SH good luck bro! Hope you put some corn fed venison in that freezer of yours! and my pepper stix turned out great this year! Smoked.. YUMMY!
Well no luck this weekend fellas. I filmed my friend Sat through Sunday am and we saw 3 does total, but none close enough to get a shot.. It was very stormy and rainy at night, but luckily quit right around daylight. Sunday evening I decided it was my turn to take the bow and I let my Fiance`s 9 year old little brother tag along. This was his first time ever going hunting and my first time ever taking a youngster. Although he couldn't sit still, his patience was excellent. We sat for about 3.5 hours in the ground blind, but got skunked, well not quite. As we left the blind at dark we decided to take a peek across the field we were setup next to and sure enough there was a dandy staring right at us... WHOOPS! Couldn't shoot a buck on this anterless hunt anyways, and I am sure he will be back!
Hey boys! Sorry I've been MIA. Picked 30,000# of squash in the last week and have about 2-3000 pumpkins to pick yet. I'm hoping to get out this weekend and stick a good buck though. Good luck out there!
Hey guys, sorry for the absence. Been a roller coaster ride of a season for me so far. Bulls finally started talking this week and I have been into one single bull for three nights in a row... Monday Night Bull answers my location bugle up the ridge from me with approximately 30 minutes of daylight left. I tear off in his direction as hard and quiet as I can. With 15 minutes left I let out a small bugle and get a response.... directly on top of me. I drop to the other side of the ridge and begin closing in. I can hear the bull on top of the ridge but can also hear something walking towards me. I lean around a tree and see a cow at 30. I need a dead elk, and this cow is dead, but this bull is just too worked up. I purposesly run into the cows, scatter the herd, then scream a nasty bugle at the bugle. He comes rushing into to about 70 yards and starts tearing up a tree. Shooting light is done, I just can't do it. Back out undetected. Caught a slight glimpse, looks like a decent bull. Tuesday Night I make it up to where I left the bull, the night prior, with plenty of light left. I wait a few hours then throw out a location bugle. I get a response.. On the thickest, nastiest ridge in the area. I dive in head first and encounter one very pissed off bull. While sneaking towards a clearing to gain some visibility the bull breaks and runs straight at me. Comes in to 6 yards and I cant see him! Just bits and pieces of horn is all that is visible. Again, the night closes in and I am left heading back to the truck, dejected. Wednesday Night This time I am prepared. I set up on a ridge close to his nasty hell hole and prepare to call him over to some clearings. As calling time nears his familiar bugle rings out, directly above me about 100 yards! He moved...again. Now he is heading straight up hill to where we were on Monday night. The herd is moving, and moving fast. Every ounce of my body is giving up but I have to stay with the herd and continue my laborious run up the hill. I have to stay with them. I follow the herd into a old burn, no cover. I allow them the get over a rise and take off. I get level with the herd climb to the top of the mountain. We are now on a very large, flat, rolling ridge that is all burned with scattered spurts of stunted spruce. While dropping into a saddle I spot the bull at about 100 yards. He has four to six cows and I am out of cover. The elk feed into a small tree patch and I move forward. The cows drop off one side of the ridge while the bull stays on top. I use this to my advantage and close in to about 70 yards between him and his harem. Once I have some cover I charge the bull while screaming the biggest, gnarliest bugle I can muster. he immediately begins raking a tree at 40 yards. I can't see him and it's getting to dark to try any movement at this distance. Again, the light has screwed me. What I don't know Where the bull will be at any given day, he is constantly moving. How many cows he actually has Who else knows of him What I do know The area, very well A lot of guys hunt the area on the weekends, he will be hiding and I plan to be waiting for him. I finally got a good look at him last night. GIANT. 7x7 that is easily in the 320-330 range. Probably bigger. He is the biggest bull I have ever had a shot at. I honestly believe I deserve this bull. I am at 99.5 hours and 68 miles for the season. I am pushing myself too hard. I have lost 12# this week alone and can feel my body shutting down. Today is a rest day. I will never stop pushing. This season will end with me bloody, broken, and bruised regardless if the bull is dead or not. Leave everything on the mountain. Good luck to everyone else getting out this weekend.
