ADIRONDACK BUCK TAKEN IN 2010

This is the first opportunity to get back here in quite a few days. Following our trip to hunting camp last weekend and catching up on jobs needing attention, it has been busy.
     Not many have to travel south to reach deer camp in the Adirondacks, but that is just what we did. My hunting partner, Gary, and I headed out on November 5th for the southern-central part of the Adirondacks. We were going to hunt with the crew at Weaver's Deer Camp in Lake Pleasant, New York.
    We arrived without mishap, which is always good, and settled into camp life for the evening. During the night a slight skiff of snow fell and the temperatures dropped below the freezing mark. This was a good sign for the hunting the next day.

(Adirondack nine-pointer taken 2010)

     We started Saturday out by taking stands early in the morning, along the base of the mountain right behind camp. What a bust! Nothing showed, not a thing was moving. On the second stand, Gary did connect with a nice nine-pointer that, although it was young, had a very impressive rack. As you see it has some nice long tines coming off the main beam and is about 17 inches across. As close as we can figure, it seems to be about a 2 1/2 or 3 year old buck.

(A first Adirondack buck for Gary)

   That was the total success for the day, but that was enough. Quite a hunt. This was Gary's first true Adirondack buck, since he doesn't hunt often in the Adirondack Mt. Park area. We live just out of the blue line north of the park area and much of our hunting is usually woodlots and fields of the agricultural area around us. This area in Lake Pleasant is a real deep woods hunting experience, where you can easily make a wrong turn and end up miles from where you planned to be. Compass and map reading is a must before you venture forth.
   Still a number of weeks of deer hunting to go, plus a trip down to Pennsylvania for their opener at the end of the month.

EARLY BLACK POWDER SEASON ENDS

Here in the Northeastern part of New York, the early black powder deer hunting season ended with some mixed reviews. Many reported they were not seeing all that many deer, while others saw quite a few. I saw groups of 4 to 7 while hunting. This year, especially, I think you must find the right food source. We have had such a growing year that there is food anywhere deer want to look. The wild apple trees have been loaded with fruit and the fields remain green. In our immediate area we don’t have a lot of oak trees but we do have some beech trees.
Even though there is an abundance of food, deer will still have their favorite spots to browse. Whether it is because the food tastes better at that spot or because it is just an easier or safer place for the deer to access, there always seems to be some magnet that attracts them. Find that area and you should have greater success.
As I have already posted, my daughter got the first deer of her life on Monday of the muzzleloader season. I think I have another hunting partner. During the early seasons, although I won’t pass up shooting a buck, I am usually looking to fill my tag for the freezer. The rest of the time I can concentrate on filling out buck tags. Like many hunters today, I often end up hunting in at least two different states and many different areas. We have generous hunting seasons, with over two months of deer hunting by the time we get done with bow, muzzleloader and rifle season.
Thursday afternoon of the black powder season, I used my antlerless tag on a large doe. I then processed that for the freezer and am now looking to get back out for rifle season. Unfortunately the weather has turned against us and is so warm the past two days that deer are just not moving. I haven’t been out. I had been planning on changing scopes on my 30-06 and finally did so this year. I have a 3-9x50mm variable on the rifle and it is shooting well. We will see how it performs in the field.
One catastrophe during the black powder season was the dropping of my digital camera and ruining it. It slipped out of my jacket and landed hard on the sidewalk in front of our home. Can't even claim it fell from the tree stand! So before this season gets too old, I guess I will need to look for another point-n-shoot digital to carry. At least it wasn’t my most expensive outfit!