2015 Season Recap

2015 Winner

Dave VerSteeg with his 140", 12 point gun Kill in Churchville, NY.

2015 Season Recap

• Tuesday 12-22-15 Mark Shiner got a nice doe in Caledonia, NY. Mark, Mike Leach and Joe shiner hunted all day and saw a lot of deer.  In the final sit of the day Mark dropped this doe. This prevented Mark from being skunked for the first time in a long time. Nice work fellas.

Friday 12-11-15 Dave Versteeg had a good day in Churchville NY.  In the morning he killed a doe. He saw the forecast that the afternoon was going ton be very windy so he had a plan to still hunt the afternoon in the wind.  He knew there was only one was to still hunt the property and he could not stop thinking about the plan.  He got in there and he worked the plan, he slowly and patiently walked into a spot near the swamp.  He was watching the woods for movement then he saw the buck in the thick stuff.  He patiently waited for the buck to come out of the thick but he wouldn't.  He thought he lost the buck because he didn't see him for a while then he saw a tail flip. Dave raised his muzzle loader and took aim, he pushed a shot through a little brush and hit the deer.  He tracked him for a while and finally saw the deer standing with its head down, it was hurting bad. Dave put a second shot in the buck and he went right down.  Dave has had a great season and the farmer wants him to keep knocking them down.  Nice work.  The buck measures 143" and appears to be in the lead right now.  

Monday 11-30-15 Steve Ames Jr. shot this buck in Springwater, NY. He measures 115". He was feeding in clover with 4 other bucks.  Steve dropped him at 150 yards. Nice shooting.  

Saturday 11-.28-15 Steve Ames Sr. Shot another great buck.  Steve is having a great year and this is his second wall hanger.  The boys at Clover hill have built an great club using many QDMA practices. This buck measures 128.5" Here is the story in his words

With a cold front coming through and a north wind the set-up was perfect for me to sit on the north end of our property to hunt for a buck we call The General. The only problem was that as soon as I got up a tree overlooking a clover field the fog rolled in. With only being able to see 30 yards, I was afraid that I might bust the General so I got down and headed to another spot on the west side of our property at a pinch point that no one has hunted all season hoping to catch a Buck we called Breeze coming from his Bedding to feeding area. Sure enough at 4:30 I saw him downwind at about 150 yards and closing in. At about 100 yards I put the cross hairs on him took the shot. He ran only about 50 yards and dropped 30 yards behind me in a clover field. With a 135” buck (Glickman) taken during Bow and Breeze (128.5”) taken with the gun my season has come to a close.. Great year at the Clover Hill hunting club.

Friday 11-27-15 My son David D'Ettorre killed his first deer.  The best part is he was sitting right next to me.  We were watching a cut corn field and deer started feeding into the kill zone.  I gave David my open-sights gun because hie scope was fogged up.  He put the 12 gauge Remm. 1100 on the shooting stick and was ready.  when the first deer got into the kill zone he aimed and let a slug rip.  The deer in the field started running everywhere. David let a few more rounds rip and the field was empty.  After a short search he yelled, I got a dead deer!  We were so excited and I am very proud of him.  We confirmed we did not have any other blood trains and we got her home.  David helped me butcher, package and freeze the meat.  We cant wait to grill it up at camp and David can finally say "that's from my doe".  Nice work son.  

Thursday 11-26-15 Adam VerSteeg killed his first deer.  Adam got this buck hunting with his Dad Dave in Churchville, NY.  Adam has put his time in this year and got it done. Great work Adam.  

Thursday 11-26-15 Troy Kailbourne killed an awesome 137" bruiser in Mendon NY.  Great work and great photo with your son!

Tuesday 11-24-15 Ron (Buzzy) Swart Killed a doe at Buzzdarosa. This is the first deer he has taken at his new home property ion Medina, NY.  Nice work Buzz. 

Monday 11-23-15 Dan D'Ettorre Killed a big doe in Springwater, NY. Dan  is doing his part to help control the population.  Nice work. 

