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wolc123

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  1. Our 10 and 11 years old daughters were getting into it a bit up a Grandpas cabin on thanksgiving weekend. The older one (on right) wanted to go out in he blind with me a for a little while the following weekend at home. We heated some apple cider on a little Coleman stove and watched for deer a while. She enjoyed herself but we didn't stay out to long in the cold. Santa is bringing her a bb-gun for Christmas, and mamma don't know about that yet.
  2. Unfortunately, there always has been and always will be some people in any sport who have no conscience or integrity. It amazes me to hear people say "they filled their wifes, grandfathers, daughters, etc. buck tags", or to hear shots an hour or more before or after legal sunset. Personally, I could not do those things and any deer harvested in such a way would haunt me the rest of my life. It is one thing to take some risk of wounding an animal with a long shot, etc. In more than 30 years of hunting I can think of only two shots that I knew I would make with 100% certainty and my gun misfired on one of them. It is quite another to blatantly disregard the law and label one's self as a poacher.
  3. It sounds to me like you are talking about gun season only. My suggestion would be to get yourself a modern in-line ML and hunt that season first in the Northern Zone. That will give you a buck/doe tag to use up there during that early one-week season, and you will still be able to use your regular tag in the southern zone. 2 bucks/year with guns total are allowed that way. If you take the bow-hunting course, then you can get another doe-only tag which can also be used in the Northern or Southern Zone. Most Southern zone's have one or two DMP (antlerless) tags available as well. Then you will also be able to use a crossbow in the northern zone for 2-weeks prior to the ML season up there. I like to take a 4 day weekend up north that covers the last two days of Archery season ad the first 2 of ML. Does are fairly plentiful up there in several areas I have hunted in zone 6c and taking one with either the crossbow or ML is not overly difficult most seasons. The following weekend this year I was able to fill my archery buck tag in the Southern zone with a 1-1/2 year 6-point. I usually skip the early part of gun season up north and save my gun tag down south unless a 2.5 year plus buck shows up down south before thanksgiving. That allows me to preserve my gun tag for another 4-day weekend over thanksgiving up north, where this year I was blessed with a 3.5 year plus Adirondack large-bodied 8-point. It sounds like you may be interests in harvesting bucks only. Personally, I prefer does as my primary concern is venison, but I have yet to have a good shot at one with any weapon in either zone. Tomorrow is my last chance at filling one or more of three remaining doe tags with the ML or crossbow and I plan on hitting it hard, all day long. Our freezer is full now with 2 bucks of my own and a third a buddy gave us early in archery season, but some of my friends and neighbors were skunked this year so I would like to help them out a bit if I can. The deer population in the southern zone I hunt is significantly higher than it should be and with the poor harvest we have had to this point, coupled with another mild winter as it looks like we are getting, the crop damage next year is going to be real bad.
  4. For me it is mainly the born-predator thing. I love fishing too, but not the "catch-and-release" type. To me, that is nothing but the senseless maiming of a fine food source. Some will say "keep them all and they will disappear, leaving none for future generations" That would only be true if the DEC took their hands off the ball and allowed folks to do whatever they wanted to. I cant think of too many other states where the "free meat" situation, thru the legal harvest of fish and game, is in better shape than it is in NY. If the numbers of any popular fish or game gets too low or high, the state has always made the needed adjustments. Nobody on this earth is perfect, but I haven't seen any other state, take careof us "meat-hunters", better than they do in NY. Without question, there are other states with better "trophy" possibilities when it comes to whitetails, and some get that way using controversial methods such a Antler Restrictions. So getting meat for my family is my top reason, and it is a lot more fun doing it thru hunting and fishing than it is by raising livestock or going to the grocery store. Anybody ever try to keep cattle and sheep water from freezing in the winter, shoveled manure all day long, paying vet bills, rushed to get hay in before the rain, or killed animals who thought you were their friend? How about fought the crowds in the grocery store checkout lines, to buy meat products that is often downed dairy cattle (90% lean grind?), often which has been fed growth hormones or who knows what. What about paying the big bucks to get the "organic" stuff. In this state, that is not necessary. It don't take a lot of effort for me alone to gather up with most of the protein our family needs without doing any of that unpleasant stuff. Not only is that protein a lot more fun to gather, do in part to scenery which again, tops that of just about any other state, but it is also healthier than that which the stores provide.
