Well done sir!!

Good goin'
A little luck never hurts. Usually accompanied with a lesson.

I had a deflection on an Impala years ago and ended up with the arrow hitting about the exact same place.  One of the best blood trails I've ever seen....

Congradulations Jim. Thats a Big Old Doe!

Congrats Jim! Looking forward to Sunday.

I love following this.  It's only a matter of time.

outing # 47  Homestead stand

After recharging the batteries for 48 hours, I drove the 4 wheeler around the bluffs to the homestead stand. I last hunted it on oct 1st!


What a difference 20 days can make. I have great visibility now. I still should do just a wee bit of trimming , but for the most part, things look like they did when I decided this would be a good spot for a stand.

The deer sign is really heavy. fresh tracks in the mud of the pond that needs fixing.


big heavy trails through the grass.


I was in the stand very early and while sitting there got winded twice from different directions!  hmmmm this spot may  just be another one of those dynamite looking spots that you can't hunt because the way the wind works. I saw no deer but was entertained by a Ruff Grouse that was limb walking in the yellow crab apple tree next to me. It was feasting on the small crabs still in the tree.  Bet they make it taste sweet.

I hear ya on the wind......been giving me fits this year. Good stuff as always.......  

That's a good comment, Jim.
I've felt inept or something around some places that are heavily used, but I can't seem to make work.
"The wind gets all swirly in there..."

Congrats    

outing #48 Roundabout.

Is it apparent yet that I like this spot despite the fact I've gotten skunked here each time I have hunted it?

I have a trad hunter here ( finally) and got him situated around 2 30. The wind kept picking up and the grey sky hung low. I thought for a few minutes it was going to start to snow but at 42 F all I felt were a few wet splashes when I looked sky ward. It felt and looked like November except for the fact the deer weren't moving. When it got really windy just before quitting time I climbed out of the big Cedar and took the decoy down.

Just then I noticed several deer heading down in to the beet field below me. All of them were does.  I watched them until it was too dark to see them clearly then circled slowly around them trying not to spook them to hard.

Better luck tomorrow.

I think the rest of this week is really going to heat up Jim.  I had a good buck chase a doe past me tonight.  I'm expecting to read about some good sightings on this thread within the next few days!  I'll be checking in from my treestand.    

Good Reading. Congrats on the downed does.

Great season so far!!!


 

outing # 49 Sure thing.

Joe I sure hope you are right!!

This photo is from last nights spot. This trail is just below where I sat last night with the Decoy. It's why I like this spot so much.  The cedar off the deer's rear is a annual rubbing post.


Eventually I will get photos of some real slammers using this trail.

ok so on to today.

I placed Gene in the Joel stand.

While I set up across the valley in the Sure thing. AS the light increased I began my first rattling sequence . I repeated it about every 20 minutes.  But I got skunked! So did Gene!

I am going to go up top and decoy up there this pm.

I hesitate to post this, but I had the same hit as you had on your last doe, on a small buck in SW Michigan  Saturday AM. He wheeled on release and the arrow went through the lower neck 4-6 inches behind the jaw, immediately producing tons of bright red blood. After a mule kick and a few hops he stopped 15 yards from me and stood, head down, with blood pouring out his mouth and nose. After 5 minutes he stumbled another 15 yards and laid down, and eventually laid his head down. That's usually the end of the story, but in my case the story changed with the sudden appearance of 3 small bucks, initially intrigued and then emboldened by the state of their fallen comrade. A forkhorn tried to butt and lock horns with the fallen deer and eventually started hooking his antlers into the neck. When he caught the arrow wound, the hit deer sprung up and for the next 45 minutes there was a series of stumbles, lay downs in protected spots, e.g between two fallen trees. While watching all this unfold within 25 yards of my stand, the biggest bodied whitetail I ever saw, a wide 8 point,  chased a doe under my stand and stood 10 yards away, eating acorns. When my hunting partner came along to meet me, an hour after the hit, the deer got up , walked another 75 yards, laid down again but with his head up, then got up and wandered up and over a ridge into an area of real thick cover. We lost the blood trail after finding only 3 more drops and couldn't find a blood trial or dead deer despite three very experienced hunters looking for 2 hours. I am convinced that my arrow wnet through the espohagus but missed the carotid and windpipe. The  deer had given up and was ready to die but for the adrenaline boost triggered by the attack by the 3 small bucks that harassed him for 45 minutes after he had lain down to die. He lived long enough to become unfindable by anything  but coyotes. Monday-morning quarterbacking, I should have put a second arrow into the boiler when it was close and ready to fall, but I have never had to do that before and it never occurred to me. I feel better knowing that you were able to find your doe.

outing #50 The Justin stand with decoy.

For those of you who have been decoying for a while, let me just say that tonight was classic!

With a NW wind that was forecast to drop to just 4 mph it was perfect night for a sit at this stand with a decoy (star).


How the decoy looks from the ground at the base of the ladder


and how it looks from above from the stand.


Just at sunset I heard a deer walking in the dry leaves below me. I watched as an 8 point buck appeared on the trail below. He worked his way up the ridge on the trail that goes by my left at just 8 yards. When he got high enough on the hill to be able to see the decoy he froze solid. I had an 8 yard broadside shot at a totally unaware deer, but this was not a buck I wanted to kill.

The buck laid his ears back, puffed up his hair and side walked up the hill to my decoy. The decoy is 25 yards from my stand. When he was 3 yards from the decoy he stopped and gave ol one horn the stink eye. Then he rammed the decoy in the neck with his antlers. The bobble head deer's neck moved left and then back to the right as if to strike back at his challenger. The challenger dodged , spun and was then standing 10 yards in front of me broadside!

My only regret was that I wasn't able to film the action. After about a minute or so the newcomer had had enough and bounded away over the hill.

I couldn't believe the decoy held together because it is a real cheap piece of you know what! I can see why this model is no longer sold in the stores ( I picked it up 1/2 price on amazon!) But tonight it did its job well.

Now that's just having too much entertainment in a deer stand!

No wonder I love following along on your hunts, Jim.

The variety of stand locations and techniques you employ are not only entertaining, but educational as well. Fun and a learning, hard to beat that!

Thanks again for you effort to share with us.