wolc123

My wife is always ecstatic when I bring home a button buck. They are just so tender. Unfortunately, I only manage to come up with one every other year on average (this ought to be an "on" year, especially if that turnip patch produces like I hope it will).. Anything with antlers worries her a little, especially if it leads to a taxidermy bill and the loss of some wall space. I agree that it would be nice if the Southern zone deer season remained open until January 3rd or so. That would give me a few additional non-work days to hunt, without having to use vacation time, and I could deer hunt on my birthday.

I have hunted that area for the last 16 years. If you really want some venison, your best bet is to get yourself a ML and hunt that early week if you can. I see about (6) antlerless deer per every antlered one up there, and antlerless are "fair game" on that week only, with a ML (No DMP's are available). Turkey numbers fluctuate a bit and seem to be down a bit right now from the peak that I saw about 4 years ago. That might be due to an increase in coyote numbers. The fishing really is spectacular but there are consumption advisories that you should check out for women and children especially (probably because of mercury contamination / acid rain concerns), if you want to keep any for eating.

Fortunately, I have never needed to purchase field corn seed or soybeans, because much of my own and my wife's family's are in the Ag business, and there is always available "leftover". I have plenty of corn for this year and hopefully my nephew will come thru with some leftover soybeans in time for me to mix in with my early fall wheat/clover plantings. I used to use rye in the fall, but wheat is always easier for me to find, cheaper, and the deer seem to like it better, so that is what I have been using lately. It might also be the soybean "candy" that I have been adding to that fall mix that has been attracting them better the last few years. If you are able to, you might want to save a bit of soybeans for that usage. With the late frosts we have been getting (climate change ?), those late soybean plantings have been effective at drawing deer to the plots, early in archery season. It looks like I have a good spot for turnips this year (on that plowed strip just to the front of the willows). About (6) years ago, when that ground was at the same corn/clover rotation, I had a little turnip patch there. It is hard to beat a combination of standing corn and frozen turnip greens. I was able to take a fine button-buck, right from my bedroom window, with my ML in mid December that year. I had just got home from work and was glassing the standing corn. I watched him stand up and walk out to feed on turnips, about 5 minutes before sunset. Up goes the window, on goes the cap, and down goes the BB. That made for one fine Christmas feast.

We got a little rain last night. I just got back from a little turkey hunting near the back field that I hope to get plowed in the next few weeks. The warm weather is sure is making the grass grow fast, so I will probably need to bush-hog it before plowing. It is not easy taking that 6 ft bush hog on and off my tractor. It is on it now, so I will use it to cut that field in addition to the lane on the way back there (my pants are soaked right now from walking back thru the wet high grass). I need to take the bush-hog off for disking anyhow, but it looks like I have some more cutting to do first. No signs of any turkeys, but I did see the first few mosquitoes of the season, so it looks like that is the end of my turkey hunting. I have a couple of disks, both of which are sized just right for that old Ford (a 6.5 ft 3-point and an 8 ft pull-type), but a bit undersized for my John Deere 4wd. A nice thing about using the undersized implements, is that I can still use them if the soil conditions are less than ideal, which is usually the case. I usually use the 4wd JD on the disk, rather than the old 2wd Ford 8n, or my Allis Chalmers model C, since it is so much more fuel efficient thanks to the tier-3 diesel engine and the "live" front axle. I like the old Ford on the 2-row corn planter though, because it is so nice and quiet and the low operator platform makes it easy to get on or off from either side. I hop on and off of it a lot while planting, to check that the planter's seed and fertilizer hoppers are not empty and that they are delivering properly. The tricycle front, on the old Allis Chalmers C is great on the pull-type disk, but only after the ground is good and dry. The 8-footer is a bit too much for it otherwise, especially at the steeper angle settings.

