wolc123

The doe that I had my crosshairs on, from 70 yards away, looked very big also. The profile of her body, sticking out from behind that tree, looked like a 4 × 8 sheet of plywood. I would have let the hammer fall on her for sure, if I did not still have 1-1/2 deer left in the freezer from last season. It sounds like there will be lots of rain tomorrow, with more later in the day. In the morning, I am going to head to an old leanto that has a chair in it. I will use that as a "spike camp" if the wind and rain get too bad,otherwise I will rely on my tree umbrella and gortex camo rain jacket. I am also going to seal up my muzzle with electric tape before heading out.

Similar scene here on the other side of Ft Drum in wmu 6C. I probably should have let the hammer fall on the big doe that I saw this morning. At least the two fawns that were with her will have their momma for a bit longer. The wind is still blowing 15-20 mph from the south. I am sticking close, for the last hour, so I won't be too late for the grilled pork chops my mother in law is making for supper. I am up here thru opening weekend of gun season. It looks like the rain gear will get a workout, the rest of the week, looking at the forecast. I will try to remember to cover my muzzle with electric tape tomorrow. I might even use my crossbow instead. That looks like the rainiest day of the week.

My last deer sighting was about 7:20 am, up on the north end of a ridge and almost directly under the sun in my previous photo. I worked my way around that ridge. Now I am seated at the south end and getting down to the last of my hot cider. Maybe those deer I saw earlier, headed for the nuts, will want some apples for dessert. If not, it looks like a good mid-day for unloading lumber, pounding in stakes, and trolling for a big smallmouth. It is also looking like it will be a bit on the warm side for hanging a deer. Good luck to you folks staying up in the big woods. My plan for the 3 antlerless deer I saw this morning is to give that spot a few days rest. I dont think I spooked them too bad. I will wait for another morning with a south wind and try to get in position before sunup. Screw that waiting for sunup, and trying to sneak up on them. I am a lot better at ambushing than I am at sneaking.

I just had some deer action on the walk in. There is a good steady south wind this morning but the leaves are dry and crunchy. I waited until legal sun up (7:15), to cap and walk up into the woods, trying to "still hunt". I had not gone 100 yards when I noted the familiar horizontal back line and deep body of a mature deer about 70 yards off to my right. The head was completely hid behind a tree, but the shoulder lung area was relatively clear. I settled the crosshairs on the chest and drew the hammer back. I would say my odds of making that shot exceeded 90 % but I held off until I could see the head. My fear was burning my antler tag on a 1.5 year old buck. After a couple minutes, it moved forward fast, raised its tail and another smaller deer followed. No horns were visible and chances are I would have orphaned a fawn or two had I let the hammer fall. As I continued up the hill, after the pair disappeared over the other side, a third deer lifted its tail, snorted and ran away further behind where the first pair came from. I am in some young hardwoods that were timbered about 30 years ago. There seems to be plenty of nuts and other forage around. I am going to stay up here for a while in my tree hammock chair and hope to catch some more traveling by to feed in the area.

I assume this theory fits here also or is it only when it fits your agenda? What is your theory on the Hunter Biden E-mail story ?

Words of wisdom.

I wonder what the Hunting NY liberal foursome of chef, versatile, lefty, and bm think of this ? Maybe one or more of them will finally wake up and see how they are being duped by the main stream media.

I stumbled upon this pattern today, by accident, and I think it has very good potential of producing a smallmouth bass longer than 22 inches. I found a few more deep running crankbaits, and i I have plenty of ethanol-free gas. All I am lacking is a couple quarts of 2-stroke oil. My mother in law said she can grab that for me on her trip to town tomorrow. The little Johnson 5.5 uses a 16:1 mix, so I will need a considerable amount of oil for trolling all week.

Maybe you will be able to match Tacs double, but he wins unless your buck is also a neighborhood bush bandit.

Good luck to you guys. Maybe the wind will drop off near dusk and the critters will come out. I am liking the ridge I am on now and will probably stay right here until dark (I think that is around 6:15 where I am at). I will pull the cap off at that time and walk on down the mountain for some leftover pizza.

