wolc123

I like hearing the "yip" they make at night, when they come in to feed on a carcass pile and a .22 rimfire bullet passes thru their ribcage. They never go more than 50 yards when I hear that. Most are mangy and I just leave them out in the field to be plowed under in the spring. I did skin a big, clean-furred male a few years ago and my cousin tanned it for me. I don't think the hides are worth the time to skin them these days. Coyotes are the only carcasses that even the crows will not eat. I freshened the carcass pile yesterday, with a fat road-kill doe that I found at the end of our driveway when I got home from work. It was nice to get another tail for jig-tying. She was minimally damaged with no broken bones and not yet frozen. I would have butchered her for our own consumption if our freezer was not already adequately stocked. Hopefully, I will get to hear that "yip" a few times before the end of March. If not, at least the crow shooting should last for quite a while now. I don't think the coyotes will show up until it warms up a bit and the carcass thaws out and starts to smell. Rigth now it is burried under about 6" of fresh snow. Next week Tuesday looks promising according to the weather forecast. I will be ready for them if they do show up, knowing that a yellow jacket from my Ruger 10/22 hits 2" low at the carcass pile 100 yards away, based on the last crow that I killed there on New years day. When I killed that big male a few years ago, there was a smaller one with him. He got a standing broadside shot, and I fired two or three at her as she ran off. I do not think any of those connected, because I did not find any blood on her tracks the next morning. The next time a pair shows up, I will definitely target the smaller one first, because that will usually be the female. I would encourage anyone else to do likewise, if you want to reduce their numbers.

Thanks for clearing that up. That is right up there with the PA chest girth chart for handy info from this site. I just checked my Barnett Recruit which measures 17-1/16" tip to tip. All three bucks I hit with it moved less than 40 yards after taking the bolts. These were the only shots that I have taken at deer with it, from ranges of 59, 15, and 30 yards. I would say I have got my $ 250 worth. It is not perfect though, because prior to shooting it at a deer, I missed a grouse.

An older friend brought a SuperRedhawk 44 mag over last summer, that he just got a smoking deal on. He asked me to check and see if the scope was on. He had recently suffered a detached retina and his doctor advised against firing any gun. I had never fired any pistol above a .357 mag, and was a bit intimidated at first. My first shot from 50 yards completely missed the paper. He seemed satisfied that the gun fired, and being very thrifty, was reluctant to part with another bullet. These were magnum, hollow-point hunting rounds, and were apparently very expensive. The recoil was no where near what I was expecting. I assured him that now that I knew how "tame" that gun was, I would make a better attempt if he gave me a second bullet. He reluctantly parted with a another and that shot struck the edge of the bull. Taking into consideration the weight of the gun and the feel of the recoil, I would estimate the energy of that round to be about 1/2 that of a magnum, 2-3/4" 12 gauge foster slug. I would be very comfortable using it on a deer at up to 50 yards offhand, or 75 from a rest.

The worst is when innocent vegetables are slaughtered for consumption. What chance do they have to get away ? Who is looking out for them ? I have often considered starting a vegetable rights group. The most morally and ethically correct thing to do is subsist on a pure wild game diet. That way there is no treachery involved, like there is when you pretend to be a domestic animal's friend, only to kill it and eat it or sell it for food some day. The wild game know your after them from the start, and they are free to use their superior senses to get away and continue living.

I catch about 90 % of my smallmouth bass on hand-tied 1/8, 1/4, or 5/16 oz bucktail jigs, and about 10 % on plugs which include deep-running crankbaits, when it is too windy for jigging, and top-waters (mostly Heddon zara- pooch or tiny-torpedoes) in the early mornings when it is calm. Taking them on lures you make yourself adds considerable satisfaction, especially when considering the money saved, but the top-water strikes are awesome. I will have to add some of those Rebel Pop-R's to my box. A nice thing about the hand-tied jigs, is that you can show them something they have never seen, which can be a big help in high-pressure areas. A few years back we took a week vacation in mid-summer up at Long lake in the Adirondacks. Every morning the bass boats would shell the shorelines with all types of lures. I never seen one with a fish on. I paddled my canoe out to the center of the lake and let the wind push me along, always doing quite well out there with those hand-tied jigs. I shared some of them with a neighbor, who had just purchased a real fancy fishing kayak, but was getting frustrated with the lack of action. His luck improved greatly after he gave them a try. Smallmouths get about 75 % of my efforts. "Accidental" northern pike, largemouth bass and walleye frequently fall for those jigs while I am targeting smallmouths. Largemouth bass might get 15 % of my efforts. I usually go with heavier, store-bought weedless rubber-skirted jigs with a rubber trailer, spinnerbaits, or wacky-rigged plastic worms when targeting them. Trout and salmon get about 10 % of my fishing time, which usually involves trolling spoons or j-plugs, although I have taken a few nice lakers on the hand-tied bucktail jigs tipped with a perch minnow, out on the Niagara bar. As far as fishing a drinking goes: Jig fishing is almost all by feel, and the first thing I loose when I drink alcohol is my ability to detect a strike. That means saving the beer until a limit is in the live-well or on the stringer. Nothing works better for washing down some walleye-cheek sushi, eaten off the fillet knife, than a big swig of Genny cream ale. Trolling, bobbers, and live bait are the drinking fisherman's best friends because they eliminate the need to feel the strike.

Thanks for that "PA" chest girth chart you provided earlier this year. It has been an tremendous aid in estimating my family's food provisions. Now I know more accurately how many kills are needed to make it from one year to the next.

That sums up my feeling exactly. I love venison. The kill is what brings it all together. My favorite thing about deer hunting is the confirmation of the kill and the receiving of those special "blessings from Heaven". The same thing applies to fishing (I am not a "catch and release" guy). Prayers of thanks for those "blessings" are the single best way I know to make sure that they keep on coming. That is very important when your family mostly lives off them like our's does. I could not be more thankful that my wife and girls also love venison and fish. My least favorite thing about hunting is not being able to recover animals that I have shot at. I thank the Good Lord every time that don't happen. Fortunately, it has not in my last 14 years of deer hunting. The one 15 years ago still bothers me a bit. I learned a very important lesson there, the hard way. That is: to assume every shot is a hit, until PROVEN otherwise. I have mostly not been perfect over that 14 year stretch, which even included two "clean misses". Fortunately, my third shot on that particular deer was instantly fatal, which allowed me to count the holes and "prove" the first two were misses. I have almost always missed my point of aim by a bit. Fortunately, all but one have been close enough to end the suffering without the need for a second shot. I only delivered one "perfect shot" over that stretch, which was exhaustively discussed in the "Texas Heart Shot" thread on this site few years ago. As far as I know, I am the only one who ever "cleanly" pulled that one off. I hate to see any animal suffer, and I always aim to end that as quickly as possible. I have also lost a handful of squirrels and crows, that were likely missed, and one squirrel, that I know was hit. "Clean misses", while certainly better for the animal, bother me more personally than non-recovered hits. When I miss clean, I have done my part worse than I have when an animal is wounded and escapes. When I hear someone claim a clean miss, I wonder how they know for sure, and I also loose some respect for them compared to those who report wounding game and are looking for help in recovery.

Smallmouth bass are my personal favorite and I catch most of them on hand-tied bucktail jigs. I use a pattern that I developed which closely resembles their favorite food - the crayfish. These jigs will consistently outfish real softshell crabs in clear water because they maintain better action and do not get fouled quickly with "moss" like real crabs do. They also are less attractive to non-target species like sheepshead and gobies. Best of all, they can be used to take many bass without replacement. Perhaps better yet, they are almost free with my only significant cost being the hook (I can usually come up with some "free" bucktails and pour my own heads). I am not a catch-and release guy, unless the bass are larger than about 18", which are not as good eating. I prefer those from 12-15". As a man over 50, I am in the "low-risk" group, when it comes to health advisories for fish consumption, but my wife and girls are not. Some waters in the state carry more risk than others, with generally those farther to the South-West in NY state having less risk. Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara River are relatively low risk, while Lake Ontario the St Lawrence river and Adirondack waters are high. I label the packages in the freezer, eating mostly the St Lawrence, Adirondack, and Lake Ontario stuff myself, while the wife and kids get that from Lake Erie, the upper Niagara, and the Western Finger lakes. Smallmouth bass are abundant, hard-fighting, and good eating as long as you keep them alive and fresh until the meat is removed, then vacuum seal. You can not get away with dragging them around dead on a stringer like you can with walleye or perch. They also have more oil in them than those species which makes them better for broiling, grilling or baking, but not so good for frying. Largemouth bass may be slightly better eating, but tend to die quicker in the livewell and only produce about half the fight per given weight. They are my second favorite. Eating plenty of fish helps keep us from getting sick of venison, which makes up the bulk of our protein.

Smart move. It beats turkey hunting because there are a lot less bugs out on the water than there are in the woods when it gets warm out. Plus, fish is a lot better eating than turkey in my opinion anyhow.

I am very thankful that they changed opening day of deer season to Saturday. I never liked having to skip school or work on that Monday. I would probably like the Superbowl a little better on a Saturday night, but it is no big deal if they leave it like it is. It was a heck of a game. Offensive performance is a lot more fun to watch than defensive. There was never a game with more offense than we saw last night.

If you have anything above low deer density, then those plots are too small for spring planted soybeans. What I would do in that situation is forget about spring planting. Wait until late summer, then broadcast a mix of white clover, winter wheat, and soybeans. That will give you a 1-2-3 punch of attraction that should last a few years. Soybeans planted that late will reach their maximum attractiveness (the tender green growing stage) during early archery season, unlike spring planted beans, which are at their lowest attraction (brown-out) at that time. Why not have the time of maximum attractiveness be when you can hunt ? As the deer pick out all the sprouting soybeans, the wheat will fill in and hold them on plots, right thru until the following spring. Then the clover will fill in good, providing several more years of attraction. This mixture will do very well on soil that has been depleted of nitrogen by previous corn plots. That clover can be maintained with nothing more that a mowing or two each season, depending on deer density. If it is heavy enough, the mowing may not even be necessary. Eventually, that clover will start to loose the battle with grasses, telling you that the nitrogen is building up in the soil. That is the time to plow the clover under in the spring, tap all that "free fertilizer", which has been stored up by the clover, and restart the whole sequence with another corn plot. If you want those little corn plots to last a lot longer into hunting season, you have to remove the raccoons. Fortunately, NY state allows landowners to trap and remove nuissance coons before trapping season opens, as long as the carcasses are burried or burned. After the season opens, sometime in October, they can be killed and thrown out in the open for the buzzards to consume. The hides have been basically worthless for quite some time. Coons begin the process of corn destruction by knocking down the stalks, allowing birds and other species to quickly finish it off. Deer themselves are extremely efficient users of corn.

5 days of bass fishing, up in the Thousand Islands at the end of June, and 5 days of Crossbow/Muzzleloader deer hunting & smallmouth bass fishing up in the NW Adirondacks in mid-October, are the two big ones. There will also be one or two more long-weekend trips up there during rifle season, and numerous day-trips to Lake Erie for smallmouth bass and Lake Ontario for Salmon and trout. I can be at either one of those within a half hour so they are not much of a "trip". We are also going to try and get up to the Adirondacks yet this winter for a little ice fishing before it melts.

It takes me a little under an hour to clean one up. I start with a sharp knife and remove the hide, usually taking 15-20 minutes. Getting the base of the antlers pretty clean is important. Next, I use a 3200 psi power washer to blast everything else out. That part takes me 30 - 40 minutes. I get suited up in rain gear and place the skulls on an old pallet, out on a blacktop or concrete driveway. This beats the heck out of boiling for three reasons: First, it is much faster, second cleanup is easier (birds and vermin always have every last scrap gone within 24 hours), and third, it does not discolor the skull like hot water boiling does. There are a few good Youtube videos which show the process. I have only done this with fresh skulls however, which never stink. You would probably want to do it on a windy day, while standing upwind, on an old one. The weather has been great for this method lately, with lots of wind and lots of days with the temperature in the mid thirties. I will never boil another skull or skull plate, because I hate the smell and I hate cleaning up the ring around the boiling pot.

It is too bad somebody can not figure out a way to raise fur prices.

Did you catch the episode where Ivan and Eve went hunting for blacktails on a remote island ? It was pretty good. They set off after a big set of tracks in the snow. She fell back, unable to keep up with her husband's pace. The buck circled back and gave her a perfect shot. It was running towards her and stopped broadside at what looked like about 50 yards. She may have struck the shoulder blade, because it went straight down in its tracks, without even a twitch. They did not show a real good shot of the antlers, but it looked like at least a 3-1/2 year old. He said it was larger than any that he had taken. I don't believe that they planned this, but it turned out pretty good. She certainly was not all upset like she was after killing a doe on their previous televised hunt. I like this show, and have learned more from it than just about any "Hunting" show that I have watched. It is nice not to be subjected to a constant barrage of advertising during the show itself (and I fast forward all the commercials). The episode where Otto and his wife traveled back to Yule's hometown in Switzerland was also pretty good. After watching it, and a few others filmed in Alaska, it appears to be more difficult to live a subsistence lifestyle up there than it is here in NY. Maybe they just try and make it look that way to keep out the competition.

I will believe NY state crossbow full-inclusion when I see it. Until then, I am very thankful that the Northern zone opens up almost a month earlier under the current regulations, and I can hunt deer up there for three days in mid-October prior to the opening of the early ML season. It is also great that the crossbow is legal during the peak of the rut in the Southern zone.

About 6 hours in the crock pot on low tenderizes squirrels very well. I have had mixed bags of rabbit and squirrel done that way and the squirrel is always a little better tasting and equally tender. It just takes a few more of them to make a meal. No free time for me this weekend, but hopefully the weather will cooperate next weekend, as this thread is making me hungry for some squirrel stew.

Prayers sent for your son Eddie.

I used to eat more of it, but for the last 10 years or so, I limit it to button bucks only. I have been blessed with one of those, about every other year, since I started hunting. The flavor is excellent and it is very tender, probably my second favorite wild game. The only thing better is pickled moose tongue. Liver from older deer is chewier and not as tasty, so I leave it in the woods. I prefer button buck liver over beef liver (of which I have access to an almost limitless supply), but not that from 1-1/2 yr or older deer, which is why the coyotes get all of that now. As far as cooking methods, I just fry up the fresh button buck liver in a pan with some olive oil and mix in a few onions. It and the tenderloins never make it to the freezer and the liver is just a bit better. I brought some Angus beef liver up to my in-laws last year and my father in law grilled it after marinating in BBQ sauce. It was very good that way.

A slow, painful death like that hurts the flavor, best leave it for the coyotes. I would be interested in the tail though. Button buck tails make the best bass jigs.

This might be the year to get one with the crossbow !! Maybe on October 1, if full inclusion happens. I am not getting my hopes up for that though, and already planning on (3) vacation days up in the Northern zone a couple weeks later, assuming things will stay as they have been the last (4) years.

With the early thaw that it looks like we are going to get per the long term forecast, winter kill should be minimal for the third consecutive year.

How old are you and do you have any dependents ? If so, you may want to think about some life insurance to take care of them after you are gone.

When I was about 15, our parents took the family to Walt Disney world, where we stayed for a week in at Fort Wilderness campground. I was more into the Florida Largemouth bass fishing than the rides at Magic Kingdom, so one morning I rented a canoe at the trading post. I paddled up small canal, to a wide area with a weed bed across the back. I had read in magazines to watch for birds to show you where the fish were, and there was a great blue heron perched there at the edge of the weeds. I was not real good then with my new Garcia Ambassador 5500 reel, loaded with 20 pound test, and my first cast sort of got away from me, clear over the heron. I tried to stop it with thumb pressure, but could only watch as the big purple plastic worm looped a few times around the big bird's neck. Disturbed by the situation, the heron took flight, and an "aerial battle" began. It got up pretty high, before taking all the slack out of the line, then came crashing down. A tram passed by. loaded with kids. There was some yells and possibly pictures taken, as they noted the unorthodox wildlife activity. I took off my windbreaker and attempted to cover the bird and remove the hook. The line broke and it took of again with the worm and a few feet of line still attached. Looking back, it is kind of funny, but not so much at the time. I never did catch any bass there.

Lots of good memories have accumulated over 39 years of hunting. My favorite one occurred on opening day of NY southern zone deer season, in 2012. That morning hunt was especially good for my wife. She had a big smile on her face when I brought up a fat button buck that I shot about 15 minutes after sunrise. I gutted it quick, then got back up in my stand until lunch time. I heard about 30 other shots nearby that morning, on our side of the road, but did not see any more deer. As she was preparing lunch, the phone rang. It was an older friend in the adjacent town, asking if she wanted a deer that she had shot. I wanted to get back out hunting, but I gave in to my wife's request, and drove over to pick up that deer. It turned out to be another fat button buck, nearly identical to the one already hanging in our garage. Seldom have I seen her happier than she was at the sight of those two hanging in the garage. She loves button bucks more than any other, because they are so tender and tasty and do not require giving up any wall space. After lunch, she and our equally happy girls (they also love button bucks), got in the mini-van and headed over to her parents house, not knowing yet that they would be giving up some wall-space later that afternoon. Having only seen one deer all morning and hearing all those close by shots, I thought an afternoon hunt on our side of the road would be pointless. I did not hear any shots across the road however, so I decided to head over there for the afternoon. I had a tree-stand deep in the woods over there that I mainly just used during archery season. It was warm and peaceful up in that tree, and I passed the time reading. The hours passed and all I saw was another hunter sneaking slowly across the far side of the woods. Towards evening, I looked at my watch and noted there was 5 minutes of legal daylight left. At that moment, the book dislodged from my hand and fell to the ground. I decided to pack it in a touch early, and carefully climbed down with my loaded shotgun (shame on me, but it paid off this time). There was some thick cover below my stand and as soon as I got to the ground, I heard crashing all around me. A flock of turkeys had just landed, some just 10 feet away. Suddenly, the big head, neck, and antlers of a mature buck appeared, at point blank range. I raised my gun quick, centered the cross-hairs at the base of his neck, and dropped him there in his tracks, with just two minutes of legal daylight to go. I had just enough fading light to get his guts out and drag his heavy carcass to the edge of the woods. That was my favorite hunting memory for two reasons. The lesser, is that I am a meat hunter first, and never had a single day produce more venison in terms of quality (in the morning) and quantity (in the afternoon). The biggest reason, is that the afternoon hunt was the one that removed any doubt of what it takes for a hunt to be successful, and of Who determines if it will be. Had the book I dropped been any other, I would still be wondering. It happened to be the World's number one all-time best seller. Had I not dropped that book when I did, those turkeys would have spotted my blaze orange camo from a mile away, and that buck they were protecting would have met a different fate.