phade

Good luck. Will be leaving the office shortly. Later start than I want but should be in the stand by 5:10. I never use my cells on instant transmission. Rarely does it work that way. Cells are better to give you info that you can make informed decisions on, rather than get frustrated by. I batch send 2x per day, and they do help decisions on where to hunt.

It can be a pretty accurate tool. I've seen instances where it has helped recover cams and catch people. That said only one company has solved the inherent issue with GPS. It only works if the cam is on and the function is not disabled at the point of the camera being turned on. Spartan has an internal battery that powers the cam. AAs actually don't run the cam. They charge the internal battery. The cam can in turn be off, and still showing very accurate GPS info. Reveal - if off...is a no-go.

1, 3, 5, the same - Surely 1,3, and I think 5 because of the shorter G2 than 3s being consistent. I'd be pretty confident same buck. Maybe 10% chance that 5 is a unique one. 2,4, the same. 2 bucks, 5 pics. and @BizCT to make some bad adult entertainment video joke about it in 3...2...1..

Winds look like they're stabilizing back to normal SW for the next week or so. Wind is one of multiple factors, but probably a major one. Might be a good chance to get a buck on a pattern. He may continue similar patterns in the same wind if there is no change/disruption. Pressure seems to be nudging up to 30 and a touch over 1-2x this week. Mid to late next week the pressure jumps to almost 30.1 which should increase activity a bit too. I'm hoping deer are on their feet this evening after the weather yesterday. We're in a state of flux with crops having come down and coming down. Nothing clear to jump on pattern wise. I'm gonna go sit a field corner that has a nearby funnel and hope for the best. Also fix two cell cams that have limbs in front of them now from this wind...

I was in a hallway conversation with a guy who hunts. He is a pretty typical hunter - has a bow, goes out a few times, and gun hunts a bit more. But he gets out there. Anyhow he was telling me how does do not use scrapes. I know that’s clearly not true but there was no changing his mind based on his confidence level of his statement. He also told me the rut was on. Definitely looking to get into a stand this PM. Away from this madness.

Glad to see you reach your dreams. I am working toward that now. Career doesn't let me get much downtime but I do force two weeks in November every year and for the most part stay disconnected during that time. I have enjoyed hunting out of state more and more - better hunting, but also a fun experience with travel, camping, and the journey itself. I am in the hunt for a land purchase to reach my own goals. Kudos to you making it happen. Time is always going to win, but you're finding a way to make the most of it!

Cams were really slow for the past 48 hours overall but still had a few bucks on their feet in daylight. most of it has been in a low laying spot that has some wind shelter. One of our target bucks has been showing up consistently at 430-5 AM time across a few different cams. Heading to same area which is large standing corn. I believe that’ll come down in next few days so we will see what he does. Three new bucks have showed up this week on cams in Ohio. So, things be changing… Will be out this afternoon for sure.

Drinking and setting cams?

Too perfect lines for coyotes. Road rash maybe. Could even be a mite issue. I don't put a ton of stock in IR photos due to how they can distort the way we see stuff. IE a coat molting looks way different in daylight vs. IR. I have seen this with wire fencing too. Have a few deer like this now with the ruffed up back like that and all are in the vicinity of barb wire fencing.

Yes, will be there for the third season in a row in a few weeks. I have capability to work remote for short periods of time so in theory I could get a decent amount of time there around the calendar if need be. 15 hours each way is a time suck though. My wife knows that just makes things a bit harder. For me, once you get 8 hours in, I feel like going 15 isn't that much more, LOL.

15 hours is 15 hours but it's an easy drive outside of Chicago area.

Should share an update here. Still looking and searching every single day. Found one parcel in NY I liked about an hour ten minute drive south. Not ideal but I can swing it. Has one border I am not excited about and the DMP allocations are not high/high, which I am also not excited about when digging into that WMUs take and ratios. It's not horrible, but I'd be concerned with materially lower numbers than areas I currently hunt in NY. Property lays out well for hunting IMO, short of the one border, which has a public access trail nearby. Both themselves are not knockouts individually but combined, I am less excited about it. Ohio has been a whiff so far. Alot of retained OGM rights coming up on properties as of late. Kentucky I am still getting a feel for and haven't seen a must have property yet. Missouri - dang it. I've seen 3-4 properties that peak my interest in my range and the area I prefer. I so want to pursue it but my wife is more hesitant and that is giving me pause. 15 hour drive. One was a stunner in terms of hunting layout and documented history of bucks taken. It went off the market in less than a week. Still looking for that perfect place.

Work has been crazy. Getting time off that is convenient is tough in my role. Part of the deal. Had to cancel a 5-day vacation this spring. Pick your battles I guess. I picked mine yesterday. Told my boss, who is less than a year into his current role that I am taking my two weeks in November like I always do. Thought for sure this would be the year that I get the pushback on it given how hectic things are/have been. I have made it pretty clear that it's a non-negotiable for me and thankfully it is still respected when the big picture is taken into account. Off Nov 5 through Nov 20. 16 days of hunting and no work.

Yeah, I consider all that terrain. Dicing terms, but agreed.

