jrussell

I did my first sit of the season yesterday evening. I was trying to stay out of the woods until early November, but I couldn’t resist the urge any longer. I ended up seeing two deer, a little 4 pt who was accompanied by a doe. I decided to let them both walk as they were just outside of my comfortable shooting range. The buck slowly made his way past me without noticing I was there. Unfortunately the doe didn’t do the same, she must’ve caught my scent. She spent the next 30 minutes staring in my directing, with the occasional foot stomp. This situation got me thinking about a few things. When you spook a deer while in the stand, how long do you try and let that stand rest before trying it again? To give you an idea of what I’m working with, I hunt on about 20 acres, surrounded by big woods. Deer density is pretty low. I can count on one hand the number of deer I’ve killed with a bow. All shots have been taken when the deer didn’t know I was there. Is it common to shoot deer while they’re in this spooked state, where they know you’re there or even perhaps looking at you? In this scenario I feel like there would be high risk for the deer to jump or duck the arrow. Curious of people opinions and experiences when it comes to this. Thanks

Hey guys, I've been hunting a thickish 18 acre property for the past few seasons. More often than not I'll spook deer while walking to my stand in the am. The doe's tend to bed down with their fawns during the early morning. I'm wondering if any of you have a similar issue and if so, what do you do? Continue to hunt mornings and disregard bumping doe's? Or just focus on hunting afternoon and evenings?

I'm hoping this guy sticks around til Oct 1st. I'm not used to seeing decent sized bucks on my property, just alot of doe and their fawns. Note - The time on my camera is four hours ahead, so it's really 6:10am.

So I ended up waiting 6 hours to track my deer. The blood trail wasn't great, it was difficult to track at times. After about an hour of tracking I ended up bumping the deer. He ran up a steep hill, about 70 yards and out of sight. He looked pretty healthy still, so I decided to back out and give him more time. I went out first thing this morning and was able to recover him. Unfortunately, during the night the coyotes got to him a little bit on the hind leg. I made some mistakes that I'm pretty disappointed about, but I will definitely learn from this. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just shot my first deer with a bow, a buck. What an intense experience. The arrow was a complete pass through, blood smelled a little like a cow barn. I backed out and am giving it a few hours. Hopefully it died quickly.

I'm on team Muddy as well, easy to put on, tough and comfortable.

My boy Maddox

Interesting responses, thanks everybody! Seems about 60/40 pro face mask.

I'm curious to what you guys choose to wear when bowhunting from a tree stand. Do you wear a face mask or face paint, or just nothing at all except a hat? I was at the store today and I couldn't decide whether or not it was worth spending $30 for a face mask. What do you guys think? Thanks!

Hey guys, Just curious to what gear you guys pack in your backpack when you go in the woods for an all day sit.

Thanks for the information!

I hunt in South Otselic and I'm looking for a processor in the area of Otselic, Sherburne/Norwich area. If anyone can recommend a guy I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, Justin

I just picked up the Montec G5(100g) last night, I've heard good things about them.

I have the same gun, I love it. For target practice I usually just shoot federal power shock (150 g). For hunting purposes I used fusion (150g).

It's just about gaining a little more confidence like you said. Thanks for the reply.

Hey G-Man, I did clear all of my lanes over a month ago. The question is pretty simple, I didn't think it was that crazy to want to take a few more practice shots. Jeeze lol

I can't get to my hunting grounds until Sep. 26th. I wanted to go to my stand and take a few practice shots before opening day, do you think being so close to the 1st that I should just stay out of the woods or it doesn't matter all that much? Thanks, Justin

I'm in Rochester, but hunt near Otselic. Thanks for the article!

Thanks for all of the tips guys, appreciate it!

@Culvercreek - I'll be taking it to a butcher, I haven't gotten to where I can do the processing....someday though.

Newbie hunter here, I was wondering how long you guys prefer to hang your deer during early bow season, where the temperature is typically ranges from low 60's to low 70 degrees. If I'm lucky enough to get a deer this year I want to be sure I do things the right way and not spoil the meat. Thanks for the help in advance, -Justin

Thanks everybody, I appreciate all of the feedback. Based on the responses I think I'm going to buy a ladder stand and if I want to hunt from the ground then I'll just make a natural blind.

Hey Guys - I'm struggling to decide on whether I should buy a ground blind or a ladder stand. I've read the pro's and cons's of each, but I'm still stuck in the middle. For me the main difference between the two is that ground blinds offer a larger area to make a kill shot. This year will be my first year bow hunting and I've never shot from a tree stand before, so making an accurate shot does worry me. What do you guys prefer and why? I've read other forums on this subject but none from here. You guys have always given me A+ advice and info in the past, so I really value your opinions on here. Thanks, Justin

Good info guys!

Hi Guys, I've got another newbie question for you. What distances do you guys prefer to set your pins at? I have a four pin sight on my bow and I only use two pins, one at 20 yards and the other at 30. Do any of you set a pin at 10 yards? -J