wooly

LOL- only if they brought it back before noon!

I always thought calling them kits was a little strange. No turkey running around today but these frisky little fellas ran around me at the den for 3 hrs. There were 6 total and in the time I spent watching them they caught a snake and brought a red squirrel back to the den to fight over for lunch. I think they just had them laying around and picked them up to play with. Never saw a momma.

Nah, I'm officialy DONE! Woods here are loaded with turkey hunters this year. I'll let them have there fun without interuption from me. I got a solid 4 months out of this year.

Yup, that works! That freshies a dandy, nice finds and good luck matching him up.

Nope, I like to play with them too often. Putting them in storage where nobody can touch them would be considered antler abuse,lol.

Congrats, sounds like a good hike but for some reason your pics aren't showing for me.

Thanks everyone! Guys, I'm at a loss for words to describe this crazy season anymore. Got my 8'th set and 36'th horn today.....I can't believe this season,lol. Four more to go I guess... Here's what I first saw. As you can imagine I was already thrilled with that. I snapped the ATL and stood up to scan for the mate. Sure enough it was hiding in the grass a few feet away. I didn't get the best pic....the sun was making it hard to see what my camera was seeing but they're both in there. outta the grass..they're in great condition for being on the ground a year.

Guess I gotta go with match now! Thank you t_barb for your kind comments. I'd love to give you an estimated # of hours or miles but I honestly have no clue....let's just say not enough to find 40 yet, but I'm working on it,lol. There weren't too many days I didn't find some time to get out for a hike. Luck is probably 50% of it for me and the other 50% is just being persistant and enjoying my alone time outdoors whether I get lucky or not....it keeps me coming back for more!

Muzzy- those are the DEC's new and improved "Robo Bucks"! They hold their headgear year round and run on a track,lol. Glad ya didn't pop that sucka!

I'm retracting my statement that this horn doesn't match antler #2 for the season. Took a closer look today and I'm gonna call them a match set. Not sure if it's the chewed tines that make them "unbalanced" or the slightly longer main beam...part of why I questioned it. Add the missing brow tine on the left side and the color difference for more scrutiny. Granted, one was on top of the leaves while the other was burried. Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention they were found about 150 yds apart. ....but then I look at the similarities in the bases. Almost a carbon copy how they deteriorated around the burr. ...and a view from behind just to confirm my thoughts. Curious what you guys think. Match or no? This could be my 7'th set on the year.

Sorry guys if this seems like the post that wont go away but I got #34 today! Still picking through the lower section of the hill today when I spotted a little oldie laying in an island hemlock patch in the open woods. The recent snow had him covering up in the leaves to keep warm. We still got about 3" up at the top of the hill...it's not quite the elevation change some of you see in the mountains, but it's definately a steep hard hike to the top. I'm pretty pumped to still be turning up antlers pretty regular this time of year but I sure don't want season to end with an oldie.

...doesn't seem to me that burrying potential evidence would be a good idea for a CO to have to deal with. I'd imagine if any of us saw someone burrying deer carcasses it might raise some suspision.

I'd like to offer my FREE "bone removal" services with the purchase of any new mower. I'll even check your woods to make sure none of them find their way on to your lawn...just an extra precautionary measure because I care.

Thanks ny hunter, it's been my pleasure...beginners luck had a lot to do with it,lol!

I suppose it wouldn't be that bad for the cameraman, but his buddy must be a real chit-head!

I don't know, and I don't wanna know...but something tells me these stands STINK,lol!

Thanks guys! I've given up on my thicket searches as it's gotten too thick now. Decided to look for some horns behind the house today in the open woods. I already covered the top of the hill pretty good where it flattens out so I switched tactics today and began to cover the bottom 3'rd closer to the road. Went the better part of the day without a find when I came across another little old skull. Further up the same ridge I walked right up antler #33 sitting beside a scrape! I didn't get it in my ATL. This guy still has the wax ring. I wonder how long it's been off. No luck with the mate. The days finds. Looks like somebody tried to cut the rack off the little deadhead but decided it wasn't worth the effort,lol!

He looks like you picked him off the stuffed animal rack at the toy store,lol! Cute little bugger that Milo is!

They've really gotten fired up here this week. Put one to bed a couple hundred yards off the front porch tonight. Hoping to get out in the morning with the camera and snap his mug shot!

This has been a pretty good post. I like your persistance Doc, even if you don't get the results you're after! I'm not sure you want to diffuse your flash as most would think the obvious solution. My understanding is you need to change/filter the amount of light reaching your cameras sensor for propper close-up exposure not alter the flash output. The only ways I know to do that is by manipulating shutter speeds, apperature, or ISO settings. I doubt you'll be monkeying with any of that though,lol. My opinion is the only way you could accomplish this with a production trail cam is to filter the lens somehow to decrease the light that reaches the sensor on a rather long night time exposure these cams tend to have. Maybe try some of the different colored kitchen plastic wraps by Glad or Renolds wrap strechd tight across the lens opening. I've always wanted to try that myself but never got around to it. I'd be interested to see what, if any affect that would have. Obviously that would have some affect on your daytime shots too so keep that in mind. I know in the DSLR world using different filters can have really dramatic, more appealing results to the final image without all the blown out highlights. ...or if you keep using it the way it was intended to be used, that will probably work out pretty good for ya too,lol! Looking forward to any further experimentations you may try...just thought I'd throw that at ya. Here's another homebrew link for ya. www.camtrapper.com

Wow, lot of good that umbrella's gonna do when it starts raining lead! .... the backside of that thing should be a mirror with a jackass in it,lol

Take your time erussell, I'll take care of woodland clean-up for ya,lol. No luck with sheds today but I did find another fresh dead buck. Not a massive rack but he's a real nice 8pt with a 20" spread. Off to the wall of shame for this guy! I've come to the conclusion I need to get a bigger pac too,lol.

Good haul guys! ...and to think those crazy Chinese grind them suckers up and put them in pills to make you feel better. I feel better just LOOKING at them,lol

Same here erussell, that's why my range covers about 30miles. I know I said I was done looking, but that's just how I trick the rest of the antlers to come out of hiding. Went to do a little mountain biking in the park today and I found this little guy. Ok, maybe I locked the bike to a tree and took a little stroll. I'll do a little more biking tomorrow. #32!

Yeah Ed, there were 5 total in other shots.