1999
1999 will be a different year in the woods, at least starting out. A family medical emergency has taken precedence over time in the woods. As of this writing all seems well, but with 2 small boys and my wife and I with very busy work schedules, I have been unable to scout in other than my usual spots. There have been plenty of deer in my immediate area. Several doe and fawns were spotted over the summer and early fall. I have also seen 6 different bucks (one a dandy 8 point), scattered about the area. If the time is found, it should be a great season

September 27 - Central Square, NY- Opening Day - Northern Tier Bow Season
Weather: Temp. 55 °
Wind: calm to 3-6 northwest mph
Clear to partly cloudy.

Beautiful morning. I headed towards a spot right down the street from my house on the railroad tracks. Upon arrival I noted that there were two pick up trucks parked along side the tracks. This is never a good thing. ALL of the property in the area is heavily posted and hunted. This would mean that before days end there would be confrontation. I did see one deer in the later morning. I only saw the rear of it going into some brush. At about 10:00 AM I decided I would move on. As I was headed out I saw 2 guys sneaking off one of my friends posted property. I am the only non family member allowed so I asked them to please refrain from trespassing in the area. They basically told me they would see me again. If you have read previous years journals you would remember stolen tree stands and almost violent confrontation so I was discouraged. In the evening I went into my friends trusty stand behind his mother in law's. I saw 9 deer (all doe) feeding for the last 90 minutes of day light. None were closer than 100 yards away. Was real nice to see them though

October 15 - Central Square, NY- Opening Day Southern Tier Bow Season
Weather: Temp. 36 °
Wind: Northwest 8-12 mph
As expected, the medical problems took precedence. This is my second day in the woods. I decided to set up along an apple orchard that overlooks a large brushy swamp. I hoped to catch them on their way to their beds. Sure enough at 8:05 AM I had two doe sneaking with 15 yards of me. I usually sit on the ground , which makes it even more difficult. I drew my bow and considered taking the doe but decided that I wanted to take a buck this year up north. In the evening I decided to sit on the edge of the field near my favorite tree tower over that way. I wanted to see how many deer came out into the field. I did see 3 deer in the field, one a nice buck. It was too dark to really get a good look at him but he definitely had a "hat" on.

October 23 - Montaque, NY- Opening Day Northern Tier Rifle Season
Weather: Temp. 31 °
Wind: Northwest 15-25 mph
Very windy, snow , sleet and rain
Was able to get up to my camp. A good buddy of ours lost his daughter that weekend and was unable to come to camp. It is the first time since I have been hunting that Bill was not there on opening day. Our prayers are with him and his family.
On the tug hill plateau sitting on watch can be a humbling experience. Established deer trails are difficult to find and the food is everywhere. I started the day out still hunting near our property line with the public property line. For the first time ever I had someone come waltzing down the line at first light spooking a little buck right by me. Because northern tier is buck only I had to wait until I identified horns. When I did he turned and ran straight away offering only a shot at his rump (which is unethical). On evening watch I did see a doe and 2 fawns feeding at dark in the woods near a swamp. I also heard a few deer blowing at my brother in law so it was very encouraging this year. Previous years the deer were very difficult to find.

October 30,31 - Central Square , NY-Northern Tier Rifle Season
Weather: Temp. 45 °
Wind: West 5-8 mph
clear , light winds
I went up the street from my house and sat in my friends stand in the morning only seeing doe. As of today 2 bucks have been taken in the area. A nice 6 point and a small 6 point. In the evening I sat under some scrub apple trees overlooking a field near a swamp. This is the area where my stands have been stolen, people trespassing, etc. I saw 4 doe in a field at sunset and watched them for a while. Then , very near to me I hear a shot. It scares me silly, and the doe bust off. I then see a kid, who is in full camo 50 yards from me!!! He never even knew I was there and he was POACHING!!! This is the second doe in the area shot. Once again, I am disappointed in the behavior of my fellow hunters.

Novemeber 6 -7 Rushville, NY- Southern Tier Bow Season
Weather: Temp. 42 °
Wind: Southwest 7-12 mph
partly cloudy
Finally down where the deer are!!! On our way to camp I saw a nice 8 point cross the road towards our property at 2:00 PM!!! I went down to the bottom of the hill where I sat last year. The first thing I notice is the POSTED sign on the tree where my stand sits. It appears that a neighbor has spoken to the woman who owns the land and decided we can no longer hunt there. This will cause problems because there is no clear line AND we have at least 3 stands in the area this guy has posted. I tell you this because I am sure it will be relevant as time goes on. I saw 3 deer at dark (very dark) none offering a shot before dark. The next morning on my way to my stand we saw a buck chasing a doe in the dark (could hear grunting). As I crossed a hedge row I saw a deer eating apples under a tree. I snuck to within 25 yards and took a shot. The deer bolted and stopped on the edge of the woods. I then saw he was a large 8 point!!!! Then he started blowing at me!!! I hear way too many times that "BUCKS DO NOT BLOW" Well, I'm telling you they do. My little buddy sitting in a stand nearby saw the buck and heard him too. I saw no more deer that weekend.