  5. I Might give one a try next year also, sounds good. I stumbled into a new area to hunt this gun season up north where such a seat would be perfect. My cheap little red folding camp chair did ok this year but was very limited on the shot angle. Thanks for the info
  6. I use them in both my .50 cal ML T/C Omega with 100 grains 777, and my 12 gauge shotgun (2-3/4"). Accuracy is great from each. They have always performed excellent inside the deer, except for one time I pushed the range limit too far with the (ML) at 175 yards, and there was insufficient velocity left for proper expansion. That 12 gauge shotgun sabot has plenty of energy to do the job there, but 163 is my longest with that. I would have no problem using it at 175 yard with the shotgun as long as the other conditions were right (wind, rest, still, etc.) That long ML shot may have hit just about where I aimed, at the quartering away buck, but he showed no sign of a hit at the shot. There was no blood or hair at all, and I followed the tracks for about 400 yards on fresh snow, until I lost the trail, and I wrongly assumed a miss (anybody out there perfect?). The crows helped me find him about a week later, about 100 yards from where I lost the trail, in some very heavy cover, half eaten by coyotes. I have limited that ML combo to under 150 yards, from then on where it has done well every time, putting the deer down in its tracks about 1/2 the time, and down within 50 yards the other half, most shot center-lung. That lost buck was one of two deer that I was not able to recover in about 30 years of hunting. That one taught me the importance on knowing the range limitation of your weapon/ammo combo. I did stumble a bit there this year with the crossbow, due to a slight error in range estimation, but I was fortunately blessed with a low hit (to the heart) in just about the only spot at 60 yd that could drop the buck quick with such little penetration (8") from my little 135 lb draw, 300 fps crossbow. I am not sure how the SST does on the shoulder blade, as I have always shot behind, being a meat-driven hunter, and the thru-the-ribcage shot takes out very little useful meat. I know lots of the Antler-driven "trophy-hunting" folks like the shoulder blade shot as they usually prefer the instant drop with little care for lost meat. It would be interesting to hear how the SST does on those bone-crushing shots.
  7. Fewest sightings ever for me also, hunting in the Northwest part of the state and the upper Adirondacks. I got lucky they say on 2 of the 3 bucks I saw, one with crossbow, one with rifle (both posted in crossbow harvest thread). No does in range thru archery or gun seasons. Hopefully they show this weekend for late ML, but I will have to give them away as the freezer is stuffed now with buck meat. A lot of my friends and neighbors were skunked this year, more than I ever remember.
  8. I have rarely driven a road in NY state where the average speed of traffic was less than 5 mph above the posted limit, unless there was poor weather conditions or congestion caused by volume or accidents, etc. . Driving below the speed-limit would be more likely to cause an accident especially on the highway, even though to not do so is "technically" illegal, than keeping up with the normal traffic flow. This makes "bending the law", by 5-10 mph, the lesser of two evils. This is a case of common sense trumping the law. Another reason for the lack of enforcement in the 1-10 mph over range at highway speeds is to allow for some calibration inaccuracy of radar and speedometers. I am fairly certain that I would not start hunting before sunrise, or continue after. For a few years I never put bullets in my gun in the morning. My second year hunting, I took my first buck about 30 seconds after legal sunrise. There were no slugs in my grandpas old Ithaca 37, 16 ga. pump, as I heard him approach from in the adjacent jungle. I had a slug in my right hand as the seconds were ticking down. Just as he broke out of the brush, just below my tree stand, I shoved the slug in from the bottom of the receiver and prayed that it would get into the chamber as I slammed the action forward. That frightening sound, so often portrayed in movies and cop shows, stopped him in his tracks, and he looked up just in time to catch the muzzle flash, feel the crush on his shoulder and hear the blast. For a many years after that I loaded the gun in the dark, as