The_Field_Ager

That would be the power hungry statists of the left

Been a very quiet weekend. Weather has been poor which no doubt effected deer movement. I heard 1 shot today at 5.07, after legal light.

''where we control the battle" That's just it it, we don't: https://www.businessinsider.com/stop-feeding-failure-time-for-strategic-course-change-in-afghanistan-2017-5 Better to have a robust migration policy limited to Europeans

who would be dumb enough to hand over their details?

Careful now. All this talk of Antler restriction in order to see larger Bucks will have the anti-antler ninnies out whining on about evil trophy hunters and 'bragging rights'. There are quite a few of them about these here parts it seems. Good luck growing those trophy slammers to all who are participating. The Field Ager endorses this

Having stand anxiety this morning. Not sure where to sit given the conditions. I will probably split the day into two areas with a mid-day scout for snow tracks in-between. Hoping for a nice wall-hanging trophy this year. No apologies. I have antler fever this year. Lovin it!

Indeed. As a recreational Hunter I think it is a perfectly legitimate practice. Lawdwaz does not for some reason.

screw off gramps

Charting and guessing is not allowed around these here parts. These forums are patrolled by :

So don't even guess your saying, just in case 'you-know-who' is around? After tonight I tend to agree. I will never be so bold or brazen again. I really learned my lesson. Boy did I. I may even stop using the non-gender neutral terms 'Buck' or 'Doe'. You never know who might get offended these days.

ADK, do you dare hazard guess at his age given the atmosphere on here tonight? Be careful.

That's what you say. But what does 'science' have to say on the matter?

Take the deer aging quiz. Click the top link:

Looks like I got pulled over and azz-raped by the deer-aging cops. Be warned folks. This guy takes no prisoners. Let there be no more 'how old is this deer' threads from here on out. The deer-age cop is watching and he is PIZZED OFF! Heed my advice Lawdwaz. Take up shuffle board or yatzi or something and make better use of your time.

Is there!?

He could be a 5 year old. There is simply no way to tell from looking at him. Lawdwaz has duly informed us now that even science has trouble on these matters. Guessing is simply not option now that that the deer aging-cop has showed up.

Don't get too excited. That might be one of Lawdwaz's 2 year old 11 pointers. They only way to be sure is to have science confirm what our lying eyes may or may not be telling us.

Go fugg yourself. I have killed a nice 4 year old, two 3 year olds , and several 2 years olds in my time. I know exactly what to look for and I know exactly what I am looking at in terms of body size and antler mass. Can't believe I took you off ignore to waste these thoughts on your old negative azz. In any case, this deer did not fit my own personal standards for the season. End off. Lawd, here are a couple of handy charts for aging deer on the hoof. Maybe one of your home help people could get them laminated for you. You could put a string through 'em and carry 'em into the woods?

Well..at 4:20 pm I passed up my first 3 year old Buck . It was pretty hard to be honest, given the lack luster season thus far. But...I was committed to a 4yr old or better and that's what I need from this season. So, we just had 10 inches of snow and this always negatively impacts deer movement. They tend to stick to 2 or 3 heavy Hemlock stands and barely venture out. They are very difficult to creep up on with bow, the largest such stand is in the neighbors also. I scouted early afternoon and discovered that some night time action indicated deer coming down from the neighbors and just scooting over the property line before doubling back into the Hemlocks. I figured, if there was to be any chance at all, I would have to set-up on this edge and hope something came out before last light. The only stand I felt like moving was about 600 yards away, downhill. I had looked at moving it yesterday, knowing the developing situation, but all the ratchets were frozen solid. Today's Sun warmed them a little and I was able to get 'em loose. I carried this stand and my bow on my shoulders, uphill in deep snow. There was several expletives dropped along the way as I cursed the weather for making me go through this. I got to a stand of maple near the property edge where the tracks came over. Mostly young trees and not much cover. I picked a tree that would give me the best cover from the expected angle of entry. There was a small spruce in front of it which helped a little, but I could just see over it. I lost one of the ratchets on the carry up. Tried searching for it, but to no avail. I still had two straps, and this was enough to get the stand stable. Just before sitting I made a quick jaunt to another stand over some mature Oaks. I wanted to check for feeding activity. There was nothing going on by this stand. Not even squirrel tracks. Time was running out, it was already almost 4. I returned to the previous stand, just erected, and settled in for the last 45 minutes or so. 10 minutes after getting in I see a deer coming down through the neighbors trees. At first it seemed like a nice Doe...then I see horn but it looks small. I thought it was the local Spiker that haunts this edge. But, as the beast clears the trees and passes into the property, I realize it is a 3 year old, 8 points,nice tine length but not much mass. Outside the ears to. A pretty decent deer. At this point he is looking to come by my favored side at about 20 yards. I'm thinking I might just shoot this deer. He stops at the edge of the tree-line. Looks around into our more open area. I get the sense he may turn around and head back to cover, but no, he makes a 45 degree bee-line right for my stand. As he is coming up behind the spruce tree I think about drawing back but decide I want one more good look before finalizing my decision. He is now about 12 yards. He comes into 5 yards, stops to nibble a beech leaf and actually eyeballs me for a second. I am hiding behind my bow now, making like a tree limb. He seems unconcerned and starts to eat more leaves. At this point I have realized, as nice as he is, the antler mass was not there and so I go to reach for my phone to take a pic. I was a bit too fast in my movement and he spooked and skipped back into the treeline. He went close to one of my cameras, but sadly the angle did not pick him up. I don't think I have him on cam at all in fact. I felt good about the pass, but the evening was perfect, sunny, wind in my face and 32 degrees.It would have been a memorable kill. I know there are bigger boys running around and there is still plenty of hunting to be had. This was something of a one-off stand move however due to the poor cover. Hopefully a thaw means I can return to another location this coming week as the deer venture forth once again.

So a quick scout and camera check indicates that the heavy snows have indeed shut down the deer for now and re-patterned their movement. There are some tracks from late last night, all heading out of heavy Hemlock stands. Deer are now bedded for the day and coming out at night. This means tree-stand hunting is out and stalking is in. Hopefully there is a major thaw before the gun opener. Only hope is that there will be some late afternoon movement around the oaks.

I wasn't messing around this year. 3 pairs of socks, light ones and 2 heavy woolen over top. I also got the full body woolen long johns this year because I always get flesh exposed about the waist. 2 t-shirts under a light sweater, then the long johns under a heavier thermal sweater under my jacket. 2 hats at once. I was out quite a bit today and felt fine. Layering is the key, and it can all be done with cheap, off brand clothing

Never in the 10 years in our woods have I seen deer tracks on the day of , or even the day after a heavy snowfall. The instinct to preserve energy kicks in. Usually feeding happens then at night. From here on out it is going to be a case of finding day bedding and stalking/bumping it. just got in from a perimeter scout. No fresh prints anywhere...as expected I also haven't seen any rut activity this year. It's been a very odd season all told. My usual busy corner of the woods was a complete dead zone this year.

Well, this 5 hour blizzard has probably ended bow season for me. Just when things were starting to pick up too. It will be gun and ground hunting from here on out. Winter has arrived! I am gonna try one more bow on bucket seat hunt by the Golden Rod bedding later this evening. I know deer do not move during the day through heavy fresh snow.

Errr..no Once again, the local weather report was seriously wrong. I lasted an hour. That must be an 85%+ failure rate in weather reporting this season. Possibly my worst season for weather to date also. Gonna head out and buy a new stand to cover the golden rod I think.