Northsox65

Being Retired Military, I have lived and Hunted in California, South Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Maine, and New York. If I had my choice I would Probably Retire in Missouri, ( 4 seasons, Lower Cost of living, nice Deer Hunting and Fishing), However I do love NY for its beauty and the wildlife, and like you all its the Cost of Living and the Taxes that really suck, however I can hunt Deer from Oct 1st to Jan 31st, I can fish the Finger lakes and catch just about anything my heart desires, and yes the winters are bad, but they are much easier to deal with then the winters from the 60's and 70's that I remember as a kid.

I love taking the Grandkids Fishing, just sitting on the bank with a worm on the hook, the bobber floating and enjoying nature. This was Sunday on Cayuga Lake, both kids caught little pearch and had a blast.

My life long passion is Mechanical, I can pretty much work on and fix any engine, however working on Jet engines has caused me some pretty significant hearing loss so after I retired from the Military I became an accountant, I still do all my own maintenance on all my Vehicles and my kids cars/trucks, but during the day until I turn 62 I sit at a desk and look at numbers all day.

Why don't you ask how much the Insurance is, and if its not that much pay for it yourself.

US Air Force 1984-2005 Crew Chief A-10 Warthog Desert Storm Vet, been all over the world, Met many Friends along the way, wouldn't change a thing, enjoyed every minute!

I will take the 20th-22nd off, the 23rd is Thanksgiving so that's a gimme, and after that I might have to call in sick from the tree stand if a cold front moves in,,,,,,,

I live in Ithaca (Tompkins County) and Hunt here as well.

Just wondering how many people will be out Hunting Does this weekend in the Fingerlakes? Weather looks perfect, too bad these next 2 days looks pretty warm and will probably melt most of the snow. I will keep you posted on my Progress.

Takes me back when I was younger and I was hunting on Public land near Syracuse, I came across a hunter who was following tracks in the snow and noticed this hunter had a gun that cost more than my truck and a scope that could see a deer a mile away, he said he was following the biggest set of deer tracks he had ever seen, the deer must be well over 200lbs he said, I didn't have the heart to tell them he was following rabbit tracks,,,,,,lol

Its funny that someone brought this subject up, I have been thinking about this a lot lately, especially on the days I was sitting in my stand, cold, wind gusting 30mph, nothing moving asking myself "why"? Just on this Forum we have Deer Hunters from all walks of life, Rich/Poor, High school dropouts/College Graduates, People who drive hours to chase the all mighty Whitetail. All for what? 50-60lbs of meat? For me its in my blood, I grew up in a Hunting Family back in a time when everyone hunted, now we live in a different time and we are definitely the minority. I am the only one in my family that still hunts, and like most of you I probably will till I die,,,,,,,,,,

I am happy the way it is, maybe because starting Jan 14th I can legally go back out and shoot 2 does a day till Jan 31st, gotta love living in a DMFA zone.

Fletch, When I was younger I hunted a lot of the land on Sixty road, Potter RD, Long before Radison development went in, My old man and I used to get a deer every year over there, however back then there were many more hunters and the deer would move almost all day.

I will be hunting the same spot In 7H (Cornell) like I have been for the past 6-7 yrs, Tompkins County is Shotgun only so I will be using my 12 gauge H&R Ultra Slug Hunter, My son will be right beside me with his 1187, I went out scouting last weekend and there is tons of scrapes/rubs within 50 yards of my stand so I am anxiously waiting for Saturday Morning!

I hunt out of a 2 seater tree stand, If I am alone I have plenty of room, If my sons with me, It all depends on what side of the stand we see the deer on and the other person has to hold the coffee, I am going to invent a coffee cup holder this year to attach to my safety rail, it will also act as a gun rest.

I take Double chocolate Chip Chocolate muffins on my morning hunts, It might be a form of Baiting, however usually around 9am when I get one of these out with my steaming hot coffee I see deer. Have done this for many tears and it seams to work.

My last name is Bowersox, so for years Sox was my Nickname, (In the Military they called me Sgt Sox). I picked NorthSox because New York is in the North. 65 is the year I was Born. My First name is Mark and I am a Deer Killer,,,,,

I have access to 3,400 ac, however I have only scouted and hunt about 100 of that.

In My Opinion, there are a lot less hunters now than there were in the 70's and 80's, I remember hunting not far from Fletch in 3-rivers and there would be hundreds of cars/trucks opening week, use to hear gunshots all day and many deer dragged out of the woods, Thanksgiving was the same with deer drives and many deer hanging in front yards,,,,,,I drove up there a couple years ago and I think I counted 15 cars on the whole WMU. Sad!

My view, love the hard woods! No worries, can sit here all day without a care in the world!

Deer are probably one of the toughest animals to kill, I hit a nice buck on RT 81 about 20yrs ago in my Dakota, it took out the drivers side Grill, Headlight, Fender and put one hell of a dent in my door, I was doing 65ish and he hit me out of nowhere, I watched him in my drivers side mirror rolling and skidding on the pavement, I pulled over and got out and watched him get up and run through the field like nothing happened, I thought for sure he was going to be deader than a doornail after the collision, but nope. So when people tell me they made a good hit and could not find the deer I always remember that deer way back then!

For all you, I forgot to mention that I hunt with shotgun only, I have never bow hunted and listening to some of you that have hit the deer with an arrow and found little to no blood and spent days looking for your deer doesn't sound like my idea of fun. As for neck shots, the deer laying in my profile pic was shot in the neck last year, He had his Head to the ground sniffing for a doe and was coming straight at me, when he finally lifted his head up I shot him in what I call the "paper Plate", the white patch on his neck. He dropped in his tracks.

Many years ago a wise hunter taught me to always aim for the Opposite shoulder, this works for any direction the deer is except if he is coming straight at you. I have used this logic for 40 years and I have never had to track a deer longer than 50 yards, I must say that over the years I have learned that neck shots are deadly and the is no tracking.

I live and Hunt in Tompkins County which is still Shotgun only, (why? Good Question). I use my H&R 12 guage single-shot ultra deer slayer. I got a 4X shotgun scope on top of her and I carry this gun because it is the most accurate slug gun I have ever shot and I have killed every deer I have aimed at and it will continue to kill any deer I want in the freezer in the future!

Hunted Public land in 7H, Killed 1 buck in gun season, worse season in my 35 yrs of hunting. saw a total of 3 deer in the woods all season.