accman

Our club has been using a 3 pt on a side for about 8 years now. Before we'd get an 8 sometimes or couple of 6's, and a lot of spike and 4's. Usually around 12 deer a year out of 25 hunters. Since we implemented the program, we now get at least a couple of 10's or larger, and all the rest at least six pointers with an occasional 4 or 5. This was done on a 650 acre area, with surrounding areas not following the same rules, taking does, buttons, and spikes. We dropped our first year with restrictions to 7 deer taken, but that was after a bad winter the previous year. After that we always had at least 10 and now the numbers are up. We know of clubs close by that still shoot all the young ones and does, and all they get are spikes and 4's, and that's all they'll ever get. This year were going to a mandatory 5 pt rule, but most of us still won't shoot unless it's an older deer. In fact, the owners okayed us taking a couple of does off the area, whereas we weren't allowed to before. It's a lottery system for our guys, 1 hunter a day, and only the last week of rifle. I'm sure that it won't be hardly be used cause we're so accustomed to not taking a doe anyway. Isn't it better when your walking through an area and see a big rack rather than nothin but spikes. It's called "buck fever" for a reason. "Doe fever" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

I live in Yonkers, and sometimes go over to Empire City for entertainment. They have some good restaurants, good brews, and lots of fun. I know people who overindulge in gaming, but they'd do it here or somewhere else by betting the ponies, heading to A/C or CT, wherever. People can't wait for the NYS Keno to come on everyday so they can play their numbers and spend all their money. The Catch-22 is if we don't pass it, we lose the revenue for our state. How many people are out of work next to the Concord ? The Monticello Raceway is not the answer, just a poor outlet for gaming. I'm originally from that area, and it can definitely use a shot in the arm. Same goes for the Buffalo area, and other cities in our state.

As survey's go, 1 or 2% of the population cannot adequately give the state a true feel for hunters opinions. They should have handed out the survey to everyone who purchased a NY big game license, printed one more label, and had you mail it in by the end of the year. They could have scanned in all the votes. I think asking what WMU you hunt in including multiple areas would have been beneficial. Looks like a great survey and I'm a hunter who usually lets the small ones go, doesn't shoot doe, want's no reduction in rifle time, and will do whatever it takes to further the sport. I'm not against hunters taking whatever they want, as long as they can use it. How can I take the food out of their mouths. I can't judge what's right for other people, only myself. Hope something good comes out of this time and effort.

C'mon guys !!! Haven't you ever seen a "Deer Gut" !

You KNOW what's gonna happen now! We're gonna see it on Primos, the ultimate "Wristscent Rocket", which shoots biodegradable pellets filled with the ultimate "Wristscent Doe Estrous". Yours for only $49.95.

Welllll There you have it folks. Another exciting edition of "Real Hunters of New York State!" Tune in next week when we ask the "Real" question, "Standing or Stalking, Which is Really Hunting ?"

I'm on the crazier side of eating. I don't eat breakfast or lunch, just have coffee all day, (1 sugar), and then I "gavone" at night. I know it's the worst possible scenario for trying to lose or maintain any weight. The body needs to have a breakfast to get the metabolism started to burn up the fat, but I just don't take the time to prepare anything. I lose the weight during lent cause I'm cognizant of taking the time to have a light breakfast, a light lunch, drink more water, and lay off all the alcohol. Sounds easy, but you have to want to do the right thing, and stick with it for the long haul. It's a tought commitment, and with such a big family, there's always excuses to go off the beaten path. I know I'm my own worst enemy.

Warren's story above is exactly like mine, only he did something about it. My problem is I think I'm invincible (as my wife tells me all the time), that even with this weight, I can walk the mountain, take a long hike, play some basketball, etc. I'm a borderline diabetic, just a heart attack waiting to happen. Most people don't do anything about their physical problems till it's too late. I hope to God I'm not one of those people.

