NonTypical

Went to my new spot tonight. Saw several does and a beautiful 10 pt. Probably mid 140 class. This wasn't the buck that I saw there earlier in the week. I set my cam up tonight where he came out. Im not sure if I'll be there tomorrow night, but if not I'll be there Monday evening.

There's nothing like a good muff to keep your hands warm...

Hung Don Lo?

His opening line, "Nice to meet you. I am Hung."

I've come to realize that they will still move even on a windy day. You just need to know where to look. I found a new spot last night. And I saw a really nice buck with a harem of does feeding there. Even better, I got permission today to hunt it. It's a small piece surrounded by homes. The plan is to scout it from a distance to see where they are moving, then try to set up on him over the weekend. It's a good food source, so hopefully he keeps hitting it for the next few days. Fingers are crossed.

Late report. I hunted Monday evening. I saw a couple of does at last light. I heard several barks and spotted a beautiful red fox about 50 yds away. I squeaked him in and he came right to the base of my tree. I thought it was pretty cool as I've never heard a fox bark before. I'll try to get out again this weekend. Hopefully my target buck is still holding. We'll see.

3 months into a 4 month season will wear you out. The best advice that I can give is to learn as many of the lesser known state land spots for next season. I'd start once we get some snow on the ground and scout during the off season. There are many good spots to be had and hunting out of a stand will greatly increase you odds.

They won't ever clear it. Those areas that you are speaking of need to be hunted from a stand. Still hunting won't cut it. As far as the other spot that you're referring to, it's a mess. I would suggest moving on to some lesser known spots. That spot has gotten so much attention due to the visibility of big deer there for so many years before it was open. Now everybody wants to hunt there. It's out of control. There is plenty of state and county land out east that doesn't see much pressure. And if still hunting is your thing, you need to find those spots without so much undergrowth. Or buy a stand.

Thankfully, that spot will always be the same. However the entire South Fork has changed quite a bit over the years. A lot of my spots on that side no longer exist.

Just curious, where about on the east end? A lot has changed out here over the years, but yet some things never change.

It's because a good portion of the island probably has the highest deer densities in the state. It is also a highly populated area as far as people. For a long time with a 500' setback, that equated to many sanctuaries where deer could not be hunted legally. We also have a very limited gun season in January that you need all kinds of permits for. For years we have had a deer population that has continued to grow. It has grown so much that there are now deer as far west as Nassau county all the way to the queens border. We still can't hunt in Nassau county, so the population will continue to grow. DEC needs to bring back the earn a buck tags where if you shoot a doe, you could earn a buck tag. Better yet make it that you have to shoot 2 does. That's the only hope in trying to keep the population in check.

All of this joking around and down here we really have 6 more weeks of hunting to go. Who's going to have the last laugh now? Some of the best hunting is yet to come down here as the 2nd rut winds down, does herd up, and bucks get back into bachelor groups and start to get very predictable once again. Just have to hope they hold there horns for a while longer. Hopefully I'll make it out this weekend or xmas day. Some of my best hunts have come during the last week of the year. Good luck to all of those that can still get out.

I hunted a new area that I set my cam up at last week Sunday evening. Had a close encounter with this great buck, but unfortunately I had no shot. He walked past my cam at 3:30 and I had him at about 40 yds not long after that. I'm really kicking myself that I didn't go with my original plan to set up where my cam was. I might get the perfect wind xmas day, and if so, I'll be there waiting for him. On another note, there were plenty of scrapes that were opened up again this past week. My guess is that we are now in the 2nd post rut phase. I also got a pic of one buck that shed one side this week.

Google NYS DEC harvest reports.

2016 was only slightly better than 2015, and both years showed the lowest take since 2006, so saying that numbers are up really doesn't say much. We've had some really good years, but I don't think this year was one of them.

I would try an afternoon hunt then.

Are you sure that's not bedding? It sure sounds like it. I would think that maybe they were getting back in there earlier than usual. Either way, if activity has dropped off, I'm sure that they are feeling the pressure.

If I had the time to hunt a few days a week and it was a small spot, I'd try to have a couple of spots and put it in a rotation. Only hunt them on the correct wind, and don't over hunt them. If any of the spots allow you to pick multiple trees, mix them up and keep the deer guessing. I don't keep track, but I would guess that about 80% of the Bucks that I've killed were from a tree that I set up in on my first sit.

I would hunt it in the evening and try to set up in a transition area in the morning close to bedding. If you can't get close to their bedding area, then at least far enough away from the feeding area that you won't bump them. if your hunting the area that much, you may be over hunting it.

What type of area is it that you're setting up in? Bedding, feeding, or transition?

Lol. I should add that this was in 1c. Our season goes until the end of January. We have unlimited doe tags and in another week or 2, it will be game on! I usually like to wait until the end of the second rut before I do my part in thinning the herd.

Passed on 15 does this evening during a mostly rain and snow mix hoping one of the big bucks showed up. Not tonight though.

Went out with the bow this morning in anticipation of seeing signs of the 2nd rut. I wasn't disappointed. Ended up seeing 7 does, a spike , and a busted up 8. His G2 and G3 are broken off on his left side. He'll be a good one next year. Last week I rattled in the same 8 and let him walk. This morning I spotted him about 100 yds out and hit the can. He came in on a string. As he walked off, I watched him make a scrape. Not too long after that I got a pic of him on my cam following a doe. The spike that I saw had his nose to the ground and was bird dogging back and forth. No sign of my target buck, but still a good hunt for mid December. Looks like the 2nd rut is right on schedule.

If he was a trouble maker, he must've been pretty good at making duck noises. Lol

I used to go to Hockey camp there every summer, also back in the 80's. That was when Lou Lamarillo was still the coach. Fun times.