Opening weekend of rifle season.

[wolc123]

I am not really expecting much, based on lack of sightings and sign during early ML week, but I am going to hit it hard both mornings.  
 

Saturday, I am going to hit the spot where I have seen the most sign the last 8 years (but zero when I checked it out last Sat).  It is going to be tough getting in there undetected with the predicted north wind, but if I take my truck down a logging road, I think I can sneak in from the south.

I am going to concentrate on bear Sunday morning and set up near a spot where there might be a pile of partially digested nuts covered by a thin membrane and possibly a few other rotting internal organs.  I head that bear are not very fussy eaters.

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by wolc123

[wolc123]

I was not able to sneak into the “buck bedroom”, as I had planned this morning, because the wind died down and the leaves were too dry to get in there without being heard.  I set up in two different close downwind spots.  I didn’t see anything, or even hear anything remotely sounding like a deer.  
 

When I was up there yesterday morning with my ML, I heard four different things close by,  in heavy cover, that may have been deer.

After lunch, I helped my father in law move some pine trees from the woods up there.  He saw a small antlerless deer cross the logging road at about 1:00.  I think it might have been one of the orphan fawns, from the doe that I killed on the other end of the ridge on Tuesday with my ML.

I discovered a glitch with my Marlin 336BL this morning.  I could not clearly focus on the rear fiber optic sight, with my single prescription glasses.  That had not been an issue with my no-line bifocals, but those are back in WNY.  
 

The single prescription glasses worked great with the scope on my ML this year, unlike the bifocals, which I believe contributed to my shooting low and missing two deer with it last year.  That is why I left the bifocals home.
 

With that open sight situation this year, I don’t think my effective range would have been much over 30 yards and maybe it is good that I didn’t see a buck or bear this morning.

Fortunately, there is little to no chance of rain in tomorrow’s forecast, so I will tote my father in laws scoped Marlin 336.   I know that will work well with my single prescription glasses. 
 

My primary objective tomorrow is a bear.  My father in law really wants a rug and would be thrilled if I got it with his rifle.  I think my chances of that are better than they ever were tomorrow, considering the rotting gut pile from Tuesday.  That should be providing some serious attraction by then

. 

 

 

 

[wolc123]

I am up getting ready now and it is going to be a busy day.  I am more excited about getting home and seeing my wife, who I haven’t seen since she left her folks house up here last Sunday, and our daughter who I haven’t seen the Friday before that, than I am about killing a bear or buck this morning.

I can’t remove the sling from my father in laws gun (I always keep my own in my pack unless I am dragging a carcass).  I am going to load the tube with 5 cartridges one hour before sunrise and sneak to a tree about 50 yards downwind of where that gut pile is/was.

I think my best chance at a bear will be at 1/2 hour before sunrise.  I don’t know how good the “Marlin” 3-9x scope is in low light conditions but I hope to find out soon.  I should be able to fool the bears nose if the wind changes because I showered with scent away soap last night, used scent away deodorant, I will go heavy on the Evercalm, and I will wear my ScentFactor jacket.

I will strap my hammock chair to a tree and stay in that spot until about 9:30.   Then I will start a slow stillhunt around the back side of that ridge.  There is a spot near the center where I once saw a young buck feeding on nuts at this time of year.  

A little further north, is a spot near a steep cliff.  In 2014, I sat in a red folding camp chair, up above that cliff on cold snowy morning, watching over the creek valley below.  There was fresh snow on the ground, and looking down at the snow and pine trees along that creek bottom, with the Adirondack high peaks in the background, on that day was about the prettiest sight I ever witnessed.

It got even prettier, when I noticed a big brown shape moving my way along the creek bed, about a mile away.  A friend up there had told me that he had seen deer below that cliff, on a hunt the year prior, so I waited patiently in the spot he had told me about.  

I could only see it as it moved closer, through occasional gaps in the pine trees, but eventually I could tell that it was a wide bodied, decent racked mature buck, and the first antlered deer that I had ever seen while hunting in the Adirondacks.  Old Jake caught my 150 gr Federal classic 30/06 bullet, thru his rib cage, from a range of a bit over 200 yards.  
 

