Zem18

Yeah I could've stopped there but then you guys couldn't laugh at my stories. Im still up in the air about heading to the cabin this weekend. It's only an hour drive but I know I will not be staying overnight. Too damn cold. I'll talk it over with the wife and see if my Dad and his neighbor can go.

Well the afternoon started out perfect. My buddy dropped me off so I could push a small section to him. 2 steps in and 6 deer are up and running, 5 the wrong way, 1 towards my buddy. I get to him and he says he saw it doing Mach 7 so he passed. The I got set up and he pushed to me. We then walked seperate flats in the same direction to try and push to each other. Didn't see anything. We came up with a new plan and set it up. He called me as he was walking to get into position and said start walking in 2 minutes. I waited and then started my push. Not 10 steps from where I started I hear a shot ring out. Then another. I get a call and he says come help me. So I start moving and then from out of nowhere a deer is running right at me from my left, then another and another and another. They stop but behind some trees. I move to my right and they bolt. Scope is full of brown and I squeeze. Clean miss. I had to start laughing cuz that was fun but it happened way too fast for me. So I get up to my buddy and he says the first shot hit and the deer went down and was flopping around. He was watching the other deer scatter and looks back and his deer gets up and takes off. Enter second shot i heard from him, and a clean miss. Found some white hair and a dime spot of blood so we followed the tracks in the snow. No more blood for the next 300 yards uphill. Jumped 2 more deer and followed them for 100 yds but no blood. So hes pissed that this is the 2nd deer he has missed low so we go to resight in at another section of the property. Hes happy after 4 shots so we are headed home. We are driving out and go by the original spot where I started the afternoon. He stops and says there is a huge deer standing right there in the woodline. He gets out, opens the hatch, gets the gun, loads it, and walks backwards 10 ft and then aims and fires. I get my gun out now and head towards the logging road just in case the deer crosses. He fires 2 more rounds and realizes there are more deer in there than the 1st one he shot at. He yells to me that they are coming so I get ready. I see one, then another and I fire at the last one. Another clean miss. Now I am usually a wait til they stop and make sure you have a clean shot but man driving these deer and trying these running shots is tough. I am not used to hunting this style, especially with my shotgun. But it is fun and I am thankful I missed. I am rethinking my choices I made that day and plan not to take those "pop shots" again. They may run a little but I have to be patient and let them stop. The first shot I took looked true but the second was desperation taking over. My buddy did connect on his first shot - a nice mature doe, right in the center of the body. She was a nice deer. We dropped her off at the processor and there were 6 other deer in there, 2 big bodied bucks and his doe was the third largest. I saw between 13 and 15 deer today, all doe, but man it was a blast. 8 of us hunted in more snow Sunday morning. Kicked a few deer around but no clean shots. 2 shots fired at a coyote that came through one of the drives. It was hit and they followed blood for over 1000 yds before losing the trail and tracks to more snow. This weekend one of my tags WILL be filled. I can feel it.

Sounds like me last week at the end of my vacation, Bad cold and just no drive or motivation. Ahh the 1st soccer trophy is always the best. Good luck and hope you can get out soon.

Im trying Fletch. I had to get my SUV inspected today so I was going to hunt late morning. There was a nice blanket of snow when I got up. I got it inspected and then called my buddy. I was going to meet him at his property but he was up sick most of the night. UGHH!!! So I headed to my in laws where I bow hunt. I decided to walk the side hill that I have permission to hunt if noone was up there. I saw no vehicles or tracks so I took a walk. Not 50 yards up the logging road I hear something behind me. I turn to see two little skippers running in behind me and stop at 20 yards. I contemplated it for 2 seconds and then just watched them skip off. Too small and could not see if they were buttons or not. I walked the ridge and saw some dandy fresh rubs but no tracks. Dropped down behind my bow stands and saw a flock of turkeys in the scrub. Man were they vocal. I sat and watched for a few minutes and then walked to the truck. Was a quick hunt but actually quite fun. My buddy is feeling better so we are headed out in about 20 minutes for the afternoon to do some still hunting and maybe a little sitting. Time to get it done, big or small, it's going to fall.

Sorry I've been slacking on keeping up with my posts. Taking that week off from work really sucks when you get back. Hunted with my buddy at his 317 acre camp on Wed. before Turkey day. There were 4 of us and it was really windy. We hunted the bad wind side of the mountain first. Then my buddy called me and said another member was on the no wind side and had shot at a nice buck. He was getting ready to track it so the 4 of us went and stood watch on a ridge in case the deer bolted. AS I was getting into position I jumped 3 deer. The last one stood up and all I could see were vitals, no head. I waited and waited and then she bolted. You ca get fined on that property for shooting a button or less than a six point so I waited to be sure. 3 small doe was the confirmation. The buck never did come at us and he lost the blood trail well below where we were standing. All of the drives they performed from Thursday to Sunday and they never did find the buck. They will keep looking though. Took my Dad to the cabin Friday morning. We were across the creek and hunting by 11:30am. I set him in my spot and dropped back down to the valley and walked the 1/2 mile to the road. I then snuck up the hill to the same flat he was hunting and decided to still hunt my way to him. I did jump 3 doe but they stopped 70 yds away. I watched and waited and they came right back to me, less than 40 yards. As I was scoping them, momma doe busted me again and took a little skipper with her. I decided I would just go straight at them to try and push them to my Dad. I walked down the hill and ended up getting 10 ft from the last little skipper. It was too funny. I felt like a good bird dog chasing this little sucker around. She would go left so I went left. Then she circled in front of me and ended up to my right. I would go right and she would turn and come back left. I was laughing my ass off the whole time which lasted almost 10 minutes. The whole time she was 20 to 25 yards away from me. Finally I pushed to my Dad and then said , lets go back and get that little one for you. We still hunted back to where she was last seen but she was gone. We had fun and then went back to play cards and eat. Saturday found my Dad, Father in Law, Brother in Law and myself getting up to hunt. I didn't want to get up though. Felt like crap but did get out around 7:30. It was spitting snow so I had high hopes. I sat for an hour and was freezing so I decided to walk. I walked, then walked some more and never saw a thing. I pushed to my Dad and nothing. We met for lunch and went back out for one last single man push to Dad. By 1pm I was feeling sick and wanted to head home. Dad said let's go and we did. Got some medicine and a hot shower and I felt great. My buddy called Sunday morning so we went out. We did 4 drives. I saw 3 deer on 3 drives but no shots. Im hoping this weekend will be the one but we will have to wait and see. I'm skipping the cabin for this weekend. All that rain we got has to have that stream just a roaring and it was high this past weekend just from the snow meltoff and little rain we did get.

Not to hijack the thread but beware of Ticks and Keds as well. Had a member of our hunting cabin get a Ked in his stomach and it was sucking his blood good. Check yourself and your gear with this warm weather and especially if you field dress and skin your own deer. He did have contact with my Father in laws deer but he also had been walking the ridges all day and sitting ont he ground. Not exactly sure where he picked it up at. it could've been a wood tick as well. Here is some information on Deer Keds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_ked

I made it back in one piece so it was a success. Sort of. Made it down to camp at 9:30pm Friday night. I called my wife just before I left cell coverage and my daughter puked in the car after her soccer game. Thank god I was in another vehicle an hour away. I can't handle puke. Saturday morning started out good. I crossed the creek and headed up the mountain to my spot. 60 yds from my spot I stand I see a deer moving on a run 30 yds from me. I freeze and get the scope on it. No horns. The deer stops right in front of me in a huge opening and starts to rub its head on a tree, and then licks the licking branch above it. I held that scope on its head for the next minute trying to put horns on it but couldn't. It moved a few steps and was behind a tree. I stood there for 20 minutes and did not see it leave from behind the tree. I figured it turned and walked straight away so I only moved my head to the left about 6 inches to peek. Thats when I saw the tail go up and the gig was up. It bounded away quietly. Had a huge doe sneak up behind me at 12:15 as I was eating lunch. I stood up as she was super close, less than 15 yards, and she spooked to about 25 yards and stopped. The shot was perfect but I had to watch her walk away. No tag for that area. Saw a doe and 2 fawns just before dark running the middle of a steep ridge above my spot. Was a good day. Sunday morning I found it tough to get out of bed. Only 4 hours of sleep the night before screwed up my system. I was running late but made it out of the cabin at 7:30am. I was sneaking to my spot and saw a Doe and 2 fawns 35 yards from my tree. I scoped them all and then proceeded to my tree as they trotted off. It was 7:45. At 8:10 I heard the leaves rustling aso I picked up my rifle and looked left. Busted by a fawn. And another and momma. 6 deer sighted in the first 40 minutes of hunting today so I was staying put. I was tired so decided to sit around 10:20am. There is a big rock to my left and a tree blocks my view to the right. I sat for 5 minutes and then stood up. A small twig was under foot that I didn't clear from around the tree and SNAP!! Well the leaves rustle to the right and I look around the tree and there goes a buck. I was sick. He wasn;t huge but was on a run that would've brought him 15 yards from me. Mt brother in law had spooked him about 30 minutes prior when he went to shoot and forgot to take the safety off. Fast forward to Monday at 12:10pm - 2 shots fired and said buck is dead, taken by my Father in Law. He was only a 3 point but his tines were 11 to 12 inches long and tall. When he was running through the beech trees he looked to be larger. He was a little dissappointed he was small but the freezer is back to capacity. Monday was a bust in the morning. I decided to walk a so I ended up about 1/2 mile from the cabin. Thats when my Father in Law had shot so I went to help him drag his deer. Went back to my spot at 3:00pm and jumped a doe and 2 fawns 70 yards from my tree. 15 deer sighted in 3 days isn't too bad. Beats my whole bow season on sightings. I was beat Monday night so decided to sleep in Tuesday. Got up around 8:30am and was sick as a dog. Hung around and cleaned up the cabin and then went out at 11:30 until 2pm. It was raining and got real foggy. Thought I saw a flag as I was coming down but could not confirm it. Packed the rest of my gear and made the drive home. A hot shower is so nice and my wife and kids appreciate it too. My neighbor called and asked me to go out in the morning. Have no clue where we are going but the hunt is on. Taking Thursday off from hunting and head back to cabin with my Dad on Friday morning until Saturday night.

Nice job fellas! Those are some huge deer. Sounds like you had fun and thats what it is all about. Congrats again.

Nice shootin Fastone!!! It's not that you are getting old, its the body not being able to stay young. I'm 37 and would probably be sucking wind too hauling that big old gal out of the gulley!!

Hunted 4W from Saturday until Tuesday and saw tons of doe. Most of them were still with their fawns. Saw one lone doe, HUGE, and nothing was behind her. I waited and waited. Saw 2 bucks, a button who made a rub and licked a branch 30 yards from me on opening morning and then a 3pt my Father in Law shot. All were alone. Not real sure what is happening but it doesn't look like rut activity to me. I drive an hour to get there so I cannot monitor it everyday. If anyone else has any updates for 4W, I'd apprecite it.

Well we went shopping for camp goodies tonight. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Spent $85 between 4 of us so not that bad. Gotta get a few beers on the way though. The Exploder is packed except for my cooler, pillows and toothbrush so I am ready to go. My daughter has a soccer game at 7pm tomorrow night so I am going to head to that before heading to camp. Should only take about 45 minutes from her game to make it there. The boys should have the place warmed up and the cards will be dealt by then. Looking forward to getting away for 4 days so the hunting will be a bonus, good or bad. Just dreading work tomorrow as I have a feeling it is going to drag. Hopefully I can stay busy enough to not think about it but we all know that isn't going to happen. Good luck to all of you guys going out this weekend. Be safe and enjoy. I'll report Tuesday night when I am back home and showered.

Way to go brother!!! You always seem to get it done. That is a beauty. Congrats on your persistence. I need to get me one of those jobs to allow me more time in the field. Need a helper? LOL.

Sounds like fun!! Good reading. Thanks for sharing

Thx Burt - I guess I let my frustration show in all my posts but like you said, it happens to all of us. Thats why it's called hunting and not killing. Gun season WILL be better and I look forward to muzzleloader as well. Good Luck to you as well at your camp.

I wish I could say I missed but I never drew my bow on an animal, only to stay warm on those chilly mornings, LOL!!! Yeah practice was few and far between for me this year so I am kinda glad I didn't see the bigone and screw it up. They have a new indoor range close by so maybe my buddy and I will join and practice this winter. I wanted to do a 3d shoot just before the season but couldn't find anyone to go. I've never been to one and want to try it out.

Cool vid Eddie. Looks to be a nice deer. Get a stand in one of those gulleys where they are crossing and lets get some venison!!!

11-14-10 The last hurrah I got up just fine this morning and had a good feeling. It wasn't as cold as yesterday and things just felt right. I happened to make it on stand without bumping anything so things were good. I settled in and it was quiet. Too quiet. The wind decided to pick up and that pretty ruined a great morning. I was frustrated and a little chilly from the wind so I took a drive to warm up. On the way down the road I saw a lone deer walking along in the wide open through a yard. It was 9am and looks like they just started to move. I was back on stand by 9:20 and ready to go. I was sitting in a ladder stand. Something told me to stand up so I did and when I turned around there was a deer walking away from me at 40 yards. It went the exact same spot as the spike from yesterday so I tried everything to get it to come back. To no avail. I sat until 10:45 and then packed it in for the season. I didn't even calculate my stats this year as they are pitiful and only one close encounter or shot opportunity for the entore year. I have since officially renamed the Hot Spot to the Not Spot. I talked with my buddy and we decided that next year we have to do something else to draw them in to stay in the area. There is a strip along the field that is 50 yards long and about 15 yards wide. It will be tilled, fertilized, and planted in August next year. That combined with the crab apples and green apples should increase daytime feeding traffic as in the past. Now I need to get permission from my Father in law. Friday night I am headed to camp and will not be back until Tuesday evening. I'm looking forward to the getaway and hope things are better with a rifle in my hand. I'll check in throughout this week and should get some pics of the muley deer my FIL and his buddy took in Colorado last week. BTW in the pics above - I hope you all scrolled to the right and saw the buck coming in where the doe is looking at the camera.

