Northcountryman

I believe he’s been in and out of the hospital hasn’t he? There was a rumour that he had died last year I think .

No doubt , this is one of the behaviors by the left that frustrates me the most . Stop Making everything about race I say!!

Yes , i fear this more than anything and looks like we’re well on our way

And Unfortunately, I’m quite sure that he would He would probably say the same thing about us and our point of view . No, Not dangerous , just wrong .

A perfect example of what is truly wrong in today’s political climate . What happened to civil debate and respect for the other sides opinions , even if you disagree with them ? People “tribe up” too much today and demonize the other side to the extent where communication of ideas breaks down. I disagree profoundly with many of the positions and ideas posited by my brethren on the left But that does NOT make them evil or stupid IMHO , just wrong !! And if I’m wrong Instead , then let’s have a conversation Where you present facts to me in a cogent manner and persuade me and perhaps then , I’ll change my mind !!

I know EXACTLY what you mean . I did the same thing multiple times throughout the season and my timidity possibly cost Me IMHO. In retrospect , I would subscribe to the “nothing ventured nothing gained “ maxim and will try to remember that for next year. If you’re not scoring , you’ve got nothing to lose anyway so, might as well adopt a more aggressive approach and try to shake things up a bit . I , also , will Be more open to doing some still hunting when not seeing deer for extended lengths of time . Finally -although risky- in season scouting is an option when you’re getting skunked . There were some potential spots identified in my app that I wanted to check out , yet , I hesitated for fear of spooking deer .

Do you mean Bow, Rifle or Muzzle ?

Maybe you’re right , but , I think there’s something to this; I agree that playing The wind is prudent , however , certain cover scents - if effective -may also Serve a purpose . My thinking is that the cover scent masks human odor enough to confuse the deer so that it doesn’t raise a red flag . Some , here , have also mentioned that , in order for the scent to be effective , it should make sense or “fit” as a natural background scent And I agree with that. For example , if your hunting in Florida , would you use wood smoke as a cover scent ? Probably wouldn’t make sense right ? But , in upstate NY absolutely!!

Really , where did you get that info? I’d like to check it out

I think there’s definitely something to this lol; I’ve also heard peanut butter and vanilla ?

I read that an old Indian trick was to use wood smoke as a cover scent for deer hunting ; evidently , they would really smoke up their clothes prior to a hunt and would enjoy considerable success . Additionally, I’ve read that Pine Sol was used by some old timers . Anyone ever heard of and/ or used either of these and , if so, do you think it was effective? Thanks

Hey Guys , copied this portion of an old essay On Deer Hunting written by John James Audubon Back in 1831. Upon reading , struck me as a crude form of deer jacking , except torch lighting is used instead of headlights !! Check it out : The mode of destroying deer by fire-light, or, as it is named in some parts of the country, forest-light, never fails to produce a very singular feeling in him who witnesses it for the first time. There is something in it which at times appears awfully grand. At other times a certain degree of fear creeps over the mind, and even affects the physical powers of him who follows the hunter through the thick undergrowth of our woods, having to leap his horse over hundreds of huge fallen trunks, at one time impeded by a straggling grape-vine crossing his path, at another squeezed between two stubborn saplings, whilst their twigs come smack in his face, as his companion has forced his way through them. Again, he now and then runs the risk of breaking his neck, by being suddenly pitched headlong on the ground, as his horse sinks into a hole covered over with moss. But I must proceed in a more regular manner, and leave you, kind reader, to judge whether such a mode of hunting would suit your taste or not. The hunter has returned to his camp or his house, has rested and eaten of his game. He waits impatiently for the return of night. He has procured a quantity of pine knots filled with resinous matter, and has an old frying-pan, that, for aught I know to the contrary, may have been used by his great-grandmother, in which the pine-knots are to be placed when lighted. The horses stand saddled at the door. The hunter comes forth, his rifle slung on his shoulder, and springs upon one of them, while his son, or a servant, mounts the other with the frying-pan and the pine-knots. Thus accoutred, they proceed towards the interior of the forest. When they have arrived at the spot where the hunt is to begin, they strike fire with a flint and steel, and kindle the resinous wood. The person who carries the fire moves in the direction judged to be the best. The blaze illuminates the near objects, but the distant parts seem involved in deepest obscurity. The hunter who bears the gun keeps immediately in front, and after a while discovers before him two feeble lights, which are produced by the reflection of the pine-fire from the eyes of an animal of the Deer or Wolf kind. The animal stands quite still. To one unacquainted with this strange mode of hunting, the glare from its eyes might bring to his imagination some lost hobgoblin that had strayed from its usual haunts. The hunter, however, nowise intimidated, approaches the object, sometimes so near as to discern its form, when, raising the rifle to his shoulder, he fires and kills it on the spot. He then dismounts, secures the skin and such portions of the flesh as he may want, in the manner already described, and continues his search through the greater part of the night, sometimes until the dawn of day, shooting from five to ten Deer, should these animals be plentiful. This kind of hunting proves fatal, not to the Deer alone, but also sometimes to Wolves, and now and then to a horse or cow, which may have straggled far into the woods.

