I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed some time off. I was out filming on Christmas morning and was able to take a doe on film with Mike. Filming has been a tough learning experience and has cost me some shots at deer, but the rewards are worth it!

A few days ago I put up a post asking for your help to vote for my video that I entered into the Muddy Outdoors Commercial Contest.

The commercial shows the Muddy Outdoors' products, deer in the wild and a few successful hunters - all you need in a commercial right? Well that's up to you so check out the videos and vote for NYBowhunter.com:

http://www.gomuddy.com/gallery/6/media/160/marc-alberto.html

Thank you all for your help and have a safe and happy new year!

It was his first year really getting into the sport of bowhunting. Last season had been his first year hunting and he came close to taking a nice 6 pointer, but it just didn't work out.

This season the hunter put the time and effort in to practice with his equipment and make sure he knew what he and his equipment could do.

During the second weekend of bow season this year he had just climbed into his stand when he could hear running in the distance. When he finally saw what was making the noise the doe popped out, but she was not alone.

He jumped to his feet and drew his bow back to try and stop the big deer behind the doe. The buck stopped after a grunt and the arrow was on its way.

Shaking like a leaf - we've all been there - he returned to the cabin to tell his family what happened and they went back to the woods to take up the blood trail.

The arrow was on the ground, broken in half and covered in blood and hair indicating a good shot. The blood trail went on for 400 yards and when the found the deer it was still breathing. Another arrow was nocked and this time buried deep into the buck's vitals putting the monarch down in sight. The buck is a mainframe 10 pointer with matching kickers off its G2's.

It was late November of New York's 2009 Archery season and a cold front was getting ready to move through.

Andrew and his hunting buddy Jim were about 30 yards from each other in stands they have never sat in before. The stands were just off a point where three trails crossed and led to a patch of briars and thick cover.

Around 8:00 a.m. a small 9 pointer with one antler growning down came through the shooting lane. Andrew drew back and let the arrow fly. The deer ran 50 yards and was down.

Soon after things started to quiet down and Jim decided to make something happen. He got his rattling antlers out and starting banging the antlers together to simulate a buck fight.

To the excitement of both hunters, two monster bucks came in chasing a doe - a 13 pointer and a huge 10 pointer. The 10 pointer was just out of Jim's range as it went to challenge the 13 pointer which wanted no part of the big 10 pointer. As the 13 pointer turned and headed away from the 10 pointer it picked up Andrew's scent trail and followed it straight to his 25 yard shooting lane.

Andrew came to full draw and gave a quick grunt to stop the buck in the shooting lane. The arrow flew true and hit its mark. Andrew watched as the buck took 20 steps and collapsed. The buck had 13 scoreable points and will score in the 130" range.

The curtain came down on rifle season last night and Craig had a big finish with 15 deer sighted in a 2 hr. sit. The mix was mostly does, fawns and young bucks but there is something about a dozen deer silhouettes against snow on the last night of gun season sitting in the same tree that produced a 154 inch buck (the same last evening of the season a few years earlier) to make you feel all is well in the world of Kindred Spirits. Season closes are always a time for reflection, and last night was a good one.

On the pragmatic side of things, entirely too many mature does were observed and we have some work to do this week with the muzzleloaders. Our guess is, we are collecting neighborhood deer as the cursed acorns are now snow covered and our brassicas plots are looking pretty good to them. We also notice the deer move through the brassicas plots more quickly and come to them later than corn plots which we ascribe to a combination of hunting pressure and feeling vulnerable on large fields (3 acre) of brassicas. Last night they poured into the field like football players running out of the tunnel at last light, long after legal shooting time.

Standing corn makes for great hunting when nasty winter weather forces wary bucks out of the cover and into the food. Standing corn provides plenty of cover and is a much more secure place for mature deer to feed. It is also easier to hunt as it is noisy in the wind, noisy when deer are tearing at it and noisy when deer crunch it when they chew. Sure miss our standing corn and so do the turkeys which have found some corn down in the river flats.

This week we observed 56 deer in 17 hrs.of hunting for an average of 3.29 sightings per hr. This is down from last week but we hit some tough wind and stormy weather last week which kept deer off of the plots (when we were on them). We also changed up a few times and hunted the woods looking for a plot shy buck who never went for the change up (neither did Mantle).

We learned a little something on one remote woods sit. Craig was watching a woods draw when picked up a deer hustling right along “leaving Dodge” and heading for cover. Why the hurry? Must be a good one to be moving along like that? Up came the glasses only to ID a 1 ½ yr. old buck acting like the smartest deer in the woods. A few minutes later he heard the neighbor’s 4 wheeler a full quarter mile away. This buck got spooked by neighboring hunters and was still hustling a quarter mile away. Talk about growing up fast (and smart). Two month earlier this same buck would have danced out of the way and gone back to business 200 yds. from the 4 wheeler. Now he is acting like a 4 yr. old headed for a sanctuary at the slightest hint of hunting pressure.

Last week we reported on the “second breeding” which hit exactly 28 days after things broke loose here in early November. Neil pulled some film this week and there on exactly the same day Craig reported seeing the “second season” breeding party was a “caught on camera” buck mounting a doe. Pretty cool to know that at least two does were being bred the same day (or at least within a day or two) in early December, proof positive that you need to be in the woods 28 days after the big event in November. These two events on the same day have really driven the “second rut” concept home to us.

On the really good news side we are excited about Neil’s 200 acre farm which has almost made it through its’ second hunting season. Neil lives in a hard hunting neighborhood and truckloads of “deer drivers” are a regular weekend occurrence. Saturday he watched as 15-20 guys drive the neighboring properties. At least 3 shot volleys were counted. Last year 17 of 18 bucks using his farm were killed. That’s the bad news.

The good news is, in the past 24 hrs. he has seen 5 bucks and a couple of them are 2.5 yrs. old. No doubt he has more but the count won’t be official for a couple of weeks and a whole bunch of NY hunters just got “buck legal” again in NY’s muzzleloader season which opens today.

How did he do it, how does 4 acres of standing corn and 3 or 4 new green plots sound for keeping them home? He hasn’t really hunted it and Butch helps him keep a line on the lines. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks to see if he can bring a few bucks through the season (sure would be nice if the neighbors or NY State would give him a little help).

Speaking of staying tuned, with hunting season closing for good in a week or so, we will be out of deer hunting and rut tracking stuff to write about. But, we have heard from hundreds of you that you would like to keep hearing from us on deer stuff. We have the unique deer report to compile (hopefully some of you have been keeping track of “uniques” through the season) and will speak to how to compile your report next week.

So, what do you want to hear about and discuss with us for the next couple of months? How about letting us know over the next few weeks? This will let us get together a schedule of reports for you and keep us all in touch until next season (can’t wait). Send your questions and discussion topics directly to Sharon@NorthCountryWhitetails.com and we will take it from there. Also, and this is really important, many of you get this report second or third hand from pass along from friends. As the season ends fewer and fewer friends will be passing the report along. If you want to keep getting the report you must give us your email address. Once again send it to Sharon at the above address and we will take care of it.

Hunting this week? You bet we will be staked out on food sources hoping the onset of winter drives the big bucks to the food during the daylight hours. You might catch some “second rut” action but our bet is on winter food sources. The deer will most likely move late unless severe cold brings them out when the temps are maxed out at midday. Standing corn, anybody?

You can catch all kinds of behavior on the Buck Eye Cams at www.wonation.org if you want to see how weather affects deer behavior. The cameras were almost completely shut down during the 3 days the wind and snow blew last week, the weather let up and the cameras started to burn up with activity. They were cooking yesterday afternoon when I was in a stand looking at 15 deer in front of me. If you aren’t going to school on those remote “real time” cameras you are missing an opportunity to put the behavior story together.

Best regards,
NorthCountry Whitetails

It's been a good season for BBD in Long Island. He's had some great success over the years and this season was no different. Check out this massive 9 pointer with huge brow tines he took during the archery season in Long Island. After a hot doe came by with two small bucks this massive 9 pointer showed up on the same run. Obviously he didn't make it too far. Congrats BBD!

WATERBURY, VT - A father and son face charges in Vermont after allegedly being involved in deer poaching activities in New York, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

Nicholas Baker, Sr., 41, of Petersburg, New York and Nicholas Baker, Jr., 22, of Bennington, Vermont were arrested on December 8, after they illegally killed two deer in New York and brought them into Vermont.

