wolc123

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.

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.

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.

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.