genesee_mohican

Good luck to Papist! Saw a few small bucks early...sitting all day. Great weather and been hearing of good action mid day over the weekend. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well maybe after they get a few trophies and 20 years of hunting the park under their belt they will see a different picture. I think this is my 8th year hunting it. I put a lot of time in scouting during the the off season and I usually do a half dozen ...all day sits on or near the bottom during bow n gun along will my am| pm hunts. Results?...Just humbled so far. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

why are there feathers in the picture? and a knife ?

Page 90 ! it IS happening. 42F when I headed out the door at 3pm, calm winds....saw one deer, a hawk and lots of squirrels...but it was pretty quiet out there. A beautiful eve to sit anyways. The weather shows a big warm up tomorrow tomorrow, with the winds picking up.

I have seen a few deer taken in this area that went 170 + and I'm sure the park holds something in that range somewhere. I was scouting the river bottom a couple of Septembers ago, walking up along the river on the gravel and came around the bend to see a buck in velvet standing next to the willow thickets. When he turned his head I had a hard time comprehending his rack but it was a sight to see. No idea what he scored but it was way up there. I will agree that the big ones in the park are very difficult to tag, they just have a zillion places to hide and tend to be more nocturnal in my experience. I just started scouting the hogsback area this past January, no cameras on the bottom, but some in areas where it looks like they come up over on the top. It's steep for sure but I'll be exploring more again after the season ends. Scouting the park keeps me in good shape, I'll tell ya that! I have farm land around my house that is much easier to hunt and get a deer out of, but I love the park and just being in that place does my soul a lot good. I hope we both get a good one this year! Be safe on this slopes.

I don't know bud, you really think there are 200 inch deer in the park? The deer in the photo has to be what, 180-190? As for the rough country and no one putting in the time, I've walked a whole lot of area's on the river bottom that were a son of a gun hard area's to access.....only to find stand after tree stand up down there. I've had trail cams up high and low for years and have yet to get a photo of anything bigger than 135 inches. I've heard of a few 140's and one or 2 deer that scored 150 (second hand stories) but nothing remotely close to the one in the photo from out west. I live a mile from the park and have seen a few taken around 150 inches as well out in the farmlands so there are some nice deer in the area. I just don't see the park as holding a lot of deer that would score more than that. Just sayin'

Just in from the stand....had 2 4pt's right under me. One rubbed up a tree, the bumped heads briefly, like brotherly love. Also saw 2 big toms and they roosted close by. Not seeing any rut action, or chasing yet. I'm thinking it's about a week away.

That's a stocky mature buck. I'd like to see one like that try to walk by me.

That is a beauty with lots of potential. I hope it makes it through the season so we can see a picture of him next fall. Just sayin!

Great story Elmo, and great shot too...congrats!

So they are still in a bachelor group. I wonder when they will separate for the rut? You may have some odd looking deer roaming the area in a year or two. just saying ! lol

I have some lengthy hikes to some of my stands. I picked up a badlands a few years ago because they are light weight. Still, if I'm heading in for the day with cloths, h2o, food and gear it has to close to 18 lbs.

I was just coming out from a hike last spring and saw your truck go by, you had a big shed on the dash. Which cabins will your gang be staying at, maybe I'll stop by.

Sounds like we hunt the same general area on the east side. I hunt there and a few miles to the south as well. The strong winds in the gorge had air currents swirling all over yesterday, so it was tough hunting. The river bottom is flooded (at least on the north end of the park). I have a trail camera up mid park on the bottom about 15 feet up a tree and 15 ft off the river bottom, I sure hope the water doesn't get that high. But I agree with Four Seasons, with all that thick willow bottom flooded, the deer will be on the hill sides....until the water recedes.

How cool is that! great sequence

I spend a lot of time hiking, scouting and hunting down on the river bottom near the Genesee river. Have always been fascinated by the Native Americans that once lived here and all nys.

I'll take temps in the 40's w some winds,,, instead of temps in the 70's and sunny...... like it's been. seeing 20-30mph winds sat and 10-20 for sunday. Sat would be a good day to hunt in an area that is protected by the wind as deer will feel comfortable there. The leaves will be wet, which makes for an more quite walk into the stand. It's starting to feel like deer season a little now.

I live a mile from the park on the east side and hunt it almost exclusively. I do a lot of scouting and run trail cameras year round. Last year we had a bumper crop of apples, acorns and hickory nuts so the deer didn't have to move far to find food. This year the apples are scarce and the acorns are light in most spots, so if you find an area where the tree's are dropping more it will be a good spot to hunt. The river is low now, but we are forecast to get 1.5 inches of rain by Friday so it will rise fast by the weekend. I'm seeing lots of deer show up on camera along with the usual decent number of mature bucks. Scrapes are just starting to open up, but I expect things to pick up by Oct 25th, so just hoping for cooler temps to get the deer moving more during the day light hours. Most of the corn is still up on the east side and there's a lot of it, so the deer have all that to bed in and stay near the food. They should be starting to cut it soon though. I'm looking at the the last weekend in Oct to start doing some all day sits and will take some days off the first 2 weeks of Nov to be in the woods as much as possible. Good luck to all that hunt Letchworth! Be safe out there and have fun! James

I walked up on a cub here in the park a few years ago. I was hiking up a hill and was surprised to see a cub climbing up a tree only 20 yards in front of me. I watched it for a few seconds, tried to fumble for my camera as my eyes scanned the surrounding vegetation as I knew the mother had to be close by. She appeared about 60 yards away and was walking at an angle towards me. I didn't make eye contact and just walked in the opposite direction. That was one of the most exciting moments that I've had in the woods. A great memory.

I see deer pretty much every sit. Some of my stand set up's are in pretty thick cover for bow, so I will go some sits without seeing a deer, but if that happens, I usually see one on the way in or out. Just lots of deer here in central Livingston Co. I do remember last year's opening day, I never saw a deer which was really bad. I sat in the same tree a few years before that and saw dozens and passed up a few bucks.

Sitting in a tree stand to hunt is a celebration for me, so bring special snacks along. it's not quite a picnic, but close. It's nice to pack food and water before the hunt, then when I get settled in it's something to look forward to later in the day, good to know I have some good food there. Staying power to keep me hunting and comfortable.

He's a beast. That rack sure has a lot of character!

Nice to see the plan all come together, way to go!

Nice to see the plan all come together, way to go!

Deer tend to pick up the slightest movement at eye level. You will want to draw as early as possible and time your draw and make your move while they are walking and behind any cover between you and them for sure. A good camo pattern, slow, well timed movement and a lot of luck are needed to get into position to release an arrow on a deer while hunting from the ground. I would prefer to sit behind the blind/cover to break up my silhouette, but that's me.