Zem18

Talked with my fellow hunting partners and this past weekend and so far this week, the bucks in 7S seem to be chasing and dogging does. It is just starting here. Saw plenty of does this weekend with no buck activity behind them. Then Sunday night and Monday, BAMM. Isles - Where in 4W are you? I have a camp near Lordville. Tough hunting in the mountains but it is beautiful down there.

Welcome to hunting. Shooting is the fun part, the rest is just work, but good work none the less. Congrats on your first and you can tell everyone you arent a virgin anymore, LOL.

Nice Buck and good story. Congrats

11-7-10 morning hunt My buddy and I left the house at 5:30. By the time we made it to his friends house it was getting light quick. We also had company so 4 of us hunting seemed crowded but it really wasn't. At around 7:15 I heard a bow go off above me. I did not hear any crashing but focused my attention up the hill. I texted my buddy who was sitting 60 yards SE of me and asked did someone shoot? I did not get a reply so I figured he didn't feel the phone vibrate. Then I see a flash above me and hear THWACK. I knew that was my buddy shooting. The deer ran and stopped 20 yards from me but I had no shot. I watched it and it just walked off about 40 yards and then the tail went up and it boogied out of there. Once we all met up later I found out what happened above me. 2 misses by 2 different guys. But those sapplings are hurting right now from being stuck by them pesky broadheads. Lots of deer sighted by the other 3 guys. One saw 5, the other 4 and the other 11. Me 1, lol, figures. Got a call tonight and the other 2 guys were up there this morning. Lots of deer moving today and a 5pt was dogging 2 does. He was missed as well and another leaning log bit the dust this morning. This coming Saturday and Sunday will be my last chance so keeping my fingers crossed. It's been 3 seasons since my last deer with the bow and I am getting antsy.

11-6-10 Well how hardcore am I about hunting? The soccer coach called Friday night and said the game is at 9am instead of 8am. So I call my buddy and tell him I have to be home by 8:15 tomorrow morning. He says no problem. We get up and into our stands by 6:40am. What a beautiful morning and no deer spotted by either of us. Here's the kicker of the day though. My MIL calls my wife this evening while I am out hunting and said the neighbor called her this morning at 9am. She asked if I was hunting up there today because there is a HUGE buck in the field headed towards my stand as she is talking on the phone with the MIL. Thats 2 years in a row this has happened right after I had left the area. Gotta love that kind of luck. My daughter scored the only goal today at her game too!!!! Went back out with my bud this afternoon to his friends house. I sat in a new stand that was put up this year - 15ft ladder - Man that thing is high. 10ft I can handle but that extra 5 is no joke. He said I could use a hang on that was 12ft off the ground and about 50 yards away but I passed on that one. Anyways in the stand by 3pm. At around 4 I look left and there is a doe feeding along. She just appeared from thin air I swear. She skirted me between 40 to 50 yards away and went up over the hill. My heart was pumping a little at this point. A little after 5 I saw a flash up on the hill where the other deer had gone. A few minutes later I spotted two doe and one was headed fairly close to me. She was big so I stood up and got ready. Well as luck would have it she made a beeline for the stand I did not choose to sit in. Walked right past the tree and even hung around for a few minutes behind it. Just then behind me another deer appears and walks the trail right to the stand I did not choose to sit in. See the pattern here? It's now 5:50pm and getting dark and I see another deer coming down off the hill. It's headed straight to the stand I did not choose to sit in. Saw 5 deer tonight, 3 within shooting and spitting distance of the stand I did not sit in, but I was excited over all. They were definately moving but no buck activity of any kind which surprised me a little. We are headed back up there in the morning. Hopefully it will pay off.

I tip my hat to you sir. You are a true gentleman and a true hunter. It makes me proud to read a story like this. Thank you!!!

Connecticut Hill is a great area and there are alot of turkeys to hunt out there as well. Newfield, NY in Tompkins county has some state land as well. Alot of grouse terrain but deer frequent the area as well. Thats about as far north as I know of.

You are correct I won't forget it. I had that story up on another forum but it has since been removed. Here it is 3 years later and it was like it happened this year. Hoping to make some more memories this weekend out there. Good luck guys.

Great thread guys. Like others have said you will always remember your first deer and there are so many memories if you have spent any amount of time in the field. I would have to say for me, my most exciting hunt was a few years back in 2007 I believe. It was the 17th of November and it was a Wednesday. Three days left until the Southern Zone opener and it was my last bow hunt for the season. I started hunting my usual spot at my in laws that morning. Things were slow there and I was bored. At 8:15ish I decided to get down and head 15 minutes southwest to my brother in laws place. He had said to me earlier in the year he wanted to keep the doe around his 5 acres so don't shoot. I was never one to listen but after the Slight backlash from this hunt and the terrible feeling I experienced afterwards, I will now follow the rules and listen. I was in a ladder stand by 8:40am that borders the woods and there is alot of scrub to my left and front and a tractor path to my right. The wind picked up a little but it was a beautiful morning. At 9 or 9:05am I hear the leaves rustling to my right on the tractor path. I look and there is a doe walking along and decides to stop at 17 yards and tease me. She is quartering away and I think, man, this is my last chance and I need some venison for the freezer so I draw, aim, and release. I connected and she took off in a huge circle which brought her right behind the tree I was in and she died 15 yards from the base of the tree within minutes. I was in disbelief it happened so fast. And then I heard it. GRUNT. I quickly reached for an arrow in my quiver but before I could get it nocked the Big 1 horned spike was already stopped at 10 yards in the scrub to my left. He caught a glimpse of his girl on the ground and he went nuts. He ran over to her and started pawing at her on the ground with his front hooves. He then would squat down and try to breed her from the front and from the rear. I was like this is the coolest thing I have ever seen. As I am watching this I catch movement to my left on the tractor path. It happens to be another smaller 1 horned spike on the opposite side of the other one. Well he catches the comotion and starts to enter the scrub directly behind my tree. The Big spike sees him and the 2 start to square off. They are walking sideways or posturing and the hair on their backs and necks are are bristled up. I'm like dang they are going to go at it. Sure enough these jokers start fighting and bashing heads less than 10 yards from me. It didn't last long as the bigger spike ran the smaller one off and went back to tending my dead doe. I catch more movement behind all the action and see another deer headed to the tractor path. As I am watching that deer I see it is a bigger basket racked buck and he is following the trail the doe had come in on. He followed her every move except for coming in behind my stand after I shot her. He then proceeded to run into the woods and out of sight. Within a few minutes he is standing where the big spike had come in from and sees that spike over the doe. The basket racked buck is a 5pt and he charges the big spike. These two tangle for a second and the 5pt goes crazy for the doe. He paws at her trying to get her to move. He tries to breed her anyway he can. He is almost laying on top of her and his hips are a thrustng but nothings working for him. He finally runs the big spike off and continues to try and get his lady friend to move a little ad not just lay there. He finally starts to give up and walk away and I decided to play with him a little so I grunted I believe 3 times. He was about 25 yards away and decided to come back and investigate. When he did he stopped right in a lane at 15 yards. I was already at full draw and put an arrow through both lungs. He ran 5 yards and stopped. Then he walked another 10 and stood there. Two seconds later he tips over against a tree and is only 15 yards from my dead doe. I could not believe what had just happened. I had to sit down as I had no energy left to stand. I looked at my watch and it was 9:50am. That was the most exciting 50 to 55 minutes I have ever witnessed in the woods. It was almost like watching one of these hunting videos except the bucks were wayyy smaller. A buck and a doe from the same stand within 50 minutes of each other. It wasn't so much the double harvest that was the exciting part but to witness the fights and the breeding attempts and running each other off was amazing. I called my Dad and said I needed help. He asked buck or doe and I said "BOTH"!!! Here are a few pics of that great morning.

Sounds like you had a great day. Congrats to your son on his tasty venison. Now show him who's boss and bag a big one.

Have a safe ride up Burt - They are calling for a mix of precip. Good luck to you and Zach and your Bro.

You guys are right, it can happen at anytime. I'm hoping the time comes soon though. I have been so busy it just doesn't feel right this year. Now my daughter has started indoor soccer and her games are at 8am every Saturday for the next 6 months including her first game THIS SATURDAY UGHHHHHHHHH!!! I have spoke with the wife and I am out after the game to spend the rest of my time in the woods along with Sunday morning. Good luck to you all this weekend. We all need a break and deserve to have our hard efforts rewarded.

Awesome bro - Congrats on a fine deer and memory!!!

Great deer!! Congrats to you.

