LIVE From The Woods 2020 - Let's hear stories and see some pictures!

[mlammerhirt]

I just looked it up.....my optima pro is almost 2lbs heavier than the wolf....but that's what I love about my optima.....steady as heck when shooting freehand.

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[The_Real_TCIII]

Can we all agree: removable breech plug>Polio vaccine


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[turkeyfeathers]

8 minutes ago, mlammerhirt said:

I just looked it up.....my optima pro is almost 2lbs heavier than the wolf....but that's what I love about my optima.....steady as heck when shooting freehand.

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Just looked mine up. 8 pounds without scope on it. 

[Red]

Its been a long great season.  I was targeting a big 8pt all of bow seasom. I shot a couple of doe with the bow and passed a bunch of smaller bucks waiting on the big boy that never showed.

I took a doe at gman/ Greg's place with the rifle a week ago I took a big fat doe at local spot with the muzzle loader. Today I passed on 2 very tiny doe that had to weigh less than 40#s.

At 130 I could see a large bodied deer in the thick stuff working it's way toward me I thought it was just a doe it stepped out at 30 yards and I realized it was a buck hile trying to decide if i was going to shoot it or not it came to 10 yards in front of me and started pawing up the winter rye.  I decided I was taking this buck but for some reason I couldn't get the hammer to go back on my muzzle 4 or 5 tries and nothing now I'm thinking this might isn't meant to be. Lol

I took the breech plug half out twisted it back in nothing.  Tossed the primer to the ground popped in another one and he's still standing there. Cock the hammer back.and boom.

Very successful season 4 doe and a 8pt.i was able to give a deer to my brother and grandmother.

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by Red

[turkeyfeathers]

Awesome Red !! Way to go. He’s a fat sob too. Good juju came for you today for helping me get my deer outta the woods yesterday 

[Red]

8 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Awesome Red !! Way to go. He’s a fat sob too. Good juju came for you today for helping me get my deer outta the woods yesterday 

Thank you.  It was a pleasure. It was really nice hunting with you again this year. I already can't wait for next bow season.

[BizCT]

3S - 28 degrees, low winds (1-2mph), likely my last bow hunt of the year. 717am sunrise

 

 

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[Robhuntandfish]

Great bucks Red and Chef.  Way to end the season.

Edited December 21, 2020 by Robhuntandfish

[Robhuntandfish]

Headed out for last hunt of the season and last ever hunt in my 6S spot.  Hoping for a last shot on a buck I've had on cam all season, he made it thru gun season.  Would be great to round it all out with one on the ground.  Doe might be in play will make the in game decision if it happens. Gonna sit for a while in stand then push into some bedding areas and see if one jumps. 

[BizCT]

3S - 28 degrees, low winds (1-2mph), likely my last bow hunt of the year. 717am sunrise
 
 
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630am seated. No moon but still no flashlight needed, snow is so bright




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[rob-c]

11 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Its good to see your nys compliant and only have 7 shots still.

You beat  me to it . 

[Five Seasons]

Last morning sit of the year!

Downright tropical in 8F


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[mowin]

Nephew Kayden got a start on next yrs firewood.  245g powerbelt preformed well. 

 

[hunterdan44]

Nice job Red n Chef. Wasn’t able to get out at all with my bow (late season) due to family obligations. My Arlo camera by my house has been showing several deer eating the acorns by my garage , as they are easing back to there regular routine. Freezer full with three nice bucks my boys n I were fortunate to harvest. May be looking to buy a ml for next year. Will need some schooling on that. Good luck to all out , two days left in southern zone.


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[Cabin Fever]

Hard to imagine, but I haven’t seen a deer, glimpse or tail, for exactly 35 days now! I’ve been out ~30 times since then. The last deer I saw was the buck I shot with my bow on Nov.16th! They’re here, just nocturnal! Plenty of tracks and night time pics to keep me motivated and hopeful, but man this SUCKS!!! Getting down to the wire!! WTF........


