Author Topic: Deer hunting update. (Read 91380 times)

Ryano · « **on:** October 04, 2007, 10:42:00 am »

I was thinking it would be cool to start a thread were every one could post there story's of there most recent hunt. I'll start, anyone feel free to join in.

Equipment: 54@28" 64"ntn osage selfbow, cedar arrow's tipped with magnus 125 grain broadheads.

Last evening 10/3 I left work early and got out to my stand about 5:00 PM. I hunted at the back corner of a cornfield about 80 to 100 yards in the woods at the top side of a ravine at a good beat in deer crossing. I hung my climber in a maple tree and trimmed some limbs for a clear shot. I sat down and watched some squirrels play until about a half hour before dark, with no deer activity. Then all of a sudden I heard some movement up to my left farther up the ravine. I got ready for a shot just in case. It was definitely a deer I could tell by the movement noises. It ended up going down into the ravine behind me with out being seen, so I tried a deer bleat call to see if I could draw it in for a closer look. I got no responce from that deer, but there was another one comming right from where the first had come from that heard my call and decided to investigate. By this point it was starting to get dark. I saw legs comming in under the tree branches and all of the sudden he popped out right at the bottum of my tree, at first I thought it was a doe which I would have shot, but no luck it was just a small 4 or 6 point, not a legally harvestable deer in this area of Pennsylvania. Still not a bad nights hunt got my heart pumping a bit. I cant wait to get back out tonight!

You can leave as detailed a description as you would like, it could be more detailed then mine or less its up to you.

DanaM · « **Reply #1 on:** October 04, 2007, 11:33:34 am »

Haven't made it out in a couple nights. Sat monday in a ladder stand on a oak ridge. Saw squirrels, chippies, blue jays and a partridge but no deer.
The area I'm hunting is big woods and swamp no farm fields and no acorns this year. Not many deer in this area. I jsy got access to this property a week before
season so haven't had much time to learn it. I need to get back in the swamp and do some exploring with all the rain we've had I will need hip boots but could be well worth it. I did have a nice buck cross the road in front of me on the way in so I know there is at least one deer around. Planning on going tonite if I can manage.
Even a bad day in the woods is better than a good day at work

DBernier · « **Reply #2 on:** October 04, 2007, 12:10:06 pm »

The date on the photo shows the 25th of Sept, but it is actually Oct 2. Guess I will reset it tonight when I charge the batteries. If you look close you can see one of my ground blinds on the left side between the two trees. Photos are from my ground camera and show three Does. There were five of them there. I could have shot the closest one, but sometimes I have so much fun looking at them. They romp and play and chase each other. They are eating clover which I watered for a month. My wife sits in a tent blind off to the left of the photo. The wind direction is just as the camera is looking. I have ample opportunity to get deer and "usually" wait till the last week in October. I will post photos of any I get.

Dick

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Hillbilly · « **Reply #3 on:** October 04, 2007, 01:07:22 pm »

Haven't had a chance to get out there yet, but I'm headed out this afternoon for a weekend hunt, hopefully I'll have something to post when I get back.

Ryano · « **Reply #4 on:** October 04, 2007, 02:40:44 pm »

Dana, are there any beech or hickory tree's with nuts on them ? I would search for a alternate food source. They have to be eating something. Good luck tonight!

Dick, nice picture! Did you take the picture? or is a trail cam photo? Is your wife a hunter?

Hillbilly, Good luck on your hunt. Can't wait to hear how you did.

DanaM · « **Reply #5 on:** October 04, 2007, 02:52:21 pm »

No beech in my huntin area, and hickory don't grow this far north. There is lots of browse, forbs and mushrooms everywhere right now.
I know deer eat shrooms because I've seen em do it and the partridge I shot were full of them also.
Luck to you also.

mullet · « **Reply #6 on:** October 04, 2007, 05:53:32 pm »

I'm going back out Sat. to sit in the same blind I got the turkey.

DBernier · « **Reply #7 on:** October 04, 2007, 06:12:37 pm »

Ryano, it is a digital trail camera. Most of the time the deer come in the afternoon. I position the camera looking a little NE so the afternoon sun does not bleach out the photos. The deer are so curious about everything that they even come over and lick the camera housing. It is too cool to see them do stuff like that. I will have to start using my digital movie camera soon.

Dick

DanaM · « **Reply #8 on:** October 04, 2007, 07:43:57 pm »

I didn't get to go to hunting tonite had problems at work and its to late now, can't go tommow but the weekend should be open. I will bring a camera and take some pics of the terrain, heck maybe I will get lucky and see a deer

DBernier · « **Reply #9 on:** October 04, 2007, 08:24:34 pm »

Ryano, sorry but to answer your other question, is Amy a hunter? No she is not. She shoots a long bow once in a while with me. She is a good rifle and Pistol shot. On the qualifying target for a Conceal Carry she out shot 18 of 20 guys there at the range. She also did it with a S&W Chief's special, a stub nose .38, and no I don't mess with her.

Dick

lowell · « **Reply #10 on:** October 04, 2007, 09:21:43 pm »

Went this morning before work for a couple hours. Watched 2 does or fawns?? for about 20 min. but they never came closer than 50 yards. Did shoot at a squirrel but missed.

Was really looking for a family of turkeys that have been hanging aroung close to the house. My wife saw the from our bathroom window yesterday morning.

So darn hot here, would have to butcher the same day if I were to get one. Upper 80's through the weekend here (northern Il.)

Pappy · « **Reply #11 on:** October 05, 2007, 06:00:58 am »

Hot evening,no deer but beleive it or not it was fun,I just can't figure that out.Mybe a longer better story Monday.Good idea Ryan I love reading about peoples time in the woods.

Pappy

Ryano · « **Reply #12 on:** October 05, 2007, 07:19:53 am »

Thursday 10/4 (3:00pm) I hunted the same piece off property last night but in a different location. I'm trying to locate one of three nice bucks we've been spotting in a field near the land owners house. I had a thought that maybe they were comming from across the road afterdark so I decided to check it out. As soon as I crossed the road it was bank that dropped off about 50 feet or so , I climbed down into the brushy bottum, where theres a large stream. (French creek) I got down to the creek and found a spot were it looked like the deer were crossing. I had to take my rubber boots and socks off and roll up my pants so I wouldn't get wet as I crossed the stream. As I was about half ways across the stream I looked up stream a ways and saw three doe's crossing in the same direction as me, I froze and watched them, it seemed that the didn't even notice me. I got over to the other side of the creek and only to find willow brush up over my head, ever try to carry a longbow and a climbing tree stand threw this stuff? I hope not, that sucked! Well I found a little open spot over there with a good trail comming out to cross the creek so I climbed up a old willow tree and hung my climbing stand on a branch and settled in for the afternoon.No deer movement spotted until about 6:00, the same three deer I saw on the way in crossed back to the other side of the creek at the same spot and started feeding around on apples. unfortunately for me they were about 250+ yards away. Then about 6:30 I saw three more pop up over in the same spot, and from there on out it seemed like there was one every couple minutes until dark. I watched them feed along the other side right up to where I had suspected they were crossing the road, so even though I didn't have any close encounters it was a good night and I know where to put my stand tonight!

Pappy · « **Reply #13 on:** October 05, 2007, 07:25:44 am »

Sounds like you are closing in on them Ryan.Good luck today.

Pappy

GregB · « **Reply #14 on:** October 05, 2007, 08:02:31 am »

I haven't been since last Sunday morning, and didn't see any deer. The morning before was very exciting when Keith got his 11 pt, but I've already told that story.

I'd like to tell one though that happened at least 20 years ago...I was hunting Fort Campbell in an area called Clarksville Base which at one time during the 60's was an extremely high security electric fenced in area where I've heard nuclear weapons were worked on.

I was using my Bighorn Recurve then which was 65#@28". I had hunted during the morning without seeing deer, and after getting down and doing some scouting I had found a couple of white oaks that were dropping acorns with heavy feeding sign around the trees. I selected a tree and planned to return for the evening hunt. It rained some during the day, and had just finished as I was heading in. I attached my climber to the tree, and tied a string to my bow and climber in order to pull the bow up after me. After reaching 18' or so, I turned around, folded out my seat, and set down. Just as soon as I was seated and kind of looked out over my surroundings, I immediately saw several big does trotting toward the white oaks I was hunting next to. That was good news, but the bad news was my bow was still laying on the ground! I watched the does feed for a few minutes and wondered what to do. Finally I decided I could either enjoy the evening watching the does eat their fill and hope they might leave long enough to allow me to pull up my bow, or...attempt to pull up my bow while they were feeding. Well I probably should have waited, but I was much younger and not nearly as wise then as I am now...

...so I decided to attempt to pull up my bow. Thus was the beginning of what has ended up to be one of my favorite hunting memories!

I slowly started taking up the slack on the string, and even was getting away with the bow slowly dragging into a vertical position. The does were so intent on gorging themselves on sweet white oak acorns that they didn't seem to notice. But just as soon as my Bighorn cleared the ground and commenced to spin on the end of my twisted string, that tended to really get their attention! It was all eyes and ears alert, and I'm sure they had never seen anything quite like that before. Well I hurriedly eased the bow back down the inch or so needed to get it back to mother earth and stop that SPINNING! It took a few minutes for those does to settle back down, and I'm sure if not for those tastey acorns they would have normally been in the next county by now!

As I've already mentioned, I was much younger and not nearly as wise as now... so I decided to go for broke and try and get that bow in my hands so I could do what I came there for! As before, as soon as the bow cleared the ground it started spinning again and those does went back on defcon 2 alert!

This time I continued slowly pulling the bow up, and my anticipation could not overcome the humor at the sight of those alert does eyes and upward turning heads following my Bighorn on its journey. I couldn't help but smile, and barely suppressed laughing at the sight of those does immitating a rocket about to launch off the pad. My bow was still a foot or so from my grasp when the does realised what was behind the strange force causing that ugly stick on the end of a vine to rise to the heavens!

I was entertained by a chorus of does snorting and hoofs kicking up dirt and acorns as they left with their new found lesson learned and tucked away in their memory banks. After that day I had several hunters comment to me about how the deer in Clarksville Base seemed to aways be looking up in the trees...

Primitive Archer