A few years ago I realized my life long dream of acquiring and relocating to a remote farm in the rugged SE corner of Minnesota. If you would like to follow along this season as I chase whitetails from my back door kindly be my guest. I intend to blog every day on this thread about what I see , hear and experience. I hope I can through words and photos share some the wonderful days of a Minnesota bow season with my trad friends.
Here are a few over views of the little valley I call home.
looking south
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7986805286_3a9747ab42.jpg)
looking north
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8171/7986805782_912168ba39.jpg)
we call it 5 pines farm because of the five 100 year old white pines that shade the 100 year old farm house.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/7986799785_0f375098d8.jpg)
The farm is made up of 295 acres located in the best deer and turkey counties in Minnesota. A county line splits the farm in half . 80 acres lie in Winona county and the rest resides in Houston County.To give you an idea of just how rugged and steep the farm is, out of all those acres all that is really tillable is 11 acres which I rent to neighbor for row crops. from the bottom of the valley in the picture above to the top of the bluff on the first over view there is a difference of 700 feet!
I am fortunate in that I work for my self and from the farm. During deer season I typically hunt every day at least once if not twice unless business calls me away.
Tomorrow is opening day . I have been patterning a couple of dandy bucks throughout the summer . Tomorrow can't come fast enough!
Years ago I learned to keep a happy home during hunting I had to find a way not to wake the non hunters in the house and to keep my hunting gear free from household aromas, they had to be somewhere away from the house and garage. I have tented and used campers but when I relocated here I made a camp just down the drive way from the farm house. While it may seem extravagant to have a camp 200 yards from home, this allows me the perfect escape. I sleep here during the hunting season and my gear is safely packed in sealed containers away from all smells of daily life.
Good luck! Looks like a great place.
two years ago I took a plunge had a deck built and ordered a 24 foot yurt. Its now home away from home.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/7986864924_ca5b0084e0.jpg)Its a much larger space then it appears.Room for friends and gear and some man cave stuff too.
Enjoy man, sounds like to had your dream and went for it, good for you.
So tomorrow is opening day. I have a 23 acre parcel across the road that is very steep and acts as a great bedding area for the local deer. I will be high up the bluff face in the am hunting an old logging tote road that traverses the bluff. Here are two trail camera photos from this spot earlier this summer
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/7986888725_b93ccc6f19.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7986898210_9365547a1f.jpg)
that big boy's name is Mr. Clean. We started calling him that last year since he is a super clean 8 point. This buck is most likely a five or possibly six year old deer. I pulled the camera on the 16th of August and haven't been in this part of the farm since. I am hoping he is still using this trail to go to his bed. I'll let you know tomorrow whether he shows.
Good luck and congrats on living the dream. Will be following.
I'll be following
As will I and Good Luck mopping up Mr. Clean
Craig
A dream is good, even if it is somebody else's.
Thank you for sharing!
Killdeer
This will be fun to follow along. This land looks quite similar to our property in SW Wisconsin. Season opens tomorrow in Wisconsin also, but I won't be able to get over there until next week. Good luck with your hunting season! :clapper:
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Really Cool! Looking forward to the adventure.
oh that looks real good lets hear more when ya make meat. :clapper: :archer2:
Good luck and looks to be simply beautiful!
Wow that hunting cabin away from the house is too cool. Good luck tomorrow I'm going after Turkey and squirrel. Shoot Straight. Have fun and be safe.
Good luck and God Bless. I'll be watching everday, at least until September 29th. 8>)
Jim, you are a blessed man..enjoy
Nice, pure heaven.
Looks like a nice set-up. Can't wait for the story and pics that will be coming! :campfire:
I will definitely be following this thread!
That area is one of the prettiest in the state. When I was much younger I used to hunt grouse in Whitewater WMA (not too far away..?) and I know what you mean about the steep bluffs. We aren't used to that in Minnesota where elevation is often better measured in vertical inches than vertical feet...LOL.
Beautiful place you have, looks like paradise. Good luck, looking forward to the updates... :thumbsup:
:campfire:
I will be across the Mighty Mississip in late october in SW wisconsin.
I will wave from my bluff.
Good luck, I look forward to following this thread.
Nice pics and pray you put a tag on "Mr.Clean"..
thanks everyone for the nice comments and encouragement .
I left the yurt at 5:15 am. The stars were very bright. The wind was calm. There has been a small fawn hanging out this week in the brush along the little creek our one lane bridge crosses. It was laying there today just watching me as I made my way across the bridge. not sure where its mom is .
I slowly made my way down the dirt lane and up to the fire break up the edge of the old pasture. Stopping every so often to listen and to let my heart catch up I slowly made my way up the old logging road and arrived at my stand just as light was breaking over eastern horizon.
its very steep at this stand. When you get right below it on the deer trail I almost have to crawl up to base of the tree. the stand is only about 8 feet off the ground but due to the steepness of the hillside the shot to the trail is about 20 feet down.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8174/7988900076_18b0b76fa4.jpg)
the morning was very pleasant. Lots of bird noises especially owl calls. We seem to have a lot of Bard owls. Their "who cooks for you" back and forth made me smile . I did't see any deer until 9:30. I had just moved and the strap on my harness make a noise as it rubbed on the bark of the elm I am in. Looking down hill about 30 yards a does head pops up! Shoot It had been there browsing and I hadn't spotted it. The stare off, foot stomping and snorting began. after what seemed like an eternity it finally decided I was nothing and it continued on its path on a trail below mine. Then I saw her 2 large fawns trailing behind. They went by me at about 20 yards, just below my trail. I sat another hour before heading down. Bumping two different does in different sections of the woods as I made my way back to camp (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8459/7988900123_3f75d72a78.jpg)
tonight I will head up the bluff in the opposite direction from this am. I have been working hard this year creating new food plots in an old hay field. A buck I call Godzilla has been hitting a rape field. I will be after him for sure. here he is just a few nights ago.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7986898598_4caa855fea.jpg)
Beautiful piece of land, looking forward to following along. Joe
This will be enjoyable, I'll be following along. I'm not far from you in southwest Wisconsin, beautiful country isn't it. Good luck!
-Jay
Great stuff....keep us in the loop, Beautiful spot you have!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Sounds like a deer hunters dream, enjoy the season and hope you get a good one.
after a nice lunch and a visit with friends who stopped by a quick nap was had and we were off once again up the trails to the top of the farm
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/7990323186_d3cd0be210.jpg)
My nephew Justin is hunting with me today. He still hunts with wheels but I am working on him! It was a hot walk up to the top. I'll be happy when the 4 wheeler is repaired.It will be make life a lot easier.
this past some summer I worked many hours creating new food plots up on my highest point where there is an old hay field. As we approached the closest one i could see this doe grazing her way away from me. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7990308057_391edee965.jpg)
here is a shot of the same field after she left. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/7990332760_34949b3f9d.jpg)
all total I have about 5 acres of food plots this top bluff. The idea is to provide lots of food and cover in the center of my farm. Then to not over hunt this part of the farm . I have two areas of steep bluff side below this area that I do not hunt ever leaving it for secure cover for the deer to retreat into.
more food
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/7990329706_37a85b87a2.jpg)
I went to a stand over looking a rape field. this stand is called " bwana stand". Its named after a friend we call bwana because he was the first one to kill a deer out of it. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/7990339146_c31ed33d8d.jpg)
got to remember to get rig of that red cord
here is the rape field. the stand is in the lower right hand corner (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8181/7990305729_bd52224dde.jpg)
it was a pleasant afternoon with light winds out of the south. not overly hot. The sun had just set and i heard foot steps behind me. A yearling doe came up the ridge from behind as expected . Stopped in the shooting lane checked the field for danger and walked on out. I heard bleating behind me and another yearling this one a buck comes trotting in . He lays his ears back and runs at the doe and bullies her for bit. then they both focused on eating and moved to separate ends of the field.
after about 20 minutes the buck trotted over the ridge to the next field and the little doe made her way back right under me. She tested the air for a bit and then walked in the direction of the clover field at the far end of my property. Justin sat the clover and saw a total of five deer, Passing ten and twelve yard shots on does. Day one has passed with over 15 deer being sighted between the two of us .Time for bed and back out for day 2.
Another stellar day here in the valley. What is it about the mix of wood smoke and coffee that makes a man feel good?
I knew from the forecast the wind would continue as it had been yesterday out of the south. But standing on the deck of the yurt this am, it sounded like up on the bluff top to be blowing alot harder than predicted.
I decided to return to the bluff I hunted yesterday but to try a stand on the bottom. Down low the action should be earlier and a good trail from the corn passed this treestand.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/7992234752_6c7d690a31.jpg)
here is my view from the stand.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8033/7992232226_260a9ede1f.jpg)
You can see where the logging road comes in and takes a 90 degree turn to the left. The road continues on just on the very inside of the woods. Down below is the county road and across the road my stream and cornfield.
About 7.15 I could hear but not see a deer close by. It was out in the grass just out side the edge of the wood and was making snuffling noises. I realized it had smelled my foot prints and was hesitating to come up into the woods. More snuffling and then heads and legs could be seen moving thru the screen of brush. Not one but four does, one a magnum and one a fawn came into the woods skirting the actual entrance and coming in just to the right of my shooting lanes. Going to have to figure out a away not to let that happen again. The wind was in my face and they angled up and away to my right, heading up to bed. About an hour later I was lost in thought when a deer snort just about sent me out of the tree!! How the heck did a doe get right behind me and I didn't hear it? it was ten yards behind and above me when it crossed my wind. As it turned i saw that two more were trailing it a short distance back. End of story!
The DNR says there are less does this year and have reduced the number of management (antlerless) tags to just one in addition to your regular tag, down from the Four we used to get. It may just be my little valley but in 1.5 days of hunting we have now seen 22 does!
Keep it coming, this is good stuff.
Great thread!! I can't wait to hear more!
22 does in a day and a half.......I envy you!! Keep the adventure coming....your doing a great job! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Thanks for sharing, really enjoying it
This is a great thread! I'm really enjoying it and appreciate you taking the time to take us along...
two words describe tonight's hunt. Rattle Snake.
I hunted on the opposite side of the valley tonight here is the view from my stand.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7994316636_34d2917bab.jpg)
Do you see the nice corner across the valley in the green hillside on the prior picture ?. That's where I was this am. The four does were just on the edge of the woods where the logging roads goes in at the corner when they smelled my boot prints. The stand I am in tonight is a lone wolf hang on in a nice oak at the edge of the old pasture. This old pasture is full of wild apple trees. This year there is not much fruit due to the lack of rain.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8035/7994339206_bb2613cd78.jpg)this is looking up thru the pasture
i love how this stand is hidden
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/7994313999_bba6c63a06.jpg)
but it still may not be in the right tree. This is a killer spot, one where we have killed quite a few does. I switched out a ladder stand this spring because nine times out of ten you would get picked off drawing your bow. But now its too close to the trail that comes down off of the bluff. There were does up on their feet early despite the warm temps. I saw the first three at 5 pm. One cool thing about hunting steep hillsides is when looking up hill, deer moving thru cover that is 6 or 7 feet tall can be easily seen due to the pitch of the hillside. A lot of times you will see a head or antlers moving thur above the brush. I learned to position my stands so I can see uphill with having to turn around.
That was the case tonight. All though those deer didn't go by me and they were too far away to hear, I got to enjoy watching them browse for a half hour!
here is the view looking up
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7994342990_e155318067.jpg)
that elm in the middle used to hold the laddrer
So this stand is great for observing deer, they were across the valley , in the pasture below me and I could count 6 in the neighbor's Brassica field just across from my clover field on my northern border!
When the thermals changed I got winded twice by does making their way thru the apple trees just below me.Darn!
I had been eyeballing another oak tree about 20 yards away that would give me most of the visibility this stand has and a better shot at the main trail coming off the bluff. It was quitting time anyway and I decide to shoot a blunt down onto the deer trail below me and was then going to take a closer look at this tree. My head lamp was in the bottom of my pack but it wasn't that dark yet so I lowered the bow and put my pack on and climbed on down. Grabbed the bow took three steps over to my arrow , Bending at the waist to grab it I recoiled at the sound of a timber rattler buzzing inches from arrow in forest litter! Holy $$%%! I have occasionally seen a snake here and there the last 6 years but never have I run into one in the dark on the deer trail before! I picked up a size able stick and tossed it in the direction of the buzzing. Then i was able to pick up the snakes body movement in the low light. I oozed forward grabbed the end of the blunt and sprinted out of there! I'll have to go back and checkout that other tree in the daylight!
How much did you pay for your farm
Cool place Jim. I need to make a road trip for a visit one of these times when I'm up at my cabin. I don't think we're all that far apart. How far are you from LaX?
any time whip! 30 minutes max1
Thanks for letting us share your hunt. Good luck on getting one of the big boys
Except for the Rattler, your place might as well be here in Nova Scotia. We've got 250 acres, 100 yr.+ old farm house, Barred Owls and lots of does and some excellent buck genetics. The topography looks familiar as well.
Great read along, thanks for taking the time.
Good luck on the bucks.
I didnt realize that Minnsesota was that rolling even though ive been through it a couple of times. Looks alot like this part of MI. Very enjoyable playxplay.
Awesome adventure, best of luck. I'm pretty sure you live directly above some good friends of mine.
Great thread Best of luck ! Your "livin the Dream " Good for you and God bless you and your adventures !
Cant wait to read more .
thanks everyone!! I'll do my best to keep it entertaining.
Not a lot to report from this am's hunt. It stayed quite mild all night. Didn't even need to light a fire in the yurt. I hiked back to where we started this story in the hopes I might run into Mr. Clean. The day dawned slowly with overcast skies and a slight wind out of the NNW. Not a deer was sighted until my walk down. I was no more than 40 yards out of the stand when I see a single white flag waving goodbye. Could not see its head, sure hope it wasn't him!
On a positive note, NO SNAKES TODAY! well not yet anyway.
Some perrty country!
:campfire:
I appreciate you taking the time and effort to share your hunts and farm with us.
:campfire: Very cool !
Beautiful Country!
Enjoying this thread very much! Stick with it!
what a difference a day makes! Yesterday it was 80 degrees, today after the rain came thru the temp dropped to 50 with the wind howling out of the north!
I hiked up the bluff and got on the trail to the upper fields (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/7998270848_f12f3ef5a9.jpg)
skirting the edge of the first field I made my way around to the back of the field I hunted two nights ago.
This is the "Justin Stand". Named for my nephew who killed a great buck out of it two years ago.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/7998254450_fe5059b3e5.jpg)
doesn't look like a twenty footer does it? here is a better perspective
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7998264616_4a8cfd490a.jpg)
this stand sits on the opposite end of the field of rape seed. you can see the rape in the upper left on this photo. I am not overly happy with this plot and will not repeat using this seed next season. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7998261532_f4d82720fa.jpg)
the first deer out were a doe with three fawns. One has just laid down so you can't see it . The mom is on the right, children on the left. They kept putting their heads down each time I snapped the shutter! (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/7998271041_b463d39f5c.jpg)
they are in the forage oat plot just over the spine of the hill
this is with the camera at full zoom. See that chopped corn field 1/2 mile away? I could see deer in it with the naked eye and confirmed with the binos! They picked that corn yesterday. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/7998251216_1d4bf1332f.jpg)
The wind picked up and I was freezing! I dressed warm but not warm enough! What month of the year is it? (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7998258000_9b72c98d17.jpg)
Love following this, thanks for taking the time and effort.
David
Keep it up Jim :thumbsup: :campfire:
As the end of the day neared, I picked my bow off the hanger and stood ever at the ready. I learned a long time ago that you can't shoot your bow if its hanging on a limb! I looked to my right and smallish doe was in the plot and feeding towards me. Jayne had suggested I shoot a deer tonight since its going to get down to 35 above. I had made up my mind to shoot when she bolted straight at me and ran right under my tree. WTF? Suddenly I hear a deer running at me from the left. A magnum doe runs in with her ears laid back and bleating! She runs just past my shooting lane and stands there looking pissed off! Then this huge fawn runs up and literally crawls on his belly under her and starts head butting her udder! He latched on and greedily drank. The doe tolerated it for about 20 seconds , high stepped over his head and walked around behind me. the fawn followed and doe proceeded to groom him for about 10 minutes! I had no shot but wouldn't have been able to do it if I had!
It was a fun walk back as I misplaced my headlamp. The best part of the day was this, no snakes!
Very kool..I'm almost there with you in my dream, just 10 more days to Retirement! My little piece is only 46 acres in the western foothills in NW Maine. I am however, surrounded by hundreds of privately owned forested acres though. Plenty of wildlife, just not the huge numbers of whitetails like in the south.
I will follow and enjoy your posts!
JL
:archer2:
great posts and thank you for the cooler weather that blew in from the west. The high today was 52 and rainy here in the Yooper.
John
Really enjoy your thread, thanks !
Still enjoying your efforts. Keep at it.
Soon enough there'll be a shot to take.
Good stuff! Good luck this year
it got cold last night! but the old fire box I got for 45 bucks on Craig's list kept the Yurt warm and toasty (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8181/8000797852_fedb3ee7fe.jpg)
i once again made my way up the old logging trail this time heading to the left and on up into the middle bluff on my farm. I sat a stand called the "Pususta" stand. Another one named after a friend who killed the first deer out of it.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8000788647_23864c8571.jpg)
This stand over looks one of the first food plots i created on the farm. it sits on top of a bluff where I dropped some trees and then had a small dozer come in and scrape away the stumps.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/8000780650_86559a8262.jpg) I chose this spot as it was some what flat to begin with and there was a hub of deer trails here originally.
its wasn't long before I saw the first deer. The hillside is rather open here and I saw the doe and her fawn at about 45 yards as she made her way along a side hill trail. They ended up right behind me but offered no shot. There is a thick cedar hillside about 100 yards further down the trail to which they were headed to sleep . A little later three deer entered the food plot.one was a buck! he had a single spike about 4inches long! Ha finally saw a male deer!. After that it was quite still except for a flock of Tom's that let loose with a couple of gobbles from the neighbors side of the fence.
I took a short cut home and dropped straight down off the bluff (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/8000800925_7d7f1b2c21.jpg)
this is a turnip field i will be hunting near tonight
i'm enjoying reading this thread. keep it coming.
up above the turnip field is a narrow old pasture, the shape of a rectangle and about the size of three football fields in length. We call it Apple alley because there are numerous old wild apple trees spread out the length of the pasture. Up on the upper end i have established another small clover plot. The thermals work overtime on this bluff side so you have to hunt at the bottom in the evening if at all. I sat in a ladder stand in an old knarley birch tree near the bottom where the hill gets steeper and then drops down to the turnips. the deer come off the top of the bluff and work their way down, first in the clover, then the apples and finally down to the field. Tonight I saw two identical 6 point bucks. At first I thought it was just one. He came from the clover and stopped at a crab apple tree and stood on his hind legs trying to get the lowest hanging fruit. Then he disappeared for a minute and returned. Except the when he returned it was the other. Then the first stepped back and they stood side by side about 25 yards up hill from me. one butted the other with his head gear and he trotted past. The other turned and went back in to the apples not to be seen again. that all happened before 6 pm. After that no deer at least not close any way. I'll post pictures tomorrow got to hit the hay now
Enjoying following along. The yurt is awesome!
Enjoying this a lot Keep it up THANX again !
I suspect there will be a picture of a dead deer before this gets to 12 pages! Enjoying it!
Thanks guys! Yes the yurt is a special space for sure!! Here are some photos from last night.
the trail into Apple Alley (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/8003259651_9845764f9b.jpg)
the octopus tree (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/8003258298_947f124d25.jpg)
tree stand in old birch ( I wear light colors when i hunt in this spot (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8033/8003252095_274db92324.jpg)
So this morning I decided to take it easy and hunted a stand no more than 300 yards up hill from the Yurt's door. It was starting to get windy . you could hear the roar of the wind up on the bluff top. So this stand is very low and is some what protected from the wind. It in an old cedar. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/8003263963_bf254cb9ae.jpg)
I had literally just crawled up, hung up the bow and sat down and turned off the headlamp. Had my hat in my hand . Is that a deer walking to me? sure enough the foot steps are coming closer and closer and finally its right under me. It must have heard me and came to see if i was a deer looking for another to hang with. I could just barely make out its shape in the dark. It hung around for a couple of minutes but must have caught a molecule of my smell as it spooked out from under me and then walked off at a fast walk. And that was it for the am. The wind has really come up strong and its going to be tuff to pick a place to go tonight.
I got a new balaclava yesterday. I think it make my eyes really pop, ey? (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/8003246510_b3982f34a3.jpg)
ZOMBIE BOWHUNTER (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8041/8003243314_410234b0fe.jpg)
Keep it coming.
Great read along!
:campfire:
what a morning I had! I wasn't able to hunt last night due to the late arrival of a friend here to hunt with me and his two brothers who are due to arrive tomorrow. We hunt this weekend together every year. They still hunt with compounds and I will have them plinking arrows with recurves before this weekend is over.
Bwana and I left the Yurt at 5.30 am. We had a clear sky and light Westerly winds perfect for hunting two stand not yet hunted from this year.
I dropped Bwana off on a ridge above the turnip field and we whispered our good lucks. The plan was to sit until 9 am and then i would slowly hunt his way and pick him up on my way past.
QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
what a morning I had!
I have a feeling this is about to get really good.
I sneaked through the food plot where the Pususta stand is and got on the trail on the north side to the portable stand 20 feet up in an Oak on the side of the ridge. There is a very heavy deer trail 12 yards away on the down ridge side of this tree. I am looking to the NW in the direction the deer should be traveling as they come out of the neighbor's cow pasture and the cut corn field on the pastures farther side.
The sun was just breaking the Eastern horizon with the sun beams angling low and lighting up the trees north and west of me. The slight breeze is in my face. I see a flash of movement 100 yards up near the fence line where the pasture begins. The low angle of the sun has acted like a beacon reflecting off antlers and hide. The deer is running towards me and stops 50 yards out. He is on the trail I want him to be. A beautiful 8 point. He starts to walk forward and then stops right where I want him to stop. Tilts his head back and sniffs the air current. He doesn't look up. He take a step forward and turns to look downhill. He is magnificent. I stare a hole in his chest where the arrow should go. I decide to let him pass.
You had me thinking you were going to blow through him!!
But wait it gets better.
This buck was clearly just a three year old. I have much larger bucks on the wall. There is 3 months of season left and there are much larger bucks in these woods.
At 8 am I see movement again on the trail to the North. This time moving slow and browsing as they move. 2 mature does walking in single file right on the trail. The wind seems to have died. The first doe approaches my shooting lane only to stop and tilt her head back. Crap. Body language says she has me. She doesn't know where I am but she knows I am near. She looks up at me but doesn't make me. She gets all rigid and start to angle away. I think about the shot and decide to pass. She is too alert . Better safe then sorry. Down the ridge they go.
but wait it gets better.
I look up into the food plot as its only about 45 yards up the ridge and see deer bodies walking around grazing. I spend about 15 minutes watching them feed and then off they go to the cedars to sleep. its about 8:45 and I reach into my pack for a double shot of espresso and milk in a can. I am sitting there enjoying that when I hear loud bleating coming from the food plot. A small deer is totting thru it bleating bleating and bleating. Off it goes to West.
But wait it still gets better!
At 9 a.m. I am about to pack it up when through the trees to the North I CAN make out a deer's body. He is feeding on acorns or hickory nuts. A big bodied animal with large antlers! Behind him in the heavier cover is another LARGER BUCK. They are both slowly feeding their way down the ridge and do not appear as though they will end up any where near me for a shot. At 45 yards downhill the first one lays down.
At 9 45 I text Bwana that I am pinned downed and can not leave the stand. I have been holding the bow and standing stock still for the prior 45 minutes and I do not want him to come looking for me.
I have now been watching them for over an hour. The bigger buck has been foraging this whole time. Clearly this is a buck I'd love to kill. He walks to where the other buck is laying and pushes his rack up against the other buck. I can see him put his weight into it and the other buck gets up. they clack their antlers together and shove each other a little. they pull apart and both turn to look to the East. I look down the hill and see a tail flick.
The buck I passed on must have been laying down there and has gotten up and is walking their way .
He approaches the others with caution, they all stand and look at each other for a few seconds. The last buck turns and starts to walk back in the direction he just came from . The other two follow along and down onto the steepest part of the ridge below they disappear. I ever so quietly pack my things and slink out of there. Pick up Bwana and sneak back down to camp.
I didn't get a deer (yet) today and couldn't be a happier guy
great encounter!
Your frigging killing me..........cool, but your killing me....lol! Great story........ :thumbsup:
Several guys have now said that, sorry!
Awesome, That first shot is coming soon!! I feel it.
Well you have a good idea where the big bucks are hanging out. They shouldn't go anywhere. Good luck tonight.
LOL.....no need to apologize....I'm just jealous!!
Great stuff Jim! This is going to be the thread of the fall, no doubt about it.
I've been hunting this week too, but haven't been very patient in the mornings thinking that all the big bucks would be long bedded up after the first couple hours. Your story will be playing in my mind tomorrow morning!
"I didn't get a deer (yet) today and couldn't be a happier guy"
Man, I love this stuff!!!!! Thanks for sharing.
:campfire: great hunt!
you guys are welcome.
The wind was out of WNW by the time it was time to head back out. Blowing harder than I like too.It was no good for where the bucks might come back out from this mornings hunt. But it would be still be good for two stands up on the old hay field so we headed there with high hopes for an eventful afternoon. Bwana chose to sit in the " Bwana " stand. After all it does have special meaning for the guy. I on the other hand cut across at an angle to the far NE corner of the field where it slopes and then suddenly drops off all most cliff like at my Eastern Border. I call this the "Corner " stand. Its like a 90 corner on a box with a trail following the ridge in both directions. Here is the stand in the big oak. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8007936725_a4ec715e45.jpg)
here is a the view from the stand. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/8007939465_59aa399d40.jpg)
There is a tiny micro food plot 15 yards from me there in that opening. Up above is the plot with forage oats and Brassica's. About 6 pm I saw three deer busting over the hill running down towards me. The doe stopped and stood just at the upper edge of the little food plot. About 10 minutes later legs appeared behind the cedar tree on the left side of the picture. I assumed the doe was back. Out walks a little 4 point and he stands in the ten yard opening along side the cedar tree! He then walks into the micro plot and starts to nibble. Crashing noises from my left send him running towards the sun set. Deer are running down the trail from my left. It's the two fawns that were wiith the doe that ran by me earlier. They stop directly under me and stand there looking back. The little button buck was straight down. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/8007931719_5bb23a85e4.jpg)
they stood there for a little while and then trotted up the hill towards the oats and Brassica's. The sun is just starting to set and I am on edge waiting for the next deer to show! But alas that was it for the day. tomorrow i'll be out again (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/8007934273_c1fd19318c.jpg)
"But wait it gets better"
I'll say. Great read along. 3 months left in the season, this'll be 30 pages! Fantastic!
Living the dream!!!
WOW KEEP it coming! Great reading ! Thanx for sharing !!!
Nice story bro. Just some food for thought. I am unsure of the reason why you are not impressed with the rape seed but deer really don't eat it much until it frosts on it. So if it is because the deer are not hammering it yet, just be patient. God Bless
Today was another great day and I have yet to pull my bow back on a deer.!
The day started with the retrieval of Bwana's doe from last night. He had seven deer in the rape plot and shot the biggest. She just happended to be the one that ran by me last night with the two fawns.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/8010997772_06edfa7d74.jpg)
I got to share great coffee, great laughs, hard work and natures beauty with good good friends. On the way to my stand this after noon I saw my favorite flowers. Wild Asters. Perhaps my favorite because when they bloom its time to hunt! (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/7990325864_4bd260ce86.jpg)
I was thinking I'd go back to where i had the encounter with the snake a few nights ago. The wind was a little stronger and I hoped it would work more in my favor as it was more northerly tonight. As I passed my clover field a big doe with triplets ran out of it and up into the woods. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7994335328_802a36bb7d.jpg)
Approaching the stand, quite honestly I was looking more for snakes then for deer. Another bedded deer jumped up and ran up hill. Darn, I am bumping them left and right tonight.
And the night just sort of passed. At one point I had a deer some where near, behind me in heavy cover my eyes couldn't see into. I could hear it walking and making the snuffling noises they make when scent checking the ground. But I never laid eyes on it. The sun set, I walked back, and bumped another deer. The lights were on in the yurt, I could hear laughter and celebrations going on. The boys were having fun!
:campfire:
Keep it coming :campfire: :archer:
Kim is on the score card too
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8013865246_bd85bdb2d9.jpg)
I hope it is ok to post the score card pictures.
I really enjoy reading this! Following your story is the next best thing to being in the woods. It's getting more exciting by the day! :thumbsup:
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
way cool buddy way cool :campfire:
ok so I have been stalling to write today's post.
With only one guest left still to fill a tag, Joel and I left the yurt at 5:15 A.M. in gusty winds, light rain and even some snow flakes in the beams of our head lamps. The wind was gusting out of the NW and we both needed to be some where in the 23 acre bluff to be somewhat protected from the weather if we were planning on staying out for any length of time.
I walked Joel down to the ultra view stand on the corner that I last hunted earlier in the week. I then backtracked and hiked up to another ladder high on the bluff but far enough south of Joel not to be blocking any deer from coming his way.
And then..... :campfire:
The name of this stand is " Do Over". As in I'd like to do that shot over. The spot is a hub of deer traffic in the morning but it seems to be cursed. Unfortunately i was about to join the ranks of the Do Over Club members.
here is a view of the stand (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8174/8013870852_c5e6274809.jpg)
Above me it gets very steep. The deer can be coming down the hill , up the hill or traversing the bluff cross ways. Part of the curse is you have be watching in all directions constantly.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8038/8013873499_867950fed4.jpg)
At 9 30 am I was thinking of calling it a morning as I had not seen another deer. I looked down the bluff and make out two does on a trail about 40 yards down heading away from me. 15 minutes later they were coming back. Changed their minds for some reason except now there were three of them. The first one was what I like to call a magnum doe. She had a big horse size head. She was on the logging road. You can see the road in the picture its a 15 yards shot. I kept saying pick a spot over and over and I slowly pivoted on the stand tracking her as she walked up the road waiting for the shot opportunity to come.
:thumbsup: thanks for the updates. Some of our seasons are pretty much over.
She kept moving. I am not a fan of making a noise to try and make her stop. When the shot didn't materialize , I turned my focus to deer #2 who was now standing still on the road her head behind that little leaning tree. But deer #3 stepped up in between the doe in front of her and I, making her closer, yet a little bit steeper of a shot. I was already bent at the waist and I focused on a spot and began my draw. Out of the corner of my eye I could see doe #1 had now turned and was facing me watching me draw the bow.
I broke the cardinal rule of trying to pull off a shot at an alert deer even if the alert deer isn't the intended target. I think what then happened is doe #1 at the exact amount I hit anchor spun around to flee. Deer #2 and Deer #3 reacted immediately with doe #3 dropping. There was aloud CRACK as broad head hit solid bone. The doe spun to her right and I could see my entire arrow sticking from the center of her scapula. I think I could even see the 50 grain brass insert glint for a second in the sun . She exploded down the hill and I sat down on the seat replaying what just happened.
What the hell? I was so mad at myself for miffing a putt. I guess what I describe is what I hope happened to make my self feel better. But the truth of the matter is I simply blew it!
Here is what I found 10 yards from the point of impact (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/8013870633_2607d5d527.jpg)the carbon shaft split and the insert and the 200 grain VPA stayed in the doe's shoulder.
I checked the area for blood even though I knew i wouldn't be finding any. Then walked the short distance home.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8316/8013864993_f93b726820.jpg)
I tried to make peace with myself and served up a lunch of Venison Back straps from Bwana's doe and veggies on the grill for the boys and my wife. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/8013876511_8742653702.jpg)
Later I took Joel and dropped him off in apple ally then hiked up to the Corner stand. I enjoyed a nice sunset and watched a small doe in the little food plot. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/8007939465_59aa399d40.jpg)
Several deer were up in the forage oats at sunset but nothing else came close. I waited until it was dark and exited down the trail that keeps me hidden from the deer in the food plots so we can go back up there and give it another whirl tomrorow.
Those scapula's are tough Jim - don't need to ask how I know. :thumbsup:
Stinks, but she'll likely live and be no worse for wear. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
Looks like you have an awesome place. Good luck.
Now you have a goal of recovering that broad head. That would be a neat story. Thanks for sharing
Love this thread and I'm getting a late start to hunt this year and enjoy reading your adventure of each day's hunt with photo's...Very nice place you have there and looks so relaxing...I noticed your bow looks to have Olive ash burl and I have a Hoot's with it it as well...Awesome swirls in it.... Keep us posted and thank you for taking us all along...
Keefer's <><
Jim,
sorry about the doe. It really would be something if you had another shot at her. I really cant add to what Joe said.
This thread is great.
What an awesome thread! Sorry about the doe. Keep at it though. Beautiful land!
FR
:campfire:
Thanks guys for your words of encouragement!
Cold morning today! It wasd 32 degrees when I walked down to the yurt to roust the last hunter with a tag.
I dropped Joel off at the stand that is just up the logging road from the yurt and continued my way on up the bluff to the stand I was in last Thursday the day of the three big bucks.
The sun rose and my attention was focused in the direction the bucks had come from previously. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/8018008366_0b70cd15ba.jpg)
Shortly after sunup I looked left just in time to see three fawns exiting the food plot. I never heard a sound! They must have been feeding and were now heading to bed. I kept a close eye towards the north but after 4 hours on stand and not seeing another deer, I returned to the yurt for fresh coffee and conversation. We shot some arrows,made some lunch, drank some coffee and told some tall tales. The weather was checked and we made a plan for the evening hunt.
Season hasn't even started here yet, and i'm stoked reading this thread.
The forecast for wind was out of the NW for remainder of the day. At 4pm we began our march up the bluff to the 20 footer tree stand. I helped Joel get set then doubled back so I could circle the field and avoid letting any bedded deer to the south wind me. I didn't want to push any deer that would come up to Joel out of their beds by winding me as I went to my stand on the SE end of the field. Joel was on the East end and the deer feed up the ridge onto all of the upper food plots. As I got to the south end of the middle field I could see 4 does in the final field clover right in front of my ladder stand.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/8018004392_15eace7f01.jpg)
by the time I got the camera out of my pack two had exited the field but I got the last two as they went back into the bedding area. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/8018000738_67c41d0220.jpg)
Standing in the spot I stood when I took the photos of the deer in the clover and turning back north, here is the food plot I had circled to avoid letting deer wind me (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/8017994565_1f66cba945.jpg)
After I was sure the four deer were far enough down the ridge, I slowly walked to the ladder and climbed in for what was starting to look like a promising evening!
Here is the view to the clover from the ladder (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/8018012272_c2581fc9ac.jpg)its about a 12 yard shot to the edge of the clover and 30 yards to the top. The farther the shot from the stand the more level the shot due to the slop of the field. After about 90 minutes in the stand a small 4 point buck was coming up the trail behind me. But the wind was wrong for the deer to approach from that way. At about 15 yards the buck finally got a nose full of Jim and he turned tail and trotted back down the ridge. 30 minutes later deer to the South and East of me began snorting continually the rest of the sit. Just at dark a lone doe came out of the woods just to the right of clover field. She was going to come into the field but the snorting behind me down in the timber turned her around and the evening ended without any close encounters.
I'm a "regular" here now. Always scroll down to find the latest addition. As above no season here yet, so this is big time inspiration.
Way to keep at it and thanks for taking the time to post.
I love this thread!!
QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
Standing in the spot I stood when I took the photos of the deer in the clover and turning back north, here is the food plot I had circled to avoid letting deer wind me (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/8017994565_1f66cba945.jpg)
What is growing in this plot? It's hard to tell but it doesn't look like clover. It's so nice and green I'll bet the deer love it. I'm a couple hundred miles northwest of you and my clover and alfalfa plots are all dry, brown, and dead.
Have you gotten better rainfall or is that a secret blend of drought tolerant clover or...?
Your doing an excellent job in telling the tale of your hunt.....one of the best I have followed!! :thumbsup: :notworthy: :notworthy:
This is the first thing I'M looking at as soon as I log on I'M always sorry there is not more to read each time LOVE IT ! Thanx
:campfire:
Looks like you have had some beautiful weather the past couple of days. Sorry about the Doe, Still thinking you will get one soon!!
:campfire:
Joel is on the makes his mark (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8462/8020361424_185ffa0be1.jpg)
My update from this am shortly........no deer yet for me if you are wondering.
It was another very cold morning. 29 when we left the yurt! Very still. Incredible stars! The dipper seems very low in the sky!
I didn't have a lot of time to hunt this Am. Gotta work once in a while.!!
I chose a spot easy to get to, and if I saw any deer it would be right away. At the North end of my place I have a little clover field with a blind constructed to resemble a round bale.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/8020352843_ea0cb78e30.jpg)
This picture is after this Am's hunt. from about 20 yards from the blind. The clover looks like its still frozen solid!
Here is the field from a little further away. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7994335328_802a36bb7d.jpg)I would hunt this spot harder but for the fact its very close to my good friend next door's front yard. Only about 200 yards max.
at 8:15 three adult does and one fawn left the food plot just across the fence from my clover but instead of coming into the clover on their way to bed they went up the dry creek bed and on into the old pasture hillside. They disappeared in to the tangle of wild apple trees and most likely went into the woods on the tail right under the oak where the rattlesnake almost got me. I stayed only a few minutes more and the hoofed it back home to get to my desk and start the work day.
There was still frost on the street signs along the driveway to home (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8020360213_75852d3115.jpg)
The Jackson boys have gone home . They went three for three. I have the farm to myself for a few days. A trad hunter friend is due to arrive Friday night for this coming weekend. I'll hopefully be able to post some photo's of trad killed deer soon!
:thumbsup:
LittleBigMan, When I die and go to hevan, I hope it is your farm. Love your style with the yurt and all. Plus you share, you share your blessings with others. You also share your season with us. Thank you for taking us along. I always felt that if something good happened by you could not share then maybe it didn't happen. The best to you and yours.
EasyKeeper, that plot you questioned about is rape. Deer love it!
God Bless and good luck to all.
LittleBigMan I love this thread it is great. It looks like the hard work on the food plots paid off they also look great
Sill following.
I know what you mean alut the cold crisp morning and the stars shining low and bright
Actually that is not a rape field. It is turnips and forage oats.
Its good to share things with good friends. during hunting season I seem them frequently LOL!
I am in heaven every day 365 a year!!
What a difference 15 degrees makes! It was a balmy 42 degrees out this AM! BTW I didn't hunt last night. too windy , too hot ! it was 76 degrees! Took the Mrs. out to dinner instead!
This AM I chose another close to the office spot. I put up a ladder in this spot last spring after finding several scrapes along the trail I didn't previously see the prior fall. The trail is really the same trail that goes by the Squirrel tail stand, just a little further west. Its a short 150 yards up from the lower turnip field and about 300 yards from the back door to home. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/8023473791_b6d7a28bba.jpg)
:campfire:
I am standing and taking the above picture next to where the big scrape was. Its about 10 yards from the stand. There is a good deer trail that runs along the inside edge of the woods and follows the contours of the lower bluffs all the way around the bottom of the farm .I think it will be an excellent place to sit when the bucks start to cruise or during late season when the deer are coming back into bed after feasting on the turnips below. Here's a shot at 20 yards on the entry trail from the hill (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8023470061_2381bd29c2.jpg)and another right at the entrance on the field's edge (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8023465787_36ece26cd3.jpg)
Yes those are apple trees that the trails comes in under. I got there early today and once again a deer must have heard me and came to investigate. It was pitch black when I heard foot steps and then a single snort!. When that happens I always jump about a foot off the seat of the stand! Never saw the deer and then it was quiet the rest of the short sit. Lots of crows out and about today. Several landed in the top of the tree I was in! Here are some photos looking down to the turnips and then west to the house. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/8023460368_28cdb1acef.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8319/8023457945_8bff3c0cd2.jpg)
I do have exciting news to share. A new bow arrived in camp yesterday!
here it is resting next to my widow. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/8023534798_a8654b674f.jpg)
I ordered this bow last January when I fell in love with its design. Then I found the widow last March at the expo in Waterloo.
It is a 56 inch 44 at 28 inches Hills Country Bobcat. My 2 favorite bow woods combo too! Cocobolo and Osage Orange
It is a shooter too! (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/8023526598_748c347ce3.jpg)
It is going to be hard to decide which bow to carry out to hunt with from now on. I couldn't believe how alike it is to my widow! (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8319/8023531981_a58dbbbe7a.jpg) (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8311/8023445849_26fed2102a.jpg)
I decided to name this bow " Anubis" after one of the Egyptian gods of death. I had Roman put that on the upper limb. Thanks Roman for a super weapon! I'll try to make you proud!
"Took the Mrs. out to dinner."
That's it - taking care of business. No wonder you get to hunt so much!
Still my favourite thread, although I see Charlie Lamb has started up...
Those are some sweet pictures! Nice looking property. Guess I was wrong about seeing a deer down in the 1st 12 pages, but with 3 friends all killing deer, I guess you can be picky on which one you choose to harvest. Still lots of time :-)
Goldflinger , if i had done my part better your prediction would have been spot on!
:)
Glad she got there OK Jim. Looks good in that Yurt.
Also looks like it didn't take you long to have her shooting well for you. I'll pass on the news to Roman.
Dang Jim I'm late to the party .......
Great story and pics.... oh well I guess it's like finding a good book and now ya can't put it down !!!
Great to have two bows that shoot alike.
Man I'm going nuts!!! Got to go hunt soon!!!
I was wondering where you had been Kip!
Today was one of those rare days here.
I GOT SKUNKED! Didn't see a darn deer while on stand all day. I went up to the 20 footer this afternoon as the wind was straight out of the north and that stand sits on the SE end of a food plot. I had my game face on all day but no one showed up to play. I was especially pumped after a visit with my neighbor to the north. He watched a giant buck we are both after last night from his living room with his spotting scope. Glad to hear he is still in the immediate vicinity. Tomorrow's another day and I'll be out after em!
Keep the wind in your face!
Drop the string on a Big-un!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
This is a great thread!! Thanks for all the effort and please keep it coming.
:campfire:
Great tale so far. I'll keep checking back. You have definitely taken your signature line to heart and made it a reality!
here is a picture of my back yard. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/8027494889_0fcbab69d5.jpg)
I am showing you this because this is where the deer were when I walked out the door of house last night after dinner to go sleep in the yurt! I have several springs that empty into a culvert that runs along the edge of the back yard. With the lack of rain my retention ponds are all dry and the deer were in the little stream drinking when I walked out on them! Two really big does. Guess i need to hand a stand on the utility light pole!
So this am it was cold again but not as cold as Monday. We had light winds from the north and I chose a stand not yet hunted from this year. It sits down the logging road East of the ladder stand on the food plot on the middle ridge. No one has killed a deer yet from it so I call it the CrissCross stand because of the way the tree the stand is in crosses behind the tree next to it.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/8027484544_1185bd0d2e.jpg)
Deer coming from the food plot usually walk right down the logging road on their way to a bedding area just on the other side of my Eastern property fenceline.
This is an up close and personal shot. The deer go by at 7 yards and should never see you, that's the theory anyway! The wind was perfect. The warmth of the rising sun was a welcome sight, it was cold! (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/8027488368_9ed7f6bf51.jpg)
At about 7:30 I hear a deer bleating, bleating bleating up from the direction of the plot! I grab the bow off the hanger and focused on the trail coming from the plot. I could see legs but could not see anything else about 50 yards up the logging road. Despite the two hard freezes we have had there is still quite a bit of leaves on the trees and bushes making long distance visibility poor. The bleating faded and it was evident the deer had exited the plot in the opposite direction. It well could have been the same yearling I saw and heard doing that in the food plot last Thursday when I was in the hang on stand on the North side of the food plot. After that I got to enjoy a huge fox squirrel just above my head in the oak come and check me out repeatedly but no other deer appeared. As I walked down the hill I snuck up on 2 sleeping yearlings bedded under a crab apple about 100 yards up hill from the yurt. I was about 15 yards from them when one of them saw me move. What fun! Wind is out of the north all day. Got to fling a few arrows and then be on my way.
Same kind of weather (and deer activity) here too Jim. But what glorious days to be in the woods!
sure was great whip!
So i got to thinking about those two does in the water last night. Chatted with the neighbor to see how his hunt went last night. He counted a dozen does and fawns go to water in the creek up on his end of the valley! All early in the evening too!
Well that same creek comes down thru the valley and I have a little one lane bridge I cross it with. As it comes along through my land I have rental ground on each side of it with standing corn. I am sure there are some deer hanging in that corn for cover and to be close to the water. There is no way to hunt them if they are all ready in the corn. But there is a way to do it if they are bedded in the 23 acres across the road and up the hill.
I returned to the ultra view stand now to be known forever as the "Joel" stand since he killed the first deer out of it Monday AM.
here is a photo of that spot again.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/7992234752_6c7d690a31.jpg)
Normally i don't hunt this little spot in the afternoon. Because the deer will either hear you or the thermals will kill you and the deer blow out of top of the bluff. But this stand is right on the bottom edge of the woods and i decided I would wait until the thermals changed before heading up into it.
:campfire:
I walked the road to bottom of the field and waited till 4 :30 before sneaking up the final 150 yards to the stand. I had put on my harness and coat at the bottom of the hill and all i had to do was climb the ladder and hook into the safety rope up above my head.
I ever so slowly and silently got into the stand. I got all in order and released a few fibers of a milk weed pod into the air. Rats they floated up hill! I started to rethink this plan and started to feel the cool air start to drop. This bluff is so steep and faces directly East so after 4 pm the entire bluff face is in the shade and is 5 to 10 degree colder then the hill on the opposing side of the valley. I released some more fibers and they sailed straight down the hill. Game on!
At 5:15pm I stood up to prepare for the eventual deer encounters I knew were about to happen. A stick suddenly cracks up over my right shoulder. I jerked the bow off the hanger, I wasn't ready yet. I looked uphill and saw the flag running up and away. Darn! I am sure it saw me grab the bow.
I resolved to hold the bow the rest of the night. 10 minutes or less I hear a stick crack to the left. A single doe is standing no less then 25 yards away scanning the bottom of the hill for danger. The trail she is on most likely won't give me a shot at her. She finally decides all is safe and she progresses the rest of the way down on to the logging road, crosses it , then drops into the prairie grass and goes on down towards the water and corn. Another crack and sure enough another deer is approaching from my left. This one is on the trail that goes right by me! I ooze into shooting position but it only takes a second to determine this is a last spring's fawn. A buck fawn at that. It gives me the perfect shot, multiple times! Then it hangs out in front of me grooming itself for about 15 minutes. It reminded me of our cats. I have never seen a deer so concentrated on cleaning its tail before! Eventually it headed down the hill towards water and food. There was still plenty of time for more deer to come but none came and soon it was time to go. It was a great night and I felt good having thought the situation through and getting a shot opportunity again. Hopefully tomorrow it will be at an older deer!
Keep it coming .. great stuff!!!
Homework... learn how to ooze
You're getting closer Jim.... pure envy.. Oh well time for work
:coffee:
Must be too busy skinning deer to post??
Good problem to have!
I wish!
You ever have one of those days when you were just sort of a dumb ass? That was me today.
It was clear and cold and Still this am. Really , Really still. The kind of still that when you take your hand out of your pocket it makes a sound and everything in 100 yards heard you do it!
It had been ten days since I sat way up high in the 23 acre . It felt like the right time to back in there. As I walked down the gravel road, the gravel crunched under my boots. It seem impossible to be quiet. I made my way up into bluff as quickly as possible so the wood would quiet back down.
The sun was a welcome sight. here is El uno shortly after first light (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8031530392_770416a279.jpg)
So i had been standing in the stand since before first light. Sort of leaning into the tree on my right side. I decide I had to take a pee. I shifted my weight on to both legs and unzipped my fly. I look down to my right while fumbling with the two layers of long johns and see a little 4 point buck standing right on the trail! He had come around the bend just like I wanted him too and had no idea I was there until he heard the ZIP of my Zipper. He stood at alert looking down the trail. Then he slowly swapped ends and walked back the way he had come from. Now I wouldn't have shot even if I could. We have an antler point restriction in my zone so he wasn't even legal. But that's not the point. I should have been more alert. He was coming down the trail I wanted deer to travel on and everything! who know what was coming on behind him! That was dumb ass thing #1.
About 9 am I decided to throw in the towel I got no more than 40 yards from my stand and a big bodies deer goes running off down the trail It had pretty good head gear too! Damn! That's two times in a row upon leaving this stand too early I bumped right into a deer on the trail . I know better than to hunt this spot and not stay longer. Dumb ass thing #2
Now for dumb ass thing #3. ( the whopper of the day)
We had very light wind and it was right to sit over the rape field in the Bwana stand. it had been a week today since Bwana shot a doe out of it. I decided before heading up the hill to climb up into the ladder stand I have in white pine behind the yurt to shoot a few practice arrows Satisfied with my shooting , I changed into my hunting clothes, threw my pack together and was off up the hill. Now its a 1/2 mile walk and its up hill the entire way. I take my time and 30 minutes later I just below the crest in the old hay field where the food plot is. I take my pack off, drink some water and open the pack. WTH? No harness! After cussing myself out royally, I head back down the hill all the way to the yurt. There my harness lays on the yurts deck right where i set it when i took it off after practicing! I walk the 1/2 mile back up the hill and its now almost 5 pm. I make my way to the food plot, climb the big oak and settle in. What else Can I screw up today?
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/8031533010_67fa3e735b.jpg)
Only 3 dumb things in a day..... :thumbsup:
We haven't had any rain for two weeks straight now and the rape is starting to lose its brilliant green color. The deer are still hammering it though as evidenced by how short it is in the lower center, right in front of the stand! I was hot and tired from my hike. I was having a hard time staying awake in the afternoon sun. After fighting it for about an hour I decide to stand up. Crash off goes a deer that was standing almost right under the tree! Thats Dumb ass thing #4! It only went about 25 yards down the hill stopped turned around and walked back and stood right behind me. It looked to be the buck fawn from the doe last week that was with the doe that Bwana killed in the is very spot. It never came back into the field. It eventually just wandered off.20 minutes later I hear another deer walking and its his sister the other fawn. She comes out and starts feeding in the rape right below below. I can clearly hear her tearing the leaves and chewing them. Two more does appeared on the crest of the hill. They had come from the other food plot and were now in the top of the field. Another deer is walking down in the forest behind me.But its starting to get dark and I have run out of time. Now I am stuck in the tree with deer around me. I try a trick a friend uses. I wheeze snort. But instead of running,they all just stand there and look up at me in the tree! Dumb ass thing #5!. Finally they split and I shinny down the oak and head on down the hill. I promise myself on the way down to try and think a little more tomorrow. We shall see if I can keep that promise or not.
$#it happens, isn't it awesome, redemption comes soon, :thumbsup:
Good stuff!!
Shake it off!
Good luck today!
Littlebigman, there are days that it just doesnt pay to get out of bed, however now you are due for a few smart moves. Also, if this was easy everyone would do it and we would not want that...
no deer were harmed in the making of the following photo
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8311/8032853272_cd211c5d01.jpg)
my morning update in a little bit
I woke up with a renewed sense of everything is going go right today! 36 degrees with an icy fog in the air here at the bottom of the valley. It looked like a scene from a werewolfe movie as I headed up the logging road. It had been six days since I sat in the stand where I saw all the bucks last week. I just love this spot and know eventually it will be called "Jim's stand.
The sun came up and I was having a hell of a time staying awake. Then it dawned on me. I grabbed the wrong coffee bean container this am. I brewed DECALF! Fortunately a can of Starbucks double espresso was in my backpack! Oh sweet salvation.
At 8 am I saw three sets of legs approaching the food plot from the north. A magnum doe with twins walked into the plot and started to graze. But the doe was obviously nervous about something. She actually circled the little plot while the fawns munched. She exited it on my side quite close to my stand entry trail. She called to the fawns and they trotted to her. I thought to myself if she gives me the perfect shot I will accept it gladly.
I love this running story line. Makes my day. Sometimes not going hunting is the dumb ass thing to do.... especially when you have a camera hung to show you want walked right by your stand.....when you were not in it.
That would be exactly what I did two mornings ago. I either need to hunt or move the camera. Two bucks there are driving me crazy.
Hope your luck turns.
As she headed down the hill she crossed the trail I am hunting and turned on to it! YES! Walking my way picking up acorns and hickory nuts as she slowly walked she closed the distance to my stand. The trail goes by below me at about 12 yards. I need her to step behind a tree I have for screening my draw. She was just about there. Suddenly her 6th sense kicked in and she looked up. Staring at me for just a second she turned to look back over her shoulder. I thought I had gotten away with it but something bothered her and she turned a quarter turn down hill and angled away. I had a 20 yard shot but decided not to take it.
Oh so darn close!! I still had another hour to hunt. My heart went back to a normal pulse rate and I relaxed on stand.
30 minutes later I feel my phone vibrate. I check the caller id and see it is one of my staff. I sit down and read his text and respond to it. Sliding the phone into my pocket I catch quick movement coming my way. Its a huge male coyote! Shoot and I am sitting down with my bow hanging up!! Crap. I'll never get away with standing or picking up the bow. He turns to go in the food plot and when his head turns ( he is at 15 yards)away I stand and grab the bow. He hits my scent trail in the plot and reverses course! Running right at my tree I draw El Uno and bury the VPA in the log right behind him! He put on the after burners and was out of there!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8459/8032856114_fc7fe322a8.jpg)
I just about got him! That was the very first time i have ever gotten drawn on a coyote and he was so big! no wonder the deer are edgy. It was a great morning!
Got to go get the yurt ready for company. A trad hunter should be here any minute. Maybe we can post some good photos later in the weekend. Should be fun. going to need the chainsaw to free up the VPA!
Awesome shot! I mean picture :-)
:campfire: :coffee:
Jay arrived around noon. We caught up on each other's news , then shot some arrows! Fun to have another traditional archer to shoot with. We both headed up to the upper food plots but the high pressure and warm temps kept the deer in their beds. Only one fawn was sighted. Hopefully there will be more action in the am!
Lovin this! Good luck this weekend :thumbsup:
Good luck this weekend to you both!
Keep it up Jim...Your day is coming! Makes me long for days on the hunt!!!
I lived in the LaCrosse area for 10 years. Hunted across the River a time or two. Nice country. Thanks for sharing!
Great stuff Jim!!
An absolutely awesome thread. That is an amazing piece of turf that you have there.
When I saw the VPA in the tree I laughed. I buried a Woodsman in an ash, about the same set of circumstances. Paying attention to a text on the phone instead of hunting, bow still hanging...
Almost cut the WW out, but decided to leave it as a reminder to pay attention and pick a spot. Of course it also reminds me that I choked on one of the only two for sure BC bucks I have ever been lucky enough to shoot at!
Thanks for the thread and hope it all comes together- Darb
:campfire:
It's is such a good thread to follow along. For those of us who don't get to go daily deer hunting (or any for that matter) keep it up! Love that new bow too. Coco and Osage is a favorite color combo of mine as well!
If you ever come to stay at my place , here is a word of advice, don't put too much wood in the stove! Got the yurt way too warm last night!! Nothing like waking up feeling like you are sleeping in the sauna!
Today's forecast is for highs in the upper 70's! We hoped to see some deer early today , since its was 43 when we left the yurt and yet another very still morning. Jay decided to hike up on top where all the buck activity was last week and I decided to throw the dice and head back to the a cursed " Do Over"! Stand. We both experienced identical mornings. Neither one of us saw a single deer! But it was a pleasant morning. Despite the dry conditions the trees are coloring nicely. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8455/8036364071_8f01527e15.jpg)
This is the top of the big oak that "do Over" rests against. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8182/8036370658_f4443bf4a6.jpg)
Several times this am I heard a stick crack or saw the flicker of movement in the timber and and every time it turned out be squirrels!
We both quit at roughly the same time, returned to the yurt for food and refreshments.
Jay was good enough to get a fire going to cook some of last years venison (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/8036357197_6f0952eab4.jpg)
I am thinking of taking the new bow out hunting tonight. So we shot our bows before the sun climbed too high. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8036347385_47886ccf38.jpg) Can't have too much fun shooting, thats for sure!
it's undecided where we will sit tonight. With temps approaching 80 F I don't expect to see a lot of deer movement. I am thinking we will both hunt some where low, down around the turnips and hope for the best.
The fall flowers are in their full glory. How can anyone not love Autumn? (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/8036374509_27da602145.jpg)
Beautiful Jim.... you're right how can anyone???
Hope it cools a bit for you...
Long range forcast is calling for that cool down to happen later next week. Hope that along with the moon working away from full gets things brewing...
I'm addicted to this thread - first thing I look for when I check in :thumbsup:
Good Luck Jim!
Thanks again everyone for following along!
Despite overly warm temperatures we both decided we were here to hunt so hunting we would go! I played with my new weapon "Anubis" all afternoon and felt really confident of my set up. Strapped on my favorite quiver and chose the " Squirrel tail" stand for my evening post. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8037744311_a594dc109f.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/8037743880_ed192d0eca.jpg) This stand sits just inside the timber at the bottom of the ridge above the turnip field I have behind the farm house. I have mowed a trail up thru the old pasture to edge of the woods and then its just 25 yards into woods under some really nice oaks and hickories
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/8037737689_a6de694f02.jpg)
The mowed trails allow me quiet entry and exits and also the deer tend to use them as well.At the end of the mowed trail the deer trail takes over (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8037737318_edab60d2d7.jpg)
the ladder stand sits in a big oak in the center of this photo. Its hardly noticable (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8037734080_527f11dbb9.jpg)
the hill behind the ladder is very steep. I have been doing tree release and working on killing invasive species for a couple of years on this hill side. So its become fairly open once you get inside the edge of the woods.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8038/8037721567_d93e73705d.jpg)
The deer usually run down the hill side and stop and stage in the open areas before heading out into the old pasture and then dropping on down to the field. You can really hear them coming.. They run past the stand and then stop right below you. Last week A hunter I put in this stand was there for only 30 minutes before he killed a doe! Shortest deer hunt ever! The colors tonight were really something special.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/8037748013_2d9aa7f949.jpg)
The deer movement was about what I expected. Just as the sun disappeared behind the western bluff i hear deer running. Two does come down the hill but tonight they are on an adjacent trail about 40 yards from me. They stop and mill about a bit looking out to the hill side below.Once they are sure the coast is clear out they go and on down to the turnips. Later when it is too dark to shoot I hear another deer coming down the hill. It too seemed to pass just a little further to south from my stand but it is too dark to make it out.
Jay hunted a ladder stand over by my clover field near the hay bale blind. He saw two small bucks and one doe. He elected not to shoot the doe as he only has the one tag being a nonresident and plans on returning for another hunt during the November rut. The bucks were both 1.5 year olds sporting small 8 point racks!
:campfire: :coffee:
Those 2 small 8 pointers bode well for the future.
Beautiful colors, nice days( a bit "unnicer" would help the hunting), friends to hunt with on your own land - You ARE making a life.
:campfire:
Jim you have really turned your place into something special!!
:coffee:
That osage / cocobolo makes a nice combo on your new bow!
Keep up the great thread. Thanks. :campfire:
I like this thread, it reminds me of when I was stationed in Oklahoma and had access to a chunk of land loaded with deer and a loooong hunting season. I hunted in Colorado this fall; one week, no shots, and I'm done for the year. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Vig
Thanks kip! Its a lot of work but i love every bit of it!
Both Jay and I didn't have a lot of time to hunt this am. He had to leave to get home for work tomorrow and I have to leave this afternoon for one day of business meetings at my home office. That's ok as we had an East wind this am. Its a rare wind here and not too many stands are suitable for it.
We ended hunting opposite ends of the farm. He went as far north on the middle ridge as he could while I went south.
Up on my southern border across from the clover and deer crack field is a rocky weed field with an old pasture fence line. Due to the cows that once roamed here there are loads of wild apple trees. Along the fence a few actually produced apples this season. I chose to hunt there.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8319/8039439459_e166568c38.jpg) This mowed trail allows for quiet walking
A deer trail has been widened with the bush hog and an opening created by taking out a 1/2 dozen cedars.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8039439674_a021e42747.jpg)
It didn't take the deer long to start to move through this opening the first year I created it. There is a line of young birch trees adjacent to where the ridge steeply turns downhill. beneath me is a jungle of invasive buck thorn, the absolute worst part of the farm from a timber point of view. the deer like to bed here when its hot as it faces to NW.
The stand is in an old cedar.
I took this picture looking at the stand from where a doe stood earlier in the morning.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8318/8039447644_cf01d44daf.jpg)
The doe was checking for dropped apples and was standing in the upper right corner by the red leaves. She had walked down the mowed trail along the fence and then jumped the fence about 25 yards in front of me.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/8039455307_5d67f8587c.jpg)
She appeared shortly after it was light enough to shoot.
I had no shot at her and just enjoyed knowing she had no idea i was there. I usually hunt this spot in the evening and catch the deer as they come out of bed to go feed in the food plots so since you are facing directly East, you can't sit the stand for very long once the sun is over the bluff. The sun becomes a spot light and not only does it blind you it cooks you as well.
It felt good to carry the new bow along again today
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/8039451479_c7d9eeddee.jpg)
I headed down and took this shot of the turnip field . I recently mowed down the sunflowers since the birds had emptied them of seed. I think late season hunting this year will be the best ever, provided we get some decent snow .
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8035/8039468752_5cf2b9bdac.jpg)
I plan to be back in the woods Tuesday, hopefully by then the cooler temps will start to return
Sure is fun to follow along.
Jim, that new little beauty wouldn't be your new Bobcat would it? Thanks so much for taking us along on your little piece of heaven :thumbsup:
Yellow Dog, it sure as heck is!
After a day in the concrete jungle is sure is a pleasure to be out in the moonlight.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/8047448516_73617f5cfd.jpg)
As I sat in the big oak this AM and the full moon shone down on me I couldn't help but think of the movie scene when Frodo and Sam see the wood elves in the moon light. It is just magical to be out .
I chose the stand where I had the rattle snake encounter a few weeks ago. The wind was gently blowing out of North and I hoped to catch a deer on its way to bed coming from the corn field or perhaps my spring under the big Black Walnuts just a 100 yards below me.
As the sun light broke over the ridge and spread light on the neighbor's place i heard deer movement on the hill behind me.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8047440437_d995bf8bce.jpg)
A deer or perhaps two were slowly working their way up the ridge behind me. My thinking was correct but they chose a path back behind me and I never did make eye contact with them.
Anubis was ready but will have to wait for another time.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8316/8047452278_bb5856c2ee.jpg)
I am excited about what the end of the week might mean for deer movement. A major cold front is to move in on Thursday. I'll be out all this week but don't expect the deer movement to improve much until then. Tonight we be up on the food plots up on top and hope for a close shot at a mature doe or perhaps one of the elusive bucks that I know are here.
QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/8039451479_c7d9eeddee.jpg)
Aptly named bow.
I like your style! :thumbsup: Thank you for sharing.
Great read along Jim Good luck Thursday!
you have a great place there. thanks again for taking us along.
Well it was quite warm again today . 72 degrees when I headed up the hill at 4 pm. The wind was out of the East again which is unusual here. I chose the 20 footer stand as my scent should blow well down from where i hoped a buck would appear. The food plot in front of me is looking pretty sad, Boy we need rain. The rape however is still quite green as you can see in this photo
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8049039137_b672a65f03.jpg)
at 5 pm I was on my feet when I heard the unmistakable sound of a deer or two walking in the leaves. Two fawns appeared upwind of me, they came out into the food plot. I expected them to head right towards the rape but they actually fed in the plot that is looking so poorly! Here they are at about 40 yards from me.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8049042187_715485c614.jpg)
I got to enjoy them for about 20 minutes until they finally walked over the ridge and into the adjacent food plots.
The rest of the afternoon i was on high alert as I expected to see more deer. But this darn high pressure is keeping them in their beds until well after sun down. On a good note a new big buck was caught on camera in the food plot just over the rise
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/8049042677_d3b8694ba5.jpg)
This guy looks darn good! Hope to get a better look at him in the day light soon.
He does look darn good!! Good luck with him!! Should be closer to good daylight movement every day! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
In the yurte I would move in smoothly from the autumn to the spring. why is there such a thing in Germany. absolutely cool.
Regards Thomes :archer2:
I woke to an icy fog lying in the bottom of our valley. It was really temping to stay in the sleeping bag or to sit by the fire and drink coffee
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8050450159_49df14c85a.jpg)
Since I am already typing this you can surmise I wasn't out that long! I took it easy on myself and made a short walk to the stand near the yurt. No one had sat in it for 10 days or more. The morning came with out any deer on the trail and since the day is supposed to be really hot, that didn't bother me too much! In fact I plan on skipping this afternoons hunt due to the heat/ I'll be focused on the cold front due in tomorrow. if the wind is from the N or NW and isn't too strong I plan on making my way up to the top of Rattlesnake ridge. I'll let you know tomorrow how that works out. Have a good day everyone.
:coffee:
Finally got a morning off to catch up with this thread. The farm is looking great Jim, you'v really done a great job!
I can't wait to get out there to hunt with you, its all im thinking about, now that elk season is over.
Some great bucks getting around there, and no one deserves to have one walk by the stand more then you, this is your year. I can feel it!
Will call latter today.
P.s. looks like ill be getting another case of handwarmers from walmart.....can't have this African freezing his ass off up a tree again :D
its only a matter of days now Andy!
Lucky you Andy!!!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Just finished reading through this thread. It surely is a good one!
:campfire: :coffee:
Great thread, look forward to it daily!
I think you might be on to something taking this afternoon off Jim. I just arrived at our cabin this afternoon and am sitting on the front lawn right now soaking up some rays and enjoying the October splendor. Seems like a perfect place to stay. Pretty warm to be dealing with a deer today.
Better hunting days are on the way!
Great thread, best of luck to you. :campfire:
yes Whip I think i chose the correct stand to day. The back porch for me! Hopefully you are right but the rain i was hoping for seems to have gone elsewhere. Looking forward to cooler temps. Thanks everyone and good luck to you all on your hunting adventures.
I was really torn as to where to go this am. There are a couple of AM spots that have yet to host a hunter this season. A mental flip of the coin put me back in the ultra view stand. This stand is just up above the creek that runs in between the road and the corn field I rent out.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8455/8054482335_2cf1140544.jpg)
Just after first light before the wind kicked up I can hear splashing down in the creek. It sounds like several deer are crossing below me just to the right of what I can see. If there was a good tree for a stand down there I'd have one but there simply is not a spot to put one. Hoping they were on the way up to bed I slowly stood and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally I hear a stick crack. But it is up above me over my left shoulder. A deer had winded me and was on the run. I caught just a glimpse of it as it hurried up the hill. I am not sure it wasn't just traversing the bluff or it could have been one crossing the creek that came up to my right and was angling its way up the bluff. Its very heavy cover down below me and to my right but I would have thought if it was one coming from below that I would have heard it before then!
The wind came up later and the Birches , Aspens and Hickories began to rain their leaves down on top of me. The Birches were like giant dandelions gone to seed and some kid blowing them apart! I thought for sure i'd see more deer this am. But the deer had a different idea.
The wind is gusting this afternoon from the WNW at about 20 MPH.I was going to sit up on top but the wind is too strong. i'll save that area for tomorrow. Instead I'll hang down low tonight and hope to catch one on its way to the turnips.
If it were me I would build a ground blind near that creek they just crossed. But I am partial to the ground.
I love this thread and have been following this from the start.
BTW your property is just flat plain BAD TO THE BONE!
I'm jealous.
no sights, that is a good idea!
So tonight is one of those nights when it is very hard to decide what to do. With the wind blowing as hard as it was, it would have been impossible to sit for very long up on top. You just can't dress warm enough. But in gusty conditions, up top is the only place you get a true wind. The gusts tend to come down one side of the bluff wrap around the bottom and go right back up the opposite side! such was the case tonight. I chose a stand above the turnip field where a NW wind should be right in my face. Except when I got in the stand the gust would blow my scent in the completely opposite direction! My wind detectors had me hoping the scent was going up high enough to go over the trail the deer should be coming down
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8055335229_2079ca9892.jpg)
I wonder how big these would be if we had had normal rainfall amounts this year!
I got in the ladder quite early. I chose the big old birch below the hidden clover field in Apple Alley
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/8055341326_a8d1fd2dbd.jpg)
I dressed extra warm despite the fact the temp was still 53 degrees when I headed out
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/8055338622_ebbce0db16.jpg)
It got cold! At 5.30 a little buck I see quite often came out of the bedding area and went to the crab apple tree up to my left about 45 yards from the stand. He monkeyed around under the tree for a while then disappeared in the direction of the turnips. I was keeping an eye open on the trail that comes down from the clover field expecting to see deer legs at any moment. I had been standing for the longest time with my right shoulder leaning against the tree.. I decided to rotate slightly so i could occasionally look down to the turnips and see if deer were coming down from the other side of the valley. Not a deer to be seen! When I turned to look back up hill I caught movement down in front of me. That darn little buck had come back and I hadn't heard him! He caught my movement and turned and ran about 25 yards up hill and then stood there and snorted a few times. He wasn't 100% sure of what he had seen. He slowly walked off in the direction of the clover. 1/2 an hour later it was time to get down. I snuck out in case a deer had come late to the turnips but did not see any. AS I was walking through the meadow and was about 30 yards from the yurt a deer suddenly broke cover and scared the liver out of me as it snorted and ran off in the dark!
:biglaugh: I've spent long hours in the woods also only to spook deer out of the yard. sucks at the time but funny to think about.
Great Thread, I check here frequently waiting to read about your "shot"! I think it is coming soon. Good luck and keep up the good fight!!!!
I have gotten some Pm's asking about the dimensions of the yurt. It's diameter is 24 feet and it is 15 feet tall at the top of the dome. How does one compute the square footage of a circle? This photo taken standing in the door way gives a littler better perspective of the height of the inside ceiling
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8057004318_c6a7cc5546.jpg)
What a place!!!
So the wind blew out of West all night. It didn't get as cold as was forecast. Good thing too because it was still blowing 10 to 15 this morning. I had set a goal to sit at least 4 hours today . On the back side of the ridge behind the house is a stand affectionately known as " the hole" There is a retention pond here. Or I should say was here. It is dry as a bone this season. But the area is very heavy cover and I knew the deer would want to be out of the wind just as much as I. It took me an hour to slowly go up the logging and then drop down the other side to the stand i have in a big old Aspen
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/8057000973_c75f55380e.jpg)
The old logging road down is very steep. I don't know how many times I have had my feet go out from under me on this hill! Today I made it down with out hitting the ground, but I wasn't very quiet! Not having had rain for so long has made the forest floor very noisy. I didn't need the head lamp today until the last 25 yards. I got to the base of the tree took off my pack, attached the bow to the haul line and looked to my left. Standing not 30 yards away a deer's eyes reflected back at me. It just stood there blinking in the light! I think it most likely a fawn but couldn't see anything other than its eyes so i can't be positive. I have had bucks do this but only during the rut and only when they have a doe cordoned off. AS I went up the tree I heard a deer run off. Looking left again, the eyes blinked back again. There had been a 2nd one I had not seen.
here a photo of the road taken from top after I climbed out today
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8038/8057007055_fc92c302d8.jpg)
it doesn't look steep but trust me it sure the heck is!
at 9 am a slight noise caught my attention. A young doe was walking down the trail furthest from me and behind her came 2 fawns! She didn't look old enough but perhaps the height of this stand made her appear smaller than she was. No shot for me if they stay on this trail and they did. They fed on green leaves and acorns for about 30 minutes and slowly faded in to the heavy cover.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8181/8056998218_3b0e42da9b.jpg)
An hour later they were coming back on exact same trail. Again no shot I watched them head up the hill and after 40 more minutes in the stand I headed home for coffee.
Thanks for the play by play. You have a great place :thumbsup:
Looks like another awesome day in the woods!
you make mention of busting a deer out by the Yurt.
Funny how that is what happens here. I drive all over colorado to the mountains, Walk miles and miles up and down hills and sometimes not see hide nor hair. Only to drive back home to find 4 or 5 HUGE muley bucks bedded under my trees! Go figure.
Good luck tonight!
I didn't think i was going to get out hunting tonight. Had to make a 40 mile round trip to take one of the beloved pets to the vet. When we rolled back in to the farm it was all ready 4:45. The wind was howling and the temps dropping. I quickly changed in to some hunting clothes and sprinted up to the Squirrels tail stand. I didnt think I would see anything with it being as windy as it was, but just at sunset I caught movement down below me. A single doe was browsing on the far side of a patch of buckthorn 35 yards down hill. I had not heard her due to the wind. She was going in the opposite direction that the deer normally travel. No shot was going to come of this sighting. I lost sight of her shortly there after. 20 minutes or so later I heard a deer snort and I could see her flag up the hill about 75 yards away. A gust of wind, or a falling tree branch most likely spooked her up the hill. its going to be cold tomorrow , I better dress for it!
I think it's going to happen this weekend for you....weather change will get things rolling!! Best of luck and pick a spot!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: And don't forget the story....LOL!
It sure is building up, Ron.
You're all around them, Jim, just need that change in temps to create that change in luck, mayhaps.
20 pages and counting, thinking about you each day.
Stay sharp.
Lots of deer moving now Jim... things are looking better every day!!!
:coffee:
Keep saying that please! Spent four hours in the stand where I started the season out this am and not a single deer to be seen! Just one big fat raccoon was it. Cold, windy with a threat of snow in the air kept me out. I love this kind of weather.!! Hauled the decoy up the bluff and stashed it for future use. Readjusted one of the ladder stands I wasn't completely ready. Time for a quick nap and back out I go!
The conditions sound *awesome* for success!
Keep the wind in your face!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Jim, that would be 452.4 sq/ft on the Yurt. Pi (3.1416)X (radius 12') squared.
Beauty of a camp, thanks for the great thread to follow along with.
Eric
Well tonight was a blast! It was still quite windy when i headed up the logging road at 3 pm. I took my time and reached the ladder at the edge of the little food plot on the middle bluff around 4 pm. This is what that plot looked like two weeks ago
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/8000784503_ba5903ac0f.jpg)
Unfortunately with no rain for the last three weeks it has for the most part turned brown and ugly except for the very center.
The ceramic head of Buddha was lying on the ground and the trail camera, post and everything was on the ground as well. I reset Buddha's head and gave it a rub for good luck.
I picked up the camera and the post and carried it out of the field. Placed the camera in the bottom of my bag and added some layers of clothing and climbed up to my post. It dawned on me that I could look at the trail camera pictures by inserting the card into my point and shoot camera. After about 30 pictures of does there appears two small bucks sparring in front of the camera. They come closer and closer and eventually knock the camera down. Then there are 500 pictures of clouds and two really interesting photos of deer! I'll have to post these tomorrow as I am having some issues with the card reader tonight.
This little food plot is about 40 yard by 50 yards. the logging roads come in from the south, north and east. The stand sits 10 yards off of the east road about 25 yards back of the edge of the food plot.
The wind was mostly out of the west tonight. At 5 pm I got caught napping. I heard a deer running away and looked over my shoulder just in time to glimpse a small 4 point ( forky) running back towards the east. He had been coming to the food plot and gotten to about 25 yards when he got a nose full of Jim.
At 6 30 I thought I could make out the outline of deer standing where the north road comes into the plot. Yup in walks a little 6 point. He stops where the camera had been and is scenting the ground. I am sure I left some traces there. Then he spies the Buddha head. He suspiciously circles the stump. He plants his back feet and stretches his body as far as he can stretch trying to nose the figure. I wonder if it has been deer knocking it off the stump. I reset it about once a month!
After a bit he tired of the head, deciding it was nothing to be concerned with and began to feed in my direction. He walked straight down the east road and stopped broadside a mere 8 or 9 yards away from me. The faces this guy can make. His head would tilt back and he would eye ball me in the stand and make the silliest faces. I had a hard time not busting out laughing.
He had a feeling something wasn't right and he turned and faced the food plot. Now would have been the time to kill him if he was a legal target and a deer I wanted to kill. I was watching him when a deer bleated from the food plot. Another buck had come in. This one a small 8 point. He was being followed by yet another 8 point , quite a bit larger. The two smaller bucks sort of circled one another while the largest went right to work on the plot that was still green. It was getting dark fast and the wind suddenly changed 180 degrees. The largest buck threw up his head and scented the air. He turned back to the north and walked slowly away. The 2nd buck quickly followed suit and the first and last stayed a bit longer before melting away in to the dusk. This just never gets old!
"This just never gets old!"
Ain't that the truth! Things seem to be getting interesting...
I'm telling ya..... closer :)
Great stuff Jim
:coffee:
Thanks Kip!\\
here is the photo sequence of the bucks knocking down the camera
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8462/8063188711_33174b0ec0.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/8063187484_3b39defc22.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/8063186715_ee2bdc3cba.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8451/8063186222_84f503ff74.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/8063185566_c2c984fa4b.jpg)
And after that last photo every picture was of the sky or this last one of deer walking over the fallen camera
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/8063190647_e67193437c.jpg)
having digital proof the bucks were getting frisky, I carried the rattling antlers with me this am. Sat up in the 90 degree corner stand. Every thirty minutes I do a light sparing session. Did it four times but today nothing answered my calling. Bumped one doe out of her bed on the way down. Going to hunt the Bwana stand tonight. i think tonight is going to b a good one.
after a quick cat nap and some practice arrows out of the ladder I decided to head up early and sit in the Bwana stand. It was such a beautiful day. Wind was steady out of the SW. A perfect wind for this stand. I wasn't 50 yards from the rape field when I spot my first deer. It was in the center of plot feeding at 3:30 pm! The temp was a cool 48 . I brought along a second set of wool bibs and a good book. After reading and enjoying the fall colors for an hour I placed the book in my back pack. Time to get ready. Around 5 pm a small doe came from the NE crossed the ridge, stepped into the rape about 45 yards from me and immediately winded me. Off she goes in the direction she had come from. The next deer didn't appear until well after 6 pm. She came from the south up the ridge behind me just like I had hoped. She veered off the trail I wanted her on slightly and came out into the rape just out of range. She fed in the spot for about 15 minutes and then slowly started to make her way up to the top and I assumed would head in to the adjacent food plot. I tried to will her closer and a couple of times it looked she was going to turn but a good shot never materialized and I had to watch her go. That is what i love about bow hunting. The limitations we place upon our selves give the deer every chance to escape. Most of the time they do. Once in a while they don't. I am going to sleep in tomorrow and recharge the batteries for lack of a better term . Three full weeks of hunting have passed and I have hunted 19 out of those 21 days.
This thread is still the first and last thing I check on TG every day. Great stuff Jim! Enjoy your coffee this morning.
:campfire:
Well those are trail camera angles you don't see very often :)
:coffee:
Great thread , look forward as the rut approaches!
rest hard Jim, I rely on your thread to get me through the week :readit: :pray: :archer2:
Thanks for letting us follow your hunt this year. You have done very well in telling your story.
I am hunting about 500 miles north of you. Unfortunately, I am considerably further from my land than you are. But it is still great to be out there. I spent Friday, Saturday out there but did not see much for deer. I am afraid my deer population is down considerably this year. But things could change considerably in the next few weeks.
Good luck and keep those great posts coming.
Since it was a bank and postal holiday today I was able to slip away from the work desk early. I decided to go to the target butt at 2 pm. I grabbed the widow out of the moose rack and shot for about 1/2 hour. While I am really enjoying shooting the new bobcat, my widow El Uno is still my favorite one
Strapping on a quiver I threw caution to wind (literally)and decide to hunt a stand not yet hunted this year. Heck no one has even been to the stand since I hung it last August. It sits down the back bluff and it is the furthest stand from camp. I hunt this stand rarely since it sits on a side hill and the side hills do funny things to wind here, It is also just above an area of the farm I leave unhunted so as to provide some secure cover for the animals. both neighbors on this side of my property gun hunt pretty hard and I like knowing the deer move into this cover at that time.
the wind was howling out of the SW. Sustained winds of 20 mpr with 30 to 35 mpr gusts. I used the noise of the wind as cover as I slipped off the logging road and on to the deer trail . I hoped the sustained winds would carry my scent up hill in the direction I just came from and any deer down below wouldn't have a chance coming up to go to the food plots up above.
the stand is set in a medium sized hickory just off a little clearing in a circle of large oaks. Here are 2 shots taken from on stand looking down into the clearing and also on the trail that goes up and past me.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8462/8069025529_20ae6384fa.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8069021945_f6566b49aa.jpg)
lots of shot opportunities here!
Love this thread, I look for it everyday. Thanks for sharing with us.
David
this is the third tree a stand has been in down here. I think i am finally happy with the tree it is in. Tonight several times i had to hang on for dear life when a really ferocious gust of wind came roaring up the bluff. I have no idea whether I scared them all away or they just held tight in their beds as all I saw tonight were some squirrels and two ugly possums!
Buts it is a beautiful spot just to sit. Here is my view of the neighbors bluff line
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/8069028815_868e836749.jpg)
I made arrangements to be picked up at dark down below on the highway. Its a 4 mile drive around the bluff by road from home but doing this saves a long walk back and I also avoid scaring all the deer off the upper food plots by not having to go back through them to go home.
forecast is calling for a 40% chance of rain tomorrow. I sure hope we get some!
What a great read, good stuff!!!!! :archer:
Well I woke to a sound not heard here for quite awhile! It was the sound of water dripping off the tree branches onto the roof of the yurt! I stuck my head out the door to see whether I should stay in the sack or get up and go out. It was not raining just dripping from the trees. It had rained lightly during the night and the wind was absolutely still!
I decided to try and sneak up into apple alley and hunt the upper end over a hidden clover field. But half way up I realized the absence of any wind would not work and the thermals in that spot would work against me. So being right beneath the badger stand I decided to climb it and hunt the point right over the turnip field .
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8070887193_fc15ecc854.jpg)
This point of land lies at the bottom of Rattlesnake ridge a preferred bedding area. I had hopes to catch a deer coming up from the turnips. There are red cedars, twisted old apple trees , Sumac and some big old Birches here. A hub of deer trails goes through here and links up with another one of my mowed trails, I set a portable stand above the big old ladder for a father and daughter team that have hunted with me. When I hunt the stand I like the portable as the foot platform is wider and easier to turn on . In fact they are the ones who named this stand as the last time they sat here they had a badger walk by. That old badger is still here. He has a den about 60 yards from the stand and as luck would have I got to see him this am! It was still very early and I could just make out the forest floor when a squirrel gave an alarm bark! I hear leaves rustling and there below me was old Mr. B!
here are the views from the stand.
looking north
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8182/8070882324_b887bce8e1.jpg)
looking south
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8032/8070891301_28a873df74.jpg)
Before it started raining again at 8 am it was so quite that I could hear the drip , drip, drip of water in the rain spouts of the farm house! At first I thought i was imagining it and that it had to be some machinery at the farm down the road. But when I walked down to the house later i stood on the driveway and it was definitely the same exact sound I was hearing from my stand!
Just before it started to rain I had my self a beverage. WARNING BLATANT PRODUCT PLACEMENT.
i have mentioned these little treats before and if you are a coffee lover you really owe it to your self to check them out.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8032/8070888465_5065715aae.jpg)
It started to rain just as I spotted 2 does to the north of me about 50 yards. The wind had picked and was blowing my scent right up towards them. The first doe all ready had me pegged and by her body language she wasn't coming any where near me! That's OK as the rain had picked up enough to cause one concerns about blood trailing.
So after they headed up into the bluff and woods, I lowered my gear and headed in. got a fire going and hung up clothes to dry. I love the way the rain mutes the colors of fall.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8070885168_b61344dbcd.jpg)
Pretty picture! :thumbsup:
Lucky guy, you got some rain. We got missed again up here. Oh well, sounds like we all might get a good soaking this weekend.
Really like that last picture of the valley in the rain. Calendar stuff.
On a side note, I really like the limb veneers on your Widow, what are they?
Beautiful Jim
:campfire:
So the rain quit about 2:30 and the the forecast called for light winds out of the WNW. I had noticed two days ago when I tweaked a stand by hanging a portable up above an existing ladder that the deer were really hammering the southern end of forage oats and turnip field. So i moved a camera to that end of the field. I count 8 of them here.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8072609134_aa72f68a6e.jpg)
look at the size of the doe on the far left!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8459/8072615251_4f8ee9000d.jpg)
But where are the bucks?
ok so at 5 pm i see a deer walking to the turnips from the west side of the ridge ( opposite of me). It feeds for about 15 minutes then walks my way and feeds in the clover right in front of me. A button buck
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/8072600579_69d7cfafab.jpg)
the turnips are in the upper right corner
Man your living the dream..great thread and amazing pics...makes alot of us so envious :) but in reality..we all wish to be in your shoes...keep it up and looking forward to the next installment
He is standing 20 yards from me right in my lane.
At 6:15 I can see deer legs walking in the clover thru the tree branches to my left. Then another and another and and finally a very large doe! What is it about the decision to kill a deer that sends some sort of brain waves to the prey? I was set, had the bow in my hand in front of me. I had the wind in my face. I had not moved a muscle. The tree behind me was larger than I am and gave me great cover. Yet that doe stopped right behind those yellow Aspens and looked up at me. I made the mistake of letting her make eye contact with me and instantly she knew I was there to kill her.
She whirled and fled back the way she had just come from and crashed on down thru the woods! I couldn't believe it! Beaten by the 6th sense again! It wasn't long till I was too cold to sit there any longer and got out of the tree while there was still 10 minutes of light left. I bumped into 4 more does in the north end of the same food plot. I have sort of boxed myself in up there. When I sit that stand there is no back door out.
Man O Man, just one encounter after another.......cool stuff........ :thumbsup: :campfire: :coffee:
OK send the children from the room as I need to use a 4 letter word. It is the word we all hate to hear. It is the word MISS! How does one miss a 15 yard shot at a standing still target?
I am feeling like a fool today. Not for missing , that happens and I can deal with it. In fact a clean miss is the next best thing to a fatal hit. but the follow up today was purely comical.
I chose the "joel" stand because yesterday my neighbor as he drove down the lane on his way to
work had a BIG buck come out of the creek and run right in front of his truck when he was straight down below this stand. Stranger things have happened and I hoped for repeat performance by this big boy.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8318/8074144776_e893d1d753.jpg)
this is the ultra view stand that sits at the intersection of a T crossing of a logging running north and south and the little entry way I cut in the edge of woods so it accessible with a 4 wheeler. The T runs downhill to east..
It had been a rather slow morning. Cold too just 22 degrees F! Wind was calm until about 8 30. when it picked up from the east and was blowing my scent perfectly up the hill behind me.
I had rattled lightly every 30 minutes starting a 7 am. All I had seen were two deer across the valley heading up the old pasture hillside to bed. That was around 7.45.
At 8:30 i sent a text to my office that i planned to hunt till 9 am and would be at my desk by 9:30.
it was 10 minutes later when I look to my left up the logging road to the north and I see a deer's body coming my way. I stand up grab the bow There is that big tree right in front of me I use to screen my draw, and she stopped right behind the tree. Her fawn was following about 30 yards behind. When she stepped forward she had turned to her left and stopped looking down the little T part of the access trail. The angle was sharper that I liked and I hoped she would turn to her right then continue on moving past me to the south.She turned just a hair and I decided I could shoot. The arrow whizzed just below her belly right between her legs! When she ran down onto the T she actually kicked it with her hind feet. The fawn spun and ran back to the north. Ok here is where I get stupid. The doe has no idea what just happened. She stands about 15 yards from where she stood when I missed and she starts to come back up. But she cuts into the brush, then angles to my right and gets back on to the logging which turns into a well used deer trail and she continues on to the south. I watch her disappear in the woods at about 50 yards. I look to where she stood and draw my bow. I let down trying to figure out my error. I lean and look around the left of the tree and think next time I am shooting on the left side so the angle problem won't have a chance of happening again.
I turn to my left to watch for the fawn. Not that I intended to shoot it but I wanted to see it and perhaps another doe was in tow I hadn't seen. So I stand there for about 10 minutes ( now to my credit we did get enough rain yesterday to make the woods quiet) I look to my right and the doe is standing right in my shooting lane with neck out stretched sniffing my arrow!! How long had she been there and how blind, deaf and dumb am I that I hadn't heard her return? So now I pick a spot and as I begin my draw she gets a nose full of me off my arrow and bolts forward straight north on up the logging road!
My wife is looking at me strangely today telling me the freezer is on empty!
QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
In fact a clean miss is the next best thing to a fatal hit.
So true.
Don't worry I missed a 10 yard shot at a button buck last night, I grunted to stop him and that broke all my focus and the arrow went right over his back lol
Argh!!!!!
Sorry for the miss and follow up circumstances. Keeps things interesting for sure.
Hang tough and really appreciate your updates. The pics and story telling are great.
Go get 'em!!
Sweet!
An arrow has been released! Cant get em all. Action is where it's at, and you have plenty of that going on.
Good luck
"My wife is looking at me strangely today telling me the freezer is on empty!"
Great to have a encouragement Jim :)
:campfire:
Don't feel so bad, I missed a doe by a mile shooting over her this morning. My only condolence is it seemed that I picked a good stand location to get such a good shot. Dazed and confused and ready to get home from the office to practice a little.
Sorry about the miss. I love this thread and picture updates. Your place looks awesome with all the food plots. Your hard work is going to pay off soon. Shoot straight and good luck
Jim better luck this afternoon.
All I can say is What a night! Never drew the bow back but I was on the verge of drawing for 90 minutes straight. My hands ache from trying to be in position for so long!
Went up to the little food plot with the Buddha head in it. Walked in at 3:30 pm and scared a doe up that was bedded in it. The wind was out of the west, fairly stiff too. This puts the wind in my face and any deer in the plot are thus up wind.
At 5 pm a doe coming from the East winds me at 40 yards and runs off. Just like the little buck did 6 nights ago in this stand. I decided to stand up to watch down hill with my right shoulder leaning against the oak's trunk. I was watching the area where those three nice bucks went to bed three weeks ago tomorrow. I had been standing for less than 10 minutes when a deer suddenly materializes at about 60 yards. A buck, a nice buck! He slowly comes up the hill dragging a little 4 point along behind him. He is either a 9 point or an 11 point. Fair width and height but skinny main beams and tines. Either a big 2.5 year old or a 3.5 year old at best. Fortunately I don't have to make any shooting decisions as the path he takes will take him away from me eventually. I see another deer walking from the other direction. It dodges the bigger buck and then walks over to 4 point and says hello with a nose touch. The bigger buck is leaving walking to the north. Most likely headed to the neighbor's corn fields. The little buck follows and the fawn walks into the food plot. Seconds later another fawn walks into the food plot from the north followed by its mama. They walk around the plot munching on what little is green ( it really perked up overnight after the rain) and sucking up the hickory nuts laying in abundance all over. Suddenly the 4 point is back and walks in to the plot from the north. He checks out the fawns who dodge and weave out of his way then approaches the doe. I have never seen a doe do this but she actually head butted the little buck , then she ran around the food plot while he trotted after her. A six point enters the food plot from the NE. The 4 point leaves and heads south on the exit road. The 6 point is a lot more aggressive and is really harassing the doe. I am on the ready this entire time. I keep expecting him to chase her under me. But he eventually chases her right out of the plot to south. A few minutes later in she runs back to her fawns. They start feeding again, this time at about 25 yards from me. Come on get over here I keep saying to myself. The 6 point returns and this time really runs all three of them out. The two fawns stop right under me, the mom runs by about 20 yards to the south of me. The buck then leaves in the opposite direction! The bum! The fawns are now right behind me grooming each other! Daylight is fading fast. I hear a deer walking and I look out into the plot and a new doe has arrived. Its on the very edge of the plot nearest to me. She is broadside at about 20 yards, light is not the best , I hesitate and then the chance is gone. She turns and walks directly away form me. Waiting for the dark to completely hide me I count 8 deer in my head tonight anywhere from 10 yards to 60 yards! That's a pretty darn good night!
A good night indead!
You're having a heck of a season Jim!
Sounds like a perfect day..... closer and closer :)
only had time for a short hunt this am. Sat in the hale bale blind on the clover field. The triplets ( all does) came in to the clover at 7 :20. so much fun to watch these three. The smallest is about a 50 lbs and is the most inquisitive of the three. The biggest maybe 70 lbs and is constantly on the alert. The other 2 take their cues from her. Twice she spooked at wind guts ran out of the field only to come . I cant see how she is the biggest since she seems too nervous to eat! The little one was suspicious of the blind today. The gusty wind may have been coming in the side window and blowing my stink out the front. They were definitely keeping an eye on it the whole time they fed. So much fun to watch them . Hoping to see adults tonight.
With all the encounters you are having, I expect it will all come together soon. Sounds like you had a great evening last night! Still enjoying the thread.
Yes I am seeing loads of deer and having a ton of fun. When the 4 wheeler broke I was rather bummed. Not that I drove it all over but we did use it to part way to upper bluff stands. Its a lot of effort to walk up there every day, sometimes twice a day. Got the four wheeler back a week ago and it is still parked where I put it when I took it off the trailer. I am totally convinced the low impact hunting I am doing this year is paying big dividends in deer activity . Eventually I will hit what I am shooting at too! !
Great thread! The long walks are probably good for your cardiovascular system and general heath anyhow. Four wheeler breaking down probably a blessing in disguise! Thanks for the great reports....
Today a very good friend and professional colleague arrived to hunt the farm with me for a few days. A work mate was also in route but wouldn't arrive till
after dark. They are both using compounds so if they score I will only show you the score card being updated.
We headed up the hill early and I sent Dallas to the Bwana stand as the wind was mainly our of the West. I went to the corner stand down on the East end of field. It stayed windy as a strong storm slid past us just 50 miles to south.
At 5:30 I see the first of four does exit the woods 70 yards to the west of me and trot up the hill to the food plot on my side of the ridge. They fed for about thirty minutes. The wind had dropped off almost entirely and I decided to do a little light rattle. The does threw their heads up and stared in my direction. Boy I sure got their attention! It just goes to show you how sound travels. I had hardly tickled those horns at all. No bucks appeared and I did not repeat the rattling for fear of scaring those does away from my friends stand just over the rise. The deer seemed to be working their way closer to his hiding spot in the big oak. Suddenly I see white flags running down the hill in my direction. Grabbing my bow i waited for them to arrive but they darted into the woods at about the same point they had exited them one hour earlier.
Soon it was time to go. I was standing at the base of my tree focused on packing up my gear, when I heard foot steps. Looking up just as a doe came head on down my trail , she saw me as I saw her and she turned herself around in a single heartbeat and was gone the way she had come.
Even with the action you are getting now, it's only going to get better over the next couple weeks.
Hope you get a chance at a big one... :thumbsup:
:coffee:
Thanks I really enjoyed it....
What a thread...thank you
ok so its been a long day!
We started the day with 25 degree F temps! I chose stands for my guests that they were both familiar with and suited each's shooting abilities. I chose to sit the stand where I saw those three big bucks oh so very long ago. The wind was out of NE and perfect for where I wanted to be. Every thirty minutes I'd do a light sparring session. Ever on the alert, I expected to see a deer , hopefully a buck at any minute. Except I didn't and after four hours I decided my feet were cold enough! I all ways hate to get out after a sit like this because Murphy's law usually kicks in and a deer is coming just when you are leaving! But today that didn't occur and the only deer I saw all morning was one I jumped when I took a detour back to grab the SD card out of a camera! Both of my friends were absolutely ecstatic as they were both covered in deer all morning!
on a side note, the farmer that rents my 11 acres of flat ground got his corn out today.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8081501329_636b2da457.jpg)
So after a shooting the bull session around the wood stove and a shooting arrows session at the target butt, we discussed the wind and hourly forecast and again tried to determine which of the 27 available stands might be the correct ones to head off to.
I went to hunt a placed called Upper Apple Alley. Way up at the top of this narrow opening in the woods below the East side of Rattle Snake ridge sits a little hidden clover field.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8081491028_31896a4282.jpg)
this will be last season I have clover here. its time to turn it into something else for a season or two, but there is still quite a bit of good clover left. I was surprised to see how hard its been grazed!
The big old apple tree in the foreground did not bear fruit this season. A ladder stand rests up in those Aspens at the top of the photo
.
a mowed path into the deer trail encourages deer to move through here.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8081488798_f7d6ac9f05.jpg)
here is the stand
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8081491593_81207e2aef.jpg)
Why do I have the feeling that you're still typing up the finish to today's story?? :saywhat:
the stand is just 12 yards off of the deer trail which becomes the mowed trail that dumps out on to the food plot. The wind almost all ways comes up hill here . This is more of an AM Spot but there is a trail that dumps onto the clover 25 yards to west of me and also the deer sometimes will come out to the clover from the south of me and mill around while feeding. I have several shooting lanes out to the clover and also directly down onto the main deer highway. The wind was ideal tonight. At 5 pm I look down towards that apple tree in the 2nd photo and two does have walked out and are grazing on the clover. They feed for about 15 minutes before heading down towards the turnip field. Then at 6 pm A 10 point buck enters the clover at about the same spot the does did. He walks beneath the apple, gets his rack up into the lower branches and thrashes the tree a bit. He grazed on the clover for just a minute or two before he followed the path of the does down the hill through the valley and on to the turnips . I was able to get out of there a hour later with out bumping any of them. I believe this spot will get hunted a lot more the next coming week or two as I really am liking the set up. I think that it will be a morning stand exclusively since I think I am too far up the valley to catch them as they come down for the evening feed. We shall see if I am right soon I hope.
Thank you for the updates!
rained out this am. I played it smart and sat in the hay bale blind. AS the dark diminished I slowly began to make out two shapes laying in the clover about 40 yards out . Twin fawns had come into the clover sometime in the dark after I had got in the blind. As the light increased so did the rain along with bolts of lightening and loud thunder. The fawns lay out front of me for an hour. Getting up stretching and reversing direction and the laying back down. This was repeated several times over the next two hours. Finally at 9 am they decided they had some where else to go and after they had left the area I headed in for coffee and conversation.
Today we saw something that hasn't happened much of late. A good old fashion thunder and lightening storm. The rain seemed to stop around 1 pm and at 2 pm we decided to head out and give it a try. It was very warm and very humid. A complete 180 degree reversal from the weather we had been having for the last month! Hiking up to the ridge tops we wore nothing but out long underwear and rubber boots. Everything else went in the back pack! Good thing no one had a camera. God forbid those pictures would hit the internet.
I returned to the ladder stand where i had so much activity just a couple of nights ago. I had no sooner settled into the stand when the rain returned. After about 45 minutes I was ready to call it a day. I looked down to my right and a big fat doe was walking at a brisk walk on the trail 10 yards to my right. I stood up, grabbed my bow off the hanger. bent at the waist came to full draw. At that exact moment the rain doubled in its intensity and I let her walk. I just couldn't shoot and have a clear conscience. It was just raining too hard. As I let down her two fawns following her shied and that made her quicken her pace. It was then I noticed the 6 point buck who also with them. They all stopped and stood still trying to determine what spooked the fawns. The doe made a big loop around my tree to join up with her babies. The 6 point was exhibiting rutting behavior. He lowed his head, stretched his neck and began to trot chase the mom down the hill. Banks of fog would roll in and roll out adding to the drama of the day. 20 minutes later the rain had completely stopped but the fog continued to roll in and roll out. A 4 pointer suddenly appeared in the fog. Then a very nice 8 point appeared down below me on my right side. He never came closer than 40 yards. Visibility was poor and I do not know exactly how big he was and if he is a buck I have seen previously. The 4 point I recognized from the last time i hunted this spot. He treated me to an intimate look at scrape making . On the edges of the food plot are some smaller young oaks. Beneath them he would scrape away with one foot then the other all of the forest floor litter. Then he would stretch his neck up until he could grab a branch in his mouth and he would twist and turn his head pulling of the oak leaves off and stripping the branches with his mouth. He did this all within 15 yards of me. Twice he was facing me as he did it. It was so cool to be there and see this so close and he never knew I was just above him in the big oak. My guests both saw deer. One had nine does go by on their way to the food plots but he had zero shot opportunities. Tomorrow the forecast is for more rain. I may get to sleep in !
That was a great day and I think your choice to let the doe walk was a good one... you have plenty of time... get a video camera Jim.. would have been cool to see that buck make his scrape!
:coffee:
What a nice place you have! Looking forward to the rest of your season.
:archer:
Yesterday we received more rain than we have in the last 6 weeks. Almost three full inches! Needless to say there wasn't much hunting going on!
Today the temp was 30 degrees and the grass at the lower end of the valley was frozen solid! I chose the "Joel" stand. Its the stand where I missed that doe just last week. As the sun rose an icy fog hung along the creek bottom
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8090962724_89da08273e.jpg)
I really felt confident as I walked to the stand that today was going to be " the day". But unfortunately I got skunked. In fact the only deer I saw was the one I jumped in the grass after coming out of the biffy at 6 am! It was bedded only 15 yards away!
tonight I will head up to one of the food plots up above and hope that the deer will be more cooperative!
the rain has made the food plots just gorgeous again.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8054/8092190810_0cbd47f694.jpg)
how a bout a rape salad?
I decided if it looked good enough for me to eat the deer will be here tonight too. Boy were they ever!
QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
I decided if it looked good enough for me to eat the deer will be here tonight too. Boy were they ever!
You're really not going to leave us hanging till morning on that statement are you? :saywhat:
What Whip said....... :banghead:
David
Whip just so ya know he's got a mean streak sometimes :dunno:
Holy Cow! 1 picture and 37 words!,
The sun was quite high yet when below the Bwana stand, down the ridge I see the heads of three deer which ultimately turn into five deer coming up to the rape field. At first it looked like they would come up the exact path I needed them on to get a close shot. But at 20 yards they veered slightly to the left and came out in a spot where I had no shot. After a short stop they headed into the rape field just outside of my comfort range. The one big doe had triplets. She was easily the largest doe I have ever seen in thirty years of bow hunting. The only word that fits the bill is one my eight year old grand daughter uses, GINORMUS!
I think she is the same doe as in the trail camera photo I posted last week. I needed her to work her way to the right about 15 yards. They were feasting on the Rape leaves. Finally one of them caught me moving , maybe got a whiff of me or something. But first the smaller doe headed back into the timber, followed by the triplets and finally Ginormus left the field as well. She was so big I had begun to get big buck fever. Perhaps I should say big doe fever!
As the sun set another deer appeared to my right on the very edge of plot. A buck. Either a six point or an eight point. It was hard to tell with the fading light. I waited until he had fed out of sight by going over the hill and tried to quietly slip away. I don't think I got away with it.
here is a look as the great colors I enjoyed tonight.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8048/8092194680_dbc496753f.jpg)
you guys keep me going!!
:bigsmyl: :bigsmyl:
25 pages already. I predicted 30, going to happen for sure.
I gotta get me a better hunting life. I hunt my own land as well, no food plots, but several doe groups live here. Bucks when needed. You've inspired me to get my spot better organized for better effort.
Thanks for taking the time to share.
That's more like it.... this beats the "L" out of the news paper.... my new morning read :)
:coffee:
Very Nice! I check your updates every day as well. Got a feeling you will connect this month. Keep up the good work!!
Well either I chose my stand selection poorly this am or it was just deader than ****. You guys know the expression! 2nd am in a row that I got skunked.
Forecast for this afternoon is for very warm temps close to 70! I will have to choose somewhere I can sit a strong south wind as well. But the long range forecast are for temps more to my liking and soon the chasing will be full on !
If you ever need any help tracking or dragging just give me a shout! I am only about 40 minutes from ya! Good luck and I also enjoy checking your posts!
Robhood23, will do!
I watched the indoor display on the outdoor temps all afternoon. As it crept closer and closer to 70 degrees I decided I would forgo the afternoon hunt. So I went oout and shot some arrows then jumped on the tractor and started to make a few rounds on the CRP hill side up behind the yurt. After about an hour the wind had dropped off considerably and I could feel the temps falling as well. By now it was too late to go anywhere but one place. I put the tractor in the shed and quickly changed into hunting gear. It's no more than a 5 minute walk up from the yurt and 1/2 way there as I rounded the 1st bend in the logging road I saw 2 white flags dancing away thru the brush. Now I don't know if they had been bedded or were on their feet. But it occurred to me while riding the tractor that the spot behind the yurt might be a better PM spot after all. So the next time we have a southerly wind I may give that stand a shot. But you can bet I'll be there earlier and will come in from above rather than from below.
You are keeping the interest at a high level on this post.......waiting for the next chapter makes it even better....keep up the great diary!!
:coffee:
I've also been checking this once or twice a day. I don't get out to hunt as much as you do, so it's nice to read this everyday. Thanks for taking us along.
It was still quite mild as I headed up the logging road today. I had tried to dress down so i wouldn't overheat . But, I still succeeded in soaking my kuiu
top and bottom with sweat. I went all the way up and around to a stand that has only been hunted two times this season. Neither time by me. This stand needs a south wind to hunt it properly and I had one today. I am embarrassed to say that the name of this stand is the "email stand". It got its name two seasons ago when I was looking at an email when I should have been looking at the deer trail! A big one got away that day. Its one of those memories you hate to replay!
the stand sits on a little knob just below the top
of the ridge. You can catch deer coming up from the bottoms or cruising the bluff top contours scent checking for does. here are my views from on stand.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8097314426_d2c264764c.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8097307590_8840434396.jpg)
I have done alot of invasive cutting up here along with some tree release. Some nice really nice young white oaks have benefited greatly. Anything still green at this time of years is an invasive of some kind the green you see below me is a nasty patch of buck thorn.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8097307957_76f66dba1c.jpg)
Just as the the Eastern sky was showing orange I heard an animal running my way. A very light colored , and on the small side coyote was cruising by at 20 yards. Too bad I saw it too late to do anything about it. I spent the morning watching intently in all directions and rattling lightly every 30 minutes. But for a third time this week , I got skunked and returned to the yurt without so much as seeing a deer's hair. Didn't jump any either.
Had to stop to enjoy this view on the way down.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8097311176_89329cd921.jpg)
Thanks for the time you put in keeping us updated. We appreciate coming along with you on your hunts. Ken
All of the conditions to see and kill a deer tonight seemed perfect. The wind was light and steady. Just enough to cover the sounds of a bow hunter drawing his bow. The sky was scudding low moister filled clouds and gave the appearance of a November rutting type of day. I got into the Dallas stand and noticed a new rub on one of the two Aspens in front of the stand. I had counted 5 new scraps in the mowed trail as I walked tot eh stand. I pulled the SD card of the camera as I passed and noticed there were 359 photos on the card!
So as I sat in the stand and the afternoon passed without so much as peep being heard or a hair being seen, I was just a tad disappointed on the walk back home.
Here a two photos for your viewing enjoyment. The bucks seem to still be in large groups. I think the deer like what I have planted.
Diner time
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8098637864_53445364ee.jpg)
lodge brothers meeting
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8098636316_7c4b39d7b2.jpg)
That is Godzilla to the left of center
one more
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8192/8098629605_e7dca36caa.jpg)
Only a matter of time! Thanks for the updates :)
Checking that trail cam would be a thrill. Kinda strange to me that those bucks would be together this time of year.
Love that feather tucked into your strap on. Hope you don't mind if I steal that idea. I'm big on feathers.
I'm with steadman, only a matter of time until one of those boys gives you a chance... :thumbsup:
I had every intention of heading up top and hunting for the first time over a buck decoy. But the wind was wrong for that spot so I decided to head over to the cursed "do Over" stand. Walking up the logging road in the dark I jumped at least 4 different deer. I was surprised they were in their beds so early. that normally isn't a problem.
It started to lightly rain at 7 am. At 8 am I looked up the ridge and coming down the steep part about 60 yards away was the body of a deer. When it stepped behind a blow down 45 yards uphill ,I removed El Uno from the hanger. The deer was on a dead head approach to my stand. It looked like a young doe. I had every intention of trying to finally break the string of bad luck this stand carries and had the deer broadside at 7 yards. Too bad it turned out to be a buck fawn. Killing deer in their first season just isn't in my management plan. Who knows this could be the B & C buck I kill in 2017. He walked on by never knowing I was just above him.
I wont be able to hunt again until next Tuesday. Family and Professional obligations are going to have my focus until then.
I hope everyone gets out over the next few days and have some stories to post for me to read when I get back.
:wavey:
Great trail cam shot jim.... Lots of potential now and in the future!!!
Keep at it :)
I've spent the last three days reading this....What a great story!
Wheres the update!!!
Jim posted that he won't be able to hunt again until Tuesday. I'm going through withdrawals...
Yes me too . I look forward to reading the updates and seeing the great pictures almost everyday. Keep them coming Jim. Good luck and shoot straight
Jim I'm really enjoying following you hunt this year don't stop posting.Larry
Packed and ready for 5 Pines. Via some Compton budys in Nebraska.
See you in a couple days Jim... Hopefully ill arrive just in time to help track a Big one!
Andy
Got home tonight just in time to shoot a few practice arrows. I don't care what the weather is doing, I'll be in a stand somewhere in the am!! Big cold front moving in for later in the week , its going to start getting good. Time to make plans for all day sits.........
Safe travels Andy . See you at the yurt!
Good luck guys :thumbsup: looking forward to more updates
Woohoo, more updates!!!
Good Luck Jim. Rain and hot here in Central WI but deer are definitely more active than they are back east.
Time to hunt again! Things should be heating up!!
it was in the mid 50.s this am!! that"s a full 30 degrees warmer then some of the mornings we had a month ago! Very foggy . Cant wait for the cold front to blow in Thursday.
With an East wind my stand selections were greatly reduced this morning. But an East wind is perfect for the "Joel" stand a short walk from the door of the yurt. I was anxious to get out. Hell it felt like opening day all over again!
I was in the stand early, well ahead of 1st light. In the darkness I heard steps approaching. A deer passed directly behind me and I waited for the anticipated snort of alarm that never came. Some how I did not get winded when I sure should have.
It slowly got light enough to see down the hill to the road and the creek and picked corn field. An Eagle cried and just as I looked up it came soaring down the ridge from above me and roosted in the big cotton wood along side the creek. Then a second landed as well. The local crows were not happy! Hope the cats are paying attention today.
About 8 am I caught a small movement down below me on the mowed trail I walk in on. Yup there was deer coming uphill. Then I saw a second. At first glance I thought they were twin fawns but then it was clear that the first deer was the adult followed by this springs fawn.
They appeared to be on alert. Despite the rubber boots i have on they were totally aware of my passing by 2 hours earlier. Finally they were on the 4 wheeler approach and a short 10 yards shy of my first shooting opportunity. I adjusted the position of my bow ever so slightly. The doe spotted the movement and stopped. Looking at me up in the stand she slowly turned to leave. I gave myself hell for making such a rookie mistake. She moved onto the mowed firebreak and headed north parallel to the logging inside the woods edge. But then she stopped and angled back into the woods, crossed the logging road and was heading my way once again. The trail she was on would give me a broadside shot if I turned to my left. I glanced down at my feet to be sure I could turn with out issue and she caught that head movement ! Damn! Another rookie error! This time she'd had it and turned and trotted away down the logging road snorting an alarm as she went. The fawn raced after it's momma.
I stayed another hour but nothing else was seen. I am hoping that the rain holds off to give me an afternoon in the woods. Going to head up to the Buddha food plot!
:bigsmyl:
Nice to have my morning read back Jim
:coffee:
O how many times have I made that rookie mistake! :banghead:
The fog hung low in the valley as I set off this afternoon. My target was the stand just off the north side of the Buddha food plot.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8326/8117670363_753543ae6f.jpg)
I had hoped the dark overcast skies wold get the deer up on their feet a little earlier today. But the overly warm temps Kept them in their beds. At 6 pm a small 4 point buck wandered into the food plot from the south side. I knew at once he would wind me and it only took about 2 minutes before he threw up his head and pranced back towards the way he had come from. Last time i sat up here I had sat in the ladder off the East side of the plot and watched three different bucks go right past this stand. But not tonight. Heck it was 66 degrees still at 7 pm! One more day and then the temp should plummet . Tomorrow may be a bust but I'll be out there never the less!
its supposed to drop into a low of the mid 20's thursady jim :readit: Good luck :thumbsup:
Must be nice 80's here all week.
I had misgivings about even getting up today knowing the temp would still be near 60 at sunrise. But you know the old saying, " you can't kill a buck if you are in bed".
I stepped off the deck of the yurt and a sound caught my ear. Breaking brush! lots of it and close by too! Somewhere within 100 yards of the yurt two bucks were having a good old fashioned knock down drag out brawl! The smashing, twisting and grinding of antlers mixed with labored breathing and lots of sticks cracking. My guess was they were in the brush line alone the creek bottom 60 yards or so from where I stood. It lasted for about 5 minutes and then all was still.
I headed to my stand with a new attitude despite record am temps! I headed up to the upper ladder in apple alley. This spot between the two high points behind the house is a great place to try and call in bucks.
My third rattling session brought the desired results. 10 minutes after i rattled a buck coming down off of the rattlesnake ridge picked up on something he didn't like about the setup and reversed course at about 60 yards from me. I can't say for certain what spooked him as the wind was in my favor and i had not made any noise. But when they are above you like that any little movement seems to get picked up and most likely that is what happened.
There is a stand about 75 yards below where I sat today that is a rut stand. I haven't hunted it yet but will do so in the coming days. I pulled the SD card on the camera as i headed in and here is what was there this past monday at 7 am
< (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8119326098_5157e4e666.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8052/8119325634_f62229857d.jpg)
This cold snap should turn them on.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8119326576_fb5a533e85.jpg)
Hope you get to introduce yourself to that buck! Very nice.
Hope you get a shot at that big boy! Again, appreciate you taking us along! thanks
Man he is just begging to get an arrow flunged at him in that first photo there..Hope you can put a tag on him cause he's just tormenting your trailcam... :p
well I got weathered out tonight and tomorrow doesn't look good till late in the day. But I'll put Andy on a stand somewhere tomorrow evening. Got to see the VPA ILF in action before the rain. Fast bow but not exactly a widow....... but then I am not a metal riser type of guy.
Looks like a target-rich environment to me!
Drop the string on a big-un!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
I've been moving the last few days and have missed these updates. Caught up now and ready for the cold front to hit; I have a feeling the bucks will be cruising.
I'm finally taking a few days to hunt my lease next week and this thread has kept me going until the time I can hit the woods again.
According to the radar you're getting the same rain we are up here, I'll bet you sleep in this morning...LOL.
Supposed to clear out later today. Tomorrow and the weekend look great. Below freezing in the morning, light but steady winds, things are going to get fun.
Good luck, the next week should be good!
3.5 inches of rain in the rain gauge . It was lightening on and off from 11 pm last night to 7 am today!! Still raining as I type. Hoping for a break late in the day to do a little hunting tonight. I am pumped for the weekend!
Go get em.
It's on now!!!
:campfire:
Well Bec's and I finally arrived at 5 pines after a long trip across country.
Stopped over to visit a few good friends in NE and IA, Vince from Lonesome Wind bows gave me a beautiful Bear style recurve which Im keen to get out into the action some point this week. Also picked up a couple custom Knives from Dave with Cheiftan Knives, Which I designed and sent over some Giraffe leg bone from the farm in South Africa as a gift for my Fathers 50th. Will put up some pics! latter.
Huge storm last night, thunder and lightning while we lay back in the Yurt for the night, the temps have dropped considerably over the last 24 hours and we'l be in the stands before light tomorrow. Really hoping this cold snap is going to get things rolling and hope to see some chasing.
Jim and I got in some shooting and are ready to go.
Getting the new VPA Vapour ready for action. Will give some more details on this thing latter, Very fast, really looking forward to hunting with it more.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0003.jpg)
Jim and I getting in some shooting
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0011.jpg)
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0008.jpg)
Jim getting locked in. Pretty deadly let me tell you.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0022.jpg)
Gettin' Good Now!
Better safe than sorry, we decided rather than burn good spots in crappy weather, we would hunt hard tomorrow and relax today. Had a very pleasant afternoon when Joe Lash " Whip" and his nephew Ross stopped by for a visit. His cabin and hunting property is about 90 minutes East of here.
Its so much fun to have another trad hunter in camp! Andy and I shot both from the ground and from the tree stand behind the yurt
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8123508517_4428aa0026.jpg)
Nothing like realistic practice to get your confidence up
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8327/8123505929_2f607f43b7.jpg)
Andy is that a Arno Bernard knife?
SWEEEET TIMES!
Enjoy the fellowship!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Got a sharp eye Jack :readit: :archer2: wish us luck on the track.
:campfire:
just don't leave us hanging too long.
Cool! Can't believe you did not tell us if it was a Deer or not :) And even a girl or boy :D
Good luck on the track job. Hoping for pics and a story before I leave the office today.
If Whip left you with any of the luck he "borrowed" from me you guys are all set. Go git em!!!
Cool! I wish Arlo was there to help. But we've got one of our own to follow here. Headed out right now.
Good luck!
Andy makes his mark, no dog needed for this blood trail!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8125753653_b3ce923242.jpg)
Already....... :thumbsup:
Good job Andy. I too have two Arno Bernard knives but they are small ones, I have been thinking about getting a larger one.
Jack
:campfire:
Ok, so it was a doe! Where are the pictures :)
This is supposed to semi-live right :p
So why you are waiting for Andy to share his day. I'll share mine.
Not quite as eventful but a great day never the less. I sat over a decoy for the first time this season. I had stashed the decoy beneath the Justin stand situated on poorer food plot on the East end of the field with the nice looking rape. I like to decoy in this spot because you can place the decoy and everything for a couple of hundred yards can see it.
Ten minutes after rattling for the 2nd time this guy came in to 25 yards of the decoy. The decoy is just to the left of the picture frame
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8125779100_2229fa1b82.jpg)
he came in acting like a tough guy. My deer decoy's head moves in the wind. A gust of wind pushed the decoy's head left to right. The deer saw that and stopped. His posture went form aggressive to passive to I am out of here before I get my butt kicked! The decoys antlers were bigger than his!
Tonight I went to the rattle snake stand. At 4:30 I saw a deer come down the opposite hill across the valley. It crossed the dirt road , jumped the fence on to my place and was literally coming up the hill in my boot prints! As it got to about 60 yards I could see it was a small buck. He had little Y's on top of very long spikes. Right up the trail he came and stopped directly under my tree. After a few seconds he looked up at me but never made me. He took 2 steps forward then caught some of my scent. He spooked just enough to turn back downhill and then turned and continued walking along the outside edge of the woods. Later in the evening I saw a deer chasing two others down below me near the creek. Its hard to say if was a buck or just a couple or yearlings chasing and having fun. A string of deer then appeared below me heading to the picked corn field. Lots of deer sighted and a great shot on a good deer by a great friend makes for a great day.
I will be a spoiler and give you this photo, But I will let Andy tell his own tale.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8053/8126522089_f8821bbd3c.jpg)
:campfire:
Wow!!!!! That is a nice doe. How much did it weigh? Good job Andy
Wow Andy congratulations and a very nice doe...She looks like she could go about 150# ...This has been one of my favorite threads and look forward to reading it everyday.... :clapper:
Congrats Andy on a fine doe.
We saw mostly does today and are still waiting to see some real buck movement. Spent part of the morning tweaking the spot where yet another shooter got his photo snapped this week, Hopefully the changes we have made will produce a good buck
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8326/8128451294_daa8b8c57e.jpg)
this is great, keep it comeing, I am laying home with a bum knee just got surgery thursday.I will be huntin in 2 weeks.good luck guys
well I had a great first morning. I let a nice doe walk by early in the hopes of having a buck follow or at least not spook anything early. About 8:10am I saw a nice doe come out above me, i kept an eye on here and stood up and got ready. To the left I could see breath through the tree's and knew there was another deer back there. Then i caught a glint of sunlight off antler and knew It was a buck following, (at which point I started praying to the hunting gods to send the doe my way) When he finally stepped out it was instantly "shooter"! I could not see him clearly but could see great mass and at least 10" G2s...he finally came to 30m and behind brush the whole time, never had a shot beside the fact it was to far for me. I had to watch him walk. What a way to start!
saw a few other does and then finally had 3 does coming my way, I watched for some time to make sure there was nothing following close behind and decided if one gave me a shot i would get my Doe tag filled. They milled around for a few minuets and the closest doe angled away slightly. I lent out and shooting this new VPA bow (which is fast) id not want to hit high. So I told my self "it shoots flat..aim low" I touched anchor and the arrow was gone. I did not even see it leave the bow, i did not see it hit, and could see no blood on the deer. BUT i heard it.
I watched as the 3 does ran full speed together they stopped at about 150, right now i was bringing up my Bino's and saw them scatter and what I thought was a doe sidestepping and crashing but by the time i had my bino's up i lost it. I sat and scanned for some time, Nothing. Gave it 20min and in thayt time found my arrow on the ground through my bino's...very red.
I got down looked at the arrow saw some blood and decided to head down and get Jim to share the spoor with me.
We had a coffee and headed out, on the track Jim took off like a Namibian,
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0029.jpg)
the blood got better and better and pretty soon I tapped Jim on the shoulder and point to our left, there she lay.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0040.jpg)
Good shooing Andy! Congratulations!
Congrats. Things starting to heat up fellas. God Bless
Way to go Andy!!!
Nice job Andy...Good shooting!
Your a natural born killer Andy. Good to see you stateside and reaping the bounty. Good Hunting!
Great doe! congrats!
Beautiful doe Andy. Congrats!!
With light winds out of the north we chose to hunt the food plots on top. Andy went to the Bwana stand. I chose the Dallas stand on the south end over the great clover field. All the rain we have had recently has made it very lush once again. As I topped the rise just above the stand I busted a flock of hen turkeys that were feasting on crab apples. Some of the birds were actually up in the little trees branches. They looked ridiculous in this little tree!
The deer didn't start appearing till just before Dark. All told I saw 7 does and one small 8 point buck. I had a magnum sized doe at 20 yards feeding in the clover but she didn't get there until it was way to dark to pick a spot and i had no choice but to just sit and watch another walk away.
Still waiting for that shot to happen. Hopefully tomorrow will be my day.
Congrats Andy!!
Keep after 'em!!!
Nice doe Andy, good shootin'!
Great job Andy... Jim put you in the ZONE :)
Can't wait to see what's next!!!
:campfire:
Well its time to catch up!! We have been hunting hard!! but no arrows flew at deer today!! I started my day where I started the season. Cold, frigid morning. There was a circle or ice crystals around the moon last evening too! Hardly any wind . It wasn't long after first light when a deer came crashing sliding down the steep cliff above me. I grabbed the bow and hoped the deer would come my way when it landed on the logging road below. Some how it got on to the logging road and went the other way with out me hearing it. I waited and waited on that deer. But it was gone. I assume it was a doe. Over the course of the next four hours I saw 2 small bucks and three more does. The smaller of the 2 bucks came up to investigate the calls he had heard stopping just 15 yards below me. He found a little sapling and proceeded to give it hell. Fun to watch him tear into it. By 10:45 I was exhausted and headed in to see if Andy had had any luck.
Been great hunting. Jim was really my introduction to hunting whitetail im hooked now and really enjoying being out here hunting again.
This morning we left early and hunted the west edge of 5 pines, it was 26'f so naturally I was freezing my ass off, early on I hear a deer coming down the steep hill side. Buck...good buck! its a perfectly symmetrical 10 point. He is heading by about 60m above me and drops onto an old logging road, heading strait for Jim. he gets to the top of the hill and stops, and stands for about 15mins just scanning, in that time a small spike comes by about 20m below me, and the buck moves out of sight and all I could think was "heading strait for jim" by now im sitting back down and the next thing i know the buck is walking back and going to cross 25m in front of me :scared: i get back up, get and arrow on and get set, Im going to get a shot. He stops right before my lane and im pep talking myself Im comfortable and im ready, just take 2 more steps.
Next thing he lunges forward and trots about 15steps, stops and then slowly walks away up and over the bluff. :dunno: what the .... you have to be kidding me! Im just left standing there and after getting over the shock just laugh and sit back down, just was not meant to be I guess.
This afternoon I sat above apple alley, one resident spike and a racoon at last light.
We'l be up and out rain or shine tomorrow.
After butchering Andy's doe and grabbing a quick lunch of fried fresh venison and fried eggs we headed out again both of us expecting the bucks to break loose at any minute. I headed up to the squirrel's tail stand. Its just a short walk from the house on the lower reaches of the bluff above the turnips. I just love this spot. Heading up through the old pasture a doe jumps from beneath and apple tree just in front of me. It only went about 15 yards and stopped beneath a cedar. I knocked an arrow and tried To determine if it was an adult or not. Its really hard to be serious about hunting when you are standing in just long john bottoms, tops and hiking boots. ( it was 50 now and I didn't want to get sweaty on the hike up)I must have looked awful silly and eventually the deer picked up on the foolish human a few steps away. Up the hill she went directly under the stand I was heading to. Shaking my head I smiled, set my pack down and decided to get properly dressed to hunt. Then stalking the stand I got up and in with out alerting any further deer!
This stand faces down hill to the West and until the sun goes behind the western bluff it forces you to stand looking to the north or to the south. I kept rotating directions when i would hear a noise that always turned out to be squirrels! Finally at about 10 minutes to 5 my back suggested I sit for a while. Seated with the sun beating down on me I closed my eyes. That's when I heard the distinctive, step, step step of a deer slowly walking behind me. I slowly looked over my shoulder and the first thing I see is RACK! less then 20 yards and more then 10 yards standing directly behind me is a great 8 point buck! He should have winded me all ready but I think he was on the trail of a doe as he acted like he did not want to bolt even though he knew i was some where close! I was stuck sitting down, bow hanging up and a possible shooter buck at eye level up the ridge directly behind me! Finally his nose said to flee and he turned away from me and made one leap up hill. As soon as did that I stood , grabbed the bow and turned towards him. He caught that movement and ran up the trail about 45 yards and stopped when I grunted very loudly at him. But he had enough and off he bounded up the hill. My timing couldn't have been worse. I consoled myself by saying that even if I had been ready. On my feet and bow in hand , he still would have been behind me and winded me and the result would have still been the same. Shoot, he wasn't that big anyway! I am going to keep telling myself that the rest of the night. That was the only deer I saw close all night.
fetching sunrise
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0061.jpg)
Go and grow.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0068.jpg)
We'v had some of the doe I killed for Lunch today, we ate some of my elk from CO yesterday and had some venison from OK for supper, coffee is going down like a home sick mole as well around here.
Doe is cut up and in the freezer. The meat is Beautiful.
:bigsmyl:
Congrats Andy.
Thank you Jim and Andy for sharing your hunt.
Fantastic guys! I am a little late offering congratulations, but glad to get back and hear the story! I am ready to see your Deer next Jim!!
Welcome to whitetail hunting Andy. You can't bank on anything with these things. Stay focused and don't take anything for granted.
Congrates Andy on your big doe. :thumbsup:
Congrats again Andy and Jim....this is fun!
Been a fun day out here. No shots.
was cold again :readit: I headed out looking like the michelin man, sat until 10am with no deer sightings, I shot my blunt as always from the stand before getting down ( hit the mark..for a change) and headed back to camp, on the way out I spotted a spike, doe and nice buck, the buck was between the spike and the doe, he saw me strait of and i was able to get some pics through my bino's. Nice deer, im gonna hunt where he was tomorrow morning.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0080.jpg)
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0083-1.jpg)
This afternoon I was off Budda Food plot, had a young doe feeding for about an hour, then latter on around sun set had a spike come though sniffing around, chased the doe away and walked right under me and though several of my shooting lanes, I hoped a big buck would follow the same path but darkness finally set in.
Scrapes got hit hard last night.
This was 20m from my stand this am.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0072.jpg)
23 degrees this am! It's enough to test the mettle of a Minnesotan not to mention a guy from South Africa! I hiked up top and over the ridge and back down to the "hole" stand. The logging road down to the hole is very steep and shin deep in oak leaves. Using a trick I learned long ago I had my grunt tube in my mouth and made low soft grunting noises as I walked. Hoping i sounded like a rutting buck rather than a wounded elephant as I made my way to the stand. The tactic worked well as the two does bedded under my stand didn't jump until i was ten yards away!
At 9:05 I saw legs approaching this big scrap 35 yards from my stand .
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8053/8137223838_7339b77d2b.jpg)
Around this scrape there is at least a dozen other scrapes all withing 30 yards.
A buck walked into the scrape and began to work the over head branch with his single antler. The left was intact but the right broken off just above the brow. After working the overhead branches , he sniffed the ground and continued down the trail to the water hole. His posture indicated he had an attitude! As he got to the trail that intersects the one he was on, his head snapped to the left and he trotted down into the retention pond. Out the other end of the pond ran a deer I had not seen. I think it was a smaller buck. Knowing this guy was looking for a fight, I gave a series of soft low grunts. The one antlered buck came marching up out of the hold and came directly to me. Standing beneath me at 7 yards he scanned the hillside for the interloper. Not spotting him he marched off up the hill looking for another buck to fight. I won't be surprised if i run into this guy later in the season with both sides broken off! I hung in there for 2 mores hours but that was the only deer I saw from the stand.
At noon Andy and i hung a new stand to take advantage of deer hitting one of the food plots from the Western side of the upper food plots. I will let it sit a day or two and when the wind is from the north or west I give it a shot.
Since the wind was light and variable I decided to go to the Justin stand and do a little decoying.
Just at sunset some inner sense told there was a deer close by. I looked to my left and standing about 40 yards away was a buck with his eyes locked onto my decoy. He was just a little forky. But did he put on a show. Stepping forward to 35 yards from the decoy, he started to rake the ground like prize bull getting ready to charge. with his left foot first and then his right he made a little challenge scrape in front of my deek. When that didn't get a reaction, he moved forward 5 yards and did it again. Then he began walking in a way that dragged his feet making more noise walking then any deer i have ever heard. He stopped perfectly 7 or 8 yards directly in front of me totally focused on the decoy. Then he slowly circled the decoy not once but twice! Amazing behavior! After not getting a reaction he began to feed in in the near vicinity of the decoy but he kept his eyes on him the whole time. He must have spent a good 15 minutes with me before he got bored and walked back to the rape plot and began to feed heavily. Just at dark 4 or 5 does walked over the ridge and sky lined themselves briefly before disappearing over the ridge.
I just discovered this thread yesterday when I saw Andy's doe on the Traditional Bowhunters group on FB. Finally got caught up on all 32 pages this morning while wife is in surgery. I haven't been on tradgang in along while. Think I will stick around and see what Jim eventually drags out of the woods. I think it is all building up to a huge climax and Jim will bring something special back to the yurt. BTW, where did you get that yurt anyway, Jim?
That's what we wanted to here "Bucks with Additude", it's happening!!!
Cool trick with the bino's Andy
:campfire:
It all most happened this am!
I headed up to the stand now known as the "Ivy" stand. Hoping that a little of this South African's luck might have stayed at this spot, I settled in for what would soon become an eventful morning.
A little after 8 o'clock I noticed a young 8 pointer headed my way. Nice young buck went by, crossed the logging road and headed down to the hole.
At 9 am i looked down into the cedars just on the other side of the deer trail this stand sits on . Antlers! BIG antlers heading through the cedars but walking away from me. How did this buck get there with out me seeing him? I pulled out the grunt tube and gave a soft call. No visible reaction. I called again, this time louder. He stops and swings his headgear to the left to look my way. Big 10 point. Heavy. wide , long beams. He swung his head back and started moving in the same direction. I grunted louder twice. That turned him and he is angling towards the deer trail I want him on. Give me a shot, give me a shot, I kept repeating to my self. He steps out onto the trail but too far to the left. He is 10 yards past the shooting lane. Standing on the trail broadside looking my way with that crown on his head. He scans the woods under me. Seeing nothing, he continues forward another 20 yards and steps out on to the logging road. I grunt again and he stops. In desperation I reach into my pocket where a wheeze snort call rests. I put it to my lips and make the call. It has the opposite effect that I was hoping for. Instead of turning around he lunges forward and heads down the steep hill to the water hole! ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
The wind came up this afternoon almost straight out of the West. I decided to try a new stand Andy helped me hang yesterday.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8047/8140227583_7ff306dbf8.jpg)
This stand sits in an oak on the western side of the longest food plot up top. It is right above the mowed trail that goes all the way around the top.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8140233617_c40357c5b2.jpg)
hoping to catch the deer as they come up through a horrible hillside of the worst patch of buck thorn on my entire farm. This photo shows what happens when buck thorn takes over a forest.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8140230495_9f6d49b202.jpg)
As you can see in between the larger trees there is nothing else but the buck thorn. It will completely crowd out everything else. This patch is over 12 feet tall. At the cost of 1000.00 per acre to hire someone to remove it correctly , you can see what a problem I have.
Any way back to the deer. We almost guessed the correct trail coming up the hill to the food. A string of does came up but on the next trail 40 yards south of the one we thought was the main trail. All I could was to watch them. Just at last light a small buck came up and started to harass the does.
Back at it at first light.
Would a controlled burn on the buckthorn work? Just curious.
I just see deer habitat that's all.
Ah but it is deceiving, as there is no nutrition there. Much better to have the wild plum thickets, the dog wood thickets and wild berries and morel mushrooms. Then you have real habitat for all the critters. Habitat must provide more then just brush to hide in. That's all the BT does.
We have been battleing buck thorn autumn olive and prickly ash for years. lots of work.
Good recap Jim, Keep it up :thumbsup:
its hard to believe, but there was ZERO deer movement this am. Between Andy and I, I saw the only deer. A doe fawn at 9 am. hope we can pick better spots for this afternoons hunt!
Jim (littlebigman)
Keep em guessing and the shot will come. I can see the spot where you saw the monster buck in my minds-eye. soon in person!
Talk soon....Jay
Good luck guys.
Well after an uneventful morning, Andy and I shot our bows, put our feet up for a bit then headed up once again for a chance encounter with a big buck . Andy went to the Ivy stand and I returned to the Dallas stand with a Montana whitetail decoy in hand
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8476/8143253944_b567470289.jpg)
I set the decoy up about 30 yards up hill from my spot. The weather was just outstanding. But the deer movement was nonexistent. Nothing at all was moving anywhere. I heard a single grunt down below me in the timber but never saw the source. I did bump into three different deer in the dark as I walked back to our meet up spot. Andy confirmed that fact the deer weren't moving , he got skunked as well.
Tomorrow am is his last chance at a Minnesota buck as he has to hit the road at mid day.
Have really enjoyed this thread from day one Jim.
Well try as we might Andy's hunt has ended with out a shot at a buck . We both got skunked again this am. Deer movement was null. I think the big bucks all have does and are simply holding them tight. A neighbor sent me a text that a big buck was on the hill across from his house standing in the prairie grass with a doe at 7 30 am. About 500 yards from where I was on stand today. I will be out again this afternoon somewhere/ Can't decide if i should be on a trail in the woods or on the edge of a food plot.
I think that's what happens when things go quiet at this time of year. Bucks get paired up and aren't all over the place like when seeking/chasing.
Still time yet. Picking the spot to be is a real mind game though...
And I'd go with the food plot edge. Sometimes seems like the does want to show off their "man". Out in the open.
It's been the same for the last four days here... Very little movement and a full moon doesn't help... It's gonna bust loose soon., Wish Andy could have been there when it did.
Just finally started reading this thread a couple days ago and now can't stop. Great job! Keep it coming and good luck!!
Deer movement a little better tonight. With a fairly strong west wind but a forecast that called for it to die down at sunset, I chose the Squirrel's tail stand. I got in a little later than I like but was on post by 4 pm. At 4:30 a small doe comes running down from above me. Hits my scent stream and puts on the breaks. Indecisive for just a second and turns heading north back up the ridge to my right.
At 5:30 I watched as my wife backed the car out of the garage for a trip to town. Shortly after I saw a very large and very white rack down below me and to the south about 75 yards away. The buck was moving up along a fence line heading somewhere up above but to the south of me. I grunted once, twice and he turned my way. He angled up hill heading to a trail that would take him above me. Stopping at 45 yards, he stared downhill in my direction looking for the source of the grunts. Not seeing another buck he turned and started to walk away. I risked another wheeze snort but this time turned my head away from him. He spun around and stood there. then he began working uphill and around to the north. Finally he hit my scent stream and off he goes snorting and blowing as he ran. I can still see that big white rack floating uphill thru the brush. That's what we spend hours and hours waiting for a few seconds of crazy excitement. Hoping for a good day in the morn.
Sounds like your having fun!!
:campfire:
That's more like it! So close, yet so far away. Those are the moments that make it all worthwhile.
Another frosty am!! Wind was light and perfect to sit in the Andy Ivy stand. Zero deer movement until 9:30 am when I has a 1.5 year old 6 point walk by at only 3 yards from my tree! Very cool to see them so very close!! I did have something really cool happen. At 8 :30 A red tail hawk comes soaring in at about 4 feet off the ground and sails by so that I was actually above him!! You don't get to many chances to look down on a soaring hawk!! It land in a tree next to me with his back to me and sat there for about 10 minutes
:thumbsup: Wont be long now!
6:08 PM... Shootin time.....
:coffee:
Time for our nightcap :D :campfire:
Good stuff Jim. Keep it up!
I went up to the 90 degree corner spot. Not having hunted it since Oct 11th I was hopeful a buck might be cruising this ridge top trail for a hot does scent. I saw two does below me in the timber early and then just as dusk was approaching a doe and a fawn appeared about 70 yards west of me in the tall grass headed up to feed in the forage oats. The wind was twitchy tonight and would not stay constant for more than a few minutes at a time. It may have had a negative impact on tonight's deer sightings or i could have just picked the wrong place to be!
Recapping the season exactly 6 weeks of hunting have passed. I have taken two shots, one a complete miss the other hitting a doe in the shoulder. Shots have been hard to come by of late. Other than immature bucks it seems I am having a tough time getting a doe back in front of me or a good buck to come close enough.
Tomorrow is the start of a long and torturous gun season . Bow season runs concurrent with the slug hunters but the deer movement will take a change for the worse. It is such a shame that Minnesota is the only Midwest state that will allows gun hunting in early November. So much for managing the deer best for the deer herd.Those trophy bucks need to be in the woods spreading their seed, not hanging in some meat locker. I'll try not to be a whiner the next 4 weeks I promise. Fortunately for me I control what goes on here and I will do my best to hunt only the interior of the farm and to not push deer off on to waiting gun guys who like to sit on my fences. They have at least 7 stands that are actually in trees the fence lines are fastened to!
Lets hope that the gun frenzy pushes them to 5 Pines not out of the county.... hang in there Jim
:campfire:
You're lucky if people will stay off your land. Mines well posted, but I meet "unauthorized" hunters every year. Unfortunately our boundary lines aren't recognized by the deer.
Like coaster says, hang in there. You'll get it done.
today I stayed on stand from before sunrise to just after sunset. It was painful! It was rewarding!
I chose the stand on lower coffee cup trail . This is the little bowl on the back corner of the farm that sits just above an old homestead. There are very old apple trees here. With a pond ( now with a little water after the big rain we had)oaks, hickories, chest high blackberry and of course lots of buck thorn! This is the area I try to leave as secure cover for the deer. I have only hunted here once the entire year and got skunked that time.
Here is the view I had to suffer with all day today .
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8069/8152310166_81cc131149.jpg)
You have to be very careful here not to push the deer down onto the two neighbor's pieces of ground. Especially today since both have got gun hunters present.
I don't know if it is the rut, the presence of others in the adjacent woods or both , but man did I see deer today! Stopped counting at 20. Just after first light i hear running coming towards me. A small buck is chasing a doe. They run though the little opening below me and blow up and down the sides of the bowl and disappear finally to the south. An hour later just after I had done a series of tending grunts I hear a deer coming from the south. Its taking its time but its coming directly at me down the bluff. Its a buck! its a big buck! But something doesn't look quite right. Its the big crab claw buck from last year! But he has broken off all the points on his right side except for the claw at the end. The left side has four tall tines! He is coming directly at me and is not on any of the deer trails. So none of my trimmed shooting lanes are going to help!
He stops below me a meer 8 yards and stands looking for the source of the grunts! I am trying ti find a way to put an arrow thru the cedar tree his chest is behind.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/8152281633_45b148ceee.jpg)
His head was in the open but nothing else was!! The cedar on the right is blocking the shot!
Not seeing his adversary he turned to leave and passes thru this opening ( I trimmed it after he left)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/8152304478_67a4edac67.jpg)
That big branch at the base of my stand prevented the second chance for me. As he walked away I grunted at him stopping him twice. But now he has picked up the scent of that hot doe and he is not going to come back.
At 10 am seven does in single file come down from my food plots but are on a trail 40 yards down. Then two more and two more after that.
11 to 2 pm I saw zero deer and at 2:30 a doe appears 40 yards down in the thickest brush with an 8 pointer by her side . They spent the better part of the next 3 hours below me .
At 3 pm a hunter on his quad went up the adjacent bluff. At 4:30 he shoots and kills something as the deer gave the loudest death bellow I have ever heard. Just after the shot another deer comes running down the bluff from the direction of the shot. It ends up on my logging road above me about 75 yards and then turns down hill onto the deer trail I walk in on. Its a small 5 point buck, and it walks right down the trail and stops in all three shooting lanes I have prepared! Murphy's law! Why don't the big bucks do that! Ha!
Another close shot gun blast and more deer run by. I have now been on stand 11 full hours and fatigue has got me. I make a small noise at precisely the wrong moment sending two does I hadn't seen back down the hill. They were coming up the trial I needed them on too!
So the day ends and I am glad to climb down and head home to dinner, some conversation with the Mrs and a warm fire in the yurt. Tomorrows another day!
As I have said before....great job on this post...you are keeping us on the edge of our seats....well done. Hope'n it's going to all come together shortly for you! Keep us posted!!
A long day, for sure. I've never done that, but you had just enough activity to make it doable.
Too bad about the neighborly "blasting". That's hard to take.
Man, I'm envious of your effort. I've got a bum hip keeping me close to home, but your "saga" is balm for my frustration.
Thanks for sticking with it. And us.
Man Jim you are working it to the max!!! These old bones start screaming at me after a few hours in a tree stand.... all day is a killer!!!
Is this the crab claw buck... you sent a trail cam picture last year.. It's hard to see in this pic but his right side looks like a crab claw...
(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/coaster500/cid_b412b986-8531-eaaa-f0d8-d8b3b796ba3cme.jpg)
Really cool Jim. Good luck!
Kip That's him! That is one of the last photos i have of him! Until yesterday i thought for sure he was dead.
I put in another very long day this time split between two locations.
I ventured down to the hole since that has the most rut sign on the whole farm. It was another extremely still morning. the kind where you can hear everything and everything can hear you.
I didn't see the first deer till almost 9 am (we set our clocks back last night) A small 6 point buck came into the biggest scrape and tentatively worked the branches but did not scrape in the dirt. He followed the fence line up the hill at about 40 yards from me. Then at 9:30 I hear deer in the leaves above me. Three does are working their way down the bluff behind me. The trail they are on will take them way down into the bedding areas. I watched and hoped for more. At 10 am i hear a buck bellowing down in the thick blackberries and buck thorn on the other side of the neighbors fence line. Two more times over the next hour he makes that noise. I had packed a lunch and was determined to wait him out. But by 12 :30 i'd been on stand for almost seven hours and I needed to stretch my legs, get a hot coffee and shoot a few arrows. Finally that's what I decided to do. I slowly came down the tree and pussy footed it up the hill as best as I could. Nothing spooked behind or in front me all the way to the yurt.
It was most likely the wrong decision and may have cost a good 10 point his life to the neighboring slug throwers.
I headed up to the stand Andy and I set up in the creek bottom below apple alley. I have been getting pictures now regularly of that nine point I posted previously at this spot. My nephew had him at 10 yards in the ladder a little further up the alley last Friday and let him walk.
I decided I would kill that buck if I was given the chance. When I got to the scrape I checked the camera and he was on it again just yesterday at 5 pm. I got all set and then the wind switched. Down again I went. My only option now was to go further up the alley to the stand Justin was in last Friday. Its close to the property fence line but the wind would be blowing up hill and would be perfect. I was in the stand less than 15 minutes when a shot gun roared above me twice. Hell he was 75 yards up the hill and I hadn't seen him . The buck was a big 10 pointer. I watched as his buddys arrived in a quad and they struggled to load him up. I want to believe I didn't push him up the hill but i may very well have.
After it quieted down I saw one more little buck and a doe and a fawn that let me walk up to within 15 yards of it in the dark! It was lonely and looking for company I guess!
well it was sad to leave 5 pines once again, love hunting there and always look forward to going back.
Thanks again for a great hunt Jim, I really appreciate it all.
I have been flat out, Jim and I saw no deer movement the last day and as always I decided I would still hunt the morning even though I had a log drive back to Colorado. I sat the last morning up where i had the nice 10point come by. Saw nothing but was just great to be out there.
Got back to Colorado late and have been out the last few days after elk, with 5 days to go, and try get my dad onto a nice bull.
I have a few pics from the hunt that ill post when I get back to my computer.
Just a matter of time Jim until a big one walks by! you certainly hunt hard and deserve it. Look forward to the updates.
Andy
Keep at it Jim! :campfire:
8 yards and no shot, Dang!!!!! If I were you I might have just picked out my Christmas tree at that point :mad:
8 yards!!!!!
Great thread..one of the best I've read on TG and that's saying something!
before we get started with today's hunts, here is the view I enjoyed from stand last night
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8341/8159512633_c7fca6c87a.jpg)
nice huh?
OK so I left the yurt this am with a renewed sense that good things happen to those who work for them ! So I was going to keep on working for another encounter with a big buck!
I decided to go up in the 23 to the stand where the season started. It had been roughly 10 days since i'd been there and with the East wind we had today It would be perfect.
At the edge of the timber, I scented up a drag and slowly worked my way upward grunting softly every so often as I moved along.
I got to the stand with out bumping anything ( at least to my knowledge) and climbed up just in time to enjoy watching the color start to lighten over the Eastern bluffs. Quiet in the woods again today. Not nearly as much gunfire too! After about an hour i noticed a doe and fawn moving slowly along on a trail below me about 60 yards. They crossed the logging road I was on and I made mental note as to where they crossed. I have been thinking of moving this stand down the road a bit. It hasn't panned out like i thought it would and it seems that most of the deer I have seen while hunting here are down there. The morning came and went and before I knew it, it was 9:30 am and time for me to go in and do some neglected office work. Just as I had decided to get down, an 8 point buck is on the logging road about in the same spot the does had crossed it earlier. He has his nose to the ground and i don't know if he is smelling my drag rag or the does or the two scraps that are down there. He is a nice buck but not one I am interested in killing this season. He walks up onto the cliff side above the logging road and lies down. Shoot now i have a buck I don't want to shoot, don't want to educate and its time for me to go. I decided to try and sound like a bigger buck and move him off. I grunt loudly, no visible response. I wheeze snort. He is looking around but still laying down. The tree next to me is dead and has a shingle sized bit of bark hanging within arms reach. I tear off the bark , throw it on the ground and wheeze snort again. That does it he is out of there. As I walk past where he appeared and the does crossed I made note of the tree to move the stand to. Perhaps tomorrow at noon it will get done
My good friend and neighbor calls me at 1 pm. He is a bow hunter only too. Only still using wheels. Any way he brings me up to date on which hit list bucks are no longer walking this earth. Sad to hear the big droptined buck we have been trying to kill met his demise today about 400 yards from my yurts door!
