dbHunterNY

it's low reported rate everywhere. it certainly doesn't help because it's overly cautious. if less are being "filled" they think it's because the opportunity wasn't there. they don't divulge a lot but what i've gotten from them is just that. i know they typically go off buck take objective but that's not accurate in a unit with ARs. the BTO accounts for basically any buck capable of breeding is also being a legal deer for harvest and an index for deer population. they won't make any drastic change in numbers from year to year though. that's what i've gathered from talking to them. you could email Albany or call with the question.

the problem here is throughout the season we'll get snow in the morning then by midday it's melting off on certain slopes. i've gotten snow camo heavy duty cotton coverups from cabelas. jacket and pants that are bigger to wear over your normal outer layers. it works very well. i've sat in the middle of snow covered 30 acre field with the sun at my back overlooking a swamp. had deer walk right up to and past me with close bow range. never knew i was there until they looked back. also have snow camo McNett wrap for gear.

not my area but some good info already setup. any questions should be asked. lots of experience in this forum.

i needed that this past weekend. stupid coyotes should go chase down their own food.

have to have reasonable cause that a law is being or has been broken on your property. otherwise no. if questioned and don't have any specific sure cause then you can accompany them to the end of your property or driveway. that said if you're not doing anything wrong there's no reason not to be cordial and welcome them. they get a bad rep. although some ECO's i will admit make it very difficult to improve their relations with the hunting community, they all aren't evil.

this popped up but i guess i'm a little late. welcome to the forum.

congrats Wolc. it'll be tender.

you screwed up the other stand looks way closer. i mean someone could come out periodically to top off your coffee. so much to learn with this bowhunting thing.

what the heck do you call a snowbird that travels in the wrong direction? not a joke either, i'm asking in a befuddled state.

where are you located?

a couple years ago snow was hitting hard Sunday morning of opening weekend. got up the mountain early with the truck and our access roads. roads sucked still. nobody out. my younger inexperienced cousin put his truck in a ditch right ahead of me. we made it in but then had to cut our way out moving downed trees. aggressive tires, tire chains, and the button that turns of traction/stability control was all needed just to get back down. lol i saw and filmed quit a few quite a few good up and coming bucks heading from one patch of thermal cover to the next looking for doe.

pressure is taking a dive and the rest of the conditions i've taken tomorrow off. i'll recheck a couple guns but bow hunt in the morning or throughout the day depending on how much snow hits and when. the orange army that is my extended family will fumble onto the mountain and i'll sit in a natural funnel between the two major portions of timber and adjacent to the swamp sanctuary. i'll probably see every buck around at some point this weekend. all previous patterns are history when opening day hits. i hunt the doe based on where the hunters are unknowingly driving them to.

much much longer ago we got a ton of snow out this way. i remember the only way to get around was to drive snowmobiles. was probably 17 or so years ago.

i think there's enough estimates here to form a consensus. congrats on the buck!

sorry to hear it but it couldn't had ended much better it seems. congrats on the memories. seems like you're doing it all right.

you'll have to get the Vertix. they've said they designed it with the bowhunter. lol

still on the hunt for a spalted hardwood tree on the farm. i'll have it stabilized and made into a gun stock by some place like Altamont Co. Probably put it on a Remington Model 7600 with a short Hart custom barrel. that'd be a safe queen by wouldn't leave my side otherwise if i could help it. would have to get trigger work done. they were horrid.

the 30-30 is an old winchester model 94 carbine... didn't specify in my last post.

it depends on my mood and what i can confirm is sighted in before saturday. i've got my stainless walnut browning abolt ii stalker 30-06, winchester model 70 300 win mag, or the rem 742 semi-auto 30-06 that i got from my grandfather. right now my brother's using my dad's 30-30 that we've all used to take our first deer with.

man that thing is nice... must have bought it from a real big sucker. lol

i have an older now Nikon Riflehunter 1000 that back then cost me $350. display details turn from black to illuminated red in low light. it's got angle compensation as in this part of NE NY there's lots of large ridges, cliffs, valleys, and slopes you're shooting down into. another thing if you want to range things at 600 yards you don't get a rangefinder that only goes out to 600 yards. it'll be harder to get a reading. get one that goes out to 1000 yards and ranging things at say 600 or 750 will be take much less effort to get a reading. mine goes out to 1000 yards which is nice because that means it comes with 6x magnification. i use it as a rangefinder and binos while on stand where distances are limited.

with a throat to feed that much meat down to the auger at one time you're spending a lot. i've used little fractional HP cheaper ones a couple times and it plain sucked. I'm still using a Hobart from my dad's old general store. older than i am. it weighs enough i hate moving it despite it's still a countertop model but it'll suck down a whole front shoulder cut into backstrap thick strips within a minute. i've thought about getting a smaller one to leave at my house as the Hobart's at the farm/parent's house. i looked at whatever Gander Moutain carried when they went out of business. i took it apart in the store and the fit for the blade and auger assemblies wasn't that great.

rod and gun club (for their clubhouse/bar) is that i lived next door to. i just tell them what to pick me up and give them the money. your right though it's hit or miss it seems. they have stuff on sale and stuff normal price just like a regular store. i don't go their often.

i'll let it hang if temp is 40 or less and i have time later to deal with it. hind quarters up so blood isn't draining into them and heat isn't trapped in the chest cavity. skin left on to reduce waste and drying out. otherwise it gets boned out and put in meat totes to wet age and finish draining in the fridge drain grate on bottom so the meat isn't sitting in drained blood and body fluid. venison is lean and doesn't have fibrous tissue and fat content like beef. won't do much more for aging after a week or so. aging won't fix you leaving trimmings, fat, and connective tissue on the meat. got to clean as much of that off as feasible even for ground meat.

include a small battery powered fan for air circulation. just don't let it sit in drainage from the meat. same with meat. set a bakers cooling rack on the bottom to keep the meat of the bottom and out of the drained blood. that's what i'd do. you're trying to dry age and not wet age right?