I live on the Virginia / West Virginia line in Bath County, up in the mountains! What county are you in?
Ben, I might get out to Ohio one night this week . . . not sure. I'd LOVE to sit that "wagon wheel" stand site with a west wind, just one time before their pattern changes. I know those 5x5's are definite shooters, so if I could smash one of them, I'd be as happy as a clam. It's funny, as much as I shed hunt, I've never been in that area. I circle around it everytime I walk that tract. Tons of activity. Tons. . . . and I know, you don't kill a deer just because you're hunting over the sign . . . but this is a TON of sign, and my trailcams show 8-10 different bucks regularly utilizing the area. 3 shooters. It's just too hot to ignore. I'd kinda planned on hunting Thursday night, but I forgot - I have tickets for the Pitt game. Since it's a nationally-televised night game, I reckon I'll go to the game. My wife probably won't really tolerate me trying to go on Friday night (especially if I spend Thursday night at the stadium with the boys). I pick my battles, and I don't want to start anything yet. We'll see. To all you fellas whose seasons are opening up, GOOD LUCK! Text me if you shoot anything (or even if you just get bored). 724-454-9709. Put me in your rolodex.
Well Gentlemen, the quikkiemeister may have screwed us over tonight. I desperately wanted to put a second hunt in on a new stand site that I found last week, but when I got in there, the sign was as stale as old bread. Evidently, my presence from last Saturday was felt, and whatever buck was demolishing the woods and staging up in that area - was onto me. I made one pass through the area, and he picked right up on it, and shut it down. Smart. The first key move of the 2011 chess game goes to the whitetail. Deer takes pawn. My move. I can be down, but I'm never out. I hoofed it back out to an edge that I knew was getting pretty scrapy, and eyeballed a lone black cherry tree that had the wind in its favor with a perfect backdrop. This tree was front & center in a great field entry chokepoint. I didn't have a lock-on with me, and my climber was a no-go on this tangled mess of a tree, so I just clambered on up into the crotch of the tree and perched there for the evening, indian-style. No stand, no problem. It's funny - not many hunters are willing to climb a tree and just sit down on a limb and wait. I do it at least a couple times a year. That's a discussion for another time . . . Right at dusk, just as my ass was getting sore from sitting on that limb, I had a small 3x3 come out. He validated my belief that I was in a great spot. He was bedded right where he was supposed to be, and he couldn't even get the faintest whiff of me. Just as I got the little guy in the glasses, out behind him stepped a great 9 pointer. Definitely a stud of a buck. Big, boxy front-end, beautiful coat, towering rack. "Shooter." Well . . . maybe not. After a second look (then a 3rd, 4th & 5th), I just wasn't feeling it. He's a new buck, and I definitely have no trailcam pics of him. I got the bino's on him and really started breaking it down... He's got great brows, maybe 6" each, angled inward and almost touching. Kinda spindly past the midpoints. G2's were matched at about 8-9", G3 was strong on the Left, maybe 8, weaker on Right - 5ish. G4 was stubby, 2-3" max. I put his beams right at 21 each. Mass was average for the frame - maybe 14" each. Not real wide. I put him at 15-16" inside. I scored this buck about 90 times in the 20 minutes he stood around me. I just couldn't realistically stretch him much past 130". My mind was ripping through numbers like a ticker tape, and I just couldn't justify shooting him. I never even took my bow off the hook, despite him easily being one of the biggest bucks I've ever had within bow range. I just enjoyed watching the big fella, and reveled in the fact that my half-assed plan came together perfectly. I made the 1.5 hour drive home just wondering what in the hell I was thinking. Why even hunt if you're going to see deer like that, and never even realistically attempt to take a shot? Big bucks excite the hell out of me. He just wasn't quite there. I've promised myself that I'd never shoot a deer ever again unless it really got the blood pumping. This guy was a gorgeous buck, and anyone in their right mind would've ended their season with him in a heartbeat, but for some reason, I just didn't feel it in my bones that this was my guy. I know there are bigger bucks lurking. I just have to trust myself to get on one. Honestly, I feel bad for people who have never gotten out in the woods and experience the sanctity and simplicity of feeling like you're the only person for 1000 miles. I live for this. . .
amen brother... good things to come for the King I am sure... Matter of time.. I got a kick out of that text last night... I'm knee deep in elk and your hanging in a tree like a monkey letting good bucks walk!
Great story Fran. I got blanked at that scrape this morning. Went to a new property this afternoon and saw 9 bucks. One shooter, all at a distance. Things are looking up. I may also have stumbled into some REALLY good land that I've been angling on, but never thought was an option. If that's the case, I may spend the rest of the season running and gunning in my climber on it as all 14 of my hangons are in use elsewhere.
Sounds like you're expanding your range, Ben. Good move. I went out in that miserable rain last night. Did manage to see a couple does and two small bucks. What a nasty evening.
Opening day yesterday and it was interesting to say the least. The stand I had planned to sit was about 400 yards away from the biggest party I've seen since college. So, I decided to sit the other end of the property. Got up into stand, viewing trail cam pics and chilling out. Then I get a text from my buddy that hunting the south end of the property. Three kids are coming down the road and headed out onto the property to where I'm sitting. I see them heading right for me. They spook three does that come blazing by me. This was happening right before dusk. So, I decided to get down and approach the kids. Didn't find them....UNTIL I heard them coming back down the road. I got back into street clothes, jumped in the ride and headed them off. As pissed as I was, I remained calm. Yes the three kids are still alive and well. Day one was interesting to say the least!
