NJ Winter Bow

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#6381

This saturday January 10th, the usual suspects from NJ, NY and PA are getting together to hunt in Sussex Co along the Delaware Water Gap. We do a bunch of drives from sunrise to sunset. It’s always a lot of fun. A lot!! If you’re in that area and feel like joining us, be at 6 AM at the Jumboland diner on rte 206 in Branchville, NJ. Here are pictures from past years:

[Doc Nock]

#50692

Looks like a motley enough crew to be fun…albeit, not for a 12 hr drive! LOL 😀

Play safe and have a grand time!

NJ still has deer? 😯

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#50697

Doc Nock wrote: Looks like a motley enough crew to be fun…albeit, not for a 12 hr drive! LOL 😀

Play safe and have a grand time!

NJ still has deer? 😯

Thanks, Doc! and yes, Jersey’s season ends Jan 31st and Feb 15th in areas a little closer to NYC!

[David Coulter]

#50698

Alex. Looks like a good time. Saturday is the last day of the season here in Pa. Do you go to the Appalachian Bowmen trad shoot in April? Have a good time! D

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#50707

dwcphoto wrote: Alex. Looks like a good time. Saturday is the last day of the season here in Pa. Do you go to the Appalachian Bowmen trad shoot in April? Have a good time! D

David,

I always go to Whittingham, if I’m not on the road on that particular weekend. Actually, the same folks on these pics make it. Maybe I’ll see you there! Enjoy your last day Saturday!

[David Petersen]

#50719

Alex — A bunch of trad bowhunters getting together in the woods is always fun. But isn’t it tough to get a high-odds ethical shot on driven running deer? And doesn’t their adrenaline being pumped-up affect the flavor of the meat? “I haven’t said enough; I’ve already said too much.”

Don’t have to worry about that here, as it’s illegal.

[Ralph]

#50721

Just goes to show that people do different things in different places and maybe think a little different than others.

Have fun guys.

[Doc Nock]

#50730

DP,

Just goes to show, as R2 said, different strokes for different folks…

Sounds like you’ve been reading old stories about drives in the East.

I was fortunate (?) to experience the last of the “old” fashioned deer drives in my late teens right out of high school… long lines of hunters and standers, beating tin pans, cow horns blown… people making noise banging on trees as they went…

Does and yearlings came by standers like hell on wheels… the bucks?

They lay down and let the drivers walk right on by… because of the noise they made, they KNEW exactly where they were and just stayed between them in thick country… 🙂

That finally dawned on the people and usher in the silent drive…moving slowly, letting the wind carry your scent into the area ahead of you…

Even down South, in VA, with “dog hunts” (gives me willies remembering those) old guys would go in with the dog handler, find a perch somewhere and sit down…big ole bucks would circle around and come back between the dogs, like the “drivers”… and the guy who went in with the dog handler who released the hounds, got shots!

Don’t paint all “drives” with the same brush. Deer adapt, but so do some hunters. I don’t know these jaybirds from Adam, but if they’re smart, they just “ease” thru the woods and the deer don’t go screaming off pell mell! They “ooze” out ahead… and can be shot at very ethically.

Hard work for the drivers and a beast in the cold for the standers to NOT move a bit…lest they get picked off…

Ethics, I heard tell, is what you do when NOBODY is there to see your behavior…Makes it a rather personal thing, dontchathink? :D:!:

[David Coulter]

#50735

Alex, Whittingham is a great shoot. It was my first and it’s where I met Leon Stewart, who made my longbow. Hope to see you there. best, dwc

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#50738

Dave

We don’t come marching in with pots and pans banging! 😀

The pushers walk very slowly downwind towards bedding area, just slow enough to make deer walk or trot away. And the guys waiting are pretty good at staying hidden. It’s also a good way for us to scout for a solo hunt later during the season. I personally wouldn’t shoot and never have shot at a running deer, or rabbit for that matter.

[David Coulter]

#50752

Alex, thanks for that last post. I figured you had it worked out for an ethical hunt. Glad to read it. Thanks, dwc

[Doc Nock]

#50755

Wenzel boys were taught to shoot running deer by shooting “at a tire rolling down a hill”.

I never had that experience, so they can walk by and I’ve taken them… but surely not running!

It was quite the circus to be a part of that long ago “tradition” of “driving deer” (nuts? Deaf?) back “in t he day”. I’m glad I got to see it at least a few times… but even with a rifle, I just shook my head!

Better to have had a shotgun when they barrled past than a rifle…surely not a bow shot!

I used to enjoy Whittingham IMMENSELY…it was a long drive for me living in Lancaster Co, PA, but a great shoot. Was away for a few years and last time there, the cadre of trad members of the club had “retired” and the course was quite different with many 30-31-33 yard shots nestled in rocks!

Prices took a big jump.

Funny when you loved something, used it to judge the quality of all other courses elsewhere, how you can notice the DIFFERENCES when the old order gives way to the wheelie boys and girls…

I wish them well. Both campgrounds were JAMMED, unlike the years prior…Good for them!!! Obviously a lot of satisfied customers.

My last attendance was some 4 springs come this year. Times change. Things change. But one can still vote with their feet!

[David Coulter]

#50762

Hey Doc,

The trad only is in April and that cuts out a lot of the crowd. I thought the price went up a lot, too, but I’m sure the expenses did as well. It’s a one dayer for me. I pass on the long shots, especially the ones in the rocks. Gear is too dear to bust up a bunch of arrows. Wimpy? I suppose. There’s plenty of spots to have a blast without the expense of losing arrows to rock walls. Overall a great shoot. I’m going to try to get there this year.

best, dwc

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#50771

Maybe this hunt is just an excuse to eat some damn good, home made salami and Mozzarella!! 😀

[Ralph]

#50785

Page 85 in the Oct/Nov 2014 of the TBM mag has information on how to build a device for running target practice.

So maybe the ethical part of taking running shots is knowing the difference of whether you can do it or not and not doing so if you can’t.

[John Dilts]

#50789

Have fun Alex can,t wait to here how it went

[Doc Nock]

#50795

dwcphoto wrote: Hey Doc,

The trad only is in April and that cuts out a lot of the crowd.

Yup…that is the only one I’d drive 3.5 hrs to attend…trad one.

And I do so applaud your positive attitude. Perhaps if it were then closer to me like you, I’d be more benevolent.

I attended that shoot religiously for YEARS… sometimes we’d battle Freezing temps that early…

Alas, once you’ve tasted “the way it was” (and I meant that I judge ALL other shoots I attended for years by the course layout at Whit), you’d know what I mean.

I’m NOT driving THAT far to a TRAD ONLY shoot and paying THAT MUCH $$ to shoot only to have compound course distances set by folks that I talked to who were NOT trad shooters. Clubs MUST take what help they can get and the guys who made it GREAT all the years I went, before, got older then even I and left it to younger hands…

Alas, I DO NOT attend TRAD shoots with unrealistic distances that I have to “sneak up on” or pass. I can do that at skads of local “open” shoots for a lot less $ and gas and travel time, eh?!

Alack, this thread isn’t about Whit..it’s about these great NJ boys (and girls?) who brave the frigid weather and go hunt deer with their bows! More power to them.

[John Dilts]

#50818

Doc the shoots i remember going to in my teens had markers at 3 distances the back 2 where for compound shooters and the closer 2 where for trad shooters and youth under 14 shooting anything. You shot the furthest marker for your class in the morning and the closer one in the afternoon. I hope i expanded that so it makes sense. Any way i really enjoyed those shoots. You could go shooting anything and still enjoy it.

[wojo14]

#50823

Yes, Have fun!

[Doc Nock]

#50842

Yes, back on track…enjoy the camaraderie, cheese and meats, fun, laughs and be safe in the cold weather!

A coleman stove to heat up a couple cans of soup can really make a rough day more fun!

Enjoy the outing and report back!:D

[David Coulter]

#53962

Hey Alex. Don’t forget your woolies tomorrow! Should be a balmy ten degrees when you head out. Good luck. Dwc

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#56074

It was actually 8 degrees in the morning and warmed up to 14 during the afternoon. We saw tons of tracks in the light dusting of snow, but didn’t see one tail all day! It was really nice to get together, though! 8 of us: Jerry Jeffer, Tom Puzio AKA Bentpole, Mike Robin AKA Bamboo and his 12 year old son, Southpawshooter, Bucky, a gentleman by the name of David, retired teacher, and me. 2 very slow pushes in the morning, Venison chili lunch at the Y of Newark Summer camp courtesy of Bamboo, and 2 more slow pushes in the afternoon! Baby, it was cold outside, especially for the guys standing and waiting well hidden. Sussex county is so beautiful along the Delaware river! Can’t wait to do it again!

[David Coulter]

#56094

Alex, Sounds like a blast. Too bad you didn’t see any deer to get the blood pumping, but the friendships make it all good. peace, dwc

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#56810

Here are some pictures:

[David Coulter]

#56816

Love those woods. It was chilly for these parts. Alex, is that one of G. Fred’s coats? You like? dwc

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#56839

dwcphoto wrote: Love those woods. It was chilly for these parts. Alex, is that one of G. Fred’s coats? You like? dwc

I love the pattern! I practically disappear in the woods. But I only wear it for that purpose, as it is such thin wool that I can see through it. It’s more rated for 50 degrees early Fall windless weather IMO. Sunday I was wearing 2 merinos, a soft shell and a down jacket under that wool! I looked like the Pillsbury doughboy!! 😀

[David Coulter]

#56879

I wondered about the thickness of those. I might get one for fall hunting, though. I was wearing about 5 sheep on Saturday. Still able to draw and shoot practice arrows, but one more layer and I might have been incapacitated. dwc

[Ralph]

#56904

Dave, I believe they offer several thickness of wool for more extreme temps.

Alex, that’s a cool place, pun intended. 😀

Glad you enjoyed.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#57043

alexbugnon wrote: Maybe this hunt is just an excuse to eat some damn good, home made salami and Mozzarella!! 😀

Since when do you need an excuse for that?!? In fact, I’m going to run to the store and get some right now!! 😆

And mixing plaid and camo together, Alex?!?! Don’t you know you’re breaking article #127, Section 6, of the Trad Code?

alexbugnon wrote:

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#57074

Smithhammer wrote:

And mixing plaid and camo together, Alex?!?! Don’t you know you’re breaking article #127, Section 6, of the Trad Code?

:D:D:D Bruce!! Here’s the whole outfit! Could I be placed under arrest?

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#57083

You are definitely not as “trad” as you could be.

AND binoculars?!? That’s cheating!!!

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#57110

Smithhammer wrote: You are definitely not as “trad” as you could be.

AND binoculars?!? That’s cheating!!!

Binos are for bird watching! 😀

[Ralph]

#57124

alexbugnon wrote: [quote=Smithhammer]You are definitely not as “trad” as you could be.

AND binoculars?!? That’s cheating!!!

Binos are for bird watching! 😀

In case a rare NJ Bikini Snowbird come slicking through the trees right? 😀 Worthy of a good pair of binos I hear tell.

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