phade

Taking FIL to Ohio next month Nov. 3-10 or 11. He has zero clothing for bowhunting....all his stuff is old school gun season wear (heavy duty overalls, bibs, jacket, etc.). He's a touch smaller than me and can't borrow any of my gear. He has light base layers and some turkey hunting gear he can layer under...but not much worthwhile. He's just not in a position to spend more money...he spent some cash on a solid rain set (as he didn't have one). He could wear that as an outer layer, but I'd prefer him to have a fleece suit or something along those lines with wind block if possible. Gotta go cheap...he's likely a size L for most things. Anything...coveralls, mid layers...fleece suits...cheap cheap cheap. Let me know if you see a bargain. Looked at Wally World and Dick's for the Field and Stream stuff, but it is too loud and not really November bowhunting gear.

I see many people are doing this here...I figured I would narrow my focus to just my Ohio trip. It will be November 3 through 10 or 11 depending on weather, tiredness, etc. I am toting my FIL along on his first ever xbow hunt, and I'll be slinging with my Elite Z-28s. FIL has been practicing, practicing, practicing...he's 63 or 64...I forget. But, in any case, he's deadly out to about 30 yards. Anything beyond that and I believe he will pass. His xbow is pretty starter-ish...Horton Summit HD that we got for a bargain - 265 fps and GT Devastators with standard ST heads. Lots of work goes into this hunt each year...this is my second year of it. Last year was fun, and a kid I mentored got a nice 6 point - only his second bow buck ever. Full-time work and night school has kept him from the bow woods this season. Maybe we'll get together for a gun hunt in NY this year. So, FIL stepped in. Hunting central and north central Ohio - two counties. Now, when I first started looking for Ohio at the end of 2010, I was really focused on public land in SE Ohio. Found some spots after chatting with people, but that quickly gave way to a few suggestions by some Ohio DNR people. Let's just say the DNR folks make our DEC look like rookies and we'll leave it at that. I hunt ag land here in wNY; SE Ohio is hilly, rugged, and "wild." Not exactly something I have experience in...thermals, hollers, and such. After some basic contacts, I landed permission on a nice 440 acre farm and hunted that last year. This year I added a few more parcels and have about 1k acres to hunt. Having said that, I bet 150-175 of it is wooded...farms are huge here and there's hardly a hedge row to be seen. But, that's every farm here and the hunting can be good and I am more comfortable reading such ground. Pressure is there on some spots and not on others..nothing like NY or further down in Ohio where out-of-staters typically focus. One parcel is prime and we have access to it Nov. 4-6. The owner is a hunter himself but is elderly and let us on with no questions. Stands in place and he has food plots (clover/greens). Two ponds, and surrounded by Ag, and two CRP-like grass fields in the middle of the ground where deer bed. I LOVE this ground and honestly, it'd be a perfect place to own. I really hope to score here and also think it is my FILs best chance at a decent buck as the pressure is likely the lightest of any parcel. These WILL BE all-day sits. I'll document the other ground later, but for now...here is the 4-6 parcel. About 75 acres including the house. Potential stands/sites for me are in red and blinds/ladder stands for FIL in green. He needs easier access, frankly. At his age, he's not stealthy, a little clumsy, etc. and that is OK....we're playing to what he needs to do to get in the game. I think blind options will be on the East side of the ground and ladders on the W. Since the surrounding is in soy beans this year, no corn, I believe the bedding will be heavy on the W chunk of timber. It's pretty open understory, so I'm not planning on entering it until I get a day into the ground. Scouting it this spring showed some good sign, but I'll need to see it again to be sure I can get in there without much concern...plus, my other spots are largely funnel locations, which is what I need to bank on since I have no knowledge of bucks there. I do plan to decoy the food plot and rattle. I may do that the last day. I love the spot by the river on the N side...wind blowing over the river will let me take advantage of the pinch of woods just to the w/NW of that spot. I spotted some rubs and scrapes on the north side of the pond and plan to hunt a spot on the northern property line. I can likely hunt the spot ourside the boundary as the owner is friends with the neighbor and he said he'll have me a signed permission slip when I get there...this spot is supposed to be nice, but with beans...not thinking it'll be hot...with corn...NO DOUBT.

Yeah, it really is pretty bad in this general area. I think I'll be glad to shoot some does in late mz...will probably get bck out a time or two with the bow to do the same if I have enough free time. Amazing how fast my weekends fill up once the better half knows the buck tag has been filled. Sheesh.

I certainly wouldn't hang up the bow this year because of that. I think we've all been there at one point or another, but hanging up the bow just makes it a bigger issue down the road.

Between long shots, rain, wives, hunting only on the ground, it's a shock people on this forum kill deer, ha. I'll sit in a complete downpour...waiting. Breaks in that weather will allow deer to get up, and once the rain stops, then action oftentimes picks up. It's not so much shooting a deer in the downpour that is in question...most probably won't in a real heavy pour....but there is value in actively hunting once it stops. Sure, you can try to get in as soon as it stops...but being in the spot already and/or the first half-hour or so is where you take advantage of sitting in the rain to begin with. It's getting close to that time where as good rain will give way to clouds...that its the time to be sitting downwind of a primary and covered scrape...that buck moving in downwind after the rain to refresh it won't know you are there if you do your homework.

