Okay guys, kind of a report on my morning. Saw one of my shooters on camera that chased a hot doe off and never gave me a shot. He is the one in the picture. I also had a new buck sprint through the field at avout 40 yards. From the small glance i got, I think he would score 170 or so.... gonna be back in the stand tonight.
Took the weekend off to be with the family after going to Kansas. No luck in Kansas. Only saw the one shooter. We had issues with other hunters 3 of the 6 days we hunted... Didn’t see but 16 deer the entire time in a tree, which is not good for where we were at. I think the standing corn all around us was the big killer for us. Gonna go after my daughter her first buck Saturday and hopefully I can go after a doe at the least Sunday evening. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I sure hope so. Been a long vacation with bad weather sits and as soon as the weather breaks I’m not seeing as many deer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I ended having both a frustrating and good hunt today. The hunt got off to a rough start. I got up at 4:30 am to be on stand 45 minutes before shooting light. Unfortunately, it poured rain until about 7:30 am, and I walked in after daylight. It was raining too hard set up before then. I spooked a group of four does walking in. I think they were headed to the bedding area I wanted to set up in. This is the same bedding area I saw a good shooter 8 pointer on Friday night. I learned the hard way that the straps on my Hawk tree stand suck and make awful knots when wet. I got to the top of the first tree and could not get the stand secured. After about 30 minutes of fighting it, I got down and moved the whole set to a different tree. I was able to get the knot out back on the ground before getting in the new tree. In the long run this ended up being a good move, but I was not up until almost 9:30 am. Unfortunately, the tree I got into only let me get up to about 12 feet before it got too small to go higher. The cover was thick, so I hoped it would work. I endured a light but steady rain sitting there until about Noon before it finally quit. Today's wind was NNE, so I set up on the SW corner of the bedding area. I hadn't hunted from the west side of this bedding area before. The previous to sits had been west winds so I was on the east side with my back against the river. About 12:30 pm I had three does go by on a trail that took all three of them broadside at 10 yards from the tree I had been in on previous hunts. About 12;45 pm a huge six point came by on the same trail that would have put him broadside at 10 yards. I am guessing he would have scored about 130. He dwarfed the 110 inch 8 point I killed last year. That 8 point was 20 inches wide and had 6 inch G2s. This six point is wider, has 6 inch brows and 12 inch G2s. He worked a scrape that is 14 yards from the tree I had previously hunted. I grunted twice at him and he ran to 8 yards before I could put the call in my pocket. He was broadside behind three trees and caught me when I tried to draw. He ran about 30 yards and stopped. I grunted a few more times and he started circling downwind. I lost sight of him after that. About 15 minutes later an unknown buck ran a doe by at an all out sprint about 70 yards away. I didn't get a good look at that buck and both were hauling butt. About 1:15 pm I had a little Fergie buck 8 point and a young doe come down the trail towards me. I wasn't interested in the little buck do I decided to shoot the doe given the chance. I had to quit hunting at 2:30 to be home in time to coach my son's basketball practice. The doe came straight at me down the trail. Knowing that the buck had seen me draw, I drew when she looked back at the little buck behind her. Unfortunately, I was getting gear ready last night, I realized that some time between getting out of the tree after the Friday night hunt and getting gear ready last night, the trigger on my Trufire release had broken off. I rushed to Academy last night and bought a new one before they closed. I took a couple of practice shots in my garage last night with the new release. I thought I was good but I forget to test it holding at full draw for a long time. The doe saw me holding a full draw, as she turned broadside, I tried to settle the pin and the bow went off before I touched the trigger. I had been at full draw for about 45 seconds, I guess since I forgot to adjust the tension on the set screw, it couldn't hold at full draw any longer? Anyway, I will have to work on that before I hunt again. She was at five yards and I was only about 12 feet off the ground. No way I miss that shot if I can get it lined up. I shot about 18 inches over her back. The only good thing about this it that is was a clean miss. This my first season to hunt this particular piece of public ground. In three hunts I have seen about 18 deer; four of which bucks and two were definitive shooters. Sucks that my rush to hunt with new equipment cost me a doe and the team points. Although, my confidence in finding good spots on public land has skyrocketed. It is just a matter of time.
You gotta be worn out after all that today lol. I’d test that release again. If it’s going to hold, it should hold. Time shouldn’t be a factor. I had a worn D loop one time that wouldn’t hold the release. It would only fail every 10 shots or so and I thought it was my release. Turned out it was the D loop. It definitely sounds like you’ve found some good spots and it’s just a matter of time and pure odds that you get a good buck. That’s what I’m hoping for me too lol. I’m seeing a lot of deer so I figure it’s just a matter of time.
I replaced my D Loop a couple of months ago, right before my elk hunt. I haven’t shot a lot since then so it shouldn’t be the D Loop. I am sure I just need to practice more and get used to the new one. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
The big six point stopped right behind the three trees just off center in the picture. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Figures. Pretty much open everywhere else. Not looking forward to the super loud walk in on the frozen leaves in the morning. It’s so loud it’s painful. By the time I get to my stand I’m always thinking there is zero chance I’ll see a deer after all that noise. But somehow I usually do lol.
Did a big cam check before all day sits on Weds/Thurs/Fri. Have a new #1: He was around last year and not quite a shooter cuz of this size but he has blossomed nicely. The rest of the haul: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looks like you have plenty of candidates! I’m getting pretty frustrated myself. I keep seeing the same deer over and over. Saw 3 little bucks and one doe this morning.
Is that one a big 6? I've always wanted to shoot a big one. Those are great looking deer Sent from my SM-G955U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
