KEVA

I agree, every hunter should shoot what he or she wants to shoot as long as it is within the law. Of course, hunting on a lease or some one else property may also affect what you may or may not shoot. As some have mentioned filling other people's tags, STOP. Filling other hunters' tags is harmful to management and disrespectful to your fellow hunters.

bvet, you are right that food source is the primary factor. Yet by observing the deer in an area over the years, you can come to fairly accurate age estimates using the antlers. Deer in the same area are likely to have a similar diet and as such should grow antlers at the same approximate rate. Judging age by antler mass, length, and spread may not be entirely accurate, but it is very field applicable.

Nice rub and nice buck!

Congrats on a nice buck! It appears to be 1.5 years old. I would pass. Passed on 2.5 year old 8 point today so I can honestly say I would let him go. The 1.5 year olds taste great though. Whether or not you take him is dependent on a lot of factors. 3Hrookie, Most spikes and fork horns are two in the same, I don't know why one would be willing to take a fork and not a spike. If a DMP fills your freezer and you want a chance on a nice buck I would pass those little ones up, but if you need more meat put one down. The young ones taste better anyways.

I stand corrected, you can only not use a rifle during an open season for deer if rifles are prohibited for use on deer. Yet I bet it is the rarest of occasions that some one shooting before legal light is actually shooting a coyote. I do not know where the caliber concept came from, maybe another state I was considering hunting or some other regulations.

It may be coyote season, but I believe if you are hunting coyotes at night during deer season you need to use a small caliber. I think it must be smaller than a .223, but I may be mistaken. Maybe some one here will pipe in. Picking out a small caliber shot from a large would not be too difficult. A shot on Friday at 3 would most likely be some one checking there gun. I know I was shooting mine on Friday. A single shot would not be strange if some one were already confident in there rifle and just wanted to make sure it did not get bumped around too much.

The rear lights should not be white though. Maybe people on atvs? The lights seemed to travel to smoothly too. I would not drive through a field that fast in unless on an atv.

I took a nice six point without brow tines last year. Curious to know if it is genetics or not. Most bucks I have photos of appear to have brow tines though so I am not too concerned.

Nice picture! I don't think the one on the left stands much of a chance of coming out on top of this one.

Buckthebuck, why kill him? It is a small wild cat? It is not a dangerous animal, no reason to violate the law to protect your children from a harmless animal. If it is legal, I have no problem with some one taking a bobcat. But illegally killing a bobcat because of some ridiculous concern is unacceptable. I cannot recall hearing of a bobcat attack before. I don't know how you manage to walk through the woods if you fear a bobcat...

You are right, trespassing is not a DEC only issue, but in regards to trespassing to hunt the DEC would be the best equipped to handle the situation. It is something that they fully understand, and the PD may not want to get involved. Yes the documenting and going up the ladder may work, but why go through all the trouble if the DEC would handle it in the first place? The DEC relates well to the outdoorsman and can also recognize any other laws the trespasser is violating.

The half life of vaginal mucous is not important. So what if it's functionality deteriorates that fast, it still will emit a smell that bucks would learn to or instinctively recognize beyond those 45 seconds. A short half life does not mean the odor will also be short lived. Too much research and observation supports that bucks rely heavily on scent to find does in heat. I am still rather young and have witnessed a good number of bucks passing through, nose to the ground, shortly after a doe passed through. I do not use scents often, but definitely can see them as being beneficial.

Trespassers are a pain. I have confronted a good number. I always set my gun down before approaching them as you do not want guns in the mix. As a local who confronts locals it is especially annoying. I make my approach obvious and stand close enough that they can't raise their gun either. Have yet to get the DEC involved, but will if I catch repeat offenders. Maybe point cameras at the stands you are finding cigarette butts. Be stern too. I normally ask them what they are doing then if they have permission. As it is my family's land I know the correct answer to that question, but ask anyways. It is surprising how some respond. One guy pointed to the neighboring property and asked if my family owned it, I responded "No, we rent it." He actually told me he could hunt there then. I smirked and looked him in the eye. I told him, "You CANNOT hunt there without permission, and I will be informing the land owner of your behavior." We got the landowners permission and posted the property the following day. I have a feeling they still sneak onto our property, but if so they will be caught eventually and the DEC will be involved. Arrogant trespassers are the worst, the funny thing is they feel my family wronged them.

It qualifies as antlerless as it does not have any points exceeding 3 inches. I believe three inches is the limit. So you would use your antlerless tag. And six points is an antler restriction that is applied in some hunting areas. Most areas do not have antler restrictions and you can therefore take any buck. If you shoot a fawn you should use an antlerless tag. Check the WMU that you hunt for any special regulations or antler restrictions. Looks too big to be a button buck to me.

Those are ridiculous. How far did that ricocheted bullet travel!? What rough luck. The first guy should never be allowed to hold a gun again. Who looks down the barrel of a loaded gun, let alone after a miss fire. The guy who shot himself with the pistol took it pretty well, it will leave one nasty scar.

I have one stand that is around 28', but that is a result of being at the bottom of a hill.

Man, he is taking a beating on this one. If the picture was clearer people would be more appreciative. It is amazing what some deer manage to survive through. They are tough. Some one needs to practice shooting a little more though.

Northern Chenango County is about as descriptive as I am willing to get on here. There are plenty of yotes in the area. I seemed to have seen more this past year. This camera is in an especially well trafficked area. That pathway seems to funnel them. The deer however do not mind going through the thick brush, and while many nice bucks reside on the property not once has that camera location caught one of them. I think the path is a little too convenient for the older bucks to risk. If you send me a PM after the deer seasons are all wrapped up in December I may be able to get you out after some, not that I am a very good coyote hunter. I just have access to a good bit of coyote territory.

Is there an arrow protruding from the deer's head? otherwise I did not notice anything.

Hate dogs!? That hits close to the heart! I hate dogs that run deer and are not under the owners control, but I am a dog person.

As long as we are sharing opinions... I would say cats belong in the house. Any fox that is killing cats is a friend of mine. Cats destroy small game and song bird populations. You are right, people can do what they please as long as it is within the law. I just don't like killing without a purpose, and foxes are a beautiful animal. I have been considering building a camera, just not sure about the cost yet.

Nice photos! Looks like you have a healthy buck population. Some very nice deer.

Yea, I love the behavior and appearances of foxes. I have a good number of photos of them, but my camera does not have such clarity and vivid colors. What camera is that buy the way? Looks like it uses a flash, but has a very impressive photo.

Chenango county. They tend to congregate on this property as it is near a swamp and a good portion is not capable of being farmed. We have one person who traps it, and we shoot them on sight, but there are a lot. Hopefully I will have our spotlight in good order and get a bunch of them out this winter. Had more pictures of them at this location than deer. Surprisingly their are a good number of fawns on this property each year too. I don't know how they live in such close proximity and survive, I am sure some don't. I watched a coyote eying up two fawns with their mother during archery seasons one year. The doe parading back and forth establishing a line where the coyote should not cross. A nice buck stepped out after a few minutes about 30 yards from the coyote. Lowered his head without even stepping and that coyote ran off tail between its legs. Fun to watch.

Might be, but they look too glossy and all are resting on the deer.