I would look up your local DEC agents, call one, and anonymously ask what you should do in your case. Do not call from home or your cell phone. If they say take it down, fine, if they say leave a note, fine. At least you heard it from the horses mouth. Also, when you leave the note, give them your number and the name and number of the DEC agent you spoke with. Chances are when he sees DEC AGENT Officer .......... and the number, he won't bother you again, because of the baiting.

I'm over 60, and I'd love to lose 30 lbs and get down to my "fighting weight", but I'm not fighting anymore, so whose kidding who. I usually lose 10 to 15 lbs during lent cause I give up drinking. The other 318 days are mine, so I'm not giving that up ! And I love to cook too much. I throw way to much butter in everything, and besides, it's a basic food group. Everything I make is in 20 qt pots and either put in frozen containers or given out to family. I make up too many excuses for not losing the weight, but I'm starting a walking regiment with the wife which is small, only a mile and a half a day, but I'm still in good enough shape to walk 10 to 15 miles at a clip and have done it twice in the last year. If I stepped it up a bit, I know I'd get in shape a lot faster and cut down on the drinking and carbs, yada, yada, yada, but I've just got to learn moderation. My oldest boy is getting married next June, so I have to get in shape for that. If that's the case, better start now during hunting season cause it'll just be harder later on.

It's not meat vs trophy, but its ethical or unethical is the sign of the true hunter. Bait em, or food plot; 2 blade rage or can I get away with the 3 blade, sunrise or if the moons bright enough, he's down. It's a matter of the angel and the devil sitting on our shoulders, telling us to do the right thing and the devil saying, "No one's around, go ahead". We fight these battles all the time and hopefully, always do the right thing. As long as I can look myself in the mirror and know I do the right thing, then that's all that counts.

Make sure you talk to the land owner from whom you lease the property. Let him know you plan on calling the DEC, just as a courtesy call. Not that it legally matters, but is the property posted? If it is, then it's like the situation where we hunt. We found a hang on, took it down, left our number to call, and posted one of our posters right on the tree, just to remind him he had to have seen our posters when walking in. He never called or came back. We told the property owner, and he said to drive him or anyone else off the property cause nobody else had permission. Before we used the property, there was no poster signs on it. We went out, had them made, and put them up. I know that had to piss off a lot of people, but at least the owner's happy with it.

I don't care for heavy masks, tried em, and too constricting. The caps used for turkey hunting with the pull down mesh is just enough during bow and is breathable and comes down easy if you don't feel like wearing it all the time.

I know the deer have great sight anyway, but the full moon has been unbelievably bright going in the a.m. and maybe their nocturnal habits change during these full phases. If there getting to pre rut, they can be eating and chasing all night long and feel very comfortable to just sleep most of the day. Once it gets to full rut, there's no stopping em and they should move all the time. I'm just throwing that out, don't know for sure.

I'm with Papist on this one. I use 1 sight, in at 25 yards, and I'll take 5 shots at the target from 15,20,25,30,35 to get use to adjusting for distance. At 15 yards, I have to aim 2" lower and 35 about 3" higher. It's great to shoot from 40,45, and 50, but only for practice. Some day, maybe after a little more practice and confidence, I'd change to a 3 sight, but I'm comfortable now. Let's get the first deer, at a comfortable range, then figure logistics later.

I know I'll get a shot, sooner or later, but it doesn't matter if I get one or not. I'm hunting from October 1 to December 31st, every weekend just about. How can I complain when I get out that much. I do fairly well during rifle season, so bow season is the true test for me to see them, watch em, and learn from them. And besides, I get to help my ((*@#() son drag his out from bowhunting every year, so I've got that going for me!!! (LOL)

Thanks for the great comments and congrats to my son. He's a far better hunter than I ever was. And I believe the picture doesn't really do the dog justice, but if you get a closeup, I believe he was a black dachshund. And the gentlemen that came down was great. Sometimes you just have to get lucky.