10-30-10 PM Well I was in my stand around 2:45pm. It was a little windy but not too cold. My eyes were scanning the woods and scanning. Around 5:30pm I saw movement about 90 yards back in the woods. I grabbed the bow and focused on the spot I saw the deer move past and just beyond that to the next opening. The deer never came to the next opening. I watched for over 5 minutes and then I see a flash of tail in the original spot. Not sure if I got winded or not but that sucked. At 6pm I heard something behind me inthe field so I turn around and it is a gray fox following the trail past my camera and into the Autumn Olive. That dude is cool to watch. He feed 10 yards from the base of my tree for over 10 minutes. Plenty of shot opportunities but if I'm not eating it, and I don't have the cash to stuff it, it walks LOL. I climbed down about 6:15 as it was dark already. I don't think I mentioned this before but in my 21 years of hunting I had never seen a fox in the wild until this year. Funny how the littlest things excite me now. 10-31-10 AM My buddy and I headed to his friends property for the morning hunt. Saturday morning a few guys hunted up there and they had deer all over the place, grunting and running. One shot a nice doe and another guy missed a 5pt as he squeezed his trigger before coming to full draw. Thise damn deer make us come unglued don't they? Well we were in the stand by 6:40am and sat in the wind until around 9am. My buddy couldn't take the tree swaying anymore so he texted me he was coming down. Big ZIPPO for both of us. Guess I got spoiled last year being off of work during bow season because this year I still am not feeling it. I have had Zero close encounters unless you call 35 yards close and I wasnt even in my stand. This work stuff just sucks. Sorry to vent my frustrations. Hoping this weekend things get better. Plan to spend as much time out there as I can.

10-29-10 Well not sure what I was thinking but I tried to sneak into my stand after work tonight. It was cold and windy but I had the desire to be out there so I went for it. I didn;t headed in until 5:45pm as that is when I got to my hunting spot. I was almost 25 yards from the base of my tree when I see a deer about 10 yards past my treestand. It's a buck too so I froze. He didn't see me so I watched as he fed along behind some trees. At that point I knelt down and nocked an arrow. After it came out past the trees I noticed it was my friend the 4pt. He fed for a few minutes and the wind was blowing hard at my back right to him so I knew I was busted. Sure enough, I heard the snort and saw the tail so I stood up and headed to my stand anyways. Didn't sit long obviously but that was fun. As I was getting down I heard some movement in the leaves and thought it was a squirrel. To my surprise, it was the grey fox again and this time I was 15 yards away from him. He knew I didnt look right so he skirted me carefully and then took off. Had a soccer game at 9am Saturday morning so couldn't get out for the morning hunt. Now that I am done typing, I am headed to get ready and make sure I am early in the woods this afternoon. Hope to report back with some success tonight.

Better a clean miss than a bad shot and a wounded deer with a non fatal wound. Hang in there, things are heating up and you could get another chance.

What a d-bag. I'm with Eddie on this one - I hope he hasn't bred or we will read about his kin in a few years.

This was posted on a local news site here. Just be careful out there and no smoking while on stand. http://www.wbng.com/news/local/Forest-Rangers-Confiscate-116-Marijuana-Plants-on-State-Lands-105647533.html

10-22-10 Got out of work at 5pm and I flew to my in laws to get a late, late hunt in. I was in my stand by 5:43pm and light was fading fast. On the walk in I have to walk through a path between two patches of Autumn Olive. As I was sneaking through there i came by my trail camera and heard something in the Olive to my right. I look and see a huge fluffy tail on a little dog. Except it wasn't a dog. It was a grey fox. In all the years I have hunted, I have never seen a fox until now. I lost site of it and climbed my tree. Abot 2 minutes later it bolted behind my stand and back into the deep woods. Sat until wayyy after dark (6:45pm) and climbed down with nothing but the fox sighted. 10-23-10 Little frosty this morning and perfect for hunting. Was on stand well before light. Hopes were high but expectations were not. And for good reason. At 6:59am off int he distance I heard my first shotgun blast. I was stunned but not really as nothing surprises me anymore. Then as light grew, more and more shots int he distance. The at 7:50 I almost fell out of my tree as the neighbor decided to target practice with a 20gauge (sounded like it to me) to the tune of 30 to 40 rounds at less than 125 yards from me. I was so frustrated I went for an hour drive looking for deer as I have not seen a one on stand yet. Saw 4 on the drive. 10-24-10 Took the kids to my alma mater high school football game last night. I now live in the rival district and so my daughter is the enemy, lol. My neighbor and hunting buddy is also a coach for the rival team. The rivals got spanked 35-19. WOOHOO. ANyways made plans to hunt with my biddy this morning. We made it to his buddies house. I drew the lower stand by the 2 fresh buck rubs so was hoping for at least a sighting today. At 830am I could hear the leaves rustling and 70 yards behind my stand where 2 deer were headed to me. Within 5 seconds they changed course and headed towards my buddies stand. They ended up skirting him through the pines and he watched them walk as well. Had to work for a few hours today so we headed out. Finally saw something while on stand so things are looking up.

