Went out goose hunting this morning. Four of us went and we ended up getting 5 geese and as you can see 3 of them were banded. One the the guys shot both of the bands on top. The pair came off to the right where I would have been sitting if I hadn't of gone back to the boat ramp to pick up some stuff.
Great! What's the different colored bands? Different years or areas?
I was out this morning at another PB'ers place waiting for geese to fly over. We say a few flocks pass about 1/2 mile to the West, and after another 45 minutes, we gave up and started fishing the pond. We saw shadows on the ground, looked up and saw about 30 geese flying away. If my buddy would have had his cell phone, a friend of his that was hunting with us called him and said that there were geese flying our way.
Tomorrow we'll wait a while longer before goofing off!
I'm curious about several things. When I was younger, I shot a fair number of geese, but it was always in very cold weather.
What do you do with these geese? How do you handle them in the warm weather? Even with partridge and pheasant when it is in the 50's, I try to get them back to the truck, and under ice, within 30 minutes.
I find that few people, even me, are not very enthused with wild goose meat. What do you do with the meat.
This is not to put you on the spot. I'm not from PETA. I'm just curious.
Young Blood, you've got a glove mark on your cheek.
Oh - I was afraid it might come across like that. But, I just don't mean it that way at all.
Even with our "cold spell" up here, we are still in the 80s each day. I can only imagine it is 10 to 20 degrees hotter where Young Blood is.
Having been hunting and eating my my "spoils" for a long time, I'm just curious how people in warmer climates deal with fresh game in hot weather.
Just for the record -- after all these years, I still have trouble hunting deer in the Virginias after growing up in MN and WI where we always had cold weather and snow to hunt in. It is a whole 'nother way of doing things around here, from tracking, to field dressing, to transporting, to butchering.
So -- Sunil and Young Blood, no challenge intended. No challenge expected. A boring answer will do!
Ken
P.S. Maybe I will extract a pound of two of flesh (goose, or other game), if you have some prepared for the next PB conference.
We took an ice chest with us and put the geese in it. When I got back I put the meat in a large bowl and filled it with water and a little bit of salt to draw out some of the blood. I left it in the water for a day.
I cooked some up for dinner this evening. I took one breast and cut it into 1/2" strips and then tenderized it. I chicken fried it and it turned out pretty good. It was still a little chewy but not bad.
I cooked some up for dinner this evening. I took one breast and cut it into 1/2" strips and then tenderized it. I chicken fried it and it turned out pretty good. It was still a little chewy but not bad.
Thanks Chris,
It sounds like you fix goose about the same as me. After brining in a salt/sugar/garlic/pepper solution, I've cooked the breast in a pressure cooker to tenderize it before cutting, battering, and frying. It makes it a little more tender, and a whole lot less greasy.
I've found that the best part of a good wild goose dinner is the family and friends around the table. A few home-grown tomatoes, a few cucumbers, some fresh baked cornbread, and a few bluegill and catfish sure can add to the dinner.
When antelope hunting, temps would hit in the low 90's. We'd have a cooler full of ice in the truck, and as soon as it was field dressed and in the truck, we'd fill up the body cavity with as much ice as we could. It was the only way to get the antelope cooled down quick enough.
On my way back from Saskatchewan hunting white geese for the last week. Managed to shoot 145 geese and 20 ducks. We where about 300 miles north of the US borber and still not many white geese down. There was three of us and we never limited out but had good hunts in the high 20s and low 30s and a bad day of only 4. A slide show for the week is at http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll243/lassig/sk2010/?albumview=slideshow
While I was getting ready for a tree delivery on Friday morning, my buddy went out to bow hunt. 5 Minutes after legal shooting time he bagged this buck.
I should of been hunting enstead of playing with the trackor.
On my way back from Saskatchewan hunting white geese for the last week. Managed to shoot 145 geese and 20 ducks. We where about 300 miles north of the US borber and still not many white geese down. There was three of us and we never limited out but had good hunts in the high 20s and low 30s and a bad day of only 4. A slide show for the week is at http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll243/lassig/sk2010/?albumview=slideshow
Nice! What gun/load were you using? Your buddy shot a unique antlered deer.
Buck was shot at less than 10 yards (if you ignore that the stand is 25 feet in the air) with 100 grain Muzzy. Actually it was a forunate miss and he hit it forward in the spine. Deer dropped in its tracks. Haven't put a tape to it yet but expected it to be in the high 130s/low 140s.
On my way back from Saskatchewan hunting white geese for the last week. Managed to shoot 145 geese and 20 ducks. We where about 300 miles north of the US borber and still not many white geese down. There was three of us and we never limited out but had good hunts in the high 20s and low 30s and a bad day of only 4. A slide show for the week is at http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll243/lassig/sk2010/?albumview=slideshow
Nice! What gun/load were you using? Your buddy shot a unique antlered deer.
We where shooting 12 guages with Winchester Expert 3" #2s and BBs. Majority of shots where under 30 yards. I have videos of the hunts on youtube under my user name of marklassig
Buck was shot at less than 10 yards (if you ignore that the stand is 25 feet in the air) with 100 grain Muzzy. Actually it was a forunate miss and he hit it forward in the spine. Deer dropped in its tracks. Haven't put a tape to it yet but expected it to be in the high 130s/low 140s.
130-140?? Looks like a 160 or better to me! NICE buck!
Thanks. I'm just starting to waterfowl hunt and I'm trying to figure what to shoot. I have had plans to make a patterm board, but so far other things keep getting in the way.
It's tough figuring out a choke for it because it's an odd barrel. I bought it in the mid 1990's for shooting clay birds, but went a different direction. (that's the short version)
It's a Stan Baker Big Bore Barrel, basically an overbored (.025") 10 ga barrel but chambered for 12 ga shells. It's used on a 3" Rem 1100. The Mossberg 835 barrel is .775" and this one is .800. Briley wants $75 per choke tube and a month turn around time. Friends have used those shells but said they had inconsistent velocities when used in extremely cold weather.
Buck was shot at less than 10 yards (if you ignore that the stand is 25 feet in the air) with 100 grain Muzzy. Actually it was a forunate miss and he hit it forward in the spine. Deer dropped in its tracks. Haven't put a tape to it yet but expected it to be in the high 130s/low 140s.
130-140?? Looks like a 160 or better to me! NICE buck!
I appplied some of Bruce's photo techniques to taking picutres of this buck. I plan on measuring it this weekend and will post an update. We couldn't find the tape measure last weekend.
I don't use the Winchester Experts later in the season. With the geese having more fat in late December and Janurary I switch over to heavey steel in BB and BBB. This brings them down and the stay down. Early in the season I ues a IC choke and later on I may change to Mod.
Thanks. I got a phone call this a.m. saying my choke tube is done ( a friend of a friend is a machinist and he opened up one of them to IC). I'll pattern it next week.
Well, Esshups's Savage muzzleloader struck again this morning in Eastern WV! As some of you know, I came over to spend a couple of nights with Catmandoo and his wife and do some hunting, fishing, tractor looking, eating, and lying.
We headed out this morning a little after sun up and went out to see what we could see. Which ended up being pretty much nothing. After Ken did a walk around to see if he could scare anything up from the usual places, with no love coming from the deer, we ended up meeting up and decided to walk the perimeter of his property just to allow me to see the layout of his land.
We had made it about halfway around and were just trudging along through the woods, chatting, when he spotted about 7 deer that were as surprised to see us as we were them! They were about 30 yards away and 5 of them took off without a chance for a shot. Two, though, as it turned out, were young and stupid, and decided to stand there. Big mistake. Neither one was very big, but at least one of them was destined for the freezer. One was just at a bad angle, but the other one was a little better, so I leveled the Savage and let it fly. Suffice it to say, a .50 cal round entering just ahead of the left hindquarter and coming to a rest just inside the pelt at the right front shoulder did the trick. Unfortunately, there will be no tenderloin from this guy!
The deer dropped in place, but was still alive, so Ken got credit for 1/2 of a sack by putting a round through its head so it didn't suffer too much. It is now hanging, skinned, to drain a bit and dry off before we butcher later tonight.
Here I am trying to use the Condello technique with the deer, but I think all I succeeded in doing was displaying the results of the coup de gras administered by Ken!
Beginning the skinning process.
Post-skinning with some obvious .50 cal damage. Oh, well. The tenderloin may be gone but the backstraps are still intact. One hindquarter is a bit damaged as well, but there's plenty of good meat available.
And here's Ken holding the round that we recovered. As I was pulling the skin down at the right shoulder, I heard something fall and hit my knife and looked down and here was the round. I came through the muscle, but stopped just inside the pelt. Kind of a cool find.
We're now about to sit down to a lunch of Brunswick Stew, a meal that is evidently enough of an art form that Ken was required to do a 5 year internship before he was allowed to make it on his own! And the best thing? There's nothing funky in this stuff and none of it was made from roadkill!
So, we will load up again later and see if there are any other opportunities to add to the tally and will try again tomorrow morning, too, before I head back across the mountains for home.
Hey - I know guys who outright clean missed at 30 yards. The job was done and that is all that matters. Meat on the table - just a little less than max available.
I will have to say that Todd the Deer Slayer does pretty well with a fishing rod in his hand. We went over to a friend's pond this afternoon, and Todd kept pulling out nice fat bass.
Todd, at that distance, the bullet had 2370 foot pounds of energy.
If you keep shooting the little ones, you gotta start aiming for the head/neck to save the meat. That's the first bullet that been recovered from that gun, all the others were thru n thru, even on a 300# hog. Good shooting, go whack another one in the morning!
Remember, at 200 Yds, just put the top of the lower fat post (duplex reticle) where you want the bullet to hit.
Here's a different Savage Muzzleloader, 30 Yds as well.
This one was about 60 Yds away and looking at me. She actually slid back a couple of inches and then dropped. I guess getting smacked with about a ton of energy and the slippery snow did it.
Here's a couple of hogs. My buddy shot the spotted one with a .44 Mag Handgun. They're in the bed of a full sized Chevy PU. It took 4 of us to get each one of them in the truck and it was a pretty heavy lift even after they were field dressed.
What's the limit there? It's 25/day here. They don't decoy very well......
Not many resident birds here. I'm going to deer hunt tomorrow morning and maybe whack a few crows in the afternoon. Not enough ducks here to bother hunting. We need cold weather to bring some fresh blood down from the North.
Illinois opened today and my buddy got 2 woodies, and their group missed about 12 more.
Todd, at that distance, the bullet had 2370 foot pounds of energy.
If you keep shooting the little ones, you gotta start aiming for the head/neck to save the meat. That's the first bullet that been recovered from that gun, all the others were thru n thru, even on a 300# hog. Good shooting, go whack another one in the morning!
Well, that energy dissipated pretty quickly when it hit the sucker! I had a bad angle to this guy and shot placement obviously was less than ideal, but we still got about 15 pounds of meat out of him. I'd love to get a chance at a big deer, but I've only had shots at the little guys so far this year. No joy on anything today - didn't even see one. I'm planning to get the gun back to you this week. I'm gonna miss it! Sure do appreciate you sending it my way for awhile, though!
Not a problem Todd. I have lasered a few new spots that are just shy of 200 Yds, so I think I've got a pretty good area covered. I'll keep an eye out for it. Sorry you didn't get a chance at another one.
My nephew got one this evening, about 4:45 p.m. Central time. A good sized 12 point. We haven't recovered it yet. He got it with about 2x the energy that you did, a Ford Taurus. It broke the right side of the rack off right above the brow tine, cut the family jewels right off of it (on the headlight), and it rolled over part of the roof. Still ran off.
Hood, headlight, grill, front bumper, windshield and a ding in the roof. No airbags went off, and none of the 4 people in the car were hurt. He wasn't going very fast, he stopped about 50' past the point of impact. I searched the 1/8 mile x 300' piece of property that it ran to, with no luck. It could have run further, but the people that own that property weren't home. We'll try again tomorrow.
This is the 2nd deer that he's got with the car, the first one was a doe that ran into the right rear door. I told him that a drivers license is no substitute for a hunting license.
Not a problem Todd. I have lasered a few new spots that are just shy of 200 Yds, so I think I've got a pretty good area covered. I'll keep an eye out for it. Sorry you didn't get a chance at another one.
My nephew got one this evening, about 4:45 p.m. Central time. A good sized 12 point. We haven't recovered it yet. He got it with about 2x the energy that you did, a Ford Taurus. It broke the right side of the rack off right above the brow tine, cut the family jewels right off of it (on the headlight), and it rolled over part of the roof. Still ran off.
Hood, headlight, grill, front bumper, windshield and a ding in the roof. No airbags went off, and none of the 4 people in the car were hurt. He wasn't going very fast, he stopped about 50' past the point of impact. I searched the 1/8 mile x 300' piece of property that it ran to, with no luck. It could have run further, but the people that own that property weren't home. We'll try again tomorrow.
