wolc123

The first few weeks of archery season are usually pretty slow anyhow, and the proper control of the aging temperature for the meat is a little more difficult in the warmer weather. You should be good to go for "prime-time" peak-rut week, which always starts around November 5 (the day after Crossbow opens) in these parts. I will send out a prayer for your speedy and full recovery.

Happy birthday Tacks.

He sounds like my brother in law, who I have hunted deer with occasionally over the last 25 years. He has also not managed to kill one himself, but is a very good cook and he makes the best beef/venison jerky for miles around. He raises his own beef, but is completely dependent on others to come up with the venison. The jerky is too greasy when made with 100 % ground beef and too dry when made with 100 % venison. I am convinced that the only way I will be able to help him kill deer is if he first demonstrates the ability on some squirrels. Maybe after I retire, I will have a little more time to school him on that. He just has not demonstrated an ability to get it done on "live targets". He is a heck of a nice guy though, who will do anything he can to help anyone (including netting lots of fish, and setting me up with all the RR corn seed that I need). He finally did manage to outproduce me on Largemouth bass one day this year on our summer vacation at their camp up on the St Lawrence. Someday he may do that with smallmouth, northern pike, or walleye, and maybe even deer, but he has a long way to go.

If he does take the buyout, for what you get, you could cover the rent at Galusha's (just a few miles north) for many years and still be close to the spots you have scouted at your old "no-dogs" camp. I am pretty sure they would be ok with dogs, but I have not stayed there since the current owner's folks passed away. Their daughter runs it now, and she seemed to be nice when we made a day-trip there a few summers ago. She told us that her brother Andy, who would always stop by and visit us after we got in from hunts when he was a teenager long ago, had moved to another state. He would always tell us stories of his dad's hunts up there in the old days. My favorite was one about a grouse hunt, across Lewey lake, when he killed a bear at point blank range with birdshot.

Pappy Boyington use to hunt in a F4U back in the 40's in the South Pacific.

He is talking about zone 4U where gun season opens on Sunday September 3 * just kidding, I think he meant "for you", but I was also a little bit confused by the question.

If it were the last day of gun season, we still needed meat, and I had a tag, then I would not let any legal deer walk. Even a single hot-dog provides more nurishment than one of those paper tags. That said though, in 36 seasons of deer hunting, I have never killed a doe-fawn. I lost count years ago of the number of buck fawns that I killed however, and they have made up about 25% of my antlerless deer. When filling DMP tags, I always target the largest antlerless deer first, which is probably why "little sister" has always gotten away. My wife really loves those button bucks. For me, it is worth killing one just to see the smile on her face (along with the "other" rewards she provides) when I bring one home. That is a lot better than the complaining I get when I have to take a big-antlered one to the taxidermist and get her to surrender a little more wall space. In the old day's, when deer were scarce, I never passed anything legal, but these days all 1-1/2 year bucks are pretty safe from me for the first half of archery season and up until Thanksgiving day during gun season. After that, anything goes. As a pure meat-hunter, my favorite deer to harvest are 2-1/2 year old bucks, which I feel offer the best combination of quantity and quality. Last year I was rewarded with one of those with my crossbow, about 5 minutes after passing a cute little 1-1/2 year old 3-point. Unfortunately, a younger guy next door killed that little buck a few weeks later. He was genuinely upset about it, and said that he did not see the horns and thought it was a doe. If that is not a good reason for mandatory AR's then I don't know what is. I would like to see a 3-point per side restriction if for no other reason than to help folks be a little more certain of target identification. I think slowing folks down a little bit would make us all a lot safer.

It don't look like I will be able to make it up to the Northern zone for the gun opener this year, but if I can, it will be my Ruger M77 30/06 with 3-9X Redfield widefield scope. I still have about a box and a half of 150 gr Federal classics for that and I hope to use a few on the range this weekend out to 300 yards, with zero set 2" high at 100. That is my fair-weather, "sit and ambush" gun if the wind is light and there is no rain or snow. If it is windy with rain or snow, then I will be still-hunting with my new open-sight Marlin 336BL 30/30. I was a little rusty with open sights, but am doing a lot better after several thousand practice shots with my daughter's Daisy Red-Ryder, which I set up with a "big-loop" and adult-sized stock, to make it almost identical dimensionally to the Marlin. I will be using Federal Fusion 150 gr in that. Our late-season Thanksgiving trip to the Northern zone looks good to go, so at least my time will not be wasted sighting in those two rifles. For the Southern zone opener, it will probably be my Marlin 512 with 3X Bushnell scope and 2-3/4" Hornady SST's. If I decide to head into the thick stuff, where shots are all under 50 yards, in the afternoon, then it will be my grandad's old Ithaca 16 ga deerslayer with 1-1/2X weaver scope and Remington foster slugs. If it is raining or snowing in the afternoon, then it will be my Remington 870 12 ga with short smooth-bore slug barrel with open sights and Remington foster slugs. I am hoping to get all (5) of those guns, and my ML and crossbow out on the range by Monday (I just finished mowing it out to 500 yards). I will zero the two open sighted weapons and the Ithaca 16 ga at 75 yards, and the Marlin 12 ga, along with my T/C Omega 50 cal ML at 100 yards.

