Zem18

You can't kill em from the couch. I took the day off tomorrow for one last try. I plan to still hunt most of the day but the wife has other projects for me as well. Good luck if you go out.

I'm late to the party, but ill play along. CVA Kodiak Magnum 50 cal Cabelas Pine Ridge 2-7 x 32 scope 100grains of pyrodex pellets TC Mag Express sabots with 240 grains XTP bullets Federal No. 209A primers

Speaking of Old Milwaukee, I have this old picture of my Dad back in November of 1979 when he took this 10 pointer. Check out the can in his hand.

12-20-15 My buddy cancelled on me last night so we didn't go to his club for the morning. I called another buddy and him and his dad were heading to the 100 acre woods, so I asked what time should I meet them as I wanted to get a crack at the doe I saw yesterday. They were meeting early to shoot the $h!t at like 630am. I told them I'd be there by 7am. I rolled around the corner and my lights hit them in the face and it was 7:01. I got out and we chatted for a few as I got the rest of my gear out. Then a clue other guys pulled up so we decided to see where everyone was headed and make a plan for some pushes. We were going.g to sit for a bit and then a few would move to certain areas to see if we could get some moving. It was almost shooting time so we headed to our spots. I walked approximately 50 yards and headed down an old logging road, just like yesterday. It was extra crunchy this morning so I was going as slow as I could. As I rounded a corner, I could see down into a small flat at the bottom of the hill. I scanned it back and forth for a minute and did not see anything so I kept moving forward. I took 5 steps and looked straight down to the bottom and just to the right of the logging road there is a deer staring up at me. I get it in the scope and it is not huge, but will be a great eating deer for some guys I know at work. I try to settle the crosshairs on her but I am shaking like a beech leaf on a windy day. I took a few deep breaths and tried again. Man I was all hyped up for some reason and could not get steady. If I moved to the closest tree, the deer would bolt. She turned her head away from me and I dropped to one knee. Now she turned to look back up at me after I had knelt down. I was able to take a few more breaths and get the crosshairs settled and I squeezed. As the smoke cleared, I saw her tip over, and another deer that had been behind her, behind a tree, darted off towards my buddy and his dad. I wasn't in the woods 10 minutes and it was over. Was nice to see some deer moving through the woods naturally this year during gun season rather than chasing ones that have been pushed and pressured. I have a few guys at work that love venison and do not hunt. They also don't have a lot so I have been looking for a larger deer to split amongst them. I decided it was now or never this morning and wanted to get them something, so size didn't matter. This was the first deer I have gotten with my muzzleloader since I bought it over 5 years ago. I only use it during the late season about 2 or 3 days a year. I have missed a few with it as well. I was pretty happy with the shot as well. It was 60 to 70 yards downhill. I held a tad high at mid body. Bullet hit right where I aimed, mid body and just under the backstroke so no meat was ruined. Turned out it wasn't a she, but a he, a button buck. Was a little disappointed for about a minute. I reloaded and answered the texts on my phone from my buddy. Then I started field dressing. I made the initial cut up to the sternum and I hear footsteps crunching close by. I turn to look and there is another small doe, or button, only 20 yards away staring me down. It walked parallel to me up above and when it got behind some trees I grabbed my ML. I scoped her and it was super small and had a very light colored coat. I just watched it trot off and then run off after looking back to check out her friend I had down. Was a neat experience in the woods this morning and to me that experience is what keeps me heading back out there. Sorry for the long read. Had to edit to add pics

Lol I just saw the people reading this post at the bottom and one is gastrodoc. I'm guessing most of us may be making an appointment with him very soon!!! Had homemade Philly cheese steak sandwiches with a salad. Plain Jane night.

Lol, force of habit to hook those babies on the bottom lace! Too bad I haven't used then for fishing in about 6 + years.

Well I passed some smaller deer last weekend due to the property I was a guest at. This morning was a different property and a different story. Glad to get her and to donate to some less fortunate people this holiday.

Meatballs look good Burt. We had Turkey burgers, crispy crowns, garlic noodles, and tried some turkey sausage with Cheddar from Johnsville. I have to say, this turkey stuff isn't half bad and healthier too. I skipped the noodles and crispy crowns and had a salad instead. No one left the table hungry, not even the dog. My wife has a heavy hand.

