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chrisw

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Posts posted by chrisw

    sick deer ?

    in General Hunting

    Posted

    Lingering effects from a bullet or arrow would be my first thought. Certainly can't rule out a car either. But it could be anything really, deer get diseases like we do... Too bad he couldn't end her suffering right there...

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    Possible Reasons for a Bad Gun Season?

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    I don't need to kill deer either, for it to be a good season. I've only killed two this year, by choice. I also don't need to find a reason to avoid taking blame for fewer sightings / opportunities. I'm a good hunter, & I can kill deer.

    I too, enjoy just being out there. There's a lot of times I don't pull the trigger, just because I don't feel like taking a life that day. I just find it sad that the woods is a lot emptier than it used to be. Hunting isn't the same. There's fewer deer sightings, less footsteps in the leaves, less heartpounding encounters. There's not as much watching bucks running does, or does tending fawns, there's not as much watching their breath cloud up while they crunch by you on a frozen morning, totally oblivious to you. There's something sacred to me, about sharing the woods with deer. I don't care how this sounds, but it's lonely without them around. I don't give a crap about shooting less of them. I miss them.

    I hunt pieces that didn't have much activity this year so I focused somewhere else, I drive 1-1.5 hrs almost every time I hunt just to get to decent public land. I too passed up a lot of deer this season. I'm not saying this is you but most people aren't willing to WORK for a deer, they want to sit in the same spot they've been sitting in for 15 years and complain when they don't kill a deer. I'm successful because I scout at least one full day a week, year round! And I'm mobile, I strictly use my climber now and I'm not afraid to pull up stakes and go find the deer wherever I need to go. Most hunters are lazy, and their results show it. This is especially true with some hunters who hunt private land, if the deer just aren't showing themselves for whatever reason the hunters keep hunting those same spots! MOVE! Go hunt state land if you need to. Don't be so locked into a routine that when it changes you're lost. Have backup plans, alternate lands to hunt. I'm in no way pointing any of these comments at you I'm just venting because I've heard so many people the last few weeks blaming this and that when in reality they should look into the mirror. We've become a hunting generation of instant gratification...

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    Possible Reasons for a Bad Gun Season?

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    Opening day always opens on a Saturday this year was the 15th ,, 2011 was the 19th it changes every year shifting a day with the calendar ,, this year was early IMO a good year for me just not connecting with what I was looking for

    The rut doesn't change IMO it is driven by the amount of daylight which triggers it,, based on the dates around the moon phase.. Not the Saturday date of opening day of gun season...

    The opener this year was not the 15th. It was the 21st. And yes another week can make all the difference in rutting activity...

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    Possible Reasons for a Bad Gun Season?

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    I saw a lot of deer during archery season, (I only hunt public land, 9 different bucks and 20+ does/fawns) more than usual, after gun opened there wasn't a deer to be seen. But I got just as many on my cams this year as any other which tells me they ARE there, the weather was seasonably warm and there was an abundance of food this fall. Couple that with gun season being a week later (missing first rut). Some years are good, some aren't. I think too many people just have to search for a reason to blame it on to make themselves feel better honestly. I love being outdoors and hiking and running trail cams, I don't have to fill my tags for it to be a "good year."

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    Buck Range

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    We had one on the camera in August then shot 150 yards from the camera. It depends if the doe are there, we don't push our property, it is seldom that we even walk the perimeter during deer season to and from stands that's it. We tend to have "regulars" on the cameras and new comers during regular season. Lots of people say we need to kill doe off our property for the health of the herd and to bring in more bucks but I am happy killing 135" 10 points. The best is they don't go far (deer on our property), my neighbor also only had 1 photo of this buck but was in July and wasn't sure of the size of his rack.

    I think it is the same deer and is the only picture we have of him up until he was killed.

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    20151125_075840_zpsgdx2xh5n.jpg

    I think you might be surprised how far your deer travel unbeknownst to you. But every area is different. There are a lot of factors that determine why and when deer travel. I've been running cameras for 10 years all over CNY and its rare to see a specific buck on camera regularly from August through December in my experiences anyway. During November and December I ALWAYS get different bucks that stop in for a day or two and never seen again. But like you said if you have a great piece of private land with everything they need/want that may cut their travels way down too...

