wolc123

I also saw thru the pelvis with a small Gerber folding saw that is about the same size and weight as a Butt-out II. It costs about the same, but can do many other jobs such as trimming limbs from shooting lanes, quartering a deer, building a shelter, etc.. The best thing about cutting thru the pelvis and opening it up is that it allows you to see clearly that everything is cleaned out. With a Butt-out, its pretty much just "poke and hope". Splitting the pelvis allows the deer to be opened up further for faster cool-down after gutting, which improves the quality of the venison. For me, as a pure "meat-hunter", who does all my own butchering, it is all about the venison and doing all I can to maximize it's quality on the table. I suppose for the guys just looking to get their deer dropped off quick to a processor, the Butt-out would be a valuable tool.

The biggest difference when comparing Ohio and NY is full inclusion of the crossbow. Ohio was one of the first states to make that happen. The archery season deer take there nearly equals the gun season take for that reason alone. That should provide plenty of proof that the crossbow is a very effective tool for controlling antlerless deer while a vertical bow is not. Here in NY, a small, elitist, selfish group of bow-hunters has been able to prevent full inclusion yet again this season. The crossbow is far more effective at controlling antlerless deer than a vertical bow because it does not need to be drawn with groups of deer in close. For killing lone bucks, that advantage is not as great, as one only needs to fool a single set of eyes with the draw. A lot less time and effort is required to attain lethal accuracy with a crossbow compared to a vertical bow. Also, the relative silence of the crossbow gives it a significant advantage over the ML. NY will continue to struggle to get antlerless deer under control in some overpopulated zones until they find a way to get crossbows in at the start of archery season.

I have heard that the size of the bear makes a big difference in flavor. Those under 200 lbs are good, while those much over that, not so hot. A friend shot real big one with a record-book skull up in Canada a few years ago and the guides just brought the hide out of the woods, leaving the carcass for the scavengers. Another friend took a 180 lb (field dressed) bear down on the PA line the same year. He gave me some of it and it made excellent crock-pot stew, slightly better than your average venison.

We definitely got a good soaking on the Erie/Niagara county line today, with the last heavy downpour ending about 30 minutes ago and the gauge showing just under 2" total over the last 12 hours. Just in the nick of time, as my field corn is just beginning to tassle but was looking as thirsty as I ever seen corn. Now with the sun peaking out a bit you can almost see it grow. I am going to try and plant turnips tomorrow or Wed if it is not dry enough. Winter wheat/soybean/white clover mix will get planted around August 15. I was not going to bother with any more planting until the drought ended but it looks like a safe bet now. I thank Jesus for this rain which will surely put some meat in the freezer this fall. He always comes thru when I need him.

Sorta like Buckmaster7600, I always start my range sessions with a few 16 gauge slugs from my grandad's old Ithaca 37 featherlight (I have a nearly inexhaustable supply of slugs for that, purchased dirt cheap when a local sport shop closed a few years ago). That gun is built on a frame almost as light as a 20 gauge, but fires loads almost equal in energy to a 12 gauge. That adds up to maximum recoil, making everything else feel very tame. My Ruger 77, 30/06 feels almost like a .22 rimfire in comparison. Folks who are bothered by recoil from any centerfire rifle should try firing slugs from a lightweight shotgun to get a "real" taste of some heavy recoil. No centerfire rifle has impressed me much with recoil, including a Ruger Number One in 458 Win magnum. I do "cheat" on the range with a cheap recoil pad that pins onto my shirt, but I have never noticed recoil on deer, and dozens have fallen to my old Ithaca.

I add soybeans to my late summer planted plots (late July - mid August), which also include wheat and white clover. Those spouting soybeans quickly draw deer to the plots but are normally picked clean by October 1. The deer then hang around thru winter, to feed on the wheat (tastier than rye), and the clover feeds them for the next 3-5 years. The only problem you got with a big bean field, is the deer will only use it at night after detecting some hunting pressure. An adjacent, standing corn plot is what you need then if you want daylight action on your land. Hopefully we will see enough rain to make some decent corn this year. It certainly has been touch and go to this point in Western NY. I have a 1-1/2 acre corn plot, planted the weekend before Memorial day, on some poorly-drained, mucky soil. That one looks great, shoulder high, dark green, and relatively weed-free after spraying and cultivating. My larger, 2-1/2 acre plot, planted on the same day on some higher, well-drained soil, don't look so hot, about knee-high now.

I used to shoot my 10/22 a lot more before the "active shooters", politicians and horders made ammo more expensive and difficult to find. Now it is pretty much one squirrel, coon, rabbit, fox, woodchuck or coyote per .22 LR round, and I do most of my "honing" with the BB guns. I do give possums a second round thru the lungs, since missing one of them little "pea brains" a few years ago and having one get away with a head wound, after playing his name for a few minutes. The 10/22 sure is accurate for a semi-auto, with a great trigger, and handles easier than any other rifle I have tried. Ruger's are also the only center-fire rifles I use. The great thing about the BB guns is the ammo is still nearly free. With a Daisy Red-Ryder or Crossman 760 with 4 pumps, the BB's go thru only one side and end up in the can. Then you can just pour them out and shoot them again. These guns are not rifled, so the range is much less than the Ruger, but accuracy is respectable for $30 guns.

I have yet to run into anyone who could say or do anything to piss me off. When folks try (and many have), I tell just tell them: "There is one thing you are lacking, the ability to piss me off" That almost always takes the wind out of their sails. Life is too short for "pet peeves".

How was the meat? I have heard that the ones over 200 pounds are not so hot. Any truth to that? Did you make a rug or mount it?

The fish always used to stay pretty shallow in Cuba lake over the summer, so a good pair of polarized glasses would probably do you more good there than a fish-finder. They make the weedbeds easy to see from the boat. I have done ok during the day there on walleyes, using a weedless bass jig, tipped with a live leech, inside the weed-beds. Use about 3/8 oz and let it sink below the surface weedmat. Now they have installed sewers around most of the lake however, so that may allow more oxygen down deep where a fishfinder would work for you, and they are almost a necessity on Erie.

I have had good luck on Cuba lake during the day, fishing the edges and deep inside the weedbeds, with a big rubber weedless bass jig tipped with a rubber shad bait. Black, purple and blue are the best colors. There are some monster smallmouth and northern pike in there, plus the occasional walleye or largemouth bass. On my last trip there with a canoe, I got beat up a bit from all the boat traffic on a Saturday, but hooked into a fat 21" smallmouth, deep in a weedbed. I did not have a camera, so I hooked it on a stringer and pulled it across the lake to a friend's cottage for a photo, before releasing. It was strong enough to spin that canoe around a few times before I reached the opposite shore. Another pattern that works well there is a Heddon torpedo or tiny torpedo cast along the shoreline after dark. Largemouth bass and even an occasional walleye have gone for that. With heavy boat traffic by day, the action picks up after dark. If you boat does not have lights, you can pick up a pair that work on flashlight batteries fairly cheap.

Nice gun, great shooter and best caliber for deer hunting in NY state. The family history adds a lot to the deal and will add even more after you kill a few deer with it. My two largest-antlered bucks have fallen to my grandad's old Ithaca, model 37, featherlight, 16 ga, deerslayer. Even today, I can't look at those mounts without remembering him. My largest bodied buck fell in his tracks a couple years ago to my 30/06 however, and I can testify to the effectiveness of the Federal Classic 150 gr round at approximately 300 yards. That is all I use now in the rifle zones but grandad's old Ithaca still sees occasional service at home in a shotgun-only zone.

The big ones are fun to catch, but I also release most of them. The smaller the legal "keeper", the lower the health risk from eating. While the bass pro's try and locate the largest fish, I aim for those that are just barely keepers. Out on Lake Erie during the summer, smaller bass are often found near the bottom, with larger ones suspended above. I liked "the special early season" a lot better when the (1) bass allowed had to be over 15" to keep. 15 - 18" bass are still relatively young and good eating, while the larger ones carry more health risk from consumption. I don't often fish that season now, since bass over 20 inches are not worth the risk, and I don't ever target something I don't intend to eat. The round gobies have made the bass fishing tougher, but they have significantly improved the growth rates of the smalmouth bass. The 19-20 inchers we took in the St Lawrence last week looked healthier than 16 inchers from 10 years ago, and were likely younger due to the massive new food source they now have. What makes fishing and hunting so superior for me compared to other "sports" is the "free" and delicious meal you can get, in addition to all the fun. If you don't eat what you target you are not getting the full benefit. That is the main reason you will rarely find me on a golf course.