Monday 11-22-15 Ron Swart Killed a big doe in Turnpike Forest in West Almond, NY on State land.  He goes there for opening weekend every year with his Dad, son and the guys.  This doe was the only deer Ron saw in 3 days and he killed her.  It is one of the biggest does he has ever seen.  

Sunday 11-22-15 Jeff Ames killed a huge doe in Chili.  He used his new bolt action shotgun and killed her at 140 yards.  Little Liv is taking the credit for this one. Nice shooting and great photo. 

Sunday 11-22-15 Joe Shiner killed filled a DMP in Cuba, NY.  Joe was about to start a drive when he put up 2 near the pond. He shot one and they tracked it three properties over, finished it off and finally recovered it. 

Sunday 11-22-15 Mike McLean killed a couple of does in Springwater. filling up the freezer! Nice work Mike. 

Sunday 11-22-15 Mike Clark killed a stud of a buck in Springwater, NY.  This buck measures 131". Congrats Mike! Here is the story in Mike's own words

Got in stand super early- gave myself plenty of time luckily. Set up a doe decoy in the field i was overlooking.  Within 5 minutes the decoy blew over from the wind. I went to a stand Dan D'AEttorre and Mike McLean set up and cut all of the shooting lanes. At first light i happened to look in the right direction, behind me to the northeast and caught a body sneaking across the field trying to slip by. He entered the perfect lane that Dan and Mike had cut, he stopped as he must have caught my wind. It was too late. I dropped him with the classic shoulder shot with the 30.06. I later paced it off at 120 yards. My biggest buck to date hit the ground, and i didn't know what id shot until i was standing over him. DEC confirmed him at 4.5 and said he was over 200 lbs on the hoof. WHAT A DAY! 

Sunday 11-22-15 Tom Farraro killed a buck he thought was a doe hunting with me this morn in Brockport, NY.  It was tagged as a doe. One shot with his pistol made short work of him.  Nice shooting.

Opening Day Saturday 11-21-15 Dave Ames shot a great buck on their lease Clover Hill in Springwater.  This brute measures 137".  What a stud! They called this deer Trump.   John Hornberger (not in contest) also shot a nice buck they called Bullwinkle. Bullwinkle measures around 132" Brett Grape killed a coyote.  Nice work Guys. Here is the story in Dave's words.

I was sitting in a stand that we just hung a few weeks ago on a relatively slow morning. After seeing 15 turkeys walk by I had 2 does slowly working their way right under my stand while they were enjoying their morning breakfast. They hung around for 10-15 minutes and then appeared to act a little uneasy when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.  After seeing a lot of horns I quickly looked through my binoculars and  confirmed that he was a shooter. 

 I grabbed my brand new 270 ( that my wonderful wife bought me last x-mss) slowly turned, watched him walk behind a few small trees and then he stopped right behind another tree at 60 yards. With his vitals hiding behind the tree I put my crosshairs on his neck and squeezed the trigger, dropping him in his tracks. 

Thursday 11-19-15 Kevin Gleber shot this 7 point behind his house in Hamburg NY.  Nice work Gleber

Tuesday 11-17-15 Mike Clark killed a buck and completed a tough tracking job to recover the deer.  Here is the story in Mike's words.  Great job Mike.  

I was hunting at my father's property in Nunda, NY, a quiet 145 acre hardwood sanctuary.

 I saw one deer at 750 AM, a small buck working behind my stand to the west to wrap up the excitement of the morning. I sat all day in that stand, until 410 pm finally seeing another deer. It was what I'd consider a "scrub" buck- a 5 point with the body of a big boy. He came in from the north, luckily out of my wind, and bedded down. Just as i was thinking he was going to lay too long for me to have sufficient light- he stood, and continued his travel towards my stand. At about 50(yes 50) yards, he turned broadside and entered a logging road in front of my stand, clear of any obstructions. I made the call to blat him to a stop there. His direction of travel would provide no further opportunity. I centered my 40 yard pin on the boiler room and let the arrow fly. I assumed he would jump the string and drop into the shot- and he did. The arrow however, fell short on steam and hit the grass below him. He bounded off about 10 yards, and looked back with that classic "what the hell?' look. He began to nervously walk away- back to the north, when i decided to throw out a desperation doe bleat. He turned, looked, then adjusted his route and came right back to the same exact spot I had just missed him at! Gracious to say the least, I again drew, with a higher holding this time. I stopped him, and executed a perfect shot. Perfect if it weren't for his shoulder crowding the sweet spot a little as he dipped down. I could see some, although little penetration. He ran off on a dead sprint to the north, and out of sight before i could see him drop. I made the decision to give him a good 1/2 hour before even heading down to look for blood, as the leaves were very noisy. When i got to the scene(conveniently marked by my previous arrow) i didn't see anything helpful. I had to head the search in the direction i knew he ran- and was able to pick up a little blood 10-15 yards from the point of impact. I then started arguably the most difficult track job of my bowhunting career. At certain points, on hands and knees turning over leaves, and leaving my lighted luminock behind at the last found spot. It was arduous. Certain points I thought it was done, I'd travel ahead 10 or so yards, and find a pin head of blood. Sometimes, it was a spot 3 feet off the ground on a sapling he brushed by. I then found my luminock, then 10 yards later my arrow. Blood soaked, and the broadhead still attached- with it a piece of lung material on the blades. Hope was restored. I continued to make miraculous find after find until almost stepping on the buck that lay dead at my feet. What a hunt. Not a monster, but a trophy in my mind given the circumstances. I'm perhaps more proud of this deer, than a monster that would've given me the text book shot. I think that's why i do it. For the excitement- and the fact that I still learn something every time I'm fortunate enough to enter the woods and take an animal. No tag soup for this guy!

Sunday 11-15-15 Dave Versteeg killed a doe in Churchville, NY He was hunting with his son Adam and they took this great selfie.  

Sunday 11-15-15 Dan Parnell killed a nice Buck in Barre, NY.

Sunday 11-15-15 Steve Wysocki killed a great buck in Lancaster, NY. This buck measures 127.75" Story to follow.

Monday 11-9-15 Dan Parnell went to Ohio and killed this buck.  If the bucks won't come to you I guess you have to go to the bucks! Nice work Dan!

Saturday 11-7-15 Angelo Infantino killed a nice 10 point buck at his place in Wyoming, NY.  Angelo measured him at 134" and he weighed 180 lbs, dressed.  Angelo had action all afternoon and could barley put the bow down.  Most of the deer were small bucks so he rested the bow on his lap.  When he saw this big boy coming he grabbed the bow.  He came to full draw as the buck was approaching.  The buck stepped into the lane at 15 yards and Angelo placed the arrow perfectly.  The buck took 2 bounds an dropped to his front knees then his back knees and it was over.  Nice work once again Angelo! 

Thursday 11-5-15 Joe Shiner killed a fat doe in Lancaster, NY.  She came in with a group of does and she had a bum leg.  Joe killed her out of Mercy.  His Dad Mark was hunting with them and they got on her trail a couple hour later.  They followed a pretty decent blood train and she went down the creek bank.  Mark looked on the opposite bank and said there she is.  Joe called Kevin Gleber and Brad Gravino to give them a hand.  Then the work began getting her out of there.  Nice job guys! Another good hunting/family story for the books.  

Sunday 11-1-15 Dave Versteeg killed this 8 pointer in Churchville, NY.  Nice work Dave.  

Thursday 10-29-15 Nick Milhalitsas shot a huge doe in Ontario, NY.  Some nice freezer meat there!

