New York Hillbilly

I can’t do pictures from my laptop. So here are the pictures from the phone and I’ll give details in a little while. Update: Ok...so now on my laptop. Here's my attempt at a sort version. I climbed up into my half finished elevated stand late at 3:15, because wife's sisters came over for a belated Thanksgiving dinner. About 4:15, I watched a medium sized doe and her two fawns browsing around a couple hundred yards away. Then a couple minutes after that I saw a big bodied deer way up the hill from me and thought it was a buck. That deer kept looking up the hill clearly watching another deer. Then as if on cue, all the deer in the fields began running around like they were playing tag. The big doe I thought was a buck came running down the hill toward my stand and I put the scope on her just as she slipped into the golden rod. I kept watching to see her pop out on a trail I mowed in front of the stand, but all at once she was totally to the right of where I was watching and I could not swing my rifle I had pointed out the window enough to get on her. With her not more than 40 yards from me now, standing broad side, I pulled my rifle back in and stood up from my chair and put the cross hairs on her vitals. She knew something was up, but before she could decide to bolt I fired. She went running into the thick stuff again after I shot, opposite direction from where she came, and I watched to see if she crossed the next mowed spot. I never saw her cross the next mowed area so I figured she either died or bedded down. Even though it was now passing sunset, I waited a bit rather than get right down. When I did get down I went to where she was standing and there was hair but no blood. Then I circled over to where she was headed and walked back in line with where she had been standing. I found her laying in the goldenrod about 50 yards from where I shot her. I walked over and got my 4 wheeler for the light to gut her, but all of the sudden several coyotes started howling and raising hell in the gully just below me. I'm talking really close, and I said no way was I messing around in the dark in blood and guts with them right there. So I left my wheeler running next to her, and went back to my stand to get my tractor to put her in the bucket because she was too heavy for me to lift on the wheeler. I couldn't even roll her into the bucket until I got my tractor down hill from her and get the assist of gravity. Once I had her loaded in the bucket I had to fool around a bit to get the tractor out of the gully we were in, but at least on the tractor I was not afraid the coyotes were gonna get me. lol I left my wheeler back in the field for the night and brought the deer back to the house in my tractor with no lights to gut her and get her hung up for the night. She's a big son of a gun, and if I can find my scale tomorrow I'll try to weigh her just out of curiosity. Mowing the fields like I did really made a difference, as I was able to see them finally. I know there was a buck in their chasing those does the way they were running around, and the one I shot actually smells rank like a buck. Now, I will try to see if I can find him!

LOL...... It did! I just got in from taking care of a seriously BIG doe I shot tonight. I'll try to post pics and write a short recap of how it went down. Very exciting hunt for me tonight. Happy! : )

Brush hogged a big chunk of neck high goldenrod, berry bushes and multi flora rose into patches and open spots this afternoon. When the deer are in there they are basically invisible. Let’s see if this helps.

Doe and her two fawns around 7:30 about 100 yards downhill. Otherwise dead as hell. Where are all the deer? Certainly not hunting pressure here.

Time with one’s son far out weighs money spent in my opinion. Money can be hard to come buy, but can be replaced. Whereas time, we can never have enough of or get back. Your priorities are straight in my book. Best wishes to you and your son for a fun day together!

On stand to finish off the day. Walked out the door and left Bills game playing on television, even though it’s been a good game. I guess I prefer game over ballgame!

In stand. Had a deer blast out of the bushes within ten yards of me when I was almost to my stand. Thought it was going to crash right through me. Good grief! That was a rush!

Despite all the very real challenges and hardships we face everyday; I hope everyone can find at least one thing to be thankful for today. Happy Thanksgiving!

A doe caught me off guard this morning as I was getting ready to leave. Figures, the whole hill is snow covered except where she was standing. But the wind was in my favor so I just stood still and she drifted off calmly. Managed to put another couple hours into this elevated blind I’ve been working on for weeks here and there. In it now, and being mostly closed in it feels pretty nice out of the wind. The one draw back though is; I am not a builder, so it feels a little wiggly to me. And, now I can’t get the theme song and opening scene from F Troop out of my head! : 0

Dead quiet again here. Except crows, turkeys and squirrels.

Pretty day in the woods, but dead quiet. One doe and fawn up hill about an hour ago. Otherwise nothing but red squirrels.

Gurgle gurgle and then back off come the hunting clothes. Well better here than up there in the wind I guess! Anyone else chasing deer this morning?

Repeated post. Not sure why? : )

Wow...what a buck! Fingers crossed he's still up and going for you to get a poke at him.

Clearly not what I’m wearing at the moment. Holy crap I’m cold in this wind!

This morning I picked option #3. Staring out window and ruminating. That is until around 10am. Then I went to shoot at a pumpkin at the same distance as the buck last night. I held in the middle of the pumpkin and shot low taking a swath put of the bottom along with dirt under it. Three more shots putting the cross hairs at the top edge of the pumpkin and all three shots through the middle of the pumpkin. Man that deer has no idea how lucky he was last night. Lesson learned. Headed out now for the last couple hours.

Same here, although with me still working full time at 63 (probably until I'm 80), time off can be a headache. I ended up taking off the next 2 weeks though, so I'll afford myself at least this morning to stay warm and attend to other things.

Sorry to hear. Stay safe! Went down the same road a year ago with bad surgery outcome. Damned near killed me. Literally! And gun season found me siting in a blind watching deer but unable to pull the trigger for fear of blowing my incision inside apart. I had several chances at the same really big buck within a few yards of me but could not muster the courage to risk pulling the trigger. My neighbor ended up shooting him.

Test question: 22 degrees + gusts at 29mph= 1. Freeze your ass and go anyway? 2.Stay in where it is warm and have breakfast? 3.Stare out the window for the next several hours in the warm house, and ruminate about how you should be outside freezing you ass chasing deer?

Just before sunset I watch a doe and her fawn enter the field above me, about 150 yards away. I watched them putter around there a bit, and then they walked the trail in front of me to the lower field. They passed about 60 yards, and I let them walk. About 15 minutes later here comes another deer into the upper field. This one is a nice 2.5 year old 8 point. For whatever reason it felt like my heart was gonna pound out of my chest. I was able to keep my head calm though and watched him feed in the upper field through my scope. I decided if I could get a good shot on him I would take it rather than wait for him to decide to follow the does because I was afraid it would be too dark. I let him browse around up there and kept the scope on his vitals. When he finally turned perfectly broadside, I even waited until his front leg on my side went forward, then held low with full intention to put it behind his elbow and into his heart. I pulled the trigger and he blew out of there like he was on fire. I waited a few minutes then got down, and slowly circled into the wind to try and get around in front of where he ran. I really though I would find him piled up as I circled to where he was standing when I shot. No blood, no hair, no deer! I got to where he was standing and there in the dirt directly under where he was standing is where the shot hit , leaving a gouge in the ground and dirt kicked all over from the miss. In hind site, I guess trying to hold so low was not such a good idea. Had I held mid body, I would be putting a pic of me and the deer on here. But, in the end it was a fun opening day, and I'm glad it was a clean miss rather than chasing a deer all over in the dark. : )

Back on stand. This time in the half built elevated blind. Sort of out of the wind (teeth chattering) and had to drag my ladder over here with my 4 wheeler because I now discovered I lost my truck key Fob!! I guess I’ll worry about that later. Yikes!!!! As I’m texting a close shot! Heart jump and instant warmth!

Very few shots heard this morning. The deer I saw so far are looking totally relaxed. With the cold though, it really had them on their feet and moving around.

Came out at 11. Toes finally thawed out. Man did they ache! Headed back out in a few,but this time sitting in the unfinished elevated box blind for the first time. At least my feet will not be on cold metal or the frozen ground. Let doe after doe walk by this morning. Three of them passed quietly together about 15-20 feet from the base of my tree. I can't believe there was not one buck in the crowd this morning. Let's see what the afternoon sit has to offer. Congrats to those who scored this morning!

Toes and phone freezing. Rest of me pretty toasty actually. Lots of does but no bucks yet. C’mon sunshine!

7m 6:36