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

[Robhuntandfish]

8 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

I shot at a buck just before closing time. He looked good enough for me,although i saw a bigger one earlier. I had time to range and he walked past at 35. I stopped him with several bleats and shot. The lighted nock tracked true but the hit looked forward. He ran off. I waited and got down after dark and checked the hit site,expecting very little. That's what i got too,the arrow was buried and looked very clean. I found a tuft of hair and decided to track some. I got blood,but no bubbles. I thought maybe brisket or low neck/chest. I marked where i left,50 yds on the track.

I went home to tell my wife that i had to go out again and make sure the bleeding stopped. At first i wasn't even gonna take my bow,but i did. Well,much to my surprise the bloodtrail got thicker,but it still looked pretty bright,like muscle hit.

I found a bed and it was drenched. After that the trail looked really good for a while,then diminished some. Eventually it almost petered out. Thats where some deer were looking at me and my flashlight. The trail went to the left of them and to my surprise the buck was laying there,still alive. He couldn't get up and i finished him. Its not easy to shoot in the dark at 5 yds.  It turns out i hit him in the neck. I dont think i got much if any of the artery. My single bevel broadhead did good work though.

It pays to be lucky rather than good. That was the case tonight. 

There was some ground shrinkage,he was a forkhorn. The drag almost killed me,so i was happy he wasn't any bigger. I have to see if i can weigh him,he seemed big to me.

Either way,i am happy to have some meat in the freezer.

great buck!  congrats!

[Fletch]

Light drizzle here, supposed to be ending soon. Slipped out to the field edge for a short Pre work sit as I’m tied up this evening. Good looking weather for the next 10-12 days it looks like. Things should start getting real good.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Otto]

@BowmanMike  Better to be lucky than good!  Congratulations on a nice deer and fun track! 

[cdbing]

Congrats@BowmanMike !

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[Lomax]

Some sloppy does!!!

[hunterdan44]

With a little time to hunt this am, and rain here in 4-0. I’m a gonna take a pass. Good luck boys n girls. Nice job Bowman Mike! Congrats


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fletch]

This sprinkle thing is turning into a bit more. Prolly bailing soon. Live to fight another day!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BfloHunter]

In the stand at 6:30am this morning. Has a 4 or 6 pt pass by at first light. I’m waiting around for this big guy today. He’s finally been coming out near dark and figured to sit the whole day and see if I can get him to come in





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[UpStateRedNeck]

3inches of snow forecasted for Friday, oh man this week is going to drag.

[GreeneHunter]

9 minutes ago, UpStateRedNeck said:

3inches of snow forecasted for Friday, oh man this week is going to drag.

Sounds like Friday is the day to get out there !

[Five Seasons]

12 hours ago, Nomad said:

That should be rephrased , who hasn’t had that happen . Without a pass through ,blood can be hard to find , as most comes from the exit wound as its lower , the higher entrance wound doesn’t bleed outside much . I’m tracking a friends buck tomorrow, no exit ,but a solid behind the shoulder hit . He wisely ,backed out gave it time to die .

agreed. In fact I can think of 3 or 4 off the top of my head. Thankfully they don't seem to go far though and still pump good blood if a double lunger. 

[johnplav]

1 hour ago, Nomad said:

Ok I’m getting up then and heading to my friends land as it hasn’t rained here yet ,and need to find blood . I’m not waiting for his text to leave .....

Good luck to your buddy! 

[Five Seasons]

11 hours ago, Bolt action said:

Quick update on the season.. I'm in 8a, wny. Apple orchards, corn and beans for miles in all directions. I have access to 200+ acres that is 90% ag and is rimmed by oak. I mention all that because, in years past, deer were obviously abundant. This year though I've had very little camera activity and almost no bucks. My last pull showed fewer than 50 pix from 5 cameras over a 2 week period. No rubs yet, no scrapes. In 5 sits, I've seen one doe with a pair of fawns. There are lots of acorns, but they look mostly untouched. No reports of EHD in the area. I've talked to a few guys who hunt the area and they are reporting the same. The fields this year are corn which is still standing, so it's possible they're hiding in there out of site. 

If it's of any hope, the last 2 weeks have been dead across the 8's and 7's and I'm sure other WMU's as well. When did you start your cams? I had all sorts of deer in September and very early October and I know they didn't all just teleport somewhere. 

[Five Seasons]

10 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

It pays to be lucky rather than good. That was the case tonight. 

couldn't disagree more with this phrase. I hate it, but will leave it at that as I don't want to piss in anyone's cheerios who just got a nice buck. So congrats man, I'm sure he may have expired soon but I would have been out there tracking too!

Edited October 26, 2020 by Belo

[Bolt action]

26 minutes ago, Belo said:

If it's of any hope, the last 2 weeks have been dead across the 8's and 7's and I'm sure other WMU's as well. When did you start your cams? I had all sorts of deer in September and very early October and I know they didn't all just teleport somewhere. 

I set them out in mid-June. Even then when the corn wasn't so tall I wasn't getting as much activity as in years past. Plenty of racoons, the occasional doe/fawn, and a buck or two. Also fewer coyotes than years past, for what that's worth.  My logical mind tells me that they must just be hiding out in the corn for now. The slow cameras early on though has me a little concerned. I have a love hate relationship with my cameras. I may get giant bucks on camera that I never see when I'm out there. They give me a good idea of what's in the area, and can get me excited, but I don't rely on them for trying to build a strategy or pattern specific deer.

[BowmanMike]

5 minutes ago, Belo said:

couldn't disagree more with this phrase. I hate it, but will leave it at that as I don't want to piss in anyone's cheerios who just got a nice buck. So congrats man, I'm sure he may have expired soon but I would have been out there tracking too!

I was on the other side of that outcome too. I hate wounding deer and loosing them. I still hate wounding them even if i find them. I probably shouldn't have taken that shot with fading light at 35 yds. The woods were fairly open but i might have caught a twig just before that arrow got to the buck. There were branches i didn't see until i got to the hit site.

This was my last hunt for two weeks as i have to go to Germany for a medical emergency regarding my father. That's not meant as an excuse but probably was a factor of me taking that shot in the first place. Also not having seen deer my last several hunts and then seeing a bunch at 50 yds passing me by got me over excited when this group came through at 35. Usually i limit myself to 30 and under. I do shoot a lot over the summer and fall and have my bow and broadheads well dialed in. 

So i feel like i am good(or ok?) and got lucky this time. I dont want to be relying on that though.

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, Bolt action said:

I set them out in mid-June. Even then when the corn wasn't so tall I wasn't getting as much activity as in years past. Plenty of racoons, the occasional doe/fawn, and a buck or two. Also fewer coyotes than years past, for what that's worth.  My logical mind tells me that they must just be hiding out in the corn for now. The slow cameras early on though has me a little concerned. I have a love hate relationship with my cameras. I may get giant bucks on camera that I never see when I'm out there. They give me a good idea of what's in the area, and can get me excited, but I don't rely on them for trying to build a strategy or pattern specific deer.

I wouldn't get discouraged unless it continues through November. However, the lack of summer movement isn't great... anything else change in the area? New factories, sub divisions, new property owners possibly poaching? Sometimes too much food isn't good either. Usually it's best to have limited food/oaks as that concentrates them more. Maybe they have a preference for food that's drawing them away?

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, BowmanMike said:

I was on the other side of that outcome too. I hate wounding deer and loosing them. I still hate wounding them even if i find them. I probably shouldn't have taken that shot with fading light at 35 yds. The woods were fairly open but i might have caught a twig just before that arrow got to the buck. There were branches i didn't see until i got to the hit site.

This was my last hunt for two weeks as i have to go to Germany for a medical emergency regarding my father. That's not meant as an excuse but probably was a factor of me taking that shot in the first place. Also not having seen deer my last several hunts and then seeing a bunch at 50 yds passing me by got me over excited when this group came through at 35. Usually i limit myself to 30 and under. I do shoot a lot over the summer and fall and have my bow and broadheads well dialed in. 

So i feel like i am good(or ok?) and got lucky this time. I dont want to be relying on that though.

