wolc123

That it certainly did and it’s been a long time since the Good Lord blessed me as heavily as he did that Tuesday evening. I finished process it last night, and it’s been about (5) years since our freezer has been in as good of shape, as it is right now. My wife will need ti cook up the big turkey that she has in it, to make room for any more venison. It’s definitely my PB ML buck, and the first deer that I’ve been able to take from my polar tree blind. I can’t believe that there’s no damage to its rack. There’s so many bucks for every doe, thru the rut in those area doe to heavy antlerless nussance permit harvest, the late racks are usually pretty busted up. I’m glad to see the warmup on the forecast, not only to make our hunting more comfortable, but also so I can get that power -washer raw euro finished. It’s tough to do that in below freezing temperatures. Maybe, I’ll have a second one by then also. Good luck to you if you get out. I’ve got my tractor block heater warming up now, so I can throw the butchering remains out on the carcass pile, and I’m heading out to skin the head.

I’m hoping for (2) more deer thru the Holiday week. That’s about all I could jam into our freezers and (4) hearts would be just right for my wife to pickle for me on Valentine’s Day.

Merry Christmas everyone. Things are going to start getting hectic tomorrow but it was a nice relaxing day for butchering today. i normally like to hang them at least (7) days to get past rigor mortis but I went at (6) on this one today because there’s too much Christmas stuff going on tomorrow. I ground all but the back-straps and tenderloins and it died quickly so it shouldn’t be too tough. At least I didn’t need to do any Christmas shopping for my wife. She’s getting (21) 2-1/2 lb packs of grind and (6) packs of back-straps for Christmas from me. It was nice not having to fight traffic or crowds at the stores but the vacuum wrapping took longer than expected. She usually handles that part.

This was definitely an odd year for sightings, especially over at my parents place. They have lots of heavy cover over there, but I didn’t see a deer there after killing a mature doe on the first evening of the early antlerless gun season. I’ve never seen the swamp in the middle of the woods over there as dry as it was this year either, and I’m thinking that had something to do with my lack of sighting over there. Our place here is mostly open fields, so it’s understandable why the deer are mostly not seen by day after the guns start going off. That hasn’t been the case at my parents though, until this year. They are definitely ramping up the daytime field activities at home now though, which is one of the biggest reason that the Holiday season so appeals to me this year. I’ve got some serious making up for lost time to do.

As a poor working stiff, a particularly nice thing about that week for me, is getting to take advantage of the paid Holidays from work and not needing to use vacation days, in order to hunt. They gave us a couple extra Holidays this year, because we exceeded our production quota, for the year. That meant that I only needed to use two personal vacation days, in order to have the whole Holiday week off. This won’t be such a big deal, after I retire in about five years, but it’s huge right now. It means I can spend a few more warm weather vacation days with my family, yet still get my hunting time in. Also, seeing how I’m mostly in this for the meat, it much easier handling and maintaining the quality of that when it’s cold outside. I think this past week, was really the only decent one that we had, for inside our insulated garage aging. I can only fit one deer at a time in my deer fridge, so it sure is nice when I can age them in the garage. The temps thru the Holiday week are also looking good for that. Hopefully, I’m able to being down a few more, and take advantage of that.

I haven’t got a deer in the Holiday season since the first one. I didn’t even see a deer during last year’s, which I blame mostly on my own corn plots up north, and my buddy’s down in the southern tier, both being total failures then. Each of us have bumper crops of standing corn this year and I am more excited than ever for the Holiday season. I also still have a buck tag, (4) doe tags one of which can be used anywhere in the state, and all (7) days of that season off of work and available to hunt this year. My primary ML seems to be right about on the mark, after a successful gorilla glue stock repair, after last Holiday season, and striking 3/4” from my aim point from 120 yards on a fine 8-pointer last Tuesday evening. I’m planning on hitting it real hard and hopefully punching a few more of my (5) remaining tags. I called in my punched tag from Tuesday’s buck to the DEC yesterday and even that often tedious process went very well. After a dismal, worst ever regular gun season, my deer sightings are definitely on the upswing lately. (4) of my (14) available hunts are planned to be at my buddy’s southern tier camp next weekend. I haven’t been there in a few years and I am really looking forward to it. His brother has a new 4wd pickup truck and He is planning on driving me down there. I no longer own a registered 4wd and getting down there has been a bit of an issue for me for that reason and due to weather the last few years. I’m also glad to see a good uptick in the temperatures in the forecast thru most of the Holiday season. That will make it considerably more comfortable out there. Most of the rest of my Holiday hunts will probably be here at home, where my standing corn, turnip, and winter wheat plots are really starting to earn their keep. My neighbor wants to do a few drives on the last day. He’s got a couple young son in laws and a son willing to do most of the pushing. I’ll also hit my parents a few more times, where they are starting to see a little more action on the wheat plot over there. If I manage to fill my last buck tag (it’s been close to 10 years since I filled both of those), I’ll may switch over to my old sidelock Traditions Fox River 50, to try and try to punch a doe tag with that. I’ve never got a deer with that but it’s a fun little lightweight gun to carry. Even though our freezer will be in real good shape, after I finish processing Tuesday’s Buck later today, I’m looking forward to this years Holiday season more than any prior. One other reason for that might be the fact that I got a little score to settle. I suffered my first ever vehicular damage to my previously spotless Chevy suv on my drive to work a couple weeks ago, when a doe ran into my passenger side fender. There are way more deer around locally than there should be and I am in as good of a position as I’ve ever been to do something about that. When it’s all said and done on January 2, I hope to have my cost of boneless venison back down under $ 1 per pound where it should be, after subtracting all input costs. I love venison and so does my wife and kids. It will be great to get a break from the ridiculous grocery store prices on meat.

