wolc123

We just got a little here on the other side of the creek. I bush-hogged the last of my buckwheat yesterday afternoon and got two passes with the disk on it today before the rain came down too hard. I will work a little fertilizer into that ground over the up-coming long weekend and seed it with a wheat/soybean/white-clover mix. While I was back there this afternoon, I noted that the coons are starting to hit my field-corn pretty hard. It looks like they downed a bushel or two on the back one-acre plot last night. Starting Friday night, I will counterattack the masked-bandits, with (4) box traps, baited with peanut-butter coated marshmellows and two dog-proofs, baited with cat-food. That combination usually sets them back in short order. I only like to trap "damaging coons" when I don't have to go to work the next morning. It is a pain to check those traps in the dark, and I don't like to leave them suffer in the cages all day when I am at work. I carry a shovel and my .22, when checking the traps prior to opening of regular trapping season, because the NY state DEC requires that the carcasses be "burried or burned" immediately. The hides are nearly worthless, so after the season opens in October, I just toss them out in the field to feed the buzzards.

I might try to get out for grey squirrels, sometime in September. We have been hitting the venison and fish pretty hard lately, and a few squirrels would be nice to change things up a little on the dinner table. I put the scope on "my daughter's" new pellet rifle a couple days ago, and that thing is a real tack-driver. With the target at 25 yards, it would almost put the pellets thru the same holes, after I dialed in the scope. I was afraid it would be all over the place with the scope, because it mounts to the receiver, but the barrel must be cocked on a hinge to charge the air-cylinder. I never even sighted it in with the open sights, which attach directly to the barrel. I can't wait to try it on some bushy-tails. It would probably be easier to take a few from the same place, with the relatively quiet pellet gun, compared to the significantly louder .22 rimfire, or the much louder .410 shotgun, that I usually use for squirrels when the leaves are still on the trees. I was going to try my crossbow for early squirrels for the same reason, but those pellets are a lot cheaper than the bolts and the noise is about the same.

The biggest reason I would not cut one up and pack one out of the Adirondacks these days, is because of the tics. Maybe they will back off, if we start getting some cold winters again, but they are really running rampant up there after the last three "non-winters", where there has been hardly enough cold to make good ice on the lakes. I picked over a hundred tics off the last buck I brought home from there, and processed myself. That, coupled with some very reasonably-priced processing up there, was enough to convince me not to try that again. My contact with deer carcasses will be minimized, even if my clothes are treated with permathin. From now on it will be: get the guts out of them ASAP (Thanks Chef for the butt-out suggestion, that has been a great time-saver), attach a long rope, drag them to the nearest ATV-access point, toss them in the back of the pickup, and drive them to the processor (Nolt's in Lowville is great). Most of my handling will involve putting them neat packages they make for you in the cooler and the freezer when I get home. Cutting up a deer in the woods and carrying the parts out on a pack strapped to your back almost seems like begging for Lyme disease.

I remember lots of good times at the Transit drive in. The first movie I saw there, with mom and dad and brother and sisters, was Butch Cassidy. My first date with the wife also happened there (some German U-boat movie). I forgot the number but my attention was not on the screen that night. We usually hit it a few times each summer with the kids. It is cheaper than taking them to the theater, and a cooler with some beers is always nice, especially on the animated films which I don't particularly care for. The concession stand food (money maker) is not too bad. The best part is usually watching the cavalcade of local characters goofing around on the put-put golf course and rides before the movie starts, or watching the workers (or the owner on his Segway) arguing with customers about how their vehicles are parked.

For personal protection, from man or beast, my weapon of choice would be a pre-1990's, Remington, 12 gauge, model 870, pump-action shotgun, with short smoothbore deer barrel and open sights. It would be loaded with 2-3/4", Winchester, foster-type, rifled slugs. I have always been able to place those within a couple of inches of my point of aim, at ranges up to 75 yards, with that weapon. I would prefer the Remington 870, over a model 37 Ithaca pump, because I can look right into the open chamber from the side and see if it is loaded. That would be pure guess-work with the bottom-opening Ithaca. There is something about the sound of the action closing on a pump shotgun, that sends shivers down the spine of anyone on the muzzle end. When it comes to short-range stopping power, there is no pistol cartridge remotely in the ballpark, when compared to a 12 gauge slug. That said, I have never been in a situation where I needed or wanted a gun for personal protection. I usually do sleep with a Ruger 10/22 or a Marlin 336 30/30 and ammo within reach, in case a non-human target of opportunity shows up outside my bedroom window. That has included lots of crows and woodchucks, along with the occasional coon, coyote, or fox.

