wolc123

Maybe they wanted a decoration for their office.

Some neighbors of mine used to grow it years ago. All I can tell you about it is that it is very smelly when it rots in the fall. That might make a good cover scent, if you can tolerate it, but deer do not seem to utilize it at all.

I have spent a lot of time in the woods and waters around Theresa. My wife's family used to rent an "off the grid" cabin on a small lake on the Indian river, for a couple long weekends every fall. One of those always fell on opening day of ML, or rifle season. After about 6 years of trying, I killed my first nz deer up there (big doe with ML), in 2012. It was such a remote spot, that I doubt that doe had ever even seen a human predator. Her reaction after taking my bullet thru the lungs was priceless. My wife and I also rented the place for our honeymoon, after our wedding on opening day of bass season. We caught quite a few of them up there that week, plus some walleyes, trolling at night. I can't say anything about the bars and stores in town, but everything I have experienced outside that little village was great.

We pulled the plug last night on our Adirondack Thanksgiving trip because our wny town is in the covid orange zone. I wasn't really looking forward to it anyhow this year, with no buck tag and no chance for any snow up there. Now I will have 4 consecutive days to try to fill a dmp at home, starting tommorow. I am hoping to get back up there in a couple weeks when ML opens, for a date with a big buck, on which I blew a chance on the rifle opener more than a month ago. Hopefully, I can stay covid free and they will have some snow by then. I will have a tag at least.

I worked a little bit on "Joe" tonight. Got the skinning done anyhow. I will process and freeze the rest of the meat tomorrow night. It looks like it is going to get plenty warm enough, over the next few days, to fire up the power washer and finish the euro. I should have plenty of time also. 4 days off work after tomorrow, and we just pulled the plug on our Thanksgiving trip to the in-law's place up in the Adirondacks. I wasn't real excited about it anyhow, with no more buck tag. My wife thought it best that we stay home, since our town is in the Covid orange zone.

Goes good with oysters and fillet mignon.

Meat damage seems to occur in direct proportion to velocity and it is easy to understand why there would be plenty from a 1/4" diameter bullet, using a powder charge designed for a .3". Were the hits thru the rib cage ? When I have seen lots of meat damage from small caliber bullets, they hit some solid bone (hip, shoulder, etc), and did not exit. I am a little concerned with meat damage myself this year, even though I used a bullet on the other end of the spectrum (12 ga, sst sabot). That sucker has to be 1/2" diameter minimum. It went in the front "shirt pocket", and did not exit. I am thinking it must be lodged inside the opposite diagonal ham. I will find out wednesday when I cut it up. That was the first time I didn't have one pass thru, but also the first time I struck a deer axially with one.

Prayers sent that you feel better soon.

Congrats on the wonderful trophy and I am very glad to hear that your season turned around so spectacularly this year. Did you get a dressed weight and chest girth ?

It could be considered a legal form of baiting, just like any other food plot crop in NY state. Deer do love pumpkins. I grew them when our kids were younger and struggled a bit to keep the deer from taking bites out of them.

Have you tallied up the team totals for the regional showdown ? I would guess that more than 3/4 of the harvest is in by this point.

The right brow is a smidge over an inch, giving me 7 points for team 4. How you doing ?

Dont beat yourself up over it. Instead of thinking about that lost buck, think of the others, that won't end up lost, thanks to the lesson learned the hard way that time. I have lost a few in my 39 seasons, but Iearned something from each one. Their memories remain etched in my memory, stronger than any of the recovered kills. That helps avoid repeats. What helps me more than anything else, is doing my best to keep on good terms with He who controls the final destination of all living things. If that turns out to be "deer heaven" (my family's food) supply, then I know I did something right.

You can shoot up to 9, so long as 7 lack antlers longer than 3".

In NY, one guy can only legally kill 2 antlered bucks per year even if he buys a regular, bow, an ML priviledge. The third tag is antlerless only. Seems like a bunch of BS to me. Also, I liked it a lot better when we could tag bucks with dmp's.

Prayers sent that she heals up fast. I know what you are going through. My wife had some surgery during crossbow season, and I gave up much of that to be with her. She is doing pretty good now, but still on a 10 pound maximum lift restriction. I'll try not to kill any more deer until late ML season, so she can help out with the butchering and cleanup.

Wow, that us a coincidence. My dad is about the same age and we also had to deal with that struggle, when he showed up, as close as he could get with his Polaris Ranger. There was so many blow downs in the woods that he had a tough time getting close. Lots of dying ash trees and 70 mph winds a week ago makes for a nasty combination, also adding difficulty to my swamp drag. Dad ain't able to do to much any more, but he held a front leg, when I used about the last of my remaining strength to swing that bucks but onto the bed.

