genesee_mohican

I've kept logs of hunts the past 8 years or so. It helps when you are trying to figure out large areas of land and if you have a lot tree stands and move stand locations as much as I do. I also use it to keep track of my trail cams and such.

I came across my first one of the year while scouting. It looks like a drop from last year and I wasn't really looking but it stuck out like a sore thumb in the grass.

Here is what the river bottom looks like now. My decision to leave a trail camera on the bottom during gun season would have been all good, but I injured my leg and wasn't able to get back there in time. It's up stream a few miles from this spot and 15 feet up a tree, but I believe the water was much higher at it's peak.

I have some of my nicest sheds on display in my living room, laying on end tables and by my TV. Others are in my garage.

I live in the country and everyone out here knows the boundaries. I only own a few acres, so I never saw a need to put up posted signs. I do have good deer habitat and have trail cameras out all the time, and one year had a guy showed up on my trail cams. The DEC said they couldn't do anything because it wasn't posted, which makes no sense to me. I guess that would mean I could go walk around on any property in my town, without permission and it's not tresspassing, unless there is a posted sign up on it.

Your best bet is to study topo maps like mytopo.com and look at the satellite maps like google maps, and find an area where you want to start scouting. The topo maps will show areas where you can get to the bottom more easily as well as point out possible pinch points to hunt. Access is a bit limited on the east side and it takes some walking to get away from the area where everyone enters to hunt, but there's more land to roam in general on the east side. Like most of western NY, there are some nice mature deer in the park and surrounding areas so if you do your homework and put some time in scouting, you may get a crack at one...... but it's not easy. It's a neat place to hunt, but I would say it's more of a challenge due to the terrain, and just being public land where deer are pressured and tend to be more nocturnal once deer season opens.

A quick google search shows there's a lot of information on this deer, but I'm just surprised we are just starting to hear about it now: http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/article-index/possible-world-record-non-typical-buck-stunner

At a very young age, my Dad would take me hunting for small game and deer hunts. The seed was planted and the roots grew deep. The excitement of deer hunting and the love for the outdoors has just grown and grown. The thrill of being out in the woods knowing a nice buck could come into range at anytime, along with the beautiful surroundings that I tend to hunt in, and all the other wildlife I see..... is just about the best thing in the world to me. I enjoy the challenge too, so I maximize my time out there during the season, and I have the gear to keep me out all day, in most weather. When there is snow on the ground during deer season, the desire to be out there intensifies and the cold temps only mean the deer will be up feeding during daylight hours and I want to be out there as much as possible to increase my odds. You can't get em' if your not out there and you never know what you'll see in the woods. The romance of the hunt, new adventures on solo hunts or with life long buddies and memories of hunts gone by keep me wanting more. Now in my mid 50's, I find it difficult to work on some of those really nice days during deer season. I save 2 weeks to spend out there, but sure wish I had 2 months! I suppose if I had that much time off to hunt I might stay in where it's dry on a few days. I'm sure I would need to rest. But until then, I'll head out the door in the dark with my rain gear on, my backpack loaded with gear to get me through the hunt, doing what I love to do.

I think it's a great time to scout, look at new areas and put trail cams out. And I find it to be a very enjoyable way to gain more information and time well spent. My post season cams tend to show the same bucks I saw all during bow and gun. Sure, they have different travel patterns and food sources change all year long, but the sign and info I gain in the next few months is very useful. Many members on here, myself included, hunt large areas of land where scouting and looking around this time of year can open up a bigger picture and new stand locations to consider. I really look forward to this time of year to get out on some lengthy hikes, poke around to see what's happening and running my trail cameras. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, if the camera is a camo pattern and color that matches the tree it's on, that helps too. I had a brown camo camera set up about 13 ft on a pine tree on state land all season. It was hard to spot and I had a few pictures of hunters walking right by it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I missed a golden opportunity at a nice buck the first week of gun which took a few days to really figure out. A great hunt, but the disappointment in my miss won't go away anytime soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is one heck of a rack there !

I've had 4 trail cameras stolen in the last 3 years on public land. 2 before bow and 2 during bow season. Now I lock them down and try to keep them up out of line of sight. I have 4 cameras out now, but they are all on my land close to my house.

Some good points here and I agree that making the most out of the opportunities is a big part of it. Having a good place to hunt is the first step but playing your cards right with that property are key, along with closing the deal when the opportunity to kill a deer presents itself. The ones that have success year after year have a good game plan, put in the time and close the deal at the moment of truth.

Well done!

Documented quite well ! Not too many can take a deer and have it all on a trail cam, wow! Had to be a great shot to drop him like that, way to go and contrats !

Happy Birthday ! Hope you have a great year ahead!

How far away do you live from these folks? It seems like you have built a good friendship over time and have gotten to know them quite well. I would think they would give you first crack at a lease deal, since they know you already, but people can be greedy when it comes to $$$.

The rain stopped at 6:15, just damp air now. Saw 2 sm bucks so far, and have only heard 1 shot on this first Saturday of gun season! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sitting out in the rain, in the tree stand I sat in 2 days ago....where I missed a pretty nice buck. Sick to my stomach because I know how much time I've put in waiting for such an opportunity. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok, why is there a skull on your blind? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What Biz said.....just measure it and you will be able to score it within an inch or so. I use a piece of string with a toothpick tied at one end. It helps if you have another set of hands to hold the string and write down measurements. https://pope-young.org/images/uploads/files/scoreforms/2012_PY_Ss_WEB_DEER_WT_CO_TYP.pdf Great buck, and congrats!

I put in a lot of time during archery and never saw a mature buck, and had just fewer deer sightings in general.....but I seem to wearing 'deer repellent' so far this season. I think they dropped the antler restrictions due to hunter's comments and low takes over the last few years. Now that I think about it...I would like to ask the park to share some info on the harvest reports.

That is some buck! Congrats to him!

A lot of guys take this week off, and look forward to it all year ( me included ). It's been so windy that the deer are mostly hunkered down and for good reason, they just can't hear or see with everything moving like crazy due to steady 25-30 mph winds. It's not been very enjoyable hunting, but it sure beats a day at the office! I hunted sparingly today and am resting up, because things should be really good pretty soon. Light winds on Wednesday and maybe they will die down a little tomorrow afternoon too.