Legacy

A bunch of deer tonight but they made their appearance very late. 7 total. Does, fawn, bucks. Possibly three bucks. One was a small 8pt but Didnt get a good look at two of them because they never left the woods but i believe they were bucks based on body size.

You would have to up load it to facebook or youtube or photobucket in order to put it up here

Well I made it in. Tried to drive up the tractor path and buried my truck in the snow. Dug it out with my snow brush. Got it out and parked at the barns. Long walk in a foot of snow but I'm here. Hoping lightning strikes twice. By the looks of things, I should've been here all day. The deer have been on their feet since the snow stopped. Tracks every where. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/8305.html

The Antler Growth Bell Curve https://www.qdma.com/antler-growth-bell-curve/

I am shooting TC Shockwaves as suggested by my fellow LOU members. Thats what I killed my buck with on tuesday. They pattern pretty well so far out of my Traditions Pursuit so the powerbelts went into the garbage.

When Doe Fawns Breed, It’s a Good Sign https://www.qdma.com/doe-fawns-breed-good-sign/

Im assuming we are seeing a change in the times. Guys are passing small bucks in hopes of shooting bigger ones and shooting does to fill the freezer instead. A lot of talk of QDMA now a days on property of all sizes. NYS will never be a big buck state like the midwest but the NYSDEC is even starting to encourage us let them grow.

All tags are valid! http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/8305.html

I thought you guys would like this picture. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Thanks everyone! Ill be watching the game from the sidelines for the next couple of days but Ill be back at it on Friday. All tags are valid for the late season so the game continues! The pressure is off but id still love to end the season punching tags.

So lets see if we can make a long story even longer… Two seasons ago I accidentally fell into a great late season deer setup as I bumped a dozen deer including a shooter buck on my way out one night. The very next night I built a makeshift ground blind and setup on the field edge and had a train of does come by. They fed in the field and I gave them a pass hoping to see antlers. On the second night I missed a big buck due to the disturbing fact that I clipped a tree branch. It just happen to also be the last day of the muzzleloader season. It was a tough year and an even tougher way to end the season. I knew the setup, I just needed the right conditions to fall into place. Last year the DEC wouldn’t allow us to shoot bucks during the muzzleloader season so I never had a chance at redemption. Bummer. Almost two years but the setup for this season was beyond perfect. My plan was to hunt this spot every night of the muzzleloader season. Every single damn night. Yesterday was the first day of the season and in my first sit I saw 5 does and fawns along with one unknown deer that hung in the woods and never made its way to the field. Today was day 2 of the season and this afternoon I showed up at 3:00 and there were already deer in the field. I bumped a Doe, fawn, and a buck (never got a great look at it) back into the woods on my way in. I climbed in my poor excuse for a ground blind and did some more trimming. Honestly it’s not a ground blind, it’s a bush or maybe three bushes and I’m sitting in the middle of that mess. I always expect deer to enter the field from my left. At four o’clock I slide my phone into my pocket, told myself to stay away from it, and I began to stare in that direction. A few moments later, I catch movement in my peripheral vision and it takes me a moment to a stud buck entering the field on my far right. 90 yards maybe? I fumble for my binocs and by the time I get my head back up he’s gone. I figure he’s just blending into the background really well but after a couple of scans with the binoculars, he disappeared. My guess is he cut into the woods and he will pop out in the middle and make his way a crossed. I stand up and glass all of it. Nope. I can’t find him. I put the binocs down and out of thin air, there’s a buck standing to my right 50 yards. I’m not sure if it’s the same buck or not but it’s a shooter. I’m hoping that he continues in the direction that he’s facing so I can slowly get into position to shoot. After a handful of steps, a mouth grunt stops him in his tracks at about 50 yards and with the cross hairs center mass the muzzleloader ignites. After the smoke cleared I can see the buck turned 90 degrees and is trotting towards the woods. He stops just inside the woods and I see him go down! I was pretty confident in the shot. It felt good. After a bunch of LOU members suggested shooting TC shockwaves, the gun was shooting the best it ever has. I give it time. Probably not enough but my thought is to leave and let him die. Unfortunately I have to go that direction in order to leave. I grab my gear and head to the point of impact. No blood. I get on his tracks and walk it to the tractor path (which is my way in) and still no blood. I began second guessing everything. Maybe I hit a branch, maybe I rushed the shot, maybe I never saw him go down. As I’m drowning in a pool of my own disappointment, he stands up, and runs deeper in the woods. He looked to be hurting and I thought I saw him go down again. 65 yards or so in the woods. I look to my feet and there it is… blood! I stuck a stick into the ground to mark the spot and walked out. I wasn’t planning on putting anything on LOU. I was picking my kid up and while I was waiting I was surfing LOU and I decided to put the text we all love to see “BBDâ€. It was great to see lots of supportive texts from friends looking to help if needed. My mind was made up to go first thing in the morning until JakeyBaby texts me “Let’s go get it†and that’s all the encouragement I needed. The snow tells the story and thanks to Mother Nature for putting that snow on the ground because otherwise we would probably still be looking for it. He was bedded just inside the face of the woods before I bumped him. From that bed he made it at least another 100 yards. He stumbled a few times, he bedded a few times, he went left then he went right. He crossed the creek and ended up dead in the thick mess on the other side of the ravine. Not a whole lot of blood until the last half of the trailing. Shot was back but still double lung (lower part of the lobes) and the esophagus. Amazing he made it that far. Overall 150 yards or so. Thanks to JakeyBaby and my kid Hunter with all the help tracking, retrieving, and picture taking. Pictures might not show me smiling but I am. Zero hour 10 point! First deer with the muzzleloader! He’s a buck I have on camera, he may be the buck that I had two encounters with bow season and he may also be the buck that was responsible for me moving a stand during the last week of bow season. He's a great buck and I am glad to share the stories of my season with all of you. No doubt the season has been a long emotional roller coaster and a there’s a lot of you that have followed the thread and witnessed it. You have also lived it and shared it yourselves. Doesn’t get much better than the pursuit of the Whitetail!

Found him! Thanks to jakeybaby and my kid. More pics and story later. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Actually my shot was at 400-410ish... I was picking my kid up when i posted BBD on LOU. No worries there.

Live picture from my buck carcass...Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

yes 8a

I backed out and giving it time. Not sure if i will wait over night or head back after a fews hours. 55 yard broadside shot. He turned and he ran acrossed the field into the woods and went down. 75 yards from impact. I waited 40 minutes but unfortunately i bumped him on my way out. Good thing was he looked hurt and he looked like he went down again. i marked the blood trail with a stick and backed out. Gonna be a long night.

This made me smile, doesnt that count for something?

Hopefully dead deer with pics and story to follow. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

BBD! Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app