November 12,13,14, Rushville, NY- Southern Tier Bow Season
Weather: Temp. 22 °
Wind: West 10-18 mph
partly cloudy, gusty winds
The deer are in full rut!!! They move at all hours of the day. Our plans were to hunt morning and evening watches and work on stands and the camp during day. On the first morning I did not see anything . In the evening I sat on the edge of some very thick pines and watched a doe feed for some time. Because it was windy she was very edgy. Then she bolted towards me and then into the pines (over 200 yards away). Then she ran out and I saw a buck chasing her. She then again, ran right towards me. She cut into the woods, picking up a pile of other deer with her and they all ran right by me (with 50 yards), the buck right on them.
The next morning I decided to see what was happening on some new land that the camp owner bought. At first light, I heard some grunts and then heard some rattling. I look out and for the first time ever I saw 2 bucks fighting!! What a sight, 2 big bucks , an 8 and a big 10 fighting within 100 yards. The big guy won and that's when I grunted. He took off right to me, ears back and tail tucked. I wish I had a camera!!! He was coming right at me and then he turned about 50 yards away. HE WAS OFFERING A SHOT!!! I drew my bow and determined he was 25-30 yards out. I shot right under him!!!! OHHHH!!!! I'm dying.
That night, after tearing up most of our property with the tractor and putting in 3 stands I decided to hunt the edge near where I saw those bucks in the AM. Good decision!!! My friend and I built a whole pile of stands and someone else put them in. He does not bow hunt and that cost me. The stand I was in was in a good spot but there were tons of branches in the way of a good bow shot but I got out there so late I could not move. 10 minutes before sunset all hell broke loose. 2 does came out about 75 yards away. 3 minutes later a small buck chased one away. Then behind me I see a doe and fawn and I then hear grunting. From the hedge row behind me came a little 6 point right down my hedge row, the doe cut across about 30 yards away. I hoped the buck would cross there and he did. As I drew my arrow I was very conscious of all the branches in front of me. What happened was my bow limb clipped a tree limb as I shot. It cause my arrow to go well over his back. DAMN IT!!! 2 SHOTS IN A DAY AND I MISSED!!!! The deer only ran about 20 yards away and the doe was not interested at all in this buck so he stopped and BLEW AT HER!!! None of the other deer that had come out spooked and there was no way that he winded me. It was odd but it was the rut. At that point another large buck showed up and started chasing another doe. No shots were available because of the stand. I saw a button buck chasing a hot doe and watched 2 deer mate for the first time!! What a night. I waited until I was frozen cold and climbed down to find my arrow. After an hour I did an headed in. At the top of the field I heard deer run off in the woods so I stopped (my opening day stand is very close and I did not want to spook the deer) and then heard grunting. The deer were running all over in there and I spooked NONE!!! The deer were getting close so I ducked down holding on to my small flashlight. Then the doe busted out and ran right (within a foot!!) by me and stopped. I flashed the light on her and she kept looking back as I heard the other deer grunting (there was more than one buck in there!!). Then I thought about the doe urine on me and this guy was in the mood so as he busted out I stood up and flashed my light on the biggest 8 point I have ever seen!!! He was within 10 feet of me!!!! in the dark and all I have is a bow!!! I swore very loudly at him and all he did was run off and head into the field with the doe.
Obviously, I am looking forward to GUN SEASON!!!!!!

I really had a difficult time keeping this log up to date. Accordingly, I have decided to "highlight" the rest of the hunting season. In all honesty time just got away from me. I hope that the 2000 journal will not be like this.

