wolc123

On cold days, I bring a quart thermos of hot cider, otherwise, a canteen of water. A couple big candy bars (or a bunch of little ones taken from the kid's Halloween treats - usually something with chocolate) easily gets me thru until lunch. I very rarely do all-day sits.

That sounds like a Hank Jr song, except for the "hunting" part. He would probably hunt thru any weather conditions. "Fishing" in the rain has been very good for me, as long as it is not also cold and windy. I can only deal with any two of those (rain, cold, wind) in combination. I like hunting in the rain also, as long as I am in a blind when it is blowing and coming down hard. Being out there and in position to get up in a stand, the minute it lets up, often pays off. It did not pay today though, when I tried it between downpours a couple times.

I do not have a problem with the width and poundage restrictions in NY. My own entry-level crossbow comes in right at the minimum width and is well under the maximum poundage but is very effective on deer up to 50 yards. For me, that is plenty of range for archery season. If it would speed up full inclusion, then I would certainly like to see the removal of those restrictions taken off of the current legeslation. I can not fault the crossbow manufactures from building crossbows that do not meet NY's restrictions. They would be crazy not to. There will always be folks with plenty of cash, who insist on the fastest and longest reaching deer weapons. Ignoring them would be ludicrous.

I made that same shot with my crossbow and 3 bladed mechanical last year. The buck swung around after taking the bolt, and hobbled off, dragging the rear leg that it had exited. I remember wondering how in the heck I could have hit him in the rear leg on the back side when I had aimed right behind the front shoulder. Those 3, wide, expanding blades made quite a mess on the way diagonally thru his body, destroying both lungs, making a mess of the guts, and costing me a fair amount of meat thru the ham on the way out. He fell over dead in sight, after a 30 or 40 yard walk. Maybe the 2 bladed rage would destroy less meat, but after that one with a 3-blade mechanical last year, I am going with fixed Muzzy 125's this year. They hit right where my field points do, up to 40 yards. I will keep my last 3 bladed mechanical in the quiver, just in case a 40-50 yard shot is offered. When it is gone, I will likely stick with the fixed Muzzy's. They always did well with my vertical bow.

Looks good. My own EverCalm arrived today, just in the nick of time. I will have to see if it lives up the the hype tomorrow. Hopefully, the Butt out will get some usage.

I respect everyone's decision to pass small bucks if they want to, and I am thankful that they can make that choice. The small bucks they pass just might be what keeps my own family fed on some years. From a population control standpoint, meeting your meat needs by killing does makes more sense than killing bucks and I am glad you have had the chances to do that FE. On more seasons than not, I have only had opportunities at bucks, and that is the main reason that most of our meat has been supplied by them. I rarely pass on an antlerless deer, if I have a chance and a tag, although 25 % of those have been bb's thru the years. Sorry Rob, I can't remove the "like". Like I said earlier, you brought it on yourself by bringing God up. Thanks again.

Chef, I understand you had a rough day hunting, but that is no excuse to get nasty. You were doing so good. I will say a prayer for you. Don't forget your Bible. There will always be hope for all people. I hope it gets better soon.

Thanks Rob for bringing God up again on this thread and earning a "like" out of me. I have said many times, we simply can not have too much of Him on a hunting website where we are all so blessed to be in great position to enjoy the blessings of His grace. Thanks also for the reminder about offering a prayer for the family. In this case it is especially important because they lost another daughter back in 2014 so they could certainly use ALL of our prayers. It is my sincerest hope that they all get to meet up again someday with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thanks again and happy hunting to you this season.

You sure ? Looks like a "like" or two on the initial post to me. Maybe some are thinking about it at least. Nice try though.

Didn't you get one of those 3" or so spikes last year ? I will bet that one was good eating. I hope he has a little brother up this way on Saturday. That would be the wackiest thing I ever saw. Anyhow, thanks for getting this hot-topic to three pages, that might help some folks fill some tags.

There is nothing on line or in the news about it but some high school kids (classmates of the ATV driver) mentioned the deer at lunch today. The fact that there is no hunting within a few miles of there is also part of the problem. Opening those areas to crossbow and vertical bow would be a good idea. It is no wonder that deer cause accidents in areas where vehicle crashes are the only way to kill them legally.

This certainly removes any regrets I would have over killing a smaller buck. I hope that those folks who don't mind eating their tags when they don't have to would put a little more thought into that decision. Filling those tags is especially important in WMU's like 9F (where the latest tragedy occurred) that are grossly overpopulated. I will be sure to post a photo of that little 3" spike for you to ridicule on Saturday if I get him. Maybe I will go for a frontal heart shot with my crossbow if one is offered. That would be about the only angle I have not hit one at. I hope you get the trophy you are looking for.

Does this mean I should not shoot a "baby-buck" ? I recall that you consider 1.5's babies, as well as .5's (button bucks). Are 2.5's ok ?

There was nothing about it in any of the news reports, but the kids mentioned the deer at lunch today.

You make a good point. Maybe I will cool down a bit by Saturday morning. If not, that little 3" spike might pay the price. In 35 years I have yet to fill a buck tag and later loose a crack at a larger one as a result. This just might be the year.

The DEC depends on hunters to get the job done. When a selfish desire of some of them for a larger deer, prevents the filling of some tags, is where the trouble starts.

Only if you had opportunities to but didn't.

I follow that moog and 7600. As long as you fill that tag by the end of the season you should be good. I only passed one 90% or better shot last year and I filled my tag on a larger buck 5 minutes after that pass. It is the tag-eaters that we need to be most concerned about. You fellas have done your part.

Grampy (and a few others) might be a little grumpy thinking about some of the deer they have passed. I am sorry for that.

We can all make a difference if we stop worrying about one-upping each other by killing larger antlered deer. It was tough sitting down at lunch today with a bunch of those classmates, knowing that I had passed on a few deer in years past. At least I am thankful that the one I passed at home last year got killed a couple weeks later by my neighbor.

A dead buck (of any size) can not kill someone but a live one certainly can. Does that make sense to you ?

D Does that mean you have been passing a few ?

What if you pass a little four point, and it survives the season to become a big 8 next year, then comes thru the front window of a delivery van, killing the driver ? That is how the other fella bought it in our town about 20 years ago. I would have a pretty tough time sleeping if I ended the season with a tag in my pocket and had passed a legal deer.

Same here.

We often hear about how folks have "passed" on smaller deer, so that they might get a chance to use their tag on a "more mature" one, or one with larger antlers. I have to admit that I have done that myself. The next time you get an opportunity to do that, think about this a little bit: Today I learned that the girlfriend of one of our girl's classmates was killed last weekend when their ATV struck a deer. She was a freshman in high school. That is the second time that I know of, where a deer has caused the death of a person within 10 miles of our house. What if that deer had been "passed" by a hunter looking for a larger deer ? I had planned on passing smaller bucks for the first weekend of crossbow season. After hearing about this tragedy, I will now target the first deer that gives me a shot, that I am 90 % certain I can make. I don't care if it only has a single 3" spike. We really do not need more wall decorations that bad. I was also not sure if I was going to get the 2 extra dmps that will be available on November 1st, but now I will make sure to get up there and get them on my lunch break on Wed. I will also hunt as often as I can, until my tags are filled. My own family only needs (3) deer this year to last until next season, but the processors will accept all the donations they can get for the hunters feeding the hungry program. It would be selfish of me to pass any deer when I have a tag, so I will not do it again. It is real easy to do, until it strikes this close to home (for the second time).