This morning was perfect for the first day of archery season... temps were cool, slight wind from the NNW, damp ground made for quiet entry into the woods... a perfect morning. My fiance and I woke up at 4:45 a.m. and gathered our gear and quickly headed out the door. We walked across the road to my "honey hole" property and were able to make most of the trip without a flashlight due to the bright full moon. Once we got into the deep woods I walked her to her stand and helped her get all set-up for the morning. I turned around and headed back to my stand, climbed up and got settled in around 5:35 a.m. I wasn't entirely sure what time I needed to be in stand, but after around an hour I could start to see the woods around me. Right after daylight a grey fox made it's way to my stand and that was all the action I had in the morning. Around 9:00 a.m. I climbed down and walked down to Tiffany to see if she had saw anything... which she didn't. We came home and got some food and relaxed before our evening sit. We headed out around 4:00 p.m. to get set-up. It was a little breezy this evening but still a great day to be in the woods. My night was just like my morning sit... I was skunked. Tiffany text'd me around 5:00 p.m. and she had a small buck in the brush to her left. She watched the buck for around an hour with him never being more than 25 yards away from her. The buck was a main frame 2X2 and it had another small point but she wasn't sure that the extra point was 1" or not so she decided not to risk it and just give the buck a pass. It was very slow today, which I believe has alot to do with the full moon, the abundant crop fields (corn/alfalfa), and the little amount of acorns. I did enjoy my opening day though and took a bunch of photos.... enjoy.
Thanks Tim... the area I was set-up was right on a woodline between hardwoods and thick x-mas trees. There is a small opening seperating 2 patches of x-mas trees and from what my game cameras have been gathering... it is a major hot spot... just not the past several days. Tiffany was set in a valley with a very small stream running through it.... there is a swampy area with golden rods and skunk cabage and she has a ladder stand set-up there. There are 4 or 5 fingers funneling into this opening from the north, and there are corn/alfalfa fields to the south. It is a great staging area and over the past several years I have watched dozens of bucks pass through. I was really pulling for Tiffany to get her first deer today, but there is plenty of season left and the best is yet to come!
Awesome pictures. I only got out for the morning sit, but it was great weather. Except for a flock of turkeys, I too was skunked. Still great to be back in the woods though. Thanks for sharing.
I had good movement Sat evening. A doe was browsing at 15 yds from me and Grandpap buck was coming down the old tram road at 40yds when my cell phone rang!!!!! I forgot to put it on vibe. Needless to say, the doe didn't know what that funny sound was, so she walked back up the hill and Grandpap followed. That AIN'T gonna happen again!!!
O Spud.... that stinks! I was thinkin bout you the other day though when I decided to pick up some new b-heads to try out.... I was gonna go with Spitfires but ended up getting the N.A.P. Scorpion XP's I will let you know what I think about them if I get lucky and arrow a buck this year. I might just end up taking them and trying them out on some bruiser tomato's:D
Nice pics, looks like some nice set ups also. Very cool that your fiance hunts with you, good luck to ya'll..
BM, I took a doe with the scorpians a few years back. Still have a few for back-ups, but the primary missle is still spitfires.
