mrjbigfoot
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Joined: May 1, 2024 11:18:55 GMT -5
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Post by mrjbigfoot on Oct 16, 2005 19:37:43 GMT -5
Sounds like it turned out to be a productive evening anyways! on the next trip out! Hope you get to see that buck! ;D
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Oct 19, 2005 12:53:03 GMT -5
Yesterday's hunt found me in the woods scouting for a new setup. Was looking to place my stand in the Northern most "finger" that jets out into the the corn field. Upon my arrival I found that it didn't carry much for sign (although difficult to tell with the underbrush still pretty lush right now) and looked to be more of a bedding area if anything... lots of blowdowns and open tall standing pines. Just didn't seem right.
I proceeded to move South through the finger towards the heart of the woods on a logging road. Found an older rub and was hard to find any runs. Very thick to the East (swamp starts in there) and no real shooting lanes or opportunities. I do believe the swamp will hold some nice bucks once some of the foliage is gone and will be easier for me to get in there. Very wet in there right now too with all the rain we got this past week.
Found a spot that opened up some right off from where two logging roads meet. Didn't seem like a great set up at all but I wanted to get set up as soon as possible as my time was limited in the woods.
Met George Washburn in the woods. (Charmin told me about him and how he may be out there hunting). He was on his four wheeler and has his dog with him. Just cruisin I guess. Said he doesn't get into bow hunting. Seems like a nice guy.
Needless to say, didn't see anything. I was in the stand from about 1:00 to 3:45. Made my way due South some more and followed the logging road. Got about 100 yds down and found the spot that Charmin sits in on the white chair. Looks like a great funnel. Every time I walk through this place in the woods it just "feels" like deer come through there. It's decently thick to the West and the upper alfalfa field is just about 100-150 yds east of the chair spot. Lots of pines in there.
Wind was gusty again yesterday so I do believe that played a major part in not seeing anything and with the moon things were just not "good to go". Got to know the lay of the land a bit better and possibly eliminated some spots I thought might be good to set up in. It's still early though and as the season progresses I'm sure things will change.
My tactics I feel confident in right now. Very conscious of my scent, I'm setting up in different spots every time I'm out there, and I'm hunting at different times. The keep 'em guessin game is in full effect and only a short matter of time before I think it'll pay off... best part about this... I KNOW there are a good number of deer around the property!
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Oct 19, 2005 21:15:51 GMT -5
Well tonight found me sitting in the hedgerow waitin for the does to come out where I saw them come out last time. I set up about 20 yds from the run that goes into the field. The only option I had for a set up was not to be desired to say the least. It was uncomfortable and didn't give me much room to reach a full draw. Plus the cover behind me wasn't that great and had some SERIOUS doubts about my set up. The wind was perfect coming out of the SW and that was the only thing goin for me. At 5:20 I awaited their arrival since that was the time they came out last. Still no doe at this time. I figured I had been busted. Then.... I saw what looked to be a deer across the field just about 10 yds inside the woods... how I saw it I don't know but these eyes are gettin fine tuned for the season that's for sure! Sure enough... a deer... a buck!! Wasn't that great of a buck... reall high rack but didn't look like more than a six but it's so hard to tell at that distance... about 450 yds or more. (left my binos in the vehicle) I watch him for a bit as he grazes from the South to the North and then something cool happens... he starts making a scrape! That friggin was awesome... only have witnessed a buck making a scrape once before. He then got on his back feet and reach up real high and started rubbin his forehead on an over hanging branch! They're gettin goofy!!! Only means one thing... rut is on it's way! I grunt to him... he raises his head. Stares in my dircetion for a min or two then continues to graze... then again I grunt... same thing... then he starts to move more North... I bleat at him... this seems to really get his attention. He stares in my direction for a good 4 mins without moving. I can barely see him through the brush directly in front of me as I move to get a better view he bolts!!! MAN!! I must have spooked him with my movement but I was awfully far away but they do have a good sense of sight. Same thing happened with the does... they got out of there real quick when I bleated... must not be the right time of the season to be doing so... note to self... don't bleat again til it's right!! I figured the hunt was over so I planned on going up to the upper alfalfa field to see what's goin on up there. As I get to the crest there is a deer already standing in the field corner down by the swamp end of the woods. BIGGGGGG sucker!!! I figured it was a buck due to shear size but by the time I had a good look at the field it saw me and booked!! Damn the luck... but I was lucky... got to see some bucks today baby!
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Oct 20, 2005 12:01:54 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300] Time Tables: Temp/vis/Pressure/Wind[/glow]2:54 PM Fair 57°F 57°F 40°F 53% 10.0 miles 29.71 From S 7mph 3:54 PM Partly Cloudy 58°F 58°F 41°F 53% 10.0 miles 29.72 From SSW 9mph 4:54 PM Light Rain 59°F 59°F 43°F 55% 10.0 miles 29.66 From S 9mph 5:54 PM Cloudy 58°F 58°F 45°F 62% 10.0 miles 29.69 calm Sunset at 6:07 PM 6:54 PM Cloudy 59°F 59°F 44°F 58% 10.0 miles 29.68 From SW 7mph [glow=red,2,300]Report:[/glow]Saw 1 buck (making scrape & rubbing forehead standing on hind legs on overhanging branch) down in the lower southern alfalfa field. Saw 1 buck in the upper northern alfalfa field. Saw me and booked. BIG body!
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Post by trkyhntr on Oct 20, 2005 18:57:59 GMT -5
That release you're using, is that a Trophy Hunter?
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Oct 26, 2005 9:44:48 GMT -5
Set up my stand where I saw the buck come out the night before down in the Southern Alfalfa field. Found a good spot (after about 15 mins of contemplating) about 20 yds in the woods from the field.... (view to my left, and other pic below is my view directly in front of me:) Dropped my saw (there were branches on top that needed to be cleared) made a bunch of noise with the portable and then finally got settled in afters sweating profusely! lol. Around 5:20 is when I've been seeing 'em come into the fields to eat. 5:20 came and left with not a deer in sight. I started to wonder if tonight was going to be a good night. I just had that feelin... you know the one I'm talking about... when you just feel like it's all gonna come together and tonight's your night... well I felt it. Well, it started to get dark... (about 20 minutes before the action took place:) and FAST!! Then I see something directly across the field I was overlooking about 400 yds out. It was a deer... two of 'em to be exact. Well, since the sun was fading and so were my hopes I wasn't sure if I'd get my chance. Then I figured... heck, what do I have to lose? So I picked up my Canadian Caller Game Call grunt tube and grunted (second notch up) a few times. It got their attention. I could tell they were does but I wasn't going to be picky, I need to draw first blood in a major way and get some meat in the freezer. Well, the doe in the lead would poke her head up every time I grunted. Slowly making her way toward the middle of the field. Again, it's starting to get very dark very quick so I decided to get agressive with the grunting. All of a sudden she starts making a direct path towards me and to the right. Before I know it shes now within about 50 yds and closing. But still to my right giving me no shooting opportunities. I waited, grunted some more and she started in a B-Line right towards my stand. For a minute she looked like she was going to head directly into the hardwoods but opted to hug the tree line and stay in the field. I needed her to walk about 10 more yards before my first shooting lane was available. I paced off about where I thought the deer might be walking along the fields edge about 7 yds away from the treeline and walked 20 paces to where I would place my stand. So 27 yds directly in front of me was my best shot opp. When she was in my first shooting lane I didn't feel confident about the opening I had (only about 12 inches square without hitting a tree) so I opted to wait until she hit the second lane to my left that was more open. Getting darker... then, I say to myself... once she gets her head behind that big oak I'm gonna draw. She did and I drew. She steps into view and spooks just a bit. Now she's quartering away at about 27 yds. I can barely see my pin but found it and put it on her vitals.... FWWWAAACCCKKK, tink, thud! The arrow hit her and she gave the dreaded "hunch". It all happened so fast I didn't even know if I hit her but my instinct and first reaction was YES!! She ran off about 75 yds and stood in the field. I was waiting for her to wobble and drop but about 2 mins went by and she didn't. Her tail was tucked hard behind her and she SLOWLY walked towards the opposite side of the field. Then where the open field hits the taller grass she laid down. I got down from my stand and went to retrieve my arrow. I saw it sticking up from the ground and the fletchings looke very dark. Before I got within 10 feet of it I could smell it. And after investigating my arrow I could tell she been hit... but hit in the gut! OH MAN!! Well I couldn't image how I hit her that far back and then upon investigation I could see where the arrow hit a tiny limb that I didn't see and deflected to the right. I went back to the farm and let the owner know I had stuck a deer out back but it was a gut shot deer. I had to pick up my fiance very shortly and he seemed to think it would be a good idea to check the field just before I left in case she had expired so I wouldn't have to come back. I insisted that we give the deer at least a few hours because of the shot placement but he was my only help in trying to find her and with his age he goes to bed quite early. So we got in his truck and started driving through the field where I had seen her lay up. It was pitch black out there and I could see a set of eyes right where I had seen her lay down at before. I knew it was her and said to him that if we see eyes then she's not dead. Then as soon as I said that she got up and started making her way to the brush off to our left. She was walking slower than a turtle and could tell that she was in a bad way. So we backed out of there and let her be. I figured I'd come back and try to find her with the flashlights in a couple of hours (which would be a total of 3 and a half hours since I shot her). I picked up Kristine and headed back. We got the flash lights out and started looking. We looked for obvious runs going into the plot she headed towards (which by the way, I figured that since it was such a small plot of brush that she was heading to that it might not be that hard to find her if she expired relatively close to it.) It was so dark out there. Couldn't find any clue of her whereabouts. But then, towards the back of the pines, I could see a bunch of blood on the ground heading towards an exit from the brush towards the cornfield. I felt the ground where it was and it wasn't warm but I figured we had pushed her again and she's heading right to the standing corn. Thats when I put up some trail tape to mark off where the last blood I found was and decided to let her be for the night and pick back up where I left off tomorrow. I know that she's goin down but where is another story and the main reason I pursued it tonight is for fear of the yotes gettin to her before I can. There seems to be a good little number of them out there and if they get wind of her they just might get there before I do in the morning. The pressure was on and I did the best that I could do.... Continued.... Well I found her... but here's some bad news... the mother F'n yotes got to her before I did!!!!! Here's the kicker... she was only 15 feet from where I last saw blood last night. I felt that she was headed into the thicker stuff and going right back to the standing corn (which would make for a hell of tracking job) so I let here be not knowing if she had expired or not. The thing that really gets under my skin is that if I had just moved to my right about 15 feet I'd have some meat in the freezer! I felt I did the right thing by letting her lay for the night but had a bad feeling about the yotes. I didn't sleep well to say the least. One thing I want to say though... I wouldn't have even got the shot opportunity if it wasn't for Tim Hicks letting me borrow his bow and the Canadian Caller Game Call Grunt Tube. That grunt tube brought that doe in over 400 yds!!! Straight to me on a B-Line across an open field. It pulled of the impossible. Many of you know how difficult it may be to get a deer to commit to your calling and honor it by coming straight at you across a wide open field that far away... and to do it in "crunch time" when you've only got a mere few minutes left of shooting light... well that says it all right there! Thanks again to Tim and Darrin of Canadian Caller Game Calls for the assistance in making this hunt possible. Even though it ended in sadness it was still one of the most memberable hunts for me.... first doe with a bow!
