!

This isn't the same as 5.9 cummins situation but here goes . When gun hunting with the shotgun , I had caught myself flinching when shooting along with a high adrenaline rush . One cold morning I was sitting in a stand freezing my butt off . It was less than 20 degrees out with the wind chill index . I got down to walk and get some circulation going . 3 doe stepped into the laneway . I thought they were quite a way off but raised the Winchester , aimed and fired at the largest doe . They ran off and I thought I had missed . She ran 75 yards and dropped . I thought , hey , I didn't flinch . What did I do . I rationalized what had happened and came up with this . The deer were almost 100 yards and I wasn't sure I would even hit one . The pressure of missing was gone . I was relaxed . Ever since then when I would take a shot , I would check my breathing and tell myself to relax . I even get an adrenaline rush when a fawn is near and my heard pounds . Relaxing helps reduce the heart pounding .If I ever lose that adrenaline rush , it will be time to hang up the bow and gun !

Just tell yourself " it's only a target and relax " . Concentrate on a spot on the deer and shoot .

oops ! My mistake . When I saw Encore I thought the reference was to Thompson Encore Pistol .

Two years ago I hunted on my mother's property in Groveland . Passed on a button buck but I saw deer pass by about 100 yards to the East . I had brought a ladder stand with me and set it up around 1 pm . I shot a doe from that stand that afternoon around 4:30 .

My sister in law called a while ago . She said she was out by her barn , saw a flash of brown by the gulley . She checked it out and said there were 7 deer (no horns) in her lower pasture lot . I will have to give her property in Geneseo a try real soon .

One of my sons has an Encore 308 that he sometimes hunts with . I have a TC Contender in 7-30 waters and killed a doe with it a few years ago .

They have broken racks in 8H also . The one I shot Wednesday had his right side broken and only had 2 points left on that side .

Got up at 4 am so I could go hunting with 2 of my sons in Mendon where I shot the buck Wednesday . We must have kicked out a couple deer on the way in to our stands . Heard a lot of blowing ! It was a short walk for me and I was in my stand by 6:15 . Someone else had been hunting that area Saturday so I was told . Anyway , it was ccccccccold ! Never saw one deer and we decided to leave at 10 am . My oldest son walked up the cut trail and he kicked out a small coyote . He had only gotten a glimpse of it and said it looked like a furry armidillo ! When I got home the wife was leaving for a friend's house to pick some apples so I jumped in her car and went over to pick them . I would have been just as well off going to Mass this am . It would have been warmer .

Here's a pic of me from last year ----- The Blaze Orange doesn't spook the deer

Take it out of the box and let it air out before taking it to where you want to install it . Two weeks would be plenty of time .

Possibly the similarity of how they shoot . A person can't even bowhunt unless they have taken the gun course . a few years ago My youngest son took the archery course and passed . The week before the season open , he went to get his archery license but couldn't because he hadn't taken the Gun safety Course . He had no intention of gun hunting but it was required . So , he got jilted out of bow hunting his 1st year .

I have kept broadheads in a strip of strofoam packaging material and then put them in another container .

Burt --- Did you ever notice that if you play a Country Song backwards , the dog come to life , your honey returns , your truck starts and you still have booze !!! I had emptied the bag from the container under the sink but the auger had sank to the bottom of the bag . It still wasn't as bad as changing a baby's diaper !

I met Heatmizzer a couple years ago . He lives about a mile from my mother's house . Fred gave me some Elk Steaks . Yum , Yum .