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

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

Love it out there!

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

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

   

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

       

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

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

   

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

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

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

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

QuoteOriginally posted by Tim:     [/QB]

That would put a smile on my face too.    

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

This is going to be good.

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

Hello Roy,

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

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

Tim

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

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

   

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

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

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

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

   

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

Great story telling!    

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tim

Great story telling Tim! Now where's Mark?

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

Good stuff, Tim    !!