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We’ll, holiday season isn’t happening at all for me due to a elbow injury but at least I got to watch the Bills beat those Patriots. Time to relax with an Old Man Winter.

I’m looking forward to a bit of time off and letting the deer get back to a more normal routine. That plus some cold and snow would help a lot. Oh, and the corn to my south is finally being cut as I type this. Another plus. Good for younger hunters who have that week off.

All day sit and only a button buck walking by to show for it… so far. The right time is rapidly approaching and the guys on the lease to the East of me are gathering for a drive. I’m getting excited!

Deer do move to feed several times a day. The frequency of feeding is dependent upon many factors, including the quality and abundance of forage. My hope is the time off before the “Holiday Hunt” will get the deer feeling a little more comfortable with daytime movement. That and some cold/snow would be much appreciated.

Fourteen degrees this morning when I headed out for a sit. Nothing moving here so I went in about Eleven, had a little lunch and butchered up my doe from last week. Back out in a stand now hoping for a nice big lone doe to wander on by. I did see a doe and fawn on my way in this morning. They were 25 yards from my deck searching for any last apples that may have fallen from my trees. Had to pass on the shot because a miss or pass thru would have hit the house or hot tub. Not worth the risk. I often see them there but my thought is, especially during bow, that a buck may stop by to check them out. My wife thinks I’m just being nice….

Any good archery shop will be helpful in setting you up with a good combo of a smooth shooting bow, arrows to match and a release that fits you well. Then it comes down to practice, practice, practice. Learn what distances you are comfortable with and push yourself beyond that. But only shoot at deer within your comfort zone. Number one mistake is shooting beyond your comfort zone. You will see so much more deer activity during bow season than rifle season. Observe and learn. You will be a true hunter and realize that all of the real hunting happens during bow season. Welcome to the brotherhood.

My wife and I both had Florida and Utah. Didn’t renew Florida as it just didn’t give us that much more to be worth the expense. Utah is cheap and easy to renew.

Went hunting this morning. Snow turned to rain and I got soaked. Now it’s time to hydrate while watching a little college hoops. Frost Beer Works Lush DIPA. Juicy and tasty. Cheers all.

My buddy arrowed a buck that ran into a thick hedgerow and fell down. He called me over to help drag it out but when he grabbed it by the rack, it jumped to its feet! I yelled for him to keep its head pinned to the ground while I tried to finish it off with my knife. Yeah, not a good situation. I tried to stab it in the neck a few times and ended up getting kicked pretty good. Finally got pissed off and tackled it. Slit its throat while lying on top of it with my buddy still holding it by the rack. When it was all over, my hand was bleeding from a kick right thru my gloves. Stupid move but we were only 18 at the time. Dumb kids but learning every step of the way.

Still love the Hawkens that I built from a kit a long time ago. I messed around with sabots once and didn’t care for the results. You may have better luck with the wide variety of choices available today but it’s the idea of being old style that makes it so much fun.

I typically hunt alone so it is very important to have a fall plan in place. Always wear a harness (two good friends who don’t even though we have had two friends die from falls), always have a suspension strap and practice using it. Always have the phone in a top pocket that will be free from being trapped by harness straps. Always let wife or neighbor what stand I’m heading to and let them know if I change my mind. I have had a climber base fall from under me while climbing down and it was before cell phones were a thing. Luckily, I had a radio and left one with my neighbor. Had to call him to bring a ladder out to get me down. Not fun. If you don’t think a safety vest is for you, think about those whom depend on/love you. It’s a no brained.

I rarely ever pass on the last chance. Now, rifle or muzzleloader. Especially in nice weather. Made a loop and collected all of my trail cameras and now sitting till dark. Surveying the storm damage as I go. One tree in particular broke off right above my ladder stand. Glad the wind wasn’t right for sitting there yesterday.

Meanwhile, Live From the Field….

Deer #4 is hanging in the barn. A fire is lit in the fireplace and the tree is up. Time to watch St Bona’s and have an Old Man Winter. Life is good.

I read an article last night on possibly introducing a parasitic wasp that targets Ash Borer egg and larvae. Research has been going on for a few years now and it should be coming out relatively soon. Hope it works well to control them but it’s too late for my land. Lots of cutting to do…

Yep. Moss berg 30-30. Favorite for stalking and short range, thick brush hunting. I made the mistake of field dressing the deer and then climbing into a nearby stand till dark. Fifteen minutes later the hard rain came so I abandoned that plan and headed in. Short drag. 250 yards.

We’ll, I’m one happy hunter today. Put up with the wind and rain all day (minus an hour and a half to go cut a tree with my wife), bumped at least two during my walk before I came upon four. Two crashed off 15 yards to my left but the two on my right didn’t know what was going on and they walked closer. At ten yards I dropped the one that stopped broadside. My nephew and his wife are going to be very happy since my freezer is full.

Decided to do some slow walking and met up with a bedded group of four. Only three made their escape. I’m definitely sleeping in tomorrow.

Of course, I pushed 3 deer to my buddy. The biggest one he shot ended up being a 3 point. Still a decent deer. But damn, a long drag. 1.7 miles thru a really deep gulley. We’re both too old to be doing this.

Approximately 1.4 miles in on state land and found a well placed ladder stand. Good number of today’s tracks around so here’s hoping something wanders by.

Any doubt that karma is real? Way to go!

A windy and fruitless day of hunting ends with a cold one. Steuben Brewing Crooked Creek IPA. Even better, my wife was baking! Peanut butter cookies. Yea me!

Perfect conditions for hunting today, now if someone would just tell the deer that. And maybe direct them to walk past my stand. That’d be great. Sounds like the duck hunters over on Conesus Lake are having a decent morning which is odd because it’s a mild breeze and sunny skies. Beautiful morning either way. Nice shot on that doe, Johnplav. Congratulations.

The price is $100 each. Including the plaque. I have done them myself before and to me, that’s a fair price.

We do some drives on the last two days of muzzleloader. Small group, 3-6 people, all longtime friends. Only on private land. It’s always a hoot, we get deer moving and it’s a rare year that we don’t harvest at least one. Some years it’s 4-5. We do semi-quiet drives, no yelling, just zigzagging our way across the land. Not really trying to be quiet, just not being vocal.