epanzella

Thanks guys, all good info.

Hey Newtown, you may have saved my bacon. I didn't know you couldn't use a rifle in Allegany! It's in Catagaraus county which is rifle so the no-rifle reg must be something particular to the park. Do you know any on line site that has a complete list of Allegany regs? I'm trying to avoid any more surprises. Thanks. Ed

Thanks Newtown. All the available elbow room for getting away from the yahoos is why we picked Allegany for this year's hunt. Here in Ct the state forest we usually hunt is over run with screaming and hollering orangeballs that start their deer drives at 7am opening morning, shooting up the place and rarely hitting anything. We spend considerable scouting time patterning bucks and it's all undone in a few minutes by these guys. We've had past success on CT public land but there just isn't unough geography to get away from the crowds and it's making it a lot harder to get a decent buck. I'll have to check out that Seneca Allegany Territory, we've got a full set of topos and have been comparing them with sat photos. Thanks again for the info. Ed P

Anyone have any info 2 share on Allegany State forest? Hunting there for the first time this year.

My son arrowed this buck on state land in CT this AM

Retired building/remodeling contractor.

Nice job!

I'm a nite owl and can't sleep if I hit the rack before 11:30. For single day hunts I get up at 3am which just leaves me ragged so I take NYQIL @ 7pm and I'm out cold by 9pm. This gives me 6 hours which is just about what I get when not hunting. When I go on a week long hunt I need the NYQUIL the first nite but by nite 2 I'm in the groove of hitting the rack with the rest of the guys @8 or 9 pm.

I have a Summit Viper and a Summit 180. These stands are the easiest to use and the most comfortable that I have experienced. I haul them in and out with me every day but keep a notebook with all the GPS locactions of the trees I use. An entry I make in my note book that's real handy is the cable adjustment of the top and bottom that works best when I get up to altitude. It's always a crap shoot trying to guess how the taper of the tree will affect your adjustments. The Summit cable has 4 sleeves crimped on to each cable end so my code would be, for example, T12 B22. The T12 would mean the top has 1 one sleeve exposed on one side and 2 sleeves exposed on the other. Obviously B22 would indicate the bottom would have 2 sleeves hangin' out on each side. This usually results in the stand tilting up at the base of the tree but it ends up dead level at my hunting height. (20-25 ft) Ed

A doe will snort, stomp her feet and often walk in a circle before going off the way she came. A buck will do nothing exept dissappear, either fast or slowly depending on how imminent he perceives the danger to be. Often he'll actually walk backwards for a few yards before turning around, leaving any doe with him to fend for themselves.

A few times when tracking a rutting buck that I killed I've smelled them before I saw them. Probably 30-40 yds in the thick stuff. I hunt from a tree so never smelt one "on the hoof".

My sons and I are gonna hunt Allegany State forest for a week starting the day after thanksgiving. Never been there but have high hopes. Reviewing topos and sat photos but it's too far away for scouting this year. (we're in Eastern Ct) First few day will have to be scouting and hunting.

Great funnel? Lots of sign? Don't see squat? We get that more often than not. Sounds like a nocturnal spot 2 me. Put up a camera and you'll know. I got my two best bucks from spots with just about zero sign, because the many doe in the area weren't using those trails but the buck would come by about once a week. It's tuff keeping your confidence in a spot when not even seeing any doe for days but sometimes you gotta hang in (up) there.

In any group of animals if there is a trait you want to breed out, you kill the animals with that characteristic and eventually it will go away. I'm no geneticist but it seems to me that killing only trophy bucks will eventually reduce the numbers of deer with those qualities. It seems that some culling of inferior animals would be required to maintain herd quality.

Yeah, still not terribly convenient but easier than a bottle alone. Always encouraged to hear about ladies who hunt. I hope I'll get to hunt with my grandaughters when they get a little older. My grandson has already bagged two deer. Good luck with your season. Ed