Well, another ones in the books ! A very enjoyable season for me -sort of a respite from all the craziness in the world goin on around us-and hopefully for you as well. In terms of success though , certainly not a good season for me as I ended up empty handed . I did , however , learn a thing or two which, to me , is a success in and of itself ; and hopefully I can build on that for next Year!! Here , in no particular order , are my observations / lessons learned from the 2020 season: 1) NEVER go into the woods during hunting season without your gun!! ( did that a few weeks ago scouting a new area to fill my doe tag and kicked one up; coulda had a decent shot ; not definite but pretty solid : damn!!) 2)Just because you see some sign earlier in the season, doesn’t mean the spot you picked is a good spot!! Consider the big picture before committing to a spot and erecting a stand !! Last year , I erected a ladder stand in a spot on a flat where there were a couple rubs and a scrape . Because of this sign, I erected my ladder stand there . As it turns out ,?this stand location sucked !! Was facing in the wrong direction , was way off any regular trails that deer were actually using and I only ended Up seeing one little doe out of it . Definitely jumped to conclusions on that one !! 3)Give a spot a real chance before you live your stand !! One of the things I kept doing was moving my climber 100 yds this way, then back 100, etc and kept giving up on the area. In the end , I think I raised too much of a ruckus in that area , wasted time adjusting when I should have been hunting and didn’t really give the original spot a Real chance !! 4)Sometimes , an aggressive approach may actually work!! This is speculative in my part , but , the way they disappeared after Thanksgiving , I regret that I didn’t try still hunting more in some spots where I suspected bucks were holding up. At that point , what did I have to lose ? At the very least , may have at least learned something from the experience, and , best case scenario , filled my tag!!!! 5) Be flexible in your approach and attitude , and , be willing to modify and adapt. I am preferentially , an early morning hunter but , as it turns out , the major spot I’d scouted for this season appeared to be more of an afternoon / sunset spot which I am more reluctant to do. In retrospect , with better planning , I Should have Tried that spot in the pm at least a few times . 6)deep / remote spots don’t necessarily equate to “ better” spots in terms of productivity . Some of the area that the guys in my club regularly hunt is much more accessible and closer to the road . I discounted these areas , thinking they would be unproductive due to the Consistent pressure . Although I still feel that is somewhat true, it’s also an oversimplification because I feel that if A parcel of land comprises everything a deer requires , it’s attractive for them to use regardless of pressure . They may go nocturnal as a consequence of the pressure and be much more skiddish , yet , they may also still be there !!! Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to all , here’s hoping for a better new year all around !!

Nice , congrats to you !!

Get well soon , keep us posted please

I have no doubt that this tends to be true but, where I hunt , pattern suggests they are doing the opposite . Over the years , the guys who have been hunting this area a long time all say That they see bucks come down from the higher ridge areas in the early morning and appear either to be be heading down to the creek bottom , or, traveling parallel to the mid level ridges from East to west . I can’t figure it out . I think they like to bed in some tough to reach areas kind of near the creek bottom but , not necessarily in it due to its inaccessibility / very little hunting pressure there .

The area that I hunt has a lot of steep changes in elevation and, I’ve struggled to understand deer movements in terms of their diurnal tendencies or patterns on a consistent basis . My feeling is ,that they tend to bed on the ridges And slopes near the Creek down in a bit in elevation and tend to travel up higher to feed in the fields and around houses in the afternoon due to thermals advantageous to them . From my reading , I understand that morning thermals cause air to rise as it a heated and creates a thermal drifting upward whereas , in the late afternoon , once temps are dropping , air cools and drops , causing thermals to drift downward or, to lower elevations . Considering this , I’m thinking that deer tend to prefer traveling against the thermals in order to maximize their scent detecting abilities ; thus , they would travel down in elevation or slope in the early morning as thermals drift up towards their noses and upward or higher I. Elevation in the afternoon as thermals pull scent down to them from above . Applying this to the area that I hunt , I’m thinking that coming in from the creek bottom at an angle and climb a bit to a mid level ridge -expecting deer to be traveling down from the top in the am-would be optimal for a morning hunt . If I come up from the top - which I could do and would actually be easier , travel wise - I’m afraid I’ll bump them noise-wise traveling with them towards the ridges above the creek . What do you think ? Thanks

That’s great , good job! You mind me asking how you were able to sneak up on him ? Last week , I went into a DEP parcel to have a look around and walked up on a nice deer (not sure if a buck or not, but not nice , nevertheless ). I wasn’t being quiet , just traipsing around , And he let me walk right up close . Actually there was another deer there. , also , that Snort wheezed at my approach but, that I didn’t catch a glimpse of. I wonder why it is that sometimes, they’ll slip away when they hear your approach while other times , they either stay still and you either see them or you don’t ? I. Retrospect , I shoulda brought my damn gun!! Guy in my club yelled at me saying “ always bring your gun with you in to the woods during the season!! “ I woulda filled my tag cuz definitely had a shot , oh well

On a hunch , I went to the other side of the property I hunt and went in from the other side down by the creek; sure enough , found several tracks and followed . To my surprise , the trail I was following was perfectly due south with no meandering whatsoever . So , Do they carry a compass or something ??!! Wow !! I was shocked and impressed !!

Ok, got it; so airing out your clothes outdoors helps to reduce scent also? Just put my stuff out on the porch to air out for the day. So, you get dressed at your spoty then? Noty a bad idea but kind of a pain isnt it? Also, when youre done hunting , do you change out to your street clothes before climbing back into the truck?

Thats something that Ive been meaning to start myself; may I ask where you got that ledger sheet?

Hey guys , on another thread where we were discussing scent control , one of the guys mentioned using baking soda when storing his hunting clothes . I wanna try that so, I got myself a plastic storage Tote and gonna get some baking soda . My question is : do I pour a bunch in there along the bottom, or , just open the top of the box and stick it in there ? I think this may be the ticket to help me reduce my scent and wanna dial it in before next sit . Saturday , I was in my climber and , although. I didn’t see anything , heard some faint commotion off to my left front about 100 yds away . Sounded like movement and snorting . Well , it was goin on for awhile and then went away . Afterwards , got down and , sure enough , major deer trails all intersecting there and bedding areas off to the side !! Did they smell me maybe ? Moved my stand over there for next sit but don’t wanna get busted !!

Is that thick cover area a bedding area would you say ?

Sure, IF you can organize a drive; but what about if/when hunting solo?

I think I’ve learned more in this one thread than all others I’ve ever read on here !! Wow! So he didn’t break stride and shot it so that it wouldn’t bolt?