Rebel Darling

Nor is anywhere in the region... Ha.

Good luck to you, Papist. If he expires tonight, and at the very least, the meat will keep in this weather. Hoping you get to post pics tomorrow...

Rut Cough? It's going around, I'm told. Still quiet where I am in 4L. A few fresh scrapes, but the does are pretty nonchalant and carefree. Nobody seems to be after them yet.

Here in 4L, I've watched does walk calmly with no bucks chasing. I've seen minimal rutting behavior, just a few scrapes. No chasing, no rubbing, no grunting, nada. I'm either in a very poor rut spot (which is possible), or nothing is happening just yet up my way.

Climbed out around 11:00 a.m. Toes were frozen, and the wind picked up. Two doe crept in front of me at daybreak, and five turkey around 9:30. Didn't see much other than squirrels and a hairy woodpecker. No buck tailing the doe, nor hanging with the turkeys. Way to plan and execute, Papist!

Looks to be cold and overcast for the morning here in 4L. I think I'll try a spot near where I scouted last week. Here we go... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Friday went by without a hunt. The alarm went off, and I simply shut it down and went back to bed. Felt like the body needed the sleep, and I had to take the wife down to Hudson for a Chris Smither show at Club Helsinki that evening. I didn't want to be dead-weight while out. Plus it was raining and windy up here on Taborton Mountain. During the day, though, I took some time to read an article over on Wired to Hunt, "The Power of Using 'Calculated Strikes' When Hunting Mature Bucks" http://wiredtohunt.com/2016/10/27/the-power-of-using-calculated-strikes-when-hunting-mature-bucks I decided to try the first scouting approach on this morning's hunt on an area I had yet to walk. It's a hundred or so yards from the mouth of a creek that spills out from a marsh/swamp area on my neighbor's property. Last year I jumped a buck from the tall reeds in the marsh mid-day, so I figured that he'd be back (or someone would) around now. I'm still getting used to the Lone Wolf Hand Climber, and all the gear that I need to bag up and bring in order to get myself and gear up safely and securely. It takes me about 20-30 minutes from the base of the tree, and that is too long once travel and walk times are factored in. I think I need to try a different style of bag than the waist pack I'm currently using. It seems like everything could be a bit easier to access with a hung backpack. I also need to figure out how to control my body heat while walking and climbing. The complicating factor for me is the safety harness, and my outer layers. If I don't wear my outer layers while walking, then I'm packing those and my harness, which a backpack might help with, but it still seems like a lot to carry. This morning, however, with it being 30 degrees, I was pretty close to sweating by the time I reached a tree, and had sweat beads on my face by the time I got all gear hauled up and sat down. Probably not good. I'm going to wash my base layers. I did, however plan the wind properly. I could sit that area with a south or east wind without sending my scent up in to the marsh. We had a light south wind flowing over the mountain this morning. I sat for a couple of hours and saw only squirrels and crows mobbing ravens. A rattle and a bleat failed to bring in anything that I could see. Then the weather turned for the worse. The wind picked up, the forest swayed, and my joints could feel damp air coming through. I got down (another 20-30 minutes to get down and packed up), and decided to walk around the marsh to get to my house. Right at the mouth of the marsh, I found a line of fresh scrapes with licking branches and fresh scat in them. Judging by the moisture of the scat, that deer had been there while I was in the stand, or not long before. I didn't have a trail camera with me, so I'm in the dark as to who is working those scrapes, but I'm thinking / hoping that in the next few days here I can get an afternoon sit with a light southern wind somewhere in view of those scrapes. It's a natural funnel between two houses, and where the creek starts to run with shallow drop-offs. Those drop off banks bend the trees, so I'll have to do some searching for a tree suitable for the climber, hence the afternoon sit. If I sit there earlier this upcoming week, I might be able to get another sit out there the following week, which is when I'm told the rut will begin up here. "It's always the second week of November..." Now I'm back inside, fire going, and aggravated with the weather. Cold, damp, raining, and windy. I'm so friggin' tired of the wind. I'd love for a stretch of cool, clear, and dry days to keep the blood pumping and to hopefully get the deer out here up and hoofing it. Maybe a day or two next week. And while I didn't see any deer today, I saw positive sign for a buck to hunt, and now have a tentative plan to get some eyes on him for the second half of the "Calculated Strike" strategy.

Tired of the wind. Every day... Wind, wind, wind. Back inside. Too much wind to be in the trees, and it's spitting a bit of rain now. Found some fresh scrapes on the walk in, and maybe I'll hunt near there when there's no friggin wind. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats on that brute! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha! I was kind of hoping he'd continue a streak of poor decisions. Nothing but squirrels and ravens so far. Might try a little bleat can in a bit. Starting to feel like rain... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good morning and good luck from 4L. Scouting sit with the climber. Downwind and just downstream from a swamp area. Hoping to catch a bachelor doing the walk of shame. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's also a website and hotline that are supposed to act as guides for those citizens trying to understand how to navigate the law: Website: https://safeact.ny.gov/ Hotline: 1-855-law-guns I don't know if either one is helpful, or not.