This is the 2nd deer that he's got with the car, the first one was a doe that ran into the right rear door. I told him that a drivers license is no substitute for a hunting license.
My dad had a good opening day of the Virginia muzzleloader season. At 4:15 he killed the gobbler, 25 pounds, 12" beard, 1 7/8" and 2" spurs. Then at 5:45 he killed the 8 point. Both were the biggest kills of his life... He was one happy hunter!
Last weekend was Childrens hunting weekend here. My Grandson got a doe Saturday afternoon with his new Weatherby Vanguard in .243. He was kinda pumped. I taught him how to reload and he builds his own ammo.
We didn't see much. The doe with a couple of yearlings and 2 small bucks, a 4 point and a 6 point. Our huge acorn crop is going to make for some tough hunting.
2" spurs on that gobbler. I've killed many turkeys including a 28 pounder with 4 beards it only had 1 1/2" spurs. I'd like too see pics of those babies.. Last year I actually arrowed a bearded hen with a 8" beard it was kinda cool no spurs though. 2" inch spurs are a trophy maybe a record of some kind..
Yeah, this bird was old... When I get down to my dad's house again, I will get to see the spurs in person and see if I can get photos of them. I've never seen spurs like that either. This was one impressive bird though.
We went and shot at some ducks this morning. A small flock of mallards flew in to the decoys, and only one left. Then we scouted the ditches on the farm for Woodies, jumpshooting a few. No real sign of migratory birds yet.
I keep telling Scott how awesome the waterfowl hunting is and we end up scratching out only a few. When the weather cools off it will happen.
A buddy of mine got me hooked on waterfowl hunting 3 years ago. My first 3 days were during a special Canada Goose season they opened in some counties here in Indiana. February 1-15 to focus on the resident birds. Bag limit is 5 per day. At the end of the 3 days, 10 hunters had 138 geese on the ground. It was unbelievable! I now have full body decoys, shells, layout blind, flags, calls and a new gun.
I'll see if I can dig up a post hunt picture of that hunt.
I skinned and butchered a deer on Saturday. As I was cleaning up after I got the meat in the coolers, and the cape/skelton taken care of, I found two deer ticks on me. In all my 63 years of being outside, and picking hundreds of wood ticks off my body, I had never ever before seen a deer tick. Geeze they are small. I've had several friends and relatives get Lime disease -- probably all got it from deer ticks. So, just a thought about cleaning up after dealing with a deer hide.
Once the body starts to cool down, the ticks realize their meal ticket is over and they start looking for a new one.
This body was quite cold when I got started with my knife. It was shot and field dressed by a trusted hunting friend. I didn't skin it until about 48 hours after it was shot and field dressed. It hung (hanged??) from my tractor bucket for about 36 hours before I started skinning it. During that time, the temperature fluctuated back and forth between a low of about 28 to a high of about 42. Absolutely perfect!
On a side note, I was pleasantly surprised at this guy's health and fat. I'm not sure I would have taken him had he shown up in my sights.
From the looks of his teeth, snout, and general build, I'm thinking this fella was only 3-1/2 years old. I'd have loved to have cut his stomach open to see what he'd been eating.
He was ten points and 153 lbs., field dressed. I would have expected about 65-70 lbs. of deboned and trimmed meat. He had well over an inch of fat over his hind quarters and over his ribs. I got 83 lbs., of de-boned/trimmed meat. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a huge and fabulous venison neck/brisket, and monstrous sirloin tips on a deer. The backstraps were really long and thick. Usually, I get very little flank, but this guy had fantastic flank steaks that will get ground with pork and beef for meatballs, burgers, and sausage.
I attribute the exceptional yield of trimmed meat to the health of this critter. Knowing where it was taken, I'm assuming it was due to the quality of the corn fields, alfalfa fields, and a 41-year mast record.
I may just have to change my mind about butchering big bucks. I'll have a better idea later in the week when I cook up a little bit of this critter. So far, it looks, smells, and feels like very premium meat.
Ken
P.S. I forgot to include a photo of the poor critter that made the ultimate sacrifice. My friend who shot him removed his antlers, innards, and manhood before I put him in my truck -- my friend had already gotten a trophy the day before, so he offered me the carcass (which I gladly accepted).
So, here he is, missing all important parts of his dominance:
I took an 8 point this weekend on Sunday. I'm not super proud of him, but he was better than last years by about 20 pounds. This year I'm having him processed rather than do it all myself. Going to get some smoked sausage, jalapeno sausage, etc. They commercially tenderize the steaks so it should be better than what I have been doing on my own. We'll see when the bill comes and the grill gets fired up.
The Texas counties that I hunt in have enacted antler restrictions for the past two seasons.... a buck must have at least a 13" inside spread,or be a spike to be legal. The definition of spike is at least one antler that has no branches. So, I got a 4 point spike on opening weekend.... 3 points on one side and spike on the other. I have seen this deer for a couple of seasons now, and I think his antlers would have always been like this. So, I got to cull an inferior buck, and get some meat in the freezer early in the season. Now I can wait on the big guy....
I finally am on the board this year. I know it's only a small yearling doe, but after almost getting skunked all of last season I wasn't going to let it happen this year. She weighed slightly over 80# field dressed. I had a button buck come by and get spooked by a noisy chipmunk, and this one came by at 25 yds with about 10 minutes left of shooting light. 100g Hypershock broadhead thru both lungs. She went about 70 yards with a 2" wide cut thru both lungs. Amazing. Sorry for the bloody pic., nothing to wipe it off with. This is the exit side.
The easiest way yet to get them out of the woods:
She's already skinned, quartered and chillin' in my fridge.
Ok I have been missing PB for awhile now. Working and hunting. COngrats to all. Very awesome to see kids and dads getting their best ever. Looks like some fine eating is going to be had by many.
I have gotten 3 does with the bow but tough year for bucks. I hope that is about to change. Leaving shortly for KY quick hunt on way to Nate's lease.
When Todd came to visit recently, I think he probably wondered why I didn't shoot any deer. When he and I walked up on about seven deer, he took one. I didn't shoot.
Maybe this video by some of my cousins and boyhood friends can help explain my warped sense of Wisconsin / UP Mich., deer hunting and food preparation. This is pretty much how I grew up. Second Week of Deer Camp
Yes, those are real accents of my cousins, nephews, uncles . . .
Ken, you need to teach Todd to shoot the larger ones. While the smaller ones are more tender, the larger ones put more meat in the freezer.
48 hrs from now I'll be sitting in the rain with the ML. It figures, the first day of firearm season for deer and they are calling for rain with the possibility of thunderstorms.
I think it will be a high harvest this year around here. The deer are just starting to move, and we're supposed to have snow the early part of next week. It's a lot easier to see deer in the woods when the leaves are gone from the trees/brush and there is snow on the ground.
You might be thankfull for the rain. The deer are not moving during daylight right now. This is the driest Fall in over 20 years in my part of Indiana.
Same here on the rain. Deer are kinda acting weird this year too. Moving but not Rutting hard, lots of scrapes no rubs though kinda odd. Seen a monster 12 this morning it seen my decoy and just kept moving away non responsive to calls. Hopefully something pans out soon this is the worst year I've had as long as I can remember
I'm glad that I got my buck in early October. Plenty of pre-rut activity but their nocternal right now. Need some weather to push them out when it is light. I may regret that I let some smaller does walk. That is why they call it hunting rather than shooting...
I'm hoping that the rain holds off for a day or so because the deer are coming down to a pond to drink at 8-9 a.m. That pattern will change if they can get water elsewhere.
They are really hitting the Oats that I planted. The back food plot looks like someone went thru it on a lawnmower while the oats in the front food plot are 10" tall.
Gotta go and sit in a tree. Maybe I can be 2 up on Mike...... Update: Nothing moving except a neighbor sighting in a slug gun.
Thanks for asking about the place.... the picture with my buck was taken on a different property, so it is unburned and pristine.
My ranch that burned in April 2009... that's a different story. I would say that less than 1% of the trees made it through with minimal damage. 99% of my oak trees are did not leaf out again, and the bark is falling off the trunk. The trees are dead from the ground up.
The little good news there is, is that the roots of all these trees seem to be alive.... so I have a multi-trunked oak shrub growing around the base of each dead tree trunk. These shrubs are growing amazingly fast... most of them are 5 or 6 feet tall now. Here's a pic that's fairly representative... lots of undergrowth, grasses, and oak shrubs around the dead trunks. The deer have come back strong this season. Last season, there were very few.
My pond never did have any bad effects from the fire... I know that I had increased erosion into it, but other than that the water quality and fish seem to come through with no bad effects.
Gary, the shrubs ought to be prime deer habitat. Have they continued to come to feeders? Our acorn drop has just about stopped all movement and corn eating.
I'm glad that I got my buck in early October. Plenty of pre-rut activity but their nocternal right now. Need some weather to push them out when it is light. I may regret that I let some smaller does walk. That is why they call it hunting rather than shooting...
Well, Scott can bust my chops all he wants, but I kill the small ones so I can call it SHOOTING instead of hunting! Plus, I have two deer in the freezer already. Well, sort of. I guess the two combined are still smaller than the one Ken has pictured above (great looking deer, by the way)! Scott, just think of it as me culling the local herd so the big ones get bigger!
Todd, shooting means hitting the little ones in the head so you don't waste any meat!
Hopefully this one will walk by tomorrow. I'm really hoping for his daddy, but if someone else sees him I think they'd pull the trigger. I think the deer is only 2.5 years old, but it's the biggest I've gotten on camera on this piece of property this year. I've only had the camera out for a week. Still learning the ground.
Ken, you need to teach Todd to shoot the larger ones. While the smaller ones are more tender, the larger ones put more meat in the freezer.
Naw! When he next comes to visit, if he doesn't have a smaller caliber gun, I'll lend him one of mine.
Those milk-fed little ones would fetch a pretty price if they were beef.
I just finished vacuum packing the 10-pointer I butchered last Saturday. When I started this morning, I took one of the backstrap filets and sliced it real thin. I marinated it for about two hours in soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and some spices. I made kabobs with it. It was about as tender as shoe leather.
Todd got the right kind of deer for the family table. The angle and the 50 cal. just weren't quite matched to the animal. There are so many of those critters on my property, they are like 4-inch bluegill. Thinning them just helps the others -- and my garden.
Uneventful day. Saw a coyote at 75 yds, but he never stopped walking. Besides, the property that I was on I only have permission to hunt deer and turkey. Lots of squirrels tho. I got out of the stand at 1:00 p.m. due to a wind shift and set up at a different place. At 4:15 p.m. a yearling doe walked out (175 yds away) and while I was watching her in the binoculars I noticed a 4-point back in the trees, then I saw the 8 point. Both bucks came out, and the 8 point was as close as 157 Yds (rangefinders are nice!). But, I have pictures of a 10 point on the property, and I don't know what else is there, so I passed. If the 10 pt or something bigger doesn't show up in person or on any cameras during the next week, then my standards will drop considerably.
The one that walked out looked somewhat like this, but with a bit more mass, and 4" and 6" brow tines.
That is a fine looking buck Scott... He does look young yet, if he is only 2.5 years old, I can't imagine what he'll be like as a 4.5 year old if he can survive that long!
Opening day of firearms season here in Virginia was a bust... Had a nice day hunting with my dad but that was about it. I saw 1 deer all day! Hardly any shooting... Certainly not like the opening day of PA's firearms season! I did pull my one game camera and found this bad boy... He'll keep me waking up at 4:30 am every day next week!
That's a nice deer Travis! That one would get me out of bed in the morning as well.
Take a look about 7 - 8 posts up and increase the picture size to get more detail. It's the picture that was taken with the Plotwatcher. To me it looks like a 2.5 yo 10 point (on the same property). If I don't see a bigger one, I hope I see that one.
Nothing this a.m. 30° temps and 15 mph wind in your face made for a chilly morning.
Good news is that the rut is still to come and in my neck of the woods and it did not sound like a war zone on openning day. I did hear a 4 shot volley a ways off making venison swiss cheese, or maybe coyote food. One shot = clean kill, 2 shots = mayebe, 3 or 4 shots = moron.
RAH, agreed! Yesterday morning there were at least 100 shots that I heard, only a couple of volleys. Today the neighbors are shooting in their yard, maybe to sight in guns that they thought were sighted in before season.
I have a friend that couldn't hunt with a single shot or a Muzzleloader. He never hits anything with the first shot. When he has a pump gun in his hands, it sounds like a semi-auto. For him, a 6" group at 100 Yds is a good group.
No deer down this evening, but I did see that 10 pts' daddy. He was at a lasered 207 yds and stopped right before going behind a tree that was about 25' in front of me. So close that I was worried that the sabot might clip the tree, so I didn't shoot. I fully expected him to come out the other side of the tree after a herd of does that was standing there. He never showed as the does walked directly away from me. He did the same, although at the time he was hidden behind the tree.