That has been one of my favorite meals for a long time. My mom makes them like that, all rolled up neatly with ground beef. My wife, who lacks the patience for that, makes them even better: lazy-style with ground venison. The lazy-style ones are a lot easier and faster to make, and also easier and faster to eat. "Lazy-style" is with the same ingredients, just all mixed up in the pan rather than rolled up. For those of us not too hung up on "presentation", lazy-style is the way to go. She made a good dinner tonight: back-strap sliced up thin and cooked medium rare, with sides of acorn squash, garlic mashed potatoes, and fresh silver-queen sweet corn.

My gut said the end of September, but I also was not sure (thanks for straightening us out RobH&F). For that reason, I picked up (5) deer tags at Walmart last night: Reg season buck, bow/ML either/or, bow/ML antlerless, and (2) 9F DMP's. That cost me $ 72, including turkey tags. I will get a couple more 9F DMP's on Nov 1. That also looks like about the date that our current supply of venison will be exhausted. I hope I can fill one of those bow/ML tags up in the northern zone, with my crossbow or ML. before then. We will have plenty of meat for a year, if I end up with (4) average size deer from those (7) tags. I only filled two last year, but one was a 2X, and I had a left-over vacuum sealed from the year prior, giving us just enough to last until Nov 1 or so.

Sorry to hear about your dad's passing, and praying for you and your family. It sounds like you had some great times with him down at the cabin and such. Hopefully, you will be able to dwell on some of those happy memories this fall, knowing that your time together down here ain't nothing compared to what awaits up where he is right now.

I wonder what the vehicle looked like afterwords ? I bet there was some damage under it, caused by the missing antler. It probably tore up some combination of brake, transmission, or fuel lines. It looks like some serious road rash on that buck and it looks like he had some weight to him, based on his chest girth. That is right near the strip joint. I can't say for sure if I have ever been there, but I have stopped into that tractor shop, that the buck is lying next to in the photo, for backhoe parts a few times.

My experiences up there indicates that they may be right, at least when it comes to bucks. I was able to kill a couple of does early, in warm "snowless" conditions, with the muzzleloader up on the NW edge of the park in WMU 6C however. I know what you mean about that "itch". I just picked up my tags at Walmart tonight. October 12th can't get here soon enough. I am heading up to the the in-laws for a long weekend: one day with the crossbow and two with the muzzleloader. Filling a tag or two would be a nice bonus, but the scenery, and my mother in law's cooking, is always enough to make me happy.

I always love snow when deer hunting. It helps with a lot more than "smoothing the drag". The best part, is how much easier it makes it to see the deer, and to see where they have been. It has been a while since I have had a snowy Adirondack deer hunt. It does not get any better than that, when it comes to deer hunting. I killed bucks up there in 2014 and 2016, both on snow, but came home with nothing on 2015 and 2017, when we had none. This should be a good year if the pattern holds. .

I have been lucky there. My toughest Adirondack deer drag, with one close to that size, was about a half a mile thru a tangled swamp, before we could get my father in law's ATV to it. With three smaller ones up there, he was able to drive the ATV right up to where they expired. It does seem that the heavier ones hang out in the less accessible locations. That big Adirondack buck was heavier than the muley that I dragged 5 miles thru the Rockies. In both cases, there was enough snow on the ground such that "hair loss" was not a big problem. The snow had just about all melted, by the time I got the muley back to the truck in the late afternoon, and it did have a couple bare spots on one side. That was the worst tasting deer I have ever had. I should have just carried out the back-straps and tenderloins.

In the big woods of NY state, where the base elevation is low and the air is rich in oxygen, I can't imagine too many situations where packing would be advantageous. That is not the case out west, up in the Rockies. I survived dragging one mule deer out there, about five miles through some steep terrain, and that was enough to convince me to never try that again. The thin air out there makes dragging very rough on the uphill stretches. I might not have made it, had I not killed my deer at the end of the week, so I had that long to get my lungs somewhat conditioned. The older guys, who got their deer earlier in the week, all packed out what they could carry on their first trip (just the hide and horns), and got help from the rest of us to pack the meat out.

My father in law built one at his old house in Western NY. They had a few pizza parties over there and it worked very good. It was so hot, that the time it took to cook a pizza was measured in seconds. I do not care much for that thin-crust, crispy-style pizza, but they work great for those who do. I think he found plans on line or something. It was a big, fancy looking deal with a tin roof, masonry walls with an iron fire box below the brick oven. They moved up to the Adirondacks last year. I wonder if the new owners are using it.