I don't have my mother's recipe, but when the weather gets cold, a plate-full of mince-meat cookies always disappears from the counter.

Yesterday I saw deer under the beeches. Nothing seems to be moving under my oaks.

So far, I am happy with my bow hunting season. I laid down a doe that yielded a good amount of meat for the wife and I, as well as some friends and family who will join us for dinner. That hunt, in particular, satisfied me. She is my third deer in two seasons of heading out with a bow, and I was able to adapt my hunt to her preferences. The prior two deer felt a little more like luck, while this kill felt like how I imagined a hunt would (refer to archery harvest thread 2016 for story). I have seen deer almost every time I've headed out, which is generally encouraging, and rewarding. Each time I see them, I'm learning a bit more about their behavior. I have not definitively seen a buck, however, and none of my trail cams have shown a buck over 1.5 years, and even those young fellas haven't appeared in about a month. Unlike many posts read on this forum, I haven't seen any fresh scrapes, nor rubs on any of the land I've hunted so far. In total, that's probably 60 or so acres, some private, some public. Other than my neighbor's property, none of them are in the same WMU. I saw two deer when I headed out for a sign scout on my neighbor's property at about 9:30 a.m. today. The two were on their feet, and I couldn't make them out due to distance and leaf cover. The flick of a tail gave them away at about 100 yards, slightly uphill. I saw them first. Having decent cover for myself, I grunted a few times, which didn't seem to catch attention, so I rattled a bit, and I could see the body move and tense up. I got down on my knees, and rustled some leaves while rattling the bag on my thigh with my other hand. After a while, I thought I saw the tail flick, and them wander off. I stood up, headed into a clearer area, thinking I'd come around them from downhill and downwind, and hope to get a better view. With the climber on my back, I dreamed of getting ahead of their route and setting up for an ambush. But as I came into the clearing, I sensed that I was being watched, and as I peered uphill, I saw a big chest, a slumped back and hanging gut quartered towards me at 100 yards. I couldn't see the head. I stood still for a moment, the deer blew, turned, and I watched two of them bound off, never getting a clear look at either. They'll be marked as "Other" on the bow hunter sighting log. After that, I decided to still hunt my way up a shoulder to a ridge line. I found a couple of beds up there, around an oak stand, but the indentations were fairly small. I also found a game trail on my way down with fresh scat. There's a good shelf about 50 yards up from a stream, and I'm thinking that I might be able to sneak in there for a morning hunt at some point with the climber. Get up in a tree on that shelf, and watch above and below for travel. That might be a plan for next week, if western winds prevail on a decent day. At the moment, the wind is whipping snow and sleet around Taborton Mountain, and I'm checking the weather every hour to learn more about the morning. The wind is supposed to change direction, and I've read that wind changes can get the deer up on their feet as they shift their preferred food sources and bedding areas. I'd like to be out to see if a buck would be trailing a doe as she moves. I'm realizing that with a doe in the freezer, my goal is to harvest a buck, and it would be my first. I want that experience, and am holding out for it. I passed on another doe earlier this week, and I had difficulty disciplining myself to pass on numerous harvest opportunities she presented. The food was right there, so this buck hunt goal is splitting me down a bit. I've decided that if presented with a doe on the last day I can hunt archery, I will harvest the doe.

Found another one about 50 yards away under an oak. Doesn't seem to be a big deer at any rate. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At the end point of a ridge. Only depression. Good lookout point. Buck bed? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Can't make it out today, but am vigilantly checking the weather app to see what time the snow is expected tomorrow morning. I'm thinking that if the snow holds off to just after sunrise, the does might be taking their time traveling back to their beds, and I hope to catch a trailing buck on his feet. Also considering which stand to try out tomorrow... Yeah, I'm at the office getting ready to... Wait! I just received an email from Wired to Hunt, so there's that to review now.

This is really intriguing info... How many different bucks total? Have does walked through/bedded down too? I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Stacking wood this morning. Wish I was in a stand... Good luck today! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

4J - The Pine Bush was a bust today. Didn't see any deer past the one I jumped in the morning. The afternoon sit was totally dead. I chose poorly today.

Back in the Pine Bush in 4J. Breezy, occasionally gusty. Curiosity and EverCalm to carry over and down this here shelf. C'mon, doe! I got a ticket or two for you! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Genuine smiles right there! Congrats to the team!

I have 13 acres, and a few different areas on which deer travel through. I'd employ a mix of holding off, and scouting other locations on that 30 to find alternate food sources and travel corridors / funnels, etc. On my 13, which is half that, I have three different stand locations set up, and other areas on which I plan to use the climber, or hunt from natural blinds. If I needed to go out multiple days in a row, I'd hit up state/public land and scout that too. That's actually what I'm doing now to give my 13 a deserved break and in anticipation of the rut.

Bumped a doe while changing locations, and then made way too much racket trying to get back up in a tree. Pretty sure this hunt is botched. Calling it soon and heading to work... All's quiet in 4J. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk