goosifer

I am in awe of this post, and that you did it all from your iphone. You need to submit this story to a deer hunting magazine! It's that good of a story. Oh, and I got tired just reading about the ground you covered. Congratulations!

Mistakes/Lessons of the Day 1. Do not shoot at running deer 2. Try to stop a running deer with some sort of vocalization/call. If it doesn't stop, don't shoot 3. If you see a running doe in mid-November, consider the possibility it's running away from a nice buck 4. If you shoot your bolt/arrow into 6+ inches of snow, don't plan on recovering it OK, so I went out for an afternoon sit in 9A. 23 degrees out, 17 windchill, winds out of NE, but switched to NW later. I walk through the snow to the North facing stand at the back of the property, passing numerous tracks along the way, but none in the back. At 4:20, I see two doe cross West to East about 300 yards to the North, near the stand I sat in the last three times I was out. "Oh well", I tell myself, "it's happy hour and there are more deer out". Sure enough, 10 minutes later, a does comes running 30 yards in front of me from East to West. I forget to try and stop it, instead taking a shot at it while it's on the run. Clean miss. About 15 seconds later a very nice looking buck comes bounding by in pursuit of the doe. I sit there helpless holding an unloaded crossbow. At least he didn't see me; neither did the doe. I did reload in case they came back. After a few minutes I went to see if there was any blood. There was none. Interestingly, right when I shot at the doe it made a hard right turn away from me. That gave me some hope that maybe I had hit it, but no, no blood at all in the snow. I checked for 30 yards. Maybe it reacted to the noise of the crossbow? I went back to retrieve my bolt and couldn't find it in the snow. Painful lessons learned. Newer hunters, don't be like me! On a positive note, toe warmers are way worth it for less than a $1 a pair when you buy in bulk at Wal-Mart.

In the stand in 9a for pm hunt. Saw lots of tracks in 6+ inches of snow walking in, but none near my stand. Assuming that's not good. We'll see.

Happy birthday, G-Man.

link?

Last night I helped track a deer after dark. This gave me an opportunity to break out the flashlight collection. I had a blue light, UV (purple) light, and a large old lead battery/incandescent trigger held regular light flashlight. The other hunters didn't like the blue or UV light. Maybe they would have liked it better if either one were the ONLY light being used (everybody had their headlamps on)? The big boy worked well with a good throw, but it quickly died out. I think it's obsolete, unfortunately. I think I do have a large white light that runs on 18650 batteries for predator hunting. I guess I'm best off using that one? The UV light is still fun for hotel rooms . . . So what kind of light works best for you when night tracking a shot deer?

I have this book. Charcuterie book I did try venison salami, etc. last year but it was a failure. I killed the bacteria when I put the meat back in the fridge while getting the stuffer ready. 30+ pounds of meat in the garbage. I also paid up for sausage and jerky makers bible

Not to derail the topic too much, but when do you guys switch to snow camo, just when there is a lot of snow on the ground regardless of whether or not there are leaves on the trees? Or do you wait till the trees are bare? That's what I usually do, as I hunt from a treestand. I guess if you are hunting from the ground, once you have a good cover of snow, snow camo is good to go?

I posted this morning but it looks like it didn't go through. Anyway, I did an afternoon hunt in Cattaraugus county with a hunting buddy. There had been a lot of action there the last few days. Was not to be for me today, however. I had one doe run behind me from right to left, tail down. I had no way to stop her. I was hoping a buck was chasing behind, but he never showed. Instead of just snow, I got a nice batch of freezing rain before it turned to snow. My crossbow was glazed over, and my hunting bibs, jacket and hood were frozen wet. Surprisingly, the outer layers did their job and I was dry and reasonably warm. Another hunter hunting nearby hit a spike at 4:30. We helped him track it and drag it to the road after dark. It was the biggest spike I had ever seen. Not sure if it was a well fed 1.5 year old or a 2.5 year old with bad genetics. I would guess the latter. Driving home on the 219 was a real treat as it had not yet been plowed.

A regular tire shop will probably be able to get your tires, but depending on the type/size of trailer, you might be able to buy them at a place like Tractor Supply. Post a pic of the tire with the writing showing. Do you want new rims, too, or just tires?

Did you address mutual retrieval rights? Hopefully, you can come to a mutually agreeable understanding as to hunting/shooting onto each other's land as well as retrieval rights. Whether or not he honors the agreement is another issue. What if you put a trail cam on your property, maybe 10 yards in from the property line, looking at his tree stand? Might give him pause if he's tempted to shoot onto your land.

You're trafficking a minor!

Hope this isn't too much for a Sunday morning.

See if you can get an in store credit (like from a return) so he's forced to go into the store. Otherwise, she might just use it on-line.

Tapping out in 9A. Took the long walk back to the truck. Saw a few trails and hoofprints, but did not identify any scrapes or rubs. Odd year up year it seems. That the crop field next to me was fallow this year may have a bigger impact than I realized.

Bundled up in 9A hoping for some action. The two remaining crunchy leaves just happen to be on the tree next to me @@ good luck all.

Try Italian mortadella without the pistachios in it. Bologna for adults.

Congrats on a well executed hunting plan. two tone buck?the coat on the body looks charcoal and the neck looks tan. Maybe just the sun and the camera.

In the stand. Saw two deer near my house, and a nice buck on the trail cam less than three hours ago. Cold, clear and windy. Hoping to see something.

Better than your own urine, I suppose. But seriously, is that really a good idea? Could that be dangerous during the rut? [I'm asking to the forum, not OP. I am not trying to make a point, as I honestly don't know the right answer.]

What was he driving?

Driving back from Dick's Sporting Goods earlier this evening around 6 pm, I saw a small doe with a very small fawn trying to cross Klein Rd in Amherst. Given the darkness and the amount of traffic, it looked dicey. Officially my first deer siting of the season. I was really surprised at how small they were. I don't see how the fawn will survive the winter.

Any action in 9A? I don't know where everybody hunts . . . .

not if you're concerned about scent control.

I copied the paragraph below from https://www.hunter-ed.com/blog/insect-repellants-vs-scent-control/ Bottom line, it supposedly doesn't smell, and if it does is smells like a flower. Considering the risks, I'd urge you to treat your clothes. It will last for several washings or weeks. Once temps are consistently below 50, ticks will go dormant, but in the meantime . . . .