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Myself and my 2 brothers Bob & George had
scouted an area in the southern tier in NY it was in Stueban county . There was about 1000 acres of state land there give
or take. We knew it was an awesome area to hunt as well. The deer were VERY plentiful there. It was The 3rd week of November.
The shotgun season was upon us we had previously scouted out various spots in this state forest area weeks pryor to the
gun opener. The night before the opener we had gotten pounded by snow in access of a foot & 1/2 Were we had decided
to park my Brothers camper wasn't the best place in the state forest to be parked when the storm hit . We ended up snowed
in for about 3 day's though we had been equipped to stay about 4 day's Thank GOD because we were not going anywhere soon for
at least a few day's We figured as the town did not plow the roads in this state forest, and we were in one of the far reaching
ends of the forest where the road came to a dead end. Anyhow on Opening Morning we still managed to get out hunting as the
tempatures were bearable at the time . However getting through the snow was difficult to say the least .Within an hour of
entering the woods , around 7:00 am we started hearing quite a bit of shooting below the ridge we were huntin. We were at
the very top of a ridge that the main highway was on below. As the shooting became closer I was watching two adjoining ridges
that were across from my location. I was situated between three ridges & had a very good view of all of them , Around
7:30 I seen about 20 Doe's comming down from the other side of my location it was obvious it was very difficult for them
to travel as well , I Heard shots ring out again a couple minutes later My brother George called me on our two way radio's
& told me he had bagged a nice button buck!!, again more shots rang out from several spots all around the adjoining ridges
and from below near the main highway that had a parking area for the state forest campers / hunters below, I really hadn't
expected to hear all this shooting from this area due to to deep snow that hit the night pryor to the opener , However that
thought proved to be wrong . In fact it was unreal !!! all the shooting I heard through out the morning hunt, I had started
to spot & stalk as to warm up somewhat , Not 5 minutes into my stalk I heard more shots ring out not more
than 50 yards away from my location. Within a couple minutes I saw another huge herd of deer comming up from the lower ridge
, So I quickly positioned myself according to the direction they were comming up at , Again !!! shots rang out from below
across the street & on another series of ridges that were state forest property as well, I looked to my left & saw
that a whole different herd of deer were heading right towards my location . The first group of deer got to within 50 yards
of me heading back up & over the ridge I took aim at a nice Doe there were approx 20 - 25 deer all together in that group.
I fired & down went the doe I aimed at almost right in her tracks, All this time it was like a shooting range, with
everyone target practicing all around the whole area , Then the second herd of deer, comming from the otherside of the
ridge I was on, there appeared to be several nice bucks in this group I radioed my brother Bob to let him know
they looked to be heading right across his location . As the 25 or 35 deer approached me down about 75 yards away ,
Bam yet another series of 4 shots rang out sending these deer on a direct route right at me!!! as they came within 35 yards
& gaining I raised my winchester model 200, Took aim & fired at a nice Buck he ran about ten yards and fell. I was
ecstatic My adreanilan was off the planet !!! If I had been cold at all pryor to that moment I sure didn't have that problem
any longer!!! I went over to the buck first. Then radioed my Brother Bob to let him know I had 2 deer down & the doe I
had shot wasn't far from his location . He said he had seen the herds comming down the ridge , However he just wasn't
able to get a clear shot at any of them saftely so decided to wait & see if they would come back down towards him , as
there was alot of shooting non- stop all around the area below us & from the other two ridges
across from were we had been camped out. I was amazed at all the deer I had seen & it wan't 3- hrs into the opener
yet. I dragged the buck a real decent 9- pointer back to where we were camped out, I field dressed him there & went back
to get the doe after warming up a few minutes. The doe was a nice sized animal as well , after returning to camp I met up
with my two brothers . It was about 11:00 am by the time I went & dragged both my deer back to camp. George
had already gotten back he shot his button buck at about 70 yards away from our campsite setup. We were All pretty stunned
by all the deer we had seen so far. We had no idea it was going to be like that. We knew the area held quite a few deer ,
But never imagined it would be this populated with deer!!! Nor did we expect even close to the amount of shooting we heard
from other hunters which I might add were out in droves!!! considering all the snow we were pounded with the night before
the opener. Well that night after an awseome opening day . We sat down back at the camper. I had cut us some fresh venison
steak & shared my tenderloins & Brother George added his as well, we had a great feast of a very memorable opening
day . That area was just infested with deer. I personally had never seen herds as large as we did there in stueban County. And
these sightings went on for the next 4 day's . The weather broke some with tempatures rising into the low to mid 30's which
felt alot better than it did on the first couple day's. I had been told by some fellow hunting buddies that
stueban County had lots of deer, But we had come to find out first hand, That this area if your looking to bag a
nice buck was one of the best counties in all western NY to do so. The Buck Doe ratio is awseome here in this co. and there
are alot of Bucks & deer overall. I think it is one of if not THE BEST hunting Location we've ever hunted!!! Located
in a fairly good hilly region with vast woods & farms / cornfields etc. State forest lands open to hunting /
camping etc. And Not far from the pennsilvania border. We Have since through the years taken several nice deer from this beautifully
landscaped area, However this county is not alone any longer, as there are several area's in this region that hold a very
abundant whitetail deer population through great Hunter / Conservation efforts & deer management programs . In Ny our
Deer herd is just over a million animals along with good forage to sustain & Manage a herd of this size. So If you
want Deer NY may be someplace you may want to investigate in your never ending quest for the Whitetail Deer. And if your looking
for trophy Bucks the Northern region as well as Western & Southern ends of NY which border PA. offers hunting
to meet all your Whitetail needs be it Trophy Bucks , a very Plentiful doe population & just a very healthy
Herd of deer overall in access of a million animals.
Well I hope you enjoyed this story, as
I did writing and re-living it again along the way. And feel free to come again anytime as I will be updating often with hunts,
and various tips, & tricks Iv'e learned along the way as well as pass them along to all of you hunters Veterans &
young up comming hunters alike .
So
Until Next Time May You Have A Great Safe Hunt
And Enjoy The Great Outdoors & all It Has To Offer!!!
Wally  
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