WNY Bowhunter

This guy is by far the pickiest client that I've ever had! I have to admit that the McKenzie 6900 floor pedestal with the Ohio taxidermy replacement head turned out AWESOME. I'd have to say that it is probably my favorite deer mount that I've ever put together. It looks much better in person than what the pics of it convey...

I appreciate the comment! I've got a forum member's buck on deck to be finished and sent home by next weekend hopefully....

I didn't make the pedestal base. The guy who killed the deer was a former taxidermist and will finish the base himself too.

I just put the finishing touches on this guy. It would be a lot of work to haul him outside for a photo shot...he deserves better pictures than this but what a stud of a buck regardless. He grossed 173 5/8 and nets 170 1/8. This Schuyler County 6x6 was the #2 typical net bowkill in the state from 2020 behind the new state record Herbert buck from Long Island.

A few of the better ones from today's pulls. I'm most excited about the middle one, he's a 5 yr old this year. Not a giant by any means but 4 yrs of history (notice left ear notch). Thought he had probably been shot last season. Between this property and another I hunt a mile away, I know of at least 25 bucks that were killed last season...four were 150"+

Awesome! Can't wait to see the reaction of that old bumbling fool in the Whitehouse tonight...

Lobster still should be tossed into the garbage. I'm sure swans are delectable but after a day of shooting them in the summer they don't worry about processing the carcasses.

They take them in the landfill.

A buddy of mine that works for USDA-APHIS has been up there shooting them all spring.

He's 20.5" inside. l believe he gross scored around 153 non-typical with the flyer (scored him a day or two after he was killed).

Idk if they weighed him? He was a good sized deer... I'd guess he dressed 180-185# range. For age, I guess 5.5, no pics of anything similar looking in '20 but and I'm pretty certain I have pics of him in '19 at 3.5 yo. For sake of argument, we'll say that he's as old as he's going to ever get, lol.

I just put the finishing touches on a heartbreaker buck that I was hoping to put my own tag on last fall. As fate would have it, a late night of skinning and caping other people's bucks caused me to skip out on the second morning of season and this deer was shot on a neighboring property a couple hundred yards away from my stand where I was sitting the previous morning. The last pic was from a series of pics my cell cam sent me that morning. I had no idea what they were dragging out until I met the guy at the local butchershop and he approached me about caping a deer for him that he may end up mounting. When he pulled into my driveway and I dropped the tailgate on his truck...my jaw dropped too. Really wasn't expecting it to be "my deer". So it goes during gun season in NY...

Dang, she sounds like she's as set. Hopefully dad buys her a nice .243 to take out too!!! Lol

Good luck to you two this fall. Will see be able to hunt the youth season?

I've got another batch of mounts on the drying wall ready to get finished and out the door. Just finished this one today, a beautiful Steuben County 10-point shot by a 14-year-old about a half a mile from my house..

Down to the wire limbhanger...

My biggest hooks to date...1 7/16, 22.25lb, 10.5 beard. He's been beating me all season but messed up today. Same bird I passed yesterday morning

What an ending!

I ended up passing a shot on the longbeard that I've been after this morning. Sat out in the front field until just before 8:00 when I got up and walked out to a hayfield that was just mowed. Got right to the corner and see a big full fan out the field about 75 yds from me. So I snuck up on him and he was just out there fanning looking around gobbling. I crawled up to about 55-60. Had a solid rest and he was just standing there in the wide open. The 835/TSS combo wanted to bark but just too iffy. One last try there tomorrow morning

Hooked = tagged???!!!

One tagged filled so far. It's been tough here in the fingerlakes region. Buddies of mine who are turkey killing machines are really struggling this year too. Just a really low number of huntable birds. A lot of the gobblers are still henned up.

Got one hammering close and another in the distance. I'm set up to call for my dad.

I finally managed to roost a pair of strutters, two jakes and a couple of hens last night. It's been a dismal season for turkey sightings. Watched these birds out here until a little after 8:00 last night. The dominant tom actually bred one of the hens just before exiting the field. He's gobbled several times already on the hill just across the road. I'm waiting for him in the blind hoping that the light rain pushes them back out into the open. First open field/blind hunt in quite a while. I've got until 7:30 or so.

If anyone could send me the coordinates of such a dumb easy to kill private land bird it would be greatly appreciated because I can't find any here...

I hunted a spot yesterday where the first two days the birds were very vocal . Yesterday morning I heard one distant one I ended up going after because I heard nothing closer. Drove by at 6:30 and there were four gobblers following some hens right by my original setup even though they never gobbled once on the roost. This morning back up there and not a single gobble anywhere. Sat there on the field edge waiting for them to show up without calling until 7:00 and nothing. Back after them tomorrow.