They don't get big by being careless.....lol!

Keep it up Jim, and tell ron the truth, you are just hiding the bucks for future reference  

Still at it in December....  Lucky man  


 

outing #90 !  Jim's stand.

Since this am was my last morning hunt this year I decided to end it where I started so many mornings ago.
 

It was a much more difficult climb today then it was on Sept 15th!  The view from the stand was quite different too.  Here it is at just before sunrise.
 

It was a balmy 21 degrees F at sunrise!! At 8:15 I happened to look over my left shoulder and standing not 30 yards away was a young 8 point buck! Finally a buck! He was silently making his way to the west away from me and eventually cleared out a place to bed.  For the next 2 hours, I could occasionally just make out his ears and his rack if he turned his head just so. The temps continued to rise and I was able to stay on stand till almost 11 am. Not having seen another deer and not having to worry about spooking the buck I decided to take a different way home and do a little scouting along the way. The buck was long gone by the time my feet it the ground.  I wasn't quite happy with this stands set up and after walking to and fro around the spot  I have decided it needs to go about 6 feet higher and to be turned about 45 degrees to the West. This will allow better shooting for both right and left handed shooters and will enable a hunter to shoot at either trail the passes below or above the tree. We will fix that before next year for certain.

Hiking back I bumped a couple of nice does before I started my desent home.

outing #91 SVR

The temp approached the 40 F degree mark and the snow was melting! The wind was gusty and out of the south. My nephew arrived for one last hunt and I gave him the option of hunting the food plots up on top.

 

Below the Joel stand ( star) is a stand we hung on a windy day back in October. Its not been sat in since and on Christmas day night from the Sure thing I saw five does milling about in the vicinity of the stand. So I decided it was worth a shot and when walked up the stand I was encouraged in that there were plenty of fresh tracks going in both directions on the trail that passes beneath it. I was in the stand for about 15 minutes when a pair of eagles, one a juvenile the other its parent flew over.  They called to one another as they soared by. Eagles are always a good omen to me.

At 3.30 I spotted three does on the other side of the valley , about half way up from the bean field and the woods edge. They ended getting spooked by my neighbor on his four wheeler down the road. I kept an eye fixed in each direction as best as I could, but the day ended with out seeing any other deer.

The forecast is not pretty. Temps in the minus teens and wind chill warnings for the area for the next two days. I am hoping to get out at least once more. We shall see.

Great season Jim........ and a great read for us. Thank you


 

Congrats on a great season Jim.  

You do have a long season, but over 90 sits.....amazing......      

And so it has ended.  I did not get out again due to the extreme low temps and wind chills.

It was a great season. It was strange to kill a buck so early that I did not do any what I would call aggressive calling and runt hunting this year. While I don't regret a single thing from the season ( apart from the doe incident in September) I hope next year to do more of that style of hunting.

Now its time to start planning and working for next year. Some stands will come down. Others may be tweaked. I've got some big projects to do. Going to enhance several of the bedding areas by doing substantial hinge cuts this winter. Need to improve these areas so the big boys feel more secure. Thanks again to everyone who followed along and gave me words of encouragement.

May 2014 be filled with trad adventures for us all

Thanks for sharing!  Great story and excellent photos to go along with it.

Thanks for taking us along! I know it has been a lot of work to do so, Its been educational and a lot of fun.    

JIm,

Thank you for providing me with one of my favorite threads to follow every year.

Congrats on a great season.  Perhaps you could update from time to time with shed antler reports and explain what hinge gutting is?

Thanks again and Congrats again!!!!

           

Even though I have been hunting a lot myself this year and not always on TG every day,  I don't think I have missed a single post on this thread.  I make a point of not missing a thing on this one!

You have done another outstanding job Jim, sharing much knowledge and entertained us along the way.  Thanks for all the effort you put into it.  I know how much work it is to post all the comments and pictures,  and to keep it up as consistently as you did is truly remarkable!

Thank you, and congratulations on another great season!

Great season Jim, thanks for taking us along. This is a thread I look for every day.

David

I truly enjoy sharing your hunts and I am looking forward to next year already. Congrats on a great season.

Real nice "visiting" with you, Jim. Thanks for the effort, You inspire me to try the same.
Today is the day to plan and dream ahead. I've got my list started...

Jim,

I too thank you.  I love this thread and the pictures of your place.  I just picked up a small camp of my own and I will use some of the things I have learned from following your hunts.

Maybe we will share a camp in Manitoba one of these years, although your bear would be tough to better.

D.P.

Always enjoy the stories and pictures!!!  Thanks!!

Awesome season Jim, hope 2014 will be as successful for you!