phade

This is my opinion on the matter.

November Ohio: Talk about a letdown. This deer walks under my stand and I had to watch it. Nice big buck, but I backed out as a guy was hunting nearby. FIL got his doe! Last night in Ohio: 30 yard shot in da' heart. Took him at request of owner and farmer to fill a tag...any tag...on any deer...as it was my last night there. Of course I would, the landowner and farmer were great hosts. Met new friends. Some Ohio bucks got away...one of them is the one that passed by my set. 2012 Ohio Buck Cam 1.bmp 2012 Ohio BUck Cam 2.bmp Ohio scenery: NY Gun Season Encountered target buck 2x. Got a lead on him first night, and made the move the next day. Perfect set up, just never saw him come in at last light, and I didn't know it until I had one foot on the ground and one foot on the stand step. He knew the game was up and left in a hurry. Never saw him again on stand. Shot a doe with the MZ opening week. Buck left me his calling card though, about 20 yards behind the stand of our close encounter. Moog5050: Met him on here, real nice guy and sounds like we'll be friends for many years to come. I was able to help him scout and set up on his first ever deer, but from there on out, he was out of the gates like a thoroughbred at Ketucky Downs. Class act...and after learning his never fail personality, I can see why he shot so many deer his first season. Looking forward to 2013...Mr. Target Buck shows up and confirmed he made it through the season this weekend. All busted up and coming back to the same bed I know he likes. I'm dancing with this dude on October 1.

What a long season. I feel like today is the first day I have been able to take a breath since October 1. Goals set as soon as the 2011 Deer Season closed: 1. Kill a mature buck 2. Hunt Ohio and help FIL to kill a deer 3. Accomplish Goal 2, then kill a nice buck in Ohio 2012 Deer Season Actual Performance: 1. Killed a mature buck at least 4.5 years old, and DEC biologist said probably 5.5 or 6.5. (Awaiting tooth aging results) 2. FIL shot first deer in 40 years. Used Xbow in Ohio and he was ecstatic. 3. Shot a 2.5 y/o buck in Ohio on last 15 minutes of time there. (Little under-performance here, but done at request of landowner/farmer) 4. Met a new friend and helped him hit a home run of a first hunting season. Now, the pics and lilght commentary. Summer Scouting: October 1: Shot the funky non-typical opening afternoon on a text book set-up. Long shot at 55 yds, but practice paid off. Had another target buck pass by within 30 seconds. NY Bow season effective over.

You are welcome.

What style breech? Quick pull?

Nice...when was it shot? Early season? I'm looking forward to mine as well, I love the early season capes.

I was "forced" into a list. FInally gave one to the better half. Vortex scope for my muzzleloader...some Cranford Screw In steps, and money for my leases, trips to Ohio, and property fund. Finally re-started the property purchase fund, but need to maintain the leases I have for the foreseeable future. Pretty bummed at first about dropping $20k on a single roll of the dice, but it's paying off as our baby is due next month.

Love stands like that. As long as they are hunted peroperly, the can produce for years. What's the stand setup area? Funnel?

Several members work around Beikirchs, lol.

I got one of mine delivered today.

