46rkl

Got to my stand about 2:30, saw nothing but squirrels over the next two hours. Almost two hours because I just MIGHT have nodded off the last few minutes before sunset. Woke up about ten minutes after sunset. My wife’s turkey dinner was just so good I stuffed myself and then went hunting. If only we had some snow on the ground, I would have been walking instead of sitting. Likely wouldn’t have missed the last few minutes. Guess it’s not good to make stands so comfortable..

It’s good to be retired! Best of luck when you do get out.

Made an interesting observation on the way to my stand today. I came across three different scrapes that had been freshly worked. Yet as of two days ago, they had not been worked in at least two weeks. Wonder if one of the big boys I have on trail camera is back around or some new buck is moving in? Either way, good sign for me.

Beautiful! Where in NM are you? Looks like Rio Grande near Taos. I’ve hunted elk up near Chan’s and had a great time. Best of luck on your trip.

Mid-day movement! Left the house at 12:15. Shot this one at 12:30 while working my way to my stand. Momma busted me and jumped into the brush but this one wasn’t as decisive and now I’ve got some real good eating meat for the freezer. Field dressed her and I’m now sitting in my stand for the afternoon.

Never too late to move. Just do it and hunt it hard right after you do. This time of year patterns can be thrown out the window on any area that’s been even moderately hunted with firearms. Best of luck to you.

Just a bit south there is a road that goes a little bit up the hill and ends at a trail that you can take all the way up on to the top. It is access to great hunting but not many people go up there as it is a tough climb and a long drag of you get a deer. I usually only go up there if there is good snow cover. Makes tracking and dragging soooo much easier. My hunting buddies won’t appreciate me spilling the beans on this area but best of luck to you. It’s beautiful land.

Lost my mind out here seeing nothing. Gonna try and backtrack to see if I can find it....

Conditions are perfect here in my part of 8H. Temps in the low 30’s and a slight breeze from the SE. Here’s hoping the deer feel the same way.

Not to worry, you figured it out and all is good. Learn from it, don’t beat yourself up over it. It is good to share your story, saves others from making the same mistake.... hopefully. Congrats on the deer.

Seat cushion. My butt is tired of this cold metal mesh.

First shot heard at 6:38. Sunrise here at 7:10.

Happy hour on the deck. All preparations for SZ gun opener tomorrow are completed, time for a Hayburner.

Aim small, miss small. Best of luck to all. Time for a happy hour beer.

OK, I thought this was a bad luck season before but now I’m sure. Broke my release when I had a spine doe to finish off, broke my crossbow the first live shot I took with it, hit a deer with my truck ($4500 in damages) and finally, find out this morning that my wife and son had all day exposure to a person that ended up in the ER last night and tested COVID-19 positive. Luckily, I have my own 40 acres to hunt from home but I typically host a group of friends and young hunters on opening day and we’ve had tremendous luck with it. Not this year. Just finished calling them all to break the news. I told them they could hunt if they wish but no coming in the barn and no breakfast or lunch inside. I was relieved that they all decided not to hunt here. Wonder what else is going to make this a memorable season. At least I got meat in the freezer with that doe.....

A good friend of mine is an ECO. He said that the reason for the four day hiatus is to give the ECO’s a break for the Christmas holiday. He’s not a big fan of the idea from a work point of view but says it would probably produce a good deer take as so many people are off of work for much of that time. I’m all for it. More time in the field is always a good thing.

Rockin and rollin in windy 8H. Seems the deer are smarter than me and laying low.

Savage 25-06. Love that rifle and caliber. Probably switch to the 30-30 lever action after a few days just cause it’s fun to hunt with.

The only thing that I would add is a little tip. Carry a screw-in step to put under your seat cable for added insurance. And a screw-in pack holding hook to hold your gear bag. I used to love climbers and had a lot of success using them. You get to customize your setup to fit the tree as you like. Just avoid Shagbark Hickory. Very noisy to get a climber into and the plated bark makes it very hard for the cable to grip. Enjoy and good luck.

Keep on eye on your weather app if you’re out in western NY. Severe thunderstorm watch. Looks like a long line of strong storms coming in before sunset..

Doe down. Not by me but my buddy 75 yards away. She ran up and fell over right in front of me. Still waiting for a buck to come by. Maybe she’ll be a decoy.

Doe grazing in front of me at 5 yards. Trying to wait for a buck but....

Fifty yards to my right was a small buck chasing a doe around my food plot. Fifty yards behind me my buddy had two nice bucks walk by his stand (he already has a big buck) and fifty yards to my left two bucks are tearing up the brush, fighting, growling and grunting up a storm. Meanwhile, I sit in my stand with no shots at anything. What a week.

What a five day stretch! Hit a deer with my truck, destroyed my crossbow on the first live shot and my son totaled his car on a deer/power pole accident. He’s fine. Got the compound bow back out and out for an evening sit to clear my mind. As I left the house my wife said, “no big bucks tonite, we can’t afford it right now”. Heck, it’s only $100 down....

Surprisingly not. The buck jumped and went right back to strolling along with my lighted nock sticking in the ground behind him. Any one interested in a lightly used crossbow? Only fired once at a real deer.