12-19 Woke up at 635 am after hitting snooze about 3 times. When I walked out to the kitchen and saw this white stuff out the window of the front door, I went into scramble mode. I was dressed, ate breakfast, and out the door before 7am and made it to the 100acre spot by 7:20. Was great to have about an inch and a half of snow so you could see a long ways. I stood overlooking a small depression next to a field until about 9am. I decided to still hunt as the wind blew and would mask some of the crunch. I got about 20 yards into the depression and see two deer out in the field trotting towards the woods over 100 yards away from me. Then I see two more standing off to my left in the field as well. It's posted so I just watched as they ran at angle away from me to the North. I settled in for the next half hour and scanned the woods in the direction the deer went but they never appeared. I continued to still hunt around the property for the next 3 hours and never cut a track and didn't see anything. As I was driving home, I drove by the field corner where I had seen the doe run by and they were back out in the corner. I should have stayed put but my boots were made for walking. I went to my in laws and walked the neighbors 29 acres. Tons of tracks and sign but not even a flag. I did see about 25 to 30 turkey under the crab apple tree. One would fly to the top of the tree and flap it's wings to make the apples drop and the rest would fight for the apples. Then another would fly up. It was funny to watch. Heading back to the 100 acre woods in the morning for some doe redemption. My plan is to fill one more tag and donate the deer to some less fortunate people at work. I have Tuesday off as well to try and get this done.

Eddie, I only use two sections of ladder for my stand and have a third section just collecting dust. It's yours if you want it but I'm over 2 hours away from you. If anyone is headed through Owego area on 17/86 towards Rochester, let me know and you can pick it up to take to Eddie.

My first .22 was a Mossberg 702 Plinkster. I swore I would never own a Mossberg but I bought one and am happy with it. Mine is a synthetic stock with stainless barrel. It has a hooded or halo front sight and adjustable rear sight. The hooded sight is great and there is no need for a scope. I did put a 4x scope on mine awhile after I owned it and can hit targets at 100yds consistently. Great value at a good price. Gander has them for $169 for the same as mine and $150 with the blued barrel. Cabelas sells a 3 pack of magazines for $60 for it too. http://m.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=416019

I've posted this before but thought I would share my "cheap" version of a buck boiler or skull boiler. I used an old waste paper basket from a shredder that didn't work anymore. I bought a 1 inch water tight conduit hub with 1" NPT threads ( fancy talk for being able to screw a hot water heater element into the hub) Lastly I bought a 150volt, 1500 watt electric hot water heater element. I drilled a hole in the waste paper basket so I could insert the hub and then I used some epoxy to seal around it so it wouldn't leak. Then you screw in the heater element and connect a cord to the two terminals. That's it. Fill the bucket with water before plugging in or you ruin the element( $9.95 at Lowes) Here are some pics. Let me know if you have any questions. I wanted to add that this does not actually boil but will simmer and gets the job done quite well. Looking forward to trying the pressure washer after using the boiler. I hate scraping by hand.

Got up this morning and it was 51 degrees at 7am. Wow. I put on my sandals, Speedo, and wifebeater and headed out to go hunting. I also bought some pink sunblock for my nose so I didn't get burnt out there. But seriously, there were only 5 of us today so it was put up or shut up. Now I have been hunting at my buddies camp as a guest for years. They have guys that are members but just don't hunt anymore so they enjoy the guests as it increases their numbers to get deer moving. And, I enjoy being invited back year after year, even when my buddy can't be there to hunt. So today, we set up the first drive and a few deer are seen but by the drivers only so no shots. Then we get to the second one. We had 2 drivers and 4 sitters so I took the opportunity to sit where the guy was almost trampled yesterday. I found out this morning that he told one of the guys yesterday that when those deer crested the hill and saw him, that was the closest he has even been to a live deer. I knew where they would come out and wanted them to go uphill so I parked the 4 wheeler right where I expected them to come up the hill. Worked like a charm. I stood behind a large tree in front of the 4 wheeler and heard them coming in the leaves. They saw the wheeler and stopped. Then they walked up hill into an opening for me to shoot. Scoped the first one and my dog weighed more at 65lbs. Scoped the second and was about the same size. The next 3 were bigger but all looked to be this year's deer. Man was I disappointed. I know it was the last day and we were busting butt to get the deer moving but I couldn't pull the trigger. It was in the 60s already and the deer were so small. I did not need the venison that badly and would have loved to have shared a deer with the guys at work that don't have much but I couldn't do it. I'm happy with my decision but doubted myself at first. No one else saw deer to shoot today and they all respected my decision as well. And I know ill be invited back again next year. Heck, I was invited back next weekend for ML so hopefully a chance at a larger deer is in the cards. Not sure where I am going to hunt next Saturday, but it looks like I will be solo somewhere locally. Sunday it is back to my buddies camp. I took the last day Tuesday the 22nd off and plan to hit the honey hole across the street from the in laws. Saw 21 deer total during the regular gun season along with one coyote and one red fox. All sightings were at my buddies camp, none at my camp. Ill post up next weekend after my hunts. Good luck to anyone headed out this week with the ML. Keep your powder dry and shoot straight.

Great season for you guys. Thanks for taking us along on the journey.

Went to my buddies camp about 10 minutes from home. There were 9 of us so we set up to do some drives. First drive, nadda for everyone. Second drive was a good one. I was a sitter and got to a great spot where I saw all the deer last weekend. 2 minutes there and I see a deer headed up hill to some other sitters. Then below me I see five looking to scoot out of the drive. I hear a yelp from a driver and the deer are coming up hill to me and then turn yet again so no shot for me. However, I suggested sitting a new guy below me and to my left and sure enough, he was almost trampled in the whole ordeal and never got a shot off. Then a shot rang out above me and the first one I saw, a doe, was put down. Just before the shot above me, I had a red fox come running up a trail and right past me at about 20 feet. That was cool. It was pretty warm by then so we called it a day and went to have some lunch and some cold ones. Another great Saturday spent with a bunch of great guys and at least seeing some deer. We are headed up again a little earlier tomorrow morning and a few less guys but hope to fill a few tags for everyone. Looking forward to ML next weekend and I took the last day of ML off too.

Sorry to read about this horrible fire. Glad you and your family are OK. Good luck getting back on track.

Homemade pizza tonight. I was a good boy and only had 3 slices. One white garlic, one pepperoni, and one peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

It is very uncomfy but 5 days is a cake walk. Just find a good spot on the couch and don't over do it until the stent is removed. That removal is not fun either. I can tell you I was scared to get it removed but it only took about 30 seconds total and minimal pain or pressure. He did tell you that the stent removal is an office visit right? In and out with no anesthesia? They grab it and yank it out like they are trying to start a chainsaw. Fun stuff. I'll be thinking about you on the 13th.

Just had that procedure Eddie. You will be out for it and won't feel a thing until you wake up and have to pee. The blood on your gown in that area is a little disturbing but the pain will be gone. Pray you don't need the stent and if you do, ask for it to be removed within a week, no longer. I had one for over 3 weeks and that was awful. Good luck hunting and good luck with the lithotripsy.

Roasted pork with snow peas, carrots, mushrooms, and watercress. Yup I did Chinese takeout tonight. Kids had General Tsao's (sp?) Chicken and wife had vegetable fried rice and a veggie egg roll. Yum.

Great buck. Congrats to you. Good things come to those that help others first. The proof is in the pics above!

Yeah it was definitely a weird year for most of us. I think most of them are up on Tomar's land. Not a lot of pressure up there the past few years so they have a sanctuary, so to speak. Good luck up there this weekend. Don't forget your shorts and sneakers. Supposedly they are calling for close to 60 on Sunday. Let me know how you do.

I downloaded Hunt Stand Lite this year. Only used it a few times to check wind and it was fairly accurate. Only put one stand location in so far. Will keep.trying this one for a little while. Fishing and hunting solar lunar table is one I use a lot. Shows sunrise and sunset as well as moon rise and set. Also shows major and minor game movement times and has a 24hr graph showing the peaks and valleys of movement. Also has built in weather. Only drawback is it shows today and tomorrow only unless you pay $$. Also have an app called Hunting Calls. Has a picture of a buck in a white circle on it. The turkey calls are awesome on this app and I used them last year and this year during bow and gun season to call 2 separate flocks into my location. You can also press and hold any of the calls and they save as a ring tone or text alert sound. During the season, my text alerts are the turkey gobble in case an animal is close and it decided to go off. Lastly, I have the NYS Pocket Ranger app and plan to delete it soon. Used it twice and it sucks so don't waste your time with it. All of these are Android apps BTW

I hear ya Fletch on the motivation. I only hunted 2.5 days at my camp and never saw a deer. Only opening day I sat. The other 1.5 days I still hunted and never put up a flag. Discouraging for sure. I have only 5 days left to hunt so it is panic mode for me now. That is my motivation. Good luck the rest of the season.

Friday night we headed down to the cabin and made a stop at the fire station for their annual turkey raffle. I spent $30 for the evening and did not win any turkeys or capons. My FIL won 5 capons and my BIL won 3 capons. Not sure how much they spent but the cards were not in my favor I guess. Drank plenty of free beer and filled up on sandwiches and hot dogs, all free of charge. Great fundraiser for them and a good 2 hours of entertainment. On to the hunting. This year I can honestly say I "hunted" at camp. I walked and walked and covered plenty of ground and never saw a deer. That's called hunting, and not killing. Only hunted 2 and a half days down there this year but can't remember the last time I was totally skunked for more than a day down there. Something has changed between last season and this season for sure. Still had a great time and looking forward to a better season next year down there. May end up going down for ML weekend but only if we have snow otherwise it would be a wasted trip. Hunted this morning at my buddies camp. We only did 2 drives and I saw 2 doe hauling butt close to 80 or 90 yards out in the frosty fog. Didn't even raise the shotgun, just watched them bolt. Going to hunt with them next weekend as it is close to home and have other projects to get done.