upstate

I would rather eat a 1.5 year old buck than a 4.5 year old buck. For some reason I've yet to find a recipe that works for antlers. Some of you all watch too much television and your manhood appears threatened because you can't kill big bucks like they do on TV. You want big bucks? Find 40,000 acres and manage it. I won't have access to it to screw up your plan.

an organized still hunt by 4-5 guys is very effective at moving deer. Not where you're banging pots and pans but where you still hunt, slowly and surely. Walkers see and get shooting as much as watchers. Safety and listening skills are important. Deer under any pressure will change their patterns to adapt. TV shows make it seem too easy. Move the deer!! .

self righteous opinions.

I see that this turned into what I expected.

Anybody hear from germs??

may have hit something to slow bullet down, or its a gut shot and plugged up that hit part of front shoulder. Was blood in hoof print (usually means a leg shot)? I've seen it all, done it all. Found deer I shouldn't and lost ones for the wrong reasons. If nothing else, learn from your experiences. I hit a really nice buck, quartering away, hard (damn near walking dead away) in the neck. He took off across three wide open fields and a dead sprint. 3 guys in stands said, "he didn't look hurt at all". He was on a death run and bled out 700 yards away.

Since he's in a thicket it should blow over too bad. Plus, look for blood on sticks, twigs, grass and other pieces of woods in there. If you can pick up even small dimples and there's perhaps blood that's covered up by a layer of snow, use your boots to press down each step, the blood will show up. Don't shuffle , step down. Even just a little blood looks like a lot in snow. Good luck, keep us posted.

Let's not wreck this great thread by arguing about the methods that law enforcement use to catch scofflaws. Let's not sit here and pass judgement either. On whether I know when sunrise is, shoot more than once or take a buck with one 3.5 inch spike. There's other places to spout off. Thank you all in advance

I agree- if ANYONE thinks this about enforcement, you're wrong. This is to generate revenue and publicity. They write a lot of traffic infraction tickets during this nonsense. There are better ways to enforce the laws than inconveniencing every driver on a highway. PS- I write this because State Police roadblocks, with the Border Patrol in St. Lawrence County piss me off. 30 minute delay while they look through cars for a leaf of weed. ... or an inspection sticker being out of date Look , I have a ton of clients up that way, so I know.

Let this little guy go cause there's meat in freezer. Solon area was quiet. Saw 5 deer including him. Nobody got anything on on lease. Hoping snow will help IMG_0268.MOV

Spent last night helping my nephew track his first buck. At 3:45 he had 2 doe with 4 bucks chasing surround his stand. He shot the largest, a small racked 8 point at about 4 yards. On way in we moved a doe and a buck. He hit very high and the track was difficult. Took 3 hours and we lost blood a few times but we persevered and a few times I went ahead because it was high grass and think brush and we needed leaves. Finally, his lungs filled and we had good blood. The buck weighed 135. Cant get a pick off phone or I'd post it. Bottom line- they're still chasing in southern Oswego County

One of the biggest problems hunters have is access and choices. You could have 200 acres and they're just not there. My only experience with this was in 8N. 30 years ago farmers had signs up begging people to hunt deer. By the time we lost the land (family friend, business deals gone bad, sold land we got for $250 and acre for $3,000 an acre) we were restricted to 2 other parcels in that area that were friends of ours, our lot was biggest. Access? There were huge plots of land that were hunted by the TV crowd. 1,500 acres of prime deer land hunted by 3 people. Sit in a stand and shoot a monster, lock it up. Then shoot 75 doe in January with nuisance permits. This is just one example, there were numerous hundreds of acres plots where farmer's let the neighbor control the woods. You're not getting in. Look, deer hunters can be a weird lot. So, If I put 10 stands in a parcel and my buddy puts in 5 and so on does this mean nobody else should sit in my stands? I don't care. Others are furious that you got a nice deer from "their stand". Should I put one next to it, that's "mine"? If I choose not to be in that stand, why should I be mad? Now, if he's chewing tobacco, smoking, pissing and pooping then that's different. Have you not ever witnessed two hunters fight over a deer on a property line? Apparently, its only OK for the other guy to have a stand near a property line. My family owns 388 acres on the tug hill. The tippy top of the hill. Deer are scarce and we don't hunt it but opening weekend and thanksgiving weekend. I lease 60 acres with another guy in 7M , but its pricey. I am looking to flip houses with land that I can parcel off to hunt. My wife has told me more than once that she should just "buy you a big buck every year" for all the money I spend chasing deer. /rant

