Now that many seasons have ended, lets see how everyone did! Tell the quick story of your hunt and be sure to include some photos. We may even pick some to be featured on the main page like Dean's buck : http://www.bowhunting.com/blog/2013/2/8/the-dean-krueger-buck/
This was my first year taking bowhunting seriously. I shot 2 deer. My first was a buck, which we found 2 days later after a trespasser had already taken his head off. Second, on the last afternoon of the season, I double lunged a doe. She ran 60 yards and piled up. Hooked for life. Oh and on a side note I shot a rabbit in August with my bow
My only kill came on opening day of the season. My buddy Nick had come up for the weekend. We had come back for an evening sit in a new area that I had scouted in the spring. That morning we had seen a couple groups of does, but neither of us had a shot. Our stands were about 60 yards apart overlooking a 5 or 6 year old cut next to a swamp. Just after 5 I caught some movement to our W. I only caught a few glimpses of a body early on, but could hear occasional steps in the spruce stand to my left. After about ten minutes I could hear steps close to my tree. All of a sudden a doe materializes out of the pines and makes her way right into my only lane at that distance. I come to full draw, settle and release. She goes bursting along the pine edge and into the swamp. A few seconds later I think I hear her crash, but then see a flag on the far side of the swamp. The hit seemed good so I was surprised that she would go that far. After 20 min, I sneak down to the POI to look for sign. 15 yards down the trail I find the back 1/3 of the arrow and blood sprayed all over. I climb back up into the stand for the final hour or two of shooting light to let her expire & give time for something to come in for my buddy. Sure enough, with 20 minutes of shooting light left, a doe makes her way through the cut towards Nick. When she finally makes her way to him she's at about 25 yards. He draws and shoots, but hits a branch that he didn't see. She bounds back to 35 yds, and he shoots again. She spins, and runs right into the swamp my doe ran through. Unsure of his hit, we sit until dark and get out of there. After reviewing some video I was taking of his shot with my point and shoot camera, we can see sparks fly just above his doe on the seconds shot. So at this point we are unsure if he even hit her at all. We elect to get some sleep and go look in the morning. At first light we scour the area his doe was standing, find both arrows with no sign. Two, clean misses. Frustrating, but in hind sight, we were both happy about it. So, we walked over and picked up my doe's trail. Halfway through the swamp she circles and had piled up! The doe I saw on the otherside was a seperate doe that I hadn't seen before the shot. The only thing left to do was to gut her and drag her out.
This was my 2nd season hunting. I was stuck with having to hunt public land which i was unsure about at first but it was my only choice. I planned on going out opening day after my class got out at 11. I took the 45 minute drive to the park, i had a general idea of where i wanted to go for my first sit. I started walking in at about 12:15 took me awhile to find a spot. Eventually i saw a nice spot with acorns and trails crossing every where. I climbed up and waited about an hour when i saw the first 2 deer and a doe with a yearling. They were on the hillside eating about 50 yards away. The yearling kept moving closer but i had no shot due to a tree. They walked out ouf view for about 5 minutes then the she came back and finally started walking my my way right in front of me at about 20 yards. She passed behind a tree and i pulled back my string. once she stepped out i stopped her and let it fly. The shot was really far forward but it dropped her right there. I couldnt stop shaking i was so excited. I was sending out texts to everyone who would enjoy to hear it. As i was sitting down trying to figure out what to do now, 2 more deer walk right under my stand and start eating acrons just chomping away I was thinking of taking another doe but i was shaking so bad they got to walk I was in the stand for barely an hour on public land of opening day and i had taken my first deer which dropped right in front of me. I was excited to say the least. I knew then i was hooked on bowhunting no matter where ever it may be i will never turn down an opportunity to climb up a tree and sit there with my bow Here is my first deer
2012 was my first season hunting and boy am i hooked. I had been hunting hard all year with very minimal luck until December. I got a chance to hunt with my buddy at his farm about an hour away. got up in the stand at about 3 on 12/21 and was told i would probably see only does. after about 45 minutes of cold and raging winds,i finally start to see sign of deer making their way out. Before i could really get an eye on them,three deer came out to my right and were walking pretty quick. first was a doe,then the 8 pointer followed by a younger buck. i waited for the doe to pass and then i took my shot on the 8 pointer. good shot placement and he ran about 200 yards and piled up. i waited about 45 minutes to get down,looked for blood and my arrow. couldnt find my arrow and was starting to get scared because i couldnt find blood. finally found it and followed it right to my buck. I'm hooked for life now.
