uberyan

Congrats reel. That's a monster. Friday meeting has been rescheduled so I can give it another go. I think this time I'll really take whatever presents a shot first. Watch it be a spindly spike again. And of course as soon as I let the arrow fly, five 10 pointers will come strolling out.

Was planning on taking a day off on Friday to go out again. Got my mother to relieve the nanny and everything. Find out I have one meeting scheduled. Damnit. Gonna have to drop some hints to the vp to see if the meeting will be moved.

That and they just seem to have much higher deer densities in general. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with geography as most of the shows I've seen are all centered around the midwestern states. Would love to see a show that's realistic based on northeast woods hunting.

I gotta say, I don't know how you stand guys do it. If it was like on Tv with tons of action and a billion deer coming through every minute it'd be one thing. But hours without seeing a thing would drive me nuts.

Thin wool liner sock and a thicker wool sock over is what I do. Also got wool replacement insoles. As as far as today's hunt goes... two seasons, six outings total and finally.... CONFIRMED BUCK SIGHTINGS!!! 2 bucks and some does went parallel past me while I was still hunting south to north. About 40yards to the east. Solid six or eight pointers. Main beams looked good. One buck lingered a bit and I was able to get within twenty but there was a row of shrubs between so I tried to cut back down and around to get downwind of him. maybe I took too long, they were all gone by the time I circled back up. Followed some deer trails and had a spike wander down. Presented a pretty easy shot but I passed. I had initially gone out with the intention of shooting whatever presented itself as I'm really getting antsy to get that first deer. But after seeing those solid bucks I just couldn't get myself to settle on a spike. Had a couple of does that I just couldn't get in range. They seemed to be moving with conviction. Oddly enough, no bucks following any of the does I saw. One doe came crashing over a ridge full speed. Headed straight at me until it finally noticed me at around ten yards and made a sharp left turn. That was pretty entertaining. Not sure what had her so worked up. Hoped for a big buck chasing but nothing. Decided to spend the last hour or two sitting over the trails where that first buck group passed. Within five minutes of sitting down against a tree overlooking a rub line, notice a tick crawling up my leg. Light grey and tiny must have been a nymph or whatever. I'm permethrined throughout but this thing was just working its way up the pant leg like nothing's wrong. It just really skeeved me out and said eff that and headed out. Crappy end but best hunt I've had since I started. I think I'm finally getting the proper pace down. First time where I didn't inadvertently bump a deer. Well except for the two does on my way out of the woods. But that doesn't count since I was running away from ticks.

Out of the car and into the woods just around legal. Bumped two not even 100 yards off the road. Couldn't tell if they were does or bucks. They just mooned me and jetted off. Started still hunting, had a doe clear broadside at 20 but decided to pass. Holding out to have a buck be my first. Also figured that's three deer in less than 15 minutes, I'll we swimming in em throughout the day. Ended up bumping one buck while trying to cut through some brush as a shortcut and that was it. Might have to take whatever comes my way first next time out. Even though it was slightly chillier this morning (around 45-50) they're still not moving. All deer I saw were bedded. Started getting too warm in the afternoon so I tried sitting. Got bored after an hour. Just then some random woman stomping down the trail looking for mushrooms I think. Decided to pack it up, perfect timing as some large hiking group started making their way in. Need some true weather shifts to get those bucks on their feet.

Buy them in store and order online (shipping should be free for that amount). Use whatever now while you wait for the order to be delivered. Return the online order with the in-store receipt. You have to make two trips but you get the discount, the points and get the product right away. A lot of retailers do this as a way to boost their e-commerce sales volumes for the books. I've been exclusively leasing for the last few years. Did the math and with most cars you need to own them for at least ten years to make a significant financial advantage over leasing (at least for the numbers I ran). Call it wasteful spending if you want, but I do like having a new car every few years and not having to worry about any repairs. Remember to always go zero down in NY as there is no benefit to a down payment. And always negotiate on the purchase price of the car, not the monthly payment. For those worried about mileage, the difference between 10k miles/year and 15k miles is about $20/month on most leases. You can also pre-buy extra mileage on top at a much lower rate. And if you stay with the same make/dealership on your next lease they're usually pretty good about waiving most overage fees.

Saw zip zilch nada upstate last Friday. Have Sarnoff and Hither Hills lined up on the island for the next few weeks. Still wish it was a little cooler, especially with the tick situation on the island. I'm drowning in permethrin.

Hit up some public land in Columbia county from 7 to about 3ish. Was thinking about staying all day but decided to get back home in time to have the guys over to watch the Yankees game Not one deer seen. Plan was to still hunt in the morning while it was somewhat cooler and then look for some good signs and sit over that area. I saw one tiny scat pile. No rubs or scrapes. There were deer here last season and a whole lot of signs but nothing this time around. I wonder if they only roll into the area late in the season. Otherwise just a bunch of squirrels. One turkey in the distance. Oh and I had my first bear encounter. Probably stick to bowhunting on the island for now. Not happy about next weekend being another warm one. Wonder if I'll have to scout some new public lands for rifle season. Not seeing deer is one thing, a complete lack of any proof of existence is another.

I don't have a lot of experience but still able bodied and pretty good pain tolerance. Ha. also will bring a victory monte So yah available in LI

Stopped by the Field and Stream here on the island during lunch. Deer corn is buy two get one free. At least two guys in line behind me with carts full.

Congrats Tug. Hoping to get my first this season as well.

