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2022 Deer Season

Congrats to all who have bagged a deer and good luck to everyone else.

I'm on the edge of a couple thousand continuous acres of woods connected to another 4K acres. Road turns to dirt just past my house and heads into the woods, thus it's a popular spot during deer season. LOL as of this morning some dipshit has dumped cranberries up and down the road near its end in the woods.
 
We've been half hearting it this year, as in we take a couple deer slugs with us when we go out for small game. I don't expect to see deer, since we're mainly after small game and not being very stealthy or quiet. Even still, I'm amazed at how poor the deer herd is here, I have seen very little deer sign anywhere. No rubs, scrapes, or poop, and very rarely do I even see a set of tracks, and those are usually of a small doe. Surprisingly, I've seen quite a few deer vs. cars - maybe I should hunt closer to the roads, lol.
 
I got a few good hunts in over the Thanksgiving break. I didn't see the big one I have been after but had an 8pt walk by my Friday at 7:30am and I couldn't pass up the 18 yard shot. He bolted 50 yards into a thick swamp and I heard him crash. While letting the heart rate settle another 8pt walked down almost the same trail 15 minutes after my shot. Neither one of them were big but I was happy to take the one I did.

Here is the bow mounted Tacticam video of the 8pt I shot and then the iPhone video of the one I let walk on by. It was a great morning in the woods. Also had a doe in range after the 2 8pts but she got a pass also.

8pt I shot:

View: https://youtu.be/s_-4hhUUEZg


8pt I let walk by

View: https://youtu.be/QtM2B4Fmem0
 

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bren42970 said:
Chartley store does I heard
Click to expand...
Went to Chartley. They do require the animal be skinned, head off etc before you bring it in. So I got a crash course from Youtube on skinning as well. The butcher was super helpful when I got there. Waiting on the meat still but so far positive experience with Chartley.
 
I sat on a very active looking rub/scrape line yesterday. Very fresh rubs and a few large scrapes, but the only thing I saw was the spine and a few ribs from recent kill laying on the ground near my stand.
I'm guessing the coyotes got lucky. I'm hoping it wasn't the buck that's been doing all the scraping.
I've been carrying a doe bleat can in my kit for thirty years but I've never used it. In fact I've never used any sort of call. I just sit quietly and wait.
Does anyone use calls, in particular, a doe bleat? Curious if they work.
 
I can say that I cannot once attribute deer in after blind calling with a bleat can. Maybe they did 30+ minutes later and I assumed they were unrealated but nerver one I habe sure of.

I have had a bleat can work to bring a doe backwalked past me out f range ONCE.

Buck grunts I have had a little more success with. Had an 8 point skirt behind me 3 years ago. When he was 60 yards aout and headed a away I grunted a couple of times. He didn;t even acknowledge me but a forky came changing in from the other direction and stopped. I shot him. 10 minutes later the 8pt came right back to where the forky stood and I shot him too..

2 other times I have had a shot, missed (over the last 6 years) and the buck trotted off and I was able to grunt him back, one for a kill and one not close enough for a clean shot.

I have pretty much stopped blind calling and only use if it I see a buck clearly headed away as a hail Mary.
 
The doe the old man bagged yesterday is at the butcher's now. First in two years: his season last year came to an abrupt halt due to a nasty case of anaplasmosis from a tick bite... so be careful.
 
I was out in Boxford state forest opening day with 4 other hunters. Saw tons of deer sign all over the place but never saw a deer. Probably only heard a total of 4 shots in seven hours in the area too. I did have a beautiful healthy looking coyote run right past me, got some crap from my buddy for not shooting it.

Btw, are tags transferable? I’d love to acquire a zone 12 antlerless tag if that’s legal and someone has one they don’t plan to use.
 
Atlantis said:
I was out in Boxford state forest opening day with 4 other hunters. Saw tons of deer sign all over the place but never saw a deer. Probably only heard a total of 4 shots in seven hours in the area too. I did have a beautiful healthy looking coyote run right past me, got some crap from my buddy for not shooting it.

