Thanks! On our way out right now. Looks like it should be a good weekend for it! Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Got some spotted, ones a buck but not sure if he is one I'd want. It's going to be a great day regardless! Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
i seriously shot my bow for the first time in about 10 years today. heading to a shoot tomorrow so wanted to get a warm up. i'm going to feel it in a few days.
It will be here before you know it. I want to see a opening day doe out of you this year! It will help take some pressure off yourself before the rut. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Literally just got on here to say I hope to start shooting my bow mid week or this weekend, most of the discomfort from surgery has gone away, but want to give it a few more to be confident. Tennis elbow is becoming the more annoying impedance now. Hopefully @bornfromthecorn is having or close to having some success, good thing is we'll all be able to start getting out there in the next 2 weeks.
It will be my opening day rather than opening season, but I have killed on my first sit.... once. I woke up all eager to go that morning, year escapes me but it was fairly early in my hunting at my uncles. Maybe 2011 or 12, but not certain. Anyhow, I wake up that morning excited as I have ever been, I treated all my clothes the night before and my goal was to kill on my first sit. Hit the road and am going to get there well before shooting light. Turn into the private lane that is the drive basically, one other house on it, then the property as it dead ends. Go down the small dip and as I round a slight bend there sits a truck with no lights o, no driver and I have no clue why it is there. I stopped and pondered what the hell was going on, no way to get past it and it was parked there intentionally, obviously. Last thing I wanted to do was park and get out and go hunting, but that is exactly what I wanted to do. Fearing something may have been going on in the area and not wanting to get shot being out there in the dark, unannounced I turned around and drove the 55 minutes back home. Dejected, thought maybe he didn't want anyone hunting there anymore or something. Found out about 9:30am my Uncle was out of state on a bike ride and parked his old truck there to block it off while he was gone. Went back for an evening sit and got there way early for the time of year, was on stand around 2pm for an 7pm sunset. Trying to cool down gnats and mosquitos were swarming me, I'm literally on stand waving both hands in front of my face trying to get rid of the little blood suckers when I see a deer coming down the trail 17 yards in front of me. How the hell it didn't catch my movement is beyond me, but down the trail it came. Managed to stand up and get drawn back, it stopped at about 6yds and offered a shot and I took it. Short track later I was at my first sit button buck 1/8 mile drag up the utility right of way and just as I'm getting to the truck my cousin pulls up to move the truck blocking the drive. think it was upper 70's low 80's at the time. That's one of the reasons, I think, that I do not like early season hunting much. Another time I put a good doe down early, tried to switch stands for a double and came back to 3/4's of a deer that the coyotes trounced on shortly after she died
Alot of reasons you stated that you don't like early seasons, I just embrace it. Heat never bothered me, the bugs will mess with me. The ticks are probably the worst. Spent a couple hours yesterday picking them off me. But those reasons also keep alot of other hunters out the woods. So basically all of September I rarely see many others hunting and get the woods to my self. September is my favorite month to hunt deer hands down. Early October is a close second. I just hope you can get out there early and enjoy it for what it is. I hope my hunting adventures spark something within you and give you just a little extra drive to make it happen. Plus the points won't hurt for the team! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Here's the property I hunt, NW corner marker is where I killed my first mature buck. Almost to the point it is too overgrown to hunt anymore. especially now that they have decommissioned a highline power line north border. Around 60 acres of heaven. Sattelite, Topo and overhead of surrounding propties that also shows another 10 acre patch that I have never been on, blue line is actually the northern line of the shoddy border depictions , messed up northern line.
Have you ever hunted the north side of that pond? Near were the drainage comes out Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I'll be out there, no worries there. Luckily for me I have never had a tick on me after spring. Had plenty on the garage floor after deer hang but never even give them a thought when I hunt. Not sure why that is, but I'll take it. My biggest early season gripe is I just don't see bucks and feel like I'm just pushing does around when they are the November attractant. I've never seen a mature buck before Halloween and latest I have seen one was Dec. 20th. 2009 I killed 7 deer and was done before November Started buck hunting after that and kill numbers went down as well.
That's a fairly high traffic human area, is the path that all hunters walk down, 4 wheelers and everything else through the year taking kids for rides etc. I'll draw up another where the recreational trails are.
Another spot that stands out to me is the Northeast of the map. But would think it would be a good rut funnel is were the that small field of the neighbors to the north, comes down to a point to the power lines. Would think bucks would run that small finger of woods , cross power lines, then use your creek bottoms to check does bedded on ridges above. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Those are the power lines they decommissioned on the northern line. here is what the recreational trail looks like(not exact lol) but it is what we use walking to stands etc., blue line is an old one that has turned in to a deer trail mostly. Deer still use them obviously but they do get heavy traffic through the season.
That NE corner you speak of is where my uncle had his favorite stand, the highline stand. Was the most difficult stand for me to get into so I only sat in it twice. He said he killed a big buck out of it every year. Once he started going downhill a bit he put up a big elevated box blind, hard to use a vertical bow from it though, set up for shotgun and crossbow. I have a goal to kill a good buck from it before my time ends.
