reeltime

Just had group 2 go by all 5 trotted across the opening so no shot. Gotta wait till the 810 815 group comes thru now. Have not seen gimpy this morning she is the one with the beer can foot Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Dang well frank just missed a big doe. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Finally got frank into the blind. Its pouring rain here but warm. If the deer didn't change their routine this morning they should be here in 18 minutes. On a good note the 4 wd works in the new truck lol. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Saw 21 doe but frank could not get a shot. The only other excitement was a road hunter stopping and was sure he was going to try and shoot one of the deer standing in the barn yard but another vehicle came down the road. Glad he didn't shoot as it would of caused me to to do more work tonight burning a CD for the warden, the person didn't know it but they were live on 2 fisheye cameras and mom was watching them with the phone in hand to make the call if they shot. The joys of being in the middle of nowhete and dealing with several old time pa traditions. Lol. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

I can move from spot to spot end beat the deer travel times. Its a little tougher with frank as I need to be able to drive up to his hunting spot since he can not walk far on uneven ground nor uphill and there is NO flat land here. Its been a long and expensive 3 years of recovery but things are turning around for the local deer herd. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Got frank back in a blind waiting for deer to start moving. We say 41 doe and 2 small bucks Saturday. Only saw 9 doe this morning but had to leave to take care of some truck stuff. Frank said he's right at home as its gotta be 80 in this blind with the sun beating down on us and no wind. He said its just like he is still in Florida. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

for your sake you better hope nobody else shoots that dog and walks away leaving it for the neighbor to find as I would suspect that your door will be the first one the authorities knock on seeing as he now has a threatening text from you.

good luck everyone. Live from camp, 25* heavy frost, I got Franks med pump hooked up and we should be headed to the barn in a while. one things for sure its been an interesting trip to camp and quite expensive so far. not LOL'ing at all. OIY, well if Frank gets a deer it will make things a little better i guess.

agreed, they should of added another 0 to that fine minimum. poaching is poaching no matter how you try to justify it. the same ones that say they shoot an extra deer because they need the meat are standing there trying to justify it with a cigarette and a beer in their hands.

nothing for me, if we want something through the year we get it that way we get the right thing.

good grief philo your gonna scare her away before she ever gets settled in, heck next thing your gonna tell her is that she needs to meet Pygmy, lol

you will do fine Artemis with your camo pattern, what I meant by too much green is if your in a spring camo pattern and setting in a leafless brush pile you are going to stand out, remember animals live there they know the area as well as you know your own living room. movement gets people busted more than anything else, that's why I said make sure you are comfortable where you sit, if your not comfortable you will be fidgeting around and more than likely alerting deer before you ever see them. Along the same lines is as I said scent control, often times people are not even aware that a deer has winded them as they just turn around and sneak off before the hunter ever knows they are there, If you get snow on the ground get out there and check for tracks that will tell you if the area you are hunting shows enough sign to put forth more effort.

welcome aboard, as others have said in woods experience will teach you a lot. Deer tracks can tell you a lot of information if you know your area well. If your hunting near agriculture fields you will likely find heavily used trails leading to and from the fields, this is also true in forested areas as deer generally have a feeding area even in big woods. setting up on the trails at the time they are likely being used is key, what I mean is if you set up on a trail the deer use to get to their feeding area but use different trails leading to their bedding area you want to set up on the going to trails in the afternoon and the return trails in the mornings. Scent control, while its true that some people pay no attention to scent control and kill deer its always something to think about and pay attention to. While true we can never become 100% scent free but we may be able to get our scent level down to a tolerable level to the deer where they feel we had passed through the area but are no longer present. Speaking from personal experience, I am a fanatic about scent control with everything, clothes, equipment, boots, pack, bow, stands, anything and everything. I never wear a complete outfit more than 1 time without washing it again in scent free soap and line drying. I have totes full of complete outfits from socks to safety harnesses, everything gets washed after 1 use. I hunt the wind and thermals, if the wind or thermals are not right I don't hunt that stand, I pushed the envelope 1 time last year and it cost me a chance at picket. This year I vowed to not make that rookie mistake again and twice during archery season I baled out of my stand and ran out of the area because the wind changed direction. I was very deliberate in my scent control regime and on my 4th encounter with picket I was able to put an arrow through him. Everyone has their regime that works for them and what works for them may not work for someone else. Keep working at things and once you get to the point of seeing deer you can fine tune your preparations for the hunt and success will follow. The thing to remember is with whitetail deer we are up against some of the best eyes, ears and noses in the woods,,,,in their HOME, they live there 24/7/365 they know the woods far better than we ever will, They are in full survival mode 24/7/365. If you are hunting from the ground camo is of utmost importance, match your surroundings. What I mean is you don't want a spring green pattern at this time of year, you want to blend in to your surroundings. as someone else said, set up against a large tree or in a fallen tree top. You don't want to cut a bunch of shooting lanes or trees, remember you are in their home they WILL notice the change. Make sure you are comfortable setting there. Be aware of how much your moving, be aware of your surroundings. Often times squirrels, birds(blue jays especially) can tip you off to an approaching deer. Instant success when starting out on your own is rare, don't get discouraged and don't try to learn everything at once as you will simply become overwhelmed and get discouraged quickly. Practice with your weapon, whether bow or gun. concentrate on form, follow through, target acquisition, make it all second nature that will build confidence and that confidence will pay dividends when the moment of truth arrives. trail cameras can certainly help in the scouting department, when using cameras you want to be careful with how often you check them, every trip in the woods leaves scent, touching the camera leaves scent. I would say no more than once a week check of the cameras unless you are out in the area almost on a daily basis as a normal daily routine. enough rambling from me. enjoy the sport of hunting.