Bow blew up a week before the season and I didn't get my bow back until a week before Thanksgiving. I finally got to go and killed a hog... see pic. Later, I killed a huge doe but I saw a MMMMonster buck that spooked when I tried to stand up to shoot. Never got a shot at him though i watched several smaller bucks walk off in hopes he would come by. I broke out the '06 on the 22nd and got two deer with no pics.
i was in my ground blind she walked in at 6.15 am took a 30 yard broadside shot went on a hog hunt with my son shot this one at 27 yards both with my helim i got this summer easton fmj arrows the doe i used a killzone the hog i used a g5 montec here is my sons hog
Many of you will remember my thread "My best yet" from early Nov, My Dad had just gotten us permission on some property that buts up to mine that I used to hunt as kid and hadn't been hunted in years. I had seen a very nice 8 point with a jacked up leg for several nights in a row come through the staging area like clockwork. So we devised a plan to hunt from the ground and try to take out the Gimpy buck. Well long story shoet the Gimp never showed but the buck we now call Grandpa decided to make an appearance. I saw him comin from bout 50yds and immediatly drew my bow and waited for him to clear the trees and enter the slough where a group of does were feeding. Lucky for me he followed the script and my G5 found its mark. He ran bout 200 yds and dies atop of a 12ft high cliff he fell straight down and into the water, which was about 3ft deep in that spot. It took my Dad and I several hours to get him out. I actually ended up havin to gut and remove his hind quarters in the creek to make it easier on us. Any hoo awesome buck! Awesome hunt! and a memory my Father and I will NEVER forget. GOOD TIMES PS this deer HAD 20 points including all his stickers. 4 were broke leaving 16 scorable points. He grossed 181 5/8
Thanks Fitz! Shoulda also mentioned I put 2 does in the freezer also. Can't wait to get Grandpa back from my taxi and on my wall!
Here's the extent of my season. http://www.bowhunting.com/blog/2012/12/3/reader-success-story-the-mark-buechel-buck/
Going into our mule hunt left me feeling anything but comfortable. A long season of missed opportunities, an empty freezer, and the added pressure of trying to find a respectable buck for my wife, Stephanie, was weighing heavily on my mind. My hunting partner Brandon had already been in the area we were heading to for a few days and was seeing some great bucks. Our first morning found us full of optimism as we headed out in the gray of the morning. First light found us on a high point with our binoculars glued to our eyes. It didn’t take long for us to spot what appeared to be a decent buck and several does. We made our our way to a closer vantage point and settled into get a better look. It didn’t take long for the bino’s to reveal exactly what we were after. A rut crazed, heavy framed, mule deer that was a perfect representation of the specie. We threw our packs on the ground and had Stephanie in the prone position in a matter of seconds. A quick shot with the range finder told us the buck was approximately 220 yards. The shot was farther than I would have preferred for her but I knew Stephanie could shoot well and our 7mm Rem was more than capable for the task. We watched as the buck chased some does and finally gave us the shot we were looking for at about 250 yards. “Take him!” was the last thing I said before I watched the buck drop. It felt like it was my first deer! “You got him, you got him!” I said, I could hardly contain myself. I looked down just in time to catch that perfect moment between a hunter and the realization of their first kill. Steph had her head buried into our make-shift rest. I missed that feeling. After hand shakes, hugs, and tears we were on our way to recover Steph’s buck. Upon reaching the buck we were again rewarded with the affirmation that the shot was perfect, taking both lungs cleanly. We snapped a few photos, cleaned the buck, and were on our way. The rest of the day was taken up by reminiscing on old memories, lots of laughs, and some failed stalks. With an hour of daylight left we spotted a group of deer. A quick look showed a young buck that was dogging does hard! He was not the biggest but definitely peaked my interest for my first archery mule deer. The three of us closed the distance to about 80 yards and I slipped in another 40. The deer were situated on a small knob and were seemingly unaware of my presence. I watched somewhat impatiently as the buck harassed does for nearly ten minutes passing anywhere from 40-50 yards several times. I came