If it were me, I'd have given him $60. He was on his own with this, he had a hundred in his pocket and gave it to the guy who said he would pass the donation on. A lot of guys and girls donate their time and efforts and it's not for the money, it's just for a good cause. They're helping hunters in need and should really be commended on a great program and great people.

Belo was right about taking some time, wash your clothes and spray everything down. With the rut right around the corner, try a drag line, even some bleating, grunting, and maybe even rattle. Sometimes it's the little things that pay big dividends. I've hunted for 45 years, 9 years with a bow, haven't gottin one bow hunting yet, but I've had more fun, and great opportunities than if I didn't bow hunt. Seen a lot of big deer, learned patience, just one more step away from filling a tag. My son gets one just about every year and they've all been real nice. It's tough when the "family" kids you "How many have YOU shot ?" and I tell em "The right buck just hasn't come along yet!!!" And besides, it gets me out of the house every weekend till Xmas. Here's what you do when you tired of listening to it - Take 2 Margaritas and call me in the morning. Gun seasons right around the corner. Best of luck and god bless.

My son hunted my stand on Sunday morning and shot at a nice 8 pointer at 7:30. He took a 43 yard shot, knew he hit it, and it took off up the hill and to really thick stuff. He waited an hour and headed over but found no blood. He followed where the deer headed, found the arrow, covered in a clear liquid and some other stuff on it. He put the arrow in the ground looked up the trail and still no blood. He came home and looked up "Gut shot deer" and other material on the subject and they all said let it sit for 8 to 12 hours. Instead, he called find deer search, who said they'd try to send somebody and he'd call back. He came down around 2:00 and they found the original spot where he'd shot, hit the arrow on the trail, and the dog kept going up the hill. Within minutes, the dog started pawing at some high grass area, and sure enough, the deer bedding back in there, and was dead. No blood at all. It turned out it was a great heart shot, but closed up right away, even where bedding down. Thanks to deer search, and an interesting thing he said is that he called them right away without disturbing the area. Too many times, hunters go in, disrupt the whole area and make it hard to find a good scent trail. Anyway, the buck may still be alive if I were in the stand instead cause I won't take a 40 yard shot. I may have to practice a lot more at 40 and 50 yards to even think about it. Hopefully, he left me a nicer deer, but it's still a long season to go. We'll see!!

Might have to give a light tap on the horns myself tomorrow. A light grunt and light rattling could bring them around for curiousity, specially since we set up some mock scrapes in the area. But I won't use the scents or bleats till full rutting.

Only have the one from last years 7 pointer

The rut won't kick in in the southern zone for at least 2 weeks. When I start to see the deer chasing after one another, then I start with a light dragline of tinks. You really know when it's the heavy rut cause there are tons of dead deer on the highways. Normally we'll see one or two, but when you start to see 8 or 9, you know they're getting pretty stupid.

Saturday morning, way off, I see this coy coming my way, back right side. Got up,turned, bow in hand, ready to draw, and he finally got to about 30 yds and stopped. I pulled back slow and he spotted the movement and took off. It was just the slightest movement and he pegged me good. Three does about an hour later came from the same direction. I stood up and waited for them to go by the back of me, leaned to the opposite side and I practiced drawing on the last doe, would have been about a 25 yard shot, didn't spook em, and would have been a nice shot (I just dislike killing does). This is my first time in this new setup, and I know they come from that direction a lot, but it takes a while to really know where your vunerable. I have no coverup and I'm in a 15' ladder stand in between 4 trees, but still, any movement is noticeable. Hopefully get another chance at the coy, if not, I know there in the area where we rifle, so who knows, could get lucky.

This past weekend was my first chance to hunt and it was just a little too warm. Had contact with everyone elses problems from downshifting big wheelers, cars, tons of motorcycles, chain saws, duck-hunters, squirrels, chipmunks, birds all over, mosquitoes, and your trying your best to just hear the rustle of deer coming is just about impossible. The squirrels running all around, you turn around finally to take a shot at them, and there's a deer looking right at you, and your thinking "REALLY".