Cummins Chronicles

[5.9cummins]

11-30-11

Well my old neighbors stopped by our new place tonight and during the course of the conversation he asks me if i had tore down my blind up on his property and I said no Why? Then he proceeds to tell me that he went up there the other day and the blind i had built is flattened. I just kinda smirked and chuckled. Read the above post or it could be the other beauty of a neighbor up there who got busted for growing pot and likes to pop prescription pills while on stand. WTF

Not that i got much into it. Built it out of scrap but it was kinda nice to be able to take the girls out for early season bow hunts.

Why the hell cant some people show a little respect. Just re-enforces my belief about not buying anything and leaving it in the woods.

On the up side i am now the sole person who has permission to be on the property.

[5.9cummins]

12/1/11

Went up to the farm to sit for a couple hours. Settled in by 2:30. 42 degrees and light SW wind. Sat the edge of a bedding area (thicket) with a couple shooting lanes for about 100 yards on either side. Wind died about an hour before dark. About half an hour before sun set i hear what sounds like a truck on the highway. Then i realize its on the farm road no wait its on a tractor trail through the pines. Then the truck crosses through my shooting lane at 100 yards. So i start watching the other lane to see if they push something out the other direction. 5 minutes later the truck comes back through stopping in the shooting lane to take a look at me and drives back up to the top of the hill where he stops. Then i see one of the farmers trucks appear and surprisingly i hear (at about 250 yards) "down in the corner cant miss it". So they head back down the hill and to the "corner" on the opposite side of the bedding area. At this point i am thinking WTF is going on then i remember there is a small plot of trees down in the corner and this guy is looking for that perfect Christmas tree. Once the chain saw fired up, i couldn't help but laugh and decided to pack it in. Still hunted a half mile out and didn't cut a single track crossing the farm road.

I am thinking i am going to call it quits on the farm after this season. I got one place i can still think of that might hold some deer down in a wicked gully. I am going to try that and if no luck I'm going some where else.

[Fletch]

lol, I just love those days. You get out and set up and then one thing after another. Funny though most times it seems the deer do not even care. Places like farms and suburbs where they are used to activity.

[5.9cummins]

12-2-11

38 degrees and sleet. Swirling 2-5 mph wind.

Went back to the farm still hunted down in and took a seat over looking a flat in a creek bottom. Sat for about two and a half hours without seeing anything. Walking out jumped a deer about 100 feet from my truck.

[5.9cummins]

Spruced up my plane orange hunting vest while i had to go out of town for work. Took the vest along and did some re-modeling. Hopefully it brings me some luck. I need to get another bottle of dye to put some finishing touches on it.

Edited December 9, 2011 by 5.9cummins

[Moosemaple]

Looks great....

[Suilleabhain]

I like that, what kind of dye did you use and are they stencils or did you doo that free-hand?

[5.9cummins]

I like that, what kind of dye did you use and are they stencils or did you doo that free-hand?

It was just some stuff i picked up at JO-Ann Fabrics, 3$ i think. Don't recall the name (threw out the bottle) its in a squeeze bottle with a fine tip. I did it free hand.

[5.9cummins]

12-10-11

Well i guess my vest is now lucky or it could be i just went to one of my honey holes. 22 degrees with a light west wind this AM. Pulled in to my old bosses house at 4:30 (same place i shot the 8 earlier this year). Walked up the hill and stopped to put my jacket and vest on 50 yards below my stand. Took another step and had 3 or 4 turkeys bust out from directly over head. Next step sent another dozen crashing through the trees. Just when i think they are all gone i snap a twig and another half dozen take off.

Make it to my stand and settle in by 5:00. Daybreak comes and i spot another dozen birds in the tree next to me. Then a hen starts letting loose from directly behined me. Had to be 30+ birds roosted around my stand. The made quite the racket reassembling. I sat for a while and had to try and keep the fidgeting to a minimum but its hard to do when you forget the dam heating packs. At 8:00 i look over and there is a little 4pt standing there so i let the air out of him.

Went down to the house and had a cup of coffee with my boss and helped him cut and bale a couple Christmas trees.

Started still hunting up the hill to the ledges. There are always deer bedded under the hemlocks on the cliffs. Took me 4 hours to go about 400 yards. Got about 20 feet from the spot where i wanted to sit for the last 20 minutes of light and i get a dam grey squirrel barking at me. All of a sudden i catch movement and see two deer running toward me. I pull up as the walk behined a couple hemlocks but the stop. Its a big doe and her yearling. Then i see more movement and a spike is following them. They relax a little and then start walking. When the doe is broad side at 20 yards i touched one off. She gave a good kick and bolted. I found some short brown hair but no blood. I go back to where i was standing and there is one freaking thumb sized branch sticking out of the side of a hemlock and i grazed it, only damn thing between me and the deer. So i start to track her and i find a drop of blood at 60 yards, then another, and another. She paused at about 100 yards and there was a soft ball sized splatter. Found a couple more splatters like that then she slowed to a walk and no more blood (with the exception of a little in a track ever now and then). She started circling back toward a thicket that they bed in so i backed out. Going to let her go over night and go back tomorrow afternoon to see if i cant find her.

Edited December 11, 2011 by 5.9cummins

[5.9cummins]

12-11-11

Went back and found my doe today. Unfortunately a couple 4 legged critters found her as well. Hit just above the sternum. Bullet deflected back and came out mid abdomen. Still scratching my head as to how it didn't get piece of the heart and or lungs.

[Zem18]

Congrats on the doe - and down with the 4 legged critters!!!

Happy Holidays