2025 Deer Season Preparations

[HenryFan]

Actually, I meant to say if I were a rabbit, high speed or otherwise, I would not trade luck for speed.

[cee_Kamp]

I have two "low glow" cameras, and while the deer seem curious about them, the coyotes and the fox get spooked and bolt.
The rest are all "no glow", and while they are invisible to my eyes, a lot of wildlife do seem to look straight at the camera at some point in the video, so that makes me wonder if they see something that we can't. They've been out or four years now, so I have a level of comfort with them too.

I have videos of the bucks and does hitting scrapes and licking branches, and the bucks are easier to identify when you can see them moving their head in the video, and forked or broken tines are easier to see. For some reason, I get a few seven pointers every year, they seem to not form a G1, or brow tine on one side or the other. I can tell which is which with video. I've also seen a buck with an arrow stub in his neck that I definitely wouldn't have been able to see for sure in a still frame. That buck's movement through the Queen Ann's Lace blocked most of it, but you can see the stub as he walked through it. A guy about a mile east of me shot that one last year on opening morning. All that said, powering those IR illuminators for 10 or 15 seconds for a video does eat up more battery power. I get almost a year from 8 AA batteries, but a windstorm that blows a branch in front of the detecting sensor, or that blows the weeds and such around creating movement in the target area at night, that will end up giving me dozens and dozens of nothing videos, and probably uses lots of juice from the batteries.

My no-glow cameras also record sound with the video, and I've recorded videos that included the conversation of two guys walking along the edge of a field where my camera was trained on a mock scrape I made. Actually got two videos worth of them standing there talking, every word audible and clear. I can't even count how many I get with bucks and does grunting.

Good luck tomorrow!

Many years ago I had the unpleasant task of dealing with trespassers on my hunting land. Several times.
My friend and brother-in-law advised me to go full bore nasty & unpleasant on them in each situation.
Including getting law enforcement involved.
He was also a hunting land landowner and had similar situations happen to him.

I guess he was correct, the word got around in the valley. Don't get caught trespassing ON THAT GUYS LAND, he's an Ahole!
With many years now having passed, no problems with trespassers.
Whatever it takes to make them not trespass.

[rickhem]

I'm also in NY, which opened for rifle on Saturday. I hunted all day on Saturday, morning and evening on Sunday, and morning and evening on Monday. Today I had something else going, so a day off for me.

I've been seeing plenty of deer, just none with antlers. Contrast that to the last week of bow season, bucks were everywhere. Most were smaller 6 pointers or fork-horns, with a couple spikes and basket eights mixed in. There are two very big rack bucks I've seen in-person, although at distance, and another one, a big 11 point, that is only on my cameras at night, so I know they're out there.

Really haven't heard many shots this year either, at least not compared to prior seasons. My neighbor that hunts our land, and has a lot more local contacts, said that it's been slow for everyone so far.

The new moon is on Thursday, which is supposed to boost daylight movement, and the next few days are alleged to be better hunting days. Time will tell.

[cee_Kamp]

Today, November 20th is Henry rifle day! First hunting with the new-to-me Henry.
I'm about to depart for the cabin and meet up with my son for the afternoon hunt.
Even after the mayhem we created on opening day, after several days of quiet on the camera system, yesterday deer pictures began arriving again.
Deer are up and moving around during daylight hours.
Even a decent buck, but not bucky bighorn.
Wish me luck!

[CT_Shooter]

Today, November 20th is Henry rifle day! First hunting with the new-to-me Henry.
I'm about to depart for the cabin and meet up with my son for the afternoon hunt.
Even after the mayhem we created on opening day, after several days of quiet on the camera system, yesterday deer pictures began arriving again.
Deer are up and moving around during daylight hours.
Even a decent buck, but not bucky bighorn.
Wish me luck!

[HenryFan]

Wish me luck!

Be safe and be successful.

[cee_Kamp]

New York State did some changes to the Big Game hunting regulations several years ago.
Now here, like many other States, it's legal hunting hours for the half hour before sunrise, and the half hour after sunset.
Wearing fluorescent orange, and/or fluorescent orange camo became mandatory, where before it was optional.
I personally would prefer having the choice, rather than being told. But that's just me.

I've learned this lesson before, but I needed a refresher.
Yesterday evening, the iron sights on the Henry Big Boy brass .44 rifle disappeared in that gloomy twilight after sunset and before legal close 30 minutes later.
Most of my hunting property is forested, and once the sun sets, it is getting dark fast!
So while I enjoyed taking my new-to-me Henry rifle out for the first time since acquiring it, it is much more suitable for usage during the middle of the day.
The lesson relearned was, for that additional hour of hunting time the State recently "gave" us, that big 50mm objective lens on the Leupold scopes actually works much better in dim lighting vs iron sights.
I don't regret acquiring the Henry rifle, I just needed a refresher when the appropriate times are for using it.

At 44 F yesterday before the sun set, it was warm enough to sit in a stand or blind for the entire afternoon without getting cold.
The deer had the same thought process, it was warm enough to lay in a patch of brush and take a nap.

[Sir Henry]

I heard the first shot 12 minutes before sunrise this morning.

[FormerParatrooper]

2nd day in blind. No shots heard yesterday and today heard one just a little after 7am. It was a nasty fog this morning so if he shot one it had to be point blank.

I haven't seen anything doe or buck. A few squirrels, a blue heron and a lot of geese. About 2 hours left before dark, so staying put.

[HenryFan]

I hunted this evening and saw a decent sized doe and her fawn. Didn't even raise the rifle.

My hunting buddy said all he saw was a wasp.