phade

Simple question...how big score wise would it take for you to go for broke, passing all other deer, even good bucks? Meaning you target one buck and either tag him or pass all other and strike out. Lets keep this to NY for the playing ground.

No bucks clean here but very close. Any day now.

Best of luck. Hopefully you and your kids can wait it out until November.

People are speculating on the fracking. Lots of money to be had.

You used the term hold. But, it's also minutia at this point. It's a good find.

This thread has been enjoyable, indeed.

Answer me this...how do you know a wild free range 1.5 has good genes?

I must be mistaken, I am wrong. A 1.5 genetics are the major reason betwen a 10" spike and a 2" spike. I appreciate your effort and the help for Biz, but please understand, you shouldn't even be thinking genetics on 1.5s. Do you believe in management bucks or cull bucks for removing bad genes?

Give the deer superman's genetics, I don't care. A 1.5 is still influenced more by birth date, food/water, and environment. To even reference genetics when talking about the relative size of free range 1.5s is doing so not based on sound management science or principles - it's just plain silly.

He's talking about being 1/2 mile away from the action at the moment. Some deer will shift, some won't. To say deer always shift is incorrect. Some do, some won't, due to a variety of factors/decisions. Some bucks are roamers, some are homebodies. Simple as that. I'm not sitting content on stands that were good for the rut and not being confident in having stands in place for the season to start at the moment. Sure sounds like he's knowingly banking on the rut, but not the early season, or late season. My advice is to take advantage of all stages of the season. Chances are the majority of those bucks are going to still be feeding on the beans in October (til they turn) and other green fields and mast sources. We agree on alot of what is said, however.

Poke pin holes in the beanie.Some masks have them for ear and nose holes. It should work. You may need to reinforce it to prevent the holes from ripping.

FACEPALM! How do you know this? I'd love to learn more about this. Don't you want to take out those with bad genes, too?

That's not always the case. Some deer don't shift very far. Some do. To generalize is shooting yourself in the foot.

I never rely solely on the rut. That's my #1 rule. The rut is a back-up plan. Dismissing anything before or after that is shooting yourself in the foot. Hopefully you either get lucky with a core area shift in the next week or so, or you do something about your situation if you feel they are not around you for October.

What is some QDMA? QDM? LOL. With leases, I tend to be more cautious with neighbors. Leases can be pulled out from underneath you. I have one lease and have a cordial neighbor. Very nice guy, respects lines and we have established equal tracking rights with a phone call. He stopped by opening day of regular season and told me that he had a couple good bucks around the start of the bow season but that they had trangressed elsewhere. I kept my mouth shut. I killed one opening day of bow and knew the other moved to an adjacent parcel because of a food source change. I make sure to never mentioned bigger bucks other than saying I thought I saw a decent buck but couldn't get a good look at him through the timber. I have no doubt that should he know, despite being a good guy, he'd be willing to compete on the lease and either drive my price up or take it over. Loose lips sink ships, and I want to be sure I'm the cannon...not the ship.

Out of left field....c'mon Oct. 1.

That's a bit uncalled for. No need to push your belief system onto him. If he's genuinely happy, which I believe he is, with a 6 point, then so be it. He hasn't even taken a buck with an Xbow yet. While I myself now tend to target older class bucks compared to the masses, I equally share in the belief that those who have a wider target range has just as much to say about what they want to shoot. You don't educate anyone when you use the term dink and put other hunters down. C'mon, you should know better than that.

Genetics? Seriously? On 1.5 y/o? Birth date, food/water, and enviroment are the drivers there...genetics is a back seat passenger in determining a 1.5 y/o rack.

Mobil to my knowledge has a subsidiary lab in Wayne Co. Putnam, sheesh, that's might as well be NYC for our context. Ha.

Yep...perfect answer. Mix with sand.

Oh please, me listing my credentials...if you can't see that was also done jokingly...I don't think anyone here but you was trying validate their position in life. Anything I said in that fashion was said as a joke and to showcase that you are not unique in coming from a rural area and actually breaking any socio-economic barriers. Face it, you and me are a dime a dozen...plenty of relatively successful people from small towns. That we can easily agree on. You still can't seem to take jokes well. Maybe because you get beat on so much by people here? I don't know. And you are still a dweeb for not agreeing with me on buck beds, lol.

I doubt Potter will have much issue flashing a kill pic this season. And Potter...you should have been calling the girls in high school, not waiting for their call....lol.

That's quite a few good bucks from one camera spot.

I'd never be a surgeon. I'm much better in a controlled environment. Where I grew up, deer were not dressed in the field. It was taken back to the camp/clubhouse, hung, gutted while hanging. Before that, though, weights and measurements were taken - required as tags were issued by IGF for does to the club. Scraps were dumped at a spot on the club ground where people would target yotes, fox, etc. I think alot of people process deer in the same manner they were taught. I've had some pretty tough drags in my time and as I age, I'll certainly be more inclined to use other methods.

First let me congratulate you on a well thought-out spot. Sounds like you are at a "converging hub". If you can get back there before green-up after the season is over, walk that transition line in the marsh. You'll be able to pick out the beds and set up closer to the ones that bucks are using to increase your odds of a daytime visit. I still think, however, you are in a good spot as is. I would next look along that NE quadrant along the long marsh transition line as well as the point jutting out in the marsh. The bend in the creek also stands out as a likely place to find a buck bed. I'm sure you'll do fine.