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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: John146 on January 05, 2014, 09:28:00 PM
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My buddy Tim(rcheryhunter)and I just got back from 11 days in Kansas. Our trip started with an all night drive on Friday, December 20th and we arrived in Kansas on the first day of winter and boy was it ever winter in Kansas!
We just beat getting shut down on the highway because of the ice storm that we drove through and in the early morning light of December 21st we were in a winter wonderland. Everything was white. It would be 4 days till we would see the landscape unfrozen.
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:campfire: :campfire:
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We were graciously given the run of a house that a friend of Tim's had offered in a small town near where we hunted and I would soon meet the owner but I knew I would like him when I walked in the living room and saw these!
(http://i.imgur.com/XZzm3Jd.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/C77u586.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/peFTkAB.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/I9PRab1.jpg)
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:campfire: :coffee:
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Tim and I had not hunted together in a few years but we have a hunting heritage together that has accounted for some of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. We have hunted Moose in Alaska, Elk in New Mexico and Wyoming, Deer and Hogs in a whole lot of other places. We call these jaunts - Grand Adventures - thus the name of this thread.
We had a number of objectives on this trip.
The first objective of this trip was to have a BLAST! Our drive up was worth the trip in itself. We were able to catch up on a whole lot and the fellowship was just off the charts!
The second objective was for me to experience Kansas from a deer hunting perspective and hopefully historically too. I love finding out about a place I go to and meet some of the people there. Their stories always fascinate me. Tim has been for the last 10 years and I had pheasant hunted Kansas about 15 years ago but had never been here for deer.
The third objective was to film a deer harvest while hunting on the SPOT 360 Hunting Seat. Tim is a "ground maniac" like me and I was to be armed with a camcorder for this trip. This turned out to be as exciting as hunting - well maybe not quite - but it was a different sort of rush to try to capture happenings on video and I was hoping to do that well. Let's just say my video skills could use some work but I was able to capture some things that will be etched in my memory forever.
Fourth objective was to implement the hunting strategy that is the tag line for the SPOT 360 and that is - Find the Spot, Hunt the Spot. We were hoping to take our gear and daily hit 2 different spots each day when fresh sign was located or in some previously determined spots that Tim had in mind.
Fifth objective was to put the SPOT 360 through its paces in weather that was colder than anything I had ever hunted in before. I needed to see for myself if there would be any issues because of the cold or terrain we would be hunting. Turns out that I was the one with the issues concerning the cold. Thank God Tim brought an extra pair of goose down coveralls because the gear I brought, on one day in particular, was just not enough.
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:campfire: :pray:
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:campfire: :coffee:
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and then??? :coffee:
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Our first morning of hunting took place at a feeder that Tim had set up for his wife on a previous trip. This was the closest place to go to. The roads were not good for travel to the other property we had access to so we decided to go here and "get our feet wet", or frozen - so to speak. This turned out to be a good decision even though everything was so noisy when we walked that we wondered if we might be wasting our time.
Access to this spot was unique. There is a gap in a rock wall that you have to go through to get up on top of a flat where cedars and oak flats are. Here's a picture of the rock wall from below and then a couple with Tim at the top and then coming down when things had thawed out a bit.
(http://i.imgur.com/FAAjJoi.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/k1Owx0A.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/LNekukd.jpg)
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Once on top, Tim set up against a fallen cedar which provided excellent background cover with a shooting lane toward the feeder and I got behind the trunk of the cedar and off to his left. About 2 hours into our hunt a doe came in. There is no editing so excuse my movement and focus issues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yteaKfRPYbs&feature=em-upload_owner
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As you can see my view was not the same as Tim's and neither he nor I was sure about the shot. Tim saw the arrow go past the deer and thought he had shot high. I thought I has heard impact. Turns out we accomplished our third objective on the very first morning hunt in Kansas!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq-ODrjcW-M&feature=em-upload_owner
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What a Grand Adventure!! Hunt in the aftermath of an ice storm, set up on the ground in your first spot and harvest a doe!! Needless to say we were pumped up and felt the trip was a success already! We gave thanks to God for the gift of this deer, its life and the meat it would provide.
After some pics we drug the deer out the way we came in and drove to the local meat locker to drop her off. We celebrated with buffalo wings from the store across the street and headed to the house to prepare for the afternoon hunt.
Here are some pics and I will pick up the story tomorrow. Time for bed.
(http://i.imgur.com/rgNIvw7.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/wjDOWWk.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/W8JyQKK.jpg)
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Great job! Nice doe
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The kind of blood trails I like :thumbsup:
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Excellent thanks for taking us along.
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:campfire:
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Awesome hunt!
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Grand adventure indeed, congrats.
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Looks Grand so far! Can't wait to read the rest.
Bisch
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Nicely done Todd.
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That's a very well done start to this adventure...looking forward to a lot more :campfire:
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Closely following this...I really want to hunt Kansas someday!! :coffee:
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Our next encounter came at a place Tim calls Cedar Draw. This is a place a few years back that Tim had an awesome encounter with an awesome buck. Tim doesn't shoot little bucks in Kansas - anything under Pope and Young. He had this 10 point buck they called Iceman which was right above P&Y and he kept passing him until the last morning of his hunt. He choose to take Iceman on the last day and 5 minutes after he shot, a true bruiser came in chasing does.
Tim took video of this deer they have since named "Murphy" (for Murphy's Law). He was a main frame 10 with 6 kickers and is one of those once in a lifetime bucks. Having already shot Iceman, Tim had to settle for video of this monster till he ran out of tape and of course he gave Tim multiple perfect shot opportunities!
We headed that way making all the noise that totally frozen lanscape makes and I was anxious to see what would happen in Cedar Draw.
(http://i.imgur.com/ECvK2PN.jpg)
I don't know how to edit and make a movie so you will just have to click the links in the order I put them to follow the storyline.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2HWHXxCgGA&feature=player_detailpage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrOmKSKA0dY&feature=player_detailpage
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We set up our seats in Cedar Draw where the cedars meet the hardwood bottom. Tim was to my right and against a large tree while I was behind some short cedar trees which provided great frontal cover. I don't know how to communicate how weird it felt to "sneak" into a spot when sneaky was the last thing we were doing. I just had to get used to the fact that there was no being quiet in this weather. Every step was a loud crunch. Turns out the deer also crunch when they walk.
We had been there for about an hour and I heard a deer walking our way. It sounded like he was going to pop out 20 yards in front but when this spike buck showed up he was plum across the draw. I wonder if the noise bothers them too?
He came in to the corn we had in front of our set up and commenced to power munching. He was right in front of Tim but I could not get the camera high enough to video him where he was. Tim thought I had him on camera and then did something that I had never thought I would ever witness - he decided to ask the deer a question. Put your volume up - it happens quick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1LSWfemWXwA
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Yes, Tim decided to ask the little buck, "You enjoying that?" Well it turns out deer don't like to be asked questions so he left pronto and I was left flabbergasted. ALL THIS NOISE was driving me crazy! The ice made noise, the branches breaking made noise and now my illustrious hunting partner is talking to the deer and making more noise. As you can tell by his laugh Tim was having a BLAST! First objective accomplished again.
I thought this hunt was over but about an hour later here comes a 4 point and he decided to hang out at 12 yards for quite some time. To be that close to deer on the ground just absolutley blows me away!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRk_c80_ZCI&feature=player_detailpage
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Wow....what good videos keep em coming!!
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Well, things started to thaw out and we had a great Christmas dinner with John and his wife who drove up to Kansas to cook and have Christmas dinner with us. CRAZY HOSPITALITY!! We ate like pigs and discussed deer hunting constantly. We were seeing some deer while hunting but nothing in range and no big buck sightings so the strategy sessions were intense.
It was at this time that I got a neat Christmas present. I received a text from my wife with a picture of Steve North with a big deer in front of him. When I called her she informed me that Steve North had sent actual pictures to my house of a big 11 point he killed while using the SPOT 360 Hunting Seat. She wasn't supposed to open them up so she kind of messed up the surprise that Steve had planned but it was great.
I had met Steve about 10 years ago with Tim. We were on our way back from deer hunting in Missouri and we stopped at his house for a visit. This guy has killed some very big deer in his life and most from the ground. Steve broke his back in a tree stand accident about 25 years ago so hunting from the ground became a necessity for years. His detailed memory of every hunt is the most remarkable thing I remember about our first meeting. Simply amazing!
I called him that night to congratulate him on another fine deer. It is a main frame 10 with a 4" kicker coming out of the left G2. It was 21 1/2" wide inside and scored 163. His labrador retriever "Yeller" found it so this ones official name is "Yeller's Buck."
(http://i.imgur.com/BnT7nI5.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/FabACwK.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/agqJPTp.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/5512fTq.jpg)
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Between Christams and New Years we continued hunting hard, sitting on average 6-8 hours a day and we started noticing that the deer seem to want to be high instead of in the bottoms. The acorns were all off the trees and all the ones we found were rotten inside. We are still not sure what the deer were keying on as a food source but there was some green grass scattered in the blue stem brown grass that had been clipped by deer.
I found Kansas, at least where we hunted to be a ground hunters dream. The terrain really limits where deer can move through cover and there was plenty of stuff to crawl into and hide.
When the open grass would meet the beginning of the creek draws you would have scattered Osage Trees and almost all of them had cedars growing at there base. The cedars would get a little thicker the further you moved downhill before ending in a wide open oak flat.
Here are some random pics of where we were and different set ups as well as views from where we were sitting.
Tim saw 3 coyotes cruise this bottom from this spot.
(http://i.imgur.com/VJv7yGj.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/Gyyqkn5.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/uhQ1LmP.jpg)
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Here is a typical set up for us with Tim in front and me behind when the cover let us set up this way. This was in "Death Valley" where 5 bucks were killed by 5 different hunters in 5 days 10 years ago. By the size of the rubs we found there are still some studs roaming the valley, we just did not see them this day.
(http://i.imgur.com/pvWTftj.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/DDWe31V.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/gJy66Gb.jpg)
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Some of the country side. Kansas is a beautiful place!!
(http://i.imgur.com/xaXthJw.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/bsVnKo7.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/7tDi0sg.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/glhVEb7.jpg)
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Critters and things.
(http://i.imgur.com/vY4LwZH.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/eENyfRo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/Tjcrcou.jpg)
An Osage Orange
(http://i.imgur.com/cL1AnWK.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/hZkdDeS.jpg)
Acorns have fallen
(http://i.imgur.com/xrfyfyv.jpg)
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This thread is Great. Congrats on the doe and some nice footage you have.
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Thanks for the adventure, great story and footage!
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Thanks for sharing. I love hunting KS. Lots of big bucks and nice deer. Kansas residents have the science down to an art. Most of them will pass on 130s and 140s all day long. Those are young deer. Thats why they have so many nice bucks running around.
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Todd,
thanks for such a great thread!
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Thanks for the trip to KS
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Loving it. Keep it coming!
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Remember part of the second objective was hopefully some history of the area. On some hunts these sorts of things just add a neat flavor to a new place. Well we had a chance meeting with the farmer that owns one of the properties we hunted and when I asked about the old buildings there he started telling me about his farm, his family and some history.
His Great Grandfather had this farm and we walked over to an old building that I thought was a shed. Turns out it was his GGF's House. He built it right after the Civil War. I guess it would have measured 16' x 20'. Makes you think back to the way things were and the people and how tough they had to be.
The front
(http://i.imgur.com/Tq3aeDe.jpg)
The side
(http://i.imgur.com/VvHcf2q.jpg)
Then he took us over to his Grandfathers house. It was big with 2 chimneys and I thought it must have been quite the home back in the day. It was built in the 1920's and his GF was a prosperous farmer in those days. We went inside and there were LIFE Magazines from the 1940's inside.