I live north of Syracuse and have hunted when it was -18 and I have a pile of gear I second all the comments on not getting over heated. I had a strap sewn into the inside of my parka when I was younger so I could carry it but now I just go slow and easy and don't get too heated up. 1. Base layer- UA Cold Gear and a couple thing layers up top. 2. Parka and insulated bibs, waterproof 3. thin nylon socks under a heavy pair of socks 4. Well insulated boots , consider electric socks or room for foot warmers 5 Good, warm gloves with room for hand warmers. Tree umbrella is a splendid idea, I prefer a blind. Good luck, tell us how bad you froze... lol All of this and you can sit in upstate NY during the dead of winter, hands and feet chill first. I literally have 3 bins of clothes, light, early season gear (for Saturday) and winter gear (for Sunday).

This morning my nephew calls me and tells me look out the side window of your house. Huge 8 point! Problem is he's lingering about 10 yards from my neighbors pole barn. I'm in 6 K and my gun buck tag is still good. .30-.30 in the kitchen now. He wanders to the back 40 and I go to work in my home office. Fast forward to me packing up the truck to take my crossbow to 7M. As I'm backing out of the driveway, here he comes, trotting through the yard like a damn race horse. Wind blowing, not a damn care in the world. Get out.... its busy

I know its a long ways away, a very long way away but there's a TON of state land that people struggle to get to. We're surrounded by 40,000 acres and very rarely run into a person, in fact its been 15 years. This is on the tughill. There's people who travel up there for 3-4 day hunts, own camps, etc. from your area. If you're looking to hunt in the Finger Lakes and other high deer density areas you'll have company. Also, they're not kidding, there's nobody really hunting a half mile from the parking lot on state land.

So we skinned and cut the deer up tonight. The arrow did pass through the deer at the most messed up angle. It entered just in the front of the hind quarter and ended up exiting the lower rib cage. Ruined some meat in the hind quarter but there's plenty of good meat left and it will be enjoyed. Congrats to all the hunters today. I had to drive to Rochester at 10:30 from north of syracuse and saw deer all over the fields, mid day, including some monster racks near Montezuma. My God I long for this time of year when I hunted near Rushville and Middlesex, I would be in my stand all day....

This guy did not appear to flinch. I sure did but that was after shot. I never saw bolt hit him bit I didn;t expect to

Very much so.... but was not even looking my way when I let go

wolc 123- he was broadside. I didn't see the bolt hit anything on the way but honestly, every time I shoot that Excalibur I am shocked at the sound and motion. I know one thing, I got lucky. I'll post results since he'll hang tonight and with warmth tomorrow I'll get him skinned and cut up.

took a busted up 4 point with a gimp with crossbow. It's an ok way to burn my tag. Back leg looked like it had been broken a while ago. Had him try and chase the doe in the field and then began making scrapes 50 yards in front of me. I decided if he cut through my island of trees I'd take a shot. He was 40 yards out and stopped behind a tree. All I had was head, neck and boiler room available so I aimed at boiler room and let the Excalibur roar (my god they're loud). He hunched and bolted out into field, tail down. He stopped about 20 yards out and I expected him to fall over. Then he ran over a knob and I lost him but never saw him cross field. I wait 30 minutes and go try to find arrow. Took a while and I find it about 20 feet past where he was and off to the right about 15 feet to right of where I expected. Its covered in tallow, no guts (thank you!) and there's a few drops of blood in leaves, bright red. I decide to see if I can find blood in an open field , in the dark now. It took about 3-4 minutes and there was lots. Tracked about 50 yards and there he was, with a hole in his hind quarter and evidence he bled out from a femoral artery hit. It must have hit something cause I could not even see his back legs when I shot. 2015 sucked for me , saw 2 deer during gun, and nothing within 75 yards during bow so I decided it was freezer time.

Currently sitting in my little honey hole in 7F. First time here in a year. Have a doe feeding 148 yards out and a few more up towards house. Always good just just to see deer.

I've hunted property next to the state park during bow season and trust me, nyantler is right about the neighbors and resistance! They just want them gone without the "mess" There is some great deer over there but they're almost domesticated. This area reminds me very much of the Ithaca area. Affluent and frankly difficult to deal with. I once had permission from a developer to hunt near Ithaca and we only had one problem after getting 3-4 beautiful bucks over a period of 5 years, with our bows. The last one we got made it about 400 yards before expiring, in a neighbors yard, while he was cooking at his grill. By the time we tracked it law enforcement was there, including the DEC. Guy was an absolute jerk about it, wanted us arrested for hunting (Sheriff deputy was going to write us a ticket, DEC educated him that we were very much legally hunting, and that even gun was legal where we were hunting). When we emerged from woods we could see all the law there (2 sheriffs, one DEC) and we went out to the road and approached them, basically apologizing for their aggravation. DEC was great complaining about the people who want the deer gone, like *poof, you're gone, cause we said so* and then cause us this problem. He checked our licenses and tags and was ecstatic we had a permission slip, legally written by our friends attorney. After getting berated by the owner the DEC asked the homeowner if we could tag the deer and the guy went nuts, saying no. I asked if we could leave and he said, "sorry guys." So we left, taking the long way around back to our vehicle. When we were leaving a cop pulls up behind us lights on and we're like, WTF? It was DEC guy. He said, "Hey guys, if you want this beautiful buck, it's yours and it's on me (he tagged it)" Of course we took it. These people are their own worst enemies with deer. I won't hunt Green Lakes area because of the neighbors.

bubba- I'm a bow hunter with a disability that severely restricts how I can bow hunt. My lumbar spine is a mess, bad genetics and a 20 foot fall has me having issues drawing and holding, even high let off % compounds and while I go out my confidence is shot past 20 yards. I wait for crossbow. I also live right on the border of the NZ and SZ so my season starts on 9/27 with gun about a month later. In my over 30 years of hunting I've gotten one doe with a bow in September and a few deer during early muzzle up north. The difference between northern and southern is great. You assessment regarding entitlement is a bit off as I see things as generational. There's always been asshole hunters and with the way things have changed in just one generation (access, participation, television hunting shows, stands, gear) we need to change the way we hunt in order to be successful. With that all said bow hunting deer and gun hunting should not be done at the same time. Sorry but if you want the extra time, invest the time and resources to use the legal implements. I for one, don't want to hear about being excluded, or having a disability as an issue. Let's follow the rules we have and understand that bow hunting and gun hunting are very different and deserve their own season.

I started to bow hunt because I wanted more time in the woods. I was one of only two people who had permission to hunt a beautiful old farm on the Ontario / Yates County line that was owned by a family of gun hunters. The owner gave me permission to bow hunt because I was the guy that would mow the fields so we could see. I was the person who checked every single tree stand (25 of them) for safety and would repair. The owner basically said, "you can do what you want, have a ball". Then, a few of the younger guys picked up bows (in the family, but extended, cousins, nephews, etc.) and we had some decent success. One year, in a span of 5 hours 3 mature bucks and 2 doe were taken by 5 bow hunters. Opening day of gun was miserable, snowing, blowing, and not much moving around and the conversation that night was that, "the bow hunters killed them all." I looked around the table and asked everyone how many deer they saw that day, some saw none, some saw a lot. I saw 17 but knew better... So, the owner told everyone there, bow hunters get one deer, choose wisely. Next year when I went down to work the guy said to me, "you do what you want, none of these guys ever show up unless it's to hunt." Bow season went slow that year, warm and not much going on until the week before the opener when it got cold and snowy. Since I was in a 5 acre patch of oaks deer were everywhere as day light approached. A nice buck was literally munching on acorns right behind me but I could not move because of deer in front of me. When he finally moved, just off to the left of me at about 5 yards I drew and shot, literally within seconds of legal shooting (yeah, it may have been a minute before or after). I knew it was a great hit so I walked away from where the deer went and towards the cabin. When I got there the owner asked if I was OK, what you forget? Do you need the bathroom, lol? I said, nope, just waiting to go get the buck I got. He laughed and said, lets have breakfast and I'll help you. Then he said, "this one is just between us, I appreciate all you do here." He died this year and was like the big brother I never had. We lost that farm in 2010. I miss him and the crew we hunted with big time. These guys were my friends and did not get it and that was the morale of my story

^^^No matter how many times I reread this I'm still not really understanding what you're trying to get at with that ^^