wolc123

I made it thru another day with no deer sightings, making 8 straight. Just one more hunt to go, in the morning. I’ll be going to the stream-bottom spot, which is where I’ve seen the most deer here over the last 10 seasons, but never killed one. I have been doing this (9) day hunt/fish-cation up here for the last 5 or so years and have never made it all the way thru without seeing any deer. One year I made it up on Friday, with enough daylight left to catch the last hour of crossbow season. I saw (3) antlerless deer, standing on the main camp driveway, on my walk in and that was it for that trip. Last year I saw the most, stumbling into a herd of 10-12 on my walk in one morning, about 45 minutes before sunrise. 3 days later, on my last Sunday morning, I went back to that spot and again spooked (2) out, before legal light. I sat there anyhow, and a “just barely legal” spike buck came in and tempted me with a 30 yards broadside shot (I passed). i would put my odds of seeing a deer tomorrow at about 20 %, and my odds of killing a buck, with 3 or more points on a side, at about 5%. It’s too far of a walk to carry my camp chair. It’s supposed to rain again tomorrow, so I’ll have to suffer a wet butt, with my tree hammock chair under my tree umbrella. It catches runoff from the tree. Since it’s my last day for hunting up here, I don’t mind if my bibs get wet. I won’t be needing them again until crossbow season opens at home on November 4. I’ll hang them out in my hunting room when I get home and they will be dry by then. It stopped raining here at about 10:00 today. I hunted till noon, went back for lunch, then helped my father in law with some pre-winter projects. We went over to see our buddy, at the far end of lake, about the incident at the gate the other day. A big old overhead structure almost came down on my father-in-law. I bruised my left upper arm a little, while up on an extension ladder, holding it back. I held it, until he got his tractor bucket against it, then I screwed down a support brace. We were very fortunate that no one got seriously injured or killed. Our buddy said that he had a new blade on his chainsaw, and why don’t we just go cut it all down. We went back with my father in laws loader tractor, chains, a long rope, and the plow truck. It took us about an hour to cut down the old structure and clean up the mess. We even yanked out the offending new pole, which was improperly on the disgruntled neighbor's property. That little dispute turned out to be a “blessing in disguise” because without that new pole holding up the old rotted overhead gate structure, it may have fallen and killed someone. Had the new pole not been on the neighbor’s property, we never would have known how rotted the old structure was. Even though we got all the work done, I skipped the evening hunt for 5 reasons: 1) my freezers pretty full at home 2) It started raining again 3) The local deer have been missing in action 4) It’s shower night 5) I wanted to clean my ML. All this stuff is gone now ^, except for the rock gate post bases. My father in law and his buddy are already planning an elaborate new gate structure, none of which will be on the disgruntled neighbor’s property.

I still have it and have been using it all week. It’s no good in heavy rain though, because it collects the runoff from the tree and gives me a wet butt. I do miss the swivel feature with the camp chair though. The camp chair is just as comfortable, after I get it blocked up and level. Definitely a pain to carry, compared to the hammock seat, but quieter and faster to take down. One of the plastic teeth on the clip on my tree hammock has been broke off for about the last (5) years. I always need to made sure I buckle it with the good tooth on top, or it lets go when I sit in it I always pile up the leaves under it, just in case the other tooth breaks off. Clearing then leaves under my feet also makes for a quiet turn, when the deer shows up behind me. I definitely like the full 360 degree shooting from the tree hammock. All of my raised blinds have swivel office chairs on them, for the same reason. The only time I can’t shoot, in any direction, is when it’s raining and I’m in that camp chair, or in one of my two ladder stands or my two hang-ons.

I’m out up north for opening day with the bang stick today. Already have a freezer full of venison, thanks to early antlerless gun season back home, so I’ll definitely be looking to ruin a little meat with a shoulder blade shot today, if I get a chance for one . I also don’t like trying to follow a blood trail in the rain. It’s nice and dry, here under my tree umbrella, but the rain is showing no signs of letup. I brought along plenty of hot cider and candy bars. I may hang out here till past noon. I’m not really looking forward to the heavy lifting that my father in law has planned for me later in the barn, getting the back ring chains on his snow plow tractor. I also might be able to catch some “lunch push” action, from folks hunting the state land and the big hunting camp, just across the main road, from where I am right now. My wounds (cut my finger a little on a wood screw) are almost healed from one of the prior big jobs that I helped him with. My biggest problem, so far today, was building up the drink holder in my chair with enough broken sticks to hold up my cider cup. Now, if only a big buck don’t show up and spoil the peace and quiet.