Vermont State Game Wardens Lt. Paul Gaudreau and Travis Buttle went to a residence at 183 North Branch Street in Bennington on the evening of December 8, in response to an anonymous tip. The wardens discovered blood on a vehicle parked outside the residence and on a basement entryway. In the process of the investigation, the wardens discovered two partially butchered deer in the basement.

Both of the Bakers were arrested for illegal possession of big game in Vermont, and they may face additional charges for illegal importation of wildlife into Vermont. Their arraignment is scheduled for January 26, in Bennington District Court.

An anonymous tip through Operation Game Thief (OGT) helped make this investigation possible. The OGT phone is 1-800-75ALERT (1-800-752-5378).

New York Department of Environmental Conservation law enforcement personnel also are involved in the ongoing investigation and are expected to bring charges against the two men.

Contact:
Lt. Paul Gaudreau, 802-885-8830 or Maj. Dennis Reinhardt, 802-241-3700

Ed Conolly rattled in this giant 9 pointer on November 16th right after a rain storm had passed. As the buck approached Ed grunted at him, but he ignored it. Ed tried again, this time louder, and the buck didn't seem to notice. Finally, he tried a snort wheeze and that did it! The buck snapped its head around looking right towards Ed and then started coming in.

The buck briefly disappeared into some thick stuff before returning with a doe 10 minutes later. The buck was around for almost 20 minutes before Ed was finally able to slip an arrow through the monster at 24 yards. The buck made it 35 yards before pilling up and was Ed's third deer of the season. Earlier this season Ed had taken two does. Congrats to Ed on an awesome New York whitetail!

This is one hunter that had a very lucky day. Earlier this season the hunter was out on a morning hunt when an 8 pointer came grunting down the ridge to challenge two 3 pointers under his stand. As the 8 pointer approached with his ears back the hunter came to full draw and let the arrow fly. The buck took off and expired 80 yards away. The hunter climbed down from his stand, gutted the deer and then began the drag back to the truck.

That evening the hunter returned to the same stand. Not more than 10 minutes into the sit he noticed a black bear going to the gut pile to eat. For nearly two hours the bear went back and forth between the swamp and the gut pile.


When the bear was finished he began walking right towards the hunter and gave him a 20 yards quartering away shot. The arrow flew true and the bear was down in 40 yards! Congrats to the hunter on an awesome combo!

It's been a tough season for a lot of us and it was no different for my cousin Ken. Ken had been at it all season and seen several deer, but couldn't seem to find where the big bucks were hanging out during the day. After moving his trail camera he started getting pictures of a big 6 pointer and a nice 8 pointer.

One Friday, December 11th he was out for an afternoon hunt when he heard a stick snap behind him. As he turned to see what made the noise Ken saw one of the big bucks he had been after! Slowly he got to his feet and drew back on the deer as it fed within 15 yards of his stand. Ken watched as the arrow hit its mark and the buck ran 50 yards and piled up.

Congrats to Ken on an awesome late season whitetail! Just goes to show you that if you get out there and put the time and effort in you will eventually connect. I'll be out there until the end hoping for the same success that Ken had. Stick with it till the end because you can't get one from the couch!

Tim took this buck during the archery season in Cayuga County. Congrats on an awesome 8 pointer!

One lucky hunter with three incredible bucks from Long Island. What a season! It would be nice to get just one buck like these down in a season, but to get three is just incredible! This giant 9 pointer had been showing up on the hunter's trail cam in the summer and he was able to put an arrow through him once the season rolled around.


This is a very respectable New York 8 pointer. There is great tine length on this buck and from the looks of it these bucks have what it takes to grow some monster racks with some age. This buck might only be 2 1/2 years old, hard to tell from the pics though.


And of course there's this non-typical with junk everywhere! What an awesome buck! Congrats to the hunter on an incredible season!

Here's another brute from Cayuga County. This is one heck of a 7 pointer with great brow tines and incredible mass throughout its rack.

Here's the latest from the guys over at NorthCountry Whitetails:

As the season begins to wind down we find ourselves focusing more on the management side of our program, trying to figure out how to harvest does and still keep the opportunity for that special buck alive. Sound familiar? This week we shifted back to plot hunting as the doe groups had reformed and we were hoping the bucks would follow them to the plots. We upped our doe take but still need to take a few more.

This week we observed 97 deer in 17 hrs. of hunting. This averaged 6.9 deer observed per hr. This is once again up significantly from prior weeks. This is a pretty big number which was driven by our return to hunting plots and the deer returning to the plots as well (duh). We did hunt the woods a morning or two looking to pop a doe or solitary buck away from the core plots but those sits yielded only 1 or 2 deer per hr. We also began to see some buck age this week with 33% of the bucks sighted being 2.5 or better. Do the math and you will see they are back on the food plots. We did not check our camera cards again this week so as to keep the pressure to a minimum. Neil says he will check them out this week.

The highpoint of the week can be tied to last week’s deer report. Last week Neil had me add a paragraph on “the return of the rut” after he saw that I had not mentioned it. “Better remind them that next week will be 28 days after we first saw breeding behavior” he admonished. “All those does couldn’t have gotten bred first time around no matter what the state says.”

As if Neil planned it that way, Craig found himself in the middle of a breeding party exactly 28 days after catching a party during bow season (it pays to keep notes). The 3 acre field had deer everywhere including 8 bucks and one very stressed doe ( a dozen or so does and fawns watched indifferently) who was being pursued by a 3 or 4 year old buck (with one antler grossly deformed). A nice deer but still a pass. Three 8pt. 2.5’s were destined to being spectators as every time one of them got close to the action the older and bigger buck rushed them and forced a retreat. A couple of 1.5 year olds ran a side show sparring at the far end of the field. Quite a sit with 28 deer tallied in all. Quite a contrast to last weeks sits and proof positive of the “28 days later theory”.

Our strategy for the rest of the season will be to get the doe harvest done while trying to get a look at one of our shooters (we had 3 shooters a month ago, but haven’t see them yet). We will concentrate on the food plots in the evening as they seem to be attracting crowds again. We still see plenty of acorns in the woods but the brassicas is holding up and drawing nicely. Maybe they are looking for a change of diet.

Neil is seeing a lot of action on the remote camera sites as the deer are returning to the food plots. All good stuff and all there for you to check out. We will leave the cameras running until the season has closed for a few weeks. Check them out at www.wonation.org. One of the cameras is trained on a plot that features an electric exclusion fence. Many of you have asked about it. Neil’s blog at www.wonation.org discusses this in great detail. If you are interested in excluding wildlife from food plots (for certain time periods), Neil discusses this strategy in great detail in his blog. The blog should be posted early this week.

Traditionally these last weeks of our season have been our best for the bigger bucks. But, generally, by this time we are pretty much socked in by weather and there is pretty good snow covering on the ground. Temps are low and we have some of the only food in town. Neighborhood road traffic has ground to a halt and most of the neighbors have hung it up. Things are pretty much back to normal as the season draws to a close. As of yesterday the woods are wide open, the temps are still kinda mild and there are still pickups full of hunters running the roads. Plus those ^&**$$#^^ acorns are still everywhere. We may need a little luck to get it done this year.

If you are hunting this week and you have good food plots, that is probably your best bet. But, keep the pressure to a minimum. Watch for some isolated rut activity and remember the dominant bucks are still out looking for does to breed and the 28 days later theory will be operating.

One more thing. We are aware that many of you who get this report are passing it along to friends. This is terrific and what we hope for. We really appreciate it and we appreciate hearing from you (our primary mailing list) and all the new folks out there. If any of you are not on our direct mailing list email Sharon at Sharon@NorthCountryWhitetails.com or sscholl@rochester.rr.com and ask her to put you on the direct list. Also, many have asked for more info on NorthCountry Whitetails. You can find out more about us and our various programs and land offerings at www.northcountrywhitetails.com. Some of you have asked about our book which was out of print through most of the summer while we were deciding whether to reprint or not. Well, we have reprinted Grow “Em Right and it is available now for 19.95 plus s&h. Call Sharon at 315 331 6959 for a copy or you may order it on line. Most of you “old NCW hands” already have your copy but many of the newer members of the group don’t and, there is always Christmas (great gift idea).

