Have you seen the epic fail app. This wasn't one. Just a mistake, and you know that, so it's all good.
Went out last night and sat till dark. I saw a water snake chasing bullfrogs in the pond and a completly gray squirl with a completly black tail. other than that it started to pour at about 5 I thought I'd wait it out get a little wet and hopefully it would die down before dark, maybe get the deer out of there beds and moving. Well it never stoped so there I was really cold really wet. Nothing a hot bath can't solve.
I went out yesterday. I sat for about 12 hours in total. I saw about 40 squirrels, a couple that were mating/fighting. Outside of that, I saw nothing. I tried rattling a bit, threw in some calls. I walked the nearly entire property when I was up from the stand, and found 0 rubs, 0 scrapes, and jumped one deer (a doe I've named limpy). I didn't search into bedding areas, but I walked around them. My mock scrape still hasn't been hijacked either. Frustrating! I called my friend (friend of 20+ years, and we're 31) last night, to ask him to be in my wedding. He hunts the county above where I hunt, and last year he shot a 153 inch buck, and the year before he shot a 140 incher. He doesn't bow hunt, but He basically said I could. It's his grandfather's land, and after rifle season I'm going to seriously ask. He told me that he'll take me rifle hunting out there, but I'm not interested in that. So, here's to hoping that my buddy can get me on there to do some bowhunting. He has a bow too, but hasn't had it setup to use. Maybe I could get him out there. He said he's always wanted to kill a deer with a bow(I think he used the word jealous). I think there is one other guy that bowhunts this ground, but he's a weekend warrior, and I'm a weekday warrior. It could work out very well!
not heading out this weekend though it is perfect with the cold and seeing some bucks around the house chasing a doe. this is the youth hunt weekend here in TN so no adults allowed unless they are taking their kids.
My dad got his first whitetail today, a four pointer. Only took him 33 years this is his second year bowhunting. Pretty cool!
I sat Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this past weekend. I could get long winded here, but I'm going to try and keep it short. Thursday morning I sat between a standing corn field and alfalfa on an oak flat beside CRP and seen 0 deer. That night I sat 150 yards away on another oak finger and seen 3 at last light. Friday morning and Saturday morning I sat the same oak finger stand as Thursday night. I seen 12 1 day and 4 the other (bumped 4-5 out walking in/bedded 20 yards from stand). There were 3 different bucks in these 2 sits. I passed the same buck 2 times (both days at 8:00) He was a nice 17inch 2 1/2 year old 8 point that I filmed instead. Friday night I seen 3 deer, 1 was a little buck. Friday night my brother shot a buck at 5:45 (Another nice 17inch 8pt (130 class). He hit him high so he backed out and we tracked him the next day after I got done hunting for the morning. We found blood, but it wasn’t good. Like I said he hit him high and at 15 yards with 30 ft of elevation he should of still got opposite side lung. There was no exit hole so this has made it tough (sounds like he hit opposite side shoulder as he got 8-10 inches penetration). With no low exit hole and the possibility he only got 1 lung blood would be hard to come by yet the deer may still be full of blood. We are still hunting the property and looking for birds, however, we have given up on making a quality recovery of this deer if he has died. We are staying in the woods and the cameras are out so we will know if he is still walking tall (I hope that’s the case). Sunday morning I saw 7 deer and 3 bucks. It saw my first shooter buck of the year, however he was 100 yards away chasing a doe and never gave me a good luck so I don't know if I have him on camera or if he is a new buck. 200 yards away my brother seen 11 and 4 were 1 1/2 year old bucks. Sunday night I sat a stand that hasn't been hunted only 2 times prior in the rain on a big ridge. I had no movement until 15 minutes before light. Overall, I was really disappointed with hunting this past weekend. Usually things are pretty hot this weekend in the past and they were not at all by the typical standards I have for encounters. The mature bucks simply didn't seem to be moving like i had hoped and my trail cameras still indicate this too. I hoped to sit all day each of these days, but chose not to as movement wasn’t indicating it was a good choice. Even though things were slow where I hunted my bother had the 3 1/2 he didn't find, another buddy has a dead deer judging by camera footage and blood that just is nowhere to be found (a group of us grid searched Friday and had no luck), then I had 2 other friends shoot nice 3 1/2 year olds. I'm really hoping things are on this Friday through Monday as I have 4 more days to hunt and plan to live in the stand. I'm hoping for some days like last year where I was covered up in deer all day long from start to end with hot does running around everywhere. Other side information. No luck with the decoy 1 night. Minimal response to rattling and grunting (only 1 little buck), but my brother called in the 1 he wounded. My uncle who hunts the biggest property we hunt had a 150 pound bear cub in his stand 2 times 1 night. He was kicking it with his boot to get down while hoping it didn't squeal so momma bear who was 100 yards away didn't come up too. Lastly, my uncle decided to be the nice guy again and let a guy and his son bow hunt my best area. The area I have stayed out of all season except for 1 am and 1 pm hunt so far this year. They hunted it this past weekend and will all week while I'm out of town and I'm sure again when I'm home next week. Frustrates me as we co-own the property so not a whole lot I can do about it. Same thing happened last year too. Worst part is they just use him, only time they come around is when it bow season and they have their own land to hunt. Plus they are the hunters who do a sloppy job, don't practice shooting, trudge through the woods wherever and just screw things up. My brother is currently sitting in a mature pine grove right off of a thick bedding area to 1 side and a big CRP swamp to the other side. He is hunting a big split G2 11 point buck we call Count Chocula.
