Legacy

Happy Holidays everyone!

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

2018 Season Recap Hmmm. I really don’t know what to say about this season. It was tough. I guess sometimes things really go your way, the way you expect, and then, well, things go the way they went this year. I wanted to prep early for 2018 so I started in January after the holidays. I hung some stands and move some things around. I wanted to do the heavy lifting way ahead of the season knowing I would only need to do some trimming when the season approached. It was a good plan. I just didn’t execute! It is amazing how difficult these animals can be to hunt. Mature bucks can seem like ghosts. Trust me I have a bunch of ghosts on camera and I think I have shared most of them with you. I certainly saw some good bucks but getting shots at them is a different story. I also passed on quite a few bucks that in previous years I probably would have shot including two shooters with excessively damaged racks. School and varsity sports gave my son limited time in the woods this year and he probably only had 10 trips in the deer woods. He did score on a big doe to fill the freezer for us (and more importantly keep me horn hunting). He was hoping for a buck but unfortunately he never had one in range with the bow or the gun. Every day I spend with him in the field is a gift. 2018 has left me frustrated. Hard work only gets you so far and you really need to take advantage of the opportunities as you get them because they are slim. I had a couple encounters early that I just needed that one extra step. I also had two that I pulled the trigger and missed. The first one was with the bow and the damn buck jump the string. I had spooked him when I drew because I hit my bow on my bow hanger. He was staring right at me and was on edge when I shot. Lesson learned. I should have shot him when he put his head down and relaxed a bit. The one I missed with the shotgun was not acceptable. I took two shots under 100 yards and both were clean misses. I blame it on the scope. I’m assuming something got out of whack after 2 ½ weeks of hunting with the gun every day. We will find out when I get to the range again. One of the off season goals is to invest some money in better firearms (muzzleloader and shotgun). Im realizing that with all the time I spend in the field, I need to spend some money on better equipment. I have some ideas but Im going to need some advice from the LOU community on specifics when the time is near. Just like previous years I have a laundry list of things I want to get done before winter is over (posted signs, moving stands, scouting, etc). Once we get the holidays behind us I am hoping to get to work on that list. Congrats to everyone who scored this year. You talk to ten different guys and they will give you ten different explanations on how the season went. Thanks to those who follow this thread and to those who contribute. Its never too early to plan for 2019.

25 biggest Upstate NY bucks killed by deer hunters in 2018 https://www.syracuse.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/12/12c0fe67b43e4/25-biggest-upstate-ny-bucks-ki.html?fbclid=IwAR3AoqastPuZanll3BG9kpNK7VnrghT1sEPoqLqS5MwZ6raIZO8qp2qtXK0

Merry Christmas

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

. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

December 18 pm 25 degrees NW wind 5-15 Partly sunny Interesting last sit to say the least. Had a shooter along with two other bucks show up together to the cut corn just before 4. 20 minutes later a coyote would scare the three of them off and of course they ran the other direction. I can't believe 3 bucks together would be that bothered by a single coyote but what do I know. Had six other deer in the field when I left. I guess that's it 2018. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

The sun is blinding! Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app