The Mule

Hope everyone is doing well. Lots of craziness in the world today. Really looking forward to getting in the woods and thinking about nothing but hunting. Had a baby girl just over 2 months ago, so its been a struggle to get too much prep work done. Was able to get 3 stands up. Also brush hogged an old apple orchard that had become impenetrable due to the rose bushes. Had way more apple trees than I thought and the deer were in it almost immediately. Weather is looking pretty decent for the bow opener. Hopefully that holds true. Good luck to anyone going out.

Shot a nice big doe right before Thanksgiving. Ended up taking her to the Chop Shop in Delhi since we were heading out of state for the holiday the next morning. Thanks for the recommendation. Good group of guys there. Also took one grouse off my property. Saw a bunch this year. Unfortunately, they always saw me way before I saw them. Other than that, kind of slow for me. Looking forward to doing some work on the land in the next few weeks and into the spring/summer. Building some new stands and clearing out some small sections of woods. Got 5 acres of corn going in this year as well. Hope to see the thread fire up again for spring turkey. Was anyone on here at the NWTF banquet in Sidney this past weekend?

How is everyones season going? Have only been out a few times. Have seen deer every sit, but nothing in range yet. Still getting decent bucks on camera, but mostly at night. One of my camera locations has coyotes every night. Gonna have to start targeting them. Have a huge bobcat on camera as well. He has only made one visit. Do any of you guys use or know of any good deer processors in the area? I plan on processing my own, but have some friends coming up throughout the season that will probably want to take it somewhere. May be putting the cart in front of the horse, but better to know now then to scramble if one of them connects. Thanks.

Bought a used 10" Northern Industries meat band saw with grinder and sausage stuffer attachment at a yard sale last week. They get pretty crappy reviews and are discontinued it looks like, but the price was right and its better than what I had (nothing). Looking forward to processing a deer from start to finish. Have always taken to a processor. Did my first practice run on a buck this spring that got stuck in my neighbors fence, broke its leg, and the police had to put down. Most of the meat was no good, but it was a good learning experience. Hoping to tag a doe during the bow season and use most of the meat to make sausage and ground. Some good recipes posted in this thread that I plan on trying. Thanks!

Crazy. I am just down the hill on Tuttle Rd. I'm sure I've walked through his property at one time or another while looking for my dog. I try to stay away from the Thruway as much as I can. We take it to Harriman and then go up 17 to 206. Only do that because its the fastest route and I usually just want to get up there as quick as I can. I'd like to give that route a try though.

I am in Watchung. Tried hunting some public land in Hunterdon County the past few seasons, but it has not been too productive or enjoyable. I am glad I started this thread. Didn't expect to get many posts from 4P hunters. Definitely did not expect to see multiple connections to NJ. Good stuff. I apologize for my booing of NJ. We actually love the area that we settled down in.

For sure!

Awesome. Would love to pick your brain on some stuff. Gonna just get to know the property this year and hopefully get into habitat management and food plots next season.

Thanks bigpaul. Same here. Nice to see. We should all get together some time this season. It really is an awesome area. My great grand parents on my mothers side lived in Bovina. Growing up, my uncle had a cabin in Bovina (Crescent Valley Road) that we would visit in the summers. He sold it when I was 16 an I was heart broken. Have always wanted to have a place up there. Now that I have 2 boys (4 and 2) I really want to give them the same experiences I had. Thankfully after a long and frustrating search we were able to find our place this past summer. I am originally from Newburgh. I now live full time in central NJ (boooooo).

Got it. In time, I would like to have the same type of knowledge of my property. How has the deer activity been with the corn and hay fields in your experience? Our front 20 acres is hay field that is cut by a dairy farm down the road. Was thinking of setting up a stand on the edge of the field somewhere, but I haven't noticed all that much activity.

Just out of curiosity, why do you stay away from the open farm lands? I got permission to hunt a neighbors property. He has a big corn field that borders DEP land that's loaded with apple trees. I can't wait to get in there. I have always hunted deep woods. This will be my first time hunting around ag fields.

Awesome. Will let you know next time I'm there on a Thursday.

Read all those old articles before I bought. Just curious if anything new. Would love to check out the Gerry Estate. I can't imagine what it must have been like to own all that land. Have been frequenting Wayside and the General Store all summer. Also recommend Catskill Regional Harvest and Butcher. They have a lot of stuff from local farms and a nice butcher section.

Yes, I was able to get a DMP. I would have loved to have been part of that convo. Whats the story with that development? Is it dead or will it be revived?

I am off of Route 2 between Andes and Delancey. Cabin Hill Church/Perosi Firearms area. Good to hear you got a nice one last year. I know they are out there. I pulled the cards last weekend and had a few small bucks and one legal. Also some coyotes, grouse, and porcupine. Looking forward to the season. Apple trees are loaded and starting to drop.