NFT: Anyone here hunt?

I've seen a ton of big bucks taken this year. I took a decent 4 10 days ago. My father got a 6 with black powder and an 8 with rifle in the Northern ADK.

Seen lots of deer but no shooters (big bucks only). Real fun starts Friday with cookout in afternoon then rifle hunt in PA. On private land. Lots of bucks running around. Fun stuff. Good luck to all and be safe. Don’t shoot if not certain of safe shot. Don’t want injure animals either. Did I say be safe? Be safe.

The whole 17 years we've known each other I've been sneaking off to go on little hunting trips around the world. No, I don't even know what the fuck a quail is!

and it pisses me off! I check my cams and see pics of nice bucks (particularly a mature 10 pt), in broad daylight only when I'm not in the stand!

This was my first year back at it in a few years, but the cameras help to know when the activity starts getting hot and who's around. I'll be better prepared for next year as the prerut buck activity here in SC started around mid October. Once the rut kicked off, my deer dispersed or got pushed around by the heat seekers.

and pheasant tomorrow.

will be this weekend. Rod and Gun club I belong to has a "turkey shoot" (actually pheasants - last day of pheasant season)

I never did it before because I didn't have a shotgun, but I do now.

Looking forward to it.

I am out right now. Saw a 7 and a 4 fighting it out this morning. Never saw that before. I'm on the edge of a field surrounded by woods on 3 sides and a creek behind me. It is a good day to be alive.

I just can't take something's life. It goes against every fiber of my being. I'll be the first one to KO someone that pisses me off but I can't hurt animals.

As for upstate NY, one of these days I will have a camp in the Adirondacks, cuz I love me some snowmobiling... lol

but I got tired of the asshole dog laughing at me.

In comment 15056074 Pete in MD said:

Quote:

but I got tired of the asshole dog laughing at me.

I tried shooting the dog but the sob won’t go down

In comment 15055911 Kev in Cali said:

Quote:

and it pisses me off! I check my cams and see pics of nice bucks (particularly a mature 10 pt), in broad daylight only when I'm not in the stand! This was my first year back at it in a few years, but the cameras help to know when the activity starts getting hot and who's around. I'll be better prepared for next year as the prerut buck activity here in SC started around mid October. Once the rut kicked off, my deer dispersed or got pushed around by the heat seekers.

Cameras? Is this really hunting?

In comment 15055803 Giant John said:

Quote:

Seen lots of deer but no shooters (big bucks only). Real fun starts Friday with cookout in afternoon then rifle hunt in PA. On private land. Lots of bucks running around. Fun stuff. Good luck to all and be safe. Don’t shoot if not certain of safe shot. Don’t want injure animals either. Did I say be safe? Be safe.

Why are big bucks only not shooters? Forgive my ignorance. Not a hunter but definitely pro hunting.

here in South, Fla. Great thing about hog hunting is the season. It starts on Jan 1 at 12:01 am and ends on Dec 31st at Midnight. I usually go about once a month on a lease I'm on west of Lake Okeechobee.6,400 acres surrounded by about 50,000 acres. To get there you drive up to no place, make a left at Nowhere and stop when you get to nothing. The wildlife in central Fl. is amazing. I have seen Hogs, Bears, Bobcats, Panthers, Turkeys, Deer, Coyotes and Alligators on our lease. I never realized how wild central Fla. got, but it's very wild. I'm Mostly bow hunting, but I always carry a .45 for backup. Heading up next week, can't wait.

About 30 feet from the house. Had to go 200-lbs. Probably grew up around here. It was keeping an eye on a doe hidden in the shrubbery belt between us and the house behind us. Just sat there even though it was looking at us watching it through the windows.

It finally got up after maybe half an hour and sauntered off when local street traffic got too busy.

and went on some big game hunts, trips to Montana, etc

I have not hunted in a few years though and have spent most of my free time fishing.

The real issue for me is we are not eating venison at home anymore... so I wont put the animal down. I do enjoy getting into the woods and stalking them.

Quite honestly, the fun part of hunting is out smarting them. One time I was able to get so close that I could have spit on it. Game over..

and I enjoy getting out in the woods and hunting when I'm able to. Physically it's getting much harder for me to do as many outdoor activities as I used to so I have to pick and choose when I can, but I have gone a couple times so far this season. I especially enjoy going if my son or daughter go with me. I haven't had one come close enough yet but I still just enjoy being outdoors even if I don't get a shot off. I wouldn't mind getting some venison for the freezer. My family all like it, and it's probably healthier than most store bought meats.

Don’t understand your question. Processing a deer is a lot of work. So if I commit to doing that work I want the buck that has reached its peak and maybe beyond. I just watch when most deer go by. No interest at this point in young does or bucks..

As EricJ says, I enjoy the intellectual game of it as much as anything. That and being in the woods for a few hours without looking at my phone.

How far upstate? The Adirondacks. Big mountains and some big bucks. They're just high up the mountains, gotta go find em.

I've been studying some topo maps and have some new spots in mind for the week.

to have ties to people in southern IL. Some of the largest white tail you will ever see. Spent a lot of time there over the past 10+ years.

Let's just say their small bucks would be trophies in the NJ/NY area

In comment 15056262 EricJ said:

Quote:

to have ties to people in southern IL. Some of the largest white tail you will ever see. Spent a lot of time there over the past 10+ years. Let's just say their small bucks would be trophies in the NJ/NY area

Haha yeah I know, my expectations aren't too high, these deer are feeding on nuts and evergreens, not corn.

larger than a whitetail, you get more buck for your bang. Rim shot!

Don't need to carry a lethal weapon, and they don't run.

They do hide like little devils.

In comment 15056330 Marty in Albany said:

Quote:

larger than a whitetail, you get more buck for your bang. Rim shot!

I have hunted for Mule deer in Montana. When you hunt up there, you will get mules, white tail and elk all within the same geography. One day, I was setup behind a tree and heard a group of mule deer running towards me. They thump or bound when they run and sound very different than white tail or Elk so I knew what they were before seeing them. The problem is I had no idea if there was a buck mixed in.

So, I had to keep my back up against this tree with them running towards me from behind without seeing them yet. 10 yards away with the safety off and it sounded like a small earth quake coming towards me.

They were less than 6 feet away when 6 does bounced past me. They never saw me. If there was a nice buck mixed in, my plan was to shout to get them to stop for a second so I could get a shot. All does... waiting a couple of min in the event that a buck was trailing farther behind. Unfortunately not that time.

Growing up in crowded north Jersey, just never had the opportunity to 'get into it'. Now living in south central PA, where some guys have gun collections that the US Army would admire, I find that it is me and my brain that just can't hunt. Like others have posted, would never be able to pull the trigger on an animal. I do like archery, but that is where it stops.

With that said, we are being overrun by deer. (I know it is more that 'we' are invading their territory.) But out here, there are deer carcasses littering the highways. I probably saw 8-10 in a 5 mile stretch on I-83 yesterday afternoon. So all in favor of you guys that are controlling an exploding population to do your thing.

I looked this up:

Deer–vehicle collisions lead to about 200 human deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage every year. State and federal governments, insurance companies, and drivers spend an additional $3 billion in an effort to reduce and manage the increasing number of deer-vehicle collisions.

In comment 15056672 Marty in Albany said:

Quote:

I looked this up: Deer–vehicle collisions lead to about 200 human deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage every year. State and federal governments, insurance companies, and drivers spend an additional $3 billion in an effort to reduce and manage the increasing number of deer-vehicle collisions.

so nationally only 300 deaths? thought it would be more