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peterk123

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Not the Buck I have been pursuing for the past season and a half, but a nice doe with a bow. Had four walk by earlier but never in my shooting lane, then this one showed up. Twenty minutes it hung around at 20 yards but no shot. I needed it to go ten feet to the right. It went 5. But I had a slight opening and the thing was quartered away about to be out of any viable shooting lane. Took the shot. Through the heart and into the shoulder on the other side. Dropped on the spot. Thank god because I did not want to look for her with what little light that was left. Now just have to keep her cool until I can butcher her in the morning. Packed with ice for the night. Good afternoon hunt.


I will go after the buck later in the season.
 
peterk123 said:
Not the Buck I have been pursuing for the past season and a half, but a nice doe with a bow. Had four walk by earlier but never in my shooting lane, then this one showed up. Twenty minutes it hung around at 20 yards but no shot. I needed it to go ten feet to the right. It went 5. But I had a slight opening and the thing was quartered away about to be out of any viable shooting lane. Took the shot. Through the heart and into the shoulder on the other side. Dropped on the spot. Thank god because I did not want to look for her with what little light that was left. Now just have to keep her cool until I can butcher her in the morning. Packed with ice for the night. Good afternoon hunt.


I will go after the buck later in the season.
Click to expand...
Nice work!
 
speedy said:
Had 3 Doe getting chased by a buck 40+yards in front of my tree stand. No possible shot. Just sat and watched.
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I have seen deer almost every sit this season, which is rare for me. Darn things are never in the right spot :)

It is something special to watch them, and realizing that they are thriving in what little woods we have around here. Never mind all the other cool stuff that are in there as well. Had a hawk land on my tree earlier today, not twenty feet from me. The other day a red squirrel came flying up my tree, only to realize that I was there not more than a foot from him. I thought he was going to have a stroke :) My buddy texted me today because he had a fischer walk right by his tree. Makes you realize that it is the simple things in life are what makes it all worthwhile.
 
congrats been a fun year so far
ive been watching a group in my area, and tuesday after 20 minutes had the small fork buck come to 30 in a wide open area, and my first cross bow harvest happened, and not 15 minutes later a doe came in at 65, and i just watched her, for 10 minutes or so, before she came into a lane at 35, and my first double happened. one tag left to fill
 
peterk123 said:
I have seen deer almost every sit this season, which is rare for me. Darn things are never in the right spot :)

It is something special to watch them, and realizing that they are thriving in what little woods we have around here. Never mind all the other cool stuff that are in there as well. Had a hawk land on my tree earlier today, not twenty feet from me. The other day a red squirrel came flying up my tree, only to realize that I was there not more than a foot from him. I thought he was going to have a stroke :) My buddy texted me today because he had a fischer walk right by his tree. Makes you realize that it is the simple things in life are what makes it all worthwhile.
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I know what you mean. A red tail hawk was in the tree 20 feet from me and small fisher cat walked right under my stand this morning.
Last week it was a fluffy mostly white skunk! It’s all part of the HUNT.
Haven’t seen a deer yet today, but I still got a couple hours left!! 15BE6C14-AA21-4B5E-8FCF-3588B9B96F16.jpeg 9E747AFD-7E84-40EB-9DB8-28C31521A8E3.jpeg 07710A29-BBFA-4089-A6EB-ECDB96063D57.png
 
5king said:
I know what you mean. A red tail hawk was in the tree 20 feet from me and small fisher cat walked right under my stand this morning.
Last week it was a fluffy mostly white skunk! It’s all part of the HUNT.
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You nailed it right there. It is the entire experience, even as frustrating as it can be sometimes.

I live for every part of the process and experience. It starts with scouting. Walking the woods looking for areas that you think will honor you with an animal. Then setting up the spot so you can at least have one or two spots where an arrow can get through cleanly. Then the hunt. This includes the solitude (minus the goddamn leaf blowers that never stop), and watching all the critters that will go by and hopefully be clueless to your presence. Then there is the challenge of the weather; too hot, too cold, wet, snow and just right. Those just right days are something special, even when you do not see a deer. Then there is the excitement of seeing deer. And the frustration when they do not go into your shooting lane. All that adrenaline flowing through your body and wreaking havoc on you, only to be let down. It's awesome. Then there is the one. You know it is going to get into your shooting lane. You just need not to stroke out before it does. Stay calm, focus on your shooting fundamentals so you don't screw up. Then the stress of waiting after the shot. Then the joy of tracking. This doe dropped on the spot, but there is something to be said for tracking a deer. Last year I hit one too far back. I knew I did it. Hollow sounding hit, arrow had green stuff. The shot was early in the morning so I just walked out of the woods and went to work. Came back seven hours later. A drop of blood here, a drop of blood there. Some disturbed leaves. I knew he would head for water because of the gut shot, so I started to scan the edge of the swamp the trail was leading me too. There he was. How rewarding it was to find him. And then you need to dress the kill and haul it out. Man, I wish quartering deer was okay in Mass because I would get a load carrying pack. But, sled it is. Let's call that our workout for the day. Finally, the butchering. I do not send it to a butcher. I do it myself. If you do not do it yourself, you should. It is my favorite part of the entire experience. I even use the ribs, the entire neck (for a stew that is to die for), and heart. Almost nothing goes to waste. Some of the meat is ground for hamburger and sausage, but a lot of my meat is now saved as roasts. The meals we make are awesome. Pastrami, soups, stew, sausage, burgers, smoked ribs, chili and many other things.

That is hunting to me.
 
Got lucky on my friends land in Moravia, NY this am. 15 yds broadside, bleated at him and plugged a double lung shot....Worked hard to get him out of the woods (my back hurts) skinned and hung in barn. Still too warm so we boned him out and got meat on ice in 9D5EAC05-085D-4892-8EA9-004A90A0143A.jpeg 7C0BCA75-02EE-4B84-8095-A2C956B9734C.jpeg EA655445-9DE7-426A-A171-6202E55A2E68.jpeg coolers. I’ll do the rest when I get home. My nicest bow buck to date:
 
ccm75 said:
Got lucky on my friends land in Moravia, NY this am. 15 yds broadside, bleated at him and plugged a double lung shot....Worked hard to get him out of the woods (my back hurts) skinned and hung in barn. Still too warm so we boned him out and got meat on ice in View attachment 408977View attachment 408978View attachment 408979coolers. I’ll do the rest when I get home. My nicest bow buck to date:
Click to expand...

Nice work CCM, great shot.
Deer were up and moving this morning in Z10. I just shot a small buck myself. About to go drag him out. More to follow!

Update:
So yesterday was a good day in the treestand. Temperature was cold. Slow start but the Deer were up and moving in Z10 after the rain. I had a nice 8 point do a slow ‘B line’ walk past me about 8:45am. Unfortunately he was just outside bow range. Grunt & Can wouldn’t stop or turn him.
About 10:30 I was starting to think about a late breakfast, when a big doe comes in behind my left sholder. I turn around and get set, when a second doe follows her in. They are now moving behind me to the right shoulder (my left now since I turned around). As I’m about to draw on one of the does, this little buck comes out to the right. I had to reset to the opposite side of the tree, but got off the shot at about 17 yards. All three took off, but he ran about 60 yards and just stopped and stood there. I watch him for about 30 seconds standing still and then he just walked out of site. I see the 2 does run by one more time in the distance while I gave him some time.
After about 20 min. I come out of the stand and go to the spot. I see a little blood, but no arrow. Follow the blood trail and find the arrow after about 10 yards. Good blood! The trail get heavier quick and where he stood, was a bath. From that spot I saw him piled up about 20 yards ahead.
Gutted, dragged and off to my butcher! That took some time but I still had about 2 hrs of daylight left. I have 1 buck & 3 doe tags left and it’s been the best rut day so far this season, so I ended up going back out in the afternoon to my 2nd stand for the last light. I had two doe come through but no shot.
Good day! EC1CA92E-249C-4A6D-B9D8-C4F5655A0CEF.jpeg 60BD5A37-E1AA-4DFE-985A-4AFCB1395F3B.jpeg ABA7FA62-80FE-4A98-86F8-6A47F71C7112.jpeg
 
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ccm75 said:
Got lucky on my friends land in Moravia, NY this am. 15 yds broadside, bleated at him and plugged a double lung shot....Worked hard to get him out of the woods (my back hurts)...................... skinned and hung in barn. Still too warm so we boned him out and got meat on ice in
Click to expand...


Peter has the same magic deer removal device I prefer in his photo above. Mine is blue..
 
ccm75 said:
I have a jetsled. Works well but of course I left it home...
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I have a jet sled as well. It is now used only for ice fishing. The jet sled has to be ten time harder to pull through the woods. I think it was to do with not just shape of my sled but type of plastic; it is very slippery. It is this one. Keep an eye on it or do a search on amazon. Mine was $24. It is so worth it, especially for the jet sled users. It is life changing :) Amazon product ASIN B0002EH3MWView: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002EH3MW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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peterk123 said:
That thing is gold. Strong, inexpensive and just slides over everything. Starting to feel my age though. At 54 years of age I nearly sh&t myself on the half mile up hill pull :)
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Actually mine is just a plastic snow sled. I have no problem walking to my vehicle and back with it just for the ease of use.
I've hunted in Colorado and had to quarter up more than one deer just to bring it 200 yards up a hill. And I'd take 3 or 4 breaks doing it.
 
peterk123 said:
I have a jet sled as well. It is now used only for ice fishing. The jet sled has to be ten time harder to pull through the woods. I think it was to do with not just shape of my sled but type of plastic; it is very slippery. It is this one. Keep an eye on it or do a search on amazon. Mine was $24. It is so worth it, especially for the jet sled users. It is life changing :) Amazon product ASIN B0002EH3MWView: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002EH3MW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...
Red snow sled does great. $9.95 at Wally’s. Trick is to strap em down and keep the head up. Perfect for those “good eating size deer” A3C9DB64-42AB-45C5-BF0D-6B3429DE42B6.jpeg
 
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Awesome afternoon today. Hit a double! Got in stand on friends property Z10 @2:45. Coyote came by 10 mins later. Took shot with x-bow at 40yds double lung(I think) right behind shoulders. Ran about 30 yds . Stayed in stand and Buddy called as he heard the shot and saw the Yote. Was talking quietly to him, heard noise behind me, hung up and saw this big doe, 30 yds. Let er rip and nailed doe, ran bout 50 yds. #3 for me. Will be trying pressure canning some meat this weekend. Having a fun season, even though we cancelled trip to NY as too many guys in close quarters.
2BDD1998-D17D-4975-B514-D1CEE75043AE.jpeg
 
That is Awesome all around!
Tell him congrats, glad you were able to share such a special moment With him. He will remember it forever.👍
oh ya...very nice Buck!!
 
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