phade

Hard pass on that swamp picture. I have the clap just looking at it now. Thanks. Bees please.

Doe alert.

Not going lie I stood here about two rungs from the platform for a solid five minutes. Definitely weighing options. Tried to talk myself into believing they were all just coming home for the evening soon. It’s like JFK here. Coming and going lol. So far so good. Here is to some hope and prayer. Rest of the set:

Well, I’m not sure if this is a good idea or a bad idea. But a hive of bees decided to move in. My butt is about three feet from the hive entrance, the lower hole.

Bummed - we had two sets of stands for this evening to consider. Went with most recent intel and it was the wrong choice. Two shooters showed up at the other spots, one right at the end of legal time and one a solid 50 minutes prior. We flipped the coin and lost this evening. Still saw plenty of deer but not THE deer.

The few split seconds of being full draw, anchored, and ready to touch off the release feel like an eternity and a nano-second all at once. Followed by the sound of a double lung or even better that gurgle grunt hitting the heart. I'm not sure it gets better than that in the act of hunting IMO. I am pretty sure in that moment my adrenaline/dopamine could let me lift a car or knock out Mike Tyson (LOL, rrrrright).

Work kept me out of the PM hunt. Was hoping to make it out, but no dice. It should be a good sit, good luck all.

The evening should be decent in WNY; pressure a bit low but rising nearing 30. With the weather, I think deer will be looking to feed; may get earlier movement. The minimal sign posting too might be a bit more than norm. Certainly seeing rubs and scrapes making their appearance. Rare N wind too for this time of year, so you might be able to get into a spot or two you save for later on.

I've come across a fair number of primers in mom and pop shops in past few weeks. Overpriced but they will fit the bill. I'd be focusing my searches there IMO. I've seen Remington and Winchester 777 ML primers. Haven't seen CCI 209M though, which are my favorite. Same with others I have one "tin" of them that has 100. That should get me 2-3 seasons in most circumstances.

Cams are one tool in the tool bag. They capture some intel that we cannot because we're not in the woods 24/7. Trail cams however do make people lazy sometimes, they can give people false pretenses, and they take images or lack of at face value. No different than over-relying on one tactic for any other part of hunting.

Binos are worth their weight in gold. So are RFs if you are not capable and have practiced without known distances from ground and stand. I have a pair of Vortex Diamondbacks 10x42 - in great condition. I am missing the small one piece eye cover (the rubber cover that you pull off when using). Extremely low use and I am the original owner. If you want, I'll get them over to you for $100 shipped. RFs, beyond the basic junk, are in low supply. I sell a fair amount of them but at this time of year I stop stocking because demand falls off and they sit for another 6-8 months, then sell like crazy again. I have sold ALOT of the Sig Sauer Kilo RFs; in fact I sold more of them than Bushnell RFs this year. I really like mine.

That looks rough, real rough. People throw out the CWD very easy IMO. that said it is obviously on the list. CWD typically takes a long time to manifest though (some documents say deer might have it for years before showing outward signs), so those two would have to be the first two in that area to really be visible affected. I don't know, I'm just trying to think of something that it could be otherwise, CWD is a wrecking ball for deer/management.

We have a CVA Wolf or two left that we can ship.

Moved a stand early afternoon yesterday and got soaked in one of the downpours and a leaking boot while standing in a creek. We called the afternoon sit off with the constant rain that didn't quit. Don't do that very often but appears the right call; my cells were significantly slower than normal. I believe this afternoon could be a very good sit IMO. At a certain point deer will get up to feed and they don't appear to have been heavily on their feet yesterday evening and overnight.

