I came extremely close yesterday to shooting a 120"ish 8 point. I went in around 2:00 for my afternoon sit. Around 2:30 I got a couple of granola bars out of my pack for "lunch". I unwrapped them as fast as I could trying to minimize the sound. I know between rustling around in the pack and the cellophane wrappers, I had made a ton of noise, but oh well, I didn't expect to see much movement for a while. I finished my lunch and was taking a big swig of water when I see antlers moving toward me across the nearby ditch. It's a shooter. He's 25 yards behind some saplings. I've got no shot. He freezes. He's completely upwind. He's not reacting like he has any idea I'm there. I put down the water bottle and grab my bow. He knows something is not quite right. He takes a couple steps and I ready my bow. I need him to take 4 more steps into the small clearing where there is an active scrape. I'm already thinking about the recovery. He never did take those last 4 steps. He stood there for what seemed like an hour, and then like that, he walked directly away from me and then into some thicket. The worst part of the situation is that I noticed that some additional shooting lane trimming was needed when I sat this stand the previous night. I had planned on going in early to do the trimming, but opted to go to the 3d range instead. The saplings that were blocking my shot would have been cut if I had made the choice to do the trimming.
jjnowak You'll end up in the next 15 years doing that at least a few more times. Reason is us as humans always find an excuse why not to or I'll get it next time. That will be the time it happens. That's bow hunting for ya! Good luck next sit! Rocky
Rocky, I know what you mean. I just sat there kinda laughing at myself. I was literally looking at the clump if saplings the night before telling myself they have to go. Another weird thing happened earlier that morningt when I was in another stand. I rattled in some turkeys. I rattled...heard a bunch of stomping around only to see three turkeys come charging toward my stand. This may be my new spring strategy based on my previous luck turkey hunting.
jjnowak Thats funny chit right there, Get a patten on those antlers, lOL. Good luck buddy. Tell them it's for Turkey's, ha,ha,ha. I'll be back in the saddle tomorrow afternoon Rocky
That stinks man but it happens to everyone...Rocky is right in the money with his comment. About 4 years ago I was hunting an oak flat. I had a perfect wind when a group of 5 bucks came in. The largest buck which I had pics of stop behind a little tree with a ton of branches. I had sat there a couple time before and after a doe did the same thing I said I would trim it up. Never dis and that 130" 8 point stood behind it for probably 30 minutes while the other 4 bucks ate acorns right in front of me. I had dumped a big bucket of acorns and a bag of Acorn Rage to concentrate them on this spot. They never spooked but I never saw that deer again....had him at about 25-26 yards and couldn't do a thing about it...
Well It's been a few days since I've been on a stand, temps have warmed up.Should be interesting.This is the spot I see all the big bucks come through. Rocky
Just got busted bye a doe coming in down wind out of the south of a acrerage.Does for some reason like acreages for bedding.That's been the only deer I've seen this afternoon.Still have an hour and a half till dark. Rocky
A Bust Well I'm bewildered to as where are the bucks, they should be out cruising. I was in a doe bedding hot spot and no bucks. Had 2 more does come in at last light and decided to pass due to darkness. Man I'm bewildered to where the bucks are, lots of shotguns going off all around me. Meat cutter told me yesterday they have been flooded with deer over the last 3 days so they must be chasing and rutting. I'll start my all day sit's starting Monday. Good luck to those still trying to get an animal. Rocky
Today's Sit Only hunted this afternoon with my bud,had to change a stand for him that he bought. After trying to get the old stand off but couldn't he ended up using the new stand on the ground. Almost paid off as he had a spike at 5 feet, he couldn't believe the buck didn't snort wheeze at him. I couldn't believe he didn't shoot him, he gives me crap all the time for passing, his excuse for not shooting was he didn't hear him come in. Well I got to my stand and after putting out some scent I started to climb up, got to the 3rd step and looked over and saw brown, then looked again, sure enough a 2x2 was standing there sniffing in my scent I just put out. I actually believe he didn't see me. He turned to what I thought I heard was a grunt, as he was focused on that I climbed up into my stand. He's still @ 18 yards and I was going to shoot him for my bud,clip on the bow and he walks towards where I think the grunt came from. That was it for the day, very uneventful. Back to my doe honey hole in the am for an all day sit. Good luck guys anyone left hunting? Rocky
