Live From The Woods 2022 - 2023 Edition!

[moog5050]

First sit of year.   Couldn’t find range finder, forgot my bow (really) and lost an arrow on way in.  Should be a perfect night.  Lol

[Judoka95]

In and settled for the pm. Wind doesn't seem nearly as bad once I was in the tree line. The damn deer have been using my access path so I hope they don't scent me.

Edited October 2, 2022 by Judoka95

[Nomad]

Good luck fellas , I’ll be watching from the hot tub cigar in hand .

Might hunt a morning or two next week idk . 

Yesterday I sat in the stand ,left shoulder hurt so much not sure I could raise the bow, hip hurt, back hurt , could barley straighten up after picking up seat cushion off the ground , tripped almost fell, doing so . All I could think of was being home and eating dinner and watching a baseball game .

[Bolt action]

Been in since 3. Wind not as bad as i thought, but swirling more than I expected. Was planning to sit in the elevated box. The dead tree next to it is moving a lot in the wind though and so i decided to sit on the ground.

[phade]

I’m for the pm. Same stand as opener. So far a 2 year old pass this sit. Eating apples. He bombed out Mach 5 after sniffing my pack that I left on the ground at the base of the stand. Dumb forgetfulness on my part. Three point came by too. This wind has some swirls. Not liking it totally. 

[518BowSlayer]

Forgot my rangefinder and miss judged the distance and shot right over a doe. Clean miss is better than a bad hit though

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[518BowSlayer]

Now this lighted nock is just sitting there mocking me... rightfully so

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[518BowSlayer]

Wiff

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[wolc123]

8 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

My opening day: 

Gman graciously invited me down to hunt his property. Drove down Friday night after working all day. That drive gives me anxiety. He’s racked up 27 deer and a bear driving up to WNY for work and back over the years. I’ve had some close calls going to and from. Ordered my Subaru Outback xt onyx and waited 13 months for it , 2 weeks after getting it I smoked a deer doing 55 last spring so I’m gun shy now. $5k damage. Bunked out on the couch and 3 other guys spent the night too. He generously put me in the best spot cams proving it. Active scrapes 5-6 bucks working daily. 1 of which a dandy. He’d rather see others kill a good one than him. I have to cross a small creek on a wobbly suspension bridge with cables to hold onto. Upon hitting beginning of bridge my red lens on headlamp picks up to sets of eyes . Thinking sob 2 deer bedded there but I have to cross. Get half away across and one stands up , coyotes and one at now 18/19 yards is a big one. Nock an arrow. Full draw , can’t see pins , heck it’s been 80-90 seconds and both still staring at me. They finally scoot. Decide to put arrow into quiver and finish across. Upon hitting the end I step down and slip crashing hard into rocks and rebar supporting bridge. Took rebar right to the kneecap. Thought 911 was gonna be needed. Sucked it up and continued short journey to shooting shack where the scrapes. Thank goodness as climbing a ladder no bueno with knee on fire. Plunked my ass on a bar stool in there. Standing up not easy. Passed a spiker who might not even measure 3” and stubby tail to boot. Pain and swelling was nagging. Pulled the plug at 10:15. Drove the 90 minutes home thinking if I had a stick shift I couldn’t drive. Iced the heck out of it. My dads brothers son who’s a spitting image of my dad has been glassing a field for weeks and nice bucks hitting red clover at dusk each night. I’ve  sat this place before and never see squat. Was corn prior years and this year it just was clover that popped. Helped other day get his climber set up with trimming and such. Yesterday wind was perfect blowing our scent into creek. I opted a stand a little farther away than we knew they’d enter. There’s a stand right where they should cross the creek , hit wood line then clover. I didn’t want to have my scent blow at cousin so I opted at one 60 yards away from the perfect stand. Well guess what , watched nice buck walk right under open stand . Watched 4 coon climb down from den tree and lone black squirrel. Then I get text at 5:30. I stuck him. Now Tony has baddd hearing and eyesight. The worst turkey hunter I’ve known and been trying for years to get a bird under his gun. He’s loud , noisy and always in a hurry. I climb down ladder stand with knee on fire. He can’t find blood and I immediately pick it up. Bright red and no bubbles. I mark it for 50 yards or so until losing it in swamp. I grid search lightly and knee goes out tumbling into a rose of Sharon face first. This is fun. After losing blood I tell him we should back out. He shot at 30 yards slight quartering towards. Upon him calling deer search I look 175 yards away and the other nice buck that was with shooter is walking down logging trail . I had just placed a cam on a stake over 3 big scrapes. Watching him hit licking branch and scrape. Tony’s like where lol.  I went home and iced my knee some more. Supposed to bowl 6 games pre bowling for 3rd saturday of October and November. October is dads day at Samantha’s college and November is opening day of gun. Not sure bowling is gonna happen tonight lol. Well low and behold pic just got text. Tony is the first to wrap his hands around said bucks horns. He kills a lot of nice deer each year. Happy for him. I’m gonna try for shooters buddy when hunting local next. 

