phade

Apparently his timing is impeccable. Just got the day’s worth of pics in.

Several more of these guys here lol. This one is year two of him hanging around.

The amount of weird racked bucks at this place is almost laughable. Either they fight with each other all summer or something is in the water. He had a matching side that was broken and hanging down. It fell off finally in the last week or two.

Hard pass.

We really reduced our time spent on plots this year. While fun and also helpful we had a goal of minimizing our time putting them in this year to free us up for other hunting related work. We did this plot in about two hours mid August - we did disc this with equipment but then hand seeded limed and fertilized. We didn’t even spray this one. I’ll take the fall for the “gaps” in coverage but in my defense I was ready for a break in that weather. We will top it this week with a touch more triple 10 and some oats over seeding but compare it to some of the other plots we’ve done and I don’t get a perceivable difference in end result. The oats and wheat have done a good job bringing in attraction now. I backed off the radish and turnip ratio a bit to hit this mix. Seems to be working. We do have a nearly 2 acre corn field off to the right of the frame we also put in. That was about four hours of work on a couple days and will serve as a food plot through the season. Plus another hour for fertilizing. All in with all of our plots we likely have 15 hours in, in total. Much less than last year. None of them are as photogenic but I think they will be effective.

Probably getting better too with the equipment work they did a few years back - I'm sure the big ones are not far off from showing up. Better be ready with lunches and snacks for some seat time when that happens lol. It'll get busy in there before too long. Good news is at least the drag shouldn't be too bad at that spot! I bet that spot is probably going to be great for late season too...deer hooking in/out of the thick stuff toward the big field. Good idea to be watching that spot for sure. Edit - I recall some daytime visits on cams between there and the RE stand - moving N/S. You might get an early shot there too at a buck. I forgot about that.

It'll happen. When it pops in there, I'm not sure there is a better place in all of wNY to be in a stand. I do bet you get a really nice buck in there that you don't have history with. You're the second major parcel from where all that work is going on. Those deer that fall range where the work is going on have to go somewhere!

Early season might be tough but you know as well as anyone that place is so reliable you can set a watch to it. You just know what you are in for - quiet, quiet, all heck breaks loose in there. Oct 30-Nov 7 Cal East; Nov 4-15 Main trail and its offshoots. Saw the wheat this weekend driving by - late season will be good, but I'd probably have a plan to stick into the interior/thicker spots. The yahoos with their "300 yd" muzzleloaders will be out scouring the fields late season so I bet the deer stick tight into your thick areas with the pressure awaiting dark. The shifts are starting too so you'll be picking up bucks soon. Alot of displacement in the area with the gasline work going on down the road, so you might end up with some new big ones moving in.

For the most part they come from the same factory line in China.

I am just looking to have fun. No real pressure to punch a tag other than what would make me happy. The bucks are out there, so that is indeed a benefit. Three states and the journey with my hunting partner is what I am most looking forward to.

Three states this season but we'll be running with 11/6 to 11/21 most likely to give us the max flexibility to go where the action is, I guess. Late season extension is surely making me question my standards for a NY bow buck. Prior to extension, part of me wanted to be happy with a "good NY bow buck" so I could focus on other states....but the prospect of having two buck tags in late muzzleloader doesn't sound so bad now. We have a few places that do very well late season and the extension should allow us to get into some opportunities in the PMs. So much so, there is a legit chance we may not even be hunting the NY regular opener for the first time since I was in college, and instead maybe hunting Ohio or Missouri depending on our tag statuses.

I had an SD card get corrupted. Bought a license for pulling files off SDs. Here is one of the salvaged pics.

Cover scents are bunk IMO. Using deer urine or glands - I've had some success with pairing it up with a decoy, punching a tag or two even in NY. I think it is more effective in less pressured areas going further west into the bigger deer states. I don't go out of my way to use it as a common practice though here in NY. I have however, covered alot of people with very large buck kills in NY for NYON and several of them directly used scent drags. I can think of a few off the top of my head without looking back at old articles - peak rut, height of bucks losing their mind. Just one data point though.

Yeah I've always been under the impression you want a super slight gap.

My ETH holdings are making me happy this month. Up 58% which for this crypto newb isn't bad.

We all need validation in one form or another for any decision we as men make. I know it isn't talked about alot, but guilt is something I think a good chunk of men handle for nearly every decision they make or don't make. It's simply just not spoken about enough in today's culture. Having conviction with decisions is a great feeling. Congrats.

You should consider adding the late muzzleloader season though in all seriousness. There will be some giants falling that week.

As much fun as this is, me keeping track of weekly pics between work and hunting and troubleshooting peoples cameras…I’d be lucky if I made it a month of accurate and timely submissions. Cool idea.

Boo to the NY only. Lol. No inclusion of the late muzzleloader extension? Someone will drop a big one post Xmas no doubt.

I like my tree limb 3 arrow. I have the higher end model. It’s been on two bows. Done a good job.

Not cheap but also not as bad as I thought it would be. Really nice colors. I am sure it will look great!

Absolutely gorgeous selection there - wow! Mind me asking what that set you back? Couldn't be cheap coming from out west.

The peen.

I am glad they took care of you. I sell alot of Brownings and in large they are good cams. The cell platform is coming along as they invest more into it. Setup definitely being one area to improve upon, but the good news is usually that is a one and done experience for the most part.

The late season is with a muzzleloader. I am fine with that season IMO because cold weather sets in and reduces herd stress with lower hunters out. I wish they'd shorten regular, make it split (if needed as noted), and later after T-Day. EAB isn't rock solid biology IMO or hunter management. None of that crap makes a difference on a macro level when small private parcels are the lay of the land and most people sit in a stand not disrupting their grounds. Fix access above all else.