I could keep them out of the pumpkin patches pretty good by putting in "t" posts, about 40 ft apart, all the way around. Run a strand of 20 lb test mono up about 15" and a second at 30". Tie some white ribbon at a few locations on each strand. That will show you at a great distance if a strand has been broken and it will show the deer where to avoid the area where those invisible "ghosts" push them at night. Their eyes are not good enough to see the line, and it spooks them when they bumble into it. I would always replace the line on my salmon reels every year anyhow, so this was "free". I also had a bunch of t posts, a small pile-driver for putting in the posts (you can also push them in with a tractor bucket loader), and one of those cheap Harbor-freight jacks for pulling them out. Labor and time was minimal and cost was nothing.

Sevens are cool but sixes not so much. The only picture I can find, with the 17 foot Sylvan that I bought new in 1989 in it, is this one of a 37" northern that I caught on a rainy day up on the St Lawrence a couple years ago. That boat was slightly under-powered with the Johnson 60 hp 3-banger that it came with. I used it a lot in the early years (before I got married) and wore out that 60 in about 10 years. The new 70 hp Johnson that I replaced it with is just right and I have not desired a larger boat or motor since then. This sized boat is just right to take advantage of almost all of NY's fresh-water fishing. It does not do anything quite perfect, but it will do it all: Trolling the great lakes with a couple of downriggers and/or planer boards, pushed by the 70 hp main engine (trolls down real good and keeps the electronics charged), chasing largemouth in shallow backwater bays with the bow-mount 30 lb thrust electric motor, and back-trolling wind-swept structure for walleyes with the 15 hp Johnson kicker are all things that it does pretty good. Thousands of fish have made the journey to "fish-heaven" (our family's and friends food supply) over the last 28 years on that vessel. If the twofootitis sets in, Stone may be looking for a 27 footer in a year or two.

If I get out this weekend, I am taking a small cooler with an ice-pack and a couple quart zip-lock bags and skinning & parting them out as soon as there is a lull in the action. I have to remember to sharpen up my pocket knife before I go, and there is no time like the present. I usually hunt them after deer season when keeping them cool is a lot easier.

The opposite side rear leg does not look quite right (considerably thinner), maybe a car-hit from the year before. I killed a 5-point many years ago that had a shriveled, cut-tendon rear leg (from the prior year) on the opposite side of a funky-looking drop beam, similar to that one.

Here are a couple of screamers from Monday morning. I always liked pounders but all I had was a standard 12 ouncer for comparison. The king looked to be between 16 and 18 but I did not weigh it.

I only shoot at them from up there if they are on the ground or if they are on the front side of a tree such that the basic rule of "know your target and what is beyond" is not violated. Getting up in a tree on level ground directs most of the shots towards the ground, which makes it considerably safer than shooting at them from the ground. I appreciate your concern for safety.

Thats odd, I just almost the same thing around the corner from our place in WMU 9F yesterday. The poults were about the size of a fat robbin. There were about a dozen of them with a hen on the shoulder of the road pecking at bugs or gravel.

I hope to get out over this holiday weekend and hang a stand over at my folks place (about 20 mi away). There is a spot in the oaks over there where I always see lots of greys. It is kind of tough hunting them with so many leaves on the trees. I like shooting them from a stand with a .22, not only to eat, but also to get some "live target" practice for deer hunting. The kill zone is so small on a squirrel, that after taking a few, it really helps my confidence when shooting at deer later. My little 410 would probably be a lot more effective at this time of year, but it would not provide as good of practice and the pellets would complicate the eating. I like the idea of taking a cooler and an ice pack and processing them in the woods, especially early in the season like this. Most of the squirrel hunting I have done the last few years has been after deer season, so keeping the meat cool has not been an issue. I have often mixed squirrels and rabbits together in the crockpot and the squirrel always tastes a little better. It just takes a few more of them to make a meal. I also think that the backstraps are the tastiest part. I am getting hungry now just thinking about it.

