Saw two bucks and then had a doe come running by today... Still just the little ones.... Time is starting to close in on me... South wind tomorrow and I'm thinking of doing something off the wall to mix things up... I have to watch my youngest for a while tomorrow AM, so probably head out before noon and look for fresh sign next to some thick crap and hang/hunt.... We'll see :-)
Well......today will close my best deer season as far as sightings and opportunities go....if I don't shoot one today , it will be th e first season in 4 years where I came up empty in the contest and with my bow.....can't let that happen!
Well rushed over to some public land after school yesterday and got in too late and didn't see anything but going again today, but I have everything sitting on go to dart over. This evening is the last good day until monday, it's supposed to be high of 70's this weekend with 20-30mph winds, so i'm hoping I can get er done tonight!
Tony, there's no late bow season in NY? So for tomorrow its looking like lows in the low 40s and highs in the mid 50s, not ideal but not the 60+ degrees they forecasted earlier this week. Got all my gear ready for 4am - all thats left is to make a sammich and heat up some apple cider for the thermos. I'll be heading to my usual public land at the lake BUT, thanks to my friend and fellow BH.com member Finny (aka Lastoneout - the deer killing machine ) i've got a new spot to try out. I hear there may be some decent bucks 'round those parts so i'll see if I can get lucky sometime tomorrow. Plan is to head in and try to find a decent tree well before sunup, then sit until I can't sit anymore. I'll probably get down for a quick break/lunch/nap and climb back up for the afternoon. Guess i'll see how dedicated I am as this'll be my first full day in the field.
Yes, but why bring a bow to a muzzleloader fight? Listen, if I am the difference from us winning or losing, i will take the bow out instead...
Ah ok. I thought you meant done deer hunting completely. Nothing wrong with getting that buck with a muzzleloader!
Well I ended up just sitting my 'normal' south wind stand -rather than try and hang a new one... More of the same - saw two small bucks and a doe. The last little buck was hilarious. I was actually starting to walk out and he heard the noise and saw me, but it was a getting pretty dark (maybe 5ish mins of shooting light) - he got excited and ran right to me, stopping at about 30 yards directly downwind.... Had he been a shooter, it would have been a heck of a story... Good luck to everyone out hunting!
Well I closed out my 9 days straight of hunting without even coming to full draw. I had a buck work a doe past my stand this evening, he was really dogging her... Another young one. Yesterday, I talked to my uncle who was taking a short break from combining and he said that he has only seen one mature buck in all the fields he's harvested. IMO - that kinda verifys what I've been seeing in the field - seeing deer, just not seeing that older age class of buck...
I had deer all over me this weekend but they just weren't the deer I wanted to shoot. They were mostly 2.5 year old bucks but I have plenty of time left in my bow season. I seem to have less does in the area than I thought so unless I see a bigger group of does, I won't be taking any. Time will tell. This coming weekend looks promising in terms of weather.
Hey guys I just posted my score up for my buck. It ended up being 109 3/4 forgot the h4 measurements on the original post. Should move us up to upper half for scores. Sorry to hear some of you didn't have any luck. It was a tough year for me as well this was the only buck worth shooting. Lots of button bucks
My motivation is waning. I find it less and less exciting to get up hours before daylight and spend time in a tree only to see buttonbucks, fawns and does. This is November right?? Right now I'm contemplating what to do with my flex day I have yet to use this week. Take a break this week and take off work tomorrow to run a few errands / relax at home or take off Thursday, sleep in then go out to the field later for the afternoon. Haven't seen a buck that I would shoot since October 2nd and I don't really need a doe for the freezer since I got one early this season.
That's kinda where I am at.... Sitting in my stands feels like an exercise in futility at this point and the days keep getting colder and colder and colder :-)
Welp I took today off. Slept in this morning but i'm going to head out in about an hour or so and try my luck yet again. Only thing that's really making me want to go is the temp outside and needing to pull my camera. Plan is to hike in, drop off my stand, grab the camera and head back to another spot to setup for the afternoon. I want a buck but I might take a doe if presented with a good shot, it'd be good practice on a furry target anyway. I'd probably donate the doe though. We'll see what happens I suppose.
Good job scooters! Good luck tonight slider Yesterday I hunted my public land spot again about a mile back in, and heard stuff(possible just squirrels) running just out of sight for about 30 mintues up til dark. Then as I get up about 5-10min past shooting hours and make it about 80 yards from where I was sitting I bumped a nice buck, couldn't tell what it was just seen rack with my flashlight as it was running... If only I had sat down about 60 yards that way...
Busted 5 does near my camera this afternoon. Saw one spike on the stand. Hanging the bow up for a bit and I'll probably be out on the 30th with the 20ga.
Hope you guys are getting ready for a nice thanksgiving with family and friends! Seems like a lot of people are taking a little break from the woods. The live from the stand thread is pretty quiet. So where does everyone's season stand right now? I've got about two months (in total) of deer hunting left. January 31st is the last day. I'm gonna be out this Monday with the shotgun which I'm excited for. Might also try my luck at some late goose in December. After it's all said and done, I'd like to get out and scout some areas real well for next November. Late winter / early spring is the best time to do that because you can still see the leftover patterns from the past season and you don't have to worry about messing up an area for an upcoming hunt or messing up other hunters.
I can fill my archery buck tag up through the end of the year... Though, mature deer sightings seem to be really down so I'm not sure how much I'm going to make it out. Even on good years (with lots of nice bucks running around) my areas aren't the best for late season - but we'll see what happens. Spent a lot of good time in the woods this fall, things just didn't work out the way I wished they would have.. But hey, that's bowhunting and why I like it in the first place - it's not easy... It will make my next deer harvest that much sweeter!! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and good luck to everyone still hunting!
