Deer season is over and once again the North Country has yielded some fine whitetail bucks.
I've always been a strong advocate for big woods deer hunting, no matter the tactic, and I'm never surprised at the quality of the bucks that come from this region. This includes both the Adirondacks and the farm country around the foothills.
Deer hunting these days seems to be focused on things like food plots and other forms of land management, along with micro-managing deer populations at local levels. I have no problem with these programs but I can still tell you that an adventurous hunting experience, and the chance to take a trophy buck, exists right in our backyards on both public and private lands.
One local big buck contest that proves this point is Ward Lumber's annual event, held this year for the 19th deer season. Their contest is weight-based, as opposed to antler score, and they have a division for their employees as well as the public. Prizes are awarded for the heaviest buck and a random winner is also selected in each category.
Peru resident Scott Hanson's 196-pound, 14-pointer was the contest winner this year while Gail Rondeau of AuSable Forks won the random drawing with her 11-pointer that tipped the scales at 175 pounds. Mike Furnia, an employee at Ward Lumber's Jay location, won the employee category with his 180-pound, 9-pointer. Travis Thwaits won the random drawing for the employee category.
When talking about big bucks in the northeastern Adirondacks, two groups of hunters I know of come to mind. The Rack Pack tagged some real nice bucks again this year, some with 20-inch spreads or bigger. Meanwhile, the Salerno family of hunters also put some heavy bucks on the meat pole. Be sure to check out their website: www.salernobrothers.com.
There were some heavy deer this year, no doubt. It's been quite some time since we had a beechnut crop like we did in northern New York this year. There's been a few years when beechnuts were sporadic but we haven't seen such widespread availability since the mid-1990s. There were acorns too, but many of them were on the ground after Tropical Storm Irene passed through.
But the beechnuts held on and some didn't even hit the ground until the wet, heavy snow that finally came in late November. The result was a spread-out food source that may have made the deer hard to find sometimes. But when you did find them they were in good shape. Many of the bucks taken this year in the Adirondacks were heavier than they've been the past few years, likely because they fattened up on beechnuts.
Even some of the rut-worn bucks that were taken later in the season were hitting the scales a bit heavier than what hunters are used to seeing. That's also a good sign that the deer are entering the winter is pretty good shape. And, thus far winter conditions have been slow in coming. That, however, can change very quickly.
I never fired a shot this season but I had plenty of action. I missed a buck with my bow, passed on a few does with both my bow and muzzleloader, and nearly got a shot at a buck with the smokepole also.
When the rifle season rolled around I was surprised at the lack of buck sign I was finding in the warm November woods. But, I hunted hard during my two-week vacation and on weekends. In the end I passed up shots at two different spike bucks. I filmed one instead. I also passed up an opportunity to shoot a bear.
Still, this was a very rewarding deer season for me as I got to see some friends who haven't had some action in a few years get a taste of success. If you'd like to see some of the fine bucks taken in the Northern Zone this year, then take a look at my website: www.ADKHunter.com.
Until then, we'll see you in 2012.
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
Dan Ladd is the author of "Deer Hunting in the Adirondacks," outdoors editor for the Glens Falls Chronicle, columnist for Outdoors Magazine and contributor to New York Outdoor News. Contact him at www.adkhunter.com.