soon as I got into the stand, but was never tempted with taking a shot before legal sunrise time as was listed in the local paper. I cant say for sure that if a monster buck appeared I would not have shot, especially if I had heard a few go off already. It was always interesting to hear when that first shot was taken on opening day. I could picture the game-warden honing in on it and heading right for the spot. In later years, I noticed that more often than not, deer were spooked in he dark on the way in. I prefer to wait until legal sunrise now before staring, and still-hunt my way to the stand. I feel a little safer that way also, with some ding-a-ling less likely to shoot me in the dark. For evening hunts, I sometimes reverse that procedure and allow enough time before legal local sunset to still-hunt my way out. Usually however, I watch the last second tick down, then remove the bullets / arrow, and walk out. The season before last my third largest buck ever tested that limit also, but made it just a few seconds under the wire. I had taken a button buck in the morning and a good friend gave me another one, almost identical. They were both fat and well-fed, probably 75 lbs or so field dressed each. The woods behind my house had been alive with gunfire that opening day morning (only one of the shots was mine). I do all my own butchering, and a warm stretch of weather was coming, so I was not all that enthused about an afternoon hunt, especially behind the house where there had been so much commotion that morning. Nonetheless, it was opening day, I still had my buck tag, so late in the afternoon, I headed across the road to the big woods over there where it had been quite in the morning. I climbed up in a stand, with grandpas old 16-gauge, up in a pine tree, on the edge of some heavy cover, and started reading a little Bible I carry in my pack. I saw another hunter cross thru about 100 yards away, a few squirrels, but nothing else. With about 2 minutes of legal time left, the Bible slipped from my hands and fell to the ground, about 15 feet below. Since the meat-hooks in the garage were loaded now, I decided to pack it up a couple minutes early. With the loaded gun in my right hand, I carefully made my way down the steps (sorry for the safety violation here folks, please don't come down on me too hard). When I got down, I crouched down and reached for the Bible with my left hand. Just then, I heard crashing sounds in the thick cover from all sides. I looked up to see that a flock of turkeys had descended right on my position. Some were less than 5 yards away. They had not seen my blaze-orange jacket because of the heavy cover I was in. Had I still been up in that tree, they never would have got that close, as turkey season had just ended the previous day. I looked at my watch and there was just under a minute to go. Just then I caught movement about 7 yards, straight ahead. The wide, high 8-point rack, head and neck of a nice 2-1/2 year old buck was right there. The deer in these woods often like to hang with the turkeys to gain the advantage of their superior eyesight, while the turkeys don't mind them hanging around to capitalize on the deer's better sense of smell I suppose. I lifted the gun swiftly, put the crosshairs on the center of the neck, and dropped him right there in his tracks. There were about 15 seconds to go. I emptied the other 4 shells, gutted him quick, and had him to the edge of the woods before it got pitch black dark. Thankfully I have lights on my loader-tractor, so getting him the rest of the way home was no big deal.
  9. Crossbows were legal implements during this season, but we used something else. This Adirondack buck (town of Fine) was the heaviest and probably the oldest buck I have ever taken. The 8-point rack was decent, but not huge. The teeth were so worn, that most of the acorns stuffing his belly were barely chewed. I will ask the taxidermist for the exact age when I talk to him next. I probably would not have gotten him mounted were he not the first buck and my in-laws new camp, and all the "special" help I had in the harvest and recovery. For the second consecutive time this season, the good Lord guided the shot to exactly the right place (diagonally thru the rib cage from about 300 yards, just below the backstraps to not ruin any of the "good stuff"). The 150 grain Federal 30/06 bullet out of the Ruger M77 put him down in his tracks.