Thanks to you all for reporting back to us to us and your continued support. It really helps put things together for us. Some of you will be seeing your observations in our next book (of course we will ask permission first). We enjoy doing the report as much as you seem to enjoy receiving it.

Best regards,
NorthCountry Whitetails

MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON DEER POACHING NETS MORE THAN 100 INDIVIDUALS “Operation Jackhammer” Targets Violators in Hudson Valley, Catskills, Capital Region and Adirondacks

A major initiative to crack down on illegal deer hunting from the Hudson Valley to the Canadian border has led to charges against 107 individuals for more than 250 offenses, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today.

The investigation, dubbed “Operation Jackhammer,” focused on the illegal taking of deer by use of artificial light – a practice commonly known as “deer jacking.” This involves night hunting where poachers shine a spotlight on a deer feeding in fields to “freeze” the animal long enough to shoot it -- killing deer when they are most vulnerable. Typically, deer jacking occurs in remote rural areas, late at night. Due to these late hours and secluded areas, there are few, if any, witnesses to this crime.

This fall, DEC undertook the largest coordinated anti-deer jacking initiative in the state’s history. Operation Jackhammer utilized more than 100 Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) from the Hudson Valley, Capitol Region, the Catskills and the Adirondacks. During a six-week period, ECOs were assigned to saturation patrols in targeted rural locations, with stakeouts taking place at all hours of the night. The investigations largely covered the weeks before the start of deer season, when, historically, DEC fields numerous complaints about deer jacking.

“Traditionally,” Commissioner Grannis said, “DEC investigated deer jacking complaints on a piecemeal basis, responding to reports as they came in. We changed that with Operation Jackhammer, putting together a coordinated effort to not only target lawbreakers but also to determine just how widespread this dangerous and illegal practice is. What we found was surprising. Deer jacking occurs more frequently than the public may suspect. I’m proud of the success of our officers – who put in long hours at night, dealing with armed individuals and often without backup help. Their work sends a strong message that poaching will not be tolerated.”

“DEC takes seriously the crime of nighttime deer poaching for many reasons – safety, foremost,” said Henry Hamilton, DEC Assistant Commissioner for Public Protection. “Deer jacking involves someone firing off a high-powered rifle in the dark, not knowing what or who is behind their target. Sometimes, it involves shooting across roads. But also, poachers typically trespass across private lands, violate hunting ethics and rob legitimate hunters of opportunities.”

“Deer hunting is a long-standing tradition and an important part of New York’s outdoor heritage, providing recreational opportunities and food for sportsmen and sportswomen and their families,” said Howie Cushing, president of the New York State Conservation Council. “Most hunters play by the rules, but deer jackers don’t. This illegal practice allows them to take unfair advantage of New York’s resources.”

During the six-week operation, DEC officers charged 107 individuals with 187 misdemeanors and 87 violations. This included 27 instances of hunters killing deer at night while using a spotlight or other artificial light and 48 instances where a hunter was caught using a light but had yet to kill a deer. Typically, other related charges were filed in these instances, such as carrying a loaded gun in a vehicle, hunting after hours and firing a gun within 500 feet of a house.

By region, 102 misdemeanors and 37 violations were filed in the Adirondack Park and surrounding North Country. In the Capital Region and northern Catskills, there were 71 misdemeanors and 46 violations. In the southern Catksills and Lower and Mid-Hudson Valley, there were 14 misdemeanors and four violations.

Approximately 40 guns were confiscated and 42 illegally-taken deer recovered.

Turn in Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) Hotline 

DEC encourages anyone with information on environmental crimes and violations are urged to call its 24-hour hotline, 1-800-TIPP-DEC or 1-800-847-7332. Callers may request to file complaints anonymously.

Penalties 

“Taking of Deer with the Aid of an Artificial Light” is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $250 to $2,000 and/or incarceration for up to one year, as well as possible revocation of hunting privileges for up to five years.

“Operating an Artificial Light on Lands Inhabited by Deer While Possessing a Firearm” is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $200 to $1,000 and/or incarceration for up to 90 days.

Violations are punishable by a fine of up to $250 and/or incarceration of up to 15 days.

Tony Raineville of Hudson Falls arrowed this Washington County 9-pointer on November 18th. There have been a lot of great Adirondack bucks this season. You can check them all out on ADKhunter.com.

It was a year ago when Michael lost from his knee down due to a sever motocross accident, but this hunter wouldn't let that prevent him from returning to the deer woods the following season. It was late October when Michael saw a buck of a lifetime walk out and step within bow range. It's one thing to calm your nerves and pull off a shot on a buck like this, but to do it from the ground like Michael did is simply incredible. Congrats to Michael on an amazing buck and knowing more than any of us that a never give up attitude and determination is what it really takes to get it done.

It was a two year quest for this big 6 pointer in Chenango County. The previous year the buck was a decent 7 pointer. After having his dentist appointment cancelled the hunter headed to the "pond stand" to see if any of the bucks in the area would be crossing the beaver damn.

The hunter was in his stand and started to rattle when he heard some thrashing and saw a huge 10 pointer that came within 50 yards. The buck wouldn't come in any closer and then took off on a dead run. Two hours later a big 6 pointer got up from its bed not more than 15 yards away. It had been bedded down under a few fallen trees and was well hidden. The hunter drew back and let the arrow fly watching the buck go down within 60 yards. The buck had a 24" spread and field dressed at 204 pounds! What a brute!

Allen was still hunting a ridge overlooking a cornfield in late October when he spotted a monster 8 pointer. He was able to get off a shot at the brute and the buck went down. The buck had a 23" inside spread and is estimated to score in the low 140" range. The deer field dressed at 200 pounds!

The week after the gun opener is always an interesting one at Kindred Spirits. We spend most of the week keeping an eye out for trespassers and road hunters and wondering which if any bucks got through the opener. This has traditionally been the least productive week of our NY hunting season. We pull back from the core “killing areas” and any hunting we do is totally “low pressure” as we attempt to get things to get back to “normal” as quickly as possible.

This week we observed 125 deer in 34 hrs. of hunting. This averaged out to 3.6 deer per hr. which is significantly up from last weeks 2.4 per hr. which is significantly up from the prior weeks 1.4 per hr. This uptick in sightings is due primarily of the return of doe family groups to food plots (bucks no longer ambushing does there) and our return to hunting plots.

Our buck count plunged this week (12) with only 2 bucks breaking the 2.5 or older classification. Either all 40 or so bucks using our property have been killed by the neighbors (highly unlikely) or they have themselves tucked away in safe houses waiting for the fireworks to die down (much more likely). They still have acorns so they don’t have to travel far to get a good meal.

We have not checked cameras in a few weeks in an attempt to keep the pressure to a minimum. Neil is waiting for a windy, stormy day to go pull film. If we don’t get one soon he will do it around 9-10 at night to avoid driving the deer to the guns of our neighbors. Our Buckeye Cams however, have been working 24-7 at our other location and are telling a story of their own. These remote cameras are really great when you don’t want to be out there pulling film. Check out the fight they caught last week at www.wonation.org.

Our doe groups have definitely reassembled and are looking to get back to their old routine. We have also begun to notice more food plot material and less acorn matter in their rumen content. This indicates movement back to food plot feeding, however, we are still seeing acorns on our access trails and roads. We are still taking does but not on core food plots.

The bucks have more or less gone underground since the opener but as the week after developed we did begin to see some easing up with more bucks easing into normal behavior patterns. We have seen some “buddying up” by bucks and more social tolerance. We are also seeing more “sparring” than “fighting”. We have some “traveling” by bucks but nothing like the pre breeding period of about 4 weeks ago. We are confident the buck activity will resume (it always has) as they recuperate from a month of rut related behavior. Our “shooters” often disappear in early November only to show up again in early Dec.

Our hunting strategy for this week will be “high stealth” food plot hunting. We will watch them from a distance (you never know when the big boy will follow a doe out to feed) and be sure to get in and out of the woods without getting caught. When and if we hunt the woods we will be hunting the edges, watching the wind, and being careful to get in and out without getting caught. Basically this week will be all about keeping and eye on things without alerting deer and chasing them to our neighbors. Some of the neighbors have begun to drive hunt and some road hunting is going on. The deer have begun to funnel into our property from the external pressure and we want them to stay there. We also want them to get comfortable again on our plots so when the bucks start using plots again where we can get a look at them.

We have never been much about blaming the weather for tough hunting (we always seem to be able to work around it) but lately we have found ourselves wishing for some severe temps and weather conditions to drive the bucks to our food plots. We believe they would just as soon stay in the security of the cover to do their feeding and in 50 degree weather they are in no big hurry to walk a half mile to an exposed food plot to feed. Severe weather (single digit nights, snow and driving winds) will drive them to the plots and get them in front of us. Mild weather allows them to stay hunkered down.

Traditionally our best hunting has been at season’s end over food sources. Hunting low pressure this week will help set up the end of season play. Hope the weather cooperates.

One more mention, the breeding fired up around Nov. 4 here. All the does could not have been bred and will recycle 28 days from around the 4th. This will create some new buck activity and a few isolated breeding parties. We’ll be in the woods the first week of Dec.

Best regards,
NorthCountry Whitetails

Well it's been a long and tough season, but I finally got my first deer on film. It was a very exciting hunt for sure. Filming yourself is not as easy as it looks. I had to pass on several deer because the camera wasn't ready or I didn't have time to get the camera on the deer and prepare myself for the shot. Finally, on December 4th it all came together for me, check it out!

Tim was having a little bit of trouble getting out of bed in the morning to get to the deer woods - we've all been there - but he sucked it up and was in the stand by 6:30 a.m. Around 8:00 a.m. he saw his first deer - a young spike. Tim decided to give the buck a few grunt calls and some doe bleats to see how the deer would react, but the deer just ignored the sounds and walked off.

Tim decided to text his friend to let him know how the hunt was going and his friend wrote back, "you better hurry up and shoot something!" At the same time Tim heard the leaves crunching on the ridge and looked up to see a big 8 making his way towards him.

Just as Tim grabbed his bow the arrow caught a branch and became un-nocked. He scrambled to get the arrow back on and ranged the buck at 28 yards. He drew back and let the arrow fly, watching it go right over the buck's back.

The buck didn't run, but instead started walking closer to the hunter. Tim nocked another arrow and this time the arrow flew true and the buck went 40 yards before crashing. The buck grossed 109 2/8".

It's not often you hear of a 15 year old archer going out and getting permission to hunt a property all on his own. Well that's exactly what Freddie did.

Freddie returned to the property with his dad to pick out a tree for a stand when the two hunters spotted a nice buck with a doe. Of course the bow was back in the truck so Freddie went back to get it.

Positioning himself against the fencerow Freddie waited patiently as his father circled around to get ahead of the deer and try to ease them towards his son.

The buck made his way towards Freddie as the buck passed within 12 yards he let the arrow fly and watched the buck as he took off. Not more than 100 yards away Freddie's first buck fell to the ground. This was Freddie's second deer and an awesome first buck. Congrats to Freddie!

JR was out one Saturday in November and had a hunt to remember. It was a brisk morning and the bucks were up and moving. JR saw 8 different bucks and was able to rattle 4 of them within 40 yards. One of the big ones that was definitely a shooter stayed behind a pine tree, never offering a shot.

Later that morning JR saw a bobcat sneaking along the creek. The bobcat offered JR a good shot so he drew back and let the arrow fly watching the bobcat tumble after 20 yards.

The afternoon hunt was slow. Nothing was moving so JR decided to hit the horns together and see if anything would come in. A few minutes later the 8 pointer came running in and gave JR a perfect quartering away shot. That's one heck of a day afield in anybody's book.

Just when things started getting back to normal in our whitetail world, opening day of gun season arrived. Anyone who has ever hunted the opener in NY or PA or any other serious gun state knows the name of that tune, and while a great tradition that we wouldn’t miss for the world, it does have its impact on the deer using our property.

First the lead up to the opener. By getting back to normal, we mean doe groups began to re-assemble (a sure sign of post rut behavior) young bucks were beginning to “buddy up” again and miracle of miracle we were beginning to see deer again on our food plots( in spite of the acorns which still are everywhere). Not that we were eager for the “bucks on parade” phase to end, but the real “parade” only lasts a few days around here. What we were eager to be done with was the “lockdown” period of seeing very little deer movement and very little food plot activity. Neil’s blog headline “Caught in a Rut” www.wonation.org of last week pretty much told it all.

Prior to Saturday’s opener we observed 32 deer in 13 hrs. of sitting for an average of 2.46 deer per hr. (see what I mean about getting back to normal). A total of 11 bucks were sighted including 5 bucks 2.5 yr. or older. The buck to doe ratio was almost 2 to 1 which is an improvement over earlier weeks. The 2.5 to yearling buck % also improved to almost 50%. This is the direction we were looking for. More use of food plots, (as opposed to random feeding on acorns) and a higher % of older bucks showing up. We did not hunt as hard last week as we were looking to let the resident population relax a bit and trying to reduce some pressure we had been putting on the bucks.

We have deliberately omitted our gun opening weekend sightings as that data has little to do with behavior patterns and everything to do with hunting pressure and who hunted where. We will resume gathering data on Monday. We also did not check camera film from our 9 cameras at Kindred Spirits in order to keep pressure to a minimum. Nothing worse than “bouncing’ a nice 2.5 yr. old on opening weekend. Bang! He’s dead in 30 seconds flat. We will check cameras this week as well. Our remote Buckeye Cams are still working 24-7 (this is the beauty of remote cameras) however and picked up some interesting stuff this weekend. Check out the strangers who visited us at www.wonationorg.

Then came the Saturday gun opener (boom boom, bang bang) and everything is set back a week to 10 days. Make no mistake, we were part of the bang bang (taking 50% of our doe harvest goal in two short days) but, by Sunday noon most of the deer had gone underground. Most of the behavior we witnessed was deer on the move, relocating to safer spots. We also witnessed a smattering of legitimate breeding related behavior. Neil caught a world class chase last night while Craig saw nothing watching his favorite 3 acre food plot. Basically though most of the deer have “gone to ground” from the pressure and won’t start to show again till later this week.

Chaos aside, we were pleased with the opener. Our hunters made nothing but one shot kills and harvested the does swiftly and efficiently. Each year we get more and more excited about our doe harvest and take pride doing it effectively and efficiently. We really enjoy hunting does. We are very careful about which ones we take and are very selective in shot selection and placement. NY has helped us along with a liberal allotment of DMAP permits and legalizing rifles in our area. With no shortage of opportunities there is no excuse for sloppy hunting or shot placement and we are proud of our approach to managing our deer numbers. We like filling our freezers with a few left over for the Venison Donation Coalition. There is something about a full meat pole to keep spirits high and for a bunch of mature buck hunters the does sure fill in the blanks. Every year we put more and more emphasis on our doe harvest and we seem to be making room for more bucks as a result. If only we could protect the habitat a little more without taking the numbers too low.

Speaking of pressure, the acorn crop really helped us out here. We were able to take our does far from our core area food plots by hunting the oak woods. We hate shooting does on core area food plots and this year we can get all we need by hunting the woods on the perimeter of our property. And of course the bumper acorn crop is really helping out the deer. We skinned more than a few does with an incredible fat reserve already built up for the long winter ahead. Every deer we opened up was chock full of acorns, a stomach full of carbs filled at the expense of very little energy. I guess we have been a little selfish complaining about all the acorns.

This week we will hunt as little as possible to allow our property to rebound from the opening day pressure. What hunting we do will be sneak in and sneak out without being noticed. We will try to keep out of our core areas and let all the neighborhood deer find out food plots and secure areas. If we hunt mornings it will be in out of the way locations away from our food plots. If our neighbors are pounding their woods, so much the better. Our property is already loading up with neighborhood deer. Neighborhood pressure will neutralize the bumper crop of acorns surrounding us. The mature deer will stay away from the pressure in spite of the bumper crop.

There are plenty of older bucks out there working the late breeding does. These bucks are doing some chasing and lots of following. Sooner or late they will follow the does into one of our plots or return to them of their own choosing. We want to give ‘em a safe place to “hole up” and recoup from the pressure of the opener and the stress of breeding. Some really severe weather will help our hunting as well.

We need to take a few more does from the fringe areas but this week it will be all about low impact hunting while the bucks recover. Tread gently and let the neighbors do all the work.

Best regards,
NorthCountry Whitetails

It was the last day of archery season and time was running out. At 2:00 p.m. the big 8 pointer stepped out and offered a great shot. The Rage 2-blade did its job and the buck was down in 25 yards!