Good luck in Wyoming Jordan. I lost self control and checked my front cameras. I planted a 1/4 acre of Brassica mix right next to the two front ones, so I was already there, why not. The mineral site is about 15 yards inside the woods from my food plot. I didn’t intend on planting anything for winter, but the soil is compacted pretty good, and I don’t have any equipment to turn it over, so I’m going to hope that turnips and radishes will loosen it up a little. Did the ol throw and mow, lost another deck belt in the process. But anyway, my #1 buck was at the mineral site about 15 yards from the food plot. I thought he would be 4.5 this year, but he looks long legged and not deep chested enough, unless he was a crazy 1.5yo. I thought he was 2 in 2016. Here’s some pics from 2016 and then this year. What do you guys think? This year I’m cutting that damn tree come January. I know it’s hard to age when that is totally blocking the neck line
Spent the weekend fine tuning the bow. I shoot a PSE X-Force GX. Set up the chrono at the range and with my GT 340's and a 100 grain Carbon Express fixed blade broadhead I am clocking 338fps. I have six true shooters set up with broadheads and am so damn ready for next Monday I am about to explode. I just wanna sit in a tree!
I’d say he is now 4 yrs old but it’s possible that he’s only 3. If so he was an exceptional yearling.
Yeah, I keep tossing around the idea of getting a new bow but nothing comes close to my love of that X-Force. I wish it had the let off of a Mathews or a Hoyt but I have rarely had to hold it for over 30 seconds to make a shot. Shallow valley and a firm back wall, doing more than 6 sets is a real task but hey those deer don't jump the string like they did on my Alpine Sierra Magnum that I shot for close to twenty years.
Looks like my hunting season should finally start next week, too darn many things going on the last few weeks. Saturday would have been a great day to be in the stand here in Nebraska. From my living room I saw 8 deer, one young 110" buck. If I were sitting in the stand I would have had shots at all of them. Unfortunately we chaperoned a homecoming party Friday night, there was no way I was getting out of bed early the next morning. Traveling most of this week, should be my last major trip of the year. Looking forward to getting settled down and focused on the important things like football and HUNTING!
Got a pic of one of my shooters for the first time in 2 months. I haven’t really been chasing them too much with cameras but he just happened to walk by one of the Cell cameras during the rain Saturday afternoon. He won’t have a sexy score but I’d have to shoot him.
Well I’m not going to beat you Oct 1st folks by much but I’m planning to make my first sit of the year Thursday afternoon. Looking forward to it. I may be able to hunt Friday and Saturday afternoons as well.
Well the boy & I kinda lost the place we were hoping to hunt. It might be public land for us. Not quite sure but we have to figure it out & get some scouting done in the next few days. Getting all sighted in & ready. Tell me, HOW do you calm your nerves. I am taking another's life....this is a BIG DEAL for me....yes, I'm teary as I type this....but I want to fill our freezer. HELP! I need to figure out how to get my shakey, emotional, nerves calmed when the big guy gets in front of me. I'm sure glad I have the kid who knows how to do "the dirty work" & process what we harvest. ANY advice would be appreciated. Anyway, I just started sighting in. Groupings are tight. So tight I started aiming at different spots in the vitals to keep from busting nocks. I THINK I'M READY!!!! My first ever bow season or hunting season ever! (I've only been with the boy while he hunts.)
That sucks you lost a place to hunt. As far as calming my nerves, I’m able to block most of it out until after the shot by focusing on my shot process. I just make sure my grip and anchor is correct and if I’m shooting down, I make sure I bend at the waist. After the shot though it’s a flood of excitement and gratitude
Every time I'm with the boy, the buck, tom, whatever strolls in & I start shaking. Once the shot is made, I can't even function for a while. I shake & cry & am a big ol' mess. I'm hoping I can keep those shakes under control until after but so far, I haven't been able to....although I haven't been the one making the shot. ahhhhhhh Maybe when my concentration is on the proper form & shot placement I will calm. I know he always shakes & then goes to make the shot & he's calm and steady. Hoping that's the case with me or I won't be taking any shots.
Just think about how good they taste. I raise hogs, cattle and chickens to consume. My wife always tried naming animals and then wanted to get all emotional when I butchered. I put the kabosh on that. The only thing that keeps my "nerves" steady is having enough respect for my prey that I practice making good shots so that my kill shot is clean and ethical guaranteeing a quick death. Looks like you have good groupings and so you should have good confidence when you shoot.
Since moving back to Oklahoma, we have considered raising our own cattle, chickens & maybe hogs..... I'm a big baby & my 2 girls (10 & 7) even more so. . . . I'd likely be one to name them & get emotional. Ya meanie! Poor Caleb would have to do all of the killin'. The ethical guaranteed quick death shot is why I want to be as absolutely perfect at shooting as I can be. I told the kid that the first time I shoot something & it doesn't die but instead runs off wounded, will likely be the last time I hunt. Hunting is something I've always wanted to do. NOW is my time to try it. Hoping it goes really well because I enjoy my time in the woods (especially with him).
I've hunted for a long time and for me each situation is different. I've had times that a big buck is close and I'm locked in and calm and I've had others that I'm trying to put meat in the freezer and I'm shaking like a leaf. I don't think you can ever program it out. Good advise from the guys already about focusing on the process, visualization is also a good tool to help when the time comes. Think through a slew of scenarios start to finish, the deer will almost never follow the script but it will still help when the time comes. In my opinion taking the life of an animal is always an emotional thing, if I ever gets to where it isn't I'll probably go see a shrink.
What you are doing in taking up hunting is signing yourself up for taking part in a predator/prey relationship. It is a completely different thing than picking up ground beef at the market. It is much more intimate and personal and for us as human beings it should come with respect and even empathy for our prey. The respect and empathy is why we try to do our very best to be as lethal as possible. Death at the hands of a hunter who makes a clean kill is actually the best death that a wild prey animal can possibly face. The alternatives are starvation, disease, accidents, and in some cases like the one I happened upon this Summer... being eaten alive. Not to sound facetious but for them there is no dying in their sleep or lying in bed surrounded by family and friends. The death of a prey animal will almost always be worse than anything you can bring about. That is where you find your solace when your emotions well up over the taking of a life. As for your fear of wounding a deer and not retrieving it... you need to get that out of your mind. If you hunt long enough it WILL happen. You have to accept that and if you are doing your best as a hunter that is all that you can ask of yourself. You will be sick over it and that is OK. That just makes you human. You can’t dwell on it. If you made a mistake then you vow to learn from it and be better next time but do not shy away from the next time. Not every prey animal in the wild that gets wounded by a predator gets claimed by that predator. Sometimes they escape but still succumb to their wounds and die. That is just part of the natural world... the one that you are stepping into fully by becoming a hunter. If you are gonna be a carnivore you might as well be a predator. Based upon your arrow groups you look pretty dangerous. You can do this. We have got your back and you know Caleb does for sure.
^this. In hindsight I consider my early bow kills lucky. I was a good shot and everything seemed to always go my way until the hunt that it didn't. I had a small buck jump the string and I ended up hitting him in the gut. I made it worse with my impatientence and bumped him. Then got within 30 yards of him bedded down and missed which in turn bumped him again. Finally, found him half torn up from coyotes the next morning. My Dad told me later that week that he said nothing to me bc he knew I was being hard on myself and every hunter learns that lesson first hand. Not a season goes by that I dont think about that hunt.
