TheHornHunter

More than likely! Only thing different about tonight is they think they can get away with it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know several guys that think last night of muzzleloader is a free night to shoot as late as they want because they can just say they were unloading Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jumped a small buck and a doe tonight. Cut a decent track with about 15 minutes left of legal light but couldn’t catch up with it. Saw the same track go across my tracks from earlier on my way out so I guess he must have circled around and got behind me. Good season, no complaints from me. Best season yet in terms of mature buck encounters... I got one during bow and should have killed two during gun but scope was knocked off for one and the other I think I hit low and lost blood in the rain... but that’s why they call it hunting. Now onto ducks, geese, predators, and late season muzzleloader in Ohio in a couple weeks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finally settled in. No tracks on the way in but beautiful setting right next to the genesse river for the last hoorah. Not expecting to see many deer but good likelihood any I see will be shooters. It’s been a great season regardless of what happens tonight Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Heading out to the peninsula my buddy shot the 178” beast on. There’s been a stud ten pointer and a big seven bedding down there so I’m setting up where the cover pinches down and my buddy is on the opposite side where it funnels down to a oak ridge. Here’s to hoping for some last minute action... good luck to everyone out there! It’s been a blast following this forum and interaction with you all Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad to hear it and no problem! I started hunting with no one to really guide me but have lucked out since and found some great mentors. This forum gives me a way to try and pass some of that knowledge on and hopefully help put some meat in someones freezer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I forgot one other piece of advice... if leaving sticks on public I always take the bottom stick or two with me. That way someone needs their own stick to steal my set up. I’ve never had one stolen this way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did the same thing the last few years then this year due to an injury and sheer laziness I just go sit on the ground late season. I’ve always been skeptical of getting busted but I’ve seen more deer the last few weeks sitting in a hedge row, some brush on a field edge or in a dead fall in the woods, including some really nice bucks. I’ve been in a tree stand once or twice since bow season and I’ve seen just as many deer and mature bucks as I saw in October and early November. There’s definitely pluses to being in a stand and it’s more forgiving but this season has showed me that if I do my part, stay still and play the wind right I can be just as successful without lugging in a stand every time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jeez and I thought I was lucky with the flexibility of my work! I’m pretty jealous. Good luck with the bro Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I run both a climber and a h&h set up and to be honest I’d say they both take about the same amount of exertion. Sometimes the hang and hunt can be more demanding if the tree is super gnarly but I can literally get it into any tree so I’d say I use it about 90% of the time I’m not going to a prehung stand and my climber mostly collects dust now, unless I’m going to a open oak flat. I have the same issue with getting covered in sweat, even just going to some of our preset stands that may be a mile off the road. The best advice I can give on that is wear your base layers in and tie a rope around your pants and jacket and carry them over your shoulder. Sometimes I’ll wear my pants in but I never wear my jacket unless my walk is less than five minutes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wrap anything that can ding or clank with hockey tape. My hang and hunt set up is lethally quiet. I’ve had deer bedded less than fifty yards away before and not notice I was there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Live from the kitchen... doing up some tenderloins and heart from my does Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input. The leg opposite to me when I shot looked broken after the shot. He ran in front of me with that leg facing me so I got a good look at it. It’s possible I went under his cavity and only hit opposite leg but I would have expected to that to basically blow his leg off and to have way more carnage at the hit site. I only found two small fragments and little hair or blood initially. Plus I think that would have knocked him to the ground initially. I think I went through the cavity and out the opposite leg but either high or low. He was quartering away pretty good. I found one spot on the blood trail where I had two pretty good sized blood pools about a foot apart and slightly offset. I figured he stood for a little with two holes leaking Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nope. The people’s whose property the deer went on to are fairly anti hunting and very protective of their land. I’ve built a good relationship with them and they let me retrieve deer when I need to but they would be pissed if I brought someone on they didn’t know Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope that’s the case. I covered pretty much the whole creek bottom so I was thinking I may have pushed him out but he could have easily snuck around me and I never would have known. This would be my biggest buck to date by a pretty good margin which makes this all the more painful! I just really hope he survives or I get a crack at him. It makes me sick to think of a 150”+ buck rotting away in the woods Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the feedback. I was going off my hunting partners suggestion who has about 25 seasons on me. There’s a few pretty thick areas I can think of that he may go so I’ll cover them based on the wind. The one bright side about this area is of the ~1k acres around where I shot him there’s probably only 100-200 acres of cover. About half of that is three sanctuary properties that don’t allow hunting but the other half Is spread across a few properties i can hunt. Do you think he would go further than a mile or 1.5 miles? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Spent four hours this morning searching for the buck I shot last night. Found some bone fragments but no blood. All the blood I had found up until when I jumped him had washed away so I wasn’t too surprised on that. This bottom is only 30 acres but is super thick (see pic) and I’d basically need to step on a carcass to see it. Pretty depressing. The last deer I shot and didn’t recovered was the first deer I ever shot. I don’t know how much more I’ll hunt this season but I’m only going to target this buck. He’s gotta be in rough shape and will have to hit the feed bag pretty hard I’d think. I control most of the acreage around where I shot him so hopefully will get another crack over the next three days. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not good. Went back in and had a hard time finding more blood. The creek bottom he’s in is a legit jungle and was tough to get my bearings in the dark. My buddy thinks I hit him low and he’ll survive to see another day. The shot was pretty close, felt good and his reaction looked right but I guess you never know. I’ve only failed to retrieve one deer I’ve shot and that was the first deer I ever shot so pretty tore up over this. I’ll be back out tomorrow AM to try and get back on blood or do a body search if I can’t get on it. Not feeling optimistic but I’m going to give it everything I have before I give up Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, me too Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not on my property unfortunately. I have permission to track but the neighbor is a big hippy and doesn’t allow hunting Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow this afternoon has been crazy! Got set up around 230 and had a nice but busted up buck come by within minutes. Ended up having three more bucks cruise by in the next 15 minutes and shot a really nice 8 or 9 pointer. I shot him quartering away and his opposite side leg was broken when he was running away so I thought I smoked him. Ended up jumping him about 80 yards onto the blood trail. Looked pretty hurt but couldn’t get a shot. Not sure if I was high or what but I must not have double lunged. Going to back out for a while and hope rain doesn’t wash blood away Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m heading out for a quick sit. Probably out this afternoon too Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Damn, that is a horse! Gotta love how they always manage to find the worst place to die. I lucked out with this one and she dropped right in a clover field so I was able to drive my truck right up to her. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I believe that. I think part of it is you can get away with a lot more movement and sound on windy days so they are easier to hunt Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Idk what it is about wind that gets them up and moving but my best days of hunting have been in those 20-40 mph winds Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk