wolc123

I have been thru there many times (never hunting) and I agree with your "no slouch" description. Certainly it is not in the same "world-class" league on scenery as the Adirondacks though, and I doubt Teddy Roosevelt would have felt as "at home" there. Also, maybe these guys are looking for a challenge, and it sounds like the Adirondacks would provide a greater one, based on the numbers that you quoted. Like I said though, there is a danger. After you get a few kills under your belt in the Adirondacks, the rest of the world's hunting adventures loose much of their appeal: p.s: first snow is nice up there but peak fall foliage is even nicer.

Personally, if coming from Ohio with a camper, I would aim for the Harrisville area. It is less than (2) hours from the I-90 / I-81 intersection (exit 48 from I-81). There are many state forests, has DMU's where antlerless deer are legal during early ML, available camping, and good dining (try the Harrisville lanes). Deer and bear numbers are pretty good (any Adirondack DMU with legal antlerless deer harvest during the early ML season has decent deer numbers).

You are not "wasting your time" hunting NY's Adirondacks, because they really are gorgeous. I have been to most of the lower 48, hunting in some of them and Canada, and have never witnessed any scenery that rivaled that of NY's Adirondack mountains. It is not all about the kill. The biggest issue with hunting there, is that it takes much of the luster out of hunting other places. I can no longer get real excited about hunting the flatlands around home, after having had some success up there, and I know I am not alone on this forum in that respect. Check out Robin's videos in the "Big Woods" section, if you want to get a feel for what it is like up there. My recommendation would be to plan for a deer/bear combo hunt during the ML week, which precedes the opening of gun season. On colder years, many bears will be denned up, by the time regular gun season opens. Getting up there earlier gives you a better chance of catching them out feeding. It also gives you a better chance of catching the "peak fall foliage", which is the most gorgeous time of the year to be there. Some of the Adirondack DMU's, on the edge of the 6.5 million acre Adirondack park, allow antlerless deer to be taken with a ML, while those closer to the center do not. I would aim for those "edge" DMUS for that reason, in addition to having better odds of a bear harvest, since they generally have more food available.

That is not something I have heard of before. In the excitement after killing what was probably my heaviest buck ever, with my crossbow back in 2017, I lost the Barnett rope-pulley cocking device, that came with my 150 pound draw Recruit. For the rest of that season (while hunting for antlerless deer), I struggled without it, but it was tough on my fingers. I ended up making a couple of "draw-handles", using steel hooks, hinge pins, chain and duct tape. These actually work better than the factory rope-pulley, allowing for a much faster draw.

I never tried the comparison with my compound, which was well-tuned. Crossbows have no "tuning" that I am aware of. I think, in the case of the Allen fixed broad heads, it was a weight issue. I suspect that they were a lot heavier than 125 grains, since they hit muck lower than the 125 grain field points. Possibly the most likely foreign manufacturer had a problem with metric conversion, or did not include the weight of the blades. That is why I am interested to hear what brand Huey used.

hueyjazz (from harvest thread): "Second year of hunting with crossbow but first year with success. I really put two and two together this year and figured from my first year mistakes when I could believe I missed a buck at thirty yards. I didn't realize was how different fix broad heads shot than the same weight field points. Practicing during summer I fire the crossbow sighted in with field point but with using the fix broad head." What I was keeping on a half dollar at fifty yards with a field point was close to missing target. I went to mechanicals and made a point of making sure they were on target. Success was in the making." What type of fixed broad heads were you using last year ? What crossbow ? What mechanical broad heads on this year's buck ? I had a similar experience (on targets not deer thankfully) with Allen fixed 125 grain broad heads that I got at Walmart. They hit about 12" away from field points at 30 yards. 125 grain fixed Muzzy's flew identical to the field points however, and Wasps were also very close, in my 300 fps Barnett Recruit. I have had 100 % success on deer with 125 grain mechanicals (5 for 5) which have always flew identical to my field tips. I bought (6) "Blackout" o-ring style 125 grain broad heads, on clearance from Bass Pro Shops around 10 years ago. I destroyed one of them on a target with my old compound bow, to verify that it flew the same as a field point (which it did). I killed a buck with the compound with the second one that same year. That was the last deer I shot my vertical bow at. He "jumped" the string, resulting in a strike to the neck (thru the juggular), which fortunately killed him very quickly and within 40 yards of taking the arrow. I used the other (4) of those new mechanicals to kill (4) bucks with my crossbow, all of them dropping dead within 40 yards of taking the bolts from ranges of 15 - 59 yards. Unfortunately, I was now out of mechanical broad heads. The price of new ones seemed unreasonable, so I swapped some parts and sharpened some blades to make one good one from the (4) used ones. I also tested some of my old fixed heads, determining that the Muzzy's and Wasps were suitable replacements. Since Culver posted the non-biased Navy-base study (clearly showed that a crossbow with a mechanical broad head offered the best chance of a recovered deer), I was reluctant to hunt with the fixed broad heads. I used my single remaining (rebuilt/sharpened) mechanical to kill my buck this season and I was not able to locate the bolt that made that kill. This year, my Recruit required considerable vertical adjustment on the target range before hunting, probably to make up for some string/cable stretch or limb relaxation after (5) seasons of use. In anticipation of some worsening next year, I picked up (3) new NAP 100 grain mechanical broad heads. Next year I will sight in with 100 grain field tips and trust that the NAP mechanicals will fly identical.

I like your "Holy 8" The second picture is my "Holy 9", next to a small but perfectly symmetric 10-point, that I killed a few years later. I only had that 10-point mounted because it has the most points of any buck that I have killed. The non-typical 12-point, in the first picture, was a road-kill. A friend on the town highway department crew got for me, when it was struck around the corner from our place. The 7-pointer next to it was my first bow-kill. The little 6-point, in the last picture was one that I mounted myself, using a cape that a buddy gave me, and it was my first antlered buck. My first Adirondack buck was a perfectly symmetric 8-point, and that shoulder mount resides at my in-laws retirement home, on the land where I killed it. By pure coincidence, I now have shoulder mounts with 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 points. Unless it is nicer (to me) than the "Holy-9", with the possible exception of an 11-pointer, any buck that I kill from here on out is likely to end up as a euro. Those are free, and take me under an hour to do with the power-washer. Those that I have killed since 2015 are all in the last picture. The top 8-point, from this season, might have a higher B&C net score than the "Holy-9", but was too symmetric, "fake-looking", and redundant for me to have gotten a shoulder mount.

There are options to save money on corn seed. If you know any farmers, they usually have leftovers at the end of the season, and it keeps very well. I have planted seed that was up to 6 years old, with no noticeable loss in germination. I store it in plastic containers, on a shelf, in our basement. When using old seed, testing it for germination in a wet paper towel or rag is not a bad idea. Since much of my extended family and friends are in the dairy business, I have never had to fork over any cash for corn seed. Other folks claim to have planted feed corn (less than $10 a bag at TSC), and had decent results. Most feed corn even retains the RR trait. I would avoid that option, because it is probably illegal, and it is unlikely to provide as good of yield as seed corn. So much effort is required, beyond the seed - tillage, fertilizer, spray, etc., that it makes more sense to me to use "real" seed corn. While corn seed stores well for several years, soybeans do not because of their higher oil content. That does not stop me from obtaining free leftover soybeans from my friends at the end of planting season (usually around July 1). I just make sure to use it up, for late summer/early fall plantings, that same year. That way, I get the maximum deer-attractive power in October, when one can actually kill the deer. I broadcast them, along with wheat and white clover, on those late summer plots. The sprouting soybeans draw deer to those plots like candy. Thanks to "climate change", we have not been getting killing frosts until mid to late October. Pods are over-rated, when it comes to soybeans for deer. It is the green and growing plants that they like best. They will avoid yellowing/drying soybeans like the plague. Throughout gun season, they will walk over pods in the dark, to get to standing corn, where they will hang out all day long thanks to the cover that the corn stalks provide.

I live in a NY WMU that is and probably always will be "shotgun-only" (ML's and center-fire pistols of any caliber are also allowed). This old Ithaca 16 ga model 37 "deerslayer - 1" smoothbore has accounted for the vast majority of my deer over the past 38 seasons, including this doe this year. In recent years, I use rifled-bore Marlin M-512 bolt-action 12 ga a little more, but it has a long way to go to catch up to the Ithaca on number of kills. I have also used a 50 cal ML a little bit, and have taken a few deer lately, up in the Adirondacks (where rifles are legal), with My Ruger M77 30/06. Other than the price of ammo and the kick, I don't notice any significant handicap with the shotguns. The Marlin (using Hornady SST 12 ga sabots) has an effective range of 200 yards and the Ithaca (using Remington 16 ga sluggers) about 100 yards.

Happy birthday Wooly.

The first one that I had mounted has a similar hole. It would have been a perfectly symmetric 10-point, but the end of the left side beam was missing. In it's place, was that smooth hole, making it a 9-point with some character. My uncle was the taxidermist at the city science museum at the time. He mounted it for me as a "side-job" and said that the hole was caused by a fly when the buck was in velvet. Personally, those have always been my favorite type of whitetail racks - mostly typical but with some character. When they are too perfect, they look fake to me. The "holy-9" is still my favorite rack of all the bucks that I have killed.

It was tough to get the right shot angle, with him out front, and all those other reindeer in the hitch backing him up. I had to pass. Pygmy says they are not very good eating post-rut anyhow.

Thanks for the reminder from a verse out of my favorite book (and the one I read most often before, when, and after hunting). It looks to me like He gives us the ok to eat almost any "fruit" (except for one bad apple), but says nothing about vegetables. I am thankful that the tomato is considered a "fruit", since that is a primary ingredient in many of my favorite venison dishes. Lots of good stuff in that book though. For example, I knew for sure that I had landed the right woman, when my wife told a group of Sunday school teachers at our church that her favorite verse was: Genesis 3:16. She actually made me an embroidered poster with that verse on it, framed it, and hung it up in our bedroom.

I have always wanted to start a vegetable rights group. No one is looking out for them. What right do we have to strike down totally helpless, innocent plants, in their prime, for our own consumption ?

Wishing you all a wonderful day.

My wife put the frozen roast in a programmable crock-pot, along with a little water, some salt and pepper, and some potatoes. It was set on low for 7 hours, then on "keep warm" for 2 more hours. When she got home from work, she mashed the potatoes, and made a package of beef gravy and some corn. My girls like to make a layer of mashed potatoes, then a layer of deboned venison, then gravy, with corn on top. I tried it that way also this time and it was very good. So good in fact, that we ate every last bit. No leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Everyone thought that the neck roast was better than a regular butt roast. All of the fat cooked out and left no off-flavor. The meat pulled easily off the bones, I will definitely have to do some more of those. It is a lot easier than trying to trim the meat and fat off the neck when it is raw, for grind or something.

I always use 4's with my 410.

I don't think so, but there will be a lot of heavy drinking and pot smoking. Fruity beer and cheap wine sales will be way up.

There is a button-buck neck roast simmering in the crock-pot right now. It has been vacuum-sealed and in the freezer since November 2018. I have been wanting to try one of those for years and will finally get the chance tonight.

For me it would be killing the only mature doe for miles around my folks place, 1/2 hour into gun season, rather than the button buck that I wanted. The end result of that was an un-punched gun-season buck tag for me, and no more deer sightings for the rest of gun season. I had seen antlered bucks on every hunt there prior to that, but they all vacated the property when the old doe was gone. Hopefully, another mature doe or two moves in this year.

The Adirondacks are my favorite place to hunt, and I am very thankful that my in-laws built their retirement home up there, giving me the chance to make several trips each season. I am planning on spending the whole early ML season up there this year. If I can fill my antlerless deer tag early in 6C, I will spend the rest of my hunting time that week across the road in 6F, where antlerless deer are off-limits but the chances of a bear are better. I will only hunt my buddy's place in 9P this year, if I have a tag left for late ML season. The odds of that are low if I spend that whole week early up in the Adirondacks.

I doubt that but you know I would.

The main reason I go with wheat is that deer like it better. Also, it is cheaper and easier to find than rye. As has already been mentioned, rye grows better in poor (acidic) soils. Rye also takes less nitrogen from the ground than wheat, which is an advantage if you are looking to follow it with something like brassicas or corn. The wheat worked especially good for me last season. Due to the wet spring, the only food plots I got in were about 3 acres of fall-planted wheat/clover/soybean mix, and about an acre of turnips. It was the first year in the last 25, that I did not have any standing corn in early November, but I still managed to arrow my best 8-point ever, and he had a belly-full of wheat.

6C, 6F, 9F, 9P

That is a good question. It is encouraging to see that a few Democratic congressmen have already jumped their sinking ship and voted against impeachment, while all the Republicans have held tight behind the President.