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My Weekend (Subtitled: Upstate folk have it easy!)

Sogaard

By Sogaard,
in Deer Hunting

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Sogaard Newbie

Sogaard

Posted
Posted

Disclaimer: People who live in NYC call everywhere north of Westchester, "Upstate". :)

Friday:

9:00AM: Get to work

11:00: Convince my boss to give me Saturday off (by volunteering to work 8AM-9PM Sunday)

9:00PM: Leave work

10:00: Get home

10-11:30: Pack the truck, shower, spend a few minutes with my family, kiss everyone goodbye.

11:30: Leave for Monticello (125 miles)

1:30AM: Arrive, decide to catch a couple of hours of sleep.

1:31: Zzzzzzzz

Saturday:

4:00AM: Alarm goes off - So not happening. Snooze button.

4:10: SHUT UP YOU STUPID PHONE

5:45: CRAP, OVERSLEPT!

6:30: Ate, dressed, hydrated, slowly hiking in to find a tree for my climber...

7:30: Finally up and settled, too damn late.

9:30: Young spike crosses my stand. Cute little guy, would have earned a pass even if this wasn't AR.

11:30: Get up to put on my sweatshirt and a Coyote decides to cruise by my stand. Struggle to get my bow ready in time....aim...he stops on his own at 21 yards, broadside....

AND I SEND THE DAMN ARROW OVER HIS BACK, giving him a little hair cut.

Next hour: Kicking myself in the ass for blowing my first chance to take a coyote with a bow.

4:30PM: 3 good size does pass at 55 yards. I grunt to try to draw them in, but they want no part of me.

6:00: Start heading down the tree.

6:40: Packed and changed, start heading home (125 miles).

9:30: Home.

9:30-11:30: Watched a movie with my sons and sent them to bed.

11:31: Zzzzzzz

Sunday:

6:30-7:00AM: Up, showered, heading to work.

8:00AM-9:00PM: Work - Every second so far, still seeing that arrow graze over the damn coyote and thinking about how I can fit another day of hunting into my crazy schedule.

But, as it has been pointed out more than once by people here, I shouldn't consider myself a hunter, because I'm a Liberal. :)

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Nomad Grand Master

Nomad

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thanks for defining "Upstate". As I don't know anyone outside of NYC who uses that term, and was foggy on where it is. I live in Western NY btw,sometimes I hunt in the Southern tier, and I camp in the North country. Someday i hope to see "upstate" though.

Heres my hunt of a couple years back.

3:30 get off sofa take shower and put on camo.

3;45 load bow and climber in van drive 1/2 mile.

3:46 walk in climb tree.

4:00 shoot doe, gut it drag it 100 yards to my van.

4:30 hang it from tree in front yard .

5;00 drink a beer and fall asleep exhausted.

Good luck hunting,many here ,most? would not hunt at all if they had to do what you do !

Edited by Larry302
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PWGUNNY Newbie

PWGUNNY

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On Long Island, we consider upstate anything north of Westchester or Rockland County. When I was younger my buddy and I would bowhunt Stewart Airport co-op. You had to get there the night before, park your truck on line outside the gate and sleep in the truck till the rangers opened the gate. We would put the bows on the roof of the truck and fold the seats down in my SUV and sleep in sleeping bags. Now I hunt out east, so it's out the door at 5am and drive an hour to get out to Riverhead and find an open hunting site.

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BaldguyLee Newbie

BaldguyLee

Posted
Posted

Wow, Sogaard, reminds me of when I lived in Va. Beach. I would leave after work Friday evening, drive 3hr south to Cape Hatteras, NC, fish til dawn, sleep in truck, fish Saturday evening / night, drive home Sun AM.

Also reminded me of when I lived there telling people I was from Western New York and explaining that I DIDN'T mean Manhattan !

Really, sometimes I catch myself whining because I have to drive 25 min to State and Federal lands to hunt.

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phade Mentor

phade

Posted
Posted

True story:

Last weekend of SZ regular season 2 yrs ago...old lady said, we're going to NYC for the day...left at midnight in Rochester. Arrived in NYC at 6-7...stayed ALL day...left at 10:30...bus ride home. Arrived 5ish. Drove home, showered, grabbed my gun and out the door 30 minutes drive to friend's house. In stand and took a yearling doe right at legal time. Friend shot two does about 30 minutes later. I never slept, save for a few minutes on the bus when my head wasn't bouncing off the window.