I can’t see as well from there there now, with things overgrown more and no snow, but I will pause briefly, watch a while, hope the Marlin 30/30 can do what my Ruger 77 30/06 did, just over 7 years ago.  One thing is for sure, the compact Marlin 30/30’s are way nicer to carry in these mountains.
 

 I won’t fully accept them, until I see how they do on a deer or bear, maybe this morning.  Buck master says they suck.  I hope that I get the chance to find out for myself.  
 

After a brief “creek watch”, I am going down thru the gap on the steep drop on the south end of that ridge and down to the main camp road.  I will walk south on the road, cross the creek using the culvert, and head up the “scrape” trail which leads to the “buck bedroom” by the old lean-twos. 
 

There has been buck scrapes along they trail for the last 7 years, but I didn’t see any last Saturday.  I want to find out if they were just running late this year, prior to going home today.  What I find will have some influence over if I use my gun buck tag at home on opening day and if I will save it for my next trip up here on Thanksgiving. 
 
I hope to have all they stuff done by 11:00, then walk back to in-laws house, stopping to pack up my pop up blind on the way.  I left that set up on an old pile of rocks and dirt, overlooking a power line cut. 
 

Finally, my mother in law is going to cook my other doe tenderloin (hopefully it will be tender by now) and eggs, I got to pack my SUV,  and stop and pick up about 60 pounds of vacuum sealed “taco meat” , on my way home thru Harrisville, if it is ready.

A bear or buck will throw thinks significantly off schedule.  I am ok with that.  

 

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by wolc123

[GreeneHunter]

I see your shooting a 30-30 Lever , my go to gun for gun season !  Good luck out there !

[wolc123]

5 minutes ago, GreeneHunter said:

I see your shooting a 30-30 Lever , my go to gun for gun season !  Good luck out there !

That one belongs to my father in law and I only take it out hunting when the weather conditions are ideal.  He is very fussy about his stuff.  Otherwise, I carry my 336BL with fiber optic sights.  I have yet to fire either one on a deer. 
 

The rifle season bucks that I have killed up here in  14 and 16 were both with my scoped Ruger 77 30/06.  That thing a bitch to lug thru three hills but when and if I run out of 30/30 ammo, I may need to use it again up here.
 

 It surely flattens the bucks though, as both of those were DRT.  I am curious to see how the 30/30’s do after hearing some “mixed reviews” . I can’t imagine it is all that bad,  considering that it has accounted for more NY deer than any other cartridge.

A grey squirrel just hopped over the gut pile and I was tempted to check the zero on his head,  but ammo is to valuable and scarce now for that, and I got to give the bear 10 more minutes.
 

i sighted it in for him with a 150 gr bullets, on the 50 yard range, a couple years ago.  I didn’t have a buck tag up here at thanksgiving that year, so I had some time to kill.

He and my nephew have been shooting targets with it regularly since then, and he said that it is still holding a good zero.  

[wolc123]

I am back at the house now, waiting for brunch.  No bear or deer seen by me this today but I did find a couple fresh buck scrapes.  That means that I will be making at least a half assed attempt to hang into my buck tag thru opening weekend of sz gun season so they may I can try for one up here after Thanksgiving, hopefully in the snow.

The butcher called when I was out saying my ML Tuesday doe is ready for pickup.  Soon, I will be headed gone $ 85 poorer but with what should be plenty of taco meat to make it thru winter.

[Thebluesman5748]

We're heading back in Thursday for 11+ days... As of now, the weather looks prime for hunting but it changes so fast... Looking for that white powder.

Went up for 6 days last week for the opener... Saturday night it dropped down to 18 degrees, and in the morning the ground was white with a heavy frost. By Monday the rains came...

Put up a nice buck in the heavy pines down in the swamp but I had my rifle slung over my shoulder. By the time I got it up into firing position that buck was gone...long gone. Never saw it again. I stalked the area almost 2 hours without a trace of that deer... That buck doesn't know it but, "I'll be back"...

Bluesman...

[wolc123]

I will go back up on the Friday after Thanksgiving for sure, if I still have my gun buck tag and/or opening weekend of late ML season, if I still have my archery/ML buck tag.  
 

I am going to be a little more selective than usual with my buck tags during the southern zone opening weekend of gun and crossbow seasons because Adirondack bucks are a lot more special to me.  
 

Most years, I look for a minimum of a 2.5 yr or 3 points on a side, but I will bump that to 3.5 yr of 4 points on a side ,in the southern zone, prior to Thanksgiving.  
 

My mother in law just sent me some trail-cam photos of a sow and two bear cubs,  that someone took less than a mile from their place up there.  I wouldn’t shoot them, but maybe there is a boar around.  That might lure me up there, after Thanksgiving, even if I don’t have a buck tag.
 

 

 

 

 

[Buckmaster7600]

I was not able to sneak into the “buck bedroom”, as I had planned this morning, because the wind died down and the leaves were too dry to get in there without being heard.  I set up in two different close downwind spots.  I didn’t see anything, or even hear anything remotely sounding like a deer.  
 
When I was up there yesterday morning with my ML, I heard four different things close by,  in heavy cover, that may have been deer.
After lunch, I helped my father in law move some pine trees from the woods up there.  He saw a small antlerless deer cross the logging road at about 1:00.  I think it might have been one of the orphan fawns, from the doe that I killed on the other end of the ridge on Tuesday with my ML.
I discovered a glitch with my Marlin 336BL this morning.  I could not clearly focus on the rear fiber optic sight, with my single prescription glasses.  That had not been an issue with my no-line bifocals, but those are back in WNY.  
 
The single prescription glasses worked great with the scope on my ML this year, unlike the bifocals, which I believe contributed to my shooting low and missing two deer with it last year.  That is why I left the bifocals home.
 
With that open sight situation this year, I don’t think my effective range would have been much over 30 yards and maybe it is good that I didn’t see a buck or bear this morning.
Fortunately, there is little to no chance of rain in tomorrow’s forecast, so I will tote my father in laws scoped Marlin 336.   I know that will work well with my single prescription glasses. 
 
My primary objective tomorrow is a bear.  My father in law really wants a rug and would be thrilled if I got it with his rifle.  I think my chances of that are better than they ever were tomorrow, considering the rotting gut pile from Tuesday.  That should be providing some serious attraction by then
. 
 
 
 

Ditch the fiber optic, go with an original style post and if need be add a little nail polish or model paint in your color of choice. Fiber optics are hard to focus on and are very weak and easily broken.


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[ncountry]

19 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Ditch the fiber optic, go with an original style post and if need be add a little nail polish or model paint in your color of choice. Fiber optics are hard to focus on and are very weak and easily broken.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I 2nd that.. I remember a particular muzzleloader hunt that resulted in no deer because the front optic sight somehow was broken on my trek in.

I never realized it until I pulled up to shoot a mentally challenged spike at 15' . Lol. I know there was something wrong with that deer because the smoke hit him,not the bullet , and he didn't even flinch. He just slowly continued on his way..

It was really wierd.. I didn't figure there was anyway that I could have missed him at 10-15' . I should have just shot from the hip instead of looking down the barrel..;)

[wolc123]

5 hours ago, ncountry said:

I 2nd that.. I remember a particular muzzleloader hunt that resulted in no deer because the front optic sight somehow was broken on my trek in.

I never realized it until I pulled up to shoot a mentally challenged spike at 15' . Lol. I know there was something wrong with that deer because the smoke hit him,not the bullet , and he didn't even flinch. He just slowly continued on his way..

It was really wierd.. I didn't figure there was anyway that I could have missed him at 10-15' . I should have just shot from the hip instead of looking down the barrel..;)

There quite a variation in quality on fiber optic sites .  The front, that I put on my Marlin, was removed from my T/C Omega (has a scope on it) and is very heavy duty.   Sounds Like you and buck master got yours from k-mart.