November 15, Rushville, NY- Southern Tier - OPENING DAY Shotgun Season
Weather: Temp. 43 °
Wind: SouthWest 10-18 mph
partly cloudy.
The day started out to be a bit cool. This is the first time I have ever hunted the gun opener. It was supposed to be a warm day so I packed a pack that would allow me to not have to go back to camp at all. We started out for our stands at about 5:00 AM, 2 hours before sunrise. The reason that my buddy and I do this is because opening day finds tons of hunters out in the woods. Those hunters, all tired and meepy from a late night of partying act as perfect drivers!!! My stand is in a patch of heavy woods that has a slight gully in it that acts as a natural funnel. The woods also thin out quite a bit so you can see a long way. My buddy was about 120 yards north of me set up in the thick stuff. At about 6:35 I heard my first shots on the hill. That is way too early but at least it was not in our area. About 10 minutes later I could see other hunters with flashlights walking to their stands about 300 yards away. I heard noises and there was a herd coming MY WAY!! They ran to the woods and started feeding and sneaking about. Within a couple minutes they were getting close and I could clearly see 9 deer. My stand is only 9 feet off the ground and there were doe feeding right under it as I stood looking for a good shot. As I sighted in on a large doe I heard it, a series of grunts. I then saw a buck scraping and rubbing trees. HE was about 45 yards behind me. I then saw bone on his head and I picked out a clear spot and shot....RIGHT INTO A TREE!!! I reload and shoot two more times, missing the first, finding a clearing and waiting til he got to it and shooting . It looks like I hit him, and he is gone. Being it is barely legal shooting light AND I am on another hunters property line I must do the right thing and wait until later. I hear lots of shooting. I am pretty bored (yet excited!!), counting over 250 audible gun shots. There seems to be lots of shooting on the farm too!!! At about 8:30 I decide to go look for blood. Believe it or not, when fully illuminated the spot I shot at is not easy to find. I climb down, go over and find the scrape, and begin doing circles looking for blood. As soon as my eyes fall on blood, BOOM,BOOM,BOOM,BOOM,BOOM, I am scared cause those are close to me!!! I run back to stand. At this point it is starting to get warm. So I sit some more. Finally I start to get up and I see a kid come over towards their property line so I climb down. I ask him how he's done today and he states that he has seen nothing but this blood that stops right here. I laughed and told him that was were it started. He claims he never saw the deer and I start tracking and he leaves. About 70 yards down the blood trail I see a guy sitting BELOW a tree stand. I wave to him, nothing. I figure he's just not friendly. I take about 5 steps and there he is.....a NICE 8 point, largest one I have ever taken down there.....CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES>. It really warmed up that day going into the low 70's, unheard of in the middle of November. My brother in law and I also get a button buck on our way looking for a wounded deer that afternoon. The next day I passed on a couple small bucks and doe that milled around the stand. Having taken "the pressure off" the day before I just wanted to spend time in the woods

November 19-22, Rushville, NY- Southern Tier - Shotgun Season
Weather: Temp. 28 °
Wind: West 7-10 mph
partly cloudy
I spend a few days down in Rushville putting drives on with some new found "friends". They took me to a bunch of new places to hunt and they put on "drives" the way I like to, nice and slow. Just about everybody got to do some shooting and a couple of doe were taken by guys in the party. I really look forward to hunting with them on the last weekend of the season

November 25-28, Montaque, NY- Northern Tier -gun Season
Weather: Temp. 20-35 °
Wind: West 12-20 mph
Cloudy, rain, raw, occasional snow showers
What a miserable weekend!!! Took my nephew to camp with some old buddies. Rain/sleet, snow, hail...everything!!! Johnny actually came out with me and saw a few doe. I did get a look at a second buck for the year up at camp. Not an opportunity to get a clean shot so one was not taken.

December 3-7, Rushville , NY- Southern Tier -gun Season
Weather: Temp. 28-38 °
Wind: Northwest 10-40 mph
Cloudy, WINDY!!!, raw, occasional snow showers
Again, a miserable weekend weather wise. Being up in the hills it was EXTREMELY windy and cold. I sat on the edge of a gully as the guys put on some drives. I was dressed to the hilt and I was still cold. Another guy from our camp, shamed into the woods by our friends was clearly underdressed and froze on that hill!!! We sat about 50 yards apart overlooking some very thick woods. At one point in the drive about 12-14 deer were coming through but never "broke" towards me. At one point through the binoculars I saw a deer sneaking and the person on my right was shooting but I could not tell if they were shooting at the deer I could barely make out. The deer never really moved far. I took out the binoculars and was able to get a good look at it. It was a nice little buck, I guessed a 6 point. He was about 120 yards away and I have made those shots before. I looked for a clearing and had plenty of time to look him over through the scope. He went into the small clearing after about 6-7 minutes so I , sitting on the edge of the ravine with my legs as a rest, had a nice shot. I said "What the hell" and took the shot, down he went!!! I could not believe it but I was VERY HAPPY!!! That afternoon I got a doe on a drive we were doing. On Monday, Ward (our "guide" as I called him) finally got a big 9 point buck we were all chasing. I could not have been happier to see the season end on such a note. Ward was always working on the drives, even field dressed my partially gut shot deer, without hesitation. I would like to thank Ward and the Hoffman's for allowing me to hunt with them. It is always the time of my life. I look forward to hunting with them every year and introducing my children to the wonders!!!!



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