  10. My respect for the animal is constant. My main purpose for hunting is to get meat, and I don't care a whole lot about antlers (I will have to spring for another mount this year for my big, old Adirondack rifle buck however). That shot was a bit of a stretch also, with my 30/06 at about 300 yards, but I had practiced up to 400 with that gun at least. I will try and post a picture of him on in the crossbow gallery if it is ok. That wasn't my largest rack, but probably the heaviest and oldest buck I have ever taken. The teeth were so worn that most of the acorns stuffing his belly were not even chewed. I will have to ask the taxidermist the age. Without a doubt, I will take more chances with an empty freezer. My wife, two fast-growing daughters and myself all love venison. How was your season this year? I know it is easy for folks to slam successful hunters, out of jealousy, if they didn't do so well themselves, but hang in there, next year will be better. ML season also has a ways to go this year. My best advise for being successful, hunting or anywhere else, is to stay right with the Lord. Practice, read, put in lots of time, but you are only going to get that deer if the man upstairs wants you to. I am 2/2 since being "born again" this past summer. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
  11. I cant wait to get out in the cold with mine this weekend to try and fill some of my antlerless tags. I tagged out on bucks, but the does never got into range for me during early archery or gun season. I will take a doe over a buck on the table any day. Inside 40 yards, I see it as more effective than a ML and it is a lot easier to clean. Best thing to hit NY since rifled slug barrels. I also prefer arrow killed deer over bullet killed deer because less meat is destroyed, and that is the # 1 reason I hunt. We gots to eat.
  12. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how much more effective the x-bow is for deer hunting. I would say about 4X. The effective range just about doubles. No worry about spooking deer while drawing. Any gun hunter knows how much more accurate it is to shoot from a rest than offhand and most crossbow shots can be done from a rest. Crossbows have coma a long way recently. The one I shoot (Barnett Recruit) cost just $250, launches a bolt at 300 fps with just a 135 lb draw weight. It is as quite as any compound I have shot and weighs in at just over 6 lbs. With its small, narrow (18" undrawn) front end, and light weight. it handles and points as easy offhand as my Ruger 10/22 carbine. I only shot it once this season, and it put the buck down in 40 yards from 60 yards away. I wouldn't shoot at another that far, as penetration was marginal at just 8" but fortunately that took it all the way thru the heart. I cant imagine a much more effective 40 yard weapon however. For me, with a full time job, family and farm to take care of, the greatest advantage of the crossbow is the time it saves me. To maintain "pie-plate" accuracy at 30 yards was a year round job for me requiring many hours of practice. I was getting "golf-ball" accuracy at 40 yards the day I put the crossbow together. Compounds are fine for the folks who are young, single, with lots of spare time. The crossbow gives the rest of us a far more efficient method of harvesting deer. I always struggled to understand why anyone would want to challenge themselves at the expense of a deer using stuff like recurves and longbows. Why not use the most lethal, effective, legal tool that you can afford? I hope it is not too long before NY lets us use the crossbow throughout archery season.
  13. I have been taking a little slack on this site for taking this shot, which at 60 yards, was 20 yards further than I had practiced with my Barnett Recruit ($250, 300 fps, 135 lb draw, 125 gr. 3-blade o-ring type mech. broadhead). The 1-1/2 year 6-point ran 40 yards and dropped dead after the shot. Range is not everything, and all the other variables that go into whether or not a shot is successful were just about perfect. It was Veteran's day morning, peak rut time. There was no wind, he was broadside and posing like a tom turkey, trying to impress a pair of 1-1/2 year old does. I had a very good rest, and the shot was clear, across an open hay field. I did make a 10 yard mistake in my estimate, as I guessed him to be at 50 yards. I aimed just below the spine, behind the shoulder, using the middle dot on the stock sight. The arrow hit low, penetrated thru the heart, and about 8 inches total. Like Clint Eastwood says: "you got to know your limitations", and I think I know mine, with this outfit, after my first shot at a deer. The good Lord put the arrow in the right spot. Anywhere else would probably not have had such happy ending. I will limit future shots with this outfit to about 40 yards.