Long friggin day.

post-575-0-11257300-1350958304_thumb.jpg

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phade Mentor

phade

Posted
Posted

Wow, Sogaard, reminds me of when I lived in Va. Beach. I would leave after work Friday evening, drive 3hr south to Cape Hatteras, NC, fish til dawn, sleep in truck, fish Saturday evening / night, drive home Sun AM.

Also reminded me of when I lived there telling people I was from Western New York and explaining that I DIDN'T mean Manhattan !

Really, sometimes I catch myself whining because I have to drive 25 min to State and Federal lands to hunt.

Ever do any hunting there in VA Beach? I lived there most of my teen years and young adult years...

I once stepped on a cottonmouth on the island in Back Bay on the draw hunt...memory I will never forget. Hunted Dam Neck a few times with my Dad and those were some TINY deer, ha. Hunting is way different there, for sure.

Also spent enough time fishing...my most memorable catch was a citation wahoo. Walked onto the deck and people at the restaurant were offering me $10 or $15 a pound for that thing.

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New York Hillbilly Experienced

New York Hillbilly

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Posted

Sogaard

My hats off to all you guys that put in that kind of effort to go hunting. It shows a lot of commitment. I guess your right that when it comes to hunting some of us have it easy but it is not without it's costs.

Think about it. Water downstate comes from the faucet, waste down the sewer, garbage picked up at the curb, paid fire protection and medical emergency and for some even if the light bulbs go out or heat goes off you call maintenance.

Have you ever pulled a well pump in the middle of the winter or have the well go dry in the summer? Ever have to dig up a septic tank or pay to have it done when everything that is supposed to go down does not? I pay to have my garbage picked up, haul my own trash to the dump, clean and fix my own boiler, sharpen blades, fix chain saw, cut trees, plow snow, mow fields, and weld stuff when it breaks. And I pray I never need the volunteer fire department or EMS, but thank god for the good people who put their lives at risk to be there if I do. We have to worry that the land we "own" and pay taxes though the nose for, with no public services, will either be contaminated with chemicals to extract gas from shale, become the home for foreign owned windmills that tower over our homes, or be taken from us outright through eminent domain. I drive an hour each way to work every day with gas prices four dollars plus a gallon and have no access to public transportation. With that said, we're a hardy bunch up here for sure and pretty self reliant and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yup, I can literally wake up in the morning, get my hunting clothes on, be out the door and on my stand in less than 30 minutes. But with all there is to do and worry about to live up here sometimes I'm so tired I just look out the window convince myself why "they won't be moving today" and snuggle back to sleep. LOL!

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erussell Newbie

erussell

Posted
Posted (edited)

Disclaimer: People who live in NYC call everywhere north of Westchester, "Upstate". :)

But, as it has been pointed out more than once by people here, I shouldn't consider myself a hunter, because I'm a Liberal. :)

Shoot we here in Binghamton call everything south of Albany and East of Deposit New Jersey :biggrin: And for the record a Conservative would have killed that Yote!! :spiteful:

Edited by erussell
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YFKI1983 Collaborator

YFKI1983

Posted
Posted

Shoot we here in Binghamton call everything south of Albany and East of Deposit New Jersey :biggrin: And for the record a Conservative would have killed that Yote!! :spiteful:

Ive made that midnight 3 hour drive up to Deposit a thousand times. Do me a favor and push some of those binghampton deer down towards me thanks!! : )

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virgil Rising Star

virgil

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Posted

Cool thread. I live on long island and my hunting shack is 292 miles away. I've gotten used to making the five hour drive at night after work, arriving in camp at 2am, sleeping for an hour or two, and heading out. I've also made the trip up and back in a day more times than I can count- leave my house at 4am, spend a few hours in the woods hanging stands, setting cameras, target shooting, fixing up the cabin- then, getting back in the car and heading home so I can be there when my son wakes up in the morning. Coffee and chewing tobacco help get me through the ride. I've had to pull over on the side of Rt 80 a few times with leg cramps due to the long hours in the car, the hiking up and down the mountains, the climbing of trees, and the effects of the coffee and chewing tobacco. All that said, can't wait to head upstate this Friday night.

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Dakota Dog Newbie

Dakota Dog

Posted
Posted

Sogaard

My hats off to all you guys that put in that kind of effort to go hunting. It shows a lot of commitment. I guess your right that when it comes to hunting some of us have it easy but it is not without it's costs.

Think about it. Water downstate comes from the faucet, waste down the sewer, garbage picked up at the curb, paid fire protection and medical emergency and for some even if the light bulbs go out or heat goes off you call maintenance.

