Zen Moments with Zem 2015

[fasteddie]

Thanks guys. It was a crazy day for sure.

Fletch, I had to scramble and get some broadheads on my practice arrows for the hunt this morning. Lost 1 arrow and bent two others. Only good one left and the feathers shrunk all up from being in the water.

 

 

 

Bent the arrow ?   Are you shooting Aluminum ?

[halfnelson]

Nice buck! Congratulations! Good for you and great perseverance.

[Zem18]

Bent the arrow ? Are you shooting Aluminum ?

Yes I shoot an older Hoyt Ultratech bow with Easton X7 Eclipse 2014 aluminum arrows with 4inch real feather vanes. It is time for an arrow upgrade for next year for sure.

[First-light]

Nice deer Zem!!

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

Great story with an awesome ending! Congrats!

[dbHunterNY]

heck of a story to tell during the holidays.  glad you got him.  nice buck at that so congrats!

[Zem18]

Thanks everyone. I'm very happy with him and the story is a bonus. I called around to about 5 or 6 taxidermy shops in the area to.see what it would cost to just have the skull cleaned up, no whitening or plaque, just cleaned up. I know it is a pain in the butt to.do but to charge $75 to $100 to me is crazy.

I bought a new electric hot water heater element for my homemade "boiler" and will do it myself again this year. It will take longer, but I will get the satisfaction.

Heading down to camp Friday night with my FIL, BIL and the rest of the gang. Can't wait to get out in the big woods of the Catskills and enjoy my 2 days this weekend.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Zem18

[Zem18]

Went to camp Friday night. Took a sheet pizza down and there were 4 of us staying at the cabin. Did a few shots, ate, then played some cards. Guys from up the road came down to visit. Had a few more shots and beer, then played more cards. Finally got bed at 1:30am.

Alarm went off at 5:30. Sounded like a fire truck inside the cabin. Scared the carp outta me. Got up and had some cereal and got out the door at 6:30am. Climbed the mountain to my spot and sat for 10.5 hours and saw nothing. Very disappointing. Was warm until the wind started. Had a full moon last night so they weren't moving today. Out of 8 of us hunting Opening day, only my FIL saw 4 doe and one guy saw 1 doe and a bear. Had venison stew for dinner that I made. Was delicious. Played some cards til about 8:45pm and we all crashed.

Slept in until 6:15am Sunday morning. Made it to my spot by 7:15am. Sat til 9am and the wind was swirling and it was warmer than yesterday. Decided to walk with the wind in my face. Put a few miles on the boots today and not even a flag spotted today either. Only hunted til noon and had to drive home. Heading down next Friday with my FIL so hopefully the deer will be moving. Looking at the forecast for Friday down there, they are calling for 60 degrees. I may just stay home. May hunt Thanksgiving but not sure.

[jjb4900]

 

 I called around to about 5 or 6 taxidermy shops in the area to.see what it would cost to just have the skull cleaned up, no whitening or plaque, just cleaned up. I know it is a pain in the butt to.do but to charge $75 to $100 to me is crazy.

seriously??? 

[Zem18]

That's what I said, seriously? Guess I'm in the wrong business.

[The_Real_TCIII]

To me it's worth it, the beetles do a great job they come back perfect

[Zem18]

Only some of those taxis use the bettles. The others boil. So for $65 less, I will boil it myself. I'm a pro after last year's, hahahahahahahaha NOT!!!

Great buck there TCIII

Edited November 22, 2015 by Zem18

[The_Real_TCIII]

Thank you I appreciate it

[Zem18]

Woke up Monday with a sore throat and sinuses plugged. Worked M,T, and W and still feel like crap. Went to walk in this morning and it is just viral so OTC meds for now. Got an hour of sleep last night and a two hour nap this afternoon. Will see how I feel in the morning and if hunting is in the cards. Timing sucks. Happy Thanksgiving all and good luck this weekend.

[Zem18]

Hunted this afternoon from about 2:30 til 4:30. Finally saw my first deer of the gun season and it was a yearling doe. Cute little skipper that wouldn't run away. Did some "boiling" today while I hung Christmas lights. Here are some pics of the process.First is the first boil to get all the gunk cooked up. Second is after about an hour and 20 minutes scraping. Last one is the degreaser bubble bath.

[Zem18]

Didn't go to camp this weekend as the weather was forecasted to be warm and rainy and I was feeling crappy with this cold. So I went out with my buddy to his camp locally and stood in the rain, lol. We did 4 drives Saturday morning and I ended up seeing the most deer, 8 total, for the day. Only had a shot at 1 of them but it was a button so he gets a free pass. My buddy took a doe from the first group of 5 that ran past me and directly to him.

Went and had lunch with all the guys of venison hotdogs and some venison steaks on the grill. All were washed down with some nice cold ones from the ice chest. Great afternoon.

Only 2 of us met up this morning so we sat in stands by some thickets instead of trying to push by ourselves. About an hour into.the sit I hear the leaves rustling and by the time I turn around, this stupid coyote is at a full trot and not giving me a chance in hell at hitting him with a slug. When he was finally in the clear, he was over 80 yards at a full gallop going away so I saved the slug for another day. Was swearing at myself for not at least attempting a shot but oh well. Hunted another couple hours and walked out. Bumped 2 or 3 deer bedded close to the houses so didn't even raise the scope on them.

Work all week and no chance to get out early so I Wil suck it up and do my time and get back after them next weekend down at camp.

[turkeyfeathers]

Didn't go to camp this weekend as the weather was forecasted to be warm and rainy and I was feeling crappy with this cold. So I went out with my buddy to his camp locally and stood in the rain, lol. We did 4 drives Saturday morning and I ended up seeing the most deer, 8 total, for the day. Only had a shot at 1 of them but it was a button so he gets a free pass. My buddy took a doe from the first group of 5 that ran past me and directly to him.

Went and had lunch with all the guys of venison hotdogs and some venison steaks on the grill. All were washed down with some nice cold ones from the ice chest. Great afternoon.

Only 2 of us met up this morning so we sat in stands by some thickets instead of trying to push by ourselves. About an hour into.the sit I hear the leaves rustling and by the time I turn around, this stupid coyote is at a full trot and not giving me a chance in hell at hitting him with a slug. When he was finally in the clear, he was over 80 yards at a full gallop going away so I saved the slug for another day. Was swearing at myself for not at least attempting a shot but oh well. Hunted another couple hours and walked out. Bumped 2 or 3 deer bedded close to the houses so didn't even raise the scope on them.

Work all week and no chance to get out early so I Wil suck it up and do my time and get back after them next weekend down at camp.

sounds like a solid day . Saw some deer, some great eats, cold beer and a coyote sighting. Try and bark at him. They generally stop giving you a whack at him. Even on a slow trot they'll stop. Running, generally not so much.

[Zem18]

My lips were cold and I tried to whistle but only air came out, lol. I was like whewwww whewwww and nothing. I'll try the bark when I see the next one. Thanks.

[Zem18]

Friday night we headed down to the cabin and made a stop at the fire station for their annual turkey raffle. I spent $30 for the evening and did not win any turkeys or capons. My FIL won 5 capons and my BIL won 3 capons. Not sure how much they spent but the cards were not in my favor I guess. Drank plenty of free beer and filled up on sandwiches and hot dogs, all free of charge. Great fundraiser for them and a good 2 hours of entertainment.

On to the hunting. This year I can honestly say I "hunted" at camp. I walked and walked and covered plenty of ground and never saw a deer. That's called hunting, and not killing. Only hunted 2 and a half days down there this year but can't remember the last time I was totally skunked for more than a day down there. Something has changed between last season and this season for sure. Still had a great time and looking forward to a better season next year down there. May end up going down for ML weekend but only if we have snow otherwise it would be a wasted trip.

Hunted this morning at my buddies camp. We only did 2 drives and I saw 2 doe hauling butt close to 80 or 90 yards out in the frosty fog. Didn't even raise the shotgun, just watched them bolt. Going to hunt with them next weekend as it is close to home and have other projects to get done.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Zem18

[noodle874]

Wow. Can't believe you guys got skunked again down there. In all the walking you did, did you see any significant sign? Where did all the deer go. Grandview was quiet. Don't know of anyone that got anything up there. I am going up this weekend. Never hunted up there this late in the season.

[Zem18]

Yeah it was definitely a weird year for most of us. I think most of them are up on Tomar's land. Not a lot of pressure up there the past few years so they have a sanctuary, so to speak. Good luck up there this weekend. Don't forget your shorts and sneakers. Supposedly they are calling for close to 60 on Sunday. Let me know how you do.

[noodle874]

Will do. Can't believe this weather. Good luck to you as well

[Zem18]

Went to my buddies camp about 10 minutes from home. There were 9 of us so we set up to do some drives. First drive, nadda for everyone. Second drive was a good one.

I was a sitter and got to a great spot where I saw all the deer last weekend. 2 minutes there and I see a deer headed up hill to some other sitters. Then below me I see five looking to scoot out of the drive. I hear a yelp from a driver and the deer are coming up hill to me and then turn yet again so no shot for me. However, I suggested sitting a new guy below me and to my left and sure enough, he was almost trampled in the whole ordeal and never got a shot off. Then a shot rang out above me and the first one I saw, a doe, was put down. Just before the shot above me, I had a red fox come running up a trail and right past me at about 20 feet. That was cool. It was pretty warm by then so we called it a day and went to have some lunch and some cold ones.

Another great Saturday spent with a bunch of great guys and at least seeing some deer. We are headed up again a little earlier tomorrow morning and a few less guys but hope to fill a few tags for everyone. Looking forward to ML next weekend and I took the last day of ML off too.

[Zem18]

Got up this morning and it was 51 degrees at 7am. Wow. I put on my sandals, Speedo, and wifebeater and headed out to go hunting. I also bought some pink sunblock for my nose so I didn't get burnt out there.

But seriously, there were only 5 of us today so it was put up or shut up. Now I have been hunting at my buddies camp as a guest for years. They have guys that are members but just don't hunt anymore so they enjoy the guests as it increases their numbers to get deer moving. And, I enjoy being invited back year after year, even when my buddy can't be there to hunt.

So today, we set up the first drive and a few deer are seen but by the drivers only so no shots. Then we get to the second one. We had 2 drivers and 4 sitters so I took the opportunity to sit where the guy was almost trampled yesterday. I found out this morning that he told one of the guys yesterday that when those deer crested the hill and saw him, that was the closest he has even been to a live deer. I knew where they would come out and wanted them to go uphill so I parked the 4 wheeler right where I expected them to come up the hill. Worked like a charm. I stood behind a large tree in front of the 4 wheeler and heard them coming in the leaves. They saw the wheeler and stopped. Then they walked up hill into an opening for me to shoot. Scoped the first one and my dog weighed more at 65lbs. Scoped the second and was about the same size. The next 3 were bigger but all looked to be this year's deer. Man was I disappointed.

I know it was the last day and we were busting butt to get the deer moving but I couldn't pull the trigger. It was in the 60s already and the deer were so small. I did not need the venison that badly and would have loved to have shared a deer with the guys at work that don't have much but I couldn't do it. I'm happy with my decision but doubted myself at first. No one else saw deer to shoot today and they all respected my decision as well. And I know ill be invited back again next year.

Heck, I was invited back next weekend for ML so hopefully a chance at a larger deer is in the cards. Not sure where I am going to hunt next Saturday, but it looks like I will be solo somewhere locally. Sunday it is back to my buddies camp. I took the last day Tuesday the 22nd off and plan to hit the honey hole across the street from the in laws.

Saw 21 deer total during the regular gun season along with one coyote and one red fox. All sightings were at my buddies camp, none at my camp. Ill post up next weekend after my hunts. Good luck to anyone headed out this week with the ML. Keep your powder dry and shoot straight.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Zem18

[Fletch]

Sounds like fun Zem! No go get one with the smoke pole!