How is the weather where you are at ? There is good 10-15 mph south wind where I am now, but the leaves are all dried up. Conditions still ain't quite right for still hunting. This morning, the leaves were damp but it was dead calm. I am finding trees in good spots and hoping I can ambush a deer from my comfy tree hammock seat. Mother in law is bringing home pizza and wings for dinner later. She was out at a craft show all day today. The chile she made me for lunch was good but will probably stop any deer from approaching from downwind. Father in law said he is giving me just one small task a day to get the place ready for winter. Lifting his heavy Honda electric start 4-stroke off his barge was not too bad but my back is a little sore now. Tomorrow I get to pound in snow fence stakes. I aint complaining with the free food and lodging. Watching the sun set over the mountains and waiting for a deer to show up is pretty cool.

Fished for a couple hours. No action at all on my go-to bait of 1/8 oz bucktail jigs. Maybe they are getting wise to them after 8 years of seeing them. A buddy gave me some old lures that were his grandfathers. The little Johnson idled down good and purred like a kitten trolling. I caught 2 smallies that were going on 22 inches (they had about 6 inches to go) before I snagged bottom and lost this crainckbait. I will have to see if I can find any more like that and try again for a 22 incher at midday tomorrow, and every day this week. Time now to head back into the woods for the afternoon hunt.

I rattled in a nice 10 point during archery season. It was raining that day and he walked straight to my stand, clearly in a state of very high alert. Had I aimed for the heart, on the 20 yard broadside shot, he might have ended up in my freezer instead of my friend's, who lives around the corner. She harvested him 3 weeks later, with a shotgun. All that remained of my shoulder blade arrow strike was a big scar and some missing hair. I had aimed center chest, but he ducked quick at the sound of my arrow release. That is the issue with rattling or grunting with s subsonic weapon. If you want the deer to be in the same place when the arrow launches as when it strikes, your odds are better if the deer is not on high alert. Complete surprise is always best. You blow any chance of that the second you tickle those horns or blow that grunt tube. Back to topic, I used medium sized real antlers cut from a 2.5 year old 7-point. They were a pain to carry but also brought in several other bucks. The rattle bag I carry now (during gun and ML season only), is much easier to pack, but has yet to bring in a buck.

She wields a more powerful weapon and must be exceptionally well skilled in its use.

The best part is, that if somebody finds one of your arrowheads in the woods, they will think they stumbled upon an ancient native American artifact.

I am planning on it. I brought up a couple of outboards that I want to get out on the lake and try. One is a 1964 Johnson 5.5, very similar to my 1956 Evinrude, only it has a single line fuel hose. I traded my father in law's old busted gamefisher 7.5 and $ 250 for that one. I also brought up my ancient Mercury K-5 for backup, and because I like to run it at least once per year. We have plenty of fish in the freezer now, but a friend back home said he would mount a 22 in plus smallmouth for me if I can get one. The last time I did that was up here on this date in 2016. I will definitely be attempting a "repeat" this year. Presently, I am a little more interested in filling a deer tag. We are getting low on grind. Got to go because I hear some leaves rustling behind me. Good luck to all the hunters out there.

I had to modify the plan a bit this morning. There is only one other guy who hunts the 500 acre property I am on. His weekend place is on the north end of the lake. I planned on hunting that end this morning based on the predicted sw wind. A couple years ago, on opening day of ML, I tried a little rattling in that area. I did not fool any bucks, but I did draw him up out of the swamp. At first I thought it might be a bear approaching, up on its hind legs. The chartreuse hat it was wearing finally tipped me off. When I ran to him later that day, he said he thought he was sneaking in on a couple of bucks. He is a great guy and fellow Yankees fan. We still get laughs out of that one now and then. I am right up in the center this morning and there is very little wind based on the steam from my breath going straight up. No leaves are falling. Since I forgot the evercalm, I am sipping hot cider hoping that it covers my scent.

