grampy

Sat at home this morning. Steady rain, winds gusting over 25mph, temp. 39 right now in the hilltowns of 4H. Heading down to Home Depot, to work on an inside project. Will be in my ground blind before light in the morning. May even have a coating of snow by then! I got a good feeling. We will see?

Happy Birthday! Nothin but the best for you today!

Awesome set of pic's!! Cool looking buck too! Is he on your hit list?

I've always dreamed of a whitetail hunt in one of the "Huge Buck" areas of the US and Canada. A western Elk hunt. Brown bear in Alaska. Or an African safari. But I put my family ahead of my whitetail dreams and invested in property we could enjoy together. No, I'll never shoot a buck over 150" on that land but the memories made there will last me and my family a lifetime. But I'm still young! So ya just never know where I may end up hunting, before it's all said and done! And it doesn't cost anything to dream!

Funny, I use the name Matt when being questioned.

Got two grandsons age 12 and 14. I was meant to be called Grand-pa but when the oldest started talking it came out grampy. That's what stuck. They are what keeps me young and my two best buddies! And that's what I'm called by them. Everyone else calls me Dave

Luna is certainly something special ! A good handler helped her get that way ! Great work !

Wish I could be with you up there! Good luck! Look forward to you checking in.

It's beautiful! What an awesome gift! Looks great right there in the turkey space. What a class act that maytom, not only for his superb craftsmanship, but his generosity as well! I'm certain it will be treasured for a lifetime. Just love stuff like this!

Any tip I could give you, would not be as good, as you doing some research on the area's and putting your boots on the ground. Just a little research, will show maps of these places clearly showing, boundaries, parking, topography, access points and more. Then get out there and look for deer sign! Please don't take this as a slam, as that is the farthest from my intentions. Just giving you a gentle nudge to get out and do what should be done "before" the season starts. Good luck and I wish you success!

Happy Birthday! Hope you guy's have a great day!!

Welcome! Good to have you join us! Pine Bush has lots of deer and can be very productive, especially if you can find an out of the way place to get in there. Also check out Partridge Run. Lots of land there and not as crowded as some places. Good luck!

What a great day to be out there! Wish I was with you, instead of work!

Robin, sounds like you got everything in good order. This is one of my favorite threads of the entire year! This is how hunting was done 100 years ago! I admire your woodsmanship skills, photography and written descriptions of your backwoods adventures! Wishing you the very best of luck, good weather! And keep safe out there!

From one grampy to another. Congratulations!!! He's already got the "I just spotted a big buck" look!

Our land borders state land and you are 100% right! There is definitely cross over from state land that is off limits to hunting on one side. Same thing on the other side where hunting is allowed. We have killed bucks never seen before on the property. And seen bucks we were watching vanish, never to be seen again. It's a double edge sword for us. And we live on the razors edge. And it's the same situation no matter, what or how much we plant in the ground. It is what it is and we accept that.

I really don't know the biggest. But I know for sure that every year, some giants are killed on public land in NY!

I just need to know, if I buy a bag of fireballs before this weekends hunt. Will it bring me luck? I've been lacking in the luck department, so far this year! I need a game changer!........lol

And that's perfectly fine by me! Just because I choose not to, doesn't meen someone else can not enjoy hunting in the rain. And be successful doing it! Just based on my own comfort level and experiences, it's not for me. Ethics is for each of us to decide for ourselves.

I'm just a big WUSS! I hate getting soaked. And I'm sick over losing a deer. I will hunt in a very light drizzle with a light wind. Anything more, I'm packing it in or don't go at all. Many moons ago, I lost a buck with a washed out blood trail. On a marginal hit, I thought would be a chip shot. I was sick about it, and promised myself and that deer, I would never bow hunt in the rain again. I've kept that promise.

I started using it this year. I too hunt from natural ground blinds. And I'm not a big scent user. But....It seems to work! Put some on my boots and on some trees on the way in and have seen deer cross right over my path and showed no reaction! This has happened three times now. Wind was blowing from them to me so they weren't smelling me sitting there. And they didn't get alarmed crossing my scent trail coming down the ridge. Will it work every time? Probably not. With a mature buck? Don't know yet. But I've seen enough so far to say try it! It just might make a difference.

Years ago, my BIL was hunting with us. He shot at a doe, "thought" he missed it, then shot at another one. You guessed it! He had two dead doe's and only one DMP. Lucky I had a DMP and tagged the other one. But that was the last time we ever hunted together!

Your boat or mine?

Been out hunting much? Got anything yet? Trail cam pic's? Hunting info? Anything, remotely hunting related? Didn't think so.......

I've gotten so much more from this site than a nominal support member fee. Just a way for me to give back in a small way to something I enjoy, almost every day! Like Law said, the friends I've made from here are priceless! And I've learned so much, laughed and cried, even got P-Oed a time or two! I've been freely given support, knowledge and tips on a wide range of things. The generosity of people I've never met before, has astounded me! And I try to pay it forward, as often as I can. So many here set the bar high, as the hunter and person I try to be. You've made something good here John! And I'm darned proud to be a part of it.