cwhite

Dave, that is a beautiful, although very common, yearling buck anywhere. Last year we had a yearling 9 pointer killed in the same food plot my pics came from. I let him walk several times. Antlers are not a good indicator of age but a wild, free roaming buck doesn't normally grow a rack that spreads over a foot with 6"+ times coming off it for its first set of antlers. The little guy you have here only spreads 8-9" with barely 3" tines. Remember he is in velvet so he looks more impressive. I've seen the buck I've posted live and in the flesh and I'm certain that if all the other experts on here saw him live, they would agree with me. The one on the left is a beautiful cull buck.

I heard from a pretty good source that the ECO's are going to be hitting the Bangor and Westville area pretty hard over the next couple weeks. Especially the little side roads off the Jewitte, Farm to Market and Cooks Corners Roads. Hopefully they will knock down a few jackers! Good luck this season.

This buck resides in the Brasher Swamp. Anyone can hunt him because his bedding area is on the state land. The food plot he frequents is on private property though. Unfortunately I haven't gotten a pic of a good buck in North Bangor. Too many yearlings get killed in my neck of the woods to have a decent buck dumb enough to get photographed. I have several nice bucks roaming the state land in Brasher. I may post those pics at the end of season.

I will concede that this could be a different buck, and if it is a different deer I would age him at 2 based off the picture as well. Reason I say he is he is the same one and a 3 year old is because I watched the deer in the second picture on several occasions and very close a couple times. I remember the unique rack he had. Now I am seeing a deer a year later with the same face, antlers (only a size or two larger) and about 30 pounds of body weight added. The pictures were captured in the same field, just different camera placement. Regardless, first chance I get we will have him up close and personal to judge. I will send the bottom jaw to a wildlife biologist for aging and post the age. I'll get adk3006 to verify it for all you skeptics.

OK, so there is no confusion. I call a deer a 3 year old when he is actually 3.5 years old during hunting season. I've seen this deer in the flesh on multiple occasions. He is a young 3 year old. (3.5 years old) Not a 2 year old. I believe he was an August fawn in 2008. Remember 2008/2009 winter was extremely mild. Regardless he should have better body size and headgear for his age. Joe, don't be fooled by the "newbie hunter" above my login name. I've been around the whitetail world for nearly 30 years. I have a good grasp on body characteristics. Only thing I can think is that the camera angle is concealing his age. The camera is set at 6' so it is looking down and out considerably. Burm, I have winter rye planted in that plot. I planted it on 9/15. It is a long narrow plot that covers about 1.25 acres. I plant the rye for feed during winter thaws and early spring. Unfortunately it doesn't usually do well because it is mowed by November. Dave, unless you are hunting behind a high fence somewhere you don't run into too many deer whose first set of antlers spread over a foot with 6" tines coming off the beams. I've killed plenty of baby bucks and none have come close to those dimensions. Regardless, here he is from last year.

See Joe, I don't normally post, especially photos, because I don't feel like listening to people who are way smarter than I am. But I will give it a shot. Last season I had a small herd of yearling bucks around and this buck was significantly larger and more dominant. He was also dominant to a couple 8 pointers. His body was more developed than his younger buddies. He had a larger and wider head than the younger deer too. I don't put too much into antler development but last year he was about 13-14" wide with 6"+ tines. (if he was a yearling it would be the largest set of wild antlers I have ever seen for the age) His demeanor was different from the young bucks as well. Much more moody and spooky. But what really convinced me that he was a 2 year old last year was the fact that I've studied deer since I was about 6 years old and I know a god damned two year old buck from a yearling when I see one. Oh yeah, most likely saw him in the 2009 season and didn't find him unique enough to remember at the time.

I know for certain that this deer is at least a 3 year old. I saw him last year as what I thought to be a young 2 year old and let him go. I have his pic and he was a large 4 point then as well. I thought he could turn into something better with another year. Now he is a three year old and still has a clean 4 point rack. For the area, his body and antler size isn't up to par with the majority of deer his age, but if I see him again, I'll proudly put my tag on him.

If I see him, he's dead. If I had nothing but money, I would get him mounted. I'm pretty certain he is 3. I have a photo of him from last year. I'm filtering through my pics of him then.

Up here the corn seems to be good. Due to the endless rain in May, a majority of the fields are just over a month old but seem to jump up an inch or two every day. My soy and corn plots are coming great. We had one stretch that was a little too dry, but for the most part we are getting good growing weather.

Easy Joe, I'm just pointing out that the stand method is a lethal way to harvest an animal. Even the animal that is recognized at the top land hunter in the world uses the sit and wait method. I agree with you and hunt in the manner that fullfills your desires the most. Who cares what others think, but don't belittle their styles. I enjoy a variety of hunting methods/tactics which include still hunting, stands, drives, etc.... I must say that the early 80's pick up truck with a million candle power and small caliber rifle is one of the deadliest approaches up here.

