***Official LIVE from the Stand Thread, 2020***

Actually hard to believe tomorrow is the opener here, but it's not hard to believe how excited I am.

 

I wish Minnesotas season would start mid-week.

 

Coffee helped as did some food. I may need a second cup tho.

Good encounter with a screaming bull this morning. Got to about 50 and knew something wasn't right.

 

Your view is waaaaaaay better than mine currently. Thanks for sharing and hope you get a shot on a stud bull.

 

That sure is some beautiful country. Good luck!

 

Wow, that looks amazing!! Good luck!!

 

My opener got rained out Sat and that was my only opportunity to hunt last weekend. Hopefully, Thursday.

So far I got my eye on this one.

 

Every couple of days I catch myself walking in a haze of life like most of us.....then something happens. Im like, its almost bow season SOB!

 

24 hours from now, I'll be on my way to the woods!!!!

 

So the first bull (first bull?) responded to cow calls. Before that, I had done some cow calls lower on the ridge and threw a few stick breaks and scraped/rubbed a tree before working up the ridge. A crow and red squirrels were going off up the ridge, which piqued my interest. So that was the direction I moved... Out of sage and some scattered pine and into a mature stand of pines....kept going and got to the edge of some smaller pines. Have a few core calls and Thundar screams a bugle probably 150yds off. I gave it about a minute and a couple more chirps. And he screamed his head of very close, but I think just over a roll...I could hear a couple cows with him too. Never saw him. I figured he was 90 degrees to me, relative to the wind, so I gave a few more chirps... Staring holes through the woods. A couple minutes later, I moved my bugle tube and crashing from behind me about 50yds away in the thick pine. I had looped that way earlier, so I think he just caught a wiff and was gone.

Phone died somewhere around here...

Pushed up the ridge, through another mature stand of pines and found another patch of smaller pines. Meandered around in there and tried a locator bugle, just holding the high note... A response in mind... But in the direction I was before... Below me. Thermals were switching and I had left the smoke bottle in the van....Frustrating. Anywho... Couple more cow chirps, nada. Figured I'd go for it, switched reeds and let out the most God awful noise... Doubled down and ripped a good growling bugle. I figured that will confuse them... Bout a minute later, got a response. Game on... Right near the ridge top and he was below me... Mental note... Got to swing upwind... so I moved about 30yds. I saw movement through the pines... 100+yds...grey body, no horns. Thought it was a cow at first, a second followed. But I think they were doe mule deer. Wait... A few minutes later I saw a brown body... Came straight toward me. Stopped with a clump of 3 pines covering his body... 28.5yds.the ticker was pounding. Breath. I think he could hear me breathing cause he just stood there for what seemed like forever... Probably 2-3 minutes. Staring. No shot anyway, but I was hoping he'd turn slowly and offer a chance. Nope. Something he didn't like and he snapped around. And did the whitetail run for 30 yds and stop... Still no shot, but when he looked back and I still didn't move, he slowly walked off...crushing my soul.

But hell of a morning. Took a 2 mile detour back to the car without a GPS... Food, water, cool down and recharge phone

 

Good luck Wl!

Well she is sea worthy. As soon as I beached her I jumped a doe group.

 

Sweet! Good luck, something tells me this is going to be your year. You’ve put the time in, are getting aggressive and getting your body into shape to make it happen. Loosing forward to the hero pics!!!!

 

I tried really hard to BS myself into not going and then I remembered the ole adage, you only get so many opening days. I'm hanging the stand this afternoon, took the morning off from work and will be hunting in the morning. And of course will be slightly hung over probably when I get up, update LFTS and chug my coffee.

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Highlight of afternoon walking up on this bedded muley doe and a nice view when I got to the top of the ridge. A few other random picks too.

 

Got a new stand hung today. Hunting it in the morning so lets see what happens. Its right on a good creek crossing and is at a good spot in between trail crossings.

 

I’ve been at elk camp since Friday evening. we have only been hearing the bulls be vocal in the mornings, nothing is talking after about 9 am.
Had a close encounter with a spike elk, a cow moose, and two different bull moose.
Today I picked a spot for my climber, and am sitting in it right now. I’m right on the edge of some old growth and new growth, with a good trail passing by. Throwing out some soft cow calls here and there, won’t bugle until I bit later into the evening.
A few pics. Air quality is horrible, too many forest fires in the region.





Back of a cow moose that I spent 20 minutes stalking her popping and cracking think she was an elk. 28 yards from her in this pic.


Wallow that isn’t active.