[G-Man]

Opening day of gun in southern  zone is couple of weeks away ,but I never really do well opening day I amd most of camp has better luck on following  day for 4 or 5 days as bucks sneak into sanctuary areas from surrounding acreage from pressure of surrounding properties. 

[Buckmaster7600]

There quite a variation in quality on fiber optic sites .  The front, that I put on my Marlin, was removed from my T/C Omega (has a scope on it) and is very heavy duty.   Sounds Like you and buck master got yours from k-mart.

It’s not the sight itself that will break it is the fiber optic in it. Fiber optic has to be exposed ie unprotected for it to gather light.

Williams made the front sight that you have for TC, Williams is the company that makes almost all fiber optic front sights, you could buy them at k-mart at one time….


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[wolc123]

1 hour ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

It’s not the sight itself that will break it is the fiber optic in it. Fiber optic has to be exposed ie unprotected for it to gather light.

Williams made the front sight that you have for TC, Williams is the company that makes almost all fiber optic front sights, you could buy them at k-mart at one time….


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can see why those fiber optics don’t hold up for your style of big woods hunting: relentless, fast-paced pursuit, on the trail of a big buck, until you catch up to, and kill it.   

My preferred method is about as different from that as could be imagined, and far less abusive on the equipment. I bust my ass at work for 45 hours a week, on my feet most of the time.  I am usually looking for a little comfort and “relaxation” when I  get into the big woods.

For me, that means slowly and deliberately sneaking into an ambush position, then strapping my hammock chair to a tree, and patiently waiting for the deer to come to me.  
(4) of the (5) big-woods Adirondack deer that I have killed were taken that way.  

Thankfully, there have been more hits than misses for me from the chair, but I also shot at and missed 2 (a buck during late ML season last year and a doe a few years prior).  
 

Worse yet, was the time I never even got a shot off.  Last opening day of rifle season, while seated comfortably in my hammock chair, with my fiber optic-sited Marlin in my lap, this damn smart phone was in my hand and saved the life of the largest Adirondack buck that I have ever seen. 
 

So far, I have managed just one doe, while sneaking into position.  I did blow a great chance at a big doe last year,  because I was a little to fussy with my tag.  I couldn’t see her head at first and didn’t want to risk loosing my buck tag on a spike.  I didn’t see it until she bolted away, and no shot was taken.

 

[DirtTime]

On 11/4/2021 at 6:35 AM, blackbeltbill said:

  I will be sitting near a certain section of a Rockwall where,I have Seen possibly  the same Huge Doe walk along while,I was Pheasant  Hunting.  

  Not interested  in that Huge Doe- just a Buck who will Follow up.

Bills hunting the ADK's and has a spot scouted? NICE!

[airedale]

On 11/4/2021 at 5:48 AM, Buckmaster7600 said:

It’s not the sight itself that will break it is the fiber optic in it. Fiber optic has to be exposed ie unprotected for it to gather light.

Over the last dozen years I have converted all of my open sighted firearms to quality fiber optic sights, yes the fiber optic part is made of some kind of plastic-polymer but I have yet to damage one. The material whatever it is seems to be is very durable. For visibility I have tested out everything available including tritium and especially in low light conditions nothing can beat good fiber optics for my eyes, there is nothing else even close.

For me and my old eyes the fiber optic's visual upsides far outweigh the slim chance I would actually damage one to the point I could not use it while hunting.

Al

Edited November 6, 2021 by airedale

[wolc123]

I have the fiber optics on my Marlin 30/30 and Traditions FoxRiver50 ML and I like them.   They seem to be considerably faster to use than the stock iron sights.  That speed gain is worth the cost of slightly reduced durability to me.  I probably ought to put a set on my short-barreled, smooth-bore Remington 870 12 ga.   That is my go to gun, during foul weather conditions at home in wmu 9f, which is shotgun only.  I will probably wait for the Republicans to get back into power, and a corresponding return to normal ammo cost and availability, prior to doing that however.