Bish, I am not with Shiloh.  The guys I know are all from the Muskogee area.

No luck this morning.  In fact, I didn't see a deer so I moved down on a Greek bottom (which has 4 wood ducks floating around in it as I type this) :-). about 300 yards from where I was.  Some of the guys in my group have passed on young bucks and have seen does from a distance.  They are offering s quality pass on does and hogs (quality pass is an automatic ticket to come back next year on the same weekend)... Needless to say that makes does and hogs quite desirable.
Alright, no more tradganging from the stand.  Wish me luck!
I'll report back tonight.

Sounds awfully tempting to fill the freezer with a doe and win the free prize to come back again...  Touch choice I suppose.  

(can't eat the antlers)

good luck

QuoteOriginally posted by TealCoin:
Sounds awfully tempting to fill the freezer with a doe and win the free prize to come back again...  Touch choice I suppose.  

(can't eat the antlers)

Oh no choice at all... You can shoot two deer.  One buck and one doe, or if you shoot a buck over 115" then they give you a second buck tag.

This must be what deer hunting in heaven is like

Well Tim, waiting for your report! The weather was awesome this weekend, so you lucked out there. I saw some pretty good deer activity 150 miles west of you guys, but no active signs (chasing) of the rut yet. It is sure close though. Heard reports this morning of increased deer/car collisions. Hope you had a great weekend and am anxious to hear all about it!

Well... the hunt is over.  I was too exhausted to post last night!  It was a rough weekend for the all the guys I know... except for one!  My buddy Jon stuck a nice 10 point that scored 136, which was 10 inches more than needed to get a rock put in the ground.  

I had a really hard time just getting on deer.  I saw a doe the first morning but she never got in range.  Second day I hunted two different spots and saw zero deer all day.  

The last morning dawned crisp and calm and I had a good feeling.  I dawned the face paint for extra mojo...

 


The final stump speech before we went out included a Sunday morning message by one of the guys.  Not sure who he was but he talked about how life, like hunting, is all about perspective.  You can always look at the negative and be pessimistic, or you can choose to look at the positive, and stay optimistic.  He talked about how the apostle Paul wrote such hopeful things while sitting in a jail cell.  Good encouragement for the last hunt (not to mention life in general).

 

So with renewed optimism I went to a spot near a buddy.  He had been seeing deer and another guy who had left the day before had missed a doe so I went in where he was.  I picked the best tree I could in the dark, climbed up and waited for daylight.  
About 7:50 out of nowhere I see a decent buck headed towards me... definitely a shooter for the last day.   Unfortunately, he is on my left, which has very spotty shooting lanes (which I was unable to determine in the dark).  He stopped behind a cedar tree and I found a hole to shoot through on the other side.  When he came out I grunted to stop him... and it did the exact opposite.  It spooked him!  He bolts forward another 15 yards and stops about 25 - 30 years from my stand.  There is all kinds of branches and limbs between us but I knew it would be my only opportunity.  I let one rip and the shot went low... not sure if I got a deflection or just missed (for the sake of my ego, let's assume the former     :rolleyes:      
He was off like a rocket never to be seen again.  I did see a doe a couple hours later but she was 60 yards away.  

One of our guys did shoot a doe yesterday morning but wasn't able to find her and kind of ran out of time as the hunt ends at noon.  

Sorry no pics from the field.  Because it's an active military base pictures are strictly forbidden except from camp.

Thanks for following along.  

I'll try to get a pic of my buddies deer posted a little later.

Congrats to your buddy! Sounds like a nice buck!

Bisch

Here's my buddy with his buck.  Big Jon... He is a killer!

Wow, that is a nice buck! Congrats to Jon! Sounds like you had a great time, without gutting and dragging :-) Lot's of season left

Awesome story!  Congrats to your buddy on the nice buck!

While reading your final report, it really hit me pretty hard.  I thank you for sharing the + vs - speech that gentleman shared.  I needed to hear that today!

Sounds like a great trip was had!

Hes a fine beast, congrats Big jon.

Thanks for sharing your hunt. Deer Creek can be a tough nut to crack but it sounds like you had a good weekend. My buddy posted pics yesterday of a 142" he killed at Mcaap Sunday morning. I'm not sure which zone he hunted but it looks like the big boys were up on their feet this weekend.

QuoteOriginally posted by kiamichi kid:
Thanks for sharing your hunt. Deer Creek can be a tough nut to crack but it sounds like you had a good weekend. My buddy posted pics yesterday of a 142" he killed at Mcaap Sunday morning. I'm not sure which zone he hunted but it looks like the big boys were up on their feet this weekend.

Man it was a tough nut to crack!   We were hunting the far north end and in an effort to get away from people and pressure, we walked about a mile back in there.  We found deer sign but nothing real concentrated.  Meanwhile, the guys killing all the deer are 200 yards from their trucks between the bunkers!  

I told myself last time I was there that next time I would hunt the bunkers... and I should have stuck with that plan.  Those bunkers form natural funnels where you can just get on the deer better.  Lesson learned.

Congrats on a great hunt with Friends, Congrats to Big John as well.

Great pics and a great story Tim. I had a good time. Hopefully we can get drawn again soon.