Fletch

9 point taken 11/7/12 am, dressed out 160 pounds. Story in my journal or the story section. Congratz everyone else!

11/7 am 27 Cold with a heavy frost. Hit the ladder stand out behind the house for 2 hours. Very quiet all morning until 8:15 when I ahd a nice one come in. We now have meat!! Story below. This may be one of the bucks that I am the proudest of taking. Sometimes it is just a lucky day or something but I feel I really earned this buck. It has been my worst bow season ever for deer sightings. I have been on stand during legal hours a total of 80 hours this season with 8 deer sightings. 1 deer for 10 hours is a very bad ratio I am usually 3 times that average. That being said I have been a bit discouraged with the activity. But I have been dragging my butt out every possible day. I think Zemmer18 from this site said once it is my persistence that pays off in the end. This week has been really cold and the sightings have picked up slightly. I actually passed a little 3 point at 30 yards yesterday, about the fourth passed 1.5 year old this season. It was very tempting considering I really do hunt for the meat. My family loves it and the freezer is scary low! I have been optimistic that the bucks had to start moving sooner or later. So on to the hunt. This morning was a frosty 27 degrees with a heavy frost covering the ground. I headed into my ladder stand behind the house and was set up by 6 am. It was very quiet all morning and I had not heard or seen anything. At 8:15 am I catch movement out front and see a deer crossing from my right to left about 80 yards out. Seeing that it is a nice buck but not working towards me I grab the doe can and give a couple calls. He stops but not really interested continues but does turn a little left. He cuts enough to get at 40 yards broadside which is my max range. He is at a small opening and I draw back and kind of bent over to line up with the hole and just tell myself this is not a good shot and let off. He then turns right and is headed out directly away from me. I grab the grunt tube and give it a couple blows and nothing, crap! Now what? He is at 70 yards…80 yards and going. I give a snort wheeze call with my mouth and he stops on a dime. I do it again and he spins 180 and back at me. He angles a little left and goes right through a lane but he is quartering to me. Then he turns and comes straight at me and now stops facing me at 12 yards. He turns a bit each way and actually gets broadside and looks away. Yea I start to draw and he snaps his head right back around! Oh cruds I am now pulled back like 3 inches and stuck. I start shaking, the bow starts shaking, my eyes are popping outa my head. I am thinking this is it he is going to bust me and be gone. After what seems like forever he turns away and I can let down, no way I could pull it then. He turns and starts walking away quartering away perfectly. I pull back and put the pin on the spot, double check pin so we do not repeat the miss I had two weeks ago!, and let it fly hitting perfect half way back. The arrow stopped on the far shoulder. He takes off and circles up and I see him go nose diving then summersault crash. He went about 70 yards. The whole deal took like 8 minutes and was extremely intense. I had to sit down until the shakes went away!! Got him dragged out and cleaned up he hit the scales at 160 pounds dressed. He will make some nice meals. He is a 9 point but I think most of the 9th point broke off when he flipped.

I am lucky enough to work from home and can hunt out the back door. So most of the time I get out before and/or after work. I still could not sit for 11 hours what do you do? How does your back feel? I would need 6 sanwiches and a half dozen drinks, two trips to the head.......a book, ipad... or maybe I just do not have enough deer to keep me occupied!

11/6 pm 41 Back out in the ladder stand. At 4:30 a little 3 or 4 pointer comes by my right at about 30 yards just walking along slow. I was really tempted he looked like a box of steaks!! Sat 1.5 hours. Be back at em in the morn!

I do not think I could sit for 11 hours in one stand! I have done 6. I would have to do sit for 4 move to another stand sit for 3 or 4 and move sit for 3 or 4. Seeing how I have seen like 7 deer in about 100 hours of sits this year I might just die of boredom!! Power to you guys who can sit 11 hours wow!

11/6 am 30 Out back in the ladder stand. Had one walk behind me just as it was getting light. Sat for 2 hours it was cold out!! Nothin doin!

11/5 pm 35 Out in the tower stand for the last hour, no deal.

Wow I am in 7 and have not seen a deer that even looks like it is interested in running yet!

Ha I see you know Murphy as well!! He is the law.

11/5 am 35 Out back again. Jumped one going in, sat for 2.5 hours and nothing. It was spitting snow on and off all morn nothing sticking though. High point of the morning was a squirrel climb up my tree and almost into my lap. Pretty funny I thought he was gonna go in my backpack.

11/4 pm 35 Out in the ladder behind the house for 2 hours. I had one come in from out front right at about 10 minutes to sundown. Stayed off my right side 60 yards out or so. Had the binoc on and am pretty certain it was a doe. She was just slowly feeding and got behind me and just stayed and stayed and it got dark and then another 10 minutes and I got my gear together and was going to try to spook her off by lowering my bow and rustleing it in the leaves. When I did that one one the other side of me took off, it is dark out so I never saw that one. The doe still never runs off until I climb down and move a bit.

11/4 am 38 Out in the ladder stand behind the house for 4 hours. Big ole zip. Bro saw zip as well. Tracks, a scrape freshened and fresh droppings indicate deer movement at night.

11/3 pm 41 Sat another 2 hours in the rabbit hole fresh tracks and deer droppings in trail to stand. Just not moving during shooting hours. Big zero and bro as well.

11/3 am 38 off and on showers Well at least the raim was light and off and on. Out behind the house in the ladder stand. Saw one for about 2 seconds cutting behind me about 100 yards out at 8:15am no idea what it was. Sat for 3 hours wondering what is up with the deer! Bro saw zip.

11/3 am 39 Going out behind the house to my ladder stand.

11/2 pm 37 Down the rabbit hole stand for 2.5 hours. Got soaked again. Thought for sure we would see somethin. My brother was up top neither of us saw a thing. Getting a bit discouraged here.

11/2 am 39 Nice rain rain rain sat in the tower blind for 2 hours nothin.

11/1 pm 46 Got hung up at work so I just made the last hour it was raining so I just hopper in the tower blind and stayed dry. Nothing sighted. I have tomorrow off so I will be in the stand most of the day if it is not pouring.

In CNY no real signs of chasing. Scrapes just started showing up. 6 point I saw this morning just walking along eating.

From what I understand from reading the DEC site is if the zone is open at start of the day it will stay until end of day. So it will not stop say 7F at 11am because target is hit. It gets calculated at end of day and taken off if target is hit. I did run down and got a 7f and 8f.

I wished I could just see a doe!! In 7f or a!!

11/1 am 53 drizzle In stand at 6:30am as usual. In ladder stand behind the house. At 7:15 it is still too dark to shoot and I have been getting rained on. I am asking myself why did I walk right past that tower blind with a roof?!! Stupid. Anyhow at 8 am I have a small 6 point in front of me. He is just walking and eating leaves off the bushes. Goes by at 30 yards. Another week and his kind will be on the list! Sat for two hours after sun up. Still raining and clothes need to go in dryer.

10/31 pm 46 Out behind house in ladder stand for 1.5 hours and no deer or spooks.

10/31 am 43 misty Out in my ladder behind the house and another beatiful morning. About 6:40 I hear footsteps which have to be close since it is wet and misty and I have my eyes closed relaxing since it is dark out. One walks by at 14 yards no idea what it was just saw the outline of the back and the white tail. Sat for two hours after sunrise and saw squat. Excited to get back out tonight. Tonight is one of my favorite nights to bow hunt I have had good luck over the years.

10/30 pm 53 Well my trip to Charlotte got cancelled. So dyin to get out all day it looked super out. Got in the new rabbit hole stand. Now named rabbit because one keeps coming out below it. Sat for two hours for sure I was going to see something. Nadda.