wooly

I climbed into my stand for the last 2 hours of light yesterday and got settled in by 4:30. I spotted a lone doe working her way through the timber about an hour later and she was headed my way on a string. The first thing I noticed was a nice long nose so I new she was a shooter doe for me, so I got ready for a shot to unfold. She nibbled around the backside of one of the big hickories at 25yds so I got drawn on her and settled my 20yd pin a tad high. I have a hard time tracking my arrow in flight so I couldn't tell where it hit her, but it sure sounded good..... THWAAACK! I wanted to give her at least an hour before I got down to look for my arrow. By that time the sun had gone down and my headlamp was useless. I decided to take my chances and let her lay in yote country over night, so I pulled out and took up the trail in the morning. I figured I'd sit my stand until 9AM to see if any buck showed up and give the sun a chance to peek out. At that time I got down to look for my arrow but couldn't find it. I started to follow the bloodtrail while constantly scanning the woods ahead of me. 20 yds into my tracking job I spotted her white belly 50 yds from my stand. After the shot last night I watched her wobble off and I thought she was going to go down in site, but she calmly walked away. I caught her right behind the shoulder and when I found her my arrow was sticking out her opposite side just in front of her hind leg. Pretty crazy to see that much penetration the length of her body and she never even acted like she knew she was hit. I must have walked right past her last night on my way out but never saw her. Gonna give sis a quick lesson in home processing tonight and probably just turn her into a mountain of burger,lol Although I'm EXTREMELY happy with the shot and quickness of the kill..... killing doe does NOTHING to get me excited about. Unless we become overrun with them, this will likely be the last doe I ever kill with any weapon. I actually feel pretty bad that I feel that way. Almost wishing I let her walk. I'm telling you guys, I don't know what it is, but my lust for the kill is really becoming a thing of the past.

10-25-16 Recovered 10-26-16 AM 25 yds MEAT!

Roughly only have about 300 acres of actual "hunting grounds" that get most of my attention right out the door.

If you let it sit until 6 you haven't even BEGUN to look yet. Wait until morning to give it your best shot during daylight hours with a clear head and slow approach. I can't imagine you have much more than 1/2 hour into this recovery effort thus far with any kind of decent tracking light. Give it your best shot, but man you at least have to put a little effort into it before calling in the hounds. Have some faith in yourself, pay attention to all the clues, and take it S-L-O-W! You just might surprise yourself! Good luck!

I've never had much luck with doe or fawn bleat calls no matter what brand I've used, or what other calls I've used them in conjunction with. I've tried the Primos Can, the Extinguisher, as well as my e-caller Flextone Torch all with the same poor results.....NONE. I've watched and heard does and fawns as they've made this vocalization amongst one another in summer, fall, and winter groups, but I've personally never witnessed it done as a breeding call from what I could tell. I still use for calling blindly when I get bored, but for the most part I just use my mouth to "bleat...baaah... blaaah.... or maah" when I want to stop ANY deer for a shot. Like has already been said, it doesn't seem to spook them so I'll keep on using it in hopes that it may coax in that one oddball that falls for it one day.

Couldn't agree with you more. All I'm seeing are racks from 1.5 and 2.5 yo bucks in those pics. Hardly MATURE. I would think someone so obnoxiously overly critical of the size of someone elses deer might have some size issues of their own they are trying to make up for. Might want to give these a shot..... can't say if they will help or not, but obviously he doesn't have much to lose,lol

I haven't been feeling 100% lately, so I haven't been out as much as I would have liked to be. Things sure do seem to have picked up quite a bit since my last few sits though. As soon as we dried up from the downpours earlier this week, scrapes started opening up everywhere. My cam was getting some good daylight action but again, not much size to any of them. I STILL haven't seen what I would even consider a 2.5 year old this season, but hopefully that'll be changing soon. My last few close encounters weren't anything special, but I always enjoy the close stuff where I can snap a few pics in good light. Spotted this fawn bedded yesterday evening. Made it to within 20yds before she stood up where I could snap a shot. This morning I snuck out for a little while and had another fawn come in as I was still getting set up in my stand. My camera was still in my pack that I just pulled up the tree so no shots of that one. About 9am I spotted a young 6pt working his way directly towards my stand. He was gobbling up hickory nuts all the way in to where he finally got closest 3yds out from the base of my tree. Somehow he never winded me and he never looked up. Just maintained a steady pace through the timber and made his way off unalarmed. It never matters to me how big or how small they are when they do that. That's always exciting to me!

Great job buddy! WTG with the quick decision making before the shot, and doing everything right after to ensure a recovery! Congrats on a sweet hunt!

I pass up a lot of bucks under 200" every year. I wont shoot anything over 200" because I like to have them around to pass on their good genetics!

I don't think these youth seasons were designed to cater to the young hunters in any way the way some of you are making it sound. Lets face it, when most guys head off to camp for the week, or run out back for a quicky hunt after work, the last thing he's thinking about is dragging the kids or newbie along to impose on his precious "hardcore deer/turkey hunting time". By designating a few days exclusively for youth hunters actually puts a fire under some guys azz to actually get his, or someone elses kids involved even if it means he has to hang up his own weapon for a day or two. There's always gonna be guys that have no interest or access to a youth to mentor, and that's ok, but I think these special seasons give the guys who actually do have one available, some extra incentive to introduce them to the pastime they may never have the opportunity for with many of todays adult hunters with that "MY season"... not enough time mentality You can't blame the kids for sitting around playing on their electronic gadgets from dusk till dawn if you're not making any attempt to give them other options when we run off to the stands and blinds from dark to dark. The problem isn't that the youngsters aren't interested in hunting, rather more likely that todays hunters are the issue by not having the patience or desire to dedicate a day or few of there 3 month seasons to get them off the couch to allow them to be part of the experience that may last a lifetime. I'm sure there are some older guys here who enjoy those same modern day electronics just as much as the kiddos do, but you'd have no idea how to use them damn things if some young punk didn't take the time to teach your ancient azzes,lol It works both ways, and I applaud the many hunters that take the time to be active in what I consider a fine recruiting tool in these "special hunts". IMO- nothing will motivate a new hunter to learn more about the sport like seeing results even if that means they get the "best" days of the season. A quick look around this site makes it easy to see there's still no guarantees of success, but plenty of our members keep it up year after year and the kids keep tagging along. I don't think that happens if they weren't enjoying the time with their mentors in the woods.

Working in construction during the winter months I would always top off my layers of clothing with a BIG, heavy, wool hoody. One of our supervisors started calling me woolybear and the rest of the gang followed. I used woolybear as a handle on a lot of sites when I first started out online, but everyone shortened it and just called me wooly, so that's what I go with now. Real life name is Matt unless I'm being questioned by law enforcement..., or a woman seeking answers to paternity questions,lol

Thanks again everyone! TF- I'm just fortunate to be located in a target rich location that hasn't changed all that much over the years. Been hunting and hiking these properties my entire life so some days it's just a matter of being out there. After getting skunked the past two SPRING seasons with my sister, it was nice to finally even the score on these birds! Definitely enjoying hunting more now that I have someone to share my experiences with! I really enjoy "passing on" some of the things I've learned to help a new hunter find success! I guess hunting isn't just about ME anymore and I'm finding it more satisfying to see others succeed over myself. Now I just need to see if we can get dalo143 ready to roll for the x-bow opener! Sure would like to see her knock over something a little bigger than last years forkhorn she took during regular season. I'll gladly leave my bow at home if I think we can make something happen for her!

Awesomeness! Looking forward to following along with you guys again this season!

Had a few flocks pass overhead just before the big "hunters moon" rose three nights ago. 100+ honkers EASILY.... maybe even 200+ total but I wasn't counting as they came in waves. They all landed in that new winter wheat field I asked about the other day. Pitching down into the field against a painterly autumn backdrop. Wish I had been a little closer and had better light for this shot. Really made me wish I was a goose hunter at the moment! Edit to add- southern Erie County

I'll have to catch up with you when they replenish my daily "like" quota! Congrats on the birds and dedication to recover. I think I would have just came back with a saw or hatchet... or a cat, but that don't matter none! I've never seen a turkey dog in action before. Sure would like to try it some day.

You rock sis! I never imagined hunting with you would be this much damn fun! Hell, I was ready to go kill some squills and I think I mentioned that a time or three,lol Our set up was kinda goofy. I brought and set up 2 jakes and a hen deke just 5 yds out the blind window. I spotted those birds coming in from 50yds away, but they got spooky when they hit 20yds but sis couldn't get a shot and I wouldn't let her move since I could see from my seat but she couldn't. We let out some crazy calls before hand on the new pot call sis bought before season. She was learning to call, and I was bored so excited cutts, yelps, and clucks where what we hit them with. We basically used full blown spring tactics to kill these two fall birds. I know that's not how you're supposed to hunt them in the fall, but it kept things fun and interesting... not to mention successful! Pretty sure you guys know by now how I kinda like to try different off the wall tactics to see what kind of results I get. Both birds were full of wild grapes or blueberry looking fruits. I don't know what they were, or where they found them on the property but they were practically falling out their beaks. I still haven't measured mine up. It's just not important to me at this point. He was much lighter than dalos bird, but that's the only one that really matters to me. I was getting real bored with hunting. Now I just think I was getting real bored with hunting ALONE! I'm excited to have a student so eager to listen, learn, and experiment the way baby sis does. I's so happy she was rewarded with the prettiest one of the flock!

Thanks everyone! I'm going to wait and let Dalo tell her side of the story and give the weights and measurements, but I can't hold off any longer with some pics! All I can say is, for as much fun as we were having BEFORE the turkeys showed up, we should have absolutely, positively, not even seen a SONGBIRD let alone kill two nice gobblers to top things off! Hands down this turned out to be my most cherished hunt I'll likely EVER have! Just an amazing day to share a blind with sis! HUGE congrats to you Dalo, and I can't wait to see that bad boy stuffed on your wall! Thanks for the great hunt sis and I can't wait till you do it again this deer season!

Great job stones!

Close encounters have tapered off the past few hunts and slipping toward the dark side so not much for pics lately, but I'm still seeing deer each hunt. I had to switch things up and hunt some place far away from that little 10pt so I didn't do something I might regret. I was getting too tempted to kill him and I know I don't want to. Been seeing quite a few doe lately, so I decided that maybe it was time to get the muzzleloader stamp and maybe get a crack at one of them with the bow or X-bow next month. I got out for a couple hours this morning and had my first opportunity to fill antlerless tag. As I headed up one ridge, 3 antlerless ran DOWN the opposite ridge. I got my bow up and sat tight for 1/2 hour. Out of nowhere 3 more antlerless came running down the exact same trail and cut the gulley 10 yds out from me. Old habits die hard I guess, because without even thinking about it, I laid down my bow and started taking pictures without thinking,lol By the time it dawned on me that I had a tag, and she was a shooter, she heard my shutter click and made tracks back the same way they came in. When I finally got moving again I caught another glimpse of her heading up the ridge into a big hemlock stand but she was pushing 50+ yds out this time. Happy to see some good doe action now. Hopefully that'll get some of the bucks on their feet during daylight soon. My bow is mad at me and doesn't even want to go hunting with me and my camera anymore. I 'm MAKING her go out with us this evening to make things right!

I have a back up plan if the turkey action is slow this weekend, so don't forget to bring your small game loads and choke tubes. We can eliminate a whole bunch of them bushytails that have been running rampant around my stands lately! Maybe some BB-Q squirrel burgers on the grill before the weekend is through,lol Thanks for making baby sis feel welcome guys! I know she's eager to start contributing! That's the one Grampy. I've been meaning to ask you how it's working out for you. Glad to hear you like it.

I'm still seeing bachelor groups of bucks on their feet before sunset. It's one of those all or nothing deals here, but I would hardly call it a lull. You're either on 'em or your not I guess.

Sharing is caring! You should take the nut, and leave a .22 round in it's place to show your appreciation,lol

Bring plenty of drugs! To be more specific..., aspirin, Tylenol, Excedrin, Tums, etc. The legal stuff that makes you feel better when your feeling under the weather. Nothing will ruin a hunt or trip faster than getting sick in the woods. Just drop them in the handle of your 2'nd most important item..., the RAMBO survival knife!

2.5 would be my guess but I wouldn't let that stop me if I really liked him!

Got off to a slow cold windy start this morning at the corn field. Only lasted a couple of hours after I got chilled. Bucks still haven't completely broke into pre-rut mode yet it seems so I don't see any sense hanging around any longer than I have to. Only one buck seen after I climbed down and started heading out along the corn edge. Small 8pt that has been a regular in the area all summer met me at the corner. My evening sit was a little more enjoyable safe from the wind in my blind. Just about sundown I spotted deer on the move through the timber. All total 3 bucks. One spiker, a sixer, and my little buddy Tiny-10 AGAIN! I'm really getting tired of seeing this guy,lol All of them made their way to the field behind me in a single file line. 2 doe closed out the day