Gator

Every clean kill is a victory!

And the big bucks (Q: who has big bucks and doesn't pay taxes) are running around and grunting like crazy... Making funny. No offense to anyone. Really. I'm the most unoffensive guy in the world. Nobody's more unoffensive than me.

First sit in a while not to see deer. I was hunting a relatively untouched area at a friend's place that's usually loaded with deer, but there was nothing to be found last night. Neither he nor I saw much but turkey, although two young ones ran past me five minutes after I got into the stand...chased away by somebody tending a doe near the bedding area? I think that we'll see more of this over the next week with areas devoid of activity as the bucks concentrate on hot doe.

I don't want to jinx myself, but so far so good. Having neighbors who are on the same page helps. Good fences make good neighbors, right? We all hunt, and we all have each other's number. Property lines seem to be respected. I was worried when we bought the place that there could be issues, given all the stories I've heard. I'll keep my fingers crossed and open lines of communication with the neighbors. Hopefully your neighbor can shed some light on who this guy is, maybe have a word with him about property boundaries. The simple truth is that he can set up a stand on the line if that's what he wants to do. He can only shoot in one direction, though. You've got to hope he's an upright guy, but from your description I have my doubts. Good luck.

The morning hunt was a bust...but not for the goose hunters set up in the corn field next to my property! I guess we all need to get our kicks; I just wish the neighbor had given me a heads-up last night so we could have planned accordingly. At least we weren't in stands close to the edge. Still, it couldn't have helped the cause, and neither of us saw much.

Ain't it great being in the middle of the rut! You just never know. Boom or bust. Glad you got set up near a hot doe Matt. I didn't end up having any bucks around me last night, but at 5:15 a mature doe gave me an easy 20 yard shot. I was hunting up front where I could get her out without disturbing the rest of the property, and she helped me by falling very near where we normally gut our deer in the corner of one of the fields. At first I was concerned because the arrow looked like it had schmeg on it and I thought maybe I hit her too far back, even though the shot looked fine on impact. I didn't have a good blood trail, either. As it turned out, it was a liver shot and she bled out internally. I'm not sure why the arrow made me think gut, but all was good. Back at it this morning to try to get a friend into some action with his crossbow.

Me either. Keith H. has chasing going on in the back by the swamp.

Sitting in 8A looking for doe. It kinda sucks not being in our "rut" stands, but I figure I should leave them alone for the two guys who hunt with me. Plus, you never know. The wind is right where I'm perched.

Evercalm Bushnell trail cams

Yeah, it seems crazy but another guy I know had a buck and doe in a thicket close to him Tuesday evening that wouldn't move. I favor the theory of short bursts of mini-ruts, associated with some mating activity, followed by a frenzy starting the end of next week. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Beautiful! A former graduate student of mine heads there next week; he and his family scored big last year and hope to repeat. Big props to Sienna on a great shot!

Yep. Not for me, but not for me to judge either.

Charlie A. says that this year will be much like 2013 with brief periods of intense "mini" rut activity prior to the real deal on the 13th/14th. It's safe to say that we're a ways from lockdown. As with all generalizations though, that may not reflect your specific experience. Where we hunt in Orleans county the bucks are just getting on their feet during daylight hours and the chase hasn't started yet. In terms of relative period compared to past years, I'm with Charlie.

Miserable night; I thought the rain had passed, but I was wrong. Had a small buck grunting at two buttons and some doe with fawns that sensed something wasn't right and wouldn't come in closer than 30 yards. Too long a shot for the conditions, for me at least. Twenty yards broadside and tied to a tree would likely work

Congratulations HD on a nice buck! That video is great; I cut off a licking branch on one of the scrapes that opens up every year...guess what? It went dead. Time to install a new licking branch! I bet that the scrape will open up again within a couple days. The real action is up high.

So, if anybody is looking for somebody to duck hunt with, I'm your guy I've gotten away from ducks over the past few years, but used to go three or four times a week. Easier to hit the stand in the evening that to get up at 4 am and have to work all day afterwards...that may change over the next three weeks. I'm itching to shoot some greenheads.

Here's my buck from last night. I was seeing some doe moving around, but no chasing from small bucks like I've seen over the past couple of days. They were very relaxed, in fact three of them pinned me in my stand for twenty minutes feeding within 30 yards. After they left around 6:15 this guy comes from the other direction. I saw him at 70 yards, got my bow up, and when he hit a shooting lane at 25 yards I let fly. It was a very slight quartering toward shot, but dead still with his head canted away from me; the arrow went in at the front of the ribs and exited where you see. Clean double lung, and he ran all of 60 or 70 yards. Back out this morning to put a buddy on a deer.

Yesterday was insane with deer moving from 5 pm onward. I saw a bunch of small bucks harassing doe, but it didn't look serious. Still, it's a start. The buck were patrolling edges of thick cover with their ears cocked. No big guys: an eight, a six and a four within range. Fun evening.

I don't think there's significant recruitment from the Genny because of the silt bottom and lack of suitable spawning habitat. I could be wrong, but that's my understanding. Back to knitting

I don't think they're referring to you, Matt. For the record, I'm not exactly PC and I sure don't sugar-coat what I think. Ridiculous...maybe a little . You may not use $10 words, but I've always thought you expressed yourself well on here. We're all good. Just consider me the Aretha Franklin of LOU, I get tired of the garbage posts. It's one thing to incorporate some snark into your comments, but it's another entirely to insult and demean. Luckily, most of the guys on here have some class, though we all step in it sometimes. Anyway, I heard from a friend that the small tribs were getting pounded today by guys wading up the middle with no regard for anybody else. Surprise, surprise. I didn't join the circus; maybe I'll take a roller-coaster ride in a tree stand tomorrow morning.

This is great!! Which school are you at? We do outreach to that age-group, and I'd love to hear more about your project. Pm me when you get a chance.

Right with you. I used to fish the Genny twenty years ago...you had to be careful parking, but once you were down there it was fine. September showed an influx of some questionable types, but the rest of the season the guy next to you might be your next best buddy. Now, the guy next to you might pull a revolver if you tell him the snagging is illegal. I think that the later runs of salmon, lack of enforcement (of course, why write tickets when they'd get thrown out anyway?), and $$$ to be made screw the entire autumn fishery. The dead of winter and early spring can be better, but man, the goat trail has gotten treacherous. It's so unfortunate to have a world class fishery, or half a mile of one anyway, and not be able to utilize it unless you're willing to put up with all kinds of bs. I wish I believed that calling DEC would help, but it's the same thing every year now and like Rick and Brian, I can't stomach it anymore. Heck, maybe I've just turned into a curmudgeon