wolc123

I'd go with the patched pirate pose.

Might also add a bit more complexity to the flavor of the hard cider.

Way to go Don, he's a beauty

Little, young deer and not quite the right angle, but thanks for trying. That CG/photoshopped video of the buck walking around with his back strap cut off one side a few weeks ago showed it a little better.

If you and the deer are both standing on the ground, at the same level, do you think you can pass an arrow above the lungs, but under the spine ? I dont think there is room to do that. I do know of at least one 3.5 year old buck that surely had more than 3 inches of meat over his spine, having personally removed the holed chop and tossing it into the garbage. That is plenty of room to pass an arrow thru with a lot more than a haircut. The thought went thru my mind last November 2, that was where my arrow passed. Fortunately, it was about 6 inches lower, right on target. I am hoping that Don's was also and he gets a quick recovery. All I can do from here is pray and I did. No deer activity yet this morning so plenty of time to argue. The leaves are very dry and crunchy so nothing is going to sneak past my radar (ears).

Maybe someone will be kind enough to post a cutaway of the anatomy in that region, so that you can see how thick the meat is above the spine over the lungs. This is the area many refer to as "no man's land", thinking their arrow passed below the spine, when it is in fact above. Deer will often recover from such an arrow hit but a bullet usually makes everything numb and limp behind, because the shock severs the spine. By pure coincidence, I have put shotgun slugs thru there on the last two opening days of gun season. Both of those 3.5 year old deer (buck and doe), required a finisher to the neck as they tried to drag themselves away with their front legs. I am very well aware how thick the meat is above the spine in that area after having so recently needing to trim away a few bloodied and holed chops in that area. Fortunately, shotgun slugs (one 12 ga sabot. And a 16 ga foster last year), are heavy and slow enough that only a couple of chops was lost on each. Do you think there is room to get an arrow over the lungs and under the spine ?

I sent up a prayer that you find him this morning Don. That has always worked for me. I almost got tripped upon on a bloodtrail last year, when I heard what sounded like a crash in some nearby cover. After a half hour grid search in there came up empty, I pulled out my little pocket New-Testament/psalm book, said a quick prayer, got back on track, and located my best crossbow buck to date within 5 minutes That will be the last time I will reuse a mechanical broadhead. The 40 yard or less tracks I always had with the new ones were much less nerve-racking. Other than possibly some sour tenderloins, the rest of your meat should be good. My truck thermometer read between 35 and 42 degrees on my drive thru a small part of WNY this morning (one corner of WMU 9F, to the opposite diagonal]. It feels like it is warming up fast now though, as I sit in my stand waiting patiently for the sun to peek up.

The tenderloins will taste a lot better if the guts are removed tonight.

Good thing Trump got in his SUCOTUS pick when he did. Clearly there is some shenanigans going on and the Supreme Court will have the final say. I certainly would not be doing much celibrating yet if I was a liberal Democrat. The Court is clearly stacked against those demonic clowns now.

I passed on a 4 point at 11:30. I saw another unidentified buck and a doe at around 8:00, that did not offer shots. I saw a doe, just out of range at 4:50, and a decent "shooter" buck and big doe, well out of range, at 5:05 (10 minutes after legal). I hunted for about 7 hours today and I plan on about 9 tomorrow. 6 deer seen, 4 in legal light, half bucks, so not a bad day. I am liking the warm temps and looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully, I will need to plug in the deer fridge. Usually, the first time I hunt a spot in a year is the best and I have a couple of fresh ones to break in tomorrow. The truck is packed and I am ready to go.

Neither have I, as there was a good 5/8 moon this morning. I have to drive a bit farther to my folks place tomorrow. I think I will pack the truck right now to save some time in the morning. I hope i have to plug in the deer fridge tomorrow. Good luck to you.

How did everyone do today ? I was in position, right on schedule this morning. I heard a buck grunting as he approached in the heavy cover at around 8:00. Apparently, there was a doe bedded in there about 40 yards from my stand. I saw her get up and run deeper into the thick stuff, snorting as she ran off, with the grunting buck right on her raised tail. I could not tell how big his rack was thru the thick brush. I am thinking that the doe probably heard me getting into my stand before sunrise. She could not have smelled me with the steady south wind. Or maybe she just wanted nothing to do with the buck, which caused her to raise her tail and snort repeatedly as they ran off. About 9:00, it was getting warm in hedgerow stand, so I moved into another stand I have that is in the woods. I stayed up there until 11:30, then climbed down and headed back to the house. I had not taken 10 steps when I heard crashing in the adjacent cover. I raised my crossbow, and a young buck stepped out into a shooting lane. He was 40 yards out and facing straight at me. He had a small 4 point rack and a decent sized body. The neck was not yet swollen. I contemplated a biz shirt pocket shot, but small rack and high temperature convinced me not to, even after he turned broadside for about 10 seconds. Definitely would have been a good one for the freezer, because he was clearly still in the pre-rut stage, carrying lots of weight in his hind quarters. Rack was almost perfectly symmetric and he will definitely be a good one next year. Hopefully, he has wised up a bit from our encounter, and will make it thru. I spent the last two hours on the edge of a big hay field West of Letchworth park. I saw one medium sized doe at about 80 yards just before sunset, and a larger doe trailed by a 2.5 year old buck, at about 100 yards, just after sunset. 6 deer seen, one little buck passed twice, and no shots taken. Not a bad day and the warm temps made staying out there for most of it very comfortable. I am looking forward to another day like that tomorrow. I will be over at my folks place then, which is about 1/3 of the way between where I hunted this morning and this afternoon. The morning hunt will mark the halfway point of my crossbow season this year (next week Sunday is the last day I will be able to hunt). That means that a buck with a single 3" spike could earn my buck tag, starting Tomorrow after lunch. Hopefully, something bigger will show up before that.