They are 3 different ones. I have pics of about 11 different ones but these have been some of the bigger ones. 3 or 4 different spikes, a 4pt, a 6pt barely, and the first 2 I got on cam I posted in the trail camera section. 11-13-10 AM I hunted by myself this morning at my in-laws. Man it was chilly and getting light quick. I left the house at 5:55 and drove the 4 minute drive to my spot. Nothing in the field so I just boogied right through it and to my stand. I did hear a deer bound off just as I entered the woodline but it did not blow. Around 6:50 I saw a deer running to my left by itself about 65 yards away. I saw it enter the neighbors property and I decided to try and grunt a few times. Didn't seem like it worked so I said lets try the rattle bag and some more grunts. Well I finished my 30 second display of uneducated calling and wouldn't you know it her comes the deer on a logging road 40 yards behind my stand. I can see it is a buck but a little one. He gets directly behind my tree and is headed back into the neighbors land and I grunt again. Bingo!!! On a string he comes right to me. He gets on a run that goes right under my tree. At 20 yards he stops perfectly broadside and poses for me. He is a little spike from last year I guess so he should be thanking his maker as I watched him turn and walkaway. That was my closest encounter so far this year and although tempting I showed restraint in satisfying my bloodlust. I stayed until 9:30 because I was going to sight in my rifle and shotgun. Rifle was good, 2 bulls at 100, no adjustments. Shotgun - I got a new scope last year after the season. 10 rounds and a sore shoulder but I got it looking fairly decent at 50, about an inch high. Put some Christmas lights up around the house and left at 2:30 to get out for the evening. On stand by 3pm. Had a deer go by at my buddies place about 100 yards out. I grunted and the deer made a beeline for me. He closed the distance to almost 40 yards and hung up. I could not see headgear but I know that deer heard me. It finally turned around and went straight away from me. Didn't see anything else until we were leaving. Just headed up the hill and my buddy is driving looking out his window and I catch movement out mine and scream WHOA!!! A HUGE 8 or 10pt runs straight in front of us. It was about 2 ft away from being grilled by a Nissan Xterra grill. What a pig of a buck. Tomorrow morning will be my last stand so hopefully a doe or decent buck comes through. The inlaws place has changed the last 2 years. Not sure why unless they are on to me but the previous 5 years have been great there. The doe are not in there during daylight as in the past so the buck aren't either. I have two buck on camera during daylight, both spikes, and that is it. The apples have been sparce the past 2 years in the area so that may be part of the issue. Well good luck to all tomorrow and the rest of the week. I hope to post some good news tomorrow.

Thanks Burt. I coached 12 weeks worth this fall and thought she was going to play basketball but indoor soccer won that battle. I am with her everyday but you bet I will try not to miss too many because of hunting even though I am not coaching. She understands I may miss a few while at the cabin with her Uncle and Poppa and Grandpa. Tell your daughter good luck on her season. Grandpa pays my daughter $1 per goal. He was out $8 for the fall season and already $1 after her first indoor game, LOL. My buddy stopped up to get my camera battery today so I can charge it and he pulled my card. I uploaded a few pics to share of what has been happening when Im not there. Enjoy!! If this doe could talk, don't you think she would be saying "Uh Oh I know what this dude wants?" LOL And this was just too funny not to share

Great Deer!!! Congrats to your Dad.

Thats the spirit Eddie. It is frustrating but like you said, you can't shoot em from the computer unless you are playing DeerHunter!!

Yes , its hard to believe this is the last weekend of bow. Spoke with my buddy and I am flying solo on the morning hunts this weekend. It may get warm during the day but these last few mornings it has been 28 to 30 degrees until 9am or later. They will be moving or at least thats my story and I'm convincing myself to it, hahaha.

The front legs on that thing are longggggggg!!! It looks like a camel. Congrats to your Dad. I still take my 73 yr old Dad gun hunting and those are the best days every hunting season.

Congrats on your first buck with the bow. That is a dandy!!!

Awesome weekend for you bud. Glad you got some shooting practice in too, haha. There were some misses by the guys I hunt with but I still have not had a deer come close enough for a shot yet. Last chance is coming up this weekend. I will hunt all day Saturday and then SUnday morning to try and get it done. Good Luck to you if you come back up before gun.