nyslowhand

Greatest thing since sliced bread crossbows. Sorry, couldn't resist. Imagine the vapor being emitted from the ThermaCell to be like the smoke from a smoldering fire. Can compensate somewhat for breeze by putting unit slightly upwind from you. Since the magic vapors are invisible, have to assume they ascend upwards like with thermals. Meaning, if you attach unit above your head, you may not be getting max benefits. I try to put unit inside my jacket when firing it up to muffle the clicking sound of the igniter. BTW - takes a few minutes to develop the envelope of protection. Wicks have a listed, usable service life. Longer you use wick, less effective it is. If yours didn't come with the holster, get one. Has pockets for spare fuel & wicks and a belt that works great for securing to a tee, hanging from a stand, etc. Just grab it & you're ready to go! They do have earth scent wicks. Pretty sure if we had the nose of a deer, it'd smell like the basic wick with a masked chemical odor. Using a ThermaCell during early deer season is a trade-ff. You can fire it up, be semi-bug free and possible have a deer detect the odor of the unit. Or...get eaten alive! Or...wear a head net! ThermaCells work! They have visible results, unlike the mystical Ozonics.

No way, this will put the voodoo hex on your hunting...

BTW - Cornell has Arnot Forest and there is also Texas Hollow State Forest, neither is too far from Alpine (Conn. Hill).

Hurry up, don't how long I can keep the one I've got tied to a tree alive.

In NO way was I criticizing your graph or analysis! You merely used data from DEC, which is what I'm skeptical about. IMHO, any time statistical analysis is used to show historical patterns &/or predictions concerning wildlife or "Mother Nature", trends are about all you can expect to see. Aren't the DEC's harvest reports you're assuming for does really anterless deer? Which should includes does, fawns and young bucks with less than 3" spikes. Then you get into DEC's manipulation of reported deer harvest numbers, which are "massaged" to include a certain % of un-reported deer taken. Read it once and if I'm recalling it correctly, NYDEC estimates harvest reporting to be ~60% of total deer killed. Most relevant and current harvest info I've gotten is when I visit the large, local deer processing facility in the fall.

Not to criticize your efforts or analysis, but statistics can be deceiving! I hunt in 8F, which per your & DEC's harvest reports is in the top 5. In the real world, the specific township where I hunt has less deer around and the agr (grain) crops are mostly east & south within 8F. So...my "neck of the woods" statistically brings down 8F's harvest #s. If you make the assumption that a specific zone within a region is worth hunting (permission, lease or buying property) per the harvest #s , dig deeper before going all in! Following Moog's thought process, apparently in 8F most of the bucks around were harvested in 2013, so this year's harvest is predicted to be 1/2 of 2013's. So, apparently I wasted my $$ on a license!??! Think someone should re-calibrate their crystal ball. lol

Here's my 2cents worth... How soon we forget the last & painful deer contest! On the web, anything other than a random draw or a membership voting for the winner would be open to controversy!! Make the rules as you wish, my only suggestion is a pre-registration well in advance of any NZ/SZ deer season openings!

To size up a buck(s) you've been seeing during the summer months in hopes of a fall encounter is pretty optimistic, IMHO. I'm sizing up the does for my freezer. If a nice buck happens to appear, either one I'd gotten photos of or one coming out of no where, all the better! Last year I really hunted hard for 4X great bucks I'd been getting summertime photos of. Saw one, only once...ended up being a fairly frustrating year hunting for what I expected to be around!

Posted this within another thread, but might be hard to find, So here it is in its' own topic. There are times I need to search for specific items in the printed booklet & find it pretty time consuming. Fairly easy to do with the e-book. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/37136.html

FYI - Here's the 2014-15 DEC hunting laws & regulations book online, as handed-out at selling locations. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/37136.html

Xbows used during last two weeks of early bow season (SZ), you'll need the ML tag. Any other SZ season, the regular license covers them. Also need to get cert from rules/regs booklet or online, fill out and keep on you. Went to Town Clerk ~9AM Monday and had not problem, other than I was their guinea pig (1st). Okay, so it printed on yellow, who cares? It says 2014-15 above the tag's ID# right on it! Hunt in 8F, so DMPs are almost automatic, got 2X. Even with huge increases in 2014 DMPs (Region 8 ), still need to wait until Nov 1st for any leftovers.

Thinking the same thing, but thought it would be rude to eat, partake in raffle/auction and forgo the seminar. Charlie has his following, but I'm not one.

Wearing glasses, a mask is a royal PITA so I use face paint. It does come off with soap & water. Have also used those baby wipes to take it off. If you're OCD about it, there are scent free soaps or wipes that also work removing the clown-face.

I've had the UA Ayton hoodie jacket for about 5-6 years. Great jacket for bow hunting, until the snow falls, wind is whipping and temps get into 20s. At least for me, by then my bow is in storage. No complaints other than $$. FYI - Like most UA clothing, sizing tends to be on the snug-fit side. I typically wear a LT jacket, but usually have to opt for the XL. In late bow season with layered clothing underneath, it gets to be a snug-fit. So I'm suggesting not to buy w/o trying one on for sizing purposes. Not made or advertised as scent-free outerwear, but if you do your due dilligence with washing & storage - it is fine! Would I recommend it, sure. But..lots of other great camo clothing at budget prices available.

Been my experience in the area where I hunt with only natural browse is what they have for a rack by the middle to end of July is pretty much what you'll see in the fall, less the velvet. Possible exception being if they happen to have access to agr crops that ripen in the summer months.

Kool!

Thought this was mainly an "old geezer" issue..? lol

Got video clip of a doe with 3 fawns recently. First I've ever seen or gotten photos of. G-Man; habitat sucks & winter was bitterly cold with almost constant snow cover, so I'm not so sure about that theory. Had a couple of mild winters prior to last year and never saw triplets. Maybe more about the specific doe and what was going on when she was bred..!?! For sure, I'm no biologist!!!

Thanx folks! May do something wild & crazy to celebrate, like stay up until 10:00PM.

Do I have this right....If it weren't such a "wide load", you wouldn't be complaining & we wouldn't be seeing photos?? LOL

Got a video of a hen & yearling doe about 3min before attached one. These jakes are thugs and certainly persistent with this hen. http://s1142.photobucket.com/user/nyslowhand/library/#/user/nyslowhand/library/?sort=6&page=1&_suid=140488141622805562159718937019

My 2 cents worth, for a beginner I'd suggest looking at bows with a bigger (~7") brace height to get started with. Those super fast bows with a ~6" brace height are much less forgiving for the "newbie"! Finding the perfect bow can be an elusive, frustrating and costly life long journey. Probably why most bow hunters don't use the same bow for more than 3-4 years. Lets' just say you don't have to spend a lot of money on a new bow to initially get into bow hunting with some decent used bows available at a lot less initial investment. Little FYI about F&S reviews... The authors can sometimes be brand biased. They tend to highly praise some of the newest, biggest, fastest, badest bows as their top picks. Example...Few years ago they gave their highest review to a Xbow that ended up having huge limb breakage issues. Take these reviews with a grain of salt. To put this all into prospective... Lot of bow hunters are successful every year using 10-15 year old equipment! And lots of long/recurve bow hunters are also annually successful! Many hunters with the latest & greatest bows are NOT successful! So the archery equipment ends up only being a small part of bow hunting's "big picture"!

Just had to look, didn't ya'..? LOL Assuming that's a hen behind the tree, right in front of cam. Would have thought it was a little late for this..? Jakes hen breeding.AVI Breeding.AVI

Think I recall reading somewhere that whitetail does are the only mothers in the wild kingdom that will/do NOT protect their young from encounters like you witnessed. Unfortunate, but part of the "Cycle of LIfe" for deer! Very unique encounter for you!!!! You've experienced so many amazing encounters & superb photos, they'd fill a book. LOL

Very kool, Wooly! Enjoy your outings now, deer flies should be out in force pretty soon.