Five Seasons

christmas week is when it goes down. it's hard to wrap my head around it. Bow season was a joke. Part of it being that I was brand new to the area, but they're just not moving. The rut is what really makes Bow season fun. At the end of the day it's all i have for the next year or 2 so I'll take what I can get.

the weekend warrior is what helps a lot of hunters harvest a deer during gun season. If it wasn't for other hunters bumping deer that'd be all hunkered down and you'd never see anything brown. Especially on public land.

Connected on my first Mississippi deer yesterday morning. Overslept and was in the tree with my climber at 7:30 and instead of 5:30. Around 10:15 she came out of nowhere on a b-line to me full sprint. Saw me and froze and then took off quartering away behind the tree. I stopped her with my mouth at about 50 yards. Shot was high but worked out as I put one through the back of her neck with the CVA Optima. She fell over like a tree. Had I had better action on the public land over the last few months I probably would have waited to see if it was a buck on her but I couldn't pass up the meat. Tough drag out of those ravines in Upper Sardis even with a cart. She weighed in at 75lbs. which is decent size down here and I now have 2 doe in the freezer so it's time to hunt for horns. The rut is still 2 weeks away! It's not even rifle season yet

Instead of uploading pics it's easy to just use the image tags. But when trying to do so it will respond telling you the extension is not allowed. I know cabelas for one won't work.

It's fair enough. There are generally 2 buckets of hunters that most but not all hunters fall into. Sometimes these online debates get hit because of the 2 different buckets. That 400 pounder at kfc isn't helping your health insurance premiums. So now this is a measuring contest with you? I haven't been a member here my whole hunting life, but I suppose you have a secret knowledge of my hunting career. Why do you fail to acknowledge that my only point was about increasing the odds? I haven't back peddled once. I even expanded upon my list of slobs. I invite you to the south to hunt public land. The rut is still 2 weeks away... But I'm sure your situation is comparable. Is your wife 8 months pregnant too? How old are you?

2 possibly 3. At leas 2 have been posted here. Now I hunt on unscouted public land in the south so I'd be happy to fill the freezer this year... But I guess you didn't read my whole rant. It's about odds. It's not about results. Do you load your gun with 3 rounds when you can have 7? Do you go on a date without washing your boys? Don't be silly with what I'm trying to say. I will do whatever I can to increase my odds of getting a mature deer. If that means a good scent control regiment than that's what I'll do. I don't know why I'm even debating it. It's been proven and I'd bet 95% of the BOW hunters on here have some form of scent control program. You're not using tide to wash your gear are you doewhacker? Given a young family and a career I don't get a lot of time. An excuse I know, but I've been busted drawing, I've flat out missed, I've not taken some risky shots and I've had deer scent me. Still for 7 years of bow hunting that's not too bad.

yes. And let me cut you off right there, my comment regarding a loaded gun at dark and the doe tags do not indicate I've ever broken one of those rules. There's so many subtle nuances to 6 NYCRR that nobody knows them all. And this I know because working in the environmental field I've read practically the whole thing on water, air and waste and you still can't get it all. overweight and not having a medical condition causing it is sloppy. handicapped is not your fault. I told you I push for perfection. That includes sound mind and sound body. Maybe it's because I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 5. But there is very little excuse for poor eating and lack of exercise. Treat your body and your mind like a temple and you will live longer, feel better and be happier. All proven through medical research... but hey there I go again being an elitist for wanting people to be healthy.

most states say 500in2. that's a hat and a vest. no big deal to most. i love these statements. Someone how this protects you against a trespasser and robbery...

why can't we post extension to pictures anymore? used to be limited but now it seems like I can't link to any picture.

with no ill intent Grow. You really need to write a book. I don't know if you drink or fish and you probably think too poorly of my "internet self" but I'd love to go out on a boat with you on a nice saturday.

too many variables. We throw the term out "i still kill deer" a lot in this thread. But I can smoke a cigar and shoot a yearling buck or doe. I can not take scent control precautions and still shoot a booner. I believe those that truly go out to trophy hunt mature deer take very careful precautions. It just boils down to increasing your odds. Some may consider it a waste of time and money but scent control can not hurt you. Lack of control can. You absolutely can kill big bucks both ways. Maybe big bucks aren't your goal and it's not important to you, that's fine. I find it sloppy to wear oily clothes in the tree stand. It's my opinion and nothing more and I could care less what "just rob" thinks of it. To know a guy who is surgical with scent control who doesn't shoot big deer and one who is not can come down to many things. The area they hunt being the biggest factor, or perhaps the scent control guy is a bad shot or gets busted moving. I'm not sure why a whole thread had to be rededicated to one comment only I made (unless I missed the others). It's no secret i have stubborn opinions. Get over it. I believe in doing everything I can to give me the best chance to shoot a nice deer. Starts with hours in the woods during the off season, includes practice with my weapon, includes taking care of my equipment and buying the gear that will keep me warm and comfortable. Includes purchasing the best ammo I can afford etc. It's not to say that any hunter who doesn't practice scent control doesn't do any of these things. Hunting is hunting. Too many variables go into play that you cannot attribute success to ozonics or scent lok base layers or your new high speed bow. Does $500 worth of game cameras guarantee you a deer? of course not. they might help you prioritize your time though. I could hunt day and and night stinking like a pig and eventually I will kill a deer because the wind will be right. But with a family of 4 and a busy career I don't have that luxury so I try to make every minute count. I don't know maybe it's the engineer in me. I don't believe in being sloppy. I strive for excellence in everything I do and it has fared me well in life, but is a type A personality that will rarely win a lot of friends. I assume the debate here is more about the comment about hunters being called slobs, than it is about scent being important. That is essentially a proven fact at this point. Even a surgical hunter has had a doe blow. But how many cig smokers didn't even know they had a buck coming the other way that winded them and booked?