There definitely is something about 10:00, but I think it relates as much to the hunters as it does to the deer. I was getting bored by 9:30, not having seen a thing since 6:45, when it was getting light, from my tree. I heard about 30 shots by then, most prior to legal light (7:15). I decided that I would move to a more comfortable stand at 10:00. That stand was also closer to where I had heard most of the shots. At 9:55, just as I was preparing to vacate , I heard twig snap behind me. I had learned a hard lesson a month prior on opening day of the northern zone, that had cost me a shot at a big Adirondack buck. The lesson was: "squirrels dont snap twigs". This time, rather than passing the noise off, as just another squirrel, I got ready for action. Soon I made out the form of a deer moving thru the cover, in the direction of the noise. The lead doe was walking fast and I could identify the lack of antlers bit was not able to get off a shot, when she passed an opening, about 50 yards away. There was a smaller deer following her, a little farther away, that I could not identify. 15 minutes later, I was as ready as possible, when I heard more twigs snap, from the same place I had heard them earlier. When the buck reached the same opening, I was ready to fire. I held off, because I only saw 2 points (my personal rule is 3 or more on a side before Thanksgiving). As he dissapeared, I blew a couple soft grunts with my call. That brought him right towards me. When I saw the 3 points on the opposite side, at about 40 yards, I let him have it. He paid me back, after pocketing my slug, by running 100 yards into the swamp prior to splashing down:

Mine was definitely hot on the trail of the doe. Fortunately, he was of the jealous type. Never have I had one respond better to a grunt call. I did not get a good look at him on the first pass, but he came in on a wire, to a couple soft grunts.

I did not see or hear a thing from my spot until 10:00 on opening day. Two doe came by then. My buck followed about 15 minutes later. I did not get out till 1 pm today, so no telling how they were moving late morning.

Yep, this one came with two tasty appetizers. Lots of pepper makes them better than any sea oysters I have sampled. They were not particularly large on this one, but there is two there on top of the plate. I will never leave another set on a gut pile. No sence letting the vermin get the good stuff. The heart is in the freezer now. My wife will pickle that, and any more I end up with, for Valintines day. The liver will make a couple more meals. I split it into two bags, and will put them in the freezer on Thursday, so they have some time to loose the rigor mortis. Livers are too tough for me, from deer more than 6 months old, if I skip that aging step.

A typical opening day for me, in my southern zone swamp-edge stand. Three deer seen, one killed, same as last two years. I saw the first, a doe, at 10:00, and I could not get a clear shot at her. A smaller deer walked by with her, a little farther away, and I could not see the head. 15 minutes later, a third deer walked the same path. I was ready this time, and it had a small rack. It passed by too quick for me to get a good look, or a clear shot. I gave a couple of grunts, as it disappeared. That turned it around, and it walked directly towards me. When I saw that it had 3 points on a side (at about 40 yards), I put a 12 ga slug into its "shirt pocket". That, coupled with some leftover from last season, will give us almost enough meat for the year. I don't expect to hunt nearly as hard from here on out for that reason, so I don't know how likely it will be that I will see many more deer. Doe really don't excite me at all, unless our meat supply is lacking. I still have 4 dmps for the local area, so I will keep at it, but not take any risks or hunt uncomfortable conditions. I butcher my own, so dealing with more than one deer at a time is a pain. I spent a few hours in a blind this afternoon, seeing nothing. I will get out next for a couple hours Thanksgoving morning, then drive up to the northern zone for the rest of the long weekend. I might try a little bear and grouse hunting up there. After that, I will make a half hearted attempt at filling a dmp or two at home, over the next couple weekends. What excites me most now, is heading back up north when late ML opens and I can chase bucks again. I also have an antlerless tag I can use up there then. I saw a big buck up there on the northern zone gun opener, and I would love to get another crack at him. I was not quick enough to get off a shot the first time. Snow will give me a huge afvantage. Also, there are always so many does around my spot up there, when there is snow around, that it is almost harder to not get one, than to come home with one. I don't think having plenty of meat this year will be a problem. Getting a doe around my southern zone spots is difficult on opening day, and much tougher later.

7 more for team 4.

Opening day 6 point, zone 9f, 12 gauge Marlin 512. , 36.5" chest girth. I had to use my grunt call to bring this guy closer to make sure he had at least 3 on a side. He obliged, but made for a tough, wet drag after taking my slug and running 100 yards into the swamp, prior to splashing down. He dont look so big in the photo, but nearly gave me a heart attack dragging him out. I was very thankful for the meat as it has been a pretty tough season so far, starting over a month ago, with early ML, up north.