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[WWJD_Hunter]

Congrats Red and Chef on your harvest :) Good luck to those out there this morning. My season is done for the year :) 

[Splitear]

13 minutes ago, mowin said:

Nephew Kayden got a start on next yrs firewood.  245g powerbelt preformed well. 

 

I'd be mounting that thing on a board and giving it to him for Christmas

[G-Man]

Well number 18 fell this am at camp, a sub legal spike while friend was walking in to a stand.. 

[G-Man]

14 hours ago, Nomad said:

I like the one guy without a sling . That’s my style gun In hand at all times .

Cant have sling going thru the brush we go thru would get hung up, mostly multiflora rose ,green briar,hawthorn , bar berry... the one walker came out and said i think the snow even had thorns....

[BizCT]

Watched a doe from 725am - 9am walk around and dig for food or a bed. After 90minutes and no buck, she finally went out of sight. Oh well. Cam shows bobcat, fox, yote, does and small buck. Nothing big the past few weeks here in 3S. There’s someone else’s cam 68yds from mine but it’s legal and Over the boundary. Haven’t seen anyone hunt but maybe it’s a ground guy like me and he’s over the next hill.


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[Jeremy K]

14 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Watched a doe from 725am - 9am walk around and dig for food or a bed. After 90minutes and no buck, she finally went out of sight. Oh well. Cam shows bobcat, fox, yote, does and small buck. Nothing big the past few weeks here in 3S. There’s someone else’s cam 68yds from mine but it’s legal and Over the boundary. Haven’t seen anyone hunt but maybe it’s a ground guy like me and he’s over the next hill.


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Or he shot both tens earlier in the season and is letting the woods rest til next year

[phade]

End of regular and MZ has been fun but somewhat of a disappointment despite filling some tags. My hunting partner and I each put down deer that had been injured from a prior shot - one gun and one bow/xbow. It put a damper on the end of a great, fun season, but in the end we were thankful to be there to do the right thing.

I ended up putting down a great up and comer two year old 9 point; after watching him try to cross a plot and me trying process what was going on with him, I had only a few seconds to make the decision due to cover and did. Felt very questionable post-shot (shot was good) if I did the right thing, but upon inspection it verified what I saw and bow/xbow injury. I won't go into detail but the deer was partially paralyzed in the rear legs and the wound site was getting worse with infection. Rough smell, too. Real rough. I'm sure I could have gotten a replacement/salvage tag but it is what it is and I had already had a good season and my desire to take another was all but gone after that.

Same property a few days later a BB shows up on cam with a wound that defies logic and biology. A cantaloupe size hole with two exposed parts of the shoulder, one being a big section of the paddle. My hunting partner set up to get him and it only took 30 minutes as this BB was staying tight to a 50 yard area with water/cover/food as we got piles of pics of him overnight and the AM. That deer was hit with a 100% kill shot with a slug or MZ and somehow it just didn't have the energy to get into the chest. The hole was drilled maybe a touch forward but any reasonable hunter would look at that and go, that's a DRT shot. No tracking needed. But, alas, the initial shot tore the hide off to the size of a cantaloupe. The hole from the projectile was clear and the shoulder and leg bone probably had 6-8" sq. of clear exposure to the elements. This little guy was trying his best to make it, even trying to eat, but the bone and meat was turning necrotic. He could only go 20 yards before bedding each time for a few minutes and it took a few of those circuits for it to be clear enough for my partner to get a lane.

Neither of us felt great about these encounters and I am impressed with their will to survive. A part of me always wants to give them the chance to make it, but even when you KNOW they won't, it still feels like shit when you do what you have to, removing any of that chance actually happening.

Unfortunately, we have a history of encounters with injured deer here and a strong propensity for two year olds being high shot with a bolt or arrow leading me to think it's the same person. This marks the fourth two year old since 2013 with a high bow shot that we have A, put down, B. Found dead shed hunting with the arrow/bolt, and/or C. Got pics of with the bolt/arrow still in it. Add to that this BB and one other doe that was also high shot. 

On a positive note, we have this one-sided spike with velvet (maybe 4-5 inches). We think it might be a doe. Anyhow, on October 1, when the season began, this was the first deer I saw from the stand. Last evening, for my final sit, I saw only one deer, that one-sided spike with velvet. She/He/It fed on the plot as the sun set and I watched it with the binos for a while. Started and finished the season with the same deer. Doubt that will ever happen again. Pretty neat.

 

[mlammerhirt]

End of regular and MZ has been fun but somewhat of a disappointment despite filling some tags. My hunting partner and I each put down deer that had been injured from a prior shot - one gun and one bow/xbow. It put a damper on the end of a great, fun season, but in the end we were thankful to be there to do the right thing.
I ended up putting down a great up and comer two year old 9 point; after watching him try to cross a plot and me trying process what was going on with him, I had only a few seconds to make the decision due to cover and did. Felt very questionable post-shot (shot was good) if I did the right thing, but upon inspection it verified what I saw and bow/xbow injury. I won't go into detail but the deer was partially paralyzed in the rear legs and the wound site was getting worse with infection. Rough smell, too. Real rough. I'm sure I could have gotten a replacement/salvage tag but it is what it is and I had already had a good season and my desire to take another was all but gone after that.
Same property a few days later a BB shows up on cam with a wound that defies logic and biology. A cantaloupe size hole with two exposed parts of the shoulder, one being a big section of the paddle. My hunting partner set up to get him and it only took 30 minutes as this BB was staying tight to a 50 yard area with water/cover/food as we got piles of pics of him overnight and the AM. That deer was hit with a 100% kill shot with a slug or MZ and somehow it just didn't have the energy to get into the chest. The hole was drilled maybe a touch forward but any reasonable hunter would look at that and go, that's a DRT shot. No tracking needed. But, alas, the initial shot tore the hide off to the size of a cantaloupe. The hole from the projectile was clear and the shoulder and leg bone probably had 6-8" sq. of clear exposure to the elements. This little guy was trying his best to make it, even trying to eat, but the bone and meat was turning necrotic. He could only go 20 yards before bedding each time for a few minutes and it took a few of those circuits for it to be clear enough for my partner to get a lane.
Neither of us felt great about these encounters and I am impressed with their will to survive. A part of me always wants to give them the chance to make it, but even when you KNOW they won't, it still feels like shit when you do what you have to, removing any of that chance actually happening.
Unfortunately, we have a history of encounters with injured deer here and a strong propensity for two year olds being high shot with a bolt or arrow leading me to think it's the same person. This marks the fourth two year old since 2013 with a high bow shot that we have A, put down, B. Found dead shed hunting with the arrow/bolt, and/or C. Got pics of with the bolt/arrow still in it. Add to that this BB and one other doe that was also high shot. 
On a positive note, we have this one-sided spike with velvet (maybe 4-5 inches). We think it might be a doe. Anyhow, on October 1, when the season began, this was the first deer I saw from the stand. Last evening, for my final sit, I saw only one deer, that one-sided spike with velvet. She/He/It fed on the plot as the sun set and I watched it with the binos for a while. Started and finished the season with the same deer. Doubt that will ever happen again. Pretty neat.
 

Well done Phade......that's part of our job as sportsman that people don't really understand until they walk a few miles in our shoes.

By any chance can you post a pic of this injury...... completely understand if you don't want to but it may be interesting for people to see.

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[phade]

Just now, mlammerhirt said:

Well done Phade......that's part of our job as sportsman that people don't really understand until they walk a few miles in our shoes.

By any chance can you post a pic of this injury...... completely understand if you don't want to but it may be interesting for people to see.

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Yes I can. I debated on it over the weekend but I can.

[mlammerhirt]

Yes I can. I debated on it over the weekend but I can.

Thanks......start a new thread....may keep us entertained through the holidays!

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