Apparently the "rakons" like bananas too. I re-baited the trap after removing the chuck carcass yesterday evening and this morning there is a big one in there. Looks like the buzzards will be eating good. I think I will keep them traps set around the house and take out all I can before the sweetcorn in the garden starts getting ripe. I would rather feed buzzards coons than feed coons sweetcorn.

We had one living under our front porch. I placed two live traps out there this afternoon, one baited with a whole banana, the other with a whole apple. I also put some small pieces of apple near the doors of the traps. Less than 2 hours after setting the trap, the chuck chose the banana as his last meal. I dispatched him with a .22 to the head and threw the carcass out back to feed the buzzards.

That looks like some good eating there Hillbilly. It took us 4 days to secure a year's worth of fish from NY waters, but it looks like you did it in a day up in Alaska. The thing that limits my fishing most in NY is the State recommendations against eating too much fish. I suppose that is less of a concern with fish up there. I never liked the idea of "catch and release", seeing it as nothing but the senseless maiming of a fine food source. God gave fish for man to eat, not to play games with.

We fished this past Sat, Sunday, Monday, Tues on the St Lawrence, below Alex bay. The smallmouth action was a little slow on our usual drifts out near the shipping lane, but the fish seemed extra big, stuffed on round gobies I suppose. We kept 5 on Sat and on Sunday, all very healthy looking, even the fat 20 inchers. On Sunday we also hit a 24" and a 27" walleye at the deeper part of our drift (25-30 ft). The last 20 years , it had been 5 years almost to the hour in walleyes for us taken in that part of the river. I rarely target them since learning how to properly care for and prepare bass, so the only ones we get are strays while bass fishing. Monday, the strong west wind blew hard, and just like they say, the wind is from the West, the fish bite the best. We pulled into a protected bay and took our limits of largemouth on spinnerbaits in less than a half hour that morning. That action was faster and fish more aggressive than I have seen up there in many years. I suppose they were recovered from spawning and we hit them right at that "summer peak". That afternoon, with the West Wind still blowing hard, we tried for more walleyes out in the river, but only managed a few more smallies (which had to be returned due to the largemouth limits we filleted in the morning). We froze our fish from the first 3 days, ending up with 12 vacuum sealed quarts of fillets. We only had a couple hours to fish on Tuesday, having to pack up for home. With no wind blowing, action was very slow out on the river with just one fat Smallmouth. Back in the bay at Monday's Largemouth hotspot, just one 15 incher took the bait. Fortunately, a 27" Northern pike hit my brother in laws's spinnerbait, so we managed enough "fresh fish" for a fresh meal when we got home. I only keep them bony things if we don't have enough bass or walleye to make a meal. So far this season, the smallmouth action has been off a bit, but the Largemouth, Walleye, and Northern Pike action is way up from prior years for us on the St Lawrence at least. We landed about 7 other Northerns over 22", and about the same number of shorter "hammer handles".

I was also too cheap to get the enhanced license so hadn't been to Canada since that law took effect. We had a job down in South America last year, so work sprung for my passport. That also re-opened Canada for our family. I have taken the wife and kids up to Bass Pro in Niagara on the lake twice and they loved it. The parking is free and we can be there in a half hour over the Lewiston-Queenston bridge with light traffic each time. Also a real nice food court next door there. On this past, unseasonally-warm superbowl Sunday, we did the falls from the Canadian side, including the Clifton-hill wax museums, etc, and again, the kid's loved it. Also, the $1.29 American dollar currently gives us some good spending power up there.

What kind of fish will you be targeting and what waters will you use it on? New York state is blessed with some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the world. Excellent fishing for Largemouth bass , trout and salmon is also easy to find here. A few places even produce respectable walleye and pike fishing on occasion. These are the species I go for with my 17 ft Sylvan Profisherman with the main engine, a 70 hp Johnson 2-stroke outboard, plus a 15 hp Johnson kicker on the side of the stern and a 28 lb thrust min-kota trolling motor up in the bow. The boat is a 1989 and the motors are 1999's. You out to be able to locate a similar used rig in the $4000 - $5000 price range. The deep V 17 foot aluminum hull is just right for trolling the great lakes with 4 occupants (rated for 6 and 900 lbs max, 130 hp max). The 70 hp easily pulls waterskiers with a heavy load in the boat (my original 60 hp was a little underpowered for that). For drift fishing or working shorelines, weedlines etc with the electric motor, it is just right for 3 fisherman. The 70 hp main motor will push it close to 40 mph which is plenty fast in most sea conditions. The 15 hp will plane it at about 10 mph with 2 guys on board if one is up front. That provides great backup if the main engine goes down out on the big-waters. The boat takes great wind-driven waves like we find out on the great lakes, but does not do so good with boat wakes like we find on busy afternoons on the upper Niagara river (I usually finish up my fishing early on the weekends there). One thing to consider in a fishing boat, that many overlook, is the color of the hull. Fish see silver or light grey when they look up, so if you can match that, you will spook less and catch more. Those fancy red and purple metal flake bass boats might be pretty, but probably cost the owners lots of fish. Any boat is a compromise, but the one I have represents the best combination of capabilities for the species and waters where I fish. Aluminum is lighter, thus cheaper to power than fiberglass and easier to trailer, but ride comfort in wake-driven waves suffers in comparison. Fiberglass bass boats are certainly superior for bass fishing, but not too good for great lake salmon or walleye trolling. With an aluminum boat, you cant fight the wind as there is always too much "sail area" for that. Rather than fight it, I just work with it and let it push me over the fish, using the electric motor to control the drift a bit. Doing that with my rig, I was able to secure my families yearly fish supply (12 quart vacuum-sealed freezer bags) of Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, and Walleye fillets in just 4 days last week up on the St Lawrence river. Just like hunting, sport is a secondary reason why I fish, food is the primary reason.

Water was a key element in both Adirondack deer that I managed to harvest over the last 5 or 6 years. The first was a big doe I took with my ML, on private land, up on an oak-covered ridge, near a small lake about 30 miles from the northern edge of the Adirondack park. I knew there were deer in the area, having heard some "snorts" while out fishing on the lake. The next morning, I snuck up into the general area before daylight, but when I saw several deer after daybreak, they were on the next ridge, and well beyond the effective 125 yard range of my in-line ML. Persistance pays off however, and the following year, I was right up on that ridge at sunrise, as a group of 5 antlerless deer ascended towards my position. The largest doe was out front, clearly the leader of the group. When she reached about 30 yards and stood broadside, I put a bullet behind her shoulder. This was an extremely remote area, and I have to believe this was the first encounter these deer had with a hunter, based on her reaction after taking the bullet. She calmly walked closer to me, stopping about 10 yards away, staring in apparent disbelief. Soon her knees began to buckle, and she tumbled down the steep incline. Clearly she had no clue what had hit her. With no snow and extremely noisy walking conditions, that harvest was completely dependent on being in the right place at the right time, based on a food source. The buck I killed right on the Northern edge of the park, 2 years ago was on the far bank of a creek, a mile or so above a beaver dam. That was late in rifle season, when downed leaves and a complete blanket of snow made visibility much easier. From high up on a ridge, I could see that buck coming from miles away, as he walked along the opposite bank of the creek. His body was so big, that at first I thought it was a moose. I missed on my first well-rested shot with my 30/06, probably because it came from a cold, lubricated barrel, complicated by a little "buck fever". My second shot, taken offhand when he reached the next opening, also missed. By divine providence, he must have heard that second shot, above the noise of crashing ice along the creek from the late morning sun. He stopped just as I reached a perfect branch to rest my heavy rifle on. My third shot, from a rested and warmed barrel, hit him just right, traveling diagonally thru his chest, dropping him in his tracks from a range of about 300 yards. Good luck with your hunting up there, it gets pretty addicting, especially after you taste some of the venison. I will keep hunting up there as long as I am able. Keeping yourself in top physical shape helps out a lot, as there is a ton of ground to cover (largest block of public land in the lower 48), and it takes considerable effort to reach the higher elevations. You might also want to concentrate more on the edges of the park, where more food means more deer.