Not really, there is about 4 inches of meat above the spine on a mature buck. Also, he saw the arrow sticking out and posted a picture of good blood.

If the shot was too far back, waiting until tomorrow would be a good idea, but not so much if it was high. If I was in your shoes, I would be out there now with a good flashlight. Coyotes and warm temperature can wreck a lot of meat overnight. If the arrow passed below the spine, you should find him, and if it passed above, he should heal up ok. I see no advantage in waiting till tomorrow to find out how the story ends. I dont think you will be able to sleep anyhow.

I was about 7 miles West of Geneseeo for the evening sit and I saw the same. Maybe they were related. One medium sized doe just prior to sunset, and a big doe and a 2.5 year old buck just after. All were well out of crossbow range, even if I had brought my new one. They were at 80 yards, and my old Barnett Recruit is only good to about 40 yards in its current condition. I had planned on sitting in my popup blind, but my brother in law let me use his tree stand. I was wishing for my new CP sniper 370, but that still would not have had enough range for that first doe tonight.

I pulled the plug up in the stand at 11:30. Walking back up to the house, a 1.5 yr 4 point jumped out of some thick cover and stood facing me at 40 yards. I thought about the biz shirt pocket shot, but he needed another point on one side today. Then he turned broadside, offering me an easier, not quite chip shot, for about 10 seconds. His neck was not swollen up yet, and he looked like he would field dress around 150 pounds. Hopefully, I won't regret that pass later. We still have about 1-1/2 deer left in freezer from last year, so he is still safe at this point.

I just made my move to the woods. It feels at least 5 degrees cooler here. I have been thinning out the big ash trees on this end of the woods for several years and there is quite a bit of underbrush filling in, that is still holding leaves. Hopefully, some deer will move in here to cool off as the sun gets higher.

I am in a hedgerow blind, between two fields currently, on the edge near some thick cover. The two deer I saw earlier were about 40 yards into that. I don't expect to see much movement out in the open as it gets warmer. I think I will stick it out here until around 9:00, then move to my deep woods stand.

I got into my blind quietly around 6:15. I heard something moving in the thick cover to my east, then a few grunts, about 20 minutes ago. A doe stood up in there and snorted a few times and they both ran off, farther east. Hopefully, he chases her back out into the open and I can get a look at his headgear.

Hopefully you blew a few north, towards the Niagara county line. I am now in position and ready. The wind is blowing steady from your direction.

I hope to be in position by 6:15 am. Legal light is at 6:57 at my spot. If a buck with more than 3 points on a side or any antlerless deer shows up, I will try to post the first kill again this year. I plan on sitting till noon, on the upper deck of my favorite stand at home, then driving down near Letchworth for the last couple hours, to sit in a pop up blind at the edge of a big corn field. I will try breaking in my new CP sniper 370 in the morning, but I am going with my old Barnett Recruit in the afternoon. That one handles a lot better inside a small blind.

Nice rack, but looks at least 40 pounds shy of 200 field dressed.

50/50 for me. My recent 9 day Adirondack ML/rifle deer hunting trip illustrates that perfectly. I had 2 good chances at deer. The first one I saw first, and the second one I heard first. I was not able to get off a shot in either encounter. I was too fussy the first time, and not fast enough on the draw the second time. The most important lesson I learned on the last one is: squirrels dont snap twigs on wet leaves.

They certainly are comfortable. I think being comfortable makes it easier to stay alert. Not quite alert enough for me to get a shot at that last big Adirondack buck however. If I still have my buck tag, I hope to get another crack at him after Thanksgiving. Just knowing he is around might save the life of a big 1.5 year old WNY buck on opening weekend of gun season this year. It looks like the late ML season up north begins a week earlier than ours, so I might even be able to get another crack at him in December, if I dont punch my archery/ML buck tag prior to that.

Gut it, walk up to house and plug in deer fridge, get tractor. Drive back and load carcass in bucket, cut hoofs off with loppers, skin (very easy when fresh killed), cut head off and leave on hide if doe. Cut hind quarters off and hang from hooks on top of fridge, rest front section on neck on bottom of fridge. Leave in there for 3 days if 6 month old deer (my favorites), 1 week if 1.5 year old, 10 days if older. Process, grind, freeze. The grind from the first deer every year goes in zip lock bags, and the rest get vacuum sealed. The only problem with this quick cool method, is that the bottom of the deer fridge gets to be a bloody mess to clean, after the carcass comes out. Hanging the skinned carcass overnight, if it is cool enough, with a catch bucket underneath, helps cut down on the mess.