to full draw more than a few times with the buck always stopping behind a bush, doe, or just not offering a good angle. Finally he locked on to a doe that would bring him through an opening at 44 yards. I knew I was going to get a shot. I drew just as the buck entered my “spot”. I took a deep breath, settled my pin, and squeezed the trigger. I watched the as the arrow took a determined arc and hit the buck perfect. He mule kicked and dropped over the other side of the knob. We gave him a few minutes and went to retrieve my buck. Day one came to a close, we had two deer down, and my freezer was about 150 pounds heavier! We spent the next day looking for a deer for Brandon to no avail. New bucks were moving into the area, though. The third day of our hunt seemed like an identical replay of our first day. We spotted a large group of deer about a hundred yards from where Stephanie’s fell. We moved to the same hill Stephanie shot from for a closer look and we pleasantly surprised to find a nice 4×4 pushing does hard. We quickly ranged the deer at 220 yards and got set up for a shot. The buck finally took a break from his rutting endeavors long enough for Brandon to land a perfectly placed shot to the vitals. The buck stayed upright for a few moments and then went down. In three days we made some incredible memories, filled some freezers, and visited those rare emotional feelings that truly remind us all why we take to the woods each fall. I could not be more proud of my wife for not only fulfilling one of her goals, but helping to provide us with the sustenance we need for the coming year.
This year for me like the last 3 i was unfortunatly not able to hunt in the fall (lived in europe) but when i was on this side of the world i had the chance to harvest a decent size color phase black bear in the spring. This was a fun spot and stalk hunt, managed to get up to 30 yards and let an arrow fly, turned out to be a perfect shot and the bear went no more than 40 yards, my nicest bear i have shot to date and is being worked on to become a half mount. This mountain lion is my most memorable hunting trophy, for me it was an amazing experience, and a tough hunt, but definatley worth it, would do it again any time! (Thread-Monster Mountain Lion) Although i didint have the chance to go out and chase bucks this year, i still made the best of my spring and winter hunts and am already looking forward to the fall of '13, hopefully i will be lucky enough to chase some animals with antlers! Hope all you guys enjoyed 2012 as much as i did, happy hunting to everyone. Luke
Not too much of a story this year. After a season of watching the deer just out of sight i finally got a crack at one a week before gun season. I got to the stand around 6:15 i believe and got settled in around 6:30. After about 20 min, i look across the 10 acre field i was set up 50-60 yards from, and i see a lone deer. I watched him fart around for about 15 min before it made its way back into the woods. I figured that some more deer were going to show up in the field soon or i wasn't going to see a deer until 3:00 pm. About 10 min later my father(right behind me in the tree) tells me that he sees a deer coming our way. I figured that there was one in the field and was slowly making its way. I take my bow off the hook and get ready for some action. It seemed perfect that i would get a shot a deer this early, but there was only one problem...i couldn't see the deer. I was looking for maybe 5 min and i couldn't spot the deer. I kept asking my dad and he had the same response every time "its coming, its coming". I finally look towards the very inside of the woods and i see the deer coming my way. It gets to the area where the deer seem to stall and eat acorns, but this one didn't. It starts making its way down the trail that would lead it 15 yards in front of me which causes it to see my decoy. After a brief stare down it got a little nervous so it started taking the trail that is 25 yards and only 1 or 2 lanes. As soon as it stepped in the lane, i bleated and took the shot...perfect pass through. I heard the thump and watched it run 40 yards and drop. One of the best parts is that i shot it around 6:55 and got to it around 7:10. It turned out to be a nice fat button buck. For some reason when i try to upload the photo it brings me to the Mathews page.
Killed 8 this year 7 does and a mercy kill 6 pt that a xbow hunter wounded on public ground. Don't really have many good pics as I go solo 95% of the time. Here's opening day doe and a few others. All deer went 100 yds or less. Some pics from the stand Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2
