gundeck

I guess I am the exception here. Despite the wind and warm temps, my son and I have seen anywhere from five to ten deer every sit and occasionally a bunch of turkeys, too. Closed the deal on Sunday (first time with a bow) on a button buck in the morning and an eight point in the evening. I am not going to complain about windy weather EVER. Now, we just have to finish processing that venison!

I have been hunting since I was a kid, but I have only been seriously bowhunting for a couple of years. I have gradually been working into things and this is my first year hunting from a treestand. (I have used blinds previously and seen plenty of deer.) I had not yet taken a deer with my bow. Sunday morning, my son and I went out to our two-seater stand, sprayed a little buck lure on our mock scrape, and settled in for the morning. (He is twelve, but likes to come along as a spectator.) It was a quiet morning with a few doe milling about early. About an hour after daylight, what I thought was a large doe (turned out to be a button buck) walked right out to our scrape. At about seven yards from the stand and fully broadside, it was an easy shot. The deer acted like it hadn't even been hit. He walked about thirty yards, laid down and expired. Now, here is where it gets a little strange. We have a four-point buck that frequents the area around our stand. We have named him Teddy2 (after our little ADD afflicted Jack Russell puppy) because he seems to have no clue what he is doing. Teddy2 wanders out about a half hour later and starts trying to pick a fight with our now expired button buck. This goes one for about five minutes before he wanders off confused. After letting the deer sit for about an hour, we drag him back to the house. (I hunt about a hundred yards from my house.) Later in the afternoon, I decided I would go back out (solo this time). I went to the same stand and settled in. About 5 PM, I see two turkeys come out of the field behind me (about fifty yards away), followed by two doe. About five minutes later, Teddy2 follows the doe out of the field and they all loop around to a bedding area off to my left. As they disappear and my heart settles down again, I hear a noise behind me to the left (the other side of the field). I look down to see an eight-point buck coming in on the same path as the button buck in the morning. He stopped at the same spot and I took the same exact shot I had taken in the morning. (My arrow stuck about two feet from the one I shot in the morning.) The buck jumped and kicked, but didn't run. He quickly walked to where the first deer had died. He made a couple of circles and then laid down within ten feet of where the first expired. Not fifteen minutes later, Teddy2 walks out and tries to pick a fight with the new harvest. This one he actually pushed around on the ground a bit. Needless to say, he walked away even more confused than before. After a couple of years of frustration, I get my first two kills in the same day! I don't know who was more excited, me or my son. Needless to say, it has been an awesome season so far!

Now THAT is love! ;D

My concern is this, every season is much the same on my little 42 acres. Preseason I see lots of deer milling about. Bow season comes and I see plenty of deer (no big buck, but plenty of buck). The first day of shotgun season it sounds like a war zone on both sides of my property. After the first (or maybe second) day of shotgun, I am lucky to see a deer until after New Years. Buck, in general, don't stand a chance in my area. There is one large buck that I see on a regular basis, but he is pretty crafty and almost exclusively nocturnal. I don't think the families that hunt on either side of me are interested in QDM.

I am new to treestands, but our (my son and I) ladderstand is only 18 feet and we have seen plenty of deer this year.

Doc mentioned that he envies you guys who go to camp. Although I think that would be fun, I don't envy you. I hunt about one to two hundred yards from my house (depending on the stand). When I am out in the woods, I marvel at how far away I seem from anything. Also, as the leaves drop, everytime I go out, it is a new place. New holes. New shadows. The best part is when my son goes along and we sit in the two-seater stand. He is ten and I expected him to be bored and disinterested, but he is constantly on alert and showing me things I didn't see moving (even if they are often squirrels). Can't wait for the weekend.

Wish I had that problem every sit!

Saturday should be a great day.

10 (at least). I have to have something to fill those buckshot holes. KIDDING! Just kidding! Sheesh.

Those fields off Smales Rd and Stony Rd don't have any corn? I don't know, I was just asking.

Nice buck. Great job.

I read a tech report this week that says Apple is starting production of 3 million CDMA iPhones (which will run on Verizon's network) at the end of this year. I have an iPhone and a Samsung Omnia. The iPhone is primarily for testing at work. I like the iPhone more than the Omnia, but my buddy has a Driod and I like that MUCH better.

I work for a software company developing GPS mapping software. I deal mostly with tech questions from our distributors. I also spent 17 years in the Navy.

Welcome to the fray!

Since he wasn't pushed (good job on your part) it should be fine. We always put some pork shoulder in with our burger. It adds some fat so it doesn't dry out too much when cooking.

Nice job. Congrats!

Went out Saturday morning and (due to the wind) decided not to go into my stands. I went to the far side of the property and sat on a log with some good brush surrounding. Didn't see a deer (again, probably due to the wind), but I had 18 turkeys pass within 15 yards of me. What a sight! I couldn't believe not a single one spotted me. That made the whole day worth while.

Nyslowhand is correct. There is a very good chance that you would get a replacement tag. I will not tell you that you were wrong, but I would have harvested and tagged the deer.

Although I love the idea of larger buck and bigger racks, most people would argue that this hurts the sport in two way. Most people who don't hunt, but are not opposed to hunting, see the need because it helps keep the population down which reduces auto incidents and reduces crop / property damage. By implementing antler restrictions, you reduce the number of younger deer which are taken. These are the very deer most likely to panic on the road or wander into people's gardens. The other factor is that gives the perception that hunting is "all about the trophy". True or not, people will use that argument. Just food for thought.

Rain or shine, I will be out there Saturday!!! Of course, if I get wet, I might get sick. I am pretty sure I can hunt sick, but I can't work sick!! :-)

Really sweet car, but with $2.8 mil, I could buy a piece of property that I would never need to drive again.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply you meant that. I was just trying to point out that people should be vigilant about the accounts. I check ours frequently and noticed the transactions the next day. The bank has been good about taking care of the issue, but I was surprised that they knew the cards were compromised and didn't bother to warn customers to check their accounts.

Wasn't just ESL. Five Star Bank had a large number of debit card numbers compromised recently. We were not told until we called last week after my wife's card had several transactions in one day in Florida.

Cabin Fever, you from SC too?

Sad day, but a staunch reminder to use your harness as directed.