nyantler

One thing very different about ADK deer is that they are not as easy to pattern... their range is usually very vast. They seldom rely on the same watering spot, food source or even bedding area... etc. I have found that bucks will stay high early season and come down off the hills and mountains when the rut starts to kick in... I like to hunt streams, creeks and river edges or even beaver flows when I can. I have always had better deer sign there... especially if the waterway passes through a swampy, marshy area or through a dark hemlock bog. Caught many a buck laying on a high spot in those dark wet hemlock woods. Put the time into an area to learn as much about it as you can. Take note of where you are seeing the most activity and what is different about that area than the rest of the woods. That difference could be the key to finding deer in similar areas.

I never go in the woods without mine... I have killed many a buck with my True Talker... The only call I use... I have one of the originals before Hunters Specialties bought the right from my friend... he made it special for me.

The ADK's, especially the big woods, is a whole different animal... the deer are not use to human contact so they will not tolerate anything foreign to them... bucks and does can hear, smell and see you long before you see them if you aren't very conscious of what you're doing. Slow is usually your best friend in the big woods... making as little noise as possible. Playing the wind is imperative... when a deer pegs you in the big woods, he doesn't just escape to a nearby thicket... he will put as much distance between you and him as possible could be two mountains away before he stops. Hunting on snow is always your best bet... traveling until you find a track and then following it... snow is quieter and also lets you know that there is at least a deer where you are hunting... it takes a long time to get the knack of hunting the big woods of the ADK's.. but it is very rewarding to take a buck there. Good Luck

Cool stuff Pygmy... I have lost a couple really close fishing and hunting buddies which changed some of my annual fishing and hunting trips... Somehow things are not the same when I fish or hunt the places we use to frequent... but I always think about them whenever I'm there. Be nice if some things just never changed.

QDM, TDM, Big bucks.. the bottom line is none of it means anything if you're not having fun... One thing I will say about the QDM approach.. most that are doing it (regardless of what my opinion is) are having a great time doing it and it has made their hunting experience exciting... that is really what it's all about...

I came home to find that every item in my house had been stolen...and replaced with exact duplicates.

I had an Oneida Lightforce magnum when I shot a compound... noisy son of a gun... fast... but sounded like a cannon going off...

Them there is fightin' words Barlow! LOL

LMAO!! Funniest thing I've seen in a long time...!!!

The same way you can not be a fan of mandatory AR's or killing does... not everyone has the same opinion on the direction of deer hunting and where an idea or organization is taking it... some just don't have the same goals for deer management. Obviously there are many that are not a fan.. if so QDM would be a statewide program... be happy it has come this far and more hunters are in tune with the idea of good herd management.

After further thought I agree that it probably isn't fair of me to blame the QDMA.... I honestly don't have anything against the organization... I actually still support what they promote and most of the guys that head up the organization are very knowledgable about proper deer management...

I don't have a "take" on QDM... what I say doesn't come from some willy-nilly notion that just popped into my head... I was with the QDMA almost since their conception... I introduced them to NY years before you even knew what the QDMA was... anything I say comes from years of watching the transition of many members from stewards of good deer management to big buck farmers... hiding under the guise of the ultimate conservationist. I will concede that there still are many in the organization that still keep much of the original concept and the QDMA is not the problem... but for you to pretend that the QDM movement itself hasn't become trophy management and farming for larger deer is dishonest... Sorry if you're upset, but just because you and I still hold the original concept dear... doesn't change the reality of what QDM has become.

Nope.. I got the grammar correct. The entire body is considered the membership.

I think what you've heard when they speak is them trying to convince themselves and you that they are doing something other than what they are. The so called "QDM" movement by many of the QDMA membership is way more about farming whitetails than anything in my opinion... don't get me wrong, I'm all for the concept of good deer management... I just see more about food plotting to keep deer on one property and off another, growing and following bucks on trail cam until they get older enough to shoot in or on their way to the food plot. I know lots of hunters believe they are doing something noble in the name of QDM...but it is NOT the same concept that it was intended to be. I'm not saying it's not good for the deer... just not as good for hunting in my opinion. But, I will say that when Grant Woods introduced it to NY in the 90's I never thought that he too would buy into the deer farming and trophy management blunder that QDM has become... I was wrong! So.. I guess if one of the foremost authorities on the program can be lured away from the original concept... I shouldn't be surprised that most others could be as well.

The real goal of QDM is NOT to harvest mature bucks... real QDM has little to do with bucks at all... it just so happens that bigger bucks is a fortunate by-product of a good deer management program...the real goal is optimum herd health given the habitat available. Like I have always said... this has been the bane of the real Quality Deer Management concept... concentrating more on what it does for the bucks than what it is doing for the herd. I still believe QDM has become something it never was intended to be and I am not a fan... and that is coming from a person that helped begin the movement in NY almost 25 years ago.

Yeah... This is one of those topics where the law abiders get chastised for not caring enough about the deer to feed them when they're hungry. I think we went through it on another thread where some guys wanted to feed the starving deer in their area because it snowed a little. It's another "nobody wins" topic.

There ya go... see? something positive... lol

I'm with ya ant.. they never fail to disappoint!!

The age old answer to " Why did you climb that mountain?"... Because it's there!.. And it made for a good story to tell and ,I bet, an experience you won't soon forget.

As someone who metal detects old cellar holes.. I come across old foundations near the road on state land that are filled with garbage that has been recently dumped. Garbage bags full of everything you can imagine.

That is exactly what it implies and it is 100% correct... not because all humans are incapable of following rules. laws, and moral code... but because some humans are incapable. If the leaders of good don't use the threat of violence to keep and protect the peace... the lawless will use violence to take control and create anarchy. The challenge is determining who is the good and who is the bad... that my friend has been the age old challenge. The human condition will never allows for absolute peace among people. The Marine corp is a good example of using the threat of violence or discipline to produce positive results. Sometimes cracking even the toughest nut and turning him into a soldier that can depend on his brother while his brother can depend on him.

I skin them just a tad different... I cut off the top fin leaving a hole about the size of a nickel where the fin was... insert the knife directly downward through the hole breaking through the spine... slice skin from hole to the tail on top of the back... insert finger into hole where top fin was.. grab head and side fins with your other hand and pull... meat and tail come out through the top of the back in one hand... head and guts in the other... a good time is just around 10 seconds.

No it's a shooting shed and targets in front of a berm... 5 shots off hand... 50pt max... 25-100 yard targets rotated each week... 12 weeks...

I'm with ya... as I have gotten older I travel a shorter distance into the woods than I use to and try to get myself out before dark... I have a camp in the Tughill and in the ADK... the big woods is definitely not for everyone, but that's where it is for me! Welcome to the forum.

Our gun club has a winter muzzloader league... so I've been shooting every Sunday since January. Been shooting in the league for about 15 years... we shoot 25-100 yards... the yardage changes each week... It use to be just patch and roundball, but we have since included all types of muzzleloading... it's fun... we serve breakfast then shoot until the early afternoon... lots of fun, laughs, and friendly competition.