Bad news bros. I cost us 50 points opening morning on Saturday. I one lunged a doe early in the morning and never found her. She came in on me quickly from down-wind of me and I rushed the shot. I thought the shot was true, but I must have just been forward by a couple inches. I found good blood with bubbles in it for a good 450 yards and meticulously followed that trail for 3 hours, but lost blood. I backed out for a couple hours and waited for my dad to get off work and we picked it up again. We crossed her trail some 250 yards from where I lost blood and followed more blood another 100 yards down into the deepest and steepest creek bottoms and ridges Millboro, VA. has to offer but she must have been well enough to make it out. It sucks, but it happens; although that doesn't make it any easier to swallow. Just need to get back out there soon. I did get a couple pics of a couple shooters. The tall 8 is really appealing, but the second uploaded photo is a straight monster. Both bucks were in the food plot I am hunting this afternoon.
Finally getting some buck sightings. Had one sneak in behind me Saturday night at 7 yards but couldn't get turned around. This guy has been showing up at the feeder last couple of days.
I will be out tomorrow night, my sighting are pickin up daily now. I think I will have something to share this weekend. Good luck guys just checking in.
I had a really nice buck in range at last light in PA tonight - 5x5 - stubby tines. Young deer. I'd score his tines at 4, 5, 4.5, 2.5 - beams around 19 - 15" inside. At the time, I had him at 120ish, but upon further consideration, I'd put him right at around 110-115. Good bones for a youngster. There are bigger boys lurking, so he'll never know how close he came to getting permanently anchored. Next year, he's duck butter. Then again, next year, he won't be so dumb. LOL I guess that's how it goes... My self-imposed rule for 2011 is that I refuse to shoot anything unless it goes to the taxidermist. I'd be tagged-out right now with two great bucks if I wasn't committed. Everytime I reach for the weapon, all I can think about is the $600 taxidermy bill... We'll see if it pays off...
Yesterday was my worst hunting day in quite some time. Starting things off, I was up too late on Friday, shorted myself on sleep, then proceeded to get blanked on the morning sit. No biggie, but I should've seen it as a sign. I climb down, only to realize that I've lost a knob off of my bow sight. I curse to ease the pain, and move on with my life's work. The afternoon was a scheduled rat race to check/move/reload about 8 trailcams, load #200 of corn in the feeder and plug in a new 6v battery. We hit our own property first. I loaded up my bud's ATV with the corn bags and threw the 6V battery in the front toolbox, along with some other random stuff (keys, wallets, cameras, etc.). By the time we made it to the first camera, smoke was bellowing out of the toolbox, and it smelled like a massive electrical fire. We sprang into action like the hillbillies that we are, flung open the lid, and realized that the terminal guards on the battery were missing, and it was touching my buddy's keys, causing the whole damn thing to short out and catch fire. Good news, no major damage. Bad news, the plastic coating on my buddy's truck key had melted down over the keyring into a clump of black plastic. It was like a black, smelly key omelet. Classy. Now, we're both pissed off, but there's still a lot of daylight left. Things will take a turn for the better. Or will they? I forgot the batteries for the cameras, so we had to go back out and get those. No big bucks on the camera. Again. We load the feeder, but have no 6v battery to turn it on. It's still sitting there with no power (completely full of corn). It's getting hotter. My bud twists his ankle, but we push on. Cameras 1-4 are dead and/or non-functional and/or haven't seen a big buck since the dawn of time. It's now hotter than hades. We're sweating like pigs. The evening hunt is in serious jeopardy. Camera 5 is placed out on the public land. I pull in, only to find some guy who was sitting in the parking area, manically depressed after crippling one of my target bucks. It just keeps getting better. We decide to just throw in the towel on the evening hunt and go home. BUT, before we leave, we want to hang 2 more cameras. Halfway through the last hike to the last camera, I walk straight on into a branch, and ram myself right in eyeball. I cursed like a sailor and fruitlessly tried to regain my vision. I now have a scratched cornea that causes the most annoying glare you've ever seen. I hope it goes away soon. I feel like I'm in a fishbowl.
I've only been out twice so far and I didn't see any deer either sit. I have tomorrow off and I plan on going out in the morning. It's gonna be 80 degrees tomorrow with an east wind....not ideal conditions, but I killed my buck last year on the same day with the exact same weather conditions.
Dont mean to over post this buck but I shot this guy last night, all on film. 25 yard double lung shot. I will post a score when the skull comes back fom the butcher this week. I think it will only be in the 90s so dont think this guy is gona push us up to the top but Im due for some does too.
Fran Wow !!! Sounds pretty bad. I am really wondering if trail cams are worth it. I pulled the card on three trail cams setting over mock scrapes. One had 1262 pictures on it with 1150 of them being wind pictures. The other only had a couple hundred pictures of wind blowing the trees around. Only one buck to show for it and I wouldn't shoot him anyways. The 3rd cam had 18 pictures on it and the batteries are dead. Got me a spike buck on that one. Thinking about taking the 3rd camera back to Cabelas today and get some arrows instead. Least I know they work !!! As far as hunting... I finally got a deer in bow range last night. I very small doe. I was so happy to have a deer by me... I didn't have the heart to shoot her. She came by 3 times and would hang out right by me for 5 - 15 minutes each time. This has to be one of the worst years for scouting, trail camming and hunting... I can remember... EVER !!!! 2011 is going down as the year of Sucking Bad at it !! That does suck to ram a branch into you eye. I did it 2 years ago shed hunting. Made for a very miserable day.
Wicked hoyt....I've been out everyday since the opener except last Tues. I'll be out everyday this week to. Hung a new stand yesterday that is very promising. I'll likely let it cool until I get a good NW or W wind. Let's get some chicks killed and out of the way those of you who are into that sort of thing.
