First-light

Thanks guys. Burt- I'm no pro by any means. If I had to pick one of the two that makes me sucessfull at it.....I can't... it is both! As for your predicament, here's what I'd do. Cover the fields first. They will stand out here most obvious. I don't put to much faith in them because they are the areas covered first by any and all looking for antlers. If you keep tabs on the fields throughout the shedding season and don't have much competition, you can bring home a mess of horns if that's where they were. From here I'd move along to your bedding areas. Try to cover as many trails as you can leading into these spots. You'll never accomplish it thouroughly enough in a day so sometimes you just need to go back and follow a different path. The terrain will tell you how fast or slow you need to move. Most of my sheds are spotted within feet of me so don't expect tall tines to jump out at you like a neon sign. One pass through an area that turns up nothing might turn up a few next hike. We never rescue them all. :'( North facing slope, south facing slope, east and west. Cover them all in the same fashion. Obviously your souths are gonna melt out first and like I've said before, they are hot spots...but deer are free and travel where they desire so you can't rule out any other slope directions. Once you get on some antlers, you start to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I've been hauling in a mess of oldies this year in one location and never found a freshy. Now that a few freshys are showing up at a different spot not far from here tells me where they've been spending their time doing daily things. My search expands now around this area untill I think I've covered it good enough before I move on to the next. You just gotta keep doing that untill greenup or when you run out of time or propperty to hunt. Heck even durring the dawg days of summer I've caught a few. If you're not looking you wont find them no matter what time of year or how good a spot. Staying focused on picking out any piece of an antler or anything that looks like one I'd have to say will be your best bet. Good luck! Thanks! I report back on Sunday.

Nice, going to give it a go this Saturday. Hope is doesn't rain that much.

Those are great, that is a river otter? We had three of them in my sisters pond in Westchester. You could be entertained all day watching them.

2pt's against the Flyers a hard fought game. I'll take it! Do I dare say Go Canes! 1-1 in the third.

WNY, Yes your right, you did say there would be more overhead in a previous response, that is a fact.

Thats because you apparently dont understand the way things like that work in a business environment. They dont hold your $25 at the clerks office, it all needs to be accounted for, on the way in and on the way out. How about the refunds? They arent gonna give you cash back, it would have to be a direct deposit or check, all of which cost money to make happen. While they are holding the money, the need to keep account of it. Like I said, too much overhead. I am going to make a point here like it or not. Now Pat has earned his rep on this board but in the last couple of days has been real good with back and forth talk. Starting a statement saying "Thats because you apparently dont understand the way things like that work in a business environment." is a negative and condescending. Pat's post was good and maybe the response should of been plain and simple-I think there is too much overhead for that, I don't think it will work. Look at what just happened, now Antler and Bubba are joining in on the kill. You as a moderator are asking Pat to tone it down and he's trying. I think you could of done a better job responding to him.

Yea publishing names could get sticky but I think a hunter would love to see their name "up on the board". There could be so many options available to the hunter. Pat good idea, DEC wants to keep down the population you get more back for a doe, least back for a buck 2.5 or younger.

Wooly, do you think it's the time you put in or your knowledge of where to look that makes you a pro at this? Probably go hand and hand. I'm going up next weekend I have some nice bedding areas a north facing slope and a field to check, what would you do?

In the air tonight, Phil Collins

It's amazing that the sow left her two cubs with those guys while she fished. Those guys have some balls being with all those bears. I guess with fish so plentiful the bears weren't going after them.

What better way to get guys to report, shows you when, where and how you harvested your deer.

I would like to see an interactive website from the DEC. Gives you real time information about what's going on in your area. You report your harvest and see the numbers appear on screen. Take it a bit further how about the name of the person and the information about the harvest. That way you will know if your neighbor who has been bragging about the nice 8 pt and two does hanging in the barn reported his deer. I know you can report online but the two times I tried it didn't work. This day and age all kind of information can be calculated real time to give you an update about the season.

This is an amazing photo shoot from F&S. http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2011/03/grizzly-bears-cubs-photos-wild-fight-war?cmpid=enews040111

I've seen some real big ones come out of there, pretty big territory and thick but it's in the perfect area surrounded by agricultural land.

Love those picture, I can hear them right now!

This is in the general chit chat forum so here it goes, Heineken light or Carona.

Don't you know it, I just hate losing to them......

Maybe, I just hate playing the devils last game.

Just my 2cents. This thread is funny and it looks like other people think the same. As for the weed thread, it should of never been named "Pat's weed thread" and if you didn't like the name Pat, you should of asked for it to be removed.

I'm sick to my stomach!!!!!! 6-2 loss to the Islanders. I see right now a shoot out with the devils last game of the season to see if we make the play offs. Deja vu..................it don't go well.

I have, wasn't too long ago you and I were going at it about the Hunting video I found on YouTube. (The guy who shoots the doe in the head.) Yea your doing a better job, this is an outlet for you. You have to keep yourself together for your wife and three boys. Do what you have to do but keep a forging ahead and things will get better. These guys wouldn't be dealing with you if they didn't like you. Pat you have some funny lines that crack me up. Be well

Now that would be freaken boring.

3 boys eh, you are going to have a ball! At some point their going to bust yours!

Watch "my cousin Vinny" you'll find out what a yoy is.

At some point traditions will die. I have two girls, I try my best to teach them and get them involved. If they don't take up the sport I hope they retain enough of what I taught them to pass it along to their kids. In my camp we have only one 80 year old left from the old timers. Traditions he had at Indian lake died years ago-I hope he can make my camp this year, I'll be waiting to drive him up and listen to 6 hours of the old days at Indian lake. Stories I have heard a million times but I listen like it was my first....... Wooly- loved the Grandma stuff- that was good.