Wow, just watching that tires me out. I like the way that he skips over the ones with knots in them, that do not split easy with the first blow.

I will be planting a some in a couple more weeks, mixed in with winter wheat and white clover. Planting them late like that times their period of maximum attractiveness (green and growing), with archery season. When planted earlier like those in your photo, the least attractive phase (brown-out) occurs thru archery season. The later-planted soybeans provide and early "candy-like" attraction to foodplots, then the wheat fills in and holds the deer throughout later archery season and into gun season. The following year, the wheat is bush-hogged prior to going to seed, and the white clover fills in and holds the deer on the plots for several more years. I have used Austrian winter peas similarly, but they are costly and I can always score free soybean seed after normal planting dates. The green soybeans are even more effective than the AWP at drawing deer, but they do not survive the frost. Thats no big deal for me, because usually they have served their purpose (get deer using the plots) before that occurs anyhow. Your soybeans look spectacular, and they should produce plenty of pods, for a good late season / post season food source. I rely on field-corn for that, because it has the added bonus on cover to hold the deer on my ground during daylight hours. It also provides lots of carbs when they need it most, but not nearly as much protein as soybeans.

I think the reason we have so many poults where I am, is because I have neighbors on both sides who are excellent coyote trappers and they keep the area relatively cleared of those "vermin". That, combined with my coon eradication (saves the nests), makes it easy for the turkeys to flourish. I am kind of looking forward to killing my first one this year. I like it that you can take hens or toms in the fall. Fall hunting is a lot more appealing to me than spring hunting when more bugs are out. They say wild tom turkeys are dry and tough. Maybe the hens would be a little better eating. Only one way to find out I guess.

They did seem to be everywhere yesterday. A buddy from work, who has been deer hunting on opening day of gun season with me the last couple years, stopped over with his brand new truck. We drove it back to look at some food-plots near the stand that he hunts from. There was about a dozen turkeys feeding in the clover below it. The poults looked like they were nearly full grown. I guess I am going to get my turkey tags this year. I am not much of a caller, but maybe I can blast one with the shotgun from a deer blind as they come out to feed on clover this fall. I will not be hunting deer around here until crossbow season opens, so I guess I can use fall turkey season as a scouting opportunity. It is too bad that turkey season closes before crossbow deer season opens in the southern zone. At least they run concurrent up in the northern zone, providing another reason for me to buy the tags. I never use to like turkeys, and considered them "feathered-rats" because they were always in my corn food-plots, which were intended for deer. Now I don't mind them because, as it turns out, they only feed on corn that has been nocked down by coons. They are too lazy to get it off the stalks themselves. Keeping the coons eradicated thru aggressive trapping, starting around September 1 (carcasses have to be burried or burned prior to opening of regular coon trapping season per NY state DEC recomendations on "damaging coons"), ensures that almost all of the corn goes to the deer. I also like the turkeys more now, because they led one of largest antlered bucks I have ever killed, to within "chip-shot" range, a few years ago. Wise old bucks often use turkeys to take advantage of their sharp eyesite, and the turkeys don't mind having them around to capitalize on the "mutual protection" of their nose.

I have never used a safety harness, but all of my stands have shooting rails, which double as safety rails. All but one are less than 10 feet up. Hunting from the ground, or from a low tree-stand, is much safer and it increases your odds of a quick, clean kill due to the lower shot angle and better chance of a "double lung" hit. This is especially important with archery tackle. The older I get, the less fond I am of heights. I have never struggled to secure plenty of venison for our family and more and more lately, it has been from the ground or very close to it. This year, I am going to remove the lower section of my last high ladder stand, and drop it down to about 8 feet. I was not feeling very comfortable way up there, the one time I used it last year. Last year, both of my deer were killed from 8 feet up. The year prior, (3) were from the ground and the 4th from 8 feet up. I see no need to go higher than that. My biggest fear from tree-stands has always been structural failure and collapse. More than half of the trees on my home farm are ash, and it was getting pretty scary up in some old wood stands as the emerald ash borer started ravaging those trees. I finally replaced the last couple ash tree stands last year. Now all the stands are free-standing, on treated lumber posts, or attached to oaks, maples or poplars. It was sad seeing them old ash-tree stands go, thinking about all the deer they have provided, but I was very thankful to have never fell out of any of them. The saddest was the one I killed my first antlered buck out of, and that my cousin first built about 40 years ago. Some of the original white-oak steps were still servicable until the end, last year. I always have checked all the stands carefully, just before hunting season each year, and that probably prevented a fall or two.