Now I know what buck to hold out for!
Safety was off and there was pressure on the trigger when I noticed the hint of a tree trunk in the right margin of the scope. I let up on the trigger and looked over the scope. I repositioned the muzzleloader to the right of the tree, and waited for him to come out. AARRRGGGG!!!!!!!
I'm bouncing around on the property, all according to the wind. I don't want the deer to get used to me being in one place every day. I've done my best tree impersonations this year 'cause I'm hunting from the ground. I had a doe feeding for 45+ minutes from 65 to 40 yards from me tonight and she was joined by an 8 point buck that came in at less than 30 yds from me. They both stayed in that general area (30-45 yds) for about 20 minutes. His outside spread was just slightly less than his ear tips (when spread out), G2's were about 6", G3's were about 5" and the main beams were 3" or maybe 4" apart from touching each other over his nose. Very dark grey deer, but body shape said 2.5 YO deer.
Had 2 young bucks under me for over an hour last night. One was a typical 8-point that looked like a 2.5 yr-old (needs 2 more years). The other was a 1.5 year old 6-pt with half its points as drops (one with a sticker). More length in the drops than the main beams. It has a bum right-front leg. I saw it earlier in bow and got a good look at it this time at 25 feet. I cannot see any evidence of a wound, but it is atrophied and is very weak. The larger deer seemed like it wanted to start trouble, but the 6-pt kept its head down feeding and walk away. The good news is that maybe he won't go far and will be safe for a few years. Saw two immature does yesterday evening which headed off the property into a woods; 15 minutes later - 2 shots. Well that's how it goes...
One rough season so far... Weather has cooled of some today, hoping the deer will come out and play. Day after day in a tree stand with no shooters is frustrating. Throw in the trespassers and I'm about fed up. The stand I'm in now seems promising though.
I just got access to hunt 60 acres. The owner tells me mo ones hunted this on 30 yrs. Needless to say within 30 minutes of walking the property I found 2 ladder stands and a brand new climber.. All are being hunted because limbs are freshly snipped off. Owner said well I hope you like your new stands.. I didn't take but I put a note on them stating they had one week to remove and quit tresspassing.. Kinda hoping the stands are still there after a week.
I don't know how it is in the state that you are in, but in Indiana, if a person wants to admit that they were trespassing, they could call the sheriff and press charges on you or the landowner for keeping their stands. Stupid, I know.
The only way around this would be to call the conservation officer and have him remove the stands. If there is no name and/or address on the stands, I'd be tempted to put my information on them and then move them. On second thought, I'd call the CO now and remove the stands asap, leaving a note on the tree to call the CO to retrieve their stands.
Make sure you have permission in writing from the landowner and keep it in your posession at all times while on the property. I'd also have the Sheriff and CO on speed dial on the cell phone.
That's a great place that you have. It's a deer refuge, and a deer magnet. Keep a low profile from the deer and you'll see an amazing amount of deer.
I'm hunting a piece of property like you described, and the deer activity that I'm seeing is unlike anything that I've seen on property that is hunted hard. Just this a.m. I had 8 does bed down between 25 and 40 yds from me. I couldn't move for almost 3 hours because I didn't want to let them know I was there. They got up, went to water and then moseyed off. I got out of there asap and headed for home and a hot shower. I was hunting on the ground, not in a ground blind and thankfully the wind never shifted.
.. Simple as this.. " I didnt take those stands, they were there when I left the note, gone when I came back figured he took them.." see you in court.. Also he would be charged with tresspassing and found guilty by self admitting his stands on someone elses property were stolen.
I'm not saying I'd take the stands but I will take them down.. And you'd have to be a pretty dumb and brazen trespasser to do something that stupid..
Better this way. He is gone with no need for violence. Although hunting is hardly violence free. I must be getting old though, got my buck in early October and let a medium doe walk last night. Just unjoyed seeing the doe and nearly-grown fawn. If I had my bow, then it would have been toast, but with a gun, just too easy.
I'm having just as much fun watching the deer, not shooting and waiting for the big boy to show. I'm learning a lot about deer behavior being able to watch them for a couple of hours per day. I'm amazed at what spooks them and what doesn't. I can't believe how far away they can pick up on something different in the woods, be it another deer coming, or someone talking a couple hundred yards away. Gunfire doesn't seem to bother them, at least when it's a couple hundred yards away and further.
Hunting in urban areas, it is amazing how adapted deer are to those conditions. They know where the smells and sounds should and shouldn't be coming from... If they come from the wrong place, they're gone just like any smart mountain deer would.
Well, I have been busting my butt this year putting in way too much time in a tree stand, but it finally paid off. Yesterday afternoon just a bit past 2:30 I caught some movement to my left and this bad boy rolled out of a thicket. My slug round clipped a branch and broke into at least 3 pieces, broke his front shoulder, hit him high in the back and also hitting his back leg. Knocked him down into the creek he was standing next to. He laid in the creek for 4 minutes without moving and then took off crashing through a swampy thicket. I was able to keep up with him as he was hit bad. After missing several running shots, I let him bed down and was able to sneak up on him and make a good finishing shot on him. He ran over 800 yards before I was able to get him. Took me over 3 hours to drag him through a laurel thicket, back across the swampy creek bottom and then up a 100 yard 70 degree incline, down 200 yards of fire trail until I could get him to where I could get my pick up truck to. I was tore up by briars, covered in swamp mud up to my waste and sore as heck, but it was all worth it! He only scores around 120 gross, 19 6/8 inside spread, 8 scorable points, 3 on the left, 5 on the right to include a tiny 1 1/8 inch G3 and a 1 3/8 inch kicker off his right G2. He is no Midwestern beast, but for sandy coastal Virginia, I am tickled pink!
As I found him...
Couple photos from today before I starting processing him.
Yesterday was my last day of my hunting vacation as there is no Sunday hunting and I go back to work tomorrow... So the persistence and patience paid off!
Congrats Travis! That's a hell of a deer. I'm not a "big" deer hunter, and I could care less about what a deer scores. (although it wouldn't stop me from having a nice one scored)The only reason that I haven't shot a buck this year is that I've seen one bigger than I have on the wall and I'm holding out to see him again.
Sounds like you need to get a game cart or at least a plastic sled to tie them to. I feel your pain from the drag. Been there done that and it was 2 of us doing the dragging. From finding it until getting it to the truck took a bit over 5 hours, and it wasn't even my deer.
I have had the toughest year that I can remember. I have owned my 21 acres for 18 years and it is the slowest season I have had in that time. Finally scored on a doe Saturday morning on another property. I have only seen 1 six pointer all season form the stand. First harvest witht the Bone Collector.
A neighbor down the road shot a nice buck yesterday at daylight. Not the best shot. He tracked it about 2 miles and ran out of light on my property. He took up the trail this afternoon again. Long story short, they caught up with the buck and managed to get a final shot in him when he jumped from his bed. Nice deer. Maybe around 150. Here he is:
Here in WV, we've got more deer seasons than I can keep track of. I think I could legally take somewhere between 11 and 14 deer if I participated in every season. So far, four deer (that I know of) have been harvested from our property.
Our "real season" (rifle/howitzer/bow/harpoon, etc., and anything that resembles a deer) starts tomorrow morning at sunup. I know most everybody will be out there to get the trophy "Turdy-Point Buck" -- but I'll probably sit on the front or back porch at sunup with just one bullet in my old 30-30, and wait for one with milk on its lips.
Pepperoni and pastrami are both curing in the basement refrigerator for smoking later in the week. The meat is the last of the last from the '09 season. So far, about 75 lbs. of Season '10 meat are in the freezer.
Through some Virginia friends who only wanted the racks, we were able to give away two very healthy corn-fed deer yesterday that turned into 125 lbs. of de-boned meat. One was destined for Todd -- but we gave it away instead.
Ken, how did that 10 point you had hanging for a few days turn out? You said the meat looked great, but you weren't sure if he'd taste good? Well, how'd he end up tasting? I gave my buck away to hunters for the hungry. I usually only keep does, I think they taste better and I think the deer up in PA taste better as well.
That's O.K. Mike. Like we discussed, if I don't see that big boy by the time Muzzleloader season is winding down I can shoot one of the bucks that I've been seeing and then start whacking and stacking the does. The most does that I've seen on the property that I'm hunting this year is 15-16 in a day. I'm not sure if any were double counted. I have seen a total of 4 or 5 different bucks in person and on trail cams, and at least another 3 on trail cams only.
Ken, we can only shoot one buck per year here in Indiana, and one more if you hunt in an "urban" zone.
Does are another matter. It's on a county-by-county basis, no personal limit. I think I could legally shoot close to 400 does if I were able to take my limit in every county in the state. Just counting the 3 counties that I have hunted in this year, I can legally take 20 "bonus" does. Since I was able to purchase a lifetime license before they discontinued them, my cost of a deer license is a piece of paper and ink to write out the information that is required.
I saw this baby's daddy in person and that's the one that I want. If I was sitting 10" more to the left I'd have my hands on him.
Here's the other bucks that I have on camera. I can't change the date, so don't go by that. I'll be pulling the SD card this evening for the latest pics.
Here's pics of the buck that came out yesterday with 10 minutes left of legal shooting light with the forkhorn that I told you about. I was tempted, but I saw that the G4 on the left side was broken. I think he's 3rd on the list of 10 pt. bucks that I've seen there. These pictures were taken last night.
I seen a cool pic today.. Guy at work got an eight pointer with big brow tines.. Cool thing about it was one was really wavy the other was completely curled like a cork screw.. First time I'd ever seen that just thought I'd share..
I was finally able to hunt this year. I usually only shoot bucks if they are bigger than any previous ones. Only saw some doe and took one right before dark last night. No pics since it was nothing special, but I did manage to get the game camera set up. Strange thing was I had to hose the stand down with wasp killer and figured nothing would come around with the smell, but the 2 doe I saw came within 30 feet of the stand upwind and down.
I've seen deer directly downwind of my car where I park to hunt. The car smell doesn't bother them, but when I walk to the car after hunting they get spooked, even after dark. I shower on a regular basis, so it can't be that.
I think deer that are around people or people activity get to know what's a harmful scent and what's not.
Ken, how did that 10 point you had hanging for a few days turn out? You said the meat looked great, but you weren't sure if he'd taste good? Well, how'd he end up tasting? I gave my buck away to hunters for the hungry. I usually only keep does, I think they taste better and I think the deer up in PA taste better as well.
The taste is just fine. These are good corn fed deer. But . . .
I had a small piece of backstrap left when I was done vacuum packing. I cut it into 1/4-inch strips which I marinated in homemade teriyaki sauce and then put on the grill. It was about as tender as Bulgarian shoe leather. Oh well, it really doesn't make that much difference when I make corned venison, pastrami, sausage, or jerky. There really is a big difference between an older buck and an antlerless deer.
My rifle is at the basement door, and I've still got my eyes out for a clueless and antlerless deer that might happen to wander by. I sat in my tree house for about an hour last evening, until it got too dark to safely shoot anything. I heard deer, but didn't see a single one.
Also -- as for deer taste. There certainly are big differences in taste per locality. In this area, the deer out of Northern Virginia -- Loudoun, Clark, Frederick, Fauquier, etc., and from my WV county of Hampshire, are excellent and have virtually no odor when butchered. But, I've had some out of other areas, like where I grew up in Northern Wisconsin, and they not only didn't taste great, they had a very distinct odor that I never liked. I can only assume it is based on diet.
You've got quite the deer processing operation there Ken... Maybe you could open up a small business when you retire.
I'm taking a new hunter out tomorrow evening so that should be interesting. Last night was the first night back to work after my hunting vacation... I wish I could retire! HAHA
You've got quite the deer processing operation there Ken... Maybe you could open up a small business when you retire.
I'm taking a new hunter out tomorrow evening so that should be interesting. Last night was the first night back to work after my hunting vacation... I wish I could retire! HAHA
Travis -- believe me, it has more than crossed our minds. I'm ready. I've got a 2000 sq. ft. unused building on the property that was formerly a taxidermy shop. I'd love to use it for a training facility, a publishing facility, and, a butchering-training facility.
We unfortunately continue to face the unknown situation and life-on-hold schedule because of the eminent domain powerline issue. They again reared their ugly heads a few weeks ago. If it gets resolved in my lifetime, I hope to provide guidance to anyone else in this miserable situation.
Good luck with the new hunter. I'm sure you'll be a great mentor.
Ive been super busy- yes not with work but hunting. Finally checking this thread first time in a long while. Congrats Travis- nice VA deer, Scott stay after em. OH, IL, KY and suburban ATL have not panned out for me. WIth baby due anyday time is running out.
Thanks Greg. I was out again this evening. I had a doe and yearling at 40 yds due downwind when I walked in, and it took me walking out in the open for them to realize a human was that close.
About 45 minutes later, a buck showed up 175 yards away, and within the next 30 minutes he was joined by 5 others. The biggest bodied deer was an old 6 point, sway back and drooping belly. The deer with the very long G2's showed up as well. Still no sign of that 10 point or his son, so I watched the show 'till 1/2 hr after dark (1 hr after sunset).
There were 2 button bucks and a couple of does out with them as well. The bucks all got into a shoving match with each other at one time or another, but nothing serious. Serious enough that I could hear the antlers hitting each other at that distance tho!
It's getting cool out, so I might tag a doe tomorrow or Thursday if the correct opportunity presents itself.
There was a small 6 point not 50 yds from the climbing stand that I was removing that had a right front broken leg. He couldn't walk on that leg at all. He didn't seem to mind that I was within 50 yds to him on an ATV. I went back to get the muzzleloader, and tried sneaking up on him. When I was on foot, his comfort zone was 200 Yds. I was going to shoot, but a tree was obscuring his vitals. Once I moved to a cleaner shooting land, he started to walk away. I couldn't get a clear shot at him before he made it to a neighbor's property. I never talked to any of the neighbors around there (not my land) so I don't have permission to hunt there. I'll just have to wait until he comes back - maybe this evening.
I did find a tree stand on the property that is being used - fresh climbing marks on the tree. So now I'll be hunting trespassers as well.
One small pond on the property was 95% covered with skim ice this a.m.
I did find a tree stand on the property that is being used - fresh climbing marks on the tree. So now I'll be hunting trespassers as well.
I'm posting this from my Kindle, as I read books while I dream/drool about sausage and meat processing techniques.
My cousin, who has about a thousand acre farm and woodland in Northern Wisconsin, has a whole collection of confiscated tree stands that she lends/donates to friends who have permission to hunt and fish her farm.
But, as I contemplate, I think we must be a sick bunch. Here I am, sitting in my "captain's chair" in my well-elevated tree-house about 30 yards above my pond. I have one bullet in my old Winchester 30-30 (I figure one round is all I need -- if I miss, I won't have time for a second shot. I do have two more rounds in my pocket if I just wound a critter).
Trespassers probably won't be shot, but I doubt they'll be back after they meet me.
What a life.
We'll sample venison pepperoni with eggs tomorrow morning (Thanksgiving day) for breakfast. I'll start smoking the venison pastrami and the brined turkey after breakfast tomorrow. The ham will go into the oven at that time. Lynda already has all of the pies baked.
We're looking forward to one more Thanksgiving with four generations of family gathered around the bounty.
I missed my chance at the wounded buck again. When walking in, I looked into the open area and saw a deer bedded down looking right at me, with a nice 8 pt. about 20 yds further out, standing. I stopped, set down the fold up cloth chair that I was holding and grabbed the binoculars. About that time the deer stands up and I realize that it's the wounded buck. Down go the binoculars, off the shoulder comes the muzzleloader and I look for a shooting lane. By the time that I find one, the healthy buck takes off, and the wounded one is in the forest, putting trees between me and it. It turns out that he was laying down not 20' from where I was sitting this morning.
After getting all the stuff in place (unfold the chair, set up shooting sticks, dig out rangefinder) I finally get my butt in the chair. Not 5 minutes later I see a buck and 2 does in the open area about 120 yds away. I wanted to take a doe either today or tomorrow, so I get the gun up and the scope turned up to 10x. Rats, all 3 are bucks. Oh well, it's time to sit back and see what else comes out while the rain continues to pour.
It takes them about an hour to work closer to me, and by the time legal shooting time ends, the closest buck is 21 yds away. A swirl of the wind and they both are gone.
Well, as is often the case, beginners luck didn't rear itself and we were skunked, but he's eager to get out and try it again so that is a good sign. Everyone have a great Thanksgiving... I will be heading to PA on Sunday for the firearms opener there Monday.
My Grandson and I are leaving this afternoon for a couple of days hunting. He has taken a doe and is now looking for a muy grande. I've not been able to hunt but a couple of times. Due to our huge acorn crop, I have seen one, yes 1, doe this year and no bucks.
well guys i went all out yesterday.. I bought me a brand new Mathews Z7 Extreme.. I have to say blows my Hoyt Mt. Sport away.. This is the smoothest drawing bow ive ever felt at 70 lbs it feels like 60 or less on my Hoyt.. The bow is so quiet its truly unreal.. heres a link to the Mathews site..
My game camera, which is a fairly popular model, has lots it's IR photo taking ability. I took it apart to see if there is a loose connection, but it appears to be something in the circuitry itself and not very user-serviceable. Guess I have to go buy me another.
Moderators -- if this endorsement is out of line, please remove it. Ken
I couldn't sleep last night, so I grabbed my Kindle looking for a new book to read. For anybody who likes to hunt and fish, I can strongly recommend "If You Didn't Bring Jerky, What Did I Just Eat", by Bill Heavey. I was about $8.50 for the Kindle.
Think of JHAP/JWHAP, their adventures, and JHAP'a descriptions -- maybe funnier, but just as ...???... I'm at a loss for a description. Bill Heavey apparently lives somewhere in Northern Virginia. He and JHAP definitely balance the East and West Coasts.
I wouldn't take it to a deer stand. You need to read it in solitude where no one can hear you.
Think of JHAP/JWHAP, their adventures, and JHAP'a descriptions -- maybe funnier, but just as ...???... I'm at a loss for a description. Bill Heavey apparently lives somewhere in Northern Virginia. He and JHAP definitely balance the East and West Coasts.
Hmmmm, I'm not sure whether to be flattered or offended.
Does anybody have any experience with deer feeders you hang from a tree? I am not a hunter but would like to attract deer around my lakehouse just to admire their beauty and grace. I would prefer the kind that hangs from a tree for cosmetic reasons. But are the tree hung deer feeders practical as far as filling and re-filling? How difficult is it cranking up a feeder into a tree after you fill it up? Any commnets or suggestions?
Hanging from a tree you should somehow hang it far out enough so it will allow you to attach a pully to the tree and the feeder. That way you can raise/lower it to add the feed.
The directional Kenco feeder works well, but raccoons will reach their dirty little mitts into the feeder opening in search of food and they'll tear up the rubber flapper (dispenser) that throws the food. Been there, done that.
I've used both, and prefer the one that throws the food in a 360° pattern. I have noticed 6 coons at a time under the feeder eating the corn. I also have noticed them hanging off from the top of the bucket reaching down to the top of the spinner plate. Those buckte feeders typically have plastic dispensers. Squirrels will chew them - aluminum replacements are availalbe from most mfg's. as an option. Do it the first time and you won't have to repair the feeder.
Ok esshup thanks. Are you saying coons and other "robbers" are worse with hanging feeders? Or do they chew threw the plastic parts of all feeders? Can you get an all metal hanging feeder?
well i quess the deer are starting to group back up already here in Illinois seen a group of 5 does this morning. And seen a group of 10 does this evening all in all seen 18 deer today.. No shots though, maybe tomorrow..
Ok esshup thanks. Are you saying coons and other "robbers" are worse with hanging feeders? Or do they chew threw the plastic parts of all feeders? Can you get an all metal hanging feeder?
Nope, not worse with hanging feeders, I think they'll be the worse with a feeder that is attached to the tree.
I had the rubber impeller torn apart by the coons reaching in to get the food. Squirrels chewed up my plastic funnel that regulates how much food is dropped on the spinning plate on the other type of feeder. The replacement aluminum funnel stopped that problem. I have pictures of the 'coons hanging by a rear foot from the bucket handle to reach down and under the 5 gal. bucket to get corn out of that type of feeder. The coons never were able to damage it, nor the squirrels after I changed the material.
The bucket is metal, and so is the spinning plate that disperses the food. (at least on mine)
There were 4 or 5 does in the open area when I got to the property. They spooked out there as I walked to where I was going to sit. 15 minutes later a small spike walked to the edge of the woods and watched the open area for a good 10 minutes before walking out. He looked my way and didn't like what he saw, and he walked away. I had an 8 point come out at 225 yds, and not too much longer another one walked out. They fed side by side for a while and when they picked up their heads together, it was almost a mirror image. I'm guessing twin brothers.
I heard some chasing going on behind me, and so did they, even at 200+ yds. The first one ran my way, followed by the 2nd one. The first one got to 28 yds, and stood there for a couple minutes looking into the woods behind me (he was at my 7:00). His brother was at my 10:00 in the open area. The first one, turned and spotted me. He blew, then jumped into the woods, spooking his brother. I grunted at him a couple of times and he stopped running and looked back at me. I gave him a snort wheeze, and a couple more grunts. He stood there for a good 5 minutes looking at me.
They finally walked off; by that time it was getting dark and I packed up and left as well. Tomorrow is the last day of firearms season. There's a 5 day break then ML starts for 16 days.
Rude neighbor tonight decided to shoot some 10-round magazined pistol over and over and over again right at dusk. I was sitting on the stand about 3:45pm planning to stay until 6pm. Right about 5:18pm (sunset) the bozo decided to start shooting...about 200 yds across the fence. What drives a person to start blasting a pistol just about THE prime time for the deer to move? This guy knows what he was doing.... They hunt. It might have been leftover beer from Thanksgiving.
Gotta love it when someone decides to do something stupid right at prime time when you're in your treestand... With all the urban bow hunting I do, I get my hunts messed up all the time!
Zep, I have all but given up on corn slingers as the parts seem to always break from wear and tear, squirrels, coons, bears and God knows what else that is trying to get at the corn... The solar panels and batteries are a PITA as well. I built a couple of simple to use gravity feeders to take inventory of my deer herd after hunting season is over in the winter. I used about a 6' length of 6" PVC pipe, cap the top and then cap the bottom. I cut a slit on the side near the bottom cap. I then place a plastic tray with small holes drilled in it to allow for water to seep through. The corn slowly feeds down the pipe and falls out onto the tray. I painted the piping a camo color to blend in with the tree I strap the feeder to. You can barely tell it's there even if you know it's there. The deer get used to it quickly and feed from it readily, even larger smart bucks. Total cost is about $30 and the two I have built have lasted for 4 or 5 years now. You do feed far more than just deer though, turkeys, squirrels, coons, bears, hogs, you name it... If they eat corn they'll come for a hand out.
Well, The rut is finally coming to central Indiana during the break between shotgun and muzzle loader. Saw some midsize bucks running does today (morning and evening), but the does are still not in. Saw two does with fawns on friday. Wanted to take a mature doe during shotgun (actually with a 44), and had my chance. I saw a large doe laying down when I was coming in this morning. I was within 20 feet and saw its hind legs sicking straight out and thought it was dead. Guess what? One more step and it got up and ran away - Just worn out from being chased. Glad that I got my buck the second weekend of bow.
Thanksgiving evening turned out to be a good hunt for me.... I got this 7 point with a 17" spread right at the end of legal shooting light. He was the only deer I saw that night, but he is the best buck I've seen all season. This guy was working the roads with his nose... looking for a hot doe, I guess. When I started the tracking job it was really dark, because I gave him a half hour before starting to track. Could not find a blood trail, but I found him by his smell!! His tarsal glands were really black and smelly... this guy was definitely in rut.
The hunting has been hard since the acorns started dropping... the corn is piling up around all my feeders.
I went from getting hundreds of game cam pictures in a week to 20 pictures in a week when the acorns started dropping.
Nice one Gary, I've never heard of finding one by smell.
I've noticed the strong odor mostly on very calm days with no wind. The buck I shot opening weekend's glands were pretty strong when I went to field dress him.. It was cold and no wind that day. I could see how this could help in the dark if you're trying to track one down.
Well, The rut is finally coming to central Indiana during the break between shotgun and muzzle loader. Saw some midsize bucks running does today (morning and evening), but the does are still not in. Saw two does with fawns on friday. Wanted to take a mature doe during shotgun (actually with a 44), and had my chance. I saw a large doe laying down when I was coming in this morning. I was within 20 feet and saw its hind legs sicking straight out and thought it was dead. Guess what? One more step and it got up and ran away - Just worn out from being chased. Glad that I got my buck the second weekend of bow.
I had no dea Indiana was that far behind Illinois I figured they'd be around the same time..
Nice buck Gary! It's been a weird year here. If not for having that other property to hunt on, I'd really be scrambling. My trail cams behind the house are getting on an average one deer picture every 3 days, and that's at night. A buddy of mine is having his worst year ever seeing deer as well. The rut is completely different this year as well. There was signs of chasing 2 weeks ago, nothing last week, then some chasing going on this week while at the same time I've seen 6 bucks feeding together and 2 bucks and 6 does feeding together.
A friend told me they were coming to horns 3 weeks ago but I didn't get a chance to try then. I've tried rattling a couple of times since with no results. I did see a nice 7 point on my camera one night. He also dropped by the next night but had one snapped off almost down to the base. That's what I call a fight.
Agree on comments about Rut and seeing deer. Worst yr ever for bucks for me continues with abotu 4 hunts around Thanksgiving with one 6 pt passed. I passed a few good bucks while in IL but not what I drove to IL for. I hunt big buck area around Atlanta and been to KY, IL and OH and nothing to show for it. I can blame it on my hunting I guess but like to think otherwise. If folks want prices on cams and feeders let me know and I can price some items for you if interested. GL out there.
I saw several small bucks on opening weekend (Nov 6 -7 here in North Texas) that were running around harrassing the does... the young bucks always seem to start rutting first in my areas. This seven point was the first buck that I had seen since then. All I knew was that he was "outside the ears", and I had to make a quick decision on whether to shoot or not.
The stand where I shot him is at the junction of two natural gas pipelines that cross.... I call it the X stand, and it has shots out to 300 yards in 4 directions. You have to be quick, because the pipeline clearings are only about 40 feet across, and the deer cross very quickly. Unless the deer are walking down the pipeline, you don't have much time to judge their size / quality. I'm happy with him, but there are bigger deer that I have on camera. Maybe next year...
When I was looking for the blood trail, I was working a pattern up and down the pipeline clearing for about 40 yards, back and forth, trying to find the point of impact and the start of the blood trail. I kept noticing at the same place that I smelled a strong musky odor, so I just went into the woods at that spot and started looking. I found him almost immediately, just inside the woods. He didn't go more than 20 yards from where I shot him.
Without the smell, I might have never found him... he bled out completely internally. I loaded him in the truck to take him to my field dressing spot... didn't leave a drop of blood in the truck or on me until after I opened him up. Interesting, as I hit him where I wanted, not too high. I shoot a 30-06 with 150 grain core-lockt bullets.... only the one entry hole, the bullet shattered on the opposite shoulder blade and did not exit the deer.
Saw 2 does each with a fawn last night. I just have not seen the full rut this year. I shot at one of the does with my muzzleloader but could not find any blood and there were so many tracks that I could not track it in the snow. I follwed where I saw the other 3 deer run, but ran out of light and my flashlight failed after a little while. This morning I went to the same stand and after light I saw a very small grapevine with 1/2 inch missing in my line of fire, but I could not believe that that was enough to throw off a 25-yard shot. I later saw what appeared to be the remaining 3 deer moving about 500 yards off. I went to the spot where I shot at the doe the previuos night and tried going in another direction staight away from me and perpendicular to wher the other deer had run last night. I found it within 30 yards. Its guts had already blown up. I hit it just forward of the shoulder, but had aimed just behind the shoulder. The guts also must have burst when I drug it out (so I could gut it at the barn). What a mess.
Saw some snipe the last time I went duck hunting so I decided to go see if I could get some. This was the first time I have ever been snipe hunting and I ended up getting three. Probably could have gotten a couple more if I stayed out there a few more hours.
So our farm is on a 180 acre parcel that was subdivided into 7 tracts. A couple of us have 30 acres and the other 3 owners have from 14 to 25 acres. The very first house as you come off the main road into our "neighborhood" is owned by a great guy who is a partner in a local engineering firm. His family does very little outside most of the year, but he does enjoy getting out to hunt for a day or two each buck season. Yesterday, just before dark and the close of our gun buck season, Clay managed to bag this beautiful looking guy.
I don't yet know the full story or any real details, but one of our neighbors took this pic and forwarded it to me last night. If I find out anything interesting, I'll post it. My wife saw what was probably this buck last Wednesday night after I had shot my doe. As she was leaving, she said she saw a beautiful buck with a great rack and really nice body shape sniffing after a couple of does in Clay's field. Evidently, Clay was aware of him, too! I'm happy for him to have been able to get such a nice buck, but, man, it does sting a little that I never saw a single rack during the time I hunted those two weeks and he nabs this bad boy right at the close of the season!
Anyway, this is one of the nicest WV bucks I've ever seen and it's exciting that it was right by our farm. Just gonna take a little patience on my part, I guess!
Well my monster made it through another shotgun season.. Had him bedded down last night at 80 yards, still to far for a bow kill.. Also seen a big 10 bedded down behind my house about 20 yards on nieghbors property after dark. So hopefully something big still pans out this season. It's been a tough season for me.
I only saw 2 deer in passing when I was walking out of the woods today. 15-20 mph winds, temp was 16°F on the car thermometer. It was a tad chilly sitting out there for almost 3 hours. The place that I'm hunting is about 15 minutes South of me and it had about 4" of snow on the ground while I have about 10". Durn Lake Effect snow!
It was 6°F this morning. I'll bet Dwight thinks that it's time to be putting on a coat at that temp, or at least a sweater.
We've deer hunted in Northern Wi. in -30° temps, I don't know what the wind chill was, but the trees were splitting apart like rifle shots due to freezing. You couldn't sit still for more than an hour, so we rotated drivers and standers. When you have only 9 days to hunt, and no bait is allowed, you can't sit inside on bad days if you want to kill a deer. There's no agriculture around that area, just big woods. Few deer per sq. mile so you've got to cover a LOT of ground to get them.
It was 6°F this morning. I'll bet Dwight thinks that it's time to be putting on a coat at that temp, or at least a sweater.
I'm not too sure about this - I suspect he'd still be okay with a long-sleeve t-shirt.
Originally Posted By: esshup
We've deer hunted in Northern Wi. in -30° temps, I don't know what the wind chill was, but the trees were splitting apart like rifle shots due to freezing. You couldn't sit still for more than an hour, so we rotated drivers and standers. When you have only 9 days to hunt, and no bait is allowed, you can't sit inside on bad days if you want to kill a deer. There's no agriculture around that area, just big woods. Few deer per sq. mile so you've got to cover a LOT of ground to get them.
I don't know. Call me crazy, but with low deer numbers and directly proportional low temp numbers, I'm thinking you DON'T have to cover a lot of ground, I'm thinking you actually just go somewhere else to hunt!
She was at 105 Yds. The 250g SST bullet went thru the front leg, the bottom of the heart and out the other side of the brisket. It shoved a piece of the left front leg bone thru the right front leg, breaking that one as well.
Todd, I'll get a weight on her for you. She might be a tad bigger than what the Savage was eating out in WVa.
My nephew is going to process it and he'll give me the weight. Since the camoflage pattern in the woods has changed, I changed the camo pattern on the gun as well. I have a set of white snow camo hunting clothes too and I blend in pretty good - a doe walked within 13 yds of me sitting on the ground a few days ago.
I'm off to see about whacking a few ducks with a buddy, then it's back to the woods for deer this evening.
Dave, there's another doe out there that makes that one look small. I don't think that one will be tender, but she'll make a lot of sausage if I get her.
Todd, I'll get a weight on her for you. She might be a tad bigger than what the Savage was eating out in WVa.
Har har har! Nice doe, Scott. That's pretty good weight. My afternoon cleared up so I'm going to drive out to the farm and see if I stumble across any does. Saw 7 yesterday when I drove through on the way to pick up the babysitter. Wouldn't have gone over well for me to skip dinner with my wife or to show up bloody, so they got a pass!
Todd, I'll get a weight on her for you. She might be a tad bigger than what the Savage was eating out in WVa.
Har har har! Nice doe, Scott. That's pretty good weight. My afternoon cleared up so I'm going to drive out to the farm and see if I stumble across any does. Saw 7 yesterday when I drove through on the way to pick up the babysitter. Wouldn't have gone over well for me to skip dinner with my wife or to show up bloody, so they got a pass!
Just another "Doe From Today" shot picture:
Why do these silly things not understand normal reasoning? I hate it when I have to knock sense into them with the butt end of my pellet pistol, and they still don't understand.
Oh well, more pastrami, sausage, snack-sticks, jerky, chili, and incredibly wonderful pot-roast in sour cream and mushroom sauce, with late-season baby potatoes and early-season vacuum-packed asparagus.
Perfect weather today, and through next week for hanging a deer in the barn -- as I won't have time to butcher this critter for at least a week. It's about 33 now. The cold room in the barn is 37.
I'm guessing this one was three years old, about and about 120 lbs., field-dressed.
Shawn, that's a really, really nice deer. Congrats!
Ken, you must have tapped her pretty hard to make her go to sleep!
Todd, you can always leave them lay until you are done with dinner.
That's sorta like saying "My wife won't leave me have stuffed animals in the house, that's why I didn't shoot that 200 class 12 point buck that I saw 20 yds away yesterday."
Opening weekend of deer season was preempted by a men’s cancer retreat that took priority. I did not want to attend but was coerced and shanghaied! Bitter sweet experience but maybe helped others in small group by example of a double dipper cancer survivor.
Sons reported amazing growth on bucks since TP&W imposed the “13 inch rule”. They put together a ~700 acre conservation unit with our acreage and cousins from my grandpa’s 1907 “ranch” (Cotton farms in those days). Opening morning they reported observing some 17 deer in one pasture - one ~three year old 10 pointer and a ~4 year old eleven pointer – all heavy and in good shape. Next morning observed another 10 pointer.
No bucks taken – waiting another year for a 5 year old trophy– doe permits for the youngsters. Missed all the good food and tall tales around the campfire but I’ll be there next year!
Thanks for all the hunting stories and photos posted! George
Todd, you can always leave them lay until you are done with dinner.
That's sorta like saying "My wife won't leave me have stuffed animals in the house, that's why I didn't shoot that 200 class 12 point buck that I saw 20 yds away yesterday."
Well, there's also the consideration that I was unarmed at the time. I know. It's incredibly weak to live where I live, have a farm with a decent deer population, and go there without a weapon. Heck, it's incredibly weak to go anywhere without a weapon in the car. I know. I am now suitably ashamed.
Well, there's also the consideration that I was unarmed at the time. I know. It's incredibly weak to live where I live, have a farm with a decent deer population, and go there without a weapon. Heck, it's incredibly weak to go anywhere without a weapon in the car. I know. I am now suitably ashamed.
As well you should be, even this city boy does not head up to his pond property without his Winchester 30-30 and his S&W 38 special.
From a whitetail deer, shot broadside. Impact was at 205 Yds. MV to be checked (was 2175 fps in Oct, 60°F temps) 43g of IMR-4759, Wonder Wad, MMP Short Sabot. Ignited by a CCI 209M primer. Savage Muzzleloader. It now weighs 181g, and is .810" dia. It started out at 250g and .452" dia. The yellow piece is the yellow ballistic tip that was in the bullet.
The bullet slipped between the ribs on the near side, clipping one lung and barely exiting the diaphram to lodge under the skin on the far side. Deer was slightly quartering to when I thought it was broadside, and I allowed for more wind than there actually was.
All I can say, having had the privilege of borrowing his ML 10, is that it is one SWEET rifle! Just amazing and deadly accurate. He'll tell ya more, I'm sure.
essup, I take it you have one of the Savage ML10 muzzle loaders that shoots smokeless? How do you like it? I've been thinking I need one of those.
BZ
Nope I don't have one, I have 3. And I'm really thinking of buying one more. Savage discontinued making them for 2011. Get one while you still can! That gun is the reason why I'm shooting a muzzleloader - no mandatory daily cleaning. I can load it down so a slight 10 year old can shoot it and kill a deer at 100 Yds or less without getting beat up by the recoil, or I can load it heavy and shove a bullet with more force than you can with a .458 Win Mag. I can see what I'm shooting at after the shot as well.
Most people buy it because you can shoot smokeless powder, but it works just as well with any of the other BP substitutes or BP itself. Guys are now buying a .45 cal barrel from Pac-Nor (you can swap the barrel yourself if you have a vise and a barrel wrench) and shooting either a saboted .40 cal 200 grain bullet, or resizing a .45 cal 275 grain bullet and shooting it with just a wool wad under it. They are shooting the .40 cal up to 3100 fps, and the .45 around 2750 or so.
My first one was a breeze to get a load dialed in. It took all of 12 shots to get it grouping right around 1" at 100 Yds. This one was a bit more fickle, but before I let Todd borrow it I shot a 3 shot 3/8" x 5/16" c-c group at 100 Yds.
The blued ones (in my opinion) tend to rust quicker than any other blued CF rifle that I own. I have both blued and stainless. Savage did some changes to the 2010 year model, (for the better) so if you can find one of those, get it.
To save you some legwork, if you do get one, use MMP short petal sabots, 250 grain .452" dia bullets (XTP's, Hornady SST's, T/C Shockwave's). I prefer using CCI 209M primers. Try IMR-4759 or Accurate 5744 powder for starters. A standard load has the 250g bullet moving right around 2200-2300 fps. While you can push it faster, and safely, they perform best right around that speed. I know guys that pushed the 250g bullet close to 3,000 fps, but they had terminal performance problems. (the bullets were pushed too fast and blew up on game, rather than penetrating thru)
Pure lead (i.e. soft) bullets don't work well if pushed over 2,000 fps.
If you're going to use smokeless, you really should weigh your powder charges before hitting the field. Volume measurements don't work for smokeless powder.
