phade

Core areas are about as small as they get at this time of year. Its the time of plenty. If you are getting those early morning (just at sunrise) or late evening (sunset) shots in shooting hours, then you are likely near his bed. You can then monitor the area to see if his pattern changes come hunting time. The reason why it is taboo is that there are disagreements on their use as a whole. Some people believe mature bucks bed willy nilly here. Others don't. That's all.

Some good info in totality, and the bolded part isn't always true or false as you noted. Some cases yes, but in some cases, a buck will indeed return, and some known bed hunters will argue most times this happens, but if a buck is bumped and it gets away successfully, it'll return to that bed again. Some tactics atually involve purposely bumping a buck off its bed, setting up the stand and getting back in there before the buck returns the next morning. One of the more successful buck hunters I have met in NY purposely bumped deer from beds in August with a partner. He would climb to a vantage point in a tree, and then have the partner go through the bedding and the buck would then take its route out. The hunter then would glass and set up when he believed the buck was in its bed and hunt the route out. Prior to the Oct 1 date, he had taken 5-6 mature bucks on opening day in a row. Haven't seen him in a few years, but his ability to hunt beds was imressive.

Beds are a taboo topic on this forum. Some people get it, some people are getting it, and some will never get it. I applaud you for looking into it further. Making beds is more of an in-depth consideration of the parcel itself. Some easy ways include TSI that allows light in through the canopy. This light can often jumpstart multiflora, which can hold deer. Hinge cut trees can also serve as potential bedding areas. Create transition (edge) changes. Bucks like this. Instead of planting a 5 acre field into a plot, take the right section and plant bedding grasses. Corn can be too, for seasonal. Still, as much bedding as you can design, you are betting off finding, leasing, buying, accessing parcels with the natural bedding there. If you control the bedding, you control the most important part of the puzzle imo. Food is great, but they're at their beds or within the safe zone in shooting light more often than not.

I sure understand the excitement of such a deer, but man, you really shouldn't be posting this info about him being online. Just the ballpark details can make your life miserable. People do stupid things to kill deer, especially big ones. I'd be so quiet on that deer until I killed him or knew he was dead. Some people simply don't care about big bucks, but others do, and I've seen the ugly come out whether right or wrong in that particular situation. You have a bunch of info on him and I'd be putting some serious effort into tagging only him. Usually targeting one buck is a mistake, but this guy is starting to reach epic proportions for the given area and warrants a chase. A similar point as Gman noted. An acquaintance had knowledge of a giant buck on his ground that pushed 200" here in Rochester. He had four years of info on him and didn't speak of him for another three years after he disappeared. Nobody publicly claimed the buck. He got a high-end photo of the buck and this thing was magical...just magical. He had the buck the first year in his sights but had already filled his gun tag and had to let it walk. He vowed never again, but ultimately failed to tag him. He got a few sheds of him, but never found the dead buck...either old age or someone got him quietly legal or otherwise.

Musky is a bucket list item for me. Same with pike for that matter. I just can't seem to catch them. It is one of those pursuits that humble me.

Maybe he was talking about crossbows shooting themselves?

Mike...sent you an email to the chapter address. Busy with the house flood issue this summer, but thought of an easy way I could chip in.

It's not sitka style camo...sitka has the license to use that camo, which I believe is owned by Goretex. If you aren't hunting out west, then in most cases, that camo is probably more money than you need to spend. Some people do like the eastern-designed duds by sitka, but I can't bring myself (and I spend more money on hunting than any other passion besides life and family) to do that. Look at Predator and ASAT camo. Much better than Realtree/Mossy Oak IMO.

I've lost some fanfare/desire for D&DH in the past few years. I'm not sure if they are suffering from the market (print media) collapsing or if there are leadership problems....but that rag isn't what it used to be 5 years ago and certainly not 5-10 years ago. It's still one of the top three overall, but then, it was heads and shoulder leader in the industry. And, that's coming from someone who has had work and photos published in it. Separately, while this is an engaging discussion, it is more relevant to western/target/spot/league shooting IMO. It's too granular for deer hunting beyond having the necessary energy/momentum/speed to make a deadly, accurate shot. My bows are 2010 models and they are NOT speed demons even by 2010 standards. In fact, they're downright slow imo at 28" and 60lbs. My arrows are middle of the road weight and I shoot a relatively small mech and quality fixed bhs. I get pass throughs on the large majority of whitetails and the ones I don't are because they hit an offside shoulder or the indian behind the bow messed up. I'd be shocked if my hunting setup chrono'd beyond 260...and amazed if it broke 255. The problem is when people try to push the limits of the bow and their capabilities. I do think such talks become more relevant when chatting up elk, moose, etc.

July is usually my LEAST deery month. I tend to devote most of it to household chores,vacation, family, etc. This morning, however, was crisp, cool, and I got that faint scent of the oncoming fall. Seems unlikely given we still have to deal with the dog days of August, but for a slight few seconds, I felt like deer thirty was around the corner. Worst part is after the flood of my house, my hunting bow being submerged and now back at the factory for refurbishment, and the kid...there are 7 or 8 cams out that haven't been checked in almost two months. So much potential.

And, I wouldn't call it "some" concern on the deer's part. Look at the pics, two of those deer have pre-loaded front legs. We all know what that means (or should know).

As noted, mounting out of the line of sight and moving to legit black flash will significantly reduce these issues. You will still have potential for noise (filter) clicks, but you aren't giving them the deer in the headlight look as seen. Minor annoyance now. Much bigger problem with a mature buck. These guys may tolerate it, but the mature bucks are much less likely to do so.

Check in here from time to time. Always good to see someone better themselves.

The MWC can and will send maps, too. Not a well known secret being posted there. Well played.

The components of the land can be figured out...it's the trigger finger and the brains in the humans that either are or are not good co-op candidates.

As noted, it can be good. I've just personally seen more co-ops fail than succeed. You need the right people with the right mindset. If that is there, then all is well.

Iodine test I think, no?

If I remember this is a Letchworth deer? Been a while since seeing that post. Wonder if he bails to private once pressure hits or once crops start coming down.

If the right people are involved it can work well. I know a small group of guys who combined own only about 300 acres here in the Rochester area. They're all early 50s now, but the sheer volume of bucks on the wall is nothing short of world-class impressive. They all share information and created one continuous hunting parcel for the group. Intense plotting, tsi, and bed creation, but also solid trigger control. Just one of the guys alone has 7 P&Y from this property with another 20-25 in the 120-140 range (gross) that didn't net P&Y or were gun kills. 25+ 120" and up bucks in NY is nothing to shake a stick at. I haven't seen the remaining walls from the others involved, but I've chatted with them, and they said their walls are about the same in number and size. The problem is, it doesn't work like this very often. People are messy...and matching minds is unlikely. Do your research before making such a venture.

What that article highlights is how tight to bedding bucks stay in early season. They have what they need. Hunting the food source as many do at that time of year may pay off but the closer to the bed...the much more high your chance gets at seeing him in shooting light. Many hunting groups say that you should leave bedding alone and not pressure it at all. Well while I agree you don't want to overdo the damage...you cant kill them if you aren't in the game. Careful scouting can pay off. See how the bucks range exploded into the fall? That is just further evidence to support bed hunting early season. One or two carefully planned ventures increases odds...by simply waiting until the rut you are reducing your potential for encounters. Its all a numbers game. The thicket seems like it could house lots of deer period. I like a v setup to take advantage of the fact nobody goes in there. A couple lanes hidden just inside the cover gives him a spot to go to early season if so inclined but especially after pressure from gun season hits.

Congrats, that is a nice honor. Isn't the lady on the left the new board member? I remember reading about her being picked.

32 feet wasn't pretty, but thankfully it was a very healthy old tree. That height creates a ton of angle problems, one lung hits are never fun. Especially in NY terms, due to smaller property sizes. 20' can even be tough when you are looking at 5-10 yd shots. I've passed up a few because of such angles and not having enough time to adjust my shot accordingly.

Wow, that's a solid NY buck.

PM Slippy Field on Archery Talk and tell him Phade sent you to him for an order. His prices via PM are going to be solid.

I am not a super critical person relating to camo, because I have not found any major camo to be THAT detrimental to being busted. Having said that, last year, there were two seperate times in two states where I had encounters that I should have been busted given the backdrop, wind, etc. and the deer looked right through me in my fall grey suit. One in a tree and the other on the ground. I know its empirical/anecdotal, but I was very impressed to say the least. Edit...my avatar is a pic from that stand and that hunt where I had the tree stand encounter.