Well unfortunately I don't think my post went through Saturday but, I connected on my hit list deer "Twin Towers"!! Unfortunately for the team it was with my Mossberg 835. Opening morning this past Saturday was perfect! 30°, Snowing with a SW wind @ 6 mph. The bucks were on the move as the orange army hit the woods. I saw 4 Shooter bucks, multiple smaller ones and some doe all before 1130. I always sit a full day on opener and it payed off. Right around 3pm I had a doe 30 yards out in some brush with another deer following behind, which at the time I only knew as a shooter buck cause of the obvious headgear. After a few minutes the doe comes out on the path and starts rubbing her rear legs together and getting ready for a good time I'm assuming, little did she know, her date wasn't making it. As the doe walked down the trail I started slowly standing up only when the bucks head was hidden behind trees. After a few close calls it got to the point where he knew I was something, and he didn't want to stick around. As soon as he stomped the first time, I touched one off right in his shoulder and it was boom goes the dynamite! Man I love a 3" Hollow point slug!
No.6Hunter Nice buck my friend,very nice, well I have some bad news, I got called in to work this morning from my tree stand. I leave tomorrow back for work and will miss the last 2 weeks of the season. I was out this morning but the dang winds were playing havoc on me again. Here's a shot of what I'll miss for the next 2 weeks. Good luck team ,sorry I didn't contribute to our point total. . I'll cheer you's on from up north.Been a pleasure meeting and getting to know you's. Rocky http://
Great buck No. 6! He's a stud for sure, congratulations. Rocky sorry to hear about the hunting ending so abruptly. Good luck to you if you are able to make it back in the tree.
Well I made it thru my 10 day vacation without seeing the one buck I really wanted " I call him smokey " I did have a 155" 10 come by at 43.5 yards but I am only comfortable shooting at deer out to 40 so I let him pass... in hindsight I believe it was a good thing I did cause after he left I looked at the opening where I believed I had a clear shot and noticed it wasnt so clear there was a few twigs in the way. So I went to Christines favorite tree in the river bottoms and had a 125" 8 with a small kicker come in to 9 yards and passed on him and just filmed him. I did watch some odd behavior from him though. There was a spot that he just kept circling and scraping and then he ran away from it, then a coyote came to the spot, then another small buck came to the same spot and kept circling it and then he also ran away. So a while later I rattled in the same previous 8 point with the kicker and another smaller buck. So at the end of the morning hunt I walked over to the spot all the bucks kept circling only to find a dead buck there. Turns out a hunter had arrowed a buck and lost the blood track after jumping him 3 times the night before. Well I found his buck. He had made the poor decision to continue to push and jump his buck the night before cause he told his friend whom was helping him track " he had to leave town the next morning so he need to get his buck... even his friend advised him not to push the buck... Hopefully he will learn from this. So he took the bucks head and tagged it after much thinking about it weather he wanted to tag it or not since the yotes had eaten the entire deer and left the carcass there after I had told him it would be nice if he removed the carcass from the area to help reduce the # of yotes in this hunting area... but of course when I returned he didnt it was still laying there. There was alot more to this story and it wasnt very pretty so Im not gonna go into it, but in the future I will not be showing him any more of his deer I find. This was his deer after one evening laying there after the yotes ate his back rump So a few days later I returned to hunt Christines tree in the river bottom, never seen a deer all morning and later that morning here comes 2 deer running, they were being chased by a big fat ole coyote so when the deer are 45 yards in front of me they stop and the yote gaveup on chasing them and he trotted off , so the deer relaxed and the doe bedded down so I filmed the doe fawn and button buck. A few minutes later they fed to 19.5 yards in front of me quartering to me a bit but I knew I could make a lethal shot how she was posed, so I shot the doe fawn and watched her run off and then dissapeared from view when she got to where the buck carcass was. I was getting out of the tree and glance over to where the buck carcass is and where I last saw the doe go and there is a buck circling it, he nosed around a bit and then left the same way he came from. I walked over there only to find my doe dropped dead within 20 yards of the buck carcass and boy did the arrow knock the stuffing out of her. If you look right above my dead deer u can see whats left of the buck carcass and exit wound from the arrow the next photo shows the entrance wound from the arrow Made it out for a windy cold afternoon hunt a few days ago, seen one long main beam buck a few other deer all in the far distance till sunset when a mature doe and her button buck fawn came into 25 yards browsing , the doe was quartering away at 25 yards and I shot her. The shot looked like I hit her 2 inches lower than I wanted so I decided to let her be for the freezing night and return to track her in the morning, praying the yotes didnt find her. My husband and I returned in the morning and were able to blood trail her easily and found her in mere minutes . She had died in the nastiest thickest multiflora rose thicket, so it was a good thing I had clippers with me to cut our way thru the multiflora rose to pull her out. Some little critter had found her and ate her eye and part of her nose but the rest of the doe was undameged by the critter. Turns out I didnt hit her lower than I was aiming it just looked like that to me from the tree stand. The next photo was the entrance wound And the exit wound In all it was a awesome vacation, I got deer and seen 2 big bucks, had a blast and spent a bunch of time with my husband in between our hunts and I even managed to cook a few meals... that doesnt happen much during hunting season... my poor husband
LF you have had an incredible season and some great encounters! Congratulations to you! I'd say the freezer is near full haha! This may sound kinda corny but you've been a big inspiration and motivator to my wife this season. I'm always sharing your harvest pictures with her and I think it really gave her confidence to go out and chase deer with her bow.
Thankyou, Dosnt sound corny to me at all... You know I used to volunteer as an instructor for the NWTF Women In The Outoors program as an Archery Instructor, Bow Fishing Instructor and Wild Game Caller and Wild Game Hunter Instructor... Why I did this is because I hoped to help introduce more women to or outdoor shooting sports and hunting. I am so happy and feel blessed to know I have been of some help to another in shooting and hunting... You should also have your wife join in here on the forum and follow Christines posts on here as well " She was the one whom inspired me more than she will ever know... plus she is a blast to shoot fish with
Thankyou, Dosnt sound corny to me at all...by the looks of the buck your wife killed with her bow this year it looks like your wife has gotten pretty darn good at chasing deer with her bow You know I used to volunteer as an instructor for the NWTF Women In The Outoors program as an Archery Instructor, Bow Fishing Instructor and Wild Game Caller and Wild Game Hunter Instructor... Why I did this is because I hoped to help introduce more women to or outdoor shooting sports and hunting. I am so happy and feel blessed to know I have been of some help to another in shooting and hunting... You should also have your wife join in here on the forum and follow Christines posts on here as well " She was the one whom inspired me more than she will ever know... plus she is a blast to shoot fish with
Bucks I have got a couple old bruisers and another nice 6 that just showed back up in the past 2 weeks...One Especially. I know he is at least 5 but probably older. They actually may both be older than 5. Deer around here very rarely make it to 3 much less 5+. I am taking my oldest son tomorrow evening in hopes of getting a chance at one of them. They will not score much at all but they are definitely trophies so I will gladly send an easton arrow thru their lungs them lol... The high was 78 yesterday and it is 75 today and rainy. Tonight a cold front is supposed to move in with more rain in the a.m. However the high temp tomorrow is 45. Hopefully between that and the surrounding ag fields being picked last week, the deer will be on their feet looking for food....Here are a couple pics...Theree are two 6 pointer and one is a 8...I really would like a crack at the 8 pointer but would be happy with either of the 3 considering their age...
