GrizzlySils

I should've mentioned that I made a mock scrape last weekend, and I've definitely been having night time visits from at least two different bucks.

8G: Trail cam photos show an 8 pt breeding a doe about an hour before I got to my stand! I think I bumped them off, but my neighbor might have too. I'm pretty sure I saw the same buck creeping through, over the property line, about 45 min before first light. Sounded like my neighbor winged a couple shots at him right after first light, but I think it was a clean miss. Doe about 30 min before dark.

I close them to keep the elements out, you don't want to get into a blind that had 6 or more inches of snow piling up into it...

I think that is a myth about the 2D, I've seen dogs watch TV before... a quick search on Google seems to confirm this, thanks.

Mossberg 500 12 ga. Rifled barrel 2.5 x 2.0 scope that came with the package Remington Premier CopperSolid 3" Sabots Sighted to 50 yds, -2.9" at 100 yds Yes, it kicks like a mule, but the last buck I took dropped after 30 yds. I actually walked right past him looking around, thought "geesh maybe I missed", came back around he was lying in a low spot.

I've used a ground blind for part of the season each of the last 5 seasons. Typically, I put it up the first week of September, so by the time bow season rolls around, the deer are completely used to it being there, so I can't comment on putting one up then using it same day. I can tell you that I sat in it with my cousin a week or so ago since he has very limited time to get out, and that one of the "regular" does that use my property was completely oblivious to our presence, even though he got overly excited and made more noise than I would consider a good idea. She would look, but it didn't spook her. Having learned some lessons regarding the elements--wind, snow, and/or flood waters, here is what I would recommend: 1. Ditch the stakes that come with the blind, invest in some heavy duty ones, usually they have several types in the tent/camping section. Use a hammer if you need to drive them in. 2. Use your tie-downs towards the prevailing winds, so that with high winds pushing against the blind, it is reinforced. I staked like a regular tent during the first season and had a blow-over. 3. I usually set mine against a tree, and use one or more of the tie-downs to attach to the tree itself rather than into the ground--the blind isn't going anywhere, even if it blows over. 4. I have an old push broom that is the same height as the blind, once snows start coming, when I leave the blind I put the broom end up to prevent the top from caving in with snow. 5. An old, small picnic table makes a great rest for firearms/crossbows in a blind. 6. Unlike my tree stands, I don't leave it out there all year. Last day of season, or shortly thereafter, it comes down--it will last many more seasons this way. 7. I don't typically brush them in too much given how much lead time I have in putting it out there, but I do like to get a couple of smaller bushes cut that hold their leaves. The wind on the leaves helps to obsfucate any noises that are made from inside the blind. This year I used trimmings from my Lilac bushes. 8. I leave my chairs/stools inside the blind from day one so that they don't have any scent associated with them by the time I'm sitting in the blind. 9. I like to drop a bale or two of pine/cedar shavings onto the blind floor. It helps to reduce mud, and provides some insulation from the direct ground contact. It might act as a cover scent too, I haven't asked any deer if they like the smell, but I'll take any advantage I can get. Hope this helps someone, thanks.

Good Morning... I already started posting, then realized I should post an introduction. I'm 40 yrs old, married with one child and a stepdaughter. Currently, I hunt about 5 acres in 8G, as this is all my pocketbook could take at the moment. I took about a 15 year hiatus from hunting during my 20s/early 30s, as I was seeking and chasing a different trophy, but now that I'm married and my daughter is a teenager, I was able to take time to go back to hunting regularly. I am very passionate about hunting and conservation. I'm a lifetime license holder in all categories, and the only DEC class available that I haven't taken is "Waterfowl Identification", which while not currently a duck hunter, I would still like to take in the near future. If there were one piece of advice I could give to a new hunter, look at each outing to the woods as a learning experience, even if you don't bring anything home with you. In the past 5 years, I've only taken 2 deer, as there is plenty of local competition, and I pride myself in only taking the most ethical shots, but I have learned so much that each season I get a little better and I end up seeing more deer and having more opportunities. "A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than by a mob of onlookers. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact.​"... Aldo Leopold

8G: Sat, 11/14: Early spike just after first light. Small 6 point at 10:30 am, both seemed fairly nonchalant from a seeking/chasing perspective. Sun, 11/15: Doe first light, nothing else yet, lunch break and heading back out.

I don't believe that deer have the capacity to feel fear in the same way as human beings. They don't associate dead things with fear, as they encounter them frequently in the natural environment. If this were the case, then if a deer died from natural causes, the deer would avoid that area as a result and that doesn't seem to be the case, nor does it seem to be logical. They don't have the capacity to understand natural causes vs. human causes. Another perfect example, deer crossing areas, the sign is there because more than one deer has been hit in that general area, clearly they aren't changing where they cross because a dead deer is lying in the ditch. I've also seen plenty of deer in cemetaries. Gut them where they lie, or close to it. If you can get it back to the barn inside of a half hour, then it is easier to do it when they are hanging, but I would say you want to get the guts out as soon as humanly possible as it does impact the flavor and condition of the meat.

I would disagree calling the varying seasons "special", with the exception of the Youth Hunts, which I support whole-heartedly, and the firearms season on Long Island. There is nothing extraordinary about them, or anything that sets them apart other than the implements allowed. That is to say, as a bowhunter, I don't refer to firearms season as, "the special firearms season", and conversely during firearms I don't refer to bow season as "the special bow season". I would agree that a minority of hunters are selfish, e.g. "Crossbows are more like rifles than bows, so we shouldn't allow them during bow season." I don't know that the percentage is any different than the non-hunting population, so I wouldn't describe this as an issue that is solely about hunters. In fact, a number of anti-hunters come to mind when we discuss selfishness, as many of these folks are only concerned about their own beliefs. So much so, that they completely ignore science and facts in their anti-hunting campaigns, disregarding the conservation achieved by hunters, whether that is fees/taxes or time spent on conservation issues. On the other hand, I would say that the DEC is "selfish", when you consider that they are only concerned with the Deer Management Plan and maintaining the "proper" populations of deer. Of course, the lobbyists from the Insurance and Agri-business are also quite selfish, their concerns are more about the bottom line than the preservation/conservation of our natural resources. Keep in mind, this isn't a slam against individuals associated with those businesses. I'm a banker, but that doesn't mean I'm one of those greedy Wall Street types (not that all of them are), I just work on their technology services. Now that's not to say that I'm never selfish when it comes to hunting either, but its not in relation to upsetting the balance of fairness. For example, I don't post my hunting land with signs that say "Call for Access", I'm selfish, its my land, I own it, and whoever is hunting on it is a relative or close friend, but not members of the general public who just call me. I am concerned that collectively we are upsetting the balance of fairness when we look to exclude classes of individuals based on the implements allowed (similar to most legal definitions of prejudice). Just to illustrate two examples, a young women who can't draw the minimum required poundage on a bow, or an old/injured man who can no longer pull back any type of vertical bow. We're essentially excluding them from the bowhunting season, not because we required additional training, or an additional license, but because they can't participate due to physical restrictions. If a person was handicapped, they are allowed to get exceptions to the general hunting regulations (pg. 16 of the current manual), yet we provide no exception for "regular" individuals who can't physically meet the requirements. I think this is where many of the "selfishness in hunting" discussions arise. I would agree with many of the previous points regarding the reasoning behind the separate seasons, i.e., safety, difficulty, success rates, etc. I think those are valid reasons for the separation, and I don't hear or read of many complaints between firearms and bowhunting, mostly I read of disagreements during the specific seasons, such as the crossbow/vertical bow argument. The only argument across seasons I repeatedly hear is that the bowhunters are getting all the big bucks before gun season starts, but based on the DEC statistics this doesn't seem to play out in reality. I realize that in all probability we are going to see an early muzzleloader season overlapping with bow in some areas of the state, so this may be a contentious point in the near future. Bottom line, there is some minority of people who will always be selfish (I just read an article that said 5% of the population were psychopaths that have limited or no empathy for others). I also think its general human nature to look out for oneself, that's the natural survival instinct and displays itself in a multitude of ways in contemporary life. I think we all need to routinely step back and assess our positions and how that impacts everyone, and most importantly how it impacts our deer herd. In the interest of fairness I would suggest the following modifications to the seasons, feel free to tear this apart: 1. Special Firearms Doe Season where required - 9/1 to 9/15, All Implements 2. Special Primitive Doe Season where required - 9/15 to 9/30 Primitive Implements, Bows/Crossbows/Muzzleloaders 3. Regular Bow - Same as existing dates, Bows/Crossbows 4. Regular Firearms - Same as existing dates, All Implements 5. Late Primitive - Same as existing dates, Bows/Crossbows/Muzzleloaders 6. Special Late Doe Season where required - First day after Late Primitive to TBD date based on take requirements, suggesting 12/31

I hunt on the Eastern edge of Erie County, NY, near the county line. Saturday 11/7: 8-point, 30 Minutes after daylight, Seeking, responded to bleat but no shot Doe 1pm Button Buck 4:40pm 10-point, 10 minutes before dark, too far for a shot, not interested in calls Sunday 11/8: Doe 9:30am Tuesday 11/10: 2 hr sit in the late afternoon Doe, Button Buck, same 10-point, 10 minutes before dark, too far for a shot, not interested in calls Wed 11/11: Doe 3pm

In my tree stands, I use hooks like WNYBuckhunter posted, usually four per stand... two I can reach while sitting, and two I can reach while standing. Typically, my bow is on the "upper left" where I can reach it easily from sitting or standing position. I use the other hooks for my pack, quiver, and sometimes jacket if I take one but its too warm part of the day. I have an overly large ground blind stand that holds two bows, but I recently got one that sort of looks like the one JimMac posted but has a rod to push it down in the ground. Its much better because it is smaller.

I keep a bowhunter's log, 110 hours through yesterday, starting on October 3rd. I've seen 7 Red Foxes, 6 Bucks, 6 Does, and 1 UDO (Unidentified Deer Object) though I think it was a buck the way it was trying to be sneaky. I hunt private land, though its a small parcel. I'm 40, and married for 3 years, my wife knew what she was getting into and she knows its important to me. I try and make a date or two with her and go to church a couple times during October, but once November hits, it really depends on how I'm feeling or whether I was able to connect. Certainly, bad weather days can impact the time out too. My daughter is 13, we go together in the ground blind over Columbus Day weekend, but I don't think she wants to take up hunting, she just likes spending time with her dad. The house will be here when I get back, though I do need to find some energy for a couple chores soon. Is it better to go to church and think about hunting, or go hunting and think about God?