What did I miss??
Ask Todd how well it works for a person that hasn't had a lot of trigger time with one.
I am back from PA's firearms season and had a wonderful time with family and friends. My dad was at our camp for the entire 2 week season. Friends stopped in for a day here and there. My 86 year old grandfather who although he's got Parkinson's, heart problems and a bunch of other issues still wanted to get out there. I went out the first two days with my grandfather. His vision is so poor, I think short of a deer standing 25 yards away waving a white flag he'd struggle to see it, but we gave it a shot anyways. He was able to get a handicap permit from the game commission which allowed him to hunt right from a vehicle and use roads on game lands that are otherwise closed to hunters. I was his chauffeur/guide for the two days since he really can't hunt by himself anymore and I already shot a nice buck this year in VA, so missing for the first couple days wouldn't be the end of the world. Plus, my grandfather has done so much for me over the years, it was the least I could do.
Anyways, we found some good spots where we could park along the game land roads and he could look out the window. I then watched for deer and then tried to point them out to him, get him lined up and see if he could make a shot. We saw some deer, but it was a real challenge with his shaking from the Parkinson's and vision issues. In the end he never killed a deer or even shot at one, but at least he got out there and did a little hunting.
The opening day was mild in the mid 40's and sunny. The second day was even more mild, pushing 50 with rain starting before day break... It rained for the next 2 days dumping over 4". Made the hunting a bit rough and the creek behind our cabin flood!
Although I have yet to see one in person, I've gotten a few on game camera over the last few years. These wild pigs broke lose from a nearby game preserve, started breeding in the wild and began making a mess. The PA Game Commission and the USDA did a lot of trapping in the area and the many hunters in the area cleaned up the rest, but I guess there are a still a few around. Someone obviously wanted to emphasize the need for their removal and show they haven't mastered grammar yet either...
PA deer hunting has gone through a lot of changes the past decade with antler restrictions and a drastic reduction in the size of the deer herd. The hunting is harder but there are more mature bucks running around. Although I never saw a shooter buck and my buck tag went unfilled, I did take a 122 pound after being dressed doe. By far the largest doe I have ever taken. She's frozen solid in the picture as it was into the low teens the night before I took this photo with her...
My dad also shot a doe, sadly this doe had been shot earlier in the season... Goes to show just how tough deer are. It appears the deer was running right at someone, they shot hitting her in the neck near where it met her shoulder, the bullet traveled an inch or so below her skin coming out about 8" away in the middle of her shoulder. My dad said she was limping badly, but was still moving OK. Not sure she would have made it through the winter and I suspect she was in a lot of pain...
A view from one of my treestands before the snow came.
A view from another treestand after the snow had came in late in the second week.
A view of the snow covered valley below our family hunting land.
My wife has certainly put up with me being gone a lot this hunting season, but I guess she knew how it would be when she married me. I am a pretty lucky guy though!
Nice buck, especially with a bow. How far away? Details?
Thanks! I had been watching this buck in the neighbor's bean field, but knew that they crossed the road to bed down on our side of the road every morning. I set up a tent blind a couple weeks before the season in a timber patch with lots of trails, thought sure the big guy would walk in the thick stuff. Right at daylight I saw that I was surrounded by does and fawns, snuck a peek a little further up the trail and saw him walking out of a shooting lane into the thick stuff. Instead of staying in the woods, he walked out to the unplanted field and walked down the fencerow. That afternoon I cleaned out an old stand along the fence row and slipped into it the next morning. Like clockwork, here he and the "entourage" come (close to 15 deer, that's a lot of eyes!) Instead of walking straight in front of the stand, he cut across the fence early, but at only 10 yards away. I drew, waited for the opening, and shot, realizing then that he was quartering to, not away, like I thought he would go. Arrow deflected slightly off the last rib, caught a piece of the liver, out the belly, and back in and out of the rear leg. He ran about 45 yards away and stopped facing directly away, so I grabbed another arrow (this time with a Lumenock), aimed for vitals, and launched again. Normally I wouldn't take this kind of shot, but he was already wounded. The arrow hit his the top of his rump, and the broadhead buried itself in his lower chest wall, slicing up just about every main artery he had. He piled up dead about 15 yards from the second shot.
185 lbs, scores about 130, 7:30 in the morning, Mathews DXT bow, Montec G5 broadheads.
shawn, I missed that deer- went back to see the pic. Congrats great buck and story. My deer do not have any pattern to them at all this year. Been on a break since having secodn child, and duck season in now but still want to get a good bowkill this year if I can find the time.
Greg, this is the first year in a long time we had a hard core pattern on anything. My oldest (5) went with me this year, on a morning hunt, no less! We were in the blind for about 30 minutes (about 5 minutes before sunrise) before the first "I'm ready to go"! But we stayed and saw lots of deer, so he had fun and is ready to go again! Good luck on finding that bow deer!
Neat story Shawn. I think I'll go hunting this afternoon and tomorrow morning. I've seen very few deer this year; too many acorns. I'm not real pumped about the whole thing.
It has been a tough year.. I went out yesterday. Didn't see a single track or deer.. There's always tomorrow. What I always tell myself is I could be just as lucky tomorrow as I could of been the first day.
With all the acorns out there the deer should be keying in on them. The trick is to find the type of acorns they are feeding on and set up there. This year more so than any other year pre-hunt scouting is the key.
It took me about 3 weeks of scouting on the new property that I'm hunting this year to get the deer patterned. I couldn't use trail cams like I normally would due to theft problems.
They don't seem to be touching acorns around me.. Only gold thing I got going right now is the deer seem to cross the road every night to eat winter wheat, usually too late though. I had a good bedding area but a late season stand move screwed that up I think.. So now I'm hunting on basically 100% luck..
If you can scout the bedding area without disturbing them and find their travel route you might be able to set up on the ground downwind. Dress warm and get there early in the a.m. while they are still out feeding. With the season winding down, it's time to go all out. By next year they'll forget that someone invaded their bedroom.
I've got to put the plow on the ATV and take it to my hunting spot. 20" of snow fell there in the past few days and I have to clear the gravel road just so I can get to it. I drove there yesterday and had snow coming up and over the hood of the car. I got out with minimal shoveling, but don't want to chance it again without clearing a turn-around. 5 days left in our Muzzleloader season, then archery ends Jan 2nd.
Well, nothing today. I spent more time plowing snow than expected so I ran out of time.
I did grab the SD cards from the trail cams. I hope I didn't make a mistake earlier in the ML season. I saw a big buck in shotgun season, and didn't have a good shot, so I passed, hoping to see him again. I've been passing every buck that I've seen hoping to see the big boy again. So far, I haven't, nor have I gotten him on any trail cam. He's as tall as this one, but a 10 pt., and his main beams go to his nose.
I had this one in my sights earlier in ML season for about 10 minutes. 200 Yds, but out in the open and not moving. It would have been an easy shot, but I passed hoping to see MR. Big. If I see this guy again, he's going down. He is about 2" wider than his ears, and the main beams come within 3" of touching each other over the bridge of his nose. Forget the date and time, pics are from the end of last week.
I also passed on him because I thought he was a younger deer.
My cousin said it all when he said "The best time to shoot a trophy buck is the first time you see him."
Dave, sorry you're not having any luck. My father in law didn't shoot one this year he was so frustrated by the season. Too much pressure and ever since he lost his prime lease (farmers son decided he wanted it to himself) he has been kind of out of the mood. We saw a lot of good looking 8 pt around, but he passed on them all, so maybe next year will be better.
How much ice was there? I need to get some fish structure in the pond and was going to place it on the ice. Thinking of doing some late season bow hunting at the farm between Christmas and New years and was hoping I would be able to place the structure at the same time. Not to mention I need to stop by and get that Texas Hunter feeder from you. Of course if the goose hunting is as good as it was yesterday, I may stay around Chi-town and stack up the geese.
Ice is 4-6 inches in our area....If goose hunting was good yesterday than were are the pics????Late season bow hunting in a pristine environment is a much smarter decision than suburban goose hunting.
Thanks Nate, didn't take any pics yesterday. We shot 10 this morning and a buddy of mine took pics. When he sends them to me I will post. We shot a lot of geese so the guys don't see the point of taking pictures. I started videoing the hunt this morning but the geese wouldn't finish so I put the camera away. The next three groups came in and we shot 6 of them. Was it the camera that made them not finish? We will never know. Finished the morning with a group of six decoying nicely and drop 4 of them to finish our limit.
I would like to deer hunt but would have to do it alone. My deer hunting buddies have their 2 bucks apiece. That hasn't stopped me in the past and I may sneak down for a couple of days.
I broke down and bought one of the Bushnell Trophy 8mp Game cameras today. Going to put it in the field tomorrow.
I scored a new rifle, too. Grandfather passed to me a Browning A-Bolt (Japan mf'd) with Zeiss glass. Chambered in .270 Win. I have been using my dad's childhood rifle up until now. I may "upgrade" to the more modern Browning. Funny, I bought myself a Marlin .30-30 ten years ago and have never killed a deer with it. Using Dad's I've had great luck... Maybe with grandpa's I'll get me a real trophy!
Here is the photo from yesterday's goose hunt. We quit a little early or could of had our last two. I am on the far left next to the best two year old lab I have ever seen.
Hopefully we'll be out whacking some geese during the late season.
My buddy had shoulder surgery so he'll be the designated caller and general one armed whippin' boy. He can drive the truck out to and from the fields too. His feet still work!
It's a good thing he had surgery because he'd be whining about not being able to hunt nor work the pump action on his shotgun - for a number of reasons, right Mikey?
Since being given permission to hunt this property, I've been writing up my experiences and sending them to the owner, sort of a "here's what's going on" since they're an absentee landowner. Here's what I sent him for the last 2 days of the muzzleloader season.
Saturdays report:
I was standing on the North trail, on top of the ridge where the house will go. In the low area to the West, I noticed 5 does walking South, followed by what seemed to be 2 bucks. I had ranged a tree along the trail that was the end of a clear shooting lane, and it was 78 Yds away. The does continued on to your property, and stopped under a couple of Oak trees that were about 60 Yds away to paw for acorns. The bucks followed until they were just on the trail, then the larger one (I think it was a 10 pt) stopped behind a tree at about 70 Yds, and the smaller one (8 pt) that I nicknamed Clown (because it seems that it has a lot of white around the eyes) continued East on the trail towards me. I wanted to wait until the older 10 pt gave me a shot, but it wouldn’t budge from behind the tree. Clown continued walking towards me on the trail. It got to within to what I thought was 30 Yds, and stopped to paw at some acorns. I thought that if it continued and the bigger one didn’t show itself, that I would need to take Clown because he’d smell me in another 10 Yds or less. Well, Clown continued to walk and noticed me standing there. I had the gun up on the shooting sticks and as he started to get nervous I pulled the trigger. He whirled and ran off. WTH???? I watched him run down the trail to the West and out of sight. All the other deer ran off at the shot as well. I raised the binoculars and looked at where he was standing. There was a 2” dead oak branch that looked like it had a funny mark. I walked to where he was standing and sure enough, the bullet hit the branch and must have deflected. I went to where he was standing – no blood or hair. I followed his tracks down the trail until he went off of the property. No sign of any blood. Dejected, even though there was about 15 minutes of shooting light left, I headed for the car.
Sunday:
I was there in the same spot an hour before sunrise (1/2 hr before legal shooting light) and watched the woods awaken around me. Squirrels came out of their nests to greet the new day and start searching for food, Tufted Titmice flitted from tree to tree looking for bugs over wintering in the bark, Slate Colored Juncos flew from grass stem to grass stem looking for seeds and Chickadees flitted from tree to tree. No deer. After standing there for another hour in the 6°F cold, I decided to go home for a cup of coffee, let Kate out and shoot the ML to see why it shot so low the previous night. After getting a cup of coffee and warming up a bit I set a target out at 100 Yds and shot the ML. It shot about 4” low. ??????? I had it sighted in at 2” high at the start of the season and checked it a roughly 2 weeks ago and it was right on at 100 Yds. Oh well, today is the last day, I’ll remember where it’s shooting and diagnose it later.
I’m back to your place shortly after 10:00 a.m. and since the wind is out of the West/South West, decide to still hunt (walk very slowly thru the woods, stopping to look with the binoculars every 5 steps or so for any deer) directly East, walking due East on the South side of the opening around Pond #3. It’s 12°F out, but as long as I’m slowly walking I’m staying warm enough to have my jacket mostly unzipped so I don’t build up too much heat and start to sweat.
As I’m about even with Pond #3, I notice a deer about 30 yds in the woods to the NE of Pond #3. Now where did THAT deer come from? It wasn’t there 5 steps ago! The deer is looking right at me, so I slowly grab the rangefinder. 173 Yds to the trees. The deer is behind a few small trees and doesn’t offer a clear shot, but if it walks about 3 steps forward it’ll be in the clear. We look at each other for about 10 minutes then I feel the wind on the back of my neck. Rats. It takes a few minutes, but my scent finally gets to the deer and she runs off to the West, taking the yearling with her and 7 MORE deer that I never saw. One buck and 6 does. They were bedded down right inside the woods. Crap. That just might be the end of the season right there. It looks like they ran thru the whole property, probably scaring any other deer that were there.
I decide that I probably should still continue on with the plan, so I still hunted to the East edge of the property, then turned North to the North edge, then back West. I walked by two different Fox Squirrels that were extremely unhappy that I was invading their turf. They scolded me until I moved out of their area. I found where some deer were bedding down on the high points of the property, and they were really pawing up the leaves on the ridges looking for acorns. They weren’t doing that on the low ground, so I thought I would continue to look at the higher ground. I continued slowly working my way thru the woods until I reached the spot that I was standing at yesterday. I’m feeling a bit warm and sweaty, so I take off my coat and unzip the bibs and let the moisture that’s built up evaporate until I cool down. Still mentally kicking myself for muffing the shot at the buck, I broke a couple of small twigs out of the way and get dressed. I double check the distances, ranging a couple of trees to make sure of the yardage, shuffled my feet to pack the snow down that I was standing on, and settled in to look and wait until the season ended. No chair, I’ll stand just like yesterday so I can have a good 360° view.
I watched a Pileated Woodpecker work a dead Sassafras Tree, and the Tufted Titmice were out in force. At about 4:00 I noticed 4 deer walking from the South towards the Oak Trees that are SSW of the house pad. They’re about 80 to 90 yds away, so I put the Muzzleloader up on the shooting sticks and watched. 3 of the deer stopped by the Oaks, but one continued to walk thru the woods right towards me. It was a small yearling, about 70 pounds, about the size of a standard German Shepard. I really didn’t want to shoot it but if it continued it’d walk right into me, spooking the rest of the deer. I figured that 30-40 pound of venison was better than nothing. As it continued to walk, I kept mentally telling it to stop. It finally found some acorns and stopped to feed, luckily it was behind a couple of trees. The trees were at 11 and 16 Yds, but they were positioned so they blocked the deer from seeing me. Now the waiting game began. Would the other deer continue to walk to where this one was, or would this one walk out from behind the tree and spot me, spooking the rest of the deer?
I kept the gun pointed to the right of the trees, so I could move it to the deer if it walked out to the left, or move it slightly to the right if the other deer walked up. I have my mitten on my right hand folded back so my fingers are exposed, and they’re getting numb from the cold. The largest deer of the group noticed the one closest to me, and started walking closer, with another little one in tow. I watched her walk towards me with one eye, keeping an eye on the trees to make sure the closest deer didn’t step out and bust me. The deer kept walking closer and closer, all the time she was behind enough brush that I didn’t want to shoot for fear of having the bullet deflected again. She finally stopped, and about that time she looked right at me. Immediately she went on alert. Head picked up high, ears pointed forward. By this time I have the gun on her, and I’m looking thru the scope at her. She takes a stiff legged step closer, now she has a small tree right in front of her. She’s still looking right at me as I slowly lean a teeny tiny bit to the left. That slight movement was enough. She stomped her foot once, twice, and with that I squeezed the trigger. She dropped immediately at the shot and after one ear twitch, she never moved again. She died on her feet, and her legs folded up neatly beneath her as she went down, so she almost looked as if she were laying down. I ranged her, and she was at 24 Yds. The yearling that walked up with her stood there for a minute, then whirled and ran off. The other yearling that was closest to me ran off as well. I ranged where that yearling was standing, and it was right at 18 Yds.
Can you see the deer in the pic? The 3 trees that are grouped tightly together just to the left of center are the trees the yearling was standing behind when I shot.
What about now?
I look at the time, and there's still 35 minutes left in the season. I figure that I don’t have anything to lose, so I reload the muzzleloader and continue to watch the area.
20 minutes later I see a lone deer walking down the same trail that the previous 4 deer used, but by this time I was tired of holding the gun and I had it on my slung over my shoulder. This deer, at about 70-80 Yds hears the sling scraping on my coat and stops, staring right at me. I freeze with the gun about half off of my shoulder and the deer stares and stares. It does the old “I’m going to pretend that I’m feeding but I’m jerking my head up to look as soon as my nose touches the snow” game, and we play that for a few minutes. Finally she puts her head down for good and I can get the gun the rest of the way off of my shoulder. Once it’s off my shoulder, the sling is free to move around and it does, but one of the sling swivels squeaks a slight metal on metal sound. Not good. Her head is up, looking right at me. She raises her tail, and stamps her foot a few times. I can’t see her head, so I can slowly rest the muzzle of the gun against the tree ‘cause it’s getting really, really heavy by now. She takes a few stiff legged steps towards me, tail up all the time, and finally turns and walks away. Not really spooked, but not liking what she heard. With 15 minutes left in the season I figure the game is up, but I move the shooting sticks, rest the Savage on it, and dig out my grunt call. (Bucks grunt at each other and at Does as a form of communication) I figure what the hell, maybe she’ll think it was another deer and not run off, spooking any other deer that might be nearby.
I grunt at her a few times, but I can’t see her because of the brush. I wait a minute and grunt a few more times. Another minute or so goes by and I see a deer walking very slowly towards me from the direction that she was in. The deer walks to the North trail, and turns to walk towards me. I put the grunt call back inside my jacket, move the shooting sticks and put the gun on them. The deer isn’t moving, having stopped on the other side of some thick brush. I grunt at it again, this time keeping the call inside my jacket to muffle it as if the deer is moving away. It works, and the deer starts moving towards me again, staying on the trail.
It walks past the tree that I ranged at 78 Yds, and stops, looking directly at me. It’s partially hidden by a large Oak Tree that’s about 20 Yds from me. As it faces me, all I can see is its’ head, neck, left front leg and shoulder. It has got me, and I can’t move. Damn, the fingers on my right hand are starting to get numb. It’s COLD out now! There’s no way that the deer is coming any closer after being spooked with the noise that I made before. I can’t move at all, or it’s gone. I think back to when I saw that huge buck earlier in the season; why I didn’t shoot because of the bullet/sabot having to skim the trunk of the tree, but I figure that the season is about over, and if it is deflected, then it’ll be a clean miss. I remember where the bullet hit at 100 Yds earlier in the day, so I aim for its’ neck and start to squeeze the trigger. I start to jerk the trigger and anticipate the recoil, moving the crosshairs off of the deer. LET GO OF THE TRIGGER!!!!! I get off of the trigger in time, take a few deep breaths, let half of the last one out and start the trigger squeeze again. The gun goes off and the deer drops straight down. Even though the deer is dead, I reload because I’ve had a “dead” deer get up and run off once before. I look at the time, 5 minutes left in the season. I’ll just stand here, put my mitten back on because my hand is really cold now, and wait the last 5 minutes.
Nope, nothing is moving now, so season is over. I remove the primer. Hang the gun on the shooting sticks and go tag the deer. It turns out that the last doe that I shot wasn’t a doe, it was a button buck. Damn. Oh well, it’ll get checked as an antlerless deer anyway.
I put the transportation tags on the deer, walk back, grab the gun and shooting sticks, and head to the car. When I get to the car I look at the thermometer. No wonder why my fingers were cold, it’s 6°F out!
I’ve got to run back to the house, grab the trailer and the 4-wheeler, come back and get the deer.
Now it’s time to weigh the deer and field dress them. I’m not looking forward to this, it’s not getting any warmer out and my hands will be frozen by the time I’m done.
The button buck weighs 90#-95# live weight, and the doe weighs 140#. They’ll get checked in tomorrow. Both deer were dead on their feet and didn't twitch once they were on the ground. Both deer went straight down, their legs folded under them as they went down, looking like they had bedded down for the night. That's the way that I prefer to shoot them, no tracking required.
Goose hunted again today. We where back in the field we hunted last year the week between Christmas and New Years and shot the Migrators Nation hunting show. There have been 1000s of geese feeding in this field for the last week plus. We had to wait for the landowner to get in town to get permission. It has been driving the youngest member of our hunting party crazy wanting to get after these geese. To make things more difficult she (landowner) would not let us drive in the field so the two enclosed trailers full of full body decoys where left at the other hunting field and we made do with 7 dozen silolets and 2 dozen sleeper shells. The geese didn't fly until 9:30 but we where limited out by 10 AM. I did shoot a video using the wearable camera and it is available here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1dBtUT4UeU&feature=BF&list=ULa03bx3Zabe8&index=23
Nice video! We haven't been seeing the number of birds at all this year. Duck hunting this year was bad. Out of the total days in the duck season, there were maybe 3 or 4 days that was worth it to go out. So far goose season has been a bust - no birds at all.
The camera is a wearable made by Gopro. I use the headlight mount with it and wear it on my head over my cap. Hopefully I will get some good video of shooting a nice buck next week. Its good to have hope.
Definitely plan on taking this camera to Canada in the spring on my bear hunt
The goose hunting here has been ok. Couple of years ago was much better. I couldn't get anyone to go with me this morning so I didn't hunt.
Had to listen to a neighbor woman yelling and wistling for a dog while bow hunting this morning. Started before sun up. She is the noisiest person I have ever encountered, always yelling for her husband, kids or a dog at dawn or dusk. I was over a quarter mile away, but her voice caries like the cry of a wounded animal. They have lived out here for over 3 years but are from Chicago. This woman are crazy organic but burn their trash including the plastic. Called my wife about the renter applying lime to her field wanting to know what this non-organic addative might do to her (I think it is too late). Her husband took up hunting and I have found the dead and dying deer on my place ever since. I thought about sending her a note asking her what she thought a hunter might do if they were sitting in a tree listening to her yell for her dog, and the dog walked under them. Just ranting...
This ten point was taken with my dad's trusty ole .30-06 yesterday. He was my longest shot yet. I had been on the stand a few hours and seen NOTHING. Then I heard some sounds of antlers rattlin'.
I turned around in the stand only to see a field full of does and several bucks reminiscent of one of the wildlife TV shows. I took my pick of the four bucks (two were too small by our legal minimum 13" inside spread) and this guy dropped like a rock.
Rangefinder said 250yds. Every other deer I've shot up to this point was under 150yds. I've got the head outside away from animals' reach... Planning to do my own European mount. I am going to clean up the flesh tomorrow and start the boiling process.
Show us how it turns out. A buddy tried doing it inside and thought he could get it finished before his wife came home. He did, but it took a few days to get the smell out of the house.
She wasn't happy at all.........
Don't get the antlers in the water - it'll bleach them.
I did mine inside on the stove last mont and didn't notice a smell. It did gross out my daughter the nurse. Whatever you do spend let it boil longer than you think is needed. I added borax to the water that I boiled it in, seams to help the process.
This ten point was taken with my dad's trusty ole .30-06 yesterday. He was my longest shot yet. I had been on the stand a few hours and seen NOTHING. Then I heard some sounds of antlers rattlin'.
I turned around in the stand only to see a field full of does and several bucks reminiscent of one of the wildlife TV shows. I took my pick of the four bucks (two were too small by our legal minimum 13" inside spread) and this guy dropped like a rock.
Yesterday, I tried my darnedest to get it cleaned up and ready to whiten, but I still have some gunk stunk in the brain cavity and up the nostrils. The problem I think was my pot was too deep and I couldn't have the whole skull in the water long enough. Seems to be the best method is probably to use the beetles, which I don't have. I'm going to give this another shot tomorrow and hopefully be able to whiten it as well. A member of our church owns a sawmill that specializes in cedar, so I am hoping to get a piece of wood from him and make my own plaque.
It looks like I'm done but actually there's too much in the skull to whiten yet.
Keep boiling it and add some borax to the water (about a cup). The brain has to almost be melted oit of the cavity. After you get it clean if you want the skull whiter do the following. Place the skull in a plastic container and with peroxide (the very low percentage type). Do not get any of the peroxide on the antlers or it will whiten them. For the part of the skull that is not in the peroxide, place cotton patch on it and soak with the peroxide. Let it sit in this for 3 to 4 days, take out and flush with water. It will be much whiter in color. Here is the one I did this year.
I will try the Borax method. I have had several suggestions. I used a little bit of dish soap in my boiling watter but I don't think it helped at all.
I've bought some 35% peroxide cream to put on the skull. Instead of soaking the whole thing, I figured I could apply the peroxide cream and let it sit on the skull for several days. I will still cover up the antlers to protect them -- I don't want to have to "fix" them with wood stain... )
A family friend and his daughter were hunting down on my families property on saturday and saw a mountain lion. He said he got a good look at it. It was 100 yards away and about 6 foot long from head to tail. Several years ago a guy on our deer lease had a horse killed by a mountain lion. His property was about 30 miles away.
After a hunting season of seeing only does at the cabin, my son emailed me this photo he took 2 days ago. He's staying at the cabin for a week and saw this in the yard.
