Dstone001

Greetings. I'm looking to bow hunt this year and was hoping to find a spot in Westchester county. I understand that there aren't many hunters in Westchester, and I know there are a lot of deer because they keep eating all of plants. Any suggestions on a good, safe place to go?

I'm going to try my hand at bowhunting this year. I'll be using a Bear Archer Cruzer G2, which my nephew bought but never used. I haven't shot a bow in 40 years, but I plan on taking it to a local range a bunch of times to practice. (I wont hunt with it unless I'm confident that I can make the necessary shot.) Do I need to bow hunt from a stand? I'm not sure I'll have access to one. If I don't, I guess I want to find high ground so my shot will be down? Any advice on arrows and accessories would be greatly apprciated.

Excellent, thank you. what do you use to flesh the hide? Do you build a frame to stretch the hide? If so, can you give a basic description? Do you use brains as a tanning agent? The Achilles tendon to tie it up? (I recall reading some place that all animals have enough tendon to tie up their hide and enough brains to tan them.)

My hunting buddy and I were thinking about tanning a hide this season. I know it's a long and often smelly process, but we think it will be fund. I've found a lot of stuff on the Internets, but I thought someone here could point to a good tutorial/instructions? Or just some good advice? Thanks in advance!

This sums up almost all of my hunting experience. Other than the one time I actually took a shot and got a deer.

I got married two weeks ago. My wife really does not want me to hunt. When I got my first deer last season, she almost broke up with. I'm planning to go out tomorrow morning, but I may have to buy her something very expensive.

A few weeks back my neighbor (Dutchess County) told me that he and others saw a mountain lion in my yard. I'm not sure I believe him, but he's not the type of guy to tell tales. He also said that the DEC let out some cougars in a part of Columbia to thin out the deer population, but I understand that is a myth.

What is that jelly stuff? It's like fish-gunk. Is that from the shot? Thanks everyone. I tried to get as much of the hair off as possible, and tossed the bloody bits. My first butchering experience. Interesting.

I skinned the deer, pretty well, I think. But there is some hair on the meat and some dark congealed blood, especially near the wound. Do I need to clean this off carefully? How to do so?

I'll be skinning my deer tomorrow. I'm surprised at how soft the pelt is. Is there anything to do with? Can I take it somewhere and have a rug made or something?

I found this butchering video on youtube: And a video on skinning. I'll try to butcher tomorrow and get it all vacuum packed and in the freezer. I really don't want to screw this up. This may be my last deer. My girlfriend wont speak to me. Uh oh.

My neighbor stopped by yesterday and mentioned that he's had does and a buck in his yard every afternoon. I went out about 2:45. He has a sloping hill of grass that leads down into the woods. At the top is a little hut with chairs. Kind of nice, especially in the cold weather. (Not that today is cold.) I was out for about 15 minutes when another hunter stopped by. He thought the hut would be empty, but he sat down and chatted. He got his buck this morning and was waiting for a doe. Sunset was at 4:28 today. At about 4:15 two does came out of the woods at the bottom of the hill. One turned into the tall grass, and the other into the field. I waited for a side shot, and hit it just next to the shoulder. It hopped up, turned around and fell. It was dead by the time we walked down there. The slug when right through the heart. It was getting dark so the guy gutted it for me, although I think I could have done it. He also got his ATV and drove the carcass out to my truck. Hopefully, I don't screw up the butchering and I get some good sausage for him. The temp is 54* right now and it's only going down to about 30* overnight. Should I skin and butcher the deer tomorrow? I'm concerned that it's too hot to hang.

Many times during the day I heard three or four shots in a row. It was very annoying. But I figure it would get the deer on the move, and may one might happen by.

My friend's neighbor has about 60 acres in 4Z, just north of Pine Plains. No one has hunted it in a while, but her back neighbor hunts, and apparently there is some minor dispute over boundaries. She has a large field (about 3 football fields, I'm guessing) and the deer funnel down a bowl and graze there. I go out about 6:15 Saturday morning, find my self a spot about half-way up the bowl. I see some doe up above me. 4Z -- No doe permits!! I decide to move higher so all my angles are down into the bowl. Literally ten minuts after I sit in my new spot, I look up and there's a big fat doe standing in front of me. I think I could have spit on her. She's staring, I take aim, she stares. I don't shoot. I want my first deer to be legal. (A bunch of fellows at the bar said, "on private property? take the doe!" I stayed out until 4 pm and saw some more does, but no bucks. The next morning i go out with my friend. Walking out his door, we see a deer run from his backyard. We cross a little stream to the neighbor and can see about 10 spots in the frost where deer were sleeping. There's an empty house right there (the mother died a few years back), and we may just sleep in the front room. Wake up, shoot, and go back to bed. We cross the field, and when we get to the edge we see about 4 more deer run away. I climb to my spot and see a bunch of does during the day. One stopped about 30 yards away and hung out for about 20 minutes. then she looked right at me and walked over. I said, "go get your boyfriend." She didn't. I saw one buck during the day, nothing big, but it was above me on a ridge and I didn't have a shot. Lots of shots going one. For one period of about an hour, someone was taking a shot every 2-5 minutes. I can't imagine why -- unless he was target practicing. Every time I heard a shot near me I thought, well, that's one less buck that might happen by. I went out this morning in my back yard -- about 4 acres, with a trail running through it. I only sat a few hours and had to get back home. My girlfriend and I are doing Thanksgiving for about 20 people, and she's annoyed that I'm sitting in the woods. I really want to shoot something this year.

I moved. Two big does walked right in front of me. But I'm in 4z! No doe permits!!

It's all dry leaves. I'll make noise. But I see a spot for a better angle, in general. Maybe i'll just go camp there and wait for some more.

I saw some does, about 100 yards away. I didn't have a shot. Should I try to move to a place where I could get an angle on that area, or would I inevitably scare anything a way. Am I better just sitting tight and hoping they move in my direction?

I found a good butchering video on youtube -- willies butchery.

Excellent. Thank you.

Well, a friend says he will lend me his Ruger 308, with scope. He's taken six deer with it. Now I need to find a place to practice. Any public rifle ranges in Dutchess County? Thanks for all the advice.

thanks for the thoughts everyone. If I do buy a rifle from an individual -- not a store -- should I take to a store first to have it checked out? I'm fairly new to all this. But I gotta say, after spending the last three seasons freezing in the woods and not seeing a deer anywhere near me, I'm doing all I can to get my first. (Ok, it wasn't that cold this past year.)

I've been hunting with a Savage shotgun in Dutchess County. (hunting? I sit in the woods freezing my butt off.). I will be in Columbia County this year. I'd like to get a decent rifle. But I cant spend too much money, or my girlfriend will kill me. Any suggestions? Is Quattros a good place to shop?

I'm going out tomorrow. Still hoping to get my first deer!

I hunted my neighbor's land 5 days around Thanksgiving and didn't see anything. Apparently, his friends went last weekend and took two bucks and a doe. I'll get out there this weekend == hopefully there's still something around.

Hmm. Is there an iPhone app?