sampotter

Thanks again all! I normally don't worry about the bears up there, but I keep thinking I need to get my pistol permit and carry just in case... They were all denned up early this year; no beech nuts. There are a lot of large private tracts up there. Paper companies, clubs, estates, etc.

Deer and cows are a lot more similar than deer and dogs. Cows will sometimes "bleed off" 2 days after estrus, but it is straight blood, not mixed with urine. Are we even sure it is blood? I have seen a lot of really dark orange urine the past few days. I predict that in the next few weeks someone will post the yearly "blue urine" thread...

I say no to blood in the urine being a sign of estrus. Doesn't happen with my cows. Blood in urine usually indicates injury or disease.

Does that 1st buck's brow tine curve back towards his rear? Very distinctive.

I ended up killing him 1/4 mile from a different road than I started him on, so I used a sled to get him out. At other times we were a lot farther from any road, which is why I carry a 30 something gallon food grade plastic bag (just like a contractor garbage bag but clear) and a nylon feed sack, both rolled up and in my game pocket. I've carried out more deer than I've dragged; no sense in lugging out all those bones and hide!

No, I was on private, so I never saw another hunter or tracks.

Thanks everyone for all the compliments! You're missing out on the trail cameras- think of it as a catch and release trapline. Some of the pictures, animals, behaviors, etc. will amaze you. Plus, when you do get a good buck on camera in your area it gives you the most ingredient needed for any successful pursuit: HOPE. Hear that Wooly? Just kidding, I'm flattered but I don't have any grey hairs so I can only be a hero to someone who can't drive yet... I will for sure. No APP- Garmin Rino 655T, my 3rd GPS so far. I log waypoints for anything and everything I think I may be able to use at a later date. Rubs, scrapes, shed antlers, buck beds, mature mast trees, you name it. Carrying a GPS is also the reason I can name the precise # of miles I walked last spring in search of sheds: 226.1

If anyone would like to read the full story, send me a PM and I'll send the story back. From what I read that is not considered "published" but posting it in an open forum would be.

Print for now.

Although, the blood on his ear was still wet...

Very possible. The tip of his right G3 was broken off, not bright white, but not polished yet either.

Not a hole... Above when I said I missed him (deflected bullet) it appears I didn't miss completely. This mark was on the surface of his ear. It is shaped like and about the size of a dime. Inside his ear there was a small paper-cut looking scratch corresponding with the spot on the outside. I am pretty sure this was from when I shot at him earlier, but the shape and characteristics of the ear wound don't match up with a 280 bullet unless it hit a branch that altered the shape of the bullet. At least that's my best guess. It may not have been from me at all. It didn't look anything like any grazing bullet wounds I've even seen in the past.

At times were more like a couple of miles from a road, which is why I carry a food-grade contractor's type garbage bag and a nylon feed sack rolled up in the game pocket of my coat. As it was he died 1/4 mile from a road, so I sledded him out.

His track looked really good (it had melted a little bit) when I first found it where he crossed a logging road, but didn't seem terribly big once I jumped him the first thing. I had a decent idea that his rack would be outside his ears after observing where he was following doe tracks; when they passed between 2 saplings that were barely wider than their body, he would swing wide to avoid getting his rack caught. Where I jumped him the first time he had been digging and feeding in the snow and here I could see along the edges where the tips of his main beams had been digging into the snow. Here is an example of that (marks on either side of the ferns):

The first 2 days there was 4-5 inches of fluffy stuff, temps in the 20s. The day I killed, temps were in the upper 30s and the snow had settled down to a 2-3". The warmer temps actually made for great tracking conditions because the tracks aged very rapidly, making it hard to confuse one set with another.

No offense taken. If I can get a hunting story published I could join both my Uncle, Granddad, and Great-Granddad as members of my family that have hunting stories published and that would be pretty cool. Financially, I probably wouldn't quit my day job to become a freelance writer, but I'll admit; I have spent a LOT of money on hunting one way or another. If there was a way to get a little kick back now and again, I wouldn't be ashamed to take it. I certainly won't sell my sheds and don't aspire to be a TV star either.

I shot this buck on 11/30/14 in the Adirondacks (Hamilton County) after tracking him for 4 hours 23 minutes (I originally claimed 5.5 hours in a FB post, I was incorrect according to my GPS) and covering 5.2 miles. I missed (deflected bullet) him once about halfway through the journey, but was able to connect when he got distracted by a doe and followed her across an opening in front of me. After shooting him I realized I had trail cam pictures of him last year over 2 miles from where I took up his track this year. These big woods bucks have large ranges! This was probably the most memorable hunt I've ever had, and boy did I have to work for it! Based on last year's trail cam pics and his tooth wear, which was at least as much as the 5 year-old 8pt (cementum annuli aged) I shot about a mile from there in 2012, I estimate this buck to be at least that old as well, perhaps even one year older. I will send his teeth in too to confirm. Gross green score of 131 and change. Brows are over 5 and 7" and bases are just shy of 5". The picture(s) I posted on FB last week generated a lot of comical comments about practicing shooting more, aiming better, and only taking ethical shots. Those folks don't realize that tracking is not blood trailing. They don't go 5.2 miles after a heart shot either. With tracking, you follow the buck BEFORE you shoot it... P.S. I wrote a much more detailed story of this hunt but I am going to see if I can get a magazine to buy it. They require it be unpublished material, which unfortunately includes posting it on an internet forum. If things go well, hopefully I will be able to post the story at a later date. (Sorry NYantler) Not something I normally look at, I thought this graph of my walking speed was interesting. (From GPS) Trail cam pics from 2013: Making a mock scrape:

"My Slammer"

I'm not sure "identity theft" is the correct label either. I do know a husband and wife duo got in trouble for doing this last year and both of them were ticketed; him for using her tag and her for giving it to him. You can't even have someone else's buck tag in your possession...

I have of this exact scenario more than a few times.

I had no problem passing last year after I shot one in Ohio... Nobody would've heard me shoot either. But I would've known. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG5939stZvw

Understood, I just wonder how often that actually happens?

How's that? If you wait until late ML season?

I've honestly only ever seen gun hunters do it, but method of take doesn't really matter. Laws are laws, doesn't matter how you break them...

I would be in favor of a sliding fine scale similar to what Midwestern states like Illinois have. A base fine for illegally killing a deer and then additional $ for different levels of rack score. In addition- the fines would be applied the same way to ANY illegally killed deer, whether it be spotlighting or simply shooting a buck you don't have a tag for...