2018 HuntingNY Gun Harvest Thread

[WNYBuckHunter]

Post up pics of your 2018 gun season deer 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.

[NYBowhunter]

2:30 opening day

[burmjohn]

18 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Post up pics of your 2018 gun season deer 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.

Oops forgot this and violated the post in the same post. #winning 

[moog5050]

Muwahahaha.  Thought I knew where he was bedding and for once I was right.   

[chrisw]

Shot what I thought was a doe with a long poke, turned out to be a spike. Different spot in the afternoon and had 4 doe come up and I shot the biggest, turns out she had a busted back leg and a wound on her face so I'm glad I picked her. Good day! Freezer is back on track after a humbling archery season.

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[Piseco]

Bleated this buck in this morning at 9:30 in unit 4A. 

 

[UpStateRedNeck]

Same stand I single lunged that big 8 last Saturday.  7am, watched her for 5 minutes, was really hoping a big boy was with her.  All I've had shots at all bow were yearling and fauns.  Don't normally shoot a doe on opening day of gun, but I needed a win.  70 yards, double lung, broke the shoulder on the exit.  She snow plowed, and went night nights.  Big girl, head like a mule.  

[wolc123]

This scrappy 6-pointer offered me a broadside 100 yard, fast-walking shot at 10:00, which I "pushed".   I think it missed him forward because he put on the brakes just as I heard the shot go off.   He stopped behind a big tree in a swamp.  My sister heard my second shot (from her house 300 yards away) 2 minutes later.  It seemed a lot longer to me, before he took a few more steps from behind that tree.   He was partly hidden by brush, and slightly quartering away, when I held slightly above his center of mass and fired that second shot.  Had I not taken the first one (which I was 90 % sure I would make), I probably would not have taken the second one thru that brush.  No matter, as that one rolled him onto his back.  I could see two hoofs twitching straight up in the air for a little bit before they rolled back down.  I cycled the last 12 gauge Honady SST into my Marlin 512's chamber and held the 4x scope's crosshairs on that dark spot in the brush until all movement stopped.   

Getting to him was tough because the water was higher than my boots. I found a couple of downed, snow-covered trees to balance on and made it over the deep spot.   Wading thru the shallower water I finally found him and experienced a rarity (ground antler growth) when he began to pull his head up with his front legs.  It seems that they usually look smaller when you walk up to them but not this time, this is probably the second largest racked buck I have ever killed.  He would be by a long shot had he not broke off a couple points.   My wife was thankful for that for now I can get away with a "free" euro, vs a $400 - $ 500 shoulder mount.   I replaced the $3 sabot in my chamber with an off-brand odd-ball from my pocket and ended his suffering with a neck shot with that (another advantage of the euro mount).  

I did not want muddy swamp water in the carcass so I tried dragging him out with the guts still in.  Clearly he was well north of 200 pounds so I did not get too far with that.   I called my dad, who got hold of my brother and they arrived in about 20 minutes with a sled and ATV.  We floated him over the deep spots with the sled.  My brother was particularly impressed with the performance of the butt-out, when we got him to dry land.   

I named this one "Titus" because I had some history with him (he bested me with my crossbow last Sunday when he saw me moving my cider thermos (see 2nd photo) and never offered a shot.   The Good Lord had other plans for him today.  (Titus was the book on the two Bible pages that I read this morning before going hunting).     

[Nytracker]

 Nothing in the morning had lunch got back  in  230. While hoisting up pack I look over to see a doe sneaking through the brush  to my north . More deer coming behind. See a big bodied deer bringing up the rear. Drop the pack and pulled the 480. As the deer got its closest it was covered up in brush no shot. Watched  him nipping off buds . Till no clue how big the rack was.Didn't look good  for a shot no shooting lanes over there. Scanned ahead and picked a spot where the brush thinned and waited. As he moved forward at about 60 yds I braced against the tree . Supporting shooting hand with weak hand  I put the dot on the bucks neck then cocked the srh .Looking at the buck all I had was an opening the size of a softball on his neck. My grandfathers words came back to me " if you can see it you can hit it". I slowly squeezed the trigger. At the report the buck dropped  in his tracks . The big 391grn hard cast hollowpoint crushed him. An hour drag to the truck was killer. But rewarding.

[jmelite]

Shot this buck on my land in Cortland County on Saturday morning. Got in my stand @6:37am, and at 7 I see a big doe walking toward me.  I'm getting my gun up, and I start to hear grunting, look back on the trail and this guy is following her grunting like crazy.  Shot him at 7:05, and when I get up to him I'm amazed at the body size.  Buck ended up having 19" inside spread, and field dressed at 207 pounds.  This has been a tough season for me, as I had 104 hours in a tree stand this year and only shot 1 doe during bow season.  Took me over an hour  to get him to the closest logging trail 100 yards away, where I was going to try to get my 4 wheeler in.  With over a foot of wet snow, I wasn't sure my 4 wheeler would make it, but it did.  I'm a happy hunter right now!  John

[jmark]

My 14 year old son's first buck.  Modest 6 pointer, but he was very happy.  Shot with a Rem 700 .308 at about 75 yards at 8:45 a.m. yesterday.  Short gun season for him. 

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by jmark

[Rattler]

It was a very good day.   Dressed weight 160 pounds.  Been hunting deer 48 seasons now.  This year hunting alone, dragging it out and hanging it in the shed by myself.  I guess at 63 years old, I'm not that old after all.

[WNY Bowhunter]

[wooly]

[Chef]

So here goes my opening day story.

I have jmp5008 drive me by road to the back end of my land to hunt the ridge top stand. I get in the stand at 5:45 and settle in. At around 6:30 about 15 min before legal I see a doe come running up the funnel between me at the neighbor. I know by which was she is headed she will be going right in front of his stand. I look the direction she came from and see another deer making its way up the hill. I’m pretty sure it’s a buck but it’s thick over there and I can’t make it out. Finally I get him in the scope and I can see antlers but can’t make them out. Ar’s in effect here. It’s now like 10 min to legal I’m following him in my scope he looks big but it’s thick and I can’t tell for sure. Between that and the time I let him walk. 2 min later I hear it. Boom the neighbor shoots twice. My heart sinks he was so close and the shot so loud I feel like I’m not going to see any more deer. About 45 min goes by and I’m scanning all directions. I notice a deer coming down the hill behind me. A small doe. I take a selfie with it and watch her walk away. As I turn back around I see another deer coming down the hill In front of me. Looks like a buck but I’m not sure. I get the scope on him, see the antlers with a obvious 3 points on one side. I settle the scope behind the shoulder and pull the trigger. The deer kicks and takes off running up the ridge but downhill from the neighbor. That’s when the texts start my buddies want to know what I shot. I answer that I’m not sure I hit him. That’s when@jmp5008 chimes in and says you got him I see it rolling down the hill!! I walk Down go recover the deer when the neighbor and his grandson show up. I ask if they got the one from earlier in the day. They said no we missed, but it was a very nice 8. I make a little small talk with them then start the long drag downhill thank god, to where I can get a quad in and get him back to the house


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[Single_shot]

Went out on the porch for a smoke and with coffee in hand he came walking by 30yrds away. I put my smoke in the ash tray , set my coffee on the rail, sneak in and grab my 7mag , come back out and bawam. Bag me a 9pt big body stinky ruttin buck.

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[Cabin Fever]

I was after this guy all bow season, but I only saw him on trailcam pics.

About 9:30am on opening day, I saw a deer trotting ~300 yards to my right, head almost to the ground, and coming right at me!!! I put the scope on it and saw it was the big 8pt that I had been after all bow season! If he continued on the same path, he would have been 25 yards in front of me! I kept the crosshairs on his chest the best that I could and was ready, incase he decided to change direction! He was on a mission and kept closing the distance! At ~150 yards, he must have picked up the does scent that I saw there earlier, because he started to veer off into the thicket! BUT, between him trotting side to side and me not having a rock steady rest, (OK, and me shaking ) I just wasn't comfortable risking a shot! I knew the .300 Mag was fully capable, but I wasn't confident . Part of me was screaming SHOOT!!! But I was too afraid of missing, or worst yet wounding him, so I decided not to shoot!! He disappeared into the thicket and I had no idea if I would ever see him again! I was tormented by my decision, but in my heart, I knew it was the right thing to do. I was bumming, feeling like I may have blown my one and only opportunity at him. I tried giving some estrus bleats to get him to come in my direction, but nothing! I figured he probably picked up the doe's scent from earlier, and followed her out of the back of the thicket somewhere into the corn.

About 5 min later, I looked into the thicket and could make out a deer walking. I sure hoped it was the big 8pt! It was so damn thick and I could just see enough of the rack to confirm it was him!! It looked like he was back tracking the doe from earlier! I scanned in front of him and found one hole about 75 yards in front of me that I figured would be my one and only opportunity for a shot! I put the crosshairs on that hole and waited for him to step into it!!! I kept peeking over the scope to keep an eye on him, so I knew when to expect him! As soon as I saw his shoulder in the scope, I squeezed the trigger! He took a couple jumps, but it was so thick that I had no idea if I hit him or not!? AHHHHH! To make matters worse, although it was only 75 yards away, a deep ditch/creek was between us that I needed chest waders to cross! I had to walk back to the truck to get my chest waders, walk back to the stand, put the waders on, and wade the creek (~4' deep!), before I would even know if I hit him or not!! 

Well, once I got over there, I saw blood splattered all over the fresh snow! I was so relieved!! He might have went 40 yards, but was piled up along the edge of the thicket! 

I was grateful to have killed the buck that I was after, but even more happy that I did it with my Dad's .300 Win Mag. That gun was his baby! I know he was smiling down...

Edited November 18, 2018 by Cabin Fever

[NFA-ADK]

6 pt in Moose River Plains Nov 10th.  Spot stalked then tracked this guy in the snow for a few hundred yards before catching up to him on the second day of a three day hunt.  Story is here.  

[blackradio]

Opening day 9pt. First minute or two or legal light.

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[Lawdwaz]

Here's my story........Friday was a total mind blower with the 11" of snow we got in Ontario Country.  Two of us spent 7-8 hours moving snow, gettin cars/trucks/boats stuck and unstuck.  (the boat is still stuck and will have to wait till the ground is frozen) We put up a ladder stand that will have to be moved AGAIN as I made an honest mistake and discovered it early afternoon yesterday while perusing OnX, my bad.

  Oh and we had the Great swan roundup for my buddies PIA birds.  Myself and another guest got them up to the barn and the one on my side made a break for it.......I cornered him into the side of the barn.  The 11" of snow helped to slow the big SOB down.  I tackled him and carried him into his cell (horse stall) where he/she will spend the 5-6 months with its partner.

Saturday was a bust for me.  I should have known better than to go where I went with the winds that were forecast, all I saw was one doe all day.  I'd rather not even think about what a dumb move that was.......

So today was a different story. I made it to my spot by 6:30 despite the terrible snow conditions.  Around 6:55 I spotted a lone deer way out in a mowed field, probably 400 yards and heading parallel to my position.  He disappeared for a hew minutes and I thought I'd never get a crack at him.  I watched for him to appear at one of my two possible shooting lanes and he went to the better of the two......sunrise today was 7:07am, exact time I shot him.

Approx. 150 yard shot, .243 with Barnes 80gr TTSX, 8pt and dressed weight of 198lbs.

I let him lay for about an hour before gutting him in hopes of a crack at a good doe.  I did see one but the shot was just a touch sketchy so I passed.  I didn't need a rodeo.......

I have one buddy who has a great sense of humor, he sent me this picture and I should have sent it to Bizzy, he'd get a kick out of it.

The End

 

 

Edited November 19, 2018 by Lawdwaz

[607 HUNTER]

Shot him at 10:47 a.m. 11/18 State land, 1/2 mile off road

DEC Biologist aged him at 4 1/2 years old

100 yard shot. Shot in upper quadrant of heart, ran 50 yards.

[Uncle Nicky]

Allegany county 6 point. 

Hooray for me!

[Moho81]

I posted this in the live from the woods thread but wanted to put it in its proper place here.

 

Let me start off by saying in my 21ish years of hunting I’ve never seen a buck this big alive in the woods. My biggest buck to date is a small racked 7 pointer. 

I was already having a pretty decent opening day. Saw a doe early then a spike around 12 and another small 4 pointer around 12:30-12:45. Things went quiet around 1pm. 

Around 2:30 I decided to have a pee then get out my lucky skittles and settle in for the last 2 hours of the day. 

Right around 3 I hear a few shots go off 200 or so yards away followed by very heavy crashing. I figured what ever the deer was is going down in some thick nasty stuff and I’d be helping drag out a deer after sunset. 

Just in case though I grabbed the gun stood up and waited. That’s when the surprise kicked in. This buck with a big rack comes smashing through the thicket with a broken rear leg. At this point a completely forget about the rack and settle the gun on the vitals and follow him waiting for him to hit my shooting lane. Now he’s not moving very fast because of the broken leg. He gets through my first shooting lane as I still follow him cross hairs on the vitals. He gets into my second lane and I squeeze the trigger. He folds up in 20 yards head facing away from me. 

That’s when I remembered Holy Crap! This dude had a rack on him and a big one! 

When I finally got down to check him out I was in complete shock! In fact I think I still am! 

Edited November 19, 2018 by Moho81

[Pav2704]

Taken Sunday, 11/18 around 8:45 am in 4f.  My son was there with me and helped me track him which was very exciting!  

[grampy]

It has been tough hunting since opening day of gun. Have not seen a deer!! Nothing! Until today.

Had seen multiple decent bucks during bow. Passed a bunch of young ones, and even was second guessing myself about not taking a couple shots, I thought were iffy at the time. (glad I did)

We had to keep up with the changing bedding areas, and feeding patterns, as the traditional ones along the swamps, were flooded out with all the rain this fall. So most all our spots were changed again and again.

Opening morning came with a bunch of snow. We sat what we thought were our "best" options. Saw no deer. Day two, moved to a spot where they "had" to be! Saw no deer, and no fresh tracks at all. Day three, we figured if they weren't in the first two areas, well they MUST be in this one. Right? Wrong again! No deer or any fresh sign again at all! Was actually thinking have they left the property?

Got a call last night from work, a machine was down, could I come in the morning, even though I'm on vacation. Sure, NP. Was out of there by noon. Ran home throw on my stuff, and started thinking where the heck could the deer be on our property!

Heading up the hill, I decided to try the lowest end, with pines and some REALLY thick brush. 

After walking down the tractor access lane, I saw a few fresh tracks! Cool! Got to within 100 yards of a small ladder stand I was going to, and in the thick stuff to my left about 60 yards ahead, a bedded doe stands up! And I see another deer stand up behind her, and immediately see it's a good buck! But I have no shot, the doe is blocking him! The doe is giving me the stare down, but he is looking at her, not me. I knew whatever was going to happen, it would happen fast, as she was getting ready to bolt. She took a step left, right before she bolted, and there was the buck in my scope, thrugh a small window, quartering hard to me. He sees me now, and is looking my way too. I was on him, it's now or never, and trusted myself, and my 270 as I squeezed off the 60 yard shot.

His front end dropped, he whirled to his right, and I lost sight of him in the brush. The doe bounded away, and as I watched her go, a bigger buck I never saw is on the other side of the lane!!! He bounds away too!

Now I'm not sure of my shot. Did I hit him? Was that second buck him? If it was, how did he get there without me seeing him? So I decided to back out and give things, and myself a short time to calm down. As I turn around, a deer bolts across the lane! I'm on him. It's a spike! Don't shoot!......After threes days with not on deer seen, my hearts beating pretty good at this point. 

I call my partner Gary, he says stay there, I'll be right down. Sounds good to me. Now the doubt really sets in. When he gets to me I tell him I think I missed. I rushed the shot, as he was getting ready to bolt. We split the thicket, me on the side he ran to, Gary on the side of the shot. Shortly I hear a familiar whistle. And I'm crashing through the brush, to where the buck lays dead! He didn't go 20 yards! A quiet minute or two to give thanks, a handskake and pat on the back from Gary and my buck hunt is over this year. I'm so proud of this one! A lot of guessing, and moving set ups this season. Persistence and patience. Along with some luck.

Just shy of 180 lbs. Nice three year old for my area of 4-H.