 

 

 

 

I know how you felt because I did almost the same thing to my left knee Friday night.  I tripped on the last step while carrying a big deep cycle battery down to the basement for winter. I also twisted and sprained my right ankle and hurt my right wrist and left elbow on impact with the concrete floor.  
 

Due to injuries to all four limbs, no one seemed all that bad.  Lots of pain remained on Saturday morning.  Right ankle is still a little sore but everything else feels good now.

[phade]

Crane flew up from creek. Land near top of hill. Cool to see. Looked like a plane with not enough power at takeoff lol.

[phade]

Active debate. Not a shooter decision. 

[phade]

More.

[doebuck1234]

3 minutes ago, phade said:

More.

Looks like ur figuring out an exit strategy!!!

[Judoka95]

I had 4 doe sneak in behind me and cross into the field before they caught my scent. 10 yards closer and one would have been going in the freezer.

[mattypotpie8S]

14 minutes ago, phade said:

Active debate. Not a shooter decision. 

tweener

[Swamp_bucks]

Well everything worked out minus the big boy closing the last 50yrds. Had to coyote howl to get them off the field so I could sneak out.  Have to go back in the morning after kids get on the bus to pull my setup since it’s on stateland.  
 

they came out at 515 and fed from 125-83 and would make that final commitment.  

[518BowSlayer]

Well I jinxed myself. After missing a doe I shot one and couldn't find it. Not good penetration or blood. Think i might have hit the opposite shoulder. Followed as best I could for maybe 100 yards and lost it. Good thing I'm off tomorrow and can go back and look in the morning. Never shot one I couldn't find before so I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Not throwing the towel but keeping my expectations in check

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[First-light]

First sit tonight. Walked in at 4:00 got to the bottom of the stand and looked back. Little 4 pt was staring me down! lol He has been around our hay field all the time. 

[phade]

A good 6 was ultimately the benefactor of a pass.

7 bucks between us and a doe and fawn. It was a nice hunt. 

[boo711]

Couldn’t make it out this afternoon. Had a 6 pt show up at 6:05 right by my stand. Ended up working a scrape near stand. At last night had the 8 pt I’d like to get walk by and hit the same scrape as the 6 pt. Kept thinking all afternoon they would be moving since I couldn’t be out there. 

[doebuck1234]

24 minutes ago, 518BowSlayer said:

Well I jinxed myself. After missing a doe I shot one and couldn't find it. Not good penetration or blood. Think i might have hit the opposite shoulder. Followed as best I could for maybe 100 yards and lost it. Good thing I'm off tomorrow and can go back and look in the morning. Never shot one I couldn't find before so I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Not throwing the towel but keeping my expectations in check

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 

Best o luck tomorrow. Keep us posted,good luck sleeping tonight.i deff know the feeling!!!!hopefully some pics to come!!

Edited October 3, 2022 by doebuck1234

[Versatile_Hunter]

36 minutes ago, Swamp_bucks said:

Well everything worked out minus the big boy closing the last 50yrds. Had to coyote howl to get them off the field so I could sneak out.  Have to go back in the morning after kids get on the bus to pull my setup since it’s on stateland.  
 

they came out at 515 and fed from 125-83 and would make that final commitment.  

Wow!

[Five Seasons]

Up and in, bumped a bachelor group on the way in. Not thrilled about it but they went in a good direction so I’ll take it




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did the same thing sat morning. 3 bucks lol

Sent from my SM-T970 using Tapatalk

[Hock3y24]

The wind couldn’t make up its damn mind on a direction so I sat at my car and watched the field with a beer. Saw 5 doe this evening. No where near my bow stand lol

[Five Seasons]

Story Time!
 
Man of man, what a rush. This is not only my first bow buck but my first bow deer and first buck ever since I started hunting about 2 seasons ago now. Here's exactly how it all went down.
 