If I woulda seen that in my yard, the pic I would be been posting would be that buck with its tongue hanging out and me holding its head up by the antlers...
I will try the Borax method. I have had several suggestions. I used a little bit of dish soap in my boiling watter but I don't think it helped at all.
I've bought some 35% peroxide cream to put on the skull. Instead of soaking the whole thing, I figured I could apply the peroxide cream and let it sit on the skull for several days. I will still cover up the antlers to protect them -- I don't want to have to "fix" them with wood stain... )
I just saw this. If you use the 35% cream I hope you only left it on for less than a day. Way to strong to leave it on for days
I just saw this. If you use the 35% cream I hope you only left it on for less than a day. Way to strong to leave it on for days
I was cautious and only did it for a day. I'm not really impressed with the results. However, it's as white as I'd like it to be. Right now it's hanging up in my workshop and I'm waiting a few days to decide if it's "ready" to come into the house.
My dad did the tough part and that was fooling it into stepping in the trap. I was walking his trap line with him and helet me put the finishing shot on her. 16 pounds of game bird eating nastiness.
It was caught on our hunting land in PA. My dad is heading back to start his winter trap line in VA where he lives. Lots of water trapping for mink, muskrats, beavers and otters. Also does a lot of land trapping as well. Now that he is retired he'll have over 200 traps and snares out to keep him busy.
Very nice catch Travis. Scott that buck is busted up but will be a good one next year. AP awesome photos. I got a doe a little before Christmas. So overall 4 does with bow but disappointing season given the opportunites I had (Nate). We have until end of Jan in the metro ATL counties but duck hunting now for the most part, well really changing diapers but thinking about duck hunting.
That's really interesting - I always just thought all whitetails went through that seasonal change in their coat colors. I've never seen a brown one during the winter around here.
New proposed deer rules for Indiana will allow a crossbow to be used during the entire bow season. What this means to me is a lot of unskilled hunters in the woods spooking and wounding deer in early archery. Leave it to Indiana to come up with their own rules instead of looking at surrounding states with successful programs for managing natural resources. Thsi is similar to Indiana developing there own standardized tests when our students scored poorly on national standardized tests. I guess they think that copying those that are better than you at something is a poor choice compare with the idea that if you have been unsuuccessful with your novel ideas in the past, then you should just keep taking shots in the dark. I expect 2011 archery to have a lot more of those shots in the dark.
I don't see it that way. I don't think a lot of people will be running out and buying $500 or more of equipment to deer hunt. The crossbow is easier to shoot accurately than a regular bow (takes less practice) so I feel that wanna be archers that are poor shots with vertical bows might switch. If it changes them from being poor shots with a vertical bow to mediocre shots with a horizontal bow, then I'm all for it.
(I've got both)
X-Bows habe their advantages and disadvantages. They are heavy, and can't be shot accurately without a rest. You can't twist around and shoot behind you when in a tree stand - the limbs will hit the tree when shot. They are much noisier than vert. bows. They cannot be left cocked overnight, so you either have to shoot it or somehow release the pressure on the limbs.
The effective range is the same or even a bit less than the newer compound bows, 50 Yds is stretching it, 30 is better because of the noise and jumping the string.
The advantages that I can see is not having to draw it back, easier to shoot accurately and easier to use in cold weather. It's easier to get a kid or woman involved in archery hunting if they don't have enough strength to pull back a bow that's strong enough to take a deer cleanly.
From what I've seen, the rules won't be implemented until 2012 if they are approved. They're just proposals now and are open for public comment. I feel that the proposals in this package are much better then the ones previously proposed.
Well the gun hunters that I know are the only ones planning to use crossbows when the regs are enforced. Why not follow the successful programs of neighboring states? If the DNR has a need to be creative, maybe they should take up finger painting.
Why not follow the successful programs of neighboring states?
Illinois: Hunters 62 years of age and older are now permitted to use a crossbow without a special permit. Hunters using a crossbow will need an archery deer permit and proof of age in the form of an official ID. Crossbows used in hunting as authorized by a permit issued under this section shall meet all of the following specifications:
1) Shall have a minimum peak draw weight of 125 pounds and a maximum peak draw weight of 200 pounds. 2) Shall have a minimum limb width of 24 inches and a minimum overall length (from butt of stock to front of limbs) of 24 inches. 3) Shall have a working safety. 4) Shall be used with bolts or arrows of not less than 14 inches in length (not including point) with a broadhead. Broadheads may have fixed or expandable blades, but they must be barbless and have a minimum 7/8 inch diameter when fully opened. Broadheads with fixed blade must be metal or flint-, chert-, or obsidian-napped. Broadheads with expandable blades must be metal.
Kentucky Crossbows legal for all hunters during rifle and muzzleloader seasons. Legal in archery season for handicapped hunters. Crossbows legal for deer statewide October 1-19 and November 8-December 31, 2008.
*Proposed regulation for crossbow use for Elk - to be updated when dates published. [url=www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/]www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/[/url] 800-858-1549
Michigan Crossbows may now be used:
By anyone 50 years of age or older during the Oct. 1-Nov. 14 bow hunting deer season statewide.
By any hunter age 12 and older during any hunting season in Zone 3 of southern Michigan, including the bow hunting season.
During any season in which a firearm may be used, for both big and small game statewide.
Crossbows used for hunting are restricted to no more than 350 feet per second.
Under the new regulations, 10 and 11 year-old hunters may not use a crossbow. Youth hunters must be at least 12 to use a crossbow.
A crossbow stamp will be required in addition to hunting licenses for those using crossbows. Stamps will be available at all license retailers starting March 15. The stamp, which is free, will help the DNR monitor and survey crossbow hunters over the next three years. http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363---,00.html 517-373-1263
Ohio Crossbows legal during archery season; Draw weight must not be less than 75 pounds and no more than 200 pounds. [url=www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/default.htm]www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/default.htm[/url] 614-265-6300
So it looks like Ohio allows crossbows during early archery whereas other neighboring states reserve the use of crossbows during early archery to the old and disabled (as Indiana has in the past). I did not realize that Ohio allowed crossbows during early archery. Maybe once the folks that think that crossbows are like guns get a little experience, the woods will clear out. I also have used guns crossbows and compound bows to hunt deer, but enjoy the early archery season best due to the predominance of hunters, rather than shooters in the woods. Just my opinion and experience, but maybe things are different in other places. I'd be happy if only bows and muzzleloaders were legal deer weapons (in seperate seasons). Then folks would take good shots. If deer management is the goal, open a night doe season in January with machine guns.
That's a pretty cheap one! (probably quality as well as price)
I agree that In. has some pretty strange hunting regs. For instance, I can use pretty much any Center Fire Rifle caliber .243 and bigger for hunting deer during the firearms season providing it's in a pistol platform. Switch the platform to a rifle and it's illegal. I didn't like their first proposed regulation change for a number of reasons, but allowing a 2 day firearm season for does in the 2nd week of Oct would have really screwed with the early archery season.
I'm seeing a lot of bucks with dropped antlers now on the trail cam. I wasn't in favor of the late antlerless season because I've taken 3 "does" that had dropped their antlers near the end of the muzzleloader season.
PA started allowing crossbows in all archery seasons two years ago. All the elitist vertical bow guys went nuts. Claiming it would be the end of the deer herd, there would be wounded deer all over the place and the general end of deer hunting had come. I see the same number of guys in the early archery season woods as I always have. Few to none... No clue if more deer are being wounded, but I know plenty of vertical bow hunters who wound deer all the time. This year was the best year for the number and quality of bucks on our land in PA ever, so apparently the end of the PA deer herd hasn't happened.
Owning both a crossbow and a vertical bow, the only advantage I see personally is not having to draw back when a deer can see you. I can shoot both just as accurately. The vertical bow does require more practice to stay as accurate though.
Maybe we should go back to using only recurve or long bows and if that doesn't satisfy people, an atlatl or simple spear might work...
This coming season will be the first season crossbows are allowed for hunting in N.Y., with the dwindling number of hunters every year I sure don't see any danger to the deer herd.
The greatest harvester of deer up here is brutal Mother nature, and more anti's should see video of an excess of deer yarding up in winter and starving to death.
Is suggesting that those that put in time practicing and use the most difficult weapon to master have the first chance to take deer elitist? Once the masses hit the woods the deer become pretty wary in my neck of the woods. No choice but to go to easier weapons if you want success. The big problem in my area are poachers on land with absentee landowners, some using guns during early bow. Give them a silent weapon and no hunter orange and guess what?
By the way, if a hunter has a medical or age reason for not being able to use a vertical bow, then they can get a permit to use crossbow. If someone is unwilling to prepare to use a vertical bow then they either don't think it is worth it or they are lazy. This seems to be the way things are going though. The company I am working for has been hiring like crazy (good jobs) but finding trained hard-working people is tough. 1/4 to 1/3 have to be brought in from other countries at great expense. I guess I am a capitalist rather than a socialist. If you do not put in the effort to train yourself, then I think that those that do should get the advantage. I guess I think that those that try are better, so they are the elite. If that makes me an elitist, then I am guilty.
RAH, I think that if someone is going to poach a deer, it won't make any difference to them if using a crossbow is legal or not.
I'm 110% in your camp on practicing to become proficient or don't hunt with that weapon. All sorts of things can happen to make a bullet or arrow wander from it's intended course even if you are an expert marksman. It's even worse when you compound that with someone shooting that can't shoot good groups.
I see many gun hunters "practicing" for deer season by shooting from a bench, using a rifle rest or sandbags. To me, that's not practicing, that's finding out whether the gun is accurate or not. Practicing to me means shooting using the same positions (and distance) you'd use when hunting.
I agree with most of the arguements here. In GA it has not made much of a change since allowing xbows. I like the bow and rarely pickup a gun for deer. Personal choice. What we need to remember is for us hunters to just stick togther the antis are out there. We need a united front to combat them not bickering over bow, xbow, MZL, shotgun, rifle, etc.
It wouldn't have mattered this year for me. This year I saw, on my 205 acres, less that 10 deer. I know some of them were deer that I saw more than once. The only buck was a 4 point yearling. The rest were yearling or first year does.
It was the Perfect Storm. Lots of good summer rains which produced a huge acorn crop. A drought from 9/1 to 12/15 which killed off the wheat crop. Nothing had to move around to eat. They went to thick cover and stayed still during daylight hours. I also went to thick cover but saw nothing. Then I went walking very slowly and quietly through the whole place. Nada!
I did stumble on a bunch of hogs. That was about like walking into a covey of quail. Hogs were going everywhere and I was standing there with a 3.5 to 10 power scope on a 30-06 in heavy cover.
Just about everyone in North, West and Central Texas reported the same thing. Huge amounts of acorns and no deer. The deer ought to be fat now but I think they will soon be in trouble. In my walks I saw very little of the stuff that deer need for nourishment.
Hunters fighting with other hunters will be our downfall... That and simple lack of numbers of hunters to stand up for our sport. First it'll be trapping, then hunting and then fishing they'll ban or just make it so expensive that all but richest can't afford it or the rules and regs so complex that it's no longer worth it.
As much as I bitterly hate guys who hunt deer with dogs I still stand up for their tradition. What I personally find less than sporting, doesn't mean it should be banned. A style of hunting I enjoy will be on the chopping block next...
We did a bit of goose hunting today. With better luck we could have limited out, but as it was we still ended up with 23 birds.
Ask FMC67693 about the nasty words he had about his shotgun... First the trigger was hanging up, then something happened to the barrel. It's fun hearing a guy that had shoulder surgery recently complain about shooting a pump!
We (3 of us) got 9, the other guys in the group went back to the same place and downed 10. (We hunted the other side of the farm today.) I shot terribly today. It didn't help that the geese were short stopping, or skirting the set-up. 50 yd shots were the norm. I muffed a easy 30 yd crosser. After it was said and done, I think I was shooting in front of them today. The first one of the day at about the same distance was head shot. I didn't take a close look at it 'till after the hunt. Next time I'll learn! 1550 fps vs. 1200 fps that I'm used to shooting at Sporting Clays.
Well, while the number of geese that came within range was very slim, none of them flew off today that were within range. We (3 of us) only brought back 2 geese, one was whacked at 52 Yds (landed outside the dekes) and the other was dropped at 35 Yds. (Swarovski rangefinder) Kent BB's going 1625 fps get there in a hurry! I'm suprised at how fast the goose at 52 Yds dropped. Not looking forward to the hike tomorrow. We'll have to drag/carry stuff close to 600 Yds thru calf deep snow just to get to where they were flying today. They didn't want to decoy worth a hoot today. I think that this late in the year they've seen it all and heard it all. We're setting up about 500 Yds off of a warm water pond where they're roosting, and between the pond and their food source.
If my buddy would have had his cell phone, a friend of his that was hunting with us called him and said that there were geese flying our way. 