I think the Hawkeyes (what they call the M77s now) retail for a similar price point to the Tikkas ($7-800). The Americans in .308 can be had for under $400. Stocks are $150 (for a standard Boyds). The American actions are easy DIY drop ins and you don't need to pay smithing fees to swap the stocks. Not saying the Hawkeyes aren't good rifles, pretty much any modern rifle in the proper caliber will consistently kill game. They aren't super budget shooters in my opinion and at that price point, I'd rather get the Tikka.

Tikka/Sako rifles are very sweet shooters. I've shot a couple of models and they all shot and felt really nice, very very smooth action. The T3X Hunter will get you what you want for around $7-800. If you want to go with a more budget route, I'd take a look at the Ruger American line. I don't think any come with a wooden stock from the factory, but at the prices they go for you can easily add a nice Boyd's or other aftermarket woodstock and still be way under the $1k mark. I've got the predator in .308 and while the plastic stock is pretty cheap, overall it's a solid shooter. Thinking of dropping it into a At-One stock in the future but I also don't mind the synthetic stock as a throw around beater of sorts.

I never understood the satisfaction of hunting over a bait pile. It takes away from the fair chase idea in my opinion. Now if you're hunting out of sheer necessity, in an area where deer are hard to come by and not getting a deer means no meat for a year, then it's understandable. That being said, I wouldn't want the state or any government introducing more laws around the sale of bait or whatnot. As others have mentioned, NY already has plenty of stupid laws and regulations.

That's what I figured. Just wanted to be sure as the DEC regs aren't always the clearest in the world. As for the battery issue, I would def pop in a fresh one when I went out and carry a few spares. I think it uses the same battery as the red dot on my .22 plinker. I've left that on overnight by mistake and it still has plenty of juice so as long as I don't get too careless, it should be a non-issue. I'm just wondering if I should make the change now considering the opener is only a few weeks out. Sighting in and working out any kinks and what not.

Currently shoot a Spot Hogg 5 pin sight, I was at a range and ran into a guy shooting a single pin which piqued my interest. Stumbled upon the Apex Gear Covert Pro which is a single pin/dot with more of a rifle scope like reticle. According to the DEC, it is unlawful to take big game with: A firearm or bow aided by any artificial light or a laser that projects a beam toward the target. The Apex Gear has a lighted dot but it doesn't project anything so it should be considered 100% legal correct? I know there's a regular single fiber optic pin option but I don't like vertical pin sights, I'm a bit fickle and picky when it comes to visuals. Prefer a floating dot or a horizontal pin.

Again, very impressive. I would think the pin would cover most of the target at that range.

90? Are you using some sort of scope on the sight? I don't wear glasses but I don't think I'd be able to see clearly out to 90 yards using a regular pin sight.

wow, didn't expect this thread to blow up. I suppose evidence of sex gets trickier when you take a doe and quarter it (like Belo said, cutting out the cooter just sounds wrong whereas taking the testicles off a buck doesn't seem so bad). I've only got buck tags so I'm sure taking out the head with antlers is sufficient in proving sex. I'll probably take the teabag as an insurance anyway. Maybe throw it at slow left lane drivers on the way home. Kidding, maybe.

If you check out the deal sites you can get real, vetted bows for just a little more than those Amazon offerings. If you went with the Amazon route, whatever money you saved on the bow you'd end up losing when it came to getting it all setup at a shop. With shop fees being what they are in most of NY, I'd look into getting a bow from them unless you were getting a great deal that was saving you a couple hundred. If not, then it's better to pay a bit more at an actual shop and get all the initial service free with purchase. That being said, I would definitely research different bows before going to the shop so you don't feel pressured to get whatever they steer you towards.

Killing me with all these Suffolk Archers pics J. Still on the waiting list. I've noticed my first shot is usually my best, anyone else feel that way?

Dutchess itself is bow and shotgun/muzzle loader only. Most of the counties north and west of it allow rifle.

Ha, my wife would not be surprised if I went that route just to spite her. But then I'd have to contend with all the other wives in the neighborhood. I don't know if my neighbors are antis but the area in general doesn't scream hunter friendly. I guess you're not familiar with Long Island... most of your barns are probably the size of our property lots. Honestly, not bringing home the entire thing is not a big deal to me. I'm sure it's a little easier when you have it hanging but I've been watching a lot of tutorials on Indian quartering and the like. I'm sure it will take longer the first few times but it doesn't look too bad. And like NFA-ADK mentioned, I get to leave the ticks and other critters in the field. So the plan, all contingent on filling my *first* tag - quarter and place into separate game bags, mostly for organization sake. Hams in one bag, shoulders in another, backstraps and loins, and organs. 4 game bags total into a garbage bag into the pack with a teabag on top for extra confirmation of sex. And a nice 10pt head strapped to the pack (wishful thinking). Basically coming home with groceries and with my end of the bargain held up, wife can't give me grief about boiling the skull in the backyard for euro mounting. Everything comes up Milhouse...

The one compromise my wife asked for when I took up hunting was that there would be no deer carcasses hanging in the backyard. So my only option is to drop off the deer with a processor or field quarter it and pack it out. I prefer the second option as I like to be part of the entire process. What, if any, are the restrictions/rules regarding packing out game? i.e. what can be left behind? I'm going to pack out as much meat as possible but wouldn't be going as far as trying to dig out meat from between the ribs or every possible nook and cranny or anything like that. Only organs I'd be taking would be the heart, liver and kidneys. evidence of sex, if I take a buck and bring the head out with me is that sufficient or do the actual sex organs have to be in with the packed out meat? and one random bit I've found floating around, if I spread the meat out between multiple game bags, does each bag really need it's own tag? I'm hoping the rules would be the same for the entirety of NY but if there are special nuances between upstate and Long Island I'd like to know as well. Thank you fine folks.