Those are the days that for me I usually make a conscious decision to hunt or not or hunt a stand that I am willing to risk. No wind days are tough in the evening but you can make a decision on it. AMs can be workable if you know how a spot reacts to thermal lift. A few of Moog's spots were like that - you could hunt a no wind or even the "bad" wind on an aerial. In reality the scent lifted as soon as the sun rose and pulled scent up and over the down wind location. You didn't want to get into that stand too early, right at grey light was best because of it. But it was really cool to see happen. Like all things managing pressure vs seat time is not a black and white answer.

Swirling has more to do with terrain features. The weather is secondary - the terrain dictates what happens. Doesn't matter if the wind or thermals are lower speed or higher speed, the terrain makes scent spreading do what it does. If it swirls at 5 it'll swirl at 10 if all else is the same. I also should have clarified my statement about pressure above 30 in. It really is more correlated (I theorize) to high pressure above the norm at the time of year.

Browning Cells have some areas for improvement - but they are typically very good to top 1-2 in terms of power management. You have to be using some crazy settings to not get what you need out of a set of lithium for a full season. I've had a set of lithium in multiple Browning cells go 12 mos on pics. One went 14 mos. and I got nervous and tossed them. They were still good but I couldn't take it any longer.

Still hanging around. Haven’t picked him up on my other cam. I believe that cam had a few dropping acorns and photos are dwindling there making me think the food source is drying up or the bedding spot is getting wetter. He is still showing up at this field edge scrape 4-5x per week in the dark. Only seen him once last year around this time. He bailed last year from mid-late October to nearly Christmas time. Curious what happens this time and if we can find him before then. And thanks, spider web, for the glare.

Oh man, last night was a tough one. Wife wasn’t going to be home and had a bit of a drive with the kid for an event. Hunting partner had scout meeting. Left me with no real things to do but hunt. Work kept me late so I shot out to an easy to get to stand for the last 90 minutes. Close to a house owned my by hunting partner’s family. It’s getting gutted and renovated. Anyhow, I’m relaxing and watching deer out about 250 yards with the Binos. One good buck and 6-7 doe. I stand up and look back toward a road. See not one but two clear shooters come across the road and on my side heading my way through the brush. Maybe 20 yards into the brush from road. Pumped because I know how that path plays out.They’re 90ishyards away. Out of nowhere this truck and trailer drives by, slows down, and backs into a nearby driveway on a neighbor. Deer spook and go back across the road! Couldn’t freaking believe it. Truck is simply turning around obviously missing a turn or something. Turns out - they pull into the driveway of my partner’s family house. They’re there to pick up a bar table they bought off Marketplace. Dark came and I got down, walked out and my partner’s father asked if I saw anything. I said No because he isn’t a hunter and I wasn’t in the mood the talk about the bad luck. The two yahoos lifting the bar table onto their trailer go - You should have seen the giants that were right around the corner! They were right along the road! They ran back across it. Such is life.

I am going to check out Spartan Forge. All that said, I still don't have an app I like better than some of the County GIS sites that contract with Eagle View and other providers. I use several but I wish Eagle View would get in on the game. It's just small potatoes for them.

Glad I buy nearly everything in Ohio. I need to stop into my local shop that focuses on the stuff. The whole build was open boxes on shelves. Can't imagine what it has done for them.

Thanks for the information.

I don't disagree with that. But in terms of vocalizations as I have heard and seen it play out, a snort wheeze is just as or more likely in my experience to be from a middle-age buck than a fully mature one. I've only heard the clicking a handful of times and the same with the roar/growl - think four times I can recall. It's been a 4.5+ buck IMO each time. For me, it's been in thick cover and the older buck is tending a ready-now doe. All but one of the occasions there were satellite bucks going around the two of them. Come to think of it, I've heard snort wheezing more in the open areas than in thick cover. I guess my point is, you hear clicking or growling, you're in the game. I'll also add, I think we're at a disadvantage of being in the NE US with ratios more heavily weighted to does. Even going to Ohio, vocalizations are more pronounced and more part of the hunting. Missouri - even more. I was surprised at how much vocalization I've heard in Missouri. I heard a grunt sequence the first year and I thought for sure a hunter was in there making some bad decisions, lol. Nope, that was a buck doing his thing in cover.

There have been plenty of deer down by the kids this weekend. Our youth got one yesterday. A young lady hunter put down a giant and I'm sure it may end up on the DEC cover or at last in print in their regs books. Thing is a brute/tank. I didn't spend too long guessing but if I had to...170-180ish?

Shot-wise, the grunt/gurgle from a buck at impact. Much more confidence inspiring that the diaphragm thud/pop even though both are fatal. I always thought snort wheezes were cool and I went a long time before hearing them or maybe even knowing what they were, but I've heard and seen them from enough mid-age bucks to not be ready to crawl out of my skin, despite it still being cool to hear. Older bucks will do it too, but I think I've seen 3.5s do it more than older bucks. I think it gets the "press" nowadays. For me - it'd be long, tending grunts following by clicking. That'll make the hair on the back of your neck stick up. That and the "growl/roar" are right up there with mature, older bucks. I've only ever heard them a handful of times. When I hear it now, and know what it is, I get an adrenaline dump immediately. My 2020 Missouri buck was that way - heard him a solid 30 seconds before I saw him. Knew I was letting one go if presented even before seeing him.