I love everything about this sport; I love the arrow threads; I love the new bow threads; I love the strategy threads.
I love shooting my bow and working with arrows and strategizing for hunts and more... BUT...
This is the time of year I adore! Hunting season is upon us, so keep the hunting stories coming! This (in my humble mind) is the essence of this site!
Take pictures, jot your notes, let the arrows and fly, and above all - SHARE YOUR ADVENTURES!
Thanks to those who have shared so far, and lets make this year a good one!
I agree this is what it all boils down to. I've suffered all summer saving my vacation to hunt , messed with and fine tuned gear and scouted all I could , our season open in 3 weeks, I can't wait, and love seeing pics and reading of everyone's adventures this time of year
Hers one for you, this happened to me Saturday morning.
I was in one of my favorite stands before light sweating like crazy but it was the opener after all. All was quiet until about 8 when a bachelor group of 3 bucks were heading my way. 2 of these were shooters One was a beautiful 8 point long tines good mass and the other was a Gnarly 7 point with great mass decent tine length and about 18 inches wide. As they got closer I realized I was going to have a 15 yard broadside shot so I readied my new bow for the shot. Its a 69 inch selfbow made by Arvin Weaver. Just before the 7 gets in my shooting lane I start to put tension on the string as I cant the bow. While canting I get it hung up in a limb above me. It was a quiet morning with very light wind so needless to say at that range he turn right at the ruckus hes hearing from above. Pegs me and runs off to about 30 yds to assess things. The 8 goes by and stops out at about 25. They spooked a little but I have definitely scared deer worse. After they left and things calmed back down I sat back down and smiled and said to myself they won today. Who wants to fill there buck tag on the opener anyway. The funny thing is as it got daylight this morning I looked at the branch I got hung in and thought I should prune that a little, then decided naw it will be ok. When will I learn to listen to myself.
YES! the shared stories are my favorite part of this site as well. Make me keep coming back!
I may not be able to get out this year. My rehab for my new knee is not going well. But, If I can get out I will be sure to share every aspect of the hunt. Being in the woods and watching nature do her thing is a great way to spend quality time. If you get to take a shot......or even close, even better.
Arrowbuster,
That's heart-pounding way to break in the season!
Thanks for sharing.
Hopefully I can have some pig stories before too long.
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Bisch
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Bisch
This is definatly my favorite time of year! I love reading all the hunt stories and enjoying the pictures. Cant get enough of it!
Hoping to have a pic up soon of my first 2015 kill as the NJ early deer opens on Saturday. Supposed to be a little warm but couldn't care less. Have some young guys in the club who don't go out early season because of the heat. Can't figure this out as they are still working (unlike I)and this just gives them a couple of more days to hunt. Oh well.
I like the hunt stories best of all. I especially like the western and mountain pictures. Photos of camps taken at meal time are really entertaining, also. I'm not a picture taker, but I enjoy the stories and photos of the members.
Agree as well!!!
My first week of the year, dove season. My goal is to pass shoot a dove on the wing with my new ambidextrous Jd Berry.. I gathered a quiver load of tomato stakes with .38 specials on the blunted arrows and headed out for a beaver pond on a small stream. The first dove of the year goes streaking by about 35 or 40 yards out. I raised my bow into action gave the dove a long lead, the elevation was perfect. I did not miss that dove by the broadside of a barn, more like the broadside of my house. I cracked open an RC Cola, it was hot and I needed some sympathy, there were no doves anywhere. I was about ready to give up, it was getting close supper time, then faster than I could put my RC down about 20 doves landed right in front of me. I grabbed my bow and shot fairly fast at the closest one and missed. All but three of the doves took off. I nocked another arrow, took a breath and shot with a bit more control, flup, I got one. The other two took off before I could get off another shot. I got up to get my trophy and pick up my arrows. I put the arrow that hit on the bow string and headed back to my Huntmor, when I heard a dove behind me. Two had landed back on the sand bar, I turned and shot fast, dove number two down. I was hot, thirsty and even more thirsty when I found that I had spilled my bottle of RC Cola. I decided that was enough for the first day and headed home. The next day I almost hit one out of the air, the feathered end of my arrow made contact on a long shot and missed a few more. It was a little irritating when about a hundred of them landed on a rural power line about 70 yards away to watch me toss arrows into a large switch grass plot. I will keep trying, but I am thinking that hitting a pure pass shot at a fly by dove with a longbow has to have a lot of luck with it. Pond hunting will be more productive.
No elk were harmed during the course of my first day out. Matter of fact, no elk were seen! :biglaugh:
The view from the top. Yep, I start at 10,200 and hunt down to 8600. In the rockies, often what goes down must come back up.
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Hunting%20Pics/20150830%20black%20hole%20hunt/contdivide_zps0t6duizv.jpg)
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Hunting%20Pics/20150830%20black%20hole%20hunt/ridge_zpscill3nfs.jpg)
The elk route to a night feeding area. Full moon was killing me.
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Hunting%20Pics/20150830%20black%20hole%20hunt/trail_zpsm7xzz9sm.jpg)
A bull took it all out on this tree last year.
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Hunting%20Pics/20150830%20black%20hole%20hunt/rub_zpsahjkzmym.jpg)
Many years ago this was mining country.
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Hunting%20Pics/20150830%20black%20hole%20hunt/boiler1_zpszxwy24zm.jpg)
And, finally, the new Torges Seat will be a permanent fixture on my day pack. Just the ticket for gimpy old guy.
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Hunting%20Pics/20150830%20black%20hole%20hunt/torges%20seat_zpsam5k241t.jpg)
Agree.
A verse from the ShrewHaven song.
" Hang up your buck on our deer hanging rail
then sit by the fire and tell us your tale
for the stories of hunting is why we come here
to hear the stories and to hunt for the great whitetail deer"
(http://***********.bowsite.com/tf/pics/00small20529075.JPG)
(http://***********.bowsite.com/tf/pics/00small33506994.JPG)
I have written 99% of all hunting stories in journals since I killed my first deer at the age of 9. My most recent story involved this big bodied six point in the low country of SC. He is a 200 pounder and any deer that reaches that mark in SC is a shooter in my book. I have tuned, re-tuned, culled, shortened, fletched, refletched, tuned some more, sharpened, resharpened and shot COUNTLESSS times over 20 river cane arrows with 115 grain grizzly heads all summer long. I finally narrowed down the 6 and they made it into my quiver. I have hunted several times so far, and I have seen a couple really nice bucks, but I will share this story for now.
This one particular hunt found me in a red oak on a shallow bench between high ground and swamp. It can't be more than 5 feet of difference, but I noticed it and I followed it to the nearest edge I could find. It just so happened to be a cutover which was exactly what I love to find, so I climbed a tree. at 7:20 I heard a doe moving swiftly through the wet leaves. It had been raining off and on all afternoon and she was already 25 yards when I first saw her. Behind her came the big six point. I barely had time to think as he cruised right in behind her and offered me a very slight quartering to, almost perfectly broadside shot at 10 yards. I drew, settled as I had all summer and I missed. I watched as my river cane shaft sailed harmlessly over his back. I was pretty disappointed, because when a plan comes together like that and you blow it, it can be pretty upsetting. I sat for the remainder of the evening and watched a small spike make a rub and I finally got down at dark.
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