WNY Bowhunter

Right handed with right eye dominate...both eyes open both gun/bow.

I've got plenty of room on my walls...lol.

Here's what he looked liked towards the end of summer last year. Hoping he becomes a straight up 5 x 5 this year...

Another cam check today. I was happy to see Wannabe again. It's amazing to see his antler development over the past three weeks and also how quickly he transitioned to his summer coat... June 10th... May 19th...

I make this all the time. Very simple...just put a roast in the crock pot for 5-6 hours...pull it apart and mix in some bbq sauce (I like Sweet Baby Rays).

Lee, I'm guessing you are planning your trip for April before our seasons here in NY / PA? I hope to make it out to Nebraska within the next few years too. I really want to kill a merrimams. Although, you get into the big winter flocks early in season...they say the best time to hunt them is in May towards the end of the season. You might have a hard time finding one with big enough spurs though...lol. If you are planning on hunting OH, I would look into KY instead of IN...you can kill two KY birds for the same price as one in Indiana. I think KY opens the weekend before OH though. When I hunted Daniel Boone NF a few years back the place was infested with Ohio hunters.

He was probably so light in weight because his breast sponge was depleted after two months of breeding. He was likely several years older than 5...

I'm not discounting your claims...your pics will back up your claim. All I'm saying is that spurs of that size are incredibly RARE anywhere!!!

Ummnn...seriously? The number of 1 3/4" spurs taken in NY is no doubt lower than the numbers of true 25 lb birds and 12" beards taken. You hear about them but never see the evidence to back up the claims. I have seen well over 100 dead longbeards from around by area over my 22 year hunting career and only one bird taken by my uncle in 2010 has hit the 1.5" mark (one was 1 5/8)... Congrats, you killed what is equivalent to a 200+ inch buck!!!

Put all my stuff away yesterday. It's a long wait til October 1st...

First card pulls of the new antler growing season!!! I am very happy to see this guy (aka Wannabe) still alive. The last pics I got of him were just before daylight on 12/13 (which was the final day of regular gun season) and he never showed up during post season like he has every other year. He is now a 5 year old...been watching since the summer of '12 when he was a yearling 8-pt. My fingers are crossed that he will add some inches after the mild winter and break 140 this year. We'll see in about 7-8 weeks... Last year: This guy almost fooled me, but I recognized him after taking a closer look at the pics. I saw him several times post season still wearing antlers into late february. He is a 4 year old...while he doesn't appear to have the best genetics, he has a lot of character and I can't wait to see what he looks like in August!!! Note the scar over his shoulders... The three evenly spaced notches in the left ear... Last year:

Good luck guys!

Oops. Double post.

Thanks! Still out chasing those Addison birds?

I think I may have finally caught up with the gobbler that I've been chasing for the past couple of weeks. My wife nearly killed him yesterday morning but he slipped through our fingers. Had him going this morning til 7:00 but neither I nor the real hens could lure him down the hillside. Eventually, he just shut up and I figured he had crossed the road above us. I left and drove around to check out another area and on the way back through where I had worked the bird earlier that morning, I spotted two longbeards fanned out in a corner of field circling each other and getting ready to fight!!! I hurried to get into position to intercept them further up the field. I got to the field not knowing exactly how far from them I was and was contemplating my next move when a full fan suddenly came into view at 35yds!!! I didn't even have time to sit...I raised the gun...he was facing away...I got him to raise life his head out of strut and delivered a load of Longbeard XR's to his face. Game over at 8:50. The other gobbler and 4-5 hens stood there and watched as I ran out to retrieve him. Not bad for the subordinate bird...almost 22lb, 10.5" beard and 1 1/4" hooks. One of the two was the "youth season" gobbler I had been after. The other one will have to wait until next year. This is the latest in season that I've ever punched a tag but it was worth the wait!!! It's been a rough season plagued by close calls and a miss early on. I've only really hunted two spots but was within striking distance of gobblers nearly every morning but just couldn't seal the deal. He lost a few tail feathers during the retrieval process. I also got a nice gash on my finger from grabbing his legs... This one's for you Reeltime...limbhanger!!!

I threw up an airball at a gobbler on Mother's Day. I hate missing...

Roosted the bird from my last post again tonight. My wife and I will be set up in the woods he's roosted in in the morning. Has four hens with him so we will need to get in there super early...

Only hens in the field last night. I'll see if he's around tonight. Planning on hunting the final four days...

Few more pics of the last two... Remount of my bowkill...

He gobbled good on the roost but never came out into the field...stayingon the hillside with the hens. We had to back out because I have to work. Got a better setup planned for tomorrow. Also had 6 bucks come across the field...

Hoping for deja vu in the morning. Just roosted a longbeard in the same exact spot I killed my bird yesterday. He strutted out in the field with 3 hens til 8:52! It's the EXACT same hunt as yesterday. I killed the imposter bird, this one is the full bearded one that has been there for the post two months. My wife will be behind the gun. We are gonna try without the blind...

Only heard a few gobbles in the distance this morning. Was cruising along a logging road and came across a big pile of fresh bear crap...100 yds later I came up on the bear standing in the trail!!! Looked pretty big, I just backed off and went back up the trail the way I came.

Yeah, I flipped the blind and ran to the bird. He wasn't going any where, but I always get right on them to make sure. Good luck!

Thanks everyone!!! Actually, the gun is a buddy of mine's...he just bought it for $175 and wanted me to break it in for him. It throws a great pattern, now I just need him to sell it to me!!!

Had a quick, textbook hunt this morning. Saw this guy strutting out in the field last night with 3 hens. Set up a blind and dekes in the field this morning. He started gobbling at 5:15. I didn't call to him until he hit the ground. My calls got a hen fired up and he went crazy. Within a few minutes a hen came down and headed for the decoys. He came out running in 3/4 strut. I could see his stubby beard but he had a full fan and definately wasn't a jake so I clucked on the mouth call to stop him...he stopped and looked around and I leveled him. Game over at 5:45!!! Got screwed in the beard department. My last gobbler had 5 beards so I can't complain too much. Fourth kill of the season with the Halloran Metal Mouth...love this call!!!