grampy

A good bedding area will hold both doe and bucks. Especially if there is a known food supply nearby. Move your stand down wind and hunt it! There is still some rutting activity taking place now as well. Though it has slowed down just a bit. Late season is a great time to zero in on a good buck, looking to find a doe not bred yet. And to pack on some pounds following the rigors of the rut. Good luck!

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Happy Birthday!!

So good that you are feeling a bit better. Congratulations on a great buck!

Signs say no "motorized" vehicles. So I take that as "anything" with any type of motor is not allowed.

Albany or Greene county. But DMPs are hard to get.

You got this Rob! It will all turn around in seconds! Your grit and tenacity will be paying off BIG time before it's all said and done! Sending you all my luck!

Good luck Matt! Snowing up there yet? Really nasty down here at the bottom of the hill. 33 degrees with a steady cold rain. Would definitely be a cold wet sit today. But did see a giant buck running a doe yesterday down here.

Before we went to rifle here in 4H a few years back. My partner and I killed a pile of deer with our Deerslayers! Used em for close to twenty years, and never once a malfunction. Ours loved the Remington Copper Solids. Most shots were around 50 yards, and there were plenty of bang-flops. May just have to take the old girl out for one more dance! Best of luck to ya out there!

Congratulations to Crappyice and Non Typical!!! Way to go guys!!!

Congratulations Larry! Awesome buck! Way to go my friend! Cheers......

So glad you are somewhat OK poppy. That could have been so much worse. Your advise will be taken. Heal up and feel better soon! If you come to find someone deliberately damaged your bind, be sure to notify law enforcement, before the scumbags to it to another hunter.

Came very close to hitting a GIANT buck at about 4pm. With my wife's car, on Depot Rd. in Voorheesville. He was running a doe. Not sure how I missed him! The Mrs. was very impressed with my lack of accuracy.

Congratulations! Great Buck!

Abany county hilltowns. I know of a den sight. Had DEC check it out years ago. Usually will only see them at the den sight in mid May and September. Other than that, it's very rare to see them here. Copperheads are a bit more numerous. But still it's very rare to see those around here too. Certain parts of the Adirondacks and Catskills have a bit better population. Though I believe they've been found in quite a few different counties here in New York. LWFH...have you seen one? What is your motive? Just so ya know. The venomous snakes in NYS are protected by law. And it's illegal to harm, harass, or displace. Just saying. Not that many would care to mess with them. Better to just observe from a safe distance, and move on. I got a pretty good education on venomous snakes when I lived in South Carolina and Florida back in my younger days. I've always found them fascinating.

Try turning your phone sideways with the button on the right when taking the pictures. Not sure why, but this forum is the only place I need to do that. I'm sure someone much smarter than me about stuff like this, will chime in with a better solution. But turning your phone will work.

Looking great so far Chris!! Use plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and zip ties for the bases. I used these type of brushes to help get it cleaned, and they worked good. I did use a power sprayer too. Just keep at it and be sure all flesh and fat is removed. And it's totally degreased. That's the key here. Here is one I did three or four years ago. Came out decent I think. Good luck my friend, you got this!

It may work just fine? But you will probably have to do it two or three times to get it nice and white. Boil, degrease, paint. Repeat. Once it is thoroughly degreased, that is what you are looking for. Because any residual grease will lead to yellowing. Please post pic's of your results. Nice of you to do this for your friend! That's awesome!

Mostly too cold for them during gun season. They've long since denned up. But it's very rare to see one, even in the warmer months here in NY. But there are pockets of them scattered around. Much more common in Pa.

Great post Larry. You and I are close in age. I too remember the deer drives in the early years of my hunting. Put on by old masters, who knew the land and the deer we hunted very well. Rarely was a standing deer shot. And we were all using smoothbore shotguns, with the lead pumpkin, foster slugs. At that time no one had a designated "deer gun". It was usually the same one used for small game, birds, varmints, and deer! But you knew that gun like family. And us youngsters happily dragged the deer for the old guys! When those old guys passed on, the deer drives never were the same for me. Oh we still did them! And quite successfully too! But without the old guys it just wasn't as much fun to me anymore. Then in the early 80s I found bow hunting. And that changed everything for me and my lifelong hunting partner. Now the game was to get CLOSE to deer, without them knowing you were there! And we caught on pretty quick. And the thrill was increased by seeing how close you could get, by stalking them! This was the period where I became a hunter. I learned so much from the deer themselves in those days. I was younger and stronger. Could hold motionless with a foot in the air, for as long as it took when caught moving. We didn't care how far we had to drag the deer, as long as we GOT the deer! We could draw and shoot our bows in one fluid movement. And we killed a bunch of deer in those years. Not many since have been as satisfying. Even though we killed bigger deer in the preceding years. As we got a little older, and had slightly more money to spend on hunting. We got rifled barreled shotguns, warmer camo clothing, and hang on tree stands. And we used all that to our advantage sure! But we still got on the ground and got our share of deer too. And sometimes even used a tractor to get a deer out, because it was faster. Because there was somewhere else we had to be, for work or family! As that had to take priority over hunting at times. Just as it is now for hunters with growing families. Then, about fifteen years ago we bought the first ATV. It was a huge help on the farm! And was great for putting up, and moving all those cheap new ladder stands for hunting too! Man we killed a bunch of our best bucks from those things! But I never really felt comfortable in them. Always felt better from the ground. I felt more connected to the deer I hunted from the ground. That thrill of being on their level, is most satisfying to me. It's when I enjoy hunting most. These last few years the injuries, and health issues came. I'm not ashamed to use a wheeler to help get a deer out and hung up. I may even use one to get up in the back, park it and walk, or stalk the last few hundred yards to my natural brush blind. Where I can still kill deer! It's all really just a natural progression. Nothing stays the same. I even stepped out of my comfort zone to do something different this year. Made a long cut in a bedding area that I knew would be the farthest shot I'd take on a deer. Made it work. And it felt great! I've learned to accept new things in hunting, while holding on to old ones. And still enjoying every minute of it all. We only have so many seasons in our lifetimes. Make the most of every one of em.

Congratulations Brian! What a beautiful buck my friend! Sweet redemption is yours! Way to go!

Before I did my own hand loading, it was Federal Premium 140g Nosler Ballistic Tip for 270. Recommended by a forum member, when I went to rifle from shotgun, a few years ago. Not cheap, but worth every cent! They shoot like lazers at the range, and just absolute devastating performance on deer! Never failed to go bang either, with hundreds of rounds down range from four different hunting rifles. Last winter I started hand loading my own 140g. 270 Nosler BTs and just improved the accuracy a bit. And terminal performance is just as devastating on the two mature bucks we shot this week! Also, using CCI primers in the hand loads. Every one so far, has gone bang when the firing pin hit.

Yup! Getting to be that time of the year!! I was out today, putting up lights like Sparky Griswald!

I really think it's awesome that you are so enthused about hunting!! And as you gain experience, and you will with each trip afield, you will have success. But deer hunting is not an instant gratification endeavor. I've known hunters that when years before their first deer kill. Patience, is the number one hunter virtue to learn. And I think it's among the hardest skill to acquire. Took me years to finally "get it". Take your time. See things. Don't just look at them. And the deer themselves will be the best teachers you will ever have. If you ever get around the Albany area, give me a shout. I'll be happy to take you out.

Yeah... but you've only shot less than 300 rounds in your life.