You know what, I'm going to have to call Bull Sh.... on this whole sitting in stands is waiting and not hunting thing. The most successfull hunters in the world find where their prey frequent and then sit and wait. I'm not talking humans. I'm talking about the cute and cuddly kitty cat.

Let me try to explain the difference. Feeders operate on timers in locations that don't provide natural feed, thus conditioning deer to respond to an area in an unnatural manner. A feeder goes off and the deer that shows up 3rd or 4th in line is S.O.L. until the next time a couple more pounds of kernels are spewed out. Most of the time a dominant doe will take over a feeder and beat the hell out of any intruder who dares to walk within 30 yards. How many times have you heard people who have feeders brag about them going off and watching deer within 15 minutes. If you think they don't turn deer into Pavlov's dogs then you are straight up in denial. The animals are conditioned by the sound of the feeder. They are also conditioned by the guy with the pale of apples and corn too. Food plots become as natural a food source as a farmers field after a few weeks of existence. No timers, no human intrusion, no deer fighting over it, etc..... My plots provide up to 5 tons of high quality feed per acre. The food is there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, rain or shine, whether I'm on vacation or drop dead tomorrow. A feeder spreads about 8 pounds of feed a day. Everyone in a one mile radius benefits from a food plot. The only person who benefits from a feeder is the guy sitting in his perch. I understand that food plots don't suit everyones hunting style. There are many ways to skin a cat. But it chaps me a bit when someone advocates baiting by saying it is the same thing as planting a food plot. No, they aren't.

"It's not so much that you hunt near or over them that makes it questionableto me.. it's more that you think you needed to in order to improve your chances of killing a deer..." I plant 6 different plots with numbers 7 and 8 in the works. One thing for sure is I do not need any of them to improve my chances of killing a deer. Plots are more than just killing an animal. - They are great places to bring my 5 and 8 year old boys hunting and have the best chances to see deer. Try still hunting with a 5 year old. - They make your hunting season last 9 months a year. - I've watched body weights increase by 15-20 pounds over the course of 3 years. - It is nice to go to these plots early june and find a pair of fawns stashed in the grass with their spots blending in with the white clover tops or watching a hen teach her 8 babies how to scratch and feed. - They give me something to do other than sit on the couch and watch Swam People re-runs. Several people I know have plots as a hobby. These guys are great hunters who have killed numerous trophy bucks without food plots. They plant food plots, not for the satisfaction of killing a hungry deer, but for all the other reasons mentioned. A food plot isn't for everyone, but don't lump a food plot in the same discussion as a pile of apples, corn, and carrots. They are not remotely the same.

I have a stand that is 18 feet in the air so all I do is knock down shooting lanes and leave a majority of the stalks standing. I know that the deer prefer to eat off the ground but mature bucks seem more comfortable in the standing corn. I've had ECO's and Troopers set this stand and neither have said a word about the knocked down corn. But, I know another ECO who would write his own kid a ticket and next time I see him I will ask his opinion.

I've seen these guys in action up north of Pittsburg, NH a few year ago. Very down to earth guys who do their homework. They were about 20 miles off the blacktop looking for a buck they had located the year before. They figured with a year to grow he might be big enough to go after. They are good hunters who earned their reputation.

I hunt about as far north in NY state as you can get, Franklin County. It seems that we are down in some areas and other areas are right on par with previous seasons. The areas that are down correspond with the dead birds.

This season I have noticed a serious decline in the number of birds in my area. Coffee shop chit chat confirmed my findings with a bunch of guys talking about the significantly lower bird numbers. A few different farmers have mentioned finding dead birds in fields. One guy said he has found nine dead turkeys since march. He claims to have contacted DEC and they claim there is some type of mite, parasite, or disease that is killing birds by the flock. Has anyone else heard this? I've been blaming the poor numbers on all the fat coyotes and the long harsh winter.

Joe, I see what you are talking about with the points sharing a base off the beam. There has to be more to the story if so many official scorers and computer measuring programs are counting it as a typical. The final score that Ron Boucher, one of the panel members that scored the Hanson Buck, was 213 6/8". 1/8" bigger than the current world record. Also, I wasn't talking scandal or conspiracies. They are probably right on with their judgement, but, it seems that everytime a buck comes along that may challenge the record it is discredited before it can be scored.

I don't know what the right answer is. The article is obviously slanted toward scoring the deer as a typical. It seems that everytime a buck comes along that may challenge the world record they have a way to discredit the animal. I found it to be interesting reading. To me the whole organization seems too political.

