Cummins Chronicles

[5.9cummins]

Well this will be an attempt to put down what i see in the woods. Mainly for deer but you might see waterfowl or turkey entries as well.

10-16-11

First time out with a bow was Sunday morning. I went in at grey light and still hunted to the stand which is a 6' diameter oak at the edge of a beech thicket in a funnel. Sat till 11 and didn't see a thing other than chipmunks. Wind was blowing 15-20 mph. Temps were in the 40s.

10-17-11

Hunted the evening. Sitting in my stand by 3:45 off a field edge with a bedding area out on the point of a ridge. Hoped to intercept something coming out to feed in the clover. I spent more time worrying about my tree snapping than looking for deer. The maple i was in was only about 2.5-3' diameter where i was sitting and man was it moving. Wind was 25+ with gusts over 35. Had to take the long way around leaving because the bull in the pasture was less than welcoming. Temps were in the mid 50s.

10-18-11

Took my daughter up to our foodplot and had three doe and a 4 point come in. First doe moved down hill and down wind of us without a shot. My daughter sneezed twice and the deer ran off but i could here it stomping. I bleated twice to try and calm her down but she came unglued. My daughter started playing with the bleat and had another doe and yearling come in with a 4 point. The doe worked off down hill but the 4 point came into the plot. I took a 35 yard shot but believe i missed due to some serious string ducking. Cant find the arrow no blood or significant hair. It was dead quiet and i am also re thinking my broad heads (razor tricks) i could here them whistling all the way to the deer. Temps were around 60.

[5.9cummins]

10-22-11

Tried out a new spot tonight. Got permission for a 20 acre piece of land that a professor owns at the local college. Half wooded, half field with 3 ponds. Deer are out in the field EVERY night so i had to give it a shot. Went in blind with the exception of what i had been seeing from the road. Ended up sitting in a brush island between two of the ponds. Got settled in about 4 cleaned out some goldenrod and got it down to bear earth so it was quiet. Good SW wind and a little running water for background noise.

About 5:30 had a doe and two yearlings pop out of the goldenrod (down wind of me) which i was told they normally pot out on the upwind side - go figure. They fed around for about 15 minutes until the doe did the old snap to attention when she caught my wind. Spent till the end of legal shooting light playing cat and mouse. She blows / stomps runs into the goldenrod. A few minutes and she re appears and gets a little braver / closer and we repeat the process. Finally she is closing the gap to less than 20 yards and when she blows she will turn 180 away from me and take a couple steps before bounding off. So i figure what the heck next time shes inside 20 yards i will try and draw when she turns. But I am sure you can guess how that turned out.

One thing i will say damn i like my ASAT leafy suite. 20 yards and she could not pick me out and she knew i was there.

Edited October 23, 2011 by 5.9cummins

[5.9cummins]

10-23-11

I am officially getting depressed.

Took my 4 year old daughter up to my blind / food plot. Got settled in at about 10 after 5 for her first ever deer hunt. About 1/4 till 6 i hear leaves crunching and spot a doe and yearling working over to the food plot. They both come into the plot and feed for a few minutes. She passes behind a tree and i draw. Shes at 25 yards and i put the 25 yard pin behind her shoulder and let fly. Clean miss under her belly. The yearling bolts but she takes two bounds and stops at the edge of the plot behind a tree. I take advantage of the tree to knock a second arrow. The yearling comes back and she starts to walk back over and when she gets about the 19-20 yard range i put the 15 yard pin a touch high and let the second one fly. I watch as she pivots left and the arrow strikes her shoulder and the arrow appeared to deflect while taking off a big patch of shoulder hair. She loops down hill and heads back off through the timber without any visible signs of damage (arrow impact side facing away). As soon as she was out of sight / sound i head for the plot and take a look. Big patch of short dark hair and no arrow .

I came straight home and put a dozen arrows downrange at 25 and 35 yards 2-3 inch groups and 4-6 inch groups.

I am going back up in the AM to see if i can find anything more but man this sucks.

[burmjohn]

I'm sure it will get better!

[5.9cummins]

10-24-11

Went back up this AM and found my second arrow 15 yards behind where the doe was standing. No blood or penetration for that matter. This goes as a first of having a arrow deflect off a deer.

Saw a nice 2.5 year old (high rack) 6 or 8 point on rt 243 just north of Rushford lake on the way home tonight about 5:30 working a licking branch on a apple tree.

Probably wont get out until Friday night or Saturday morning but i cant wait.

[5.9cummins]

10-28-11

Drove 400 miles through prime deer country during prime time over the last two days and saw 2 deer - TWO!!! and one was dead on the side of the road WTF.

Anyway the one that was not dead i saw this AM. Coming up the back way from the house to 390 / Mount Morris on the south side of Letchworth. Spotted him on a hill side 200 yards out beaded. I could see rack without the binos so i slammed on the breaks and hit the shoulder. Pulled out the glasses and watched him for a few minutes. 16-17 inch spread 8pt. Probably 3.5 years. Never moved just sat there watching each other.

Waiting for Laundry to finish now then hit the sack and early to rise.

[5.9cummins]

10-29-11

Went over to hunt the farm again with one of the stands i rarely get to hunt due to a East wind, temps around 32 and light snow. Got in and remembered i didn't trim the lanes for this spot this year. Tucked into a gnarly multi-stem crab apple with a built in seat on a limb. Two fresh scrapes within 20 yards and a bunch of real apples dropping. Sat till 10 and didn't see a thing. Still hunted down through a bottom and found another scrape and some tracks from yesterday but still no deer.

No hunting tonight - packing the house and i have to get caught up on some work. Off to look at a couple houses tomorrow after church and keeping my fingers crossed i can get an evening sit in at my old supervisors house.

[5.9cummins]

10-30-11

This is getting ridiculous. Stopped by my old bosses house this afternoon. I shot the s@#$ for a little while and decided what the hell i will go up and sit some where. So i get to the top of the hill and the wind was swirling, rising, dropping so i wasn't sure where to go. After a minute i decided to tuck into the Frasier Firs and just stand there about 15 yards down the hill from some apples. Trees were loaded plus the deer like to cross the top of the hill along the tree line. Had pretty good cover standing among a bunch of 6' Christmas trees. I was banking on the winds calming toward dark and then having the thermals revers down the hill. Got situated around 5:00 and about half an hour after getting in i thought i heard something in the woods a hundred yards off to my left. I looked for a while and didn't spot anything so i went back to watching the apples. Then i heard it again and this time it sounded closer and it sounded like something crossing the ravine. The I spot a rump sticking out from behind a con-color. I see rack moving through the trees so i spin around 180 degrees and move down several rows of trees to the last row of 6 footers. Draw just as he walks out into the short con-colors. He crosses into my row at 24 yards and i grunt. Let fly and thwack low and back. Runs off to the edge of the horse pasture. I walk down and pick up my arrow which is covered in a combination of dark red blood and stomach matter along with a nice pile of belly hair.

Pulled out a small game head and took a mushroom head off at 20 yards - i give up.

Going back in the AM to look with my bosses help. Hopefully he holes up and dies in the thicket above the pasture. Already got Deer Search programed into the phone.

Only thing i can figure is i am rushing the shot and pulling them. 4 shots none in the boiler maker. One high, one low, one forward and one back - WTF.

[First-light]

Good luck finding him, main thing is you didn't push him.

[5.9cummins]

10-31-11

I Got over to my old bosses place a little after 8 this morning. I was up on the hill standing a little ways from where i last saw him shortly there after. I walked the path of least resistance first for about 100 yards and didn't find anything. So i circled back to the start and went downhill to check along the stream just in case but i figured he wouldn't be there because its all horse pasture. Once both of those possibilities didn't pan out i went to the very top of the hill. The neighbors property is a triangle shaped thicket of apples and other crap that goes down the hill and wraps around it (hard to explain). So i go back and forth at 10-15 yard intervals cris crossing back and forth across the hill. On my 7th pass i was close to the pasture again (i could see fence through the thickets). Then i caught just the slightest bit of movement and i saw tine sticking up. I turned to draw and my jacket caught some golden rod and he tried standing and gave me a nice window to tuck one behind his shoulder which put him down for the count.

Edited October 31, 2011 by 5.9cummins

[Fletch]

Way to stick with it. Nice deer.

[HHC1]

Great job....congrats on the buck.

[G-Man]

glad you stuck it out .... unfortunalty many do not, i am up to my 3rd found gut shot (2 buck n 1 doe)deer.all just around my property.i think the neighbors need practice....

[First-light]

Nice job!

[5.9cummins]

They are sneaky little sob's. The first place i went took me along the top of the pasture (inside). He was bedded 20 yards up hill of the pasture and could see me walk right by. I found two other beds that he had right by him. First was about 10 yards away and second was directly adjacent to the second.

[fasteddie]

Congrats on recovering your deer . Nice job .

[5.9cummins]

Third directly adjacent to the 2nd is what i meant to say.

[5.9cummins]

11-3-11

Well i am supposed to be on vacation this week and next for hunting but due to the house selling i find i haven't gotten out much due to packing and some work issues. I have been scratching my head as to what i was going to do for broad-heads due to missing a couple shots and loosing arrows and heads. I don't really want to drop a lot of money on heads either.

Well i was packing up some of my hunting gear today and forgot all about these. So for the foreseeable future i will be going Old School. Heads are 10 years older than i am.

Dropped my first ever deer with one of these out of a White Tail 2.

Edited November 3, 2011 by 5.9cummins

[mbucks27]

>Looks like a killer to me .

John

[Zem18]

Persistence pays off. Nice tracking job and recovery. Congrats

[5.9cummins]

11-5-11

Took my daughter up on the hill to see if anything would come into the food plot. About 45 degrees with a 5-7mph NW wind. Sat for about an hour and a half and didn't see anything. Guess one and a half hours is to much for my hunting buddy to take. Out like a light after 30 minutes.

Edited November 4, 2011 by 5.9cummins

[5.9cummins]

Correction 11-4 is the above entry.

11-5-11

Hunted a hill top funnel stand tonight. Sat for about 3 hours in a big white pine with a 10 mph south wind. Bad choice of stands for tonight. Didn't see a thing plus it was cold. As soon as you dropped off the hill or even to the bottom of the tree the wind was minimal to non existent. I am starting to think that the 4 wheeler traffic has FUBR'ed the farm.

[5.9cummins]

11-7-11

Went back to the farm this morning as it is in the unit i have a DMP for plus farmer has some DMAP's. Saw a small 4 point by the road on the way in. Got in a little late but wasn't sure where i would end up anyway. I thought about hunting one stand but decided to still hunt through the pines. About a hour into it i spotted a deer 300+ yards off on the next hill about 60 yards from the stand i was thinking of hunting and heading toward it, i guess that's the way the cookie crumbles. I still hunted through the bottom and up toward that stand. Came around the corner on some of the pines and caught some movement about 15 yards away in the hedge (two grouse). Knocked a small game head and started looking for an opening. The female was all skidish but the male looked like he could care less that i was there. Then had a third female pop up on a branch in front of the male to get a better look (wasn't the smartest thing she ever did and it was her last).

Ended up calling it quits and packed it in about 10:30. Driving the seasonal road around the back side of the property had a nice 3 1/2 year old eight jump right in front of the truck. Stopped in the middle of the road and looked at me and took a couple steps into the woods and we watched each other for a while at about 20 yards. 15-16 inch spread with 8 inch tines.

[5.9cummins]

11-19-11

Went out for a little while before i had to start the move. Jumped two deer right as i got to my spot. Had a fox or coyote running around a couple minutes after that. First shots were at 6:30. Around 1/4 after seven i heard what i thought to be a buck racking a bush. It got louder and louder till i was scratching my head saying WTF. Then i saw orange. The guy from the neighboring property was dragging a plastic deck chair through the goldenrod. We played 50 questions and he was not exactly happy i was in "his" spot. Got up and left around 1/4 after 8. Didn't see a damn thing, what a surprise.

[5.9cummins]

11-24-11

Went out this AM after spending the last 5 days moving and packing. Sat for a couple hours and then did some still hunting. Followed up by another sit in another stand for an hour. Had a truck pull up (thought it was another hunter so i decided to pack it in). On the way out i passed it and it looked like a gas company truck King Ranch Super Duty with PA plates. As i was putting my stuff away in my truck it was leaving as well. Not sure what was up. Left around 11:00 lots of shots all AM but didn't see a glimpse of a deer other than the dead one in a trailer on the road.