Btw, are tags transferable? I’d love to acquire a zone 12 antlerless tag if that’s legal and someone has one they don’t plan to use.
Click to expand...
LOL Those deer are probably on unhuntable private land by now. They know the drill come shotgun season.

Zone 12 tags are unlimited are they not....just buy one.
 
Ive been out mornings and afternoons in Zone 5. Quietest year ever on opening day. Heard one shot about 500 yards away.

Tuesday, I didn not hear one, yes one shot in all day of hunting. Rediculous. I do agree that smart people are probably not hunting out here and going east.

Also the drivers really don't get started til the first Saturday, as they all gather together with their any zone doe permits.

From the cameras i see deer are moving around 3-4 am and not much else.

Ive got one spot with a Tactacam that looked like a promising trail, that hasn't had a fxcking picture in over 5 days.

God this state sucks in North Central!!
 
Atlantis said:
I was out in Boxford state forest opening day with 4 other hunters. Saw tons of deer sign all over the place but never saw a deer. Probably only heard a total of 4 shots in seven hours in the area too. I did have a beautiful healthy looking coyote run right past me, got some crap from my buddy for not shooting it.

Btw, are tags transferable? I’d love to acquire a zone 12 antlerless tag if that’s legal and someone has one they don’t plan to use.
Click to expand...

Deer tags are not transferable.
 
I played golf yesterday in Lunenburg. The 9th tee box backs up to some swampy woods where the trees have been thinned out by recent logging.
A very nice looking buck walked through and passed right under what looked like a tree stand with a cloth blind.
Evidently the stand is in the right spot, but unoccupied at the time. The buck stood right under the stand and watched as me and my buddy teed off.
Probably used to human activity around the course.
 
Wickedcoolname said:
I played golf yesterday in Lunenburg. The 9th tee box backs up to some swampy woods where the trees have been thinned out by recent logging.
A very nice looking buck walked through and passed right under what looked like a tree stand with a cloth blind.
Evidently the stand is in the right spot, but unoccupied at the time. The buck stood right under the stand and watched as me and my buddy teed off.
Probably used to human activity around the course.
Click to expand...
I was in traffic near the Lynnfield commons and looked into a tiny spot of woods to see one of the best bucks I’ve ever seen in mass beating the hell out of a small tree. Amazing how accustomed they are to human activity like you say.
 
Got this lady today with my old school T/C .56 cal, not my cleanest shot as she jumped when I just pulled the trigger. She went down then got backup as I am ramming another ball down the barrel, she took off fast. Me and a buddy tracked her for about 30 mins in the snow, finally she bleed out and of course ran away from the truck lol.
 

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Jason m said:
Got this lady today with my old school T/C .56 cal, not my cleanest shot as she jumped when I just pulled the trigger. She went down then got backup as I am ramming another ball down the barrel, she took off fast. Me and a buddy tracked her for about 30 mins in the snow, finally she bleed out and of course ran away from the truck lol.
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Nice......haven't seen a .56 smoothbore kill in a long while. Most of those went the way of dodo bird when we could switch to rifles...but those things were pretty accurate.

My first kill with my 56SB was a doe i shot right up the nostril and into the brains as she was looking at me at 60 yards. All I could see was her head and neck. I was aiming for base of the neck....but likely when the cap went off she turned and looked in my direction getting a full facial of lead ball. When the smoke cleared all I saw was brush quivering.
 
Sparkey said:
Does PA still have a season just for flintlocks? Always thought that would be cool to try
Click to expand...

I think they still do... There's a really good Meat-eater episode that's funny as shit about it. I think it's on Netflix

www.themeateater.com

Flash In The Pan | MeatEater Season 10

Steve and friends are plagued by troubles during Pennsylvania's flintlock muzzleloader deer season.
www.themeateater.com www.themeateater.com
 

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