Anyone else heading out ? I drove up today, but by the time I got everything unloaded, there was only 15 minutes of legal light left. I did not get out with my crossbow. That will be my backup deer weapon, starting tomorrow up in the northern zone, unless it is too rainy for my ML. It looks like they are calling for light SW winds, temps in the low 40's and a chance of rain. I will be looking to fill my antlerless tag, on the north side of route 3, where they are legal. A buck will need to have 3 or more points on a side, or clearly be at least a 2.5 year old, to earn my antlered tag. I forgot my evercalm, but I am going to bring some hot cider as an attractant/cover scent. I know it works for deer, but I am hoping it might bring in a bear. My father in law really wants a rug. Rain at home prevented me from getting any milkweed pods, so I will have to use my normal method of watching falling leaves to determine wind direction. It looks like about 2/3 of them are down now up here, so visibility should be ok in the hardwoods.

$ 300 if it runs, $ 150 if not.

I rate elk as roughly equivalent to NY whitetail, but not quite as tasty as moose. Our outfitter out in CO, who eats tons of elk (mostly cow) concurs. He is always looking for an invite to come to NY, to chase some tasty whitetails. He gives away any mule deer he kills out there or feeds it to his dogs.

I learned what fresh tracks look like about 25 years ago. When I walked out of the house, a neighbor drove by and honked his horn and waved. That noise must have caused a buck in the thick brush next door to get up and walk across the lane behind the barn. When I came across those tracks in the fresh snow (about 5 minutes after the "beep"), they were literally smoking. Probably because the ground was not yet froze and was warmer than the air. It appeared that steam was rising off the tracks. At that point, before I started to follow those tracks, I carefully studied the small patch of brush where they led. It was mostly goldenrod, with a few thin bushes. I picked out a strange looking horizontal line, among the mostly verticals. It soon materialized into an antler. The body was mostly hidden by the goldenrod. I could see clearly across the open field behind the deer (know your target and what is beyond). I aimed my first shot at the slightly obscured front shoulder, expecting him to bust out across the open field for an easy, clear second shot. That was not needed, because the first one was on the mark. Technically, I dont know if that can be considered "tracking", since the distance I followed was zero. The range of the shot was about 30 yards, right in the sweet spot for my Ithaca 16 ga with1.5X Weaver scope. The buck was a 1.5 year old 5 point with a funky "drop-tine" on one side. The main tendon was broke on the rear leg on the opposite side, and there was very little meat left on that hind quarter. Between the missing meat on the rear, and the messed up stuff up front from the shoulder strike, I probably got less than 40 pounds of meat off that one. I have yet to kill another drop time though, and that funky little rack will always remind me of that record short track.

I was zeroed at 75 yards last year with 100 gr of 777, and I am set 2" high at 100 yards with 150 gr of 777 this year.

Has Adam Shiff got to talk yet ? I think he is their normal go-to bombshell guy.

Trumps hit it out of the park with this pick. It is great watching her and the republican senators show all what fools those democrat senators and the former VP really are. I can't wait for her to lead the end of roe vs wade. After he wins in Novemberx he will owe her lots of thanks. The "hypothetical" Hunter Biden part was the best. Getting that out on a national stage will make a big hole for the former vp to dig out of. He dont have time to do that before election day.

If you plan any open field shooting, I would bring a laser range finder. Those scoped inline ML's do not shoot as flat as most centerfire deer rifles. Most are effective to 200 yards or so. Guessing the range works ok with a center fire to 300 but not a ML at 200 yards. I shot clean under a doe that range last season, that I guessed was at 150, with mine. I won't hunt a field again without having my laser rangefinder with me. I also upped the charge in my T/C omega from 2 777 pellets to the max of 3. If nothing else, that will use up my supply faster so I can make the change to bh209 next year. It seems to hold the same 1.5" group at 100 yards with 3 pellets as it did with 2. Hopefully, I can burn off 3 of those on a doe up in the Adirondacks next week.