its funny, Scott ... all I hardly EVER see this year are 1.5 year old bucks ... its been a weird year .. I have seen t good ones and about 12 little ones ...
The weather finally shifted here, after a couple days of howling winds its calming down today and staying cool. I wish I could be out there this morning but taking off early this afternoon. Heading to a place we've only hunted twice this year. Between zero pressure, weather change and getting close to some rut activity hopefully we can see some deer on their feet during daylight hours.
Tony !!!!! Congrats my man!!!!! WELL deserved bow kill!!!! Moving day for us tomorrow....I just might arrow one of the resident deer that are running thru the new yard LOL...Weather turned for the worse here....well...actually AWESOME hunting weather....snow/rain mix and just below freezing...I should be in a tree lol Good luck boys!!!
Finally some cold weather here today. High of 58 and the winds have calmed down. I can't hunt tonight, but I'm going to try and get out tomorrow afternoon.
My three days of cooling off is over.............think I am going to hunt the far west stand tomm. morning. Trail cam pics and scrapes are telling me the bigger guys are hanging out in that area. Back to the woods I go !!!! Be safe guys Dave
I've packed the Kanga Custom Longbow for this weekends South Dakota jaunt. I figured I'd try scoring a buck with this bow instead of my compound. The thought of hunting "bigger deer" in Illinois and Alberta (I have never seen anything bigger than a 120-130class deer in from the Black Hills region) has me excited! The longbow will force me to keep it close and personal. I know I'll be less likely to shoot...unless he's one of those 120-130 class deer. I've never shot a buck with my traditional gear. I'll make it happen if given the opportunity! Let's get back in the woods!
Good luck up there Will. I'm headed out tomorrow after work. I'll hopefully get to the farm a little after 3, and I'm going to go to a new area, and just hike in, find some good sign, and hunt it. Hopefully a shooter or even a doe gives me a shot.
I have at least the next 10 days off, boys ... I aint gonna lie ... if I see a spike, it dies :D we will get the minimum 50 points for him anyway ....
Let 'em have it Tony. I'm hoping the next text says "Buck Down"....spike or 130 class, your going to get it done!
Put'em down Tony.......I am in the market for that old grey doe with the busted leg, she needs to get put down. I am hopeful here in the next 2 weeks we will be getting some text from team members saying "Buck Down". Heading out for a morning hunt now. Let's get'em guys. Be safe guys !!! Dave
Tony, Congrats on killing a deer, BB or not the that drought is over, it couldn't have happened to a better person. Now lets go kill a buck with some bone. Thanks for the Text, it made my day and yours 2 HUH???? Chris
It's official I'm messing with the bowhunting gods. The deer are finally on their feet and moving in daylight. It wasn't gang busters by any means but ended up seeing 6 deer, 3 does, 3 bucks. I say I'm messing with the gods because I passed another pretty good buck last night. He was a 3.5 yo 8 pointer, fairly heavy but very narrow, he was broadside at 15 yards with me at full draw. Probably would have scored somewhere in the 110-115 range. I did see a bigger buck 200 yards away hanging just inside the treeline, the does in the field kept looking over at him. Not sure what he carried on his head but definitely a big boy. None of the does presented a shot. The good news is my buddy sitting the other end of the farm saw a small buck pushing a couple does around, it's getting close!
Went out this morning and saw nothing...........heading out about 2:30pm for an evening hunt. Be safe guys !! Dave
Went to far west stand, have not hunted this stand all year........did not see anything until last 15 minutes. 3 mature doe and a yearling came in and browsed on acorns. Just as I decided to shoot the yearling ( leaving the breeding does alone) here came what I guestimated as a 110 eight point. He was grunting with his head down and started bumping/chasing the doe, he did stop at 15 yards broadside from the stand but I decided to give him a pass for now. Then all of a sudden out of the tall grass popped another big bodied deer about 70 yards in front of me. I quickly popped up the binos and it was HIGHTOWER the tall 8. By this time shooting light was pretty much over. It took him about 5 minutes to work his way near my stand. Once he saw the doe's he immediatley started bumping/chasing them and harrassing the smaller 8 trying to chase him off. I knew he was bedding in that small grass/woodlot thicket and now it is confirmed. Waited about 45 minutes after dark before I got out of stand trying not to bump anything.............here he is once again. I am going to sit the exact same stand tommorrow and see if I can catch him coming back. Cool encounter for sure !!!!! Be safe guys!! Dave
Awesome stuff, Dave! Scott had some cool stuff happen too ... my night SUCKED I missed a 70" buck this morning at 8 ... just rushed it ...
Like Tony said, I was close again. Got to the farm a little later than I planned, but I was still ok. Well my brother in law ended up being there, and after talking to him I was behind on time. Took off walking, and I was planning on going to an area I haven't been to all year and finding some fresh sign, and hunting it right then. Got to my area, and found no good trees for my stand and sticks. They were all either too big, or too small with no cover. I finally made it work and went to cut a few lanes, but I forgot my saw at the truck. I spent the next 30 minutes sweating and making all kinds of noise trying to bend and break small trees and bushes. Got settled around 4:30 and was just hoping to see a deer at this point as I was covered in sweat. At 6:15 I let out a few soft grunts, and rattled. BAM! I hear a buck coming in. I can see antlers, but not sure what it is. Finally he steps out in a clearing and it's the same buck from Tuesday night. He made a scrape and walked in a dry creek bed. I hit him with a grunt and he looked my way and kept walking. I hit him with another and same result. Then I snort wheezed at him and he stopped and changed directions. He came in a bit and turned broadside, a quick look through my rangefinder and he was dead on at 50. I drew, but I just didn't feel good with the shot. He then turned back around and walked up the hill away from me. I then looked back and there was a small 3 point in the field about 30 yards just running around in circles. He ended up freshening a few scrapes, and stayed out in the cut corn right in front of me. Just a few minutes after this, a large 10 point, about 140", came out and chased the little guy out of there. Just not enough light to get it done on him. I had deer all around me as light faded, and could just see shadows moving around me. Finally was able to sneak out of there a hour after darkness had fallen. Left the stand up, and might go back tomorrow afternoon.
I knew I had a picture of the smaller 8 somewhere on my hardrive. This is the guy who came in first and was bumping the doe lastnight until HIGHTOWER (big 8) came in and ran him off. Nice lil 8 but needs another year or 2. Heading out to see what is moving. Be Safe guys !!! Dave
