Longbows Maine Adventure.

[Browseline]

Very nice buck your friend got! I was in my 30's before ever hunting in Maine. What a treat for your son to be there at 17. Thanks for the pictures and story.

 

[longbow]

I agree on the 4th week. Most of the big bucks shot by the crew I hunt with have been 4th week.

Having said that, we never have even tried the first two weeks. Perhaps we are missing out?

Missing out on 50 degrees and rain. If you live up there it can be great. You have time to scout, and hunt when the weather is right. Sure , deer are heavier.

When you can only pick one week, and you can't scout, you pick the week with the best chance for cold, snow, and peak rut. 4th week IMHO.

 

[Junebugg2.0]

Looks like a good trip...a great experience for your son and big Maine buck to top it all off.Congrats to you guys!

 

[longbow]

Very nice buck your friend got! I was in my 30's before ever hunting in Maine. What a treat for your son to be there at 17. Thanks for the pictures and story.

Thanks Ted. It was great to get my son into that country. Going to work on some of his navigational skills over the summer and maybe we can split up a little next year. I need someone to chase a deer to me. lol

 

[Snowed]

I think the 4th week is better. Less hunters where I am, better chance of snow, rut in full swing. Plus the later it gets the more deer are coming into my area. The last two years the problem has been too much snow. Up to my knees in the cuts, hard to cover a lot of ground to find a track, or track. Only downside is that the deer are lighter if you are looking for max weight. My friends #197 would probably have been 200+ a few days prior. I did shoot a 230# the day before Thanksgiving in 2008, so there are some still some good weight possible. Wife would probably say 3rd week is better. I invited her to come and be the camp cook but she declined.

She declined the opportunity to be the camp cook?????? Maybe she was looking forward to “your time” at deer camp! My wife kept asking when I was headed up north and she encouraged me to stay longer! I’m not quite sure how to read that. For what my opinion is worth, I like the 4th as well. Definitely a real possibility for snow and for daily flurries to freshen things up. I like hunting in the cold. I also agree with the crowds be a little less, especially around thanksgiving.

 

[Grandkid]

That photo of wading through the snow doesn't look too fun. Looks like a real energy drain after a few days of doing that. You get that snow each year on the 4th week?

Roger-

 

[Kingman Cruncher]

Glad you had a great trip. Great country up there and glad your son could experience it.

 

[NorthMaine]

Awesome, thanks for sharing! Great buck as well!

 

[Mainewoods]

That's a pretty great experience you had with your son! Is he hooked now on Maine deer hunting camp? And sweet buck your buddy got!

 

[sneaky_pete000]

Great trip and pics. The mass on that bucks bases is great.

Did your son use the OnX? What were his thoughts?

 

[longbow]

That photo of wading through the snow doesn't look too fun. Looks like a real energy drain after a few days of doing that. You get that snow each year on the 4th week?

Roger-

The last two years it has been deep. Before that it was hit or miss.

 

[longbow]

Great trip and pics. The mass on that bucks bases is great.

Did your son use the OnX? What were his thoughts?

We stayed together most of the time. I put him on stand alone in the evening a couple of times and then picked him up at dark. We both had OnX on our phones. On the second day we discovered the "blue" cone that showed which direction you were facing on the map, that was a game changer.

 

[longbow]

That's a pretty great experience you had with your son! Is he hooked now on Maine deer hunting camp? And sweet buck your buddy got!

I think he liked it. Was no fun for him being sick the whole time. Coughing all night, sore throat. I had to make him stay at camp to rest. Everytime he went out into the cold his cough got worse and I didn't want it to develop into something more serious. Aside from that, he enjoyed it, and he wants to go back.

 

[sneaky_pete000]

We stayed together most of the time. I put him on stand alone in the evening a couple of times and then picked him up at dark. We both had OnX on our phones. On the second day we discovered the "blue" cone that showed which direction you were facing on the map, that was a game changer.

Tell him not to trust the "blue cone", or the "blue flashlight" as we call it. My 16yr old (actually, I do it too) holds the phone, then orients himself north with his compass to match them up because the blue flashlight isn't reliable. It is more reliable with an iphone than a samsung, in my experience, but neither are to be trusted. My son took a track for 7 miles last week - and I was having a heart attack the entire time - but I felt a little better knowing that he had multiple forms of navigation, including onx.

 

[NorthMaine]

I just purchased the OnX yesterday (40% off). Before then I had just been using the free trials. One thing I noticed is if you want to use the track feature, make sure your location settings are set to "always" and not just "while using". Otherwise, it will just make straight lines between when your phone went to sleep and when you turned it back on again.

If they could integrate some sort of messaging feature that would be great!. Otherwise, it's a pretty useful tool.

 

[Shooter Buck]

Great report LB. That is a nice buck. At least you guys bumped it into someone you knew. Sounds like a great trip.

 

[Fixed blade]

Sounds like a great trip LB. I bet it was great to share this with your son.

 

[longbow]

Tell him not to trust the "blue cone", or the "blue flashlight" as we call it. My 16yr old (actually, I do it too) holds the phone, then orients himself north with his compass to match them up because the blue flashlight isn't reliable. It is more reliable with an iphone than a samsung, in my experience, but neither are to be trusted. My son took a track for 7 miles last week - and I was having a heart attack the entire time - but I felt a little better knowing that he had multiple forms of navigation, including onx.

I agree. Always good to double check it, which I did occasionally with the compass. I have the iphone and it worked really well.

 

[kevin in nh]

Congratulations to your friend on a beauty! And it sounds like your " new Maine hunting partner" has the big woods bug!

 

[longbow]

If they could integrate some sort of messaging feature that would be great!.

Yeah, the radios we have are not that great. Half the time you can't even communicate, to far or on the other side of the ridge.