Hey Burt - Good luck to you guys this weekend. Friday could be chilly and maybe a little snow. It wont last long though. I'll buy the coffee if you guys stop on the way back. If you get one, you had better stop.

Yeah you better be quiet as I will be sleeping Burt!!! Good luck this weekend bud. Hey Fletch my bro. How's things? Good from what I've read so far. AT least someone is seeing deer. I got a call from my father this morning. He was sitting in his kitchen when a hobbled legged doe and her fawn came out to feed in his backyard. All of a sudden from out of nowhere a LARGE bodied deer with no horns starts dogging the bad legged doe. He chased her and chased her all over the place until they both disappeared. The fawn was standing there with her tail straight outward and then another no horner starts chasing her. Those 2 frosts we have had have caused a stir down here. Its raining now but they are calling for low 30's tonight so we could see a wet dusting in the morning. Too bad I have to work but will try to get the last hour in the woods if all goes right.

Hey all - Just like Fletch and Eddie we all used to keep a running storyline on another website which has now gone silent. But I am glad we all found this one here - Thanks to Eddie!!! We come up with corny names sometimes but it makes it fun. I already miss last year as I was unemployed and spent alot of time in the woods. This year it will be 95% the opposite. I will be a weekend warrior with a few hunts after work on Fridays until daylight savings time and then none. Hopefully there will be some good hunts to share and I promise to add pictures at some point as well. 10-16-10 - Opening Day I braved the wind like most of us diehards and got out there about 30 minutes before first light. When I walked in I noticed my trail camera didn't take my picture. I had reset it the week before on Friday but didn't check it the night before the opener. I sat and endured that wind for about 3 hours and said phooey and went to check my camera. It said it was full. Here I am thinking WOOHOO but then realized the wind may have triggered quite a few pics. To my surprise I had NO pics at all. The SD card was empty. Not sure what happened but that is the 3rd week of pictures I lost this year. A squirrel unplugged my battery pack for one week. I fixed that issue and the battery died the next day. And then the FULL thing. I headed home as I coach my daughters soccer team and we had a game at 10:30am. AS I am headed down the road driving, a doe and fawn decide to step out in front me. I watched them pass and said see you in the woods girls. Saw another 3 does feeding in a backyard on the way home. Nothing spotted on stand. Went back out at 2:30 that afternoon and sat until 5:15. Nothing Had to go as it was my Mom's 68th B-day so we were having dinner. 10-17-10 Beautiful morning and was on stand by 6:05am. Didn't get light until almost 6:50am. I heard one crashing behind my stand as I approached but it was DARK. Around 8:40am I spotted something black headed right to me. TURKEYS - Two toms with decent beards headed right on a trail past my stand. I hunt turkey with the gun and still have yet to kill one so I am thinking, I am going to take my first bird with the bow...SWEET. Well they get to about 25 yards and stop behind a tree branch. Still watching and waiting when another two toms come out of the thick stuff and walk right up to the other two. The big one starts clucking and they all turn around and go back the way the first two came. It was an exciting 40 seconds but that was all action for the day besides the treerats and chippies. Had two doe on the trail cam - one at 1:30am and another at 3:30am. Not looking too good just yet but the action should pickup soon.

I'm right there with you bud. So much going on and haven't really "felt" it. I fell asleep last night and then woke up an hour later and tossed and turned all night. I made it out of bed and into the stand but man it was windy. I managed to stay out there about 3 hours but the afternoon looks promising. Maybe the feeling will kick in if you get out in the field. Good luck my friend

I was turkey hunting in the spring a few years ago. We packed up and switched places and took one vehicle. It got warm so I took my jacket off and left it 30 minutes away. We came out of the woods at 11:50am, ten minutes early but the DEC officer was waiting for us to come out. She wanted to check our licenses and backtags. Well I got my wallet out and had my license but I could not produce my backtag. It was on my jacket, in my car, 30 minutes away. She (<the DEC officer) was pretty adamant even though I had my license. I got the lecture that she could write me a ticket for not having it and then my buddy pulled out his badge. She smiled and we were on our way. Lesson learned that day: Even if it is hot, take your coat with you but if you do leave it behind, be sure to be hunting with a firend in law enforcement.