If your goal is to take any Adirondack whitetail, you can greatly improve your odds making your hunt during the 1 week ML season. Does are legal then. If you wait for rifle season, it will be bucks only, which are far less common. Key on the food sources. Look for white oaks on ridges. Don't overlook thick, brushy areas close to the roads, especially if overgrown pastures are nearby. Old apple orchards are another hot-spot, as are pine trees near swampy creek-bottoms. Later in the season, when there is snow, tracking is very popular. Sometimes "backtracking" is effective to learn the feeding patterns, then setup an ambush a few days later. Still hunting with a good pair of binoculars has accounted for many an Adirondack buck and it is a lot easier against a snowy white background. You can get a taste at what the scenery up there adds to the hunting experience by viewing some of the videos Robin has posted in this section. It is so awesome, that actual deer encounters are not necessary to enjoy the hunt, and come home happy. Of course, when you do manage to bag one up there, you get a little taste of what Heaven must be like. I have only sent a couple deer to Heaven up there (one doe and one nice buck, the heaviest one I have ever taken), but those stand out in my memory far more than any of the those I have taken in the flatlands of Western NY. Personally, I would take an Adirondack deer hunt over anything else this world has to offer.

I put in about (4) acres of field corn with my old 2-row planter on the weekend before Memorial day. Germination was excellent at near 100%. I just got back from a ride around the plots with my mountain bike and they are looking kind of sad with the lack of rain. Fortunately, the weeds are also doing poorly. If and when we get some rain, everything will probably take off. As soon as it does, I am going to take care of the weeds by cultivating, and spraying roundup on the rows only. I always use free RR seed-corn, leftover from farmer-friends a year or two prior. Hopefully we will get some rain soon as the current drought conditions are bad, and every time rain has been predicted, very little or none has came. The only plants that look good at our place are those around the house that I can reach with a hose. I think I will put up a portable stand by my pond on the back 40. It has always held water through even the driest years. That will keep my bases covered if this drought lasts until fall and the corn don't grow. Every year I have had good corn, our venison supply has been plentiful. I have a feeling that water will be worth more than corn this fall however.

Make the x-bow legal at the start of archery season and the antlerless population could likely be brought under control by hunters in one season in those over-run zones. I could have filled 4 tags with one in 9F last year, but they had all gone nocturnal by the last two weeks when x-bow opened up. We have the tools, but they won't let us use them at the right time. The state politicians still have a couple more days left in session to enact "full inclusion". My guess is they won't do it and population control this year will again be left mainly to the motorists and coyotes. Fortunately my new car is light weight and has great brakes. Had I been driving my old pickup, I would have taken out a doe this morning on the way to work. Drive careful folks, especially when traveling in these zones where the DEC has been struggling. Maybe give a few last minute calls to your reps to get this thing (x-bow full inclusion) passed.

Head shots, wow, anybody taking that bait? Not too many went for the "arrow kills are unethical stuff", so why not ramp it up a bit on your second last post on the thread (math is tough too I guess). Speaking of head shots, anyone see the third episode of Roots on the History channel? There were a couple of great scenes there with the argument at the fancy dinner followed by the duel.

All healing comes from God and you are on the right track asking Him for some and for asking for some prayers from others. You got a prayer from me and a bunch from others by the looks of these posts. No request is too small or to great to ask of God for there are no limits on what He can do. Jesus does not just "practice" medicine or treat symptoms, He delivers healing. He only uses suffering to make his loved ones stronger, and that sounds like the situation you find yourself in now. Rest assured that He ALWAYS turns all things for good to those who love him.