We enjoyed two wonderful camps this hunting season with 14 of 21 hunters able to partake. Of the hunters list, some thirteen deer were taken by our hunters. Most were not taken at Long Ridge per se ( just two bucks) with the rest taken from West Virginia to Anticosti Island! At Long Ridge itself we saw 26 deer, but most were does, during buck season only. I passed on two legal does, and never saw a buck all season, be it bow, muzzle or rifle. On game cameras here, this year showed fewer big bucks than most other years, though last years very severe winter may have taken the best. There is a tree scrape picture below that is on an 11 inch Spruce, and it is clear that this was a big racked buck. But no one ever saw him. However, as you can see in the pictures below, we had a great time with venison suppers, delicious wines and cheeses, and in general, catching up on a years worth of news.
Relaxing after supper and planning the next day's hunt.
Every bunk full this camp.
Kalie, ny Sheltie guards the guns, and the dinner table.
Frontal shot on camp.
No camp without a roaring fire!
Hunters arrive...
Camp in the evening
Galloping doe in the Far Field
Not a bad 7 pointer on some apples.
portrait of curiosity
I was hunting alone in a place I had never been, when I came across this strange scene. It is way out there, not near anything at all.
A close up. I left it as is...
This scrape is 125 yards from camp, and goes pretty much around the tree. May kill it even. I'd love to have seen this big boy.
I planted two plots of these brassicas, and they were untouched until after a severe frost. Then they got hammered and are being hammered still! The deer are going into this winter in the best shape, and with the most fat reserves I can ever recall. Let's hope they all made it!
Food plots and good natural forage mean fat healthy deer, and these are some...
Turkeys everywhere.
So, while this was a successful and very fulfilling season of hunting, it not a spectacular year for monster deer, here or across the state. Most seemed nocturnal from very early on, and clearly the bigger bucks were very scarce. But we had fun, learned more, as we always do, and resolve to continue the wonderful tradition of a great camp! Join us!
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