It’s over a hour past sunset and I’m in my camp chair, under my tree umbrella, on the north edge of the south ridge. I’m about 150 yards from a main highway and there is a big block of state forrest, and a huge hunting camp, on the other side of that. There is a steady rain falling and the wind is steady from the sw at about 10 mph. I haven’t seen a deer up here thru all of ML week, but a small one got flattened on the road, within 200 yards of where I am now. My plan is to sit here until 11:30 or so. My odds of seeing a buck from this spot are probably better than anyplace else I can think of. (3) years ago today, I blew a chance at the biggest antlered buck I ever seen up here, about 200 yards to my east, along this ridge. I am also very close to the spot where I lost the trail of a one-antlered 2.5 year old buck, that I got a bad (high back) hit on last December. I also tracked a big doe and her fawn to this same spot, a few years before, after I missed her in the snow with my ML during the late season. So this seems to be the spot where they go when they are shot at, hit, or pressured. I’m in no condition to pressure any deer today myself, after a week of walking these hills and lots of “bull work” for my in laws, getting their place ready for winter. Hopefully, somebody else pushes one to me today. I have not heard any shots yet. I put my orange hat on top of my umbrella to hopefully keep anyone from “shooting at movement” from the taller ridge to my north. Not sure if that’s legal, but you can’t see the hat under the umbrella, so common sense trumped the law. I do wear the hat when walking in and out.

Ive never seen a moose in NY, but they have been reported all around the spot where I am hunting today, on opening day of rifle big game season, near the border of wmu 6C & 6F. I have hunted them in the pines up in Northern Quebec though. We used cone shaped calls made of birch bark to make a sound similar to what FL describes. I still have one of those moose calls somewhere. I can’t remember if that was supposed to represent the sound made by a rutting bull or a cow on heat.

Today was the last day of early ML season and I managed to get thru the whole week without seeing a single deer. I hunted the morning up on the north end of the east ridge (red sky in morning - what’s that mean ?), and the last hour at a spot close to the house. One glimmer of hope for opening day of rifle tomorrow though. My mother in law saw a small deer, that appeared to be flattened by a semi truck, just to the left of the driveway into camp. Maybe that means they are moving in. I’ll be hunting down that way tomorrow morning for opening day of rifle season. It sounds like it’s going to be a wet one, so I’m thankful I’ll have my rifle and not my ML. Keeping the powder dry would not be easy with that. Im sure that my tree umbrella is going to get plenty of use. I’ll probably carry in my camp chair also, because my tree hammock seat tends to collect runoff from the tree it’s attached to, during heavy rains. I’ll be hunting pretty close to where I’m parking the plow truck on the logging road, so it will be no big deal carrying in the chair. Hopefully, some “opening day” hunting pressure across the highway, on a big block of state forrest, will push a buck over onto our side. I’ll be looking for one with at least 3 points on its side, or clearly at least 2.5 years old. No need to “settle” for a smaller one, because our deer meat situation is ok at home, right now. Aside from hunting, we did finish up the last of the outside work, to get the place ready for winter. Fishing was tougher today than yesterday, but I did add one more smaller perch to the bucket, so I had (4) to fillet for my MIL. I also got (3) smallmouth 12-1/4” , 14”, 15”, all on the same 1/8oz bucktail jig that I used yesterday. High winds made the fishing tougher today. I caught them all anchored near the spot on the south end where they were hitting best yesterday. I tried trolling, once around the lake with a diving plug but no hits doing that. No more fishing for me on this trip. The 5-1/2 Johnson ran very well and is now stored in the shed, along with the other gear. The 14 ft rowboat is hauled up and flipped over for the winter, and the last docks are pulled up. The only heavy work that remains is getting the chains on my father in laws snowplow tractor. We can do that in the barn, so the rain shouldn’t be an issue.

Is it windy where you are at ? It’s blowing about 25 mph from the south, up here on the nw corner of the park. I’m going to still hunt my way up to the top of the ridge just to have a look around. If there’s anything up there, they will never hear me coming in this wind.