Tuesday 10-27-15 Steve Giannetto killed an awesome 10 point buck in Spencerport, NY, "The Meadow".  The buck measures 142.25". Steve, (Gio) got our of work and ran to the woods, he was still wearing khakis and a flannel.  His buddy Dave was meeting him there. Gio put his climber in the tree and got set up.  He heard Dave's machine head in and Dave got set up.  Shortly after that some kids were on their machines riding in the meadow. Gio thought that might scare the deer away but it did not. After the kids left the meadow he heard grunting in the woods and saw a few does.  Then he saw the buck pop out of the woods down wind of him.  The buck went right back in the woods before Gio could shoot.  Gio grabbed his doe in estrus sent and squirted it everywhere to help cover his sent.  He continued to hear grunting and could see the big buck but he could not get a shot.  Gio used his bleat call to keep the buck in the area.  The buck did a 180 around his stand coming as close as 10 yards.  Finally the buck went into a lane about 27 yards away and Gio did mouth bleat to stop him.  Gio let the arrow fly and it hit its mark.  The buck only went about 50 yards and died.  Gio called  his buddy Dave and said I just hit a buck and Dave said "me too".   Great story and great hunt!  Congrats Gio!

Sunday 10-25-15 Dan D'Ettorre killed a doe in Brockport, NY.  His Rage broadhead took her lungs out of her body. He shot her at 30 yards and she fell over at 40 yards.  Danny called it Rage Destruction. She had a bad morning. 

Wednesday 10-21-15 Brad Gravino killed a doe in Mendon, NY.  He said she drank too much red Kool Aid and had a rough evening.  More meat, Good job Brad!

Sunday 10-18-15 Dave Versteeg killed a nice Doe in Churchville, NY.  Dave used Tinks 69 aerosol on a drag rag and she followed it it.  She could not get enough of it and curiosity (and Dave's arrow) killed the doe. Nice job Dave. 

Saturday 10-17-15 Brett Grape killed a turkey with his bow at Clover Hill in Springwater, NY.  Crazy story to go with it.  Brett went to a set up that he had not been to before, he found the treestand and climbed in.  Somehow Brett knocked his glasses off of his face and had to climb back down and find them. Shortly after that it started raining turkeys, they were roosted all around him and they came out of the trees.  A little while later he heard more turkeys and he looked up and 3 more were roosted in the tree he was in. They were making all kinds of noise up there and took a long while to come down.  Finally they came down and were out of range quickly, no shots. Later, around 9:30am, he heard something flapping around. He got down to check it out and he could not belie what he saw.  A turkey got stuck on the way down and was caught in a tree with a broken leg and it could not free it's self. Brett put an arrow through it's chest and mercy killed it.  He had to shake the trees and get it to fall.  What a fun crazy hunt.  No deer but lots of turkeys!  Cool story!

Saturday 10-17-15 Steve Wysocki killed a turkey in Lancaster, NY with his bow.  Nice shot Steve!

• Sunday 10-4-15 Brett Grape shot a doe at Clover Hill in Springwater.  Bret shot this doe in the heart at 37 yards! The Rage broad-head did a number on this doe. Hard to believe Brett was in  horrible accident 5 months ago and in the hospital for 3 weeks.  Brett is Back! Nice shooting.

• Saturday 10-3-15 Brad Gravino shot a doe in Mendon, NY

• Friday 10-2-15 Steve Ames Sr. Killed a great buck at Clover hill in Springwater.  They call this Buck Glickman.  He has been rough measured at 134.5".  Steven had his climber in an oak tree over looking an oat plot they put in late.  He had all kinds of action, he was going to shoot a doe but could not get one in range.  A little after 6 Glickman appeared out the woods behind Steven 15 yards away.  The buck had a huge body and he know he was a shooter before he got a good look at the rack. As he walked away Steven drew, the buck turned broadside he and shot him at 18 yards.  He went back in the woods, he saw lung blood but decided to back out.  He went back a couple hours later with his son Steve, John Hornberger and Jim Bianchi who has a dog named Sassy he is training to track deer.  They found him about 100 yards away.  The coyotes had already started chewing his ass.  Great Buck!