dave6x6

Why stop at one month for bow? you go to Ohio or most any big buck state west of that and you can bow hunt pretty much fron the end of Sept to the beginning of Feb.. Not really sure why we have to have such a limit on our bow season. You only have a certain amount of tags that you can use so what difference does it make weather you punch them in Oct or January??

ya no doubt. I'll be as ready as i can be and hope the altitude thing does not hit me too hard. Wyoming at 9000 ft was pretty much no problem but this will be in a different leaque. Planning a couple of dry runs in the ADK in the summer and in the meantime, i'll be loading the pack and hitting the trails as often as i can. I'll also be riding the bike to work every day i can which is 11 miles each way and some weight training as well. Luckily i'm at a good starting point right now but my goal is to not let my body limit any oportunities i may come across out there.. Don't want any regrets so i'll be ready..

Don't have a pic of the wide 26". It was a hunting buddy of a friend of mine so i didn't really know the guy and didn't want to ask.. Next time i see him i'll see. Larry, The big 9 was taken about 5 or 6 miles from where we hunt..A bit south east of us..

I think your bucks are awesome four seasons. Sounds like an enjoyable and rewarding line of work your in. I wish you continued success.

Deerthug. Sorry the season didn't end with a dead deer but hopefully you had fun none the less.. Hopefully you'll get a crack at that big guy next season. New toys are always good. For me "gear season" starts Wednesday..LOL

Cool stuff Lawdwaz.. Those big golden rod fields can be very active this time of year. Looks like a nice plump one.

Chain would be great and we do have one platform where we use the turnbuckles. They worked real slick but the last time i sat in it the wind was blowing and for some reason the cables kept making this "twang" sound when the tree moved just right. Super annoying so i got to re-do it in the spring. The chain i think is the way to go.

8h. Victor ny. Today I saw a real brute 11 that a guy got in Webster ny. 26" wide . I know "holy crap" thats the same thing i said..

Yea, that deer is a tank. At least 3.5 Maybe 4.5 . What part of the state is he from?

I really enjoy this site but it is addicting for me. Missed my wifes birthday, 4 court appearances and had to get rid of two of my girlfriends. Oh well, Next topic anyone...

Wish that was my pic but just copied it from the hunting guide for that unit. Just posted it to get a feel for the terrain.. WNY your aunt is very blessed to live out there. My brother was in Crested Butte for a while being a ski bumb and then spent time in Gunnison..

Looking for a camp cook with a pack mule.. LOL

Dinsdale, Love the fiberglass gas tank blind. LOL. Those platform-pop-up sets are slick. Hunted out of those in Wyoming except they use all natural materials from the forest. Usually find 4 trees the right distance apart, attach two footer logs parrallel to each other and then run smaller logs lenghtwise for the flooring. Cover that with pressure treated plywood and then pop the blind. Were thinking of doing a platform or two like that at camp.

Sat in our latest box blind tonight. I'll try to restle up pics but here's how we do it. First the box blinds that we are building now are ladder type set-up, that are secured to a tree as opposed to four legged, self standing blinds. You can take some of this info and use it for a free stander if you want. These are 2 person, 4x8 blinds. The first thing we do is go to Gander mt. and get the platform brackets. They are not needed but they give you the perfect angle for your 4x4 ladder and the platform itself. We use 16 ft. pressure treated. We have been stockpiling Composite decking from the cull wood at Home Depot or from job site rejects and have been using that for all our platform flooring. We also put rigid board Insulation under floor for warmth but mostly for sound dampening. Then we raise the stand in place and build the walls seperately and install them while the stand is up. The stand is a bear to raise even without walls and roof. We use a pulley attached above on tree and carefully use tractor to pull very carefully to get it in place. Notice i said carefully now 3 times. LOL Stand will probably weigh more than 500lbs. You can attach the base to the tree using timberlocks but i would suggest not.. We use a heavy duty ratchet strap or cables that can be adjusted as the tree grows. A simple slanted roof with ice and water barrier and rolled roofing. Different style window depending on how elaborate you want to be. Be careful to position window openings so that you look where you want to when you are sitting. Ive sat in blinds where the window is eye level when you sit and therefor only see the horizon while you hunt. Very annoying. Plexi-glass sliders, hinged cut outs, ect. We have been toying with a free standing blind for a client where we want to have wheels attached either perminent or removable. Many times you think you have it in the right spot but after a season or two you wish you could tweek the location slightly. Still in the proto- type stage though. I'll see what i can find for pics.

WNY, Sorry to get off track with this thread.. Do you think that the first picture is the same deer you were hearing about or do you think there were two good ones taken out of the Keuka Lake area?

The big 9 was taken in 8h. North-East side of Canandaiqua Lake. Yea my brother had a beat on this deer and had his core pretty much figured out but a couple weeks ago he took his boys(6 and 8 yr. olds) out to sit in a ground blind and when a six pointer came by the kids were like, SHOOT DAD, SHOOT , SHOOT. So he couldn't pass up that great experience. In his perfect plan that deer was supposed to be the book end for this one he's got over the mantle.

Way to go bud.. I remember the story from your earlier posts. Hope he gets hammered hard by the judge and also if you think there may be some retailiation, make sure to express that concern with the DEC and the Judge.

Unit 43, West of Aspen , East of Grand Junction.

So the guy is from Newark. Still not sure about the tag thing.. So i'll try another 100% legit big buck. Black in white was taken in the flesh and it was shot Over the weekend. My brother had seen him many times and was hoping it would survive. He was tagged out..

Dinsdale, Can't thank you enough for the info. Especially breaking the equipment down in groups. That really helped in simplifying the task. I checked the bivy and never gave it much thought but it does make alot of sense. Good stuff..

Do you really think the one buck rule is necessary or would do anything in the areas that you and i hunt? Taking one less deer out of a heard that is already overpopulated and as stated before, only 5% of hunters take two deer. So seems insignificant to even try that here..

Larry, John Stansfield is a great guy. We let him trap the property and try to get him out to hunt once or twice a yr. if he can squeeze a couple hrs in between shifts. He's always available to give advice over the phone or shoot out whenever we have a problem. You hunt close to me so you know there is always some funny business..

I think i'm getting the two AR threads jumbled together.. Sorry

I actually agree with you also Wooly. I put that question out there, not to be sarcastic or anything, but simply to find out if anyone truelly feels things are good right now.. This thread asked which ones would you prefer and the responces from non AR guys made me wonder if they are satisfied or if they just don't want things messed with. I've said that i don't need restrictions because i have my own self impossed ones along with most of the neighbors in the area. I'm still a hunters choice guy but If i was in one of those poor deer quality areas, i would be very open to any changes to make things better. Also was curious where the satisfied hunters are and with your vote i see 4 western NY'ers..

Geeeez i better check my facts... I may have got vamboozled..