Peter Griffin

This isn't a well known parcel of state land, there's one entrance, no cars in the lot and I know the land like the back of my hand. On top of this I hunt deep. Deeper than most people go. I know exactly what was on the other side of every shot I took today. The one on the deer moving away from me would have went into the ground on a miss since I was up hill from it aiming down.

Realistically I would have hit it in the back of the head b hole thing was just a joke. Still a tough shot but if that round went off it would have dropped it no doubt about that. Pretty confident with my rifle and I had all the time in the world to shoot. They weren't booking it like they were scared by me he was more so just scooting after the doe with his tail down and decided to tell me to go f myself on his way by

PART 1 So I called in sick today with Buck fever and hit state land early. I spent the morning sitting on hill sides and watching some runs with no luck so I decided to take a walk. I walk way up along the top of a ridge and all of a sudden standing in front of me behind a tree with its head neck and backside sticking out is a buck. It had a long straight rack and was hard to tell how many points from being face on with it but this would have been my first buck ever and it was a decent size. Ive been hunting for three years now and never shot or saw anything but doe. My heart starts racing and I put the scope on its neck and pull the trigger. All of a sudden it reems up on its back legs and flips over on its back and flops. Im shaking with excitement thinking its staying right where it is...then it starts to roll down the hill as it flops and out of sight. I marked where I thought it was and where I shot it from which was only about 20 feet or so. I couldnt find any blood or disturbances anywhere but clearly saw the way it flipped onto its back. Possible it just got a big scare? At that point I called some friends to help. Sure enough my marker blew off the tree when we got back up on the ridge and I found it laying on the ground so at this point I have no point of reference where it was standing. Im super bummed thinking I missed this deer, injured it, or even worse killed it and cant find it because its stuck on some part of the steep hillside/cliff. After hours spent searching we had to assume sadly It ran off with no blood to confirm the shot hit or notable disturbances anywhere. I might resume the search this weekend.. but the way it rolled and how far it went before I heard it stop didnt seem like anything could walk away from the fall alone. Part 2 On my way out before dark I decide to take a detour where I saw a ton of doe earlier this year. All of a sudden I see a short tail going up and over. Im thinking buck. I walk to the top of the hill and make a doe bleat and all of a sudden a doe rips by me so close I could have clubed it with my rifle. Right on that does behind is a small buck I turn around and a larger buck with a wide rack is running right at me I thought it was going to run me down but it ran past and as it did goes BAHHHHHH. I put the scope on its b hole and pull the trigger...click misfire.. Hornadys I just bought last night. I pull the round out and the primers dented. Unbelievable set of events sorry for the long post I need to vent and really feel like crap right now because of this

I'm relatively new to turkey hunting and unfortunately dont have any friends who hunt to teach me the ropes. I've been scouting land in Rensselaer county. Particularly Pittstown State land and Grafton State park. I've walked huge portions of these areas looking for sign, stopping, listening, calling, and listening some more with no luck. I move slowly in full camo and usually stop and sit in brush piles and timber to avoid being seen. It seems I can't scout a single bird, yet they are everywhere on private property or crossing the road. I've tried the begging for permission game and was turned down everywhere I went. Either they already have people hunting their land, don't like hunters, or want me to lease land from them. I'm starting to feel like my only chance is to hire a guide or wait until I own land one day. Can anyone offer me any tips on how to effectly find turkey in these locations? Maybe I should try a different piece of state land all together? Any suggestions on good places for turkey in this region?