Culvercreek hunt club

Do you mean the bear encounter one of you guys had? If not, I haven't heard the story yet. I am still waiting on his write up. He said its done. I just haven't seen it.

Or he's just an a-hole and the problem with our society is they are seldom told what they are or confronted.

I commented before I got through the thread. It was the first thing that came to mind when I saw it.

Busy lives kept from getting these up in a more timely manner. These are Kate's reflections on the program and her hunts. For a while now, I have been interested in learning to hunt deer. I love being outdoors, live in a rural area with lots of deer, and like knowing where my meat comes from. One of my coworkers and a neighbor are both avid hunters and always give my family various cuts of venison each year. But no one in my family hunts and without a mentor I knew it was going to be difficult to get out in the field. However, many things fell into place to make it happen and one was participating in the “Becoming an Outdoors Women” (BOW) weekend in September 2018 during which I was able to practice shooting and dress and process various game animals. I meet other women who shared my interest in hunting and talking with them made me more determined to find a way to get out deer hunting. BOW sends out emails to any past participants about outdoor opportunities and that was how I learned about QDMA ‘s Field to Fork program. When I read that a small group of us would be practicing with firearms, learning about deer hunting and going out during the season with a mentor, I knew this was exactly right for me. Fast forward to November. I counted down the days until the start of rifle hunting with a mix of excitement and apprehension. When the day came, I was eager to put to use what we had learned in our classes over the past two months, but on the other hand, I wondered what I would do when I saw a deer out in the field. A week before opening day, Mo Tidball, my mentor, and I met to get acquainted and practice with my gun at a nearby gun club. Mo made me feel comfortable and was very encouraging. We scheduled our first hunt for Sunday of opening weekend. The day arrived and it was a very cold morning. During the short walk to the tree stand on Mo’s property my “worry” thoughts were full on: Would we see deer? If so, what would I do? Would I move too quickly and scare it away? Would hit it in the right spot? Would I miss? Would I forget to breathe? Would I take too long to shoot? Talk about performance anxiety! But after a few hours of sitting in the stand, asking occasional questions, practicing as if I saw a deer by raising my gun and aiming at a grass spot, I began to feel more at ease. Although we saw no deer the entire day, I remember saying to Mo that I never, ever just sit in one place, watching for hours, but I found that I enjoyed the “Zen” quality to it. My second hunt was a day with Bob Rose at his camp. That was one of those 3:30am alarm clock mornings, an hour’s drive on unfamiliar roads, and slow crawl up a mile-long logging road to his camp (with a rapidly-moving creek crossing!). Again, we saw no deer but I learned more tips and got great advice. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I headed to Mo’s for an afternoon hunt. By this time, I was not really expecting any deer and just another quiet day in the woods. We head out at 2:30pm to a tree stand in a different location than the first day and I spent the time scanning for deer but also watching squirrels. It started getting darker and Mo checked the time; it was 4:15. I thought we were probably done for the day, but Mo told me we still had lots of time. Five minutes later, Mo whispers “There’s a deer! There’s a deer!” and I snap out of my Zen reverie. She indicates straight ahead about 70 yards. I catch a glimpse of a buck walking along a small ridge but he’s not easy to see because several tree trunks are in the way. I tell Mo and she says to shift just a bit toward her. When I do that, he stops and I see him perfectly between two tree trunks. He looks in our direction, I slowly raise my gun and look through my scope. I have a perfect view of the kill spot and totally focus on it. I pull the trigger and knew I hit him exactly right. Had he moved one more step, I would have lost him because the tree trunks would have blocked my view for a good shot. It all happened so fast. I felt like it was only seconds from when I saw him to when I pulled the trigger. I had no time for my heart to pound, hyper-ventilate, or even think. When I realized I had actually shot at a deer, I was in a bit of a daze so it was good we had to wait for a while before getting down from the tree stand. Finally, Mo, I, and Mo’s husband, Keith, who heard the shot, track the buck and we see him dead a short distance away. When we turned the head lamps on we saw he had 10 points! I had been so focused on my aim at the kill spot that I didn’t even notice the size of his antlers. I was so surprised and happy! Not only had I shot my first deer but it was a once-in-a-lifetime buck! Spending hours outdoors, learning new skills and meeting enthusiastic sportsmen and women has been absolutely great and the entire hunting experience has been amazing. In fact, it was more magical and exhilarating than I ever imagined. I feel so very fortunate to have had this opportunity. Everyone involved in the Field to Fork program has been extremely generous with their time, expertise and encouragement. The effort and dedication put in to make us successful is tremendous and anyone who wants to learn to hunt should take advantage of this program. A huge thank you to Bob, Mo, and all the folks from QDMA for providing me with an amazing life experience. I am totally hooked! I am already looking for opportunities to hunt next year. I hope to become experienced enough, so that one day, I can mentor others who want to learn and enjoy this fabulous experience.

No tape?

The nice thing about trying to sort that out would have been to look at the teeth. Beyond 2.5 it becomes subjective (wear estimates) unless the tooth is sent out but to differentiate between a fawn, 1.5 and 2.5/older in those three groups it is very objective based on what teeth are present.

I modified to be appropriate to the situation..lol

How does that saying go? The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

I'd bet that in most cases the spike was a late born fawn the previous year. Couple it with food source green up and will happen but is NO WAY an indicator of his potential. Going into his second year they pretty much even up with the other earlier born deer of the same age and you won't notice a difference. At that time is when you will see the genetics of the region start to show through but the food source variance in a year can still have a major impact.

JT's story of the hunt The Hunt Before sharing my story I just want to thank everyone that was involved in the Field to Fork program, without you none of this would have been possible. Walking up to the blind on the fourth day out, my mentor Bob Rose and I came across three deer, the first two a doe and her fawn. The mom and little one were relaxed watching Bob and I until suddenly they took off running. A big buck came sprinting out of the woods and chased the doe hoping for a chance to mate. This was the first time all season I had seen any animals at all, my heart was beating out of my chest and into my ears. Everything Bob instructed me to do seemed like a distant whisper even though we were side by side. Nothing presented itself for a shot so we proceeded to our blind. We sat for another two hours seeing some movement in the distance some humans, and some deer. Finally, a fawn came into the food plot ahead of us next to a standalone tree. We quietly watched and waited for other deer to join the little one. After having its fill of the food plot, it slowly crept away out of sight. At 4:25 with five to ten minutes left of shooting time, a spike horn buck came sprinting out of the woods directly into the food plot, just where the fawn had been. “Grab your gun!” Bob whispered nudging me towards the buck. I grabbed my shotgun and set my sights on him. Patiently waiting for him to turn board side Bob turned the magnification up on my scope while I kept my eye on him. “You feel solid?” Bob asked, I nodded my head and whispered “yes”, I took the safety off and squeezed the trigger. The deer winced as it took the slug and jumped to run up the hill, out of sight. We gave it a few minutes and proceeded to track it. We found if next to a tree after tracking its blood trail, it was still alive I shot again at ten yards and missed so Bob finished it off for me. Many people say their first deer gave them a big adrenaline rush similar to the one I described while walking to the blind. My adrenaline was pumping but I wasn’t shaking much I think all the excitement from the first 5 minutes of my hunt settled me down later I felt sturdy like all there was left to do was execute. I hit the deer from about 90 yards away. It was a proud moment for me. I’ve heard that as you get older the first-time experiences present themselves less and less. Im glad that I was able to experience my first hunting season ending with a deer to fill my freezer, while also experiencing the reality of not seeing anything for the majority of that time. Regardless of how my hunt turned out, the experience I had with the Field to fork program was one to be appreciative of. They teach you the fundamentals of shooting, processing, ethics of hunting, and many more valuable bits of information. If you are someone interested in hunting as an adult and don’t know where to start Field to fork was designed for you. I also can’t speak highly enough about the men and women that spend their free time teaching people how to hunt, it says a lot about the community and what they are willing to do for others.

But, but, but, you are just not reading and commenting on the posts becasue you are afraid of the "other" ones on here...lol

My biggest problem with him was there are many new people that come on here looking for information. He not only clouded up the good threads with junk posts but he would post up topics as either good practices or fact. His scope mounting thread comes to mind. New people in the sport or firearms use have a lot of misinformation to sort through but for the most part this site is pretty good at avoiding it.

Why would you clear wrap and Vacuum seal?

I wasn't impressed with any pricing I saw.

Personally I don't think you leave it in the freezer long enough to justify the chamber unit costs. I think that $300 unit you posted in the one Terry and I went to this year. It's heads above the Foodsaver we finally wore out.

I hear all the time "I wish Ii knew it was happening on such and such a date". Well it will be on March 14th at the Doubletree in Henrietta, NY. Doors open at 4:30 PM and Dinner is at 6:00 PM. There have been some members on here that have attended and I think they will confirm that this is a pretty good event. The prizes, meal and number of quality firearms that are there will not disappoint. So save the date and come see us for an evening of fun. This is the only fundraising event that we do as a branch and it provides the funds to put on the programs each year. I'll be posting highlights on here as we secure donations and prizes. If there are any HuntingNY members out there that would like to provide some sort of support to the branch in a form of donation of product or service, reach out to me. We have been successful in all kinds of relationships from guided hunts and fishing charter, to products and Taxidermy services and working out an arrangement that works for both parties. Great way to get your product or service in from to many potential consumers.

If you aren't needing a very portable blind but want one that can be moved and has GREAT room. I look at the Barronnett blinds. Specifically the OX 5. It is pentagon shaped and has a slot window as opposed to multiple zippered windows. I am 6'4" tall and can stand int he center of it. It comes with a bag with pack straps but it sure isn't a blind I'd want to take on a long haul. Can easily sit 3 https://www.barronettblinds.com/ground-blinds?gclid=CjwKCAiA58fvBRAzEiwAQW-hzWTIWoClBGg9E-b7bDpf177SrZgShJNjyC3E8JmIQ7EK-dtRLYHgaBoCoFIQAvD_BwE

I only have 12" chains on them. That should make the target area small enough. lol

want me to set some traps on those properties so you guys have targets that are just moving around in small circles? lol

neat. The guys that hunt the property next to our lease are from Long Island. They showed me a video that took while out fishing north of the Island. A white shark came cruising buy and right under their boat. It had to be 15-18' long. He said it was one of those "we need a bigger boat" moments.

You can have as many as you would like to carry as long as they are all single shots.

LOVE it happening just under the bell. Nice job Dan and doubling up with him. Are you guys all done or are there any ML hunts scheduled?

NZ and Catskill park only, back when.

Boy this needs a bump. This is an awesome scope. @WNYBuckHunter would fit nicely on the 300 Win mag

There really sin't a "mathematical" calculation. It really is habitat driven. In a property like I just saw all of those deer I wouldn't rely on a count like I saw becasue, even though it is a high population area that concentration was artificial. The property I was on ended up being a sanctuary because it didn't get hunted. I would start a late winter and early spring and summer trail camera census. Eyes on the ground works well to add to the trail cams. Above that I would also look at the natural food sources. How heavily is it being hit? is there a heavy brows line? Typically you can take 20-30% of the ADULT doe population to maintain the current population level. If you want to reduce the population it needs to be more.