It is real easy to grow stuff with minimal fertilizer on the dark bottomland soil at our place on the NW corner of WMU 9F. I can get well over 100 bu/acre corn with just 50 lbs/acre of starter fertilizer, and no later urea application, simply by planting it on a 3-4 year clover / 1 year corn rotation. The only trouble I have here is that some years (like last), it takes a long time for the ground to dry out enough in the spring to get my plantings in. My folks place, on the SE corner of the same WMU, is above the Onondaga escarpment, a bit rocky, but much better drained and takes more nitrogen to get good corn yields. There is enough cover over there, and surrounding cornfields that I no longer bother with that, or any spring plowing. That was always easy over there (except for the occasional rocks). The only thing I plant there is an occasional early fall "refresh" of wheat/soybean/white clover mix. White clover does about 90 % of the "deer-attraction" work for me over there. I had to do considerable work on that old tractor over the winter (new distributor and battery) but it really does a good job on the plow when the soil conditions are just right like they were yesterday. Some years, it is too wet to use it, and I need to go with my newer 4wd John Deere. That one will pull that little 2 x 12" plow thru standing water in the wet spots (it is kind of cool watching the wakes roll off of the plow shares). The 4wd lacks "draft-control" however, so it is tougher to maintain uniform plow depth with it, than with that old Ford. The Ford still has the original (1951) calcium-filled rear rims on it, but one is starting to look like it is getting ready to blow out from corrosion. When and if I need to replace those, I probably will not re-load them, or do any more plowing with it. It will still be good on my 2-row corn planter and cultivator, and better for hauling firewood around on the 3-point carryall, without loaded rear tires.

Could very well be. I don't recall that truck burning much oil though. I used to change it myself back then, every 3000 miles. These day, I go with Mobil 1 synthetic every 6000 miles, and let my buddy do it at his Mobil station.

1979 GMC, first antlered buck, Ithaca 37 in rack: I wonder where the truck is now. And the gun still works (for non-antlered deer last season):

Roundup.

I had (3) days to use up by the end of June, so I cashed in 1/2 of one today. I stopped at Rineharts and picked up 200 pounds of triple 15 starter fertilizer (that is enough for 4 acres of corn at the rate I use it). The cost of that was $ 9.40 per 50 lb bag. I also picked up 2.5 gallons of Crop-Smart (41 % gly), which was $ 14 per gallon, and about a pound of sweetcorn seed while I was there. I have lots of leftover field corn seed ready to go, since last year was too wet to get any planted. I got home in time to get about 2 acres plowed for the corn, on my driest ground. I hope to get that spot planted by June 1st. The other wetter spot (about an acre), I hope to get in by the end of June. I will save 50 pounds of fertilizer for tunips planted in late July. The current plots will be mostly field corn, and each will get about 1/2 pound of sweetcorn planted along the edge mostly for raccoon eradication purposes. I am looking forward to trapping as many of those as possible this summer, starting when the corn starts making tassles, hopefully by early August. The sweetcorn will draw them from miles around. We might get a few meals out of it ourselves, if it don't cross-polinate with the field corn too bad and if the coons don't take it all out before I get them. Our town is being ravaged by rabies right now. The best way to fight that is to get rid of the coons. Since fur prices tanked, no one traps them anymore, resulting in an out of control population and rabies. I did not plant any corn or trap any coons last year and the neighborhood pet-owners are paying the price for that right now. Two years ago, the coyotes would dig up the coon carcasses within a night or two of my burrying them (the DEC recommends that landowners bury or burn "damaging" coons prior to the opening of regular trapping season in mid-October). There don't seem to be any coyotes left around, based on the numbers of red fox that I am seeing (I ran over a young one on the way to work this morning). Nonetheless, I am not taking any chances with the coon carcasses this year, so I have a fine burning barrel all ready for the carcasses. There is so much fat on them in August that I imagine they will light up like roman candles after a little squirt of lighter fluid: I hope all the corn that should be left standing, after the coon eradication, will result in a few deer hanging around here after the first shot is fired on opening day of gun season this fall. Last fall, with no corn around, they all bugged out at that time and I had a hard time even finding a track back there in the snow after December 1. That was why I did not use up more vacation days then. I will save them last 2-1/2 days until after bass season opens up on the third Saturday in June (I got to fill that freezer one way or the other).

