wolc123

Well I did finish off a hit-and-run road kill button in 2014 and I transferred a tag, that a buddy killed one on in 2016, (keeping only one backstrap himself), so I we have been blessed with one every other year anyhow. That makes me feel a little better. 2018 should be the year for another of the tasty "fatted calfs".

I did not want to brag here, but since TF just brought it up I will: To me a good shot is (in order of importance): 1) Safe (does not put people, or other unintended targets at risk) 2) Kills the animal with minimal suffering and minimal tracking 3) Taken at a point which allows a maximum room for error, based on the shot angle 4) Strikes close to the point of aim 5) Destroys little edible meat 6) Allows for a "clean" gutting job 7) Allows for an "easy" recovery. The best I ever did was on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2016 with a "Texas Heart Shot" on a 1-1/2 year old Adirondack 6-point. That would have been a "perfect" shot, were it not for a couple of glitches on #5 (the top of the heart was bloodied and had to be trimmed away and a neck roast was destroyed by the expanding bullet on its way out). The bullet struck within 1/64" of the point of aim from 50 yards, from a good rest, using a 150 gr Federal Classic 30/06 bullet. Had it been any farther than that, the "but-out" would not have worked as advertised. Also, there was no bruising on the tenderloins and the guts came out as clean as a whistle. When I pulled the trigger, I fully expected to loose considerable meat and/or have a messy gutting job, and I was pleasantly surprised when nether occurred. 2 or 3 others on this site have claimed to have killed animals with that shot but none so cleanly. My boss at work had asked for some venison, just before my trip, it was late in the season, and a paper tag does not provide much nurishment. That is why I risked some mess and meat. I estimated that my odds of a recoverable kill was about 97 %, given the 1 foot diameter kill zone at that angle, with my rifle that always holds a 3/4" group at 100 yards. Anyone who says that is "unethical" needs their own head examined. I will not take any of the credit for that shot, but give all of it to my Lord and Savior (who quite regularly blesses me with good shots), Jesus Christ- The Guy who determines the fate of all living things.

That is a great point about the spring turkey hunters. If there was year-round season, you fellas could put a real hurting on in May. Turkey loads would be perfect for coyotes. That was an Adirondack 6-point, which is worth more to me than a big flatland "booner". Did you mean "Big-Buck", or "Button-Buck" when you said "BB" ? The last Button buck I shot was in 2012. I am way overdue for sure. I would love to get one with my crossbow this year. It don't look too good for me, if I extrapolate from what I have been getting with it so far though: 1-1/2 year old 6-point in 2014, 2-1/2 year old busted up 8-point in 2016, 3-1/2 year old busted up 6-point in 2017. It sounds like you are either drunk or frustrated. Relax, it will get better. Just take your time and think before you hit "submit"

The biggest help, with a year round season, would be that it would allow targeting of the pups. They are not born "wiley" and those pups are easily taken. After the hay is cut, they make easy targets for a guy with a semi-auto .22 rimfire.

I always read those "this happened to me" in Outdoor life, and it was neat to actually experience something like that. If I am able to tag-out on my buck in the Southern zone, prior to our Thanksgiving trip up there, I will bring my 16 gauge J-Stevens side by side shotgun and run a slug in the modified barrel on the right and a # 2 in the full-choke on the left. That way I will be all set for yotes or bear. I have "patterned" it with foster slugs. It does pretty good with the bead, out to about 50 yards, hitting a pie plate almost every time from each barrel. I also saw a ton of grouse up there on this trip, so I will bring along some # 7-1/2's also. A few years ago, I "center-punched" one of those with my 30/06. Big mistake that was, but I did cook up the biggest piece on a stick over the campfire, which included about half a breast and a leg. I thought the bullet would bore a .30 dia hole straight thru, leaving most of the meat intact. I knew I made a mistake when I saw the feathers fly during the explosion thru the 3-9 scope. Oh well, at least I did not need to gut it, or pluck out many feathers. Coyotes are definitely on the upswing up there. This camp is not far from Ft Drum, and I hear that is really infested with them. I saw another one from the truck, about a mile from camp on Thanksgiving last year.

I did not see any deer or bear over the last three days of hunting, up on the NW corner of the Adirondack park, but I did have a few interesting wildlife encounters. The coolest one was yesterday morning. I was walking up an old overgrown trail, that went up the north end of a mountain ridge, just after sunrise. I had showered with scent-free soap the night before, and used scent-free deoderant. I had also treated the heels of my rubber boots with "Evercalm", when I got to the trail, and I was wearing a Walmart "Scent-factor" jacket. The wind was blowing at my back, and I was walking steadily up that trail. My plan that morning was to still-hunt into the wind, after I got to the swamp on the other side of the ridge. When I was almost to the highest point of the trail, I heard a something approaching from behind. When I turned and looked, I thought it was a deer at first glance. It was about 30 yards away, and closing fast, when I shouldered my 50 cal ML. Something about that shiny stainless-steel barrel, made it change course and head for the top of ridge, just as fast as it could run. The long bushy tail indicated that it was no deer, but it looked to be almost the size of a 1-1/2 year doe. It was only 20 yards away when it turned. I was not able to get off a shot because there were too many trees and bushes in the way. I was also a bit hesitant, because I was mainly after deer and I was not certain that coyote season was open (I see now that it did open on October 1). I may have fired, had I found an opening and got the crosshairs on it, while still in range. Them things are a lot more evasive than deer, with faster acceleration, and better manuverability. Even so, it would have been a "chip-shot" at the turn, with a shogun loaded with number fours. In years past, I have seen quite a few deer on that trail I was on. I am pretty sure that the "Evercalm" fooled that coyote into thinking it was following a deer up the hill. It took a "shortcut", which put it on a collision course with me. Last year, I had my fewest deer sightings over the last six years, with just three (all antlerless) in 8 days of hunting up there. Now I think I know where those "missing" deer may have gone. Nearly being on the receiving end of a coyote hit, makes me wonder how a deer can survive up there. It also explains why all of the deer sign I have noticed, over the last two years, has been in the swamps. NY needs a year-round coyote season real bad. I would recommend that hikers up there wear some strong perfumed deoderant and/or carry a gun.

How high is that ? I go at 90 %

I killed a 2.5 year old busted up 8-point in 2016 with a shot like that. He was maybe "1/16th to". The broadhead must have just clipped the back edge of the shoulder blade and deflected back. It ended up exiting the ham on the opposite side. I wondered what the heck happened when the buck stumbled away, dragging his rear leg. The mechanical broadhead really made a mess thru his guts after going thru both lungs and liver. He dropped dead in sight about 40 yards away.

Tying run was on deck

In Stormy's defense, I have to admit that I once wished I had a shotgun up there (my short, smooth-bore 12 gauge Remington 870 with open sights and plastic stock and foregrip). My only deer rifle at the time was a full sized Ruger M77 bolt-action 30/06 with a 3-9X scope. That thing is long and heavy and has a fancy laminated stock. It is not an ideal gun for Adirondack deer hunting in any conditions. The weather forecast for opening weekend of gun season in 2016 was heavy wind-driven rain/sleet/and snow both Saturday and Sunday. Rather than subject that gun to those conditions, I decided to skip it and drove home early. I would have toughed it out, if I really needed meat, but I had killed a doe a few days earlier with my ML. The butcher where I dropped it off at was on my way home. They had finished packaging it and were closing at noon on Saturday. They were not open Sunday, which gave me another reason to depart early. I ended up getting a buck up there later, in much better conditions (light North wind, 3" of fresh powdery snow, temperature about 30 degrees F), on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so at least the story had a happy ending. Having to skip a deer hunt, because I don't have the right gun, is something I won't let happen again. I traded my woodchuck gun (Ruger M77 22/250) for a Remlin 336BL 30/30 lever action. Last year the conditions were not right for that (no rain or snow when I was up there), so I have yet to hunt with it. The only way I will go up there again without it is if I get a crack at a deer with it and it fails to deliver. If that happens, I will sell it and go back to my Remington 870, which has never failed to deliver on the flatlands of home. They might laugh at me for carrying a shotgun, but at least I will be eating good. There is something to be said for having confidence in your weapon, even if it is not the "popular" choice in the area you hunt. p.s it looks like Stormy has finally come to his senses ^^

I have never seen one (for sure) when hunting. I will be after one up in the Adirondacks this Friday with my crossbow, and Saturday and Sunday with my Muzzleloader. I will aim for the "middle of the middle" with either weapon if an opportunity occurs. Hopefully, I can let you know how that works out on Sunday when I return to "civilization".