We’re working on our camper this AM, then moving a pair of stands midday. These sloppy days are the days that matter IMO. Take advantage of info and things you need to get done. It all plays a role. Not a fan of the light winds for PM but we will see. This buck has been on cam this week hitting our plots and ag fields. Went to bed at 6-630 each morning and came out about 20 after dark. One might think that pattern makes him nocturnal. That said I saw him last night on his feet closer to bed - with a solid 45 min of shooting light left. Totally vulnerable if we had figured it out and been closer. I was 120 yards out. He covered that last distance in about an hour so he was moving a lot within his safe zone. We hope a stand move helps. S winds likely rules us out tonight though.

Had a horrible start to my day and forced a PM hunt in this heat. Glad I did. Passed 7 bucks at 8 yards in 6 minutes. Including a 7 point 3.5 that I passed on first day of bow last year. Saw one of our shooters and was completely expecting to see him in the caboose position of that buck train lol. Smart guy didn’t follow them and broke off solo. Saw 10 deer tonight total. Didn’t want to get out at all. Don’t let the heat keep you out.

Late start to the deer movement after that lone. Then they flooded the field, four does and one more buck. However, we made a big mistake. Apparently the deer were still hitting beans on the adjacent field of ours. They are quite brown and dry. My hunting partner believes our target buck was in a group of six that was out there about 30 min prior to down time. Lucky he brought Binos. No real opp to make a move. Bummer - winds don’t lend them to making a move tomorrow or Sunday if they hold.

Radish, white and red clover and some grains.

Little guy. 4 pt. First pass in the books.

Let’s do this. Wind got a bit more west than I was hoping but we will make it work. Sitting on the biggest deer plot in our arsenal! Got two of the three trails from bedding covered tonight! We have one buck on our mind today. We shall see!

And like that my OOO is on! Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Let's go.

High shoulder means different things IMO to people - over spine...alive, and not really shoulder. If it's genuinely through the paddles, well, that should be a dead deer. I would also think if it were through paddles, the arrow would have broken quickly.

Man, I just don't have words to make it better. Wish the best for you!

I am sorry to hear this, I can see the pain in your words. My thoughts are with you. I don't think you mentioned whether she was vaccinated or not. I would assume so based on your backstory and level of concern. That's really rough, and I hope your family can focus on the good times spent with her.

It's Huntmas Eve here in the southern zone. I have been fortunate to already have been in the stand in Ohio, but the NY bow opener here in the SZ is the traditional kickoff. My favorite 2020 deer season photo isn't even of me or taken by me. I had a very good 2020 season, taking three bucks total in multiple states and weapons averaging P&Y. That said, the past few years have allowed me to focus on enjoying the time I do get afield and minimal to no stress chasing bucks with my hunting partner and friend. My hunting partner had a heck of a run in the few seasons prior to 2020, but ultimately ended up with one "good" 2020 buck as he calls it. That was a memorable track and recovery in the PM; the arrow was true and signaled good blood but it didn't give a great blood trail and the buck crossed a 300 yard wide field with barely any green growth after being tilled a few weeks prior. The buck was visibly lost by my hunting partner about halfway across due to a hedgerow that was blocking view. It never went down. Initial inspection of the shot site had the arrow and barely any blood on the ground. We backed out, got dinner, and I texted @grampy as I needed an objective sounding board on the arrow and our approach. He verified our thoughts on approach. We waited until just prior to 10PM, grabbed the lanterns, and took 90 minutes to cross the field following single drops of blood painfully sparse. As soon as the buck reached a reed grass marsh, the blood opened up immediately and he was dead in his first bed about 30-40 yards into the cover. We snapped a quick pic to Grampy and began the process many of us are familiar with getting him hung. I think I hit the pillow around 2-2:30 that night. Both our NY buck tags were filled prior to Nov 1, and the next morning we made a decision to head out of state with the time off. It ended up being a great adventure and we both had opportunities with me punching another tag in a new to us state. But, before leaving to head out of state, one of our friends grabbed his camera and took some in field photos of the buck and my hunting partner the morning after. He has a gift for video/photo. He grabbed this image that I think is just representative of why we do what we do. Post up your favorite 2020 photo and let's go make some new ones!