Doe beds certainly have value, but really, that's for rut hunting. I note doe bedding areas, but won't hang on them in Spring because they can change too much, and I usually prefer to use MRI at that time of the season. I may if it is a funnel location or a spot that will likely prove to be a stand that can be hunted more than once to twice at that time. The value in scouting in March and April (I even scout with snow on the ground right after the close of the season), is to find actual buck beds. When I find them, I literally stand in them and kneel to see what the buck can see from that vantage point. I then look at his travel routes and try to piece together why and where he goes, and what time of year he uses the bed. At that point, I find my killing tree, hang or prep for mobile set, and then leave - I don't return until I plan to hunt it, with the exception of maybe finding sheds to verify the buck made it through the season. It is a very productive way to hunt early season. I'll try to glass or shine the buck at various points of the summer to verify if he is using that bed. This year, I had a spot where water and bedding area were compacted into one 5 acre section, so I did have to resort to a game cam since I couldn't see him from a good vantage point and the corn didn't let me glass. I set that cam in June and I checked it twice without ever breaking foot into the actual bedding area. Once I got my info confirmed, I no longer checked the cam. I shot the buck and pulled the cam afterwards. I cringe when people hang a set and then return days later to hunt hot sign as the rut phases kick in. Sometimes it works, but you are relying on luck being a bigger factor than it should be. A mature buck is going to know 90-95 of 100 times that there was an intrusion. The other thing is that hot sign is for hunting NOW. It is so counter-productive to say "Hey, I'll come back here in two days or a week, and hunt it." when they are there... The other thing is people hunt hot sign, and then think they need to back off. Really, it's the exact opposite approach. There are times of the season when hot sign should be hunted and hunted hard. Not just one day and then backing off for a week to let an area "cool down." If you stand approach is proper and you account for wind and thermals, and you minimize the ground you burn...kill that darn buck. He may have not been there on the FTI, but if conditions warrant, be back in that stand again in the a.m. Of course, the time of year to do that is limited to a short week or two of the entire season, but still....why shoot yourself in the foot when you did all the hard work. Passive-Aggressive hunters are most often the best there are.

Gander sucks, period. I hate having to buy from them sometimes.

DId you discuss recovery rights before the season? 7.5 acres is not a ton of room for deer to die on.

There's your next big gain to be had. Hang them in March and April as you scout. I often will scout with a stand or two in my truck ready to go. If I find the sign I need, then I hang it, trim, and leave. This works great for hunting buck beds early in the season - even moreso now with the Oct. 1 opener. I bet I hang 4 or 5 stands to every 1 in March/April vs. summer. Wasting a stand? Look at stands as a consumable cost - or get a complete mobile setup. You are also doing yourself a disservice by hanging a stand, then returning two days later. It's probably cost you more bucks than you realize and/or have shot that way. You seem to be mixing MRI/hunting hot sign with traditional stand setting techniques. Go in with a LW and sticks on your back, scout hot sign, then hang and hunt. None of this going back two days later stuff. Trust me, you'll find out that it benefits you. If it's hot right then and there - why waste it?

Another good option, is to bring a small camcorder out with you. If you are on stand and he does this crap again, record it and then give it to the state police, DEC, etc. Again though, all considerations need to be accounted for. What is the long-term scenario likely to be? How much acreage are we talking about, too.

Same here...two sets. Can't beat it. Wish it wasn't around x-mas season or I would have bought ten. A few people on AT bought 15 each!

Neighbor wars are the worst. Not much can be done in many cases, except trying to remain cool-headed. It's bad enough to dislike a neighbor for a reason, but that much worse when guns are in the mix and shot are fired.

I just don't have a ton of late season bedding areas on my grounds that I hunt. A few small spots here and there, but nothing that'll hold much. The one decent spot is darn near impossible to dive into, but I plan on doing that Sunday morning. Hunt the edge and then probably slow push it as best as possible. I got in there once post season earlier this year and it was like a movie...the light disappeared as the multiflora was 10-12 high and all around me.

i hear ya. congrats to both

they probably halted stoc until inventory could match ordering pace.

Cool story and well earned congrats. Pretty neat to share the day with a friend. Curious, what tactics do you two differ on that are so apart from one another that could impact (or perceived as impact) the other? How many deer have you and Shawnhu shot so far? Please know that I am not trying to bring up negative aspects - just wondering as it's a learning opportunity to see how two people hunt together with differing ideals. That's a problem nearly every hunter has had with a friend or relative at some point.

A few people who shoot pellets seem to do OK with 150 gr...but most shoot 100 gr. Many people I know who shoot Traditions do well with BH209 powder. Might want to look into that.

Hope you ordered...they are sold out. A run on the bank so to speak. People were ordering bunches of 10 on AT.

I still have a buck tag that needs filling. Planning on it at some point.

BC Rapid Rails are only sold in 3. It is a typo. Customers have verfieid that 3 come with it.