regulat0r

thanks for the advice...i wont blame you if i dont see anything...my only fear is that judging by the size of these rubs, this is a mature buck who has sensed a human presence since opening day and has gone nocturnal...

Hi guys/gals...I was hoping you all could help me decide which spot i sit in tomorrow.I am torn between the 2 and I would love to hear some feedback...each spot is private land... Spot A- hunted there with a buddy Thursday (thanksgiving) morn. had a nice 8 come in right after legal light. my buddy shot and MISSED! the deer ran 50 yds, stopped,looked back, stomped a few times then walked away slow. Spot B- i have hunted 3 times already including this morn. each time i sit i see a bunch of does but no bucks HOWEVER, every time i climb down after my morning sit there a a ton of rubs all around my stand on big trees. I would love to hear your thoughts/advice as to what stand i should choose for tomorrow morn. Thanks!!

on Monday morning after opening weekend...is that waking up at 5:30 will feel like sleeping late. The last 2 days, I have been waking up at 3:45 to take my shower, drive to my property, get dressed, walk in to my stand, get set, and have my head lamp out by 5:45. Oh well. Ill be back out there this weekend after a short work week...

I had similar struggles the first few yrs of my bow hunting career as well. If I may offer some advice that I follow to this day you might find it helpful as well. 1-practice shooting from irregular heights/distances. its easy to hit your mark when you are practicing in the summer months when you are in your back yard shooting at the 20-25-30 yard markers. real world hunting however is not the same. The deer will most likely not be standing still, broad side at 20 yards just as the target is in july. i like to climb up to the roof of my garage and shoot down at targets at varying distances in my back yard. accurately judging distance is equally important as shooting technique. you might be dead on at 25 yards but if you are using that pin on a deer that in 31 yards away, you are in trouble. 2- as cliche as it sounds, create your own pre shot routine. when i see a deer i want to shoot i repeat the same thing a few times in my head..."bend at the waist----hold it and hold it" bend at the waist is obvious and "hold it and hold it" means hold your pin where you want to hit and hold your form after the shot. i even try to watch my arrow through my sight to avoid "pre-peeking" and throwing my arrow off. i hope this helps...

nope...its an indoor, 100 yd range. ive been there many times before w no issue...

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I was at the range today. I fired 5 shots dead on at 75 yds. That is where I like to be zeroed in bc I hunt in thick hardwoods during gun season. Anyway, after letting my barrel cool down for a few minutes, i resumed shooting. I sent my target out to 75 yds and got into shooting position. I looked through the scope, target was crystal clear, however my cross hairs seemed invisible. I reset my position, looked through again, and the cross hairs were clear for a second and then faded away again. I put my gun down and rubbed my eyes and my vision was fine. I quickly peeked through the scope and everything was fine but as soon as I got into shooting position again, The cross hairs were blurry and then "faded" away. When I got home, I took my gun out and held it up aiming at the back field and everything was fine. I was wearing my clear shooting glasses each time. Has anyone experienced this before?

i have pics saved on my iphone. can someone give me clear directions on how to post pics in a forum post...im not the most techy guy...

