6th Annual Southern Indiana Bowhunt

[John Scifres]

We had our 6th annual bowhunt in southern Indiana this weekend.  It was a blast as usual.  3 guys had to cancel last minute so we were short a couple regulars but 6 of us were there.

My brother Mike was there on Wednesday and set up my home away from home.

 

He set his stand and had several deer come in at last light but couldn't get a shot.

Billy and Merl also showed up Wednesday.  Billy got out but nothing showed for him.  Merl was just camping this year.  Here's Billy's abode, a home-made teardrop.

 

Moleman was there on Thursday and picked his geetar for us at the fire.  He is very talented and was an abolute hoot.  He was our only rookie this year but he'll be back.  He escaped before the camera came out so no pics of his cool Baker tent setup.

I showed up Thursday also.  I hunted the evening and found a really nice trail but nothing showed.  In the morning I had 2 deer walk nearby as I sat in my ghillie gaurding a saddle in the ridge.  No shots but a nice encounter with some pretty does.

Overall the deer hunting was pretty slow.  There are so many acorns on the ground that we suspect the deer simply don't have to move much.  We've had lots of rain and all the creeks are full so water isn't a movement inducer either.  No more deer were seen until Saturday evening despite our covering lots of ground.  There is still sign in the area but we didn't see a lot of deer flesh on the hoof.

Friday evening was wet and rainy with a cold front moving through.  I got soaked and had to quit 30 minutes early.  Stiks-n-Strings shows up around midnight.  Mike and I and Kris had a blast around the fire after he showed up.  Unfortunately he kept us up too late so we decided to sleep in    

Here's Stiks' hammock setup.
 

[John Scifres]

Saturday was a great day around the camp.  Mike wanted to make some momentos of the hunt so he came up with these.
   

   

Everybody gets one and you get an arrowhead for every year you attend.  Billy and I are the only ones with a perfect record.

   

John "Americanhunter7" Reichenbacker came by for a visit in the afternoon.  He was working lots of overtime as a local town's police officer so couldn't stick around but it was good to see him again.

That afternoon's hunt was a good one for me as I covered a lot of ground and learned how some recent logging in the area had affected deer movement.  As I was walking a trail to get to the spot I was to sit that night, I spooked a turkey. Knowing others were probably nearby I got an arrow on the string in time to see one floundering as she ran through some greenbrier I drew and shot just as she broke free and shot just behind her.  It was really cool.  I got to my spot and saw a couple fresh scrapes on the trail I was hunting.  I was very optimistic for the evening.  However, no deer showed up all evening.  The shot at the turkey made my night though.

Kris was the only one to see any deer as 5 does walked by his second-choice tree 30 yards away.  That evening we fired up the chili pot, the applie pie cocktails and a few other things.  It was a great night for a large fire and a jovial group of hunters.

The morning came too early for any of us to shake off the party so we just got up and made breakfast a couple hours ofter first light.

   

Packing up started after and we all headed out about noon just after the group pic.

   

It was another great time and makes me grateful for all my trad friends.  Thanks for coming guys.  See you next year.

[Billy]

Home and the camper is unpacked from hunting; and repacked for camping...

Saw some old and met a new friend. Had a blast!!

Some guy named 'Elijah Craig' showed up and brought that guitar picker with...Thursday and Saturday will hold memories for a long time to come.

Meril and I will always remember Mike "testing" the heater for John...what a good brother!!

anyway...Hope to see more of you there next year..
7 being a lucky number and all....

Shoot straight and Good Luck with your hunting; Get out and share a day or a camp; it makes for memories and the laughs MORE grand.

[JEFF B]

what you guys hang around with kris   :D    

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Had a blast as usual. rolled in to the house about 3 and headed straight back to woods. Looking forward to next year!

[JEFF B]

     way cool bud

[moleman]

This was my rookie yr at the hunt, but im looking forward to next yr.
Meeting great folks, making new friends and having a good time,....it dont get no better than that!

[Rob W.]

Looks like a great time guys. Wish I could have made it.

I'm thinking about a late season hunt down this way. I will let everyone know.

Rob  

[americanhunter7]

Sorry I wasn't able to spend a lot of time at or in camp this year. Glad I did get a chance to stop by and visit. John make sure to thank your brother for me again for the very nice memento. I was really looking forward to sharing camp with you all again this year, but that whole work thing interfered AGAIN!  

[rastaman]

Looks like you guys had a blast!