Tag Archives: Greg Johnston

November 17, 2011

Note to Self: Next Time Remember the Arrows

By Greg Johnston

AHT Contributor, Greg Johnston Reports From the Stand:

It wasn’t one of my finer hunting moments. My father and I had made our half-hour morning commute to our hunting property in Livingston County, NY. All was well and good as I prepared myself for the morning hunt. Dad stopped the truck as the plan was for him to drop me off near my stand location – I would walk from there. I reached into the back of the truck for my hunting paraphernalia. Safety vest check, H.S. earth scent spray check, Bowtech check, Catquiver…Ah…

My Catquiver.

Yup, that’s right I had left my Catquiver at home. Without it I was dead in the water. I’d be like Dale Earnhardt Jr. showing up to the race track without a Sharpie in hand.

My backpack carries my arrows, grunt call, bleat can, gloves, knit hat and more. There was one solution to this problem and that was to drive back home and retrieve my catquiver, which I did. To complicate the problem, I arrived back home where I received a call from my Dad who said he forgot his release in the truck after I dropped him off. I eventually returned back to the woods, handed Dad his release and climbed the tree. All by 7:30 a.m.

It’s fair to say the morning didn’t go as planned, but with all of the garb we archery hunters carry now a days, I’m actually surprised it hasn’t happened before [but hopefully won’t again].

Rut Action

As I forecasted last week, rut action has really picked up. A quick search of the internet will show that hunters from the Midwest to the Northeast have been knocking down some bruisers. Unfortunately I haven’t been one of those lucky hunters. I’ve seen plenty of chasing and have passed up on plenty of smaller bucks, but I have yet to get a good look at a big boy. I aint giving up though.

Tomorrow, 11/18 marks the end of the early archery season here in N.Y. The orange pumpkins invade the woods on Saturday the 19th. I’m going to mark the end of the archery season by sitting in a tree with my bow in hand. I’m down to my final hours, but I’m going to finish strong.

Shooting a mature buck in the Northeast has proven to be a challenge. Not impossible, but a challenge. I know that. Hey, I’ve eaten my archery tag the past three years in this quest. At this point in my hunting career I’ve made the conscious decision though to shoot big deer or no deer – or at least just does.

Orange Pumpkins

As I said, Saturday marks the beginning of shotgun/rifle season here in WNY. I will reluctantly join the orange pumpkins. I enjoy gun hunting I just don’t enjoy listening to all of the weekend warriors whack every deer that runs out of the woods on the first deer drive of the season.

Opening day 2010 buck.

That’s not to say that opening day isn’t one of the best days to be in a stand though. I got lucky last year when ‘The Great Eight’ came strolling in in search of a hot doe. He seemed to have no idea it was firearm season, but then again we only allow stand hunting on all of our properties.

I hope to have some luck this week. I’ve put in my time, I just hope it pays off.

Here’s to a safe and enjoyable hunt, Greg Johnston

2 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Day Afield, General Tales, Gun Hunting, Uncategorized

November 8, 2011

Rut Action to Peak This Week

By Greg Johnston

AHT Contributor, Greg Johnston Reports From the Stand:

The calendar reads Nov. 8th, but it feels more like Oct. 8th here in Upstate NY. The mercury is forecasted to climb to near 70 degrees today and we all know that doesn’t make for great deer hunting weather.

I’m not hunting today, but I’ll be in a tree the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend. With cooler temperatures expected, activity should peak.

A group of does work past my stand on Saturday morning.

I expect rut activity to climax Nov. 10 through the 15th as bucks will be on their feet in search of that first estrus doe. In my opinion, that’ll be our best shot at getting a crack at a good buck with archery tackle in hand.

To recap my week, the closest encounter I had with a mature deer came last evening as I had a big buck run a doe to within 40 years of my stand. I’m a little fuzzy as to who this deer is, but never the less, he’s a big bodied buck and sports a good rack.

The deer had a considerable limp and appeared to be ailing from a pre-rut scuffle with another deer.
I blew my opportunity though when I hit him with a few tending grunts. I decided to grunt in an effort to bring him around a clump of brush. I needed him to clear the brush in order to get a clear shot. The wounded warrior obviously didn’t like the challenge as he turned and walked away. Lesson learned – I won’t try that again.

I have to admit that my archery tag is itching a hole right through my back pocket, but I’m doing my best to try and remain patient, but confident. It’s hard though man.

Let us know what you’re seeing by leaving a comment below.

Cat Tales:
I received some disappointing news this week when I learned that one of my Hit List bucks had been killed by a neighboring hunter. The 9-pointer had visited my trail camera last on October 24th, just a few days prior to him being harvested.

The final picture I captured of the Big 9. At just 3.5 years-old the deer was one of the better bucks I captured on camera.

That was a bummer, but I’ve still got some great deer to hunt and feel fortunate and blessed to have the opportunity to do something I love so much!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in Day Afield, General Tales, Uncategorized

October 24, 2011

Action on the Increase in WNY

By Greg Johnston

AHT Contributor, Greg Johnston Reports From the Stand:

The action is heating up here in Western New York.  I hunted Livingston and Ontario Counties this Saturday and Sunday where I encountered some decent action – including one of my Hit List deer.

Two does work past my stand.

Deer movement is on the increase and this week’s cold snap shouldn’t hurt things.  I hunted our Livingston County Farm on Saturday where I encountered over a dozen deer, including one decent buck that I wasn’t able to get a good look at.

Sunday was warmer and sunny, but I hopped in the stand anyway for an afternoon hunt.  I didn’t have high hopes, but movement was swift throughout the afternoon.  I was able to grunt in one of the bucks on my Hit List, but he locked up at 30 yards, behind a blow down.  With a bad angle and a tree in my way I had to watch him walk.

If it hadn’t been for that tree, I’m guessing this entry would have had a different headline and topic, but hey, that’s why we hunt.  It’s worth noting that I also encountered a 1.5 buck who was clearly in the seeking mode.

I’d say it’s just a matter of time before we start seeing those older more mature bucks on their feet and cruising during daylight hours.  So, if you’ve got the time, I’d suggest you plant your rear in the seat of a stand somewhere.  The clock is ticking…

Be sure to check back weekly as I continue to chronicle my season and monitor deer movement here in the Northeast.

Greg Johnston


				

				

				

					5 Comments					  |  tags: , , , 															| posted in 2011, Day Afield, General Tales														

				

			

						

				

					
						September 24, 2011					
				

				
Pursuit of Memories (and a few ducks too!)

				

					By Author				

				

					
The lens through which a hunter looks at the outdoors changes quite a bit when he or she is a parent. The endless hours of daydreaming about your own success afield is replaced with thoughts of sharing the woods and waters with your kids. Heck, my daughter is probably a decade away from hunting and I’m already thinking about those days to come. 


Richard Faulkner has three sons. And his oldest, Nate, is joining Richard next week for his annual pilgrimage to North Dakota. At 12-years old, Nate has caught hold of the hunting bug pretty hard. And while that’s truly awesome, what makes it equally fun is to witness how excited his dad gets when he gets to share the outdoors with Nate. 


So AHuntersTales is going along with the father-son duo. In addition to enjoying the time hunting ducks, I’m going to document as much of Nate’s first out-of-state hunt as possible with video and still cameras. The outcome will be a series of blog entries documenting the memories for both Richard and Nate. It should be a lot of fun.


We’re planning to be in North Dakota for the opener next week. Posts should start shortly thereafter.


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Jillian and Blake Johnston showing off their AHT bumper sticker
 Check out the picture of AHT contributor Greg Johnston’s kids proudly displaying their AHT sticker on the back of their John Deere Gator! Thanks for the support Jilli and Blakester (now, go tell all your friends at school to check out the blog)!

				

				

				

					2 Comments					  |  tags: , , , 															| posted in 2011, General Tales