Yes we are in pa. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Yes they are. Mine is topped with a 4 to 16 tasco rangefinder scope. When Gavin shot it Saturday morning he clover leafed 3 shots dead center bullseye at 100 yards off the bench. Coltins is a 788 carbine that was an old encon rifle. It shoots sweet also but minga does it bark with that short barrel. These 2 kids are bouncing off the walls lol. I can remember being that excited when I killed my first one 40 years ago. Lol. Watching Gavin kill his first buck made my whole season!!! Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Well as we walked up to Gavin deer we heard a shot from where I put our other Jr. Hunter and his dad. Just as we finished gutting Gavin deer I got a text and Colton had a 7 point down, he made a great shot for only being 10 years old. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Well couldn't do live from the stand because in the middle of nowhere there's no cell service.... So I am live from camp now. At 745 am we had a buck chasing 7 doe. Tipped the can a few times and did a couple soft grunts. He turned and walked right towards us but one doe was trying to take him back up the hill. Gavin was shaking but calm he said I can shoot him in the neck. That's all he could see, I hear the safety click off and an immediate shot and the buck dropped in his tracks. Gavin did great for being 11 and making a great 75 yard shot. There ain't enough napkins to wipe the smile off his face. Lol. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

Gavin is awake and we will be leaving for the stand shortly hopefully he gets a chance at his first buck. good luck everyone.

when I butchered my buck this is the breakdown and yes that chart on the yield portion is on the high side. there is no way that I lost 27lbs of meat yield. all weights done on certified digital scale. chest circumference 42" dressed weight, exactly 183 lbs. (head and cape 46.6, front half 66.2, hind quarters 70.8) ended up with 67.12 (67 lbs 12 oz.) of deboned meat. 40lbs even of ribcage/backbone , legs, pelvis, shoulder blades. 27lbs of fat, bloodshot, front and rear legs that were cut off during skinning. I pick my deer pretty clean when processing. deer weights are way over estimated by most hunters. the average 1.5 yo deer dresses about 110-120 a 150 lb. dressed deer is a big deer, when you get get up into the 180 + range they make an average weight adult deer look like a fawn. When you get to 200lbs they look like a small pony ( I have seen a few of them when working at the deer check stations in NH and Maine) even in new england states they are not all that common.

I for one certainly hope that I am nowhere near you when you have one of these episodes, because I am almost certain in that frame of mind you are liable to shoot a person that it your mind looks ust like a bigfoot.....kinda like a person shooting another person when the shooter is stricken with "buck fever"

now ya didn't take grampy there so for that and since I feel so terrible for grampy cause he missed out you should invite me down to hunt there LOL.... JK .....sorta.. I would be camping out there if I were you!! good luck buddy.

yup, the athletes foot spray deodorant / antiperspirant, make sure its the antiperspirant, even a moderate walk will cause most peoples feet to get a little damp and that is the kiss of death for your feet.

i went through voss and went with the aluminum signs. used aluminum roofing nails and did not drive them in tight. went with alum. nails so if anyone ever has to cut up the tree an alum. nail wont ruin a chain on a saw. if you leave them out a little you will have years before the tree tightens them up and pulls the mail through the sign. i don't remember how much it was per sign when I bought the last batch I am pretty sure it was less than a buck a sign but I bought 500 signs.

nope, gotta finish up a window job on a customers house first thing in the morning, spent all evening bending metal inside my construction trailer with the door closed and heat on. lol All I have to do is trim to fit, nail it on and caulk all the seams. Good luck to everyone going out.

John. With out a doubt hr affected the numbers and as I have said before people stepped in to protect the deer. As I said it doesn't matter to me it won't change how I hunt and won't change my success, but for people to say it won't increase harvests its simply not true. Yes there are fluctuations but over all the numbers have increased both buck and doe. To me it's a tag doesn't matter if its killed with a bow,xbow,gun or bazooka its still a dead deer. You wouldn't believe some of the tag games we've seen down there with the mentor youth program and its a real shame adults have to do that stuff. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk