Legacy

so i have always used zip ties with my tags so i just bought these to go along with that... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NBRQ4RR?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

a fresh tag on saturday cant come soon enough

His neck was jacked!

Here's the story and some better pics... I finally had a chance to hunt a new set (on a new piece) that I have been very patient to get into. I needed a northerly wind so I jumped at the opportunity with a NE forecasted. I haven't been in there since I hung the stand a month earlier. So slipped in there about 1 and on my way in I moved a camera closer to the set hoping to get a better idea of what was happening. I spent the afternoon trying to to read the ground and analyze pictures from the two cameras on the property trying to learn what the deer are doing and how they are traveling. So before 5 I had something catch my eye. It was my buck cutting through the swamp stopping to work a rub. He literally spent about 20 minutes thrashing this bush about 75 yards away. It was this point that I gave myself a green light and hoped to get an opportunity. Well that buck walked to me like he was on a string and I pulled the trigger at him broadside at 6 yards. That's where things got interesting... his reaction wasn't what I expected. He was walking from left to my right when I shot. He ran 10 yards in the same direction then he turned 120 degrees and ran quartering away towards the corner of the property. He slowed his pace about 75 yards away and I thought I saw the classic tail flicker as he disappeared into the thick stuff. My initial thought was dead deer. I turned back expecting to see my arrow buried in the ground on a hard angle with my lighted nock in plain sight but it wasn't there. I did not see the arrow hit the deer. When the deer ran off I thought I saw a tiny entry hole but never any blood. When he turned I didn't see an exit hole or blood or an arrow. I packed my stuff and climbed down to do a quick analysis of the shot site while I still had some light. I knew the deer was at least 100 yards from me in the opposite direction so I wasn't too worried about bumping him on my way out. I couldn't find my arrow. And had zero blood at the site. There is a trail cam picture that I posted here and I can tell you my head was spinning when it was taken. I walked out and spent the next 4 hours scratching my head and questioning what the heck happened. It was a tough 4 hours to say the least. I originally thought about waiting until morning but I went back in at 9pm with my kid hoping to find the lighted nock. We walked back into the property and I quickly walked him through the shot scenario. We scanned the woods with our lights off and still no arrow to be found. We started walking the bucks escape route and my kid spots blood 5 yards from where the buck spun to his left and changed directions. And then good blood. And then I realized I have blood coming out of two sides. Then 75 yards into trailing I can smell him!!! 25 yards later BBD and the hooting and hollering starts! Deer was dead 25-35 yards from where I last saw him. No doubt he died on his feet and expired within seconds of losing sight of him. Autopsy... I center punched the liver (shot him as he was walking). No history with this deer. I went through my pictures and found I had one series of trail cam pics of him. He was a unique 11 point but unfortunately he is busted up pretty good. 5 broken points including both brows, 2 tines, and a sticker off the base. The roller coaster of emotions you experience in this "blood sport" can make you go mad. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. From me not seeing blood or finding my arrow to me living the moment with my kid as we grab antlers four hours later... what a f•cking ride!

Awesome!

The 2025 Great Lakes Trolling School will be held March 15 and 16, 2025 in Pulaski, NY. Students will have option to attend Day 1 or Day 2 or both-see information below Greetings fellow anglers: Captains Casey, Rob and Pete will be back again for the 2025 East End Salmon and Trout School. Together, they have over 80 years of experience, countless tournament wins and top 5 finishes. Their experience and knowledge is lake-wide and extensive. This year, we will break the school down in to 2 days to allow us to cover a wide range of topics and species. Many anglers had an interest in learning at how to be more successful at catching fish in general, not just king salmon. So we added a second day. That Sunday class will focus on multi species fishing and tactics. Keep it as local as it gets! The 3 named Captain's are teaching you based on their experience and conditions on about Lake Ontario, after all you fish Lake Ontario as well. They have a vast amount of experience from east to west and north to south on Ontario. This value cannot be matched from captains from other Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Trolling School is open to beginners, seasoned and professional anglers. The primary focus will be location, tactics, lure choice, programs, your mindset and how varying conditions play into our decisions. Our intention is to help you become a better overall angler, make you think about your decisions, and share our many years of Great Lakes experience. Captain Casey Prisco, Captain Rob Westcott, and Captain Pete Alex bring over 80 years of combined experience on Lake Ontario and look forward to sharing their knowledge with you. Those that attended last year, know that we did not hold back any information. For more information click here... https://greatlakesspecialevents.com/salmon-school?fbclid=IwY2xjawGdtydleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHdEoJY0PK4sjZf_EyC7MMLhnblrDENfkR05D61xdR_DKG9cdnJopoxM6yA_aem_X8jLUXBGSDi6KUHgZJseeQ

BBD! Sorry for the late notice but last night was a roller coaster! More to come...

I have been hunting hard the past couple of days. Lots of bucks seen. Handful of shooters. Deer doing what you would expect for this time of year. Some midday chasing the past 2-3 days in the thick stuff. My best camera seems to be one on a pinch point between two big blocks of woods and one that I have in the thick stuff. No doubt there is some breeding going on. The unwilling Does are literally hiding. The weather sucks...looks like I will sideline myself for the next 36 hours

Congrats Joe

November 3 am 33 degrees S wind 5 mph Partly sunny skies Textbook perfect bow hunting morning weather wise. Tons of does/fawns on their feet in the first hour. Probably the most I have seen all year. I did see a handful of bucks also doing buck things. Cameras were busy with Nick movement most of the morning.

Busy morning this morning! 33 degrees and the deer are moving!

November 2 pm 44 degrees NW wind 10 mph Cloudy skies Long quiet sit this afternoon until and hour before dark and things got crazy. Handful of bucks chasing and bumping does. I noticed a lot of button bucks by themselves in the past couple of days. Scrape activity seems to have slowed a bit. The primary scrapes are getting hit but no doubt a lot less secondary scraping happening.

New world record #1moreyear

Back in a tree since about 2 for the afternoon sir. Sitting on the edge of a green field...

November 2 am 44 degrees NW wind 9 mph Cloudy skies As I mentioned in the previous post cameras were on fir in the overnight hours. Lots of different bucks on their feet and the cams caught some chasing also. This morning was full of action. Lots of bucks. Some chasing. Lots of does on edge. I had an encounter with 2 of my shooters this am also. Big 8 pt came in to scent check the does in front of me before running them off. And my giant 6pt was out cruising and walked by me about 40 yards or so. It seems like someone clicked a switch at 930 and activity came to a screeching halt. Cams went quiet also.

November 1 pm West wind 10-20 Cloudy skies I figured with the cold front settling in yesterday that the afternoon would be good. I did have an encounter with a new shooter buck that worked a scrape about 80 yards from me before continuing on. Minus that it was a quiet sit. However the cameras lit up once it was dark and all through the night.

Dead ash trees and high winds don't mix. What a mess they are making in the woods!

Damn weather sucks but it looks like i will be back at it tomorrow! 77 degrees today and 25 degree drop in daytime temps coming for Friday. Looks like the wind will be intense making the morning impossible but fingers crossed the afternoon things should settle in nice.

October 29 pm 59 degrees high cloudy skies se wind 10-15 Like I had said... i had no plan to hunt today but I got rained out at work and saw the rain should quit about 230ish. Which it did. At 245 i had 3 different bucks take selfies on my cams (including a shooter) and figured i needed to get out there asap. with the south wind, I sat in a entirely new set. Fairly boring sit overall until the last hour. About 530 does began showing up and I figured it was just a matter of time before i would see horns. I did end up seeing 3 bucks including 1 shooter. At 630ish I had a small buck walk out of the woods into the field with a the shooter in tow about 2 minutes behind him. He hung on the edge of the woods and i just couldnt make out how big he was. It was just too damn dark. It wasnt until he starting walking that i noticed he had a limp and confirmed it was one of my shooters. By then it was just too late to make things happen as he walked through my shooting window at 20 yards. Saved by the bell... I have seen this deer probably close to 10 times this season and I have had this deer just slip by me 3 times in less then a week. (Once at 40 (at dusk), once at 55, and again last evening). Hes gonna make a fatal mistake.

Well I wasn't planning to hunt today but the weather changed my mind. The rain quit here about 245 and at 247 one of my shooters was on cam. So he I am on the West end of a scrape line. The last time I counted there were 18 scrapes (plus 3 mock scrapes). along this 250 yard stretch.

If everyone else understood how funny that comment is...

Not sure if anyone is looking for a hunting/mapping/weather app but check out the "Spartan Forge" app. I dont think I have seen anything better to date. Pretty impressed with the amount of info all in one app. https://spartanforge.ai/

Late report October 27 am 35 degrees low Clear skies Light w wind Crazy morning in the woods! Lots of deer on their feet throughout the morning until about 930ish. Tons of does and fawns and more importantly 9 different bucks. Today I had 3 of my shooters within 50-70 yards and all at different times this morning. Unfortunately no shot opportunities.

Late report October 26 pm 55 degrees high Clear skies Light nw wind I had high expectations of an amazing sit this this afternoon after a fairly slow morning. I saw more does and fawns then i have all year and only a few bucks. One of those bucks was one of my shooters. He snuck by me about 635ish at about 45 yards.