Trad Gang

I just got home this afternoon from an amazing journey to western Kansas.  A long time friend, Mark who retired in Colorado last year shared the 6 day whitetail hunt with me.  We also spent some time with Jon aka snakebit40, who was a huge part of putting everything in motion.  

I've got some incredible pics to show off the Kansas countryside along with a hero photo or two.   Hopefully, Jon will chime in here and there, he played a very special role in one chapter of the story.

Stay tuned........Tim

:campfire:    :campfire:

:campfire:    :coffee:

bring on the pics   :campfire:

Fantastic Tim, looking forward to hearing all about your adventure.

yeah  :campfire:

:campfire:    :coffee:

Come on Tim!

stay tuned just means your keeping us in suspense here!   lets hear it!!!

I've been waiting for this one...... :campfire

David

:campfire:    :coffee:

I heard about this in a PM and I been Watin'!!!!!!

Tomorrow guys, I'm just making sure all my photos are in order.   For some reason photobucket and I are having some trouble this evening.

Tim, I suppose you drove right down I-70 thru Indiana and didn't think to give me a call? Hey, I would've even sprung for a meal! Look forward to seeing the photos and hearing the tale! Mike

Oh great,  :banghead:   thats what the Wizard told Dorothy. " I 'll help you tomorrow after you throw water from the bucket (photobucket)on the witch"  :archer:

Mike, dont feel bad I was just in southeast PA and didnt even realized tim lived there LOL....have bought stuff from him in years past though its been a long while now...oops.

Looking forward to the pics also!

Tim,
    Waiting for the details the pictures were great.!!...........   :campfire: .....   :coffee:

Let's get the tale of hunt started!  As mentioned the trip began with a flight from my home in PA to the Denver airport where my good friend Mark would pick me up.

 (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo13.jpg)

As most of you know, traveling anywhere in an airplane to bowhunt is just inconvenient.  You never to what to take, so you just take too much!
Fortunately, Mark met me in baggage and we hopped in the truck and headed to Route 70 east.
 (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo26.jpg)

Our plan was to rent a state cabin located in Webster State Park.  From there we'd hunt the walk in areas or the public hunting wildlife zones and figure it out as we go.  We found the cabin and the view to be perfect!
 (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo4.jpg)  (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo10.jpg)

The first night in Kansas we sat on the porch and watched an unbelievable display of color and the end to a long day of travel.

 (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo15.jpg)

The beauty of Trad Gang is that it's an unbelievable resource for locating folks that share the same passion.  I noticed that one of our members lived in western Kansas and reached out to him for some advice.  What I received was incredible.  Jon aka snakebit40 lived a good two hours from where we would be hunting but had a few contacts in the area.  First thing Saturday morning Jon arrived at our cabin for breakfast.

The second wonderful thing about Trad Gang is age, gender and race are never an issue. Jon, although half our age was an absolute gentleman and right away we knew we where going to enjoy each others company.

I snapped this photo of Mark and Jon just before we headed out to meet a friend of Jon's and walk the ranch we'd be hunting.  


    (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo21.jpg)

:campfire:

Tim I couldn't agree more about Trad Gang! I'll be watching!  :campfire:

Alright! I've been waiting for this one! Just let me know when you want me to chime in Tim    :campfire:

Love it out there!

I can't wait to hear the rest of the story Tim! I've been waiting patiently! Lol   :campfire:    :campfire:

The property we had access to was big, and big for west coast standards!  There were some crop fields in the areas but the main use of this property was for cattle grazing.  A good 3/4 mile hike from our truck was a river bottom      :D    

   (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo27.jpg)

From what we were told from Jon, the deer bed back in the canyons and each evening head out and down towards water.  We noticed that most of the movement looked to be headed down to the water and than north towards the neighboring crop fields.  Totally unique in comparison to my east coast woodlots.      :dunno:    

   (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo23.jpg)    (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo25.jpg)

I found a fantastic little funnel within a funnel.  I had several oak trees around me, along with a pair of creek crossings that all seemed to be right at the bottom of a canyon.  From the moment I walked into the area I knew I'd found a Honey Hole!

I ended up hunting two different trees that week but only 50 yards separated the two.  Here's a front porch view of one of my locations.  Even Jon gave me a big smile!  We knew this would be good!

   (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo18.jpg)

Before we go any further let's talk a little more about the setups we were using this trip.  Mark was shooting a 60" Wapiti that pulled right around 60lbs. He was shooting Heritage 250's tipped with two blade Magnus heads.

I was shooting a 62" Silvertip, Axis 400's tipped with 150 grain 4 blade Magnus Stingers.  My bow was 53lbs.

I brought along a small Lonewolf stand that fit perfectly in travel bag.  Fortunately Mark brought enough steps for the both of us, so I wouldn't have to travel with the extra weight.

Mark had brought along a couple stands he had made several years back.  Nice and solid setups but unbelievably heavy!!!   :biglaugh:

(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo28.jpg)

QuoteOriginally posted by Tim:    (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo18.jpg) [/QB]

That would put a smile on my face too.    :campfire:

Great pics.  Glad you found a great place.  I sure wish I could.

This is going to be good.

Tim:  Was wondering if you drew a tag, didn't hear from you since the draw.  I didn't get one but did get a preference point, so will be there next year.  From the sounds of things so far, you had a good trip.  Told you the country was like nothing you have ever seen, deer too.  RW

What amazes this eastern boy more than anything about hunting in the mid-west or anywhere west is the sheer vastness of the landscape.  I think Jon found a bit of humor in my description of hunting back east but most of my hunting around home is just that "around homes"!  A 250 yard drag does happen on occasion but for the most part, most of my deer fall within sight of both my stand and my truck!    :scared:  

I guess we'd soon find out.  Here's a nice shot of my buddy Mark preparing for the journey in...

 (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo19.jpg)

The first couple days we had a few encounters, mostly Does, racoons, possums, turkeys, squirrels and more turkeys!  Just how many turkeys live in Kansas?     :rolleyes:  

The day ended with another exceptional sunset!  They just don't get much better.

 (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo17.jpg)

Hello Roy,

I planned on bringing your name into the thread a bit later but Mark and I would like to thank you for all your help and suggestions in putting this together.  We never got to the walk in areas on the south side of the lake but that only gives us another reason to return next year!

Thanks again my friend for all the PM's you took time to respond to on my behalf!

Tim

My days may run together a bit but by Monday morning things were starting to heat up a bit.  The mornings where fairly mild, maybe in the mid-30's but the afternoons got quite warm, usually around 70 degrees.

Here's a few of the locals that came to visit.

  (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo16.jpg)   (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo20.jpg)

I soon found out my stand location was also home to the largest turkey roost in western Kansas     :p    

Each morning I'd sneak into my stand at pink light and I was simply amazed at the number of birds that covered the trees in and around my stand.  Once the sun gave any hint of showing the chatter began!  Never have I heard so much noise and witnessed such chaos!  Birds would fly down from everywhere, chasing each other back and forth for a good 30 minutes.  It was very similiar to recess at the local grade school.......    :laughing:     There had to be close to 150 birds.

About an hour before dark each evening the show would repeat its self in reverse.  By far the best entertainment nature can provide!

The buck activity was pretty slow and although we'd seen a couple very impressive bucks mostly what I had come through the funnel were does and smaller bucks.  This nice young 8 pointer came through one evening, posing very nicely at several spots real close to my stand.  Cool droptine, eh?

  (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo.jpg)   (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo9.jpg)

This was also the first night I took a shot at one of my feathered friends.  A group of about 20 hens crossed the creek just below me.  Deciding just when to move is a whole different  game.  One of them is going to see you and chances are one saw you half an hour before you saw them!  To be honest I got to full draw and did have a nice solid opportunity, it just ended in favor of the bird!  STRIKE ONE on TURKEYS!

Great story telling!    :clapper:

Tuesday night was a pretty special evening, prompting Mark and I to name the stand I sitting. Getting to the stand is pretty easy just because the deer usually aren't there yet. It's about 16 feet of the ground but on the right side of me is a bank which is pretty much at eye level.  There are a few pine trees at the top of the hill and some high grass making it rather appealing for a nap.  

I climbed up my stand as usual and once at the top I hooked on my safety belt, unsnapped my fanny back and for some reason glanced over to my right.   Just 8 yards away eye to eye was a button buck! He was laying down watching me.  He proceeded to stand up, stretch and walk down the hill to the base of my tree!

As you can imagine I was pretty dumb founded by the whole deal and just kept on with my preparations for the nights sit.  The whole time my little buddy stood directly under my stand watching me.  I pulled up my bow, hung it on the hook and then put my jacket on!  I even pulled out the video camera and ran some film on my new found friend.  He fed around me for a good 30 minutes before moving up the hill.

From that moment on the stand earned the name, "The Petting Zoo".  Funny how we come with names for places we hunt.  

About an hour later I caught movement up on the hill and here comes my little buddy at a pretty good clip with his mom in tow, along with one of his antlered friends grunting the whole way.       :jumper:          :jumper:          :jumper:    

I'm not a real good judge of big bucks and I'm just a little too impatient to every become the true trophy hunter I think I am at the beginning of each season.  I guess I'm more of an opportunist.  I knew the buck was a nice one and remember counting 9 points just before I changed my focus to a spot just behind his shoulder....

I hope you guys are enjoying the story but I've got a PA buck tag in my pocket and right now I'm going hunting!  Talk to you in the morning.

Tim

Great story telling Tim! Now where's Mark?

Nice!  Suprised to see that much water in the creek.

Good stuff, Tim  :bigsmyl:  !!

:thumbsup:    :campfire:  You talk about the help you got and Trad Gangers Tim, those that don't know you should know that you are one of those "good ones", you make it easy to have a good time....

Looking forward to the rest of this one.

David

Thank you David.

:campfire:  I'm staying tuned for the exciting conclusion!

Tim & Jon I'm here enjoying Tim's sharing of our trip!

Mark

Great story so far Tim  :thumbsup:   You've really got my interest - I have a Kansas tag waiting for a late December hunt to come.  It will be my first time hunting that state, and your story is stoking the fire.  :campfire:

Great story  :readit:  Have to look up some of your previous tales to see if this one just happens to be exceptional.  :thumbsup:  More please

Knock, Knock,.... Hellooo, waiting for the rest of the story..!!.....   :readit:

As I mentioned before, your days tend to run together when thinking back over my previous week.  What I do remember is that at this point in the game it is TURKEYS 3 / HUNTER 0!  They come in to the stand, I move, they run, I retrieve arrow!   :deadhorse:    

----------------------------------------------

I knew the buck was a nice one and remember counting 9 points just before I changed my focus to a spot just behind his shoulder....

As I said, I was hunting in a great spot that had funnels within funnels.  As the doe came closer a nice dead fall and a small gulley funneled her out from under my stand and right to the creek.  She hesistated slightly at the dead fall and than took three steps into drink.  

The cottonwood tree I was in was perfect for this approach, as you can see I had good cover and watched through the branches as the buck followed intensly.

(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo12.jpg)

The shot was only 12 yards and I still remember my yellow fletch disappearing tight behind the shoulder.  The buck exploded across the river in one giant leap and a few quick steps.  He looked back over his shoulder, stiffened his legs and just tipped over.  :eek:  

What an unbelievably intense 6 seconds!  The doe just stood there watching the whole scene unfold, and then slowly walked away.  Not 30 yards away was my first Kansas buck!  My arrow, now crimpson red lay buried in the ground, the entire creek bottom quiet.  I just sat there looking down at my hands which had developed a slight shake.  I hung my bow back on the hook and smiled.

Whooooo, love it when they go no where and are not even sure what happened.  Congrats!!  Can't wait to see the big boy.

"A SLIGHT SHAKE"?????

I reached into my pocket and grabbed my cell phone.  The reception was a little sketchy but it's always good to hear my wife's voice.  After 23 years of marriage she's been through all the ups and downs only bowhunters can understand.  She is always the first person I call and I could feel her excitement through the phone, it was a great day!

I had tucked the phone back in my jacket and was just sitting there taking in the last half an hour of daylight when I heard the first crunch.  Cottonwood leaves give new meaning to the wood yellow and I never got tired watching the setting sun light them up each evening.  

Most of Cottonwoods had dropped their leaves and the few that lined the bottom of the canyon crunched like potatoe chips as the three does made their way towards the same creek crossing.  The first two younger animals never took notice to my arrow sticking in the ground but the third and more mature doe tensed quickly as the smell of the arrow reached her nose.  But it was too late, my arrow had already crashed through her rib cage tight to the shoulder, her final bed only a few feet from the where the buck fell over.

Wow.........I brought the phone out one more time to call my wife.   :thumbsup:

You might say I had my hands full at this point.  I sent Mark a text message and not long after I could hear him making his way down the edge of the creek with a huge smile across his face!  Just before the real work began we snapped a few photos........

(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo8.jpg)

Fortunately, Jon had gotten us permission to bring the truck down the field so the most difficult part of the drag was getting both animals into the back of Mark's truck.