I slowly walked up the logging road letting it get to me. Damn the gun hunters were having a mega season and its only their 3rd day!
AS I walked past the Ivy stand , I stopped to pull the SD card. By now I had stopped feeling sorry for myself after reminding myself how good i have it. I checked the card and saw that a big dude walked by just last night.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8346/8159545896_9b64aba889.jpg)
It's not a very good photo , but trust me this is a buck I will gladly shoot if I get the chance!
I continued on up the hill to sit the little food plot that always produces at least deer sightings.
Except for tonight! But i did get to watch the most amazing sun set, twice! There was a heavy band of clouds , then a band of clear sky and then the horizon. The sun seemed to set, then rise as it cleared the cloud , then set again as it sunk below the horizon. Pretty cool!
woke to rain, then sleet and now snow. AS you can see i am typing instead of hunting. Hopefully I'll be out and about some where this afternoon.
Got my bear rug back, my yurt wall is too short! ( its 6 feet btw)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8206/8161006575_b162f6bd8f.jpg)
Great buck!!!
The bear almost lost his head!!!
(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/coaster500/untitled-2.jpg)
kip you are going to need to teach me how you edited that photo, cool!
I opened it with paint. Cropped it then resized it all using paint. I saved it then up-loaded it to photobucket, rechecked the size then copy and past the link to Trandgang. There is probably a better way to do it but the only program I have is paint... soooooooooo.....
That is a very nice buck!!!!
The rain changed to snow and back to rain, then to drizzle and just fog by the time it was time to go out and hunt! I decided since the upper bluffs were socked in to hunt half way up in the Squirrel tail stand. After all the last two times I was there I was treated to glimpse a big buck.
But the the third time was not a charm and my post in this spot today was not rewarded.
As I came down the the hill in the fading light I could just make out three bodies in the turnips below. I snuck down just close enough to get a better look. I couldn't see any head gear but it was clear from the body language 2 were bucks and 1 was a doe. Suddenly one charged the other and let a loud wheeze grunt wheeze! the other wheeled and ran out of the turnips. I moved a little closer to try and see antler and the doe caught the movement and ran up into apple alley.
Think I might hunt there in the morning.
Good luck!! I'm still enjoying your season. Thanks for the updates and pics :)
Did he show up this morning???????
Nope! I sat in the funnel just above the turnips but not a deer was in sight. Texting some of my fellow hunters in Iowa and Wisconsin I learned that basically everybody is experiencing lock down now.
So I revalued what I was doing and decided to set up on one of the food plots up top. Hoping a buck will have spun off a doe and be cruising the food sources looking for a new love interest. I set the deek up too just in case he was ready to fight.
At 4 pm i noticed a deer in the rape field about 60 yards up from me. Apparently a young doe or fawn. Then two spring fawns crested the hill top and the larger of the two did not like the looks of the decoy! It started stomping and then hightailed it up the mowed trail spooking the other deer out of the rape field as well.
That was it for deer tonight. There were several late shotgun blasts somewhere in the valley. Never ceases to amaze me how you can shoot a shot gun at a deer when you can hardly see your hand in front of your face.
Tomorrow its back down to the water hole or perhaps the bowl in back where that slugger Crabclaw was last Saturday morn.
The new moon soon Jim... the lock downs kind of late for you, right?
:campfire:
Still in lock down mode. Saw two does only this am and I managed to move at exactly the wrong time. I hadn't seen them till they spooked.
Gusty south wind this afternoon got to decide where to go.........
suppose to drop down to around 10 mph by 4! It is starting to pick up again over here! Chasing pretty hard right at dark last night and have had a bunch of deer/vehicle claims today from last night!
while doing some chores around the yurt at 12 :30 I looked down the picked and chopped corn field and saw a young buck running with his nose to the ground. he went up the side hill and zigzagged his way up to the timber his nose never more then 6 inches off the ground. Now that is what a deer hunter loves to see.!!
I decided to hunt the far SW corner of the farm in the cedar tree now affectionately known as the possum stand. For awhile the wind was really switching back and forth. But finally around 4 pm it settled down and was perfect for this spot. If ever there was a night when I expected to see a buck , it was tonight. But it seems I have lost my mojo as there was nothing to watch but the birds in the cedars. walking out there were 1/2 a dozen deer in the food plot about midway down the field. Tomorrow if I go up top i will remember to get a photo of the food plot. its just amazing that about 1/3 of one field is nothing but stalks. The deer have stripped the leaves off clean!
Good Luck Jim.
While I didn't shoot a deer today it was an entertaining morning. I decided to hunt in the "sure thing" stand. Andy ivy was the last one to hunt out of it back on 10/30. I always question the best way to access this stand. Do I walk down the gravel road and then cut up the hillside or do I walk up in the old pasture and follow the edge of the timber all the way to the stand.? I am never sure which way may alert more bedded deer. Today I chose the road, it seemed like the quieter approach.
Once again I was very dismayed at the number of gun shots fired in the valley before it was legal to shoot. I counted seven. Hell the first four went off when it still so dark I couldn't see the forest floor from my stand!! There are some real SOBS out there.
Any way the first deer I spotted was right at first light. It was down below me about 100 yards walking on the mowed trail I walked on once i got off the road. It had its nose down and was either trailing a doe or me. Ended up being me. It finally got a nose fill and took off like a race horse in the other direction.
Shortly after turkeys roosted up above me on rattlesnake ridge started to talk. The hens were really vocal. A young tom tried his first gobble. Sounded like a gobble crossed with a yodel! I laughed out loud then I remembered where I was!
They started bailing out and one soared all the way down to other side of the valley and into the timber above the prairie grass!
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/8169689953_88c39bec19.jpg)
Listening to the turkeys talk I noticed three deer walking in the mowed fire break on the opposite side of the valley. They were moving right to left and heading right for the stand over there!. Darn!@! But I should have paying attention over here in stead.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/8169696723_b8b6ca3c8c.jpg)
I heard the smallest noise and looked down past my arrow point and the torso of a deer was in that little gap beneath that first oak you see in the above photo. it had stopped and apparently was on to me. The thermals were still dropping my scent down hill and she had me all ready. She turned and then I saw a 2nd doe behind her as well. Darn They were coming right where I needed them!! A second later they went flagging down the hill, crossed the creek , then the road and up the other side of the valley. After a week of getting shot at by the gun hunters there is zero tolerance with scent or noise now.
9 am came and it was time to head in to work. I bumped one fawn from its bed and found this rub on the way in. Hope the dude who made it is still walking the earth.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8200/8169713782_9694e6be60.jpg)
Didn't hunt last night went to dinner with the Mrs. instead.
Jay Cornell (old lodge skins ) on trad gang came back to hunt. He has a story to tell and will share it upon his return home tomorrow. Until then here is a teaser.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8489/8172850584_726fd1f24e.jpg)
Look at the body on that Brute!!!
Can't wait to hear the story :)
To many deer at 5 pines ... somebody had to connect !!!! Congrats!!!!!
:campfire:
What a hog of a buck! Looking forward to the full details on that one!
That is one fine buck!
Lookin' forward to the story.
Enjoy the feast!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
That thing has a HUGE body, and the bone is not bad either. Congrats!! :thumbsup:
I can imagine how this one starts....
So Jim takes the night off, I decide to sit his favorite stand.... :rolleyes: :smileystooges:
What a nice Buck! Looking forward to the story!!!
one more teaser
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8067/8173319777_09269058ce.jpg)
he made an excellent shot and had an excellent guide!
Way to go!!
"and had an excellent guide!"
No doubt :)
record high temps ( 70 degrees!) high winds and a deer to butcher quickly kept me out of the woods last night. Heavy rain and wind kept me in the yurt drinking coffee and sharing stories with a good friend today. The forecast calls for the temps to drop all day and the rain to turn to snow tonight. A low of 29 is expected.
I plan on being down in the water hole ( now known as the Jay stand) tomorrow am. Yesterday the guy was covered up in bucks!
Jim,
I must say this tread has kept me going as I also pursue the quarry, a very good read.
And I must salute you for your great hospitality, while you play host to many a hunter and ensure that their dreams are fulfill, you yourself is yet to be satisfied, but good things come to those who wait.
Here's to Jim Gilmer! And a prayer for your dreams to be fulfilled!
:thumbsup:
Hey Jim,
Suppose to clear up a little this afternoon! Get in there tonight! Should be awesome! Enjoy the posts brother and congrats to your friend!
:coffee:
Saturday was indeed a day to remember in the timber at 5 pines. I don't really like hunting shows on tv because they are not realistic but this particular day I would not have beleived if I hadn't been there to see it.
It does show what one hot doe in an area will do to the resident buck population especially at a place where there are so many mature bucks.
Anyway... had a nice talk with Jims nephew Justin in the yurt before sleep on friday night. Jim rousted us out early on saturday and we discussed where we'd sit based on wind. I chose the top of the north east ridge but when I got to the "fork" point in the access trail I decided I'd be better off in the valley so I chose the water-hole stand.
After cliimbing up and getting settled I heard crashing of anlters and breaking of brush in the thicket near the water hole. I have seen and heard deer fighting before but this battle was obviously between two brutes!! They continued for 45 min or so on and off and I considered a stalk while they faught but thought better of it. In the mean-time several (three) smaller bucks patrolled the area and passed within shooting distance. Two yearling basket racked bucks and a decent 120 or so buck. I was hoping one of the two combatants would wonder my way. I'd gladly take on the loser, I thought to myself.
Anyway they stopped and things settled down. After a bit seveal gun shots range out to the north and east very close to my position and a few min later a comotion started in that direction as deer ran the ridge above me. One I could see two bucks and realized one was a monster and the other was a nice but much smaller buck. The smaller came towards me on a trot and I could see he was limping and in fact had a broken front leg. He "ran" under me and stopped slightly quartering away. At this point I had no idea what the bigger deer was doing and in fact figured he had left. I decided to shoot the lame deer and at 10-12 yds put an arrow high in the lungs. It turned and crashed up the hill from where it had come. I took a deep breath and knew it was dead. I was about to climb down and heard a deer again and looked in time to see the huge buck trotting my way. He passed right under me and kept right on going. I was sick that I had just shot a small buck (injured or not) and had a clear shot at a monster.
I took a few more deep breaths and climbed down the tree. I then heard more comotion up where my deer had crashed and through the binoculars could see yet another monster buck trying to pick a fight with my dead deer. He was shoving him with his rack. I did not want to spook this buck and turned to climb back up in the stand to let the woods settle a bit more. I never saw what became of the buck that was shoving mine. Whew!! Jim came after a series of text messages and though I felt bad about a dead "average" deer he quickly slapped me on the back and made me feel better about doing the right thing. Anyway....I can't tell you the level of appreciation I have.
We took pictures....tagged...gutted....skun and worked until dark and Jim gave up his afternoon hunt to help.
What a day. Thanks Jim.
Jay
You did the right thing killing the buck with the injury! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
I have to say that yes it was the right thing to do especially after I saw the extent of the deers injury. I should also mention that it did not appear that the injury was from a gun shot. Most likely a car collision.
Anyway...yes it was the right thing.
Jay
You did the right thing and not every one would have.... That deer is a horse and a deer to be proud of :)
Congrats !!!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:campfire:
You know you're in a special place when you end up wondering "what if" after taking a fine buck like that!
Congratulations on a beautiful deer!
Old lodge skins you are first class in my book for taking the injured buck and not being greedy. You are welcome at 5 pines anytime!
One hot doe makes all the difference, as I can tell you. I sat in jay's stand today for 6.5 hours and saw one buck fawn! While I did hear a brief buck fight down in the same thicket that Jay did I never saw another deer. It was cold too and snowing!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8057/8180721842_4e618c6a1d.jpg)
it was fifty degrees colder today than on Saturday!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8058/8180682977_0157c55233.jpg)
At 12:30 My feet were aching with cold I decided to climb down and head up to the upper fields to possibly sit over the decoy.
When I got to the top I realized how windy it really was and after a bite to eat I changed plans. Knowing I'd never last till dark, I headed down to the yurt for a quick cup of coffee , some dry socks and perhaps a practice arrow or two.
Half way down to the yurt who should jump up out of a bed with a lovely doe? None other than GODZILLA!!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7986898598_4caa855fea.jpg)
I was maybe 20 yards from him when he jumped up. I had had the benefit of gusty winds in my favor and wet leaves to boot! he never heard me till I was right on him Its a pity I wasn't more alert as the spot they were bedded was quite in the open. Had I been looking I am sure I could have spotted them before they spooked. But it was great to finally lay eyes on that buck. I have never seen him in the flesh until today! I am so glad he is still alive!
I was in the Joel Stand by 2 :45 and spent the rest of the day on high alert. But I got skunked! not a hair of a deer did I see. . Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for deer movement!
Most-excellent sighting!
Deer activity will hopefully be in your favor tomorrow!
:pray: :pray: :pray:
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Nice deer Jay! Huge bodied deer! Nice to see both your skill/gamesmanship & Jim's efforts of building 5 Pines came together that day. I'm sure you know better than I (from my hunting with Jim) he gets a huge charge out of seeing a friend take a nice deer off the property. Excellent work! Another black hash mark on the pole under the BUCK catagory!
GODZILLA!!
Now wouldn't that be something :)
:coffee:
Well he didn't show up today!!!
It was clear , quiet and cold. Very cold ! 16 degree F! The forest floor being wet from the last two days froze solid. Walking to my stand today was like walking across sheets of peanut brittle! no matter how hard I tried to camo my approach every critter in the valley heard me today. I decided to hunt low near where I jumped Godzilla. After the woods settled down a bit I did a few series of hard rattles ( the wife heard me down at the house). At 7:30 a young buck cruised by above me about 50 yards. he was on a does trail from the way it looked.
After that nothing. My feet were quite cold by 8 30 and i headed in. Coming out of the timber i saw a buck across the valley standing in the sun watching me. Hard to say how big but I could see antlers with the naked eye.
Forecast is for a nice afternoon. I am planning on sitting in the Bwana stand tonight and i am going to kill a deer!
Good luck!!!
That the attitude I like to hear!!! Go get em!
Awesome, the power of positive thinking, I will check back tonight after my daughters Volleyball practice to read all about it.
GO GIT EM!
Your time is now!
Positive thinking and a strong attitude will make the sun shine upon the spirit, the sun shall shine.
Well I was finally in the right stand at the right time. I headed up as soon as I could finish up the days work and was in the Bwana stand by 2:45 pm.
About 40 minutes into the sit I heard running and very loud grunting!! Down below me about 75 yards a doe goes flying through the woods. Chased not by one but by three big bucks!! In 35 years of bow hunting I have never heard grunting like this. Louder than I can describe to you. All the bucks were nice but one was a Kahuna of a buck.
15 minutes later I hear more chasing and more grunting and another doe goes by down the same trail being chased by 2 more bucks! Both shooters!
they run right down the trail I have the stand I was in last week when the crab claw showed is face. Crashing and grunting. Then up the hill runs a doe and she stops in a thicket down below me about 25 yards. The Kahuna is trotting up towards her and stops on the other side of the thicket. They both stop and rest. Both deer have their mouths open and are panting. Then the doe busts up the hill towards me. I turn to my left to get ready to shoot but the doe turns harder to her left and flees being pursued by the giant.
I am really hoping that this one works out for you.
Not two minutes later a doe comes running down the mowed trail that eventually goes right under my stand along the rape field. I have no idea if she is the doe being pursued or a doe that was bumped and is getting out of the way. Then looking in the direction she came from is a big buck trotting down the mowed trail. He enters the rape field and is trotting past me at 10 yards when my 200 grain VPA slams into his side. He actually staggers sideways and I can see the broad head hanging off his far side. He lunges up hill and disappears over the crest of the hill.
I bend over and take a deep breath. I knew at once my entry wound was behind the diaphram and hoped the exit was in front of it. Then I hear a deer trot up and a small one antler 6 point stops and stands right in the spot the buck was when I shot him. He looks back over his back trail and flees. I start to climb down the tree and hear another deer running up . There he is.The KAHUNA!! He is a 12 or 14 point monster! he stops 8 yards from my tree and I am hugging the trunk trying to be invisible. What an animal! what an experience to be so very close to him! finally he winds me, snorts and runs off over the top of the hill!
:campfire: :coffee:
Don't stop now Jim!
I get home and tell Jayne I have a good hit on a good buck . Bill next door is sick with the flu and Jayne readily agrees to help track. We decide to have a quick dinner first. Another hour is only going to help if the hit isn't as good as I hope it is.
We gather what we need and drive the 4 wheeler up to where I left the marker. I place the broadhead in the glove box and we start looking for more blood. There is a drop here and a drop there and we work our way thru the next food plot. Then it got bad. Just a fleck here and a fleck there. Luckily some of the snow was still on the ground and it helped as we had tracks to follow. I Completely lost the blood trail twice only to pick it up in a 90 degree change of direction! Now you have to understand we are going down hill all the time and are approaching the timber and once in the timber it will really get steep!
When he hit the timber edge rather than bailing straight down he must have slowed to a walk. then he turned onto a trail that ran the ridge top towards the 90 degree corner stand. The blood spoor had improved tremendously and there were several large splashes here and there. I look ahead and see a possum with his nose in a pool of blood. I shoo it away and continue on down the trail and then there he is!! ! Lodged against the base of a big hickory right on the edge of the cliff!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8484/8184067374_92548c1b0b.jpg)
Awesome Jim ! The host gets his chance.
Congrats Jim...great buck!
WOW, he looks pretty beefy....Well Done! :notworthy: Does this mean the blog is done.....I hope not!
I was having a rough time of it trying to move him and decided to lighten the load there. I normally do not gut my deer in the woods but since i was in a predicament I had no choice. Jayne and I hugged each other and admired what an awesome buck he was.
After gutting him we had a heck of a time getting up a 100 yards to where I could get the ranger close to him. Once we got him on a bench we snapped some photos laughed about what an evening it had been.
I'll try to get some day light pictures tomorrow
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8488/8184069904_dfa46bebb9.jpg)
I've decided to call that other buck LB short for lucky Bastard!
Now its time to hunt does with Anubis! My Hills county bobcat!
Nice, Jim! Congratulations!
Super job Jim!!!
That's a stud!!!
I've followed this thread from the start and I am so happy for you. Hope your doe hunting goes well too. You deserve it.
Good Shootn'!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Iflytrout/Pictures/buzzards.gif)
Alright Jim! I've been keeping right up with every post, so when I saw that I had two unread pages here this morning I knew that something good had happened!
Congratulations on a fine buck! Having LB come and stick his tongue out at you will just add to the memories of a very special deer! As hard as you have hunted and all the effort you have put into making this a thread for the ages makes this one to remember. Congratulations!!!
Great thread and it shows persistence pays.
I love your tag line, "Make a life, not a living". It is so true. I often wish I had had the forsight to purchase some ground when I was a younger man and develop it the way you have.
Maybe we will meet up at Ryans one day.
D.P.
Jim nice buck, congratulations, every morning I come to work, start to computer, to first read your adventures. Thank you so much! Good luck with your doe.
Wow, what a season you've had. Congrats!
Jim,
Congratulations and this has been a daily read for me since you started it...I love to see other Tradgang members pics and locations they hunt..You have made it very exciting to read each days event as it unfolds..I myself felt like part of me was right there seeing the Autumn come and go and the trees show Gods work as they turn from green leaves to a beutiful golden,reddish color just by His command...This is a beutiuful buck and a well deserved trophy just for your hard time put into the hunt...Thank you for sharing your piece of land and your daily hunt with us all...God Bless...
Keefers <><
A well deserved buck. :clapper: :clapper:
Congrats on a nice buck!!! All your work finally paid off!
Congrats Jim! Knew it would all come together for you :thumbsup:
Congrats Jim, that is a great looking buck. All your hard work finally paid off for you. I hope you still take us along for the Doe hunt. Good luck Shoot Straight.
After guiding other successfully it was finally your turn to connect,nice buck congrats. :thumbsup:
Finally congratulations Jim. You deserve it. Many hours on stand
and a lot of hard work. Also, because of your generosity to your friends. Thanks for taking time to share the season with us. You have what I and most of us can only dream of. I am happy for you and have truly enjoyed the glimpse you have given us this year. Hope the rest of the season is good to you. Michael
Congratulations Jim, Awesome story and thanks for letting us follow you along in your adventures. I only missed my original estimate by 27 pages :clapper:
Like Whip said, when I saw 2 pages ahead, this will be good.
And it is!
Way to go. What a great read and season you've given us. It's your season, of course, but you've been kind enough to include us.
And now there's doe tags to fill....?
Excellent job Jim! What you won't do to get a moon light stroll with Jayne! My legs are aching if I'm thinking of the area you're talking about. A lot of work went into that bad boy! Great hunt, great adventure shared with all of us!
Awesome thread, congratulations
Great job. I've been rooting for ya!
Wow! What a great deer! I've followed your post everyday and have enjoyed it immensely! Thank you for taking the time each day to include us in your hunt. This is a very well deserved trophy for you! Congratulations on a tremendous fall! :clapper:
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Congrats! Way to stick to it... :thumbsup:
Thank you everyone for the very kind words. As you can truly see, hunting whitetails is my truest passion in life. I am very fortunate to have a loving and supportive woman by my side. She had a blast a last night.!
While I dislike the morning after photos because the deer no longer looks natural, here is one just to give you some scale of last nights buck's body. It was a bugger for me to drag him. Jayne steered his back legs around all the obstacles.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8481/8185180555_caee258f5a.jpg)
I promise to take you along with Anubis and I as we spend the next 6 weeks chasing big does around the valley!
Congrats again and looking forward to following your doe hunting.
What an incredible story, thank you for taking us along on your adventure. I can't wait to read more since you still have a doe tag.
Congratulations!
Actually I have two!! I get a land owners anterless.
BTW. Closer examination this am in the day light revealed my arrow went in behind the diaphram and exited the other side in front of it. Took the liver going in and the far lung going out. I had cut my finger pretty badly last night and was in no mood to examine closer last night. Those big VPA heads save my butt once again!
He's a big deer....you could have put a saddle on him and rode him to the store...LOL!
:thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper: Very Good!
After keeping up with this thread a daily,I have to say thank you for sharing. Your adventure has made my lunch brake at work bearable. Congrats on a much deserved buck.
Chris
I was wondering what that white thing was on your index finger. I eat the heart you swap blood with the critter.
How cool to have taken him with the widow. It was the widow right.
Hey...I went out here lastnight and after settling in realized I hadn't switched back to broadheads after our practice session saturday. I stayed til dark anyway and was glad a bruiser didn't show. It aint easy being me.
I could see everything you described in my minds eye. Nice job!! Thanks bud!!
Jay
Congrats! :clapper: Thanks for sharing all this time!
Man what a great thread. Congrats on the result of your persistance!
and nice buck. what a treat to have all those monsters in the perimeter. Good thing we are leaving them to do some breeding. :)
Kudos Jim! Way to stay in the hunt and succeed after many days afield. That's bruiser of a buck.
now the "orange war" starts here in wi. what a joke it has become. what was once a family tradition has become a ...lead flinging, bait piling every man for himself shootathon. There is nothing I like about rifle season except my son coming home. I try to keep my distain to myself for him.
good luck to all of you trad guys.
Jay
That's one big bodied deer!
Nice buck, great hunt. Congrats Jim!!
Awesome!
best thread ever and congrats on a stud of a buck.
A big congrats to you, Jim, on a very nice buck.
I'm glad the thread isn't ending. I've enjoyed it alot.
Looking forward to following you and Anubis around the Farm!!
WOW Jim Congrats on the fine buck. You have hunted harder than anyone i know and have been payed off well.
I was a few days behind on this thread. Now I will be late for my 6 pm engagement but it was worth every post.
AWESOME!!!!!
No wonder I was having a tough time of it moving him on the slope last night. Before skinning him I moved him to the shed with the scale.
After 24 hours hanging, the hanging weight is 193!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8064/8186781994_944f093170.jpg)
Its been a long time since I killed a buck with a 200 plus live weight! Nobody can say I don't feed them good!
Sorry Charlie!
Great! I new your day was coming Jim, it was just a little delayed :thumbsup: :clapper:
Congratulations Jim! I was hoping you'd connect with a big one soon. Your story has been very enjoyable to follow this fall, thanks for taking the time to write everything up and add photos of your beautiful place.
-Jay
Nice buck!! Congratulations, and thanks for sharing your hunting season with us!
I like the picture of that buck hanging "on the pole". You really see the size then.
This whole thread has energized me to set up our property better. You have stands all over, sometimes bump deer going in or out, but you kept at it. I don't have food plots, but we have doe groups living here and I'm keen to get set up on known travel routes.
Thanks again. Good luck with those doe tags.
Nice buck!!! Thanks for sharing.
Good job Jim. A big old bear and now a big old Buck!
Most-excellent outcome LBM!
Thanks for takin' us Trad Gangers along on the hunt!
Not only will you have some fine-dinin' and excellent memories of the hunt, but it sounds like you will have some serious antler huntin' come spring lookin' for those 7 x 7 sheds....
AWESOME!
Keep the wind in your face!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
I have really enjoyed this thread. I have to admit at times I read it enviously as I would give a lot to be in you shoes Jim! However - I admire the way you have shared your good fortune with friends and now good fortune comes your way. Thanks for taking us along! Great buck Jim!!!
Congrats and thanks for letting us tag along
Nice buck! Congratulations!
Congratulations Jim! I have been following your story all season and want to say thanks for sharing! It has been a real pleasure reading along!
:thumbsup: thanks for taking us along for the ride! congrats :clapper:
Great job, great shot, great writing. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your adventure.
Keep up the thread, we love to hear about doe hunts too.
Great on all accounts, I really appreciate the time you took to log all of your outings. Congratulations on a fine animal, well deserved!!!
Glad it happend for ya. Fantastic buck!! A well deserved congratulations to you Jim. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Great work making your place home to deer like that!!!
Now go stick a doe :)
:campfire:
Congrats on a real bruiser!!
Jim excellant adventure,thanks and congrats.
Location is everything.!!!
I took Anubis out this am and we hiked up to the Andy Ivy stand. Cold morning. Stars were amazing. Anubis likes the warmth of the sun .
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8346/8190283129_844edc4abb.jpg)
Other than a white flag high tailing it away from us when we walked down at 9 am we got skunked. We would have done better sitting in the house. Jayne was having coffee at 7 30 am and looking out the kitchen window counted 8 does in the turnips out back!
Then just 30 minutes ago she says "look out the window there is a big buck crossing the driveway!"! Sure enough a bruiser is casually walking down our drive and drops in to the field by the mail box!!
Location, location location!!
The yurt's fire was a welcome sight too
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8191362594_26884726a8.jpg)
Good, you're back at it. Looks cool and crisp there.
Probably doesn't matter those deer in the yard, we give ours a protected area around the house. Not much of a hunt. Nice to know what's around, though.
Same deer in the woods, different story!
Love to see a flue with wood smoke coming out of it.
:coffee:
Jim, beautiful buck :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: Thanks for taking us along.
Jim, thanks for taking us along on your hunts. This thread is my hunt for the year as I broke my ankle 5 weeks ago. I look forward to your posts every day. Great thread!
A huge congrats on a great buck. Your patience and generosity has come round to reward you with a beautiful deer. Looking forward to see what happens on the rest of your hunts.
Congrats on the buck and thanks for taking us along. It is a big and fun effort!
Congrats of a very fine buck and thank you for all the efforts to share your semi live adventure .... :thumbsup:
We had a very pleasant day today with light winds out of the ESE & temps in the high 40's. I decided to hunt a spot that has only been hunted once all year. It requires a wind with an East component if you hunt it in the afternoon. This is the crisscross stand and it sits right on the logging road that comes out of the Buddha food plot going east. I was hoping to catch a doe heading west out of the bedding area across the fence on the property next door. But just as I crested the hill and was entering the south side of the food plot, the group of does Jayne saw in the turnips this morning jumped up. For a second there were heads and tails and ears running in all directions. There were at least 6 deer spooking in three directions! Can't shoot them if you scare them all away. !! Those were the only deer I saw tonight.
Not sure where I will sit in the am . The Orange army gets to start round 2 in the am. Hopefully a good doe will give me a shot.
Congrats!
Congratulations on a fine whitetail!
Justin and I left the yurt with the stars blazing above and the temp at a cool 24 degrees. We parted at the point above the Jay stand and I continued on up the ridge and around to the Email stand. The wind was absolutely perfect for this spot today. With the orange army back at it again I hoped a big doe might get pushed past me from the neighbors pastures.
Lots and lots of gun shots near and far. Sounded like a war had started. I had been standing since sunrise and at 8:45 decided to sit for a awhile. I had just gotten really comfortable when out of the corner of my eye i saw this guy.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8070/8193924923_529ecf6a2a.jpg)
He was just nonchalantly walking along . Right down the trail I wanted a doe on. Funny how your wants can change in just a couple of days!
This buck is a good example of how Antler point restrictions can benefit the herd and the hunter.. We fought for and got a 4 point APR on one antler three years ago. Since this guy is just a 3 X 3 he is not a legal target. I am sure he will be a nice 4 X 4 next year and who knows maybe he will luck out and make it past that. At 11 am i headed in for coffee and conversation with the Mrs.
I didn't hunt this after noon. I have to leave in the morning for a couple of days. So instead of hunting I worked on my Euro mount, tuned my bobcat in to where I am really shooting it as well as the widow, drank a lot of coffee and hung out with the Mrs a bit. I will be back at it this Tuesday, rain or shine.
Awesome deer Jim! Thanks for taking us along !
:campfire:
Great Jim, Good luck Tuesday!
This almost made it to page 4.
No way!
How's the doe hunting going?
Congrats, nice one :thumbsup:
I have taken a few days off due the unseasonable warm weather. Today it is 60 degrees and windy!! A cold front in blowing in from the north. I have to drive 3 hours one way to a funeral tomorrow so no hunting till Saturday. Hopefully we will get some snow soon!! Happy Turkey day everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving to you also Jim.... see ya when you get back!
The 60 degree temps are gone after setting hundreds of new high temp records! Its 21 outside with a howling wind. Obligations to family and friends done. Its the night before opening season all over again!
My Euro mount is done and in the yurt.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8342/8212520674_e97f8c8e2b.jpg)
Hoping for snow soon!
Well that didn't take long.....mount looks good! :thumbsup:
Dang Jim !!!
That was quick :)
I really like the looks of a Euro mount. Very nice.
Its easier and a lot quicker when they are fresh!
Very cold here this am! 14 degrees F when I left the yurt. The does have been Piling in to the turnips behind the house. So i took Anubis up to the Ivy stand which sits on top of the ridge above that plot.
Besides being cold it was very still after the big wind blew through and I don't know if I pushed deer ahead of me but I got skunked on stand. After 4 hours it had warmed up to 20 and when my feet felt like rocks I headed in to camp.
This afternoon the wind had come up a little bit and was out of the south. It warmed up to 30 by late afternoon too. I hiked to the upper fields and stalked my way to the Bwana Stand. It has been a lucky spot for me this year. I killed my buck there and have had several big doe encounters there this season. I was in the tree for about 30 minutes when I saw a deer walking on the logging road below me. It turned on to the trail which comes up and goes under me into the rape field. This food plot is looking rather thin now. But there is still a few spots in it with forage. I couldn't tell if it was a doe or a button buck. I finally decided button buck and let it walk by. 15 minutes later I hear multiple deer walking in the oak leaves below me. A fawn followed by a doe. They angle up the hill onto a trail that takes them to the right of me 40 yards and dumps them on the far end of the rape field. Suddenly I hear bleating and a smaller fawn comes running up. She has twins. Then more deer walking noises and a doe with three fawns comes up followed by a single doe! So now there are three does and five fawns in the rape field 40 yards to my right. Unfortunately they are feeding away from me towards the other food plot over the crest of the hill. Eventually they all disappear over the crest and leave me to my shivering in the stand. I was suddenly very cold. After I was sure they weren't coming back and there weren't any more coming up the ridge, I quietly climbed down and slowly worked my way to the meet up place to meet my buddy John who is here hunting for the afternoon.
Forecast calls for calm and cold skies again tonight. I know the deer are going up that ridge from the turnips so I will probably go there in the morning .
Well I just got caught up on this thread. What a great buck Jim....I sure would like to know what he weighed "dressed". Looks like a real brute hanging next to you. I have really enjoyed this thread...thanks for taking the time and congrats to you and Andy. Good luck with the does...I am down to doe hunting as well and I really enjoy it as well.
Good luck Jim.
This morning i almost got it done. I looped up the ridge past the Ivy stand and on to the next ridge and got in the Email stand. Much warmer today. It was around 25 F. The first deer was a buck fawn followed by its mom. I was trying to get a photo of the fawn and stupidly didn't see the doe until she had all ready seen me. She wasn't sure what i was but she gave my tree a wide berth as she headed to bed.
Then about an hour later I caught caught looking the wrong way. I was leaning on my right shoulder against the tree looking to my right as i expected the deer to come from that direction. I hear a slight noise to my left. I assumed it was a squirrel and much to my dismay it was a big doe and twin fawns. They were on the trail I wanted them on but coming from the opposite direction. They were all ready at 40 yards when I spot them. I managed to get my hands out of the muff and remove the bow from the hanger with out getting busted. Now they were at 25 yards and stopped. The doe looked my way but was looking under me. The stand is about 18 feet high. I needed to turn slightly and square my shoulders to the trail. As she began moving ahead I ever so slowly got my right shoulder off the tree. Now she is at 12 yards. She is almost broadside. I turned a bit more and started to put tension on the string. She caught the movement and stopped and looked up at me. She still didn't bust me but now she was no longer completely relaxed. She turned a bit to her left and I put more tension on the string but I don't have a shot yet. She decided to walk straight away from to about 30 yards and turned to look back . The fawns were standing 15 yards away both broadside! I had no shot at the doe now and had no desire to shoot a fawn. Had to watch all three walk away down the hill. About an hour later I saw the one antler spike i have seen several times this fall.
Better luck this afternoon I hope!
Over Thanksgiving I readjusted the stand in lower apple alley to a different tree. So tonight the wind seemed right and I stalked into the stand at 2 :15. I made it in with out hearing a deer get up in heavy brush where they sometimes bed. I'd only been there about 45 minutes when I saw 2 deer just below me in the deeper part of the ravine. One was certainly a fawn and was heading in the direction to the turnips. The other was either a larger sibling or its mom. It looked like a larger deer but it had a rather smallish size head. It has turned onto the trail that comes by the stand. I stood with bow in hand in the event the deer came up the trail and was indeed an adult doe. I lost track of the fawn, but it had moved in closer behind me and it picked up on something I did as I was getting ready for a possible shot. Anyway it spooked and took the other deer with it.
Then just at dusk I looked up the ravine in the heavy brush and caught some movement. Then I saw a big white rack floating above the brush. A really good buck moved through the ravine and then trotted down the mowed trail on the opposite side of the ravine. It too was traveling towards the turnips . Darkness came and I did my best to sneak away. I think I have the stand in the correct tree now and will try my luck there again soon.
Thanks for the updates! Still enjoying this thread. Does can be tough to hunt when they travel in their usual small groups. Too many eyes!
Sure I go on vacation get home to see you have taken a nice buck and you already have the euro done! Congrats buddy on a fine deer! I have enjoyed your posts and good luck on the hunt for a doe!
Thanks guys!! No hunting this am, but I'll be out later in the day .
:campfire:
Over thanksgiving I also tweaked the " sure thing: stand and moved it 15 yards down the trail This is the tree it used to be in.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8061/8222665222_b165ef00b0.jpg)
I bought a stand that works in crooked trees and now this stand is perfect for hunting the normal NW winds we get in December.
Now I can have the wind in my face and hunt this stand both Pm and AM. Three major trails converge at this spot.
With all the foliage off of the trees, it is now very hard to get in to your afternoon stand with getting busted. On flat land you can stalk your stand when the wind is right and if you are 50 yards or more from the bedding areas, no big deal. Not here! Here is what it looks like looking up hill from my stand tonight.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8490/8221593315_3c3d6a8823.jpg).
it was 26 degrees with a 12 MPH wind out of the NW when I set out from the yurt at 2:30. I made my way through the old hillside pasture and slowly worked my way up to timbers edge just below the stand. As soon as i stepped into the timber I saw three white flags waving bye bye up hill about 80 yards! RATS!!
Daylight is short these late season days and it is pointless to try and go somewhere else and risk it happening there as well. I decided to sit it out and climbed up the big oak. The spot is much improved . I watched to the north intently all afternoon and around 4 pm I spotted three deer down in my clover field which is about 200 yards below me to the north. By 4:30 there were seven deer in the clover , one being a buck that was constantly pushing the same doe around. The other deer would get out of the way and then go right back to eating. I could make out a pretty good rack with the naked eye but am unsure as to how good of a buck he was. Eventually he chased her out of the plot but in the wrong direction. The other deer moved as well further down hill onto the neighbors place and into his first Brassica plot just a 100 yards from his front door. If he was at home. he was getting a good show! Nothing came near and I left for home confident that this spot will produce a shot for me yet this season
Here is the new view looking to the west.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8221587589_feb48b40df.jpg)
The weather today was almost identical to the weather the day I took my buck. So I returned to the Bwana stand early this afternoon. I brought along an extra wind stop sweater and was glad I did. The wind came up a bit and I was still very comfortable.
I spotted three deer coming up out of the bedding area below and got ready for a shot that really looked like it was going to happen. The first deer past was a fawn. The 2nd deer turned out to be the doe but she veered around my shooting lane and got out into the rape field to my left. The 3rd deer was another fawn. I had one iffy shot on the doe as she fed and passed on taking it hoping for a better one. Eventually one of the fawns smelled me and then the mom did too and off they trotted to the west. It was early and since the other night I saw nine deer here, I was confident more deer were on the way up. But nothing showed and another day in the woods has ended.
:campfire:
Keep after them Jim, your persistence will soon pay off!!
Well the possum stand lived up to its name tonight as that was the only critter sighted while on stand. One solitary big ugly possum!
While I did bump two does from their beds on the way up the stand and bump 5 0r 6 out of the food plots on my way back down it was an incredibly quiet evening. I was definitely in the wrong spot tonight.
A little late but congrats on that buck and good luck for what's next :thumbsup: :campfire:
Glad to get caught up.
Just got back from a trip and had some luck...it was good to be back to into the woods.
Well the last three sits have been totally unproductive! While I did see deer at a distance nothing remotely close. I have actually been skunked this am and lest evening as well.
The trail camera did catch these two dancing in the beets
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8209/8233122654_ea60fecd43.jpg)
And also this buck this am . He has good potential if he can make it another year or two!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8233123254_b2d4f5afbd.jpg)
hoping to catch a deer coming down to the turnips i stalked my way in to the lower end of Apple alley at around 3pm. It was a little later than I liked but I had two friends come to hunt and needed to get them situated.
The wind kept changing directions and eventually was how I needed it to be. About 15 minutes prior to dark I saw three deer slip down the point and head to the turnips field. They were about 50 yards to the south of where I was. Then at the very last minute a lone doe came down the mowed trail that goes past me. I was putting tension on the bowstring when she turned on to a cross trail and headed directly away and under an apple tree. She sniffed around for the non existent apples and then headed back out , But she popped out on the other side of the tree and was completely shielded. Down the trail she went and another day here ends. So close tonight! Sometimes its so easy to get a shot at a doe and sometimes so very hard!
Jim, it's been a tough doe season for you. Keep at it, soon it will happen :thumbsup:
Great trail cam pics Jim.... I'm envious, you're still hunting :)
:campfire:
Kip sometimes ( like today) I think I am just out sitting in a tree all day! Got skunked both this am and pm!! Spent all day enveloped in fog. Warm temps are blowing in bringing humidity and maybe a little rain. Its December for crying out loud! Where did September, October and November go? The day time deer movement has been minimal and I think I will take the day off tomorrow. Back at it Monday.
Jim, it could be worse. It was 70 degrees here today. Supposed to be 73 tomorrow. It was windy also. If we didn't have so many deer I wouldn't have gone today myself. We get 6 tags here. Two can be used on bucks.
Chris
I am dreaming of the winters of old. hoping for some real snow so late season hunting can really begin. Its so much fun to wear white!
QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
I am dreaming of the winters of old. hoping for some real snow so late season hunting can really begin. Its so much fun to wear white!
I was just talking about the lack of snow this time of year. some of the big woods hunters by me relied on it to bag their big bucks every year.
FYI, I no longer can wear white :rolleyes:
Today was just an excellent morning to be out hunting!!
High pressure pushed out the excessively warm and humid air last night. It was 62 degrees here yesterday! the temps were alot closer to what they should be today but still quite mild for December 4th! 34 degrees this am.
The 1/2 full moon lit my path as I made my way up and around to a stand that had not had not held a hunter since 10/27! This is the spot were I had those three big bucks close way back last September! I almost had a repeat this am!
I was just sitting there wondering where the bucks had all gone as I have not seen even a little one for days. The light had just started slanting thru the tree trunks when I picked up movement coming towards me.
A super 10 point buck was on the trail that runs parallel to one I am sitting. If he stays on the trail he will pass about 30 yards below me. It was great to see a deer not all spooked and running for their lives like all the deer in the past month or so. His rack was intact and he was definitely a good buck. As he got directly below me he stopped and tilted his head back to sample the air currents. The downward thermals had given away my position and he turned and reversed his course. Not in a spooked fashion but with out delay he headed away.
20 minutes later I pick up another deer headed my way on the same trail. A 3 year old nine or ten point buck was approaching. He got to the exact same spot as the other buck, tilted his head back and left in the same deliberate fashion.
Looking down I spot a cluster of three trees below the trail they are using which might make a better stand site for next year when i have a buck tag in my pocket!
Before heading in I spotted one more small buck , a 2x2 and a lone doe but neither came closer than 80 yards. It was good to see deer on thier feet in the day light once more
What a great morning. Thanks for sharing your hunts with us. Ken
:campfire:
:coffee:
Last Saturday we reset a stand where the deer were slipping by me on their way down the ridge to turnips back of the house, Tonight I quietly slipped in and waited. This is one of those spots where you wish you had a few more sizable trees. Its mostly heavy low brush with some small Aspens and a couple of old Apple trees. There is one tree big enough for a stand and that's where I was. But as I feared its just too close to the trail the deer come thru on. Just at dusk a doe with two fawns were coming down the ridge and turned onto the trail . They got right behind me and stopped dead. Stood there and stood there and then turned around and went back up the ridge. Sometimes you know in advance things won't work but you are too stubborn to admit it. Guess I wont waste time trying that spot again. The deer use the trail heavy but its unhuntable.
I have a similar spot that has been bugging me Jim. I've been thinking about moving a ladder in there for next fall and putting up some camo netting fabric for a background. I wonder if they have all summer to get used to it if it might be accepted. Let them get used to seeing a big blob in the tree??
its worth a shot , sometimes you'd be surprised what you can get away with!
Littlebigman I am fairly new to tradgang, I came across your thread and spent quite some time reading and looking at your pics . I must say one of the best live hunts I have ever read.
Thank you for posting , you are blessed to have a very nice place to hunt . Again thanks for sharing , cheers Macca.
thank you Macca, good hunting to you!
Jim, Keep at it. It will get better as it cools off. :campfire:
Give'em heck Jim! Tomorrow's a new day! I admire your tenacity brother! Go get 'her!
Was unable to hunt yesterday as I had to attend meetings away from the farm. Forecast looks good for a sit tonight down by the clover on my north end. Possible chance for snow this weekend! I sure hope so. But its going to have to get a lot colder as its 41 F outside right now
While the weather man called for NW winds this afternoon they were completely the opposite when I left the yurt. So instead of the clover field on the north end of the farm i headed up top to sit on the rape field.
By the time the deer were on their feet it was out of the WNW. I should have climbed down. Too stubborn and I paid the price. I looked down hill and saw three coming. 80 yards downhill they stopped, put their noses up and reversed course!
Its becoming a crap shoot now where to sit. Without any tracking snow its difficult to really pin down which plots are getting hit the hardest. I'll need to be more careful with the wind if I expect to get a chance of shot.
Not much to show for today's efforts. Just a glimpse of deer this am and 2 got around me on their way to the turnips tonight . Still hoping for snow but not holding my breath. On a happy note this is the very last weekend for the gun hunters. After Sunday no more Orange.!
It will nice to take some of the pressure off of your deer. Gonna get hard to target the food sources here with the acorns going away and the drought doing a number on food plots. Good luck the rest of the season.
Well all though the forecast called for snow it slipped by to the north of me. Woke to clear, cold and quiet skies. Hiked up over the ridge and down the far side to the stand just on the edge of the bedding cover below the food plots. Hoped to catch a deer or two coming down to sleep. But not a deer to be seen other than one little one I bumped in the dark walking in.
This after noon I picked the right stand but unfortunately the deer were there when I walked up to it. Two big does got up no less than 20 yards behind it and up the ridge they ran . Since they went up the trail I had hoped deer would be coming down, A quick decision had to be made. Stay or move to nearest stand? I elected to move the short 100 yards to the Squirrel tail. Basically the same game plan just a little further north. But the only deer I saw was on the opposing side hill about 150 yards away. Here is my view from on stand tonight
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8218/8256481828_b417bb982a.jpg)
once again the forecast calls for snow but it sounds like north of me will get the brunt of it. I have to leave for a couple days anyway. Hope we get at least a couple of inches so I can start to tell where the heck the deer are spending their day light hours.
Good luck next hunt, thanks for keeping this going, the effort is appreciated.
Great thread, congrats on the deer! Don't know if you'll get the snow tonight but I should.
I feel a break soon Jim.... You've earned it!!
:campfire:
got good snow to come home to. When i get back i should be able to pick out the best spots with ease
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8258976928_2611d56fc7.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8062/8258973088_bd9f4e9e63.jpg)
That photo with the Yurt would be my Christmas card for this year!!! Just Beautiful...... :thumbsup:
Man, those snow scenes are Deer Hunting Heaven!
That'll ramp up the excitement factor, I'm betting.
Good Luck!
wonderful to be in the woods again this am
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8351/8269268447_fa7087910c.jpg)
I'd forgotten how much more effort not to mention time it takes to get up the bluff when you have snow to move through. I'd intended to hunt the email stand but by the time I was going past the Ivy stand it was all ready orange in the East.
The wind was good for Andy's stand so up it I climbed. About an hour after first light I saw legs moving through the cedars down below me. Never did see the deer and have no idea where it went. But it was fun to be on alert for the rest of the sit.
30 minutes later I heard a deer cracking acorns in its jaws and looked over my left shoulder to see a small doe nosing around for mast. It was downwind of me and in a moment it figured out where I was. Then another stood that I had not noticed and they both trotted away to East.
duty called and I left the stand at 9 am. Bumped a big doe and her fawn as I came down off the ridge. Looking forward to more hunting in the snow this afternoon.
:campfire:
I saw plenty of deer this afternoon. Except I was sitting on one hillside above the turnips waiting for the deer to come down and they all came down the opposite side! I watched 7 deer in single file head down the bluff opposite of me tonight! They spent about an hour feeding in the turnip plot.
Two bucks were actually sparring in the food for quite awhile too!
The snow really makes them visible from a distance. But it makes me very visible going in to my stand too! Plus we have had two days in a row now of low 40 degree temps. The snow has become wet and soft and will freeze tonight. Try walking quietly in that! Its going to be tough to get to a spot with out scaring everything away that's for sure.
I think my best bet to still kill another deer this year is to go to stand around noon and then spend the rest of the day there.
Keep at it. Nice to read about the hunt, since season are done here. I will be living vicariosly through you.
:campfire:
Well I "tried" to hunt this am. I say tried because the with the snow melting and refreezing every deer in the valley heard me walking this am!!
It was a beautiful morning though.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8489/8272799176_63d092d83c.jpg)
I jumped a big doe near here yesterday and the last time in the afternoon i tried this spot I jumped 2 does that were bedded nearly right under it.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8271729491_5a21e37126.jpg)
the trail that goes by here is getting used fairly heavy. Heck even the scrape near by has been partially cleaned off
I think today will be the last am I try to hunt until we get more snow. Its just pointless to make so much noise.
i will be out in the afternoons .So hopefully I'll more good stuff to post from those sits.
here are some of the deer i watched walk out into the turnips last night. I knew from the behavior that the majority of them were bucks. Look like all 7 were
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8339/8272916618_40b1c1e4d3.jpg)
this will be a good one next season
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8218/8272916976_8704bd6ae5.jpg)
Looks like turnips are the go to food plot for the post rut/gun hunt. early season food plots like soy beens are cute but I think the turnips are more bennificial in the longer run.
In the baseball movie with Kevin Costner there was a saying "If you build it they will come" Well in tonight's story the saying is "if you plant it they will come" People may call me a liar, but even I was amazed at the number if deer I saw tonight!
I climbed the ridge early and with a wind out of SE I got up in the big oak that holds the Bwana stand. We have lost a lot of snow cover the last three days but the amount of track in the food plots up top was nothing short of amazing!
the first of how many I don't actually know!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8481/8273906820_472a772c2d.jpg)
Shortly after 3 pm i looked to my right to the East and three smallish does appeared at the end of the food plot.
Then I looked to my left to the West and could see 4 more sky lined just over the crest in that plot. I heard another down below me and I spent the next 20 minutes focused on a doe browsing her way up the hill. A snort to my left and 5 big does that had come over the crest from the other food plot wind me at the edge of the rape and spin and run away.
I figured the jig was up after their loud snorts and blowing out of there and I was tempted to get down even though there was at least 30 good minutes yet to go. I had just decided to stick it out when I spot 2 bucks to my right on the far end and a doe with two fawns coming up from below me . This doe I have seen many times and once again she comes out into the field way too far for me to shoot. She is feeding when I hear deer running into the food plot from my left. 7 does and fawns coming running in. They are directly downwind, smell me and turn and run right back out. They stop 40 yards out and turn around and start walking back! They get to the edge of the rape field ( now a field of stalks ) and just mill around. They know I am close but don't pick me up in the tree. its getting late but the little snow that is left is helping a lot. One of the bucks who was on the end of the plot is now walking around going from doe to doe but he is small and the does just ignore him. Finally one of the big does ( 2 were the magnums I have seen before) snorts and spins and pulls several of the deer out with her. It is way past time to get down , so I do a few really loud grunts and send the rest of running.
I turn on my headlamp to see my way down the tree and 2 little ones I didn't see wheel out and away.What an amazing evening to say the least!
And???
Snow cover sure adds a new element of anticipation. I'm waiting!
what really amazed me was how much those deer wanted to be in the rape field even after getting a smell of me. they would spook turn around and come right back!! too bad all the food directly below the stand is gone and the deer end up in the outer edges of the plot. So I have to figure out which trail on which bluff they are coming out on top on and if I dont have a stand on it I need to get one there soon
. The food isn't going to last forever with a herd of this size hitting it.
Nice 8... Wait for 13.. Can u say toad!!
Looks like you're seeing lots of action !!
:campfire:
after a night and morning of rain our winter wonderland has turned to slop. It felt like late March or even early April as i headed once more up the hills
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8338/8276367420_a44aa148ff.jpg)
the logging road at the top of the ridge that goes to the upper food plots is almost totally void of snow
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8223/8275300159_5ff15c359e.jpg)
I wanted to hunt near where I did last night. When Andy Ivy was here we hung a stand along the mowed trail on the opposite side from where I sat last night.
I slowly approached the stand in the fog I made out shapes in the food plot just above the stand. (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8223/8275306917_de41d919ff.jpg)
a big flock of hens were feeding and took off when I made one two many moves trying to take their picture!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8275304967_ebc6878a98.jpg)
In what little snow was left there was quite a heavy deer trail along the edge of the woods in the mowed trail
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8352/8275297157_065482e45d.jpg)
its about 30 yards slightly up hill to the edge of the food plot. If I had been thinking more about hunting rather than plowing when I made this food plot is would have been further down the hill closer to the stand. I guess you learn from your mistakes and for now I just had to hope a deer would come long in the mowed trail. or in the grass half way between me and the edge of the food.
the fog would roll in and out and sometimes it was hard to see the food plot. After about an hour I looked over my right shoulder up in the food plot and could make out shapes, lots of them approaching. The turkeys were back. 21 hens walked past in the food plot. Feeding and making soft content sounding noises.
The fog got much worse as the afternoon progressed. Finally with about 20 minutes left I started to make out the backs and legs of deer in the food slowly feeding in my direction. One of those big does was in the lead and following her were three smaller ones which I took to be her fawns. Several other deer were further back , one a small buck. The doe started to walk out of the food plot in the direction of the mowed trail . But she was all ready well past me .Something caught her attention and she stood erect with her ears focused to the north. Suddenly she turned and was walking back towards me. She was halfway between me and the food plot coming from my left going to right and i thought a shot was going to present itself, finally! But as she moved in my direction she picked up speed and when joined by her babies she went into a trot and she was just moving too darned fast. I never got the bow back to even attempt a shot. She disappeared into the fog, leaving the small buck and two other does in the food plot feeding. They stayed there till it was too dark to see them any more and I heard them take off when I began my decent down the tree.
It's great to see all the successful game shots but more often than not this thread is hunting..... Ever learning and paying your dues so that those successes mean something. This thread really strikes a cord for me. This is Traditional......
Thanks for spending the time Jim
:coffee:
thanks Kip and its been my pleasure!
Rain rain and rain bah humbug!! The snow is all gone. Unable hunt today because of the rain this am and family holiday stuff this afternoon. But I hope to be in a stand tomorrow afternoon.
I am down to the final 2 weeks of the season. Good shots have been hard to come by that's for sure.
Jim i have sometimes taken good game in the final days of a hunt . You have portrayed the whole experience not just the highlights and to me that's what bowhunting is all about.
I hope I get a chance to hunt that kind of country one day that you hunt every day .Thanks Jim for sharing your moments .
Cheers Macca
Jim, this has been a great thread. Thank's for taking us along. Still plenty of snow up here north of you, course with the rain the last day or so it's now crusted over. It kills me sitting here with a messed up ankle but that's what stupidity will do for you. As my dad used to tell me " If your going to be stupid, you better be tough". Evidently even at my age that still applies. Good luck these last two weeks.
The thing I like about this thread is how much I'm learning from your efforts. You bump deer, they wind, hear or see you, but it's still business as usual the next time out. You keep hunting on your land. I used to worry that the deer were patterning me and my movements.
But I just want to hunt on our land, no driving, just out the back door. Like you do. I can see now that it's about having prepared a lot of places over the property to go to. Making more options for myself.
Thanks for taking the time to share, you've changed things for me and next season. Maybe next year it'll be my turn to share!
hey Tom! sometimes deciding where to go when you have a lot of stands set can be a problem. But I always try to hunt opposite sides of the farm on alternate sits so as to not wear out a spot or over educate the deer as to the spots I sit. Sometimes the older ones figure me out but it is so much fun to keep trying!
Jim, I am hoping you have more action, snow is in the forecast, good luck!
I decided to hunt up top one more time before giving those deer a break and chose to sit in the Possum stand tonight. The first deer I saw I actually bumped out of the food plot as I was walking up. I was just cresting the top and saw three heads over the other side. I dropped to my knees and knocked and arrow. Two were busy feeding a short 25 yards away , the 3rd a fawn had caught me dropping and was walking slowly towards me to check me out. It didn't take long before the other two were concerned with the lump in the field that wasn't there a minute ago and off they ran.
I got about 60 yards from the stand and got the rest of my clothes on and then slowly crept in to the cedar and up I went.
It was very still and grey and smelled like it could snow. Just at dark I could make out shapes moving through the rocky weed field that I mow just once a season. They were 40 yards or so East of me slipping by heading to the food plots. Damn! Once again they come out not on a trail and in a spot where there is zero chance of a shot.
So I waited until I thought they were far enough out in the field before I moved as I knew I would be bumping them on my way out and wanted them as far from the stand as possible . I bumped several in the last light as I made my way home.
Since the snow is gone and I can move quietly again I will be giving it a try somewhere in the am
I am so PO'd that I didn't start following this thread from the beginning. For some reason when I saw the title back when the thread first started it just never clicked with me and I never clicked on it. I did today, and now have spent several hours going through all 49 pages to get caught up.
Jim, what a beautiful, wonderful property you have, a little slice of heaven. Thanks for all the time you have put into sharing with everyone. It has been fun following your adventures as well as inspiring to see your obvious passion for hunting and your love of the land.
well what can I say other than you are very welcome
With the snow gone I thought I'd try to sneak to a stand up top this am. But with the freeze and thaw seesaw we have had the top inch of soil is so crunchy its like walking on peanut shells the whole way. While it was nice to be out in the am again, I saw zero deer this am . So I am hoping for some snow again soon!!
going to try my luck up in apple alley this afternoon. Hopefully something will be moving before dark
Welcome to tonight's episode of dumbest moments in bowhunting!
It started snowing today about 10 am. Not hard but enough to give us about an inch by the time it was right head to out.
Jayne had counted 6 deer in the turnips behind the farm yesterday when i was hunting the food plots up top. So with new snow and a wind out of the north, it was perfect to sneak into the stand in the lower part of Apple Alley above that food plot. Before leaving the yurt I grabbed a light colored coat from the cedar chest. This distracted me somewhat and I neglected to grab some important articles of clothing off of the drying rack next to the wood stove.
I ever so cautiously made my way to the tree stand and set my pack down. I had most of my gear on except the final layer. Upon opening the pack I discovered my neck gator, face mask , heavy stocking hat and out balaclava were MIA. S$$T. too far and too late to turn around and go get them.
up the tree I went. Now this tree is not the most quiet stand to get into. Its rather high as it sits in a hole and I have to be 20 feet up to be 15 feet above the deer's heads.
Any way after getting up there and hauling up my bow, screwing in the bow hanger ,Scraping off the icy crust on the seat of stand I sat my self down. I was trying to think about what to do on the missing clothes. See my head gets cold really fast and 90 minutes with just a light stocking hat was going to be a problem.
I was wearing one of Terri Asbell's hooded wollins. The hoods are really generous with the material . I had just sat down, heck I had just climbed up so I pull the extra fabric of the hood down over my face and shut my eyes.
After just a couple of minutes at the most I thought "this is really stupid". I pulled the hood off my face and below me was a doe, followed by her big buck fawn, followed by a huge doe followed the her three fawns! They were ten yards away! S$$T!!!!
The only one that caught the movement was doe #1. She stopped looked up and we locked eyes. Her fawn bumped into her rear , who was bumped by the big doe and so on and so forth! The other 5 deer deer still didnt know what was going on but the first deer started to turn away. Then the really big doe got nervous , turned tail and trotted up the side hill to the timber. They milled around waiting for the big doe to lead the way and finally she picked a trail that went up and over the bluff.
The really crazy thing is besides never hearing a sound , those deer walked into the stand the very same way I did minutes before. I can't figure out where they were when I was on the ground and why they didn't see me.