Hey guys quick update here. I saw my first shooter of the year two Saturdays ago. He was 65 yards coming my way walking a field edge when he blew out because some idiot across the road shot a deer and was tromping around during shooting hours. Sometimes I hate hunting PA. I also missed a doe at 33 yards. I'm not sure what happened everything was perfect, I wasn't nervous, I put the 35 yard pin right on her heart, she was calm, but somehow the arrow sailed over her back. One of those head scratchers. Anyway I'll get out if I can this week, but I'll be out all next week. I took the whole week off so hopefully I can make it happen. Good luck all.
Team, I'll be heading to the woods in the AM for mye3rd hunt and 2nd all dayer. I've not had a sit yet that I didnt have a shooter with in range, so hopefully tomorrow will yield results in 150+ range. I'll try and update my journal while in the stand; however, last sit there, I had no service. (bottoms). I have great expatations leading into tomorrow. I places several mock scrapes around my stand in the Big bucks bedding area. With the full ruts, possibly, days away. I've only a short window of opertunity to harvest the beast within. Good day to you all.
been doing back to back shifts in the woods taking a small break now, seen some does but none in good shooting range, one this morning at about 45-50 yards straight downwind of me and looking a bit jittery so she didnt come in like it originaly looked she would. last night a yote messed up my hunt. well I have some decent places and its onyl really a matter of grinding it out until I score. rut doesnt start here until the end of the month so in the two weeks or so its going on I should be hitting it hard. I have a few places with some small bucks on cam that I may go after, sorry if I use the "fregie" rule guys this is about meat to me and really always has been. I feel like a complete falure until my freezer starts to get full. So there you have it. I'll keep you guys posted.
Well, I'm home from the longest day ever in a stand. I thought sunrise was at 6:26 so I was in my stand at 5:15. Unfortunately it didn't get light until 7. Fast forward 13 hours and its 6, I've packed all my belongings into my bag, and was about to lower my bow, when I hear that noice every bowhunter knows, and waits for in every hunt. Yes the twig snap. I grab my bow and wait until there it is a brown spot in the woods. It's a deer. But only a doe. I watched behind her with high hopes of a buck thY make be following.. no luck. Just this doe. I got some nice video of her, and will try and upload it. Anyways, I noticed that the bucks in this spot have really turned it on as far as, rubs and scrapes every where. My trail cam didn't get any pics, and I had fresh tracks in my mock scrape? It time for dis guy to get to bed, night all! Not bad, if you look at my track record thus far. 4 sits and deer (in shooting range) every time.
Hey Shane I had the same issue checking a trail cam after 5 days of sitting tons of new prints in the area but not one dang pic, I bleieve I set my trail cam a little far back, but i moved it to about one hundred yards away to check out a unique scrape I found. Sorry to hear you didnt see any bucks but thats bowhunting huh. I didnt go this morning the wind picked up here and switched directions so I really just felt like sleeping in. Ill be out there tonight wind is supposed to fad now I just need to think if the right place to hunt, seems in my hast I most if not all of my sets are for a south wind and the wind is north today which it never is, so I'll think on it and may just try a completly new place.
Less then 19 hours and I'll be on stand. Weather looks great for me Friday and then questionable Saturday and Sunday with Monday coming back around again.A lot of corn is off now but there are still a couple huge ag. field on properties we hunt. South wind almost all Friday and rest of weekend which will be a touch interesting at times. This si teh weekend I've been waiting for since a year ago. I hope the encounters are like they were last year! Good luck to everyone getting out this weekend.
Wish the rut started earlier here, hunting twighlight hours gets pretty rough. I really hate when the sun goes down and shooting light goes into iffy shooting light into too dim to shoot. whatevs, show a squirl at 20 yards today, i got bored plus it was early in the evening I usually dont do this.
Been doing some grouse hunting, got 2 last night. Really wanna go deer hunting though! That's the bad part of tagging out early.. Good luck this weekend guys!