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Oct 26, 2005 9:50:48 GMT -5
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A Far Cry
8 Point Buck
[M:0]
Posts: 495
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Joined: May 1, 2024 11:18:55 GMT -5
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Post by A Far Cry on Oct 26, 2005 10:28:40 GMT -5
Congrats! You're sure piling them up now! Don
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Nov 19, 2005 3:40:22 GMT -5
Well, here we are opening morning. Tired but ready. Today's forecast:
UV Index: 0 Low Wind: From SSE at 2 mph Humidity: 63% Pressure: 30.31 in. (dropping) Dew Point: 17°F Visibility: 10.0 miles
A mix of clouds and sun. High 43F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
We'll see what happens.
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Dec 10, 2005 4:31:01 GMT -5
Not feelin all too hot this mornin. Starting to hate this sht about gettin up at 3:45 in the a.m.! Sleep deprevation is the phrase of the day today. Man, I've got stomach cramps. Think it's going to be a "two load" mornin. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet. It's quiet in the house, makes me want to go back to sleep. Hopefully a quick shower will wake me up. Haven't written anything in here in a bit so lots of catching up to do... later. Still no buck... no doe for that matter since opening day of gun season. Getting down to the wire. Tomorrow is last day of gun season. Need a bit more meat for the freezer to be "comfortable" til next year.
The guys are meeting up at John's place down the road from me this mornin at 5. They're late bloomers so we might get in there a bit late today. I don't care, I just want to kill somethin. We've got 3 doe tags in our party so if it's brown it's down. Some deer are goin down this weekend... hopefully to my gun too. Seen a TON of tracks concentrated all around my stand so that's something to look forward to. Just don't seem to be going through there when I'm on stand. Have been slacking on my scent elimination. Took more of a cautious approach to that today though. The preliminary plan today is to sit on stand for a couple of hours and then hopefully put on some drives if that don't pan out. We'll see.
Current weather and forecast for today:
UV Index: 0 Low Wind: From WSW at 8 mph Humidity: 72% Pressure: 30.06 in. Dew Point: 24°F Visibility: 10.0 miles
Should be partly cloudy and the temps warming up a bit to the mid 30's with the wind coming out of the SW at about 5 mph.
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Mar 24, 2006 18:06:39 GMT -5
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Mar 28, 2006 11:02:27 GMT -5
Went out drivin the roads again yesterday and saw the same flock in generally the same spot. Couldn't really see 'em all too well as they were in the lower corn field and the corn wasn't completely cut making it difficult to make them out. About 10 or 12 of 'em in there.
No birds in the Horseshoe.
No birds over at Charmin's either.
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Mar 28, 2006 11:02:48 GMT -5
That up in WMU 6G here in NY that a tom was witnessed breeding a hen ALREADY! Kinda early man!
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Mar 30, 2006 18:14:16 GMT -5
Went out scoutin yesterday and WHOA!! 4 Beautiful toms all fanned out!! One was just a MONSTER of a bird and is the one I'm settin my sights on... so long as I can keep track of his travels between now and May 1st... this bird is easily 22 lbs or more and gotta be swingin a 10-11" plus rope on him! Might be "The Crow" but is on the other side of the road and favors a different crop field than the two years before.
The flock had 19 birds in it. They were still establishing the pecking order and dominance. The toms were fanned out and chasing the four or five other jakes that were in the flock. Three jakes got the nerve to fan but didn't last for more than a minute or two.
Keyed in on a strut zone the two real big toms went to. Just inside the timber line on the point that juts out into the top of the fields were the alfalfa field meets the lower corn field. They're in only about 20 yds from the field in a little "flat" bottom in front of Dennis' first ridge line.
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Post by THE GOB-FATHER on Apr 5, 2006 13:25:03 GMT -5
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