X2 Does are like rats (figuratively) on some of the ground I hunt. I mean, they hand out DMPs like they are candy, and I understand why in my local area...lots and lots of them. Rut action is also the weakest in those spots...granted the place gets pounded gun season, but so many does mean there's little of that classic chasing going on. Not the funnest thing to do to kill a doe/fawns...but I have and will continue to if the #s support it. I do obviously avoid BB if I identify them as such as a personal decision...but that's the extent of my restrictions. I do have to say some young doe loins on the grill 30 minutes after kill are quite yummy.

Welcome...love seeing Region 8 in the house!

I think the mild winter will have more to do with the entire season's harvest...both gun and bow. GUn hunters will get their share...can't but help with SZ opener at the tail end of the major rut phase.

Been using a scale for archery (weight bh, arrows, etc.) for my BH209 measurements. It needs to be calibrated after being off for a while and I don't have the weights...they were lost somewhere. Is there a good scale with a modest price that can be suggested? Say under $100 but preferably in that $75 range. Not really wanting to spend that much to measure, but will if there's nothing worth while out.

True story...poll the members here on their occupation...and you'd be surprised to see how many attorneys there are on here. There's at LEAST two that have posted on this thread. I'm not one of them, though. This is just a typical early season hunting thread...people have that angst built up and just need to go hunt and kill stuff. Don't take it personal, just tell us to shove it.

Good luck! I wish you were closer, I'd love to pick your brain to learn more about MZ shooting and hunting.

Bell curve...10% are early...80% are normal...10% are late. October to Jan range for potential breeding in wNY. She might not be super close to ready...just starting to come into estrous...so could be a few days away yet being an early one probably had that buck's attention real fast. Early ones tend to be early through their life from what I understand. Same deal with bucks shedding their antlers...unless there is an environmental impact, once a buck matures, he generally sheds within the same 3 day period or so each year from there on out.

I mentioned before I have only made a handful of shot attempts past 30 yards...I'm 3 for 4 - but in my mind all four situations allowed for it. I simply misjudged the one and had a clean miss between his legs - still haunts me to this day, but it wasn't symptomatic of longer shots. It was a yardage misjudgement, which happens to any bowhunter who has hunted long enough. The others were clean kills....one was slightly quartering away and I only got liver and through one lung, but he was down in about 90 yards or so. I think you are lumping slob hunters in with responsible hunters becuase of a shot distance. I hve zero doubt that there are bowhunters who will launch arrows without a care, and those are the ones I think most people here are picturing when talking about this issue. Same goes for gun hunters.

I took this pic about an hour, maybe two before I shot the buck. Prophetic? No. This is one of the two places I expected a shot and is where I shot him. I posted it earlier. Unless the apple tree jumps at me, I can shoot 140 yards to that hedgerow without a twig in the way. See the apple tree? See the limb? See it cut? Geez. Sure made 55 yards easier. You keep bringing up objections, but you are not seeing that its situational. I don't think anyone here who advocates thinks you should shoot when there could be twigs in the way.

The threads here have indeed been pretty interesting. I just don't get why people believe one over the other is better or one has disadvantages over the other than should rule it out. I can understand Steve's concern over safety...fine...but to say being on the ground is just as effective or easy "in general" are limiting their ability to effectively make the most of their time. The other is the remarks about not being a "real" hunter froma stand or a pop-up. Really, the bowhunter should look at hunting situations and choose the best option. I've hunted more from stands with a bow, but I've also sat in blinds, blowdowns, and even buckets. I have yet to try still hunting anything other than corn on windy days because I don't have large enough acreage to burn. The real answer is all should be considered options. Anything less is someone hard-headed in my opinion, unless it is for safety, or a personal challenge.

We'll obviously have to agree to disagree on the shot distance issue. But, I totally disagree on the fact that deer almost never stand still. That's patently false as a blanket statement. I've seen deer stay stiff as a board up to 15+ minutes standing. Especially mature bucks and does. My 2010 buck was idle standing still for 10 minutes before I was able to shoot him. On the other topic, why don't you use your pins to see if the arc of the arrow will clear the obstruction? Pretty easy and effective. Example: If I range him at 40 and there is something about half way between us I can check my 20 pin and if it's clear the arrow will be good. Surprised you've never heard of this.

Welcome!

Paula was right. You don't get it. Let this die, Doc.

People fear crazy. Crazy works.

Taken from another site, so reposted...from Shelby, Orleans Co. Know nothing else...but wow oh freaking wow.

Stud!

For sure, that is a great first buck. Sometimes its a blessing and a curse. I shot a decent buck as my first deer at 17...was a few years before I was able to top it. Hopefully he has plenty to come that do!

That is a great buck! I don't want to take away from such a great accomplishment, but I'd have to see 203 pounds on the scale to believe it, especially since it was 240 on the hoof. That'd be a big deer. I'd just love to see a deer that big sometime. In any case, that is a heck of a deer, let alone a fist. Congrats all the way around!

Hunting off the plots is so much more effective in most situations. Nice plots and deer.

Deer will re-use beds. Some bed may not be, but more than most will be re-used at some point.