I’d say $150.

These two, a doe from September and a buck from Tuesday, will put the freezer in good shape, but there’s definitely going to be room for another one or two in there. December 26 can’t get here soon enough.

Good first day and last day, and kind of lame in between. Looking forward to Holiday ML season and planning to hunt all (7) days of that.

I managed to get out of work on time, hit a few lights just right on the drive home, and make it into my tree stand in the first hedgerow behind our house, 1/2 hour before sunset on December 17, the last day of SZ regular ML season. 29 minutes later, this 8-pointer stepped out into my awp/wheat/clover plot, 120 yards away. I cranked the old Redfield on my 0mega 50 cal up to the max zoom of 7x, centered the crosshairs behind his shoulder, and squeezed off the shot. He trotted towards my pond, 90 yards away, and piled up 10 yards short of it. Stomach was full, chest taped at 39-1/2”. I’m guessing 2.6 or 3.6 yrs old. I think it’s the same buck that I missed with my crossbow in early November, when my bolt deflected off a corn stalk. I wasn’t entirely sure I missed him clean then, but there wasn’t a nick or blemish anywhere on him tonight, so I’m more certain now that I did.

1 minute before sunset buzzer beater 8-pointer tonight:

I’ve taken at least 3, 3.5 yr plus bucks from large blinds, including one from the upper deck of each of my two-story truck cap blinds, and one from an 8 ft elevated 4’x4’ platform with 3rd barnwood walls on 3 sides. Those were all during the peak two weeks of the rut when they are not thinking clearly or at the top of their wits. The largest bodied one charged in shortly after I cleared about a foot deep of leaves that had accumulated in the upper section. There was a fresh scrape nearby and I think he thought that noise was another deer visiting the scrape. Certainly they are tougher to fool outside of those two weeks.

Don’t do it, get yourself a good blind with nice overhangs to catch the rain: I do it for the meat. I like the taste of free range venison better than beef and it’s way more fun than raising livestock or shopping.

Yeah but a full one with the slug that killed the buck is cool:

Looks pretty dumb to me.

I think the 2 or 3 formerly active members on this site who did that all left for the other site and only one of them was still pushing hard for the dems over there.

Now that a full 2nd amendment friendly Washington DC government has been voted into power, it shouldn’t be too long until abusive state laws, like NY’ s on ammo, are stricken down. Until then, it’s not too much trouble for me to pick out my ammo on one day and return for it a day or couple months later. I did that once this year and it was no problem. I have long been conserving my “real” ammunition by doing the bulk of my target practice with an adult stocked Daisy Red Ryder BB gun. I also have multiple selections of deer weapons available such that I can choose one I still have ammo for if a run out of ammo for another, and so far at least, ML bullets have not been restricted by the current un-constitutional NY ammo law .

I always use a neck shot as a finisher on deer that I have spined (about 6 times in 43 seasons). I killed (2) others that were broadside with neck shots and shotgun slugs, a big buck from 10 yards when that was all I had to shoot at and a doe from 80 yards with open sites when the slug missed my point of aim (front shoulder) by that much for reasons unknown to me. I also killed an Adirondack buck with a perfectly placed Texas heart shot with my 30/06 that broke the neck on exit and also cut a shallow groove across the bottom of the heart. I believe that shot was more ethical than a frontal or side neck shot because the margin of error on a kill was greater. That particular kill was also close to the cleanest that I ever had on a deer because the bullet really didn’t expand until it broke thru the neck on the way out the front. The guts came out as clean as a whistle. Normally, a bullet will expand slightly when it strikes the hide but there’s no hide over the anus. Most attempted Texas heart shots miss the mark by a slight amount, leading to a very messy gut job. I’ve not heard of anyone else placing that shot right on as I did on my only attempt.

Speaking as someone who has likely struck things on two of my last 3 shots deer this year, and missed them clean as a result, I say cut them branches asap.

24 shots heard so far here on the nw corner of wmu 9F. One 7 minutes one two minutes before legal. Just heard 25 & 26 real close . No deer seen yet.

Thank you for your service and same to all the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Merchant Marine veterans.

I’m packing that gun on that trip Thanksgiving NZ trip whether or not I still have a buck tag. It and my Remlin 336BL fits in one of my lockable hard sided gun cases (necessary during transport per NY Safe act) and I’ll bring my scoped Ruger M77 in my second hard case, if I still have my buck tag. If I punch that buck tag during the first week of the southern zone gun season at home, then I’ll bring my Ruger 10/22 in the second case and the side by side 16 ga. in the other. I’ll still bring slugs for that, in case I run into a black bear, but grouse and number 7-1/2’s will be the primary task. The .22 is for squirrels and coyotes.

I’ve checked my J. Stevens Springfield 16 ga side by side with slugs and they cross the bulls eye at 50 yards. Beyond that the right barrel hits to the left and the left barrel hits to the right. I’ve never fired it at a deer but I have carried it a few times in hopes of getting a shot at one. I probably will again this year (if I still have my buck tag) up in the NZ over Thanksgiving weekend.

It all depends on how the upcoming “last weekend” of crossbow season goes. If it’s anything like this past one, then it’s looking like I’m going to be hunting our home farm this year. I had been hunting my parents farm, around 20 miles away, for the last (7) years (except (2) years ago when a blizzard stranded me in southern CA). Last year, I didn’t even see a deer over there, on opening day of gun, nor did I last Sunday afternoon with my crossbow. There’s been a lot more deer action around home this year, where I have a much better selection of foodplots available to them including some excellent field corn.

I picked up a couple 9F’s at Runnings on 11/1.