I know the road hunter. He has been arrested at least 3 times for jacking deer. I could have let him shoot the turkey and had him arrested but then that would be a trophy bird wasted. This guy is so stupid that he would have tried to take bragging rights for the shot. He already lost his license for a significant time so the only thing he has to lose is the money from the fines. He is the type that would pay $10 a month on his fine and just keep trucking. I spoke with a ECO and I'm sure he will be picked up before the end of season.

Not sure if this has been posted before. A major reason why I feel Boone and Crockett has lost a ton of credibility through the years among hunters. http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/deer-news/king-buck-exclusive-story

I finally got a chance to post my Monday hunt. I got off to a late start due to a tragedy in Constable, NY. It was close to 8:30AM before I was in at my hunting spot. I didn't get a chance to change into my hunting clothes so I just grabbed a camo jacket, face mask, calls, and gun. I got to the field and could see a tom in full strut. He had three hens with him. I crawled up to the edge of the field and tried to call the hens because I felt calling the tom would be futile. The hens actually led the tom further into the field and away from me. I stopped calling all together and hoped they would make their way by me when returning to the woods. That plan was destroyed when a road hunter saw the birds. This super sneaky guy parked just off the edge of the field and actually crawled up the road. He got up and was leaning his RIFLE on one of my posted signs when I lost touch with reality and broke my cover so he could see me. This sportsman got up and ran to his truck and took off. I was completely busted but the birds weren't all out running yet. Being that my hunt was ruined I decided to experiment and tried a fall hunting technique- busting up the flock. I took off running at the hens like a deranged wild man and it worked. They went into the woods on the north end of the field and the tom went in on the east end. I went to the point where the hens went in the woods and placed a decoy in the field. I went down the brush line about 30 yards and waited about 10-15 minutes for things to settle down. (actually to catch my breath) Then I called a couple times and to my surprise I got a gobble from the woods at the east end of the field. After about 10 minutes I saw a tom enter the field. I gave one more soft call and he started coming. I waited until he was about 20 yards away and out of strut when I took the shot. He weighed in at 22 pounds, has a 9 3/4" beard, and nearly 1" spurs. I'm guessing that either this was a very horny, mentally deficient tom turkey just wanting to get his hens back or I got lucky and there happened to be another tom working through the area who heard my call and responded. Regardless, I'm happy with my first bird of 2011.

I was out and set up by 4:45am. Sitting in the dark I watched a sliver of a crescent moon fade in ambience of the approaching dawn. No crickets chirping, mosquitos buzzing, birds singing, only the occassional rumble of a vehicle traveling down the rural county route over a mile away. I couldn't help but think how I was about to exact the ultimate revenge on the culprits that had destroyed nearly 2 acres of food plots before the seeds even had a chance to sprout and begin to grow. It was a perfect scenario. I did my homework. I knew where the birds were. I knew where they were strutting every morning for the past week. By 5:55 am I was talking turkey. At 6:20 am I was looking at my prey. He was a less than 50 yards away, in full strut and closing slowly. I couldn't help but imagine the hero pictures, the breast slowly cooked in a lemon pepper marinade, the story at camp, the fan and beard proudly hung on the camp wall and glow of my little boys face when they saw the trophy bird. Then I reflected back to last fall as I sat suspended 20 feet off the ground looking at an estrous doe eye to eye after she busted me. A bachelor group of gobblers had just roosted, which happened to be in a direct line with me and her. Her natural curiosity led to my demise. One loud snort and she was gone, taking any potential suitor with her. Now it is revenge time. Was it one of the birds that flew to roost last fall? I don't know and don't care. This bird isn't going to interupt anybodies deer hunt this fall. The sights are lined up and waiting. 10 yards closer. Then he stops and looks in my direction. Gabl labl abl babl. Then it happens. Devine intervention. A doe had snuck in to less than 10 yards behind me and had me pegged. A series of 15 blows and the gobbler who would have been one of my top three all time birds was on a full alert. This big beautiful bird who had spent 10 minutes in full strut turned into a sleek, skinny black bird. He retreated 20 yards and stopped. A final gobble and he was gone. Fortunately I wasn't busted by him, maybe tomorrow. I did however get a good lood at this nosy doe and if the stars line up, she will be my muzzleloader doe in December.

I put a couple nice gobblers to sleep last night. I just got up and getting ready to give it a go. If things go well I will have pictures up by noon. If not, I'll be one cranky SOB this afternoon. Good luck today.

I've been all over NYS wrestling but retired several years ago. Actually the thought of a match lasting longer than 30 seconds scares the hell out of me. Now I coach. Running paractices at the peewee club up here 2 days a week then for the past couple weeks I have been going to tournaments on Saturdays and Sundays throughout NYS. I thought of training again but with work, kids, hunting, training my dog, and coaching I have about 5 minutes of free time a week.