Jmp209

I wasn't really sure if I wanted to make a post about this or not but I figured it wouldn't hurt to share it here. I've been very fortunate to take several bears over the years and when I cut a bear track last Saturday I couldn't help but shift my focus from deer hunting. It wasn't real fresh but several times in the past I've been able to follow older tracks a short distance to an area where the bear has hung around for a while and the sign got much fresher. I figured I had nothing to lose and I knew of some thick beech brush and left over tree tops from logging that I'd seen bear sign in just a few weeks ago. Since the tracks headed back toward that general direction I circled back and around the whole area and found no tracks coming out. I met up with my dad and I put him on the downwind side of the brush lot where if the bear went back out the way it came in that my dad may be able to get shot. I circled back around and still hunted my way through the brush and after about an hour and a half I was getting to within 75 or so yards of my dad but still hadn't cut a bear track. A few minutes later I could see his orange hat through the brush and thought the bear must have angled further than I thought since still no tracks. As I came up to a tree top I'd stopped for a minute and just looked around while deciding which way to go around it and saw a fresh track just 20 or so feet in front of me. I followed it with my eyes and could see it went through the tree top I was standing next to and was quite shocked to see a bear staring at me through the brush at only 15 or so feet. I've heard of bears holding tight to cover but never expected it would let me walk that close without busting out of there. Everything happened real fast at that point as I immediately took aim under the chin while also taking a step backward to try to get something between me and the bear. It felt like a now or never moment and in a split second from seeing the bear one shot to the neck put it down instantly.

Havent been on in a while, was actually busted off right above the burrs

Hopefully not too late to add a point to team 4 from Monday.

If it's not too late I'll take a spot on team 4

Yes it is currently set up for a 26" draw Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

2011 Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Posting for a friend. We both switched to traditional archery last year but he feels he's tempted to take his compound out more often than he'd like so he thinks it's time to sell that temptation. It's a 60-70lb bow with a 26" draw length module. It comes with an Apex gear 3 pin sight, the trophy ridge drop away rest and trophy ridge quiver. He also had new string and cables installed in the fall of 2016. He's located near Olean in Cattaraugus county and would prefer to sell face to face rather than shipping. Asking price is $300. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Though this really has little to do with this thread, Oregon actually has a relatively low whitetail population. It's estimated at around 13,000. Don't let your opinions allow you to lose sight of facts. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Lots of firsts for me this year. First deer ever on opening day and first with a handgun. I can't believe how incredibly lucky and blessed I've been this season. The weather was cold and rainy all morning but that didn't stop this guy from showing up at 10 a.m. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

A buddy of mine swears by them and has used black widow for several seasons. He did switch it up this year because he found a more local source and wanted to give them a try. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Coming from Pennsylvania to New York I always wondered why they had quotas by zone for the antlerless licenses during firearms season but not archery or muzzleloader. I would think it makes more sense to have a certain number of antlerless tags for each WMU and they're sold on either a first come, first served basis or on a lottery. Either way you have a chance at a tag but no gaurantee. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

I look at it as a "having your cake and eating it too" kind of thing. In PA the deer numbers used to be extremely high and seasons were pretty modest. 2 weeks of buck season with no Sunday hunting and a 3 day doe season the following week. Around the year 2000 they began running the buck and doe season concurrent for the rifle season and handed out higher numbers of doe tags than in past years. Some loved the idea and some hated it. Regardless of which side of the fence you were on, deer numbers dropped significantly and the hunting changed. The fact is, rifle season has a much larger impact of deer management than archery season does simply because the number of people out there. To me it seems rifle season is the best place to make an adjustment according to management goals. Most of the arguments I've seen on here have no mention of conservation goals, just whining about things not being "fair." Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

I originally wanted to go with something along the lines of a single bevel grizzly but I've heard they can be difficult to sharpen. This is the first experience I've had with serrated heads so I haven't found anything negative yet. Honestly I'm not too experienced when it come to sharpening so I usually just remove blades and take them to a honing stone. I've been looking at a couple of sharpening kits but I've heard so many mixed reviews that I don't know what to get. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Magnus stinger buzz cut Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

The goal as of right now is to get one with a bow. I know the odds are against me but I'm just happy that I've got a chance to try. The first thing I'm going to focus on is just locating some good turkey sign and evaluate what kind of tactic I think would work best. Many of the responses on this thread have given me some ideas for how I plan to react to different scenarios. I'll continue to browse some older posts and hope you guys keep throwing tips on this thread as well. I appreciate all the help tremendously, any one of these tips may just be what I need to seal the deal. Thank you! Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Yea I just wasn't sure if there was a better way to go about hunting one of the flock types than another. I took thursday and Friday off work so I'm hoping to get as much first hand learning as I can in that short time. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

From my understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong) there are 3 main types of flocks during the fall. Groups of jakes, groups of toms and groups of hens with poults. If I do manage to find a group of birds that don't spot me first am I better off setting up and calling immediately or should I rush and break them up no matter what? Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

There aren't a whole lot of fields near me, most are just over grown weedy openings really. I think most of them would be too overgrown for them to even feel safe walking through. My areas consist of mostly mature hardwoods in hilly terrain. There are a few sections that are thick with tree tops from past logging or oil drilling operations and a few sections that are choked up with mountain Laurel as far as you can see. There are some old logging roads and skidder landings that are fairly open that I've found turkey sign in the spring but they're pretty much just dusty roadbeds. Most of the hills are covered with mast trees so there's no real concentrated food source to bring them to one specific spot. With the wind and rain in the forecast I was thinking of maybe walking fairly open benches on hillsides that have a fair amount of acorns. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

I've never hunted specifically for turkey in the fall, I've seen them occasionally during archery season but not very often. I've always had a goal of taking a buck, bear and turkey all in the same license year but have never been able to make it happen. This year I have been blessed with the good fortune to have already tagged the buck and bear. There's only a couple days left of the fall turkey season here in Western NY but I have a few vacation days I'd be more than happy to burn. Should I take a whole day and just cover as much ground as possible looking for turkey sign or is there any specific types of areas I should focus my scouting on? Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Wasn't sure if I wanted to post this or not. I'm trying to be humble but this has been one of my best seasons and I'm having a hard time not posting pictures. I was able to take my first buck with a recurve this morning and I'm pretty excited. He came in head on this morning and showed up at 15 yards. I was somehow able to raise my bow ever so slowly and draw as he was passing my stand at only 10 yards. My stand is only about 10' off the ground and he was on my uphill side so he was almost level with me in the stand. With the break over point of cams on a compound I don't think I ever would have been able to draw on him without him seeing me. The release felt great and the arrow sunk right behind the shoulder. I watched as he ran about 25 yards behind me and stopped. He began to stumble and went right down. This is the first deer I've ever killed with a bow that I've had go down within sight and it was a huge relief knowing that i wasn't going to have a long track job. I used the same exact arrow and broadhead that I took my bear with 2 weeks ago, just resharpened the blades. Unfortunately this buck broke my lucky arrow. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

One more for the recurve and my biggest buck to date Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Should have went traditional years ago Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

I almost completely forgot about this thread. Just wanted to add this photo before I forget again. If you're interested in the story I did make a separate post in the bow hunting section. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

One was a Pennsylvania bear but the last 3 were New York Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

A couple of the better pictures that I got Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk