woolys 2016 journal

[dalo143]

Great job and pics!!!  The meat definatly won't go to waste.  I think it takes a lot of skill to bow hunt, not too sure if I would be very good at it but you totally are!!  Can't wait for our big deer hunt coming up, hopefully we will have a chance to fill our tags but if not just spending the time out there with you hunting is what I love and cherish the most.  Great job Bro!!!

[stoneam2006]

Great job and pics!!!  The meat definatly won't go to waste.  I think it takes a lot of skill to bow hunt, not too sure if I would be very good at it but you totally are!!  Can't wait for our big deer hunt coming up, hopefully we will have a chance to fill our tags but if not just spending the time out there with you hunting is what I love and cherish the most.  Great job Bro!!!

As with everything it just takes practice. Took me 10 plus years to get my first archery deer...I will tell you there is something in the air in October archery season has become my favorite time of year. Hopefully someday you try it out...you won't regret it

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[DirtTime]

Congrats wooly!

[dbHunterNY]

we save quite a bit of money from store bought meat and have an abundance of doe so I'm happy to take enough to fill the freezer.  if that weren't true I'd probably never bring myself to kill one.  to be honest I get enough from the encounter and archery shooting wise I've got trophies to fill the trigger finger needs.  you definitely have shot a lot of deer so far this season.  even cooler thought is you've taken us all there like we were sitting next to you each time.  someday i'll get more into taking photos of my encounters.  most likely when my wife and daughter get into the field.

[ATbuckhunter]

I agree with db! Better than eating meat from the store and I also really like the thread. One of my favorites on this site!

[dbHunterNY]

nice journal so far Matt!  congrats on the freezer meat.  venison tacos are ridiculously good... and a ton of other stuff that has ground venison.  I grind up at least 60lbs of it every year. our man substitute for store bought meat.

[NFA-ADK]

Congrats Wooly!  As stated above nothing wrong with advancing in your own hunting choices.  From the looks of the young bucks you have plenty of good bucks to target in the years to come.  Good luck and love your posts!  

[Zag]

Wooly, just don't loose your passion for photography and shed hunting.

[The_Field_Ager]

5 hours ago, wooly said:

I actually feel pretty bad that I feel that way. Almost wishing I let her walk. I'm telling you guys, I don't know what it is, but my lust for the kill is really becoming a thing of the past.

 

I know how you feel. I do not get any kicks out of killing doe or younger Bucks. I focus entirely on the wiser, gnarly older Bucks, if I know them to be around. Even then, I know there will be remorse if there has been history over several seasons.

John Eberhart talks about this after he killed an older Buck after 4 seasons of chasing him down. It's called having empathy I think

[wooly]

I appreciate the comments and support everybody.

While I don't know what my future in hunting will be beyond this season, I'm determined to finish strong and fill my remaining buck tags before the 2016 season is through. (with a little luck.... and God willing of course)

 

I guess I sort of saw this coming a while ago and that was part of the reason for me starting this journal.

I'll ride it out the rest of the way and make a final decision in the post season. Deer hunting has been a big part of my life for a long time and I think now I'd rather just help others get the same satisfaction out of it that I once did. It doesn't all make complete sense to me yet either, but eventually I'll figure it out.

Thanks again.... and don't go away just yet,lol

[The_Field_Ager]

14 minutes ago, wooly said:

 

 It doesn't all make complete sense to me yet either, but eventually I'll figure it out.

Thanks again.... and don't go away just yet,lol

There is a fascinating book about St Francis of Paola. This is another Francis, not the more famous one, but in some ways more interesting. He was an animal lover, a vegetarian and had powers of healing and curing. In fact in one story, he raised a worker from the dead, killed on the job working to build a chapel for Francis.

One day, one of Francis's brother monks took his favorite fish from his pond and decided to cook it up for him, as a special treat. He presented the dish to Francis, who when he found out what fish it was, became sad. He took the cooked fish in his hands and walked back to the pond. He sat down and placed the fish into the water, whereupon it was restored to life and swam away.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Papist

[Core]

I clicked the thread because the pic of you and the deer came up. Very well taken picture, like magazine good.


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[stoneam2006]

I clicked the thread because the pic of you and the deer came up. Very well taken picture, like magazine good.


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You have missed alot of his pics then...all are magazine good...search some they are great

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[The_Field_Ager]

5 minutes ago, Core said:

I clicked the thread because the pic of you and the deer came up. Very well taken picture, like magazine good.


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Maybe Wooly's future lies in shooting wildlife with the camera. He would not be the first to go down that road. Wooly, have you ever sent your work to National Geographic or some wildlife magazines?

[BigVal]

X2 these pics are better than lots I see in magazines. Awesome stuff Wooly. Thank you

[ATbuckhunter]

10 minutes ago, Papist said:

Maybe Wooly's future lies in shooting wildlife with the camera. He would not be the first to go down that road. Wooly, have you ever sent your work to National Geographic or some wildlife magazines?

I remember him mentioning how he feels more excitement snapping pics of deer than hunting them. Maybe it is his future. I wish him the best of luck perusing what makes him happy. 

[stoneam2006]

I remember him mentioning how he feels more excitement snapping pics of deer than hunting them. Maybe it is his future. I wish him the best of luck perusing what makes him happy. 

Me 2 hopefully he keeps posting here too...

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[ATbuckhunter]

4 minutes ago, stoneam2006 said:

 

Me 2 hopefully he keeps posting here too...

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He wouldn't leave his first fans like that!

[stoneam2006]

Like^^^^^(out if likes)

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[ApexerER]

Wooly...no matter what life brings you I hope you don't leave the forum...I enjoy your posts and love your pictures...my father quit Hunting at least 15 years ago because he just decided he couldn't kill animals any more. He hunted a lot of years and only killed 3 deer that I know of...he always enjoyed the time at camp way more than Hunting....don't second guess your gut....

[shawnhu]

I appreciate the comments and support everybody.
While I don't know what my future in hunting will be beyond this season, I'm determined to finish strong and fill my remaining buck tags before the 2016 season is through. (with a little luck.... and God willing of course)
 
I guess I sort of saw this coming a while ago and that was part of the reason for me starting this journal.
I'll ride it out the rest of the way and make a final decision in the post season. Deer hunting has been a big part of my life for a long time and I think now I'd rather just help others get the same satisfaction out of it that I once did. It doesn't all make complete sense to me yet either, but eventually I'll figure it out.
Thanks again.... and don't go away just yet,lol

Matt, it's all about passing the tradition down to the youngsters. Hopefully I'll be where you are one day.


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[Fletch]

Thanks for sharing as always Wooly. I could not make it without a few deer in the freezer. Way better than store meat.

[wooly]

Well, good news and bad news from the weekend.

The bad news is, no shooters sighted in person either day. The good news is, no shots fired so I still have my buck tag and it seems a new batch of bucks is moving into the area with some better size to them. Cam activity has really picked up with a lot of does moving around before sunset and bucks are really cruising now throughout the day.

Saturday was by far the better of the two days for me as far as encounters and activity. On my way to one of my blinds I spotted a spiker that looked dazed and confused. He was walking in circles, sniffing the ground and looking over his shoulder, and obviously pre-occupied by something other than any approaching danger from behind(me). Eventually he found his way into the apple orchard which allowed me to move on.

I didn't make it another 50yds around the side of the orchard when I spotted another deer zig zagging at a good clip down the ridge I was on. He blew by me at 20yds with his mouth wide open and ducked into the cover so I wasn't able to snap a pic. I did recognize him as a small 4x2 from a trail cam pic I found later in the day though.

 

 

I hoped to get a pic of him so I kneeled down and waited for him to re-emerge but he never did.

Instead another deer came flying down the same ridge, on the same trail he had been on. Same thing with this little guy. Mouth wide open, random approach, and clueless as could be. There was definitely something in that orchard thicket that got them all fired up and careless. Even though none of them were anything to write home about, you could feel the excitement in the air and I know better days and bigger bucks aren't too far away! This guy might qualify as an antlerless deer with that 3" antler on one side,lol

I liked the pose he gave me though that really caught the look I'm trying to describe here.

 

I continued on to where I wanted to try another night of observation from a field edge where I get tucked into the goldenrod from the ground just above a corn field. This is where my cam has been catching the increased doe and larger buck activity right on the edge of a good bedding area. It's always a hot spot when the first doe start coming into heat, and the field can fill up fast, so I was hopeful I'd see some action. It turned out to be a slow night with only 3 antlerless and one buck that came out at last light. It was basically beyond "dark 30" by that time, but at least I'd seen what I came here to find out..... sort of.

 

 

So now that things are beginning to really heat up, it's just a matter of being patient, finding the right buck, and waiting for the right opportunity to connect. I'm kind of hoping all the chips don't fall into place until x-bow season opens this weekend. I never took the crossbow out of the case last season, and I've never killed a BUCK with it, so that's something I'd like to accomplish this year if I can hold out a little longer. I'll try not to kill anything this week, but I can't guarantee anything! Should the right opportunity present itself before then, I wont hesitate to punch another tag with the compound!

 

 

[ATbuckhunter]

Well, good news and bad news from the weekend.
The bad news is, no shooters sighted in person either day. The good news is, no shots fired so I still have my buck tag and it seems a new batch of bucks is moving into the area with some better size to them. Cam activity has really picked up with a lot of does moving around before sunset and bucks are really cruising now throughout the day.
Saturday was by far the better of the two days for me as far as encounters and activity. On my way to one of my blinds I spotted a spiker that looked dazed and confused. He was walking in circles, sniffing the ground and looking over his shoulder, and obviously pre-occupied by something other than any approaching danger from behind(me). Eventually he found his way into the apple orchard which allowed me to move on.

I didn't make it another 50yds around the side of the orchard when I spotted another deer zig zagging at a good clip down the ridge I was on. He blew by me at 20yds with his mouth wide open and ducked into the cover so I wasn't able to snap a pic. I did recognize him as a small 4x2 from a trail cam pic I found later in the day though.
 

 
I hoped to get a pic of him so I kneeled down and waited for him to re-emerge but he never did.
Instead another deer came flying down the same ridge, on the same trail he had been on. Same thing with this little guy. Mouth wide open, random approach, and clueless as could be. There was definitely something in that orchard thicket that got them all fired up and careless. Even though none of them were anything to write home about, you could feel the excitement in the air and I know better days and bigger bucks aren't too far away! This guy might qualify as an antlerless deer with that 3" antler on one side,lol
I liked the pose he gave me though that really caught the look I'm trying to describe here.
 

I continued on to where I wanted to try another night of observation from a field edge where I get tucked into the goldenrod from the ground just above a corn field. This is where my cam has been catching the increased doe and larger buck activity right on the edge of a good bedding area. It's always a hot spot when the first doe start coming into heat, and the field can fill up fast, so I was hopeful I'd see some action. It turned out to be a slow night with only 3 antlerless and one buck that came out at last light. It was basically beyond "dark 30" by that time, but at least I'd seen what I came here to find out..... sort of.
 

 
So now that things are beginning to really heat up, it's just a matter of being patient, finding the right buck, and waiting for the right opportunity to connect. I'm kind of hoping all the chips don't fall into place until x-bow season opens this weekend. I never took the crossbow out of the case last season, and I've never killed a BUCK with it, so that's something I'd like to accomplish this year if I can hold out a little longer. I'll try not to kill anything this week, but I can't guarantee anything! Should the right opportunity present itself before then, I wont hesitate to punch another tag with the compound!
 
 

Sounds like you might have a hot doe in the area or one that's close. Good luck with the Xbow though. Hopefully you can get one with that.


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[Cabin Fever]

 

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 2:06 PM, wooly said:

Unless we become overrun with them, this will likely be the last doe I ever kill with any weapon. I actually feel pretty bad that I feel that way. Almost wishing I let her walk. I'm telling you guys, I don't know what it is, but my lust for the kill is really becoming a thing of the past.

Brother, I'm glad to hear you say this! I haven't killed a doe in a 3-4 years. Most guys seem like they need to shoot does, as they have a doe tag that's burning a hole in their pocket. The conservationist in me is holding me back from shooting does on my property. I don't feel I have enough does around my property to sacrifice any, so I choose not to shoot them. PLUS, I have 2 kids that I'm trying to look out for. I would much rather give them have the opportunity at seeing more deer or shooting a doe! Just because the DEC believes that my WMU is over-populated, that CERTAINLY isn't the case!! I've been out 15x so far this season, but have only seen a doe, 2 fawns, and a small buck. I think I'm justified in choosing not to shoot any does! I'm envious of people that have a surplus of does, but I just don't have that. Like you, unless my property becomes somehow over populated, I personally choose to give the does a pass...