Same here. I know a lot of guys who hold off in the does because they expect a buck to be following. One time I shot a doe early on opening day of gun. Two bucks showed up 10 minutes after I discharged my ML on the doe. I dropped the bigger one right next to her carcass, with my backup gun (open sighted, short barreled Remington 870 smoothbore). That was the last deer that I killed with open sights. I’m going to try and do it again tomorrow, on Northern zone opening day of Rifle season, with my Remlin 336BL. I got to use that, because it’s supposed to rain all day, and my father in law don’t like me getting his scoped Marlin 336 wet. Today is my last chance to get a doe up here with my ML. It’s not looking too good, because I have not seen any sign of a deer all week, not even a track.

Yesterday was my best fishing day of the year. About a dozen smallmouth total, from 12-20” including this fat 19 incher that put up the “fight of the year”. I was surprised that the water is still warm enough, for them to pull like that. The smallmouth bass population is down a bit, in this small Adirondack lake, since I started fishing it about 10 years ago. There were too many bass in here back then. They are looking much healthier these days. I let all the smallies go yesterday, because the lake population seems just about perfect now, and we have plenty of fish at home in the freezer. Another good thing about yesterday is that I caught them all, plus three “bonus”, 10”-12-1/2” perch on the same 1/8 oz hand tied bucktail jig. A day or two prior, I lost (9) jigs to catch (10) bass. I kept the perch to fillet for my mother in law. She’s been feeding me good all week and she really likes those. Im now down to about 1/2 dozen 1/8 oz jigs. Good thing today is looking like my last day of fishing and I already have two deer tails at home to make some more over the winter. I’ll also have (5) more deer tags, that I may or may not punch yet this year. I caught a few bass on coyote tail jigs this week, but they didn’t seem to work quite as good as the buck tails. The second best fishing day up here this year was an overcast day, over the Fourth of July weekend, when they were hitting all day long on a topwater bait (Zara puppy). None of the long, strong fatties like yesterday though. They were all thin and under 15”:

I’m in position up on the north end of the east ridge 19 minutes before sunrise this morning. This is the last day with my ML on this trip to wmu 6c. There is a steady sse 15-20mph wind, sky’s are partly cloudy and it’s about 55 degrees.

What is your practice on that ? I have personally taken any opportunity I get to shoot them as early as possible, if I have a legal tag (not my (2) buck tags though). If a group of them comes into range, I always try and start with the largest one, then work my way down in size, if I still have tag(s) and they hang around. I have taken several doubles that way, through the years, but never more than that, in a single hunt. Roughly 1/3 of those “does” has turned out to be button bucks, over the last 42 seasons. I have averaged about one of them, every other year, or so. Ive yet to kill more than one bb in a single year. I’m on a bit of a streak lately though, with one on each of the last (4) years, including one already this year. I guess I’m making up for lost time, as it had been 2 or 3 years, since the previous one. My first gun, bow, and ML deer were bb’s. My third or fourth crossbow buck was a bb but Ive never killed one with my rifles. Ive shot one from my bedroom window with my ML, and finished a few off with my knife, after they had been struck by cars. They all taste the same, definitely in a class by themselves, compared to other deer. I did eat a doe fawn once, that was given to me by a neighbor, and that was equally as good. They just tend to be smaller and smarter, which is most likely why I’ve never personally killed one. Big brother always catches my first shot and doe fawns must be born smart enough, to run away from their downed mothers, while buck fawns are not. Ive taken lots of heat, but if I held off, it would certainty have resulted in unfilled tags. Like it or not, bucks are the direct and indirect cause of the vast majority of car-deer collisions. My home area (wmu 9F) is grossly overpopulated with deer. Unfilled antlerless tags is worse for all parties involved, than an occasional or biannual bb kill. Besides that, they are extremely tastey, especially their livers.

Bull moose probably

Today was the best of my 9 day hunt/fishcation so far. A little hunting action down in the stream bottom this morning, when a grouse landed 15 yards from me. I missed the head shot with my .50 cal. Should have went for a center shot. Oh well, it lives and I learn. The sun came out before lunch and the southwest wind was blowing, so I spent a little extra time fishing. They were biting very good. I caught more than a dozen smallmouth including 18, 19, and 20 inchers that I used the net on. I also needed that for my hat when it blew off. The fat 19 incher in the first picture was the “fight of the year”. The 20” in the second is my longest of the year. I released all the bass. I’m only going to keep one over 22” to mount if I get one. I caught (3) perch by accident (everything on the same 1/8 oz bucktail jig) that I kept for my mother in law. Two were 10” and one was 12-1/2”. They are in the fish cage now, which I tied to the dock. I’ll clean them tomorrow, along with any more that I might catch. We got the barge into its winter spot and pulled in the small dock. Tomorrow is the last day I’m fishing, so I’ll bring up the 5-1/2 Johnson and put it in the shed, haul up the 14 ft rowboat, and pull up the last dock after I finish. It’s supposed to rain Saturday and Sunday. I don’t mind hunting in the rain but I don’t care for fishing in it. Im skipping the evening hunt. I was going to go to a spot along the lane to the neighbors place, who is currently involved in a property dispute. He’s down at his place on the south end of the lake now and I don’t want to escalate the situation. I let him know that the pie he baked for my father in law was very good. If he’s gone tomorrow night, I’ll hit the spot along his lane then. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be back on the spot that is almost as far from his place as I can get, the north end of the east ridge. He’s into hunting and hasn’t seen much on his trail cameras lately. I explained my “their all in the standing corn” theory to him. My only hope is to catch a buck traveling back and forth between the corn fields to the east and to the west.

Wow, here’s something I haven’t see too much of so far this week. Looks like I’ll have to spend a little extra time out on the lake today, in search of the elusive 22 incher. That usually heats up the afternoon smallmouth bass action pretty good, at this time of year:

A little bit of excitement here about 15 minutes ago. A grouse flew in and landed about 15 yards away. Not sure what my mother in law has planned for lunch today, and I thought that might make a nice treat. The last time I shot one of those up here while deer hunting, on center of mass with my 30/06, it left just barely enough meat for one person. I went for a head shot with my 50 cal ML this time. It looked like it was down, so I walked over to get it without reloading (Big mistake). No, a big buck did not pop out from a tree at 20 yards. My shot must have been a very near miss, just close enough to briefly stun the bird. When I got within a yard of it, it scampered off into the thick stuff. I chased after it but could not catch it. I gave up the chase and the search after about 15 minutes. I would not have shot at the grouse, if I was badly in need of venison right now. There’s about (3) average sized deer in our freezer back at home, so that’s not the case. Ive killed maybe about a hundred deer in my lifetime but only about a dozen grouse, so that was the bigger “prize” this morning, than a deer which “might” show up here if I hadn’t shot. I’m reloaded now and back in my tree hammock chair till 11:30. Hopefully, it’s not PB&J for lunch. I had my empty ML in my hands, as I was chasing after the grouse. When I lost track of it, I reloaded from the speed loader, that I always carry in my pocket. There were two more loads in my pack, so I used one of those to reload the speed loader for my pocket. I’ll chalk that up as another lesson learned the hard way. No more head shots. Some meat is better than no meat and a center lung shot provides much more margin for error. I don’t even try for head shots on squirrels, except for the time one showed up at sunset when I was deer hunting with my side lock .50 cal. I had a hang fire on that shot but I held steady and after a half second that one lost its head.

It’s getting to be the time of year (pre-rut). When these techniques start to work pretty good. The most important lesson I have learned about them, the past 42 deer seasons, is that they SHOULD NOT be used with archery equipment. The reason that is that only ALERT deer will respond. An alert deer will always move 1-3 feet, between the time an arrow is released and the time it arrives. I can personally attest to that from (3) shoulder blade hits and one gut hit. I did not recover any of those deer. Most likely, only the gut hit one succumbed to his wound. I know for certain that one of the shoulder blade hits lived (3) more weeks because a friend killed it later with a gun and it was nearly healed up by then. That being said, even with those lessons learned the hard way, I’m still going to start using a grunt call and rattle bag this Saturday. That is opening day of gun season where I am at, and I’ll be armed with a 30/30 rifle. I might even use the grunt today or tomorrow, if I see a buck. I’m armed with my ML, which also fires a supersonic bullet. That means it will get to the deer before it hears the shot. Ive rattled in two during archery season (one wounded and one killed) and grunted in (3), which were all wounded. Most were 2.5 year olds but the one that was later killed with a gun was 3.5. I grunted in tge 2.5 year old buck that I killed, on sz opening day of gun, in 2020. That one walked by, thru some cover 20 yards away and I couldn’t tell for sure that he met my hardest criteria (sure 2.5 year old or older or minimum 3 points on a side). When he disappeared, I grunted him back for a closer look. He turned out to be a 6 pointer and I heart shot him at 25 yards with my 12 ga slug gun. So if you are looking to kill a 2.5 - 3.5 year old buck, a grunt call or rattling might help, just wait till you can use a gun if possible.

I didn’t see any deer again yesterday, hunting down on the south ridge from 1/2 hour before sunrise unroll 11:30. There was light rain on and off throughout the morning, so I had my tree umbrella up most of the time. There is an old logging road that loops around to a dump up there. I hunted from the same tree, overlooking a deer trail down into the valley to the north, on the east side of the dump, yesterday and three days prior. I missed a chance at the largest antlered buck I have ever seen at that spot, on opening day of gun season, (3) years ago. That buck popped up out of the valley in the rain, just 15 yards from me, and disappeared back into it before I could get off a shot. My current “every three day hot spot rotation” is going to work out for that spot again on this Saturday’s gun opener. I’m going to mix it up a little this year and hunt on the West side of the dump, overlooking the valley, a couple hundred yards closer to the main camp road. Ive rarely hunted that spot, but there is thick cover there and deer always seem to head for it when pressured or shot at. I grazed a one-horned buck with a high back hit with my 30/30 the weekend after Thanksgiving last year and that’s where he went. So did the old boss doe (which I killed up here the early ML season before last) and her fawn, when I missed her two late ML seasons prior, due to striking a branch. There is a large state forrest and a huge hunting camp directly across two-lane road to the south, so any deer pressured from over there might head for that thick cover on opening day. I’ll pick a tree, overlooking it, that will be determined by the wind direction on that day. After lunch yesterday, I helped my father in law work on moving a post out front, the location of which is currently under dispute with the neighbor. We had a little setback there, and had to leave it unresolved. Thankfully, nobody got hurt. After that, a light south wind was blowing and I drifted the west shoreline of the lake, catching just (3) smallmouth on jigs only one of which was just barely over 12 inches. I did miss a big one, back at the dock with a black Zara puppy, on my last cast. Wr had leftover smoked brisket, taters and Lima beans for dinner, then I hunted the shooting range meadow till 1/2 hour past dark, seeing or hearing nothing. Im headed into the center stream bottom deer hot spot this morning. That’s where I wounded the unicorn late last fall, and where ive seen the most deer up here (usually not until there is snow and all the local corn is down).

I’m going extra light for the last hour tonight: Wallet with tags, pen, pocket knife, speedloader with (2) 50 gr T7 pellets, (2) extra 209 primers. All fits in two pockets of my jeans. I’m only 100 yards from my in-laws lake house though. I’m hoping that a deer or bear steps out onto the shooting range meadow before 1/2 hour past sunset. Things get pretty quiet around here mid-week, so today is probably my best shot at that. The Bog bipod seems pretty steady. I passed up a small spike buck, from this very spot, on opening day morning of gun season last year. I’m hoping for a 6 point or better buck (till Sunday) or a mature doe (till Friday) on this trip.

I don’t like carrying a bunch of junk on hunts. Excess baggage slows me down more than it’s worth. All my stuff needs to fit in a small Fanny pack, in my pockets, or clipped to my belt. Starting from the 9:00 position here, the Gerber folding saw is for cutting thru pelvis bones (I always open them up and make sure everything is cleaned out real good in there) and trimming shooting lanes. The quart zip lock bag at 12:00 is for hearts, livers, and candy bars, so I don’t need to deal with those noisy wrappers. The bottle of Repel at 3:00 is for ticks and skeeters. Fingertips from the gutting glove at 4:00 keeps the rain out of my muzzle. The buttout tool at 6:00 works in conjunction with a short rope to drag out carcasses. The original Leatherman tool in the middle can handle almost any other task. Somewhere under all that stuff is a compass, which can also be used to tell time, and some waterproof matches (probably the only single purpose item I carry). A quart thermos of hot cider warms me up, hydrates, energizes, masks my scent (a little), and attracts deer (sometimes). I’m still waiting on a bear, but that’s another forum section.

We are getting blessed with a little more rain up here in wmu 6C. I put the top up and sacrificed the little finger tip of my left neoprene gutting glove. Much better fit than the thumb from the right that I lost walking into my spot yesterday morning. It’s good to see that my old Buck 110 is still nice and sharp. I only use it when I’m hunting up here because I much prefer my Shrade Sharpfinger at home. That holds a better edge and is easier to clean up after use. I didn’t sharpen the Buck 110 this year, because I didn’t get a deer up here last year, so it was still sharp from then. My father in law gave it to me for Christmas, about 20 years ago, and I’d never hear the end of it if he caught me using something else. We get pretty good cell reception up here. He can usually be at or close to the kill site, with his atv or tractor, by the time I finish gutting. I’ll need to purchase another pair of long wrist neoprene gloves, when I go to pick up a couple more wmu 9F dmp tags, at Walmart or Runnings on November 1. We are going to need at least one more deer, to add to the those that filled my first two 9F dmp’s, during the early antlerless gun season. It’s not looking like that is going to come from up here in 6C. I’m now at the half way point of a 9 day huntcation and I have not even seen one yet. Oh well, they all taste the same. It’s just one heck of a lot prettier scenery to get them in up here:

I’m strapped onto my tree down on the south ridge 10 minutes before sunrise. No rain now, but I brought along my tree umbrella, just in case. Ive also got another neoprene glove that I can sacrifice a finger tip from to cover my muzzle. At the rate I’m going this week, it don’t look like I’ll need it for gutting.

I’m getting ready to pack the old plow truck for the drive down to the south ridge. There’s a south wind today, which is the opposite that I prefer for that spot. Since I didn’t see anything there with a north wind last time, there’s nothing to loose. Maybe I’ll catch deer from the outside coming into that spot. It looks like a chance of rain in the forecast early, so I’ll bring along my tree umbrella. I’ll probably hang out until 11:30 or so down there.

I didn’t see any deer up in the ridge this morning. I did see 4-6 turkeys up there. I think that season closed the Friday before Saturday’s ML opener. After lunch, back at the house, We helped a neighbor pull out his docks. I did some fishing after that, landing (10) keeper sized smallmouth 12-17” long on bucktail jigs. They were feeding on the bottom, along the shoreline. I lost (9) jigs on snags. Good thing their cheap (cost me less than 5 cents each because I tie my own and only need to buy the hooks). The coyote tail ones didn’t seem to work quite as well as the bucktail ones did. Im skipping the evening hunt tonight because it’s shower day (every other day for me when I’m on vacation, wether I need it or not). I like the “dead down wind” scent free bar soap, it lathers up real good, compared to the Irish spring, that I use on work days. Tomorrow morning, I’ll head back over to the south ridge with the plow truck. Ive got (3) good spots on the 250 acre block I’m hunting, do I will hit them each (1) more time over the next (6) mornings. I’m also going to hit the shooting range meadow or the ridge behind it (2) more times. I have never not seen any deer up here on early ML but I may not this year, based on the lack of sign that I’m seeing. I think the main reason for that, is all of the standing corn, within a mile of here, this year. I think my best odds of seeing deer, is to minimize the pressure in my three hot spots, so that’s what I’m trying to do the rest of the week. It is odd that last year, I saw the most ever deer up here during ML week, and this year the least (so far anyhow). It only takes (1) “stray” to fill a tag though. It ain’t over till it’s over. I’m not hunting as hard as usual up here, because our freezer is in pretty good shape at home right now, thanks to early antlerless gun season.

Ive never owned see-thrust mounts, but I did shoulder several rifles owned by friends who had them. I did purchase some high standard mounts one time, for the 4-12 Weaver that I put on my .22/250 Ruger M77. I thought I needed them, because that scope had a big diameter on the front. I took those off and replaced with medium mounts, which gave a much better eye alignment and cheek weld. I still have those high mounts in a drawer somewhere. The blocks on them looked to be about 1/2” and I can see where they would be about the same as required for see-thru mounts. I can’t imagine hunting deer with a scope up that high. I couldn’t stand it for woodchucks. I can also understand the need for backup iron sights, especially on pack in Western hunts where you are limited to one rifle. I damaged a scope alignment on a Colorado hunt once, when I fell down on it, trying to get over some rocks, while dragging out my mule deer carcass. I still had an elk tag and a day or two left to hunt. Fortunately, that was a drive to “walk in” hunt and I had my spare (also scoped) rifle back at the ski resort condo.

My radar (ears) just picked up a couple of hits about 100 yards out at 9:00 position. Turned out to be 4 to 6 turkeys . Usually the season for them closes the Friday before opening Saturday of ML, but there was some misprints in the regs this year from what I understand. Makes no difference to me. I wouldt waste the ammo on meat that tastes like dry cardboard to me anyhow. Now if a grouse were to appear, I would definitely consider a head shot on one of those, if I thought I could make it. That is the only white meated bird that I like. Lots of flavor to them. There wasn’t much left to eat on the last one I hit on center of mass with my 30/06 though. If and when I get another crack at one of those with a deer gun I’ll definitely aim for the head.