because it's being sloppy. Sloppy hunting like sloppy housekeeping or eating by definition makes you a slob.

should NY do away with helmet and seat bell laws too?

it's probably less of an issue during gun than bow as you don't need the deer as close. It boils down to doing every little thing I can to increase my odds and really nothing more. The elitism probably comes from the hunter who complains he never sees any deer and then gets all upset when someone offers him some advice that he didn't ask for. I don't wear my outer layer in my truck. I wear slip on shoes in the truck. I keep the outer layer in scent lok bag and dress outer layer and boots when I arrive at location, spray down and do the same on exit. I hang everything outside and wash anything that gets sweaty and I still see deer cut my tracks. Hunt how you want I guess is the mantra we follow on this forum. And that's ok with me and truthfully you can smoke a cig in the stand and still shoot a booner if the odds are right. I just like to do all I can to help my odds.

i would, but only on public land. Honestly during these times I'm hardly ever actually moving through the woods. I'm in a stand, blind or hunkered down waiting on that natural movement. If it's even the slightest bit dark chances are i have my headlamp on. If you shoot at a headlamp than i don't know what to tell you.

Good luck is all I have to say. Stuff like this ends up in the good ole boys club and doesn't get resolved unless it's on video and the media picks it up.

Great resort to name calling. A true sign of intelligence in a healthy debate. You claimed it was easy to show right from wrong. Just in one page my example proved that there are differences in opinion on if abortion is right or wrong. I guess it doesn't surprise me that you and a flew others flew off the handle. It was simply an example that what is right to you is not right for others and that's where terms like values, morals and ethics become tricky. Was that so hard?

Clearly you missed my point. Laws are constantly being made and changed based off of someone's opinion of what's ethical. And this includes the many woman in congress. But because that point seemed to fly over your head, how about I change my question to asking if the death penalty is right or wrong.

So is abortion right or wrong?

ummm I don't know where you live, but that's exactly what legislators attempt to do. It is why we vote on legalization of marijuana, gambling, abortion, death penalty, gay marriage, right to die etc. Most of what politicians campaign on is ethics. Even economics, spread the wealth to the poor because it is unethical for one man to be rich and another to starve. I'm not saying it's right, but law at it's core is an attempt to stabilize society around a group of principals, morals and values.

don't beat yourself up. A hard earned deer towards the end of the season can be more rewarding than the big 8 who shows up in early October. In my short hunting life I shot a bb I thought was a doe, a 5 I thought was a lot bigger and a very small doe which I thought was bigger. Having standards is good, but when we're burned out and frustrated they can fall. Sort of like 2am last call at a bar I think it gets easier the longer you hunt and helps build motivation to scout better, control your scent and practice and prep more for the coming years. I have no doubt a lot of deer are wounded by hunters who are desperate and just fire away. I think a lot of guys try to harvest a freezer doe early just to avoid this kind of thing and I've begin subscribing to that philosophy. At the end of the day you made a good shot and have a good eating deer you worked hard for. Put the horns up in the barn as a reminder to work even harder. Also, I've never understood the hunter who knows he missed. Too many deer act differently to know for sure you missed. Hope he tracked it at least a little ways.

not ok to talk about deer stories from the woods.

I get where he was going, but not sure I would call it unethical. The key word is public land. Lots of guys just hoping to even see a deer. So for someone to shoot multiple does suck a little. Had I not just started hunting public land I wouldn't have seen this side. Those of us who do hunt public land know that killing a small 6 can be just as hard if not harder than a nice 8 on private land. So I get it. It falls in line with letting the bench players get some time in the game when you're up 28 in the 4th quarter.

those we vote in. And now here in lies the problem. With big pockets corporation will get a say. With big pockets, the socialists will get a say. With charisma, the poor will find a leader and get their way. It is why I will go full circle and restate that not everything in life that is illegal is unethical and vise versa.

my comment was really more of a thought. I've never made up my mind on either shot. They're low probability and I dont take them (on purpose haha). Just not sure I would beat someone up, eventhough I have. I flip flop on this one.