Bagged a nice 8 point Friday.

[Grouse]

It took a while, but I finally put my tag on a buck this year.  My buddy bagged a nice 5 point on the opener, but I saw nothing but a squirrel.  I did spend a few hours in the morning on the opener helping him with his deer, when I should've been in my stand, but I don't know if I missed anything when I wasn't there.

Anyway, the day after Thanksgiving I went to my friend's nearby property to hunt.  He was out of town for Thanksgiving and asked if I would hunt his 100 acres and make sure no one else was hunting there.  I had exclusive hunting privileges Weds through Friday.  I drove my truck into a back field and parked to wait for the sun to rise.  I took a seat at one end of the field where I could see the whole field, as well as the wood line around it. Soon after legal shooting time, I saw a doe at the far end of the field just inside the brush of the woods bordering the field.  It was 200 yards away.  Scanning the woods behind her, I spotted this nice 8-point buck.  The brush was obscuring his body, and I could only see his head and neck.  The doe spotted me and blew a warning.  She did it again a few seconds later.  When she ran into the woods the buck was still there looking at her.  I knew he was going to run, so I set my crosshairs on his neck and steadied my aim.  The Kimber 84M in 7mm08 roared and the buck staggered, as he tried to run away.  I lost sight of him after that. I drove the truck over to where he stood and found him not far from where he was when I shot.  I was a 200 yard off hand neck shot, and the longest shot I've taken on a buck in the Catskills. I had to call my friend Chuck to help me lift it onto the tailgate of my pickup, as it was too heavy for me to do it alone.  The buck weighed 140 lbs field dressed and has a nice symmetrical 8-point rack.  It also has two little bumps where it was growing 2 more points that would have made it a 10-pointer, but they're too small to count.

I took some time to fill my tag, but it was worth the wait.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Grouse

[luberhill]

I shot a 6 and a 7 this year , I made a deal with myself .. prefer a big doe but at least a 6 if it’s a buck, 4 doe tags and not a one I saw big enough

It’s hard where I hunt because the neighbors take everything , spikes included .

I let several spikes and 4s walk and lots of small does and one big doe but she had a fawn with her and I’m getting soft 

oh well it’s their tag I guess 

nice buck 

Edited November 25, 2023 by luberhill

[airedale]

Congrats, nice Buck, good shooting and nice rifle.

Al

[Grouse]

A good rifle and 53 years of deer hunting experience pays off.

[New York Hillbilly]

Congrats on the buck!

[GreeneHunter]

Nice Buck !

[First-light]

Love the horns!

 

[Dr Juice]

Awesome buck. Congrats!

[Grouse]

Took the buck to my processor yesterday.  They charge $100 to do it, but I like the way they do it.  This year though, they are charging an extra $25 to give you the cape and head back to be mounted. That rubs me wrong, because it's not like I can bring it to them without the head and cape on it, so they're charging to give the head back to me.  I've gotten the head and cape back from them at no cost in the past.  Don't know why they decided to charge for it this year.

[steve863]

4 hours ago, Grouse said:

Took the buck to my processor yesterday.  They charge $100 to do it, but I like the way they do it.  This year though, they are charging an extra $25 to give you the cape and head back to be mounted. That rubs me wrong, because it's not like I can bring it to them without the head and cape on it, so they're charging to give the head back to me.  I've gotten the head and cape back from them at no cost in the past.  Don't know why they decided to charge for it this year.

Do it yourself and the only thing it will cost you is some time.  I still find it hard to understand that hunters who claim to have years of experience take their deer to a butcher to be processed.

 

 

 

[Northcountryman]

On 11/25/2023 at 2:10 AM, Grouse said:

It took a while, but I finally put my tag on a buck this year.  My buddy bagged a nice 5 point on the opener, but I saw nothing but a squirrel.  I did spend a few hours in the morning on the opener helping him with his deer, when I should've been in my stand, but I don't know if I missed anything when I wasn't there.

Anyway, the day after Thanksgiving I went to my friend's nearby property to hunt.  He was out of town for Thanksgiving and asked if I would hunt his 100 acres and make sure no one else was hunting there.  I had exclusive hunting privileges Weds through Friday.  I drove my truck into a back field and parked to wait for the sun to rise.  I took a seat at one end of the field where I could see the whole field, as well as the wood line around it. Soon after legal shooting time, I saw a doe at the far end of the field just inside the brush of the woods bordering the field.  It was 200 yards away.  Scanning the woods behind her, I spotted this nice 8-point buck.  The brush was obscuring his body, and I could only see his head and neck.  The doe spotted me and blew a warning.  She did it again a few seconds later.  When she ran into the woods the buck was still there looking at her.  I knew he was going to run, so I set my crosshairs on his neck and steadied my aim.  The Kimber 84M in 7mm08 roared and the buck staggered, as he tried to run away.  I lost sight of him after that. I drove the truck over to where he stood and found him not far from where he was when I shot.  I was a 200 yard off hand neck shot, and the longest shot I've taken on a buck in the Catskills. I had to call my friend Chuck to help me lift it onto the tailgate of my pickup, as it was too heavy for me to do it alone.  The buck weighed 140 lbs field dressed and has a nice symmetrical 8-point rack.  It also has two little bumps where it was growing 2 more points that would have made it a 10-pointer, but they're too small to count.

I took some time to fill my tag, but it was worth the wait.

 

 

Wow- nice job!! You wont forget that experience  anytime soon, ill bet !!

[Grouse]

On 11/28/2023 at 12:46 PM, steve863 said:

Do it yourself and the only thing it will cost you is some time.  I still find it hard to understand that hunters who claim to have years of experience take their deer to a butcher to be processed.

Let's see if I can clear up the misunderstanding for you. To do it myself consumes about 8 hours of my time from skinning to packaging. (Because I don't rush the job, am meticulous about removing bone, fat and sinew and turn it all into steaks that are only 8 oz to 1 lb in weight as I live alone)  By the time I'm done my back is killing me from standing up at the cutting board, and it will hurt for a couple of days.  There is also the cost of the wrapping material and misc items required to do the job. The processor removes all the bone, fat and sinew for me and disposes of the carcass too.  He does excellent work and the vacuum packed meat will store for a year in the freezer without getting freezer burn.  In turn for paying him to do it, I get to spend another day in the field hunting and enjoying myself.  I estimate my time is worth $40 and hour, so for the processor to do the work for me, even with the extra cost for the cape and head return, it is a bargain. The years of experience I have hunting taught me that my time is worth far more than the cost of having a chop shop cut up and vacuum seal my deer for me.  As an individual with a degree in Management, I find the decision to pay a processor to be justified.  Besides, compared to the taxidermist's cost of $725 for mounting the head and putting it on a plaque, it's peanuts.

[steve863]

10 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Let's see if I can clear up the misunderstanding for you. To do it myself consumes about 8 hours of my time from skinning to packaging. (Because I don't rush the job, am meticulous about removing bone, fat and sinew and turn it all into steaks that are only 8 oz to 1 lb in weight as I live alone)  By the time I'm done my back is killing me from standing up at the cutting board, and it will hurt for a couple of days.  There is also the cost of the wrapping material and misc items required to do the job. The processor removes all the bone, fat and sinew for me and disposes of the carcass too.  He does excellent work and the vacuum packed meat will store for a year in the freezer without getting freezer burn.  In turn for paying him to do it, I get to spend another day in the field hunting and enjoying myself.  I estimate my time is worth $40 and hour, so for the processor to do the work for me, even with the extra cost for the cape and head return, it is a bargain. The years of experience I have hunting taught me that my time is worth far more than the cost of having a chop shop cut up and vacuum seal my deer for me.  As an individual with a degree in Management, I find the decision to pay a processor to be justified.  Besides, compared to the taxidermist's cost of $725 for mounting the head and putting it on a plaque, it's peanuts.

Yet you said in your prior post that the extra $25 he was charging you for the cape was rubbing you wrong.  If your time as an amateur butcher is worth $40 an hour I think this butcher is processing your deer for next to nothing and you should be grateful.  I surely wouldn't cut it up for you for that price. 

[Grouse]

5 minutes ago, steve863 said:

Yet you said in your prior post that the extra $25 he was charging you for the cape was rubbing you wrong.  If your time as an amateur butcher is worth $40 an hour I think this butcher is processing your deer for next to nothing and you should be grateful.  I surely wouldn't cut it up for you for that price. 

It was nice and quiet on this site when you were away.  I see anything I post still triggers you.  Sad.