sampotter

I finally just watched the video- that guy does it the hard way. Plus, if it is a deer you aren't worried about saving the cape of it goes a heck of a lot quicker.

Trail cameras are a blast! I look at mine like a trapline and can't wait to see what is on there. I've only killed one buck I've previously had on a camera. I do use them to at least determine whether it's worth spending much time hunting a certain spot. I would say the biggest advantage of trail cameras is they give me HOPE which might keep me hunting a certain spot a little more often or more carefully than I would otherwise. Getting a picture of a deer is a long, long way from killing it. Heck, trail cameras probably hurt my chances more than helping them. Early- you should be thankful that young man was either nice or naïve enough to share his pictures with a grouchy stranger. I wouldn't have done the same.

I've boned out a lot more deer than I've dragged out but it has always depended on distance from a road. Even then, I bone most out when I get home. The last one I shot I was able to drive directly to it and load it without even gutting it, thereby not messing up the spot too much. I still boned her out when I got home because the temps were in the 70s.

On the family property between Raquette Lake and Cranberry Lake

One of my cousins snapped this grainy shot last week...

Feels like the perfect night...

I'm not sure we live in the same NY?

Mid 120s. Too bad he doesn't get bonus points for looking cool.

I'm no expert but I've always had one. There's nothing better than sitting by the stove on a cold day...

Just keep it to a light toot or two, leave a fair amount of time between sessions, and never ever do it if a deer is alert and looking in your general direction. Fun, isn't it?

Some counties have the tax map superimposed on aerial photos.

Try searching the county name and "gis"

At some point there might be. They are popping up all over CT.

These are the 8 different bulls my brother got on trail cams last year.

Ha, no. I live in Union Springs but have a camp near Raquette Lake.

#31 But it was moose shed!

Thank you Sir.

Growing up on a farm I've seen a lot of animals die- many of them at my own hands. In fact, unless anyone in here works in a slaughterhouse it would be a safe bet that I've killed more animals by age 32 than most of you will even think about killing in your lifetime. I'm not bragging, just pointing out that I've been privy to more than my share of dying and death. It is one thing to take a 150 yard shot at a deer and find it dead when you walk up to it. It's a whole other thing to be looking a cow dead in the eye, put the muzzle to her forehead, and pull the trigger. I'm betting there's a lot of tough guys that would change their tune once they've done this a few times. I talk myself through it because the animal doesn't know what hit them and I am being merciful. We used to have Western Europeans come to the farm when I still lived in CT to slaughter calves and bulls. Many of them were Muslim I believe, and according to their religion the animal had to die by having it's throat slit so the blood could run out. Try standing there and looking a calf in the eye as the life runs out of it's jugular... I watched several of the customers vomit on the spot and I'll admit it is really unsettling to look an animal in the eye during the time when all hope is lost and death in inevitable but the animal is still conscious of what is going on. I finally was able to talk most customers into letting me stun the animal with a hammer before they slit the throat- best of both worlds; the religious beliefs are upheld but the animal is not conscious. I shot a doe last week in CT and watched her go down within sight- I'll admit I had mixed feelings as it was fairly similar to what I described in the previous paragraph. I shot her right through the heart and she died about as quickly as they can when shot with an arrow, but there was still that period of time when the fatal blow has been struck and the life leaks from the body through a wound onto the ground as the animal wanders confused by what is happening. I do celebrate when I am successful in killing a deer but with every one I kill I realize that the kill itself is the least of the reasons I am hunting. It can almost be a bit of a letdown when it's all over. I am not telling anyone else not to celebrate but have respect and don't take death too lightly.

That was my 1st thought!

I hunted in CT last week and shot a yearling doe. I also hunted Fri, Sat, Sun this past weekend in the ADKs. Had 2 does at 20 yards but wasn't going to shoot them. Saw a couple of fresh rubs.

Huh- I'm a little embarrassed to just notice the spelling of the title... anyway, here's an old moose shed I picked up on Friday. Probably been laying there for 3-5 years. Porcupines, bears, and coyotes have all had a piece of it. Smells like a really old sneaker.

Definite injury. Look at the hock. Same things happens once in a while to our cows.

You can't beat their nose for sure but you can beat their brain! Doing your very best to manage the scent you produce can at least make them think you are farther away than you are than you really are. I once had over 20 does and fawns downwind of me within 50 yards after the wind made a bad shift on me. There was no doubt the wind was hitting them directly in the face and I couldn't figure out for the life of me why they didn't blow out of there. Then I caught a whiff of why they weren't concerned: a house 300 yards upwind of me must have been running a load of clothes in the dryer because I could smell a really strong floral laundry detergent scent. It dawned on me that the deer were probably used to smelling a little human when the wind blew from that particular direction. Had this been in the big woods of the Adirondacks it would have been a whole different story...

Yes- got one of those too in a serving kit. I figure if a high school kid can do it at BPS then I should be able to do it at least as well. The Kenny Parson videos are a huge help. Watched one yesterday and realized I'd done everything correctly except checking the tilt of my idler wheel. Was tilted to the left pretty bad so I untwisted the left side of the yoke 3 times and twisted the right side 3 times- now she's good and square. Makes sense on my bow too that the right side should be shorter than the left because of the angle the cable comes into the top limb. Sure is nice to be able to make these little adjustments whenever I feel like it.... Likely will need to make a few more after the string breaks in.