wolc123

Too close to the water and no tracks:

The local girls must have been hosting some out of town teams for the section championships last night or something. I have never seen as many deer at one time up here, as the herd that I stumbled into in the dark this morning. It could be because I took out the old boss doe last year, who was driving off all the rivals. I have seen a ratio of 5 does per antlered buck up here thru the last 10 years, so there ought to be a buck or two in the group. If the south west wind holds, I am going circle around the back side of the ridge Sunday morning and try and catch one of them on the way out with my 30/30. I’d probably settle for a good fork horn with that, because I am dying to see how that caliber performs on a deer. No more real need to see that with my ML, because I have killed (3) of my last (4) deer with it, including (2) already this year. I learned this morning that it’s not really the sand of the volleyball court that the deer are after. They are stuffing themselves in the tender grass in the meadow that my father in law has been keeping mowed all summer. I dropped off this little 3-point mower for him last year, and he’s been making good use of it:

The bass are cooperating more than the deer this morning. Just got a 20 incher on the shad rap:

I tried sneaking around downwind, of the deer on the volleyball court, but I stumbled right into a big herd in the dark. They were grouped in a little grass meadow, between the ridge and the sand volleyball court. They all ran off, snorting and tails up in every direction. There had to be at least 10. I am in position now, at the base of the ridge, hoping to catch a straggler. A cup of hot cider is in my drink holder. Maybe that will draw in the bear, that has been stalking that herd of deer: I have an opening stick of EverCalm on the other side. It’s 40 degrees this morning, up here in WMU 6C, and my last chance for a doe is today.

Same, here. I am going to try and catch the deer (and maybe a bear) that have been visiting the nearby beach volleyball court at night, on their way back to a bedding area.

It feels pretty deery here up in the adk’s, but I have only seen them from this particular spot, when there has been a little snow. It’s colder tonight, than it’s supposed to be for the rest of the week, so I figured I’d give it one last shot. I have seen loads of doe from here, when they are off-limits, on Thanksgiving weekend. They feed on the grassy browse, on the power line cut, in front of the red posted sign 50 yards out. The guy who posts the land beyond the sign lives in Florida but comes back to NY to hunt occasionally. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I tracked one into his land, but I’ll still aim for the shoulder blade if I get a shot at one, so I don’t have to. There’s definitely been lots of nocturnal deer (and bear) activity in this area recently. There were fresh deer tracks in the beach volleyball court sand, 500 yards to my left, again this morning. Yesterday morning there were also a set of bear tracks. I stayed out until 1/2 hour past sunset last night, and I could still make out the crosshairs on the old Redfield 2-7 on my ML. The deer didn’t come from the East last night. I will see if they come from the West tonight. There is a steady light drizzle, so I have the umbrella up.

I took a slow still hunt, down and around the north end of the ridge. There is a beaver pond down there, and that’s the last place that my father in law seen any deer. He saw (3) in the water there about a week and a half ago. I kicked one out down there, just getting a glimpse of its white tail up thru the heavy cover, maybe 100 yards away when it bolted off. It ran to the south. There are more fresh deer tracks in the volleyball court by the in-laws house this morning, but no more bear tracks. I helped him get the tire chain back on his tractor, and bungied them all up good. The sky is clearing, so I’ll probably go out for a little fishing after lunch, then sit for deer and bear until 1/2 hour past dark, in my “rainy day” spot near the house. (3) more chances at a doe with the ML, tonight, and tomorrow morning and evening, then it’s all bucks and bears with the 30/30’s on Saturday and Sunday.

Getting a little bit of on and off rain, up here on the nw corner of the adk park. No deer, bear , or grouse have showed up yet. Umbrella and gutting-glove finger condom are deployed. I’ll probably hang out here on the ridge top until 11:00, then go help my father in law fix a tractor tire chain that fell off yesterday, in his barn. Maybe I will do some reading this early afternoon, then go back out for deer, at one of my hot spots close to their house. I brought up a book on Confederate general A.P. Hill. It’s getting pretty interesting, where I man at now in it, at day 2 of the Gettysburg battle.

No crimes committed yet. I sat last night, watching where that bear trail led into the swamp, until 1/2 hour past sunset. At that time, I could still just make out the crosshairs on my old Redfield scope. No bear or deer showed up though. If the wind stays blowing from the south, as it had been all week, I am going to try getting up in there 1/2 hour before sunrise tomorrow morning. It’s real close to my in-laws house. The weather is supposed to be dry and warmer tomorrow and there are a few tasks they want me to help complete, so I won’t stay out long in the morning.

No rain yet this morning up here on the nw corner of the park. The wind is from the sw and it is predicted 50 % chance all day long. I brought my tree umbrella and I suppose I will be needing it at some point. I am back up here on the north end of the ridge where I sat the first (3) mornings, after a (2) day break. Hopefully a doe will show today, or at least a grouse. Just today and tomorrow for an antlerless deer, then it’s bucks only with rifle Saturday and Sunday. Good luck to you.

I am trying to imagine an exit strategy for Russia in Ukraine, that does not end in Nuclear Armageddon, but coming up empty. I wonder if our (4) resident leftists will admit that they made a mistake in voting for Biden, when they feel the thunder and see the approaching mushroom clouds ? At this point, our best hope lies in a Republican retaking of the legislative branch, thru a purge of Democrats of historic proportions, in the upcoming midterms. The Republicans would be well advised to use lots of recent footage of Biden and Harris talking about how they have been “fixing” things, for their campaign advertising. Roll that in with footage of the southern border situation and food prices at the local grocery stores. At least there are no more mean tweets.

Trolled up a few smallies on a small silver shad-rap this afternoon, anchored by this stout 19 incher: They still have plenty of fight left in them, but it’s not going to last much longer as the water temperature is falling fast. The lake will probably be froze over next time we come up on Thanksgiving.

The wind is in my face and I’m loaded for bear (and deer). I just hope that he shows up before 6:41 pm for beach volleyball. I am watching the trail that he used going back home over the ridge last night: Hopefully, I can get 240 gr of lead into “the middle of his middle”, then finish him off with my razor sharp Buck 110 if need be.

I didn’t see any deer or bear sign across the main road on the state forrest last night. I did pass a few hunting camps, on the short stretch of private land, between the main road and the big chunk of state land. A couple of them looked pretty crowded. There’s a private hunting club, of about 6000 acres, behind the 1000ish acre state forrest. I imagine most of the guys that I saw at the camps hunt back there. There were signs up: “logging in process” but I didn’t see or hear any signs of that. I’ll stick to the 400 acres of private land, and 100 acres of water that I have all to myself on this side of the main road, for the rest of the week. Hopefully, those guys will push some game over to this side of the main road. I am going to hunt close to that road on opening day Saturday for sure, because that’s where I blew a great chance at a huge buck two years ago on opening day. I tried a low spot close by this morning, where there is always tons of deer activity after the snow hits, but nothing showed up early. After that, I helped my father in law with some more “heavy lifting” tasks - putting chains on the tractors that he uses for snow plowing. Once again, my arms were in no condition for casting after that, so I trolled a few times around lake, getting a few more decent smallmouth bass on the small silver shad-rap. This fat 19 incher just didn’t want to say “uncle”, and I drifted about half way down the lake before I was finally able to land it on 8 lb line. While we were working on the tractors earlier, my father in law pointed out some bear and deer tracks, where they must have came thru last night, out on the volleyball court, right next to the house. I am going to get setup tonight, downwind of the spot where those tracks led up and over the ridge. I’ll sit in my moose camo pattern chair up there tonight, till 1/2 hour past sunset. No rain in the forecast, so I won’t need the umbrella. Hopefully, it’s a good-eating, easy dragging sized bear of about 200 lbs, if it makes it over the ridge with my 240 gr of lead. I don’t care how big it is, if it goes down on this side, because my father in laws big new Kubota will lift well over 1000 lbs. I’ll guess 253 lbs field-dressed, based on the size of these tracks:

It’s too bad they can’t figure out how to move more freight on rails and get more big trucks off the highway. They are the cause of about 90 % of the trouble I see on the big highways.

Wow, that will make 62 pounds of bad-tasting meat. I’d prefer a 200 pounder and 20 pounds of tasty stuff. Bears are like sheephead. Very little useable meat on them, and the big ones taste like crap. With some folks, it’s all about the skull size though.

Why the orange hat and vest ? Only one is required by law. Is hunter density high where you are at ? Yesterday afternoon, I hunted an unfamiliar state forrest across the road, and there were other hunters around, so that would have been a very good idea. I couldn’t locate any deer sign over there, so I won’t be going back this week. I might, if I had remembered my orange vest, but I know that I left it home. It is highly unlikely that there are any other hunters within 4 miles of where I am right now though, so I feel fine in just the orange hat. I always take it off and place it on top of my tree umbrella, when it is raining. No more of that predicted till Thursday, then clear Friday thru Sunday. Are you staying thru opening week of rifle ? I checked out my opening day spot yesterday morning. Two years ago, I blew a great chance at a monster buck, because of my damn smartphone, from that spot on opening day. I’ll be ready for him this year, if he shows up there again.

I think in that situation, I’d have hacked off the back straps and hind quarters ASAP and ran. You’d still end up with about 2/3 of the recoverable meat.

That’s what I usually try to do. I maybe shouldn’t have pulled up close behind the guy, who had been tailgating me on my drive up here Friday night. I am just so sick of being tailgated, over that stretch of route 3, that I felt the need to retaliate. All I was doing was putting myself at risk. He was driving a much newer truck, than my old 3/4 ton Chevy. No doubt, it had a much shorter stopping distance. Had he slammed on his brakes, and I piled into the back of him, it would have been all my fault. Then there’s the fact that If we do nothing, these dip shits just keep on being dip shits. Maybe my front bumper on his ass, for a mile or so, taught him just a little bit of a lesson and he won’t be so quick to do it again. It did seem like he backed off a little from the next car he was on when I got up close behind him. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t I guess. Thankfully, we won’t be dealing with any of this bs in the next world. As long as I can, I’ll just surround myself with plenty of iron and just keep going. If those tailgaters in the aluminum trucks give me any trouble they’ll get more than they bargained for.

Day 5 up here for me. I had run ins with multiple unidentified deer on two evening hunts, but no morning action yet. No deer seen or heard the last two days. Right now, I am near an old, long-abandoned camp, in a spot that always gets real heavy deer activity, after there is snow on the ground. It’s a heck of a lot tougher up here with no snow, but hopefully one will will show up a little early. The first three mornings, I sat in the spot where I killed a doe up here last year at this time. The wind was right for it all three mornings. I gave it a break yesterday and today, but will probably go back there again tomorrow or Friday. There are young hardwoods, up on that end of the ridge, with nut-producing trees that have often held deer at this time of year.

Another vote for a used T/C Omega 50 cal. Cleanup is easy with T7 powder, foaming bore cleaner, and a bore snake. Cleaning was a pain before I descovered the foaming bore cleaner.

I really like the reddish color of that rack, and how it has the little nub near the end of the right beam.

For deer yes, but not for bear as I’d never be able to drag one out of this gully. I am on state land tonight, so I can’t use my father in laws atv or loader tractor.

I shouldn’t be reading this right now, as I am sitting in a place where the DEC releases trouble-making black bears and I am only armed with a ML and my Buck 110. I was going to stay till 1/2 hour past sunset, but I think I will quit at sunset (6:12 pm). The knife is good and sharp anyhow.

They are not bad, but there is very little meat on them. That’s probably why they are such piss poor fighters, compared to comparably sized bass. A long time ago, my wife and I went down to the Dunkirk area on Lake Erie for an overnight camping/fishing trip. The only food that we brought was a few potatoes, figuring we would catch enough fish to eat. We couldn’t get into any bass or walleye that day. Rather than starve, we kept what we thought was plenty of sheephead for us, and the crew back at the hunting/fishing club, that I belonged to back then. We had done this several times previous, always catching plenty of bass, and the guys would help themselves to all that they wanted. Fortunately, those 3 or 4 camp “regulars” all turned up their noses and went back in the cabin, when they saw us cleaning the sheepheads. I couldn’t believe how little meat there was on those fish. Less than half of what you would get from an equal length bass. There was just enough for my wife and I, to eat all that we could, and we had kept at least (10) of them. I kept the smaller ones, because I thought they would taste better, probably 12-14” average size. We added a little extra garlic and cayenne pepper and they tasted just fine. That was the only time I ever ate sheephead.