Rest up and get back after him Dave... U gonna hunt him this weekend or let it ride until the weekend warriors are gone? Sounds to me like a heck of a bull, I hope you run him down! Good luck, you have till the 16th for bow right?
well still sick or not I am going out in the morning. I just can't stand the waiting. Weather is cooling off a little bit and I really want to go check my trail cam as well. Wish me luck boys and good luck to anyone else getting out this weekend.
Hope everyone had a great weekend! I have been sick the last couple days and didn't get out much. My nephew was able to kill a buck we call Stubby, the same buck I had under me the second night of season when the light was too low to take a shot. This was one of my main target bucks of the year, but I couldn't be happier to see him fall to my nephew. Here's a link to the story..... http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?39140-THE-Stone-Cold-Killer-strikes-again Hopefully you guys are having some luck out there. It's pretty quiet in here!
Big congrats to your Nephew Dan! I have also been sick lately so I didn't even head up to the hunting land this weekend. I'll will be hunting next weekend though. I'm also going to start 4-5 mock scrapes and put out some more cameras.
Finally opening day in illinois. Only problem is I'm stuck at a desk all week and my trip to my property this weekend might not happen. I went to visit some friends over the weekend and took the bow so we could get some practice in. I was shooting real good groups from 10 to 40 yards until my string stop failed. Now I'm missing a foot low on every shot. Its a simple fix but I have to wait and see if my new string stop gets here before friday. Sent from my SGH-T959 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
Well I didn't make it out Saturday. Was in the area Friday and checked my trail cam and not one deer pic in almost 2 weeks. Woke up still not feeling well so I didn't want to push it. Slow recovery is pissing me off. Going out next week for a couple days and will move my primary stand and sit in one of the other guys until I find a better place. There are definitely deer there so I am still confident on putting some down, Just have to make an adjustment and get it done. Hope you guys are having a little better luck.
Congrats to your nephew Dan, that is an awesome buck!! I have been sick with a sinus infection, but am starting to get over it. Opening day here in Michigan and I didn't even get to hunt! can you believe that? Some awesome weather is in the forecast for early season hunting. It looks like the highs are going to barely get above 50 this week/weekend. I will hit a few nights after work this week and be hunting the entire weekend hard. I don't think I am going to make it down to IL this weekend like I planned due to getting sick and missing a day of work. I can pretty much go down there any time but like I said still have vacation planned on Nov 3-11... Do you guys think this is a good window or should I go a little sooner? Good luck to the rest of you guys, I have a feeling were going to start putting them down. Here's to Hunting season 2012
Glad too see everyone is getting out now. Can't wait to see what unfolds! Dan, congrats to your nephew that is an incredible experience! What a toad Our whole team is sick but me it seems.. you all stay away from me.
Dan, Congrats to your nephew, you, and your entire family. I hope that post continues to be a yearly occurrence. I hunted this past weekend, does didn't cooperate but did see four bucks. One a borderline shooter but it was at last light and after camera light. Did get a picture of Splits, a 150 class main frame ten I'm after, at 6:30 in the afternoon cruising a ridge. The ridge usually gets lit up with scrapes but nothing so far, should be very soon. If he stays on his feet this early I like my chances. It should only get better, get past these warm days! Keep at it guys, lots of fun to come!
Nice buck your nephew shot Dan, congrats! Hope all you sick guys start feeling better, getting my Oct sets ready here, season is closed for 10 days..starting Oct 1.. then its full bore till Xmas. Getting my sons ready for their Oct 13 rifle opener in Wa. state.
Been real rough for me to start the season.... I just don't see the deer like I use too, I think its just to much hunting pressure all around me. I have 7 sits in this season and have yet to get a deer withing 50 yards. I hunted Fri pm, Sat am, Sun am and the only deer I saw was a Big ole doe with two fawns and this was when I was just heading to the stand in the evening on Friday...Busted!! Been a crappy start to the season for me... I know there are deer where I hunt... trails are everywhere but just not seeing them. How are things llooking for everybody else?