(http://i.imgur.com/vNHHcLj.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/6gpFUFZ.jpg)
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This old Fruit Cellar was a neat thing as well. The farmer told us there used to be a homestead up above it and this is where those folks would store their fruits, vegatables and some meats as well. They also find a lot of arrowheads along the river near by.
(http://i.imgur.com/rTqaCQR.jpg)
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Our trip was winding down to the last few days and though we were seeing a few deer the hunting was not what we had hoped. Tim had told me that during the 3 weeks he had been there in November no one had seen a shooter buck for the first time ever. That pattern was playing out with us as well but we were having a good time nonetheless.
Tim had in mind a spot on the property we had not went in yet called the Rock Draw and it had all the ingredients of where we had been seeing the deer moving. High grassy hills with denser cedars butting up to the oak flats. We hit fresh sign right where we thought we would and jumped a deer when we were picking out a spot to sit. Turns out we were in the right spot for some fur to show up and not just deer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tJQC-EJW1rc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VIokqVBIUYg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jby9nLEmSdQ
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Having that young buck come right to 10 yards that way was awesome to say the least! When the buck flew by us at 7 yards I thought he had pick off Tim but this coyote chased him for a bit - I guess to see if he was injured or weak?? I was flabbergasted when the coyote stopped right next to me at 6 yards.
I was looking at him before I ever got the camera around and I had never been that close to one before. For a minute there I felt like Thumper Dunker! Tim almost crowned him and I figured WOW! What a hunt thinking it was over.
About 15 minutes later I looked to my left and saw the back half of a deer 35 yards away. I couldn't get the camera up in time to get this doe coming in because she was facing us till she banked up the hill. Didn't figure that Tim would be able to shoot through the cover we had on the left side of us but she stopped in a hole. Again, forgive my poor camera work. Someone who would know what they were doing could have gotten a lot better footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bO4Fw_bVQfU
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After Tim shot we thought he had hit the limbs above him but turns out there was a 2 foot high tree trunk about 2" in diameter that was right where it did not need to be. At the end of that clip you see Tim pointing to another deer. He could see it and thought it was that does yearling but I never got it on camera.
We waiting about 15 minutes and went up the hill and just as Tim thought we found the arrow laying there. Only about 3" of penetration and just a few bits of meat on the blade so we were convinced and thankful that it was just a flesh wound and she would be fine.
We went back to our seats to sit out the hour or so we had left to hunt. I was so excited I couldn't hardly stand myself as I sat there thinking on what just happened. We came into an un scouted area, found sign, set up and was covered up in fur!
As if to complete what to me was the greatest day of hunting we had this happened as the sun was going down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qWavhTlq9Q&feature=player_detailpage
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Grand adventure for sure Todd! Thanks for sharing your hunt. I'm really liking my Spot 360 for late season ground hunting. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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We hunted a couple more days and actually saw a shooter buck on the last morning about 300 yards away on the other side of a draw. We saw 6 deer that morning. He looked to be 20" wide and Tim saw some good tine length so he would have certainly got an arrow launched at him if he would have come in range.
We said goodbye to John and his awesome wife Melinda and drove all night to get back home. I like Kansas alot and hope I get the chance to go back again one day. The ground hunting opportunities there are abundant and they certainly have some trophy bucks. I gained a whole new appreciation for you northern guys that hunt in that cold, cold weather. The clothes you have to wear just to stay out there creates challenges with your shooting as well as mobility.
Every objective was accomplished on this hunt. Tim and I had a great time hunting and videoing as well as just hanging out. The history and terrain was new to me and that is always exciting. The SPOT 360 worked flawlessly. We never found a spot that we could not set up and to sit that many days in a row without being stoved up was a wonderfully new experience. Even the strategy - Find the Spot, Hunt the Spot - worked pretty well considering the deer movement was not what they said it usually is. Like every hunt, memories are made and things happen that you could just never predict.
As we were knocking down the miles on the way back we spoke of how blessed we are to be hunters and to have experienced a trip like this. Many a man will never see what we saw or hear what we heard. I am thankful that I am a hunter and especially that my hunting led me to traditional archery. Not sure exactly how that happened but sure glad it did.
And I thought back to that sunset when those geese were honking as they flew overhead. How the Holy Spirit fell over me as I listened to all of creation giving God glory once again.
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Great tale and time, no big bucks, but an appreciation of all that really matters.
Thanks for sharing.
My strategy when it's "crunchy" is to TRY and sound like a deer walking. Several steps with a pause. Some more and pause. Listen to them coming in and try to mimic that. Can't say it works, but can't say it doesn't either. Makes me feel better at least!
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Thank you for sharing that awesome adventure and the videos were very cool. What type of video camera did you use?
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I really enjoyed this thread! I found myself holding my breath during the close encounters with the deer! Luckily I didn't have a bow in my hands or I might have put a hole through a wall! :biglaugh:
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
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Thanks for the kind words guys. I have a whole new appreciation for guys like Guru who put together videos and pictures so well. It is time consuming but really neat to preserve the memories and also share. I need to stay wide zoom more.
Mr.Mac, Glad you are enjoying your SPOT 360.
Hopewell Tom, Tim and I did actually employ that technique on a few ocassions when we got close to where we hunted. We had first heard of this at a G Fred Asbell Clinic at Black Widow. Fred threw down Corn Flakes and it was amazing how deer like it sounded. He had on moccasins! A little harder to do in boots that weigh 20 pounds! It made me feel better too!
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For anyone wondering how the 'ground game' can be won, this would be a great thread to read through!
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Nanuk, The camera was a Canon Digital but I don't remember the model number. It was Tim's camera and he is out of town right now. The footage on a HD TV was so clear it was amazing. We would plug it in every night and play back what I had videoed. Amazing clarity and it is so small to carry. Also, the battery is this little tiny thing but even in that cold temperature it would hold charge unbelievably. Only thing I did not like was that the video files when downloaded were in a format on Canon's software that had to be converted to a file that you could share which took a lot of time.
Bernie, You crack me up because I can relate!
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Very cool Todd!
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And I thought back to that sunset when those geese were honking as they flew overhead. How the Holy Spirit fell over me as I listened to all of creation giving God glory once again.
I had very similar experience just watching the video :thumbsup:
Praise God :campfire:
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Great stuff! :clapper:
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I think that 360 chair may be exactly what I need. Being on public land only I can think of a bunch of spots where being on the ground could give me an edge. The two chairs I have now don't swivel so its really hard to make certain shots without getting off the chair completely. I pretty much only treestand hunt now but this could really help in areas where the trees aren't good for stands.
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Todd tell Tim congrats on a nice doe. It sure looked cold. I be giving the spot 360 a good workout next week in Ohio. I'll let you know how it does.
Will(Trapper)
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Altiman94,
If you saw the videos above where Tim shot at the coyote to his right side and then the doe to his hard left side you see the benefit of a seat that swivels. Heck, when the small buck ran past me I could never have turned and videoed him if the seat I were on did not swivel.
The doe that Tim shot when his bow hit the small tree ran up the same hill as the buck but on the very opposite hard left. I did not capture her on video but had the camera toward her. I swiveled in the direction she went and watched her go up that hill. I almost don't think about the benefits of the swiveling capabilities while hunting but afterwards it really hits home and you know things could have been a lot different.
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Trapper, I will tell Tim congrats. Good talking to you today. Hope your hunt is a great success!!!
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Finally had a chance to read through this thread and watch all the videos! Grand adventure indeed! Thanks for taking us along… really enjoyed it!
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Toddly,
Great post, I really enjoyed it and I was there! It looks a lot warmer on video!! LOL You did an awesome job on the post, and I'm glad I was able to be a part of it with you. GOD willing, we will do it again next year and I'll video you shooting a Kansas buck on the Spot 360, which is, by the way, the most versatile and comfortable seat I have ever used. Thanks again for another grand adventure. I'll be in touch.
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Tim, So I see you have made it back from "thawing out" in the Carribean after freezing in Kansas!!! LOL! Your right, it looks a lot warmer on video. Thanks for the insulated coveralls. I owe you one for that. Can't wait to do it again.