I had one in my 1979 GMC "Heavy-half". I miss that truck also (my first one). I bought it used from my dad, who worked in the factory that made the air-conditioners for them. It was a one-year-old "company-truck" when he got it. The air-conditioner was the only factory option that it had, and man did it have cooling power. I think I could freeze ice in the summer, if I wanted to in that little cab, with the cooling system that was the same one that they used in the big Suburbans. It sure felt great, after a hard day of physical labor unloading hay up in the loft in the summer, or landscaping on my first "real" job. Someday, I will try to scan the photo I have of me standing in the bed, holding up my first buck. My grandmother took the picture the morning I dragged it up from out back. I am wearing my grandad's old Woolrich "Buffalo-plaid" outfit, and his old Ithaca model 37, with 1-1/2 power Weaver scope is clearly visible up on the gun-rack. In 40 years of driving, I have had nothing but GM trucks. To this day, none has left me stranded or required a tow. They all had the 5.7 (350 cu in. engine, except the last two (both 2000, 3/4 tons and still in service) that have the 6.0 liter. I bought all of them new, except for that first one and the last one. The one that I drive now is the first extended cab. It is nice for hauling the family around, but I much prefer the looks of the standard cab models. I gave my last one of those (a 4-wheel drive) to my father-in law. He uses it as a work vehicle around his Adirondack retirement home (mostly for snowplowing about 5 miles of camp roads), but I still get to use it when I am up there hunting. With plenty of time on his hands, he has fixed it all up and taken care of most of the rust issues which had accumulated from almost twenty WNY winters. The 2000, 2-wheel drive, that I am running now, was his brother-in-laws. It was a Florida truck, so it is also corrosion-free. It is the first 2-wheel drive I have had since that first 1979 GMC. I don't miss 4-wheel drive at all with the mild winters we have had lately. In between, I had an 88 4wd, standard-box 1/2 ton, a 92 4wd short-box 1/2 ton, and a 95 4wd short-box 1/2 ton. I don't miss any of those.

That looks like weathered American Chestnut siding. There is nothing that I know of that works better for killing deer from behind. If anyone from WNY is interested in some, I can set them (Circa 1883) at reasonable cost.

I have taken a few other 8's, one of which I had a shoulder mount made from (because it was my first Adirondack buck), but that one that I killed on our farm in WNY last season definitely had the best rack of any of them. Initially I thought he was a big 2-1/2, but after finishing up the euro and comparing the skull to some others, I am pretty sure he was 3-1/2. Ironically, last season was the first that I can recall when no corn was grown on our farm (it was too wet to get any in last spring). I did get a few acres of soybean/wheat/white clover mix planted in the early fall last year and it probably fattened that buck up a bit. He was the first one that I ever killed at home that had no corn in his belly. The fields are starting to dry up pretty good now and I plan on starting to plow soon. I am going to pick up a few bags of fertilizer on Friday. I have plenty of leftover corn seed and plan on getting in 3-4 acres sometime before the middle of June. Without corn, I can't hold any deer on our ground after opening day of gun season. I will wait until mid-September to put in soybeans as part of my wheat/clover mix. The little field that I was standing in when I took that picture of the blind will be planted in corn this year as long as the weather cooperates. The grass is starting to take over the old clover that is there now (and what gave that "Beautiful eight" his last meal). That is my signal that the nitrogen is getting high in the ground and it is time for more corn.

My favorite "double-decker": Last season's crossbow score from the upper deck:

Canning is a real good option for the folks who don't believe in aging their red meat prior to putting it in the freezer. It is a good way to get the rigor mortis out and make it tender. Some of the best canned meat I have had was from a 8.5 year old moose, from which the roasts were initially almost too tough to chew. My buddy thawed the rest of them out and canned them with a pressure cooker, resulting some super tender, super tasty meat.

I was down to my last "red-eye" in the beer fridge, so I picked up a 12 pack yesterday at the local produce market, along with my usual 30 pack of lights (one of which I drink with supper every day) . The red-eyes are my favorite camp-fire beer and we hope to have several of those over the upcoming Holiday weekend.

I really like the factory scope that came with my Centerpoint Sniper. It is 4X magnification and four different crosshairs. The top one was right on at 20 yards and the second from the top was right on at 30 yards, when using 100 grain tips. I am guessing that the third one will be good for 40 yards and the 4th one 50 yards. I will definitely verify that prior to deer season. I am really looking forward to having that 50 yard effective range (I have been limiting myself to 30 yards with my old Barnett Recruit the last few seasons for "energy" reasons). I usually hang ribbons out in several directions around all my stands, at my maximum effective range, before the season starts. I assume I will be hanging them at 30 and 50 yards this year, depending on which crossbow I choose. I also range known objects that are closer, so that I can quickly choose the right pin/crosshair when the deer shows up. I have done ok with the range game with my crossbow, shotgun, and rifle, but I should have used the laser range finder with my ML last December. I "guessed" that a doe was at 150 yards, across an open field down at my buddy's Southern-Tier camp, but she turned out to be at 200 yards. I shot right under her. That is one mistake that I hope I don't make again. I know my own fields pretty good, but I was way off down at that place.

I also rely very heavily on hearing and have probably heard 3 (that I ended up killing), for every one that I saw first. 65 is a pretty good poke for a compound. Was that out West ? I have not taken any at over thirty with my vertical. I did push my crossbow to 59 one time, but I would certainly never try that again with the Recruit, because the bolt only penetrated 8" into the buck at that range (fortunately that took it all the way thru the heart). That was before I had a laser range finder, and I miss-judged the range by about 10 yards (the heart hit was unintentional).

No luck hunting turkeys out of it Saturday or Today. I did not even hear any today. Saturday, I heard one gobble a few hundred yards away, but no response to my calls. The pill-box up top is sided with weathered American Chestnut siding that I pulled off from a barn that my great-great grandfather put up in 1883. For a few years, I tried snow-fence with leaves and branches weaved thru but that never worked. I have killed (2) 3-1/2 year old bucks and a 2-1/2 from behind that barn siding over the last few years. As long as it is not raining, I hunt from the top box for deer, and all of the antlered bucks that I have taken from it were from up there. I have killed a button buck or two and a handful of does from the lower level. No spring turkeys out of it yet, but I am still trying. I have been setting my decoy out about 20 yards from the open fold-out side-door. I did kill a hen two falls ago, from a similar sized barnwood sided box ladder-stand, from about the same height. The stand in the photo is very comfortable in any weather conditions, and I positioned it in a spot that has been the most productive on out farm thru the years. I had a rinky-dink wood ladder on it for a few years, which I replaced with that steel lower section from a store-bought ladder stand a couple years ago. That killed two birds with one stone, lowering the ladder stand to a height much more comfortable for me to hunt from, and giving me a safe ladder to access the upper deck of my two-story blind. The solid side faces the West, which is the prevailing wind direction. The East side is open to the weather and every few years I have to replace the marine-plywood floor across the back of the first floor. The second floor deck (built on the ladder rack) is made from plastic decking and should be good for several lifetimes. The barnwood siding has got to be close to 200 years old and is more or less completely maintenance free.

I spooked a few, including the last one that I killed with my vertical, in 2012. I was in a hang-on stand in a hedgerow, and the buck approached from the field behind me. I drew my bow as he passed thru the hedgerow, about 10 yards from my stand. He must have caught a glimpse because he stopped abruptly about 15 yards out, standing at a quartering away angle. When I released, he reared back and down, taking the arrow thru the center of his neck. He bolted off and I thought I heard a crash, then considerable thrashing around in the bush, over the next 5 minutes or so. I waited 1/2 hour before climbing down, finding him 40 yards away and completely bled out. I suppose the wide mechanical broadhead cut his jugular and/or aorta. Not all crossbows are "heavier and less maneuverable". My new Centerpoint Sniper certainly falls into those categories, but my old Barnett Recruit, not so much. The Recruit is several pounds lighter, considerably more compact, and handles just like my Ruger 10/22 carbine. I will probably continue using the Recruit from a few hang on stands which lack rests. Speaking of rests, that is the second major advantage the crossbow has over the vertical - The ability to shoot from a rest. Certainly anyone who has shot targets with a BB gun recognizes how much more accuracy can be attained using a rest. I had good rests with (4) of the (5) bucks that I have killed with the Recruit since 2014, so I wont feel all that handicapped with the wider, heavier Sniper. As far as that 2019 buck in the photo, I had no option of waiting for him to get behind a tree, because he was across an open field and saw me before I saw him. He never looked away, although he did lower his head and started closing the range after a very long stare-down. Even Fred Bear would have struggled with a vertical in that situation. As you can see by the shot placement in the photo, there was no problem with the crossbow.

Not the same for getting off a shot at a deer though, because you still need to make that quick draw motion with a compound, no matter how much let-off it has. Quick motions put deer into high-alert mode, making them prime candidates for clean misses or bad hits due to "string jump". With a crossbow, the deer usually have no clue what hit them. This buck, that I killed last year with my crossbow, was a perfect example of the strength of that weapon compared to the vertical bow. There is no way that I could have taken him with a vertical. He had locked eye contact with me, from about 70 yards away. My head and shoulders were completely exposed. Had I tried to draw a bow, I would have been busted instantly. With the crossbow, all I had to do was move my head down into shooting position. I did that in "super-slow" motion. After what seemed like forever with the long stare-down at 70 yards, he began to cautiously move closer. Even my trigger squeeze was slow, after he finally got into range and his vitals aligned with the "green-dot". I am certain that he had no clue what caused the sudden pain in his chest.

I am headed out to light our's up right now. First of the season. The Alexa and a couple tiki-torches are in place. I recently made a new fire-pit out of an old air compressor tank that my father in law gave me. A Kolsch tasted pretty good out on the lake today, a few more should be good by the fire.

I bought a pair of Red-ball waders about 35 years ago. I used them in the spring, for spear-fishing at night for spring suckers, for about 10 years. After that, the DEC made that sport illegal in our local creeks. They never leaked. I got wet feet in them a time or two, but only when I stepped into a deep hole and took some over the top. There was a nice pocket in the top that would hold a few beers (we took a lot of beer breaks while spear-fishing). Since I no longer had a use for the waders, I cut the upper part off a couple years ago. Now I use those boots when I need non-insulated water-proof boots, like right now for late spring turkey hunting. They are very comfortable, and fit just right. My toes got pretty cold in them last weekend, but they were great this morning (too bad the turkeys did not cooperate). They had been hanging on a nail out in the barn for about 20 years. I had wore out my last pair of rubber boots and rather than buying a new pair, I took a sharp knife to those waders. The upper part, that I cut off, still looked pretty good. I suppose they would have held water if I still had a use for them.

The night crawlers were running good tonight. I ended up with 2-dozen in 15 minutes. Hopefully we can convert a few of them into walleyes tomorrow afternoon on Silver lake.

I am ready to go for the turkey tomorrow morning with the Sniper 370. I picked up a $ 9.00 standing-hen decoy from Walmart last night. My plan is to set that up 20 yards from my two-story ground blind, which I made from an old construction-style truck cap. I will hunt from inside the lower level and only open up the window on the side facing the decoy. I will place the decoy in the same spot where that nice 8-point (top euro in photo) stood when I bolted him with my Barnett Recruit last fall. I was up on the upper deck (built on the ladder-rack) of that blind for the shot, but the turkey's eyes will be way too sharp for that. I also was able to locate my "secret-weapon", which helped out with the recovery of that buck, and I hope to find some way to deploy it on the turkey. It is the little red pocket-sized New Testament that is visible on the top shelf of the gun-rack in the photo. I had misplaced it in February, but I just found it in my Ice-fishing pack.

I would have never learned the secret ingredient for nuts without that show - LOTS OF PEPPER: