Gill-T

Wind effects bird shot.....blame the wind.

It is not going to change year to year as the rut timing has been built into the DNA over the eons. I can tell you if you are looking for "THE" time to be in the woods, there were dead deer all over the roads on the weekend of Oct 11th. If those dead deer were the result of a few deer hitting the early rut cycle, then extrapolate 30 days from there for the peak in WNY. I would put the date at the weekend of NOVEMBER 10th.

If you want the ultimate penetration....enough to kill an elephant, here is what it will cost Abowyer Brown Bear Broadhead at $60 per 3 + Easton Deep Six 400 gr. FMJ arrow shaft at $100 per 6 = $37 per arrow or ... Grizzly stick's Ashby single bevel broadheads at $120 per 3 + Grizzlystick momentum shafts at $150 per 6 = $65 per arrow

If you have that drainage nearby, I would take the time to piss in that so no scent is left behind. Don't know why anyone would use scent control then "mark their territory". Deer are inquisitive by nature. They smell the urine and come in to check it out....then they smell your ladder steps where you placed your hand while climbing....etc. etc. and now they know you are there. Be invisible as possible. Leave as little scent behind. That includes brushing your legs up against seedlings on the way to the stand. Buck track does by smelling and tasting leaves at ground level because does will rub-urinate down the inside of their legs to gather chemical from their hocks. As they walk thru the woods their hocks brush up against plants leaving their scent behind. Natures way of making sure that does get bred in that small three day window that they are in heat. Next time you see a buck slowly walking with it's head down "apparently" feeding....look closer. Bucks will place seedling leaves in their mouth and "taste" who has brushed against it while leaving it's own saliva scent behind similar to a licking branch. Their secret code of communication.

Rob, do you see deer in field-edge stands during morning sits?

I have been reading a lot of Dr. Ashby's research on broadhead and arrow design. Very enlightening. Here is a good synopsis. http://www.bowhunter.com/feature_articles/feature_articles_bw_ashby_0909/ So I priced out Easton FMJ heavy arrows and some heavy two blade broadheads and realized that I would be shooting fifty dollar bills at deer. I think for whitetails we don't need to throw spears but I think I will shoot the rest of my expandables up and go back to slick tricks.

Custom Northport Nailer black face glow cup. R&R Mag superlite Black Ice spooked up was good. NK's with black face/white cup. Got on a dark pattern early in the season and found black was the only consistent color scheme that worked the whole season.

Wes, there is the Basseye tournament every year out of Buffalo which goes to benefit Cystic Fibrosis. It might give you some comfort to take part in that venue. I have been thinking about putting my boat in event.

I am truly sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing.

Your scent may stay better contained in a ground blind then up in a tree if you are hunting low in a bottom...that would be my solution if your wind is not right. Put a ground blind on each side of the trail coming off the top. Hunt which ever one is the most downwind of the trail for the wind direction on that day. Keep in mind the upward thermals rising don't start until 8:30-9:00. In the evening the thermals are coming down. If the buck is bedding high (probably) your thermals will be better for an evening hunt while hunting low. Use the creek for entry and exit as not to leave boot scent....if it is not too deep.

There was a study conducted by Field and Stream utilizing different cover scents including an ozonics machine with a hunter in a cardboard box among many cardboard boxes. The test utilized a German Shepard to find the man in the box. At conclusion of the test, the dog found the man in the box in a matter of seconds, however, the ozonics machine appeared to trick the dog and bought 20 seconds before being found. Now 20 seconds does not sound like much, but it is enough to draw your bow and fire on a downwind deer. The unit is expensive and I have heard it has problems with eating batteries in a few hours of usage. Heavy too. Hunting is suppose to be simple.......how much gear do we really need? My buddy likes to buck bomb his entire hill and I laugh at the deer response when they cut his trail........they run for cover! As I tell my buddies....I don't need deer urine to kill a deer. Pelthunter, for your unique situation with a creek bottom below two ridges......hunt it with two stands on opposite ends, and only hunt it when the wind is blowing in the same direction as the creek/draw flows. With a wind crossing you will be a slave to thermals and airfoils as the wind crosses over the hill and you will find it challenging to not get scent busted. To maximize your limited hunting time, consider hunting the tops of the ridges to reduce the airfoil gremlins. PS: For your boots, an old Indian hunter showed me a trick as a boy for cover scent. Take an apple afield with you. When you are close to your stand, cut it in half and rub one half into your boot treads, and the other half rub on the base of your tree.

No cover scent will keep him from smelling you from down-wind. Save your money.

My thoughts on broadheads is evolving still. I thought I would give expandables a try for their shootability after shooting fixed my whole life. I have gone 3 for 3 with the grim reaper three blade expandable since last year, but.....I shot a buck Sat. in the crease with the arrow stopping in the opposite side shoulder. I was able to see the deer drop thankfully, but there was no blood to follow without an exit wound. Sooooooo......I am considering using both types under the following conditions. Wind over 15 MPH use the expandables for accuracy.......use fixed for everything else including areas where there is a risk for deflection.

Hop, I would think if you have shoulder and back problems a recurve is not the best option. I would look into a compound that has 80% let-off and get it correctly set-up to shoot at 50 lbs. Ted Nugent shoots all his deer with a 55 lb draw-weight bow. In this game of bowhunting we must often hold at full draw while we wait for a deer to present broadside. To hold a recurve any length of time is REALLY HARD!

Dead deer all over roadways. The pinch is starting to happen.

You are really limiting your hunting time when you can be in bow range of deer by only hunting the edges. When deer go nocturnal you may not see them at all without food plots around.

That little pine patch south of the pond looks like a good spot to intercept deer cutting the corner of the field. Entry would be downwind with any type of west wind. I would hunt somewhere else on an East wind.