5.9cummins

What a surprise. 70+ republican election monitors also had to be re-instated by a judge in Philly because they had been refused entry.

I would have made hamburger instead of friends.

I find it hard to believe he jumped the string but then i think back to the second buck i ever shot at. I was sitting in a stand along a tractor path in front of a big block of apples on my left and big thicket of spruce on my right that deer bed in. I had laid down a scent line walking down the tractor trail through the bedding area to my stand. I had also stuck a scent canister on one of the apple trees at 15 yards. I was sitting in my stand watching a couple bucks running a doe in the apples when i caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned slowly to see a huge 6 point with a snow white rack nose to the ground following my trail. As he passed my stand i drew when his head was behind some grass nose still to the ground. He stopped at my scent wick and as soon as his nose touched it he stiffened right up, legs locked and hair standing up (he smelled me on the wick). He was at 15 yards quartering away. I took the shot. Shooting my dads 1973 Fred Bear Whitetail II i watched as the buck dropped and loaded his legs to jump and had he jumped forward i would have cleanly missed. Instead he pivoted back to his right directly into the path of the arrow. I watched as the arrow drove right into the base of his neck / upper back just above the shoulder blades (spine). Only he didn't drop (obviously impacted bone but did not sever the spine). I watched as he ran up hill 40 yards to the other tractor trail and stood there for 15-20 seconds with my arrow sticking straight up out of the back of his neck. I am not sure if the broad-head even fully penetrated. He then took off back down the trail he came. I tracked him for 400 yards before completely loosing blood. Now i am sure that anyone that saw that arrow in that deer would have thought what a horrible shot. Who the $%#% would have taken that shot. But i am also sure that i am not the only one who would have shot thinking that they had a good opportunity to harvest a magnificent deer. I learned a lesson, don't shoot a spooked deer. And for the record he did live. He was shot the next season opening weekend of gun season by the neighbor and was now a 4.5 year old 7pt. The neighbor wondered how i knew he had a broad head wound between his shoulder blades. I replay that scene every year while i sit in a stand.

Only if your in your underware.

nice

I know, I have done the same but i like my peace and quiet. 11-5-12 Got a wild hair today and decided to try some place new. Public land . Had a little six pointer run in front of the truck just before i got there and saw a half dozen does in some of the fields near by. Got there a little late but i had not scouted it so i wasn't going anywhere in the dark. First couple spots i wanted to try already had trucks parked at them. Found a spot I wanted to try without competition and set out to find a decent spot. Got a couple hundred yards in and started still hunting. Had a half racked six pointer with a spike on the other side (or busted main beam) cross behind me at 8:30. I probably could have gotten a shot at him but I am looking for something a little bigger. Got cold and decided to take a drive by 10:30 and have a look around. On the way out crossing a field i spotted another spike and doe fawn feeding about 100 yards away. Shortly after that i spotted three more doe silhouetted against the skyline just off the property line at the top of the hill. Took a drive to find where the pressure was coming from, had lunch and got warmed up. Went back to my original spot that i wanted to try and found the guy that was there in the morning at his truck. I had a nice conversation with him and he gave me a good idea of where most guys were hunting. He also told me that a nice 8 point had just been seen by his buddy less than 20 minutes ago standing in the middle of the road about a 1/4 mile away. He was going to one end of the property and i wanted to go to the other so it worked out well. I went back and found another guys stand along with a lot of foot prints and a couple pools of day old blood. Also found quite a bit of rubs. The guy i talked to said that you could not cross the swamp and that is where the deer were coming from. Judging by the amount of traffic the field was getting i figured that there wouldn't be much coming out early. I went back and picked my way through the swamp to a little elevated ridge that ran through the middle of it. As i suspected it wasn't that hard to get there and NO ONE had been back there. The little rise was torn up with rubs. I worked back about 150 yards and found a couple hemlock trees and made myself at home. For a while i was entertained by some geese in the swamp and some owls hooting back and forth. At about 4:30 i caught movement and had a little button work in and stand directly under me. Then a second button worked in and did the same. They eventually wandered around behind me until one of them got out far enough to catch my wind and they split. I thought i could hear several other deer in the hardwoods but i couldn't see them. I am definitely going back to that spot. On the way out once on the road i saw another half dozen deer right down the road one of which was a doe with three yearlings and a busted / injured front leg. I also saw one of the biggest bucks i have seen in a very long time on the way home. Unfortunately i don't have permission for any land close to where i saw him.

There expanding. Last year there were several reports from Rochester and Buffalo suburbs.

Your legs broken? I routinely walk 1/2, 3/4, a mile or more to access to some spots. I find the harder you work to get to the spot the less competition you have. And usually the more deer you will see. I wouldn't pay that much attention to sign by the road unless there is a lot of ag fields near by that could be holding the deer close. If your talking a bigger chunk of woods it should be about equal (aside from minor environmental things like specific bedding areas or mast trees). I would keep with the "off the beaten path stuff". Deer activity should be picking up especially during the day now. Keep your chin up.

Sweet

Thanks 11-4-12 Went out tonight and struck out. The original spot i wanted to go was crawling with 4 wheeler activity so i went to a back up spot. Once i got there i realized i forgot my climbing sticks so i decided i would sit a two man ladder stand just off the bedding area. Half way to the stand i could hear voices and herd a saw fired up. The property owners are building a Taj Mahal shooting house down behind the two man ladder stand. So it was off to walk the rest of the property. Didn't find much that looked good so i ended up tucking back into a hole in a stand of spruce. Didn't see or hear a thing but i did watch a red-tail lay the smack down on another bird. The prey bird kept to a bush that was really thick and the hawk got tangled in the bush while the smaller bird would just hop around inside it. Eventually the hawk got the better of him though. As i was packing up to leave i heard a couple coyotes let loose up near where the shooting house is being built. I heard them one of the other days i was at this spot. I don't think they are helping with the deer activity. Hopefully one of them will show when I am on stand and i can let the air out of him.

I hunt and live in 9Y. I pass alot of little deer during the archery and earlyt GUN season but if my freezer still has space at the end of the season anything is fair game as far as i am concerned. Shoot what makes you happy. I am not about to go without venison so some one can wrap there hands around a nice set of antlers.

Going to spend the day wishing i was in the woods. Got some Honey do chores, taking care of the kids, finishing up some church fundraiser stuff and grocery shopping to do. On the up side i am going to be living in the stand until Wednesday night. Only time i plan on coming out of the woods is to vote possibly on Tuesday afternoon but if i can vote late i am planning on being in the woods from sun up to sun down all 4 days. Back to work Thursday and Friday and then 3 more days in the stand. And I am predicting that i am going to be sick at least once next week

Are you cleaning that deer or getting ready to do artificial insemination? Just kidding Congrats. P.S. Those gloves just brought back some memories i thought i was rid of.

Went out this afternoon walked in on the south side of a bedding area that i hunted last week. Felt like one of those days that something was going to happen. Got to the corner of the bedding area and I stopped and pondered sitting in a two man ladder stand in the hardwoods about 50 yards away but decided to work up the tractor trail along the bedding area and pick a tree along the bedding area. Got about 50 yards up the tractor trail and i thought i heard a grunt. Then I heard it again, and again, and again, CRAP caught in the open and no good place to duck in. Finally found and spot and slipped in making as little noise as possible but a lot more than i wanted. I hunkered down nocked an arrow and waited watching out the one good shooting lane i had. 20 minutes and nothing. So i said screw it and started setting up a Norway spruce on the edge of the bedding area. I trimmed some branches and settled in. Snowed like crazy and wind was whipping. Had a couple red squirrels to keep me company. With about 30 minutes of shooting light left i hear something in the trees out in front of me. A big doe and yearling run out about 25 yards to my right but didn't stop long enough for a shot and run right back into the trees. They crossed the tractor trail about 80 yards further down. About a minute later i hear something else coming out of the trees. A little spike unicorn popped out at about 15 yards but i let him walk. To top of the day got another two DMP's for up at my buddies house.

Went out this morning and sat a little wooded point. Went in blind and picked out a tree climbed up and sat for a couple hours. Didnt see or hear anything except a red squirrle. He was unloading his stash from under a log which was entertaining for a while but then the dark side of me got an idea. Put a small game head on and while he was down the hole (only thing sticking out was his tail) i let fly. He came ran away and came back but every time he got near the arrow he came unglued. Still cant figure out how i missed, he was down the hole and the arrow was stuck smack in the middle of the hole. Found a rub directly next to the tree i was in when i got down along with a fresh scrape about 25 yards away. Made a small blind a little ways away. Headed to the town clerks office to try and pick up an extra DMP or two and then back out.

Eden is in Erie co.

11-1-12 After church this morning i headed out to move one of my sets. Got to the spot started walking in and jumped a nice buck, doe and another deer half way to the stand. Long story short i am going to leave that stand and hope for the best. Went across the road and walked in to the south side of the beech thicket. Picked out my spot and started making a little blind. Worked on it for about an hour moving branches and trimming a couple shooting lanes. Got all settled in a little after noon and sat until dark. Didn't see a damn thing except for a red fox just before last light.

Reminds me of when my old man thought he could trip a switch that was located behind a pneumatic press / piston and get his finger out of the way in time. Only issue was the switch caused the piston to slam shut. Generally i hold my dad in pretty high regard as he is a smart man. But on that day he got the Darwin award. He was not faster than the machine if you haven't guessed. He ended up getting the end of his finger flattened. He still has limited use of it because several tendons were severed where they connect to bone and could not be fixed. Hope you make a fast recovery with minimal long term damage.

Thanks Rick 10-31-12 Got out late this morning after helping get the kids ready for school. Walked in at grey light and ended up jumping some deer but i dont know what. 3/4's of the way to the stand i see another boot print in the mud, %&*#$. I dont have sole permission but didnt want to screw anyones hunt up. Shortly after that i find another boot print heading out of the woods, so at least i dont have to worry about bumping into someone. As i ease into my spot i find this guys stand set up about 100 yards from my tree. I slipped in and climed up but never saw a thing. When i leave i decided to slip down the property line along the beech thicket where i was set up. Found another nice spot to sit at the south end of the thicket where the creek exits the thicket into a bowl and to top it off it had a couple of heavly used runs and three fresh rubs. I think i will let the other guy have the north end and i am planning on erecting a makeshift blind on the lip of the bowl where the deer are crossing between the beech thicket and a group of norway spruce.

I think i am going to do this again this year.

10-27-12 Went out this AM and put some miles on still hunting. Didn't see squat all morning until i was headed back to the truck. I stopped as i was crossing through some hardwoods from one field to another and had a doe pop out of a balsam plantation 50 yards to my right. She moved off but i was on the down wind side of the group of trees so i still hunted through them. Jumped a small buck and two doe which were beaded.

I think a 5.0 would be a little anemic in my truck.

10-21-12 I went up to my buddies house in Cayuga co. and got out for the first time this year. After staying up till 1:30 catching up with him i was up at 1/4 till 5:00. He walked me into one of his spots where a thicket opens up into hardwoods with a small clearing and a nice maple in the center. I climbed up and settled in for the morning. As it began to get lighter i had a couple turkeys start to tree yelp about 75-80 yards in front of me. Then the crows started up and a flurry of gobbles erupted from the trees out in front. Then a second set of birds 250 yards down the ridge started calling back. Then a third bird from behind me (which i later figured out was his new turkey down in the pen). I had a couple thousand geese fly over and there were more squirrels and chipmunks than i could count. At 8:40 i looked over my shoulder to see a couple brown spots moving through the thicket at a pretty good clip. I grabbed the bow clipped the release and came to full draw. A nice doe and yearling cruzed by at 17 yards but turned and headed down the hill. I couldn't get a shot due to a couple of saplings blocking the shooting lane. If they had come another two yards before turning i would have loosed the first arrow of the season. Got down at 10 did a little trimming and headed back to the house. Where i proceeded to give my buddy an ear full about cutting shooting lanes. Went back out at around 3:00. Sat on the end of an old stone fence near a rock outcropping. At one point i had 15 chipmunks within site at the same time. The wind started picking up and it began to drizzle a little. I took the opportunity to still hunt down the ridge a little. During the middle of the move the wind died sun came out and a rainbow appeared on the horizon. I finished my move to the other end of the ridge hoping to catch a turkey coming back to roost. Packed it in and headed back to the house after only seeing more squirrels and chipmunks. When i got back to the house my wife informed me that she had just got a call and her cousins wife had just passed. She was 26 and lost her year and a half fight with leukemia. She passed right about when the storm broke and the rainbow came out.

Anyone who would take a shot at you and say your not a hunter because your a liberal has a seriously flawed argument. They might not agree with your stance on something but that doesn't make you any less of a hunter. I have to applaud you at your commitment to get out and hunt. Keep in mind though its all about choice. You can choose where to live, work, play, hunt (so on and so forth). I find myself frustrated and want to complain about my situation (I have even done it on here before) but usually i end up stepping back and realize how good i have it. My wife's cousin passed at 26 on Saturday after a year and a half battle with leukemia. Kind of puts things in perspective. Make sure your spending time with your kids.

I think you too have a crush on one another.