I just checked, and the 2018 regs show northern zone crossbow starts on October 10 and ends on October 19. That's really only (3) days for crossbow, since muzzleloader open up on the 13th. I will not carry my crossbow after the 12th unless it is real wet. The reason for that is because my crossbow has an effective range of 50 yards, while my muzzleloader is good for 150 yards. There has not been many years lately, where the weather has been cool enough for good deer hunting before October 10. I am very thankful that I have access to some very good deer hunting in the northern zone, and that crossbow season includes the whole rut in the southern zone, where I live. You can never be too careful when it comes to the regulations, and I appreciate the reminder. I also made sure that I still have the crossbow safety certificate in my wallet, that I signed back in 2014, and that it is still legible. I have been hunting, around those same days in the northern zone, since 2014. Last year, the only deer that I saw were on the Friday. I could not get a shot at them with my crossbow, because they were at 125 yards. That would have been a relative "chip shot" with my in-line, scoped muzzleloader. In 2016, I skipped hunting the first few days, because it was too warm (over 80 degrees), but I killed a nice doe with my muzzleloader on the third day. Antlerless deer have been legal during muzzleloader season on the side of the road where my inlaw's camp is, but not on the other side. I have never seen a bear up there, but it looks a little better for them across the road. I scouted out some decent looking areas when I was up there over the Fourth of July holiday. My father in law wants to decorate his house with "native species". I got him a nice 8-point whitetail buck for shoulder mount in 2014 with my rifle. Now he really wants a bear rug. I will probably hunt Friday across the road with my crossbow, because at least I can shoot does over there on that day, and there might be a better chance at a bear. I usually see about 6 does up there for every buck and since my need for venison is more important than his need for a bear, I will stick to his side of the road on Saturday and Sunday, where I can legally kill the antlerless deer with my muzzleloader.

I would call it a tie between whitetail deer and smallmouth bass.

I am going to try to get out for deer and bear, up in the northern zone with my crossbow, on Friday October 12. After that, a couple days with my muzzleloader (opens on Sat Oct 13). I hope our venison from last year makes it that long. We still have lots of roasts and back-strap, but are down to less than a dozen packs of grind. The kids really love those venison tacos, but they might have to get by with chicken for a few weeks. My wife hit it out of the park with tonight's dinner: crock-pot venison roast, mashed potatoes and gravy and fresh picked sweetcorn. I don't care for hunting small game, until after a good frost or two slows the bugs down, so I will probably spend my free time fishing up until then. If it does cool down a bit, I might put the cheap scope on the pellet gun that my daughter got for Christmas, and see how it works on squirrels. I had left it with open sights because that is what they use on rifle team, but she has decided that she will try out for some more "girly" sport instead. I think that the silent report of the .177 cal pellets might be an advantage. Those pellets are a lot cheaper than CB .22 rimfire ammo. If you are looking for a decent way too cook geese, the breasts are not too bad in the crock-pot, with a can of cream of mushroom soup. That makes a good gravy ,to put over mashed potatoes, and the goose tastes similar to a beef pot-roast. Not as good as a venison roast, but better than any form of chicken (I never was a white meat fan, except for ruffed grouse).

Happy Birthday

Thanks for posting this. It reminds me that I have to make a whitetail deer neck roast or two this season. I have been wanting to do one for a few years now, after reading on this site how good they are. I always forget about it early in the season and something always happens to foil my plans later. Two years ago, my 150 gr 30/06 bullet took out the neck-roast on its way out of my last buck, and last season my 12 gauge SST struck a little farther forward than I intended, on my last doe's shoulder blade. That made a bloody mess out of her neck. I wonder what a giraffe would taste like .... horse maybe. I never ate one of those either, but would not hesitate if given a chance. There would probably be more meat in the neck, than the hind quarters.

My wife has never and will never hunt, but she is a very good cook and loves venison, as do our daughters. She use to fish when we were dating. We got married on the third Saturday in June and spent the next week bass fishing on the Indian river lakes and the St Lawrence river (during the daylight hours). She lost most of here interest in fishing after our daughters came along (we did other stuff at night). Our younger daughter is into fishing and even outfished me once on smallmouth bass this summer. Our older daughter is into shooting a little bit, but not hunting. They are both really into high-school sports, which does not leave much time for hunting and fishing. I am thankful that they all love venison and fish, which saves me some cash on food, and keeps them pushing me to hunt and fish. It is a lot easier for me to to make time for those pursuits, when my wife and kids encourage it.