Those 6 deer were the only deer I saw too!
:banghead: :biglaugh:
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggg!!!!
:campfire:
This is a great thread! :coffee:
Business and a blizzard not only kept me out of the woods this week it actually kept me from getting home!
I finally got back a 4 pm yesterday just in time to watch these deer in the turnips behind the house.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8354/8297790317_02993e3a19.jpg)
I was watching from inside the house which is on the far end of the field and to the right behind that little rise
So early this afternoon I climbed in to the stand where early in week i had 6 deer under me when my face was um sort of covered up!
Early on 2 bucks came trotting down the bluff to my left and headed on down to the field. About one hour later 7 or 8 does came off the steep bluff to my right and headed on down too. Eventually there were 13 deer in total down there and not a single deer within 50 yards of me and I was allegedly in the funnel!
here is my view looking down towards the food plot.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8298838364_a67ed6892c.jpg)
tomorrow am i will loop around top and try to get above them in the hopes that there is some early day time movement
AWESOME! You are livin' The Dream, My Man! :thumbsup:
Kingsnake
It was just another great day to be in the woods!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8502/8301005568_52ff2ff6f2.jpg)
I had made plans with the Mrs. to do a snow shoe we call " The one woman push" at 8 am. So at 6 am I left the yurt and slowly but surely made my way up and around to the email stand. I arrived at the foot of the hickory tree at precisely 7 am. I was surprised it had taken me a full hour to get there and was glad I had left early. At 8 am the plan was for Jayne to strap on her snow shows and do a hike up thru Apple alley and around the base of the two bluffs just above the turnip patch. This would push what ever deer that had bedded in one these three areas up the bluff face and hopefully on to one of the several trails that intersect at this spot.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8362/8300999604_3b8b536d26.jpg)
:coffee: :coffee:
at 8;15 I spotted a deer then four more moving single file thru the trees to my south. They were about 200 yards away and were actually going down the bluff towards the food plot and directly to where Jayne would be hiking. I began to prepare for a shot . I took off the hand warmer strapped around my waist and hung it in a limb. Moved the bow hanger so the bow was in a position to remove it with minimal movement. I began to scan the trees and bluff face on my left and right for movement.
There they are ! Three deer were running back up the bluff about 80 yards south of me. They reached the main trail that runs the contour slightly below the ridge top and were headed my way. I could see two does and what looked like a buck trailing behind. Unfortunately the wind wasn't perfect for direction they were coming from and when the lead and doe and what appeared to be her fawn got to 40 yards they stopped dead in their tracks. The buck stopped about 10 yards behind them. He was a dandy! Much bigger than the one I killed and will be just a super buck next season. A heavy , tall and fairly wide 8 point. I have not seen this buck before. I had the bow in my hands and all three deer just stood there. It seemed like an eternity and my hands were getting cold. The thin gloves I wear to shoot can only keep you warm for a short periods out side of your pockets! Finally the does decided to move but instead of going by me they turned slightly downhill and headed to some cedars below me. The buck just stood there. I was able to get the bow back on the hanger and my hands back in my pockets. So i just enjoyed the time I got to watch him. Quite a while went by and he didn't move a muscle. It is amazing how they can do that! Then out of the corner of my eye i see movement. A young doe has slipped in and is preparing to bed off to my left at about 30 yards. She lays down and the buck gives her a look but still doesn't make a move . I am getting cold I have been on stand for almost three hours and it is only 15 above. Finally the buck decides to go and leaves in the direction of the Ivy stand at a trot. Wow he looked good going away. I must have moved my head as the doe was now on her feet staring at me. She stiff leg walked away.
I didn't want to get down but my body was telling me I need to get warm. So down the tree I went and headed in for coffee.
Here is the uniform of the day
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8218/8299949689_a6ef9e8b16.jpg)
"The one woman push" - Good move!
The wind - again.
Way to mix on the tactics, great woman you have there to join in. 3 hours at 15 degrees, definitely time for some warmth.
50 pages and counting, GREAT thread.
Will this ever end....LOL, I hope not. This has been one of, if not the best hunting post ever. :thumbsup: :notworthy: :coffee:
I headed to the upper food plots with the intentions of sitting in either the Bwana stand or the Justin stand where I saw the mother lode of deer last week.
But As I got to the top of the logging road I could see 5 or 6 deer were all ready out feeding in the far east end of the plot. Shoot it was only 2 pm!
A quick change of plans was required. So I decided to sneak to the stand on the west side where I was when it was so foggy recently. I would be below those deer's line of sight and way downwind. As I climbed up into this stand I could see over the crest to the south and there were 3 deer in the south end of the this field too. I quietly hauled up the bow and placed it on the hanger. Adjusted my balaclava and hat and reached up to adjust the strap on my harness. The deer suddenly ran out of the plot. What? No way they saw me. About 5 minutes later I saw 2 racks coming my way. Aha! that is what those does were running from. There was a 2.5 year old 10 point and a 1.5 year old 6 point. They fed for about 20 minutes before cresting the hill and wandered out of sight.
It was quite awhile till I spotted the next deer. But about 30 minutes before quitting time I saw 2 does making their way up the ridge below me. I snatched the bow off the hanger and got ready. At about 40 yards they veered on to the next trail and popped into the hay field below the food plot too far for me to shoot. Then I saw quick movement and 2 more are trotting up my way. These are on the trail that goes by me at 15 yards and I got ready to shoot. As the deer slowed down I realized both deer were spring fawns. Buck fawns at that. So they got a pass. A few minutes later another doe appeared. But she took the 40 yard trail and again was too far. Over the rise. 2 more deer appear, both spikes. I have now seen 17 deer this afternoon! For a moment I thought that the spikes might chase that last doe back my way. They both had their ears back and were walking towards her in a menacing way. But she dodged them and they went back to eating and eventually when the last deer crested the hill towards the other plots I quietly departed for home and supper.
Couple of good lookin bucks in that group Jim.... :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: for your Mrs and a One woman push!!!!
:campfire:
This is still the best thread running! I hope Terry archives it somehow.
Way to stick with it. Good luck on the last few days... :thumbsup:
I'm impressed with the way you are getting daytime activity in your turnips. I've got to give them a try!
Look at the doe in the back round.... she's already checking him out :)
:coffee:
(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/coaster500/Stud.jpg)
Kip you are a funny man!
So I awoke with Wimp Fever today. I wimped out, drank coffee and out my kitchen window watched two bucks in the turnips at 9 am! This guy may have been the smaller of the two.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8304604303_86da75c2f7.jpg)
The idea this afternoon was to slip into the stand I was in two days ago and late in the day try another version of the one woman push.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8298838364_a67ed6892c.jpg)
with my back to the tree , this is my view over my left shoulder looking down past the turnips. the opposing ridge goes up to the upper food plots. Jayne was going to snow show along that upper field edge just at sunset. Hopefully this would push any deer in the turnips back up into Apple Alley and i would still have 30 minutes of legal shooting time left.
What you can't see is the trail that goes by me at just 10 yards nor the two ridges affectionately known as Rattlesnake and Inspiration.
It got really still and very quiet today and the deer seemed to be moving very late. I had just seen my first of two deer come off Rattlesnake and pass above me in apple alley on the mowed 50 yards above ( and to the right in the picture). They had just moved into that thin strip of brush when I spotted deer running out of the turnips. I then could see Jayne moving along the edge of the field way in the distance. The deer ran up the ridge away from me. Well at least we know now that won't work. I kept hoping the 2 deer I saw would head back my way. I watched and watched but nothing was coming. I glanced over my right should and it is just amazing the way deer stand out in the snow when the ridge behind them is steep. 150 yards or more away standing on the side of the bluff were a string of four or five deer. Motionless. They must have been coming down and saw Jayne in the distance. I then saw movement in between them and me. Down about 80 yards a deer was walking on the mowed trail on that side of the dry gully that separates apple alley from the opposing hillside. Focused on that deer time was slipping by when suddenly I hear the unmistakable sound of tiny hooves in the snow. @&&* !!! You got to be kidding me! I look over my left should and on the trail is a doe with 3 fawns. I turn ever so slowly and reach for the bow. It seems like it is stuck. I struggle to get it free and the doe is practically under me. Just as the bow comes loose, she jumps sideways and snorts! She doesn't bolt & I try with all my might to will her to take a step one way of the other so I have a shot. She bolts and runs about 25 yards , stops turns around and snorts! The fawns turn and walk her way and the four of them slowly disappear into the night. Once again I got caught not being ready and paid the price.
BTW Happy Christmas everyone!
Late season is tough!!
Luv the dedication Jim...Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas LBM!
Thanks for continuing to share the hunt!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Merry Christmas Jim. Thanks for sharing your incredible hunts!
Merry Christmas and thanks for posting your hunts. I really enjoy the read.
Merry Christmas Jim
Merry christmas :campfire:
I have enjoyed reading this from the start through the course of theseason, thanks for taking the time and i hope you get your doe, you have more than earned it!
We are down to the wire well almost. The deer were on the feet all day today. At noon I was watching 6 does and a 10 point in the turnips. When my wife drove down the driveway returning from town they scattered every which way back into the bluffs. So deciding where to go is a real head game. Then once you decide getting to the spot with out alerting them all is a huge challenge.
I decided to try and sneak into the stand in lower apple alley since I had been watching deer in the food plot in that direction all day. I decided the direct approach was best . I walked along the left side of the turnips. Realizing everything on the right side bluffs would most likely see me and hopefully nothing on the left. As I rounded the edge of the field I could see one doe on the far end feeding, ( its 1 30 pm). She saw me and ran exactly where I didn't want her to go. I decided to stick to the plan and made it the res of the way to the tree with out bumping any more deer. It was a long and eventually cold afternoon. About an hour before sun down 4 does came off the bluff to my left and headed on down to feed. They went by me at about 80 yards. By the time it was dark I could count over a dozen deer down in the field but not a single deer passed through apple alley.
Its going to be quite cold in the am but we are planning another push. Hopefully if a deer goes by my fingers will be warm enough to shoot.
I hope you get a shot tomorrow Jim, Good luck.
Hello Jim hope you had a nice Christmas. It's 4am here in Wi and I couldn't sleep. This is Barry's friend Steve and I recognized the pic of the yurt and realized who was posting. You sure have a nice spot. Good luck with the hunt and maybe I'll catch you at Sparta in the Spring.
I knew it had to be cold out today when I had to feed the wood stove in the yurt last night about every 2 hours ! I purposely slept there because i knew if I was in the house I would look at the temp outside and baby out.
So I left the yurt with a very bright moon setting behind the bluff on the 23. The ice crystals on the tree branches were like a zillion diamonds glittering just for me. The snow where stepped on before was very squeaky so as I made my way up the bluff I did my best not to step where I stepped before.
I got to the email stand at 7:10 only slightly sweaty and quickly put on the additional 2 layers of wool in my pack. I climbed up and settled in for a long cold morning.
when 9 am arrived and i had yet to see a deer I sent Jayne a text asking if she had seen anything on the push. She answered that she had over slept and didn't go. I asked her to make a shorter version of the normal push and to go now if possible.
At 9 30 I began to see deer running through the woods below my spot on the bluff face. Shoot normally they will come up the bluff at a brisk walk rather than running. But this time a dozen or so deer went flying through the woods below as if a 20 man drive was in process. I guess Too much pressure is causing them to spook. I'll not push them again this year and will just sit the late afternoons near food and hope I get lucky.
when I got back to the house Jayne said that it was 1 above F at 8 am.
Way to keep at it! I sat in the cold this morning and the deer were really moving! I decided to take one this morning in the cold and was rewarded with a nice little 8. Keep at it brother!
Plenty of deer sightings this afternoon . The closest was a spike buck at 15 yards. But all of the deer were on high alert. I was picked off visually 2 times and winded once. A total of 8 deer sighted. Long day, cold day!
:campfire:
:campfire: :archer2: As my father has always told me, tomorrow's another day... Go get 'em! I predict back straps on the grill tomorrow evening ;) !
Let me apologize for the brevity of last nights post. I was cold, fatigued and frustrated! Squeaky stands, fickle winds and errant head movements kept scaring all the deer away.
I stayed in this am and caught up on work. We got about 3 inches of new snow today.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8071/8320169330_5eb51855b7.jpg)
In the above photo that's the turnip field in middle bottom With Rattlesnake ridge on the left and Inspiration point on the right. In the saddle you can see my logging road going up from the food plot. To the left of the road is the dry creek and to the left of that a brushy funnel on the edge of the hidden valley I call Apple Alley.
looking back at the farm house and the bluff on the 23
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8320162702_2458808840.jpg)
I got into the Squirrel's Tail stand around 2 pm. The new snow made it a noiseless approach but when I got 20 yards shy of the ladder, A deer got up out of its bed about 60 yards up the ridge above me. I could see at once it was a good looking buck. Big body and a kingly crown on top. He stopped once or twice to look back at me but I could only see bits and pieces of his rack through the snow covered branches
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8351/8319106439_cd0577fe95.jpg)
The afternoon passed pleasantly. It was quite warm. around 22 F for a high. It snowed very lightly all afternoon.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8319113085_8c70c41fa1.jpg)
at around 4 pm I started seeing deer filtering into the field from a spot about 200 yards to my right. There are two ravines there and the deer traffic is quite heavy. I counted a total of 10 deer. I have tried various trees in these two ravines but since the wind usually blows up the hill in this spot I have never been able to hunt there and not get winded.
Eventually I spotted one and then another deer coming my way from the bluff above me but their path was going to take them past me at a distance of about 45 yards. I think the first was a fawn and the second the doe. Neither deer was very large. I hoped they were just the first of more deer to come down my bluff but the day ended without any further deer coming my way. As I stood between some trees in the gathering dusk I counted 12 deer below me in the turnips. Tomorrow after the morning hunt I plan on taking down one stand over by the badger stand that we moved back in early December and trying once again to find a tree where I won't get winded near the ravines they all came out of this after noon. Perhaps I will see something not noticed before and the wind will work for me this time
As this winds down for you we are all still right here pulling for you Jim!
Late season can be a blast. I watched 8 deer pass a couple of my stands this morning. But I was watching from the kitchen window. :rolleyes:
The local deer have a pass from me for the rest of this season, but I do still miss hunting them in the snow.
Sure would like to see you find last minute success! :thumbsup:
:campfire:
Jim, you have had a great season, good luck as it starts to wind down.
:campfire:
The full moon lighted the way this morning. No flashlight required! I decided to sit the north end of the farm just because I hadn't been there for a while and perhaps something would hit the clover field and then head up the bluff to bed. But the only deer sighted were two does on the other side of the valley working their way up that bluff to some hidden spot to bed.
At noon I took down the one stand over by the badger tree but as I surmised finding a tree suitable where all the deer were coming down the bluff wasn't happening. I almost decide to do a ground blind near a brush pile close to the deer trail but the reality of how the wind works here kicked in and common sense won out. no point constructing a blind and sitting it if the deer wind you 100 yards up the hill
So at 2 pm up the hill I trudged to hunt the west side of the food plots , hoping a nice doe would come up the west bluff. The snow is now deep enough that several trails on the west side are starting to look like troughs . The one in the middle goes past my tree at 15 yards.
The sun was still above the horizon when I spotted the first deer. A doe was coming from the south and I noticed it has a severe limp. It was slowly working its way through the food plot headed my way. It could not put any weight on its left rear leg. I decided if it was on the very edge of the food plot I would risk a shot. Its between 25 and 30 yards which is long but not impossible. But as it approached the spot in the plot where it would be broadside to me it had angled more to the center of the plot making it more like 40 to 45 yards. I watched it until it got to the point where I knew it would wind me. While its back leg didn't work, its nose worked just fine and off she limped to the East.
The next deer came from the same way and was a 6 point buck. He got to the exact same spot in the field and trotted off tail high in the air.
Just at Dusk that big old doe with the triplets and last years doe fawn also with a fawn came browsing my way. All 6 noses shot up at the same time! I am starting to think that big old doe will die of old age. I don't know how many times I had her at 40 yards or closer and I haven't even gotten close to killing her.
So not a single deer came up the bluff the way I had hoped for tonight. I'm down to the final last two days!
Jim have you ever tried nose jammer? I tried it this year and had great results!
nose jammer??
Hang in there Jim....
:campfire:
oh so very close tonight. It should a happened except my brilliant play worked against me.
It was zero degrees F this am and I shamefully stayed in bed.
Three nights ago in the Bwana stand i noticed a string of deer come up into the upper field and it looked like they came up right behind another stand I have at the East end of the field.
there was a good south wind this afternoon and the high was in the low 20's. Perfect for this spot. When I got there the decoy I had left disassembled but leaning against the big oak was covered in snow. I brushed the snow off it and thought what if?
Removing the antlers I set it on the stake out in the middle of the plot and climbed the 20 foot ladder. My wind was blowing directly towards it. But my thinking was it would pull a deer from the right and left and I would shoot well before they got in my scent stream.
Early in the afternoon a doe and two fawns were suddenly standing thirty yards from me eyeing the decoy. They had come up the East Bluff. Deer when approaching from that direction suddenly just pop out into the field. Because the way the hill falls off you just can't see them as they come up.
They spooked. hmm I thought, but I left it out there. At sun set I looked down the field to the West and on that end in front of that stand was a doe feeding. It threw up its head every once in awhile and stared in my direction at the decoy. Then it did the same thing to the north. Suddenly there were more deer coming into that end of the food plot. I looked to my right to the East and a doe was standing there staring at the decoy. I slowly removed the bow from its hanger.
Then I heard snow crunching directly behind and below me. 5 deer were on the steep trail that comes up directly behind the stand and goes in to the field just to the right of the stand. Perfect!
Fawn #1 goes thru the shooting lane followed by fawns #2 and #3. But both does lock up and are staring at the decoy.ARG!!!! They are both standing in a spot where I can't shoot. The fawns are out in the food plot mere feet away from the decoy and could care less. They are digging for food, kicking snow in all directions. Both does turn to their right and loop around my shooting lane and out in to food plot. Their focus is on the decoy!!, The more dominant doe starts to trot to towards it and goes behind it and you guessed it caught my wind! She snorts ,whirls and every deer near me and on the other end of the field exit. So even though the decoy did its job of distracting the deer, had I not set it out, I would have most likely had a 10 yard quartering away shot on an alarmed deer! Darn!!!!
I was shivering now and got down a little early. So it was a littler lighter than normal by the time I am down far enough on the buff to be able to see the lower food plot. I think I am pulling every deer for a mile into the farm. I counted 18 in the plot and another 8 making their way towards it in the empty corn field in front of the yurt. So that makes for a total 37 deer I saw this afternoon!! My food plots will certainly be exhausted long before I had hoped. I had hoped for enough food to last thru the antler shedding season. I doubt there will be anything left by mid next month.
Tomorrow is the final day. With over thirty deer out back we will certainly try a push in the am.
Hang on!Good luck for tomorrow! :archer2:
Sound like your decoy is a sister to the one I have. They both have the same effect on the does. Good luck on the final day. I have enjoyed, learned, and have had some of my methods reenforced by your posts. Thank you.
last day, best day? here we go one more time.
Good luck!
here is a picture from last night. the three fawns were just to the right and below of the decoy about 1/2 to me
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8352/8330367556_a9c50a01b2.jpg)
well the one woman push was unsuccessful. Most of the deer all went up the other bluff going past the email stand. But since the wind was wrong i couldn't sit there. Instead I sat in the Ivy stand. I did have one doe come by me at about 8 yards but it was traveling at warp 9 when it went by.
waiting on the deer in the Ivy stand
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8500/8329314463_50d4ab6a1c.jpg)
its a coin toss for this afternoon.
Bottom of the ninth ... no preasure
:coffee:
Well as luck would have it, the only shots offered to me tonight were at bucks! But I ended the season on a high note. What a show i had tonight.
With the wind wrong for where I was last night ( man I wanted to sit there again)I decided to hunt smart and hunt lower apple alley.
As I eased up over the first little hump at the bottom of the long narrow valley my worst fear took hold. Three does had been laying just above it and off they ran right up the alley! With no where else to go I continued the short 45 yards further up to the stand. Just as i got to it I looked up Rattlesnake ridge and watch as 6 deer switch backed up the bluff.
I stood for a long time at the base of the tree thinking. Those deer ran right where I had expected deer to be coming down in about 90 minutes. But with so very many deer hitting the turnips below, I climbed three with confidence that the day still held promise.
It wasn't long till i spotted movement up on the top of that bluff. four deer were switch backing down in my direction. The first two out were in a hurry to hit the food buffet line. They trotted on down and were at least 40 yards from me at the nearest. The second two hung up on the edge of the timber on the other side of the narrow meadow. They acted like they had spotted me or something they didn't like. After standing for quite some time they turned and began going back up the bluff. I watched them go up about 50 yards and then they just stood there frozen for the next 30 minutes. Then above them the parade started to head down. Seven deer were coming down in single file with the buck we have been seeing for a month now that has a broken front right leg leading the group. My neighbor had been watching this buck in his food plots for a month. Just last week he showed up minus his head gear. Unfortunately every single deer behind him chose to follow his path and he followed the path of those first two that had hurried down to the food earlier.
Not five minutes later three more does appeared slightly to the right of where the others had come out. The two smaller ones headed down at a walk, while the third and largest began to browse on the lower branches of one of the apple trees. Suddenly she became alert and was staring up the meadow towards where the clover is. I knew instantly more deer must be coming. I could see two deer moving through the trees. They were on the mowed trail on my side of the meadow and would be walking right past me. The first was a young Y buck but the second was a great 10 point. Much nicer than the buck I killed. He went right by me at 15 yards!! He never had a clue I was there!
By now my hands were freezing and felt like rocks. Finally that bigger doe started down hill and at first she was coming my way. But she turned and gave no chance for a shot.
It wasn't long till it was time to go. I pretended that buck was still there and drew the widow back.
I let down satisfied that had I held a valid buck tag , that buck would have been in trouble. Just then I heard a crunch and down to my left two small does were heading back up my way! But it was past legal time and I hung up the bow and let the season end as it did with just one tag punched.
So It's over. 2012 was my 37th year bow hunting and I can genuinely say I think it was my best yet.
Happy New Year everyone. May 2013 bring you adventure.
Thank you for taking us along this season! I have truly enjoyed your daily hunt postings! God bless and happy new year!
You've really brought a lot of enjoyment to a whole bunch of bowhunters on TradGang with this thread. Thank you for taking the time daily to spend time with us in your deer woods. You have a great piece of property! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
one last look at a mega doe
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8330972725_f0633f67d7.jpg)
She is HUGE! Should name her "Big Bertha"...She probally had more fella's chasin her this year and looks like she lost a front leg?
I just joined today, but i've been reading this since the start. Great story thanks for sharing.
I appreciate all the work you did to take us along,thanks Larry.
Jim,thanks for taking us along,I've really enjoyed this thread. Have a Happy New Year.
Roger
Jim, thanks for the time and effort that you put into this thread. I don't post much on this site, but I checked this thread just about everyday, it's sad to see it come to an end this year. Hopefully, it will start back up next year. Have a Happy New Year.
Thanks for taking us hunting with you this year Jim. It has been great following your hunting season all year. I hope you do it again in 2013.
Happy New Year Take Care.
Burton
Thanks Jim!! I hope to read your adventures next year :thumbsup:
Thank's for the time and effort you put into this great thread, Jim!
Jim,
Thanks for the time you put in to let us come along. It was a great season. Cannot wait for next year. Ken
2012 was a great year for Glimer's paradise !!!
Thank you for taking the time to share your season... 5 Pines is truly a wonderland
Happy New Year Jim !!!
:campfire:
Happy New Year Jim.
It's been fun "Hunting" with you this year.
Great story and a very nice place you have. Thanks for sharing with us.
Rob
Bernie said it all for me.
Thanks for the ride, you've been an inspiration.
Happy New Year!
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper: Loved it and appreciate you letting us all tag along....
What a season you had Jim. So much time in the woods, so many deer seen, and so many "so close yet oh so far" encounters.
This thread has been a highlight here for months on end, and your dedication to it is sure appreciated. I know how much work it is to post so often and to do it with pictures - outstanding!!
I wish that last minute success could have put a great ending to it, but that didn't diminish a thing. I can see the smile of contentment on your face, knowing that this season was a HUGE success! :notworthy: :notworthy:
An awesome season Jim. Thanks for the effort of putting it all together to share with us. :thumbsup:
Jim, you had an incredible season. Thank you for taking the time to share it with us. I would just copy what Joe just said. my thoughts exactly.
:campfire:
I hope to meet you one day when I move back to WI and share a cup of coffee and stories in your Yurt.
Thanks guys, you are all very welcome. It was fun to do ,I was just hoping no body was getting bored with it!!
Its hard to believe with as many deer a sI have so close that it was so hard to get decent shots this season. But that's Trad hunting and that's why we love it so much!
I can't wait for 2013! If we find some good sheds I'll post them for you to see
Thanks Jim! This was a good read. Thanks for taking all the time and effort to post the information. Looking forward to next year.
My hat's off to you, Jim. You have one helluvalot of persistence and love of the hunt. Thanks for taking us along. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Thanks again for all the effort keeping this up, looks like a bowhunters dream property you have there. Great season! :clapper:
:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :clapper: :clapper:
some of the deer in the turnip plot new years eve while I was on stand
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8220/8338875434_51e1848e4b.jpg)
new years days lots to hunt next year!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8337813985_76b74e9965.jpg)
Just counting in the one photo, there were 3 more deer in the plot than I saw all year. :rolleyes: That's Oct. 1st to mid December, just incredible, your hard work on the farm has paid off in spades!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :notworthy:
Looking forward to your 2013 adventures! Stay warm my friend!
Thanks for bringing us along!
Thanks Ron
One of the things I need to do is to convert a few plots to clover. That will give the deer something early to feast on when they will need it most. right now they are fat but with the numbers of deer hitting the food they might exhaust it well in advance. I think that one acre on top that I put on the flat part and was too far to shoot to will become clover for sure.
Thanks again for a great ride. I look forward to seeing what you do to the farm, and to read your adventures next year.
One of the best threads of the year. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Jim, This was the most amazing semi live hunt ever - on any site.
Thanks for taking us along. Thanks for sticking to this thread.
I enjoyed every day with you...was pulling for you and was very excited when you shot the nice buck. Also hoping for an 11th hour doe as well. Seems the latter would have been the most amazing trophy as there were many hunts without shooting.
I also thought is was so cool how you added friends to your hunts throughout the season.
Impressive drive too I might add. I love to hunt, but you take it to a whole new level.
Happy New Year to you!
Have been following along all season.
Thanks for taking the time to keep us entertained. One of the first threads I looked forward to daily. :clapper:
I have really enjoyed your efforts this season too. I appreciate taking the time to post for our benefit. I really appreciate your stewardship of your little piece of this earth. Good job sir.
another reason to plant a late season food plot. SHEDS! two turned up today. Jayne found one side of the nice buck that went by me on the final night right in the food plot
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8500/8394341416_a11b6327a5.jpg)
I found one side of a smaller 8 point
Jim, thanks for taking us along on your hunting adventures this season. How many sheds do you usually find in a year?
our best year was two years ago when we had deep snow we found 23. Jayne found 6 in one day that year in another beet field where the deer had to really dig for them.
Last year there was no snow like this year and we only found 7. Its a lot easier when the snow inhibits their movement. Easier to pinpoint the regular bedding areas.
This thread has a chance to NEVER be done.
Some more shed hunting, food plots to plant, trail cams to visit, a few cool nights and we're right back into it!
You've unleashed a monster...
Indeed as you see I am trying to hit 100 pages! LOL
Nice shed pic LBM!
Keep 'em comin'!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
I so enjoyed reading! I am living in Asia and so all my hunting is from my armchair. You gave me a wonderful experience. Thanks.
QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
Indeed as you see I am trying to hit 100 pages! LOL
That's easy. Just put HH in the title and watch those hill guys go nuts. :-)
This has been one cool ride. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your efforts Jim!!
Jayne must have quit helping you look for sheds Jim or you would have posted more pictures by now? :campfire:
Actually the score is now Jayne 3 , me still at 1
:biglaugh:
Jim we need a score update....
Jayne five Jim still sucks at one
Remember Godzilla? He lives! Jayne just found both sides about 1 hour ago
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8418263780_0403966365.jpg)
here he is last Fall
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7986898598_4caa855fea.jpg)
11 inch G2's . the left side's G3 and G4 have a common base. That's why I know this rack is his
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8417171893_ee9ef0533a.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8466/8418269884_7d426a3ccf.jpg)
Like I said on the Shed post.....Holy Cow...!! Well the good news is maybe ,just maybe you can get a crack at him next year......heck I would like a shot at his offspring...lol!
Jayne, you go girl!!!!
That's great Jim see him can't wait to see him next year!!!! Nice to know he didn't fall to a gun hunter :)
ride side is a tad under 70 inches
Holy Smokes! That is a big boy!
just found this matched set 200 yards from my back door on the hillside above the turnips. I have been watching this buck daily. what they lack in length the make up for in mass and weight. Easily the heaviest I have ever personally found. 5.5 inch bases. double brows each side
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8074/8435568881_3c18a9c374.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8095/8435571357_0dd76e127a.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8358/8436657634_209df448fc.jpg)
that is awesome. what an awesome set. Jim.....the bow is coming along. Can't wait to show you.
here he is last October when Andy ivy was here (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8052/8119325634_f62229857d.jpg)
I'm worn out reading. Cant imagine hunting that much ... guess I love camping a little bit too much.
I sure did enjoy this thread. Thanks for letting us go along.
just wanted say thanks for all your time invested in telling us about your days a field..
thanks