1/2 hour is a good general rule of thumb. I will go less, if if I see or hear the deer crash. That has been the case with my last (5). Also, if it is near dusk and I am confident of a good shot, I will go a little early (like 15 minutes) to take advantage of the remaining sunlight. The coyotes have changed the game for sure. There was a time, prior to their their arrival in force, when I might have considered an overnight wait, if it looked and/or smelled like a gut hit. That is definitely out of the question now. Fortunately, it has been about 30 years since I delivered my only gut-shot. There may also be times when an immediate pursuit is best. That would include hits which leave a fixed broadhead in a spot where continued motion could increase the chances of more cutting and greater blood loss. I had that situation occur once. The young buck was hit below and in front of the heart. The broadhead passed thru the near-side upper leg and lodged inside the far-side, upper front leg. The bow I had back then was not a flat shooter, and I underestimated the range a bit. If that deer had been left 1/2 hour, it may well have stopped bleeding, because no major artery was hit initially. The leaves made tracking conditions pretty good, and keeping that deer moving kept the broadhead cutting. The blood trail got easier to follow after a few hundred yards.

The left never has been and never will be able to handle the truth.

Great deer and good job posting here for advice. It looks like you got a lot of good info.

What does that do to the weight of field tip ? I suppose you could start with 125 grains and grind enough of the tip off to make them 100 and then use 100 grain broadheads or something like that. Ease of pulling bolts out is the best thing about the DIY bag of rags.

I am not sure what you mean by "blocked". I think the "interpretation" thing about abortion comes down to defining when "new" life begins. Roe vs Wade defined it as beginning at birth, while the Bible and Science indicate that it begins at conception. The Bible always agrees with science but the liberals are not smart enough to see that and the public is easily duped. This is where the "as of yesterday" 5-4 conservative majority will have a big impact: in straightening out that interpretation. That is their job as defined by the Constitution. It is not about "vengeance", but rather about getting the interpretation right. Do you understand the difference ? As someone who pays these Judges wages, I expect them to do their job.

Hunting around home, in the southern zone, I like it a lot better when it is colder because it simplifies the handling of the meat - that is always my first priority. I prefer to hang them, skin on, in our insulated garage for a week to two week ageing period (longer is better for older deer) but it has to be a lot colder to do that. Otherwise, they get skinned, cut in half, and hung in an old fridge for that ageing period. Since crossbows were legalized, I have been waiting for that to open, at the same time the rut kicks off, for local deer hunting. Usually it is a lot colder by the time that happens in early November. The other big advantage of the cold is that it slows down the tics and other bugs. My first deer hunt will be this Friday with my crossbow, up in the northern zone. Hopefully, a little colder weather will get some color in the leaves up there by them. The best scenery while deer hunting is always a tossup between peak fall foliage and the first good snow cover. Having killed two deer up there in each of those conditions, It is not easy for me to pick the winner. Cold weather for processing is not such a big deal because there are a few inexpensive butchers with big coolers a relatively short drive from camp and no good reason to bring a whole tic-ridden deer home. Getting out there early (like now) does give you the first crack at the big ones though. I don't have to worry about that anymore around home because a neighbor got the big one yesterday afternoon. Also, you will definitely get the most meat out of them bucks if you kill them before the rut. They pretty much stop eating after that kicks off in a few more weeks, when something more important than food becomes their driving force.

No problem if you don't mind tag soup. I have yet to find a good recipe for that myself.

Certainly the anti-gun, pro-abortion crowd has suffered a serious setback.

I agree with that and have killed both of my Adirondack bucks at that time (each on the Saturday after Thanksgiving). Snow is the biggest key to that. Without it, is is much harder to see them, and next to impossible to see where they have been.

Good luck with that.

If I had carried a single shot, my first and largest adirondack buck might still be alive. To this day, I am not sure what caused that first well-rested miss, from a range of about 300 yards, but I am 90 % sure it was a branch strike. That experience would definitely prevent me from carrying a single shot up there, outside of ML season. Carrying a single shot up there, during gun season, is not a wise move. You will run into a deer when you least expect it, and having a couple extra bullets in the gun is the best way to be sure they are ready when needed. Thinking you can carry an extra bullet in your hand and reload quick is ludicrous.

A neighbor killed killed a big 10 yesterday afternoon. I am glad he got it for several reasons, the first is that he is a great guy who has been after that buck for a few years.