You are right that once you catch it there is no cure. For new boat owners though, there is a way to avoid it. First, determine the minimum size boat that you think you need. Next, buy one that is 2 feet longer and you will be set for life.

I have too, and that leads to the main reason I would prefer a rifle. I can't think of one where the rifle would not have done it better. Ammo for my rifles (30/30 or 30/06) costs less than half of what sabot slugs cost. That really adds up when you add the ammo usage on the range to that used while hunting. Also, the effective range of my rifled shotgun is 200 yards, while my 30/06 is 350. I have several stands and blinds at home where a 350 yard range would be very handy. All have nice rests and would be almost like shooting from a bench. I can't think of a single case where a shotgun would offer any advantage over a rifle. What really blows is that rifles have been repeatedly proven to be less likely involved in hunting accidents than rifles. The silliest loophole is that which allows the usage of pistols in rifle chamberings (ie .35 rem), but not rifles.

It would be nice if we could use a rife in my home zone (9f), but I don't see it happening any time soon. It really does suck to have to spend $4 per shot. It would be great to fill a few dmp tags with my crossbow this year and save some ammo cost. I have done well on bucks with it, but have yet to get a shot at an antlerless deer. The local farmers hit them pretty hard all summer on their nussance permits, so opportunities in the fall are few and far between. It will be interesting to see what that 1/2 turn down on my slug-gun scope will do to the point of impact at 100 yards. Hopefully, I will find out before the end of Labor day weekend. It would be cool if it hits 1" high at 100 yards.

I use the that same ammo (2-3/4", 12 ga Hornady SST) in my long range slug gun. I messed up a little last season, hitting a doe above the spine rather than below as I had intended. That shot severed the nerve connection to her rear legs, but probably would not have been fatal for several hours. Her front legs still worked, and no other vitals were hit. A quick second shot to the neck finished her, but she suffered longer than she needed to and several premium-quality chops were lost. I screwed up on the range that year, trying to save a few of those $ 4 ea slugs. My point of impact at 100 yards was 6" above zero, on the single shot I fired. I should have made an adjustment right there. Instead, when that doe stepped out and stood broadside at 100 yards, and I aimed for the hair just below the spine, the slug struck above. It is easy to say on the range that you will adjust "on the deer" but it is tougher to do (a lesson I learned the hard way last season). After the season ended last year, I turned the elevation knob on the scope down 1/2 turn. I am hoping that my 100 yard slugs impact 1" above zero now, and I will use as many slugs on that range as required until they do. Hopefully that will be just one. So if you are looking for a number with that slug, my recommendation would be 1" above zero at 100 yards. As far as terminal performance of that bullet in a 12 ga, 2-3/4" sabot, the only other deer I used it on was a broadside button buck which dropped dead in his tracks when struck broadside, center-lung. The exit hole was about 1" dia, and meat damage was just slightly more than some of the other 12 gauge slugs I have used. I have used that gun (Marlin 512 bolt-action) with other sabots for kills up to to 163 yards. The SST's have better terminal performance than the Federal solid lead sabots that I used prior (they would only leave a 1/2" exit hole with a broadside lung shot), and about equal accuracy. In a light cross-wind, I would fire on a deer from a rest at up to 200 yards with the SST's, where they hold a 4" group from the bench. What I like the best about those 12 ga sabots, is the energy that remains at 200 yards. It is about 4X what I get out of the same bullet, fired from my 50 cal ML with 100 grains of triple 7 powder. Another lesson I learned the hard way is that ML is only effective on deer (unless they are perfectly broadside), at ranges up to 150 yards. It did not quite cut it at 175, costing me a "quartering away" buck, even though my bullet struck right where I aimed. The other HUGE advantage of my 12 gage is those two extra shots, one of which I needed on that doe last fall. To top it off, that Marlin 12 gauge groups just as good from the bench as my T/C omega 50 cal ML, at 200 yards.

That is better than most of the "this happened to me" in Outdoor Life magazine. I have never had a tussle with a buck. I always make sure their eye is open and stick the muzzle of my loaded gun (safety off) in it before gutting them after hearing of an incident that my uncle suffered. He had knocked down the biggest buck he ever saw with his slug gun. He laid the gun down against a tree. As he approached it with just his knife, it got up and ran away, never to be seen again. I can vouch for the danger of the rear hoofs however. I got nailed in the lower leg with one of those from a big doe that I found lying (eyes shut) along the road after it had been struck by a car. I did not know how fresh it was, so I was just going to cut off her tail (for making jugs) with my razor-sharp, 1-1/4" long pocket knife. The closed eyes should have been a tip-off, for she turned out to be much fresher than I imagined. Lifting that tail was like turning the crank of an old tractor, and that doe jumped right up as if woken suddenly from a sound sleep. I hopped on her back, got her in a half-nelson with my left arm, and slit her throat with the little knife in my right hand. She let me have it in the leg with that hoof as I was bucked off of her back. After she flopped around for a while and bled out, I tossed her into the bed of my pickup and drove up to the town police barracks. The desk officer had taken a call earlier about the "dead" deer. As I stood there, covered in her blood, and maybe a little of mine, he looked up and asked me "did the deer have to be shot ?" I replied: "I killed her with my knife" . He said "that would be no", and filled out a carcass tag for me. I took that one to a proccesser who remarked that he had never processed a deer with absolutely no meat damage. She must have rammed the side of a car, knocking herself out, but sustaining no other damage. My leg was badly bruised and sore for a week or so after the incident. Now I carry a pocket knife with the secondary blade ground down to 1" just to see if I can break my previous record for the smallest weapon used on a deer kill. How big was your knife ?

1) Catch a few more King salmon out on lake Ontario 2) Put in two small wheat/clover plots for a neighbor 3) hang a new stand over at my folks place 4) bush-hog some trails & shooting lanes 5) trim around and check condition of existing stands & blinds 6) verify the zero on crossbow, ML, (3) shotguns,and (2) rifles. 7) Use up some more of last year's venison. Hopefully I will put a big dent in the remaining tasks before the end of Labor-day weekend.

There was a little sentimental detachment (along a few dulled chains from hitting old nails) when I had to cut a few old ash trees that had permanents tree stands in them, including the one where I killed my first buck over thirty years ago, and my largest antlered buck, about 25 years ago. I did not trust them old stands in those dying trees anymore, and I was thankful to have never fallen from them. I breathed a little relief, after those supporting trees were reduced to firewood. Now it is all ground blinds, ladder stands, or elevated blinds, supported by pressure treated lumber. There are a few monsters deep in the woods that I am not looking forward to trying to take down with my largest saw (20" bar). I may have to spring for a 24" to make that a little easier, which is about all that my Stihl could handle. Personally, I think you are wasting your time trying to save the ash trees, and I doubt the DEC would be able to help you much on that. They probably will come after you if you try and sell or transport any of that "infected" firewood however. Take that with a grain of salt though, since you know that I won't miss them much when they are gone.

Probably half of the trees in the 5 acre woodlot on the back of our farm are ash. On one hand, I hate to loose all those trees, but on the other hand, I am getting sick of burning nothing but ash in the woodstove. I started cutting mostly ash about 10 years ago, when the threat first developed. My problem with it is as firewood is that it lives up to it's name and makes lots of ash, compared to other wood that I fondly remember burning, including cherry, oak, and hard maple. The good thing about ash as firewood, is that it can be burned immediately after cutting in the winter, without seasoning. That comes in handy if you run out of wood in the late winter. I usually have enough cut for several years, so that advantage has never come into play for me. Because of that, I cant say I will miss it much when it is all gone. Also, I think the deer and squirrels (which we like to eat), get a lot more out of oaks than they do from ash. In the long run, I think we have more to gain from the emerald ash borer, than we have to loose.

That is an easy one, Trapping coons early so that my limited acreage of field corn makes it all the way thru late ML season. Speaking of that, its about time to check the traps. They started hitting my corn last Friday night. Sunday morning I had two in traps, and two more yesterday. It will be interesting to see what this morning brings. NY state DEC advises that landowner's bury of burn the carcasses of coons that are causing damage, if taken prior to the opening of trapping season, so bring along a shovel if you decide to do this yourself right now. They are about the easiest furbearer there is to trap and they just love cat foot in dog-proof traps or peanut butter coated marshmelloes or bananas in box traps. I don't imagine they are too fond of the little piece of lead they get at the center of an "x" between the eyes and ears however. If I can keep this up at this rate, maybe I will have some corn leftover at Christmas to give to my folks to feed their laying hens. Time to go fertilize a few more apple trees.