Zem18

Good luck everyone and yes, be safe and be sure of your target and beyond.

Had pizza tonight but made this for Saturday night at camp. Baked Ziti with meatballs and hot Italian chicken sausage. Mmmm

Check with your local Elks club too. I know the one near me takes them in as donations (they do not pay you for them) and then they sell all of them and use the money to buy the Veterans Christmas presents who belong to the Elks club. Awesome idea all the way around.

Yes I have made it with cubed venison before as well. With smaller cubes of meat, you may have to adjust cook time a touch or heat on low to start, then add veggies and switch crockpot to high. Let me know how it turns out and take pics.

Opening day I will be on the ground next to a large Hemlock, the same spot I have hunted on the opener for the last 15+ years. Private land, 310 acres in the Catskills. I'm 70 yards from a saddle in a ridge and 40 yards from a finger that runs down off the ridge to a large flat. I can see north and south about 200 yards and east up the ridge about 130 yards. Multiple deer runs across the Hemlock flat I am in the middle of and several runs where the deer come down off the ridge, including the finger. Don't always see deer in this spot but when I do, the action is steady throughout the day. Sunday will be spent still hunting depending on Saturdays results. Only 7 of us this weekend so lots of land to cover if needed. Couple of the guys have 4 wheelers and head out for lunch. I stay out all day so when they head out, sometimes the deer head my way which is always good.

It's not so much about the Safe Act as it is about creating more new gun control laws that will not prevent the criminals from getting guns however they can. case in point is the story above. The only people affected by these new laws created within the Safe Act and outside of it are the responsible law abiding gun owners or those that want to own them. Just another example of an irresponsible gun owner and a criminal who thinks what isn't his really is his.

Saw this at work today and thought I'd share it for those that carry, those thinking about carrying, and those who don't see a need to carry. You just never know. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/15/passerby-shoots-kills-motorist-assaulting-deputy-after-traffic-stop.html?ref=yfp Some decent comments as well and of course some trash ones so everyone can voice their opinion.

Ok Elmo, here's my recipe, super simple. 1 or 2 boneless roasts from hind quarter(or neck roast or whatever venison you want to use) Put venison in crock pot. Use 1 or 2 packages of Onion soup mix or French onion soup mix(Lipton or Knorr) The soup mix says add 4 cups of water per package. I always use 3 cups of water and 1 cup of red table wine (Tug Boat Red table wine from NYS) Cook on high for no less than 2.5 to 3 hours. Then add whatever veggies you want. I add fresh onion, potatoes, celery, and carrots. Keep cooking on high in the crock pot for another 3 hours or until veggies are fork tender. Pull out the roast or meat and cut to desired size or pull apart. Last step is to make a rue, flour and water, or melted butter and flour, and use it to thicken the soup mix for a gravy. I dice up some scallions and sprinkle on top and grab some good bread and butter and enjoy.

Have any of you witnessed one happen in front of you? I saw one last night and the damn doe was still alive and trying to get up but her legs were all messed up. I kept driving as others had stopped but as I was driving away I couldn't help but think of that poor doe suffering in agony. I wanted to turn around and do something but I'm sure the cops were on the way as I passed one about a mile up the road prior to seeing this. I should have stopped to see if he dispatched it with his pistol. Busy road, right in front of a car wash.

Yup - Have a Remmy 870 26" smooth bore barrel and I use Federal Classic rifled slugs. Shoots just fine out to 50 and I don't usually have shots much further than that in the shotgun area I hunt. No choke for me though.

I sent you a PM

How about the lunar activity that was going on this past weekend and today (super moon) This might explain all the nighttime movement although Saturday did seem like a great daytime movement day for a lot of hunters on here. Seems every year I get a lot of trail cam pictures of larger mature bucks all at night and maybe 1 or 2 daytime photos of the same deer on days I did not hunt or couldn't hurt t. Then I always see the smaller younger deer while on stand. Also the doe have not been in as much at all and I believe this is because of food. Camera is set up on a crab apple tree in the inside corner of a field with Autumn Olive plots surround it for cover. 50 to 60 pictures a week this year with no apples. 200 to 400 per week last year with Apples. Food for thought

Ill be taking my Remington 788 in .243 down to camp this weekend. Remington 870 with Federal rifled 2 3/4 slugs for shotgun only areas back home ML is a CVA Kodiak Magnum - 100 grains of Pyrodex and 245gr TC shockwave sabots for late season.

Congrats on a fine deer. As everyone has said, any deer with a bow is a trophy so be proud and enjoy the memories afield.

11.13.16 am Was excited about Sunday mornings hunt after all the action on Saturday. Woke up slightly hungover as wife and I went out Saturday night with friends and got home at 1am. Alarm went off at 5:15 and I did not want to but forced myself to get out. Was chilly in the valley and a heavy frost so dressed in layers. Made it up on the hill and there was zero frost but plenty of wind yet again. I can't remember a bow season with this many windy days. AnywAys, the wind actually blew and then would die down but when it busted, leaves were flying everywhere. And that's all I saw for 3.5 hours were leaves and I wasn't amused. That super moon had the deer up all night according to the cameras. When I got home I packed up my bow in the case and put it away in the garage. I hate that feeling but I did get the gun cases out in preparation for this weekend. Should be at least 6 of us at camp this weekend. Friday can't get here soon enough. Good luck to all still bow hunting.

Rooting for you Wooly. Great journal entries. Love reading about everyone's excursions and the pictures add a certain flare not to be missed.

Congrats on your persistence. It paid off well. Great bucks.

Saw deer on the ride in this morning. Climbed up and watched the wind blow leaves off the trees for the next 3.5 hours. I wasn't amused. They had to have been moving last night with that moon. Good luck to those that can stay out midday today. Hunt Broome County this morning as well. It was dead out there today.

11.12.16 am Arrived at another property at 6am. It seemed very light out even though sunrise wasn't until 651am. We headed in and man was it crunchy. 3 steps from the tree line and I hear deer scattering away from us to the right. Too dark to see in the woods so we just kept going to get in stands and stop making noise. My buddy got to his stand and I continued on to the new stand he put up yesterday. I knew the general area but had a hard time finding it in the dark. After a few minutes I saw it and made a bee line for it. Climbed up and had to screw in some hooks to hang things. Just as I get the first screw in and hang my bow, I look left and hear steps in the leaves. My eyes are adjusting to the small amount of light in the woods and I can make out a fox sneaking past me about 15 to 20 yards out. He was stealthy in those crunchy leaves. At 644am I can here something off to my left again. This time I could see and hear it was larger than a fox. It was a small bodied 3 point wandering around in circles about 40 to 50 yards away. Eventually he headed off away from me in no big hurry. Buddy texted me and that deer walked past him at 12 yards before heading up towards me. I saw two pilliated woodpeckers within 30 yards of me. Man do they work hard on those trees making lots of racket. Around 830 my buddy texted me this - 4 does. And that was it. I texted back where? And no response for 20 minutes. Finally he said Under me. I laughed as he is in a 10 ft ladder stand so they were close. One actually bedded 30 yards away and was there for over 40 minutes watching, sit, stand, sit back down, stand back up. Funny stuff but all were small. Live decoys but no bucks came in. I walked down to him to leave and we bumped the bedded one in another spot as he thought she had moved on. Had brunch with my folks for my Moms birthday which was October 15th, yeah we've been busy. Made plan to go out around 3 with my buddy back to the in laws. 11.12.16 pm I headed up early around 1pm. Instead of my normal route to the stand, I took a different way to see if I could sneak in better. It worked and I didn't bump anything, although it was still crunchy. Ended up watching squirrels and amazingly 2 grouse walking around my stand. Was cool until the squirrels scared otherwise and then I jumped as they took off. My buddy texted me and asked if I was in the stand. I said yes but didn't realize he was on his way in to join me. I look back and see a 4pt crossing behind me. I hit the grunt tube and he stops on a dime. Stares for a few seconds my way and then turns towards me and is coming closer. Just then I hear something behind me. I look and it's my buddy. I say out loud, Stop. I hit the grunt again and the deer is hung up and then turns back. He continues on about 40yds away walking horizontally to me. Was fun to interact with him but had no intention of shooting. Buddy got in stand below me and settled in. He sends me a text and says he just jumped a 6 or 8pt just as he entered the trail I didn't take earlier. The started at each other for 10 seconds in disbelief and the buck bounded the opposite direction instead of up into the woods towards where I was sitting. I was getting my stuff together to get down. I had put my quiver on the bow and picked it up off the hanger. I reached for the arrow I had knocked and heard something heading my way. I took the quiver back off and peeked around the tree to see a buck heading horizontally to me but at only 20yards. I clipped my release to the d loop and then assessed the buck. His antlers were almost pure white and he was fairly wide, just about outside the ears. He has a fork on his left and then long spike on the right with a tiny brow tine. The decision was easy. I hung up the bow and the tried calling him back in as he walked away. No dice. Great day out there today. Saw 3 small bucks and 1 small doe. Hoping to see a mature deer tomorrow as it is my last bow hunt in the morning. Have errands and soccer in the afternoon.

New spot today. Had a red fox and a 3pt walk by already. Game on.

Nice and tasty. Nice shooting. Now get your son on one!!! Good luck.

11.10.16 What a beautiful morning it turned out to be. I was heading in on the trail and got my doe in heat spray out and proceeded to spray behind me as I walked in. It was crunchy and I heard a deer bounding away in front of me. I continued on and got within 15 yards of my stand and laid down some more spray. It was still dark but when I turned to go to the stand I saw the white tail and heard the deer crash away which was right next to my ladder stand. Had a weird occurrence at 7am when the in laws neighbor came out of his house screaming and running around in his underwear. 3 hours later the State Police and an ambulance showed up. No clue what happened but I'm sure he was strung out on something. At 9am I had a small bodied 4pt come down out of the woods. The wind was changing directions and it was blowing forme me to him. The scent trail I left was between us. He stopped at 40yds and started sniffing the air. Then he put his head down and walked away. No good shot opportunity and I never picked up the bow as I'm looking for something different. I was on stand until 1130 and decided I needed a break and I headed down to get the card out of the cam on my way out. Checked it and nothing but the button buck the past few days. Went to store and was headed back in by 1215. Stopped to put card back in and reset time due to daylight savings. Closed cam and turned towards woods and there is a 6pt staring at me. He saw me move and he turned and bolted. I grunted a few times to see if he'd come back but knew better than that. I switched to the upper stand for the afternoon and it was uneventful. Forgot to mention I did see 12 turkey run by early around 815 from the lower stand. Saw them again from the upper stand around 130. Also saw a grouse and a squirrel running side by side this morning. That was first for me. 9.5hours out there today and I'm whooped. Back to work tomorrow unfortunately. Plan to hit it hard this weekend as it will be my last chance with the bow. Buddy showed me some pics from 3 to 4am this morning at another property we can bow hunt. 3 different 8pts , a 4pt, and spike were harassing 5 does for an hour in front of the cam. One of the 8's is a slob with a high rack. He's hitting that property tomorrow and we will try it Saturday together.

Out of likes but like above. Hard day hunting today. Capping it off with this.

I'm fading fast. All this fresh air is making me sleepy. Steady 10 to 15 mph winds with some hefty gusts. Is it too much to ask for one more to walk by today?