Birdhunter

I have been hunting this piece of property at the end of a cul-de-sac for a few years now. So far, I have only taken does out of there as I have not seen any decent bucks. On this past Monday, my friend that lives there said that he saw a "nice" buck chasing a doe across the river in the woods that I hunt. I went there on Thanksgiving and saw a bunch of does and three different bucks...2 spikes and a 4 pt. This is typical of what I normally see there. I had no shots at the does and I decided to pass on the buck even though they were 30 yds. from me and I was holding my CVA Accura muzzy. Friday and Saturday morning it was the same deal...does but no shots and different small bucks in range. This morning I had a scraggly 3 pt. come by at 10 yds just as I got in the stand and I thought "here we go again". About 7:30, I hear sound form the swampy area and see a "nice" buck at 70 yds. I think "that's him" and at 50 yds. I bleat to get him to stop and he went down 10 yds. later. He is not a giant, but he is my personal best and I am proud that I had the patience to pass on all of those small bucks.

I made a mock scrape right behind my house in late Oct. I had quite a few small bucks show up and hit the scrape, but I also had this bobcat come in for a sniff.

Welcome aboard! I, too, am in Dutchess county. I live in the town of Beekman. Drop me a line sometime if you want to chat about the area.

Nice. I am heading up to the Indian Lake area this weekend and am going to grouse hunt and take in an afternoon in the treestand with my bow trying to fill a tag from last season.

Yes there is sound. I like the playsport because you can zoom pretty well with it, but as skyhunter said the bow recoil makes almost impossible to get an impact shot.

I used the Insane archery camera mount with my Kodak Playsport last season and it worked really well. Here is a video of a 7 point that came in and then caught my scent when the wind shifted....no doubt when he got me!!!

I got the two I wanted; 3G and 3S.

It is some private property that I manage for the owners near RT's 55 and 22 in Pawling. I have gotten pictures of them on this property for 3-4 years, but I have never seen one during the hunting season.

It is a 6 point with no brow tines....common genetics in the spot I hint in Pawling. Here is another pic of him and another small buck. Neither are as nice as some that I see on here but still nice to see!

Here are a mixed bag of critters I got on some private property I hunt in southern dutchess over the past few weeks. The white out on the bear pics was due to the camera facing the late afternoon sun, but still good enough to see.

Thanks everyone..this is why I posted it on here. I am not in a rush and I wanted to get some feedback on my choices as well as others that I didn't consider. You have not let me down.....I have more research to do and am going to head back to the gun store this weekend to handle a few more of the options that were mentioned.

Thanks for the replies, guys. The Sig is a nice gun, just a little more than I wanted to spend. I'll probably go and handle them all and see which one feels the best in my hand.

Hey everyone, I am in the market for a .380 for concealed carry. I have done my research and have narrowed my choices to the following; 1. Diamondback DB380 2. Ruger LCP380 3. S&W Bodyguard 380 4. Walther PK380 There are a ton of reviews on youtube, but I wanted to ask if anyone here has any personal experience with any of my choices to help me decide. Thanks. Birdhunter

Here is Brodie locked up on a bird from this past Fall:

Shared with my family my first venture into making sausage: First was venison with garlic, capers and ground anise seeds Second was pheasant, dried cranberries, chestnuts and sage Also had roasted potatoes and lemon-garlic string beans to go with it. Five stars from the family, but I was more critical...only 4 stars!! Food is good.

Bkln, I was in Somers (northern West.), where I have a couple of private spots to hunt through a friend that lives there. I was at Angle Fly in Somers this morning, but I didn't see anything. Bird

Drove down from Dutchess this morning to hunt one of my spots in northern westchester with one of my hunting buddies. I blew out some turkeys on their roost on the walk in to where I was going to climb, and after I got up in the tree and things settled, the few remaining ones flew down and started clucking to each other. Off to my left I see two coyotes come scampering down the hill towords them. I drew back at one at 20 yds. but he wouldn't stop, even with a "mouth kiss". It was amazing to watch him stalk the turkeys by walking on top of a rock wall, instead of walking in the leaves. The turkeys spotted him and flew off, so no breakfast for him! A little later my buddy texts me and says that deer are headed my way. I finally spot them downwind of me at 40-50 yds. and they are not wanting to go any further. They jump across a stone wall and I realize that there were 4-5 does and/or yearlings being chased by a half-racked 6 pt. I did not get a shot opportunity, but it was a great encounter. About an hour later, my buddy tells me that he shot a doe from a group of 3-4. As I am texting him congratulations, I look up and spot another group of does coming from another direction and I was able to shoot one of the mature does.

I was thinking the same thing Osborne. I am going to give it a good sit tomorrow morning, but I wanted to hunt in the PM as well. If it is dumping rain/snow I might go set up a blind so that I can at least feel like I have a better chance than staying at home! I don't know how much they will move in bad weather conditions, but the past two days I have seen and increase of sign and activity so what the heck!

Paulie, Make sure you don't wear your hunting clothes when you go clean up the dog...any deer down wind of you will be on red alert!!!

I like to hit the pheasant release sites in Putnam and Dutchess, but a Saturday opener = way too many hunters for my liking. I will give it a few days and go after work during the week. All of the birds are not taken and if you have a good dog, you can still get a couple of chances.

My favorite one is my avatar, me and Brodie on the beach in RI last summer. the second one is Brodie on point with a rabbit that came into the back yard. I don't usually encourage him to get too excited on game other than pheasant, grouse, etc., but he looked good so I went and got my camera.

It's funny how many people keep saying the same thing. I shot it this morning and shot it really well...I guess the grass isn't always greener...

Thanks for all of the input guys. Without a doubt, I have to go shoot some different ones and see which ones feel and fit me the best and then I can decide from there. I have a couple of bow shops in dutchess county with good reputations so I am going to visit them.

I was able to get one for 3G (medium prob.) and one for 3S (high prob.), so I did as well as I had hoped. Now I have to see if I can put them to use!

Not so much "theft" deterrent, but it will keep most people out of hunting your stand. It has knobs on the side of the railing that will allow you to remove the two middle steps. If you put this section toward the top of the ladder, someone "fit" could pull themselves up over this gap, but most of us......not so much!!