Legacy- 2016 Deer Season

[Guppy35]

Yesterday morning i had a 1.5 year old 8 point coming down off the hill behind me and looked as though he was going to come right to me, but at 50 yards he turned and went into some thick brush below me.  I waited to see what would happen and finally saw him out in the cut corn field.  At that time i wanted to get a better look at his rack, so i rattled and watched him turn 180 degrees and come right back at me again.  He got back to about 50 yards again in the thick brush but would not step out into the woods since he couldn't see the bucks that made all the noise.  Had he come into range, i would have been tempted to take a shot since it was my last chance during bow season this year.  But i'm really looking for a 2.5 year old or older, and i figured just because bow season is coming to a close i'm not going to lower my standards for that reason alone.  I hope he makes it another year or two!

[Gene Shenk]

Quinn said to say thank you guys for all the positive comments! She passed up a couple of 2.5 year old 8 points that I don't think many would to shoot this deer. Their family and ours works hard at the food plot game and we stay out of bedding areas heck more than half of the property we don't ever walk on.

 Her dad and I had a bunch of trail Cam pics of this deer and we were hunting him hard but I could not be happier that she was the one who shot him! We love seeing the kids have success and keeping their interest in the sport is very important to both of us. Now that gun season opens and I have been out of the woods for a few weeks I am excited to get back in a tree stand Saturday! I hope my son can score on a nice one or my buddies son who is coming back from college can have some success as well it has been tough on him missing the archery season while away at school. This game of deer hunting has turned into a real team sport for us and we all celebrate each others success which makes it way more fun for all of us!

[reeleyz]

Pap, 

 

A lot of these guys hunt in Western NY where there is a lot of agriculture. However, the passing on small bucks has really caught on over the past several years. I feel like it started mainly in WNY and is working it's way throughout the southern zone. As success builds the bar gets raised from 2.5 or older to 3.5 or older and so on.

 

I hunt 3 different parts of the state. I hunt WNY, the southwestern part of the Northern zone, and Otsego County. I can tell you that there is a HUGE difference in the quality of the deer in WNY. Where I live in the northern zone people just want to shoot "a buck" so it is tough for them to get old. A 3.5 year old buck is rare here.

 

So my thought is it has less to do with what the NY DEC is doing and lot more to do with the influence of hunters on each other.

Edited November 14, 2016 by reeleyz

[Gene Shenk]

Pap,

 

We hunt WNY farm land as well and we plant a bunch of food plots which are our main kill areas. We let the kids shoot 2.5 year old bucks until they get a couple and than we hold everybody to 3.5 year old or better deer. We run a bunch of cameras so we know what we have for target bucks and that helps everybody to have patience because they know their are good deer in the area. I think western NY has gotten better quality of deer due to more hunters are passing 1.5 yr olds, there is a lot of food as far as agriculture  and I think the last few winters have been mild as far as snow depth which has helped. Even with all these things on our side I only shoot a buck every 3 to 5 years and that is okay with me.

[Xxx]

So what I was reading and hearing you guys just summed it up, we have lots of ag.country but the ethics you guys practice is what's getting these deer past 2.5 years old!! This is what I'm trying get through to the Pa. Hunters, it's not that they we can't grow this caliber of a buck. Just drive through some of these developments, there are monsters in there!! Most of the bigger buck taken around here are taken by the archery Hunters setting up on the outskirts of these developments, where in the rut they'll roam beyond the developments. Other than that if it has 3 points on one side someone will put a sleeping pill in it!! If the state would go for 3 points up, not including the brow tine that would save a lot of the younger bucks. Well you can't fight city hall by yourself, but you guys have been able to convince the majority of the hunters to follow in your trail. I will say you guys have a great bunch of hunter/folks who are willing to follow in the guide of sportsmanship and of hunting nice racks not just deer. Thanks for your time and thoughts guys!! PAP

[PeltHunter]

Pap I live just outside of Lake George in the Adirondacks and my grandfather owns a couple thousand acres. There's a reason I choose to hunt WNY (besides going to school in Oswego). There's more deer and more big deer. The Adirondacks produce some big bucks if you ever see one but most of them get shot as 1.5 year olds because the state has the "park" so regulated that there's hardly any logging and old growth doesn't exactly provide the forage base that deer populations need to thrive. A majority of the big deer you'll seen taken up here are from south of the Thruway and/or west of 81.

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[brucehookedup]

Gene

Shank how many acres are you managing to hunt on?

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[brucehookedup]

Sorry gene shenk

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[Legacy]

Saw a mature buck cruising the downwind side of woods face as i was trying to hang a new set after my morning hunt. 11:00 ish Nice to see them on their feet

[Xxx]

Yes you are correct there, my uncle belongs to a hunting club on the paper mill area of the Oswegotchi River. I have been to the fishing camp they have, but not their hunting camp. It is thick rocky terrain, and on the outskirts of a huge swamp. Not everyone gets a buck but the ones they do shoot are humongous, not only in horn growth, which I have noticed these bucks have heavy mass, not tall but wide. The smallest buck up there would win every buck pool down here. Frank shot one last year up there and the horns at the base you could not reach around with one hand, I mean heavy heavy mass!! Just to survive up there is just amazing to me!! I used to sled up there years back and it was not a rare occasion for it to be -25/35 degrees. You have to be one tough SOB, just to survive. So I can see why there isn't as many deer in these area's. Thank you for your knowledge about the differant areas. PAP.

[Gene Shenk]

Gene

Shank how many acres are you managing to hunt on?

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We hunt 3 small property's all are under 35 acres. The surrounding locations are the key they are thick and swampy. Our food plots help a lot also.  

[EsoxAC3]

My experience hunting up north also..... One Does not consistently see slammers like on this thread. Mostly due to nutrition and hunting pressure. However, Jefferson county particularly the southern portion produces some brutes in northern tier due to agriculture and large tracts of land. Not even close to southern and wny tho.

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Edited November 14, 2016 by EsoxAC3

[Duckman1]

Nice buck your daughter got. I hope i have the same opportunity next year with mine. Congrats

[longspurs]

I have a camp in ADKs , more land than u can think of . I don't even bother going up there to hunt to Cuz the deer numbers are so low. And can't shoot does. Why would I go there? If I seen a spike I wouldn't think twice, it would be down . I would be so happy to get a spike up there. That's why I stay around 8h big deer lots of them.

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[Legacy]

Ha!

[brucehookedup]

Gene Shank how much property are you managing to hunt?

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Edited November 14, 2016 by brucehookedup

[EsoxAC3]

I have a camp in ADKs , more land than u can think of . I don't even bother going up there to hunt to Cuz the deer numbers are so low. And can't shoot does. Why would I go there? If I seen a spike I wouldn't think twice, it would be down . I would be so happy to get a spike up there. That's why I stay around 8h big deer lots of them.

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Thats how it is on our property in the tug hill. About 1 buck per square mile......cannot harvest does. Have no problem harvesting spikes there.

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Edited November 14, 2016 by EsoxAC3

[Gene Shenk]

Gene Shank how much property are you managing to hunt?

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  We hunt 3 small property's all are under 35 acres. The surrounding locations are the key they are thick and swampy. Our food plots help a lot also.  

[Legacy]

Last night was another great night to be in the woods... animals galore! 4 turkeys, murder of 100+ crows, 75+ geese, 1 grey fox, 1 feral cat, and 17 deer (5 bucks) all made their way into the cut corn field. Lots of bumping, chasing, and grunting. I did see one shooter (big 8pt?) scent check a doe in the field and quickly left. There was some intense chasing by three "ugly" bucks. The first buck had both antlers broke off completely. The second buck looked to be a 2.5 year old 7pt and he had issues with his front right leg that made him look as if he was running with a peg leg and had a terrible limp. Third buck was a mature buck with a busted up rack. His right side looked mangled. Rough crew.

The clock is ticking... Back at it again this morning.

[Gator]

I think I got charged by a buck on the way out yesterday. I busted a couple of deer in a thicket and one of them circled and came straight back at me. It stopped just inside the brush, breathing heavy. I dunno, could have been Sasquatch, too.

 

I didn't even string an arrow last night because I hiked way back to see what was going on rut-wise by the swamp. I didn't want to disturb the stand by harvesting a doe with opening day so close since one of my good buddies is likely to hunt it. It didn't matter, since I never saw a deer until the walk out. Typical rut though, another friend of mine hunting the other edge of the property a couple hundred yards away was covered up at dark with chasing and grunting.

 

Hmmm, that sounds bad...

Edited November 15, 2016 by Gator

[Legacy]

Big old moon hanging in the sky this morning. I have been covered in deer since the walk out. Had another busted up buck just walk past the stand. All that we left of his rack was a 4" spike on one side.

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[Legacy]

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[Legacy]

Lone fawns... At least four of them so far today.

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[EsoxAC3]

Has anyone had any success with purple top turnips as a late season food plot? I put a mixed plot in once with them and had limited success. Curious if anyone has annual late season success with turnips? Thanks!!

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[JakeyBaby]

Absolutely! Turnips Are gold for us come late season! The only problem is this year the deer already have mowed them ALL to the ground.