It started yesterday, for a few hours I was debating not going hunting today due to the weather forecast. I decided that since I had been prepping for this very day, for months, I wasn't going to miss it. This would be my first time hunting before the start of regular season.
At around 4pm I walked into my "spot" to setup my stand, prep work before Saturday's hunt. On the way in I bumped what I thought was a solid 4 point buck. I setup my stand then left. The next day I woke up around 3am, showered, headed out the door by 3:30am. I arrived at my spot around 4am, climbed up my stand and waited.
There was rain, on and off, not as bad as I thought it would be. While I was in my stand, cold and wet, I decided to try and pull back my bow, practice run. I couldn't do it..... my muscles were cold, I was tired. It took me 3-4 tries before I could pull it back. At that point I was extremely nervous. And in that nervousness I realized I am 100% overbowed, 70lbs is not for me. Not only am I overbowed but I increased my draw length by half an inch and ever since the bow randomly jumps forward if I let up on it even just a tad at full draw. No bueno. 
7:20am rolls by, I have to go to the bathroom... hell of a chore when you have to get past 3 layers of tight clothing. As I'm about to open the flood pipe I see my shooter buck 15 yrds from me ... Looking back on this, this was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life for so many reasons. My johnson in my hand, buck 15 yrds away from, and my body instantly flooding with adrenaline.
I scramble to get myself decent. After I position my feet, I grab my bow SLOWLY, then freeze. It's crazy how you can be 15yrds away from an animal that is hyper aware of it surroundings and it not see you. I purposely would not look it in the eyes, for some reason I thought this would help me to remain undetected.
His head is down, he's eating acorns in the exact spot I thought he would be. A twig snaps, he turns away from me, ears at the alert in the wrong direction. I pull back my bow, go to aim and the ^&%$ing bow jumps forward.... Thank GOD it was silent. I look at the buck and he goes back to his acorns..... For whatever reason he picks up his head and looks back in the same direction. I pull back once again, all crazy like, full left, because I am clearly overbowed. I put my pin on him. He is hard quartering to me. Only now do I realize this was a stupid, horrible, shot to make. I release my arrow.
I can see the arrow hit him, it looks like it enters high. He does a jump, back legs kick out, he runs about 45yards and then I heard two crashes. I know this sound, I've heard it plenty of times on youtube videos. A crash is almost certainly going to be a death. I pat myself on the back. Within 5 minutes I'm on the ground, I go to retrieve my arrow ..... What I saw next horrified me. The arrows is green, the ground is green, everything smells like stinky a$$. I gut shot the deer.
Now some of you members see me post on here. I have issues with shot placement for some reason. I guess this is the learning curve. All my shots, rifle, shotgun, and bow are always high. Even though my shot placement sucks, I have dropped every deer dead, over the last 2 seasons, with no tracking involved. Pure, dumb, blind, luck. 
I pull out my phone, google "gut shot deer with bow". Of course all the results mortify me. After about 10 minutes of trying to figure out what to do I fall back on my initial observations. I heard this the drop. With this in mind I decided to at least walk to where I heard the crash and go from there.
I start to creep forward, very very slowly. I attempt to try to swing hard right and approach the spot instead of walking straight to it. After about 2 minutes I can see him. Belly first, no movement, head next, eyes open ... no movement. I get up to him and poke him, nothing.
Despite all my f-ups and just plain amateur decisions lady luck is STILL with me. At this point I was happy but equally upset with myself. Again, for the third time I messed up a shot. Why oh why oh WHY can I not get this right.
I roll him over, entrance wound is by the spine towards the upper half of the torso. Exit wound is on the lower belly. Keep in mind, no blood this entire time, no blood anywhere. I'm almost as excited to gut him as I was to shoot him. I needed to know how a shot this crappy could kill him in less than a minute. 
As soon as I punctured the chest cavity ALL excitement left me. This thing exploded, blood and bile came pouring out of the chest cavity, and I mean POURING out, it defied logic. The smell, THE SMELL. Even breathing through my mouth couldn't stop it, the air tasted like some kind of sweet sour rotting death. 
I quickly came to put the organ puzzle pieces together. When I hit the spine I must have hit a major artery, I clipped part of the back end of a lung and then flew right through the stomach. I'm assuming he died from the shear shock of the wound, possibly even suffocating as his chest cavity was insanely bloated before I started working on him. All the blood and the bile pooled inside of that cavity.
The broadhead I used was a Grim Reaper White Tail Special. It punched through spine material and shattered 2 ribs. I'm convinced that the huge 3" cut is the ONLY reason I was able to recover this deer. 
And well, ya'll know the rest of what happens. Fun quarter mile drag out and off to Quaker Creek, lol.
Since this is my first buck I decided to do a full shoulder mount. I'll be dropping him off on Monday with True-Life Taxidermy. I hear they do some of the best work in NY, hopefully as they charge 850$.
Welp, if you stuck around for that entire story then props to you because you basically when hunting with me this morning
Happy Shooting ya'll, and I can't wait to post again!

 

Congrats man! I have questions and advice if you ever want it, but this isn't the place. Keep up the practice and more success will come your way!

Sent from my SM-T970 using Tapatalk