Live From The Woods 2022 - 2023 Edition!

[50calpeephole]

Back out in the blind.  

   

Seems pretty quiet this afternoon.

 

Still looking for a buck or bear.

[wolc123]

It finally stopped raining and I am in a spot, up in wmu 6c, where I have seen many antlerless deer on Thanksgiving weekend evenings, but never one with horns.  That means I must be due for one here  right ?

[WNYBuckHunter]

On 11/24/2022 at 12:24 PM, Gencountyzeek said:

Little Zeek strikes again.

Thanksgiving 10pt.

Awesome! Congrats to both of you!

[WNYBuckHunter]

9 hours ago, WNY Bowhunter said:

A cousin closed the book wednesday afternoon on a buck that's been a family legend for the past 3 yrs. I believe this deer is at least 7.5 yr old and has been over 160" for the past three years at least. He grossed 158 as a 8-pt with a broken brow. His G2s were 13 and 14", the longest I can remember seeing in my area of Steuben County! RIP old boy. May your offspring survive to maturity...

Good gravy man! Congrats to your cousin!

[wolc123]

This single doe walked past at 60 yards, 15 minutes before sunset tonight.  I stayed out till 10 minutes past sunset, but no buck followed.
 

The fiber optic sights on my Marlin 336BL were only visible until sunset, so a buck would have to have been at point blank range, for those last 10 minutes.  I won’t be using that gun for another evening hunt unless I have to.  It was drizzling rain most of the time, so I didn’t use my father in laws scoped 336.  The Marlin scope on that, three of my Redfields, and my Weaver 1.5x are all still functional 20 minutes past sunset, especially with snow.  

I’m heading to my northern zone (wmu 6c) buck hotspot tomorrow morning, for a couple hours, then we are driving back to wny.  Our meat supply is pretty good right now, so an Adirondack buck will need at least 2 points on a side to trip my trigger (they count double to me up here).

Back home on the flatland, I’ll need at least 3 points on a side, to punch my buck tag.  I’ll be thankful if I can get a 3rd deer this year.  I have two more dmp’s for home, so hopefully that happens yet during gun season. 
 

 

[genesee_mohican]

I hunted the park all day yesterday, saw a coyote then bumped a small buck from the side hill coming up off the bottom around noon. I walked up on a doe and a fawn in the afternoon. It was a nice dark n cloudy day to be out in the woods. I didn't hear one shot all day.

I'm still amazed at the lack of rubs this season and far fewer mature bucks on trail cam. I have to wonder if the ever growing coyote population or some other natural factor is to blame.

[50calpeephole]

2 hours ago, genesee_mohican said:

 

I'm still amazed at the lack of rubs this season and far fewer mature bucks on trail cam. I have to wonder if the ever growing coyote population or some other natural factor is to blame.

Glad it's not just me- I haven't seen shit on the cams since July.

Normally I can get deer pictures daily, but I didn't see shit this year

[Dr Juice]

I have not found a scrape yet and only a few pencil size rubs. This part of 3H has declined tremendously.

[ANTLERS]

17 minutes ago, Dr Juice said:

I have not found a scrape yet and only a few pencil size rubs. This part of 3H has declined tremendously.

I’m in western 3H, same here. Weird, what a difference a year makes. Last years spot where my trail cam was set up was like grand central station, this year it’s a dead spot. However I’m getting more bears than deer this year, maybe that’s the difference 

Edited November 26, 2022 by ANTLERS

[New York Hillbilly]

Doe and her two fawns around 7:30 about 100 yards downhill.  Otherwise dead as hell.  Where are all the deer?

Certainly not hunting pressure here. 

[50calpeephole]

Breakfast time.  

   

Not sure I made out a shadow of a deer around 6 or not, there was nothing around at first light through to 9:45

[wolc123]

There was quite a bit of deer action this morning up on the NW corner of the adk park.  I heard one snorting upwind about 15 minutes before sunrise on my walk in.  
 

I got settled into a spot in a blowdown, and a spike walked by at 30 yards, about 15 minutes after sunrise.  I gave him a pass.  About a minute later, a big doe ran down hill straight towards me.  
 

She got within 20 yards, then walked slowly away, feeding as she went.  About 15 minutes later, I saw something approaching in the thick cover, from the direction she went, behind the blowdown I was seated on.    
 

As it got closer, I could see that it was a buck with 2 or 3 points on one side and the other side broken off.  It looked like a 2.5 year old, so I decided to shoot, if I could.  My gun was in my lap and he was too close to lift it.  
 

He got past the cover, about 15 yards away, and was looking right at me.  I waited till he made the first move.  When he bolted, I lifted my gun, aimed for the shoulder and fired. 
 

My Marlin 336 didn’t cycle the next round properly, and I wasn’t able to get off another shot.  He never slowed down, and disappeared into the heavy cover.  
 

I found a little blood on the tracks in the snow, about 20 yards out, but that stopped after about 50 yards.  There was many different sets of tracks in those pines and I lost his trail. 
 

Making a wide circle around, I picked it back up about 100 yards away.  I followed decent blood for another couple hundred yards, over the next three hours.  

Near the end of the blood trail, he went up a steep hill.  I could not advance the trail beyond that point.  I’m thinking a high back or shoulder hit.  Hopefully, heals up.  I think odds are fair, because he probably would not have gone up that very steep hill, about 400 yards from the hit site, If he was hurt real bad. 

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by wolc123

[50calpeephole]

53 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

There was quite a bit of deer action this morning up on the NW corner of the adk park.  I heard one snorting upwind about 15 minutes before sunrise on my walk in.  
 

I got settled into a spot in a blowdown, and a spike walked by at 30 yards, about 15 minutes after sunrise.  I gave him a pass.  About a minute later, a big doe ran down hill straight towards me.  
 

She got within 20 yards, then walked slowly away, feeding as she went.  About 15 minutes later, I saw something approaching in the thick cover, from the direction she went, behind the blowdown I was seated on.    
 

As it got closer, I could see that it was a buck with 2 or 3 points on one side and the other side broken off.  It looked like a 2.5 year old, so I decided to shoot, if I could.  My gun was in my lap and he was too close to lift it.  
 

He got past the cover, about 15 yards away, and was looking right at me.  I waited till he made the first move.  When he bolted, I lifted my gun, aimed for the shoulder and fired. 
 

My Marlin 336 didn’t cycle the next round properly, and I wasn’t able to get off another shot.  He never slowed down, and disappeared into the heavy cover.  
 

I found a little blood on the tracks in the snow, about 20 yards out, but that stopped after about 50 yards.  There was many different sets of tracks in those pines and I lost his trail. 
 

Making a wide circle around, I picked it back up about 100 yards away.  I followed decent blood for another couple hundred yards, over the next three hours.  

Near the end of the blood trail, he went up a steep hill.  I could not advance the trail beyond that point.  I’m thinking a high back or shoulder hit.  Hopefully, heals up.  I think odds are fair, because he probably would not have gone up that very steep hill, about 400 yards from the hit site, If he was hurt real bad. 

 

That ain't much blood, looks like you might have winged him, especially if he's climbing a steep hill

[New York Hillbilly]

Brush hogged a big chunk of neck high goldenrod, berry bushes and multi flora rose into patches and open spots this afternoon. When the deer are in there they are basically invisible. Let’s see if this helps.  

[New York Hillbilly]

3 hours ago, New York Hillbilly said:

Brush hogged a big chunk of neck high goldenrod, berry bushes and multi flora rose into patches and open spots this afternoon. When the deer are in there they are basically invisible. Let’s see if this helps.  

LOL......  It did!   

I just got in from taking care of a seriously BIG doe I shot tonight. I'll try to post pics and write a short recap of how it went down. Very exciting hunt for me tonight. Happy! :  )

Edited November 27, 2022 by New York Hillbilly
spelling

[New York Hillbilly]

I can’t do pictures from my laptop. So here are the pictures from the phone and I’ll give details in a little while. 

Update: Ok...so now on my laptop. Here's my attempt at a sort version.

I climbed up into my half finished elevated stand late at 3:15,  because wife's sisters came over for a belated Thanksgiving dinner.

About 4:15, I watched a medium sized doe and her two fawns browsing around a couple hundred yards away. Then a couple minutes after that I saw a big bodied deer way up the hill from me and thought it was a buck. That deer kept looking up the hill clearly watching another deer. Then as if on cue, all the deer in the fields began running around like they were playing tag. The big doe I thought was a buck came running down the hill toward my stand and I put the scope on her just as she slipped into the golden rod.

I kept watching to see her pop out on a trail I mowed in front of the stand, but all at once she was totally to the right of where I was watching and I could not swing my rifle I had pointed out the window enough to get on her. With her not more than 40 yards from me now, standing broad side, I pulled my rifle back in and stood up from my chair and put the cross hairs on her vitals. She knew something was up, but before she could decide to bolt I fired.

She went running into the thick stuff again after I shot, opposite direction from where she came, and I watched to see if she crossed the next mowed spot. I never saw her cross the next mowed area so I figured she either died or bedded down. Even though it was now passing sunset, I waited a bit rather than get right down.

When I did get down I went to where she was standing and there was hair but no blood. Then I circled over to where she was headed and walked back in line with where she had been standing. I found her laying in the goldenrod about 50 yards from where I shot her.