I knew the weather was going to be great this morning so I sat in one of my favorite spots in an oak flat next to the power lines behind my dads house. About 2 mins after legal light, a little scrappy 6 came crunching behind me. He made it to 15 yards to my right. I was debating taking the shot bc I didnt take a buck last year but I also knew there wasd a big 8 behind my own house I have been hunting. All of a sudden, I heard crunch crunch stop from the exacy opposite direction. I swing my head around and see a big bodied deer walking right at the young 6 looking like he wanted a fight. I couldnt count points bc he was moving at a good clip but I saw a lot of bone on top of his head. He came to the right of me about 10 yards away from the young deer. Both deer were about 20 yds to my right. I drew on the big guy as he was walking in and when he stepped into a clearing, I gave him a BAAAHH- he stopped and I let my arrow fly. I watched through my sight but I didnt see the arrow go in. I did hear it go "THWACK" and I saw him jump and mule kick. At this point, both deer take off running. They both ran in the same direction next to each other weaving in and out of each other so I couldnt tell which was the deer I shot!!!! suddenly at about 50 yards. I saw one deer stop and stay still, I saw horns but I still didnt know if it was the big deer I shot or the young 6. He was milling around walking real slow and I heard a long "POOOOFFFFFF" sound like air being let out of a tire. My stomach tunred to knots bc I know this is the sound of a gut shot deer. He made the sound twice. He continued to walk away slow until he was out of dight. I thought I heard a "crash" noise but I couldnt tell if my ears were playing tricks on e, or if it was squirrels or a falling branch. After 2 hours I climbed down from my tree and went to the spot where I hit him. I panicked again when I found my arrow busted in 2. It was snapped in pieces about 9 inches and 20 inches. The front (long) piece was covered in bright red blood and the back piece was covered as well. I had no idea what could have made that happen. I found one drop of blood where he was hit but nothing else near the spot. Luckily he turned up a bunch of leaves as he ran so I went to where it looked like he stopped running. When I got there I found a ton of bright red blood. Still worried about the possible gut shot, I made the right decision, backed out, and walked to my dads. I called my buddy and he and my dad and I went out about 2 hours later. We went to the spot where I found the start of the trail again and found great blood. He didnt make it more than 30 yards from where I decided to back out. It turns out it was only a 5 pntr but the biggest, thickest one I have ever seen. A very old deer as well. Lots of white on his snout so i am guessing 3.5. I ended up hitting him literally on the edge of the back shoulder and came out the edge of the back shoulder. I am guessing thats why the arrow snapped and broke apart. I am happy with my deer and my decision to back out even thought he didnt go far...

no... i used my regular bow tag on the doe instead of the DMP i wanted to

I drew a DMP for the area I live, 3M. I took a doe on opening day and mistakenly used my regular tag on her. I also shot a buck this morning so my only bow tag left is the 3M DMP tag I drew. I mistakenly used my regular tag on my doe instead on the DMP i had intended to. I planned on hunting my property upstate for the remainder of bow season but now realize I cannot bc I only have the DMP for 3M. If I call the DMP hotline on the DEC site and explain the situation, AND show them my already filled out tag, do you think they will give me another tag or am I out of luck?

I just got permission to hunt a piece of land near me. I scouted last weekend and found a narrow oak flat with many worn down deer trails leading to cover. It looked like a great spot so I hung a hand on stand there. The problem is it was 90 degrees that day and I was a sweaty mess. I know I left a ton of sweat/ scent in that area. If I let the spot settle for 2 weeks until the opener and maybe even a week into the season (3 weeks total) do u think I will be safe with deer being wise to me? I always hear so many different theories when it comes to leaving human scent near a stand. Any thoughts?

are we all just gonna pretend that there is not a mineral block and a pile of corn dumped in front of this guys cam?

where is this pic taken?

I bow hunt the wooded property behind my house.... all summer long i have had a ton of deer on trail cam including 2 big 8's i have my eye on. i pulled my cams last week still with plenty of deer pics. 3 days ago, the old farm field next to my property started to get developed. they are cutting in a road, digging wells, and digging drainage basins. needless to say, with all the bulldozers, steam rollers, trucks etc working all day they are making a ton of noise and commotion. will my deer be scared away from my wooded property or will they not be bothered by all the activity. i really hope all this new work didnt run my deer out of town. any thoughts??

congrats to you and your dad but for everybodys best interest, please do not pose for pictures with the barrell of a shotgun pointed at your dads neck. one of the first rules we learn is to treat every gun as if its loaded and to be mindful of muzzle direction/safety...

I have been using a traditional 4 pin tru glo sight with pins marked for 20-25-30-35 yds. I mess around with 35 yd shots in my backyard but would never take a longer shot than that at an animal. Ive noticed in the past few yrs that when I draw back on a deer, the 4 pins make my view seem cluttered and it can be distracting. I was thinking about setting one pin for dead on at 25 yds. my bow shoots about 300 fps so 20-30 yd shots would have very little difference. has anybody made this switch or have any insight about a single pin sight? Thanks!!

