zeus1gdsm

Also I would like a longer barrel for pheasant and clays

Alright... So the 12g I plan on using appears to be a custom job. It has an exactly 18inch barrell a front sight as seen below and a screw in choke of some sort? Thoughts? This is 500a from the early 80s. I believe. Barrel says up to 3inch shells and cylinder bore. So a 26 inch vent rib will run me 120 to $200 on eBay.... So should pick up another barrel or take this to a smith in an attempt to find a tighter choke and have a bead/rifle sight permenantly mounted? Thoughts?

wow. excellent responses.... i appreciate it. looks like i have some shopping and some more reading to do. Woudl a crow locator call be fine for starting out? along with a slate call? do i Really need a decoy?

oh..... and im hooked. gotta get my bow ready and get the course out of the way for next season. as wella s some warmer Bib pants and warmer jacket.

SO I officially completed my first true season of deer hunting. I must say I am pretty proud of my dedication, I put in around 100hours total between regulars northern and southern and late muzzleloader. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for answering some of my posts. Even the more errr…. Negligent ones. And I wanted to share a list of achievements over this first season and follow it up with a short story of my final day. I sat through 10-20* temps shivering. I fell asleep a few times in the evening after going out in the morning as well.. I learned to be able to sit still for longer periods of time. I sorted my gear and got my insulation and necessities system parred down. I also realized how much sitting comfort plays a part in the enjoyment of the hunt. I learned to walk a little slower and softer. I only saw deer 2 times. I heard them 2 times. I learned how to better spot them in the woods. I learned more about deer moving and bedding habits. And I am sure there are others I am forgetting. So on my first time ever out with a rifle in my hand hunting I was sitting halfway down a large ridge that ran the length of a creek. Unfortuneartely I was not sitting far enough down and was treated to the sound of several deer crossing said creek about 50 yards outside my vision. In the middle of a text message id ropped my phone and readied to shoot. Only to see hide nor hair of them. On my second time out we were sitting on the same ridge in a different section where ( the deer always go) according to my “guide” on the way there he tells me the cleared a bunch of land a little farther down and did some logging. This time I saw doe, 2 of them come from crossing the creek and then trot directly away from us down towards where I had sat the first time. My first true sighting but no chance in heck of a shot. After an uneventful rest of the sit I went down and checked out where they had come from. Seemed to me that the logging and land changes had caused the deer to no longer move as far down the ridge / creek and were now using a split in the creek as a bridge to move from one side to the other and there was heavy trail showing such. Sure enough as we followed said ridge towards my first spot we heard 2 grunts of some sort down by the creek but nothing showed its head. For the rest of the season I saw NO Deer. I moved from 6k to 6p to 6r. The later 2 being large tracts of private land. I saw sign, oh boy did I see sign. Deer Super highways, rubs, beds etc. but no live deer. And so went the entire rest of the season, I had a week vacation, a couple 3-4 day weekends and spent every free moment in the woods. Getting in an hour before light many mornings in effort to be set before they showed. So came muzzleloader. My partner had an extra so I bought the tag. We went sat evening and sun all day on the final weekend. We let his father talk us into doing a stalk down through some swamp in an old crab apple orchard where we had spent a majority of our season…. Well needless to say the swamp was fine but the east end of the orchard was so over grown there was no lanes to speak of. So we humped the rest of the way to his stand and I made my way around the outside of the orchard to where a bordered a southern field, there was a defined small ridge here with an old old loggin trail that I had wanted to hunt all season. For this last day I had moved my chair over there the morning before, 10 feet down my ridge overlooking a small 30yards of marsh then up 10 feet to the ridge in question with a large corn field and creek on the other side. I get my husky self there with about 2.5 hours of shooting light/ time left. ( till legal sunset) I sit down. And strip a layer, remove my hat, get my water out. And in general and “preparing” to sit for the net 2 hours. All in all about 4 minutes of movement tops. As Im bringing my bottle down after a sip or water is ee a flash of white in the trees at the start of the logging road. I freeze. Sure enough 3 doe. As slowly as possible I set down the water and lift the rifle to my shoulder. Getting good and set. They stand for a minute and then go down the trail a decent trot. Sight is on the lead doe the entire time, but there is decent coverage in the way. Looking ahead I see a nice gap in 2 trees and move my sights in the middle to take a shot. Sure enough the doe goes right behind said trees and for a moment I have a solid block of unobstructed hide behind the sights. …… but she keeps moving and they disappear down the ridge. What happened? Well my brain didn’t think to make a bleat or something to try and stop them so I could shoot. And I told myself all season I would be someone who unloads at a moving deer in hopes they hit it. I told myself all year I would go for ethical and safe shots. I don’t want to send a deer to painfull drawn out death because we cant find her or the yotes get her. And so ended my first season of deer. Mother nature saw fit to taunt me for my first season at the ripe age of 30. Showing me the goal for a moment in the beginng and the end of the season. Like a drug dealer for an addict. Punishment for the previous years not putting the time in. Heres hoping I paid my dues and next year is more successful. Hind Sight 20/20…… I had an acceptable shot and should have taken it. The excitement of the situation delayed my reactions. Thanks all. I hope you enjoyed the read.