I don't think you did anything wrong and I hope your dad is ok. You have a dead buck and that's all that matters. I myself stated that I drew on a doe saturday and let down due to light and angle. It's not to say that if I let if fly she wouldn't have piled up in 30 yards. Like you, I've had those decisions work out and backfire. Each hunter has to make that call and my comment was only that I would never prefer to leave it to luck, but agree that I've probably had luck work in my favor. 

[BowmanMike]

13 minutes ago, Belo said:

I wouldn't get discouraged unless it continues through November. However, the lack of summer movement isn't great... anything else change in the area? New factories, sub divisions, new property owners possibly poaching? Sometimes too much food isn't good either. Usually it's best to have limited food/oaks as that concentrates them more. Maybe they have a preference for food that's drawing them away?

I think big groups of deer are feeding in the same spots already. I had over ten come through yesterday going to the one oak flat. And i was on one side of it. I am sure there also were deer coming in from other directions. When they group up like that you are either covered or see nothing.

[Bolt action]

37 minutes ago, Belo said:

I wouldn't get discouraged unless it continues through November. However, the lack of summer movement isn't great... anything else change in the area? New factories, sub divisions, new property owners possibly poaching? Sometimes too much food isn't good either. Usually it's best to have limited food/oaks as that concentrates them more. Maybe they have a preference for food that's drawing them away?

Not discouraged, not yet anyway. It's only October so there's still lots of time and opportunity to get out there. If I had to guess, I would suspect overhunting last year by neighbors to the south. The whole area is pretty rural and nothing has changed regarding developments. And there is sooo much food for them, it's like an all you can eat buffet. I suspect they're either hiding in the corn, or just hitting up another food source for now.

[WWJD_Hunter]

Congratulations on your harvest BowmanMike. Awesome to see you got him with your saddle:)

[ApexerER]

Live from the office. Haven't had much to contribute to the live from the woods thread. Haven't seen a deer yet this season which is highly unusual. I  think i may have found out why yesterday. We lease two different properties that are split by about two or three hundred acres we don't have permission to hunt. I have been accessing the both properties from the front Yesterday I went down the rail road tracks ro access the back and that property in the middle is leveled. All logged, and i mean almost clear cut. There was a bulldozer in there working yesterday. No wonder i haven't seen a damn thing....Hopefully they are finishing up and it doesn't take long for the deer to return to normal.

[sodfather]

@BowmanMikecongrats on the buck . First saddle kill? 

[Hock3y24]

13 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

I shot at a buck just before closing time. He looked good enough for me,although i saw a bigger one earlier. I had time to range and he walked past at 35. I stopped him with several bleats and shot. The lighted nock tracked true but the hit looked forward. He ran off. I waited and got down after dark and checked the hit site,expecting very little. That's what i got too,the arrow was buried and looked very clean. I found a tuft of hair and decided to track some. I got blood,but no bubbles. I thought maybe brisket or low neck/chest. I marked where i left,50 yds on the track.

I went home to tell my wife that i had to go out again and make sure the bleeding stopped. At first i wasn't even gonna take my bow,but i did. Well,much to my surprise the bloodtrail got thicker,but it still looked pretty bright,like muscle hit.

I found a bed and it was drenched. After that the trail looked really good for a while,then diminished some. Eventually it almost petered out. Thats where some deer were looking at me and my flashlight. The trail went to the left of them and to my surprise the buck was laying there,still alive. He couldn't get up and i finished him. Its not easy to shoot in the dark at 5 yds.  It turns out i hit him in the neck. I dont think i got much if any of the artery. My single bevel broadhead did good work though.

It pays to be lucky rather than good. That was the case tonight. 

There was some ground shrinkage,he was a forkhorn. The drag almost killed me,so i was happy he wasn't any bigger. I have to see if i can weigh him,he seemed big to me.

Either way,i am happy to have some meat in the freezer.

Very nice buck, you did what we all woulda done! However don’t advertise that you shot in the dark, someone will get their panties in a bunch and report it. 

[mowin]

13 minutes ago, Hock3y24 said:

Very nice buck, you did what we all woulda done! However don’t advertise that you shot in the dark, someone will get their panties in a bunch and report it. 

I would have done the same after tracking and finding a live deer

Edited October 26, 2020 by mowin