wolc123

If you already paid the $10 fee for dmp tags, then there is no charge for two additional "leftover" tags. I plan on donating $ 10 to the Hunters Feeding the Hungry program, when I go to Walmart for my extra tags on Friday. It seems that they always have plenty of donated deer, but struggle a bit to get the money to process them. I don't often fill those "extra" dmps (or even both of my first two), but it would be good to know that some folks might benefit from that $10 donation. If everyone that got two extra tags donated $10, then I doubt there would be a struggle to pay for the processing of all the donated deer. think about that when you go to pick up your "free" dmp tags.

That set was by far the hottest one I ever had. I used sticks to block off a ditch, which drained a low marsh area of about 5 acres, into a creek. The stick barrier forced the muskrats thru a 110 conibear trap. There were only a couple of days, thru about two months of the season, when there was not a muskrat caught in that trap. One day I caught a mallard duck in that trap, which was pretty tasty. I have always wanted to try a young coon in the crockpot but that duck was the only thing I ever cooked and ate out of a trap. The spot was about a mile down the road from our house, and I would ride my bike to check it every day. One day, about 3/4 of the way thru trapping season, someone stole the trap. I was thankful to have had it produce for as long as it did, but I never tried setting another trap in that spot after that one came up missing. I had a few other sets that may have produced several muskrats, but nothing close to the 50 or more of that set. The ditch was the only way out of a big marsh, and the creek and ditch always had flowing water, until freeze up in late December. In that situation, it did not seem possible to take too many and wipe them out. On smaller areas, such as the 1 acre pond at a neighbor's horse farm, I was able to clean them all out (around 6) in a week with couple of traps. The next year, there was always more that would move in.

Those were the days when it came to fur prices. I bought my first boat, while I was in high school in the early 80's, with fur money. I had one set that produced a muskrat almost every day of the season, and the adults peaked at $ 8 ea that year.

It is a tradeoff. I always like the corn to last until the end of ML season, and that often requires taking out some coons. There is no doubt that corn, which has been ravaged by coons, is a bit more attractive to deer and a lot more attractive to turkeys. I don't think turkeys are able to pick standing corn at all, but deer are very efficient users of it. They will consume a whole ear, prior to starting on the next one. I will never forget watching a 2-1/2 year old buck walk into a plot of standing corn (where coons had been eradicated), 3 seasons ago. I had just passed his little 1-1/2 year old buddy, a few minutes prior to seeing him. As he approached my stand from upwind, I could clearly hear him munching on the corn as he got closer. It was peak-rut, and I could also smell him, just before he emerged from the corn, 15 yards away.

I always carry my Ruger 10/22, when checking traps. Whenever I caught a skunk, I went back the the house for a shotgun, prior to dealing with it. A 12 or16 ga. load of # 4, 6, or 7-1/2 to the head, with a modified choke, from about 10 - 15 yards upwind, has put their lights out every time without any spray. At that range, there has also never been any damage to the box traps, as would occur if you were too close and the load was still contained by the wad when it struck the cage. Coons get a single .22 at the intersection of an "x" formed between the ears and the eyes. Possums get that, and a second "double-lunger" . They have a tiny pea-brain and often "play possum" after the head shot, only to rise up and take off later. Their lungs are normal size though, so that second shot is always effective. Last year, I don't think think many fur-buyers were taking coon hides. I remember getting up to $ 40 for them in the early eighties and you could buy a lot more with that back then. These days, it is mostly just trap and kill, to keep their numbers under control and to prevent crop damage. Coons are responsible for more corn damage than any other animal. They begin the chain of destruction by knocking down the stalks, taking just a small bite out of every ear before moving on the the next stalk. Other species, like wild turkey, deer, ducks, geese, and morning doves then move in to finish off the corn that the coons have knocked down for them.

The coon parts will definitely make great coyote bait. The DEC requires "damaging coons", taken before the opening of regular trapping season (Oct 25 I think), to be burried or burned. I did not always bury them deep enough and the coyotes would often dig them up within a few days. I did not trap any this year, because it was too wet to plant corn. If I do next year, I will try burning them. With all that fat, they would probably burn pretty good, and fast. I had pretty good luck with cat food in the duke dog-proof traps.

Yeah, I did no learn that part of the lesson yet by that time. Fortunately, he showed up the next week, right after I finished my drink and had it stowed back in my pack. Last week, while hunting up in the northern zone, I wrapped that shiny chrome Stanley with dull black electrical tape. Hopefully, I don't get busted with it again this year.

Don't despair, the story might not be over yet. I had a similar thing happen last season (but it involved a bright chrome cup of hot cider - I learned the "text/phone" lesson a few years prior). When the bruiser swamp buck caught a glimpse of me taking a sip, he walked out of range before I could get to my crossbow. I watched where he went and moved my hang-on stand to a strategic location. A week later, I had the last laugh.

That is exactly what happened. The relaxed limb width of my Barnett Recruit use to be 18-1/16" (just above the state limit of 18"), and now it is 18-1/2". I was going to get it restrung next season, but I have decided to pick up a new crossbow instead. Hopefully, they will get a few more of the "bugs" worked out of the Centerpoint by then (a smoother trigger and a better scope maybe). My Barnett has been great, but I need to stay within it's new limitations this year (40 yards max). It was marginal at 59 yards, right out of the box, back in 2014. If the Centerpoint don't perform to my expectations, I might get the Barnett restrung and keep it in service for another half decade or so. The Centerpoint looks to be a bit wider and heavier than my Barnett, but 70 fps more should make it shoot a lot flatter and give it a legit 60 yard range. My Recruit (300 fps when brand new) only provided 8" of penetration into a deer at 59 yards (fortunately all the way thru the heart). Because of that piss-poor long range penetration, I only considered it a 50 yard weapon after that shot, and now it is down to 40. With (4) bucks, including a very heavy 3-1/2 year old, and my personal best button last season, I think I already got my $250 worth out of this Barnett Recruit.

I was out this morning with the shotgun hoping one of those would show up, but nothing did. I think the afternoons are where the fall turkey action is. That is where it was last year for me anyhow. I will try and get out for the last couple hours tomorrow. No more hunting for me after that until next Saturday when southern zone crossbow deer season opens up.

I have one day under my belt already with the crossbow (last Friday up in the northern zone). I did not see anything up there until Saturday, when I had my muzzleloader. I passed on three unidentified deer (probably a doe with two fawns) while still-hunting. I had an antlerless and an either/or tag and a very good "quartering away" 40 yard opportunity on one of them. I did not shoot, because our freezer is still half full of venison from last year, and I was afraid it would turn out to be a 3-1/4" unicorn. There are a couple of nice, heavy 2.5 and 3.5 year old bucks at home in the Southern zone. I am hoping to use that "either/or" tag with the crossbow on one of them, starting next Saturday. I sat the first hour of daylight today in one of my blinds, for turkey with the shotgun, but did not see any birds or deer. I did see a ton of tracks on one small foodplot (1/4 turnips, 3/4 wheat - soybean - white clover mix). It looks like the deer have cleaned out most of the soybeans, but the wheat and clover is holding up well. I opened up a couple of shooting lanes to that plot from a nearby ladder stand. That should make it a great spot for the crossbow next weekend. I am a little bit concerned about my crossbow, because it is not shooting as flat as it did when new. I use to be able to use the top illuminated dot on the sight, all the way out to 40 yards, but now that only gets me to 20 yards. I need the middle dot for 20-30 yards, and the bottom one from 30-40 yards. My plan for this season is to sight objects at these ranges from all of my stands with my laser range-finder and to use the right dot for a shot. I am also down to my last mechanical, 125 gr broadhead, with which I have been 100 % sucessful with that crossbow (4 for 4) on deer since 2014. I have a few muzzy and wasp 125 grain fixed-blade broadheads, which hit targets exactly the same as the mechanicals, but I have never tried them on deer with the crossbow. I will have to this season if I get more than one shot. My plan for next year is to pick up a new, slightly upgraded crossbow and (6) mechanical 100 grain broadheads. Those are easier to find than 125 grain, and should shoot flatter from my old crossbow, which I will keep for backup. I was going to wait for full inclusion to upgrade, but the diminishing performance of my 2014 crossbow (which has around 100 shots on it) has forced my hand. Also, I don't believe we will ever see full-inclusion in NY. That is no big deal for me. If we had it, I would probably not make those trips up to the northern zone, where I get to enjoy my mother in law's spectacular cooking and some breath-taking scenery.

That is a very stout looking 5. My guess is a 43" chest girth which would put it's field dressed weight right about 200 pounds.

My wife makes them for me every Valentine's day. She uses my grandma's old recipe that she used for beef hearts and tongues. I always liked the beef tongues better than the hearts. A friend, who recently butchered some steers, just dropped off a couple that we can mix in with the deer hearts next time. Deer tongues are too small to mess around with, but moose tongue is as good as any wild game gets.

A couple more prayers sent for him at church this morning (no hunting for me until Thursday if the drive north don't take too long).

That tall-racked 2-1/2 year old 8-point is just enough to get me motivated also. I was not feeling it too much yet this fall for a few reasons. Mostly because I have had so much work to get done on our farm before winter, and we still have about 1/2 of a year's supply of vacuum-sealed venison leftover in the freezer from last year, including plenty of grind (venison tacos are my kid's favorite meal). I am finally getting caught up on the work. If I can get an old broken-down tractor going tomorrow (unknown electrical problem), I will be in very good shape there. My wife is trying to use up the old deer meat as fast as she can. Normally, when the freezer is low, I will settle for a buck with at least three points on a side, to punch my tag early in the seasons. I am upping that to four this year, due to the current meat-supply situation. Punching antlerless tags is very difficult for me around home because neighboring farmers hammer them hard prior to October 1st, with their nuisance permits. That, coupled with some early bowhunting pressure, has been enough to force them almost completely nocturnal, by the time crossbow opens and I start hunting around home in the southern zone. My first hunt will be this Thursday or Friday with my crossbow, up in the northern zone (opens Wed up there), followed by 3 days with my ML. Punching antlerless tags is much easier up there at that time, where antlerless deer outnumber antlered ones by about six to one. The ratio is almost opposite that at home, thanks to the neighbors and their nuisance permits. That makes me want to save my archery/ML buck tag until I get home, but if I see one the size of the one in your photo or larger, he will earn my tag up north, on my next hunt.

Prayers sent

Just like you are supposed to drive under the speed limit. Some "rules" are not enforced 100 %, as was the case here. Have you ever seen a peace officer finish off a road kill with their service pistol ? I hear that can be pretty entertaining at times. I bet that the town cops were thankful they did not need to subject themselves to that potential embaressment in this case. That might explain the desk officer's indifferent attitude when I turned myself in. Now I always carry a pocket knife with a blade ground down to 1", just in case I ever get the chance to "best" my previous record.

With any red meat, aging is good because it allows rigor-mortis to break down. The flavor is not affected, but the texture is and the meat become a lot more tender. The time required for aging depends mostly on the age of the deer. Younger deer require less time. 6 month old deer require very little aging and can usually be processed and froze on the day they are killed, and the meat will still be extremely tender. 1.5 year old deer take about a week, 2-1/2 year olds about 10 days, and 3-1/2 year olds and older about 2 weeks. I prefer aging the carcasses by hanging in my insulated garage, with the hides on, but to do that, the outside temperature has to be in the 30's and 40s, throughout the aging period. That seldom happens during early archery season. This is where an old refrigerator works wonders. My "deer-fridge" is an old GE, non frost-free model, from the 1950's. All the racks are removed and there are hooks on the top. I skin the deer, then cut the carcass in half length-wise, at the back of the rib-cage. I lay the front half on the bottom of the fridge, supported by the neck, and hang the back legs, from the hooks on top, from the tendons. This allows air to move around the sections (especially the "prime cuts"), except for the end of the neck on the bottom, and part of the rib cage which is resting on the side. Those parts turn purple and ugly and I just trim that away when processing. Lots of hunters skip the aging process and claim no ill-effects, however, a little internet research will quickly reveal that venison is indeed red meat, and as such, is subject to rigor-mortis and will benefit from aging exactly for the same reason that beef does. Properly aged venison, is extremely difficult to tell apart from fine beef, and in most cases, those who eat it will not have a clue that it is not beef. Even the ground meat benefits from proper aging.

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2.5 years, 153 lbs field-dressed. Weight will be down to about 130 lbs post-rut.

A warm hat and face mask help a lot. As does staying out of the wind. When the body looses temperature, the hands and feet are always the first places that loose circulation and temperature first. What type of boot you have on don't matter much if your core looses too much temperature. I never had a problem, on the coldest days, all day long if necessary, wearing standard army, black "mickey-mouse" boots that can be had for about $ 80 a pair new or $ 40 surplus. Why anyone would feel the need to spend more than that on winter hunting boots is beyond my understanding. The mickey mouse boots are also waterproof, but are not all that high. They really are not all that clumsy for hunting in, but they are kind of goofy looking. I think that is what prevents more widespread usage by hunters. To keep warm, I love a thermos of hot cider. Besides boosting my body temperature, deer are very attracted to the scent. Last season, a hefty 3.5 year old buck came in from down-wind, just after I finished a cup of hot cider on two consecutive hunts. He probably would have done it again had he survived the second encounter. Coffee might also keep you warm, but it's scent means "danger" to deer and will drive them to the next county. A muff with a chemical hand-warmer is another good way to boost your body core temperature. The warm blood from your hands eventually gets to your feet.

It probably would have made a good video. It certainly made a bloody mess in the snow of that front yard. More of a "mercy killing", as that doe would have suffered a bad concussion at minimum. Hunting by conventional means is outlawed in that particular town, which also bans the discharge of firearms. Anyhow, it was more than 25 years ago, so surely the statute of limitations has expired on the "poach", and like I said, we drove immediately to the police station where I admitted to the "crime" after it occurred. Back then, when I was young and single, my venison needs were much less than they are today. I made sure all of that one went to someone who needed it and it was very much appreciated. Looking back, I am thankful that the deer was not dead, and I have zero regrets of what I did. In addition to me getting a free tail, a family in need got meat, the highway department was spared some dirty work, and a butcher got an easy job to do.

Largemouth bass fillets are my favorite. That is all I am going to be eating this winter because that was all we caught on our St Lawrence trip this year. In the "eating advisories" for NY state, they say they are ok for men over 50, but not for women and children. I mark all the vacuum sealed packages. My wife and kids get all the Lake Erie and upper Niagara smallmouths (those are supposedly ok for women and children), while I get the St Lawrence stuff. I prefer the largemouths for cleaning, because they don't beat up my thumb as bad when I am knocking them in the head with a shilali. The smallmouths definitely fight better and are a lot easier for me to find in quantity around home. My wife made us a "mixed batch" last Thursday and it was awesome. I polished off the leftovers for lunch at work Friday I prefer bass over walleye and perch because it has more oil in it and does not dry out like they do while baking, broiling, or grilling. Those are much healthier ways to prepare fish than deep frying. Walleye and perch are better for frying, if you prefer that method.

I stop for tails (for making bass jigs), but never bother with the tarsals. If it is a fresh kill, I take the whole thing for the meat. The state police never mind getting a carcass tag for me. A town cop gave me a funny look once, when I walked up to the desk at the station, dripping with blood, and asked for a tag. He asked me if the deer had to be shot (the homeowner had called it in a few hours prior). I replied, "no, I killed it with my knife". His only words as he filled out the tag, was: "that would be no". That particular doe sprang back up on her feet, as I was getting ready to cut her tail. I had to hop on her back, put her in a hammer lock, and slit her throat with a very sharp 1-1/4" blade pocket knife. As she bucked me off, she landed a hoof to my leg, which caused a little pain and some swelling. The butcher later claimed that he had not ever cut up a cleaner deer. She must have hit her head on some unfortunate motorist's vehicle, and knocked herself out for a little while, until I woke her up when I lifted her tail.

Gun yes, bow or crossbow no (vitals are blocked by shoulder blade from that angle), but only if that was my pop-up blind. I have no interest in hunting out of it again after having been bitten by a spider in it last season. Letting a dying doe kick the crap out of it would be a good way to get rid of it.