Bolt action

The baby was up all night. I think he's teething. Made it really hard to wake up when the alarm went off. But, can't shoot em if your not in the woods. Headed out now. Good luck everyone.

Following from the office until I get back out this weekend for one more chance before gun opens.. Congrats to all who have connected! I'm looking at a 10 degree drop in temps going from Friday to Saturday. Let's hope it gets 'em moving around me. It's been a slow year so far.

Congrats Chef!

Pre season we counted over 80 deer in one afternoon of scouting. Now that I'm trying to kill 'em, I've seen fewer than 10 deer total in as many sits. Sat this morning from 530 until noon. First spot felt deery, but didn't see anything. Tried a few grunt / bleat sets, but nada. Around 10 i moved 200yds into the wind to another stand but still no deer. At least the day wasn't a total loss. When I got home I put the party set away, pulled the garden and cut the lawn for hopefully the last time.

The walk in was quieter than expected. I'm in a spot that i haven't sat in yet this year. Slight south wind in my face. The woods are starting to come alive. I've got a good feeling about today.

I'm up.. man it feels early.. going to tote the Xbow today. It gives me a few options where the upright bow is not ideal. I should have a south wind. It's going to be really loud waking in with all the cold dry leaves on the ground, but hopefully I'll be there early enough that things settle before day break. Good luck to anyone getting out.

Quick update from yesterday evening hunt. The farmer was still cutting the beans when I worked my way in, so I figured his commotion covered the noise I made getting into my stand. Set up over a couple fresh scrapes. After the farmer left, everything was really quiet except for the squirrels. I didn't see any deer. WorkEd my way down and on the way out I pushed five or six deer. I just saw their bushy tails in the distance as they ran away. No idea if they were boys or girls. I'll be back in the morning.

Just climbed a new tree for the afternoon sit. Farmer cut half the bean field today. Two decent sized fresh scrapes within 15yds. Apparently this tree has signal so it's time to catch up on live from the woods!

I keep all hunting clothes in totes in the basement in the off season. I don't use scent wafers, but will add in a bunch of oak leaves and acorns, or feed corn. I keep them in the totes pretty much year round. A few weeks before the season starts I'll wash them and then hang them on the kid's playground for a week or so, and then back in to the totes they go. If I get rained on, I'll hang them outside again when i get home so they can air out.

If the woods are quiet, I try to sneak them out.. But if it's raining or windy, I let 'em rip!

I'll keep an eye out, thanks for the tip.

Here's a quick rant about my current experience with Under Armour. Going into this season, I was in the market for an early season jacket to use in October for bow season. I was looking for lightweight, waterproof (or at least repellent), quiet, and reasonably priced. After a little looking around, I decided on an Under Armour jacket (Under Armour Cold Gear Armour Storm Lightweight Waterproof Rain Jacket). I ended up getting it through a 3rd party vendor as opposed to UA directly (better price). When it arrived, it was just what I was looking for, except that the liner seemed really flimsy. It literally looked and felt like cellophane. Giving the quality engineers the benefit of the doubt, I wore it twice in the field. The second time, that liner ripped in the right sleeve. I called UA customer service about the issue and emailed over a copy of my invoice along with the tags and a pic of the issue. I got no reply. I followed up twice, but still no reply. I called again today, and was told that I had no recourse through UA because I bought it through a vendor. I tried to explain that the issue wasn't the sales outlet, but it was with the quality and durability of the garment that they manufactured. They didn't offer me any solution. I then called the corporate office to voice my complaint. They said that because I bought it through a vendor, and because it was more than 60 days from the date of the purchase, they could not help me. The best they could do would be to offer me a 10% coupon toward a future purchase. So I spent $100+ on a jacket that is now defective after 2 uses, and I get 10% off toward another purchase from their online store which would still cost me $100+... At this point I'm just going to tear out the rest of the liner and see how well this works. I many be in the market for another jacket to replace this one. Ok rant over. Thanks for letting me vent. You guys are the best.

Wish I'd seen this earlier! Nice of you to offer it @Nomad.

Fair point. I wouldn't want to rock the boat. If we can make it work, I'll play along. If not, I'll just keep my picks to myself for the heck of it.

I missed the start of this, and wasn't going to jump in late.. but it looks like it's still anybody's game, so count me in! I'll throw in my week 7 pick before the end of the week.

I've bought tags from Walmart before just out of convenience. The sales rep was clueless. Just because they can sell them doesn't mean they are up to speed on the reg's.

Good luck to anyone getting out over the next few days! Weather is finally cooperating and just in time. My buddy hunts not far from me over in HIlton. He saw two bucks come through this morning. Second one took an arrow. I would love to get out, but taking time off on short notice is more of an issue in my current position.

Saw 6 this morning on the drive in along the parkway including one real nice buck. Parked by 530 and in stand by 6. It rained from about 5 until about 7 (weather man got it right for once). i sat in the bottom of the 2 story budget blind. I was dry and comfortable and did off from around 6 till about 7. This morning felt good but all i saw were squirrels. Here are a few pix of the view from the bottom and a nice rib i saw that was over a fresh scrape. That was about 100yds North of my position.

Happy Halloween! Up and at em for the morning sit. This will be my 8th sit this season. I'm hoping the rain holds off. The constant rain and limited sightings lately are starting to wear me down. Good luck to anyone getting out.

I'm often amazed at the difference in housing prices between upstate and downstate.

Glad it worked out for you Fletch! I've been stalking the weekend forecast.. F'n rain predicted all weekend..

Just got back from dropping the boys off at daycare. I passed a corn field that had just been cut. At least 1, maybe two doe entering the field. Also a decent 6 walking through the field away from them about 50 yards from them. I have my gear in the truck from last night still and I thought about putting a stalk on the does. The field is posted though so I just watched for a bit. Now I'm watching from the office. Good luck to anyone who gets out. I'm watching the weekend weather, but it looks like a washout at this point.

6 doe feeding in thick stuff 80yds to my left.

I'm in a tree.. it always make me nervous when they sway back and forth. In this stand, any deer is fair game. Let's Go!!

Finally a break from the rain! The next few days look good, clear and cool. I'm watching from the office today, but will be out for a PM sit tomorrow. This is the spot where the landowner passed on a big 8 several times last year so that I could get a shot at it. Didn't see anything when I was there last weekend, but I'll be back in tomorrow.