Gator

My two cents: All day rain two years ago on the opener probably resulted in a decreased harvest and more 3.5+ bucks for us this year. We pushed on Tuesday and of five spots, only one produced a couple does. However, we did push out a coyote for the first time ever. It's tough to get a good idea of deer #s in our area, as one of the neighbors essentially has a refuge and the deer move in herds at last light. But I would say overall #s are down, bigger bucks are up. Our deer processor was at ~220 animals on Tuesday though, so according to him it's been a banner year, wind aside. I'm waiting to see what the "final" rut period following this full moon brings. Besides 45mph wind...

Great buck! I also was taught to shoot at the neck if you want to put the animal down in it's tracks. Either that, or it's a clean miss. I've yet to see a neck shot fail (at least as far as the deer going down IF they're hit), although I'm sure that there have been instances, like Ray says. I took a swing at a monster a couple years ago that was only presenting me with its neck. I missed him. But numerous does have dropped on the spot. Looks like you did a great job! I wouldn't worry about losing a little bit of meat off that big guy. His muscle filaments are probably the size of my index finger Gotta love marinade!

Wow!! Fantastically cool fish; better than my day spent hanging on for "deer" life. Congratulations!

Buy a Mustang suit on ebay.

"Dirty little secret"...yeah. Everybody wants to tell the story of the kill shot, but it's embarrassing when we lose one. But you know, if you made a quality shot, in range, open, broadside, and it's not raining, then spit just happens. I lost a doe last weekend. Shot looked great...she kicked hard, went 30 yards to the edge of the field, and collapsed. Keith was hunting the other side of the field and saw the whole thing, even texted me "That was excellent to watch!". Five minutes later, the doe lifted her head, got up, spun circles a few times and weaved onto the neighbor's land. So, I left the woods and drove over to the neighbor's house to get permission to retrieve her. When I came back an hour later, Keith and I started trailing her. There was great blood to start, coming out both sides from the pass-through shot, and we expected to find her within fifty yards of the property line. No dice. Anyway, after tracking her all the way across the neighbor's property the blood trail had become negligible. When she crossed onto the next property and headed toward the swamp, we called it quits. Frustrating! She's got to be food for the 'yotes now. My initial confidence in the Slick Trick broadhead has diminished somewhat, but I'm sure that it comes down in the end to shot placement. It's possible that the Rage 2-blades would have given me that extra bit to put her down, but who knows? My shot, my fault. There's been a couple I've lost over the past thirty years, including one good buck. I feel your pain.

Nicely done...somebody better shoot the monster before he hits the decline! And, yeah, I'd call it a twelve, too

That's a fine story! I'm glad that you finally got your chance with this guy and that you made it count. I'm wishing I was out there right now...too many meetings this morning. Too many meetings in general lately.

If you are somewhat of an adventurer and don't mind rugged terrain, check out the West side of Hemlock Lake. I've heard that canoe access can get you to some interesting spots, but it's steep stuff. Checking out a topo map would be an essential starting point. Lots of land at the South end of Honeoye, too...some of it quite swampy...again, canoe back in or wear waders. I wouldn't want to go in blind, though. As Steve mentioned, lots of more conventional spots that will show up on a Gazeteer. I've found that county-owned land often won't show up as public hunting property, though, so if you know the area you want to hunt, you might want to look at a county map. Hunting public land later in the season can be productive, especially if you take extreme care about scent reduction.

Great stories, guys! I've filled out, but not been privileged enough to see any shenanigans thus far...couple of wanderers with noses to the ground is all. I had a buck blasting stuff apart yesterday morning, but had to cut out early to help a buddy drag a huge doe out of the woods. Strangely enough, a couple weeks ago on the way to work, my daughter and I saw a doe mounting a buck. I wonder if this is akin to your "clueless gentleman", Andy, and maybe she was trying to show him the ropes? Can't say as I have a problem with that approach

Hey Vince, fantastic story. I hope your bro' gets another shot! I've recently hired a guy who lost his legs to polio overseas when he was a kid, but he gets around the lab great on crutches/prosthetics and he's fantastically productive. It just illustrates how willpower and the resilience of the human spirit doesn't recognize limitations.

Nice buck, Rob. I got a second chance last year too, after my arrow confused sports and decided it was a football...field goal! I'd triggered my release with my glove when the bow was pointed about 10 yards above the deer. Gotta love bucks in rut!

I meant the deer, of course, not Jamie...no disrespect intended

All nice deer, but that last one is a stud! Thanks for the pics

I've got to agree with Nathan. Sorry, Brian! You know I absolutely love my Marcum color camera, but it's a toy, while the Vex is a tool. Any flasher is better than no flasher. You'll be more effective and catch more fish. Camera's are great fun, though, if you have the $$$. As for models, I've fished a Vex for years with no complaints, but the Marcum LX3 and LX5 are awfully nice machines with great power and interference rejection. Get back to us on what you choose and how you like it.

Sweet! Great story, too.

I applaud you on your choice! Too many times slam-dunk shots in poor conditions turn into a nightmare. Keep the faith: you'll get another chance at a better time!

I saw a doe mount a small buck in a field on the way to drop my daughter off for school earlier this week. Most likely trying to get him interested? I'm assuming this means she was in heat, but don't know for sure. I'd say it looks to be normal or close to normal this year.

Hi Andy, Thanks for the information! That's what I was looking for, not that I hope to ever have to test it. I've been holding off on does, looking for a chance to get my daughter in on the kill-shot. No such luck thus far, but we're still trying. Seven nine-year old girls this weekend for her birthday sleepover (Halloween birthday) nixed bowhunting. Thirty minutes to pickup time...I might make it. Gator

You should still be able to have some fun watching him tear it up during the rut! Big guy like that has got to be a kick to see in Godzilla mode... Hope he sticks with you for gun season.

I'm not sure there's anyone left at DEC to comment, after our great leader's latest budget cuts.

Nice!! As much as I hate the thought of a bad shot, I'd like to see what happens with the ST on a shoulder hit where you impact bone first. Keep up the good work!

Hey Scott, I'm going to guess that Hambley tattled...either that, or you're really, really good Had another nice eight in front of my daughter this morning from the ground at ~23 yards. Might have been a shooter if the tag was still open. I also flubbed a doe on a sneak at the edge of the corn; funny that I'm always telling her to be quiet, then I step in a hole during a stalk and just about fall over. At least she got to laugh at the old man. It seems like the bucks are rip snorting ready right now. I think they'd chase their own tails if it smelled like doe. Hopefully this is just the first wave.

I had a buddy like that growing up. He'd pass on a buck to take the small doe. I was lucky enough to get an occasional seat at his table

I have no affiliation with Larry's, but I do believe in recognizing a job well done. I took a deer into Larry on Wednesday evening. He cut out the tenderloins and packaged them for me on the spot. Within a day, the deer was done. Larry went to the trouble of packaging the meat, which I wanted chunked for Costanza sausage, into three separate bags according to the "desirability" of the cut. He said that if I didn't want to put all the meat into sausage to keep the third bag, because it contained the best cuts. He also butterflied the loins and packaged them separately. Finally, he saved the head, thinking that I might change my mind on a European mount (I was back and forth when I took the deer over wed nite). Sure enough, my wife convinced me it would look good, and Larry saved me by having the head whole when I got there. He was courteous and professional. I've used Larry's before during gun season, but it's so busy that it's hard for anyone to get really personal attention. The service that I experienced during this less busy time (he only had twelve deer hanging) was just fantastic.

Sometimes you just stupid into them...this guy wandered in within five minutes of me being in the stand. If I'd been ten minutes later I would have had the local farmer plowing less than 60 yards away. Go figure. Timing is everything. The ST blew through the heart and buried itself in the ground (lots of angle on the shot). The only disappointment is that I didn't have my daughter in the stand with me. She hunted Sunday and Monday, and we passed on some smaller bucks, but she wasn't able to go Wed. nite.