(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/Wyoming1/photo14.jpg)

Stay tuned folks.....THE HUNT IS FAR FROM OVER!  :jumper:

Great Tim! Glad to see you enjoyed Kansas! Congrats on a good hunt. All of Kansas isn't as good as where you hunted but when you find the right spots it can be spectacular.

Congrats Tim what a day.

Great hunt and a great story. Congrats and thanks for sharing.  :thumbsup:

Great buck Tim......the pics say it all!

Congrats

Wow - great double!!  Congratulations Tim!  And thanks for the great story telling.

Yeah Tim!!!  Way to go Bud.  You two both look very capable of draggin a deer out the woods.
You guys both stay in shape!!
Congrats Brother.  You deserve all the success bro.
Waitin for more!!!  I got a feeling some poor old Turkey is gonna hit the deck.
Randy.

Congrats Tim  :thumbsup:

When the smoke finally settled it was Mark's turn to shine!  Remember, the deer are coming down out of the canyons each night and our job was to pick the right canyon. What I began to notice is that picking the canyon isn't all that important.  Reason being, no matter what canyon they come down they all end up walking past Mark in route to the crop fields!   :saywhat:  

I changed gears the next night out and set up in a small ground blind I had thrown together in hopes of filling my turkey tag!  I was about 150 yards from my stand location and wanted to make sure I wouldn't affect the movement of any deer that may come out of the canyons and then move north towards Mark.

I hadn't been settled for very long when I noticed two does working their way down to the creek not far from my stand.  I had perfect wind and a front row seat as I sat with my binoculars glued to my eyes.  I heard him before I saw him!  He wasn't real smooth or even graceful for that matter.  He crashed into the creek, head held high and owning the place!  He was awesome....sporting at least 15 inch g2's.  And then he was gone, headed north under my first stand location and past my second stand location, does running every where.  The rut was on!    :jumper:  

My cell phone soon vibrated in my jacket pocket, from a text...."get over here....now"!  

As I walked up to Mark's stand I could see the concern.  The buck had been close, too close and the angle was not the best.  The arrow had gone in tight to the spine and exited low.  Mark had watched the deer loop north and than head east back towards the canyons on top of the hill.  

As I've mentioned in some of my previous posts, I don't like blood trails!  Some of you trackers may love that aspect of the chase but I personally have been on far too many in my life that have ended in frustration and disappointment.  What we knew was this, the arrow had great penetration, the arrow angle was not the best but very close and that the deer had entered the first canyon at a slow walk following a 250 yard run.  It had been a good 30 minutes and the sun was setting fast.  We also knew the coyotes would soon be singing their evening songs that began each night when the sun started to fade.

I headed east, looping to the top of the first canyon.  If the deer was down, there would be no harm done.  If he came out then maybe I'd have a better bearing on the situation.  Last blood was found at the top of the canyon where he had made his way through long before I had arrived.  We decided to back out until morning.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Butts2:
Great story   :readit:   Have to look up some of your previous tales to see if this one just happens to be exceptional.   :bigsmyl:

I want to share just a little if you don't mind Tim.

I had talked to Tim on the phone and could tell right away he was a great guy with a huge passion for Traditional Archery. I knew I could trust him and his friend on my friends ground, and I was right. These two guys treated the ground like it was their own.

So I got to their cabin early Saturday morning and met Mark and Tim. Right away it was like we all knew each other for years. We had a little breakfast and headed out to meet up with my friends dad. He took us to their creek property and told us the boundaries. The look on Mark's face was priceless when Jeff (friends dad) told us how many acres he owned right there. Then Jeff took us up to the pasture ground (the one in all the pics) and told us the boundaries there.

We get back to the trucks and decide to check out the creek for sign and find spots for stands. Right away we spotted deer on the bottom corner of the field, so we go back and grab our bows. We walk a little part of the creek which looked promising, and decided to walk across a cut bean field to the other creek. All the way across the field Tim and I shot at dirt clods and mounds. He quieted my Silvertip down A LOT. When we got across to the creek, Tim and I went into the woods to find some sign. Now where I hunt I've hunted my whole life. So I just know where the deer are going to go, and haven't ever really had to look at benches and funnels within funnels ect. I learned more in 30 minutes than I have in 10 years. I am very appreciative of that.

I stayed till just after lunch and had to head back home, not knowing for sure when I would be able to make it back. All I knew was I was going to make time to see the two guys again.