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    Muzzleloader pistol law question

    in Guns and Rifles and Discussions

    Posted

    I have the optima pistol and it's an awesome "fun gun" but I haven't carried it in the woods and likely never will. It's too heavy and big to be carried as a "pistol" and you basically have to shoot it off sticks. By the time I add the shooting sticks and the gun it ways more than my muzzeloading rifles. It sure is a lot of fun to play with and is super accurate.

    Same here, very fun and accurate to shoot but I have not taken mine in the woods yet either. Its definitely not your typical pistol feel or grip but on sticks or resting on a rail is fine. Free handing it is pretty awkward. Kind of a novelty type gun for me but one of these days it will go in the woods with me...

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    Less popular

    in Rifle and Gun Hunting

    Posted

    I own a lot of deer rifles but if I had to pick only one it would be my 25WSSM... Its ballistically identical to the 25-06 but in a short action. It absolutely hammers deer. There's just something intriguing I guess about being different. If someone asks what I'm using I typically get a puzzled look when I reply or if someone gets a look at a 25wssm round most have no clue what it is or heard of it. And that opens the door to talking about guns which, who doesn't love?

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    • Like 1

    Buck Range

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    Do you think they'll return to their "home" range after breeding season?

    IF they survived the past few weeks? :)

    It depends if there home range is also a good wintering area. Some areas I have seen this, others I'll have pictures of deer extremely often all summer, then they shed velvet and a few will not be on camera ever again until the following year during the spring /summer. I've also found the sheds to deer I've gotten pictures of miles from where they were so photogenic early in the season. On the flipside, I have a wintering area that I'll usually get 8-10 sheds out of every spring and I won't have any pictures of most of them... You just never know.

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    • Like 1

    3 legs

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    If there was a piece of bone that was jagged I would venture it was an injury. Be neat to know the story, an amazing will to live that's for sure...

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    • Like 1

    What do you guys think....

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    Nice to see some people are honest about weights... I get sick of seeing pictures this time of year stating " dressed at 195lbs" ... If you aren't using a scale you're in for a rude awakening how little your deer actually weighs.

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    • Like 1

    LIVE from the woods 2015 Edition! - Sixth Year Going Strong

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    not happy with hornaday sst slugs right now. i shot a doe last night at 415 ish, 50 yards and i hit her in the shoulder. (same thing happened last year) she hits the deck. i get up once dark to give her time and i hear footsteps running up the hill. i leave and come back this morning. follow blood over 300 yards and obvious muscle only hit. now i know it was a bad shot but i believe any well built slug should go through a shoulder blade. i will now try hornaday interlock slugs.

    Its not the slugs fault... I too have shot the SST's and I'll assure you they perform very well. Even on shoulders... Don't blame the bullet.

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    • Like 1

    Regon 8 State Land Hunters

    in General Hunting

    Posted

    I hunt only state land and kill more than the average guy with private land. Yes it can take more work, it does involve scouting other hunters but it can be phenomenal if you know what you're doing. Some parcels may as well be my private property as I've never seen anyone else hunting them during archery and I see a lot of deer. This year I've seen 9 different bucks all on state land. Would I love 150 acres to myself? Who wouldn't!? But I don't have it so I make do with what I have. I agree with above posts, hunter numbers are absolutely declining and state land is not what most make it out to be...

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    Onondaga County WMA's

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    I live within 20 minutes of all of the areas you listed and I do not hunt any of them, I have in the past but they are very wet and unless you are willing to use chest waders to get way back in the swamps you will be hard pressed to see any deer. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of deer in all of these areas including toad harbor but after gun opener its difficult. I wouldn't drive 2 hours to hunt any of these areas, especially having never been there before. Just my .02...

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    Opening day buck....no horns?

    in Deer Hunting

    Posted

    oh, I thought tag asked the sex of the animal.......if you use an antlerless tag on a deer that is not legally antlered, you still have to tell them what the sex is.

    Yes that is true, this is more likely the case of button buck fawns. The OP asked which tag to use in his situation. Everyone is correct with "Antlerless." I could've worded that better the first time...

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    • Like 2
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