Apthorpes Fishing & Hunting Adventures: The season rolls along...

Hunting Crew in Mayville NY

The first week of gun season has concluded and we certainly have enjoyed a lot of adventure. The first week has been marked by very cold and clear mornings, 25 degrees and warm, bright sunny days 60 degrees. Hannah, Jake and I went out to Hedges the first morning. Jake sat on a ridge below the "foundation" with Hannah and I sitting side by side on the ridge I have sat at for several years. I brought a sleeping bag for Hannah and I as it was very cold. We saw 63 deer, with several doe running up 10 yards from us, but as they were in the direction of Jake we did not shoot. We did see a nice 10pt 150 yards away which I missed with my muzzle loader.

The next morning Jessica and I did the exact same thing, sleeping bag, hot Cocoa and all. I am very impressed with both girls' ability to spot the deer through the dense brush. We also saw a lot of does but Jessica wanted to hold out for a buck. On one drive that morning a large doe ran up to us and Jessica was tempted, but forgot to look through the scope. We had a good laugh over that. I told her every hunter has had crazy things go wrong at different times in their hunting career.

A highlight of the week was our overnight trip to Mayville for Thanksgiving. Hannah, Jake, Tracy and I stayed with Uncle Clint and Mathew at Uncle Cam's house (my grandparents old house) We had a great hunting breakfast and headed out to Cam's camp on the Somerdale Road. This camp has a beautiful log cabin and overlooks a stream adjacent to the Chautauqua Gorge. Cam had picked up some nice pictures of a bear on a trail cam there so there was a lot of anticipation throughout the morning hunt. Jake saw a 6 point and Hannah/I had a coyote run up to us and then quickly disappeared after he saw us. After the morning hunt we were treated to hot chili and coffee from Uncle Cam in the Cabin. Later in the morning Mathew and I sat on a ridge over looking the stream while the others went on a deer drive for us. While they were in the woods we were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Jason and his beautiful family, including baby Dean. I had so much fun holding this 3 month old while the others were pushing the brush. I had a good laugh :-).