incognito

[incognito]

I just joined the forum yesterday, so here are some prior entries:

Participating in Southold Deer Manangement Assistance Program.

I have exclusive rights (LOL) to a parcel owned by a local village on the North Fork of Long Island for a season (one of five zones).

Spent time scouting the village zone. Spent several sessions (about 5 to 10) ground hunting. Got my first deer ever on 10/17 from a tree stand one hour before sunset posted on an active trail.

Hunted public property nearby yesterday for 2 hours - ATVs or trail bikes were making a racket.

[ANTLERS]

Welcome aboard, I hunt in Manorville myself and plan on moving to the Greenport area in about 2 years.

[incognito]

I arrived at the entrance of the village property at about 1pm yesterday, 10/22. The path in to the northeast corner of my zone takes me over two zones that I do not have a permit to hunt in. Like every other time, I jumped deer on my way in - two average size does and two fawns. Either the fawns circle back or another pair of deer stroll through at 100 yards an half hour later. Since the wind is NNE and I got to practice still hunting on the way in which was my objective, I then walked back to my car and headed to the southwest corner of the zone where I planned to set up my tree stand in the same area where I got the small buck last week.

As I pull up I see a deer entering the zone from the road 50 yards in front of me. I tried for 5 minutes to stalk it but I never saw it after it entered the woods. I really did not expect to.

From 3 to 4:30 I sat in the tree stand set up just inside the woods where numerous trails intersect. Since it was windy and there were periods of heavy rain I was not expecting much movement but I had nothing else planned so I figured to give it a chance anyway.

When I got cold I climbed down, put the tree stand away and added a layer of fleece under my jacket. Feeling warm again, I headed back in and set up on the ground by some downed trees until sunset.

I did not see any movement after 3 pm.

I plan on doing pretty much the same thing today, hopefully they will be moving around today.

[incognito]

10/23

The wind was coming from the same direction and as breezy as yesterday so I headed to the NE section of the zone from the east instead of the south at about 11am. Nothing, no movement that I saw.

I went to another parcel that is part of the Southold Deer Management Assistance Program to see if I could find the deer that I jumped twice before in the same place and to scout the area. Nothing.

I went to the SW corner of my zone and set up my tree stand using the same tree as yesterday at around 3:30 and stayed until sunset. Nothing.

The only deer I saw all day was a big doe road kill on the North Road.

10/24

Still breezy out there and some showers this morning so I will get some chores done and maybe try again this afternoon when the weather gets nicer.

[incognito]

10/24

Winds died down finally. Some sun came shining through the clouds. I thought the weather would make 'em move, but I saw nothing all afternoon on village property.

 

10/27

In the woods just before sunrise for the first time on DEC land. Set up a ground blind and saw no movement. I decided to try to make them move after a few hours. Jumped one bigger doe and two smaller ones. I was too far away to know if the smaller ones were fawns or not. The good news is these were the first live deer I spotted on this particular property.

 

 

[incognito]

10/28

Back in Greenport for an afternoon hunt from a ground blind. South wind, but light. Temperature about 9 degrees above normal. No movement.

Edited October 29, 2014 by incognito

[incognito]

10/29

I hunted/scouted three properties included in the Southold Deer Management Assistance Program (SDMAP): zone 4 of the Reeves property, zone 2 of the Damianos property and zone 5 of the Hoggs Neck properties.

I set up at the Reeves property before sunrise just inside the south boundary of the zone right off route 25 and east of the salt marsh. No movement.

At midday I headed to the Damianos property hoping to see if I could set up by a staging area next to a farm field for an afternoon hunt. A path leads to a 50 yard diameter clearing but it is not close enough to the field. I can't imagine how you would track a hit deer through the thick stuff surrounding the zone.

I have been meaning to scout the Hoggs Neck Properties for a while now. Zone 5 is in a long narrow strip between parallel residential streets. I jumped two deer walking to the zone. Closer to sunset I had two almost opportunities. I don't know if I misplayed my chances or if they were just not meant to be. At least they got the adrenaline flowing.

[incognito]

i have been negligent keeping this log up to date.

Suffice it to say that I have been out there a lot. I hunted Tuesday, Wednesday and today this week.

 

I was itching to hunt over a scrape that I found last Thursday in Greenport (1C). Today I got back to the spot. Perfect wind direction.

 

Last Thursday the scrape was fresh with a signature hoof print in the middle and clear of leaves. Today it was stale and covered over.

 

I have never hunted this corner of the property before. I give up setting up near the scrape since I found a 30 yard wide alley by 75 yards long between a ridge leading down to marshy area on one side and some thickets on the other side. The alley funnels on both ends and there are some trails comming up from the marshy area. The scrape is 30 yards from the north end of the alley.

 

At about 2:00 p.m. I built a natural ground blind between 4 trees, creating brush & leaf piles to block to 20 mph wind and hide my shape facing north west and south west. I found a Home Depot 5 gallon bucket in the woods to use for a seat. The ridge is to my back. West 20 yards is the thicket with a clear shooting lanes. The activity warms me up and the brush & leaves are doing a great job blocking the wind. What a difference! I do some still hunting a few hundred yards to the north to let the space quiet down and return around 3:00.

 

Joe W. has grown up hunting this area. He has been mentoring me. Our designated hunting zones share a common boundry. BTW - Thanks Joe for all your help. Joe texts me and tells me that he is comming in heading to his tree stand 200 yards west of me on the other side of the thicket. I don't see him after searching with my binoculars and I'm looking real carefully. I figure he was not as close as he thought. Maybe he is further north or south. I send him a map of where I am and tell him I'm in cammo and not moving until sunset. He tells me that at 4:15 I should see some activity. Sunset is at 4:30.

 

At 4:05 I spot a small deer at 40 yards away walking at a good pace through the alley after entering from the north. I am excited that I am going to get my chance at a doe as part of the deer management assistance program. It is big enough to breed, its fair game. It passes behind a tree and I draw my bow. Out she comes from behind the tree right into the shooting lane and I pull the trigger on the release. I feel good about the shot. Broadside, mid body in height, not too far back. But it looks like it did not pass through again. Damn. She bulldozes into the thicket with a crash and then its pretty quiet. I nock another arrow since I have nothing else to do for almost a half hour.

 

The sunset alarm goes off on the app in my smart phone. I go over and there is the arrow with bright red blood. It was a pass through. Awesome! Back to the blind, pack up. Time to track. There is not a lot of blood to follow like my earlier harvest in October. A few tiny drops on the leaves. A little bit on some plant stems. I'm not feeling so good anymore. It is getting darker. I'm on hands and knees - mainly to crawl through the thicket - and looking for tiny dots of blood. There is a clearing in the thicket, I see the reflection of her eye 15 yards away. Okay, not a lot of time has passed. I back out to see if there is a better way to get her out of that mess. Ten minutes later I figure out my exit path, but I'm going back in the same way as before. She has not moved. Eye still reflecting back the light from my flashlight. She is flat on her side. White bubbles are foaming up from the exit wound. I poke her, she's expired.

 

But she is a he. Two little points at the end of each antler. Thank goodness I have the buck tag to use. How did I not notice the antlers? My bad. Lesson learned.

 

I drag him out of the thicket. Now I'm on my own, gutting a deer for the first time all by myself in the dark with my LED headlamp. I take my time and really absorb every bit of it, unlike the first time. The guts are intact. I don't puncture anything while gutting. The heart was not touched by the arrow. The liver looks like it is whole, maybe an inch sliced off by the arrow or maybe by my knife. I'm not sure, but it confirms that the shot was placed well. In daylight tomorrow I will look to see if the exit wound on the right side is through the ribs or not and get a better idea where the entrance wound is.

 

Now it is dark. The sky is clear and full of stars. But I don't know my way around in this part of the woods in daylight. Joe tells me to go north to the closer road and bring the truck around. I have to find the property line for the campground to the east then turn left to head north. He tells me that there is a path under the locust trees that is clear to travel. I never found it. There is also that marshy area between me and the campground. Generally it is no problem walking in the soft stuff. But at some places you sink right in. I found one or two of the soft patches in the dark. Thank goodness for another smart phone app. I started recording my track and started dragging the deer out of there. There is a lot of blow down and thicket in these woods. it is not possible to walk in a straight line for more than 10 or 20 feet. The track recording and compass work great. I get the deer to the campground property line and head south to get my car.

 

My first experience with the campground staff could have gone better. They tell me that it is not likely that I will have access to their property if needed. I never did get a chance to talk to the owner. She left me a voice mail a month ago. Now seems like a good time for a second first impression. I drive around to the campground entrance. It is closed for the season. I call and leave a message. That was futile, so I park on the road and go in to get the deer without crossing the campground parking lot. Oh well, it was worth a shot and I was fully prepared to beg, beg and beg for permission.

 

Round two of dragging through the woods at night. At least now I don't have a bow or a backback, I left them in the car.  It turns out that it is too thick right next to the campground fence, so I start my serpentine route north while trying to follow the fenceline. I did not realize that I wound up following the fenceline as it turned east. Damn, 50 wasted yards of energy. But I'm close enough now to see headlights on the road and use them for navigation. This poor deer. I am either damaging or tenderizing the meat in the carcass because I am beating the ever living snot out of it with all the logs and branches on the ground. Its nose has been wedged under so many fallen tree trunks. It was never going to be a trophy anyway.

 

It is now 8:00 pm and I am on the road with the deer. I finish taking care of DEC business by attaching the tag so that does not become an issue. Luckily I have a condo within a half mile from where I exited the woods. I was able to take off my perspiration soaked clothes, clean up and put on dry clothes in indoor comfort. We almost, since the thermostat was down to 50 degrees. But that was a whole lot better than changing on the side of the road. 8:45 and I am finally on my way for the hour drive home.

 

What an excellent adventure! I needed to get another deer. I have spent so many days hunting without having an oppertunity to shoot. I was getting frustrated. At least now I feel like I'm on the right track in my rookie season. I just cannot imagine what it is like to drag a slob of a deer out of the woods.

 

 

I was shooting slightly uphill, slightly quartering to and he was moving. Shown is the exit wound.

 

 

Edited November 22, 2014 by incognito

[fasteddie]

Good story !

[Vinny Tagalucci]

Congratulations on your firsr deer.Good story. One suggestion.......while details make for a good story..........specific location details will eventually make for a bad hunting spot.

Even though its public land........loose lips sink ships.The more time you spend in the woods and the more hunting experience you gain........the more you will come to realize that your hunting spots should be treated like your ATM pin and your passwords....carefully guarded........not even your freinds need to know about them.

[incognito]

Congratulations on your firsr deer.Good story. One suggestion.......while details make for a good story..........specific location details will eventually make for a bad hunting spot.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll remember that when I take one from the other spot. I did give away the location. Damn Google Maps.

The land is public. You need a parking pass and must stay in your zone. I am not even allowed to bring a guest. We have spotted tresspassers tree stands this season.

 

I have taken two small bucks out of there. I have not seen any others in all of my hunting and scouting trips.

[incognito]

The exit wound looks much higher in the picture than it is. Both the entrance and exit wounds are between the 4th and 6th ribs at slightly above mid body. A nice double lung shot. Lower and more forward would have been better in case he ducked.

[Fletch]

Way to go!!

[bkln]

Good job...!!!

[incognito]

Yesterday I dontated the deer to help feed the less fortunate.

I also took a trip back into the woods to see what the north exit route looks like in daylight. I did the walk out in less than 10 minutes. What a differnence when you can see where you are walking!

[incognito]

10/1:

Flew back from vacation

 

10/2:

Picked up various village/town/county parking permits, etc.

 

10/3/2015:

Windy, overcast.

I went to a nearby spot for a few hours in the afternoon to sunset.

I want to thank the person who left a ladder stand on public property since I was a squatter for the afternoon.

 

No activity until one hour before sunset, possibly due to the football game and cheering going on behind me.

One doe and two fawns came by at about 60 yards behind brush. No chance at a good shot.

Climbed down a few minutes before sunset and stalked them. I got within 30 yards but they scattered before I could get a shot.

 

It was nice to be back out there. I can't wait to check out my spot in Southold in the next few days.

 

Edited October 4, 2015 by incognito

[incognito]

10/4/2015:

62 degrees, sun/clouds, Wind 18 mph ENE

I went back to the nearby spot from 11 to 1:30 to see if there was daytime activity without the football game going on.

All quiet, no movement from the stand and walking the perimeter.

Unfortunately I have a committment at 3 pm.

 

[incognito]

10/8:

I scouted a new property today. Walked the perimeter, looked for bedding areas, etc.

I setup along some runs near a fence line. A buck strolled by near sunset but he was off limits until a week from then.

10/9:

Back to public property. The day was cut short due to thunderstorms. I saw nothing.

[incognito]

10/11:

Warm day, cooled off a bit near sunset.

A club member took me to one of his favorite spots on county parkland. I got a button buck near closing time. Venison veal is on the menu next week. I got my fist lesson on skinning and quartering.

Edited October 12, 2015 by incognito

[incognito]

10/11:

A little more color on yesterday's hunt.

The club member showed me a spot and had me climb a tree in moderate undergrowth with deer runs going through it.

I got up in the tree and did some maintenance on my mechanical broadheads - replacing o rings and collars while the woods settled down. When I went to put on my release about a half hour later I realized that I left it back at the truck.

I considered taking my bow with me but decided to leave everything on the tree hook so I could get down and up quicker and travel lightly back to the parking spot. Of course I spotted a doe on a path as I was returning to the stand with my release. We all saw that one coming.

There was no movement for a few hours until it cooled off a little and the sun started getting low in the sky.

As I was looking right I heard a snort to my left. She got me to turn quickly just in time to see the white tail waving good-by.

I then saw a parade of turkey strut by.

A little before sunset I spotted a brown movement to my right behind a berry bush at about 25 yards. I could not tell what it was until I glassed it with my binoculars. I could barely make out the body outline behind the bush but I was able to identify the antlerless deer head. So I estimated where the vitals were in relation to the head and let an arrow fly into the bush.

I heard a yelp and the sound that we make when we get the wind knockout out of our lungs. The deer made a u-turn, ran about 30 to 40 yards to the left and crashed.

I  was surprised how small the little guy was. But I am pleased that there is one less deer running around 1C and that he did not get a chance to do a few years worth of vegetation damage and tick hosting while growing up to be a Long Island monster. The arrow sliced the tendons on the front leg, hit mid to low on the lungs and exited through the gut. Apparently he was slightly quartering to.

At the club we mess around with "blind" shots, arcing the arrow over one 3-D target into the vitals of another 3-D target further back, using the head to judge where the shot should go. That practice came in handy yesterday.

Now I need to get a bonus DMP tag to replace the one I used yesterday.

 

[NFA-ADK]

Congrats on your first for the year! 

[jjb4900]

10/11:

 

 little before sunset I spotted a brown movement to my right behind a berry bush at about 25 yards. I could not tell what it was until I glassed it with my binoculars. I could barely make out the body outline behind the bush but I was able to identify the antlerless deer head. So I estimated where the vitals were in relation to the head and let an arrow fly into the bush.

 

glad that turned out well...............sometimes it's better to leave out some details.

Edited October 12, 2015 by jjb4900