Rebel Darling

I'll trade ya... Ha.

Luck has the day for ya... Glad you were able to connect and put down a doe!

It's possible, but I doubt it. As one long time resident down the mountain told me after I mentioned that I think there are poachers up here: "oh yeah, that's where everyone goes and gets a deer, whenever." I've only seen one coyote up here during daylight in two years. Something is off... Just heard another single shot. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

I am getting tired of hearing single or double high calibre reports around sunset up here in 4L. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Steady rain moved in to 4L, and the temp seems to be dropping. Fog settled in around 11:00 am, but still enough visibility to see out 100 yards. I moved out, but will likely head back in if the rain lets up. No deer spotted while on stand. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Thank you for being a teacher. I tried it out as a sub in Albany and lasted one day. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Zero deer. Need something... Ha. My lil' part of 4L dead again, after some excitement from the kitchen window. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Just watched a spike walk through the backyard within 50' of the house. Nose down, not paying attention to anything other than that trail. Might have to go sit that line shortly. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Great day for you fellas... Congrats on the harvest!

The wife made venison stroganoff. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Nice buck! Congrats, man! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Trying a new spot in 4H until dark. Squirrel just sent my heart rate soaring. Crunchy ground, no other sound. Very light breeze and unseasonably warm. A little concerned they won't get up until the evening when it cools off, and just before the front moves in. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a growing discouragement at this point. It seems like over the past week the entire state has lit up with rut behavior, and I have yet to find a rub, and the does disappeared. It's like they walked off a cliff. I'm betting some of them headed up and over the ridge to new food plots on a 280 acre parcel. That parcel is now a private hunting camp. It used to be woods... I'm probably spooking the others. I've also been second guessing all of my decisions on how to call and scent deer. Truth is, I have very little idea what I'm doing out there when calling or using scents, and I'm starting to think that I'm harming more than helping. While in the stand on Friday morning, after I had worked up a sweat and made a ton of noise making sure I sprayed estrus and buck urine in a fresh line of scrapes, I sat in the stand and thought Why in the hell did you just ruin perfectly good scrapes? If the scrapes occurred naturally, they probably didn't need any additions from me and a trove of overwhelming scents. The deer up here are spooky, and all that scent probably spooked that buck. As of this morning, those scrapes hadn't been freshened since I laid the scent. I did get a coyote to walk that line this morning, though... As far as grunting goes, I've heard so little of wild buck grunting that there's little chance I'm performing as expected, or anywhere near accurate for the deer around here. I should put the damn thing away until I learn (hear it in the wild) more. So, over the past few hunts (Friday morning & evening, Sunday evening, Monday morning & evening), I've decided that I'm going to try and get back to how I started the season, which is to try and find where the deer are, learn why they are there, and position myself appropriately. And in order to find the deer, I think I'm going to have to move my hunts elsewhere for the time being. I'm starting tomorrow afternoon by heading up to 4H to return to some spots I know, and to explore a new one. I'm hoping to find some definitive sign, as well as hoping that the spots haven't been too pressured in recent days. I have permission to hunt a privately owned spot that, to my knowledge, hasn't seen hunting pressure all season, so that parcel might produce sign and sightings. If I find sign, I'm going to shut the hell up, and keep all scents to a minimum. All in all, it's been my best season yet (3rd, 2nd bow), and I'm trying to learn more to make it even better...

I get the feeling I ain't anywhere near paying my due just yet. Here's to luck beyond a very poor entry this afternoon. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Man... I'm loving all these harvest photos across all the threads. Congrats to all! Heading back out for the remainder of the afternoon in a bit. Hoping to have a photo of my own to post...

Congrats! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Coyote just ran through. Saw me reach for the bow and changed course. It was on the move... Otherwise, quiet, clear and cold in 4L. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Agreed! Great seeing all those harvest shots today! Got out for an evening sit in a new spot along a creek. Risky spot, it's near a road, and across the street from a house set back a ways. We get into the last 20 mins of light, and the neighbor decides to take his young daughter for a joyride on his tractor. She's screaming out the time of her life, and I see a deer pop out of the thicket I'm set up in. I grunt and wheeze, and the deer stops a few hundred yards into a hardwood clearing. I couldn't see headgear, but that body was big... Deer kept giving me second thoughts, but had enough of the tractor and screaming and bounded off. I'm on to this one... I think this is the fella with the scrape line... Hope the wind is the same soon. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Congrats on the buck! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Way to get it done, Biz and Zag! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Met with the neighbors and gained some intelligence on at least one reason why there have been so few doe around this year. Their neighbor, on the other side of the ridge with 280 acres cleared, plowed, and seeded numerous food plots this year. They've turned it into a hunting camp and posted the lines. I used to see teams of doe traveling through the back down near the marsh on my property. The doe have been few and far between this year, which also means fewer chasing bucks. Guess I'll be doing some more strategic clearing of my own next year, and working harder to secure rights to properties other than my own, as well as scouting more state land. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Pulling for you Buckmaster. Make some memories, man! Good luck to all afield. Bring 'em in, knock 'em down. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Guess you didn't need that outer-layer after all... Great end to a great day for ya! Congrats on the buck, man!

Checking out in 4L. Nada seen. Maybe a couple heard. No fields around me that I can hunt, and I think the deer are holding tight to them. They're not anywhere in these woods with regularity. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

I'm superstitious when it comes to ravens. I have no idea why. Seems like the raven behind me and the neighbor's dog were having a chat, or aggravated by something. Raven flew off, dog shut up. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk