2023 HuntingNY Firearms Hunting Harvest Thread

WNYBuckHunter · September 28, 2023

Post up pics of your 2023 Shotgun/Rifle/Handgun hunting harvests here!

Only pictures with the associated story will be allowed in this thread. If you want to congratulate someone, please do it by clicking on the "like this" button for the post. There will be no exceptions.

Feel free to start a new thread if you wish to have comments in addition to posting the photo / story here.

wolc123 · September 28, 2023

The good Lord blessed me with this wmu 9F button buck on the first Sunday afternoon of the early antlerless gun season. Marlin 512, 2-3/4” Hornady SST, Redfield/Leupold Revolution. 2-7x.

I got into my favorite two-story truck cap blind about 5:00 that afternoon. At 5:45, a smaller antlerless deer appeared in the clover plot behind me, 40 yards away. I saw it when I turned and made eye contact. My gun was laying on the opposite side rest.

I attempted to make a super slow motion turn and reach for the gun, but if detected the motion and high-tailed it into the thick cover.

As sunset approached, the mosquitos got very intense. I had a camo face mask on, but they were even getting in under that. I decided to give up under their repeated attacks, about 15 minutes before sunset.

I removed the camo mask and packed up my other gear. When I looked up, I saw the little buck feeding on foot high Timothy hay, about 90 yards away. I mistook it for a mature doe, because the head looked long and it looked significantly larger than the deer that I saw earlier.

It was very good size for this years deer. Must have veen born early and definitely has been eating good. The liver alone made two “to die for meals”.

The rest of the meat will be saved for “special occasions”.

I’m thinking of bringing one of the butt roasts (made (6) of those from that little guy) up to my in-laws for early antlerless week, so that she can stuff a Thanksgiving Turkey with it. My wife did that a couple years ago, and that was the best tasting meat I ever had on Thanksgiving in my 58 years.

Edited September 29, 2023 by wolc123