I had a case of cabin fever yesterday so I took my dog for a long walk in the woods around one of the farms that I hunt. I walked by 2 of my hang on stands. They have been out for 4 years. They looked fine but it made me wonder how many seasons should I keep them out there for. In addition to the regular factory strap, I always use an additional slide buckle strap AND a ratchet strap that I replace every year. They were in great shape this past bow season but with the frigid cold and snow this year it got me thininking. Dicks sells the stands I like for only 40 bucks but I would rather not spend 80 bucks if I dont need to. Any thoughts??

good point. i can see how it can keep getting pushed further. while reading the other thread though...i saw many many guys saying that they wait until exact legal shooting time because its the law, no exceptions. i was hoping that some of the guys that do that could respond and indicate if they ALWAYS drive the speed limit.

i know there is an entire thread discussing legal shooting times and the feeling regarding the "flexibility" about the exact times. I was sharing this topic with a buddy of mine and he brought up a good point. We both agreed that hunting is a great way to learn, value, and apreciate ethics...especially in young people. He was saying that regarding legal shooting times, a lot of guys say.."its the law and thats that". I saw several guys on this forum say that and I agree. To the guys that say this however, how many of you can say that you do not drive 1 mph over the speed limit? Both legal shooting times and speed limits are constructed with safety in mind. We know however that driving 5 mph over the speed limit will not pose a significant danger nor will shooting an animal 5 minutes before/after legal shooting time. I also agree that driving 30 mph over the speed limit is dangerous just as sitting in a tree stand until 9pm waiting for a buck would be dangerous. For discussion sake...to the guys who strictly follow legal shooting times...can you say that you do not drive even 1 mph over the speed limit and if you do, how do you compare the two? BTW- i am not advocating breaking any laws I am simply creating a discussion topic based on a conversation I had with a fellow sportsman.

I need some help guys. I have sat out for the past four days and have not seen a thing!! I have tried hunting food sources as I figure deer would be out searching for food in this deep snow. I have had no luck. Ill be going out the next 2 days. Anybody have any tips for late season deer, especially in snow? Thanks!

interesting point...ok change in topic now...when should I STOP using scents? i usually use them during the first wknd of gun season. should i ease up during the 2nd wknd and thanksgiving wknd of gun? why?

this is the last wknd of bow before gun season starts for us SZ guys. I have started seeing some new bucks in the woods and both bucks and does acting jittery and jogging around. would it be too early to use a scent drag to my stands this wknd? im in 3m hudson valley area...

After my morning hunt in one spot, I stopped by another farm that I recently got permission to hunt to do a quick scout before I hunt there tomorrow morn. Last time I was there was in July when I trimmed some shooting lanes. I walk towards my tree where I go up in my climber and about 40 yards from it I see a brand new ladder stand. In addition to that, I see a huge pile of crushed corn about 20 yards to the left of the ladder with a trail cam pointed right at it!!! When I met the farmer, he mentioned that he has not given anyone else permission to hunt the area where I go (he gave permission on the other side of the farm) The farmer does not hunt and this is his busy season with pumpkin picking, hay rides, and harvesting crops to transport to NYC farmers markets. He is super busy and a pile of corn does not seem like it would be high on his priority list. If this was my own personal property I would absolutely take the ladder and cam and leave a number to call if the guy wanted it back. Should I call DEC? I'm not sure what exactly they could do? I still plan on hunting in my spot tomorrow but this really makes me mad!!!

My wife does shift work and leaves the house at 6pm. She is not feeling well today and asked if I can help her get ready for work and see her off. Clearly this kills my chances of an afternoon hunt. However, I do have a stand behind the tree line of my backyard. If I am dressed w my gear and see her off at 6, I can literally be in my stand at 6:05. I've noticed the deer don't move back there until just before 7. Should I hunt the stand? I only hunt on weekends so even if I did spook a deer getting in I wouldn't hunt again until next weekend or I could just hunt one of my other spots next weekend. I know it's not an ideal situation but I want to take every opportunity I have. What do you guys think?

Sorry for the confusing title...what I mean is what order do you follow when drawing to shoot from a tree stand? Do you draw first and then bend at the waist to the spot where the deer is? Do you bend first and then draw back? when do you find your anchor point? I missed on a doe last night that was 15 yards in front of me. Luckily I missed clean right under her so there was no injury. Looking back now, I think I dropped my arm instead of bending at the waist. Please share your routine. Thanks!