I walked over and got my 4 wheeler for the light to gut her, but all of the sudden several coyotes started howling and raising hell in the gully just below me. I'm talking really close, and I said no way was I messing around in the dark in blood and guts with them right there.

So I left my wheeler running next to her, and went back to my stand to get my tractor to put her in the bucket because she was too heavy for me to lift on the wheeler.

I couldn't even roll her into the bucket until I got my tractor down hill from her and get the assist of gravity. Once I had her loaded in the bucket I had to fool around a bit to get the tractor out of the gully we were in, but at least on the tractor I was not afraid the coyotes were gonna get me. lol

I left my wheeler back in the field for the night and brought the deer back to the house in my tractor with no lights to gut her and get her hung up for the night. She's a big son of a gun, and if I can find my scale tomorrow I'll try to weigh her just out of curiosity.

Mowing the fields like I did really made a difference, as I was able to see them finally. I know there was a buck in their chasing those does the way they were running around, and the one I shot actually smells rank like a buck. Now, I will try to see if I can find him!

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by New York Hillbilly
add details

[suburbanfarmer]

23 minutes ago, New York Hillbilly said:

I can’t do pictures from my laptop. So here are the pictures from the phone and I’ll give details in a little while. 

Congrats, that is  big doe, wondering what she would weigh

[First-light]

looks like we may get a few hours in before the rain at 10. I pulled in yesterday at 2 was in the woods by 3. Jumped two doe on the way in. About 4:00 4 Doe walked into the top of my swail. About 100 yards. I elected not to shoot. Too bunched up .....Hope to see them today! Good luck. 

[50calpeephole]

One of the hunting party shot a freight train of a doe last night, she's as big as some of the bucks I've seen taken.  

   

Don't have a scale but she's massive. Pic below is gutted.

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by 50calpeephole

[wolc123]

I finally have the East wind I have been waiting for to hunt my pop-up blind at home.  The only glitch is, I seem to have misplaced my shooting sticks.  The last time I saw them was Thanksgiving morning.
 

 I did not use them for the 50 yard shot on the “dmp spike” buck that morning, but I may have left them in my natural blind on the other side of my “tiny tine” turnip plot.  I’ll check on my walk out at lunch time.  

After my bad shot on a half-rack probable 2.5 yr old buck up north yesterday morning, I’m going to need a damn steady sight picture to fire on any deer today.  I can see 500 yards down the gas line from one window, and 200 down my range from another.  Resting on my elbow, I can hold pretty steady at about 150, so hopefully a deer shows up closer than that.

It must have been very windy the last couple days because I found the blind on its side when I got back here.  I got it straightened out and held down with 3 stakes.  Rain is supposed to start around 10. 
 

The last day I hunted this blind was during the September early Antlerless season.  If I had my Marlin scoped bolt action shotgun or my scoped T /C ML that day, I’d have had a nice 175 yard shot at a doe, down the gas-line.  
 

This wide 8-point walked down my shooting range that day, after locking horns for a bit with a smaller buck, and licked that side of my blind.  I opened the window and took this picture as he turned and walked away.  It would be nice if he tried that again today.  My guess is that he is already dead, or shell-shocked and hunkered down somewhere until dark. 

 

[50calpeephole]

Passed by a pine tree tree I had set up with screw in steps to saddle hunt out of, someone took the steps.  

   

It was private property. I have photos of who did it. I'm pissed, it's not the $10 in steps I'm mad about, it's that this mother fucker drove his atv onto private property, stopped, and stole my hunting equipment.

[wolc123]

No deer were dumb enough to come out in the open this morning.  It sure was nice in the pop up blind in the rain.  It let up now, so time for me to go get lunch.  Maybe I can find my shooting sticks on the walk back.  Only action back here this morning were crows on Thursday’s cut pile.  Time for me to go have some “parts” that were not in that pile for lunch.  

[50calpeephole]

1 minute ago, wolc123 said:

No deer were dumb enough to come out in the open this morning.  

They weren't dumb enough to hang around the woods either 

[wolc123]

7 minutes ago, 50calpeephole said:

They weren't dumb enough to hang around the woods either 

It was a successful hunt for me nonetheless: 

 

I fixed my blown over blind and recovered my shooting sticks.

 

[suburbanfarmer]

3 hours ago, 50calpeephole said:

Passed by a pine tree tree I had set up with screw in steps to saddle hunt out of, someone took the steps.  

   

It was private property. I have photos of who did it. I'm pissed, it's not the $10 in steps I'm mad about, it's that this mother fucker drove his atv onto private property, stopped, and stole my hunting equipment.

Trespassers/thieves dont care.. i hate them..