  14. When I took that shot, I guessed it to be about 50 yards. I didn't think that was too much of a stretch based on the extreme accuracy I had obtained at 40. My aim point was just below the spine, at the top of the lungs. Apparently the middle dot, on the Barnett stock sight that I used, was for 50 yards, as the bolt struck about 10" low, but right on left/right. The buck was absolutely fixed in position, posing like a tom turkey for a pair of un-bred does, and thus very firmly distracted. Everything about the shot was perfect except the range and I admit an error in judgement there. I always limited my compound shots to 30 yards and I have had a few bad experiences wit "string jump" there. The only time I had those was when the buck or doe was alert, because I grunted or rattled him in or a glimpse of the draw was caught in the periforal vision. With a crossbow, the draw thing is obviously a non-issue. At beyond 50 yards, hearing the bow release is not likely. The odds of that buck "jumping" the arrow was as near zero as one could ever expect. My biggest problem with the shot at that range with tat small crossbow was arrow penetration. On a broadside shot like that, pass thru should be the rule. 8 inches is sub-par. Someday I may upgrade to a faster, heavier draw model. Has anyone had any experience with one that would punch thru at 60 yards?. I would love it if I had opportunities for closer shots, but I didn't this year, and on the last day I could crossbow hunt, I was willing to go with a shot I figured I had better than 3/4 chance of making. Now that the freezer is near capacity after gun season, I will need to be at about 9/10 to take the shot. 40 yards and under will be the rule. A man has got to know his limitations. I have a pretty good idea of mine.
  15. I bought a Barnett Recruit this year ($250, 135lb draw, 300 fps). I did not see hardly any deer during the 2-week southern zone season. The last day I was able to hunt (Veterans Day), I finally got a chance at a 1-1/2 year old, 6 point buck that field dressed 165 pounds. The range was far (60 yards) and about 20 yards beyond any I had practiced. I had an o-ring type 3-blade, 125 grain mechanical broadhead. The buck was standing like a statue, and the shot was across an open field, and from a good rest. I aimed a little high, using the second dot on the factory site, and took the shot. The arrow struck thru the heart and penetrated about 8 inches total based on the broken shaft and broadhead inside the chest cavity. I was very impressed with this cheap little crossbow which has greatly exceeded my expectations on both the practice range and on the deer compared to any compound I have used. I would like to see the state give us the whole archery season. What can we do to get that done? The early part of the season would be the best time for me to fill my antlerless tags.
  16. Sometimes you can get a little piece of something stuck on the diaphragm of the pump. They are pretty easy to take apart and clean. I had already got a new one when mine was acting up, but just before I thru away the old one (about 10 years old), I took apart the pump and found one tiny spec on the diaphragm. I cleaned it off, put it back together and now it works like a charm.
  17. I saw fewer deer this year than any of the last of the last 32 that I hunted. Fortunately, I was able to capitalize on 2 of 3 bucks that got within range, and both of those were a stretch (60 yard with crossbow - measured, 300 yard with rifle - approximate). That resulted in roughly 400 pounds of field-dressed whitetail total which was my second best to date. I still have three doe tags, but to this point, from the start of the Southern zone x-bow season, I have only seen a couple and well out of range. I would prefer to shoot does and fawns, but my family relies heavily on the venison so I take what I can get. I am thankful to have passed up a spindly little 4-point with the shotgun at home, as that allowed me to take a heavy, old 8-point a few days later up in the mountains. When I gutted that Adirondack 8-point, I saw the answer to the question of this thread. The belly was stuffed with acorns like I have never seen. Most were not even chewed (the old boys teeth were probably too wore down for that). I believe we are seeing a record acorn crop across NY state this year. Since that favorite food is so abundant, there is no need for deer to travel far during the daylight, putting themselves at risk. An odd thing is that the big ones seem to be falling in larger numbers, but the 1-1/2 year buck, doe, and fawn numbers are way down. Our local taxidermist has almost double what he had last year, while the local butcher has about half. I doubt we will see acorns like this again for a while, so next year should be real good, and I would not be surprised to see a record harvest in the state. It looks like we are getting another mild winter so most of those that survived this season should still be around. I saw more crop damage on my farm in the Southern zone this year than I ever did (the acorns were not ripe in time to save the sweet-corn and pumpkins), so I know that the deer numbers are high. They have no reason to come out in the daylight now with their acorn-stuffed bellies. With the extremely low doe kill we had this gun season, I am not going to bother planting any pumpkins or sweet-corn next year. Instead, I will put in a little more field-corn, soybeans, clover, and brassicas.
  18. It was my worst season ever when it comes to number of deer seen, but best ever in terms of meat in the freezer. My buddy gave me a big, 200 lb field-dressed 2-1/2 year 8-point near the end of bow season. I didn't start hunting until crossbow opened and saw only 4 does and 2 bucks during the 2 weekends of that season. I did manage to get an arrow thru the heart of the second buck, a fat, 165 lb field-dressed 1-1/2 year 6-point. That was the first of three opportunities at any deer that I had this year. The best one was the last one, up in the Northern zone over the long thanksgiving- weekend. I passed on a scrawny little 4-point at home, the week prior, and that was the only deer I saw in the Southern Zone during gun season. In 12 years, all I had seen up North were loads of does. This year, not a one. Other years they would walk right past me, almost taunting me, knowing they were safe, in the area where only bucks may be taken. I had saved my buck tag in hopes of one of them big mountain bucks I had heard about but never seen. My father in law, who doesn't hunt, had been visiting a big group of does and fawns up on a pine covered hill top, every day for a week before our family got up there Thanksgiving day. They were gone when he took me up there the next morning, probably sick of the harassment in the desolate area. The next morning, I set up on a high ridge, about a mile downwind of that bedding area. My mother in law makes a mean breakfast, and always serves between 9:30 and 10:00. By 9:15, the sun was hitting the creek below, causing the ice to crack, and I was getting ready to pack it up. I thought that the breaking ice would deter any deer activity in the valley below. One last look up the creek-bed, and I saw an approaching brown shape, at a range of over a mile, along the creek to my left. It was moving slow, and frequently disappearing behind the thick underbrush. When it crossed an opening a little closer, but still far out of range, I saw horns. It was then out of view for a long time behind heavy cover, and I thought it may have taken another trail. I positioned my chair for the best angle at an opening along the creek that would put it the closest to me, if it did continue on course, at a range of about 300 yards. I cranked the scope all the way up to 9x. It did appear in that opening, but did not fall at my first, well-rested shot. Nor did it fall at my second, hurried shot from an offhand position. I followed along the ridge, and it paused in the next little opening, just as I was able to rest against a tree. I held steady, right below the back-line and just behind the shoulder. It just "disappeared" after that third shot. I watched for about 5 minutes with no sign of the deer. I noted a big, lone pine tree along the creek-bank near where he had stood. I said a short prayer, that I would find the deer, then set out on the long hike back down the ridge, to the gravel road, across the creek, and back up the other side, into the thick pine forest. I left my bright red chair up on the ridge to help get my bearings from the other side. It seemed to take an hour to get to a point where I could see that chair from the other side. Then longer to finally see that pine tree along the creek. The brush on that side was so thick that visibility was less than 10 yards. When I did get that close to the pine, there at the base was the big 8-point. He was on his side, sprawled out, with eyes wide open. I stuck the muzzle of the loaded rifle in his eye and he didn't blink. There was not a drop of blood on him or on the 4" of fresh snow. I rolled him over and no marks or blood on the other side either. When I gutted him, the stomach was jammed full of acorns, most of them not even chewed. The lungs were all red mush, and a single 150 gr bullet had broken the second last rib, dead center and passed diagonally across, lodging inside the hide, near the arm-pit on the opposite side. Until I skinned him a few days later, I thought all three may have hit as there were two other holes, next to the broken rib, visible from the inside. They must have been cause by bone fragments. I called my Father in law on the cell phone and he got as close as he could with his ATV, but it was still the most difficult 1/2 mile or so drag, and by far the heaviest deer I have ever taken. We had no scale up there, but the rib cage, thrown on the same waste pile at home, dwarfs that of the 200 pounder my buddy had given me earlier. My 6-point almost fits right inside of it. I finally got around to breakfast around 1:30 that afternoon. The antlers are decent, but not overly impressive, compared to some I have taken in the Southern zone. I am guessing he had some years on him, and I am sure the taxidermist can give me a good estimate from the teeth. They must be pretty worn down by the looks of all them whole acorns in his stomach. I don't have a whole lot of motivation to get out there now, but I still have 3 antlerless tags to try and fill during ML season this weekend, so I will give it a go. I like that crossbow a lot and that is what I will pack. Maybe a doe or fawn will finally get within range for me, which has not happened yet this year.
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