I'm heading out Thursday afternoon. Going to be near perfect conditions. And hopefully Sat morn I will be out too. I'm on the lookout for a big buck now.
Haven't even thought about going out. It's been low to mid 80's. Just picked up my bow tonight. Had new string put on. Shot about 20 arrows . Got it dialed in. The property I hunt holds a bunch of does. Most of the bucks don't start showing up on camera till 3rd or 4th week of October. Probably wait couple more weeks. I have 3 kids, 2 in fall sports. Soccer and volleyball (almost over!) All 3 will swim this winter. 2 for high school and one competitively for travel team. They keep me very busy. I will do the best I can for you guys, have gone 4 straight years with a least 1 deer.
Well some bad news for me. I spent last Tuesday in the Er/hospital making sure I wasn’t having a heart attack. All tests were perfect but my doctor and the cardiologist are concerned about the symptoms I still have, shortness of breath, pressure on my chest, head feels off, etc.... I go in Tomorrow morning for an angiogram. After the procedure I can’t lift more than 5lbs for 5 days. I havent missed opening day much less the first 2 weeks of season since I started hunting 16yrs ago. I’ll be out as soon as I’m cleared. Good luck to those hitting the woods!
I have yet to go out. Been really busy with work and family obligations but I should be able to get out some towards end of the week. Rainy weekend in forecast so hopefully I can make Thursday and Friday work.
If you shot the sucker with a longbow, from my perspective, that is the biggest trophy we will likely see. I have shot my share of deer with a compound, and a few in the 140’s and 150’s, but your kill trumps. Congratulations .
Thanks man I really appreciate the kind words. I've been working my ass off this season and I'm so happy it payed off. I'm hooked on trad bows for life Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
I haven’t been out yet, way too warm for my taste. Definitely going to be out this week sometime. Going to be selective. Going to have to be minimum 4 year old before I shoot., Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Just completed my first hunt of 2018 Seen a lot of deer, cold front had them moving. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Got good news yesterday. Arteries were pumping like hoses and they were as clean as the day I was born! I’ll be able to hit the woods Monday afternoon.
Well I hunted Saturday and Sunday afternoons had does all over and let a 130” 2 year old buck walk. Had a good encounter with a mature buck but was not close enough. first photo was Sunday, second was Saturday. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’m headed out in the morning, taking my 13yr old to hopefully get her first deer. I’ll have my bow in case one is out of her range. Good luck this weekend!
Good Afternoon Everybody. Hope your seasons are going well! This post is not intended to be a woe is me story, but rather, my realization that this bow hunting stuff is hard! A week ago Sunday I decided to sit in a blind that I had up for a few weeks, but hadn't hunted in yet. I had no real compelling reason to hunt there other than it was cold and windy, and the blind offered some protection from the elements. I got out with about 3 hours of hunting light left, and plenty of time to acclimate to my new spot and surroundings. About an hour into the hunt I was scanning the distant hillsides, and saw 8 deer just under 2 miles away starting to feed from some trees, up into a field. I thought this could be the group that I had on my trail cam, and they decided to head out the other end of the draw tonight. With about 25 minutes of shooting light left, I was getting pretty down and out that this hunt was a bust, yet again. This would make the 6th hunt in a row that I had seen nothing! I was getting cold, and starting to think about the mini tacos and mac n' cheese bites at the gas station that I was going to get for supper for my drive home. I was also starting to think that maybe i'm just not a good bow hunter, maybe this isn't for me and I should hang it up. After all, this is my 5th year hunting, and I haven't had an opportunity to draw back on a wall hanger yet. Self doubt is a powerful force. As I was talking myself into and out of packing up early and heading home, I noticed a movement my 2 o'clock. Out comes a doe, followed by small spike. This sent a smile through my whole body, I could just feel it. My streak had stopped at 5 outings without seeing a deer. Now it was time to just sit and watch these two feed, watch nature without it having a clue I'm there. One of my favorite parts of bow hunting. Suddenly, I see more movement from behind the tree that these two came out from behind. I look through my binoculars, a beautiful 8 point buck. All I can think is "Shooter". He comes around the last tree, but stays put at about 40 yards, and down a hill. All I can see at this point is his head. I need him to come up the hill and cross the fence. He waits there watching the doe and spike for a few minutes, and all of a sudden turns around and walks away from me. As my hope is dashed, all I can think is how cool it was to even have this encounter. My evening is fulfilled, and my spirits once again bright. Just at this time, a second buck that I swore I saw pokes his head up from below the hill. This guy is even bigger. As I look back at the first buck, I see he's crossing under the fence into the field! And starting to make a bee line right to me! At this point, I have probably 3-4 minutes of shooting light. I make the decision that the first one to give me a shot is my target. As I'm waiting for either of these two to give me a shot, I notice 4 more deer, 2 nice bucks, coming in from my 10 o'clock across the field. This is incredible! Just then, Mr. 8 Point stops a bit quartering to at 22 yards and starts feeding. I draw on him, look at my pins, and suddenly can't remember what the hell those pins mean- what yardage is what pin? Oh My Goodness.. I think this should be about right, and BAM, my bow goes off. I watch my lighted nock make its way right to the deer, and impact the deer. I hear a very low THWACK, and see that I got solid shoulder..... As he runs away I see a good chunk of my arrow still sticking out of him. I know it's not a good shot, but it just might work. Maybe?! I back out, and call my dad to ask him to come help track him. It's about an hour drive from where we live to the hunting land, so that should give the buck some time to bed down and expire. I told my dad I'll meet him in town, after all, the mini tacos and mac n' cheese bites are still on my mind. I take time to eat, and tell my dad about what happened. My dad and I get out to the blind about an hour and a half after the shot. We find good blood where he crossed the fence. We follow blood up to the edge of the gigantic draw he went down. This draw is something else- it's 3 miles long and a half mile wide, with all kinds of terrain, cattails, trees etc. in the middle of it. We follow the blood down until we loose it. We searched for 2 hours that night until we decide to come back the next morning. The next morning, follow the blood trail again until I found a bedding spot with a pool of blood. However, I don't find a trail of blood away from the bedding spot. I searched the entire area for another 6 hours that morning/afternoon. At this point, I decide to call it off. I assume he clotted up and ran off without leaving a trail from the original bedding spot I found. I can't quite describe the feeling of having to give up. Many of you know it, I'm sure. It had taken me 5 years of hunting to get an opportunity to take a shot at a buck of that caliber. And I screwed it up. How long will it take me to get another opportunity? Now what? Once again, self doubt is a mighty powerful force. Now, a little better than a week removed from the event, I've hunted a few more times, and had some nice action. The bucks are starting to show up on cam again, and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. This bow hunting stuff is quite a roller coaster, but man is it fun! Here's a few photos. The first is Mr. 8 Point Shoulder Shot from a few nights earlier. The second is right after Mr. 8 Point Shoulder Shot comes under the fence making a bee line at me. In the distance, you can see a number of the other deer heading my way from my 10 o'clock.