Thanks for the detailed responses guys! much appreciated. My hunting partner and I are going to go do some squirreling on state land to give his private land a break before we head in mid-april to do some turkey scouting....

After reasing several articles and threads on the interwebs I decided to come to my favorite sparring grounds for more focused questions. looking for reccomendations. 1) shorter barrel or longer barrel on the 12g? (using a 12g mossy 500) have a 18inch bead sight.. and im looking to get a 24-28inch vent rib for turkey. thoughts? 2) have some incoming bass pro gift cards is the specfic call / box i shoudl look into preferably under $50. 3) i know they "see color" and movement and camoflage tend to be even more paramount than deer hunting. any particular recomendations for the actual process of hunting turkey? 4) based on TV ( ) it seems the preferred spot would be small fields / clearings in the woods or power line runs / corn fields. As opposed to being "in the woods" does this apply for NYS? 5) preferred shot size? 6) any other tips you would give your son / grandson going for his first turkey season? Thanks in advance guys!

Lol that's how I feel... Will say that my hammock chair was wayyyy better than sitting on the ground

I should also state that I got hooked from my first outing and a bunch crossed the river in front of me like a herd of horses.... And no luck this year is just mother nature catching me up on the missed years since I just started at 30yrs old.. Only the other plus is that as a gear junkie I've had alot of time to refine my system. This sports like crack.

My first season this year.... I've been out every weekend of northern and southern rifle.... Multiple different wmu's. Saw 2 doe on ym 2nd outing and nothing since... Put about 1k into the sport as I had to buy everything.. My black guns are too pretty to get beatup in the woods.. I'm getting my muzzleloader tag today and cranking another heavy weekend and hoping for the best... Almost 80 hrs in the woods this year between using sick days/ vaca and the weekends

I wear 2 lower base layers a heavy and a mid weight... And 5 layers uptop. Heavy, mid and wicking... The pants and Becket I have are not insulted and better suited to fall conditions... Such is life on a small budget to get started for my first season

Packed it in at 930.. Shivering for an hour solid with no action.... Need warmer outers for next season

Awesome thanks! Gonna be busy next weekend... So I'll stay home with the FAM tonite

Great app is back country navigator.... Best $20 I ever spent... U download topo maps to you phone... Then all u need is GPS no cell service needed.... Can mark points and record tracks.... So far the topo has been very accurate... The "trails" in the daks not so much

So just to make sure I read the website right.... My buck tag is valid in late muzzleloader (this coming week) for doe or buck any wmu.... Plus the muzzleloader tag is either for any wmu..... What about my reg season doe tag ? Does it remain wmu specific?

Such is. Stateland. Was sitttingg 45 mins prior to sunrise.

Thanks for the advice. Will do

https://vimeo.com/113835576 Here I am. Point on a ridge overlooking a large flat with swamp all around it.

Right at sunrise someone let off 3 shots... I heard deer running through the swap on my right... I got ready as they were headed my way.... But they stopped... Shots were a few hundred yards away. Deer a little less... Stay or go? How long till the move again? Are deer as crunchy as us walking on these frozen leaves? Thanks from a noon.

Now this is what I would refer to as a slob hunter.. And I'm sure its something we can all agree on.... Not pictured are the 10-15 cigarette butts littering the ground...

This

Righto. Thanks

Absolutely littering would classify. But that goes outside the woods as well As a smoker I go as long as I can before giving in. And I do take moderate scent control procedures. I spray down real good before I head in... Don't use laundry detergent on my stuff. Just a cold water shower in the am. No deoderant. And keep my clothes on the back porch. That said... The first smoke will burn me if the wind doesn't play right. I'm more concerned about sound... Right now I'm looking for a stainless water bottle to replace my plastic one... Hate that crackle

Lol.I eat a venison steak in hopes they think I'm one of them lolz

Not a stir the pot post.. With the recent "slobs" posts. Gassing up was mentioned... I was checking to see if there was some other scientific reason to not get gas other than the possibility of taking the smell with you