opens tomorrow - I miss deer camp - wish I was with my sons tonight..
That’s what it is all about!
G/
but I have the memories.
Memories is all that we have to get us through the days. Deer camp is a lot of fun if you got the right people with you
Pat W
It's been a terrible deer season for me so far. Between the stray dogs running deer, and only seeing teeny, tiny bucks near enough to poke with an arrow, I'm hoping that things change when firearms season opens a week from Saturday. At least I'll be able to shoot any canines I see running deer. I heard what I thought were 20-30 coyotes within a half mile a week ago - 3 different packs or family groups started howling ar dusk.
Here we can only shoot one buck per season, no matter what weapon is used, unless you can also hunt in an urban zone. Then you have to take a doe before you can shoot a buck.
VERY few deer on the trail cams too - 0 does and fawns.
My niece (15) tagged one a couple days after bow opened with a crossbow from the fort. Don't know the specifics on the kill because it was a short text from my sister, but hey, my niece was really pumped! Her Father passed away this past July and she is out there on her own, but her Father taught her very well!
My daughter got her first deer with her Matthews bow we have so many does and fawns this year. I shot a coyote at 225 yds and one at 150 yds. With my .25-06. Have seen some nice bucks but none close enough for a bow shot
Pat W
The fort out back in the woods.
4 telephone poles stuck in the ground pretty good. About a 12'x 12' room on top of this that has carpet of some sort. Two flip up and latch able windows on each wall for good coverage. Quite high so scent's are reduced.
Only been up there twice and I could live there. Staircase to heaven will exorcize muscles in your legs you did not even know existed
Deer are all over the place this morning. We don't allow hunting of any kind on our property, but we do enjoy watching and feeding them. Most of the deer that visit daily, come out of the Lake Fork river bottom across the road, and many of those are almost tame. I'm sure they'll wise up soon now that gun season has started.
Little button bucks have been chasing for a few days, and this morning a bigger 8 point was just running circles around the shop. It's time to be careful driving around here because love apparently is in the air.
We had a bright moon, clear sky, and a cool, windless night. This was one of the few times that I saw no deer since Oct 1. It was 22 this morning, so I was glad for the calm wind!
We took 3 16 year olds. Dang little seen and none murdered.
VERY few deer on the trail cams too - 0 does and fawns.
Activity on my cams tapered off down here too. In the last week, had one skinny doe at 7:15pm and looked like a decent 4x4 at 12:20am !!
We have a massive acorn drop and the deer don't have to move to eat. Dang near none on 4 trail cams unless they just happened to walk by the corn feeders.
Same here Dave. HUGE acorn drop.
I got into the stand late today, didn't see anything for about an hour, next thing I know I'm opening my eyes and there's a doe about 22 yds away, downwind. Her head goes behind a tree, so I get a chance to get the x-bow pointed at her and the safety off. She's at 20 yds now, but facing directly towards me. I just about close my eyes, (I think staring at them at that close range gets them nervous - it's like they can sense that a predator (me) is close.)
She stomps her foot, looking right at me, does the old head bob a few times, then takes a few more steps towards me. I had ranged a tree at 18 yes, and she's about a yard this side of it. She starts acting even more nervous, and takes a step to the left, showing me a hard quartering to shot. I put the crosshair tight behind the shoulder and squeeze. The arrow is in the ground, she wheels around and is off. I see her run about 50 yds, make a hard right turn then she disappears behind some trees.
I grab the binoculars, but can't see a thing. I climb down, find the arrow, and it's got good blood on it. I debate re-cocking the x-bow, but there's about 45 minutes to go 'till legal shooting light ends. I figure that with the deer out there somewhere, I'm pushing my luck climbing back up and waiting. So, I gather my stuff, and start following the blood trail after 1/2 hr. Good blood trail, and I find her not 10 yds after I last saw her. The Rage entered tight to the shoulder bone where I had aimed, clipped the both lungs, liver and also nicked the stomach on the way out, exiting behind the last rib on the opposite side.
When I looked at the time I shot her, I realized that I've had roughly 30 hrs sitting in the stand before a doe came by. I'd say she's 1 1/2 years old. Not the biggest doe that I've shot, but not a yearling either. That's the first doe I've seen too!
I'm a firm believer in the orange bottle "Dead Downwind" now. I started using it this year, and I've had 3 deer go down wind of me, and while they were a bit nervous, they didn't spook, and they were all within 20 yds.
Congrats Esshup
Does are harder to hunt and should be considered a trophy. Bucks are more fun and does are cagey. Good job
Pat W
Thanks Pat. I 8-9 years ago I had a doe bust me. I could ID her easily as she didn't have a tail (looked like a pronghorn antelope). She'd lead every doe and yearling that was with her in a big circle around the stand, out of range. It took most of the season, but she finally made one mistake.
The biggest whitetail buck that I've seen while hunting took one step too far and I couldn't shoot as there was a tree in the way - he was 200 yds out. I could have done a "texas heart shot" but I thought he'd turn broadside and he did, but his vitals were too close to a tree to chance it. I never saw him again in person, but I was able to get one sequence of 3 pictures on a trail camera after season was over. He never came down that trail again, and that was the last time he was seen.
Here they are (they are from Feb 2010 as I couldn't change the date on the trail cam - the temp and time is correct tho!):
Glad its just not me, we have not saw any does or yearlings at all and almost all of the cam pics have died off. I have saw several nice bucks but I already tagged out on a 10 point the second day of bow. Here are 2 pics of some really nice bucks that have been cruising by my cam almost daily. One is a big 9 and the other is 11 or 12, you can't see it in the pic but he has a couple of small kickers.
Those are some nice bucks! There's a LOT more coyotes in the area this year it seems, and there's at least one large dog running deer. I think it's time to thin out the predators a bit.....
I took a big doe Saturday afternoon...not a ton of shooter bucks seen so far but it's just really getting rolling here. They're chasing all out now so it's a good time to get on stand and just wait.
When I sold automotive radiators nationwide, you could accurately map the rut simply based on collisions
Esshup
That is a nice buck. Even tho you never saw him again you still have the memory and pix of him that will last a long time. It is neet to see such fine bucks even when you can't harvest them takes a little of the pain away. Lol
Pat W
Deer camp is one of my favorite things on earth.. Deer hunting to me goes much deeper than just the "Thrill of the Kill" or the "As Seen on TV" crap that is deer hunting is becoming today...
For me it has turned into getting my boys out there and keeping my aging friends in the woods... Youth season this year ended unsuccessful for the freezer, but the memories I made with my boys will fill my heart and mind forever..
Being kind of an old soul I have ran around with an older crowd most of my life.. My best friend is actually my dads age and the hunting stories we share are priceless... The thought of him not being there to share my stories is beyond thought for me.. I put his and my boys hunts before myself anymore... So for you old timers don't ever think that just because you can't spend the time in the woods with us, we still don't want or NEED you around deer camp...There are some people we just can't confide in like the people that taught us...
Outdoorlivin247
You summed it up.... Amen well said
Pat W