Howdy Gang,
Pretty cranked up right now, leaving tomorrow for Kenny's for what I'm sure will be a great hunt. All the pictures and threads on here over the years have whipped me into a lather of anticipation, I will finally get to experience Kenny's first hand.
Going to be hunting with Jim Jones of Firefly Bows so that is a huge bonus. Jim and I have worked together for many years but never actually been able to meet in person so I am really looking forward to spending time with him as well. All this was put together by a couple other great Trad Gangers, Steve "jacobsladder" and Mike "Yellowdog" so this will be an all Trad Gang hunt extravaganza! Who could ask for more?
Not sure Mike is gonna make it :campfire:
Good hunting and have a great time! Be safe!
Sent you a PM Tim!
Have a great trip, That place is awesome! It sounds like you will have a top shelf Crew to hunt with.
Have fun, hunt safe. Sounds like a great time.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Jim Jones and he is a fine gentlemen as well as an incredible bowyer.
I also own a couple of his artistic creations. But since you sell them you already know about that.
Enjoy your hunt and be sure to share about your adventures
Good luck!
Bisch
Good luck Tim!
Tim, Jim, and Steve made it in last nite. All great guys!
Mike isn't able to make it, darn it!
You know, every guy that has ever been here has been pretty likeable, maybe it just runs with trad equipment...
I think they are gonna hunt the corn on the N place tonite, then the wind changes and weather goes colder .
Tim got here just before dark and we made a quick road tour, saw 2 deer in the lights on road, one was a big squarebody deer, feel sure it was a pretty good buck but couldn't see headgear. He was wasting no time clearing the fence!
Looking forward to the reports, what a great bunch to share camp with.
Yup, disappointed would be an understatement. Been looking forward to this week for the past year. Been healthy and active with not so much as a problem my entire life. What started as a little trouble sleeping around the end of September quickly turned into a slight limp followed by a bad limp then unbelievable leg pain and not being able to walk at all. Completely took me out of commission for the last four weeks. A battery of tests and multiple referrals and visits to medical specialists over the last month ended with a consultation with a Neurosurgeon last Friday and a Lumbar Spinal Epidural this past Tuesday.
Moral of the story, never take your health for granted!
:nono: :nono: :nono:
Well Mike, I went and let him go, the one I had tied up for ya!
You heal up buddy! Wish you coulda made it but you gotta take care of yourself. There will be another day and another hunt....
Mike, I hope you get all that health stuff sorted out. I'm praying for you.
Kenny, I know its early but are there any updates???
They were in the deer tonite in the cut corn!! Got some texts, but I gotta go over and see if there is blood on anybodies bow or not!
Oh, and they lost 36 eggs on the way back from the grocery store.... :dunno: :D
You guys have a great hunt! Kenny has become a good friend and I can think of no place I'd rather hunt.
We were there when the corn was standing and I'd love to see what's going on now that it's been cut.
Mike,
Praying you have a complete recovery and back in the fields before long!
The rest of you guys get to work and pull Mikes load and bring home the bacon...uh...tenderloins :rolleyes:
Good luck and have fun.
We will be waiting for tales!! :campfire:
Have done biz with Tim and found him to be a saint... and am tickled to death he is taking a break from biz and his tough job to get in some hunt time!
YD, Sounds like you've got the right team behind you to figure out what's up and how to get it resolved...
Anytime spent at Kenny's would be a good time...with such good brothers of the bow, only puts icing on the cake...
Question: How DO you bake the cake without the eggs? :rolleyes: :knothead:
I think I'm looking forward to that part of the story as much as the hunting tales...! :jumper:
Seems the cut corn ain't the only place with big deer! :eek: :D
Jim was in the hornet stand this morning and saw the biggest bodied deer he had ever seen! They get large and fat on good ag products! LOL
Good luck guys. Stay after them.
Whew! We have been busy, but that is a good thing! Steve (jacobladder) has some kinda fancy lap top set up that will let me post an update from Kenny's, thanks Steve!
Well first off Kenny the man the legend is "da bomb.com" so that makes it easy to be here right off.
Then you start scouting around and hunting and realize this place is covered in deer including some really nice bucks. Yeehaw! Okay, "really nice" doesn't cover it, "bruisers" is a little better.
Been really windy but we still have been in deer. Steve was covered in deer last night in the cut corn. He had a couple close, but with some big bucks lurking nearby he was hesitant to drop the string. Don't blame him on that one!
This morning Jim saw what he describes as the biggest deer he's ever seen, ever, over by the hornet stand. He was too far for a shot opportunity but Jim's dreams are already haunted by that buck. Fortunately he has quite a few more days to catch up with him.
I hunted the "Guru gap" stand tonight and must have seen 40 turkeys and 12-15 deer, one little 6 point in range but he came from the one spot he shouldn't have and busted me (figures). I don't know that I normally woulda shot him anyway, but with two buck tags still in my pocket and the season winding down he mighta paid. Boy what a place though, it's like a private game reserve back there!
Being here with Jim and Steve is great, fine company just makes a hunt so much more enjoyable.
Oh, we found the eggs!
Hopin you guys smoke a couple while I'm at work!! Do it late so Zwickey can trail em please! :D
I got a text from Steve reporting great deer activity and sightings. Waiting for the text with kill pics when they get one.
:campfire: :coffee:
Its time for Zwickey to have a job.
:campfire: :coffee:
My, my, my...
Couldn't happen to greater people... judging by Tim and since he likes his companions, they MUST be good'uns!
Hope you guys get some shooting and bring home meat... memories are wonderful, but a plate full of venison enhances those memories or so I'm told!
:eek: :knothead:
Updates....?
Just talked to Steve about an hour or so ago. They are having a great time and have been covered in deer. Several opportunities and I think things are about to heat up. More to follow for sure.
:archer2:
Mike
Thanks for the update. Speedy recovery to you... :readit: :readit:
Still seeing plenty of deer. Things just haven't aligned yet.
My theory on trad bowhunting is a lot of things have to go right to shoot a deer, but only one thing wrong and no go.
I think they are enjoying tho, and that is the most important part.
I know I'm enjoying visiting with all three of them!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Well we've got a connection at the moment so I'll throw in a little update. Far too many stories to begin to tell but I'll give a summary.
LOTS of deer. I guess that isn't news. But LOTS of large bucks running around. So many that it messes with your head! :knothead:
I am normally not much of a trophy hunter, I immensely enjoy shooting does and am pretty much a shoot and drag kind of guy. But here, with all these good bucks, I have held off. I have passed a slam dunk shot on a little doe, a so so shot on a big doe, and let two different smaller bucks walk despite their pretending to be 3d targets for 10-15 minutes at a time. :D I see deer virtually every time out and just this morning stumbled ( :help: ) into a couple of nice ones again. They are still mature whitetails though, so not easy nuts to crack but wow what a fun hunt this has been! It is now nearing the end however so my restraint may not hold. :p
Jim Jones has still been hard on a large buck he spotted the very first morning. He has had 4 encounters, 3 of them in bow range, but he hasn't quite been able get the one up on him in the chess game. He is having great fun, but since he is hard on that buck deep in a wood lot he has seen fewer deer overall.
Steve has been voted "most likely to be run over by deer", we have all seen plenty but Steve seems to be a magnet. He has several times found himself surrounded and had the problem of too many deer a couple of times. He tried to draw twice on two different large does at just 7 yards on the ground but got busted before he could execute. He too has seen plenty of good bucks.
What a great place! It has been a fantastic hunt even if nothing else happened from here on out. :campfire:
Great update. keep at it guy's.
Man this sounds great.
:thumbsup:
Keep at it. Good Luck :coffee:
Well I am back from one the best hunts of my life. Thanks Kenny! No deer were harmed during this hunt but only because we chose for it to be that way. Each of us had at least one deer we had dead to rights that we let walk. Anyway I thought I'd post a couple pics for those interested.
Here's the hacienda, great accommodations that totally makes the hunt.
(http://s18.postimg.org/uy6jv40w9/20141201_100927.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
These are no particular order, sorry. Here's a nice scrape I found, despite it being early December it had been cleaned up fairly recently.
(http://s22.postimg.org/c13do9m4h/20141204_104044.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
Rubs were all over the place but this one caught my attention! That's one of my Firefly Bows for reference. :D
(http://s30.postimg.org/5sfaslwsx/20141204_104534.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
Here's the world's best host Kenny who had stopped by for a visit. I tried to get a picture when he didn't know I was taking one but he is too smart for that! Kenny knows more about the place and what the deer are doing than the deer do.
(http://s23.postimg.org/rxb3hocl7/20141205_104222.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
Glad you had a good hunt Tim. I was hoping to see some hero pics today, but we all know that is not the only measure of success. Thanks for the pictures and reports. We are really looking forward to getting out there next week.
Mac we were all hoping for some hero pics but I guess we'll just have to make up for it next time.
Here is Firefly bowyer Jim Jones plotting his next attack on the big buck in the wood lot. Jim has a quip for most situations and is sure fun to be around. He knows so much about bows and building them you can learn a lot if you shut up and listen. :p
(http://s9.postimg.org/zaaojq8cv/20141205_104301.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
Here is Jim with our hunt companion Steve. He has a honey locust board he got from Kenny. Sometimes I wasn't sure if Jim came for the deer or to talk bow building with Kenny. That and Jim had to see all the wood Kenny had, Jim has enough bow wood to last him 3 lifetimes but he can't stop buying more!
Steve is a deer magnet and very good hunter. He has one of the best eyes for spotting deer I've ever seen too. By the end of the hunt Jim and I figured out Steve was cheating though, turns out he was using Diet Pepsi for bait! :D
(http://s4.postimg.org/6dqnie2bh/20141205_110301.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
Jim and I celebrate the renewal of another multi-million dollar Braveheart Archery / Firefly Bows supply contract. :laughing:
(http://s11.postimg.org/9n94v891v/20141205_110329.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
Sounds like a great trip!
Thanks for taking us along on the hunt!!
Sounds like a great time was had by all! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
What a great bunch!! I really enjoyed visiting them (every nite I think) and hearing the hunt stories.
Deer are a little jittery after gun, but with no one hunting the lease during the gun season, I think they move onto it for some quiet!
These guys still got close to several deer, but like me, they are a bit picky about what they shoot.
Guys, I really enjoyed the heck out of it, hope you all had as much fun as it was for me!!
Edit- I hunted the lease 4 times in gun season with longbow.
Thanks again Kenny! My boy (Jake) is smiling ear to ear!
:bigsmyl:
Tim and Jim....Thanks for such a great hunt! Mike, I've got a great stand site for you next year!!!! Problem is that Kenny's Lease has so much deer sign that it's all good!!!!
Feast or Famine, huh? Too much or too little... what a delemma?! NOT! :D
Glad you gents had such a great time! Diet Pepsi for a bait, huh? hmmm... guess a body should keep an open mind, eh, Tim?! :)
Congrats on the best way to enjoy a hunt... by being there!
Several bucks to choose from. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, and tall ones! No shortage of long nose does to keep you honest! Had multiple deer at point blank range from the ground. I opted to wait out one of the big bucks that had been dodging us all week. They obviously get big for a reason :)
Heres a couple Steve stalked up on....
Not sure why, but both dead about 50 yards apart and less than a hundred yards from road!
I get a little credit on the big one, he was going to cut the head off the dark buck and I told him a shortcut to get there a bit easier, thereupon he found the bigger one! Diet pepsi works for buck lure and stalking skills!! ;) :D
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d34/kennym/IMG_0902_zps8b09a3b5.jpg) (http://s32.photobucket.com/user/kennym/media/IMG_0902_zps8b09a3b5.jpg.html)
Oh, never borrow a saw from me either! :laughing:
I'd like to add to this story....The beauty of Kenny's Lease is the two farms are not gun hunted. These 2 bucks I believe were possibly shot on a neighboring farm and tried to possibly escape across the road to Kennys south farm which is just a sanctuary of fantastic deer cover. I jumped a beautiful symmetrical buck that will be as big as the nice 10 pt next year. He was bedded just a few hundred yards from where these 2 expired. Ken...Jim thought the saw worked great :biglaugh: (http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii152/jacobsladdergrice/imagejpg1_zps7b42b492.jpg) (http://s263.photobucket.com/user/jacobsladdergrice/media/imagejpg1_zps7b42b492.jpg.html)
Dang, I wondered who cut that tree down!
Must be sharp. Didn't even break a sweat...
Great stories and Pictures guys!
Looks like another great hunt and sure makes me want to head back over that way, Kenny is such a great guy. Hate seeing those dead deer and that big oak cut down in there prime but there are plenty more out there :thumbsup:
Tracy
Tracy, that is the oak right on the road, 106 rings on it by a quick count. I hate it, there was always deer under it in the fall when you topped the hill by cabin!