bryabbio

Been in the stand since 645. Had a 6 point walk by but weaved I in and of every possible tree. No clean shot. He walked down the ridge from me saw a doe and he paid no attention to her. 930 he went off onto posted land and into the thickets. Now I have the north east happy feet (squirrels) all around me.

Hahah. Those deer always outsmart me! I don't know if I like school or if I like spending more and more money.

Live from my classroom! Yippie! I wish I was in the woods instead of going to class. Upside after today I have my 2nd masters degree!

Did it make the B&C? That is a non typical deer. Congrats on the harvest. ahaha.

I leave my ladder stands out, but what we do is remove the bottom 2 pieces of the ladder to ensure that no one comes and tries to steal it. We do this because in the past year we have had 3 ladder stands stolen. So now like I said we take the bottom 2 pieces off and leave the seat part attached to the tree. Then before the season, i mean months before we will go back out, change the straps, wd 40 the joints, touch up the paint if needed, change the para-cords hang back up our bow hangers and pack hangers. Then every 2-3 weeks we will re check the stands for further maintenance if it is needed. But if the stand needs to be replaced, well then we will replace the stand.

The best thing I do now, is I walk the ridge of a mountain slowly in hopes to kick up something. By slowly i mean i am taking like a max of 10 steps and am looking a full 360 and standing in spots for 5-10 min. If that does not work, or if I want to sit cause my knee is killing me ill sit on the ridge for an hr and throw a few bleat calls out to see if anything moves. As for scents right now, I have not used any since the week before thanksgiving. My brother has been using tinks 69 with a few bleat calls and it has brought in a 4 point on Black Friday. What are you thinking of using?

Very nice bear! Congrats. Where abouts did you get him?

I have to say during bow I saw a total of 15 deer. None that seemed to be the size I was looking for. But rifle I've only seen 3! 2 big bucks a 10 pt which I shot at but missed by shooting right over his back. A doe that was way to small. Then the 8 pt I shot on thanks giving! I have to say this year has been a weird season with seeing deer! I've still hunted, pushed and sat in a tree. But I also am not seeing the deer I have seen in the past. I have to say in part it has to do with the unseasonable weather we have had in the southern zone combined with the amount of food that has been available for the deer this year. I am just not impressed with this seasons deer activity! Where are you hunting dan?

Congrats on a great deer! Sounds like you were in the deer honey hole! Great story. Also that doe seems to be a pretty good size one. Congrats to that hunter as well!

Congrats Growalot! I carry a very similar gut bag. Mine has tags, permanent marker (thin), gloves, knife and zip ties. Best thing I ever did was combine them together so as I don't need to search the pack for everything and waste time!

The buck I took on thanksgiving was all rutted up! His tarsal glands were dyed a black color and stuck up the place! His neck was swollen and his antlers had fresh bark all over the tines. I keep telling my bother to get out there because he is the only one left with a buck tag, but his job has him running on fumes when he's out, but when he is not out he's passed out on the couch. The rut report also from field and stream says we are still in the peak rut today. So get out there boys and bag a bruiser!

@ deerduck: we actually did get the milk. We passed a gas station on the way home. They were just about to lock up and close the doors before I showed up. I pleaded and told the clerk "my mother would smack me if I didn't come home with milk" the convince store clerk laughed hysterically at me and let me in. So all in all a great day!

he will soon have a wall buddy! my pop has 2 bucks that are positioned around him cause he has the biggest rack. That mount of the deer is the second biggest we have taken in a while. my pop harvested a 200# 7pt, 8 years ago about 1000 yrds from where I have a stand and recently took both bucks. I appreciate all the congrats that I have received, I hope your seasons are going as good or better then the one I am having.

So there is the guys name. I did not feel it was appropriate to put it up on my behalf but the story is true. But there was another larger bear taken in PA. http://bearingarms.com/pennsylvania-hunter-bags-monster-772-pound-black-bear/ here is the story to a 772# black bear. I do not know about anyone else but, if i saw any of these bears, I would be looking for a place to hide and a new pair of boxers to get into!

This is the buck that I harvested 2 years ago off the same ridge on "Black Friday". He weighed in at 168 and 9 countable points. This was my first mounted buck and was done by Gatto's in Middletown. It took a little over a year, but the way this mount looks in person, it was well worth the wait. I hope this new one will look just as good!