Have you ever pulled a well pump in the middle of the winter or have the well go dry in the summer? Ever have to dig up a septic tank or pay to have it done when everything that is supposed to go down does not? I pay to have my garbage picked up, haul my own trash to the dump, clean and fix my own boiler, sharpen blades, fix chain saw, cut trees, plow snow, mow fields, and weld stuff when it breaks. And I pray I never need the volunteer fire department or EMS, but thank god for the good people who put their lives at risk to be there if I do. We have to worry that the land we "own" and pay taxes though the nose for, with no public services, will either be contaminated with chemicals to extract gas from shale, become the home for foreign owned windmills that tower over our homes, or be taken from us outright through eminent domain. I drive an hour each way to work every day with gas prices four dollars plus a gallon and have no access to public transportation. With that said, we're a hardy bunch up here for sure and pretty self reliant and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yup, I can literally wake up in the morning, get my hunting clothes on, be out the door and on my stand in less than 30 minutes. But with all there is to do and worry about to live up here sometimes I'm so tired I just look out the window convince myself why "they won't be moving today" and snuggle back to sleep. LOL!

And our one hour of driving is not 4 city block neither it is 40 - 55 miles woundering if a deer will run out if front of your truck. B)

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ants Newbie

ants

Posted
Posted

Move upstate. We have liberals here too ya know. No big deal!!!

Sat. Oct.13th

0600- wake up, take shower and get dressed. Power down some cheerios.

0630- load truck and drive 5 minutes to spot.

0710- in stand and ready to go

0735- big doe and button come out from behind me. Let them walk.

0800-4 does come down trail in front of me. Let them walk.

0810-same 4 does come out from behind me. Let them walk

0830- decent 6 point comes down trail looking for the does..twack..gut...load..drive home.

0930- Wife brings me to breakfast.

1300-cracked the first Bud light

Get your a$$ up here!!

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5.9cummins Newbie

5.9cummins

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Posted

Disclaimer: People who live in NYC call everywhere north of Westchester, "Upstate". :)

Friday:

9:00AM: Get to work

11:00: Convince my boss to give me Saturday off (by volunteering to work 8AM-9PM Sunday)

9:00PM: Leave work

10:00: Get home

10-11:30: Pack the truck, shower, spend a few minutes with my family, kiss everyone goodbye.

11:30: Leave for Monticello (125 miles)

1:30AM: Arrive, decide to catch a couple of hours of sleep.

1:31: Zzzzzzzz

Saturday:

4:00AM: Alarm goes off - So not happening. Snooze button.

4:10: SHUT UP YOU STUPID PHONE

5:45: CRAP, OVERSLEPT!

6:30: Ate, dressed, hydrated, slowly hiking in to find a tree for my climber...

7:30: Finally up and settled, too damn late.

9:30: Young spike crosses my stand. Cute little guy, would have earned a pass even if this wasn't AR.

11:30: Get up to put on my sweatshirt and a Coyote decides to cruise by my stand. Struggle to get my bow ready in time....aim...he stops on his own at 21 yards, broadside....

AND I SEND THE DAMN ARROW OVER HIS BACK, giving him a little hair cut.

Next hour: Kicking myself in the ass for blowing my first chance to take a coyote with a bow.

4:30PM: 3 good size does pass at 55 yards. I grunt to try to draw them in, but they want no part of me.

6:00: Start heading down the tree.

6:40: Packed and changed, start heading home (125 miles).

9:30: Home.

9:30-11:30: Watched a movie with my sons and sent them to bed.

11:31: Zzzzzzz

Sunday:

6:30-7:00AM: Up, showered, heading to work.

8:00AM-9:00PM: Work - Every second so far, still seeing that arrow graze over the damn coyote and thinking about how I can fit another day of hunting into my crazy schedule.

But, as it has been pointed out more than once by people here, I shouldn't consider myself a hunter, because I'm a Liberal. :)

Anyone who would take a shot at you and say your not a hunter because your a liberal has a seriously flawed argument. They might not agree with your stance on something but that doesn't make you any less of a hunter. I have to applaud you at your commitment to get out and hunt.

Keep in mind though its all about choice. You can choose where to live, work, play, hunt (so on and so forth). I find myself frustrated and want to complain about my situation (I have even done it on here before) but usually i end up stepping back and realize how good i have it.

My wife's cousin passed at 26 on Saturday after a year and a half battle with leukemia. Kind of puts things in perspective.

Make sure your spending time with your kids.

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