First-light

Years ago I would run across guys in stand downing a beer. I stayed clear of them. Drinking is fine at my camp, I like my beer, most of us just have a couple and off to bed by 10. It's a different story wen your in your 20's now that we are all nearing middle age sleep is more important!

That sounds exciting. You almost closed the deal. He is a brute maybe the rut will bring him a bit closer.

Last weekend at the camp I had to leave in the middle of the day on Sunday. On my way back I drove past my property and past my neighbors camp. I look and say oh he put out a deer target. I turn around the truck and see it is a doe munching on the grass behind his trailer. I pull up and the doe is 15 yards from me. I take a few pictures call my brother and tell him what's going on. I bleat at the doe and she comes closer to the truck, now about 10 yards. I am amazed at how calm she was. I talk a bit more to my brother and it seems she has had enough and runs off with her tail between her legs. A close encounter for sure!

OMG! My kids love playing with all my gadgets, especially the game calls. Thanks for posting the pictures, for all of us with kids this goes hand and hand with what we love!

Way to go, awesome buck.

I'm worried about the flooding. This storm is going to sit on the NE for a while and it is so vast so many areas will be affected. WNY is right in its path.

Hunting all day 3rd, 4th and 5th. Throwing this storm in there will be interesting. Notice the full moon. Right when the storm is to hit, the tides will be nuts. Huntington and Centerport will be a flood zone for sure.

Do yourself a favor and check for clogs in your gutters and down spouts. #1 cause for basement flooding. Don't want to be doing that during the storm.

Did not read the whole thread. We were talking this weekend and wondered if you made a deer blind out of hay and corn stalks would that be baiting?

Nice job on the stalk!

Hi Amanda! Please be careful out there this year, you might be carrying the next Jim Shockey! lol You will have some great stories telling your child you were hunting 7 months pregnant. Hope you shoot a big one!

I did find a bullet hole through my Obama/Biden election sign at the cabin. Doe and Steve could ya fix that for me this weekend. Steve remind Doe to flush, he aint at his camp!

Interesting point you have. Thanks

In central NY it is going to be cold and wet all next week. What type of effect do you think weather like that has on the rut? We all know cold weather helps to get the rut going but what about the rain??

Oatmeal and coffee, ready to go. Dinner is the event!!

Thanks Culver.

Will black bears go after the cubs and kill them so they can mate with the sow? The big bear I had last weekend was on the sow and three cubs scent. Momma and cubs were hauling ass through the woods.

I bought some rental property in Corning and while at the lawyers office I picked up my abstract for the camp property I have. I have the history of the property (original docs) all the way back to 1798. There are wills, death certificates, legal actions, lumber contracts and so on. Original owners were the Spaldings/Pulteney's estates. Real interesting. I believe these documents need to go back into safe keeping. Too much history to lose.

I am cracking up in my office right now! You guys are too funny. Yes we need to bring the kill average up, that's why the kid I mentored comes back every year, he won't miss.

I saw a total of 6 bear on Saturday. Sow and 3 cubs and two lone males. 1 male was about 100lbs the other 250. The little one came back to my mock scrape 4 times pawing and licking at the deer urine.

Dave I know we suck but it was two misses. Too much buck fever going around, lol.

Just got back in from the most exciting three day hunt I have ever had! I was at camp with my brother this weekend. Weather was great and the game was abundant! Saturday morning I saw 6 doe, 4 buck, 4 bear and 1 coyote!!! Two doe came by my stand around 7 and a big buck was following in the thick brush. He was grunting the whole time and stunk of the rut. I didn't get a shot but saw him for a few minutes and could tell it was the tall buck from two weeks ago. around 8 a sow and three cubs came through and they were moving, something was bothering them. A yote came by with a haircut my brother gave him! lol. About 10:30 I got down and made a mock scrape about twenty yards above my stand. When I got back in around 2 I freshened it up with doe and buck pee. So what do you think happens??? At 2:10 a black bear comes down to the scrpe and is licking and pawing at the dirt, never saw this before. He was small about 100lbs. I didn't shoot, just watched. Well he came back 3 times in the next two hours. At one point he was right under my stand smelling the scent trail. He was acting real odd. About 5:30 I see black in the brush from wher the small bear was coming and going, it wasn't him but his big brother. He didn't come to the scrape by was bent on following the trail made by the sow and cubs. He was about 30 yards out and I got full draw on him and he winded me. I never saw a bear move so fast. It was an amazing day. My brother had an extra video camera with him and gave it to me before the afternoon hunt and I forgot it at the cabin. Would of made some nice video. I see a nice buck Sunday morning but nothing in the afternoon. My brother sees some deer but no shots. We did notice that the deer were feeding in the middle of the afternoon in the field behind my cabin. They were out Sat-Mon afternoon around 1 each day. A couple-three doe each day. This morning did not end the way I wanted it to. I had a broken rack 8 pt come in at 20 yrds. I settled the pin on his chest and hit him very low in the brisket. Little blood on the fletchings but a lot of white hair. He bled real good for about 100 yards and then it was on and off. We tracked that deer for 4 hrs. He actually went by a number of scrapes and rubs and never bedded down. He finally started to clot and it got real spotty then eventually stopped. We both talked about the lack of bedding down and the scrapes he was visiting maybe it didn't bother him too much. Don't know but I'm sure he is fine. The bears were amazing, their numbers are growing in 8P. While tracking the deer we went through some real thick pines and there was bear scat everywhere. Will be back up in two weeks. The smaller bucks seem to not respond to much calling or scent. That one big buck was all rutted up, he was ready! Won't be long now!!

Out of here, good luck all!

It's going to be a nice morning and you can watch this: http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/19/how-to-watch-the-orionid-meteor-shower/?hpt=hp_t3

So close.....seems you have a good spot there hope you get a whack at them.