Crops are really starting to come out this week here in Nebraska, really looking forward to this weekend's sits. Should push the deer into the woods and make things a little more interesting. Good luck out there this weekend!
Saw nothing tonight. Attempted to get to my climber down by the creek but it was still washed out. Water was dropping quickly so maybe tomm. afternoon I can give it a try. Dave
Had an awesome opening afternoon. The NW wind was making it kind of tricky to get into the spot I wanted to, so I went with Plan B and set up on an old fence row. I had soybeans to my left, and persimmons and acorns behind me. I carried my Lone Wolf stand and sticks in, and while I was setting the stand up a doe and button buck busted me. No more sightings, and then right before dark, I caught movement out in the bean field, and it had big antlers. After watching the mega 10 pointer, I knew we had met before. In 2008, he had avoided me on 2 different occasions (oddly enough one meeting was on Oct. 1st of that year). Last year I only had this one picture of him at what I guessed was 4.5 yrs old. From what I saw tonight, he hasn't really changed much from last year, but he is still an absolute giant to me. There were 2 more small does that came out and fed with the buck for the last few minutes of light. None of the deer ever came closer than 100 yards.
Heading out for an A.M hunt. Hope to get back by the creek if the water is down. BTW my sister lives down by the property I hunt, called me late lastnight to tell me a huge 10 pt. crossed the road into the creek bottom as they were coming back from dinner at 8:30 pm. Wish me luck !!!!!! Dave
Morning hunt was a bust. Got in stand early and within 15 minutes I could hear deer moving. At approx. 0830 the woods busted lose, I had deer running right at my stand including a nice 8 point. Could not get him to stop with a grunt and I could not figure out why all these deer came running by until a minute or so later here comes a fox with a field mouse hanging out of his mouth))) Guess Mr. fox has to eat too !!!! Oh well, will hit it again this afternoon. Dave
Good luck this afternoon Dave. I should be able to make it out this afternoon. There is a light rain right now, but it should let up. I had to leave my "run and gun" stand hanging last night for a silent exit, so I will be headed to a pre-hung set close to where the big buck was last night.
Good Luck today guys....I am typing live from my desk at work LOL Have the green light from the missus for an AM hunt.
im right there with you reese, sitting at my desk hope to get out either mon/tues depending on how the goes weekend =-)
A pretty slow night here....until about 10 minutes before dark. I sat in a stand close to where I saw the 10 at last night. This is the same spot where I killed my buck last season. The winds were howling here, and I was wondering if the deer would be moving in the fields with it. Right as light started to fade, a nice looking 8 pointer showed up into the field. At first all I could see were glimpses of his rack across the field, but then he started closing the distance. At one point I thought he may actually make it in front of me for a possible shot, but he had other plans. He crossed about 60 yards in front of me, and the wind swirled. He didn't blow out of the area, but he definantly knew something wasn't right. I did get some video of him when he was in the field though. I will see if I can get it uploaded up tomorrow. For now, I am going to bed. They are calling for temps to drop to 37 tonight, and I'm hoping it gets the deer up and moving tomorrow morning. I usually don't hunt A.M.'s this early, but I can't pass up this cold front. I'm going to a stand I hung last week on the fringe of a large bedding area. Reese get it done in the morning man! I just now got a chance to check out the map coords. you sent me, but I can't get an aerial map of it to load????
Been hunting hard. My body is feeling the effects of it too)))). Stinks getting old, takes longer to recover. Anyways, seeing some doe's and smaller bucks but no shooters yet. Just a reminder guys make sure you do a safety check on your gear every once in awhile. I almost dumped my bow from 20 feet lastnight, while pulling my bow up I got it about 5 feet from me and noticed the hook lock had broke off. I got the bow up but boy that would have stunk if it fell from that height. On the plus side my knee has recovered enough to start using the climber more I think ( more mobility in the woods). The water went down far enough lastnight for me to finally use it, saw some doe and smaller bucks but no shooters. Woke up this morning expecting my knee to be on fire with pain and it "feels great". Be safe gents !!! Dave
Opening weekend didn't produce a deer, but I still had a blast getting back out there. Seeing one total stud, and another nice buck also has me pumped for what this season may hold. This morning I went into the stand I hung last week along a thicket we have always called "The Buck Patch". It didn't live up to it's name as I got skunked. This afternoon I put the Lone Wolf on my back, and set after the big 10 again. This time I set up close to a bedding area that sits next to a soybean field. Just like last night, I didn't see a deer until right at dark. A large doe came from the bottom of the hollow behind me and up into the thicket. I was hoping she would appear in the field, but she never did show. Might be able to make it out again Wednesday, but it depends on what time I can get away from work. Also, if someone has any tips for posting up a video, I can get the buck from last night on here. I have it downloaded to my Photobucket, but not sure where to go now.
Your guys are going to kill me! Then again, maybe not. I drove off to South Dakota to meet up with Scott Bevins and Grant Bowd (from New Zealand and Australia respectively). The two have been hunting the Rushmore state since Tuesday. Both have been hard at it (Scott had a doe down, Grant missed a ten pointer by the time I got there). On Saturday morning, I planted myself into a stand in which I had very little confidence (I wanted to keep an eye on Grant). I placed Grant in my very best spot. The goal was to get him a deer before he heads home this coming Tuesday. At about 9:00 am, I heard turkeys putting and purring. It sounded like they were moving towards me. Then, I heard a deer blow...then leaves starting crunching. Something was coming right for me and fast! I clipped on my release... one buck, two bucks, and then a third. The lead buck was a monster 10 pointer. He stopped 12 yards away. I was so ready for him. I started to draw...what the heck. I couldn't draw my bow. I tried again. Then I stood up and tried. On the second attempt standing, I was finally able to get'r drawn. However, the deer moved. I had the swing 180 degrees back around to the other side of the tree. In doing so, I was busted by the smallest of the three deer. To make matters worse, I bumped my elbow, hitting my crazy bone in the process. As a result, I tripped my trigger and sent my arrow wayward (I smacked a tree dead center 30 yards away). I could have killed myself! The good thing...the three bucks ran right to Grant. He shot but missed too. So here's what happened. In South Dakota, you cannot hunt with a bow less than 28 inches from axle to axle. The bow I've been hunting with (lately) is a PSE X-Force Super Short. It's set at 74 pounds and is 26-1/2 inches ata. The bow I took to S.D. is a PSE Stingray set at 78 pounds (32" ata and four pounds heavier). This is the bow I've taken all over the world. I 've killed tons with it. I shot the bow from the ground about 40 time on Friday to make sure it was fine-it was. I assumed I was ready to hunt. I wasn't. While on stand I was underdressed. I got cold and was shaking badly. My muscles were kaput! When the buck dropped in, I simply could not close the deal. He was probably about a 130 class deer- a monster by Black Hills standards. I went back to camp and backed my limb bolts out three full turns. My 30 yard pin then became my 20, my 40 became my 30, so on and so forth. I was kicking myself....I should have done this Friday. In a way though, I'm happy and accept this as God's will. I think He has bigger and better plans for me in either Illinios or Alberta. Where I hunt in S.D., a 130 class deer is defintely a toad. That class deer in Illinois or Alberta is still a baby. I do wish Grant would have connected. that's the only downside. It was fun being in the woods! Scott, you should be able to give us a link to your Photobucket video.
Tough break there, but you still have 2 awesome whitetail destinations coming up for you this season. Your going to get it done.
Thanks for the advice Will. Sorry about the shaky camera work. I had the camera zoomed in all the way, and was in an awkward position for trying to work the camera arm (cheap Pine Ridge model). If you skip about the first 25 seconds of it, it gets a little better. I don't know if I would have shot him if given the chance to last night. There is a lot of season left, and I know what kind of bucks are using this farm. However, he never gave me the chance so he is still out there. http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o210/scotty1109/?action=view¤t=M2U00186.mp4&newest=1
